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00:00:31 It was called the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics,

00:00:35 a new independent agency created by President Woodrow Wilson in 1915.

00:00:40 Its job? Make the United States a world leader in the field of aeronautics.

00:00:45 In less than three decades, these early pioneers in aviation and those who followed

00:00:50 would be called upon to think through problems a million miles away,

00:00:54 and do it with boldness and vision.

00:00:58 By the mid-1950s, NACA had modern wind tunnels

00:01:02 and was moving into the area of rocket and satellite research.

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00:01:15 Then on October 7, 1957, the U.S. and the rest of the world were greeted by the sounds of Sputnik 1.

00:01:24 The Soviet Union had placed the first artificial satellite into orbit.

00:01:32 It would not be until early the following year that America's satellite, Explorer 1,

00:01:37 successfully orbited the Earth and discovered a dense belt of radiation surrounding our planet.

00:01:43 Who would have believed at this early stage that we would one day move outward

00:01:48 from the thin ribbon of Earth's atmosphere to the very edge of our solar system and beyond.

00:01:57 Project Mercury, the country's first manned spaceflight program,

00:02:01 was given the go-ahead just one week after NASA was formed on October 1, 1958.

00:02:13 Seven test pilots were selected to become astronauts.

00:02:17 Ronald K. E. Slaton.

00:02:23 Alan B. Shepard.

00:02:29 Walter M. Sherrod.

00:02:36 Virgil I. Gus Grissom.

00:02:41 John H. Glenn, Jr.

00:02:47 Troy Gordon Cooper.

00:02:53 And Malcolm Scott Carpenter.

00:02:58 The seven new astronauts spent months and months undergoing rigorous testing and training.

00:03:17 And while they were being trained, several monkeys took check rides in the new Mercury spacecraft.

00:03:47 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

00:04:17 Meanwhile, the orbiting of unmanned satellites became more and more commonplace.

00:04:22 And weather watchers like TIROS found a permanent place in our daily lives

00:04:26 by improving weather forecasting capabilities.

00:04:30 On August 12, 1960, President Eisenhower took part in the first transmission of the Echo-1 communications satellite.

00:04:50 This is President Eisenhower speaking.

00:04:53 It is a great personal satisfaction to participate in this first experiment

00:04:59 in communications involving the use of the satellite balloon known as Echo.

00:05:09 On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard made America's first suborbital flight.

00:05:16 Project Mercury was underway.

00:05:19 One, zero.

00:05:23 All right, lift off and the clock has started.

00:05:26 Let's start reading aloud and clear.

00:05:30 This is Freedom 7. The fuel is go, 1.2 G.

00:05:34 Cabin at 14 PSI. Oxygen is go.

00:05:40 Cabin pressure is holding at 5.5.

00:05:50 Soon after Freedom 7 landed, President John Kennedy gave NASA an ambitious new space goal.

00:05:57 We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things,

00:06:02 not because they are easy, but because they are hard.

00:06:06 Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills.

00:06:13 Because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept,

00:06:17 one we are willing to postpone, and one we intend to win.

00:06:22 And the others too.

00:06:30 After Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom's test flights,

00:06:33 four other American astronauts orbited the Earth in Mercury spacecraft,

00:06:38 starting with John Glenn.

00:06:40 He was followed by Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, and Gordon Cooper.

00:06:45 Go!

00:07:02 You are go.

00:07:03 Water systems?

00:07:04 Go.

00:07:05 Range operations?

00:07:06 Go.

00:07:07 Mercury capsule?

00:07:08 Go.

00:07:09 All pre-start power lines are correct.

00:07:11 The ready line is on.

00:07:12 Eject Mercury umbilical.

00:07:14 All evacuate.

00:07:15 Mercury umbilical cleared.

00:07:17 Mercury zero.

00:07:18 It's on.

00:07:19 All recorders to finish.

00:07:21 T-minus 18 seconds and counting engines start.

00:07:25 May the wheels be with you, Apollo.

00:07:27 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 0.

00:07:40 As NASA geared up to respond to the lunar commitment,

00:07:43 it became clear that new management techniques for handling far-flung systems manufacture

00:07:48 and final integration would have to be developed.

00:07:51 Clear also was the fact that state-of-the-art electronics and computers would be pushed to the limit.

00:08:01 Unknowns about the moon were numerous.

00:08:03 Such things as whether an astronaut would sink into dust over his head were a real concern.

00:08:13 Lunar impact studies like these were carried out in an attempt to learn.

