Space Exploration
Space exploration is a big part of American history and has been shrouded with controversy for years and years. Space exploration is defined as the investigation of physical conditions in space and on stars, planets, and their moons through the use of artificial satellites, space probes, and spacecraft with human crews (Whitehouse). From the space race with Russia to unmanned lunar probes, space exploration inspires and enlightens every person that comes in contact with it. One example of an inspiring event in space exploration was the Apollo project. The Apollo missions were quite possibly the most popular and publicized events in American history. The Apollo missions were often disastrous, successful, triumphant, and also neutral and routine. Throughout all the publicity and controversy space exploration will remain in American and world history forever and will continue to live in the heart of Man.Space travel has many roots and a large history. The study of space exploration may have dated back to 1609, when Johannes Kepler, a German mathematician, figured out equations for orbiting planets & satellites (Whitehouse). He determined that the planets move in ellipses (flattened circles) rather than true circles. Another famous
The objectives were quite clear for the Apollo missions and a technique was created. The Lunar Orbit Rendezvous (LOR) technique used for the Apollo missions consisted of launching the spacecraft into a stable orbit around the earth, setting a path towards the moon, moving the spacecraft into orbit around the moon, landing the lunar module on the moon, and make a safe voyage home (Webb). On January 27, 1967, the flight crew of the first manned Apollo mission was the first to carry out the new technique. Virgil Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee were going to be the first to launch the new Apollo program; however, something terribly went wrong. After over five hours of delays and problems, a spark inside the spacecraft ignited flammable material and instantly engulfed the closed compartment in flames. By the time the hatch was pried away more than five minutes later, the crew had died from asphyxiation (Taubes). This put a block in the road in American space travel, but America made a better design and created better techniques, which lead to the first manned mission to achieve lunar orbit. Apollo 8 was launched on December 21, 1968. The crew of this six-day mission, Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., and William A. Anders, conducted a complete test of the flight profiles for lunar missions. The craft entered lunar orbit on December 24, 1968, and orbited the moon for ten revolutions (20 hours 7 minutes) before returning to the earth and a controlled reentry into the Pacific Ocean. America was now ready for a lunar landing (Whitehouse). Space exploration has eluded man throughout history. We may never know why we travel through space. Man has always thirsted for knowledge, something that cannot be bought with money. Whether or not knowledge is useful, he thirsts for it. He also has a fundamentally curious nature, which motivates him to attempt to discover what lies in the inky darkness outside of Earth. Many thought that space exploration was a waste of time and money; however, man will con
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1356
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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