Space Exploration

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SPACE
EXPLORATION
Britannica Illustrated Science Library

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Space
Exploration
Contents PHOTOGRAPH ON PAGE 1:
Icecap on the south pole of
Mars. The image was captured
by the Mars Express space
probe in December 2004.
The Conquest
of Space
Page 6
Flying Through
Space
Page 26
Permanent
Exploration
Page 46
Visiting Other
Worlds
Page 62
Applied
Astronautics
Page 78
THE IMPRINT OF HUMANKIND
The footprints of the astronauts
are clearly visible in the soil of
the Moon.
A Voyage into
the Future
D
uring the greater part of our history,
the Moon was quite unreachable. It
did not seem very big and far away
but rather small. For the Greeks, the idea of
walking on the Moon was certainly
unthinkable, and as recently as the end of
the 19th century many people doubted that
humans would even be able to fly.
Nevertheless, on July 20, 1969, the miracle
happened. Since then many historic missions
to explore the planets have been planned
and executed, with the spacecraft and
probes Mariner, Viking, Pioneer, Voyager,
and Galileo leading the way. Thanks to
human intelligence and effort we have
succeeded in exploring many corners of our
solar system. This book intends to show all
this: the history of manned and unmanned
voyages and the discoveries that were made.
We will try, using simple and accessible
language, to answer many questions, such as
what rockets are, how they work, what
shuttles exist, how astronauts live in space,
and which robot probes are visiting other
planets looking for signs of life. All this is
accompanied by photographs and top-
quality illustrations, providing a better
picture of the successes by which we have Pluto in 2015, lifted off. This shows that the
made giant steps in our understanding of the search has only begun. There is still far to go.
composition of the other planets, their are being revealed. Orbiting spacecraft such Perhaps life may be found farther away than
origin, and their evolution. Every day as Mars Odyssey and Mars Express have we had imagined. Or maybe, as some dreamers
astronomers are more convinced that there confirmed the existence of ice under the imagine, in the next decade we will realize the
are other places in the universe that are like surface of Mars. Sending exploratory project of colonizing other planets. For now,
Earth. We only have to find them. They also spacecraft to Saturn was another prodigious the best candidate for us to land on is Mars.
assure us that this is one of the most feat, a demonstration of human capacity to But that is still only a dream, the same kind of
interesting moments in the exploration of dream of new worlds. Recently the New dream that was made into reality when
the solar system, because so many things Horizons, whose final destination will be humans left their footprints on the Moon.
The Conquest of Space YURY GAGARIN
The Russian cosmonaut in the
cabin of the spacecraft Vostok 1.
DESTINATION: OTHER WORLDS 8-9
FROM FICTION TO REALITY 10-11
NASA YESTERDAY AND TODAY 12-13
NORTH AMERICAN SPACECRAFT 18-19
A GIANT LEAP 20-21
THE MOON WITHOUT SECRETS 22-23
OTHER SPACE AGENCIES 14-15 ECHOES OF THE PAST 24-25
RUSSIAN MISSIONS 16-17
T
he human adventure in space Earth in the spacecraft Vostok 1. The the arrival of astronauts on the Moon. long and costly space project whose
began with Yury Gagarin, the cosmonaut had practically no control Neil Armstrong became the first man to objective was to explore Earth's only
first Russian astronaut, who in over the apparatus, which was remotely set foot on the Moon, followed by Edwin natural satellite. In the following
1961 reached an altitude of 196 controlled by Soviet engineers. The next Aldrin. The success of the Apollo 11 decades, the space program has had
miles (315 km) and orbited the step was made by the United States with mission marked the culmination of a many significant successes.
8 THE CONQUEST OF SPACE SPACE EXPLORATION 9
Destination: Other Worlds 4

The transmission of data to Earth is carried out
when the probe is at the maximum height of its
orbit around Mars. At that moment, the high-gain
T
antenna turns away from the Red Planet to aim
he space age began in 1957 with the launching of the first artificial satellite. toward the Earth. Mars Express began orbiting
Since that time, astronauts and space probes have left the Earth to investigate Mars in December 2004.
space. To date, 12 men have visited the Moon. Advances in

astronautics have made it possible to develop automatic navigational HIGH-GAIN ANTENNA
For long-distance
systems with which a spacecraft can reach and enter orbit around a communication with Earth
planet. The Mars Express probe, launched in 2003 to take
photographs of Mars, used this system. Mars Express, one of the
European Space Agency's most productive missions around the
Red Planet, is powered exclusively by solar energy.
SOLAR PANEL
Provides energy
Automatic Navigational System for navigation
Spacecraft that are unmanned, such as the artificial satellites that orbit
planets, transmit their information to Earth using radio equipment. The
area of satellite coverage depends on the type of orbit. There are also probes
that touch down on the surface, as was the case with Venus, Mars, and the
Moon. The real work begins when the apparatus reaches its target. The
instruments are activated to gather data that are sent to Earth for analysis.
FUEL TANKS Mars Express begins its voyage
70 gallons
CONVENTIONAL
NAVIGATION
(270 l) of
propellant each
THRUSTER
Used to correct
3 toward Mars, which will last almost
seven months. The probe is
monitored from Mission Control
Center in Darmstadt, Germany.
During the encounter, the orbit Communication with the probe is
Earth-based optical done by radio. To avoid colliding with
navigation is limited by the Mars, the Mars Express corrects its
time it takes a radio signal trajectory.
to reach the spacecraft.
Space Programs
The voyages are planned years in advance. the planet they are studying; others (orbiters) spacecraft, however, require designs that include
Space probes are automatic vehicles that can follow a route that places them in planetary orbit. air, water, food, seats, and rest areas, as well as
use the gravitational field of one planet to reach From there they can send smaller landing probes, navigation-, control-, and information-transmission
another. Some only pass at a preset distance from which deploy data-collecting instruments. Manned equipment.
Navigational
systems based The probe deploys its solar panels
on Earth UNMANNED SPACE WALK MANNED
require radio
tracking.
The images taken
are transmitted to
Earth, and the
navigational
commands are sent
2 and begins its own life running on
solar energy. It sends signals to
Earth to check that its
instruments are working properly. 12 feet 89 feet
To gather more information, the astronauts
conduct a space walk outside the spacecraft.
5 feet
(1.5 m)
57.4 feet
(17.5 m)
to the spacecraft. (3.7 m) (27 m)
ARTIFICIAL SATELLITE METEOROLOGICAL VOSTOK PROGRAM APOLLO PROGRAM

IN POLAR ORBIT SATELLITE Vostok 1 Apollo 11
Nimbus GOES
17 feet 4.3 feet 11.5 feet 56 feet

(5.1 m) (1.3 m) (3.4 m) (17 m)
LAUNCH LAUNCH FLYBY SPACE PROBE ORBITING GEMINI PROGRAM SPACE SHUTTLE
Mariner SPACE PROBE Gemini 8 Columbia
Galileo
Maneuvers are On June 2, 2003, the Mars

calculated on
Earth, and the
parameters are
transmitted to
the spacecraft.
1 Express probe left Earth on a
Soyuz rocket launched from
Kazakhstan. Once it escaped
Earth's orbit, the probe activated
11 feet
(3.3 m)
1 foot
(0.3 m)
115 feet
(35 m)
49 feet
(15 m)
its Fregat boosters and began its

path toward the orbit of Mars. PROBE WITH A EXPLORATION SPACE STATION SPACE STATION
LANDING DEVICE VEHICLE Mir Skylab
Viking Sojourner
From Fiction to Reality With a Dog

Sputnik 2 was the second
SPUTNIK 2
The canine passenger Aerodynamic nose
A
satellite launched into Earth's was protected by a
stronautics was born toward the end of the 19th century, when the Russian orbit by the Russians (on Nov. 3, 1957) pressurized cabin. Mechanism for ejection
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky foresaw the ability of a rocket to overcome the force and the first one to carry a living from the nose
creature, the dog Laika. The satellite
of gravity. Other pioneers were Hermann Oberth, who designed a liquid- was 13 feet (4 m) long and 6 feet (2 m)
fueled missile in 1917, which was later built by the American Robert Goddard in diameter. The dog was connected to a Scientific
machine that registered her vital signs,
in 1926. The German Wernher von Braun built the Redstone, Jupiter, and and oxygen was provided to her by an
instruments
Saturn rockets, which made the manned landing on the Moon possible. air regeneration system. Food and water
were dispensed in the form of a gelatin.
Astronautics officially began in 1957 with the launching of the first
artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. The second was Sputnik 2, SPUTNIK 2
Radio
transmitter
Support structure
which had on board the dog Laika. Launch November 1957

Orbital altitude 1,030 miles (1,660 km) Pressurized
Heat shield cabin
Orbital period 103.7 minutes
Weight 1,118 pounds (508 kg)
Country USSR Fan
Sputnik 1
WEIGHT ON EARTH Safety ring
inaugurated the period of Russian supremacy in the so-called space race. Sputnik 1,
launched in 1957, was an aluminum sphere 23 inches (58 cm) in diameter. It had
instrumentation that for 21 days sent back information about cosmic radiation, meteorites, and
the density and temperature of the Earth's upper atmosphere. It was destroyed by aerodynamic
1,118 pounds Retrothrusters
friction when it reentered the atmosphere 57 days later. (508 kg)

DIMENSIONS
THE SECOND THE FIRST THE THIRD Sputnik 2 was PASSENGER
Robert Goddard In Germany, Hermann Wernher von Braun, 13 feet (4 m) The dog Laika
designed a rocket 10 Oberth designed a working for NASA, was
feet (3 m) high. After liquid-fueled missile in the creator of the Saturn long and 6 feet was the first
ignition, it rose 40 feet 1917 that would V rocket, which carried (2 m) in to visit space.
(12 m) and then crashed promote the idea of astronauts to the Moon a diameter at Telecommunications
184 feet (56 m) away. spaceflight. number of times the base. antenna
between 1969 and 1972.
Robert Goddard Hermann Oberth Wernher EXPLORER 1

1882-1945 1894-1989 von Braun Explorer 1 Launch Jan./Feb. 1958
The U.S. physicist studied The scientist who worked 1912-1977
rockets and on rocket technology The German physicist
The United States independently developed its first satellite, Explorer 1, Orbital altitude 1,580 miles
demonstrated their use during World War II. worked for Adolf Hitler which was launched from Cape Canaveral in 1958. The satellite was a (2,550 km)
for space travel. designing ballistic missiles. cylinder 6 inches (15 cm) in diameter; it weighed 31 pounds (14 kg) and measured
cosmic radiation and meteorites for 112 days, which led to the discovery of the Orbital period 114.8 minutes
Van Allen belts. It was designed and constructed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Weight 31 pounds (14 kg)
SPUTNIK 1 of the California Institute of Technology. Organization NASA
WEIGHT ON THE EARTH
Launch October 1957
Orbital altitude 370 miles (600 km) 184 pounds PIECE BY PIECE WEIGHT ON EARTH
Orbital period
Weight
97 minutes
184 pounds (83.6 kg)
(83.6 kg)
Explorer 1 was designed by
NASA in 1958.
Cable antenna Micrometeorite
detectors 31 pounds
Country USSR ANTENNAS
(14 kg) DIMENSIONS
Sputnik 1 had Explorer 1 weighed
four antennas 31 pounds (14 kg)
between 7.9 and and was 2.6 feet
Conical High-gain Internal Fiberglass
9.5 feet (2.4-2.9 (0.8 m) high and 6
nose transmitter temperature ring
m) long. cone indicator inches (15 cm) in
diameter.
1609 1798 1806 1838 1926 1927 1932 1936 1947 1949 1957
GALILEO CAVENDISH ROCKETS DISTANCE THE FIRST ASSOCIATION VON BRAUN LABORATORIES ROCKET PLANE BUMPER SPUTNIK 1
constructed the first astronomical demonstrated that the law The first military rockets The distance to the star 61 ROCKET On July 5 the German began his investigations Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory. Chuck Yeager broke the The first stage of a two-stage On October 4 the Soviet
telescope and observed the of gravity applies to all were invented. They were used Cygni was measured, using the Robert Goddard launched Association for on rockets for the Later its name was changed to the Jet sound barrier aboard the rocket, which reached an Union launched the Sputnik
craters on the Moon. bodies. in an aerial attack in 1814. Earth's orbit as a baseline. the first liquid-fueled rocket. Spaceflight was formed. German military. Propulsion Laboratory. rocket plane X-1. altitude of 244 miles (393 km) 1 satellite into space.
NASA Yesterday and Today SHUTTLE LANDING

The landing strip available at the
Kennedy Space Center
The Kennedy Space Center is the location
that has all the facilities for launching
T
NASA Kennedy Space Center is one of
he National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency that the biggest in the world. It is used
not only for shuttle landings but also
vehicles into space. It is located on Merritt
Island near Cape Canaveral in Florida. It is 34
organized the U.S. space program. It was created in 1958 as part of the space race for commercial and private flights. miles (54 km) long, and its area is 136 square
with the then Soviet Union. It planned all national activities linked with space miles (352 sq km); almost 17,000 people work
there. It was established as a launch center on
exploration. It has a launch center (the Kennedy Space Center) and other installations all July 1, 1962, and was named after the 35th
over the country. SHUTTLE
president of the United States, John F. Kennedy.
The Apollo 11, which carried the astronauts who
LANDING first set foot on the Moon, was launched from
FACILITY 15,000 feet the Kennedy Space Center. Operations for
launching and landing the space shuttle are
NASA Centers TOWWAY
(4,600 m)
managed here.
NASA's activities in astronautics and space research are so numerous and so varied that COMPLEX
it has different complexes all over the United States. The agency has a number of 39B
installations for research, flight simulation, astronaut training, and preparation. NASA's
headquarters are in Washington, D.C., and the Mission Control Center is in Houston. Another APOLLO/SATURN V
Indian CENTER
important center is the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, whose responsibilities include managing the
River
Deep Space Network, which maintains constant communication with space missions through
its facilities in California, Spain, and Australia.
SHUTTLE
PROCESSING
AMES RESEARCH LYNDON B. JOHNSON MARSHALL SPACE FACILITY
CENTER CONTROL CENTER FLIGHT CENTER
Founded in 1939, it is the exper- Astronauts are selected and manages the transport of
imental base for many missions. It trained at the Houston center. equipment, the propulsion
is equipped with flight simulators Spaceflight takeoffs and landings systems, and the launching of
and advanced technology. are controlled from here. the space shuttle.
VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING
COMPLEX
Its volume is 129,428,000 cubic feet
39A
VISITOR'S VEHICLE VEHICULAR (3,664,883 cu m). It is the largest building in
CENTER TRANSPORT the world in terms of volume. It is used for
ASSEMBLY
BUILDING the storage of external fuel tanks and
flight instruments.
CONTROL CENTER
LEWIS
OBSERVATION
RESEARCH OPERATIONS TOWER
CENTER
INDEPENDENT COMPLEX 40
VERIFICATION AND
VALIDATION FACILITY
GODDARD INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL

FOR SPACE STUDIES SPACE STATION
CENTER HISTORIC
Banana River LAUNCH SITES
NASA CONTROL CENTER
WASHINGTON, D.C.
LANGLEY
RESEARCH CENTER
LIBERTY CAPE CANAVERAL
JOHN F. KENNEDY WALLOPS FLIGHT STAR LIGHTHOUSE
WHITE AIR FORCE SPACE &
SPACE CENTER FACILITY
SANDS TEST MISSILE MUSEUM
CENTER MICHOUD
ASSEMBLY COMPLEX 17
FREEDOM
FACILITY OTHER DEEP SPACE CENTERS STAR
HISTORIC
LAUNCH
ZONES
Atlantic
Ocean
SHIPS FOR RECOVERING
BOOSTER ROCKETS
JET PROPULSION DRYDEN FLIGHT GODDARD SPACE The rockets are assembled here before
LABORATORY RESEARCH CENTER FLIGHT CENTER launch. When the rockets fall into the
designs flight systems and is involved in atmosphere- designs, manufactures, and monitors MADRID DEEP SPACE CANBERRA DEEP SPACE
provides technical assessment. related activities. It has been scientific satellites to investigate the COMMUNICATIONS COMMUNICATION water after a mission, they are picked
Directs the Deep Space Network. in operation since 1947. Earth and other planets. COMPLEX COMPLEX up and refurbished.
Other Space Agencies Mission Threshold

The project on which the ESA
is concentrating the most
Canadian Space
Agency
T
effort is the Planck mission. The The CSA was created in
he activity of exploring the cosmos was increased in 1975 with the creation of mission intends to establish with 1990, although it had prior
the European Space Agency (ESA). This intergovernmental organization is precision the age of the universe involvement in astronautic activities. The
and to test different expansion first Canadian launch occurred in 1962 with the
second only to NASA in its investment in space. The Mir space station, launched models. It will also seek to improve Alouette 1 satellite. The most important work of
by the Russian Space Agency (RKA), remained in Earth orbit for 15 on the results from the U.S. WMAP the CSA is Radarsat, launched in November 1995.
mission on the formation and It provides information about the environment
years and was a milestone for living in space. Other agencies, such evolution of the universe and the and is used in cartography, hydrology,
as the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the Japanese Space background cosmic radiation. Planck oceanography, and agriculture. The Canadian
will have 10 times better resolution agency also participated in the International
Agency (JAXA), also made technological contributions to the than WMAP. The launch is planned
PLANCK MISSION
Space Station (ISS) by providing the robot arm
exploration of the Earth's orbit and the solar system. for 2008 using an Ariane rocket. Launch year 2007 called the Mobile Service System (MSS).
After a voyage of between four and Estimated duration 21 months
six months, the satellite will adjust Launch vehicle Ariane 5
its orbit 900,000 miles (1.5 million
Weight at launch 4,000 lb (1,800 kg)
km) from Earth.
Japanese Space
KOUROU, FRENCH GUIANA
EUROPEAN LAUNCHING BASE TRANSPORT
Agency
ROUTE On Oct. 1, 2003,
Latitude: 5° north, 300 miles (500 km) north
three independent
of the Equator. Close to the Equator, which is
organizations were combined
an advantage for rockets in reaching Earth's
to form the JAXA: the
orbit. The region is almost unpopulated and
Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
free from earthquakes.
(ISAS), the National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL),
and the National Space Development Agency
Surface area 285 square miles (750 sq km)
(NASDA). Its most outstanding mission is the
Total cost 1,600 million euros Hayabusa, launched in May 2003 as the first
First operation 1968 (as a French base) mission designed to land on an asteroid. It reached
TOWARD THE ASSEMBLY
Employees 600 the asteroid Itokawa in November 2005. Despite
FINAL DESIGN BUILDING
problems with the probe, controllers expect it to
The rocket goes to Once the process is
LAUNCH PLATFORM return to Earth in 2010 with samples taken from
the assembly complete, the rocket
After covering 2 miles the surface of the asteroid.
building for final is transferred to the
(3.5 km) at 2 mph (3.5
details. platform.
km/h), the Ariane is
ready for liftoff.
Russian Federal
Space Agency
Formed after the dissolution of
the Soviet Union, it uses the
technology and launching sites that it
inherited from the Soviet space
MIR STATION program. The Russian agency was
housed the responsible for orbiting the Mir space station, the
cosmonauts and direct predecessor of the International Space
astronauts in space. Station. Mir was assembled in orbit after separate
launches of different modules between 1986 and
THE ARIANE FAMILY 1996. It was destroyed in a controlled manner at
The development of the Ariane rocket made the the end of its useful life on March 23, 2001.
ESA a leader in the space-launch market. Ariane PROGRESS-M USEFUL LIFE
was chosen for satellites from Japanese, used to supply
EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY
Founded 1975
Canadian, and American companies. food and fuel. 15 years
Members 17
KEY SOYUZ ROCKET
Annual investment 3,000 million euros
Members of the The rocket of the
Employees 1,900 European Space Agency Russian agency
that is used to put
spacecraft into orbit.
156 feet
Europe in Space (47.4 m)
SOLAR PANELS
The ESA was formed as a single organization in 1975 by the
supply the station
fusion of the European Space Research Organization (ESRO) PRINCIPAL MODULE
with electricity
and the European Launcher Development Organization (ELDO). It used as living quarters
from solar energy.
carried out important missions, such as Venus Express, Mars and general control of
Express, and Ulysses (with which NASA also participated). Twenty- the station.
two percent of the ESA's annual budget goes into the construction
Ariane 5
of launch vehicles. Ariane 1 Ariane 2 Ariane 3 Ariane 4 Ariane 5
evolution
Russian Missions Inflatable

air lock
Nitrogen
storage tank
From Russia with Love
Vostok (“east” in Russian) was a Soviet spacecraft program that put
six cosmonauts into orbit around the Earth between April 1961 and
VOSTOK PROGRAM
MISSIONS
A
Vostok 1
fter the initial successes with small satellites, where the effect of June 1963. On June 16, 1963, a manned spacecraft of the series lifted off
Vostok 2
April 12, 1961
carrying the first female cosmonaut in the world, Valentina Tereshkova. Aug. 6, 1961
weightlessness was tested on animals, the Soviet Union, like the United This was a joint flight with Vostok 5, piloted by Valery Bykovsky. During Vostok 3 Aug. 11, 1962
States, began to develop programs for launching human beings into this mission, medical and biological investigations were carried out, and Vostok 4 Aug. 12, 1962
various matters related to systems development of the spacecraft were
space. The first astronaut to orbit the Earth, at an altitude of 196 miles (315 analyzed. The spacecraft are still being used today, sending cosmonauts to
Vostok 5 June 14, 1963
km), was Yury Gagarin in 1961. He was the sole crew member of the Russian the International Space Station. Vostok 6 June 16, 1963
spacecraft Vostok 1. Gagarin orbited the Earth in his capsule, which was lifted
into orbit by the SL-3 rocket and which had an ejection system for the Cosmonaut
VOSTOK BOOSTER ROCKET
cosmonaut in case of emergency. To be able to leave the Earth, Vostok
needed a booster rocket.
Cosmonaut
ejection seat Manned module
Russians in Space VOSTOK 1

Nitrogen and
oxygen storage
In Vostok 1 the cosmonaut had practically no control over the tanks
Launch April 1961
spacecraft, which was controlled remotely by Soviet engineers. The
spacecraft consisted of a spherical cabin weighing 2.46 tons with a Orbital altitude 196 miles (315 km)
diameter of 7.5 feet (2.3 m). The single-person cabin was mounted on the Orbital period 1 hour, 48 min
module, which contained the rocket engine. Yury Gagarin's reentry was Weight 5,400 pounds (2,460 kg)
done with parachutes.
Organization U.S.S.R. FIRST STAGE SECOND STAGE THIRD STAGE
THE FIRST Yury Gagarin

