Astronomy in Credo: Space Program

US space project to land a person on the Moon, achieved on 20 July 1969, when Neil Armstrong was the first to set foot there. He was accompanied on the Moon's surface by Buzz Aldrin; Michael Collins remained in the orbiting command module.

From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
The name of the US space shuttle that on 28 January 1986 exploded 73 seconds after blast-off from Cape Canaveral, instantly killing all seven astronauts, including a high-school teacher, Christa McAuliffe, the first private citizen to take part in the US shuttle programme.

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
A series of US space missions that extended the knowledge gained from the Mercury project and preceded the Apollo program. The project demonstrated that humans could function effectively over long periods of weightlessness, both inside and outside a spacecraft.

430-tonne orbiting space station being constructed by the USA, Russia, Japan, Canada, Brazil, and the 17 member nations of the European Space Agency.

Russian space station, the core of which was launched on 20 February 1986.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration; US government agency for space flight and aeronautical research.

From Astronomy Encyclopedia
First US SPACE STATION . Skylab was developed from the third stage of the SATURN V rocket. The 75-tonne station was launched into a near circular orbit 433 km (270 mi) above the Earth's surface on 1973 May 14.

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
A series of Soviet crewed spacecraft, the first of which – Soyuz 1 – was launched Apr. 23 1967. The flight of Soyuz 1 ended tragically when its parachute became entangled during reentry and it crashed in Kazakhstan, killing its cosmonaut pilot Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission.

A reusable manned vehicle that takes off like a rocket but lands on a runway like an aircraft and which is designed to travel into space.

A large orbiting artificial satellite, where crews of astronauts can live and carry out scientific and technological research in space over periods of weeks or months.

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
Any of a series of Soviet artificial satellites, the first of which – Sputnik 1 – was the first spacecraft to be placed in orbit. This 58-cm diameter sphere, weighing 84 kg, was launched on Oct. 4 1957; it burnt up in the Earth's atmosphere 92 days later.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.), American astronaut, b. Montclair, N.J. After graduating from West Point (1951), Aldrin joined the U.S. air force and flew 66 combat missions during the Korean War.

American astronaut, born in Wapakoneta, Ohio. A U.S. Navy fighter pilot during the Korean War, Armstrong became a test pilot for what was then the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics in 1955.

Soviet cosmonaut who on 12 April 1961 became the first human in space, aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1.

From Gale Biographies: Popular People
He became a World War II and Korean War hero before joining the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as the oldest of the original Mercury Seven astronauts. At age 40, he became the first American to orbit the earth and was showered with praise upon returning from his scenic but almost-fatal trip into space.

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
US astronaut. He piloted Gemini 7 in 1965, commanded Gemini 12 in 1966, and orbited the Moon on Apollo 8 (the first crewed lunar flight) in 1968.

Ellen Ochoa is an electrical engineer and astronaut specializing in optics and optical recognition in robotics.

US astronaut and astrophysicist. In 1983 she became the first US woman in space, working aboard the space shuttle Challenger as a mission specialist. She was also mission specialist on two further shuttle flights in 1984 and 1985. She served on a presidential commission investigating the Challenger accident in 1986.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
American astronaut. He served on a destroyer during World War II and later had extensive experience as a test pilot. On May 5, 1961, under the U.S. space program Project Mercury, he became the first American to be launched into space.

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Russian cosmonaut. An accomplished parachutist, she was accepted for the cosmonaut program in 1961. In 1963 she became the first woman in space, making 48 orbits in 71 hours aboard Vostok 6. She left the program after her flight and served in various governmental positions until the early 1990s.

U.S. rocket engineer, born in Germany, where he designed the V-2 missile used in World War II. In the U.S. he worked on the Apollo project.