An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to

command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. Although generally

reserved for professional space travelers, the terms are sometimes applied to
anyone who travels into space, including scientists, politicians, journalists and
tourists.[1][2]

Until 2002, astronauts were sponsored and trained exclusively by governments,

either by the military or by civilian space agencies. With the suborbital flight of
the privately funded SpaceShipOne in 2004, a new category of astronaut was created:
the commercial astronaut.

Contents
1 Definition
2 Terminology
2.1 English
2.2 Russian
2.3 Chinese
2.4 Other terms
3 Space travel milestones
3.1 Age milestones
3.2 Duration and distance milestones
3.3 Civilian and non-government milestones
3.4 Self-funded travelers
4 Training
4.1 NASA candidacy requirements
4.1.1 Commander and Pilot
4.1.2 Mission Specialist
4.1.3 Mission Specialist Educator
5 Health risks of space travel
6 Food and drink
7 Insignia
8 Deaths
9 See also
10 References
11 External links
Definition

Alan Shepard aboard Freedom 7 (1961)

The criteria for what constitutes human spaceflight vary, with some focus on the
point where the atmosphere becomes so thin that centrifugal force, rather than
aerodynamic force, carries a significant portion of the weight of the flight
object. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Sporting Code for
astronautics recognizes only flights that exceed the Kármán line, at an altitude of
100 kilometers (62 mi).[3] In the United States, professional, military, and
commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of 50 miles (80 km)[4] are
awarded astronaut wings.

As of 17 November 2016, a total of 552 people from 36 countries have reached 100 km
(62 mi) or more in altitude, of whom 549 reached low Earth orbit or beyond.[5] Of
these, 24 people have traveled beyond low Earth orbit, either to lunar orbit, the
lunar surface, or, in one case, a loop around the Moon.[6] Three of the 24—Jim
Lovell, John Young and Eugene Cernan—did so twice.[7]

As of 17 November 2016, under the U.S. definition, 558 people qualify as having
reached space, above 50 miles (80 km) altitude. Of eight X-15 pilots who exceeded
50 miles (80 km) in altitude, only one exceeded 100 kilometers (about 62 miles).[5]
Space travelers have spent over 41,790 man-days (114.5 man-years) in space,
including over 100 astronaut-days of spacewalks.[8][9] As of 2016, the man with the
longest cumulative time in space is Gennady Padalka, who has spent 879 days in
space.[10] Peggy A. Whitson holds the record for the most time in space by a woman,
377 days.[11]

Terminology
See also: Astronaut ranks and positions
In 1959, when both the United States and Soviet Union were planning, but had yet to
launch humans into space, NASA Administrator T. Keith Glennan and his Deputy
Administrator, Dr. Hugh Dryden, discussed whether spacecraft crew members should be
called astronauts or cosmonauts. Dryden preferred "cosmonaut", on the grounds that
flights would occur in the cosmos (near space), while the "astro" prefix suggested
flight to the stars. Most NASA Space Task Group members preferred "astronaut",
which survived by common usage as the preferred American term.[12] When the Soviet
Union launched the first man into space, Yuri Gagarin in 1961, they chose a term
which anglicizes to "cosmonaut".

English

NASA astronaut Ed White.

In English-speaking nations, a professional space traveler is called an astronaut.
[13] The term derives from the Greek words ástron (ἄστρον), meaning "star", and
nautes (ναύτης), meaning "sailor". The first known use of the term "astronaut" in
the modern sense was by Neil R. Jones in his 1930 short story "The Death's Head
Meteor". The word itself had been known earlier; for example, in Percy Greg's 1880
book Across the Zodiac, "astronaut" referred to a spacecraft. In Les Navigateurs de
l'Infini (1925) by J.-H. Rosny aîné, the word astronautique (astronautic) was used.
The word may have been inspired by "aeronaut", an older term for an air traveler
first applied in 1784 to balloonists. An early use of "astronaut" in a non-fiction
publication is Eric Frank Russell's poem "The Astronaut", appearing in the November
1934 Bulletin of the British Interplanetary Society.[14]

The first known formal use of the term astronautics in the scientific community was
the establishment of the annual International Astronautical Congress in 1950, and
the subsequent founding of the International Astronautical Federation the following
year.[15]

NASA applies the term astronaut to any crew member aboard NASA spacecraft bound for
Earth orbit or beyond. NASA also uses the term as a title for those selected to
join its Astronaut Corps.[16] The European Space Agency similarly uses the term
astronaut for members of its Astronaut Corps.[17]

Russian

Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov.

Main article: Soviet space program
See also: List of cosmonauts
By convention, an astronaut employed by the Russian Federal Space Agency (or its
Soviet predecessor) is called a cosmonaut in English texts.[16] The word is an
anglicisation of the Russian word kosmonavt (Russian: космонавт, Russian
pronunciation: [kəsmɐˈnaft]), one who works in space outside the Earth's
atmosphere, a space traveler,[18] which derives from the Greek words kosmos
(κόσμος), meaning "universe", and nautes (ναύτης), meaning "sailor". Other
countries of the former Eastern Bloc use variations of the Russian word kosmonavt,
such as the Polish kosmonauta (although Polish also uses astronauta, and the two
words are considered synonyms).[19]

Coinage of the term kosmonavt has been credited to Soviet aeronautics pioneer
Mikhail Tikhonravov (1900–1974).[20][21] The first cosmonaut was Soviet Air Force
pilot Yuri Gagarin, also the first person in space. He was part of the first six
Russians, with German Titov, Yevgeny Khrunov, Andriyan Nikolayev, Pavel Popovich,
and Grigoriy Nelyubov, who were given the title of pilot-cosmonaut in January 1961.
[22] Valentina Tereshkova was the first female cosmonaut and the first and youngest
woman to have flown in space with a solo mission on the Vostok 6 in 1963.[23] On
March 14, 1995,[24] Norman Thagard became the first American to ride to space on
board a Russian launch vehicle, and thus became the first "American cosmonaut".[25]
[26]

