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Spaceflight began in the 20th century following theoretical and practical breakthroughs byKonstantin Tsiolkovsky,Robert H. Goddard, andHermann Oberth, each of whom published works proposingrockets as the means for spaceflight.^[a] The first successful large-scale rocket programs were initiated in Nazi Germany byWernher von Braun. TheSoviet Union took the lead in the post-warSpace Race, launching thefirst satellite,^[1] thefirst animal,^[2]: 155 thefirst human^[3] and thefirst woman^[4] intoorbit. The United States landed thefirst men on the Moon in 1969. Through the late 20th century, France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China were also working on projects to reach space.

Following the end of the Space Race, spaceflight has been characterized by greater international cooperation, cheaper access tolow Earth orbit and an expansion of commercial ventures.Interplanetary probes have visited all of the planets in theSolar System, and humans have remained in orbit for long periods aboard space stations such asMir and theISS. Most recently, China has emerged as the third nation with the capability to launch independent crewed missions, while operators in the commercial sector have developed reusable booster systems and craft launched from airborne platforms. In 2020,SpaceX became the first commercial operator to successfully launch a crewed mission to theInternational Space Station withCrew Dragon Demo-2.

At the beginning of the 20th century, there was a burst of scientific investigation into interplanetary travel, inspired by fiction by writers such asJules Verne (From the Earth to the Moon,Around the Moon) andH.G. Wells (The First Men in the Moon,The War of the Worlds).^{[citation needed]}

The first realistic proposal for spaceflight was"Issledovanie Mirovikh Prostranstv Reaktivnimi Priborami", or"The Exploration of Cosmic Space by Means of Reaction Devices" by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, published in 1903.^[6]

Spaceflight became an engineering possibility with the work of Robert H. Goddard's publication in 1919 of his paper "A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes", where his application of thede Laval nozzle toliquid fuel rockets gave sufficient power for interplanetary travel to become possible. This paper was highly influential onHermann Oberth andWernher von Braun, later key players in spaceflight.^{[citation needed]}

In 1929, theSlovene officerHermann Noordung was the first to imagine a completespace station in his bookThe Problem of Space Travel.^[7][8]

The first rocket to reach space was the GermanV-2 rocketMW 18014, on avertical test flight in June 1944.^[9] After the war ended, the research and development branch of the (British) Ordinance Office organisedOperation Backfire which, in October 1945, assembled enough V-2 missiles and supporting components to enable the launch of three (possibly four, depending on source consulted) of them from a site near Cuxhaven in northern Germany. Although these launches were inclined and the rockets did not achieve the altitude necessary to be regarded assub-orbital spaceflight, the Backfire report remains the most extensive technical documentation of the rocket, including all support procedures, tailored vehicles and fuel composition.^[10]

Subsequently, theBritish Interplanetary Society proposed an enlarged man-carrying version of the V-2 calledMegaroc. The plan, written in 1946, envisaged a three-year development programme culminating in the launch of test pilotEric Brown on a sub-orbital mission in 1949.^[11][12] The decision by the Ministry of Supply underAttlee's government to concentrate onnuclear power generation and sub-sonic passenger jet aircraft delayed the UK's space research.

In 1947, the US sent the firstanimals in space,fruit flies, although not into orbit, through aV-2 rocket launched fromWhite Sands Missile Range,New Mexico.^[13][14][15] On June 14, 1949, the US launched the first mammal into space, a rhesus macaque monkey namedAlbert II, on a sub-orbital flight, though Albert II died when the parachute failed.^[16] On July 22, 1951, the Soviets launched theSoviet space dogs,Dezik and Tsygan, who were the first dogs in space and the first to safely return.^[17]

The race began in 1957 when both the US and the USSR made statements announcing they planned to launchartificial satellites during the 18-month longInternational Geophysical Year of July 1957 to December 1958. On July 29, 1957, the US announced a planned launch of theVanguard by the spring of 1958, and on July 31, the USSR announced it would launch a satellite in the fall of 1957.^[18][19]

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launchedSputnik 1, the first artificial satellite of Earth in the history of humankind.

