This Day In Space History: August 13

1911

Just a few weeks after her friend Harriet Quimby becomes the first American woman to get her pilot's license, Matilde Moisant -who would break many records- becomes the second woman in the U.S. to become a licensed pilot. Read about why she was almost arrested here: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/aug-13-1911-second-us-woman-earn-pilot%E2%80%99s-license

1959

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1959-005A

Discoverer 5 is launched. Run by the Department of Defense and Air Force, the main goal of the program (though kept secret from the public) was to develop a surveillance satellite to replace U2 spyplanes in order to keep tabs on Soviet production of weapons.

2014

https://www.space.com/37183-today-in-space.html
With such detailed imaging abilities, previously unheard of from a private company, DigitalGlobe launched the high-resolution WorldView-3 satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The WorldView-3 has the sharpest image yet for a satellite.



For a complete list of today’s Space History, see  http://www.astronautix.com/a/august13.html