NASA History

On Aug. 10, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin completed their 21-day quarantine after returning from the Moon.

Posted August 20, 2024

NASA History

55 Years Ago: NASA Group 7 Astronaut Selection

On Aug. 14, 1969, NASA announced the selection of seven new astronauts. The Group 7 astronauts consisted of pilots transferred from the Manned Orbital Laboratory (MOL) Program canceled two months earlier. The MOL, a joint project of the U.S.

Posted August 14, 2024

NASA History

Celebrating NASA’s Coast Guard Astronauts on Coast Guard Day

Each Aug. 4, Coast Guard Day commemorates the founding on Aug. 4, 1790, of the U.S. Coast Guard as the Revenue-Marine by Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. Although considered an internal event for active duty and reserve Coast Guard members, we take the opportunity of Coast Guard Day to honor the astronauts who began […]

Posted August 2, 2024

NASA History

Discovery Program

MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging)

MESSENGER – From Setbacks to Success

The excerpts below are taken from Discovery Program oral history interviews conducted in 2009 by Dr.

Posted August 2, 2024

NASA History

Ranger 7

60 Years Ago: Ranger 7 Photographs the Moon

Long 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, some believed a deep layer of dust covered it that would swallow any visitors. Until 1964, no closeup photographs of the […]

Posted July 29, 2024

NASA History

55 Years Ago: One Year Before the Moon Landing

In July 1968, much work still remained to meet the goal President John F. Kennedy set in May 1961, to land a man on the Moon and return him safely to the Earth before the end of the decade. No American astronaut had flown in space since the November 1966 flight of Gemini XII, the […]

Posted July 25, 2024

NASA History

25 Years Ago: STS-93, Launch of the Chandra X-Ray Observatory

On July 23, 1999, space shuttle Columbia took to the skies on its 26th trip into space, to deliver its heaviest payload ever – the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The STS-93 crew included Commander Eileen M. Collins, the first woman to command a space shuttle mission, Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby, and Mission Specialists Catherine “Cady” G. […]

Posted July 25, 2024

NASA History

45 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Enterprise Completes Launch Pad Checkout

On July 23, 1979, space shuttle Enterprise completed its time as a pathfinder vehicle at Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Workers towed it back to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). During its four-month stay at KSC, Enterprise validated procedures for the assembly of the space shuttle stack and interfaces […]

Posted July 24, 2024

Eileen M. Collins

Former Astronauts

NASA History

STS-93

Women at NASA

Women's History Month

Eileen Collins Broke Barriers as America’s First Female Space Shuttle Commander

At the end of February 1998, Johnson Space Center Deputy Director James D. Wetherbee called Astronaut Eileen Collins to his office in Building 1. He told her she had been assigned to command STS-93 and went with her to speak with Center Director George W.S. Abbey who informed her that she would be going to […]

Posted July 22, 2024

NASA History

Apollo 11

55 Years Ago: Apollo 11’s One Small Step, One Giant Leap

“Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.” “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.” “Magnificent desolation.” Three phrases that recall humanity’s first landing on and exploration of the lunar surface. In July 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E.

Posted July 16, 2024