Everything about Human Spaceflight totally explained
A
human spaceflight is a
spaceflight with a
human crew, and possibly passengers. This makes it unlike
robotic space probes or remotely-controlled
satellites. Human spaceflight is sometimes called
manned spaceflight, a term now deprecated by major space agencies in favor of its
gender-neutral alternative.
As of 2008, only the
American Space Shuttle program, the
Russian
Soyuz programme and the
Chinese Shenzhou program are actively launching human spaceflights.
Early attempts at human spaceflight
In the early Christian era, a Greek satirist named
Lucian wrote a book on space flight called
True Histories. The book was full of tall, unbelieveable tales and travelogues on visits to the sun and the moon. Today, the book could easily be discarded as the fantasy of a people of a bygone era. But it was significant in the sense that it kindled the curiosities of the people of the day and stimulated interest in outer space and space travel.
In 1638, a Christian writer from England named Wilkins wrote a book on moon travel and suggested four methods to accomplish it. Firstly, he said, the divine soul could take man to the moon; secondly, some large and powerful birds could transport man to the moon; thirdly, man himself could make the journey by tying wings to his arms and fourthly, he said, a flying machine could transport man to the moon.
American author
Herbert S. Zim claimed in
1945 that there's a 16th century Chinese legend where a scientist named
Wan Hu attempted to travel through space with the help of rockets. In the story, Wan tied 47 rockets filled with explosives to the chair in which he was sitting and ignited them there was a large explosion, but when the smoked clear Wan Hu was gone and never seen again.
History
The first human spaceflight was undertaken on
April 12,
1961, when
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made one orbit around the Earth aboard the
Vostok 1 spacecraft launched by the
Soviet Union.
Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on board
Vostok 6 on
June 16,
1963. Both spacecraft were launched by
Vostok 3KA launch vehicles.
Alexei Leonov made the first
spacewalk when he left the
Voskhod 2 on
March 8 1965.
Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to do so on
July 25,
1984.
The
United States became the second nation to achieve manned spaceflight with the suborbital flight of
astronaut Alan Shepard aboard
Freedom 7, carried out as part of
Project Mercury. The spacecraft was launched on
May 5,
1961 on a
Redstone rocket. The first U.S. orbital flight was that of
John Glenn aboard
Friendship 7, which was launched
February 20,
1962 on an
Atlas rocket. Since
April 12,
1981 the U.S. has conducted all its human spaceflight missions with reusable
Space Shuttles.
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983.
Eileen Collins was the first female Shuttle pilot, and with Shuttle mission
STS-93 in July of 1999 she became the first woman to command a U.S. spacecraft.
The
People's Republic of China became the third nation with human spaceflight when astronaut
Yang Liwei launched into space on a Chinese-made vehicle, the
Shenzhou 5, on
October 15,
2003. This flight made China the third nation capable of launching its own manned spacecraft using its own launcher. Previous European (
Hermes) and Japanese (
HOPE-X) domestic manned programs were abandoned after years of development, as was the first Chinese attempt, the
Shuguang spacecraft.
The furthest destination for a human spaceflight mission has been the
Moon, and
as of 2007 the only missions to the Moon have been those conducted by
NASA as part of the
Apollo program. The first such mission,
Apollo 8, orbited the Moon but didn't land. The first Moon landing mission was
Apollo 11, during which -- on
July 20,
1969 --
Neil Armstrong became the first person to set foot on the Moon. Six missions landed in total, numbered Apollo 11–
17, excluding
Apollo 13. Altogether twelve men reached the Moon's surface, the only humans to have been on an extraterrestrial body. The Soviet Union discontinued its program for lunar orbiting and landing of human spaceflight missions on
June 24,
1974 when
Valentin Glushko became General Designer of
NPO Energiya.
The longest single human spaceflight is that of
Valeriy Polyakov, who left earth on January 8, 1994, and didn't return until March 22, 1995.
Sergei Krikalyov has spent the most time of anyone in space, 803 days, 9 hours, and 39 seconds altogether. Mankind has had a presence in space for as long as 3,644 days in a row, eight days short of 10 years, spanning the launch of
Soyuz TM-8 on
September 5,
1989 to the landing of
Soyuz TM-29 on
August 28,
1999.
