Misplaced Pages

#343656

116-495: It was used for: Before the MMS was the standardized space ship system, they began studying how to make a cost effective method of Space exploration . To achieve lower cost space travel, NASA's approached the idea with a production line mentality, to have inherited parts in as many aspects of the rocket as possible to allow fast production. The first idea was to use existing spacecraft designs, but with slight modifications. The main issue

232-525: A gravity assist from Jupiter . Its closest approach to Pluto was on 14 July 2015; scientific observations of Pluto began five months prior to closest approach and continued for 16 days after the encounter. The New Horizons mission also performed a flyby of the small planetesimal Arrokoth , in the Kuiper belt , in 2019. This was its first extended mission. Although many comets have been studied from Earth sometimes with centuries-worth of observations, only

348-515: A Structural Test Article (STA-099), but was converted to a complete orbiter when this was found to be less expensive than converting Enterprise from its Approach and Landing Test configuration into a spaceworthy vehicle. On April 24, 1990, Discovery carried the Hubble Space Telescope into space during STS-31 . In the course of 135 missions flown, two orbiters ( Columbia and Challenger ) suffered catastrophic accidents, with

464-608: A better appreciation of the Red Planet but also yield further insight into the past, and possible future, of Earth. The exploration of Mars has come at a considerable financial cost with roughly two-thirds of all spacecraft destined for Mars failing before completing their missions, with some failing before they even began. Such a high failure rate can be attributed to the complexity and large number of variables involved in an interplanetary journey, and has led researchers to jokingly speak of The Great Galactic Ghoul which subsists on

580-468: A close flyby of Saturn's moon Titan, resulting in a trajectory incompatible with a Pluto flyby. Voyager 2 never had a plausible trajectory for reaching Pluto. After an intense political battle, a mission to Pluto dubbed New Horizons was granted funding from the United States government in 2003. New Horizons was launched successfully on 19 January 2006. In early 2007 the craft made use of

696-580: A conspicuous anticyclone storm system rivaled in size only by Jupiter's Great Red Spot . Neptune also proved to have the fastest winds of any planet in the Solar System, measured as high as 2,100 km/h. Voyager 2 also examined Neptune's ring and moon system . It discovered 900 complete rings and additional partial ring "arcs" around Neptune. In addition to examining Neptune's three previously known moons, Voyager 2 also discovered five previously unknown moons, one of which, Proteus , proved to be

812-598: A crew escape system for use during controlled gliding flight. Recommendation VIII – The nation's reliance on the shuttle as its principal space launch capability created a relentless pressure on NASA to increase the flight rate ... NASA must establish a flight rate that is consistent with its resources. The Shuttle program operated accident-free for seventeen years and 88 missions after the Challenger disaster, until Columbia broke up on reentry , killing all seven crew members, on February 1, 2003. The ultimate cause of

928-484: A diet of Mars probes. This phenomenon is also informally known as the " Mars Curse ". In contrast to overall high failure rates in the exploration of Mars, India has become the first country to achieve success of its maiden attempt. India's Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) is one of the least expensive interplanetary missions ever undertaken with an approximate total cost of ₹ 450 Crore ( US$ 73 million ). The first mission to Mars by any Arab country has been taken up by

1044-539: A disposable external fuel tank , carried up to eight astronauts and up to 50,000 lb (23,000 kg) of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO). When its mission was complete, the orbiter would reenter the Earth's atmosphere and land like a glider at either the Kennedy Space Center or Edwards Air Force Base . The Shuttle is the only winged crewed spacecraft to have achieved orbit and landing, and

1160-476: A few clouds in the images of the planet. The magnetosphere of Uranus, however, proved to be unique, being profoundly affected by the planet's unusual axial tilt. In contrast to the bland appearance of Uranus itself, striking images were obtained of the Moons of Uranus, including evidence that Miranda had been unusually geologically active. The exploration of Neptune began with the 25 August 1989 Voyager 2 flyby,

1276-675: A few comets have been closely visited. In 1985, the International Cometary Explorer conducted the first comet fly-by ( 21P/Giacobini-Zinner ) before joining the Halley Armada studying the famous comet. The Deep Impact probe smashed into 9P/Tempel to learn more about its structure and composition and the Stardust mission returned samples of another comet's tail. The Philae lander successfully landed on Comet Churyumov–Gerasimenko in 2014 as part of

SECTION 10

#1732782676344

1392-518: A large number of Earth observation satellites have been deployed specifically to explore Earth from a space-based perspective. These satellites have significantly contributed to the understanding of a variety of Earth-based phenomena. For instance, the hole in the ozone layer was found by an artificial satellite that was exploring Earth's atmosphere, and satellites have allowed for the discovery of archeological sites or geological formations that were difficult or impossible to otherwise identify. The Moon

1508-518: A lower cost level. This spacecraft or satellite related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Space exploration Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space . While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes , its physical exploration is conducted both by uncrewed robotic space probes and human spaceflight . Space exploration, like its classical form astronomy ,

1624-454: A milestone. As of 1 December 2022, there were 5,284 confirmed exoplanets discovered. The Milky Way is estimated to contain 100–400 billion stars and more than 100 billion planets . There are at least 2 trillion galaxies in the observable universe . HD1 is the most distant known object from Earth, reported as 33.4 billion light-years away. MW 18014 was a German V-2 rocket test launch that took place on 20 June 1944, at

