THE SECOND HALF OF MARCH AT A GLANCE

Anniversaries: The 35^th anniversary of the premiere of Seinfeld (3/31); the 40^th of Libby Riddles becoming the first woman to win the Iditarod (3/20); the 50^th of the premiere of Tommy (3/26) and the creation of the European Space Agency (3/31); the 60^th of Alexi Leonov making the first “walk in Space” (3/18) and the launch of Gemini 3 (the first time two astronauts were launched together, 3/23); the 85^th of the first test flight of the Chance Vought “Corsair” prototype (3/29); and the 370^th of the Christiaan Huygen’s discovery of Saturn’s moon, Titan (3/25)

Birthdays: Singer Mariah Carey is 55 (3/27); actresses Sarah Jessica Parker (3/25) and Brooke Shields (3/31) are 60; basketballer Moses Malone is 70 (3/23); percussionist Carl Palmer is 75; STTOS actress Leslie Parrish is 90 (3/18); actor Clint Eastwood is 95 (3/31); and composer Stephen Sondheim (3/12), actor Steve McQueen (3/24), and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Conner (3/26) would have been 95

In the Sky: The Moon reaches Last Quarter at 7:29 AM EDT on Saturday, March 22; New Moon occurs at 6:58 AM EDT on Saturday, March 29

Sunday, March 16

Today in Air and Space History

1926: Robert Goddard launched the first liquid-fueledrocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts

1947: First flight of the prototype of the Convair 240, a fully-pressurized, twin-engine, forty passengertransport.

1962: Launch of USSR satellite Cosmos 1, aka Sputnik 11, an ionosphere probe.

1966: Launch of Gemini 8, with astronauts Neil Armstrong and Dave Scott, who performed the first orbital docking. A stuck thruster then ended the mission prematurely; only superb piloting saved the mission from disaster.

Other Events this Date: Nathaniel Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter (1850), Bill Hayes hit #1 with The Ballad of Davey Crockett (1955), Peter, Paul, and Mary released Puff the Magic Dragon (1963)

Today’s Birthdays: President James Madison (1751), comedian Henny Youngman (1906; jokes substantially older), comedian Jerry Lewis (1926), astronaut and climate change-denier Walter Cunningham (1932), actor Erik Estrada (1949), and Heart singer/guitarist Nancy Wilson (1954)

Monday, March 17

Today in Air and Space History

1958: Launch of Vanguard 1 (TV-4), the second U.S. satellite and the first ever to be solar powered.

2002: Launch of the twin GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment satellites (also known informally as "Tom" and "Jerry")), on a mission to make detailed observations of the Earth's magnetic field. The tactic of tracking two spacecraft so closely that gravity field data can be derived accurately worked well for GRACE, so much so that the same tactic was employed by the GRAIL satellites of the Moon (I have a special affection for the GRAIL mission because it was the first launch I worked when I was detailed to NASA HQ).

Other Events This Date: The Camp Fire Girls organization was founded (1910), the National Gallery of Art opened (1941)

Today’s Birthdays: Frontiersman Jim Bridger (1804), golfer Bobby Jones (1902), civil rights leader Bayard Rustin (1912; I had the pleasure of meeting him in 1972), singer Nat King Cole (1919), dancer Rudolf Nureyev (1938), Jefferson Airplane guitarist Paul Kantner (1941), Lovin’ Spoonful frontman John Sebastian (1944), and actors Patrick Duffy (1949), Kurt Russell (1951), Lesley-Anne Down (1954), and Rob Lowe (1964)

Tuesday, March 18

Today in Air and Space History

1945: First flight of the prototype of what would become the Douglas A1-D "Skyraider.” Originally conceived as a replacement for the SBD dive bomber, the A1-D and its later editions would serve many roles in Korea and Viet Nam.

1965: Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov made the first "walk" in Space.

