on this day in space

Latest about on this day in space

An upgraded Orbital ATK Antares rocket soars into the night sky over NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia on Oct. 17, 2016. This upcoming Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, an Antares rocket will launch from Wallops Flight Facility, carrying a cargo craft holding a payload of crew supplies and scientific experiments to the International Space Station.
On this day in space! Oct. 17, 2016: Private Antares rocket returns to flight after catastrophic launch explosion

By Hanneke Weitering Published

On Oct. 17, 2016, the Antares rocket now built by Northrop Grumman Space Systems returned to flight to come back from a catastrophic explosion. Here's why it mattered.

Space Exploration
An artist's illustration of the GOES-1 weather satellite.
On this day in space! Oct. 16, 1975: NASA launches the 1st-ever GOES weather satellite to watch Earth from space

By Hanneke Weitering Published

On Oct. 16, 1975, NASA launched the first operational GOES weather satellite. Here's why it mattered.

Space Exploration
NASA's Cassini spacecraft lifts off on Oct. 15, 1997, atop a Titan IVB rocket.
On this day in space! Oct. 15, 1997: NASA launches Cassini-Hugyens probe on 7-year voyage to Saturn

By Hanneke Weitering Published

Space Exploration
USAF Capt. Charles E. Yeager (shown standing with the Bell X-1 supersonic rocket plane) became the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound in level flight on Oct. 14, 1947.
On this day in space! Oct. 14, 1947: Test pilot Chuck Yeager breaks the sound barrier in the Bell X-1, the first X-plane

By Hanneke Weitering Published

On Oct. 14, 1947, Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier for the first time! Here's why it mattered.

Space Exploration
This sharpest-ever image of M51, the "Whirlpool Galaxy," was captured in 2005 with the Hubble Space Telescope.
On this day in space! Oct. 13, 1773: Astronomer Charles Messier discovers the Whirlpool Galaxy before we ever knew it was a galaxy

By Hanneke Weitering Published

On Oct. 13, 1773, a French astronomer named Charles Messier discovered the "Whirlpool Galaxy," also known as Messier 51, or M51. Here's why it mattered.

Space Exploration
On Oct. 12, 1964, the Soviet Union launched the first multiperson mission, Voskhod 1, which launched three Russian cosmonauts into space. The crew included Vladimir Komarov (commander), Konstantin Feoktistov (engineer) and Boris Yegorov (doctor), shown at right.
On this day in space! Oct. 12, 1964: The Soviet Union launches Voskhod 1, the 1st multi-person cosmonaut crew, into space

By Hanneke Weitering Published

On Oct. 12, 1964, the Soviet Union launched Voskhod 1, a 24-hour crewed mission that achieved several "firsts" for human spaceflight. Here's why it mattered.

Space Exploration
a white and black rocket lifts off into a blue sky leaving behind a plume spread across its launch site
On this day in space! Oct. 11, 1968: Apollo 7 launches into space, NASA's 1st Apollo astronaut crew in orbit

By Hanneke Weitering Published

On. Oct. 11, 1968, Apollo 7 launched into space with NASA astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele and Walter Cunningham. Here's why it mattered.

Space Exploration
a group of men in suits sign a document at a wooden table in front of the american flag
On this day in space! Oct. 10, 1967: The Outer Space Treaty is ratified to lay out how countries can use outer space

By Hanneke Weitering Published

On Oct. 10, 1967, the international Outer Space Treaty on how countries can use outer space ratified. Here's why it mattered.

Space Exploration
an orange and brown-striped chunk of rock with a smooth, rounded top edge and a flat cross-section face
On this day in space! Oct. 9, 1992: Peekskill meteorite hits car in New York after streaking through the atmosphere

By Hanneke Weitering Published

On Oct. 9, 1992, a space rock the size of a bowling ball fell out of space and crash landed on a woman's Chevy Malibu in Peekskill, New York. Here's why it mattered.

Space Exploration
pioneer spacecraft above Venus.
On this day in space! Oct. 8, 1992: NASA's Pioneer Venus probe burns up in Venusian atmosphere after 14 years orbiting the planet

By Hanneke Weitering Published

On Oct. 8, 1992, NASA's Pioneer 12 spacecraft burned up in the atmosphere of Venus. Here's why it mattered.

Space Exploration
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