Explorer 1 was launched by the U.S. in January 1958. Hundreds of communications satellites reflect or relay radio signals, providing transmission of television signals, telephone conversations, and digital data. Weather satellites provide daily reports of temperatures and cloud patterns. The U.S. Landsats observe the earth, returning information on soil characteristics, water and ice quantities, pollution, insect blights of crops, and even forest fires. Study of the earth's crust helps geologists to identify deposits of oil and minerals.
Navigation satellites can locate a position on earth within a few yards.
See lower down for Astronomy from Space . The first space flight by a human was on April 12th, 1961. Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, orbited Earth once in the Vostok 1 spacecraft. By that time, probes had been sent to Venus and Mars. The Space Shuttle is a reusable rocket-launched vehicle designed to transport people and cargo between Earth and orbiting spacecraft, and then to return to the Earth 's surface by gliding down and landing on a runway.