00:08:17 Researchers fired projectiles, simulating meteors hitting the moon into sand-like and rocky materials

00:08:23 and then measured how much material was thrown out by the impact.

00:08:38 This animation shows how scientists believed the huge crater Tycho was formed on the moon,

00:08:44 a crater 54 miles wide.

00:08:55 A series of picture-taking ranger spacecraft slammed into the moon.

00:09:01 Then, five lunar orbiters photographed over 90% of the moon's surface,

00:09:06 including the never-before-seen backside.

00:09:09 We saw a glimpse, too, of our own planet from lunar distance.

00:09:13 But most important of all, it made possible the selection of landing sites.

00:09:19 Six surveyor spacecraft made soft landings on the moon over a two-year period.

00:09:27 A robot arm dug a trench.

00:09:30 Lunar soil was removed from the ground.

00:09:33 The moon's surface was covered by a thick layer of sand.

00:09:37 The moon's surface was covered by a thick layer of sand.

00:09:41 The moon's surface was covered by a thick layer of sand.

00:09:45 A robot arm dug a trench.

00:09:47 Lunar soil was like wet sand.

00:09:50 Men and equipment could safely land there.

00:09:59 Panoramic views like these were assembled from hundreds of individual photographs.

00:10:05 The communications via satellite exploded into a whole new industry.

00:10:10 That first live intercontinental transmission by Telstar 1 was just the start.

00:10:25 Relay, designed to transmit television, telephone, and high-speed radio,

00:10:30 Relay, designed to transmit television, telephone, and high-speed data,

00:10:35 SYNCOM, with Olympic coverage from Tokyo, and Early Bird 1,

00:10:39 all were follow-ons to previous research and development.

00:10:43 Five, four, three, two, one.

00:10:49 Because of the following special one-hour broadcast,

00:10:52 programs previously scheduled at this time will not be seen.

00:10:57 Since rendezvous, docking, and having astronauts work outside the spacecraft

00:11:02 were critical to lunar missions, NASA began Project Gemini.

00:11:06 Using the Mercury capsule as a model,

00:11:09 the Gemini spacecraft was enlarged to hold a two-man crew.

00:11:13 Gemini would provide design answers for the upcoming Project Apollo.

00:11:17 And who could ever forget that spectacular first walk in space

00:11:22 made by astronaut Ed White?

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00:12:17 Ten times, pairs of astronauts flew into orbit,

00:12:22 walking in space, rendezvousing, and docking.

00:12:25 Gemini had blazed a trail for Project Apollo,

00:12:28 the three-man spacecraft that would carry astronauts to the moon.

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00:12:52 More than eight years were poured into designing, building, testing,

00:12:56 and preparing astronauts, rockets, and spacecraft for the first lunar landing.

00:13:01 Here's a visual look back at some of that preparation.

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00:14:28 In 1967, tragedy struck.

00:14:31 The nation mourned the loss of the crew that would have flown

00:14:34 the Apollo spacecraft on its maiden voyage.

00:14:37 Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee died in a flash fire

00:14:41 as they were conducting pre-flight tests on the launch pad.

00:14:45 The manned flight schedule was delayed 18 months

00:14:48 as the command module underwent redesign.

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00:14:59 While these changes were being made, the parts and pieces needed

00:15:03 to assemble the giant Saturn V moon rocket

00:15:06 came together at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

00:15:10 Everything associated with the Saturn V was huge.

00:15:16 The rocket itself, the building where it was assembled,

00:15:19 and the crawler transporter that carried it to the launch pad.

00:15:26 The fully loaded Apollo Saturn V was 363 feet tall.

00:15:31 Its main engines alone generated 160 million horsepower,

00:15:35 and its fuel pumps pushed fuel to the engines

00:15:38 with the force of 30 diesel locomotives.

00:15:43 As Saturn V lifted off Launch Complex 39 for the first time,

00:15:47 it weighed more than 2,800 tons.

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00:16:30 The pace quickened.

00:16:32 Starting with Apollo 8, every Saturn V launched had a three-man crew.

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00:17:12 Two days before Christmas in 1968, astronauts Borman, Lovell, and Anders

00:17:18 became the first humans to pass out of Earth's gravitational control

00:17:22 and into that of another body in the solar system, the moon.

00:17:26 The hardware to travel to the moon had worked well,

00:17:29 and landing sites looked good.

00:17:34 Our Earth seemed small and fragile, hanging in the vastness of space.

00:17:39 This view of ourselves from lunar distance would change

00:17:42 the way we think about Earth for all time.