Chinese
Main article: Chinese space program
See also: List of Chinese astronauts
Yǔ háng yuán (宇航员, "Space-universe navigating personnel") is used for astronauts
and cosmonauts in general,[27][28] while hángtiān yuán (航天员, "navigating outer
space personnel") is used for Chinese astronauts. Here, hángtiān (航天) is strictly
defined as the navigation of outer space within the local star system, i.e. solar
system. The phrase tài kōng rén (太空人, "spaceman") is often used in Hong Kong and
Taiwan.[29]

The term taikonaut is used by some English-language news media organizations for
professional space travelers from China.[30] The word has featured in the Longman
and Oxford English dictionaries, the latter of which describes it as a hybrid of
the Chinese term Chinese: 太空 (tàikōng, 'space') and the Greek ναύτης (naútēs,
'sailor'); the term became more common in 2003 when China sent its first astronaut
Yang Liwei into space aboard the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft.[31] This is the term used
by Xinhua News Agency in the English version of the Chinese People's Daily since
the advent of the Chinese space program.[32] The origin of the term is unclear; as
early as May 1998, Chiew Lee Yih (趙裡昱) from Malaysia, used it in newsgroups.[33]
[34]

Other terms

NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra.

With the rise of space tourism, NASA and the Russian Federal Space Agency agreed to
use the term "spaceflight participant" to distinguish those space travelers from
professional astronauts on missions coordinated by those two agencies.

While no nation other than Russia (and previously the Soviet Union), the United
States, and China have launched a manned spacecraft, several other nations have
sent people into space in cooperation with one of these countries, i.e. the Soviet-
led Interkosmos programme. Inspired partly by these missions, other synonyms for
astronaut have entered occasional English usage. For example, the term spationaut
(French spelling: spationaute) is sometimes used to describe French space
travelers, from the Latin word spatium for "space", the Malay term angkasawan was
used to describe participants in the Angkasawan program, and the Indian Space
Research Organisation hope to launch a spacecraft in 2022 that would carry
vyomanauts, coined from the Sanskrit word व्योमन् (vyoman meaning 'sky' or 'space'). In
Finland, the NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra, a Finnish American, has sometimes been
referred to as sisunautti, from the Finnish word sisu.[35]

As of 2019 in the United States, astronaut status is conferred on a person

depending on the authorizing agency:

one who flies in a vehicle above 50 statute miles for NASA or the military is
considered an astronaut (with no qualifier)
one who flies in a vehicle to the International Space Station in a mission
coordinated by NASA and Roscosmos is a spaceflight participant
one who flies above 50 miles in a non-NASA vehicle as a crewmember is considered a
commercial astronaut by the Federal Aviation Administration[36]
one who flies aboard a private (non-NASA) space vehicle to the International Space
Station is considered a private astronaut by NASA[37] (as of 2019, nobody has yet
qualified for this status)
a generally-accepted but unofficial term for a paying non-crew passenger who flies
a private non-NASA vehicle above 50 statute miles is a space tourist (as of 2019,
nobody has yet qualified for this status)
Space travel milestones

Yuri Gagarin, first human in space (1961)

Valentina Tereshkova, first woman in space (1963)

Neil Armstrong, first human to walk on the Moon (1969)

Vladimír Remek, a Czechoslovak who became the first non-American and non-Soviet
cosmonaut in space (1978)

Yang Liwei, first person sent into space by China (2003)

See also: Spaceflight records and Timeline of space travel by nationality
The first human in space was Soviet Yuri Gagarin, who was launched on April 12,
1961, aboard Vostok 1 and orbited around the Earth for 108 minutes. The first woman
in space was Soviet Valentina Tereshkova, who launched on June 16, 1963, aboard
Vostok 6 and orbited Earth for almost three days.

Alan Shepard became the first American and second person in space on May 5, 1961,
on a 15-minute sub-orbital flight aboard Freedom 7. The first American to orbit the
Earth was John Glenn, aboard Friendship 7 on February 20, 1962. The first American
woman in space was Sally Ride, during Space Shuttle Challenger's mission STS-7, on
June 18, 1983.[38] In 1992 Mae Jemison became the first African American woman to
travel in space aboard STS-47.

Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the first person to conduct an extravehicular activity
(EVA), (commonly called a "spacewalk"), on March 18, 1965, on the Soviet Union's
Voskhod 2 mission. This was followed two and a half months later by astronaut Ed
White who made the first American EVA on NASA's Gemini 4 mission.[39]

The first manned mission to orbit the Moon, Apollo 8, included American William
Anders who was born in Hong Kong, making him the first Asian-born astronaut in
1968.

The Soviet Union, through its Intercosmos program, allowed people from other
"socialist" (i.e. Warsaw Pact and other Soviet-allied) countries to fly on its
missions, with the notable exceptions of France and Austria participating in Soyuz
TM-7 and Soyuz TM-13, respectively. An example is Czechoslovak Vladimír Remek, the
first cosmonaut from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States,
who flew to space in 1978 on a Soyuz-U rocket.[40] Rakesh Sharma became the first
Indian citizen to travel to space. He was launched aboard Soyuz T-11, on April 2,
1984.

On July 23, 1980, Pham Tuan of Vietnam became the first Asian in space when he flew
aboard Soyuz 37.[41] Also in 1980, Cuban Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez became the first
person of Hispanic and black African descent to fly in space, and in 1983, Guion
Bluford became the first African American to fly into space. In April 1985, Taylor
Wang became the first ethnic Chinese person in space.[42][43] The first person born
in Africa to fly in space was Patrick Baudry (France), in 1985.[44][45] In 1985,
Saudi Arabian Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin AbdulAziz Al-Saud became the first Arab
Muslim astronaut in space.[46] In 1988, Abdul Ahad Mohmand became the first Afghan
to reach space, spending nine days aboard the Mir space station.[47]
With the increase of seats on the Space Shuttle, the U.S. began taking
international astronauts. In 1983, Ulf Merbold of West Germany became the first
non-US citizen to fly in a US spacecraft. In 1984, Marc Garneau became the first of
8 Canadian astronauts to fly in space (through 2010).[48] In 1985, Rodolfo Neri
Vela became the first Mexican-born person in space.[49] In 1991, Helen Sharman
became the first Briton to fly in space.[50] In 2002, Mark Shuttleworth became the
first citizen of an African country to fly in space, as a paying spaceflight
participant.[51] In 2003, Ilan Ramon became the first Israeli to fly in space,
although he died during a re-entry accident.

On October 15, 2003, Yang Liwei became China's first astronaut on the Shenzhou 5
spacecraft.

Age milestones
The youngest person to fly in space is Gherman Titov, who was 25 years old when he
flew Vostok 2. (Titov was also the first person to suffer space sickness).[52][53]
The oldest person who has flown in space is John Glenn, who was 77 when he flew on
STS-95.[54]

Duration and distance milestones

438 days is the longest time spent in space, by Russian Valeri Polyakov.[8] As of
2006, the most spaceflights by an individual astronaut is seven, a record held by
both Jerry L. Ross and Franklin Chang-Diaz. The farthest distance from Earth an
astronaut has traveled was 401,056 km (249,205 mi), when Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert,
and Fred Haise went around the Moon during the Apollo 13 emergency.[8]

Civilian and non-government milestones

The first civilian in space was Valentina Tereshkova[55] aboard Vostok 6 (she also
became the first woman in space on that mission). Tereshkova was only honorarily
inducted into the USSR's Air Force, which did not accept female pilots at that
time. A month later, Joseph Albert Walker became the first American civilian in
space when his X-15 Flight 90 crossed the 100 kilometers (54 nautical miles) line,
qualifying him by the international definition of spaceflight.[56][57] Walker had
joined the US Army Air Force but was not a member during his flight. The first
people in space who had never been a member of any country's armed forces were both
Konstantin Feoktistov and Boris Yegorov aboard Voskhod 1.

The first non-governmental space traveler was Byron K. Lichtenberg, a researcher

from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who flew on STS-9 in 1983.[58] In
December 1990, Toyohiro Akiyama became the first paying space traveler as a
reporter for Tokyo Broadcasting System, a visit to Mir as part of an estimated $12
million (USD) deal with a Japanese TV station, although at the time, the term used
to refer to Akiyama was "Research Cosmonaut".[59][60][61] Akiyama suffered severe
space sickness during his mission, which affected his productivity.[60]

The first self-funded space tourist was Dennis Tito on board the Russian spacecraft
Soyuz TM-3 on April 28, 2001.

Self-funded travelers
Main article: Space tourism
The first person to fly on an entirely privately funded mission was Mike Melvill,
piloting SpaceShipOne flight 15P on a suborbital journey, although he was a test
pilot employed by Scaled Composites and not an actual paying space tourist.[62][63]
Seven others have paid the Russian Space Agency to fly into space:

Dennis Tito (American): April 28 – May 6, 2001 (ISS)

Mark Shuttleworth (South African): April 25 – May 5, 2002 (ISS)
Gregory Olsen (American): October 1–11, 2005 (ISS)
Anousheh Ansari (Iranian / American): September 18–29, 2006 (ISS)
Charles Simonyi (Hungarian / American): April 7–21, 2007 (ISS), March 26 – April 8,
2009 (ISS)
Richard Garriott (British / American): October 12–24, 2008 (ISS)
Guy Laliberté (Canadian): September 30, 2009 – October 11, 2009 (ISS)
Training

Elliot See during water egress training with NASA (1965)

Main article: Astronaut Training
See also: Astronaut ranks and positions
The first NASA astronauts were selected for training in 1959.[64] Early in the
space program, military jet test piloting and engineering training were often cited
as prerequisites for selection as an astronaut at NASA, although neither John Glenn
nor Scott Carpenter (of the Mercury Seven) had any university degree, in
engineering or any other discipline at the time of their selection. Selection was
initially limited to military pilots.[65][66] The earliest astronauts for both
America and the USSR tended to be jet fighter pilots, and were often test pilots.

Once selected, NASA astronauts go through twenty months of training in a variety of

areas, including training for extravehicular activity in a facility such as NASA's
Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.[1][65] Astronauts-in-training (astronaut candidates)
may also experience short periods of weightlessness (microgravity) in an aircraft
called the "Vomit Comet," the nickname given to a pair of modified KC-135s (retired
in 2000 and 2004, respectively, and replaced in 2005 with a C-9) which perform
parabolic flights.[64] Astronauts are also required to accumulate a number of
flight hours in high-performance jet aircraft. This is mostly done in T-38 jet
aircraft out of Ellington Field, due to its proximity to the Johnson Space Center.
Ellington Field is also where the Shuttle Training Aircraft is maintained and
developed, although most flights of the aircraft are conducted from Edwards Air
Force Base.

Astronauts in training must learn how to control and fly the Space Shuttle and, it
is vital that they are familiar with the International Space Station so they know
what they must do when they get there.[67]

NASA candidacy requirements

Be citizens of the United States.[64][68]
Pass a strict physical examination, and have a near and distant visual acuity
correctable to 20/20 (6/6). Blood pressure, while sitting, must be no greater than
140 over 90. There are currently no age restrictions.[69]
Commander and Pilot
A bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or
mathematics is required.
At least 1,000 hours' flying time as pilot-in-command in jet aircraft. Experience
as a test pilot is desirable.
Height must be 5 ft 2 in to 6 ft 2 in (1.58 m to 1.88 m).
Distant visual acuity must be correctable to 20/20 in each eye.
The refractive surgical procedures of the eye, PRK (Photorefractive keratectomy)
and LASIK, are now allowed, providing at least 1 year has passed since the date of
the procedure with no permanent adverse after effects. For those applicants under
final consideration, an operative report on the surgical procedure will be
requested.
Mission Specialist

Mission Specialist Mae Jemison, a physician and chemical engineer, served on the
Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-47)
A bachelor's degree in engineering, biological science, physical science or
mathematics, as well as at least three years of related professional experience
(graduate work or studies) and an advanced degree, such as a master's degree (one
to three years) or a doctoral degree (three years or more).
Applicant's height must be between 4 ft 10.5 in and 6 ft 4 in (1.49 m and 1.93 m).
Mission Specialist Educator
Main article: Educator Astronaut Project
Applicants must have a bachelor's degree with teaching experience, including work
at the kindergarten through twelfth grade level. An advanced degree, such as a
master's degree or a doctoral degree, is not required, but is strongly desired.[70]
Mission Specialist Educators, or "Educator Astronauts", were first selected in
2004, and as of 2007, there are three NASA Educator astronauts: Joseph M. Acaba,
Richard R. Arnold, and Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger.[71][72] Barbara Morgan,
selected as back-up teacher to Christa McAuliffe in 1985, is considered to be the
first Educator astronaut by the media, but she trained as a mission specialist.[73]
The Educator Astronaut program is a successor to the Teacher in Space program from
the 1980s.[74][75]

Health risks of space travel

Gennady Padalka performing ultrasound on Michael Fincke during ISS Expedition 9.

