History of spaceflight

For the historical period, see Space Age.

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of spaceflight.

Part of a series on

Spaceflight

History

* History of spaceflight
* Space Race
* Timeline of spaceflight
* Space probes
* Lunar missions
* Mars missions

Applications

* Communications
* Earth observation
* Exploration
* Espionage
* Military
* Navigation
* Colonization
* Habitation
* Exploration
* Telescopes
* Tourism

Spacecraft

Robotic spacecraft

* Satellite
* Space probe
* Cargo spacecraft

Crewed spacecraft

*   * Apollo Lunar Module
* Space capsules
* Space Shuttle
* Space stations
* Spaceplanes
* Vostok

Space launch

* Spaceport
* Launch pad
* Expendable and reusable launch vehicles
* Escape velocity
* Non-rocket spacelaunch

Spaceflight types

* Sub-orbital
* Orbital
* Interplanetary
* Interstellar
* Intergalactic

List of space organizations

* Space agencies
* Space forces
* Companies

Spaceflight portal

* v
* t
* e

Spaceflight began in the 20th century following theoretical and practical breakthroughs by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Robert H. Goddard, and Hermann Oberth, each of whom published works proposing rockets as the means for spaceflight.[a] The first successful large-scale rocket programs were initiated in Nazi Germany by Wernher von Braun. The Soviet Union took the lead in the post-war Space Race, launching the first satellite,[1] the first animal,[2]: 155 the first human[3] and the first woman[4] into orbit. The United States landed the first men on the Moon in 1969. Through the late 20th century, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China were also working on projects to reach space.

Following the end of the Space Race, spaceflight has been characterized by greater international cooperation, cheaper access to low Earth orbit and an expansion of commercial ventures. Interplanetary probes have visited all of the planets in the Solar System, and humans have remained in orbit for long periods aboard space stations such as Mir and the ISS. Most recently, China has emerged as the third nation with the capability to launch independent crewed missions, while operators in the commercial sector have developed reusable booster systems and craft launched from airborne platforms. In 2020, SpaceX became the first commercial operator to successfully launch a crewed mission to the International Space Station with Crew Dragon Demo-2.

## Background

[edit]

The number of spacewalks required to construct the International Space Station dwarfed the then existing experience base for this activity, a hurdle called the "Wall of EVA."[5] Description of a space station in Hermann Noordung's The Problem of Space Travel (1929).

At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a burst of scientific investigation into interplanetary travel, inspired by fiction by writers such as Jules Verne (From the Earth to the Moon, Around the Moon) and H.G. Wells (The First Men in the Moon, The War of the Worlds).[citation needed]

The first realistic proposal for spaceflight was "Issledovanie Mirovikh Prostranstv Reaktivnimi Priborami", or "The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices" by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, published in 1903.[6]

Spaceflight became an engineering possibility with the work of Robert H. Goddard's publication in 1919 of his paper "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes", where his application of the de Laval nozzle to liquid fuel rockets gave sufficient power for interplanetary travel to become possible. This paper was highly influential on Hermann Oberth and Wernher von Braun, later key players in spaceflight.[citation needed]

In 1929, the Slovene officer Hermann Noordung was the first to imagine a complete space station in his book The Problem of Space Travel.[7][8]

The first rocket to reach space was the German V-2 rocket MW 18014, on a vertical test flight in June 1944.[9] After the war ended, the research and development branch of the (British) Ordinance Office organised Operation Backfire which, in October 1945, assembled enough V-2 missiles and supporting components to enable the launch of three (possibly four, depending on source consulted) of them from a site near Cuxhaven in northern Germany. Although these launches were inclined and the rockets did not achieve the altitude necessary to be regarded as sub-orbital spaceflight, the Backfire report remains the most extensive technical documentation of the rocket, including all support procedures, tailored vehicles and fuel composition.[10]

Subsequently, the British Interplanetary Society proposed an enlarged man-carrying version of the V-2 called Megaroc. The plan, written in 1946, envisaged a three-year development programme culminating in the launch of test pilot Eric Brown on a sub-orbital mission in 1949.[11][12]

The decision by the Ministry of Supply under Attlee's government to concentrate on research into nuclear power generation and sub-sonic passenger jet aircraft over supersonic atmospheric flight and spaceflight delayed the introduction of both of the latter, although only by a year in the case of supersonic flight, as the data from the Miles M.52 was handed to Bell Aircraft.[citation needed]

In 1947, the US sent the first animals in space, fruit flies, although not into orbit, through a V-2 rocket launched from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.[13][14][15] On June 14, 1949, the US launched the first mammal into space, a rhesus macaque monkey named Albert II, on a sub-orbital flight, though Albert II died when the parachute failed.[16] On July 22, 1951, the Soviets launched the Soviet space dogs, Dezik and Tsygan, who were the first dogs in space and the first to safely return.[17]

## Establishment and Space Race

[edit]

Main article: Space Race

### First artificial satellites

[edit]

Main article: Sputnik 1

A replica of Sputnik 1 on display.

The race began in 1957 when both the US and the USSR made statements announcing they planned to launch artificial satellites during the 18-month long International Geophysical Year of July 1957 to December 1958. On July 29, 1957, the US announced a planned launch of the Vanguard by the spring of 1958, and on July 31, the USSR announced it would launch a satellite in the fall of 1957.[18][19]

Photograph of Sputnik 2 and its rocket taken by Air Force personnel at Air Force Missile Test Center, Patrick AFB, Florida

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite of Earth in the history of humankind.

Explorer 1 satellite, the third Satellite put into orbit, and the first by NASA

On November 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the second satellite, Sputnik 2, and the first to carry a living animal into orbit, a dog named Laika. Sputnik 3 was launched on May 15, 1958, and carried a large array of instruments for geophysical research and provided data on pressure and composition of the upper atmosphere, concentration of charged particles, photons in cosmic rays, heavy nuclei in cosmic rays, magnetic and electrostatic fields, and meteoric particles. After a series of failures with the program, the US succeeded with Explorer 1, which became the first US satellite in space, on February 1, 1958. This carried scientific instrumentation and detected the theorized Van Allen radiation belt. The US public shock over Sputnik 1 became known as the Sputnik crisis. On July 29, 1958, the US Congress passed legislation turning the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with responsibility for the nation's civilian space programs. In 1959, NASA began Project Mercury to launch single-man capsules into Earth orbit and chose a corps of seven astronauts introduced as the Mercury Seven.[20]

### First man in space

[edit]

Main article: Vostok programme

Yuri Gagarin

On April 12, 1961, the USSR opened the era of crewed spaceflight, with the flight of the first cosmonaut (Russian name for space travelers), Yuri Gagarin. Gagarin's flight, part of the Soviet Vostok space exploration program, took 108 minutes and consisted of a single orbit of the Earth.[21]

On August 7, 1961, Gherman Titov, another Soviet cosmonaut, became the second man in orbit during his Vostok 2 mission. Titov orbited Earth 17 times in over 25 hours during his spaceflight.[22]

By June 16, 1963, the USSR launched a total of six Vostok cosmonauts, two pairs of them flying concurrently, and accumulating a total of 260 cosmonaut-orbits and just over sixteen cosmonaut-days in space.[citation needed]

On May 5, 1961, the US launched its first suborbital Mercury astronaut, Alan Shepard, in the Freedom 7 capsule.[23][24]

### First woman in space

[edit]

Further information: Women in space

Valentina Tereshkova

The first woman in space was former civilian parachutist Valentina Tereshkova, who entered orbit on June 16, 1963, aboard the Soviet mission Vostok 6. The chief Soviet spacecraft designer, Sergey Korolyov, conceived of the idea to recruit a female cosmonaut corps and launch two women concurrently on Vostok 5/6. However, his plan was changed to launch a male first in Vostok 5, followed shortly afterward by Tereshkova. The then first secretary of the Soviet Union, Nikita Khrushchev, spoke to Tereshkova by radio during her flight.[25]

