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This Day in Spaceflight History


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April 7

1968: Luna 14 was launched. It entered Lunar orbit on April 10 to study the Moon's gravitational field, and as revealed later, tracking and communications for a Soviet manned Lunar program. 

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1990: China launched Asiasat 1, their first commercial probe. It was originally Westar 6, retrieved in orbit by STS-51-A. It was refurbished and given to China for launch.

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1991: An unscheduled EVA was conducted for STS-37 by Jerome Apt and Jerry Ross. They manually deployed the Compton Observatory's high-gain antenna which had failed to deploy.

Image result for sts-37 eva

2001: The 2001 Mars Odyssey was launched. It was to orbit Mars for studying surface mineralogy and radiation. After entering a parking orbit, it was boosted out of Earth's SOI and towards Mars. It left Earth's SOI on April 10. It entered Mars orbit on October 24.

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2007: Soyuz TMA-10 and its crew of 3 launched into orbit on a mission to the ISS. It docked to the station on April 9. During reentry on October 21, the service module failed to separate from the capsule causing the spacecraft to tumble. The connecting ports eventually burned through and the capsule righted itself. The crew landed safely nearly 200 miles away from its planned landing point. The reentry was revealed until the same happened on TMA-11.

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April 8

1952: The Redstone missiles were given their official name.

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1964: The unmanned Gemini-Titan 1 was launched. It was the first launch of a Gemini vehicle into orbit. It was to test the structural integrity of the spacecraft and to test of the new Titan II missile could launch the spacecraft into orbit. While in orbit, the spacecraft and the second stage did not detach. No recovery was planned and the mission was successful after 3 hours. The spacecraft was still tracked until its orbit decayed and it reentered on April 12 over the Atlantic.

Image result for gemini titan 1 launch

1980: Voyager 1 discovered Saturn's moon Telesto.

Image result for telesto moon voyager 1

1993: STS-56 and its crew of 5 launched into orbit on a 9-day mission. It carried the Atlas-2 and deployed Spartan 201, an X-ray astronomy satellite, on April 11 and retrieved it on April 13.

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1997: STS-83 and its crew of 7 landed back at Earth.

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2002: STS-110 and its crew of 7 launched into orbit on an 11-day mission to the ISS. It was delayed 2 times before launching on April 8. It carried the S0 truss segment, which was to grow into the solar wings and radiator trusses.

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2006: Soyuz TMA-7 and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth.

Image result for soyuz tma-7 landing

2008: Soyuz TMA-12 and its crew of 3 launched into orbit on a mission to the ISS. It docked to the station on April 10 and undocked on October 24, landing safely back at Earth.

Image result for soyuz tma-12 launch 

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April 9

1963: The Soviets proposed using the Vostok spacecraft as a training craft for cosmonauts going into Soyuz missions. The Vostok would be used for training flights like MiG-15UTI training flights. This was when they proposed mass production of Vostok and Soyuz as military craft.

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1965: It was announced that the manned flight control would be transferred to Houston from Cape Canaveral.

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1980: Soyuz 35 and its crew of 2 launched into orbit on a mission to the Salyut 6.

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1983: STS-6 and its crew of 4 landed back at Earth.

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1994: STS-59 and its crew of 6 launched into orbit on an 11 day mission. It carried SIR-C SAR Radar.

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April 10

1979: Soyuz 33 and its crew of 2 launched into orbit on a mission to the Salyut 6. It failed to dock to the station after the main engines didn't fire the planned 6-second burn closing in on rendezvous. The docking was called off and they used the backup engine to deorbit. The backup engine fired too long and the crew underwent a steep reentry. 

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April 11

1943: The California Rocket Society tested the first hybrid rocket using oxygen and carbon.

