Skip to content

For Retirees of LM, ULA, and Legacy Companies

  • Home
  • About
    • MARS Officers & Directors
    • Policy Documents
    • MARS Overview
  • Benefits
    • Dental Plans
    • Vision Plans
    • Hearing Aid Discounts
    • Pre-Medicare
    • Understanding Medicare
    • VIA Benefits
    • ULA Benefits Contacts
    • Local Discounts
    • LM Corporate Discounts
    • Tax Adjustments
    • Informational Sessions Presentations
    • What to do when your loved one dies
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • Full Year Calendar
    • Special Activities
      • Special Event Planning Steps
      • Submit a Special Event
    • Event Photos
  • Membership
    • Membership Renewal
    • New Member Application
    • Member Contact
    • Volunteer
    • MARS Logo Store
  • Clubs
    • Bridge Club
    • MARS Car Club
    • Golf Club
    • Hiking Club
    • PACESETTERS Club
    • Photography Club
    • LM Clubs & Leagues
  • Communications
    • MARS STAR
      • Archive
    • In Memoriam
    • Website Team
  • History
    • On This Day
    • MARS Moments
    • Brief History of LM Denver
    • Martin Marietta Archives
  • Toggle search form

On this day – October 5

Posted on This article was published on October 5, 2025September 23, 2025 By Barb Sande

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

The earliest event was in 1957, the latest event was in 2001

Three milestone events (5 to 65+ years ago)

Human Spaceflight:

1984 – LAUNCH: STS-41-G (Challenger), LC39A, KSC – 7 person crew, deployed ERBS satellite (Earth Radiation Budget Satellite). Crew: Robert Crippen, Jon McBride, Kathryn Sullivan, Sally Ride, David Leestma, Paul Scully-Power (USA/Australia), Marc Garneau (Canadian Space Agency)

Military and Classified Programs:

1961 – Special study presented at USAF Space Division headquarters identifies the goal of developing a standardized military launch vehicle known as the Titan III

1964 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Corona 86, Thor SLV-2A/Lockheed Agena D, SLC1W, VAFB – 100th Thor/Agena launch 

1965 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Corona 101, Thor SLV-2A/Lockheed Agena D, SLC1E, VAFB – MILESTONE: 60 years ago

1966 – LAUNCH: Classified mission, GD Atlas SLV-3/Lockheed Agena D, SLC3E, VAFB

1968 – LAUNCH: Classified mission, Thorad SLV-2G/Lockheed Agena D, SLC1W, VAFB

2001 – LAUNCH: USA 161, LM Titan TIVB(404), SLC4E, VAFB

Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:

NONE

Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:

1965 – LAUNCH: OV1-2, GD Atlas D, 576-B3, CAFB – magnetosphere satellite – MILESTONE: 60 years ago

1993 – LAUNCH (spacecraft propulsion failure): GE/MM Landsat 6, MM Titan II/SLV, SLC4W, VAFB – FAILURE of kick motor for Landsat (Titan II successful)

Commercial Programs:

1997 – LAUNCH: LM Echostar 3, LM Atlas IIAS, LC36B, CCAFS

Test, ICBM, FBM programs:

1957 – Secretary of Defense approves a revised Ballistic Missile Program, designating nearly $1 Billion for Atlas, Titan and Thor programs

1960 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A1, LC25A, CCAFS – MILESTONE: 65 years ago

1961 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas E, LC13, CCAFS

1972 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A3, SSBN601, ETR

Other:

NONE

The photos today are from two missions.  

First, there are photos of the STS-41-G mission and include the launch, the crew and astronaut Kathryn Sullivan during an EVA (she was the first American woman to walk in space).   Photo Credits:  NASA. 

Information from the photo of the crew from the NASA archives/Wikipedia: The crew assigned to the STS-41G mission included (seated left to right) Jon A. McBride, pilot; mission specialists Sally K. Ride, Kathryn D. Sullivan, and David C. Leestma. Standing in the rear, left to right, are payload specialists Paul D. Scully-Power and Marc Garneau with crew commander Robert L. Crippen in the middle. Launched aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger on October 5, 1984 at 7:03:00 am (EDT), the STS-41G mission marked the first flight to include two women. Sullivan was the first woman to walk in space. The crew deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), connected the components of the Orbital Refueling System (ORS) which demonstrated the possibility of refueling satellites in orbit, and carried 3 experiments of the Office of Space Terrestrial Applications-3 (OSTA-3).

Second, there is a photo of the launch of USA-161 on Titan IVB (404) from VAFB in 2001.  This photo was found on the National Archives and is attributed to a DoD release to the public domain. 

October 5 – Launch of STS-41-G. Photo Credit: NASA.
October 5 – Crew of STS-41-G. See text for more information. Photo Credit: NASA.
October 5 – Astronaut Kathryn Sullivan performing an EVA on STS-41-G. Photo Credit: NASA.
October 5 – A distance view of a Titan 4B (Titan 404B s/n B-34) launched at Launch Complex SLC4E at 21:21 GMT from Vandenberg AFB, CA. Photo from the National Archives (see text).
On This Day

Post navigation

Previous Post: In Memoriam 04-Oct-2025
Next Post: On this day – October 6

Related Posts

  • On this day – April 23 On This Day
  • On this day – September 6 On This Day
  • On this day – July 6 On This Day
  • On this day – August 5 On This Day
  • On this day – October 19 On This Day
  • On this day – August 13 On This Day

More Related Articles

On this day – February 24 On This Day
On this day – June 7 On This Day
On this day – August 15 On This Day
On this day – February 21 On This Day
On this day – May 23 On This Day
On this day – May 5 On This Day

About us

MARS Associates
PO Box 1128
Littleton, CO 80160-1128

Suggestion Box

Find us on Facebook

Copyright © 2025 MARS Associates