Space Shuttle Atlantis

Historical eventOctober 181989

Space Shuttle Atlantis

The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-34 to deploy the Jupiter-bound Galileo space probe.

Everything on October 18Original source

In context

When
Wednesday, October 18 198937 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1980s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1989.

What happened

Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Atlantis was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J made from October 3 to 7, 1985. It was, along with Challenger,

October 18 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1978Henrik Igityan National Centre for Aesthetics
  2. 1979Federal Communications Commission
  3. 1989Space Shuttle Atlantis
  4. 1991Azerbaijan
  5. 1992Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 5601
  6. 1993Nihilism (collection)
  7. 2003Bolivian gas war
  8. 20072007 Karsaz bombing
  9. 2019NASA Astronaut Corps
  10. 2019Social Outburst (Chile)
  11. 2019Santiago

Also in 1989

  • September 11East GermanyHungary announces that the East German refugees who had been housed in temporary camps were free to leave for West Germany.
  • September 13ApartheidLargest anti-Apartheid march in South Africa, led by Desmond Tutu.
  • September 14Typhoon Sarah (1989)Typhoon Sarah dissipated after causing extensive damage along an erratic path across the Western Pacific, killing 71 in Taiwan, the Phili…
  • September 14Standard Gravure shootingThe Standard Gravure shooting where Joseph T. Wesbecker, a 47-year-old pressman, killed eight people and injured 12 people at his former…
  • September 16Boris YeltsinDuring a tour of the United States, Soviet politician Boris Yeltsin visited a grocery store in Texas that had a major impact on his views…
  • September 181989 Burkina Faso coup attemptAn attempted coup d'état against Burkina Faso president Blaise Compaoré is uncovered and foiled.
  • November 17Walt Disney PicturesWalt Disney Pictures released The Little Mermaid to theatres, beginning the Disney Renaissance.
  • November 17Velvet RevolutionCold War: Velvet Revolution begins: In Czechoslovakia, a student demonstration in Prague is quelled by riot police. This sparks an uprisi…

Everything we record for 1989 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Space Shuttle Atlantis”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/space-shuttle-atlantis-1989-october-18, accessed October 28, 2026.

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Questions about this entry

When did Space Shuttle Atlantis happen?

October 18 1989 — 37 years ago, on a Wednesday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

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