Galileo Onwards

Word Count: 1733

Senior Division Paper
Clayton McCray

The history of space exploration is diverse. Contributions to the field are dynamic,
affecting worlds, countries, and people. The beginning of astronomy, however, was not
particularly prosperous. Early astronomers faced opposition in nearly every facet of society
because there was a general acceptance that things simply were the way they were, and that there
was no true value in attempting to understand why they were the way they were.1 Fortunately,
through the persistence of scientific minds littered across history, this blind appreciation and
acceptance of ignorance was overcome to the great effect of modern astronomy. This line of
work has been bringing together groups of people in closed societies and international entities
since the reign of the Ancient Greeks for the purpose of improved exploration often, these
foreign encounters were against all odds of successful cooperation. The exchanges made
between countries on Earth, and between the people of Earth and the solar system at large, have
been, simply put, amazing. They have changed the way the world will forever be.
Early work in space science was either whole-heartedly accepted or vehemently rejected
by the Catholic Church, who, at the time, was the ultimate authority on everything.2 This
dichotomy of scientific allowance caused the earliest popular model of the universe, the
Ptolemaic model, to be held in place for some 1400 years, even under the stress of competing
work.3 This was almost solely a result of the Churchs desire for room to be left outside the
observable universe for heaven and hell, although they did also appreciate the arbitrary sense of
perfection and importance arising from the presence of perfect circle orbits that existed only in
the Ptolemaic version of space. However, the attempts made by the Church to control scientific
thought actually hindered their ability to do so effectively. Networks of scientists and
philosophers protested the Churchs control on science by actively fighting against the
oppression. In 1632, for instance, Galileo Galilei wrote the manuscript for Two New Sciences
1

while under house arrest for defying previous Catholic decrees against progressive science.4
While this work was certainly of extreme importance for scientific reasons, it is arguably the
birth of modern physics; it also provides a historical demonstration of exchange. The manuscript
was smuggled from Italy to Holland through the hands of various scientists in order to expand
enlightened thought. This movement of scientific work validates the claim that astronomy and
space exploration motivated global encounters on Earth (at least, the modernized Western
European part of Earth).
Without such exchanges, scientific progress would be slower and more fractured than it
already is. As a consequence, one of the hallmarks of science after this point in time is its
globalization. Scientists keep up with each others work because it exists at the forefront of
human knowledge; this common practice of idea exchange is a hallmark of the period known as
the Scientific Revolution.5
While the field of physics in general continues to flourish in the interim, the next truly
major events in space exploration do not come for two or three hundred years; the twentieth
century brings about extraordinary advances in the field of space science. Specifically, the
twentieth century marks humankinds initial first-hand experiences with true space exploration,
because humankind finally makes it into space. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union puts the
first artificial satellite into space.6
The launch of Sputnik 1 on a military rocket by the Soviets was Earth shattering. The
space race, an international but unofficial competition between the United States and the USSR
to dominate spaceflight, urged the two countries towards the same goal and was initiated by the
Sputnik satellite.7 This exchange between the US and the Soviets was, perhaps, more competitive

than cooperative. This does not, however, lessen its importance. Direct competition drives
technology, and it is quite clear that space exploration wouldnt have advanced nearly so rapidly
were it not for the two countries encountering and attempting to best each others technology.
Exploration of space was very personal to the US; it was seen as the next frontier an extension
of Americas Manifest Destiny. It was, therefore, a nasty shock to the American people to
discover that they had been beaten. The first encounters of the extra-Earth solar system would
not be theirs.8 This sense of failure, combined with a sudden awareness of Soviet military
rockets, pushed the United States to outperform themselves; the promise of President Kennedy to
make it to the moon within the 60s decade described the aggressive attitude between the US and
the USSR, postulating that American satellites were far more sophisticated and supplied far
more knowledge to the people of the world than those of the Soviet Union.9 Ultimately, the
moon landing was a result of exchange between the US and the USSR.
The 1960s were characterized, in regards to space exploration, by competition and stress
between the United States and the Soviet Union. The drive to beat the Soviets into space was a
function of the Cold War, so this strain was well founded. However, after the American Apollo
missions put astronauts on the moon, tension began to release.10 And, in 1970, planning for the
Soyuz-Apollo Test Mission (SATM) began in earnest. This was to be the first spaceflight project
that would actively involve two nations and their respective spacecraft: the Apollo Command
Capsule on the side of the Americans, and a Soyuz rocket by the Soviets. The mission was to
dock the two spacecraft together for several days of orbit, during which time the inhabitants
would conduct experiments and joint press conferences.11 The SATM required active
information exchange between the United States and the Soviet Union because both countries
needed to be familiar with the others systems. Anything less wouldve proved disastrous.
3

