First 50 years

When Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, was launched by the Soviet Union on 4th October 1957 it opened up a new field of scientific research. From space, we could not only get a real sense of the Earth as a planet but, for the first time, we had a view of the heavens undistorted by the Earth's atmosphere.

From the beginning of the Space Age, the UK's technological expertise has played a leading role. The Lovell Telescope was used to track the signal from Sputnik-1's carrier rocket.

Today the UK is home to a thriving community of around 15,000 scientists and engineers who are working to expand our knowledge of the Universe. Rapid developments in technology over the last 50 years mean that we are seeing the Earth, the Solar System, galaxies and beyond in, quite literally, a new light.

Ground based and space based telescopes, on vast scales and using the latest adaptive optics, are probing the furthest depths of the Universe and unravelling great mysteries, such as the evolution of the early Universe, the nature of dark matter and whether the atmospheres of exoplanets contain the chemical indicators of life. Robotic probes are currently exploring many of our planetary neighbours, sending back fascinating images and data, as well as giving us a new perspective on the Earth's past and future.

But how did we reach this point? Click on the sections below to find out more:

• Sputnik-1
• Jodrell Bank's role in tracking space probes
• The UK's first 50 years in space

All comments should be forwarded to the Jodrell Bank Space 50 team
Email: space50@jb.man.ac.uk
Last updated: Monday June 4 20:16:46 2007