First human presence in space was mediated in 1944 with MW 18014. Direct human presence began with Yuri Gagarin in 1961. ISS became first continuous crewed space station in 2000. Space tourism started in 2001, with over 29,000 person-days spent
Founded in 2004 by Richard Branson and Virgin Group. Develops commercial spacecraft and provides suborbital spaceflights. Headquartered in California, operates from New Mexico. Listed on NYSE in 2019 as SPCE, first publicly traded space tourism company
Breakthrough Starshot aims to reach Alpha Centauri using light sail spacecraft. Rosalind Franklin rover planned for Mars mission in 2028. Breakthrough Enceladus mission seeks life on Saturn's moon. PLATO telescope planned for 2026 to study extrasolar planets
Space exploration began with human curiosity about night sky objects. Rockets and electronics enabled sending machines and people into space. Space exploration has been a common theme in literature and art
Rocket principles were tested over 2,000 years ago. Archytas demonstrated steam-powered wooden pigeon in 400 BC. Hero of Alexandria invented aeolipile using steam-powered sphere. Chinese monks developed gunpowder in 9th century. Chinese military used flying fire lances against Mongols in 1232
Private companies are competing to make space travel more accessible. SpaceX launched first US crewed mission to ISS in 2020. Boeing developing Starliner for ISS missions in 2021. Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic offer sub-orbital space tourism