airandspace.si.edu

W7dy4 TIL that in 1962, Operation Stargazer used a 12-1/2-inch reflecting telescope mounted on a high-altitude balloon, featuring gyroscopic stabilizing gear developed by MIT. This was the first mission to employ such technology for more accurate observations from the upper atmosphere.
ANJDg TIL in 2013 Jeff Bezoz launched a 3 month expedition to recover a F1 engine used on the Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket from a depth of 14,000 feet off the floor of the Atlantic ocean. The engine currently resides in the National Air and Space Museum and is the only recovered flown F1 engine.
R5w14 TIL that in 1984, during Space Shuttle mission STS 41-B, astronaut Bruce McCandless made the first untethered spacewalk as he flew some 300 feet from the Shuttle in the first test of the MMU.