News

July 28, 2026
Space Heritage – North America’s Polar Shield: The DEW Line

In the early years of the Cold War, the U.S. Air Force had a problem--it lacked early warning capabilities that could detect Soviet nuclear bombers flying towards North America from the North Pole. At the time, the Air Force needed three to six hours of advanced warning to disperse Strategic Air
May 7, 2026
Space Heritage – First U.S Satellite Lands on the Far Side of the Moon

Sixty-four years ago on April 23, 1962, the United States successfully launched the Ranger 4 satellite onboard an Atlas-Agena B rocket from Cape Canaveral Missile Test Annex, Florida, enroute to the moon. The mission of the Ranger spacecraft was to obtain high-resolution photographs of the lunar
Feb. 12, 2026
Space Warfighter Heritage: Col. Quenten A. Riepe – Space and Missile Pioneer

Colonel Quenten A. Riepe is an early Space and Missile Pioneer who began his Air Force career in World War II, flying troops across the European theater in propeller-driven aircraft, and ended it launching space test flights from launch facilities in the United States. Born on Apr. 9, 1919, Riepe

Space Heritage – North America’s Polar Shield: The DEW Line