On November 3, 1963, Tereshkova married fellow cosmonaut Andrian Nikolayev, who had previously flown on Vostok 3.[26] On June 8, 1964, she gave birth to the first child conceived by two space travelers.[27] The couple divorced in 1982, and Tereshkova went on to become a prominent member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.[28]

The second woman to fly to space was aviator Svetlana Savitskaya, aboard Soyuz T-7 on August 18, 1982.[29]

### Competition develops

[edit]

Khrushchev pressured Korolyov to quickly produce greater space achievements in competition with the announced Gemini and Apollo plans. Rather than allowing him to develop his plans for a crewed Soyuz spacecraft, he was forced to make modifications to squeeze two or three men into the Vostok capsule, calling the result Voskhod. Only two of these were launched. Voskhod 1 was the first spacecraft with a crew of three, who could not wear space suits because of size and weight constrictions. Alexei Leonov made the first spacewalk when he left the Voskhod 2 on March 8, 1965. He was almost lost in space when he had extreme difficulty fitting his inflated space suit back into the cabin through an airlock, and a landing error forced him and Voskhod 2 crewmate Pavel Belyayev to be lost in dense woods for hours before being found by the recovery crew and rescued days later.[citation needed]

The start of crewed Gemini missions was delayed a year later than NASA had planned, but ten largely successful missions were launched in 1965 and 1966, allowing the US to overtake the Soviet lead by achieving space rendezvous (Gemini 6A) and docking (Gemini 8) of two vehicles, long duration flights of eight days (Gemini 5) and fourteen days (Gemini 7), and demonstrating the use of extra-vehicular activity to do useful work outside a spacecraft (Gemini 12).[citation needed]

The USSR made no crewed flights during this period but continued to develop its Soyuz craft and secretly accepted Kennedy's implicit lunar challenge, designing Soyuz variants for lunar orbit and landing. They also attempted to develop the N1, a large, crewed Moon-capable launch vehicle similar to the US Saturn V.[citation needed]

As both nations rushed to get their new spacecraft flying with men, the intensity of the competition caught up to them in early 1967, when they suffered their first crew fatalities. On January 27, the entire crew of Apollo 1, "Gus" Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee, were killed by suffocation in a fire that swept through their cabin during a ground test approximately one month before their planned launch. On April 24, the single pilot of Soyuz 1, Vladimir Komarov, was killed in a crash when his landing parachutes tangled, after a mission cut short by electrical and control system problems. Both accidents were determined to be caused by design defects in the spacecraft, which were corrected before crewed flights resumed.[citation needed]

### Approaches and Landings on Venus

[edit]

On February 12, 1961, the Soviet spacecraft Venera 1 was the first flyby probe launched to another planet. However communications with the probe failed before it could complete its mission.[30] Venera 3, which also lost contact, marked the first time a man-made object made contact with another planet after it impacted Venus on March 1, 1966.[31] Venera 4, Venera 5, and Venera 6 performed successful atmospheric entry.

In 1970 Venera 7 marked the first time a spacecraft was able to return data after landing on another planet.[32][33] In 1972, Venera 8 landed on Venus and measured the light level as being suitable for surface photography.[34] In 1975, Venera 9 established an orbit around Venus and successfully returned the first photography of the surface of Venus.[35] Venera 10 landed on Venus and followed with further photography shortly after.[36]

In 1981, Venera 13 performed a successful soft-landing on Venus and marked the first probe to drill into the surface of another planet and take a sample. Venera 13 also took an audio sample of the Venusian environment, marking another first.[37][38][39]

Venera 13 returned the first color images of the surface of Venus, revealing an orange-brown flat bedrock surface covered with loose regolith and small flat thin angular rocks. The composition of the sample determined by the X-ray fluorescence spectrometer put it in the class of weakly differentiated melanocratic alkaline gabbroids, similar to terrestrial leucitic basalt with a high potassium content. The acoustic detector returned the sounds of the spacecraft operations and the background wind, estimated to be a speed of around 0.5 m/sec wind.[37] Venera 14 followed suit in an identical mission profile.

In total, 10 Venera probes achieved a soft landing on the surface of Venus.

In 1984, the Vega programme began and ended with the launch of two crafts launched 6 days apart, Vega 1 and Vega 2. Both crafts deployed a balloon in addition to a lander, marking a first in spaceflight.[40][41][42]

The first successful flyby Venus probe was the American Mariner 2 spacecraft, which flew past Venus in 1962, coming within 35,000 km. A modified Ranger Moon probe, it established that Venus has practically no intrinsic magnetic field and measured the temperature of the planet's atmosphere to be approximately 500 °C (773 K; 932 °F).[43]

### Manned Lunar missions

[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2024)

|

Neil Armstrong climbing down Lunar Module Eagle's ladder to take the first step onto the Moon (Apollo 11, 1969).

The US conducted the first crewed spaceflight to leave Earth orbit and orbit the Moon on December 21, 1968, with the Apollo 8 space mission. Later they succeeded in achieving President Kennedy's goal on July 20, 1969, with the landing of Apollo 11. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to set foot on the Moon. Six such successful landings were achieved through 1972, with one failure on Apollo 13.[citation needed]

The first three Apollo missions to land astronauts on the Moon, Apollo 11, 12, and 14, did not enable exploration of a large portion of the lunar surface.[44] Apollo 14 featured the longest journey on foot undertaken by the lunar explorers, with Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell bringing a cart called a Modular Equipment Transporter (MET) to help with sampling of moon rocks, but the men did not quite reach their intended destination of the Cone Crater.[45] However, the last three Apollo missions, Apollo 15, 16, and 17, featured the lunar rover, which enabled longer and farther exploration by the astronauts on those flights. The astronauts on the last three Apollo missions drove over 56 miles around the lunar surface using the rovers, and were able to collect 620 pounds of moon rocks, three quarters of the total collected during the Apollo missions.[46] More crewed moon landings were planned, all the way through Apollo 20, but after the loss of public interest following Apollo 11 (which contributed to a shrinking budget for NASA) and the near catastrophe of Apollo 13, three Apollo missions were canceled.[47]

The N1 rocket suffered four catastrophic uncrewed launch failures between 1969 and 1972, and the Soviet government officially discontinued its crewed lunar program on June 24, 1974, when Valentin Glushko succeeded Korolyov as General Spacecraft Designer.[48]

### Later phase

[edit]

Move to cooperation

Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP, 1975), first docking between the two competitor states, testing shared docking systems enabling future cooperation programs away from the competition.[49]

Space Shuttle (US) docked to Mir (USSR/Russia) (1995), both products of the ending competition, joined in the Shuttle-Mir program (1993–1998) which facilitated the ongoing International Space Station programme.

Both nations went on to fly relatively small, non-permanent crewed space laboratories Salyut and Skylab, using their Soyuz and Apollo craft as shuttles. The US launched only one Skylab, but the USSR launched a total of seven "Salyuts", three of which were secretly Almaz military crewed reconnaissance stations, which carried a cannon (possibly to test for potential use in space warfare).[50][51] Crewed reconnaissance stations were found to be a bad idea since uncrewed satellites could do the job much more cost-effectively. The United States Air Force had planned a crewed reconnaissance station, the Manned Orbital Laboratory, which was cancelled in 1969. The Soviets cancelled Almaz in 1978.[citation needed]

In a season of detente, the two competitors declared an end to the race and literally shook hands on July 17, 1975, with the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, where the two craft docked, and the crews exchanged visits.

## Diversification

[edit]

A commemorative plaque honouring the Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the International Space Station, signed on 28 January 1998 and symbolic for the increasing diversification and internationalization of spaceflight since its beginning

The participation of private actors and other countries beside the Soviet Union and the United States in spaceflight had been the case from the very start of spaceflight development. A first commercial satellite had been launched by 1962, as well as in 1965 a third country achieving orbital spaceflight. The very beginning of the space age, the launch of Sputnik, was in the context of international exchange, the International Geophysical Year 1957\. Also, soon into the space age the international community came together starting to negotiate dedicated international law governing outer space activity.

