America’s third moon mission, Apollo 13, was launched on 11 April 1970. The crew of astronauts James Lovell, John Swigert and Fred Haise had ignored…
Browsing: Space Race
America had not seen such a star-spangled day in years. Washington DC was particularly festive and exuberant, with flags and banners fluttering gaily above the…
It seemed the whole world had stopped. Then, clear as crystal, came those immortal words . . . “That’s one small step for man -…
1 9 3 0 – 2 0 1 2 Neil Alden Armstrong was born on 5 August 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He entered Purdue University,…
America’s first crewed space station – constructed from a modified, uncrewed Saturn V rocket upper stage (S-IVB) – was launched into low Earth orbit by…
In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the USA and the Soviet Union raced each other to be first into space. The Soviet Union won. On 4…
Plans for the Space Shuttle were created in 1972 as a way to keep the cost of spaceflight down. The first space shuttle orbiter Enterprise flew in…
When the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded on take-off on 28 January 1986, millions of Americans became bound together in a single, historic moment. Many still vividly remember…
The world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957, catching the Western world by surprise…
1 9 3 4 – 1 9 6 8 Yuri Gagarin literally rocketed to fame when he became the first man in space in April…