Tag: Space History
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Pioneer astronaut John Glenn finally laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery
Almost four months after his death at the age of 95, the mortal remains of former astronaut and senator John Glenn were interred today amid Marine Corps pomp and circumstance at Arlington National Cemetery. Glenn became the first American in orbit in 1962, and the oldest human in space in 1998. Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot wished…
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SpaceX makes its first liftoff from NASA’s historic moon pad – and then lands Falcon 9 booster
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket rises from Launch Complex 39A. (NASA via YouTube) SpaceX sent a rocket rising from NASA’s historic Launch Complex 39A today for the first time since the space shuttle fleet retired, marking a new chapter for a pad that served as the springboard for Apollo moon missions. The Falcon 9 rocket sent…
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Museum of Flight gets intact moon rocket engine to go with beat-up Apollo artifacts
An Apollo-era F-1 rocket engine arrives on a flatbed truck. (Museum of Flight Photo) When historic rocket engine parts from the Apollo moon missions go on display in May in Seattle, museumgoers will be able to compare them with an intact F-1 engine. The 50-year-old, 18.5-foot-tall engine arrived at one of the Museum of Flight’s…
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50 years after Apollo 1 fire, NASA exhibits fatal artifacts in Florida for the first time
Kennedy Space Center’s “Ad Astra Per Aspera” exhibit honors Apollo 1 astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, who died in a launch pad fire in 1967. (NASA Photo / Kim Shiflett) Fifty years ago today, three NASA astronauts died in a launch pad fire when they couldn’t open the hatch of their Apollo…
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Last man to walk on the moon, Gene Cernan, leaves behind a dying wish
Apollo 17’s Gene Cernan wears a spacesuit smeared with lunar dirt in 1972. (NASA Photo) Apollo 17 commander Gene Cernan, the last human to leave footprints on the moon, passed away today – but his family says his dying wish remains to be fulfilled. “Even at the age of 82, Gene was passionate about sharing his desire…
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‘You press on’: Buzz Aldrin talks about South Pole medical scare and John Glenn
Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin check out the engines on a Saturn V rocket at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. “I’m feeling better and my rocket is ready to launch,” he tweeted. (Buzz Aldrin Photo via Twitter) Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin made light of what some might consider a close brush with death during…
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Obama orders U.S. flags to fly at half-staff to mark space hero John Glenn’s passing
A flag flies at half-staff at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. (House of Representatives Photo) American flags around the world will be flying at half-staff for the next few days in memory of John Glenn, the pioneering astronaut and long-serving senator who died Thursday at the age of 95. The traditional order was given today…
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Astronaut-senator John Glenn, first (and oldest) American in orbit, dies at age of 95
John Glenn orbited the planet in 1962 and flew on the space shuttle in 1998. (NASA Photo) Godspeed, John Glenn. The first American to go into orbit, and the first astronaut to become a senator and presidential candidate, died today in Ohio at the age of 95. The Columbus Dispatch reported that Glenn was surrounded…
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Get an exclusive video tour of the Museum of Flight’s Apollo moon rocket artifacts
It’s been almost a year since Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos unveiled pieces of the Saturn V rocket engines that propelled Apollo’s astronauts to the moon – and now you can watch a video guide to the goodies, courtesy of Seattle’s Museum of Flight (and GeekWire). Next spring, the decades-old artifacts will be among the highlights of…
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Apollo 11 moon ship may go on tour for 50th anniversary – and stop by Seattle
The Apollo 11 command module, shown here at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., is due to go on a road trip in 2019. (Credit: Smithsonian Institution / NASM) The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum is laying the groundwork for a 50th-anniversary traveling exhibit featuring Apollo 11 space hardware, including the…