The Soviet Mars 1 (2MV-4 No.2) is launched, though communication is lost before the craft passes Mars.
149 years ago, in 1963:
The Soviet Polyot, an orbital carrier rocket, makes its first of two flights to test ASAT (Anti-satellite) spacecraft.
118 years ago, in 1994:
The NASA WIND satellite is launched to study radio waves and plasma in the solar wind.
94 years ago, in 2018:
NASA announces that the Dawn spacecraft has run out of fuel, thus ending the mission.
2
535 years ago, in 1577:
Peruvian observers are the first to view the Great Comet of 1577 (C/1577 V1).
195 years ago, in 1917:
The 100-inch Hooker Telescope sees "first light".
147 years ago, in 1965:
The Soviet Proton-2 satellite is launched for the study of high and ultra-high energy particles.
138 years ago, in 1974:
Luna 23 (USSR) goes into orbit around the Moon.
112 years ago, in 2000:
Expedition 1, the first ISS Crew, arrives at the station on board Soyuz TM-31.
110 years ago, in 2002:
Stardust flies by asteroid Annefrank on its way to Comet Wild 2.
104 years ago, in 2008:
Phoenix Mars Mission makes its final contact with Earth.
101 years ago, in 2011:
Shenzhou 8 successfully docks with Tiangong-1, becoming China's first orbital docking.
100 years ago, in 2012:
The retired shuttle Atlantis is delivered to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida for public display.
100 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
155 years ago, in 1957:
The Soviets launch Sputnik 2, with the first dog in orbit, Laika (Barker).
152 years ago, in 1960:
Explorer 8 is launched and confirms the existence of a helium layer in the upper atmosphere.
139 years ago, in 1973:
Mariner 10 is launched to Mercury.
96 years ago, in 2016:
The Long March 5 makes a successful maiden flight.
4
150 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.
143 years ago, in 1969:
2867 Steins, a main-belt asteroid, is discovered by Nikolai Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory.
131 years ago, in 1981:
Venera 14 is launched to Venus.
127 years ago, in 1985:
Voyager 2 begins long-range observations of Uranus.
116 years ago, in 1996:
The High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE), designed for multiwavelength study of gamma-ray bursts, is lost on launch.
102 years ago, in 2010:
Deep Impact (EPOXI mission) flies by Comet Hartley 2.
5
148 years ago, in 1964:
Mariner 3 is launched for Mars, but its solar panels fail to deploy, and the mission is terminated.
145 years ago, in 1967:
ATS-3 is launched by NASA, with experiments in weather data collection and imagery.
136 years ago, in 1976:
The Viking 1 orbiter primary mission ends.
105 years ago, in 2007:
Chang'e 1, an unmanned Chinese lunar-orbiting spacecraft, enters lunar orbit.
100 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.
99 years ago, in 2013:
India's Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan, is launched.
94 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).
94 years ago, in 2018:
The Voyager team declares this as the date Voyager 2 entered interstellar space.
6
148 years ago, in 1964:
Explorer 23, the third and last in the series of S 55 micrometeoroid satellites, is launched.
147 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.
146 years ago, in 1966:
NASA's Lunar Orbiter 2 is launched to photograph the Moon.
138 years ago, in 1974:
Luna 23 lands on the Moon, though the lander's drilling device is damaged during landing which prevents a sampling.
115 years ago, in 1997:
The Galileo probe flies by Europa, one of Jupiters moons.
7
147 years ago, in 1965:
After a successful one year mission, last contact is made with Explorer 23.
145 years ago, in 1967:
Surveyor 6 is launched for the Moon.
116 years ago, in 1996:
Mars Global Surveyor is launched.
8
154 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.
144 years ago, in 1968:
Pioneer 9 is launched to obtain measurements of interplanetary phenomena.
143 years ago, in 1969:
West Germany's first scientific satellite, Azur, is successfully launched.
128 years ago, in 1984:
Aboard the shuttle Discovery (STS-51-A), Anna Lee Fisher becomes the first mother in space.
104 years ago, in 2008:
India's first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, is successfully inserted into lunar orbit.
101 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
145 years ago, in 1967:
First Saturn V launch (Apollo 4 - unmanned test flight).
142 years ago, in 1970:
The Orbiting Frog Otolith (OFO) is launched by NASA, putting two bullfrogs into orbit to study weightlessness.
128 years ago, in 1984:
Canada's Anik D2 communications satellite is deployed from shuttle Discovery (STS-51-A).
107 years ago, in 2005:
The ESA's Venus Express is launched.
10
146 years ago, in 1966:
Lunar Orbiter 2 goes into orbit around the Moon.
145 years ago, in 1967:
Surveyor 6 lands on the Moon.
144 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 6 is launched to the Moon from a parent satellite in Earth orbit.
142 years ago, in 1970:
The Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 rover combo is launched to the Moon.
