The GOES-2 and GOES-3 geosynchronous satellites were launched #OTD in 1977 and 1978, respectively. The GOES program continues today, providing valuable up-to-date information on local weather, forest fires, and volcano activity.

About the GOES program: https://go.nasa.gov/3PclZE4
#NASAhistory

"Houston, Skylab. I'd like you to be the first to know that the pilot is the proud father of a genuine flare." 🌟

Skylab's Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) had 8 telescopes for observing the Sun at different wavelengths. #Skylab50 1/3
#NASAhistory

With the ATM, the Skylab astronauts became the first people in history who could watch features of the invisible ultraviolet and X-ray Sun and see changes as they were occurring.

Still, capturing a solar flare with the ATM proved to be challenging. 2/3
#NASAhistory

#OTD in 1973, the Skylab 2 crew made their first observations of a solar flare, recording the long-awaited event with unprecedented detail! #Skylab50

Want to learn more about Skylab's solar observations? We have a book on that! https://go.nasa.gov/4675SO2
#NASAhistory

#OTD in 1967, Mariner V launched to Venus on a flyby mission to learn about the planet's atmosphere.

With an atmospheric pressure more than 90 times Earth's and a temperature of 527 °C, we learned Venus wasn't so similar to Earth after all!

Read: https://go.nasa.gov/43x5uXy
#NASAhistory

Happy #FlagDay! While the U.S. flag is on all @NASA_Astronauts's spacesuits now, it wasn't always! After the first U.S. spacewalk in 1965 featuring flag patches on White and McDivitt's suits, NASA made it standard.

More about NASA and the flag: https://go.nasa.gov/42z6XLJ
#NASAhistory

…boldly going where no spacecraft had gone before!

Pioneer 10, the first spacecraft sent to the outer solar system, became the first to cross Neptune's orbit #40YearsAgo today!

More about Pioneer 10, a mission of firsts! https://go.nasa.gov/3X22bVQ
#NASAhistory

Remembering Donald K. "Deke" Slayton on the 30th anniversary of his passing. One of NASA's first 7 astronauts, Slayton served as NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations before flying on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.

More about Slayton's legacy at NASA: https://go.nasa.gov/43YOB89
#NASAhistory

In our latest edition of NASA History News & Notes, we take a look at @NASAaero history with a squadron of new articles! ✈️ ✈️ ✈️

• Experiments in powering aircraft with beamed energy,
• The story of the first Shuttle chase teams,
• A look back at the development of jet propulsion,
• The history behind coaxial rotorcraft like the Mars Ingenuity helicopter,

And much, much more! Read:
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/newsnotes_40-2.pdf
#NASAhistory

Welcome home STS-91! 🌎

#25YearsAgo today, Space Shuttle Discovery touched down at @NASAKennedy, closing out the Shuttle-Mir Program.

Find out how lessons from Shuttle-Mir paved the way for the @Space_Station: https://go.nasa.gov/3WU3eak
#NASAhistory

20 years ago, Spirit was on its way to Mars!

#NOW in 2003, the first of 2 nearly identical Mars rovers (named Spirit) was launched to the Red Planet. Spirit went on to successfully land in Gusev Crater and explore the Martian terrain for over 6 years. https://go.nasa.gov/3qwjPEY
#NASAhistory

#50YearsAgo today, the Explorer 49 satellite launched toward the Moon to study low-frequency radio emissions from our solar system and beyond.

With its antennas deployed it measured 457.2 m, making it the largest human-made object to orbit the Moon. https://go.nasa.gov/3OWKLI9
#NASAhistory

Fondly remembering Jim McDivitt, born 94 years ago #today. McDivitt flew to space on Gemini IV and Apollo 9, and then went on to take senior management positions in the Apollo Program.

Read more about his contributions to NASA's early spaceflight history: https://go.nasa.gov/42uVJrr
#NASAhistory

Who's ready for lunch?

Skylab astronauts ate a much wider variety of foods than the Apollo astronauts. With over 70 kinds of foods provided, including some frozen foods, they could reheat portions of their meal in special trays that slotted into the ward room's table.
#NASAhistory

Still, the Skylab 2 crew members weren't big fans. Food that tasted good in Houston tasted worse in space. The most popular item: German potato salad #Skylab50

📘 Life on Skylab: https://go.nasa.gov/3MRqNMx

📷 Skylab 2 astronauts try out the food while training at @NASA_Johnson
#NASAhistory

For #WorldOceansDay, we're celebrating NASA's missions that have helped us better understand our oceans!

#DYK SeaSat-1, launched 45 years ago this month, was the 1st satellite designed to provide global observations of the Earth’s oceans?

📷 Bahamas as seen by STS-52, 1992
#NASAhistory

Gemini IV, crewed by @NASA_Astronauts Jim McDivitt and Ed White, splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean #OTD in 1965 after a successful 4-day mission including the first ever American spacewalk.

More about Gemini IV: https://go.nasa.gov/3quLq9O
#NASAhistory

50 years ago: the first ever repair spacewalk! 🔧

When Skylab was launched on May 14, 1973, one of the solar arrays on its Orbital Workshop was ripped off and the other was jammed closed with debris. The space station was losing power.
#NASAhistory

#OTD in 1973, astronauts Pete Conrad and Joe Kerwin were finally able to free the jammed solar array during a challenging 3 hour and 25 minute spacewalk.

