The quest for space

There is not the scope to provide a detailed analysis in this present volume but for the benefit of understanding the more recent space flights, a brief overview of our steps to space is presented here (see the first three chapters in Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006, Springer Praxis 2007 for additional details). For every flight into space there has to be the journey from the surface of our planet, through our atmosphere, and into the vacuum beyond, at all times increasing in velocity to overcome the pull of gravity which keeps us on the planet in the first place. As humans, space is not our natural environment and it takes an enormous effort to get us there, sustain us while we explore, and then protect us to get safely home again. Of course, the farther we explore from our planet, the more support we will need and the more difficult the return to Earth becomes. Learning to sustain ourselves in space has always been a challenge, from the first flights of a few minutes or hours to the current months spent on board the space station.