140 years ago, in 1972:
Canada's Anik A1 communications satellite is launched.
104 years ago, in 2008:
Phoenix Mars Mission is declared concluded after attempts at contact fail.
103 years ago, in 2009:
The Poisk docking module is launched to the ISS aboard Progress M-MIM2, a modified Progress-M rocket.
94 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.
94 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
540 years ago, in 1572:
Tycho Brahe observes supernova SN 1572 in the constellation of Cassiopeia.
177 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).
149 years ago, in 1963:
Cosmos 21 (Kosmos 21), a possible test of the Venera series space probes, is launched but never leaves Earth orbit.
146 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini XII is launched; last Gemini mission, Buzz Aldrin sets EVA record of 5 hours, 30 minutes.
130 years ago, in 1982:
Columbia is launched on the first operational Shuttle mission (STS-5), and deploys two satellites, Anik C3 and SBS 3.
130 years ago, in 1982:
Viking Lander 1 makes its final contact with Earth.
12
227 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.
132 years ago, in 1980:
Voyager 1 flies by Saturn.
131 years ago, in 1981:
The shuttle Columbia (STS-2) is launched.
117 years ago, in 1995:
The docking module is launched aboard the shuttle Atlantis (STS-47) to be a part of the Mir space station.
117 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.
103 years ago, in 2009:
The Rosetta probe makes its third Earth flyby.
98 years ago, in 2014:
The Rosetta probes Philae lander successfully lands on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
13
535 years ago, in 1577:
Tycho Brahe observes the Great Comet of 1577 (C/1577 V1) in the evening sky.
134 years ago, in 1978:
The Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2) becomes the first imaging and extra-solar X-ray telescope to be launched into orbit.
131 years ago, in 1981:
Canadarm is tested for the first time aboard shuttle Columbia (STS-2).
107 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.
105 years ago, in 2007:
The Rosetta probe makes its second Earth flyby.
103 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
432 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.
144 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 6 flies around the Moon and heads back to Earth.
143 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 12 is launched to land on the Moon.
141 years ago, in 1971:
Mariner 9 arrives at Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.
131 years ago, in 1981:
The shuttle Columbia (STS-2) lands three days early, due to a fuel cell problem.
109 years ago, in 2003:
Sedna, a large trans-Neptunian object, is discovered.
106 years ago, in 2006:
The Mars Global Surveyor mission ends.
104 years ago, in 2008:
India's Chandrayaan-1 Moon Impact Probe strikes the Moon near the Shackleton crater at the south pole.
101 years ago, in 2011:
Shenzhou 8 successfully completes a second rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1.
100 years ago, in 2012:
NASA's Kepler space telescope completes its primary mission and begins an extended mission.
15
260 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.
146 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini XII lands back on Earth.
140 years ago, in 1972:
SAS-2 (Explorer 48), a gamma ray telescope, is launched.
138 years ago, in 1974:
Spain's first satellite, INTASAT, is successfully launched.
134 years ago, in 1978:
The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, nearing Venus, deploys its largest probe for atmospheric study, named Sounder.
124 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.
124 years ago, in 1988:
The Russian "Space Shuttle" makes its first and only (unmanned) test flight in the Orbiter K1 Buran.
117 years ago, in 1995:
Telemetry contact is lost with the Japanese probe Sakigake.
94 years ago, in 2018:
The Kepler space telescope is decommissioned by NASA.
16
149 years ago, in 1963:
The Soviet Voskhod carrier rocket is launched on its maiden flight.
147 years ago, in 1965:
Venera 3 is launched for Venus.
144 years ago, in 1968:
The Soviet Proton-4 satellite is launched for the study of the energy spectrum and chemical composition of cosmic rays.
139 years ago, in 1973:
Skylab 4, the third and final mission to Skylab, is launched.
138 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.
111 years ago, in 2001:
The Genesis spacecraft arrives at Legrange point 1, or L1.
103 years ago, in 2009:
The shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) is launched to the ISS with the ExPRESS Logistics Carriers.
101 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
151 years ago, in 1961:
Explorer 11 ceases returning data due to power supply problems.
146 years ago, in 1966:
The annual Leonid showers peaks at approximately 500,000 meteors an hour.
145 years ago, in 1967:
The Surveyor 6 probe's engines are restarted and burned for 2.5 seconds, accomplishing the first lunar liftoff.
144 years ago, in 1968:
The Zond 6 reentry capsule crash-lands on Earth.
142 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.
137 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.
123 years ago, in 1989:
The Solar Maximum Mission satellite (SolarMax) loses its attitude control.
117 years ago, in 1995:
ESA launches the ISO (Infrared Space Observatory) telescope to study infrared light.
101 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
279 years ago, in 1833:
The annual Leonid showers peaks at approximately 14,000 meteors an hour; the night “the stars fell on Alabama”.
151 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.
