Rockets were reported dating as far back as ancient China. When men and women dreamed of flying like birds in the air, just as many dreamed of flying to the stars.

Space flight offered new challenges and problems very different from aviation. First, aircraft engines used the air around it to operate its engine. Oxygen, or an oxidizer, was needed to ignite, or combust, the engine's fuel. But in space and on the fringes of space there is little to no air for this process. Rocket engines would have to carry fuel and the oxidizer and deal with more difficult engineering problems.

In the United States, a physics professor, Dr. Robert Goddard, had begun building and experimenting with rockets. In March, 1926, in his aunt's orchard Professor Goddard launched the first successful liquid-propellent rocket. The rocket climbed to 41 feet.

In Europe, the German military became interested in rocketry as well. They invested a tremendous amount of money and personnel into developing a long-range missile named the V-2, an ominous military weapon. Wernher von Braun was one young scientist who worked on the V-2 and dreamed of using rockets for manned space flight. After World War II, Dr. von Braun came to the United States and worked on developing rockets for unmanned and manned space flight.

The United States began developing larger rockets in the late 1940's and tested at places like White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico and Cape Canaveral in Florida. Today, Cape Canaveral is where the space shuttle takes off and lands.

In 1955, the United States began working on satellites in the hopes of placing a small payload (scientific equipment for taking and transmitting data) of instruments to study the upper atmosphere.

But on October 4, 1957, Russia announced the landmark launch of a small satellite into orbit around the earth. The satellite was named "Sputnik" which means "traveling companion" in Russian. Sputnik was less than two feet long, but was able to transmit signals back to earth.

Less than a month later Russia sent a second satellite, Sputnik II, into space carrying a dog named "Laika".

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Last modified: Mon Sep 6 11:55:30 PDT 199r97

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