My Science School

The Dragon spacecraft first reached the International Space Station in 2012 and Crew Dragon became the first private, crewed spacecraft to reach the ISS in 2020.

In March 2019, SpaceX's Crew Dragon, the company's spacecraft designed to carry astronauts into space, completed its first test mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Prior to that, in 2012, the Dragon cargo spacecraft made history when it was the first private spacecraft to berth with the ISS. Since then, Dragon has continued carrying cargo to the ISS under commercial agreements with NASA. 

SpaceX successfully launched the Crew Dragon capsule to the ISS on March 2, 2019 from a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket. The spacecraft then docked with the ISS on March 3, and returned to Earth on March 8. 

SpaceX unveiled its design for the crewed spacecraft in 2014 to great fanfare. It's essentially a modified version of SpaceX's robotic Dragon spacecraft. Crew Dragon can carry up to seven astronauts, includes a life support system, an emergency-escape system, touch-screen displays, windows and other passenger-related equipment. Another design change is that Crew Dragon docks directly to the ISS while the Dragon freighter is grabbed by the orbiting lab's large robotic arm and brought into place. 

 

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A new era in space flight began on April 12, 1981, when Space Shuttle Columbia, or STS-1, soared into orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.



Astronaut John Young, a veteran of four previous spaceflights including a walk on the moon in 1972, commanded the mission. Navy test pilot Bob Crippen piloted the mission and would go on to command three future shuttle missions. The shuttle was humankind's first re-usable spacecraft. The orbiter would launch like a rocket and land like a plane. The two solid rocket boosters that helped push them into space would also be re-used, after being recovered in the ocean. Only the massive external fuel tank would burn up as it fell back to Earth. It was all known as the Space Transportation System.

Columbia accelerated into space propelled by two boosters that fell into the Atlantic Ocean, where they were later recovered and reused for other flights. The external tank fell from Columbia after about 9 minutes, and burned up in Earth's atmosphere. The spacecraft was the first crewed American craft to fly without a prior uncrewed test flight, and was the first crewed mission to use solid fuel rockets.

Some of Columbia's notable missions in later years included recovering the Long Duration Exposure Facility satellite from space (STS-32, January 1990), running the first Spacelab mission devoted to human medical research (STS-40, June 1991), and launching the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (STS-93, July 1999).

 

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Following the 1967 Apollo 1 fire disaster, NASA officials contacted Charles Schulz to use Snoopy as their safety mascot. Schulz helped design a pin for the Silver Snoopy award, which was presented to aerospace workers for outstanding contributions toward safer spaceflight operations. Later, during the Apollo 10 mission (which served as the dress rehearsal for the historic Apollo 11 moon landing), NASA dubbed the lunar module “Snoopy” and the command module “Charlie Brown.”

By March 1968, Snoopy was a full-fledged astronaut — and his mission was inspiring other NASA employees and contractors with the Silver Snoopy Award. This special honor is given to any non-military professional in recognition of their dedication to flight safety and successful missions.

Between 1968 and September 2013, the award has been given out to more than 14,000 people, and it is considered one of the highest honors for workers in the aerospace industry.

But even though he was all about safety, Snoopy's involvement with the great space race has a little bit of adventure as well. Shultz continued his dedication to the program by creating some original artwork, including a comic that took Snoopy straight to the moon.

Snoopy actually beat everyone to the moon via comic strip and his flying dog house in March 1969 — four months before Neil Armstrong's famous small step for man and giant leap for mankind.

 

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The International Space Station (ISS) is a modular space station (habitable artificial satellite) in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project between five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), and CSA (Canada). The ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which scientific research is conducted in astrobiology, astronomy, meteorology, physics, and other fields. The ISS is suited for testing the spacecraft systems and equipment required for possible future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars.

The ISS is made up of different components like solar arrays. Its first component was launched in orbit in 1998 with Proton and Soyuz rockets launching it. It is a work station in space for experiments which is capable to hold large number of crew members at a time. Astronauts are transported between the earth and ISS with rockets. Cargo is transported through the Dragon rocket. It helps individual experiments and research and reduce the need of separate rocket launches and research staff.



Research includes material science, weather, natural disaster etc. Unlike unmanned spacecraft, ISS can send data on demand for the learning purpose of people on earth. This is only possible because of the invariable presence of crew members who replace each other from time to time. Scientists on earth use data sent by crew members of ISS for research.

 

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Every person, planet, star and galaxy is part of the Universe — and even every empty space! The Universe is the biggest thing we have a word for.

Amazing! The Universe is too big to measure in kilometres. Even if you could travel at the speed of light, it would take at least 15 billion years to cross it - as far as we know!

What’s outside the Universe?

It’s impossible to say. Scientists are still trying to guess, by using clues left behind from the birth of our Universe. They are pretty sure there would be no time, distance or things there.

