1959 – Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the Moon, was launched by the USSR.
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraftDisplay.do?id=1959-012A
1979 – Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston incorporated Software Arts for the purpose of developing VisiCalc, the world’s first spreadsheet program.
http://www.cs.umd.edu/class/spring2002/cmsc434-0101/MUIseum/applications/spreadsheethistory1.html
2004 – NASA’s Stardust spacecraft successfully flew past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples it brought back to Earth two years later.
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/photo/cometwild2.html
Read Tom’s science fiction and other fiction books at Merritt’s Books site.