1740-600: A new vehicle by the early 1990s. The stalled plans for a U.S. space station evolved into the International Space Station and were formally initiated in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan , but the ISS suffered from long delays, design changes and cost over-runs and forced the service life of the Space Shuttle to be extended several times until 2011 when it was finally retired—serving twice as long as it

1856-619: A sort of bubble of particles made in the Galaxy by the Sun's solar wind . The Sun is a major focus of space exploration. Being above the atmosphere in particular and Earth's magnetic field gives access to the solar wind and infrared and ultraviolet radiations that cannot reach Earth's surface. The Sun generates most space weather , which can affect power generation and transmission systems on Earth and interfere with, and even damage, satellites and space probes. Numerous spacecraft dedicated to observing

1972-486: A total cost projection for the program of roughly $ 54 billion (in 2011 dollars). The total cost of the actual 30-year service life of the Shuttle program through 2011, adjusted for inflation, was $ 196 billion. In 2010, the incremental cost per flight of the Space Shuttle was $ 409 million, or $ 14,186 per kilogram ($ 6,435 per pound) to low Earth orbit (LEO). In contrast, the comparable Proton launch vehicle cost

2088-753: A total of six spacecraft with humans landing on the Moon starting from 1969 to the last human landing in 1972. The first interplanetary flyby was the 1961 Venera 1 flyby of Venus , though the 1962 Mariner 2 was the first flyby of Venus to return data (closest approach 34,773 kilometers). Pioneer 6 was the first satellite to orbit the Sun , launched on 16 December 1965. The other planets were first flown by in 1965 for Mars by Mariner 4 , 1973 for Jupiter by Pioneer 10 , 1974 for Mercury by Mariner 10 , 1979 for Saturn by Pioneer 11 , 1986 for Uranus by Voyager 2 , 1989 for Neptune by Voyager 2 . In 2015,

2204-578: A variety of commercial companies were also offered but generally fell by the wayside as each NASA lab pushed for its own version. All of this was taking place in the midst of other NASA teams proposing a wide variety of post-Apollo missions, a number of which would cost as much as Apollo or more. As each of these projects fought for funding, the NASA budget was at the same time being severely constrained. Three were eventually presented to United States Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1969. The shuttle project rose to

2320-461: Is an expanded crew. Crews of up to eight have been flown in the Orbiter, but it could have held at least a crew of ten. Various proposals for filling the payload bay with additional passengers were also made as early as 1979. One proposal by Rockwell provided seating for 74 passengers in the Orbiter payload bay, with support for three days in Earth orbit. With a smaller 64 seat orbiter, costs for

2436-445: Is one of the main sources for space science . While the observation of objects in space, known as astronomy , predates reliable recorded history , it was the development of large and relatively efficient rockets during the mid-twentieth century that allowed physical space exploration to become a reality. Common rationales for exploring space include advancing scientific research, national prestige, uniting different nations, ensuring

SECTION 20

#1732782676344

2552-495: Is said to have been invented in 1608 in the Netherlands by an eyeglass maker named Hans Lippershey , but their first recorded use in astronomy was by Galileo Galilei in 1609. In 1668 Isaac Newton built his own reflecting telescope , the first fully functional telescope of this kind, and a landmark for future developments due to its superior features over the previous Galilean telescope . A string of discoveries in

2668-682: Is scheduled to start ISS crew service from 2025. For missions beyond low Earth orbit , NASA is building the Space Launch System and the Orion spacecraft , part of the Artemis program . Space Shuttle missions have included: Early during development of the Space Shuttle, NASA had estimated that the program would cost $ 7.45 billion ($ 43 billion in 2011 dollars, adjusting for inflation) in development/non-recurring costs, and $ 9.3M ($ 54M in 2011 dollars) per flight. Early estimates for

2784-686: The Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969 , NASA began studies of Space Shuttle designs as early as October 1968. The early studies were denoted "Phase A", and in June 1970, "Phase B", which were more detailed and specific. The primary intended use of the Phase A Space Shuttle was supporting the future space station , ferrying a minimum crew of four and about 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) of cargo, and being able to be rapidly turned around for future flights, with larger payloads like space station modules being lifted by

2900-629: The Bumper-WAC reached an altitude of 393 kilometres (244 mi), becoming the first human-made object to enter space, according to NASA . The first successful orbital launch was of the Soviet uncrewed Sputnik 1 ("Satellite 1") mission on 4 October 1957. The satellite weighed about 83 kg (183 lb), and is believed to have orbited Earth at a height of about 250 km (160 mi). It had two radio transmitters (20 and 40 MHz), which emitted "beeps" that could be heard by radios around

3016-472: The Cassini spacecraft, which lasted from 2004 until 2017. Saturn has at least 62 known moons , although the exact number is debatable since Saturn's rings are made up of vast numbers of independently orbiting objects of varying sizes. The largest of the moons is Titan , which holds the distinction of being the only moon in the Solar System with an atmosphere denser and thicker than that of Earth. Titan holds

3132-468: The Challenger accident). The Shuttle program continued in September 1988 with the launch of Discovery on STS-26 . The accidents did not just affect the technical design of the orbiter, but also NASA. Quoting some recommendations made by the post- Challenger Rogers commission: Recommendation I – The faulty Solid Rocket Motor joint and seal must be changed. This could be a new design eliminating

3248-849: The Chandrayaan programme , while the European Union and Japan have also planned future crewed space missions. The two primary global programs gaining traction in the 2020s are the Chinese-led International Lunar Research Station and the US-led Artemis Program, with its plan to build the Lunar Gateway and the Artemis Base Camp , each having its own set of international partners. The first telescope

