Victor Glover, born April 30, 1976 in Pomona, California, is currently aboard the International Space Station. He went into space aboard SpaceX Crew-1, launched in November 2020. He has participated in Expedition 61 and is now involved with Expedition 62. He is scheduled to return to Earth Sunday, May 2, 2021.
Actor Akira Takarada, born April 29, 1934 in Chongjin, North Korea, is one of the most popular and well-recognized actors in the Godzilla series. He appeared in the original Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 1956. Since then he's appeared in Mothra vs Godzilla, Invasion of Astro-Monster, Ebirah: Horror of the Deep, Godzilla vs Mothra: The Battle for Earth, Godzilla: Final Wars and the American reboot Godzilla in 2014.
Soyuz TM-32, launched April 28, 2001, carried the crew of ISS EP-1 to the International Space Station. Its crew consisted of Commander Talgat Musabayev and Yuri Baturin. They were joined by space tourist Dennis Tito, an entrepreneur who funded his own trip into space.
Soyuz TM-32 returned to Earth in October 2001 with Viktor Afansayev, Claudie Haignere and Konstantin Kozeyev.
Jerome "Jay" Apt III, born April 28, 1949 in Springfield, Massachusetts, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.
HIs first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-37) as mission specialist in April 1995. He conducted two EVAs with fellow astronaut Jerry Ross for over 10 hours.
His second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-47) as mission specialist in September 1992. The mission included two experiments prepared by an all-girls school in Kent, UK.
Apt's third mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-59) as mission specialist in April 1994. He exchanged greetings with the cosmonauts aboard the Mir space station.
His fourth and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-79) as mission specialist to Mir in September 1996. It was the first shuttle mission to dock with a completed Mir space station.
Ellen Baker, born April 27, 1953 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, has been in space three times.
Her first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-34) as mission specialist in October 1989. The mission deployed the Galileo probe to Jupiter.
Her second mission was aboard Columbia (STS-50) as mission specialist in June-July 1992. It was the first flight of the US Microgravity Laboratory 1.
Her third and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-71) as mission specialist in June-July 1995. It was the first Space Shuttle docking to the space station Mir.
England became the third country in the world to operate a satellite, launching Ariel 1 April 26, 1962 from Cape Canaveral. It was a joint effort between NASA and the UK. It was named after the sprite in Shakespeare's The Tempest.
In July 1962, it was damaged by the Starfish Prime high-altitude nuclear test, which destroyed or damaged several other satellites. Although it continued to operate, the radiation disabled the timer which would have deactivated the satellite after one year. Thus, it extended its life and Ariel 1 re-entered the atmosphere in May 1976.
The brilliant comedienne, Carol Burnett, born April 26, 1933 in San Antonio, TX, has been making us laugh for more than 60 years. Her first appearance was on the Paul Winchell Show in 1955. She has gone on to star on Broadway and hosted her own television variety show The Carol Burnett Show, which won 9 Golden Globes. Burnett herself has won 5 Golden Globes, 6 Primetime Emmys, a Grammy, and been nominated for two Tonys.
The Sweet released their single Little Willy in May 1972 and was certified gold April 25, 1973. Although rock music journalists "loathed it", it became a huge success for The Sweet. It was their biggest hit in the US, reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Jim Henson's multi-award winning variety show The Muppet Show premiered April 23, 1977. It gained in popularity, but Jim Henson wanted to end the show on a high note. The last season had the highest Nielsen ratings ever.
It won four Primetime Emmy awards including one for Rita Moreno for her guest appearance.
Kermit the Frog and Waldorf appeared in all 120 episodes.
SpaceX Crew-2 was launched this morning just before 6am. Its crew consists of Commander Shane Kimbrough, Pilot Megan McArthur, Akihiko Hoshide (JAXA), and Thomas Pesquet (ESA). They are expected to dock with the International Space Station tomorrow morning.
They are planned to undock and return to Earth in October 2021.
The third version of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians (And Then There Were None) was released April 23, 1974. It starred Elke Sommer, Oliver Reed, Richard Attenborough, and Orson Welles.