See also: Effect of spaceflight on the human body and Space medicine
Astronauts are susceptible to a variety of health risks including decompression
sickness, barotrauma, immunodeficiencies, loss of bone and muscle, loss of
eyesight, orthostatic intolerance, sleep disturbances, and radiation injury.[76]
[77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85] A variety of large scale medical studies are
being conducted in space via the National Space and Biomedical Research Institute
(NSBRI) to address these issues. Prominent among these is the Advanced Diagnostic
Ultrasound in Microgravity Study in which astronauts (including former ISS
commanders Leroy Chiao and Gennady Padalka) perform ultrasound scans under the
guidance of remote experts to diagnose and potentially treat hundreds of medical
conditions in space. This study's techniques are now being applied to cover
professional and Olympic sports injuries as well as ultrasound performed by non-
expert operators in medical and high school students. It is anticipated that remote
guided ultrasound will have application on Earth in emergency and rural care
situations, where access to a trained physician is often rare.[86][87][88]

A 2006 Space Shuttle experiment found that Salmonella typhimurium, a bacterium that
can cause food poisoning, became more virulent when cultivated in space.[89] More
recently, in 2017, bacteria were found to be more resistant to antibiotics and to
thrive in the near-weightlessness of space.[90] Microorganisms have been observed
to survive the vacuum of outer space.[91][92]

On December 31, 2012, a NASA-supported study reported that human spaceflight may
harm the brain and accelerate the onset of Alzheimer's disease.[93][94][95]

In October 2015, the NASA Office of Inspector General issued a health hazards
report related to space exploration, including a human mission to Mars.[96][97]

Over the last decade, flight surgeons and scientists at NASA have seen a pattern of
vision problems in astronauts on long-duration space missions. The syndrome, known
as visual impairment intracranial pressure (VIIP), has been reported in nearly two-
thirds of space explorers after long periods spent aboard the International Space
Station (ISS).

On November 2, 2017, scientists reported that significant changes in the position

and structure of the brain have been found in astronauts who have taken trips in
space, based on MRI studies. Astronauts who took longer space trips were associated
with greater brain changes.[98][99]

Being in space can be physiologically deconditioning on the body. It can affect the
otolith organs and adaptive capabilities of the central nervous system. Zero
gravity and cosmic rays can cause many implications for astronauts.[100]
In October 2018, NASA-funded researchers found that lengthy journeys into outer
space, including travel to the planet Mars, may substantially damage the
gastrointestinal tissues of astronauts. The studies support earlier work that found
such journeys could significantly damage the brains of astronauts, and age them
prematurely.[101]

Researchers in 2018 reported, after detecting the presence on the International

Space Station (ISS) of five Enterobacter bugandensis bacterial strains, none
pathogenic to humans, that microorganisms on ISS should be carefully monitored to
continue assuring a medically healthy environment for astronauts.[102][103]

A recent study by Russian scientists published in April 2019 stated that astronauts
facing space radiation could face temporary hindrance of their memory centres.
While this does not affect their intellectual capabilities, it temporarily hinders
formation of new cells in brain's memory centers. The study conducted by Moscow
Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) concluded this after they observed that
mice exposed to neutron and gamma radiation did not impact the rodents'
intellectual capabilities.[104]

Astronauts making and eating hamburgers on board the ISS, August 2007.
Food and drink
Main article: Space food
An astronaut on the International Space Station requires about 830 g (29 oz) mass
of food inclusive of food packaging per meal each day. (The packaging mass for each
meal is about 120 g or 4.2 oz) Longer-duration missions require more food.

Shuttle astronauts worked with nutritionists to select menus that appeal to their
individual tastes. Five months before flight, menus are selected and analyzed for
nutritional content by the shuttle dietician. Foods are tested to see how they will
react in a reduced gravity environment. Caloric requirements are determined using a
basal energy expenditure (BEE) formula. On Earth, the average American uses about
35 US gallons (130 L) of water every day. On board the ISS astronauts limit water
use to only about three US gallons (11 L) per day.[105]

NASA Astronaut lapel pin

Insignia
In Russia, cosmonauts are awarded Pilot-Cosmonaut of the Russian Federation upon
completion of their missions, often accompanied with the award of Hero of the
Russian Federation. This follows the practice established in the USSR where
cosmonauts were usually awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

At NASA, those who complete astronaut candidate training receive a silver lapel
pin. Once they have flown in space, they receive a gold pin. U.S. astronauts who
also have active-duty military status receive a special qualification badge, known
as the Astronaut Badge, after participation on a spaceflight. The United States Air
Force also presents an Astronaut Badge to its pilots who exceed 50 miles (80 km) in
altitude.

Space Mirror Memorial

Deaths
Main article: List of spaceflight-related accidents and incidents § Astronaut
fatalities
Eighteen astronauts (fourteen men and four women) have lost their lives during four
space flights. By nationality, thirteen were American (including one born in
India), four were Russian (Soviet Union), and one was Israeli.
Eleven people (all men) have lost their lives training for spaceflight: eight
Americans and three Russians. Six of these were in crashes of training jet
aircraft, one drowned during water recovery training, and four were due to fires in
pure oxygen environments.

The Space Mirror Memorial, which stands on the grounds of the John F. Kennedy Space
Center Visitor Complex, commemorates the lives of the men and women who have died
during spaceflight and during training in the space programs of the United States.
In addition to twenty NASA career astronauts, the memorial includes the names of a
U.S. Air Force X-15 test pilot, a U.S. Air Force officer who died while training
for a then-classified military space program, and a civilian spaceflight
participant.

