Editing Space Age

{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Also|History of spaceflight}}
{{short description|Historical period started in 1957}}

{{Listen image
| main_image         = Sputnik asm.jpg
| main_image_caption = The launch of the [[Sputnik 1]] [[satellite]] marked the start of the Space Age.
| filename           = Sputnik beep.ogg
| plain              = yes
| title              = Audio recording of Sputnik's radio transmission by NASA
| description        = The signals of ''Sputnik 1'' continued for 22 days.
}}
{{Listen image
| main_image         = File:Apollo 11 Landing - first steps on the moon.ogv
| main_image_caption = Video of [[Neil Armstrong]] and the first step on the Moon. [[Apollo 11]], being the first spaceflight mission that landed humans on the [[Moon]], is one of the most significant moments in the Space Age.
| filename           = Frase de Neil Armstrong.ogg
| plain              = yes
| title              = That's one small step ...
}}

The '''Space Age''' is a period encompassing the activities related to the [[space race]], [[space exploration]], [[space technology]], and the cultural developments influenced by these events, beginning with the [[Sputnik 1#Launch and mission|launch of Sputnik 1]] on October 4, 1957,<ref name="test">{{cite web
| url = https://www.nasa.gov/feature/60-years-ago-the-space-age-began
| author = Garcia, Mark
| title = 60 years ago, the Space Age began
| date = October 5, 2017
| work = nasa.gov
| accessdate = August 8, 2022
|quote = "On October 4, 1957, the [[Soviet Union]] opened the Space Age..."}}</ref> and continuing to the present.

This period is characterized by changes in emphasis on particular areas of space exploration and applications. Initially, the [[United States]] and the [[Soviet Union]] invested unprecedented amounts of resources in breaking records and being first to meet milestones in crewed and uncrewed exploration. The United States established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ([[NASA]]) and the USSR established the [[Kosmicheskaya programma SSSR]] to meet these goals. This period of competition gave way to cooperation between those nations and emphasis on scientific research and commercial applications of space-based technology.<ref name="Universe">{{cite web  | url = https://www.universetoday.com/45969/space-age/  | author = Williams, Matt  | title = What Is The Space Age?  | date = June 27, 2015  | work = universetoday.com  | accessdate = March 17, 2023  }}</ref><ref name="roscosmos">{{Cite web|last=Federation|first=International Astronautical|title=IAF : ROSCOSMOS|url=https://www.iafastro.org/membership/all-members/roscosmos.html|access-date=2022-02-09|website=www.iafastro.org|language=en|archive-date=9 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209090947/https://www.iafastro.org/membership/all-members/roscosmos.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Eventually other nations became spacefaring. They formed organizations such as the European Space Agency ([[ESA]]), the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency ([[JAXA]]), the Indian Space Research Organization ([[ISRO]]), and the China National Space Administration ([[CNSA]]). When the USSR dissolved the Russian Federation continued their program as [[Roscosmos]].<ref name="Universe" /><ref name="roscosmos" />

In the early 2020s, some journalists have used the phrase "New Space Age" in reference to a resurgence of innovation and public interest in space exploration as well as commercial applications of [[low Earth orbit]] (LEO) and more distant destinations. New developments include [[Billionaire space race|the participation of billionaires]] in crewed space travel, including [[space tourism]] and [[interplanetary travel]].<ref name="aei">{{cite web
| url = https://www.aei.org/articles/america-is-starting-a-new-space-age-and-its-a-problem-that-many-americans-dont-know-about-it/
| author = Pethokoukis, James
| title = America Is Launching a New Space Age. And It's a Problem That Many Americans Don't Know About It.
| date = May 11, 2022
| work = aei.org
| publisher = American Enterprise Institute
| accessdate = March 17, 2023
}}</ref><ref name="euronews">{{cite web
| url = https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/02/02/to-infinity-and-beyond-the-new-space-age
| title = To infinity and beyond: the new space age
| date = February 2, 2022
| work = euronews.com
| publisher = euronews.next
| accessdate = March 17, 2023
}}</ref>

==Periodization==
The periodization of the Space Age can differ substantially, with some differentiating between a ''first'' Space Age and a ''second'' Space Age, which are separated at the turn of the 1980s/1990s.<ref name="v197">{{cite report | last1=Harrison | first1=Todd | last2=Cooper | first2=Zack | last3=Johnson | first3=Kaitlyn | last4=Roberts | first4=Thomas G | title=Escalation & Deterrence in the Second Space Age | date=2017 | publisher=Unpublished | doi=10.13140/RG.2.2.15240.11525 | url=http://rgdoi.net/10.13140/RG.2.2.15240.11525 | access-date=14 October 2024 | page=}}</ref>

==Periods==
{{Also|History of spaceflight}}

===Foundational developments to suborbital spaceflights===
{{Also|History of rockets}}
[[File:Opel RAK1 2.jpg|thumb|Opel RAK.1 – world's first public flight of a crewed rocket-powered plane on September 30, 1929]]

Some vehicles reached [[Sub-orbital spaceflight|suborbital]] space much earlier than the launch of [[Sputnik 1|Sputnik]]. In June 1944, a German [[V-2 rocket]] became the first manmade object to enter [[outer space|space]], albeit only briefly.<ref name="Schefter">{{Citation  | last = Schefter  | first = James  | title = The Race: The Uncensored Story of How America Beat Russia to the Moon  | publisher = [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]]  | year = 1999  | location = [[New York, New York]]  | pages = 3–49  | url = https://archive.org/details/raceuncensored00sche/page/3  | isbn = 0-385-49253-7  }}</ref> In March 1926 American rocket pioneer [[Robert H. Goddard]] launched the world's first liquid fuel rocket but it did not reach outer space.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Goddard launches space age with historic first 85 years ago today| date=16 March 2011 |url = http://www.clarku.edu/article/goddard-launches-space-age-historic-first-85-years-ago-today|access-date = 2016-04-29}}</ref>

Since Germans undertook the sub-orbital V-2 rocket flight in secrecy, it was not initially public knowledge. Also, the German launches, as well as the subsequent [[sounding rocket]] tests performed in both the United States and the Soviet Union during the late 1940s and early 1950s, were not considered significant enough to define the start of the space age because they did not reach orbit. A rocket powerful enough to reach orbit could also be used as an [[intercontinental ballistic missile]], that could deliver a warhead to any location on Earth. Some commentators claim this is why the orbital standard is commonly used to define when the space age began.<ref name="Schefter"/>

