The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
December 31
No events found on this day in history! Read below if you are interested in how these events are created and updated.
Human Spaceflight:
NONE
Military and Classified Programs:
NONE
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
NONE
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
NONE
Commercial Programs:
NONE
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
NONE
Other:
NONE
No events were found on this day in history. The daily events will be done again in 2024 with 2023 events and major press releases from LM added where appropriate. Different missions may be highlighted so check in and see. The events are posted on Facebook and on the Mars Associates website. The sources and details for the data are noted below. Comments are welcome!
A daily historical event list was first created in 2021 for Mars Associates and has been updated with the 2023 events for 2024 and is posted on the Mars Associates FB Page and the Mars Retirees website. This research by historian Barb Sande has highlights and major events on this date in history for our heritage companies. The list is certainly not intended to be complete; it does draw on several historical and fairly reliable PUBLIC website sources (e.g., Astronautics, Wikipedia space) for the information and also includes relevant Lockheed Martin press releases, but the information is mostly at the macro level (launch vehicle, spacecraft, major system, major instrument). Some classified programs have been declassified in recent years, but will remain labeled classified or with a generic identifier in the events. No missile defense agency missions are referenced due to inadequate source information and the ever-changing owners of program elements; a few very early programs are also not referenced. Our major heritage companies are named as appropriate for the events: Martin, GD, MM (Martin Marietta), Lockheed, RCA, GE, LM (Lockheed Martin), and ULA. For reference: General Dynamics acquired Convair in 1953, Martin Company merged with Marietta in 1961, GE re-acquired RCA in 1985, Martin Marietta acquired GE Aerospace in 1993, Martin Marietta acquired GD Space Systems Division in 1993, Martin Marietta and Lockheed merged in 1995, ULA (Joint LM/Boeing venture) was spun off in 2006. No pre-ULA Delta Launch vehicle history is included, UNLESS it involved a heritage company asset (e.g., upper stage, payload). In 2024, 5-year milestones were added and noted where appropriate for the events listed (5 years ago to 65+ years ago, so these would be events that are marked as milestones: occurred in 2019, 2014, 2009, 2004, 1999, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1979, 1974, 1969, 1964, 1959, 1954 and five year increments before 1954.