The Chronicle of Space Exploration

The Chronicle of Space Exploration

The Past, The Present, and The Future

Austin Gunder

05-31-05

Bruce Lusignan

EDGE 297C

Gunder 1

It was something that intrigued you ever since you were just a young child. Looking skyward on a clear summer night, the beauty and serenity of the thousands of stars and planets can be mesmerizing. It affects everyone who takes a minute to look upwards into the darkness. What all is out there? How far does it go? People have been pondering these same basic questions since the earliest civilizations settled on earth. The human imagination runs wild with the vast mysteries that space presents. As the great philosopher Aristotle stated, “All men by nature desire knowledge.” Standing alone and gazing up into the darkness, it doesn’t take long to realize that there is much more to this world than the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

The Beginning

Documentation of people being interested in the realms of outer space dates back thousands of years. It began with people believing that the Sun, Moon, and stars played an integral role in the cycle of human life. These people associated these things with gods, goddesses, and heroes. Their understanding was completely in a mythical sense, and contained no dependability on scientific issues. As human culture expanded, people began to open their horizons to a more scientific viewpoint on topics such as outer space. It is documented that by 3000 B.C. the Babylonians had began to make careful observations of the heavens. It was not too long after this that the Egyptians had created a calendar and a catalog of stars. The Greeks followed soon after with charts, tables, and ideas of for the motion of the Sun, Moon, and stars (Frontier, 3).

Although people dreamed about the exploration of space for a long time, the thought was really stimulated when Galileo Galilei invented and constructed a telescope in 1609 (Frontier, ix). For the first time in history, people could get a closer look at the stars, which invigorated the imagination even more. The ability to have a more close-up look at the stars and planets had people’s imaginations racing (Frontier, 5).

The Development of Rocketry

While it was most likely not realized at the time, the first true step towards getting into space dates all the way back to approximately 360 B.C. It was around this time that a Greek named Archytas first demonstrated the reaction principle, which is the basic physical law of rocket motion. He employed the simple technique of heating water to produce steam. This steam then escaped a small wooden pigeon through strategically placed holes, in effect propelling it along a wire (Roots, NP).

Somewhere around the year 200 B.C. the Chinese were reported to have mastered the ability to mix charcoal, saltpeper, and sulphur in order to create what we commonly know today as gunpowder. By the late thirteenth century, the Chinese had used their concoction to develop rockets in a very straightforward sense. The first Chinese rockets were very similar to the fireworks that we know today. A cylindrical container of gunpowder was sealed at the top and mounted to a long stick. When the gunpowder was

Above is a diagram of the earliest known form of rocketry.

ignited, the gases could only escape from the rear of the tube, which in turn created a thrust that propelled the rocket forward. The purpose of the stick was to stabilize it during flight. Not surprisingly, it was very close to this date that devices such as Chinese Fire-Arrows were reported to be used as an aide in battle. By the end of the thirteenth century this technology had spread throughout Asia and Eastern Europe and became

commonplace in combat (Channel 4, NP).

In 1686, Sir Isaac Newton boosted interest in rocketry with the publication of his three laws of motion. These laws provide a physical and mathematical explanation of how, among many other things, rocket propulsion worked. It was at this point that rocket science was said to be officially “born” (Channel 4, NP). The study and experimentation of rockets continued throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth century without any monumental discoveries. It was in 1903 that the next momentous innovation was made. Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a Russian school teacher, adopted a scientific approach to rocket-powered space travel. He derived many equations that summarized the relationships between rocket velocity, mass of propellant, and velocity of ejected gases. These equations, known as the “rocket equations,” laid the groundwork for all rocket design in the future. His most influential discovery, however, was probably that of liquid propellants for fuel instead of solid. Tsiolkovsky realized that the liquid propellant had the potential to give rockets enough velocity and range to allow the vessel to leave the atmosphere (Channel 4, NP).

After the publication of Tsiolkovsky’s discoveries, the use of liquid propellant moved to the forefront of development. It was not until March 16, 1926, however, that the first successful flight of a liquid propelled rocket was made. This particular rocket was designed by an American scientist by the name of Robert Goddard. Although the first flight lasted a mere 2.5 seconds and landed fifty-six meters from the launch site, it was a huge leap in the development of rocketry. Goddard’s work in the field of rocketry earned him the honor of becoming known as “The Father of Modern Rocketry” (Frontier, 11).

