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NASA: The Space Program

Wright Brothers NASA

Prompted by the cold war and the enthusiasm of a young president, the space program went into full swing and dominated the 1960s. 1n 1969, the goal of sending men to the moon and returning them safely to earth became a reality. But it didn't end there.

Before the Space Race

Destination MoonDr. Robert H. Goddard
The first to launch a liquid-fueled rocket, Goddard was a pioneer in rocketry.


Destination MoonDestination Moon - 1950
The helmets may look funny, but this was actually a pretty serious attempt at what a trip to the moon might have been like as imagined almost 20 years before the actual event.

The Race is On!

MercuryUnmanned Mercury Capsule Launched & Returned
Cape Canaveral launch of unmanned Mercury capsule by Redstone rocket traveled briefly into space, then landed. The total flight of took 16 minutes.

Kennedy SpaceKennedy Tour of Space Program 1962
J.F.K. tours a number of facilities around the U.S. connected with the development of the space program. Highlights include a visit with Werner Von Braun, and tours of Cape Canaveral & Houston as well as...

Chimps in spaceTrailblazer in Space
Before the Planet of the Apes, there were chimps in space. Really! These chimps rode Mercury rockets into space and returned to earth bringing much needed data for the preparation for the first manned space mission.

Into Space

John GlennThe John Glenn Story
John Glenn was the first american astronaut to orbit the earth in 1962 in his Mercury space capsule, Friendship 7. This is his story from his early days in Ohio to becoming one of the most famous person of his times.

GeminiProject Gemini
Gemini bridged the gap between the Mercury and the Apollo space programs. It served in the research and preparation needed for the space and moon missions to come.

ApolloThe Time of Apollo
In 1961, John F. Kennedy called for the U.S. to achieve the goal of “...landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to earth." By 1969, the Apollo program did just that and continued its missions into the 1970s.

ApolloApollo 11: The Moon Landing
Apollo 11 was a realization of the goal set forth by President Kennedy to send men to the moon before the end of the 1960s. Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first ever to walk on the...

ApolloApollo 13: Houston We've Got a Problem
NASA documentary of the near-fatal Apollo 13 mission in 1972. Includes the onboard explosion and efforts by the ground & flight crew to troubleshoot the malfuction and design and implement contingency procedures to ...

NasaNASA, the 25th Year
Overview of the first 25 years of NASA, including Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Ranger, Surveyor, Mariner, Viking, Voyager, the Space Shuttle, and others.



Beyond the Space Race

Space StationSpace Station: The Next Logical Step
After Apollo and Skylab, the next step in the evolution of space exploration and experimentation was to envision and develop a space station - a more permanent scientific endeavor.


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