NASA History

NASA History
It may seem remarkable that no American spent the Fourth of July holiday in space for the first 21 years of human spaceflight. Not until 1982 and the 35th U.S. human spaceflight did Americans awaken in space on Independence Day, and then bring their spacecraft back to Earth later in the day to a rousing […]
Posted July 3, 2024
NASA History
In 1983, NASA received delivery of Discovery, the third space qualified vehicle in the agency’s space shuttle fleet. During the launch attempt for the STS-41D mission on June 26, 1984, Discovery’s onboard computers halted the countdown four seconds before liftoff, and after two of its main engines had already ignited.
Posted June 26, 2024
NASA History
Kennedy Space Center
Wildfires
East central Florida’s natural environment and climate have shaped, and delayed, Kennedy Space Center launch operations since the 1960s.
Posted June 26, 2024
NASA History
With the dress rehearsal completed during Apollo 10 in May 1969, only a few weeks remained until Apollo 11, the actual Moon landing mission to meet President Kennedy’s goal set in 1961. Apollo 11 astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin and their backups James A. Lovell, William A. Anders, and […]
Posted June 21, 2024
Spinoffs
Glenn History
Glenn Research Center
NASA History
Technology Transfer
Technology Transfer & Spinoffs
Solar power is abundant – when the Sun is shining. Wind power is steady – when the wind is blowing. However, creating a steady electricity supply from intermittent power sources is a challenge. NASA was focused on this problem more than 45 years ago when the agency designed a new type of liquid battery during the […]
Posted June 20, 2024
NASA Centers & Facilities
Apollo
General
Kennedy Space Center
NASA History
Current and former employees of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida gathered recently to celebrate the installation of a Florida Historical Marker cast in bronze at the location of the spaceport’s old headquarters building. The first of its kind inside the center’s secure area, the marker is the latest example of the center’s commitment to […]
Posted June 20, 2024
NASA History
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) launched together from Cape Canaveral Air Force, now Space Force, Station on June 18, 2009, atop an Atlas V launch vehicle.
Posted June 18, 2024
NASA History
This article tells the story of one small American flag fortunate enough to be singled out from a group of one thousand flags just like it and embark on an incredible journey. The other 999 flags likely ended up as gifts, but this one flag had a loftier fate. It wasn’t the first American flag […]
Posted June 13, 2024
NASA History
The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL), a joint classified project of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), sought to establish a crewed platform in low Earth orbit to obtain high-resolution photographic imagery of America’s 1960s Cold War adversaries.
Posted June 11, 2024
NASA History
The voyages of the Starship Enterprise came to a sudden and premature end on June 3, 1969, with the airing of the final episode of the Star Trek original television series. Ironically, the show’s cancellation came just six weeks before humanity embarked on its first voyage to land on another celestial body. Although the show […]
Posted June 4, 2024
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