the space age. rocket dreamers the late 20 th century saw a revolution in our understanding of the...
TRANSCRIPT
THE SPACE AGE
ROCKET DREAMERS
• The late 20th century saw a revolution in our understanding of the universe…
for the first time, humans and their machines traveled into space!!
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky (1857 – 1935)
• Russian School teacher• Worked out the basic
equations for rocketry, 1903.
• Determined liquid fuel rockets would be needed to get to space
• Oxygen and hydrogen would be the best fuels
Robert Goddard (1882-1945)
• Physics professor
• 1926 launched the world’s first liquid fueled rocket.
• Developed nearly the entirety of rocket technology.
Hermann Oberth (1894-1989)
• Developed principles of rocketry
• 1929 published influential book “The Rocket into Interplanetary Space”
• Convinced the world that rockets were the way to space
Wernher Van Braun (1912-1977)
• Developed and launched first rocket capable of reaching space (German V2)
• At end of World War II, brought his scientists and engineers out of Germany to the Americans
The Space Race (1957-1975)
• In the aftermath of World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States captured Germany rocketry, designs and personnel
• World War to Cold War
The Space Race (1957-1975)
• Competition
– Explore outer space with satellites
– Send humans to space
– Land humans on the Moon
Satellites• Natural satellite =
an object naturally occurring in orbit
• Artificial satellite = an object put into orbit by human endeavour
Sputnik 1• First artificial
satellite to orbit the Earth
• Launched October 4, 1957. R-7 Rocket.
• Marks the start of the Space Race
• Caused fear and stirred political debate in the US
• Eisenhower administration formed NASA
Explorer 1
• Launched February 1, 1958. Jupiter-C rocket.
• First USA Earth satellite
• These first satellites were used for scientific purposes.– Sputnik: density of
upper atmosphere– Explorer: discovery of
Van Allen radiation belt
Schooling Impacts• Effort to regain
technological supremacy
• National Defence Education Act– Revamp school
curriculum– New school construction– Loans and fellowships
for promising students– Vocational training– Other programs
Project SCORE• Signal Communications
Orbit Relay Equipment• World’s First
communications satellite (USA)
• Launched December 18, 1958
• Relayed a Christmas message from President Eisenhower to the world
Atlas Missile used to launch SCORE
Animals in Space
• First animals = fruit flies– Launched by USA, 1946– German V-2 Rocket
• First in orbit = dog named Laika– Launched by Soviet Union, 1957– Sputnik2– Never returned. Died from
overheating and stress.
More Animals
• Soviet dogs, Belka and Strelka, orbited the Earth and returned. 1960.
• Americans sent chimpanzees. 1961.
• Soviets sent turtles in 1968. First to orbit the moon.
Humans in Space
• Soviets first to fulfill human spaceflight with own spaceship and launcher
• First Human: Yuri Gagarin– Vostok 1– April 12, 1961– Orbited Earth for 108min
Humans in Space
• 23 days later, Alan Shepard entered space for the USA
• Sub-orbital mission Freedom7
• Less than 16min
• Altitude of 187km
Humans in Space
• First American to orbit the Earth, John Glenn
• February 20, 1962
• Completed 3 orbits
• Friendship7
Humans in Space
• More Soviet Firsts– First dual-manned
flight: August 11, 1962– First woman: Valentina
Tereshkova. June 16, 1963
– First flight with more than 2 crew: October 12, 1964
– First spacewalk: March 18, 1965
Lunar Missions• Before they could put a
person on the Moon, unmanned spacecraft had to land safely.
• Americans:– The Pioneer Program– The Ranger Program– The Lunar Orbiter Program– The robotic Surveyor
Program (locate Apollo landing sites)
• Soviets:– Luna 1 (January 1959), Luna
2 (September 1959)
The Apollo Program
• Established in 1961 President Kennedy and V.P. Lyndon B. Johnson
• Goal: manned moon-landing missions
• December 21, 1968: James Lovell, Frank Borman and Bill Anders in Apollo 8 orbited the moon 10 times
The Apollo Program
• July 20, 1969. Apollo 11 mission
• Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins
• 5 other Apollo missions have landed on the moon
• Last in 1972
Since the end of the Race
• Science and math education in school
• Thousands of artificial satellites
• Food sterilization and packaging techniques
• Stay dry clothing, anti-fog goggles, scratch resistant glasses, athletic shoes, cordless tools, CAT scans and MRI
Since the end of the Race• April 12, 1981: USA
Launched first reusable Spacecraft (space shuttle)
• November 15, 1986: Soviet Union launched their first reusable spacecraft
• November, 1998: Assembly of the ISS begins
• October 15, 2003: China launched their first human spaceflight. Shenzhou 5.