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1829
Died, Humphry Davy, scientist, inventor (Miner's safety lamp)
1861
C H F Peters discovered asteroid #72 Feronia (named after the Italian goddess of groves).
1864
Born, A H Borgesius, Dutch amateur astronomer
1885
Born, Erwin F Finlay-Freundlich, British astronomer (theory of relativity)
1889
A Charlois discovered asteroid #284 Amalia.
1897
Born, Johannes Winkler, German rocket engineer, founded the Society for Space Travel (Verein fur Raumschiffarht - VfR), published The Rocket (Die Rakete), the first journal of rocketry and astronautics
Johannes Winkler (May 29, 1897 - December 27, 1947) was a German rocket engineer. While working as an engineer for Junkers Aircraft in Breslau, Winkler became seriously fascinated with Oberth's calculations proving the feasibility of manned space travel using liquid propellant rockets. Winkler founded the pioneering Society for Space Travel (Verein fur Raumschiffarht - VfR) and became its first president. From 1927 to late 1929, he was the editor and publisher of The Rocket (Die Rakete), the first journal of rocketry and astronautics. He quit his job at Junkers and built and flew the first liquid propellant rocket in Germany in 1931. After the failure of his HW-2 rocket he returned to his old job at Junkers, and then worked for the government Luftforschungsanstalt (Aeronautical Research Institute) during World War II. Although he designed a number of JATO units and sounding rockets, none were ever put into production.
1918
Born, Valentin Yakovlevich Likhushin, Russian engineer, Director of NII-1 1955-1988, specialized in advanced engines
1919
Arthur Eddington made observations of shifted star positions during a solar eclipse, a fact interpreted as confirming Albert Einstein's theory of Relativity
1946 21:12:00 GMT
A V-2 chemical release mission launched from White Sands, New Mexico, reached 112.4 km, and carried cosmic radiation (Applied Physics Lab, John Hopkins University) experiments for General Electric.
1961
NASA started a 30 day centrifuge training program at the Aviation Medical Acceleration Laboratory directed entirely toward training the astronauts for the Mercury-Atlas orbital missions.
1962
NASA's Manned Space Flight Management Council approved the mobile launcher concept for the Saturn C-5 at Launch Complex 39, Merritt Island, Florida.
1963
The Titan 2 vertical test facility (VTF) at Martin-Baltimore was activated.
The VTF comprised a 165-foot tower and an adjacent three-story blockhouse with ground equipment similar to that used at complex 19. In it, the completely assembled Gemini launch vehicle was tested to provide a basis for comparison with subsequent tests conducted at complex 19. Each subsystem was tested separately, then combined systems tests were performed, concluding with the Combined Systems Acceptance Test, the final step before the launch vehicle was presented for Air Force acceptance.
1963
The US Air Force launched Titan 2 Research and development flight N-20 to test POGO fixes, but it failed 55 seconds after launch.
Titan II flight N-20, the 19th in the series of Air Force research and development flights, was launched 29 May 1963 from Cape Canaveral. It carried oxidizer standpipes and fuel accumulators to suppress longitudinal oscillations (POGO). During the spring of 1963, static firings of this configuration had been successful enough to confirm the hypothesis that POGO was caused by coupling between the missile structure and its propulsion system, resulting in an unstable closed loop system. Standpipes and accumulators, by interrupting the coupling, reduced the source of instability. Flight N-20 failed 55 seconds after launch and yielded no POGO data. Although the failure was not attributed to the installed POGO fix, Air Force Ballistics Systems Division decided officially that no further Titan II development flights would carry the POGO fix because so few test flights remained to qualify the weapon system operationally. This decision did not stand, however, and the POGO fix was flown again on N-25 (November 1), as well as on two later flights.
1963 04:35:00 GMT
A joint Australia/UK Skylark ionosphere-solar mission was launched from Woomera which reached an apogee of 209 km.
1963 18:43:00 GMT
NASA launched the X-15A Aero heating/VO Stab test mission in which Joe Walker reached a maximum speed of 6208 kph and a maximum altitude of 28040 meters. During the flight, the inner panel of the left windshield cracked.
1965 12:00:00 GMT
NASA launched Explorer 28 into orbit from Cape Kennedy to study the Earth's magnetic field and collect radiation data.
1968 13:15:00 GMT
UK launched a Petrel ionosphere mission from South Uist which reached an apogee of 140 km.
1971
L Chernykh discovered asteroid #2127 Tanya.
