Space:  The Final Frontier

    Many people say that we should not be putting money into the space program.  What good is it...they argue as they type away on their personal computer that would probably never have come about if it weren't for the space program.  The reality of the situation is that the space program gives us hope for a better tomorrow.  I have heard the argument that the Cassini Project should not be launched because, even if there isn't an accident, we will be polluting outer space with the nuclear waste from the crafts power plant.  What an idiotic statement!  Thermonuclear power is what gives the stars their luminosity.
    I have followed the space program since I was a child.  It is a wonderful thing that humans can dream and provide for civilizations in far distant generations.  One day in the very distant future humankind will thank these bold scientists as revolutionary thinkers that saved our kind from extinction.  For all that we learn about our past we also make pathways for our children.  Science will always be pushing the boundaries of our human emotions.

French Related Links

 
First human flight occurs in Paris, France on November 21, 1783.

 
Atlas Booster Test January 21, 1961

Space Timeline
  • October 4, 1957
Sputnik launched into space.
  • November 3, 1957
Sputnik 2 carries the dog "Laika" into space.
  • January 31, 1958
America successfully launches Explorer I.
  • July 29, 1958
President Eisenhower signs the National Aeronautics and Space Administration into being.  This is largely because he sees a threat of the Soviet Union being able to launch a nuclear strike.
  • January 2, 1959
Luna 1 is launched by Russia and becomes the first man-made satellite to orbit the sun.
  • March 3, 1959
Pioneer 4 is launched by the USA and it eventually becomes Americas first satellite to orbit the sun.
  • April 9, 1959
NASA formally introduces the original seven astronauts of the Mercury Project.
  • September 12, 1959
Luna 2 is launched and on the next day becomes the first human made object to impact the moon.
  • October 4, 1959
Luna 3 records images of the dark side of the moon.
  • April 2, 1961
Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to orbit earth
  • May 5, 1961
Alan Shepard becomes Americas first human to make a suborbital space flight. The flight lasts for fifteen minutes and achieves an altitude of 116 miles.
  • May 25, 1961
President Kennedy announces to Congress that the nations next goal is to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade.
  • February 20, 1962
John Glenn becomes Americas first human to orbit earth.  This finally takes place after the mission has been scrubbed nine times.  During the testing of the Atlas booster, to be used in the Mercury Program, two of the five trial launches blow up.
  • July 10, 1962
Telstar 1 beams the first live transatlantic telecast.
  • June 16, 1963
Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first women in space. 
 

The Mercury Capsule: Freedom 7

Freedom 7

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky: Father of Space Flight
Encyclopedia Astronautica
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
NASA
National Space Science Data Center
On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini
Space Gate



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