NASA History

“A genuine space success story,” is how Experiments Manager William Kerslake described NASA’s second Space Electric Rocket Test (SERT II), the first long-duration operation of ion thrusters in space.

Posted April 11, 2024

NASA History

60 Years Ago: Gemini 1 Flies a Successful Uncrewed Test Flight

On April 8, 1964, Gemini 1 successfully completed the first uncrewed test flight of the Gemini spacecraft and its Titan II booster. The three-orbit mission proved the structural integrity of the spacecraft and the launch vehicle, paving the way for a second uncrewed test flight and ultimately missions with astronauts.

Posted April 9, 2024

NASA History

Artemis 2

Astronauts

Becoming an Astronaut

Project Mercury

From NASA’s First Astronaut Class to Artemis II: The Importance of Military Jet Pilot Experience

The Mercury 7 On April 9, 1959, reporters and news media crammed into the ballroom of the Dolley Madison House in Washington—the location of NASA Headquarters at that time—to learn the names of the first American astronauts who came to be known as the Mercury 7. Public Information Director Walter Bonney kicked off the announcement […]

Posted April 9, 2024

NASA History

40 Years Ago: STS-41C, the Solar Max Repair Mission

On Apr. 6, 1984, space shuttle Challenger took off on its fifth flight, STS-41C. Its five-person crew of Commander Robert L. “Crip” Crippen, Pilot Francis R. “Dick” Scobee, and Mission Specialists Terry J. “TJ” Hart, James D. “Ox” Van Hoften, and George D. “Pinky Nelson flew a seven-day mission that expanded the shuttle’s capabilities. They […]

Posted April 5, 2024

NASA History

Eclipses Near and Far

On April 8, 2024, North America will witness its last total solar eclipse for more than twenty years. Other parts of the world will experience the rare celestial event in the coming decade. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes directly between the Sun and the Earth, blocking its disk from view but […]

Posted April 4, 2024

NASA History

Project Mercury

65 Years Ago: NASA Selects America’s First Astronauts

On Nov. 5, 1958, NASA, newly established to lead America’s civilian space program, formally established the Space Task Group (STG) at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to implement one of the nation’s top priorities – to develop a spacecraft capable of sending humans into space and returning them safely to Earth. In January […]

Posted April 3, 2024

NASA History

STS-107

US House of Representatives Columbia Accident Documents

House Representative Statements The following are some of the statements made by Representatives regarding the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia. February 1, 2003: Representative Sherwood Boehlert PRESS RELEASEDate Released: Saturday, February 01, 2003House Science Committee Boehlert Statement on Space Shuttle Columbia Tragedy WASHINGTON, D.C.

Posted March 28, 2024

NASA History

Space Shuttle

45 Years Ago: Space Shuttle Columbia Arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

On March 24, 1979, space shuttle Columbia arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the very first time. Following Presidential direction to build the space shuttle in 1972, Congress quickly approved and funded the program later that year. Construction of the first orbital vehicle, later named Columbia, began in 1975.

Posted March 22, 2024

NASA History

Apollo

55 Years Ago: Four Months Until the Moon Landing

The road to the Moon landing cleared a major hurdle in March 1969 with the flight of Apollo 9 that tested all components of the spacecraft in low Earth orbit. Astronauts James A. McDivitt and Russell L. Schweickart flew the Lunar Module (LM) Spider while David R. Scott awaited their return in the Command Module […]

Posted March 20, 2024

NASA History

20 Years Ago: First Image of Earth from Mars and Other Postcards of Home

On March 8, 2004, the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit took the first image of Earth from the surface of another planet. The Earth appearing as nothing more than a bright star provided a new perspective on our home planet, a perspective reshaped over the past eight decades as cameras aboard rockets and spacecraft traveled farther […]

Posted March 7, 2024