00:17:45 It raised profound questions, especially those associated

00:17:48 with the Earth's finiteness and unlimited resources.

00:17:52 The next two flights, Apollos 9 and 10,

00:17:55 would continue dress rehearsals for the first lunar landing.

00:17:59 The systems were indeed ready.

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00:18:10 Astronauts Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins

00:18:14 would make the historic journey.

00:18:16 Next stop, Tranquility Base.

00:18:19 Two, one, zero, all engine running.

00:18:24 Liftoff, we have a liftoff, 32 minutes past the hour.

00:18:28 Liftoff on Apollo 11.

00:18:33 Power clear.

00:18:35 We've got a roll program.

00:18:37 Neil Armstrong reporting the roll and pitch program,

00:18:39 which puts Apollo 11 on a proper heading.

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00:18:51 Houston, Apollo 11 is calling you on the high gain.

00:18:54 How do you read, over?

00:18:55 Roger, loud and clear on the high gain.

00:18:59 Eagle, you're looking great.

00:19:00 Coming up in nine minutes.

00:19:03 We're now in the approach phase.

00:19:04 Everything looking good.

00:19:07 Altitude 4200.

00:19:08 Houston, you're go for landing, over.

00:19:11 Forty feet down, two and a half.

00:19:13 Picking up some dust.

00:19:15 Thirty feet, two and a half down.

00:19:17 Make shadow.

00:19:19 Four forward.

00:19:21 Four forward, drifting to the right a little.

00:19:24 Two and a half.

00:19:25 Thirty seconds, over.

00:19:28 Eight.

00:19:34 Left side flight.

00:19:36 Tranquility base here.

00:19:37 The Eagle has landed.

00:19:40 That's one small step for man,

00:19:43 one giant leap for mankind.

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00:21:24 Across the country and around the world,

00:21:26 the Apollo 11 crew were welcomed back as heroes.

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00:22:04 Meanwhile, more than 100 scientists from here and abroad

00:22:07 began intensive studies of the lunar samples.

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00:22:22 Before Project Apollo ended,

00:22:24 six additional flights to the moon were made,

00:22:27 and all but one were highly successful.

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00:22:54 Skylab was the next manned spaceflight.

00:22:57 Launch first was a two-story orbital workshop.

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00:23:08 Then the first of three three-man crews

00:23:11 departed to meet, join, and begin living in

00:23:14 the orbiting laboratory.

00:23:16 Those crews would stay 28, 59, and 84 days respectively.

00:23:21 One of the major objectives was to find out

00:23:24 if astronauts could physically withstand

00:23:26 extended stays in space

00:23:28 and continue to do useful work there.

00:23:31 The answer was a resounding yes.

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00:23:38 Experiments in astronomy,

00:23:42 earth resources observations,

00:23:47 materials processing,

00:23:51 and crystal growth

00:23:53 were both highly successful.

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00:24:01 Then ASTP, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project,

00:24:05 a joint endeavor between the Soviet Union

00:24:07 and the United States.

00:24:09 The mission called for a mutual docking and crew exchange

00:24:12 to develop the necessary equipment

00:24:14 for international space rescues.

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00:24:27 Before, during, and after Apollo, Skylab, and ASTP,

00:24:32 NASA's unmanned planetary programs

00:24:34 were giving scientists exciting new glimpses

00:24:37 into the history of the solar system,

00:24:39 from early explorers to the infrared astronomy satellite.

00:24:43 Seven mariner spacecraft

00:24:45 flew by the planets Mars, Venus, and Mercury,

00:24:48 sending back a stream of pictures and data.

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00:24:57 Ten pioneer spacecraft did likewise,

00:25:00 including Jupiter flybys

00:25:02 and probes through the atmosphere of Venus.

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00:25:16 Pioneer 10 became the first man-made object

00:25:19 to leave the solar system.

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00:25:30 Atmosphere physics, astronomy, meteorology, and geodesy.

00:25:35 These are just a few of the scientific disciplines

00:25:38 studied by dozens of explorer-class orbiters

00:25:41 through the years.

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00:25:50 Hundreds of sounding rockets have probed the atmosphere

00:25:53 above where balloons are effective,

00:25:55 but below the area that satellites fly.

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00:26:08 Bio-satellite was sent aloft

00:26:10 to answer basic biological questions.

00:26:13 Will cells divide normally while weightless?

00:26:16 How does zero-g affect plant growth?

00:26:19 Would radiation and weightlessness

00:26:21 be a hazard on long-duration space flights?

