Daily Extra :
Astronomy & Space Fact
"Aerodynamics" comes from two Greek words: aerios (concerning the air) and dynamis (powerful). Aerodynamics is the study of forces and the resulting motion of objects through the air.
Who Was Born Today?:
- 1933 James A Abrahamson, USAF/astronaut
- 1962 Ravshanbek Aliyev, Kirgiz, cosmonaut
- 1959 Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Afghanistan, cosmonaut, Soyuz TM-6
- 1956 Anatoli Borisovich Polonsky, Russia, Lt-colonel/cosmonaut
- 1956 Sergei Vasiliyevich Avdeyev, Russian cosmonaut, Soyuz TM-15, SK:TM-28
- 1950 Svetlana Georgievna Beregovkina, Russia, cosmonaut
- 1950 Yevgeni Vladimirovich Saley, cosmonaut
Who Died Today?:
- 1996 Arthur Rudolph, rocket Engineer, dies at 89
Today in History:
1801 - Italian Giuseppe Piazzi discovers Ceres, the first known (and largest) asteroid. He observed it until his illness stopped him February 11th. By the time he notified others of his discovery by letters sent January 24th, Ceres was too close to the Sun for observation and was not relocated when it emerged in September. It was finally be spotted again on the last day of 1801 and the first of 1802.
1958: Strategic Air Command assigned responsibility for U.S. operational ICBM capability; while the 672nd Strategic Missile Squadron, first to be equipped with USAF Douglas Thor IRBM, was activated.
1610: German astronomer Simon Marius claims to have 1st discovered the Jupiter moons, but did not officially report it, Galileo did on July 1 1610
1969: World Data Center A for Rockets and Satellites transferred to the National Space Science Data Center.
1992: International Space Year began