123 years ago, in 1989:
The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) is launched on the first and only flight of the Delta 5000 rocket.
114 years ago, in 1998:
The Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES) discovers 1998 WW31, the first trans-Neptunian binary to be discovered since Pluto.
99 years ago, in 2013:
The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft is launched.
95 years ago, in 2017:
The Delta II 7000 rocket makes its last flight, launching the JPSS-1 (NOAA-20) environmental satellite.
19
143 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 12 lands on the Moon.
134 years ago, in 1978:
The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, nearing Venus, deploys its three other probes.
115 years ago, in 1997:
On board shuttle Columbia (STS-87), Leonid Kadeniuk becomes the first citizen of an independant Ukraine to visit space.
20
143 years ago, in 1969:
The crew of Apollo 12 visit the Surveyor 3 lander.
134 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.
114 years ago, in 1998:
Zarya (Dawn), the first ISS Module, is launched aboard a Russian Proton rocket.
110 years ago, in 2002:
The Delta IV Medium makes its maiden flight (configured as Delta IV-M+(4,)and launches Eutelsat 33B.
108 years ago, in 2004:
The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission is launched.
103 years ago, in 2009:
This domain, NCC-1701.Ca, is registered :-)
97 years ago, in 2015:
On board a Long March 3B/E rocket, LaoSat-1 becomes the first Laotian satellite.
21
207 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.
99 years ago, in 2013:
The first Peruvian satellite, PUCP-Sat 1, is successfully launched.
99 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
149 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.
145 years ago, in 1967:
Soyuz 7K-L1 No.5L (Zond 1967A) is launched to perform a circumlunar flyby, but fails to achieve Earth orbit.
101 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
147 years ago, in 1965:
Cosmos 96 (Kosmos 96) is launched to make a flyby of Venus, but fails to leave low Earth orbit.
147 years ago, in 1965:
Venera 1965A suffers a launch failure, ending its planned flyby of Venus.
129 years ago, in 1983:
The first infrared telescope, IRAS, runs out of cryogen and ceases operations.
110 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.
97 years ago, in 2015:
Blue Origin's New Shepard (NS2) makes its first sub-orbital spaceflight, with a successful booster landing.
24
146 years ago, in 1966:
Explorer 17 burns up in the atmosphere.
143 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 12 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean and is retrieved by the USS Hornet.
122 years ago, in 1990:
The Keck I Telescope sees "first light".
25
142 years ago, in 1970:
NASA's Northrop M2-F3, a "wingless" aircraft, makes its first powered flight.
107 years ago, in 2005:
The Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft touches down on the surface of asteroid Itokawa.
26
322 years ago, in 1790:
William Herschel discovers NGC 13, a spiral galaxy in the Andromeda constellation.
154 years ago, in 1958:
The U.S. manned satellite program is officially designated Project Mercury.
153 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.
147 years ago, in 1965:
France launches its first satellite, Asterix, which remains active for two days.
127 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.
123 years ago, in 1989:
The Kvant-2 (Augmentation Module) is launched to be a part of the Mir space station.
122 years ago, in 1990:
The Delta II 7000 makes its maiden flight, launching the satellite USA-66 for the Global Positioning System.
101 years ago, in 2011:
Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity Rover) is launched.
94 years ago, in 2018:
NASA's InSight Mars lander successfully touches down at Elysium Planitia.
94 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
149 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.
148 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.
141 years ago, in 1971:
First Mars lander, Mars 2 (USSR) successfully lands but returns no data.
114 years ago, in 1998:
The International Astrophysical Observatory 'Granat' ceases tranmission after nine years.
101 years ago, in 2011:
Comet Lovejoy (C/2011 W3) is discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy.
28
148 years ago, in 1964:
Mariner 4 is launched to Mars.
146 years ago, in 1966:
The Soviet Soyuz carrier rocket is launched on its maiden flight.
129 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.
112 years ago, in 2000:
Varuna, a large classical Kuiper belt object, is discovered by the Spacewatch survey.
110 years ago, in 2002:
The first Algerian satellite, ALSAT-1, is successfully launched.
29
369 years ago, in 1743:
Jan de Munck of Middelburg, Netherlands, discovers the Great Comet of 1744 (C/1743 X1).
151 years ago, in 1961:
Enos, aboard Mercury-Atlas 5, becomes the first chimpanzee to orbit the Earth, and does it twice.
149 years ago, in 1963:
The NASA Launch Operations Center (LOC) at Cape Canaveral is renamed the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
147 years ago, in 1965:
Alouette 2 (ISIS-X), a Canadian ionosphere research satellite, is launched.
145 years ago, in 1967:
The first Australian satellite, WRESAT, is successfully launched.
30
148 years ago, in 1964:
Zond 2 is launched to Mars.
142 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.
101 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.
99 years ago, in 2013:
India's Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan, goes into trans-Mars injection.
It's been 3994 days