In the 1970s the Soviet Union started to invite other countries to fly their people into space through its Intercosmos program and the United States started to include women and people of colour in its astronaut program.

First exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union was formalized in the 1962 Dryden-Blagonravov agreement, calling for cooperation on the exchange of data from weather satellites, a study of the Earth's magnetic field, and joint tracking of the NASA Echo II balloon satellite.[52] In 1963 President Kennedy could even interest premier Khrushchev in a joint crewed Moon landing,[53][54] but after the assassination of Kennedy in November 1963 and Khrushchev's removal from office in October 1964, the competition between the two nations' crewed space programs heated up, and talk of cooperation became less common, due to tense relations and military implications. Only later the United States and the Soviet Union slowly started to exchange more information and engage in joint programs, particularly in the light of the development of safety standards since 1970,[55] producing the co-developed APAS-75 and later docking standards. Most notably this signaled the ending of the first era of the space age, the Space Race, through the Apollo-Soyuz mission which became the basis for the Shuttle-Mir program and eventually the International Space Station programme.

Such international cooperation, and international spaceflight organization was furthermore fueled by increasingly more countries achieving spaceflight capabilies and together with a by the 1980s established private spaceflight sector, both being embodied by the European Space Agency. This allowed the formation of an international and commercial post-Space Race spaceflight economy and period, with by the 1990s a public perception of space exploration and space-related technologies as being increasingly commonplace.[56]

This increasingly cooperative diversification persisted until competition started to rise in the diversified conditions, from the 2010s and particularly by the early 2020s.

## New competition

[edit]

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy reusable side boosters land in unison at Cape Canaveral Landing Zones 1 and 2 following test flight on 6 February 2018.|

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2024)

|

Starting in the 2010s the diversified spaceflight sector had become by the 2020s increasingly competitive with returning inter-national competition and cooperation barrieres, like a cooperation ban enacted in the United States on China in 2011 and later the European Space Agency banning Russia,[57] and increased private competition in spaceflight capabilities, enabled by the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015.

Some have called it a New Space Race period,[58] particularly in light of China's speedy advances and other Asian countries competing in advancing their spaceflight achievements, creating an Asian Space Race.[59] Although international cooperation and international private spaceflight remains an integral part of the sector, there is competitively diversifying commercial international contracting, such as international private human spaceflight of e.g. Axiom Space in cooperation with different countries and heavily relying on the International Space Station, which also continued operation despite international confrontations like the Russian invasion of Ukraine, while private spaceflight, with Space-X's Starlink, became a significant element in the war and international politics.

Meanwhile, a range of new lunar spaceflight programs are being advanced especially as international programs, from the Artemis program and the China-Russian plans to establish a lunar base, to the European Space Agency planned Moon Village.

This competitive but international commercial development of the spaceflight sector has been called New Space.[60]

## By programs

[edit]

Orbital human spaceflight (beyond Kármán line)

Program | Years | Flights  | First Crewed Flight
Vostok | 1961–1963 | 6  | Vostok 1
Mercury | 1962–1963 | 4[b] | Mercury-Atlas 6
Voskhod | 1964–1965 | 2  | Voskhod 1
Gemini | 1965–1966 | 10  | Gemini 3
Soyuz | 1967–present | 141[c] | Soyuz 1
Apollo | 1968–1972 | 11[d] | Apollo 7
Skylab | 1973–1974 | 3  | Skylab 2
Apollo-Soyuz | 1975 | 1[e] | Apollo-Soyuz
Space Shuttle | 1981–2011 | 135[f] | STS-1
Shenzhou | 2003–present | 6  | Shenzhou 5
Crew Dragon | 2020–present | 11  | Demo-2
Suborbital human spaceflight |
Program | Year | Flights  |
Mercury | 1961 | 2  | Mercury 3
X-15 | 1963 | 2  | Flight 90
Soyuz 18a | 1975 | 1  | Soyuz 18a
SpaceShipOne | 2004 | 3  | Flight 15P
SpaceShipTwo | 2018–present  | 3  | VP03

### United States

[edit]

See also: List of space programs of the United States

Until the 21st century, space programs of the United States were exclusively operated by government agencies. In the 21st century, several aerospace companies began efforts at developing a private space industry, with SpaceX being the most successful so far.[citation needed]

#### NASA

[edit]

These paragraphs are an excerpt from NASA.[edit]

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA /ˈnæsə/) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the United States's civil space program, aeronautics research and space research. Established in 1958, it succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the American space development effort a distinct civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science. It has since led most of America's space exploration programs, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–1972 Apollo program missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. Currently, NASA supports the International Space Station (ISS) along with the Commercial Crew Program and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the lunar Artemis program.

##### Project Mercury

[edit]

Main article: Project Mercury

Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. Its goal was to put a person into Earth orbit and return them safely, ideally before the Soviet Union. John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962, aboard the Mercury-Atlas 6.[61]

##### Project Gemini

[edit]

The Gemini 8 approaches the docking collar of the Agena target vehicle.

Main article: Project Gemini

Project Gemini was NASA's second human spaceflight program. The program ran from 1961 to 1966. The program pioneered the orbital maneuvers required for space rendezvous.[62] Ed White became the first American to make an extravehicular activity (EVA, or "space walk"), on June 3, 1965, during Gemini 4.[63] Gemini 6A and 7 accomplished the first space rendezvous on December 15, 1965.[64] Gemini 8 achieved the first space docking with an uncrewed Agena Target Vehicle on March 16, 1966. Gemini 8 was also the first US spacecraft to experience in-space critical failure endangering the lives of the crew.[65]

##### Apollo program

[edit]

Main article: Apollo program

The Apollo program was the third human spaceflight program carried out by NASA. The program's goal was to orbit and land crewed vehicles on the Moon.[66] The program ran from 1969 to 1972. Apollo 8 was the first human spaceflight to leave Earth orbit and orbit the Moon on December 21, 1968.[67] Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to set foot on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969.[68]

##### Skylab

[edit]

Main article: Skylab

The Skylab program's goal was to create the first space station of NASA. The program marked the last launch of the Saturn V rocket on May 14, 1973. Many experiments were performed on board, including unprecedented solar studies.[69] The longest crewed mission of the program was Skylab 4 which lasted 84 days, from November 16, 1973, to February 8, 1974.[70] The total mission duration was 2249 days, with Skylab finally falling from orbit over Australia on July 11, 1979.[71]

##### Space Shuttle

[edit]

Space Shuttle Columbia seconds after engine ignition during STS-1, 1981.

Main article: Space Shuttle

Although its pace slowed, space exploration continued after the end of the Space Race. The United States launched the first reusable spacecraft, the Space Shuttle, on the 20th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, April 12, 1981. On November 15, 1988, the Soviet Union duplicated this with an uncrewed flight of the only Buran-class shuttle to fly, its first and only reusable spacecraft. It was never used again after the first flight; instead, the Soviet Union continued to develop space stations using the Soyuz craft as the crew shuttle.[citation needed]

Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983. Eileen Collins was the first female Shuttle pilot, and with Shuttle mission STS-93 in July 1999 she became the first woman to command a US spacecraft.The United States continued missions to the ISS and other goals with the high-cost Shuttle system, which was retired in 2011.[citation needed]

### Soviet Union

[edit]

These paragraphs are an excerpt from Soviet space program.[edit]

The Soviet space program[72] (Russian: Космическая программа СССР, romanized: Kosmicheskaya programma SSSR) was the state space program of the Soviet Union, active from 1951 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.[73][74][75] Contrary to its competitors (NASA in the United States, the European Space Agency in Western Europe, and the Ministry of Aerospace Industry in China), which had their programs run under single coordinating agencies, the Soviet space program was divided between several internally competing design bureaus led by Korolev, Kerimov, Keldysh, Yangel, Glushko, Chelomey, Makeyev, Chertok and Reshetnev.[76] Several of these bureaus were subordinated to the Ministry of General Machine-Building. The Soviet space program served as an important marker of claims by the Soviet Union to its superpower status.[77]: 1

