🕷️ Crawler Inspector

URL Lookup

Direct Parameter Lookup

Raw Queries and Responses

1. Shard Calculation

Query:

Response:

Calculated Shard: 62 (from laksa031)

2. Crawled Status Check

Query:

curl -X POST \
  'http://laksa062.int.ahrefs:8124/' \
  -H 'Content-Type: text/plain' \
  -H 'X-ClickHouse-Database: crawler3' \
  -H 'Authorization: Basic YXBpOg==' \
  -d 'SELECT getAhrefsURLFromUnparsed(src_unparsed) AS found_url, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(download_stamp), 0) AS crawl_time, ifNull(toUnixTimestamp(props_url_first_seen), 0) AS first_indexed_time, download_http_code AS http_code, src_unparsed AS src_unparsed, src_root_hash AS src_root_hash, history_drop_reason AS history_drop_reason, meta_title AS meta_title, meta_descriptions AS meta_descriptions, attrs_boilerpipe_text AS attrs_boilerpipe_text, attrs_markdown AS attrs_markdown, attrs_readable_markdown AS attrs_readable_markdown, meta_canonical AS meta_canonical FROM crawler3.page_info_local FINAL PREWHERE (src_root_hash, src_unparsed) IN ((getAhrefsRootHashFromUnparsed(getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.britannica.com/place/Baikonur\')), getAhrefsUnparsedNoserviceFromURL(\'https://www.britannica.com/place/Baikonur\'))) FORMAT JSONEachRow'

Response:

{"found_url":"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Baikonur","crawl_time":1775240357,"first_indexed_time":1475986681,"http_code":200,"src_unparsed":"com,britannica!www,\/place\/Baikonur s443","src_root_hash":"5455945239613777662","history_drop_reason":null,"meta_title":"Baikonur Cosmodrome | Kazakhstan, Map, Location, & Facts | Britannica","meta_descriptions":["Baikonur Cosmodrome, former Soviet and current Russian space center in south-central Kazakhstan. Several historic flights originated there: that of the first artificial satellite (1957), the first crewed orbital flight (Yuri Gagarin, first man in space; 1961), and the first woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova; 1963)."],"attrs_boilerpipe_text":"space exploration\n,  investigation, by means of crewed and uncrewed\nspacecraft\n, of the reaches of the\nuniverse\nbeyond\nEarth\n’s atmosphere and the use of the information so gained to increase knowledge of the\ncosmos\nand benefit humanity. A complete list of all crewed spaceflights, with details on each mission’s accomplishments and crew, is available in the section\nChronology of crewed spaceflights\n.\nHumans have always looked at the heavens and wondered about the nature of the objects seen in the night sky. With the development of\nrockets\nand the advances in electronics and other technologies in the 20th century, it became possible to send machines and\nanimals\nand then people above Earth’s\natmosphere\ninto\nouter space\n. Well before technology made these achievements possible, however, space exploration had already captured the minds of many people, not only aircraft pilots and scientists but also writers and artists.\nWhat do you think?\nExplore the ProCon debate\nThe strong hold that space travel has always had on the imagination may well explain why professional astronauts and laypeople alike\nconsent\nat their great peril, in the words of\nTom Wolfe\nin\nThe Right Stuff\n(1979), to sit “on top of an enormous Roman candle, such as a Redstone,\nAtlas\n,\nTitan\nor\nSaturn\nrocket\n, and wait for someone to light the fuse.” It perhaps also explains why space exploration has been a common and enduring theme in\nliterature\nand art. As centuries of speculative\nfiction\nin books and more recently in films make clear, “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind” was taken by the human spirit many times and in many ways before\nNeil Armstrong\nstamped humankind’s first footprint on the\nMoon\n.\nTop five milestones in space exploration history\nErik Gregersen, astronomy and space exploration editor of\nEncyclopædia Britannica\n, picking his top five milestones in space exploration.\nSee all videos for this article\nAchieving spaceflight enabled humans to begin to explore the\nsolar system\nand the rest of the universe, to understand the many objects and phenomena that are better observed from a space perspective, and to use for human benefit the resources and attributes of the space\nenvironment\n. All of these activities—discovery, scientific understanding, and the application of that understanding to serve human purposes—are elements of\nspace exploration\n. (For a general discussion of\nspacecraft\n, launch considerations, flight trajectories, and\nnavigation\n, docking, and recovery procedures,\nsee\nspaceflight\n.)\nOverview of recent space achievements\nMotivations for space activity\nHurricane Irene\nSatellite image of Hurricane Irene taken on August 26, 2011.\nAlthough the possibility of exploring space has long excited people in many walks of life, for most of the latter 20th century and into the early 21st century, only national governments could afford the very high costs of launching people and machines into space. This reality meant that space exploration had to serve very broad interests, and it indeed has done so in a variety of ways.\nGovernment\nspace programs have increased knowledge, served as indicators of national\nprestige\nand power,\nenhanced\nnational security and military strength, and provided significant benefits to the general public. In areas where the private sector could profit from activities in space, most notably the use of\nsatellites\nas\ntelecommunication\nrelays, commercial space activity has flourished without government funding. In the early 21st century,\nentrepreneurs\nbelieved that there were several other areas of commercial potential in space, most notably privately funded space travel.\nBritannica Quiz\nSpace Odyssey\nIn the years after\nWorld War II\n, governments assumed a leading role in the support of research that increased fundamental knowledge about nature, a role that earlier had been played by universities, private foundations, and other nongovernmental supporters. This change came for two reasons. First, the need for complex equipment to carry out many scientific experiments and for the large teams of researchers to use that equipment led to costs that only governments could afford. Second, governments were willing to take on this responsibility because of the belief that fundamental research would produce new knowledge essential to the health, the security, and the\nquality of life\nof their citizens. Thus, when scientists sought government support for early space experiments, it was forthcoming. Since the start of space efforts in the\nUnited States\n, the\nSoviet Union\n, and\nEurope\n, national governments have given high priority to the support of\nscience\ndone\nin and from space. From modest beginnings, space science has expanded under government support to include multibillion-dollar exploratory missions in the solar system. Examples of such efforts include the development of the\nCuriosity\nMars\nrover, the\nCassini-Huygens\nmission to\nSaturn\nand its moons, and the development of major space-based astronomical observatories such as the\nHubble Space Telescope\n.\nSoviet leader\nNikita Khrushchev\nin 1957 used the fact that his country had been first to launch a\nsatellite\nas evidence of the technological power of the Soviet Union and of the superiority of\ncommunism\n. He repeated these claims after\nYuri Gagarin\n’s orbital flight in 1961. Although U.S. Pres.\nDwight D. Eisenhower\nhad decided not to compete for\nprestige\nwith the Soviet Union in a space race, his successor,\nJohn F. Kennedy\n, had a different view. On April 20, 1961, in the aftermath of the Gagarin flight, he asked his advisers to identify a “space program which promises dramatic results in which we could win.” The response came in a May 8, 1961, memorandum recommending that the\nUnited States\ncommit to sending people to the\nMoon\n, because “dramatic achievements in space…symbolize the technological power and organizing capacity of a nation” and because the ensuing prestige would be “part of the battle along the fluid front of the cold war.” From 1961 until the\ncollapse of the Soviet Union\nin 1991, competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was a major influence on the\npace\nand content of their space programs. Other countries also viewed having a successful space program as an important indicator of national strength.\nTrusted knowledge for those who want to know more.\nSUBSCRIBE\nEven before the first satellite was launched, U.S. leaders recognized that the ability to observe military activities around the world from space would be an asset to national security. Following on the success of its photoreconnaissance satellites, which began operation in 1960, the United States built increasingly complex observation and electronic-intercept\nintelligence\nsatellites. The Soviet Union also quickly developed an array of\nintelligence satellites, and later a few other countries instituted their own satellite observation programs. Intelligence-gathering satellites have been used to verify arms-control agreements, provide warnings of military threats, and identify targets during military operations, among other uses.\nIn addition to providing security benefits, satellites offered military forces the potential for improved communications, weather observation, navigation, timing, and position location. This led to significant government funding for military space programs in the United States and the Soviet Union. Although the advantages and disadvantages of stationing force-delivery weapons in space have been debated, as of the early 21st century, such weapons had not been\ndeployed\n, nor had space-based antisatellite systems—that is, systems that can attack or interfere with orbiting satellites. The stationing of weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies is prohibited by\ninternational law\n.\nTIROS 7\nTIROS 7 (Television and Infra-Red Observation Satellite 7), launched June 19, 1963. The first series of U.S. TIROS spacecraft, placed into Earth orbit 1960–65, paved the way for the development of satellite systems to conduct routine daily weather and atmospheric monitoring.\nGovernments realized early on that the ability to observe Earth from space could provide significant benefits to the general public apart from security and military uses. The first application to be pursued was the development of satellites for assisting in\nweather forecasting\n. A second application involved remote observation of land and sea surfaces to gather imagery and other\ndata\nof value in crop forecasting, resource management, environmental monitoring, and other applications. The U.S., the Soviet Union, Europe, and\nChina\nalso developed their own satellite-based\nglobal positioning systems\n, originally for military purposes, that could pinpoint a user’s exact location, help in navigating from one point to another, and provide very precise time signals. These satellites quickly found numerous civilian uses in such areas as personal navigation, surveying and cartography, geology,\nair-traffic control\n, and the operation of information-transfer networks. They illustrate a reality that has remained constant for a half century—as space capabilities are developed, they often can be used for both military and civilian purposes.\nAnother space application that began under government sponsorship but quickly moved into the private sector is the\nrelay\nof voice, video, and data via orbiting satellites.\nSatellite telecommunications\nhas developed into a multibillion-dollar business and is the one clearly successful area of commercial space activity. A related, but economically much smaller, commercial space business is the provision of launches for private and government satellites. In 2004 a privately financed venture sent a piloted spacecraft,\nSpaceShipOne\n, to the lower edge of space for three brief suborbital flights. Although it was technically a much less challenging achievement than carrying humans into orbit, its success was seen as an important step toward opening up space to commercial travel and eventually to\ntourism\n. More than 15 years after SpaceShipOne reached space, several firms began to carry out such suborbital flights. Companies have arisen that also use satellite imagery to provide data for business about economic\ntrends\n. Suggestions have been made that in the future other areas of space activity, including using resources found on the\nMoon\nand near-Earth\nasteroids\nand the capture of\nsolar energy\nto provide\nelectric power\non\nEarth\n, could become successful businesses.\nMost space activities have been pursued because they serve some utilitarian purpose, whether increasing knowledge, adding to national power, or making a\nprofit\n. Nevertheless, there remains a powerful underlying sense that it is important for humans to explore space for its own sake, “to see what is there.” Although the only voyages that\nhumans\nhave made away from the near\nvicinity\nof Earth—the\nApollo\nflights to the Moon—were motivated by\nCold War\ncompetition, there have been recurrent calls for humans to return to the Moon, travel to Mars, and visit other locations in the solar system and beyond. Until humans resume such journeys of exploration, robotic spacecraft will continue to serve in their stead to explore the solar system and probe the mysteries of the universe.","attrs_markdown":"[![Encyclopedia Britannica](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel\/eb-logo\/MendelNewThistleLogo.png)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/)\n\n[![Encyclopedia Britannica](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel\/eb-logo\/MendelNewThistleLogo.png)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/)\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=global-nav&utm_campaign=blue-evergreen)\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=global-nav-mobile&utm_campaign=blue-evergreen)\n\nLogin\n\nhttps:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm\\_source=premium\\&utm\\_medium=nav-login-box\\&utm\\_campaign=evergreen\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=hamburger-menu&utm_campaign=blue)\n\n[Ask the Chatbot](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/chatbot)\n\n[Games & Quizzes](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/browse) [History & Society](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/History-Society) [Science & Tech](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Science-Tech) [Biographies](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Biographies) [Animals & Nature](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Animals-Nature) [Geography & Travel](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Geography-Travel) [Arts & Culture](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/Arts-Culture) [ProCon](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/procon) [Money](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money) [Videos](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/videos)\n\n[Baikonur Cosmodrome](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Baikonur)\n\n[Introduction](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Baikonur)   [References & Edit History](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Baikonur\/additional-info)  [Related Topics](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/facts\/Baikonur)\n\n[Images](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Baikonur\/images-videos)\n\n[![Baikonur Cosmodrome](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/78\/126278-004-13C52B0D\/Soyuz-spacecraft-launch-vehicle-Baikonur-Kazakhstan-space.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/78\/126278-004-13C52B0D\/Soyuz-spacecraft-launch-vehicle-Baikonur-Kazakhstan-space.jpg)  [![Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/43\/246943-004-3E2D2109\/Locator-map-Baikonur-Cosmodrome.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/43\/246943-050-7788F891\/Locator-map-Baikonur-Cosmodrome.jpg)  [![Soyuz TMA-02M rocket](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/94\/150294-004-ACDFE8FF\/Launch-pad-engineers-base-rocket-Soyuz-TMA-02M-June-5-2011.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/94\/150294-050-137D61CA\/Launch-pad-engineers-base-rocket-Soyuz-TMA-02M-June-5-2011.jpg)  [![Soyuz TMA-02M liftoff](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/00\/150400-004-E7A12AB1\/spacecraft-Soyuz-TMA-02M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-June-8-2011.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/00\/150400-050-D91C4E1B\/spacecraft-Soyuz-TMA-02M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-June-8-2011.jpg)  [![Baikonur Cosmodrome; Soyuz TMA-04M](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/48\/194348-004-86B62258\/spacecraft-technicians-Soyuz-TMA-04M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-May-8-2012.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/48\/194348-050-9353D198\/spacecraft-technicians-Soyuz-TMA-04M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-May-8-2012.jpg)\n\nQuizzes\n\n[![Tower Bridge over the Thames River in London, England. Opened in 1894. Remains an Important Traffic Route with 40,000 Crossings Every Day.](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/60\/269560-131-B4CD857D\/tower-bridge-over-river-thames-london-england.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/guess-the-city-by-its-river-quiz)\n\n[Guess the City by Its River Quiz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/guess-the-city-by-its-river-quiz)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5)\n\nContents\n\nAsk Anything\n\n[Geography & Travel](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Geography-Travel)    [Cities & Towns](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Cities-Towns)    [Cities & Towns A-B](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Cities-Towns-A-B)\n\nCITE\n\nShare\n\nFeedback\n\nExternal Websites\n\n[![Baikonur Cosmodrome](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/78\/126278-004-13C52B0D\/Soyuz-spacecraft-launch-vehicle-Baikonur-Kazakhstan-space.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/78\/126278-004-13C52B0D\/Soyuz-spacecraft-launch-vehicle-Baikonur-Kazakhstan-space.jpg)\n\n[Baikonur Cosmodrome](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/78\/126278-004-13C52B0D\/Soyuz-spacecraft-launch-vehicle-Baikonur-Kazakhstan-space.jpg) Soyuz spacecraft and launch vehicle at the Baikonur space centre, Kazakhstan.\n\n(more)\n\n# Baikonur Cosmodrome\nspace center, Kazakhstan\n\nHomework Help\n\nAlso known as: Bajkonur, Baykonur, Baykonur Cosmodrome, Baykonyr, Turatam, Tyuratam[(Show More)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Baikonur)\n\nWritten and fact-checked by\n\n[Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica\/4419)\n\nBritannica Editors\n\nLast updated\n\nMar. 25, 2026\n\n•[History](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Baikonur\/additional-info#history)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5) Britannica AI\n\nAsk Anything\n\nTable of Contents\n\nTable of Contents\n\nAsk Anything\n\n## News •\n[Progress Cargo Craft Launches to Resupply Station Crew - NASA](https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/blogs\/spacestation\/2026\/03\/22\/progress-cargo-craft-launches-to-resupply-station-crew\/)  • Mar. 22, 2026, 8:43 AM ET (NASA (.gov))\n\nShow less\n\n[![Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/43\/246943-050-7788F891\/Locator-map-Baikonur-Cosmodrome.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/43\/246943-050-7788F891\/Locator-map-Baikonur-Cosmodrome.jpg)\n\n[Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/43\/246943-050-7788F891\/Locator-map-Baikonur-Cosmodrome.jpg)\n\n(more)\n\n**Baikonur Cosmodrome**, former Soviet and current Russian space centre in south-central [Kazakhstan](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Kazakhstan). Baikonur was a Soviet code name for the centre, but American analysts often called it Tyuratam, after the railroad station at Tyuratam (Leninsk), the nearest large city. The Baikonur Cosmodrome lies on the north bank of the [Syr Darya](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Syr-Darya), about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Qyzylorda. The [Soviet Union’s](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Soviet-Union) secretiveness about its exact location led to confusion of the site with another Baikonur, a town about 200 miles (320 km) northeast of the space centre in the desert area near [Zhezqazghan](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Zhezqazghan).\n\nAlso spelled:\n\nBaykonur, Baykonyr, or Bajkonur\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nAlso called:\n\nTyuratam or Turatam\n\n*(Show more)*\n\n[See all related content](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/facts\/Baikonur)\n\n[![Soyuz TMA-02M rocket](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/94\/150294-050-137D61CA\/Launch-pad-engineers-base-rocket-Soyuz-TMA-02M-June-5-2011.jpg?w=300)1 of 3](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/94\/150294-050-137D61CA\/Launch-pad-engineers-base-rocket-Soyuz-TMA-02M-June-5-2011.jpg)\n\n[Soyuz TMA-02M rocket](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/94\/150294-050-137D61CA\/Launch-pad-engineers-base-rocket-Soyuz-TMA-02M-June-5-2011.jpg)Launch pad engineers at the base of the Soyuz TMA-02M rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, June 5, 2011.