Gemini VII launched 1965

Gemini VII Crew: Jim Lovell, Frank Borman

Mission patch

Gemini VII, launched December 4, 1965, was fourth manned Gemini flight and the twelfth manned American space flight.  Her crew, Frank Borman and James Lovell spent almost 14 days in space.

While in space they tried to solve problems that extended space flights would encounter such as stowage of waste, and nuntrition in space.  Their new lightweight spacesuite became uncomfortable when worn for a long time (duh.  Anything becomes uncomfortable after a while).  Borman and Lovell took Pete Conrad's advice and took books to read.

That advice was well-taken since the last three days were "bad" according to Borman.  They had finished their tests and the excitement of rendevouzing with Gemini VI was over.  So they were doing little more than orbiting Earth and reading.

They splashed down December 18 and were recovered by the USS Wasp.

Viktor Gorbatko, Soyuz cosmonaut, born 1934

Viktor Gorbatko, born December 3, 1934 in the Black Sea area of the Soviet Union, was a veteran of three Soyuz missions. His first flight was aboard Soyuz 7 in October 1969.  Soyuz 7 was to rendezvous with Soyuz 8 but failed to occur due to equipment malfunctions.

His second mission was Soyuz 24 in February 1977.  It was the third and final mission to the Salyut 5 space station.  Gorbatko and fellow cosmonaut Yuri Glazkov reactivated the station after toxic fumes apparently ended the previous crew's mission.

His third and final flight was on Soyuz 37 July-October 1981 to Salyut 6.  This mission made history since Gorbatko's fellow cosmonaut was Pham Tuan, the first Vietnamese and first Asian cosmonaut.

Gorbatko passed away May 2017.

Atlantis (STS-27) launched 1988

Back row, L-R: William Shepherd, Richard Mullane. Front row, L-R: Guy Gardner, Robert Gibson, Jerry Ross.

Mission Patch

Atlantis (STS-27), the second Space Shuttle flight after the Challenger disaster, launched December 2, 1988.  It was a mission for the Department of Defense, so its payload and purpose were classified.  Her crew consisted of Commander Robert Gibson, Pilot Guy Gardner (not the Green Lantern), Mission Specialist 1 Richard Mullane, Mission Specialist 2 Jerry Ross and Mission Specialist 3 William Shepherd.

During the ascent the Thermal Protection System tiles were damaged by ablative insulating material from the right SRB.  The crew reported they saw white material on the windshield at various times during ascent.  They tried to examine the starboard side of Atlantis with the Canadarm but could not determine the full extent of the damage.  Due to the sensitive nature of the mission, the crew could not send hi-res photos to the ground to assess the damage.  The poor resolution pics weren't enough to tell what had happened, either.  NASA told the crew that the damage didn't look any worse than previous shuttle incidents.  Small comfort for the crew.

It has been reported that Commander Gibson thought the crew would perish upon re-entry, but miraculously, Atlantis landed safely December 6, despite being one of the most damaged shuttles to return.

Soyuz 16 launched 1974

Crew photo

Mission patch

Soyuz 16, launched December 2, 1974, was the Soviets final test flight before the historic Apollo-Soyuz collaboration in 1975.  Her crew was Commander Anatoly Filipchenko and Flight Engineer Nikolai Rukavishnikov

They tested a docking ring and other systems that would be used during the hook-up.

They returned to Earth December 8.

Monty Python's Flying Circus episode "Scott of the Antarctic" airs 1970

The 10th episode of the second season of Monty Python's Flying Circus, which featured "Scott of the Antarctic" aired December 1, 1970.  Of course, we all were shocked to find out there are no lions in the Antarctic. 

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Aleksandr Aleksandrov!

Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov, born December 1, 1951 in Omurtag, Bulgaria, is the first Bulgarian to reach a Soviet space station. 

He launched in Soyuz TM-5 June 7, 1988 and spent 10 days aboard the space station Mir.  He returned to Earth June 17 aboard Soyuz TM-4.

Sputnik 6, two dogs launched 1960

 

Pchyolka and Mushka

Pchyolka and Mushka Stamp

Sputnik 6 (also known as Korabi-Sputnik 3), launched December 1, 1960, carried two dogs into space, Pchyolka and Mushka.  The flight lasted a day before the capsule "deorbited" ahead of schedule.  During re-entry, the engine failed to cut off properly and allowed the spacecraft fuel to be depleted.  As a result, the capsule re-entered on a trajectory that might have allowed it to land in a foreign territory.  Instead of saving the dogs, the Soviets activated the self-destruct mechanism rather than letting the capsule fall into the hands of a foreign power.  Both dogs were killed.