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Gemini -- June 1965
Astronaut Edward H. White, p
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7/16/08
| Description |
Astronaut Edward H. White, pilot for the Gemini IV spaceflight, floats in space during the first spacewalk by an American. The extravehicular activity, or spacewalk, was performed during the third Earth orbit of the Gemini IV mission. White is attached to the spacecraft by a 25-foot umbilical line and a 23-foot tether line, both wrapped in gold tape to form one cord. In his right hand White carries a Hand-Held Self-Maneuvering Unit. The visor of his helmet is gold-plated to protect him from the unfiltered rays of the sun. |
| Date |
7/16/08 |
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Mini Solar System in the Mak
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| Title |
Mini Solar System in the Making |
| Description |
This artist's concept shows a brown dwarf surrounded by a swirling disk of planet-building dust. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope spotted such a disk around a surprisingly low-mass brown dwarf, or "failed star."Ê The brown dwarf, called OTS 44, is only 15 times the size of Jupiter, making it the smallest brown dwarf known to host a planet-forming, or protoplanetary disk. Astronomers believe that this unusual system will eventually spawn planets. If so, they speculate that OTS 44's disk has enough mass to make one small gas giant and a few Earth-sized rocky planets. OTS 44 is about 2 million years old. At this relatively young age, brown dwarfs are warm and appear reddish in color. With age, they grow cooler and darker. |
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'Mini-Me' Solar System
| Title |
'Mini-Me' Solar System |
| Description |
This artist's conception shows the relative size of a hypothetical brown dwarf-planetary system (below) compared to our own solar system. A brown dwarf is a cool or "failed" star, which lacks the mass to ignite and shine like our Sun. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope set its infrared eyes on an extraordinarily low-mass brown dwarf called OTS 44 and found a swirling disk of planet-building dust. At only 15 times the mass of Jupiter, OTS 44 is the smallest known brown dwarf to host a planet-forming, or protoplanetary, disk. Astronomers believe that this unusual system will eventually spawn planets. If so, they speculate that OTS 44's disk has enough mass to make one small gas giant and a few Earth-sized rocky planets. Examples of these possible planets are depicted at the bottom of this picture, circling a low-mass brown dwarf. Above, the bodies of our own solar system have been drawn to the same scale. In each system, the terrestrial planets have been enlarged and the distances between the planets and their parent bodies have been scaled down for easier viewing. |
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Is There Anybody Home?
| Title |
Is There Anybody Home? |
| Description |
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope recently captured these infrared images of six older stars with known planets. The yellow, fuzzy blobs are stars circled by disks of dust, or "debris disks," like the one that surrounds our own Sun. Though astronomers had predicted that stars with planets would harbor debris disks, they could not detect such disks until now. Spitzer was able to sense these dusty disks via their warm infrared glows. Specifically, the presence of the disks was inferred from an excess amount of infrared emission relative to what is emitted from the parent star alone. The stars themselves are similar in age and temperature to our Sun. In astronomical terms, they are stellar main sequence stars, with spectral types of F, G, or K. These planet-bearing stars have a median age of four billion years. For reference, our Sun is classified as a G star, with an age of approximately five billion years. The disks surrounding these planetary systems are comprised of cool material, with temperatures less than 100 Kelvin (-173 degrees Celsius). They are10 times farther away from their parent stars than Earth is from the Sun, and are thought to be analogues of the comet-filled Kuiper Belt in our solar system. The contrast scale is the same for each image. The images are approximately 2 arcminutes on each side. North is oriented upward and east is to the left. The pictures were taken with the 70-micron filter of Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer. The telescope resolution at 70 microns is 17 arcseconds and there is no evidence for any emission extended beyond the telescope resolution. |
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Birth of an Unusual Planetar
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| Title |
Birth of an Unusual Planetary System |
| Description |
