Rob Nagel – Space Exploration. Almanac (2005)

Автор: Rob Nagel
Название книги: Space Exploration. Almanac (2005)
Формат: PDF
Жанр: Авиация и космонавтика
Страницы: 1015
Качество: Изначально компьютерное, E-book

Fascinating and forbidding, space has drawn the attention
of humans since before recorded history. People have
looked outward, driven by curiosity about the vast universe
that surrounds Earth. Unaware of the meaning of the bright
lights in the night sky above them, ancient humans thought
they saw patterns, images in the sky of things in the landscape
around them.
Slowly, humans came to realize that the lights in the sky
had an effect on the workings of the planet around them.
They sought to understand the movements of the Sun, the
Moon, and the other, brighter objects. They wanted to know
how those movements related to the changing seasons and
the growth of crops.
Still, for centuries, humans did not understand what lay
beyond the boundaries of Earth. In fact, with their limited vision,
they saw a limited universe. Ancient astronomers relied
on naked-eye observations to chart the positions of stars, planets,
and the Sun. In the third century B.C.E., philosophers concluded
that Earth was the center of the universe. A few dared
to question this prevailing belief. In the face of overwhelming
opposition and ridicule, they persisted in trying to understand
the truth. This belief ruled human affairs until the scientific
revolution of the seventeenth century, when scientists used
the newly invented telescope to prove that the Sun is the center
of Earth’s galaxy.
Over time, with advances in science and technology, ancient
beliefs were exposed as false. The universe ever widened
with humans’ growing understanding of it. The dream to explore
its vast reaches passed from nineteenth-century fiction
writers to twentieth-century visionaries to present-day engineers
and scientists, pilots, and astronauts.
The quest to explore space intensified around the turn of
the twentieth century. By that time, astronomers had built
better observatories and perfected more powerful telescopes.
Increasingly sophisticated technologies led to the discovery
that the universe extends far beyond the Milky Way and holds
even deeper mysteries, such as limitless galaxies and unexplained
phenomena like black holes. Scientists, yearning to
solve those mysteries, determined that one way to accomplish
this goal was to penetrate space itself.
Even before the twentieth century, people had discussed
ways to travel into space. Among them were science fiction
writers, whose fantasies inspired the visions of scientists. Science
fiction became especially popular in the late nineteenth
century, having a direct impact on early twentieth-century
rocket engineers who invented the fuel-propellant rocket.
Initially developed as a weapon of war, this new projectile
could be launched a greater distance than any human-made
object in history, and it eventually unlocked the door to
space.
From the mid-twentieth century until the turn of the
twenty-first century, the fuel-propellant rocket made possible
dramatic advances in space exploration. It was used to propel
unmanned satellites and manned space capsules, space shuttles,
and space stations. It launched an orbiting telescope that
sent spectacular images of the universe back to Earth. During
this era of intense optimism and innovation, often called the
space age, people confidently went forth to conquer the distant
regions of space that have intrigued humans since early
times. They traveled to the Moon, probed previously uncharted
realms, and contemplated trips to Mars. Overcoming longstanding rivalries, nations embarked on
international space ventures. Despite the seemingly unlimited
technology at their command, research scientists, engineers,
and astronauts encountered political maneuvering, lack of
funds, aging spacecraft, and tragic accidents. As the world settled
into the twenty-first century, space exploration faced an
uncertain future. Yet, the ongoing exploration of space continued
to represent the “final frontier” in the last great age of
exploration.
Space Exploration: Almanac chronicles the history of space
exploration. It is intended as a brief historical overview of humanity’s
quest to understand and to explore the universe,
from those early stargazers to modern interplanetary missions
of discovery.