On November 3, 1957, the Soviet Union launched the second satellite,Sputnik 2, and the first to carry a living animal into orbit, a dog namedLaika.Sputnik 3 was launched on May 15, 1958, and carried a large array of instruments for geophysical research and provided data on pressure and composition of the upper atmosphere, concentration of charged particles, photons in cosmic rays, heavy nuclei in cosmic rays, magnetic and electrostatic fields, and meteoric particles. After a series of failures with the program, the US succeeded withExplorer 1, which became the first US satellite in space, on February 1, 1958. This carried scientific instrumentation and detected the theorizedVan Allen radiation belt.The US public shock over Sputnik 1 became known as theSputnik crisis. On July 29, 1958, theUS Congress passed legislation turning theNational Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) into theNational Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with responsibility for the nation's civilian space programs. In 1959, NASA beganProject Mercury to launch single-man capsules into Earth orbit and chose a corps of sevenastronauts introduced as theMercury Seven.^[20]

On April 12, 1961, the USSR opened the era of crewed spaceflight, with the flight of the firstcosmonaut (Russian name for space travelers),Yuri Gagarin. Gagarin's flight, part of the SovietVostok space exploration program, took 108 minutes and consisted of a singleorbit of the Earth.^[21]

On August 7, 1961,Gherman Titov, another Soviet cosmonaut, became the second man in orbit during hisVostok 2 mission. Titov orbited Earth 17 times in over 25 hours during his spaceflight.^[22]

By June 16, 1963, the USSR launched a total of six Vostok cosmonauts, two pairs of them flying concurrently, and accumulating a total of 260 cosmonaut-orbits and just over sixteen cosmonaut-days in space.^{[citation needed]}

On May 5, 1961, the US launched its firstsuborbital Mercury astronaut,Alan Shepard, in theFreedom 7 capsule.^[23][24]

The first woman in space was former civilian parachutistValentina Tereshkova, who entered orbit on June 16, 1963, aboard the Soviet missionVostok 6. The chief Soviet spacecraft designer,Sergey Korolyov, conceived of the idea to recruit a female cosmonaut corps and launch two women concurrently on Vostok 5/6. However, his plan was changed to launch a male first inVostok 5, followed shortly afterward by Tereshkova. The thenfirst secretary of the Soviet Union,Nikita Khrushchev, spoke to Tereshkova by radio during her flight.^[25]

On November 3, 1963, Tereshkova married fellow cosmonautAndrian Nikolayev, who had previously flown onVostok 3.^[26] On June 8, 1964, she gave birth to the first child conceived by two space travelers.^[27] The couple divorced in 1982, and Tereshkova went on to become a prominent member of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union.^[28]

The second woman to fly to space was aviatorSvetlana Savitskaya, aboardSoyuz T-7 on August 18, 1982.^[29]

Khrushchev pressured Korolyov to quickly produce greater space achievements in competition with the announced Gemini and Apollo plans. Rather than allowing him to develop his plans for a crewedSoyuz spacecraft, he was forced to make modifications to squeeze two or three men into theVostok capsule, calling the resultVoskhod. Only two of these were launched.Voskhod 1 was the first spacecraft with a crew of three, who could not wearspace suits because of size and weight constrictions.Alexei Leonov made the firstspacewalk when he left theVoskhod 2 on March 8, 1965. He was almost lost in space when he had extreme difficulty fitting his inflated space suit back into the cabin through anairlock, and a landing error forced him and Voskhod 2 crewmatePavel Belyayev to be lost in dense woods for hours before being found by the recovery crew and rescued days later.^{[citation needed]}

The start of crewed Gemini missions was delayed a year later than NASA had planned, but ten largely successful missions were launched in 1965 and 1966, allowing the US to overtake the Soviet lead by achievingspace rendezvous (Gemini 6A) and docking (Gemini 8) of two vehicles, long duration flights of eight days (Gemini 5) and fourteen days (Gemini 7), and demonstrating the use ofextra-vehicular activity to do useful work outside a spacecraft (Gemini 12).^{[citation needed]}

The USSR made no crewed flights during this period but continued to develop its Soyuz craft and secretly accepted Kennedy's implicit lunar challenge, designing Soyuz variants for lunar orbit and landing. They also attempted to develop theN1, a large, crewed Moon-capable launch vehicle similar to the USSaturn V.^{[citation needed]}

As both nations rushed to get their new spacecraft flying with men, the intensity of the competition caught up to them in early 1967, when they suffered their first crew fatalities. On January 27, the entire crew ofApollo 1,"Gus" Grissom,Ed White, andRoger Chaffee, were killed by suffocation in a fire that swept through their cabin during a ground test approximately one month before their planned launch. On April 24, the single pilot ofSoyuz 1,Vladimir Komarov, was killed in a crash when his landing parachutes tangled, after a mission cut short by electrical and control system problems. Both accidents were determined to be caused by design defects in the spacecraft, which were corrected before crewed flights resumed.^{[citation needed]}

On February 12, 1961, theSoviet spacecraftVenera 1 was the first flybyprobe launched to another planet. However communications with the probe failed before it could complete its mission.^[30]Venera 3, which also lost contact, marked the first time a man-made object made contact with another planet after it impacted Venus on March 1, 1966.^[31]Venera 4,Venera 5, andVenera 6 performed successful atmospheric entry.

