On This Date in History - February 15
Astronomy & Space Word of The Day
shooting star: A meteor.
Who Was Born Today?
1564: Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa (now in Italy)., Pisa Italy, astronomer/physicist
http://0.tqn.com/d/space/1/G/6/R/galileo.jpg
Galileo Galilei
Public Domain
1858: William Pickering, Boston, astronomer, 9th and 10th moons of Saturn
1935: Roger B Chaffee, Grand Rapids Michigan, Lt Cmdr USN/astronaut
1944: Aleksandr A. Serebrov, U.S.S.R., cosmonaut, Soyuz T-7, T-8, TM-8, TM-17
1950: Nikolai Sergeivich Grekov, Russia, cosmonaut
Today in History:
1973: U.S.S.R. launches Prognoz 3 to study sun (589/200,300 km)
1985: STS 51-E vehicle moves to launch pad
1994: Clementine - USA Lunar Orbiter - (launched January 25, 1994) spent 70 days (between February 6 and May 5, 1994) in lunar orbit. The official name for Clementine is Deep Space Probe Science Experiment (DSPSE). It was a Department of Defense program used to test new space technology. Clementine was a new design using lightweight structure and propellant systems. Its four cameras mapped the surface of the Moon at 125-250 meters/pixel resolution. Clementine also used a laser to gather altimeter data which will make it possible to generate the first lunar topographic map.
From: About.com