Comet Howard-Koomen-Michels, a sungrazer comet, collided with the sun August 30, 1979. At the time, it was the only know comet to crash into the sun since most comets are vaporized before they make contact with the solar surface. It is also the first comet to be discovered by a spacecraft.
This probably isn't Comet Howard-Koomen-Michels but it is a good video of a comet colliding with the sun.
Front row (L-R): Richard Mullane, Steven Hawley, Henry Harsfield, Michael Coats
Back row (L-R): Charles Walker, Judith Resnik
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Discovery's maiden voyage (STS-41-D) was launched August 30, 1984. Its crew consisted of Commander Henry Harsfield, Pilot Michael Coats, Richard Mullane, Steven Hawley, Judith Resnik, and Charles Walker.
Resnik was the second US woman in space after Sally Ride.
Jack Swigert, born August 30, 1931 in Denver, Colorado, went into space aboard Apollo 13 as Command Module Pilot. Of course, we know what happened. The mission was not successful in landing on the moon. Swigert is the one who uttered the infamous line, "Okay, Houston, we've had a problem here."
Swigert left NASA and and entered politics. In November 1982, he ran successfully for the U.S. Congress but passed away from complications due to cancer December 27, seven days before he was to begin his term.
Charles Walker, born August 29, 1948 in Bedford, Indiana, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.
His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-41-D) as payload specialist in August-September 1984. He was an employee of McDonnell Douglas and was the first commercially sponsored payload specialist.
His second flight was back aboard Discovery (STS-51-D) as payload specialist in April 1985. He spent almost 7 days in space.
Walker's third and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-61-B) as payload specialist in November-December 1985. A checkered flag was carried on board and is now on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
Yury Malyshev, born August 27, 1941 in the former Soviet Union, went into space twice. His first mission was aboard Soyuz T-2 as commander in June 1980 to Salyut 6.
His second mission was aboard Soyuz T-11 as commander in April 1984 to Salyut 7. He returned to Earth on Soyuz T-10 about a week later.
Joe Engle, born August 26, 1932 in Chapman, Kansas, was chosen by NASA as an astronaut in 1966. He was the backup pilot for the Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 14. He was originally scheduled as Lunar Module Pilot for Apollo 17 but NASA selected Harrison Schmitt instead.
His first mission into space was aboard Columbia (STS-2) as commander with pilot Richard Truly in November 1981. The mission was intended to reboot the Skylab space station but due to development delays and the Skylab's deteriorating orbit, Skylab was de-orbited in July 1979.
His second and final mission was as commander of Discovery (STS-51-I) in August-September 1985. He spent just over 7 days in space.
Elvis Presley released his eighteenth and last #1 hit, Suspicious Minds, August 26, 1969. It was a cover of a song written and recorded by Mark James. It would reach #1 in November. When James' recording failed commercially, Elvis covered it. It revived Elvis' chart success and is ranked by Rolling Stone as No. 91 on the list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Lee Archambault, born August 25, 1960 in Oak Park, Illinois, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights. After receiving a commission of Second Lieutenant from the US Air Force, he completed pilot training at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas.
His first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-117) as pilot in June 2007 to the International Space Station. It was the longest flight of Atlantis, lasting almost two weeks.
His second and final mission was aboard Discovery (STS-119) as commander in March 2009 to the ISS. The mission delivered assembly parts to the space station.
Salizhan Sharipov, born August 24, 1964 in the former Soviet Union, is the first cosmonaut from the Kyrgyz Republic. He graduated from the Soviet Air Force Pilot School in 1987.
His first mission in space was aboard Endeavour (STS-89) as mission specialist in January 1998. It was a shuttle mission to the space station Mir.
He was commander of Soyuz TMA-5, launched to the International Space Station in October 2004 as part of Expedition 10. He performed two EVAs for a total of 10 hours 34 minutes. He returned to Earth in April 2005.
Klaus-Dietrich Flade, born August 23, 1952 in Germany, visited the Mir space station in March 1992. His mission started aboard Soyuz TM-14 on March 17 and returned aboard Soyuz TM-13 on March 25.