Where are we in the Universe?

People once thought Earth was at the centre of the Universe. Now we know Earth is one of many planets moving through space. It’s hard to tell where we are because we can’t see the Universe’s edges.

Is it true? There are more stars than people.

Yes. As a rough guess, scientists think that there are about 1.8 million million stars for every human being alive in the world today.

There might be a Moon Base, one day. The Moon is only three days away and its low gravity makes it easy to land spacecraft there. It would be a good place for telescopes, because there is no atmosphere to distort the pictures.

Is it true? We could never breathe on Mars.

No. We couldn’t breathe in the atmosphere there as it is, but we could build airtight cities and grow plants there that would make oxygen for us.

Might there be pirates in space?

If we ever set up space mining stations, spacecraft would zoom about the Solar System with very valuable cargos. Space pirates might try to board cargo-carrying craft to rob them!

Amazing! People are planning a space hotel. Holidays in space are not far off. There are plans for a doughnut-shaped space hotel, using old shuttle fuel tanks as rooms!

Will we ever live on other planets?

It will take a lot more probe missions before we could consider building bases on other planets. But if travel to other stars ever became possible, the outer planets could act as useful ‘petrol stations’.

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The Giotto space probe visited Halley’s Comet in 1986 and took brilliant photos of the comet’s rocky core. Even though Giotto kept a safe distance of about 600 km, its special protective shields got covered in icy dust.

Amazing! A probe carries a message for aliens. The Pioneer 10 probe was fitted with a plaque, just in case it’s ever found by aliens. It shows a man and woman, and a map to show where Earth is in the Universe.

Is it true? A probe was made out of junk.

Yes. Magellan, sent to visit Venus in 1989, was made up of spare parts from other missions.

Which spacecraft flew furthest?

Voyager 2, launched in 1977, has flown past Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Now it is beyond our Solar System, heading into interstellar space.

Which probe is as big as a bus?

The bus-sized Cassini space probe has another probe, called Huygens, on board. It should reach Saturn in 2004. Cassini will beam data back to Earth about Saturn’s rings, moons and the planet itself.

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No, not yet, anyway! The distance from Earth to Mars varies from 56 million km to 400 million km. Even at its closest, Mars would be a six-month journey away.

Is it true? Vikings landed on Mars.

Yes. In 1976, two space probes called Vikings 1 and 2 landed there. During their mission, they collected samples and took over 3,000 photos.

What used balloons to land on Mars?

The Mars Pathfinder probe entered the Martian atmosphere on 4 July, 1997. It used a parachute and rockets to slow down and then a bundle of balloons inflated around it so that it could bounce safely down on to the surface.

Amazing! Pathfinder landed in a river! Although there is no liquid water on Mars now, the rocky plain where Pathfinder touched down showed signs that water had flowed there once.

Which robot explored Mars?

Pathfinder carried a robot car called Sojourner, which was radio-controlled from Earth. It had a camera and devices for studying the soil and rock.

Astronauts either add water to waterless food, or they eat ready meals, such as stew or pasta. Canned fruit, puddings, biscuits, sweets and gum are all on the menu, too.

Is it true? Astronauts eat freeze-dried ice cream.

No. The ‘astronaut ice cream’ sold in the shops isn’t really eaten in space. But on the Mir space station, American astronauts took out an ice cream feast to share with the Russian cosmonauts!

Why doesn’t the food float away?

Everything floats about in space, so meals are eaten from trays stuck to astronauts’ clothes. Drinks come in a cup with a lid and are sucked up through a straw.

Amazing! Some astronauts get space sickness! Floating makes many astronauts throw up, and if they’re not careful the sick flies everywhere! Luckily, the sickness wears off after a day or two.

How do astronauts wash?

The Skylab space station had a shower fitted with a vacuum cleaner to suck off the water, but there’s no room for a shower on the shuttle. Astronauts use wet wipes, and clean their hair with rinseless shampoo.

Space suits act like a suit of armour. They stop an astronaut’s blood boiling in space, and reflect the Sun’s dangerous rays. They have a built-in backpack, containing an oxygen supply, battery and cooling system.

Amazing! Astronauts are water-cooled! A system of tubes sewn into the space suit carries cool liquid around to keep the astronaut’s temperature normal.

Is it true? Cosmonauts took off in their underwear.

Yes. In the early days of Russian space travel, space suits were worn only for spacewalks. Some cosmonauts just wore their underwear at take-off time!

Do astronauts wear space suits all the time?

No. They wear them for spacewalks, and during take-off, landing or when they dock with another craft. The rest of the time, astronauts wear shorts and a tee shirt.

How do you go to the toilet in a space suit?

Astronauts often need to wee during take-off! Women wear an extra-absorbent nappy inside their suit. Some men prefer to do this too, but others wear a special sleeve that carries wee to a storage pouch inside the suit.

