The space age dawned with the launching of \TSputnik\t 1 by the Soviet Union on Oct. 4, 1957. Since that event many thousands of spacecraft have been placed into Earth orbit, and numerous probes have been launched on lunar, planetary, and cometary missions. Most of these craft have been launched by the United States and the \TUSSR\t, with the Soviets accounting for more than 50% of all successful launches. Although the early years of the space age were characterized as a "space race" between the United States and the \TUSSR\t, other nations quickly began developing their own domestic programs. Such activities soon transcended national boundaries. While the programs of a number of individual nations are described below, many nations do their most advanced work in alliance with other nations. DEVELOPMENT OF NATIONAL SPACE PROGRAMS Since the early 1950s, scientists and engineers in both the \TUSSR\t and the United States had been planning for the flight of an artificial \Tsatellite\t in connection with the International Geophysical Year, or \TIGY\t, which ran from July 1957 through December 1958. During this period an intensive and coordinated effort was made throughout the world to obtain data on a great variety of natural phenomena. On July 29, 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved the launching of a small Earth-circling satellite as part of American participation in the \TIGY\t. Four days later the Soviets made a similar announcement in the Moscow press. In actuality, the \TIGY\t represented a suitable occasion for both nations to launch artificial satellites, since they had already been vigorously pursuing missile programs that created the requisite technology. At the time of the Eisenhower approval, for example, the U.S. \Tarmy\t, \Tnavy\t, and \Tair force\t each had a current proposal for putting up the first satellite. The one finally approved--the Naval Research Laboratory's \TVanguard\t proposal--involved upgrading two existing sounding rockets, the Viking and the \TAerobee\t, and the construction of a few solid-propellant rockets, creating a three-stage launcher. The First Satellites During the early morning of October 5, 1957--the late evening of October 4 in the eastern United States--the Soviets launched Sputnik 1, an aluminum sphere 58 cm (23 in) in diameter and weighing 84 kg (184 lb). Not only did this achievement thrust a scientific challenge upon the United States, it also brought great political pressure to bear. After three successful development flights of the first stage of Vanguard, an attempt was made to launch the complete system, two months after the launch of Sputnik 1. Less than one second after lift-off, the first-stage engine lost thrust, and the vehicle settled back on the launch pad and exploded. The small satellite, 15 cm (6 in) in diameter, continued to transmit signals as it lay on the pad. In the meantime, on Nov. 3, 1957, the Soviets had launched Sputnik 2, a much larger satellite than Sputnik 1, weighing 508 kg (1,121 lb). The satellite carried a live dog named \TLaika\t. Although the life-support materials aboard were only enough to keep the dog alive for a week, the flight proved that animals could exist in a condition of weightlessness for an extended period of time. The flight was also a clear indication that the Soviet Union was embarking on a space program that would include human flight. The Soviet successes generated even greater domestic pressure for a strong U.S. space program. On November 8 the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) in Huntsville, Ala., was asked to provide a backup to the Vanguard for launching an American satellite. The group, led by Wernher \Tvon Braun\t, had already converted a missile, the \TRedstone\t (see \Trockets and missiles\t) into the \TJupiter\t launcher for reentry tests. They now proceeded to modify the Jupiter C and produce a satellite launcher by adding a spinning cluster of solid-propellant rockets arranged as three upper stages. On Jan. 31, 1958, the modified rocket, renamed Juno 1, put the first American satellite into orbit. This payload, called \TExplorer\t 1, weighed 13.6 kg (30 lb) and carried instruments designed to measure cosmic rays, temperature, and micrometeorite collisions. It succeeded in discovering the Van Allen radiation belts. Not until March 1958 did the Vanguard at last fulfill its mission by launching a 1.8 kg (4-lb) satellite. Formation of \TNASA\t The significance of the Sputnik launches was not lost on American political leaders. The launches confirmed an earlier claim by the \TUSSR\t that it possessed the ability to build intercontinental ballistic missiles, and they demonstrated substantial Soviet competence in science and technology. Furthermore, the implied threat to U.S. national security and the fact that the \TUSSR\t was the first country to achieve space flight detracted from the international image of the U.S. leadership in advanced technology. The United States did not then possess an integrated national space program, and the president and congressional leaders became involved in creating a new organization for space activity. One of the leading issues concerned whether the program should be of a military nature. On Mar. 5, 1958, President Eisenhower approved a recommendation that a civilian space agency be created from the already existing National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The \TNASA\t had a reputation of being a competent research organization