Mission Monday: Five fast facts about the first American in space
On May 5, 1961, NASA astronaut Alan Shepard Jr. became the first American in space. 59 years ago, Shepard launched into space inside his Freedom 7 capsule. The sub-orbital flight lasted just over 15 minutes, traveled greater than 300 miles, and climbed to an altitude of over 116 miles above
Mission Monday: ISS as a National Laboratory
The International Space Station was designated a “national lab” in 2005. In its 20 years of existence, some groundbreaking research has been done in its cozy confines. The work continues every day. With each crew launch and supply mission, new experiments and research is delivered to and from space. Back
Mission Monday: Two Space Station expeditions launch and land in April
This month two International Space Station missions launched and landed. Get a glimpse into Expedition 62 and 63 in this Mission Monday post! Expedition 63 launches to the International Space Station On April 9, the crew of Expedition 63 launched into space aboard their Soyuz spacecraft. Shortly after launch, the
Mission Monday: Five fast facts about the first person in space
59 years ago, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin launched on a historic mission. He journeyed where no one had before and returned safely home. He had just become the first person to orbit the Earth. April 12, 1961, Gagarin became the first person in space, making a 108-minute orbital flight in his
Mission Monday: NASA announces Mercury 7, America’s first astronaut class
Last week NASA announced they received 12,000 new astronaut applications during the most recent call for applicants, the second highest number ever received. As we celebrate this milestone, we want to look back at the anniversary of the very first astronaut class selected 61 years ago this week. The new
Mission Monday: Meet NASA’s new astronauts!
NASA added 11 new astronauts to its ranks in January. Get to know these scientists, engineers, doctors, and pilots in this week’s Mission Monday! Five women and six men comprise NASA’s graduating astronaut class of 2020. This new class brings NASA’s current count of active astronauts in their corps to
Mission Monday: Preparing people to go to the Moon and beyond with Artemis
NASA once again set its eyes on the Moon, but the road back won’t be easy. A team of NASA researchers and scientists are figuring out how to best prepare astronauts for these longer duration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. NASA’s Artemis program seeks to land the first
Mission Monday: Gemini 8 and Agena, the first docking with an uncrewed spacecraft
On this day in 1966, Neil Armstrong and David Scott made history when they successfully docked Gemini 8 with the Agena target vehicle in space. This marked the first docking with an uncrewed spacecraft in Earth orbit. Nestled in between NASA’s Mercury and Apollo programs, Gemini (1965-1966) focused on testing
Mission Monday: Pioneer 4 becomes first American spacecraft to travel beyond Earth orbit
Since opening its doors in 1958, one of the core objectives of NASA has been to explore worlds beyond our own. On March 3, 1959, the young space agency achieved a thrilling milestone when it launched Pioneer 4, the first American spacecraft to travel beyond Earth orbit. Not long after
Mission Monday: Apollo-Saturn 201 flight debuts Saturn IB rocket
On the pathway to the Moon, there were more small steps than Neil Armstrong’s off the Lunar Module on July 20, 1969. NASA also had to step its way up to the Saturn V rocket. One of those steps was called the Saturn IB. On Feb. 26, 1966, the first
