Early Rockets, NASA history collection
During the 19th century, rocket enthusiasts and inventors began to appear in almost every country. Some people thought these early rocket pioneers were geniuses, and others thought they were crazy. Claude Ruggi... More
Early Rockets, NASA history collection
As far back as 1821, sailors hunted whales using rocket-propelled harpoons. These rocket harpoons were launched from a shoulder-held tube equipped with a circular black shield.
Early Rockets. Dr. Robert H. Goddard and liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket...
Dr. Robert H. Goddard and liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket in the frame from which it was fired on March 16, 1926, at Auburn, Mass. It flew for only 2.5 seconds, climbed 41 feet, and landed 184 feet away in a cabb... More
Early Rockets V2 static test. NASA public domain image colelction.
A V-2 rocket is hoisted into a static test facility at White Sands, New Mexico. The German engineers and scientists who developed the V-2 came to the United States at the end of World War II and continued rocke... More
NASA Early Rockets, Army ballistic missile agency
U.S. Army Redstone Rocket: The Redstone ballistic missile was a high-accuracy, liquid-propelled, surface-to-surface missile developed by the Army Ballistic Missile Agency, Redstone Arsenal, in Huntsville, Alaba... More
Jupiter-C, the first American Satellite, Explorer 1 launcher
Explorer 1 satellite. This photo was taken during the installation of Explorer-1, the first United States' Earth-orbiting satellite, to its launch vehicle, Jupiter-C, in January 1958
Jupiter-C, the first American Satellite, Explorer 1 launcher
Juno I, a slightly modified Jupiter-C launch vehicle, shortly before the January 31, 1958 launch of America's first satellite, Explorer I. The Jupiter-C, developed by Dr. Wernher von Braun and the rocket team a... More
NASA Wernher von Braun, Army ballistic missile agency
Marshall Space Flight Center Director Wernher von Braun presents General J.B. Medaris with a new golf bag. General Medaris, (left) was a Commander of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) in Redstone Arsenal... More
Wernher von Braun, America Space Program
In this 1959 photo, taken at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Dr. von Braun (2nd from left) Director of the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency's (ABMA) Development Operations Division, is shown conferring with Air Forc... More
Mercury Project, America Space Program
Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency's (ABMA) Development Operations Division, poses with the original Mercury astronauts in ABMA's Fabrication Laboratory during a 1959 visit. In... More
High Energy Astronomy Observatory (HEAO)
This image is of the Crab Nebula in visible light photographed by the Hale Observatory optical telescope in 1959. The faint object at the center had been identified as a pulsar and is thought to be the remains ... More
Wernher von Braun, America Space Program
Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director of the U.S. Army Ballistic Missile Agency's (ABMA) Development Operations Division, rides with his two daughters, Margrit and Iris, in a parade in downtown Huntsville, Alabama, M... More
Early Rockets - Vangard III satellite
The Vangard III satellite to study the magnetic field and radiation belt in orbit. NASA successfully launched Vanguard III (SLV-7) from Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 18, 1959.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The nose of NASA's Super Guppy aircraft ...
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- The nose of NASA's Super Guppy aircraft opens to reveal the kscpao/release/2000/78-00.htm">Joint Airlock Module</a> the gateway from which crew members aboard the International Spa... More
Benefit from NASA, NASA Apollo program
The high-tech art of digital signal processing (DSP) was pioneered at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the mid-1960s for use in the Apollo Lunar Landing Program. Designed to computer enhance pictures o... More
Saturn V - Saturn Apollo Program
A NASA technician is dwarfed by the gigantic Third Stage (S-IVB) as it rests on supports in a facility at KSC. The towering 363-foot Saturn V was a multi-stage, multi-engine launch vehicle standing taller than ... More
Construction Progress of the S-IC Test Stand-Block House Access Tunnel
Full Description: At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army's Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. Fro... More
Origin of Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)
The first organizational chart for the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) with individual assignments, dated November 28, 1960.
