Page 30 - Curriculum Visions Dynamic Book

In just 5 years the world had gone from having no satellites to having many in space performing a
wide range of tasks. It was one of the most staggering developments in technology the world has ever known.
It was now possible to launch satellites, put them in orbit, and use them. It was even possible to recover capsules from them. But none of this would allow people to survive in space.
Looking back 5 years, the Soviet Union had launched a dog into orbit, but since then there appeared to have been no further steps for manned spaceflight. But behind the scenes both the Soviet Union (through their Vostok trials) and the United States (through their Mercury trials) were working furiously to find ways to put people in space. Through
these tests, using both dogs and chimpanzees, both countries were learning more and more about how to sustain life in space.
 Mercury capsule in final assembly before launch.
capsule A small pressurized space vehicle.
ground station A receiving and transmitting station in direct communication with satellites. Such stations are characterized by having large dish-shaped antennae.
orbit The path followed by one object as it tracks around another.
satellite A man-made object that orbits the Earth.
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