In 1970Venera 7 marked the first time a spacecraft was able to return data after landing on another planet.^[32][33] In 1972,Venera 8 landed on Venus and measured the light level as being suitable for surface photography.^[34] In 1975,Venera 9 established an orbit around Venus and successfully returned the first photography of the surface of Venus.^[35]Venera 10 landed on Venus and followed with further photography shortly after.^[36]

In 1981,Venera 13 performed a successful soft-landing on Venus and marked the first probe to drill into the surface of another planet and take a sample. Venera 13 also took an audio sample of the Venusian environment, marking another first.^[37][38][39]

Venera 13 returned the first color images of the surface of Venus, revealing an orange-brown flat bedrock surface covered with looseregolith and small flat thin angular rocks. The composition of the sample determined by the X-ray fluorescence spectrometer put it in the class of weakly differentiated melanocratic alkaline gabbroids, similar to terrestrial leucitic basalt with a high potassium content. The acoustic detector returned the sounds of the spacecraft operations and the background wind, estimated to be a speed of around 0.5 m/sec wind.^[37] Venera 14 followed suit in an identical mission profile.

In total, 10 Venera probes achieved a soft landing on the surface of Venus.

In 1984, theVega programme began and ended with the launch of two crafts launched 6 days apart,Vega 1 andVega 2. Both crafts deployed a balloon in addition to a lander, marking a first in spaceflight.^[40][41][42]

The first successful flyby Venus probe was theAmericanMariner 2 spacecraft, which flew past Venus in 1962, coming within 35,000 km. A modifiedRangerMoon probe, it established that Venus has practically no intrinsicmagnetic field and measured the temperature of the planet's atmosphere to be approximately 500°C (773K; 932°F).^[43]

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The US conducted the first crewed spaceflight to leave Earth orbit and orbit the Moon on December 21, 1968, with theApollo 8 space mission. Later they succeeded in achieving President Kennedy's goal on July 20, 1969, with the landing ofApollo 11.Neil Armstrong andBuzz Aldrin became the first men to set foot on the Moon. Six such successful landings were achieved through 1972, with one failure onApollo 13.^{[citation needed]}

The first three Apollo missions to land astronauts on the Moon, Apollo 11,12, and14, did not enable exploration of a large portion of the lunar surface.^[44] Apollo 14 featured the longest journey on foot undertaken by the lunar explorers, with Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell bringing a cart called a Modular Equipment Transporter (MET) to help with sampling of moon rocks, but the men did not quite reach their intended destination of the Cone Crater.^[45] However, the last three Apollo missions,Apollo 15,16, and17, featured thelunar rover, which enabled longer and farther exploration by the astronauts on those flights. The astronauts on the last three Apollo missions drove over 56 miles around the lunar surface using the rovers, and were able to collect 620 pounds of moon rocks, three quarters of the total collected during the Apollo missions.^[46] More crewed moon landings were planned, all the way through Apollo 20, but after the loss of public interest following Apollo 11 (which contributed to a shrinking budget for NASA) and the near catastrophe of Apollo 13, three Apollo missions were canceled.^[47]

The N1 rocket suffered four catastrophic uncrewed launch failures between 1969 and 1972, and the Soviet government officially discontinued its crewed lunar program on June 24, 1974, whenValentin Glushko succeeded Korolyov as General Spacecraft Designer.^[48]

Move to cooperation

Apollo–Soyuz Test Project (ASTP, 1975), first docking between the two competitor states, testingshared docking systems enabling future cooperation programs away from the competition.^[49]

Space Shuttle (US) docked toMir (USSR/Russia) (1995), both products of the ending competition, joined in theShuttle-Mir program (1993–1998) which facilitated the ongoingInternational Space Station programme.

