American Spaceflight and the History of the Space Race
Being an astronaut is a dangerous job. Many things can go wrong during any phase of a mission, and there is no guarantee that a rocket or spacecraft will go where it is expected to. As a result, as part of their training astronauts are taught how to survive alone in the wilderness.
The location of almost every Apollo spacecraft is more or less accounted for. There is one spacecraft, however, whose location is still something of a mystery even 50 years after it flew.
'Eagle' is probably NASA's most iconic spacecraft name, thanks to Neil Armstrong's announcement to Mission Control in July 1969 that 'the Eagle has landed'. It is one of over thirty names that has been bestowed on crewed spacecraft in NASA's history, some of which are more memorable than others for a variety of reasons. Here … Continue reading NASA’s tradition of naming spacecraft
The history books show that the crew of Apollo 17 - Gene Cernan, Jack Schmitt and Ron Evans - are the last people to have travelled to the Moon to date. It wasn't always meant to be that way. NASA had originally planned three extra missions (Apollo 18, 19 and 20), but dwindling public and … Continue reading The cancelled Moon landings: Apollo 18, 19 and 20
Many people consider Apollo 15 to be the crowning glory of the Apollo programme in terms of science. It's therefore quite fitting that the crew managed to find time to pay homage to one of the most famous scientists of all time.
Go For Landing 