The space programs.

17.3.1. As is known, the space age began with the launch of the first artificial satellite by the Soviet Union in 1957. The first human to go into space in 1961 was Yuri Gagarin. Since then, astronauts and cosmonauts have ventured into space for ever greater lengths of time, even living aboard orbiting space stations for more than a year. Two dozen people have circled the Moon or walked on its surface. At the same time, robotic explorers have journeyed where humans could not go, visiting all but one of the solar system’s major worlds. Unpiloted spacecraft have also visited a host of minor bodies such as moons, comets, and asteroids.

17.3.2. The United States entered the era of piloted spaceflight on May 5, 1961, with the mission of Alan Shepard. Shepard was launched on a 15-minute “hop” in a Mercury spacecraft. Twenty days later President Kennedy told Congress, “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” In February 1962 John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth, logging five hours in space. After his historic mission, the charismatic Glenn was celebrated as a national hero. For many years, the USA and the USSR were competing in the space race. The ultimate aim was the Moon landing. But the year 1967 brought tragedy to both U.S. and Soviet Moon programs. In January, the crew of the first piloted Apollo mission, Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, were killed in a flash fire. In April, Soyuz 1 was launched with Vladimir Komarov aboard. After reentering the atmosphere the Soyuz’s parachute failed to deploy properly, and the spaceman was killed.

17.3.3. In July 1969, the crew of Apollo 11 made the first lunar landing. Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk the Moon. Armstrong’s famous first words on the Moon were, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” (He had intended to say “That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” and that is how the quote is worded in many accounts of the event.) The first-ever moonwalk lasted about two and a half hours.

17.3.4. On April 12, 1981—exactly 20 years after Gagarin’s pioneering flight as the first human in space — the space shuttle Columbia flew a maiden voyage. The NASA planned to launch missions very frequently. Yet disaster struck again. On January 28, 1986, the shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, killing its seven-member crew, which included schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe. Later, the shuttle flew a series of missions to the Russian space station Mir. Soon the shuttle began taking crews into orbit to assemble the International Space Station. On October 29, 1998, John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, returned to space aboard the space shuttle Discovery at the age of 77. He is the oldest person ever to fly in space. On February 1, 2003, however, disaster struck the 113th shuttle mission. The shuttle Columbia burned up while reentering Earth’s atmosphere. The seven crewmembers, including the first Israeli astronaut, all died.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 729