CHRONOLOGY JUNE 2008

3/21/06

45 Years Ago - 1963

Jun 14: Vostok 5, cosmonaut Valery F. Bykovsky launched, 1200 GMT, Baikonur.

Jun 16: Vostok 6, cosmonaut Valentina V. Tereshkova launched, 0936 GMT, first woman in space, Baikonur.

Jun 19: Tiros 7 launched, 5:50 a.m., EDT, ESMC.

35 Years Ago - 1973

Jun 10: Explorer 49 launched, 10:13 a.m., EDT, ESMC.

30 Years Ago - 1978

Jun 16: GOES-3 launched, 6:49 a.m., EDT, ESMC.

Jun 22: Jim Christy’s discovery of Pluto’s moon, Charon.

Jun 26: SeaSat-1 launched, 9:13 p.m., EDT, WSMC.

25 Years Ago - 1983

Jun 2: Venera 15 Launch (Soviet Venus Orbiter)

Jun 6: Venera 16 Launch (Soviet Venus Orbiter)

Jun 18: STS-7 launched, astronauts Crippen, Hauck, Fabian, Ride and Thagard, 7:33 a.m., EDT KSC. Shuttle launched Anik C-2, Palapa B-1, and SPAS-01, subsequently retrieved by STS-7. First U.S. woman in space: Sally Ride.

Jun 20: Dual DoD launch, 11:45 a.m., PDT, WSMC.

Jun 28: Galaxy 1 launched, 7:08 p.m., EDT, ESMC. First venture of Hughes Aircraft into the field of operational spacecraft.

20 Years Ago - 1988

Jun 15: Nova-II launched, Navy improved Transit, launched 11:51 p.m., PDT, WSMC.

15 Years Ago – 1993

Jun 21: STS-57 (Space Shuttle Endeavour) launched 9:07 a.m. EDT, KSC. Astronauts Ronald J. Grabe, Brian Duffy, G. David Low, Nancy J. Sherlock, Peter J. Wisoff, and Janice Voss. First flight of the Spacehab module. [SPACEHAB-1]

Landed July 1, 1993, 8:52 a.m. EDT, KSC. Mission duration 9 days, 23 hours, 44 minutes.

10 Years Ago – 1998

Jun 2: STS-91 (Space Shuttle Discovery) launched 6:06 p.m. EDT, KSC. Astronauts Charles J. Precourt, Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie, Wendy B. Lawrence, Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Janet L. Kavandi, and cosmonaut Valery Victorovitch Ryumin. Marked the final Shuttle/Mir Docking Mission and first use of the super lightweight external tank (SLWT). Returned Mir crew member Andrew Thomas to Earth. Landed June 12, 1998, 2:00:17 p.m. EDT, KSC. Mission duration 9 days, 19 hours, 55 minutes.

5 Years Ago – 2003

Jun 2: Mars Express, a European (ESA)-Russian (IKI) planetary mission was launched by a Soyuz-Fregat rocket from Baikonur at 17:45 UT. It consisted of a Mars Orbiter and a lander named Beagle 2 that was released from the orbiter when it reached Mars’ vicinity in December 2003.

Jun 10: MER-A (Mars Exploration Rover A) launched by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral AFS at 17:59 UT and carried a robotic rover named Spirit to do geology observations near Gusev Crater on Mars.