Michael J. Smith, born April 30, 1945 in Beaumont, North Carolina, was pilot for the ill-fated Challenger mission (STS-51-L) when it exploded 73 seconds after take-off in January 1986.
He had previously flown combat missions in the Vietnam War as a pilot for the US Navy.
David Frizzell and Shelly West won the Academy of Country Music Award for Song of the Year for You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma, April 30, 1981. It was featured on the soundtrack of the Clint Eastwood movie Any Which Way You Can.
Duane Carey, born April 30, 1957 in St. Paul, Minnesota, went into space aboard Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-109) as pilot in March 2002. It was the fourth mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. He spent almost 11 days in space.
First row (L-R): Robert Overmyer, Frederick Gregory
Back row (L-R): Don Lind, Taylor Wang, Norman Thagard, William Thornton, Lodewijk van den Berg
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Challenger, launched April 29, 1985, was the seventh flight of Challenger. Its crew consisted of Commander Robert Overmyer, Pilot Frederick Gregory, Don Lind, Norman Thagard, William Thornton, Lodewijk van den Berg, and Taylor Wang.
It was the second flight of the European Space Agency's Spacelab. Two squirrel monkeys and 24 rats in special cages accompanied the astronauts in space.
Nikolai Budarin, born April 29, 1953 in Russia, is a veteran of three trips to space.
His first trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-71) as mission specialist in June 1995 to the space station Mir. He remained on board for over 75 days and returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-21 in September 1995. He was part of expedition Mir EO-19.
His second trip into space was aboard Soyuz TM-27 in January 1998 to Mir. He participated in expedition Mir EO-25 and returned to Earth in August 1998.
His third and final trip into space was aboard Endeavour (STS-113) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in November 2002. He took part in Expedition 6 and returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-1 in May 2003.
During his career he has performed eight EVAs for a total of 44 hours.
Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded one of their best-selling singles, Pennsylvania 6-5000. April 28, 1940. It was released in June and rose to Top 5 on the Billboard charts. It became a big band standard and was covered by many other artists including the Andrews Sisters and Meco. The Carol Burnett Show included it in her tribute to Glenn Miller in a 1976 episode. It was featured in an episode of the Muppet Show in 1979.
STS-39 crew (L-R): Charles Veach, Michael Coats, Gregory Harbaugh, Donald McMonagle, Blaine Hammond, Richard Hieb, Guion Bluford
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Discovery, launched April 28, 1991, carried experiments for the Department of Defense into space. Its crew consisted of Commander Michael Coats, Pilot Blaine Hammond, Gregory Harbaugh, Donald McMonagle, Guion Bluford, Charles Veach, and Richard Hieb.
John Creighton, born April 28, 1943 in Orange, Texas, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.
His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-51-G) as pilot in June 1985. The mission objective was to release three communication satellites, from Mexico, the Arab Satellite Communications Organization and AT&T.
His second flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-36) as commander in February 1990. The mission carried a classified payload for the US Department of Defense.
His third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-48) as commander in September 1991. Its primary mission was to deploy the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite.
In total, Creighton spent over 16 days, 20 hours in space.
The Philippines launched their first satellite, Diwata-1, from the International Space Station April 27, 2016. It was the first satellite built and designed by Filipinos. It was launched from Earth on March 23 aboard a supply mission to the ISS.
Diwata-1 was designed for many different uses, among which were monitoring the extent of damage from typhoons and measure changes in vegetation and phytoplankton in Philippine waters. It was decommissioned March 20, 2020 and entered the Earth's atmosphere April 6.
Valeri Polyakov, born April 27, 1942 in the former Soviet Union, holds the record for the longest single stay in space for a human. He stayed aboard Mir for 427 days, 18 hours. His total time in space is 678 days, 16 hours.
His first mission was aboard Soyuz TM-6 to Mir in August 1988. He participated in expeditions Mir EO-3 and Mir EO-4, returning to Earth on Soyuz TM-7 in April 1989.
His second and final flight was his record setting stay. He went into space aboard Soyuz TM-18 in January 1994. He participated in expeditions Mir EO-15, Mir EO-16 and Mir EO-17. He returned to Earth on Soyuz TM-20 in March 1995, after more than 14 months.
Soyuz TMA-2, launched April 26, 2003 carried two members of Expedition 7 to the International Space Station. Its crew consisted of Commander Yuri Malenchenko (Roscosmos) and Edward Lu (NASA). They remained on board the ISS until October 2003 with ESA astronaut Pedro Duque.
Samantha Cristoforetti, born April 26, 1977 in Milan, Itlay, has been in space once. She is the first Italian woman in space, and currently holds th erecord for the longest uninterrupted spaceflight for a European astronaut, at 199 days and 16 hours.
She went into space aboard Soyuz TMA-15M as flight engineer to the International Space Station in November 2014. She remained aboard for more than 199 days, returning to Earth in June 2015. She participated in Expeditions 42 and 43.
Goddess of Disco, Donna Summer released her seventh studio album Bad Girls April 25, 1979. It became her best-selling and most critically acclaimed album of her career. It topped the Billboard 200 for six non-consecutive weeks, and the Billboard R&B albums for three weeks.
Two singles, Hot Stuff and Bad Girls, both reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Dim All the Lights reached #2.
Hot Stuff won a Grammy for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Female at the 22nd Grammy Awards in February 1980.
The album was nominated for Album of the Year (losing to Billy Joel's 52nd Street), Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Femal R&B Vocal Performance. Dim All the Lights was nominated for Best Disco Recording.
Frank De Winne, born April 25, 1961 in Belgium, has been in space twice and is the second Belgian astronaut after Dirk Frimout.
His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-1 as Flight Engineer in October 2002 to the International Space Station. He returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TM-34 in November.
His second trip was aboard Soyuz TMA-15 as Flight Engineer to the ISS in May 2009. He returned to Earth in December 2009.
The Sound of Music won five awards at the 14th Tony Awards held April 24, 1960. It tied with Fiorello for Best Musical.
Mary Martin won Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical for her role as Maria Von Trapp, beating Carol Burnett as Princess Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress. Patricia Neway won Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as the Mother Abbess.
The Sound of Music also won for Best Conductor and Musical Director, and Best Scenic Design (Musical).
Theodore Bikel and Kurt Kasznar were nominated for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. Lauri Peters was nominated for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Liesl Von Trapp. The musical was also nominated for Best Direction of a Musical.
Yelena Serova, born April 22, 1976 in the former Soviet Union, is the fourth Soviet woman in space. Her single trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-14M to the International Space Station in September 2014. She participated in Expeditions 41 and 42 before returning to Earth in March 2015.
Sergei Zalyotin, born April 21, 1962 in Russia, went into space twice.
His first mission was aboard Soyuz TM-30 as Commander to the space station Mir in April 2000. He participated in expedition Mir EO-38. It was the final human spaceflight to Mir. He returned to Earth in June 16 after about 72 days in space.
His second and final mission was aboard Soyuz TMA-1 as Commander to the International Space Station in October 30, 2002. He remained on board almost two weeks and returned to Earth in November aboard Soyuz TM-34.
Angela Lansbury won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a musical for her role as Countess Aurelia in Dear World, April 20, 1969. It was the only nomination for the musical and Angela took it home!
This was her second win of five total Tony Awards.
Soyuz MS-04 crew (L-R): Fyodor Yurchikhin, Jack Fischer
Mission patch
Soyuz MS-04, launched April 20, 2017, carried two crew members to the International Space Station. Its crew consisted of Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin (Roscosmos) and Jack Fischer (NASA).
Yurchikhin and Fischer participated in Expeditions 51 and 52. They returned to Earth in September 2017 with Peggy Whitson.
Salyut 7, Soviet space station, was launched April 19, 1982. It was the last of the Salyut program, which was replaced by Mir. It had six resident crews, the first of which arrived in December 1982.
In February 1985, contact with the space station was lost and began to drift. Soyuz T-13 with Valdimir Dzhanibekov and Viktor Savinykh arrived in June 1985 to repair the malfunctions.
The crew of Soyuz T-15 was the final crew to visit Salyut 7 and transferred equipment to the new Mir space station.
Salyut 7 underwent an uncontrolled reentry in February 1991, breaking up over the southern Pacific Ocean.
Jonathan Frid made his first appearance as vampire Barnabas Collins on Episode #211 of Dark Shadows, which aired April 18, 1967. He saved the show from the axe and the show became a hit.
Soyuz MS-15 landing crew (L-R): Oleg Skripochka, Jessica Meir, Andrew Morgan
Soyuz MS-15, with members of Expedition 62, landed safely in Kazakhstan this morning. Its crew consisted of Commander Oleg Skripochka and Jessica Meir who launched in September 2019. They spent about 205 days in space. Hazz Al Mansouri was aboard for the launch but returned on Soyuz MS-12 October 3.
