This post has been superseded by the later post American spaceflight in 2019 As readers of a previous post will know, since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in July 2011, America has been unable to put any astronauts into orbit around the Earth. Instead, it has been reliant on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft to… Continue reading American manned spaceflight in 2018?
Tag: Space
The early days of the space race
In my previous post I talked about two significant successes for the Soviet Union in 1957: the first artificial satellite in orbit in October and the first living creature, a dog named Laika, in orbit in November. In December of that year the Americans had a humiliating failure when the Vanguard spacecraft exploded in a… Continue reading The early days of the space race
4 October 1957 – the start of the space age
Updated 16 December 2025 On 4 October 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit around the Earth. This is considered to be the beginning of the space age. Before this date there were no human made satellites in space but on every single day since then there have been artificial… Continue reading 4 October 1957 – the start of the space age
12-13 August 2017 – the Perseids
For revised post containing more tips on how to view the Perseids see The Perseids 2021. Anyone who is disappointed that they will be missing the total eclipse can console themselves with another astronomical event - providing that they live in the northern hemisphere, that the weather is favourable (no clouds, please) and that they… Continue reading 12-13 August 2017 – the Perseids
Voyager 40th anniversary
Nearly 40 years ago, on 20 August 1977, the Voyager 2 space probe was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to study the Solar System's four outermost planets. It was followed 15 days later by the launch of an identical spacecraft, Voyager 1. The Voyager spacecraft -Image from NASA Although Voyager 1 was… Continue reading Voyager 40th anniversary
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