===1957 to 1970s/1980s: Establishment and ''Space Race''===
{{Further|Space Race}}
{{multiple image|perrow = 2|total_width=300
| image1            = Sputnik asm.jpg
| width1            =
| image2            = Aldrin Apollo 11 original.jpg
| width2            =
| image3            = Portrait of ASTP crews.jpg
| width3            =
| image4            = Atlantis docked to MIR - GPN-2000-001315.jpg
| width4            =
| footer            = Clockwise, from top left: Model of the [[Sputnik 1]] satellite; [[Apollo 11]] astronaut [[Buzz Aldrin]] on the Moon; US [[Space Shuttle]] ''[[Space Shuttle Atlantis|Atlantis]]'' docked to the Soviet ''[[Mir]]'' Earth orbital space station; US and Soviet crews of [[Apollo-Soyuz]], first joint [[space rendezvous|rendezvous and docking]] mission
}}
The [[Space Race]] was the first era of the Space Age. It was a race between the [[United States]] and the [[Soviet Union]] which began with the Soviet Union's October 4, 1957, launch of Earth's first [[artificial satellite]] [[Sputnik 1]] during the [[International Geophysical Year]].<ref name="Sputnik I">{{cite web|last=Garber|first=Steve|title=Sputnik and The Dawn of the Space Age|url=https://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/|work=History|publisher=NASA|access-date=6 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041118091015/https://history.nasa.gov/sputnik/|archive-date=18 November 2004}}</ref> Weighing {{convert|83.6|kg|lb|1|abbr=on}} and orbiting the Earth once every 98 minutes.<ref name="Sputnik I"/><ref name="Chertok vol 2">{{cite web|last=Chertok|first=Boris|title=Rockets and People: Creating a Rocket Industry, p. 385|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4110/vol2.pdf|work=History|publisher=NASA|access-date=7 October 2021}}</ref> The race resulted in rapid advances in [[rocket]]ry, [[materials science]], and other areas. One of the underlying motivations for the space race was military. The two nations were also in a nuclear arms race following the Second World War. Both nations made use of German missile technology and scientists from their missile program. The advantages, in aviation and rocketry, required for delivery systems were seen as necessary for national security and political superiority.<ref name="Royal">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Space Race Timeline |url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/space-race-timeline |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=rmg.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>

The [[Cold War]] era competition between the United States and Soviet Union is one of the reasons the space age happened at that time. Since then the space age continues for the generation of scientific knowledge, the innovation and creation of markets, inspiration, and agreements between the space-faring nations.<ref name="canada">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Space Race Timeline |url=https://www.calendar-canada.ca/faq/why-did-the-space-age-happen| publisher=calendar-canada |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=calendar-canada.ca |language=en}}</ref> Other reasons for the continuation of the space age are defending Earth from hazardous objects like [[asteroid]]s and [[comet]]s.<ref name="planetary">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Defend Earth |url=https://www.planetary.org/defend-earth |access-date=2023-03-17 |website=planetary.org |language=en}}</ref>

Much of the technology developed for space applications has been [[NASA spinoff technologies|spun off]] and found additional uses, such as [[memory foam]]. In 1958 the United States launched its first satellite, [[Explorer 1]]. The same year [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|President Dwight D. Eisenhower]] created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, commonly known as [[NASA]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2010-02-22 |title=The Space Race |url=https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/space-race |access-date=2022-10-16 |website=HISTORY |language=en}}</ref>

Prior to the first attempted [[human spaceflight]], various animals were flown into [[outer space]] to identify potential detrimental effects of high [[g-force]]s in takeoff and landing, [[Micro-g environment|microgravity]], and radiation exposure at high altitudes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Animals in Space|url=https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/9-12/features/F_Animals_in_Space_9-12.html|website=NASA|quote=In the earlier days of space exploration, nobody knew if people could survive a trip away from Earth, so using animals was the best way to find out. In 1948, a rhesus macaque monkey named Albert flew inside a V2 rocket. In 1957, Russians sent a dog named Laika into orbit. Both of these flights showed that humans could survive weightlessness and the effects of high gravitational forces.}}</ref>

The Space Race reached its peak with the [[Apollo program]] that captured the imagination of much of the world's population.<ref name="ShootingTheMoon">{{Citation | url = http://www.americanheritage.com/content/shooting-moon | first = Walter A | last = McDougall | title = Shooting the Moon | newspaper = American Heritage |date=Winter 2010}}.</ref> From 1961 to 1964, NASA's budget was increased almost 500 percent, and the lunar landing program eventually involved some 34,000 NASA employees and 375,000 employees of industrial and university contractors. The Soviet Union proceeded tentatively with its own lunar landing program which it did not publicly acknowledge, partly due to internal debate over its necessity and the untimely death (in January 1966) of Sergey Korolev, chief engineer of the Soviet space program.<ref name=":1" />

The landing of [[Apollo 11]] was watched by over 500 million people around the world and is widely recognized as one of the defining moments of the 20th century. Since then, public attention has largely moved to other areas.<ref>{{Cite web|title = National Aeronautics and Space Administration|url = https://www.nasa.gov/|website = NASA|access-date = 2015-11-20|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/19961231235847/http://www.nasa.gov/|archive-date = 1996-12-31}}</ref>

The last major leap of in the USSR-USA Space Race was the [[Skylab]] and [[Salyut programme|Salyut]] programs, which established the first space stations for the U.S. and USSR in Earth orbit following termination of both countries' moon programs.<ref name="First Space Stations">{{Cite web|title = The First Space Stations |url = https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/first-space-stations |website = Smithsonian Institution |date = 15 August 2023 |access-date = 2023-08-15 |url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230929172336/https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/first-space-stations |archive-date = 2023-09-29 }}</ref>

At the conclusion of the Apollo program, crewed flights from the United States were rare, then ended while the [[Space Shuttle program|shuttle program]] was getting ready to kick into gear, and the space race had been over since the [[Apollo–Soyuz|Apollo-Soyuz test project]] of 1975, started a period of U.S.–Soviet co-operation. The Soviet Union continued using the Soyuz spacecraft.<ref name="Soyuz Spacecraft">{{Cite web |last=Lewis | first=Cathleen |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/fifty-years-russian-soyuz-spacecraft | publisher=Smithsonian Institution |title=Fifty Years of the Russian Soyuz Spacecraft | date=2016-12-16 }}</ref>

The shuttle program restored spaceflight to the U.S. following the Skylab program, but the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]] in 1986 marked a significant decline in crewed [[Space Shuttle|Shuttle]] launches. Following the disaster, NASA grounded all Shuttles for safety concerns until 1988.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Howell|first1=Elizabeth|title=Challenger: Shuttle Disaster That Changed NASA|url=https://www.space.com/18084-space-shuttle-challenger.html|website=Space.com|access-date=17 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504154616/https://www.space.com/18084-space-shuttle-challenger.html|archive-date=4 May 2018}}</ref> During the 1990s funding for space-related programs fell sharply as the remaining structures of the now-dissolved Soviet Union disintegrated and [[NASA]] no longer had any direct competition,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chatzky | first=Andrew |url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/space-exploration-and-us-competitiveness | publisher=The Council on Foreign Relations |title=Space Exploration and U.S. Competitiveness | date=2021-09-23 }}</ref> engaging rather in more substantial cooperation like the [[Shuttle-Mir program]] and its follow-up the [[International Space Station]].