This artist's animation shows a brown dwarf surrounded by a swirling disk of planet-building dust. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope spotted such a disc around a surprisingly low-mass brown dwarf, or "failed star." The brown dwarf, called OTS 44, is only 15 times the size of Jupiter, making it the smallest brown dwarf known to host a planet-forming, or protoplanetary disk. Astronomers believe that this unusual system will eventually spawn planets. If so, they speculate that OTS 44's disk has enough mass to make one small gas giant and a few Earth-sized rocky planets. OTS 44 is about 2 million years old. At this relatively young age, brown dwarfs are warm and appear reddish in color. With age, they grow cooler and darker. |
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Our Chaotic Neighbor
| Title |
Our Chaotic Neighbor |
| Description |
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of more than 100,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud, the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The chaotic, bright regions outside this bar are filled with hot, massive stars buried in thick blankets of dust. The red clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. The Large Magellanic Cloud, located 160,000 light-years from Earth, is one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way. It is approximately one-third as wide as the Milky Way, and, if it could be seen in its entirety, would cover the same amount of sky as a grid of about 480 full moons. About one-third of the whole galaxy can be seen in the Spitzer image. This picture is a composite of infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Light with wavelengths of 8 and 5.8 microns is red and orange: 4.5-micron light is green, and 3.6-micron light is blue. |
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Our Chaotic Neighbor
| Title |
Our Chaotic Neighbor |
| Description |
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of more than 100,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud, the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The chaotic, bright regions outside this bar are filled with hot, massive stars buried in thick blankets of dust. The red clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. The Large Magellanic Cloud, located 160,000 light-years from Earth, is one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way. It is approximately one-third as wide as the Milky Way, and, if it could be seen in its entirety, would cover the same amount of sky as a grid of about 480 full moons. About one-third of the whole galaxy can be seen in the Spitzer image. This picture is a composite of infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Light with wavelengths of 8 and 5.8 microns is red and orange: 4.5-micron light is green, and 3.6-micron light is blue. |
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Our Chaotic Neighbor
| Title |
Our Chaotic Neighbor |
| Description |
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of more than 100,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud, the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The chaotic, bright regions outside this bar are filled with hot, massive stars buried in thick blankets of dust. The red clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. The Large Magellanic Cloud, located 160,000 light-years from Earth, is one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way. It is approximately one-third as wide as the Milky Way, and, if it could be seen in its entirety, would cover the same amount of sky as a grid of about 480 full moons. About one-third of the whole galaxy can be seen in the Spitzer image. This picture is a composite of infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera. Light with wavelengths of 8 and 5.8 microns is red and orange: 4.5-micron light is green, and 3.6-micron light is blue. |
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What's Old Is New in the Lar
…
| Title |
What's Old Is New in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| Description |
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of 300,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud, the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The chaotic, bright regions outside this bar are filled with hot, massive stars buried in thick blankets of dust. The red color around these bright regions is from dust heated by stars, while the red dots scattered throughout the picture are either dusty, old stars or more distant galaxies. The greenish clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. Astronomers say this image allows them to quantify the process by which space dust ? the same stuff that makes up planets and even people ? is recycled in a galaxy. The picture shows dust at its three main cosmic hangouts: around the young stars, where it is being consumed (red-tinted, bright clouds), scattered about in the space between stars (greenish clouds), and in expelled shells of material from old stars (randomly-spaced red dots). The Large Magellanic Cloud, located 160,000 light-years from Earth, is one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way. It is approximately one-third as wide as the Milky Way, and, if it could be seen in its entirety, would cover the same amount of sky as a grid of about 480 full moons. About one-third of the entire galaxy can be seen in the Spitzer image. This picture is a composite of infrared light captured by Spitzer. Light with wavelengths of 3.6 (blue) and 8 (green) microns was captured by the telescope's infrared array camera, 24-micron light (red) was detected by the multiband imaging photometer. |
