Curated playlist
American aerospace engineers
- Elon MuskIn 2001, Elon Musk traveled to Moscow twice to buy missiles, hoping to launch a plant greenhouse to Mars.
- Roger B. ChaffeeRoger Chaffee passed his Navy pilot's eye exam only because a doctor let him retake it the next morning.
- James McDivittOn Gemini 4, James McDivitt had to force a jammed hatch latch back into place with his fingers.
- Ed White (astronaut)Ed White floated out of his capsule in 1965 and did not want to come back. He was the first American to walk in space.
- Stuart RoosaStuart Roosa orbited the Moon 34 times alone while two crewmates walked on it. He also carried tree seeds in his pocket.
- Gene CernanGene Cernan wrote his daughter's initials in the lunar dust before leaving the Moon. He was the last person there.
- Fred HaiseFred Haise came within days of becoming the sixth person to walk on the Moon. Then Apollo 13's oxygen tank ruptured.
- Jack SwigertJack Swigert won a seat in Congress but died seven days before he could take it. The Apollo 13 astronaut was 51.
- Neil ArmstrongNeil Armstrong's astronaut application came about a week late, until a colleague slipped it into the pile.
- Robert SeamansRobert Channing Seamans Jr. sat down for his last television interview in the autumn of 2007, speaking about the guidance and navigation system that helped carry Apollo astronauts to the Moon. He did not see it aired. The episode of the…
- John Young (astronaut)John Young walked on the Moon and later commanded the first Space Shuttle mission. He is the only person to do both.
- Frank BormanA stranger's telegram told Apollo 8's Frank Borman, "You saved 1968." He commanded the first crew to orbit the Moon.
- Wally SchirraAstronaut Wally Schirra refused Mission Control's request to wear helmets.
- Alfred WordenIn 1971, Alfred Worden orbited the Moon alone, farther from any other person than anyone before.
- Ken MattinglyKen Mattingly was pulled from Apollo 13 for measles he never got. He then helped from Mission Control to save the crew.
- Robert R. GilruthWhen Kennedy promised a Moon landing, Robert Gilruth was aghast.
- Thomas J. Kelly (aerospace engineer)Ice clogged a fuel line on the Moon lander while Neil Armstrong was already on the surface.
- Wright brothersThe Wright brothers' 1903 patent did not claim an airplane. It claimed a system for controlling one.
- Alan BeanAlan Bean walked on the Moon, then quit NASA to paint it. He pressed Moon dust from his suit patches into canvases.
- Deke SlaytonOne heart test grounded astronaut Deke Slayton in 1962. He then picked the crews who flew to the Moon.
- Edgar MitchellApollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell had a spiritual awakening on his way home from the Moon.
- Joseph Francis SheaJoe Shea's 1962 analysis steered NASA toward its Moon landing plan. He had joined the agency only months earlier.
- James IrwinAfter walking on the Moon, astronaut James Irwin spent years searching for Noah's Ark.
- John HouboltWhen Apollo 11 landed, Wernher von Braun turned to John Houbolt and said, "Thank you, John."
- Ronald Evans (astronaut)Ronald Evans is the last person to orbit the Moon alone. He circled it 75 times while two crewmates walked below.
- Rusty SchweickartAstronaut Rusty Schweickart took up meditation after a five-minute pause outside Apollo 9.
- Harrison StormsAfter the Apollo 1 fire, NASA demanded that North American remove Harrison Storms. His boss chose to reassign him.
- Igor SikorskyA mosquito in a fuel tank changed Igor Sikorsky's career. The crash-landing made him want an aircraft that could fly on.
- Wernher von BraunWernher von Braun's V-2 rocket cost more lives to build than it took as a weapon.
- Abe SilversteinAbe Silverstein, a NASA engineer, gave the Apollo program its name. He chose a Greek and Roman god of light and the sun.
- Kalpana ChawlaKalpana Chawla was born in 1962 in Karnal, a city in Haryana, India, and in 1997 she was circling the Earth aboard Space Shuttle Columbia. She became an astronaut and aerospace engineer, and she was the first woman of Indian origin to fly…