=== Diversification ===
[[File:ISS Agreements.jpg|thumb|A commemorative plaque honouring the [[International Space Station programme#1998 agreement|Space Station Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA)]] for the [[International Space Station]], signed on 28 January 1998 and symbolic for the increasing diversification and internationalization of spaceflight since its beginning]]

[[Timeline of private spaceflight|Participation of private actors]] and other countries beside the Soviet Union and the United States in spaceflight had been the case from the very start of spaceflight development. A [[Telstar|first commercial satellite]] had been launched by 1962, as well as in 1965 a third [[Timeline of first orbital launches by country|country achieving orbital spaceflight]]. The very beginning of the [[space age]], the launch of [[Sputnik]] was in the context of international exchange, the [[International Geophysical Year]] 1957. Also soon into the space age the international community came together starting to negotiate dedicated [[Space law|international law governing outer space activity]].

In the 1970s the Soviet Union started to invite other countries to fly their people into space through its [[Intercosmos]] program and the United States started to [[Women in space|include women]] and people of colour in its astronaut program.

First exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union was formalized in the 1962 [[Dryden-Blagonravov agreement]], calling for cooperation on the exchange of data from weather satellites, a study of the [[Earth's magnetic field]], and joint tracking of the NASA [[Project Echo|Echo II balloon satellite]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The First Dryden-Blagonravov Agreement – 1962|url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4209/ch2-3.htm|website=NASA History Series|publisher=NASA|access-date=14 March 2019|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801185734/https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4209/ch2-3.htm|url-status=dead}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> In 1963 [[President Kennedy]] could even interest premier [[Khrushchev]] in a joint crewed [[Moon landing]],<ref name="Launius 2019 pp. 167–168">{{cite journal | last=Launius | first=Roger D. | title=First Moon landing was nearly a US–Soviet mission | journal=Nature | volume=571 | issue=7764 | date=2019-07-10 | doi=10.1038/d41586-019-02088-4 | pages=167–168 | pmid=31292553 | bibcode=2019Natur.571..167L | s2cid=195873630 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Soviets Planned to Accept JFK's Joint Lunar Mission Offer |first=Frank |last=Sietzen |url=http://www.spacedaily.com/news/russia-97h.html |agency=SpaceCast News Service |work=SpaceDaily |date=October 2, 1997 |access-date=August 1, 2013}}</ref> but after the assassination of Kennedy in November 1963 and Khrushchev's removal from office in October 1964, the competition between the two nations' crewed space programs heated up, and talk of cooperation became less common, due to tense relations and military implications. Only later the United States and the Soviet Union slowly started to exchange more information and engage in joint programs, particularly in the light of the development of safety standards since 1970,<ref name="NASAName">{{cite web|url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4402/ch4.htm|title=Origins of NASA Names: Manned SpaceFlight|author1=Helen T. Wells |author2=Susan H. Whiteley |author3=Carrie E. Karegeannes |date=1975|publisher=NASA|access-date=2 November 2015}}</ref> producing the co-developed [[APAS-75]] and later [[Docking and berthing of spacecraft|docking standards]]. Most notably this signaled the ending of the first era of the space age, the [[Space Race]], through the [[Apollo-Soyuz mission]] which became the basis for the [[Shuttle-Mir program]] and eventually the [[International Space Station programme]].

Such international cooperation, and international spaceflight organization was furthermore fueled by increasingly more countries achieving spaceflight capabilies and together with a by the 1980s established [[private spaceflight]] sector, both being embodied by the [[European Space Agency]]. This allowed the formation of an international and commercial post-Space Race spaceflight economy and period, with by the 1990s a public perception of space exploration and space-related technologies as being increasingly commonplace.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=NASA|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/historical-studies-societal-impact-spaceflight-ebook_tagged.pdf|title=Historical Studies in the Societal Impact of Spaceflight - NASA}}</ref>

This increasingly cooperative diversification persisted until competition started to rise in this diversified conditions, from the 2010s and particularly by the early 2020s.

===2010s to present: ''New Space'' competition===
[[File:Falcon Heavy Side Boosters landing on LZ1 and LZ2 - 2018 (25254688767).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|[[SpaceX]]'s [[Falcon Heavy]] [[Reusable launch system|reusable side boosters]] land in unison at [[Cape Canaveral Space Force Station|Cape Canaveral]] [[Landing Zones 1 and 2]] following [[Falcon Heavy test flight|test flight on 6 February 2018]].]]

In the early 21st century, the [[Ansari X Prize]] competition was set up to help jump-start [[private spaceflight]].<ref name="xprize">{{cite web|title=Ansari X Prize|url=http://space.xprize.org/ansari-x-prize|access-date=2010-09-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100923001722/http://space.xprize.org/ansari-x-prize|archive-date=23 September 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> The winner, [[Space Ship One]] in 2004, became the first spaceship not funded by a government agency.<ref>{{Cite web|title = SpaceShipOne: The First Private Spacecraft {{!}} The Most Amazing Flying Machines Ever|url = http://www.space.com/16769-spaceshipone-first-private-spacecraft.html|website = Space.com|access-date = 2015-11-27|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151115053931/http://www.space.com/16769-spaceshipone-first-private-spacecraft.html|archive-date = 2015-11-15}}</ref>

Several countries now have space programs; from related technology ventures to full-fledged space programs with launch facilities.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Global Space Programs {{!}} Space Foundation|url = http://www.spacefoundation.org/programs/public-policy-and-government-affairs/introduction-space/global-space-programs|website = www.spacefoundation.org|access-date = 2015-11-27|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151114150917/http://www.spacefoundation.org/programs/public-policy-and-government-affairs/introduction-space/global-space-programs|archive-date = 2015-11-14}}</ref> There are many scientific and commercial satellites in use today, with thousands of satellites in orbit, and several countries have plans to send humans into space.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Japan Wants Space Plane or Capsule by 2022|url = http://www.space.com/18198-japan-plans-manned-capsule-space-plane.html|website = Space.com|date = 24 October 2012|access-date = 2015-11-27|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151224020505/http://www.space.com/18198-japan-plans-manned-capsule-space-plane.html|archive-date = 2015-12-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = India takes giant step to manned space mission|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/11305062/India-takes-giant-step-to-manned-space-mission.html|website = Telegraph.co.uk| date=19 December 2014 |access-date = 2015-11-27|url-status = live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151126152907/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/11305062/India-takes-giant-step-to-manned-space-mission.html|archive-date = 2015-11-26}}</ref> Some of the countries joining this new race are [[France]], [[India]], [[China]], [[Israel]] and the [[United Kingdom]], all of which have employed surveillance satellites. There are several other countries with less extensive space programs, including [[Brazil]], [[Germany]], [[Ukraine]], and [[Spain]].<ref name="New Race">{{Cite web|url=https://rcg.org/realtruth/articles/100709-003-international.html|title=The New Space Race – Who Will Take the Lead?|website=rcg.org|access-date=2018-05-08}}</ref>