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What's Old Is New in the Lar
…
| Title |
What's Old Is New in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| Description |
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of 300,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud, the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The chaotic, bright regions outside this bar are filled with hot, massive stars buried in thick blankets of dust. The red color around these bright regions is from dust heated by stars, while the red dots scattered throughout the picture are either dusty, old stars or more distant galaxies. The greenish clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. Astronomers say this image allows them to quantify the process by which space dust ? the same stuff that makes up planets and even people ? is recycled in a galaxy. The picture shows dust at its three main cosmic hangouts: around the young stars, where it is being consumed (red-tinted, bright clouds), scattered about in the space between stars (greenish clouds), and in expelled shells of material from old stars (randomly-spaced red dots). The Large Magellanic Cloud, located 160,000 light-years from Earth, is one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way. It is approximately one-third as wide as the Milky Way, and, if it could be seen in its entirety, would cover the same amount of sky as a grid of about 480 full moons. About one-third of the entire galaxy can be seen in the Spitzer image. This picture is a composite of infrared light captured by Spitzer. Light with wavelengths of 3.6 (blue) and 8 (green) microns was captured by the telescope's infrared array camera, 24-micron light (red) was detected by the multiband imaging photometer. |
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What's Old Is New in the Lar
…
| Title |
What's Old Is New in the Large Magellanic Cloud |
| Description |
This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of 300,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud, the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue color in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars. The chaotic, bright regions outside this bar are filled with hot, massive stars buried in thick blankets of dust. The red color around these bright regions is from dust heated by stars, while the red dots scattered throughout the picture are either dusty, old stars or more distant galaxies. The greenish clouds contain cooler interstellar gas and molecular-sized dust grains illuminated by ambient starlight. Astronomers say this image allows them to quantify the process by which space dust ? the same stuff that makes up planets and even people ? is recycled in a galaxy. The picture shows dust at its three main cosmic hangouts: around the young stars, where it is being consumed (red-tinted, bright clouds), scattered about in the space between stars (greenish clouds), and in expelled shells of material from old stars (randomly-spaced red dots). The Large Magellanic Cloud, located 160,000 light-years from Earth, is one of a handful of dwarf galaxies that orbit our own Milky Way. It is approximately one-third as wide as the Milky Way, and, if it could be seen in its entirety, would cover the same amount of sky as a grid of about 480 full moons. About one-third of the entire galaxy can be seen in the Spitzer image. This picture is a composite of infrared light captured by Spitzer. Light with wavelengths of 3.6 (blue) and 8 (green) microns was captured by the telescope's infrared array camera, 24-micron light (red) was detected by the multiband imaging photometer. |
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August 2006: View of the Pla
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| Description |
August 2006: View of the Planets |
| Full Description |
