Today In History:  19 August  [1960]   --  The first mid-air recovery of a re-entry capsule

The recovery by a C-119 of film from a mission code-named 'Discoverer 14' was the first successful recovery of film from an orbiting satellite and the first aerial recovery of an object returning from Earth orbit.

PHOTO: A U.S. Air Force Fairchild C-119B-10-FA Flying Boxcar (s/n 49-102) of the 314th Troop Carrier Group in 1952

See the Historical Aviation Film Unit website at http://www.aviationfilm.com to get a new history tidbit every day.


Photo Attribution:  Public Domain  via Wikimedia. U.S. Air Force - Official U.S. Air Force photo 021001-O-9999G-016