#### Sputnik

[edit]

Main article: Sputnik

The Sputnik 1 became the first artificial Earth satellite on 4 October 1957. The satellite transmitted a radio signal, but had no sensors otherwise.[78] Studying the Sputnik 1 allowed scientists to calculate the drag from the upper atmosphere by measuring position and speed of the satellite.[79] Sputnik 1 broadcast for 21 days until its batteries depleted on 4 October 1957, and the satellite finally fell from orbit on 4 January 1958.[80]

#### Luna programme

[edit]

Main article: Luna programme

The Luna programme was a series of uncrewed robotic satellite launches with the goal of studying the Moon. The program ran from 1959 to 1976 and consisted of 15 successful missions; the program achieved many first achievements and collected data on the Moon's chemical composition, gravity, temperature, and radiation. Luna 2 became the first human-made object to make contact with the Moon's surface in September 1959.[81] Luna 3 returned the first photographs of the far side of the Moon in October 1959.[82]

#### Vostok

[edit]

Vostok-2M (8A292M) in Korolyov, Moscow Oblast

Main article: Vostok programme

The Vostok Programme was the first Soviet spaceflight project to put Soviet citizens into low Earth orbit and return them safely. The programme carried out six crewed spaceflights between 1961 and 1963. The program was the first program to put humans into space, with Yuri Gagarin becoming the first man in space on April 12, 1961, aboard the Vostok 1.[83] Gherman Titov became the first person to stay in orbit for a full day on August 7, 1961, aboard the Vostok 2.[84] Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on June 16, 1963, aboard the Vostok 6.[85]

#### Voskhod

[edit]

Main article: Voskhod programme

The Voskhod programme began in 1964 and consisted of two crewed flights before the program was canceled by the Soyuz programme in 1966. Voskhod 1 launched on October 12, 1964, and was the first crewed spaceflight with a multi-crewed vehicle.[86] Alexei Leonov performed the first spacewalk aboard Voskhod 2 on March 18, 1965.[87]

#### Salyut

[edit]

Main article: Salyut

The Salyut programme was the first space station program undertaken by the Soviet Union.[88] The goal was to carry out long-term research into the problems of living in space and a variety of astronomical, biological and Earth-resources experiments. The program ran from 1971 to 1986. Salyut 1, the first station in the program, became the world's first crewed space station.[89]

#### Soyuz programme

[edit]

Main article: Soyuz programme

The Soyuz programme was initiated by the soviet space program in the 1960s and continues as the responsibility of roscosmos to this day. The program currently consists of 140 completed flights, and since the retirement of the US Space Shuttle has been the only craft to transport humans. The program's original goal was part of a program to put a cosmonaut on the Moon and later became crucial to the construction of the Mir space station.[citation needed]

#### Mir

[edit]

This section is an excerpt from Mir.[edit]

Mir seen from Space Shuttle Endeavour during STS-89 (28 January 1998)

Mir (Russian: Мир, IPA: [ˈmʲir]; lit. 'peace' or 'world') was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russian Federation. Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996\. It had a greater mass than any previous spacecraft. At the time it was the largest artificial satellite in orbit, succeeded by the International Space Station (ISS) after Mir's orbit decayed. The station served as a microgravity research laboratory in which crews conducted experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and spacecraft systems with a goal of developing technologies required for permanent occupation of space.

Mir was the first continuously inhabited long-term research station in orbit and held the record for the longest continuous human presence in space at 3,644 days, until it was surpassed by the ISS on 23 October 2010.[90] It holds the record for the longest single human spaceflight, with Valeri Polyakov spending 437 days and 18 hours on the station between 1994 and 1995. Mir was occupied for a total of twelve and a half years out of its fifteen-year lifespan, having the capacity to support a resident crew of three, or larger crews for short visits.

#### Buran

[edit]

These paragraphs are an excerpt from Buran programme.[edit]

The Buran programme (Russian: Буран, IPA: [bʊˈran], "Snowstorm", "Blizzard"), also known as the "VKK Space Orbiter programme" (Russian: ВКК «Воздушно-Космический Корабль», lit. 'Air and Space Ship'),[91] was a Soviet and later Russian reusable spacecraft project that began in 1974 at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in Moscow and was formally suspended in 1993.[92] In addition to being the designation for the whole Soviet/Russian reusable spacecraft project, Buran was also the name given to orbiter 1K, which completed one uncrewed spaceflight in 1988 and was the only Soviet reusable spacecraft to be launched into space. The Buran-class orbiters used the expendable Energia rocket as a launch vehicle.

### International Space Station

[edit]

The ISS seen by Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Main article: International Space Station

Recent space exploration has proceeded, to some extent in worldwide cooperation, the high point of which was the construction and operation of the International Space Station (ISS). At the same time, the international space race between smaller space powers since the end of the 20th century can be considered the foundation and expansion of markets of commercial rocket launches and space tourism.[citation needed]

The United States continued other space exploration, including major participation with the ISS with its own modules. It also planned a set of uncrewed Mars probes, military satellites, and more. The Constellation program, began by President George W. Bush in 2005, aimed to launch the Orion spacecraft by 2018. A subsequent return to the Moon by 2020 was to be followed by crewed flights to Mars, but the program was canceled in 2010 in favor of encouraging commercial US human launch capabilities.[citation needed]

Russia, a successor to the Soviet Union, has high potential but smaller funding. Its own space programs, some of a military nature, perform several functions. They offer a wide commercial launch service while continuing to support the ISS with several of their own modules. They also operate crewed and cargo spacecraft which continued after the US Shuttle program ended. They are developing a new multi-function Orel spacecraft for use in 2020 and have plans to perform human Moon missions as well.[citation needed]

### European Space Agency

[edit]

Main article: ESA

The European Space Agency has taken the lead in commercial uncrewed launches since the introduction of the Ariane 4 in 1988 but is in competition with NASA, Russia, Sea Launch (private), China, India, and others. The ESA-designed crewed shuttle Hermes and space station Columbus were under development in the late 1980s in Europe; however, these projects were canceled, and Europe did not become the third major "space power".[citation needed]

The European Space Agency has launched various satellites, has utilized the crewed Spacelab module aboard US shuttles, and has sent probes to comets and Mars. It also participates in ISS with its own module and the uncrewed cargo spacecraft ATV.[citation needed]

Currently, ESA has a program for the development of an independent multi-function crewed spacecraft CSTS scheduled for completion in 2018. Further goals include an ambitious plan called the Aurora Programme, which intends to send a human mission to Mars soon after 2030. A set of various landmark missions to reach this goal are currently under consideration. The ESA has a multi-lateral partnership and plans for spacecraft and further missions with foreign participation and co-funding. ESA is also developing the Galileo program which seeks to give independence to the EU from the American GPS.[citation needed]

### China

[edit]

Main article: Chinese space program

Long March 5 heavy-lifted rocket of China Shenzhou, China's crewed spacecraft.

Since 1956 the Chinese have had a space program which was aided early on from 1957 to 1960 by the Soviets. "Dong Fang Hong I" was launched on 24 April 1970 and was the first satellite to be launched by the Chinese. With increased economic and technological strength in the following decades, especially since the early 21st century, China has made significant achievements in many aspects of space activities. It has developed a sizable family of Long March rockets, including Long March 5, the launch vehicle with the highest payload capacity in Asia since 2016[update]. China launched more than 140 spaceflights between 2015 and 2020.[93] China is operating multiple satellite systems, including communication, Earth imaging, weather forecast, ocean monitoring. BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, the satellite navigation system developed, launched, and operated by China, is one of the four core system providers of the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems.[94]

The US Pentagon released a report in 2006, detailing concerns about China's growing presence in space, including its capability for military action.[95] In 2007 China tested a ballistic missile designed to destroy satellites in orbit, which was followed by a US demonstration of a similar capability in 2008.[citation needed]

#### China Manned Space Program

[edit]

Main article: China Manned Space Program

The China Manned Space Program, China's human spaceflight program, began in 1992. Following Shenzhou 5, the first successful crewed spaceflight mission in 2003 which made China the third country with independent human spaceflight capability, China has developed critical capabilities including EVA, space docking and berthing and space station.[citation needed] The Tiangong space station, China's modular orbital station, became fully operational in November 2022 and has been continuously manned since then. It consists of three main modules: the Tianhe core module (launched in April 2021), Wentian module (July 2022), and Mengtian module (October 2022).[96][97][98]

The station conducts scientific experiments include testing materials for lunar habitats and studying biological changes in microgravity, contributing to China's ambitions for a lunar research base by the 2030s. The station is designed to remain operational for at least a decade, with plans to expand it to six modules and host the Xuntian space telescope in the future.[99][100][101]

#### Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

[edit]

Main article: Chinese Lunar Exploration Program

As the first step of distance outer space exploration, the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program was approved in 2004. It launched two lunar orbiters: Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 in 2007 and 2010 respectively. On 14 December 2013, China successfully soft-landed Chang'e 3 Moon lander and its rover Yutu on the Moon's surface, becoming the first Asian country to do so. This was followed by Chang'e 4, the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, in 2019 and Chang'e 5, the first lunar sample return mission conducted by an Asian country, in 2020, marking the completion of the three goals (orbiting, landing, returning) of the first stage of the program.[93] Starting from Chang'e 6, China wants to advance its plans in making a permanent International Lunar Research Station on the Moon.

#### Planetary Exploration of China

[edit]

Main article: Planetary Exploration of China

China began its first interplanetary exploration attempt in 2011 by sending Yinghuo-1, a Mars orbiter, in a joint mission with Russia. Yet it failed to leave Earth orbit due to the failure of the Russian launch vehicle.[102] As a result, the Chinese space agency then embarked on its independent Mars mission. In July 2020, China launched Tianwen-1, which included an orbiter, a lander, and a rover, on a Long March 5 rocket to Mars. Tianwen-1 was inserted into Mars orbit on 10 February 2021, followed by a successful landing and deployment of the Zhurong rover on 14 May 2021, making China the second country in the world which successfully soft-landed a fully operational spacecraft on Mars surface.[citation needed]

### France

[edit]

Emmanuel Macron announced on 13 July 2019 the project to create a military command specialising in space, which would be based in Toulouse.[citation needed]

This command should be operational in September 2020 within the Air Force to become the Air and Space Force. Its purpose will be to strengthen France's space power in order to defend its satellites and deepen its knowledge of space. It will also aim to compete with other nations in this new place of strategic confrontation.[103]

### Japan

[edit]

Main article: JAXA

Japan's space agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is a major space player in Asia. While not maintaining a commercial launch service, Japan has deployed a module in the ISS and operates an uncrewed cargo spacecraft, the H-II Transfer Vehicle.[citation needed]

JAXA has plans to launch a Mars fly-by probe. Their lunar probe, SELENE, is touted as the most sophisticated lunar exploration mission in the post-Apollo era. Japan's Hayabusa probe was humankind's first sample return from an asteroid. IKAROS was the first operational solar sail.[citation needed]

Although Japan developed the HOPE-X, Kankoh-maru, and Fuji crewed capsule spacecraft, none of them have been launched. Japan's current ambition is to deploy a new crewed spacecraft by 2025 and to establish a Moon base by 2030.[citation needed]

### Taiwan

[edit]

Main articles: National Space Organization and National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology

The National Space Organization (NSPO; formerly known as the National Space Program Office) and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology are the national civilian space agencies of the democratic industrialized developed country of Taiwan under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology (Taiwan). The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology is involved in designing and building Taiwanese nuclear weapons,[104][105][106] hypersonic missiles, spacecraft and rockets for launching satellites while the National Space Organization is involved in space exploration, satellite construction, and satellite development as well as related technologies and infrastructure (including the FORMOSAT series of Earth observation satellites similar to NASA[107] along with DARPA {In-Q-Tel} such as Google Earth {Keyhole, Inc} or so forth) and related research in astronautics, quantum physics, materials science with microgravity, aerospace engineering, remote sensing, astrophysics, atmospheric science, information science, design and construction of indigenous Taiwanese satellites and spacecraft, launching satellites and space probes into low Earth orbit.[108][109][110] Additionally, a state of the art crewed spaceflight program is currently in development in Taiwan and is designed to compete directly with the crewed programs of China, United States and Russia. Active research is currently undergoing in the development and deployment of space-based weapons for the defense of national security in Taiwan.[111]

### India

[edit]

#### ISRO

[edit]

Main article: ISRO

Indian Space Research Organisation, India's national space agency, maintains an active space program. It operates a small commercial launch service and launched a successful uncrewed lunar mission dubbed Chandrayaan-1 in October 2007. India successfully launched an interplanetary mission, Mars Orbiter Mission, in 2013 which reached Mars in September 2014, hence becoming the first country in the world to do a Mars mission in its maiden attempt. On July 22, 2019, India sent Chandrayaan-2 to the Moon, whose Vikram lander crashed on the lunar south pole region on September 6.[citation needed]

### Other nations

[edit]

Cosmonauts and astronauts from other nations have flown in space, beginning with the flight of Vladimir Remek, a Czech, on a Soviet spacecraft on March 2, 1978. As of November 6, 2013[update], a total of 536 people from 38 countries have gone into space according to the FAI guideline.[citation needed]

### Private Companies

[edit]

SpaceX Crew-2 Dragon Endeavor approaching the ISS

#### SpaceX (USA)

[edit]

These paragraphs are an excerpt from SpaceX.[edit]

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an American space technology company headquartered at the Starbase development site in Starbase, Texas.[112] Since its founding in 2002, the company has made numerous advances in rocket propulsion, reusable launch vehicles, human spaceflight and satellite constellation technology. As of 2025[update], SpaceX is the world's dominant space launch provider, its launch cadence eclipsing all others, including private competitors and national programs like the Chinese space program.[113] SpaceX, NASA, and the United States Armed Forces work closely together by means of governmental contracts.[114]

SpaceX was founded by Elon Musk in 2002 with a vision of decreasing the costs of space launches, paving the way to a self-sustaining colony on Mars. In 2008, Falcon 1 successfully launched into orbit after three failed launch attempts. The company then moved towards the development of the larger Falcon 9 rocket and the Dragon 1 capsule to satisfy NASA's COTS contracts for deliveries to the International Space Station. By 2012, SpaceX finished all COTS test flights and began delivering Commercial Resupply Services missions to the International Space Station. Also around that time, SpaceX started developing hardware to make the Falcon 9 first stage reusable. The company demonstrated the first successful first-stage landing in 2015 and re-launch of the first stage in 2017. Falcon Heavy, built from three Falcon 9 boosters, first flew in 2018 after a more than decade-long development process. As of May 2025, the company's Falcon 9 rockets have landed and flown again more than 450 times, reaching 1–3 launches a week.

SpaceX has used a fully reusable rocket named Starship. It consists of a first stage named Super Heavy and a second stage also named Starship.