3364-632: The Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission, SpaceX's Dragon 2 sent astronauts to the ISS, restoring America's human launch capability. The first operational SpaceX mission launched on November 15, 2020, at 7:27:17 p.m. ET, carrying four astronauts to the ISS. Although the Constellation program was canceled, it has been replaced with a very similar Artemis program . The Orion spacecraft has been left virtually unchanged from its previous design. The planned Ares V rocket has been replaced with

3480-596: The Peenemünde Army Research Center in Peenemünde . It was the first human-made object to reach outer space , attaining an apogee of 176 kilometers, which is well above the Kármán line . It was a vertical test launch. Although the rocket reached space, it did not reach orbital velocity , and therefore returned to Earth in an impact, becoming the first sub-orbital spaceflight . In 1949,

3596-657: The Saturn V . Two designs emerged as front-runners. One was designed by engineers at the Manned Spaceflight Center , and championed especially by George Mueller . This was a two-stage system with delta-winged spacecraft, and generally complex. An attempt to re-simplify was made in the form of the DC-3 , designed by Maxime Faget , who had designed the Mercury capsule among other vehicles. Numerous offerings from

Multi-mission Modular Spacecraft - Misplaced Pages Continue

3712-531: The Space Shuttle program , and from competition to cooperation as with the International Space Station (ISS). With the substantial completion of the ISS following STS-133 in March 2011, plans for space exploration by the U.S. remained in flux. The Constellation program aiming for a return to the Moon by 2020 was judged unrealistic by an expert review panel reporting in 2009. Constellation ultimately

3828-785: The X-37B . By 2012, cargo to the International Space Station was already being delivered commercially under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services by SpaceX's partially reusable Dragon spacecraft , followed by Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft in late 2013. Crew service to the ISS is currently provided by the Russian Soyuz and, since 2020, the SpaceX Dragon 2 crew capsule, launched on the company's reusable Falcon 9 rocket as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Development program . Boeing 's Starliner capsule

3944-606: The dwarf planets Ceres and Pluto were orbited by Dawn and passed by New Horizons , respectively. This accounts for flybys of each of the eight planets in the Solar System , the Sun , the Moon , and Ceres and Pluto (two of the five recognized dwarf planets ). The first interplanetary surface mission to return at least limited surface data from another planet was the 1970 landing of Venera 7 , which returned data to Earth for 23 minutes from Venus . In 1975, Venera 9

4060-418: The far side of the Moon . India's Chandrayaan-3 in 2023 achieved the world's first landing on the lunar south pole region. Crewed exploration of the Moon began in 1968 with the Apollo 8 mission that successfully orbited the Moon, the first time any extraterrestrial object was orbited by humans. In 1969, the Apollo 11 mission marked the first time humans set foot upon another world. Crewed exploration of

4176-521: The Constellation program was never fully funded, and in early 2010 the Obama administration asked Congress to instead endorse a plan with heavy reliance on the private sector for delivering cargo and crew to LEO. The Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program began in 2006 with the purpose of creating commercially operated uncrewed cargo vehicles to service the ISS. The first of these vehicles, SpaceX Dragon 1 , became operational in 2012, and

4292-585: The ISS in the event of an emergency. STS-135 launched on July 8, 2011, and landed at the KSC on July 21, 2011, at 5:57 a.m. EDT (09:57 UTC). From then until the launch of Crew Dragon Demo-2 on May 30, 2020, the US launched its astronauts aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Out of the five fully functional shuttle orbiters built, three remain. Enterprise , which was used for atmospheric test flights but not for orbital flight, had many parts taken out for use on

4408-465: The ISS on the Shuttle cost $ 272,000 in 2017 dollars, twice the cost of Cygnus and three times that of Dragon. NASA used a management philosophy known as success-oriented management during the Space Shuttle program which was described by historian Alex Roland in the aftermath of the Columbia disaster as "hoping for the best". Success-oriented management has since been studied by several analysts in

4524-590: The Mission Management Team gave the go for launch. This mission increased the ISS crew to three. Discovery touched down successfully on July 17, 2006, at 09:14 (EDT) on Runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center . Following the success of STS-121 , all subsequent missions were completed without major foam problems, and the construction of the ISS was completed (during the STS-118 mission in August 2007,

4640-562: The Moon began with the Ranger 4 impactor in 1962. Starting in 1966, the Soviets successfully deployed a number of landers to the Moon which were able to obtain data directly from the Moon's surface; just four months later, Surveyor 1 marked the debut of a successful series of U.S. landers. The Soviet uncrewed missions culminated in the Lunokhod program in the early 1970s, which included

4756-426: The Moon did not continue for long. The Apollo 17 mission in 1972 marked the sixth landing and the most recent human visit. Artemis II is scheduled to complete a crewed flyby of the Moon in 2025, and Artemis III will perform the first lunar landing since Apollo 17 with it scheduled for launch no earlier than 2026. Robotic missions are still pursued vigorously. The exploration of Mars has been an important part of

Multi-mission Modular Spacecraft - Misplaced Pages Continue

4872-465: The Moon. Also, probes were sent throughout the known Solar System, and into Solar orbit. Uncrewed spacecraft have been sent into orbit around Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury by the 21st century, and the most distance active spacecraft, Voyager 1 and 2 traveled beyond 100 times the Earth-Sun distance. The instruments were enough though that it is thought they have left the Sun's heliosphere,

