On May 30, 1971, Mariner 9 robotic spacecraft was launched from LC-36B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on top of an Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D rocket. It reached Mars on November 14 of the same year and became the first spacecraft to orbit Mars, and in general, another planet.
Category Archives: Space Exploration
European Space Agency (ESA) was founded on May 30, 1975
The European Space Agency (ESA), an international organization dedicated to the exploration of space was founded on May 30, 1975. Shortly after its formation, on August 9, 1975, the space agency ESA launched its first major scientific mission, Cos-B, a space probe monitoring gamma-ray emissions in the universe, which was first worked on by ESRO …
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Discovery performed the first Space Shuttle docking to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 29, 1999
On May 29, 1999, the STS-96 crew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery became the first to dock with the International Space Station. Using the Integrated Cargo Carrier, Discovery delivered the Russian cargo crane, STRELA, the SPACEHAB Oceaneering Space System Box, and the American crane, ORU Transfer Device, to the space station.
A door on Mars? Here’s how do we see things in space that aren’t there
Enthusiasts lit up social media recently with images of what appeared to be a “doorway” into a hillside on Mars. Was it, some wondered, evidence that the red planet could be, or have been, inhabited by aliens? The “door on Mars” was imaged by Nasa’s Curiosity rover on May 7 on the slopes of Mount …
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Voyager 1 is Generating Random-Looking Telemetry Data
NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft has technical problems, it is generating random-looking telemetry data, and as a result, the spacecraft doesn’t know where it is.
John F. Kennedy announced Moon landing goal on May 25, 1961
In an address to Congress on “Urgent National Needs” on May 25, 1961, John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States called for America to send astronauts to the moon and return him safely to Earth before the end of the decade.
Apollo 10 was launched on May 18, 1969
Apollo 10, the fourth crewed mission in the Apollo program (NASA’s project to land humans on the moon), and the second (after Apollo 8) to orbit the Moon was launched on On May 18, 1969.
Space Shuttle Endeavour completed its maiden voyage on May 16, 1992
On May 16, 1992, Space Shuttle Endeavour completed its maiden voyage and landed safely on runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in the California desert. It was the first use of a drag-chute for a Space Shuttle landing.
The first U.S. human spaceflight was performed on May 5, 1961
On May 5, 1961, American astronaut Alan Shepard (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) performed the first United States human spaceflight. It was also the first human-piloted spaceflight in the history of space exploration. Yuri Gagarin, the first human to fly into space on April 12, 1961, wasn’t controlling the Vostok 1 spacecraft, it …
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The First Space Station, Salyut 1 was launched on April 19, 1971
On April 19, 1971, the world’s first space station, Salyut 1 (DOS-1, also referred to in documents as “Product 17K” or No. 121) was launched into space by the Soviet Union.
