Space History for January 27

If you are not already a subscriber, you are welcome to enter your email address here to sign up to receive the Space History newsletter on a daily basis. Under no circumstances will we release your legitimate email address entered here to outside persons or organizations, and it will only be used for mailing the specific information you have requested.

Enter your email address here:

Unsubscribe instructions are included in every newsletter issue in case you decide you no longer wish to receive it.

Note: We record the IP address from which subscriptions are entered to help prevent SPAM abuses.

Race To Space
Someone will win the prize...
... but at what cost?
Visit RaceToSpaceProject.com to find out more!

1904
R. S. Dugan discovered asteroid #523 Ada.

1908
Jupiter's moon Pasiphae was discovered by Philibert Jacques Melotte.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1932
K. Reinmuth discovered asteroid #1815 Beethoven.

1935
E. Delporte discovered asteroid #1341 Edmee.

1965
The first two way ground station-to-aircraft radio communication via satellite was made, between the NASA/Hughes Station at Camp Roberts, California and the Bendix Equipment aboard a Pan Am flight out of Hong Kong.
ref: www.slideshare.net

1967
The Outer Space Treaty banning nuclear weapons in space was opened for signature in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union. As of February 2021, 111 countries were parties, another 23 had signed but had not completed ratification.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1967 18:31:05 EST (GMT -5:00:00)
Apollo 1 burned on the pad during a training session for emergency procedures, killing astronauts Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee, the first astronaut fatalities while in a spacecraft in NASA's history.

Charred interior of Apollo 1 after the fatal fire, NASA photo (28 January 1967)
Source: Wikipedia (spaceflight.nasa.gov killed 25 Feb 2021)

Apollo One is the name given to the Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) spacecraft after it was destroyed by fire during a training exercise, ironically for emergency procedures, on 27 January 1967, at Pad 34 on a Saturn IB rocket. Its crew were the astronauts selected for the initial Apollo program mission: Command Pilot Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Senior Pilot Ed White II, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee.

See also Wikipedia
ref: web.archive.org
ref: www.nasa.gov

1967 18:31:05 EST (GMT -5:00:00)
Died (Apollo 1 launch pad fire), Edward Higgins "Ed" White II, astronaut (Gemini 4; nearly 4d 2h in spaceflight), first American to walk in space

Astronaut Ed White II, NASA photo S66-35219 (12 May 1966)
Source: Wikipedia (spaceflight.nasa.gov killed 25 Feb 2021)

Edward Higgins "Ed" White II (14 November 1930 - 27 January 1967) was an American astronaut. He was chosen with the second group of astronauts in 1962. As pilot of Gemini 4, he was the first American to make a spacewalk. White was also the backup command pilot for Gemini 7. He had been selected to be the Command Module pilot for the first Apollo program flight. He died with fellow astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Roger Chaffee in the Apollo 1 fire at Cape Kennedy, Florida.
ref: web.archive.org
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1967 18:31:05 EST (GMT -5:00:00)
Died (Apollo 1 launch pad fire), Roger B. Chaffee, Lt Commander USN, NASA astronaut candidate

Apollo 1 astronaut candidate Roger B. Chaffee, NASA photo (10 September 1964)
Source: Wikipedia (www.jsc.nasa.gov unavailable January 2020)

Roger Bruce Chaffee (15 February 1935 - 27 January 1967) was chosen in NASA's third group of astronauts in 1963. He had been selected as Lunar Module pilot for the first Apollo flight when the capsule burned on the pad, killing its crew of three: Chaffee, Virgil "Gus" Grissom and Edward White II. The mission would have been his first flight to space.
ref: web.archive.org
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1967 18:31:05 EST (GMT -5:00:00)
Died (Apollo 1 launch pad fire), Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom, Lt Colonel USAF, NASA astronaut (suborbital Mercury MR-4 (Liberty Bell 7), Gemini 3; 4h 52m in orbital spaceflight)

Astronaut Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom, NASA photo (1964)
Source: Wikipedia (www.jsc.nasa.gov unavailable January 2020)

Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (3 April 1926 - 27 January 1967) was one of NASA's original seven Mercury astronauts. Grissom flew the second manned US space flight and commanded the first two-man Gemini mission. He was killed along with Edward White II and Roger Chaffee in a launch pad fire during a test for the upcoming first Apollo flight, which Grissom was scheduled to command.
ref: web.archive.org
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1982
Oak Ridge Observatory discovered asteroids #2674 Pandarus and #3342.

1984
A. Mrkos discovered asteroid #3278.

1985 16:23:23 EST (GMT -5:00:00)
NASA's STS 51-C (Discovery 3, 15th Shuttle mission) landed at Kennedy Space Center at the close of the first Shuttle mission dedicated to the Department of Defense.

STS 51-C was launched 24 January 1985 after the original launch on 23 January was scrubbed due to freezing weather conditions. This was the first mission dedicated to the Department of Defense. A US Air Force Inertial Upper Stage booster was deployed and met mission objectives.

The STS 51-C mission ended on 27 January 1985 when Discovery landed on revolution 49 on Runway 15, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Rollout distance: 7,352 feet. Rollout time: 50 seconds. Launch weight: 250,891 pounds. Landing weight: classified. Orbit altitude: 220 nautical miles. Orbit inclination: 28.5 degrees. Mission duration: three days, one hour, 33 minutes, 23 seconds. Miles traveled: 1.3 million.

The flight crew for STS 51-C was: Thomas K. Mattingly II, Commander; Loren J. Shriver, Pilot; Ellison S. Onizuka, Mission Specialist 1; James F. Buchli, Mission Specialist 2; Gary E. Payton, Payload Specialist 1.
ref: www.nasa.gov

2015
Died, Charles Hard Townes, physicist, developed lasers (Nobel 1964 with Basov, Prokhorov "for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle")
ref: www.nobelprize.org

We are going to run out of oil!
Visit SpacePowerNow.org to help fix the problem.
SpacePowerNow.org - For Human Survival

Please help support our efforts by shopping from our sponsors.

pixel

In affiliation with AllPosters.com

pixel

This newsletter and its contents are
Copyright © 2006-2024 by The L5 Development Group.  All rights reserved.
 - Publication, in part or in whole, requires previous written permission.
 - Academic or personal-use citations must refer to http://L5Development.com as their source.
Thank you for your cooperation.

Space History Department
Resources
The L5 Development Group Home Page

The L5 Development Group Keyword Access System