The Space Race - 1970 - The Present
A 3-D model of the L-3 Moon lander
1970-71 -- Lunar Manned Missions
Testing
As part of its L-3 lunar
landing program, the Soviets successfully tested a lunar lander in Earth orbit.
The lander was half the size of the U.S. lunar module and was designed to set
one cosmonaut onto the surface of the moon. After repeated test failures of the
N-1 rocket necessary to launch the craft, the program was canceled.
1970, 1973 -- Moon Landers
After Americans set foot on
the moon, Soviets sent two robotic lunar rovers called "Lunokhods."
They took photographs and analyzed rock and soil deposits on the lunar surface.
April 1971 -- First Space Station
Salyut, the world's first
space station, was launched aboard the Soviet Proton launch vehicle. During the
next decade, six more Salyuts were launched. The goal of these missions was to
perform scientific experiments and test equipment that would make space more
habitable long-term. Of the 32 missions to the Salyuts, the longest stay was 237
days aboard Salyut 7.
Skylab in orbit.
May 1973 -- Skylab
After conquering the moon,
Americans set their sites on creating a permanent human presence in space and
building reusable space shuttles that could supply and support such existence.
Designed as a temporary living space, Skylab housed three astronauts during each
of three missions. Its purpose was to perform scientific experiments, including
the study of weightlessness and its effects on humans over time, observation of
the sun to study high-energy solar activity, and execution of experiments
designed by students for a "Classroom in Space" program. The longest
Skylab mission lasted nearly three months. Most of Skylab burned upon re-entry
in the Earth's atmosphere in 1979, five years after it was abandoned.
A Saturn IB launches the Apollo half of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A Soyuz space vehicle launches the Soyuz half of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project from the Baykonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
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July 1975 -- Apollo-Soyuz |
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As part of a joint agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union to participate in space, two manned spacecraft were launched to rendezvous in orbit: one from Kazakstan, the other from Florida. Engineers from both sides cooperated in the development and production of the module that linked the two crafts together. For two days, crew members visited each other, ate meals together and assembled a plaque from two halves, one brought by each crew. The mission represented a brief thaw in the Cold War and was a preview of later joint operations in space.
The Space Shuttle Columbia launches like a rocket maneuvers in space and opens its cargo bay doors then returns like an aircraft gliding onto a runway.
The world's first reflyable spacecraft was built to deliver and retrieve satellites and perform scientific research. Several space shuttle designs were proposed and rejected before NASA settled on the partially reusable shuttle in existence today. The manned orbiter and two solid-propellant booster rockets are reusable, while the large fuel tank is expendable. The craft launches like a rocket, maneuvers in space, then returns like an aircraft gliding onto a runway.
Three shuttle orbiters are in service: Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavor. A fourth -- Challenger -- was destroyed and its seven crew members killed in an explosion shortly after launch in 1986 and a fifth-- Columbia-- was destroyed and its seven crew members killed when it disintegrated upon re-entry on February 1st 2003 after a 16 day mission.
Space station Mir.
February 1986 -- Mir
With a name that means "peace," this modular station was designed with
a "base block" of living quarters and six docking ports for supply
ships and additional modules. The station could be expanded, rearranged and
upgraded without affecting the core base block. The base block was launched in
1986. Five more modules for scientific experiments and work space were launched
during the next decade. The record for longest-duration space flight was set by
Valeri Polyakov, who spent 439 days aboard Mir.
Buran on the launch pad.
1988 -- Buran Shuttle
During the early days of U.S. space shuttle launches, the Soviets were testing
their own reusable shuttle, Buran. The first and only orbital mission was
unmanned and launched by the largest Soviet launch vehicle, Energia, in November
1988. The Buran program had its detractors. Many scientists and engineers felt
the money and energy expended to build and maintain Buran shuttles could be
better used within the existing space program. Shortly after the first launch,
the program was canceled.
The Space Shuttle Atlantis undocks from Mir in March 1996.
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June 1995 -- Shuttle-Mir |
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Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, NASA and Russian Space Agency officials signed agreements in 1993 and 1994 to plan and develop an international space station. As a step in that direction, a series of joint missions involving Mir and U.S. space shuttles were undertaken. Shuttles docked with Mir from 1995 through 1998. Astronauts and cosmonauts worked together on experiments, and a number of U.S. astronauts spent many months living on Mir.
Artist's rendering of the International Space Station.
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International Space Station |
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A joint venture among 13 nations, this space station is being designed with larger living and working quarters, more electrical power and greater cooperation among nations than any of its predecessors. The parts of the station will be carried into orbit by space shuttles, and the station is scheduled to be completed early next century. Once finished, six people will be able to occupy the station at one time, and both the space shuttle and Soyuz will be able to dock with the station.