Skylab's power source was restored and the crew could get back to doing science! https://go.nasa.gov/3NbuWME
#NASAhistory

Happy 91st birthday to the seventh person to walk on the Moon, Dave Scott! 🎂 🎉

For this #TriviaTuesday, tell us which other Apollo Moon walker he flew with on the Gemini VIII mission in 1966.

More photos and stories from the birthday boy's missions: https://go.nasa.gov/3WXumFC
#NASAhistory

Space Life Science-1 (SLS-1), launched on Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-40) #OTD in 1991, was the first Spacelab mission dedicated to life sciences research AND the first NASA mission to have 3 women on board.

Research took place in a module, shown here, in Columbia's cargo bay.
#NASAhistory

When construction of NASA's first Space Shuttle began #OTD in 1974, its name hadn't yet been chosen. First called the Constitution, it was later named Enterprise after the fictional ship in #StarTrek! 🖖

Learn about Enterprise and its naming process: https://go.nasa.gov/3oGdbM2
#NASAhistory

Astronauts Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan blasted off in the Gemini 9A spacecraft #OTD in 1966 for a 3-day mission to practice docking with a target vehicle and test a new propulsion system on a spacewalk.

Things didn't go quite as planned ➡️ https://go.nasa.gov/3C4csqY
#NASAhistory

"This is the greatest experience, it's just tremendous."

#OTD in 1965, Gemini IV astronaut Ed White became the first American to perform a spacewalk, floating for 23 minutes while attached to the spacecraft.

Read about his spacewalk: https://go.nasa.gov/3CpeSAR

📷 by Jim McDivitt
#NASAhistory

#25YearsAgo today, Space Shuttle Discovery launched from @NASAKennedy for STS-91, the final mission to dock with the Mir Space Station.

Learn more about the mission: https://go.nasa.gov/43zOzmS
#NASAhistory

While Armstrong and Aldrin were landing on the Moon in July 1969, a 30-day NASA mission in the Atlantic was also underway! 6 aquanauts drifted along the gulf stream on the Ben Franklin submersible ⚓ #ArchivesUnderTheSea #ArchivesHashtagParty

Learn more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfOQyx316mM
#NASAhistory

One of the most colorful of NASA's first astronauts, Pete Conrad, veteran of the Gemini 5, 11, and Apollo 12 missions, was also the commander of Skylab 2. In this photo taken 50 years ago today, he tries out the Skylab shower. #Skylab50

Do you have a favorite Pete Conrad story?
#NASAhistory

Paging Dr. Kerwin!

Dr. Joe Kerwin, science pilot for the Skylab 2 mission and the first medical doctor to go to space, played a significant role in Skylab’s investigations of how the human body is affected by spaceflight: one of the many scientific goals of Skylab!

Read about… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1663944334306050053
#NASAhistory

Dr. Joe Kerwin, science pilot for the Skylab 2 mission and the first medical doctor to go to space, is seen here taking a blood sample from commander Pete Conrad. 🩺

Investigating how the human body is affected by spaceflight was just one of the many scientific goals of Skylab!
#NASAhistory

For 30+ years, Dr. Hanwant B. Singh studied atmospheric chemistry at @NASAAmes, revealing the origins of pollutants, how far they travel, and how they impact our health.

In the 1980s, he was a key member of the team that measured ozone-depleting chemicals. #AANHPIHeritageMonth
#NASAhistory

#OTD in 1971, Mariner 9 was launched. Nearly 6 months later, it became the first spacecraft to orbit another planet, beating the Soviets' Mars 2 🛰️

Mariner 9 transmitted 7,329 photos of Mars back to Earth, including this one of Ascraeus Mons volcano. https://go.nasa.gov/3MJeUrK
#NASAhistory

#50YearsAgo today, the Skylab 2 crew began to activate Skylab, moving into the Orbital Workshop (OWS), where it was about 55°C (130°F). It took hours to assemble and deploy the parasol through the scientific airlock.

Once deployed, the OWS's temperature began to drop. #Skylab50
#NASAhistory

The Apollo 10 astronauts splashed down in the Pacific Ocean just as the Sun was rising #OTD in 1969. 🌅

Stafford, Young, and Cernan's successful mission cleared the way for the first humans to land on the Moon a few months later in July. https://go.nasa.gov/42X2sLZ
#NASAhistory

6 hours after Skylab 2 launched #OTD in 1973, the crew reached Skylab and got its first view of the damage.

The protective shield of the Orbital Workshop was missing, one of the solar arrays was gone, and the other only partially deployed. #Skylab50

🔗 https://go.nasa.gov/3MGLqvP
#NASAhistory

Astronauts Pete Conrad, Paul Weitz, and Joe Kerwin, the first Skylab crew, launched in an Apollo spacecraft to the damaged space station #50YearsAgo today. 🚀 #Skylab50

Task #1: Save Skylab!
#NASAhistory

Scott Carpenter became the 2nd American to orbit Earth #OTD in 1962 with the launch of Mercury-Atlas 7. Despite a faulty horizon scanner and a delay in firing retrorockets for reentry, Carpenter manually piloted his Aurora 7 capsule to a safe splashdown.

https://go.nasa.gov/458P1tQ
#NASAhistory

Bruce Peterson, born 90 years ago today, was a NASA research pilot who expertly tested a variety of aircraft at @NASAArmstrong in the 1960s. In May 1967, Peterson was seriously injured in a crash of the M2-F2 lifting body (shown ⬇️ ).

More about Peterson: https://go.nasa.gov/3ofJFMK
#NASAhistory