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 1995
No milestone events (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
1975 – MM X-24B flight 62, Dryden Lake – Pilot: Einar Enevoldson
1982 – LAUNCH: STS-2 (Columbia), LC39A, KSC – Second shuttle test flight – 2 person crew (Joe Engle, Richard Truly), experimental payloads.
1995 – LAUNCH: STS-74 (Atlantis), LC39A, KSC – 5 person crew, Mir logistics mission. Crew: Kenneth Cameron, James Halsell, Chris Hadfield (Canadian Space Agency), Jerry Ross, William McArthur
Military and Classified Programs:
1960 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Discoverer 17, Thor/Lockheed Agena B, SLC1E, VAFB
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
1980 – Voyager I fly-by of Saturn (launched in September 1977)
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
NONE
Commercial Programs:
NONE
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1965 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A1, LC29A, CCAFS
1972 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A2, EAG-154, WTR
Other:
NONE
The photos today are from the STS-2 mission, with astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly. The mission was the second orbital checkout of Columbia and had some experimental payloads. One photo shows the Canadarm being tested in orbit, which became invaluable on shuttle missions. This was the last flight with an External Tank (ET) painted white. Engle and Truly were NASA rookies, although Engle received his astronaut wings for an X-15 flight and both participated in the shuttle Approach and Landing Test flights. Richard Truly passed away on February 27, 2024 and Joe Engle passed away on July 10, 2024. Photo Credits: NASA.