Just before the eastern sky brightens with sunrise, three planets and the waning crescent moon join the starry twilight tapestry. Then, as the bright stars of Gemini and Orion fade with oncoming dawn, the planets rise and shine. About 45 minutes before sunrise on Aug. 20 to 22 the planets Venus, Mercury and Saturn dance on the ecliptic -- the plane of Earth's orbit and the imaginary line tracing it in the sky. The sun, moon and planets appear to move along this line. Venus, rising an hour and a half before sunrise, is the easiest to see in the morning sky. Two hundred forty-one million kilometers (150 million miles) distant, Venus is Earth-sized. Mercury, at a distance of 183 million kilometers (114 million miles), is the fastest and smallest of the inner planets and appears brighter than the more distant Saturn. Saturn, 1,517 million kilometers (943 million miles) distant, was at conjunction with the sun just two weeks ago and now rises nearly an hour before sunrise. On Aug. 26 and 27, Saturn pairs with much brighter Venus at dawn. What other planets can we see in late August? Mars sets 45 minutes after sunset by month's end but is lost from view in the twilight, while brilliant Jupiter remains prominent as the only planet visible for a few hours during the late August evenings. Credit: NASA/JPL |
| Date |
August 18, 2006 |
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H. Julian Allen with Blunt B
…
| title |
H. Julian Allen with Blunt Body Theory |
| date |
12.31.1957 |
| description |
H. Julian Allen is best known for his "Blunt Body Theory" of aerodynamics, a design technique for alleviating the severe re-entry heating problem which was then delaying the development of ballistic missiles. His findings revolutionized the fundamental design of ballistic missle re-entry shapes. Subsequently, applied research led to applications of the "blunt" shape to ballistic missles and spacecraft which were intended to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. This application led to the design of ablative heat shields that protected the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts as their space capsules re- entered the Earth's atmosphere."Harvey" Allen as he was called by most, was not only a brilliant scientist and aeronautical engineer but was also admired for his kindness, thoughtfulness and sense of humor. Among his many other accomplishments, Harvey Allen served as Center Director of the NASA Ames Research Center from 1965 to 1969. He died of a heart attack on January 29, 1977 at the age of 66. *Image Credit*: NASA |
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Andes Mountains as seen from
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| Title |
Andes Mountains as seen from Gemini 7 |
| Full Description |
Waves of clouds along the east flanks of the Andes Mountains cast off an orange glow by the low angle of the sun in the West. The dark area to the left is the Earth's terminator. This view was photographed by astronaut Frank Borman and James A. Lovell during the Gemini 7 mission, looking South from Northern Bolivia across the Andes. The Intermontane Salt Basins are visible in the background. |
| Date |
12/05/1965 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Model of Almaz Space Station
| Title |
Model of Almaz Space Station |
| Full Description |
This is a model of the military Almaz space station on display. This model is of the original variant of the space station, with the large Gemini-shaped reentry capsule attached on the forward end (to the right). This capsule was later deleted from the station. The folded-up solar panels are on the left, surrounding the single docking port of the station. Almaz was the Soviet Ministry of Defense's Earth-orbital complex where cosmonauts would conduct scientific activities and experiments as well as perform photographic and visual reconnaissance. The launch of Almaz 1, also known as Salyut 2, ended in failure when pressure in the main hull dropped, which made the Almaz 1 unusable for cosmonaut habitation. |
| Date |
UNKNOWN |
| NASA Center |
Headquarters |
|
Proposed USAF Manned Orbitin
…
| Title |
Proposed USAF Manned Orbiting Laboratory |
| Full Description |
A 1960 concept image of the United States Air Force's proposed Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) that was intended to test the military usefulness of having humans in orbit. The station's baseline configuration was that of a two-person Gemini B spacecraft that could be attached to a laboratory vehicle. The structure was planned to launch onboard a Titan IIIC rocket. The station would be used for a month and then the astronauts could return to the Gemini capsule for transport back to Earth. The first launch of the MOL was scheduled for December 15, 1969, but was then pushed back to the fall of 1971. The program was cancelled by Defense Secretary Melvin R. Laird in 1969 after the estimated cost of the program had risen in excess of $3 billion, and had already spent $1.3 billion. Some of the military astronauts selected for the program then transferred to NASA and became some of the first people to fly the Space Shuttle, including Richard Truly, who later became the NASA Administrator. |
| Date |
1960 |
| NASA Center |
Headquarters |
|
Recovery of Gemini V Booster
| Title |
Recovery of Gemini V Booster |
| Full Description |
