Astronomers of all skill levels like imparting knowledge about our incredible universe, such as “The brightest star is…” and “A black hole is…” These amazing facts sometimes cause us to forget just how far humanity has come in our own small corner of the universe. But astronomy and space exploration go hand in hand. Therefore, I’ve put together a list of 14 Facts about Space Travel that you may teach to your friends who aren’t astronomers.
Facts about Space Travel No1. First was Russia
Indeed, up to NASA’s successful landing on the moon, Russia—then the principal power in the Soviet Union—outperformed the United States in spaceflight quite handily. Launched on October 4, 1957, Sputnik was the first artificial satellite and was made in Russia. Yuri Gagarin, who became the first person to orbit Earth, was also the first human in space. That was on April 12, 1961. Additionally Russian was the first woman in space. On June 16, 1963, Valentina Tereshkova began her 48-orbit journey around the Earth. She is also the only female space traveler in history.
Facts about Space Travel No2. Above our atmosphere is where space begins.
Following his arrival back at the Lunar Module, Neil Armstrong posed for a picture with Buzz Aldrin.
Unbelievably, the boundary of space has a legal definition. This is due to the fact that spacecraft and airplane movements are governed by distinct treaties. The Kármán line, named for Hungarian-American physicist Theodore von Kármán, the first person to compute the altitude at which space begins, is used by most nations. Situated 62 miles (100 kilometers) above sea level is the Kármán line.
Facts about Space Travel No3. Rockets have been around for a while.
This aSpaceXs concept shows SpaceX’s Starship losing its booster stage on its way to Earth orbit.
Rocketry may have originated in China as early as the tenth century. There are historians who place their first known use around 1232. Early Chinese rockets were similar to pyrotechnics in that they were powered by gunpowder. During battle, soldiers would shoot rockets at their foes while fastening an arrow to each rocket. Rocket technology was being used by armies all across the world by the fifteenth century.
Facts about Space Travel No4. The first rocket guy was Robert Goddard.
In contrast to earlier solid-fuel rockets, Robert Goddard’s rocket was the first to use liquid fuel, a more advanced method of rocket propulsion.
American inventor Goddard created the first rocket powered by liquid. Historians believe that the modern era of rocketry began on March 16, 1926, when he launched his first rocket. He and his group fired several dozen rockets over the course of the following ten years, reaching heights of 1.6 miles (2.6 km) and speeds of up to 550 mph (885 km/h).
Facts about Space Travel No5. Everything changed after Sputnik
Sputnik was small, weighing only 185 pounds (84 kg), yet it had a significant influence, helping to launch the American space program, among other things.
The launch of Sputnik is the answer to the question, “When did the Space Age start?” The Soviet Union and the United States competed to launch a satellite into space first in the 1950s. Years were spent by engineers and scientists on both sides attempting to do this. Next, the first artificial satellite (i.e., one launched by humans) to orbit the Earth was Sputnik 1, which was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. Sputnik was 23 inches (58 cm) wide and featured four radio antennas. Every 96 minutes and 12 seconds, it made one orbit around the planet. Sputnik’s radio transmitter merely transmitted beeps back. The batteries ran out after three weeks of use. Additionally, despite being brief, the transmission appeared to inform all Earthbound radio operators that “the Soviet Union is in space.”
Facts about Space Travel No6. Alan Shepard was the first American.
Shepard was a naval pilot who was selected for NASA’s inaugural space program, Project Mercury, along with seven other individuals. He was the second human in space and the first American when he launched on May 5, 1961. At 47 years old, he was the oldest astronaut to set foot on the Moon, having been the fifth in 1971.
Facts about Space Travel No7. A speech was given to start the “Moon race.”
John F. Kennedy aimed to inspire and persuade the United States that it could accomplish the objective he had set the year before: sending a man to the moon “before this decade is out” in his 1962 speech at Rice University.
President John F. Kennedy addressed an audience of over 40,000 people at Rice University Stadium in Houston, Texas, on September 12, 1962. Kennedy stated, among other things, “We choose to do the other things and go to the Moon in this decade because they are hard, not because they are easy.” But it wasn’t from this speech that the majority of historians believe ignited the race to put a man on the moon. Rather, the quotation originated from Kennedy’s speech to Congress on May 25, 1961, whereby he expressed his belief that the country need to dedicate itself to accomplishing the objective of sending a man to the Moon and safely returning him to Earth by the end of this decade. Kennedy didn’t survive to witness it, but the United States accomplished just that in July 1969.