As for the United States space program, NASA permanently grounded all U.S. Space Shuttles in 2011. NASA has since relied on [[Russia]] and [[SpaceX]] to take American astronauts to and from the [[International Space Station]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|title=The New American Space Age: A Progress Report on Human SpaceFlight|url=https://www.aia-aerospace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/AmNxtSpacAge_FINAL_Web.pdf|website=Aerospace Industries Association|access-date=16 March 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325171353/https://www.aia-aerospace.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/AmNxtSpacAge_FINAL_Web.pdf|archive-date=25 March 2018}}</ref> NASA is currently constructing a deep-space crew capsule named the [[Orion (spacecraft)|Orion]]. NASA's goal with this new space capsule is to carry humans to [[Mars]]. The Orion spacecraft is due to be completed in the early 2020s. NASA is hoping that this mission will "usher in a new era of space exploration."<ref name="New Race" />

Another major factor affecting the current Space Age is the [[Private spaceflight|privatization of space flight]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.spaceadventures.com/experiences/circumlunar-mission/ |title=Circumlunar mission |date=3 April 2014 |publisher=Space Adventures |access-date=15 February 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150212024114/http://www.spaceadventures.com/experiences/circumlunar-mission/ |archive-date=12 February 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> A significant private spaceflight company is [[SpaceX]] which became the proprietor of one of world's most capable operational launch vehicle when they launched their current largest rocket, the [[Falcon Heavy]] in 2018. [[Elon Musk]], the founder and CEO of SpaceX, has put forward the goal of establishing a [[Colonization of Mars|colony]] of one million people on [[Mars]] by 2050 and the company is developing its [[SpaceX Starship|Starship]] launch vehicle to facilitate this. Since the [[Crew Dragon Demo-2|Demo-2 mission]] for NASA in 2020 in which SpaceX launched astronauts for the first time to the International Space Station, the company has maintained an orbital human spaceflight capability. [[Blue Origin]], a private company founded by [[Amazon.com]] founder [[Jeff Bezos]], is developing rockets for use in [[space tourism]], commercial satellite launches, and eventual missions to the Moon and beyond.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.techradar.com/news/blue-origin|title=Blue Origin: everything you need to know about the Amazon.com of space|work=TechRadar|access-date=2019-11-11}}</ref> [[Richard Branson|Richard Branson's]] company [[Virgin Galactic]] is concentrating on launch vehicles for space tourism.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.foxnews.com/science/sir-richard-branson-plans-orbital-spaceships-for-virgin-galactic-2014-trips-to-space | title= Sir Richard Branson plans orbital spaceships for Virgin Galactic, 2014 trips to space | publisher= [[Fox News]] }}</ref> A spinoff company, [[Virgin Orbit]], air-launches small satellites with their [[LauncherOne]] rocket. Another small-satellite launcher, [[Rocket Lab]], has developed the [[Rocket Lab Electron|Electron rocket]] and the [[Rocket Lab Photon|Photon satellite bus]] for sending spacecraft further into the Solar System, the company also plans to introduce the larger [[Rocket Lab Neutron|Neutron]] launch vehicle in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-06 |title=Rocket Lab Completes Archimedes Engine Build, Begins Engine Test Campaign |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240506111202/en/Rocket-Lab-Completes-Archimedes-Engine-Build-Begins-Engine-Test-Campaign |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=www.businesswire.com |language=en}}</ref>

Elon Musk has the stated that the main reason he founded SpaceX is to make humanity a multiplanetary species, and cites reasons for doing it including: To ensure the long-term continuation of our species and protecting the "light of consciousness".<ref name="TESMANIAN" >{{Cite web|title = Elon Musk Founded SpaceX To Make Humans A Multi-Planet Species, 'Build A City On Mars' |url = https://www.tesmanian.com/blogs/tesmanian-blog/spacex-musk| first =Evelyn | last=Arevalo | website = tesmanian.com |date = April 24, 2021 | publisher=TESMANIAN  |access-date = 2023-03-17 }}</ref><ref name="futurism">{{Cite web|title = In Order to Ensure Our Survival, We Must Become a Multi-Planetary Species |url = https://futurism.com/in-order-to-ensure-human-survival-we-must-become-a-multi-planetary-species| first = Jordan | last= Bates | website = futurism.com |date = May 8, 2017 | publisher=Camden Media Inc.  |access-date = 2023-03-17 }}</ref> He also said, <blockquote>You want to wake up in the morning and think the future is going to be great - and that's what being a spacefaring civilization is all about. It's about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past. And I can't think of anything more exciting than going out there and being among the stars.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Mission |url = https://www.spacex.com/mission/ | first =Elon | last=Musk | website = spacex.com |date = | publisher=SpaceX  |access-date = 2023-03-17 }}</ref></blockquote>

[[File:NASA Artemis 1 Launch.jpg|thumb|The [[Space Launch System]] lifts off on its maiden flight to space, then on to the Moon.]]

The Space Age marked a major comeback and return with the launch of NASA's Space Launch system during the Artemis I mission on November 16, 2022; it marked the first time a human rated spacecraft had been to the Moon in nearly 50 years, as well as the return of United States capability to get astronauts to the Moon with the Space Launch System and Orion.<ref name="Artemis">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/liftoff-nasa-s-artemis-i-mega-rocket-launches-orion-to-moon|title=Liftoff! NASA's Artemis I Mega Rocket Launches Orion to Moon?|website=nasa.gov|date=16 November 2022 |access-date=2022-11-26}}</ref>
Additional goals for the 2020s include completion of the [[Lunar Gateway]], mankind's first space station around the Moon, and the first crewed moon landing since the Apollo era with [[Artemis III]].

The U.S. Military has also joined the new space age with the creation of the new Space Force on December 20th 2019.

