Apollo 4 was the first flight in the Apollo program and served as an initial uncrewed test of the Saturn V rocket. The first launch from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, where the space vehicle was assembled, it was originally planned to take place early in 1967 but was delayed to November 9 due to a myriad of issues. These included the need for additional inspections following the Apollo 1 fire that killed the first Apollo crew in January 1967. Apollo 4 was an "all-up" test, meaning that the spacecraft was fully functional on its initial flight, the first such for NASA. The Apollo 4 command module splashed down just under nine hours after its launch, having completed all objectives. NASA deemed the mission a complete success as it proved that the Saturn V rocket worked, which was important in achieving NASA's overall goal of landing astronauts on the Moon and bringing them back safely by the end of the 1960s.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_4
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1818:
French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel submitted a memoir on the diffraction of light to the Royal Academy of Sciences, providing strong support for the wave theory of light. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustin-Jean_Fresnel
1914:
The first shots of World War I were fired by the Austro- Hungarian river monitor SMS Bodrog on Serbian defences near Belgrade. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_monitor_Sava
1954:
The first part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high-fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings was published by Allen & Unwin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
carnyx: (music, historical) A bronze wind instrument used by Iron Age Celts (c. 200 B.C.E. – 200 C.E.) as a type of battle trumpet; held vertically when played, it was shaped like an elongated S with a mouthpiece at the lower end and a bell (often resembling an animal with an open mouth) at the upper end. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/carnyx
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Now I understand what you tried to say to me How you suffered for your sanity How you tried to set them free They would not listen — They did not know how, Perhaps they'll listen now. For they could not love you, But still your love was true And when no hope was left in sight, on that starry starry night You took your life as lovers often do, But I could have told you, Vincent, This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you. --Don McLean https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Don_McLean
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