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On this day – April 18

Posted on April 18, 2025March 26, 2025 By Barb Sande

The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.

The earliest event was in 1962, the latest event was in 2017

Two milestone events (5 to 65+ years ago)

Human Spaceflight:

1975 – MM X-24B Flight 49, Dryden Lake, Pilot John Manke – MILESTONE: 50 years ago

2017 – LAUNCH: Cygnus OA-7 SS John Glenn/Mass launch of many cubesats/small payloads, ULA Atlas V 401, LC41, CCAFS

Military and Classified Programs:

1962 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Discoverer 39, Thor/Lockheed Agena A, SLC1W, VAFB

1975 – LAUNCH: Classified mission, MM Titan 24B, SLC4W, VAFB – MILESTONE: 50 years ago

1986 – LAUNCH FAILURE: Classified mission, MM Titan 34D (34D9), SLC4E, VAFB – SRM case burn-through at T+8.5 seconds, damage to both Titan pads. 

Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:

NONE

Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:

NONE

Commercial Programs:

1991 – LAUNCH FAILURE: GE Yuri 3H launched, GD Atlas I, LC36B, CCAFS – Centaur RL-10 turbopump did not start (A/C-70)

2008 – LAUNCH: LM Vinasat-1 (also Star One C2), Ariane 5ECA, ELA3, Kourou, French Guiana

Test, ICBM, FBM programs:

1962 – MM Titan I ICBM 848th Strategic Missile Squadron declared operational, Lowry AFB, Denver

1963 – LAUNCH (3): Lockheed Polaris A2, SSBN608, ETR

1968 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas E, 576-A1, VAFB

1975 – LAUNCH (2): Lockheed Poseidon C3, SSBN645, ETR – MILESTONE: 50 years ago

1987 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A3, UK S23, ETR

1991 – LAUNCH: MM SICBM (Small ICBM), TP-01, VAFB – final launch

Other:

NONE

The photo today is from the Cygnus OA-7 launch on Atlas V 401 in 2017.  This photo was found on the ULA Flickr site and has the following caption and credits:

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket with OA-7 resupply mission for Orbital ATK and NASA lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on March 22, 2017. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance.  Copyright © United Launch Alliance, all rights reserved.  The photo is being used for noncommercial and historical purposes for LM and ULA Retires. 

There were also two failures on this day (Titan 34D9, Atlas/Centaur A/C 70) that have been described previously in the events. 

April 18 – Launch of Cygnus OA-7/John Glenn on Atlas. See text for photo caption and credit.
On This Day

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