Other Events this Date: Schick manufactured the first electric razor (1931), the Boston Braves announced their pending move to Milwaukee (1953)

Today’s Birthdays: Twice-President Grover Cleveland (1837), Fractured Fairy Tales narrator Edward Everett Horton (1886), actor Peter Graves (1926), author George Plimpton (1927), STTOS actress Leslie Parrish (1935), and singers Charlie Pride (1938) and Wilson Pickett (1941)

Wednesday, March 19

Today in Air and Space History

1910: Orville Wright opened the Wright Flight School in Montgomery, Alabama, on land that would one day become Maxwell AFB.

1964:GeraldineMock departed Columbus, OH in a Cessna 180 named the "Spirit of Columbus," on what would become the first successful solo flightaround the world by a female pilot.

Other Events this Date: Herman Wouk published The Caine Mutiny (1951), last episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show aired (1977)

Today’s Birthdays: Explorer David Livingstone (1813); Western artist C.M. Russell (1864); comedienne Jackie “Moms” Mabley (1894); Watergate judge John Sirica (1904); actors Tige Andrews (1920) and Ursula Andress (1936); and Zombies guitarist Paul Atkinson (1946)

Thursday, March 20

Today in Air and Space History

1932: First flight of Boeing's XP-26 prototype fighter that would later enter pre-WWII service as the P-26A "Peashooter."

Other Events this Date:Uncle Tom’s Cabin published (1852), model “Twiggy” made USA debut (1967), John Lennon married Yoko Ono (1969), musher Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the Iditarod (1985)

Today’s Birthdays: Playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828), behaviorist B.F. Skinner (1904), TV dad Ozzie Nelson (1906), comedians Ray Goulding and Carl Reiner (1922), children’s TV host Fred Rogers (1928), hockey star Bobby Orr (1948), percussionist Carl Palmer (1950), and director Spike Lee (1957)

Friday, March 21

Today in Air and Space History

1916: The French Government authorized the formation of the "Escadrille Americaine," a forerunner of the "Lafayette Escadrille.”

1962: A black bear (named Yogi) was the first living thing ejected from an aircraft at supersonic speeds, surviving a test of the B-58 escape capsule unharmed. We have no word from Boo-Boo as to the success of this particular somewhat-drastic pick-i-nick basket filching tactic.

1965: Launch of the highly-successful Ranger 9, the last of the Ranger lunar hard-landing pre-Apollo probes. 

1999: The first successful circumnavigation of the Earth by balloon was completed this date by the Breitling Orbiter 3.

Other Events this Date:The Beatles made their Cavern Club debut (1961)

Today’s Birthdays: Composer Johann S. Bach (1685), and actors James Coco (1930), Timothy Dalton (1946), and Matthew Broderick (1962)

Saturday, March 22

Today in Air and Space History

1922: The USS Langley, the first U.S. aircraft carrier, was commissioned at Norfolk after conversion from the collier USS Jupiter. It was named for SI administrator and Wright competitor Samuel P. Langley. The Langley was sunk by carrier air attack on February 27, 1942. The Langley name was then assigned to a new light carrier conversion (CVL-27).

1941: The 99th Pursuit Squadron was activated. As the "TuskegeeAirmen," they won acclaim during, and after, WWII.

1948: First flight of the T-33A “T-Bird,” the training version of the P-80 “Shooting Star” jet produced by Lockheed. Famed aircraft designer Kelly Johnson and his talented team were responsible for both.

1982: Launch of STS-3 Space Shuttle Columbia, part of the Shuttle "shakedown" process; several experiments were also aboard.

1996: Launch of STS-76 Space Shuttle Atlantis on the third Shuttle mission to Space Station Mir.

Other Events this Date: The Montreal Amateur Athletic Association won the first Stanley Cup hockey championship (1894)

Today’s Birthdays: Comedian Chico Marx (1887); actors Ross Martin and Werner Klemperer (1920); mime Marcel Marceau (1923), composer Stephen Sondheim (1930), (over)actor William Shatner (1931) and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber (1948)

In the Sky: The Moon reaches Last Quarter at 7:29 AM EDT

Sunday, March 23

Today in Air and Space History

1965: Launch of Gemini 3, the first space mission with two astronauts aboard.

2001: Russian Space Station Mir was de-orbited successfully.

