In the summer of 1975, 50 years ago, millions around the world watched an event that would have been unthinkable only a few years earlier. An American Apollo spacecraft docked with a Soviet Soyuz capsule leading to a handshake in Earth orbit. As the first international space mission, the Apollo Soyuz Test Project led to extensive cooperation ongoing today.
When International Space Station astronaut Catherine Coleman spoke to employees at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 20, 2012, she told those in attendance about her extended stay aboard the orbiting laboratory. The veteran of three spaceflights described her experiences with the exuberance of a youngster relating a family vacation. At the end of her presentation, she confirmed that – like early astronauts – crews still find ways to set up a humorous gag for engineers and scientists in Mission Control.
During the 30-year history of the Space Shuttle Program, many important payloads were launched. From the Hubble Space Telescope to the International Space Station, history was made. However, the most crucial cargo was human. The team assigned to ensure crews were safely sealed into their spacecraft before they rocketed into orbit was the Closeout Crew led by Travis Tod Thompson.
“Liftoff of six astronaut heroes and one American legend,” said NASA Public Affairs commentator, Lisa Malone, as the Space Shuttle Discovery launched off in late 1998. America’s quintessential hero, John Glenn, was returning to space 36 years after he made history as the first of his compatriots to reach Earth orbit.
In the ten months since the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the processing team was able to overcome numerous hurdles. The late August day dawned with clear skies on a hot summer day. The launch team and the astronaut crew were ready.
From the time the Space Shuttle Discovery first arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, preparations for the spacecraft’s maiden voyage poised many challenges for the team at the Florida spaceport. In spite of these issues, the new orbiter went on to fly a highly successful initial mission. Altogether, Discovery flew 39 times becoming the workhorse of the five-orbiter fleet.
The Space Shuttle era was one of superlatives. Everything was bigger than life. The factoids associated with the program are examples of the historic size, capabilities and achievements of the shuttle and the team that made their achievements possible.
Over the past three decades America’s Space Shuttle has established a legacy of rewriting the history of space flight. During that time, astronauts shuttled to and from low Earth orbit showing again and again the value of the human element in this challenging endeavor.