For many years beginning in
1961, only two countries, the USSR (later
Russia) and United States, had their own astronauts. Later, cosmonauts and astronauts from other nations flew in space, beginning with the flight of
Vladimir Remek, a
Czech, on a Soviet spacecraft on
March 2 1978. As of
2007, citizens from 33 nations (including
space tourists) have flown in space aboard Soviet, American, Russian, and Chinese spacecraft.
Space programs
As of
2007, human spaceflight missions have been conducted by the
Soviet Union, the
United States,
Russia, the
People's Republic of China and by the private spaceflight company
Scaled Composites.
Several other countries and space agencies have announced and begun human spaceflight programs by their own technology, including
Japan (
JAXA),
India (
ISRO),
Iran (
ISA),
Malaysia (
MNSA) and
Turkey.
Currently the following
spacecraft and
spaceports are used for launching human spaceflights:
Historically, the following
spacecraft and
spaceports have also been used for human spaceflight launches:
Vostok—Baikonur Cosmodrome
Mercury—Kennedy Space Center
Voskhod—Baikonur Cosmodrome
X-15—Edwards Air Force Base, (two internationally recognized suborbital flights in program)
Gemini—Kennedy Space Center
Apollo—Kennedy Space Center
Salyut space station—Baikonur Cosmodrome
Almaz space station—Baikonur Cosmodrome
Skylab space station—Kennedy Space Center
Mir space station—Baikonur Cosmodrome
SpaceShipOne with White Knight—Mojave Spaceport
Numerous private companies attempted human spaceflight programs in an effort to win the $10 million Ansari X Prize. The first private human spaceflight took place on June 21, 2004, when SpaceShipOne conducted a suborbital flight. With its second flight within one week, SpaceShipOne captured the prize on October 4, 2004.
Most of the time, the only humans in space are those aboard the ISS, whose crew of three spends up to six months at a time in low Earth orbit.
NASA and ESA now use the term "human spaceflight" to refer to their programs of launching people into space. Traditionally, these endeavors have been referred to as "manned space missions".
National spacefaring attempts
| Country |
ational term |
irst launched astronaut |
ate |
pacecraft |
auncher |
USSR |
cosmonaut (Russian: космонавт) |
Yuri Gagarin |
April 12, 1961 |
Vostok 1 |
Vostok |
USA |
astronaut |
Alan Shepard |
May 5, 1961 |
Mercury-Redstone 3 |
Redstone |
China |
yǔhángyuán, hángtiānyuán |
... |
(1973), abandoned |
Shuguang 1 |
Long March 2 |
China |
yǔhángyuán, hángtiānyuán |
... |
(1981), abandoned |
Piloted FSW |
Long March 2 |
ESA |
astronaut, cosmonaut, spationaute |
... |
(1999), abandoned |
Hermes |
Ariane V |
China |
yǔhángyuán, hángtiānyuán, taikonaut |
Yang Liwei |
October 15, 2003 |
Shenzhou 5 |
Long March 2F |
Japan |
... |
... |
(2003), abandoned |
HOPE-X |
H-II |
India |
... |
... |
(2014), planned |
... |
GSLV-Mk II |
ESA |
astronaut |
... |
(2020), planned |
CSTS or Hopper |
Ariane V |
Japan |
... |
... |
(2020), planned |
... |
... |
Turkey |
astronot, gökmen |
... |
(2020), planned |
... |
... |
Iran |
Faza navard (Persian: فضانورد) |
... |
(?), planned |
... |
Shahab 6 or 7 |
Safety concerns
Planners of human spaceflight missions face a number of safety concerns.
Life support
The immediate needs for breathable air and drinkable water are addressed by the life support system of the spacecraft.
Adverse effects of radiation
The effect of radiation on space travelers depends on two main factors: the intensity of the radiation, and the time over which the exposure occurs. Astronauts in low earth orbit are exposed to radiation of relatively low intensity for long periods of time. The Apollo astronauts were exposed to much more intense radiation, but only for a matter of days. Astronauts on hypothetical future interplanetary missions would be exposed to high intensities for long periods, causing the accumulation of very large doses; this is currently one of the most important unsolved problems facing planners of such efforts.
Adverse effects of the microgravity environment
Medical data from astronauts in low earth orbits for long periods, dating back to the 1970's, show several adverse effects of a microgravity environment: loss of bone density, decreased muscle strength and endurance, postural instability, and reductions in aerobic capacity. Over time these deconditioning effects can impair astronauts’ performance or increase their risk of injury.
Launch safety
Reentry safety
Reliability
Further Information
Get more info on 'Human Spaceflight'.
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