Bonnie Dunbar « AmericaSpace

At its Best: Remembering Columbia's STS-32 Mission, OTD in 1990

By Ben Evans, on January 9th, 2021

OTD in 1990, Columbia launched STS-32, a mission which ticked off almost everything the shuttle could do: satellite deployment, retrieval, rendezvous & long-duration flight. And a highly classified birthday, too. […]

You Mean the City? Remembering Challenger's Last Successful Launch, OTD in 1985

By Ben Evans, on October 30th, 2020

OTD in 1985, shuttle #Challenger launched successfully for the last time & completed a week-long research flight for what was then West Germany. […]

We Have Capture: Remembering STS-71 and Shuttle-Mir, 25 Years On

By Ben Evans, on June 27th, 2020

Twenty-five years ago, an enduring period of co-operation between the United States and Russia began with the first shuttle-Mir docking mission. Photo Credit: NASA

Twenty-five years ago, this summer, six U.S. astronauts and four Russian cosmonauts circled the Earth together in a remarkable exercise of co-operation between two former superpowers and ideological foes. In […]

To Live With Russians: Remembering America’s Long Mission to Mir, 25 Years On (Part 2)

By Ben Evans, on March 30th, 2020

U.S. astronaut Norm Thagard sleeps aboard Mir, during his lengthy voyage. Photo Credit: NASA

Twenty-five years ago, this month, the first U.S. astronaut in history was launched aboard a non-U.S. spacecraft, atop a non-U.S. rocket, from a non-U.S. nation, with a crew entirely composed of non-U.S. comrades. Four-time Space Shuttle flyer Dr. Norm Thagard had spent […]

To Live Like Russians: Remembering America’s Long Mission to Mir, 25 Years On (Part 1)

By Ben Evans, on March 22nd, 2020

Norm Thagard and Bonnie Dunbar participate in Soyuz-TM training in October 1994. Photo Credit: NASA

In March 2020, it seems inconceivable to think of U.S. astronauts being totally unaccustomed to long-duration spaceflight. Over the past quarter-century, no fewer than 67 Americans—from civilian medical doctors to biochemists and engineers to physicists, and from Army and […]

At Its Best: Remembering STS-32, Thirty Years On

By Ben Evans, on January 5th, 2020

Thirty years ago, this month, the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was plucked from orbit after almost six years. It was a triumphant moment as the Space Shuttle Program sought to recover from the loss of Challenger. Photo Credit: NASA

Thirty years ago, in January 1990, the Space Shuttle turned a corner. Long touted […]

'To Make Life as Good as Possible': 25 Years Since STS-50 Stretched the Space Shuttle

By Ben Evans, on June 17th, 2017

A quarter-century ago, STS-50 set a new record for the longest Space Shuttle mission at that time. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de

Twenty-five years ago, next week, the crew of Columbia roared into orbit to begin the longest shuttle mission ever attempted at that time. Equipped with the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) […]

'The Most Beautiful Thing': 30 Years Since Challenger's Last Successful Mission (Part 2)

By Ben Evans, on October 25th, 2015

In one of the final views of Challenger in space, the orbiter sails over the cloud-bedecked Earth, with the Spacelab D-1 module clearly visible in her payload bay. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de

Thirty years ago, next week, Space Shuttle Challenger flew in space for the final time. Mission 61A—the ninth and […]

'Dallas? You Mean the City?' 30 Years Since Challenger's Last Successful Mission (Part 1)

By Ben Evans, on October 24th, 2015

Thirty years ago, next week, Shuttle Challenger launched on her final successful mission. Photo Credit: NASA

It is a dismaying fact of history that the name “Challenger”—when spoken in relation to the second spaceworthy vehicle of NASA’s shuttle fleet—is so often associated only with the dreadful catastrophe which snuffed out seven lives on […]

'To Work Co-operatively': 20 Years Since the First Shuttle-Mir Docking Mission (Part 4)

By Ben Evans, on June 28th, 2015

Mir Commander Vladimir Dezhurov (left) and STS-71 Commander Robert “Hoot” Gibson shake hands after hatch opening on 29 June 1995. Photo Credit: NASA

Two decades have passed, this week, since one of the most remarkable instances of international co-operation ever seen in human history. For 10 days, between 27 June and 7 July […]

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At its Best: Remembering Columbia's STS-32 Mission, OTD in 1990

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You Mean the City? Remembering Challenger's Last Successful Launch, OTD in 1985

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We Have Capture: Remembering STS-71 and Shuttle-Mir, 25 Years On

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To Live With Russians: Remembering America’s Long Mission to Mir, 25 Years On (Part 2)

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To Live Like Russians: Remembering America’s Long Mission to Mir, 25 Years On (Part 1)

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At Its Best: Remembering STS-32, Thirty Years On

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'To Make Life as Good as Possible': 25 Years Since STS-50 Stretched the Space Shuttle

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'The Most Beautiful Thing': 30 Years Since Challenger's Last Successful Mission (Part 2)

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'Dallas? You Mean the City?' 30 Years Since Challenger's Last Successful Mission (Part 1)

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'To Work Co-operatively': 20 Years Since the First Shuttle-Mir Docking Mission (Part 4)

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