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Let's fix that upHours after Skylab 2 launched on May 25, 1973, the crew got its first view of the damage Skylab had sus...
05/27/2026

Let's fix that up

Hours after Skylab 2 launched on May 25, 1973, the crew got its first view of the damage Skylab had sustained during launch.

As shown here, the Orbital Workshop (OWS) was missing one of the shiny shields designed to protect it from micrometeoroids and the sun's harsh rays. Additionally, one of the solar arrays was gone, and the other only partially deployed. The following day, the crew moved into the OWS, where temperatures had soared to about 55°C (130°F). It took hours to assemble and deploy a parasol through the scientific airlock: the small white square visible on the right. Once deployed, the OWS's temperature began to drop.

The next problem to be solved was Skylab's limited power.

On her 75th birthday, we remember Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space!At the age of 32, this physicist and...
05/26/2026

On her 75th birthday, we remember Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space!

At the age of 32, this physicist and astronaut launched aboard Challenger in June 1983 for her first of two space missions. Her example inspired generations to reach for the stars. ✨

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on t...
05/25/2026

"I believe that 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."

65 years ago today President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress. Among his "Urgent National Needs"— achievement in space.

With the Space Race in full swing, he said, "while we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this effort will make us last."

A rare sight!15 years ago today was the first and only time a Soyuz spacecraft departed from the International Space Sta...
05/23/2026

A rare sight!

15 years ago today was the first and only time a Soyuz spacecraft departed from the International Space Station while a space shuttle was docked.

Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev, NASA's Cady Coleman, and ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli were on their way back home after 159 days in space. As they set off, Nespoli captured a series of photos of Endeavour docked to the space station.

STS-134 was Endeavour's last mission and the penultimate mission of the space shuttle program.

So closeAstronauts Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan flew the Apollo 10 Lunar Module "Snoopy" to within 9 miles (14.4 km) of ...
05/22/2026

So close

Astronauts Tom Stafford and Gene Cernan flew the Apollo 10 Lunar Module "Snoopy" to within 9 miles (14.4 km) of the lunar surface OTD in 1969, completing a critical test of all the systems and procedures needed for the Apollo 11 lunar landing. In this photo we see Maskelyne crater, located 250 km away from "Tranquility Base," the Apollo 11 landing site.

After maneuvering to the lower altitude and returning to dock with the "Charlie Brown" Command Module, Snoopy was jettisoned into an orbit around the Sun, unlike the other Apollo lunar module ascent stages. In 2019, a team of astronomers who analyzed terabytes of radar data reported they were 98% certain they found Snoopy.

As the Apollo 11 vehicle was rolling to the launch pad in Florida OTD in 1969, across the country in the California dese...
05/20/2026

As the Apollo 11 vehicle was rolling to the launch pad in Florida OTD in 1969, across the country in the California desert NASA test pilot Bill Dana was flying the wingless HL-10 lifting body.

NASA's lifting body program paved the way for the space shuttle by showing that a wingless craft could glide to a landing like an airplane.

In this photo, NASA research pilot Bill Dana takes a moment to watch NASA's NB-52B cruise overhead after a research flight in the HL-10 lifting body (on the left). On the left, John Reeves can be seen at the cockpit of the HL-10.

May 18, 1969: Tom Stafford, John Young, and Gene Cernan begin the second crewed mission to the Moon.Apollo 10 was the fi...
05/18/2026

May 18, 1969: Tom Stafford, John Young, and Gene Cernan begin the second crewed mission to the Moon.

Apollo 10 was the final critical test flight before Apollo 11's lunar landing, just 2 months later.

05/16/2026

Today would have been Dr. Roman’s 101st birthday! 🎉

We are honored to have ’s next space telescope, launching later this year, named after such an inspiration who understood the importance of leaving Earth's atmosphere to better understand our universe.

Learn more about Dr. Nancy Grace Roman and her legacy: https://go.nasa.gov/4wFXJh9

"Liftoff for the final launch of Endeavour!"15 years ago today, Endeavour launched into space for its 25th and final tim...
05/16/2026

"Liftoff for the final launch of Endeavour!"

15 years ago today, Endeavour launched into space for its 25th and final time. STS-134, the penultimate mission of NASA's Space Shuttle program, delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 and critical supplies to the International Space Station.

Two years after NASA's first astronaut launched to space, Gordon Cooper launched for the sixth and final crewed mission ...
05/15/2026

Two years after NASA's first astronaut launched to space, Gordon Cooper launched for the sixth and final crewed mission of Project Mercury OTD in 1963.

Cooper's 34-hour mission in the cramped Faith 7 spacecraft was the longest of any NASA astronaut to that point.

America's first space station—and the last Saturn V—take flight! 🚀Launched OTD in 1973, the main structure of Skylab—its...
05/14/2026

America's first space station—and the last Saturn V—take flight! 🚀

Launched OTD in 1973, the main structure of Skylab—its Orbital Workshop—was built from a converted Saturn S-IVB rocket stage roughly 22.8 feet (6.7 m) in diameter. Its length, about 48 feet (14.6 m), was divided into two "floors," giving crews a relatively roomy area for completing experiments and going about their daily life compared with other spacecraft.

Amongst other things, Skylab astronauts used the forward dome area for microgravity “acrobatics” and to flight test the maneuvering equipment, including the Automatically Stabilized Maneuvering Unit (ASMU)—a precursor to later jetpacks used outside the Shuttle.

Skylab Orbital Workshop provided about 10,000 cubic ft (283 cubic m) of habitable space for its three 3-person crews. By comparison, the International Space Station offers 13,696 cubic ft (~388 cubic m) of habitable volume—within a structure of connected modules. That's roughly the interior space of a 1,700-square-foot home in the United States.

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