\n\n(more)\n\n[![Soyuz TMA-02M liftoff](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/00\/150400-050-D91C4E1B\/spacecraft-Soyuz-TMA-02M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-June-8-2011.jpg?w=300)2 of 3](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/00\/150400-050-D91C4E1B\/spacecraft-Soyuz-TMA-02M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-June-8-2011.jpg)\n\n[Soyuz TMA-02M liftoff](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/00\/150400-050-D91C4E1B\/spacecraft-Soyuz-TMA-02M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-June-8-2011.jpg)The Soyuz TMA-02M spacecraft being launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2011.\n\n(more)\n\n[![Baikonur Cosmodrome; Soyuz TMA-04M](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/48\/194348-050-9353D198\/spacecraft-technicians-Soyuz-TMA-04M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-May-8-2012.jpg?w=300)3 of 3](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/48\/194348-050-9353D198\/spacecraft-technicians-Soyuz-TMA-04M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-May-8-2012.jpg)\n\n[Baikonur Cosmodrome; Soyuz TMA-04M](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/48\/194348-050-9353D198\/spacecraft-technicians-Soyuz-TMA-04M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-May-8-2012.jpg)The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft being rotated by technicians, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, May 8, 2012.\n\n(more)\n\nThe Baikonur Cosmodrome was the chief operations centre of the Soviets’ ambitious space program from the 1960s through the ’80s and is equipped with complete facilities for launching both crewed and uncrewed space vehicles. The facility and supporting town were originally built in the mid-1950s as a long-range-missile centre, which was later expanded to include spaceflight facilities. Several historic flights originated there: that of the first artificial satellite (1957), the first crewed orbital flight (carrying [Yuri Gagarin](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Yuri-Gagarin), the first man in space; 1961), and the flight of the first woman in space ([Valentina Tereshkova](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Valentina-Tereshkova); 1963). The town supporting the facility was raised to city status in 1966 and named Leninsk. The facility remained the base of the Soviet space program until the [dissolution of the Soviet Union](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/the-collapse-of-the-Soviet-Union) in 1991, after which it continued to function under Russian [auspices](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/auspices).\n\n[The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica\/4419) This article was most recently revised and updated by [Erik Gregersen](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/Erik-Gregersen\/6723).\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5)Britannica AI\n\n*chevron\\_right*\n\nBaikonur Cosmodrome\n\n*close*\n\n[AI-generated answers](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/about-britannica-ai) from Britannica articles. AI makes mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.\n\n[space exploration](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration)\n\n- [Introduction](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration)\n- [Overview of recent space achievements](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration#ref237023)\n  - [Motivations for space activity](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration#ref237024)\n  \n  - [Major milestones](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Major-milestones)\n  \n  - [Significant milestones in space exploration](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Major-milestones#ref310634)\n- [History of space exploration](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/History-of-space-exploration)\n  - [Prelude to spaceflight](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/History-of-space-exploration#ref237027)\n    - [Precursors in fiction and fact](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/History-of-space-exploration#ref237028)\n      - [Tsiolkovsky](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/History-of-space-exploration#ref237029)\n      - [Goddard](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/History-of-space-exploration#ref237030)\n      - [Oberth](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/History-of-space-exploration#ref237031)\n      - [Other space pioneers](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/History-of-space-exploration#ref237032)\n    - [Early rocket development](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Early-rocket-development)\n      - [Germany](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Early-rocket-development#ref237034)\n      - [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Early-rocket-development#ref237035)\n      - [Soviet Union](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Early-rocket-development#ref237036)\n    - [Preparing for spaceflight](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Preparing-for-spaceflight)\n  \n  - [From Sputnik to Apollo](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/From-Sputnik-to-Apollo)\n    - [The first satellites](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/From-Sputnik-to-Apollo#ref237039)\n    - [Development of space organizations](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/From-Sputnik-to-Apollo#ref237040)\n      - [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/United-States)\n      - [Soviet Union](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Soviet-Union)\n      - [Europe](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Soviet-Union#ref237043)\n      - [Japan](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Soviet-Union#ref237044)\n      - [China](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Soviet-Union#ref237045)\n      - [International participation](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/International-participation)\n      - [Involvement of industry](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/International-participation#ref237047)\n    - [The first human spaceflights](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/International-participation#ref237048)\n      - [Vostok](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/International-participation#ref237049)\n      - [Mercury](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Mercury)\n      - [Gemini and Voskhod](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Mercury#ref237051)\n      - [Soyuz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Mercury#ref237052)\n    - [The race to the Moon](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/The-race-to-the-Moon)\n      - [The American commitment](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/The-race-to-the-Moon#ref237054)\n      - [The Soviet response](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/The-race-to-the-Moon#ref237055)\n      - [Interim developments](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/The-race-to-the-Moon#ref237056)\n      - [The Apollo lunar landings and Apollo-Soyuz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/The-Apollo-lunar-landings-and-Apollo-Soyuz)\n  \n  - [Orbiting space platforms](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/The-Apollo-lunar-landings-and-Apollo-Soyuz#ref237058)\n    - [Space stations](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Space-stations)\n    - [International space endurance records](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/International-space-endurance-records)\n    - [Summary of space stations launched since 1971](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/International-space-endurance-records#ref310636)\n    - [The space shuttle](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/The-space-shuttle)\n- [Human beings in space: debate and consequences](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Human-beings-in-space-debate-and-consequences)\n  - [Risks and benefits](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Human-beings-in-space-debate-and-consequences#ref237062)\n  \n  - [Selecting people for spaceflights](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Human-beings-in-space-debate-and-consequences#ref237063)\n  \n  - [Biomedical, psychological, and sociological aspects](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Human-beings-in-space-debate-and-consequences#ref237064)\n- [Science in space](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Science-in-space)\n  - [Solar and space physics](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Science-in-space#ref237066)\n  \n  - [Solar system exploration](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Solar-system-exploration)\n  \n  - [Exploring the universe](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Exploring-the-universe)\n  \n  - [Microgravity research](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Exploring-the-universe#ref237069)\n  \n  - [Observing Earth](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Exploring-the-universe#ref237070)\n- [Space applications](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Space-applications)\n  - [Meteorology](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Space-applications#ref237072)\n  \n  - [Positioning, navigation, and timing](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Space-applications#ref237073)\n  \n  - [Military and national security uses of space](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Space-applications#ref237074)\n  \n  - [Satellite telecommunications](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Satellite-telecommunications)\n  \n  - [Remote sensing](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Satellite-telecommunications#ref237076)\n  \n  - [Commercial space transportation](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Commercial-space-transportation)\n  \n  - [New commercial applications](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Commercial-space-transportation#ref237078)\n- [Issues for the future](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Issues-for-the-future)\n- [Chronology of crewed spaceflights](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Chronology-of-crewed-spaceflights)\n  - [Crewed spaceflights, 1960–69](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Chronology-of-crewed-spaceflights#ref286805)\n  \n  - [Crewed spaceflights, 1970–79](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Crewed-spaceflights-1970-79)\n  \n  - [Crewed spaceflights, 1980–89](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Crewed-spaceflights-1980-89)\n  \n  - [Crewed spaceflights, 1990–99](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Crewed-spaceflights-1990-99)\n  \n  - [Crewed spaceflights, 2000–09](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Crewed-spaceflights-2000-09)\n  \n  - [Crewed spaceflights, 2010–2019](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Crewed-spaceflights-2010-2019)\n  \n  - [Crewed spaceflights, 2020–](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Crewed-spaceflights-2010-2019#ref350881)\n\n[References & Edit History](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/additional-info)  [Related Topics](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/facts\/space-exploration)\n\n[Images & Videos](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/images-videos)\n\n[![Astronaut outside the International Space Station](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/06\/72006-004-F554D837\/Michael-Lopez-Alegria-space-module-station-assembly-International-October-2000.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/06\/72006-050-5EF22ECB\/Michael-Lopez-Alegria-space-module-station-assembly-International-October-2000.jpg)  [![Apollo 11](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/59\/190159-004-A80542F4\/rocket-Saturn-V-mission-Apollo-11-Pad-July-16-1969.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/59\/190159-050-E680F762\/rocket-Saturn-V-mission-Apollo-11-Pad-July-16-1969.jpg)  [![Eagle Nebula](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/60\/21260-120-21654CD7\/nursery-Eagle-Nebula-detail-image-column-stars.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/60\/21260-050-BE395D9D\/nursery-Eagle-Nebula-detail-image-column-stars.jpg)\n\n[![Top five milestones in space exploration history](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/46\/150646-138-C1A65B09\/Erik-Gregersen-astronomy-milestones-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-space.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/video\/Erik-Gregersen-astronomy-milestones-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-space\/-158055)\n\n[![Hurricane Irene](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/64\/152064-004-9C908EF8\/Satellite-image-Hurricane-Irene-August-26-2011.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/64\/152064-050-8EBD7FBC\/Satellite-image-Hurricane-Irene-August-26-2011.jpg)  [![Cassini-Huygens spacecraft](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/62\/201462-004-F2B87E84\/Cassini-Saturn-Orbit-Insertion-artists-conception-illustration.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/62\/201462-050-18018E16\/Cassini-Saturn-Orbit-Insertion-artists-conception-illustration.jpg)\n\n[![Mars exploration: Opportunity and Curiosity rovers](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/91\/194291-138-1FA54C65\/Mars-efforts-Curiosity-rover.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/video\/Mars-efforts-Curiosity-rover\/-226689)\n\n[![TIROS 7](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/37\/437-004-B91E9F64\/TIROS-7-series-orbit-spacecraft-satellite-systems-June-19-1963.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/37\/437-004-B91E9F64\/TIROS-7-series-orbit-spacecraft-satellite-systems-June-19-1963.jpg)  [![International Space Station, 2000](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/32\/69632-004-A093247D\/space-shuttle-Endeavour-International-Space-Station-spacecraft-December-9-2000.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/32\/69632-050-AA671F9E\/space-shuttle-Endeavour-International-Space-Station-spacecraft-December-9-2000.jpg)  [![Sojourner rover examining a boulder on Mars](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/72\/22072-004-5D4F9F04\/NASA-rover-Pathfinder-Sojourner-boulder-planet-Chryse-July-4-1997.jpg)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/72\/22072-004-5D4F9F04\/NASA-rover-Pathfinder-Sojourner-boulder-planet-Chryse-July-4-1997.jpg)\n\nAt a Glance\n\n[![Buzz Aldrin on the Moon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/15\/415-050-5342912B\/Edwin-Aldrin-Apollo-11-mission-surface-Neil-July-20-1969.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/summary\/space-exploration)\n\n[space exploration summary](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/summary\/space-exploration)\n\nQuizzes\n\n[![View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/41\/155241-131-FB2C633F\/View-Andromeda-Galaxy.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/astronomy-and-space-quiz)\n\n[Astronomy and Space Quiz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/astronomy-and-space-quiz)\n\n[![The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/92\/95392-131-F6284677\/orbits-planets-bodies-solar-system.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/space-odyssey)\n\n[Space Odyssey](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/space-odyssey)\n\n[![Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/54\/102254-131-ED1A2CE1\/Nicolaus-Copernicus.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/all-about-astronomy)\n\n[All About Astronomy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/all-about-astronomy)\n\n[![Soil cohesiveness demonstrated in bootprint of Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11. footprint; foot print; moon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/29\/76829-131-9658164B\/lunar-soil-Cohesiveness-Edwin-Aldrin-boot-print-July-1969.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/space-exploration)\n\n[Space Exploration](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/space-exploration)\n\n[![Earth from space. Full-hemisphere views of the Earth showing Hurricane Linda at its peak approaching Baja California on 1997 September 11.](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/77\/149177-131-092B7860\/view-space-Earth-Western-Hemisphere-Hurricane-Linda-Sept-11-1997.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/human-exploration-from-earth-to-space)\n\n[Human Exploration: From Earth to Space](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/human-exploration-from-earth-to-space)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5)\n\nAsk Anything\n\nQuick Summary\n\n[Science](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Science)    [Astronomy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/browse\/Astronomy)\n\nCITE\n\nShare\n\nFeedback\n\nExternal Websites\n\n[![Astronaut outside the International Space Station](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/06\/72006-050-5EF22ECB\/Michael-Lopez-Alegria-space-module-station-assembly-International-October-2000.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/06\/72006-050-5EF22ECB\/Michael-Lopez-Alegria-space-module-station-assembly-International-October-2000.jpg)\n\n[Astronaut outside the International Space Station](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/06\/72006-050-5EF22ECB\/Michael-Lopez-Alegria-space-module-station-assembly-International-October-2000.jpg) U.S. space shuttle astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria floating in space outside the Unity module of the International Space Station in October 2000, during an early stage of the station's assembly in Earth orbit.\n\n(more)\n\n# space exploration\nHomework Help\n\nWritten by\n\n[John M. Logsdon John M. Logsdon is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. He was a member of the NASA Advisory Council...](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/contributor\/John-M-Logsdon\/4864)\n\nJohn M. Logsdon\n\nFact-checked by\n\n[Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/editor\/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica\/4419)\n\nBritannica Editors\n\nLast updated\n\nFeb. 16, 2026\n\n•[History](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/additional-info#history)\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5) Britannica AI\n\nAsk Anything\n\nQuick Summary\n\nTable of Contents\n\nTable of Contents\n\nQuick Summary\n\nAsk Anything\n\n**space exploration**, investigation, by means of crewed and uncrewed [spacecraft](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/spacecraft), of the reaches of the [universe](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/universe) beyond [Earth](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Earth)’s atmosphere and the use of the information so gained to increase knowledge of the [cosmos](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/Cosmos-astronomy) and benefit humanity. A complete list of all crewed spaceflights, with details on each mission’s accomplishments and crew, is available in the section [Chronology of crewed spaceflights](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Chronology-of-crewed-spaceflights#ref286805).\n\n[![Apollo 11](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/59\/190159-050-E680F762\/rocket-Saturn-V-mission-Apollo-11-Pad-July-16-1969.jpg?w=300)1 of 2](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/59\/190159-050-E680F762\/rocket-Saturn-V-mission-Apollo-11-Pad-July-16-1969.jpg)\n\n[Apollo 11](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/59\/190159-050-E680F762\/rocket-Saturn-V-mission-Apollo-11-Pad-July-16-1969.jpg)The launch of Apollo 11, July 16, 1969.\n\n(more)\n\n[![Eagle Nebula](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/60\/21260-050-BE395D9D\/nursery-Eagle-Nebula-detail-image-column-stars.jpg?w=300)2 of 2](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/60\/21260-050-BE395D9D\/nursery-Eagle-Nebula-detail-image-column-stars.jpg)\n\n[Eagle Nebula](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/60\/21260-050-BE395D9D\/nursery-Eagle-Nebula-detail-image-column-stars.jpg)A stellar nursery in the Eagle Nebula (M16, NGC 6611). This detail of a composite image taken by the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope reveals a glowing column of dust and cold gas populated by embryonic stars forming from molecular hydrogen within the column.\n\n(more)\n\nHumans have always looked at the heavens and wondered about the nature of the objects seen in the night sky. With the development of [rockets](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/rocket-jet-propulsion-device-and-vehicle) and the advances in electronics and other technologies in the 20th century, it became possible to send machines and [animals](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/animal\/animal) and then people above Earth’s [atmosphere](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/atmosphere) into [outer space](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/outer-space). Well before technology made these achievements possible, however, space exploration had already captured the minds of many people, not only aircraft pilots and scientists but also writers and artists.