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The very first person to step on to the Moon was the American Neil Armstrong, in 1969. He had flown there in Apollo 11 with Buzz Aldrin, who followed him on to the Moon’s surface, and Michael Collins.

Amazing! There should have been seven manned missions to the Moon. Two days into Apollo 13’s journey to the Moon, its oxygen tanks exploded. It took a nail-biting four days to bring its crew safely back to Earth.

How many Moon missions were there?

There were six manned Apollo landings on the Moon and about 80 unmanned ones too. Apollo 17 landed the last astronauts on the Moon in 1972.

Is it true? There are footsteps on the Moon.

Yes. There is no atmosphere on the Moon, which means there is no wind either. Tyre tracks and footprints in the dusty surface will be there for hundreds of years.

Who first drove on the Moon?

In 1971, Apollo 15 carried a Lunar Rover. David Scott and James Irwin drove the battery-powered buggy over the Moon’s cratered surface, collecting samples of Moon rock.

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A young Russian pilot called Yuri Gagarin was the first person in space. He orbited the Earth in a small capsule called Vostok 1 on 12 April, 1961. His journey lasted less than two hours.

Amazing! The first living creature in space was a Russian dog, called Laika. She made a seven-day journey in the space capsule Sputnik 2 in November 1957.

Who was the first woman in space?

The first woman in space was Russian, too. Valentina Tereshkova made a three-day space journey in Vostok 6 in 1963. The first American woman in space was Sally Ride, in 1983.

Is it true? A chimp could survive a space flight.

Yes. Ham was the first to try out the Mercury capsule in 1961. Despite travelling at 8,045 kph, the chimpanzee survived the 16-minute flight.

Who took the first spacewalk?

The cosmonaut (Russian astronaut) Alexei Leonov took a ten-minute spacewalk on 18 March 1965. To make sure he didn’t float off, Leonov tied himself to his capsule.

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The Chinese made the first ‘rockets’ about 1,000 years ago, but they were more like fireworks than today’s space rockets. They were flaming arrows that were fired from a basket using gunpowder.

Amazing! You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to build rockets. Lots of people make mini rockets as a hobby. There is even a yearly contest, when people show off their latest creations!

Is it true? Thrust SSC is a rocket-powered car.

No. Thrust SSC, the fastest car, has two jet engines. A jet engine could not power a space mission, because it needs air and there’s no air in space.

When did the first liquid-fuel rocket fly?

In 1926, American Robert Goddard launched a 3.5 metre long rocket. It flew about as high as a two-storey house, nowhere near outer space, and landed 56 metres away. The flight lasted just two-and-a-half seconds.

Who built a rocket for war?

Wernher von Braun invented the V2, a rocket missile used by the Germans in World War II. After the war, von Braun moved to the United States, to help with the new American space programme.

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Rockets are important for space travel. They are the only machines powerful enough to launch things into space, such as satellites, probes and people. All the parts needed to build space stations have been carried up by rockets.

Amazing! The European Ariane rocket could carry a fully-grown elephant. Ariane’s biggest payload (cargo) so far was a satellite which weighed 4.6 tonnes.

How fast can a rocket go?

To escape from Earth’s gravity, a rocket has to reach 40,000 kph - almost 20 times faster than supersonic Concorde. Once it is out in space, the rocket drops down to around 29,000 kph to stay in orbit.

Is it true? Saturn 5 rockets were as tall as a 30-storey building.

Yes.  At 111 meters high, the Saturn 5 was the tallest rocket ever made. Most of the rocket fell away once it had done its job.

Why do rockets fall to pieces?

Rockets are made in stages, or pieces. Usually, there are three stages, made up of the fuel and rocket engines. Each stage drops off when its job is done. It takes a huge amount of power to push a heavy rocket into space.

Pluto is the coldest planet of all, which is not surprising, because it is usually the farthest from the Sun. Inside, it is made up of ice and rock, and the planet has a thick layer of ice over the top.

Is it true? Pluto was named after a cartoon dog.

No. Pluto was the name of the Greek god of the underworld. Also, the first two letters of Pluto, ‘P’ and ‘L’ are the initials of Percival Lowell, who first predicted a planet beyond Neptune.

Who found Pluto’s moon?

An American called Jim Christy discovered Pluto’s moon in 1978. He called it Charon, which was his wife’s name, and also the name of the man who ferried people to the underworld in Ancient Greek mythology.

Is Pluto always farthest from the Sun?

Pluto is so far away from the Sun that it takes 248 years just to orbit it once! But Pluto’s orbit is a funny shape. For 20 years of its orbit, Pluto dips in closer to the Sun than Neptune. When this happens, Neptune is the farthest planet in the Solar System.

Amazing! Pluto is smaller than a country. Pluto is a tiny planet - the smallest in the Solar System. At 2,360 km across, it is smaller than the United States or Russia!