The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
The earliest event was in 1951, the latest event was in 1997
One milestone event (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
1971 – SPLASHDOWN: Apollo 15, Northern Pacific, USS Okinawa
1997 – LAUNCH: STS-85 (Discovery), LC39A, KSC – 6 person crew, German astronomical experiments, retrievable pallets. Crew: Curtis Brown, Kent Rominger, N. Jan Davis, Robert Curbeam, Stephen Robinson, Bjarni Tryggvason (CSA – Iceland/Canada).
Military and Classified Programs:
1967 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Corona 119, Thorad SLV-2G/Lockheed Agena D, SLC1W, VAFB
1968 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Corona 127, Thorad SLV-2G/Lockheed Agena D, SLC3W, VAFB
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
NONE
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
1972 – LAUNCH: Six test spacecraft, GD Atlas F, 576-A2, VAFB – included navigation and magnetosphere satellites
Commercial Programs:
NONE
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1951 – LAUNCH: Martin Viking 7, LC33, White Sands, New Mexico – Ionosphere and solar mission
1962 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A3, LC29A, CCAFS
1964 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas F, 576-E, VAFB
1975 – LAUNCH: MM Titan II, 395-C, VAFB – MILESTONE: 50 years ago
Other:
NONE
The photos today are from two events.
First, there are photos of the STS-85 mission, which launched on this day in 1997. They include the launch, the crew, and the operation of the free-flying CRISTA-SPAS (Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere – Shuttle Pallet Satellite) experiment. Photo Credits: NASA.
Second, there is a photo of the Titan II ICBM test launch from complex 395-C at VAFB. This launch took place in 1975. The photo was found in the National Archives and is labeled from the DoD and cleared for any usage.
