Tag Archives: Shepard

Vintage Space Favourites of 2012

Posted on January 1, 2013 by asteitel

The past twelve months have been very good ones. I’ve met and worked with some incredible people, ventured into the (often awkward) world of podcasts and webcasts, and have read and written more than I ever did in grad school. … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, Aviation, Gemini, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury, Moon, Rockets, Soviet | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Was NASA’s First Launch Delay its Most Significant?

Posted on May 4, 2012 by asteitel

In January 1961, the pieces of the manned spaceflight puzzle were slowly coming together. NASA had a capsule, astronauts to ride inside it, and rockets to launch it. The capsule had even successfully launched on top of the rocket. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, Gemini, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury, Soviet | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Vintage Space Fun Fact: Slayton’s Bow Tie

Posted on April 9, 2012 by asteitel

On Thursday April 9, 1959, the seven Mercury astronauts were introduced to the world at a press conference. Six nervous men sat shifting in their seats at a long table facing a room full of press; John Glenn was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Manned Spaceflight, Mercury | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Vintage Space Fun Fact: The Mercury ’7′s

Posted on December 7, 2011 by asteitel

Each of the Mercury missions had a name followed by the number 7. Alan Shepard flew Freedom 7, Gus Grissom in Liberty Bell 7, John Glenn aboard Friendship 7 (pictured), Scott Carpenter in Aurora 7, Wally Schirra flew Sigma 7, … Continue reading →

Posted in Manned Spaceflight, Mercury, Unmanned Spaceflight | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Man Who Chose the Moon

Posted on May 15, 2011 by asteitel

I’ve recently posted two articles about the first men in space. After the Soviet Union launched the space age with the artificial satellite Sputnik in 1957, the nation achieved another first with Yuri Gagarin’s Earth-orbital flight on April 12, 1961 … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury, Soviet | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Shepard: First American in (Suborbital) Space

Posted on May 1, 2011 by asteitel

I’ve talked in previous posts about the first manned Soviet space program, Vostok, and Yuri Gagarin’s historic Vostok 1 flight. One aspect neither of these posts touched on, however, was the reaction in the United States. Understandably, Americans were less … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury, Soviet | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Mapping Vintage Space

Posted on April 24, 2011 by asteitel

Regular readers of Vintage Space are doubtless aware that I have a tendency to link newer posts to older ones. This reflects the interrelation of all the topics I have (and will) discuss in this blog. I find this era … Continue reading →

Posted in Aircraft, Apollo, Gemini, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury, Planetary Science, Rockets, Soviet, Space Shuttle, Unmanned Spaceflight | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments