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TRAVELING AND LIVING IN SPACE

        It's hard to imagine a time without spaceflight. Yet in 1956, when Tom Hanks, star of the film Apollo 13 was born, most people considered satellites and spaceflight to be science fiction - an impossible dream. Not everyone believed that the technology would soon exist to launch satellites and people into space. Military authorities in the US and Soviet Union had a strong interest in rocket development because rockets could launch both missiles and satellites. In the autumn of 1957, those who believed in space exploration were proved right.

        Engineers design space stations so that astronauts can live for long periods in the hostile environment of space, where there is no oxygen, no soil in which to grow food, no water, and no air pressure. Life-support systems on board must provide oxygen and must filter the carbon dioxide that people exhale. The air also has to be pressurized to levels close to those on Earth and temperature maintained at comfortable levels. In the future, food may be grown in space, but to date crews have had to be supplied with food and water from Earth.

        Space crafts are essential for human travel in space, so check out what's inside and find out more about the vehicles that's get humans into space and test out new technologies...