Behind NASA's achievements and failures

They did what was supposed to be nearly impossible, but also caused many painful incidents. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding, NASA looks back on its achievements in space domination, heavy defeat and human tragedy.

NASA is a myth: giant missiles fly up to the Moon, the spacecraft leaves the Solar System into the interstellar space. Is there a child who does not dream that he will be present when the door enters unfamiliar worlds?

The US space agency created many heroes - thanks to the current annual budget of 17 billion USD and nearly 18,000 employees. Especially the flights that landed on the Moon have greatly influenced American confidence: We can do it all when we want to. NASA is not only a space agency, they have given an image, a tool of politics and also of the military.

June 3, 1965 astronaut Ed White is the first American to leave the spacecraft.Photo: NASA.

Scientifically, NASA's brilliant period only started after the "Apollo" project . The spaceship visiting other planets, a comet "Deep Impact" mission was also bombarded so that the dust could be analyzed. Especially thanks to non-human flights and telescopes like "Hubble" and "Spitzer" that people have today knowledge of the solar system and the universe.

NASA was delighted to welcome so many great successes - but also experienced many terrible disasters. 2 shuttles fell, all the astronauts on board were killed. After successful visits to the Moon, the bureaucracy often criticized for bureaucracy lacks a new goal.

Early period: Entering the universe through German technology

The early days of NASA were influenced by a group of Germans studying rockets that were brought to the United States in the summer of 1945. The head of the company was Wernher von Braun who worked with the V2 rocket, thanks to them in Germany War brought the cities of England, France and Belgium into view. The American public only knew about this one year after the war and had many objections. People do not want to have people who are potentially war criminals in their own agencies.

The driving force for American missile programs was the fear of the Soviet Union, which also possessed the knowledge of the Germans. Of particular importance is the work of Mr. von Braun and his colleague Walter Dornberger for "Redstone", a short-range nuclear missile.

But the "Sputnik" satellite launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957 brought Americans into a collective shock state.

Sputnik and Gagarin: The second shock and the chase

On 1 February 1958, a "Juno" rocket of the US Army departing from Cape Canaveral in Florida carried the "Explorer 1" satellite . Thanks to this scout, scientists have discovered the enormous radiation belt surrounding the Earth - a great success. An improved version of V2 brought the first US satellite into space. Earlier many US Navy trials in the framework of the "Vanguard" program failed.

Washington's space travel program, weakened by competition between military and civilian groups, is still immature - and unable to challenge the ambitions of the Soviet Union. The law that President Eisenower signed in July 1958 focused all of the country's non-military space operations on the new NASA space agency.

With relatively modest resources, the new organization wanted to start the race to dominate the universe, and lost the next game. While NASA researchers were investigating within the framework of the "Mercury" program that humans could live in the universe and how it was April 1961 with Yuri Gagarin, the Soviet Union gave people. First into the universe. The NASA team had just sent the "Gordo" monkey into the universe, and had miserably drowned in the Atlantic during an unsuccessful landing. Americans also finished second in bringing people into space when Alan Shepard flew in the "Freedom 7" ballistic missile on May 5, 1961.

A start for America's entry into the universe was the speech that President John F. Kennedy read in May 1961. In it he declared that NASA astronauts would stand on the Moon. end of the decade. The "Apollo" program starts.

It was the greatest civilian research project in history: In just eight years, NASA developed the "Apollo" program and successfully brought people to the Moon. But the party ended quickly.

For America, the "Apollo" program is a huge industrial mobilization. President Kennedy's speech was a gunfire that started a huge project, costing $ 25 billion and during the peak period brought jobs to 400,000 people.

Through television, half a billion people saw how Neil Armstrong put his first foot on the Moon - and said one of the most famous statements of world history: "That's one small step for a man, one giant." leap for mankind. " A small step for a person, a great jump for mankind. Taking the Moon cruise is one of the most powerful rockets ever in human history: "Saturn 5" is 110 m high.

Until December 1972, Americans successfully responded another 5 times to the Moon. Exactly 12 NASA astronauts stepped down on Earth's satellite, the last being Eugene Cernan. But at this point, American enthusiasm for high jobs on their heads has disappeared. The "Apollo" party ended quickly, the remaining missions were crossed out. "The moon belongs to the people in love," a reporter said.

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