This Day in Spaceflight History

[The Raging Sandwich]

January 31

1960: Six chimpanzees were designated ready for Mercury test flights.

1961: The final Mercury Redstone test flight before the manned mission, MR-2, was launched. It carried Ham, a chimpanzee. Over acceleration, velocity of the LES, and the booster staging too early all caused the flight path to be affected. Ham was recovered in good condition.

1966: Luna 9, a Soviet lunar lander, was launched. It soft-landed on the Moon's surface on February 3. It was the first spacecraft to soft-land on the Moon and transmit pictures, doing so for 3 days. 

1967: The funeral services were held for the crewmembers of Apollo 204 (Apollo 1) Chaffee, Grissom, and White. 

1971: Apollo 14 and its crew of veteran astronaut and the first US astronaut in space Shepard, Mitchell, and Roosa, was launched on a 9 day mission to the Moon. They were launched into orbit on a Saturn V 40 minutes after original schedule because of bad weather conditions. After the TLI burn, the CSM had trouble docking with the LM. They later docked and no indication of more docking problems later in the flight appeared. They entered lunar orbit on February 4. The S-IVB stage crashed into the Moon and the seismometer from Apollo 12 picked up the impact. Shepard and Mitchell landed on the Moon on February 5, completing 2 EVAs in 2 days. The two spacecraft successfully docked in orbit on February 6. The impact of the discarded LM was also picked up by the Apollo 12 and 14 seismometers. The spacecraft and its 3 crew landed and was recovered on February 9.

1998: STS-89 and its crew of 7 landed back at Earth.

 

2004: After landing several days earlier, the Opportunity rover drove onto the Martian surface for the first time.

[The Raging Sandwich]

February 1

1925: John Yardley, the head of the Mercury, Gemini, Skylab, and the first Shuttle missions at McDonnell, was born.

1943: The first US guided missile, the Navy's Pelican, was finally developed. It was never used, however.

1958: Explorer 1, the first US satellite, was launched. It was in response to the Soviet's Sputnik 1 and 2. It carried a scientific instrument to test if the Van Allen radiation belts actually existed, which it found out that they did.

1993: Soyuz TM-15 and its crew of 2 landed back at Earth after a record-breaking 6-month flight for the spacecraft.

2003: STS-107, or Columbia, disintegrated during reentry over Texas as it was heading to the KSC to land. Everyone aboard was lost. The Shuttles were grounded during the investigation for the disaster. It was later found during launch footage that a piece of foam fell off the main propellant tank and ripped a large hole in the wing of the spacecraft.

2010: President Obama cancelled the Constellation program. The Ares booster and the Orion capsule was scrapped. Instead, funds would go to long-duration missions to prepare for a future Mars mission.

 

[KAL 9000]

Today, we salute the ultimate sacrifice of the crew of the Columbia. 

Ad astra per aspera

[Ten Key]

5 hours ago, The Raging Sandwich said:

2010: President Obama cancelled the Constellation program. The Ares booster and the Orion capsule was scrapped.

The Ares booster and the Altair Lander were scrapped. Orion is still with us, if only just. 

[The Raging Sandwich]

1 hour ago, Ten Key said:

The Ares booster and the Altair Lander were scrapped. Orion is still with us, if only just. 

Yes, but the Orion was brought back.

[The Raging Sandwich]

February 2

1931: The idea of "rocket-mail" was tested for the first time. It was an Austrian post invention where mail was delivered via rocket. The rocket flew 2 kilometers to its planned point and landed by parachute. The idea was aboandoned later on in development.

1977: The Soviet Salyut 4 space station was caught by Earth's atmosphere and burned up during reentry.

2009: Iran launched its first satellite, Omid, on an Iranian launcher.

 

[The Raging Sandwich]

February 3

1966: Luna 9 landed on the Moon, making it the first spacecraft to make a soft-touchdown.

1984: STS-41-B and its crew of 5 was launched into orbit on an 8 day mission. It deployed Westar 6 and Palapa B2. Westar 6 was a civilian communications satellite that was supposed to go into geosynchronous orbit but never made it, later being recovered by STS-51A. Palapa B2 was an Indonesian communications satellite that also failed to reach proper orbit. It was recovered by STS-51A as well. STS-41-B also saw the first test of the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU). It was flown by Bruce McCandless, former Apollo era CAPCOM.

1994: STS-60 and its crew of 6 (including Charles Bolden, NASA's administrator today) was launched into orbit on an 8 day mission. It deployed the ODERACS satellites A through F, surveillance satellites and BremSat 1. 

1995: STS-63 and its crew of 7 launched into orbit on an 8 day mission. It deployed more ODERACS satellites 2A through 2E and Spartan 204, recovering it later. It also rendezvoused with Mir and did a fly-around but didn't dock to it. 

[The Raging Sandwich]

February 4

1902: Charles Lindbergh, the first person to fly solo over the Atlantic in 1927, was born.

1961: Sputnik 7, also known as Venera 1VA, was launched on a mission to Venus. It achieved orbit successfully but the telemetry antenna failed to deploy and it could not receive any commands, ultimately failing to reach Venus.

