Space History for January 20

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1775
Born, Andre-Marie Ampere, French physicist generally credited as one of the main discoverers of electromagnetism
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1893
A. Charlois discovered asteroid #355 Gabriella.

1901
Died, Zenobe-Theophile Gramme, Belgian inventor (DC dynamo, electric motor)
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1907
Died, Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev, Russian chemist, inventor of the Periodic table of elements

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (7 February 1834 - 20 January 1907) was a Russian chemist who became known as one of two scientists who created the first version of the Periodic Table of Elements. On 6 March 1869, a formal presentation was made to the Russian Chemical Society, entitled The Dependence Between the Properties of the Atomic Weights of the Elements, he stated that the elements were arranged in a pattern which allowed him to predict the properties of elements yet to be discovered.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1925
B. Jekhovsky discovered asteroid #1040 Klumpkea.

1930
Born, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (at Montclair, New Jersey, USA), Colonel USAF, NASA astronaut (Gemini 12, Apollo 11; nearly 12d 2h total time in spaceflight), the second person on the Moon.

Official portrait of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, NASA photo S69-31743 (16 April 1969)
Source: NASA Image and Video Library

Buzz Aldrin, Ph.D. (20 January 1930 - ) was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963.

On 11 November 1966, he and command pilot James Lovell were launched into space in the Gemini 12 spacecraft on a 4-day flight, which brought the Gemini program to a successful close. Aldrin established a new record for extravehicular activity (EVA), spending 5-1/2 hours outside the spacecraft.

He served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 11, 16-24 July 1969, the first manned Lunar landing mission. Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong onto the Lunar surface on 20 July 1969, completing a 2-hour and 15 minute Lunar EVA.

In July 1971, Aldrin resigned from NASA. Aldrin has logged 289 hours and 53 minutes in space, of which, 7 hours and 52 minutes were spent in EVA.

Since retiring from NASA, the Air Force, and his position as commander of the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in 1972, he has remained at the forefront of efforts to ensure a continued leading role for America in manned space exploration to advance his life-long commitment to venturing outward in space. He continues to advocate for a human mission to Mars, and developed the Aldrin cycler, a special spacecraft trajectory that makes travel to Mars more efficient in regard to time and propellant

Dr. Aldrin is President of Starcraft Enterprise, Laguna Beach, California.

See also Wikipedia (www.jsc.nasa.gov is no longer available)
See also Johnson Space Center's Buzz Aldrin Biography (1996)
See also NASA Biographies of Apollo 11 Astronauts
ref: buzzaldrin.com

1930
K. Reinmuth discovered asteroid #1163 Saga.

1939
Y. Vaisala discovered asteroids #1534 Nasi and #1929 Kollaa.

1942
L. Oterma discovered asteroids #1558 Jarnefelt andd #1559 Kustaanheimo.

1948
Born, Jerry L. Ross (at Crown Point, Indiana, USA), Col USAF, NASA astronaut (STS 61B, STS 27, STS 37, STS 55, STS 74, STS 88, STS 110; nearly 58d 1h total time in spaceflight)

Astronaut Jerry L. Ross, Official NASA Portrait (22 May 2014)
ref: www.nasa.gov

1965
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) proposed a modified Apollo mission to fly around Mars and return. The proposal was declined.
ref: list.uvm.edu

1966
Goethe Link Observatory discovered asteroid #2086 Newell; and Purple Mountain Observatory discovered asteroid #3678.

1966 08:17:01 EST (GMT -5:00:00)
NASA launched A-004 to test the Apollo launch escape system.

NASA launched A-004 on 20 January 1966. The basic flight objectives were demonstration of the launch escape system performance for an abort in the power-on tumbling boundary region; and demonstration of the structural integrity of launch escape system airframe structure during same period. The 6 minute 50 second flight was successful, a fitting end for the Little Joe program.
ref: science.ksc.nasa.gov

1969
University of Arizona astronomers reported the first optical identity of a pulsar, in the Crab Nebula.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1969
USSR launched Zond 1969A, planned as a Lunar flyby and return, which failed during launch.

The USSR Zond 1969A mission, launched 20 January 1969, was intended to be similar to the Zond 5 and Zond 6 missions, consisting of a Lunar flyby and return to Earth as an unmanned test of the Lunar capsule. The craft was presumably equipped with automatic cameras. One of the SL-12/D-1-e stage 2 engines shut down 25 seconds early, causing the emergency system to abort the flight. The escape tower brought the Zond cabin down safely.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1982
M. Lovas discovered asteroid #3103.

1990 01:35:36 PST (GMT -6:00:00)
NASA's STS 32 (Columbia 9, 33rd Shuttle mission, US 64th manned space mission) landed at Edwards AFB.

