1986 ⟶ Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster and Program Halt
NASA's spaceflight program comes to a halt when Space Shuttl...
Year
1981
1986
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1990
2003
🚀 Maiden Flight of Space Shuttle Columbia
Space Shuttle Columbia, the first of NASA's reusable Space Shuttles, makes its maiden flight, ten years in development, the Shuttle will make space travel routine and eventually open the path for a new International Space Station.⟶
Space ShuttleNASASpace ExplorationColumbia1980sReusable SpacecraftAerospace EngineeringTechnology
United States🚀 Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster and Program Halt
NASA's spaceflight program comes to a halt when Space Shuttle Challenger explodes shortly after launch. A thorough inquiry and modifications to the rest of the fleet kept the shuttles on the ground for nearly three years.⟶
Space ExplorationSpace ShuttleNASASpaceflightEngineeringDisaster1980sChallengerAeronauticsSpace Program
United States☄️ Halley's Comet Flyby by Multiple Probes
The returning Halley's Comet is met by a fleet of five probes from the USSR, Japan, and Europe. The most ambitious is the European Space Agency's Giotto spacecraft, which flies through the comet's coma and photographs the nucleus.⟶
AstronomyCometsSpace ExplorationHalley's CometGiottoSpace Probes1980sSolar SystemCosmology
Soviet Union
Japan🛰️ Magellan Probe Maps Venus
The Magellan probe, launched by NASA, arrives at Venus and spends three years mapping the planet with radar. Magellan is the first in a new wave of probes that include Galileo, which arrives at Jupiter in 1995, and Cassini which arrives at Saturn in 2004.⟶
Space ExplorationVenusPlanetary ScienceRadar MappingMagellanNASA1980sAstronomyGeologyRemote Sensing
United States🔭 Hubble Space Telescope Launched and Initial Difficulties
The Hubble Space Telescope, the first large optical telescope in orbit, is launched using the Space Shuttle, but astronomers soon discovered that it is crippled by a problem with its mirror. A complex repair mission in 1993 allows the telescope to start producing spectacular images of distant stars, nebulae, and galaxies.⟶
AstronomySpace TelescopeHubble Space TelescopeSpace ExplorationOptical AstronomyNASA1990sCosmologyAstrophysicsEngineering
United States🚀 Space Shuttle Columbia Disintegrates Upon Reentry
Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere⟶
Space ExplorationSpace Shuttle ProgramNASAAeronauticsSpace Disasters21st Century ScienceEngineering
United States