The Focke-Wulf Fw 61 was the first successful, practical, and fully controllable helicopter, first flown in 1936. It was also known as the Fa 61, as Focke began a new company—Focke-Achgelis—in 1937. Only two aircraft were produced. The first prototype, the V 1 D-EBVU, had its first free flight on 26 June 1936 with Ewald Rohlfs at the controls. By…
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She had been the regnant queen of 32 sovereign states during her lifetime and was the monarch of 15 realms at her death.…
In 1896 when Washington reviewed the study conducted by George Washington Carver about the infection plaguing the soybean crop, he invited Carver to head the Agriculture Department at Tuskegee, where they became close friends. Carver later autographed commemorative stamps issued in 1940 in Washington’s honour. This was the first time an African American was…
Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA includes spacewalks and lunar or planetary surface exploration (commonly known from 1969 to 1972 as moonwalks). In…
Today we remember the safe return of the Skylab 4 crew to earth, 51 years ago. On the 8th of February 1974 the crew splashed down in the Pacific. Skylab 4 was the third crewed Skylab mission and placed the third and final crew aboard the first American space station. The mission began on…