Apollo 7 takes flight, cellular phone service begins and a popular web browser is launched… It all happened This Week in Tech History.
This week in 1968 – The U.S. launched Apollo 7. Described by commander Walter M. Schirra, Jr. as a “magnificent flying machine,” “Apollo 7” travelled some 4.5 million miles in orbit around the Earth to become the first manned flight in NASA’s lunar-landing program. The mission also featured the first live TV transmission from a spacecraft in orbit.
1983 – Ameritech Mobile Communications launched the first US cellular network in Chicago. In the late 90s, Ameritech was acquired by SBC Communications, which subsequently acquired AT&T, forming the present-day conglomerate, AT&T Inc. Parent to many companies, such as AT&T Wireless, Warner Media, DirecTV and others.
1984 – Space-shuttle Challenger astronaut Dr. Kathy Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform an EVA (extra-vehicular activity), or walk in space.
1994 – Netscape Communications Corporation announced that it was offering its new Netscape Navigator free to users via the Internet. The Internet browser, developed by the six-month-old Silicon Valley company led by Silicon Graphics founder Jim Clark and NCSA Mosaic creator Marc Andreessen, was available for free downloading by “individual, academic and research users.”