Video: 'Teacher In Space: Christa Mcauliffe' (July 19, 1985, at 3:50)
(Friday, July 19, 1985) — A high school teacher from New Hampshire, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, 36, was named today as the nation’s first ordinary citizen scheduled to go in orbit aboard the space shuttle as a passenger.
Video: 'Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) Handshake'
(Thursday, July 17, 1975, 3:19 p.m. EDT) — Astronauts of the United States and the Soviet Union united spaceships today and then Apollo commander Tom Stafford and Soyuz commander Alexei Leonov joined hands in the first international meeting away from earth, a symbolic gesture of the two nations’ expressed desire to cooperate in the exploration of space. Continue reading U.S., Soviet astronauts unite ships, join in historic handshakes 40 years ago this hour (July 17 1975)
Video: 'ASTP TV Coverage - Apollo Launch'
(Thursday, July 15, 1975, 3:50:00 p.m. EDT) — Three American astronauts blasted off aboard an Apollo spaceship today hours after two Soviet cosmonauts were launched aboard a Soyuz spacecraft for a mission that included a linkup of the two ships in orbit.
Video: 'This Is Mars! (1965)'
(Wednesday, July 14, 1965, 8:18:49 p.m. EDT) — Mariner 4 completed its rendezvous with Mars this evening and sailed on into space carrying a series of tape-recorded pictures of that mysterious planet.
Video: 'ATLANTIS - MIR'
(Sunday, June 29, 1995, 13:00:16 UTC) — The space shuttle Atlantis and the Russian Mir space station linked in orbit today, beginning a historic five-day voyage as a single ship.
Video: 'Gemini 4 | NASAs First Ever Space Walk - Narrated By Ed White (June 3, 1965)'
(Thursday, June 3, 1965, 19:46-20:06 UTC) — Astronaut Edward White became the first American to “walk” in space today during the flight of Gemini 4. White floated free outside the spacecraft, tethered to it, for approximately 20 minutes.
Video: 'Intelsat I -- "Early Bird" Communications Satellite'
(Tuesday, April 6, 1965, 23:47:50 UTC) — The United States launched Intelsat I, also known as the “Early Bird” communications satellite, from Cape Kennedy tonight into geosynchronous orbit.
Video: 'Launch of Gemini 3 (Molly Brown)'
(Tuesday, March 23, 1965, 14:24:00 UTC) — America’s first two-person space mission began today as Gemini 3 blasted off from Cape Canaveral with astronauts Virgil I. Grissom and John W. Young aboard for a nearly 5-hour flight. Continue reading Gemini 3 astronauts launched into space 50 years ago this hour (Mar 23 1965)
Video: 'Rare COLOR footage of first spacewalk, Alexei Leonov, March 18, 1965'
(Friday, March 18, 1965, 08:34:51 UTC) — Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov left his orbiting spacecraft Voskhod 2 capsule for 12 minutes today (secured by a tether), making the first spacewalk in history.
NASA had been gearing up to be the first to perform such extra-vehicular activity (EVA), but the Soviets, as they had with the first satellite and first man in space, beat the US to it.
Video: '1984: STS-51A Discovery (NASA)' (Nov. 12/14, 1984, at 7:30)
(Monday, November 12, 1984, 13:25-19:25 UTC) — Space shuttle astronauts Dale Gardner and Joe Allen snared a wandering satellite today in history’s first space salvage. The Palapa B2 satellite was secured in Discovery’s cargo bay for return to Earth.