On board Vostok 1, 1934-68
Gagarin was the The Russian cosmonaut WEIGHT ON EARTH
first person to go helped in promoting VOSTOK
into space. In 1961
he orbited the Earth
at an altitude of
Russian astronautics. He
died in a routine flight, on
board a MiG-15 jet.
11,000 pounds BOOSTER ROCKET
Vostok was the first mission
The cosmonaut
196 miles (315 km).
(5,000 kg) Access
port that carried a human into
3 ejects from the
rocket with a
space, the cosmonaut Yury parachute.
Gagarin.
ANTENNAS
THE FIRST WOMAN Valentina 15 feet It had powerful
(4.5 m)
She traveled into Tereshkova antennas to The
space on board the
Vostok 6 in 1963.
(b. 1937)
Tereshkova was a parachute
stay in contact
Separation
4 cosmonaut
separates
with the Earth.
During that mission,
she flew 48 orbits
jumping enthusiast. It was
not until 19 years later that The spacecraft was
2 occurred at 10:25,
and the cosmonaut's
himself from
the ejection
around the Earth in another woman became a 1 launched from the
cosmodrome in
reentry began at 10:35. seat at an
71 hours of flight. cosmonaut. altitude of
Baikonur, in 13,000 feet
PART BY PART Tyuratam, (4,000 m).
Diagram of the
Vostok with each of
at 9:07 A.M. Return Ticket
its components VHS antenna The flight began in Tyuratam, rising to an
A WALK IN SPACE Aleksey
Leonov was the first
altitude of 196 miles (315 km). First it crossed
A. Leonov
to perform a space (b. 1934) a part of Siberia and then the entire breadth of the
walk. In March 1965 In 1953 he joined the Air Pacific Ocean; it passed between Cape Horn and
the spacecraft Force and in 1959 began Antarctica, and once it had crossed the Atlantic it
Voshkod 2 carried training for spaceflight. In Liftoff
flew in African skies over the Congo. The capsule
him to outer space. 1975 he commanded the The cosmonaut
Retrothruster with Gagarin separated from the launch rocket
Apollo-Soyuz mission.
Motor (which continued in orbit) and began its descent. It
5 lands in
Saratov at
controls landed in Saratov, approximately 460 miles (740 km) 11:05 A.M.
east of Moscow.
1957 1958 1958 1959 1959 1960 1961 1961 1961 1964 1964 1965
SPUTNIK 2 EXPLORER 1 NASA LUNA 1 LUNA 3 LITTLE DOGS HAM VOSTOK 1 MERCURY GEMINI 1 VOSHKOD 1 VOSHKOD 2
On November 3 the First American The National Aeronautics Launched by the Soviet Launched in October, Strelka and Belka The first chimpanzee In a flight of 108 NASA's Alan Shepard The first two Gemini A crew of three Aleksey Leonov
second Soviet satellite to orbit the and Space Administration Union in January, it it took photos of the returned alive from a to be sent into space minutes, the made a suborbital flight were launched as went into space for succeeded in leaving the
satellite was launched, Earth. It was was founded in the United came within 3,500 miles far side of the Moon. trip in orbit that lasted on a suborbital flight Russian Yury Gagarin of 15 minutes. unmanned flights in the first time. spacecraft and carried
with the dog Laika. launched in February. States. (6,000 km) of the Moon. one day. orbits the Earth. 1964 and 1965. out the first space walk.
North American Spacecraft THE VOYAGE

During the flight, the Escape
Capsule
O
crew had more than Tower
ver the course of the space race between the Soviet Union and the United 100 controls available.
States, the United States developed the Mercury program between 1959 HELMET
They were also able to
see out through a Tower
and 1963. The manned capsule was small, with a volume of only 60 small window.
cubic feet (1.7 cu m). Before the first manned mission in May 1961, the
American project sent three monkeys into space. The Mercury 2
Separating from the
escape tower and the
spacecraft were launched into space by two rockets: the Redstone, booster engine, the
escape rockets ignite
used for suborbital flights, and the Atlas, which was used in the five Booster Engine
and the parachute
system is armed.
orbital flights that were achieved. Little Joe was used to test the
Reentry
escape tower and controls for aborting a mission. 3
The capsule turns
180°. Depending on Parachutes
the mission, it can
complete 1–22
orbits. Then the
descent begins. Capsule
THRUSTERS OBSERVATION
Escape The Mercury Experience WINDOW
With the fuel providing First Voyages
Mercury
tower The development of the mission hardware was more a product of 1 the thrust, the launch
vehicle deploys together
The six successful flights of
politics than of scientific intent. After the launching of Sputnik 1 in with the command the Mercury mission used a
Spacecraft
1957 and within the framework of the Cold War, the United States made module. The spacecraft solid-fuel rocket. The first, a
efforts to start its own space program. The development of the Mercury has three solid fuel suborbital flight in May 1961, lasted
spacecraft was the initial step for getting the Apollo project off the ground. It HEAT SHIELD rockets. 15 minutes. Over the years, the
Manned was announced as a mission to fly past the Moon in 1961 but was changed by length of space flights increased
module President Kennedy because he wanted an American to reach the Moon, set thanks to improvements in the Return
foot on it, and return home. spacecraft.
DOUBLE
WALL
TESTING Ham CONTROL PANEL
The first sentient was the first monkey to
beings in space fly into space. The
were animals, sent spacecraft had sensors THRUSTERS
in order to ensure and remote-control The descent begins at
that humans could
survive
instruments; Ham
survived life in space
4 an altitude of 21,000
feet (6,400 m). The
spaceflight. without problems. capsule begins reentry.
MERCURY FLIGHTS BOOSTERS The parachutes open. Principal
Parachutes
MERCURY WITH ANIMALS
Fuel tank
Launch THE FIRST Alan Shepard Little Joe Dec. 4, 1959 Sam PARACHUTES
rocket On May 5, 1961, 1923-98 Redstone Jan. 31, 1961 Ham AERODYNAMIC
Shepard lifted off After his first voyage ADJUSTMENT
from Cape Canaveral into space, he held Atlas 5 Nov. 29, 1961 Enos Falling into
and became the important positions the Ocean
first American to fly with NASA. In 1971 he
on board a Mercury was part of the Apollo MERCURY WITH ASTRONAUTS
spacecraft. 14 mission.
Redstone 3 May 5, 1961 Alan Shepard
Oxidant WEIGHT ON EARTH
tank Redstone 4 July 21, 1961
Atlas 6 Feb. 20, 1962
Gus Grissom
John Glenn 4,257 pounds MERCURY
THE LAST Gordon Cooper Atlas 7 May 24, 1962 Scott Carpenter (1,935 kg) TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
He was commander 1927-2004 RESCUE
of the last Mercury Selected as an astronaut Atlas 8 Oct. 3, 1962 Wally Schirra 1st launch July 29, 1960 ROCKET
MODULE Before the
mission, which in
May 1963 completed
in 1959. In 1965 he
carried out a Gemini
Atlas 9 May 15, 1963 Gordon Cooper The height of the Maximum altitude 175 miles (282 km) 5 retrieval, the
pilot's
22 orbits and closed mission that lasted 190 Mercury capsule is Diameter 6 feet (2 m) parachute and the
the operational hours and 56 minutes. He scarcely greater reserve parachute are
Motor Maximum duration 22 orbits (34 hours)
phase of the project. retired in 1970. than the height of detached; they fall
the average person. Organization NASA into the sea and are
retrieved.
1965 1965 1965 1966 1966 1966 1966 1967 1967 1968 1969 1969
MARINER 4 GEMINI 3 DOCKING LUNA 9 SURVEYOR 1 LUNA 10 APOLLO PROGRAM TRAGEDY SOYUZ 1 APOLLO 8 SOYUZ 4 AND 5 APOLLO 11
Mariner 4 flew past The astronauts Virgil (Gus) Gemini 6 and 7 succeeded at On February 3 the first The first American Moon In April the Soviet The Apollo program began in In January three The Soviet program also experi- The Saturn V is used for The Russian space The United States reaches
Mars and took the Grissom and John Young completing a rendezvous and landing on the Moon took landing on June 2. More Union deployed another February 1966 with the astronauts died in a fire enced a fatal accident. On April 24, the first time as a booster. program successfully its objective. Edwin Aldrin
first photos of the Red began the manned flights docking in space. Gemini was place. Photos were taken than 10,000 high-resolution satellite that sent radio objective of landing on the during a routine test of Vladimir Komarov died when his Apollo 8 orbits the Moon docks two spacecraft as and Neil Armstrong walk
Planet. of this program. the preceding project to Apollo. and sent back to Earth. photos were transmitted. signals to Earth. Moon. the Apollo program. spacecraft crashed while landing. 10 times in six days. Gemini had done. on the Moon.
A Giant Leap The Modules

The Apollo 11 mission had
COMMAND
MODULE
SERVICE
MODULE
High-Gain
Antenna
T
he acceleration of the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union a spacecraft divided into
two parts: the command module
Thrust
Control
reached its height when President Kennedy's words set the goal of landing on MANEUVERABLE
Columbia and a lunar module, the Reserve Fuel
the Moon before the end of the 1960s. In meeting that goal in 1969, a DOCKING ANTENNA
Eagle. Initially they were joined
together. When orbit was
human being for the first time in history walked on the Moon. The mission took RADAR reached, the lunar module
ANTENNA
over a week, including the trip and the stay on the Moon. It was the first separated to complete its descent
and land on the Moon.
launch to use two boosters: one for leaving Earth to get to the Moon and the
ORBITAL MODULE
other to return from the Moon. Neil Armstrong was the first person to leave The use of two modules Motor
a human footprint and place a U.S. flag in outer space. allowed for a crew of two
in the cabin.
CABIN
LIFTOFF BOOSTER OXYGEN TANKS

LUNAR MODULE EAGLE ASSEMBLY Cabin for Propulsion
FOR THRUST
The module is powered by a Saturn V Launching CONTROL the Crew System
rocket. With a weight of over 6 million Platform was divided into two sections,
pounds (3 million kg), it was the heaviest one for ascent and one for Fuel Tanks Two Tanks
rocket that had ever been built. descent. It was coupled to the of Helium
orbital module during the
ascent and descent.
In 2 minutes
1 and 42
seconds, the
rocket reaches a ULTRA HIGH-
velocity of 6,100 mph
(9,800 km/h) and
WEIGHT ON EARTH FREQUENCY
ANTENNA
CSM-107 COLUMBIA WEIGHT ON
EARTH 66,000
enters Earth's orbit. 54,000 EXIT
Launch
Height
July 16, 1969
36 feet (11 m)
pounds
Stage 1 pounds PLATFORM
Diameter 12.8 feet (3.9 m)
(30,000 kg)
Cabin volume 220 cubic feet (6.2 cu m)
(24,500 kg)
The Voyage Crew 3
Organization NASA
The total mission to the Moon and back
lasted almost 200 hours. For the voyage,
two modules were used: the orbital module FUEL TANK
Revolution (Columbia) and the lunar module (Eagle). Both
were attached to the Saturn V rocket until after The Crew
the third stage. The Eagle module, with two OXIDANT The three members of the crew were men who already had much experience
astronauts onboard, was separated after TANK at NASA. They were all part of the Gemini program, a very important
making a 180° course correction that placed it preparation for landing on the Moon and walking on its surface. Armstrong and
in lunar orbit. Then, having been separated, the Aldrin were the first human beings to set foot on the Moon. Collins orbited around
module fired up its engine and prepared for the Moon at an altitude of 69 miles (111 km).
landing on the Moon. The return trip began on
July 24. The stay on the Moon lasted 21 hours
2 and 38 minutes.
Neil Armstrong Michael Collins Edwin Aldrin
One revolution (b. 1930) (b. 1930) (b. 1930)
is made around carried out his first was the third astronaut took part in the Gemini
the Earth. The SATURN V mission on board to carry out a space walk 13 training mission and
Stage 3
second stage is The rocket that Gemini 8 in 1966. He with the Gemini 10 was the second man to
jettisoned, and launched LANDING was the first person to mission. He was the set foot on lunar soil.
the ship's GEAR set foot on the Moon. command module pilot of
velocity reaches
Apollo into He retired from NASA the Columbia.
14,620 mph orbit was as EQUIPMENT FOR in 1971.
(23,000 km/h). high as a 29- EXPERIMENTS
story building.
Modules
Joined Once lunar orbit LM-5 EAGLE
4 is reached, the
Eagle module
Landing July 20, 1969 ENORMOUS
3 separates and prepares Height 21 feet (6.5 m) EAGLE
for landing on the Moon. The astronaut is
The orbital and Cabin volume 235 cubic feet (6.65 cu m)
lunar modules
just over one half
Crew 2
stay together. Module as tall as the leg
Organization NASA of the module.
Correction
The Moon Without Secrets The Lunar Orbiter

The Lunar Prospector was launched in
1997 and was in space for 19 months. It
LUNAR PROSPECTOR
consists of a cylinder
covered with thousands of
Solar Sensors
LUNAR PROSPECTOR
Launch
Flight to
January 1998
105 hours
S
photovoltaic panels. Antenna the Moon
ix Apollo missions were able to land on the lunar surface. Apollo 13, because of an oxygen- orbited the Moon at an altitude of 62 miles used to maintain
Weight
(100 km), traveling at a velocity of 3,400 mph communications 650 pounds (295 kg)
tank explosion, flew to the Moon but did not make a landing. Through the intelligence and (5,500 km/h), completing an orbit every two with the Earth.
Cost $63 million
expertise of the astronauts onboard, it was able to return to Earth safely. With the success hours. This allowed it to obtain data from the Gamma-Ray
Spectrometer searches Organization NASA
surface. Its objective was to attain a low polar
of these missions, the Moon was no longer unreachable. A dozen men were able to walk on the orbit of the Moon, which included a mapping of
for potassium, oxygen,
uranium, aluminum,
ANTENNAS
gray, crunchy lava soil strewn with craters. Each one of these voyages, besides bringing back data, the surface, reconnaissance for the composition silicon, calcium,
permit
communication
and possible deposits of water in the form of magnesium, and titanium.
encouraged the development of space science and increased the desire to carry out other missions ice, and measuring the lunar magnetic and with NASA's
Thrusters
to different locations of the solar system. gravitational fields. Deep Space
Network.
LUNAR POLE
Images taken by the Alpha Particle
The Apollo Missions THE LUNAR ROVER Lunar Prospector Magnetometer
Solar Panel Spectrometer
detects particles Neutron Spectrometer
The Apollo program began in July 1960. An important modern An electric vehicle used by the astronauts to looks for magnetic emitted by detects neutrons on the
technological triumph, it succeeded in putting the United States explore the surface of the Moon fields near the radioactive gases. lunar surface.
ahead in the space race. Six missions made landings: Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, spacecraft.
16, and 17. The Apollo lunar module was the first spacecraft designed to
fly in a vacuum without any aerodynamic capabilities.
Television
Camera
TWENTY-ONE CHOSEN High-gain Low-gain End of the Apollo Program
Apollo included seven Antenna Antenna
After six landings on the Moon, the Apollo program was
missions designed to land on Manual terminated. Apollo 18, 19, and 20 were canceled for budgetary
the Moon, with a total of 21 Controls
reasons. The program had put the United States in the lead of the
astronauts. Six missions Sample space race.
completed landings, and 12 Collection Bag
astronauts walked on the
Moon's surface. LUNAR ROVER
Television
APOLLO 13 James A. Lovell, Jr.
Launch July 1971 The pilot of the (b. 1928)
Camera
740 pounds LUNAR MATERIAL

The samples of lunar
rocks turned out to be
Length
Width
10.2 feet (3.10 m)
3.7 feet (1.14 m)
unfortunate Apollo 13
mission, which was
aborted because of
an explosion on board
was the backup commander
for the Gemini 4 flight and
command pilot of Gemini 7
and 12.
(336 kg) similar to those in the
Earth's mantle.
Lunar
Communications
Transmission Unit
Velocity
Organization
10 mph (16 km/h)
NASA
the service module
DISTANCE TRAVELED ANTENNA
15.5 miles The total distance

traveled by the Lunar
Rover in the Apollo 15,
High-gain, in
the form of
an umbrella
SCIENTIST
The only civilian on the
Moon. He traveled on
board Apollo 17 and
Harrison
Schmitt
(b. 1928)
North American geologist
(25 km) 16, and 17 missions on the Lunar
Rover
was the first geologist
to work on the Moon.
who flew on the last
Apollo mission
STAY
301:51´50´´ The duration of the
Apollo 17 mission, the
WEIGHT ON EARTH
longest, was almost

302 hours.
406 pounds APOLLO-SOYUZ
Russian cosmonaut Leonov
Aleksey Leonov
(b. 1934)
Storage Locker Data Console (209 kg) was part of the Apollo- was born in Siberia. During
HAPPY ENDING Soyuz test project in which the Voshkod 2 mission, he
The Apollo-Soyuz the two craft remained was the first person to
WEIGHT ON THE MOON docked for seven days. walk in space.
mission ended the space
race to the Moon.
77 pounds
(35 kg)
APOLLO MISSIONS LATER MISSIONS
1970 1972 1975 1994 2003 2008

APOLLO 13 SAMPLES APOLLO-SOYUZ CLEMENTINE SMART LRO
The explosion of the During the last lunar The spacecraft Apollo and The spacecraft The ESA launched Smart 1, NASA will launch a
liquid-oxygen tank of Apollo mission, the Apollo the Soviet Soyuz docked in Clementine orbited the its first unmanned rocket carrying the
the service module 17, the astronauts Eugene space in the first and Moon and mapped its spacecraft, with the Moon Lunar Reconnaissance
forced an early return Cernan and Harrison historic joint mission surface. It was also as its destination. Its Orbiter to the south pole
of the crew: James Schmitt drove over the between NASA and the used to obtain radar purpose was to analyze of the Moon to look for
Lovell, Fred Haise, and Moon in the Lunar Rover Soviet Space Agency. It data on the unlit unexplored regions and to water that could be
John Swigert. and took rock samples was the last Apollo mission. craters near the Moon's test new technologies, such used on future missions.
from the surface. south pole. as solar ionic propulsion.
Echoes of the Past WMAP DIMENSIONS

Observation
To be able to observe the heavens, the probe
is located at the point called Lagrange L2,
Day 90 (3 months)
The probe has completed
coverage of one half of the
WMAP TRAJECTORY
Before heading for point L2, the probe makes a flyby of
the Moon to get a gravity boost toward L2.
T
Launch June 30, 2001 sky. Each hour it covers Axial rotation
12.5 feet PLAN Lunar Orbit
hanks to the data obtained in 2001 OMNIDIRECTIONAL Useful life 27 months (3 (3.8 m) which is 900,000 miles (1.5 million km) from the a sector of 22.5º. 129 seconds
VIEW
Earth. This point provides a stable orbit far from Orbital Phases
from NASA's WMAP (Wilkinson ANTENNA months for travel
and 24 for the influence of the Earth. Sun shields protect its Earth
Microwave Anisotropy Probe), observation) instruments, which always point away from the Precession of
the equinoxes:
L2
Cost Sun. WMAP observes the heavens in several stages SUN
scientists have succeeded in making $150 million
Organization NASA and measures temperature differences between
22.5° around
the Sol- WMAP
the first detailed map of cosmic 16.4 feet
(5 m)
various regions of the cosmos. Every six months it WMAP line.
Encounter with the Moon
completely covers the entire sky, which makes it
background radiation, a remnant possible to compare different maps to check data
of the Big Bang. The ITS PARTS consistency. 900,000 MILES
(1.5 MILLION KM)
conclusion of the experts PRIMARY PROFILE VIEW
is that this map

REFLECTORS
provide the
Day 180 (6 months)
desired angular The whole sky has been
reveals clues about resolution; can mapped. This is repeated
when the first
point in any
direction.
four more times. Day 1
Because it can focus on
generation of stars Line of Sight the sky in two directions
simultaneously, WMAP
was formed. PASSIVE The purpose of observing
THERMAL the entire sky every six is capable of observing a
RADIATOR months is to obtain large portion of the sky
redundancy in the data Earth every day.
INCOMING gathered over two years.
IMAGES WMAP
Then the maps can be Every 24 hours,
Sun
compared to test their WMAP observes
consistency. 30 percent of
the sky.
THERMALLY
INSULATED
CYLINDRICAL
Terrestrial
INSTRUMENT
Orbit
THE MAP MOST RECENT SUCCESSES Temperature Regions of greater-than-

The details provided by WMAP are unprecedented. In a photograph of March 31, 2006, difference average temperatures
The various colors of the regions in the detailed map polarized zones are visible in different between two
WARM SECTION of the sky correspond to very slight differences in areas of the universe. points, measured
Contains: temperature in cosmic background radiation. This by WMAP
-Electronic instrumentation radiation, the remains of the Big Bang, was
-Position and propulsion control discovered in the 1960s, but only recently has it been
-Managing information and command possible to describe it in detail. The latest results of
-Battery and power control WMAP show polarized temperature zones.
COBE, the Predecessor

STAR TRACKER The results obtained by COBE in
1989 set the stage for the future.
The resolution is lower, so much
PROTECTIVE SHIELD TO less detail is visible.
PROVIDE THE SPACECRAFT
WITH SHADE
Regions of below-average
419 1,850 pounds
ENLARGED
AREA temperatures
watts (840 kg) The oval shape is a projection to

show the entire sky.
OF POWER
WEIGHT ON EARTH
1973 1976 1977 1981 1986 1989 1990 1997 1998 2001 2004 2005
SKYLAB VIKING VOYAGER 1 SPACE SHUTTLE MIR COBE HUBBLE PATHFINDER ISS WMAP SPIRIT MRO
The launching of the American satellite, AND 2 The first manned mission The first phase of the Russian First results concerning One of the most The probe released a robot The first module of the WMAP is launched to The robot, together with its Launched in 2005, the
first American space takes photos of the Fly by Jupiter in 1979 was conducted with the space station Mir was the cosmology of the powerful telescopes that took photographs on International Space obtain the most precise twin Opportunity, reached probe found traces of
station, Skylab surface of Mars and Saturn in 1980. shuttle Columbia. successfully put into orbit. universe. was put into orbit. the surface of Mars. Station is launched. data about the universe. the surface of Mars. water on Mars.
Flying Through Space SPACE SHUTTLE
The spacecraft developed by
NASA can be reused after
satellites have been lifted into
space and put into orbit.
DEFYING GRAVITY 28-29
POINT OF DEPARTURE 30-31
THE ROCKETS 32-33
SPACE SHUTTLE 36-39
FAR FROM HOME 40-41
PROFESSION: ASTRONAUT 42-43
LAUNCH SEQUENCE 34-35 CONTROL FROM EARTH 44-45
W
ith space vehicles that new discoveries about the origin and there are still many problems to be immigrated to new regions of the planet
have ever more structure of the other planets. Beginning solved. However, the future of the to survive and prosper, we have a
capabilities, humans have in 1981 the space shuttle became a key human species over the long term is in destiny that will take us away from the
attained many goals in component in astronautics. Life space, and there is no choice but to Earth to find new places to live.
space, such as making onboard the shuttle is still difficult, and follow that path. Like our ancestors, who
28 FLYING THROUGH SPACE SPACE EXPLORATION 29
0g
Defying Gravity Parabolic Flight

To achieve microgravity, a C-135 aircraft
ascends at an angle of 47° until the pilot
5.3 MILES
(8,500 M)
The engines are
stopped. The engines
T
shuts off the engines and the plane begins its free are started
he human body is suited for conditions under Earth's gravity. Therefore, fall by following a parabolic trajectory. During this again.
if the force of gravity increases or decreases, the body feels a distinct, phase, everything in the airplane floats, both
equipment and people, because they are in a
unfamiliar sensation. It causes a decrease in heartbeat; muscles 4.7 MILES
become weaker and bones lose calcium. Engineers and medical doctors
have investigated how humans can survive long periods where there is
weightless condition. Such flights are organized by
NASA, ESA, and RSA (the Russian Space Agency).
(7,600 M)
The engine velocity
decreases.
31
FLIGHTS
PER SESSION
little gravity without causing the body to atrophy. Orbiting
laboratories have been built to experiment with zero gravity on Earth. LIQUIDS
disperse in the air 3.7 MILES 47º
during conditions of (6,000 M)
microgravity. Acceleration
of the engines 1.8 G 1.8 G/1.5 G MICROGRAVITY 1.8 G
Microgravity
Gravitation is the universal force of attraction between
two bodies. It depends on two principal factors: mass
and distance. The greater the mass, the greater will be the
attraction; on the other hand, with greater distance, the force
WITHIN THE AIRPLANE
During parabolic flights,
nine to 15 scientific
15
EXPERIMENTS
of gravity is less. A spacecraft in orbit is essentially constantly experiments can be PERFORMED
falling around the Earth, and astronauts aboard do not feel the performed.
force of gravity even though they are being pulled by the
Earth's gravity. This condition of seeming weightlessness is
EXPERIMENT 8 EXPERIMENT 7
called a microgravity environment.
Studying smell Testing a new
and taste shower system for
the astronauts
EXPERIMENT 15 FREE-FLIGHT
The behavior of ZONE
ferro-fluids
WEIGHTLESSNESS
A body floats in
space.
Water: Another Method for
Simulating Weight Reduction
Other methods of training for the astronauts make
use of a gigantic swimming pool in which an
environment can be created to simulate working in
ACTION
microgravity. In the Johnson Space Center a simulator
AND REACTION
was installed, completely underwater, which allowed the
Newton's third law says
mission crew that was to be sent to repair the Hubble
that when one body
telescope to test what the working conditions inside the
exerts a force on another,
space shuttle would be.
the second one exercises
an equal force on the first
in the opposite direction.
MMU
GRAVITATIONAL Sun TRAJECTORY OF THE