\n\n**What do you think?**\n\n- **[Should Humans Colonize Space?](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/procon\/space-colonization-debate)**\n\n**Explore the ProCon debate**\n\nThe strong hold that space travel has always had on the imagination may well explain why professional astronauts and laypeople alike [consent](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/consent) at their great peril, in the words of [Tom Wolfe](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Tom-Wolfe) in *The Right Stuff* (1979), to sit “on top of an enormous Roman candle, such as a Redstone, [Atlas](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/Atlas-American-launch-vehicles), [Titan](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/Titan-rocket) or [Saturn](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/Saturn-launch-vehicle) [rocket](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/rocket-jet-propulsion-device-and-vehicle), and wait for someone to light the fuse.” It perhaps also explains why space exploration has been a common and enduring theme in [literature](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/literature) and art. As centuries of speculative [fiction](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/fiction-literature) in books and more recently in films make clear, “one small step for \\[a\\] man, one giant leap for mankind” was taken by the human spirit many times and in many ways before [Neil Armstrong](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Neil-Armstrong) stamped humankind’s first footprint on the [Moon](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/moon-natural-satellite).\n\n[![Top five milestones in space exploration history](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/46\/150646-138-C1A65B09\/Erik-Gregersen-astronomy-milestones-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-space.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop)](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/video\/Erik-Gregersen-astronomy-milestones-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-space\/-158055)\n\nTop five milestones in space exploration history Erik Gregersen, astronomy and space exploration editor of *Encyclopædia Britannica*, picking his top five milestones in space exploration.\n\n(more)\n\n[See all videos for this article](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/images-videos)\n\nAchieving spaceflight enabled humans to begin to explore the [solar system](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/solar-system) and the rest of the universe, to understand the many objects and phenomena that are better observed from a space perspective, and to use for human benefit the resources and attributes of the space [environment](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/environment). All of these activities—discovery, scientific understanding, and the application of that understanding to serve human purposes—are elements of [space exploration](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration). (For a general discussion of [spacecraft](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/spacecraft), launch considerations, flight trajectories, and [navigation](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/navigation-technology), docking, and recovery procedures, *see* [spaceflight](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/spaceflight).)\n\n## Overview of recent space achievements\n## Motivations for space activity\n[![Hurricane Irene](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/64\/152064-050-8EBD7FBC\/Satellite-image-Hurricane-Irene-August-26-2011.jpg?w=300)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/64\/152064-050-8EBD7FBC\/Satellite-image-Hurricane-Irene-August-26-2011.jpg)\n\n[Hurricane Irene](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/64\/152064-050-8EBD7FBC\/Satellite-image-Hurricane-Irene-August-26-2011.jpg)Satellite image of Hurricane Irene taken on August 26, 2011.\n\n(more)\n\nAlthough the possibility of exploring space has long excited people in many walks of life, for most of the latter 20th century and into the early 21st century, only national governments could afford the very high costs of launching people and machines into space. This reality meant that space exploration had to serve very broad interests, and it indeed has done so in a variety of ways. [Government](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/government) space programs have increased knowledge, served as indicators of national [prestige](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/prestige) and power, [enhanced](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/enhanced) national security and military strength, and provided significant benefits to the general public. In areas where the private sector could profit from activities in space, most notably the use of [satellites](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/Earth-satellite) as [telecommunication](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/telecommunication) relays, commercial space activity has flourished without government funding. In the early 21st century, [entrepreneurs](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/entrepreneurs) believed that there were several other areas of commercial potential in space, most notably privately funded space travel.\n\n[![The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/92\/95392-131-F6284677\/orbits-planets-bodies-solar-system.jpg) Britannica Quiz Space Odyssey](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/space-odyssey)\n\n[![Cassini-Huygens spacecraft](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/62\/201462-050-18018E16\/Cassini-Saturn-Orbit-Insertion-artists-conception-illustration.jpg?w=300)1 of 2](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/62\/201462-050-18018E16\/Cassini-Saturn-Orbit-Insertion-artists-conception-illustration.jpg)\n\n[Cassini-Huygens spacecraft](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/62\/201462-050-18018E16\/Cassini-Saturn-Orbit-Insertion-artists-conception-illustration.jpg)The insertion of Cassini into Saturn's orbit, 2004.\n\n(more)\n\n[![Mars exploration: Opportunity and Curiosity rovers](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/91\/194291-138-1FA54C65\/Mars-efforts-Curiosity-rover.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop)2 of 2](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/video\/Mars-efforts-Curiosity-rover\/-226689)\n\nMars exploration: Opportunity and Curiosity roversLearn about various scientific efforts to study the planet Mars, including the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers.\n\n(more)\n\n[See all videos for this article](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/images-videos)\n\nIn the years after [World War II](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/World-War-II), governments assumed a leading role in the support of research that increased fundamental knowledge about nature, a role that earlier had been played by universities, private foundations, and other nongovernmental supporters. This change came for two reasons. First, the need for complex equipment to carry out many scientific experiments and for the large teams of researchers to use that equipment led to costs that only governments could afford. Second, governments were willing to take on this responsibility because of the belief that fundamental research would produce new knowledge essential to the health, the security, and the [quality of life](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/quality-of-life) of their citizens. Thus, when scientists sought government support for early space experiments, it was forthcoming. Since the start of space efforts in the [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States), the [Soviet Union](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Soviet-Union), and [Europe](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Europe), national governments have given high priority to the support of [science](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/science) [done](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/done) in and from space. From modest beginnings, space science has expanded under government support to include multibillion-dollar exploratory missions in the solar system. Examples of such efforts include the development of the [Curiosity](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Curiosity-United-States-robotic-vehicle) [Mars](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Mars-planet) rover, the [Cassini-Huygens](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Cassini-Huygens) mission to [Saturn](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Saturn-planet) and its moons, and the development of major space-based astronomical observatories such as the [Hubble Space Telescope](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Hubble-Space-Telescope).\n\nSoviet leader [Nikita Khrushchev](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Nikita-Sergeyevich-Khrushchev) in 1957 used the fact that his country had been first to launch a [satellite](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/satellite) as evidence of the technological power of the Soviet Union and of the superiority of [communism](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/communism). He repeated these claims after [Yuri Gagarin](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Yuri-Gagarin)’s orbital flight in 1961. Although U.S. Pres. [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Dwight-D-Eisenhower) had decided not to compete for [prestige](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/prestige) with the Soviet Union in a space race, his successor, [John F. Kennedy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/John-F-Kennedy), had a different view. On April 20, 1961, in the aftermath of the Gagarin flight, he asked his advisers to identify a “space program which promises dramatic results in which we could win.” The response came in a May 8, 1961, memorandum recommending that the [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States) commit to sending people to the [Moon](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/Moon-exploration), because “dramatic achievements in space…symbolize the technological power and organizing capacity of a nation” and because the ensuing prestige would be “part of the battle along the fluid front of the cold war.” From 1961 until the [collapse of the Soviet Union](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/the-collapse-of-the-Soviet-Union) in 1991, competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was a major influence on the [pace](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/pace) and content of their space programs. Other countries also viewed having a successful space program as an important indicator of national strength.\n\nExplore Britannica Premium\\!\n\nTrusted knowledge for those who want to know more.\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=shorter-2026)\n\n![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-left.webp)\n\n![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-right.webp)\n\n![Mobile](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-mobile.webp?w=400)\n\nEven before the first satellite was launched, U.S. leaders recognized that the ability to observe military activities around the world from space would be an asset to national security. Following on the success of its photoreconnaissance satellites, which began operation in 1960, the United States built increasingly complex observation and electronic-intercept [intelligence](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/intelligence-international-relations) satellites. The Soviet Union also quickly developed an array of intelligence satellites, and later a few other countries instituted their own satellite observation programs. Intelligence-gathering satellites have been used to verify arms-control agreements, provide warnings of military threats, and identify targets during military operations, among other uses.\n\nIn addition to providing security benefits, satellites offered military forces the potential for improved communications, weather observation, navigation, timing, and position location. This led to significant government funding for military space programs in the United States and the Soviet Union. Although the advantages and disadvantages of stationing force-delivery weapons in space have been debated, as of the early 21st century, such weapons had not been [deployed](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/deployed), nor had space-based antisatellite systems—that is, systems that can attack or interfere with orbiting satellites. The stationing of weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies is prohibited by [international law](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/international-law).\n\n[![TIROS 7](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/37\/437-004-B91E9F64\/TIROS-7-series-orbit-spacecraft-satellite-systems-June-19-1963.jpg?w=300)](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/37\/437-004-B91E9F64\/TIROS-7-series-orbit-spacecraft-satellite-systems-June-19-1963.jpg)\n\n[TIROS 7](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/37\/437-004-B91E9F64\/TIROS-7-series-orbit-spacecraft-satellite-systems-June-19-1963.jpg)TIROS 7 (Television and Infra-Red Observation Satellite 7), launched June 19, 1963. The first series of U.S. TIROS spacecraft, placed into Earth orbit 1960–65, paved the way for the development of satellite systems to conduct routine daily weather and atmospheric monitoring.\n\n(more)\n\nGovernments realized early on that the ability to observe Earth from space could provide significant benefits to the general public apart from security and military uses. The first application to be pursued was the development of satellites for assisting in [weather forecasting](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/weather-forecasting). A second application involved remote observation of land and sea surfaces to gather imagery and other [data](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/data) of value in crop forecasting, resource management, environmental monitoring, and other applications. The U.S., the Soviet Union, Europe, and [China](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/China) also developed their own satellite-based [global positioning systems](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/GPS), originally for military purposes, that could pinpoint a user’s exact location, help in navigating from one point to another, and provide very precise time signals. These satellites quickly found numerous civilian uses in such areas as personal navigation, surveying and cartography, geology, [air-traffic control](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/air-traffic-control), and the operation of information-transfer networks. They illustrate a reality that has remained constant for a half century—as space capabilities are developed, they often can be used for both military and civilian purposes.\n\nAnother space application that began under government sponsorship but quickly moved into the private sector is the [relay](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/relay) of voice, video, and data via orbiting satellites. [Satellite telecommunications](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/satellite-communication) has developed into a multibillion-dollar business and is the one clearly successful area of commercial space activity. A related, but economically much smaller, commercial space business is the provision of launches for private and government satellites. In 2004 a privately financed venture sent a piloted spacecraft, [SpaceShipOne](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/SpaceShipOne), to the lower edge of space for three brief suborbital flights. Although it was technically a much less challenging achievement than carrying humans into orbit, its success was seen as an important step toward opening up space to commercial travel and eventually to [tourism](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/space-tourism). More than 15 years after SpaceShipOne reached space, several firms began to carry out such suborbital flights. Companies have arisen that also use satellite imagery to provide data for business about economic [trends](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/trends). Suggestions have been made that in the future other areas of space activity, including using resources found on the [Moon](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Moon) and near-Earth [asteroids](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/asteroid) and the capture of [solar energy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/solar-energy) to provide [electric power](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/electric-power) on [Earth](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Earth), could become successful businesses.\n\nKey People:\n\n[Paul J. Weitz](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Paul-J-Weitz)\n\n[Russell Louis Schweickart](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Russell-Louis-Schweickart)\n\n[Ellison Onizuka](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Ellison-Onizuka)\n\n[Mark Kelly](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Mark-Kelly)\n\n[Jonny Kim](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Jonny-Kim)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\nRelated Topics:\n\n[interplanetary exploration](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/interplanetary-exploration)\n\n[rendezvous](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/rendezvous)\n\n[space program](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-program)\n\n[space suit](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/space-suit)\n\n[recovery](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/recovery-spaceflight)\n\n*(Show more)*\n\n[See all related content](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/facts\/space-exploration)\n\nMost space activities have been pursued because they serve some utilitarian purpose, whether increasing knowledge, adding to national power, or making a [profit](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/profit). Nevertheless, there remains a powerful underlying sense that it is important for humans to explore space for its own sake, “to see what is there.” Although the only voyages that [humans](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/human-being) have made away from the near [vicinity](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/vicinity) of Earth—the [Apollo](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/Apollo-space-program) flights to the Moon—were motivated by [Cold War](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Cold-War) competition, there have been recurrent calls for humans to return to the Moon, travel to Mars, and visit other locations in the solar system and beyond. Until humans resume such journeys of exploration, robotic spacecraft will continue to serve in their stead to explore the solar system and probe the mysteries of the universe.\n\n![Britannica AI Icon](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/mendel-resources\/3-178\/images\/chatbot\/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5)Britannica AI\n\n*chevron\\_right*\n\nSpace exploration\n\n*close*\n\n[AI-generated answers](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/about-britannica-ai) from Britannica articles. AI makes mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.\n\nLoad Next Page\n\nFeedback\n\nThank you for your feedback\n\nOur editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.\n\n*verified*Cite\n\nWhile every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.\n\nSelect Citation Style\n\nBritannica Editors. \"Baikonur Cosmodrome\". *Encyclopedia Britannica*, 25 Mar. 2026, https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Baikonur. Accessed 3 April 2026.\n\nCopy Citation\n\nShare\n\nShare to social media\n\n[Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BRITANNICA\/) [X](https:\/\/x.com\/britannica)\n\nURL\n\n<https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Baikonur>\n\nExternal Websites\n\n- [Nuclear Threat Initiative - Baikonur Cosmodrome](https:\/\/www.nti.org\/education-center\/facilities\/baikonur-cosmodrome\/)\n- [BBC - Humanity's unlikely gateway to space](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/travel\/article\/20211130-humanitys-unlikely-gateway-to-space)\n- [Space.com - Baikonur Cosmodrome: Russian Launch Complex](https:\/\/www.space.com\/33947-baikonur-cosmodrome.html)\n- [International Journal of Biology and Chemistry - The impact of the cosmodrome Â«BaikonurÂ» on the environment and human health (PDF)](https:\/\/ijbch.kaznu.kz\/index.php\/kaznu\/article\/view\/172\/94)\n- [LiveScience - The Secret Backstory Behind Kazakhstan's Rocket Launch Site](https:\/\/www.livescience.com\/62728-history-baikonur-kazakhstan-launch.html)\n- [UNESCO - Portal to Heritage of Astronomy - Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan](https:\/\/web.astronomicalheritage.net\/index.php\/show-entity?identity=82&idsubentity=1)\n- [European Space Agency - Baikonur: from the steppes of Kazakhstan to space](https:\/\/www.esa.int\/Science_Exploration\/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration\/Mission_Odissea_-_F._De_Winne_-_english\/Baikonur_from_the_steppes_of_Kazakhstan_to_space)\n- [ABC News - Russia's crumbling Baikonur spaceport is Earth's only launch pad for manned flights](https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/International\/russias-crumbling-baikonur-spaceport-earths-launchpad-manned-flights\/story?id=59677739)\n- [University of Glasgow - Tourism Geographies - Authenticity and spectrality of space heritage: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan](https:\/\/eprints.gla.ac.uk\/296700\/3\/296700.pdf)\n\nFeedback\n\nThank you for your feedback\n\nOur editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.