Day 25,207 of the Space Age

The illustrated encyclopedia of spaceflight.

Verified sources, archival photographs and an interactive timeline — from Sputnik to Artemis. Non-profit, bilingual, CC BY-SA.

Encyclopedia entries: 96
Photographs & illustrations: 473
Events on the timeline: 54
Last update · 22:50 UTC: 8 Oct

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Technology

NASA-backed SSPICY spacecraft launches to inspect retired satellites up close

The technology demonstrator lifted off Oct. 1 from Vandenberg and will test close-range inspection that could support future satellite repairs and debris cleanup.

9 October 2026 · Source: NASA

8 Oct · Human SpaceflightSpaceX Crew-12 Returns to Earth After Seven Months on the ISS 8 Oct · ISS LogisticsNASA Announces Coverage Plans for SpaceX's 35th Cargo Run to the ISS 7 Oct · MarsCuriosity Looks Back Across Gale Crater After Reaching 1-Kilometer Elevation Milestone 5 Oct · Astronomy Picture of the DayDeep image reveals faint tidal streams around the Sombrero Galaxy

Upcoming anniversaries

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New entry · 8 Oct

Margaret Hamilton

A pioneer of software engineering who led Apollo flight software development and helped establish software reliability as an engineering discipline.

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Learn · five lines through the Space Age

Start anywhere. Follow the line.

Open Learn & the lab →

How rockets workBeginner · 5 lessons
Action and reaction The rocket equation Launch Escape System Falcon Heavy Demonstration STS-51-L
Getting to orbitBeginner · 4 lessons
Why the ISS doesn’t fall Sputnik 1 Gemini 5 Gemini 8
The race to the MoonIntermediate · 6 lessons
Apollo A7L Spacesuit Apollo 10 Apollo 11 Apollo 13 Apollo 15
Living in spaceIntermediate · 5 lessons
Apollo–Soyuz Tiangong Crew Dragon Demo-1 Crew Dragon Demo-2 STS-135
Exploring the Solar SystemAdvanced · 5 lessons
Viking 1 Voyager 1 Cassini–Huygens Curiosity Spaceflight in numbers

From the encyclopedia

A–Z index · 96 entries →

Buzz Aldrin, with Armstrong and the lunar module reflected in his visor (AS11-40-5903).

TopicA7L SpacesuitTwenty-one layers of fabric, rubber, and film, hand-sewn by seamstresses at ILC Dover — a manufacturer of Playtex undergarments. The A7L Spacesuit was a miniature spacecraft in its own right: it protected against vacuum, temperatures from −156 to +121 °C, and micrometeoroids.

Rollout of a Saturn V from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad (NASA).

Program · 1961–1972ApolloThe Apollo program (1961–1972) was the American crewed Moon-landing program led by NASA. It comprised 11 crewed missions and culminated in the first human Moon landing with Apollo 11, followed by five more successful landings.

The ascent stage of the Apollo 10 lunar module seen from the command module.

Topic · 1969Apollo 10Apollo 10 was the dress rehearsal for the Moon landing in May 1969. Stafford and Cernan descended in the Lunar Module to about 15 km above the surface, while Young remained in the Command Module in lunar orbit.

Buzz Aldrin stands by the US flag on the lunar surface, Apollo 11 (NASA AS11-40-5875).

Mission · May 1961Apollo 11Apollo 11 fulfilled President Kennedy’s commitment to land a human on the Moon before the end of the 1960s. Eagle landed on 20 July 1969; Armstrong’s first step followed at 02:56 UTC on 21 July, still 20 July in the United States.

Alan Bean installs a magnetometer on the lunar surface, Apollo 12.

Mission · November 1969Apollo 12Apollo 12 was the second crewed Moon landing, in November 1969. Conrad, Gordon and Bean landed within walking distance of the Surveyor 3 probe and returned parts of it to Earth.

The damaged Apollo 13 service module photographed after separation, showing the panel blown off by the oxygen tank explosion (NASA AS13-59-8500).

Program · 1970Apollo 13Apollo 13, launched in April 1970, was NASA's third crewed Moon-landing attempt. An oxygen tank explosion crippled the spacecraft en route to the Moon, and the crew survived by turning the lunar module into a lifeboat for the journey back to Earth.

Launch of the Saturn V carrying the Apollo 14 mission.

Topic · 1971Apollo 14Apollo 14, in January–February 1971, resumed crewed Moon landings after the Apollo 13 accident. Commander Alan Shepard, the first American in space, became at 47 the oldest person to walk on the Moon — and famously hit golf balls there.

The lunar roving vehicle at the Apennine Mountains, Apollo 15.

Topic · 1971Apollo 15Apollo 15, in July 1971, was the first mission with a lunar rover. Scott, Worden and Irwin spent three days at the foot of the lunar Apennines and returned over 77 kg of rock, including the famous “Genesis Rock”.

Timeline · the Space Race era · 1957–1975

From a beeping sphere to a handshake in orbit.

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4 October 1957

Sputnik 1

The first artificial satellite. For 21 days its radio beeped from orbit, and the world looked up.

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Mission Control · live tools

Explore it hands-on.

Moon nowWaning crescent3% lit · libration & missions →Spaceflight atlasLaunch sites, landing zones and orbits on one map →3D encyclopediaSpacecraft you can turn in your hands →

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