ASSISTANCE CASSINI SPACECRAFT
LEGS Some spacecraft take
During weightlessness, advantage of the gravitational Venus
Saturn
REACTION an astronaut's legs get force of the planets so that
44 pounds (20 kg) thinner from lack of they can increase their speed Earth
exercise, and the to get to their destination. This
Satellite
Simulation Less
ACTION muscles atrophy. is the case with the spacecraft Weight
44 pounds (20 kg)
Cassini, among others.
Point of Departure LIGHTNING RODS

The mast protects people, the shuttle,
and the other platform components
from lightning. It is located in the
Floating Platform
Earth-based launching platforms are very expensive. For this reason, some
S
upper part of the fixed structure and countries have developed floating launch platforms. At sea it is much
pacecraft launching sites typically meet one or more optimal criteria. For example, is 348 feet (106 m) tall. simpler and safer to pick a location at the Equator, where the Earth's rotational
choosing a location close to the Equator makes it easier to put a spacecraft into velocity is the greatest, an advantage for putting space missions into orbit.
orbit. Moreover, a number of coastal areas have been chosen, because they are
more accessible for the transport of the goods needed to build the launch vehicles. SPACE ROCKET
The danger of an accident during launch must also be taken into account.
Therefore, sites have been chosen in areas with low-density population, such
as Cape Canaveral, Florida.
FIXED SERVICE
STRUCTURE
ROTATING SERVICE The structure is 246 feet
(75 m) high and divided into
Vehicle Assembly Building STRUCTURE
has a height of 189 feet 12 floors. It has three arms
PLATFORM
The spaceport has an immense building for the (57.6 m) and moves in a that connect it to the shuttle.
preparation and assembly of rockets and of the semicircular path around
external shuttle tank. The dimensions of the building the shuttle. 1 2 3
are impressive: 525 feet (160 m) high, 715 feet (218 MOUNTING TRANSFER STORAGE
m) long, and 387 feet (118 m) wide. The orbiter A rocket is built on an The rocket is transferred The rocket is stored until
travels on top of the crawler-transporter from this assembly barge 660 to the launching launch. The assembly barge
feet (200 m) long. platform Odyssey. leaves the location.
building to the launch pad.
ORBITER
ACCESS ARM
PROPULSION OTHER LAUNCHING BASES
ASSEMBLY ROCKETS The preference to use locations close to the Equator for
BUILDING
spaceports has an explanation. The speed of rotation of
the Earth's surface is greatest at the Equator, and
vehicles launched near the Equator can take advantage
CRAWLER- WHITE ROOM of that speed to help reach orbit.
TRANSPORTER Exclusively for
astronauts. From
FIRST LAUNCHES FROM THE MOST
here they go to the IMPORTANT BASES
shuttle.
PLESETSK
(1966)
KENNEDY
(1967)
LAUNCHER
PLATFORM EQUATOR SAN MARCO
KOUROU
(1970) (1967)
TAIL SERVICE MAST

Fixed Service These structures connect the
platform with the spacecraft.
Structure They provide oxygen and
hydrogen to the external tanks.
This steel giant is located at the
launch pad. It consists of fixed and
rotating structures. Atop the transport
caterpillar, the mobile launch platform
brings the space shuttle to this location. ELEVATOR
When the astronauts 130 ft (40 m)
arrive at the launch pad,
ROTATING SERVICE they ride the elevator to CRAWLER-TRANSPORTER
STRUCTURE a facility called the white The orbiter sits on top of two
protects the shuttle while room. From there, they caterpillar tracks and is
the contamination-free enter the shuttle. carried to the launch pad. A
fuels are being pumped system of laser rays precisely
into the tanks. guide it as it moves at 2 mph
(3.2 km/h).
The Rockets
D
eveloped in the first half of the 20th century, a short time acquire the velocity necessary to reach orbit
rockets are necessary for sending any kind of in space around the Earth. On average, more than one
object into space. They produce sufficient force rocket per week is sent into space from somewhere in
to leave the ground together with their cargo and in the world.
ARIANE 5
CONICAL COMPONENTS ACCORDING TO THE FUEL TYPE THEY
First operational flight Oct. 11, 1999
NOSE CONE USE, THESE WOULD BE CONSIDERED
Diameter 16 feet (5 m) protects CHEMICAL (FUEL) ROCKETS.
Total height 167 feet (51 m) the cargo. In liquid-fuel rockets, hydrogen and oxygen are
Booster rocket weight 610,000 pounds (277,000 kg) in separate containers. In solid-fuel rockets, they
Payload
each (full) are mixed and contained in a single cylinder.
System
Geosynchronous 15,000 pounds (6,800 kg)
payload Guidance KEY Gases expelled
UPPER System
Organization ESA
PAYLOAD
Propulsion
Up to two
System
satellites
LOWER
PAYLOAD
Up to two
satellites
Boeing Space Ariane 5
Shuttle
UPPER
ENGINES
1,645,000 release the

satellite at a
precise angle
pounds LIQUID OXYGEN TANK
and speed. LIQUID SOLID HYBRID
contains 286,000
(746,000 kg) pounds (130,000 kg)
WEIGHT OF ARIANE 5 for combustion.
Engine Operation
Before liftoff, the fuel is ignited. The boosters
THERMAL INSULATION ignite only if the ignition of the main engine is
To protect the combustion chamber from high successful. The rocket lifts off, and two minutes later
temperatures of the burning fuel, the walls are the boosters are extinguished, their fuel completely
sprayed with rocket fuel. This process manages consumed. The main engine remains attached until its
to cool the engine off. fuel is used up, and it is then jettisoned.
INTERNAL
CONNECTOR STRUCTURE OF THE
TUBE MAIN ENGINE
LIQUID
HYDROGEN TANK
LIQUID
COVER PROPELLANT INSULATION OXYGEN TANK
FUEL PUMP
TYPE OF ROCKET DEPENDING ON ITS COMBUSTION
PROPULSION CHAMBER
Rockets with chemical propellants are the most LIQUID
common. Their thrust comes from the exhaust HYDROGEN
produced through combustion. For propulsion in space, TANK
an ion drive can be used to produce an exhaust of contains
accelerated ions (electrically charged atoms). The use 225 tons.
of nuclear energy has been studied as a possible source
of energy for heating a gas to produce an exhaust. How It Works
To do its job, the rocket must overcome
KEY Thrust gravity. As it rises, the mass of the rocket is
COHETE reduced through the burning of its fuel. Moreover,
AUXILIAR because the distance from the Earth increases, the
effect of gravity decreases.
WATER OR IONS
BOOSTER ACTION AND
LIQUID
HYDROGEN ROCKETS REACTION
burn fuel for The thrust of the
FUEL NUCLEAR
two minutes. rocket is the
REACTOR
reaction resulting
from the action of
the hot exhaust
escaping from the
rocket.
LIQUID
CHEMICAL NUCLEAR IONIC HELIUM THRUSTERS
expel gases so
MAIN that the rocket
ENGINE can begin its
burns for ascent.
10 minutes. ROCKET
THRUST
EARTH
GRAVITY
1926 1942 1961 1969 1988 1999

On March 16, Robert V2 rockets were being The Soviet rocket Vostok 1 The rocket Saturn V sends The powerful rocket After two failed attempts
Hutchings Goddard built by the Germans for lifts the first astronaut, Yury a man to the Moon on the Energia puts a prototype in 1996 and 1998, the
launched the first liquid- military use. They were Gagarin, into space; he orbits Apollo 11 mission. The Soviet space shuttle, the Ariane 5 achieves its first
fueled rocket in the the first rockets to be the Earth at an altitude of giant rocket is more than Buran, into orbit. successful commercial
United States. built on a large scale. 196 miles (315 km). 330 feet (100 m) high. flight.
Launch Sequence
S
carcely 50 years have elapsed since the first spaceflights. Nevertheless, access to space—whether
for placing satellites into orbit, sending probes to other planets, or launching astronauts into
space—has become almost routine and is a good business for countries that have launch
capabilities. Preparations for launch begin with the assembly of the rocket, followed by its placement on
a launch pad. When its engines are ignited, the rocket rises into the atmosphere. Once the atmosphere
has been left behind, less thrust is needed. For this reason, rockets consist of two or more stages stacked
on top of each other. Booster rockets are typically used to produce greater initial thrust.
Final phase
The work of the upper
stage begins. The upper-
stage rocket is the only
Bound for Space rocket not used on the
launching pad. Instead it
The upper stage,
which carries the is used to insert the
HOW IT FLIES FLIGHT GUIDANCE STAGES payload into its proper
payload, is
The hot gases As the gases The rocket's guidance computer The Ariane 5 has ignited once it orbit. The rocket can be
produced by escape through uses data from laser gyroscopes a main stage, an reaches space. reignited after it is shut
the burning the open nozzle, to control the inclination of the upper stage, and down and can burn for a
fuel push in all they generate an nozzles, directing the rocket along two booster total of 19 minutes.
directions. opposing force. its proper flight path. rockets. The
main stage and The main stage uses
Laser booster liquid hydrogen and
Gyroscope rockets are oxygen.
ignited at
Fuel tank Electrical launch. The booster rockets
Signals are solid-fuel rockets. The main stage, ignited at the
end of the countdown, separates
Computer and falls back to Earth. Its
Gas
supply of liquid hydrogen and
direction Gimbals oxygen has been used up.
Nozzle
Inclination
Nozzle
Fairing
The fairing is jettisoned
when the air becomes so thin
that wind no longer poses
any danger to the payload.
Launch Countdown
The countdown for the Ariane 5 typically lasts six hours. At the Launch Window Latitude of the Direction
end of the countdown, the launch begins with the ignition of the launching point of the Earth's
main stage's liquid-fuel engine. Seven seconds later the two solid-fuel Rockets must be rotation
boosters are ignited. Before the boosters' ignition, the flight can be launched at
Launch
aborted by shutting down the main stage. predetermined times, which
Window
depend on the objective of
the launch. If the objective
is to place a satellite into
orbit, the latitude of the
Detachment launched rocket needs to
The launch Explosive bolts coincide with the trajectory
countdown begins. separate the boosters of the desired orbit.
from the main stage When the mission involves Ideal
and the main stage docking with another object trajectory
from the second stage. in space, the launch window
The tanks begin
might fall within only a few Projection Planned
to be filled.
minutes. of the orbit orbit
Mechanical
reinforcements are made. 218 feet (66 m)
At 200,000 feet (60,000
Comparison
m) the solid-fuel boosters 200
The automatic launch separate and fall to the feet 184 feet (56 m)
sequence starts. ocean in a secure area.
167 feet (51 m)
The main-stage 150

engines are ignited. feet
363 feet
The solid-fuel
(111 m) 100
feet
boosters are The height of the
ignited. The rocket Saturn V, the largest
begins to lift off rocket ever launched.
0.3 second later. It was used in the
late 1960s and early 50
1970s to take feet
astronauts to the
Moon. During
launching it could be
heard 90 miles (150
km) away.
ARIANE 5 DELTA IV M+ SPACE SHUTTLE
Solid-fuel boosters
provide 90 percent of the initial Weight at launch: Weight at launch: Weight at launch:
thrust needed to launch the 822 tons (746 t) 330 tons (300 t) 2,200 tons (2,000 t)
Ariane 5. The boosters are 102
feet (31 m) high and contain First operational flight: 1999 First operational launch: 2002 First operational launch: 1981
525,000 pounds (238,000 kg)
of fuel. Once the fuel is used up, Maximum payload: 7.5 to 17.6 Maximum payload: 6 to 12.9 Maximum payload: 27.5 tons
the boosters are separated from tons (6.8-16 t) depending on the tons (5.5-11.7 t) depending on (25 t) into low Earth orbit.
the main stage, 130 seconds desired orbit the desired orbit
into the flight.
Space Shuttle Primary Engines

There are three primary engines, which are fed by oxygen
and liquid hydrogen from the external tank. Each engine has
U
nlike conventional rockets, the U.S. space shuttle can be reused to lift computer-based controls that make adjustments to obtain the
correct thrust and mix of fuel.
satellites into space and put them into low Earth orbit. Today these
vehicles are also used to make flights to the International Space Station. LIQUID LIQUID
The U.S. fleet has three shuttles: Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. The OXYGEN HYDROGEN PRIMARY
ENGINES
Challenger exploded in 1986 and the Columbia in 2003.
External Fuel Tank
connects the shuttle to the launch
rockets. It carries liquid oxygen and
liquid hydrogen, which are ignited via
TECHNICAL DATA FOR THE SPACE SHUTTLE SATELLITE a tube that connects one container to
remains in the the other. The tank is discarded after
First launch April 12-14, 1981
payload bay each voyage.
Mission length 5-20 days
and is moved
Width 79 feet (24 m) by the arm.
Length 121 feet (37 m) CIRCULATION
OF LIQUID
Organization NASA THERMAL
EXTERNAL ROBOT ARM HYDROGEN
FUEL TANK moves satellites in and SHIELD
25,500 pounds out of the payload bay.
WEIGHT
ON EARTH (11,600 kg) ORBITAL ENGINES
SPACE SPACE provide the thrust for orbital insertion and
ORBITER for orbital changes required in the orbit.
ORBITER The engines are located on the outside of
the fuselage.
121 feet
(37 m) AUXILIARY
ROCKETS
Boeing Standard Space

Aircraft Airplane Shuttle WING
The wings have no
function in space. They
are needed for landing
The Cabin the spacecraft.
The place where the members of the crew live is divided COMMAND
into two levels: an upper level houses the pilot and the CABIN
copilot (and up to two more astronauts), and a lower level is used
for daily living. The amount of habitable space inside the cabin is
2,470 cubic feet (70 cu m). Thermal Protection
HATCHES When a shuttle begins reentry from Earth's orbit,
are opened when the orbiter friction heats the surface to a temperature between 570
reaches low Earth orbit. and 2,700° F (300-1,500° C). Various parts of the spacecraft
CONTROLS They have thermal panels must have protective layers to keep them from melting. The
There are more than 2,000 separate COMMAND that protect the spacecraft inner parts of the wings and the nose heat up the most.
controls in the flight cabin, three times CONSOLE from overheating.
as many as in Apollo.
ADHESIVE
CERAMIC FIBER
CONTROL
PILOT SEAT PROTECTIVE
CABIN Solid-Fuel Rockets
CERAMICS FELT
are designed to last for some 20 flights. shuttle to an altitude of 27 miles (44 km) and
make up the layers
After each flight, they are recovered from are capable of supporting the entire weight of
that protect the
the ocean and refurbished. They carry the the shuttle while standing on the ground.
spacecraft from
heat.
KEY
1,200-2,300° F (648-
IGNITION SOLID THRUST
GLASS COVERING 1,260° C)-also silicon
SECTOR FUEL NOZZLE Ceramic fiber:
temperature below Metal or glass, without
700° F (370° C) thermal protection
SILICON
COMMANDER'S CERAMIC TILES Silicon ceramic:
CHAIR 700-1,200° F (370- Carbon in areas above
648° C) 2,300° F (1,260° C)
ORBITAL SPECIFICATIONS
Orbital altitude 190-330 miles (310-530 km)

2
Orbital period 97 minutes
Average orbital speed 17,200 mph (27,800 km/h) 5-30 DAYS
ORBITAL MANEUVERING
00:08:00 CONTROL SYSTEM
ORBITS IN SPACE
Once the necessary altitude has been
THE EXTERNAL
puts the shuttle into an appropriate orbit. reached for the mission, the shuttle remains
TANK IS JETTISONED.
Depending on the mission, its altitude in space between 10 and 16 days. It is then
could be as high as 700 miles (1,100 km). oriented for the return flight to Earth.
ORBITAL BOOSTER ROCKETS

MANEUVERING are jettisoned and begin to
SYSTEM fall toward Earth. Later
they will be refurbished.
Front Back 00:02:00

View View 27 MILES (44 KM)
ALTITUDE: THE SOLID-
FUEL ROCKETS ARE
JETTISONED.
ASCENDING PHASE
EXTERNAL TANK
Its fuel is fed to the shuttle
engines until just before the
3
The space shuttle turns 120º and shuttle reaches orbit. The tank
ascends upside down, with the crew in is immediately jettisoned and REENTRY INTO THE
an upside-down position. It maintains as it falls it burns up through ATMOSPHERE
atmospheric friction. The shuttle undergoes a communications
this position until reaching orbit.
blackout because of the heated air that
surrounds it.
Retrieval System
17,400 mph
1 Two minutes after the shuttle's liftoff, the
booster rockets have burned up their fuel.
(28,000 km/h)
SPEED REACHED BY THE SHUTTLE
They are jettisoned, and the parachutes deploy for

COMPARTMENT WITH their fall into the ocean. Later the booster rockets
00:00:00 THREE PARACHUTES are retrieved by ships and refurbished.
Used for jettisoning the
LIFTOFF rockets
The two solid-fuel rockets and
the three main engines go into
action. They burn two million
pounds (900,000 kg) of
propellant, and the shuttle
reaches an altitude of 27 miles
4
(44 km). The solid fuel is CARGO BAY LANDING
completely consumed. carries the apparatus that The shuttle landing sequence is completely
will be put into orbit. automatic and kicks in two minutes before
BOOSTER
returning to terra firma. It lands on a
runway 3 miles (5 km) long.
4,900° F
ROCKETS
(1,500° C)
MAXIMUM
TEMPERATURE
BOOSTER ROCKETS
2,200 tons
THE LIFTOFF WEIGHT OF
provide the thrust
essential for liftoff.
THE SPACE SHUTTLE
EXTERNAL SHUTTLE
TANK houses the astronauts and
carries fuel to the cargo once in orbit.
be used in
liftoff. 20º TURNS
It makes various
“S” turns to reduce
LANDING ANGLE its velocity.
Far from Home 1 90

SLEEP minutes
T
Once a day
he experience of leaving the Earth to live in a space station or to take
THE LENGTH OF A
The Sun rises and sets every
DAY IN ORBIT
hour and a half when the
a trip in the shuttle is a fascinating adventure. Life in orbit requires shuttle is in orbit, but the
astronauts attempt to sleep
many adjustments to survive in an environment where there is no eight hours once a day. They
Sleeping
Bag
water, air pressure, or oxygen. The crew cabin is pressurized, and must stay tethered to keep
from floating.
water is produced electrically with oxygen and hydrogen. Food
requires special packaging, and the garbage is pulverized.
2
TOILET
To go to the bathroom, a
system of suction with air is
Crew Cabin used because it is impossible
to use water. Baths can be
The crew cabin is located at the front of the shuttle. taken. After a bath, the same
The control deck is on the upper level, and the lower clothes are used because
there is no way to wash
level has sleeping and living compartments as well as the clothes in space.
hatch for entering and leaving the cabin.
CABIN
EARPHONES
DORMITORY
help maintain
communication.
3
BATHROOM FOOD
3 times a day
CUPBOARD Every day the astronauts
have breakfast, lunch, and
dinner. They must bring the
food to their mouths very
CLOTHES carefully. They must drink
HATCH Comfortable enough water or they could
clothes are used begin to suffer from
dehydration.
Physical Ailments
during the day.
4
The human body is accustomed to Earth's effects on the body, such as bone and muscle
WORK
gravity. In space the astronauts reduction. In many cases, living in small spaces
8 hours a day
They work four hours on Saturdays
experience weightlessness, floating in the can cause psychological problems. Also, radiation and have Sundays off. Weekdays are
spacecraft. Life in space can have undesirable from solar storms can cause severe damage. normal workdays. The most common
tasks are scientific experiments and
5 normal maintenance.
LOSS OF CALCIUM IN THE BONES

Hallucinations In microgravity, the bone tissue is not EXERCISE
and Seasickness regenerated but absorbed by other tissues. 2 hours a day
Every day, in order to stay
The loss of mass can appear as an excess of in good health, astronauts
calcium in other parts of the body (for must do physical exercises.
RESPIRATORY example, kidney stones). Because weightlessness
SYSTEM causes muscle loss,
exercises that tone the
muscles are performed.
TETHER
holds down the Work Clothes
body to keep it in Space
from floating.
CIRCULATORY
SYSTEM
Diseased Healthy
Bone Bone Device to Increase
MUSCULAR
Muscle Tone
72
72 VARIETIES
20
VARIETIES
SYSTEM OF DISHES OF DRINKS
Profession: Astronaut CAMERA

Color television
equipment
PLASTIC HELMET
The helmet is treated
to prevent fogging.
RESCUE SPHERE
is to help the members
of the crew who do not
have space suits. It is
H
“SNOOPY CAP” made of space-suit
ow do you become an astronaut? Before undertaking a mission in space, every material and has its
candidate must submit to rigorous examinations since the tasks they are to MICROPHONE
own oxygen supply.
perform are very delicate and risky. They must intensively study mathematics, HELMET
Contains the
meteorology, astronomy, and physics and become familiar with computers and communication
equipment
navigation in space. They must also train physically to get used to low-gravity microphone
OXYGEN
SUPPLY
conditions in orbit and to be able to carry out repairs.
VISOR EXTERIOR
Protects MADE OF SPACE
against the Sun SUIT MATERIAL
Manned COMPUTER
Maneuvering Unit VISOR CARRYING
HANDLE
The training program is difficult and
exhausting. There are daily activities
in the flight simulators with specialized
computers. DIGITAL
CAMERA
IMAGE
FLIGHT SIMULATOR CONTROLLER
COMMANDS
Physical Training
OXYGEN This is the hardest part. To habituate themselves to the microgravity of
SUPPLY space, the astronauts begin training in modified airplanes, where they handle
ORIFICE
equipment, eat, and drink during the moments of least gravity. The manned
For water
COMPUTER maneuvering unit (MMU), with which the astronauts go out of the spacecraft to
Pocket entry and exit
make repairs in space, has an underwater model for preparatory training on Earth.
LIFE-SUPPORT communication
SYSTEM equipment.
BELT
Keeps the
OXYGEN astronauts in
LIFE-SUPPORT comes in through place to cope
BACKPACK this part of the with zero gravity
space suit.
SIMULATOR
ASTRONAUT For space
GLOVES operations
protect the
astronaut's hands.
LAYERS OF THE SPACE SUIT

