3 – GEMINI VII

American astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell lifted off from Launch Complex 19, starting the Gemini 7 mission on December 4th, 1965.

This record-breaking flight demonstrated numerous technical achievements, among which was the feasibility of a two-week spaceflight. The Mission required NASA to solve some of the problems of long-duration space flight, such as stowage of waste (the crew had practiced stuffing waste paper behind their seats before the flight). Timing their workday to match that of the prime shift ground crews, both men worked and slept at the same time. Gemini 7 conducted twenty experiments, the most of any Gemini mission, including studies of nutrition in space. The astronauts also evaluated a lightweight spacesuit, the G5C, which proved uncomfortable when worn for a long time in the Gemini spacecraft’s hot, cramped quarters.

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  • 2 – APOLLO 15

    The 363-foot tall Apollo 15 Saturn V is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 9:34 a.m., July 26, 1971, on a lunar landing mission.

  • 4 – Expedition 57

    At the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, launch pad gantry arms are seen closing around the Soyuz rocket in this long exposure photograph, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018.

  • 11 – Apollo/Saturn 1B

    An early morning view of Pad B, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, showing the ASTP Apollo/Saturn 1B space vehicle on the pad during Apollo-Soyuz Test Project prelaunch preparations.

  • 7 – STS 27

    Space Shuttle Atlantis takes flight on its STS-27 mission on Dec. 2, 1988, 9:30 a.m. EST, utilizing 375,000 pounds thrust produced by its three main engines.