1971 11:48:00 GMT
US Sandia Labs launched a Terrier Sandhawk Infrared Astronomy mission from Barking Sands which reached an apogee of 340 km.
1972 10:34:00 GMT
Australia launched a Cockatoo Fields mission from Woomera which reached an apogee of 120 km.
1973 10:16:00 GMT
USSR launched the Meteor 1-15 weather satellite from Plesetsk.
1974 07:50:00 GMT
USSR's Cosmos 656 landed after a successful test of the Soyuz 7K-T(A9) variant designed for docking with the military Almaz space station, used in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Program (ASTP).
1974 08:57:00 GMT
USSR launched the Luna 22 orbiter to the Moon.
Luna 22 was a heavy Lunar orbiter launched 29 May 1974, first into Earth parking orbit and then to the Moon, where it was inserted into a circular Lunar orbit on 2 June 1974. It was launched for scientific investigation of the Moon and circumlunar space from the orbit of an artificial satellite of the Moon, which was begun by the Luna 19 automatic station. The primary instruments were the imaging cameras the spacecraft carried. It also had the objectives of studying the Moon's magnetic and gravitational fields, surface gamma ray emissions and (thereby) the composition of Lunar surface rocks, as well as micrometeorites and cosmic rays. The spacecraft made many orbit adjustments over its 18 month lifetime in order to optimize the operation of various experiments, lowering the perilune to as little as 25 km. Maneuvering fuel was exhausted on 2 September 1975, and the mission was ended in early November 1975.
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1974-037A
1980 10:53:00 GMT
The NOAA B weather satellite was launched from Vandenburg, but ended up in an unusable orbit. If successful, it would have been NOAA 7.
NOAA B was the second in a series of third-generation, operational meteorological satellites for use in the National Operational Environmental Satellite Subsystem (NOESS) and to support the Global Atmospheric Research Program (GARP) during 1978-84. The satellite design provided an economical and stable Sun-synchronous platform for advanced operational instruments to measure the Eearth's atmosphere, its surface and cloud cover, and the near-space environment. Primary sensors included an advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) for observing day and night global cloud cover, and an operational vertical sounder for obtaining temperature and water vapor profiles through the Earth's atmosphere. Secondary experiments consisted of a space environment monitor (SEM), which measured the proton and electron flux near the Earth, and a data collection and platform location system (DCS), which processed and relayed to central data acquisition stations the various meteorological data received from free-floating balloons and ocean bouys distributed around the globe. The satellite was based upon the Block 5D spacecraft bus developed for the US Air Force, and was capable of maintaining an Earth pointing accuracy of better than plus or minus 0.1 degree with a motion rate of less than 0.035 degree/second.
NOAA B was launched 29 May 1980. At engine start up, one of the Atlas booster engines suffered an internal fuel leak, causing it to run at about 80% thrust. As a result, the booster was low on velocity and heavy on propellant over much of its flight, and ran an incredible 50 seconds longer than the nominal burn. The NOAA Advanced TIROS payload was designed with no direct communication with the booster, and, unaware of the booster problem, at 375 seconds after liftoff, attempted to separate with the booster still firing. The booster's continued thrusting defeated the payload's attempt to perform the required pitch maneuver. When the payload fired its apogee kick motor, it blew the top of the booster's liquid oxygen tank off. The spacecraft survived all this, but the resultant orbit was highly elliptical rather than the desired circular sun-synchronous. The mission was therefore a total loss.
http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/database/MasterCatalog?sc=1980-043A
1985 00:59:00 GMT
Japan launched the S-310 Ionosphere mission from Syowa Base which reached an apogee of 212 km.
1985 07:40:00 GMT
USSR launched Molniya 3-24, replacing Molniya 3-18, for operation of the USSR long-range telephone and telegraph system, transmission of USSR Central Television programs in the Orbita network, and within the framework of international cooperation.
1986
USSR Soyuz TM 1 undocked from the Mir space station.
1990 07:19:00 GMT
USSR launched the Resurs F-06 Earth resource satellite, which also carried a German microgravity experiment in accordance with a commercial agreement, for the purpose of conducting biotechnological experiments.
1991 22:55:00 GMT
The Alascom Aurora 2 communications satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral, positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 139 deg W in 1991-1999.