Wernher von Braun and Alabama Congressman Robert Jones
This 1961 photograph shows Dr. von Braun and Alabama Congressman Robert Jones before a huge map illustrating the layout for a Research Institute at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Marshall Space Center construction progress
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army’s Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. From 1960 to 1964, th... More
Marshall Space Center construction progress
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army’s Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. From 1960 to 1964, th... More
Marshall Space Center construction progress
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army’s Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. From 1960 to 1964, th... More
Marshall Space Center construction progress
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army’s Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. From 1960 to 1964, th... More
Marshall Space Center construction progress
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army’s Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. From 1960 to 1964, th... More
Marshall Space Center construction progress
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army’s Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. From 1960 to 1964, th... More
Marshall Space Center construction progress
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army’s Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. From 1960 to 1964, th... More
Wernher von Braun, America Space Program
Dr. Wernher von Braun, Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), during his tour of the Space information Division of North American Aviation (NAA) in Downey, California, where the Saturn SII stage w... More
Mercury Project Astronaut John Glenn
Astronaut John Glenn in the Friendship 7 capsule during the first manned orbital flight, the MA-6 mission. Boosted by the Mercury-Atlas vehicle, a modified Atlas (intercontinental ballistic missile), the MA-6 m... More
Marshall Space Center construction progress
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army’s Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. From 1960 to 1964, th... More
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the...
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army’s Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. From 1960 to 1964, th... More
Marshall Space Center construction progress
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army’s Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. From 1960 to 1964, th... More
Maria von Braun, wife of Wernher von Braun
This is a portrait of Maria von Braun, wife of the famous Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) director Wernher von Braun. Her husband, Wernher, who led America to the Moon, served as MSFC’s first director fro... More
Saturn Apollo Program - single H-1 engine test-fired
A close-up image of the single H-1 engine was test-fired at Canoga Park, California. Initial development of testing for the H-1 engine took place in the engineering facilities at Rocketdyne's main plant in Cano... More
Marshall Space Center construction progress
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army’s Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. From 1960 to 1964, th... More
Marshall Space Center construction progress
At its founding, the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) inherited the Army’s Jupiter and Redstone test stands, but much larger facilities were needed for the giant stages of the Saturn V. From 1960 to 1964, th... More
Saturn V - Saturn Apollo Program
This close-up view of the F-1 engine for the Saturn V S-IC (first) stage shows the engine's complexity, and also its large size as it dwarfs the technician. Developed by Rocketdyne, under the direction of the M... More
The launch of the SA-5 - Saturn I - Saturn Apollo Program
Developed at MSFC under the direction of Dr. Wernher von Braun, the SA-5 incorporated a Saturn I, Block II engine. Launched on January 29, 1964, SA-5 was the first two stage (Block II) Saturn with orbital capab... More
Saturn V S-II second stage booster - Saturn Apollo Program
Two technicians apply insulation to the outer surface of the S-II second stage booster for the Saturn V moon rocket. The towering 363-foot Saturn V was a multi-stage, multi-engine launch vehicle standing taller... More
Wernher von Braun seated near a periscope in Kennedy Space Center
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Director Wernher von Braun, seated near a periscope in Kennedy Space Center's Blockhouse 34, on May 28, 1964, looks over a flight manual while awaiting the launch of SA-6, th... More
Saturn Apollo Program - astronaut Frank Borman official portrait
This is the official portrait of astronaut Frank Borman. A career Air Force officer from 1950, his assignments included service as a fighter pilot, an operational pilot and instructor, an experimental test pilo... More
Saturn V assembled liquid oxygen (LOX) tank
This is a picture of the assembled liquid oxygen (LOX) tank for the Saturn V S-IC (first) stage, with A-frame, that arrived to be mated to the fuel tank at a later date at the Marshall Space Flight Center, buil... More
Saturn V fuel tank assembly - Saturn Apollo Program
This photograph shows the fuel tank assembly for the Saturn V S-IC (first) stage being transported to the Marshall Space Flight Center, building 4705 for mating to the liquid oxygen (LOX) tank. The fuel tank ca... More
Saturn Apollo Program - Saturn IB launch vehicle's second stage
Workers at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) move a facility test version of the Saturn IB launch vehicle's second stage, the S-IVB, to the J-2 test stand on February 10, 1965. Also known as a "battleship... More
Saturn V - Saturn Apollo Program
The hydrogen-powered second stage is being lowered into place during the final phase of fabrication of the Saturn V moon rocket at North American's Seal Beach, California facility. The towering 363-foot Saturn ... More
Skylab sketch. NASA Skylab space station
Seldom in aerospace history has a major decision been as promptly and concisely recorded as with the Skylab shown in this sketch. At a meeting at the Marshall Space Flight Center on August 19, 1966, George E. M... More
Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) - Saturn Apollo Program
An engineer demonstrates a Mobility Test Article (MTA) at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as he crosses a soft clay strip onto rocky ground. This unit, weighing 1/6th as much as an actual vehicle, wa... More
Wernher von Braun gets a briefing
Marshall Space Flight Center’s (MSFC) director, Dr. Wernher von Braun (far left), gets a briefing on an experiment being conducted in MSFC’s Space Sciences Laboratory during a tour on August 28, 1967.
