The Challenger Space Shuttle explosion was one of the worst disasters ever in manned spaceflight. It was the first in which American astronauts had lost their lives. The engineers had voiced concern, but nobody listened. Just 73 seconds after the launch, the Challenger exploded, shooting debris 20 miles above earth, and killing the 7 crew members, including the teacher astronaut. I have learned about what caused the Challenger to explode, and all the effects that came after. I now have a detailed and in-depth understanding about one of the worst disasters in the history of manned
It was at this time that President John F. Kennedy announced his goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Soon after the speech was made, Project Apollo and Project Mercury were started. Although it only lasted for a couple years, Project Mercury was able to put the first American astronauts in space with a total of six flights made. Project Apollo, was a lunar landing program founded with goal of reaching the moon. This project would have the majority of NASA resources dedicated to it with a budget increase by 500% in its first three years. On December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 was launched from Kennedy Space Center with the goal of being the first manned mission to orbit the moon. The mission would carry Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders on a 6 day trip making them the first humans to to see the far side of the Moon, and to witness the planet as a whole. The flight would orbit the moon 10 times and then return the astronauts home on December 27 in the Pacific Ocean. On July 16, 1969, a Saturn V spacecraft launched Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins into space and to the Moon on the NASA Apollo 11 mission. Once reaching the Moon, Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the lunar surface in the lunar module where they were the first two humans to set foot on the moon. After spending
During the beginning of WWII it was clear that the Nazis had better military technology. As the war went on the allies were eventually able to catch up and be on the same level technology wise. Once the war ended and the allies stormed through Germany and were able to find all the data and technological advancements that the Nazis had made. The United States was impressed by their research and findings that they decided to pardon Nazi scientists if they brought their research to the United States. This is what led to the infamous operation paperclip were many of the scientists that worked for the Germans now began to work for the U.S. When President Harry Truman formally ordered the operation
The motivation that lead to space exploration in the United States was born out of the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1950’s. The United States that the Soviet Union was building rockets but in actuality they were sending satellites the first being Sputnik. On April 12, 1961, Russian Lt. Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit Earth and
The Space Race was a crucial part in the advancement of technology. The United States of America and the Soviet Union were in a competition to get the first man in space. In 1957, a new era of space exploration had launched, this was known as the Space Race. The Space Race fueled the tension between the Soviet Union and the United States. Both countries were competing to get the first person onto the moon.
On January 28, 1986, NASA launched the Space Shuttle Challenger, which exploded within minutes of liftoff, killing all astronauts aboard. On this same night, President Ronald Reagan was originally scheduled to give the State of the Union, but instead had to speak on this national tragedy.
One minute and thirteen seconds. The last entry on the flight transcript: LOSS OF ALL DATA. On January 28, 1986, the Challenger Space Shuttle exploded 73 seconds into its flight. Aboard were five astronauts, one of whom, Christa McAuliffe, was ready to become the first school teacher in space. Sadly, none of the five survived. Later that night President Ronald Reagan came on air to give the State of the Union address and talk on the tragedy that had just unfolded. Through this speech President Reagan consoles the families of those who lost their lives, the American schoolchildren, and the American public as a whole. He also gives this speech to reassure America of the viability of the NASA program and the light in the future. By the use of rhetorical skill, including analogy, strong emotional appeals, and his position of power, President Reagan manages to convince America that despite the tragedy the benefits of keeping a space exploration program greatly outweigh the losses.
After the conclusion of World War II, tensions arose between the USSR and the US between 1947-1991. During World War II, the two powerful nations were unalike in most ways–geologically, ideologically, and economically– but were unified with their goal to defeat their common enemies. But, after World War II, both superpowers strove to prove superiority over the other. One important distinction between the two were their support of different governmental systems, which created a large amount of tension because the US, filled with anticommunist sentiments, wanted to contain the spread of communism while spreading the ideals of democracy. Amongst this conflict of ideals, the issues extended to military power competition, consisting of an arms
The space race was a part of the Cold War. The space race began as the Soviet Union sent Sputnik and the first man into space. Sputnik was launched on October 04, 1957. Sputnik is world’s first artificial satellite. The word Sputnik means satellite in Russian. It was not good news for Americans because Americans thought if the Soviet Union could send satellite to the space then it means that the Soviet Union can send nuclear missile to the United States.
In 1957, Sputnik 1 was launched into space. It was the world’s first artificial satellite, created by the Soviet Union, and was the object that began the Space Race. The launch of this satellite came as an unpleasant surprise to the United States (“The Space Race”). Less than a month later, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, which carried a dog, Laika, in it (“6 Key Events of the Space Race”). A year later, in 1958, the United States retaliated by launching Explorer 1. The same year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was formed (“The Space Race”).
Each side attempted to prove the greatness of their political system. The U.S.S.R was the first to fuel the fire of the Space Race by launching their first rocket, Sputnik 1, in the year 1957. A month later, the U.S.S.R. sent Sputnik 2 into space, which sent the first animal into orbit. While the Soviet Union was making progress, the
Now that the Space Race is over, what is the point? Are we wasting our money? Should we cut their budget? When the cold war ended with the soviets in 1991, it sparked up a debate as to whether or not the funding for the National Aeronautics and space administration should be continued. Although it may seem like a simple fix, it has proved to be one of NASA’s greatest and most difficult challenges yet. In the article, “Should We Cut NASA Funding?” written by Keith Yost, he answers the questions that have been the topic of debate for over 20 years. He states that it is predicted that in the Florida conference, President Obama will talk about the reductions that will be made to NASA’s budget. In his article, Yost takes a clear position on the
The Space Race (1950-1960s), was an event that has influenced many generations of human race. In the Second half of the twentieth century, the world’s leading power, the United States of America and the Union of Socialist Republics (USSR) were engaged in a global competition, also known as the cold war, where they were trying to influence “non aligned” nations to take a side in the war. Military, political, scientific and diplomatic effort would affect the balance of power in the world, the loser will fall and will lost the ability to control his sphere of influence. Both nations went to the moon, however only the USA made it back to the Earth. The Space Race has revolutionized the world, people 's societal views , and helped humanity in several
The Gemini XI mission from NASA’s Gemini Project set the current record for high-apogee earth orbit, performed the first direct-ascent rendezvous, and created the first intentional artificial gravity with the Gemini Agena Target Vehicle (GATV). In addition to these notable achievements, some of the other objectives included two extra-vehicular activities (EVAs), passive attitude stabilization of the combined Gemini XI-ATV craft, various scientific experiments, and a computer controller atmospheric re-entry.
On 16th of January 2003, the Columbia STS-107 mission lifted off. This science mission planned for 16 days in order to feature numerous microgravity experiments . On 1st of February 2003, after reentering the earth atmosphere the space shuttle suffered a calamitous