In 1932 Germany adopted Werner Von Braun to secretly develop rocket powered weapons for their military. It took only a few months before Von Braun’s team got an alcohol/liquid oxygen powered V2 rocket to travel 200 kilometers and accurately strike its target. In September of 1944, the first of Germany’s rockets began to rain down on London. At the end of the war, to avoid capture by Soviet forces, Von Braun and his team surrendered to the United States Army. Now working in conjunction with the US space program, Von Braun spent the next several years perfecting his V2 rocket into a military masterpiece. Following this he moved on to begin development on the Redstone rockets, which would eventually become the heart of the United States space program. Von Braun earned his US citizenship in 1955, upon which time he joined NASA and continued designing the rockets that would soon carry America into the space race against the Soviets (Channel 4, NP).

While Werner Von Braun was developing the US program, the Soviets were also working hard to expand on their own program. By 1948, the Soviet Union had built copies of Von Braun’s first A4 rockets, called the R-1, and began testing. By the time 1948 rolled around, the Soviets had developed their very own design, the R-2E, and were beginning to complete test flights. It was with these rockets that the Soviets began to contemplate the idea of manned spaceflight. Between the years of 1949 and 1952, a total of 24 dogs were chosen to be launched in rockets. The canines were fitted with space suites and helmets, and were strapped in the nosecone of the rocket. A camera, as well as many instruments accompanied the dog aloft. The goal was to better understand the stresses and strains that one would undergo during liftoff. In one instance, a dog named Albina was launched to an altitude of 85 km. It took her nearly an hour to parachute back to earth (Soviet, 12).

On October 4, 1957 the Western world was shocked by the world’s first artificial satellite (Soviet, 31). The successful orbit of Sputnik 1 had made it official; the Russians had beaten the Americans into space. Ukrainian Sergei Korolov, the head of the USSR space program, was the first to announce the success of the project. Soon after learning that Sputnik 1 was successfully orbiting the earth, he made an announcement to the world.

“The conquering of space has begun. Today we have witnessed the realization of a dream nurtured by some of the finest minds who ever lived. Our outstanding scientist Tsiolkovsky brilliantly foretold that mankind would not forever remain on earth. Sputnik is the first confirmation of this prophecy. We can be proud this was begun by our country” (Soviet, 32).

This announcement was felt around the world, but nowhere did it hit harder than it did in the United States. The space race was now officially in full swing.

The Race into Space

Sputnik 1 was the culmination of more than two years of continuous toil for the USSR. In October of 1951, the Russian designer Tikhonravov stated that the creation of an earth satellite was feasible. The final authorization of the project was given on August 30, 1955 by the Academy of Sciences. Construction on a new launch pad and new hangars in which to work on the spacecraft began immediately. The Soviets worked all hours of the day in order to try to beat the Americans into space. News of the United States working on their own satellite, Vanguard, motivated the workers to push forward. The design of Sputnik vas a very simple one. It was essentially a radio transmitter in a spherical steel ball with four whiplash aerials streaming out the back. In the middle of

Shown above is a picture of Sputnik 1

September, 1957 Moscow radio confirmed that the launch of Sputnik was very near. On October 2, 1957 the craft was finally ready to be launched. It was rolled out of the hangar and made its way to the launch pad via railcar. The first attempt to actually fire the rocket was made on the morning of October 4. Several attempt to countdown failed throughout the day, all due to different minute problems. It was well after dark when the decision was made to make one more attempt. This one would be the charm. Fire flew from the nozzles and smoke engulfed the area as the rocket carrying Sputnik lifted off of the platform. The launch team watched intently as sputnik accelerated skyward, finally disappearing into the crisp Russian night. The launch had been a success, but that did not ensure the success of orbit. The only way to know involved a ninety minute wait in order to see if the transmitter responded. If it did, the satellite must be in orbit around the Earth, but if it didn’t, the mission would be a total failure. The entire crew gathered in a hangar to wait for the result. Right on time, the beeps of Sputnik’s transmitter was heard over the loudspeaker. The Russian’s had successfully put an artificial satellite into orbit (Soviet, 31).

Korolov did not waste much time celebrating the success of Sputnik 1. He already had another project in mind. Sputnik 2 was to be launched as soon as possible. While the purpose of Sputnik 1 was focused largely on simply getting an artificial satellite to orbit, Sputnik 2 would be much more complicated. Furthermore, a rumor circulated that this one would carry a living animal.

Sputnik 2 was nearly five times more massive than its predecessor. It consisted of two separate compartments. One was to hold many instruments to measure variables such as cosmic rays, temperature, and pressure. The second compartment was pressurized, and designed to inhabit a dog. On November 3, 1957, less than a month after the launch of Sputnik 1, the second Soviet satellite was launched into orbit. The shock of this launch hit even harder than that of the first. The United States was falling farther behind by the day, and the presence of a living animal in space indicated that it would not be long before the Russians had a man orbiting Earth (Soviet, 33).

