An Artificial Object Into Space During World War II

During the peak of Space exploration interest in America, two well known men came together and publicized information about space travel to homes around the country. Wernher von Braun and Disney collaborated for years and by as early as 1955 they had aired their first movie, “Man in Space.” They later went on to publish two more films prompting members of the US government to later approach Disney with an interest in the information that was included in the show. Wernher von Braun’s exploration of space led to the collaboration between Walt Disney and himself and due to the impressive content of the show, led to authorization from Eisenhower to launch a small scale, earth cycling satellite into space.

The launch of the Sputnik had such a big impact on America because “America thought of themselves as the world’s technological leaders” (Richerme 35). Also “the Soviets, after all, were not supposed to be good at technology” (DeGroot 3). This scared America and brought them into a big crisis or as some call a race. This race was known as the space race and it was a very long and twisted path that it bared on its shoulders.

The origins of the Space Race can be found in Germany in the 1930s. During World War II, Nazi Germany was researching and building operational ballistic missiles and experimenting with liquid-fueled rockets. As early as 1942 and 1943, the rocket Aggregate-4 became the first vehicle

Neil Armstrong 's 1969 lunar landing was one of humanity 's greatest accomplishments. Since then, we have found that an infinite supply of knowledge and resources await us just outside our atmosphere. Today, however, critics are beginning to argue more and more that the cost of space exploration is too high, and therefore new technological developments should be left to the private sector. Whether funded privately or by the government, funding of space exploration is imperative because NASA is essentially the only agency with the technological capabilities to support aircraft manufacturing, air safety and air transportation. Space exploration has also resulted in remarkable innovations that has played a key role in aeronautics research, preventative medicine, and allows scientists to study asteroids, along with other space debris and their impacts on Earth.

Russia launched Sputnik, a satellite to orbit the earth, into outer space on October 4th, 1957. With tensions already running high in the Cold War, Americans panicked at the thought of the Russians building space and nuclear energy, fearing it could be used on them. The conflict now called the Space Race resulted in Americans creating NASA and pushing the sciences in school.

Perhaps no greater tragedy defines the American Race for Space than the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger before millions of Americans as they watched on live TV in 1986. Building on two decades of successful space exploration kicked off by President Kennedy before his death, by the early eighties the American culture both believed that it was our right to fly into space and that no one did it better than we did. NASA had sent mission after mission into space over more than twenty years, each one accomplishing space exploration goals and building the reputation that America owned the stars. That day in January of 1986 was supposed to be another of those successes as the Challenger lifted off from Cape Canaveral carrying not only professional astronauts into space but also one everyday person, teacher Christa McAuliffe. Instead, the world watched as after seventy-three seconds after liftoff hopes and dreams exploded with the Challenger - leaving astronauts dead, the space program in jeopardy and America grieving and looking for answers. How leadership responded, what they said and did, would be really important to how the nation dealt with the loss and to the future of the space program. The man for the job was President Ronald Reagan, whose address to the nation appealed to the public on an emotional and logical level and helped to ensure that they

Christa McAuliffe was an ordinary teacher chosen to represent and brighter future for all. She was to be the first civilian in space, exemplifying the opportunistic values of American dreamers. Christa entered the NASA Space Shuttle “Challenger” in 1986, but when undergoing takeoff the rocket experienced a catastrophic failure and exploded, she would not be able to see the big rock we call Earth. The event humbled the US and much of the world; however, it paved a path for future entrepreneurs and future private space programs. The current progression in space tourism is just as unstable as the country after the explosion.

Many thought, “Why continue to take the risks to travel to space when it seems like nothing else can be accomplished?” Seiden also expressed his opinions on space travel in his article. After the crash of the Challenger, he “wondered how space travel could ever be safe.” Stating how “if [humans] can’t make cars that don’t constantly break down … how could we expect to send people hurling off into orbit without some sizable risk of disaster?” (Seiden).

The earliest sightings of the Space Race was during the 1930s in the last stages of the Weimar Republic. The Germans produced a ballistic missile (V2) that could travel at 4000 km/h and a 320 km range. The Germans used this to destroy several cities under the Allie’s territory. After the war ended the Allies tried to capture German Rocket Scientists to improve their technology. This resulted in all of them having the V2 ballistic missile which was the foundation for the first Russian and American Rockets. The race for prestige in spaceflight it was now a threat and advancement for national security which resulted in the science and technology departments coming under the influence of the federal government. The world was divided into two parts,

On 1st of February, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia exploded when it re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere after finished a 16 days mission in space. All seven astronauts were dead because of this incident. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had stopped the space shuttle program for more than two years to investigate this tragedy. In the 16 days period, the astronauts did approximately 80 experiments on different categories, for example, life science and material science [1]. An investigation later has found out that the disaster was caused by a problem on the day that took off on 16th of January.

The space race did not start as one would expect with the respective American and Soviet space agencies. But rather it began with the German V2 missile launches towards the end of World War 2. The V2 missile

Unfortunately, there is always risk when it comes to space flight. This makes it difficult to determine what constitutes an “Acceptable” risk. A space agency has many worries such as their reputation with the public and the world, the success of their missions, and most importantly the lives of their staff and astronauts. Engineers are usually technically gifted but lacking in organization. This spawns a need for non-technical managers to oversee the day to day operations of projects and companies. While the engineers worry about the functionality of the project (in this case, a space shuttle), the managers worry about the cost to the company and the infamous pick 2 triangle of good, cheap, fast. This causes a disconnect between the engineers and the management where pressure from anything whether it be the public or CEO, can cause concerns to be overlooked.

One of the greatest tragedies in history occurred on January 8, 1986. Shortly after it was launched, the space shuttle Challenger exploded, killing seven astronauts, including Christa McAuliffe, a New Hampshire schoolteacher chosen to be the first teacher in space (“Challenger Disaster, n.d.). The explosion was caused by a failure of the O-rings of the solid rocket boosters. The O-rings were unable to seat properly, causing the leaking of hot combustion gases, which burnt through the external fuel tank. The malfunction was not any one person’s or organization’s fault; it was caused by many factors including the decision to launch despite the cold weather, the poor communication between management levels of the National Aeronautics and

“The idea gradually dawned around the turn of the twentieth century that the rocket was the key to space travel.” (History of Rocketry and Space Travel) Then in 1969, Lance Armstrong and Apollo 11 landed on the mood for the first time. Now over 40 years later, the thought of public tourism into outer space has become a reality.

Space exploration refers to the exploration and discovery of outer space’s celestial structures by means of the ever-growing space technology, which is continuously evolving. Space physical exploration is conducted by using unmanned robotic probes. Human spaceflight is also used for space exploration. The history of space exploration dates back to the 20th century when the world’ most powerful states such as Russia and the United states scrambled for superiority. Space exploration therefore became a sense of pride and extreme manpower leading to development of space vehicles, which attempted to reach space. The space exploration programs were conducted by government space agencies mainly of the United States and Soviet Union due to the sensitivity and huge finances involved. With time, private organizations began to purchase and offer space launches, laying ground for private space flight. Satellite radio, communications satellites, astronaut transport, satellite television and sub-orbital space tourism comprise the Earth orbit’s private space lift.