4988-449: The Solar System (and beyond) followed, then and in the next centuries : the mountains of the Moon , the phases of Venus , the main satellites of Jupiter and Saturn , the rings of Saturn , many comets , the asteroids , the new planets Uranus and Neptune , and many more satellites . The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 was the first space telescope launched 1968, but the launching of Hubble Space Telescope in 1990 set

5104-423: The Solar System are accomplished at a cost in energy, which is described by the net change in velocity of the spacecraft, or delta-v . Due to the relatively high delta-v to reach Mercury and its proximity to the Sun, it is difficult to explore and orbits around it are rather unstable. Venus was the first target of interplanetary flyby and lander missions and, despite one of the most hostile surface environments in

5220-545: The Solar System, has had more landers sent to it (nearly all from the Soviet Union) than any other planet in the Solar System. The first flyby was the 1961  Venera 1 , though the 1962  Mariner 2  was the first flyby to successfully return data. Mariner 2 has been followed by several other flybys by multiple space agencies often as part of missions using a Venus flyby to provide a gravitational assist en route to other celestial bodies. In 1967, Venera 4 became

5336-575: The Space Shuttle Exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center visitor complex and has been on display there since June 29, 2013, following its refurbishment. On October 14, 2012, Endeavour completed an unprecedented 12 mi (19 km) drive on city streets from Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center , where it has been on display in a temporary hangar since late 2012. The transport from

5452-711: The Sun, beginning with the Apollo Telescope Mount , have been launched and still others have had solar observation as a secondary objective. Parker Solar Probe , launched in 2018, will approach the Sun to within 1/9th the orbit of Mercury. Mercury remains the least explored of the Terrestrial planets . As of May 2013, the Mariner 10 and MESSENGER missions have been the only missions that have made close observations of Mercury. MESSENGER entered orbit around Mercury in March 2011, to further investigate

5568-598: The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. Its official program name was Space Transportation System (STS), taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft where it was the only item funded for development, as a proposed nuclear shuttle in the plan was cancelled in 1972. It flew 135 missions and carried 355 astronauts from 16 countries, many on multiple trips. The Space Shuttle , composed of an orbiter launched with two reusable solid rocket boosters and

5684-546: The United Arab Emirates. Called the Emirates Mars Mission , it was launched on 19 July 2020 and went into orbit around Mars on 9 February 2021. The uncrewed exploratory probe was named "Hope Probe" and was sent to Mars to study its atmosphere in detail. The Russian space mission Fobos-Grunt , which launched on 9 November 2011, experienced a failure leaving it stranded in low Earth orbit . It

5800-422: The accident was a piece of foam separating from the external tank moments after liftoff and striking the leading edge of the orbiter's left wing, puncturing one of the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) panels that covered the wing edge and protected it during reentry. As Columbia reentered the atmosphere at the end of an otherwise normal mission, hot gas penetrated the wing and destroyed it from the inside out, causing

5916-617: The air the focus. Both the Soviet Union and the U.S. were racing to prove their superiority in technology through exploring space. In fact, the reason NASA was created was as a response to Sputnik I. The launch of the first human-made object to orbit Earth , the Soviet Union's Sputnik 1 , on 4 October 1957, and the first Moon landing by the American Apollo 11 mission on 20 July 1969 are often taken as landmarks for this initial period. The Soviet space program achieved many of

SECTION 50

#1732782676344

6032-432: The airport took two days and required major street closures, the removal of over 400 city trees, and extensive work to raise power lines, level the street, and temporarily remove street signs, lamp posts, and other obstacles. Hundreds of volunteers, and fire and police personnel, helped with the transport. Large crowds of spectators waited on the streets to see the shuttle as it passed through the city. Endeavour , along with

6148-454: The area. In the course of 135 missions flown, two orbiters were destroyed, with loss of crew totalling 14 astronauts: There was also one abort-to-orbit and some fatal accidents on the ground during launch preparations. Close-up video footage of Challenger during its final launch on January 28, 1986, clearly shows that the problems began due to an O-ring failure on the right solid rocket booster (SRB). The hot plume of gas leaking from

6264-557: The asteroid 4 Vesta , two of the three largest asteroids, were visited by NASA's Dawn spacecraft , launched in 2007. Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to return a sample of material from the small near-Earth asteroid 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. Hayabusa was launched on 9 May 2003 and rendezvoused with Itokawa in mid-September 2005. After arriving at Itokawa, Hayabusa studied

6380-428: The asteroid's shape, spin, topography, color, composition, density, and history. In November 2005, it landed on the asteroid twice to collect samples. The spacecraft returned to Earth on 13 June 2010. The exploration of Jupiter has consisted solely of a number of automated NASA spacecraft visiting the planet since 1973. A large majority of the missions have been "flybys", in which detailed observations are taken without

6496-448: The broader Rosetta mission . Deep space exploration is the branch of astronomy , astronautics and space technology that is involved with the exploration of distant regions of outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights (deep-space astronautics) and by robotic spacecraft . Space Shuttle program The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by

6612-426: The cost to deliver payload to low-Earth orbit were as low as $ 118 per pound ($ 260/kg) of payload ($ 635/lb or $ 1,400/kg in 2011 dollars), based on marginal or incremental launch costs, and assuming a 65,000 pound (30 000 kg) payload capacity and 50 launches per year. A more realistic projection of 12 flights per year for the 15-year service life combined with the initial development costs would have resulted in

