CHRONOLOGY JULY 2008
3/21/06
65 Years Ago -
1943
Jul 7: Adolph Hitler assigned highest
priority to V-2 program.
60 Years Ago -
1948
Jul 13: First Convair
MX-774 test missile built under the ballistic missile program, test fired.
50 Years Ago -
1958
Jul 2: White House decision for manned
spaceflight program to go to civilian space agency,
Jul 29: President Eisenhower signed the
National Aeronautics and Space Act,
Jul 26: Explorer 4 launched, 11:00 a.m.,
EDT,
ESMC.
45 Years Ago –
1963
Jul 26: Syncom 2
launched, 10:33 a.m., EDT, ESMC. First operational communications
satellite in geosynchronous orbit.
Page 2
40 Years Ago -
1968
Jul 4: Explorer 38 launched, 1:26:50 p.m.,
EDT, WSMC.
35 Years Ago -
1973
Jul 21: Mars 4 launched, 1931 UT,
Jul 25: Mars 5 launched, 1856 UT,
Jul 28: Skylab 3 launched,
7:11 a.m., EDT, KSC. Second manned visit to Workshop. Astronauts Bean, Garriott, and Lousma. Landed Sep 25, 1973.
30 Years Ago -
1978
Jul 14: GEOS 2 launched, 6:43 a.m., EDT,
ESMC.
Aug 8: Pioneer Venus 2 launched, 3:33
a.m., EDT, ESMC.
25 Years Ago -
1983
Jul 14: Navstar
8 launched, WSMC.
Jul 28: Telstar
3A launched, 6:49 p.m., EDT, ESMC. First Telstar owned by AT&T to be used as an operational spacecraft.
20 Years Ago -
1988
Jul 12: Phobos 2
launch (Soviet Mars Orbiter).
10 Years Ago –
1998
Jul 3:
5 Years Ago – 2003
Jul 8: Mars Explorer Rover-B, also known as MER-B and as “Opportunity” launched on a
Delta 2 rocket from
Jul 30: Seven nanosatellites:
Cubesat XI-IV Japanese; Canadian (University of Toronto) student-built CANX
1; Danish (Aalborg University) AAU Cubesat;
American Quakesat;
(Tokyo Institute of Technology )
CUTE 1 Japanese; Canadian (CSA)
MOST; Danish (Danish Technological University) DTUsat; and Mimosa a Czech minisatellite were
launched by a Rokot rocket from Plesetsk
at 14:15 UT.