Endeavour (STS-68) launched 1994

STS-68 crew

Front row (L-R): Thomas Jones, Peter Wisoff, Steven Smith, Daniel Bursch

Back row (L-R): Michael Baker, Terrence Willcutt

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-68), launched September 30, 1994, observed changes in Earth's climate and atmosphere during the eleven-day journey.   Its crew consisted of Commander Michael Baker, Pilot Terrence Wilcutt, Steven Smith, Daniel Bursch, Peter Wisoff, and Thomas Jones.

They returned to Earth October 11.

"Murder, She Wrote" premieres 1984

Murder, She Wrote, a whodunit series, starring the awesome Angela Lansbury premiered September 30, 1984.  I remember watching it.

The show was so popular it lasted for twelve seasons.  It won 6 Golden Globes: 4 for Angela Lansbury for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series; and 2 for Best Television Series - Drama.  The series won 2 Primetime Emmys.  Angela Lansbury holds the record for most Primetime Emmys at twelve, one for each season but did not win any of them, another record.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Stephen Frick!

Stephen Frick, born September 30, 1964 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.

His first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-110) as pilot in April 2002 to the International Space Station.  The main purpose of the mission was to attach a stainless steel truss to the Destiny Laboratory Module. 

His second and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-122) was as commander in February 2008 to the ISS.  His total amount of time in space is almost 24 days.

He retired in 2015.

Discovery (STS-26) "Return to Flight" launched 1988

STS-26 crew

Front row (L-R): Richard Covey, Frederick Hauck

Back row (L-R): John Lounge, David Hilmers, George Nelson

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-26), launched September 29, 1988, was the "Return to Flight" mission, the first since the Challenger disaster in January 1986.  Its crew consisted of Commander Frederick Hauck, Pilot Richard Covey, John Lounge, David Hilmers and George Nelson.

It was the first space shuttle to be equipped with a Voice Control Unit, which was a computer capable of recognizing and responding to human speech.

They returned to Earth October 3.

Salyut 6 launched 1977

Salyut 6, Soviet orbital space station, was launched September 29, 1977.  It did not have a way to refueling or removing accumulated garbage, so once its consumables were gone, it had to be discontinued.  It was deorbited in July 1982. 

During its mission, it received sixteen crews, with six of those being long-duration.  The first crew arrived on Soyuz 26 in December 1977.  The last craft to dock was Soyuz 40 in May 1981.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Stephanie Wilson!

Stephanie Wilson, born September 27, 1966 in Boston, Massachusetts, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.  She is the second African-American woman in space (third if you count Nichelle Nichols) and has spent more time in space than any African-American, male or female.

Her first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-121) in July 2006 as a mission specialist to the International Space Station. She operated the Candarm2 to transfer equipment and inspect the shuttle for any signs of micro-meteroid damage.

Her second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-120) as mission specialist in October-November 2007 to the ISS.  She operated the Candarm2 again during the mission.

Her third flight was again aboard Discovery (STS-131) as a mission specialist in April 2010 to the ISS. 

"The Big Bang Theory" premieres 2007

The best and probably only television show to celebrate and revere nerds, The Big Bang Theory, premiered September 24, 2007.  Four hopelessly socially-impaired geeks navigate their way through life dealing with their jobs, rivalries and beautiful women. 

It starred Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Mayim Bialik, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, and Melissa Rauch. 

In 2011, Jim Parsons won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series.  The series won numerous Primetime Emmy Awards. Stephen Hawking, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Wil Wheaton, Bill Nye and astronaut Michael Massimino all made appearances over the course of the series.

TV Guide has listed it as #52 on its list of the best 60 series  of all time.

The series wrapped up in 2019 after 12 seasons.

Happy birthday, astronaut Nick Hague!

It isn't usual to wish someone happy birthday while they are in space at the time, but today is Nick Hague's birthday.  He is currently aboard the International Space Station as part of Expedition 59.  Hague was born September 24, 1975 in Belleville, Kansas.  He graduated from the US Air Force Academy.  After he joined the Air Force, he was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in May 1998 and promoted to Colonel in 2016,

Hague's first trip into space aboard Soyuz MS-10 was aborted shortly after take-off.  He and fellow astronaut Aleksey Ovchinin escaped safely.

