EXPLORING SPACEd VIRGIN GALACTIC is
selling tickets for suborbital
flights to an altitude of
42 miles (68 km).Space shuttle In 1981, a new space
age began when the first reusable
spacecraft blasted off from Cape
Canaveral, Florida. Five US space
shuttle orbiters have been
built. They come back
to Earth like
giant gliders.
u THE SPACECRAFT ORION will
dock with the International Space Station.1970s 1990s
1973
Skylab launch—
the first US
space station.1980s
1977 Voyager
2, then 1 are
launched to
Jupiter, Saturn,
and beyond.2000s
1986
First section of
Mir space station
launched.1998
First part of
the ISS
launched.2004
Cassini-
Huygens in
orbit around
Saturn.SPACEJust 12 astronauts have walked
on the Moon. They are the only
people ever to have set foot on
another world. Nearly 500 people
have flown around the Earth since
Gagarin’s historic flight. Most have
come from Russia or the
United States.W
OW!
Space tourism Almost all of the
astronaut and cosmonaut flights have
been funded by tax payers. However,
space tourism is becoming increasingly
popular. The first real space tourist was
millionaire businessman Dennis Tito,
who paid $20 million for a week
on board the ISS.d SPACE SHUTTLE LANDING
The shuttle lands on a runway at a
speed of 215 mph (345 km/h). If it
misses the runway it can’t go around
and try again. A tail parachute
helps to slow it down.■ The United States, Russia, Europe, and
Japan are planning to send people back to
the Moon by 2020. The US is developing
the Ares I and V rockets. Ares I will carry a
crewed spacecraft called Orion, which will
carry six people to the International Space
Station and eventually on to the Moon.BACK TO THE MOON
Dennis TitoDennis Tito