Spacefaring
Encyclopedia
To be spacefaring is to be capable of and active in the art of space travel or space transport, the operation of spacecraft
or spaceplane
s. It involves a knowledge of a variety of topics and development of specialised skills including (but not limited to): aeronautics
; astronautics
; programs to train astronaut
s; space weather
and forecasting; ship-handling and small craft handling; operation of various equipment; spacecraft
design and construction; atmospheric takeoff and reentry; orbital mechanics (aka astrodynamics
); communications; engines and rockets; execution of evolutions such as towing, micro-gravity construction, and space docking; cargo handling equipment, dangerous cargoes and cargo storage; spacewalking; dealing with emergencies; survival at space and first aid; fire fighting; life support
. The degree of knowledge needed within these areas is dependent upon the nature of the work and the type of vessel employed. "Spacefaring" is analogous to seafaring.
Presently there has never been a crewed mission outside of the Earth
-Moon
system. However, the United States, Russia, China, and European Space Agency
countries have plans in various stages to travel to Mars
. (See Manned mission to Mars
.)
Spacefaring entities are commonly nations. Spacefaring nations are those capable of independently building and launching craft into space. Although, a growing number of private entities are achieving space travel, largely suborbital
, and the People's Republic of China
are the only two (crewed) spacefaring nation
s. (The United States
government
temporarily ceased manned space missions in July, 2011 after STS-135
.) However, many US private business are in the planning and development stage of private manned space flight.
Spacefaring nations listed by year of first crewed launch:
Note that a larger number of countries than those listed above have launched suborbital spacecraft, and could also, in a loose sense, be considered spacefaring. This would include nations such as Germany which, with the V-2 rocket
, could be considered the first spacefaring nation.
Note that several countries, such as Italy and Australia, had semi-independent spacefaring capability, launching locally-built satellites on foreign launchers. Italy has designed and built several satellites, as well as pressurized (crewed) modules for the International Space Station
. Early Italian satellites were launched using vehicles provided by NASA, first from Wallops Flight Facility
in 1964 and then from a spaceport in Kenya (San Marco Platform
) between 1967 and 1988; Italy is now participating in the development of the Vega
rocket with the ESA. The United Kingdom
abandoned its independent space program in 1971 in favour of co-operating with the European Space Agency, as did Australia shortly after the successful launch of WRESAT
.
and Brian Binnie
of Mojave Aerospace Ventures
are the first such private individuals to achieve suborbital space travel status. A range of organizations including UP Aerospace
are also planning private launches, while others such as SpaceX
plan eventually to launch crewed orbital missions.
. Gravity on a more massive planet would generally make it more difficult to launch a spacecraft
into orbit
. The effects of atmospheric friction
on the craft must also be taken into consideration, as well as the amount of resources, including exotic materials possibly needed for construction of a spacecraft. Generally, only a species or civilization capable of interplanetary and/or interstellar flight is considered "truly" spacefaring. In fiction, such civilizations often possess colonies, either in their home system or possibly other planetary system
s. As of present day technology, humanity would not be considered a space faring civilization because interplanetary travel, even within our own solar system, has not yet been achieved by an actual living human. Many probes and non-human relays have been dispatched throughout the system and in outlying space however.
often deals with more advanced spacefaring cultures, and the opportunities and challenges that this might bring to such societies.
One example would be Star Trek
, where humanity, though already spacefaring, is still struggling to adapt to interstellar life, and in many cases, politics.
An additional example would follow the premise of science fiction author Larry Niven
. In his short story, The Fourth Profession Mr. Niven postulates the arrival of a spacefaring culture of traders that depend in part on the technical sophistication of the civilizations being visited to build the requisite launch lasers
to accelerate their mothership to the next star system. Cultures lacking resources to achieve crewed spaceflight are ignored as animals.
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
or spaceplane
Spaceplane
A spaceplane is a vehicle that operates as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere, as well as a spacecraft when it is in space. It combines features of an aircraft and a spacecraft, which can be thought of as an aircraft that can endure and maneuver in the vacuum of space or likewise a spacecraft that...
s. It involves a knowledge of a variety of topics and development of specialised skills including (but not limited to): aeronautics
Aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...
; astronautics
Astronautics
Astronautics, and related astronautical engineering, is the theory and practice of navigation beyond the Earth's atmosphere. In other words, it is the science and technology of space flight....
