Apollo 16 Launches
Apollo 16 launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:54 p.m. on April 16, 1972. It was the 10th crewed Apollo mission and the fifth and second to last to land on the Moon.
Space Exploration
-
-
Birth of Melvin Calvin
Biochemist Melvin Calvin was born on April 8, 1911, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He earned the 1961 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discover of the Calvin cycle – the conversion of carbon dioxide into organic molecules during photosynthesis.
-
Goddard’s First Liquid-Fueled Rocket
On March 16, 1926, Robert H. Goddard launched his first liquid-fueled rocket in Auburn, Massachusetts. Though his work went largely unrecognized during his lifetime, today he’s known as the father modern rocketry.
-
Launch of Pioneer 11
On April 5, 1973 (some sources cite April 6 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), the Pioneer 11 space probe launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
-
First Light of the Hale Telescope
On January 26, 1949, the Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory first saw light. Still in use today, the Hale telescope is one of the world’s largest optical telescopes.
-
Launch of Sputnik I
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first man-made object in space, which sparked the start of the Space Race with the United States.
-
Final Mission to the Moon
On December 11, 1972, Apollo 17 became the last manned NASA mission to the Moon.
-
First U.S. Hologram Postal Stationary
On December 3, 1989, the USPS issued its first postal item to be produced with a hologram – a 25¢ stamped envelope picturing a space shuttle docking at a space station.
-
First Solar Eclipse Over the U.S. in 38 Years
August 21, 2017, marks the first total solar eclipse of the sun to pass over the United States since 1979.
