The ''Encyclopedia Astronautica'' is a reference web site on
space travel. A comprehensive catalog of
vehicle
A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...
s,
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...
,
astronauts, and flights, it includes information from most countries that have had an active rocket research program, from
Robert Goddard
Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. Goddard successfully laun ...
to the NASA
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...
and the Soviet
Buran programme
The ''Buran'' program (russian: Буран, , "Snowstorm", "Blizzard"), also known as the "VKK Space Orbiter program" (russian: ВКК «Воздушно-Космический Корабль», lit=Air and Space Ship), was a Soviet and later R ...
.
Founded in 1994 and maintained for most of its existence by space
enthusiast
In modern usage, enthusiasm refers to intense enjoyment, interest, or approval expressed by a person. The term is related to playfulness, inventiveness, optimism and high energy. The word was originally used to refer to a person possessed by G ...
and author Mark Wade.
He has been collecting such information for most of his life. Between 1996 and 2000 the site was hosted by ''
Friends and Partners in Space
''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting ten seasons. With an ensemble cast starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa ...
''.
[ The site is no longer updated or maintained and is now considered as partially unreliable. Although it contains a great deal of information, not all of it is correct.]
Reception and accolades
The American Astronautical Society
Formed in 1954, the American Astronautical Society (AAS) is an independent scientific and technical group in the United States dedicated to the advancement of space science and space exploration. AAS supports NASA
The National Aerona ...
gave the site the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History which "recognizes exceptional, sustained efforts to inform and educate on spaceflight and its history through one or more media" in 2015, the award's initial year.[
'']Telepolis
''Telepolis'' is a German Internet magazine, published by the Heinz Heise Verlag since the beginning of 1996.
It was founded by journalists Armin Medosch and Florian Rötzer and deals with privacy, science, culture, internet-related and ge ...
'' journalist Marcus Hammerschmitt warmly recommended the ''Encyclopedia Astronautic'' to anyone interested in space flight, and speculated that its articles might become valued material for future researcher of cultural history.
Reliability controversy
As the web site has not been peer reviewed and errors have been identified which have not been corrected, most space scholars consider the site to be unreliable.
See also
* ''Jonathan's Space Report
''Jonathan's Space Report'' (JSR) is a newsletter about the Space Age, hosted at Jonathan's Space Page. It is written by Jonathan McDowell, a Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian astrophysicist. It is updated as McDowell's schedule pe ...
''
* List of online encyclopedias
References
External links
*
Websites related to spaceflight
Reference websites
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