Hague's second trip into space was aboard Soyuz MS-12, which was successfully launched March 2019, with Ovchinin and Christina Koch to the ISS.  They are scheduled to return to Earth in October 2019.

Remembering Aron Eisenberg (1969-2019)

Aron Eisenberg, who played the Ferengi Nog on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, passed away yesterday at 50.  Kidney problems at birth stunted his growth and he only reached 5 feet, but he played his part to the hilt.  He had a guest spot on Star Trek: Voyager and was nominated for his recurring guest role on Deep Space Nine.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Loren Shriver!

Loren Shriver, born September 23, 1944 in Jefferson, Iowa, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.  From 1969 to 1973 he was an academic pilot instructor at Vance Air Force Base over here in Enid, Oklahoma.

His first mission into space was aboard Discovery (STS-51-C) as pilot in January 1985.  It was the first space shuttle flight to carry a classified payload for the Dept. of Defense.

His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-31) as commander in April 1990.  This mission deployed the Hubble Space Telescope.

Shriver's third and final flight was on Atlantis (STS-46) as commander in July-August 1992.  The mission deployed the Italian Space Agency's Tethered Satellite Relay System and the European Space Agency's European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA).

Shriver is also a retired US Air Force Colonel.

Deep Space 1 encounters Comet 19P/Borrelly 2001

Deep Space 1, a NASA probe launched October 1998, made a close encounter of Comet 19P/Borrelly September 22, 2001.  The spacecraft's main purpose was a flyby of asteroid 9969 Braille, which it completed in July 1999.

The original mission was to visit comet 76P/West-Kohoutek-Ikemura and asteroid 3352 McAuliffe, but its launch was delayed so its targets were changed to Braille and comet 107P/Wilson-Harrington.  Due to a malfunction with Deep Space 1's star tracker, the encounter with Wilson-Harrington was  cancelled and set to rendezvous with Comet Borrelly.

The comet was discovered by Alphonse Borrelly in December 1904 from Marseilles, France during a routine search for comets.  Deep Space 1 discovered its nucleus to be shaped like a bowling pin.

Mariner 10 second flyby of Mercury 1974

Mariner 10, launched in November 1973, made its second of three flybys of Mercury September 21, 1974. It had made a flyby of Venus prior to its first visit of Mercury.  Mariner 10 managed to photograph almost half of the planet during its second encounter.  It flew within 30,000 miles of the southern hemisphere.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Richard Heib!

Richard Heib, born September 21, 1955 in Jamestown, North Dakota, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions.

His first trip was aboard Discovery (STS-39) as mission specialist in April-May 1991, which conducted a number of experiments with an unclassified payload from the Department of Defense.

His second mission was aboard the maiden flight of Endeavour (STS-49) as mission specialist in May 1992.  He participated in the only 3-man EVA in space history with fellow astronauts Pierre Thuot and Thomas Akers.

Heib's third and final flight was aboard Columbia (STS-65) as mission specialist in July 1994.  The mission was dedicated to the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2) and life science experiments.

Styx musicians Chuck and John Panozzo born 1948

Fraternal twins, Chuck and John Panozzo, born September 20, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois, are best known as being founding members of the awesome band Styx.  Chuck and John were born 90 minutes apart.  John played drums until his death in July 1996.

Chuck has continued to perform with Styx.  He came out as gay in 2001 and has written a book The Grand Illusion: Love, Lies, and My Life With Styx.

"Amadeus" released 1984

Amadeus, the musical based on the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was released in the US September 19, 1984.  The biopic starred F. Murray Abraham as Antonio Salieri and Tom Hulce in the title role, both being nominated for Oscars for Best Actor, one of the few movies to receive two nominations for Best Actor.  Abraham took the award.

Amadeus won seven more Oscars: Best Picture; Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium; Best Art Direction-Set Direction; Best Costume Design; Best Sound and Best Makeup.

