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| − | *'''Project Apollo ''' On May 25, 1961, President [[John F. Kennedy]] announced the goal of sending a man to the moon before the end of the decade. Coming just three weeks after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space, Kennedy's bold challenge set the nation on a journey unlike any before in human history. | + | *'''[[Project Apollo]] ''' On May 25, 1961, President [[John F. Kennedy]] announced the goal of sending a man to the moon before the end of the decade. Coming just three weeks after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard became the first American in space, Kennedy's bold challenge set the nation on a journey unlike any before in human history. |
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| | :Eight years of hard work by thousands of Americans came to fruition on July 20, 1969, when the lunar module landed in the [[Sea of Tranquility]] and [[Apollo 11]] commander [[Neil Armstrong]] stepped onto the moon's surface with the words; | | :Eight years of hard work by thousands of Americans came to fruition on July 20, 1969, when the lunar module landed in the [[Sea of Tranquility]] and [[Apollo 11]] commander [[Neil Armstrong]] stepped onto the moon's surface with the words; |
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| − | *The '''Space Shuttle''' is the world's first reusable spacecraft, and the first spacecraft in history that can carry large satellites both to and from orbit. The Shuttle launches like a rocket, maneuvers in Earth orbit like a spacecraft and lands like an airplane. Each of the three Space Shuttle orbiters now in operation -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour -- is designed to fly at least 100 missions. So far, altogether they have flown a combined total of less than one-fourth of that. | + | *The '''[[Space shuttle|Space Shuttle]]''' is the world's first reusable spacecraft, and the first spacecraft in history that can carry large satellites both to and from orbit. The Shuttle launches like a rocket, maneuvers in Earth orbit like a spacecraft and lands like an airplane. Each of the three Space Shuttle orbiters now in operation -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour -- is designed to fly at least 100 missions. So far, altogether they have flown a combined total of less than one-fourth of that. |
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| | :Columbia was the first Space Shuttle orbiter to be delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in March 1979. Columbia and the STS-107 crew were lost Feb. 1, 2003, during re-entry. The Orbiter Challenger was delivered to KSC in July 1982 and was destroyed in an explosion during ascent in January 1986. Discovery was delivered in November 1983. Atlantis was delivered in April 1985. Endeavour was built as a replacement following the Challenger accident and was delivered to Florida in May 1991. An early Space Shuttle Orbiter, the Enterprise, never flew in space but was used for approach and landing tests at the Dryden Flight Research Center and several launch pad studies in the late 1970s. | | :Columbia was the first Space Shuttle orbiter to be delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in March 1979. Columbia and the STS-107 crew were lost Feb. 1, 2003, during re-entry. The Orbiter Challenger was delivered to KSC in July 1982 and was destroyed in an explosion during ascent in January 1986. Discovery was delivered in November 1983. Atlantis was delivered in April 1985. Endeavour was built as a replacement following the Challenger accident and was delivered to Florida in May 1991. An early Space Shuttle Orbiter, the Enterprise, never flew in space but was used for approach and landing tests at the Dryden Flight Research Center and several launch pad studies in the late 1970s. |
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| | :The station now includes the Russian-built Zarya Module and the Zvezda Service Module, which contain the station’s living quarters and life-support systems; the U.S.-built Unity Connecting Module, providing docking ports for several station components; the U.S.-built Destiny Laboratory, which expands the station’s scientific capabilities with experiment compartments that allow nearly continuous scientific research and provide additional life support and robotic capabilities; the U.S.-built Quest Airlock, a doorway to space that supports station-based spacewalks; the Canadian-built Canadarm2, a new-generation robotic arm that gives the station a movable space crane; the Russian-built Pirs docking compartment, which adds additional spacewalking and docking capabilities to the station; and truss segments, which serve as the framework for additional station segments. Japanese and European research laboratories are ready for delivery to expand the station’s research capabilities even more. <ref> http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/factsheets/index.html </ref> | | :The station now includes the Russian-built Zarya Module and the Zvezda Service Module, which contain the station’s living quarters and life-support systems; the U.S.-built Unity Connecting Module, providing docking ports for several station components; the U.S.-built Destiny Laboratory, which expands the station’s scientific capabilities with experiment compartments that allow nearly continuous scientific research and provide additional life support and robotic capabilities; the U.S.-built Quest Airlock, a doorway to space that supports station-based spacewalks; the Canadian-built Canadarm2, a new-generation robotic arm that gives the station a movable space crane; the Russian-built Pirs docking compartment, which adds additional spacewalking and docking capabilities to the station; and truss segments, which serve as the framework for additional station segments. Japanese and European research laboratories are ready for delivery to expand the station’s research capabilities even more. <ref> http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/spacenews/factsheets/index.html </ref> |
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| | + | *NASA plans to continue human space flight with '''Project Constellation''', which consists of the Orion spacecraft (similar to the Project Apollo Command Module, but larger and with up to date flight systems) and the Aries I, a launch vehicle. The Aries is similar to the solid fuel rocket from the current Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster (SRB), but more powerful, and has a second stage. The first launch is hoped for in 2011 and the first human launch in 2014. Together, these will be used for Lunar and Mars missions. <ref>http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html</ref> |
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| | ==NASA Unmanned Missions== | | ==NASA Unmanned Missions== |