Hurricane Ellen of 1973 was photographed from orbit by astronauts aboard the Skylab space station.
As the space race
came to an end, a new rationale for investment in space exploration
emerged, focused on the pragmatic use of space for improving life on
Earth.
As the justification for government-funded space programs shifted to
"the public good", space agencies began to articulate and measure the
wider socio-economic benefits that might derive from their activities,
including both the direct and indirect (or less obvious) benefits of
space exploration. However, such programs have also been criticized with several drawbacks cited.
Direct and indirect benefits of space exploration
Space
agencies, governments, researchers and commentators have isolated a
large number of direct and indirect benefits of space exploration
programs including:
New technologies that can be utilized in other industries and society (such as the development of communications satellites)
Improved knowledge of space and the origin of the universe
Cultural benefits
In an attempt to quantify the benefits derived from space exploration, NASA
calculated that 444,000 lives have been saved, 14,000 jobs have been
created, $5 billion dollars in revenue has been generated, and there has
been $6.2 billion in cost reductions due to spin-off programs from NASA
research. NASA states that among the many spin-off technologies
that have come out of the space exploration program, there have been
notable advancements in the fields of health and medicine,
transportation, public safety, consumer goods, energy and environment,
information technology, and industrial productivity.
Solar panels, water-purification systems, dietary formulas and
supplements, material science innovation, and global search and rescue
systems are some of the ways in which these technologies have diffused
into everyday life.
Satellite technology
The development of artificial satellite technology was a direct result of space exploration. Since the first artificial satellite (Sputnik 1,) was launched by the USSR on October 4, 1957, thousands of satellites have been put into orbit around the Earth by more than 40 countries.
These satellites are used for a variety of applications including
observation (by both military and civilian agencies), communication,
navigation, and weather monitoring. Space stations, space telescopes and
spacecraft in orbit around the Earth are also regarded as satellites.
Communications satellites
Communications satellites
are used for a variety of purposes including television, telephone,
radio, internet and military applications. According to statistics,
there were 2,666 active artificial satellites orbiting the Earth in
2020. Of these, 1,327 belonged to the US and 363 to China. Many of these satellites are in geostationary orbit 22,236 miles (35,785 km) above the equator, so that the satellite appears stationary at the same point in the sky. Communications satellites can also be in Medium Earth orbit (known as MEO satellites) with an Orbital altitude ranging from 2,000 to 36,000 kilometres (1,200 to 22,400 mi) above Earth and low Earth orbit
(known as LEO satellites) at 160 to 2,000 kilometres (99 to 1,243 mi)
above Earth. MEO and LEO orbits are closer to the surface of the Earth
and therefore a larger number of satellites are required in such a constellation to provide continuous communications. Satellites are vital for providing communications to remote areas and ships.
Weather satellites
The United States, Europe, India, China, Russia, and Japan all have weather satellites
in orbit that are used to monitor the weather, environment, and climate
of the Earth. Polar-orbiting weather satellites cover the entire Earth
asynchronously, or geostationary satellites cover the same spot on the
equator.
In addition to monitoring weather patterns for forecasting, which is
extremely important for certain activities and industries (such as
farming and fishing), meteorological satellites monitor fires,
pollution, auroras, sand, and dust storms, as well as snow cover and ice
mapping. They have also been used to monitor ash clouds from volcanoes
such as Mount St. Helens and Mount Etna as well as major weather events such as El Niño and the Antarctic ozone hole.
Recently, weather monitoring satellites have also been used to assess
the viability of solar panel sites by monitoring cloud cover and weather
patterns. Nigeria and South Africa have successfully employed satellite-based disaster management and climate monitoring.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 by NASA with contributions from the European Space Agency. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versatile.
Its orbit allows it to capture extremely high-resolution images with
substantially lower background light than ground-based telescopes,
enabling a deep view into space. Many Hubble observations have led to
breakthroughs in astrophysics, such as determining the rate of expansion of the universe.
Knowledge of space
Since Sputnik 1 entered orbit in 1957 to perform Ionospheric experiments, the human understanding of earth and space has increased. The List of missions to the Moon
begin as early as 1958 and continued into the current age. A few
successful lunar missions by the USSR include missions such as the Luna 1 spacecraft that completed the first flyby of the moon in 1959, the Luna 3 lunar probe that took the first pictures of the far side of the moon in 1959, the Luna 10 orbiter that was the first orbiter of the moon in 1966, and the Lunokhod 1
lunar rover in 1970, which was the first rover that explored the
surface of a world beyond earth. The United States also added
significant lunar first, such as Apollo 8 in 1968 is the first successful human mission to orbit the moon and the historic Apollo 11 when man first landed on the moon. Missions to the moon have collected samples of lunar materials and there are now multiple satellites such as ARTEMIS P1 that currently orbit the moon and collect data.
Biomedical research
Beginning in 1967, NASA successfully began its Biosatellite program
that initially took frog eggs, amoeba, bacteria, plants and mice and
studied the effects of zero gravity on these biological life forms.
Studies of human life in space have augmented the understanding of the
effects of adjusting to a space environment, such as alterations in body
fluids, negative influences on the immune system and effects of space
on sleep patterns.
Current space research pursuits are divided into the subjects of Space
Biology, which studies the effects of space on smaller organisms such as
cells, Space Physiology, which is the study of the effects of space on
the human body and Space Medicine, which examines the possible dangers
of space on the human body.
The Canadian science experiments in the cardiovascular system examines
how astronauts’ blood vessels change before, during and after missions.
The study in space helps understand heart failures and how our arteries
age on earth. Space engineers helped design heart pumps now used to keep
people in need of heart transplant alive until a donor heart becomes
available.
Discoveries concerning the human body and space, particularly the
effects on the development of bones, may provide further understanding
of biomineralization and the process of gene transcription.
Culture and inspiration
Published by NASA in March 2019, the "Jupiter Marble" by the Juno probe
Human Culture
exists as a social environment made up by traditions, norms, rules
written or unwritten, and social practices. Cultures can be specific to
groups of any size such as a family or group of friends but also as
large as a state or nation. The range and diversity of human culture is
markedly large. International collaboration in the space age brought
together different cultures and, as a result, the exchange and
advancement of human culture. In over fifty years of space travel, the
diversity of those working in space and in the field as a whole has
dramatically increased from the beginnings of space exploration. This
progression in diversity brought more cultures into close quarters and
resulted in the enrichment of human culture globally.
The innovation and exploration of the space age has served as an
inspiration to humankind. Breaking through into space travel, man
leaving earth and defeating gravity, taking steps on the moon, and
various other achievements were pivotal moments in human cultural
development. In particular, the scientific and technological
advancements stand as an inspiration to the scientific community of
students, teachers, and researchers worldwide. Moreover, space
exploration has also inspired innovative training programs aimed at
preschoolers, such as the Future Astronauts Program. It is evident that
by drawing in the wonder of space together with the knowledge and skills
developed through space exploration into classrooms, children can be
strongly motivated and empowered from a young age.
Space exploration will continue to foster international
inspiration and collaboration, and pose revolutionary philosophical,
political, and scientific questions and debates.
Criticisms, drawbacks and criticism
There are three main types of criticism levied against space exploration: the cost, ideological criticism, and social criticism.
The calculations of the benefits of space exploration have
frequently been criticized due to a conflict of interests argument (the
agencies responsible are the ones who calculate the benefits) and the
complexity of quantifying the benefits. As Matthew Williams stated: "How
do you put a dollar value on scientific knowledge, inspiration, or the
expansion of our frontiers?"
While some commentators have argued that space exploration is a
lifeboat strategy to avoid annihilation of the human race, others have
countered that is misses the point. Amitai Etzioni – Professor at The
George Washington University and an adviser to the US's Carter
administration – countered in Humanity Would Be Better off Saving Earth, Rather Than Colonizing Mars
that: "It is better to hold off disasters at home than to assume all is
lost". Etzioni also pointed out the vast cost of colonization of
extra-terrestrial planets by citing that Elon Musk,
an advocate of space exploration and colonization, had calculated the
cost of sending the first 10 astronauts to Mars at £10 billion per
person. The Mars Climate Orbiter is a good example of this argument, burning up before sending any data at a cost of $328 million.
