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 2001
Three milestone events (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
1963 – A program is initiated at Aerojet-General to improve Stage II of the MM Titan II/GLV (Gemini Launch Vehicle) engine injection to improve stability, leading to a complete redesign
1977 – Martin Marietta is awarded a contract to develop procedures to integrate payloads on the Space Shuttles
1994 – LAUNCH: STS-68 (Endeavour), LC39A, KSC – 6 person crew, Space Radar Lab, getaway specials – MILESTONE: 30 years ago. Crew: Michael Baker, Terrence Wilcutt, Steven Smith, Daniel Bursch, Peter Wisoff, Thomas Jones
Military and Classified Programs:
1965 – LAUNCH: Classified mission, GD Atlas SLV-3/Lockheed Agena D, SLC4E, VAFB
1969 – LAUNCH: Classified missions, Thorad SLV-2G/Lockheed Agena D, SLC1W, VAFB – MILESTONE: 55 years ago
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
1995 – Last transmission received from Pioneer 11 (44 AU away from the sun)
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
2001 – LAUNCH: Starshine 3, Picosats, LM Athena-1, Kodiak, Alaska – last flight of Athena launch vehicle
Commercial Programs:
1977 – LAUNCH FAILURE: Intelsat IVA F5, GD Atlas SLV-3D/Centaur, LC36B, CCAFS – Stage I gas generator leak
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1969 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A3, SSBN623, ETR – MILESTONE: 55 years ago
1973 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas F, 576-A1, VAFB
1986 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Trident C4, SSBN733, ETR
Other:
NONE
The photo today is of the Athena launch of Starshine 3 and 3 Picosats in 2001 from Kodiak Island, Alaska. This was the last launch of the Athena launch vehicle (-1 and -2 versions) and the first use of the launch facility in Kodiak. The small satellites were mostly student-managed payloads. Photo Credit: NASA.