Launched atop an Atlas booster, the Agena target vehicle (ATV) was a s...
Launched atop an Atlas booster, the Agena target vehicle (ATV) was a spacecraft used by NASA to develop and practice orbital space rendezvous and docking techniques in preparation for the Apollo program lunar m... More
Barges for transporting full-sized stages for the Saturn I, Saturn IB,...
NASA used barges for transporting full-sized stages for the Saturn I, Saturn IB, and Saturn V vehicles between the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the manufacturing plant at the Michoud Assembly Facility (... More
Saturn V S-IVB (third) stage - Saturn Apollo Program
After the S-II (second) stage dropped away, the S-IVB (third) stage ignited and burned for about two minutes to place itself and the Apollo spacecraft into the desired Earth orbit. At the proper time during thi... More
Test firing of the the Saturn V S-II (second) stage at the Mississippi...
This photograph shows a test firing of the the Saturn V S-II (second) stage at the Mississippi Test Facility's (MTF) S-II test stand. When the Saturn V booster stage (S-IC) burns out and drops away, power for t... More
Wernher von Braun describes a model of the proposed Orbital Workshop t...
In Marshall Space Flight Center's Building 4755, Center Director Dr. Wernher von Braun describes a model of the proposed Orbital Workshop to Vice President Hubert Humphrey, May 22, 1967. Humphrey, chairman of t... More
Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM). NASA Skylab space station
The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, served as the primary scientific instrument unit aboard the Skylab. The ATM contained eight complex astronomical ins... More
S-IB-211 Saturn IB - Saturn Apollo Program
S-IB-211, the flight version of the Saturn IB launch vehicle's first (S-IVB) stage, on its way to Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) west test area. Between December 1967 and April 1968, the stage would un... More
Saturn V instrument unit (IU) - Saturn Apollo Program
This is a view of the Saturn V instrument unit (IU) being manufactured in the east high bay at International Business Machines (IBM) in Huntsville, Alabama. IBM is a prime contractor for development and fabrica... More
Early Rockets: The Atlas Mercury, Atlas Centaur, and Atlas Agena.
Photographed are models of early rocketry: The Atlas Mercury, Atlas Centaur, and Atlas Agena.
Saturn IB launch vehicle - Saturn Apollo Program
This 1968 chart illustrates the characteristics and proposed missions for the Saturn IB launch vehicle. Developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) as an interim vehicle in MSFC's "building block" appr... More
Saturn IB - Saturn Apollo Program
This cutaway drawing shows the S-IVB stage in its Saturn IB configuration. As a part of the Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) "building block" approach to the Saturn development, the S-IVB stage was utilize... More
Congressional House Committee on Science and Astronautics touring aro...
