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On This Day: January 5

Aviation events for January 5

1610: Galileo Galilei points his newly developed telescope at the sky and observes craters and mountains on the Moon, moving spots on the Sun, four moons revolving around Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and the almost innumerable stars of the Milky Way. Jan 4 thru 15, 1601 are called by some the most important days in the history of astronomy.
 
1952: Pan Am commences trans-atlantic freight services.
 
1959: The Fairey Rotodyne, piloted by W. P. Gellatly and J. P. Morton, sets a world speed record for convertiplanes of 190.9 mph over a 62-mile circuit.
 
1964: First flight of the Shorts Belfast XR362
 
1967: A-12 (928) was lost near Callente Nevada. The aircraft ran out of fuel (due to a faulty fuel gauge) and crashed while on approach to Groom Dry Lake. CIA pilot Walt Ray ejected but did not survive due to a failure in his seat. He was found still strapped into the seat. (Q)
 
1969: Venera 5, USSR’s first probe to make a successful planet landing, is launched. It would later enter Venus’ atmosphere on May 16.
 
1972: NASA Space Shuttle funding is announced by President Richard Nixon at a cost of $5.5 billion.
 
1995: Benjamin Robert Rich passes away. He became known as the “Father of Stealth,” after succeeding Kelly Johnson at the famed Lockheed “SkunkWorks.”
 
2006: Independence Air ceases operations.
 
2009: C-GEAJ, an Antarctic Logistic Center International Basler BT-67, crashes on landing at Tony Camp, Antarctica. All four occupants survive but the aircraft is damaged beyond repair.
 
 
 

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