On This Date in History - April 11

Daily Extra :

Astronomy & Space Fact

The Wright brothers first flight was shorter than the wingspan of a B-52 bomber.

Who Was Born Today?:

1862: William W. Campbell, U.S. astronomer and director Lick Observatory
1941: Frederick "Rick" Hauck, born in Long Beach, California, astronaut, STS-7, STS 51-A, STS-26
1942: Anatoly Nikolayevich Berezovoi, born in U.S.S.R., cosmonaut, Soyuz T-5
1955: Piers J. Sellers, Sussex England, PhD and astronaut

Who Died Today?:

Today in History:

1960: 1st weather satellite launched (Tiros 1)

1970: Apollo 13 - USA Lunar Flyby (April 11-17, 1970) launched. Crew: James A. Lovell, Jr., Fred W. Haise, Jr., John L. Swigert, Jr. The Apollo 13 mission became one of survival for the astronauts on board. During the translunar coast an explosion destroyed both power and propulsion systems of the Command Service Module. The Lunar Module was used as a lifeboat for the astronauts.

1983: NASA launches RCA-F

1984: Challenger astronauts complete 1st in space satellite repair

1986: Halley's Comet makes closest approach to Earth this trip, 63 M km

1991: Space Shuttle STS-37, Atlantis 8, lands

Featured Astronomy Image of the Week

Check out the former Astronomy Picture of the Day. See what surprises await you this week.