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 1984
Two milestone events (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
1972 – NASA requested proposals for the Space Shuttle program (program announced in January 1972)
1984 – LAUNCH: STS-41-C (Challenger), LC39A, KSC – 5 person crew, solar max satellite capture & repair, deployed LDEF (Long-Duration Exposure Facility), MM MMU flight (Nelson) – MILESTONE: 40 years ago. Crew: Robert Crippen, Dick Scobee, Terry Hart, James van Hoften, George Nelson.
Military and Classified Programs:
1967 – LAUNCH: ATS-2, GD Atlas SLV-3/Lockheed Agena D, LC12, CCAFS – PARTIAL FAILURE – inserted into wrong orbit
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
1973 – LAUNCH: Pioneer 11, GD Atlas SLV-3D/Centaur, LC36B, CCAFS – flyby of Jupiter and Saturn, long duration mission, first Atlas D booster
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
1968 – LAUNCH: OV1-13, OV1-14, GD Atlas F, VAFB576-A2
1978 – MM Titan 34D/IUS configuration withdrawn as a backup to STS for TDRS launches
Commercial Programs:
NONE
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1960 – GD Atlas E/F silo squadrons increased by one silo each – MILESTONE: 65 years ago
1961 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A1, SSBN600, ETR
1964 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A2, SSBN625, ETR
1965 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas D, 576-B1, VAFB – MILESTONE: 60 years ago
Other:
NONE
The photos today are of two events. First, there is a photo of the launch of Pioneer 11 on an Atlas SLV-3D/Centaur in 1973 on the first Atlas D booster. Pioneer 11 flew by Jupiter and Saturn. The last contact with Pioneer 11 was in 1995. Photo Credit: NASA/MSFC.
The second event is the STS-41-C mission in 1984 that included the second MMU mission. Photos include the launch, the crew and an MMU flight by George Nelson to try and capture the solar max satellite. Photo Credits: NASA.
