This week in aviation history features the first woman to make a solo transcontinental flight and the first person to travel faster than the speed of sound. Also, admittedly, this is not an astronomy blog, however, there are a few significant tidbits of information I thought I would also share.

October 4, 1957: The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into orbit around the earth, ushering in the Space Age and Space Race.

October 8, 1934: Bruno Hauptmannn was indicted for the murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby.

October 9, 1930: Aviator Laura Ingalls became the first woman to make a solo transcontinental flight across the United States

October 11, 1968: The first staffed Apollo mission, Apollo 7, was launched with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele, and R. Walter Cunningham aboard.

October 11, 1984: Space shuttle Challenger astronaut, Kathryn Sullivan, became the first American woman to walk in space.

October 12, 1964: The Soviets launched Voskhod I, the first space capsule to carry three people into orbit.

October 14, 1947: U.S. Air Force Captain Charles "Chuck" Yeager became the first person to travel faster than the speed of sound.

October 14, 1968: The first live telecast from a staffed U.S. spacecraft was transmitted from Apollo 7.

October 15, 2003: China became the third country to launch a staffed space mission.

Thanks Infoplease!