This Day in Spaceflight History

[The Raging Sandwich]

On October 10, 1846, astronomer William Lassell discovered Neptune's largest moon Triton.

On October 10, 1960, the Soviet space program attempted to launch their first interplanetary mission. It would be a flyby mission to Mars to take pictures of the planet. During the use of the second stage, the payload started to vibrate and pitch out of control. It reentered over East Siberia.

On October 10, 1966, Chinese taikonaut Zhai Zhigang was born. He was the first taikonaut to walk in space.

On October 10, 1971, the Soviet Salyut 1 space station was deorbited. During its time of unuse, it was studied for how it would react to inactivity. It reentered into the Pacific Ocean before it lost control in orbit.

On October 10, 1983, the Soviet Venera 15 spacecraft completed orbital insertion of Venus.

On October 10, 1990, STS-41 and its crew of 5 landed back at Cape Canaveral after a mission into orbit.

On October 10, 1991, the Soyuz TM-12 spacecraft and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth after a mission to the Mir space station.

On October 10, 2007, the Soyuz TMA-11 spacecraft and its crew of 3 launched into orbit on a mission to the ISS. It docked to the station on October 12.

[The Raging Sandwich]

On October 11, 1958, the Pioneer 1 probe was launched. It was to do a flyby of the Moon but failed to do so, coming about 168,000 miles short.

On October 11, 1968, Apollo 7 and its crew of astronauts Cunningham, Eisele, and Schirra was launched into orbit on the first manned Apollo flight on a Saturn 1B rocket.  A small launch delay was in place to extend the hydrogen cooling time. It launched just after 11 am at Cape Canaveral. Just after they reached orbit, the CSM undocked with the S-IVB stage and practiced docking with it, coming about 3 feet away from it. On October 14, a television broadcast was made from the spacecraft, the first American mission to do so.

On October 11, 1969, the Soyuz 6 spacecraft and its crew of 2 cosmonauts was launched into orbit on a 5 day mission. It was to rendezvous with both Soyuz 7 and 8 and take pictures of the two docking, but all three failed to rendezvous with each other due to their helium pressurization integrity tests.

On October 11, 1977, the Soyuz 25 spacecraft and its crew of 2 landed back at Earth after a mission to the Soviet Salyut 6 space station.

On October 11, 1980, the Soyuz 37 spacecraft and its crew of 2 landed back at Earth after a mission to the Salyut 6 space station.

On October 11, 1994, STS-68 and its crew of 8 landed back at Edwards AFB after a mission into Earth orbit.

On October 11, 2000, STS-92 and its crew of 6 launched into Earth orbit on a 13 day mission to the ISS. It was the 100th shuttle flight. It delivered the Z-1 Truss, Control Moment Gyroscopics, the Pressure Mating Adapter 3, and two DDCU heating pipes up to the space station.It docked with the Unity Module on October 13. On October 14, the robotic arm onboard the shuttle unberthed the Z-1 truss and connected it to the zenith port on the Unity Module. On October 17, the RCS ports on the shuttle raised the station's orbit by about 2 miles. It finished boosting the station on October 18. It undocked on October 20 and came back home on October 24 after delays from high winds at the KSC.

On October 11, 2005, the Cassini Saturn spacecraft did a flyby of the moon Dione.

On October 11, 2005, the Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft and its crew of 3 returned to Earth after a mission to the ISS.

[DDE]

18 hours ago, The Raging Sandwich said:

On October 10, 1983, the Soviet Venera 15 spacecraft completed orbital insertion of Venus.

The antenna looks oddly familiar.

18 hours ago, The Raging Sandwich said:

On October 10, 1960, the Soviet space program attempted to launch their first interplanetary mission. It would be a flyby mission to Mars to take pictures of the planet. During the use of the second stage, the payload started to vibrate and pitch out of control. It reentered over East Siberia.

Ah, Marsnik-1, or whatever the poor chap's name ended up being.

