Curated playlist
NASA people
- D. Brainerd HolmesD. Brainerd Holmes was hired in 1961 to lead NASA's crewed spaceflight program. He oversaw Mercury.
- Eberhard ReesWernher von Braun personally chose Eberhard Rees to lead the Marshall Space Flight Center.
- William R. LucasMarshall director William R. Lucas retired in 1986 after a commission criticized his role in Challenger.
- 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.
- David ScottDavid Scott dropped a hammer and a feather on the Moon. The Apollo 15 commander did it on live television.
- Alfred WordenIn 1971, Alfred Worden orbited the Moon alone, farther from any other person than anyone before.
- Robert R. GilruthWhen Kennedy promised a Moon landing, Robert Gilruth was aghast.
- Katherine JohnsonKatherine Johnson was the mathematician an astronaut asked for by name. NASA was using electronic computers for the first time to calculate John Glenn's orbit of the Earth. Officials turned to Johnson to verify the machine's numbers,…
- Deke SlaytonOne heart test grounded astronaut Deke Slayton in 1962. He then picked the crews who flew to the Moon.
- Samuel C. PhillipsSamuel C. Phillips froze the Minuteman missile's design knowing its range was 1,000 miles short.
- James HansenOn June 23, 1988, NASA scientist James Hansen told the U.S. Senate global warming had already been detected.
- Joseph Francis SheaJoe Shea's 1962 analysis steered NASA toward its Moon landing plan. He had joined the agency only months earlier.
- John HouboltWhen Apollo 11 landed, Wernher von Braun turned to John Houbolt and said, "Thank you, John."
- Rusty SchweickartAstronaut Rusty Schweickart took up meditation after a five-minute pause outside Apollo 9.
- Jessica MeirJessica Meir took part in the first spacewalk done entirely by women. She and Christina Koch replaced a faulty unit.
- Flight controllerWhen alarms fired during Apollo 11's landing, Steve Bales had moments to decide.
- Maxime FagetEngineer Max Faget decided a spacecraft returning from orbit should look nothing like an aircraft.
- Roger D. LauniusA NASA chief historian also wrote a book on a baseball showman. Roger D. Launius wrote about Charlie Finley too.
- Abe SilversteinAbe Silverstein, a NASA engineer, gave the Apollo program its name. He chose a Greek and Roman god of light and the sun.