See also
Spaceflight portal
Airman
Boundary of Space
Commercial astronaut
Cosmonautics Day
Dead astronauts
Fallen Astronaut
J-Wear
List of astronauts by name
List of astronauts by year of selection
List of cosmonauts
List of human spaceflights
List of people who have walked on the Moon
List of space travelers by name
List of space travelers by nationality
List of spaceflight records
Lists of fictional astronauts
Lists of spacewalks and moonwalks
Mercury 13 – 13 inactive women astronauts
North American X-15 program
Shirley Thomas – author, Men of Space (1960–1968)
Space food
Space suit
Timeline of space travel by nationality
U.S. space exploration history on U.S. stamps
United States Astronaut Hall of Fame
Women in space
Yuri's Night

A commercial astronaut is a person trained to command, pilot, or serve as a crew

member of a privately funded spacecraft. This is distinct from an otherwise non-
government astronaut, for example Charlie Walker, who flies while representing a
non-government corporation but with funding and/or training coming from government
sources.

Contents
1 Criteria
2 FAA Commercial Astronaut rating
3 Astronaut Wings
4 List of Commercial Astronauts
5 See also
6 References
Criteria
The definition of "astronaut" and the criteria for determining who has achieved
human spaceflight vary. The FAI defines spaceflight as any flight over 100
kilometers (62 mi) of altitude. In the United States, professional, military, and
commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of 80 kilometers (50 mi) are
eligible to be awarded astronaut wings. Until 2003, professional space travelers
were sponsored and trained exclusively by governments, whether by the military or
by civilian space agencies. However, with the first sub-orbital flight by the
privately funded Scaled Composites Tier One program in 2004, the commercial
astronaut category was created.[1] The next commercial program to achieve sub-
orbital flight was Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo program in 2018.[2] Criteria for
commercial astronaut status in other countries have yet to be made public.

FAA Commercial Astronaut rating

With the advent of private commercial space flight ventures in the U.S., the FAA
has been faced with the task of developing a certification process for the pilots
of commercial spacecraft. The Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 established the
FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation and required companies to obtain a
launch license for vehicles, but at the time manned commercial flight - and the
licensing of crewmembers - was not considered. The Commercial Space Launch
Amendments Act has led to the issuance of draft guidelines by the FAA in February
2005 for the administration of vehicle and crew certifications.[3][4] Currently,
the FAA has not issued formal regulatory guidance for the issuance of a Commercial
Astronaut Certificate, but as an interim measure, has established the practice of
awarding "Commercial Astronaut Wings" to commercial pilots who have demonstrated
the requisite proficiency. The content of 14 CFR Part 460 implies that an
instrument rating and second-class medical certificate issued within the 12 months
prior to the proposed qualifying flight will be included as a minimum standard.

The FAA's Commercial Astronaut Wings Program is designed to recognize flight

crewmembers who further the FAA's mission to promote the safety of vehicles
designed to carry humans. Astronaut Wings are given to flight crew who have
demonstrated a safe flight to and return from space on an FAA/AST licensed mission.
To be eligible for FAA Astronaut Wings, nominees have to meet the following
criteria and submit an application to the FAA:[5]

Must be an FAA licensed launch;

Must meet the requirements for flight crew qualifications and training under Title
14 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 460; and
Must demonstrate flight beyond 50 statute miles above the surface of the Earth as
flight crew on an FAA licensed or permitted launch reentry vehicle.
Astronaut Wings
The emblem for the first set of FAA Commercial Astronaut Wings issued in 2004 has
in its center a green globe on a blue background, with the three-prong astronaut
symbol superimposed on top. In yellow block text around the globe are the words
"Commercial Space Transportation" in all capital letters. In a gold ring outside
the blue are the words "Department of Transportation Federal Aviation
Administration" in black. Beginning with the wings awarded for flights in 2018, the
design has been simplified to be the astronaut symbol, surrounded by the words
"Commercial Space Transportation", all in gold on a black background.

A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of

artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including
communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization,
planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo. All spacecraft
except single-stage-to-orbit vehicles cannot get into space on their own, and
require a launch vehicle (carrier rocket).

On a sub-orbital spaceflight, a space vehicle enters space and then returns to the
surface, without having gained sufficient energy or velocity to make a full orbit
of the Earth. For orbital spaceflights, spacecraft enter closed orbits around the
Earth or around other celestial bodies. Spacecraft used for human spaceflight carry
people on board as crew or passengers from start or on orbit (space stations) only,
whereas those used for robotic space missions operate either autonomously or
telerobotically. Robotic spacecraft used to support scientific research are space
probes. Robotic spacecraft that remain in orbit around a planetary body are
artificial satellites. To date, only a handful of interstellar probes, such as
Pioneer 10 and 11, Voyager 1 and 2, and New Horizons, are on trajectories that
leave the Solar System.

Orbital spacecraft may be recoverable or not. Most are not. Recoverable spacecraft
may be subdivided by method of reentry to Earth into non-winged space capsules and
winged spaceplanes.

Humanity has achieved space flight but only a few nations have the technology for
orbital launches: Russia (RSA or "Roscosmos"), the United States (NASA), the member
states of the European Space Agency (ESA), Japan (JAXA), China (CNSA), India
(ISRO), Taiwan[1][2][3][4][5] (National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and
Technology, Taiwan National Space Organization (NSPO),[6][7][8] Israel (ISA), Iran
(ISA), and North Korea (NADA).