6728-702: The distinction of being the only object in the Outer Solar System that has been explored with a lander, the Huygens probe deployed by the Cassini spacecraft. The exploration of Uranus has been entirely through the Voyager 2 spacecraft, with no other visits currently planned. Given its axial tilt of 97.77°, with its polar regions exposed to sunlight or darkness for long periods, scientists were not sure what to expect at Uranus. The closest approach to Uranus occurred on 24 January 1986. Voyager 2 studied

6844-533: The energy required at launch to reach Jupiter, albeit at the cost of a significantly longer flight duration. Jupiter has 95 known moons , many of which have relatively little known information about them. Saturn has been explored only through uncrewed spacecraft launched by NASA, including one mission ( Cassini–Huygens ) planned and executed in cooperation with other space agencies. These missions consist of flybys in 1979 by Pioneer 11 , in 1980 by Voyager 1 , in 1982 by Voyager 2 and an orbital mission by

6960-444: The external tank between flights.) Per-launch costs can be measured by dividing the total cost over the life of the program (including buildings, facilities, training, salaries, etc.) by the number of launches. With 135 missions, and the total cost of US$ 192 billion (in 2010 dollars), this gives approximately $ 1.5 billion per launch over the life of the Shuttle program. A 2017 study found that carrying one kilogram of cargo to

7076-461: The failed joint caused the collapse of the external tank, which then resulted in the orbiter's disintegration due to high aerodynamic stress. The accident resulted in the loss of all seven astronauts on board. Endeavour (OV-105) was built to replace Challenger (using structural spare parts originally intended for the other orbiters) and delivered in May 1991; it was first launched a year later. After

SECTION 60

#1732782676344

7192-449: The first milestones, including the first living being in orbit in 1957, the first human spaceflight ( Yuri Gagarin aboard Vostok 1 ) in 1961, the first spacewalk (by Alexei Leonov ) on 18 March 1965, the first automatic landing on another celestial body in 1966, and the launch of the first space station ( Salyut 1 ) in 1971. After the first 20 years of exploration, focus shifted from one-off flights to renewable hardware, such as

7308-465: The first of which was Galileo , which flew past two: 951 Gaspra in 1991, followed by 243 Ida in 1993. Both of these lay near enough to Galileo' s planned trajectory to Jupiter that they could be visited at acceptable cost. The first landing on an asteroid was performed by the NEAR Shoemaker probe in 2000, following an orbital survey of the object, 433 Eros . The dwarf planet Ceres and

7424-510: The first probe to enter and directly examine the atmosphere of Venus. In 1970, Venera 7 became the first successful lander to reach the surface of Venus and by 1985 it had been followed by eight additional successful Soviet Venus landers which provided images and other direct surface data. Starting in 1975, with the Soviet orbiter Venera 9 , some ten successful orbiter missions have been sent to Venus, including later missions which were able to map

7540-508: The first reusable crewed space vehicle that made multiple flights into orbit. Its missions involved carrying large payloads to various orbits including the International Space Station (ISS), providing crew rotation for the space station, and performing service missions on the Hubble Space Telescope . The orbiter also recovered satellites and other payloads (e.g., from the ISS) from orbit and returned them to Earth, though its use in this capacity

7656-412: The first uncrewed rovers and also successfully brought lunar soil samples to Earth for study. This marked the first (and to date the only) automated return of extraterrestrial soil samples to Earth. Uncrewed exploration of the Moon continues with various nations periodically deploying lunar orbiters. China's Chang'e 4 in 2019 and Chang'e 6 in 2024 achieved the world's first landing and sample return on

7772-593: The future survival of humanity, and developing military and strategic advantages against other countries. The early era of space exploration was driven by a " Space Race " between the Soviet Union and the United States . A driving force of the start of space exploration was during the Cold War. After the ability to create nuclear weapons, the narrative of defense/offense left land and the power to control

7888-406: The globe. Analysis of the radio signals was used to gather information about the electron density of the ionosphere, while temperature and pressure data was encoded in the duration of radio beeps. The results indicated that the satellite was not punctured by a meteoroid . Sputnik 1 was launched by an R-7 rocket. It burned up upon re-entry on 3 January 1958. The first successful human spaceflight

8004-690: The joint or a redesign of the current joint and seal. ... the Administrator of NASA should request the National Research Council to form an independent Solid Rocket Motor design oversight committee to implement the Commission's design recommendations and oversee the design effort. Recommendation II – The Shuttle Program Structure should be reviewed. ... NASA should encourage the transition of qualified astronauts into agency management Positions. Recommendation III – NASA and

8120-712: The last flight-qualified external tank (ET-94), is currently on display at the Science Center's Samuel Oschin Pavilion (in a horizontal orientation) until the completion of the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center (a planned addition to the California Science Center). Once moved, it will be permanently displayed in launch configuration, complete with genuine solid rocket boosters and external tank. One area of Space Shuttle applications

8236-459: The last largest moon in the system. Data from Voyager 2 supported the view that Neptune's largest moon, Triton , is a captured Kuiper belt object. The dwarf planet Pluto presents significant challenges for spacecraft because of its great distance from Earth (requiring high velocity for reasonable trip times) and small mass (making capture into orbit difficult at present). Voyager 1 could have visited Pluto, but controllers opted instead for

8352-424: The late 1960s. The program formally commenced in 1972, becoming the sole focus of NASA's human spaceflight operations after the Apollo , Skylab , and Apollo–Soyuz programs in 1975. The Shuttle was originally conceived of and presented to the public in 1972 as a 'Space Truck' which would, among other things, be used to build a United States space station in low Earth orbit during the 1980s and then be replaced by

