July 8 in history marks two pivotal moments in humanity’s quest to explore the unknown- first by sea, then by sky.
On this day in 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama set sail from Lisbon with four ships, beginning a journey that would change the world. His goal: to reach India by sailing around Africa’s southern tip, the Cape of Good Hope. Until then, trade with India and Asia relied on overland routes controlled by powerful intermediaries, making spices, silk, and precious goods rare and expensive in Europe.
Da Gama’s successful voyage- completed in 1498- established the first direct sea link between Europe and the Indian subcontinent. This breakthrough not only revolutionised global commerce, but also shifted the geopolitical balance, helping launch the Age of Exploration and laying foundations for the colonial empires that would follow.
Over 500 years later, on July 8, 2011, NASA launched Atlantis from Cape Canaveral on mission STS-135- the final flight of the space shuttle programme. The shuttle carried supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), a symbol of global scientific cooperation and one of humanity’s most ambitious peacetime projects.
The shuttle era, which began in 1981, allowed astronauts to repeatedly travel to low Earth orbit, deploy satellites, repair the Hubble Space Telescope, and construct the ISS. With Atlantis’s return, NASA retired the fleet, closing one chapter of crewed spaceflight and opening the door to a new era, driven by international partnerships and private companies.
From the oceanic routes of the 15th century to the orbital highways of the 21st, July 8 in history reminds us of the enduring human drive to discover, connect, and redefine the possible.
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