Other Events this Date: Tennessee passed law outlawing teaching of evolution (1925), Truth or Consequences made its radio debut (1940)

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Joan Crawford (1904), rocket scientist Wernher von Braun (1912), Benny Goodman pianist Johnny Guarnieri (1917), four-minute miler Roger Bannister (1929), speedster Craig Breedlove (1937), and basketball player Moses Malone (1955)

Monday, March 24

Today in Air and Space History

1905: Famed author Jules Verne died. His "science fiction" stories would inspire a generation of engineers and explorers.

1992: Launch of STS-45 Space Shuttle Atlantis carrying the ATLAS-1 space laboratory.

1999: The B-2 bomber made its combat debut in Operation "Allied Force."

Other Events This Date: The Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, causing a serious oil spill (1989)

Today’s Birthdays: Grand Canyon explorer John Wesley Powell (1834), magician Harry Houdini (1874), actor Steve McQueen (1930), designer Bob Mackie (1940), War harmonica player Lee Oskar (1946), and Supertramp bassist Dougie Thomson (1951)

Tuesday, March 25

Today in Air and Space History

1655: Christiaan Huygens discovered Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.

1961: Launch of Explorer 10, a mission that successfully monitored the solar wind and its interaction with the Earth's magnetic field.

Other Events this Date: A terrible workplace fire killed 146 at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, leading to employee protection laws (1911), Elvis was discharged from Army, then played a benefit for the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, raising $64K (1961)

Today’s Birthdays: Mt. Rushmore sculptor John G. Borglum (1867), sportscaster Howard Cosell (1918), astronaut James Lovell (1928), feminist Gloria Steinem (1934), not-so-feminist Anita Bryant (1940), singer Elton John (1947), and actress Sarah Jessica Parker (1965)

Wednesday, March 26

Today in Air and Space History

1840: J. W. Draper acquired one of the first photographs of the Moon.

1940: First flight of the Curtiss-Wright XC-55 cargo plane. It would gain fame in WWII flying "over the Hump," and see service for decades as the C-46 "Commando," a workhorse that could carry a heavier payload than the C-47 (DC-3).

1958: Launch of Explorer 3, a very early IGY mission to explore conditions in near-Earth space. The spacecraft lost attitude control, and its resultant tumbling prevented any useful data from being recorded or transmitted.

Other Events this Date: Salk polio vaccine announced (1953), The Who’s rock opera, Tommy, premiered in London (1975), Magic Johnson scored 24 in leading Michigan State over Larry Bird’s Indiana State in a game that had the highest basketball TV ratings ever (1979)

Today’s Birthdays: Poet Robert Frost (1874); playwright Tennessee Williams (1911); Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O’Connor (1930); actors Leonard Nimoy (1931), Alan Arkin (1934), and James Caan (1940); reporter Bob Woodward (1943); supreme Diana Ross (1944); and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler (1948)

Thursday, March 27

Today in Air and Space History

1968:YuriGagarin, the first person to orbit the Earth, died in the crash of a MiG-15, at the age of 34.

1969: Launch of Mariner 7, a fly-by probe of Mars.

1972: Launch of Venera 8, an early Russian Venus lander.

1977: A loaded 747 taking off from Tenerife (Canary Islands) struck another 747 on the main runway, killing 583 people in the worst aviation disaster ever (all 248 aboard the KLM 747 taking off were killed, as were 335 of 396 aboard the struck 747; some of the latter’s flight crew survived). See also: https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/video/series/air-disasters/59516.

Other Events this Date: The first DC cherry trees were planted (1912)

Today’s Birthdays: Physicist Wilhelm Roentgen (1845), famed aerial photographer Edward Steichen (1879), actress Gloria Swanson (1899), singer Sarah Vaughan (1924), cellist Mstislav Rostropovich (1927), director Quentin Tarantino (1963), and singer Mariah Carey (1970)

Friday, March 28

Today in Air and Space History

None

Other Events this Date: Baseball owners allow Dodgers and Giants to move west (1957), Percy Sledge hit #1 with When a Man Loves a Woman (1966)

Today’s Birthdays: Athlete Jim Thorpe (1888), Fleming, Ian Fleming (1908), Dionne quintuplets (1934), and singers Gladys Knight (1944) and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s John Fogerty (1945)

Saturday, March 29

Today in Air and Space History

1937: First flight of the Grumman G-21 "Goose," a versatile amphibious aircraft originally designed for luxury passenger service.

