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On October 4, 1957 the Soviet Union launched the world's first man-made satellite Sputnik-1, opening the doors to a new cosmic era. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of this momentous occasion 50 Years of Space: A Global Perspective gathers in a single volume, brief histories of all the major space agencies of the world written by people of impeccable credentials. In the past 50 years, many countries have found their own, unique paths to orbit. The objectives were multi-dimensional – an opportunity for investigating and understanding outer space; a means of showcasing technological superiority; a means to solve social problems. The essays assembled in this book illustrate the many different solutions that each country or organisation has developed. But today, the countries have realised that to move forward, international cooperation is necessary. This book affords us a means to look backward, learn from our failures, and surge forward in a direction which will benefit all humanity.

P.V. Manoranjan Rao did his masters in Physics from the Banaras Hindu University and his Ph.D. from the Calcutta University. He did post-doctoral work in the Nagoya University, Japan. His research interests include: physics of lightning discharge; VLF and ELF wave propagation; electrostatic charging of launch vehicles and communication spacecraft; lightning protection for launch vehicles. He has published over 30 papers in national and international journals. He writes articles popularising science. He has written scripts for over a dozen technical documentaries dealing with space technology. He worked in various capacities for nearly a quarter century in the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO before retiring in 1996 as the Group Director of the Programme Planning and Evaluation Group. He is currently a Visiting Scientist at VSSC charged with the responsibility of editing this publication.

Foreword / Preface / Acknowledgements / Pioneering Space: The Russian Space Programme-A.I. Medvedchikov / Exploring the Unknown: 50 Years of NASA History-Steven J. Dick / Uniting for Space: A Brief History of ESA-Karlheinz Kreuzberg / Looking Ahead: Half a Century of Space Activities in Japan-Y. Matogawa / Following an Indigenous Path: China’s Space Activities from 1956 to 2006-Luo Ge and Zhang Yao / No Ambiguity of Purpose: The Indian Space Programme-P.V. Manoranjan Rao / Meeting the Needs of Tomorrow: The Canadian Space Program-Virendra Jha / The Spirit of Innovation: The French National Space Programme-Pierre-Louis Contreras / Foundation for Rocketry: Astronautical Research in Germany-Niklas Reinke / Index