Make Your Career Soar
Fifty-one years ago this month, USAF Major Robert M. White flew the North American X-15 hypersonic research aircraft to a record altitude of 314,750 feet (51.8 nautical miles). In doing so, he became the first X-15 pilot to be awarded USAF Astronaut Wings. The North American X-15 was the first… Read More
Fifty-two years ago this week, the United States Navy successfully orbited the Transit 4A navigation satellite which carried the SNAP-3A Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG). This historic mission marked the first time that an RTG was used as a spacecraft power source. Transit was the first operational satellite navigation system. More… Read More
Forty-seven years ago this week, USAF’s Space and Missile Systems Organization (SAMSO) successfully orbited an octet of satellites on the first mission of the Initial Defense Communication Satellite Program (IDCSP). This feat marked the beginning of America’s first operational geosynchronous orbital communications system. The Initial Defense Communications Satellite Program (IDCSP)… Read More
Forty-eight years ago this month, Astronaut Edward H. White II became the first American to perform what in NASA parlance is referred to as an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA). In everyday terms; a space walk. White, Mission Commander James A. McDivitt and their Gemini IV spacecraft were launched into low… Read More
Fifty-six years ago this month, USAF Captain Joseph W. Kittinger successfully completed the first Manhigh aero medical research balloon mission. During his 6.5-hour flight, Kittinger reached an altitude of 95,200 feet above mean sea level. Project Manhigh was a United States Air Force biomedical research program that investigated the human… Read More
Fifty-seven years ago this week, the United States Navy successfully conducted the first flight test of the Chance Vought Regulus II cruise missile. This initial test departed from and recovered to Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The Regulus II was designed as the supersonic follow-on to… Read More
Forty-eight years ago this month, the USAF/Lockheed YF-12A set a bevy of world speed and altitude peformance records. A pair of aircraft and a team of five USAF aircrew flew these missions which originated out of Edwards Air Force Base, California. The YF-12A was the interceptor variant of the vaunted… Read More
Forty-nine years ago today, NASA successfully tested the Apollo Launch Escape System (LES) during a simulated abort of a boilerplate Apollo Command Module (CM). The mission was the second of six test shots aimed at demonstrating that the LES could safely abort the CM under critical ascent flight conditions. The… Read More
Forty-five years ago today, NASA Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong narrowly escaped with his life when he was forced to eject from the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle in which he was training. Armstrong punched-out only 200 feet above ground level and spent just 4 seconds in the silk before safely landing.… Read More
Fifty-two years ago this month, NASA launched Mercury-Atlas 3 (MA-3). While technically a flight test failure, the mission had the unexpected consequence of successfully demonstrating the Mercury spacecraft abort system under realistic emergency flight conditions. Project Mercury was America’s first manned spaceflight program. Led by the National Aeronautics and Space… Read More
