History+of+the+Space+Program+in+America+p8

=Hailey-History of space in America=

=Introduction=

The history of space in America is a very important topic. In the past, there have been many different missions into space. Some include Project Mercury and the Apollo missions. We have learned a lot from these missions and there is still a lot more to be learned about outer space. Besides the missions, the history of space in America also includes the Space Race, and NASA.

Basics
There are many very important people that were involved in the space race in America. Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins are among those very important people. They were the first people to ever land on the moon. Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon. Alan Shepard was the first American to enter space, and John Glenn was the first American ever to go out into orbit. All of these people plus many more were launched into outer space from the United States on missions that would change their lives as well as everyone else's.

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is a huge part of American space history. It was created "to provide for research into the problems of flight within and outside the Earth's atmosphere and for other purposes" on October 1, 1958 a year after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik into orbit. NASA successfully sent many probes and landers into outer space, and put satellites and telescopes into orbit. NASA's first program was called Project Mercury, and this was to learn if people could survive in outer space. After project Mercury, there was Project Gemini, followed by the Apollo Program. The Apollo 11 mission successfully landed 3 astronauts on the moon's surface for the first time. Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft are among the probes that were sent into space to explore the Moon and other areas in outer space. NASA has also sent many spacecraft to investigate the planet mars. The spacecrafts NASA has sent into outer space have provided the United States with much information about our universe.

Most of the extremely important space bound missions took place throughout the 1960's. There were a few missions before this, but those missions took place in the Soviet Union in the late 1950's. There are many different locations where the space shuttles took off. The Apollo 11, for example, was launched at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Nasa continues to do research and set up programs today.

Extra Focus: The Apollo Program
The Apollo Program was a program set by President John F. Kennedy on May 25, 1961 to land a mand on the moon and return back to earth safely. The program was very successful. The total cost of the Apollo Program was $15 billion. There were 15 manned Apollo flights in total. The most important flight, however, was the Apollo 11 - the flight that landed on the moon.

The Eagle has landed
The Apollo 11 launched on July 16th, 1969. The entire mission took 8 days, 3 hours, and 18 minutes. Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin Aldrin landed on the moon on July 20th, 1969. The place where they landed was named "The Sea of Tranquility". Only Armstrong and Collins actually stepped onto the moon. While they were on the moon, they did a number of things. They collected samples, explored, and took pictures like any tourist would. Armstrong and Collins proceeded to set up the American flag. They had an extremely difficult time doing this, though. Along with the flag, they left an inscription: "Here Men From Planet Earth First Set Foot Upon The Moon. July 1969 A.D. We Came In Peace For All Mankind."

Importance of NASA
Without NASA and all of its missions into outer space, how would we know many of the things about outer space that we know now? How would we be able to see the up-close details of other planets? Without NASA we wouldn't have satellite TV, efficient weather forecasts, the "man on the moon" joke, and many other things. NASA is extremely important for things it has provided for us in the past, present, and the future.