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XFY-1 Pogo

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A very special happy birthday to Air Force test pilot, mechanical engineer, NASA astronaut, and all-around superhero Lt. Col. Virgil Ivan “Gus” Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967), who would’ve turned 99 years old today! Gus was one of NASA’s original Mercury Seven astronauts, the second American in space, and the first human to fly in space twice. He was a dad, a husband, a brother, and a son. He’s also my favorite person in the universe. His life and sacrifice continue to inspire people all over the world. Happy birthday, bubba ❤️

“Do good work.”

“There have been times when all of us have wished we’d gone in for some other line of work, say welding or psychology. Who hasn’t? But when the first man touches down on the moon a few years from now, we’ll know the whole thing has been more than worth it.” 

“You are scared, but you learn to take care of yourself.”

“There are few who pass this way of whom it cannot be said that they leave it a poorer place. Gus, however, enriched all of our lives by his presence, and left for future generations who will be travelling to the stars a rich heritage of knowledge, courage, and devotion to an idea. His name will be written in eternity as a pioneer and an explorer of the unknown.” -Walter Cronkite

“The rest of the astronauts thought the world of him.” -Walter Sullivan, Jr.

“Gus did not consider himself the hero type, nor was he impressed with personal prestige. He was a quiet, unassuming, and completely unpretentious person… He possessed a strong desire to succeed in everything he undertook, and this unbeatable desire to win was matched only by his determination and perseverance to see a job through to its satisfactory conclusion.” -Wally Schirra

“I’m pretty sure he got to the moon first. Of course, he didn’t make it… but in spirit I think he was already there.” -Betty Grissom

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"Two members of the Apollo 10 prime crew participate in simulation activity at the Kennedy Space Center during preparations for their scheduled lunar orbit mission. Astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, commander, is in the background; and in the foreground is astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, lunar module pilot. The two crewmen are in the Lunar Module Mission Simulator."

Date: April 3, 1969

NASA ID: S69-32615

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NASA Mission Control Center, 1961 / Alan Shepard waits to become the first American in space, 1961

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March 30, 2006 — Soyuz TMA-8 launches to the International Space Station

Soyuz TMA-8 Carat carried three members of Expedition 13, one Russian (Pavel Vinogradov), one American (Jeffrey Nels), and one Brazilian, to the space station. Marcos Pontes became the first Brazilian citizen in space.

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Model of early version of Saturn V launch vehicle.

I could be wrong but it looks like the Apollo spacecraft is from the version with the direct descent mode instead of the lunar orbit rendezvous which was used.

Date: 1963

Posted on Flickr by Chris Spurgeon: link

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March 29, 1974 — Mariner 10 flies by Mercury, becoming the first spacecraft to visit two planets

Launched in late 1973, Mariner 10 flew by Venus and Mercury and was the first spacecraft to use a gravity assist maneuver. It was the last Mariner probe and the only spacecraft to visit Mercury until NASA's MESSENGER orbiter in the mid-2000s.

Read more about the Mariner missions here!

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032825 SOMETHING SORT OF LIKE FATE

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The Apollo Command Module (CM-014) during the Apollo 1 fire investigation in the Pyrotechnics Installation Building, Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Posted on Flickr by Drew Granston.

Date: March 29, 1967

NASA ID: 108-KSC-67PC-84

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Apollo 16 Saturn V (CSM-113/LM-11/SA-511) on LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, during the Countdown Demonstration Test (CDDT).

Date: March 29, 1972

NASA ID: KSC-72PC-0147

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Gemini boilerplate rogallo wing test flight, Gemini program

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March 28, 2013 — Soyuz TMA-08M launches to the International Space Station

Soyuz TMA-08M Carat carried three members of Expedition 35, two Russians (Pavel Vinogradov and Aleksandr Misurkin) and one American (Chris Cassidy), to the station and utilized an expedited rendezvous and docking procedure, docking to the station after only six hours in orbit rather than the usual two days.