Zond 3MV-1 No.3 (Venera 1964B) is launched for Venus, but the rocket fails to reach Earth orbit.
18 years ago, in 1966:
Venera 3 is the first craft to perhaps impact Venus.
4 years ago, in 1980:
Helene, a moon of Saturn, is discovered by Pierre Laques and Jean Lecacheux at Pic du Midi Observatory.
2 years ago, in 1982:
Venera 13 lands on Venus to drill into and analyze the surface.
This year:
Landsat 5 is launched.
2
16 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 4 is launched to the Moon.
12 years ago, in 1972:
Pioneer 10 is launched.
6 years ago, in 1978:
On board the Soyuz 28 mission to Salyut 6, Vladimir Remek from Czechoslovakia becomes the first and only Czech to visit space, and the first person from another country other than the U.S./U.S.S.R.
3
69 years ago, in 1915:
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) is formed.
25 years ago, in 1959:
Pioneer 4 is launched for a lunar flyby, becomes the first U.S. probe to escape Earth's gravity.
15 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 9 is launched to test the LM, orbits the Earth for 10 days.
4
309 years ago, in 1675:
John Flamsteed is appointed as the first Astronomer Royal; The King's Astronomical Observator.
25 years ago, in 1959:
Pioneer 4 flies by the Moon, but doesn't come close enough to the Moon to trigger its camera.
5 years ago, in 1979:
Metis, the innermost moon of Jupiter, is discovered by Stephen P. Synnott in images taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft.
5
93 years ago, in 1891:
307 Nike, a minor planet in the asteroid belt, is discovered by Auguste Charlois at the Nice Observatory.
26 years ago, in 1958:
Explorer 2 is launched, but a failure in the rocket's fourth stage prevents it from reaching orbit.
16 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 4 goes around the Moon, and heads back to Earth.
6 years ago, in 1978:
Landsat 3 is launched.
5 years ago, in 1979:
Voyager 1 flies by Jupiter.
5 years ago, in 1979:
Thebe, a moon of Jupiter, is discovered by Stephen P. Synnott in images taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft.
5 years ago, in 1979:
The first SGR (soft gamma repeater) megaflare is observed, SGR 0525-66, after radiation readings on spacecraft spiked from a normal 100 counts per second to over 200,000 counts per second.
2 years ago, in 1982:
Venera 14 lands on Venus.
6
169 years ago, in 1815:
Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers of Germany discovers a periodic comet, 13P/Olbers.
25 years ago, in 1959:
Last contact is made with Pioneer 4.
7
22 years ago, in 1962:
The first Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO-1, OSO-A) is launched to measure the solar electromagnetic radiation in the UV, X-ray, and gamma-ray regions.
16 years ago, in 1968:
Zond 4 self destructs during re-entry, due to a guidance systems failure.
11 years ago, in 1973:
Comet Kohoutek (C/1973 E1) is first sighted by Czech astronomer Luboš Kohoutek.
8
17 years ago, in 1967:
The replacement third Orbiting Solar Observatory, OSO-3 (OSO-C) is launched successfully.
9
126 years ago, in 1858:
Friedrich August Theodor Winnecke 'rediscovers' comet 7P/Pons–Winnecke.
50 years ago, in 1934:
Yuri Gagarin is born in Klushino, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union.
23 years ago, in 1961:
The Soviet dog Chernushka makes one orbit on board Korabl-Sputnik-4 or Vostok-3KA No 1 (Sputnik 9) with a cosmonaut dummy, mice and a guinea pig.
19 years ago, in 1965:
OSCAR 3 is launched, becoming the first amateur satellite to use solar power and relay signals from Earth.
10 years ago, in 1974:
Mars 7 reaches Mars and prematurely releases its descent module, which misses the planet.
5 years ago, in 1979:
From Voyager 1's optical navigation images, the first active volanoes beyond Earth are discovered at Jupiter's moon, Io.