Social critics say that the cost of space exploration cannot be
justified when hunger and poverty are rampant. "As they see it, space
exploration takes money, resources, and talent away from helping people
in need and from improving the quality of life for everybody." In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr.
said: "Without denying the value of scientific endeavor, there is a
striking absurdity in committing billions to reach the moon where no
people live, while only a fraction of that amount is appropriated to
service the densely populated slums."
Some critics have pointed out the hazards of space debris
which affect satellites, spacecraft and the surface of the Earth. For
example, in March 2009 debris believed to be a 10 cm (3.9 in) piece of
the Kosmos 1275 satellite hit the ISS.
Although it is relatively rare for people on the ground to be hit by
space debris, it does happen. In 1969 five sailors on a Japanese ship
were injured by space debris.
In 1997 an Oklahoma woman, Lottie Williams, was injured when she was
hit in the shoulder by a 10 cm × 13 cm (3.9 in × 5.1 in) piece of
blackened, woven metallic material confirmed as part of the propellant
tank of a Delta II rocket which launched a U.S. Air Force satellite the year before. Environmentalists have pointed to the pollution caused by space
exploration and at distracting Americans from a mounting pollution
problem.
Feminists criticized US space exploration programs, and even
filed lawsuits, for sexist hiring practices and all-male astronaut
corps.
It is unclear how much the American public agree with the importance of space exploration. Gallup polls in the 1960s showed that less than 50% Americans considered the endeavor worth the cost.An NBC News and Associated Press Poll in 1979 found that only 41% of respondents considered the benefits worth the costs.
NASA spinoff technologies are commercial products and services which have been developed with the help of NASA, through research and development contracts, such as Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or STTR
awards, licensing of NASA patents, use of NASA facilities, technical
assistance from NASA personnel, or data from NASA research. Information
on new NASA technology that may be useful to industry is available in
periodical and website form in "NASA Tech Briefs", while successful
examples of commercialization are reported annually in the NASA
publication "Spinoffs". The Spinoff publication has documented more than
2,000 technologies over time.
In 1979, notable science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein helped bring awareness to the spinoffs when he was asked to appear before Congress after recovering from one of the earliest known vascular bypass operations to correct a blocked artery. In his testimony, reprinted in his 1980 book Expanded Universe,
Heinlein claimed that four NASA spinoff technologies made the surgery
possible, and that they were only a few from a long list of NASA spinoff
technologies from space development.
Since 1976, the NASA Technology Transfer Program has connected NASA
resources to private industry, referring to the commercial products as
spinoffs. Well-known products that NASA claims as spinoffs include memory foam (originally named temper foam), freeze-dried food, firefighting equipment, emergency "space blankets", DustBusters, cochlear implants, LZR Racer swimsuits, and CMOS image sensors.
As of 2016, NASA has published over 2,000 other spinoffs in the fields
of computer technology, environment and agriculture, health and
medicine, public safety, transportation, recreation, and industrial
productivity. Contrary to common belief, NASA did not invent Tang, Velcro or Teflon.
History of the Spinoff publication
Spinoff
is a NASA publication featuring technology made available to the
public. Since 1976, NASA has featured an average of 50 technologies each
year in the annual publication, and Spinoff maintains a
searchable database of these technologies. When products first spun off
from space research, NASA presented a black and white report in 1973,
titled the "Technology Utilization Program Report". Because of interest
in the reports, NASA decided to create the annual publications in color.
Spinoff was first published in 1976, and since then, NASA has distributed free copies to universities, the media, inventors and the general public. Spinoff
describes how NASA works with various industries and small businesses
to bring new technology to the public. As of 2016, there were over 1,920
Spinoff products in the database dating back to 1976.
Health and medicine
Infrared ear thermometers
Diatek Corporation and NASA developed an aural thermometer that measures the thermal radiation emitted by the eardrum,
similar to the way the temperature of stars and planets are measured.
This method avoids contact with mucous membranes and permits rapid
temperature measurement of newborn or incapacitated patients. NASA
supported the Diatek Corporation through the Technology Affiliates
Program.
Ventricular assist device
Collaboration
between NASA, Dr. Michael DeBakey, Dr. George Noon, and MicroMed
Technology Inc. resulted in a heart pump for patients awaiting heart
transplants. The MicroMed DeBakey ventricular assist device (VAD)
functions as a "bridge to heart transplant" by pumping blood until a
donor heart is available. The pump is approximately one-tenth the size
of other currently marketed pulsatile VADs. Because of the pump's small
size, fewer patients developed device-related infections. It can operate
up to 8 hours on batteries, giving patients the mobility to do normal,
everyday activities.
LASIK
LASIK
technology comes from the 1980s efforts for autonomous rendezvous and
docking of space vehicles to service satellites. Eventually a range and
velocity imaging LADAR
was demonstrated that could be used for docking spacecraft. LADAR was
also used in military and NASA-sponsored research for applications in
strategic target tracking and weapons firing control. LASIK technology
is used by ophthalmologists
to track eye movements at a rate of 4,000 times per second while
reshaping the cornea, the clear front surface of the eye, using a laser.
Cochlear implants
NASA engineer Adam Kissiah started working in the mid-1970s on what could become the cochlear implant,
a device that provides hearing sensation to people that receive little
to no benefit from hearing aids. Kissiah used his knowledge learned
while working as an electronics instrumentation engineer at NASA. This
work took place over three years, when Kissiah would spend his lunch
breaks and evenings in NASA's technical library, studying the impact of
engineering principles on the inner ear. In 1977, NASA helped Kissiah
obtain a patent for the cochlear implant.
Artificial limbs
NASA's
continued funding, coupled with its collective innovations in robotics
and shock-absorption/comfort materials are inspiring and enabling the
private sector to create new and better solutions for animal and human
prostheses. Advancements such as Environmental Robots Inc.'s development
of artificial muscle systems with robotic sensing and actuation
capabilities for use in NASA space robotic and extravehicular activities
are being adapted in order to create more functionally dynamic
artificial limbs.
Additionally, other private-sector adaptations of NASA's temper
foam technology have brought about custom-moldable materials offering
the natural look and feel of flesh, as well as preventing friction
between the skin and the prosthesis, and heat/moisture buildup.
Light-emitting diodes in medical therapies
After initial experiments using light-emitting diodes
in NASA space shuttle plant growth experiments, NASA issued a small
business innovation grant that led to the development of a hand-held,
high-intensity, LED unit developed by Quantum Devices Inc. that can be
used to treat tumors after other treatment options are depleted.
This therapy was approved by the FDA and inducted into the Space Foundation's Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2000.
Invisible braces
Invisible braces are a type of transparent ceramics called translucent polycrystalline alumina (TPA). A company known as Ceradyne
developed TPA in conjunction with NASA Advanced Ceramics Research as
protection for infrared antennae on heat-seeking missile trackers.
Scratch-resistant lenses
A sunglasses manufacturer called Foster Grant
first licensed a NASA technology for scratch-resistant lenses,
developed for protecting space equipment from scratching in space,
especially helmet visors.
Space blanket
So-called space blankets, developed in 1964 for the space program, are lightweight and reflect infrared radiation. These items are often included in first aid kits.
3D foods printing
BeeHex developed 3D printing systems for food such as pizza, desserts and icings following an SBIR grant that began as a NASA-funded project.
Transportation
Aircraft anti-icing systems
This ice-free airplane wing uses Thermawing's Aircraft Anti-Icing System, a NASA spinoff.
NASA funding under the SBIR program and work with NASA scientists advanced the development of a thermoelectric deicing system called Thermawing,
a DC-powered air conditioner for single-engine aircraft called
Thermacool, and high-output alternators to run them both. Thermawing
allows pilots to safely fly through ice encounters and provides pilots
of single-engine aircraft the heated wing technology usually reserved
for larger, jet-powered craft. Thermacool, an electric air conditioning
system, uses a new compressor whose rotary pump design runs off an
energy-efficient, brushless DC motor and allows pilots to use the air
conditioner before the engine starts.
Highway safety
Safety
grooving, the cutting of grooves in concrete to increase traction and
prevent injury, was first developed to reduce aircraft accidents on wet
runways. Represented by the International Grooving and Grinding
Association, the industry expanded into highway and pedestrian
applications. Safety grooving originated at Langley Research Center,
which assisted in testing the grooving at airports and on highways.
Skidding was reduced, stopping distance decreased, and a vehicle's
cornering ability on curves was increased. The process has been extended
to animal holding pens, parking lots, and other potentially slippery
surfaces.
