Space Shuttle: The End of An Era - National Air and Space Museum
Aug 10, 2011 · To fulfill its variety of missions, the versatile space shuttle required crews with more skills and abilities than piloting, thus opening opportunities for scientists, engineers, …
The First Space Shuttle: 40 Years Since STS-1
Apr 12, 2021 · The legacy of the Space Shuttle program was to some degree built around the results of its very first mission. The reusable spaceplane, the Space Shuttle, ushered in a new …
“General Joe”: Remembering Pilot and Astronaut Joe Engle
Jul 25, 2024 · Maj. Gen. Joe Engle's experiences as a test pilot of both the X-15 aircraft and Space Shuttle orbiters Enterprise, Columbia, and Discovery made him the first person to ever …
Ellison Shoji Onizuka: The First Asian American in Space
May 24, 2024 · When NASA astronaut Ellison Onizuka rode Space Shuttle Discovery into space on shuttle mission STS-51-C in 1985, he made history on several counts. He was the first …
Remembering Challenger 25 Years Later - National Air and Space …
Jan 28, 2011 · The Challenger tragedy triggered expressions of public mourning as people left flowers, flags, and other mementos at sites associated with the space program. Here at the …
The Soviet Buran Shuttle: One Flight, Long History
Nov 15, 2013 · This month marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the sole launch of the Soviet space shuttle Buran. The idea of a reusable space plane has existed for decades among …
Redefining How NASA Gets into Space - National Air and Space …
May 26, 2020 · The end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 signaled a time of change for NASA. Not only because its longest operational vehicle was going out of service, but because …
Forty Years of Discovery - National Air and Space Museum
Aug 30, 2024 · In total, six of unique Space Shuttle orbiters were built but Discovery stands out with the greatest flight history record: 39 missions and 365 total days spent in space. That’s …
Guy Bluford: First African American in Space
Aug 30, 2023 · In late August 1983, a soft-spoken Philadelphia-born African American man flew into history. Despite launch delays totaling six weeks, the spectacular first night launch (and …
Space Shuttle Legacy: How We Did It and What We Learned
In Space Shuttle Legacy: How We Did It and What We Learned, expert historians, political scientists, public administrators, engineers, and scientists have combined to answer the …