The Soviet Mars 1 (2MV-4 No.2) is launched, though communication is lost before the craft passes Mars.
150 years ago, in 1963:
The Soviet Polyot, an orbital carrier rocket, makes its first of two flights to test ASAT (Anti-satellite) spacecraft.
119 years ago, in 1994:
The NASA WIND satellite is launched to study radio waves and plasma in the solar wind.
95 years ago, in 2018:
NASA announces that the Dawn spacecraft has run out of fuel, thus ending the mission.
2
536 years ago, in 1577:
Peruvian observers are the first to view the Great Comet of 1577 (C/1577 V1).
196 years ago, in 1917:
The 100-inch Hooker Telescope sees "first light".
148 years ago, in 1965:
The Soviet Proton-2 satellite is launched for the study of high and ultra-high energy particles.
139 years ago, in 1974:
Luna 23 (USSR) goes into orbit around the Moon.
113 years ago, in 2000:
Expedition 1, the first ISS Crew, arrives at the station on board Soyuz TM-31.
111 years ago, in 2002:
Stardust flies by asteroid Annefrank on its way to Comet Wild 2.
105 years ago, in 2008:
Phoenix Mars Mission makes its final contact with Earth.
102 years ago, in 2011:
Shenzhou 8 successfully docks with Tiangong-1, becoming China's first orbital docking.
101 years ago, in 2012:
The retired shuttle Atlantis is delivered to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida for public display.
101 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
156 years ago, in 1957:
The Soviets launch Sputnik 2, with the first dog in orbit, Laika (Barker).
153 years ago, in 1960:
Explorer 8 is launched and confirms the existence of a helium layer in the upper atmosphere.
140 years ago, in 1973:
Mariner 10 is launched to Mercury.
97 years ago, in 2016:
The Long March 5 makes a successful maiden flight.
4
151 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.
144 years ago, in 1969:
2867 Steins, a main-belt asteroid, is discovered by Nikolai Chernykh at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory.
132 years ago, in 1981:
Venera 14 is launched to Venus.
128 years ago, in 1985:
Voyager 2 begins long-range observations of Uranus.
117 years ago, in 1996:
The High Energy Transient Explorer (HETE), designed for multiwavelength study of gamma-ray bursts, is lost on launch.
103 years ago, in 2010:
Deep Impact (EPOXI mission) flies by Comet Hartley 2.
5
149 years ago, in 1964:
Mariner 3 is launched for Mars, but its solar panels fail to deploy, and the mission is terminated.
146 years ago, in 1967:
ATS-3 is launched by NASA, with experiments in weather data collection and imagery.
137 years ago, in 1976:
The Viking 1 orbiter primary mission ends.
106 years ago, in 2007:
Chang'e 1, an unmanned Chinese lunar-orbiting spacecraft, enters lunar orbit.
101 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.
100 years ago, in 2013:
India's Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan, is launched.
95 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).
95 years ago, in 2018:
The Voyager team declares this as the date Voyager 2 entered interstellar space.
6
149 years ago, in 1964:
Explorer 23, the third and last in the series of S 55 micrometeoroid satellites, is launched.
148 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.
147 years ago, in 1966:
NASA's Lunar Orbiter 2 is launched to photograph the Moon.
139 years ago, in 1974:
Luna 23 lands on the Moon, though the lander's drilling device is damaged during landing which prevents a sampling.
116 years ago, in 1997:
The Galileo probe flies by Europa, one of Jupiters moons.
7
148 years ago, in 1965:
After a successful one year mission, last contact is made with Explorer 23.
146 years ago, in 1967:
Surveyor 6 is launched for the Moon.
117 years ago, in 1996:
Mars Global Surveyor is launched.
8
155 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.
145 years ago, in 1968:
Pioneer 9 is launched to obtain measurements of interplanetary phenomena.
144 years ago, in 1969:
West Germany's first scientific satellite, Azur, is successfully launched.
129 years ago, in 1984:
Aboard the shuttle Discovery (STS-51-A), Anna Lee Fisher becomes the first mother in space.
105 years ago, in 2008:
India's first lunar probe, Chandrayaan-1, is successfully inserted into lunar orbit.
102 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
146 years ago, in 1967:
First Saturn V launch (Apollo 4 - unmanned test flight).
143 years ago, in 1970:
The Orbiting Frog Otolith (OFO) is launched by NASA, putting two bullfrogs into orbit to study weightlessness.
129 years ago, in 1984:
Canada's Anik D2 communications satellite is deployed from shuttle Discovery (STS-51-A).
108 years ago, in 2005:
The ESA's Venus Express is launched.
10
147 years ago, in 1966:
Lunar Orbiter 2 goes into orbit around the Moon.
146 years ago, in 1967:
Surveyor 6 lands on the Moon.
145 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 6 is launched to the Moon from a parent satellite in Earth orbit.
143 years ago, in 1970:
The Luna 17/Lunokhod 1 rover combo is launched to the Moon.