During a visit to the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), the Congressional House Committee on Science and Astronautics toured the S-IVB workshop. Pictured here are MSFC’s Dr. Wernher von Braun (standing) and... More
Saturn 1B first stage (S-IB) - Saturn Apollo Program
The Saturn 1B first stage (S-IB) enters the NASA barge Point Barrow, in March 1968. The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) utilized a number of water transportation craft to transport the Saturn stages to-and-... More
Apollo 8 crew members Frank Borman, commander; James Lovell, Command M...
Pictured (left to right) are Apollo 8 crew members Frank Borman, commander; James Lovell, Command Module (CM) pilot; and William Anders, Lunar Module (LM) pilot, having breakfast on the day of launch. The thre... More
Apollo 8 Astronaut James Lovell
Apollo 8 Astronaut James Lovell, Command Module (CM) pilot of the first manned Saturn V space flight into Lunar orbit, accepted a phone call from the U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson prior to launch. Lovell, al... More
Saturn IB - Saturn Apollo Program
In the clustering procedure, an initial assembly step for the Saturn IB launch vehicle's S-IB (first) stage, workers at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) near New Orleans, Louisiana, position the central liqu... More
Apollo 11 Passive Seismic Experiment Package (PSEP) Deployed on Lunar ...
The first manned lunar landing mission, Apollo 11, launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safe... More
Apollo 11 - Saturn Apollo Program
In this photograph, Apollo 11 astronauts Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin (left) and Neil A. Armstrong prepare for the first Lunar landing as they practice gathering rock specimens during a geological field trip to the Quit... More
Wernher von Braun, America Space Program
Dr. von Braun, Director of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and Dr. Debus, Director of Launch Operations Directorate, photographed in the blockhouse during the Apollo launch simulation.
Apollo 11 - Saturn Apollo Program
The Apollo 11 mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July ... More
Apollo 11 - Saturn Apollo Program
Lee B. James (left), manager of the Saturn Program at the Marshall Space flight Center (MSFC), talks with Isom Pigell in the firing room 1 of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) control center during the countdown d... More
Apollo 11 - Saturn Apollo Program
The night before launch day, Apollo 11 crew members (R-L) Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong, and Edwin Aldrin, participated in a closed circuit press conference the night before they began their historic lunar la... More
Apollo 11 - Saturn Apollo Program
Dunned in his space suit, Lunar Module pilot Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. does a final check of his communications system before the boarding of the Apollo 11 mission. Launched via a Saturn V launch vehicle, the first ... More
Apollo 11 - Saturn Apollo Program
This is a close-up view of an astronaut’s foot and footprint in the lunar soil, photographed by a 70 mm lunar surface camera during the Apollo 11 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA). The first manned lu... More
Apollo 11 - Saturn Apollo Program
The Apollo 11 mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July ... More
The first manned lunar landing mission, Apollo 11, launched from the K...
The first manned lunar landing mission, Apollo 11, launched from the Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC) in Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 a... More
Wernher von Braun, America Space Program
Dr. von Braun is carried aloft on the shoulders of Huntsville city officials during the Apollo 11 celebration in Huntsville, Alabama, on July 24, 1969. Huntsville, Alabama is the home of the Marshall Space Flig... More
Wernher von Braun, America Space Program
Dr. von Braun and his son were driven around the Courthouse Square during the Apollo 11 celebration at Huntsville, Alabama, on July 24, 1969. The city of Huntsville is the home the Marshall Space Flight Center ... More
Apollo 11 - Saturn Apollo Program
The Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely r... More
Apollo 11 - Saturn Apollo Program
The Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida via the Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. The Saturn ... More
Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) - Saturn Apollo Program
Artist’s concept of a manned Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) depicting two-man operation on the Lunar surface. The LRV was developed under the direction of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) to provide Apollo a... More
Apollo 12 - Saturn Apollo Program
The second manned lunar landing mission, Apollo 12 launched from launch pad 39-A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on November 14, 1969 via a Saturn V launch vehicle. The Saturn V vehicle was developed by the ... More
Early Program Development. NASA public domain image colelction.
