Space Travel!
To travel through space, the first thing you would need is a spaceship! *it has to be able to hold passengers, fuel, air, and supplies *it has to be able to withstand the burning heat of the thermosphere *it has to have enough push to break free of gravity
The first spaceships were more like rockets! They would push gas out the back like our balloon rockets.
Later, multistage rockets were built. By dropping off fuel sections, they lighten the weight of the ship and get an extra boost from the ignition.
The nose cone held the passengers, and landed by parachuting into the ocean.
The first re-useable space shuttle launched in 1981. The fuel cells still break off, but the ship has wheels and can land, which is the same design we still use today!
What is it like living in space?
With no gravity, simple tasks are much harder... Food and drinks would float away if not properly sealed...
You have to strap yourself in to bed so you don’t float off in your sleep...
and going to the bathroom would be very messy without special suction equipment!
The zero gravity also effects our ability to properly use our muscles... and makes our brains bounce in our skulls, which can cause brain damage!
Even on the international space station, astronauts are rotated out every few months so they don’t go crazy!
And, of course, there are other risks... Challenger explodes on liftoff, 1986 Columbia explodes on re-entry, 2003