837: Best view of Halley's Comet in 2000 years.

1919: The Vickers Vimy Commercial, a civilian version of the bomber with an enclosed fuselage capable of holding a maximum of ten passengers, makes its maiden flight in Kent, England. Read more...

1925: The first regular U.S. air-freight service is initiated by Henry Ford, linking Detroit, Michigan and Chicago, Illinois.

1954: Robert Oppenheimer accused of being a communist.

1959: USAF launches Discoverer II into polar orbit.

1959: Vanguard SLV-5 launched for Earth orbit (failed).

1966: Boeing announces in Seattle an order worth $525 million from Pan Am for 25 Model 747 jumbo jets.

1967: SR-71 (966) was lost. Pilot Earle Boone and RSO Butch Sheffield survived.

1984: 11th Space Shuttle Mission (41C)-Challenger 5-returns to Earth. Read more...

1985: Atlantis ferried to Kennedy Space Center via Ellington AFB, Texas

1989: The first flight-tests of the Pratt & Whitney / Alison propfan engine are carried out in the U.S.

1990: First flight of the Sukhoi Su-27IB prototype.

2010: Unable to adjust their thrust settings due to an engine malfunction, the flight crew of Cathay Pacific Flight 780, an Airbus A330-342 with 322 people on board, is forced to land at Hong Kong International Airport in Hong Kong, China, at 230 knots (265 mph; 426 km/h), 95 knots (109 mph; 176 km/h) higher than normal landing speed. The aircraft makes a successful landing, but 57 passengers are injured during the subsequent emergency evacuation.

2013: Lion Air Flight 904 crashes short of the runway at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali, Indonesia. All 101 passengers and 7 crew on board survived the accident. The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-8GP, registration PK-LKS, operated by Lion Air and owned by Avolon. Read more...