Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" reaches #1 1941

Glenn Miller and his orchestra's recording of Chattanooga Choo Choo reached #1 December 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy, and remained there for 9 weeks.  It was the first song to receive a gold record for sales of 1.2 million copies.  

It was featured in the movie Sun Valley Serenade.  It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song.  In 1996, Miller's recording of Chattanooga Choo Choo was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. 

"Young Sherlock Holmes" released 1985

Young Sherlock Holmes, produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Barry Levinson, was released December 4, 1985.  It is a story about Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, meeting as boys in a English boarding school.  

It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It won a Saturn award for Best Music. The stained glass knight scene was my favorite. 

Endeavour (STS-88) launched 1998

STS-88 crew

Front row (L-R): Sergei Krikalev, Nancy Currie-Gregg

Back row (L-R): Jerry Ross, Robert Cabana, Frederick Sturckow, James Newman

Mission patch

Space Shuttle Endeavour (STS-88), launched December 4, 1998, carried the first American module, Unity node, to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Robert Cabana, Pilot Frederick Sturckow, Jerry Ross, Nancy Currie-Gregg, James Newman, and Sergei Krikalev (Roscosmos).

Ross and Newman performed three EVAs for a total of over 21 hours, to complete the Unity node installation.

They returned to Earth December 13.  

Soyuz TM-11 launched 1990

Soyuz TM-11 crew (L-R): Toyohiro Akiyama, Viktor Afanasyev, Musa Manarov

Mission patch

Soyuz TM-11, launched December 2, 1990, was the 11th expedition to the space station Mir.  Its crew consisted of Commander Viktor Afanasyev, Musa Manarov, and Toyohiro Akiyama (a Japanese reporter).  

The cosmonauts remained on board until May 26, 1991, when they returned to Earth with Helen Sharman, a British astronaut.  Akiyama returned to Earth December 10, 1990 aboard Soyuz TM-10.

Jonathan Frid "Barnabas Collins" born 1924

Jonathan Frid, born December 2, 1924 in Ontario, Canada, is best known as Barnabas Collins in the daytime horror show Dark Shadows.  Frid served as a seaman in the Royal Canadian Navy during WWII.  

He starred in almost 600 episodes of Dark Shadows and even had an appearance in the 2012 movie version, starring Johnny Depp.

He passed away in April 2012 just a few weeks before the movie was released, making it his final acting role.

Chang'e 5 probe lands on the moon today!

China's lunar probe Chang'e 5, launched November 23, landed on the moon today.  Its mission is to sample the lunar soil (about 4.4 lb or 2 kg) and return to Earth about December 16-17.  It will make China the third nation to send a probe to the moon and return with samples.

Happy birthday, NASA astronaut Terry Virts!

Terry Virts, born December 1, 1967 in Baltimore, Maryland, has been in space twice.

His first mission was aboard Endeavour (STS-130) as pilot to the International Space Station in February 2010.  Its primary payloads were the Tranquility module and the Cupola, a control station that provided a 360° view of the station.

His second trip was aboard Soyuz TMA-15M, launched in November 2014.  He participated in Expedition 42 and served as commander of Expedition 43.  

He has performed 3 EVAs for just over 19 hours.