Reading the cast and watching the trailer, it doesn't seem as if the screenwriters didn't care much for Agatha Christie's version and decided to write their own mystery story, loosely based on the novel.
A hotel in Iran instead of a isolated island? C'mon, man!
Aleksandr Laveykin, born April 21, 1951 in Moscow, Russia, went into space aboard Soyuz TM-2 to Mir in February 1987. He was part of expedition Mir EO-2 and spent 174 days in space. He returned to Earth in July 1987.
Donald Pettit, born April 20, 1955 in Silverton, Oregon, is a veteran of three space flights.
His first flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-113) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in November 2002. He participated in Expedition 6 while aboard the ISS, and conducted two EVAs during the mission. He returned to Earth Soyuz TMA-1 in May 2003.
His second flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-126) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in November 2008. He helped operate the Canadarm2 robotic arm while aboard.
His third and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-03 to the International Space Station in December 2011. He participated in Expeditions 30 and 31.
Front row (L-R): Yury Lonchakov, Ken Rominger, Umberto Guidoni, Jeffrey Ashby, John Phillips
Back row (L-R): Scott Parazynski, Chris Hadfield
Mission patch
Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-100), launched April 19, 2001, installed the Canadarm2 robotic arm on the International Space Station. Its crew consisted of Commander Kent Rominger, Pilot Jeffrey Ashby, Chris Hadfield (CSA), John Phillips, Scott Parazynski, Umberto Guidoni (ESA), and Yury Lonchakov (Roscosmos).
Parazynski and Hadfield conducted two EVAs for almost 15 hours.
Director George Pal's movie adaption of H. G. Wells' novel The Time Machine won an Academy Award for Best Special Effects for Gene Warren and Tim Baar at the 33rd ceremony April 17, 1961. It beat The Last Voyage, the only other nominee for the award.
Psycho was nominated for four Academy Awards the same year, but did not receive any.
One of my favorite X-Files episodes, Darkness Falls, aired April 15, 1994, the twentieth episode of the first season. Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) investigate the disappearance of a group of loggers in the remote Pacific Northwest, and find a swarm of deadly, prehistoric insects that come out only at night. Cut off from the outside world, they have to manage to survive.
John Phillips, born April 15, 1951 in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.
His first flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-100) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in April-May 2001. The main objective of the mission was to install the Canadarm2 to help continue assembly of the ISS.
His second flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-6 to the International Space Station in April 2005. He participated in Expedition 11 and remained on board until October 2005.
His third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-119) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in March 2009. During the mission, Phillips operated the ISS's Canadarm2.
Valentin Lebedev, born April 14, 1942 in Moscow, Russia, went into space twice.
His first flight was aboard Soyuz 13 in December 1973 as flight engineer. The flight lasted almost 8 days.
His second flight was aboard Soyuz T-5 as flight engineer to Salyut 7 in August 1982. He stayed aboard until December, when he returned to Earth aboard Soyuz T-7.
Alien, one of the best movies of all time, won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 52nd annual ceremony, April 14, 1980. Awards were given to H. R. Giger, Carlo Rambaldi, Brian Johnson, Nick Allder and Dennis Ayling. Alien was also nominated for Best Art Direction. Yes, that's Farrah Fawett posing with the winners.
For Best Visual Effects, it beat 1941 (an all-time favorite of mine), The Black Hole and Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
My girls the Pointer Sisters released Jump (For My Love) April 11, 1984, the third single from their album Break Out. It was the best-selling American dance single of 1984 and became an international hit. It won a Grammy Award in 1985 for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Frederick "Rick" Hauck, born April 11, 1941 in Long Beach, California, is a veteran of three space shuttle flights.
His first flight was aboard Challenger (STS-7) as pilot in June 1983. The mission carried Sally Ride, first American female astronaut, into space.
His second flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51-A) as commander in November 1984. Hauck was the first commander of a space shuttle mission not from the Apollo era.
