Space Exploration

What is a Rocket?
A

rocket is a machine that uses escaping gas to move

Modern Rocketry

Robert Goddard is known as the father of modern rocketry. American inventor and physicist Launched the first successful liquid fuel rocket in 1926.He tested more than 150 rocket engines. By WWII his work became of interest to the US military.

Goddards First Rocket- Nell

On March 16, 1926, Goddard finished building a spindly, 10-ft. rocket he dubbed Nell, loaded it into an open car and trundled it out to his aunt Effie's nearby farm. Traveled upward at 60 m.p.h. Altitude of 41 ft. Entire flight lasted just 2 1/2 sec. but that was 2 1/2 sec. longer than any liquid-fueled rocket had ever managed to fly before.

Goddard Moves to Roswell New Mexico in 1930.

Over

the next nine years, his Nells grew from 12 ft. to 16 ft. to 18 ft., and their altitude climbed from 2,000 ft. to 7,500 ft. to 9,000 ft. He built a rocket that exceeded the speed of sound and another with fin-stabilized steering, and he filed dozens of patents for everything from gyroscopic guidance systems to multistage rockets.

By the late 1930s, however, Goddard grew troubled. He had noticed long before that of all the countries that showed an interest in rocketry, Germany showed the most. Now and then, German engineers would contact Goddard with a technical question or two, and he would casually respond. But in 1939 the Germans suddenly fell silent. With a growing concern over what might be afoot in the Reich, Goddard paid a call on Army officials in Washington and brought along some films of his various Nells. He let the generals watch a few of the launches in silence, then turned to them. "We could slant it a little," he said simply, "and do some damage." The officers smiled benignly at the missile man, thanked him for his time and sent him on his way. The missile man, however, apparently knew what he was talking about. Five years later, the first of Germany's murderous V-2 rockets blasted off for London. By 1945, more than 1,100 of them had rained down on the ruined city.

Rebuffed by the Army, Goddard spent World War II on sabbatical from rocketry, designing experimental airplane engines for the Navy. When the war ended, he quickly returned to his preferred work. As his first order of business, he hoped to get his hands on a captured V-2. From what he had heard, the missiles sounded disturbingly like his more peaceable Nells. Goddard's trusting exchanges with German scientists had given Berlin at least a glimpse into what he was designing. What's more, by 1945 he had filed more than 200 patents, all of which were available for inspection. When a captured German scientist was asked about the origin of the V-2, he was said to have responded, "Why don't you ask your own Dr. Goddard? He knows better than any of us. When some V-2s finally made their way to the U.S. and Goddard had a chance to autopsy one, he instantly recognized his own handiwork. "Isn't this your rocket?" an assistant asked as they poked around its innards. "It seems to be," Goddard replied flatly.

Germany and the V-2

Many of Goddards ideas were used to design the German V-2 rocket. Wernher Von Braun worked for the German military developing the V-2 rocket. In 1945 Von Braun and his research team surrendered to the US military and the US gained 127 of the best German rocket scientists.

As part of a military operation called Project Paperclip, he and his rocket team were scooped up from defeated Germany and sent to America where they were installed at Fort Bliss, Texas. There they worked on rockets for the U.S. Army, launching them at White Sands Proving Ground, New Mexico. In 1950 von Brauns team moved to the Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Ala., where they built the Armys Jupiter ballistic missile.

Von Brauns surrender to the US Army, WWII.

 Wernher

von Braun (19121977) was one of the most important rocket developers and champions of space exploration during the period between the 1930s and the 1970s.

In 1960, his rocket development center transferred from the Army to the newly established NASA and received a mandate to build the giant Saturn rockets. Accordingly, von Braun became director of NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the chief architect of the Saturn V launch vehicle, the super booster that would propel Americans to the Moon. Huntsville, Alabama was home to the facilities the United States government used to develop the country's first space vehicles.

Space Race- US and the Soviet Union

October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I. The world's first artificial satellite was about the size of a beach ball and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. The public feared that the Soviets' ability to launch satellites also translated into the capability to launch ballistic missiles that could carry nuclear weapons from Europe to the U.S. That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race.

SputnikFirst Orbiting Artificial SatelliteSoviet Union-1957

What is a Satellite? http://www.gma.org/surfing/sats.html

Although

anything that is in orbit around Earth is technically a satellite, the term "satellite" is typically used to describe a useful object placed in orbit purposely to perform some specific mission or task We commonly hear about weather satellites, communication satellites and scientific . satellites. The path a satellite follows is an orbit.