\n\n*print* Print\n\nPlease select which sections you would like to print:\n\n*verified*Cite\n\nWhile every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.\n\nSelect Citation Style\n\nLogsdon, John M.. \"space exploration\". *Encyclopedia Britannica*, 16 Feb. 2026, https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration. Accessed 3 April 2026.\n\nCopy Citation\n\nShare\n\nShare to social media\n\n[Facebook](https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BRITANNICA\/) [X](https:\/\/x.com\/britannica)\n\nURL\n\n<https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration>\n\nExternal Websites\n\n- [DigitalCommons at USU - Developing Intelligent Space Systems: A Survey and Rubric for Future Missions (PDF)](https:\/\/digitalcommons.usu.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=5540&context=smallsat)\n- [ScholarWorks at UARK - Mooreï¿½s Law and Space Exploration: New Insights and Next Steps](https:\/\/scholarworks.uark.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=3338&context=jaas)\n- [Official Site of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum](https:\/\/airandspace.si.edu\/)\n- [CBC News - How space exploration is advancing remote medicine](https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news\/science\/how-space-exploration-helps-telemedicine-1.6260213)\n- [ABC News - Space exploration brings both everyday innovations and massive economic benefits to Earth](https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-07-17\/how-space-exploration-innovations-benefit-earth\/11314176)\n- [BBC Audio - The Real Story - The future of space exploration](https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/audio\/play\/w3csydd3)\n- [PNAS - Space exploration and economic growth: New issues and horizons](https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2221341120)\n- [Council on Foreign Relations - Space Exploration and U.S. Competitiveness](https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/backgrounders\/space-exploration-and-us-competitiveness)\n- [National Geographic Society - The History of Space Exploration](https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.org\/article\/history-space-exploration\/)\n\nBritannica Websites\n\nArticles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.\n\n- [space exploration - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/kids\/article\/space-exploration\/353794)\n- [space exploration - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)](https:\/\/kids.britannica.com\/students\/article\/space-exploration\/277156)","attrs_readable_markdown":"**space exploration**, investigation, by means of crewed and uncrewed [spacecraft](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/spacecraft), of the reaches of the [universe](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/universe) beyond [Earth](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Earth)’s atmosphere and the use of the information so gained to increase knowledge of the [cosmos](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/Cosmos-astronomy) and benefit humanity. A complete list of all crewed spaceflights, with details on each mission’s accomplishments and crew, is available in the section [Chronology of crewed spaceflights](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/Chronology-of-crewed-spaceflights#ref286805).\n\nHumans have always looked at the heavens and wondered about the nature of the objects seen in the night sky. With the development of [rockets](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/rocket-jet-propulsion-device-and-vehicle) and the advances in electronics and other technologies in the 20th century, it became possible to send machines and [animals](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/animal\/animal) and then people above Earth’s [atmosphere](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/atmosphere) into [outer space](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/outer-space). Well before technology made these achievements possible, however, space exploration had already captured the minds of many people, not only aircraft pilots and scientists but also writers and artists.\n\n**What do you think?**\n\n**Explore the ProCon debate**\n\nThe strong hold that space travel has always had on the imagination may well explain why professional astronauts and laypeople alike [consent](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/consent) at their great peril, in the words of [Tom Wolfe](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Tom-Wolfe) in *The Right Stuff* (1979), to sit “on top of an enormous Roman candle, such as a Redstone, [Atlas](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/Atlas-American-launch-vehicles), [Titan](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/Titan-rocket) or [Saturn](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/Saturn-launch-vehicle) [rocket](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/rocket-jet-propulsion-device-and-vehicle), and wait for someone to light the fuse.” It perhaps also explains why space exploration has been a common and enduring theme in [literature](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/literature) and art. As centuries of speculative [fiction](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/art\/fiction-literature) in books and more recently in films make clear, “one small step for \\[a\\] man, one giant leap for mankind” was taken by the human spirit many times and in many ways before [Neil Armstrong](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Neil-Armstrong) stamped humankind’s first footprint on the [Moon](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/moon-natural-satellite).\n\nTop five milestones in space exploration history Erik Gregersen, astronomy and space exploration editor of *Encyclopædia Britannica*, picking his top five milestones in space exploration.\n\n[See all videos for this article](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration\/images-videos)\n\nAchieving spaceflight enabled humans to begin to explore the [solar system](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/solar-system) and the rest of the universe, to understand the many objects and phenomena that are better observed from a space perspective, and to use for human benefit the resources and attributes of the space [environment](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/environment). All of these activities—discovery, scientific understanding, and the application of that understanding to serve human purposes—are elements of [space exploration](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/space-exploration). (For a general discussion of [spacecraft](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/spacecraft), launch considerations, flight trajectories, and [navigation](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/navigation-technology), docking, and recovery procedures, *see* [spaceflight](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/spaceflight).)\n\n## Overview of recent space achievements\n## Motivations for space activity\n[Hurricane Irene](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/64\/152064-050-8EBD7FBC\/Satellite-image-Hurricane-Irene-August-26-2011.jpg)Satellite image of Hurricane Irene taken on August 26, 2011.\n\nAlthough the possibility of exploring space has long excited people in many walks of life, for most of the latter 20th century and into the early 21st century, only national governments could afford the very high costs of launching people and machines into space. This reality meant that space exploration had to serve very broad interests, and it indeed has done so in a variety of ways. [Government](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/government) space programs have increased knowledge, served as indicators of national [prestige](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/prestige) and power, [enhanced](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/enhanced) national security and military strength, and provided significant benefits to the general public. In areas where the private sector could profit from activities in space, most notably the use of [satellites](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/Earth-satellite) as [telecommunication](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/telecommunication) relays, commercial space activity has flourished without government funding. In the early 21st century, [entrepreneurs](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/entrepreneurs) believed that there were several other areas of commercial potential in space, most notably privately funded space travel.\n\n[![The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/92\/95392-131-F6284677\/orbits-planets-bodies-solar-system.jpg) Britannica Quiz Space Odyssey](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/space-odyssey)\n\nIn the years after [World War II](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/World-War-II), governments assumed a leading role in the support of research that increased fundamental knowledge about nature, a role that earlier had been played by universities, private foundations, and other nongovernmental supporters. This change came for two reasons. First, the need for complex equipment to carry out many scientific experiments and for the large teams of researchers to use that equipment led to costs that only governments could afford. Second, governments were willing to take on this responsibility because of the belief that fundamental research would produce new knowledge essential to the health, the security, and the [quality of life](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/quality-of-life) of their citizens. Thus, when scientists sought government support for early space experiments, it was forthcoming. Since the start of space efforts in the [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States), the [Soviet Union](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Soviet-Union), and [Europe](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Europe), national governments have given high priority to the support of [science](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/science) [done](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/done) in and from space. From modest beginnings, space science has expanded under government support to include multibillion-dollar exploratory missions in the solar system. Examples of such efforts include the development of the [Curiosity](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Curiosity-United-States-robotic-vehicle) [Mars](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Mars-planet) rover, the [Cassini-Huygens](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Cassini-Huygens) mission to [Saturn](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Saturn-planet) and its moons, and the development of major space-based astronomical observatories such as the [Hubble Space Telescope](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Hubble-Space-Telescope).\n\nSoviet leader [Nikita Khrushchev](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Nikita-Sergeyevich-Khrushchev) in 1957 used the fact that his country had been first to launch a [satellite](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/satellite) as evidence of the technological power of the Soviet Union and of the superiority of [communism](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/communism). He repeated these claims after [Yuri Gagarin](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Yuri-Gagarin)’s orbital flight in 1961. Although U.S. Pres. [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Dwight-D-Eisenhower) had decided not to compete for [prestige](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/prestige) with the Soviet Union in a space race, his successor, [John F. Kennedy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/John-F-Kennedy), had a different view. On April 20, 1961, in the aftermath of the Gagarin flight, he asked his advisers to identify a “space program which promises dramatic results in which we could win.” The response came in a May 8, 1961, memorandum recommending that the [United States](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/United-States) commit to sending people to the [Moon](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/Moon-exploration), because “dramatic achievements in space…symbolize the technological power and organizing capacity of a nation” and because the ensuing prestige would be “part of the battle along the fluid front of the cold war.” From 1961 until the [collapse of the Soviet Union](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/the-collapse-of-the-Soviet-Union) in 1991, competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was a major influence on the [pace](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/pace) and content of their space programs. Other countries also viewed having a successful space program as an important indicator of national strength.\n\nTrusted knowledge for those who want to know more.\n\n[SUBSCRIBE](https:\/\/premium.britannica.com\/premium-membership\/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=shorter-2026)\n\n![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-left.webp)\n\n![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-right.webp)\n\n![Mobile](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/marketing\/inline-mobile.webp?w=400)\n\nEven before the first satellite was launched, U.S. leaders recognized that the ability to observe military activities around the world from space would be an asset to national security. Following on the success of its photoreconnaissance satellites, which began operation in 1960, the United States built increasingly complex observation and electronic-intercept [intelligence](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/intelligence-international-relations) satellites. The Soviet Union also quickly developed an array of intelligence satellites, and later a few other countries instituted their own satellite observation programs. Intelligence-gathering satellites have been used to verify arms-control agreements, provide warnings of military threats, and identify targets during military operations, among other uses.\n\nIn addition to providing security benefits, satellites offered military forces the potential for improved communications, weather observation, navigation, timing, and position location. This led to significant government funding for military space programs in the United States and the Soviet Union. Although the advantages and disadvantages of stationing force-delivery weapons in space have been debated, as of the early 21st century, such weapons had not been [deployed](https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/deployed), nor had space-based antisatellite systems—that is, systems that can attack or interfere with orbiting satellites. The stationing of weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies is prohibited by [international law](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/international-law).\n\n[TIROS 7](https:\/\/cdn.britannica.com\/37\/437-004-B91E9F64\/TIROS-7-series-orbit-spacecraft-satellite-systems-June-19-1963.jpg)TIROS 7 (Television and Infra-Red Observation Satellite 7), launched June 19, 1963. The first series of U.S. TIROS spacecraft, placed into Earth orbit 1960–65, paved the way for the development of satellite systems to conduct routine daily weather and atmospheric monitoring.\n\nGovernments realized early on that the ability to observe Earth from space could provide significant benefits to the general public apart from security and military uses. The first application to be pursued was the development of satellites for assisting in [weather forecasting](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/weather-forecasting). A second application involved remote observation of land and sea surfaces to gather imagery and other [data](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/data) of value in crop forecasting, resource management, environmental monitoring, and other applications. The U.S., the Soviet Union, Europe, and [China](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/China) also developed their own satellite-based [global positioning systems](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/GPS), originally for military purposes, that could pinpoint a user’s exact location, help in navigating from one point to another, and provide very precise time signals. These satellites quickly found numerous civilian uses in such areas as personal navigation, surveying and cartography, geology, [air-traffic control](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/air-traffic-control), and the operation of information-transfer networks. They illustrate a reality that has remained constant for a half century—as space capabilities are developed, they often can be used for both military and civilian purposes.\n\nAnother space application that began under government sponsorship but quickly moved into the private sector is the [relay](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/relay) of voice, video, and data via orbiting satellites. [Satellite telecommunications](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/satellite-communication) has developed into a multibillion-dollar business and is the one clearly successful area of commercial space activity. A related, but economically much smaller, commercial space business is the provision of launches for private and government satellites. In 2004 a privately financed venture sent a piloted spacecraft, [SpaceShipOne](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/SpaceShipOne), to the lower edge of space for three brief suborbital flights. Although it was technically a much less challenging achievement than carrying humans into orbit, its success was seen as an important step toward opening up space to commercial travel and eventually to [tourism](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/space-tourism). More than 15 years after SpaceShipOne reached space, several firms began to carry out such suborbital flights. Companies have arisen that also use satellite imagery to provide data for business about economic [trends](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/trends). Suggestions have been made that in the future other areas of space activity, including using resources found on the [Moon](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Moon) and near-Earth [asteroids](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/asteroid) and the capture of [solar energy](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/solar-energy) to provide [electric power](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/technology\/electric-power) on [Earth](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Earth), could become successful businesses.\n\nMost space activities have been pursued because they serve some utilitarian purpose, whether increasing knowledge, adding to national power, or making a [profit](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/profit). Nevertheless, there remains a powerful underlying sense that it is important for humans to explore space for its own sake, “to see what is there.” Although the only voyages that [humans](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/human-being) have made away from the near [vicinity](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/dictionary\/vicinity) of Earth—the [Apollo](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/science\/Apollo-space-program) flights to the Moon—were motivated by [Cold War](https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/event\/Cold-War) competition, there have been recurrent calls for humans to return to the Moon, travel to Mars, and visit other locations in the solar system and beyond. Until humans resume such journeys of exploration, robotic spacecraft will continue to serve in their stead to explore the solar system and probe the mysteries of the universe.","meta_canonical":null}

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Meta Title	Baikonur Cosmodrome \| Kazakhstan, Map, Location, & Facts \| Britannica
Meta Description	Baikonur Cosmodrome, former Soviet and current Russian space center in south-central Kazakhstan. Several historic flights originated there: that of the first artificial satellite (1957), the first crewed orbital flight (Yuri Gagarin, first man in space; 1961), and the first woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova; 1963).
