The Soviet Mars 1 (2MV-4 No.2) is launched, though communication is lost before the craft passes Mars.
139 years ago, in 1963:
The Soviet Polyot, an orbital carrier rocket, makes its first of two flights to test ASAT (Anti-satellite) spacecraft.
108 years ago, in 1994:
The NASA WIND satellite is launched to study radio waves and plasma in the solar wind.
84 years ago, in 2018:
NASA announces that the Dawn spacecraft has run out of fuel, thus ending the mission.
2
525 years ago, in 1577:
Peruvian observers are the first to view the Great Comet of 1577 (C/1577 V1).
185 years ago, in 1917:
The 100-inch Hooker Telescope sees "first light".
137 years ago, in 1965:
The Soviet Proton-2 satellite is launched for the study of high and ultra-high energy particles.
128 years ago, in 1974:
Luna 23 (USSR) goes into orbit around the Moon.
102 years ago, in 2000:
Expedition 1, the first ISS Crew, arrives at the station on board Soyuz TM-31.
100 years ago, in 2002:
Stardust flies by asteroid Annefrank on its way to Comet Wild 2.
94 years ago, in 2008:
Phoenix Mars Mission makes its final contact with Earth.
91 years ago, in 2011:
Shenzhou 8 successfully docks with Tiangong-1, becoming China's first orbital docking.
90 years ago, in 2012:
The retired shuttle Atlantis is delivered to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida for public display.
90 years ago, in 2012:
The French CoRoT exoplanet-hunting space telescope suffers a computer failure that makes it impossible to retrieve any data from the satellite.
3
145 years ago, in 1957:
The Soviets launch Sputnik 2, with the first dog in orbit, Laika (Barker).
142 years ago, in 1960:
Explorer 8 is launched and confirms the existence of a helium layer in the upper atmosphere.
129 years ago, in 1973:
Mariner 10 is launched to Mercury.
86 years ago, in 2016:
The Long March 5 makes a successful maiden flight.
4
140 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.
133 years ago, in 1969:
2867 Steins, a main-belt asteroid, is discovered by Nikolai Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory.
121 years ago, in 1981:
Venera 14 is launched to Venus.
117 years ago, in 1985:
Voyager 2 begins long-range observations of Uranus.
106 years ago, in 1996:
The High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE), designed for multiwavelength study of gamma-ray bursts, is lost on launch.
92 years ago, in 2010:
Deep Impact (EPOXI mission) flies by Comet Hartley 2.
5
138 years ago, in 1964:
Mariner 3 is launched for Mars, but its solar panels fail to deploy, and the mission is terminated.
135 years ago, in 1967:
ATS-3 is launched by NASA, with experiments in weather data collection and imagery.
126 years ago, in 1976:
The Viking 1 orbiter primary mission ends.
95 years ago, in 2007:
Chang'e 1, an unmanned Chinese lunar-orbiting spacecraft, enters lunar orbit.
90 years ago, in 2012:
2012 VP113 (Biden), an extreme trans-Neptunian object and sednoid, is discovered at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.
89 years ago, in 2013:
India's Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan, is launched.
84 years ago, in 2018:
The Parker Solar Probe makes its first flyby of the Sun, coming within 15 million miles (24 million kilometers) of the sun at a speed of over 214,000 mph (343,00 km/h).
84 years ago, in 2018:
The Voyager team declares this as the date Voyager 2 entered interstellar space.
6
138 years ago, in 1964:
Explorer 23, the third and last in the series of S 55 micrometeoroid satellites, is launched.
137 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.
136 years ago, in 1966:
NASA's Lunar Orbiter 2 is launched to photograph the Moon.
128 years ago, in 1974:
Luna 23 lands on the Moon, though the lander's drilling device is damaged during landing which prevents a sampling.
105 years ago, in 1997:
The Galileo probe flies by Europa, one of Jupiters moons.
7
137 years ago, in 1965:
After a successful one year mission, last contact is made with Explorer 23.
135 years ago, in 1967:
Surveyor 6 is launched for the Moon.
106 years ago, in 1996:
Mars Global Surveyor is launched.
8
144 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.
134 years ago, in 1968:
Pioneer 9 is launched to obtain measurements of interplanetary phenomena.
133 years ago, in 1969:
West Germany's first scientific satellite, Azur, is successfully launched.
118 years ago, in 1984:
Aboard the shuttle Discovery (STS-51-A), Anna Lee Fisher becomes the first mother in space.
94 years ago, in 2008:
India's first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, is successfully inserted into lunar orbit.
