NHAS - Today in Astronomy History

	1949	American telescope maker, artist, and arctic explorer Russell Porter dies. He was the founder of the Springfield Telescope Makers in Springfield, Vermont and the annual Stellafane convention. He was the principle designer of the 200 inch Hale telescope at Mt. Palomar and the inventor of the Springfield and Split-Ring telescope mountings. He is considered by many to be the father of the amateur telescope making hobby. He was in his basement grinding a lens on the day he died.
	1972	The ascent stage of the Soviet Luna 20 spacecraft launches from the Moon back towards Earth. 30 grams of lunar material would be recovered after a successful landing in the Soviet Union three days later.
	1996	Space Shuttle Columbia launches on mission STS-75. Payload included the US/Italian Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1R) and the US Microgravity Payload-3 (USMP-3).