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New Horizons has been in space for 6644 days. (Launch Date: Jan 19, 2006)

It's been 3181 days
since New Horizons'
closest approach
to Pluto on
July 14, 2015.


It's been 1914 days
since New Horizons'
closest approach
to 2014 MU69 on
January 1, 2019.



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1961 Tasco 12TE


Tasco 4.5 Lunagrosso


TheSkySearchers.com January, 2017

  February 2017  

March, 2017

     Current Date  

Sunday


Monday


Tuesday


Wednesday


Thursday


Friday


Saturday


     

 1

     48 years ago, in 1969:

The Soviet Vostok-2M carrier rocket has its only launch failure (out of 93), due to an upper stage problem.

     14 years ago, in 2003:

The shuttle Columbia (STS-107) disintegrates during re-entry, killing all 7 aboard.

       This year:

The New Horizons probe performs an engine burn in preparation of the eventual flyby of 2014 MU69.

 2

     53 years ago, in 1964:

Ranger 6 lands on the Moon, but its TV camera fails.

     14 years ago, in 2003:

Progress M-47 (ISS-10P) launches to the ISS, becoming the 100th Progress mission.

     8 years ago, in 2009:

Omid, Iran's first domestically made satellite, is successfully launched, making Iran the ninth country to develop an indigenous satellite launch capability.

     6 years ago, in 2011:

NASA's Kepler space telescope finds the first six confirmed exoplanets orbiting a Sun-like star.

 3

     54 years ago, in 1963:

Luna E-6 No.3 (Luna 1963B) is launched to perform a soft landing on the Moon, but fails to reach orbit and reenters the atmosphere.

     52 years ago, in 1965:

OSO-B2 (Orbiting Solar Observatory) is successfully launched into orbit.

     51 years ago, in 1966:

Luna 9 is the first spacecraft to land on the Moon.

     47 years ago, in 1970:

SERT-II is launched for a 6 month test of a mercury ion thruster engine.

     40 years ago, in 1977:

The Salyut 4 space station burns up in Earth's atmosphere after 770 days in orbit.

     23 years ago, in 1994:

The Clementine lunar probe leaves Earth orbit.

     22 years ago, in 1995:

On the first shuttle mission to Mir aboard Discovery (STS-63), Eileen Collins becomes the first female shuttle pilot and commander.

     11 years ago, in 2006:

SuitSat-1 is deployed from the ISS.

     7 years ago, in 2010:

NASA extends the Cassini mission at Saturn to 2017.

 4            FIRST QUARTER 

     56 years ago, in 1961:

Venera 1VA is launched to Venus, first ever planetary mission, but fails to leave Earth orbit.

     55 years ago, in 1962:

Comet Seki-Lines (C/1962 C1, Great Comet of 1962) is discovered independently by Tsutomu Seki and Richard Lines.

     51 years ago, in 1966:

Luna 9 sends the first pictures from the lunar surface, which are intercepted and published by the British.

 5

     174 years ago, in 1843:

The Great Comet of 1843 is first observed.

     50 years ago, in 1967:

Lunar Orbiter 3 is launched to photograph the future Apollo and Surveyor landing sites.

     46 years ago, in 1971:

Apollo 14 lands on the moon.

     43 years ago, in 1974:

Mariner 10 flies by Venus, becomes the first spacecraft to use gravity assist, next stop: Mercury.

     30 years ago, in 1987:

JAXA successfully launches its third cosmic X-ray satellite, Ginga (Japanese for 'galaxy').

     23 years ago, in 1994:

The Clementine lunar probe makes its first Earth flyby.

 6

     51 years ago, in 1966:

The Soviet Proton-2 satellite, designed for the study of high and ultra-high energy particles, ends its mission.

     42 years ago, in 1975:

SMS-2, the second of two predecessors to the GOES series of satellites, is launched.

     39 years ago, in 1978:

Progress 1 undocks from the Salyut 6 space station.

     13 years ago, in 2004:

The Beagle 2 lander is declared lost.

     6 years ago, in 2011:

The two solar probes, STEREO A and B, are exactly 180 degrees apart from each other, allowing the entire Sun to be seen at once for the first time.

