* President John F. Kennedy spoke at Rice University's Rice Stadium to 35,000 Houstonians, saying of the lunar landing program, "...we do this not because it is easy but because it is hard..." (1962).

* The first man-made object, Luna 2, struck the Moon (1959).

* First free glide test flight of manned Space Shuttle Orbiter Enterprise by Fred Haise and Gordon Fullerton (1977).

* "Sacramento Bee" newspaper described a reusable lunar rocket ship which launches from a plane (1947).

* For the first time, a solo crossing of the Atlantic Ocean was made by balloon (1984). Early balloonists found balloon ideal for crossing bodies of water such as the English Channel. This led to the eventual crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in a balloon.

* A TV series called "Lost in Space" was broadcast for the first time on this day (1965).

* The President Nixon predicted Americans would be on Mars in the 1980s (1969).

* First balloon flight which carried the mail (Lafayette, IN, 1859).

* Konstantin Tsiolkousky born (1857).

* First airplane crash fatality, Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge, who was a passenger of Orville Wright in Wright's biplane (1908).

* U.S. launched Vanguard 3. It weighed only 96 lb. (1959).

* First stage of the authentic Saturn V rocket park display at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas arrived (1977).

* The first Israeli satellite was launched (1988).

* Space Task Group moved from Virginia to Houston, Texas and became the Manned Spacecraft Center (1961).

* For the first time animals are recovered alive from a rocket flight (1951). Note early science fiction artist's cover of space animal showing Washington his home planet in the Universe.

* Von Braun arrives in the U.S.A. under "Operation Paperclip" (1945).