Oct. 3 The space shuttle Atlantis blasts off from Kennedy Space Center on its first voyage. STS 51-J carries a military payload for the DOD and makes Atlantis the fourth shuttle to go into orbit. Ten years later, Atlantis becomes the first shuttle to dock with Russia's Mir space station on STS 71. Astronautics and Aeronautics 1985, pp. 278-279, 309. Oct. 1 The first Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS) station, at Thule, Greenland, becomes operational. BMEWS can alert the U.S. and Canada to any large-scale Soviet ICBM attacks over the North Polar regions and gives both countries a 15-min warning. The BMEWS radar equipment has a 3,000-mi. range. The Aeroplane, Oct. 21, 1960, pp. 560-561.
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