Improved radial tires
Goodyear
Tire and Rubber Company developed a fibrous material, five times
stronger than steel, for NASA to use in parachute shrouds to soft-land
the Viking Lander
spacecraft on the Martian surface. Recognizing the durability of the
material, Goodyear expanded the technology and went on to produce a new
radial tire with a tread life expected to be 10,000 miles (16,000 km)
greater than conventional radials.
Chemical detection
NASA
contracted with Intelligent Optical Systems (IOS) to develop moisture-
and pH-sensitive sensors to warn of corrosive conditions in aircraft
before damage occurs. This sensor changes color in response to contact
with its target. After completing the work with NASA, IOS was tasked by
the U.S. Department of Defense to further develop the sensors for
detecting chemical warfare agents and potential threats, such as toxic
industrial compounds and nerve agents. IOS has sold the chemically
sensitive fiber optic cables to major automotive and aerospace
companies, who are finding a variety of uses for the devices such as
aiding experimentation with nontraditional power sources, and as an
economical "alarm system" for detecting chemical release in large
facilities.
Public safety
Video enhancing and analysis systems
Intergraph
Government Solutions developed its Video Analyst System (VAS) by
building on Video Image Stabilization and Registration (VISAR)
technology created by NASA to help FBI agents analyze video footage.
Originally used for enhancing video images from nighttime videotapes
made with hand-held camcorders, VAS is a tool for video enhancement and
analysis offering support of full-resolution digital video,
stabilization, frame-by-frame analysis, conversion of analog video to
digital storage formats, and increased visibility of filmed subjects
without altering underlying footage. Aside from law enforcement and
security applications, VAS has also been adapted to serve the military
for reconnaissance, weapons deployment, damage assessment, training, and
mission debriefing.
Landmine removal
Thiokol
has used surplus rocket fuel through an agreement with NASA's Marshall
Space Flight Center to produce a flare that can safely destroy
landmines. The fuel that is left unused from a launch will become a
solid, which cannot be reused but can be used as an ingredient needed to
create the Demining Device flare. The Demining Device flare uses a
battery-triggered electric match to ignite and neutralize land mines in
the field without detonation. The flare uses the solid rocket fuel to
burn a hole in a mine's case and burns away the explosive contents so
the mine can be disarmed without hazard.
Fire-resistant reinforcement
Built
and designed by Avco Corporation, the Apollo heat shield was coated
with a material whose purpose was to burn and thus dissipate energy
during reentry while charring, to form a protective coating to block
heat penetration. NASA subsequently funded Avco's development of other
applications of the heat shield, such as fire-retardant paints and foams
for aircraft, which led to an intumescent epoxy material, which expands
in volume when exposed to heat or flames, acting as an insulating
barrier and dissipating heat through burn-off. Further innovations
include steel coatings devised to make high-rise buildings and public
structures safer by swelling to provide a tough and stable insulating
layer over the steel for up to 4 hours of fire protection, ultimately to
slow building collapse and provide more time for escape.
Firefighting equipment
Firefighting
equipment in the United States is based on lightweight materials
developed for the U.S. Space Program. NASA and the National Bureau of
Standards created a lightweight breathing system including face mask,
frame, harness, and air bottle, using an aluminum composite material
developed by NASA for use on rocket casings. The broadest fire-related
technology transfer is the breathing apparatus for protection from smoke
inhalation injury.
Additionally, NASA's inductorless electronic circuit technology
led to lower-cost, more rugged, short-range two-way radio now used by
firefighters. NASA also helped develop a specialized mask weighing less
than 3 ounces (85 g) to protect the physically impaired from injuries to
the face and head, as well as flexible, heat-resistant
materials—developed to protect the space shuttle on reentry—which are
being used both by the military and commercially in suits for municipal
and aircraft-rescue firefighters.
Shock absorbers for buildings
With
NASA funding, Taylor Devices Inc. developed shock absorbers that could
safely remove the fuel and electrical connectors from the Space Shuttles
during launch. These absorbers are being used as seismic shock
absorbers to protect buildings from earthquakes in places like Tokyo and
San Francisco.
Consumer, home, and recreation
TEMPUR foam
Initially
referred to as "slow spring back foam", TEMPUR foam matches pressure
against it and slowly returns to its original form once the pressure is
removed.
As the result of a program designed to develop a padding concept to
improve crash protection for airplane passengers, Ames Research Center
developed what is now called memory foam. Memory foam, or "TEMPUR Foam",
has been incorporated into mattresses, pillows, military and civilian
aircraft, automobiles and motorcycles, sports safety equipment,
amusement park rides and arenas, horseback saddles, archery targets,
furniture, and human and animal prostheses. Its high-energy absorption
and soft characteristics offer protection and comfort. TEMPUR Foam was
inducted into the Space Foundation Space Technology Hall of Fame in 1998.
Enriched baby food
Commercially
available infant formulas now contain a nutritional enrichment
ingredient that traces its existence to NASA-sponsored research on bread
mold as a recycling agent for long-duration space travel. The
substance, formulated into the products life'sDHA and life'sARA and
based on microalgae, can be found in over 90% of the infant formulas
sold in the United States, and are added to infant formulas in over 65
other countries. Martek Biosciences Corporation's founders and principal
scientists acquired their expertise in this area while working on the
NASA program. This program was support by theorist, Mikkel Juelsgaard
Poulsen. The microalgae food supplement was inducted into the Space Foundation Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2009.
Portable cordless vacuums
For
the Apollo space mission, NASA required a portable, self-contained
drill capable of extracting core samples from below the lunar surface. Black & Decker
was tasked with the job, and developed a computer program to optimize
the design of the drill's motor and ensure minimal power consumption.
That computer program led to the development of a cordless miniature
vacuum cleaner called the DustBuster.
Freeze drying
In
planning for the long-duration Apollo missions, NASA conducted
extensive research into space food. One of the techniques developed in
1938 by Nestlé was freeze drying.
In the United States, Action Products later commercialized this
technique for other foods, concentrating on snack food resulting in
products like Space ice cream.
The foods are cooked, quickly frozen, and then slowly heated in a
vacuum chamber to remove the ice crystals formed by the freezing
process. The final product retains 98%
of its nutrition and weighs much less than before drying. The ratio of
weight before and after drying depends strongly on the particular food
item but a typical freeze-dried weight is 20% of the original weight.
Today, one of the benefits of this advancement in food
preservation includes simple, nutritious meals available to disabled and
otherwise homebound senior adults unable to take advantage of existing
meal programs.
Space age swimsuit
Langley Research Center's wind tunnel testing facilities and fluid flow analysis software supported Speedo's design of a space age-enriched swimsuit. The resulting LZR Racer
reduced skin friction drag 24% more than the previous Speedo swimsuit.
In March 2008, athletes wearing the LZR Racer broke 13 swimming world
records.
CMOS image sensor
The invention of CMOS image sensors used in products such as mobile phones and GoProaction cameras traces back to NASA JPL scientist Eric Fossum who wanted to miniaturize cameras for interplanetary missions. Fossum invented CMOS image sensors that have become NASA's most ubiquitous spinoff technology, enabling the use of digital cameras in mobile phones (camera phones).
Fossum found a way to reduce the signal noise that had plagued earlier
attempts at CMOS imagers, applying a technique called intra-pixel charge
transfer with correlated double sampling that results in a clearer
image. This led to the creation of CMOS active pixel sensors, which are used today in all smartphone cameras and many other applications.
Air-scrubbers
Based
on a discovery made in the 1990s at the Wisconsin Center for Space
Automation and Robotics where researchers, with the help of the Space
Product Development Program at Marshall Space Flight Center, were trying
to find a way to eliminate ethylene that accumulates around plants
growing in spacecraft and then found a solution: light-induced
oxidation. When UV
light hits titanium dioxide, it frees electrons that turn oxygen and
moisture into charged particles that oxidize air contaminants such as
volatile organic compounds, turning them into carbon dioxide and water.