The types of cloth this suit is made of are
specially designed to protect the astronaut's
body.
HAND CONTROLS
CLOTH WITH WATER
For maneuvering the unit
TRANSPORT TUBES
NYLON
1965 1969 1984 1994
The astronaut Neil Armstrong used Bruce McCandless wore Space shuttle
Edward White used this space suit when this space suit when he astronauts COOLING LIQUID
NEOPRENE FOOT RESTRAINT
this space suit to he performed his became the first person demonstrate a serves as thermal
perform a space walk first historic space to carry out a space suit that is protection and helps support the astronaut.
THERMAL LAYER
in the vicinity of the walk on the surface walk without being much more protection against AGAINST
Gemini capsule. of the Moon. tethered to the shuttle. modern and reusable. meteorites. MICROMETEORITES
Control from Earth The Big Screen
M
An enormous screen dominates the Operations
onitoring the astronauts' activity is done from operations centers. Control Center. It gives information on the location
and orbital trajectory of a spacecraft in flight as well as
In the United States, NASA is in charge of the manned missions other data. The screen is of vital importance for the
from the Mission Control Center located in the Johnson Space operators, because it allows for a rapid reading of
information to take action efficiently and to prevent
Center in Houston. The unmanned missions are supervised from the Jet accidents.
Propulsion Laboratory in Los Angeles. Utilizing telemetry technology, which
makes it possible to see technical aspects in real time, the flight controllers
carry out their tasks in front of consoles equipped with computers. SCREEN 2
shows the
location and path
of spacecraft in
24- hour
days
Houston Space Center Floor Plan SCREEN 1 orbit.
TIME THAT THE
records the location CENTER IS OPERATING
The center was used for the first time in 1964 for the Gemini 4 mission. The
of the satellites and DURING MISSIONS
operations control room has an auditorium, a screen that projects the
other objects in
locations of tracking stations on the Earth, and another screen showing the passage
orbit.
of satellites in orbit. Computers control all the components of the spacecraft.
ROW 1
EXHIBITION LIFTOFF MONITOR
ROOM Also controls the
trajectory and carries
out course adjustments
of the spacecraft.
SERVICE
AREA
MCC ROW 3 ROW 2
FLIGHT DIRECTION MEDICAL SECTION
The countdown before The second row checks
liftoff is performed and the astronauts' health
the flight plan made. and establishes
communication with
METEOROLOGICAL ROW 4 the crew.
CENTER DIRECTORATE
The lead authorities
are located in the
SERVICE AREA SIMULATION
fourth row, from Space Shuttle CONTROL ROOM VISITOR'S ROOM
SUPPORT ROOMS
VISUALIZATION ROOM
where they
coordinate the crew's
Control Center With a gigantic contains 74 seats, and
screen to monitor it is located at the
ROOM flight operations. It is smaller than the Houston Center. About 12 flights back of the room.
SPACE air controllers work there every day, a number
Console MAINTENANCE that may rise to 20 when a flight is ongoing.
IS CARRIED OUT Each worker has a different job, with the
The Operations Control Room consists of about a hundred consoles. first row being the lowest in the
The consoles form desks with an area for more than one monitor.
They have drawers and counters for providing a working area.
365
DAYS A YEAR
management hierarchy and the fourth
row the highest.
FOLDING TABLE MONITOR

For supporting To display data from spacecraft SPACECRAFT
objects and books and other systems 1 COMMUNICATOR
maintains contact
PROTECTIVE with the astronauts.
COVERING
prevents damage to FLIGHT SURGEON
the console system.
2 checks the medical
condition of the crew. 1
REAR SLIDING FLIGHT DIRECTOR 2
3
DRAWER helps the director of 4
To keep information mission control. 3
and papers
MISSION DIRECTOR
4
has the main responsibility
for flight control.
Permanent Exploration THE SPIRIT
Shown with its panels
extended, Spirit is one of
the robot explorers for
studying Martian soil.
SATELLITE ORBITS 48-49
CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY 50-51
SPACE PROBES 52-53
A HOME IN SPACE 56-57
SPYING ON THE UNIVERSE 58-59
SPACE JUNK 60-61
MARTIAN ROBOTS 54-55
S
pace exploration brings Moreover, these flights contribute to the relatively hospitable surface. Among data—they found geologic evidence of
scientific ideas to everyone's training of a new generation of the probes that NASA has sent to Mars ancient environmental conditions in
attention. This is beneficial scientists. Mars has often been seen as a are two robots, Spirit and Opportunity, which there was water and in which life
because it stimulates our goal for space exploration, perhaps that scratched the surface of the Red could have been present.
creativity and curiosity. because of its proximity to Earth and its Planet and sent back very interesting
48 PERMANENT EXPLORATION SPACE EXPLORATION 49
Satellite Orbits Frequency

Bands
The satellites transmit
L BAND
Used for the GPS system, cell
phones, and digital radio. Operates
in frequencies between 1.5 and 2.7
T
GHz. This band has the least data-
he space available for placing communications satellites is not unlimited. On the contrary, it is a information in different
frequencies depending
transmission capacity.
finite space that could become saturated with too many satellites. Desirable locations in on their function. K BAND GPS
geostationary orbits are already reaching this situation, chock-full of television and other Used for television and
radio transmissions.
communications satellites. The placement of these instruments cannot be arbitrary; errors of 1 or 2 KA BAND Transmits in a range
T
Used for instruments in space
BI
between 12 and
OR
degrees in position can generate interference with neighboring satellites. The positions are regulated and for local multipoint
LEO 18 GHz.
T
transmission. The frequency
BI
R
by the International Telecommunications Union. Geostationary satellites have the advantage of being in range varies between 18 and 31
ME
OO ORBITAL INCL
T
GHz. This band has the greatest INAT
BI
R
a fixed position with respect to the Earth's surface. In contrast, satellites in low or medium orbit capacity for data transmission.
.
GE
OO ION
55°
require a sequence of terrestrial stations to maintain a communications link.
Different Types
The quality of the information transmitted by the satellites depends on
their position relative to the Earth. The geostationary orbit (GEO), which MEO ORBIT
is the most commonly used orbit today, makes it possible to provide coverage to The altitude of satellites in a medium Earth
the entire planet with only four satellites, whereas lower orbits need SPOT orbit (MEO) ranges from 20,500 miles
constellations of satellites to get total coverage. This is the case for satellites in (33,000 km) up to the altitude of the
LEO (low Earth orbit). In other cases, satellites in MEO (medium Earth geostationary satellites. They generally
.8°
orbit) typically describe elliptical orbits. A GEO satellite is in a circular describe an elliptical orbit. Because putting
64
orbit, and if it orbits over the Equator, it always maintains the same
LEO ORBIT them in orbit requires more energy than GLONASS
ON
position with respect to the Earth. for a satellite in LEO, their cost is greater.
TI
A low Earth orbit is between 125 and EARTH'S
NA
1,900 miles (200-3,000 km) above the AXIS 23°
LI
393 2 km)
Earth. LEO has been used for telephone
NC
(63
LI
mile
communications satellites because of GEO )
km
TA
saturation. The orbits are circular and 00
BI
,0
require less transmission power than (19
OR
other orbits. However, they require Earth- les
0 mi
INTELSAT based centers to track the satellites. 80
11,
22,400 miles (36,000 km) GALILEO

IRIDIUM
HUBBLE
GEO ORBIT
°
60
TELESCOPE
POLAR ORBIT
N
The geostationary orbit (GEO) is the O
TI
most common, particularly for television INA
satellites. A satellite in a geostationary orbit CL
IN
orbits the Earth in 23 hours and 56 minutes. L
TA
Because this equals the rotation of the Earth,
RBI
the satellite remains stationary relative to the O
EQ
Earth's surface. A satellite in GEO orbits UA
TO
22,400 miles (36,000 km) above the Earth. RI
AL
OR
BI A
T
INNER VAN ALLEN BELT
Its greatest concentration
is about 1,860 miles
ELLIPTIC ORBIT CIRCULAR ORBIT (3,000 km) above the
APOGEE PERIGEE surface of the Earth. B
The point farthest The point closest to The same distance
from the Earth the Earth OUTER VAN ALLEN BELT
Primarily between 9,300 and
22,400 12,400 miles (15,000 and
20,000 km) above the
surface of the Earth
ORBITS
Distance from
LEO
125-1,900 miles
MEO
1,900-22,400 miles
GEO
22,400 miles
miles
the Earth (200-3,000 km) (3,000-36,000 km) (36,000 km) (36,000 km)
Satellite cost Low Medium High is the altitude necessary
for the orbit of a satellite VAN ALLEN BELTS
Type of network Complex Moderate Simple
so that it will remain Regions of the Earth's magnetosphere where charged particles are
Satellite life 3-7 years 10-15 years 10-15 years
stationary with respect to concentrated and protons and electrons move in spirals. There are two
Coverage Short Medium Continuous the Earth's surface. zones of concentrated particles, the inner and outer radiation belts.
Cutting-Edge Technology CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY

Launch
Useful life
July 23, 1999
Designed for five years
I
Range of energy 0.1 to 10 keV
n July 1999 the X-ray observatory known as Chandra was put into orbit. Since 33 feet
Cost $1,500 million (10 m)
then, it has provided important information about the universe and its phenomena. Organization NASA
Chandra can make X-ray observations of the heavens with an angular resolution
TELESCOPE PORT
of 0.5 seconds of an arc, 1,000 times greater than the first orbital X-ray telescope,
the Einstein Observatory. This characteristic permits it to detect sources of
light that are 20 times more diffuse. The group in charge of constructing SPACECRAFT 55,000
the X-ray telescope had to develop technologies for processes
MODULE
pounds
that had never been used before. (25,000 kg)
WEIGHT ON EARTH
Data Transmission Deep Space Network

The satellite system provides the structure and the SOLAR PANEL This international network of NASA radio antennas provides
equipment necessary for the telescope and the scientific
1.
OBSERVATION support for interplanetary missions in orbit around the Earth
instruments to operate. A propulsion system gradually puts the
The telescopic camera and for radio astronomy observations. It consists of three complexes.
spacecraft into its final orbit, which is elliptical and extends far PHOTOGRAPHIC TRANSMISSION
takes X-ray images and Each one contains at least four stations equipped with large
from Earth. In order to control the critical temperature of its CAMERA GRATINGS
sends them to the Deep OPTICAL parabolic antennas and ultrasensitive receivers.
components, Chandra has a special system of radiators and BANK
thermostats. The temperature near the X-ray mirrors has to be Space Network for SCIENTIFIC
processing. INSTRUMENT
maintained at the proper temperature to keep the mirrors in MODULE
focus. The electrical energy of the satellite comes from solar
panels and is stored in three batteries.
HIGH-
RESOLUTION
CAMERA
HOW IMAGES ARE CREATED
The information compiled by Chandra is transferred to tables and
images with coordinates of the x- and y-axes.
HIGH-RESOLUTION Goldstone
MIRROR
TABLE complex in
1 contains the time,
California, Spanish Australian
position, and the
energy collected by USA complex complex
Chandra during its X-Rays Four Hierarchical
observations. Hyperboloids
SOLAR PANEL
LOW-GAIN
ANTENNA
THE ANTENNAS
Each complex has a system of at least four antennas.
Ω Antenna with a Distance Traveled by the Signal

diameter of 85 feet
4. 2.
CHANDRA X-RAY DEEP SPACE NETWORK (26 m)
CONTROL CENTER The network is used for
It is responsible for operating the communicating with the Ω High-gain antenna
observatory and receiving the images. spacecraft and for with a diameter of
110 feet (34 m)
The operators are responsible for receiving information.
preparing commands, determining the Ω Low-gain antenna
altitude, and monitoring the condition with a diameter of Elevation
and the safety of the satellite.
Every eight hours 110 feet (34 m)
Ω Antenna with a
Pad
Waveguide
Counter-
weight
3.
JET PROPULSION Chandra contacts the Deep Space Network.
diameter of 230 feet
LABORATORY (70 m)
receives information
from the Deep Space
Network and Electronic Mirror
X-AXIS Y-AXIS processes it. Equipment
2 Data extending 3 Data extending
horizontally on vertically on the
the grid grid BELOW GROUND
FIVE YEARS
WAS TO BE THE LIFETIME OF THE
MISSION, BUT IT WAS SURPASSED.
Space Probes APPROACHING

MARS On Mars
The principal objective
of the MRO is to find
SOLAR PANELS
The principal source of energy
for the probe is the Sun.
The spacecraft has two solar
panels with a total surface
F
FINAL ORBIT area of 430 square feet
C indications of water on the
rom the first spacecraft, such as Mariner of the mid-1960s, The craft attains
an almost circular Martian surface. This could
(40 sq m). They also move
to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter launched in 2005 for a orbit, which is the
best-suited for
help explain the evolution of from left to right.
the planet. The equipment
close-up study of Mars, space probes have made major obtaining data.
obtains high-resolution images Once deployed,
they turn on
contributions. Most of them have been solar-powered; they are of the surface and permits a this axis.
mineral analysis. The weather
the size of an automobile, and they travel to predetermined on Mars is mapped daily.
locations using rockets for thrust. These unmanned machines
B
BRAKING
Orbit OPENING THE
PANELS They begin to be
3,744
are equipped with cameras, sensors, spectrometers, and other To reduce the
size of its orbit,
They open in
orbit.
deployed, opening
upward.
THE NUMBER OF
CELLS IN EACH PANEL
sophisticated instruments that allow them to study the the spacecraft makes
use of atmospheric
Mars FOR CONVERTING
planets, moons, comets, and asteroids in detail. braking over the next
SOLAR ENERGY INTO
ELECTRICITY
six months.
Number of HIGH-GAIN PARABOLIC
ANTENNA The panels are
orbits: 500. INITIAL ORBIT almost closed. SHARAD
A has a data transmission
The first orbit capacity 10 times greater
RADAR
described by the than that of previous
probe was an orbiters.
enormous ellipse.
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Duration:
35 hours.
The main objective of this orbiting probe is to look for traces of
water on the surface of Mars. NASA launched the probe on Aug.
12, 2005; it reached Mars on March 10, 2006, after traveling 72 million
miles (116 million km) in seven months. Its mission is scheduled to end
in 2010, although if the probe remains in good
condition, its life could be extended by SOLAR PANEL
8 feet
another five years.
(2.53 m)
SOLAR PANEL
Martian Orbit
Earth Orbit Mars
Sun
Earth
18 feet
(5.35 m)
SCIENTIFIC PHASE
5 The probe began the POWERFUL INSTRUMENT MCS CRISM
MARS ARRIVAL phase of analyzing the
4 surface of Mars. It found Used together, HIRISE, CTX, and CRISM provide very observes the Spectrometer
In March 2006 MRO separates the visible light from the
indications of the good information on one particular area. Martian
passed under Mars's atmosphere. infrared of the images into 100
southern hemisphere. presence of water.
TRAJECTORY colors to identify different
3 CORRECTION The probe began to HIRISE High-resolution camera minerals, especially those indicating
CRUISING FLIGHT Four maneuvers decelerate. Provides excellent views of very small objects. Gives the presence of water.
LAUNCH
2 The probe traveled were carried details of geologic structures and substantially MARCI
1 Launched on Aug. 7.5 months before out to attain the improves on the resolution of the earlier missions. provides color for
12, 2005, from
Cape Canaveral
arriving at Mars. right orbit.
72 million miles
(116 million km)
HIRISE
Mars Reconnaissance
MGS
Mars Global
the images.
CTX
Context Camera
provides panoramic views of large
Orbiter Surveyor
THE DISTANCE TRAVELED BY areas. Helps to provide a context for
THE PROBE TO REACH MARS the high-resolution images taken by
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS HIRISE and CRISM.
Weight with fuel 4,800 pounds (2,180 kg)
Temperature rating Down to -390° F ANTICIPATED VOLUME OF DATA TRANSMISSION
of the panels (-200° C)
Type of image
Launch rocket Atlas V-401 DS1 (Comets) 15 Gigabytes taken by the CTX,
which helps put
Mission duration five years (with possible extension) Odyssey (Mars) 1,012 Gigabytes into context an
Cost $ 720 million MGS (Mars) 1,759 Gigabytes image taken by
30 cm/pixel 150 cm/pixel HIRISE CRISM CTX
the HIRISE.
Cassini (Saturn) 2,550 Gigabytes
2,270 pounds Magellan (Venus) 3,740 Gigabytes
Detailed image
(1,031 kg) WEIGHT ON EARTH MRO MGS Odyssey MRO (Mars) 34,816 Gigabytes taken by HIRISE
Martian Robots HOW IT GOT TO MARS

The voyage to Mars lasted seven months.
Once inside the Martian atmosphere,
parachutes were deployed to slow the descent.
CAMERAS
Two navigational
cameras and two
panoramic cameras are
mounted on the mast.
OMNIDIRECTIONAL SHORTWAVE ANTENNA
transmits the information gathered by the robot
to the Control Center on Earth.
SOLAR PANELS
receive the light from
the Sun and transform
it into energy. The solar
battery can function
S
Navigation Panoramic only with sunlight.
pirit and Opportunity, the twin robots launched in Aeroshell (NAVCAM) (PANCAM)
June 2003 from Earth that landed on Martian PANCAM ELECTRONIC INERTIAL
DECELERATION 45O Panoramic MODULE MEASUREMENT UNIT Generates about
1 360O
soil in January 2004, were designed to travel The aeroshell kicks in at an
altitude of 80 miles (130 km)
(PANCAM) provides information on
position relative to the x, 140 watts
over the surface of the Red Planet. Both vehicles above the surface in
order to decelerate 16O
UHF
RADIO
y, and z axes. every four hours
are part of NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers from 10,000 to 0O

VERTICAL
ANGLE OF MAST
1,000 miles per
mission. They have tools that allow them to hour (16,000 to -16O
VISION
1,600 km/h.)
drill into rock and take samples of the soil Parachutes ANTENNA
to analyze their chemical composition. 2 PARACHUTES -45O
The robots are located on opposite At six miles (10 km)

above the surface, NAVCAM
sides of the planet to explore two the parachutes open
to reduce the speed
uniquely different places. They of the descent.
each use nine cameras.

SOLAR PANELS
Photograph of the
surface taken by Spirit
FALL
3 The entry module is
separated from the
shield that protected it
from the heat.
70,000
Entry
images
FRONT STEREO
Water and Life on Mars module Obtained by Spirit in CAMERA BATTERY
its first two years
The main purpose of the mission
conceived by NASA was to find
indications whether there had ever been water
on Mars. In Spirit's first mission, it was
thought that small quantities of water might 4 ROCKETS
have seeped into the eroded rock fragments. At 33 to 50 feet (10-15 m)
above the surface, two
The rocky Martian soil, it is believed, could rockets are ignited to slow
have been affected by the action of water. So the fall. Then the air bags
far, there is no evidence of the existence of are inflated to surround
living microorganisms. Between ultraviolet and protect the module.
ARM
radiation and the oxidative nature of the soil, FOLDED
life on Mars is not currently possible. The X-BAND
question that remains is whether life might RADIO
have existed at some time in the past or even
today deep inside the Martian subsoil, where ARM
Descent Track and photograph EXTENDED
conditions for life might be more favorable. rockets taken by Opportunity
Abrasion
AIR BAGS Tool Microscope
5 The module and the air
bags separate themselves 80,000
from the parachutes and
fall to the Martian soil.
images
MECHANICAL
ARM
The most important
X-ray
Spectrometer
2 inches/second (5 cm/s)
Obtained by instruments for Maximum velocity of forward motion on level ground
Opportunity in its first analysis are located
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS two years on Mars at the extreme end Mössbauer
of the arm. Spectrometer
Date of landing Spirit: Jan. 3, 2004 DESTINATION
Opportunity: Jan. 24, 2004 Vectran 6 The air bags deflate.
air bags The “petals” that
Cost of the mission $ 820 million
protect the ship open.
Progress per day The vehicle exits. INSTRUMENTS
330 feet (100 m) 7 The robot unfolds its Stabilization
Plutonium Each spacecraft carries solar panels, camera,
0.01 ounces (2.8 g) MOTION AND
and antenna mast.
Useful life More than two years PROPULSION
The robot has six wheels. Each one has The propulsion
an individual electric motor that allows system allows it
it to make turns up to 360°, since both to overcome
The protective shield the two front wheels and the two rear small obstacles.
consists of three petals wheels can be steered.
and a central base.
Vectran OPERATIONAL CYCLES
air bags The robot is programmed to function in cycles of 30 seconds.
5 feet
(1.50 m) 384 pounds 0 10 20 30
(174 kg) ADVANCE OBSERVATION

WEIGHT ON EARTH
A Home in Space ROBOTIC ARM

Located on top of the principal
framework of the space station.
The crew can use it for moving
objects and astronauts.
T
SOLAR PANELS Remote
provide the energy for
o live in space for long periods, it is necessary to have an
Manipulation
ATV the space station. Mobile Support System
environment that compensates for the lack of oxygen. Space THERMAL
stations have systems that provide oxygen to the crew and filter PANELS
control the
Shell Replaceable
Hand
out the exhaled carbon dioxide. Life in a space station allows ISS temperature.
astronomers to study the effect of a long-term stay in

space. Space stations also have laboratories for
conducting scientific experiments. SUPPLIES AND WASTE
The Russian spacecraft ATV docks
with the ISS for unloading supplies REMOTE
and removing waste. ARM
JEM
Laboratory
Space Giant EUROPEAN LABORATORY
The European agency
contributed to this
The International Space Station (ISS) is the result of ORBIT
experimental module.
the integration of NASA's Freedom and the Russian It carries out 16
Space Agency's Mir 2 projects. Construction began in 1998, orbits around the Laboratory Biological Zero-Gravity Biological
Earth each day at
and the large illustration shows what the ISS will look like an altitude of 210
Laboratory Experiments
when it is finished in 2010. Various countries have to 285 miles (335
contributed modules for the station. Its habitable surface to 460 km).
area is equal to that of two Boeing 747s.
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS)

Habitable space 42,400 cubic feet (1,200 cu m) ZVEZDA MODULE
The principal contribution
Speed 17,200 mph (27,700 km/h) by the Russians to the
Chest of
station. It is the first Drawers LEONARDO
Length 350 feet (108 m)
habitable compartment. MODULE
Panel surface area 43,000 square feet (4,000 sq m) Beds
It holds three to six
Laboratories 6 astronauts. Shower Hatch
MANUFACTURER Kitchen and

22 feet
Dispensary (6.8 m)
USA. Russia Japan European Union
Zvezda Module
474,000 pounds ISS
(215,000 kg) Arm
WEIGHT ON EARTH HOW IT IS
BUILT
350 feet (108 m) Module
ROBOT
The floor and
1 The robot arm grabs
the roof have a the module that is to
different color to be docked.
make orientation
easier.
290 feet
(88 m)
The main illustration 17,200 miles 2 MODULE
The arm holding the
Deployable
Solar Panels
depicts the space
station in its final
per hour module that is ready 3 JOINING
The modules are
to be docked with docked using their
phase of (27,700 km/h) Zarya pressurized
construction. The speed of the shuttle adapters.
41,912 pounds Commanding Connecting
Node Between
and the ISS in orbit
SKYLAB MIR (19,051 kg) Communication
Zone Modules
ISS WEIGHT ON EARTH
STAGES OF CONSTRUCTION
June 2007
November 1998 December 1998 July 2000 October 2000 November 2000 February 2001 Novembre 2002 September 2006 S3/S4 Truss
Zarya Module Unity Module Zvezda Module Z1-Truss and Ku-Band Antenna P6 Truss Laboratory Destiny P1 Truss P3/P4 Truss and Solar Arrays and Solar Arrays
First section put into orbit. Connecting passage between the The structural and functional center neutralize the static electricity Structural module that has Central section. This is where scientific The P1 truss was added opposite The second port truss segment The second starboard truss
Provided energy in the first living and work area modules. of the ISS. Entirely built and placed generated in the ISS and allows radiators for dissipating the heat experiments in microgravity the S1 truss as part of the was added, and its solar panels segment was added, and its
stages of ISS assembly. Contributed by the European Union. into orbit by the Russians. communication with the Earth. generated in the station environments are performed. integrated truss assembly. were unfolded. solar panels were unfolded.
Spying on the Universe HOW IMAGES ARE

