Korabl-Sputnik 3 or Vostok-1K No. 3 (Sputnik 6), is launched with dogs Pchyolka and Mushka who spend a day in orbit, but their craft is intentionally destroyed due to a navigation error.
40 years ago, in 1978:
ATS-1 is deactivated after just under 12 years of service.
40 years ago, in 1978:
ATS-3 is deactivated after just over 11 years of service.
29 years ago, in 1989:
The International Astrophysical Observatory 'Granat' is launched aboard a Proton-K rocket to view X-ray and gamma ray objects.
29 years ago, in 1989:
The International Astrophysical Observatory "Granat" is launched to observe the universe at energies ranging from X-ray to gamma rays.
18 years ago, in 2000:
The shuttle Endeavour launches (STS-97), bringing the P6 truss and the first solar arrays to be installed on the ISS.
18 years ago, in 2000:
Marc Garneau, aboard the shuttle Endeavour (STS-97), returns to space for the third time, and visits the ISS.
12 years ago, in 2006:
United Launch Alliance is officially formed with the merger of Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
5 years ago, in 2013:
Chang'e 3, a robotic lander and China's first lunar rover, Yutu (Jade Rabbit), is successfully launched.
2 years ago, in 2016:
The third failure of a Progress (MS-04, ISS-65P) resupply mission to the ISS occurs when telemetry is lost and the third stage explodes.
2
103 years ago, in 1915:
Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity is published.
47 years ago, in 1971:
Mars 3 (USSR) successfully lands on Mars and though its instruments fail after 20 seconds, it does transmit part of the first surface picture of Mars.
44 years ago, in 1974:
Pioneer 11 encounters the Jovian system.
44 years ago, in 1974:
The first use of a Soyuz-U rocket to launch a crewed mission takes place, with the Soyuz 16 crew.
29 years ago, in 1989:
After 9 years, the Solar Maximum Mission satellite (SolarMax) re-enters the atmosphere and burns up.
28 years ago, in 1990:
On board the Soyuz TM-11 mission to Mir, Toyohiro Akiyama becomes the first Japanese citizen to visit space.
28 years ago, in 1990:
The Broad Band X-ray Telescope (BBXRT) is flown on the space shuttle Columbia (STS-35) for 9 days.
25 years ago, in 1993:
Servicing Mission 1 to fix Hubble's flawed optics is launched aboard shuttle Endeavour (STS-61) .
23 years ago, in 1995:
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is launched to study the Sun.
This year:
New Horizons makes a course-correction maneuver that fine-tunes its trajectory for the flyby of Ultima Thule.
3
WANING CRESCENT
114 years ago, in 1904:
At the Lick Observatory, Charles D. Perrine discovers Himalia, the largest irregular satellite of Jupiter.
60 years ago, in 1958:
Control of JPL is transferred from the US Army to NASA.
53 years ago, in 1965:
Luna 8 is launched to the Moon.
45 years ago, in 1973:
Pioneer 10 is the first probe to visit the Jovian system.
44 years ago, in 1974:
Pioneer 11 makes its closest approach to Jupiter, at a distance of 26,612 miles (42,828 km) from the cloud tops.
19 years ago, in 1999:
The Mars Polar Lander crash lands on Mars, ending the mission.
5 years ago, in 2013:
The Cassini probe obtains the highest ever resolution movie of the hexagon at Saturn's north pole.
4 years ago, in 2014:
The Japanese Hayabusa2 sample return mission, along with PROCYON, an asteroid flyby space probe, are launched together for asteroid 162173 Ryugu.
3 years ago, in 2015:
ESA launches the LISA Pathfinder, designed to test technologies for a planned gravitational wave observatory.
3 years ago, in 2015:
The PROCYON asteroid flyby space probe flies past Earth and takes a picture, but is soon lost due to its thruster failure.
This year:
The first launch of a Soyuz capsule since the October 11, 2018 rocket failure reaches the ISS with no issues.
This year:
NASA's OSIRIS-REx reaches its target, an asteroid named Bennu.
This year:
SpaceX launches a Falcon 9 (SSO-A), deploying 64 small satellites, and marking the first time a booster is re-used for a third flight.
4
60 years ago, in 1958:
Intended for a lunar impact, the Soviets launch Luna E-1 No.3 (Luna 1958C), but the rocket disintegrates 245 seconds after launch due to a hydrogen peroxide pump seizure.
