About spaceships for kids
Spacecraft Facts for Kids
Kids Encyclopedia Facts
NASA's Space Shuttle is an example of a spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle that can carry people and cargo beyond the Earth's atmosphere, through space to other planetary bodies, space stations, or orbits and back home again. Spacecraft which are launched from the surface of a planet are called launch vehicles and usually take-off from launch pads at spaceports.
Most spacecraft today are propelled by rocket engines, which shoot hot gases opposite to the direction of travel. Other forms of propulsion are used when appropriate. Spacecraft which do not need to escape from strong gravity may use ion thrusters or other more efficient methods.
Because of the very large amount of energy needed to leave the Earth's gravity, spacecraft are usually very expensive to build, launch, and operate. Plans for future spacecraft often focus on reducing these costs so more people can participate in space. But today, costs are still very high, and until recently all spacecraft were sponsored by national governments.
Contents
- Human spaceflight vehicles
- Satellites
- Related pages
- Images for kids
Human spaceflight vehicles
Most expensive of all is to send people in to space, due to their needs for food, water, air, living space, safety, and control. People participating in this way have special names: Americans call themselves astronauts; Russians call themselves cosmonauts; Chinese call themselves taikonauts.
- The American agency NASA used a launch vehicle called the Space Shuttle. Currently, they go on Soyuz with the cosmonauts.
- The Russian agency RFSA uses a launch vehicle called Soyuz.
- The Ukrainian agency UASA uses a launch vehicle called Zenit.
- The Chinese agency CNSA uses a launch vehicle called Shenzhou.
- A private firm Virgin Galactic is building a launch vehicle called SpaceShipTwo.
Satellites
Some of the most important spacecraft today are artificial satellites. Artificial satellites are smaller, unmanned spacecraft. Some go into Low Earth orbit to look at the Earth or for other purposes. Others are sent to geostationary orbit to relay radio signals from one part of Earth to another, or to watch events on Earth from a high point of view. Communications satellites are important for television and other communications, and other satellites help with weather prediction and other jobs.
Related pages
- Spaceflight
- Space probe
Images for kids
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The US Space Shuttle flew 135 times from 1981 to 2011, supporting Spacelab, Mir, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the ISS. (Columbia's maiden launch, which had a white external tank, shown)
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More than 100 Soviet and Russian crewed Soyuz spacecraft (TMA version shown) have flown since 1967 and now support the International Space Station.
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The first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, launched by the Soviet Union
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Apollo 17 command module in Lunar orbit
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Columbia orbiter landing
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Hubble Space Telescope
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Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) approaches the International Space Station on Monday, March 31, 2008
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Mariner 10 diagram of trajectory past planet Venus
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Artist's conception of the Phoenix spacecraft as it lands on Mars
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Artist's conception of Cassini–Huygens as it enters Saturn's orbit
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The first test flight of the Delta Clipper-Experimental Advanced (DC-XA), a prototype launch system
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NASA's Orion Spacecraft for the Artemis 1 mission seen in Plum Brook On December 1, 2019
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Reaction control system thrusters on the front of the U.S. Space Shuttle
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Cite this article:
Spacecraft Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.
Top 10 Facts About Space Shuttles! - Fun Kids
From the Tudors to rocks to fish, we have all the best facts right here!
More From Top 10 Facts
Do you want to know about space shuttles? Well you've come to the right place! Check out these 10 facts about space shuttles...
1. The space shuttle was the first reusable spacecraft.
The space shuttle was the first ever reusable spacecraft.
This means they could be launched again and again.
Space rockets aren’t reusable, so they only have a one time use!
2. It was first launched in 1981!
Space shuttles were first launched in 1981.
The shuttle was called Columbia.
What is space?
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3. In 2011 the space shuttle was retired by NASA.
That’s right! The space shuttles were retired by NASA in 2011.
The last ever landing was the space shuttle called Atlantis on July 21st, 2011.
It landed at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida!
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4. NASA has launched a total of 6 space shuttles.
There wasn’t just one space shuttle. There were lots!
The space shuttles were called Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour.
Read top 10 facts about space!
5. Space shuttles take off like a rocket and land like a plane!
Space shuttles would take off like a rocket, so they could get into space quickly.
When they were coming back down to Earth, they glided and landed like a plane on a runway.
This was really helpful as it meant they could be used again and again!
