Today in History – November 2, 2000 – first crew arrives at the International Space Station. This historic moment arrived when a capsule containing three astronauts – two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut – docked at the International Space Station. The International Space Station is a large, inhabited Earth satellite collaboratively built by 15 nations in space. It orbits Earth at an altitude of about 250 miles (400 kilometers). The orbit extends from 52 degrees north latitude to 52 degrees south latitude.
On October 19, 2007 the International Space Station enjoyed another first when NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson arrived at the International Space Station to begin her tenure as the first woman to command a station mission. On October 30, 2007 another female astronaut commanding the space shuttle Discovery, Pam Melroy, reached the space station, making it the first time two women have led space missions at the same time.
For more news and educational resources in space exploration and aerospace and aeronautical engineering, see the Engineering Pathway’s Aerospace Engineering Education Community site.
Also on this day in history, Designer Howard Hughes performs the maiden (and only) flight of the Spruce Goose in 1947; the largest fixed-wing aircraft ever built.