that worked closely with the Department of Defense. Although primarily concerned with flight within the atmosphere, \TNASA\t felt that about half its research could be classified as space related. It had its own rocket launch station at Wallops Island, Va., and had provided the technical leadership for the X series of research aircraft, which had been funded primarily by the military. The rocket-powered X-15 (see X-15), the then current project in the series, was in reality part spacecraft because it could fly ballistically above the atmosphere for a period of several minutes. With congressional approval of the National Aeronautics and Space Act, signed by President Eisenhower on July 29, 1958, NACA was transformed into the \TNational Aeronautics and Space Administration\t (\TNASA\t) on Oct. 1, 1958. The Vanguard project team and other employees from the Naval Research Laboratory were transferred to \TNASA\t, and this group became the nucleus of the \TGoddard Space Flight Center\t. Later in the year the jurisdiction of the \TJet Propulsion Laboratory\t was transferred from the U.S. Army to \TNASA\t. Finally, on July 1, 1960, the Development Operations Division (the part of the ABMA supervised by Wernher von Braun) was transferred to \TNASA\t, becoming the Marshall Space Flight Center. Not until October 1984 did the Soviet Union announce the formation of a civilian space agency, called Glavkosmos, that was comparable to \TNASA\t. Growth of Other National Programs In November 1965, France became the third nation with an independent spaceflight capability when it orbited its first satellite, named A-1, from Hammaguir, a French military base located in the Algerian Sahara Desert. The French eventually evacuated this base and moved their launch operations to Kourou, French Guiana. In 1970, Japan and the People's Republic of China became the fourth and fifth nations to possess independent launch capability when Osumi and China 1, respectively, were launched from within these two countries. In 1971, Great Britain became the sixth nation to join the club when it launched the Prospero satellite from Woomera, Australia, using a Black Arrow launch vehicle (the last time, however, that Woomera served as a launch site). India, in 1980, became the seventh nation in space when it orbited a satellite from its Sriharikota Launching Range. Israel became the eighth space nation in 1988, when it launched a small satellite from a pad in the Negev desert. In addition, the costliness of space programs led several European nations to form a consortium called the \TEuropean Space Agency\t (ESA), enabling a number of smaller countries to participate in such programs. ESA has launched satellites using U.S. vehicles but now mainly orbits them from Kourou using the \TAriane\t launch vehicle, which became operational in 1983. The international character of the space effort is exemplified by the use made of U.S. and Soviet launch vehicles by many other countries, including Australia, Canada, France, West Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy. Italy itself owns a shallow-water launch facility, San Marco, off the coast of Kenya, which has in turn been used by the United States. In addition, many countries have flown experiments on foreign satellites or have otherwise participated in space programs through such activities as providing \Ttracking station\t facilities and launching \Lsounding rocket\ls or sending \Lballoon\ls aloft for observational use in various geophysical projects. SOVIET UNION From its beginning with the launch of Sputnik 1, the Soviet venture into space has been characterized both by a slow, steady progress and by a determined exploitation of the space environment to meet a broad spectrum of national goals. The Soviets possess a respectable array of spaceflight operational skills. With about a hundred space launches each year, a permanently manned space station, heavy space boosters, operational space weapons, and a bold program of interplanetary exploration, the nation in the late 20th century appeared ready to dominate the field. These highly visible strengths, however, were accompanied by some less obvious shortcomings that could temper such an evaluation. Launch Facilities The busiest Soviet spaceport is located at Plesetsk, north of Moscow. Built in 1960 as a base for military missiles, it was converted to space missions in 1966. Due to the primarily military nature of the orbital launches taking place there, the base's existence was officially unacknowledged until 1983, when an admission was prompted by widespread anxiety in the region over mysterious lights in the sky--actually, satellite launchings from the base. All manned Soviet space missions originate at the so-called \TBaikonur Cosmodrome\t. Despite its name, the facility does not lie near the village of Baikonur but instead near the village of Tyuratam, just east of the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan. Tyuratam has been enveloped by a new town, named Leninsk, that houses the facility's personnel. Large booster rockets such as Proton and Energiya, in addition to all interplanetary missions, are also launched from Baikonur, as well as several special purpose military missions. A third, small launch facility is located at \TKapustin Yar\t on the lower Volga River. Although the base mainly performs sounding-rocket operations, occasional small satellite launchings occur at the facility. Launch Vehicles The current stable of Soviet