TRANSMITTED
HUBBLE
IMAGES
The Hubble can photograph a large variety of objects—from galaxies and clusters
of galaxies to stars on the verge of exploding (such as Eta Carinae) and planetary
nebulae (such as the Cat's Eye).
S
1 Instructions for the
pace telescopes such as the Hubble are artificial satellites put into orbit for observing desired observation are
uploaded to the
different regions of the universe. Unlike telescopes on Earth, space telescopes are above telescope, which then
transmits the image or
the Earth's atmosphere. Therefore, they avoid the effects of atmospheric turbulence, other observational
which degrades the quality of telescopic images. Moreover, data after the
observation
the atmosphere prevents the observation of the is completed.
stars and other objects in certain wavelengths STAR ETA SUPERNOVA CAT'S EYE
(especially the infrared), which substantially CARINAE NEBULA
decreases what might be seen in the SHUTTER Because it is outside the atmosphere, Hubble photographs are sharper than
During observations
heavens. Space telescopes do not have to it opens to allow
those taken by terrestrial telescopes.
light to enter.
contend with light pollution, which is a 2 TDRS SATELLITE
Receives the data from
problem for observatories near urban areas. Hubble and sends them
EARTH
SECONDARY MIRROR
to a receiving antenna at
the White Sands Test
3 From New Mexico, data are Other Telescopes
Located inside the Facility in New Mexico. transmitted to the Goddard
telescope tube. Light Space Flight Center in The Spitzer telescope, launched in
reflects from the Greenbelt, Maryland, where August 2003, was designed to
secondary mirror to the the information is analyzed. photograph very distant objects. It is
The Hubble Space Telescope camera. expected to be deactivated in 2008. SOHO,
HIGH-GAIN ANTENNA
developed jointly by NASA and ESA, shows
The Hubble was put into orbit on April 25, 1990, by NASA and ESA. It is an artificial satellite receives orders from the Earth in detail the interactions between the Sun
whose instruments are directed toward outer space. The telescope can be remotely controlled and sends back as TV signals the and the Earth. Chandra, launched in 1999,
by astronomers at different locations. The telescope's computers point the telescope in the desired photos that the Hubble takes. carries instruments that provide
direction, and sensitive light detectors and cameras make the desired observations, in many cases information about the position and energy
producing impressive vistas of the cosmos. In 1993, because of a fault in the primary mirror, a of celestial X-ray sources.
corrective lens called COSTAR had to be installed to correct the focus of the telescope.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Launch date April 25, 1990
Orbital altitude
Orbital period
370 miles (600 km)
97 minutes
24,250
Type of telescope Ritchey-Chretien Reflector 46 feet pounds SOLAR PANEL
Organization NASA and ESA (14 m)
(11,000 kg) PRIMARY, OR
PRINCIPAL, MIRROR Energy is provided by
SPITZER
Useful life 20 years (until 2010) WEIGHT ON EARTH is 8 feet (2.4 m) in directional solar
antennas that convert observes the universe
Launch cost $2 billion diameter; captures and in infrared.
focuses the light. sunlight into electricity.
Primary mirror diameter 8 feet (2.40 m) 14 feet
(4.26 m)
HOW IT CAPTURES IMAGES KEY

The Hubble uses a system of mirrors that receive the light and cause it to converge until it reaches a focus. COSTAR
The optical device that
Direction corrected the defective
of the light original mirror of the
EXTERNAL LAYER
protects the telescope Hubble. The device was put
Secondary Secondary from external damage. in place by space shuttle SOHO
Mirror Mirror During repair missions, astronauts in 1993. Put into orbit in 1995, it
the astronauts inspect it takes images of the Sun.
to look for particles and
A scientific debris to be removed.
instrument where
the image is formed
Secondary
Mirror
Primary Primary Primary

Mirror Mirror Mirror
WFPC WFPC WFPC
CHANDRA
SOLAR PANEL
The only X-ray
ADVANCED observatory
INCOMING LIGHT LIGHT REFLECTION IMAGE FORMED (WF/PC) CAMERA
1 The light enters through an
2 The rays coming from the
3 The rays go through a hole Primary FOR
aperture and is reflected in primary mirror go to the in the primary mirror and electronic camera SURVEYS
the primary mirror. Then secondary mirror, which are then concentrated in
the light converges toward reflects the light and returns the focal plane, where they
a secondary mirror. it to the primary mirror. form an image.
Space Junk What Can Be

Done?
S
ince the time that the first satellite (Sputnik) was launched One course of action would
in 1957, near space has become overcrowded with a be to ensure that the junk is SAIL
The sail would be
SPACE PROBE
Impacts the satellite,
CABLE
A cable drags the
returned to Earth and not allowed
large amount of debris. Satellite batteries that have to orbit around it. But the most deployed when the changing its orbit satellite to lower
exploded and parts of rockets and spacecraft still orbiting that has been done is to remove satellite has stopped
functioning. Solar wind
and pushing it in a
predetermined
orbits, and the
satellite disintegrates
satellite remains from Earth orbit.
the Earth form a genuine cosmic garbage dump. These would push the satellite direction. when it enters the
variously sized objects pose a danger to satellites out of its orbit. atmosphere.
and spacecraft because of the damage that would

ORIGIN AND LOCATION
be caused by a collision—the particles move at 5%
speeds of 19,000 to 43,000 miles per hour Ninety-five percent of the
objects in space around the
21%
Inactive
Active
Satellites
(30,000 to 70,000 km/h). Earth are junk. NASA is studying
Satellites
43%
rockets that do not get into orbit 31% Satellite
but fall to Earth to avoid Rockets Fragments
Space Junk generating more junk. and Rocket
Stages
Any object launched from Earth that is no longer
useful but is still orbiting the Earth is considered
space junk. Rockets used only once can remain in orbit,
as do pieces of spacecraft or apparatuses ejected
intentionally so that they would not enter the wrong
orbit. Space junk can even include lost objects. In 1965
astronaut Edward White lost a glove, which kept
orbiting the Earth for a month at 17,400 miles per hour
2,000 tons of junk in less than
1,200 miles (2,000 km)
Most of it consists of satellites that no longer
operate and burnt-out stages of rockets.
(28,000 km/h).
SIZE OF SPACE JUNK
More than 11,000 objects and millions of tiny particles
have been cataloged.
LESS THAN 0.4 INCH

(1 CM)
Very small particles cause 30,000,000+
superficial damage.
FROM 0.4 TO 4 INCHES

(1-10 CM)
These particles can knock
holes in satellites. 100,000+
MORE THAN 4 INCHES

(10 CM)
These objects can cause
irreparable damage. These are
the objects that are cataloged LOW EARTH
and tracked from Earth. 11,000+ ORBIT
250 MILES (400 KM)
The ISS and the Hubble
telescope are in low
Earth orbits.
OBJECTS IN SPACE MEDIUM EARTH

BY COUNTRY ORBIT
TYPICALLY 400 TO
Since 1957, 25,000 objects 1,200 MILES (700 TO
have been launched into 2,000 KM).
low orbit. This is the orbit for
telecommunications
and environmental GEOSTATIONARY
satellites. ORBIT
12,000
The approximate number of
JUNK
IN OPERATION
22,250 MILES
(35,800 KM)
Many spy satellites, which
contribute to a significant
HIGH ORBIT
62,000 MILES
(100,000 KM)
Astronomical
U.S.S.R. United China France Japan India ESA Others part of the junk, are satellites operate at
objects currently in orbit /C.I.S. States NUCLEAR SPILLS in this type of orbit. the highest altitudes.
Visiting Other Worlds VALLES MARINERIS
The grand canyon of Mars is one
of the most impressive geologic
features of the entire solar
system. It is some 2,400 miles
HUMAN TRACKS 64-65
MARS IN THE SIGHTS 66-67
JUPITER IN FOCUS 68-69
TOWARD VENUS AND PLUTO 72-73
CLOSER TO THE SUN 74-75
THE ROAD BEYOND 76-77
(4,000 km) long and up to 6.2
miles (10 km) deep. A VIEW OF SATURN 70-71
S
pace exploration has allowed us planet Earth and the need to care for it. spacecraft exploring or are on their way ever farther away has always been with
access to worlds believed to The future of planetary exploration to explore other bodies of the solar us. Therefore, each one of our
have been inaccessible, and it appears promising. The next few years system—Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, accomplishments constitutes another
has also helped the human race will see ever more interesting and even Pluto. The necessity of taking step forward in our knowledge of space
to become conscious of the discoveries. Right now there are on large projects and traveling to sites for the sake of all humanity.
64 VISITING OTHER WORLDS SPACE EXPLORATION 65
Human Tracks Neptune

Visited only by Voyager
2, which took
Pluto
Officially it is no longer
considered a planet. Because of
A
photographs in 1989 its small size, it has been called
ncient astronomers saw faint points of light that seemed to move Uranus a dwarf planet since 2006.
among the stars. These objects were called planets, and each one of In 1986 Voyager 2
them was given the name of a god. In the 16th and 17th centuries, flew by Uranus and
took photographs.
scientists came to recognize that the planets were physical bodies that
revolved around the Sun. However, it was only recently, in the late 20th
century, that technological advances permitted the direct study and the
magnificent close-up photographs of the planets in the solar system.
Saturn
The Voyager and Cassini-
Huygens missions have
studied its rings in detail.
TITAN
The Huygens probe landed on
the surface of Titan, the
largest moon of Saturn.
The Planets It is believed to be

a frozen volcano.
Titan, a moon Enlarged
From the sightings by Galileo
of Saturn area
to the construction of space
stations capable of sheltering humans,
interest in revealing the mysteries of the planets
has never ceased. Detailed studies of the rings of
Saturn, the patches of ice at the poles of Mars,
the exploration of various comets and asteroids, Enlarged
and the flybys of the great moons of the major area
planets are among the most striking results of
space exploration to date.
Jupiter
Some probes flew by the planet
The atmosphere The surface of
and took photographs. Galileo
is in red. the moon is in
was in orbit for seven years,
green and blue.
carrying out the most in-depth
studies of its larger moons.
350
photographs
5 SUCCESSFUL
MISSIONS
of Titan's atmosphere and surface
were obtained by ESA.
Viking 2
Chryse
Planitia Utopia Planitia
Viking 1
Mars, Mons
Olympus
Pathfinder Isidis
Planitia
the Most Visited MARTIAN Guszev
A Mars landing was the top In total, there Mariner Valley Opportunity
SURFACE Spirit
priority of the space have been 38
agencies. The Red Planet, missions to Mars,
the one that most of which
resembles Earth, might
harbor or could have
harbored life, according to
experts.
16 WERE
SUCCESSFUL
This is the place where the most
significant Mars missions landed.
The Moon The Sun

The obsession to carry out The Skylab space station obtained
successful missions to the Moon Earth more than 150,000 images of the
began with the programs of the Soviet The International Sun between 1974 and 1979. The space
Union at the end of the 1950s in the Space Station (ISS) probe Ulysses has studied the Sun's
context of the space race with the orbits the Earth with poles and the effects of its magnetic
United States. It was President John F. astronauts onboard. field. Its mission continues. The
Kennedy who in 1963 announced that They carry out astronomical observatory SOHO is
the United States intended to put a various experiments. dedicated to studying the internal
man on the Moon before the end of the Space telescopes such structure of the Sun and the origin of
decade. In 1969, Apollo 11 landed on as the Hubble also solar-wind particles. SOHO discovered
the Moon, beginning a series of orbit the Earth. 100 comets, including a number that
successful manned missions. crashed into the Sun.
FACE OF THE MOON

VISIBLE FROM Earth's
THE EARTH Moon
Enlarged
area
17 Sea of
Rains KEY
2 Sea of
Serenity 21
15 The most significant
Sea of
13 17 missions to land on
Crisis
the Moon
9
Ocean of
Storms Sea of
4 Venus Mercury
Tranquility
20 xx Apollo The most important
3 6 missions: The Mariner 10 mission explored
1 11 16 xx Luna the planet, and Messenger will
12 14 Venera (Soviet
Sea of xx Surveyor program), ESA's arrive there in 2011.
16 Fecundity
Sea of
Sea of Nectar Venus Express, and
Mariner 10 was
Clouds Magellan (NASA)
21 MISSIONS
able to photograph
57
7
SUCCESSFUL LANDINGS
ON THE MOON 12 LANDED ON
VENUS.
percent of
the planet.
Mars in the Sights TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Launch
Arrived on Mars
April 7, 2001
Oct. 24, 2001
Earth Seen from Mars
Seen from Mars, the Earth is a magnificent blue star.
From there, one can see the linked motions of the
T
Cost of the mission $332 million
here was a time when it was thought that Mars, our closest neighbor, harbored life. Weight 1,600 pounds (725 kg)
Earth and the Moon, as well as the combined phases of both.
This photograph was taken by the Mars Odyssey in April
Perhaps for this reason it is the planet that has been most explored by various spacecraft Useful life 10 years 2006. Thanks to the spacecraft's infrared vision system, it
THE BLUE PLANET
A view of Earth from
from the decade of the 1960s onward, and it is therefore the one we know the best, apart was able to detect the temperatures on Earth, later Mars as recorded by
confirmed by Earth-based sensors.
from the Earth. Mariner 9 in 1971 and Vikings 1 and 2 in 1976 revealed the existence of valleys Mars Odyssey
7 feet
and immense volcanic mountains. In 2001 the United States launched the Mars Odyssey (2.20 m)
mission, which indicated that liquid water exists at great depths.
Discovery
The new observations of Mars made by
the Odyssey suggest that the north pole
has about one third more underground
Mars Odyssey Mission HINGE
MECHANISM ice than the south pole. Scientists also
Named after 2001: A Space Odyssey, the probe was launched by NASA GRS believe that microbial life could have
8.5 feet (2.60 m)
from Cape Canaveral on April 7, 2001. It entered into Martian orbit in Gamma-Ray developed on a planet other than Earth.
October of the same year. The Mars Odyssey was designed for a number of Spectrometer
functions, such as taking images in the visible and infrared spectrum, studying weighs 70 pounds (30 kg) HIGH-GAIN
and consumes 30 watts. It ANTENNA
the chemical composition of the planet's surface, and investigating the
measures the abundance and MARIE
existence of possible sources of heat. One of its purposes was also to find distribution of 20 chemical An experiment measuring Mars's
traces of hydrogen and thus water on Mars. Finally, the Mars Odyssey was used elements on Mars. radiation environment
in support tasks for other Mars missions, acting as a radio-signal repeater SOLAR
between Earth and probes on the Martian surface. THERMAL SHIELD It weighs 7 pounds (3 kg) and consumes 7
PANELS watts. It is supposed to measure radiation
DOOR produced by the Sun or other stars and
celestial bodies that reach the orbit of Mars.
HEAD OF THE SUPPORT

GAMMA-RAY SENSOR
NEUTRON
SPECTROMETER
LAUNCH MARS ARRIVAL
7
MONTHS
APRIL 7, 2001 OCT. 24, 2001 The time it took
The spacecraft Mars VIDEOCAMERAS Mars Odyssey to
The spacecraft Mars
Odyssey is launched toward Odyssey reaches the orbit reach its target
Mars atop a Delta 2 rocket. of Mars and begins its
scientific studies. NEUTRON
ENERGY
DETECTOR
EARTH UHF ANTENNA

THE SUN AT TIME OF ARRIVAL MARS
MARS ODYSSEY
AT TIME OF LAUNCH
EARTH
MARS
CURRENT LOCATION OF
THE ODYSSEY SURFACE THEMIS
It is orbiting Mars. It OF MARS Thermal Emission Imaging System
MAY 2001 JUNE 2001 JULY 2001 SEPTEMBER 2001 discovered the existence of Unlike the Earth, basalt Weighing 2,000 pounds (911 kg) and consuming
The spacecraft tests its The gamma-ray The probe activates its The probe begins to use ice, which was seen as a dunes are common on 14 watts, this camera operates in the infrared
spectrum. Its images allow conclusions to be
cameras by sending an spectrometer's protective auxiliary engines to adjust the atmosphere to brake potential source of water for a Mars. The surface is drawn about the composition of the surface
image of the Earth at a hood is opened. The sensor its trajectory. The thrust its speed, shape its orbit, future manned mission to the flat and reminiscent based on the spectrum of the infrared image
distance of 2 million miles begins to work. lasts 23 seconds. and begin its mission. Red Planet. of a desert. and on the recorded temperature.
(3 million km).
Jupiter in Focus
T
he fifth planet of the solar system was visited by ATMOSPHERIC
Pioneer 1 and 2, Voyager 1 and 2, and PROBE Galileo DESCENT TO JUPITER
Released when Galileo In spite of its mission being plagued by technical
Cassini. However, the most significant arrived at Jupiter. It problems, Galileo provided astronomers with a 1
was used to study the
visitor was Galileo, launched by NASA on Oct. planet's atmosphere. huge amount of information during its 35 orbits Galileo released the atmospheric
around Jupiter. The useful life of the probe, which cost probe, which descended into
18, 1989. Galileo consisted of an orbiter and an $1.5 billion, extended five years longer than planned. Jupiter's atmosphere. The probe
atmospheric probe. After a long voyage, the LOW-GAIN
ANTENNA
The probe contributed to the discovery of 21 new was provided with a deceleration
and a descent module.
satellites around Jupiter. Galileo sent large amounts of
atmospheric probe penetrated some 125 miles (200 data and 14,000 images to Earth. It found traces of
km) into the atmosphere of Jupiter on Dec. 7, 1995, salt water on the surface of the moon Europa and
evidence that it probably also exists on the moons
transmitting data about the atmosphere's chemical Ganymede and Callisto. Likewise, it provided
2
composition and Jupiter's meteorological activity. The information about volcanic activity on the moon Io. It The deceleration module
included protective heat
also showed an almost invisible ring around Jupiter
orbiter continued sending information until it crashed consisting of meteorite dust. From the moment it was shields and thermal
control hardware for the
into the gaseous giant on Sept. 21, 2003. launched until its disintegration, the spacecraft phases of the mission
traveled almost 2.9 billion miles (4.6 billion km) with leading up to the entry
barely 2,000 pounds (925 kg) of combustible fuel. into the atmosphere.
More than 800 scientists worked on the project.
DECELERATION
MODULE
Trajectory TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Date of arrival Dec. 7, 1995
Galileo was designed to study the atmosphere of Jupiter, its ANTENNA
satellites, and the magnetosphere of the planet. To get there, it BOOSTERS
did not use a direct path but had to perform an assisted trajectory, Cost of the mission $1.5 billion
PARACHUTES DESCENT
passing by Venus on Feb. 10, 1990. Then it flew by the Earth twice and Useful life 14 years MODULE
SOLAR
arrived at Jupiter on Dec. 7, 1995. The probe succeeded in sending PANEL Weight without the probe 4,900 pounds (2,223 kg)
information of unprecedented quality with a low-gain antenna about
the satellites of Jupiter, its moon Europa, and various examples of
volcanic activity in its moon Io. It also contributed to the discovery of
21 new satellites around Jupiter. The mission was deactivated in 2003,
14 years
was the duration of the Galileo
Organization NASA 3
A parachute 8 feet (2.5
m) in diameter was
used to separate the
PARACHUTES
and the vehicle was sent to crash into the planet. The purpose of this descent module from
mission—from October 1989 to
termination was to avoid future collision with its moon Europa that the deceleration module
September 2003. 23 feet
might have contaminated its ice; scientists believe that extraterrestrial LOW-GAIN and to control the
(7 m)
microscopic life may have evolved on Europa. ANTENNA velocity of the fall
during the atmospheric
descent phase.
4
LAUNCH EARTH FLYBYS ARRIVAL AT JUPITER The descent module carried
20 feet (6.2 m) six scientific instruments.
OCT. 18, 1989 DECEMBER 1990/AUGUST 1992 DEC. 7, 1995 During its 57 minutes of
active life, the probe
Galileo was launched by NASA Galileo passes by the Earth on two occasions Galileo arrived at Jupiter and
performed all the
from the space shuttle Atlantis to get the necessary boost toward Jupiter. began the scientific studies that measurements and
with Jupiter as its destination. continued until 2003. It completed MAGNETIC experiments that had been
35 orbits around the planet. SENSORS. ATMOSPHERE OF JUPITER planned by the scientists.
Composed of 90 percent hydrogen

and 10 percent helium. The colors of
the atmospheric clouds depend on
their chemical composition. The
clouds spread with the violent Atmospheric Probe
turbulence of the atmospheric winds. Once Galileo arrived at the planet Jupiter, it released a small probe that
fell through the atmosphere. This descent probe carried scientific
instruments and the subsystems required to keep them active and transmit the
data to the orbiter for storage for later transmittal to Earth. During its 57
minutes of active life in the Jovian atmosphere, the descent provided a number
of discoveries, including a surprising lack of water in the upper layers of the
Jovian clouds.
SURFACE OF IO
EUROPA
is one of the moons of Jupiter. It
The areas in red consist of dirty is notable for its brilliant color, TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
ice formed by water mixed with which is caused by various sulfur Entry into the Dec. 7, 1995
rocky material that slowly compounds on its surface. Io is atmosphere 3 feet
VENUS FLYBY IDA FLYBY GASPRA FLYBY seeped into the ice and once (0.86 m)
417,000 miles (671,000 km) Active life 57 minutes
FEB. 10, 1990 AUG. 28, 1993 OCT. 29, 1991 there began to freeze. The from Jupiter and was discovered
“cracks” are caused by the Weight 750 pounds (339 kg)
Galileo transmitted Galileo came close to Galileo approached the by Galileo in 1610.
data from Venus. the asteroid Ida. asteroid 951 Gaspra. breakup of the ice. Organization NASA 4 feet (1.25 m)
A View of Saturn THE RINGS OF

SATURN
Cassini-Huygens
The information sent by Huygens and relayed by Cassini took 67 minutes to
travel from Saturn to the Earth. Although it could only see a small section of
Descent onto Titan
On Jan. 14, 2005, the six instruments of Huygens worked without
pause during the two-and-a-half-hour descent. They confirmed, for
T
are a conglomerate of ice
he longedΩfor return to Saturn was the result of a particles and powdered
Titan, the apparatus was able to answer some key questions. For example, the probe
did not find liquid, but it did find signs that the surface had a crust that was hard on
example, that the gaseous blanket that surrounds Titan consists primarily
of nitrogen and that its yellowish color is caused by the presence of
scientific alliance between NASA and the European rock orbiting the planet.
The rings are 4.5 billion top and soft underneath, which was flooded from time to time. Investigators said that complex hydrocarbons, which are formed when sunlight breaks down
Space Agency (ESA). On Oct. 15, 1997, after a number years old. Titan could have very infrequent precipitation, but when it occurred it could be
abundant and cause flooding. Moreover, it appears that some of the conditions for life
atmospheric methane. The thermometer measured –400° F (–203° C) at
an altitude of 31 miles (50 km), which was the lowest temperature
of years of development, the fruit of this collaboration lifted to arise exist on Titan, although it is too cold for life to have started. recorded during the entire mission.
off toward this enormous gas giant. The mission of Cassini, the 1
mother ship, was the exploration of Saturn. It carried a smaller probe, TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS SEPARATION
The Huygens probe
Huygens, that was to land on Saturn's largest moon, Titan, and transmit Date of launch Oct. 15, 1997 separates from
images and sounds from the surface. The Huygens probe accomplished this Begins Saturn orbit July 1, 2004
22 feet
Cassini.
prodigious feat, demonstrating once again the capacity of humans to respond Closest approach 11,800 miles (19,000 km) (6.7 m)
2
Weight
to the challenge of frontiers.
12,300 pounds (5,600 kg)
Organizations NASA and ESA DESCENT
13 feet lasted 150 minutes
(4 m) and came within
790 miles (1,270
km) of the surface.
Trajectory HIGH-GAIN 12,300
The trajectory of Cassini-Huygens was long and known as a gravity assist). Finally, and after almost seven
ANTENNA
complicated, because it included strategic flybys of Venus
(1998 and 1999), Earth (1999), and Jupiter (2000). Each one of
years, traveling some 2.2 billion miles (3.5 billion km), the
spacecraft arrived at its destination. It brought an end to the
pounds 3
these encounters was used to increase the craft's velocity and long wait since the last visit of a probe to Saturn—the 1981 (5,600 kg) FIRST
to send the spacecraft in the appropriate direction (a maneuver flyby by Voyager 2. WEIGHT ON EARTH PARACHUTE
helped decelerate
the probe during
VENUS 1 THE EARTH SATURN its fall.
APRIL 1998 AUGUST 1999 JUNE 2004
Cassini flies by Venus Cassini flies by the Earth at an After seven years en route, Cassini arrives at
at an altitude of 180 altitude of 730 miles (1,171 km). Saturn and enters into an orbit around it.
miles (284 km).
THE SURFACE
4 OF TITAN
SECOND is obscured by a deep
PARACHUTE layer of clouds. It is
replaced the possible that many
first. chemical compounds
EXTENSION FOR THE similar to those that
preceded life on Earth
MAGNETOMETER exist in a frozen state
at high altitudes.
LOW-GAIN
ANTENNA
(1 OF 2) 5
THIRD
PARACHUTE
TRAJECTORY FOR SATURN AND TITAN replaced the
Here is a drawing showing some of the 74 orbits planned for the mission. second.
Equatorial
Meeting between Rotation Upward
VENUS 2 JUPITER Huygens and Titan Trajectory
JUNE 1999 DECEMBER 2000
6
Cassini flies by Venus Cassini flies by Jupiter at DEPLOYS ITS
at an altitude of 380 an altitude of 6,042,000 LANDING FEET
Initial The probe prepares
miles (600 km). miles (9,723,896 km). Titan's Orbit
Orbit
RADAR
for touchdown.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: HUYGENS
Saturn Date of release Dec. 25, 2004
Seen from
the North Pole Occultation Weight 703 pounds (319 kg)
Orbit
Organizations NASA and ESA 7
Equatorial Date of landing Jan. 14, 2005 IMPACT ON
Rotation Spacecraft TELESCOPES THE SURFACE
Descent by parachute 2.5 hours The spacecraft
Thruster strikes the
(1 of 2) surface of Titan..
PHOTO OF JUPITER AND IO