Recovery of part of the first stage of NASA?s Gemini V Booster, the first to ever be retrieved from space was made by the U.S.S. Dupont. The booster was used to launch the Gemini V Spacecraft from Cape Kennedy, Florida, and re-entered the earth's atmosphere 450 miles N.E. of Cape Kennedy. |
| Date |
08/21/1965 |
| NASA Center |
Kennedy Space Center |
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Shadowgraph Images of Re-ent
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| Title |
Shadowgraph Images of Re-entry Vehicles |
| Full Description |
These four shadowgraph images represent early re-entry vehicle concepts. A shadowgraph is a process that makes visible the disturbances that occur in a fluid flow at high velocity, in which light passing through a flowing fluid is refracted by the density gradients in the fluid resulting in bright and dark areas on a screen placed behind the fluid.H. Julian Allen pioneered and developed the Blunt Body Theory which made possible the heat shield designs that were embodied in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space capsules, enabling astronauts to survive the firey re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. A blunt body produces a shockwave in front of the vehicle--visible in the photo--that actually shields the vehicle from excessive heating. As a result, blunt body vehicles can stay cooler than pointy, low drag vehicles. |
| Date |
01/01/1960 |
| NASA Center |
Ames Research Center |
|
Gemini 4 Astronauts Meet Yur
…
| Title |
Gemini 4 Astronauts Meet Yuri Gagarin |
| Full Description |
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin shakes hand with NASA's Gemini 4 astronauts, Edward H. White II and James A. McDivitt at the Paris International Air Show in June 1965. This first meeting between Gagarin and the Gemini 4 astronauts occurred shortly after the completion of the Gemini 4 mission, where White performed the first American EVA. Yuri Gagarin achieved fame as the first human to fly in space, as well as orbit Earth. Also shown in the picture (seated) are Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and (standing) French Premier Georges Pompidou. |
| Date |
06/19/1965 |
| NASA Center |
Headquarters |
|
Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 rendez
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| Title |
Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 rendezvous |
| Full Description |
This photograph of the Gemini 7 spacecraft was taken from the hatch window of the Gemini 6 spacecraft during rendezvous and station-keeping maneuvers at an altitude of approximately 160 miles above the Earth. The two spacecraft are approximately nine feet apart. Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 launched on December 15, 1965 and December 4, 1965, respectively. Walter M. Schirra, Jr. and Thomas P. Stafford on Gemini 6 and Edward H. White II and Michael Collins on Gemini 7 practiced rendezvous and station keeping together for one day in orbit. |
| Date |
12/15/1965 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Gemini 6 Views Gemini 7
| Title |
Gemini 6 Views Gemini 7 |
| Full Description |
NASA successfully completed its first rendezvous mission with two Gemini spacecraft-Gemini VII and Gemini VI-in December 1965. This photograph, taken by Gemini VII crewmembers Frank Lovell and Frank Borman, shows Gemini VI in orbit 160 miles (257 km) above Earth. The main purpose of Gemini VI, crewed by astronauts Walter Schirra and Thomas Stafford, was the rendezvous with Gemini VII. The main purpose of Gemini VII, on the other hand, was studying the long-term effects of long-duration (up to 14 days) space flight on a two-man crew. The pair also carried out 20 experiments, including medical tests. Although the principal objectives of both missions differed, they were both carried out so that NASA could master the technical challenges of getting into and working in space. |
| Date |
12/15/1965 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Gemini 7 in orbit
| Title |
Gemini 7 in orbit |
| Full Description |
This photograph of the Gemini 7 spacecraft was taken from Gemini 6 during rendezvous and station keeping maneuvers at an altitude of approximately 160 miles above the Earth. Gemini 6 and Gemini 7 launched on December 15, 1965 and December 4, 1965, respectively. Walter M. Schirra, Jr. and Thomas P. Stafford on Gemini 6 and Edward H. White II and Michael Collins on Gemini 7 practiced rendezvous and station keeping together for one day in orbit. |
| Date |
12/15/1965 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Gemini 9 and Earth Limb
| Title |
Gemini 9 and Earth Limb |
| Full Description |
An unusual view of the Gemini 9 spacecraft taken by Eugene Cernan during his Extravehicular Activity (EVA). His umbilical and spacecraft are visible though he is not. |
| Date |
06/05/1966 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Gemini VI Launch
| Title |
Gemini VI Launch |