8468-611: The late 1980s would be around US$ 1.5 million per seat per launch. The Rockwell passenger module had two decks, four seats across on top and two on the bottom, including a 25-inch (63.5 cm) wide aisle and extra storage space. Another design was Space Habitation Design Associates 1983 proposal for 72 passengers in the Space Shuttle Payload bay. Passengers were located in 6 sections, each with windows and its own loading ramp at launch, and with seats in different configurations for launch and landing. Another proposal

8584-469: The longest ever Soviet planetary surface mission. Venus and Mars are the two planets outside of Earth on which humans have conducted surface missions with uncrewed robotic spacecraft . Salyut 1 was the first space station of any kind, launched into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1971. The International Space Station (ISS) is currently the largest and oldest of the 2 current fully functional space stations, inhabited continuously since

8700-697: The loss of Challenger , NASA grounded the Space Shuttle program for over two years, making numerous safety changes recommended by the Rogers Commission Report , which included a redesign of the SRB joint that failed in the Challenger accident. Other safety changes included a new escape system for use when the orbiter was in controlled flight, improved landing gear tires and brakes, and the reintroduction of pressure suits for Shuttle astronauts (these had been discontinued after STS-4 ; astronauts wore only coveralls and oxygen helmets from that point on until

8816-692: The loss of all crew members, totaling 14 astronauts. The accidents led to national level inquiries, detailed analysis of why the accidents occurred, and significant pauses where changes were made before the Shuttles returned to flight. After the Challenger disaster in January 1986, there was a delay of 32 months before the next Shuttle launch. A similar delay of 29 months occurred after the Columbia disaster in February 2003. The longest Shuttle mission

8932-466: The lunar surface, and 400,171 km (248,655 mi) from Earth, marking the record for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth in 1970. As of 26 November 2022 Voyager 1 was at a distance of 159 AU (23.8 billion km; 14.8 billion mi) from Earth. It is the most distant human-made object from Earth. Starting in the mid-20th century probes and then human missions were sent into Earth orbit, and then on to

9048-610: The mission, but initially the director stood firm. On October 31, 2006, NASA announced approval of the launch of Atlantis for the fifth and final shuttle servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, scheduled for August 28, 2008. However SM4/ STS-125 eventually launched in May 2009. One impact of Columbia was that future crewed launch vehicles, namely the Ares I , had a special emphasis on crew safety compared to other considerations. The Space Shuttle retirement

9164-503: The observations made by Mariner 10 in 1975 (Munsell, 2006b). A third mission to Mercury, scheduled to arrive in 2025, BepiColombo is to include two probes . BepiColombo is a joint mission between Japan and the European Space Agency . MESSENGER and BepiColombo are intended to gather complementary data to help scientists understand many of the mysteries discovered by Mariner 10's flybys . Flights to other planets within

9280-409: The orbiter to lose control and disintegrate. After the Columbia disaster, the International Space Station operated on a skeleton crew of two for more than two years and was serviced primarily by Russian spacecraft. While the "Return to Flight" mission STS-114 in 2005 was successful, a similar piece of foam from a different portion of the tank was shed. Although the debris did not strike Discovery ,

9396-478: The orbiter was again struck by a foam fragment on liftoff, but this damage was minimal compared to the damage sustained by Columbia ). The Columbia Accident Investigation Board, in its report, noted the reduced risk to the crew when a Shuttle flew to the International Space Station (ISS), as the station could be used as a safe haven for the crew awaiting rescue in the event that damage to the orbiter on ascent made it unsafe for reentry. The board recommended that for

9512-622: The other orbiters. It was later visually restored and was on display at the National Air and Space Museum 's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center until April 19, 2012. Enterprise was moved to New York City in April 2012 to be displayed at the Intrepid Museum , whose Space Shuttle Pavilion opened on July 19, 2012. Discovery replaced Enterprise at the National Air and Space Museum 's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center . Atlantis formed part of

9628-426: The planet's unique atmosphere and magnetosphere . Voyager 2 also examined its ring system and the moons of Uranus including all five of the previously known moons, while discovering an additional ten previously unknown moons. Images of Uranus proved to have a uniform appearance, with no evidence of the dramatic storms or atmospheric banding evident on Jupiter and Saturn. Great effort was required to even identify

9744-547: The primary shuttle contractors should review all Criticality 1, 1R, 2, and 2R items and hazard analyses. Recommendation IV – NASA should establish an Office of Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance to be headed by an Associate Administrator, reporting directly to the NASA Administrator. Recommendation VI – NASA must take actions to improve landing safety. The tire, brake and nosewheel system must be improved. Recommendation VII – Make all efforts to provide

9860-591: The probe landing or entering orbit; such as in Pioneer and Voyager programs. The Galileo and Juno spacecraft are the only spacecraft to have entered the planet's orbit. As Jupiter is believed to have only a relatively small rocky core and no real solid surface, a landing mission is precluded. Reaching Jupiter from Earth requires a delta-v of 9.2 km/s, which is comparable to the 9.7 km/s delta-v needed to reach low Earth orbit. Fortunately, gravity assists through planetary flybys can be used to reduce

9976-577: The program budget: for example, during fiscal years 2004 to 2006, NASA spent around $ 13 billion on the Space Shuttle program, even though the fleet was grounded in the aftermath of the Columbia disaster and there were a total of three launches during this period of time. In fiscal year 2009, NASA budget allocated $ 2.98 billion for 5 launches to the program, including $ 490 million for "program integration", $ 1.03 billion for "flight and ground operations", and $ 1.46 billion for "flight hardware" (which includes maintenance of orbiters, engines, and

