nasa astronauts space used technology first

This was the first major in-space cooperation between Russia and the United States since the Apollo-Soyuz mission of 1975, when Americans and cosmonauts from the Soviet Union docked for a few brief days in space. The space shuttle flew 11 times to the Russian space station Mir between 19, with seven American astronauts doing extended stays on the space station. Related: NASA's Space Shuttle By the Numbers: 30 Years of a Spaceflight Icon They collectively put in thousands upon thousands of hours of work in space investigating all sorts of science, ranging from human health to engineering to astronomy to animal studies. Over the 30 years of the space shuttle program, some 355 individual cosmonauts and astronauts used the space shuttle for launching, landing or both. What didn't change on space shuttle missions, however, was performing experiments. As well, military satellites were gradually moved to single-use rockets, providing more frequent launch opportunities at a lower cost. There was a concern that the astronauts were doing risky spacewalks.

These activities greatly lessened (and then ceased) after the Challenger space shuttle explosion of 1986, when it became clear that space shuttles could only launch a few times a year instead of many. Other satellites were captured and/or deployed using the Canadarm, a robotic arm. Astronauts tested daring equipment such as the Manned Maneuvering Unit, a sort of jet backpack that would allow crew members to leave the shuttle untethered and pick up satellites for repair. In the early days of the space shuttle program, mission tasks included bringing up civilians to manage experiments, and deploying satellites – both civilian and military.

Related: Classified Shuttle Missions: Secrets in Space Space shuttle activities Although several shuttle military missions ran in the 1980s, the practice dwindled down and ceased after Challenger's explosion. The Air Force constructed a launch pad in Vandenberg, Calif., for polar-orbiting missions, but the idea was abandoned after the Challenger disaster of 1986. Specifically, the National Reconnaissance Office asked that the payload bay be enlarged and that the shuttle eventually run polar missions, which are suitable for satellites to see the entire Earth's surface below. The military was also an active participant in the development, and the shuttle's payload bay (which carried equipment into satellites into space) was enlarged in the design phase to accommodate larger military satellites. The original vision of the space shuttle program was to develop a vehicle that would launch into space very frequently (several times a month) to deploy and repair satellites as required. NASA began work on an Integrated Launch and Re-entry Vehicle (ILRV) in 1968, and by 1969 the space shuttle's development received approval from then-President Richard Nixon. Air Force also conducted studies on semi-reusable spacecraft in the 1960s. The X-15 program in the 1950s tested the idea of flying a space plane. The space shuttle grew out of several efforts to develop reusable spacecraft. Smaller thrusters located at the shuttle's nose and aft fuselage were used for small flight adjustments. The aft fuselage held the orbital maneuvering system, main engines and vertical tail. The bay could hold satellites, modules containing whole laboratories, and construction materials for the International Space Station. The mid-fuselage housed a 60-foot (18-meter) payload bay and robotic arm. The largest crew size for a shuttle mission was eight astronauts. The crew compartment, located in the forward fuselage, normally carried crews of seven astronauts, but occasionally carried fewer people. It was 122 feet (37 meters) long and had a wingspan of 78 feet (23 m).

The orbiter was about the same size as a DC-9 aircraft. The orbiter is the component most people think of as 'the shuttle.' It was the heart and brains of the system and the actual ship that took people to space and brought them back. Most of it burned up in the atmosphere, and the rest fell into the ocean. With its fuel spent, the tank separated and fell along a planned trajectory. (Image credit: NASA)Īfter the solid rocket boosters separated, the orbiter carried the external tank to about 70 miles (113 km) above the Earth. Once empty, this huge orange tank separated from the rest of the apparatus and fell back to Earth. It served as the 'gas tank' for the space shuttle on launch. The external tank was the only part of the space shuttle not reused from launch to launch.

Nasa astronauts space used technology first