Both nations went on to fly relatively small, non-permanent crewed space laboratoriesSalyut andSkylab, using their Soyuz and Apollo craft as shuttles. The US launched only one Skylab, but the USSR launched a total of seven "Salyuts", three of which were secretlyAlmaz military crewed reconnaissance stations, which carried a cannon (possibly to test for potential use in space warfare).^[50][51] Crewed reconnaissance stations were found to be a bad idea since uncrewed satellites could do the job much more cost-effectively. TheUnited States Air Force had planned a crewed reconnaissance station, theManned Orbital Laboratory, which was cancelled in 1969. The Soviets cancelled Almaz in 1978.^{[citation needed]}

In a season ofdetente, the two competitors declared an end to the race and literally shook hands on July 17, 1975, with theApollo–Soyuz Test Project, where the two craft docked, and the crews exchanged visits.

Theparticipation of private actors and other countries beside the Soviet Union and the United States in spaceflight had been the case from the very start of spaceflight development. Afirst commercial satellite had been launched by 1962, as well as in 1965 a thirdcountry achieving orbital spaceflight. The very beginning of thespace age, the launch ofSputnik, was in the context of international exchange, theInternational Geophysical Year 1957. Also, soon into the space age the international community came together starting to negotiate dedicatedinternational law governing outer space activity.

In the 1970s the Soviet Union started to invite other countries to fly their people into space through itsIntercosmos program and the United States started toinclude women and people of colour in its astronaut program.

First exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union was formalized in the 1962Dryden-Blagonravov agreement, calling for cooperation on the exchange of data from weather satellites, a study of theEarth's magnetic field, and joint tracking of the NASAEcho II balloon satellite.^[52] In 1963President Kennedy could even interest premierKhrushchev in a joint crewedMoon landing,^[53][54] but after the assassination of Kennedy in November 1963 and Khrushchev's removal from office in October 1964, the competition between the two nations' crewed space programs heated up, and talk of cooperation became less common, due to tense relations and military implications. Only later the United States and the Soviet Union slowly started to exchange more information and engage in joint programs, particularly in the light of the development of safety standards since 1970,^[55] producing the co-developedAPAS-75 and laterdocking standards. Most notably this signaled the ending of the first era of the space age, theSpace Race, through theApollo-Soyuz mission which became the basis for theShuttle-Mir program and eventually theInternational Space Station programme.

Such international cooperation, and international spaceflight organization was furthermore fueled by increasingly more countries achieving spaceflight capabilies and together with a by the 1980s establishedprivate spaceflight sector, both being embodied by theEuropean Space Agency. This allowed the formation of an international and commercial post-Space Race spaceflight economy and period, with by the 1990s a public perception of space exploration and space-related technologies as being increasingly commonplace.^[56]

This increasingly cooperative diversification persisted until competition started to rise in the diversified conditions, from the 2010s and particularly by the early 2020s.

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Starting in the 2010s the diversified spaceflight sector had become by the 2020s increasingly competitive with returning inter-national competition and cooperation barrieres, likea cooperation ban enacted in the United States on China in 2011 and later theEuropean Space Agency banning Russia,^[57] and increased private competition in spaceflight capabilities, enabled by theCommercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015.

Some have called it aNew Space Race period,^[58] particularly in light ofChina's speedy advances and other Asian countries competing in advancing their spaceflight achievements, creating anAsian Space Race.^[59] Although international cooperation and international private spaceflight remains an integral part of the sector, there is competitively diversifying commercial international contracting, such as international private human spaceflight of e.g.Axiom Space in cooperation with different countries and heavily relying on theInternational Space Station, which also continued operation despite international confrontations like theRussian invasion of Ukraine, while private spaceflight, withSpace-X'sStarlink,became a significant element in the war and international politics.

Meanwhile, a range of new lunar spaceflight programs are being advanced especially as international programs, from theArtemis program and the China-Russian plans to establish alunar base, to the European Space Agency plannedMoon Village.

This competitive but international commercial development of the spaceflight sector has been calledNew Space.^[60]

Until the 21st century, space programs of the United States were exclusively operated by government agencies. In the 21st century, several aerospace companies began efforts at developing a private space industry, withSpaceX being the most successful so far.^{[citation needed]}

Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. Its goal was to put a person into Earth orbit and return them safely, ideally before the Soviet Union.John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962, aboard the Mercury-Atlas 6.^[61]

Project Gemini wasNASA's second human spaceflight program. The program ran from 1961 to 1966. The program pioneered theorbital maneuvers required forspace rendezvous.^[62]Ed White became the first American to make anextravehicular activity (EVA, or "space walk"), on June 3, 1965, duringGemini 4.^[63]Gemini 6A and7 accomplished the firstspace rendezvous on December 15, 1965.^[64]Gemini 8 achieved the firstspace docking with an uncrewedAgena Target Vehicle on March 16, 1966.Gemini 8 was also the first US spacecraft to experience in-space critical failure endangering the lives of the crew.^[65]

