Watch 2 astronauts perform 2nd spacewalk of 2023 today

Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon reentry 20 years ago today, killing all seven astronauts on board.

VP Awards Former NASA Astronauts Congressional Space Medal of Honor

A spaceflight disaster was narrowly avoided in 1972. A series of intense solar flares exploded in August, just months before the launch of Apollo 17. Any astronauts on the moon at that time would have died from radiation. As NASA's new lunar missions progress, the threat of radiation still looms.