NASA History

On May 4, 1976, a spacecraft resembling a disco ball entered orbit almost 3,700 miles (6,000 kilometers) above Earth. This shiny, two‑foot‑wide (60‑centimeter) sphere called the Laser Geodynamics Satellite, or LAGEOS, is covered with 426 retroreflectors—small mirrored prisms designed to bounce laser light directly back to where it came from.

Posted May 4, 2026

Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA History

NASA Goddard’s Greenbelt Visitor Center Marks 50th Anniversary

Trimmed in bicentennial pageantry, NASA opened a visitor center at its Goddard campus in Greenbelt, Maryland, in May 1976. Fifty years on, the Goddard Visitor Center continues to inspire through exhibits and programs on the past, present, and future of space exploration. “NASA’s 1958 charter tasks us with sharing our work as broadly as we […]

Posted April 30, 2026

NASA History

Virgil I. Grissom

Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, born April 3, 1926, in Mitchell, Indiana. As one of NASA’s first seven astronauts, he became America’s second astronaut to fly in space when he launched aboard the Liberty Bell 7 spacecraft on July 21, 1961, just weeks after Alan Shepard’s historic […]

Posted April 3, 2026

Ames Research Center

Environmental Management Division (EMD)

NASA History

Office of Strategic Infrastructure (OSI)

Women at NASA

Hangar One Restoration Project

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on April 25, 2022 and has been updated to reflect changes including the completion of Hangar One’s restoration.

Posted March 20, 2026

NASA History

Celebrating 100 Years Since Goddard’s Breakthrough Moment in Modern Rocketry

From the voyages of spacecraft to the Moon and beyond, to the launches of satellites that help us navigate, communicate, and understand our planet and the universe, the use of liquid-fueled rockets has been key to humanity’s use and exploration of space. Today marks 100 years since the first successful test of this technology. On […]

Posted March 16, 2026

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Aeronautics

Flight Innovation

NASA Aircraft

NASA History

NASA’s Home for Experimental Flight Advances Aeronautics Mission

Nestled in the Mojave Desert, NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, pushes the boundaries of flight to advance the agency’s aeronautics mission. This is where Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier and engineers are now pioneering the future of high-speed, autonomous, and electrified aircraft.

Posted February 27, 2026

Marshall Space Flight Center

Marshall Test Facility and Support Infrastructure

NASA History

NASA Marshall Prepares for Demolition of Historic Test, Simulation Facilities

NASA is preparing for the demolition of three iconic structures at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Crews began demolition in mid-December at the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator, a facility built in the late 1960s that once enabled NASA astronauts and researchers to experience near-weightlessness.

Posted January 6, 2026

NASA History

Hubble Space Telescope

“Hubble at 35 Years” Symposium Explores Insights from Hubble’s Past

As Hubble marks three and a half decades of scientific breakthroughs and technical resilience, the “Hubble at 35 Years” symposium offers a platform to reflect on the mission’s historical, operational, and scientific legacy.

Posted July 9, 2025

NASA History

Newsletters

NASA History News and Notes – Summer 2025

In the summer 2025 issue of the NASA History Office’s News & Notes newsletter, examples of leadership and critical decision-making in NASA’s history form the unifying theme.

Posted June 20, 2025

Glenn Research Center

Aeronautics

NASA History

Going Home: NASA Retires S-3B Viking to POW/MIA Museum

After supporting the center’s research missions for more than a decade, NASA’s S-3B Viking aircraft is moving on from NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland to begin a new and honorable assignment. The aircraft is heading to the National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum in Jacksonville, Florida, where it will be on display, honoring all Prisoners […]

Posted April 16, 2025