Human Space Exploration
81MANKIND DREAMS OF FLYING
Mankind always harbored a dream of flying above the Earth. He looked up for thousands of years at the clouds and the blazing sun during the day; the mysterious moon and countless brilliantly shining stars at night; and wondered: how far up is the sky?
MEN DID FLY
Many men died trying to fly. They did manage to fly a kite in China in 1000 B.C. Leonardo da Vinci designed a flying machine (and a parachute) around 1500 A.D. Finally, in 1783, man left the Earth flying! in a hot air balloon. Not content with that, 14 years later, man first jumped out of a balloon; and landed safely on Earth with a parachute. Then, in 1903, The Wright Brothers were the first to fly an airplane—for 852 feet in 59 seconds.
A MAN IN SPACE
The rocket was invented in 1926 and that was to change everything. The first jet flew in 1939; and men broke the sound barrier for the first time in 1947 (761 Miles per Hour). In 1957 the first satellite was launched into space by the Soviet Union; proving mankind could indeed not only reach space, but put a vehicle into orbit around our planet! In 1961, a man—Soviet Yuri Gagarin—left the Earth's atmosphere and flew into outer space (meaning more than 50 miles above Earth) for the first time—and came back alive! He noted that it was startling that when leaving Earth's atmosphere how the horizon suddenly changes from blue to black. I am going review the American Space Program.
PROJECT MERCURY
The National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA) was founded in 1958 by President Eisenhower. Project Mercury was the first American program to launch a man into space, and then later into orbit around the Earth, in order to see how a human would survive and thrive out there. Two million Americans played a part in the Mercury program. 110 military test pilots were selected to undergo an incredibly extensive battery of tests to measure their physical and psychological fitness before 7 were chosen to be the first American astronauts. The tiny Mercury spacecraft was designed to not only have controls for the pilot, but to be controllable from NASA mission headquarters as well.
45 million Americans watched on television in May of 1961 when Alan Shepard became the first American to fly into space; to "Slip the surly bonds of Earth and touch the face of God" as the poem says. Shepard had been a fighter pilot in the U.S. Navy. His flight only lasted 15 minutes; but he flew 116 miles high. He was asked later what thoughts ran through his head as he lifted off the launch pad and he said, "The fact that every part of this ship was built by the low bidder."
John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in February of 1962, orbiting 3 times at 17,000 miles per hour, during a 5 hour flight. Glenn had been a combat pilot during World War II and the Korean War before becoming a test pilot. He also was the first man to fly across America above the speed of sound in a jet aircraft, prior to becoming an astronaut. NASA mission control was extremely worried about his reentry into Earth's atmosphere in the Mercury spacecraft. We knew that meteors usually burned up coming through the Earth's atmosphere and didn't want that to happen to John Glenn. His craft had a heat shield and it worked—barely.
PRESIDENT KENNEDY SPEAKS
President John F Kennedy said some memorable words about the space program. In May of 1961 he said: "First, I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish." In September of 1962 he said: "We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of preeminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new, terrifying theater of war."
GEMINI SPACE PROGRAM
Project Gemini was next for the American space program. This program is generally overlooked today since it was followed quickly by the Apollo program that put the first man on the moon. But it shouldn't be given the short shrift. Before trying to go to the moon, we had to find out if men could survive in space for up to two weeks; if men could leave the spacecraft safely; and if two space vehicles could rendezvous and dock with each other. Otherwise, a mission to the moon was impossible. Project Gemini's fantastic success is what enabled the Americans to surge ahead of the Soviets in the space race—for good. Yes, it was a stepping stone, but with it we were able to put two men into space together for the first time; and make our first space walk.
Ed White was the first American to walk in space, in June 1965, on Gemini IV. Gemini V proved that men could live for a full week in space. This may sound trivial to us now but no one knew what would happen then to the human body. Gemini VII proved men could live for two weeks in space—the required length of time to go to the moon (240,000 miles away) and back. Gemini VIII proved men could rendezvous and dock two space vehicles in space—obviously we couldn't land on the moon (in a lunar landing module) if this could not be done. And Gemini XII proved man could stay outside his spacecraft for a 5 1/2 hours duration—necessary to soon walk on the moon. Buzz Aldrin did this.