1970: Apollo 13 and its crew of James Lovell, Fred Haise, and John Swigert were launched to the Moon. The fourth S-IVB stage entered into a parking orbit. After burning a second time, the CSM undocked from the S-IVB stage and docked with the lunar module, then detaching that from the S-IVB. The S-IVB stage then burned itself in an impact trajectory towards the Moon, impacting on April 14, triggering the Apollo 12 seismometer. The ion detector equipment also recorded a jolt of over 2,500 watts during the impact. On April 13, the SM oxygen tank 2 started rapidly losing pressure and the current in fuel cells 1 and 3 started to drop. This resulted in loss of oxygen and primary power in the SM and an abort of the mission. The crew powered down the CM and used the LM for propulsion and life support. The LM first made a course correction to have a free-return trajectory around the Moon. After swinging around the Moon, the LM was used again to shorten the travel time back to Earth. They splashed down successfully in the South Pacific ocean.

Image result for apollo 13 launch

1984: Soyuz T-10 and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth after a mission to the Salyut 7.

1991: STS-37 and its crew of 5 landed back at Earth.

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1995: T Keith Glennan, the first NASA administrator (1958-1961) died.

Image result for t keith glennan

2006: The ESA's Venus Express conducted its orbital insertion of Venus.

 Image result for venus express   

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April 12

1960: The first Mercury capsule produced by McDonnell was presented to NASA.

Image result for mcdonnell mercury capsule

1961: Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first ever man in space and the first in orbit when he was launched on Vostok 1. His flight was designated for 1 orbit around the Earth. The controls were completely automated to keep Gagarin from manually piloting the spacecraft. After orbiting once, the retrofire command was given. After successful retrofire, the service module remained on the main capsule. It remained on the capsule even after entering the atmosphere, causing the spacecraft to rotate until the straps holding the two burned through. After a successful reentry, Gagarin ejected from the capsule, then landing with his own parachute after jumping out of the seat. He was recovered safely the same day.

Image result for vostok 1 launch

1979: Soyuz 33 and its crew of 2 landed back at Earth. 

1981: The first Space Transportation System (STS-1), or the space shuttle, was launched with veteran Gemini and Apollo astronaut John Young and rookie Robert Crippen. They orbited the Earth 37 times in the Columbia after landing back at Earth on April 14.

Image result for sts-1 launch

1985: STS-51-D and its crew of 7 launched into orbit on a 7-day mission. It released Anik C1, a Canadian communications satellite, and Syncom IV-3, another communcations satellite (which failed to reached geosynchronous orbit and was repaired on STS-51-I on August 31), on April 13.

Image result for sts-51-d launch

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April 13

1959: Discoverer 2 was launched. It was the first ever satellite to be completely stabilized, maneuvered in orbit, and to send a reentry vehicle back to Earth. The capsule ejection malfunctioned, causing the capsule to crash-land near Norway in Spitsbergen (though this was just speculation) instead of landing near Hawaii on April 14. After it was never found, it was suspected to be stolen by Soviets.

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1960: Transit 1B, the first orbital navigation satellite, was launched. It was the first launch of a Thor/Ablestar rocket. The Ablestar stage had the first engine-restart in space.

Image result for transit 1b launch

1984: STS-41-C and its crew of 5 landed back at Earth.

Image result for sts-41-c landing 

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April 14

1955: Wernher Von Braun became a U.S. citizen at Huntsville Highschool in Alabama.

Image result for wernher von braun us citizen

1981: STS-1 and its crew of John Young and Robert Crippen landed back at Earth after the first spaceflight of the shuttle.

Image result for sts-1 landing

2002: The wake-up song for STS-110 was "All Star" by Smash Mouth, played for astronaut Walheim. (Included for Satire)

Image result for all star smash mouth

2015: SpaceX launched the Dragon CRS-6 ISS supply spacecraft into orbit on a 37-day mission. The recovery of the first stage of the Falcon 9 was attempted on a barge in the Atlantic but failed. The spacecraft arrived at the station on April 17. It was grappled by the robotic arm and docked to the Harmony module. It delivered supplies needed for the crew along with 16 cubesats that would later be deployed in orbit, mice, and a microgravity espresso machine.

Image result for spacex dragon crs-6

I'll have to do April 15 and 16 later tomorrow, as I have no more time tonight. 

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On 4/12/2017 at 6:32 PM, The Raging Sandwich said:

April 12

1981: The first Space Transportation System (STS-1), or the space shuttle, was launched with veteran Gemini and Apollo astronaut John Young and rookie Robert Crippen. They orbited the Earth 37 times in the Columbia after landing back at Earth on April 14.

