American test pilot astronaut 1959-1963 and 1997-1998, later a politician and US Senator. First American in orbit on his first flight, Mercury MA-6, in 1962, and oldest person in space on his second flight, STS-95, in 1998. 2 spaceflights, 9.1 days in space. Flew to orbit on Mercury 6 (1962), STS-95.

Launched from Toulon, France. The pad was damaged, requiring substantial repairs. The source of the rocket's problem is finally found to be burn-through and loss of a portion of the inner wall of the combustion chamber, which blocked the nozzle exit. Ironically the last EA-1941 is ground run for full duration in the summer of 1946 without incident. However plans to develop it further as a sounding rocket are abandoned.

In a memorandum to Dr. James R. Killian, Jr., Special Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Dr. Hugh L. Dryden, Director of NACA, pointed out that NASA would inherit from NACA a rich technical background, competence, and leadership in driving toward the objective of a manned satellite program. For years NACA groups had been involved in research on such items as stabilization of ultra-high speed vehicles, provision of suitable controls, high temperature structural designs, and all the problems of reentry. In fact, a part of this work had been directed specifically toward the problem of designing a manned satellite. Also, the X-15 program had provided much experience in human factors applicable to the orbital flight of man. Therefore, Dr. Dryden concluded, in consonance with the intent of the Space Act of 1958, the assignment of the program to the NACA would be consistent.

Headquarters USAF approved the Minuteman source selections of Thiokol Chemical, Aerojet-General, and Hercules Powder Company as the propulsion contractors for the solid-fuel motors of the missile. Avco Corporation was chosen as the reentry vehicle (nose cone) developer, and Autonetics Division of North American Aviation was selected as inertial guidance and control (G&C) system contractor.

1,000 persons from 300 potential Project Apollo contractors and government agencies attended the conference. STG pushed the conical CM shape, in defiance of Gilruth's preference for the competitive blunt body/lifting body designs. Scientists from NASA, the General Electric Company, The Martin Company, and General Dynamics/Astronautics presented the results of studies on Apollo requirements. Within the next four to six weeks NASA was expected to draw up the final details and specifications for the Apollo spacecraft.

Grumman selected Pratt and Whitney to develop fuel cells for the LEM. Current LEM design called for three cells, supplemented by a battery for power during peak consumption beyond what the cells could deliver. Grumman and Pratt and Whitney completed contract negotiations on August 27, and MSC issued a letter go-ahead on September 5. Including fees and royalties, the contract was worth $9.411 million.

Zond 3 was towards the moon and interplanetary space. The spacecraft was equipped with a TV system that provided automatic inflight film processing. On July 20, during lunar flyby, 25 pictures of very good quality were taken of the lunar farside from distances of 11,570 to 9960 km. The photos covered 19,000,000 km square of the lunar surface. Photo transmissions by facsimile were returned to earth from a distance of 2,200,000 km on July 29 and were retransmitted later from a distance of 31,500,000 km, thus proving the ability of the communications system. After the lunar flyby, Zond 3 continued space exploration in a heliocentric orbit. Those pictures showed clearly the heavily cratered nature of the surface. This mission dramatized the advances in space photography that the U.S.S.R. had made since its first far-side effort six years earlier.

An Air Force Titan Gemini Launch Vehicle placed the Gemini 10 (GT-10) spacecraft into orbit for the three-day mission of Astronauts John Young and Michael Collins. Rendezvous and docking were accomplished with the Gemini Agena Target Vehicle (GATV) that had been launched from Cape Kennedy aboard an Atlas Booster just ahead of GT-10. Using the GATV-10 Primary Propulsion System (PPS), the docked vehicles achieved a manned-flight altitude record of 476 miles. Reentry was accomplished on 21 July and recovery was made 544 miles east of Cape Canaveral. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A).

An Air Force Titan Gemini Launch Vehicle placed the Gemini 10 (GT-10) spacecraft into orbit for the three-day mission of Astronauts John Young and Michael Collins. Rendezvous and docking were accomplished with the Gemini Agena Target Vehicle (GATV) that had been launched from Cape Kennedy aboard an Atlas Booster just ahead of GT-10. Using the GATV-10 Primary Propulsion System (PPS), the docked vehicles achieved a manned-flight altitude record of 476 miles. Reentry was accomplished on 21 July and recovery was made 544 miles east of Cape Canaveral. Exciting mission with successful docking with Agena, flight up to parking orbit where Gemini 8 Agena is stored. Collins space walks from Gemini to Agena to retrieve micrometeorite package left in space all those months. Loses grip first time, and tumbles head over heels at end of umbilical around Gemini. Package retrieved on second try.