Contents
1 History
2 Spacecraft types
2.1 Crewed spacecraft
2.1.1 Spaceplanes
2.2 Uncrewed spacecraft
2.2.1 Semi-crewed – crewed as space stations or part of space stations
2.2.2 Earth-orbit satellites
2.2.3 Lunar probes
2.2.4 Planetary probes
2.2.5 Other – deep space
2.2.6 Fastest spacecraft
2.2.7 Furthest spacecraft from the Sun
2.3 Unfunded and canceled programs
2.3.1 Crewed spacecraft
2.3.2 Multi-stage spaceplanes
2.3.3 SSTO spacecraft
3 Spacecraft under development
3.1 Crewed
3.2 Uncrewed
4 Subsystems
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
History
See also: History of spaceflight

The first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, launched by the Soviet Union

A German V-2 became the first spacecraft when it reached an altitude of 189 km in
June 1944 in Peenemünde, Germany.[9] Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite.
It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit (LEO) by the Soviet Union on 4
October 1957. The 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.[10][11] Apart from its value as a technological first,
Sputnik 1 also helped to identify the upper atmospheric layer's density, through
measuring the satellite's orbital changes. It also provided data on radio-signal
distribution in the ionosphere. Pressurized nitrogen in the satellite's false body
provided the first opportunity for meteoroid detection. Sputnik 1 was launched
during the International Geophysical Year from Site No.1/5, at the 5th Tyuratam
range, in Kazakh SSR (now at the Baikonur Cosmodrome). The satellite traveled at
29,000 kilometres per hour (18,000 mph), taking 96.2 minutes to complete an orbit,
and emitted radio signals at 20.005 and 40.002 MHz

While Sputnik 1 was the first spacecraft to orbit the Earth, other man-made objects
had previously reached an altitude of 100 km, which is the height required by the
international organization Fédération Aéronautique Internationale to count as a
spaceflight. This altitude is called the Kármán line. In particular, in the 1940s
there were several test launches of the V-2 rocket, some of which reached altitudes
well over 100 km.

Spacecraft types
Crewed spacecraft
See also: List of crewed spacecraft and Human spaceflight

Apollo 17 command module in Lunar orbit

As of 2016, only three nations have flown crewed spacecraft: USSR/Russia, USA, and
China. The first crewed spacecraft was Vostok 1, which carried Soviet cosmonaut
Yuri Gagarin into space in 1961, and completed a full Earth orbit. There were five
other crewed missions which used a Vostok spacecraft.[12] The second crewed
spacecraft was named Freedom 7, and it performed a sub-orbital spaceflight in 1961
carrying American astronaut Alan Shepard to an altitude of just over 187 kilometers
(116 mi). There were five other crewed missions using Mercury spacecraft.

Other Soviet crewed spacecraft include the Voskhod, Soyuz, flown uncrewed as
Zond/L1, L3, TKS, and the Salyut and Mir crewed space stations. Other American
crewed spacecraft include the Gemini spacecraft, Apollo spacecraft including the
Apollo Lunar Module, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle with
undetached European Spacelab and private US Spacehab space stations-modules. China
developed, but did not fly Shuguang, and is currently using Shenzhou (its first
crewed mission was in 2003).

Except for the Space Shuttle, all of the recoverable crewed orbital spacecraft were
space capsules.

Crewed space capsules

Drawings of Mercury, Gemini capsules and Apollo spacecraft, with their launch
rockets
American Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft

Line drawing of Voskhod capsules

Soviet Voskhod (variant of Vostok)

Soyuz 7K-OK(A) drawing

1967 Soviet/Russian Soyuz spacecraft

Drawing of Shenzhou spacecraft

Chinese Shenzhou

Line drawing of Vostok capsule

The International Space Station, crewed since November 2000, is a joint venture
between Russia, the United States, Canada and several other countries.

Spaceplanes
Main article: Spaceplane

Columbia orbiter landing

Some reusable vehicles have been designed only for crewed spaceflight, and these
are often called spaceplanes. The first example of such was the North American X-15
spaceplane, which conducted two crewed flights which reached an altitude of over
100 km in the 1960s. The first reusable spacecraft, the X-15, was air-launched on a
suborbital trajectory on July 19, 1963.

The first partially reusable orbital spacecraft, a winged non-capsule, the Space
Shuttle, was launched by the USA on the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight,
on April 12, 1981. During the Shuttle era, six orbiters were built, all of which
have flown in the atmosphere and five of which have flown in space. Enterprise was
used only for approach and landing tests, launching from the back of a Boeing 747
SCA and gliding to deadstick landings at Edwards AFB, California. The first Space
Shuttle to fly into space was Columbia, followed by Challenger, Discovery,
Atlantis, and Endeavour. Endeavour was built to replace Challenger when it was lost
in January 1986. Columbia broke up during reentry in February 2003.

The first automatic partially reusable spacecraft was the Buran-class shuttle,
launched by the USSR on November 15, 1988, although it made only one flight and
this was uncrewed. This spaceplane was designed for a crew and strongly resembled
the U.S. Space Shuttle, although its drop-off boosters used liquid propellants and
its main engines were located at the base of what would be the external tank in the
American Shuttle. Lack of funding, complicated by the dissolution of the USSR,
prevented any further flights of Buran. The Space Shuttle was subsequently modified
to allow for autonomous re-entry in case of necessity.

Per the Vision for Space Exploration, the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011 due
mainly to its old age and high cost of program reaching over a billion dollars per
flight. The Shuttle's human transport role is to be replaced by SpaceX Dragon 2 and
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner no earlier than March 2020. The Shuttle's heavy cargo
transport role is to be replaced by expendable rockets such as the Space Launch
System and ULA's Vulcan rocket, as well as the commercial launch vehicles.

Scaled Composites' SpaceShipOne was a reusable suborbital spaceplane that carried

pilots Mike Melvill and Brian Binnie on consecutive flights in 2004 to win the
Ansari X Prize. The Spaceship Company will build its successor SpaceShipTwo. A
fleet of SpaceShipTwos operated by Virgin Galactic was planned to begin reusable
private spaceflight carrying paying passengers in 2014, but was delayed after the
crash of VSS Enterprise.