| Full Description |
The Gemini VI, scheduled as a two-day mission, was launched December 15, 1965 from Pad 19, carrying astronauts Walter M. Schirra Jr., Command Pilot, and Thomas P. Stafford, Pilot. Gemini VI rendezvoused with Gemini VII, already orbiting the Earth. |
| Date |
12/15/1965 |
| NASA Center |
Kennedy Space Center |
|
Gemini with Agena on Earth
| Title |
Gemini with Agena on Earth |
| Full Description |
Gemini 6 spacecraft (right) and Agena Target Vehicle (left) on the Boresight Range Tower for at the Kennedy Space Center to test the two spacecrafts? docking capability. Agena was designed to launch separately from Gemini and act as a target for astronauts in a Gemini spacecraft to rendezvous with. Gemini 6 was slated to be the first mission to dock with Agena, but a malfunction with the unmanned target resulted in new objectives for Gemini 6 calling for a one day rendezvous with Gemini 7 in December, 1965. |
| Date |
1965 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
H. Julian Allen
| Title |
H. Julian Allen |
| Full Description |
H. Julian Allen stands beside the observation window of the 8 x 7 foot test section of the NACA Ames Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel. H. Julian Allen is best known for his "Blunt Body Theory" of aerodynamics, a design technique for alleviating the severe re-entry heating problem which was then delaying the development of ballistic missiles. His findings revolutionized the fundamental design of ballistic missle re-entry shapes. Subsequently, applied research led to applications of the "blunt" shape to ballistic missles and spacecraft which were intended to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. This application led to the design of ablative heat shields that protected the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts as their space capsules re- entered the Earth's atmosphere. "Harvey" Allen as he was called by most, was not only a brilliant scientist and aeronautical engineer but was also admired for his kindness, thoughtfulness and sense of humor. Among his many other accomplishments, Harvey Allen served as Center Director of the NASA Ames Research Center from 1965 to 1969. He died of a heart attack on January 29, 1977 at the age of 66. |
| Date |
12/31/1957 |
| NASA Center |
Ames Research Center |
|
H. Julian Allen with Blunt B
…
| Title |
H. Julian Allen with Blunt Body Theory |
| Full Description |
H. Julian Allen is best known for his "Blunt Body Theory" of aerodynamics, a design technique for alleviating the severe re-entry heating problem which was then delaying the development of ballistic missiles. His findings revolutionized the fundamental design of ballistic missle re-entry shapes. Subsequently, applied research led to applications of the "blunt" shape to ballistic missles and spacecraft which were intended to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. This application led to the design of ablative heat shields that protected the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts as their space capsules re- entered the Earth's atmosphere. "Harvey" Allen as he was called by most, was not only a brilliant scientist and aeronautical engineer but was also admired for his kindness, thoughtfulness and sense of humor. Among his many other accomplishments, Harvey Allen served as Center Director of the NASA Ames Research Center from 1965 to 1969. He died of a heart attack on January 29, 1977 at the age of 66. |
| Date |
12/31/1957 |
| NASA Center |
Ames Research Center |
|
Hubble Reopens Eye on the Un
…
| Title |
Hubble Reopens Eye on the Universe |
| Full Description |
In its first glimpse of the heavens following the successful December 1999 servicing mission, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured a majestic view of a planetary nebula, the glowing remains of a dying, Sun-like star. This stellar relic, first spied by William Herschel in 1787, is nicknamed the "Eskimo" Nebula (NGC 2392) because, when viewed through ground-based telescopes, it resembles a face surrounded by a fur parka. In this Hubble telescope image, the "parka" is really a disk of material embellished with a ring of comet-shaped objects, with their tails streaming away from the central, dying star. The Eskimo's "face" also contains some fascinating details. Although this bright central region resembles a ball of twine, it is, in reality, a bubble of material being blown into space by the central star's intense "wind" of high-speed material. In this photo, one bubble lies in front of the other, obscuring part of the second lobe. Scientists believe that a ring of dense material around the star's equator, ejected during its red giant phase, created the nebula's shape. The bubbles are not smooth like balloons but have filaments of denser matter. Each bubble is about 1 light-year long and about half a light-year wide. Scientists are still puzzled about the origin of the comet-shaped features in the "parka." One possible explanation is that these objects formed from a collision of slow-and fast-moving gases. The Eskimo Nebula is about 5,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Gemini. The picture was taken Jan. 10 and 11, 2000, with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. The nebula's glowing gases produce the colors in this image: nitrogen (red), hydrogen (green), oxygen (blue), and helium (violet). |
