Happy World Space Week!

October 4-10 is World Space Week. This international recognition and celebration of space was formally declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999, and today it is coordinated by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA). The specific dates were chosen to commemorate the 4 October 1957 Sputnik 1 launch and the 10 October 1967 signing of the Outer Space Treaty. This year's World Space Week theme is "Exploring the Universe." Check out the online calendar of World Space activities in your country. Note that the US Presidential candidates released statements about World Space Week: Barack Obama and John McCain.

Immediately following World Space Week this year is a string of 40th anniversaries of the Apollo program, starting with the 40th anniversary of the first manned Apollo mission, Apollo 7, on October 11 and culminating next July with the 40th anniversary of the first manned lunar expedition, Apollo 11.

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