space launch vehicles consists of six distinct types of boosters, with variations within each class. Three different nomenclature schemes exist for classifying these vehicles: the \TUSSR\t's own method, a letter code developed by the U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS), and the once-classified space launcher (SL) code of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. While the SL scheme is the most complete, the CRS scheme includes indicators of relationships between several variants of the same design. The Soviet scheme uses the name of each booster's main payload, so that the existence of some boosters with purely military payloads goes unacknowledged. (See Table 1.) The long-awaited Energiya, the so-called "superbooster," made its debut on May 15, 1987. It consists of a hydrogen-fueled central core stage and four liquid-fuel strap-on engines. Payloads of up to 100 metric tons can be carried into space attached to the side of Energiya's core stage. Among the anticipated payloads for the booster during the 1990s are space-station sections, shuttle-type vehicles, and boost stages for interplanetary missions. Cosmonaut Program The main cosmonaut training center is at Zvyozdniy Gorodok, or "Starry Town" (sometimes translated as "Star City"). Located about 64 km (40 mi) northeast of Moscow, it includes classrooms, spacecraft simulators, a centrifuge for simulating high-gravity conditions, and an underwater spacewalk training facility. Military cosmonauts live in apartment complexes with their families at the center. The Soviet flight control center is located in the town of Kaliningrad, north of Moscow, where many of the leading spacecraft engineering and manufacturing facilities are also located. Soviet cosmonauts are drawn almost entirely from two distinct groups: military jet pilots, and space engineers. The jet pilots are generally selected at a young age--typically from 22 to 26 years old--and begin a lengthy apprenticeship that involves university training, physical conditioning, rigorous psychological and ideological screening, and actual spaceflight support. Approximately half of the selectees complete the ten-year program. They are then assigned as mission commanders, the only flight assignment available to this group. In the other cosmonaut group, civilian engineers come exclusively from the spacecraft design bureaus and the flight control center, where they have already undergone extensive spacecraft familiarization and personal screening; military flight engineers come from similar aviation backgrounds. The engineers are generally designated as cosmonaut-trainees at about the age of 30 and undergo a five-year program of general preparation before being assigned to a specific mission. Exceptions can be made to these criteria for special purposes. For example, several pilots associated with the Soviet shuttle program have made space missions as flight engineers. Thus far all Soviet cosmonauts have been ethnic Slavs, and all but a few have been men. Because the \TSoyuz\t spacecraft used in manned missions has a maximum mission duration of only six months, however, the need to conduct short, simple replacement flights to space stations such as Mir affords the opportunity to place "guest cosmonauts" among the swap crews. Since 1978 more than a dozen non-Soviet guest cosmonauts have been used. The first nine came from Soviet-bloc nations, followed by French, Indian, and Syrian representatives. Plans exist for several other nations, as well. Space Station and Shuttle The \TUSSR\t's manned spaceflight program is centered on development of a permanently manned space station. The current Mir ("Peace") station (see \TSalyut\t) orbits the Earth at an altitude of about 360 km (220 mi) and an inclination of 52 degrees. Small, private bedrooms are located at one end of the main module, along with dining facilities, shower, toilet, exercise apparatus, and other crew-related equipment. At the other end of the module is control and communications equipment. The normal crew size aboard MIR is two: a pilot and flight engineer. The station and its equipment are designed for a five- to ten-year orbital lifetime, depending on maintenance. While cosmonauts travel to and from the space station on Soyuz spacecraft, supplies and personal mail are sent up aboard unmanned, robot freighters of the Progress series. Specialized scientific laboratories, workshops, and observatories can be launched for attachment to docking ports on the side of the main module. The first specialized module, called Kvant (Quantum"), was launched in 1987; fortuitously, the craft carried X-ray telescopes that were in position in time to observe the supernova that had flared up early that year in a neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. Modules added on to Mir in the near future will be dedicated to Earth observations, materials processing, biomedical studies, and combined research programs. Shortcomings of the present Mir system include its low levels of electrical power, the ability of the Soyuz to transport only about 150 kg (330 lb) of material back to Earth in addition to the crew, and the very restricted access to the system that is available to scientists and other technical specialists. These problems are being vigorously addressed in a number of ways. Several space-assembly techniques are being developed to allow the installation of additional solar panels to the complex, thus providing more electrical