Adventures into Space
NASA and its Future Plans
Apollo Program
• It started under the influence of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson
• Started in 1961, it was meant to combat the Soviet Union’s missions into
space. The first man in space was Russian, Yuri Gagarin
• Alan Shephard was first American in Space
• On July 20, 1969 the Apollo 11 rocket landed on the moon with Neil
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
• There were 6 more successful missions onto the moon: Apollo's 11, 12, 14, 15,
16 and 17
• They studied soil mechanics, meteoroids,
seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging,
magnetic fields and solar wind
• An oxygen tank explosion in Apollo 13 didn’t
allow them to land on the moon but they
safely landed back on Earth
Space Shuttles
• The Endeavour space shuttle made a landing on Wednesday June 1
• Atlantis’ final trip to space was scheduled for May 31, at 8:00 p.m.
It will be the final trip for the space shuttle missions
• It first started on April 12, 1981 with the Columbia shuttle
• There have been 133 flights using 5 different space shuttles: Columbia
with 28; Challenger with 10; Discovery with 39; Atlantis with
32; and Endeavour with 24
• The Challenger space shuttle exploded after 73 seconds in flight, it was
caused by an O-ring seal that didn’t liftoff and the Columbia
disintegrated on reentry
• One by one the shuttles are retired starting with the Discovery on
March 9, 2011
• Created to maintain the Space Station and to make repairs
Challenger Explosion
Commercial Flights
• NASA gave approximately $270 million to four private commercial
companies on April 18 to continue developing commercial rockets
and spacecrafts capable of flying astronauts onto the International
Space Station
• The plan is to have a commercial spacecraft by the middle of the decade.
They believe that the price will be cheaper because they will split
the money between the government and commercial uses
• Until then they will be using the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to make repairs
on the international space station
• Virgin Galactic created a spacecraft to transport regular people into
space, however only if you can afford it. The SpaceShip Two (SS2)
costs 200,000 USD
Future Goals
• There will be a new rocket engine design called the J-2X rocket which is
currently being tested for future development. It is to replace the
old rocket engines and will be used in new lunar missions
• Some future goals for space and lunar missions include:
- Blue Origin: $22 million. The company is working on a space
vehicle design called the "New Shepard“ spacecraft, it is designed to
take off and land vertically.
- Sierra Nevada Corp.: $80 million. Sierra Nevada is designing a
lifting body called "Dream Chaser."
- Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX): $75 million. SpaceX
plans to develop an escape system for a crewed version of its Dragon
capsule, which is an uncrewed version that has already flown.
- The Boeing Company: $92.3 million. The Boeing Company will
continue development of the CST-100 crew capsule, including
progression of the design and integration of the capsule with a launch
vehicle.
Space Station
•
The Zarya Control Module was the beginning
of the space station with its launch on
November 20, 1998 using the Russian
Proton Rocket
•
The station is led by the united states but uses
the technology of 16 different countries:
Russia, Canada, Japan, Brazil and nations
from Europe
•
It’s about 1,040,000 pounds, 356 feet across, 290 feet long, and takes up roughly an
acre with solar panels that run the six lab station
•
It started with the Russian Mir Space Station where Americans researched and later
created their own station
•
Used to test life in space: finding that more protein crystals may be grown in space;
tissue growing undisturbed by gravity; effects of gravity on humans; basic
research of flames, fluids and metals
•
ex. Two golden orb spiders have been delivered on the international space station to test its
effects in microgravity
Bibliography
•
"Atlantis Updates." NASA. Web. 31 May 2011.
<http://www.nasa.gov/rss/atlantis_update.xml>.
•
"NASA - NASA Test Stand Passes Review for Next-Generation Rocket Engine
Testing." NASA - Home. Ed. Paul Foerman. NASA, 31 Mar. 2011. Web. 1 June 2011.
<http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/A2TestStand-033111.html>.
•
"Apollo 11 Home." Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. 19 July 2009. Web. 01
June 2011. <http://www.nasm.si.edu/collections/imagery/apollo/as11/a11.htm>.
•
"YouTube - Challenger Space Shuttle NASA Crash ." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 26
June 2007. Web. 02 June 2011. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFO9BI_tV1U>.
•
"SpaceShip Two's First "Feathered" Flight." Welcome | Virgin Galactic. 4 May 2011. Web.
01 June 2011. <http://www.virgingalactic.com/>.
•
"NASA - NASA Awards Second Round of Development Awards." NASA - Home. Ed.
Jeanne Ryba. NASA, 20 May 2011. Web. 01 June 2011.
<http://www.nasa.gov/offices/c3po/home/ccdev2award.html>.
•
"NASA - International Space Station." NASA - Home. NASA. Web. 02 June 2011.
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html>.
•
"International Space Station Overview." Shuttle Press Kit. Shuttle Press Kit, 3 June 1999.
Web. 31 May 2011. <http://www.shuttlepresskit.com/ISS_OVR/index.htm>.
•
"NASA - ISS Assembly Mission 1 A/R." NASA - Home. Ed. John I. Petty. NASA, 23 Oct.
2010. Web. 02 June 2011.
<http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_assembly_1ar.html>.
•
"Many Minerals on the Moon." Astronomy Feb. 2011: 21. Print.