Andrew Morgan went into space aboard Soyuz MS-13 in July 2019. He spent about 277 days in space.
Last row (L-R): James Pawelczyk, Richard Linnehan, Kathryn Hire, Davydd Williams, Jay Buckey
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-90), launched April 17, 1998, was the final flight of the European Space Agency's Spacelab laboratory module. Its crew consisted of Commander Richard Searfoss, Pilot Scott Altman, Dafydd Williams (CSA), Kathryn Hire, Richard Linnehan, Jay Buckey and James Pawelczyk.
The mission continued the exploration of the effects of microgravity on the human nervous system. The crew returned to Earth on May 3.
Michael Barratt, born April 16, 1959 in Vancouver, Washington, is a veteran of two space flights.
His first mission was aboard Soyuz TMA-14 in March 2009 to the International Space Station. He participated in Expeditions 19 and 20. He and fellow astronaut Gennady Padalka performed two EVAs during the mission. Barratt returned to Earth October 2009.
His second and final mission was aboard Discovery's final mission (STS-133) as mission specialist in February-March 2011 to the ISS. Barratt operated the Canadarm2 during the mission.
In October 2004, Barratt participated in the Aquarius underwater laboratory during the NEEMO 7 mission.
Airport, based on the novel by Arthur Haley, won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, April 15, 1971. Helen Hayes took home the award for her role as Ada Quonsett, the lovable stowaway. Released in May 1970, Airport received ten nominations, but won only one Oscar.
It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing.
Maureen Stapleton was also nominated Best Supporting Actress for her role as Inez Guerrero.
Soyuz TMA-6 crew: Roberto Vittori, Sergei Krikalev, John Phillips
Mission patch
Soyuz TMA-6, launched April 15, 2005, carried members of Expedition 11 to the International Space Station. Its crew consisted of Commander Sergei Krikalev (Roscosmos), John Phillips (NASA) and Roberto Vittori (ESA).
Vittori returned home on April 24 aboard Soyuz TMA-5. Krikalev and Phillips retunred home in October 2005 with space tourist Gregory Olsen.
Marsha Ivins, born April 15, 1951 in Baltimore, Maryland, is a veteran of five space shuttle flights.
Her first flight was aboard Columbia (STS-32) as mission specialist in January 1990, the first mission of the 1990s.
Her second flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-46) as mission specialist in July-August 1992. One of the objectives of the mission was to deploy the NASA/Italian Space Agency joint project, the Tethered Satellite System (TSS).
Her third flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-62) as mission specialist in March 1994. During the mission, she spoke with students at Bronx High School of Science, who asked her questions about experiments being conducted in space.
Her fourth flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-81) as mission specialist in January 1997 to the space station Mir. It was the fifth space shuttle mission mission to Mir.
Her fifth and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-98) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in February 2001. The crew delivered the Destiny Laboratory Module to the ISS.
Ridley Scott's horror classic Alien won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 52nd Academy Awards April 14, 1980. It was up against more of my favorite movies, 1941, Star Trek - The Motion Picture, and The Black Hole.
Alien was also nominated for Best Art Direction.
1941 was nominated for three Oscars including Best Cinematography and Best Sound.
The Black Hole was also nominated for Best Sound.
Star Trek - The Motion Picture was also nominated for Best Original Score and Best Art Direction.
Unfortunately, Alien's Best Visual Effects Oscar was the only one for this group.
Jean-Jacques Favier, born April 13, 1949 in Kehl, Germany, is a French astronaut for the National Centre for Space Studies (CNES), the French space agency. He went into space once, aboard Columbia (STS-78) in June-July 1996 as a payload specialist. He spent almost 17 days in space.
For the first few seasons of The X-Files, one episode contained dark humor and a little lighter mood than the rest of the episodes. In Season 3, that episode was the twentieth, Jose Chung's From Outer Space. It is one of my favorite episodes of the show. Charles Nelson Reilly stars as a science fiction writer writing a non-fiction book about an alien abduction. The accounts from the witnesses seem to differ greatly, so anything could have happened.
Jesse Ventura and Alex Trebek appear as Men in Black.
Billy Joel's Greatest Hits album Volume 1 and Volume 2 became the fourth album in history to become certified as Double-Diamond for sales over 20 million copies, April 12, 1999. It follows Michael Jackson's Thriller, the Eagles - Their Greatest Hits: 1971-1975 and Pink Floyd's The Wall.