The Apollo program was the third human spaceflight program carried out by NASA. The program's goal was to orbit and land crewed vehicles on the Moon.^[66] The program ran from 1969 to 1972.Apollo 8 was the first human spaceflight to leave Earth orbit and orbit the Moon on December 21, 1968.^[67]Neil Armstrong andBuzz Aldrin became the first men to set foot on the Moon during theApollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969.^[68]

TheSkylab program's goal was to create the firstspace station of NASA. The program marked the last launch of theSaturn V rocket on May 14, 1973. Many experiments were performed on board, including unprecedented solar studies.^[69] The longest crewed mission of the program wasSkylab 4 which lasted 84 days, from November 16, 1973, to February 8, 1974.^[70] The total mission duration was 2249 days, with Skylab finally falling from orbit over Australia on July 11, 1979.^[71]

Although its pace slowed, space exploration continued after the end of the Space Race. The United States launched the first reusable spacecraft, the Space Shuttle, on the 20th anniversary of Gagarin's flight, April 12, 1981. On November 15, 1988, the Soviet Union duplicated this with an uncrewed flight ofthe onlyBuran-class shuttle to fly, its first and only reusable spacecraft. It was never used again after the first flight; instead, the Soviet Union continued to develop space stations using the Soyuz craft as the crew shuttle.^{[citation needed]}

Sally Ride became the first American woman in space in 1983.Eileen Collins was the first female Shuttle pilot, and with Shuttle missionSTS-93 in July 1999 she became the first woman to command a US spacecraft.TheUnited States continued missions to the ISS and other goals with the high-cost Shuttle system, which was retired in 2011.^{[citation needed]}

TheSputnik 1 became the firstartificial Earth satellite on 4 October 1957. The satellite transmitted a radio signal, but had no sensors otherwise.^[78] Studying theSputnik 1 allowed scientists to calculate the drag from the upper atmosphere by measuring position and speed of the satellite.^[79]Sputnik 1 broadcast for 21 days until its batteries depleted on 4 October 1957, and the satellite finally fell from orbit on 4 January 1958.^[80]

The Luna programme was a series of uncrewed robotic satellite launches with the goal of studying the Moon. The program ran from 1959 to 1976 and consisted of 15 successful missions; the program achieved many first achievements and collected data on the Moon's chemical composition, gravity, temperature, and radiation. Luna 2 became the first human-made object to make contact with the Moon's surface in September 1959.^[81] Luna 3 returned the first photographs of the far side of the Moon in October 1959.^[82]

The Vostok Programme was the first Soviet spaceflight project to put Soviet citizens into low Earth orbit and return them safely. The programme carried out six crewed spaceflights between 1961 and 1963. The program was the first program to put humans into space, withYuri Gagarin becoming the first man in space on April 12, 1961, aboard theVostok 1.^[83]Gherman Titov became the first person to stay in orbit for a full day on August 7, 1961, aboard theVostok 2.^[84]Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on June 16, 1963, aboard theVostok 6.^[85]

The Voskhod programme began in 1964 and consisted of two crewed flights before the program was canceled by theSoyuz programme in 1966.Voskhod 1 launched on October 12, 1964, and was the first crewed spaceflight with a multi-crewed vehicle.^[86]Alexei Leonov performed the firstspacewalk aboardVoskhod 2 on March 18, 1965.^[87]

The Salyut programme was the first space station program undertaken by theSoviet Union.^[88] The goal was to carry out long-term research into the problems of living in space and a variety of astronomical, biological and Earth-resources experiments. The program ran from 1971 to 1986.Salyut 1, the first station in the program, became the world's first crewed space station.^[89]

The Soyuz programme was initiated by the soviet space program in the 1960s and continues as the responsibility ofroscosmos to this day. The program currently consists of 140 completed flights, and since the retirement of the USSpace Shuttle has been the only craft to transport humans. The program's original goal was part of a program to put a cosmonaut on the Moon and later became crucial to the construction of theMir space station.^{[citation needed]}

This section is an excerpt fromMir.[edit]

Mir (Russian:Мир,IPA:[ˈmʲir];lit. 'peace' or'world') was aspace station operated inlow Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by theSoviet Union and later by theRussian Federation.Mir was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to 1996. It had a greater mass than any previousspacecraft. At the time it was the largestartificial satellite in orbit, succeeded by theInternational Space Station (ISS) afterMir'sdeorbiting. The station served as amicrogravityresearch laboratory in which crews conductedexperiments inbiology,human biology,physics,astronomy,meteorology, and spacecraft systems with a goal of developing technologies required for permanent occupation ofspace.

