Page 14 - Intro to Space Sciences Spacecraft Applications

CHAPTER 1
Introduction and

History

To set the stage for what is presented in this text, a brief discussion on
the uses of systems in space is provided as insight into the operation and
purposes of such systems. This discussion is followed by a brief history
of man’s achievements in space and some conjecture on where we may
be headed.

USES OF SPACE

For centuries, the stars and planets and their patterns and positions have
been used for purposes similar to those for which we use modem space sys-
tems. Notable and ancient applications include navigation and environmen-
tal prediction. So it is surprising that even after Sir Isaac Newton showed
that man could, theoretically, place an object into space, no one immediate-
ly thought of any useful reason why anybody would want to. It was not until
this feat was actually accomplished that we began to explore and discover
the benefits offered by presence in space and began designing and building
systems to take advantage of this wonderful new dimension.
After the first few pictures were returned from some of the early sub-
orbital test rocket flights, experimenters recognized that one of the great-
est advantages of being in space was the expanded perspective looking
back toward earth. The ability to view areas of the globe large enough to
show entire storm patterns spawned the science of global environmental
remote sensing. This has dramatically increased knowledge of the envi-
ronment, allowing for the observance and prediction of adverse condi-
tions and thereby saving life and property from disaster. Remote sensing
systems also allow us to discover and monitor natural resources and eval-
uate demographic effects such as urban expansion and pollution. Similar
type sensors, positioned outside the blanket of the earth’s atmosphere and

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