The Soviet Mars 1 (2MV-4 No.2) is launched, though communication is lost before the craft passes Mars.
8 years ago, in 1963:
The Soviet Polyot, an orbital carrier rocket, makes its first of two flights to test ASAT (Anti-satellite) spacecraft.
2
394 years ago, in 1577:
Peruvian observers are the first to view the Great Comet of 1577 (C/1577 V1).
54 years ago, in 1917:
The 100-inch Hooker Telescope sees "first light".
6 years ago, in 1965:
The Soviet Proton-2 satellite is launched for the study of high and ultra-high energy particles.
3
14 years ago, in 1957:
The Soviets launch Sputnik 2, with the first dog in orbit, Laika (Barker).
11 years ago, in 1960:
Explorer 8 is launched and confirms the existence of a helium layer in the upper atmosphere.
4
9 years ago, in 1962:
Mars 2MV-3 No.1 (Sputnik 24) is launched by the Soviet Union, but a problem with the rocket causes it to be stranded in low Earth orbit.
2 years ago, in 1969:
2867 Steins, a main-belt asteroid, is discovered by Nikolai Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory.
5
7 years ago, in 1964:
Mariner 3 is launched for Mars, but its solar panels fail to deploy, and the mission is terminated.
4 years ago, in 1967:
ATS-3 is launched by NASA, with experiments in weather data collection and imagery.
6
7 years ago, in 1964:
Explorer 23, the third and last in the series of S 55 micrometeoroid satellites, is launched.
6 years ago, in 1965:
GEOS-1 (Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite); also known as GEOS-A & Explorer 29, is successfully launched for geodetic studies of the Earth.
5 years ago, in 1966:
NASA's Lunar Orbiter 2 is launched to photograph the Moon.
7
6 years ago, in 1965:
After a successful one year mission, last contact is made with Explorer 23.
4 years ago, in 1967:
Surveyor 6 is launched for the Moon.
8
13 years ago, in 1958:
Able 3 (Pioneer 2) is launched for lunar orbit, but a booster malfunction causes it to get stranded in Earth orbit.
3 years ago, in 1968:
Pioneer 9 is launched to obtain measurements of interplanetary phenomena.
2 years ago, in 1969:
West Germany's first scientific satellite, Azur, is successfully launched.
9
4 years ago, in 1967:
First Saturn V launch (Apollo 4 - unmanned test flight).
1 year ago, in 1970:
The Orbiting Frog Otolith (OFO) is launched by NASA, putting two bullfrogs into orbit to study weightlessness.
10
5 years ago, in 1966:
Lunar Orbiter 2 goes into orbit around the Moon.
4 years ago, in 1967:
Surveyor 6 lands on the Moon.
3 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 6 is launched to the Moon from a parent satellite in Earth orbit.
1 year ago, in 1970:
The Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 rover combo is launched to the Moon.
11
399 years ago, in 1572:
Tycho Brahe observes supernova SN 1572 in the constellation of Cassiopeia.
36 years ago, in 1935:
Explorer II, a U.S. high-altitude balloon with a two-man crew, reaches a record altitude of 72,395 ft (22,066 m).
8 years ago, in 1963:
Cosmos 21 (Kosmos 21), a possible test of the Venera series space probes, is launched but never leaves Earth orbit.
5 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini XII is launched; last Gemini mission, Buzz Aldrin sets EVA record of 5 hours, 30 minutes.
12
86 years ago, in 1885:
253 Mathilde, a minor planet in the intermediate asteroid belt, is discovered by Austrian astronomer Johann Palisa at the Vienna Observatory.
13
394 years ago, in 1577:
Tycho Brahe observes the Great Comet of 1577 (C/1577 V1) in the evening sky.
14
291 years ago, in 1680:
The German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovers the Great Comet of 1680 (C/1680 V1, Kirch's Comet, Newton's Comet), the first comet discovered by a telescope.
3 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 6 flies around the Moon and heads back to Earth.
2 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 12 is launched to land on the Moon.
This year:
Mariner 9 arrives at Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.
15
119 years ago, in 1852:
21 Lutetia, a large asteroid in the main asteroid belt, is discovered by Hermann Goldschmidt from the balcony of his apartment in Paris.
5 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini XII lands back on Earth.