This air scrubber also eliminates other airborne organic compounds and
neutralized bacteria, viruses, and molds. An air scrubber with
light-induced oxidation can clean air, surfaces, and clothes and nearly
30 Major League Baseball teams now have this scrubber technology in their facilities.
Bowflex
NASA
noticed that astronauts came back to Earth with a lack of muscle mass
and bone density in space because human bodies are used to being in
gravity. Regular weight-lifting techniques and machines do not work well
in space to help build muscle. Inventor Paul Francis, with funding from
Johnson Space Center, designed a "weightless weight trainer" that uses
elastic resistance. This trainer was launched to the space station in
2000, and a commercial version of the technology launched in 2005 as the
Bowflex, which quickly became popular in the gym market.
Environmental and agricultural resources
Water Security Corporation's Discovery Water Filtration System
Water purification
NASA
engineers are collaborating with qualified companies to develop systems
intended to sustain the astronauts living on the International Space
Station and future Moon and space missions. This system turns wastewater
from respiration, sweat, and urine into drinkable water. By combining
the benefits of chemical adsorption, ion exchange,
and ultra-filtration processes, this technology can yield safe,
drinkable water from the most challenging sources, such as in
underdeveloped regions where well water may be heavily contaminated.
Solar Cells
Single-crystal silicon solar cells
are now widely available at low cost. The technology behind these solar
devices—which provide up to 50% more power than conventional solar
cells—originated with the efforts of a NASA-sponsored 28-member
coalition forming the Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor
Technology (ERAST) Alliance. ERAST's goal was to develop remotely
piloted aircraft, intended to fly unmanned at high altitudes for days at
a time and requiring advanced solar power sources that did not add
weight. As a result, SunPower Corporation created advanced silicon-based
cells for terrestrial or airborne applications.
Pollution remediation
NASA's microencapsulating technology enabled the creation of "Petroleum Remediation Product,"
(PRP) which safely cleans petroleum-based pollutants from water. PRP
uses thousands of microcapsules—tiny balls of beeswax with hollow
centers. Water cannot penetrate the microcapsule's cell, but oil is
absorbed into the beeswax spheres as they float on the water's surface.
Contaminating chemical compounds that originally come from crude oil
(such as fuels, motor oils, or petroleum hydrocarbons) are caught before
they settle, limiting damage to ocean beds. PRP microcapsules serve as nutrients to assist naturally occurring microbes in soil or water to biodegrade contaminants.
Correcting for GPS signal errors
In the 1990s, NASA scientists at JPL developed software capable of correcting for GPS signal errors, enabling accuracy within inches; it is called Real-Time GIPSY (RTG). John Deere
licensed the software and used it to develop self-driving farm
equipment. As of 2016, as nearly 70% of North American farmland is
cultivated by self-driving tractors, which rely on RTG that was
developed at NASA.
Another user of RTG is Comtech Telecommunications, which is a
major provider of location-based services. This technology is used in
cell phones so that 9-1-1 emergency callers can be located.
Water location
Dr.
Alain Gachet founded Radar Technologies International (RTI) in 1999 to
use satellite generated data to identify probable locations of precious
metals and during its use found it could also detect water. The system
developed with this data, WATEX, uses about 80 percent of its data
inputs from publicly available NASA information. This free information
allowed RTI to develop the WATEX system to successfully locate water
sources, such as in 2004 at refugee camps during the War in Darfur.
Computer technology
Structural analysis software
NASA software
engineers have created thousands of computer programs over the decades
equipped to design, test, and analyze stress, vibration, and acoustical
properties of a broad assortment of aerospace parts and structures. The NASA Structural Analysis Program,
or NASTRAN, is considered one of the most successful and widely used
NASA software programs. It has been used to design everything from
Cadillacs to roller coaster rides. Originally created for spacecraft
design, it has been employed in a host of non-aerospace applications and
is available to industry through NASA's Computer Software Management
and Information Center (COSMIC). COSMIC maintains a library of computer
programs from NASA and other government agencies and sells them at a
fraction of the cost of developing a new program. NASA Structural
Analysis Computer Software was inducted into the Space Foundation Space Technology Hall of Fame in 1988.
Remotely controlled ovens
Embedded
Web Technology (EWT) software—originally developed by NASA for use by
astronauts operating experiments on the International Space Station—lets
a user monitor and/or control a device remotely over the Internet. NASA
supplied this technology and guidance to TMIO LLC, which developed
remote control and monitoring of a new intelligent oven product named
"Connect Io." With combined cooling and heating capabilities, Connect Io
refrigerates food until a customized pre-programmable cooking cycle
begins. The menu allows the user to simply enter the dinner time, and
the oven automatically switches from refrigeration to the cooking cycle,
so that the meal will be ready as the family arrives home for dinner.
NASA Visualization Explorer
On July 26, 2011, NASA released the NASA Visualization Explorer app for the iPad.
The application delivers real-time satellite data, including movies and
stills, of Earth, that enable users to learn about subjects such as climate change,
Earth's dynamic systems and plant life on land and in the oceans. The
content is accompanied by short descriptions about the data and why it
is important.
OpenStack
NASA developed a cloud compute platform to give additional compute and storage resources for its engineers, called Nebula. In July 2010, the Nebula code was released as open source and NASA partnered with Rackspace, to form the OpenStack project. OpenStack is used in the cloud-based products from many companies in the cloud market.
Software catalog
NASA released a software catalog in 2014 that made over 1,600 pieces of software available to the public at no charge.
Industrial productivity
Powdered lubricants
Oil-free coating PS300 (on these bushings) was created by Adma with NASA resources.
NASA developed a solid lubricant coating, PS300, which is deposited
by thermal spraying to protect foil air bearings. PS300 lowers friction,
reduces emissions, and has been used by NASA in advanced aeropropulsion
engines, refrigeration compressors, turbochargers, and hybrid
electrical turbogenerators. ADMA Products has found widespread
industrial applications for the material.
Improved mine safety
An
ultrasonic bolt elongation monitor developed by a NASA scientist for
testing tension and high-pressure loads on bolts and fasteners has
continued to evolve over the past three decades. Today, the same
scientist and Luna Innovations are using a digital adaptation of this
same device for non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of railroad ties,
groundwater analysis, radiation, and as a medical testing device to
assess levels of internal swelling and pressure for patients suffering
from intracranial pressure and compartment syndrome, a painful condition
that results when pressure within muscles builds to dangerous levels.
Food safety
Faced
with the problem of how and what to feed an astronaut in a sealed
capsule under weightless conditions while planning for human
spaceflight, NASA enlisted the aid of The Pillsbury Company to address
two principal concerns: eliminating crumbs of food that might
contaminate the spacecraft's atmosphere and sensitive instruments, and
assuring absolute absence of disease-producing bacteria and toxins.
Pillsbury developed the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
(HACCP) concept to address NASA's second concern. HACCP is designed to
prevent food safety problems rather than to catch them after they have
occurred. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has applied HACCP
guidelines for the handling of seafood, juice, and dairy products.
Gold plating
For
space missions, gold is used because it is useful at reflecting light,
which helps to detect celestial objects from far away and gold does not
oxidize so it will not tarnish, unlike most other metals. Due to both
benefits, the James Webb Space Telescope
uses gold on its mirrors. NASA partnered with Epner Technology, a
Brooklyn-based business that has been gold-plating for generations to
develop the technology to gold plate the telescope's parts. This NASA
technology transfer to Epner gave the company a reputation for durable
gold coatings. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences occasionally needs to replate Oscar
statues that have faded over time. Epner has contracted with the
Academy to gold plate all future Oscars while offering a lifetime
guarantee to replate, for free, any faded Oscar; its gold plating has
lasted for decades in space without fading.
Mistakenly attributed NASA spinoffs
The following is a list of technologies sometimes mistakenly attributed directly to NASA.
In many cases, NASA popularized technology or aided its development,
due to its usefulness in space, which ultimately resulted in the
technology's creation.
Barcodes - The barcode was invented in 1948. However, NASA developed a type of barcode label that could endure in space environments.
Cordless power tools - The first cordless power tool was unveiled by Black & Decker in 1961. These were used by NASA and a number of spinoff products came out of those projects such as portable cordless vacuums.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), best known as a device for body scanning. NASA contractor JPL developed digital signal processing,
which has applications in medical imaging used by MRIs. However, as JPL
was working as if it were a department of NASA, there is definitely a
connection.
Quartz clocks
- The first quartz clock was invented in 1927. However, in the late
1960s, NASA partnered with a company to make a highly accurate quartz
clock.
Smoke detectors - NASA's connection to the modern smoke detector is that it developed one with adjustable sensitivity as part of the Skylab project; this development helps with nuisance tripping.
