Astronomy: Advances in Astronomy

US space project to land a person on the Moon, achieved on 20 July 1969, when Neil Armstrong was the first to set foot there.

From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
The name of the US space shuttle that on 28 January 1986 exploded 73 seconds after blast-off from Cape Canaveral, instantly killing all seven astronauts, including a high-school teacher, Christa McAuliffe, the first private citizen to take part in the US shuttle programme.

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
A series of US space missions that extended the knowledge gained from the Mercury project and preceded the Apollo program. The project demonstrated that humans could function effectively over long periods of weightlessness, both inside and outside a spacecraft.

430-tonne orbiting space station being constructed by the USA, Russia, Japan, Canada, Brazil, and the 17 member nations of the European Space Agency.

Russian space station, the core of which was launched on 20 February 1986.

US government agency for space flight and aeronautical research.

From Astronomy Encyclopedia
First US SPACE STATION . Skylab was developed from the third stage of the SATURN V rocket. The 75-tonne station was launched into a near circular orbit 433 km (270 mi) above the Earth's surface on 1973 May 14.

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
A series of Soviet crewed spacecraft, the first of which – Soyuz 1 – was launched Apr. 23 1967. The flight of Soyuz 1 ended tragically when its parachute became entangled during reentry and it crashed in Kazakhstan, killing its cosmonaut pilot Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission.

A reusable manned vehicle that takes off like a rocket but lands on a runway like an aircraft and which is designed to travel into space.

A large orbiting artificial satellite, where crews of astronauts can live and carry out scientific and technological research in space over periods of weeks or months.

From Collins Dictionary of Astronomy
Any of a series of Soviet artificial satellites, the first of which – Sputnik 1 – was the first spacecraft to be placed in orbit. This 58-cm diameter sphere, weighing 84 kg, was launched on Oct. 4 1957; it burnt up in the Earth's atmosphere 92 days later.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr.), American astronaut, b. Montclair, N.J. After graduating from West Point (1951), Aldrin joined the U.S. air force and flew 66 combat missions during the Korean War.

American astronaut, born in Wapakoneta, Ohio. A U.S. Navy fighter pilot during the Korean War, Armstrong became a test pilot for what was then the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics in 1955.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Russian astronaut (cosmonaut), b. near Gzhatsk, RSFSR. He was the first in history to be rocketed into orbital space flight. His flight on Apr. 12, 1961, lasted 1 hr. 48 min. and circled the earth once.

From The Hutchinson unabridged encyclopedia with atlas and weather guide
US astronaut and Democrat politician, senator from Ohio 1974–99. While senator, he chaired the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs 1987–95. On 20 February 1962, he became the first US astronaut to orbit the Earth, doing so three times in the spacecraft Friendship 7.

From The Hutchinson unabridged encyclopedia with atlas and weather guide
US astronaut. He piloted Gemini 7 in 1965, commanded Gemini 12 in 1966, and orbited the Moon on Apollo 8 (the first crewed lunar flight) in 1968.

From The Penguin Biographical Dictionary of Women
In 1983 Sally Ride became the first American woman in space – a distinction she earned on account of her scientific record, good team work, and talent for calm problem solving.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
American astronaut. He served on a destroyer during World War II and later had extensive experience as a test pilot. On May 5, 1961, under the U.S. space program Project Mercury, he became the first American to be launched into space.

From The Penguin Biographical Dictionary of Women
Valentina Tereshkova made history in 1963 when she became the first woman ever to fly in space. Born near Yaroslavl, the daughter of a farmer, she worked in a cotton mill and was an avid amateur parachutist with 126 jumps to her credit.

U.S. rocket engineer, born in Germany, where he designed the V-2 missile used in World War II. In the U.S. he worked on the Apollo project.