The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
The earliest event was in 1964, the latest event was in 2011
Two milestone events (5 to 65+ years ago)
Human Spaceflight:
1964 – MM Titan II/Gemini launch vehicle contract converted from a cost-plus fixed fee to a cost-plus incentive fee baseline
1969 – MOL (Manned Orbiting Laboratory) project cancelled by the Air Force, affecting thousands at MM and other contractors
Military and Classified Programs:
1978 – LAUNCH: Classified mission, MM Titan IIIC, LC40, CCAFS
1979 – LAUNCH: IMEWS10, MM Titan IIIC, LC40, CCAFS
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
2003 – LAUNCH: Mars Exploration Rover Spirit (MER-A), Delta 7925-9.5, LC17A, CCAFS – LM Aeroshell
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
2011 – LAUNCH: SAC-D/Aquarius, ULA Delta 7320-10C, SLC-2W, VAFB – Joint US/Argentinian satellite to monitor salinity of the oceans
Commercial Programs:
1992 – LAUNCH: GE Intelsat K, GD Atlas IIA, LC36B, CCAFS
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1965 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas D, 576-A3, VAFB – MILESTONE: 60 years ago
1966 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas D, 576-B1, VAFB
1966 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A3, SSBN645, ETR
1985 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A3, UK S22, ETR – MILESTONE: 40 years ago
Other:
2003 – LM files a lawsuit against the Boeing company for their usage of LM-proprietary data in the EELV competition – the road to ULA begins
There were two significant news stories on this day in history. First, in 1969, the MOL program was cancelled by the Nixon Administration, abruptly ending work for thousands at Martin Marietta and other major contractors. Then, in 2003, a lawsuit was filed by LM against the Boeing company for their usage of LM-proprietary data in the EELV competition; this lawsuit started the chain of events that eventually led to the formation of ULA.
The photos today are from two missions. First there is a photo of the launch of Mars Rover Spirit in 2003 and a NASA diagram of the Aeroshell structure, which was built by Lockheed Martin. Photo Credits: NASA/KSC (launch); NASA/JPL (diagram of Aeroshell).
The second photo is of the launch of IMEWS10 (a predecessor program to DSP – early warning system) on a Titan IIIC on this day in 1979. This photo was found on the National Archives site and was cleared for release by DoD for any purpose
