Article
Article
DISCLAIMER: This article is being kept online for historical purposes. Though accurate at last review, it is no longer being updated. The page may contain broken links or outdated information.
Space flight, 2010
Article By:
Platt, Donald Micro Aerospace Solutions, Inc., Melbourne, Florida.
Last reviewed:2012
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.YB120407
- Human space flight
- Robotic solar system exploration
- Commercial space flight
- Other activities
- Launch summary
- Additional Reading
2010 was a year of change in space flight, and a preview of the possible future of space exploration. The space shuttle program, which was to be retired in 2011, launched humans into space three times. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) cancelled its Constellation program, which, among other missions, would have returned astronauts to the Moon. Instead, U.S. President Barack Obama committed NASA to a series of developmental goals leading to new spacecraft for reaching low-Earth orbit and new technology for potential missions beyond the Moon. The International Space Station (ISS) celebrated 10 years of habitation and gained approval for on-orbit operations through at least 2020. Mars exploration using robotic explorers continued, as did the discovery of planets around other stars via the Kepler mission. The Hubble Space Telescope continued to deliver incredible images and scientific information about the universe. And, using radar measurements from a NASA instrument aboard India's Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, scientists found more evidence for water, in quantities never before expected, on the Moon.
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