Sergey Ryzhikov, born August 19, 1974, has spent about six months in space aboard the International Space Station. He served as commander of Soyuz MS-02, launched in October 2016. He was part of the crew of Expedition 49, with fellow cosmonaut Andrei Borisenko and astronaut Robert Kimbrough. He returned to Earth n April 2017.
Kathryn Thornton, born August 17, 1952 in Montgomery, Alabama is a veteran of four space shuttle flights. She obtained her PhD in physics from the University of Virginia in 1979.
Her first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-33) as mission specialist in November 1989. It carried a classified payload from the Department of Defense into space.
Her second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-49) as mission specialist in May 1992. It was the maiden voyage of the Endeavour. She performed an EVA with fellow astronaut Thomas Akers which lasted 7 hours 44 minutes.
Her third flight was back on Endeavour (STS-61) as mission specialist in December 1993. She and Akers performed two EVAs lasting over 13 hours total.
Her fourth and final mission was aboard Columbia (STS-73) as mission specialist in October-November 1995. It was the second mission of the US Microgravity Laboratory which studied the effects of the microgravity environment in space.
Peter "Jeff" Wisoff, born August 16, 1958 in Norfolk, Virginia, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.
His first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-57) as mission specialist in June-July 1993. He conducted a spacewalk with fellow astronaut David Low last almost 6 hours to retrieve the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) science satellite.
His second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-68) as mission specialist in September-October 1994. Wisoff relayed information of storms, lightning and fires to the Space Radar Laboratory (SRL-2) scientists.
Wisoff's third mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-81) as mission specialist in January 1997. It was the fifth space shuttle mission to the space station Mir.
His fourth and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-92) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in October 2000, the 100th space shuttle mission of the program. During the flight Wisoff performed two EVAs with fellow astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria for a total of 14 hours.
Wisoff is married to fellow astronaut Tamara Jernigan.
Mark Lee, born August 14, 1952 in Viroqua, Wisconsin, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.
His first flight was on Atlantis (STS-30) as mission specialist in May 1989. The main objective of the mission was to deploy the Magellan spacecraft to Venus.
His second mission was on Endeavour (STS-47) as mission specialist in September 1992. Also on board was Lee's then-wife Jan Davis, whom he had married secretly a few weeks prior to the flight. NASA was forced to waive the rule about married couples not assigned to the same mission. Lee and Davis later divorced.
Lee's third flight was on Discovery (STS-64) as mission specialist in September 1994. Lee conducted an EVA with fellow astronaut Carl Meade for almost 7 hours.
Lee's fourth and final mission was again on Discovery (STS-82) as mission specialist in February 1997. He conducted 3 EVAs with fellow astronaut Steven Smith lasting over 19 hours total.
Trying to capitalize on the success of Godzilla, South Korea produced and released Yongary, Monster from the Deep, August 13, 1967. It is an obvious rip-off of the G-Man and the special effects aren't really effective. It also seems that the creators were trying to tap into Gamera, since a young boy tries to befriend Yongary.
Frederick Sturckow, born August 11, 1961 in La Mesa, California, flew on four space shuttle missions.
His first mission into space was aboard Endeavour (STS-88) as pilot in December 1998. It was the first space shuttle mission to the International Space Station.
His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-105) as pilot in August 2001. It carried Expedition 3 to the ISS and returned with Expedition 2.
His third trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-117) as commander in June 2007. He performed the Rendezvous Pitch Maneuver (RPM), which is a "back flip" to allow the crew of the ISS to photograph the heat shields of the shuttle's belly.
Sturckow's fourth and final space shuttle mission was on Discovery (STS-128) as commander in August-September 2008. It was the final mission to land at Edwards Air Force Base.
Sturckow retired from the Marine Corps as colonel in 2009.
Sturckow is currently test flying Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo spacecraft as they prepare for commercial operations in outer space.