; programs to train astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
s; space weather
Space weather
Space weather is the concept of changing environmental conditions in near-Earth space or thespace from the Sun's atmosphere to the Earth's atmosphere. It is distinct from the concept ofweather within the Earth's planetary atmosphere...
and forecasting; ship-handling and small craft handling; operation of various equipment; spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
design and construction; atmospheric takeoff and reentry; orbital mechanics (aka astrodynamics
Astrodynamics
Orbital mechanics or astrodynamics is the application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to the practical problems concerning the motion of rockets and other spacecraft. The motion of these objects is usually calculated from Newton's laws of motion and Newton's law of universal gravitation. It...
); communications; engines and rockets; execution of evolutions such as towing, micro-gravity construction, and space docking; cargo handling equipment, dangerous cargoes and cargo storage; spacewalking; dealing with emergencies; survival at space and first aid; fire fighting; life support
Life support
Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...
. The degree of knowledge needed within these areas is dependent upon the nature of the work and the type of vessel employed. "Spacefaring" is analogous to seafaring.
Presently there has never been a crewed mission outside of the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
-Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
system. However, the United States, Russia, China, and European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
countries have plans in various stages to travel to Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. (See Manned mission to Mars
Manned mission to Mars
A manned mission to Mars has been the subject of science fiction, engineering, and scientific proposals throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century...
.)
Spacefaring entities are commonly nations. Spacefaring nations are those capable of independently building and launching craft into space. Although, a growing number of private entities are achieving space travel, largely suborbital
Crewed spacefaring nations
Currently RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
are the only two (crewed) spacefaring nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
s. (The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
temporarily ceased manned space missions in July, 2011 after STS-135
STS-135
STS-135 was the final mission of the American Space Shuttle program. It used the orbiter Atlantis and hardware originally processed for the STS-335 contingency mission, which was not flown. STS-135 launched on 8 July and was originally scheduled to land on 20 July 2011, but the mission was...
.) However, many US private business are in the planning and development stage of private manned space flight.
Spacefaring nations listed by year of first crewed launch:
-
Soviet Union (
Russia) (1961) -
United States (1961-2011) -
Mainland China (2003)
Uncrewed spacefaring nations
The following nations or organizations have developed their own launchers to launch uncrewed spacecraft into orbit using (date of first launch in parentheses):- Soviet Union (1957)
- United States (1958)
-
Early Modern France (1965) -
Japan (1970) - Mainland China (1970)
-
United Kingdom (1971)
-
European Space AgencyEuropean Space AgencyThe European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
(1979)
-
-
India (1980) -
Israel (1988)
-
Iran (2009) -
Brazil (2010)
Note that a larger number of countries than those listed above have launched suborbital spacecraft, and could also, in a loose sense, be considered spacefaring. This would include nations such as Germany which, with the V-2 rocket
V-2 rocket
The V-2 rocket , technical name Aggregat-4 , was a ballistic missile that was developed at the beginning of the Second World War in Germany, specifically targeted at London and later Antwerp. The liquid-propellant rocket was the world's first long-range combat-ballistic missile and first known...
, could be considered the first spacefaring nation.
Note that several countries, such as Italy and Australia, had semi-independent spacefaring capability, launching locally-built satellites on foreign launchers. Italy has designed and built several satellites, as well as pressurized (crewed) modules for the International Space Station
International Space Station
The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
. Early Italian satellites were launched using vehicles provided by NASA, first from Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Flight Facility , located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, is operated by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, primarily as a rocket launch site to support science and exploration missions for NASA and other U.S. government agencies...
in 1964 and then from a spaceport in Kenya (San Marco Platform
San Marco platform
The Luigi Broglio Space Centre is an Italian-owned spaceport near Malindi, Kenya, named after its founder and Italian space pioneer Luigi Broglio. Developed in the 1960s through a partnership between the University of Rome La Sapienza's Aerospace Research Centre and NASA, the BSC served as a...
) between 1967 and 1988; Italy is now participating in the development of the Vega
Vega (launcher)
Vega is an expendable launch system being developed for Arianespace jointly by the Italian Space Agency and the European Space Agency. Development began in 1998 and the first launch, which will take place from the Guiana Space Centre, is planned for early 2012...
rocket with the ESA. The United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
abandoned its independent space program in 1971 in favour of co-operating with the European Space Agency, as did Australia shortly after the successful launch of WRESAT
WRESAT
WRESAT was the name of the first Australian satellite. It was named after its designer....
