Category Archives: space exploration

Three Soviet cosmonauts who set endurance record for space flights die on return to Earth 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 30 1971)

1970s, space exploration


Video: 'Soyuz 11 - Death Of Three Astronauts'

(Wednesday, June 30, 1971, approximately 1:47 a.m. Moscow Standard Time) — After a successful mission aboard Salyut 1, the world’s first manned space station, the crew of the Soyuz 11 spacecraft were killed today during their return into Earth’s atmosphere after 23 days on the orbiting station, setting a new record for time spent in space. Continue reading Three Soviet cosmonauts who set endurance record for space flights die on return to Earth 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jun 30 1971) →

President Kennedy aims to put an American on the Moon ‘before this decade is out’ 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 25 1961)

1960s, space exploration, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'President Kennedy's "Moon Address" to Congress, May 25, 1961'

(Thursday, May 25, 1961, 12:30-1:00 p.m. EDT) — U.S. President John F. Kennedy, addressing a joint session of the Congress today, declared “I believe this nation should commit itself, to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the earth.” Continue reading President Kennedy aims to put an American on the Moon ‘before this decade is out’ 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 25 1961) →

Astronaut Alan Shepard, first American in space, decorated by President Kennedy 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 8 1961)

1960s, space exploration, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'Shepard Medal Presentation'

(Monday, May 8, 1961, 10:00-10:25 a.m. EDT) — Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., 37, who became the first American to travel into space just three days ago aboard Freedom 7, was presented the NASA Distinguished Service Medal by President John F. Kennedy today at the White House.
Continue reading Astronaut Alan Shepard, first American in space, decorated by President Kennedy 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 8 1961) →

Astronaut Alan Shepard becomes first American to travel into space 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 5 1961)

1960s, space exploration


Video: 'Alan Shepard " Launch ", LIVE on TV at NBC, (Mercury / Redstone rocket), May 5, 1961'

(Friday, May 5, 1961, 9:34:13 a.m. EDT/14:34:13 UTC) — Astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr., 37, became the first American in space today as Freedom 7 lifted off from Cape Canaveral.
Continue reading Astronaut Alan Shepard becomes first American to travel into space 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (May 5 1961) →

NASA’s first space shuttle rockets into orbit with two astronauts aboard 40 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 12 1981)

1980s, space exploration


Video: 'NBC News Coverage of STS-1 The 1st Space Shuttle Mission' (25 videos; launch is on video #6 at 3:07)

(Sunday, April 12, 1981, 7:00:03 a.m. EST) — The world’s first reusable spacecraft, the space shuttle Columbia, with two crew members, astronauts John W. Young and Robert L. Crippen, lifted off this morning from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, at the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida.
Continue reading NASA’s first space shuttle rockets into orbit with two astronauts aboard 40 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 12 1981) →

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes first human blasted into outer space 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 12 1961)

1960s, Cold War, space exploration


Video: 'Yuri Gagarin: First Man In Space | Chasing the Moon | American Experience | PBS'

(Wednesday, April 12, 1961, at 12:07 p.m. Alma-Ata Time; during the Space Race and the Cold War) — Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, 27, became the first human to go into outer space today, launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site No.1, a spaceport in an area of southern Kazakhstan leased to Russia, aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft.
Continue reading Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes first human blasted into outer space 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 12 1961) →

Apollo 14 astronauts land within a mile of target after a ‘terrific flight’ to the Moon 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 9 1971)

1970s, space exploration


Video: 'Apollo 14 CBS' (72 videos; Apollo 14 splashdowns on video #50 at 10:17)

(Tuesday, February 9, 1971, 4:05 p.m. EST/21:05:00 UTC) — The Apollo 14 astronauts rode their spaceship to a safe, successful and precise splashdown in the Pacific Ocean today, marking the end of the nation’s 24th manned space flight, the sixth mission to the moon and the third to have landed men who explored that desolate world some 238,000 miles from the earth.
Continue reading Apollo 14 astronauts land within a mile of target after a ‘terrific flight’ to the Moon 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 9 1971) →

‘We’re here’: Two Apollo 14 astronauts walk and work for hours on Moon’s surface 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 5 1971)

1970s, space exploration


Video: 'Apollo 14 CBS' (72 videos; Shepard's first step on the lunar surface on video #12 at 4:30)

(Friday, February 5, 1971, 9:57 a.m. EST/14:57 Coordinated Universal Time) — Two Apollo 14 astronauts walked the gentle slopes of Fra Mauro today, setting up instruments, collecting rocks and probing subsurface reaches in search of clues to the Moon’s earliest history.
Continue reading ‘We’re here’: Two Apollo 14 astronauts walk and work for hours on Moon’s surface 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Feb 5 1971) →

Apollo 13 astronauts land gently on target, unharmed by four-day ordeal 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 17 1970)

1970s, space exploration


Video: 'Apollo 13 Re-entry (1970)'

(Friday, April 17, 1970, 1:07:41 p.m. EST) — The three Apollo 13 astronauts splashed down gently today in the Pacific, ending a four-day fight for survival. Continue reading Apollo 13 astronauts land gently on target, unharmed by four-day ordeal 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 17 1970) →

‘Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here’: Power failure imperils Apollo 13 astronauts 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 13 1970)

1970s, space exploration


Video: 'As it Happened - Apollo 13 "Houston We've Had A Problem"' (explosion occurs at 2:56)

(Monday, April 13, 1970, 10:08 p.m. EST/03:08 UTC on Apr. 14) — An oxygen tank in the command module (CM) of Apollo 13, speeding towards the Moon for man’s third attempt to walk on another world, exploded tonight. Continue reading ‘Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here’: Power failure imperils Apollo 13 astronauts 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 13 1970) →