CALENDAR: THIS WEEK
IMPORTANT ANNIVERSARIES
Past Items of the Week
Tuesday, January 21, is the 61st anniversary of the launch of the Relay 2 communications satellite. Wednesday, January 22, is the 50th anniversary of the launch of Landsat 2. Saturday, January 25, is the 61st anniversary of the launch of Echo 2. For more on the utilization of Space, especially Low-Earth Orbit, see here.
Tuesday, January 21, is also the 38th anniversary of Lois McCallin’s record human-powered flight, covering 9.6 miles in 37.6 minutes. For more on human-powered flight, see here.
Thursday, January 23, is the 80th anniversary of the daring penetration of Namkwan Harbor by the submarine USS Barb, a feat that would earn skipper Eugene Fluckey one of the seven Medals of Honor awarded to WWII sub captains. Fluckey would later conduct the first-ever sub-to-shore rocket bombardment, and even sent a party ashore to blow up a train! For more information about the Barb’s exploits, see here.
Friday, January 24, is the 224th anniversary of the observations by Guiseppe Piazzi of the asteroid 1 Ceres, now enjoying “Dwarf Planet” status. For more about Piazzi and Ceres, see here; for more about the DAWN mission to Ceres and why it is no longer considered an “asteroid,” see this installment’s Item of the Week.
Friday, January 24, is also the 118th anniversary of aviation pioneer Glenn Hammond Curtiss setting a motorcycle (bicycle with a V-8) speed record, 136+ MPH! Sunday, January 26, is the 113th anniversary of Curtiss flying the first-ever hydroplane, which he invented. For more about Curtiss, an amazing inventor, pilot, and all-round speed demon, see here.
Friday, January 24, is also the 39th anniversary of the fly-by of Uranus by Voyager 2, still the only spacecraft to return data from near the seventh planet. For more about Uranus, see here.
Saturday, January 25, is also the 79th anniversary of the first test-glide flight of the Bell XS-1, which as the X-1, would be Chuck Yeager’s famous ride to be the first to break the “sound barrier.” For more about all that, see here.
Air and Space This Week
January 20, 2025 – January 26, 2025
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THE WEEK at a GLANCE Anniversaries: The 40th anniversary of the launch of STS-51C, the first DoD Space Shuttle mission (1/24); the 50th of the de-orbiting of Salyut 3 (1/24) and the successful launch of Landsat 2 (1/22); the 55th of the first commercial flight of the Boeing 747 (1/22); the 80th of the penetration of Namkwan Harbor by the submarine USS Barb (1/23); and the 160th of the drilling of the first oil well in the USA (1/21) Birthdays: Actor Richard Dean (“McGyver”) Anderson is 75 (1/23); Moonwalker Buzz Aldrin is 95 (1/20); and actor DeForest (“Dr. McCoy”) Kelley would have been 105 (1/20) In the Sky: The Moon reaches Last Quarter at 3:31 PM EST on Tuesday, January 21 |
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Monday, January 20 Today in Air and Space History 1949: First flight of the Martin TM-61 "Matador," an early cruise missile. 1966: Launch of Progress 1, the first successful non-crewedre-supply mission, flown to Salyut 6. 1966: Launch of the Apollo A-004 mission, successfully testing the capsule abort system, aboard the last "Little Joe" test boosters used. Other Events this Date: First roller coaster patented (1885), first basketball game played (1892), pioneering DJ Alan Freed died (1965) Today’s Birthdays: Comedian George Burns (1896), actor DeForest “Dr. ‘Bones’ McCoy” Kelley (1920), yodelin’ Martian nemesis Slim Whitman (1924), “very in-teresting” comedian Arte Johnson (1929), astronaut Buzz Aldrin (1930), and Kiss singer Paul Stanley (1952) |
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Tuesday, January 21 Today in Air and Space History 1964: Launch of the Relay 2 communications satellite. 1976: First commercial use of a Concorde, flights from London to Bahrain (British Airways) and from Paris to Rio de Janeiro (Air France). 1987: Lois McCallin set a new women's distance and endurance record for human-powered flight, covering 9.6 miles in 37.6 minutes. Other Events this Date:First USA oil well drilled (Titusville, PA; 1865), the first atomic-powered submarine, the USSNautilus was launched (1954) Today’s Birthdays: Actor Telly Savalas (1922), actor Steve Reeves (1926), and DJ “Wolfman Jack” (1939) In the Sky: The Moon reaches Last Quarter at 3:31 PM EST |
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Wednesday, January 22 Today in Air and Space History 1968: Launch of Apollo 5, a successful non-crewed test of the Lunar Module in Earth orbit. 1970: First commercial flight of a Boeing 747, a PanAm flight from New York to London, landed successfully. 1975: Successful launch of Landsat 2. 1992: Launch of STS-42 Space Shuttle Discovery, with the International Microgravity Laboratory 1 module to grow crystals and conduct experiments. Teachers and Parents: Check out the NASA activity relating to the crystal growth experiment https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/675572main_Science%20Activity-SOS.pdf 1998: Launch of STS-89 Space Shuttle Endeavour, on a mission to Space Station Mir. Other Events this Date: The Central Intelligence Group (pre-CIA) was established (1946), Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In premiered (1968) Today’s Birthdays: Philosopher Sir Francis Bacon (1561), “Lady Be Good” actress Ann Sothern and diplomat U Thant (1909), singer Sam Cooke (1931), actors Bill Bixby (1934) and John Hurt (1940), and possessed actress Linda Blair (1959) |
