The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
The earliest event was in 1956, the latest event was in 1994
Four milestone events (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
1984 – LANDING: STS-41-G (Challenger), KSC – MILESTONE: 40 years ago
Military and Classified Programs:
1961 – Martin Titan III selected by the DoD as the space launch system for the USAF
1961 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Discoverer 32, Thor/Lockheed Agena B, SLC1W, VAFB
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
1994 – Magellan mission ends with controlled descent into Venusian atmosphere – MILESTONE: 30 years ago
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
1978 – LAUNCH: RCA Tiros N, GD Atlas F, SLC3W, VAFB
Commercial Programs:
NONE
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1956 – LAUNCH: Lockheed X-17, LC3, CCAFS
1959 – LAUNCH: Martin Bold Orion, B-47 aircraft, CCAFS – MILESTONE: 65 years ago
1960 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas D, LC11, CCAFS
1960 – LAUNCH FAILURE: GD Atlas D, 576-B3, VAFB
1964 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A3, SSBN627, ETR – MILESTONE: 60 years ago
1983 – LAUNCH (2): Lockheed Poseidon C3, SSBN623, ETR
Other:
NONE
The photo today is of the Bold Orion missile and the carrier aircraft B-47. Photo Credit: Public Domain via Wikipedia and USAF archives.
This missile was developed to be agile and responsive, similarly to the FBM missiles for the Navy. The launch in 1959 was the last Bold Orion test launch. Here’s a short description of that test launch, that successfully intercepted a satellite (from public sources on Wikipedia):
The final test launch of Bold Orion, conducted on October 13, 1959, was a test of the vehicle’s capabilities in the anti-satellite role. Launched from an altitude of 35,000 feet (11,000 m) from its B-47 mothership, the missile successfully intercepted the Explorer 6 satellite, passing its target at a range of less than 4 miles (6.4 km) at an altitude of 156 miles (251 km). If the missile had a nuclear warhead and was programmed for targets, the satellite would have been destroyed.
