April 10, 1984: The Solar Max satellite sits berthed in Challenger’s payload bay, the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm moving… Read more Forty Years ago: Eleventh Shuttle mission snares a satellite
Forty Years ago: Shuttle tries to snag a wobbly satellite
April 8, 1984: George “Pinky” Nelson, flying the Manned Maneuvering Unit (bottom right), closes in for a try to dock… Read more Forty Years ago: Shuttle tries to snag a wobbly satellite
Sixty years ago: Gemini takes flight for the first time (sort of)
April 8, 1964: The first Gemini, just a shell of the spacecraft, lifts off from Pad 19. ***** Sixty years… Read more Sixty years ago: Gemini takes flight for the first time (sort of)
Forty years ago: 11th Shuttle launches on the first mission to repair a satellite
The day after its April 6, 1984, launch, Challenger drops off the bus-size Long Duration Exposure Facility before continuing to… Read more Forty years ago: 11th Shuttle launches on the first mission to repair a satellite
The many flights of Tom Stafford (1930-2014)
Tom Stafford, one of the last Gemini astronauts. Now only three remain alive, Jim Lovell, Dave Scott and Buzz Aldrin.… Read more The many flights of Tom Stafford (1930-2014)
Astronaut & Administrator Dick Truly 1937 – 2024
Dick Truly in front of the prototype Shuttle, Enterprise. ***** The obituaries certainly mention that he flew two Shuttle flights,… Read more Astronaut & Administrator Dick Truly 1937 – 2024
55 years ago: The Lunar Module flies solo
March 7 1969: Apollo 9’s Lunar Module, Spider, sets out on its solo flight. ***** A Spider’s song As with… Read more 55 years ago: The Lunar Module flies solo
Forty years ago: The first Shuttle landing at KSC
Feb. 11, 1984: The tenth Shuttle flight finally lands one at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). ***** Just after midnight, EST,… Read more Forty years ago: The first Shuttle landing at KSC
Forty years ago: Wringing out the MMU a second time
February 9, 1984: Bruce McCandless in the MMU descends toward a docking using the Trunnion Pin Attachment Device ((T-PAD) locked at… Read more Forty years ago: Wringing out the MMU a second time
50 Years ago: Skylab program ends with a splash
February 8, 1974: The final Skylab crew in their Apollo pulls away from the space station, concluding the flight program. *****… Read more 50 Years ago: Skylab program ends with a splash
tlitiptree 