#### Blue Origin

[edit]

Main article: Blue Origin

Blue Origin made the first reusable space-capable rocket booster, New Shepard (it is suborbital, Falcon 9 was the first orbital). They also originally had the idea of landing rocket boosters on ships at sea; however, SpaceX replicated their idea and did it first. They lead the national team, which is designing a lunar lander and transfer vehicle (Integrated Lander Vehicle). They will contribute by modifying their Blue Moon lunar lander.[citation needed]

#### Bigelow Aerospace

[edit]

Main article: Bigelow Aerospace

Bigelow Aerospace made the first commercial module in space (BEAM). They also designed and manufactured the first inflatable habitats in space (Genesis I and Genesis II). They also plan to make the first commercial space station around the moon (Lunar Depot), perhaps the first ever.[citation needed]

#### Northrop Grumman

[edit]

Main article: Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems

They make commercial resupply runs to the ISS with their Cygnus spacecraft. They also helped develop non-commercial spacecraft during the space race (Apollo LM as Grumman). They also are a part of the national team, led by Blue Origin which is designing a lunar lander and transfer vehicle (Integrated Lander Vehicle), partly based on Cygnus.[citation needed]

#### United Launch Alliance

[edit]

This section is an excerpt from United Launch Alliance.[edit]

Atlas V 551 launch with Juno spacecraft

United Launch Alliance, LLC (ULA) is an American launch service provider formed in December 2006 as a joint venture between Lockheed Martin Space and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The company designs, assembles, sells and launches rockets, but the company subcontracts out the production of rocket engines and solid rocket boosters.

When founded, the company inherited the Atlas rocket family from Lockheed Martin and the Delta rocket family from Boeing. As of 2024, the Delta family has been retired and the Atlas V is in the process of being retired. ULA began development of the Vulcan Centaur in 2014 as replacement for both the Atlas and Delta rocket families. The Vulcan Centaur completed its maiden flight in January 2024.

The primary customers of ULA are the Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA, but it also serves commercial clients.

#### Arianespace

[edit]

This section is an excerpt from Arianespace.[edit]

Arianespace SA is a French company founded in March 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It operates two launch vehicles: Vega C, a small-lift rocket, and Ariane 6, a medium-to-heavy-lift rocket. Arianespace is a subsidiary of ArianeGroup, a joint venture between Airbus and Safran.

European space launches are carried out as a collaborative effort between private companies and government agencies. The role of Arianespace is to market Ariane 6 launch services, prepare missions, and manage customer relations. At the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in French Guiana, the company oversees the team responsible for integrating and preparing launch vehicles.

The rockets themselves are designed and manufactured by other companies: ArianeGroup for the Ariane 6 and Avio for the Vega. The launch infrastructure at the CSG is owned by the European Space Agency, while the land itself belongs to and is managed by CNES, the French national space agency.

As of May 2021[update], Arianespace had launched more than 850 satellites in 287 missions spanning 41 years. The company's first commercial launch was Spacenet 1, which took place on 23 May 1984. In addition to its facilities at the CSG, the company's main offices are in Évry-Courcouronnes, a suburb of Paris.

#### Rocket Lab

[edit]

This section is an excerpt from Rocket Lab.[edit]

Rocket Lab Corporation is a publicly traded aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider.[115] Its Electron orbital rocket launches small satellites, and has launched 63 times as of April 2025. A sub-orbital Electron variant called HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) serves other needs.[116] The company also supplies satellite components including star trackers, reaction wheels, solar cells and arrays, satellite radios, separation systems, as well as flight and ground software.[117][118]

The expendable[119] Electron rocket[120] first launched in May 2017.[121] In August 2020, the company launched its first Photon satellite.[122] The company built and operates satellites for the Space Development Agency,[123][124] part of the United States Space Force. In May 2022, the company attempted to recover a returning Electron booster with a helicopter.[125] In 2024, the company announced that a booster recovered on an earlier launch would be reused.[126]

Rocket Lab was founded in New Zealand in 2006.[127] By 2009,[128] the successful launch of Ātea-1[128] made the organization the first private company in the Southern Hemisphere to reach space.[127] The company established its headquarters in California in 2013.[129] Rocket Lab acquired four companies, including Sinclair Interplanetary in April 2020,[130] Advanced Solutions in December 2021,[131] SolAero Holdings in January 2022,[132] and Planetary Systems in December 2021.[133] As of June 2024, the company had approximately 2,000 full-time permanent employees globally.[134] Approximately 700 of these employees were based in New Zealand with the remainder in the United States.[135] In August 2021, the company went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange through a SPAC merger.[136]

## See also

[edit]

* Spaceflight portal

* History of Space in Africa
* History of aviation
* List of crewed spacecraft
* Timeline of spaceflight
* Timeline of Solar System exploration
* Timeline of space exploration
* Human presence in space

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^

* Tsiolkovsky, 1903, Exploration of Outer Space by Means of Rocket Devices
* Goddard, 1919, A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes
* Oberth, 1923, Die Rakete zu den Planetenräumen

