NASA History

Glenn Research Center
Aeronautics
Armstrong Flight Research Center
NASA History
Supersonic flight became a reality in October 1947, when the Bell X-1 rocket plane broke the sound barrier.
Posted February 22, 2024
NASA History
Apollo
Following the success of the Apollo 8 circumlunar mission, NASA believed that it could achieve a Moon landing by the summer of 1969 and meet President John F. Kennedy’s goal. Much work remained to accomplish that objective. Three crews and their backups trained for the next three Apollo missions while workers at NASA’s Kennedy Space […]
Posted February 20, 2024
NASA History
In 1994, a joint NASA and Department of Defense (DOD) mission called Clementine dramatically changed our view of the Moon. As the first U.S. mission to the Moon in more than two decades, Clementine’s primary objectives involved technology demonstrations to test lightweight component and sensor performance.
Posted February 16, 2024
NASA History
Goddard Space Flight Center
In the dawn of the Space Age, a group of scientists and engineers from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) had their eye on a new frontier: the uncharted expanse of space. Project Vanguard, initiated in 1955, aimed to launch the first American satellite into Earth orbit as part of the International Geophysical Year (July 1957 […]
Posted February 16, 2024
NASA History
Apollo
In early 1969, the goal set by President John F. Kennedy to land a man on the Moon seemed within reach. A new president, Richard M. Nixon, now sat in the White House and needed to chart America’s course in space in the post-Apollo era. President Nixon directed his science advisor to evaluate proposals for […]
Posted February 13, 2024
NASA History
Skylab
The longest spaceflight up to that time ended on Feb. 8, 1974, when Skylab 4 astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after their 84-day mission aboard Skylab, America’s first space station.
Posted February 7, 2024
NASA History
STS-41B
On Feb. 3, 1984, space shuttle Challenger took off on its fourth flight, STS-41B. Its five-person crew of Commander Vance D. Brand, Pilot Robert L. “Hoot” Gibson, and Mission Specialists Ronald E. McNair, Robert L. Stewart, and Bruce McCandless flew an eight-day mission ending with the first return to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in […]
Posted February 6, 2024
NASA History
Bruce McCandless
Humans in Space
Robert L. Gibson
STS-41B
As astronaut Bruce McCandless II flew the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) out of the space shuttle Challenger’s payload bay for the first time on February 7, 1984, many in the agency were fearful about the use of a self-propelled and untethered backpack in space.  (Previous spacewalkers remained connected to the vehicle with tethers.
Posted February 3, 2024
NASA History
On Feb. 3, 1994, space shuttle Discovery took off on its 18th flight, STS-60. Its six-person crew of Commander Charles F. Bolden, Pilot Kenneth S. Reightler, and Mission Specialists N. Jan Davis, Ronald M. Sega, Franklin R. Chang-Díaz, who served as payload commander, and Sergei K. Krikalev of the Russian Space Agency, now Roscosmos, flew […]
Posted February 2, 2024
NASA History
In honor of Black History Month, we recognize the contributions of Black astronauts to our nation’s space programs.
Posted February 1, 2024
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