Daily Extra :
zodiacal light: a faint glow from light scattered off of interplanetary dust along the plane of the ecliptic.
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Today in History:
1967: Treaty banning military use of nuclear weapons in space, signed
1958: Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, Director of the NACA, in a speech to the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences, stressed the importance of a well-planned and logical space program embracing both civilian and military uses. He stated that the national space program should be under the joint control of the Department of Defense, the NACA, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Science Foundation; in addition to research flights, the NACA would coordinate and conduct research in space technology in its own laboratories and by contract in support of both military and nonmilitary projects.
1967: The crew of Apollo/Saturn 204 (more commonly known as Apollo 1 mission) were training for the first crewed Apollo flight, an Earth orbiting mission scheduled to be launched on 21 February. On board were astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, (the second American astronaut to fly into space) astronaut Edward H. White II, (the first American astronaut to "walk" in space) and astronaut Roger B. Chaffee, (a "rookie" astronaut on his first space mission). A fire broke out during the test and spread quickly through the cabin. The crew most likely perished within the first 30 seconds from smoke inhalation or burns. Resuscitation efforts were futile.
1985: 15th Space Shuttle (51-C) Mission-Discovery 3 returns to Earth