Space Pen - An urban legend
states that NASA spent a large amount of money to develop a pen that
would write in space (the result purportedly being the Fisher Space
Pen), while the Soviets used pencils. While NASA did spend funds to
create a pen to work in space, the project was cancelled due to public
opposition, and U.S. astronauts used pencils until the Fisher space pen
was invented by a third party.)
However, felt tipped pens, which do not rely on gravity or pressure,
but capillary action, were popularized by NASA, a prominent product
being the Flair brand pen, as well as felt markers.
Tang juice powder - Tang was developed by General Foods in 1957. Tang was used in multiple early space missions, which gave brand awareness to it.
Teflon - Teflon was invented by a DuPont scientist in 1941 and used on frying pans from the 1950s; however, it has been applied by NASA to heat shields, space suits, and cargo hold liners.
Velcro - Velcro is a Swiss invention from the 1940s. Velcro was used during the Apollo missions to anchor equipment for astronauts; it is still used for convenience in zero gravity situations.
Human spaceflight (also referred to as manned spaceflight or crewed spaceflight) is spaceflight with a crew or passengers aboard a spacecraft, the spacecraft being operated directly by the onboard human crew. Spacecraft can also be remotely operated from ground stations on Earth, or autonomously, without any direct human involvement. People trained for spaceflight are called astronauts, cosmonauts, or taikonauts; and non-professionals are referred to as spaceflight participants.
In 1961, US President John F. Kennedy raised the stakes of the Space Race by setting the goal of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth by the end of the 1960s. That same year, the US began the Apollo program of launching three-man capsules atop the Saturn family of launch vehicles to accomplish this; and, in 1962, began Project Gemini, which, in 1965 and 1966, flew 10 missions with two-man crews launched by Titan II rockets,
Gemini's objective being to support Apollo by developing American
orbital spaceflight experience and techniques to be used during the Moon
mission.
Meanwhile, the USSR remained silent about their intentions to
send humans to the Moon, and proceeded to stretch the limits of their
single-pilot Vostok capsule by adapting it to a two or three-person Voskhod capsule to compete with Gemini. They were able to launch two orbital flights in 1964 and 1965 and achieved the first spacewalk, performed by Alexei Leonov on Voskhod 2
on 8 March 1965. However, the Voskhod did not have Gemini's capability
to maneuver in orbit, and the program was terminated. The US Gemini
flights did not achieve the first spacewalk, but overcame the early
Soviet lead by performing several spacewalks, solving the problem of
astronaut fatigue caused by compensating for the lack of gravity,
demonstrating the ability of humans to endure two weeks in space, and
performing the first space rendezvous and docking of spacecraft.
The US succeeded in developing the Saturn V rocket necessary to send the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon, and sent Frank Borman, James Lovell, and William Anders into 10 orbits around the Moon in Apollo 8 in December 1968. In July 1969, Apollo 11 accomplished Kennedy's goal by landing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Moon on 21 July and returning them safely on 24 July, along with Command Module pilot Michael Collins. Through 1972, a total of six Apollo missions landed 12 men to walk on the Moon, half of which drove electric powered vehicles on the surface. The crew of Apollo 13—Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise—survived a catastrophic in-flight spacecraft failure, orbited the Moon without landing, and returned safely to Earth.
Salyut 1, first crewed space station, with docked Soyuz spacecraft
Meanwhile, the USSR secretly pursued crewed lunar orbiting and landing programs. They successfully developed the three-person Soyuz spacecraft for use in the lunar programs, but failed to develop the N1 rocket necessary for a human landing, discontinuing their lunar programs in 1974. Upon losing the Moon race they concentrated on the development of space stations, using the Soyuz as a ferry to take cosmonauts to and from the stations. They started with a series of Salyut sortie stations from 1971 to 1986.
In 1969, Nixon appointed his vice president, Spiro Agnew, to head a Space Task Group to recommend follow-on human spaceflight programs after Apollo. The group proposed an ambitious Space Transportation System based on a reusable Space Shuttle, which consisted of a winged, internally fueled orbiter stage burning liquid hydrogen, launched with a similar, but larger kerosene-fueled booster stage, each equipped with airbreathing jet engines for powered return to a runway at the Kennedy Space Center launch site. Other components of the system included a permanent, modular space station; reusable space tug; and nuclear interplanetary ferry, leading to a human expedition to Mars
as early as 1986 or as late as 2000, depending on the level of funding
allocated. However, Nixon knew the American political climate would not
support congressional funding for such an ambition, and killed proposals
for all but the Shuttle, possibly to be followed by the space station. Plans for the Shuttle were scaled back to reduce development risk, cost, and time, replacing the piloted fly back booster with two reusable solid rocket boosters, and the smaller orbiter would use an expendable external propellant tank to feed its hydrogen-fueled main engines. The orbiter would have to make unpowered landings.
In 1973, the US launched the Skylab
sortie space station and inhabited it for 171 days with three crews
ferried aboard Apollo spacecraft. During that time, President Richard Nixon and Soviet general secretary Leonid Brezhnev were negotiating an easing of Cold War tensions known as détente. As part of this, they negotiated the Apollo-Soyuz program, in which an Apollo spacecraft carrying a special docking adapter module rendezvoused and docked with Soyuz 19 in 1975. The American and Russian crews shook hands in space, but the purpose of the flight was purely symbolic.
The two nations continued to compete rather than cooperate in
space, as the US turned to developing the Space Shuttle and planning the
space station, which was dubbed Freedom. The USSR launched three Almaz military sortie stations from 1973 to 1977, disguised as Salyuts. They followed Salyut with the development of Mir, the first modular, semi-permanent space station, the construction of which took place from 1986 to 1996. Mir orbited at an altitude of 354 kilometers (191 nautical miles), at an orbital inclination of 51.6°. It was occupied for 4,592 days and made a controlled reentry in 2001.
The Space Shuttle started flying in 1981, but the US Congress failed to approve sufficient funds to make Space Station Freedom a reality. A fleet of four shuttles was built: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. A fifth shuttle, Endeavour, was built to replace Challenger, which was destroyed in an accident during launch that killed 7 astronauts on 28 January 1986. From 1983 to 1998, twenty-two Shuttle flights carried components for a European Space Agency sortie space station called Spacelab in the Shuttle payload bay.
Buran-class orbiter, copy of the Space Shuttle orbiter
The USSR copied the US's reusable Space Shuttle orbiter, which they called Buran-class orbiter or simply Buran, which was designed to be launched into orbit by the expendable Energia rocket, and capable of robotic orbital flight and landing. Unlike the Space Shuttle, Buran
had no main rocket engines, but like the Space Shuttle orbiter it used
smaller rocket engines to perform its final orbital insertion. A single
uncrewed orbital test flight took place in November 1988. A second test
flight was planned by 1993, but the program was canceled due to lack of
funding and the dissolution of the Soviet Union
in 1991. Two more orbiters were never completed, and the one that
performed the uncrewed flight was destroyed in a hangar roof collapse in
May 2002.
US / Russian cooperation
International Space Station, assembled in orbit by US and Russia
The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought an end to the
Cold War and opened the door to true cooperation between the US and
Russia. The Soviet Soyuz and Mir programs were taken over by the Russian
Federal Space Agency, now known as the Roscosmos State Corporation. The Shuttle-Mir Program included American Space Shuttles visiting the Mir
space station, Russian cosmonauts flying on the Shuttle, and an
American astronaut flying aboard a Soyuz spacecraft for long-duration
expeditions aboard Mir.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton secured Russia's cooperation in converting the planned Space Station Freedom into the International Space Station
(ISS). Construction of the station began in 1998. The station orbits at
an altitude of 409 kilometers (221 nmi) and an orbital inclination of
51.65°. Several of the Space Shuttle's 135 orbital flights were to help
assemble, supply, and crew the ISS. Russia has built half of the
International Space Station and has continued its cooperation with the
US.
After Russia's launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, Chairman Mao Zedong intended to place a Chinese satellite in orbit by 1959 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC). However, China did not successfully launch its first satellite until 24 April 1970. On 14 July 1967, Mao and Premier Zhou Enlai decided that the PRC should not be left behind, and started China's own human spaceflight program. However, the first attempt, the Shuguang spacecraft, which was copied from the US Gemini craft, was canceled on 13 May 1972.
