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Apollo 1 Crew
Photograph courtesy NASA
Apollo 1 astronauts "Gus" Grissom (left), Edward White, and Roger Chaffee pose in front of the Saturn 1 launch vehicle at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On the morning of January 27, 1967, the crew was sitting atop the launch pad for a pre-launch test when a fire broke out in their capsule, killing all three astronauts. The investigation into the fatal accident led to major design changes for future launch vehicles.
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First Launch
Photograph courtesy NASA
Film crews watch as the first rocket launches at Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 1950.
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Twin Capsules
Photograph courtesy NASA
This December 15, 1965, photograph shows the Gemini 7 spacecraft as observed from the hatch window of the Gemini 6 spacecraft during the first rendezvous maneuvers in space. Gemini was named after the twin star constellation, chosen for the spacecraft's two-passenger capacity.
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Skylab Spacewalk
Photograph courtesy NASA
Astronaut Owen Garriott spacewalks near the Apollo Telescope Mount on the Skylab 3 space station in 1973. NASA described the telescope as the primary scientific instrument aboard Skylab. Here, Garriott had just deployed another instrument intended to collect interplanetary dust particles.
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Freedom 7
Photograph courtesy NASA
Freedom 7, the first American manned suborbital spaceflight, lifts off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 5, 1961, with astronaut Alan Shephard aboard. The main scientific objective of this and other Mercury Program missions was to assess human capabilities and tolerances in space.
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Zero Gravity Antics
Photograph courtesy NASA
Skylab 4 commander Gerald Carr balances fellow astronaut William Pogue, the mission's pilot, upside down on his finger in zero gravity. Skylab, America's first space station, was launched into orbit in 1973 as a follow-up to the Apollo program. Three crews visited the station, with their missions lasting 28, 59, and 84 days, respectively.
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