![]() The 2000s involved continued development of the space station, space shuttle programs, and propulsion systems – including systems associated with the Ares crewed rocket. The telescope has been helping shape humanity’s view of the universe since its launch July 23, 1999. The Marshall-managed Chandra X-Ray Observatory is the world’s most powerful x-ray telescope. ![]() module for the International Space Station and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The decade culminated with the launch of both the first U.S. Throughout the decade, Marshall scientists helped rewrite understanding of gamma rays with the Burst and Transient Source Experiment for the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Marshall engineers also explored the limits of propulsion technology through advanced transportation systems. In the 1990s, while continuing work to refine the shuttle propulsion systems, Marshall took a giant leap forward in microgravity with the development and operation of several new research programs known as Astro, the International and U.S. Marshall also built upon its extensive microgravity research capabilities as the team developed systems for the Spacelab program – including the Hubble Space Telescope, which continues to reshape humanity’s view of the universe. Space shuttle Columbia’s STS-1 mission ushered in three decades of operations in low-Earth orbit through 135 missions, including scientific experiments and payloads. Marshall’s third decade, the 1980s, saw a continuation in propulsion work for humanity’s first reusable spacecraft, the space shuttle – including the development of the shuttle’s main engines, solid rocket booster, and external tanks. Space shuttle Columbia’s STS-1 mission - including main engines, solid rocket booster, and external tanks developed by Marshall - launches April 12, 1981. The end of the decade expanded the center’s role in the development of scientific missions with the Marshall-managed High Energy Astronomy Observatory Program, including the launch of three large low-Earth orbiting satellites known as HEAO 1, 2, and 3. This second decade also included the United States’ first space station, Skylab, whose three crewed missions provided NASA with critical insight on living and working in space. The 1970s saw the five final flights of the Apollo Program, including three expeditions via the Marshall-developed Lunar Roving Vehicle – which allowed astronauts to expand the amount of science conducted on the lunar surface – for the Apollo 15, 16, and 17 missions. Science also formed a considerable part of Marshall’s accomplishments, through the development and launch of three Pegasus satellites and several balloon flights of the 36-inch aperture optical system – Stratoscope II. Propulsion remained a focus area as the team developed the Saturn I, Saturn IB, and the Saturn V rockets for the Apollo Program. In its first decade as a NASA center, Marshall worked on the Mercury-Redstone rocket that carried the country’s first astronaut, Alan Shepard, into space. ![]() The Marshall-developed Saturn V lifts off November 9, 1967.
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