Space technology is the technology for exploring, developing, and utilizing space, also known as space technology and aerospace technology. Discussing space, what is heaven? There are two definitions. One definition holds that the sky refers to the infinitely distant space beyond the Earth's atmosphere. Another definition suggests that the sky refers to the space beyond the Earth's atmosphere to the interior of the solar system. According to the latter definition, navigation activities outside the atmosphere and within the solar system are called aerospace, while navigation activities outside the solar system are called space. For a considerable period of history, humans could only carry out space activities.
Because any navigation activity is closely related to its propulsion technology, only when the propulsion technology advances to a certain extent and the speed of moving objects increases to a certain level, can it have a specific navigation activity. When the spacecraft reaches the first cosmic velocity (7.9 kilometers per second), it can overcome the Earth's gravity and orbit the Earth without falling back to the Earth's surface; By increasing to the second cosmic velocity (11.2 kilometers per second), it can detach from Earth and fly towards other planets in the solar system; By increasing to the third cosmic velocity (16.7 kilometers per second), one can fly away from the solar system. Although the third cosmic velocity theoretically enables navigation activities beyond the solar system, the solar system is too large for modern spacecraft to fly at the third cosmic velocity, requiring over ten thousand years of flight before leaving the solar system.
It takes more than a year for signals to travel back and forth for communication beyond the solar system. So it is too early to discuss navigation activities outside the solar system, which is far beyond the capabilities of current technology. The ultimate goal of developing space technology is to achieve space transfer. So, it is more accurate to define space exploration as navigation activities beyond the Earth's atmosphere to within the solar system. The scope of contemporary research on space technology also refers to the solar system.