91 years ago, in 2011:
Fobos-Grunt, together with the Chinese Mars orbiter Yinghuo-1 and the Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment, are launched from Russia.
9
135 years ago, in 1967:
First Saturn V launch (Apollo 4 - unmanned test flight).
132 years ago, in 1970:
The Orbiting Frog Otolith (OFO) is launched by NASA, putting two bullfrogs into orbit to study weightlessness.
118 years ago, in 1984:
Canada's Anik D2 communications satellite is deployed from shuttle Discovery (STS-51-A).
97 years ago, in 2005:
The ESA's Venus Express is launched.
10
136 years ago, in 1966:
Lunar Orbiter 2 goes into orbit around the Moon.
135 years ago, in 1967:
Surveyor 6 lands on the Moon.
134 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 6 is launched to the Moon from a parent satellite in Earth orbit.
132 years ago, in 1970:
The Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 rover combo is launched to the Moon.
130 years ago, in 1972:
Canada's Anik A1 communications satellite is launched.
94 years ago, in 2008:
Phoenix Mars Mission is declared concluded after attempts at contact fail.
93 years ago, in 2009:
The Poisk docking module is launched to the ISS aboard Progress M-MIM2, a modified Progress-M rocket.
84 years ago, in 2018:
Rocket Lab successfully launches their first commercial rocket, "It's Business Time", and deploys six satellites and a technology demonstrator for space debris.
84 years ago, in 2018:
Using the Japanese Subaru 8-metre telescope, astronomers discover 2018 VG18 (Farout) with a distance from the Sun at about 11 billion miles (18 billion kilometres).
11
530 years ago, in 1572:
Tycho Brahe observes supernova SN 1572 in the constellation of Cassiopeia.
167 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).
139 years ago, in 1963:
Cosmos 21 (Kosmos 21), a possible test of the Venera series space probes, is launched but never leaves Earth orbit.
136 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini XII is launched; last Gemini mission, Buzz Aldrin sets EVA record of 5 hours, 30 minutes.
120 years ago, in 1982:
Columbia is launched on the first operational Shuttle mission (STS-5), and deploys two satellites, Anik C3 and SBS 3.
120 years ago, in 1982:
Viking Lander 1 makes its final contact with Earth.
12
217 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.
122 years ago, in 1980:
Voyager 1 flies by Saturn.
121 years ago, in 1981:
The shuttle Columbia (STS-2) is launched.
107 years ago, in 1995:
The docking module is launched aboard the shuttle Atlantis (STS-47) to be a part of the Mir space station.
107 years ago, in 1995:
Chris Hadfield makes his first trip to space on the shuttle Atlantis (STS-74), and is the only Canadian to visit Mir.
93 years ago, in 2009:
The Rosetta probe makes its third Earth flyby.
88 years ago, in 2014:
The Rosetta probes Philae lander successfully lands on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
13
525 years ago, in 1577:
Tycho Brahe observes the Great Comet of 1577 (C/1577 V1) in the evening sky.
124 years ago, in 1978:
The Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2) becomes the first imaging and extra-solar X-ray telescope to be launched into orbit.
121 years ago, in 1981:
Canadarm is tested for the first time aboard shuttle Columbia (STS-2).
97 years ago, in 2005:
Vanth, a moon of the plutino Orcus, is discovered by Michael Brown and T.-A. Suer using images acquired by the Hubble telescope.
95 years ago, in 2007:
The Rosetta probe makes its second Earth flyby.
93 years ago, in 2009:
Based on data gathered from the LCROSS mission, NASA announces that water was detected on Cabeus crater on the moon.
14
422 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.
134 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 6 flies around the Moon and heads back to Earth.
133 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 12 is launched to land on the Moon.
131 years ago, in 1971:
Mariner 9 arrives at Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.
121 years ago, in 1981:
The shuttle Columbia (STS-2) lands three days early, due to a fuel cell problem.
99 years ago, in 2003:
Sedna, a large trans-Neptunian object, is discovered.
96 years ago, in 2006:
The Mars Global Surveyor mission ends.
94 years ago, in 2008:
India's Chandrayaan-1 Moon Impact Probe strikes the Moon near the Shackleton crater at the south pole.
91 years ago, in 2011:
Shenzhou 8 successfully completes a second rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1.
90 years ago, in 2012:
NASA's Kepler space telescope completes its primary mission and begins an extended mission.
15
250 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.
136 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini XII lands back on Earth.
130 years ago, in 1972:
SAS-2 (Explorer 48), a gamma ray telescope, is launched.
