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March 5, 2018 - A Foothold in Space

A Foothold in Space  Anchored to a Canadarm2 mobile foot restraint, astronaut Rick Linnehan participates in the first scheduled spacewalk of the STS-123 mission, which began ten years ago this week. During the seven-hour spacewalk outside the ISS, Linnehan and astronaut Garrett Reisman (out of frame) prepared the Japanese logistics module-pressurized section for removal from space shuttle Endeavour’s payload bay, opened the Centerline Berthing Camera System on top of the ISS Harmony module, removed the Passive Common Berthing Mechanism, and installed two Orbital Replacement Unit tool change-out mechanisms on the Canadian-built Dextre robotic system, the final element of the station’s Mobile Servicing System. STS-123 spent 16 days in space, 12 of them docked to the ISS.

Image credit: NASA

Weekly Calendar

March 5-11, 2018

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Monday 5

Mercury 1.4° north of Venus

1512: Gerardus Mercator born
1978: Landsat 3 launched
1979: Voyager 1 flies by Jupiter
1982: Venera 14 lands on Venus, returns color photos of Venus’s surface

Tuesday 6

1787: Joseph Fraunhofer born
1937: Valentina Tereshkova born, first woman in space
1986: Vega 1 flies by Halley’s Comet
2015: Dawn becomes first spacecraft to orbit dwarf planet Ceres

Wednesday 7

Jupiter 4° south of Moon

1792: John Herschel born
1837: Henry Draper born
1962: OSO-1 launched
1969: Apollo 9 astronauts complete first solo flight of lunar module
2009: Kepler Observatory launched

Thursday 8

1979: Active volcanoes found on Io
2001: STS-102 Discovery launched
2007: Orbital Express launched
2008: First Automated Transfer Vehicle launched

Moon phase Friday 9

Jupiter appears stationary
Mars 4° south of Moon
Last Qtr Moon 6:20 AM ET

1564: David Fabricius born
1934: Yuri Gagarin born, first human in space
1961: Sputnik 9 launched
1986: Vega 2 flies by Halley’s Comet

Moon phase Saturday 10

Saturn 2° south of Moon

1820: Royal Astronomical Society founded
1977: Rings discovered around Uranus
2006: Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars

Moon phase Sunday 11

Daylight Saving Time begins 2:00am

Moon at apogee

1811: Urbain Le Verrier born
1965: Pioneer 5 launched
2008: STS-123 Endeavour launched

Suggestions for new history dates or better links? Corrections for errors on this page? Please e-mail me.