00:26:24 Everything from plants to primates

00:26:26 were orbited aboard bio-satellite to find out.

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00:26:34 There were the OCOs,

00:26:36 orbiting geophysical observatories

00:26:38 that blossomed out like giant dragonflies in space.

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00:26:44 OSO, orbiting solar observatories,

00:26:47 studied our sun and its influence on Earth.

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00:26:55 In the last 25 years,

00:26:57 our orbiting astronomical observatories

00:26:59 have radically changed our view of the universe.

00:27:02 We now see a dynamic universe

00:27:04 of quasars and black holes

00:27:07 and other extraordinary objects,

00:27:09 of cataclysmic forces causing the birth and death of stars,

00:27:13 of billions of galaxies

00:27:15 wheeling in the immensity of space.

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00:27:22 We looked back at planet Earth

00:27:24 with Landsat remote-sensing satellites.

00:27:27 Crops, forests, pollution,

00:27:29 all can be photographed in great detail

00:27:32 to help us better manage our Earth's resources.

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00:27:45 The Viking program was a systematic effort

00:27:47 to investigate the planet Mars.

00:27:49 Two separately launched Viking spacecraft

00:27:52 made up of a pair of orbiters

00:27:54 that would photograph from above the planet

00:27:56 and twin landers built to descend to the Martian surface

00:27:59 spent 11 months and 420 million miles

00:28:03 traveling to the mysterious red planet.

00:28:06 The lander's robot arm

00:28:08 conducted chemical and biological tests on the soil

00:28:11 in a search for life forms.

00:28:13 Martian weather and seismic reports

00:28:15 were also sent back routinely.

00:28:19 Cameras began returning pictures.

00:28:21 Thousands of pictures.

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00:28:29 Color photographs showed a surface littered with rocks.

00:28:32 A fine dust, red or yellow-brown,

00:28:35 could be seen everywhere.

00:28:39 We even had a chance to view the two moons of Mars,

00:28:42 Phobos and Deimos.

00:28:47 Viking's complex science and technology

00:28:49 were considered to be a triumph

00:28:51 equal to the landings on the moon.

00:28:58 Two unmanned Voyager spacecraft

00:29:00 carried a record with the sights and sounds of Earth

00:29:03 just in case they encounter a cosmic neighbor along the way.

00:29:09 Their interplanetary journey

00:29:10 was designed to take them past Jupiter and Saturn

00:29:13 and eventually one Voyager

00:29:15 was to pass close to Uranus and Neptune.

00:29:18 Voyager sensors recorded Jupiter's intricate weather patterns

00:29:22 and detected massive lightning bolts in its churning cloud tops.

00:29:26 It took 40 minutes for a signal from Voyager

00:29:28 passing Jupiter to be received by mission controllers

00:29:31 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

00:29:33 So the spacecraft had to be essentially automatic.

00:29:38 Voyager also took a good look at Jupiter's largest moons.

00:29:44 There's Io with its active volcanoes.

00:29:51 Europa.

00:29:53 Ganymede, the largest moon,

00:29:55 appears to be a mixture of rock and ice.

00:29:59 And Callisto, probably the oldest of the four.

00:30:16 The Voyager's next assignment was to fly by Saturn and its moons.

00:30:26 Saturn's vast ring system is made up of many small particles

00:30:29 that orbit the huge planet in wave-like patterns.

00:30:33 Its atmosphere is buffeted by a strong jet stream

00:30:36 that blows eastward at 1,200 miles per hour.

00:30:39 Voyager detected the hottest gases ever observed in the solar system,

00:30:43 up to a billion degrees Fahrenheit.

00:31:04 As of now, two-thirds of the planets in our solar system have been explored,

00:31:09 and by the end of this decade, we will have explored most of the rest,

00:31:13 including Uranus and Neptune.

00:31:29 Through the years, the single most constant in NASA

00:31:32 has been, is now, and continues to be its aeronautical research.

00:31:37 It is a common thread that is woven throughout the agency.

00:31:40 It has influenced everything that flies, both on Earth and in space.

00:31:44 There is little doubt why this country has been the world leader in things aeronautical.

00:31:54 Here are some of the goals of the program.

00:31:56 Make aircraft more energy efficient.

00:31:59 Fly higher, faster, and farther on less fuel.

00:32:03 Lower pollution.

00:32:05 Systematic improvement of engine components.

00:32:08 Reduce weight through use of light, but very strong, composite materials.

