Categories
Apollo Crewed Spaceflight

Apollo 15

Apollo 15The Apollo 15 mission lifts off, carrying astronauts David Scott, James Irwin and Al Worden on a 12-day mission to the moon and back. Aboard the lunar module Falcon, Scott and Irwin become, respectively, the seventh and eighth men to walk on the moon, exploring the mountainous Hadley Rille region, while Worden pilots the command/service module Endeavour. The service module for this mission is equipped with a suite of sensors and instruments designed to be exposed to space in lunar orbit. Scott and Irwin become the first men to drive on the moon, covering over seven miles in the first lunar rover “moon buggy.”

This mission is dramatized in the Galileo Was Right episode of HBO’s 1998 series From The Earth To The Moon.

Categories
Luna Uncrewed Spaceflight

Luna 18

Luna 18The Soviet Union launches unmanned space probe Luna 18 toward the moon, intended to repeat Luna 16’s feat of gathering and returning a sample of lunar soil to Earth. After spending nearly a week in orbit, Luna 18 descends to the surface, but ground controllers have directed it toward a hazardous mountain region, and contact is lost at the moment the vehicle signals contact with the ground – very likely a sign of a crash landing. No further communication is received from Luna 18, nor is the sample container ever sent back to Earth.

Categories
Television

The Guardians: The Roman Empire

The GuardiansLondon Weekend Television airs the 11th episode of the alternate-future-history series The Guardians, starring Gwyneth Powell and Cyril Luckham. Elizabeth Adare (The Tomorrow People) guest stars.

This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could help change that.

Categories
Luna Uncrewed Spaceflight

Luna 19

Luna 19The Soviet Union launches unmanned space probe Luna 19 toward the moon, a return to orbital-only missions. Over the course of a year, Luna 19 conducts an extensive mapping campaign of the lunar surface, as well as measuring gravitational anomalies in lunar orbit.

Categories
Radio & Audio Science & Technology Weather & Climate

The voice of the National Weather Service

Weather RadioThe National Weather Service’s NOAA Weather Radio system finally finds its purpose with the introduction of a piercing “warning tone” preceding emergency weather announcements such as severe weather warnings. Manufacturers of weather radio receivers (an item which hit the market in 1970) use the five-second burst of 1050Hz warning tone to trigger attention-grabbing alert sounds and then activate the radio so the relevant information can be heard. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts on 29 stations around the country, and the agency continues to bring new transmitters online throughout the year.

Categories
Television

The Guardians: End In Dust

The GuardiansLondon Weekend Television airs the 13th and final episode of the alternate-future-history series The Guardians, starring Gwyneth Powell and Cyril Luckham. The series’ political plotline prevents it from being broadcast in Northern Ireland, and the series never receives a repeat broadcast. There is no home video release until the 21st century.

This series is not yet chronicled in the LogBook. You could help change that.