The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
The earliest event was in 1958, the latest event was in 2009
Two milestone events (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
1965 – Gemini V splashes down, Mid-Atlantic, USS Lake Champlain – MILESTONE: 60 years ago
1974 – MM X-24B flight 43, Dryden Lake – Pilot John Manke
2009 – LAUNCH: STS-128 (Discovery), LC39A, KSC – 6 person crew, ISS Leonardo Module. Crew: Frederick Sturckow, Kevin Ford, Patrick Forrester, Jose Hernandez, John Olivas, Christer Fugelsang (ESA – Swede). TO ISS Expedition 20: Nicole Stott; FROM ISS Expedition 20: Timothy Kopra.
Military and Classified Programs:
1962 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Corona 49, Thor/Lockheed Agena D, SLC2W, VAFB
1963 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Corona 70, Thor SLV-2/Lockheed Agena D, SLC1W, VAFB
1994 – LAUNCH: MM DMSP 5D-1 F12, MM Atlas E, SLC3W, VAFB
2003 – LAUNCH: LM DSCS III B-6, Delta 4M, LC36B, CCAFS
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
NONE
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
NONE
Commercial Programs:
1995 – LAUNCH: JCSAT-3, LM Atlas IIAS, LC36B, CCAFS – MILESTONE: 30 years ago
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1958 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas B, LC11, CCAFS
1968- LAUNCH (2): Lockheed Polaris A3, SSBN626, ETR
1975 – LAUNCH (2): Lockheed Poseidon C3, SSBN645, ETR – MILESTONE: 50 years ago
1979 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Trident C4, SSBN657, ETR
1987 – LAUNCH (4): Lockheed Trident C4, SSBN630, ETR
Other:
1958 – ARPA issues a directive that the GD Centaur upper stage would be used with either GD Atlas or Martin Titan vehicles
The photos today are from the STS-128 mission in 2009. They include the launch, the crew and Discovery approaching ISS with the Leonardo module visible in the cargo bay. Jose Hernandez became well-known after the release of the superb movie “A Million Miles Away” in 2023. He was raised in a migrant farm worker family and worked his way into being selected to the astronaut corps at NASA. Photo Credits: NASA.
