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Space Exploration

Information about the United States’ space flight programs, including NASA missions and the astronauts who participate in the efforts to explore Earth's galaxy.

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Contents:

• NARA Resources
  • Finding Aids for Records on Space Exploration
  • Presidential Libraries
• General Space Resources
  • CRS Reports
• Timeline
• NASA’s Space Centers
• NASA’s Space Programs
• Hubble Space Telescope
• Space Exploration Biographies
• Women in Space History
  • Mercury 13

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Space Centers

• Ames Research Center, Moffett, CA
  NASA site that develops information technologies including supercomputing, networking and intelligent systems. Named after physicist Dr. Joseph S. Ames.
  
  
• Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA
  NASA’s primary site for atmospheric flight research and operations. Named after scientist Dr. Hugh L. Dryden.
  
  
• Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH
  Develops systems technologies and capabilities that enable exploration of the solar system and beyond. Named after Astronaut John Glenn.
  
  

"Buzz" Aldrin posing by U.S. flag on moon’s surface.
(Courtesy of NASA JSC Digital Image Collection)

• Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
  Develops and operates unmanned scientific spacecraft and is responsible for many of NASA’s Earth Observation, Astronomy, and Space Physics missions. Named after Dr. Robert Goddard, "The Father of American Rocketry."
  
  
• Independent Verification and Validation Facility, Fairmont, WV
  Conducts quality control testing for software, governed by the Goddard Space Flight Center and the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance.
  
  
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA
  NASA’s site for robotic exploration of the solar system.
  
  
• Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
  Site of astronaut training and the Mission Control Center, also manages space shuttle activities and the International Space Station. Named after President Lyndon B. Johnson.
  
  
• Kennedy Space Center, FL
  Main launch center for both manned and unmanned missions since 1962, named after President John F. Kennedy.
  
  
  Picture of sun.
  (Courtesy of NASA Skylab)
  
  
• Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA
  Site of research in aeronautics and global climate change.
  
  
• Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
  NASA’s leading center in space transportation systems and space propulsion, named after George C. Marshall
  
  
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C.
  Web site of NASA Headquarters.
  
  
• Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD
  Home of science program selection, grant administration, planning, scheduling, and public outreach activities for the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).
  
  
• Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, MS
  NASA program manager for rocket propulsion testing and earth science applications. Named after former U.S. Senator John C. Stennis
  
  
• Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA
  Handles management and implementation of suborbital research programs; part of Goddard Space Flight Center.
  
  
• White Sands Test Facility, Las Cruces, NM
  Test and evaluation site for hazardous materials, space flight components, and rocket propulsion systems; also serves as primary training area for Space Shuttle pilots.

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Space Programs

Project Mercury, 1961-1963 Flights

• Mercury
  Site dedicated to Project Mercury, the United States’ first man-in-space program: project goals and history, flight summaries, astronaut biographies, technical diagrams, and an extensive image collection
  
  
• Project Mercury Drawings and Technical Diagrams
  Drawings and diagrams of the Redstone engine, spacecraft instrument panel, navigational aids, and more.
  
  

Close up of Alan Shepard in his pressure suit.
(Courtesy of NASA JSC Digital Image Collection)

Project Gemini, 1965-1966 Flights

• Gemini
  Project goals and history, flight summaries, astronaut biographies, and an extensive image collection.
  
  
• Project Gemini
  Explanation of Gemini’s goals, descriptions of each mission, brief launch video, and link to extensive history.
  
  
• Project Gemini
  History of the project appearing on the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission web site.
  
  
• Project Gemini Drawings and Technical Diagrams
  Drawings and diagrams of spacecraft cabin equipment, parachute landing system, and more.
  
  

Apollo Program, 1968-1972 Flights

• Apollo
  National Air and Space Museum site dedicated to the Apollo Program. Gives the current location and pictures of the all of the NASA program craft, separate sections on all of the Apollo flights, pictures of the mission patches and some technical diagrams.
  
  
• Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
  Transcripts of astronauts’ conversations with each other and with Mission Control in Houston; includes video clips.
  
  
• The Apollo Program
  Links to a large number of NASA and non-NASA sites including over fifteen online books about the Apollo Program, press kits, flight journals, and transcript and audio of President Kennedy's speech before Congress on space flight.
  
  
• Project Apollo Drawings and Technical Diagrams Drawings and diagrams of Command Module main control panel, guidance navigation and control systems, Lunar Module landing configuration, and more.

Picture of Earth taken from surface of the moon from Apollo 11 spacecraft.
(Courtesy of NASA JSC Digital Image Collection)

• Apollo 1, 1967 (Apollo 1 never reached flight status.)
  
  
  • Apollo 1
    Dedicated to the Apollo 1 fire that claimed the lives of Gus Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee. Gives information about the accident, the investigation into the accident, and the conclusions; includes a section on the incident from chapter nine of book Chariots of Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft.

• Apollo 11, 1969
  
  
  • 30th Anniversary of Apollo 11: 1969-1999
    Pictures, sound recordings of crew and mission control, links to other Apollo 11 sites.
    
    
  • Apollo 11 30th Anniversary
    Dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing: links to crew interviews, cost figures, picture galleries, and the flight log.
    
    
  • We Choose the Moon
    This site, produced by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, commemorates the 40th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing with a multimedia presentation that follows the flight from prelaunch activities to the landing on the moon to the return to earth.

