The ''Encyclopedia Astronautica'' is a reference web site on
space travel. The encyclopedia includes 79,433 articles with 13,741 illustrations, a comprehensive catalog of
missile
A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor.
Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...
s,
spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle that is designed spaceflight, to fly and operate in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including Telecommunications, communications, Earth observation satellite, Earth observation, Weather s ...
,
space technology
Space technology is technology for use in outer space. Space technology includes space vehicles such as spacecraft, satellites, space stations and orbital spaceflight, orbital launch vehicles; :Spacecraft communication, deep-space communication; :S ...
,
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...
s, and
spaceflight
Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly objects, usually spacecraft, into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such ...
from most countries that have had an active rocket research program. It provides biographies of important pioneers of spaceflight such as
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (; rus, Константин Эдуардович Циолковский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ɪdʊˈardəvʲɪtɕ tsɨɐlˈkofskʲɪj, a=Ru-Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.oga; – 19 September 1935) was a Russi ...
,
Hermann Oberth
Hermann Julius Oberth (; 25 June 1894 – 28 December 1989) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian-born German physicist and rocket pioneer of Transylvanian Saxons, Transylvanian Saxon descent. Oberth supported Nazi Germany's war effort and re ...
Robert Goddard
Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket, which was successfully lau ...
. It outlines various concepts of
space station
A space station (or orbital station) is a spacecraft which remains orbital spaceflight, in orbit and human spaceflight, hosts humans for extended periods of time. It therefore is an artificial satellite featuring space habitat (facility), habitat ...
s including the NASA
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...
and the Soviet
Buran programme
The ''Buran'' programme (, , "Snowstorm", "Blizzard"), also known as the "VKK Space Orbiter programme" (), was a Soviet and later Russian reusable spacecraft project that began in 1974 at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in Moscow and w ...
.
Articles
In addition, the encyclopedia contains many comprehensive review articles on specific space topics, among them:
* ''Germany'' incl. an extensive list of German missile specialists who worked for USA, USSR and France after World War II.
* ''Russia - Early Ballistic Missiles'' with a history of the involvement of German rocket specialists in
Soviet rocketry.
* ''Russia: The Real Moon Landing Hoax'' about the
Space Race
The Space Race (, ) was a 20th-century competition between the Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between t ...
.
* ''Russia: What did the CIA know and when did they know it?'' with an overview of the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
's knowledge and assessments of Soviet missile technology.
* Historical data of space travel for each calendar day.
Since 2019, the site is no longer updated or maintained. Although it contains a great deal of information, not all of it is correct.
History
Founded in 1994 and maintained for most of its existence by space
enthusiast and author Mark Wade.
He has been collecting such information for most of his life. Between 1996 and 2000 the site was hosted by ''
Friends and Partners in Space''.
[
]
Reception and accolades
The American Astronautical Society gave the site the ''Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History'', which "recognizes exceptional, sustained efforts to inform and educate on spaceflight and its history through one or more media", in 2015, the award's initial year.[ The award is named for U.S. space engineer and author Frederick I. Ordway III (1927–2014).
'' Telepolis'' journalist Marcus Hammerschmitt warmly recommended the ''Encyclopedia Astronautic'' to anyone interested in space flight, and speculated that its articles might become valued material for future researcher of cultural history.]
See also
* ''Jonathan's Space Report
''Jonathan's Space Report'' (JSR) is a newsletter about the Space Age hosted at Jonathan's Space Page. It is written by Jonathan McDowell, a Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian astrophysicist. It is updated as McDowell's schedule pe ...
''
* List of online encyclopedias
This is a list of well-known online encyclopedias that are accessible or formerly accessible on the Internet.
The largest online encyclopedias are general reference works, though there are also many specialized ones. Some online encyclopedias ar ...
References
External links
* {{Official website, http://www.astronautix.com/
Websites related to spaceflight
Reference websites