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6. There were a total of 135 missions.
In the 30 years that space shuttles were in action, they managed to do 135 missions!
During those missions, the International Space Station was constructed.
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7. The space shuttle could carry up to 8 astronauts at a time!
The space shuttle could carry up to 8 astronauts at a time.
They would never be short of company!
Each astronaut would take part in scientific experiments, release and capture satellites and even help to build the International Space Station!
8. 355 astronauts flew on the space shuttles!
A total of 355 astronauts flew on the space shuttles.
Some astronauts even managed to go into space more than once!
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What is space made of?
9. The space shuttle was made of 3 parts.
The first part was called the orbiter. This is where the crew would live and do their work.
It would also carry things into space!
The second part was an external tank.
This would be full of fuel and was attached to the orbiter to help launch it.
The third part was the boosters.
This provided the thrust and power in the first two minutes of launching!
10. The space shuttles are now in museums!
As the space shuttles have now retired, you can still see some of them in museums.
They are located across America!
However, you can take a look at some below.
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From the Tudors to rocks to fish, we have all the best facts right here!
More From Top 10 Facts
Children's space and journey to the stars - MYTH
6 books to help children learn about space
As soon as Yuri Gagarin conquered space, all children wanted to become astronauts. Modern guys are no exception. They also really want to see the ISS, try on a spacesuit, shake hands with a real astronaut and, of course, go to the stars on a spaceship.
In this selection, we have collected all the books about space for children.
Let's go!
1.
Professor Astrocat and his journey into space Source
It turns out that cats can also be astronauts and make exciting flights to the stars. In this book, Professor Astrocat and his astromouse friends tell children about space.
Where does the Sun hide at night? How is the birth and death of stars? What does the suit, space station and ship look like? Does a UFO exist?
Curious facts await the child in the book, detailed diagrams that show what the solar system, planets and stars look like, and vivid illustrations.
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The authors entertainingly talk about all cosmic phenomena with the help of simple texts and comics (on the pages of the book, Astrocat and astromice chat merrily).
2. Space
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This book is as exciting and incredible as space. It contains drawings, collages, comics, pictures taken from space and at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, as well as fragments of interviews with real astronauts!
This is a story about Russian cosmonautics, informative and funny at the same time.
About space - for children.
While reading, the children will get to know Tsiolkovsky, Leonov and Gagarin. They will learn how rockets are assembled and launched and how astronauts explored space. But the most interesting thing is that they will be able to see a diagram of a real ISS and find out how the life of cosmonauts is organized there.
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What a huge space rocket consists of and how it works can be seen in detail on the horizontal and vertical spreads of the book. Rockets deliver astronauts to the space station, where astronauts live and work. The child will also learn about the arrangement of the spacesuit and the space station itself from the book in full detail.
This encyclopedia of space has many prestigious awards. And it is recommended by real astronauts.
3. Fascinating astronomy
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A book with a favorite character. Curious Chevostik and Uncle Kuzya will tell children about space and astronauts.
It will be an incredible exciting adventure!
The child will learn how and why the Moon changes shape, how stars differ from planets, what the Moon seas are, why comets have a tail, which planet is the largest, and also: what is an orbit, an eclipse, meteors, a Mercury year and much more.
As in all Chevostik encyclopedias, this book contains many beautiful illustrations, clear diagrams and, of course, experiments.
Try to build an edible model of the solar system, create your own Milky Way or see in practice what weightlessness means.
Illustration from the book Fascinating Astronomy
4. I am a robot
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A fun instruction book on how to build your own space robot out of a simple cardboard box.
Under the cover is a comic book story about a kid building a robot, simple robot building tips, and part templates for your miracle invention.
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But the main highlight of the book is that the child himself will be the control center of your robot. To do this, simply invite him to climb into the box. And to make it more interesting, equip your miracle of technology with a control panel, a display, a video surveillance system. You can play!
5. Build Your Galaxy
Anyone who loves Lego and Star Wars, Star Trek, Space Patrol will love this book. It contains instructions that will help you assemble the most popular scenes of famous films from cubes and meet your favorite characters again.
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The book is ideal for a gift not only for children, but also for enthusiastic dads. It is of excellent quality, with bright illustrations and detailed instructions.
Grab your Lego and start building your own galaxy.
6. Discover space
A book that contains the entire history of space exploration.
