Remembering Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders (1933-2024)

William Anders, Apollo 8 astronaut, passed away June 7 when his T-34 vintage aircraft crashed into Puget Sound, Washington. Anders took the iconic photo of the Earth rising over the moon.  He was 90 years old.

Luna 6 launched 1965

Luna 6, launched June 8, 1965, was a Soviet spacecraft, intended to land on the moon.  The next day, Luna 6's main engine ignited for a planned mid-course correction.  However, it failed to cut off and continued to fire, until its fuel had been depleted.  Luna 6 passed by the moon on June 11 at a distance of almost 100K miles.

Astronaut Bruce McCandless born 1937

Bruce McCandless II, born June 8, 1937 in Boston, Massachusetts, went into space twice. He graduated from the US Naval Academy in 1958, and received flight training from the Naval Air Training Command in Pensacola, Florida and in Kingsville, Texas.

He was selected as an astronaut in the NASA Astronaut Group 5 at age 28, the youngest member of the group. He served as mission control capsule communicator (CAPCOM) during Apollo 11.  He served as CAPCOM for Apollo 14, as well as astronaut support crew.  He was reassigned to the Skylab program, serving as CAPCOM for Skylab 3 and Skylab 4.

His first mission was aboard Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-41-B) as mission specialist in February 1984. During the mission he performed the first untethered spacewalk, using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), traveling 322 ft away from the shuttle. He spent eight days in space.

His second mission was aboard Discovery (STS-31) as mission specialist in April 1990. He was planning to conduct an EVA with fellow astronaut Kathryn Sullivan to fix and array that could not be deployed through ground control, but the problem was fixed without the need of an EVA.  He returned to Earth after 5 days in space.

McCandless passed away in December 2017.

Celebrating Pride Month: Lili Elbe, earliest recipient of sex reassignment surgery

Lili Elbe, born Einar Wegener December 28, 1882 in Vejle, Denmark, was a transgender woman, who is the first person to receive a uterus transplant.  She began painting under her birth name and married Gerda Gottlieb in 1904. Gottlieb was also a painter and she and Lili moved to Paris in 1912, where Elbe cold live more openly as a woman, passing herself off as Gottlieb's sister-in-law.  

Elbe considered suicide before learning about  sex reassignment surgery, which was highly experimental at the time. In 1930, she traveled to the Hirschfeld Institute for Sexual Science in Germany, and went through four surgeries.  The first was a removal of the testicles, and the second implanted an ovary into her abdomen.  The third operation removed the penis and the scrotum.  

The fourth surgery which took place in 1931 was for Elbe to receive a transplant uterus and construct a vaginal canal, making her one of the first transgender woman to under go a vaginoplasty surgery.  Her immune system rejected the transplanted uterus, causing an infection.  She died in September 1931 three months after the surgery.

The LGBTQ+ film festival MIX Copenhagen gives out four Lili Awards each year, named for Elbe. She painted many successful images before stopping after the transition.

Venera 16 launched 1983

 

Venera 16, a Soviet spacecraft to Venus launched June 7, 1983, entered into orbit around the planet just one day after its twin sister Venera 15, although Venera 15 was launched only 5 days earlier. Venera 16 entered a nearly polar orbit and, together with its twin, they mapped about 25% of Venus's surface over the course of 8 months.  The last data received from Venera 16 was on June 13, 1985.

"Star Wars: The Phantom Menace" wins two Saturn Awards 2000

Although nominated for 10 Saturn Awards, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace garnered only two of the trophies at the Academy of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy's 26th annual ceremony June 6, 2000.  

The first chapter in the Star Wars saga took home the awards for Best Costumes for Trisha Biggar and Best Special Effects.  Liam Neeson was nominated for Best Actor for his performance as Qui-Gon Jinn.  Ewan McGregor was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi.  Pernilla August was nominated for Best Supporting Actress as Shmi Skywalker.  Jake Lloyd and Natalie Portman were both nominated for Best Young Actor/Actress.  George Lucas was nominated as Best Director.  The Phantom Menace received nominations for the Best Science Fiction Film and for Best Make-up.

Celebrating Pride Month: "Angels in America" wins 4 Tony Awards 1993

Angels in America: Millennium Approaches, a play by Tony Kushner, won four Tony Awards at the 47th annual ceremony, held June 6, 1993. The play focuses on homosexuality and AIDS in the US during the 1980s.  It premiered on Broadway in 1993.  

The play received much controversy due to the blunt treatment of AIDS, homosexuality, and male nudity, leading to funding cuts for art funding in some cities. But Angels in America was received well by critics and it won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

It took home honors for Best Play, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for Ron Leibman, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for Stephen Spinella, and Best Direction of a Play for George C. Wolfe.  Angels was also nominated for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play for Joe Mantello, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for Kathleen Chalfant, and Best Scenic Design.  

Also that night, Madeline Kahn won Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her performance in The Sisters Rosenweig.  Andrea Martin won Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in My Favorite Year.