1960 – The United States launched Navy Transit 1-B. It demonstrated the first engine restart in space and more famously the feasibility of using satellites as navigational aids, proving systems like GPS would work.
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1960-003B
1970 – The crew of Apollo 13 heard a sharp bang and vibration followed by a warning light. Jack Swigert radioed back the famous words “Houston, we’ve had a problem here.”
https://www.nasa.gov/content/mission-control-houston-april-13-1970/
1974 – Western Union, NASA and Hughes Aircraft, teamed up to launch the United States’ first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1. The system relayed data, voice, video, and fax transmissions to the continental US., Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Alaska, and the Virgin islands.
https://history.nasa.gov/printFriendly/satcomhistory.html
2000 – Heavy metal band Metallica launched a lawsuit against Napster for enabling thievery and copyright infringement. It was the beginning of the end for Napster and all music piracy. Well, at least for Napster.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/metallica-sue-napster-for-copyright-infringement-20000413
Read Tom’s science fiction and other fiction books at Merritt’s Books site.