Themes > Science > Physics > Astrophysics > The History of High-Energy Astrophysics > 1970-1974


26 Dec 1974

Launch of the Soviet space station Salyut-4.

15 Oct 1974

Launch of Ariel V.

30 Aug 1974

Launch of Astronomische Nederlandse Satelliet (ANS).

14 May 1973

Launch of Skylab, the U.S.A.'s first space-station.

6 Apr 1973

Launch of the space probe Pioneer 11 to Jupiter and Saturn. After completing its planned mission, Pioneer 11 flies on into the outer reaches of the Solar System to attempt to detect the heliopause.

Mar 1973

Uhuru
(SAS 1) ceases operation.

8 Jun 1973

A power failure on the Second Small Astronomical Satellite (SAS 2) terminates the collection of data.

15 Nov 1972

Launch of the Second Small Astronomical Satellite (SAS 2).

23 Sep 1972

Launch of the Seventh Interplanetary Monitory Platform (IMP 7).

Sep 1972

The Sixth Interplanetary Monitoring Platform (IMP 6) ceases operations.

21 Aug 1972

Launch of Copernicus, also known as the Third Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 3 (OAO 3).

26 Jul 1971

Launch of Apollo 15, carrying an Apollo sub-satellite and gamma-ray spectrometer.

29 Jun 1971

At 18:28 GMT, Soyuz 11 undocks from the Salyut 1 space station. At 23:17, Soyuz 11 landed. When the capsule was opened, all three cosmonauts (Georgi Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev) were found dead. Further investigation revealed that a valve had been jerked open by the separation of the orbital and landing modules, bleeding out the atmosphere of the capsule into space.

14 Mar 1971

Launch of the Sixth Interplanetary Monitoring Platform (IMP 6). IMP 6, along with the Vela series satellites and IMP 7, is among the first satellites to detect gamma-ray burst sources.

15 Dec 1970

Venera 7 lands on Venus and begins transmitting data, making it the first lander to successfully function after soft landing on another planet.

12 Dec 1970

Launch of Uhuru (SAS 1), the first earth-orbiting mission entirely dedicated to X-ray astronomy. The satellite's name means "Freedom" in Swahili.

17 Aug 1970

Launch of Venera 7, Soviet probe to Venus.


Information provided by: http://guinan.gsfc.nasa.gov