| Date |
01/24/2000 |
| NASA Center |
Hubble Space Telescope Center |
|
John Glenn Entering Friendsh
…
| Title |
John Glenn Entering Friendship 7 |
| Full Description |
Overall view of astronaut John Glenn, Jr., as he enters into the spacecraft Friendship 7 prior to MA-6 launch operations at Launch Complex 14. Astronaut Glenn is entering his spacecraft to begin the first American manned Earth orbital mission. |
| Date |
2/20/1962 |
| NASA Center |
Kennedy Space Center |
|
John Glenn enters his Friend
…
| Title |
John Glenn enters his Friendship 7 capsule |
| Full Description |
Project Mercury astronaut John H. Glenn, Jr. enters his Mercury ?Friendship 7? capsule before launch on February 20, 1962. At 9:47 a.m. (EST), his Atlas launch vehicle lifted him into orbit for his flight lasting 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds. Onboard Friendship 7, Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, and the third American to fly in space. A faulty signal indicating a problem with the heat shield forced NASA mission controllers to cut the flight to only three orbits, but Glenn returned to Earth safely. |
| Date |
02/20/1967 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Viking Pre-Launch Test Fligh
…
| Title |
Viking Pre-Launch Test Flight |
| Full Description |
The Titan booster is a two-stage liquid-fueled rocket, with two additional large, solid-propellant rockets attached. It is a member of the Titan family that was used in NASA's Gemini program. The Centaur is a liquid oxygen- liquid hydrogen, high- energy upper stage used on Surveyor flights to the Moon and on Mariner flights to Mars. At liftoff, the solid rockets provide 9.61 million newtons (2.16 million pounds) of thrust. When the solids burn out, the first stage of the Titan booster ignites, and followed by the second-stage ignition as the first stage shuts down. The Centaur ignites on second stage shutdown to inject the spacecraft into orbit. Then after a 30-minute coast around the Earth into position for re-start, the Centaur re-ignites to propel Viking on its Mars trajectory. Once this maneuver is completed the spacecraft separates from the Centaur, which subsequently is deflected away from the flight path to prevent its impact on the surface of Mars. Shortly after separating from the Centaur, the orbiter portion of the combined orbiter-lander spacecraft orients and stabilizes the spacecraft by using the Sun and a very bright star in the southern sky, Canopus, for celestial reference. For more information about Titan and Centaur, please see Chapters 4 and 8, respectively, in Roger Launius and Dennis Jenkins' book To Reach the High Frontier published by The University Press of Kentucky in 2002. |
| Date |
01/20/1974 |
| NASA Center |
Kennedy Space Center |
|
White Earth Limb
| Title |
White Earth Limb |
| Full Description |
Edward H. White II, pilot of the Gemini 4 spacecraft, floats in the zero gravity of space with an earth limb backdrop. The extravehicular activity was performed during the third revolution of the Gemini 4 spacecraft and represents the first time an American has stepped outside the confines of his spacecraft. White is attached to the spacecraft by a 25-ft. umbilical line and a 23-ft. tether line, both wrapped in gold tape to form one cord. In his right hand White carries a Hand-Held Self-Maneuvering Unit (HHSMU). The visor of his helmet is gold plated to protect him from the unfiltered rays of the sun. |
| Date |
06/03/1965 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
X-15 Mated to B-52 Captive F
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| Title |
X-15 Mated to B-52 Captive Flight |
| Full Description |
One of three X-15 rocket-powered research aircraft being carried aloft under the wing of its B-52 mothership. The X-15 was air launched from the B-52 so the rocket plane would have enough fuel to reach its high speed and altitude test points. For flight in the dense air of the usable atmosphere, the X-15 used conventional aerodynamic controls. For flight in the thin air outside of the appreciable Earth's atmosphere, the X-15 used a reaction control system. Hydrogen peroxide thrust rockets located on the nose of the aircraft provided pitch and yaw control. Those on the wings provided roll control. The X-15s made a total of 199 flights over a period of nearly 10 years and set world's unofficial speed and altitude records of 4,520 miles per hour (Mach 6.7) and 354,200 feet. Information gained from the highly successful X-15 program contributed to the development of the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo manned spaceflight programs and also the Space Shuttle program. |