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Thursday, January 23 Today in Air and Space History 1970: Launch of ITOS-1, a test prototype of the second-generation meteorological satellite series of "improved Tiros" satellites, although technically, ITOS-1 (aka TIROS-M) was part of the TIROS series. Other Events this Date: Charles Curtis became first Native American senator (Kansas, 1907), Captain Eugene Fluckey led the submarine USS Barb on a penetration of Namkwan Harbor on the China coast, sinking five Japanese ships and earning the MoH (1945), the temperature hit -80 °F this date in Prospect Camp, AK (record low for US, 1971), Mike Oldfield received gold record for his epic album, Tubular Bells, the album that launched Richard Branson’s fortune (1974), TV premieres: Barney Miller (1975) and The A Team (1983) Today’s Birthdays: Patriot John Hancock (1737); artist Edouard Manet (1832); actors Randolph Scott (1898), Humphrey Bogart (1899), and Richard Dean “McGyver” Anderson (1950); and Box Tops bassist Bill Cunningham (1950) |
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Friday, January 24 Today in Air and Space History 1801: Illness concluded Guiseppe Piazzi's series of astronomical observations of the object he had discovered on Jan 1. He thought it might be a comet, or more; we know it today as asteroid 1 Ceres, a dwarf planet. Mathematician Karl Gauss used Piazzi's data to calculate an orbit for Ceres that led to its "recovery" on December 31. The highly-successfulDAWN spacecraft orbited Ceres in 2015/6 after also orbiting asteroid 4 Vesta in 2011/2. What did we learn from the data returned to Earth from the DAWN spacecraft? See: https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/dawn/spacecraft/index.html. 1907: Aviation pioneer Glenn Hammond Curtiss set unofficial land speed record for motorcycles (136.29 MPH!) at Ormond Beach, FL. 1975: Soviet space station Salyut 3 was de-orbited successfully. 1985: Launch of STS-51C Space Shuttle Discovery, on the first DOD Shuttle mission. 1986:Voyager 2 flew by Uranus, the only spacecraft encounter to date with that planet. 1990: Launch of Japan's Hiten lunar probe, their first to the Moon. Other Events this Date: First canned beer marketed (1935), Bennie Goodman recorded Stompin’ at the Savoy (1936), smooth baritone Gordon McRae passed away (1986) Today’s Birthdays: Cubs broadcaster Jack “Hey, Hey!” Brickhouse (1916), Oscar-winning actor Ernest Borgnine (1917), novelty singer Ray Stevens (1939), regular singer Neil Diamond (1941), murdered actress Sharon Tate (1943), comedians John Belushi (1949) and Yakov Smirnoff (1951), and permanently-smiling gymnast Mary Lou Retton (1968) |
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Saturday, January 25 Today in Air and Space History 1946: The BellXS-1 made its first test glide flight after being dropped by its B-29 mother ship over Pinecastle Army Air Field (FL). 1964: Launch of Echo 2, a 100’-diameter aluminized balloon off which radio signals could be bounced over the transmitter's horizon. 1989: Launch of the Infrared Astronomical Satellite, an astronomical observatory. 1994: Launch of Clementine NASA/DOD mission to orbit the Moon. 1998: The SR-71 Blackbird fleet was retired from active military service. Other Events this Date: Mendelssohn’s Wedding March used for first time (Queen Victoria, 1858), first Emmy awards presented (1949) Today’s Birthdays: Poet Robert Burns (1759), author Somerset Maugham (1874), and KC & the Sunshine Band bassist Richard Finch (1954) |
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Sunday, January 26 Today in Air and Space History 1911:Glenn Hammond Curtiss flew the first hydroplane, taking off from and landing back on the surface of San Diego Bay. 1945: First flight of the McDonnell XFD-1, which would enter service as the FH-1 Phantom, the Navy's first twin-jet carrier-based fighter. 1978: Launch of the International Ultraviolet Explorer astronomical observatory satellite. Other Events this Date: Michigan was admitted to Union (1837), the electric dental drill was patented (1875), Pete Rozelle was named NFL commissioner (1960) Today’s Birthdays: General Douglas McArthur (1880), actor/philanthropist Paul Newman (1925), singer Eartha Kitt (1928?), Bob “Best seats in the House” Uecker (1935), actor Scott Glenn (1941), critic Gene Siskel (1946), guitarist Eddie Van Halen (1955), and hockey great Wayne Gretzky (1961) |
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NEXT WEEK at a GLANCE Anniversaries: The 35th anniversary of the opening of the first McDonald’s in the USSR (1/31) and the 100th of the signing of the Kelly Act, which allowed private companies to carry air mail, a boon to commercial aviation. Birthdays: Actor Gene Hackman is 95 (1/30); actress Dorothy Malone would have been 100 (1/30); and nuclear Navy Admiral Hyman Rickover would have been 125 (1/27) In the Sky: New Moon occurs at 7:36 AM EST on Wednesday, January 29 |
