Page 37 - 200812 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - December 2008

2008 Momentous Year in Spaceflight 37 2008 Momentous Year in Spaceflight 37 2008: A Momentous up and running in space. landing a rover on the moon. 2008: A Momentous Year in Spaceflight 7. Europe's first cargo ship flies 3. China conducts its first spacewalk Year in Spaceflight By Clara Moskowitz The flotilla of space station-bound In another first for a nation building up By Clara Moskowitz spacecraft had been static for the last nine years its space program, Chinese astronauts carried 2008 was a momentous year for until a new ship was added to the ranks in out their country's first spacewalk in September. spaceflight. It saw the launch of the world's March. Europe's Jules Verne Automated China launched three astronauts on the most powerful gamma-ray telescope, the space Transfer Vehicle was the first of a new fleet of Shenzhou 7 mission, the nation's third manned station's largest room, India's first moon probe, unmanned cargo ships designed to ferry food spaceflight. Zhai Zhigang became the first and even a space tourist who happens to be and supplies to astronauts on the orbiting Chinese spacewalker when he stepped out of his America's first second-generation space laboratory. After launching and docking at the space ship wearing a new Chinese-made traveler. station successfully, the vehicle perished as spacesuit. During his 20-miute foray into space, Here are the Top 10 stories of 2008: designed in a fiery plunge through the Zhigang retrieved a test sample of lubricant atmosphere back to Earth. The double-decker from outside the vehicle, and waived a Chinese 10. The first second-generation space bus-sized spacecraft is due to be succeeded by flag at the camera that was broadcasting his feat live. The event marked an impressive at least four sister freighter ships. travelers launch technological achievement for China, only the Richard Garriott, the son of former 6. The International Space Station third country after Russia and the United States NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, became the to independently launch a person into space. first American second-generation spaceflyer to turns 10 reach orbit when he launched aboard a Soyuz For the past 10 years the ISS has been 2. Robot safely lands farther north on rocket in October. For a hefty $30 million, paid serenely floating above us, steadily growing in to the Russian Federal Space Agency through size and hosting more and more scientific Mars than ever before the private U.S. firm Space Adventures, Garriott cooperation between nations. The $100 billion NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander touched booked himself a 10-day vacation on the space station marked its 10th anniversary Nov. down on the red planet in May in the first International Space Station (ISS). During his 20, a decade after its first room, the Russian- successful Mars landing since 2004. The stay Garriott conducted science experiments, built Zarya module, was launched into space. stationary spacecraft spent more than five educational outreach activities, and even Over the years the lab has grown from the months testing the arctic plains environment for brought aboard a flash drive loaded with records equivalent of a studio apartment into a three- signs of habitability by potential Martian life, of humanity's greatest achievements, copies of bedroom house, hosted about 165 visitors from and confirmed the presence of water ice below the avatars in one of his games and digital 15 countries, and circled the Earth more than the ground. Phoenix touched down farther north versions of selected humans' DNA, including 57,309 times. In June the laboratory got its on Mars than any lander before it, and delivered that of comedian Stephen Colbert, host of "The biggest addition yet, the tour bus-sized Japanese a treasure trove of images and experimental Colbert Report." By coincidence, Garriott flew Kibo module. The stately space station is not yet results from our neighboring planet. After its to the space station while it was under the complete, though — eight of NASA's remaining prolific research stint, the lander finally ran out command of Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, shuttle missions will deliver its remaining of power on Nov. 2 due to decreasing sunlight himself a second-generation spaceflyer and the components by 2010. caused by the arctic transition from summer to son of famed cosmonaut Alexander Volkov. The fall and light-obscuring atmospheric dust. two spaceflyers met in orbit and returned to 5. Privately-developed Falcon 1 rocket Earth together in later October. finally reaches orbit 1. NASA's 50th anniversary In a major milestone, the Space On Oct. 1 the National Aeronautics and 9. The most shuttle missions to fly in Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) firm Space Administration turned 50 years old, one year since 2002 successfully launched its Falcon 1 rocket in marking a half century of achievements in space NASA launched four space shuttle September, capping off the company's six-year exploration that many would have doubted were missions in 2008 — and returned each of them effort to lift the first non-governmental rocket possible before its founding in 1958. While some people are still smarting over the safely back home. That's the most shuttle liftoffs into space. Arriving on the heels of three continued absence of flying cars, most can since 2002, and especially noteworthy in the consecutive failed launch attempts, the Falcon recognize that NASA has come a long way wake of the Columbia tragedy of 2003. This 1's success was no foregone conclusion. The since the days when Americans watched with year's flights each delivered vital components to liquid-fueled booster's liftoff from the envy as Sputnik flew overhead. We won the the ISS, including major contributions from Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean proved Japan, Europe and Canada. And the year almost that SpaceX's engineering is sound, and the moon (and may be racing back to it all over again), built a fleet of reusable space shuttles, saw one more shuttle flight — the final company is on its way toward fulfilling its goal servicing mission to Hubble — but that launch of offering low-cost commercial rocket and worked with other nations to construct a continuously-occupied floating space station for was delayed until 2009 because of glitches on launches. It took about $100 million to develop the orbiting telescope. NASA currently plans to and test the booster, but future flights should scientific research. There have also been horrific tragedies along the way: the lives of the launch nine more shuttle missions before carry an $8 million price tag or less, the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia astronauts retiring the fleet in 2010. Six of those flights are company said. SpaceX is now preparing to attest to the fact that those great achievements scheduled for 2009. launch its larger Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Fla., and is one of two firms to win weren't attained without a price. But for all the 8. Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope a NASA space station cargo contract on heartbreaks, setbacks and even public boredom with NASA, Americans can't seem to give up launches Tuesday. the dream of space. Who knows what the next Some of the cosmos' most puzzling 4. Indian probe orbits the moon 50 years will bring? phenomena — supermassive black holes, dark India's Chandrayaan 1 probe became the matter and mysterious explosions called MORE ‘X’ TRIVIA... gamma-ray bursts — may soon be more nation's first spacecraft to travel beyond Earth orbit when it arrived at the moon in November understandable thanks to NASA's Fermi - When Italy was founded in 1861, only 3% of Gamma-ray Space Telescope, which launched to begin a planned two-year mission. The Italians spoke Italian fluently. vehicle carried a mini craft painted in the red, in June. The world's most powerful telescope - Hotel industry data: generally, men leave their for observing the universe in high-energy white and green pattern of India's flag that hotel rooms cleaner than women do. crash-landed at the moon's south pole, taking gamma-ray light, the observatory was originally pictures on its way down. The achievement - Miller Brewing donated $150,000 to its called the Gamma-ray Large Area Telescope establishes India's growing space prowess and Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund in 1993 (GLAST), but was rechristened after Italian sets the stage for the country's planned future and spent $300,000 promoting the donation. scientist Enrico Fermi once the telescope was goals of starting a manned space program and More ‘X’ TRIVIA to come!