Fourth of July Holidays in Space

It may seem remarkable that no American spent the Fourth of July holiday in space for the first 21 years of human spaceflight. Not until 1982 and the 35th U.S. human spaceflight did Americans awaken in space on Independence Day, and then bring their spacecraft back to Earth later in the day to a rousing welcome by the President of the United States. Another 10 years elapsed before more Americans found themselves in orbit on July 4. But as flight rates and crew sizes increased, and as Americans began living and working aboard space stations...