Quest: Mankind's Journey Into Space

The Space Shuttle, for the time being, stands at the apex of human endeavor as the most complex machine ever built. Through it we are able to escape the bonds of earth, and discover new worlds beyond our own. The Huddle Telescope allows us to view the universe, witness the birth and death of stars, and may one day help us answer the ultimate question: Are we alone?

Wernher Von Braun is considered to be the pre-eminent rocket engineer of the 20th century. In 1929 he co-founded the German Rocket Society. The 1930's saw advances and interest grow, and the technology was becoming within one's grasp. The Germans were making important advances in rocket science that would help propel the world into space by the 1960's.

Since August 29,1949, when the first atomic weapon was detonated by the Soviet Union, the most powerful countries in the world have been engaged in a race to obtain and design nuclear arsenals to "level the playing field" or strike fear into the hearts of enemies. The United States has been focused on developing and combining the two emerging technologies-nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.

By the late 1950's NASA's goal of sending a man into space and returning him safely to Earth was inching ever closer to becoming a reality. Astronauts were being sought to complete the first mission inside the Mercury Shuttle. They had to meet three main requirements: they had to fit into the cramped Mercury, they had to have an aeronautical engineering degree, and they had to be test pilots.

Attempts by the USA to send the Mercury 7 astronauts (most notably John Glen) into space in the Atlas Booster were ultimately successful, after a potentially disastrous mission where Glen's shuttle almost lost its heat shield. Glen became the first American to orbit the Earth. This series of missions paved the way for the most famous space adventure of all, the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969.

The first Soviet and American pioneers had led the way in space flight. NASA selected a second intake of nine astronauts in September 1962. This group included the man who would become the first man to walk on the moon - Neil Armstrong. Buzz Aldran, the second man to experience the moon's surface, was part of a third group chosen by NASA to continue their space exploration.

It seemed the United States could do no wrong, trailblazing their way to the moon when Gemini 11 was launched from Cape Kennedy, September 11, 1966. Aboard were Charles Conrad and Richard Gordon. It was the beginning of a series of space walks and trial orbits of the moon, which would eventually lead to the celebrated lunar landing three years later.

Spider, the crew-named lunar module of Apollo 9, was the first spacecraft ever to be flown that was unable to return to Earth. Circumstances beyond NASA's control meant that back up crews had to be rotated, which put Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldran in the prime position of being the astronauts who would be the first to traverse the moon's surface, in July of 1969.

The United States had kept their pledge to their dead president and became the first nation to put a man on the surface of the moon. Their only real competition had been the Soviet Union. While having the political will and the technical capabilities to perform such a feat, it seems that fate rather than skill or money was the contributing factor that saw the US on the moon before the Russians.

Apollo 13 had lifted off on April 11, 1970. The three astronauts aboard, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert and Jim Lovell were unaware of a serious problem developing during their launch. The fault, focal oscillation, was fixed, but on April 13 a fire erupted in the oxygen tank and the astronauts were left with very little air or fuel, which forced them into the tiny lunar module for the ride home.

Alan Shepherd, the first American into space and commander of the Apollo 14 mission, was the only one of the original seven astronauts to make it to the moon. January 31,1971 was the date they launched into space, less than a year after the near disaster that was Apollo 13. Their mission was to retrieve the spacecraft left behind during the last mission, and bring it home for testing.

Although the United States had taken great steps with its space program during the late 1960's, the Soviet Union was not idle during this time either. On September 12, 1970, the Soviets launched a proton rocket toward the moon with a probe, called Lunar 16. Eight days later it landed on the moon and began to take photos, soil and core samples to give the Russians an idea of the moon's surface.

The early pioneers of aeronautical engineering dreamed of getting into space and also of having somewhere to go. The idea of a space station was born, and the Soviets were the first to put this idea into practice. Their first station was a success, that is, until the astronauts were killed trying to return to Earth. Subsequent efforts, including the world famous Mir, have been far more successful.

July 1975 marked the first joint effort of the competing Cold War nations to develop a docking station that would enable two ships to connect in the event of a rescue or operational problems. Once the docking "collar" was in place, the two countries launched rockets into orbit and had to wait two days to see whether the craft met in the middle and docked to the station as they were supposed to.

The first space shuttle to fly was dubbed Enterprise, after the American public, and science fiction fans, pressured NASA to name it after a popular TV show's spacecraft. The Enterprise was merely an atmospheric testing device, never actually destined for orbit. However the Space Transport System, or more commonly known as a space shuttle, was to be a great leap forward in space transportation.

January 28, 1986 was a red-letter day in the history of the American space program. It was a day that was to devastate both NASA and the families of the crew on board, as Challenger - the 25th shuttle to be launched - exploded 73 seconds after take-off, killing all on board. It was the worst US single spacecraft accident, and the most lethal since the Apollo 1 fire.

The Mir space station has been a docking port for many, giving countries like Syria, Afghanistan and France the ability to train cosmonauts for long stays in orbit. Meanwhile NASA launched Discovery in September 1988, returning the US to space for the first time since the tragedy of the Challenger voyage in 1986. One of its missions was to deliver the Hubble Space Telescope to orbit in April 1990.

Edwin Hubble changed popular astronomy forever. His creation of the Hubble Telescope enabled NASA to place a great observatory in space. The Space Shuttle Endeavour was deployed in 2009 to repair some instruments that had broken, and to update equipment and attach new camera technology. Scientists were amazed when the Hubble Space Telescope picked up thousands of previously undiscovered galaxies.

For millennia, comets have been interpreted by humankind as an omen or sign of events to come. Ancient texts and illustrations mark the passing of these lights with tales of lights streaking across the night sky. In more enlightened times, scientific explanations were given to these 'rocks in space'. Probes have been sent to space to return a sample of asteroid materials to Earth for analysis.

NASA and the Russian Space Agency forged a relationship to develop the International Space Station. Rapidly other nations became involved, with many more (including China) expressing interest. In-orbit construction began in 1998 and is the largest project undertaken of this scale and is scheduled to be completed in 2011. It has a planned lifespan of 17 years and is constantly manned.

Scientists have been fascinated by what space is and by what passes through. Many probes with scientific instruments aboard have been sent out to discover what is in 'deep space'. In the early 1970's Helios 1 and Helios 2 were launched to monitor solar activity. No object had orbited closer to the sun. Insights into the sun's magnetic field (which flips every 11 years) have been discovered.

Nearly 50% of Martian expeditions fail while the success rate for other space exploration missions is much higher. Mars has been a source of fascination, however interest waned slightly in the 70s when there appeared to be no signs of life. Since then, NASA has sent a range of probes to Mars with Scientists discovering that Mars was once warm & wet with running water and a thicker atmosphere.

The Space Age began April 12, 1961, when Soviet Major Yuri Gagarin successfully orbited the Earth in his Vostok 1. Since 1962, many humans have been launched into space, yet they have all been launched from Soviet Union or United States soil. Other Nations have launched satellites and probes, but not humans, as the costs involved are phenomenal.

The Europeans, not well known for their forays into space, have their family of Arian shuttles to take cargo to the Space Station and are planning manned missions as well. Even countries such as China, Japan and India are getting in on the Space Race, with their own shuttles and launch capabilities. It seems that the two world powers are no longer the only nations with viable space programs.

The American Space Shuttle is the most advanced and complex machine ever flown. The remaining shuttles are due to retire after thirty years. NASA has contracts pending with other companies, including Spacex, to provide the hardware to supply and maintain the Space Station. Their capsule, The Dragon, is slated for missions in the near future. It will be launched atop their Falcon 9 launch vehicles.