DID BUZZ ALDRIN SEE A UFO?
In closing, there has been a controversy surrounding Buzz Aldrin and his supposed sighting of UFOs while in space. His words were taken out of context by a documentary filmmaker by tricky editing. Aldrin has steadfastly denied he saw anything out there except space debris from his own mission; but conspiracy theorists persist with their "grassy knoll" ideas.
I also have several other Hubs about Space including Space Shuttles.
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Comments
Ellie Perry— I was inspired by a fantastic documentary I watched last week called "When We Left Earth." Thank you very much for being my first visitor!
What a journey! Thank you.
Kushal Poddar— Thank you for tuning in! Keep up the poetry, my friend.
Great hub,I'll have to check out that documentary.I still get a kick out of watching people pulled over on the side of the road before every launch in Central Florida.The awe spans every generation,race,creed etc...Space exploration is the pinnacle of mankinds ingenuity.
TheMindlessBrute— As always, you provide a profound commentary. I highly recommend the documentary—in fact: I pray everybody in the world would watch it. It is awesome! I have watched many launches here in Central Florida and my former company had a contract to do weather surveillance for NASA prior to rocket launches. It is beyond belief for those who have not seen it for themselves.
The moon is up as I type, kind of full. Thanks for this article. I enjoyed seeing some of the spacecraft at the Air Force museum in Dayton a while back. I am reminded how big God is when I see pictures that Hubble Space Telescope took. I also am interested to learn about black holes at the center of galaxies and neutron stars. Thanks.
lefseriver— Oh, The Hubble is the greatest invention in the history of mankind. But, I get ahead of myself. My next space Hub must address Apollo, and then the underrated Space Shuttle before I get to mankind's highest achievement: the Hubble.
I am old enough James to remember Yuri Gagarin's flight and the first moon landing. So exciting bacj then and still fascinating. I have an old childhood encyclopaedia from 1960 that details what might happen when a man gets in space. Interesting, well written and illustrated hub
Informative hub. This reminds me of my wish to see a shuttle launch before the shuttle gets retired, but I'm working on my writing career and I'm not going till that is in full swing - so I will probably miss it. I hope to live long enough to see travelling into space become economical and common place. What are we going to do about all the space debris?
It must have been quite a privilige to do weather surveilance for NASA. Too bad you don't have that contract anymore. Thank you for the reminder that space flight is still a glorious venture.
James, excellent article. Thanks.
ethel smith— Yes, me , too. It was suspected that a man would either freeze to death; or boil, if he went into outer space. These men had huge balls. And we owe them a debt of gratitude for having such incredible courage; and for moving the human race forward in so many ways. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Alexander Mark— I am blessed to live 50 miles from the Cape and so have witnessed many Space Shuttle liftoffs—and heard and felt the sonic booms when they land. I want to do a Hub about the Space Shuttle in the future. It can be seen taking off from 50 miles away. That is how awesome its power is. Thank you, brother, for visiting and leaving your mark in this space.
Vladimir Uhri— Thank you and you are most welcome.
James, thankyou again for another amazing capsule of history. When mankind collectively focusses toward a goal we can accomplish amazing feats such as you have chronicled here and in earlier blogs.
In JFK`s speech you reference I have always held particular significance for his words: "We choose to do these things not because they are easy. We choose them because they are hard."
Douglas D Schumann— JFK was such an inspirational leader and visionary.
Three Dog Night later twisted these words in their beautiful song "Easy to be Hard."
Thank you for taking the time out of your busy life to stop and visit my Hub Page. It means a lot to me that you did.
Thanks for helping me revisit this topic...it is one I grew up hearing about, as it is one of my father's many interests. He always reminded me that the car I learned to drive in - a '69 Ford Galaxy - was Space Age technology. :-) His uncle also was one of the men who worked on the special time clock on, I believe, the first shuttle...something we never knew until after he died. He never talked about his work.
I live half-way across the country from where most of the action occurs, so seeing it first-hand isn't much of a probability, but I love the pictures.
Looking forward to more of your work.
