OrbitingTruths Archive

On This DayIn Space History

57 launches, landings, and milestones from the archive, mapped to the calendar day they happened — jump to any month or browse the whole year.

Coming up

In 10 days

Gemini 11 Launch

September 12, 196660 years ago

Gemini 11 docked with its Agena target in a single orbit and conducted the first artificial-gravity experiment.

Explore the full story

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Jan4 events

162003

STS-107 Launch

Space Shuttle Columbia launched on its final mission, tragically lost during reentry sixteen days later.

23 years ago

221968

Apollo 5 Launch

The first uncrewed test flight of the Lunar Module validated the spacecraft that would land astronauts on the Moon.

58 years ago

281986

Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch, killing all seven crew members including teacher Christa McAuliffe.

40 years ago

311971

Apollo 14 Launch

Alan Shepard returned to space and walked on the Moon, restoring confidence in Apollo after the Apollo 13 accident.

55 years ago

Feb3 events

12003

Space Shuttle Columbia Disaster

Space Shuttle Columbia was lost during reentry, killing all seven crew members after a piece of foam damaged the orbiter's wing during launch.

23 years ago

201962

Friendship 7 Launch

John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth aboard Friendship 7.

64 years ago

211967

Apollo 1 Fire

A cabin fire during a launch rehearsal claimed the lives of astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee.

59 years ago

Mar3 events

31969

Apollo 9 Launch

The first crewed test flight of the Lunar Module rehearsed rendezvous and docking maneuvers in Earth orbit.

57 years ago

161966

Gemini 8 Launch

Neil Armstrong achieved the first docking in space, then calmly resolved a violent in-flight emergency.

60 years ago

231965

Gemini 3 Launch

The first crewed Gemini flight proved a crewed spacecraft could actively change its own orbit.

61 years ago

Apr6 events

12026

Artemis II Launch

The first crewed flight of Orion and the first human journey around the Moon since Apollo 17.

This year

41968

Apollo 6 Launch

The second and final uncrewed Saturn V test flight gathered critical data despite in-flight engine anomalies.

58 years ago

111970

Apollo 13 Launch

An oxygen tank explosion turned a planned Moon landing into one of history's greatest rescue missions.

56 years ago

121981

STS-1 Launch

Space Shuttle Columbia launched on the first orbital flight of NASA's reusable Space Shuttle program.

45 years ago

161972

Apollo 16 Launch

Apollo 16 became the only Apollo mission to explore the Moon's ancient highlands rather than a lunar mare.

54 years ago

241990

Hubble Space Telescope Launch

The Hubble Space Telescope launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, beginning over three decades of discovery.

36 years ago

May6 events

51961

Freedom 7 Launch

Alan Shepard became the first American in space aboard Freedom 7's fifteen-minute suborbital flight.

65 years ago

112009

STS-125 Launch

The fifth and final Hubble servicing mission extended the telescope's scientific life by another decade.

17 years ago

151963

Faith 7 Launch

Gordon Cooper closed out Project Mercury with Faith 7, the program's longest flight at 22 orbits.

63 years ago

181969

Apollo 10 Launch

Apollo 10 served as a complete dress rehearsal for the Moon landing, testing every phase except the final descent.

57 years ago

241962

Aurora 7 Launch

Scott Carpenter repeated John Glenn's three-orbit flight aboard Aurora 7.

64 years ago

302020

SpaceX Demo-2 Launch

SpaceX's Crew Dragon carried astronauts to orbit, ending nearly nine years without domestic crewed launch capability.

6 years ago

Jun4 events

31965

Gemini 4 Launch

Ed White performed the first American spacewalk during this four-day Gemini mission.

61 years ago

31966

Gemini 9A Launch

Gemini 9A tested three rendezvous techniques and one of the program's most physically demanding spacewalks.

60 years ago

181983

STS-7 Launch

Sally Ride became the first American woman in space aboard Space Shuttle Challenger.

43 years ago

271995

STS-71 Launch

STS-71 achieved the first Space Shuttle docking with Russia's Mir space station.

31 years ago

Jul10 events

82011

STS-135 Launch

The 135th and final Space Shuttle flight closed out thirty years of Shuttle operations.

15 years ago

122000

Zvezda Launch

Zvezda's launch gave the International Space Station its first living quarters and life support systems.

26 years ago

161969

Apollo 11 Launch

Apollo 11 lifted off from Kennedy Space Center carrying Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins on humanity's first lunar landing mission.