In this artist's concept from 1970, propulsion concepts such as the Nuclear Shuttle and Space Tug are shown in conjunction with other proposed spacecraft. As a result of the recommendations from President Nixon... More
Space shuttle Early Program Development
This 1970 artist's concept illustrates the use of the Space Shuttle, Nuclear Shuttle, and Space Tug in NASA's Integrated Program. As a result of the Space Task Group's recommendations for more commonality and i... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station - Public domain map
This 1970 photograph shows Skylab's Multispectral Scanner, one of the major components of an Earth Resources Experiment Package (EREP). It was designed to evaluate the on-orbit use of multispectral scanning of ... More
Early Program Development. NASA public domain image colelction.
In this 1970 artist's concept, the Nuclear Shuttle is shown in its lunar and geosynchronous orbit configuration and in its planetary mission configuration. As envisioned by Marshall Space Flight Center Program ... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station
This 1970 photograph shows equipment for the Skylab's Sleep Monitoring Experiment (M133), a medical evaluation designed to objectively determine the amount and quality of crewmembers' inflight sleep. The experi... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station
Skylab's Body Mass Measurement chair, the facility of the Body Mass Measurement experiment (M172), is shown here in this 1970 photograph. The M172 experiment determined the body mass of each crew member and obs... More
Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) - Saturn Apollo Program
This photograph was taken during a deployment simulation of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The LRV was built to give Apollo astronauts a greater range of mobility during the last three lunar exploration missio... More
Wernher von Braun, America Space Program
Prior to MSFC (Marshall Space Flight Center) Director, Dr. von Braun's transfer to NASA Headquarters where he had been appointed Deputy Associate Administrator for Plarning, he was honored during a series of ev... More
Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) - Saturn Apollo Program
This photograph was taken during a deployment simulation of the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV). The LRV was built to give Apollo astronauts a greater range of mobility during the last three lunar exploration missio... More
Apollo 15 - Saturn Apollo Program
During the Apollo 15 launch activities in the launch control center's firing room 1 at Kennedy Space Center, Dr. Wernher von Braun, NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for planning, takes a closer look at the... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station
The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, was one of four major components comprising the Skylab. The ATM housed the first marned scientific telescopes in spa... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station
The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) was designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center and served as the primary scientific instrument unit aboard Skylab (1973-1979). The ATM contained eight complex as... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station
This chart details Skylab's Ultraviolet (UV) X-Ray Solar Photography experiment (S020) in an Apollo Telescope Mount facility. It was designed to photograph normal and explosive areas within the solar atmosphere... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station
This artist's concept is a cutaway illustration of the Skylab with the Command/Service Module being docked to the Multiple Docking Adapter. In an early effort to extend the use of Apollo for further application... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station
This artist's concept is a cutaway illustration of the Skylab Airlock Module and its characteristics. The aft end of the Docking Adapter mated to the Airlock Module (AM), and served as the environmental, electr... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station
The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center, was one of four major components comprising the Skylab. The ATM housed the first marned scientific telescopes in spa... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station
This image, with callouts, depicts the storage area of the forward compartment at the upper level of the Orbital Workshop (OWS). The upper level consisted of a large work area and housed water storage tanks, a ... More
Apollo 16 - Saturn Apollo Program
This is the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission crew portrait. Pictured from left to right are: Thomas K. Mattingly II, Command Module pilot; John W. Young, Mission Commander; and Charles M. Duke Jr., Lunar Module ... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station
The Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM), one of four major components comprising Skylab, was designed and developed by the Marshall Space Flight Center. Power to operate the ATM's instruments and experiments was colle... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station
This photograph shows the flight article of the mated Airlock Module (AM) and Multiple Docking Adapter (MDA) being lowering into horizontal position on a transporter. Although the AM and the MDA were separate e... More
Skylab. NASA Skylab space station
In this photograph, the Orbital Workshop shower compartment was unfolded by technicians for inspection. The shower compartment was a cylindrical cloth enclosure that was folded flat when not in use. The bottom ... More