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Items tagged with: NASAhistory


Not your grandpa's space suit.

Axiom Space's suit design will allow the Artemis III astronauts greater mobility, better protection, and other technological advancements over their Apollo counterparts! go.nasa.gov/3ZPRF4N

More space suit history: go.nasa.gov/3mWUYbX
#NASAhistory


NASA's Magellan mission to Venus ended in 1994, but its data is still yielding new discoveries! An active volcano on Venus? 🤯
#NASAhistory


Hot off the press! 🗞️

In our latest issue of NASA History News & Notes, NASA historians discuss the Space Shuttle Columbia accident, how the Agency was transformed in its wake, and the legacy it leaves today.

Download the PDF: go.nasa.gov/3yAYVph
#NASAhistory


The artist who walked on another world!

On his birthday, we remember astronaut and artist Alan Bean! Bean walked on the Moon for Apollo 12, commanded the Skylab 3 crew 50 years ago in 1973, and after retiring from NASA, devoted his time to painting his spaceflight memories.
#NASAhistory


What do the size of the Opportunity rover's parachute, the Apollo spacecrafts' paths around the Moon, and the Galileo probe's helium data from Jupiter have in common? NASA scientists used pi in their calculations! #PiDay

More ways pi is used at NASA: go.nasa.gov/404eeT2
#NASAhistory


Happy 95th birthday to Gemini 7 and Apollo 8 astronaut Frank Borman, who is 11 days older than his Apollo 8 crewmate Jim Lovell! Wishing you a universe of good times on this day!

📷 Jim Lovell, Frank Borman, and Bill Anders at a technical debriefing after their trip to the Moon
#NASAhistory


Apollo 9 splashed down #OTD in 1969 after completing its 10-day mission. It was the last crewed spacecraft to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean until Crew Dragon Demo-1 in 2019, 50 years later!

Watch a video with highlights of the Apollo 9 mission: go.nasa.gov/3ITxtaZ
#NASAhistory


Born 100 years ago today in Hackensack, NJ, we celebrate the late Wally Schirra, the only astronaut to fly on the Mercury, Gemini, AND Apollo programs! 🎉 💯

See photos and stories from Schirra's days as a NASA astronaut: go.nasa.gov/3ZPkUo2
#NASAhistory


Boop the snoot👇

Today marks the 15th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Endeavour's STS-123 launch in 2008. Before docking with the ISS, commander Dominic Gorie did a roll pitch maneuver (a backflip) to allow the space station crew to photograph the heat shield.
#NASAhistory


Astronaut John Young famously smuggled a corned beef sandwich in his pocket for his Gemini III flight with Gus Grissom on March 23, 1965. Also on board, NASA's first space biology experiment in orbit!

More about the launch meat #NationalPackYourLunchDay go.nasa.gov/3yfZk06
#NASAhistory


Ode to Our Favorite Meatball

Designed in 1959,
this "meatball" stands the test of time.
Though briefly ousted by "the worm,"
in '92 the ball returned!

Learn more about the history of NASA's insignia on #NationalMeatballDay: go.nasa.gov/3T6xAED
#NASAhistory


Protection against potential moon pathogens 😷

In preparation for the first Apollo Moon landing, the first Mobile Quarantine Facility arrived at @NASA_Johnson in Houston in March 1968. Read about the features of the MQF! go.nasa.gov/3F9rrBT
#NASAhistory


On March 8, 2001, astronaut Susan Helms was on her way to the @Space_Station with the launch of STS-102. Helms made history twice over in the next few days: she was the 1st woman to be on an ISS crew, and performed a record-breaking 8 h 56 min spacewalk with crewmate Jim Voss!
#NASAhistory


It's #TriviaTuesday! Many people know that the Apollo 11 lunar module (LM) was called Eagle, but what was the name of the Apollo 9 LM, that had its first crewed flight while in Earth orbit on this day in 1969?
#NASAhistory


Donna Shirley joined @NASAJPL in 1966 as an aeronautical engineer, and went on to lead the development of the first rover to land on Mars (Sojourner) and become the 1st woman to lead a NASA Program, the Mars Exploration Program!

More about her career: go.nasa.gov/41IUsOl
#NASAhistory


Our first close-up of Ganymede!

On this day in 1979, the Voyager 1 spacecraft snapped a series of images of Ganymede, the largest moon in our solar system, as it made its closest approach to Jupiter

More about Ganymede: go.nasa.gov/41HpXII

📷 NASA/JPL-Caltech/Björn Jónsson
#NASAhistory


This stunning aerial photo, captured from a Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA), shows Space Shuttle Columbia lifting off from @NASAKennedy #OTD in 1994 for STS-62.

Learn more about how the STA prepared Shuttle pilots: go.nasa.gov/3ZbIbAi
#NASAhistory


Recognizing the need for the U.S. to keep up with other nations in advancing flight technology, Congress created the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) #OTD in 1915. The NACA went on to develop faster fighter planes for WWII… 1/2
#NASAhistory


…hypersonic aircraft and rockets in the '40s, and much, much more before being transformed into NASA in 1958.

Read the highlights of the NACA's accomplishments in Roger Launius's new book NACA to NASA to Now: go.nasa.gov/3KN0mIn 2/2
#NASAhistory


The Apollo 11 Moon landing in July 1969 hinged on the success of Apollo 9, the first flight of the full Apollo spacecraft with the lunar module, launched #OTD in 1969. 🧵
#NASAhistory


Jim McDivitt, David Scott, and Rusty Schweickart's 10-day flight in Earth orbit tested flight hardware and mission procedures and proved that a crewed Moon landing was within reach.