.
Non-governmental suborbital flights
A number of private organizations are developing crewed spacefaring missions,though still largely suborbital. Mike MelvillMike Melvill
Michael Winston "Mike" Melvill is one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites. Melvill piloted SpaceShipOne on its first flight past the edge of space, flight 15P on June 21, 2004, thus becoming the first commercial astronaut and the 434th...
and Brian Binnie
Brian Binnie
William Brian Binnie is a former United States Navy officer and is one of the test pilots for SpaceShipOne, the experimental spaceplane developed by Scaled Composites.-History:...
of Mojave Aerospace Ventures
Mojave Aerospace Ventures
Mojave Aerospace Ventures is a company founded by Paul Allen and Burt Rutan to handle the commercial spinoffs from the Tier One project. It owns the intellectual property arising from Tier One, and it is in turn owned by Paul Allen and Burt Rutan...
are the first such private individuals to achieve suborbital space travel status. A range of organizations including UP Aerospace
UP Aerospace
UP Aerospace, Inc. is a private spaceflight corporation based out of Denver, Colorado. UP Aerospace provides ultra-low cost space access and payload transportation for corporate, military and educational payloads, via their SpaceLoft XL Sounding rocket launch vehicles.- History and Future Plans...
are also planning private launches, while others such as SpaceX
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or more popularly and informally known as SpaceX, is an American space transport company that operates out of Hawthorne, California...
plan eventually to launch crewed orbital missions.
General space civilization
Generally, a planet-based civilization might have varying levels of difficulty in reaching space. Both the planet's gravity and atmosphere may have influence on the ease of space explorationSpace exploration
Space exploration is the use of space technology to explore outer space. Physical exploration of space is conducted both by human spaceflights and by robotic spacecraft....
. Gravity on a more massive planet would generally make it more difficult to launch a spacecraft
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
into orbit
Orbital spaceflight
An orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which a spacecraft is placed on a trajectory where it could remain in space for at least one orbit. To do this around the Earth, it must be on a free trajectory which has an altitude at perigee above...
. The effects of atmospheric friction
Friction
Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and/or material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction:...
on the craft must also be taken into consideration, as well as the amount of resources, including exotic materials possibly needed for construction of a spacecraft. Generally, only a species or civilization capable of interplanetary and/or interstellar flight is considered "truly" spacefaring. In fiction, such civilizations often possess colonies, either in their home system or possibly other planetary system
Planetary system
A planetary system consists of the various non-stellar objects orbiting a star such as planets, dwarf planets , asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and cosmic dust...
s. As of present day technology, humanity would not be considered a space faring civilization because interplanetary travel, even within our own solar system, has not yet been achieved by an actual living human. Many probes and non-human relays have been dispatched throughout the system and in outlying space however.
Spacefaring in popular culture
Science fictionScience fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
often deals with more advanced spacefaring cultures, and the opportunities and challenges that this might bring to such societies.
One example would be Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
, where humanity, though already spacefaring, is still struggling to adapt to interstellar life, and in many cases, politics.
An additional example would follow the premise of science fiction author Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
. In his short story, The Fourth Profession Mr. Niven postulates the arrival of a spacefaring culture of traders that depend in part on the technical sophistication of the civilizations being visited to build the requisite launch lasers
Laser propulsion
Laser propulsion is a form of beam-powered propulsion where the energy source is a remote laser system and separate from the reaction mass...
to accelerate their mothership to the next star system. Cultures lacking resources to achieve crewed spaceflight are ignored as animals.
See also
- Space colonizationSpace colonizationSpace colonization is the concept of permanent human habitation outside of Earth. Although hypothetical at the present time, there are many proposals and speculations about the first space colony...
- Space advocacySpace advocacySpace advocacy can be described as the general position supporting, pleading or arguing for the idea or cause of space exploration and settlements...
- Space and survivalSpace and survivalSpace and survival is the relationship between outer space and the long-term survival of the human species and civilization. Its investigation is justified by the fact that space colonization and space science could prevent many human extinction scenarios...
- Kardashev scaleKardashev scaleThe Kardashev scale is a method of measuring an advanced civilization's level of technological advancement. The scale is only theoretical and in terms of an actual civilization highly speculative; however, it puts energy consumption of an entire civilization in a cosmic perspective. It was first...