Merrillville Community Planetarium www.mcpstars.org "Dawn of the Space Age" Highlights from 50 Years of Space Flight Sputnik 1 - The first artificial satellite to orbit Earth was launched by the Soviet Union on Oc- tober 4, 1957. The 23 inch sphere contained a pair of radio transmitters and remained in orbit for 3 months. Sputnik 2 - Carrying the first living thing – a dog named Laika – Sputnik 2 was launched on November 3, 1957. Although Sputnik 2 was designed to provide life support for ten days, it is believed that the dog died after only a few hours due to heat exhaustion. Vostok 1 - The first human sent into space was launched on April 12, 1961. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin completed one orbit of Earth. Gagarin returned safely to Earth after one hour and 48 minutes in space. Voskhod 2 - Launched on March 18, 1965, Voskhod 2 carried two cosmonauts, Pavel Belyayev and Alexey Leonov. Within hours of reaching orbit, Alexey Leonov performed the first space- walk lasting twelve minutes. Gemini 8 - Launched on March 16, 1966, Gemini 8 with astronauts Neil Armstrong and David Scott performed the first rendezvous and docking. The spacecraft began to tumble following docking, requiring separation from the Agena target vehicle and an emergency landing. N1 rocket program - The Soviet moon rocket program. There were four launches between February 1969 and November 1972, none of which were successful. Apollo 8 - An Apollo Command Module was launched by the Saturn V rocket on December 21, 1968. Apollo 8 carried three American astronauts – Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders – to the moon. After completing ten orbits of the moon, the astronauts return success- fully to Earth. Apollo 11 - Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin were launched on July 16, 1969. Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin become the first humans to land and walk on the moon while Collins orbited the moon in the Command Module. – continued – Highlights from 50 Years of Space Flight – continued – Apollo 12 - Launched on November 14, 1969, Apollo 12 carried Pete Conrad, Richard Gordon, and Alan Bean. Conrad and Bean perform the second moon landing and retrieved parts from the unmanned Surveyor 3 that had landed in 1967. Apollo 15 - David Scott, Alfred Worden, and James Irwin were the crew of the fourth lunar landing. Launched on July 26, 1971, Apollo 15 carried the first lunar rover, an electric-powered vehicle for exploring the moon. Scott and Irwin performed three moonwalks during their 66 hours on the lunar surface. Apollo 17 - The sixth and final human moon landing mission began on December 7, 1972. Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt explored the moon while Ronald Evans remained in lunar orbit. At the conclusion of the Apollo program, twelve Americans had walked on the moon. Viking 1 & 2 - On July 20, 1976, the first human-made object landed on another planet. Viking 1 landed on Chryse Planitia on Mars. One and a half months later, Viking 2 landed on Utopia Planitia. The U.S. probes returned photographs, weather data, and sampled Martian soil. Voyager 1 & 2 - Launched in 1977 by the United States, the Voyagers explored the outer plan- ets Jupiter (1979), Saturn (1980 & 1981), Uranus (1986), and Neptune (1989). The probes re- turned information on the gas giant planets, their rings, and moons. Mir - A Soviet (and later Russian) space station assembled by a series of launches starting in 1986. Mir was continuously occupied by cosmonauts and international visitors for ten years. Mir was de-orbited in March 2001. Space Shuttle - The world's first reusable spacecraft made its first flight on April 12, 1981. Ca- pable of carrying up to eight astronauts and a payload as large as bus, the American shuttle helped to build the International Space Station. Five shuttles have flown into space: Columbia (1981-2003), Challenger (1983-1986), Discovery (1984-2011), Atlantis (1985-2011), and En- deavour (1992-2011). International Space Station - A joint project of the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, and the European Space Agency, the first module of the space station reached orbit in 1998. Con- tinuously occupied since November 2000, ISS serves as a research facility in space. SpaceShipOne - won the $10 million Ansari X Prize in June 21, 2004 as the first privately fund- ed reusable spacecraft. Mike Melvill was the pilot and sole occupant during the 24 minute flight. page 2 .