Discover the importance of Sputnik, Yuri Gagarin, Apollo 11, the Hubble Space Telescope, and SpaceShipOne
Erik Gregersen, astronomy and space exploration editor of Encyclopædia Britannica,...
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Transcript
The top five milestones of space exploration I would pick are:
Number 1: the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957;
Number 2: the flight of the first man, Yury Gagarin, into space, and that proved that people could survive in space and return;
Number 3: the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon;
Number 4: the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. That solved several key questions about the universe; and
Number 5: the flights of SpaceShipOne--the first private spacecraft. That is I think the beginning of the new space age in which space is not just something that big countries do, but space is something that private citizens can do.
Number 1: the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, in 1957;
Number 2: the flight of the first man, Yury Gagarin, into space, and that proved that people could survive in space and return;
Number 3: the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon;
Number 4: the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. That solved several key questions about the universe; and
Number 5: the flights of SpaceShipOne--the first private spacecraft. That is I think the beginning of the new space age in which space is not just something that big countries do, but space is something that private citizens can do.