Today In Space History
15 October 1997 - Cassini-Huygens Mission Launches for Saturn
On 15 October 1997 the Cassini–Huygens mission launched to Saturn. It launched with a Titan IV rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA.
The missi...
14 October 1947 - Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier
On 14 October 1947, Captain Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier for the first time.
He flew the Bell X-1 (which he named Glamorous Glennis) ...
11 October 1968 - Apollo 7 Launch
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On 11 October 1968, NASA launched Apollo 7 mission.
This manned mission carried a crew of three in an Earth-orbit...
10 October 1960 - Soviets launch first Mars mission
After the Luna missions had reached the Moon, the next obvious target was to go for the planets. Both Venus and Mars were identified as suitable ...
6 October 1995 - Discovery of The First Exoplanet Around a Sunlike Star
Artist impression of 51 Pegasi b. Image credit:ESO/M. Kornmesser/Nick Risinger
51 Pegasi b was discovered by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz of the...
4 October 1957 - Sputnik 1 Becomes the First Satellite
On 4 October 1957 the Soviets launch Sputnik 1, the first ever artificial satellite.
This was also the first human object in space, a 58 cm metal ...
1 October 1958 - NASA Starts Operations
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1 October 1958 marks the official start of the National Aeronautics Space Administration, better known as NASA.
Afte...
29 September 1945 - German Rocket Genius Wernher von Braun Arrives In The US
29 September 1945 - Wernher von Braun arrives at Ft. Bliss, Texas, with six other German rocket specialists.
As part of Operation Paperclip, th...
28 September 2008 - SpaceX Falcon 1 Becomes First Private Spacecraft To Reach Orbit
Falcon 1 lifts off on it's 4th flight. Image credit: SpaceX
After 3 unsuccessful launches of the Falcon 1 rocket, stakes were high for SpaceX CEO...
24 September 1970 - Luna 16 Returns First Automatic Lunar Soil Sample
The date is 24 September 1970.
The USSR has lost the space race. The US landed its first man on the Moon a year before.
But they didn't give up a...
21 September 2003 - Galileo Spacecraft Burns Up In Jupiter's Atmosphere
On 21 september 2003, the NASA Galileo spacecraft ended its 8 year mission to Jupiter.
With fuel running low and the intense radiation taki...
19 September 1988 - Israel launches Ofeq-1
19 September 1988
With the launch of the Ofeq-1, Israel became the ninth country to launch a rocket into space.
Ofeq means Horizon in Hebrew....