==Chronology==
{{History of technology sidebar}}
{{see also |Timeline of space exploration}}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
|-
! Date
! First
! Project
! Participant
! Country
|-
| June 20, 1944 || Artificial object in [[outer space]], i.e. beyond the [[Kármán line]] || [[V-2 rocket]] [[MW 18014]] test flight<ref>"Long-range" in the context of the time. See [http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/rocket-history.htm NASA history article] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107190509/http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/history/rocket-history.htm|date=7 January 2009}}</ref>|| –        N/A ||Germany
|-
| October 24, 1946|| Pictures from space (105&nbsp;km)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsmr.army.mil/PAO/WSHist/Pages/ChronologyCowboystoV2stotheSpaceShuttletolasers.aspx|title=Chronology: Cowboys to V-2s to the Space Shuttle to lasers|website=www.wsmr.army.mil|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013081400/http://www.wsmr.army.mil/PAO/WSHist/Pages/ChronologyCowboystoV2stotheSpaceShuttletolasers.aspx|archive-date=13 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://media.airspacemag.com/images/1stPhotoFromSpace.jpg |title=First Pictures from Space |access-date=2013-01-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221145846/http://media.airspacemag.com/images/1stPhotoFromSpace.jpg |archive-date=2014-02-21 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.airspacemag.com/space/the-first-photo-from-space-13721411/|title=First Photo From Space|first=Tony|last=Reichhardt|website=airspacemag.com|access-date=4 May 2018}}</ref> || U.S.-launched [[V-2 rocket]] from [[White Sands Missile Range]], New Mexico. || –        N/A ||United States
|-
| February 20, 1947 || [[Animals in space]] ||  U.S.-launched [[V-2 rocket]] on 20 February 1947 from [[White Sands Missile Range]], New Mexico.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.postwarv2.com/usa/ws/uars/uars20.html|work=postwar.com|title=Post War Space|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715110530/http://www.postwarv2.com/usa/ws/uars/uars20.html|archive-date=2011-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afspbio/part1.htm |title=The Beginnings of Research in Space Biology at the Air Force Missile Development Center, 1946–1952 |access-date=31 January 2008 |work=History of Research in Space Biology and Biodynamics |publisher=[[NASA]]| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080125044753/https://history.nasa.gov/afspbio/part1.htm| archive-date= 25 January 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/FactSheets/V2/v-2tab.htm |title=V-2 Firing Tables |access-date=31 January 2008 |publisher=[[White Sands Missile Range]] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080125175018/http://www.wsmr.army.mil/pao/FactSheets/V2/v-2tab.htm |archive-date = 25 January 2008}}</ref> || - [[Drosophila melanogaster|fruit flies]] || United States
|-
| October 4, 1957 || [[Artificial satellite]] || [[Sputnik 1]]<ref>{{citation|title=Top 10 Of Everything |first=Paul|last=Terry|publisher=Octopus Publishing Group Ltd 2013|year=2013|isbn=978-0-600-62887-3|page=233}}</ref>|| –        N/A ||Soviet Union
|-
| November 3, 1957<ref name="satcat">{{cite web|url=http://planet4589.org/space/log/satcat.txt|title=Satellite Catalog|first=Jonathan|last=McDowell|work=Jonathan's Space Page|access-date=29 October 2013}}</ref> || Animal in orbit || [[Sputnik 2]]<ref name="AT-20171103">{{cite news |last=Berger |first=Eric |title=The first creature in space was a dog. She died miserably 60 years ago |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/11/sixty-years-ago-the-first-creature-went-into-space-a-stray-moscow-dog/ |date=3 November 2017 |work=[[Ars Technica]] |access-date=3 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201182453/https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/11/sixty-years-ago-the-first-creature-went-into-space-a-stray-moscow-dog/ |archive-date=1 December 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> || [[Laika]] [[Soviet space dogs|the dog]] ||Soviet Union
|-
| January 2, 1959 || Lunar flyby, spacecraft to achieve a [[heliocentric orbit]] || [[Luna 1]]<ref name="nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov">{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1959-012A|title=NSSDCA Luna-1|access-date=January 6, 2023}}</ref> || –        N/A || Soviet Union
|-
| September 12, 1959 || Impact on the Lunar surface; thereby becoming the first human object to reach another celestial body || [[Luna 2]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nVeY7vMCtOkC&pg=PA22|title=Soviet and Russian Lunar Exploration|last=Harvey|first=Brian|year=2007|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-0-387-73976-2|language=en |bibcode=2007srle.book.....H}}</ref> || –        N/A || Soviet Union
|-
| October 7, 1959 || Pictures of the [[far side of the Moon]], first spacecraft to use  [[Gravity assist]] || [[Luna 3]]<ref>{{cite book | last=Harvey | first=Brian | title=Russian space probes: scientific discoveries and future missions | publisher=Springer | location=New York | year=2011 | isbn=978-1-4419-8150-9 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Berger |first1=Eric |title=All hail Luna 3, rightful king of 1950s space missions |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/10/all-hail-luna-3-rightful-king-of-1950s-space-missions/ |website=Ars Technica |date=4 October 2019 |access-date=13 October 2023}}</ref>  || –        N/A || Soviet Union
|-
||January 31, 1961
||[[Hominidae]] in space||[[Mercury-Redstone 2]]<ref>{{cite web |title=My steps for Bataan |url=https://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/581909/my-steps-for-bataan/ |website=United States Marine Corps Flagship |access-date=13 April 2022}}</ref>
||[[Ham (chimpanzee)]]
||United States
|-
| April 12, 1961 || Human in space || [[Vostok 1]]<ref>{{cite book |title=The first Soviet cosmonaut team: their lives, legacy, and historical impact |author=Colin Burgess, Rex Hall |pages=356 |date=June 2, 2010 |publisher=Praxis |isbn=978-0-387-84823-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Yuri Gagarin: Who was the first person in space? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/56718196 |website=BBC |access-date=13 July 2022}}</ref> || [[Yuri Gagarin]] || Soviet Union
|-
| May 5, 1961 || Manual orientation of crewed spacecraft. || ''[[Freedom 7]]'' (Mercury-Redstone 3)<ref name="history">{{Cite book|url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4201/toc.htm|title=This New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury|last1=Swenson Jr.|first1=Loyd S.|last2=Grimwood|first2=James M.|last3=Alexander|first3=Charles C.|publisher=NASA|year=1989|editor-last=Woods|editor-first=David|chapter=11-1 Suborbital Flights into Space|format=url|access-date=August 15, 2017|editor-last2=Gamble|editor-first2=Chris|chapter-url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4201/ch11-1.htm}}</ref> || [[Alan Shepard]] || United States
|-
| December 14, 1962 || Successful flyby of another planet ([[Venus]] closest approach 34,773 kilometers) || [[Mariner 2]]<ref name="NSSDC">{{cite web|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1962-041A|title=Mariner 2|publisher=U.S. National Space Science Data Center|access-date=September 8, 2013}}</ref> || –        N/A|| United States
|-
| March 18, 1965 || [[Extra-vehicular activity|Spacewalk]] || [[Voskhod 2]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Burgess|first1=Colin|last2=Hall|first2=Rex|title=The first Soviet cosmonaut team their lives, legacy, and historical impact|date=2009|publisher=Springer|location=Berlin|isbn=978-0387848242|page=252|edition=Online-Ausg.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rrdVPtCNL9AC&pg=PA252}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Grayzeck|first1=Dr. Edwin J.|title=Voskhod 2|url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1965-022A |website=nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov|publisher=National Space Science Data Center|access-date=20 July 2014}}</ref> || [[Alexei Leonov]]  || Soviet Union
|-
| December 15, 1965 || [[Space rendezvous]] || [[Gemini 6A]]<ref name="titans">{{cite book
 | last1 = Hacker | first1 = Barton C.
 | last2 = Grimwood| first2 = James M.
 | title = On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini
 | chapter = Chapter 11 Pillars of Confidence