Image result for sts-1 launch

 

I used to have a poster of that picture when I was growing up.

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April 15

1970: Apollo 13 swung around the Moon on its way back to Earth, setting an altitude record of 401,056 km away from the center of the Earth. Radio contact was lost until they came back around. Later that day, they made a course correction with the LM descent stage to reduce the coast time to Earth. 

2004: STS-122 was cancelled after the Columbia disaster.

Image result for sts-122

2005: Soyuz TMA-6 and its crew of 3 launched into orbit on a mission to the ISS. It docked to the station on April 17.

Image result for soyuz tma-6 launch

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April 16

1956: David Brown was born. He flew on STS-107, the failed Columbia mission in 2003.

Image result for david mcdowell brown

1962: The N1 Soviet Moon rocket among other ICBMs was authorized.

Image result for n1 rocket

1972: Apollo 16 and its crew of Charles Duke, Thomas Mittingly, and John Young were launched on an 11-day mission to the Moon. The S-IVB stage and the spacecraft were first put in a parking orbit. Translunar Injection came a little less than 3 hours after launch. The tracking of the S-IVB stage was lost on April 17. It impacted the Moon on April 19 triggering the Apollo 12, 14, and 15 seismometers. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on April 19. Crewmembers Charles Duke and John Young landed on the Moon on April 20. The first EVA was conducted the next day. The crew traveled a total distance of 2.6 miles on the first EVA with the lunar rover. The second EVA was on April 22. The total distance traveled on the lunar rover then was 6.9 miles. The third and final EVA was the next day, where the crew traveled 7.1 miles. Thomas Mittingly stayed in lunar orbit during the surface exploration of the two other crewmembers. The ascent stage of the LEM lifted off the surface on April 23 and docked with the CSM. The LEM was jettisoned on April 24. A subsatellite was ejected from the spacecraft but crashed into the Moon on May 29

Image result for apollo 16 launch

2005: The Cassini spacecraft conducted a successful flyby of the moon Titan.

 

April 17

1967: The Surveyor 3 lunar lander was launched. It landed on the Moon on April 20. It would later be visited by Apollo 12 in November, 1969.

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1970: Apollo 13 and its crew landed safely in the Pacific ocean. 4 hours before reentry the SM was jettisoned and the LM was jettisoned 1 hour before reentry.

Image result for apollo 13 landing

1976: Germany's Helios 2 spacecraft made the closest ever flyby of the Sun.

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1990: Ronald Evans, Jr. died. He flew on Apollo 17.  

Image result for ronald evans

1993: STS-56 and its crew of 5 landed back at Earth.

Image result for sts-56 landing

1998: STS-90 and its crew of 7 launched into orbit on a 16-day mission. It carried Spacelab, a science lab stowed inside the shuttle payload bay.

Image result for sts-90 launch

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April 18

1951: Aeromed 1 Biological mission was launched. It was the first Aerobee sounding rocket to carry a monkey onboard, though its name is unknown.

Image result for aeromed 1 biological mission aerobee

1968: Two workers were killed while working on the Soviet N1 rocket.

2002: the Stardust spacecraft reached the Aphelion of its orbit (2.72 AU).

Image result for stardust aphelion

2003: Stardust exited solar conjunction, where the Sun was blocking its view of Earth, making it temporarily invisible.

2014: SpaceX's Dragon CRS-3 was launched to the ISS. It was also the first launch of the Falcon 9 with a recoverable first stage. During launch after the first stage was jettisoned, it landed vertically in the ocean to be recovered. After achieving orbit, the second stage separated the spacecraft along with 5 cubesats. The spacecraft delivered supplies to the station and undocked on May 18. It landed safely in the Pacific the same day.

Image result for dragon crs-3 launch 

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April 19

1932: Robert Goddard first tested a liquid fuel-rocket with gyro stabilization. It used 8 gyro-fins to stabilize it. It reached 135 feet and flew for a total of 5 seconds.

Image result for robert goddard gyro stabilized rocket

1971: The first manned space station, Salyut 1, was launched. After achieving a stable orbit, the cover for the scientific equipment bay did not open, leaving many experiments unusable. Otherwise, it was functioning well. It included a number of military experiments along with many scientific experiments.

