Cassini orbiter released the Huygens probe, which successfully landed on Saturn’s moon Titan.
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The Discovery Space Shuttle was launched from the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-124.
NASA's NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft became the first space probe to land on an asteroid when it touched down on 433 Eros.
Israel launched its first satellite, Ofek-1, from the Palmachim Air Base.
Apollo 1 test launch failed, and astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger B. Chaffee all died.
Odysseus became the first private spacecraft to land on the Moon.