That reminds me of the first, failed Venera probe; there's a worthy story from February 4: Its fourth stage also failed, and Venera-1 had to be jury-rigged with a random airtight can. It also reentered somewhere over Siberia. But the landing payload - a bragging rights medal that said "1961 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" - was returned to Korolev and Chertok in Summer 1963. Korolev got it from head of Academy of Sciences chief Keldysh, Keldysh got it from the KGB, the KGB got it from the local cops, who were contacted by some kid who injured his leg while swimming in a Siberian river.

Edited October 11, 2016 by DDE

[The Raging Sandwich]

Ignore this post, it's up again.

Edited October 12, 2016 by The Raging Sandwich

[The Raging Sandwich]

On October 12, 1964, the Soviet Almaz project kicked off. It was a project to launch a 20 ton military space station suitable for a crew of three into orbit. Once the first crew would be sent up in 1968, they would stay there for a year until 1969 until another crew came aboard.

On October 12, 1964, Voskhod 1 was launched with its crew of 3 cosmonauts. It was the first multimanned spacecraft, and the crew consisted of a pilot, a scientist, and a physician, also the first crew of its kind. To make room for three people in just a modified Vostok capsule, spacesuits, ejection seats, and an escape tower were left out. The Russians wanted to stump the US by hopping from just one cosmonaut at a time to three.

On October 12, 1969, it was decided to land Apollo 12 at the already landed Surveyor 3 and recover its TV camera.

On October 12, 1969, the Soyuz 7 spacecraft and its crew of 3 launched into orbit. It was a part of the Soyuz 6/7/8 mission which ultimately failed to achieve its goals. 

On October 12, 1994, the Magellan Venus spacecraft ended its mission by burning up in Venus' atmosphere.

On October 12, 2005, the Schenzhou 6 and its crew of 2 taikonauts was launched into orbit on a 5 day mission. It was the second manned Chinese mission into space. They spent most of their time working in the orbital module (which was used for the first time on that mission), but few pictures were released.

 

On October 12, 2008, the Soyuz TMA-13 spacecraft and its crew of 3 was launched into orbit to the ISS. It docked at 8:26 on October 14.

Edited October 12, 2016 by The Raging Sandwich
Added Soyuz TMA-13

[The Raging Sandwich]

On October 13, 1933, the British Interplanetary Society began. It was the first organization to focus on space travel. Its purpose is to promote and support spaceflight.

On October 13, 1964, the Voskhod 1 spacecraft and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth after a mission into orbit. It was the first time that cosmonauts landed with their capsule. Small breaking rockets above the capsule slowed their descent just before they landed, much like the Soyuz does today.

On October 13, 1969, Soyuz 8 and its crew of 2 launched into Earth orbit. It was part of the failed Soyuz 6/7/8 mission. It landed back at Earth on October 18.

On October 13, 1984, STS-41-G and its crew of 7 landed back at Cape Canaveral after a mission into orbit.

 

 

[The Raging Sandwich]

On October 14, 1890, Supreme Commander and President Dwight D. Eisenhower was born. He was the one who created NASA after the Soviets launched Sputnik.

On October 14, 1947, the first manned supersonic flight was made by Chuck Yeager.

On October 14, 1960, the Soviet Mars probe 1M s/n 2 was launched. It was the Soviets second attempt at an interplanetary probe. Once again, it failed and reentered into the atmosphere.

On October 14, 1969, the Soyuz 7/8 docking problem erupted. The crew tries manual docking, but it was not allowed by Flight Control.

More coming later today!

Edited October 14, 2016 by The Raging Sandwich

[The Raging Sandwich]

On October 14, 1976, Soyuz 23 and its crew of two was launched into orbit. It was to rendezvous and dock at the Soviet Almaz military space station but suffered a docking problem. Sensors indicated a lateral velocity that was not correct and docking could not be done. As it reentered, the cosmonauts started to suffocate. Also, the capsule landed upside-down in a lake. It had to be dragged out of the lake by a helicopter. Fortunately and miraculously, the two cosmonauts survived the ordeal.

