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spaceflight
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Partially assembled International Space Station orbiting above Earth with its large solar arrays extended. Molniya 1 The Giotto space probe, developed and launched by the European Space Agency for a flyby of Halley's Comet in 1986. Soyuz U.S. Explorer 10 satellite
Watch the launch and booster separation of Gemini spacecraft as it is lifted off the ground by a Titan II rocket
Diagram showing types of Earth orbit categorized by inclination (equatorial, polar, inclined), shape (circular, elliptical), and altitude (low Earth, medium Earth, geostationary), with labeled illustrations of satellite paths around the planet. Diagram showing how different launch speeds from Earth create different flight paths: circular, elliptical, parabolic, hyperbolic, and straight, with speed thresholds labeled for each trajectory. Earth as photographed by the Galileo space probe during its December 1990 gravity-assist flyby of the planet. Earlier, in February, Galileo had skirted Venus, and it passed near Earth again in December 1992 before heading out of the inner solar system to an encounter with Jupiter in December 1995. Artist's rendering of the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Shoemaker spacecraft.
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View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).
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The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet
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Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.
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Edwin E. Aldrin (Buzz Aldrin) stands on the moon, Apollo 11
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spaceflight: References & Edit History

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Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Invalidated site: National Geographic - Science and Space - Early Manned Spaceflight. Apr 01, 2020
Media added. Jan 22, 2019
Added diagram depicting launch speeds required for a spacecraft to escape Earth's gravitational pull, depending on its trajectory. Feb 02, 2012
Added new Web site: National Geographic - Science and Space - Early Manned Spaceflight. Apr 16, 2009
Added new Web site: National Geographic - Science and Space - Future of Spaceflight. Apr 16, 2009
Article revised and updated. Sep 18, 2007
Article revised. Apr 07, 2005
Article revised. Feb 01, 2002
New article added. Dec 21, 2001
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