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Boilerpipe Text	space exploration , investigation, by means of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft , of the reaches of the universe beyond Earth ’s atmosphere and the use of the information so gained to increase knowledge of the cosmos and benefit humanity. A complete list of all crewed spaceflights, with details on each mission’s accomplishments and crew, is available in the section Chronology of crewed spaceflights . Humans have always looked at the heavens and wondered about the nature of the objects seen in the night sky. With the development of rockets and the advances in electronics and other technologies in the 20th century, it became possible to send machines and animals and then people above Earth’s atmosphere into outer space . Well before technology made these achievements possible, however, space exploration had already captured the minds of many people, not only aircraft pilots and scientists but also writers and artists. What do you think? Explore the ProCon debate The strong hold that space travel has always had on the imagination may well explain why professional astronauts and laypeople alike consent at their great peril, in the words of Tom Wolfe in The Right Stuff (1979), to sit “on top of an enormous Roman candle, such as a Redstone, Atlas , Titan or Saturn rocket , and wait for someone to light the fuse.” It perhaps also explains why space exploration has been a common and enduring theme in literature and art. As centuries of speculative fiction in books and more recently in films make clear, “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind” was taken by the human spirit many times and in many ways before Neil Armstrong stamped humankind’s first footprint on the Moon . Top five milestones in space exploration history Erik Gregersen, astronomy and space exploration editor of Encyclopædia Britannica , picking his top five milestones in space exploration. See all videos for this article Achieving spaceflight enabled humans to begin to explore the solar system and the rest of the universe, to understand the many objects and phenomena that are better observed from a space perspective, and to use for human benefit the resources and attributes of the space environment . All of these activities—discovery, scientific understanding, and the application of that understanding to serve human purposes—are elements of space exploration . (For a general discussion of spacecraft , launch considerations, flight trajectories, and navigation , docking, and recovery procedures, see spaceflight .) Overview of recent space achievements Motivations for space activity Hurricane Irene Satellite image of Hurricane Irene taken on August 26, 2011. Although the possibility of exploring space has long excited people in many walks of life, for most of the latter 20th century and into the early 21st century, only national governments could afford the very high costs of launching people and machines into space. This reality meant that space exploration had to serve very broad interests, and it indeed has done so in a variety of ways. Government space programs have increased knowledge, served as indicators of national prestige and power, enhanced national security and military strength, and provided significant benefits to the general public. In areas where the private sector could profit from activities in space, most notably the use of satellites as telecommunication relays, commercial space activity has flourished without government funding. In the early 21st century, entrepreneurs believed that there were several other areas of commercial potential in space, most notably privately funded space travel. Britannica Quiz Space Odyssey In the years after World War II , governments assumed a leading role in the support of research that increased fundamental knowledge about nature, a role that earlier had been played by universities, private foundations, and other nongovernmental supporters. This change came for two reasons. First, the need for complex equipment to carry out many scientific experiments and for the large teams of researchers to use that equipment led to costs that only governments could afford. Second, governments were willing to take on this responsibility because of the belief that fundamental research would produce new knowledge essential to the health, the security, and the quality of life of their citizens. Thus, when scientists sought government support for early space experiments, it was forthcoming. Since the start of space efforts in the United States , the Soviet Union , and Europe , national governments have given high priority to the support of science done in and from space. From modest beginnings, space science has expanded under government support to include multibillion-dollar exploratory missions in the solar system. Examples of such efforts include the development of the Curiosity Mars rover, the Cassini-Huygens mission to Saturn and its moons, and the development of major space-based astronomical observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope . Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1957 used the fact that his country had been first to launch a satellite as evidence of the technological power of the Soviet Union and of the superiority of communism . He repeated these claims after Yuri Gagarin ’s orbital flight in 1961. Although U.S. Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower had decided not to compete for prestige with the Soviet Union in a space race, his successor, John F. Kennedy , had a different view. On April 20, 1961, in the aftermath of the Gagarin flight, he asked his advisers to identify a “space program which promises dramatic results in which we could win.” The response came in a May 8, 1961, memorandum recommending that the United States commit to sending people to the Moon , because “dramatic achievements in space…symbolize the technological power and organizing capacity of a nation” and because the ensuing prestige would be “part of the battle along the fluid front of the cold war.” From 1961 until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was a major influence on the pace and content of their space programs. Other countries also viewed having a successful space program as an important indicator of national strength. Trusted knowledge for those who want to know more. SUBSCRIBE Even before the first satellite was launched, U.S. leaders recognized that the ability to observe military activities around the world from space would be an asset to national security. Following on the success of its photoreconnaissance satellites, which began operation in 1960, the United States built increasingly complex observation and electronic-intercept intelligence satellites. The Soviet Union also quickly developed an array of intelligence satellites, and later a few other countries instituted their own satellite observation programs. Intelligence-gathering satellites have been used to verify arms-control agreements, provide warnings of military threats, and identify targets during military operations, among other uses. In addition to providing security benefits, satellites offered military forces the potential for improved communications, weather observation, navigation, timing, and position location. This led to significant government funding for military space programs in the United States and the Soviet Union. Although the advantages and disadvantages of stationing force-delivery weapons in space have been debated, as of the early 21st century, such weapons had not been deployed , nor had space-based antisatellite systems—that is, systems that can attack or interfere with orbiting satellites. The stationing of weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies is prohibited by international law . TIROS 7 TIROS 7 (Television and Infra-Red Observation Satellite 7), launched June 19, 1963. The first series of U.S. TIROS spacecraft, placed into Earth orbit 1960–65, paved the way for the development of satellite systems to conduct routine daily weather and atmospheric monitoring. Governments realized early on that the ability to observe Earth from space could provide significant benefits to the general public apart from security and military uses. The first application to be pursued was the development of satellites for assisting in weather forecasting . A second application involved remote observation of land and sea surfaces to gather imagery and other data of value in crop forecasting, resource management, environmental monitoring, and other applications. The U.S., the Soviet Union, Europe, and China also developed their own satellite-based global positioning systems , originally for military purposes, that could pinpoint a user’s exact location, help in navigating from one point to another, and provide very precise time signals. These satellites quickly found numerous civilian uses in such areas as personal navigation, surveying and cartography, geology, air-traffic control , and the operation of information-transfer networks. They illustrate a reality that has remained constant for a half century—as space capabilities are developed, they often can be used for both military and civilian purposes. Another space application that began under government sponsorship but quickly moved into the private sector is the relay of voice, video, and data via orbiting satellites. Satellite telecommunications has developed into a multibillion-dollar business and is the one clearly successful area of commercial space activity. A related, but economically much smaller, commercial space business is the provision of launches for private and government satellites. In 2004 a privately financed venture sent a piloted spacecraft, SpaceShipOne , to the lower edge of space for three brief suborbital flights. Although it was technically a much less challenging achievement than carrying humans into orbit, its success was seen as an important step toward opening up space to commercial travel and eventually to tourism . More than 15 years after SpaceShipOne reached space, several firms began to carry out such suborbital flights. Companies have arisen that also use satellite imagery to provide data for business about economic trends . Suggestions have been made that in the future other areas of space activity, including using resources found on the Moon and near-Earth asteroids and the capture of solar energy to provide electric power on Earth , could become successful businesses. Most space activities have been pursued because they serve some utilitarian purpose, whether increasing knowledge, adding to national power, or making a profit . Nevertheless, there remains a powerful underlying sense that it is important for humans to explore space for its own sake, “to see what is there.” Although the only voyages that humans have made away from the near vicinity of Earth—the Apollo flights to the Moon—were motivated by Cold War competition, there have been recurrent calls for humans to return to the Moon, travel to Mars, and visit other locations in the solar system and beyond. Until humans resume such journeys of exploration, robotic spacecraft will continue to serve in their stead to explore the solar system and probe the mysteries of the universe.
Markdown	[![Encyclopedia Britannica](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/eb-logo/MendelNewThistleLogo.png)](https://www.britannica.com/) [![Encyclopedia Britannica](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel/eb-logo/MendelNewThistleLogo.png)](https://www.britannica.com/) [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=global-nav&utm_campaign=blue-evergreen) [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=global-nav-mobile&utm_campaign=blue-evergreen) Login https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm\_source=premium\&utm\_medium=nav-login-box\&utm\_campaign=evergreen [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=hamburger-menu&utm_campaign=blue) [Ask the Chatbot](https://www.britannica.com/chatbot) [Games & Quizzes](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/browse) [History & Society](https://www.britannica.com/History-Society) [Science & Tech](https://www.britannica.com/Science-Tech) [Biographies](https://www.britannica.com/Biographies) [Animals & Nature](https://www.britannica.com/Animals-Nature) [Geography & Travel](https://www.britannica.com/Geography-Travel) [Arts & Culture](https://www.britannica.com/Arts-Culture) [ProCon](https://www.britannica.com/procon) [Money](https://www.britannica.com/money) [Videos](https://www.britannica.com/videos) [Baikonur Cosmodrome](https://www.britannica.com/place/Baikonur) [Introduction](https://www.britannica.com/place/Baikonur) [References & Edit History](https://www.britannica.com/place/Baikonur/additional-info) [Related Topics](https://www.britannica.com/facts/Baikonur) [Images](https://www.britannica.com/place/Baikonur/images-videos) [![Baikonur Cosmodrome](https://cdn.britannica.com/78/126278-004-13C52B0D/Soyuz-spacecraft-launch-vehicle-Baikonur-Kazakhstan-space.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/78/126278-004-13C52B0D/Soyuz-spacecraft-launch-vehicle-Baikonur-Kazakhstan-space.jpg) [![Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan](https://cdn.britannica.com/43/246943-004-3E2D2109/Locator-map-Baikonur-Cosmodrome.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/43/246943-050-7788F891/Locator-map-Baikonur-Cosmodrome.jpg) [![Soyuz TMA-02M rocket](https://cdn.britannica.com/94/150294-004-ACDFE8FF/Launch-pad-engineers-base-rocket-Soyuz-TMA-02M-June-5-2011.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/94/150294-050-137D61CA/Launch-pad-engineers-base-rocket-Soyuz-TMA-02M-June-5-2011.jpg) [![Soyuz TMA-02M liftoff](https://cdn.britannica.com/00/150400-004-E7A12AB1/spacecraft-Soyuz-TMA-02M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-June-8-2011.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/00/150400-050-D91C4E1B/spacecraft-Soyuz-TMA-02M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-June-8-2011.jpg) [![Baikonur Cosmodrome; Soyuz TMA-04M](https://cdn.britannica.com/48/194348-004-86B62258/spacecraft-technicians-Soyuz-TMA-04M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-May-8-2012.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/48/194348-050-9353D198/spacecraft-technicians-Soyuz-TMA-04M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-May-8-2012.jpg) Quizzes [![Tower Bridge over the Thames River in London, England. Opened in 1894. Remains an Important Traffic Route with 40,000 Crossings Every Day.](https://cdn.britannica.com/60/269560-131-B4CD857D/tower-bridge-over-river-thames-london-england.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/guess-the-city-by-its-river-quiz) [Guess the City by Its River Quiz](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/guess-the-city-by-its-river-quiz) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5) Contents Ask Anything [Geography & Travel](https://www.britannica.com/browse/Geography-Travel) [Cities & Towns](https://www.britannica.com/browse/Cities-Towns) [Cities & Towns A-B](https://www.britannica.com/browse/Cities-Towns-A-B) CITE Share Feedback External Websites [![Baikonur Cosmodrome](https://cdn.britannica.com/78/126278-004-13C52B0D/Soyuz-spacecraft-launch-vehicle-Baikonur-Kazakhstan-space.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop)](https://cdn.britannica.com/78/126278-004-13C52B0D/Soyuz-spacecraft-launch-vehicle-Baikonur-Kazakhstan-space.jpg) [Baikonur Cosmodrome](https://cdn.britannica.com/78/126278-004-13C52B0D/Soyuz-spacecraft-launch-vehicle-Baikonur-Kazakhstan-space.jpg) Soyuz spacecraft and launch vehicle at the Baikonur space centre, Kazakhstan. (more) # Baikonur Cosmodrome space center, Kazakhstan Homework Help Also known as: Bajkonur, Baykonur, Baykonur Cosmodrome, Baykonyr, Turatam, Tyuratam[(Show More)](https://www.britannica.com/place/Baikonur) Written and fact-checked by [Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....](https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419) Britannica Editors Last updated Mar. 25, 2026 •[History](https://www.britannica.com/place/Baikonur/additional-info#history) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5) Britannica AI Ask Anything Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask Anything ## News • [Progress Cargo Craft Launches to Resupply Station Crew - NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/03/22/progress-cargo-craft-launches-to-resupply-station-crew/) • Mar. 22, 2026, 8:43 AM ET (NASA (.gov)) Show less [![Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan](https://cdn.britannica.com/43/246943-050-7788F891/Locator-map-Baikonur-Cosmodrome.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/43/246943-050-7788F891/Locator-map-Baikonur-Cosmodrome.jpg) [Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan](https://cdn.britannica.com/43/246943-050-7788F891/Locator-map-Baikonur-Cosmodrome.jpg) (more) Baikonur Cosmodrome, former Soviet and current Russian space centre in south-central [Kazakhstan](https://www.britannica.com/place/Kazakhstan). Baikonur was a Soviet code name for the centre, but American analysts often called it Tyuratam, after the railroad station at Tyuratam (Leninsk), the nearest large city. The Baikonur Cosmodrome lies on the north bank of the [Syr Darya](https://www.britannica.com/place/Syr-Darya), about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Qyzylorda. The [Soviet Union’s](https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union) secretiveness about its exact location led to confusion of the site with another Baikonur, a town about 200 miles (320 km) northeast of the space centre in the desert area near [Zhezqazghan](https://www.britannica.com/place/Zhezqazghan). Also spelled: Baykonur, Baykonyr, or Bajkonur (Show more) Also called: Tyuratam or Turatam (Show more) [See all related content](https://www.britannica.com/facts/Baikonur) [![Soyuz TMA-02M rocket](https://cdn.britannica.com/94/150294-050-137D61CA/Launch-pad-engineers-base-rocket-Soyuz-TMA-02M-June-5-2011.jpg?w=300)1 of 3](https://cdn.britannica.com/94/150294-050-137D61CA/Launch-pad-engineers-base-rocket-Soyuz-TMA-02M-June-5-2011.jpg) [Soyuz TMA-02M rocket](https://cdn.britannica.com/94/150294-050-137D61CA/Launch-pad-engineers-base-rocket-Soyuz-TMA-02M-June-5-2011.jpg)Launch pad engineers at the base of the Soyuz TMA-02M rocket at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, June 5, 2011. (more) [![Soyuz TMA-02M liftoff](https://cdn.britannica.com/00/150400-050-D91C4E1B/spacecraft-Soyuz-TMA-02M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-June-8-2011.jpg?w=300)2 of 3](https://cdn.britannica.com/00/150400-050-D91C4E1B/spacecraft-Soyuz-TMA-02M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-June-8-2011.jpg) [Soyuz TMA-02M liftoff](https://cdn.britannica.com/00/150400-050-D91C4E1B/spacecraft-Soyuz-TMA-02M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-June-8-2011.jpg)The Soyuz TMA-02M spacecraft being launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, June 8, 2011. (more) [![Baikonur Cosmodrome; Soyuz TMA-04M](https://cdn.britannica.com/48/194348-050-9353D198/spacecraft-technicians-Soyuz-TMA-04M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-May-8-2012.jpg?w=300)3 of 3](https://cdn.britannica.com/48/194348-050-9353D198/spacecraft-technicians-Soyuz-TMA-04M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-May-8-2012.jpg) [Baikonur Cosmodrome; Soyuz TMA-04M](https://cdn.britannica.com/48/194348-050-9353D198/spacecraft-technicians-Soyuz-TMA-04M-Baikonur-Cosmodrome-Kazakhstan-May-8-2012.jpg)The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft being rotated by technicians, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, May 8, 2012. (more) The Baikonur Cosmodrome was the chief operations centre of the Soviets’ ambitious space program from the 1960s through the ’80s and is equipped with complete facilities for launching both crewed and uncrewed space vehicles. The facility and supporting town were originally built in the mid-1950s as a long-range-missile centre, which was later expanded to include spaceflight facilities. Several historic flights originated there: that of the first artificial satellite (1957), the first crewed orbital flight (carrying [Yuri Gagarin](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yuri-Gagarin), the first man in space; 1961), and the flight of the first woman in space ([Valentina Tereshkova](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Valentina-Tereshkova); 1963). The town supporting the facility was raised to city status in 1966 and named Leninsk. The facility remained the base of the Soviet space program until the [dissolution of the Soviet Union](https://www.britannica.com/event/the-collapse-of-the-Soviet-Union) in 1991, after which it continued to function under Russian [auspices](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auspices). [The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419) This article was most recently revised and updated by [Erik Gregersen](https://www.britannica.com/editor/Erik-Gregersen/6723). ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5)Britannica AI chevron\_right Baikonur Cosmodrome close [AI-generated answers](https://www.britannica.com/about-britannica-ai) from Britannica articles. AI makes mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. [space exploration](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration) - [Introduction](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration) - [Overview of recent space achievements](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration#ref237023) - [Motivations for space activity](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration#ref237024) - [Major milestones](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Major-milestones) - [Significant milestones in space exploration](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Major-milestones#ref310634) - [History of space exploration](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/History-of-space-exploration) - [Prelude to spaceflight](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/History-of-space-exploration#ref237027) - [Precursors in fiction and fact](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/History-of-space-exploration#ref237028) - [Tsiolkovsky](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/History-of-space-exploration#ref237029) - [Goddard](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/History-of-space-exploration#ref237030) - [Oberth](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/History-of-space-exploration#ref237031) - [Other space pioneers](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/History-of-space-exploration#ref237032) - [Early rocket development](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Early-rocket-development) - [Germany](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Early-rocket-development#ref237034) - [United States](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Early-rocket-development#ref237035) - [Soviet Union](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Early-rocket-development#ref237036) - [Preparing for spaceflight](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Preparing-for-spaceflight) - [From Sputnik to Apollo](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/From-Sputnik-to-Apollo) - [The first satellites](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/From-Sputnik-to-Apollo#ref237039) - [Development of space organizations](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/From-Sputnik-to-Apollo#ref237040) - [United States](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/United-States) - [Soviet Union](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Soviet-Union) - [Europe](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Soviet-Union#ref237043) - [Japan](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Soviet-Union#ref237044) - [China](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Soviet-Union#ref237045) - [International participation](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/International-participation) - [Involvement of industry](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/International-participation#ref237047) - [The first human spaceflights](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/International-participation#ref237048) - [Vostok](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/International-participation#ref237049) - [Mercury](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Mercury) - [Gemini and Voskhod](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Mercury#ref237051) - [Soyuz](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Mercury#ref237052) - [The race to the Moon](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/The-race-to-the-Moon) - [The American commitment](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/The-race-to-the-Moon#ref237054) - [The Soviet response](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/The-race-to-the-Moon#ref237055) - [Interim developments](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/The-race-to-the-Moon#ref237056) - [The Apollo lunar landings and Apollo-Soyuz](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/The-Apollo-lunar-landings-and-Apollo-Soyuz) - [Orbiting space platforms](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/The-Apollo-lunar-landings-and-Apollo-Soyuz#ref237058) - [Space stations](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Space-stations) - [International space endurance records](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/International-space-endurance-records) - [Summary of space stations launched since 1971](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/International-space-endurance-records#ref310636) - [The space shuttle](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/The-space-shuttle) - [Human beings in space: debate and consequences](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Human-beings-in-space-debate-and-consequences) - [Risks and benefits](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Human-beings-in-space-debate-and-consequences#ref237062) - [Selecting people for spaceflights](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Human-beings-in-space-debate-and-consequences#ref237063) - [Biomedical, psychological, and sociological aspects](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Human-beings-in-space-debate-and-consequences#ref237064) - [Science in space](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Science-in-space) - [Solar and space physics](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Science-in-space#ref237066) - [Solar system exploration](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Solar-system-exploration) - [Exploring the universe](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Exploring-the-universe) - [Microgravity research](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Exploring-the-universe#ref237069) - [Observing Earth](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Exploring-the-universe#ref237070) - [Space applications](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Space-applications) - [Meteorology](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Space-applications#ref237072) - [Positioning, navigation, and timing](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Space-applications#ref237073) - [Military and national security uses of space](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Space-applications#ref237074) - [Satellite telecommunications](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Satellite-telecommunications) - [Remote sensing](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Satellite-telecommunications#ref237076) - [Commercial space transportation](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Commercial-space-transportation) - [New commercial applications](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Commercial-space-transportation#ref237078) - [Issues for the future](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Issues-for-the-future) - [Chronology of crewed spaceflights](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Chronology-of-crewed-spaceflights) - [Crewed spaceflights, 1960–69](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Chronology-of-crewed-spaceflights#ref286805) - [Crewed spaceflights, 1970–79](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Crewed-spaceflights-1970-79) - [Crewed spaceflights, 1980–89](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Crewed-spaceflights-1980-89) - [Crewed spaceflights, 1990–99](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Crewed-spaceflights-1990-99) - [Crewed spaceflights, 2000–09](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Crewed-spaceflights-2000-09) - [Crewed spaceflights, 2010–2019](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Crewed-spaceflights-2010-2019) - [Crewed spaceflights, 2020–](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Crewed-spaceflights-2010-2019#ref350881) [References & Edit History](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/additional-info) [Related Topics](https://www.britannica.com/facts/space-exploration) [Images & Videos](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/images-videos) [![Astronaut outside the International Space Station](https://cdn.britannica.com/06/72006-004-F554D837/Michael-Lopez-Alegria-space-module-station-assembly-International-October-2000.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/06/72006-050-5EF22ECB/Michael-Lopez-Alegria-space-module-station-assembly-International-October-2000.jpg) [![Apollo 11](https://cdn.britannica.com/59/190159-004-A80542F4/rocket-Saturn-V-mission-Apollo-11-Pad-July-16-1969.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/59/190159-050-E680F762/rocket-Saturn-V-mission-Apollo-11-Pad-July-16-1969.jpg) [![Eagle Nebula](https://cdn.britannica.com/60/21260-120-21654CD7/nursery-Eagle-Nebula-detail-image-column-stars.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/60/21260-050-BE395D9D/nursery-Eagle-Nebula-detail-image-column-stars.jpg) [![Top five milestones in space exploration history](https://cdn.britannica.com/46/150646-138-C1A65B09/Erik-Gregersen-astronomy-milestones-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-space.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/video/Erik-Gregersen-astronomy-milestones-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-space/-158055) [![Hurricane Irene](https://cdn.britannica.com/64/152064-004-9C908EF8/Satellite-image-Hurricane-Irene-August-26-2011.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/64/152064-050-8EBD7FBC/Satellite-image-Hurricane-Irene-August-26-2011.jpg) [![Cassini-Huygens spacecraft](https://cdn.britannica.com/62/201462-004-F2B87E84/Cassini-Saturn-Orbit-Insertion-artists-conception-illustration.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/62/201462-050-18018E16/Cassini-Saturn-Orbit-Insertion-artists-conception-illustration.jpg) [![Mars exploration: Opportunity and Curiosity rovers](https://cdn.britannica.com/91/194291-138-1FA54C65/Mars-efforts-Curiosity-rover.jpg?w=400&h=225&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/video/Mars-efforts-Curiosity-rover/-226689) [![TIROS 7](https://cdn.britannica.com/37/437-004-B91E9F64/TIROS-7-series-orbit-spacecraft-satellite-systems-June-19-1963.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/37/437-004-B91E9F64/TIROS-7-series-orbit-spacecraft-satellite-systems-June-19-1963.jpg) [![International Space Station, 2000](https://cdn.britannica.com/32/69632-004-A093247D/space-shuttle-Endeavour-International-Space-Station-spacecraft-December-9-2000.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/32/69632-050-AA671F9E/space-shuttle-Endeavour-International-Space-Station-spacecraft-December-9-2000.jpg) [![Sojourner rover examining a boulder on Mars](https://cdn.britannica.com/72/22072-004-5D4F9F04/NASA-rover-Pathfinder-Sojourner-boulder-planet-Chryse-July-4-1997.jpg)](https://cdn.britannica.com/72/22072-004-5D4F9F04/NASA-rover-Pathfinder-Sojourner-boulder-planet-Chryse-July-4-1997.jpg) At a Glance [![Buzz Aldrin on the Moon](https://cdn.britannica.com/15/415-050-5342912B/Edwin-Aldrin-Apollo-11-mission-surface-Neil-July-20-1969.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/summary/space-exploration) [space exploration summary](https://www.britannica.com/summary/space-exploration) Quizzes [![View of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31, M31).](https://cdn.britannica.com/41/155241-131-FB2C633F/View-Andromeda-Galaxy.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/astronomy-and-space-quiz) [Astronomy and Space Quiz](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/astronomy-and-space-quiz) [![The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet](https://cdn.britannica.com/92/95392-131-F6284677/orbits-planets-bodies-solar-system.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/space-odyssey) [Space Odyssey](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/space-odyssey) [![Nicolaus Copernicus. Nicolas Copernicus (1473-1543) Polish astronomer. In 1543 he published, forward proof of a Heliocentric (sun centered) universe. Coloured stipple engraving published London 1802. De revolutionibus orbium coelestium libri vi.](https://cdn.britannica.com/54/102254-131-ED1A2CE1/Nicolaus-Copernicus.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/all-about-astronomy) [All About Astronomy](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/all-about-astronomy) [![Soil cohesiveness demonstrated in bootprint of Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11. footprint; foot print; moon](https://cdn.britannica.com/29/76829-131-9658164B/lunar-soil-Cohesiveness-Edwin-Aldrin-boot-print-July-1969.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/space-exploration) [Space Exploration](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/space-exploration) [![Earth from space. Full-hemisphere views of the Earth showing Hurricane Linda at its peak approaching Baja California on 1997 September 11.](https://cdn.britannica.com/77/149177-131-092B7860/view-space-Earth-Western-Hemisphere-Hurricane-Linda-Sept-11-1997.jpg?w=200&h=200&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/human-exploration-from-earth-to-space) [Human Exploration: From Earth to Space](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/human-exploration-from-earth-to-space) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5) Ask Anything Quick Summary [Science](https://www.britannica.com/browse/Science) [Astronomy](https://www.britannica.com/browse/Astronomy) CITE Share Feedback External Websites [![Astronaut outside the International Space Station](https://cdn.britannica.com/06/72006-050-5EF22ECB/Michael-Lopez-Alegria-space-module-station-assembly-International-October-2000.jpg?w=400&h=300&c=crop)](https://cdn.britannica.com/06/72006-050-5EF22ECB/Michael-Lopez-Alegria-space-module-station-assembly-International-October-2000.jpg) [Astronaut outside the International Space Station](https://cdn.britannica.com/06/72006-050-5EF22ECB/Michael-Lopez-Alegria-space-module-station-assembly-International-October-2000.jpg) U.S. space shuttle astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria floating in space outside the Unity module of the International Space Station in October 2000, during an early stage of the station's assembly in Earth orbit. (more) # space exploration Homework Help Written by [John M. Logsdon John M. Logsdon is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs at George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. He was a member of the NASA Advisory Council...](https://www.britannica.com/contributor/John-M-Logsdon/4864) John M. Logsdon Fact-checked by [Britannica Editors Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....](https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419) Britannica Editors Last updated Feb. 16, 2026 •[History](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/additional-info#history) ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5) Britannica AI Ask Anything Quick Summary Table of Contents Table of Contents Quick Summary Ask Anything space exploration, investigation, by means of crewed and uncrewed [spacecraft](https://www.britannica.com/technology/spacecraft), of the reaches of the [universe](https://www.britannica.com/science/universe) beyond [Earth](https://www.britannica.com/place/Earth)’s atmosphere and the use of the information so gained to increase knowledge of the [cosmos](https://www.britannica.com/science/Cosmos-astronomy) and benefit humanity. A complete list of all crewed spaceflights, with details on each mission’s accomplishments and crew, is available in the section [Chronology of crewed spaceflights](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Chronology-of-crewed-spaceflights#ref286805). [![Apollo 11](https://cdn.britannica.com/59/190159-050-E680F762/rocket-Saturn-V-mission-Apollo-11-Pad-July-16-1969.jpg?w=300)1 of 2](https://cdn.britannica.com/59/190159-050-E680F762/rocket-Saturn-V-mission-Apollo-11-Pad-July-16-1969.jpg) [Apollo 11](https://cdn.britannica.com/59/190159-050-E680F762/rocket-Saturn-V-mission-Apollo-11-Pad-July-16-1969.jpg)The launch of Apollo 11, July 16, 1969. (more) [![Eagle Nebula](https://cdn.britannica.com/60/21260-050-BE395D9D/nursery-Eagle-Nebula-detail-image-column-stars.jpg?w=300)2 of 2](https://cdn.britannica.com/60/21260-050-BE395D9D/nursery-Eagle-Nebula-detail-image-column-stars.jpg) [Eagle Nebula](https://cdn.britannica.com/60/21260-050-BE395D9D/nursery-Eagle-Nebula-detail-image-column-stars.jpg)A stellar nursery in the Eagle Nebula (M16, NGC 6611). This detail of a composite image taken by the Earth-orbiting Hubble Space Telescope reveals a glowing column of dust and cold gas populated by embryonic stars forming from molecular hydrogen within the column. (more) Humans have always looked at the heavens and wondered about the nature of the objects seen in the night sky. With the development of [rockets](https://www.britannica.com/technology/rocket-jet-propulsion-device-and-vehicle) and the advances in electronics and other technologies in the 20th century, it became possible to send machines and [animals](https://www.britannica.com/animal/animal) and then people above Earth’s [atmosphere](https://www.britannica.com/science/atmosphere) into [outer space](https://www.britannica.com/science/outer-space). Well before technology made these achievements possible, however, space exploration had already captured the minds of many people, not only aircraft pilots and scientists but also writers and artists. What do you think? - [Should Humans Colonize Space?](https://www.britannica.com/procon/space-colonization-debate) Explore the ProCon debate The strong hold that space travel has always had on the imagination may well explain why professional astronauts and laypeople alike [consent](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/consent) at their great peril, in the words of [Tom Wolfe](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tom-Wolfe) in The Right Stuff (1979), to sit “on top of an enormous Roman candle, such as a Redstone, [Atlas](https://www.britannica.com/technology/Atlas-American-launch-vehicles), [Titan](https://www.britannica.com/technology/Titan-rocket) or [Saturn](https://www.britannica.com/technology/Saturn-launch-vehicle) [rocket](https://www.britannica.com/technology/rocket-jet-propulsion-device-and-vehicle), and wait for someone to light the fuse.” It perhaps also explains why space exploration has been a common and enduring theme in [literature](https://www.britannica.com/art/literature) and art. As centuries of speculative [fiction](https://www.britannica.com/art/fiction-literature) in books and more recently in films make clear, “one small step for \[a\] man, one giant leap for mankind” was taken by the human spirit many times and in many ways before [Neil Armstrong](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Neil-Armstrong) stamped humankind’s first footprint on the [Moon](https://www.britannica.com/science/moon-natural-satellite). [![Top five milestones in space exploration history](https://cdn.britannica.com/46/150646-138-C1A65B09/Erik-Gregersen-astronomy-milestones-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-space.