Since the historic launch of Sputnik by the Soviet Union in 1957, the world has been enthralled first by the race to the Moon and later by the exploration of space. Lost in the international competition, however, are the hundreds of other missions (commercial, military, and scientific explorations) that have taken place over the past four decades. This encyclopedia gives readers—for the first time—a complete picture of every space mission of every country that has taken place from Sputnik through 1999. In addition to providing a chronology of launches worldwide (over 1,000 in all), this encyclopedia includes hard-to-find information on the scientific objectives and results of these missions.
