In 1986, we had huge leaps forward, tragic steps back, and life changing innovations. NASA's STS-51L crew members pose for photographs during a break in countdown training at the White Room, Launch Complex 39, Pad B. Left to right are Teacher-in-Space payload specialist Sharon Christa McAuliffe; payload specialist Gregory Jarvis; and astronauts Judith A. Resnik, mission specialist; Francis R. (Dick) Scobee, mission commander; Ronald E. McNair, mission specialist; Mike J. Smith, pilot; and Ellison S. Onizuka, mission specialist. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. It was a year that saw roughly six million Americans hold hands in a continuous (more or less) line across the country to raise money for homelessness. A news anchor named Oprah Winfrey debuted her new talk show.

NASA's Class of 1978, 'represent the most competent, talented, and experienced people available to us today.' The first six women in newly issued, incompletely adorned astronaut jumpsuits, 1978: (front, left to right) Sally Ride, Rhea Seddon; (rear) Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, Anna Fisher, Judy Resnik. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Smithsonian Books. Out October 28 and available wherever books are sold. Members of the media peppered administrator Robert Frosch with questions and sought assurances about the selection process, the number of women and people of color, and the number of military and civilian pilots selected. Chris Kraft, director of the Johnson Space Center, fielded questions and explained the experience-based filters and rating process for competitive selection. He was satisfied that the men and women selected "represent the most competent, talented, and experienced people available to us today." The main press conference to introduce the new astronaut candidates to the public occurred on January 31.

Uber is getting its autonomous vehicles back on the road for the first time since one of its driverless cars fatally wounded a pedestrian. The latest tests will see the autonomous vehicles operated in'manual mode' – with human drivers behind the wheel operating the vehicle at all times. Although the vehicles will not be navigating independently, the latest round of tests will allow Uber to gather data on a number of scenarios that can be later recreated in computer simulations. The'manual mode' tests will also allow Uber to develop more accurate mapping for the vehicles. Elaine Herzberg, 49, was killed in Arizona on March 18 when an Uber Volvo SUV failed to apply the brakes after it registered her stepping into the road to cross.

In the four months since an Uber self-driving car struck and killed a woman in Arizona, the ride-hail company's autonomous vehicle tech has stayed off public roads. The governor of that state banned Uber from testing there; the company let its autonomous vehicle testing permit lapse in California; it pulled its vehicles off the streets of Pittsburgh, home to its self-driving R&D center. Until today, when self-driving chief Eric Meyhofer announced in a blog post that Uber would return its self-driving cars to the roads in Pittsburgh. For now, the vehicles will stay in manual (human-driven) mode, simply collecting data for training and mapping purposes. To prep for the tech's return to the public space, Uber has undertaken a wholesale "safety review", with the help of former National Transportation Safety Board chair and aviation expert Christopher Hart.

Uber stopped all self-driving car tests following a fatal accident in Tempe, Arizona earlier this year, but today they're getting back on the road in limited fashion. The company says that it is taking a "first step" towards resuming autonomous car tests in Pittsburgh -- its vehicles will be on the road, but only in manual mode for now. Uber says that specially-trained "mission specialists" will be behind the driver seat in all cases; those drivers will be in control of their cars at all times. A second specialist will sit shotgun, recording any "notable events." While it may not be immediately obvious how having manual drivers helps the self-driving program, Uber notes that it lets them visualize more scenarios its vehicles will encounter in real time.