power; add-on sections may be equipped with special return modules that can carry up to 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) back to Earth; and future visiting flights may carry biologists, physicists, meteorologists, astronomers, and other specialists for 30-day orbital expeditions. By the mid-1990s the Soviets may also launch a heavier core station able to host a dozen cosmonauts and several specialized modules. The Soviet Union conducted a successful unmanned orbital test of its equivalent to the U. S. \TSpace Shuttle\t in November 1988. The craft, named Buran (and a sister ship, Ptitchka), is lifted into space by the Energiya launcher. It closely resembles the U. S. Shuttle but is slightly smaller, and it is designed for use with the Mir space station. Although it can carry up to 10 cosmonauts at a time, its main use will probably be for carrying cargo up to Mir. Applications Programs The Soviet Union has sent several unmanned spacecraft toward other planets and into interplanetary space, as discussed in \Tspace exploration\t and articles on individual programs. The vast majority of Soviet satellites that are launched annually, however, are designed for routine applications purposes. About a dozen "constellations," or groupings, of satellites can be identified in which failed satellites are continually being replaced (see Table 2). A number of other programs exist involving short-term missions. These consist mainly of recoverable satellites carrying military visual reconnaissance equipment or Earth-resources survey cameras, with an occasional biosatellite that carries animal specimens. Such missions are called Kosmos ("Cosmos"; see Cosmos), as are many of the satellite constellations, but they can be distinguished by their low altitudes (from 170 to 420 km/105 to 260 mi) and distinctive orbital inclinations, evidently determined by the use of standardized launch profiles. Thus those with inclinations near 62.8, 67.1, 72.9, and 82.3 degrees come from Plesetsk, whereas those near 64.9 and 70.0 degrees come from Tyuratam. All satellite recoveries take place in Kazakhstan. Besides these generic programs, a number of specialized programs have been developed in the \TUSSR\t. Occasional unclassifiable Kosmos missions, for example, conduct unique experimental programs. Scientific satellites in the Prognoz and Astron programs observe the Sun and stars, and a special Earth-resources radar observer named Kosmos 1880 was launched in mid-1987. The Soviet Union also possesses the world's only operational orbital weapon, the so-called "killer satellite." First tested in the 1960s, the satellite uses a radar-guided, two-orbit profile; attempts to perform single-orbit "kills" and to use infrared guidance, however, have been notably unsuccessful. The Soviets announced a unilateral moratorium on further testing of the system in 1982, in an apparent effort to deter the United States from developing an equivalent system. Another Soviet orbital weapon (known in U.S. terminology as the Fractional Orbit Bombardment System, or \LFOB\ls) was intended to place a thermonuclear warhead in low orbit for subsequent return to a ground target under extremely brief warning conditions. Tested secretly in the period 1966-70, the system may no longer be operational, but the Soviets have disclosed that 18 \LFOB\ls launchers remain in their inventory at Tyuratam. In 1985, the Soviets established a space commercialization organization named Glavkosmos, whose purpose was to sell Soviet space services--particularly launch services--to foreign customers. Although several Western satellite manufacturers expressed interest in this possibility, the U. S. government thwarted any such agreements by U. S. organizations by applying regulations forbidding technology transfer to the \TUSSR\t. With the political upheavals taking place in the \TUSSR\t in the early 1990s, however, this matter has become moot, along with other possible Soviet developments mentioned above. It is conceivable that the entire Soviet space program may end up for sale as the nation struggles against economic collapse. UNITED STATES The contrast between the U. S. and the Soviet space programs has been likened to that between the hare and the tortoise in Aesop's fable, and the comparison is apt. Whereas the Soviet program was characterized above as slow and steady the Americans have approached activity in space in a series of sprints, often subsequently succumbing to retreat and lethargy after periods of great accomplishment. The potential technological reserves of the U. S. space industry remain enormous, but the nation's space program entered the last decade of the 20th century with its capabilities bruised by the Challenger disaster of 1986 and its long-range goals still undefined. The \Tspace station\t program, for example, remains in an uncertain state of development, with plans for its use and international operation also uncertain. The military \TStrategic Defense Initiative\t (\TSDI\t) program is also plagued by serious practical and political questions. As with the Soviet Union, U. S. achievements in interplanetary exploration are described in the entry on space exploration and in several individual articles. Launch Facilities The United States operates three main space launch facilities: \TCape Canaveral\t, Fla.; \TVandenberg Air Force Base\t, Calif.; and Wallops Island, Va. The Cape Canaveral area contains several distinct facilities whose names have changed several