Explore the Final Frontier

Space Technology: A Summary

• Space technology is used for activities beyond Earth's atmosphere, including spaceflight, space exploration, and Earth observation.
• Space technology includes space vehicles, deep-space communication, in-space propulsion, and support infrastructure equipment and procedures.
• The space environment is novel, requiring new tools and techniques for work.
• Everyday services such as weather forecasting, remote sensing, satellite navigation systems, satellite television, and long-distance communications systems rely on space infrastructure.
• Astronomy and Earth science benefit from space technology.
• The Soviet Union was the first country to put technology into space with the Sputnik 1 satellite in 1957.
• The first successful human spaceflight was Vostok 1 in 1961, carrying Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.
• The first probe to impact the surface of the Moon was the Soviet probe Luna 2 in 1959.
• Humans first landed on the Moon in 1969 with the Apollo 11 mission.
• Voyager 1 is the first artificial object to leave the Solar System and is currently the most distant artificial object from Earth.
• Hazards of space technology include the risk of energy release and the potential failure of equipment.
• The International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety was established in the Netherlands in 2004.