Hans Remembers- Monday August 17, 1970- 50 Years ago.

• The Soviet Union ‘s Venera 7 was launched towards Venus. On December 15th it would make history when it became the first spacecraft to successfully transmit data from the surface of another planet- it sent a weak signal for 23 minutes.
• A partial lunar eclipse was visible the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Mideast. It lasted for 131 minutes and was the 49th eclipse of Lunar Saros 118.

• American tennis star Jim Courier was born on this day in Orlando, Florida. Courier was the #1 ranked player in the world in 1992 and 1993 and twice won the Australian Open and the French Open.

• In Lebanon- Suleiman Franjieh was elected new President of Lebanon by the Lebanese Parliament- by a 50 to 49 vote.