It won four Golden Globes: Best Director; Best Performance by an Actor; Best Screenplay, Best Motion Picture - Drama

Soyuz TMA-9 launched 2006

Soyuz TMA-9 crew (L-R): Michael Lopez-Alegria, Anousheh Ansari, Mikhail Tyurin

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-9, launched September 18, 2006, transported a tourist to the International Space Station and another back to Earth.  Its crew consisted of Commander Mikhail Tyurin (Roscosmos) and Michael Lopez-Alegria (NASA).  Anousheh Ansari, an Iranian-American engineer, was the first self-funded woman in space, the fourth overall self-funded space tourist, and the first Iranian in space.

Tyurin and Lopez-Alegria were part of Expedition 14.  They returned to Earth in April 2007 with space tourist Charles Simonyi, the second Hungarian in space.  Ansari stayed only 9 days aboard the ISS.

"The Addams Family" premieres 1964

Everyone's favorite spooky family, The Addams Family, premiered on television September 18, 1964.  Based on the comic strip drawn by Charles Adams, it starred Carolyn Jones as Morticia Addams and John Astin as her husband Gomez. 

Although it ran for only two seasons, it has gained a cult following and its theme song written by Vic Mizzy, is one of the catchiest tunes of all time.

"The Day The Earth Stood Still" premieres 1951

Director Robert Wise's science-fiction classic The Day the Earth Stood Still was released September 18, 1951.  It starred a relatively unknown Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal. Although it was not a roaring success when released, it has become a classic, one of the best movies ever made says the New York Times. 

It won a Golden Globe in 1952 for Best Film Promoting International Understanding.  In 1995, it was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry as "culturally, historical, or aesthetically significant".

It is ranked #82 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills, the fifth best science-fiction film, 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains (for Klaatu in the heroes category), and 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes for "Gort! Klaatu barada nikto!".

Space Shuttle astronaut Charles Veach born 1944

Charles Veach, born September 18, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights. 

His first trip into space was aboard Discovery (STS-39) as mission specialist in April-May 1991.  It was also the first unclassified Department of Defense payload.

His second mission was aboard Columbia (STS-52) as mission specialist in October-November 1992. Some of Gene Roddenberry's ashes were carried aboard Columbia for the mission.

Veach passed away from cancer in October 1995.

Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut, born 1930

Edgar Mitchell, born September 17, 1930 in Hereford, Texas, went into space aboard Apollo 14.  He became the sixth person to walk on the moon, spending 33 hours exploring the lunar surface with fellow astronaut Alan Shepard. 

He passed away in February 2016 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Soyuz T-14 launched 1985

Soyuz T-14 crew (L-R): Alexander Volkov, Vladimir Vasyutin, Georgi Grechko

Soyuz T-14, launched September 17, 1985, was the ninth expedition to space station Salyut 7.  Its crew consisted of Commander Vladimir Vasyutin, Georgi Grechko and Alexander Volkov.  The trip was cut short due to Vasyutin becoming ill and had to return to Earth for treatment. Grechko stayed aboard the space station and Viktor Savinykh returned with the Soyuz T-14 crew in November 1985.

Atlantis (STS-79) launched 1996

STS-79 crew

Front Row (L-R): Jay Apt, Terrence Wilcutt, William Readdy, Thomas Akers, Carl Walz 

Back Row (L-R): Shannon Lucid, John Blaha

STS-79 mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-79), launched September 16, 1996, was the fourth mission of a space shuttle with the space station Mir.  Its crew consisted of Commander William Readdy, Pilot Terrence Wilcutt, Jay Apt, Thomas Akers, Carl Walz, and John Blaha. 

It was also the first transfer of American astronauts.  Atlantis picked up Shannon Lucid after her record-breaking stay in space and dropped off John Blaha as part of Mir EO-22.

They returned to Earth September 26.

Happy birthday, Polish cosmonaut Miroslaw Hermaszewski!

Miroslaw Hermaszewski, born September 15, 1941 in Poland (now Ukraine), is the only Polish citizen to go to space.  He traveled aboard Soyuz 30 to the space station Salyut 6 with fellow cosmonaut Pyotr Klimuk as part of expedition EP-3 in June 1978.

