NASA

The Star Trek actress, Nichelle Nichols, was employed by NASA to recruit new astronauts into the late 1980s.

Ken Strite inspects the connection between the Space Shuttle Discovery and the external tank to be used during STS-103 mission launch.

Marjorie Townsend, the first woman to receive an engineering degree from George Washington University, discusses the X-ray Explorer Satellite with a colleague.

This launch vehicle is designed to carry a payload equal to the size and weight of those on a space shuttles.

Crew members of the STS-49 mission captured the satellite on the third attempt.

Dr. Goddard observes a launch from his control shack.

An astronaut peeks inside the flight deck during his EVA on STS-49.

This aircraft is undergoing a test in a wind tunnel at Langley.

An astronaut and a cosmonaut shake hands during the STS-71 mission.

An astronaut prepares for STS-38 by training underwater for EVAs.

Astronaut Jerry Ross approaches the Assembly Concept for Construction of Erectable Space Structures device.

A NASA engineer measures velocity and gradient distortion with lasers during a cold-flow propulsion research test.

Astronaut Edward White II floats in the zero gravity of space.

Astronaut Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. stands next to a solar wind experiment during the Apollo 11 EVA.

This experiment is designed to develop and demonstrate the technology required to use the Sun's energy for inexpensive space propulsion research.

Astronaut John Swigert holds the rigged arrangement used to purge carbon dioxide from the Lunar Module during the Apollo 13 mission.

The Aerosol Particle Analyzer flew on an Apollo earth orbital flight to measure microscopic liquid matter in the spaceship.

The world's fastest submarine in 1950, the Albacore, is tested for drag characteristics in a NACA wind tunnel.

The NASA 952 undergoes testing following the crash of a sister Lunar Lander Training Vehicle.

A Space Shuttle Main Engine undergoing a full power second test firing.

The spacecraft Galileo is prepared for its trip to Jupiter.

Overnight on Jan. 28, 1986 icicles formed on the launch pad and service tower.

The STS-107 Crew stands with the SPACEHAB during training.

Discovery goes through the meticulous process of being prepared for liftoff on Mission STS-70 in early June of 1995.

The Space Shuttle orbiter Endeavour flies atop NASA's Boeing 747 Shuttle carrier Aircraft.