Space Rocket History

On November 9, 1970, the Apollo 14/Saturn V assembly, as tall as a 36-story building, rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building on the proportionally huge crawler transporter.

Even with all the problems, Shepard piloted the Lunar Module Antares to the most accurate landing of the entire Apollo program. Shepard became the fifth and, at the age of 47, the oldest man to walk on the Moon, and … Continue reading →

After the Mercury-Atlas 10 mission was canceled, Shepard was designated as the Commander of the first crewed Gemini mission, with Thomas P. Stafford chosen as his pilot.

On January 19, 1961, Robert R. Gilruth, the director of NASA’s Space Task Group, informed the seven astronauts that Shepard had been chosen for the first American crewed mission into space.

Although the Shepards were well off, the children were not coddled. Their father valued work and made sure each child performed their share of domestic chores.  Alan’s father was a stern and serious disciplinarian, Alan inherited a stoicism and toughness … Continue reading →

In the Astronaut Office, it was his intellectual bent that set him apart from some of the other pilots, along with a certain hard edge. 

As a Smoke Jumper, Roosa parachuted into at least four active fires in Oregon and California during the 1953 fire season.

There were some people who wondered why America’s first man in space Alan Shepard, at age forty-seven, having acquired fame, wealth, and status as an American hero, would risk his life to go to the moon.

The Apollo 14 crew were constantly aware that if their mission failed—if they had to turn back—it was probably the end of the Apollo program.

With the successful launch of Dongfanghong I, China became the fifth country after the Soviet Union, United States, France, and Japan to independently launch a satellite.

Osumi was the name of the first Japanese satellite placed into orbit. It was named after the Osumi Province in the southern islands of Japan.

At midnight June 1, 1970 Soyuz 9 lifted off from Area 31 at Baikonur and successfully entered low earth orbit with an apogee of 227 km and a perigee of 176 km.

The original Soyuz 9 mission was planned to fly two Soyuz spacecraft in the August to September 1970 time frame for a rendezvous and docking; however, at the end of December 1969 the communist party bosses ordered that the mission … Continue reading →

The VENERA 7 lander was the hardiest of the Soviet Venus probes yet built. Its creators wanted the vessel to land on the planet’s surface in working order.

Luna 16 was the first robotic probe to land on the Moon and return a sample of lunar soil to Earth after five unsuccessful similar attempts.

“Three brave astronauts are alive and on Earth because of the mission operations teams’ dedication, and because at the critical moments the people of that team were wise enough and self-possessed enough to make the right decisions. Their extraordinary feat … Continue reading →

“During blackout every team member does his own soul searching, reviewing the decisions and the data, knowing they had to be nearly perfect and knowing how tough perfection is.” Gene Kranz

To Kranz and his team, this crew was special. They just could not lose them.  Failure was not an option.

Three hours before dawn, Gene Kranz’ White Team took its place next to Windler’s Maroon Team controllers. The eighty hours of uncertainty were now past and mission control was down to Apollo 13’s final shift.

While the Mercury 7 were fulfilling their roles as symbols of space exploration, Korolev was once again offering the real thing. He now prepared to undertake the most demanding mission yet. The mission that would accomplish the next step in … Continue reading →