By: HISTORY.com Editors

1972

President Nixon launches space shuttle program

HISTORY.com Editors

Published: November 16, 2009Last Updated: May 28, 2025

Richard Nixon signs a bill authorizing $5.5 million in funding to develop a space shuttle. The space shuttle represented a giant leap forward in the technology of space travel. Designed to function more like a cost-efficient “reusable” airplane than a one-use-only rocket-launched capsules, the shuttle afforded NASA pilots and scientists more time in space with which to conduct space-related research. NASA launched Columbia, the first space shuttle, in 1981.

The First Space Shuttle Flight

On April 12, 1981, NASA launched the first space shuttle into orbit.

3:22m watch

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on January 5th

Pope Clement VII forbids King Henry VIII from remarrying

On January 5, 1531, Pope Clement VII sends a letter to King Henry VIII of England forbidding him to remarry under penalty of excommunication. Henry, who was looking for a way out of his marriage to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, ignored the pope’s warning. He went on to marry Anne Boleyn (and four […]

Benedict Arnold captures and destroys Richmond

American traitor and British Brigadier General Benedict Arnold enjoys his greatest success as a British commander on January 5, 1781 . Arnold’s 1,600 largely Loyalist troops sailed up the James River at the beginning of January, eventually landing in Westover, Virginia. Leaving Westover on the afternoon of January 4, Arnold and his men arrived at […]

Alleged spy Alfred Dreyfus stripped of his rank

French officer Alfred Dreyfus, condemned for passing military secrets to the Germans, is stripped of his rank in a humiliating public ceremony in the courtyard of Paris’ Ecole Militaire. The Jewish artillery captain, convicted on flimsy evidence in a highly irregular trial, began his life sentence on the notorious Devil’s Island Prison in French Guyana […]

First conscription bill is introduced in British parliament

With the Great War edging into its third calendar year, British Prime Minister Herbert Asquith introduces the first military conscription bill in his country’s history to the House of Commons on January 5, 1916. Lord Horatio Herbert Kitchener, Britain’s secretary of state for war, had warned from the beginning that the war would be decided […]

New York Yankees announce purchase of Babe Ruth

On January 5, 1920, the New York Yankees major league baseball club announces its purchase of the heavy-hitting outfielder George Herman “Babe” Ruth from the Boston Red Sox for the sum of $125,000. In all, Ruth had played six seasons with the Red Sox, leading them to three World Series victories. On the mound, Ruth […]

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge

Construction begins on San Fransisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge, as workers began excavating 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the structure’s huge anchorages.

President Truman delivers his Fair Deal speech

On January 5, 1949, President Harry S. Truman announces, in his State of the Union address, that every American has a right to expect from our government a fair deal. In a reference to Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal policies, Truman announced his plans for domestic policy reforms including national health insurance, public housing, civil rights […]

Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” premieres in Paris

Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” premieres in Paris, to mixed reviews. Despite audiences’ initial reaction, the play becomes a landmark of modern theater. In a 1998 poll of more than 800 theater professionals conducted by the UK’s Royal National Theatre, “Godot” was voted the most important English-language play of the 20th century. “Godot” opened in […]

President Eisenhower proposes new Middle East policy

In response to the increasingly tense situation in the Middle East, President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a proposal to Congress that calls for a new and more proactive U.S. policy in the region. The “Eisenhower Doctrine,” as the proposal soon came to be known, established the Middle East as a Cold War battlefield. The United […]

Prague Spring begins in Czechoslovakia

Antonin Novotny, the Stalinist ruler of Czechoslovakia, is succeeded as first secretary by Alexander Dubcek, a Slovak who supports liberal reforms. In the first few months of his rule, Dubcek introduced a series of far-reaching political and economic reforms, including increased freedom of speech and the rehabilitation of political dissidents. Dubcek’s effort to establish “communism […]

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Bodies of family killed by United Mine Workers found

The bodies of dissident union leader Joseph “Jock” Yablonski, his wife, and daughter are discovered in their Clarksville, Pennsylvania, farmhouse by Yablonski’s son Kenneth. The family had been dead for nearly a week, killed on New Year’s Eve by killers hired by the United Mine Workers (UMW) union leadership. Yablonski’s murder eventually brought down the […]

President Nixon threatens President Thieu

On January 5, 1972, President Richard Nixon warns South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu in a private letter that his refusal to sign any negotiated peace agreement would render it impossible for the United States to continue assistance to South Vietnam. Nixon’s National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger had been working behind the scenes in secret […]

Pol Pot renames Cambodia

On January 5, 1976, Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot announces a new constitution changing the name of Cambodia to Kampuchea and legalizing its Communist government. During the next three years his brutal regime was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 1 to 2 million Cambodians. Pol Pot, who was born Saloth Sar in 1925 […]

The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” becomes hip hop’s first Top 40 hit

Hip hop’s roots as a musical phenomenon are subject to debate, but its roots as a commercial phenomenon are much clearer. They trace back directly to January 5, 1980, when the song “Rapper’s Delight” hit #37, becoming the first hip hop single ever to reach the Billboard top 40. Prior to the success of “Rapper’s […]

Sonny Bono killed in skiing accident

On January 5, 1998, Sonny Bono, best known as half of the 1960s singing and acting husband-and-wife duo Sonny & Cher, is killed in a skiing accident while on vacation with his family in South Lake Tahoe, California. In his characteristically blunt and self-deprecating manner, Sonny Bono transformed himself relatively late in his life, morphing […]

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Related

U.S. Presidents

U.S. Presidents

5 Books That Reveal the Hidden History of the White House

From its design and construction to its famous rooms, gardens and renovations, these books trace the history of the White House and the overlooked people who lived and worked there.

U.S. Presidents

Where Did George Washington Live During His Presidency?

George Washington is the only U.S. president who hasn’t lived at the White House.

U.S. Presidents

How Gen. Eisenhower Spun a Humiliating WWII Defeat into Winning Military Strategy

After his first battle in North Africa exposed U.S. weaknesses, Eisenhower regrouped, hired General Patton and led major military victories.

About the author

HISTORY.com Editors

HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan, Christian Zapata, Cristiana Lombardo and Adrienne Donica.

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.

Citation Information

Article Title: President Nixon launches space shuttle program
Author: HISTORY.com Editors
Website Name: History
URL: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-5/nixon-launches-the-space-shuttle-program

Date Accessed: June 24, 2026
Publisher: A&E Television Networks
Last Updated: May 28, 2025
Original Published Date: November 16, 2009