1940: First flight of the Chance Vought XF4U-1 prototype aircraft, which would ultimately enter service as the "Corsair."

1974: Launch of Luna 22, a lunar orbiting experiment platform, by the Soviet Union.

Other Events this Date: Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was admitted as 13^th State to the Union (1790), Wisconsin was admitted as 30^th State (1848), Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay summitted Mt. Everest (1953)

Today’s Birthdays: Patriot Patrick Henry (1736), comedian Bob Hope (1903), President John F. Kennedy (1917), jazz bassist Eugene Wright (1923), Procol Harum keyboardist Gary Brooker (1945), composer Danny Elfman (1953), and actress Annette Benning (1958)

In the Sky: New Moon occurs at 6:58 AM EDT

Sunday, March 30

Today in Air and Space History

1917: First major test flight of the Navy's first practical dirigible, the Goodyear B-1, setting a distance record in the process.

1942: The U.S. Army accepts the Sikorsky XR-4 "Hoverfly" helicopter prototype as its first service helicopter.

1966: Launch of Surveyor 1, the first of seven lunar soft landers which preceded the Apollo landings.

Other Events this Date: The first daily newspaper in USA debuted (1783), the first automobile accident occurred (1896), and Sally Rand performed her first fan dance (1933)

Today’s Birthdays: Director Howard Hawkes (1896), voice genius Mel Blanc (1908), clarinetist/bandleader Benny Goodman (1909), 2001: ASpace Odyssey actor Keir Dullea (1936), footballer Gale Sayers (1943), and Petticoat Junction actress Meredith MacRae (1944)

Monday, March 31

Today in Air and Space History

1919: USN Lt. Cdr. Albert Read and his crew flew flying boatNC-4 in stages during first aerial crossing of the Atlantic, concluding today. 

1975: The European Space Agency (ESA) was created.

Other Events this Date: Johnstown (PA) Flood disaster (1889), the Mets and Giants played a 23-inning, 7h23m game – the first of a double header! (1964), Seinfeld premiered (1990)

Today’s Birthdays: Poet Walt Whitman (1819), actor Clint Eastwood (1930), folk singer Peter Yarrow (1938), job rejectin’ Johnny Paycheck (1941), prognosticatin’ quarterback Joe Namath (1943), and actress Brooke Shields (1965)

THE FIRST HALF OF APRIL AT A GLANCE

Anniversaries: The 30^th of the first air-launched satellite (4/6); 40^th of George Plimpton’s hilarious April Fool’s joke article in Sports Illustrated (4/1); the 55^th of the Beatles official break-up (4/10) and the explosion on Apollo 13 (4/13); the 60^th of the first US aerial combat losses in Vietnam (4/4) and the first MLB game played indoors (4/9); the 65^th of the launch of Tiros 1 weather satellite (4/1) and the start of Frank Drake’s Project Ozma (4/11); the 70^th of the opening of the first McDonald’s (4/15); the 80^th of the sinking of the super-battleship IJN Yamato by concentrated aerial attack (4/7) and MSgt Henry Erwin’s MoH-awarded bravery (4/12); the 90^th of the founding of the American Interplanetary Society (4/4); the 160^th of the assassination of President Lincoln (4/14); and the 165^th of the establishment of the short-lived Pony Express (4/3)

Birthdays: Singer David Cassiday would have been 75 (4/12), actor Tony “Wally Cleaver” Dow would have been 80 (4/13), and jazzman Herbie Hancock is 85 (4/12)

In the Sky: The Moon reaches First Quarter at 10:15 PM EDT on Friday, April 4; Full Moon occurs at 8:22 PM EDT on Saturday, April 12 (aka the “Pink Moon”)