The Astronomical Inventions

NASA's space shuttle Discovery rests on the mobile launcher platform. Have you ever wondered where these massive rockets are assembled?

The Vehicle Assembly Building, which dwarfs even the tall trees around it, is where NASA makes its largest rockets. Next, step back in time to see one of the first successful rockets ever made.

Dr. Robert H. Goddard fired his liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket on March 16, 1926. It flew for only 2.5 seconds, climbed 41 feet, and landed 184 feet away in a cabbage patch. See how far rocket science has come in the next photo.

Thrust is the strength of a rocket engine. Here you can see the three main parts that create thrust -- the orbiter, the big external tank, and the two solid rocket boosters. See how future rockets will create thrust in the next photo.

 The future of rocket engines may involve accelerating ions or atomic particles. Next, see what type of rocket could make space travel affordable for the masses.

 Air-breathing rockets can dramatically decrease the cost of launch, making rocket travel more affordable. Next, see a rocket that uses antimatter to blast off.

Antimatter has the ability to store incredible amounts of energy in a very small space, so it's a great source of propulsion energy. See where kids can learn about rockets in the next photo.

Here, a camera called the Rocket Cam (left) mounts to the EZ-Rocket plane. On the right is the view from that Rocket Cam in flight. Next up: the greatest rocket ever built ... so far.

It's bigger, stronger, more efficient and more precise: The Delta IV Heavy is arguably the greatest rocket built to date. Next, see the blast off that led to one of the world's greatest space missions.

Apollo 11, the first spacecraft to land man on the moon, lifted off aboard the powerful Saturn V rocket.

The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most amazing machines in orbit. See more pictures of the Hubble Space Telescope and some of its discoveries.

 The Hubble Space Telescope being deployed into orbit around the Earth. See another image of the Hubble on the next page.

The Hubble Space Telescope has produced some of the most amazing images ever taken of space. Find out how the Hubble was repaired on the next page

COSTAR corrected a defect after the Hubble Space Telescope was deployed. Check out an image of the Hubble's mirrors on the next page.

A cutaway diagram showing some of the major parts of the Hubble Space Telescope. Learn how the Hubble sends images back to Earth on the next page.

A diagram showing how the Hubble Space Telescope sends information back to the Earth. Check out some of the amazing images the Hubble has captured on the next few pages.

The Cone Nebula is a gigantic collection of gas and dust. The Hubble's incredible range lets it take pictures of multiple galaxies at once. See one of these pictures on the next page.

The Hubble Space Telescope reveals an array of galaxies. The Hubble has also captured some of the oldest galaxies known, such as the ones on the next page.

The Hubble Space Telescope has revealed the oldest galaxies ever seen. Find out which nebula is named after an animal on the next page

The mosaic image of the Crab Nebula shows a six-light-year-wide expanding remnant of a star's supernova explosion as released December 2, 2005. On the next page you can see an image of the Horsehead nebula.

Hubble pictures include some of the most impressive pictures of galaxies and nebulae. Check out these cool Hubble Space Telescope pictures.

Hubble pictures include some of the most impressive pictures of galaxies and nebulae. Check out these cool Hubble Space Telescope pictures.

Hubble pictures include some of the most impressive pictures of galaxies and nebulae. Check out these cool Hubble Space Telescope pictures.

Hubble pictures include some of the most impressive pictures of galaxies and nebulae. Check out these cool Hubble Space Telescope pictures.

When you look up at night and see thousands of stars, have you ever wondered what you are looking at? You can see pictures of the Milky Way galaxy on the next few pages.

The Milky Way galaxy is home to hundreds of billions of stars. See the Milky Way from a different angle on the next page.

A side view of the Milky Way galaxy. Next, you can see a radio map of the Milky Way.

A radio map of the Milky Way showing the location of major features. The Milky Way is the most prominent features in the night sky. See pictures of the Milky Way that were taken from here on Earth.

The Milky Way, from the bright star Sirius in the upper right corner all the way down to Eta Carina, the red nebula visible on the horizon, as seen from the Florida Keys. You can see more pictures of the night sky on the next page.

A spruce tree in Cannon Beach, Ore., silhouetted against Milky Way star field. You can see a stunning view of the sun, one of millions of stars in our galaxy, on the next page.

The sun is just one of many stars in the Milky Way. How does the sun compare to other stars in the galaxy?

The sun looks like any other star in the galaxy from afar.