6 Into space

Chapter 6 Into space I wonder how far this one will go... Of course, planes, balloons and helicopters aren't the only way to fly. Thousands of years before any of them were invented, people in China were launching rockets.

But, as there are no written records, no one knows how well they flew. Then, about two hundred years ago, armies began to use rockets in battle. By the time the Second World War broke out in 1939, rockets were more powerful.

Scientists realized they could use the power of rockets to reach space. On October 4, 1957, the first space machine was launched by the Russians. It was tiny and named Sputnik 1. Just four years later, the Russians launched Vostock 1. Its pilot, Yuri Gagarin, became the first man to fly into space.

The Americans decided to join in. A race began to see who would be first to send a man to the Moon. American scientists built Saturn V, the biggest rocket in the world. In July 1969, it blasted into space. Soon after that, Neil Armstrong became the first man to step onto the Moon's rocky surface.

Most of Saturn V was made up of booster engines. It needed vast amounts of power to blast itself into space. The astronauts were squashed into the tiny Command Module at the rocket's tip. The booster engines fell away as the rocket flew higher. The Command Module was the only part to return to Earth.

Until 1980, all space flights were made with rockets. But, as they could only be used once, they weren't very practical. So, American scientists invented the space shuttle. The shuttle is launched like a rocket, but then the booster engine and fuel tanks drop off. The shuttle's engines take over and it flies... just like a plane.