times, which has led to frequent confusion. All of the original rocket pads for \TAtlas\t, \TThor\t, and \TTitan\t rockets--and many others no longer in use, such as the SATURNs--are located on the long, sandy island named Cape Canaveral. North of this location is Merritt Island, where two large Saturn V pads were built and later converted for Space Shuttle use. This new area was called the \TKennedy Space Center\t (KSC); it has been the location of all U.S. manned launchings since 1968. Vandenberg Air Force Base has been used for launching satellites into polar orbit since 1959. The site was developed for this purpose because the local coastline curves eastward, affording a clear path directly southward over the ocean. Although most satellites launched into polar orbit are military, a number are also used for civil applications (such as \TLandsat\t and various weather satellites) and scientific research as well. A Shuttle launch capability had been planned at the base as well, and an old Titan III launching pad had been modified prior to the Challenger disaster. The plans were subsequently postponed indefinitely. The Wallops Island facility is a small base used primarily for launching sounding rockets. It has one \TScout\t pad, which occasionally has supported orbital launchings. A second special Scout launching facility, the Italian-operated San Marco platform off the coast of Kenya, has been used to launch several small scientific satellites into equatorial orbit. Launch Vehicles For many years the United States has had a wide range of launch vehicles at its disposal for various space programs. By the late 1970s, however, \TNASA\t planning had come to concentrate on the Space Shuttle as the bearer of orbital traffic. Other launch systems remained available, but their future was placed in doubt by pressure from \TNASA\t. Following the Challenger disaster, however, the old stable of boosters was revitalized and expanded, so that by the 1990s a large number of other launch vehicles would again be available for U.S. space needs. The boosters include the Scout, \TDelta\t, Atlas-CENTAUR, Titan 34, and Titan 3. Considerable efforts were also being made to study the possibilities of developing and properly using some new heavy-lift boosters, similar to the Saturn family of vehicles developed in the 1960s. The new boosters could either be derived from existing Shuttle engines or be developed from new technologies that promise considerably lower costs. Applications could include large space-station modules, military payloads, and advanced interplanetary probes. Astronaut Program The achievements of the \Lastronaut\ls who took part in the first two decades of U.S. manned space exploration are discussed in the articles \TMercury program\t, \TGemini program\t, \TApollo program\t, \TApollo-Soyuz Test Project\t, and \TSkylab\t. The current professional corps of astronauts consists of about 90 men and women at the \TJohnson Space Center\t in Houston, Texas. Approximately half of them are pilots, all of whom are male and almost all of whom are active or retired military officers. The other half are mission specialists. Of these, about half are military flight engineers, and the remaining are civilian scientists and engineers. Recent astronaut selections have been made almost exclusively from the ranks of federal employees, whether members of the military or employees of \TNASA\t or the civil service. Following the disaster of the Space Shuttle Challenger, one feature of early Shuttle missions that is unlikely to resume is the wide variety of passengers carried in addition to the \TNASA\t flight crew. Although the term payload specialist was applied to almost all of them, they actually played various roles. Commercial launch customers were allowed to send representatives into orbit--a feature intended to enhance the Shuttle's attractiveness in competition with unmanned systems. This option was exercised by the Defense Department, by satellite manufacturers, and by several foreign customers such as Mexico and Saudi Arabia. The commercial aspects of Shuttle operations are no longer being emphasized, however, so this category of passenger will be eliminated except for a few Defense Department representatives and, perhaps, flights involving recognition of foreign contributions to the program (as with past flights using Canadian and French astronauts). The citizen-in-space program that was to involve teachers, journalists, and ordinary Americans was suspended following the death of the first such passenger in the Challenger disaster, and flights by various members of Congress and bureaucrats were eliminated. On the other hand, the foreign scientists and technical experts for remaining \TSpacelab\t flights will still be required, as will expert observers such as oceanographers and meteorologists. In 1979 the U. S. Air Force initiated a program called Manned Spaceflight Engineers to train military payload specialists for Shuttle flights. Ambitious applications programs were frustrated by high-level Defense Department lack of interest, however, so that of two dozen officers in the program only two actually flew on the first 24 Shuttle missions. By the late 1980s the spaceflight cadre had been reduced to about 10 members. Space Shuttle and Station The wide range of missions planned and conducted by the Shuttle program in pre-Challenger days, as noted, has been narrowed following the disaster. During earlier flights, more than 30 satellites had