128 years ago, in 1974:
Spain's first satellite, INTASAT, is successfully launched.
124 years ago, in 1978:
The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, nearing Venus, deploys its largest probe for atmospheric study, named Sounder.
114 years ago, in 1988:
At the radio astronomy Green Bank site, a 90.44 m paraboloid erected in 1962 collapses due to the sudden loss of a gusset plate in the box girder assembly.
114 years ago, in 1988:
The Russian "Space Shuttle" makes its first and only (unmanned) test flight in the Orbiter K1 Buran.
107 years ago, in 1995:
Telemetry contact is lost with the Japanese probe Sakigake.
84 years ago, in 2018:
The Kepler space telescope is decommissioned by NASA.
16
139 years ago, in 1963:
The Soviet Voskhod carrier rocket is launched on its maiden flight.
137 years ago, in 1965:
Venera 3 is launched for Venus.
134 years ago, in 1968:
The Soviet Proton-4 satellite is launched for the study of the energy spectrum and chemical composition of cosmic rays.
129 years ago, in 1973:
Skylab 4, the third and final mission to Skylab, is launched.
128 years ago, in 1974:
The "Arecibo Message", the first message sent intentionally into space with the intent of contacting alien life, is broadcast in the direction of globular star cluster M13.
101 years ago, in 2001:
The Genesis spacecraft arrives at Legrange point 1, or L1.
93 years ago, in 2009:
The shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) is launched to the ISS with the ExPRESS Logistics Carriers.
91 years ago, in 2011:
NASA's Crawler Transporter One carries Space Launch System’s (SLS) mobile launcher from beside the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B.
17
141 years ago, in 1961:
Explorer 11 ceases returning data due to power supply problems.
136 years ago, in 1966:
The annual Leonid showers peaks at approximately 500,000 meteors an hour.
135 years ago, in 1967:
The Surveyor 6 probe's engines are restarted and burned for 2.5 seconds, accomplishing the first lunar liftoff.
134 years ago, in 1968:
The Zond 6 reentry capsule crash-lands on Earth.
132 years 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.
127 years ago, in 1975:
Soyuz 20 (unmanned) is launched to, and docks with, the Salyut 4 space station for a long-duration test of the Soyuz spacecraft.
113 years ago, in 1989:
The Solar Maximum Mission satellite (SolarMax) loses its attitude control.
107 years ago, in 1995:
ESA launches the ISO (Infrared Space Observatory) telescope to study infrared light.
91 years ago, in 2011:
After completing China's first and second orbital docking with Tiangong-1, Shenzhou 8 is deorbited and lands in Siziwang Banner in Inner Mongolia.
18
269 years ago, in 1833:
The annual Leonid showers peaks at approximately 14,000 meteors an hour; the night “the stars fell on Alabama”.
141 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.
113 years ago, in 1989:
The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) is launched on the first and only flight of the Delta 5000 rocket.
104 years ago, in 1998:
The Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES) discovers 1998 WW31, the first trans-Neptunian binary to be discovered since Pluto.
89 years ago, in 2013:
The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft is launched.
85 years ago, in 2017:
The Delta II 7000 rocket makes its last flight, launching the JPSS-1 (NOAA-20) environmental satellite.
19
133 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 12 lands on the Moon.
124 years ago, in 1978:
The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, nearing Venus, deploys its three other probes.
105 years ago, in 1997:
On board shuttle Columbia (STS-87), Leonid Kadeniuk becomes the first citizen of an independant Ukraine to visit space.
20
133 years ago, in 1969:
The crew of Apollo 12 visit the Surveyor 3 lander.
124 years ago, in 1978:
International Sun-Earth Explorer-3 (ISEE-3) enters Halo orbit at Lagrangian Libration Point 1 (L1), the first craft ever to do so.
104 years ago, in 1998:
Zarya (Dawn), the first ISS Module, is launched aboard a Russian Proton rocket.
100 years ago, in 2002:
The Delta IV Medium makes its maiden flight (configured as Delta IV-M+(4,)and launches Eutelsat 33B.
98 years ago, in 2004:
The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission is launched.
93 years ago, in 2009:
This domain, NCC-1701.Ca, is registered :-)
87 years ago, in 2015:
On board a Long March 3B/E rocket, LaoSat-1 becomes the first Laotian satellite.
21
197 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.
89 years ago, in 2013:
The first Peruvian satellite, PUCP-Sat 1, is successfully launched.