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1982: The Salyut 7 space station was launched. It was less advanced and involved as Salyut 6 even though it had the same design. Two resupply modules originally intended for the then cancelled Almaz station docked to Salyut 7 to make a larger station. It reentered after losing fuel on February 7, 1991 over Argentina. It was attempted to control the reentry but all attempts failed, leaving some parts of the station to land in a small town called Capitan Bermudez, but no one was hurt.

Image result for salyut 7

1985: STS-51-D and its crew of 7 landed back at Earth.

Image result for sts-51-d landing

More coming later today

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April 19 cont...

2001: STS-100 and its crew of 7 was launched into orbit on a 12-day mission to the ISS. It delivered a Canadian robotic arm called Canadarm 2 to the station and an Italian cargo ship called Rafaello to deliver supplies. It docked to the station on April 21. The robotic arm and Rafaello were both docked to the station on April 23. After delivering its supplies and taking in unneeded supplies, Rafaello was undocked from the station on April 27 and placed back in the shuttle payload bay. After a series of computer problems onboard the station, STS-100 undocked from the station on April 29. The weather was bad in Florida, so the crew landed in California instead on May 1

Image result for sts-100 launch

2004: Soyuz TMA-4 launched into orbit on a mission to the ISS. It docked to the station on April 21

Image result for soyuz tma-4 launch

2006: Albert Crossfield, the first man to reach mach 2 and the first Hispanic test pilot, died in a crash of a private plane near Ellijay, Georgia due to bad weather.

Image result for albert crossfield

2008: Soyuz TMA-11 and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth.

Image result for soyuz tma-11 landing

Edited by The Raging Sandwich
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April 20

1972: Charles Duke and John Young of Apollo 16 landed on the Moon.

Image result for apollo 16 moon landing

1983: Soyuz T-8 and its crew of 3 launched into orbit on a mission to the Salyut 7. It failed to dock with the station resulting in the crew landing back at Earth on April 22.

Image result for soyuz t-8 launch

1994: STS-59 and its crew of 5 landed back at Earth.

Image result for sts-59 landing

 

April 21

1972: Apollo 16's Charles Duke and John Young made their first EVA after landing on the Moon the previous day. 

Image result for apollo 16 jumping salute

2007: Soyuz TMA-9 and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth.

Image result for soyuz tma-9 landing

2013: The Cygnus Mass Simulator was launched. It was the first launch of the Antares rocket. It carried instruments to measure the launch environments of the Cygnus vehicle which would be used for future ISS resupply missions. It also carried 4 cubesats, Dove-1, Alexander, Graham, and Bell.

Image result for cygnus mass simulator launch

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April 22

1959: It was decided in a meeting at Langley that a tower would be the best configuration for Mercury's abort system.

Image result for mercury escape tower

1968: Soyuz 7K-L1 s/n 7L was launched. The spacecraft was supposed to separate from the L1 rocket 589 seconds into the flight. At 260 seconds, the malfunction detection system short-circuited and indicated a false launch failure, causing the SAS abort system to separate the spacecraft from the booster. This was the third abort of this kind with the SAS proving its reliability, even if it was unintentional.

Image result for Soyuz 7K-L1 s/n 7L launch

1971: Soyuz 10 and its crew of 3 launched into orbit on a mission to Salyut 1. It was the first manned flight to a space station. Because of the weather, it was nearly scrubbed. It approached to the station automatically, but hand-docking was attempted after the failure of the automated systems. The attempt at a hard-dock was failed after the bad angle of approach caused by having no instrument to calculate the approach angle. Soft docking was successful. The faulty hatch on the spacecraft disabled the crew from entering the station. Undocking was unsuccessful as the faulty hatch was impeding with the docking mechanisms.

Image result for soyuz 10 launch

1972: The Apollo 16 landing crew made their second EVA on the lunar surface.

Image result for apollo 16 lunar rover

1983: Soyuz T-8 and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth.

 

April 23

1956: The Army proposed that a Redstone Jupiter missile could launch a small satellite into orbit by January, 1957.

1957: Vandenberg Airforce Base was established.