Apollo 11 crew during training.
(Courtesy of NASA JSC Digital Image Collection)

• Apollo 13, 1970
  
  
  • Apollo 13: "...A Problem"
    Links to the Apollo 13 Surface Journal, a chronology of events, and a narrative on the mission, and the Air and Space Museum's Apollo 13 Virtual Exhibit.
    
    
  • Apollo 13 Digital Picture Library
    Large collection of photographs showing pre-flight activities, launch preparation, launch, in-flight activities, recovery and post-flight activities.

Skylab, 1973-1974 Flights

• Skylab
  Links to the program’s goals, flight summary, statistics, images, and more.
  
  
• Skylab Drawings and Technical Diagrams
  Drawings and diagrams of configuration detail, crew quarters, airlock module interior, and more.
  
  

Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, 1975 Flight

• The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
  Overview of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project: goals, flight summary, and a digital image collection.
  
  
• The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
  A description of the project appearing on the U.S. Centennial of Flight web site.

Picture of Astronaut Thomas Stafford and Cosmonaut Aleksey Leonov in Soyuz Orbital Module.
(Courtesy of NASA JSC Digital Image Collection)

• The Partnership: A History of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
  An on-line version of a book written by Edward Clinton Ezell and Linda Neuman Ezell, originally released as NASA Special Publication-4209 in the NASA History Series, 1978.
  
  
• Project Apollo-Soyuz Drawings and Technical Diagrams
  Drawings and diagrams of the docking module, Apollo spacecraft configuration, the Soyuz spacecraft, and more.

Space Shuttle Program, 1981-present Flights

• History of the Space Shuttle
  Includes general information, technical information, publications, and information about specific missions.
  
  
• Shuttle Tracker
  Gives the current location of a space shuttle when one is in orbit; also shows the location of the International Space Station.
  
  
• Space Shuttle
  NASA’s main page about the space shuttle, including information past and future shuttle missions, multimedia features, launch schedule, and mission calendar.

Picture of Astronaut Piers Sellers on spacewalk.
(Courtesy of NASA Human Space Flight Gallery)

• Challenger Disaster and Investigation, 1986
  
  
  • Information on the STS-51L/Challenger Accident
    Extensive links to NASA and non-NASA sites on Challenger; includes links such as the sequence of events, biographical information on the crew, and transcripts from the mission voice recorder.
    
    
  • Report of the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (The Rogers Commission Report)
    Extensive links to information about the accident and the investigation.
    
    
  • Selected Congressional Hearings and Reports from the Challenger Space Shuttle Accident
    Documents from the GPO Access site.
    
    
  • See Also: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Sources

• Columbia Disaster and Investigation, 2003
  
  
  • Columbia Accident Investigation Board
    Official web site of the board charged with investigating the cause of the loss of the space shuttle Columbia; includes links to reports and news releases.
    
    
  • CRS Report for Congress: NASA’s Space Shuttle Program: The Columbia Tradegy, the Discovery Mission, and the Future of the Shuttle
    Brief informational report to Congress regarding issues surrounding the return to space flight after the Columbia accident.
    
    
  • Remarks by the President on the Loss of Space Shuttle Columbia, February 1, 2003
    
    
  • Space Shuttle Columbia and Her Crew
    NASA web site that honors the astronauts killed in the break-up of Columbia; includes a link to the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) report.

Shuttle-Mir, 1994-1998 Flights

• History of Shuttle-Mir
  NASA site on the Shuttle-Mir Program: links to the history of the program, scientific experiments, spacecraft information, and information about the participating astronauts and cosmonauts.
  
  
• Shuttle-Mir Program Earth Science
  Description of the Visual Earth Observations project conducted by the Johnson Space Center’s Office of Earth Sciences aboard Mir.

Sunrise from Space Shuttle Endeavor Mission STS-068.
(Courtesy of NASA Human Space Flight Gallery)

International Space Station, 2000-present Flights

• International Space Station
  NASA’s main site for the International Space Station; includes reference guide, information about past, present and future missions, multimedia, and more.
  
  
• International Space Station Tracker
  Shows the position of the space station in earth orbit.
  
  
• Space Station Gallery
  Images from the Space Station.

Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

• Edwin Hubble 1889-1953
  Article from the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada featuring Hubble’s scientific findings.
  
  
• Edwin Hubble
  Web site dedicated to the life and work of Edwin Hubble.
  
  

Storm of turbulent gases taken by Hubble Space Telescope.
(Courtesy of NASA, European Space Agency, and J. Hester (ASU))

• Everything You Wanted to Know about the Hubble Telescope, But Were Afraid to Ask
  Hubble site from the Public Broadcasting System featuring information provided by the Space Telescope Science Institute: includes diagram of the Hubble, information about its scientific instruments, data storage and transmission, and mission operations and observations.
  
  
• Hubble Essentials: Quick Facts
  Hubble trivia.
  
  
• The Hubble Project
  Official NASA Hubble Site at Goddard Sapce Center: provides information on operations, technology, servicing missions, project news, and images.
  
  
• Hubble Project Servicing Missions
  Describes the shuttle missions to service the Hubble Space Telescope.
  
  
• Hubble Space Telescope
  Hubble section on the Space Telescope Science Institute web site: extensive information about Hubble, its instruments, and programs scheduled for observation.
  
  
• HubbleSite
  Created by the Space Telescope Science Institute: image gallery, news center, reference desk, discoveries, technical information on the telescope, and more.
  
  
• Tracking Hubble
  Shows the current location of Hubble (HST).

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