He returned to Earth almost 8 days later.

Discovery (STS-48) launched 1991

STS-48 crew

Front row (L-R): Mark Brown, John Creighton, Kenneth Reightler 

Back row (L-R): Charles Gemar, James Buchli

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-48), launched September 12, 1991, carried the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) into space.  Its crew consisted of Commander John Creighton, Pilot Kenneth Reightler, Charles Gemar, James Buchli, and Mark Brown.

Gemini XI launched 1966

Gemini XI crew: Richard Gordon, Pete Conrad

Mission patch

Gemini XI, launched September 12, 1966, was the ninth manned spaceflight of NASA's Gemini program.  Its crew consisted of Command Pilot Pete Conrad and Pilot Richard Gordon.  During the flight, Gordon performed two EVAs, the first on September 13 for 33 minutes, and the second on September 14 for 2 hours 8 minutes.

They returned to Earth September 15.

Happy birthday, astronaut Randy Bresnik!

Randy Bresnik, born September 11, 1967 in Fort Knox, Kentucky, has been into space twice.

His first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-129) as mission specialist in November 2009 to the International Space Station.  He conducted two EVAs during the flight.  The first with fellow astronaut Michael Foreman lasted just over 6 hours. The second EVA was conducted with Robert Satcher lasted 5 hours, 42 minutes.

His second mission was aboard Soyuz MS-05 as flight engineer launched in July 2017.  He served as flight engineer for Expedition 52 and then ISS Commander for Expedition 53.

He has spent over 149 days in space.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Anatoly Artsebarsky!

Anatoly Artsebarsky, born September 9, 1956 in the former Soviet Union, went into space aboard Soyuz TM-12 as commander in May 1991.  He was part of expedition Mir EO-9 with Sergei Krikalev and Helen Sharman, the first Briton in space.  He conducted six spacewalks while on Mir, lasting over 33 hours total. 

During the mission, the failed coup against Mikhail Gorbachev occurred which led to the end of the Soviet Union in December.  Artsebarsky returned to Earth in October 1991.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Lee Morin!

Lee Morin, born September 9, 1952 in Manchester, New Hampshire, went into space once aboard Atlantis (STS-110) as mission specialist in April 2002.  He conducted 2 EVAs with fellow astronaut Jerry Ross which lasted about 14 hours total, installing equipment on the International Space Station.

Discovery (STS-64) launched 1994

STS-64 crew

Front Row (L-R): Blaine Hammond, Richard Richards, Susan Helms

Back Row (L-R): Mark Lee, Jerry Linenger, Carl Meade

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-64) launched September 9, 1994. Its crew consisted of Commander Richard Richards, Pilot Blaine Hammond, Jerry Linenger, Susan Helms, Carl Meade, and Mark Lee.

Lee and Meade conducted an untethered EVA to test a new backpack called Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER), designed to be used in the event a crew member becomes untethered during a spacewalk.

They returned to Earth September 20.

Atlantis (STS-106) launched 2000

STS-106 crew

Front row (L-R): Scott Altman, Terrence Wilcutt

Back row (L-R): Borus Morukov, Richard Mastracchio, Edward Lu, Daniel Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko

STS-106 Mission patch

Space Shuttle Atlantis (STS-106), launched September 8, 2000, carried seven astronauts to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Terrence Wilcutt, Pilot Scott Altman, Edward Lu, Richard Mastracchio, Daniel Burbank, Yuri Malenchenko and Borus Morukov.

Lu and Malenchenko conducted an EVA lasting 6 hours 14 minutes.

The crew returned to Earth September 20.

Space Shuttle astronaut David Griggs born 1939

David Griggs, born September 7, 1939 in Portland, Oregon, went into space aboard Discovery (STS-51-D) as mission specialist in April 1985.  He and fellow astronaut Jeffrey Hoffman conducted an unscheduled EVA (the first in NASA history).

Griggs passed away in June 1989 when the vintage World War II-era training aircraft he was piloting crashed near Earle, Arkansas.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Carl Walz!