been deployed for scientific, commercial, and military purposes. This revenue-generating activity was widely billed as a justification of the program, but reimbursements never matched operational expenses; most post-Challenger commercial launch contracts have been abrogated unilaterally by \TNASA\t. Similarly, few scientific research missions remain on planned Shuttle schedules. On the other hand, the capability for repairing and retrieving damaged spacecraft that was demonstrated by the Shuttle on earlier flights will remain available in the future. In addition, past Shuttle missions provided small amounts of extra cargo space or extra payload-lift capacity that usually was filled with small add-on packages, either from \TNASA\t, industry, or university laboratories, or from programs called the Getaway Special (\Tgas\t) and Student Experiments. These flexible and low-cost spaceflight opportunities will also continue. Since 1984, when President Ronald Reagan directed \TNASA\t to build a permanently manned \Tspace station\t as its next major project, the program has evolved and been modified into a structure designed to support four astronauts in orbit. Several scientific modules and large amounts of electrical power are planned for the station. Plans also call for significant participation by European, Canadian, and Japanese space agencies, but concern about ill-defined Defense Department interests in the station remains as issue of international contention. The first sections of the structure are scheduled to be launched by about 1995, and up to ten Space Shuttle missions may be needed to fully assemble the station. The use of a large unmanned rocket is being considered as part of the program, and concerns over crew rescue and evacuation may also lead to the development of a simple bail-out module for the station. Applications Programs The United States has conducted many applications programs and scientific projects in Earth orbit, which are discussed in numerous individual articles. Of ongoing programs that have become firmly integrated into everyday life, the two leading types involve \Lcommunications satellite\ls and \LSynchronous Meteorological Satellite\ls. Dozens of the former type of satellite exist, built and operated by a number of different corporations. Of the latter--beyond the two past satellites of that specific name--the most important is the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (see \TGOES\t) operated by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (\TNOAA\t). Low-orbit weather satellites are also administered by \TNOAA\t and are launched into polar orbit under code names such as \TNOAA\t 9 and \TNOAA\t 10. Technical difficulties surrounded \TNASA\t's attempt to develop an advanced space-to-space communications relay system called the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System, or TDRSS (see \Ttracking station\t). A network of two operating satellites and one spare, in geosynchronous orbit, was to have provided nearly full-time radio links with Space Shuttle missions, along with high-volume data relay from applications satellites such as Landsat. The first payload was launched by a Shuttle in April 1983 but, following a major upper-stage booster problem, was barely able to limp into proper orbit. Subsequent launchings were delayed, and the second satellite was destroyed by the Challenger disaster. The system was finally completed by two Shuttle-launched TDRS satellites in 1988 and 1989. Another program seriously affected by the Challenger incident was called the Long-Duration Exposure Facility, or LDEF. Original plans called for an early retrieval of the LDEF satellite deployed in 1984 by Shuttle, but this recovery was repeatedly postponed. On the other hand, many scientific satellites continued to operate during the post-Challenger lull in launchings, and two major probes (Magellan to Venus and \TGalileo\t to Jupiter) were sent on their way in 1989 after Shuttle flights resumed the preceding year. The Hubble \TSpace Telescope\t was finally launched in 1990, but a number of other probes to the outer solar system remain waiting their turn on a Shuttle in the mid-1990s. They include CRAF (Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby) and Cassini, the latter to journey to Saturn and Titan. With respect to military programs, by the late-1980s the Defense Department space budget well exceeded that of \TNASA\t. Expenditures were primarily for applications such as communications, tactical meteorology, navigation, missile warning, and reconnaissance. Military satellites are controlled from Onizuka Air Force Station in Sunnyvale, Calif., and from Falcon Air Force Station in Colorado Springs, Colo.. Reconnaissance satellites, developed under the designation Keyhold (KH), perform an invaluable monitoring role by allowing detection of weapons build-ups and providing verification for arms control treaties. Satellites in the older KH 9, or "Big Bird," series, sent film back in small capsules, but the KH 11 satellites that have been operating since 1976 can transmit observations directly to ground stations. Each of them can operate for up two years in orbit. Other military activities in space include the antisatellite (\LAsa\lt) missile being developed by the air force for launch from high-flying aircraft against targets in low orbits. Testing on \LAsa\lt was suspended, however, in response to a Soviet moratorium on its own so-called killer satellite. Research