How are Satellites Used?

Satellites come in all shapes and sizes and play a variety of roles. Weather satellites help meteorologists predict the weather or see what's happening at the moment. Communications satellites allow telephone and data conversations to be relayed through the satellite. Broadcast satellites broadcast television signals from one point to another (similar to communications satellites). Scientific satellites perform a variety of scientific missions. The Hubble Space Telescope is the most famous scientific satellite, but there are many others looking at everything from sun spots to gamma rays. Navigational satellites help ships and planes navigate. Rescue satellites respond to radio distress signals Earth observation satellites observe the planet for changes in everything from temperature to forestation to ice-sheet coverage.

Military Satellites

Military satellites are up there, but much of the actual application information remains secret. Intelligence-gathering possibilities using high-tech electronic and sophisticated photographic-equipment reconnaissance are endless.

Applications may include:

-Relaying encrypted communications -Nuclear monitoring -Observing enemy movements -Early warning of missile launches -Eavesdropping on terrestrial radio links -Radar imaging -Photography (using what are essentially large telescopes that take pictures of militarily interesting areas)

GPS- Global Positioning System

When people talk about "a GPS," they usually mean a GPS receiver. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is actually a constellation of 27 Earth-orbiting satellites (24 in operation and three extras in case one fails). The U.S. military developed and implemented this satellite network as a military navigation system, but soon opened it up to everybody else. They are constantly moving, making two complete orbits in less than 24 hours. These satellites are traveling at speeds of roughly 7,000 miles an hour. GPS Receivers can be found in newer model cars, airplanes, ships, telephones and in a handheld version. It will pinpoint your location by latitude and longitude. It will show you the direction you are traveling and map out a route you would like to travel.

GPS receiver's job is to locate four or more of these satellites, figure out the distance to each, and use this information to deduce its own location.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gps2.htm

Space Exploration Part 2

Satellites
Satellites

are used to transmit information as they orbit the Earth. They are used in weather, communications, science, navigation and Earth observation. GPS satellites (Global Positioning System) allow people to find their location anywhere on Earth and help planes, ships and cars navigate their routes. GPS uses 27 Earth orbiting satellites. Weather and communication satellites are used daily and are in GEO, Geosynchronous Orbit.

Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO) Satellites

A

satellite in geosynchronous (or geostationary) orbit are positioned a fixed point at approx. 21,000 miles above the earth's surface. GEO satellites primary purpose is weather imagery. The GEO satellites above the US transmit weather imagery and information to help forecasters relay weather information to us.

GEO Satellites
http://www.satsig.net/sslist.htm

List

of GEO satellites

NASA
The

launch of the first satellite, Sputnik, launch led directly to the creation of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In July 1958, Congress passed the National Aeronautics and Space Act (commonly called the "Space Act"), which created NASA as of October 1, 1958.

Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, Alabama

On

January 31, 1958, rocket called a Jupiter-C launched Explorer I, Americas first orbiting satellite. 1960 Von Braun became director of NASAs new George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville where he and his team would develop the Saturn rockets that launched astronauts to the moon in 1969.

Van Allen Belt

Data

returned by Explorer 1 and Explorer 3 (launched in March 1958) provided evidence that the Earth is surrounded by intense bands of radiation, now called the Van Allen radiation belts. This was the first major scientific discovery of the space age.

Explorer 1, First satellite launched by the US. Jupiter C Rocket

Saturn V- Apollo 8 and 11

The Saturn V was flight-tested twice without a crew. The first manned Saturn V sent the Apollo 8 astronauts into orbit around the Moon in December 1968. After two more missions to test the lunar landing vehicle, in July 1969 a Saturn V launched the crew of Apollo 11 to the first manned landing on the Moon.

First on the Moon-Apollo 11- July 1969

The

US was the first to put a man on the moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, it carried Commander Neil Alden Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon.

 Video

Clips from the moon. http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11v_109 2338.mpg http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11f.1093 409.mov http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11f.1093 543.mov http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.v110 0253.mov

Space Shuttle
On

January 5, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon announced plans to develop the Space Shuttle for routine access to space. It would be launched like a rocket but would land like an airplane.

