Apollo
Buzz Aldrin: It’s time to colonize the Red Planet
At 84 years of age, Apollo 11’s Buzz Aldrin still has a lot to say. And with a lifetime of experiences behind him – and ahead of him yet as well – he’s hoping those in power in Washington D.C. and at NASA will listen to his plans to colonize the planet Mars during the next four …
Unsung heroes of the Apollo program
For years history has celebrated the crews of elite astronauts who rode fire to the Moon and the unique twelve who walked on its surface. To a lesser degree, the senior mission specialists working in Houston and in Florida were also lauded. But at its height during the Apollo program 400,000 people were involved in …
Learning celestial navigation at Morehead Planetarium
You might not think a visit to a planetarium could save your life, but that’s how at least seven astronauts see the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. Nearly every astronaut in the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab programs made multiple visits to Morehead to learn celestial navigation. Each spent at least …
Abandon in place: Betty Grissom’s last visit to Apollo 1 memorial?
Is Gus Grissom’s widow herself about to “abandon in place” the memorial vigil she has maintained over the last 48 years since the fiery death suffered by her husband, Astronaut Commander Virgil “Gus” Grissom and fellow astronauts Roger Chaffee and Ed White back in 1967 at Pad 34 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS)? They …
Spacefest V: The ultimate party for space lovers
Recollections of Spacefest V “The past is prologue” as I once heard. A once politicised and technology based race to the Moon has yielded innumerable spin-off benefits and technology, but has also served as a prologue to many other events. The birth and rise of the new commercial space industry. International Space Agency cooperation with …
A conversation with Skylab 4 astronaut Ed Gibson
America’s first space station, Skylab was launched into orbit on a Saturn V rocket in May of 1973. Three manned missions to the outpost were immensely successful. Repairs made to the orbital station during several spacewalks ultimately proved that it was possible for astronauts to conduct work in outer space, which gave NASA the confidence …
Skylab: Disaster followed by triumph
The launch of any new spacecraft cannot be regarded as ‘routine’; nor, indeed, can its inaugural checkout in orbit. The Skylab orbital workshop was an entirely new concept for the United States and a totally different spacecraft, larger, more spacious and in many ways far more complex, than any that had gone before. Shortly after launch, telemetry data indicated a premature deployment of the protective micrometeoroid shield and the No. 2 workshop solar array. The very future of the space station was hanging by a thread.
Skylab: The flown and unflown missions
An overview of each Skylab mission, from launch of the orbiting space station through the once planned Space Shuttle rescue mission.
Salute to the Pioneers of Space
The last man to walk on the Moon decided to celebrate the 40th anniversary of this occasion at the place where his flight career started. Held Dec. 15 at the National Naval Aviation Museum, with 1,200 of his friends, the event was split up into several different panel discussions. The morning panel included individuals such …
Gene Cernan: A conversation with the last men on the Moon
Forty years have passed since he left mankind’s last bootprint on the Moon, but Gene Cernan is a man focused on the future. He strongly believes that inspiring dreams within children, and encouraging STEM education is the path to a future where we walk on the Moon again. Cernan: “What we have to do is …