Ranger 9s Last Moments

Crash course: Millions of Americans were glued to their TV sets on March 24, 1965 to watch Ranger 9 transmit video of the final 17 minutes (shown here speeded up) of its dive into the moons crater Alphonsus. The video begins with Ranger 9 at a distance of about 1,477 miles from the moon and ends with impact inside the 67-mile-wide crater. Video: NASA (0:15)

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Preview thumbnail for video'Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser

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Preview thumbnail for video'STS-1: The First Shuttle Landing

Before John Young and Robert Crippen’s STS-1 mission in April 1981, no astronauts had ever landed a spaceship on a runway. In their postflight briefing, Young (the first voice in this clip) and pilot Crippen describe their first-time return of a shuttle from orbit, during which the vehicle executed a series of S-turns, or roll reversals, like a skier slaloming downhill to manage speed.

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Preview thumbnail for video'Axiom’s Plan for a Private Space Station

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Preview thumbnail for video'NASA Lifting Body Crash, 1967

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Preview thumbnail for video'SOFIA Opens Its Door

In this video taken from NASAs F/A-18 chase plane, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), fully opens its telescopes door on a flight near Edwards, California on December 18, 2009. The one-hour, 19-minute flight was the first time outside air had interacted with the part of the airplane that carries the 98-inch telescope. The blue tufts around the door, similar to parachute cord, help aerodynamic engineers see the flow of air around the fuselage. Doing so allows them to determine if there is any unusual turbulence around the opening. The door, designed in a wind tunnel, has proven to be effective, with no noticeable drag when it is either partially or fully open.

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Preview thumbnail for video'To Space and BackTrailer

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Preview thumbnail for video'STS-51A: Life on a Small Spaceship

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