| Date |
01/01/1959 |
| NASA Center |
Dryden Flight Research Center |
|
Hubble Reopens Its Eye on th
…
| Title |
Hubble Reopens Its Eye on the Universe |
| General Information |
What is an Early Release Observation? A photograph of a celestial object that demonstrates the performance of a new Hubble camera. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Reopens Its Eye on th
…
| Title |
Hubble Reopens Its Eye on the Universe |
| General Information |
What is an Early Release Observation? A photograph of a celestial object that demonstrates the performance of a new Hubble camera. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Reopens Its Eye on th
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| Title |
Hubble Reopens Its Eye on the Universe |
| General Information |
What is an Early Release Observation? A photograph of a celestial object that demonstrates the performance of a new Hubble camera. Back to top [ #top ] |
|
Giant Radio Jet Coming from
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| Title |
Giant Radio Jet Coming from Wrong Kind of Galaxy |
| General Information |
What is an American Astronomical Society Meeting release? A major news announcement issued at an American Astronomical Society meeting, the premier astronomy conference. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Hubble Observes Planetoid Se
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| Title |
Hubble Observes Planetoid Sedna, Mystery Deepens |
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Holiday Wishes from the Hubb
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| Title |
Holiday Wishes from the Hubble Space Telescope |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Resembling festive lights on a holiday wreath, this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the nearby spiral galaxy M74 is an iconic reminder of the impending season. Bright knots of glowing gas light up the spiral arms, indicating a rich environment of star formation. M74 is located roughly 32 million light-years away in the direction of the constellation Pisces, the Fish. The image is a composite of Advanced Camera for Surveys data taken in 2003 and 2005. |
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Mars: Closest Approach 2007
| Title |
Mars: Closest Approach 2007 |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took this close-up of the red planet Mars when it was just 55 million miles ? 88 million kilometers ? away. This color image was assembled from a series of exposures taken within 36 hours of the Mars closest approach with Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. Mars will be closest to Earth on December 18, at 11:45 p.m. Universal Time (6:45 p.m. EST). |
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Planet-Sized Brown Dwarf May
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| Title |
Planet-Sized Brown Dwarf May Yield Smallest Known Solar System |
| General Information |
What is a News Nugget? News Nuggets are bulletins from the world of astronomy. Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and other ground-based observatories have discovered a failed star, less than one-hundredth the mass of the Sun, possibly in the process of forming a solar system. The object, called Cha 110913-773444, is one of the smallest known brown dwarfs to harbor what appears to be a planet-forming disk of rocky and gaseous debris, which one day might form planets. A team led by Kevin Luhman of Penn State University will discuss this finding in the Dec. 10 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. This artist's conception shows the relative size of a hypothetical solar system with a planetary-mass brown dwarf as its "sun" (above) compared to the solar system around 55 Cancri, which is a star like our Sun (below). Cha 110913-773444 contains only about eight times the mass of Jupiter and lies 500 light-years away in the Chamaeleon constellation. Astronomers speculate that the disk surrounding Cha 110913-773444 might have enough mass to make a small gas giant and a few Earth-sized rocky planets. |
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Astronomers Measure Precise
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| Title |
Astronomers Measure Precise Mass of a Binary Brown Dwarf |
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X-15 with test pilot Bill Da
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X-15 #2 on lakebed after a h
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X-15 #3 in flight (USAF Phot
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X-15 contrail after launch
X-15 mounted to B-52 mothers
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X-15 mock-up with test pilot
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