A Brief History of Space Travel From Sputnik 1 to Apollo 11

"A Brief History of Space Travel From Sputnik 1 to Apollo 11","

President Kennedy on September 12 1962 gave a speech in which he promised that we would build a rocket the size of a football field with various metal alloys many of which didn't even exist yet.


Something like this sounded way to premature.
 But we were motivated both by our own need to explore the moon as well as the more realistic fact that the Russians had much more experience and were advancing alarmingly fast.


But the actual starting gun happened in 1957 when the Russians released Sputnik then just 1 month later the put a dog in orbit as well.
 Then the most damaging blow to American pride was in 1961 when the Russians had put a man in low orbit and he had done one circle around the earth in less than 2 hours.
 However were finally able to get into second place when we released a man called Alan Shepard into a brief sub orbit flight.
 7 military test pilots were selected to become part of this project and in extension the newly formed NASA.
 Then after this came project Gemini the biggest difference between project mercury and project Gemini was in the fact that project Gemini did two manned space travels and there for were named after the latin word for twins.


Gemini 4 had the first American EVA which was called extra vehicular activity or space walk (having a person outside of the spacecraft).
 We continued to gather more and more momentum.
 The most well-known happening during Gemini 8 in which came the first docking between two space vehicles.
 They were spinning so fast that crew nearly blacked out separating made the spinning even worse.


America began looking for better rockets that could get us into space then the titan rockets.
 It was most powerful engine ever created by mankind.
 It would transport man faster than he had ever traveled before and was also 100 times more powerful than the Redstone rocket which had launched Alan Shepard.


We at long last began scheduling for the trip to the moon.
 The man who was looking for the crew members was the only man out of the original 7 test pilots to never go into space (remember there was 7 members but only 6 flights).
 All 3 astronaut died one of which Virgil gust griffin who was the 2 American in space.
 It was found out that we had not properly made the electrical system which in the oxygen rich environment of the command capsule was horrible.


The Apollo project began taking it a bit slower taking several unmanned tests as well as completely redesigning the command capsule.
 There was a lot of pressure on them after Apollo 1.
 Then came Apollo 8-9-10 which all forged the way for the famous Apollo 11.
 This part of the mission was hardest part because every other aspect of the mission had already been tested repeatedly by the Apollo forebears and there were problems.
 However command accurately judged that this would not affect the landing and ordered them to proceed.
 Then only 300 feet above Neil took manual control and with only around 30 seconds of fuel left was able to expertly take the module down to the sea of tranquility.


"One small step for man, One giant step for mankind".

Why Are Hersey Kisses Shaped Like Apollo Space Capsules?

"Why Are Hersey Kisses Shaped Like Apollo Space Capsules? - I Love Space!"," And right now, the privatization of space exploration, tourism, mining, and technology is being born.
 It's a great time to explore the great taste of chocolate and the final frontier of space.
 Being able to see it, understand it, and know our place in it is fascinating.
 The Hershey Chocolate Company is an American tradition, but so is the quest for space, and the need to explore, it is part of the human endeavor, and it is part of who we are as Americans.


If the dinosaurs that lived 400 million years here on the planet had such technologies, they could have prevented their own extinction.
 Of course, I bet you'd rather talk about chocolate? Everyone loves chocolate, and every young man at one time or another has wanted to be an astronaut, it's an automatic response, just like at some point every young boy wants to be a firefighter.
 Today, we have bettered the shape of the Apollo space capsule for reentry, with our new reusable space vehicles, and space shuttle.


Whether you are eating a chocolate candy bar, breaking off a piece of Hershey chocolate, or watching an old clip of an Apollo space capsule, they are reminder of just how far we've come.

Is the American Space Program Coming to an End?

"Is the American Space Program Coming to an End?"," The governments were racing to be the first in space in this way or that, which led to the funding needed to do things like walk on the moon and send probes around our solar system.


I'll start off by mentioning that I am a science fiction fan and huge proponent of space exploration.
 The question these days is whether the space program as we know it is going to exist in another decade or two.


The problem is economics.
 The cost of Medicare, Social Security and just paying the interest on our national debt is estimated to be as much as 80 percent of our total yearly budget by 2020.
 Well, you'll notice that the cost of the military was not mentioned above.