On October 14, 2004, Soyuz TMA-5 and its crew of 3, including famous astronaut Leroy Chiao, was launched into orbit to the ISS. It docked on October 16. A week later on October 23, the Expedition 9 crew entered the spacecraft and returned to Earth.

 

[The Raging Sandwich]

On October 15, 1929, the German film Frau im Mond (Girl in the Moon) was first shown in Berlin. It was the first film to portray a realisic rollout of a rocket to the launchpad.

On October 15, 1969, another attempt was made to dock Soyuz 7 and 8 together, but to no avail.

On October 15, 1997, the Cassini/Huygens spacecraft was launched to Saturn. Cassini would arrive at Saturn and orbit it, doing multiple scientific flybys of its moons and rings. The Huygens lander was dropped into the moon Titan's atmosphere and landed on its surface, sending multiple color photos of its surface back to Earth.

On October 15, 2003, Shenzhou 5 and its crew of 1 taikonaut, Yang Liwei, was launched into orbit on China's first manned space mission. It was less than a one day mission. After orbiting Earth 21 times, the orbital module detached from the descent module to remain in orbit as a military reconaissance probe for 6 months. Liwei and his spacecraft landed just 5 kilometers away from the planned landing site.

 

 

[Ultimate Steve]

2 hours ago, The Raging Sandwich said:

On October 15, 1929, the German film Frau im Mond (Girl in the Moon) was first shown in Berlin. It was the first film to portray a realisic rollout of a rocket to the launchpad.

...And don't forget, the first ever mention of a countdown! And the fact that the filmmakers hired rocket scientists - including Wernher Von Braun - to help make the film more realistic. If only Hollywood did this today.

[The Raging Sandwich]

15 minutes ago, Ultimate Steve said:

...And don't forget, the first ever mention of a countdown! And the fact that the filmmakers hired rocket scientists - including Wernher Von Braun - to help make the film more realistic. If only Hollywood did this today.

It's also what kicked of the German Nebel rocket project, so I've heard.

[DDE]

10 hours ago, Ultimate Steve said:

...And don't forget, the first ever mention of a countdown! And the fact that the filmmakers hired rocket scientists - including Wernher Von Braun - to help make the film more realistic. If only Hollywood did this today.

They do. It's interesting to see how what's left of a reality-compliant plot show up between the lines in Armageddon.

Also, Tsiolkovsky and the Soviets were right on it... if you're into calling you spaceship Joseph Stalin, launching it from rails, and using liquid chambers to survive g-forces.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmicheskiy_reys

It's still better than the Russian spin on Avengers.

Spoiler

 

 

[The Raging Sandwich]

October 16

1969: Soyuz 6 and its crew of 2 land back at Earth. Meanwhile, still in orbit, Soyuz 7 and 8 continue trying to dock two times, again with no avail.

1976: Soyuz 23 and its crew of 2 landed back at Earth after a mission to the Almaz space station. It landed right in the middle of a snowstorm in a frozen lake. Vehicles could not reach it, so swimmers had to attach a cable to the vehicles and drag it out of the lake.

1983: The Soviet Venera 16 interplanetary probe did an orbital insertion of Venus.

2005: Shenzhou 6 and its crew of 2 return to Earth after China's second manned space mission.

2016, Shenzhou 11 and its crew of 2 was launched. It is the sixth manned spaceflight for China. It was launched to a small space station launched on September 15, 2016 called the Tiangong-2.

Edited October 20, 2016 by The Raging Sandwich

[DDE]

2 hours ago, The Raging Sandwich said:

It landed right in the middle of a snowstorm in a frozen sea. Vehicles could not reach it, so swimmers had to attach a cable to the vehicles and drag it out of the lake.

Nitpick incoming!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tengiz

Edited October 16, 2016 by DDE

[The Raging Sandwich]

51 minutes ago, DDE said:

Nitpick incoming!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Tengiz

Yeah, I said sea at first then realized it was a lake, I just forgot to change it.

[Ultimate Steve]

Also, Shenzou 11 launched 2 minutes ago if it's not too late to add stuff...

[max_creative]

1 hour ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Also, Shenzou 11 launched 2 minutes ago if it's not too late to add stuff...

Yep! On this day in 2016 Shenzou 11 launched! 

I actually am doing this in social studies! Except it's this day in history. Without the spaceflight part. But I try to say something related to space! 

[The Raging Sandwich]

1 hour ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Also, Shenzou 11 launched 2 minutes ago if it's not too late to add stuff...

 

7 minutes ago, max_creative said:

Yep! On this day in 2016 Shenzou 11 launched! 

I actually am doing this in social studies! Except it's this day in history. Without the spaceflight part. But I try to say something related to space! 

Added it!  (Technically it's history now)

[The Raging Sandwich]

October 17

1933: origional Space Race astronaut Bill Anders was born. He flew on Apollo 8, the first manned mission to orbit the Moon. He was the one to take the origional "Earthrise" photo.

1956: Shuttle astronaut Mae Jemison was born. She became the first African-American woman in space when whe flew on STS-47.

1969: Soyuz 7 and its crew of 3 landed back at Earth after the failed Soyuz 6/7/8 mission. It deorbited after 97 orbits and landed back at Earth.

Edited October 17, 2016 by The Raging Sandwich

[The Raging Sandwich]

October 18

1956: The Jupiter A CC-14 rocket was launched on a suborbital flight. After several countdown halts, it flew a successful mission. It impacted 346 meters away from its intended target.

1962: the Ranger 5 lunar probe was launched. Before lunar insertion, the Agena stage failed and left the probe hurtling into deep space at excessive velocity. It missed the Moon by a good deal and went into solar orbit.

1967: the Soviets' Venera 4 probe landed on Venus. Upon almost reaching the surface, a structural collapse occured on the lander, causing it to not land in one piece.

1969: Soyuz 8 and its crew of 2 returned to Earth, ending the unsuccessful Soyuz 6/7/8 mission. The retrofire was 4 seconds less than it should have been, but all went on normally.

1977: astronomer Charles Kowall discovered the minor planet 2060 Chiron, a small rocky world with a ring system. It is the second minor planet with rings to be discovered.

More coming later today!

Edited October 20, 2016 by The Raging Sandwich

[The Raging Sandwich]

1989: STS-34 and its crew of 6 launch into Earth orbit on a 5 day mission. It deployed the Galileo Jupiter space probe, which spent several years in orbit of Jupiter doing scientific flybys of its moons. It completed its orbital insertion and started orbiting Jupiter on December 7, 1995. It also deployed the SSBUV-1 and 2 probes.

1993: STS-58 and its crew of 7 launched into Earth orbit on a 14 day mission. It carried with it the Spacelab SLS 2 LM which stayed in the payload bay the whole mission as the crew conducted multiple experiments inside of it. 

2002: STS-112 and its crew of 6 landed back at Cape Canaveral after a mission to the ISS.

2003: Soyuz TMA-3 and its crew of 3 launched into orbit on a mission to the ISS. It docked to the station on October 20.

[Ultimate Steve]

Hmm, I just noticed something.

Is it just me, or does that top fuel tank really look like the FL-T800?

[cubinator]

3 hours ago, Ultimate Steve said:

 

Is it just me, or does that top fuel tank really look like the FL-T800?

No, it is an FL-T800.

[The Raging Sandwich]

October 19

1948: Pictures were taken at near Earth-orbit altitudes by a Navy rocket at 60-70 miles high.

1967: Mariner 5 did its flyby of Venus.

[DDE]

On ‎18‎.‎10‎.‎2016 at 2:46 PM, The Raging Sandwich said:

1967: the Soviets' Venera 4 probe landed on Venus.

In pieces. The data transmitted is generally accepted to depict a structural collapse before reaching surface - the lander was rated for 60 atm.