60 Years Ago -- 1946

Jun. 28: First fully instrumented upper air research V-2 launched, reached height of 67 miles. White Sands Proving Grounds, NM.

45 Years Ago – 1961

Jun. 30: Meteoroid Satellite A failed to orbit, 1:09 p.m.. EDT, Wallops Flight Center , VA.

40 Years Ago -- 1966

Jun. 2: Surveyor 1 landed on the moon, first US spacecraft to do so. Launched May 30, 9:41 a.m., EST, ESMC.

Jun. 3: Gemini 9 launched, astronauts Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene A. Cernan. 8:39 a.m.. EST, ESMC.

Jun. 6: OGO 3 launched, 10:48 p.m., EDT, WSMC.

Jun. 23: Pageos launched, 8:12 p.m., EDT, WSMC.

35 Years Ago -- 1971

Jun. 4: Last flight of the X-24A, Dryden Flight Research Facility, CA. Pilot John A. Manke.

Jun. 6: Soyuz 11 launched, 0455 UT, Baikonur, USSR. First crew to the Salyut 1 space station and work on a space station. Crew composed of Dobrovolskiy, Volkov and Patseyev died during reentry, June 30.

Jun. 20: Planetary Atmosphere Experiment Test (PAET) launched, 3:31 p.m., EDT, on Scout launch vehicle, WFC, VA.

30 Years Ago -- 1976

Jun. 9: Marisat 2 launched, 8:09 p.m., EDT, ESMC.

Jun. 18: Gravity Probe A launched, 7:41 a.m., EDT, WFC, VA.

Jun. 22: Salyut 5 Launch ( USSR Space Station)

15 Years Ago -- 1991

Jun. 5: STS-40 (Space Shuttle Columbia) making its twelfth flight. Launched at 9:25 a.m., EDT, KSC. Astronauts: Bryan O'Connor, Sidney Gutierrez, Rhea Seddon,, James Bagian, Tamara Jernigan, Drew Gaffney, and Millie Hughes-Fulford. Spacelab (SLS-I) in cargo bay. Landed Jun. 14 at 8:39 a.m. PDT, at Edwards Air Force Base, CA. Mission duration: 9 days, 2 hours, and 14 minutes.

10 Years Ago – 1996

Jun. 20: STS 78 (Space Shuttle Columbia) launched at 10:49 a.m. EDT, KSC. Astronauts: Terence T. Henricks, Kevin R. Kregel, Susan J. Helms, Richard M. Linnehan, Charles E. Brady, Jr., Jean-Jacques Favier, and Robert Brent Thirsk. Carried Spacelab (LMS-1). Landed July 7 at 8:37 a.m. EDT, at KSC. Mission Duration: 16 days, 21 hours, and 48 minutes.

Jun. 27: Galileo, Ganymede 1 Flyby.

5 Years Ago – 2001

June 30: MAP (Microwave Anisotropy Probe) is an NASA Explorer mission measuring the temperature of the cosmic background radiation (the remnant heat from the Big Bang). It was launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral at 19:46 UT.

Colin Fries, Author
Steven J. Dick, NASA Chief Historian
Steve Garber, NASA History Web Curator
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For further information email histinfo@hq.nasa.gov