00:32:14 Study problems associated with wake vortices,

00:32:17 tornado-like patterns of air that trail off behind jet aircraft,

00:32:21 causing problems for smaller planes following closer than their wake.

00:32:25 Airplanes are America's leading industrial export,

00:32:28 thanks to NASA's research and development programs.

00:32:37 Since there are some 200,000 general aviation aircraft in this country,

00:32:41 NASA research is also improving this class of airplanes.

00:32:45 Crashworthiness and stall-spin studies are good examples.

00:33:15 The problem of potentially crippling ice formation is also being worked on.

00:33:28 The heart of this research is a unique refrigerated test tunnel

00:33:31 capable of simulating the icing conditions an aircraft is likely to encounter.

00:33:36 Once a test has been run, newly developed computer codes are used to evaluate the results.

00:33:51 During the early days of manned spaceflight,

00:33:53 consideration was given to using a power wing to return astronauts and spacecraft to Earth.

00:33:59 While this method was ultimately discarded, it did produce a rather interesting new sport.

00:34:25 It's an extensive work done on planes that take off and land vertically.

00:34:55 And ones that leave very short runways.

00:35:24 Hybrids that are combinations of airplane and helicopter.

00:35:35 And oblique wing craft that reduce air drag by pivoting the wing at various angles to the plane's fuselage.

00:36:01 The expertise used to make airplane propellers better

00:36:07 has also been applied to powerful wind turbine electric generators,

00:36:12 including some of the largest in the world.

00:36:34 NASA's aeronautical research was the seed from which the space program would grow.

00:36:39 A prime example of this was the lifting body project that began in the early 60s.

00:36:44 The combination of wind tunnel tests and actual flights

00:36:48 led to the design of the reusable space shuttle.

00:37:13 When the design and wind tunnel work was complete,

00:37:29 a series of approach and landing tests were scheduled.

00:37:33 Since the orbiter has no power for landing,

00:37:36 the ability to land easily with only one try was critical.

00:38:00 NASA's near-perfect landings gave final proof that the shuttle orbiter was a flyable, landable craft.

00:38:12 The years of research and development would now be put to the ultimate test.

00:38:16 The first flight into space of Shuttle Columbia with astronauts at the controls.

00:38:22 There was an air of excitement as the brand new shuttle moved from its processing facility

00:38:27 to the Vehicle Assembly Building, where it would be mated with rockets and fuel tanks

00:38:31 and rolled out to the launch pad.

00:38:33 Never before had a new spacecraft been flown this way.

00:38:37 Previous Mercury, Gemini and Apollos were man-rated in advance,

00:38:41 meaning that unmanned flights were flown before putting an astronaut crew on board.

00:38:46 Despite nagging problems with engines and protective tiles, there was a quiet optimism.

00:38:54 Long-time space workers knew from past experience with the Lunar Landing Program

00:38:58 that design and engineering problems do get worked out.

00:39:04 After one false start, astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen headed for the launch pad.

00:39:21 Columbia's maiden flight would be brief, just 54 and a half hours, 36 orbits and return to Earth.

00:39:28 But it signaled the beginning of a reusable space transportation system.

00:39:32 ...to ensure that everything is in the proper...

00:39:35 ...minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4...

00:39:41 ...9 engines start, we have main engines on...

00:40:11 ...3, 2, 1.

00:40:34 Apollo Houston, we're back again.

00:40:37 Roger, Columbia, you've got your normal capcom slack now.

00:40:41 OK.

00:40:43 Well, the only sad part about it, Joe, is we're going to have to come down.

00:40:55 ...3, 2, 1, down.

00:41:14 Look at that. Look at the satellite.

00:41:43 ...3, 2, 1.

00:42:05 30 weeks later, after Columbia had been returned to the Kennedy Space Center,

00:42:19 cleaned, refurbished and rolled out to the pad,

00:42:22 astronauts Joe Engel and Dick Truly flew Columbia into space again.

00:42:27 While an imaging radar system mapped distant Earth,

00:42:31 the crew made a critical test of a Canadian-developed mechanical arm

00:42:35 that would later place payloads into and out of orbit.

00:42:38 OK, we copy. Thank you.

00:42:40 Looks like it's a little cloudy out here, Sally.

00:42:43 Excuse me, Mr. Ray.

00:42:46 And we can hear it crank up on the board.

00:42:50 OK, stand by.

00:42:53 OK, we see fan A on and we'd like you to take proper.

00:43:04 As Columbia landed the second time, the circle was complete.

00:43:08 A new generation of space travel had begun.

