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Items tagged with: NASAhistory


Good morning Atlantis!
#OTD in 1992 STS-45 landed. On board: future NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, the first Belgian citizen in space Dirk Frimout, and the 1st Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) experiments.

About the mission https://go.nasa.gov/3TM1Xke
#NASAhistory


In just three more days, the four astronauts that will fly to the Moon on #Artemis II will be revealed!

64 years ago on April 1, 1959, the first @NASA_Astronauts, the Mercury 7, were chosen (announced on April 9). Of them, Al Shepard went on to crew a mission to the Moon!
#NASAhistory


Patricia O'Donnell, who worked as a chemist for NASA for 44 years (1954–1998), won the Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal in 1991 for her work on nickel-hydrogen batteries. Her redesign of the electrodes improved the performance of the batteries by a factor of 10! … 🧵
#NASAhistory


The redesigned nickel-hydrogen batteries have since been used on the ISS, Hubble Space Telescope, and in numerous other space applications. #WomensHistoryMonth

Learn more about her career at @NASAglenn: https://go.nasa.gov/3TVMNc7
#NASAhistory


Mariner 10, the 1st spacecraft sent to study Mercury, took the first closeup photos of the planet as it made its first flyby #OTD in 1974. Pictured is a mosaic of images taken by the spacecraft about 6 hours before closest approach. @NASASolarSystem

But that's not all…
#NASAhistory


37 years later to the day, the MESSENGER spacecraft sent back the first photo of Mercury from orbit #OTD in 2011! MESSENGER gave scientists the first new data on the composition of Mercury's surface since Mariner 10's final 1975 flyby.

More about Mercury: https://go.nasa.gov/3lPVmIT
#NASAhistory


#60YearsAgo today the final test of the Saturn I's first stage, Saturn SA-4, launched from @NASAKennedy. The uncrewed suborbital test flight was successful, paving the way for tests of the second stage.
#NASAhistory


After working as a human computer for years, Christine Darden became one of the few women aerospace engineers at NASA in the '70s, becoming well known for her research into supersonic aircraft noise, especially sonic boom reduction. https://go.nasa.gov/3JE3nZd #WomensHistoryMonth
#NASAhistory


Higher res photos please!

Mariner 7, launched #OTD in 1969, along with its twin Mariner 6 launched a month earlier, were sent to Mars to study its surface and atmosphere during close flybys. @NASAMars

Left: Mariner 4 photo of Mars, 1965
Right: Mariner 7 photo of Mars, 1969
#NASAhistory


In this photo taken 50 years ago in 1973, a Vought TF-8A Crusader flies with NASA's experimental supercritical wing. The airfoil design increased cruising speed and fuel efficiency, and is now used on nearly every modern commercial aircraft. @NASAaero

🛫 https://go.nasa.gov/3lCuZpO
#NASAhistory


We just called to say "Happy Birthday"! 🥳

Astronaut Jim Lovell, veteran of the Gemini 7, Gemini 12, Apollo 8, and Apollo 13 missions, turns 95 years young today! Join us in wishing him many happy days ahead.
#NASAhistory


Clocking a time of 11.2 years, the Opportunity @NASAMars Rover completed a marathon on the red planet #OTD in 2015, travelling 26.2 miles (42.2 km).

Planned to last 3 months, Opportunity's mission lasted to 2018: https://go.nasa.gov/3lqD0Oz

What enduring NASA mission is your fave?
#NASAhistory


100 points if you know the Gemini III spacecraft's nickname! 💯

The first crewed flight of the Gemini spacecraft and America's first space flight with TWO astronauts (Gus Grissom & John Young) was #OTD in 1961. More on the mission: https://go.nasa.gov/3n8COE9

📷 Gemini III training
#NASAhistory


On board was a crew of two: Commander Jack Lousma (right) had previously spent 59 days in space in 1973 with Skylab-3, but C. Gordon Fullerton (left), who had served on the support crew for Apollo missions 14 through 17, was making his first space flight.
#NASAhistory


In case anyone is curious about what this orb was really created for, this is Model 1 of the LOLA Project. https://images.nasa.gov/details/LRC-1965-B701_P-05579
#NASAhistory


This structure was built at @NASALangley in 1963. What is it? Wrong answers only!
#NASAhistory


Dee O’Hara (seen here with the Apollo 14 backup crew in 1971) was NASA’s first aerospace nurse, caring for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo astronauts. Her career helped define the occupation of space nursing.

Read her oral history: https://go.nasa.gov/3mMjbkY
#WomensHistoryMonth
#NASAhistory


#15YearsAgo today, astronomers using the Swift Observatory saw a stellar explosion that shattered the record for the most distant object visible with the naked eye. Originating 7.5 BILLION light years away, the light was emitted long before Earth formed! https://go.nasa.gov/3YL3XtZ
#NASAhistory


Radiation measurements from Voyager 2's flyby in 1986 suggest that two of Uranus's moons may have oceans beneath their surface!
#NASAhistory


65 years ago today in 1958, Vanguard 1, America's second satellite and the world's 1st solar-powered satellite was launched! It confirmed that the Earth is not a perfect sphere.

Contact with Vanguard 1 was lost in 1964, but it remains the oldest satellite orbiting Earth.
#NASAhistory


Comet me, bro!

Astronomer Caroline Herschel, born #OTD in 1750, was the first woman credited with discovering a comet and the first woman to earn a salary as a scientist. She went on to discover 7 additional comets in her lifetime! #WomensHistoryMonth
#NASAhistory


Gemini VIII launched #OTD in 1966 to conduct the first ever docking in space. The docking went smoothly, but a critical failure necessitated an immediate abort of the mission.

Read about Neil Armstrong and Dave Scott's wild ride: https://go.nasa.gov/3JyLhZQ
#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! https://go.nasa.gov/3ZPRF4N

More space suit history: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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 https://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: https://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! https://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: https://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: https://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: https://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

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