Let’s look at major events that happened today in history;
Today in History
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2007 China Launches Chang’e 1
It was the first spacecraft of China’s Lunar Exploration Program, which is responsible for sending unmanned robotic space probes to the Moon and the lunar orbit to better understand Earth’s largest natural satellite. The space probe crashed into the lunar surface on March 2, 2009, after orbiting the Moon for over a year.
Story
As promised, China launched its much-awaited lunar satellite, Chang’e 1, on Wednesday, October 24, at approximately 5:05 a.m. CST from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.
China’s milestone lunar orbiter project only cost 1 to 1.4 billion yuan (about 133 to 187 million U.S. dollars). Chang’e 1 is the most sophisticated satellite China has built and manoeuvred to date. The satellite weighs about 2300 kg in total. The fuel carried by the orbiter accounts for nearly half its total weight.
Chang’e 1, named after a legendary Chinese goddess of the Moon, is expected to enter the Earth-Moon transfer orbit on October 31 and is expected to enter the Moon’s orbit on November 5. The satellite will relay the first picture of the Moon in late November and will then continue scientific explorations of the Moon for a year. It will carry out a series of projects, including acquiring three-dimensional images and analyzing the distribution of elements on the Moon’s surface.
According to Chinese officials, China will share the achievements of the lunar exploration with the world, but will not be involved in a Moon race with other countries.
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1964 Zambian independence
The African country gained independence from British rule with the passage of the Zambia Independence Act of 1964 by the UK Parliament.
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1945 United Nations founded
The then 5 permanent members and 46 member states ratified the U.N. charter.
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1930 Coup in Brazil
President Washington Luís was deposed by the heads of the armed forces just 4 years after he came to office. The coup prevented President-elect Júlio Prestes from coming to power and the military junta instead installed Getúlio Vargas as the country’s de facto President. The coup was partly a response to the government’s “coffee with milk policy”, which allowed governance power to be alternated between the coffee-producing state of São Paulo and the milk-producing state of Minas Gerais. This policy led to a rebellion in some parts of the country, which in turn prompted the army to take action against the government.
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1926 Last performance of Houdini
The world-famous escape artist performed for the last time at the Garrick Theater in Detroit, Michigan.
