1960s Timeline

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Feb 20, 2022

Marine Corps Proud of Colonel Glenn

Feb. 20, 1962 - The United States Marine Corps threw out its chest with pride and admiration today over the successful orbiting of Marine...

Feb 20, 2022

Colonel Glenn Has Snack in Space

Feb. 20, 1962 - About 20 minutes after he had soared aloft, Lieut. Col. John H. Glenn Jr. had his first snack in space. The Mercury...

Feb 20, 2022

🚨 Colonel John Glenn is First American to Orbit the Earth

Feb. 20, 1962 - John H. Glenn Jr. orbited three times around the earth today and landed safely to become the first American to make such...

Feb 19, 2022

Glenn Spaceflight May Happen Tomorrow Morning

Feb. 19, 1962 - The prospects for sending Lieut. Col. John H. Glenn Jr. into orbit tomorrow seem better than they have for a week. The...

Feb 14, 2022

Another Postponement of Glenn Spaceflight

Feb. 14, 1962 - Storms in the Atlantic caused another postponement today in the attempt to send Lieut. Col. John H. Glenn Jr. into orbit...

Jan 28, 2022

Video: Documentary "The Race to Space"

Jan. 28, 1962 - “The Race to Space” is a documentary which chronicles some of the space accomplishments of the past year. #nasa...

Jan 26, 2022

Senator Douglas Questions Moonshot

Jan. 26, 1962 - Senator Paul H. Douglas (pictured second from left in 1958) said today that he and many astronomers question the wisdom...

Jan 26, 2022

Ranger 3 Spacecraft Fails

Jan. 26, 1962 - An attempt to send the Ranger 3, a complex 727-pound spacecraft, to take close-up television pictures of the moon failed...

Jan 22, 2022

Another Postponement of Glenn Spaceflight

Jan. 22, 1962 - An attempt to rocket John H. Glenn Jr. into orbit was postponed today from Wednesday to Saturday at the earliest. The...

Jan 4, 2022

Astronaut John Glenn Profiled on ABC-TV

Jan. 4, 1962 - Lieut. Col. John H. Glenn Jr., who is scheduled to attempt an orbital flight later this month, was the subject of an ABC...

Nov 29, 2021

Chimp's Space Flight a Qualified Success

Nov. 29, 1961 - A male chimpanzee named Enos flew two 17,500-mile-an-hour orbits around the earth today. The flight, in a Project Mercury...

Nov 28, 2021

President Kennedy Awards Three X-15 Pilots the Harmon Trophy

Nov. 28, 1961 - President Kennedy awarded the Harmon International Trophy for Aviators today to three test pilots of the X-15 rocket...

Nov 28, 2021

Chimp Chosen for Space Flight

Nov. 28, 1961 - A 37-pound chimpanzee named Enos was chosen today to make a 3-orbit trip around the eaerth tomorrow. It is to be the last...

Nov 12, 2021

NASA: Man in Orbit Will Have to Wait until '62

Nov. 12, 1961 - United States hopes for sending a man into orbit this year apparently ended today when a flight with a chimpanzee was...

Oct 27, 2021

NASA: Saturn Rocket Big Success in Test Flight

Oct. 27, 1961 - The United States space program took a large leap forward today when an eight-engine Saturn rocket was successfully fired...

Oct 7, 2021

Going Rates on 1970 Round Trip to Mars

Oct. 7, 1961 - Space scientists forecast today that the cost of a round trip to Mars in 1980 would be $1 million. The cost for a person...

Aug 21, 2021

Scientists View Space Explosion that Happened 800 Million Years Ago

Aug. 21, 1961 - News of a gigantic explosion in space has just reached earth. A star, perhaps about the size of our sun, suddenly...

Aug 19, 2021

Mercury-Atlas 4, Carrying Robot, Set to Launch into Orbit this Week

Aug. 19, 1961 - A Mercury capsule called Mercury-Atlas 4 (pictured) carrying robot devices that breathe, perspire, and talk is scheduled...

Aug 18, 2021

After Orbital Flight, NASA to Move from Project Mercury to Apollo

Aug. 18, 1961 - NASA has decided to omit further suborbital flights. Instead, it will concentrate on an orbit of the earth with a manned...

Aug 12, 2021

NASA Deemed Sluggish Out of the Gate in All-Out Race to Moon

Aug. 12, 1961 - Nearly three months after President Kennedy called for an all-out race to the moon, there is no one in direct charge of...