Story of space transport

People dreamed of travelling in outer space long before rockets were invented. In 1865 the French science-fiction writer Jules Verne wrote a story about travellers to the Moon. The...

Apollo mission

After the former Soviet Union launched the first man into orbit in 1961, American President John F. Kennedy announced that the USA would land a man on the Moon before the end of...

Story of space transport A-Z

Rocket engines

Although space starts just 100 kilometres (about 60 miles) above the Earth’s surface, it is very difficult to get there. Aeroplanes cannot reach space because the air gets...

Rocket launch

There are 21 days to go before lift-off. The rocket parts are assembled in the vehicle assembly building. A crawler-transporter vehicle then carries the rocket stack, along with...

Launch vehicles

A launch vehicle is a rocket-propelled vehicle used to carry a payload—for example, a satellite, a space probe or a crewed spacecraft—into the upper atmosphere or into space...

Astronauts

An astronaut is a person trained to command or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft. Astronauts walking on the Moon, travelling to and from a space station or performing space...

Spaceplanes

A spaceplane is a vehicle that can fly like an aeroplane in Earth's atmosphere, like a spacecraft in space, and be able to orbit the Earth. All types of spaceplanes have so far...

Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle was designed as a re-usable spacecraft because of the huge cost of rockets, all the parts of which are completely destroyed during missions. The first Shuttle...

Spacecraft A-Z