Consequently, Americans got to participate in Soviet space exercises and vice versa for the first
time. In addition to this technical exchange, putting together people who had always considered
each other to be enemies would predicate a cultural exchange. During the project, for instance,
Russians spoke English to the Americans and the Americans spoke Russian to the Russians, this
had been determined as the best way to provide efficient communication between the astronauts
and cosmonauts.12 The communication and interaction between the American and Russian space
organizations helped to ease the international problems the two countries faced. The SATM
helped bring an end to the cold war; the handshake in space, as it was called, demonstrated to
the world that the US and the USSR had begun to achieve peace.
Science shapes the world. The history of science explains it. Astronomy and its
development throughout history has pushed nations apart and together simultaneously through an
infinite and cyclical series of interactions. Yet, even when science does push nations apart, it still
creates a global exchange of information. This is possibly the most important way that the world
has evolved through the sharing of information, ignorance is abolished and more enlightened
people emerge. The Revolution of Galileos time is proof enough that exchanging scientific
information can change the world quite literally; it moved the sun to the center of our local piece
of the universe. As understanding of the universe grew, so did the worlds peoples ability to
encounter the extra-terrestrial. The development of rockets in the early twentieth century allowed
humans to enter space, where entire worlds will eventually be discovered and completely new
information will be available for exchange all over again. In addition, the modern approach of
space exploration has ultimately involved huge international cooperation and cultural exchange;
Russians, Americans, and more recently, Chinese, have all worked together to further our off-

Earth encounters. The exploration, encounters, and other-worldly exchanges brought about by
the study of astronomy since ancient times has defined the human experience.

"Early Astronomers: Ptolemy, Aristotle, Copernicus, and Galileo." Early Astronomers:

Ptolemy, Aristotle, Copernicus, and Galileo. Accessed February 13, 2016.

http://www.librarypoint.org/early_astronomers.

Hawking, Stephen. A Brief History of Time. Bantam Books, 1998, 3.

"Early Astronomers: Ptolemy, Aristotle, Copernicus, and Galileo."

Hawking, 194-195.

"The Scientific Revolution." Definition - Concept - History. Accessed February 13, 2016.

http://users.clas.ufl.edu/ufhatch/pages/03-Sci-Rev/SCI-REV-Teaching/03sr-definitionconcept.htm.

"A Brief History of Space Exploration." The Aerospace Corporation. Accessed February 13,

2016. http://www.aerospace.org/education/stem-outreach/space-primer/a-brief-history-of-spaceexploration/.

"The Space Race." History.com. Accessed February 16, 2016.

http://www.history.com/topics/space-race.
5

Ibid.,

Kennedy, John F. JFK Moon Speech. September 12, 1962. President John F. Kennedy's

declaration that the United States would go to the moon within the decade., Houston, Texas.

10

Ibid.,

11

"Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: Russians, Americans Meet in Space." Space.com. Accessed

February 16, 2016. http://www.space.com/20833-apollo-soyuz.html.

12

Ibid.,

Secondary Works Cited

"Early Astronomers: Ptolemy, Aristotle, Copernicus, and Galileo." Early Astronomers:

Ptolemy, Aristotle, Copernicus, and Galileo. Accessed February 13, 2016.
http://www.librarypoint.org/early_astronomers.

A piece on historical astronomy and early astronomers. It provides overview on specific

scientists and their historical/scientific value.

Hawking, Stephen. A Brief History of Time. Bantam Books, 1998, 3.

This book is a scientific history of the universe. As such, it contains information on early
astronomy, which set the path to space exploration. This is useful for details on acceptance of old
scientific theory.

"Early Astronomers: Ptolemy, Aristotle, Copernicus, and Galileo." Early Astronomers:

Ptolemy, Aristotle, Copernicus, and Galileo. Accessed February 13, 2016.
http://www.librarypoint.org/early_astronomers.

A piece on historical astronomy and early astronomers. It provides overview on specific

scientists and their historical/scientific value.

"The Scientific Revolution." Definition - Concept - History. Accessed February 13, 2016.
http://users.clas.ufl.edu/ufhatch/pages/03-Sci-Rev/SCI-REV-Teaching/03sr-definitionconcept.htm.

This article provides specific information on the Scientific Revolution, such as when it took
place and what importance it holds.

"A Brief History of Space Exploration." The Aerospace Corporation. Accessed February
13, 2016. http://www.aerospace.org/education/stem-outreach/space-primer/a-briefhistory-of-space-exploration/.

A short article on the general history of space exploration. This article was used for background
reading and to find other points of interest such as the Apollo Soyuz Test Project.

"The Space Race." History.com. Accessed February 16, 2016.

http://www.history.com/topics/space-race.

This article covered the Space Race and the Cold War. It was used to highlight interaction
between foreign nations during this time period.

"Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: Russians, Americans Meet in Space." Space.com. Accessed

February 16, 2016. http://www.space.com/20833-apollo-soyuz.html.

This article is on the Soyuz-Apollo Test Mission. It contains anecdotes and similar information.
The article references both technical and cultural aspects of the project.

Primary Works Cited

Kennedy, John F. JFK Moon Speech. September 12, 1962. President John F. Kennedy's
declaration that the United States would go to the moon within the decade., Houston,
Texas.

This is a transcribed version of JFK's historic speech.