Space Shuttle

April 12, 1981 marked a new era in the history of space flight. The worlds first reusable space vehicle, the Space Shuttle, powered by Marshall developed propulsion systems, was thrust into orbit with two astronauts aboard. This new chapter in the history of the Center would feature Marshall at the forefront of the nations space exploration efforts, among them launch of the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990, responsibilities for more than 20 Spacelab missions, and much more. One of Marshalls prime responsibilities included developing the Hubble Space Telescope, an optical observatory that is returning unprecedented views of the universe.

Space Shuttle

Hubble Space Telescope

Space Shuttle

On April 12, 1981, the Space Shuttle Columbia became the first shuttle to orbit the Earth. Flown by Commander John W. Young and Pilot Robert L. Crippen, Columbia spent 2 days aloft on its check-out mission, STS-1, which ended in a smooth landing, airplane-style, at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Shuttle Disasters

In 1986, the shuttle Challenger exploded in flight and the entire crew was lost. The Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated 73 seconds into its flight. A member of its crew was a civilian and first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe.

In 2003, while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, the shuttle Columbia broke up over the United States.

Future of the Space Shuttle

While

the space shuttles are a great technological advance, they are limited as to how much payload they can take into orbit. The shuttle cannot go to high altitude orbits or escape the Earth's gravitational field to travel to the Moon or Mars. NASA is currently exploring new concepts for launch vehicles that are capable of going to the Moon and Mars.

Space Probes

Space Probes
Space Probes are used to gather information about distant objects in the solar system. They are unmanned vehicles that can reach distances that humans would not be able to reach. Space probes are made to conduct science experiments and take photographs. Luna 1: The first successful space probe was the Soviet Luna 1 flyby of the Moon in 1959.

Mariner Space Probe

NASA

launched the first series of planetary probes, called Mariner. Mariner 2 first reached Venus in 1962. Later Mariner spacecraft flew by Mars in 1964 and 1969, providing detailed images of that planet. In 1971, Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit Mars. During its year in orbit, Mariner 9 transmitted footage of an intense Martian dust storm as well as images of 90 percent of the planet's surface and the two Martian moons.

Mariner Space Probe

Space Probes

The Mars Exploration Rovers : The Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity landed on Mars to

explore the Martian surface and geology, and search for and clues to past water activity on Mars. They were each launched in 2003 and landed in 2004. Voyager 1: Voyager 1 is an 733-kilogram probe launched September 5, 1977. It is currently still operational, making it the longest-lasting mission of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). It visited Jupiter and Saturn and was the first probe to provide detailed images of the moons of these planets. Voyager 1 is the farthest human-made object from Earth, traveling away from both the Earth and the Sun at a relatively faster speed than any other probe. As of August 12, 2006, Voyager 1 is over 100 AU, or 9.3 billion miles from the Sun and has left our solar system never to return.

Future Arrivals
Two

missions have been launched and are now making the long trips to their target solar system objects. The Messenger spacecraft was launched in 2004 and will arrive at Mercury in 2011. It will be only the second probe sent to that small, rocky planet. The New Horizons spacecraft was launched in 2006, and will arrive at Pluto in 2015. It will be the first spacecraft to visit that very distant dwarf planet.

Space Technology in Everyday Life

In

2008, NASA will celebrate 50 years of exploring the solar system and expanding human knowledge of the universe. The agencys pioneering research also has produced or contributed to such technologies as satellites, space-based telescopes and cell phones, and new products used every day in every nation that have contributed to advances in health care, transportation, public safety, consumer goods, environmental resources and information technology.

Examples of Space Technology in our Everyday Lives

MRI

Machine-In the mid-1960s, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory developed digital image processing to allow computer enhancement of moon pictures. Today, digital image processing is used to create and enhance images of body organs in computed axial tomography (CAT scans) and MRI. FIRE RESISTANT MATERIAL use in spacecraft materials and spacesuits now used in firefighter suits, homes, race cars and clothes.

More Space Innovations

Temper foam used in prosthetics (artificial arms and legs). Enriched Baby food Scratch Resistant Lenses Portable coolers Trash compactors Athletic shoes Fogless ski goggles Self-adjusting sunglasses Invisible braces Portable x-ray device Water Purification Cordless Tools Robotic hands To read more about Space Innovations click below: http://www.thespaceplace.com/nasa/spinoffs.html#chr