PRESENTATION OUTLINE
On October 31, 2000 Expedition 1 of the ISS is launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The same launch pad from which Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space. Prior to its return on March 21, 2001, the crew conducts scientific experiments and prepares the station for long-term occupation.
2001 - Russian Soyuz spacecraft sent the first tourist Dennis Tito to the ISS
March 1, 2002: NASA launched Space Shuttle Columbia to begin the STS-109 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope by adding new instruments and boosting it to a higher orbit.
2004 -first private manned (suborbital) spaceflight, SpaceShipOne demonstrates reusability
Engineers are working on an improved version of VASIMR, a plasma rocket that passed a 200 kilowatt power test in late 2009. The rocket would use an electric power source to ionize hydrogen or helium into superheated plasma, creating a launching thrust. The spacecraft would be able to make pit stops on Mars to pick up more hydrogen and extend its extraterrestrial expedition.
Feb. 2, 2009: Iran orbited its first satellite, Omid, with a domestically-built launch vehicle, Safir, becoming the 8th member of the "space club." (In January 2004, Defense Minister promised the launch in 2005.)
2010 - SpaceX Falcon 9, the first rocket belonging to a private company, successfully launched.
President Barack Obama announced a $6-billion budget increase to the space program as well as his intent to have astronauts on Mars within the next 30 years in April 2010.
Humans may orbit Mars by the time many 2011 CMU students are in their 40s or even sooner, thanks.
Feb. 15, 2013 09:20 local time: An estimated 17-meter, 7,000-10,000-ton hits Chelyabinsk Region, Russia, injuring up to 1,000 people
