This Week in Space History (11/9 - 11/15)
🌌 This Week in Space History: November 9 – November 15
This week in space history is a powerful one, featuring the maiden flight of the mighty Saturn V rocket, a historic final mission for the Gemini program, and the second crewed voyage to the Moon.
November 9: The Debut of a Titan
On November 9, 1967, NASA launched the Saturn V rocket for the very first time on the unmanned Apollo 4 test mission.
* Standing 363 feet tall—taller than the Statue of Liberty—the Saturn V was the most powerful rocket ever built at the time, designed to carry astronauts to the Moon.
* Though this flight carried no crew, it successfully tested the rocket's three stages, including the enormous first stage that produced a loud shockwave felt miles away.
* The successful test paved the way for the later crewed Apollo missions.
November 11: Buzz Aldrin's Space Walk Success
The final mission of NASA's Gemini program, Gemini 12, launched on November 11, 1966. The crew consisted of Commander James Lovell and Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.
* The primary goal was to solve the critical problem of astronaut extravehicular activity (EVA), or spacewalking, which had proven difficult on previous missions.
* Aldrin performed three EVAs totaling 5 hours and 30 minutes, using specially installed handholds and footholds. His work confirmed that an astronaut could perform complex tasks outside the spacecraft, a vital skill for the upcoming Apollo lunar landings.
November 13: Mariner 9 Orbits Mars
On November 13, 1971, NASA's Mariner 9 probe successfully entered Mars' orbit, becoming the first spacecraft to ever orbit another planet.
* After a 167-day journey, Mariner 9 arrived to find the planet almost completely obscured by a massive dust storm that had been raging for weeks.
* Mission control patiently waited for the storm to subside. Once it did, the probe began its work, mapping approximately 70% of the Martian surface, studying its atmosphere, and capturing stunning images of volcanoes and the vast Valles Marineris canyon system.
November 14: Apollo 12 Launches—Twice Struck by Lightning
On November 14, 1969, the Apollo 12 mission lifted off, carrying astronauts Charles "Pete" Conrad, Richard F. Gordon, and Alan L. Bean for the second crewed landing on the Moon.
* Shortly after launch, the Saturn V rocket was struck by lightning not once, but twice, leading to temporary loss of telemetry and caution alarms across the spacecraft.
* The quick thinking of the mission control team and the crew, who switched to an auxiliary power supply, saved the mission.
* Conrad and Bean would go on to make a "pinpoint" landing near the unmanned Surveyor 3 probe, proving NASA's ability to land accurately on the lunar surface.
November 15: The Buran Shuttle's Only Flight
On November 15, 1988, the Soviet Union's uncrewed space shuttle, Buran (Russian for 'Snowstorm' or 'Blizzard'), made its sole flight.
* The reusable spacecraft was launched atop the powerful Energia rocket.
* The successful flight completed two orbits of Earth and performed an automated landing back at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, all without a crew.
* Despite its technical success, the program was canceled due to a lack of funding after the collapse of the Soviet Union, marking its single voyage as a major historical "what if" in space exploration.
This video highlights the historic moment the Saturn V rocket first launched during the Apollo 4 mission on November 9, 1967.