10092-448: The program was grounded once again for this reason. The second "Return to Flight" mission, STS-121 launched on July 4, 2006, at 14:37 (EDT). Two previous launches were scrubbed because of lingering thunderstorms and high winds around the launch pad, and the launch took place despite objections from its chief engineer and safety head. A five-inch (13 cm) crack in the foam insulation of the external tank gave cause for concern; however,

10208-501: The regular crew. Some passenger modules used hardware similar to existing equipment, such as the tunnel, which was also needed for Spacehab and Spacelab During the three decades of operation, various follow-on and replacements for the STS Space Shuttle were partially developed but not finished. Examples of possible future space vehicles to supplement or supplant STS: One effort in the direction of space transportation

10324-549: The remaining flights, the Shuttle always orbit with the station. Prior to STS-114, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe declared that all future flights of the Space Shuttle would go to the ISS, precluding the possibility of executing the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission which had been scheduled before the Columbia accident, despite the fact that millions of dollars worth of upgrade equipment for Hubble were ready and waiting in NASA warehouses. Many dissenters, including astronauts , asked NASA management to reconsider allowing

10440-459: The second, Orbital Sciences 's Cygnus did so in 2014. The Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program was initiated in 2010 with the purpose of creating commercially operated crewed spacecraft capable of delivering at least four crew members to the ISS, staying docked for 180 days and then returning them back to Earth. These spacecraft, like SpaceX 's Dragon 2 and Boeing CST-100 Starliner were expected to become operational around 2020. On

10556-428: The sole visit to the system as of 2024. The possibility of a Neptune Orbiter has been discussed, but no other missions have been given serious thought. Although the extremely uniform appearance of Uranus during Voyager 2 ' s visit in 1986 had led to expectations that Neptune would also have few visible atmospheric phenomena, the spacecraft found that Neptune had obvious banding, visible clouds, auroras , and even

10672-436: The space exploration programs of the Soviet Union (later Russia), the United States, Europe, Japan and India. Dozens of robotic spacecraft , including orbiters , landers , and rovers , have been launched toward Mars since the 1960s. These missions were aimed at gathering data about current conditions and answering questions about the history of Mars. The questions raised by the scientific community are expected to not only give

10788-720: The surface of Venus using radar to pierce the obscuring atmosphere. Space exploration has been used as a tool to understand Earth as a celestial object. Orbital missions can provide data for Earth that can be difficult or impossible to obtain from a purely ground-based point of reference. For example, the existence of the Van Allen radiation belts was unknown until their discovery by the United States' first artificial satellite, Explorer 1 . These belts contain radiation trapped by Earth's magnetic fields, which currently renders construction of habitable space stations above 1000 km impractical. Following this early unexpected discovery,

10904-550: The top, largely due to tireless campaigning by its supporters. By 1970 the shuttle had been selected as the one major project for the short-term post-Apollo time frame. All Space Shuttle missions were launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Some civilian and military circumpolar space shuttle missions were planned for Vandenberg AFB in California. However, the use of Vandenberg AFB for space shuttle missions

11020-433: The year 2000. The other, Tiangong space station built by China, is now fully crewed and operational. Voyager 1 became the first human-made object to leave the Solar System into interstellar space on 25 August 2012. The probe passed the heliopause at 121 AU to enter interstellar space . The Apollo 13 flight passed the far side of the Moon at an altitude of 254 kilometers (158 miles; 137 nautical miles) above

11136-444: Was Vostok 1 ("East 1"), carrying the 27-year-old Russian cosmonaut , Yuri Gagarin , on 12 April 1961. The spacecraft completed one orbit around the globe, lasting about 1 hour and 48 minutes. Gagarin's flight resonated around the world; it was a demonstration of the advanced Soviet space program and it opened an entirely new era in space exploration: human spaceflight . The first artificial object to reach another celestial body

11252-401: Was Luna 2 reaching the Moon in 1959. The first soft landing on another celestial body was performed by Luna 9 landing on the Moon on 3 February 1966. Luna 10 became the first artificial satellite of the Moon, entering in a lunar orbit on 3 April 1966. The first crewed landing on another celestial body was performed by Apollo 11 on 20 July 1969, landing on the Moon. There have been

11368-489: Was STS-80 lasting 17 days, 15 hours. The final flight of the Space Shuttle program was STS-135 on July 8, 2011. Since the Shuttle's retirement in 2011, many of its original duties are performed by an assortment of government and private vessels. The European ATV Automated Transfer Vehicle supplied the ISS between 2008 and 2015. Classified military missions are being flown by the US Air Force's uncrewed spaceplane ,

11484-455: Was $ 141 million, or $ 6,721 per kilogram ($ 3,049 per pound) to LEO and the Soyuz 2.1 was $ 55 million, or $ 6,665 per kilogram ($ 3,023 per pound), despite these launch vehicles not being reusable. NASA's budget for 2005 allocated 30%, or $ 5 billion, to space shuttle operations; this was decreased in 2006 to a request of $ 4.3 billion. Non-launch costs account for a significant part of

11600-400: Was announced in January 2004. President George W. Bush announced his Vision for Space Exploration , which called for the retirement of the Space Shuttle once it completed construction of the ISS. To ensure the ISS was properly assembled, the contributing partners determined the need for 16 remaining assembly missions in March 2006. One additional Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission

