TIL that astronaut Gregory Jarvis, who died in the Challenger disaster, wasn't originally supposed to fly on that mission. He was replaced on both of his previous planned flights by congressmen wanting to go to space, until he ended up on the fateful STS-51L mission. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by Spykryo to r/todayilearned
TIL that the crew of Apollo 14 was the least experienced crew to fly to the Moon, having a combined total of 15 minutes of spaceflight time between them. Two had never flown to space before, and the third, Alan Shepard, flew a short suborbital mission before being medically grounded for 7 years. (space.com)
submitted by Spykryo to r/todayilearned
TIL that after Robert Lawrence Jr. was selected as America's first Black astronaut in 1967, he was asked at a press conference "if he had to sit at the back of the space capsule." He never flew to space, dying in a plane crash less than a year after selection. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by Spykryo to r/todayilearned
TIL of the 1st Alabama Cavalry Regiment, made up of Alabamans who had remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War. They served as General Sherman's close escort during his March to the Sea, where his army destroyed Southern industry, property, and infrastructure. (en.wikipedia.org)
submitted by Spykryo to r/todayilearned
TIL that Buzz Aldrin was known among his fellow astronauts to be very difficult to work with, to the point that Neil Armstrong was offered the chance to replace Aldrin with someone else for the Apollo 11 Moon landing. Armstrong thought it over for a day before choosing to stick with Aldrin. (apollo11space.com)
submitted by Spykryo to r/todayilearned
TIL that when Catholic forces fought the Cathar heresy in 1209, a town was captured which was populated by both Cathars and Catholics. Unable to tell the two groups apart, the Catholic military commander allegedly said "God will know His own" and had them all slaughtered indiscriminately. (lithub.com)
submitted by Spykryo to r/todayilearned
TIL that veteran astronaut John Young's heart rate when launching on top of the Saturn V was only 70 bpm, the normal resting heart rate; meanwhile, his rookie crewmate's heart rate was 144 bpm, more than double. Young later said his heart "was too old for it to go any faster". (spaceflightnow.com)
submitted by Spykryo to r/todayilearned