Dear James, there is a gap in your excellent hub, check out
It's very clear you spend a lot of time developing your hubs. Its so well organized and very informative, too. Well done, James.
James, thanks for a great hub. Our earth and surrounding planets are beautiful. Your hub brought to mind a lovely passage in Psalm 19.
Joy At Home— That's funny; about the Galaxy. Those folks, like your uncle, who work at NASA are very closed-mouthed about what they do. If only our nuclear technology department would get a clue! I am so glad it brought you joy and thank you for reading.
Gypsy Willow— WOW! That is an awesome article. I never heard of this fellow before but to build a flying machine all by himself is amazing. Thank you for sharing this story. You never know.
fierycj— Welcome sojourner. Thank you very much for your thoughtful remarks. I appreciate you coming by from such a distance. :)
R Burow— Indeed, it does. If I may quote David:
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."
Thanks for the compliment and more so for this great addition to the Hub.
Great hub James. How does it feel , when you see and hear the space shuttles take off?
Loved the Hub. Space exploration in the future is going to be great.
Keep on Hubbing!
Hawkesdream— It is the most amazing sight one can imagine. It lights up the day time sky brilliantly. And you can feel the brute power. It washes right over you and goes right through you.
eovery— Thank you! And yes, a mission to the moon will come someday.
Your description of the force of a launch washing right over one and right through one lets us feel it as well. Must be something! No wonder the cars pull over to view every launch.
Well done hub with great photos. Thanks, and will look forward to more.
Peggy W— I appreciate you for taking a look; and for the compliment. You are most welcome. More to come.
That was excellent James, a huge thumbs up :)
blondepoet— Thank you so much. Coming from an accomplished writer such as yourself, this brings a smile across my face. :D
I wonder when could man walk in the moon again!?! And UFO's always caught my interest; they are something that makes me wonder more. There were a lot of sightings, but as far as I know none was proven.
Charia Samher— Thank you for visiting and for your comment. We can go back to the moon anytime but a decision was made to shift gears to the Space Shuttle, The Space Station and The Hubble Space Telescope—all topics I plan to cover soon in new Hubs. Basically, it was felt that we had achieved what we set out to do on the moon. I think Mars will be the next big one.
You never cease to amaze me with the scope and depth of your knowledge about many things. This is another excellent hub. I am truly your fan!
I used to dream of flying to the moon and playing among the stars. Ha ha ha.
jill of allrades— Maybe you will go there some day! One never knows. I appreciate you being my fan. It means a lot to me.
So that is the reason why no 2nd attempt was made. I have just thought of that because I've read somewhere that it was just all made up. Thanks for clarifying this with me. =)
Charia Samher— Well, there was a "2nd attempt" dear. We went to the moon SIX times during the Apollo missions. We did not want to leave any more junk up there after that. There wasn't much more to see.
Good article. What do you think about the future of space exploration since it seems to have taken a back seat to a lot of other NASA projects?
There is some good info here. It seems when I was a kid we did not touch too much on this subject in school. The lunar landing was about all that we hit and the rest was not mentioned.
satomko— Thanks. I believe we are gearing up to go to Mars.
Camping Dan— Thank you. I appreciate your comments. They hit on precisely why I wrote this article. I am pleased with the affirmation.
Very well done, I can see why you have so many adoring fans. =) You might be interested in: http://www.enterprisemission.com
Very interesting stuff. I can't find any fault to your Hub, though I may suggest a video when you've time. Hope to be seeing some more awesome work of yours soon!
GeneriqueMedia— Thank you. :D
I think you are right— I should add some video. Let me work on that. Thanks for that advice.
Now let me take a look at this link you have here . . .
Terrific hub. My father covered the American space program from its beginnings through the early Space Shuttle years so I grew up with a great interest in space flight, both manned and unmanned. We've currently passed a new milestone. While we don't have the space station of 2001 A Space Odyessy, we do have a station that now holds its full crew of six for the first time, is the second brightest object in the night sky, and is visible under certain circumstances in the daytime. We now also have two robot probes orbiting the moon as an advance team for human return. These are interesting times.
J. S. Brooks— Thank you. I agree with you that these are incredibly interesting times. The Space Station, the Hubble, even the Shuttle is a marvel of engineering. I take it your father was a reporter? Very cool. I enjoyed your comments, which show intelligence and a fine understanding of the magnitude of mankind's accomplishments. Thanks for the words you posted here.
Breath-taking article!! I love all this outer space stuff. I know I will never get there so I might as well read about it. LOL! Thanks for sharing
iamqweenbee— Why, thank you very much and welcome to Hub Pages! And you are most welcome, too.
James, I see you already have plenty of comments so I'm probably going to sound like a broken record, still I had to say something because this hub is so good! Thanks so much for the hard work and the beautiful pics and insight about the Gemini program. I now have an increased appreciation of those early launches and what their success meant for the Apollo launches.
Also loved the quote from Alan Shepard. LOL
~Jen
Jen's Solitude— No matter how many comments are in here, I always appreciate hearing from you. You are an inspiration and you are an encourager. Gemini really was amazing technology and men with big . . . kahunas? :D
Thanks for visiting and commenting!
Really far out! Well written, love the pic. Makes me want to take a trip to a distant planet.
Darrell Roberts— Me too! It would be great to go into space. I have been to about 45,000 feet—which is nothing, really. Thanks for the kudos and I appreciate your visit.
James,
I would love to just get to the moon. lol. BUT, I still would LOVE to visit another planet. My favorite other than Earth is Neptune because the rings sit different. They didn't notice the rings at first until a star flickered as it passed behind it. That is when they knew Neptune had rings. It was exciting to see on tv.
Did you hear talk on MSNBC that NASA should set their sights on sending man to Mars? Its a loooonnnggg journey, but, with all the technology I am sure they can do it.
I saw one documentary on the discovery channel where Mercury was explored. I did not know it was extremely hot on one side and extremely cold on the other. I figured since it sits closest to the sun, its always HOT. lol
Let me stop! lol! All this intergalactic talk is exciting for me and I can go on and on.
I AM SORRY BUT I AM QUITTING HUB PAGES. BYE BYE
Why are you quitting hubpages?
They have for the second time flagged a Hub of mine for a excessive quotations. "Founding Fathers" I quit. I am just going to write my book.
How in the heck is that an excessive quotation? Don't quit, though. BUT its good to write your book.
Send them an email and ask them how do they deem that quote excessive. We need to all go on that hub and rate it up. Me first
I DID SEND THEM AN EMAIL. BUT MY LAST FEW EMAILS TO "THEM" WERE UNANSWERED.
well, if we all visit the hub and rate it up, they will have open mouth and inserted foot. lol
I rated it up already, hopefully others will, too. I see nothing wrong with the hub. I liked it
iamqueenbee— I sent HP Staff an email as you suggested and: The Red Flag and Penalty has been removed! Thank you so much for that suggestion!
I would love to go to the moon, too. I remember Ralph Kramden always offered to send Alice to the moon! :-)
I am glad to find another lover of outer space. I did hear about the Mars idea and surely it will come to pass. Won't that be exciting!
Thanks for your support. I do appreciate it!
I enjoyed this Hub. The topic was interesting. It was very informative as well. I had forgotten about the Gemini Space Program. Your right it was a very important step before the moon landing. I was pretty young back then, but I am sure I learned about it in History Class. Keep writing, I am relearning a lot, which is great, I had a stroke 7 years ago and I have some lasting memory issues!
Kebennett1— Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed it.
I am so sorry to hear of this stroke. You look so young in your photo.
I am some memory issues, too, but probably my own fault for indiscretions in my youth.
I just read your profile for about the 3rd time. It's very interesting and I really like your point of view.
Hey brother, do you think the benefits of our space program outweigh the risks? This is going to sound horrible and I'm not from Florida but I think we could be using the money elsewhere.
Tackle
Tackle This— Some of the benefits are intangible. Teaching humankind about the glory of the heavens as only America can at this time. But there have also been hundreds of scientific, technological discoveries that have benefited humankind, such as microwave ovens. I am a big fan of human space exploration but yours is an excellent question. I would say yes.
Ellie Perry says:
6 months ago
What an impressive article. This is something I know nothing about.