Continue with Microsoft TeamsRead About Space Flight
Vocabulary
Read the vocabulary terms to understand the reading better.
A satellite is a device sent into space to orbit around Earth and used to collect information or for communications, such as sending TV and radio signals.
To orbit means to travel in a curved path around an object in space, such as Earth or a star.
Gravity is the force that attracts objects toward one another (e.g., gravity pulls objects toward the ground).
Thrust is the power or force that overcomes drag and weight to move an object forward.
Exhaust is gases and flames that are blasted quickly out of the back of a rocket to push the rocket high into the sky.
Microgravity is very weak levels of gravity, usually seen in space.
Radiation is a form of energy that is given off as rays, electromagnetic waves (e.g., visible, infrared, or ultraviolet radiation), or particles; Earth’s biggest source of radiation is the Sun.
The atmosphere is a layer or set of layers of gases that surround Earth.
Space Flight
In 1957, Russian engineers launched the first artificial satellite into space. A satellite is an object that orbits a planet or the Sun. This amazing event happened just 54 years after the Wright brothers’ first flight.
One of the toughest obstacles to space travel is overcoming Earth’s gravity. Doing this takes rocket power — an extremely strong thrust from a rocket engine. These engines push rockets up by ejecting exhaust downward very quickly.
Sending people beyond the moon will be very difficult. How will they have enough oxygen, water, or food to survive the long trip out and back? People experience very little gravity in space. The human body has difficulty staying healthy in microgravity conditions.
Another obstacle to space travel is radiation. The Sun gives off many forms of radiation, including X-rays. This radiation penetrates spacecraft walls and astronauts’ bodies. Earth’s atmosphere helps protect us from this radiation. There is no protective atmosphere in space.
To learn more about space flight, watch the video by National Geographic on Youtube.