Talk about important space anniversaries for Q4 of 2022, these aren’t every anniversary, but a look at some major events and a quick look at why they are important. These events can be sorted into birth anniversaries, firsts, launches, and some unique aspects, which will be presented in chronological order by month.

Type	Number
Births	2
Firsts	6
Launches	10
Other	5

October

140 Years Ago – 1882 October 5: Robert H. Goddard born in Worcester, Massachusetts.

80 Years Ago – 1942 October 3: First successful V2 flight, Peenemünde, Germany 

75 Years Ago – 1947 October 14: X-l first supersonic flight, Capt. Charles E. Yeager, Edwards AFB, CA.

60 years ago – 1962 October 3: Mercury/Atlas 8, Sigma 7 launched, astronaut Wally M. Schirra, 8:15 a.m., EDT, Cape Canaveral, Fla.

55 Years Ago — October 18, 1967 Venera 4 Landing on Venus. Venera 4 was the first successful probe to perform in-place analysis of the environment of another planet

30 Years Ago – 1992 October 22: STS-52 (Space Shuttle Columbia) launched from KSC a

25 Years Ago – 1997 October 15: Cassini/Huygens (Saturn Orbiter probe using Titan lander) launched at 08:43 UTC from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station using a U.S. Air Force Titan IVB/Centaur launch vehicle. 

20 Years Ago – 2002 October 7: STS-112 (Space Shuttle Atlantis) launched from KSC at 3:46 p.m.,

15 Years Ago – 2007 October 23: STS-120 (Space Shuttle Discovery) launched from KSC at 11:38 EDT

15 Years Ago – 2007 October 25: STS-120 Commander Pam Melroy and Expedition 16 Commander Peggy Whitson made history when the hatch between the space shuttle and orbiting outpost was opened. They became the first female spacecraft commanders to lead space shuttle and space station missions concurrently.

10 Years Ago – 2012 October 7: The first operation mission of the Dragon spacecraft under the NASA COTS program launched from Cape Canaveral at 8:35 p.m. with a Falcon 9 launch vehicle. It successfully docked with the ISS and delivered its cargo. 

10 Years Ago – 2012 October 14: The Space Shuttle Endeavour, mounted atop an overland transporter, arrived at its new home – -the California Science Center near downtown Los Angeles.

5 Years Ago – 2017 October 5: First meeting of the newly reestablished National Space Council was held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The National Space Council, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence, heard testimony from representatives from civil space, commercial space, and national security space industry representatives.

5 Years Ago – 2017 October 19: NASA-funded Pan-STARRS1 telescope discovered the first confirmed object to travel through our solar system from another star. The historic discovery revealed the interstellar interloper to be a rocky, cigar-shaped object with a ratio of length to width unlike any asteroid or comet observed in our solar system.

November

65 Years Ago – 1957 November 3: Sputnik 2 launched, carried dog “Laika”, 0224 UTC. Baikonur, USSR

55 Years Ago – 1967 November 5: ATS 3 launched by Atlas Agena, 6:37 p.m., EST, Cape Canaveral, Fla. November 7: Surveyor 6 launched by Atlas Centaur, 2:39 a.m., EST, Cape Canaveral, Fla. November 9: Apollo 4 launched, 7:00 a.m., EST, KSC. First successful launch and flight of Saturn V launch vehicle.

40 Years Ago – 1982 November 11: STS-5 (Space Shuttle Columbia) launched, 7:19 a.m., EST, KSC.

10 Years Ago – 2012 November 2: Space Shuttle Atlantis arrived at its new home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

December

105 Years Ago – 1917 December 16: Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke born. “2001: A Space Odyssey” is one of his most well known works. He was also the first to propose the concept of geostationary satellites.

75 Years Ago – 1947 December 23: Transistor invented by Drs. John Burdeen, Walter H. Brattain, and William Shockley at AT&T.

50 Years Ago – 1972 December 7: Apollo 17 launched aboard a Saturn V (SA-512) rocket from Cape Canaveral at 12:33 EST. It would land on the Moon on December 11 in the Taurus-Littrow region. Apollo 17 is the last Apollo moon mission. 

50 Years Ago – 1972 December 7th: “Blue Marble” photograph taken by Apollo 17 crew.

30 Years Ago – 1992 December 2: STS-53 (Space Shuttle Discovery) launched, 8:24 a.m., EST, KSC. A

10 Years Ago – 2012 December: The Messenger spacecraft discovers water ice in Mercury’s polar regions.

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