His third and final flight was aboard Discovery (STS-26) as commander in September-October 1988. It was the Return to Flight mission, being the first flight after the Challenger disaster in January 1986.
Jaws: The Revenge (Jaws 4) won a Golden Raspberry for Worst Visual Effects, beating Superman IV: The Quest for Peace at the 8th ceremony, April 10, 1988. It was nominated for seven more Golden Razzies: Worst Picture; Worst Actor for Bruce the Shark, Worst Actress for Lorraine Gary, Worst Supporting Actor for Michael Caine, Worst Director for Joseph Sargent, and Worst Screenplay by Michael DeGuzma.
If you've seen this movie, you know it deserves all the Razzies it can get.
South Pacific, one of the greatest Broadway musicals from Rogers and Hammerstein, took home 9 Tony Awards at the 4th ceremony April 9, 1950.
It won for Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical (Ezio Pinza), Best Actress in a Musical (Mary Martin), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Myron McCormick), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Juanita Hall), Best Producer, Best Director (Joshua Logan), Best Libretto (Oscar Hammerstein), and Best Original Score (Richard Rodgers).
Another one of my favorites, The Arsenal of Freedom, the 21st episode of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation aired April 9, 1988. In this episode, the crew of the Enterprise encounters a long-dead planet, destroyed by its own creations. Now one of those creations tries to destroy the Enterprise.
It was the second time the saucer separation process was used. It was the third appearance of a new Chief Engineer. Geordi LaForge (LeVar Burton) became head of engineering in Season 2. It also the final episode to show LaForge in command.
Julia Nickson, a favorite actress of mine, was several months pregnant during filming. She would go on to star in Star Trek: Deep Space 9 and Babylon 5.
Dancing Queen, the mega-hit from the Swedish super-group ABBA, reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 April 9, 1977. It was the only #1 song for ABBA in the US. It was the first single from their album Arrival, released in October 1976.
Dancing Queen topped the charts in more than a dozen countries. In Sweden, it spent 14 weeks at the top.
It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2015.
Soyuz MS-18, launched today, carried members of Expedition 65 to the International Space Station. Its crew consists of Commander Oleg Novitskiy, Pyotr Dubrov and Mark Vande Hei. They will also participate in Expeditions 64 and 66.
Serena Aunon-Chancellor, born April 9, 1976 in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the second Hispanic female astronaut. She went into space aboard Soyuz MS-09 to the International Space Station in June 2018. She participated in Expeditions 56 and 57.
She also participated in Aquarius underwater laboratory NEEMO 16 and NEEMO 20.
One of my favorite bands Electric Light Orchestra was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame April 7, 2017, including members Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Richard Tandy, and Roy Wood.
2001 Mars Odyssey, launched April 7, 2001, is a spacecraft orbiting Mars. It reached Mars orbit on October 24, 2001.
In May 2002, NASA reported that Odyssey had detected large amounts of hydrogen, which could mean ice just under the planet's surface.
By October 2008, Odyssey had mapped the distribution of water below the surface of Mars.
In December 2010, it broke the record for the longest serving spacecraft at Mars and currently holds the record for the longest-surviving continually active spacecraft in orbit around a planet other than Earth. Its mission has been extended until 2025.
In 2013 the Siding Spring Comet passed very closely to Mars, but Odyssey, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and MAVEN were unaffected.
The animated short Knighty Knight Bugs won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 31st ceremony held April 6, 1959. The short was directed by Friz Freleng and voiced by Mel Blanc.
Historians agree that Humorous Phases of Funny Faces is the first animated cartoon, which first aired April 6, 1906. It was directed by James Stuart Blackton and filmed in 1904 but was released in 1906.
Soyuz 18a, launched and landed April 5, 1975 to Salyut 4, lasted only 21 minutes. Its crew consisted of Commander Vasily Lazarev and Oleg Makarov. The spacecraft exceeded an altitude of 100 km, which is the threshold for a sub-orbital flight.