The Gemini X mission began with the launch of the Gemini Atlas-Agena target vehicle from complex 14. The Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV) attained a near-circular, 162- by 157-nautical-mile orbit. Spacecraft No. 10 was inserted into a 145- by 86-nautical-mile elliptical orbit. Slant range between the two vehicles was very close to the nominal 1000 miles. Major objective of the mission was achieved during the fourth revolution when the spacecraft rendezvoused with the GATV at 5 hours 23 minutes ground elapsed time and docked with it about 30 minutes later. More spacecraft propellant was used to achieve rendezvous than had been predicted, imposing constraints on the remainder of the mission and requiring the development of an alternate flight plan. As a result, several experiments were not completed, and another secondary objective - docking practice - was not attempted. To conserve fuel and permit remaining objectives to be met, the spacecraft remained docked with the GATV for about 39 hours. During this period, a bending mode test was conducted to determine the dynamics of the docked vehicles, standup extravehicular activties (EVA) were conducted, and several experiments were performed. The GATV primary and secondary propulsion systems were used for six maneuvers to put the docked spacecraft into position for rendezvous with the Gemini VIII GATV as a passive target. The spacecraft undocked at 44 hours 40 minutes ground elapsed time, separated from the GATV, and used its own thrusters to complete the second rendezvous some three hours later. At 48 hours and 42 minutes into the flight, a 39-minute period of umbilical EVA began, which included the retrieval of a micrometorite collection package from the Gemini VIII Agena. The hatch was opened a third time about an hour later to jettison extraneous equipment before reentry. After about three hours of stationkeeping, the spacecraft separated from the GATV. At 51 hours 39 minutes ground elapsed time, the crew performed a true anomaly-adjust maneuver to minimize reentry dispersions resulting from the retrofire maneuver.

The cosmonauts are revolting against the selection of Nikolayev as their commander. They have written a letter demanding that Belyayev be put in the position. Leonov is also lobbying for the job, but Kamanin notes he has made two serious mistakes since April, no chance. Leonov attends a self-criticism meeting with the 'Gagarin comrades', self-confesses and emotionally says he will leave the cosmonaut unit if there are no future chances for promotion due to his repeated mistakes. Finally he is told that if does good work in the future, he could achieve the deputy commander position, but he can never, never make mistakes again.

A Zenit-2 spy satellite capsule has gone off course, splashed down in the Volga River, and sunk. Vershinin is in the hospital with intestinal polyps. Kamanin is reminded of Korolev's case, although he is told Vershinin's condition is not serious. There is criticism of the botched Zenit-2 recovery from Kutakhov. Meanwhile the Central Committee has decided to take no action on Czechoslovakia but send a letter to the Czech Communist Party. Kamanin is sick of this limp-wristed talk, talk, talk.

NASA Administrator Thomas O. Paine approved the shift from a 'wet' to a 'dry' Orbital Workshop concept for AAP following a review presentation by program officials on the potential benefits of such a change. On 22 July, AAP Director William C. Schneider ordered program managers at the three Centers to implement the change, abandoning the idea of using a spent Saturn IB second stage for a Workshop and adopting the concept of a fully equipped 'dry' configuration-with the ATM integrated into the total payload-launched aboard a Saturn V. Additional Details: here....

NASA purchases used American Airlines 747 N9668 for use as a carrier to ferry the shuttle orbiter between factory, landing sites, and launch sites. Modification of a 747 to carry the orbiter on its back was chosen over two more costly alternatives that would have suspended it from a wing connecting two fuselages: a new design proposed by NASA LaRC, and a Lockheed proposal for two C-5A transports joined together.

The crew members take turns visiting each other's capsules, a complicated procedure due to the need to keep both spacecraft manned at all times and for the transfer crews to transition in the docking module between the different Soyuz and Apollo cabin atmospheres. Additional Details: here....

Provision of uninterrupted round the clock telephone and telegraph radiocommunication in the USSR and simultaneous transmission of colour and black-and-white USSR central television programmes to stations in the Orbita network. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit over the Atlantic Ocean at 35 deg E in 1978-1981 As of 1 September 2001 located at 42.47 deg E drifting at 0.129 deg E per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 108.35E drifting at 0.106E degrees per day.

Continued operation of the long-range telephone and telegraph radio-communication system within the Soviet Union and transmission of USSR central television programmes to stations in the Orbita and participating international networks (international cooperation scheme).