141 years ago, in 1972:
Canada's Anik A1 communications satellite is launched.
105 years ago, in 2008:
Phoenix Mars Mission is declared concluded after attempts at contact fail.
104 years ago, in 2009:
The Poisk docking module is launched to the ISS aboard Progress M-MIM2, a modified Progress-M rocket.
95 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.
95 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
541 years ago, in 1572:
Tycho Brahe observes supernova SN 1572 in the constellation of Cassiopeia.
178 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).
150 years ago, in 1963:
Cosmos 21 (Kosmos 21), a possible test of the Venera series space probes, is launched but never leaves Earth orbit.
147 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini XII is launched; last Gemini mission, Buzz Aldrin sets EVA record of 5 hours, 30 minutes.
131 years ago, in 1982:
Columbia is launched on the first operational Shuttle mission (STS-5), and deploys two satellites, Anik C3 and SBS 3.
131 years ago, in 1982:
Viking Lander 1 makes its final contact with Earth.
12
228 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.
133 years ago, in 1980:
Voyager 1 flies by Saturn.
132 years ago, in 1981:
The shuttle Columbia (STS-2) is launched.
118 years ago, in 1995:
The docking module is launched aboard the shuttle Atlantis (STS-47) to be a part of the Mir space station.
118 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.
104 years ago, in 2009:
The Rosetta probe makes its third Earth flyby.
99 years ago, in 2014:
The Rosetta probes Philae lander successfully lands on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
13
536 years ago, in 1577:
Tycho Brahe observes the Great Comet of 1577 (C/1577 V1) in the evening sky.
135 years ago, in 1978:
The Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2) becomes the first imaging and extra-solar X-ray telescope to be launched into orbit.
132 years ago, in 1981:
Canadarm is tested for the first time aboard shuttle Columbia (STS-2).
108 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.
106 years ago, in 2007:
The Rosetta probe makes its second Earth flyby.
104 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
433 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.
145 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 6 flies around the Moon and heads back to Earth.
144 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 12 is launched to land on the Moon.
142 years ago, in 1971:
Mariner 9 arrives at Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet.
132 years ago, in 1981:
The shuttle Columbia (STS-2) lands three days early, due to a fuel cell problem.
110 years ago, in 2003:
Sedna, a large trans-Neptunian object, is discovered.
107 years ago, in 2006:
The Mars Global Surveyor mission ends.
105 years ago, in 2008:
India's Chandrayaan-1 Moon Impact Probe strikes the Moon near the Shackleton crater at the south pole.
102 years ago, in 2011:
Shenzhou 8 successfully completes a second rendezvous and docking with Tiangong-1.
101 years ago, in 2012:
NASA's Kepler space telescope completes its primary mission and begins an extended mission.
15
261 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.
147 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini XII lands back on Earth.
141 years ago, in 1972:
SAS-2 (Explorer 48), a gamma ray telescope, is launched.
139 years ago, in 1974:
Spain's first satellite, INTASAT, is successfully launched.
135 years ago, in 1978:
The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, nearing Venus, deploys its largest probe for atmospheric study, named Sounder.
125 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.
125 years ago, in 1988:
The Russian "Space Shuttle" makes its first and only (unmanned) test flight in the Orbiter K1 Buran.
118 years ago, in 1995:
Telemetry contact is lost with the Japanese probe Sakigake.
95 years ago, in 2018:
The Kepler space telescope is decommissioned by NASA.
16
150 years ago, in 1963:
The Soviet Voskhod carrier rocket is launched on its maiden flight.
148 years ago, in 1965:
Venera 3 is launched for Venus.
145 years ago, in 1968:
The Soviet Proton-4 satellite is launched for the study of the energy spectrum and chemical composition of cosmic rays.
140 years ago, in 1973:
Skylab 4, the third and final mission to Skylab, is launched.
139 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.
112 years ago, in 2001:
The Genesis spacecraft arrives at Legrange point 1, or L1.
104 years ago, in 2009:
The shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) is launched to the ISS with the ExPRESS Logistics Carriers.
102 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
152 years ago, in 1961:
Explorer 11 ceases returning data due to power supply problems.
147 years ago, in 1966:
The annual Leonid showers peaks at approximately 500,000 meteors an hour.
146 years ago, in 1967:
The Surveyor 6 probe's engines are restarted and burned for 2.5 seconds, accomplishing the first lunar liftoff.
145 years ago, in 1968:
The Zond 6 reentry capsule crash-lands on Earth.
143 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.
138 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.
124 years ago, in 1989:
The Solar Maximum Mission satellite (SolarMax) loses its attitude control.
118 years ago, in 1995:
ESA launches the ISO (Infrared Space Observatory) telescope to study infrared light.
102 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
280 years ago, in 1833:
The annual Leonid showers peaks at approximately 14,000 meteors an hour; the night “the stars fell on Alabama”.
152 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.
124 years ago, in 1989:
The Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) is launched on the first and only flight of the Delta 5000 rocket.