10
17 years ago, in 1967:
The Soviet Proton-K rocket makes its first flight, carrying the Cosmos 146 (Soyuz 7K-L1 s/n 1), a test satellite precursor to the Zond series .
7 years ago, in 1977:
The rings of Uranus are discovered using the Kuiper Airborne Observatory.
11
24 years ago, in 1960:
Able 6 (Pioneer 5) is launched for a heliocentric orbit between Earth and Venus, and confirms the interplanetary magnetic field.
12
19 years ago, in 1965:
Cosmos 60 (Kosmos 60) ) is launched to perform a soft landing on the Moon, but fails to leave Earth orbit due to a power supply failure.
10 years ago, in 1974:
Mars 6 reaches Mars and its descent module transmits 224 seconds of data, the first from the Martian atmosphere.
13
203 years ago, in 1781:
William Herschel discovers the planet Uranus; first planet discovered through a telescope.
15 years ago, in 1969:
Apollo 9 splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean and is retrieved by the USS Guadalcanal.
6 years ago, in 1978:
The shuttle Enterprise is taken to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama for the Mated Vertical Ground Vibration Testing.
4 years ago, in 1980:
Calypso, a moon of Saturn, is discovered using ground-based observations.
14
105 years ago, in 1879:
Albert Einstein is born in Ulm, Kingdom of Württemberg, in the German Empire.
4 years ago, in 1980:
Ariel 5, a British/American X-ray space observatory, re-enters the Earth's atmosphere after almost five and a half years.
15
5 years ago, in 1979:
HEAO-1 (High Energy Astronomy Observatory 1) re-enters and burns up in the Earth's atmosphere.
16
58 years ago, in 1926:
Robert H. Goddard launches the first ever liquid fueled rocket.
18 years ago, in 1966:
OSCAR 4, the fourth amateur radio satellite, ceases operation.
18 years ago, in 1966:
After spending 22 days in orbit, the Soviet dogs Veterok and Ugolyok successfully return to Earth.
18 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini VIII is launched; completes first docking with an unmanned Agena Target Vehicle, though control problems force an abort.
9 years ago, in 1975:
Mariner 10 makes its third Mercury flyby.
17
132 years ago, in 1852:
16 Psyche, one of the ten most massive objects in the asteroid belt, is discovered by the Italian astronomer Annibale de Gasparis from Naples.
85 years ago, in 1899:
Phoebe, a moon of Saturn, is the first moon to be discovered photographically (William Pickering).
26 years ago, in 1958:
Vanguard 1, the first solar powered satellite, is launched and reaches orbit.
18
19 years ago, in 1965:
Voskhod 2 is launched, and Alexei Leonov becomes the first person to leave a spacecraft in orbit, going for a 12 minute spacewalk (EVA).
4 years ago, in 1980:
During the fueling of a Vostok-2M rocket at Plesetsk Cosmodrome, the rocket explodes, killing 48 people in total.
19
19 years ago, in 1965:
Voskhod 2 returns to Earth.
19 years ago, in 1965:
The Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (CDSCC) is officially opened.
20
203 years ago, in 1781:
M96 (NGC 3368), an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Leo, is discovered by Pierre Méchain.
20 years ago, in 1964:
The ESRO (European Space Research Organisation) Convention is formed.
21
300 years ago, in 1684:
Giovanni Cassini discovers one of Saturn's moons, Tethys.
21 years ago, in 1963:
The Soviet Mars 1(2MV-4) ceases communication.
20 years ago, in 1964:
Luna E-6 No.6 (Luna 1964A) is launched to perform a soft landing on the Moon, but fails to reach orbit and reenters the atmosphere.
19 years ago, in 1965:
Ranger 9, last of the Ranger series, is launched to the Moon.
22
3 years ago, in 1981:
On board the Soyuz 39 mission to Salyut 6, Jugderdemidiin Gurragchaa becomes the first Mongolian to visit space.
