Comet D/1770 L1 (Lexell's Comet), passes 0.015AU's from Earth (1.4 million miles, 2.3 million km's).
151 years ago, in 1819:
Johann Georg Tralles in Germany discovers Comet Tralles (C/1819 N1, Great Comet of 1819).
10 years ago, in 1960:
The NASA Launch Operations Center (LOC) at Cape Canaveral is established.
10 years ago, in 1960:
NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) comes into being.
9 years ago, in 1961:
Explorer 6 burns up in the atmosphere.
8 years ago, in 1962:
NASA establishes the Launch Operations Center, later renamed to Kennedy Space Center.
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11 years ago, in 1959:
The Soviet dogs Lisa and Ryzhik, and a rabbit named Marfusha, are launched aboard an R2-A for a sub-orbital flight, and survive.
3 years ago, in 1967:
The Vela 3 and Vela 4 satellites detect a flash of gamma radiation, later found out to be a GRB (gamma-ray burst).
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1 year ago, in 1969:
On the second test of the Soviet N-1 rocket booster, the Zond L1S-2 capsule is launched to be put into lunar orbit, but the rocket fails 9 seconds after liftoff.
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916 years ago, in 1054:
Chinese astronomers make the first recorded observation of supernova SN 1054; its remnants are the Crab Nebula.
2 years ago, in 1968:
NASA launches Radio Astronomy Explorer A from Vandenberg Air Force Base.
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283 years ago, in 1687:
Isaac Newton's Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy) is first published.
4 years ago, in 1966:
AS-203 is successfully launched; a test flight of the Saturn IB rocket to verify the function of the S-IVB rocket stage restart capability.
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32 years ago, in 1938:
Seth Barnes Nicholson discovers one of Jupiter's moons, Lysithea.
4 years ago, in 1966:
The Soviet Proton rocket makes its last flight.
4 years ago, in 1966:
The Soviet Proton-3 satellite is launched for the study of high and ultra-high energy particles.
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128 years ago, in 1842:
Francis Baily of the United Kingdom, at an eclipse in Italy, focuses attention on the corona and prominences and identifies them as part of the Sun's atmosphere.
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8 years ago, in 1962:
Starfish Prime, a high-altitude nuclear test conducted by the U.S. with a W49 thermonuclear warhead, becomes the largest man-made nuclear explosion in outer space.
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8 years ago, in 1962:
Telstar 1 is launched, becoming the first privately sponsored space launch (AT&T).
7 years ago, in 1963:
Last contact is made with Explorer 17.
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1 year ago, in 1969:
Luna 15 is launched to the Moon; the second Soviet attempt to bring back soil from the surface.
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3 years ago, in 1967:
Surveyor 4 is launched for the Moon.
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5 years ago, in 1965:
Mariner 4 makes its closest approach to Mars, taking the first photos of another planet from space.
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12 years ago, in 1958:
Congress passes the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958.
6 years ago, in 1964:
Zond 1 passes by Venus, though no data is sent due to a faulty transmitter.
5 years ago, in 1965:
The Soviet Proton rocket makes its first flight.
5 years ago, in 1965:
The Soviet Proton-1 satellite is launched for the study of high and ultra-high energy particles.
1 year ago, in 1969:
Apollo 11 is launched to land humans on the Moon.
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706 years ago, in 1264:
Japanese observers are the first to view the Great Comet of 1264 (C/1264 N1).
1636 years ago, in 334:
Julius Firmicus Maternus of the Roman Empire makes the first recorded observation of solar prominences during an annular eclipse
3 years ago, in 1967:
Last contact is made with NASA's Lunar Orbiter 4.
3 years ago, in 1967:
Contact is lost with Surveyor 4 just 2.5 minutes before crashing on the Moon.
1 year ago, in 1969:
Luna 15 goes into orbit around the Moon.
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5 years ago, in 1965:
Zond 3 is launched and sent towards the orbit of Mars as a spacecraft test, passing the Moon first.
4 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini X is launched; completes rendezvous with Agena Target Vehicle from Gemini VIII, and 43 orbits.
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1552 years ago, in 418:
The historian Philostorgius in Asia Minor makes the first report of a comet discovered during a solar eclipse.
3 years ago, in 1967:
Explorer 35 is launched to study interplanetary space phenomena near the Moon.
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6 years ago, in 1964:
SERT-1 is launched, and successfully tests the first electrostatic ion thruster engine design.
5 years ago, in 1965:
Zond 3 goes past the Moon, and heads for the orbit of Mars.
1 year ago, in 1969:
The Apollo 11 Lunar Module lands on the Moon, Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to step on another world.
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56 years ago, in 1914:
Seth Barnes Nicholson discovers one of Jupiter's moons, Sinope.
9 years ago, in 1961:
Second U.S. suborbital flight, with astronaut Virgil I. Grissom (Mercury/Liberty Bell 7).
4 years ago, in 1966:
Gemini X lands back on Earth.
1 year ago, in 1969:
Luna 15 crashes into the Moon and contact is lost.
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19 years ago, in 1951:
Dezik and Tsygan, launched aboard a Soviet R1, are the first dogs to make a sub-orbital flight (both survived).
8 years ago, in 1962:
Mariner 1 is launched to Venus, but a guidance systems failure causes it to be destroyed by a range safety officer.
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8 years ago, in 1962:
Telstar 1 broadcasts the first live television transmissions from the United States and France.
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1 year ago, in 1969:
Apollo 11 splashes down in the Pacific Ocean and is retrieved by the USS Hornet .
1 year ago, in 1969:
The Soviet Proton-4 satellite, designed to study the interaction of elementary particles, ends its mission.
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3 years ago, in 1967:
The Soviet R-7A Semyorka ICBM makes its final flight.
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361 years ago, in 1609:
Thomas Harriot becomes the first person to make a drawing of the Moon through a telescope.
12 years ago, in 1958:
Explorer 4 is launched for further study of the Van Allen Belts.
7 years ago, in 1963:
Syncom 2 is launched, becoming the first successful geosynchronous communications satellite.
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119 years ago, in 1851:
The first correctly exposed photographic image of a solar eclipse, a daguerreotype, is made by Julius Berkowski at the Royal Observatory in Konigsberg, Prussia.
51 years ago, in 1919:
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is founded at the Constitutive Assembly of the International Research Council .
10 years ago, in 1960:
The Soviet dogs Bars (Chayka) and Lisichka are launched for an orbital flight; but die after their rocket explodes 28.5 seconds into the launch.
6 years ago, in 1964:
Ranger 7 is launched to the Moon.
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12 years ago, in 1958:
The National Aeronautics and Space Act (NASA) is signed into a law by President Eisenhower.
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54 years ago, in 1916:
951 Gaspra, an S-type asteroid orbiting close to the inner edge of the asteroid belt, is discovered by the Russian astronomer G. N. Neujmin.
32 years ago, in 1938:
Seth Barnes Nicholson discovers one of Jupiter's moons, Carme.
5 years ago, in 1965:
After 10 launches and no failures, the Saturn I is retired.
5 years ago, in 1965:
AS-105 (SA-10), is successfully launched, carrying the fifth and final 'boilerplate' version of the Apollo spacecraft, and the third and final Pegasus micrometeroid detection satellite.
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6 years ago, in 1964:
Ranger 7 sends back 4,316 pictures before crashing into the lunar surface.
It's been 3961 days