China later designed the Shenzhou spacecraft,
which resembled the Russian Soyuz, and became the third nation to
achieve independent human spaceflight capability by launching Yang Liwei on a 21-hour flight aboard Shenzhou 5 on 15 October 2003. China launched the Tiangong-1 space station on 29 September 2011, and two sortie missions to it: Shenzhou 9 16–29 June 2012, with China's first female astronaut Liu Yang; and Shenzhou 10,
13–26 June 2013. The station was retired on 21 March 2016 and reentered
Earth's atmosphere on 2 April 2018, burning up with small fragments
impacting the Pacific Ocean. Tiangong-1's successor Tiangong-2 was launched in September 2016. Tiangong-2 hosted a crew of two—Jing Haipeng and Chen Dong—for 30 days. On 22 April 2017, the Tianzhou 1 cargo spacecraft docked with the station, which was later deorbited, in July 2019, burning up over the Pacific.
Abandoned programs of other nations
The European Space Agency began development of the Hermes shuttle spaceplane in 1987, to be launched on the Ariane 5 expendable launch vehicle. It was intended to dock with the European Columbus space station.
The projects were canceled in 1992, when it became clear that neither
cost nor performance goals could be achieved. No Hermes shuttles were
ever built. The Columbus space station was reconfigured as the European module of the same name on the International Space Station.
Japan (NASDA) began development of the HOPE-X experimental shuttle spaceplane in the 1980s, to be launched on its H-IIA
expendable launch vehicle. A string of failures in 1998 led to funding
reductions, and the project's cancellation in 2003 in favor of
participation in the International Space Station program through the Kibō Japanese Experiment Module and H-II Transfer Vehicle cargo spacecraft. As an alternative to HOPE-X, NASDA in 2001 proposed the Fuji crew capsule for independent or ISS flights, but the project did not proceed to the contracting stage.
According to a press release from the Iraqi News Agency dated 5 December 1989, there was only one test of the Al-Abid space launcher, which Iraq intended to use to develop its own crewed space facilities by the end of the century. These plans were put to an end by the Gulf War of 1991 and the economic hardships that followed.
United States "Shuttle gap"
STS-135 (July 2011), the final human spaceflight of the United States until 2018
Under the Bush administration, the Constellation program
included plans for retiring the Space Shuttle program and replacing it
with the capability for spaceflight beyond low Earth orbit. In the 2011 United States federal budget,
the Obama administration canceled Constellation for being over budget
and behind schedule while not innovating and investing in critical new
technologies. As part of the Artemis program, NASA is developing the Orion spacecraft to be launched by the Space Launch System. Under the Commercial Crew Development plan, NASA will rely on transportation services provided by the private sector to reach low Earth orbit, such as SpaceX Dragon 2, Sierra Nevada Corporation's Dream Chaser, or the Boeing Starliner. The period between the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011 and the first launch into space of SpaceShipTwoFlight VP-03 on 13 December 2018 is similar to the gap between the end of Apollo in 1975 and the first Space Shuttle flight in 1981, and is referred to by a presidential Blue Ribbon Committee as the U.S. human spaceflight gap.
Commercial private spaceflight
SpaceShipOne, first private sub-orbital spaceplane
Since the early 2000s, a variety of private spaceflight ventures have been undertaken. Several of the companies—including Blue Origin, SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and Sierra Nevada—have plans to advance human spaceflight. As of 2016, all four of those companies have development programs to fly commercial passengers.
Blue Origin has begun a multi-year test program of their New Shepard vehicle and has carried out 11 successful uncrewed test flights in 2015–2019. Blue Origin planned to fly with humans in 2019.
SpaceX and Boeing are both developing passenger-capable orbitalspace capsules as of 2020, with SpaceX carrying NASA astronauts to the International Space Station on board a Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicle. Boeing will be doing the same with their CST-100 launched on a United Launch AllianceAtlas V launch vehicle. Development funding for these orbital-capable technologies has been provided by a mix of government and private
funds, with SpaceX providing a greater portion of total development
funding for this human-carrying capability from private investment.
There have been no public announcements of commercial offerings for
orbital flights from either company, although both companies are
planning some flights with their own private, non-NASA, astronauts on
board.
Passenger travel via spacecraft
Over the decades, a number of spacecraft have been proposed for spaceliner passenger travel. Somewhat analogous to travel by airliner after the middle of the 20th century, these vehicles are proposed to transport large numbers of passengers to destinations in space, or on Earth via suborbital spaceflights.
To date, none of these concepts have been built, although a few
vehicles that carry fewer than 10 persons are currently in the test flight phase of their development process.
One large spaceliner concept currently in early development is the SpaceX Starship, which, in addition to replacing the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavylaunch vehicles in the legacy Earth-orbit market
after 2020, has been proposed by SpaceX for long-distance commercial
travel on Earth, flying 100+ people suborbitally between two points in
under one hour, also known as "Earth-to-Earth".
Small spaceplane or small capsule suborbital spacecraft have been under development for the past decade or so; as of 2017, at least one of each type is under development. Both Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin have craft in active development: the SpaceShipTwo spaceplane and the New Shepard
capsule, respectively. Both would carry approximately a half-dozen
passengers up to space for a brief time of zero gravity before returning
to the launch location. XCOR Aerospace had been developing the Lynx single-passenger spaceplane since the 2000s, but development was halted in 2017.
Human representation and participation
Participation and representation of humanity in space has been an issue ever since the first phase of space exploration. Some rights of non-spacefaring countries have been secured through international space law, declaring space the "province of all mankind", though the sharing of space by all humanity is sometimes criticized as imperialist and lacking. In addition to the lack of international inclusion, the inclusion of women and people of color has also been lacking. To make spaceflight more inclusive, organizations such as the Justspace Alliance and IAU-featured Inclusive Astronomy have been formed in recent years.
Women
The first woman to ever enter space was Valentina Tereshkova.
She flew in 1963, but it was not until the 1980s that another woman
entered space again. At the time, all astronauts were required to be
military test pilots; and women were not able to enter this career,
which is one reason for the delay in allowing women to join space crews. After the rules were changed, Svetlana Savitskaya became the second woman to enter space; she was also from the Soviet Union. Sally Ride became the next woman to enter space and the first woman to enter space through the United States program.
Since then, eleven other countries have allowed women astronauts. The first all-female space walk occurred in 2018, by Christina Koch and Jessica Meir.
These two women had both participated in separate space walks with
NASA. The first woman to go to the moon is planned for 2024.
Despite these developments women are still underrepresented among
astronauts and especially cosmonauts. Issues that block potential
applicants from the programs, and limit the space missions they are able
to go on, are, for example:
agencies limiting women to half as much time in space than men,
due to suppositions that women are at greater potential risk for cancer.
a lack of space suits sized appropriately for female astronauts.
Milestones
By achievement
12 April 1961
Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space and the first in Earth orbit, on Vostok 1.
Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders were first to travel beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) and first to orbit the Moon, on the Apollo 8 mission, which orbited the Moon ten times before returning to Earth.
20 July 1969
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were first to land on the Moon, during Apollo 11.
Longest time in space
Valeri Polyakov
performed the longest single spaceflight, from 8 January 1994 to 22
March 1995 (437 days, 17 hours, 58 minutes, and 16 seconds). Gennady Padalka has spent the most total time in space on multiple missions, 879 days.
Longest-duration crewed space station
The International Space Station
has the longest period of continuous human presence in space, 2
November 2000 to present (20 years and 147 days). This record was
previously held by Mir, from Soyuz TM-8 on 5 September 1989 to the Soyuz TM-29 on 28 August 1999, a span of 3,644 days (almost 10 years).
By nationality or sex
12 April 1961
Yuri Gagarin became the first Soviet and the first human to reach space, on Vostok 1.
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space, in 1983. Eileen Collins was the first female Shuttle pilot, and with Shuttle mission STS-93 in 1999 she became the first woman to command a U.S. spacecraft.
For many years, only the USSR (later Russia)
and the United States were the only countries whose astronauts flew in
space. That ended with the 1978 flight of Vladimir Remek. As of 2010, citizens from 38 nations (including space tourists) have flown in space aboard Soviet, American, Russian, and Chinese spacecraft.
Space programs
"Astronaut corps" redirects here. For subdivision of NASA, see NASA Astronaut Corps.