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop)](https://www.britannica.com/video/Erik-Gregersen-astronomy-milestones-Encyclopaedia-Britannica-space/-158055) Top five milestones in space exploration history Erik Gregersen, astronomy and space exploration editor of Encyclopædia Britannica, picking his top five milestones in space exploration. (more) [See all videos for this article](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/images-videos) Achieving spaceflight enabled humans to begin to explore the [solar system](https://www.britannica.com/science/solar-system) and the rest of the universe, to understand the many objects and phenomena that are better observed from a space perspective, and to use for human benefit the resources and attributes of the space [environment](https://www.britannica.com/science/environment). All of these activities—discovery, scientific understanding, and the application of that understanding to serve human purposes—are elements of [space exploration](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration). (For a general discussion of [spacecraft](https://www.britannica.com/technology/spacecraft), launch considerations, flight trajectories, and [navigation](https://www.britannica.com/technology/navigation-technology), docking, and recovery procedures, see [spaceflight](https://www.britannica.com/science/spaceflight).) ## Overview of recent space achievements ## Motivations for space activity [![Hurricane Irene](https://cdn.britannica.com/64/152064-050-8EBD7FBC/Satellite-image-Hurricane-Irene-August-26-2011.jpg?w=300)](https://cdn.britannica.com/64/152064-050-8EBD7FBC/Satellite-image-Hurricane-Irene-August-26-2011.jpg) [Hurricane Irene](https://cdn.britannica.com/64/152064-050-8EBD7FBC/Satellite-image-Hurricane-Irene-August-26-2011.jpg)Satellite image of Hurricane Irene taken on August 26, 2011. (more) Although the possibility of exploring space has long excited people in many walks of life, for most of the latter 20th century and into the early 21st century, only national governments could afford the very high costs of launching people and machines into space. This reality meant that space exploration had to serve very broad interests, and it indeed has done so in a variety of ways. [Government](https://www.britannica.com/topic/government) space programs have increased knowledge, served as indicators of national [prestige](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prestige) and power, [enhanced](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enhanced) national security and military strength, and provided significant benefits to the general public. In areas where the private sector could profit from activities in space, most notably the use of [satellites](https://www.britannica.com/technology/Earth-satellite) as [telecommunication](https://www.britannica.com/technology/telecommunication) relays, commercial space activity has flourished without government funding. In the early 21st century, [entrepreneurs](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entrepreneurs) believed that there were several other areas of commercial potential in space, most notably privately funded space travel. [![The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet](https://cdn.britannica.com/92/95392-131-F6284677/orbits-planets-bodies-solar-system.jpg) Britannica Quiz Space Odyssey](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/space-odyssey) [![Cassini-Huygens spacecraft](https://cdn.britannica.com/62/201462-050-18018E16/Cassini-Saturn-Orbit-Insertion-artists-conception-illustration.jpg?w=300)1 of 2](https://cdn.britannica.com/62/201462-050-18018E16/Cassini-Saturn-Orbit-Insertion-artists-conception-illustration.jpg) [Cassini-Huygens spacecraft](https://cdn.britannica.com/62/201462-050-18018E16/Cassini-Saturn-Orbit-Insertion-artists-conception-illustration.jpg)The insertion of Cassini into Saturn's orbit, 2004. (more) [![Mars exploration: Opportunity and Curiosity rovers](https://cdn.britannica.com/91/194291-138-1FA54C65/Mars-efforts-Curiosity-rover.jpg?w=800&h=450&c=crop)2 of 2](https://www.britannica.com/video/Mars-efforts-Curiosity-rover/-226689) Mars exploration: Opportunity and Curiosity roversLearn about various scientific efforts to study the planet Mars, including the Opportunity and Curiosity rovers. (more) [See all videos for this article](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/images-videos) In the years after [World War II](https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II), governments assumed a leading role in the support of research that increased fundamental knowledge about nature, a role that earlier had been played by universities, private foundations, and other nongovernmental supporters. This change came for two reasons. First, the need for complex equipment to carry out many scientific experiments and for the large teams of researchers to use that equipment led to costs that only governments could afford. Second, governments were willing to take on this responsibility because of the belief that fundamental research would produce new knowledge essential to the health, the security, and the [quality of life](https://www.britannica.com/topic/quality-of-life) of their citizens. Thus, when scientists sought government support for early space experiments, it was forthcoming. Since the start of space efforts in the [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States), the [Soviet Union](https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union), and [Europe](https://www.britannica.com/place/Europe), national governments have given high priority to the support of [science](https://www.britannica.com/science/science) [done](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/done) in and from space. From modest beginnings, space science has expanded under government support to include multibillion-dollar exploratory missions in the solar system. Examples of such efforts include the development of the [Curiosity](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Curiosity-United-States-robotic-vehicle) [Mars](https://www.britannica.com/place/Mars-planet) rover, the [Cassini-Huygens](https://www.britannica.com/event/Cassini-Huygens) mission to [Saturn](https://www.britannica.com/place/Saturn-planet) and its moons, and the development of major space-based astronomical observatories such as the [Hubble Space Telescope](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hubble-Space-Telescope). Soviet leader [Nikita Khrushchev](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nikita-Sergeyevich-Khrushchev) in 1957 used the fact that his country had been first to launch a [satellite](https://www.britannica.com/science/satellite) as evidence of the technological power of the Soviet Union and of the superiority of [communism](https://www.britannica.com/topic/communism). He repeated these claims after [Yuri Gagarin](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yuri-Gagarin)’s orbital flight in 1961. Although U.S. Pres. [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dwight-D-Eisenhower) had decided not to compete for [prestige](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/prestige) with the Soviet Union in a space race, his successor, [John F. Kennedy](https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-F-Kennedy), had a different view. On April 20, 1961, in the aftermath of the Gagarin flight, he asked his advisers to identify a “space program which promises dramatic results in which we could win.” The response came in a May 8, 1961, memorandum recommending that the [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States) commit to sending people to the [Moon](https://www.britannica.com/science/Moon-exploration), because “dramatic achievements in space…symbolize the technological power and organizing capacity of a nation” and because the ensuing prestige would be “part of the battle along the fluid front of the cold war.” From 1961 until the [collapse of the Soviet Union](https://www.britannica.com/event/the-collapse-of-the-Soviet-Union) in 1991, competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was a major influence on the [pace](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/pace) and content of their space programs. Other countries also viewed having a successful space program as an important indicator of national strength. Explore Britannica Premium\! Trusted knowledge for those who want to know more. [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=shorter-2026) ![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-left.webp) ![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-right.webp) ![Mobile](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-mobile.webp?w=400) Even before the first satellite was launched, U.S. leaders recognized that the ability to observe military activities around the world from space would be an asset to national security. Following on the success of its photoreconnaissance satellites, which began operation in 1960, the United States built increasingly complex observation and electronic-intercept [intelligence](https://www.britannica.com/topic/intelligence-international-relations) satellites. The Soviet Union also quickly developed an array of intelligence satellites, and later a few other countries instituted their own satellite observation programs. Intelligence-gathering satellites have been used to verify arms-control agreements, provide warnings of military threats, and identify targets during military operations, among other uses. In addition to providing security benefits, satellites offered military forces the potential for improved communications, weather observation, navigation, timing, and position location. This led to significant government funding for military space programs in the United States and the Soviet Union. Although the advantages and disadvantages of stationing force-delivery weapons in space have been debated, as of the early 21st century, such weapons had not been [deployed](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deployed), nor had space-based antisatellite systems—that is, systems that can attack or interfere with orbiting satellites. The stationing of weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies is prohibited by [international law](https://www.britannica.com/topic/international-law). [![TIROS 7](https://cdn.britannica.com/37/437-004-B91E9F64/TIROS-7-series-orbit-spacecraft-satellite-systems-June-19-1963.jpg?w=300)](https://cdn.britannica.com/37/437-004-B91E9F64/TIROS-7-series-orbit-spacecraft-satellite-systems-June-19-1963.jpg) [TIROS 7](https://cdn.britannica.com/37/437-004-B91E9F64/TIROS-7-series-orbit-spacecraft-satellite-systems-June-19-1963.jpg)TIROS 7 (Television and Infra-Red Observation Satellite 7), launched June 19, 1963. The first series of U.S. TIROS spacecraft, placed into Earth orbit 1960–65, paved the way for the development of satellite systems to conduct routine daily weather and atmospheric monitoring. (more) Governments realized early on that the ability to observe Earth from space could provide significant benefits to the general public apart from security and military uses. The first application to be pursued was the development of satellites for assisting in [weather forecasting](https://www.britannica.com/science/weather-forecasting). A second application involved remote observation of land and sea surfaces to gather imagery and other [data](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/data) of value in crop forecasting, resource management, environmental monitoring, and other applications. The U.S., the Soviet Union, Europe, and [China](https://www.britannica.com/place/China) also developed their own satellite-based [global positioning systems](https://www.britannica.com/technology/GPS), originally for military purposes, that could pinpoint a user’s exact location, help in navigating from one point to another, and provide very precise time signals. These satellites quickly found numerous civilian uses in such areas as personal navigation, surveying and cartography, geology, [air-traffic control](https://www.britannica.com/technology/air-traffic-control), and the operation of information-transfer networks. They illustrate a reality that has remained constant for a half century—as space capabilities are developed, they often can be used for both military and civilian purposes. Another space application that began under government sponsorship but quickly moved into the private sector is the [relay](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/relay) of voice, video, and data via orbiting satellites. [Satellite telecommunications](https://www.britannica.com/technology/satellite-communication) has developed into a multibillion-dollar business and is the one clearly successful area of commercial space activity. A related, but economically much smaller, commercial space business is the provision of launches for private and government satellites. In 2004 a privately financed venture sent a piloted spacecraft, [SpaceShipOne](https://www.britannica.com/topic/SpaceShipOne), to the lower edge of space for three brief suborbital flights. Although it was technically a much less challenging achievement than carrying humans into orbit, its success was seen as an important step toward opening up space to commercial travel and eventually to [tourism](https://www.britannica.com/topic/space-tourism). More than 15 years after SpaceShipOne reached space, several firms began to carry out such suborbital flights. Companies have arisen that also use satellite imagery to provide data for business about economic [trends](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/trends). Suggestions have been made that in the future other areas of space activity, including using resources found on the [Moon](https://www.britannica.com/place/Moon) and near-Earth [asteroids](https://www.britannica.com/science/asteroid) and the capture of [solar energy](https://www.britannica.com/science/solar-energy) to provide [electric power](https://www.britannica.com/technology/electric-power) on [Earth](https://www.britannica.com/place/Earth), could become successful businesses. Key People: [Paul J. Weitz](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paul-J-Weitz) [Russell Louis Schweickart](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Russell-Louis-Schweickart) [Ellison Onizuka](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ellison-Onizuka) [Mark Kelly](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mark-Kelly) [Jonny Kim](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jonny-Kim) (Show more) Related Topics: [interplanetary exploration](https://www.britannica.com/science/interplanetary-exploration) [rendezvous](https://www.britannica.com/science/rendezvous) [space program](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-program) [space suit](https://www.britannica.com/technology/space-suit) [recovery](https://www.britannica.com/science/recovery-spaceflight) (Show more) [See all related content](https://www.britannica.com/facts/space-exploration) Most space activities have been pursued because they serve some utilitarian purpose, whether increasing knowledge, adding to national power, or making a [profit](https://www.britannica.com/money/profit). Nevertheless, there remains a powerful underlying sense that it is important for humans to explore space for its own sake, “to see what is there.” Although the only voyages that [humans](https://www.britannica.com/topic/human-being) have made away from the near [vicinity](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/vicinity) of Earth—the [Apollo](https://www.britannica.com/science/Apollo-space-program) flights to the Moon—were motivated by [Cold War](https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War) competition, there have been recurrent calls for humans to return to the Moon, travel to Mars, and visit other locations in the solar system and beyond. Until humans resume such journeys of exploration, robotic spacecraft will continue to serve in their stead to explore the solar system and probe the mysteries of the universe. ![Britannica AI Icon](https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-178/images/chatbot/star-ai.svg?v=3.178.5)Britannica AI chevron\_right Space exploration close [AI-generated answers](https://www.britannica.com/about-britannica-ai) from Britannica articles. AI makes mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. Load Next Page Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Britannica Editors. "Baikonur Cosmodrome". Encyclopedia Britannica, 25 Mar. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/place/Baikonur. Accessed 3 April 2026. Copy Citation Share Share to social media [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/BRITANNICA/) [X](https://x.com/britannica) URL <https://www.britannica.com/place/Baikonur> External Websites - [Nuclear Threat Initiative - Baikonur Cosmodrome](https://www.nti.org/education-center/facilities/baikonur-cosmodrome/) - [BBC - Humanity's unlikely gateway to space](https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20211130-humanitys-unlikely-gateway-to-space) - [Space.com - Baikonur Cosmodrome: Russian Launch Complex](https://www.space.com/33947-baikonur-cosmodrome.html) - [International Journal of Biology and Chemistry - The impact of the cosmodrome Â«BaikonurÂ» on the environment and human health (PDF)](https://ijbch.kaznu.kz/index.php/kaznu/article/view/172/94) - [LiveScience - The Secret Backstory Behind Kazakhstan's Rocket Launch Site](https://www.livescience.com/62728-history-baikonur-kazakhstan-launch.html) - [UNESCO - Portal to Heritage of Astronomy - Baikonur cosmodrome, Kazakhstan](https://web.astronomicalheritage.net/index.php/show-entity?identity=82&idsubentity=1) - [European Space Agency - Baikonur: from the steppes of Kazakhstan to space](https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Mission_Odissea_-_F._De_Winne_-_english/Baikonur_from_the_steppes_of_Kazakhstan_to_space) - [ABC News - Russia's crumbling Baikonur spaceport is Earth's only launch pad for manned flights](https://abcnews.go.com/International/russias-crumbling-baikonur-spaceport-earths-launchpad-manned-flights/story?id=59677739) - [University of Glasgow - Tourism Geographies - Authenticity and spectrality of space heritage: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan](https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/296700/3/296700.pdf) Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. print Print Please select which sections you would like to print: verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style Logsdon, John M.. "space exploration". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Feb. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration. Accessed 3 April 2026. Copy Citation Share Share to social media [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/BRITANNICA/) [X](https://x.com/britannica) URL <https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration> External Websites - [DigitalCommons at USU - Developing Intelligent Space Systems: A Survey and Rubric for Future Missions (PDF)](https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5540&context=smallsat) - [ScholarWorks at UARK - Mooreï¿½s Law and Space Exploration: New Insights and Next Steps](https://scholarworks.uark.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3338&context=jaas) - [Official Site of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum](https://airandspace.si.edu/) - [CBC News - How space exploration is advancing remote medicine](https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/how-space-exploration-helps-telemedicine-1.6260213) - [ABC News - Space exploration brings both everyday innovations and massive economic benefits to Earth](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-17/how-space-exploration-innovations-benefit-earth/11314176) - [BBC Audio - The Real Story - The future of space exploration](https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w3csydd3) - [PNAS - Space exploration and economic growth: New issues and horizons](https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2221341120) - [Council on Foreign Relations - Space Exploration and U.S. Competitiveness](https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/space-exploration-and-us-competitiveness) - [National Geographic Society - The History of Space Exploration](https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/history-space-exploration/) Britannica Websites Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. - [space exploration - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)](https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/space-exploration/353794) - [space exploration - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)](https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/space-exploration/277156)
