Zac Woodard
RLA D

Since the dawn of human kind, we have always been interested in the black abyss we call space. Our ancestors spent hours mapping the heavens and contemplating what they may contain. In July 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. This monumental feat was not done single handedly, there were 70 years of work behind the lunar landing.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has had 4 manned space craft programs. The first of such programs was the Gemini program. This program was the US’s first attempt to put a man into space. The capsule that the astronauts were contained in had two seats and not much room for the astronauts to move around in. Since these missions were very short this movement room was not needed. Since the Gemini program was the US’s first manned spacecraft program, the Gemini astronauts did not perform as many jobs as modern day astronauts do. The Gemini program’s orbiter consisted of a cone shaped vehicle as seen in the above picture. This orbiter was very cramped and uncomfortable for the astronauts. These astronauts were lucky however; their missions only lasted for a few hours. This orbiter was very similar to the orbiter of the Mercury program.

The second program in NASA’s quest to explore the heavens was the Mercury program. This program was very similar to the Gemini program except that the orbiter was bigger and had more room in it. The Mercury program, like the Gemini program performed no extravehicular activities (EVA). This structural drawing shows what the orbiters looked like and the components to them. As you can see this orbiter looks very similar to that of the Gemini program’s orbiter. The main difference is that the Mercury orbiter has thrusters on the actual orbiter whereas the Gemini programs does not. The main purpose of the Mercury program was to exceed the Gemini’s distance in space. The world was surprised at how far America had come in the space race. That was nothing compared to what they were preparing to do.

In 1969 president John F. Kennedy announced that the United States was going to send a man to the moon. NASA had been working on the idea of sending a man to the moon and they devised a way to do so. The astronauts would leave the earth on a rocket called the Saturn V. This rocket was the biggest and most powerful rocket the world had ever seen. After leaving the atmosphere, the astronauts would fly towards the moon and prepare to board the lunar module. The Lunar Module (LM) would be contained in the rocket and would be released into space so the orbiter could dock with it and let the astronauts get in. After docking the LM would be released and the astronauts could guide it to a landing. In July 1969 Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon. “That’s one small step for a man, but one giant leap for mankind.” Neil Armstrong said these words as he descended the ladder onto the moon’s surface. These words express how important the lunar landing was to space exploration. NASA would continue to send more and more missions to the moon, but all of this changed when the shuttle program came along.

NASA’s most advanced orbiter was known as the Shuttle. These orbiters had almost triple the room of the Apollo programs orbiter and also had an extensive storage bay to the rear of the cabin. The shuttle was capable of carrying up to six people on a mission. The orbiter could also stay out in space for longer periods of time. The shuttle would be “pushed” into space by two Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB’s) which contained a solid propellant. The booster casings would fall back to earth and be recollected for later use. The engines on the orbiter would be used also. These engines were connected to a huge orange cylinder containing liquid oxygen and hydrogen in two separate containers. These two chemicals would be mixed to create thrust. After the fuel was used the tank would be jettisoned and would burn up on its way back into the atmosphere. After the first successful Shuttle mission many more orbiters were added to the fleet. The shuttles had two unique abilities that none of the other orbiters had. The Shuttle had the capabilities of extravehicular activities (EVA’s) and the shuttle also had what is known as The Canada Arm. The shuttle had an air lock that allowed the astronauts to exit the shuttle and repair satellites in space. The Canada Arm also aided in the task. The arm is stored in the payload bay and can be extended to retrieve satellites. The Canada Arm also allowed the astronauts to be tethered to something during their EVA’s. This arm was developed in Canada hence the name. The Canada Arm has proved to be a very important part of the shuttle because of its versatility.
The evolution of space exploration has gone from putting a man into space to a lunar landing and much more. All of this was done thanks to the hard work of NASA’s determination to unveil the heavens. Space exploration may be one of the best examples of the determination that lie within the human soul. With all that has been accomplished so far who knows what may lie ahead in the evolution of space exploration.