16
8 years ago, in 1963:
The Soviet Voskhod carrier rocket is launched on its maiden flight.
6 years ago, in 1965:
Venera 3 is launched for Venus.
3 years ago, in 1968:
The Soviet Proton-4 satellite is launched for the study of the energy spectrum and chemical composition of cosmic rays.
17
10 years ago, in 1961:
Explorer 11 ceases returning data due to power supply problems.
5 years ago, in 1966:
The annual Leonid showers peaks at approximately 500,000 meteors an hour.
4 years ago, in 1967:
The Surveyor 6 probe's engines are restarted and burned for 2.5 seconds, accomplishing the first lunar liftoff.
3 years ago, in 1968:
The Zond 6 reentry capsule crash-lands on Earth.
1 year ago, in 1970:
Luna 17 lands on the Moon and releases the Lunokhod 1 rover, becoming the first rover on another world, and operating for 322 days.
18
138 years ago, in 1833:
The annual Leonid showers peaks at approximately 14,000 meteors an hour; the night “the stars fell on Alabama”.
10 years ago, in 1961:
Ranger 2 is launched to be placed in an eliptical orbit around the Moon, but burns up in low orbit one day later.
19
2 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 12 lands on the Moon.
20
2 years ago, in 1969:
The crew of Apollo 12 visit the Surveyor 3 lander.
21
66 years ago, in 1905:
The Annus mirabilis papers, Einstein's work on Mass–energy equivalence and other topics, are published in the Annalen der Physik scientific journal.
22
8 years ago, in 1963:
Relay 1 becomes the first satellite to broadcast from the United States to Japan; the announcement of the assasination of JFK.
4 years ago, in 1967:
Soyuz 7K-L1 No.5L (Zond 1967A) is launched to perform a circumlunar flyby, but fails to achieve Earth orbit.
23
6 years ago, in 1965:
Cosmos 96 (Kosmos 96) is launched to make a flyby of Venus, but fails to leave low Earth orbit.
6 years ago, in 1965:
Venera 1965A suffers a launch failure, ending its planned flyby of Venus.
24
5 years ago, in 1966:
Explorer 17 burns up in the atmosphere.
2 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 12 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean and is retrieved by the USS Hornet.
25
1 year ago, in 1970:
NASA's Northrop M2-F3, a "wingless" aircraft, makes its first powered flight.
26
181 years ago, in 1790:
William Herschel discovers NGC 13, a spiral galaxy in the Andromeda constellation.
13 years ago, in 1958:
The U.S. manned satellite program is officially designated Project Mercury.
12 years ago, in 1959:
Pioneer P-3 (Atlas-Able 4, Pioneer X) is launched for a lunar orbit, but the mission fails due to the payload fairing breaking off.
6 years ago, in 1965:
France launches its first satellite, Asterix, which remains active for two days.
27
8 years ago, in 1963:
Explorer 18, the first satellite of the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform, is launched to study energetic particles, cosmic rays, magnetic fields, and plasmas.
7 years ago, in 1964:
Explorer 21, the second satellite of the Interplanetary Monitoring Platform, is launched to study energetic particles, cosmic rays, magnetic fields, and plasmas.
This year:
First Mars lander, Mars 2 (USSR) successfully lands but returns no data.
28
7 years ago, in 1964:
Mariner 4 is launched to Mars.
5 years ago, in 1966:
The Soviet Soyuz carrier rocket is launched on its maiden flight.
29
228 years ago, in 1743:
Jan de Munck of Middelburg, Netherlands, discovers the Great Comet of 1744 (C/1743 X1).
10 years ago, in 1961:
Enos, aboard Mercury-Atlas 5, becomes the first chimpanzee to orbit the Earth, and does it twice.
8 years ago, in 1963:
The NASA Launch Operations Center (LOC) at Cape Canaveral is renamed the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
6 years ago, in 1965:
Alouette 2 (ISIS-X), a Canadian ionosphere research satellite, is launched.
4 years ago, in 1967:
The first Australian satellite, WRESAT, is successfully launched.
30
7 years ago, in 1964:
Zond 2 is launched to Mars.
1 year ago, in 1970:
OAO-B (Orbiting Astronomical Observatory B) is launched with a UV telescope, but fails when the payload shroud of the rocket fails to separate.
It's been 3961 days