Readable Markdown	space exploration, investigation, by means of crewed and uncrewed [spacecraft](https://www.britannica.com/technology/spacecraft), of the reaches of the [universe](https://www.britannica.com/science/universe) beyond [Earth](https://www.britannica.com/place/Earth)’s atmosphere and the use of the information so gained to increase knowledge of the [cosmos](https://www.britannica.com/science/Cosmos-astronomy) and benefit humanity. A complete list of all crewed spaceflights, with details on each mission’s accomplishments and crew, is available in the section [Chronology of crewed spaceflights](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/Chronology-of-crewed-spaceflights#ref286805). Humans have always looked at the heavens and wondered about the nature of the objects seen in the night sky. With the development of [rockets](https://www.britannica.com/technology/rocket-jet-propulsion-device-and-vehicle) and the advances in electronics and other technologies in the 20th century, it became possible to send machines and [animals](https://www.britannica.com/animal/animal) and then people above Earth’s [atmosphere](https://www.britannica.com/science/atmosphere) into [outer space](https://www.britannica.com/science/outer-space). Well before technology made these achievements possible, however, space exploration had already captured the minds of many people, not only aircraft pilots and scientists but also writers and artists. What do you think? Explore the ProCon debate The strong hold that space travel has always had on the imagination may well explain why professional astronauts and laypeople alike [consent](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/consent) at their great peril, in the words of [Tom Wolfe](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tom-Wolfe) in The Right Stuff (1979), to sit “on top of an enormous Roman candle, such as a Redstone, [Atlas](https://www.britannica.com/technology/Atlas-American-launch-vehicles), [Titan](https://www.britannica.com/technology/Titan-rocket) or [Saturn](https://www.britannica.com/technology/Saturn-launch-vehicle) [rocket](https://www.britannica.com/technology/rocket-jet-propulsion-device-and-vehicle), and wait for someone to light the fuse.” It perhaps also explains why space exploration has been a common and enduring theme in [literature](https://www.britannica.com/art/literature) and art. As centuries of speculative [fiction](https://www.britannica.com/art/fiction-literature) in books and more recently in films make clear, “one small step for \[a\] man, one giant leap for mankind” was taken by the human spirit many times and in many ways before [Neil Armstrong](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Neil-Armstrong) stamped humankind’s first footprint on the [Moon](https://www.britannica.com/science/moon-natural-satellite). Top five milestones in space exploration history Erik Gregersen, astronomy and space exploration editor of Encyclopædia Britannica, picking his top five milestones in space exploration. [See all videos for this article](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration/images-videos) Achieving spaceflight enabled humans to begin to explore the [solar system](https://www.britannica.com/science/solar-system) and the rest of the universe, to understand the many objects and phenomena that are better observed from a space perspective, and to use for human benefit the resources and attributes of the space [environment](https://www.britannica.com/science/environment). All of these activities—discovery, scientific understanding, and the application of that understanding to serve human purposes—are elements of [space exploration](https://www.britannica.com/science/space-exploration). (For a general discussion of [spacecraft](https://www.britannica.com/technology/spacecraft), launch considerations, flight trajectories, and [navigation](https://www.britannica.com/technology/navigation-technology), docking, and recovery procedures, see [spaceflight](https://www.britannica.com/science/spaceflight).) ## Overview of recent space achievements ## Motivations for space activity [Hurricane Irene](https://cdn.britannica.com/64/152064-050-8EBD7FBC/Satellite-image-Hurricane-Irene-August-26-2011.jpg)Satellite image of Hurricane Irene taken on August 26, 2011. Although the possibility of exploring space has long excited people in many walks of life, for most of the latter 20th century and into the early 21st century, only national governments could afford the very high costs of launching people and machines into space. This reality meant that space exploration had to serve very broad interests, and it indeed has done so in a variety of ways. [Government](https://www.britannica.com/topic/government) space programs have increased knowledge, served as indicators of national [prestige](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prestige) and power, [enhanced](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enhanced) national security and military strength, and provided significant benefits to the general public. In areas where the private sector could profit from activities in space, most notably the use of [satellites](https://www.britannica.com/technology/Earth-satellite) as [telecommunication](https://www.britannica.com/technology/telecommunication) relays, commercial space activity has flourished without government funding. In the early 21st century, [entrepreneurs](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/entrepreneurs) believed that there were several other areas of commercial potential in space, most notably privately funded space travel. [![The orbits of the planets and other elements of the solar system, including asteroids, Kuiper belt, Oort cloud, comet](https://cdn.britannica.com/92/95392-131-F6284677/orbits-planets-bodies-solar-system.jpg) Britannica Quiz Space Odyssey](https://www.britannica.com/quiz/space-odyssey) In the years after [World War II](https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II), governments assumed a leading role in the support of research that increased fundamental knowledge about nature, a role that earlier had been played by universities, private foundations, and other nongovernmental supporters. This change came for two reasons. First, the need for complex equipment to carry out many scientific experiments and for the large teams of researchers to use that equipment led to costs that only governments could afford. Second, governments were willing to take on this responsibility because of the belief that fundamental research would produce new knowledge essential to the health, the security, and the [quality of life](https://www.britannica.com/topic/quality-of-life) of their citizens. Thus, when scientists sought government support for early space experiments, it was forthcoming. Since the start of space efforts in the [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States), the [Soviet Union](https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union), and [Europe](https://www.britannica.com/place/Europe), national governments have given high priority to the support of [science](https://www.britannica.com/science/science) [done](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/done) in and from space. From modest beginnings, space science has expanded under government support to include multibillion-dollar exploratory missions in the solar system. Examples of such efforts include the development of the [Curiosity](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Curiosity-United-States-robotic-vehicle) [Mars](https://www.britannica.com/place/Mars-planet) rover, the [Cassini-Huygens](https://www.britannica.com/event/Cassini-Huygens) mission to [Saturn](https://www.britannica.com/place/Saturn-planet) and its moons, and the development of major space-based astronomical observatories such as the [Hubble Space Telescope](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hubble-Space-Telescope). Soviet leader [Nikita Khrushchev](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nikita-Sergeyevich-Khrushchev) in 1957 used the fact that his country had been first to launch a [satellite](https://www.britannica.com/science/satellite) as evidence of the technological power of the Soviet Union and of the superiority of [communism](https://www.britannica.com/topic/communism). He repeated these claims after [Yuri Gagarin](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yuri-Gagarin)’s orbital flight in 1961. Although U.S. Pres. [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dwight-D-Eisenhower) had decided not to compete for [prestige](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/prestige) with the Soviet Union in a space race, his successor, [John F. Kennedy](https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-F-Kennedy), had a different view. On April 20, 1961, in the aftermath of the Gagarin flight, he asked his advisers to identify a “space program which promises dramatic results in which we could win.” The response came in a May 8, 1961, memorandum recommending that the [United States](https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States) commit to sending people to the [Moon](https://www.britannica.com/science/Moon-exploration), because “dramatic achievements in space…symbolize the technological power and organizing capacity of a nation” and because the ensuing prestige would be “part of the battle along the fluid front of the cold war.” From 1961 until the [collapse of the Soviet Union](https://www.britannica.com/event/the-collapse-of-the-Soviet-Union) in 1991, competition between the United States and the Soviet Union was a major influence on the [pace](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/pace) and content of their space programs. Other countries also viewed having a successful space program as an important indicator of national strength. Trusted knowledge for those who want to know more. [SUBSCRIBE](https://premium.britannica.com/premium-membership/?utm_source=premium&utm_medium=inline-cta&utm_campaign=shorter-2026) ![Penguin, ship, mountain, atlas](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-left.webp) ![shohei ohtani, plants, andy wharhol art](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-right.webp) ![Mobile](https://cdn.britannica.com/marketing/inline-mobile.webp?w=400) Even before the first satellite was launched, U.S. leaders recognized that the ability to observe military activities around the world from space would be an asset to national security. Following on the success of its photoreconnaissance satellites, which began operation in 1960, the United States built increasingly complex observation and electronic-intercept [intelligence](https://www.britannica.com/topic/intelligence-international-relations) satellites. The Soviet Union also quickly developed an array of intelligence satellites, and later a few other countries instituted their own satellite observation programs. Intelligence-gathering satellites have been used to verify arms-control agreements, provide warnings of military threats, and identify targets during military operations, among other uses. In addition to providing security benefits, satellites offered military forces the potential for improved communications, weather observation, navigation, timing, and position location. This led to significant government funding for military space programs in the United States and the Soviet Union. Although the advantages and disadvantages of stationing force-delivery weapons in space have been debated, as of the early 21st century, such weapons had not been [deployed](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/deployed), nor had space-based antisatellite systems—that is, systems that can attack or interfere with orbiting satellites. The stationing of weapons of mass destruction in orbit or on celestial bodies is prohibited by [international law](https://www.britannica.com/topic/international-law). [TIROS 7](https://cdn.britannica.com/37/437-004-B91E9F64/TIROS-7-series-orbit-spacecraft-satellite-systems-June-19-1963.jpg)TIROS 7 (Television and Infra-Red Observation Satellite 7), launched June 19, 1963. The first series of U.S. TIROS spacecraft, placed into Earth orbit 1960–65, paved the way for the development of satellite systems to conduct routine daily weather and atmospheric monitoring. Governments realized early on that the ability to observe Earth from space could provide significant benefits to the general public apart from security and military uses. The first application to be pursued was the development of satellites for assisting in [weather forecasting](https://www.britannica.com/science/weather-forecasting). A second application involved remote observation of land and sea surfaces to gather imagery and other [data](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/data) of value in crop forecasting, resource management, environmental monitoring, and other applications. The U.S., the Soviet Union, Europe, and [China](https://www.britannica.com/place/China) also developed their own satellite-based [global positioning systems](https://www.britannica.com/technology/GPS), originally for military purposes, that could pinpoint a user’s exact location, help in navigating from one point to another, and provide very precise time signals. These satellites quickly found numerous civilian uses in such areas as personal navigation, surveying and cartography, geology, [air-traffic control](https://www.britannica.com/technology/air-traffic-control), and the operation of information-transfer networks. They illustrate a reality that has remained constant for a half century—as space capabilities are developed, they often can be used for both military and civilian purposes. Another space application that began under government sponsorship but quickly moved into the private sector is the [relay](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/relay) of voice, video, and data via orbiting satellites. [Satellite telecommunications](https://www.britannica.com/technology/satellite-communication) has developed into a multibillion-dollar business and is the one clearly successful area of commercial space activity. A related, but economically much smaller, commercial space business is the provision of launches for private and government satellites. In 2004 a privately financed venture sent a piloted spacecraft, [SpaceShipOne](https://www.britannica.com/topic/SpaceShipOne), to the lower edge of space for three brief suborbital flights. Although it was technically a much less challenging achievement than carrying humans into orbit, its success was seen as an important step toward opening up space to commercial travel and eventually to [tourism](https://www.britannica.com/topic/space-tourism). More than 15 years after SpaceShipOne reached space, several firms began to carry out such suborbital flights. Companies have arisen that also use satellite imagery to provide data for business about economic [trends](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/trends). Suggestions have been made that in the future other areas of space activity, including using resources found on the [Moon](https://www.britannica.com/place/Moon) and near-Earth [asteroids](https://www.britannica.com/science/asteroid) and the capture of [solar energy](https://www.britannica.com/science/solar-energy) to provide [electric power](https://www.britannica.com/technology/electric-power) on [Earth](https://www.britannica.com/place/Earth), could become successful businesses. Most space activities have been pursued because they serve some utilitarian purpose, whether increasing knowledge, adding to national power, or making a [profit](https://www.britannica.com/money/profit). Nevertheless, there remains a powerful underlying sense that it is important for humans to explore space for its own sake, “to see what is there.” Although the only voyages that [humans](https://www.britannica.com/topic/human-being) have made away from the near [vicinity](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/vicinity) of Earth—the [Apollo](https://www.britannica.com/science/Apollo-space-program) flights to the Moon—were motivated by [Cold War](https://www.britannica.com/event/Cold-War) competition, there have been recurrent calls for humans to return to the Moon, travel to Mars, and visit other locations in the solar system and beyond. Until humans resume such journeys of exploration, robotic spacecraft will continue to serve in their stead to explore the solar system and probe the mysteries of the universe.
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