Human Spaceflight | Astronomy.com

How I flew to space, by S. Alan Stern

S. Alan Stern — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In late 2023, I flew in space. But I didn’t fly as a NASA astronaut or a space tourist. Instead, I flew on a training and research mission aboard a Virgin Galactic spaceplane for my company, the more-than-3,000-person research and development nonprofit Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). The mission, named Galactic 5, was barely an hourContinue reading "How I flew to space, by S. Alan Stern"

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Oct. 27, 1961: The first Saturn rocket launches

Elisa Neckar — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Five months after President John F. Kennedy promised that America would put a man on the Moon, NASA successfully showed that they had a rocket to get them there. Under development with Wernher von Braun’s team since 1957, the Saturn I rocket consisted of a booster stage with a liquid oxygen tank at its core,Continue reading "Oct. 27, 1961: The first Saturn rocket launches"

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How spaceflight impacts the immune system

Brooks Mendenhall — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 18:52:39 +0000

As humanity sets its sights on returning to the Moon and venturing to Mars, protecting the travelers who make the journey is a big challenge. A new guide to the emerging field of “astroimmunology” details one of the most critical threats astronauts face — that spaceflight cripples the human immune system — and offers aContinue reading "How spaceflight impacts the immune system"

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Duffy: NASA to reopen Artemis 3 HLS contract

Brooks Mendenhall — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 13:23:23 +0000

U.S. Transportation Secretary and interim NASA Administrator Sean Duffy on Monday revealed a potentially seismic shakeup to the agency’s Artemis lunar landing program. During an interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernen on Squawk Box Monday morning, Duffy said NASA will reopen a contract to build the human landing system (HLS) for the Artemis 3 mission, which will put American astronautsContinue reading "Duffy: NASA to reopen Artemis 3 HLS contract"

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Oct. 17, 1956: Birth of Mae Jemison

Elisa Neckar — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Born Oct. 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama, and raised in Chicago, Mae Jemison showed a passion and talent for science from early in her childhood. After graduating high school by the age of 16, Jemison attended Stanford University and earned a B.S. in chemical engineering and a B.A. in African American studies. She went onContinue reading "Oct. 17, 1956: Birth of Mae Jemison"

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Oct. 12, 1964: Voshkod 1 sends the first crew to space

Elisa Neckar — Sun, 12 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Voshkod 1 kicked off the second series of manned Soviet spaceflights, following the Vostok missions that had been the first to put humans in space. When the craft launched on Oct. 12, 1964, for its flight of just over 24 hours, it was the seventh crewed spaceflight for the Soviet Union — but the firstContinue reading "Oct. 12, 1964: Voshkod 1 sends the first crew to space"

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Oct. 11, 1968: Apollo 7 launches

Alison Klesman — Sat, 11 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Twenty-one months after the deaths of the Apollo 1 crew in a fire during a test on the launchpad, the three men who had originally served as their backup crew — Walter Schirra Jr., Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham — flew on Apollo 7. The first manned American spaceflight since the accident, their mission wasContinue reading "Oct. 11, 1968: Apollo 7 launches"

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Why NASA is targeting the Moon’s south pole for Artemis

Michael Carroll — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 14:00:00 +0000

In 1848, James Marshall was building a lumber mill in northern California for his employer, John Sutter. One January morning, Marshall spotted sparkling pebbles within the mill’s outflow; Sutter and Marshall soon realized they had found gold in “them thar hills.” The chance discovery sparked the California Gold Rush, with treasure-seeking scouts streaming to theContinue reading "Why NASA is targeting the Moon’s south pole for Artemis"

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Oct. 3, 1942: The V-2 successfully launches

Elisa Neckar — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

A 12-ton rocket loaded with a 1-ton warhead, the V-2’s successful launch would prove to be exceptionally significant to both the military and to space exploration. On Oct. 3, 1942, the V-2 was fired from Peenemunde, Germany – its fourth test, and the first to succeed. The rocket rose to an altitude of 60 milesContinue reading "Oct. 3, 1942: The V-2 successfully launches"

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Sept. 10, 1933: The birth of Yevgeny Khrunov

Elisa Neckar — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Yevgeny Khrunov was born Sept. 10, 1933, in Prudy, Russia. A Soviet Air Force pilot, he was selected as one of the first cosmonauts on Feb. 25, 1960, along with 19 others including Yuri Gagarin, Aleksei Leonov, and Andriyan Nikolayev. Though not part of the Vanguard Six, Khrunov would make history on the Soyuz 4/SoyuzContinue reading "Sept. 10, 1933: The birth of Yevgeny Khrunov"

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