VOYAGERS TRAVELS

 (6) Voyager 1 has now left our solar system! The news we have been waiting all year to hear has finally been announced, Voyager 1 has entered interstellar space.

Scientists claim Voyager 1 entered interstellar space more than a year ago. Study claims Voyager 1 left the heliosphere around the 25th of August 2012. The reason for the delay in the announcement was because they wanted to be certain, all the data needed to be checked. After careful analysis, scientists are confident that Voyager 1 has left our solar system and is now the first mission to explore interstellar space, the space between our star and the next. Interstellar simply meaning in between stars. 

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THE SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAMME

(3) The Shuttles or Orbiters as they are officially known, were designed as the first re-usable orbital spacecraft for carrying crews and various payloads into low-earth-orbit, capable of a wide range of missions before returning to earth. The Orbiter is basically a space-plane that is able to launch using rocket assistance and maneuver as needed in orbit before re-entering the earth's atmosphere to land like a glider. Early missions included the Spacelab series jointly funded by several European nations and many satellite launches. Their most recent achievements include helping build the International Space Station which has taken more than 10 years and is now virtually complete. There is one more mission to the ISS, Atlantis, scheduled for the 8th July 2011; this will be the last shuttle mission ever. A very sad moment for all involved.

There were 6 shuttles altogether, the first being Enterprise which took off from the back of a Boeing-747 cargo plane in 1977. Columbia was the first shuttle to take-off with a rocket from the launch pad in 1981. In 1983 Challenger first launched, followed by Discovery in 1984 and Atlantis in 1985 but in 1986 disaster struck, Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into the flight because an O-ring seal in its right solid rocket booster (SRB) failed at liftoff. Sadly, all 7 crew members were killed.

BRICK MOON

(2) The Brick Moon is a short story written by an American man called Edward Everett Hale in the 19th century. It is the first known fictional description of an artificial satellite. The story is written as if it were a journal. It describes the construction and launches into the orbit of a sphere, 200 ft. in diameter, built of bricks. It was intended as a navigational aid for ships but is accidentally launched with people aboard. It also provides the first known fictional description of a space station.

Here is the short story called:-

THE BRICK MOON