Orbital mechanicsOrbital mechanics or astrodynamics is the application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to the practical problems concerning the motion of rockets and other spacecraft. The motion of these objects is usually calculated from Newton's laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation. Orbital mechanics is a core discipline within space-mission design and control. Celestial mechanics treats more broadly the orbital dynamics of systems under the influence of gravity, including both spacecraft and natural astronomical bodies such as star systems, planets, moons, and comets.
Vostok (spacecraft)Vostok (Восток, translated as "East") was a class of single-pilot crewed spacecraft built by the Soviet Union. The first human spaceflight was accomplished with Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961, by Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. The Vostok programme made six crewed spaceflights from 1961 through 1963. This was followed in 1964 and 1965 by two flights of Vostok spacecraft modified for up to three pilots, identified as Voskhod. By the late 1960s, these were replaced with Soyuz spacecraft, which are still used .
Saturn VSaturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, had three stages, and was powered with liquid fuel. It was flown from 1967 to 1973. It was used for nine crewed flights to the Moon, and to launch Skylab, the first American space station. As of 2023, the Saturn V remains the only launch vehicle to carry humans beyond low Earth orbit (LEO).
MechanicsMechanics (from Ancient Greek: μηχανική, mēkhanikḗ, "of machines") is the area of mathematics and physics concerned with the relationships between force, matter, and motion among physical objects. Forces applied to objects result in displacements or changes of an object's position relative to its environment. Theoretical expositions of this branch of physics has its origins in Ancient Greece, for instance, in the writings of Aristotle and Archimedes (see History of classical mechanics and Timeline of classical mechanics).
Optical telescopeAn optical telescope is a telescope that gathers and focuses light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to collect data through electronic s. There are three primary types of optical telescope: Refracting telescopes, which use lenses and less commonly also prisms (dioptrics) Reflecting telescopes, which use mirrors (catoptrics) Catadioptric telescopes, which combine lenses and mirrors An optical telescope's ability to resolve small details is directly related to the diameter (or aperture) of its objective (the primary lens or mirror that collects and focuses the light), and its light-gathering power is related to the area of the objective.
Saturn (rocket family)The Saturn family of American rockets was developed by a team of mostly Nazi rocket engineers and scientists led by Wernher von Braun to launch heavy payloads to Earth orbit and beyond. The Saturn family used liquid hydrogen as fuel in the upper stages. Originally proposed as a military satellite launcher, they were adopted as the launch vehicles for the Apollo Moon program. Three versions were built and flown: the medium-lift Saturn I, the heavy-lift Saturn IB, and the super heavy-lift Saturn V.
Galileo GalileiGalileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei (ˌɡælᵻˈleɪoʊ_ˌɡælᵻˈleɪ , USalsoˌɡælᵻˈliːoʊ_- , ɡaliˈlɛːo ɡaliˈlɛi) or simply Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. He was born in the city of Pisa, then part of the Duchy of Florence. Galileo has been called the father of observational astronomy, modern-era classical physics, the scientific method, and modern science.
Chinese space programThe space program of the People's Republic of China is about the activities in outer space conducted and directed by the People's Republic of China. It involves the capacity to enter and return from space and ability to engage in space exploration, utilization and governance. The technological roots of the Chinese space program trace back to the 1950s, when, with the help of the newly allied Soviet Union, China began development of its first ballistic missile and rocket programs in response to the perceived American (and, later, Soviet) threats.
Soviet space dogsDuring the 1950s and 1960s the Soviet space program used dogs for sub-orbital and orbital space flights to determine whether human spaceflight was feasible. These dogs were surgically modified to provide the necessary information for human survival in space. The Soviet space program typically used female dogs due to their anatomical compatibility with the spacesuit. Similarly, they used mix-breed dogs due to their apparent hardiness. In this period, the Soviet Union launched missions with passenger slots for at least 57 dogs.
Sputnik 2Sputnik 2 (ˈsputjnjɪk, Спутник-2, Satellite 2), or Prosteyshiy Sputnik 2 (PS-2, Простейший Спутник 2, Simplest Satellite 2) was the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit, on 3 November 1957, and the first to carry an animal into orbit, a Soviet space dog named Laika. Laika died on the fourth orbit due to overheating caused by an air conditioning malfunction. Launched by the Soviet Union, Sputnik 2 was a cone-shaped capsule with a base diameter of that weighed around , though it was not designed to separate from the rocket core that brought it to orbit, bringing the total mass in orbit to .
Sputnik crisisThe Sputnik crisis was a period of public fear and anxiety in Western nations about the perceived technological gap between the United States and Soviet Union caused by the Soviets' launch of Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite. The crisis was a significant event in the Cold War that triggered the creation of NASA and the Space Race between the two superpowers. The satellite was launched on October 4, 1957, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
GravityIn physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things that have mass. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the strong interaction, 1036 times weaker than the electromagnetic force and 1029 times weaker than the weak interaction. As a result, it has no significant influence at the level of subatomic particles.
