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Article: Living in Space
- Article from:
- Space Sciences
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Living in Space
Outer space is a harsh and unforgiving environment. To get there, astronauts must ride atop complicated
rockets
that rely on controlled explosions to attain the terrific speeds required to achieve orbit. Out there, spacecraft and spacesuits must protect their occupants from wild temperature swings, a near perfect
vacuum
, and in some cases poisonous atmospheres and corrosive dusts. People must adjust to "weightlessness" and they may be exposed to potentially harmful doses of radiation. In addition, spacefarers must adjust to the psychological and social conditions of flight.
Acceleration
The first step in leaving Earth
—
achieving
orbital velocity
—
...