2 years ago, in 1982:
The shuttle Columbia (STS-3) launches for orbital endurance testing.
23
144 years ago, in 1840:
John William Draper takes the first successful photograph (Daguerreotype process) of the Moon.
42 years ago, in 1942:
5535 Annefrank, a minor planet in the inner asteroid belt, is discovered by German astronomer Karl Reinmuth at the Heidelberg Observatory.
19 years ago, in 1965:
Gemini 3 is the first manned Gemini flight; completes three orbits.
1 year ago, in 1983:
The USSR launches Astron, an ultraviolet orbital observatory.
24
203 years ago, in 1781:
M105 (NGC 3379), an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Leo, is discovered by Pierre Méchain.
19 years ago, in 1965:
Ranger 9 provides real-time coverage over TV networks of its approach and crash into the Moon.
25
329 years ago, in 1655:
Christiaan Huygens discovers Saturn's largest moon, Titan.
173 years ago, in 1811:
The French astronomer Honore Flaugergues discovers the Great Comet of 1811 (C/1811 F1), visible to the naked eye for about 260 days.
23 years ago, in 1961:
The Soviet dog Zvyozdochka makes one orbit on board Korabl-Sputnik 5 or Vostok-3KA No 2 (Sputnik 10) with a wooden cosmonaut dummy.
23 years ago, in 1961:
Explorer 10 is launched to investigate Earth's magnetic fields and nearby plasma.
2 years ago, in 1982:
After a successful mission, the Einstein Observatory (HEAO-2) re-enters and burns up in the Earth's atmosphere.
26
26 years ago, in 1958:
Explorer 3 is launched, and confirms the Van Allen Belts.
15 years ago, in 1969:
Meteor-1-1, the Soviet Union's first fully operational weather satellite, is successfully launched.
27
23 years ago, in 1961:
After 52 hours, Explorer 10's batteries fail, as per expectations.
23 years ago, in 1961:
Explorer 10 becomes the first satellite to measure the shock wave from a solar flare.
20 years ago, in 1964:
Ariel 2 (UK-C) is successfully launched and becomes the first satellite to be used for radio astronomy.
20 years ago, in 1964:
Cosmos 21 (Kosmos 21, Zond 3MV-1 No.3) is launched to make a flyby of Venus, but once in Earth orbit the main engine fails to start.
19 years ago, in 1965:
OSCAR 3's linear transponder fails, ending communication.
16 years ago, in 1968:
Yuri Gagarin (age 34) is killed when his MiG-15UTI jet trainer crashes near the town of Kirzhach.
15 years ago, in 1969:
Mariner 7 is launched to Mars.
15 years ago, in 1969:
The Soviet Union launches Mars 2M No.521 (Mars 1969A), but the third stage explodes after liftoff.
12 years ago, in 1972:
The Venera 8 probe is launched for Venus.
28
182 years ago, in 1802:
Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers of Germany discovers the third largest asteroid, Pallas.
21 years ago, in 1963:
NASA launches the first stage booster of the Saturn 1 rocket on a fourth and final test flight.
29
177 years ago, in 1807:
Heinrich Wilhelm Olbers of Germany discovers the second largest asteroid, Vesta.
48 years ago, in 1936:
Over 10,000 people watch the 200-inch mirror blank for the Hale Telescope passing by rail through Indianapolis.
39 years ago, in 1945:
The last day of V-1 rocket bomb attacks on England occurs, only to be soon replaced by the V-2.
10 years ago, in 1974:
Mariner 10 makes its first Mercury flyby.
30
2 years ago, in 1982:
The shuttle Columbia (STS-3) becomes the first and only shuttle mission to land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.
31
18 years ago, in 1966:
Luna 10 is launched to the Moon.
14 years ago, in 1970:
After 12 years in orbit, America's first satellite, Explorer 1, burns up in the atmosphere.
It's been 3955 days
