In May 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space, a short suborbital mission that proved humans could survive launch, weightlessness, and reentry. Behind the calm headlines was Project ...
Jan. 31 marks the day Ham, a chimpanzee, was launched into sub-orbital space in a Mercury capsule aboard a Redstone rocket to become the first great ape in space. On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became ...
On January 13, 1978, NASA selected its eighth and most diverse class of astronauts yet. The Astronaut Class of 1978, also known as the "Thirty-Five New Guys," included the first six female astronauts.