This Month in Space - NOVEMBER 2014

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex brings to life the epic story of the U.S. space program, offering a full day or more of fun and educational activities, including many interactive exhibits showcasing details about past space programs and so much more. Today, we will share with you the special November edition of "This Month in Space," presented by the Kennedy Space Center, which also contributes in remembering the past of space exploration:

This Month in Space - November 2014

November 1, 1999: The area code 321 went into effect for Brevard County and appropriately, Kennedy Space Center, one of America’s active launch sites.

November 3, 1957: Russia’s Sputnik II launched with the first living creature to orbit the Earth, a dog named Laika. Laika was a female part-Samoyed terrier, and the mission brought back the first scientific data on the behavior of a living organism in space.

November 4, 2003: The sun’s largest solar flare in history occurred and was classified as an X45. Solar flares are giant explosions on the sun that send energy, light and high speed particles into space. Flares classified as X are the largest in the solar system and can cause storms in the Earth’s upper atmosphere and worldwide radio blackouts.

November 6, 1572: Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe discovered a new star in the constellation Cassiopeia. This star was actually a supernova and today it’s sometimes called “Tycho’s Supernova.”

November 7, 1996: NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor launched on a mission to Mars. During its nine-year orbit, the spacecraft studied the Martian surface and atmospheric conditions.

November 8, 2005: The European Space Agency launched the Venus Express on a mission to observe the atmosphere of Venus. It discovered that Venus has been volcanically active for three million years, signifying that it may be geologically alive.

November 9, 1967: The unmanned Apollo 4 mission launched. It was the first launch of the Saturn V rocket in order to test the 363-ft vehicle in preparation for future manned missions to the moon. See one of the three Saturn V rockets that never flew at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

November 10, 1967: The Applications Technology Satellite (ATS-3) sent back NASA’s first color images of the entire Earth from a geosynchronous orbit.

November 11, 1982: STS-5 Columbia launched, becoming the first operational space shuttle mission. During the mission, the crew deployed two commercial communications satellites.

November 12, 1980: Voyager 1 made the closest approach during its flyby of Saturn. Images revealed the true complexity of Saturn’s rings. Voyager 1 also studied Saturn’s moon, Titan.

November 13, 1971: The Mariner 9 spacecraft arrived to the red planet and became the first spacecraft to orbit Mars. It was not able to observe the actual planet for an entire month due to a large dust storm. Once it subsided, Mariner sent back high quality photographs, setting the foundation for many future explorations to come.

November 14, 1969: Today marks the 45th anniversary of Apollo 12, the second lunar landing. Commander Charles Conrad Jr., Alan Bean and Richard F. Gordon launched on a 10-day mission to the moon. Many achievements were made, including the deployment of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiment Package (ALSEP). Some parts of the mission were televised.

November 17, 1970: The Soviet Union’s Luna 17 landed on the moon and delivered the first rover, Lunokhod 1. Lunokhod 1 traveled the lunar surface for almost a year capturing high resolution panoramas and TV images.

November 18, 1976: NASA began testing the escape system sled for the space shuttle in Holloman, New Mexico. The method was a quick and safe escape for crew members in case of emergency landing in remote locations.

November 19, 1932: The Wright Brothers Monument was dedicated with Orville Wright as a guest of honor in Kitty Hawk, N.C. This was the town where the Wright brothers began their aeronautical research in 1899 that eventually changed the world of transportation.

November 20, 1889: Edwin Powell Hubble was born. Hubble was a leading astronomer in the early 20th century and is known for his discovery in the 1920s of numerous galaxies beyond the Milky Way. Today, the Hubble Space Telescope, which was named after Hubble, peers deep into the universe. Learn more about Hubble and see a mockup of the telescope at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

November 21, 2000: The U.S. launched the Earth Observing mission 1 (EO 1) by a Delta II rocket. This was the first spacecraft in the American New Millennium Program (NMP).

November 23, 2002: STS-113 Endeavour launched to the International Space Station (ISS). The STS-113 crew and Expedition Six crew worked together over a series of three spacewalks to install the P1 truss, the third segment of the ISS.

November 24, 1987: NASA released a report to Congress that explored a new program allowing the space shuttle to go on Earth-orbital missions for up to 16 days.

November 26, 1965: France launched its first satellite, Asterix 1. This made them the third nation to put a satellite in orbit by use of their own launch vehicle.

November 27, 1885: Ladislaus Weinek captured the first image of the Andromedids meteor shower from the Ksementium Observatory in Prague.

November 28, 1983: STS-9 Columbia launched with a crew of six on the first Spacelab mission. This was the largest crew to fly to space on one vehicle. During the mission, 73 experiments were conducted in physics, life and material sciences and much more.

November 29, 1967: Wresat 1, Australia’s first satellite launched from Woomera.

November 30, 1907: “Curtiss Aeroplane Company” became America’s first airplane manufacturing company. It was formed by aviation pioneer, Glenn Curtiss.