GTR (RADIOISOTOPE
770 PLACEMENT 22 feet 8
The moon Io, the closest to the planet
Jupiter, is composed of a rocky silicate
ANTENNA FOR THE
RADIO SUBSYSTEMS THERMOELECTRIC pounds OF HUYGENS
ON CASSINI
(6.8 m)
LANDING
material. The nucleus has a radius of 560
miles (900 km) and may consist of iron. This AND THE PLASMA GENERATOR) (350 kg) The probe took
photographs and data
is the photo taken by the Cassini probe. PROBES (1 OF 3) WEIGHT ON EARTH 9 feet from the surface of Titan.
(2.7 m)
Toward Venus and Pluto SPECTROMETER 1

will study the interaction of
Pluto with the solar
The Spacecraft
The central structure of New Horizons is an aluminum
Launched Jan. 19, 2006
T
Flyby Pluto
wind to determine if
he New Horizons mission, launched by NASA in January 2006, is a it possesses a
cylinder that weighs 1,025 pounds (465 kg), of which 66
pounds (30 kg) are accounted for by scientific instruments. All its Cost $650 million
voyage that will carry the spacecraft to the limits of the solar magnetosphere.
systems and devices have backups. The spacecraft carries a Weight 1,025 pounds (465 kg)
system and beyond. The most important goal of the voyage is to sophisticated guidance-and-control system for orientation. It has
cameras to follow the stars and help find the right direction.
Organization NASA
visit Pluto, a dwarf planet (a designation made in 2006 by the These cameras have a star map
International Astronomical Union). The ship flew past Jupiter to gain with 3,000 stars stored in
their memory. Ten times
enough speed to get to Pluto in the year 2015. It will have six months to each second, one of the
make observations of Pluto, after which it will continue its voyage toward the cameras takes a
wide-angle image of
region of the solar system known as the Kuiper belt. space and 2.5 feet
(0.70 m)
compares it with
the stored map.
7 feet
(2.1 m)
ANTENNA
High-gain, 7 feet
(2.2 m) in diameter,
New Horizons Mission its purpose is to
communicate with
An unmanned space mission by NASA whose destination is to the Earth.
explore Pluto and the Kuiper belt. The probe was launched
from Cape Canaveral on Jan. 19, 2006. It flew past Jupiter in RADIOMETER
February 2007 to take advantage of the planet's gravity and measures the
increase its speed. It will arrive at Pluto on July 14, 2015. Finally, the atmospheric composition
probe will fly by one or more objects in the Kuiper belt. The principal and temperature.
objectives of the mission are to study the form and structure of
Pluto and its satellite Charon, analyze the variability of the
temperature on Pluto's surface, look for additional satellites around
Pluto, and obtain high-resolution images. The power source for the
spacecraft is a radioisotope thermoelectric generator.
RADIOISOTOPE
GENERATOR
provides energy for
propulsion of the spacecraft.
LOW-GAIN
ANTENNA
2015
The spacecraft New
Auxiliary to the high-gain THRUSTERS
antenna, which it can replace Horizons will arrive at
The spacecraft carries
in case of breakdown Pluto on July 14, 2015.
TELESCOPIC six thrusters to increase
its speed during flight.
LAUNCH JUPITER FLYBY KUIPER FLYBY CAMERA
will map Pluto and
JAN. 19, 2006 FEBRUARY 2007 2016-20 gather high-quality
The New Horizons probe is The probe flies by Jupiter to take The probe flies by one or geologic data.
launched from Cape Canaveral advantage of the gravity of the more Kuiper belt objects.
toward Jupiter, Pluto, and the planet on its journey toward Pluto.
Kuiper belt.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 6 feet
The Venus Express Mission Launch Nov. 9, 2005
(1.8 m)
Venus is a little smaller than the Earth and has a dense Cost $260 million
atmosphere. Because it is located at slightly more than 5 feet
Weight 2,700 pounds (1,240 kg)
67 million miles (108 million km) from the Sun, it receives (1.5 m)
Organization ESA
almost twice the solar energy as the surface of the Earth. The
Venus Express is the first mission of the European Space
Agency to Venus. The scientific aims include studying in detail
the atmosphere, the plasma medium, the surface of the SPECTROMETER 1 SPECTROMETER 2 SOLAR
planet, and surface-atmosphere interactions. It was launched measures the atmospheric operates on PANELS
temperature. ultraviolet rays.. capture the
from the Baikonur cosmodrome on Nov. 9, 2005. The mission
energy from
will last two Venus days, some 500 terrestrial days. The the Sun that
spacecraft entered into orbit on April 11, 2006. powers the
mission.
LAUNCH ARRIVAL AT VENUS

Nov. 9, 2005 April 11, 2006 CAMERA MAGNETOMETER
captures images in measures magnetic
the ultraviolet. fields and their
direction.
STAY ON
INTERSECTING THE ARRIVAL AT PLUTO VENUS HIGH-GAIN
ORBIT OF MARS JULY 14, 2015 ANTENNA
500
APRIL 7, 2006 transmits data to
New Horizons flies by Pluto and its moon terrestrial Earth.
The probe traverses Charon. It sends to Earth data about the days
the Martian orbit. surface, the atmosphere, and the climate.
Closer to the Sun GRM

A device that studies
T
RADIAL ANTENNA the gamma rays
he space probe Ulysses was launched from the space shuttle on Oct. 6, DUST contains four devices for emitted by the Sun
1990. It completed its first orbit around the Sun in 1997 and since then An internal device to different experiments.
study the energy
has carried out one of the most in-depth studies ever about our star. The composition of the VHM
probe's orbits allow it to study the heliosphere at all latitudes, from the heliosphere's particles A device for studying
and cosmic dust. the magnetic field of
equator to the poles, in both the northern and southern hemispheres of the the heliosphere
Sun. The joint NASA and ESA mission is the first to orbit around the poles of
the Sun. It orbits the Sun at 10 miles per second (15.4 km/s). SWOOPS
An instrument that URAP
studies the ionic is used to
composition of the measure the radio
solar wind and the
PASSES OVER THE
SOLAR NORTH POLE
1 2 3 particle material
waves and plasma
in the solar wind.
Solar Wind and the Earth
June-October 1995 Thanks to its intense nuclear activity the Sun expels a
Beginning of Beginning of the Beginning of
September-December 2001 million tons of particles per second into space. This
the first orbit: second orbit: the third orbit:
November 2007-January 2008 particle flow forms a low-density plasma that extends the
1992 1998 2004
Sun's magnetic field and interacts with the Earth's
magnetosphere. The area where the solar wind no longer has
an effect is called the heliopause.
SHOCKWAVE
The solar wind collides with
the Earth's magnetic field.
SUN EARTH
HI-SCALE
Device designed to
JUPITER measure the energy SOLAR
Flies by the planet and uses it WIND
present in ions and
for a gravity assist
electrons of the
interplanetary medium
PASSES OVER THE
SOLAR SOUTH POLE
June-November 1994 / September 2000
January 2001 / November 2006-April 2007 100 days HIGH-GAIN
ANTENNA
The antenna is used BANDS OF
for communication MAGNETIC FIELD
Generated by the bipolar
FIRST ORBIT SECOND ORBIT with Earth stations. REACTION TANK characteristic of the Earth
A tank of fuel used for correcting
ORDER OF THE HELIOSPHERE HELIOSPHERE CHAOS
the probe's orbit
Ulysses completed its first solar orbit in The information obtained by the Ulysses probe in
December 1997 after having passed over the the year 2000 showed a structural change in the
north pole. The heliosphere's structure was seen solar wind during the period of maximum solar
to be bimodal—that is, activity. Ulysses did not
the solar winds were detect patterns in
faster at greater which wind speed
inclinations of the orbit corresponded with
ANTENNA CABLE CONTROL 11 feet
A device onboard the spacecraft to (3.3 m)
(beginning at 36°). inclination, and in
change the position of the antennas
During the first orbit, general the solar wind
there was relatively was slower and more
little solar activity. variable.
GOLD COVERING
It serves as insulation to help
THIRD ORBIT maintain the spacecraft's
instruments at a temperature below ANTENNA CABLE
CHANGES IN THE MAGNETIC FIELD 95° F (35° C) while the fuel is kept There is one on each side of
After having survived the difficult at a temperature above 41° F (5° C). the spacecraft. They are
pounding of the solar activity during THERMOELECTRIC deployed after liftoff.
RADIOISOTOPE TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: ULYSSES
its second orbit, the Ulysses probe
began a third orbit around the Sun's GENERATOR Launch date Oct. 6, 1990
poles in February 2007. Solar provides electric energy Weight when launched 815 pounds (370 kg)
activity was expected to be at a
minimum, as it was in 1994, but the
poles of the magnetic field are reversed.
for propelling the
spacecraft in space. 10 miles Weight of the instruments
Orbital inclination
1,200 pounds (550 kg)
80.2° with respect to the ecliptic
(15.4 km) per second Organization NASA and ESA (joint mission)
THE VELOCITY REACHED BY THE ULYSSES PROBE

The Road Beyond

T
he space probes Voyager 1 and 2 were launched by NASA to
study the outer solar system. Voyager 1 was launched on SOLAR
SENSOR
Sept. 5, 1977, and flew by Jupiter in 1979 and Saturn in Golden Record
1980. Voyager 2 lifted off on Aug. 20, 1977, then flew by Jupiter PIONEER 10 The Voyagers carried the recorded greetings
of humanity in a golden, 12-inch record. Each
and Saturn to reach Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in 1989. Voyager AND 11
In 1973 Pioneer 10 spacecraft had one, with information about life on
2 is the only probe that has visited both of these planets. Both became the first Earth, photographs, music of Mozart, Bach, and
spacecraft to fly by Beethoven, greetings in more than 50 languages,
probes have now become the furthest distant artificial Jupiter. It was followed and the brain waves of a woman (Ann Druyan, the
by Pioneer 11, which
instruments ever sent into space by humans. made a flyby of Jupiter wife of the now-deceased astronomer Carl Sagan,
in 1974 and Saturn in who supervised this collection). If the message finds
1979. Pioneer 11 stopped anyone who can respond, it will be, in the words of
working in 1995. Signals Sagan, “humanity's most important discovery.”
were received from
Pioneer 10 until 2003.
THE FRONTIER OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM PARABOLIC

ANTENNA
WHAT THE RECORD IS LIKE
BOW Voyager 2
A binary code Cartridge A representation of
SHOCK the waves produced
Voyager 2 that defines the
speed for listening by the video signal
Voyager 1
to the sounds
HELIOSPHERE Binary code
that marks
the time
SOLAR TRAJECTORY View of the record
SYSTEM EARTH
The Voyager probe passed by
Jupiter in 1979 and by Saturn JUPITER
HELIOPAUSE in 1980. The Voyager 2 did SATURN Profile of the Scanner
Voyager 1 the same and arrived at
Limit zone between COMMUNICATION WITH THE EARTH cartridge trigger
Uranus in 1986 and Neptune URANUS
the area of
in 1989. Both are still active. NEPTUNE The high-gain antenna, 12 feet (3.7 m) in
influence of the Sun Video
INTERSTELLAR and outer space diameter, is located in the upper part of the
image
WIND central body.
If the disk is
decoded, the
The antenna first image
must point in the will appear in
exact direction. the circle.
ANTENNA
A sensor records the If the antenna is misdirected, the
Looking for the Heliopause position of the Sun. information will not get to its destination.
With Voyagers 1 and 2 leaving the Solar System, the project was renamed
the Interstellar Voyager Mission. Both probes continue to study the magnetic This diagram Represents the
defines the two stages of the
fields they detect, looking for the heliopause—that is, the limit between the area of
the Sun's influence and interstellar space. Once that frontier has been passed,
the Voyagers will be able to measure waves that escape the solar magnetic
field, beginning with the so-called “bow shock,” a zone where the
10,000 days
have passed since Voyager 1 was launched into
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
VOYAGER 1 AND 2
Launch date 1977
location of our Sun
by using 14
directional lines.
hydrogen atom
solar wind diminishes abruptly because of the disappearance of space. During this time, it discovered 21 new Useful life 60 years
the solar magnetic field. It is hoped that the Voyagers will pounds
1,800
satellites of the four planets studied; it proved that Weight 1,800 pounds (815 kg) 11 feet
continue to be active for at least 30 years. the rings of Saturn consist of particles of ice; it (3.35 m)
Source of energy Plutonium
discovered the rings of Neptune; and it determined
Organization NASA
(815 kg)
the character of the magnetic field of Uranus. 11 feet
WEIGHT ON EARTH
(3.35 m)
MILESTONES OF
THE VOYAGE
1977 1977 1986 1987 1989 1998
LAUNCHES PHOTO OF THE EARTH ENCOUNTER OBSERVATION COLOR PHOTO PASSES PIONEER 10
The space probes AND THE MOON WITH URANUS OF A SUPERNOVA OF NEPTUNE Pioneer 10, launched in
Voyage 1 and 2 were On September 5, On January 24, Voyager Supernova 1987A Voyager 2 is the first 1973, was the farthest
launched by NASA Voyager 1 sent 2 arrived at Uranus. It appeared in the space probe to spacecraft from Earth
from Cape Canaveral. photographs of the sent photographs of the Large Magellanic observe Neptune. It until Feb. 17, 1998, when
They then began a Earth and the Moon, planet to the Earth and Cloud. It was also photographed its Voyager 1, not launched
long and successful demonstrating that sent data on its photographed with largest moon, Triton, until 1977 but traveling
mission that continues it was working satellites, rings, and great clarity by the from close up. faster, passed Pioneer 10
today. perfectly. magnetic fields. space probe Voyager 2. in terms of distance.
Applied Astronautics FROM SPACE TO HOME 80-81
GLOBAL INTERCONNECTION 82-83
GLOBAL SATELLITE NAVIGATION 84-85
FROM THE AIR 88-89
A DIFFERENT VACATION 90-91
ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITES 86-87
SPACESHIPONE
The first privately funded
reusable spaceship in the
world, it flew 10 times higher
than the highest airplanes.
S
pace tourism is ready to take off, first private manned vehicle to reach million and was financed by one of the programs led to the development of
and in the next decades it will near outer space and to remain outside founders of Microsoft. Some people are various technologies, including cordless
become an adventure within the the atmosphere for three minutes. Then already making reservations to fly in the devices, implanted cardiac
reach of many pocketbooks. In it made a problem-free landing in the craft and experience microgravity. It defibrillators, and digital imaging, to
2004 SpaceShipOne became the California desert. The project cost $20 bears mentioning that manned space mention just a few.
80 APPLIED ASTRONAUTICS SPACE EXPLORATION 81
From Space to Home Air Purifiers

Air purifiers are designed
1
PHASE 1
The purifier takes
in contaminated
2
PHASE 2
A filter processes
the contaminated
3 PHASE 3
The purifier returns
the pure air to the
S
to reduce the air with allergens. air. environment.
pace has been a laboratory for investigating and developing new concentration of bacteria in the
technologies and methods, the applications of which have found home and are beneficial for
people suffering from allergies or
a place in daily life. Various devices, foods, clothes, materials, and asthma. Air purifiers are portable
utensils have been tested in space under extreme conditions and have and can be carried from one
room to another.
become useful in improving our lives. Scientists say that the
technological innovations of the next 50 years will change society in CONTAMINATED AIR PURE AIR
such a way that a change in overall thinking will be necessary to

assimilate them.
POLYCARBONATE SPACECRAFT PROTECTION
Compacted To withstand the effects of extreme temperatures and
polycarbonate used in the collisions of meteorites, the spacecraft is
Intelligent Clothing layers has high
resistance to impact. It
protected by various layers that are bonded together
with adhesive silicon. The exterior is made of
Clothing with computers and other transform something to wear into intelligent, replaces glass and is also aluminum. Next is a fabric that is resistant to very
technological capabilities incorporated into biometric clothing that responds to surrounding used in eyeglasses. high temperatures, followed by a fabric to insulate
them has passed from the fiction of futurist movies to environmental conditions and to the wearer's vital against low temperatures.
a reality that is getting closer and closer. New clothing signs. Thanks to the new types of cloth, scientists are
has been designed to demonstrate how electronics can already talking about garments to prevent diseases.
HIGH-TEMPERATURE LOW-TEMPERATURE
KEVLAR FABRIC FABRIC
To protect against the To protect against
A synthetic polyamide, harmful effect of the Sun. extremely low
used in especially temperatures
MAMAGOOSE protective clothing, such as
bulletproof vests, SILICON
Mamagoose pajamas are used to monitor
equipment for extreme ADHESIVE
infants when they are at home sleeping.
sports, and blankets.
These pajamas have five sensors on the
chest and stomach. Three of them
monitor the heartbeat and the other two ALUMINUM
the respiration. The pajamas detect and protects the spacecraft
warn of possible sudden infant death from meteorite impact.
syndrome. The system is similar to the one SENSORS ON:
used to continuously monitor the vital THE CHEST
signs of the astronauts in space. THE STOMACH
SILICONE
A polymer made of silicon. Used as a
Domestic Uses lubricants and adhesives and for
waterproofing, ice-cube trays, and
Frequent space travel has brought the application of new medical applications.
technologies to the home environment. Such is the case with
microwave ovens and dehydrated food. It is only recently that they
became part of the daily routine of the family in the home.
TEFLON
The common name of quality is its impermeability,
polytetrafluoroethylene. The maintaining its qualities in
special quality of this humid environments. Its best-
VELCRO material is that it is almost known property is
inert—that is, it does not antisticking. It is used as a
A system for rapidly react with other chemical coating material on rockets
FOOD MICROWAVE OVENS joining and substances except under very and airplanes and, in the BARCODE
separating two special conditions. Another home, on frying pans.
The explorers dry their food and Became popular in the United parts that was provides information via a
keep it in a cool place. The menu States in the 1970s. They allow created by George combination of parallel
includes dried fruit, smoked rapid cooking or reheating of de Mestral in 1941 vertical lines that differ in
turkey, flour tortillas, soy-milk food thanks to the application thickness and spacing.
cheese, walnuts, and peanuts. of electromagnetic waves. Business and industry use a
special scanner to read them.
82 APPLIED ASTRONAUTICS
Global Interconnection FIXED SENDING AND

RECEIVING ANTENNA
can target specific places on the
SOLAR PANELS
take the light from the Sun
C
Earth. and transform it into
ommunications using satellites have made it possible to connect places that are very electrical energy.
far from one another and to bring information to very remote regions. The satellites
are primarily in geosynchronous orbits—that is, the satellite orbits in the same time it TRANSPONDER
takes the Earth to rotate. This motion allows for more effective transmission systems, This is the heart of the
satellite. It corrects for
because the satellite is stationary with respect to the Earth's surface. There is a virtual fleet atmosphere-produced MOVEMENT ON THREE AXES
distortions of the radio To correct its position, the satellite
of geosynchronous satellites dedicated to various goals: meteorology, research, navigation, signals. turns in three directions: an axis
military uses, and, obviously, telecommunications. perpendicular to its orbit and the
horizontal and vertical axes.
PITCH
Connections
Communication can be established between any example, involves sending a signal to a
two points on Earth. The signals sent and terrestrial station, which retransmits the REFLECTOR Direction to
received between terrestrial and satellite antennas are signal to a satellite. The satellite then captures signals
the Earth Velocity
and retransmits
in the radio-wave spectrum, and they range from retransmits the signal so that it can be them directly. Vector
telephone conversations and television to computer received by an antenna in the United States ROLL
data. A call from Europe to the United States, for for transmission to its final destination. YAW
Orbit
DOWNWARD
LINK REFLECTOR CONSTELLATION OF
The satellite IRIDIUM SATELLITES
retransmits signals to Iridium is a satellite-based,
other points: a mobile telephone system in low
downward Earth orbit. It consists of 66
connection is made. satellites that follow a polar orbit.
UPWARD LINK TELEPHONE

The satellite captures
signals that come from COMMUNICATIONS
the Earth. An upward are possible between an airplane
connection is made. and land by means of satellites.
Terrestrial Stations
These stations are buildings that house the antennas
and all the necessary equipment on land for sending
and receiving satellite signals. The buildings can be large
structures, and the antennas can act as receivers and
transmitters of thousands of streams of
information. In other cases, they are small TELEVISION BROADCAST
buildings equipped for TRANSMITTING ANTENNA CONNECTIONS
The terrestrial antenna make it possible to transmit
communications but designed receives information from the news or other events via TELEPHONY CONNECTION
to operate on board the satellite and retransmits A terrestrial antenna
satellites that capture the
ships or airplanes. it. This is the key for every signals and distribute them receives signals and
kind of telecommunication. transmits them to a center
to different geographic
that resends to them in the CENTER/
locations. corresponding format. OPERATOR
Area of
Maximum Power
NATIONAL TRANSMISSION GRID

Fixed structure on Earth that 1
communicates with the antenna
and receives information
Low-Power Boundaries
SATELLITE FOOTPRINT
PUBLIC NETWORK PRIVATE NETWORK PRIVATE MOBILE UNIT Transmitted radio waves TV LAND LINE MOBILE TELEPHONES
For telephone Groups of private Private clients Used for covering news cover a defined area when The signal arrives The voice signal goes can receive voice and
communication corporations, such who pay for or events that occur in they arrive at Earth. The area from the center via from the center to the images depending on
between two points as TV networks satellite access different locations is known as a footprint. the antenna. desired location. the signal sent.
Global Satellite Navigation Galileo System

The European Galileo project (which placed
ORBIT
ABOUT 55°
to the equatorial
plane
T
its first experimental satellite into orbit in
he Global Positioning System (GPS), developed by the U.S. Department of Defense, makes it 10 feet (3 m) late 2005) is a satellite navigation system that will
possible to determine the position of a person, a vehicle, or a ship anywhere in the world. The GPS be based on a constellation of 30 satellites (27
operational and 3 spares) in three medium Earth Equatorial
system, which uses a constellation of two dozen Navstar satellites, became fully operational in TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
GALILEO SATELLITE orbits in different planes to ensure global coverage.
Plane
1995. Although it began as a military initiative, the GPS system was soon extended to commercial First launched 2006 As with the GPS navigation system, it will permit a
variety of applications in addition to navigation,
applications, which now include handheld navigation systems. A new development is the proposed Orbital altitude 14,300 miles
(23,000 km)
such as the management of taxi fleets in large cities
GALILEO ORBIT
European Galileo satellite navigation system, which resembles the GPS system but would use a Orbital period 14 hours
and the ability to locate stolen automobiles or other
property. The Galileo project arose in part to gain
The orbit of the satellites
ensures sufficient coverage
constellation of 30 satellites. The European system is projected to become operational by 2013. Organization European Union independence from the GPS system, which could be for calculating precise
interrupted or modified to be less accurate if positions on the Earth.
Final number in orbit 30 (27 active)
deemed necessary by the U.S. government.
PHASE 1
Operation
Based on the electromagnetic waves
1 The first satellite sends its coordinates.
The navigation receiver captures a
2 PHASE 2
Using the coordinates of a second
satellite, the receiver can determine
VELOCITY OF
THE WAVES 186,000
signal, which indicates at what the user's location as being PHASE 3
sent by the satellite, the receivers can
convert signals received into position, velocity,
and estimated time, because the distance is the
SATELLITE A
distance the satellite is located and
defines a sphere of possible locations.
anywhere along the intersection of
the two spheres.
SATELLITE A SATELLITE B
3 Combining three satellites
allows a common point to be
determined to indicate the
miles per second
(300,000 km/s)
ELECTROMAG-
product of the velocity and the time. Four NETIC WAVES exact position of the navigator.
SATELLITE C
satellites are required to calculate the exact are sent by the satellite,
and from them the PHASE 4
position. The first three form an area of triple
intersection, while the fourth functions as a
checking mechanism. If the area swept out by
receiver determines its
location. The waves travel
4 With a fourth satellite, errors in
the determined position
at 186,000 miles per introduced by inaccuracies in the
the fourth satellite does not coincide with the second (300,000 km/s). receiver's clock can be corrected.
intersection determined by the other three, the
position must be corrected.
SATELLITE A
SATELLITE B
SATELLITE A
SATELLITE D SATELLITE C
SATELLITE B
COVERAGE
AREA
THE RECEIVER
30
SATELLITES ARE PLANNED
has all the controls necessary to specify the
location of a certain point. These indicate to the
observer all the desired coordinates.
FOR THE GALILEO SYSTEM

