STS-1: 25th Anniversary

On Sat, 01 Apr 2006 12:48:54 GMT, in a place far, far away, rk
made the phosphor on my monitor glow in such a
way as to indicate that:

April 12 will be the 25th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch.

And the 45th anniversary of the first human in orbit.

April 12 will be the 25th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch.


http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sh...ves/sts-1.html

--
rk, Just an OldEngineer
"The number of people having any connection with the project must be
restricted in an almost vicious manner. Use a small number of good people."
-- Kelly Johnson in Skunk Works

List 5 of the most important changes in the first shuttle (STS) and the STS
of today. (nearness counts :-} )
"rk" wrote in message
...
April 12 will be the 25th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch.



http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sh...ves/sts-1.html

--
rk, Just an OldEngineer
"The number of people having any connection with the project must be
restricted in an almost vicious manner. Use a small number of good
people."
-- Kelly Johnson in Skunk Works



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rk wrote:
April 12 will be the 25th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch.


http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sh...ves/sts-1.html

--
rk, Just an OldEngineer


Other major events of 1981 (from Wikipedia)


Jan 19 - United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to
release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.

Jan 20 - President-elect Ronald Reagan succeeds Jimmy Carter as
President of the United States.

Mar 6 - After 19 years hosting the CBS Evening News Walter Cronkite
signs off for the last time.

Mar 19 - Three workers are killed and five injured during a test of the
Space Shuttle Columbia.

Mar 30 - President Ronald Reagan is shot.

Apr 12 - The first launch of a Space Shuttle: Columbia.

May 13 - Pope John Paul II is shot.

Jun 7 - Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor.

July 29 - Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales.

Aug 1 - MTV (Music Television) is launched.

Aug 5 - Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers

Aug 11 - The original Model 5150 IBM PC with a 4.77 Mhz Intel 8088
processor was released in the United States at a base price of $1,565.

Oct 6 - Egyptian president Anwar Sadat is assassinated.


-Rusty

Following up on Rusty's list of 1981 events, here's some stuff that has happened
on April 12th (gathered from a couple of webpages):

1204 4th Crusade occupies and plunders Constantinople
1606 England adopts Union Jack as its flag
1654 England, Ireland and Scotland united
1770 Townsend Acts repealed
1811 1st U.S. colonists on Pacific coast arrive at Cape Disappointment, WA
1844 Texas became a U.S. territory
1861 Fort Sumter, South Carolina is shelled by Confederacy, starting Civil War
1877 Catcher's mask 1st used in a baseball game
1877 British annex Transvaal, in South Africa
1892 George C. Blickensderfer patents portable typewriter
1896 Stamasia Portrisi is 1st woman to win a marathon (5:30 in Athens)
1905 French Dufaux brothers test helicopter
1911 1st non-stop London-Paris flight (Pierre Prier in 3h56m)
1919 British Parliament passes a 48-hour work week with minimum wages
1927 Gen Chiang Kai-shek begins counter revolution in Shanghai
1931 Spanish voters reject the monarchy
1934 Highest velocity wind ever recorded on Mt Washington, NH, 231 mph
1935 Germany prohibits publishing "not-Arian" writers
1940 Italy annexes Albania
1942 Japan kills about 400 Filipino officers in Bataan
1945 U.S. liberates Buchenwald concentration camp
1945 Franklin Delano Roosevelt dies
1945 Harry S. Truman sworn in as 33rd US President
1946 Syria gains independence from France
1954 Bill Haley and Comets records "Rock Around Clock"
1960 Bill Veeck and Chicago Comiskey Park debuts "Exploding Scoreboard"
1961 Yuri Gagarin becomes 1st person to orbit Earth in Vostok 1
1961 Douglas MacArthur declines offer to become US baseball commissioner
1963 Birmingham police use dogs and cattle prods on peaceful demonstrators
1966 1st B-52 bombing on North Vietnam
1969 Simon and Garfunkel release "The Boxer"
1973 Sudan adopts constitution, Swaziland suspends theirs
1973 France recognizes North Vietnam
1979 Soyuz 33 returns to Earth
1981 Maiden voyage of space shuttle Columbia
1985 16th Shuttle Mission (51D)-Discovery 4 launched-with Senator Jake Garn
1988 Sonny Bono elected mayor of Palm Springs, California

Birthdays:

1777 Henry Clay, [the Great Compromiser], U.S. politician
1801 Henry de Cock, Dutch reformed vicar/secession leader (I just liked the name
1892 Johnny Dodds, jazz clarinettist
1923 Maria Callas, opera singer
1925 Tiny Tim, [Herbert Khaury], singer
1940 Herbie Hancock, Chicago, pianist
1942 Frank Bank, actor, "Lumpy" on "Leave it to Beaver"
1946 Ed O'Neill, actor
1947 David Letterman, comedian
1947 Tom Clancy, novelist
1948 Joschka Fischer, German politician
1950 David Cassidy, singer and actor
1954 Pat Travers, rock guitarist
1956 Andy Garcia, actor
1958 Tony James, rock bassist, Sigue Sigue Sputnik ("Love Missile F-111")
1958 Will Sergeant, rock guitarist, Echo and Bunnymen ("Killing Moon")
1971 Shannen Doherty, actress
1979 Claire Danes, New York City, actress

Rusty wrote:

Mar 19 - Three workers are killed and five injured during a test of the
Space Shuttle Columbia.



I don't remember that...what exactly happened?

Pat

On Sun, 02 Apr 2006 00:24:36 -0600, Pat Flannery wrote:

Rusty wrote:

Mar 19 - Three workers are killed and five injured during a test of the
Space Shuttle Columbia.

I don't remember that...what exactly happened?

Wikipedia has that in their list of 1981 events, but it's contradicted on their
"Space Disasters" page- that has the story with which I'm sure you are
familiar:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...rew_fatalities

1981 March 19: anoxia: During preparations for STS-1, at the end of the
33-hour-long Shuttle Dry Countdown Demonstration Test, Columbia's aft engine
compartment was under a nitrogen purge to prevent the buildup of oxygen and
hydrogen gases from the propulsion system. Six technicians entered the aft engine
compartment and five of the six lost consciousness due to the lack of oxygen in the
compartment. Two died. John Gerald Bjornstad, a 50-year-old Rockwell employee, was
pronounced dead at the scene, and Forrest Cole was brought to the hospital where he
later died. The other four workmen were treated and released.

Dale

Jun 7 - Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor.

One of the pilots during this mission was Ilan Ramon, who of course was
killed when Columbia was destroyed. He probably watched the STS-1
launch on TV, and little did he know he would die on that very vehicle
22 years later.