2002: The Zvezda module computers on the ISS had communications problems. It failed to transmit commands to the US gyros aboard the Z1 module. The Z1 gyros then stopped stabilizing the station, causing the entire ISS to go out of control for several hours. Control was eventually regained later that day.

2003: The Memorial Service was held for the lost Columbia astronauts.

2004: The Ulysses spacecraft made its closest approach to Jupiter.

 

February 5

1967: Lunar Orbiter 3 was launched. It would later investigate the Moon from orbit.

1971: The Apollo 14 LM and its crew of Shepard and Mitchell landed on the Moon. They also made their first EVA on the same day.

1974: Mariner 10 started its flyby of Venus.

More coming later today!

[The Raging Sandwich]

February 5, cont.

1987: Soyuz TM-2 launched into orbit on a mission to the Mir space station. It docked to the station on February 7.

 

February 6

1911: President Ronald Reagan was born. He initiated the "Star Wars" anti-missile space system.

1971: The Apollo 14 landing crew conducted 2 more EVAs. On the last EVA before stepping inside the lander, Alan Shepard it a golf ball he brought to the surface with a surface sampling tool with a golf head attached to it.

1991: The Soviet Salyut 7 space station burned up in Earth's atmosphere after falling out of orbit. Most of it fell in Argentina.

[The Raging Sandwich]

February 7

1932: Alfred "Al" Worden was born. He flew on Apollo 15 as Command Module Pilot.

1977: Soyuz 24 and its crew of 2 was launched into orbit on an 18-day mission to the Salyut 5 space station. It brought repair equipment for changing and replacing the cabin's atmosphere. No bad toxins or anything harmful was found but the air was still replaced. All the air was vented out of the airlock, cancelling the planned EVA.

1979: Robert Young, the man who designed the Titan, Apollo SPS, and Shuttle OMS engines, died.

1999: The Stardust probe was launched. It was designed to grab a surface sample of comet 81P/Wild 2 and return a sample to Earth. It was placed into a two-year solar orbit. On January 15, 2001, it did a flyby of Earth for a gravity assist. A day after, it flew by the Moon. On January 2, 2004, it grabbed its sample and returned to Earth, landing in Utah on January 15, 2006.

More coming later today!

[_Augustus_]

29 minutes ago, The Raging Sandwich said:

1979: Robert Young, the man who designed the Titan, Apollo SPS, and Shuttle OMS engines, died.

The AJ-10 (used as the Apollo SPS and shuttle OMS) will also be used on Orion. This man's legacy will stretch another 20-30 years in use on Orion.

On 2/3/2017 at 7:45 AM, The Raging Sandwich said:

Charles Bolden, NASA's administrator today

Nope, he's been replaced with an interim guy now. He's not the administrator anymore.

Edited February 7, 2017 by _Augustus_

[The Raging Sandwich]

February 7, cont.

2001: STS-98 and its crew of 5 launched into orbit on a 13-day mission to the ISS. It delivered two modules, the Destiny and the PMA-2 docking port. The Destiny was to be the primary control module of the station, along as a science lab. It docked to the station on February 9. The PMA-2 was unberthed from the shuttle payload bay on February 10. It took 2 spacewalks over the span of 4 days to connect the two modules to the station. The shuttle undocked from the station on February 16 and landed on February 20.

2008: STS-122 and its crew of 7 launched into orbit on a 13-day mission to the ISS. It delivered the European Columbus module to the station. It docked to the ISS on February 9. It delivered the Columbus module, switched two crewmembers from the ISS to the shuttle, undocked on February 20, and landed the same day.

 

February 8

1974: Skylab 4 and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth. The CM flipped upside-down during splashdown but the inflatables popped it back up once deployed.

1984: Soyuz T-10 (not to be confused with T-10a or T-10-1) and its crew of 3 launched into orbit on a mission to the Salyut 7 space station. 

2000: The GRV 99027 Mars meteorite was discovered in China.

2001: The SAU 094 Mars meteorite was discovered in Oman.

2010: STS-130 and its crew of 6 launched into orbit on a 14-day mission to the ISS. It delivered the Tranquility and Cupola modules. 

 

[The Raging Sandwich]

February 9

1960: Peggy Whitson was born. She broke many spaceflight records, such as female record for the most days in space (thanks to two ISS missions) and the female record for spacewalks.

1971: Apollo 14 landed back at Earth after a lunar landing. 

1990: The Galileo spacecraft did a flyby of Venus on its way to Jupiter.

[Ten Key]

6 hours ago, The Raging Sandwich said:

1960: Peggy Whitson was born. She broke many spaceflight records, such as female record for the most days in space (thanks to two ISS missions) and the female record for spacewalks.

Peggy Whitson is actually up on the ISS right now. Assuming the mission runs according to schedule, she will hold the record for the most days in space, irrespective of gender. 

[TheEpicSquared]

24 minutes ago, Ten Key said:

Peggy Whitson is actually up on the ISS right now. Assuming the mission runs according to schedule, she will hold the record for the most days in space, irrespective of gender. 

More than Scott Kelly?  

