Category Archives: space exploration

Apollo 8 astronauts first humans to see far side of moon 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 24 1968)

1960s, space exploration


Video: 'Apollo 8 CBS' (Dec. 24, 1968, coverage begins with video #20)

(Christmas Eve, Tuesday, December 24, 1968, 9:59:20 UTC) — Having flown around the leading edge of the moon, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders became the first humans to see the far side of the moon today as they fired the engines of the craft to begin mankind’s first lunar orbit. Continue reading Apollo 8 astronauts first humans to see far side of moon 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 24 1968) →

Astronauts speed toward moon as Apollo 8 leaves Earth’s orbit 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 21 1968)

1960s, space exploration


Video: 'Apollo 8 CBS' (Apollo 8 leaves Earth's orbit on video #13 at 2:10)

(Saturday, December 21, 1968, 15:47:05 UTC) — The three astronauts of Apollo 8 soared through the black emptiness of space today their way to man’s first rendezvous with the moon. Continue reading Astronauts speed toward moon as Apollo 8 leaves Earth’s orbit 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 21 1968) →

Apollo 8 launched on mission to orbit moon 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 21 1968)

1960s, space exploration


Video: 'Apollo 8 CBS' (Apollo 8 launches on video #5 at 6:09)

(Saturday, December 21, 1968, 12:51:00 UTC) — The three astronauts of Apollo 8 — Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell, and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders — were launched this morning from Cape Kennedy, Florida, to become the first manned spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit, reach the Earth’s Moon, orbit it and return safely to Earth. Continue reading Apollo 8 launched on mission to orbit moon 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 21 1968) →

U.S. enters Space Age 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 31 1958)

1950s, Cold War, space exploration


Video: '1st US Satellite: Explorer 1 Launch 1958 NASA; Spacecraft & Launch Vehicle Preparation'

(Thursday, January 31, 1958, 10:48:16 p.m. EST) — The United States entered the Space Age tonight with its first successful launch of a satellite into orbit, Explorer I, from LC-26 at the Cape Canaveral Missile Annex in Florida. Continue reading U.S. enters Space Age 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 31 1958) →

First female and black astronaut candidates selected 40 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 16 1978)

1970s, space exploration


Video: 'SYND 17 1 78 NASA CHOSE WOMEN ASTRONAUT'

(Monday, January 16, 1978, 1:00 p.m. EST) — Officials of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) today named 35 new candidates to be astronauts in the space shuttle program, including Sally Ride, who became America’s first woman in space, and Guion Bluford, who became America’s first black astronaut in space. Continue reading First female and black astronaut candidates selected 40 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 16 1978) →

Soft landing made by lunar probe 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 9 1968)

1960s, space exploration


Video: ‘Surveyor Program Ends’

(Tuesday, January 9, 1968, 8:35 p.m. EST) — The Surveyor 7 space probe, the seventh and last lunar lander of the American unmanned Surveyor program sent to explore the surface of the Moon, made a soft landing today on the outer rim of the crater Tycho, marking the end of the American series of unmanned explorations of the lunar surface. Continue reading Soft landing made by lunar probe 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Jan 9 1968) →

America’s first attempt to launch a satellite fails 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 6 1957)

1950s, Cold War, space exploration


Video: 'Vanguard TV3 Rocket Launch Explosion'

(Friday, December 6, 1957, 16:44:34 UTC; during the Cold War) — America’s first attempt at putting a satellite into orbit around the Earth failed today as Vanguard TV3 rose about four feet off a Cape Canaveral, Florida, launch pad before crashing down and exploding. Continue reading America’s first attempt to launch a satellite fails 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Dec 6 1957) →

Saturn V rocket carrying unmanned Apollo spacecraft blasts off 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 9 1967)

1960s, space exploration, Television 1960s


Video: ‘Launch of Apollo 4 first Saturn V as seen LIVE on CBS w/ Walter Cronkite’

(Thursday, November 9, 1967, 12:00:01 UTC) — A Saturn V rocket carrying an unmanned Apollo spacecraft blasted off from Cape Kennedy today in a successful test of the vehicles that would someday take men to the moon. Continue reading Saturn V rocket carrying unmanned Apollo spacecraft blasts off 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 9 1967) →

Soviets launch Sputnik 2, sacrifice dog 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 3 1957)

1950s, Cold War, space exploration


Video: 'Laika The Dog & What Happened To Her'

(Saturday, November 3, 1957; 02:30:00 UTC) — The Soviet Union today launched Sputnik 2, the second spacecraft launched into Earth orbit and the first to carry a living animal, a Soviet space dog named Laika, who died a few hours after the launch. Continue reading Soviets launch Sputnik 2, sacrifice dog 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Nov 3 1957) →

Outer Space Treaty enters into force 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 10 1967)

1960s, Cold War, space exploration, U.S. Presidents


Video: 'The President: October 1967. MP889.' (Oct. 10, 1967, at 12:25)

(Tuesday, October 10, 1967, 11:25 a.m. EDT; during the Cold War) — The Outer Space Treaty, prohibiting the placing of weapons of mass destruction on the moon or elsewhere in space, took effect today at a ratification ceremony held at the East Room of the White House. Continue reading Outer Space Treaty enters into force 50 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Oct 10 1967) →