Soviet Buran Program The Buran shuttle program (also known as the VKK Space Orbiter program – Buran or “Буран” in Russian means “Snowstorm“) was the biggest and most expensive undertaking ever in Soviet space exploration. The program began in 1974 in response to the NASA Space Shuttle program (apparently initially due to the suspicion it… Read More Technik Museum Speyer – Soviet Buran OK-GLI Aerodynamic Test Shuttle
The Joe Davies Heritage Airpark in Palmdale, California has a very unique National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) test and transport aircraft collection. Nearby is the NASA Dryden Flight Research Centre where the aircraft once flew and NASA continues to conduct flight research to this day. There is a Space Shuttle Escape System Test Vehicle that was… Read More Joe Davies Heritage Airpark: NASA Aircraft
The Joe Davies Heritage Airpark at the historic Palmdale Plant 42 in California has an excellent collection of military (USAF, US Navy and USMC), NASA and civilian aircraft on display and it is all free to see! The pride of the displays are two variants of Boeing’s finest and most successful jet aircraft. One a legendary Cold… Read More Joe Davies Heritage Airpark: Boeing’s Finest
APOLLO XI July 20th, 1969 marks the 45th anniversary of man setting foot on the Moon for the first time. The mighty NASA Apollo XI Saturn V rocket launched from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Centre (Cape Kennedy, Florida) on July 16th, 1969 and transported Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong (Mission Commander), Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin (Lunar Module Pilot) and… Read More 45th Anniversary of Man Landing on the Moon
Now this is my kind of garden! The history of the early years of the US space program conducted by NASA are on display in the rocket garden at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. Here you can see the Mercury-Redstone, Atlas and Titan rockets that first put US Astronauts into space. The Mercury-Redstone rockets… Read More NASA Rocket Garden – Kennedy Space Centre
Over the last few years I have slowly but surely managed to see all of the surviving NASA Space Shuttles. The most recent one was also the most special to me: Space Shuttle Atlantis (Orbiter Vehicle OV-104). Not only is Atlantis the most impressively displayed it is also the only one I ever personally saw launch… Read More Space Shuttle Atlantis
Following on from my visit to the California Science Centre in Los Angeles to see their new addition the retired NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour (Orbiter Vehicle OV-105), I couldn’t miss seeing one of her sisters, Space Shuttle Discovery (Orbiter Vehicle OV-103) in her new home at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum – Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Centre in Chantilly, Virginia. Discovery was… Read More Space Shuttle Discovery
Two sleek-looking NASA Northrop T-38 Talons impressively stand guard at the main entrance to Space Centre Houston in Texas. Originally a USAF aircraft, the nimble T-38 first entered service with NASA in the 1960’s and due to its high level of capability and low operating cost, is still used today for Astronaut flight proficiency and training along with mission support duties such as… Read More NASA Gate Guardians
The words “Houston we’ve had a problem” were spoken by astronaut Commander James A. Lovell on April 13th, 1970 during a failed NASA mission to the Moon aboard Apollo XIII (this was the seventh manned mission in the Apollo program and intended to be the third landing on the Moon until an oxygen tank burst 2 days after… Read More “Houston we’ve had a problem”
I arrived back in Los Angeles yesterday for the first time since September 2012 and just had to head back out to the California Science Centre to see the new and impressive addition to their air and space exhibits – Space Shuttle Endeavour (Orbiter Vehicle OV-105). Endeavour was first launched in 1992 and completed her… Read More Space Shuttle Endeavour
Aces Flying High 