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Timeline



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Apollo 11- The Landing of the First Humans on the Moon

Date: July 20, 1969

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that successfully landed the first humans on the Moon. This major accomplishment in the history of exploration was able to end the Space Race, and left the United States as its victor. John F. Kennedy had made it a priority for the U.S. to be able to get to the Moon before the Russians by the end of the 1960s.

“Apollo 11 launched from Cape Kennedy on July 16, 1969, carrying Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin into an initial Earth-orbit of 114 by 116 miles” (NASA.gov). After the Columbia was fused together with the Eagle, the astronauts Aldrin and Armstrong were ready to descend onto the Moon.                                           

“On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin entered the LM again, made a final check, and at 100 hours, 12 minutes into the flight, the Eagle undocked and separated from Columbia for visual inspection” (NASA.gov). After the Eagle completely separated, Armstrong was able to man the spacecraft and was able to land in a mare on the Moon. After the descent, cameras were set up, and they captured Aldrin and Armstrong stepping on the Moon, with the words “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” being heard across the world.

http://storiesofusa.com/images/apollo-11-moon-landing.jpg

After spending over 20 hours or more on the surface, the astronauts brought back many moon rocks, as well as other information acquired from experiments they had done. The Eagle then returned to the Columbia. After everyone had a rest, they were ready to return to Earth. No major problems occurred during the mission, and everything had gone as planned.

This mission was a groundbreaking accomplishment, as it was the first time humans landed on another planet. It would exemplify what the U.S. would become for years after, and just how much humans had advanced in science and technology.

Apollo 8

Date: December 24, 1968

Apollo 8 was the first mission out of a series of American space mission in which humans were successfully sent to the moon in a spacecraft and back to Earth. It was the first manned flight into lunar orbit. It was also the first human spacecraft to leave the Earth’s orbit, be captured in another celestial body’s orbit, and then escape it afterwards. The crew on Apollo 8 was Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders. They were the first humans to be able to see the far side of the Moon, something that was only viewable through images from satellites.

“The mission objectives for Apollo 8 included a coordinated performance of the crew, the command and service module, or CSM, and the support facilities. The mission also was to demonstrate translunar injection; CSM navigation, communications and midcourse corrections; consumable assessment; and passive thermal control. The detailed test objectives were to refine the systems and procedures relating to future lunar operations” (NASA.gov). The mission had a lot of success  with most other objectives, and new experiments done yielded new information as well.

While the spacecraft was in motion, several live television broadcasts were done from the Apollo. They were transmitted throughout the entire world, and showed the different stages in which the astronauts were traveling in. These would show different parts of the Earth of and the Moon as time went by.

When the spacecraft reentered, “…its velocity was 24,696 mph, with heatshield temperatures reaching 5,000 degrees F. Parachute deployment and other re-entry events were nominal. Apollo 8 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean at 10:51 a.m. EST Dec. 27….147 hours after launch and precisely on time. According to prior planning, helicopters and aircraft hovered over the spacecraft,…The Apollo 8 crew reached the recovery ship at 12:20 p.m.” (NASA.gov).

Voshkod 2 and the First EVA

Date: March 18, 1965

Voskhod 2 was a Soviet space mission in March, 1965. On this mission, a Russian astronaut named Alexei Leonov became the first person to leave a spacecraft and float in actual space. The move was risky, as Leonov had trouble afterwards trying to get back into the craft, and because it ended up tilting the craft and causing other unforeseen problems.

“The spacecraft was equipped with an extendable air lock that permitted Leonov's exit into space without having to evacuate the main cabin air. Leonov was the first man to perform an EVA (Extravehicular Activity) in space” (NASA.gov). An EVA is any type of activity that is performed outside of a spacecraft. Leonov used a space suit, which had a life support system on its back that supplied oxygen, and as well as other commodities. The EVA was recorded on camera, and Lionev himself also carried a camera. This EVA lasted only about 20 minutes, in which Leonov was starting to be affected by the weightlessness. More difficulty came after, but the astronauts were able to safely get everything back together.

“The flight of Voskhod 2 lasted for 26 hr, and 16 orbits were completed. A manually controlled reentry was performed because of a malfunction of the automatic orientation devices for the retrofire” (NASA.gov) The spacecraft landed in a pine forest far north of the target area, and the astronauts had to be rescued by different means after they had spent two days in the harsh cold.

Vostok 6 and the First Woman in Space

Date:  June 16, 1963

Vostok 6 was a Russian spacecraft that was the first to successfully carry a woman into space. This woman was Valentina Tereshkova. She was the only Russian woman to go into space until Svetlana Savitskaya 19 years later (Encyclopedia Astronautica). Tereshkova was selected out of a large number of women to go to space. Beforehand, she had a lot of experience with parachuting, and she did work in piloting as well. Her experience qualified her for the job.

“Tereshkova was launched aboard Vostok 6 on June 16, 1963…During the 70.8 hour flight, Vostok 6 made 48 orbits of Earth” (NASA.gov). While onboard, Tereshkova took photographs and maintained a flight log. She was able to control the spacecraft, but received some guidance as well. Her flight went well as she made many orbits around the Earth, and she was able to record more information for the Soviets. The main flight objectives were “Comparative analysis of the effect of various space-flight factors on the male and female organisms; medico-biological research; further elaboration and improvement of spaceship systems under conditions of joint flight” (Encyclopedia Astronautica).

Tereshkova landed about 3 days later, and her flight was recorded as successful. She maintained the spot as the only woman in space until about 20 years later, when another Russian woman was sent into space in 1980.

The Telstar

Date:  July 10, 1962

Telstar was the name of an American communications satellite that was active and successfully relayed pictures, calls, and other images to Earth. It also managed to provide live television feed.

“Launched by a Delta booster, Telstar first went into orbit on July 10, 1962” (Encyclopedia Astronautica).  As well as being a communications satellite, it also did some experiments while in orbit. It was designed to measure the energetic proton and electron distribution in the Van Allen belts.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c1/Telstar.jpg/200px-Telstar.jpg

 When the Telestar started processing and relaying pictures, it was doing a variety of other things. It was able to transmit live video signals. It also transmitted images from other countries back to the stations on Earth.  It was also able to receive and make calls, as well relaying fax signals.

Telstar 2 was launched over a year later, and it served as an update version of the first Telstar. The first Telstar went out of commission on February 21, 1963, after not being able to transmit information effectively, as well as having some other technical problems.

The Telstart, and the communication satellites that would come after, would help in the design and implementation of other communication equipment in spacecraft. With the capability of producing live feeds of space and other objects, these satellites would become very useful in the exploration of space and the capturing of it through image and video.