Definition
Essay focuses on the history of US space exploration from the 1950s into the twenty-first century, highlighting the four major flight programs – Mercury (1961–1963), Gemini (1965–1966), Apollo (1967–1972), Space Shuttle (1981–2011) – and the two extended orbital workshops, Skylab (1973–1974) and the International Space Station (2000–present). In addition, recent developments in space tourism and other commercial space activities are profiled.
Sputnik as a Cold War Crisis
Human space exploration emerged as a Cold War initiative of both the Soviet Union and the United States during the technological demonstrations of virtuosity in the early 1960s. After an arms race with nuclear components and a series of hot and cold crises in the Eisenhower era, coupled with the launching of Sputniks I and II in 1957, the United States pursued human spaceflight as a means of demonstrating American technological prowess before the world’s nonaligned nations.
This avenue of competition emerged...
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Launius, R. (2017). Highlights of Human Spaceflight: The United States. In: Young, L., Young, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Bioastronautics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_67-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_67-1
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Highlights of Human Spaceflight: The United States- Published:
- 05 December 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_67-3
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Highlights of Human Spaceflight: The United States
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- 06 April 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_67-2
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Highlights of Human Spaceflight: The United States- Published:
- 03 August 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10152-1_67-1