NASA Celebrates 50 Years In Space
Travel Blog • Eva Holland • 07.30.08 | 10:09 AM ET
As private outfits like Virgin Galactic look ahead this week to the future of commercial space travel, NASA looks back, and celebrates 50 years in existence. Wired has an in-depth essay about the space agency’s history, scientific achievements and cultural impact—most notably, the iconic Cape Canaveral liftoffs of the 1960s, when news anchor Walter Cronkite “made it clear to his audience that they were taking part in something momentous, something that not only represented the flowering of a great technological achievement but stirred the human soul as well.”
Wired also offers up several accompanying photo galleries. The BBC has a handful of the agency’s most famous video moments, and the Independent lists 50 technological breakthroughs that we have NASA to thank for.