Carl Walz, born September 6, 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights. 

His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51) as mission specialist in September 1993.  He and fellow astronaut Jim Newman performed an EVA to evaluate tools and procedures for a Hubble Telescope maintenance flight later in the year.

His second flight was aboard Columbia (STS-65) as mission specialist in July 1994.  The mission included the second flight of the International Microgravity Laboratory (IML-2).

Walz's third mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-79) as mission specialist in September 1996.  Shannon Lucid returned from Mir after her record-breaking stay.

His fourth and final mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-108) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in December 2001.  Walz was part of Expedition 4.  He returned to Earth in June 2002 aboard Endeavour (STS-111).

Soyuz TM-8 launched 1989

Soyuz TM-8 crew (L-R): Aleksandr Viktorenko, Aleksandr Serebrov

Soyuz TM-8, launched September 5, 1989, carried the fifth crew (Mir EO-5) to the Mir space station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Aleksandr Viktorenko and Aleksandr Serebrov.  They spent over 166 days in space, returning to Earth February 1990.

Voyager 1 launched 1977

Voyager 1, launched September 5, 1977, was the fist man-made object to cross into interstellar space.  It was launched 16 days after Voyager 2 and flew by Jupiter in March 1979.

It made a flyby of Saturn in November 1980, including an encounter with Titan.

NASA still receives signals from both Voyager craft, but Voyager 1 might run out of fuel by 2025.

Cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev born 1929

Cosmonaut Andriyan Nikolayev, born September 5, 1929 in the former Soviet Union, went into space twice. 

His first mission was aboard Vostok 3, a solo flight during which he spent 4 days in space in August 1962.

His second mission was aboard Soyuz 9 as commander in June 1970. He spent 17 days in space with fellow cosmonaut Vitaly Sevastyanov.

He passed away from a heart attack in 2004.

Soyuz TM-22 launched 1995

Soyuz TM-22 crew (L-R): Yuri Gidzenko, Thomas Reiter, Sergei Avdeyev

Mission patch

Soyuz TM-22, launched September 3, 1995, carried three cosmonauts to the space station Mir.  Its crew consisted of Commander Yuri Gidzenko, Sergei Avdeyev and Thomas Reiter (ESA).  They docked with Mir on September 5 and returned to Earth February 29, 1996.

Happy birthday, Space Shuttle astronaut Sherwood Spring!

Sherwood Spring, born September 3, 1944 in Hartford, Connecticut, went into space aboard space shuttle Atlantis (STS-61-B) as mission specialist in November-December 1985.  During the mission, he performed two EVAs with fellow astronaut Jerry Ross, lasting over 12 hours.

Happy birthday, German astronaut Gerhard Thiele!

Gerhard Thiele, born September 2, 1953 in Germany, went aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-99) as a mission specialist in February 2000.  He retired from the European Space Agency in October 2005.

Soyuz TMA-18M launched 2015

Soyuz TMA-18M launch crew (L-R): Andreas Morgensen, Sergey Volkov, Aidyn Aimbetov

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-18M, launched September 2, 2015 to the International Space Station, carried the first Danish astronaut Andreas Morgensen (ESA) and the first Kazakh cosmonaut Aidyn Aimbetov into space.  Its commander was cosmonaut Sergey Volkov (Roscosmos), who stayed aboard the ISS until March 2016 as part of Expedition 45.  Morgensen and Aimbetov returned about 10 days later on Soyuz TMA-16M.

He returned with Scott Kelly (NASA) and Mikhail Korniyenko (Roscosmos), members of Expedition 46.

"Rear Window" released 1954

Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece Rear Window, starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Raymond Burr, was released across the US September 1, 1954.  It premiered in Los Angeles, New York City and Atlantic City in August.  It is considered by many people to be Hitchcock's best movie.

It was nominated for four Academy Awards.  The National Film Registry of the Library of Congress was selected for preservation as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

The American Film Institute has included Rear Window as #42 in its 100 Years...100 Movies; #14 in AFI's 100 years...100 Thrills; and #3 in AFI's Top 10 Mysteries.