Apollo 7 (October 11–22, 1968) was the first crewed flight in NASA's
Apollo program. It was commanded by Wally Schirra, with command module
pilot Donn F. Eisele and lunar module pilot R. Walter Cunningham, and
saw the resumption of human spaceflight by the agency after the fire
that killed the three Apollo 1 astronauts in January 1967. Determined
to prevent a repetition of the fire, the crew spent long periods of time
monitoring the construction of their Apollo command and service module
(CSM). After liftoff on October 11, 1968, extensive testing of the CSM
took place, along with testing of techniques to be used on lunar
missions, and also the first live television broadcast from an American
spacecraft. Despite tension between the crew and ground controllers, the
mission was a complete technical success, giving NASA the confidence to
send Apollo 8 into orbit around the Moon two months later, but in part
because of those tensions, no member of the crew flew in space again.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_7>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1866:
The United States Congress authorized the minting of the Shield
nickel (example pictured), the country's first five-cent piece to be
made of a copper–nickel alloy.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shield_nickel>
1943:
Second World War: The Royal Air Force's "Dambusters" squadron
embarked on an attack on German dams using bouncing bombs designed by
Barnes Wallis.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouncing_bomb>
1961:
Led by Park Chung-hee, the Military Revolution Committee
carried out a bloodless coup against the government of Yun Posun in
Seoul, ending the Second Republic of Korea.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_16_coup>
1975:
Japanese climber Junko Tabei became the first woman to reach
the summit of Mount Everest.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junko_Tabei>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
bright:
1. Emitting much light; visually dazzling; luminous, lucent, radiant.
2. Of light: brilliant, intense.
3. Of an object, surface, etc.: reflecting much light; having a high
lustre; gleaming, shiny.
4. Of a place: not dark; well-lit.
5. Of climate or weather: not cloudy or gloomy; fair; also, of a period
of time, the sky, etc.: characterized by much sunshine and good weather.
6. (figuratively)
7. Of a colour: not muted or pale; bold, brilliant, vivid.
8. Of an object, surface, etc.: having vivid colour(s); colourful.
9. Of a musical instrument, sound, or a voice: clearly audible; clear,
resounding, and often high-pitched.
10. Of a room or other place: having acoustic qualities that tend to
cause much echoing or reverberation of sound, particularly at high
frequencies.
11. Of a scent or taste: not bland or mild; bold, sharp, strong.
12. Of a substance: clear, transparent; also, pure, unadulterated;
(specifically) of wine: free of suspended particles; not cloudy; fine.
13. Glorious; illustrious.
14. In good spirits; happy, optimistic.
15. Of the face or eyes, or a smile: showing happiness or hopefulness;
cheerful, lively.
16. Of a person: lively, vivacious.
17. Of a period of history or time: happy, prosperous, successful.
18. Of an opportunity or outlook: having a reasonable chance of success;
favourable, good.
19. Of conversation, writing, etc.: imaginative or sparkling with wit;
clever, witty.
20. Having a clear, quick intellect; intelligent.
21. (archaic)
22. Of the eyes: able to see clearly; of eyesight: keen, sharp.
23. Manifest to the mind as light is to the eyes; clear, evident, plain.
24. (music) Of a rhythm or tempo: lively, upbeat.
25. (metallurgy) Of a metal object or surface: lacking any protective
coating or surface treatment for the prevention of corrosion.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bright>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Remember always that the cause of the United States is the cause
of human nature.
--William H. Seward
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_H._Seward>