May 5, 1951: Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. pilots the Freedom 7 capsule to become the first American in space. Covering 300 miles and lasting just 15 minutes, this sub-orbital flight etched Shepard's name in our collective minds forever.

On December 15, 1965, NASA achieves a rendezvous in Earth orbit with two piloted spacecraft. Gemini 7, with Command Pilot Frank F. Borman II and Pilot James A. Lovell Jr., already in spac efor more than 10 days, meets with Gemini 6, guided by Command Pilot Walter M. Schirra and Pilot Thomas P. Stafford.

On December 21, 1968, Apollo 8 blasts into space aboard a Saturn V rocket with Mission Commander Borman, Command Module Pilot Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders. Their mission: to embark on the first flight around the Moon, preparing for those who would later land on its surface.

Apollo 11, with Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin, becomes the first mission to land humans on the Moon on July 20, 1969. The daring mission fulfilled President John F. Kennedy's goal expressed in his thrilling 1961 speech, "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to Earth".