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Items tagged with: 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: https://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: https://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 https://apolloinrealtime.org/11/?t=059:10:13
#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. https://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: https://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: https://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. https://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: https://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: https://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. https://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: https://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! https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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 https://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. https://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. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/50-years-ago-three-months-until-skylab-americas-first-space-station
#NASAhistory


As a former Boy Scout, Roger Chaffee (born #OTD in 1935) had more outdoor experience than some of his fellow astronauts. Over his 3-day jungle survival training, he was able to find various things to eat, describing palm hearts as delicious, and snails as just plain terrible.
#NASAhistory


Learn more about Roger Chaffee's life, taken from us too soon in the tragic Apollo 1 fire in 1967. https://go.nasa.gov/3I4UuY4
#NASAhistory


This widely-reported event was instrumental in the establishment of NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office in January 2016. #AsteroidWatch

Read more about the Chelyabinsk event's role in upping our planetary defense game: https://go.nasa.gov/3IhJKqt
#NASAhistory


#10YearsAgo today, a 10,000 ton meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia releasing energy roughly equivalent to 500-kilotons of TNT. Thousands of buildings were damaged and nearly 1,500 people were injured (though there were no fatalities).

Photo credit: M. Ahmetvaleev
#NASAhistory


LOX lift us up where we belong 💖 🚀

Find a bae that boosts you #ValentinesDay
#NASAhistory


Happy 100th #birthday to the late, great Chuck Yeager, World War II flying ace and test pilot who shattered the myth of the sound barrier in 1947. 🥳

Yeager is seen here with the Bell X-1A which he flew to a then-record speed of Mach 2.44 on December 12, 1953.

📷 @usairforce
#NASAhistory


Did somebody say touchdown?

NEAR Shoemaker became the 1st ever spacecraft to touch down on an asteroid #OTD in 2001. Although the probe wasn't expected to survive the landing, it surprised scientists by continuing to transmit data for ~2 weeks on Eros! https://go.nasa.gov/3JN2Vd0
#NASAhistory


Hubble upgrade!

STS-82, launched #OTD in 1997, was dedicated to servicing @NASAHubble. Over 5 EVAs totaling more than 33 hours, the telescope's scientific instruments were updated and Hubble's orbit was boosted by 3.2 km (2 mi).

Get the details: https://go.nasa.gov/3YuUhns
#NASAhistory


"Hiya, Pal!"

Mickey Mouse greeted the astronauts and cosmonauts making up the prime crew for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project during a visit to Disney World #OTD in 1975. The visit took place at the end of a 3-day tour of the launch facilities at @NASAKennedy in Florida.
#NASAhistory


Our latest release in the NASA History Series is now out! 📘

NACA to NASA to Now by former NASA Chief Historian Roger Launius tells the story of the NACA and its successor NASA. Download the free e-book and tag someone you think might enjoy a copy! https://go.nasa.gov/3DUHfI2
#NASAhistory


The first Black astronaut in history to perform a spacewalk!

STS-63 Mission Specialist Bernard Harris gained this distinction #OTD in 1995. Before his 1990 selection as an astronaut, Dr. Harris worked at @NASA_Johnson as a flight surgeon & clinical scientist. #BlackHistoryMonth
#NASAhistory


Apollo 14 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean #OTD in 1971 after a successful 9-day mission! It was the last of the Apollo missions to quarantine the astronauts upon their return. More on the completion of the mission: https://go.nasa.gov/3XayznR

📷 Astronaut Ed Mitchell disembarks
#NASAhistory


After 2 years of study, NASA announced the selection of 5 possible Apollo landing sites on the Moon #OTD in 1968. The Sea of Tranquility (Site 2) was where Apollo 11 ultimately landed.

Read about the criteria that NASA used to choose the landing sites: https://go.nasa.gov/3Yjj3r1
#NASAhistory


Compare the Apollo landing site criteria to those for the crewed Artemis III mission that will land near the Moon's South Pole!👇 https://go.nasa.gov/3DQlokX
#NASAhistory


15 years ago today, STS-122 launched on its way to the @Space_Station, carrying @ESA's Columbus science laboratory module. Originally slated to launch in Dec. 1997, Space Shuttle Atlantis's 12-day mission was delayed to Feb. 7, 1998.
#NASAhistory


STS-122 was the first space flight for mission specialist Leland Melvin. Read about how his experience as a self-proclaimed chemistry nerd and an NFL draftee brought him to NASA and ultimately, to the Astronaut Corps: https://go.nasa.gov/3YnLtQ8
#BlackHistoryMonth
#NASAhistory


“The Moon is one big sand trap”

Astronaut Alan Shepard famously worked on his #golf game on the 2nd lunar EVA of the Apollo 14 mission #OTD in 1971. How well do you know your Moon golf trivia? Tell us how many golf balls are on the Moon!

Watch Al's shot: https://go.nasa.gov/40gDgPA
#NASAhistory


Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell landed on the Moon #OTD in 1971, becoming the 5th and 6th humans to reach the lunar surface.

Watch highlights of NASA's 1st mission to the lunar highlands: https://go.nasa.gov/3HScjdV
#NASAhistory

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