The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
The earliest event was in 1960, the latest event was in 2015
One milestone event (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
1963 – GD Little Joe II first test article completed for Apollo test program
Military and Classified Programs:
1965 – LAUNCH: Classified mission, Thor SLV-2A/Lockheed Agena D, SLC1W, VAFB
1971 – LAUNCH FAILURE: DSCS II F-09, F-10, MM Titan IIIC, LC40, CCAFS – Stage II hydraulic pump
1993 – LAUNCH FAILURE: UHF F1, GD Atlas I, LC37B, CCAFS – booster engine thrust
2015 – LAUNCH: GPS SVN71 (IIF-9), ULA Delta 4M+(4,2), LC37B, CCAFS
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
1970- SAMSO and NASA sign an MOA defining roles and responsibilities for procurement of MM Titan IIIE/GD Centaur vehicles for MM Viking program
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
2000 – LAUNCH: LM IMAGE, Delta 7326-9.5, SLC2W, VAFB – magnetosphere plasma imager
2011 – Last transmission from LM Stardust spacecraft
Commercial Programs:
NONE
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1960 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A1, LC25B, CCAFS
1961 – LAUNCH FAILURE: GD Atlas E, LC13, CCAFS – FAILURE
1965 – Two GD Atlas E ICBM squadrons, 3 GD Atlas F squadrons, and 3 MM Titan I squadrons retired
1965 – LAUNCH: MM Titan II, 395-B, VAFB
1966 – LAUNCH: MM Titan II 395-C, VAFB
1999 – LAUNCH (2): LM Trident C-4, SSBN730, ETR – MILESTONE: 25 years ago
Other:
NONE
The photos today are of the IMAGE spacecraft and its launch on Delta II in 2000. IMAGE: Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration. The spacecraft was assumed to be dead in 2005 during an extended mission, but signals were detected again in 2018. NASA is still monitoring for possible signs of activity.
The mission: By acquiring images every 2 minutes in wavelengths invisible to the human eye, IMAGE allowed detailed study of the interaction of the solar wind with the magnetosphere and the magnetosphere’s response during a magnetic storm. From its distant orbit, the spacecraft produced a wealth of images of the previously invisible region of space in the inner magnetosphere, exceeded all its scientific goals.
