Pioneer 4 was built by JPL and launched towards the moon in 1959. It was supposed to impact the moon, but flew by at a distance of 60,000 kilometer and entered solar orbit.

On July 28, 1999, a VTVL test vehicle for the projected Roton rocket, called the Atmospheric Test Vehicle, took to the sky powered by the salvaged, rocket-tipped blades of a Sikorsky S-58 rotor.

This is astronaut Dale Gardner in his EMU (Extravehicular Mobility Unit) flying his MMU (Manned Maneuvering Unit) No. 3. It's sporting an Apogee Kick Motor Capture Device, or Stinger, designed to catch a satellite in orbit.

The Thor-Delta family of rockets first lifted off in 1958 and launched a multitude of satellites, space probes and spacecraft. It evolved from the small PGM-17 Thor IRBM based booster into the enormous Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle.

The Thor-Delta family of rockets first lifted off in 1958 and launched a multitude of satellites, space probes and spacecraft. It evolved from the small PGM-17 Thor IRBM based booster into the enormous Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle.

Voted Most Patchy of all rocket families, the Titan-2 vehicle launched the Gemini 1 test capsule on April 8th, 1964 and flew up until October 2005, after which it would be replaced by the Atlas and Delta families.

Voted Most Patchy of all rocket families, the Titan-2 vehicle launched the Gemini 1 test capsule on April 8th, 1964 and flew up until October 2005, after which it would be replaced by the Atlas and Delta families.

On December 7 1972 astronauts Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison Schmitt left earth orbit, and 4 days later, Cernan and Schmitt landed on the moon at the Taurus–Littrow valley in their 'Challenger' Lunar Module.

Two Voyager probes launched in1977 and flew by Jupiter, Saturn, Titan, Uranus and Neptune. They reached escape velocity and entered interstellar space in 2012 and 2018.

In 1995 NASA took over the DC-X test program, a prototype for a larger single-stage-to-orbit vehicle build by McDonnell Douglas. Renamed the DC-XA (A for Advanced), after it's 4th flight, it broke a landing leg, tipped over and promptly burned to the ground.

The Atlas rockets were a Convair development of the SM-65 Atlas missile, which was first tested on December 17, 1957. It launched John Glenn on the first US orbital flight in 1962.

The Atlas rockets were a Convair development of the SM-65 Atlas missile, which was first tested on December 17, 1957. It launched John Glenn on the first US orbital flight in 1962.

On December 7 1972 astronauts Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison Schmitt left earth orbit in their 'America' Command and Service Module, and 3 days later, arrived at the moon. Cernan and Schmitt would continue in the 'Challenger' Lunar Module and land at the Taurus–Littrow valley.

Developed in the 90s by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and flown for the first time September 10th, 2009, the HTV would fly resupply missions to the ISS and the Kibo Japanese Experiment Module (JEM).

On December 6th, 2015 Orbital ATK launched the first Enhanced version of their Cygnus resuply spacecraft towards the International Space Station. 17 Cygnus craft were launched, with 1 failure, and 8 more planned through 2026.