
10 years ago today, “the ship which led the way time and time again” was launched into space for the final time. Her name: Discovery. […]
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![]() On 4 July 1982, the crew of STS-4 became the first U.S. astronauts to spend Independence Day in space. It also marked the date of their spectacular return to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Photo Credit: NASA On the morning of 4 July 1982, a rapidly-moving black-and-white speck appeared on the horizon at Edwards […] ![]() Columbia launches on STS-87, 20 years ago today. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de Twenty years ago today, on 19 November 1997, a shuttle mission with a difference rose from Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. It was the first flight from the 39B complex since January, and on […] ![]() President Bill Clinton introduces the STS-95 crew, including John Glenn, at a press conference at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, in April 1998. Photo Credit: NASA Three weeks before the New Era began, the Old Era ended. Today, 1998 is remembered as the year in which the on-orbit fabrication of […] ![]() On 29 October 1998, at the age of 77, John Glenn became the oldest person ever to venture into space. It is a record which still stands. Photo Credit: NASA Even today, almost two decades since his headline-grabbing flight, veteran Project Mercury astronaut John Glenn retains the world record as the oldest living […] ![]() The Quest airlock, showing its wide equipment lock and its narrow crew lock, is maneuvered into position during STS-104. Photo Credit: NASA, via Joachim Becker/SpaceFacts.de On 116 occasions in the past 15 years, white-suited spacewalkers from the United States, France, Russia, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Japan, Italy, and the United Kingdom have departed a […] ![]() Commander Ken Mattingly and Pilot Hank Hartsfield salute President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan on Edwards’ concrete Runway 22 on Independence Day in 1982. Columbia is clearly visible in the background. Photo Credit: NASA “Eight, seven, six … Go for Main Engine Start … ” It was a familiar preamble from […] ![]() SNC technicians inspect the Dream Chaser engineering test article (ETA ahead of its second flight test program, expected to begin soon at Edwards AFB in California soon. The first Dream Chaser launch to the ISS will be in 2019, SNC’s new flight test program eliminates the need for an orbital flight test before […] |