1965:
The Soviet Union launches its Venera 2 probe from BaikonurCosmodrome, Kazakhstan,
aboard an SS-6 rocket on a planned flyby of Venus.
The probe ceased
functioning before reaching the planet and no data is returned.
1981:
The NASA Space Shuttle Columbia launches from Kennedy Space Center, Fla. On the STS-2 mission, astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly tested the shuttle’s robotic arm. The planned five-day mission returned after only two days due to a
fuel cell failure
.
Nov. 13
1971:
The U.S. Mariner 9, launched in May, becomes the first spacecraft to orbit Mars and provides the first complete map of the red planet’s surface.
2006:
Blue Origin, owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, tests an unpiloted version of its New Shepard suborbital passenger-carrying vehicle
. The vehicle, dubbed Goddard, successfully performed a vertical take-off and landing from Blue Origin’s private West Texas launch site.
Nov. 14
1969:
Apollo 12 launches aboard a Saturn 5 rocket from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Charles Conrad, Richard Gordon
and Alan Bean. The mission marks
the second successful Moon landing and return to Earth.
Nov. 16
1965:
The Soviet Union’s Venera 3 launches on a journey to Venus on an SS-6 rocket from BaikonurCosmodrome, Kazakhstan
. During the planned landing attempt, the lander accidentally crashes into the planet’s surface and fails to return data. However, it becomes the first man-made object to hit the surface of another planet.
Nov. 17
1961:
NASA selects Chrysler Corp.
to develop and launch 20 1st-stage Saturn 1 rocket boosters
under a $200 million five-year contract.
Nov. 18
1989:
NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer launches for Earth orbit
aboard a Delta rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The space telescope detected infrared and microwave background radiation from the beginning of the universe.
