Apollo Digest: Testing Apollo – 1966 NASA Film

Here we have a quick, 5 minute film clip from 1966, produced by NASA to provide a status update on the Apollo Program. In 1966, as you may recall, we were finishing up the Gemini Program, and the Saturn V rocket was nearing testing completion for it’s first flight, in late 1967, as a test …
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The “Sound” Of Cassini’s Trip Below The Rings Of Saturn

This video from JPL and NASA shows what the “sound” of the space below the rings of Saturn is like – more correctly, what the particle and magnetic sensors on the craft detect, indicating the vastly different environments outside and inside the ring zones around the gas giant. Again, this is what happens when you …
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Cassini’s First Dive Past Saturn

I’ve been delayed on sharing this, but hey, better late than never. This video clip from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL, as you may have seen it listed before) and shows the path Cassini took over Saturn during the first dive of the Grand Final. The clip speaks for itself, really, showing the cloud tops …
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“Nothing So Hidden” – 1972 Apollo 16 NASA Film

45 years ago this past month, from April 16th to April 27th of 1972, the Apollo 16 mission went to, and returned from, the Moon on our 5th successful lunar landing mission. This film goes over the mission in detail, going over key points of the mission and the unique events that happened during the …
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1977 U.S. Air Force Space Shuttle Overview

The Space Shuttle wasn’t just the NASA follow up to Apollo – oh no, it was intended to replace all expendable launch vehicles, both those in use by NASA for civilian payloads and military launches. The specifications of the payload bay and the overall design of the shuttle were driven by military payload requirements, namely …
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Cassini’s Grand Finale Has Begun!

Last night Cassini made it’s first plunge into the space between Saturn and its rings. Following several hours out of contact with Earth (due to the planet blocking signals), the probe emerged unscathed and provided us closer than ever views of the upper atmosphere of the ringed gas giant! The gap between Saturn and its …
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Apollo 16 Lunar Landing – From PDI To Touchdown

It was about 7PM Central time on April 20th, 1972 that Apollo 16 crew members John Young and Charlie Duke landed in the Descartes plains as part of the Apollo 16 mission. This video explains the general process of the Apollo Lunar Module actually landing on the moon, and contains video and audio of the …
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Cygnus CRS OA-7 360 Degree Launch Video

This is the NASA live video of the 360 degree launch of Cygnus CRS OA-7 on Atlas V. Now, this was touted as “the words first 360 degree filmed launch” but that’s not entirely true. United Launch Alliance, the company that produces Atlas V and conducted this launch, has filmed some of their launches using …
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Cygnus CRS OA-7 Mission Launched Successfully On An Atlas V

Yesterday morning an Atlas V rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a mission to resupply the International Space Station. The Cygnus Resupply Vehicle, named the SS John Glenn, is carrying over 3,000 kilograms of cargo to the Space Station as part of Orbital Sciences contract with NASA to provide commercial cargo transportation …
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45 Years Ago: The Launch Of Apollo 16

45 years ago today, on April 16th, 1972, Apollo 16, the penultimate mission of the Apollo Lunar Program, launched, carrying John Young, Ken Mattingly, and Charles Duke on a mission to land at Descartes Highlands and learn more about the geology of the lunar highlands, a part of the Moons lithograph that had not been …
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36 Years Ago – The Launch Of Columbia On STS-1

Last year I covered the launch of STS-1, the first flight of the Space Shuttle Program, with a more in-depth article which you can find in the link below. Today, I thought it would be better to share just a fragment of that historic, albeit somewhat forgotten mission, by focusing on the launch of the …
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47 Years Ago Today – The Launch Of Apollo 13

The ill-fated Apollo 13 missions launched on this day, April 11th, 47 years ago today in the year 1970. The mission was famously portrayed in the 1995 film Apollo 13 which, while somewhat inaccurate on many elements, and slightly altered for the sake of drama, still told the story well enough for most people to …
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Cassini’s Grand Finale

On September 15th, 2017, NASA’s Cassini mission will come to an end after 13 years studying Saturn and just shy of 20 years in space. Known as the “Grand Finale,” the end of life for the Cassini probe will be quite the dramatic event. On April 26th, 2017, Cassini will make a final orbital change …
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The Launch Of Progress MS-05 And The Final Soyuz-U Booster

February 22nd, 2017 marked the end of an era: after 43 years, the final Soyuz-U vehicle launched from Pad 1/5, or “Gagarins Start” at Baikonour Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, sending the Progress 66 (Internally known as Progress MS-05) supply vehicle to the International Space Station. The Soyuz-U Booster variant is the most flown rocket configuration in history, …
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50 Years Ago: The Launch Day Of Apollo 1

February 21st, 1967 was the original planned launch day for the Apollo 1 mission. Of course, we all know the fire on January 27th put a grinding halt on the Apollo program until the problems that caused the death of the crew could be isolated and solved An American wouldn’t fly in space again until …
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