150
3 A Brief History of Space Flight
939 km and an inclination angle of 65.1 deg, with an orbital period of 96.2 min. The
satellite had been in orbit for 92 days, flying around the Earth in nearly 1440 circles,
and on January 4, 1958, it was reentered into the atmosphere and finally burned out.
In the scientific researches, the satellite was used for the on-orbit temperature and
pressure tests, atmospheric density measurement, ionosphere detection, as well as
high-altitude atmospheric resistance research. On the political side, it was shown
that the Soviet Union won the first round of the Space Race. The successful launch
of Sputinik-1 marks that humanity has entered into the age of space flight, which is
of epoch-making significance to the development of space science and technology.
Since then, America, France, Japan, China and Britain have used their own rockets
to launch their first artificial earth satellites respectively. On January 31, 1958, the
United States successfully launched its first satellite, Explorer-1, using the Jupiter
C rocket. The Explorer-1 has a slender cylindrical shape, with a length of 2.03 m,
a diameter of 0.159 m and a weight of 13.97 kg. On November 26, 1965, France
successfully launched its first satellite, Asterix-1, using the Diamant-A rocket. The
structure of the Asterix-1 is the spindle shape of the upper and lower cones and the
middle cylinder, with a weight of 41.7 kg. On February 11, 1970, Japan successfully
launched its first satellite, Ohsumi, using the Lambda 4S rocket. The Ohsumi consists
of the fourth-stage engine, spherical engine and conical measuring instrument cabin,
with a total length of 1 m and a weight of 23.8 kg. On April 24, 1970, China successfully launched its first satellite, DFH-1, using the Long March-1 rocket. The DFH-1
is a spherical polyhedron shape, with a diameter of 1 m and a weight of 173 kg.
On October 28, 1971, the United Kingdom successfully launched its first satellite,
Prospero, with a weight of 66 kg, using the Black Arrow rocket. After that, the
UK gave up its own rocket development program and focused on developing space
science and application satellites. Today, all kinds of satellites are widely applied to
the fields of meteorology, communication, navigation, remote sensing, space science
and technology test, which promote the development of human civilization and the
progress of science and technology.
3.5.3 Manned Earth Orbit Flights
The manned Earth orbit flight, a real space travel, has been the dream of humanity
for thousands of years, and it is also the cause for the modern astronautics pioneers
have strived for their lifetime. In the late 1950s, humanity has entered the age of
space flight, launching a series of artificial earth satellites and interplanetary probes.
However, there are still many fundamental problems to be solved, such as space
biomedicine and space high-energy particle radiation, which are very risky for human
life safety. For the manned space flight, there is a great technological span, at least
involving three key technologies: one is the technology of high thrust launch vehicle;
the other is the technology of spacecraft environment control and life support; the
third is the technology of reentry and safe landing. In the 1960s, under the international environment of the Cold War between the East and the West and the Space
3 A Brief History of Space Flight
939 km and an inclination angle of 65.1 deg, with an orbital period of 96.2 min. The
satellite had been in orbit for 92 days, flying around the Earth in nearly 1440 circles,
and on January 4, 1958, it was reentered into the atmosphere and finally burned out.
In the scientific researches, the satellite was used for the on-orbit temperature and
pressure tests, atmospheric density measurement, ionosphere detection, as well as
high-altitude atmospheric resistance research. On the political side, it was shown
that the Soviet Union won the first round of the Space Race. The successful launch
of Sputinik-1 marks that humanity has entered into the age of space flight, which is
of epoch-making significance to the development of space science and technology.
Since then, America, France, Japan, China and Britain have used their own rockets
to launch their first artificial earth satellites respectively. On January 31, 1958, the
United States successfully launched its first satellite, Explorer-1, using the Jupiter
C rocket. The Explorer-1 has a slender cylindrical shape, with a length of 2.03 m,
a diameter of 0.159 m and a weight of 13.97 kg. On November 26, 1965, France
successfully launched its first satellite, Asterix-1, using the Diamant-A rocket. The
structure of the Asterix-1 is the spindle shape of the upper and lower cones and the
middle cylinder, with a weight of 41.7 kg. On February 11, 1970, Japan successfully
launched its first satellite, Ohsumi, using the Lambda 4S rocket. The Ohsumi consists
of the fourth-stage engine, spherical engine and conical measuring instrument cabin,
with a total length of 1 m and a weight of 23.8 kg. On April 24, 1970, China successfully launched its first satellite, DFH-1, using the Long March-1 rocket. The DFH-1
is a spherical polyhedron shape, with a diameter of 1 m and a weight of 173 kg.
On October 28, 1971, the United Kingdom successfully launched its first satellite,
Prospero, with a weight of 66 kg, using the Black Arrow rocket. After that, the
UK gave up its own rocket development program and focused on developing space
science and application satellites. Today, all kinds of satellites are widely applied to
the fields of meteorology, communication, navigation, remote sensing, space science
and technology test, which promote the development of human civilization and the
progress of science and technology.
3.5.3 Manned Earth Orbit Flights
The manned Earth orbit flight, a real space travel, has been the dream of humanity
for thousands of years, and it is also the cause for the modern astronautics pioneers
have strived for their lifetime. In the late 1950s, humanity has entered the age of
space flight, launching a series of artificial earth satellites and interplanetary probes.
However, there are still many fundamental problems to be solved, such as space
biomedicine and space high-energy particle radiation, which are very risky for human
life safety. For the manned space flight, there is a great technological span, at least
involving three key technologies: one is the technology of high thrust launch vehicle;
the other is the technology of spacecraft environment control and life support; the
third is the technology of reentry and safe landing. In the 1960s, under the international environment of the Cold War between the East and the West and the Space