On March 18, 1925, nearly 700 people died when the Tri-State Tornado struck southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois and southwestern Indiana; it remains the deadliest single tornado in U.S. history.
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On Feb. 20, 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, circling the globe three times aboard Project Mercury's Friendship 7 spacecraft in a flight lasting 4 hours and 55 minutes before splashing down safely in the Atlantic Ocean.
The replacements for the astronauts involved in NASA's first medical evacuation are on their way to the International Space Station. SpaceX launched the fresh crew on Friday from Florida. The four astronauts are representing the U.S., France and Russia and should reach the orbiting lab Saturday. They'll fill the vacancies left by their evacuated colleagues. NASA had to put spacewalks on hold and defer other duties after an unidentified astronaut experienced a serious medical issue in January. The entire crew returned to Earth more than a month early, leaving three astronauts in orbit.
Four astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station after being sidelined by Boeing's Starliner trouble and other issues. SpaceX launched the U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew from Florida on Friday. They should reach the space station this weekend, replacing colleagues who launched in March as fill-ins for NASA's two stuck astronauts. Leading the taxi flight for NASA is Zena Cardman. She was yanked from a SpaceX flight last year to make room for Starliner's test pilots whose capsule was judged too dangerous to fly. Two of her crewmates were also training on Starliner, which remains grounded until next year.
On July 24, 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts — two of whom had been the first humans to set foot on the moon — splashed down safely in the Pacific.
A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas has exploded, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky. The company says the Starship "experienced a major anomaly" at about 11 p.m. Wednesday while on the test stand at Starbase, SpaceX's launch site at the southern tip of Texas. The company says in a statement on X that "all personnel are safe and accounted for." SpaceX says there are no hazards to nearby communities. It has asked people not to try to approach the site. It marked the latest in a string of incidents this year involving the massive rockets.
Elon Musk is dialing back his threat to decommission a capsule used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station for NASA. The threat came as President Donald Trump and Musk argued on social media on Thursday. Trump said he could cut government contracts given to Musk's rocket company, SpaceX. Musk responded by saying SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft. It was unclear how serious he was, but he later posted he wouldn't withdraw the capsule. SpaceX is the only U.S. company capable right now of transporting crews to and from the space station, using its four-person Dragon capsules.
On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, orbiting the earth once before landing safely via parachute after a planned ejection from his space capsule.
A NASA spacecraft will make its second close brush with the sun. The Parker Solar Probe made its record-breaking first pass within 3.8 million miles of the scorching sun in December, flying closer than any object sent before. Parker will attempt the journey again on Saturday. Scientists hope the data from Parker will help them better understand the sun's outer atmosphere and what drives the solar wind. Parker was launched in 2018 to get a close-up look at the sun and is the fastest spacecraft built by humans.
On an episode of "The Story Behind the AP Story," Associated Press space writer Marcia Dunn discusses the space odyssey of NASA's two stuck astronauts. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally on their way home after more than nine months in space. Wilmore and Williams left the International Space Station in a SpaceX capsule early Tuesday, checking out with two others. The capsule is due to splash down in the evening off the Florida coast, weather permitting. The astronauts will then be taken to Houston. The astronauts' return will close out a dramatic marathon mission that began with a bungled test flight of Boeing's Starliner capsule last June.