00:43:31 When Space Shuttle 3 left the launch pad,

00:43:33 it carried an experiment prepared by 18-year-old Todd Nelson of Rose Creek, Minnesota.

00:43:38 An experiment to study the effects of weightlessness on insects in space.

00:43:42 It's called the Shuttle Student Involvement Project

00:43:45 and includes NASA, the National Science Teachers Association

00:43:48 and industry sponsors who help transform winning proposals into flight experiments.

00:43:53 Since this first flight, young people in high schools around the country

00:43:56 have developed and flown a variety of experiments,

00:44:00 ranging from medical projects to the study of zero gravity on an ant colony.

00:44:07 They are setting an example for others who may be encouraged to pursue careers in science and engineering,

00:44:12 something that ultimately can be translated into technological leadership for the U.S.

00:44:19 Twelve weeks passed.

00:44:21 Then astronauts Ken Mattingly and Henry Hartsfield piloted Columbia on its fourth and final test flight.

00:44:28 The spacecraft's performance made it possible to certify the space transportation system a fully operational carrier.

00:44:37 As they landed on July 4th, the crew was greeted by President and Mrs. Reagan.

00:44:51 Space Shuttle 5, the first operational flight.

00:44:55 Two commercial communications satellites were hauled into orbit,

00:44:58 one for satellite business systems and one for Telesat of Canada.

00:45:02 Their deployment was a complete success.

00:45:10 Space Shuttle 6 was the second operational mission

00:45:13 and Flight 1 for Challenger, this country's newest spacecraft.

00:45:17 After launching a 5,000-pound tracking and data relay satellite from the payload bay,

00:45:22 mission specialist astronauts Story Musgrave and Donald Peterson

00:45:25 became the first Americans in nine years to walk in space,

00:45:29 practice needed for satellite repair work.

00:45:46 Mission 7 carried a crew of five into space,

00:45:49 including America's first woman astronaut, Sally Ride.

00:46:18 She and mission specialists John Fabian and Norm Thagard

00:46:21 deployed a pair of communications satellites for Canada and Indonesia.

00:46:33 Shuttles 1 and 2 were now operational.

00:46:36 With the addition of a third orbiter, Discoverer, to the fleet,

00:46:39 and with literally dozens of astronauts in training at any given time,

00:46:43 this new space transportation system would begin delivering in earnest

00:46:47 and with increasing frequency.

00:46:54 Opening a new era in science is Space Lab,

00:46:57 where scientists from around the world work together

00:47:00 in a unique international research center aboard NASA's space shuttle.

00:47:04 Built by the European Space Agency,

00:47:06 Space Lab is creating exciting new opportunities for research in all the sciences

00:47:11 and is making routine international cooperation a reality.

00:47:18 Looking farther ahead, there's the space telescope

00:47:20 that will expand our vision almost to the edge of the universe.

00:47:26 The shuttle gives the United States an unrivaled tool for the practical use of space.

00:47:31 Historically, the space program has proceeded in a building block fashion,

00:47:35 and toward that end, NASA has begun looking at the next logical step,

00:47:39 a possible future space station, a permanent presence in space.

00:47:44 The station would serve as a scientific and technological laboratory,

00:47:48 as well as an operation space from which satellites could be serviced

00:47:51 and large structures assembled.

00:47:54 One of the highest priorities is to develop a clear understanding

00:47:57 of a station's proper role in the total space program,

00:48:01 so that if and when it is proposed for development,

00:48:04 the station will be a truly significant national asset,

00:48:07 one that would ensure continued American preeminence in space.

00:48:14 The space program in general, and the shuttle program in particular,

00:48:18 have gone a long way to help our country recapture its spirit of vitality and confidence.

00:48:23 The pioneer spirit still flourishes in America.

00:48:28 In the future, as in the past, our freedom, independence, and national well-being

00:48:35 will be tied to new achievements, new discoveries, and pushing back new frontiers.

00:48:41 We must look aggressively to the future by demonstrating the potential of the shuttle

00:48:47 and establishing a more permanent presence in space.

00:48:54 The 25th anniversary of NASA.

00:48:57 To a casual observer, NASA is identified by launch vehicles,

00:49:01 and spacecraft, and airplanes, and wind tunnels.

00:49:06 But it is the people behind it all who are really important.

00:49:10 It's the people who think and dream and work to make these things possible.

00:49:15 That is the true measure of NASA's strength and its successes.

00:49:20 And it is to the next generation of space pioneers, the youth of the world,

00:49:25 that this program is dedicated.

00:49:31 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

00:50:01 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology