Into Outer Space Trivia Quiz

Answer: Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, launched a commercial space company named Virgin Galactic, whose goal was to regularly launch passengers on a suborbital space adventure. They worked with Scaled Composites, an aerospace company whose innovative spacecraft design won them an X-Prize.

The spacecraft (named SpaceShipTwo) was designed to take off attached to a specially designed aircraft. Once it reaches a designated altitude the rocket would drop from the escort and fire up to take passengers on a 10-15 minute sub-orbital journey into space.

Answer: New Mexico

Spaceport America is an FAA-licensed commercial launching facility located near the city of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Launch pads, a passenger terminal and hangar for Virgin Galactic have already been constructed as well as a runway and emergency response facilities. SpaceX and other tenants are expected to use the facility as the space tourism industry continues to grow.

Answer: Orion

The Orion spacecraft and the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket were designed to send astronauts on missions to Mars and beyond. The new spacecraft was a capsule much like the Apollo spacecraft. An unmanned Orion successfully launched aboard a Delta IV Heavy rocket on December 5, 2014. Also like the Apollo spacecraft, on re-entry Orion was designed to splash down into the ocean for recovery. Lockheed Martin designed the command module and Airbus' space division designed the service module.

Answer: It landed vertically onto a drone ship

The Falcon 9 is a rocket designed by SpaceX. The first version was expendable, but later models were produced with the intent of being reusable. The Falcon was designed to launch normally and once its payload was safely in orbit the first stage would descend back to Earth and land itself vertically onto a drone ship.

The first few attempts were not successful, but on April 8, 2016 the Falcon was able to successfully land on the drone ship.

Answer: Dragon

The SpaceX Dragon is a cargo carrying spacecraft that came into operation in 2010. It is formed of a capsule that is launched aboard the Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX has also been developing a crewed version of the Dragon (Dragon V2) to be used for both low Earth orbit and deep space exploration.

Answer: Starliner

The Boeing CST-100 Starliner is a reusable capsule spacecraft intended to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. It is designed to remain in low Earth orbit. Boeing and SpaceX were both awarded contracts under NASA's Commercial Crew Development program.

Answer: Blue Origin

Blue Origin is an aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, the same entrepreneur who launched Amazon. Blue Origin has been testing several spacecraft designs. One is the New Shepard, which is intended for suborbital spaceflight and another is the larger New Glenn for orbital spaceflights. Both rockets are being designed with both reusable and expendable components.

Answer: Soyuz

After the Space Shuttle was retired in 2011, NASA sent astronauts into space aboard the Russian Soyuz capsule, which can hold only up to three people at a time. Though the design has been updated, the Soyuz has been in service since 1967. A replacement spacecraft named Federation is being developed by the Russians.

Answer: China

On October 15, 2003, China became the third nation with an established space program to launch a human into space. Yang Liwei was a launched in a single-person spacecraft called the Shenzhou and completed fourteen orbits around the Earth.

Answer: False

In 2012, Mars One announced they were looking to send volunteers on a ONE-WAY journey to Mars in order to establish a permanent settlement on the Red Planet. The flights would tentatively be conducted using rockets and equipment contracted from various aerospace companies.