INDICATOR RECEIVING
For latitude, LOCATION
altitude, and
longitude
CONTROL
For navigating
through the
displayed map
Environmental Satellites RELIEF PHOTOGRAPHY

can simultaneously
photograph whatever lies in
HRG
An optical
instrument of high
S
front or behind its lens. geometric resolution
pot 1 was put into orbit in 1986 with the sponsorship of the French Space Agency (CNES). It was When stereoscopic pairs
are used, the image can be SOLAR PANELS
the first satellite of what is today a constellation of satellites that can take photographs of different seen in three dimensions. One points ahead
and the other
places on the Earth at very high resolution. Spot 5 can scan the Earth from three different angles, backward from the
vertical axis of the
which makes it possible to construct three-dimensional images. Today Spot 5 is a commercial satellite par satellite
excellence, contracted by a variety of firms for close-up images. For example, agricultural firms request
very close-up images of land under cultivation, and petroleum companies can request images for oil
and gas exploration. Landsat, another satellite for monitoring the environment, was launched in
1999 and offers images of lower resolution.
Spot 5 Capabilities
The development of the Spot satellite constellation has made it possible to
commercialize photographic monitoring of environmentally linked phenomena. THREE-SATELLITE
Using its scanning system, a Spot satellite can observe the same site every two or CONSTELLATION
The work is done in an
three days. Each satellite carries two cameras, which can provide side-by-side integrated manner so that it is
coverage for a track 73 miles (60 km) wide at ground level. Used in combination, the possible to obtain a daily picture
cameras can obtain a resolution as fine as 8 feet (2.5 m), or they can be aimed at of any point on the globe.
different angles to produce stereoscopic images. The cameras can be used to produce
black-and-white images or multispectral images that combine more than one
wavelength of light. Depending on the area, Spot Image, the company that markets
Spot images, can guarantee pictures without cloud cover. This is particularly valuable
for applications that require images without clouds, fog, mist, or sandstorms. HIGH
STEREOSCOPIC
RESOLUTION
makes it possible to
obtain two images VEGETATION
Launch date May 4, 2002 simultaneously. Instrument for
Orbital altitude 520 miles (832 km) U.S. Satellite PHASE 2
terrestrial
observation
Orbital period Landsat 7 was launched by NASA in
PHASE 1 2 Ninety seconds
100 minutes 10 feet 1 One camera later, it takes
Maximum resolution 8 feet (2.5 m)
(3.1 m) April 1999. It orbits the Earth at an points images with the
altitude of 440 miles (705 km). It takes only forward. rear camera.
Organization CNES
99 minutes to make one complete orbit of the
19 feet
Earth and 16 days to photograph the entire
(5.7 m)
surface of the planet. It can obtain images How These
MARCH FEBRUARY with a resolution as fine as 50 feet (15 m). Photographs Are Taken
JANUARY From Toulouse, France, depending on the meteorological
forecast, the Spot Image programming teams make plans for
the satellites to take images over the next 24 hours to obtain the
photographs that are on order. Acquiring two photos simultaneously
DECEMBER 20º 20º makes for better pictures and facilitates an automatic configuration
process for comparing two images.
CONFIGURATION PROCESS
LANDSAT 7
produces multispectral
images of the Earth that
are used to monitor
changes in climate and
the environment.
73 MILES
(117 KM)
NOVEMBER is the maximum width
covered by the images
(using two cameras).
OCTOBER IMAGE 1
SEPTEMBER IMAGE 2
HELIOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT 37 MILES

In order to compare the observations of a given point taken on
different days, the images must be taken in similar lighting
conditions. For this reason, the satellites are in
heliosynchronous orbit, which means the plane of
95%
of the surface of the
(60 KM)
is the maximum
length of the
area covered by
the images.
the orbit maintains a fixed angle with the Sun. As Earth can be observed
a result, each satellite has a view of the entire on any day by one of
surface of the Earth over a 26-day period. the three satellites.
From the Air 1,400 square
P
hotographs taken by Spot 5 can show the (3,600 sq km) miles
geography of any region of the world in
The maximum surface area attainable by
different scales, from images of 8 feet SEA OF Spot 5 photos. It can do so both on local
(2.5 m) on Earth to fringe areas 37 miles (60 GALILEE scales (for which finer resolution is used) Syria
Haifa and on regional scales.
km) wide. Spot 5's high-definition capacity
makes in-depth close-ups possible; it can
target very specific places, from areas of Nazareth
vegetation to harbors, oceans, geographic
borders, and forest-fire zones. Here Israel
and its border regions—with Syria, Lebanon,
and Egypt—together with the Dead Sea THE DEAD SEA AS TAKEN BY LANDSAT 7
and the Golan Heights were photographed The North American satellite took this photograph
by the satellite, offering a panoramic of the Dead Sea in February 1975. The image
combines optical and infrared techniques (in this
image with significant detail.
JORDAN RIVER
wavelength range, water is seen as black). The Dead
Sea is in the center, between Israel (on the left) and
Jordan (on the right). North is up.
The West Bank
Its desert characteristics
are observable in the
ISRAEL color photograph taken
by Spot 5.
Latitude 32.98º The Dead Sea is the lowest
Longitude 35.57º body of water in the world,
1,300 feet (400 m) below
Tel Aviv The surface of sea level. Its water The
the desert evaporates rapidly in the vegetation
Surface area 8,500 square miles (21,946 sq km)
appears brown. desert climate, leaving is seen in
Population 6,116,533 (2003) behind dissolved minerals. green.
Population density 755 per square mile (302/sq km)
Capital Jerusalem THE JUDEAN DESERT
The image shows
Currency Shekel
different elevations and
Jerusalem terrain with significant
detail. The region of
Sodom, 1,270 feet
(387 m) below
Israel sea level, is the
lowest place on
DEAD SEA
the planet.
A
SE
Gaza
N
EA
N
R A
ER
IT
ED
M
Image Resolution
Technological developments have permitted
increased resolution of what is called the Satellite Size of the pixel Image
image capture of geographic space. The maximum Spot 1 to 3 32 feet (10 m) Color and B&W
definition possible is 8 feet (2.5 m) on the Earth's
66 feet (20 m) Color
surface. In some cases it is better to use
resolutions of 16, 32, and 66 feet (5, 10, and 20 m). Spot 4 16 feet (5 m) Color and B&W
The pictures provided by Spot can cover an areas 32 feet (10 m) Color
as much as 37 miles (60 km) wide and can be used Spot 5 8 feet (2.5 m) Color or B&W
for checking harvests, evaluating natural 16 feet (5 m) Color or B&W
catastrophes, and checking demographic growth.
32 feet (10 m) Color or B&W
Jordan
3-D
images
Spot 5's scanning method
makes it possible to
construct images
(primarily topographical
relief) in three dimensions 8 feet
(2.5 m)
is the finest resolution attainable by the
Spot 5 satellite and is capable of
showing the details of a ship in a port.
Egypt 0 miles 6
(km) (10)
A Different Vacation TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:

SPACESHIPONE
Date of launch June 2004
P
Maximum altitude about 62 miles (100 km) 16 feet
erhaps a few years from now traveling to First pilot Mike Melvill
(5 m)
the edge of space will be another option for a Enterprise Private 49 feet
vacation. Right now various private enterprises already (15 m)
have plans to offer this type of recreation. In April 2001 an DENNIS TITO
American businessman, Dennis

Tito, made a successful trip to
the International Space Station.
The first commercial space traveler,
he paid $20 million for an eight-day stay.
One year later, the Australian Mark Shuttleworth did the
same. Then came the formation of SpaceShipOne, which has the potential
of allowing thousands of tourists to travel to space at moderate cost.
WEIGHT OF
THE SPACESHIP
Altitude
in km (miles)
100 (62)
MAXIMUM ALTITUDE
The spacecraft reaches
115 feet
(35 m)
8,100 pounds
an altitude of 62 miles
(100 km) before falling
(3,670 kg)
back into the
atmosphere. The The Cockpit
90 (56) members of the crew 270 feet (82 m) THE CREW
experience microgravity Equipped with advanced
for six minutes. BOOSTER technology that permits Equipped with pressurized suits. The crew
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: Solid hybrid rocket engine the pilot to maneuver the is trained for the flight and sits at the rear
WHITE KNIGHT ENGINE spacecraft safely. It has 16 of the craft.
THRUSTERS
80 (50) Launch date FRAME circular glass panes for a
June 2004 allow the craft to
With liquid
Maximum altitude 9.5 miles (15.24 km) fuel
ascend or descend panoramic view of space and the
during the flight. Earth below. A central stick and
First pilot Mike Melvill
rudder pedals are the principal
70 (45) Enterprise Private controls the pilot uses when it is
time for the spacecraft to fly. CIRCULAR PANES ALTITUDE RUDDER PEDALS
THE ENGINE There are 16 glass panes DIRECTOR They are used for
fires for 80 seconds, that provide structural Used for reentry banking to prevent
and the craft reaches integrity to the fuselage. into the atmosphere side-to-side motion
60 (37) a velocity of 2,225 The Voyage
miles per hour RUDDERS
(3,580 k/h). Suborbital flights are less expensive than orbital flights. Activated
The voyage typically lasts about two hours at a maximum electronically, they
velocity of 2,225 miles per hour (3,580 km/h) and a maximum lend more strength EXHIBITOR
50 (31) altitude of approximately 60 miles (100 km). The stay in outer to spaceflight. shows the position of the
space lasts only a few minutes, during which time the traveler AILERONS craft with respect to the
Earth, the route to its
LIFTOFF
can see the beautiful profile of the Earth and experience the Used for
destination, and the
effects of microgravity. Such flights might become available to controlling the
After one hour of compression of the
airplane's
40 (25) flight—and at an paying passengers. altitude air on the wings.
altitude of 9.5 miles REENTRY
(15.24 km)—the The pilot configures
launching aircraft the descent.
White Knight releases
30 (19) SpaceShipOne.
$200,000 MOVEMENT
OF THE NOSE
From side to side
CENTRAL
CONTROL
STICK
ANTICIPATED COST OF
around the It controls the
THE SUBORBITAL FLIGHT center of gravity craft's pitch.
4 days FEATHERING
The wings pivot
upward to
ENGINE
The engine is
OF TRAINING allow for safe started with
GLIDING reentry. push-buttons
SpaceShipOne descends and burns fuel
LANDING
The White Knight
returns for a landing.
toward the ground.
2 hours for 65 seconds.
REGULATOR
FLIGHT DURATION checks for deviations
from the trajectory.
92 GLOSSARY SPACE EXPLORATION 93
Glossary
use digital signals that are typically the lock. If they did not use the lock, all the air take advantage of the microgravity in orbit.
Antenna represented by electric signals formed by a
Helmet from the spacecraft would escape. Some such experiments concern creating new Parachute
Dish or mast for receiving or sending radio series of high or low voltage levels. Digital A space-suit helmet is made of strong plastic. types of materials; others involve studying the A device made of a strong textile that opens
signals. electronic equipment represents continually The helmet contains a valve to let in oxygen effects of microgravity on plants or other
varying (analog) information as a series of and remove carbon dioxide. The helmet is
Lunar Vehicle living things.
up in the shape of a huge umbrella, used to
slow the fall of astronauts or rockets.
discrete values. airtight and contains communication gear, such Battery-powered vehicle used to drive over the
Applications Satellite as a microphone and headphones. lunar surface.
Type of unmanned satellite for commercial use
Mission Control Payload
and for scientists who study the Earth.
Docking Adapter Facility of a space agency for monitoring and
Application satellites can be broadly classified The part of the spacecraft designed to join
Infrared Radiation Manned Maneuvering Unit controlling a spaceflight.
Materials or scientific instruments transported
into space by a manned or unmanned
as communications, environmental, or with another spacecraft when they are docked Light with wavelengths somewhat longer than Apparatus that astronauts formerly used to spacecraft that are not part of the launch
navigational. together. those of red light in the visible spectrum. It is perform work, such as capturing satellites and
invisible to the human eye. Infrared light can be testing new equipment, outside the spacecraft.
NASA vehicle itself.
readily used for transmitting information It consisted of a framework with small National Aeronautics and Space
Artificial Intelligence Docking Port between two devices that are in close proximity directional thrusters. Administration, the U.S. organization in charge Pressure Suit
In general, the capacity of a machine to act A door that can be opened between two to each other without their having to be of space exploration. Its headquarters are in An airtight, inflatable suit designed to protect
like an intelligent being. docked spacecraft so that the members of the connected by cables. Infrared radiation requires Washington, D.C. NASA was created in 1958
crew can move from one to the other. less energy to produce than visible light and does
Mariner by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
the body from low pressure at high altitude or
in space. A space suit is a type of pressure suit.
not interfere with light. A series of U.S. space probes for the study of
Astronaut the interior planets of the solar system
Person sent into space. To be able to perform
Energy Matrix (Mercury, Venus, Mars). None was designed to
Navigation Systems Propulsion System
tasks in space, astronauts wear pressurized Also known as the solar matrix, it provides
Image Spectrometer land on a planet. In spite of the relative Traditional systems of spacecraft navigation The most common propulsion system used for
suits. The training program is difficult and electric energy to the ionic motor of the Image spectrometer is a type of camera that limitations of these missions compared to later tracked the spacecraft from the ground and rockets is chemical, driven by combustion. A
exhaustive. spacecraft. They are less expensive than solar records a digital image in two or more specific probes, they contributed important planetary depended on human controllers there. In chemical rocket engine carries both a fuel and
panels and also more resistant to space wavelengths, such as infrared and ultraviolet. information that was used for later, more modern autonomous navigation systems, the an oxidizer, which together take up most of
radiation. The images can then be evaluated to obtain complex missions, such as the Viking. path of the spacecraft is calculated and
Astronautics information about materials, such as the corrected using images of the asteroids and
the volume of the rocket. The fuel burns when
it is combined with the oxidizer, and the
Science that studies the design, construction, composition of rocks in an image of the Earth's stars taken by an onboard camera system, then
and function of spacecraft and the problems
Environmental Satellites surface.
Mars Pathfinder combining the information with the navigation
escaping gases produce the propulsion. Other
types of rocket propulsion systems include the
related to interplanetary space navigation. It Satellites that gather environmental U.S. space probe that successfully landed on system. ion (electric) system in which electrically
also refers to related technologies. information about the Earth, such as images of Mars on July 4, 1997, in the area called Ares
the storms in the atmosphere, ocean
Laser Vallis.
accelerated ions are discharged from the
temperatures and currents, and snow and ice Device that produces coherent light—that is,
Operations Center engine to produce thrust.
Booster Rocket cover. Images of the Earth's surface in light composed of a single wavelength and in The operations center of mission control that
Rocket that is attached to a primary rocket to different wavelengths can help evaluate the phase with each other. Lasers can be built from
Messages from the Earth monitors spaceflights using telemetry Radar
increase thrust at liftoff. composition of rocks and the health of crops a variety of substances (such as ruby and Space probes on missions that carry them technology, which allows technical aspects to A system that emits radio waves and detects
and other vegetation. certain gases), which are then stimulated beyond the solar system have carried be monitored in real time. any echoes of those same waves. Given that
electrically to produce a laser beam. Laser messages from the Earth to possible
Console beams can have many uses. Intense beams can extraterrestrials who might find them. Discs
radio waves travel at the velocity of light, the
Instrument panel with controls and displays.

ESA cut materials with great precision. Laser light is and plates have been used to record
Opportunity times involved can be very brief. Among the
uses of radar are measuring distances, planet
The space shuttle contains a command console European Space Agency. It was established on also used for transmitting digital information, information about the Earth and its life-forms The second of two NASA rovers that landed cartography, and the study of meteorology. A
in the flight deck. May 31, 1975, with its principal headquarters because it can be readily generated in very short with maps, images, and sounds. on the surface of Mars in 2004. type of radar called Doppler radar can be used
in Paris. pulses. to determine the speed of moving objects that
Depressurized Microelectronics Orbital Perturbations reflect the radio waves.
To remove or lose the air pressure within an

