Space Research

The launch of the first rocket in 1926 led to the development of the first long-range missile - the A4, renamed V2 - fired in anger during the Second World War. The technology had advanced by 1957, to enable the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to be developed. This missile formed the basis of the first launch vehicle to carry a satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit, marking the beginning of the Space Age. Since then the Moon, all the planets in the solar system except Pluto, and an asteroid and a comet have been explored by spacecraft. Since the Space Age began, twelve men have walked on the Moon, and over 400 people have experienced space travel. Satellites now provide the world with a range of services from environmental monitoring to mobile phone calls. Space station operations have become routine. The Hubble Space Telescope has enabled astronomers to peer 12 billion years into the past and to take their first look at a black hole. What else will be achieved in the coming decades, as space exploration takes on a new momentum?