The first exploration of space

Space begins about 100 km or 62 miles above the earth. A more realistic way to travel in space is with a rocket. Within a rocket is a controlled explosion. However, exhaust (things left over after burning) is only allowed to leave the rocket in one direction. As a result, the rocket is pushed in the other direction. In 1942, the German rocket A-4 became the first to reach that height, but it wasn't meant to do anything but fall straight down again and so wasn't terribly useful. Still, it was an advance in rocket technology.

The Soviets were the first to put anything in space that would stay up: they launched the Sputnik 1 satellite on October 4, 1957. Within a month, the Soviets launched Sputnik 2, and in that spacecraft was the first space traveler: a dog called Laika.

The launch of the Sputnik started the Space Race, a competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to obtain more and more advanced space technology. Americans were very surprised that the Soviets could have launched 'Sputnik', and began to design rockets and satellites of their own. The race would last for the next few decades.