Human spaceflight programs have been conducted by the Soviet Union–Russian Federation, the United States, Mainland China, and by American private spaceflight companies.
Currently have human spaceflight programs.
Confirmed and dated plans for human spaceflight programs.
Confirmed plans for human spaceflight programs.
Plans for human spaceflight on the simplest form (suborbital spaceflight, etc.).
Plans for human spaceflight on the extreme form (space stations, etc.).
Once had official plans for human spaceflight programs, but have since been abandoned.
Current programs
The following space vehicles and spaceports are currently used for launching human spaceflights:
The following space stations are currently maintained in Earth orbit for human occupation:
International Space Station
(US, ESA, JAXA, CSA and Russia) assembled in orbit: altitude 409
kilometers (221 nautical miles), 51.65° orbital inclination; crews
transported by Soyuz or Crew Dragon spacecraft
Most of the time, the only humans in space are those aboard the ISS, whose crew of up to 7 spends up to six months at a time in low Earth orbit.
Numerous private companies attempted human spaceflight programs in an effort to win the $10 million Ansari X Prize.
The first private human spaceflight took place on 21 June 2004, when
SpaceShipOne conducted a suborbital flight. SpaceShipOne captured the
prize on 4 October 2004, when it accomplished two consecutive flights
within one week.
NASA and ESA
use the term "human spaceflight" to refer to their programs of
launching people into space. These endeavors have also been referred to
as "manned space missions", though because of gender specificity this is
no longer official parlance according to NASA style guides.
Planned future programs
Under the Indian Human Spaceflight Program, India is planning to send humans into space on its orbital vehicle Gaganyaan before August 2022. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) began work on this project in 2006. The initial objective is to carry a crew of two or three to low Earth orbit (LEO) for a 3-to-7-day flight in a spacecraft on a GSLV Mk III rocket and return them safely for a water landing at a predefined landing zone. On 15 August 2018, Indian Prime MinisterNarendra Modi, declared India will independently send humans into space before the 75th anniversary of independence in 2022. In 2019, ISRO revealed plans for a space station
by 2030, followed by a crewed lunar mission. The program envisages the
development of a fully-autonomous orbital vehicle capable of carrying 2
or 3 crew members to an about 300 km (190 mi) low Earth orbit and
bringing them safely back home.
NASA is developing a plan to land humans on Mars by the 2030s. The first step will begin with Artemis 1 in 2021, sending an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to a distant retrograde orbit around the Moon and returning it to Earth after a 25-day mission.
Several other countries and space agencies have announced and
begun human spaceflight programs using natively developed equipment and
technology, including Japan (JAXA), Iran (ISA), and North Korea (NADA). The plans for the Iranian crewed spacecraft are for a small spacecraft and space laboratory. North Korea's space program has plans for crewed spacecraft and small shuttle systems.
National spacefaring attempts
This section lists all nations which have attempted human spaceflight programs. This should not to be confused with nations with citizens who have traveled into space,
including space tourists, flown or intending to fly by a foreign
country's or non-domestic private company's space systems – who are not
counted in this list toward their country's national spacefaring
attempts.
There
are two main sources of hazard in space flight: those due to the
hostile space environment, and those due to possible equipment
malfunctions. Addressing these issues is of great important for NASA and
other space agencies before conducting the first extended crewed
missions to destinations such as Mars.
Environmental hazards
Planners of human spaceflight missions face a number of safety concerns.
Life support
The basic needs for breathable air and drinkable water are addressed by the life support system of the spacecraft.
Medical issues
Astronauts may not be able to quickly return to Earth or receive
medical supplies, equipment, or personnel if a medical emergency occurs.
The astronauts may have to rely for long periods on limited resources
and medical advice from the ground.
On 31 December 2012, a NASA-supported study reported that spaceflight may harm the brains of astronauts and accelerate the onset of Alzheimer's disease.
On 2 November 2017, scientists reported, based on MRI studies, that significant changes in the position and structure of the brain have been found in astronauts who have taken trips in space. Astronauts on longer space trips were affected by greater brain changes.
In March 2019, NASA reported that latent viruses in humans may be activated during space missions, possibly adding more risk to astronauts in future deep-space missions.
Microgravity
The effects of microgravity on fluid distribution around the body (greatly exaggerated).
Medical data from astronauts in low Earth orbits for long periods,
dating back to the 1970s, show several adverse effects of a microgravity
environment: loss of bone density, decreased muscle strength and endurance, postural instability, and reductions in aerobic capacity. Over time these deconditioning effects can impair astronauts' performance or increase their risk of injury.
In a weightless environment, astronauts put almost no weight on the back muscles
or leg muscles used for standing up, which causes the muscles to weaken
and get smaller. Astronauts can lose up to twenty per cent of their
muscle mass on spaceflights lasting five to eleven days. The consequent
loss of strength could be a serious problem in case of a landing
emergency. Upon returning to Earth from long-duration flights, astronauts are considerably weakened and are not allowed to drive a car for twenty-one days.
Astronauts experiencing weightlessness will often lose their orientation, get motion sickness,
and lose their sense of direction as their bodies try to get used to a
weightless environment. When they get back to Earth, they have to
readjust and may have problems standing up, focusing their gaze,
walking, and turning. Importantly, those motor disturbances only get
worse the longer the exposure to weightlessness.
These changes can affect the ability to perform tasks required for
approach and landing, docking, remote manipulation, and emergencies that
may occur while landing.
In addition, after long space flight missions, male astronauts may experience severe eyesight problems, which may be a major concern for future deep space flight missions, including a crewed mission to the planet Mars. Long space flights can also alter a space traveler's eye movements.
Radiation
Comparison of Radiation Doses – includes the amount detected on the trip from Earth to Mars by the RAD on the MSL (2011–2013).
Without proper shielding, the crews of missions beyond low Earth orbit might be at risk from high-energy protons emitted by solar flares and associated solar particle events (SPEs). Lawrence Townsend of the University of Tennessee and others have studied the overall most powerful solar storm ever recorded. The flare was seen by the British astronomer Richard Carrington in September 1859. Radiation doses astronauts would receive from a Carrington-type storm could cause acute radiation sickness and possibly even death. Another storm that could have inflicted a lethal radiation dose on astronauts outside Earth's protective magnetosphere occurred during the Space Age, shortly after Apollo 16 landed and before Apollo 17 launched. This solar storm of August 1972 would likely have caused acute illness, at least.
Another type of radiation, galactic cosmic rays, presents further challenges to human spaceflight beyond low Earth orbit.
There is also some scientific concern that extended spaceflight
might slow down the body's ability to protect itself against diseases, resulting in a weakened immune system and the activation of dormant viruses in the body. Radiation
can cause both short- and long-term consequences to the bone marrow
stem cells from which blood and immune-system cells are created. Because
the interior of a spacecraft is so small, a weakened immune system and
more active viruses in the body can lead to a fast spread of infection.
Isolation
During long missions, astronauts are isolated and confined in small spaces. Depression, anxiety, cabin fever,
and other psychological problems may occur more than for an average
person and could impact the crew's safety and mission success. NASA spends millions of dollars on psychological treatments for astronauts and former astronauts. To date, there is no way to prevent or reduce mental problems caused by extended periods of stay in space.
Due to these mental disorders, the efficiency of astronauts' work
is impaired; and sometimes they are brought back to Earth, incurring
the expense of their mission being aborted.
A Russian expedition to space in 1976 was returned to Earth after the
cosmonauts reported a strong odor that resulted in a fear of fluid
leakage; but after a thorough investigation, it became clear that there
was no leakage or technical malfunction. It was concluded by NASA that
the cosmonauts most likely had hallucinated the smell.
It is possible that the mental health of astronauts can be
affected by the changes in the sensory systems while in prolonged space
travel.
Sensory systems
During
astronauts' spaceflight, they are in an extreme environment. This, and
the fact that little change is taking place in the environment, will
result in the weakening of sensory input to the astronauts' seven
senses.
Hearing
– In the space station and spacecraft there are no noises from the
outside, as there is no medium that can transmit sound waves. Although
there are other team members who can talk to each other, their voices
become familiar and do not stimulate the sense of hearing as much.
Mechanical noises become familiar, as well.
