This Day in Aviation and Spaceflight History

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

The title is pretty self-explanatory. On the anniversary of a milestone of aviation and spaceflight history, post about it here.

• It can't just be events you think are significant; the name of the game is "This Day In..." The event in question has to share the same month and day as the current date. 
  • e.g. if it took place on December 17, 1903, you'll just have to wait until December 17, (whatever year it is now) to post about it. 
• Replies discussing events already posted DON'T have date limits; just the events themselves.
  • In other words, you're free to talk about any events mentioned on here as far long or as late as you wish.
• Links to sources are highly encouraged. 
  • Even if you first learned about it from the Air Force Museum calendar, we would all benefit from some corroboration.
• It can be as significant as a first test flight or a shuttle crash to something not-so-well known - such as the Army Air Corps delivering mail for the first time or the first successful V2 rocket launch. 
  • The choice of event is yours, but the "Anniversary Posting" rule still stands. 

 

Have fun, and I can't wait to read what you all come up with. I'll start us off.

 

October 14th, 1947 - U.S. Air Force Captain Charles "Chuck" Yeager becomes the first man to break the sound barrier using the X-1 rocket plane.

 

• Source: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/breaking-sound-barrier-75th

[steve9728]

Ah one hour late in time zone for me but:

15 Oct. 2003, the first taikonaut Yang Liwei by Shenzhou-5 manned spacecraft was launched by CZ-2F Y5 rocket and returned safely after orbiting the Earth 14 times (21 hours and 23 minutes).

"Use space peacefully for the benefit of all mankind", he said.

Fun fact: the orbital module of Shenzhou-5 took a docking port for future docking with Tiangong space lab. Although this docking was eight years later, on 3 Nov. 2011. (By CMS's official website)

Spoiler

The rocket took off at exactly 9am CST and returned at 6:23am the following morning. So technically it's not too late to post that.

Edited October 15, 2022 by steve9728

[SunlitZelkova]

November 2nd, 1947 - The Hughes H-4 Hercules, better known as the Spruce Goose, took flight for the first and only time. Howard Hughes himself was at the controls.

 

Source- https://www.flyingmag.com/when-the-spruce-goose-took-flight/?fbclid=IwAR2ZwmbBPNmBr4kHpEElpHYlClCuLxAOJ35gvDRwzyY6VP4Dwou5H5yUszA

By the way, this article is a great explanation of the whole history of the plane, in case you are unfamiliar with it or want to learn a little more.

I’ll also add that the museum that now houses it is definitely worth the visit. Not only is there the Spruce Goose, but space stuff as well, like the unflown Mercury-Atlas 10 capsule and both a Titan II and Titan IV. Among the more eccentric aviation items they have are an F5D Skylancer and a Soviet-built MiG-17A (most in museums in the US are J-5s, Chinese license built MiG-17Fs).

Other interesting space items present are one of the X-38 Crew Return Vehicle test articles, a PGM-11 Redstone missile, and a full scale replica of the Vega type probe.

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

Wow, 1947 seems to be the year of aviation milestones. What's next?

[Vanamonde]

28 minutes ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

Wow, 1947 seems to be the year of aviation milestones. What's next?

1948

[SunlitZelkova]

1 hour ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

Wow, 1947 seems to be the year of aviation milestones. What's next?

On December 1st we've got the US Marines activating its first helicopter squadron*.

On December 17th, the B-47 Stratojet made its first flight. Considering the design went on to influence modern day airliners, this is an extremely significant event*.

I had never thought to think the sound barrier was broken, the Spruce Goose flew, and the B-47 flew all in the same year. Crazy stuff!

*Sources coming on the day of

[Beamer]

November 3rd 1957: USSR launches Sputnik 2, the dog Laika becomes the first animal in earth orbit.

November 3rd 1973: NASA launches Mariner 10, the first space probe to (eventually) reach Mercury.

Edit: sources... uhm, memory for Laika, caught Mariner 10 when I checked if my memory was correct Famous events, use duckduckgo or wiki for more info.

 

Edited November 3, 2022 by Beamer

[Kerbalsaurus]

The Chinese satellite, Beihangkongshi-1, Launched on top of a long March 7, tested the first iodine propulsion engine. Nothin’ that extraordinary, but cool nonetheless. Launched in 2020.

Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_in_spaceflight

Edited April 3, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

59 minutes ago, Kerbalsaurus said:

Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_in_spaceflight

I see a lot of future entries where this is used - or at least used as a starting point for further research.

[Beamer]

November 7th 1910: Phil O. Parmalee carries two bolts of silk on his Wright Model B from Dayton to Columbus, Ohio, generally considered the first commercial air flight and first freight shipment by airplane. Source: https://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/wright-brothers/online/age/1910/commercial.cfm

November 7th 1996: NASA launches Mars Global Surveyor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Global_Surveyor

 

[Superluminal Gremlin]

November 8th 2008

Discovery of water on the lunar surface in the form of ice

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayaan-1

Edited November 7, 2022 by Superluminal Gremlin

[Beamer]

November 8th 1656: Edmond Halley (of Halley's Comet fame) is born. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmond_Halley

November 8th 1950: during the Korean war, a USAF F-80 Shooting Star encounters 2 North Korean MiG-15s in the first jet aircraft to jet aircraft dogfight in history. Source: https://theaviationgeekclub.com/the-story-of-the-usaf-f-80-pilot-who-shot-down-a-north-korean-mig-15-in-the-worlds-first-jet-versus-jet-combat/

 

Edited November 8, 2022 by Beamer

[Beamer]

November 9th 1967: First test flight of the Saturn V, launching Apollo 4 from KSC launch complex 39: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_4

November 9th 2005: ESA launches the Venus Express: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_Express

 

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

How can I forget the day that started it all?

 

December 17th, 1903 - Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully fly their Wright Flyer in Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 

• Orville at the controls while Wilbur running alongside the Flyer.

 

P.S. The Wright Brothers were originally from Dayton, Ohio. That's why Ohio's called the "Birthplace of Aviation" (hence why you see it on a lot of Ohio license plates).

 

Source: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/17-december-1903/

Edited December 18, 2022 by Mars-Bound Hokie

[steve9728]

15 hours ago, Mars-Bound Hokie said:

December 17th, 1903 - Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully fly their Wright Flyer in Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 

Although it doesn't matter at all, but it was quite a surprise to learn for the first time in 24 years that my birthday had such a coincidence with such a great occasion. Everyday learn something new

[steve9728]

March 23rd, 1998, J-10 the fighter jet finishes its first flight.

[Kerbalsaurus]

Technically, it was yesterday, but whatever. On April 12^th, 1961, 62 years ago, Yuri Gagarin pioneered exploration forever becoming the first man in space aboard the Vostok 1 mission.

  

Edited April 14, 2023 by Kerbalsaurus

[steve9728]

24 Apr. 1970 at 21:35:44 CST, Dong Fang Hong-1 lift off from JSLC Launch Area 5020

Its orbital parameters:

• 24 Apr. 1974: 439 × 2384km × 68.5°
• 24 Apr. 2023: 429 × 2021km × 68.42°

Edited April 24, 2023 by steve9728

[Mars-Bound Hokie]

May 16th, 1923 - 100 years ago today, the Engineering Division at Dayton's (now-defunct) McCook Field started a small aviation engineering study collection. Long story short, that collection was eventually moved to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and grew to become the largest military aviation museum in the world.

The museum I'm referring to is famously known as the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

 

• Birds-eye view of the museum that was taken recently (found on museum webpage)
• From left to right:
  • Hangar 1 (adjacent to main entrance): Early Years (smaller section) and World War II (larger section)
  • Hangar 2: Korean War and Southeast Asia War
  • Hangar 3: Cold War and Other Aircraft
  • Missile Silo
  • Hangar 4: Space, Research and Development, Global Reach, and Presidential Gallery 

 

And to celebrate the museum's 100-year anniversary, it will open the Centennial Exhibit on Sunday, May 21st, 2023. You can bet your stabilizers that I'll be there bright and early that day. Will you?

 

Sources:

• Email correspondence with museum personnel:

Spoiler

• Screenshot of an email from William McLaughlin, the reference curator for the museum.
  • January this year, I had contacted museum personnel because I had just learned that the museum started as an engineering showcase in 1923 and I wanted to know the date as well as the year. That way, I could plan a visit as close to that date as possible.
  • I'm going out on a limb and assuming "1913" was a typo and he meant to type "1923." 
• Since the day Mr. McLaughlin gave would fall on a Tuesday this year, I realized that going to the museum today would be impossible since I had work to do. Fortunately, the museum plans to celebrate its 100-year anniversary on a weekend.

• https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Upcoming/Events/ - Museum webpage listing upcoming events.
  • In case there's any confusion, the Centennial Exhibit opens on Sunday, May 21st.
    • I first thought it was the 20th, since that was what earlier news articles stated (including one from the museum website itself) but a phone call with someone from the museum cleared that up.
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Museum_of_the_United_States_Air_Force - Wikipedia page that also contains a detailed history of the museum before it became the multi-hangar site that it is today.

 

UPDATE: this came out early this morning as I was asleep. Turns out, the museum really did start on May 16, 1923. Thanks for the heads-up, Mr. McLaughlin.

• https://www.ideastream.org/2023-05-16/national-museum-u-s-air-force-100th-anniversary

 

P.S. If you feel up to the challenge, I have a (KSP1) Spacecraft Exchange thread devoted specifically to replicas of aircraft on display in the museum. Any and all help completing this would be nice, thank you.

Edited May 16, 2023 by Mars-Bound Hokie
Adding additional confirmation that 5/16/1923 was indeed the starting date

[steve9728]

21 Sep. 1909, was the day for Feng Ru (冯如), the first Chinese to make and fly his plane first time in California. He also started the history of Chinese aviation.

Edited September 21, 2023 by steve9728

[DDE]

Oh, look, we have a thread here...

 

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

21 hours ago, steve9728 said:

21 Sep. 1909, was the day for Feng Ru (冯如), the first Chinese to make and fly his plane first time in California. He also started the history of Chinese aviation.

I thought you said he was a Californian? 

Surely he did not fly that across the Pacific! 

[steve9728]

12 hours ago, JoeSchmuckatelli said:

I thought you said he was a Californian? 

Surely he did not fly that across the Pacific! 

Actually he came from same province with me. I even visited his tomb before in Guangzhou. He was actually one of a large number of Chinese labourers who came to the US in the late 19th century try to find a better life - he arrived at the age of 12, in 1895. At dusk on this September day, his plane made its first flight next to a round hill in Auckland (hit anyone’s radar who living in Auckland?), and after 0.8 km, the propeller suddenly stopped because he had tightened the screws on the propeller shaft too much and snapped off the root of the propeller. The plane fell to the ground, but fortunately he was not injured this time. He had learnt his lesson and his second aircraft was based on the Wright Brothers' Aviator I and the Curtiss Golden Flyer. The second flight was a success.

At this time China was undergoing a revolution to overthrow the Qing Empire. Feng, like many Chinese at the time, returned to China with the technology they specialized in. On 25 August 1912, he died in a tragic crash during a flying display at Yantang, Guangzhou.

Of course, I've heard that California is pretty accommodating - if you think you’re a Californian, you’re a Californian. So you say he was a Californian for around a decade I won’t argue anything about that lol

Edited September 22, 2023 by steve9728

[JoeSchmuckatelli]

8 hours ago, steve9728 said:

returned to China

Sounds to me like he was Chinese!  Cool story, btw. Those guys flying planes they'd either invented or built from plans were true adventurers.!

8 hours ago, steve9728 said:

if you think you’re a Californian

There are limitations.  I grew up in California, but since I no longer live there cannot claim to be a Californian. 

[Kerbalsaurus]

Today Apollo 8 put the first humans into lunar orbit.

Source: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/apollo-8/