Mechanical engineers are those hyper-intelligent souls who look at diverse pieces of metal and wiring and create technological magic. These people know how thing work just by looking at them. There's been a long history of mechanical engineering in NASA's space program, a fact that hasn't gone unnoticed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. ASME implemented its historic landmarks scheme in 1971, and since then has designated more than 250 historic sites and artifacts important in the field of space exploration.
NASA's Atlas and Centaur historic landmarks from ASME
One of ASME's earliest space-related designations is the Atlas E-2 Space Booster, or launch vehicle. On June 11, 1957, this became the first non-weapon rocket-launching device used in the United States. Atlas E-2 started life as an intercontinental ballistic missile but was adapted for more life-friendly options; in 1958 it launched the world's first communications satellite and four years later put an astronaut into orbit. Contact Gillespie Fields Airport in Cajon, California for more information about the rocket.
Another 1958 landmark is the RL-10 rocket engine, the first to use high-energy liquid hydrogen and the basis of the Centaur rocket launchers. You can see a facsmile at the Smithsonian aerospace museum in Washington, DC.
Apollo landmarks highlight one of the most beloved parts of NASA's space program
The Apollo Space Command Module and Apollo Lunar Module LM-13 date to the late 1960s when Neil Armstrong took that first "great step" on July 20, 1969. The command module held three astronauts and first went up in 1968. Altogether, there were eight Apollos, VI through XIV; Apollo 13 was the subject of a rather exciting movie that gives more than a fleeting glimpse into how much sheer mathematical brilliance was required to bring those pioneers back safely. The lunar module was the first vehicle to touch the surface of the moon.
Only LM-13 has landmark status, though it never went up into space. You can see it at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City on Long Island, New York. Find out more about Apollo missions at the Astronaut Hall of Fame, 6225 Vectorspace Blvd, Titusville, FL; 407-269-6100.
Relatedly, the Saturn V rocket launchers, which sent those Apollos up to the moon, are designated as ASME landmarks.
NASA's Voyager series captured the imagination of historians and kids alike
From 1972 to 1977, NASA built its legendary Voyager explorers. When in 1977 they were launched, BBC children's television program "Blue Peter" explained that most viewers would be well into adulthood before the Voyagers passed through our solar system into the great dark yonder. The idea of sending an interplanetary message to beings unknown sparked many a child's interest in the space program while boggling their minds at the scale of such things. For those who remember, that feeling hasn't really changed more than 30 years later.
No human living today is ever going to see Voyager I and Voyager II again, though NASA still receives their transmissions. You can see the launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Voyager's mission page at NASA's website updates the crafts' distance from Earth in real time and brings a whole new meaning to "far, far away."
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Sources: American Society of Mechanical Engineers; NASA's Voyager pages, and Apollo pages
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