Facts about Space Travel No8. The first person on the moon was Neil Armstrong.
In 1962, this naval pilot applied to become an astronaut. In 1966, he made his first space flight on Gemini 8. It was during that mission that two spacecraft docked for the first time. Eventually, he was appointed commander of the historic Apollo 11 mission—the first landing of a human on the Moon.
Facts about Space Travel No9. It’s not really a walk in space
Ed White was the first American astronaut to accomplish a space walk in 1965, albeit in actuality, he was more of a spacefloater.
Numerous spacefarers have accomplished an extravehicular activity (EVA). This is often referred to by astronauts as a “spacewalk.” However, such phrase normally refers to leaving a ship in orbit while it is connected via a rope.
The first person to set foot in space was Alexei Leonov, a Soviet cosmonaut, in 1965. It took him twelve minutes to get there during his Voskhod 2 mission. Later in 1965, during the Gemini 4 mission, astronaut Ed White made the first-ever spacewalk in American history by spending 23 minutes in space.
Facts about Space Travel No10. In space, that’s a long time.
The longest space mission undertaken by a person was 437 days and 18 hours, completed by Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov. He left Earth on January 8, 1994, for the Mir space station, and arrived back on March 22, 1995. A woman’s longest space mission lasted 328 days. On March 14, 2019, NASA astronaut Christina Koch was launched to the International Space Station. She came back to Earth on February 6, 2020.
Facts about Space Travel No11. This group moved the fastest.
SpaceX wSpaceXeak the record for the largest rocket ever flown when it successfully launches the Falcon Super Heavy and Starship, its upper stage.
Thomas Stafford, John Young, and Eugene Cernan, the crew of NASA’s Apollo 10 mission, achieved a speed of 24,791 mph (39,897 km/h) on May 26, 1969, which is approximately 32 times faster than the speed of sound at sea level on Earth.
Facts about Space Travel No13. Spacesuits are crucial.
The universe is a cruel place. There is no atmosphere and it is really frigid. Furthermore, humans are quite delicate beings. Therefore, space exploration requires the use of specialized suits that maintain an astronaut’s proper temperature and breathing.
The first spacesuit was worn by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin in 1961, and they have advanced significantly since then. Fighter pilot jumpsuits and Project Mercury spacesuits differed slightly in the United States. Each has its own air supply and a helmet shaped like a bubble. There were other varieties of Gemini suits, which were more sophisticated. Some were for spacewalks, while one was for wearing within the spacecraft.
NASA’s spacesuit technology advanced significantly during the Apollo missions. These bigger suits allowed astronauts to spend hours walking about the moon. The suits had an internal liquid cooling system and were fireproof. Astronauts were shielded from potential attacks by micrometeoroids, which are small rock fragments that travel across space at extremely high speeds, by the outer layer.
The astronauts on space shuttles wore Air Force-adapted, partially pressurized suits. Additionally, the enhanced extravehicular mobility unit provided far greater protection for shuttle crew during spacewalks.
Spacesuits of the future will be even superior. The men and women who travel back to the Moon will use new versions, which are now in use by SpaceX astronauts.
also read: Facts about Milky Way
Facts about Space Travel No14. The future appears promising.
Several countries, including the United States, Russia, China, India, and others, are actively pursuing ambitious space programs. Moreover, commercial businesses are actively participating in space exploration efforts rather than only governments. SpaceX, Blue Origin, and other companies are venturing into space exploration.
Both China and the United States intend to send people back to the moon. Additionally, the first robotic lunar landing missions are being planned by South Korea and Japan. A number of nations, space agencies, and businesses are also interested in sending people to Mars. This would be a risky, costly, and time-consuming undertaking.
Numerous countries are also actively using robotic vehicles to explore our solar system; one such country is the United Arab Emirates, which just launched its first-ever probe to Mars. Asteroids and comets will be visited by planned and ongoing missions from the United States, Europe, and Japan, while other missions will investigate the outer planets and their moons.