Fuel Life-Support System Miniaturized semiconductor electronic circuits There are many subtle effects that perturb the
enclosed area. For example, air locks are Substance that burns to provide energy. Some Equipment that provides air, water, and heat have revolutionized spacecraft systems from orbits of Earth satellites. Some of the factors Reaction Control System
depressurized when astronauts in space suits types of rocket fuel are liquid; other types are so that the astronauts can live in space. control and navigation to communications. are the asymmetry of the Earth's orbit, solar The propulsion system used to change the
prepare to exit the lock and leave the solid or rubbery. Rocket fuel burns with an and lunar effects, atmospheric influences, and position of a spacecraft.
spacecraft. oxidizer, producing gases that are expelled pressure from solar radiation.
through the nozzles to provide thrust. Rockets
Lock Microgravity
carry their own oxidizer so that they burn fuel Chamber of the spacecraft with an interior The condition in which objects experience no Reentry
Digital Signal and provide propulsion in outer space, where door connecting the cabin to another, outside or virtually no gravitational effects. It is
Oxidizer
The portion of spaceflight in which the spacecraft
A signal that provides information numerically, there is no air. door that opens into space. The members of associated with weightlessness. Many Chemical agent (normally a gas) that is burned enters the atmosphere to return to Earth. As the
such as a series of on-off values. Computers the crew typically put their space suits on in experiments conducted by astronauts in space together with the fuel to fire the rocket engine. spacecraft passes through the atmosphere, the
94 GLOSSARY SPACE EXPLORATION 95
friction between the air molecules and the pressure and harmful radiation, and it also cosmic radiation, meteorites, and the density
spacecraft causes intense heating. Therefore, the Scientific Satellites Space Junk provides the oxygen necessary for breathing. and temperature of the Earth's upper Vostok
surface of the spacecraft is protected by a atmosphere for 21 days. Sputnik 2 was the first
These compile information and carry out exact Any artificial object orbiting the Earth in space Soviet space program that put a total of six
thermal shield constructed of plastic, metal, and to lift a living being, the dog Laika, into space.
ceramics. Some materials are designed to
studies of the Sun, other stars, the Earth, and that has no purpose. It includes such materials Space Tourism cosmonauts into orbit around the Earth
the space environment. Such satellites can as big rocket fragments and small particles of between April 1961 and June 1963. The first
vaporize, dissipating the heat without harming Recreational space travel, which first came
the spacecraft or its crew.
gather data that cannot be obtained on the paint. Space junk has been accumulating since
about as a project launched in August 1999
Suborbital Flights astronaut to orbit the Earth—at an altitude of
surface of the Earth because of the Earth's the beginning of space exploration. 195 miles (315 km)—was Yury Gagarin, the
atmosphere. between the Space Adventures enterprise of Flight designed to reach space but not achieve only crew member of the Vostok 1.
Rescue Ball Space Missions
the United States and a Russian entity. In April orbit. A typical suborbital flight lasts about two
2001 the American businessman Dennis Tito hours and reaches a speed of 2,220 miles per
The rescue ball was designed to help crew Sensor Space missions are organized by a number of paid $20 million for a trip to the International hour (3,580 km/h) and an altitude of about 62 Voyager 1 and 2
members without pressurized suits escape. It is Space Station as the first space tourist. miles (100 km). The time spent in space lasts
Device commonly used in scientific and other space-exploration agencies, including NASA, The space probes Voyager 1 and 2 were sent by
made of space suit material and has an oxygen only a few minutes.
types of instruments aboard spacecraft for the European Space Agency, and the Russian NASA to study the outer solar system. Voyager
supply so that an astronaut could escape safely
to another ship.
gathering data and information. Space Agency. Spacecraft can be manned or Space Underwear 1 was launched in 1977, passed Jupiter in 1979,
unmanned. Voyages are planned years in
Before astronauts put on a space suit, they put
Telescope and passed Saturn in 1980. Voyager 2 was also
advance. International teams construct launched in 1977; it passed by Jupiter and
Robotic Manipulation Solar Panel rockets, satellites, and probes that carry out on an apparatus for collecting urine that has a Instrument for magnifying the image of distant Saturn to reach Uranus in 1986 and Neptune in
tube going to a receptacle. Women wear short objects. Astronomical telescopes are used for
System Panel covered with solar cells. The cells collect specific tasks, such as visiting a planet or
pants, which absorb the urine and conduct it to observing the stars, planets, and other celestial
1989. Both probes are heading out of the solar
sunlight and convert it into electricity, which constructing the International Space Station. system and have provided data about the far
Robotic arm installed in the space shuttle, used can be used to operate the equipment within a Some spacecraft are part of a series, such as the receptacle. They also wear underclothes bodies. The term is used to refer to instruments reaches of the solar system.
for tasks such as unloading the space shuttle's spacecraft. the Apollo lunar mission. equipped with tubes of water to cool the that magnify an optical image or an image
payload bay. astronaut. produced by other types of electromagnetic
radiation, such as radio waves. The Hubble X-rays
Soyuz Space Probe Space Telescope is an orbiting telescope that
Robotics Spacelab can make observations free from the distorting
In November 1895 William Roentgen, when
Series of both manned and unmanned Soviet Unmanned spacecraft sent to gather studying the production of electron beams
Technology that designs machines capable of and Russian spacecraft. The Soyuz replaced the information from planets and other bodies of Spacelab was the space station designed to fit effects of the atmosphere. known as cathode rays, became aware of a
independently carrying out a number of tasks Vostok in the mid-1970s. The Russians use new the solar system. Some probes are limited to within the payload bay of the space shuttle. The mysterious type of radiation that had not been
and adapting their actions to the requirements Spacelab project was begun with a 1973
of the moment.
versions of the Soyuz for launchings to the flying close to a planet. At a preset distance, the
agreement between the United States and the
Thermal Insulator observed before, and he called it X-rays.
International Space Station. The original Soyuz instruments are activated to record data. When Astronomy has been strongly influenced by
series of spacecraft was developed between the probe leaves the planet behind, the nations belonging to the ESA. The first flight Material that conducts heat poorly. It is used to Roentgen's discovery in spite of the fact that X-
occurred in November 1983. The Spacelab was protect the walls of a rocket from the high
Rocket 1967 and 1981 and was used for 41 launches. instruments are deactivated. Many probes have
lifted into space for the last time in November temperatures produced by burning fuel and to
rays coming from celestial objects cannot
These capsules were replaced by the more been sent to land on the surface of a body of penetrate the Earth's atmosphere.
Reaction engine that carries its own fuel and a modern Soyuz-T, launched 15 times between the solar system. Such probes have been used 1997, when the development of the protect the skin of a spacecraft from the heat
source of oxygen so that it can function in space 1980 and 1986. The most recent generation is to land on the Moon, Venus, Mars, and Saturn's International Space Station began. produced by air friction during reentry into the
as well as in the atmosphere. It is driven by the Soyuz-TM, the first of which was launched moon Titan. atmosphere.
gases that exit from nozzles. Launch vehicles in 1986. Spirit
consist of various rocket stages and can make Training
use of booster rockets. A rocket produces the Space Shuttle One of two robots—the other being
kinetic energy necessary to send objects (such Space Blanket The first spacecraft capable of returning to the Opportunity—that was launched in 2003 from The astronaut training program takes several
as manned spacecraft, artificial satellites, and Layer of powdered metal on a plastic film Earth on its own and being reused on multiple Earth and that landed on Mars in 2004. They months. Regardless of educational background,
space probes) into space. The most common applied as spacecraft insulation or to reflect missions. Today the U.S. fleet has three shuttles: carefully explored the surface of the planet. trainees must study mathematics, meteorology,
type of rockets are chemical rockets, which may radio signals. Blankets made of this material Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour. The Both vehicles are part of the NASA Mars astronomy, physics, and space navigation. They
use liquid or solid fuels and oxidizers. retain 80 percent of the body's heat. Challenger and Columbia were both destroyed Exploration Rovers mission. They have tools regularly work in flight simulators and receive
in accidents (in 1986 and 2003, respectively). that allow them to gather rocks and take soil training in the use of the spacecraft computers
samples to be analyzed for chemical and other equipment.
Satellite Space Exploration composition. The robots are located on opposite
Object that orbits a much larger object. Space Station sides of the Red Planet so that they can
Artificial satellites do not carry a crew. They
The era of space exploration began in 1957 with
photographically study very different places.
Viking
the launching of the first artificial satellite. From A base designed to orbit the Earth for a long
orbit the Earth and carry out such functions as that time, many astronauts and robot craft have period of time. Crew members can live and NASA sent the Viking 1 and Viking 2 probes to
the transmission of telephone calls or Mars in 1975. Both probes landed on the planet
information about meteorology.
left the Earth to explore space. Twelve work in the space station for several months. Sputnik and carried out observations from its surface.
astronauts have even landed on the Moon.
Space probes equipped with automatic Satellite that inaugurated the age of space
instruments have visited many bodies of the
Space Suit exploration. Sputnik 1, launched in 1957, was an
solar system, including comets and asteroids as A suit that allows the wearer to survive in aluminum sphere 23 inches (58 cm) in diameter.
well as the planets and their moons. space. It protects against too much or too little Its instrumentation sent back information about
96 INDEX SPACE EXPLORATION 97
Index
A B Cavendish, Henry, 10
Challenger (space shuttle), 36
Chandra X-ray observatory, 50-51, 59
E food, life in space, 41
French Guiana, launching base, 14
French Space Agency (CNES), 86
rocket launching, 33
See also microgravity
Grissom, Virgil, 18
accident: See space accident barcode, technological developments, 81 chemical propellant, 33 Eagle (Apollo 11 lunar module), 20, 21 frequency band, 49 Guggenheim Aeronautics: See Jet Propulsion
air purifier, technological developments, 81 bath, life in space, 41 chimpanzee, use in space exploration, 17, 18 Earth, 65 fuel Laboratory
Aldrin, Edwin, 19, 21 Belka (dog), 16 Clementine (spacecraft), 23 Cassini flyby, 70 external tanks, 37, 39 gyroscope, rocket launches, 34
Alouette 1 (satellite), 15 bone, calcium loss in microgravity, 40 clothing heliopause, 75, 76 solar energy: See solar energy
alpha particle spectrometer, 23 booster rocket Kevlar, 81 solar wind effect, 75 types, 32, 33
Ames Research Center (NASA), 12
animal
launch operation, 32, 35
retrieval system, 39
technological developments, 80
COBE (satellite), 24, 25
view from Mars, 67
Egypt, Spot 3 photography, 89 H
chimpanzee, 17, 18
dogs, 10, 11, 16
Mercury missions, 18
Saturn V, 19, 20
Vostok program, 17
See also rocket
Cold War, influence on space programs, 18, 65
Collins, Michael, 21
Columbia (Apollo command module), 20, 21
Einstein Observatory, 50
Endeavor (space shuttle), 31
Energia (rocket), 33
G Haise, Fred, 22
Ham (chimpanzee), 17, 18
apogee, 48 bow shock, solar system, 76 Columbia (space shuttle), 9, 24, 36 energy source Gagarin, Yury, 6-7, 16, 17 Hayabusa (probe), 15
Apollo 8, 19 Bumper (rocket stage), 11 commercial space flight, 90-91 solar energy: See solar energy Galileo (probe), 9, 10 health
Apollo 11, 9, 19, 20-21 Buran (space shuttle), 33 Ariane 5, 33 solid-fuel rocket, 32, 37 data collection, 69 impact of space travel, 40
launch, 13 Bykovsky, Valery, 17 SpaceShipOne: See SpaceShipOne types, 32, 33 Jupiter, 64 muscle wasting, 28
modules, 20, 21 communications satellite engine, space shuttle, 37 orbit, 49 heliopause, 75, 76
Apollo 13, 22, 23 orbital types, 48-49 environmental satellite, 86-87 technical specification, 69 heliosphere, 74, 75
Apollo 17, 22
Apollo 600 (spacecraft), 22
Apollo program, 19, 22-23, 65
C transmission mechanism, 82-83
conventional navigation, 8
Cooper, Gordon, 18
Equator, launch site selection, 30, 31
Eta Carinae (star), 59
Europa (moon of Jupiter), 68
trajectory, 68
Galileo satellite navigation system, 84-85
orbit, 49
heliosynchronous orbit, 86
high orbit satellite, objects in space, 61
HIRISE high-resolution camera, 53
Apollo-Soyuz test project, 22, 23 calcium, loss in microgravity, 40 cosmic background radiation, map, 24-25 European Launcher Development gamma ray spectrometer (GRS), 23 Houston (Texas, United States), Johnson Space
Ariane 5 (rocket), 32, 33 California Institute of Technology: See Jet cosmonaut: See astronaut Organization, 14 Mars Odyssey equipment, 66 Center, 44
launch sequence, 35 Propulsion Laboratory COSTAR (optical device), Hubble space European Space Agency (ESA), 14-15 Gemini 1 (spacecraft), 17 Hubble space telescope, 25, 58-59
stages, 34 camera equipment telescope, 58, 59 Huygens probe, 71: See also Cassini-Huygens Gemini 3 (spacecraft), 18 orbit, 49, 61
Ariane rocket, development, 14 Mars Exploration Rovers, 54-55 CTX context camera, 53 mission Gemini 6 (spacecraft), 18 repairs, 29, 58, 59
Armstrong, Neil, 19, 21 Mars Odyssey, 66, 67 International Space Station, 56, 57 Gemini 7 (spacecraft), 18 Huygens mission, 64, 70, 71
space suit, 42 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 53 Smart 1 spacecraft, 23 Gemini 8 (spacecraft), 9 See also Cassini-Huygens mission
artificial satellite: See satellite
asteroid
Galileo probe flyby, 68
New Horizons mission, 73
space telescopes, 59: See also Hubble space
telescope
D Venus Express mission, 73
European Space Research Organization, 14
European Union
Gemini 10 (spacecraft), 18
geostationary orbit (GEO orbit), 48, 82
objects in space, 61
hybrid rocket, 32
hygiene, in space travel, 41
Itokawa landing mission, 15 Spot satellites, 86 data transmission Galileo satellite navigation system, 84-85 German Association for Spaceflight, 11
astronaut (cosmonaut), 42-43
Apollo program, 20-21, 22-23
first in space, 16
Canada, International Space Station, 15, 57
Canadian Space Agency (CSA), 14, 15
Canaveral, Cape (Florida, United States),
Chandra X-ray observatory, 50-51
Hubble space telescope, 59
Mars Exploration Rovers mission, 55
International Space Station, 56, 57
exercise, life in space, 41
Explorer 1 (satellite), 11, 16
Germany
astronautic pioneers, 10
V2 rockets, 33
I
life in orbit, 28-29, 40-41 Kennedy Space Center, 13 space probes, 52 Global Positioning System (GPS), 84-85 image resolution, 89
Mercury program, 18 Canberra (Australia), deep space Dead Sea, Landsat 7 photography, 88-89 orbit, 49 inner Van Allen belt, 49
Mir station, 15
Moon landing, 5, 20-21
Vostok program, 17
communications complex, 12
Cassini (spacecraft), 29
Cassini-Huygens mission
Deep Space Network, 12, 51
Delta IV M (rocket), 35
Discovery (space shuttle), 36-37, 38
F Glonass (satellite), 49
Goddard, Robert Hutchings, 10, 33
Goddard Institute for Special Research, 12
insulation: See thermal insulation
Intelsat (satellite), 48
International Space Station (ISS), 56-57
Atlas (rocket), 18 Saturn, 64 dog, use in space exploration, 10, 11, 16 fairing (rocket covering), 34 GOES (satellite), 9 commercial space travel, 90-91
Australia, deep space center, 12 technical specifications, 71 Dryden Research Center (NASA), 12 flight simulator, 42 gravitational assistance, 29, 70 country contributions, 15, 56, 57
automatic navigational system, 8-9 trajectory, 70 dwarf planet: See Pluto Hubble space telescope repair, 29 gravity (gravitation), 28-29 first module, 25
Cat's Eye nebula, 59 floating launch platform, 31 gravity boost for spacecraft, 25, 70 orbit, 61, 65
International Telecommunications Union, 48 Mariner 4 (probe), 18 Luna missions, 16, 18 radio equipment, satellite coverage, 8
Interstellar Voyager Mission, 76
See also Voyager 1; Voyager 2
L Mariner 10 (probe), 65
Mars
See also specific entries at Apollo
Mössbauer spectrometer, 55
P radioactive propellant, 33
Redstone (rocket), 18
Io (moon of Jupiter), 69, 70 current conditions, 54 muscle wasting, 28 relief photography, 87
L band frequency, 49 parabolic flight, 29
ion propellant, 33 earth view, 67 need for exercise, 40 rescue sphere, 43
Lagrange L2 (astronomy), 25 Pathfinder (probe), 25, 65
Iridium (satellite), 49, 83 Laika (dog), 10, 11, 16 exploratory missions, 4, 65: See also Mars perigee, 48 robot, Mars exploration, 54-55
Israel, Spot 5 photography, 88 landing, space shuttle, 39 Exploration Rovers mission photography rocket, 32-33
Itokawa (asteroid), Hayabusa landing mission, 15 Landsat 7 (satellite), 86
photography, 88
ice, 67
orbit versus Earth orbit, 66
Pathfinder probe, 25
N environmental, 86-87
Landsat 7, 88
Ariane family, 14
early use, 10
fuel source, 32, 33
Langley Research Center (NASA), 12 Neptune, 77
radiation measurement, 67 National Aeronautics and Space guidance system, 34
launch (rocket), 30-31 Spot 3, 89
Administration (NASA), 12-13
J sequence, 34-35
space shuttle, 37
time window, 35
space probes, 52-53
spacecraft: See Mars Express; Mars
Odyssey
Explorer 1 design, 11
founding, 16
physical health: See health
physical training, life in space, 43
Pioneer missions
launch sequence, 34-35
Mercury mission, 18, 19
objects in space, 61
Japanese Space Agency (JAXA), 14, 15 surface, 46-47, 67 operations centers, 44-45 propellants, 33
Leonov, Aleksey, 16, 17, 23 new satellites discovered, 76
Hayabusa mission, 15 Valles Marineris, 62-63 radio antenna: See Deep Space Network Soyuz, 15
Lewis Research Center (NASA), 12 Voyager 1 passing, 77
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (California Institute Mars Exploration Rovers mission, 54-55 See also space programs by name two-stage rocket, 11
liquid-fuel rocket, 32, 33 Planck mission, age of the universe, 15
of Technology) Mars Express (spacecraft), 4, 8-9 navigational system See also booster rocket
Lovell, James, 22, 23 planet
data processing, 50 Mars Odyssey (spacecraft), 4, 66-67 automatic, 8-9 Romania, astronautic pioneers, 10
low Earth orbit (LEO orbit), 48 Earth, 65, 75, 76
Deep Space Network, 12 Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), 52-53 conventional, 8 Russia
objects in space, 61 Jupiter, 64-65
Explorer 1 design, 11 Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA), 12 solar energy, 8 astronautic pioneers, 10
Luna 1 (spacecraft), 16 Mars, 4, 25, 62-63, 64, 65, 67
Jordan, Spot 3 photography, 89 McCandless, Bruce, 42 Navstar satellite, 84 first astronaut, 6-7, 16
Luna 3 (spacecraft), 16 Mercury, 65
Judean Desert, Spot 5 photography, 88 medium Earth orbit (MEO orbit), 48, 49 See also Global Positioning System International Space Station, 56, 57
Luna 9 (spacecraft), 18 Neptune, 64, 77
Jupiter, 64-65 objects in space, 61 nebula, Cat's Eye, 59 Mir space station, 9, 14, 15, 24
Luna 10 (spacecraft), 18 Saturn, 4, 24, 64, 70, 71,
atmosphere, 69 Melvill, Mike, 90, 91 Neptune, 64 objects in space, 60
lunar landing: See Moon exploration Uranus, 64, 76
Cassini flyby, 70 Mercury (planet), 65 Voyager mission, 76, 77 Sputnik program, 10-11, 16
Lunar Prospector, 23 Venus, 65, 70, 73
Europa, 68 Mercury program, 17, 18-19 New Horizons mission, 4, 72-73 Vostok program: See individual entries at
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), 23 See also Pluto
Galileo flight, 68-69 animals in flight, 18 Newton's third law of physics, 28 Vostok
Lunar Rover, 22-23 planetary system, 64-65
Io, 69, 70 Mestral, George de, 80 Nimbus (satellite), 9 Russian Space Agency (RKA), 14, 15
Lyndon B. Johnson Control Center (NASA), 12 See also specific name, for example Mars
New Horizons flyby, 72 floor plan, 44 Michoud Assembly Center (NASA), 12 Pluto, 64
Pioneer flyby, 76 microgravity, 28-29 exploratory mission, 4
Voyager flyby, 24, 76 calcium loss, 40
O New Horizons mission, 72-73
S
M need for exercise, 41
suborbital flight, 90
Oberth, Hermann, 10
polycarbonate, technological developments, 81
private space flight: See commercial space
K Madrid (Spain), deep space communications

complex, 12
microwave oven, technological developments, 80
Mir space station, 9, 14, 15, 24
mission control, NASA centers, 44-45
Opportunity (robot), 54-55
landing, 65
flight
propellant, 33
satellite
Canadian launch, 15
communications satellite: See
K band frequency, 49 moon Mars exploration, 25, 47 communications satellite
magnetometer, 23
Ka band frequency, 49 Earth's satellite: See Moon exploration orbital maneuvering control system, 39
Kennedy, President John Fitzgerald, 18, 65
Kennedy Space Center (NASA), 12-13
Mamagoose pajamas, infant monitoring, 80
manned maneuvering unit (MMU), 29, 42, 43
manned spacecraft, 9
Europa, 68
Io, 69, 70
outer Van Allen belt, 49
oxygen, life in space, 56
R coverage area, 8
environmental photography, 86
frequency bands, 49
Kevlar, technological developments, 81 map Titan, 64 Radarsat (rocket), 15 Global Positioning System: See Global
Komarov, Vladimir, 19 cosmic background radiation, 24, 25 Moon exploration (Earth's satellite) radiation, cosmic background, 24-25 Positioning System
Kourou (French Guiana), 14, 31 Earth, 86-87 Apollo missions, 19, 20-21, 22-23 radio antenna network: See Deep Space Iridium system, 49, 83
Kuiper belt, New Horizons flyby mission, 72-73 Mariner (probe), 9 landing, 6-7, 20-21 Network objects in space, 60-61
star training (space travel), 42 von Braun, Wernher, 10, 11

orbital types, 48-49, 61
types, 9
See also specific name, for example Landsat 7
Columbia, 9
control center, 45
crew cabin, 40
Cat's Eye Nebula, 59
Eta Carinae, 59
manned maneuvering unit, 43
microgravity, 29
Voshkod 1, 17
Voshkod 2, 17
X-Z
satellite images, 88-89 Discovery, 36-37, 38 61 Cygni, 10 Tsiolkovsky, Konstantin, 10 Vostok 1 (spacecraft), 6, 9, 16-17 X-ray observatory, Chandra, 50-51, 59
Saturn docking at International Space Station, 57 supernova, 59 two-stage rocket, 11 Vostok 5 (spacecraft), 17, 33 X-ray spectrometer, 55
exploratory mission, 4 launch comparison, 35 Supernova 1987A, 77 Vostok 6 (spacecraft), 16, 17 Yeager, Chuck, 11
rings, 70 launching site facilities, 30-31 Strelka (dog), 16 Vostok program, 16-17 Young, John, 18
Titan, 64, 70, 71 travel phases, 38-39 Sun, 65 Voyager 1, 24, 76 zero gravity: See microgravity
Voyager missions, 24, 64, 76
Saturn V (rocket), 19, 20, 33, 35
Schmitt, Harrison, 22, 23
space station
International Space Station: See
International Space Station
Chandra X-ray observatory, 59
heliosphere, 74
heliosynchronous orbit, 86
U technical specifications, 77
Voyager 2, 24, 76
photography, 64, 77
Zvezda Module, International Space Station,
56
Shepard, Alan, 17, 18 Mir space station, 9, 14, 15, 24 Ulysses probe, 74-75 Ulysses (probe), 74-75 technical specifications, 77
silicone, technological developments, 81 Skylab, 9, 24 supernova, 59 study of the Sun, 65 V2 rocket, 33
61 Cygni (star), 10 types, 9 Supernova 1987A, 77 United States of America, 18
sky map, Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy space suit, 42-43 Surveyor 1 (spacecraft), 18, 65 astronautic pioneers, 10
Probe project, 25 space telescope, 25, 58-59 Swigert, John, 22 International Space Station, 56, 57
Skylab (space station), 9, 24
study of the Sun, 65
sleep, life in space, 41
See also Hubble space telescope
SpaceShipOne, 78-79, 90-91
spacewalk, 9
Syria, Spot 5 photography, 88 Kennedy Space Center: See Kennedy Space
Center
moon landing, 6-7: See also individual entries
W
Smart 1 (spacecraft), 23 Armstrong, Neil, 42 at Apollo Wallops Flight Facility (NASA), 12
SOHO telescope, 59
study of the Sun, 65
Sojourner (exploration vehicle), 9
clothing, 41, 42-43, 80-81
first, 16, 17
Leonov, Aleksey, 16, 17
T objects in space, 60
shuttle fleet, 36: See also individual names,
for example, Discovery
water
Europa, 68
health, 41
solar energy McCandless, Bruce, 42-43 TDRS satellite, 59 See also National Aeronautics and Space Mars, 52, 54, 66, 67
Hubble space telescope, 59 training, 43 technology, domestic applications of space Administration Moon, 23
Mars Exploration Rovers mission, 55 White, Edward, 42 exploration, 80-81 unmanned spacecraft, 9 weightlessness
Mars Express, 8 Spain, deep space centers, 12 Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene), technological Uranus, 64 exercise, 41
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, 53 spectrometer developments, 81 Voyager mission, 76 human body, 36, 40
Mir space station, 15 alpha particle spectrometer, 23 telephone, communication satellites, 83 USSR: See Russia microgravity, 28, 29
space probes, 52 CRISM spectrometer, 53 telescope movement, 36
solar wind, 74, 75 gamma ray spectrometer, 23 Hubble space telescope, 25, 29, 58-59, 61 West Bank, Spot 5 photography, 88
solid-fuel rocket, 19, 32, 35 Mars Exploration Rovers equipment, 55 SOHO telescope, 59, 65 White, Edward, 42
space shuttle, 37
sound barrier, first breaking, 11
Soviet Union: See Russia
Mars Odyssey equipment, 66
Mössbauer spectrometer, 55
Spirit (robot), 46-47, 54-55
Spitzer telescope, 59
television, 82
Tereshkova, Valentina, 16, 17
V White Knight (launching aircraft), 90
White Sands Test Center (NASA), 12
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
Soyuz 1, 19 landing, 65 THEMIS (thermal emission imaging Valles Marineris (Mars), 62-63 (WMAP), 24-25
Soyuz rocket, 15 Mars exploration, 25 system), 67 van Allen belt, 11, 49 sky map, 25
Apollo joint mission, 22, 23 Spitzer telescope, 59 thermal insulation, 32, 33 Vecran air bag, 54 women, in space: See Tereshkova, Valentina
space accident, 19, 36 Spot 1 (satellite), 86 material, 81 vehicle assembly building, NASA, 30 work, schedule in space, 41
space junk, 60-61 Spot 5 (satellite), 86, 87 space shuttle, 37 Velcro, technological developments, 80
space probe, 52-53 Israel border region, 88 Titan (moon of Saturn), 64, 70 Venus
See also specific names, for example 3-D images, 89 surface, 71 Cassini flyby, 70
Voyager 1 Sputnik 1 (satellite), 10-11 Tito, Dennis, 90 missions, 65, 73
space program, planning, 9 Sputnik 2 (satellite), 11, 16 toilet, life in space, 41 Venus Express mission, 65, 73
space shuttle, 26, 36-37 tourism, space, 78, 90-91 Viking (probe), 9, 24, 65

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Britannica Illustrated Science Library

Idea and Concept of This Work: Editorial Sol 90

Project Management: Fabián Cassan

Photo Credits: Corbis, ESA, Getty Images, Graphic News,

Illustrators: Guido Arroyo, Pablo Aschei, Gustavo J. Caironi,

Composition and Pre-press Services: Editorial Sol 90

Translation Services and Index: Publication Services, Inc.

Portions © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Britannica Illustrated Science Library Staff Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Editorial Jacob E. Safra, Chairman of the Board

Information Management and Retrieval

Destination: Other Worlds 4

space. To date, 12 men have visited the Moon. Advances in

ARTIFICIAL SATELLITE METEOROLOGICAL VOSTOK PROGRAM APOLLO PROGRAM

17 feet 4.3 feet 11.5 feet 56 feet

Maneuvers are On June 2, 2003, the Mars

its Fregat boosters and began its

From Fiction to Reality With a Dog

which had on board the dog Laika. Launch November 1957

friction when it reentered the atmosphere 57 days later. (508 kg)

Robert Goddard Hermann Oberth Wernher EXPLORER 1

NASA Yesterday and Today SHUTTLE LANDING

GODDARD INSTITUTE INTERNATIONAL

Other Space Agencies Mission Threshold

Russian Missions Inflatable

Russians in Space VOSTOK 1

THE FIRST Yury Gagarin

North American Spacecraft THE VOYAGE

A Giant Leap The Modules

LIFTOFF BOOSTER OXYGEN TANKS

The Moon Without Secrets The Lunar Orbiter

740 pounds LUNAR MATERIAL

DISTANCE TRAVELED ANTENNA

15.5 miles The total distance

longest, was almost

1970 1972 1975 1994 2003 2008

Echoes of the Past WMAP DIMENSIONS

is that this map

THE MAP MOST RECENT SUCCESSES Temperature Regions of greater-than-

COBE, the Predecessor

watts (840 kg) The oval shape is a projection to

LAUNCH SEQUENCE 34-35 CONTROL FROM EARTH 44-45

Defying Gravity Parabolic Flight

GRAVITATIONAL Sun TRAJECTORY OF THE

Point of Departure LIGHTNING RODS

TAIL SERVICE MAST

1,645,000 release the

1926 1942 1961 1969 1988 1999

The main-stage 150

Space Shuttle Primary Engines

25,500 pounds out of the payload bay.

Boeing Standard Space

Orbital altitude 190-330 miles (310-530 km)

ORBITAL BOOSTER ROCKETS

Front Back 00:02:00

They are jettisoned, and the parachutes deploy for

Far from Home 1 90

LOSS OF CALCIUM IN THE BONES

Profession: Astronaut CAMERA

LAYERS OF THE SPACE SUIT

Control from Earth The Big Screen

FOLDING TABLE MONITOR