In case you were wondering about notable science events that occurred the week of July 18th…

photo credit: disoculated

On July 19, 1963, Joe Walker flew a North American X-15 to a record height of 347,800 feet. Under international convention, this constitutes spaceflight. He was also the first man to fly into space twice. Joe Walker’s test flights were beneficial to NASA and the entire space program. It was only six years later that NASA successfully reached the moon.

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstong and Buzz Aldrin become the first men to set foot on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. From start to finish, the entire Lunar mission took just over 8 days. (Coming soon: your chance to be a fly on the shuttle wall of this extraordinary mission.)

On July 21, 1931, CBS’ New York City station began broadcasting the first regular, seven day a week television schedule in the U.S. By the end of the year, CBS was broadcasting for seven hours a day, seven days a week. Now you can buy a set of knives or a juicer through the Home Shopping Network twenty-four hours a day, every day.

On July 24, 1911, Hiram Bingham III rediscovered Machu Picchu, more commonly known as the “Lost City of the Incas.” The city was built in the 1450′s, but was abandoned only a hundred years later during the Spanish conquest.

photo credit: icelight