We are already seeing cost shortfalls having an impact in the near term.
 The truth of the matter is there really isn't any funding available to do it in the current economic environment.
9 trillion dollar deficit each year, the idea of setting aside money to go back to the moon is not exactly going to get a lot of play.


So, will humanity ever expand upon its efforts to explore the universe around us? It seems that there are really only two options.
 Until either group appears, the idea of space exploration is going to take a back seat compared to the focus on paying our bills.

Space; Our New Oceans

"Space; Our New Oceans","  Names like Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus and Cortez.


There have also been tales of Vikings crossing the ocean and there is some proof to these stories in the genetic record of the American Indians.
  Who is to say that all these civilizations did not also conquer the seas?  For it is man's genetic nature and predisposition to explore.
 Who knows what worlds we will find and inhabitants on those worlds?  As the Drake equation predicts there will be intelligent life out there for us to meet.
  Please consider this in 2013.


CHECK THIS OUT

Why Explore the Vastness of Space and the Abyss of the Oceans Depths?

"Why Explore the Vastness of Space and the Abyss of the Oceans Depths?",Nevertheless, for those who do have those genes, and I am one of them, I do understand, and it is such a compelling need, that you can't fight it, and perhaps this is why, at least in America, we have such a high percentage of those genes.
 Okay so let's talk about this for second shall we?

Not long ago, I was reminded of a famous quote, a quip from a dedicated life-long oceanographer and explorer.
 In speaking of the oceans of our world, there will be a new attempt at breaking the underwater depth record very soon.


Indeed, the individual making the dive is also a filmmaker who produced the movie "Avatar" and I have no doubt that he will be using some of the footage for an upcoming movie which will take place under our oceans, or at least the storyline will.
 I find it refreshing, the human spirit, and the need to continue exploration.


One famous quote which seems to be very much part of the American spirit is that which was brought forth by Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek; "to boldly go where no man has gone before.
 We must explore everything, and everywhere, because it is who we are.

A Space Proposal

"A Space Proposal"," Today, in what seems to be a period of national decline, anything that smacks of overreaching in any field will be greeted with a fair amount of eye-rolling and cynical snickering.
 No one in this climate of ratcheted down expectations will want to hear a word about space exploration and its necessity as a continuous national endeavor for any country that wishes to maintain its status as a world (and not just regional) power.


These regional powers understand the value of space (read manned) exploration.
 Indeed the space program is a source of great pride for the Chinese who, reasonably, propose a manned moon landing in 2020.


Let me be clear.
 Quite the contrary.
 Of course one of these direct results was the founding of the United States.
 It remains only a question of who will attempt to push forward.
 They are/will not be the first to do so.


In the end, I care not a whit about who will dominate space in the future.
 It also would be nice if democratic values could be enhanced during the process rather than curtailed.
 It would just have expanded the "iron-cage of capitalism" rather than opened it up for new forms of thought, expression, and lived experience.
 All this may seem 'grandiose' today, because we have done very little so far.
 Let us begin today!

CHECK THIS OUT

Teaching Space and the Solar System

"Teaching Space and the Solar System","

In the few decades since space exploration began, probes have reached the far regions of the solar system.
 Some hundred billion stars can be found in the universe while more than 1,000 comets have been observed regularly through telescopes.
"
1.
 Explain that the solar system is made up of our sun and all of the heavenly bodies that travel around it.


2.
 You can use a table to show these differences and characteristics.


3.
 And since it could be quite time-consuming to talk about the theories concerning the origin of life in the solar system, you may use film or other visual presentations as tools to better explain it.
 A telescope is another effective device used to magnify or enlarge the image of a distant object.
 It enables them to see much farther into space than is possible with the human eye.



What is space exploration? The age of space exploration began in the sixth decade of the 20th century.
 Today, space explorations include the investigation of celestial objects ranging in size from cosmic dust to the giant planets of the solar system.
 The possibilities are endless.
 The key to space exploration lay in the production of the rocket engine, which made possible the lofting of objects beyond the Earth's atmosphere.


CHECK THIS OUT