 7            WAXING GIBBOUS 

     49 years ago, in 1968:

Luna E-6LS No.112 (Luna 1968A) is launched to enter a selenocentric orbit, but the third stage run out of fuel and fails to reach orbit.

     40 years ago, in 1977:

Soyuz 24 is launched to the Salyut 5 space station.

     33 years ago, in 1984:

Aboard shuttle Challenger (STS-41-B), Bruce McCandless takes the first untethered space walk using the new Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).

     18 years ago, in 1999:

Stardust is launched to Comet Wild 2 to capture comet dust and pre-solar interstellar materials to be returned to Earth.

     16 years ago, in 2001:

The Destiny Laboratory Module is launched to the ISS aboard the shuttle Atlantis (STS-98).

     9 years ago, in 2008:

The shuttle Atlantis (STS-122) is launched to the ISS with the ESA's Columbus science laboratory.

     5 years ago, in 2012:

After almost nine years of operation, NASA places the GALEX ultraviolet space telescope in standby mode.

 8

     50 years ago, in 1967:

Lunar Orbiter 3 goes into orbit around the Moon.

     43 years ago, in 1974:

After just over 84 days in orbit, the crew of Skylab 4 return to Earth.

     39 years ago, in 1978:

Progress 1 enters Earth's atmosphere and burns up.

     32 years ago, in 1985:

The first Brazilian satellite, Brasilsat A1, is successfully launched.

     25 years ago, in 1992:

The Ulysses spacecraft arrives at Jupiter for a swing-by maneuver to position itself for orbit above the Sun's poles.

     7 years ago, in 2010:

The shuttle Endeavour (STS-130) is launched to the ISS with the Tranquility module and the Cupola robotic control station.

 9

     104 years ago, in 1913:

Several hundred meteors are seen streaming across the sky from Saskatchewan to Bermuda.

     46 years ago, in 1971:

Apollo 14 splashes down in the South Pacific Ocean and is retrieved by the USS New Orleans.

     42 years ago, in 1975:

After 29 days, Soyuz 17 leaves the Salyut 4 space station and lands on Earth.

     2 years ago, in 2015:

Orbital Sciences merges with Alliant Techsystems to become a new company called Orbital ATK, Inc.

 10

     83 years ago, in 1934:

4179 Toutatis is first sighted as object 1934 CT, but is lost soon after.

     43 years ago, in 1974:

Mars 4 reaches Mars, but its retro-rockets fail and it flies by the planet instead of going into orbit.

     27 years ago, in 1990:

The Galileo probe flies past Venus for a gravity assist to Jupiter.

     17 years ago, in 2000:

In what was to be JAXA's fifth cosmic X-ray satellite, ASTRO-E is launched but the rocket fails 42 seconds into the flight, and the satellite is lost.

     16 years ago, in 2001:

The Destiny Laboratory Module is attached to the ISS with the Canadarm.

     8 years ago, in 2009:

Two satellites collide in orbit for the first time, Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251.

 11            FULL MOON 

     217 years ago, in 1800:

While testing filters for observing the Sun, William Herschel discovers infrared radiation in sunlight.

     47 years ago, in 1970:

Osumi (or Ohsumi), the first Japanese satellite, is launched.

     20 years ago, in 1997:

Servicing Mission 2 is launched aboard shuttle Discovery (STS-82) to extend Hubble's wavelength range to near infrared.

     7 years ago, in 2010:

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is launched to study the solar atmosphere and magnetic field.

     4 years ago, in 2013:

Landsat 8 is launched.

     2 years ago, in 2015:

The Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) space weather satellite is launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

 12

     70 years ago, in 1947:

An approximately 100-ton meteorite explodes and impacts in the Sikhote-Alin Mountains, USSR.

     56 years ago, in 1961:

Venera 1 is launched for Venus, but communications fail before arrival.

     43 years ago, in 1974:

Mars 5 reaches Mars and takes photos for 22 orbits until a transmitter flaw ends the mission.

     18 years ago, in 1999:

The ROSAT X-ray satellite is shut down.

     16 years ago, in 2001:

The NEAR Shoemaker probe lands on asteroid Eros.

 13

     5 years ago, in 2012:

MaSat-1, the first Hungarian satellite (designed and built in Hungary), is successfully launched.