89 years ago, in 2013:
NASA's STEREO "Ahead" spacecraft captures a view of comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), comet 2P/Encke, Mercury and Earth with its HI-1A camera.
22
139 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.
135 years ago, in 1967:
Soyuz 7K-L1 No.5L (Zond 1967A) is launched to perform a circumlunar flyby, but fails to achieve Earth orbit.
91 years ago, in 2011:
After failing to leave Earth orbit for Mars, a signal from Fobos-Grunt is picked up by the ESA's tracking station in Perth, Australia.
23
137 years ago, in 1965:
Cosmos 96 (Kosmos 96) is launched to make a flyby of Venus, but fails to leave low Earth orbit.
137 years ago, in 1965:
Venera 1965A suffers a launch failure, ending its planned flyby of Venus.
119 years ago, in 1983:
The first infrared telescope, IRAS, runs out of cryogen and ceases operations.
100 years ago, in 2002:
The shuttle Endeavour (STS-113), last flight before the Columbia disaster, launches with the Port 1 (P1) truss segment for the ISS.
87 years ago, in 2015:
Blue Origin's New Shepard (NS2) makes its first sub-orbital spaceflight, with a successful booster landing.
24
136 years ago, in 1966:
Explorer 17 burns up in the atmosphere.
133 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 12 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean and is retrieved by the USS Hornet.
112 years ago, in 1990:
The Keck I Telescope sees "first light".
25
132 years ago, in 1970:
NASA's Northrop M2-F3, a "wingless" aircraft, makes its first powered flight.
97 years ago, in 2005:
The Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft touches down on the surface of asteroid Itokawa.
26
312 years ago, in 1790:
William Herschel discovers NGC 13, a spiral galaxy in the Andromeda constellation.
144 years ago, in 1958:
The U.S. manned satellite program is officially designated Project Mercury.
143 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.
137 years ago, in 1965:
France launches its first satellite, Asterix, which remains active for two days.
117 years ago, in 1985:
On board shuttle Atlantis (STS-61-B), Rodolfo Neri Vela becomes the first Mexican citizen and the second Latin-American to visit space.
113 years ago, in 1989:
The Kvant-2 (Augmentation Module) is launched to be a part of the Mir space station.
112 years ago, in 1990:
The Delta II 7000 makes its maiden flight, launching the satellite USA-66 for the Global Positioning System.
91 years ago, in 2011:
Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity Rover) is launched.
84 years ago, in 2018:
NASA's InSight Mars lander successfully touches down at Elysium Planitia.
84 years ago, in 2018:
After following the InSight probe to Mars, the two MarCO cubesats successfully relay information back to Earth about the InSight landing.
27
139 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.
138 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.
131 years ago, in 1971:
First Mars lander, Mars 2 (USSR) successfully lands but returns no data.
104 years ago, in 1998:
The International Astrophysical Observatory 'Granat' ceases tranmission after nine years.
91 years ago, in 2011:
Comet Lovejoy (C/2011 W3) is discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy.
28
138 years ago, in 1964:
Mariner 4 is launched to Mars.
136 years ago, in 1966:
The Soviet Soyuz carrier rocket is launched on its maiden flight.
119 years ago, in 1983:
On board Shuttle Columbia (STS-9), Ulf Merbold becomes the first West German citizen, second German native, and the first non-US citizen in a US spacecraft to visit space.
102 years ago, in 2000:
Varuna, a large classical Kuiper belt object, is discovered by the Spacewatch survey.
100 years ago, in 2002:
The first Algerian satellite, ALSAT-1, is successfully launched.
29
359 years ago, in 1743:
Jan de Munck of Middelburg, Netherlands, discovers the Great Comet of 1744 (C/1743 X1).
141 years ago, in 1961:
Enos, aboard Mercury-Atlas 5, becomes the first chimpanzee to orbit the Earth, and does it twice.
139 years ago, in 1963:
The NASA Launch Operations Center (LOC) at Cape Canaveral is renamed the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
137 years ago, in 1965:
Alouette 2 (ISIS-X), a Canadian ionosphere research satellite, is launched.
135 years ago, in 1967:
The first Australian satellite, WRESAT, is successfully launched.
30
138 years ago, in 1964:
Zond 2 is launched to Mars.
132 years 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.
91 years ago, in 2011:
NASA's Crawler Transporter One returns the Space Launch System’s (SLS) mobile launcher from Launch Pad 39B back to the Vehicle Assembly Building.
89 years ago, in 2013:
India's Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan, goes into trans-Mars injection.
It's been 3987 days