continues on the highly controversial \TSDI\t system, often referred to as "Star Wars." The system, if developed, would require many facilities to be prepositioned in space to make extremely rapid detection of and reaction to attack possible. The range, coordination, and effectiveness of such facilities are issues currently being examined. EUROPE Many nations of Western Europe are engaged to some degree in space activities, primarily in the form of satellite manufacture and the development of research projects to be pursued in orbit. The major nations also have their own governmental space agencies, and 14 European countries have joined to form the European Space Agency (ESA). The achievements of this organization have been highlighted by the development of the \TAriane\t family of rockets, the Spacelab module, and the Giotto probe to \THalley's comet\t. The Ariane rocket was developed to provide the European nations with independent access to space, and it is also promoted on a commercial basis for the launching of non-European payloads. the rockets consist of French-built first and second stages and a West German-built, hydrogen-fueled third stage. Although a series of failures followed the early successful launching of Ariane, the orbiting of an Australian and a European satellite by Ariane V19 in 1987, and subsequent successes, seemed to indicate that the program was back on course. Expanded launch facilities are planned at the Ariane launch site, the Guiana Space Center at Kourou. The ESA has an official astronaut program, which was originally designed to train candidates for Spacelab missions aboard the U.S. Space Shuttle. Three candidates were selected in 1980, two of whom flew actual missions before the Challenger disaster drastically curtailed the program; in addition, two West German physicists also flew aboard the Spacelab as payload specialists. In 1987 the West Germans selected five more astronauts--two women and three men--to train for flights aboard the Shuttle and, possibly, remaining Spacelab missions. The trainees have scientific research backgrounds but lack test pilot experience. In France a group of eight "spationautes" was selected to train for participation in possible Shuttle programs as well. Prior to that, a French pilot took part in the Soviet "guest cosmonaut" program aboard Salyut 7 in 1983, and his understudy took part in a seven-day Shuttle mission in 1985. ESA is also defining astronaut requirements for its proposed Hermes-manned spaceplane and Columbus space-station programs; if these programs go forward, a corps of up to 20 professional astronauts may eventually be required. ESA has also developed a number of advanced applications satellites. The Meteosat program, which began in 1977, involves weather monitoring from geosynchronous orbit. The European Communications Satellite (ECS) and its maritime version, MARECS, are ongoing programs to develop and use highly advanced communications technology. These applications satellites are administered by international groups known as Eutelsat (for ECS) and Inmarsat (the International Maritime Satellite Organization). JAPAN Japan's \TNational Space Development Agency\t (\TNASDA\t) was formed in 1968 as the national agency for developing space technology, in part because of limitations placed on the older Institute of Space and Aeronautical Sciences (ISAS) operated by the University of Tokyo. The latter has since been reorganized as an autonomous agency under the education ministry. Japan first achieved independent launch capability in 1970; since then it has launched many research, observation, and communications satellites. In 1985 it also successfully launched two probes on trajectories that took one of them past Halley's comet in 1986. \TNASDA\t launches applications satellites from two pads at Tanegashima at the southeastern tip of Kyushu, while ISAS launches scientific satellites from its own pads at Kagoshima. Early Japanese boosters, such as the NI and N II, used licensed adaptations of the American Thor rocket, but a more powerful and entirely Japanese-developed booster named H I was successfully flown for the first time in 1986. The upper stage of H I uses liquid hydrogen and can place payloads of about 1,500 kg (3,300 lb) in low Earth orbits. The first launch for an H 2 booster six times more powerful is planned for 1993. The Japanese are also planning a major role in the U.S. space station through development of a laboratory module. Ambitious programs in the farther future include solar probes and, possibly, a reusable shuttle that would be used to service a manned space "factory" in the 21st century, keeping the nation in the forefront of advanced manufacturing techniques. CHINA China, which in 1970 became the fifth nation to launch its own satellite, followed the pattern of the Soviet Union and the United States in basing its early boosters on military missiles. Its capabilities in space technology have grown rapidly since then. Current boosters are designated as various models of the so-called Chang Zheng ("Long March") design. The first operational space booster, the three-stage CZ 1, had a lift-off thrust of 140 metric tons and could carry an orbital payload of about 300 kg (660 lb). The CZ 2 flown in 1974 had a greater thrust and could lift up to 3 metric tons into orbits. The high quality of Chinese space technology was demonstrated in 1984 by the development of a cryogenic hydrogen-fueled third stage for the CZ 2 to produce the