Mir was the first continuously inhabited long-term research station in orbit and held the record for the longest continuoushuman presence in space at 3,644 days, until it was surpassed by the ISS on 23 October 2010.^[90] It holds the record for the longest single human spaceflight, withValeri Polyakov spending 437 days and 18 hours on the station between 1994 and 1995.Mir was occupied for a total of twelve and a half years out of its fifteen-year lifespan, having the capacity to support a resident crew of three, or larger crews for short visits.

Recent space exploration has proceeded, to some extent in worldwide cooperation, the high point of which was the construction and operation of the International Space Station (ISS). At the same time, the international space race between smaller space powers since the end of the 20th century can be considered the foundation and expansion of markets of commercial rocket launches andspace tourism.^{[citation needed]}

The United States continued other space exploration, including major participation with the ISS with its own modules. It also planned a set of uncrewed Mars probes, military satellites, and more. TheConstellation program, began by PresidentGeorge W. Bush in 2005, aimed to launch theOrion spacecraft by 2018. A subsequent return to the Moon by 2020 was to be followed by crewed flights to Mars, but the program was canceled in 2010 in favor of encouraging commercial US human launch capabilities.^{[citation needed]}

Russia, a successor to the Soviet Union, has high potential but smaller funding. Its own space programs, some of a military nature, perform several functions. They offer a wide commercial launch service while continuing to support the ISS with several of their own modules. They also operate crewed and cargo spacecraft which continued after the US Shuttle program ended. They are developing a new multi-functionOrel spacecraft for use in 2020 and have plans to perform human Moon missions as well.^{[citation needed]}

The European Space Agency has taken the lead in commercial uncrewed launches since the introduction of theAriane 4 in 1988 but is in competition with NASA, Russia,Sea Launch (private), China, India, and others. The ESA-designed crewed shuttleHermes and space stationColumbus were under development in the late 1980s in Europe; however, these projects were canceled, and Europe did not become the third major "space power".^{[citation needed]}

The European Space Agency has launched various satellites, has utilized the crewedSpacelab module aboard US shuttles, and has sent probes to comets and Mars. It also participates in ISS with its own module and the uncrewed cargo spacecraftATV.^{[citation needed]}

Currently, ESA has a program for the development of an independent multi-function crewed spacecraftCSTS scheduled for completion in 2018. Further goals include an ambitious plan called theAurora Programme, which intends to send a human mission to Mars soon after 2030. A set of various landmark missions to reach this goal are currently under consideration. The ESA has a multi-lateral partnership and plans for spacecraft and further missions with foreign participation and co-funding.ESA is also developing theGalileo program which seeks to give independence to the EU from the American GPS.^{[citation needed]}

Since 1956 the Chinese have had a space program which was aided early on from 1957 to 1960 by the Soviets. "Dong Fang Hong I" was launched on 24 April 1970 and was the first satellite to be launched by the Chinese. With increased economic and technological strength in the following decades, especially since the early 21st century, China has made significant achievements in many aspects of space activities. It has developed a sizable family ofLong March rockets, includingLong March 5, the launch vehicle with the highest payload capacity in Asia since 2016^[update]. China launched more than 140 spaceflights between 2015 and 2020.^[93] China is operating multiple satellite systems, includingcommunication,Earth imaging,weather forecast,ocean monitoring.BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, the satellite navigation system developed, launched, and operated by China, is one of the four core system providers of the International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems.^[94]

The USPentagon released a report in 2006, detailing concerns about China's growing presence in space, including its capability for military action.^[95] In 2007 China tested a ballistic missile designed to destroy satellites in orbit, which was followed by a US demonstration of a similar capability in 2008.^{[citation needed]}

TheChina Manned Space Program, China's human spaceflight program, began in 1992. FollowingShenzhou 5, the first successful crewed spaceflight mission in 2003 which made China the third country with independent human spaceflight capability, China has developed critical capabilities includingEVA,space docking and berthing andspace station.^{[citation needed]} TheTiangong space station, China's modular orbital station, became fully operational in November 2022 and has been continuously manned since then. It consists of three main modules: theTianhe core module (launched in April 2021),Wentian module (July 2022), andMengtian module (October 2022).^[96][97][98]