53 years ago, in 1965:
Gemini VII is launched; stays aloft for 14 days, does rendezvous with Gemini VI-A.
45 years ago, in 1973:
Pioneer 10 makes its closest approach to Jupiter at a distance of 124,000 miles (200,000 km) from the planet.
40 years ago, in 1978:
The Pioneer Venus Orbiter goes into orbit around Venus.
22 years ago, in 1996:
Mars Pathfinder with the first Mars rover, Sojourner, is launched.
20 years ago, in 1998:
The first shuttle flight to the ISS, made by Endeavour (STS-88), brings the Unity node for the station.
5
29 years ago, in 1989:
Voyager 2's narrow-angle camera is turned off to conserve power and computer memory.
7 years ago, in 2011:
The Kepler space telescope discovers the first planet around the "habitable zone" of a star, Kepler-22b.
4 years ago, in 2014:
The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle makes its first uncrewed test flight - Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) - on a Delta IV Heavy rocket.
1 year ago, in 2017:
The New Horizons probe takes a picture of the “Wishing Well” galactic open star cluster, becoming the farthest image ever made away from Earth at 3.79 billion miles (6.12 billion kilometers).
1 year ago, in 2017:
The New Horizons probe takes a picture of KBO's 2012 HZ84 and 2012 HE85, becoming the new farthest image ever made away from Earth, and the closest ever taken of Kuiper Belt Objects.
This year:
SpaceX launches the first CRS mission (CRS-16) to use a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket to the ISS.
This year:
The new SpaceX B1050 booster used to launch CRS-16 has a grid fin hydraulic pump stall on reentry and lands in the ocean, marking the first time any Falcon 9 booster fails to successfully land on a ground pad.
6
228 years ago, in 1790:
William Herschel discovers NGC 12, a spiral galaxy in the Pisces constellation.
61 years ago, in 1957:
Vanguard TV-3, the first U.S. attempt to launch a satellite into orbit, blows up just four feet after lift-off.
60 years ago, in 1958:
Pioneer 3 is launched for a lunar orbit, but fails and burns up in Earths atmosphere.
57 years ago, in 1961:
Last contact is made with Explorer 12.
53 years ago, in 1965:
Luna 8 crashes into the Moon instead of a soft landing as planned, due to a punctured airbag.
20 years ago, in 1998:
The Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) is launched to study interstellar clouds and stellar and planetary formation.
19 years ago, in 1999:
The General Assembly of the United Nations declares October 4th to 10th World Space Week.
8 years ago, in 2010:
The Japanese Venus Climate Orbiter, Akatsuki, fails to insert into an orbit around Venus.
5 years ago, in 2013:
Chang'e 3 enters lunar orbit.
4 years ago, in 2014:
New Horizons is taken out of hibernation for the Pluto encounter.
7
NEW MOON
52 years ago, in 1966:
ATS-1 is launched, with experiments in communications and weather data collection.
50 years ago, in 1968:
OAO-2 (Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2) is launched with 11 ultraviolet telescopes.
46 years ago, in 1972:
Apollo 17 launch to land on the moon.
37 years ago, in 1981:
HEAO-3 (High Energy Astronomy Observatory 3) re-enters and burns up in the Earth's atmosphere.
23 years ago, in 1995:
The Galileo spacecraft's atmospheric probe enters Jupiters atmosphere.
17 years ago, in 2001:
The Jason-1 Earth satellite is launched to map sea level, wind speed and wave height.
3 years ago, in 2015:
After missing insertion the first time and orbiting the Sun for 5 years, the Japanese Akatsuki probe is placed into an elliptical orbit around Venus.
8
28 years ago, in 1990:
The Galileo probe makes its first pass by Earth for a gravity assist to Jupiter.
26 years ago, in 1992:
The Galileo probe makes its second pass by Earth for a gravity assist to Jupiter.
23 years ago, in 1995:
The Galileo probe goes into orbit around Jupiter.
18 years ago, in 2000:
After 35 years, contact is made with Pioneer 6 for almost two hours.
8 years ago, in 2010:
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft launches on its first test mission (COTS Demo Flight 1), and becomes the first commercially built and operated spacecraft to be recovered from Earth orbit.
8 years ago, in 2010:
The first ever solar sail craft, Japan's IKAROS, makes its closest approach to Venus at 50,200 miles (80,800km), successfully completing its primary mission.
9
40 years ago, in 1978:
All 5 probes from the Pioneer Venus Multiprobe reach Venus and enter the atmosphere.