About 90 miles up, when the second and third stages of the booster separate, only three of the six locks released. The third stage ignited with the second stage still attached. The thrust broke the remaining locks but caused the spacecraft deviating from its proper trajectory. An automatic abort program activated. Because the capsule was already pointed downward, the cosmonauts experienced a significant acceleration, beyond what was expected. They experienced up to 21.3 g. Fortunately, the parachutes opened properly and slowed their descent to a safe landing, 21 minutes after lift-off.
Paradise Theatre, the tenth studio album from awesome band Styx, reached #1 on the Billboard 200. April 4, 1981. It stayed at the top for three non-consecutive weeks. It was the fourth album to be certified triple-platinum. It spawned four singles, two of which reached the top 10 singles
Soyuz TM-30 crew (L-R): Sergei Zalyotin, Aleksandr Kaleri
Mission patch
Soyuz TM-30, launched April 4, 2000, was the last mission to the Mir space station. Its crew consisted of Commander Sergei Zalyotin and Aleksandr Kaleri. It was the first privately funded mission to a space station. MirCorp sent the crew to reactivate, repair, and resupply the station. They also boosted the station's orbit since it was nearing the end of its operational life. Plans had been developed to restore the station with commercially-funded mission but they never materialized.
Zalyotin and Kaleri performed one EVA during the mission. returned to Earth after almost 73 days on June 16.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a Steven Spielberg blockbuster released in December 1977, won two Academy Awards at the 50th ceremony April 3, 1978. It won Best Cinematography for Vilmos Zsigmond, and a Special Achievement Award for sound effects editing for Frank Warner.
It was nominated for Best Director for Spielberg, Best Supporting Actress for Melinda Dillon, Best Original Score for John Williams (he lost to himself), Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects. It lost out to Star Wars in every category except Cinematography.
Soyuz T-11, launched April 3, 1984, carried the first Indian cosmonaut into space. The spacecraft docked with Salyut 7. Its crew consisted of Commander Yuri Malyshev, Gennady Strekalov, and Rakesh Sharma.
Soyuz T-11 remained docked with the space station until October. Its landing crew consisted of Commander Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov, and Oleg Atkov.
The granddaddy of all nighttime dramas, Dallas, premiered on television April 2, 1978. The long-running series lasted 14 seasons, not counting the reboot a few years ago, and won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for Barbara Bel Geddes. It also won four Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Costume Design, twice for Outstanding Music Composition, and one for Barbara Bel Geddes for Best Actress.
Alec Guinness, born April 2, 1914 in London, England, is best known for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars movie franchise. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Bridge on the River Kwai, for which he also won a Golden Globe. He also won an Honorary Academy Award in 1980. He was nominated four more times for Oscars including his role as Obi-Wan, for which he won a Saturn Award.
My favorite Alec Guinness movie is The Man in the White Suit.
Zond 1, launched April 2, 1964, was the second Soviet spacecraft to reach Venus. On its journey, a slow leak formed in a crack in a sensor window, which caused the compartment to lose air pressure. The vacuum tubes, used in Soviet electronics, overheat without air to cool them. Ground control turned on Zond 1's radio system when there was little atmosphere inside. The electronics shorted out.
By the middle of April 1964, all transmissions from the main spacecraft had ceased, but ground control could still communicate with the lander, and they received space radiation and spectrometer measurements.
Two course corrections were performed during the flight but the second one was off by 65 ft/sec, and ground controllers placed it into a spin-stabilization mode. By May 14, all communications failed, and on July 14 it passed within 100,000 km of Venus.
The thirteenth episode of the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Time Squared (one of my favorites), aired April 1, 1989. The crew of the Enterprise encounters a shuttlecraft, drifting in space with a duplicate of Captain Picard inside. They soon find out that he is from a few hours in the future, when the USS Enterprise is destroyed.
One of the most successful movies of all time, The Sound of Music, was released April 1, 1965. It starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, in the story of the Von Trapp family in the days before WWII.
It won 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, and two Golden Globes, for Best Picture and Best Actress for Julie Andrews.