 | chapter-url = http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/ch11-1.htm
 | publisher = NASA
 | series = NASA History Series
 | volume = SP-4203
 | date = September 1974
 | page = 239
 | url = http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4203/toc.htm
 }} With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations.</ref> and [[Gemini 7]]<ref name="titans"/> || [[Wally Schirra|Schirra]], [[Thomas Patten Stafford|Stafford]], [[Frank Borman|Borman]], [[Jim Lovell|Lovell]] || United States
|-
|February 3, 1966
|Soft landing on the Moon by a spacecraft
|[[Luna 9]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/chandrayaan-2-landing-40-lunar-missions-in-last-60-years-failed-finds-nasa-report-1596620-2019-09-07|title=Chandrayaan-2 landing: 40% lunar missions in last 60 years failed, finds Nasa report|website=India Today|date=7 September 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/beyond-earth-tagged.pdf|title=Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016|pages=1–2|last1=Siddiqi|first1=Asif A.|lccn=2017059404|isbn=9781626830424|publisher=NASA History Program Office|edition=second |year=2018|id=SP2018-4041|series=The NASA history series|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>
|–        N/A
|Soviet Union
|-
|March 1, 1966
|Human-made object to impact another planet
|[[Venera 3]]<ref>{{cite web|first1=Mark|last1=Wade|url=http://www.astronautix.com/v/venera3mv-3.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228034043/http://astronautix.com/v/venera3mv-3.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 28, 2016|title=Venera 3MV-3|website=Encyclopedia Astronautica|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=Gunter|last1=Krebs|url=http://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/venera-3mv-3.htm|title=Venera 3 (3MV-3 #1)|website=Gunter's Space Page|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref>
|–        N/A
|Soviet Union
|-
| March 16, 1966 || Orbital docking between two spacecraft || [[Gemini 8]]<ref>{{cite press release
 |author=NASA
 |title=Gemini 8 press kit
 |publisher=NASA
 |date=March 11, 1966
 |url=https://mira.hq.nasa.gov/history/ws/hdmshrc/all/main/DDD/25015.PDF
 |access-date=February 27, 2015
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227064402/https://mira.hq.nasa.gov/history/ws/hdmshrc/all/main/DDD/25015.PDF
 |archive-date=February 27, 2012
}}</ref> & [[Agena Target Vehicle]]<ref name="agle199809">{{Cite magazine |last=Agle |first=D. C. |date=September 1998 |title=Flying the Gusmobile |url=https://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/flying-the-gusmobile-218187/?all |magazine=Air & Space |language=en}}</ref>  || [[Neil Armstrong]], [[David Scott]] || United States
|-
| April 3, 1966 || Artificial satellite of another [[celestial body]] (other than the [[Sun]]) || [[Luna 10]]<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/beyond-earth-tagged.pdf|title=Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016|page=1|last1=Siddiqi|first1=Asif A.|lccn=2017059404 |isbn=9781626830424|publisher=NASA History Program Office|edition=second|year=2018|id=SP2018-4041|series=The NASA history series|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref> || –        N/A || Soviet Union
|-
|October 18, 1967
|Telemetry from the atmosphere of another planet
|[[Venera 4]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/beyond-earth-tagged.pdf|title=Beyond Earth: A Chronicle of Deep Space Exploration, 1958–2016|last1=Siddiqi|first1=Asif A. |lccn=2017059404|isbn=9781626830424|publisher=NASA|edition=second|year=2018|id=SP2018-4041|series=The NASA history series|location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref>
|–        N/A
|Soviet Union
|-
| December 21–27, 1968 || Humans to orbit the [[Moon]] || [[Apollo 8]] || [[Frank Borman|Borman]], [[Jim Lovell|Lovell]], [[William Anders|Anders]]|| United States  <!-- Also first spacecraft – crewed or robotic – to perform a [[Trans Earth Injection]] (TEI) maneuver. -->
|-
| July 20, 1969 || Humans land and walk on the [[Moon]] || [[Apollo 11]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Orloff |first=Richard W. |title=Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029/SP-4029.htm |access-date=June 12, 2013 |series=NASA History Series |year=2000 |publisher=NASA History Division, Office of Policy and Plans |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-0-16-050631-4 |lccn=00061677 |id=SP-2000-4029 |oclc=829406439 }}</ref> || [[Neil Armstrong]], [[Buzz Aldrin]] || United States
|-
|December 15, 1970
|Telemetry from the surface of another planet
|[[Venera 7]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909834,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221214000/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909834,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 21, 2008|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=8 February 1971|access-date=2 January 2013|title=Science: Onward from Venus}}</ref>
|–        N/A
|Soviet Union
|-
| April 19, 1971 || Operational [[space station]] || [[Salyut 1]]<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gWkD52bxQYQC |title=The Story of Manned Space Stations: An Introduction |series=Springer-Praxis Books in Astronomy and Space Sciences |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media]] |first=Philip |last=Baker |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-387-30775-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbDGMiXvdG0C |title=Salyut - The First Space Station: Triumph and Tragedy |series=Springer-Praxis Books in Astronomy and Space Sciences |publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media]] |first=Grujica S. |last=Ivanovich |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-387-73585-6 }}</ref> || –        N/A || Soviet Union
|-
| June 7, 1971 || Resident crew || [[Soyuz 11]] ({{nowrap|[[Salyut 1]]}}) || [[Georgy Dobrovolsky]], [[Vladislav Volkov]], [[Viktor Patsayev]] || Soviet Union
|-
| July 20, 1976 || Pictures from the surface of [[Mars]] || [[Viking 1]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.planetary.org/space-images/viking-1-approaches-mars|title=Viking 1 approaches Mars|website=The Planetary Society}}</ref> || –        N/A || United States
|-
| April 12, 1981 || Reusable orbital spaceship || [[STS-1]]<ref>{{cite web|title=STS-1 Press Kit|url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/shuttle_pk/pk/Flight_001_STS-001_Press_Kit.pdf|publisher=NASA|access-date=28 November 2012|page=36|year=1981|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305005843/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/shuttle_pk/pk/Flight_001_STS-001_Press_Kit.pdf|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> || [[John Young (astronaut)|Young]], [[Robert Crippen|Crippen]] || United States<!-- The U.S.'s X-15 rocket-plane was the first reusable spaceship, doing so in 1963, as it flew twice into sub-orbital space (over 100km). -->
|-
| February 19, 1986 || Long-duration [[space station]] || [[Mir]]<ref name="Mirrecord">{{cite news|last=Jackman|first=Frank|title=ISS Passing Old Russian Mir In Crewed Time|url=http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2010/10/28/11.xml|newspaper=Aviation Week|date=29 October 2010}}</ref> || –        N/A || Soviet Union <!-- Date is launch date. Staying in orbit for over 15 years, occupants set several records in human space endurance.  -->
|-
| February 14, 1990 || [[Family Portrait (Voyager)|Photograph of the whole Solar System]]<ref>See {{cite web |url=http://filer.case.edu/sjr16/advanced/20th_far_voyagers.html |title=Voyagers |access-date=2009-07-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331174421/http://filer.case.edu/sjr16/advanced/20th_far_voyagers.html |archive-date=2009-03-31 }} under "Extended Mission"</ref> || [[Voyager 1]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/|title=Voyager - Mission Status|website=voyager.jpl.nasa.gov}}</ref>
||–        N/A|| United States
|-
| November 20, 1998 || Current [[space station]] || [[International Space Station]]<ref name="ISSRG">{{cite report |author=Gary Kitmacher |title=Reference Guide to the International Space Station |publisher=[[Apogee Books]] |location=Canada |year=2006 |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20060056410 |isbn=978-1-894959-34-6 |pages=71–80}}</ref> || –        N/A || Russia <!-- Date is launch date. Staying in orbit for over 19 years. -->
|-
|-
