The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
The earliest event was in 1963, the latest event was in 2013
Three milestone events (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
1984 – LANDING: STS-41-B (Challenger), KSC – first shuttle landing at KSC – MILESTONE: 40 years ago
1994 – LANDING: STS-60 (Discovery), KSC – MILESTONE: 30 years ago
1995 – LANDING: STS-63 (Discovery), KSC
1997 – LAUNCH: STS-82 (Discovery), LC39A, KSC – 7 person crew, Second LM Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Crew: Kenneth Bowersox, Scott Horowitz, Joseph Tanner, Steven Hawley, Gregory Harbaugh, Mark Lee, Steven Smith
2000 – LAUNCH: STS-99 (Endeavour), LC39A, KSC – 6 person crew, deployed STRM mast and experiments (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission). Crew: Kevin Kregel, Dominic Pudwill Gorie, Gerhard Thiele (ESA – Germany), Janet Kavandi, Janice Moss, Mamoru Mohri (NASDA – Japan).
Military and Classified Programs:
1965 – LAUNCH: LES1, MM Titan IIIA/Transtage, LC20, CCAFS – test of Transtage orbital operations
1970 – LAUNCH: RCA DMSP Block 5A-F1, Thor Burner 2, SLC10W, VAFB
1992 – LAUNCH: GE DSCS III B-14, GD Atlas II, LC36A, CCAFS
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
1974 – LAUNCH FAILURE: Sphinx/MM Viking Dynamic Simulator, MM Titan IIIE/GD Centaur – FAILURE OF CENTAUR (Lox pump) – MILESTONE: 50 years ago
2010 – LAUNCH: SDO (Solar Dynamics Observatory), ULA Atlas V 401, LC41, CCAFS – Includes LM instrument Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA)
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
2013 – LAUNCH: Landsat 8, ULA Atlas V 401, SLC3W, VAFB
Commercial Programs:
2002 – LAUNCH (5), LM/Motorola Iridium spacecraft, Delta 7920-10C, SLC2W, VAFB
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1963 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A3, LC25A, CCAFS
1966 – LAUNCH GD Atlas D, 576-B2, VAFB
Other:
NONE
The photos on this busy day in history are of the STS-82 Hubble Space Telescope mission, including launch, crew and work on the captured telescope.
Also, for interest, here is a story from Wikipedia about the failure of the first Titan IIIE/Centaur launch in 1974 that had a Viking dynamic simulator on-board along with the Sphinx satellite from Lewis Research Center:
Examination of telemetry data revealed that the Centaur’s LOX boost pump did not activate, preventing proper mainstage engine operation from being achieved. The guidance system issued a shutdown command after the first engine start attempt due to insufficient acceleration. After the second attempt, it entered coasting mode as it would have had orbital injection been achieved. Initial suspicions that the Centaur had been damaged by colliding with the second stage were disproven by accelerometer data and instead it was suspected that loose debris or ice had caused the boost pump to seize up. To reduce the chance of a second failure, prelaunch procedures were implemented to verify that Centaur’s pumps were free and unobstructed. Nearly four years passed before the cause of the failure was determined: an improperly installed mounting bracket inside the liquid oxygen (LOX) tank. This bracket held a LOX regulator in place. The technician responsible for installing it had found that the normal tool used to screw bolts into place was too short to reach the bracket. He thus used a slightly longer socket wrench that gave him more reach. Before the technician retired, he failed to inform his successor about this. When the new technician attempted to attach the bolt with the wrench specified in the assembly instructions, the wrench was too short and prevented him from screwing it into place properly. The bolt came loose, fell off, and got sucked into one of the LOX boost pumps, which jammed the pump and prevented its operation. Despite the failure, at least one important goal was achieved. The Centaur’s bulging shroud was proven to be aerodynamically stable during flight and had jettisoned properly and on schedule.