57 years ago

181966

Gemini 10 Launch

Gemini 10 used its Agena target vehicle's engine to reach a new altitude record.

60 years ago

201969

Apollo 11 Moon Landing

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility, making history as the first humans to reach the lunar surface.

57 years ago

211961

Liberty Bell 7 Launch

Gus Grissom flew Liberty Bell 7 on Mercury's second suborbital flight, later famous for its dramatic hatch mishap after splashdown.

65 years ago

231999

STS-93 Launch

Eileen Collins became the first woman to command a Space Shuttle mission.

27 years ago

241969

Apollo 11 Splashdown

Apollo 11 safely returned to Earth after eight days in space, completing one of history's greatest expeditions.

57 years ago

261971

Apollo 15 Launch

The first of Apollo's extended missions introduced the Lunar Roving Vehicle to expand lunar exploration.

55 years ago

262005

STS-114 Launch

The Space Shuttle returned to flight two and a half years after the Columbia disaster.

21 years ago

Aug2 events

211965

Gemini 5 Launch

Gemini 5 set a new spaceflight endurance record of nearly eight days in orbit.

61 years ago

302026

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launch

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched on a Falcon Heavy, beginning its journey to survey the universe for dark energy and dark matter.

This year

Sep2 events

121966

Gemini 11 Launch

Gemini 11 docked with its Agena target in a single orbit and conducted the first artificial-gravity experiment.

60 years ago

291988

STS-26 Launch

The Space Shuttle returned to flight nearly three years after the Challenger disaster.

38 years ago

Oct4 events

31962

Sigma 7 Launch

Wally Schirra flew a near-flawless six-orbit engineering test flight aboard Sigma 7.

64 years ago

82012

SpaceX CRS-1 Launch

SpaceX delivered the first operational commercial cargo resupply flight to the International Space Station.

14 years ago

111968

Apollo 7 Launch

The first crewed Apollo flight tested the redesigned Command Module in Earth orbit after the Apollo 1 tragedy.

58 years ago

312000

Expedition 1 Launch

The International Space Station's first resident crew began what has become decades of continuous human presence in orbit.

26 years ago

Nov5 events

91967

Apollo 4 Launch

The first flight of the Saturn V rocket tested the enormous launch vehicle that would carry astronauts to the Moon.

59 years ago

111966

Gemini 12 Launch

Buzz Aldrin's three spacewalks aboard Gemini 12 finally solved the program's persistent spacewalk fatigue problem.

60 years ago

141969

Apollo 12 Launch

NASA's second Moon landing mission demonstrated pinpoint precision by touching down beside the Surveyor 3 spacecraft.

57 years ago

162022

Artemis I Launch

The first integrated flight test of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.

4 years ago

201998

Zarya Launch

Zarya, the first component of the International Space Station, launched into orbit.

28 years ago

Dec8 events

21993

STS-61 Launch

Astronauts corrected the Hubble Space Telescope's flawed mirror across a record five spacewalks.

33 years ago

41965

Gemini 7 Launch

Gemini 7's fourteen-day flight served as the target for history's first space rendezvous.

61 years ago

41998

STS-88 Unity Docking

The first assembly mission joined the American-built Unity module to the orbiting Zarya.

28 years ago

71972

Apollo 17 Launch

The sixth and final Apollo Moon landing carried the only professional geologist to walk on the lunar surface.

54 years ago

151965

Gemini 6A Rendezvous

Gemini 6A achieved history's first rendezvous between two crewed spacecraft.

61 years ago

211968

Apollo 8 Launch

Apollo 8 launched as the first crewed mission to leave Earth orbit and travel to the Moon.

58 years ago

241968

Apollo 8 Entered Lunar Orbit

Apollo 8 became the first crewed spacecraft to orbit the Moon and later delivered the famous Earthrise photograph.

58 years ago

252021

James Webb Space Telescope Launch

The James Webb Space Telescope launched on Christmas Day, becoming the largest space telescope ever built.

5 years ago

Continue exploring

Follow the story outward

Chronological order

Timeline

See every mission laid out in the order it actually happened.

Explore section→

The full archive

Missions

Search, filter, and browse every mission record in detail.

Explore section→

Bite-sized

Space Facts

Hundreds of verified details pulled straight from the archive.

Explore section→

The people

Astronauts

Meet the crews who flew these missions across six decades.

Explore section→