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On This Day: January 6

Aviation events for January 6

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.
 
1926: Deutsche Luft Hansa Aktiengesellschaft is born in Berlin, out of a merger between Deutsche Aero Lloyd and Junkers Luftverkehr. The name would be shortened to its modern form, Lufthansa, a few years later.
 
1928: Pilot Lt. C. F. Schilt, USMC, lands a Vought O2U-1 Corsair in the street of a Nicaraguan village to rescue wounded officers. Eighteen servicemen are rescued and, for his bravery, Lt. Schilt iss awarded the Medal of Honor.
 
1942: Pan Am World Airways schedules the first around the world passenger flight.
 
1949: The first atomic clock was built. It was based on earlier theoretical work by Isidor Rabi and used ammonia as its pendulum.
 
1960: National Airlines Flight 2511, a Douglas DC-6B (reg N8225H), explodes over North Carolina while from flying from JFK to Miami. A bomb had detonated on the aircraft, which ultimately killed all 34 people on-board. It was suspected—though never proven—that passenger Julian A. Frank from New York City had smuggled the bomb on board. Frank was being investigated for embezzlement at the time, and had purchased life insurance for himself right before the crash.
 
1968: NASA’s Surveyor 7 lands on the moon.
 
1971: The first AV-8A Harrier is delivered to the US Marine Corps at MCAS Cherry Point.
 
1979: The F-16 Fighting Falcon enters operational service with the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing USAF.
 
1987: Astronomers at University of California see 1st sight of birth of a galaxy.
 
1998: Lunar Prospector - USA Lunar Orbiter was launched and arrived at the Moon on January 11, 1998. It is designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, including the mapping of surface composition and possible ice deposits, the measuring of magnetic and gravity fields, and the study of lunar outgassing events. This data could help scientists plan a potential lunar base and develop theories of the formation of the Moon, Earth and Solar System. Its mission is scheduled to last one to three years.
 
2009: Ted, a brand of the American airline United Airlines for their economy flights, is discontinued. Economy flights are rebranded under the main United Airlines brand.
 
 
 

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