Nick's Lists: Top 10 Moments in the History of Spaceflight (10-6)

This post has been ready to go for a few days, sorry about the delay.  I have not quite finished the 2nd half of it.  It's almost done, but don't expect it until at least Thursday.  Things have been pretty busy at work lately.  I hope you understand. 

The latest edition of the most famous Top 10 list outside of Bowling Green, Kentucky takes us beyond the final frontier.  The recent launch of Discovery on it's final trip to lower earth orbit has got me back on a space kick.  So, to get it out of my system, I go back into the NASA and NACA archives.  I spanned over 50 years of space research and space exploration to come up with my Top 10 moments in the history of space exploration. 

As with prior Top 10s, I have to go a little bit into the methodology of my list-making.  The driving factor behind this list was whether or not the event served as an important stepping stone for more advanced research into space exploration.  Memorability was not necessarily important.  Several of the Apollo and Gemini missions were memorable because of where they went, but did not necessarily advance research, so my list is not littered with moon landings.  Also, a top moment in spaceflight does not necessarily need to be a happy moment.  Many important breakthroughs and lessons learned happened as a result of accidents or near accidents.  As you'll see in our list, a good number of accidents or near-accidents made the list, including events that I have already examined here at Caputo's Corner.  

Not to be overlooked were the Soviets.  Yes, they were the evil empire, and most of our work in the 1960s was fueled by nothing more than a desire to beat them.  Yet, it was the Russians for several years who were the pioneers in the Space Age.  I will admit, I don't have many Soviet moments on the list (they are mostly American), but they cannot be overlooked for their contributions, despite all of the political undertones. 

As a science teacher, I am especially proud of the accomplishments of space research.  Having attended several workshops and professional development sessions on space, as well as having worked for NASA at one point, I have a very deep appreciation for the work being done in this field.  I sincerely hope that when the Shuttle retires later this year, that is not an end, but rather a beginning.  We have not seen the end of human space exploration.  The universe is vast.  There is so much out there that has yet to be explored and needs to be explored.  For now, sit back, relax, and hold on tight as we been our journey through the top 10 moments in the history of spaceflight!


10) The Hubble Space Telescope-Since 24 April 1990

A nebula as seen from Hubble.  Courtesy: NASA

Some of the most amazing photographs of the universe were taken using this device, and it was born right here in Maryland at the Goddard Space Flight Center.  Hubble was deployed in 1990 aboard Discovery so that we could have a much better picture of our universe and where we might have come from.  The result was some of the best images of stars, galaxies, and other interstellar phenomena that we would have never even imagined.  The Hubble has been so important to space research that when the Shuttle returned to flight in 2005 (ostensibly to finish the ISS and then retire), NASA was able to get authorization for just one final Hubble servicing mission to keep that tin can operation for 10 more years.  Hubble has long exceeded its operational capacity of 5 years.  By the time it retires, it will  have been operational for 30!  How does it work?  This page on the Hubble web site goes into details, but quite simply it is a vast array of mirrors that are able to focus even the smallest amounts of light from the farthest reaches of the universe.  It can obtain minimal reflected light because of its position above the atmosphere, so there is no gas that could potentially absorb the photons from far away.  Replacements have been discussed for years, but the James Webb Space Telescope will be the replacement when Hubble finally does give up the ghost.  The JWST will be a tremendous upgrade over what Hubble has been able to accomplish.  It is scheduled to launch no earlier than 2014 and contain a segmented mirror (in the shape of seveal tiny hexagons) that will be able to focus even smaller amounts of light than Hubble can.  It will also contain several instruments, including an infrared camera and spectrometer that will be able to capture radiation from other zones of the electromagnetic spectrum (light is only a very tiny sliver of EM radiation you know).  Who knows how much of the universe we will be able to explore using the JWST as our tool?
9) Apollo-Soyuz Test Project-15 July to 24 July 1975

