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50 years in space

Next month the space age turns 50. On 4 October 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 into orbit and transformed the world forever. Here we trace the changes it inspired, opening a chapter in the history of civilisation whose story is only now starting to unfold

Video: A whistlestop tour of our solar system

What’s it like to be an astronaut?

What has the space age done for us?

The satellites above us

Space’s influential thinkers

Colonies in space

The alt.space race

Save that space probe

Engage the antimatter drive

Plus Astronauts and scientists reveal why space excites them, present their favourite images of the heavens, and speculate on whether humanity’s future lies among the stars

WHERE WE HAVE BEEN

In the mere half-century the doors to space have been open, we have explored every corner of the solar system, dared to land on asteroids… and sent humans, alive and dead, to the moon

Topics: Space flight