NASA History

       It’s hard to think of a time before space exploration, especially for those of you who are in elementary school.  I bet if you ask your grandparents, they will have stories about watching some of the first space missions take place, on TV.  It’s pretty amazing considering the fact that less than 70 years before we put a man on the moon, humans weren’t even flying yet. 

Inception

            In 1958, President Eisenhower commissioned the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA.  That year, NASA had its first launch and also launched the first satellite into orbit.  The next year, the first meteorological satellite was launched, helping to predict the weather all over the world.

Groovy Sixties

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy officially started the “space race”.  He committed to putting a man on the moon before the year 1970.  He made this commitment only 20 days after the first American was launched into space.  During the next few years, NASA continued testing space travel with Project Mercury.  John Glenn piloted one of the most famous Mercury flights, becoming the first American to orbit the earth. 

            Eventually, Project Mercury was ended and NASA moved to Project Gemini.  These flights put humans in orbit for days at a time. In 1965, Frank Borman and James A. Lovell stayed in orbit for 14 days, setting a record that would last for five years.

            In 1969, space travel really started to get exciting!  On July 20, just months before the end of the decade, Apollo 11 landed on the surface of the moon.  Two men, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon, planted an American Flag and took samples of moon rocks.  During this landing, as he stepped onto the surface of the moon, Neil Armstrong told the world that it was “one small step for man-one giant leap for mankind.” 

Psychedelic Seventies

1973 brought the launch of Skylab, an orbiting workshop for space research and technology.  This first space station was the precursor to the International Space Station (ISS), which would be launched and docked for work in 1999.  Currently 15 countries participate in the ISS project, including the United States, Russia, Japan and England. (For more info on the ISS, visit https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/main/index.html)

A photo of the International Space Station.

Tubular Eighties

In the 1970’s and 1980’s the space program launched many probes, set to explore other planets and outer regions of space.  NASA also tested many types of shuttles, leading to the familiar design from the most recent shuttle missions.  Additionally, America sent the first African American, Guion S. Bluford, and the first woman, Sally Ride, into space. 

Guion S. Bluford

Sally Ride

A Tragic Turn of Events

Although there were many triumphs, there were also some tragedies.  These included the fire that overtook the astronauts, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee while they were rehearsing the launch of Apollo 1. 

Space Shuttles Challenger and Colombia exploded while in flight, killing seven astronauts in each instance.  These astronauts included Christa McAuliffe, who is especially close to my heart, as she was a teacher chosen to be a part of the Challenger crew.  She was born in Boston and taught in New Hampshire, before perishing, while fulfilling one of her dreams.

Radical Nineties

The 1990’s held many new missions.  Much work was done on the ISS during this time.  The Hubble Telescope was also launched.  We are still getting information and images from the Hubble today.  It is currently orbiting the Earth at 5 miles per SECOND.  At that speed, you could get from New York to Los Angeles in 10 minutes!

The Hubble Telescope

           

Mad-Tight Millennium

In the first decade of the new millennium, NASA stayed the course and continued space explorations, beginning to focus on Mars and other terrestrial planets.  They also continued to expand the use of the ISS.  All of these new developments would set the stage for upcoming missions in a new era of space travel.

Space Shuttle Endeavour-  This type of shuttle has been retired, making way for a new design as we go to Mars

             

          Next week, we’ll discover the current missions of NASA, including some that are going on RIGHT NOW in space!  Be sure to visit the NASA 50th Anniversary Timeline (Linked on the right), it's actually reallllyyyy interesting and interactive!  Until then, keep your eyes on the sky.  T-minus 20 days until Space Camp!