Learn more about Apollo 9: go.nasa.gov/3IIHJCE

📷 Dave Scott in the Command Module hatch
#NASAhistory


Need my space jams! 🎶

#DYK NASA sent personal recorders on the Apollo missions for astronauts to record notes, but the tapes were prerecorded with the crew's favorite #ArchivesMusic.

Listen: The Apollo 11 crew enjoying a mixtape apolloinrealtime.org/11/?t=059…
#ArchivesHashtagParty
#NASAhistory


Pioneer 10, launched #OTD in 1972, was designed for a 21-month flyby mission to Jupiter, but lasted for more than 30 years, racking up firsts along the way! By this day 50 years ago, it had passed the asteroid belt unscathed and was on its way to Jupiter. go.nasa.gov/3IH1j26
#NASAhistory


"I’m probably the only person who’s been assigned to their flight about 2 weeks before they deliver."

Anna Fisher, trained as a chemist and physician, became the 1st mom in space when she flew on STS-51A in Nov. 1984. #WomensHistoryMonth

Read her story: go.nasa.gov/3J2F4oG
#NASAhistory


As the New Horizons spacecraft flew by Jupiter #OTD in 2007, the most volcanically active body in our solar system didn't disappoint: Tvashta, a volcano on Jupiter's moon Io, was caught spewing a plume 200 miles above the surface! More about Io: go.nasa.gov/41vbEXP
#NASAhistory


NASA astronaut and US Air Force Colonel Alvin Drew performed his first spacewalk #OTD in 2011, making repairs and upgrades to the @Space_Station during STS-133. In this photo from the 12-day mission, he's seen in the station's newly-installed Permanent Multipurpose Module. #BHM
#NASAhistory


On his birthday, we celebrate the late Chris Kraft, who served as @nasa's first flight director. From America's first crewed missions to space to the Apollo Moon landings, he played a vital role in some of the most iconic moments in space history. go.nasa.gov/3Y0S9Dg
#NASAhistory


NASA Research Pilot Bill Dana flew the HL-10 lifting body to an altitude of 90,030 ft (more than 27 km), setting the altitude record for the lifting body program #OTD in 1970.

About the HL-10: go.nasa.gov/3xM3YCy

📷 Dana after his 4th free flight in the HL-10 in Sept. 1969
#NASAhistory


The first Saturn 1B rocket (AS-201), developed at @NASAMarshall, lifted off on an unpiloted, suborbital flight #OTD in 1966. In all, 9 Saturn IB flights were made, ending with the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) in July 1975. More about this test flight: go.nasa.gov/3IOhM5T
#NASAhistory


Before Apollo 10 and 11 went to the Moon in 1969, Mariner 6 launched from Cape Canaveral #OTD in 1969 for a flyby mission of Mars. It made its closest encounter of the Red Planet on 31 July of that year, taking 24 close-up photos over 17 minutes. go.nasa.gov/3XRLDih
#NASAhistory


Space Shuttle Discovery roared into the sky for its final space flight #OTD in 2011 (STS-133). With 39 missions over its 27 years in service, Discovery spent a cumulative 365 days in orbit. You can visit the shuttle orbiter now at @airandspace's Udvar Hazy Center.
#NASAhistory


3 days after John Glenn's landmark space flight, President John F. Kennedy met the astronaut at the Launch Operations Center (now @NASAKennedy) #OTD in 1962 to present Glenn with the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.

More images from this day in history: go.nasa.gov/3ShuNYV
#NASAhistory


First discovered in May 2005, it was confirmed #OTD in 2006 that @NASAHubble had discovered 2 more moons orbiting Pluto. Later named Nix and Hydra, @NASANewHorizons flew by in 2017, capturing photos. These tiny moons are only 20–70 mi (32–113 km) wide! go.nasa.gov/3Kt0Jrn
#NASAhistory


John Glenn made history #OTD in 1962 when he became the first American to orbit the Earth. He made 3 orbits (2 of them manually controlled) in the Friendship 7 capsule before splashing down.

Read the details of this landmark space flight: go.nasa.gov/40UWMSa
#NASAhistory


"If she says they're good, then I am ready to go."

Before his 1962 orbital flight, John Glenn was wary of trusting his life to a machine's trajectory calculations and asked that Katherine Johnson check them. #BHM

More on mathematician Katherine Johnson: go.nasa.gov/3Ef1sbX
#NASAhistory


#OTD in 1977, Enterprise, the Space Shuttle prototype, took to the skies for the first time perched atop a NASA Shuttle Carrier Aircraft high above what is now @NASAArmstrong in Edwards, CA.

Learn more about these early Shuttle tests: go.nasa.gov/3ltHoMa
#NASAhistory


25 years ago #today, Voyager 1 became the most distant human-made object in existence, surpassing Pioneer 10, which held that mantle for 25 years prior.

More about Voyager 1 and why it will remain our most distant probe for years to come go.nasa.gov/3Xw7cVu

Poster: @NASAJPL
#NASAhistory


Albert Antoine work over his 40+ years as a chemist at NASA included research on alternative energy, batteries, and fuel cells. Along with 5 Black colleagues, he encouraged minority students to pursue careers in space.
#NASAhistory


Why did the U.S. misjudge the potential of jet propulsion in the 1930s? What tests did the first group of astronauts undergo? How has public support of the space program changed over the years?

Get the answers in NACA to NASA to Now by Roger D. Launius. go.nasa.gov/3HUvzq1
#NASAhistory


50 years ago, two Saturn rockets were being prepared at @NASAKennedy for the launch of America's first space station, Skylab. nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-…
#NASAhistory

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