NASA History

“I hid a sandwich in my spacesuit,” Astronaut John W. Young confessed in the April 2, 1965, issue of Life Magazine. The conversation about and the consumption of the sandwich, which lasted only about 30 seconds during the Gemini III flight, became a serious matter that drew the ire of Congress and NASA’s administrator after […]

Posted March 20, 2025

NASA History

Skylab

Weather and Atmospheric Dynamics

Observing Storms from Skylab

Skylab 3 astronauts witnessed many spectacular sights during their 858 orbital trips around the Earth in the summer of 1973. One involved watching powerful Hurricane Ellen take shape off the West African coast. “There’s a nice storm down there. She looks pretty big. She’s got a lot of clouds,” said astronaut Alan L. Bean upon […]

Posted March 18, 2025

Glenn Research Center

Aeronautics

Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Green Aviation Tech

NASA History

NASA’s Chevron Technology Quiets the Skies

Shortly after dawn on March 27, 2001, NASA pilot Bill Rieke took off from an airfield just outside of Phoenix in NASA’s blue-and-white Learjet 25 and flew low over a series of microphones for the first flight test of a groundbreaking NASA technology. On one of the plane’s engines was an experimental jagged-edged nozzle that […]

Posted March 11, 2025

NASA History

Johnson Space Center

40 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Atlantis Makes its Public Debut

On March 6, 1985, NASA’s newest space shuttle, Atlantis, made its public debut during a rollout ceremony at the Rockwell International manufacturing plant in Palmdale, California.

Posted March 10, 2025

NASA History

General

Johnson Space Center

30 Years Ago: STS-67, the Astro-2 Mission

On March 2, 1995, space shuttle Endeavour launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on its eighth trip into space, on the STS-67 Astro-2 mission.

Posted March 4, 2025

NASA History

Johnson Space Center

110 Years Ago: The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Founded

On March 3, 1915, the United States Congress created the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).

Posted March 3, 2025

NASA History

Johnson Space Center

35 Years Ago: STS-36 Flies a Dedicated Department of Defense Mission

On Feb. 28, 1990, space shuttle Atlantis took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on STS-36, the sixth shuttle mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. As such, many of the details of the flight remain classified. The mission marked the 34th flight of the space shuttle, the sixth for Atlantis, and the […]

Posted March 3, 2025

NASA History

Aeronautics

Ames Research Center

Armstrong Flight Research Center

Glenn Research Center

Langley Research Center

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA)

NASA Marks 110 Years Since Founding of Predecessor Organization

To celebrate the 110th anniversary of the organization that ultimately became NASA, the agency released a new collection of videos to highlight the history of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) and the ways it transformed flight over four decades.

Posted March 3, 2025

Johnson Space Center

NASA History

60 Years Ago: Ranger 8 Moon Photos Aid in Apollo Site Selection

Before Apollo astronauts set foot upon the Moon, much remained unknown about the lunar surface. While most scientists believed the Moon had a solid surface that would support astronauts and their landing craft, a few believed a deep layer of dust covered it that would swallow any visitors. Until 1964, no closeup photographs of the […]

Posted February 20, 2025

Johnson Space Center

NASA History

55 Years Ago: Preps for Apollo 13 and 14, Apollo 12 Crew on World Tour

With two months to go before flight, the Apollo 13 prime crew of James Lovell, Thomas Mattingly, Fred Haise, and backups John Young, John Swigert, and Charles Duke continued to train for the 10-day mission planned to land in the Fra Mauro highlands region of the Moon. Engineers continued to prepare the Saturn V rocket […]

Posted February 20, 2025