     5 years ago, in 2012:

The first Polish satellite, PW-Sat, is successfully launched.

     5 years ago, in 2012:

The first Romanian satellite, Goliat, is successfully launched.

     5 years ago, in 2012:

The Vega rocket, used by Arianespace, makes its maiden flight, carrying and deploying MaSat-1, PW-Sat, Goliat, and others.

 14            WANING GIBBOUS 

     54 years ago, in 1963:

Syncom 1 is launched to be the first geosynchronous communications satellite, but fails before reaching orbit.

     45 years ago, in 1972:

Luna 20 (USSR) is launched to the Moon; the eighth Soviet attempt to bring back soil from the surface.

     37 years ago, in 1980:

The Solar Maximum Mission satellite (SolarMax) is launched to study the Sun.

     31 years ago, in 1986:

After the flyby of Uranus, Voyager 2 performs its only midcourse correction on its way to Neptune.

     28 years ago, in 1989:

The Delta II 6000 makes its maiden flight, launching the first modern Block-II satellite, USA-35, for the Global Positioning System.

     27 years ago, in 1990:

Voyager 1 is turned around to take the Solar System Portrait (Portrait of the Planets), 4 billion miles from the Sun.

     17 years ago, in 2000:

The NEAR Shoemaker probe arrives at the asteroid Eros.

     16 years ago, in 2001:

Thomas Jones and Robert Curbeam Jr. perform the 100th space walk in the United States space program.

     11 years ago, in 2006:

Weywot, a moon of the TNO Quaoar, is discovered by Michael Brown and T.A. Suer using images acquired by the Hubble telescope.

     6 years ago, in 2011:

Stardust/NExT flies by Comet Tempel 1 and sends back images.

 15

     453 years ago, in 1564:

Galileo Galilei is born in Pisa, Duchy of Florence, Italy.

     172 years ago, in 1845:

The 72-inch Rosse (Leviathan of Parsonstown) Telescope sees "first light".

     44 years ago, in 1973:

Pioneer 10 becomes the first spacecraft to cross the asteroid belt.

     24 years ago, in 1993:

The Japanese Hiten moon probe is placed into permanent lunar orbit.

     23 years ago, in 1994:

The Clementine lunar probe makes its second Earth flyby.

     20 years ago, in 1997:

10199 Chariklo, the largest confirmed centaur. Is discovered by James V. Scotti of the Spacewatch program.

     4 years ago, in 2013:

A near-Earth asteroid explodes in an air burst over Chelyabinsk, Russia.

 16

     69 years ago, in 1948:

Gerard Kuiper discovers one of Uranus' moons, Miranda.

     56 years ago, in 1961:

Explorer 9, a balloon satellite for air density research, is launched, becoming the first spacecraft launched from Wallops Island to achieve orbit.

     52 years ago, in 1965:

AS-103 (SA-9), is successfully launched, carrying the third 'boilerplate' version of the Apollo spacecraft and the first Pegasus micrometeroid detection satellite.

     41 years ago, in 1976:

After 90 days, Soyuz 20 leaves the Salyut 4 space station and lands on Earth.

     10 years ago, in 2007:

The South Pole Telescope, a 10-meter telescope designed for observations in the microwave, millimeter-wave, and submillimeter-wave regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, sees first light.

 17

     58 years ago, in 1959:

NASA launches the first weather satellite, Vanguard 2.

     52 years ago, in 1965:

Ranger 8 is launched to the Moon.

     21 years ago, in 1996:

NASA launches the NEAR Shoemaker probe to study near-Earth asteroid Eros.

     19 years ago, in 1998:

Pioneer 10 and Voyager 1 are the same distance away from the Sun, 69.4 AU (6.45 billion miles).

     13 years ago, in 2004:

Orcus (2004 DW), a large plutino, is dicovered by Michael Brown, David Rabinowitz, and Chad Trujillo.

     10 years ago, in 2007:

The Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) mission of five satellites, THEMIS A through THEMIS E, are launched to study energy releases from Earth's magnetosphere known as substorms.

     8 years ago, in 2009:

Dawn receives a gravity assist from Mars on its way to the asteroid Vesta.

      1 year ago, in 2016:

The Japanese X-ray Astronomy satellite Hitomi is launched from the Tanegashima Space Center.

