NASA – National Aeronautics & Space Administration
Traveling in Space
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The Space Agency
Unmanned Space Vehicles
Manned Space Vehicles
Equipment needed in Space
The Future of Space Exploration
NASA
NASA – National Aeronautics & Space Administration
• NASA is an agency of the United States
Government, responsible for the nation's
public space program.
• NASA was established on July 29, 1958
• In addition to the space program, it is also
responsible for long-term civilian and
military aerospace research.
Unmanned Space Exploration
In the late 1950’s the Soviet Union and the
United States of America were competing to
be the first to space.
Russia beat the USA by launching Sputnik in
1957.
Unmanned Space Exploration
Unmanned missions are used when the
conditions are too dangerous for life.
• Sputnik (Russian and the first man-made satellite to orbit
the Earth)
• Explorer (American and orbited the Earth)
• Luna (American and traveled to the Moon)
• Mariner (American and traveled to Venus)
• Pioneer (American and traveled to Saturn)
• Voyager (American and traveled to Uranus and Neptune)
• Mars Rover
Manned Space Exploration
• Vostok 1
– Russian, 1957 with dog named Laika
• Vostok 1
– Russian, late 1957
• Mercury Missions
– Orginally launched in 1961 with Alan Shepard
becoming the first American in space
– Other missions followed with single person crews
Manned Space Exploration
• Mercury Missions
– Orginally launched in 1961 with Alan Shepard becoming the first
American in space
– Other missions followed with single person crews
• Gemini Missions
– Two person crews
– Longer flights
• Apollo Missions
– Three person crews
– Moon missions (1969 Americans were the first to land on the
Moon.)
• STS (Space Transport System- The Space Shuttle)
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up to an eight person crew
Allows for an airplane-like landing and is reusable
Began in 1981 with STS1- Columbia
Final mission is scheduled for September 16, 2010 with STS134
Accidents of Space Travel
• Apollo 1- 1967 fire on the launch pad kills crew of
three
• STS51- Space Shuttle Challenger explodes at liftoff killing the entire crew of 7
• STS107- Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates
during re-entry over Texas killing the entire crew
of 7
Science Research Mission
• Purify Water for ISS
• Student experiments of
spaceflight and insects
• Cancer cells/bone cells
• Microgravity
• Growing flowers
• Testing Communication
devices
Transportation in Space: Rockets
Rockets: Every force/action
has an equal and opposite
reaction
Action: Rocket engine’s hot
gas in one direction
Reaction: Produces an
opposite force that moves
rocket forward
Rockets were use for space
travel prior to shuttle
First Launch: 1942
First man in a rocket: 1961
USSR
Multistage Rockets
•According to this diagram, which
stage, or section, of the rocket reaches
the destinations?
•What happens to the other stages?
•Why are these rockets needed?
Once the fuel is used up the
rocket falls back to Earth.
International Space Station (ISS)
-Large satellite project with 16 countries in which people can
live for long periods.
The assembly of the ISS in orbit began in 1998. The ISS has
more than 100 components. First crew on it: 2000 (Sky lab 1973)
Artificial Satellites
• Satellite: Any natural or
artificial object that
revolves around an object
in space.
• A few hundred satellites
are currently operational.
• Consists of small rocket
thrusters to keep it in
orbit, thermal shield for
protection, etc.
• 1st Artificial – Soviet 1957
Sputnik 1
Uses of satellites
1. Relay telephone calls
2. Measure Earth’s
atmosphere
3. Photography
4. Global positioning
Space Probes
• Space Probes are unmanned research crafts sent
into space to conduct science experiments.
• Most are designed to land or orbit specific
objects. Some fly past the planets taking
pictures for scientist to study.
• First Probe – Luna 1 was launched by the
Soviets in 1959 to study the moon
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•
http://www.worldspaceflight.com/probes/
http://www.worldspaceflight.com/probes/other.htm
Space Suit
• Space Suit Video ( 3 min.)
• http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/28/video
-nasas-next-gen-space-suit-back-on-track/
2 min.
• EMU:
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/wiredscience/video
/326-nasa_space_suit_emu.html 1 min
Rovers
Rovers:
A rover is a space exploration vehicle
designed to move across the surface of an
astronomical body. Some rovers have been
designed to transport members of a human
spaceflight crew; others have been partially
or fully autonomous robots. Rovers usually
arrive at the planetary surface on a landerstyle spacecraft. First: 1970
http://marsrovers.nasa.gov/gallery/video/ani
mation.html
Mars: Phoenix Mission:
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/nasa/3572hunting-for-habitats-on-mars-video.htm
Robotics
• Athlete Rover:
http://robotics2.jpl.nasa.gov/movies/vid1016-71video.mov (5 min)
• Robotics:
http://robonaut.jsc.nasa.gov/media/videos/videos.a
sp about 3 min for all clips
• Robotic Hand:
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/howstuffworks/3
952-robotic-hand-video.htm ( 1 min)
•
Telescope
• A telescope is an instrument to search space,
planets, moons.
• Galileo made the first telescope in 1609
• Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a space telescope that
was carried into orbit by the space shuttle in April 1990. It
is named after the American astronomer Edwin Hubble.
• http://hubblesite.org/
• http://hubblesite.org/the_telescope/where.a.s_hubb
le_now/
• Telescope Video (Optional) 6 min
NASA Vision
Constellation Program
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/nasa/2214-how-the-marsreconnaissance-orbiter-works-video.htm
Click on this link
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/58/multimedia/funandgames_archive_3.html
then scroll down to the video: Animation: To the Moon
• http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forkids/kidsclub/flash/visio
nfeature/Vision.html Informational website about the new
mission (optional)
• http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/CxEMM_SITE/index.ht
ml in-depth information about Constellation (optional)
Destination Tomorrow
Future of living in space and space tourism:
Space elevator:
http://videos.howstuffworks.com/sciencentral/2910-space-elevatorvideo.htm
Space hotel (inflatable space module)
http://science.howstuffworks.com/hotel-orbit-earth.htm
Virgin Galactic: future of space travel:
• http://www.space.com/common/media/video/player.php?videoRef=vir
gin_galactic01
• http://www.virgingalactic.com/flash.html