2. ^ Project Mercury's first two flights were suborbital flights (listed below), while its latter four flights were orbital flights.
3. ^ Includes several special cases. Soyuz 1 and Soyuz 11 were both fatal missions which reached space. Soyuz 19 was the Soviet participant in the Apollo–Soyuz Test Project, a separate craft from the American Apollo craft which is listed below. Soyuz 32 brought a crew to the Salyut 6 space station, but the crew returned on Soyuz 34, which had been sent to the station without a crew. Soyuz T-10a was an aborted launch attempt which failed to reach space. As orbital flights or committed attempts, all of the above are included in the number. The one crewed Soyuz flight not included in this number is Soyuz 18a, an aborted mission which nevertheless reached space as a suborbital flight, and which is therefore listed separately below.
4. ^ Does not include Apollo 1.
5. ^ Represents the American Apollo craft. The Soviet craft, Soyuz 19, is counted in the above Soyuz number.
6. ^ Includes two fatal missions: STS-51-L, and STS-107. The former did not reach space, while the latter did.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Sputnik | Satellites, History, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com.
2. ^ Siddiqi, Asif A. (2000). Challenge To Apollo: The Soviet Union and The Space Race, 1945-1974.
3. ^ "Yuri Gagarin: First Man in Space". NASA. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
4. ^ "This Day in History: Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space". History.com. June 16, 1963. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
5. ^ Ragin Williams, Catherine; Neesha Hosein; Logan Goodson; Laura A. Rochon; Cassandra V. Miranda (May 2010). "NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Roundup - Pictures in Time" (PDF). The Space Center Roundup. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
6. ^ Shayler, David (3 June 2004). Walking in Space. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 4\. ISBN 9781852337100. Retrieved 19 January 2018 - via Google Books.
7. ^ Baker, Philip (2007-08-20). The Story of Manned Space Stations: An Introduction. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-0-387-68488-8.
8. ^ Shayler, David (3 June 2004). Walking in Space. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 6\. ISBN 9781852337100. Retrieved 19 January 2018 - via Google Books.
9. ^ Dornberger, Walter (1984). Peenemünde. Moewig Dokumentation. Rastatt: Moewig. ISBN 978-3-8118-4341-7.
10. ^ "V2ROCKET.COM - Operation Backfire at Altenwalde/Cuxhaven". www.v2rocket.com. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
11. ^ "How a Nazi rocket could have put a Briton in space". BBC. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
12. ^ "Megaroc". BIS. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
13. ^ UPPER AIR ROCKET SUMMARY V-2 NO. 20 Archived 15 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. postwarv2.com
14. ^ "The Beginnings of Research in Space Biology at the Air Force Missile Development Center, 1946–1952". History of Research in Space Biology and Biodynamics. NASA. Archived from the original on 25 January 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
15. ^ "V-2 Firing Tables". White Sands Missile Range. Archived from the original on 25 January 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
16. ^ "Animals in space". Space.com. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
17. ^ Siddiqi, Asif (2000). Challenge to Apollo: The Soviet Union and the Space Race, 1945–1974 (PDF). NASA. p. 95.
18. ^ "Space race timeline | Royal Museums Greenwich". www.rmg.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
19. ^ "Milestones: 1953–1960". history.state.go.
20. ^ "The Success of Project Mercury". pillars.taylor.edu.
21. ^ "Aviation and Space World Records". Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Archived from the original on July 26, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2009.
22. ^ "The First Day In Orbit". Flight. 80 (2736). London: Iliffe Transport Publications: 208. 17 August 1961. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2009-03-12.
23. ^ Swenson, Loyd S. Jr.; Grimwood, James M.; Alexander, Charles C. (1966). This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury. The NASA History Series. Washington, DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. OCLC 569889. NASA SP-4201. Archived from the original on June 17, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2007.
24. ^ "My steps for Bataan". United States Marine Corps Flagship. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
25. ^ Gatland, Kenneth (1976). Manned Spacecraft (Second revision ed.). New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. pp. 125–126\. ISBN 978-0-02-542820-1.
26. ^ Gatland (1976), p. 123.
27. ^ Gatland (1976), p. 129.
28. ^ Lea, Robert (22 January 2018). "Valentina Tereshkova: First Woman in Space". Space.com. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
29. ^ Becker, Joachim. "Cosmonaut Biography: Svetlana Savitskaya". www.SpaceFacts.de. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
30. ^ "Venera 1". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov.
31. ^ "Venera 3". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov.
32. ^ "Venera missions". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov.
33. ^ "Venera 7". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov.
34. ^ "Venera 8". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov.
35. ^ "Venera 9". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov.
36. ^ "Venera 10 lander". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov.
37. ^ a b "Venera 10". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov.
38. ^ "Surface of Venus". pages.uoregon.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
39. ^ "Drilling into the Surface of Venus". mentallandscape.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
40. ^ "Vega 2". solarsystem.nasa.gov. 23 May 2023.
41. ^ "Vega 2". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov.
42. ^ "Vega 1". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov.
43. ^ "Mariner 2 - NASA". Retrieved 2024-11-17.
44. ^ Swift, Earl (2021). Across the Airless Wilds: The Lunar Rover and the Triumph of the Final Moon Landings. New York, NY: Custom House. pp. 15–16.
45. ^ Swift, pp. 10-14.
46. ^ Swift, pp. 16-17.
47. ^ Swift, pp. 208-209.
48. ^ Siddiqi, Asif. Challenge To Apollo The Soviet Union and The Space Race, 1945-1974. NASA. p. 832.
49. ^ a b Both the Apollo 11 Moon landing and the ASTP have been identified as the end of the Space Race,Samuels, Richard J., ed. (2005). Encyclopedia of United States National Security (1st ed.). SAGE Publications. p. 669\. ISBN 978-0-7619-2927-7. "Most observers felt that the U.S. moon landing ended the space race with a decisive American victory. […] The formal end of the space race occurred with the 1975 joint Apollo-Soyuz mission, in which U.S. and Soviet spacecraft docked, or joined, in orbit while their crews visited one another's craft and performed joint scientific experiments."
50. ^ "50 Years Ago: Launch of Salyut, the World's First Space Station - NASA". 2021-04-19. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
51. ^ "Russia's early space stations (1969-1985)". russianspaceweb.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
52. ^ "The First Dryden-Blagonravov Agreement – 1962". NASA History Series. NASA. Archived from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
53. ^ Launius, Roger D. (2019-07-10). "First Moon landing was nearly a US–Soviet mission". Nature. 571 (7764): 167–168\. Bibcode:2019Natur.571..167L. doi:10.1038/d41586-019-02088-4. PMID 31292553. S2CID 195873630.
54. ^ Sietzen, Frank (October 2, 1997). "Soviets Planned to Accept JFK's Joint Lunar Mission Offer". SpaceDaily. SpaceCast News Service. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
55. ^ Helen T. Wells; Susan H. Whiteley; Carrie E. Karegeannes (1975). "Origins of NASA Names: Manned SpaceFlight". NASA. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
56. ^ NASA. Historical Studies in the Societal Impact of Spaceflight - NASA (PDF).
57. ^ Posaner, Joshua (2022-09-23). "Russia's war in Ukraine upends Europe's space plans". POLITICO. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
58. ^ "The new space race: a high-stakes competition of politics and power". Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
59. ^ Sheldon, John (2016-07-17). "The New Asian Space Race". SpaceWatch.Global. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
60. ^ "How the War in Ukraine is Changing the Space Game". IFRI. 2018-05-25. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
61. ^ "Mercury MA-11". Encyclopedia Astronauticax. Archived from the original on August 23, 2013. Retrieved June 22, 2013.
62. ^ MSFC, Jennifer Wall (2015-02-23). "What Was the Gemini Program?". NASA. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
63. ^ White, Mary C. "Detailed Biographies of Apollo I Crew - Ed White". NASA History Program Office. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
64. ^ "The World's First Space Rendezvous". National Air and Space Museum. 2015-12-15. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
65. ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
66. ^ Kennedy, John F. (May 25, 1961). Special Message to Congress on Urgent National Needs (Motion picture (excerpt)). Boston, MA: John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Accession Number: TNC:200; Digital Identifier: TNC-200-2. Retrieved August 1, 2013.
67. ^ Brooks, et al. 1979[broken anchor], Chapter 11.6: "Apollo 8: The First Lunar Voyage". pp. 274-284.
68. ^ "NASA - The First Person on the Moon". www.nasa.gov. 28 August 2012. Retrieved 2023-01-08.
69. ^ "SATURN V LAUNCH VEHICLE FLIGHT EVALUATION REPORT SA-513 SKYLAB 1" (PDF). NASA. 1973. Retrieved 2016-05-29.
70. ^ Benson & Compton (1983), p. 340.
71. ^ Benson & Compton (1983), p. 371.
72. ^ Reichl, Eugen (2019). The Soviet Space Program: The Lunar Mission Years: 1959–1976. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing, Limited. p. 160\. ISBN 978-0-7643-5675-9. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
73. ^ "Space Race Timeline".
74. ^ "2 апреля 1955 года «Об образовании общесоюзного Министерства общего машиностроения СССР»". Archived from the original on 2016-06-10. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
75. ^ Вертикальная структура: как реорганизуется космическая отрасль России, АиФ. Archived 30 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
76. ^ "Postal Stationery Russia Airmail Envelope with Depiction of the Earth Being Orbited and Four Gold Stars". groundzerobooksltd.com. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
77. ^ Andrews, James T.; Siddiqi, Asif A. (2011). Into the Cosmos: Space Exploration and Soviet Culture. University of Pittsburgh Press. ISBN 978-0-8229-7746-9. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
78. ^ Ralph H. Didlake; Oleg P. Odinets (28 September 2007). "Sputnik and Amateur Radio". Call sign Didlake KK5PM, Odinets RA3DNC. American Radio Relay League. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
79. ^ "American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources". www.arrl.org. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007.
80. ^ "Sputnik 1 – NSSDC ID: 1957-001B". NSSDC Master Catalog. NASA.
81. ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
82. ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
83. ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Trajectory Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
84. ^ "Vostok-2 mission". www.russianspaceweb.com. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
85. ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
86. ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
87. ^ "NASA - NSSDCA - Spacecraft - Details". nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2018-04-27.
88. ^ "The Almaz program". www.russianspaceweb.com.
89. ^ Baker, Philip (2007). The Story of Manned Space Stations: an introduction. Berlin: Springer. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-387-30775-6. "The story of manned space stations: an introduction."
90. ^ Jackman, Frank (29 October 2010). "ISS Passing Old Russian Mir in Crewed Time". Aviation Week.[permanent dead link]
91. ^ Воздушно-космический Корабль [Air-Space Ship] (PDF) (in Russian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2006. Retrieved 2 June 2015.
92. ^ Harvey, Brian (2007). The Rebirth of the Russian Space Programme: 50 Years After Sputnik, New Frontiers. Springer. p. 8\. ISBN 978-0-38-771356-4. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
93. ^ a b Paladini, Steffi (10 February 2021). "In the new space race to Mars, China is hellbent on beating India and others". Scroll.
94. ^ "International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ICG): Members". Retrieved 20 May 2021.
95. ^ "Report: China's Military Space Power Growing" by Leonard David, Space.com, June 5, 2006, Accessed June 8, 2006.
96. ^ Jones, Andrew; updated, Daisy Dobrijevic last (2021-08-24). "China's space station, Tiangong: A complete guide". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
97. ^ "Tiangong, China's space station". The Planetary Society. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
98. ^ Jones, Andrew (2023-10-04). "China to send new modules and co-orbiting spacecraft to Tiangong space station". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
99. ^ Jones, Andrew (2024-11-15). "Tianzhou-8 spacecraft delivers supplies, key experiments to Tiangong space station". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
100. ^ updated, Andrew Jones last (2024-11-14). "China launches Tianzhou 8 cargo mission to Tiangong space station (video)". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
101. ^ "China to double size of its space station as it offers an alternative to NASA-led ISS". CNN. 2023-10-06. Retrieved 2024-11-21.
102. ^ "Programming glitch, not radiation or satellites, doomed Phobos-Grunt". 7 February 2012. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
103. ^ "La France va se doter d'un "commandement de l'espace"".
104. ^ Adams, Sam (1 September 2016). "Taiwanese navy accidentally fires NUCLEAR MISSILE at fishing vessel as tensions in China Strait reach boiling point". Mirror.
105. ^ "At Mach-10, Taiwan's Hsiung Feng-III 'Anti-China' Missiles could be faster than the BrahMos". Indian Defence News. 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
106. ^ Villasanta, Arthur Dominic (21 October 2016). "Taiwan Extending the Range of its Hsiung Feng III Missiles to Reach China". China Topix.
107. ^ Fulco, Matthew (16 December 2015). "Taiwan's Space Program Blasts Off". Taiwan Business Topics.
108. ^ "Taiwan To Upgrade 'Cloud Peak' Medium-range Missiles For Micro-Satellites Launch". Defense World. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2018.
109. ^ Everington, Keoni (25 January 2018). "Taiwan's upgraded 'Cloud Peak' missiles could reach Beijing". Taiwan News.
110. ^ "Taiwan's New Ballistic Missile Capable of Launching Microsatellites". Spacewatch Asia Pacific. 30 January 2018.
111. ^ "Welcome to NSPO". Nspo.narl.org.tw. Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
112. ^ Yañez, Alejandra (May 20, 2025). "Cameron County Commissioners Court approves Starbase as new city". Retrieved May 20, 2025.
113. ^ Clark, Stephen (June 28, 2024). "Rocket Report: China flies reusable rocket hopper; Falcon Heavy dazzles". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
114. ^ Berger, Eric (March 1, 2019). "The marriage of SpaceX and NASA hasn't been easy—but it's been fruitful". Ars Technica. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
115. ^ "New Zealand Launch Schedule [Including Past Launches] \- RocketLaunch.Live". www.rocketlaunch.live. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
116. ^ "Rocket Lab Introduces Suborbital Testbed Rocket, Selected for Hypersonic Test Flights". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
117. ^ "Rocket Lab Successfully Launches 60th Electron, First of Multiple New Missions for BlackSky". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
118. ^ "Rocket Lab Makes its Defense Prime Debut with $0.5 Billion Contract to Design and Build Satellite Constellation for Space Development Agency". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
119. ^ Wall, Mike (2022-11-04). "Rocket Lab launches Swedish satellite but fails to catch booster with helicopter". Space.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
120. ^ "Electron". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
121. ^ "Completed Missions". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
122. ^ Foust, Jeff (2020-09-04). "Rocket Lab launches first Photon satellite". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
123. ^ "Rocket Lab wins $515 million contract to build 18 satellites for U.S. government agency". 23 December 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
124. ^ "Rocket Lab Supports Significant Milestone for DARPA and Space Development Agency". 13 July 2022. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
125. ^ "Rocket Maker Fails in 1st Bid to Catch, Recover Booster With Helicopter | Aerospace Tech Review". www.aerospacetechreview.com. 2022-05-03. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
126. ^ "Rocket Lab Returns Previously Flown Electron to Production Line in Preparation for First Reflight". www.businesswire.com. 2024-04-10. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
127. ^ a b "Rocket Lab USA Poised to Change the Space Industry". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
128. ^ a b "Ä€tea-1". Gunter's Space Page. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
129. ^ "Rocket Lab Expands Footprint with New Long Beach Headquarters and Production Complex". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-08.
130. ^ "Rocket Lab Closes Acquisition of Satellite Hardware Manufacturer Sinclair Interplanetary". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
131. ^ "Rocket Lab Acquires Space Software Company Advanced Solutions, Inc". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
132. ^ "Rocket Lab Closes Acquisition of Space Solar Power Products Company SolAero Holdings, Inc". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
133. ^ "Rocket Lab Closes Acquisition Of Space Hardware Company Planetary Systems Corporation". Rocket Lab. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
134. ^ "Sir Peter Beck: Ambitions interplanetary and down-to-Earth". RNZ. 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
135. ^ "The Post". www.thepost.co.nz. Retrieved 2024-03-18.
136. ^ "Rocket Lab Completes Merger with Vector Acquisition Corporation to Become Publicly Traded End-to-End Space Company". Rocket Lab. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-08.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Benson, Charles Dunlap & Compton, William David (1983). Living and Working in Space: A History of Skylab. NASA Scientific and Technical Information Office. OCLC 8114293. SP-4208. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