CZ 3, since a rocket stage of this type had previously been achieved only by the United States and West Germany. By the late 1980s China was entering into commercial agreement to launch Western communications satellites on its advanced booster. The original Chinese space center is located near the town of Shuan-ch'eng-tzu in Kansu (Gansu) Province of western China. This site is now referred to as Jiuquan (Chiu-ch'uan) in official Chinese records. A more southerly site opened in 1984 for launching larger boosters toward geosynchronous orbits is referred to officially as Xichang. Early satellite launchings involved various test payloads and scientific instruments, but since 1975 the Chinese have been able to fly recoverable payloads carrying camera systems for military reconnaissance and Earth-resources surveys. The Chinese in the future intend to launch more advanced communications satellites and their own meteorological satellites. Discussions of plans for manned space missions have been reported for several years, but any precise plans and schedules are unknown. In the meantime, China is entering into commercial agreements to launch various Western communications satellites with its CZ 3 booster. INDIA India has an active space program that concentrates on the development of aerospace technology and on direct economic applications of such technology. It also makes use of communications satellites for nationwide educational systems. The Department of Space, established in the early 1970s, has the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) as a major unit. Various development facilities exist around the subcontinent, with launch sites at Sriharikota, north of Madras on the eastern coast, and at Trivandrum, at the far southern end of India. Prior to achieving its own launch capability in 1980, India had a number of satellites orbited by the Soviet Union and the United States, and in 1981 a test communications satellite named Apple was successfully launched by an Ariane rocket. India's first rocket, the Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV), has been used for sending India's small Rohini satellites into orbit, and the nation is developing an augmented version with four times the payload. A still larger version of the SLV is also being developed for launching payloads into polar orbit. A new launch site is required for the latter program, however, and a location west of Calcutta has been proposed. In manned programs, an Indian pilot took part in a Soyuz visit to the Salyut 7 space station in 1984. Two other Indian engineers were selected in 1985 to train as payload specialists on a Space Shuttle mission, but the mission was subsequently canceled. CANADA Canada's space exploration activities concentrate on science and engineering of direct use to the nation. Canada has conducted pioneering work on domestic communications satellites, ionospheric physics satellites, and robotics and control systems. For example, Canada developed the robot arm used on the Space Shuttle, and it is planning an advanced version of the arm for the U.S. space station, Freedom. In 1989, Canada formed a central organization, the Canadian Space Agency, to coordinate its activities in space exploration. In 1983, six Canadian astronaut trainees were selected to take part in Space Shuttle missions. One of the men flew aboard a mission in 1984, but the other missions were delayed or canceled by the Challenger disaster. OTHER NATIONS Several other nations have been involved in space activities, either alone or in partnership with major spacefaring nations. Many more nations partake in the use of communications satellite, weather satellite, and Earth resources monitoring data from the space programs of the United States, the Soviet Union and the ESA. In manned space activities, nations that have taken part in the Soviet's guest cosmonaut program have included Poland, the former East Germany, Hungary, Vietnam, Cuba, Mongolia, Romania, Bulgaria, Syria, and Afghanistan. In South and Central America, Argentina makes use of small sounding rockets and has proposed a domestic communications satellite and a small scientific satellite for launch by \TNASA\t in the 1990s. Brazil also builds and uses small sounding rockets and is a major user of communications satellites, as is Mexico. In Europe, Sweden is another frequent user of sounding rockets, and it develops its own satellites for polar ionospheric research. Czechoslovakia conducts significant work in space instrumentation and has produced piggyback satellites for launching on Soviet vehicles. The first person in space who was neither from the United States or the Soviet Union was the Czech spaceman Vladimir Remek, a guest aboard a 1978 Soyuz flight. Elsewhere in the world, Israel initiated its own space program in 1988 and intends to develop reconnaissance satellites for use by its defense forces. Also in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is a leading member of the ARABSAT communications satellite organization. Indonesia is another major user of communications satellites, and its own satellites have been orbited by various space organizations. Finally, Australia is the site of tracking facilities used by these organizations. It also once launched (1967) its own satellite, WRESAT, aboard a modified redstone rocket from the Woomera test range, and it remains another major user of communications satellites. James E. 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