Make Your Career Soar
Twenty-seven years ago this week, the Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched on its maiden spaceflight. Known as Mission STS-51J, the flight made Atlantis the fourth member of the Space Shuttle Orbiter fleet to reach Earth orbit. Mission STS-51J marked the twenty-first orbital flight of the Space Shuttle Program. The primary… Read More
Fifty-three years ago this month, the Vanguard III scientific satellite was successfully launched into Earth orbit by a 3-stage Vanguard Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV). The last of the pioneering Vanguard satellite series, Vanguard 3 made lasting contributions to the fields of earth science, space physics and satellite technology. Project Vanguard… Read More
Fifty-one years ago this month, the first Project Mercury unmanned orbital space mission was successfully conducted. Known as Mercury-Atlas No. 4 (MA-4), this spaceflight paved the way for the United States’ first manned orbital mission which took place less than 6 months later. Project Mercury was America’s first manned spaceflight program. Led… Read More
Forty-nine years ago this month, the first ASSET flight test vehicle successfully flew 1,600 nm down the Eastern Test Range following launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Boosted atop a Thor launch vehicle, the hypersonic glider reached a maximum velocity of 10,900 mph (Mach 12). The Aerothermodynamic/Elastic Structural Systems Environmental Tests… Read More
Twenty-nine years ago this week, the valiant crew of a USAF KC-135 Stratotanker performed multiple aerial refuelings of a stricken USAF F-4E Phantom II over the North Atlantic Ocean. Conducted under extremely perilous flight conditions, the remarkable actions of the aerial tanker’s crew allowed the F-4E to remain aloft long… Read More
Neil Alden Armstrong, the first man from Earth to set foot upon the Moon, departed from this life on Saturday, 25 August 2012. A native of Wapakoneta, Ohio, Armstrong spent 82 years in mortality. Flight, both in the air and in space, was a major focus of Neil Armstrong’s life. … Read More
Fifty-four years ago this month, the first of a trio of secret nuclear test shots was conducted from a remote location in the South Atlantic Ocean. These tests were conducted in support of a secret Defense Nuclear Agency program given the code name Operation Argus. In early 1958, Nicholas Christofilos,… Read More
Forty-six years ago this month, the United States successfully conducted a crucial suborbital flight test of the Apollo Command-Service Module (CSM). Known as AS-202, the unmanned space mission was the third involving the Apollo Block I spacecraft and the Saturn IB booster. The primary goal of Apollo-Saturn Mission 202 (AS-202)… Read More
Forty eight-years ago this month, the North American X-15 hit a speed of 3,590 mph (Mach 5.23) in a flight to 103,300 feet. While decelerating through Mach 4.2, the nose gear of the aircraft unexpectedly deployed in flight. The 114th powered flight of the legendary X-15 Program took place on… Read More
Forty-one years ago today, Apollo 15 landed in the Hadley-Appennine region of the Moon. The fourth manned lunar landing, Apollo 15 was one of the most scientifically successful and geologically diverse of the Apollo Lunar Landing Program. Apollo 15 lifted-off from LC-39A at Cape Canaveral, Florida at 13:34 UTC on… Read More
