I have a special affinity for space travel because my aunt is an astronaut. I have a rad jacket from the 80s that has been to space.

Actual post:

There were rockets in the past, but the 20th century marked the creation of rockets that had enough power to beat gravity and reach a speed that could lead to human space travel. Germany, Russia, and the USA all were designing engines at the same time. Nazi Germany wanted to use long-distance rockets for weapons. After the war was over, the USA and Soviet Union started their own missile/rocket programs. SPACE RACE! Sputnik 1 (Russian) was launched into space in early October of 1957. Four years later they put a human in space with Vostok 1. Not too far behind, Explorer 1 (USA) began orbit in late January 1958 with the first american to orbit earth being in February 1962 (yay US). JFK was hellbent on getting a man on the moon… Neil Armostrong accomplished this in 1969. Various aircrafts went to map out and image Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and various moons. Eventually America and Russia worked together in the 70’s in an international space mission. Satelites have been used for TV, imaging of the world, finding stars, and seeing parts of the galaxy (woa that’s dope). Sadly, the Challenger exploded in 1986 and killed 7 people. Fun fact: my aunt (Millie Hughes-Fulford) is an astronaut and was supposed to be on the Challenger, but the teacher bumped her. She has since been to space three times to study the effects of anti gravity on bone density…. I think?

Since the Challenger, new launch methods have been made to ensure safety. In recent years however, NASA’s influence has declined. There are a few private researchers trying to send people into space. One of which is Red Bull. Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver, was sponsored by Red Bull to jump from 24 miles into the stratosphere. To my knowledge they have yet to go back into space, but we shall see.

Dani