Aurora 2, an Alaskan owned telecommunications satellite, was launched 29 May 1991 from Cape Canaveral aboard a Delta booster rocket. It provided telephone, television, maritime, radio and emergency communications service for the northern state's long distance carrier, Alascom, as well as radio and data services for GE Americom. The satellite carried 32 C-band transponders (24 primary and 6 redundant) operating at 6/4 GHz. Sixteen of the 24 channels served Alaskan customers, 8 served US business. Built by GE Astro-Space for Alascom, Aurora 2 was box-shaped, measuring 1 by 1.64 by 1.4 m. Two three-panel solar arrays, totalling 13 sq. m, extended from either side of the main body. The fixed dual-polarization reflector antenna covered the continental US, Alaska and Hawaii. It replaced Aurora 1, which was retired after 9 years of service. Stationed above 139 degrees W, Aurora 2 became operational in July 1991, with a 12 year life expectancy. As of 30 August 2001, it was at 148.31 deg E drifting at 4.531 deg W per day.
1993
North Korea launched 2 Hwasong test missions and a Nodong 1 test mission from Musudan which reached apogees of 200, 200 and 150 km, respectively.
1994
A great comet-iceball was reported seen above the North Sea.
1995
China launched a Chang Zheng 1D (CZ-1D) test mission from Taiyuan which reached an apogee of 1,000 km.
1996 07:09:18 EDT (GMT -4:00:00)
NASA's STS 77 (Endeavour 11, 77th Shuttle mission) ended after carrying SPACEHAB and Spartan/IAE into orbit.
The original STS 77 launch date of 16 May 1996 was changed to 19 May due to conflicts with the Eastern Range schedule. The 19 May 1996 countdown proceeded smoothly to an on-time liftoff.
The fourth Shuttle flight of 1996 was highlighted by four rendezvous activities with two different payloads. The primary payloads, all located in the cargo bay, were the SPACEHAB-4 pressurized research module; the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE) mounted on Spartan 207 free-flyer; and a suite of four technology demonstration experiments known as Technology Experiments for Advancing Missions in Space (TEAMS). More than 90 percent of the payloads were sponsored by NASA’s Office of Space Access and Technology.
SPACEHAB-4 was a single module which carried nearly 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms) of support equipment, and a variety of experiments covering such fields as biotechnology, electronic materials, polymers and agriculture, including: Advanced Separation Process for Organic Materials (ADSEP); Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA); Plant Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (PGBA); Fluids Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus-2 (FGBA-2); Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG); Gas Permeable Polymer Membrane (GPPM); Handheld Diffusion Test Cell (HHDTC); Commercial Float Zone Furnace (CFZF); and the Space Experiment Facility (SEF). Also considered part of the SPACEHAB payload complement, but located in middeck lockers, were the IMMUNE-3 and NIH-C7 payloads. CFZF, sponsored by NASA and the German and Canadian space agencies, was considered the top priority SPACEHAB-4 payload; designed to produce large, ultra-pure crystals of such semiconductor materials as gallium arsenide. FGBA-2, an on-orbit soft-drink dispenser, required some troubleshooting, and the SEF experiment was declared failed when command problems with the payload could not be fixed.
The Spartan free-flyer was deployed on flight day two using the orbiter Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm. The 132-pound (60-kilogram) IAE antenna structure, mounted on three struts, was inflated to its full size of 50 feet (15 meters) in diameter, about the size of a tennis court. The potential benefits of inflatable antennas over conventional rigid structures include their lower development costs, greater reliability, and lower mass and volume, requiring less stowage space and potentially a smaller launch vehicle. The actual on-orbit performance of the antenna - its surface smoothness - was documented with cameras and sensors for later analysis. The deployment and inflation proceeded smoothly, and the IAE was jettisoned 90 minutes later into an orbit from which it re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on 22 May. On flight day three, the Spartan 207 pallet was returned to the orbiter cargo bay.
Satellite deployment and rendezvous activities were also conducted with Passive Aerodynamically- Stabilized Magnetically-Damped Satellite (PAMS), one of four Technology Experiments for Advancing Missions in Space (TEAMS) research payloads. TEAMS payloads were located in the Hitchhiker carrier in the payload bay. The Satellite Test Unit (STU) on PAMS was deployed on flight day four. Three orbiter rendezvous were conducted with the satellite from a distance of 2,000-2,300 feet (610-701 meters) away to acquire satellite attitude information. STU relied on aerodynamic stabilization rather than attitude control propellants to properly orient itself. After some difficulty, the Attitude Measurement System (AMS) in the payload bay successfully locked onto the satellite and began accurately tracking it, with initial indications showing that the concept of propellant-free aerodynamic stabilization works.