| August 25, 2012 || [[Interstellar space|Interstellar]] [[space probe]] || [[Voyager 1]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/mission/status/|title = Voyager - Mission Status}}</ref>||–        N/A|| United States
|-
| November 12, 2014 || Artificial probe to soft-land on a comet ([[67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko]])<ref>{{cite news|title= European Space Agency's Spacecraft Lands on Comet's Surface|first= Kenneth|last= Chang|url= https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/science/space/european-space-agencys-spacecraft-lands-on-comets-surface.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0|newspaper= The New York Times|date= Nov 12, 2014|access-date= Nov 12, 2014|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141112190320/http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/science/space/european-space-agencys-spacecraft-lands-on-comets-surface.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=photo-spot-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0|archive-date= 2014-11-12}}</ref>||[[Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta]]<ref name="NASA-20140630">{{cite web |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2014-212 |title=Rosetta's Comet Target 'Releases' Plentiful Water |publisher=[[NASA]] |first1=D. C. |last1=Agle |first2=Dwayne |last2=Brown |first3=Markus |last3=Bauer |date=30 June 2014 |access-date=30 June 2014}}</ref> || –        N/A|| European Space Agency
|-
| July 14, 2015 || Space probes to explore all major planets recognized in 1981<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/overview/index.html|title=New Horizons: The First Mission to the Pluto System and the Kuiper Belt|first=Tricia|last=Talbert|date=25 March 2015|website=nasa.gov|access-date=4 May 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015000814/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/overview/index.html|archive-date=15 October 2017}}</ref> || [[New Horizons]]<ref name="NYT-20150718">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=The Long, Strange Trip to Pluto, and How NASA Nearly Missed It |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/us/the-long-strange-trip-to-pluto-and-how-nasa-nearly-missed-it.html |date=July 18, 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=July 19, 2015}}</ref>||–        N/A||United States
|-
| December 20, 2015 || Vertical landing of an orbital rocket booster on a ground pad.<ref name=flight20-landing>{{cite news |title=SpaceX Successfully Lands Rocket after Launch of Satellites into Orbit |first=Kenneth |last=Chang |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/22/science/spacex-rocket-landing.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 21, 2015 |access-date=December 22, 2015}}</ref> || [[Falcon 9]] [[Falcon 9 flight 20|flight 20]]<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.americaspace.com/?page_id=11236 | title = 2015 U.S. Space Launch Manifest| work = americaspace.com| date = 21 December 2015| publisher = AmericaSpace, LLC| access-date = 21 December 2015}}</ref>||–        N/A||United States
|-
| April 8, 2016 || Vertical landing of an orbital rocket booster on a floating platform at sea.<ref name=flight23>{{cite news |url=http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/08/spacex-rocket-makes-spectacular-landing-on-drone-ship/ |title=SpaceX Rocket Makes Spectacular Landing on Drone Ship |magazine=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] |first=Nadia |last=Drake |author-link=Nadia Drake |date=April 8, 2016 |access-date=April 8, 2016 |quote=To space and back, in less than nine minutes? Hello, future. |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://archive.wikiwix.com/cache/20160408141642/http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/08/spacex-rocket-makes-spectacular-landing-on-drone-ship/ |archive-date=April 8, 2016 }}</ref> || [[SpaceX CRS-8]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/ISS-USOS-Program-Status-NAC-Public-July-2014.pdf |title=Status of the ISS USOS |publisher=NASA Advisory Council HEOMD Committee |first=Daniel W. |last=Hartman |date=July 2014 |access-date=October 26, 2014}}</ref> ||–        N/A||United States
|-
| March 30, 2017 || Relaunch and second landing of a used orbital rocket booster.<ref>{{cite news |last=Grush |first=Loren |title=SpaceX makes aerospace history with successful landing of a used rocket |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15117096/spacex-launch-reusable-rocket-success-falcon-9-landing |work=[[The Verge]] |date=March 30, 2017 |access-date=March 30, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170330232640/http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/30/15117096/spacex-launch-reusable-rocket-success-falcon-9-landing |archive-date=March 30, 2017 }}</ref> || [[SES-10]]<ref name=airbusds-pres20141125>{{cite web|url=http://espace-ftp.cborg.info/epic_2014/d1_s2_1_EPIC_AirbusDS.pdf|title=Space Systems Mission and system requirements for Electric Propulsion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831134749/http://espace-ftp.cborg.info/epic_2014/d1_s2_1_EPIC_AirbusDS.pdf|archive-date=31 August 2016|publisher=[[Airbus Defence and Space]]|date=25 November 2014 |access-date=31 August 2016}}</ref>||–        N/A||United States
|-
| January 3, 2019 || Soft landing on the [[Far side of the Moon|lunar far side]]|| [[Chang'e 4]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Lyons |first=Kate |title=Chang'e 4 landing: China probe makes historic touchdown on far side of the moon |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/03/china-probe-change-4-land-far-side-moon-basin-crater |access-date=3 January 2019 |work=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103043232/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jan/03/china-probe-change-4-land-far-side-moon-basin-crater |archive-date=3 January 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="planetary_success">{{cite web |url=http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/change4-success.html |title=China successfully lands Chang'e-4 on far side of Moon |access-date=3 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103133008/http://www.planetary.org/blogs/jason-davis/change4-success.html |archive-date=3 January 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> ||–        N/A|| China
|-
| May 30, 2020 || Human orbital spaceflight launched by a private company || [[Crew Dragon Demo-2]]/Crew Demo-2/SpaceX Demo-2/Dragon Crew Demo-2<ref name=SF>{{Cite web|url=http://www.spacefacts.de/mission/english/dragon_spx-dm2.htm|title=Crew Dragon SpX-DM2|work=Spacefacts|access-date=31 May 2020}}</ref> ||[[Bob Behnken]], [[Doug Hurley]]|| United States
|-
|April 19, 2021 || First powered controlled extraterrestrial flight by an aircraft
|[[Ingenuity (helicopter)|Ingenuity]] as part of NASA's [[Mars 2020]] mission
||–        N/A
||United States
|-
|July 11, 2021
|Commercial space tourism flight
|[[Virgin Galactic Unity 22]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 11, 2021|author=Chelsea Gohd|title=Virgin Galactic launches Richard Branson to space in 1st fully crewed flight of VSS Unity|url=https://www.space.com/virgin-galactic-unity-22-branson-flight-success|access-date=2021-08-10|website=Space.com|language=en}}</ref>
|[[David Mackay (pilot)|David Mackay]], [[Michael Masucci]], [[Sirisha Bandla]], [[Colin Bennett (astronaut)|Colin Bennet]], [[Beth Moses]], [[Richard Branson]]
|United States
|-
|October 5, 2021
|Feature-length fiction film shot in space (''[[The Challenge (2022 film)|The Challenge]]'')
|[[Soyuz MS-19]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=Anastasia |title=Russian crew blast off to film first movie in space |url=https://phys.org/news/2021-10-russian-crew-blast-movie-space.html#:~:text=Actress%20Yulia%20Peresild%2C%2037%2C%20and,the%20first%20movie%20in%20orbit. |publisher=[[Phys.org]] |access-date=October 5, 2021 |date=October 5, 2021}}</ref>
|[[Anton Shkaplerov]], [[Klim Shipenko]], [[Yulia Peresild]]
|Russia
|-
|November 16, 2022
|Artemis I launch restoring American capability to get humans to the Moon
|[[Artemis I]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Liftoff! NASA's Artemis I Mega Rocket Launches Orion to Moon |url=https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/liftoff-nasa-s-artemis-i-mega-rocket-launches-orion-to-moon |publisher=[[Phys.org]] |access-date=November 26, 2022 |date=November 16, 2022}}</ref>
| - N/A
|United States
|}