The Night Is Still Young and You're Only Human (Second Wind) were previously unreleased but have since been released as singles.
Front row (L-R): Karol Bobko, Donald Williams, Rhea Seddon, Jeffrey Hoffman
Last row (L-R): David Griggs, Charles Walker, Edwin Garn
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51-D), launched April 12, 1985, was the fourth flight of Discovery. Its crew consisted of Commander Karol Bobko, Pilot Donald Williams, Rhea Seddon, David Griggs, Jeffrey Hoffman, Charles Walker, and Senator Edwin Garn of Utah.
Hoffman and Griggs conducted an EVA on April 16 for just over 3 hours. Griggs also performed tricks with a yo-yo to see how "Toys in Space" reacted to microgravity. He successfully comppleted the flying saucer and around-the-moon, but the sleeper trick did not work without normal gravity.
The crew returned to Earth April 19 and a tire blew out upon landing, causing extensive damage to the brakes.
Rebecca, the movie based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier, was released across the US April 12, 1940. Alfred Hitchcock directed it and received a Best Director nomination for an Oscar. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture, David Selznick as producer. It also won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Black and White. It received 8 more nominations for a total of 11, including Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
Rebecca has been honored by the American Film Institute. It is #80 on AFI's 100 Thrills. Mrs. Danvers, played by Dame Judith Anderson, is ranked as #31 on AFI's 100 Heroes and Villains.
It was selected by the Library of Congress in 2018 for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Igor Volk, born April 12, 1937 in the Ukraine, went into space once aboard Soyuz T-12. He flew as a research cosmonaut on the three man mission to Salyut 7 in July 1984. He didn't return to space.
Piers Sellers, born April 11, 1955 in East Sussex, England, was a veteran of three space shuttle missions.
His first trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-112) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in October 2002. He conducted three EVAs with fellow astronaut David Wolf for a total of over 19 hours.
His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-121) as mission specialist to the ISS in July 2006. He conducted three more EVAs with fellow astronaut Michael Fossum.
His third and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-132) as mission specialist to the ISS in May 2010. He operated the Canadarm 2 robotic arm during the mission.
He passed away in December 2016 of pancreatic cancer.
My girl Cloris Leachman won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Last Picture Show, April 10, 1972. She won numerous awards for the role, including a BAFTA Award, Kansas City Film Critics Circle award, and National Board of Review award
Soyuz 33 crew: Nikolai Rukavishnikov, Georgi Ivanov
Mission patch
Soyuz 33, launched April 10, 1979, was intended to dock with Salyut 6 but an engine failure forced the mission to be aborted. Its crew consisted of Nikolai Rukavishnikov and Bulgarian Georgi Ivanov. They had to abort the mission before they docked with the space station and returned to Earth after almost 2 days in space.
On the 35th anniversary of NASA selecting eleven men for the brand-new space program, The Right Stuff, the movie about the selection of those astronauts won 4 Oscars at the 56th Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, April 9, 1984.
It won Best Original Score for Bill Conti (beating John Williams for Return of the Jedi), Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing (beating Return of the Jedi), and Best Film Editing. It had been nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Sam Shepard, Best Art Direction, and Best Cinematography.
It had an all-star cast, which surprises me that not more of them were nominated for Oscars. Among them were some of my favorites: Dennis Quaid (Gordon Cooper); Ed Harris (John Glenn) Lance Henriksen (Wally Schirra), and Veronica Cartwright (Betty Grissom).
It was a critically acclaimed movie but was a box-office failure. In 2013, it was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Soyuz 35, launched April 9, 1980, was the tenth manned mission to (the eighth to successfully dock with) Salyut 6. Its crew consisted of Commander Leonid Popov and Valery Ryumin.
Soyuz 35 returned to Earth in June 1980 with Commander Valeri Kubasov and Bertalan Farkas, the first Hungarian cosmonaut.
Soyuz MS-16 crew (L-R): Chris Cassidy, Anatoli Ivanishin, Ivan Vagner
Mission patch
Soyuz MS-16 was launched earlier this morning to the International Space Station. It has docked with the station but the hatch hasn't been opened yet. Its crew consists of Commander Anatoli Ivanishin, Ivan Vagner and Christopher Cassidy.
They will join the crew of Expedition 62 currently aboard the ISS.
