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STS-63: A rendezvous with space station Mir

As a prelude to future dockings between American space shuttles and the Russian space station Mir, the two countries had a test rendezvous in Feb. 1995.

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"Apollo 17: On The Shoulders of Giants"

Apollo's final lunar voyage is relived in this movie. The film depicts the highlights of Apollo 17's journey to Taurus-Littrow and looks to the future Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz and shuttle programs.

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Atlantis returns to pad

Two months after rolling off the launch pad to seek repairs to the hail-damaged external fuel tank, space shuttle Atlantis returns to pad 39A for mission STS-117.

 Part 1 | Part 2

"Apollo 10: To Sort Out The Unknowns"

The May 1969 mission of Apollo 10 served as a final dress rehearsal before the first lunar landing later that summer. Stafford, Young and Cernan went to the moon to uncover lingering spacecraft problems that needed to be solved.

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STS-66: Earth's health

Data about the health of the Earth's atmosphere was gathered using shuttle-based instruments and a satellite that was launched and retrieved during Atlantis' STS-66 mission.

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Flying observatory renamed on Lindbergh anniversary
NASA-DFRC NEWS RELEASE
Posted: May 21, 2007

WACO, Texas - NASA dedicated a unique astronomy aircraft to pioneering aviator Charles Lindbergh on the 80th anniversary of his historic transatlantic flight. Erik Lindbergh, the pilot's grandson, joined NASA for the event Monday in Waco, Texas.


Credit: NASA
 
NASA's new Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a highly modified 747 airliner that carries a 45,000-pound infrared telescope system. Pan American Airways originally christened the plane the "Clipper Lindbergh" in 1977.

At the rededication ceremony, NASA officials discussed the similarities between Lindbergh's accomplishments and SOFIA's potential to capture scientifically important infrared images unavailable to earthbound telescopes.

The SOFIA aircraft was modified at L-3 Systems in Waco and is wrapping up a series of functional checkout flights before heading to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for further tests and systems integration.

Erik Lindbergh unveiled a plaque commemorating Clipper Lindbergh.

"This project is a fantastic blend of a 20th century legacy aircraft and a 21st century platform for exploration," he said.

Intended to fly above 40,000 feet, SOFIA will place its infrared telescope above nearly 99 percent of the Earth's atmospheric water vapor, greatly enhancing its abilities to study the cosmos. Its state-of-the-art telescope will be able to carry out scientific missions with greater flexibility and ease of upgrade than a satellite-borne observatory.

NASA's partner in SOFIA is the German Aerospace Center, which provided the telescope. NASA modified the aircraft. A 16-foot-high opening has been cut into the aft fuselage to permit observations to be made at altitude.

Once it arrives at Dryden, SOFIA will continue flight and systems testing for about two years while its observatory system hardware and software are integrated with the aircraft.

The telescope's first images are expected in 2009.