15 years ago, in 2003:
Last contact is made with the Japanese Mars probe, Nozomi.
12 years ago, in 2006:
The shuttle Discovery (STS-116) launches, bringing the P5 truss segment to the ISS.
10
55 years ago, in 1963:
After 6 years (and US$660 million), the Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar program is cancelled.
44 years ago, in 1974:
Helios-A (Helios 1) is launched to study the solar wind, magnetic and electric fields, and flies to within 47 million km of the Sun.
19 years ago, in 1999:
ESA's X-ray Multi-Mirror Mission (XMM-Newton) is launched.
12 years ago, in 2006:
On board the shuttle Discovery (STS-116), Christer Fuglesang becomes the first Swedish citizen to visit space.
1 year ago, in 2017:
On board a Long March 3B rocket, Alcomsat-1 becomes the first Algerian geostationary communications satellite.
1 year ago, in 2017:
Earth is viewed by the Kepler space telescope after the spacecraft adjusts its telescope to a new field of view.
11
WAXING CRESCENT
47 years ago, in 1971:
Ariel 4, a British ionospheric research satellite, is successfully launched.
46 years ago, in 1972:
Apollo 17 lands on the moon.
30 years ago, in 1988:
Astra 1A becomes the first satellite to be launched and operated by the SES (Societe Europeenne des Satellites).
12
57 years ago, in 1961:
OSCAR 1, the first amateur radio satellite, is launched.
48 years ago, in 1970:
The Uhuru X-ray Explorer Satellite (SAS 1) is launched.
13
60 years ago, in 1958:
A Jupiter IRBM is launched with a South American squirrel monkey named Gordo on board, but the parachute fails to open and Gordo and the craft are lost at sea.
56 years ago, in 1962:
Relay 1, an experimental communications satellite, is launched.
51 years ago, in 1967:
Pioneer 8 is launched to obtain measurements of interplanetary phenomena.
6 years ago, in 2012:
Chang'e 2, an unmanned Chinese lunar probe, makes its closest approach to the asteroid 4179 Toutatis.
14
56 years ago, in 1962:
Mariner 2 flies by Venus, becoming the first successful mission to another planet.
42 years ago, in 1976:
The Viking 1 orbiter extended mission begins.
28 years ago, in 1990:
The Canadian Space Agency Act is passed by the Government of Canada.
25 years ago, in 1993:
Landsat 4 ends its science operations after failing to transmit data.
17 years ago, in 2001:
The Yohkoh (Solar-A) Solar Observatory goes into safehold mode during an annular eclipse, losing its lock on the Sun.
12 years ago, in 2006:
The U.S. military reconnaissance satellite, USA-193, becomes the first launch for United Launch Alliance, but the satellite malfunctions soon after deployment.
9 years ago, in 2009:
The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is launched to study faint objects in space.
5 years ago, in 2013:
Chang'e 3 successfully has a soft landing on the Moon; the first since the Soviet Union's Luna 24.
15
FIRST QUARTER
227 years ago, in 1791:
Caroline Herschel discovers her fifth comet, Comet C/1791 X1 (Herschel).
58 years ago, in 1960:
Pioneer P-31 (Atlas-Able 5B, Pioneer Z) is launched for a lunar orbit, but the mission fails due to the third stage breaking up.
54 years ago, in 1964:
The first Italian satellite, San Marco 1, is successfully launched.
53 years ago, in 1965:
Gemini VI-A is launched; completes rendezvous with Gemini VII at distances of 1 to 300 feet.
52 years ago, in 1966:
Audouin Dollfus discovers one of Saturn's moons, Janus.
48 years ago, in 1970:
Venera 7 becomes the first craft to make a soft landing on Venus, returning 23 minutes of data.
34 years ago, in 1984:
The Soviet Vega 1 probe is launched to release a balloon and lander on Venus, then continue on to Halley's Comet.
8 years ago, in 2010:
Mars Odyssey breaks the record for longest lived spacecraft at Mars (3340 days).
16
56 years ago, in 1962:
Explorer 16 is launched to obtain data on the near-Earth meteoroid environment.
53 years ago, in 1965:
Gemini VI-A lands back on Earth.
53 years ago, in 1965:
Pioneer 6 is launched to obtain measurements of interplanetary phenomena.
40 years ago, in 1978:
Canada's Anik B1 communications satellite is launched.
14 years ago, in 2004:
Voyager 1 crosses the termination shock; the point at which the solar wind abruptly slows down.
7 years ago, in 2011:
Comet Lovejoy (C/2011 W3) passes through the Sun's corona and emerges intact.
4 years ago, in 2014:
ESA announces that the Venus Express mission is over.
3 years ago, in 2015:
TeLEOS-1, Singapore's first commercial earth observation satellite, is successfully launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in India.
17
115 years ago, in 1903:
The Wright brothers make the first powered flight.
61 years ago, in 1957:
The U.S. successfully test-fires the Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time.
15 years ago, in 2003:
Scaled Composites's SpaceShipOne achieves both its first powered and supersonic flight.
6 years ago, in 2012:
The twin GRAIL probes are purposely crashed into the northern hemisphere of the Moon.
3 years ago, in 2015:
China's first space observatory, DAMPE (Dark Matter Particle Explorer), is successfully launched.
18
60 years ago, in 1958:
Project SCORE is launched by DARPA, becoming the world’s first communications satellite.
53 years ago, in 1965:
Gemini VII lands back on Earth.
52 years ago, in 1966:
Richard Walker discovers one of Saturn's moons, Epimetheus.
45 years ago, in 1973:
Soyuz 13, along with the Orion 2 Space Observatory (a UV telescope), is launched.
25 years ago, in 1993:
Thailand's first satellite, Thaicom 1, is successfully launched.
17 years ago, in 2001:
Deep Space 1 ends its mission.
8 years ago, in 2010:
The IceCube Neutrino Observatory, located at the South Pole, is completed.
4 years ago, in 2014:
NASA's Kepler space telescope discovers its first exoplanet, HIP 116454b, using the new K2 mission.
3 years ago, in 2015:
Cassini makes its last flyby of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
19
WAXING GIBBOUS
235 years ago, in 1783:
Thinking it to be a globular cluster, William Herschel discovers the spiral galaxy NGC 2775 in the constellation of Cancer.
55 years ago, in 1963:
Explorer 19, a balloon satellite, is launched, and is the second satellite for air density research to reach orbit after Explorer 9.
46 years ago, in 1972:
Apollo 17 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean and is retrieved by the USS Ticonderoga.
40 years ago, in 1978:
After just over 16 years in orbit, Explorer 15 reenters the Earth's atmosphere and burns up.
19 years ago, in 1999:
Servicing Mission 3A is launched aboard shuttle Discovery (STS-103) to fix Hubble's 6 failed gyroscopes, and other upgrades.
15 years ago, in 2003:
The European Mars Express ejects the Beagle 2 lander.
6 years ago, in 2012:
Chris Hadfield goes to space for the third time aboard Soyuz TMA-07M to the ISS.
5 years ago, in 2013:
ESA launches the GAIA astrometry observatory, designed to map part of the galaxy in 3D.
20
118 years ago, in 1900:
Michel Giacobini discovers comet Giacobini–Zinner, which was later a target for the ICE spacecraft.
7 years ago, in 2011:
NASA's Kepler space telescope discovers the first Earth-size exoplanets orbiting a sun-like star, Kepler-20e and 20f.
5 years ago, in 2013:
The first Bolivian satellite, Tupac Katari 1 (TKSat 1), is successfully launched.
21
230 years ago, in 1788:
Caroline Herschel discovers her second comet, Comet 35P/Herschel-Rigollet.
53 years ago, in 1965:
OSCAR 4, the fourth amateur radio satellite, is launched.
52 years ago, in 1966:
Luna 13 is launched to the Moon.
50 years ago, in 1968:
Launch of the first manned mission to orbit the Moon (Apollo 8 test flight - no LM).
40 years ago, in 1978:
The Venera 12 probe lands on Venus, where it survives for 110 minutes, and records what is thought to be lightning.
34 years ago, in 1984:
The Soviet Vega 2 probe is launched to release a balloon and lander on Venus, then continue on to Halley's Comet.
14 years ago, in 2004:
The Delta IV Heavy makes its maiden flight carrying a test satellite; DemoSat, two nanosatellites; Nanosat 2, and a mock payload.
3 years ago, in 2015:
The maiden flight of the Progress-MS (MS-01, ISS-62P) is launched for a resupply mission to the ISS.
22
FULL MOON
1050 years ago, in 968:
The first clear description of the corona seen during a total eclipse is given by a chronicler in Constantinople.
58 years ago, in 1960:
The Soviet dogs Damka and Krasavka are launched aboard an R2-A for an orbital flight; but the mission fails, though both dogs survive.
53 years ago, in 1965:
OSCAR 4, an amateur radio satellite, delivers the first direct satellite communication between the United States and the USSR.
52 years ago, in 1966:
Apollo 2 is cancelled; deemed unnecessary.
35 years ago, in 1983:
International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 (ISEE-3) is renamed International Cometary Explorer (ICE) and enters heliocentric orbit.
3 years ago, in 2015:
The maiden flight of SpaceX's Falcon 9 Full Thrust is successful, with the first ever controlled landing of a rocket booster on solid ground.
23
346 years ago, in 1672:
Giovanni Cassini discovers one of Saturn's moons, Rhea.
59 years ago, in 1959:
The maiden flight of the Soviet R-7A Semyorka ICBM is successfully launched.
36 years ago, in 1982:
The first Soyuz-U2 orbital carrier rocket is launched on its maiden flight.
25 years ago, in 1993:
COBE's instrument operations are terminated.
14 years ago, in 2004:
Cassini launches the Huygens probe for a landing on Titan.
24
52 years ago, in 1966:
Luna 13 makes the second survivable landing on the Moon for the Soviets.
50 years ago, in 1968:
Apollo 8 goes into lunar orbit, and the crew read the first 10 verses from the Book of Genesis.
39 years ago, in 1979:
The CAT-1 is the first satellite launched by the ESA on their own rocket, the Ariane 1.
This year:
ESA's X-ray space telescope, XMM-Newton, detects an increase in brightness by a factor of 100 in the black hole at the center of galaxy GSN 069, a phenomenon that repeats every nine hours.
25
45 years ago, in 1973:
Astronauts aboard Skylab take photos of Comet Kohoutek during an EVA.
40 years ago, in 1978:
The Venera 11 probe lands on Venus, where it survives for 95 minutes.
15 years ago, in 2003:
The European Mars Express enters orbit around Mars.
15 years ago, in 2003:
Beagle 2 lands on Mars, but contact with it fails.
26
WANING GIBBOUS
45 years ago, in 1973:
After almost 8 days in orbit, Soyuz 13 returns to Earth.
44 years ago, in 1974:
The Salyut 4 space station is launched.
1 year ago, in 2017:
On board a Zenit-3F rocket, AngoSat-1 becomes Angola's first satellite, but communication is soon lost.
27
58 years ago, in 1960:
Last contact is made with Explorer 8.
50 years ago, in 1968:
Apollo 8 splashes down in the northern Pacific Ocean and is retrieved by the USS Yorktown .
14 years ago, in 2004:
The radiation burst from magnetar SGR 1806-20 reaches Earth, with a flash of light so powerful that it bounces off the Moon and lights up the Earth's upper atmosphere.
12 years ago, in 2006:
The French space observatory, COROT, is launched to search for extrasolar planets and perform asteroseismology.
28
52 years ago, in 1966:
The Luna 13 mission ends when contact is lost.
18 years ago, in 2000:
The Galileo spacecraft flies by Jupiters moon Ganymede.
5 years ago, in 2013:
The Soyuz-2-1v, a Russian expendable light-class carrier rocket, makes a successful maiden flight.
29
LAST QUARTER
50 years ago, in 1968:
The Apollo 8 CM is offloaded from the U.S.S. Yorktown at Ford Island, Hawaii for evaluation and deactivation procedures.
45 years ago, in 1973:
Astronauts aboard Skylab take photos of Comet Kohoutek as it appears from behind the sun during an EVA.
38 years ago, in 1980:
NASA's Crawler Transporter One carries space shuttle Columbia out to Launch Pad 39A for the STS-1 mission.
30
53 years ago, in 1965:
Explorer 18 reenters the Earth's atmosphere and burns up.
33 years ago, in 1985:
Puck, a moon of Uranus, is discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
23 years ago, in 1995:
The Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) is launched to facilitate the study of time variability in the emission of X-ray sources with moderate spectral resolution.
18 years ago, in 2000:
Cassini makes a pass by Jupiter for a gravity assist to Saturn.
31
15 years ago, in 2003:
Operation is terminated with the Japanese Mars probe, Nozomi, due to electrical failures.
7 years ago, in 2011:
The probe GRAIL A (Ebb) enters orbit around the Moon.
5 years ago, in 2013:
The Dawn probe passes the halfway mark from Vesta to Ceres.