Twentieth century

Aircraft, space ships and cars are just some of the defining technologies of the twentieth century. The automobile changed the configuration of cities in America and around the world; the modern mall and suburb are difficult to imagine without the car. Likewise, safe air travel makes it possible to visit another country for a short vacation and return - a luxury that would have been impossible for Magellan and Columbus to imagine. In contrast to the earlier periods, the 20th century is also noteworthy for making travel more affordable.

Aircraft : An aircraft is a machine that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an air foil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Flying model craft and stories of manned flight go back many centuries, however the first manned ascent – and safe descent – in modern times took place by larger hot-air balloons developed in the 18th century. Each of the two World Wars led to great technical advances. Consequently, the history of aircraft can be divided into five eras:

Pioneers of flight, from the earliest experiments to 1914.

First World War, 1914 to 1918.

Aviation between the World Wars, 1918 to 1939.

Second World War, 1939 to 1945.

Postwar era, also called the jet age, 1945 to the present day.

Space ships : A spacecraft is a vehicle, or machine designed to fly in outer space. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonisation, planetary exploration, and transportation of humans and cargo.Sputnik was the first artificial satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit (LEO) by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments; while the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the Space Age. Apart from its value as a technological first, Sputnik also helped to identify the upper atmospheric layer's density, through measuring the satellite's orbital changes. It also provided data on radio-signal distribution in the ionosphere. Pressurised nitrogen in the satellite's false body provided the first opportunity for meteoroid detection. Sputnik 1 was launched during the International Geophysical Year from Site No.1/5, at the 5th Tyuratam range, in Kazakh SSR (now at the Baikonur Cosmodrome). The satellite travelled at 29,000 kilometres

 (18,000 mi) per hour, taking 96.2 minutes to complete an orbit, and emitted radio signals at 20.005 and 40.002 MHz

• 1903: The wright brothers conduct the world's very first flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Aircraft did not become widely available until the First World War when aircraft were used for espionage, attacks and other military purposes.

• 1908: The first Model T Ford automobile is built-in Detroit, Michigan. Various automobiles and cars had been built before 1908, but Ford is generally credited with successfully producing affordable cars in large numbers.

• 1927: Pilot Charles A. Lindbergh completes the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight from America. He covered a distance of more than 3,600 miles in only 33 hours. Passenger air transportation companies also came into service in this period.

• 1961: Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human being to reach space in the Vostok 1 spacecraft. The first American in space, Alan Shepard, went into space later in 1961.