Portal:Spaceflight

The Spaceflight Portal

Main   Topics   Astronaut café Introduction Spaceflight is the movement of spacecraft into and through outer space, primarily using rocket technology for propulsion. Spaceflight is used in space exploration, the endeavour to reach, explore, and exploit the space outside the Earth's atmosphere, and also in commercial activities like space tourism and satellite telecommunications. It is generally based on the use of rockets to transport machines, animals, and humans to, and subsequently through, space. Additional non-commercial uses of spaceflight include space observatories, reconnaissance satellites and other earth observation satellites. Objects launched into space may follow a sub-orbital trajectory and return to Earth immediately, stay in orbit around Earth, travel in the space between the planets, or aim to leave the space dominated by the Sun completely. Read more... Selected picture The first Hermes A-1 test rocket, fired at White Sands Proving Ground on May 1, 1950. Built by General Electric based on the Wasserfall surface-to-air missile, the Hermes A-1 was capable of reaching an altitude of 150 km. Next scheduled launch For a full launch schedule, see 2022 in spaceflight § Upcoming launches. Selected biography Joseph Francis Shea (September 5, 1925 – February 14, 1999) was an American aerospace engineer and NASA manager. Born in the New York City borough of the Bronx, he was educated at the University of Michigan, receiving a Ph.D. in Engineering Mechanics in 1955. After working for Bell Labs on the radio inertial guidance system of the Titan I intercontinental ballistic missile, he was hired by NASA in 1961. As Deputy Director of NASA's Office of Manned Space Flight, and later as head of the Apollo Spacecraft Program Office, Shea played a key role in shaping the course of the Apollo program, helping to lead NASA to the decision in favor of lunar orbit rendezvous and supporting "all up" testing of the Saturn V rocket. While sometimes causing controversy within the agency, Shea was remembered by his former colleague George Mueller as "one of the greatest systems engineers of our time". Deeply involved in the investigation of the 1967 Apollo 1 fire, Shea suffered a nervous breakdown as a result of the stress that he suffered. He was removed from his position and left NASA shortly afterwards. From 1968 until 1990 he worked as a senior manager at Raytheon in Lexington, Massachusetts, and thereafter became an adjunct professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. While Shea served as a consultant for NASA on the redesign of the International Space Station in 1993, he was forced to resign from the position due to health issues. Selected article The Dream Chaser is an American reusable crewed suborbital and orbital lifting-body spaceplane being developed by Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Space Systems. The Dream Chaser is designed to carry up to seven people to and from low Earth orbit. The vehicle would launch vertically on an Atlas V rocket and land horizontally autonomously on conventional runways. While Dream Chaser was not chosen for CCDev, it was chosen for the second round of the Commercial Resupply Services, to begin in 2019. A cargo version is being developed which will have folding wings so it can fit in the Atlas V's 5-meter fairing. It will be capable of carrying a total of 5,500 kg of cargo to the International Space Station, and return up to 1,750 kg of cargo to Earth. On This Day 19 March 1964 - A Delta B fails to launch the BE-A satellite. 1969 - A Thorad-Agena launches a CORONA satellite. 1976 - A Molniya-M launches a Molniya-1 satellite. 1986 - A Soyuz-U2 launches the Progress 25 spacecraft to resupply Mir. 1987 - A Proton-K launches a Raduga satellite. 1991 - A Soyuz-U2 launches the Progress M-7 spacecraft to resupply Mir. 1991 - A Kosmos-3M launches the Kosmos 2137 satellite. 2008 - A Sea Launch Zenit-3SL launches the DirecTV-11 communications satellite. 2013 - An Atlas V launches the second geostationary satellite for the Space-Based Infrared System. View: Today | March | All Did you know... …that the Vehicle Assembly Building is so large that rain clouds are reported to form inside it on humid days? …that the Vostok 4 mission was shortened because cosmonaut Pavel Romanovich Popovich accidentally told flight controllers that he was "observing thunderstorms". This was a coded signal requesting an abort because the cosmonaut was feeling ill, however Popovich was actually trying to inform ground controllers that he could see thunderstorms from space. …that Space Shuttle Endeavour was built from spare parts left over from the construction of other Space Shuttle orbiters? Key topics Human spaceflight • ISS • Orbit • Orbital mechanics • Outer space • Robotic spacecraft • Rocket • Satellite • Space exploration • Spaceflight • Timeline of spaceflight Related portals Astronomy Aviation Rocketry Science Solar System Space Technology Related WikiProjects Spaceflight Aviation Military history Solar System Astronomy Things to do Here are some tasks awaiting attention: Article requests : See Wikipedia:Requested articles/Applied arts and sciences/Engineering#Aeronautical/Aerospace See Wikipedia:Requested articles/Applied arts and sciences/Transport#Rockets and spacecraft Assess : See Category:Unassessed spaceflight articles Citing sources : See Category:Spaceflight articles needing attention to referencing and citation Infobox : See Category:Spaceflight articles needing infoboxes Stubs : See Category:Space stubs Update : 2020s in spaceflight Associated Wikimedia