11716-467: Was approved in October 2006. Originally, STS-134 was to be the final Space Shuttle mission. However, the Columbia disaster resulted in additional orbiters being prepared for launch on need in the event of a rescue mission. As Atlantis was prepared for the final launch-on-need mission, the decision was made in September 2010 that it would fly as STS-135 with a four-person crew that could remain at

11832-482: Was based on the Spacelab habitation modules, which provided 32 seats in the payload bay in addition to those in the cockpit area. There were some efforts to analyze commercial operation of STS. Using the NASA figure for average cost to launch a Space Shuttle as of 2011 at about $ 450 million per mission, a cost per seat for a 74 seat module envisioned by Rockwell came to less than $ 6 million, not including

11948-529: Was canceled after the Challenger disaster in 1986. The weather criteria used for launch included, but were not limited to: precipitation, temperatures, cloud cover, lightning forecast, wind, and humidity. The Shuttle was not launched under conditions where it could have been struck by lightning . The first fully functional orbiter was Columbia (designated OV-102), built in Palmdale, California . It

12064-547: Was cancelled in 2002, and the HL-20 was cancelled in 1993. Several other programs in this existed such as the Station Crew Return Alternative Module (SCRAM) and Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) According to the 2004 Vision for Space Exploration, the next human NASA program was to be Constellation program with its Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles and the Orion spacecraft ; however,

12180-512: Was delivered to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on March 25, 1979, and was first launched on April 12, 1981—the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin 's space flight —with a crew of two. Challenger (OV-099) was delivered to KSC in July 1982, Discovery (OV-103) in November 1983, Atlantis (OV-104) in April 1985 and Endeavour (OV-105) in May 1991. Challenger was originally built and used as

12296-531: Was designing a computer that could service any mission with slight modifications to the mission. To do this, they developed a computer for the MMS that could service variance types of missions within the Solar System such as: solar, stellar, and Earth missions.  By designing this space computer to be easily changed, instead of building a new computer with all new hardware every mission, they only had to make software changes. This design greatly reduced cost when developing new spacecraft. What made MMS so effective

12412-817: Was evolved into two programs, the Orbital Space Plane Program and the Next Generation Launch Technology program. OSP was oriented towards provided access to the International Space Station. Other vehicles that would have taken over some of the Shuttles responsibilities were the HL-20 Personnel Launch System or the NASA X-38 of the Crew Return Vehicle program, which were primarily for getting people down from ISS. The X-38

12528-408: Was on February 18, 1977, only five years after the Shuttle program was formally initiated; leading to the launch of the first space-worthy shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981, on STS-1 . The Space Shuttle program finished with its last mission, STS-135 flown by Atlantis , in July 2011, retiring the final Shuttle in the fleet. The Space Shuttle program formally ended on August 31, 2011. Before

12644-477: Was originally designed to do. In 2004, according to President George W. Bush 's Vision for Space Exploration , use of the Space Shuttle was to be focused almost exclusively on completing assembly of the ISS, which was far behind schedule at that point. The first experimental orbiter, Enterprise , was a high-altitude glider, launched from the back of a specially modified Boeing 747, only for initial atmospheric landing tests (ALT) . Enterprise' s first test flight

12760-449: Was rare. Each vehicle was designed with a projected lifespan of 100 launches, or 10 years' operational life. Original selling points on the shuttles were over 150 launches over a 15-year operational span with a 'launch per month' expected at the peak of the program, but extensive delays in the development of the International Space Station never created such a peak demand for frequent flights. Various shuttle concepts had been explored since

12876-479: Was replaced with the Artemis Program , of which the first mission occurred in 2022 , with a planned crewed landing to occur with Artemis III . The rise of the private space industry also began in earnest in the 2010s with the development of private launch vehicles, space capsules and satellite manufacturing. In the 2000s, China initiated a successful crewed spaceflight program while India launched

12992-635: Was the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program, initiated in 1994 by NASA. This led to work on the X-33 and X-34 vehicles. NASA spent about US$ 1 billion on developing the X-33 hoping for it be in operation by 2005. Another program around the turn of the millennium was the Space Launch Initiative , which was a next generation launch initiative. The Space Launch Initiative program was started in 2001, and in late 2002 it

13108-440: Was the adaptability of the spacecraft to be able to conduct missions in a multitude of areas. The MMS was designed using multiple modules that made this possible. The modules include ACS Module, Power Module, Small Impulse Propulsion Module, Large Impulse Propulsion Module, C & CH Module, and Module support structure. This system allows for interchangeable software and hardware, and ultimately allows it to be repaired to be used at

13224-399: Was the first celestial body to be the object of space exploration. It holds the distinctions of being the first remote celestial object to be flown by, orbited, and landed upon by spacecraft, and the only remote celestial object ever to be visited by humans. In 1959, the Soviets obtained the first images of the far side of the Moon , never previously visible to humans. The U.S. exploration of

13340-481: Was the first to return images from the surface of another planet, returning images from Venus. In 1971, the Mars 3 mission achieved the first soft landing on Mars returning data for almost 20 seconds. Later, much longer duration surface missions were achieved, including over six years of Mars surface operation by Viking 1 from 1975 to 1982 and over two hours of transmission from the surface of Venus by Venera 13 in 1982,

13456-484: Was to begin exploration of the Phobos and Martian circumterrestrial orbit, and study whether the moons of Mars, or at least Phobos, could be a "trans-shipment point" for spaceships traveling to Mars. Until the advent of space travel , objects in the asteroid belt were merely pinpricks of light in even the largest telescopes, their shapes and terrain remaining a mystery. Several asteroids have now been visited by probes,

#343656