Archives: Today in History

28 May 1959 On this day, the Congressional Committee of Astronautics met the Project 7 astronauts. These seven original American astronauts were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton. The Mercury Seven created a new profession in the United States and established the image of the American astronaut for decades to come. Prior […]

27 May 1958: At Lambert Field, St. Louis, Missouri, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation’s Chief Test Pilot (and future company president) Robert C. Little made the first flight of the YF4H-1 prototype. The twin-engine Mach 2+ airplane was the first pre-production model of what would be developed into the legendary F-4 Phantom II fighter bomber. The flight

26 May 1970 – Here’s the story from now LtCol Bill Croom about why he has 218 missions and only 217 landings… “Why I have only 217 landings… One day we launched off the pad and as I was climbing out the engine started compressor stalling. By the fourth or fifth time with cleaned wings,