Uncrewed spacecraft
See also: List of uncrewed spacecraft by program, Timeline of spaceflight, Timeline
of artificial satellites and space probes, List of Solar System probes, Space
probe, Robotic spacecraft, Cargo spacecraft, and Satellite

Hubble Space Telescope

Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) approaches the International Space
Station on Monday, March 31, 2008

Mariner 10 diagram of trajectory past planet Venus

[icon]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2011)
Semi-crewed – crewed as space stations or part of space stations
Progress – uncrewed USSR/Russia cargo spacecraft
TKS – uncrewed USSR/Russia cargo spacecraft and space station module
Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) – uncrewed European cargo spacecraft
H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) – uncrewed Japanese cargo spacecraft
SpaceX Dragon – uncrewed private spacecraft
Tianzhou 1 – China's uncrewed spacecraft
Cygnus – uncrewed private spacecraft
Earth-orbit satellites
Explorer 1 – first US satellite
Project SCORE – first communications satellite
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) - orbits the Sun near L1
Sputnik 1 – world's first artificial satellite
Sputnik 2 – first animal in orbit (Laika)
Korabl-Sputnik 2 – first capsule recovered from orbit (Vostok precursor) – animals
survived
Syncom – first geosynchronous communications satellite
Hubble Space Telescope – largest orbital observatory
X-37 – spaceplane
Lunar probes
Clementine – US Navy mission, orbited Moon, detected hydrogen at the poles
Kaguya JPN – lunar orbiter
Luna 1 – first lunar flyby
Luna 2 – first lunar impact
Luna 3 – first images of lunar far side
Luna 9 – first soft landing on the Moon
Luna 10 – first lunar orbiter
Luna 16 – first uncrewed lunar sample retrieval
Lunar Orbiter – very successful series of lunar mapping spacecraft
Lunar Prospector – confirmed detection of hydrogen at the lunar poles
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter – Identifies safe landing sites and locates Moon
resources
Lunokhod - Soviet lunar rovers
SMART-1 ESA – Lunar Impact
Surveyor – USA's first soft lander
Chang'e 1 – China's Chang'e lunar mission
Chang'e 2 – China's Chang'e lunar mission
Chang'e 3 – China's Chang'e lunar mission
Chandrayaan 1 – first Indian Lunar mission
Chandrayaan 2 – second Indian Lunar mission
Planetary probes

Artist's conception of the Phoenix spacecraft as it lands on Mars

Artist's conception of Cassini–Huygens as it enters Saturn's orbit

See also: List of extraterrestrial orbiters and List of Mars orbiters
Akatsuki JPN – a Venus orbiter
Cassini–Huygens – first Saturn orbiter and Titan lander
Curiosity – Rover sent to Mars by NASA in 2012
Galileo – first Jupiter orbiter and descent probe
IKAROS JPN – first solar-sail spacecraft
Mariner 4 – first Mars flyby, first close and high resolution images of Mars
Mariner 9 – first Mars orbiter
Mariner 10 – first Mercury flyby, first close up images
Mars Exploration Rovers (Spirit and Opportunity)– Mars rovers
Mars Express – Mars orbiter
Mars Global Surveyor – Mars orbiter
Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan) - India's first Interplanetary probe
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter – an advanced climate, imaging, sub-surface radar, and
telecommunications Mars orbiter
MESSENGER – first Mercury orbiter (arrival 2011)
Mars Pathfinder – Mars lander, carrying the Sojourner rover
New Horizons – first Pluto flyby (arrival 2015)
Pioneer 10 – first Jupiter flyby, first close up images
Pioneer 11 – second Jupiter flyby and first Saturn flyby (first close up images of
Saturn)
Pioneer Venus – first Venus orbiter and landers
Vega 1 – Balloon release into Venus atmosphere and lander, mothership continued on
to fly by Halley's Comet. Joint mission with Vega 2.[13]
Venera 4 – first soft landing on another planet (Venus)
Viking 1 – first soft landing on Mars
Voyager 1 - flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, and Saturn's moon Titan
Voyager 2 – Jupiter flyby, Saturn flyby, and first flybys/images of Neptune and
Uranus
Other – deep space
Main article: Space probe
Cluster
Deep Space 1
Deep Impact
Genesis
Hayabusa
Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous
Rosetta
Stardust
STEREO – Heliospheric and solar sensing; first images of the entire Sun
WMAP
Fastest spacecraft
Parker Solar Probe (estimated 343,000 km/h or 213,000 mph at first sun close pass,
will reach 700,000 km/h or 430,000 mph at final perihelion)[14]
Helios I and II Solar Probes (252,792 km/h or 157,078 mph)
Furthest spacecraft from the Sun
Voyager 1 at 148.09 AU as of January 2020, traveling outward at about 3.58 AU/a
(61,100 km/h; 38,000 mph)[15]
Pioneer 10 at 122.48 AU as of December 2018, traveling outward at about 2.52 AU/a
(43,000 km/h; 26,700 mph)[15]
Voyager 2 at 122.82 AU as of January 2020, traveling outward at about 3.24 AU/a
(55,300 km/h; 34,400 mph)[15]
Pioneer 11 at 101.17 AU as of December 2018, traveling outward at about 2.37 AU/a
(40,400 km/h; 25,100 mph)[15]
Unfunded and canceled programs

The first test flight of the Delta Clipper-Experimental Advanced (DC-XA), a

prototype launch system
Crewed spacecraft
Chinese Shuguang capsule
Soviet Zond/L1 – lunar flyby capsule
Soviet L3 – capsule and lunar lander
Soviet LK – lunar lander
Soviet TKS – space station resupply capsule
Soviet Buran-class shuttle – spaceplane
Soviet Soyuz Kontakt capsule
Soviet Almaz space station
US Manned Orbiting Laboratory space station
US Altair lunar lander
Multi-stage spaceplanes
US X-20 spaceplane
Soviet Spiral shuttle
Soviet/Russian Buran-class shuttle
ESA Hermes shuttle
Kliper Russian semi-shuttle/semi-capsule
Japanese HOPE-X shuttle
Chinese Shuguang Project 921-3 shuttle
SSTO spacecraft
RR/British Aerospace HOTOL
ESA Hopper Orbiter
US DC-X (Delta Clipper)
US Roton Rotored-Hybrid
US VentureStar
Spacecraft under development

