Make Your Career Soar
Thirty-seven years ago this month, the first joint United States-Soviet Union spaceflight was successfully conducted. This historic event also marked the first time that spacecraft from two nations successfully rendezvoused and docked in orbit. The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) was the first international manned spaceflight. The primary objectives of ASTP… Read More
Forty-five years ago this week, the Explorer 35 satellite was launched on a mission to investigate the space environment in the vicinity of the Moon. Among other discoveries, the 230-lb satellite would find that the Moon does not have a magnetosphere like Earth. Explorer is the longest running satellite program in… Read More
Forty-six years ago this month, NASA Astronauts John W. Young and Michael Collins completed the highly successful mission of Gemini 10. Among other accomplishments, the Gemini 10 crew established a new manned spaceflight record when they rode their Gemini-Agena spacecraft to an altitude of 412 nm above the Earth. The… Read More
Twenty-three years ago this month, the USAF/Northrop B-2 Stealth Strategic Bomber flew for the first time. The aircrew for the B-2’s maiden trip upstairs included Northrop B-2 Division Chief Test Pilot Bruce J. Hinds (command pilot) and B-2 Combined Test Force Commander USAF Col. Richard S. Couch (co-pilot). The B-2… Read More
Fifty-two years ago this month, the Transit 2A and GRAB 1 satellites were successfully launched into orbit by a Thor Able Star launch vehicle. This marked the first time that multiple functional satellites were orbited on the same mission. On Wednesday, 22 June 1960, Thor Able Star 281 roared away… Read More
I recently came across this thought-provoking excerpt while conducting final research for our soon to be released Aerospace Lessons-Learned course. These are sobering words, yet extremely accurate. As aerospace professionals, striving for advances in a field fraught with the unknown, we will encounter failure. Without a doubt, we will fail. However,… Read More
Twenty-six years ago this month, the United States Army’s Homing Overlay Experiment (HOE) anti-missile successfully intercepted a ballistic missile target in space. The feat marked the first time in aerospace history that an exoatmospheric hit-to-kill intercept was achieved. The HOE Program was a technology demonstration effort conducted by the United… Read More
Thirty-eight years ago this month, the No. 1 USAF/Northrop YF-17 Cobra Lightweight Fighter (LWF) prototype made its maiden flight from Edwards Air Force Base, California. Northrop Chief Test Pilot Henry E. “Hank” Chouteau was at the controls of the agile twin-engine jet. The Lightweight Fighter (LWF) Technology Program was a… Read More
Forty-one years ago this week, the last of the USAF/Boeing Thor Burner II launch vehicle series successfully orbited the SESP-1 space environment satellite. Launch took place from SLC-10W at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on Tuesday, 08 June 1971. The Thor Burner family of launch vehicles was designed to orbit… Read More
Fifty-one years ago this month, the United States Navy Strato Lab V manned balloon soared to a record altitude of 113,740 feet above the Gulf of Mexico. The crew for this historic flight was Commander Malcolm D. Ross, USNR and Lt Commander Victor G. Prather, USN. Strato Lab was a… Read More