It's amazing to think that at the height of the Cold War, which was fought in orbit almost as much as it was fought in Cuba and behind the Iron Curtain, that the United States and the Soviet Union could collaborate on any sort of space project.  Yet, the ASTP did exactly that.  You have to figure, at the time, these countries were essentially the only two who had the desire, let alone the resources, to explore beyond the pull of Earth's gravity.  Americans had already landed on the moon.  The Soviets had delusions of getting there, but the economy was starting to grow weak, so it was in their best interests at the time to try and do something collaborative with the States.  The Soyuz is truly a remarkable spacecraft, having been in continuous use since 1967.  A modified Soyuz capsule serves as the escape hatch for the ISS.  Couple that with the enormous propulsive capability of the Saturn V rocket (along with a modified Command and Service Module), you have quite the spaceborne laboratory.  What exactly did the ASTP accomplish scientifically?  Well, not much.  There were experiments performed, and the Command-Service Module performed an artificial solar eclipse so that the Russians could take pictures of the Sun's cororna to perform an ultraviolet absorption experiment, but it was really more of a symbolic mission than anything else.  However, it did set the stage for the US/Russian cooperation in future collaborative efforts such as the Mir dockings and the ISS missions.  However, by then the USSR had collapsed and several other countries were now venturing into space exploration.  The symbolism was important though in that it started to ease Cold War tensions somewhat, and proved that the two countries could work together to accomplish something worthwhile for the future. 

STS-1 and STS-2 were the only Shuttle missions to feature
an External Tank painted white

8) STS-1-12 April to 14 April 1981
This is the mission that started it all.  Space Shuttle Enterprise had flown a few gliding missions in Earth's atmosphere, but was never made space capable (it had never received any rocket engines, so it was really just a glider), but with the launch and landing of Columbia in 1981 (20 years after man's initial forays into space), 2 very important milestones would be achieved.  The first was a landing on land rather than a splashdown in water, and the second occured with STS-2 with the first reuse of a spacecraft.  STS-1 (as well as the first 4 shuttle missions) were nothing more than R&D missions to see what that baby can do...and as the astronauts found out very early on, it could do quite a bit.  The crews slowly grew in science (STS-1 only had 2 astronauts onboard) and the missions grew in length (STS-1 was only in space for slightly more than 2 days).  These missions were essentially the Mercury program for the Space Shuttle.  Mercury was nothing more than research into whether or not humans can operate in the vacuum in space.  By the time we reached the Space Shuttle age, we knew fairly well about the capabilities of people in space.  Now we were testing the limits of our technology, which for the time was quite extraordinary.  Unfortunately, what was revolutionary in 1981 didn't quite work in 2003...



STS 107 Mission Patch

 7) STS-107 and the Columbia Breakup-1 February 2003
What started as a fairly routine research mission to investigate the effects of microgravity on various organisms turned into a catastrophe only rivaling that of Challenger.  A loss of ET insulating foam on launch struck the orbiter on one of the wings, causing damage to the reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC) insulating tiles that are supposed to protect the Shuttle during the intense heat of reentry.  The 16-day science mission was fairly normal all the way up to the deorbit burn over the Indian Ocean.  Reentry started normally, but as onlookers on the West Coast noted, something was amiss.  Shuttle watchers who have seen several reentries know what to expect, and the Shuttle did not look like it usually does on a normal reentry.  By the time it reached Texas, debris was starting to peel off and before to long Columbia was lost.  Like what happened after Challenger, the fleet was grounded as the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) performed its investigation into the cause.  When the fleet returned to service in 2005, it was with the expectation that the Shuttle program would be replaced by 2010 with the Constellation program.  Unfortunately, that program was cancelled, and as of right now the Shuttle is going to retire this year with no foreseeable replacement.  Most of us knew that George Bush's grandiose plan of men back on the moon by 2020 and on Mars by 2030 was too far-fetched given the state of development on a Shuttle replacement, but we had hoped that by now a seemless transistion to the next generation of manned spacecraft would be inevitable.  Now, we just have to wait.  I'm sure the crew of STS-107 would not be happy if they knew that. 

6) Challenger Disaster-28 January 1986

I have already wrote an extensive piece of this subject, in honor of the 25th anniversary of the mission back in January.  For a take on STS-51L, visit here. 

There you have the first 5 of my countdown of the Top 10 Moments in the History of Spaceflight.  These were seminal moments that shaped the future of space research for years to come. What would be in the top 5?  Did Sputnik make it?  Is Apollo 11 #1?  Tune in next time to Nick's Lists to find out!