USA in Space

2019 marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11's first manned landing on the moon! This updated edition chronicles it all, from the first time we broke the sound barrier to the ongoing Parker Solar Probe to "touch" the sun! USA in Spaceincludes over 300 essays on the major space topics, including programs, piloted and robotic missions, satellites, space centers, space planes, and other relevant issues from the earliest missions to the present day. This new edition includes significant updated to existing essays, but also covers new firsts and significant accomplishments in space occurring in the 13 years since the last edition, including: -The Space Age's 60th birthday, which began the launch of Sputnik; -NASA's launch of the eight-year mission of astronaut Peggy Whitson, the first female commander of the International Space Station; -First samples returned from a comet and an asteroid; -The Parker Solar Probe - the first-ever mission to "touch" the Sun; -First orbits of Mercury, giant asteroid Vesta, and dwarf planet Ceres; -First man-made probe to make a planned, soft landing on a comet; -Lettuce as the first food grown in space and eaten on Earth.