STS 32 was launched 9 January 1990 after being postponed to complete and verify modifications of the launch pad, and by weather. The primary objectives were deployment of the SYNCOM IV-F5 defense communications satellite, and retrieval of NASA's Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). SYNCOM IV-F5 (also known as LEASAT 5) was deployed first, and used a third stage Minuteman solid perigee kick motor to propel the satellite to geosynchronous orbit. LDEF was retrieved on flight day four using the remote manipulator system.

The middeck payloads were: Characterization of Neurospora Circadian Rhythms (CNCR); Protein Crystal Growth (PCG); Fluid Experiment Apparatus (FEA); American Flight Echocardiograph (AFE); Latitude/Longitude Locator (L3); Mesoscale Lightning Experiment (MLE); IMAX camera; and the Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment.

The mission ended when Columbia landed on Runway 22, Edwards Air Force Base, California on 20 January 1990. Rollout distance: 10,096 feet. Rollout time: 62 seconds. Launch weight: 255,994 pounds. Landing weight: 228,335 pounds. Mission duration: 10 days, 21 hours, zero minutes, 36 seconds. Orbit altitude: 178 nautical miles. Orbit inclination: 28.5 degrees. Miles traveled: 4.5 million. Landing weight: 228,335 pounds. Columbia landed on revolution 172. It was the longest Space Shuttle flight to date. The orbiter was returned to KSC 26 January 1990.

The STS 32 flight crew was: Daniel C. Brandenstein, Commander; James D. Wetherbee, Pilot; Bonnie J. Dunbar, Mission Specialist 1; G. David Low, Mission Specialist 2; Marsha S. Ivins, Mission Specialist 3.
ref: www.nasa.gov

1996 02:41:41 est (GMT -5:00:00)
NASA's STS 72 (Endeavour 10, 74th Shuttle mission) returned after nearly 9 days in orbit.

STS 72 was launched 11 January 1996 after a countdown that proceeded smoothly except for a 23 minute delay due to communication glitches between various sites on the ground, and to avoid a potential collision with space debris. The flight was highlighted by retrieval of the Japanese Space Flyer Unit (SFU) on flight day three, deployment on flight day four and retrieval on flight day six of the NASA Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology-Flyer (OAST-Flyer), and two spacewalks as part of a continuing series in preparation for on orbit construction of the International Space Station.

The SFU satellite completed its 10 month scientific mission involving almost a dozen experiments ranging from materials science to biological studies. OAST-Flyer, however, was only in orbit two days, at a distance of approximately 45 miles (72 kilometers) from the orbiter. OAST-Flyer was a platform holding four experiments: Return Flux Experiment (REFLEX) to test the accuracy of computer models predicting spacecraft exposure to contamination; Global Positioning System (GPS) Attitude Determination and Control Experiment (GADACS), to demonstrate GPS technology in space; Solar Exposure to Laser Ordnance Device (SELODE) to test laser ordnance devices; and the Spartan Packet Radio Experiment (SPRE), an amateur radio communications experiment.

Additional cargo bay payloads on STS 72 were: Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) instrument flying for the eighth time, designed to measure ozone concentrations in the atmosphere; a Hitchhiker carrier holding the Shuttle Laser Altimeter-01 (SLA-01)/Get Away Special (GAS) payload; five other GAS canisters held a variety of experiments. SLA-01 was the first of four planned remote sensing flights to accurately measure the distance between Earth's surface and the orbiter.

In-cabin payloads on STS 72 were: Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment/National Institutes of Health-Rodents (PARE/NIH-R3), one in series of experiments designed to study effect of microgravity on rodent anatomy and physiology; Space Tissue Loss/National Institutes of Health-C (STL/NIH-C5) to validate models of microgravity's effects on bone, muscle and cells; Protein Crystal Growth-Single Locker Thermal Enclosure (PCG-STES) for growing high-quality protein crystals; and Commercial Protein Crystal Growth-8 (CPCG-8) payload, which featured crystal growth of new form of recombinant human insulin.

The STS 72 mission ended on 20 January 1996 when Endeavour landed on revolution 141 on Runway 15, Kennedy Space Center, Florida on the first landing opportunity. Rollout distance: 8,770 feet (2,673 meters). Rollout time: 66 seconds. Orbit altitude: 250 nautical miles. Orbit inclination: 28.45 degrees. Mission duration: eight days, 22 hours, 1 minute, 47 seconds. Miles traveled: 3.7 million.

The STS 72 flight crew was: Brian Duffy, Commander; Brent W. Jett, Pilot; Leroy Chiao, Mission Specialist; Daniel T. Barry, Mission Specialist; Winston E. Scott, Mission Specialist; Koichi Wakata, Mission Specialist.
ref: www.nasa.gov

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