[Bill Phil]

5 hours ago, TheEpicSquared said:

More than Scott Kelly?  

Even he doesn't have all that much...

Valery Polyakov has the longest flight time(437.7 days), but the most number of days isn't usually continuous...

Gennady Padalka has about 878.48 days in space, over five flights.

Peggy Whitson is scheduled to have more total flight time than any other US astronaut... The longest total flight time for a US astronaut was 534.1 days, although that is subject to change. It's held by Jeffrey Williams. Scott Kelly has 520.44 days.

[The Raging Sandwich]

February 10

1961: A telephone call was conducted from Washington, D.C., to Woomera, Australia. NASA Deputy Administrator Hugh Dryden spoke and the signal was bounced towards a relay satellite around the Moon and down to Australia.

1974: The Russian Mars 4 spacecraft flew by Mars.

1975: Soyuz 17 and its crew of 2 landed back at Earth.

1997: Soyuz TM-25 and its crew of 3 was launched into orbit on a mission to the Mir space station.

1998: The Galileo spacecraft did a flyby of the moon Europa.

 

February 11

1970: Japan became the fourth nation to launch a satellite into space with the launch of Ohsumi 5.

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

1987: The Titan IIIB/Agena launch configuration was launched for the last time.

1990: Soyuz TM-9 and its crew of 2 was launched into orbit to the Mir space station.

1994: STS-60 and its crew of 6 landed back at Earth.

1995: STS-63 and its crew of 7 landed back at Earth.

1997: STS-82 was launched into Earth orbit on a 10 day mission. It was another repair flight for the Hubble Space Telescope. Five spacewalks were conducted over four days to repair it. The telescope was released on February 19. The shuttle and its crew then landed on February 21.

2000: STS-99 and its crew of 7 launched into orbit on an 11-day mission. It extended from its payload bay a mast over 60 meters tall with radar to map part of the Earth's surface.

 

February 12

1961: The first spacecraft to flyby Venus, the Russian Venera 1, was launched. 7 days after launch, communications was lost. However, all of the maneuvering required to get the spacecraft to Venus was completed.

2001: The NEAR spacecraft landed on the asteroid Eros.

Edited February 12, 2017 by The Raging Sandwich

[The Raging Sandwich]

February 13

1923: Charles "Chuck" Yeager, the first person to break the sound barrier, was born.

1937: Sigmund Jähn, the first German cosmonaut, was born. He flew on Expedition 4 of Salyut 6.

Edited February 15, 2017 by The Raging Sandwich

[DDE]

On ‎13‎.‎02‎.‎2017 at 3:28 PM, The Raging Sandwich said:

1937: Sigmund Jähn, the first German astronaut, was born. He flew on Expedition 4 of Salyut 6.

OK, I had to check. Encyclopedia Britannica and everyone else insist that he's a cosmonaut.

 

[Phineas Freak]

30 minutes ago, DDE said:

OK, I had to check. Encyclopedia Britannica and everyone else insist that he's a cosmonaut.

In the US they are using the term astronaut but in Russia they are using the term cosmonaut. Since he was trained in Russia he will be a cosmonaut.

[munlander1]

Everyone gets the message.

[The Raging Sandwich]

5 hours ago, DDE said:

OK, I had to check. Encyclopedia Britannica and everyone else insist that he's a cosmonaut.

 

Changed it.

[The Raging Sandwich]

February 14

1947: Pham Tuan, the first Vietnamese cosmonaut, was born. He flew on Expedition 7 to the Salyut 6 space station.

1962: Mercury MA-6 "Friendship 7" was again postponed due to the weather.

1972: Luna 20 was launched. It made a soft landing on the Moon and returned samples of the lunar soil to Earth. It reached lunar orbit on February 18 and landed on February 21. The lander upper stage lifted off with the sample on February 22 and landed in the Soviet Union on February 25, but the samples were only recovered a day after. 

1990: After flying by both Jupiter and Saturn, Voyager 1 took photos of Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and the Sun . After receiving the images back at Earth, they were put together into one picture. This would come to be known as "the Family Portrait."

1999: Joseph Shea, the lead development manager of the Apollo spacecraft, died.

2000: NEAR entered orbit of asteroid Eros. 

 

February 15

1935: Astronaut Roger Chaffee was born. He was one of the three men killed in the Apollo 1 fire.

1961: James Webb, the NASA administrator during much of the Space Race, was sworn in.

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

[The Raging Sandwich]

February 16

1937: Ukrainian cosmonaut Valentin Bondarenko was born. He was in a simulator of the Vostok spacecraft with a pure-oxygen environment on March 23, 1961. The simulator caught on fire and he died inside.

 

1948: Gerard Kuiper discovered Uranus' moon Miranda.

1961: The first satellite was launched from Wallops Island, Explorer 9. It was launched by a complete SRB rocket, the Scout. 

1962: The date was set for MA-6 to launch no earlier than February 20.

[Green Baron]

Always a pleasure to visit this thread.

I must admit, i wasn't aware that Uranus had a visit and was wandering where that photo of Miranda came from: Voyager 2.