On this day in 1974, Muhammad Ali aged 32, becomes, for the second time, the world heavyweight champion after knocking out 25-year-old champion George Foreman in the eighth round of the fight named "Rumble in the Jungle" in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali who had lost his title seven years before after he was accused by the government for draft-dodging, which led to the withdrawer of his license by the boxing commission. Muhammad Ali became the second dethroned champion in the history of boxing to reclaim the title following his victory in Zaire. Don King who was the show promoter had initially named the fight "From the Slave Ship to the Championship!" However, the title had to be changed when the President of Zaire Mobutu Sese Seko, believed the title had another hidden meaning and then ordered that all flyers and banners be burned. In addition, the heavyweight championship match was the first of its kind on Africa soil. It was reported that the government of West African republic staged the event, while the President of Zaire paid each fighter $5 dollar for honoring the call. The move was part of the plot to display the nation's rich culture and heritage to the rest of the world. In Ali's words, "I agreed because I wanted to establish a keen relationship between black Americans and Africans," he also added, "personally, I believed the fight was more about racism, Vietnam, and the likes". He stated further, "the fight, Rumble in the Jungle made the whole country more conscious."The organizers of the fight timed the fight to correspond with the time in the U.S. and exactly 4:30 in the morning of October 30, more than 60, 000 spectators gathered in the moonlight at the Stade du 20 Mai to watch the fight. The crowd were heard shouting in their local dialect "Ali, bomaye" meaning "Ali, kill him". Ali who had been provoking Foreman for several weeks, while the young champ was excited to beat the hell out of the ex-champ. As soon as the bell rang, Foreman started punching Ali with his famous sledgehammer blows, Ali leans against the rope and tactically block as many as he could, believing that he would wear Foreman out.Not long into the fifth round, the young champion was getting tired; all his sledgehammer punches became weak and vague. By the eighth round, a hard left punch caused Foreman to lose his grip and fell flat on the ring. He was counted out by the referee in just two seconds to go in the round.Muhammad Ali retired in 1981 after regaining the title once more. While Foreman on the other hand, retired in 1977 but kept training making him to become the oldest heavyweight champion in the history of boxing.
On September 17th of 1976, the world got its first look at the first Space Shuttle, as NASA unveiled its hot new creation at an Air Force base in Palmdale, California. The ship was called Enterprise, after many hundred thousand die hard Star Trek fans (pop culturally known as trekkies) wrote to President Gerald Ford, requesting the name change. The shuttle's former name was Constitution. On hand at the ceremony were all the NASA CEOs, along with most of the cast of the immortal TV show called Star Trek. Cast members who joined the festivities included Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), deForest Kelly (Dr. McCoy), Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura), James Doohan (Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott), George Takei (Mr. Sulu), and Walter Koenig (Ensign Chekov). Even Gene Roddenbury, the show's creator, was there. The only major cast member missing the fun was William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk). This first space shuttle was not really meant for space travel. It was more of a prototype than anything else. For instance, the exterior covering was made of fiberglass, which would not sufficiently withstand the conditions in space. Also, the ship was never outfitted with the equipment needed for it to be able to orbit the earth. For instance, a lack of two main engines. However, Enterprise was the precursor to other space shuttles of similar design. And the Enterprise space shuttle would fly free when it was released from a Boeing 747 jet, then it would glide in for a safe, soft landing back at Edwards Air Force base.Over the following year, NASA engineers put the Enterprise through a series of flight tests and ground tests, to demonstrate its airworthiness and landing capabilities. Five space ready orbiters were subsequently developed: The Columbia in 1979, the Challenger in 1982, the Discovery in 1983, the Atlantis in 1985, and the Endeavor in 1991. Early space shuttles carried equipment into space and ran various scientific experiments. Later, manned space shuttles traveled into space to maintain and repair the Hubble Space Telescope, and also to build and maintain the International Space Station (ISS).The Columbia space shuttle exploded near the end of its 28th journey, in a reentry accident that happened on February 1st of 2003. The Challenger space shuttle blew up just over a minute after take-off in January of 1986. In both cases, all seven people onboard were killed.Between 1978 and 1985, the Enterprise was taken around the country to assorted NASA space centers, where it served as a useful practice tool. In 1983, the Enterprise toured the world as a museum quality showpiece. Stops included Canada, France, Italy, Germany, England, and the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans.In 1985, the Enterprise was donated to the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian will soon donate the Enterprise space shuttle to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City, in order to make room for its new exhibit – the Discovery space shuttle.These days, all space shuttles are on their way to museums.