The station conducts scientific experiments include testing materials for lunar habitats and studying biological changes in microgravity, contributing to China's ambitions for a lunar research base by the 2030s. The station is designed to remain operational for at least a decade, with plans to expand it to six modules and host theXuntian space telescope in the future.^{[99][100][101]}

As the first step of distance outer space exploration, theChinese Lunar Exploration Program was approved in 2004. It launched two lunar orbiters:Chang'e 1 andChang'e 2 in 2007 and 2010 respectively. On 14 December 2013, China successfullysoft-landedChang'e 3 Moon lander and its roverYutu on the Moon's surface, becoming the first Asian country to do so. This was followed byChang'e 4, the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, in 2019 andChang'e 5, the first lunar sample return mission conducted by an Asian country, in 2020, marking the completion of the three goals (orbiting, landing, returning) of the first stage of the program.^[93] Starting fromChang'e 6, China wants to advance its plans in making a permanentInternational Lunar Research Station on the Moon.

China began its first interplanetary exploration attempt in 2011 by sendingYinghuo-1, a Mars orbiter, in a joint mission with Russia. Yet it failed to leave Earth orbit due to the failure of the Russian launch vehicle.^[102] As a result, the Chinese space agency then embarked on its independent Mars mission. In July 2020, China launchedTianwen-1, which included an orbiter, a lander, and a rover, on aLong March 5 rocket to Mars. Tianwen-1 was inserted into Mars orbit on 10 February 2021, followed by a successful landing and deployment of theZhurong rover on 14 May 2021, making China the second country in the world which successfully soft-landed a fully operational spacecraft on Mars surface.^{[citation needed]}

Emmanuel Macron announced on 13 July 2019 the project to create a military command specialising in space, which would be based inToulouse.^{[citation needed]}

This command should be operational in September 2020 within theAir Force to become the Air and Space Force. Its purpose will be to strengthenFrance's space power in order to defend its satellites and deepen its knowledge of space. It will also aim to compete with other nations in this new place of strategic confrontation.^[103]

Japan's space agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, is a major space player in Asia. While not maintaining a commercial launch service, Japan has deployed a module in the ISS and operates an uncrewed cargo spacecraft, theH-II Transfer Vehicle.^{[citation needed]}

JAXA has plans to launch a Mars fly-by probe. Their lunar probe,SELENE, is touted as the most sophisticated lunar exploration mission in the post-Apollo era. Japan'sHayabusa probe was humankind's first sample return from an asteroid.IKAROS was the first operationalsolar sail.^{[citation needed]}

Although Japan developed theHOPE-X,Kankoh-maru, andFuji crewed capsule spacecraft, none of them have been launched. Japan's current ambition is to deploy a new crewed spacecraft by 2025 and to establish aMoon base by 2030.^{[citation needed]}

TheNational Space Organization (NSPO; formerly known as the National Space Program Office) and theNational Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology are the national civilian space agencies of thedemocraticindustrializeddeveloped country ofTaiwan under the auspices of theMinistry of Science and Technology (Taiwan). The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology is involved in designing and building Taiwanese nuclear weapons,^{[104][105][106]} hypersonic missiles, spacecraft and rockets for launching satellites while the National Space Organization is involved in space exploration, satellite construction, and satellite development as well as related technologies and infrastructure (including the FORMOSAT series ofEarth observation satellites similar toNASA^[107] along withDARPA {In-Q-Tel} such asGoogle Earth {Keyhole, Inc} or so forth) and related research inastronautics,quantum physics,materials science withmicrogravity,aerospace engineering,remote sensing,astrophysics,atmospheric science,information science, design and construction of indigenous Taiwanese satellites and spacecraft, launching satellites and space probes into low Earth orbit.^{[108][109][110]} Additionally, a state of the artcrewed spaceflight program is currently in development inTaiwan and is designed to compete directly with the crewed programs ofChina,United States andRussia. Active research is currently undergoing in the development and deployment ofspace-based weapons for the defense ofnational security inTaiwan.^[111]

Indian Space Research Organisation, India's national space agency, maintains an active space program. It operates a small commercial launch service and launched a successful uncrewed lunar mission dubbedChandrayaan-1 in October 2007. India successfully launched an interplanetary mission, Mars Orbiter Mission, in 2013 which reached Mars in September 2014, hence becoming the first country in the world to do a Mars mission in its maiden attempt. On July 22, 2019, India sentChandrayaan-2 to the Moon, whoseVikram lander crashed on thelunar south pole region on September 6.^{[citation needed]}

Cosmonauts and astronauts from other nations have flown in space, beginning with the flight ofVladimir Remek, aCzech, on a Soviet spacecraft on March 2, 1978. As of November 6, 2013^[update], a total of 536 people from38 countries have gone into space according to theFAI guideline.^{[citation needed]}

SpaceX has used afully reusable rocket namedStarship. It consists of a first stage namedSuper Heavy and a second stage also named Starship.