Unmanned resupply vessel to Mir. Rendezvous transfer orbits 187x256 km, 51. 62 deg; 235 x 319 km; 343 x 347 km. Docked with Mir on 20 Jul 1988 22:33:40 GMT. Refuelling operations on 7,8, and 9 August 1998. Undocked on 12 Aug 1988 08:31:54 GMT. Destroyed in reentry on 12 Aug 1988 13:45:40 GMT. Total free-flight time 2.27 days. Total docked time 22.42 days.

Deployed Pion 3 & 4. Resurs-F: Investigation of the natural resources of the earth in the interests of various branches of the Soviet economy and international cooperation. Satellite carries two passive separable 'Pion' probes to investigate upper atmospheric density.

Deployed from Resurs F3 8/7/89; passive atmospheric research. Resurs-F: Investigation of the natural resources of the earth in the interests of various branches of the Soviet economy and international cooperation. Satellite carries two passive separable 'Pion' probes to investigate upper atmospheric density.

Stationed at 80 deg E. Relaying of telegraph and telephone information. Positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 80 deg E in 1990-1994 As of 29 August 2001 located at 71.92 deg E drifting at 0.041 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 79.57E drifting at 0.022W degrees per day.

The CZ-3B's liquid hydrogen upper stage and the Sinosat were placed in a 609 x 35958 km x 19.0 deg geostationary transfer orbit at 09:45 GMT. The first two liquid apogee burns were carried out on July 19 and 21. Sinosat, an Alcatel Spacebus 3000, was built in Cannes and owned temporarily by EurasSpace, a joint venture between Daimler-Benz Aerospace and the China Aerospace Corporation. After on-orbit testing it was delivered to the Sino Satellite Communications Company of Shanghai for communications services in China. The satellite carried 24 C-band transponders and 14 Ku-band transponders which covered the entire Asia-Pacific region. With a design life span of 15 years, the satellite was to provide multiple data transfer services for China's financial and air transportation control systems, as well as the Shanghai Information Port project, Sinosat operated in geosynchronous orbit at 110.5 deg E in 1998-1999. As of 5 September 2001 located at 110.55 deg E drifting at 0.012 deg W per day. As of 2007 Mar 10 located at 110.51E drifting at 0.001W degrees per day.

A new space tracking ship, Yuan Wang 4, was delivered to China Satellite Launch and Tracking Control General by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation. This was the fourth tracking ship in China's Yuan Wang space tracking fleet. The Yuan Wang 4 tracking ship was converted from the scientific survey ship Xiang Yang Hong 10. The announcment also contained the second announcement that the fleet would deploy for a major new operation (a test of a manned spacecraft) within the next year. The Yuan Wang 4 was 156.09 m long, 20.6 m wide along the mold-line, and had a displacement of 10,895 tons.

The astronauts assisted in the installation of the oxygen and nitrogen tanks on the Quest module. The tanks, mounted on the Spacelab pallet, were grappled by the Station's SSRMS arm and moved to Quest one by one. Minor problems with valve configurations and recalcitrant connectors were overcome.

Foton-M, using the Vostok reentry capsule, but a new extended length service module. Microgravity and life sciences experiments were on board, including geckos and tardigrades. The return capsule included samples exposed on the exterior for reentry studies. On July 24 it was revealed that the satellite was not responding to ground commands, although it continued to send back telemetry. Control was later reported to have been regained, but a scheduled orbit raise burn was cancelled, and on August 12 the orbit was still 250 x 542 km. Landed in the Orenburg district on September 1 at 09:18 GMT. The geckos carried as part of the payload were found to have died.

SpaceX's Dragon CRS-9 cargo ship carried the IDA-2 docking adapter and spacesuit EMU 3006. The Falcon 9 first stage returned to Cape Canaveral for a landing at Landing Complex 1. The second stage was deorbited south of Australia. CRS-9 arrived at the ISS on Jul 20; it was grappled by the SSRMS at 1056 UTC and berthed at Harmony nadir at 1403 UTC. The IDA-2 docking adapter will be installed on the end of the old PMA-2 Shuttle docking port to conver On Aug 25 at about 2100 UTC the SSRMS (Canadarm-2) unberthed Dragon CRS-9 from the Harmony module. At 1011 UTC the Dragon was released into orbit; at 1456 UTC Dragon fired its Draco thrusters in a deorbit burn which sent it plunging into the atmosphere at about 1520 UTC. The empty trunk was jettisoned at 1513 UTC. Dragon splashed down off the coast of Baja at 1547 UTC. Spacesuit EMU 3005 was returned to Earth aboard CRS-9.