Space history - aviation history, rocket pioneers history, NASA space history to space shuttle history

Space
History

Join us in our Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence from your personal computer!

1.	Aviation and Rocketry
2.	Mercury
3.	Gemini
4.	Apollo, Skylab & ASTP
5.	Space shuttle

It could be said that the history of space flight began almost from the dawn of mankind. From the moment that first person looked up upon the heavens, we have dreamed of exploring. From mythology such as Daedalus and Icarus, who flew too close to the sun on wings made of wax, to Archimides, Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, DaVinci, Jules Verne, and H.G. Wells, all have served, through science or fiction, to inspire modern day scientists and pioneers such as the Wright brothers, Robert Goddard, Kanstantin Tsiolkovsky, Hermann Oberth, Wernher Von Braun, Sergey Korolev (the famed "Chief Designer" of the Soviet space program), Yuri Gagarin, and Neil Armstrong to reach for the stars.

This history is far too vast to cover it all here so we will try to reveal the modern history of space flight, from the flight of the first airplane and first liquid fueled rocket to a detailed look of every Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz (ASTP) mission. Besides the dry statistics of each mission, we have tried to add the little known facts and anecdotes (such as the unauthorized cornbeef sandwich in space to golf balls on the moon) that make each mission unique. These will be living documents and may be updated if new information is uncovered.

Finally, there are the space shuttle missions. Too numerous for us to have detailed descriptions, we do list every mission with its flight number, STS number, orbiter, shuttle launch date, major payload, number of crew and the commander (if time and space permit, we may add these detailed descriptions at a later date). For a look at the ongoing or next shuttle mission, see our Present/next mission shuttle page. For a look into the future, we have a list of every proposed space shuttle flight through 2004 with its flight number, STS number, orbiter, proposed shuttle launch date, major payload, number of crew and the commander.

We have been blest with the fact that we lived in a century in which humanity took its first steps off the earth through Orville Wright and first walked on the moon through Neil Armstrong. Some people were fortunate enough to have seen both. Most of us will be able to see the first person walk on another planet, Mars, during the early part of this new century. And one of us, alive today, will be that person. Space history is being made before our very eyes.

Home, Hale-Bopp, Space Memorabilia, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Books, Space History, NASA Spinoffs, Past shuttle, Present shuttle, Future shuttle, SETI, Space Links, FAQ, Ordering Info

questions/comments
or
call 321-454-4236.

	We rated 5 Stars!		Thank you for voting. This site is a winner!
See more of our awards on the Awards/Testimonials page