Reblogged
Apollo 6 Saturn V (CSM-020/LTA-2R/SA-502) on LC-39A, possibly during a Countdown Demonstration Test (CDDT).
Date: March 31, 1968.
Mike Acs's Collection: link
Reblogged
Overall view of the Stiffleg Derrick shipped to White Sands from California for loading and mating the orbiter with the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified Boeing 747.
Date: March 31-April 2, 1982
NASA ID: WSTF 0382-0444
Reblogged
"John Hancocks of 8th Air Force men cover the "Hell's Angels from nose to tail. Left to right: M/Sgt. Fabian Folmer, Sgt. John Kosilla, Capt. Irl Baldwin, T/Sgt. Edward West Jr., Capt. John Johnston, Sgt. Wilson Fairfield and S/Sgt. Kasmer Wegrcyn. The B-17 was piloted by Capt. Johnston, who was at controls on its last war mission."
Photographed sometime between March and April 1944.
NARA: 176250622
Model of early version of Saturn V launch vehicle.
I could be wrong but it looks like the Apollo spacecraft is from the version with the direct descent mode instead of the lunar orbit rendezvous which was used.
Date: 1963
Posted on Flickr by Chris Spurgeon: link
"Technicians with Lockheed Martin prepare the Artemis II Orion spacecraft for the installation of three spacecraft adapter jettison fairings inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday. The fairings encapsulate the service module and protect the solar array wings, shielding them from the heat, wind, and acoustics of launch and ascent, plus help redistribute the load between Orion and the massive thrust of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket during liftoff and ascent. Once the spacecraft is above the atmosphere, the three fairing panels will separate from the service module reducing the mass of the spacecraft. "
Photo Credit: NASA/Allison Tankersley
Date: March 11, 2025
NASA ID: KSC-20250310-PH-APT01_0002
Reblogged
STS-3 Columbia (OV-102) just after landing on runway 17 at the Northrop Strip, White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Ground crews are inspecting and moving the ramp into place for the Astronauts to disembark.
Note: the multiple missing white thermal protection system tiles across the top of the Columbia’s nose.
"Astronauts Lousma & Fullerton were applauded at the press area where they were greeted by New Mexico's Governor Bruce King, WSMR's Commander Major General Alan A. Nord and New Mexico U. S. Senator Harrison 'Jack' Schmitt."
"About 1400 VIP’s were invited and attended the first day. About two-thirds of them were able to come back the second day for the landing. By early Monday morning, about 900 newspersons – writers, still photographers, television cameramen and cinematographers – had been accredited to cover the landing. Some had been established at Northrup Strip area for 10 days."
Date: March 30, 1982
Reblogged
Ed White floats outside Gemini IV spacecraft
Reblogged
STS-3 Columbia landing at White Sands, New Mexico. The first and only time the Space Shuttle landed somewhere other than Florida or California.
There were "strong westerly high level winds were in excess of system verification values. As a result, Columbia had to fly a less desirable high 'right base' turn onto final approach instead of the more usual and forgiving overhead pattern. At this stage in the test program the Orbiter had significantly less electronic energy management information available to the crew than on later missions."
"The final approach was in part flown by the shuttle's autopilot, but the autoland software was not complete so it could not include an automatic landing. Rolling out on final approach, the autopilot was reengaged, and responded by closing the speedbrakes (despite the orbiter being on profile), resulting in increased speed. The autopilot then commanded full speedbrakes, and kept oscillating like this for some time."
The shuttle was escorted by a pair of T-38 chase aircraft.
"Lousma left the autopilot activated in order to gather data on its behavior, but disconnected it again at a very late stage to touch down manually. The landing was also one of the more dramatic of the program, with the landing gear deploying at an altitude of 46 m (151 ft) at a speed of 509 km/h (316 mph) and locking just five seconds before touchdown. Early automatic speed brake closure had resulted in high speed on the inner glideslope and Lousma opted to touchdown fast rather than excessively long. The nose then began to lower at greater than planned airspeed and raised again right before nose-gear touchdown. Touchdown occurred at 16:04:46 UTC on March 30, 1982, on runway 17 at Northrop Strip."
-information from Wikipedia
"A public viewing site had been set up about 7 miles northwest of the landing strip, where an estimated 7000 spectators had accumulated on Monday when the storm occurred. Some 4000 returned the next day for the landing."
Date: March 30, 1982
NASA ID: WSTF-0382-0488
Posted by Dany Waller on Flickr: link
Reblogged
"T-38 chase planes remain relatively close to the NASA reusable space shuttle Columbia (STS-3) as it heads for a completion of an eight-day mission on the White Sands Missile Range's Northrup strip.
Seconds from the touchdown of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
The space shuttle Columbia touches down on the gypsum surface of Northrup Strip at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to conclude the third space shuttle mission. Crewed by NASA astronauts Jack Lousma and Gordon Fullerton, Columbia had been diverted from its planned landing at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California due to bad weather the previous week having left Edwards' lakebed runways too soggy to support a shuttle landing.
Date: March 30, 1982
Reblogged
Columbia (OV-102) under construction at Rockwell International's Plant 42 Site 1 in Palmdale, California.
Date: March 30, 1978
Posted by Bill Roberts on the "STS-The Space Shuttle Legacy" Facebook group page: link
Reblogged
"NACA X-Planes on South Base ramp. Northrop X-4, Bell X-1, Bell X-5, Douglas D-558-I, Douglas D-558-II. Back row Convair XF-92A."
Date: March 30, 1952
NASA ID: ET61-0145
Reblogged commodorez
Pilot Bob Crippen preparing a meal inside Space Shuttle Columbia, STS-1
Reblogged
March 29, 1974 — Mariner 10 flies by Mercury, becoming the first spacecraft to visit two planets
Launched in late 1973, Mariner 10 flew by Venus and Mercury and was the first spacecraft to use a gravity assist maneuver. It was the last Mariner probe and the only spacecraft to visit Mercury until NASA's MESSENGER orbiter in the mid-2000s.
Read more about the Mariner missions here!
Source: nasa.gov