This week in 1965, the Saturn I SA-8 mission launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. SA-8 delivered the second of three Pegasus micrometeoroid detection satellites into low-Earth orbit. The satellites, developed and managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, electronically recorded the size and frequency of particles in space, and compared the performance of protected and unprotected solar cells. The satellites’ data informed future Apollo flights to the Moon.
The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage. (NASA)