## Further reading

[edit]

* Media related to History of spaceflight at Wikimedia Commons
* Quest: The History of Spaceflight
* Historic spacecraft

* v
* t
* e

Spaceflight

General|

* Astrodynamics
* History
* Timeline
* Space Race
* Records
* Accidents and incidents
* Space launch
* Space policy
* Australia
* China
* European Space Agency
* European Union
* India
* Japan
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Russia
* Soviet Union
* United States
* Space law
* Outer Space Treaty
* Rescue Agreement
* Space Liability Convention
* Registration Convention
* Moon Treaty
* Space warfare
* Space command
* Space force
* Militarisation of space
* Private spaceflight
* Billionaire space race

Applications|

* Astronomy
* Earth observation
* Archaeology
* Imagery and mapping
* Reconnaissance
* Weather and environment monitoring
* Communications satellite
* Internet
* Radio
* Telephone
* Television
* Satellite navigation
* Commercial use of space
* Space launch market competition
* Space architecture
* Space exploration
* Space research
* Space technology
* Space weather

Human spaceflight|

| General|

* Astronaut
* commercial
* Life-support system
* Animals in space
* Bioastronautics
* Space suit
* Extravehicular activity
* Overview effect
* Weightlessness
* Space toilet
* Space tourism
* Space colonization
* Space diving

|

Programs|

* Vostok
* Mercury
* Voskhod
* Gemini
* Soyuz
* Apollo
* Skylab
* Apollo–Soyuz
* Space Shuttle
* Mir
* Shuttle–Mir
* International Space Station
* Shenzhou
* Tiangong
* New Shepard
* Artemis

Health issues|

* Effect of spaceflight on the human body
* Space adaptation syndrome
* Health threat from cosmic rays
* Space psychology
* Psychological and sociological effects
* Space and survival
* Space medicine
* Space nursing
* Space sexology

Spacecraft|

* Launch vehicle
* Rocket
* Space capsule
* Orbital module
* Reentry capsule
* Service module
* Spaceplane
* Robotic spacecraft
* Satellite
* Space probe
* Lander
* Rover
* Self-replicating spacecraft
* Space telescope
* Spacecraft propulsion
* Rocket engine
* Electric propulsion
* Solar sail
* Gravity assist

Destinations|

* Sub-orbital
* Orbital
* Geocentric
* Geosynchronous
* Interplanetary
* Interstellar
* Intergalactic

Space launch|

* Direct ascent
* Escape velocity
* Expendable and reusable launch systems
* Launch pad
* Non-rocket spacelaunch
* Spaceport

Ground segment|

* Flight controller
* Ground station
* Pass
* Mission control center

* Category
* Portal

Authority control databases: National |

* Czech Republic

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[lit.]: literal translation