Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
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Mansa Musa was the ruler of the Mali Empire in West Africa. Details recorded here should be sourced; unknown information is left blank.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
In astronautics, aerospace engineering and space physics, the study of space environment is concerned with the conditions existing in space, and their effects on the design and operation of spacecraft. A related subject, space weather, deals with dynamic processes in the solar-terrestrial system that can give rise to effects on spacecraft, but that can also affect the atmosphere, ionosphere and geomagnetic field, giving rise to several other kinds of effects on human technologies. Effects on spacecraft can arise from radiation, space debris and meteoroid impact, upper atmospheric drag and spacecraft electrostatic charging. Various mitigation strategies have been adopted.
The Space Environment Simulation Laboratory (SESL) is a facility in Building 32 at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center that can perform large-scale simulations of the vacuum and thermal environments that would be encountered in space. Built in 1965, it was initially used to test Apollo Program spacecraft and equipment in a space environment, and continues to be used by NASA for testing equipment. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.
The SPace ENVironment Information System (SPENVIS) is an ESA operational software developed and maintained at Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy since 1996. It provides a web-based interface for assessing the Space environment and its effects on spacecraft systems and crews. An international user community uses the system for various purposes, e.g. mission analysis and planning, educational support, and running models for scientific applications. SPENVIS also includes extensive background information on the space environment and the environment models.
The International Space Station (ISS) is a space station in low Earth orbit (LEO). It is the product of the International Space Station program and is operated by five partner space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada). It is the first space station built, maintained and crewed through international cooperation and the largest human spacecraft ever constructed. It is an orbital research station, where scientific experiments in microgravity are conducted and the space environment is studied. Since 2 November 2000, it has hosted the longest continuous human presence in space. Alongside China's Tiangong, it is one of two currently operational space stations. The station orbits between 51.64° north and south, at about 400 kilometres (250 miles) above Earth, below the Van Allen radiation belts and most space debris. Its orbit takes it at 7.67 km/s (27,600 km/h; 17,200 mph) roughly every 93 minutes around Earth, 15.5 times a day. Measuring 109 m (358 ft) (with solar arrays) by 73 m (239 ft), it is as large as a full-sized football or soccer field, and has a pressurised internal volume of 1,005 m3 (35,491 ft3), comparable to a Boeing 747 airliner. The station is a modular space station divided into two main sections: the Russian Orbital Segment (ROS), developed by Roscosmos, and the US Orbital Segment (USOS), built by NASA, ESA, JAXA, and CSA. The Integrated Truss Structure connects the station's vast system of solar panels and radiators to its 16 major pressurized modules. These modules support scientific research, crew habitation, storage, spacecraft control, and airlock operations. The ISS has eight docking and berthing ports for visiting spacecraft. In total, the station consists of 43 different modules and elements. Crews visit via the Soyuz and Crew Dragon spacecraft, and previously the Space Shuttle. Cargo supply craft include Progress, Cargo Dragon, Cygnus, Automated Transfer Vehicle, and HTV-X. The ISS is the political product of the development of international cooperation in space throughout the space age. The station combines two previously planned crewed Earth-orbiting stations: the United States' Space Station Freedom and the Soviet Union's Mir-2. The first ISS module was launched in 1998, with major components delivered by Proton, Soyuz and Space Shuttle launch vehicles. Long-term occupancy began with the arrival of the Expedition 1 crew on 2 November 2000. Since then, the ISS has remained continuously inhabited for 25 years and 339 days, the longest continuous human presence in space. As of August 2025, 290 individuals from 26 countries had visited the station. Future plans for the ISS include the addition of at least one module, the Payload Power Thermal Module by Axiom Space, forming the commercial segment of the station. The station is expected to remain operational until the end of 2030, by which parts of it are to be used for Axiom Station and the Russian Orbital Service Station. After this the ISS is planned to be de-orbited using the US Deorbit Vehicle, but critique of this plan and the proposal of parking the station at a more stable higher orbit has gathered congressional support as of 2026.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Madam C.J. Walker