spaceflight
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.5|Tracy Caldwell Dyson in the [[International Space Station's Cupola]]
AI overview
Spaceflight is the act of traveling beyond Earth's atmosphere into space, as shown by astronauts like Tracy Caldwell Dyson working aboard facilities such as the International Space Station. It matters because it enables scientific research, exploration, and technological advancement that would be impossible to conduct on Earth.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Article
45 sectionsContents
- Terminology
- History
- Phases
- Launch
- Reaching space
- Alternatives
- Leaving orbit
- Astrodynamics
- Transfer energy
- Reaching space station
- Reentry
- Landing and recovery
- Types
- Uncrewed
- Human
- Sub-orbital
- Point-to-point
- Orbital
- Interplanetary
- Interstellar
- Intergalactic
- Spacecraft
- Propulsion
- Launch systems
- Expendable
- Reusable
- Challenges
- Safety
- Weightlessness
- Radiation
- Life support
- Space weather
- Environmental considerations
- Regulation
- Access
- Applications
- Spacefaring
- Global coordination
- Crewed spacefaring nations
- Uncrewed spacefaring nations
- Suborbital
- See also
- References
- Further reading
- External links
thumb|upright=1.5|Tracy Caldwell Dyson in the [[International Space Station's Cupola]]
Spaceflight (also space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly objects, usually spacecraft, into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such as satellites in orbit around Earth, but also includes space probes for flights beyond Earth orbit. Such spaceflights operate either by telerobotic or autonomous control. The first spaceflights began in the 1950s with the launches of the Soviet Sputnik satellites and American Explorer and Vanguard missions. Human spaceflight programs include the Soyuz, Shenzhou, the past Apollo Moon landing and the Space Shuttle programs. Other current spaceflight are conducted to the International Space Station and to China's Tiangong Space Station.