-
Record Stay in Space Begins
January 8, 1994 Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir. He would stay on the space station until March 22, 1995, for a record 437 days in space. Record Stay in Space Begins is original content of This Day in Tech History. This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This…
-
First Crew to International Space Station
October 31, 2000 Russia launches Soyuz TM-31, carrying the first crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been continuously manned since this first mission. First Crew to International Space Station is original content of This Day in Tech History. This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This Day in Tech History.com
-
Sputnik Launches the Space Age
October 4, 1957 The first man-made satellite to orbit the Earth, Sputnik 1, is launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, marking what is now considered the beginning of the Space Age. Surprising the world with its successful launch, Sputnik triggered the Space Race between the Soviet Union and United States ushering in an era of rapid advancement…
-
The First E-mail From Space
August 9, 1991 Astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, mission STS-43, use an Apple Macintosh Portable computer to send what is considered the first e-mail from space. Using the AppleLink online service, Atlantis astronauts Shannon Lucid and James C. Adamson sent the following message: Hello Earth! Greetings from the STS-43 Crew. This is the first AppleLink…
-
SpaceShipOne – First Private Space Flight
June 21, 2004 Financed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, SpaceShipOne becomes the first spacecraft developed by the free market to enter spaceflight. Launched from a mothership named White Knight, SpaceShipOne flew just beyond the atmosphere into the threshold of space then glided back to Earth. SpaceShipOne would later win the $ 10 million Ansari X…
-
Discovery Docks with International Space Station
May 29, 1999 The Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station (ISS). Discovery Docks with International Space Station is original content of This Day in Tech History. This Day in Tech History Tech History provided by This Day in Tech History.com
-
First Space Shuttle Launch
April 12, 1981 NASA launches the first Space Shuttle mission, STS-1, sending the Columbia on its maiden voyage. This mission intended to prove the feasibility of the Space Shuttles in specific, and reusable spacecraft in general. Originally set to launch on April 10th, problems delayed the launch by two days, which caused the launch to occur…
-
Space Station Mir is Launched
February 20, 1986 The Soviet Union launches the core module of the Mir space station. The core module will provide living quarters for the cosmonauts, including a galley, cooking elements, storage, individual crew cabins and personal hygiene area. Five additional modules will be launched between March 1987 and April 1996. The post Space Station Mir…
-
First Flight of Space Shuttle – Just Not Into Space
February 18, 1977 The first Space Shuttle orbiter, the Enterprise, embarks on its maiden flight in “captive mode,” attached to the top of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. The flight is the first of five captive flights before the orbiter is finally released to land on its own. The nine month test program is conducted…
-
Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster
February 1, 2003 The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard. The cause of the disaster was a piece of foam insulation the size of a small briefcase that broke off the external tank during launch and struck the leading edge of the left wing. This damaged the Shuttle’s thermal protection…