A Day in Astronomy: Dogs in Space

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Laika in a training capsule prior to her mission. (Sputnik / Alamy)

On this day in 1960, the Soviet Union sent two dogs into space on a sub-orbital flight – Otvazhnaya and Malyok. Both returned from the trip safely.

Between 1951 and 1966, it is estimated that the Soviets sent 48 dogs into space on both sub-orbital and orbital flights, while China sent only two dogs into space on sub-orbital flights. The United States did not send any dogs into space. Of the 48 Soviet dogs, 20 died in space. Both Chinese dogs survived.

Little Otvazhnaya, which means “brave” in Russian, flew on the most missions of any of the dogs. She flew on five sub-orbital missions between July 1959 and September 1960.

The most famous Soviet space dog, Laika (pictured above), was the first dog to fly on an orbital flight on November 3, 1957. She did not survive the mission.

One of the Russian canine cosmonauts has a link to the Kennedy family. Strelka, one of the first dogs to orbit the Earth and survive, had six puppies, including one named Pushinka, or “Fluffy.” Pushinka was presented as a gift to President John F. Kennedy’s family in 1961.

Image (Credit): Letter from President Kennedy to Soviet Chairman Krushchev thanking him for Pushinka. (JFK Library)

A Day in Astronomy: Launch of the Galex Space Telescope

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Artist’s rendering of the GALEX space telescope orbiting Earth. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

On this day in 2003, NASA air-launched the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) via a Pegasus launch vehicle. It was an active orbiting space telescope for the next nine years, observing the universe in ultraviolet wavelengths to learn more about star formation in the universe.

Some of the highlights of the GALEX mission include:

  • Discovering a gargantuan, comet-like tail behind a speeding star called Mira;
  • Catching a black hole “red-handed” as it munched on a star;
  • Finding giant rings of new stars around old, dead galaxies;
  • Independently confirming the nature of dark energy; and
  • Discovering a missing link in galaxy evolution — the teenage galaxies transitioning from young to old.

A Day in Astronomy: First Liquid-Propellant Rocket

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): Robert Goddard with his rocket on March 8, 1926 before a failed launch. He was able to successfully launch it on March 16th. (Smithsonian Air & Space Museum)

On this day in 1926, Robert Goddard launched the world’s first liquid-propellant rocket in Worcester, Massachusetts. The rocket climbed to about 41 feet and traveled a distance of only 184 feet, but it was a success. After that, he kept the results under his hat for almost a decade.

Although in fragile health as a young man, Goddard pursued ideas in science, watched the heavens with his telescope, and became a fan of the writings of H.G. Wells, particularly The War of the Worlds. He also survived a bad case of tuberculosis at age 31, but he fought his way back to his scientific work.

Robert Goddard had a productive, yet at times frustrating, academic career involving rocketry, at times dabbling with potential military projects as well. For example, during the World War I period he came up with the idea of a hand-held tube-based rocket launcher that would later become the bazooka. However, the U.S. military was slow to show interest in larger rockets until the Germans leaped ahead in the 1940s, which the Germans did by building on Goddard’s work. It did not help that Goddard was very protective of his ideas and did not always work well with others, in part due to some early criticism.

In a 1932 letter to writer H.G. Wells, Robert Goddard stated:

How many more years I shall be able to work on the problem I do not know; I hope, as long as I live. There can be no thought of finishing, for ‘aiming at the stars’ both literally and figuratively, is a problem to occupy generations, so that no matter how much progress one makes, there is always the thrill of just beginning.

He was right. One hundred years later we are continuing his work as we aim for the Moon, Mars, and eventually the stars.

You can read more about this early rocket flight at this Smithsonian site.

A Day in Astronomy: The Death of Eugène Michel Antoniadi

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): E.M. Antoniadi’s 1930 book La Planete Mars. (Linda Hall Library)

On this day in 1944, Greek-French astronomer Eugène Michel Antoniadi passed away in Paris, France.

Mr. Antoniadi was one of the astronomers that battled the idea of a civilization creating canals on the surface of Mars, putting him at odds with American astronomer Percival Lowell. While he was initially open to the idea, he later believed the canals to be an optical illusion.

You can learn much more about the Martian controversy in David Baron’s book The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America. You can also hear an interview with the author on the Planetary Society’s Planetary Radio podcast.

Credit: Liveright Publishing

A Day in Astronomy: The Last Word from Pioneer 10

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The visual message on the Pioneer 10 and 11 plaques. (NASA Ames)

On this day in 2003, NASA heard its last message from Pioneer 10, the Jupiter space probe. Launched in 1972, it was the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter on its way to the outer planets. It is also one of only five spacecraft to leave our solar system.

Both Pioneer 10 and 11 carried specially designed metal plaques that explained the position of the Earth as well as the nature of human beings. Carl Sagan helped with the design of these unique plaques.

If all goes well, in about 2 million years the Pioneer 10 spacecraft will encounter the star Aldebaran. Maybe some civilization in that solar system will be arguing about this object floating through the neighborhood the way we have argued about the origins of the interstellar object we call 3I/ATLAS.

Image (Credit): Mission patch for Pioneer 10 and 11. (NASA)