Sight
– Because of weightlessness, the body's liquids attain an equilibrium
that is different from what it is on the Earth. For this reason, an
astronaut's face swells and presses on the eyes; and therefore their
vision is impaired. The landscape surrounding the astronauts is
constant, which lessens visual stimulations. Due to cosmic rays,
astronauts may see flashes.
Smell
– The space station has a permanent odor described as the smell of
gunpowder. Due to the zero gravity, the bodily fluids rise to the face
and prevent the sinuses from drying up, which dulls the sense of smell.
Taste
– The sense of taste is directly affected by the sense of smell and
therefore when the sense of smell is dulled, the sense of taste is also.
The astronauts' food is bland, and there are only certain foods that
can be eaten. The food comes only once every few months, when supplies
arrive, and there is little or no variety.
Touch – There are almost no stimulating changes in physical contact. There is almost no human physical contact during the journey.
The vestibular system
(motion and equilibrium system) – Due to the lack of gravity, all the
movements required of the astronauts are changed, and the vestibular
system is damaged by the extreme change.
The proprioception system
(the sense of the relative position of one's own parts of the body and
strength of effort being employed in movement) – As a result of
weightlessness, few forces are exerted on the astronauts' muscles; and
there is less stimulus to this system.
Equipment hazards
Space flight requires much higher velocities than ground or air transportation, and consequently requires the use of high energy density
propellants for launch, and the dissipation of large amounts of energy,
usually as heat, for safe reentry through the Earth's atmosphere.
Since rockets have the potential for fire or explosive destruction, space capsules generally employ some sort of launch escape system, consisting either of a tower-mounted solid-fuel rocket to quickly carry the capsule away from the launch vehicle (employed on Mercury, Apollo, and Soyuz,
the escape tower being discarded at some point after launch, at a point
where an abort can be performed using the spacecraft's engines), or
else ejection seats (employed on Vostok and Gemini) to carry astronauts out of the capsule and away for individual parachute landings.
Such a launch escape system is not always practical for multiple-crew-member vehicles (particularly spaceplanes), depending on location of egress hatch(es). When the single-hatch Vostok capsule was modified to become the 2 or 3-person Voskhod,
the single-cosmonaut ejection seat could not be used, and no escape
tower system was added. The two Voskhod flights in 1964 and 1965 avoided
launch mishaps. The Space Shuttle
carried ejection seats and escape hatches for its pilot and copilot in
early flights; but these could not be used for passengers who sat below
the flight deck on later flights, and so were discontinued.
There have been only two in-flight launch aborts of a crewed flight. The first occurred on Soyuz 18a
on 5 April 1975. The abort occurred after the launch escape system had
been jettisoned when the launch vehicle's spent second stage failed to
separate before the third stage ignited and the vehicle strayed off
course. The crew finally managed to separate the spacecraft, firing its
engines to pull it away from the errant rocket, both cosmonauts landing
safely. The second occurred on 11 October 2018 with the launch of Soyuz MS-10. Again, both crew members survived.
In the first use of a launch escape system on the launchpad, before the start of a crewed flight, happened during the planned Soyuz T-10a
launch on 26 September 1983, which was aborted by a launch vehicle fire
90 seconds before liftoff. Both cosmonauts aboard landed safely.
The only crew fatality during launch occurred on 28 January 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after liftoff, due to failure of a solid rocket booster seal, which caused the failure of the external fuel tank, resulting in explosion of the fuel and separation of the boosters. All seven crew members were killed.
Extravehicular activity
Despite the ever-present risks related to mechanical failures while working in open space, no spacewalking astronaut
has ever been lost. There is a requirement for spacewalking astronauts
to use tethers and sometimes supplementary anchors. If those fail, a
spacewalking astronaut would most probably float away impelled by forces
that were acting on the astronaut at the time of breaking loose. Such
an astronaut would possibly be spinning, as kicking and flailing would
be of no use. At the right angle and velocity, the astronaut might even
re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up. NASA
has protocols for such situations: astronauts would be wearing an
emergency jetpack that would automatically counter any tumbling. NASA's
plan states that astronauts should then take manual control of the
jetpack and fly back to safety.
However, if the jetpack's 3 pounds (1.4 kg) of fuel runs out, and
if there is no other astronaut in close proximity to help, or if the
air lock is irreparably damaged, the outcome would certainly be fatal.
At this time, there is no spacecraft to save an astronaut floating in
space, as the only one with a rescue-ready air-locked compartment — the Space Shuttle
— retired 9 years ago. There is approximately a litre of water
available via straw in an astronaut's helmet. The astronaut would wait
roughly 7.5 hours for breathable air to run out before dying of
suffocation.
Reentry and landing
The single pilot of Soyuz 1, Vladimir Komarov, was killed when his capsule's parachutes failed during an emergency landing on 24 April 1967, causing the capsule to crash.
There
are two basic choices for an artificial atmosphere: either an
Earth-like mixture of oxygen and an inert gas such as nitrogen or
helium, or pure oxygen, which can be used at lower than standard
atmospheric pressure. A nitrogen–oxygen mixture is used in the
International Space Station and Soyuz spacecraft, while low-pressure
pure oxygen is commonly used in space suits for extravehicular activity.
The use of a gas mixture carries the risk of decompression sickness
(commonly known as "the bends") when transitioning to or from the pure
oxygen space suit environment. There have been instances of injury and
fatalities caused by suffocation in the presence of too much nitrogen
and not enough oxygen.
In 1960, McDonnell Aircraft
test pilot G.B. North passed out and was seriously injured when testing
a Mercury cabin–space suit atmosphere system in a vacuum chamber, due
to nitrogen-rich air leaking from the cabin into his space suit feed. This incident led NASA to decide on a pure oxygen atmosphere for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo spacecraft.
In 1995, two pad workers were similarly killed by a nitrogen leak in a confined area of the Ariane 5 launch pad at Guiana Space Centre.
A pure oxygen atmosphere carries the risk of fire. The original
design of the Apollo spacecraft used pure oxygen at greater than
atmospheric pressure prior to launch. An electrical fire started in the
cabin of Apollo 1 during a ground test at Cape Kennedy Air Force Station Launch Complex 34 on 27 January 1967, and spread rapidly. The high pressure, increased by the fire, prevented removal of the plug door hatch cover in time to rescue the crew. All three astronauts—Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee—were killed. This led NASA to use a nitrogen–oxygen atmosphere before launch, and low pressure pure oxygen only in space.
Reliability
The March 1966 Gemini 8 mission was aborted in orbit when an attitude control system thruster stuck in the on position, sending the craft into a dangerous spin that threatened the lives of Neil Armstrong and David Scott.
Armstrong had to shut the control system off and use the reentry
control system to stop the spin. The craft made an emergency reentry and
the astronauts landed safely. The most probable cause was determined to
be an electrical short due to a static electricity
discharge, which caused the thruster to remain powered even when
switched off. The control system was modified to put each thruster on
its own isolated circuit.
The third lunar landing expedition, Apollo 13, in April 1970, was aborted and the lives of the crew—James Lovell, Jack Swigert, and Fred Haise—were threatened after the failure of a cryogenicliquid oxygen
tank en route to the Moon. The tank burst when electrical power was
applied to internal stirring fans in the tank, causing the immediate
loss of all of its contents, and also damaging the second tank, causing
the gradual loss of its remaining oxygen over a period of 130 minutes.
This in turn caused loss of electrical power provided by fuel cells to the command spacecraft. The crew managed to return to Earth safely by using the lunar landing craft
as a "life boat". The tank failure was determined to be caused by two
mistakes: the tank's drain fitting had been damaged when it was dropped
during factory testing, necessitating the use of its internal heaters to
boil out the oxygen after a pre-launch test; which in turn damaged the
fan wiring's electrical insulation because the thermostats on the
heaters did not meet the required voltage rating due to a vendor
miscommunication.
The crew of Soyuz 11 were killed on 30 June 1971 by a combination of mechanical malfunctions; the crew were asphyxiated
due to cabin decompression following separation of their descent
capsule from the service module. A cabin ventilation valve had been
jolted open at an altitude of 168 kilometres (104 mi) by the
stronger-than-expected shock of explosive separation bolts, which were
designed to fire sequentially, but in fact had fired simultaneously. The
loss of pressure became fatal within about 30 seconds.
Fatality risk
As of December 2015, 23 crew members have died in accidents aboard
spacecraft. Over 100 others have died in accidents during activity
directly related to spaceflight or testing.
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