Sputnik 5. Fifty years ago today, the Soviet Union launched the Korabl-Sputnik 2 spacecraft carrying two dogs named Belka and Strelka, along with mice, rats and flies into space. Everyone came back alive.
Sort of Happy Birthday to Gene Roddenberry who passed away in 1991 and would have been 89 today. A former member of the LAPD and freelance writer finally hit the big time after his second TV show was canceled by NBC in 1969, but the fictional Star Trek universe Roddenberry created has spanned over four decades, producing five television series, 700 episodes and eleven films, with a twelfth film currently in development and scheduled for a 2012 release.
Other birthdays for August 19th, Orville Wright 1871, Coco Chanel 1883, William Jefferson Clinton 1946, Jonathan Frakes 1952 and Jason Starr 1967.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 795