On June 19, 1976, NASA’s Viking 1 Orbiter was inserted into Mars orbit. Both Viking 1 and Viking 2 spacecraft were consisting of an orbiter and a lander.
Category Archives: This Day in Science, Technology, Astronomy, and Space Exploration History
Sally Ride became the first American woman in space on June 18, 1983
On June 18, 1983, Space Shuttle Challenger and the STS-7 crew launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida. With the launch, one of the mission specialists, Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space.
Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on June 16, 1963
On June 16, 1963, aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space. She made 48 orbits around Earth and spent 2 days, 22 hours, and 50 minutes in space.
Charles Babbage Unveiled the Difference Engine on June 14, 1822
On June 14, 1822, English polymath Charles Babbage (26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) announced his invention of the Difference Engine on 14 June 1822, in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society. The title of the paper was “Note on the application of machinery to the computation of astronomical and mathematical tables”. It …
Continue reading “Charles Babbage Unveiled the Difference Engine on June 14, 1822”
UNIVAC I, the world’s first commercial computer was unveiled on June 14, 1951
On June 14, 1951, UNIVAC I (UNIVersal Automatic Computer I), the world’s first general-purpose electronic digital computer was unveiled. running on a 2.25 MHz clock, it was capable of completing 1,905 instructions per second.
Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to pass beyond the orbit of Neptune on June 13, 1983
On June 13, 1983, Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to pass beyond the orbit of Neptune. So, it is the first spacecraft to pass beyond all the solar system planets.
Venera 4 was launched on June 12, 1967
On June 12, 1967, the Soviet Union launched Venera 4, which means “Venus 4” in English, a probe in the Soviet Venera program for the exploration of the planet Venus. It became the first successful probe to perform in-place analysis of the environment of another planet.
Mariner 9, the first spacecraft to orbit Mars was launched on May 30, 1971
On May 30, 1971, Mariner 9 robotic spacecraft was launched from LC-36B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida on top of an Atlas SLV-3C Centaur-D rocket. It reached Mars on November 14 of the same year and became the first spacecraft to orbit Mars, and in general, another planet.
European Space Agency (ESA) was founded on May 30, 1975
The European Space Agency (ESA), an international organization dedicated to the exploration of space was founded on May 30, 1975. Shortly after its formation, on August 9, 1975, the space agency ESA launched its first major scientific mission, Cos-B, a space probe monitoring gamma-ray emissions in the universe, which was first worked on by ESRO …
Continue reading “European Space Agency (ESA) was founded on May 30, 1975”
Discovery performed the first Space Shuttle docking to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 29, 1999
On May 29, 1999, the STS-96 crew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery became the first to dock with the International Space Station. Using the Integrated Cargo Carrier, Discovery delivered the Russian cargo crane, STRELA, the SPACEHAB Oceaneering Space System Box, and the American crane, ORU Transfer Device, to the space station.
