Rocket: Satellite:

Robert Goddard (1882 – 1945)  Known as the “Father of Modern Rocketry”  Was experimenting with the first liquid fueled rockets when the Wright Brothers began flying (early 1900’s)  Developed rocket stages  First scientist to realize the potential of missiles and space flight and contribute to bringing them into practical realization Rockets serve as launch vehicles for both missiles and satellites.

Sputnik- The First Satellite  Launched in October, 1957 by the USSR  About the size of a beach ball  Payload (on board instruments) minimized to launch sooner than expected (it was a race)  Used a 2-stage R-7 rocket with kerosene propellant and liquid oxygen oxidizer (LOX)  Put Soviets ahead of U.S. and other countries during the “space race”  U.S, caught up about a year later, and then JFK in 1961 committed the U.S. to put a man on the moon and return him safely before the end of the decade.

Sputnik and the R-7 Rocket

Organisms in Orbit: First Canis lupus familiaris (i.e. dog)  Laika, the German Sheppard mutt was launched into orbit in Sputnik 2, in November  The Soviets did not design a re-entry plan. They just wanted to see if, perhaps, they could keep a person alive in space.  She died while in orbit, probably due to overheating, but no one really knows.  April 14, 1958 the capsule re- enters atmosphere and burns up on reentry.

Organisms in Space: The First Pan troglodytes (i.e. Chimp)  The U.S. sent Ham into space in January  He was very well trained to handle controls in the capsule on his own.  His trip lasted for about 17 minutes and had several technical problems.  Rescued from his capsule in the Atlantic Ocean later that day.

Organisms in Orbit: First Homo sapein  At 27 years old, Russian cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin became the first person to orbit in space on April 12,  Unlike Laika, he returned safely.  Died in March 1968, in a MiG- 15 jet crash. Must be Russian. Happiness is having your dad come back alive.

Headlines and Political Cartoons from 1961 As you can see, this was a HUGE DEAL during the Cold War and Space Race.

Headlines and Political Cartoons from 1961 Next time, Comrade Gagarin, wear these red-coloured glasses.

First American Guy in Space…  Americans soon followed Russia by sending Alan Shepard into space in May  He got into space, but did not orbit.  He later becomes the 5 th person to walk on the moon (first person to play golf on the moon) during the Apollo 14 mission in  BTW- Who was the first person to walk on the moon?

Organisms in Orbit: The First Pan troglodytes (i.e. Chimp)  Enos was launched into orbit in November 1961 by the United States.  He was supposed to orbit 3 times, but his capsule lost partial air pressure, so they brought down the capsule after 2 orbits.  He was saved by his spacesuit that he was fitted with prior to the launch. We were just then putting a chimp in orbit, so obviously, we were a bit behind the Soviets in the Space Race.

First American guy to orbit…  Outstanding Marine pilot during WWII.  Became an astronaut in  On February 20, 1962 orbited the Earth.  Resigned from the space program in 1964 to become a politician (D- Ohio).  Friend of the Kennedys. He was with Robert Kennedy when he (Rob) was assassinated.

To the Moon  On July 20, 1969, Buzz, along with flight commander Neil Armstrong, made the first walk on the moon during the historic Apollo 11 mission. Michael Collins remained in orbit around the moon.  The walk, which was televised, drew an estimated 600 million people to watch, becoming the world's largest television audience in history.  The rocket used for this and other missions at the time was the Saturn V, 3 stage rocket.

To the Moon with a Saturn V Rocket Scientist (this could be you)

On the Moon Astronauts- (This could be you) Neil Armstrong Buzz Aldrin Michael Collins

Now, Back to Satellites…  First U.S. satellite is Explorer 1 in 1958  There were several mission failures, mostly due to rocket malfunctions.  The first communications satellite was the Telstar satellite launched by the U.S. in  This marked the beginning of an era. Telstar Satellite

We’ve been launching since then.  There are currently about 900 operational satellites in orbit around the Earth.  There are thousands more that are dead (they generally last between 5 – 20 years) still in orbit. That equates to lots of junk in orbit around our planet.  Many countries have satellites in orbit now, mostly for communication.  Other reasons to put up satellites (some may overlap in purpose) include: navigation, TV, radio, weather, environment, research, photography, spying, mapping, etc.

Satellite stuff:  Average size: Size of small car to a good sized bus  Average weight on Earth: up to a couple tons  Cost of satellite: ~ $50 million - $400 million  Transport: Rocket or space shuttle release  Stuff they have: Bus, Solar Array, Batteries, Cameras, Computers, Antennas, Transponders, other stuff  Constellation: anywhere between 3 – 66+ satellites  Altitude: Between ~370 km (230 mi) to 35,800 km (22,400 miles)  Speed: Between ~3070 m/s (6867 mph) to 7690 m/s (17,200 mph)  Period: ~90 minutes to 24 hours

Types of orbits… Some types include LEO, MEO, GEO, HEO, and Polar

Satellite Stats…

Types of orbits…

Satellites Note the difference of FOV between MEO and LEO satellites. MEO (GPS satellites) LEO

Satellites: Weather Satellite Constellations

Satellites:

How to get to a GEO:

A more current concern: Space Junk  Take a look at our planet from the outside! NASA estimates that about one piece of junk a day falls back down.

The End