 18            LAST QUARTER 

     87 years ago, in 1930:

Clyde W. Tombaugh discovers Pluto.

     45 years ago, in 1972:

Luna 20 (USSR) goes into orbit around the Moon.

     40 years ago, in 1977:

The shuttle Enterprise makes its first captive flight atop a Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft.

     11 years ago, in 2006:

SuitSat-1 sends its last confirmed signal.

 19

     544 years ago, in 1473:

Nicolaus Copernicus is born in Thorn, Royal Prussia, Kingdom of Poland.

     230 years ago, in 1787:

William Herschel's 40-foot (Great Forty-Foot) Telescope sees "first light".

     53 years ago, in 1964:

Zond 3MV-1 No.2 (Venera 1964A) is launched for Venus, but the third stage explodes.

     53 years ago, in 1964:

The Soviet Molniya-M medium carrier rocket is launched on its maiden flight.

     48 years ago, in 1969:

Luna E-8 No.201 (Luna 1969A) is launched to perform a soft landing and deploy the Lunokhod No.201 rover on the Moon, but the payload shroud collapses, ending the mission.

     41 years ago, in 1976:

MARISAT F1, the first of three maritime telecommunications satellites for commercial shipping and the U.S. Navy, is launched.

     31 years ago, in 1986:

The Mir Core Module is launched; first part of the new Russian space station.

     30 years ago, in 1987:

Marine Observation Satellite 1 (MOS-1) is launched from Tanegashima Space Center, becoming Japan's first Earth observation satellite.

     23 years ago, in 1994:

The Clementine lunar probe enters the Moons orbit.

 20

     70 years ago, in 1947:

A U.S. launched V-2 rocket sends the first animals (fruit flies) into space, which are successfully recovered.

     55 years ago, in 1962:

Three-orbit flight that placed the first American into earth orbit, John H. Glenn, Jr. (Mercury/Friendship 7).

     54 years ago, in 1963:

The Friendship 7 spacecraft is formally presented to the National Air Museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

     52 years ago, in 1965:

Ranger 8 sends back 7,137 hi-res pictures before crashing into the lunar surface.

     40 years ago, in 1977:

The Viking 1 orbiter flies by one of Mars' moons, Phobos, with the closest approach being 55 miles (89km).

     34 years ago, in 1983:

JAXA successfully launches its second cosmic X-ray satellite, Tenma (Japanese for 'Pegasus').

     24 years ago, in 1993:

JAXA successfully launches its fourth cosmic X-ray satellite, the Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA), becoming the first satellite to use CCDs for X-ray astronomy.

     18 years ago, in 1999:

On board the Soyuz TM-29 mission to Mir, Ivan Bella becomes the first Slovak citizen to visit space.

     16 years ago, in 2001:

Odin, a Swedish satellite, is launched to study both star formation and the depletion of ozone in Earth's atmosphere.

 21

     54 years ago, in 1963:

Telstar 1 goes out of service, mostly due to radiation from high-altitude nuclear bomb testing.

     48 years ago, in 1969:

On the first test of the Soviet N-1 rocket booster, the Zond L1S-1 capsule is launched to be put into lunar orbit, but the rocket fails 66 seconds after liftoff.

     45 years ago, in 1972:

Luna 20 (USSR) lands on the Moon's highlands, and successfully collects a soil sample.

     38 years ago, in 1979:

JAXA successfully launches its first cosmic X-ray satellite, Hakucho (Japanese for 'Swan').

     36 years ago, in 1981:

Hinotori, Japan's first Solar X-ray astronomy satellite, is successfully launched.

     11 years ago, in 2006:

Japan's Akari (ASTRO-F), an infrared astronomy satellite, is launched to study the entire sky in near, mid, and far-infrared.

     9 years ago, in 2008:

The U.S. military reconnaissance satellite, USA-193, is intentionally destroyed by a modified SM-3 missile fired from the warship USS Lake Erie.

     9 years ago, in 2008:

NASA and researchers at McGill University announce the discovery of a neutron star with the properties of a radio pulsar which emitted the magnetically powered bursts of a magnetar.

