![[e]Photo Stream](/logo.png){kind=logo}
September 28
5 moments across history
Falcon 1 Reaches Earth Orbit
On September 28, 2008, SpaceX’s fourth Falcon 1 mission successfully reached Earth orbit after three earlier launch failures. It was the first privately developed liquid-fueled rocket to achieve orbit, validating SpaceX’s technology and commercial launch model. The milestone helped advance private spaceflight in a field long dominated by governments and laid groundwork for SpaceX’s later Falcon 9 missions.
Falcon 1 Reaches Earth Orbit
MS Estonia Sinks in the Baltic Sea
MS Estonia Sinks in the Baltic Sea
Year: 1994
On September 28, 1994, the passenger ferry MS Estonia sank in stormy Baltic Sea waters while sailing from Tallinn to Stockholm, killing 852 people. The disaster, attributed by the official investigation to the failure of the bow visor and flooding of the vehicle deck, became one of Europe’s deadliest peacetime maritime disasters. Its scale prompted international ferry-safety reforms and remains part of the broader history of efforts to improve roll-on/roll-off vessel design, evacuation procedures, and accident investigation.
France Approves the Fifth Republic
France Approves the Fifth Republic
Year: 1958
On September 28, 1958, French voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitution in a referendum, creating the Fifth Republic. The constitution strengthened executive power, especially the presidency, and replaced the politically unstable Fourth Republic. Its adoption followed Charles de Gaulle’s return to power amid the Algerian War and a wider crisis over decolonization and parliamentary government.
German-Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty Signed
German-Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty Signed
Year: 1939
On September 28, 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the German-Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty, revising their division of conquered Poland. It mattered because it formalized their occupation zones and adjusted the spheres of influence secretly outlined in the August 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. The agreement followed both powers’ invasions of Poland, which began World War II in Europe and subjected Poland to occupation by two totalitarian states.
Penicillin Discovered
Penicillin Discovered
Year: 1928
On September 28, 1928, Alexander Fleming observed that Penicillium mold inhibited bacteria in a culture dish at St Mary’s Hospital in London. His finding identified penicillin’s antibacterial potential, paving the way for an antibiotic that would eventually save millions of lives. Researchers including Howard Florey and Ernst Chain later developed it into a practical drug, transforming medicine during World War II and the antibiotic era.