Center (L-R) Fredeirck Sturckow, Patrick Forrester, Daniel Barry, Scott Horowitz
Top Left (L-R): James Voss, Yury Usachev, Susan Helms
Top Right (L-R): Mikhail Tyurin, Frank Culbertson, Vladimir Dezhurov
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-105), launched August 10, 2001, carried the third crew to the International Space Station and brought the second crew back home. Its crew consisted of Commander Scott Horowitz, Pilot Frederick Sturckow, Patrick Forrester and Daniel Barry. The members of Expedition 3 were Frank Culbertson, Mikhail Tyurin and Vladimir Dezhurov.
Barry and Forrester conducted 2 EVAs lasting a total of 11 hours and 45 minutes. Discovery returned to Earth August 22 with the crew of Expedition 2: Yury Usachev, James Voss and Susan Helms.
During the mission they woke up to Sting's Brand New Day!
Charles "Sam" Gemar, born August 4, 1955 in Yankton, South Dakota, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions and obtain the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army.
His first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-38) as mission specialist in November 1990. The flight carried a classified payload into space for the Department of Defense.
His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-48) as mission specialist in September 1991.
His third and final flight was aboard Columbia (STS-62) with fellow astronaut/birthday twin Andrew Allen.
Andrew Allen, born August 4, 1955 in Richboro, Pennsylvania, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions. He obtained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the US Marine Corps.
His first flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-46) as pilot in July-August 1992. The mission deployed the Eruopean Space Agency's European Retrievable Carrier and the Tethered Satellite System, a joint project between NASA and the Italian Space Agency.
His second flight was as pilot on Columbia (STS-62) in March 1994 with fellow astronaut/birthday twin Charles Gemar.
His third and final flight was aboard Columbia (STS-75) as commander in February-March 1996. The mission was a reflight of the Tethered Satellite System.
Hans Schlegel, born August 3, 1951 in Germany, is an ESA astronaut and has been into space twice on space shuttle missions.
His first trip into space was aboard Columbia (STS-55) as a payload specialist in April-May 1993. It was an international cooperative effort between the United States, Germany and nine other nations.
His second and final trip was aboard Atlantis (STS-122) as a mission specialist in February 2008 to the International Space Station. He performed an EVA with fellow astronaut Rex Walheim for 6 hours and 45 minutes.
John Hughes wrote and directed his science-fiction fantasy comedy, Weird Science, released August 2, 1985. Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith star as two geeks who create the "perfect woman" Kelly LeBrock. Bill Paxton starred as Mitchell-Smith's older brother.
Although Weird Science got mixed reviews (Siskel and Ebert were split and got into an argument), it is considered a financial success and cult classic.
Magic, a single performed by Olivia Newton-John from the soundtrack of Xanadu, reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of August 2, 1980 and remained there for 4 weeks.
Billboard magazine ranked Magic as the 3rd most popular single of 1980. It spent two weeks at #1 on the Canadian charts.
Valery Bykovsky, born August 2, 1934 in the former Soviet Union, holds the endurance record for a solo spaceflight.
His first flight was aboard Vostok 5 in June 1963. He was originally supposed to stay in space for 8 days but had to return early due to increased solar flare activity.
His second mission was aboard Soyuz 22 as commander in September 1976, when he spent a week in space with fellow cosmonaut Vladimir Aksyonov photographing Earth.
His third and final flight was aboard Soyuz 31 as commander launched in August 1978 to the Salyut 6 space station. He was part of the expedition EP-4 with Sigmund Jahn, Germany's first cosmonaut. They returned to Earth in September aboard Soyuz 29.
Richard Covey, born August 1, 1946 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, has flown in space four times.
His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51-I) as pilot August-September 1985. He spent just over 7 days in space.
His second flight was again aboard Discovery (STS-26) as pilot September-October 1988. It was the first flight after the Challenger disaster in 1986. It was also the first mission with an all-veteran crew since Apollo 11. They stayed in space about 4 days.
His third flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-38) as commander in November 1990. This mission carried a classified payload for the Department of Defense. They remained in space for almost 5 days.
Covey's fourth and final mission was as commander on Endeavour (STS-61) in December 1993, which was a Hubble servicing mission. The crew remained in space for almost 11 days.