On the sixth of December, 1957, the American satellite Vanguard was finally ready for launch. The exhilaration of the early seconds of liftoff from the pad in Cape Canaveral did not last long. A mere few seconds in to the air the thrust let off, and the rocket and satellite fell back to Earth in a ball of flames. It was an embarrassing moment in history for the Americans (Spaceflight, 74).

It was not until the early days of 1958 that Von Braun’s Redstone-Jupiter C rocket was approved for launch. On the evening of January 31, 1958 the Redstone rocket, fitted with a pencil shapes satellite on top, rose into the night sky. The satellite was a complete scientific success. It was fitted with a Geiger counter which discovered that the Earth had huge radiation belts surrounding it. What made the situation worse was the fact that Von Braun had been seeking approval for launch since the end of 1955, and would have been ready for launch early in 1956. It was not until march of 1958 that Vanguard finally achieved orbit. It was the smallest satellite ever launched, weighing in at just 1 kg (Spaceflight, 77).

On May 15, 1958 Sputnik 3 was put in to orbit by the Soviets. This one was much more complicated than its precursors. Weighing in at over a ton and a half, Sputnik 3 contained a computer to run the onboard instruments. During its 691 day orbit, it collected information on radiation belts, cosmic rays, solar radiation, the density of the upper atmosphere, and the effect of high energy particles (Soviet, 35).

The Race to Put a Man in Space

It was very obvious from the progression of the USSR space program that the long term objective was to get a man into space. America, realizing that they were way behind started to kick it in high gear. In October of 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), was created. Within just seven days of establishment NASA announced its man-in-space program called Project Mercury. Once again however, it was the Soviets that were leading the game. The Lunik program was designed to prove that a spacecraft could reach the moon. Although Lunik 1 failed, Lunik 2 followed very soon after and hit dead on target. As the humiliation of the precision accuracy of Lunik 2 wasn’t enough for the US, Lunik 3 was launched three weeks later. At first very confusing to onlookers, Lunik 3 did not take a path to collide with the moon. Instead it wrapped around the backside in a figure-eight pattern. It was at this time that Lunik 3 really went to work. Two separate cameras took picture upon picture of the hidden side of the moon. These pictures were then developed and transmitted back to the Soviet space station via very sophisticated radio equipment. Although the process did not come out as clear as hoped, there were still nine frames that successfully made it back. The Russians posted these historic shots the next week, and it was the first time that anyone could observe the opposite side of the moon. 1959 ended with grief for the US program. It seemed that the gap between the two powers was steadily widening (Soviet, 37).

In order to try and get an edge, President Eisenhower began to order spy missions with the new US spy plane, the U-2. Designed to be untouchable, the long, skinny U-2 flew at an impressive 25,000 m (1.5 miles) above the surface. The idea was that it flew out of range of the most modern anti-aircraft weapons. After learning that the Russians were close to testing there new rocket, a mission was ordered to fly above the launch pad and get photographs of the new design. Gary Powers flew his U-2 gracefully over the target, collecting numerous pictures of the rocket on the pad. Just as he began his slow turn back to home, he was startled by an explosion in the tail. The U-2 wasn’t so invincible after all. The young pilot bailed out and parachuted into the Soviet forest where he was soon captured and held on charges of spying. Khrushchev was furious. He stormed out of the Paris summit and ridiculed the Americans for spying. The incident would mark the end of American spy flights over Russia (Spaceflight, 95).

It was a mere two weeks after the U-2 episode that Sputnik 4 was launched. This time the satellite was equipped with a dummy cosmonaut in order to test the ability of putting a man in space. The launch and orbit worked flawlessly, but re-entry was no so trouble-free. A retrorocket was fitted in order to slow down the carft and allow it to re-enter the atmosphere. Instead of doing this, however, the rocket fired the craft into high orbit where it stayed for four years until finally burning up in 1965. Despite the failure of Sputnik 4, the Russians began to recruit Cosmonauts to fly the first manned flight. Sputnik 5 was put into orbit in August of 1960. The major difference between this flight and that of its predecessor was the fact that instead of a dummy cosmonaut, Sputnik 5 was inhabited by two dogs. Once again launch and orbit went as planned, but re-entry was going to be the real test. This time the retrorocket worked as planned. At 8,000 m above earth parachutes were deployed to slow down the craft. It floated to the surface at a gradual 6 m/s. Soviet farmers were the first to spot the spacecraft, and watched as it landed in their pastures. Workers from the space program were on scene in a matter of minutes, anxious to see if the precious cargo had survived the flight. Much to the satisfaction of the workers, the experiment was a total success. Both dogs were alive and well (Soviet, 47).