The events on this day in history for our heritage companies are noted below.
The earliest event was in 1956, the latest event was in 1994
Human Spaceflight:
1984 – LANDING: STS-41-G (Challenger), KSC
Military and Classified Programs:
1961 – Martin Titan III selected by the DoD as the space launch system for the USAF
1961 – LAUNCH: Classified mission, Thor/Lockheed Agena B, SLC1W, VAFB
Exploration and Interplanetary Programs:
1994 – Magellan mission ends with controlled descent into Venusian atmosphere
Earth-Monitoring and Civil Weather Satellite programs:
1978 – LAUNCH: RCA Tiros N, GD Atlas F, SLC3W, VAFB
Commercial Programs:
NONE
Test, ICBM, FBM programs:
1956 – LAUNCH: Lockheed X-17, LC3, CCAFS
1959 – LAUNCH: Martin Bold Orion, B-47 aircraft, CCAFS
1960 – LAUNCH: GD Atlas D, LC11, CCAFS
1960 – LAUNCH FAILURE: GD Atlas D, 576-B3, VAFB
1964 – LAUNCH: Lockheed Polaris A3, SSBN627, ETR
1983 – LAUNCH (2): Lockheed Poseidon C3, SSBN623, ETR
Other:
NONE
The photo today is of the Bold Orion missile and the carrier aircraft B-47. This missile was developed to be agile and responsive, similarly to the FBM missiles for the Navy. The launch in 1959 was the last Bold Orion test launch. Here’s a short description of that test launch, that successfully intercepted a satellite (from Wikipedia):
The final test launch of Bold Orion, conducted on October 13, 1959, was a test of the vehicle’s capabilities in the anti-satellite role. Launched from an altitude of 35,000 feet (11,000 m) from its B-47 mothership, the missile successfully intercepted the Explorer 6 satellite, passing its target at a range of less than 4 miles (6.4 km) at an altitude of 156 miles (251 km). If the missile had a nuclear warhead and was programmed for targets, the satellite would have been destroyed.