==Cultural influences==
===Arts and architecture===
<gallery mode="packed" widths="360" heights="220">
File:1959 Cadillac Coupe Deville3.jpg|Iconic rocket ship-shaped tail lights and fins on a 1959 [[Cadillac de Ville series#First generation (1959–1960)|Cadillac Coupe de Ville]]
File:Town Motel - Birmingham, Alabama.jpg|Satellite-influenced signage at the Town Motel in Birmingham, Alabama
File:Twa-moonliner1.jpg|[[TWA Moonliner|TWA Moonliner II]] replica atop the restored TWA Corporate Headquarters building in Kansas City, MO, 2007
File:Seattle (WA, USA), Space Needle -- 2022 -- 1498.jpg|The [[Space Needle]], in Seattle WA, resembles a UFO and draws inspiration from the Space Age.
</gallery>
The Space Age is considered to have influenced:
* [[Automotive design]]: [[Forward Look|Virgil Exner's Forward Look]], 1957-1961
* [[Googie architecture]]
* [[1960s in fashion#Space Age fashions|Space Age fashions]] by [[André Courrèges]], [[Pierre Cardin]], [[Paco Rabanne]], [[Rudi Gernreich]],<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Fashion for the '70s: Rudi Gernreich Makes Some Modest Proposals |magazine=Life |date=1970-01-09 |volume=68 |issue=1 |pages=115–118 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j1AEAAAAMBAJ |access-date=2022-01-03}}</ref> [[Emanuel Ungaro]], Jean-Marie Armand,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Emerson |first1=Gloria |author-link=Gloria Emerson |title=3 Young Paris Designers Take a Look at Spring |journal=The New York Times |date=1966-01-31 |page=44 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/01/31/archives/3-young-paris-designers-take-a-look-at-spring.html |quote=A new, very small couture house called Jean Marie Armand...opened last July...The collection had 20 pieces....Armand's coats and suits have quadrangular stiff skirts.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Jean-Marie Armand |url=http://coutureallure.blogspot.com/2011/03/jean-marie-armand.html |website=Couture Allure Vintage Fashion |access-date=2021-12-13 |date=2011-03-08 |quote=His designs were very modern and architectural, much like those of Courreges and Cardin.}}</ref> [[Michèle Rosier]], and [[Diana Dew]]
* Furniture design of the 1950s and '60s by [[Eero Saarinen]], [[Arne Jacobsen]], [[Eero Aarnio]], and [[Verner Panton]]
* [[Amusement park#Rides and attractions|Amusement park attraction]]s, such as [[TWA Moonliner]] and [[Mission: Space]].
* [[Cold War playground equipment]]

===Music===
The Space Age also inspired musical genres:{{cn|date=August 2023}}
* [[Space age pop]]
* [[Space music]]
* [[Space rock]]
* [[Space-themed music]]

==See also==
* [[SEDS]]
* [[Information Age]]
* [[Jet Age]]
* [[Atomic Age]]
* {{portal-inline|Spaceflight}}
* {{portal-inline|Space}}
* {{portal-inline|Solar system}}
* {{portal-inline|World}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wiktionary}}
* {{Citation | url = http://www.spacechronology.com/ | title = Space Chronology | access-date = 2013-05-12 | archive-date = 2017-05-25 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170525172729/http://spacechronology.com/ | url-status = dead }}

===Interactive media===
* {{Citation | url = http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/SpaceAge/ | publisher = NASA | title = 50th Anniversary of the Space Age & Sputnik | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071027141415/http://www.nasa.gov/externalflash/SpaceAge/ | archive-date = 2007-10-27 }}.

{{Spaceflight}}

[[Category:Space Age| ]]
[[Category:Spaceflight]]
[[Category:Historical eras]]
[[Category:20th century]]
[[Category:1957 introductions]]
[[Category:1957 in spaceflight]]