NASA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Founded in 1958 as a result of the Soviet Unions launch of Sputnik

Mercury 7 Astronauts

 Initiated in 1958, completed in 1963, Project Mercury was the United States' first man-in-space program. Project Mercury made six manned flights from 1961 to 1963

Goals of Project Mercury  To orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth.  To investigate man's ability to function in space.

 Spacecraft: FREEDOM 7 Mission Date: May 5, 1961 Astronaut: Alan B. Shepard, Jr. Flight Summary: 15 minutes, 28 seconds - Suborbital flight that successfully put the first American in space.FREEDOM 7Alan B. Shepard, Jr.

 Spacecraft: FRIENDSHIP 7 Mission Date: February 20, 1962 Astronaut: John H. Glenn, Jr. Flight Summary: 4 hours, 55 minutes, 23 seconds - Three-orbit flight that placed the first American into orbit.FRIENDSHIP 7John H. Glenn, Jr.

 Spacecraft: FAITH 7 Mission Date: May 15-16, 1963 Astronaut: L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. Flight Summary: 34 hours, 19 minutes, 49 seconds - The last Mercury mission; completed 22 orbits to evaluate effects of one day in space.FAITH 7L. Gordon Cooper, Jr.

 There were a total of 6 flights in the Mercury Program

 The second U.S. manned space program was announced in January Its two-man crew gave it its name, Gemini,

Goals of Project Gemini  To subject man and equipment to space flight up to two weeks in duration.  To rendezvous and dock with orbiting vehicles and to maneuver the docked combination by using the target vehicle's propulsion system;  To perfect methods of entering the atmosphere and landing at a preselected point on land. Its goals were also met, with the exception of a land landing, which was cancelled in 1964.

 The Gemini 4 mission included the first spacewalk  Gemini 5 stayed in orbit for over a week

 Gemini 6A and 7 met each other in orbit (rendezvous)  Gemini 8-12 practiced more rendezvous and spacewalks

 May 25, 1961  "this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." - President John F. Kennedy

Goals of Project Apollo  To establish the technology to meet other national interests in space.  To achieve preeminence in space for the United States.  To carry out a program of scientific exploration of the Moon.  To develop man's capability to work in the lunar environment.

 July 20, 1969  Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins  Apollo 11 lands on the moon

 “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”

 There were 6 more Apollo missions. One did not land on the moon, but did return safely to Earth. A total of 12 men have ever walked on the moon

 The Apollo program ended in 1972

 In 1973 America launched its first Space Station, Skylab.

 Skylab Goals  The project began as the Apollo Applications Program in 1968 with an objective to develop science-based human space missions using hardware originally developed for the effort to land astronauts on the moon.

 Skylab orbited the Earth from 1973 to The 169,950-pound space station included a workshop, a solar observatory, a multiple docking adapter and systems to allow three crews to spend up to 84 days in space.

 Apollo Soyuz Goals Apollo Soyuz was the first international manned spaceflight. It was designed to test the compatibility of rendezvous and docking systems for American and Soviet spacecraft, to open the way for international space rescue as well as future joint manned flights

 Space Shuttle Goal  to provide NASA with an efficient, re- usable method of carrying astronauts to and from a permanently manned space station  serve as multi-purpose satellite delivery vehicles

Sally Ride – first American woman in space