The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
The earliest event was in 1959, the latest event was in 2023
Four milestone events (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
1969 – MM X-24A flight 5, Dryden Lake – Pilot Gentry – MILESTONE: 55 years ago
Military and Classified Programs:
2017 – LAUNCH: USA 278, ULA Atlas V 541, SLC3E, VAFB
2022 – LAUNCH: NROL-91, ULA Delta IV Heavy, SLC6, VSFB – Last Delta IV Heavy VSFB launch
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
1964 – NASA holds a briefing on the feasibility of a manned orbiting telescope; Nancy Roman was the head of the NASA astronomy division at the time. The next generation space telescope launching later in this decade (2020s) is named after her. – MILESTONE: 60 years ago
2023 – LANDING: OSIRIS-rEX asteroid Bennu sample return capsule successfully lands in Utah (one year ago)
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
1988 – LAUNCH: GE (RCA) NOAA 11 (H), GD Atlas E, SLC3W, VAFB
Commercial Programs:
1995 – LAUNCH: MM (GE) Telstar 402R, Ariane 42L, ELA2, Kourou, French Guiana – 402R power failure in 2003
1999 – LAUNCH: LM IKONOS-2, LM Athena-2, SLC6, VAFB – MILESTONE: 25 years ago
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1959 – GD Atlas C Able explodes on the pad during static test, LC12, CCAFS – A launch vehicle variant of the Atlas ICBM, the Atlas Able class was designated for early Pioneer launches – MILESTONE: 65 years ago
1975 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Poseidon C3, SSBN623, ETR
Other:
NONE
The photos today are from the return of the OSIRIS-REx sample capsule one year ago. The first photo is of the intact sample return capsule in the Utah desert and it has this caption:
The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense’s Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft. Photo Credit: (NASA/Keegan Barber)
The second photo is of the opened sample capsule at JSC. It has the following caption:
The opened science canister in the glovebox at JSC. The cylindrical TAGSAM head is positioned in the center of the avionics deck. Dark particles and dust can be seen on the avionics deck, the top of TAGSAM (including on circular witness plates), and the inside of the canister’s lid. Photo Credit: Dante S. Lauretta, et. Al. (TAGSAM – Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism).
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