History of Space Travel

Ancient man was fascinated by the moon , stars and planets. Poems and songs have been written, moon cycles worshipped with ceremonies and sacrifices, and even wars have been planned around the different cycles of stars and other celestial bodies.

As man studied the sky, the observation was soon made that the heavenly bodies appeared to move in a regular manner. The bright sun rose every morning from the same direction, the east, moved steadily across the sky during the day, and set in a nearly opposite direction, the west. At night it was observed that more than 1,000 stars followed a similar course.

Man quickly discovered that this knowledge was useful in determining the proper times for planting and harvesting crops, for religious ceremonies, and to navigate on long trading voyages at sea.

To learn about man's journey to the stars, from his early knowledge of the planets, to today's voyages to the far reaches of the galaxy, click on a button below.

early discoveries

  early rockets and Sputnik

Mercury, Gemini missions

   Apollo missions

how rockets work

  space stations

space suits

shuttles

satellites and probes

asteroids

our solar system

stars and black holes

  future of space travel

space colonization project

  search engine page

 space landing slider puzzle  

(give it  a try) 

   slider puzzle answer page  

  back to main index

 

Questions and comments: lcelaya@amphi.com