Other TEAMS experiments were the Global Positioning System (GPS) Attitude and Navigation Experiment (GANE); Vented Tank Resupply Experiment (VTRE); and Liquid Metal Thermal Experiment (LMTE).
Secondary experiments included: Brilliant Eyes Ten Kelvin Sorption Cryocooler Experiment (BETSCE), an instrument designed to supercool infrared and other sensors through cyclical release and absorption of hydrogen; Aquatic Research Facility (ARF), a joint Canadian Space Agency/NASA project that allows investigation of wide range of small aquatic species, including starfish, mussels and sea urchins; Biological Research in a Canister (BRIC 07) to study endocrine functioning; Tank Pressure Control Experiment/Reduced Fill Level (TPCE/RFL) to develop pressure control for cryogenic tankage; and a series of experiments flying in Get Away Special (GAS) canisters.
Casper spoke with Mir cosmonaut and US astronaut Shannon Lucid, who was entering her 65th day aboard the Mir space station.
No significant on-orbit problems with the orbiter were reported.
STS 77 ended 29 May 1996 when Endeavour landed on Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Rollout distance: 9,291 feet (2,832 meters). Rollout time: 42 seconds. Mission duration: 10 days, zero hours, 39 minutes, 18 seconds. Landed revolution 161, on the first opportunity at KSC.
The flight crew for STS 77 was: John H. Casper, Commander; Curtis L. Brown Jr., Pilot; Daniel W. Bursch, Mission specialist; Mario Runco, Jr., Mission Specialist; Marc Garneau, Mission Specialist (CSA); Andrew S. W. Thomas, Mission Specialist.
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/chron/sts-77.htm
1997 04:56:00 GMT
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) launched a Black Brant Radio Astronomy mission from White Sands which achieved an apogee of 300 km.
1998
The US Air Force Space Command transferred control of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
2000 01:20:00 CDT (GMT -5:00:00)
NASA's STS 101 (Atlantis) landed after completing the International Space Station Flight 2A.2a mission.
STS 101 was launched 19 May 2000, an ISS logistics flight. During the mission, the shuttle Atlantis spent nearly 10 days in space, six of which were spent docked with the International Space Station.
On STS 101, Atlantis flew as the most updated space shuttle ever, outfitted with a new "glass cockpit" which was 34 kilograms (75 pounds) lighter and used less power than before, and other state-of-the-art upgrades to key systems, including more than 100 new modifications incorporated during a ten month period at Boeing's Palmdale, California, shuttle factory in 1998. Among the improvements: Atlantis’ airlock was relocated to the payload bay to prepare for International Space Station assembly flights; the communications system was updated; several weight reduction measures were installed; enhancements were made to provide additional protection to the cooling system; and the crew cabin floor was strengthened.
While docked with the space station, the crew refurbished and replaced components in both the Zarya and Unity Modules. Voss and Williams performed a 6.5 hour space walk the day after docking to install a Russian Strela cargo boom on the outside of Zarya. They also replaced a faulty radio antenna and performed several other tasks in advance of space walks on future station assembly missions.
The top priority for STS 101 was to replace four of six 800 ampere batteries in the Zarya Module. Zarya received additional new equipment: four cooling fanss and ducting to improve airflow, three fire extinguishers, ten smoke detectors, and an onboard computer. A suspect radio frequency power distribution box in Unity used as part of the early S-band communications system was also replaced.
Three hour-long orbit raising burns on 24 and 25 May by the Reaction Control System (RCS) engines on Atlantis were used to raise the station to a 372 x 380 km x 51.6 deg orbit.
STS 101 ended on 29 May 2000 when Atlantis landed at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. It was the fourteenth nighttime landing in Shuttle history, and the twenty-second consecutive mission to end with a landing at KSC.
The flight crew for STS 101 was: James D. Halsell, Commander; Scott J. Horowitz, Pilot; Mary Ellen Weber, Mission Specialist 1; Jeffrey N. Williams, Mission Specialist 2; James S. Voss, Mission Specialist 3; Susan J. Helms, Mission Specialist 4; Yuri V. Usachev (RSA), Mission Specialist 5. For Usachev, Voss and Helms, the short visit to the ISS was a preview of the much longer time they would spend aboard the outpost as the Expedition Two crew in 2001.
http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/archives/sts-101/index.html
2004
Pakistan launched a Ghauri test flight from Tilla which reached an apogee of 150 km.
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