NASA's Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis 1 mission seen in Plum Brook On December 1,
2019
Crewed
(US-NASA; Europe-ESA) Orion – capsule
(US-SpaceX) Dragon 2 – capsule
(US-Boeing) CST-100 – capsule
(US-Sierra Nevada Corporation) Dream Chaser – orbital spaceplane
(US-The SpaceShip company) SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane
(US-Blue Origin) New Shepard – VTVL capsule[a]
(US-XCOR) Lynx rocketplane – suborbital spaceplane
(India-DRDO) Avatar RLV -Under development, First demonstration flight in 2015.[16]
(India-ISRO) Gaganyaan – capsule
(India-ISRO) RLV Technology Demonstration Programme – spacecraft
(US-SpaceX) Starship – VTVL spacecraft
(Russia-RKA) Orel – capsule
(Europe-ESA) Advanced Crew Transportation System – capsule
(Iranian Space Agency) Iranian crewed spacecraft – capsule
Uncrewed
CNES Mars Netlander
Darwin14 ESA probe
James Webb Space Telescope (delayed)
Perseverance rover
Skylon spaceplane
StarChip and Sprites - miniaturized interstellar spacecraft
System F6—a DARPA Fractionated Spacecraft demonstrator
Subsystems
A spacecraft system comprises various subsystems, depending on the mission profile.
Spacecraft subsystems comprise the spacecraft's "bus" and may include attitude
determination and control (variously called ADAC, ADC, or ACS), guidance,
navigation and control (GNC or GN&C), communications (comms), command and data
handling (CDH or C&DH), power (EPS), thermal control (TCS), propulsion, and
structures. Attached to the bus are typically payloads.

Life support
Spacecraft intended for human spaceflight must also include a life support system
for the crew.

Reaction control system thrusters on the front of the U.S. Space Shuttle
Attitude control
A Spacecraft needs an attitude control subsystem to be correctly oriented in space
and respond to external torques and forces properly. The attitude control subsystem
consists of sensors and actuators, together with controlling algorithms. The
attitude-control subsystem permits proper pointing for the science objective, sun
pointing for power to the solar arrays and earth pointing for communications.
GNC
Guidance refers to the calculation of the commands (usually done by the CDH
subsystem) needed to steer the spacecraft where it is desired to be. Navigation
means determining a spacecraft's orbital elements or position. Control means
adjusting the path of the spacecraft to meet mission requirements.
Command and data handling
The CDH subsystem receives commands from the communications subsystem, performs
validation and decoding of the commands, and distributes the commands to the
appropriate spacecraft subsystems and components. The CDH also receives
housekeeping data and science data from the other spacecraft subsystems and
components, and packages the data for storage on a data recorder or transmission to
the ground via the communications subsystem. Other functions of the CDH include
maintaining the spacecraft clock and state-of-health monitoring.
Further information: On-Board Data Handling
Communications
Spacecraft, both robotic and crewed, utilize various communications systems for
communication with terrestrial stations as well as for communication between
spacecraft in space. Technologies utilized include RF and optical communication. In
addition, some spacecraft payloads are explicitly for the purpose of ground–ground
communication using receiver/retransmitter electronic technologies.
Power
Spacecraft need an electrical power generation and distribution subsystem for
powering the various spacecraft subsystems. For spacecraft near the Sun, solar
panels are frequently used to generate electrical power. Spacecraft designed to
operate in more distant locations, for example Jupiter, might employ a radioisotope
thermoelectric generator (RTG) to generate electrical power. Electrical power is
sent through power conditioning equipment before it passes through a power
distribution unit over an electrical bus to other spacecraft components. Batteries
are typically connected to the bus via a battery charge regulator, and the
batteries are used to provide electrical power during periods when primary power is
not available, for example when a low Earth orbit spacecraft is eclipsed by Earth.
Thermal control
Spacecraft must be engineered to withstand transit through Earth's atmosphere and
the space environment. They must operate in a vacuum with temperatures potentially
ranging across hundreds of degrees Celsius as well as (if subject to reentry) in
the presence of plasmas. Material requirements are such that either high melting
temperature, low density materials such as beryllium and reinforced carbon–carbon
or (possibly due to the lower thickness requirements despite its high density)
tungsten or ablative carbon–carbon composites are used. Depending on mission
profile, spacecraft may also need to operate on the surface of another planetary
body. The thermal control subsystem can be passive, dependent on the selection of
materials with specific radiative properties. Active thermal control makes use of
electrical heaters and certain actuators such as louvers to control temperature
ranges of equipments within specific ranges.
Spacecraft propulsion
Spacecraft may or may not have a propulsion subsystem, depending on whether or not
the mission profile calls for propulsion. The Swift spacecraft is an example of a
spacecraft that does not have a propulsion subsystem. Typically though, LEO
spacecraft include a propulsion subsystem for altitude adjustments (drag make-up
maneuvers) and inclination adjustment maneuvers. A propulsion system is also needed
for spacecraft that perform momentum management maneuvers. Components of a
conventional propulsion subsystem include fuel, tankage, valves, pipes, and
thrusters. The thermal control system interfaces with the propulsion subsystem by
monitoring the temperature of those components, and by preheating tanks and
thrusters in preparation for a spacecraft maneuver.
Structures
Spacecraft must be engineered to withstand launch loads imparted by the launch
vehicle, and must have a point of attachment for all the other subsystems.
Depending on mission profile, the structural subsystem might need to withstand
loads imparted by entry into the atmosphere of another planetary body, and landing
on the surface of another planetary body.
Payload
The payload depends on the mission of the spacecraft, and is typically regarded as
the part of the spacecraft "that pays the bills". Typical payloads could include
scientific instruments (cameras, telescopes, or particle detectors, for example),
cargo, or a human crew.
Ground segment
Main article: Ground segment
The ground segment, though not technically part of the spacecraft, is vital to the
operation of the spacecraft. Typical components of a ground segment in use during
normal operations include a mission operations facility where the flight operations
team conducts the operations of the spacecraft, a data processing and storage
facility, ground stations to radiate signals to and receive signals from the
spacecraft, and a voice and data communications network to connect all mission
elements.[17]
Launch vehicle
The launch vehicle propels the spacecraft from Earth's surface, through the
atmosphere, and into an orbit, the exact orbit being dependent on the mission
configuration. The launch vehicle may be expendable or reusable.
See also
Spaceflight portal
Astrionics
Flying saucer
List of fictional spacecraft
NewSpace
Spacecraft design
Space exploration
Space launch
Space suit
Spaceflight records
Starship
Timeline of Solar System exploration
U.S. Space Exploration History on U.S. Stamps