History and Future of Space Exploration

For centuries man has looked up at the sky in wonder. Primitive man drew pictures of stars on stones and walls. One of the first theories about the stars was that there was a giant dome covering the Earth, with thousands of holes punched in it, with a great fire on the other side of the dome. Later, some cultures believed that the stars and sun were gods watching over us. The universe has always been a source of questions, even before man knew what is now known. It is this innate curiousness that drives us to push our technological limits, and explore the unknown called space. Some critics say that space exploration is a money hole, but if the facts are observed, one can see that almost nothing but good can come from it.
The earliest rockets came from solid fuel fireworks. The earliest solid rocket fuel was a form of gunpowder, and the earliest recorded mention of gunpowder comes from China late in the third century before Christ. Bamboo tubes filled with saltpeter, sulphur and charcoal were tossed into ceremonial fires during religious festivals in hopes the noise of the explosion would frighten evil spirits. …