 22            WANING CRESCENT 

     51 years ago, in 1966:

The Soviet dogs Veterok and Ugolyok are launched on board Cosmos 110, and spend 22 days in orbit.

     45 years ago, in 1972:

Luna 20's ascent stage lifts off from the Moon, and heads to Earth with its soil sample.

     31 years ago, in 1986:

Sweden successfully launches its first satellite, Viking.

     26 years ago, in 1991:

The Japanese probe Suisei runs out of propellant.

     2 years ago, in 2015:

The PROCYON asteroid flyby space probe starts its ion engine with the intent of flying by asteroid 2000 DP.

       This year:

The final flight of the Soyuz-U rocket is launched, carrying Progress MS-05 to the ISS.

       This year:

After almost 44 years, 786 launches and a success rate of 97.3%, the Soyuz-U orbital carrier rocket makes its last flight, carrying Progress MS-05 to the ISS.

 23

     27 years ago, in 1990:

Pioneer 11 becomes the fourth man-made object to pass beyond the orbit of all the planets.

     18 years ago, in 1999:

SUNSAT, the first miniaturized satellite designed and manufactured in South Africa, is successfully launched.

     18 years ago, in 1999:

Denmark's first successful satellite, Orsted, is launched.

 24

     68 years ago, in 1949:

A WAC Corporal with a V-2 first stage is flown at 5150 mph (8290 kph); first flight of over five times the speed of sound.

     30 years ago, in 1987:

Supernova SN 1987A is discovered.

     8 years ago, in 2009:

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) satellite, designed to study atmospheric carbon dioxide, is lost in a launch failure.

     6 years ago, in 2011:

The 39th and final flight of Discovery (STS-133) launches to the ISS with the Permanent Multipurpose Module, Leonardo, and the third of four ExPRESS Logistics Carriers.

 25

     48 years ago, in 1969:

Mariner 6 is launched to Mars.

     45 years ago, in 1972:

Luna 20 successfully returns the capsule with the lunar soil sample to Earth.

     40 years ago, in 1977:

After 18 days, Soyuz 24 leaves the Salyut 5 space station and lands on Earth.

     35 years ago, in 1982:

Landsat 2 ceases operations.

     10 years ago, in 2007:

The Rosetta probe flies by Mars, returning detailed images.

     4 years ago, in 2013:

UniBRITE-1 and TUGSAT-1 become the first two Austrian satellites to be launched.

     4 years ago, in 2013:

Sapphire, Canada's first military satellite designed to monitor space debris and satellites, is successfully launched.

 26            NEW MOON 

     401 years ago, in 1616:

Galileo Galilei is ordered by the Inquisition to abandon the Copernican theories.

     234 years ago, in 1783:

NGC 2360 (Caroline's Cluster), an open cluster in the constellation Canis Major, is discovered by Caroline Herschel.

     51 years ago, in 1966:

AS-201 is successfully launched; the first flight of the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn IB launch vehicle.

     38 years ago, in 1979:

A total solar eclipse is monitored at far infrared from the NASA Lear Jet Observatory flying in the eclipse shadow.

     23 years ago, in 1994:

The Clementine lunar probe begins systematic mapping of the Southern hemisphere of the Moon.

 27

     174 years ago, in 1843:

The Great Comet of 1843 makes a very close perihelion of less than 515,000 miles (830,000 km).

     75 years ago, in 1942:

James Stanley Hey accidentaly discovers radio emmissions coming from the Sun.

     56 years ago, in 1961:

The Soviet R-7 Semyorka ICBM makes its final flight.

     44 years ago, in 1973:

NASA's Crawler Transporter One carries the first Saturn IB to the launch pad for the Skylab 2 mission.

 28

     461 years ago, in 1556:

The German astronomer Joachim Heller discovers the Great Comet of 1556 (C/1556 D1).

     58 years ago, in 1959:

Discoverer 1, a US Air Force reconnaissance satellite, is the first satellite launched toward the South Pole in an effort to enter polar orbit, but is unsuccessful.

     10 years ago, in 2007:

New Horizons makes a pass by Jupiter for a gravity assist to Pluto.

     3 years ago, in 2014:

After over a month in storage on board the ISS, Lituanica SAT-1 and LitSat-1, the two first Lithuanian satellites, are successfully deployed.