The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
The earliest event was in 1965, the latest event was in 2020
Two milestone events (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
NONE
Military and Classified Programs:
1965 – LAUNCH: RCA DMSP Block-4A F4,Thor Burner 1, SLC10W, VAFB – MILESTONE: 60 years ago
1968 – LAUNCH: Classified mission,MM Titan IIIB, SLC4W, VAFB
1971 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Corona 143, Thorad SLV-2H/Lockheed Agena D, SLC3W, VAFB
2023 – LAUNCH: NROL-107 (Silentbarker), ULA Atlas V 551, LC-41, CCSFS – Last Atlas V launch for the NRO
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
2011 – LAUNCH: LM Grail A, B, ULA Delta 7920H, LC17B, CCAFS – lunar gravity mapping missions
2020 – Lockheed Martin, University of Colorado team up on small satellite mission (Janus) to Binary asteroids – MILESTONE: Five years ago
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
NONE
Commercial Programs:
1992 – LAUNCH: GE Satcom 3 (also Hispasat 1A), Ariane 44LP, ELA2, Kourou, French Guiana
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1968 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A2E, SSBN617, ETR
2013 – LAUNCH (2): LM Trident D5, SSBN734, ETR
Other:
1917 – The Glenn L. Martin company founded (second iteration – first was in 1912)
The photos today are from two missions. First there are photos from the Grail A & B mission, including an artist’s conception of Grail A & B in operation in lunar orbit, the launch on Delta 2 H and an image of the gravity mapping of the moon. Grail A & B (Ebb & Flow) mapped the gravity field of the moon in great detail, ending their mission in 2012. Photo Credits: NASA.
Second, there is a photo of the last Atlas V launch for the NRO that occurred in 2023. The photo was found on the ULA Flickr site and has the following caption:
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket carrying the SILENTBARKER/NROL107 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and United States Space Force lifts off from Space Launch Complex-41 on Sept. 10, 2023 at 8:47 a.m. ET. Photo Credit: United Launch Alliance. Copyright © United Launch Alliance, all rights reserved. The photo is being used for non-commercial and historical purposes for retirees of ULA and LM.