Image result for vandenberg afb

1962: Ranger 4 was launched. It was the first US spacecraft to impact the Mun. Failure of a timer in the spacecraft led to the loss of control of the spacecraft after being put in its set trajectory. It was tracked until it passed behind the Moon on April 26 and impacted.

 Image result for ranger 4 launch

1967: Soyuz 1 and its crew of Vladimir Komarov was launched into orbit. It was planned for Soyuz 2 and its 3-manned crew to launch the next day with 2 of the cosmonauts spacewalking to Soyuz 1 after rendezvousing. After orbital insertion, one of the solar panels failed to deploy. The reaction control system also failed to function properly. It was decided to let Komarov return to Earth. Reentry and drogue-chute deployment were both successful. However, the main chute failed to deploy. Komarov attempted to deploy the reserve chute. It tangled up with the drogue chute causing Komarov and the spacecraft to crash. 

Image result for soyuz 1 launch\

More coming tomorrow...

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April 23, cont.

1968: A Soyuz 7K-L1 was launched. All was normal until the capsule was reported to have separated from the inert second stage booster after a false abort signal. It landed safely and was recovered the next morning.

1972: The Apollo 16 crew made their 3rd EVA on the Moon, driving the lunar rover to the North Ray crater. Upon return, they threw all the unneeded supplies out of the LM. They then lifted off the surface the same day, docking with the CSM in orbit.

Image result for apollo 16 3rd eva  

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April 24

1967: Vladimir Komarov died when the Soyuz 1 spacecraft crashed. Upon failure to deploy the main chutes, Komarov deployed the back-up chutes which tangled up with the drogue chute, causing the spacecraft to crash. He was the first person to die during a spaceflight.

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1970: China's first successful orbital satellite DFH-Mao 1 was launched. Everything during launch was reported nominal and the satellite entered orbit 13 minutes after launch.

Image result for dfh-mao 1

1971: Soyuz 10 and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth after its failed mission to Salyut 1. Only a night landing was possible if it was to land in Soviet territory. The air inside the spacecraft became toxic during reentry and crewmember Rukavishnikov fell unconscious. Other than that, the crew and spacecraft landed safely.

Image result for soyuz 10 landing

1990: STS-31 and its crew of 5 launched into orbit on a 5-day mission. It deployed the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), which after repairs by later missions, would look out into space at different galaxies, stars, nebulae, and other phenomena. 

Image result for sts-31 launch

2005: Soyuz TMA-5 and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth after a mission to the ISS.

soyuz-tma-5_recovery.jpg

 

April 25

1961: Mercury Atlas (MA)-3 was launched in an attempt to reach an unmanned Mercury spacecraft into orbit. The rocket failed to reach a proper launch trajectory and the mission was aborted. The spacecraft landed safely by parachute 2,000 yards from the launchpad. 

Image result for ma-3 launch

1962: The second suborbital test of the Saturn 1 first stage (SA-2) was launched. The dummy second and third stages contained water to act as the weight of fuel during launch. Upon intended self-destruct, the water was released into the upper atmosphere creating a giant ice cloud as part of Project Highwater.

Image result for saturn 1 suborbital test 2

1968: A memorial service was held for Vladimir Komarov, the cosmonaut killed in the crash of Soyuz 1, with over 10,000 people attending.

Image result for vladimir komarov memorial service

1972: Charles Duke and Thomas Mattingly conducted an EVA in deep space to retrieve film cartridges from the Service Module.

Image result for apollo 16 sm eva

2002: Soyuz TM-34 and its crew of 3 (one being a South African citizen) was launched on a mission the the ISS. It docked to the station on April 27

Image result for soyuz tm-34 launch 

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April 26

1967: The state funeral was held for Vladimir Komarov in which his ashes were interred in the Kremlin wall.

(Warning: a bit graphic)

Spoiler

Image result for vladimir komarov state funeral

1971: NASA discontinued the quarantine for future Apollo flights returning from the Moon starting on Apollo 15.

Image result for apollo quarantine

1993: STS-55 and its crew of 7 launched into orbit on a 10-day mission. It carried the German Spacelab-D2, a science lab attached inside the shuttle payload bay.

