CAMILLE
BOHANNON
On this day in 1977, Voyager 2 was launched by NASA from a
spaceport in Cape Canaveral, Florida with a Titan IIIE / Centaur
rocket . The spacecraft was carrying a copper phonograph
record containing greetings in dozens of languages and
samples of music (below).
Singer Robert Anthony Plant is 71 today.
Led Zepplin reunited for a show at London’s O2 arena, 2007.
Explorer 6
From the Atlantic Missile Range in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the U.S.
unmanned spacecraft Explorer 6 is launched into an orbit around the
earth (above). The spacecraft, commonly known as the “Paddlewheel”
satellite, featured a photocell scanner that transmitted a crude picture
of the earth’s surface and cloud cover from a distance of 17,000 miles
and was received in Hawaii after nearly 40 minutes.
The first image taken by Explorer 6 shows a sunlit area of the
Central Pacific Ocean and its cloud cover.
TIM MAGUIRE
On this day in 1970, Apollo 13 blasted off on a mission to the moon
that was disrupted when an explosion crippled the spacecraft. The
three astronauts onboard consisted of James A. Lovell, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr., and Fred W. Haise, Jr. All three managed to return
safely to Earth on April 17, six days after launch.
The crew of the Apollo 13 mission step aboard the U.S.S. Iwo Jima,
prime recovery ship for the mission, following splashdown and
recovery operations in the South Pacific. From left: astronauts Fred.
W. Haise, Jr., lunar module pilot; James A. Lovell Jr., commander;
and John L. Swigert Jr., command module pilot.
MIKE GRACIA
On this day in 1958, Explorer 1 became the United States’ first
satellite in space. The launch of the satellite — twice the size
of a basketball — was an important moment for the country,
as the Space Race with the Soviet Union was just beginning.
The three men responsible for the success of Explorer 1, at left is Dr. William H. Pickering, former director of JPL, which built and operated
the satellite. Dr. James A. van Allen, center, of the State University of Iowa, designed and built the instrument on Explorer that discovered
the radiation belts which circle the Earth. At right is Dr. Wernher von Braun, leader of the Army’s Redstone Arsenal team which built the
first stage Redstone rocket that launched Explorer 1.
On this day in 1945, Private Eddie Donald Slovik became the only
U.S. soldier since the American Civil War to be executed for
desertion.
SANDY KOZEL
On this day in 1940, the 114-day Battle of Britain began during World
War II.
The Telstar Communications satellite was launched on this day
in 1962. It relayed TV and telephone signals between Europe and
the U.S.
Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874)
Following Zachary Taylor’s death, Millard Fillmore (above)
became the 13th President of the United States on this day
in 1850. He was the last member of the Whig Party to hold
the office of president.
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850)
The identity and source of Taylor’s illness are the subject
of historical speculation, although it is known that Taylor
and several of his cabinet members had come down with
similar intestinal ailments on July 4, 1850, while attending
holiday celebrations during a fund-raising event.
Shamil Salmanovich Basayev
(January 14, 1965 – July 10, 2006)
Basayev was a Chechen militant Islamist and
a leader of the Chechen movement.
He was killed by an explosion on July 10,
2006. Controversy still surrounds who was
responsible for his death.
Folk singer/songwriter Arlo Davy Guthrie is 71 years older today.
Like his father, Woody Guthrie, he is known for singing songs of protest
against social injustice, and storytelling around a song.
Voice actor/comedian Melvin Jerome Blanc
(May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989)
Having earned the nickname The Man of a Thousand Voices, Blanc is
regarded as one of the most influential people in the voice acting
industry.
Mel Blanc died of advanced coronary artery disease on this day in
1989 at Cedars-Sinai, at the age of 81.
Mel Blanc at the KGW radio studio in Portland,
Oregon, circa 1948.
