The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
The earliest event was in 1957, the latest event was in 2008
One milestone event (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
1984 – MM MMU tested in EVA on STS-41-B flight (Bruce McCandless)
2001 – LAUNCH: STS-98 (Atlantis), LC39A, KSC – 5 person crew, ISS assembly operations (Discovery laboratory installation). Crew: Kenneth Cockrell, Mark Polansky, Robert Curbeam, Marsha Ivins, Thomas Jones.
2008 – LAUNCH: STS-122 (Atlantis), LC39A, KSC – 7 person crew, ISS Columbus science module and logistics. Crew: Stephen Frick, Alan Poindexter, Leland Melvin, Rex Walheim, Hans Schlegel (ESA – Germany), Stanley Love, Léopold Eyharts (ESA, France – to ISS)/Daniel Tani (from ISS).
Military and Classified Programs:
1980 – LAUNCH: Classified mission, MM Titan IIID, SLC4E, VAFB – MILESTONE: 45 years ago
1994 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Milstar 1-01, MM Titan IVA (401)/GD Centaur, LC40, CCAFS
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
1999 – LAUNCH: LM Stardust, Delta 7426-9.5, LC17A, CCAFS – mission to retrieve comet and interstellar dust and return to earth
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
NONE
Commercial Programs:
NONE
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1957 – LAUNCH: Lockheed X-17, LC3, CCAFS
1958 – LAUNCH FAILURE: GD Atlas A, LC14, CCAFS
1963 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A3, LC29A, CCAFS
1983 – LAUNCH (2): Lockheed Trident C-4, SSBN640, ETR
Other:
1957 – ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) established
The photos today are from three missions:
First, astronaut Bruce McCandless II flies the MMU on the STS-41-B mission in 1984. Photo Credit: NASA.
Here are some specifications for the MMU:
Size – 49 in high x 33 in wide x 48 in deep
Weight- About 782 lbs including astronaut, 338 lbs MMU backpack and 258 lbs Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit
Propulsion – Total of 24 thrusters with 1.7 lbs thrust each and 2 tanks pressurized with 3000 psi nitrogen
Maneuverability— astronaut right hand controller – pitch, yaw and roll; astronaut left hand controller – x, y & z translation
Operational Speed- 1/3-1 mph (top speed approximately 40 mph)
Second, there is a photo of the Stardust launch in 1999 and the spacecraft in processing prior to encapsulation. Photo Credits: NASA/JPL.
Third, there is a photo of the first Titan IV-A/Centaur (401) vehicle launching the first Milstar 1-01 spacecraft in 1994. Photo Credit: Found in National Archives, unrestricted release (DoD source file).
