Sept. 24
1964:
The first Minuteman 2 ICBM, built by Boeing, launches from Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Sept. 25
1997:
The Space Shuttle Atlantis, S
TS-86, launches from Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
�
�During the mission, Atlantis
docks with the Soviet Union’s Mir space station, allowing U.S.
astronaut David Wolf
�to replace
�fellow astronaut Michael Foale
�aboard the station.
Sept. 26
1983:
Soviet cosmonauts Vladimir Titov and Gennady Strekalov avert
a launch pad explosion as their Soyuz T-10A sits atop an A-2 rocket.
Just before the A-2 rocket explodes, Titov and Strekalov escape by activating the escape rocket on their Soyuz T-10A.
Sept. 27
1956:
After being released from a B-50 bomber, the
X-2 rocket plane, a joint project of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, U.S. Air Force and Bell Aircraft Corp., reaches a then record-breaking speed of Mach 3.2. The flight, however, ended tragically with the destruction of the plane and the death of the pilot, Air Force
Capt. Milburn “Mel” Apt
.
2003:
Three Disaster Monitoring Constellation
satellites launch aboard a Russian Cosmos-3M rocket. Bilsat 1, NigeriaSat 1 and BNSCSat 1 were built for Turkey, Nigeria and the United Kingdom, respectively
, by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. of Guildford, England.
Sept. 29
1954:
U.S. Army Ordinance
awards the Redstone rocket contract to Chrysler Corp. A later version of the Redstone rocket would serve as the first launch vehicle for NASA’s Mercury orbiter.
1961:
The U.S. Air Force awards contracts to Boeing Co., Radio Corp. of America and Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Co. for the development of the X-20 Dyna-Soar. Although a complete Dyna-Soar never was built, the planned experimental orbital glider led to the development of many hypersonic and NASA technologies, including the space shuttle.
1977:
The Soviet Union’s Salyut 6 reaches orbit. It is the first space station equipped with docking stations on either end, which allow for two vehicles to dock at once, including the Progress supply ship.
1988:
The Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-26, launches from Kennedy Space Center, Fla., becoming the first shuttle to return to flight after the Challenger exploded 975 days earlier.
Sept. 30
1955:
North American Aviation receives the contract to develop the X-15, a hypersonic plane sponsored by NASA, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy.
1994:
The Space Shuttle Endeavour
�launches the STS-68 mission with Space Radar Laboratory-2 on board.