Image result for sts-55 launch

1998: The Cassini spacecraft conducted its first flyby of Venus on its way to its target Saturn.

Image result for cassini venus flyby

2003: Soyuz TMA-2 and its crew of 2 launched into orbit on a mission to the ISS. 

Image result for soyuz tma-2 launch

2004: The Opportunity Mars rover ended its primary mission.

Image result for opportunity mars rover

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April 27

1942: Dr. Valeri Polyakov was born. He flew on Mir LD-2 and LD-4. Spaceflight achievements were having the longest single spaceflight of 437 days and spending a total of 678 days in space.

Image result for Dr. Valeri Polyakov

1958: Sputnik 3 was launched. It failed to reach orbit when the booster exploded on launch. Another Sputnik 3 was launched later next month.

Image result for sputnik 3

1972: Apollo 16 and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth after a mission to the Moon.

Image result for apollo 16 landing

1989: Soyuz TM-7 and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth.

Image result for soyuz tm-7 landing

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April 28

1908: Eberhard Friedrich Michael Rees was born. He was in charge of manufacturing V2s, Redstones, Jupiters, and stages for Saturn rockets from 1940-1969.

Image result for Eberhard Friedrich Michael Rees

1961: Mercury Little Joe 5B was launched. It was a mission to test the LES in maximum dynamic pressure. A stall of one of the booster engines caused the vehicle to pitch lower than planned, so the planned pressure at abort was actually exceeded. Other than that, everything else went to plan.

Image result for mercury lj-5b

1963: It was planned for the Soviet N1 booster to be first launched in 1965. It would be able to launch 75 tons into a 250 kilometer orbit, 50 tons to 3,000 kilometers, and 16 tons into a geostationary orbit. It would also be able to launch manned missions to the Moon's surface and back and even manned flybys of Mars and Venus. It could also be used for launching space stations.

Image result for n1

1991: STS-39 and its crew of 7 was launched into orbit on an 8-day mission. It deployed the USA 70 military satellite and CRO-A, B, and C satellites that released gasses for observation by the IBSS experiment, which was also deployed and recovered.

Image result for sts-39 launch

1998: Egypt's first satellite, Nilesat 1, was launched. It was a civilian communications satellite placed in geostationary orbit. It and Japan's BSAT 1B were both launched together.

2001: Soyuz TM-32 and its crew of 3 was launched into orbit on a mission to the ISS. It was to replace Soyuz TM-31 as the lifeboat spacecraft on the station. After docking to the ISS on April 30, the crew returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-31 six days later.

Image result for soyuz tm-32 launch

 

April 29

1985: STS-51-B and its crew of 7 launched into orbit on a 7-day mission. It carried with it Spacelab 3 and deployed NUSAT-1.

Image result for sts-51-b launch

1990: STS-31 and its crew of 5 landed back at Earth.

Image result for sts-31 landing

 

April 30

1945: Michael Smith was born. He flew on STS-51-L where he died in the Challenger accident.

Image result for michael smith astronaut

2004: Soyuz TMA-3 and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth.

Image result for soyuz tma-3 landing

2006: The Cassini spacecraft did a flyby of Titan. 

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May 1

1925: Malcolm Scott Carpenter was born. He flew on Mercury MA-7, becoming the second American in orbit.

Image result for scott carpenter

1936: Wernher Von Braun entered the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force.

1937: Von Braun joined the pedant Party.

Image result for wernher von braun nazi party

1949: Astronomer Gerard Kuiper discovered Neptune's moon Nereid.

Image result for nereid moon

1958: Sergei Korolev decided that Soviet manned suborbital spaceflights would be skipped and that they would go straight to orbit. A three-staged R-7 ICBM would be used for these orbital missions.

Image result for vostok launch

1998: The Dar al Gani 476 Mars meteorite was discovered in Libya.

Image result for dar al gani 476

2001: STS-100 and its crew of 7 landed back at Earth.

Image result for sts-100 landing

2004: The Genesis solar probe did a flyby of Earth.

Image result for genesis earth flyby

2017: SpaceX launches satellite NROL-76 and lands their booster back on the pad.

Image result for spacex nrol-76 launch

Edited by The Raging Sandwich
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