Blue Origin made the first reusable space-capable rocket booster,New Shepard (it is suborbital, Falcon 9 was the first orbital). They also originally had the idea of landing rocket boosters on ships at sea; however, SpaceX replicated their idea and did it first. They lead the national team, which is designing a lunar lander and transfer vehicle (Integrated Lander Vehicle). They will contribute by modifying theirBlue Moon lunar lander.^{[citation needed]}

Bigelow Aerospace made the first commercial module in space (BEAM). They also designed and manufactured the first inflatable habitats in space (Genesis I andGenesis II). They also plan to make the first commercial space station around the moon (Lunar Depot), perhaps the first ever.^{[citation needed]}

They make commercial resupply runs to the ISS with theirCygnus spacecraft. They also helped develop non-commercial spacecraft during the space race (Apollo LM as Grumman). They also are a part of the national team, led byBlue Origin which is designing a lunar lander and transfer vehicle (Integrated Lander Vehicle), partly based on Cygnus.^{[citation needed]}

This section is an excerpt fromUnited Launch Alliance.[edit]

United Launch Alliance, LLC (ULA) is an Americanlaunch service provider formed in December 2006 as a joint venture betweenLockheed Martin Space andBoeing Defense, Space & Security. The company designs, assembles, sells and launches rockets. The company usesrocket engines,solid rocket boosters, and other components supplied by other companies.

When founded, the company inherited theAtlas V rocket from Lockheed Martin and theDelta rocket family from Boeing. As of 2024, the Delta family has been retired and the Atlas V is in the process of being retired. ULA began development of theVulcan Centaur in 2014 as replacement for both the Atlas and Delta rocket families. The Vulcan Centaur completed its maiden flight in January 2024.

The primary customers of ULA are theDepartment of Defense (DoD) andNASA, but it also serves commercial clients.

This section is an excerpt fromRocket Lab.[edit]

Rocket Lab Corporation is apublicly tradedaerospace manufacturer andlaunch service provider.^[117] ItsElectron orbital rocket launchessmall satellites, and has launched 74 Electron missions as of November 2025; second only to SpaceX for the total number of private launches. Asub-orbital Electron variant called HASTE (Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron) serves other needs.^[118] The company also supplies satellite components includingstar trackers,reaction wheels,solar cells and arrays,satellite radios, separation systems, as well as flight and ground software recently secured upwards of 650 million dollars' worth of contracts.^[119][120]

The company'sexpendable^[121] Electron rocket^[122] waslaunched for the first time in May 2017.^[123] In August 2020, the company launched its firstPhoton satellite.^[124] The company built and operates satellites for theSpace Development Agency,^[125][126] part of theUnited States Space Force. In May 2022, the company attempted to recover a returningElectron booster with a helicopter.^[127] In 2024, the company announced that a booster recovered on an earlier launch would be reused.^[128]

Rocket Lab was founded inNew Zealand in 2006.^[129] By 2009,^[130] the successful launch of Ātea-1^[130] made the organization the firstprivate company in theSouthern Hemisphere to reachspace.^[129] The company established itsheadquarters inCalifornia in 2013.^[131] Rocket Lab acquired four companies, including Sinclair Interplanetary in April 2020,^[132] Advanced Solutions in December 2021,^[133] SolAero Holdings in January 2022,^[134] and Planetary Systems in December 2021.^[135] As of June 2024, the company had approximately 2,000 full-time permanent employees globally.^[136] Approximately 700 of these employees were based in New Zealand, with the remainder in the United States.^[137] In August 2021, the company wentpublic on theNasdaqstock exchange through aSPAC merger.^[138]

• History of Space in Africa
• History of aviation
• List of crewed spacecraft
• Timeline of spaceflight
• Timeline of Solar System exploration
• Timeline of space exploration
• Human presence in space

• Benson, Charles Dunlap & Compton, William David (1983).Living and Working in Space: A History of Skylab. NASA Scientific and Technical Information Office.OCLC 8114293. SP-4208. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.

• Media related toHistory of spaceflight at Wikimedia Commons
• Quest: The History of Spaceflight
• Historic spacecraft

• History of spaceflight

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