By Ben Evans, on April 24th, 2020
Discovery roars into orbit, 30 years ago today, to deliver NASA’s showpiece Hubble Space Telescope (HST). In three decades of operational service to date, Hubble had done nothing less than rewrite the astronomy textbooks and reinvent our awareness of our place in the Universe. Photo Credit: NASA
Thirty years ago today, shuttle Discovery and […]
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By Ben Evans, on December 30th, 2019
The STS-103 astronauts were the only Space Shuttle crew to celebrate Christmas in orbit, way back in 1999. Photo Credit: NASA
Twenty years ago, seven astronauts spent Christmas Day in space, peering from the windows of shuttle Discovery. STS-103 in December 1999 marked the only occasion in the shuttle program’s three decades of service […]
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By Ben Evans, on December 22nd, 2019
Orbital sunrise causes the solar arrays of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) to glisten in this spectacular view from STS-103. Photo Credit: NASA
Twenty years ago, as the world neared the dawn of a new millennium, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) circled the globe in urgent need of servicing and repair. By December 1999, […]
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By Ben Evans, on August 25th, 2019
Neptune, as seen by Voyager 2 in 1989. No other missions have yet returned to this enigmatic world. Photo Credit: NASA/JPL
READ Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of AmericaSpace’s Neptune 30th anniversary commemorative feature.
Thirty years ago today, NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft swept silently over the royal-blue clouds of Neptune at […]
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By Ben Evans, on August 24th, 2019
The Great Dark Spot and Bright Companion, together with the chevron-like “Scooter” are visible in this Voyager 2 image of Neptune. Photo Credit: NASA
READ Part 1 and Part 2 of AmericaSpace’s Neptune 30th anniversary commemorative feature.
Thirty years ago this weekend, NASA’s Voyager 2 spacecraft swept silently above Neptune’s royal-blue cloud-tops and […]
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By Ben Evans, on February 26th, 2017
Columbia roars into the pre-dawn darkness on 1 March 2002, beginning her final wholly-successful mission. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de
Rising into the pre-dawn darkness on 1 March 2002—15 years ago, next week—Space Shuttle Columbia’s 27th mission into low-Earth orbit would achieve, literally, the greatest heights of her storied career. In more […]
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By Ben Evans, on February 25th, 2017
The Hubble Space Telescope appears to “fly” over Earth as it is photographed during STS-109. Photo Credit: NASA
Fifteen years ago, next week, Columbia roared into orbit on her final wholly-successful mission, STS-109. It was the 27th flight of a vehicle which had ushered in the dawn of the Space Shuttle era, back […]
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By Ben Evans, on February 12th, 2017
Twenty years ago, on STS-82, the Hubble Space Telescope was transformed from a 1970s instrument with 1980s optics into an observatory for 21st-century scientific discovery. Photo Credit: NASA
Two decades ago, yesterday, on 11 February 1997, Space Shuttle Discovery roared into the night with a seven-strong crew—Commander Ken Bowersox, Pilot Scott “Doc” Horowitz, […]
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By Ben Evans, on February 11th, 2017
Barely illuminated by sunlight, Joe Tanner is pictured during EVA-4 on STS-82. Photo Credit: NASA
Twenty years have now passed since a seven-man rocketed into the night to begin the second servicing mission to the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Coming on the heels of the ambitious STS-61 shuttle flight in December […]
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By Ben Evans, on December 24th, 2016
With a fire unavailable, the Christmas stockings of consecutive International Space Station (ISS) crews have been hung by the hatch—with care, of course. Photo Credit: NASA
For the first time, a woman will record as many as two Christmases spent away from the Home Planet tomorrow (Sunday), whilst orbiting Earth aboard the International […]
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