115 years ago, in 1998:
The Deep Ecliptic Survey (DES) discovers 1998 WW31, the first trans-Neptunian binary to be discovered since Pluto.
100 years ago, in 2013:
The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft is launched.
96 years ago, in 2017:
The Delta II 7000 rocket makes its last flight, launching the JPSS-1 (NOAA-20) environmental satellite.
19
144 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 12 lands on the Moon.
135 years ago, in 1978:
The Pioneer Venus Multiprobe, nearing Venus, deploys its three other probes.
116 years ago, in 1997:
On board shuttle Columbia (STS-87), Leonid Kadeniuk becomes the first citizen of an independant Ukraine to visit space.
20
144 years ago, in 1969:
The crew of Apollo 12 visit the Surveyor 3 lander.
135 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.
115 years ago, in 1998:
Zarya (Dawn), the first ISS Module, is launched aboard a Russian Proton rocket.
111 years ago, in 2002:
The Delta IV Medium makes its maiden flight (configured as Delta IV-M+(4,)and launches Eutelsat 33B.
109 years ago, in 2004:
The Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission is launched.
104 years ago, in 2009:
This domain, NCC-1701.Ca, is registered :-)
98 years ago, in 2015:
On board a Long March 3B/E rocket, LaoSat-1 becomes the first Laotian satellite.
21
208 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.
100 years ago, in 2013:
The first Peruvian satellite, PUCP-Sat 1, is successfully launched.
100 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
150 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.
146 years ago, in 1967:
Soyuz 7K-L1 No.5L (Zond 1967A) is launched to perform a circumlunar flyby, but fails to achieve Earth orbit.
102 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
148 years ago, in 1965:
Cosmos 96 (Kosmos 96) is launched to make a flyby of Venus, but fails to leave low Earth orbit.
148 years ago, in 1965:
Venera 1965A suffers a launch failure, ending its planned flyby of Venus.
130 years ago, in 1983:
The first infrared telescope, IRAS, runs out of cryogen and ceases operations.
111 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.
98 years ago, in 2015:
Blue Origin's New Shepard (NS2) makes its first sub-orbital spaceflight, with a successful booster landing.
24
147 years ago, in 1966:
Explorer 17 burns up in the atmosphere.
144 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 12 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean and is retrieved by the USS Hornet.
123 years ago, in 1990:
The Keck I Telescope sees "first light".
25
143 years ago, in 1970:
NASA's Northrop M2-F3, a "wingless" aircraft, makes its first powered flight.
108 years ago, in 2005:
The Japanese Hayabusa spacecraft touches down on the surface of asteroid Itokawa.
26
323 years ago, in 1790:
William Herschel discovers NGC 13, a spiral galaxy in the Andromeda constellation.
155 years ago, in 1958:
The U.S. manned satellite program is officially designated Project Mercury.
154 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.
148 years ago, in 1965:
France launches its first satellite, Asterix, which remains active for two days.
128 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.
124 years ago, in 1989:
The Kvant-2 (Augmentation Module) is launched to be a part of the Mir space station.
123 years ago, in 1990:
The Delta II 7000 makes its maiden flight, launching the satellite USA-66 for the Global Positioning System.
102 years ago, in 2011:
Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity Rover) is launched.
95 years ago, in 2018:
NASA's InSight Mars lander successfully touches down at Elysium Planitia.
95 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
150 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.
149 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.
142 years ago, in 1971:
First Mars lander, Mars 2 (USSR) successfully lands but returns no data.
115 years ago, in 1998:
The International Astrophysical Observatory 'Granat' ceases tranmission after nine years.
102 years ago, in 2011:
Comet Lovejoy (C/2011 W3) is discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy.
28
149 years ago, in 1964:
Mariner 4 is launched to Mars.
147 years ago, in 1966:
The Soviet Soyuz carrier rocket is launched on its maiden flight.
130 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.
113 years ago, in 2000:
Varuna, a large classical Kuiper belt object, is discovered by the Spacewatch survey.
111 years ago, in 2002:
The first Algerian satellite, ALSAT-1, is successfully launched.
29
370 years ago, in 1743:
Jan de Munck of Middelburg, Netherlands, discovers the Great Comet of 1744 (C/1743 X1).
152 years ago, in 1961:
Enos, aboard Mercury-Atlas 5, becomes the first chimpanzee to orbit the Earth, and does it twice.
150 years ago, in 1963:
The NASA Launch Operations Center (LOC) at Cape Canaveral is renamed the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
148 years ago, in 1965:
Alouette 2 (ISIS-X), a Canadian ionosphere research satellite, is launched.
146 years ago, in 1967:
The first Australian satellite, WRESAT, is successfully launched.
30
149 years ago, in 1964:
Zond 2 is launched to Mars.
143 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.
102 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.
100 years ago, in 2013:
India's Mars Orbiter Mission, Mangalyaan, goes into trans-Mars injection.
It's been 3994 days
