space history Archives - Universe Today

What was Sputnik One?

10 Oct , 2016 by Matt Williams

On October 4th, 1957, history was forever changed with the Soviet launch of Sputnik-1, the first artificial satellite to be launched into orbit

New NASA Documentary Chronicles 50 Years of Spacewalks

2 Jun , 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

Spacewalks have been described by astronauts as magical, amazing, and “holy moly!” This new 30-minute NASA documentary called “Suit Up!” celebrates 50 years of extravehicular activity (EVA) or spacewalks. 50 years ago this year, the first spacewalks were conducted by Russian Alexei Leonov in March 1965 and then American astronaut Edward White followed soon after […]

13 MORE Things That Saved Apollo 13, part 4: Early Entry into the Lander

14 Apr , 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

To celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, Universe Today is featuring “13 MORE Things That Saved Apollo 13,” discussing different turning points of the mission with NASA engineer Jerry Woodfill. During the first two days of the Apollo 13 mission, it was looking like this was going to be the smoothest flight […]

3-D Views of Humanity’s First Spacewalk, 50 Years Ago Today

18 Mar , 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

On March 18, 1965 Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov made the first spacewalk in history, floating outside his Voskhod 2 capsule. Leonov made the walk when he was just 30 years old, and later wrote that he felt “like a seagull with its wings outstretched, soaring high above the Earth.” His spacewalk lasted just 12 minutes […]

All the World’s Rockets, Past, Present and Future

11 Feb , 2015 by Nancy Atkinson

MOAR rockets! As a followup to our recent post about the Rockets of the World (to scale), here’s another graphic posted on imgur, created by Alex Brown. While the earlier graphic only included rockets that had flown, this one has rockets that are also in development, such as the SLS, Falcon Heavy and the Long […]

45 Years Ago Today: Relive the Historic Apollo 11 Launch

16 Jul , 2014 by Nancy Atkinson

45 years ago today — on July 16th, 1969 — the Apollo 11 crew left Earth for the first human mission to land on the Moon. Launching on at Saturn V rocket from Cape Kennedy, the mission sent Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin into an […]

What to Wear? The History and Future of Spacesuits

13 Feb , 2014 by David Dickinson

The issue of “what to wear?” takes on an extra dimension of life and death when it comes to space travel. Upon exiting a spacecraft on a spacewalk, an astronaut becomes his very own personal satellite in orbit about the Earth and must rely on the flimsy layer of his suit to provide them with […]

Citizen Science, Old-School Style: The True Tale of Operation Moonwatch

15 Mar , 2013 by David Dickinson

Amateur astronomers have done more than just watch the skies, they’ve been a national security asset. In the mid-1950’s, it was realized that the reality of the Space Age was at best only a decade away. Sub-orbital German V-2 rockets captured by the Soviets and the United States were reaching higher and higher altitudes, and it was […]

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