Chapter 1 LEAVING EARTH Imagine strapping yourself in for a flight In front of you are computer screens and a control panel A voice counts down to zero Rockets fire Your trip into space is about to begin The space shuttle Endeavour blasts off Who was the first person in space 4
Spaceflight People have traveled in spacecraft for more than fifty years Spacecraft take people and supplies into space A Russian named Yuri Gagarin was the first person to fly into space Gagarin’s flight took place in 1961 It lasted 108 minutes Russian Yuri Gagarin was the first person to go to space He is shown here before his 1961 flight 5
Since then people have taken much longer trips to space Spacecraft have taken people around Earth and to the Moon Buzz Aldrin pictured here visited the Moon in 1969 6
Space Travelers Astronauts travel to space These people fly spacecraft They build and fix space equipment They also run the International Space Station ISS This large space station flies 240 miles 386 kilometers above Earth Astronauts from around the world live and work there THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CIRCLES HIGH AbOVE EARTH 7
