Space History for July 1

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1646
Born (21 June, Old Style), Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz, German philosopher, scientist, mathematician (calculus (independently from Newton), mathematical functions)
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1770
Comet Lexell (D/1770 L1) approached within 0.0151 AUs of Earth (approx. 1.4 million miles, 2.26 million km), the closest known approach of a comet.
ref: cneos.jpl.nasa.gov

1788
Born, Jean-Victor Poncelet, mathematician, founded projective geometry
ref: mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk

1840
Born, Robert S. Ball, Irish mathematician (screw theory), astronomer (tides, Royal Astronomer of Ireland)
ref: mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk

1847
Karl Ludwig Hencke discovered asteroid #6 Hebe.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1860
Died, Charles Goodyear, inventor of the vulcanization of rubber. (Neither Goodyear nor his family was ever connected with the company named in his honor.)
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1872
Born, Louis Bleriot, aviation pioneer (first successful monoplane, first flight over a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft - English Channel, 25 July 1909)
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1884
V. Knorre discovered asteroid #238 Hypatia.

1908
Born, Cai Jintao (at Nantong, Jiangsu, China), Chinese communications and telemetry systems engineer, made important contributions to China's space undertakings
ref: www.astronautix.com

1917
The 100" (257 cm) mirror for the Hooker telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory was delivered to the observatory for mounting.
ref: www.mtwilson.edu

1922
Guynemer Breyer was the first baby born in an airplane after his mother, staying at a seaside resort in Southern Italy, went into labor and chartered a plane north to Naples. He was born 40 miles before landing, at an altitude of 6000 feet.
ref: www.nancy.cc

1931
Wiley Post (pilot) and Harold Gatty (navigator) returned to Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York in the Winnie Mae after flying a record setting trip of 8 days and 15 hours and 51 minutes around the world, having traveled 15,474 miles.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1933
G. Neujmin discovered asteroid #1590 Tsiolkovskaja.

1955
A State University of Iowa research group launched Rockoons (balloon launched rockets) from shipboard off Greenland's coast in cosmic-ray studies using Army Ordnance supplied, ONR sponsored, JPL-developed instrumented Loki I rockets and Deacon balloons.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1957
The 18 month duration International Geophysical Year (IGY) began, which was the impetus behind the launch of Sputnik 1, the first satellite humanity placed in orbit.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1957
USSR launched Burya flight 1 from Kapustin Yar to test the first stage boosters. After launch, the jet vanes released prematurely. The missile cleared the launch tower, immediately arced over, and crashed with a huge explosion in sight of the launch pad.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1963
Born, Edward Tsang Lu PhD (at Springfield, Massachusetts, USA), NASA astronaut (STS 84, STS 106, ISS 7; 205d 23.25h total time in spaceflight)

Astronaut Edward T. Lu, NASA photo JSC2000-06748 (10 October 2000)
Source: NASA Image and Video Library
ref: www.nasa.gov

1966 16:02:00 GMT
NASA launched Explorer 33 for studies of interplanetary plasma, energetic charged particles, magnetic fields, and solar X rays at Lunar distances. The spacecraft failed to achieve Lunar orbit, but did achieve its mission objectives.

NASA photo, Explorer 33 display model
Source: NSSDCA Master Catalog
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1966 19:02:00 GMT
NASA and the USAF launched X-15A-2 External Tank test mission # 159, the first fueled external tanks, a maximum speed of 1061 mph (1708 kph, Mach 1.70) and 44,800 ft (13.655 km, 8.485 mi) altitude. Fuel flow anomalies shut the engine down at 34.6 seconds.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1975
Felix Aguilar Observatory discovered asteroid #2680.

1983 12:17:00 GMT
USSR launched Prognoz 9 from Baikonur, one of a continuing series to measure electromagnetic radiation, magnetic fields, plasma, and charged particles in space.

Prognoz 9, launched 1 July 1983, investigated residual radiation from the Big Bang and gamma flares in deep space, and solar corpuscular and electromagnetic radiation plasma flows and magnetic fields in circumterrestrial space to determine the effects of solar activity on the interplanetary medium and the Earth's magnetosphere. In addition to Soviet scientific apparatus, it carried instruments built in Czechoslovakia and France. Although specifics on all of the experiments are not available, it is known that a hard X-ray spectrometer, a magnetic field measuring experiment, and an 8-mm radio telescope were flown on Prognoz 9, and a plasma experiment was also possibly on board. The spacecraft was spin stabilized with a period of approximately two minutes, with the spin axis was oriented toward the Sun. The initial apogee distance was 720,000 km, with a period of 27 days.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1983 23:56:00 GMT
USSR launched the Gorizont 7 communications satellite from Baikonur, positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 14 deg W in 1983-1986; 16 deg W in 1986-1987; 11 deg W in 1987-1989.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1991 21:53:00 GMT
USSR launched Gorizont 23 to maintain telephone and telegraph communications, and transmit television broadcasts, positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 103 deg E in 1991-1992.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1993 08:52:16 EDT (GMT -4:00:00)
NASA's STS 57 (Endeavour 4, 58th Shuttle mission) landed at Kennedy after carrying SPACEHAB-1, and performing the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) retrieval.

The STS 57 launch was originally targeted for mid-May, but rescheduled to June to allow both liftoff and landing to occur in daylight. The liftoff set for 3 June slipped when managers decided to replace the high pressure oxidizer turbopump on main engine number two, after concerns arose over a misplaced inspection stamp (penetration verification stamp) on a spring in the pump. The additional time also allowed investigation of an inexplicable loud noise heard after the Shuttle arrived at the launch pad; the "big bang" was eventually attributed to a ball strut tie-rod assembly inside the 17-inch (43-centimeter) liquid hydrogen line. The launch attempt on 20 June was scrubbed at T-5 minutes due to low clouds and rain at the return-to-launch site at Kennedy Space Center, and weather concerns at all three transoceanic abort landing sites. The launch countdown was the longest since the return to flight (after Challenger) to allow servicing of payloads at the pad. STS 57 was finally launched on 21 June 1993.

STS 57 marked the first flight of the commercially developed SPACEHAB, a pressurized laboratory designed to more than double the pressurized workspace for crew-tended experiments. Altogether 22 experiments were flown, covering materials and life sciences, and a space station wastewater recycling experiment.

On 22 June, all six crew members talked with President Clinton.

On 24 June, the crew captured and stowed the approximately 9,424-pound (4,275 kilogram) European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) deployed by STS 46. However, EURECA ground controllers were unable to stow the spacecraft's two antennas, and on 25 June, Low and Wisoff spent the beginning of a scheduled extravehicular activity (EVA) manually folding the antennas. The remainder of the 5 hour, 50 minute EVA was spent on planned tasks, the second in series of generic EVAs during 1993.

The other cargo bay payloads flown on STS 57 were the Get Away Special (GAS) bridge assembly holding one ballast can and 11 GAS can payloads, including a Complex Autonomous Payload called Consortium for Materials Development in Space-IV (CONCAP-IV) and CAN DO experiment designed by the Charleston, South Carolina school district; and the Super Fluid Helium On Orbit Transfer (SHOOT) experiment to investigate resupply of liquid helium containers in space.

Middeck payloads flown on STS 57 were: the Fluid Acquisition and Resupply Experiment (FARE); and the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment-II (SAREX-II). No flight hardware was required for Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) calibration test which was also performed.

STS 57 ended on 1 July 1993 when Endeavour landed on revolution 155 on Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Landing weight: 244,400 pounds. Rollout distance: 9,954 feet (3,034 meters). Rollout time: 65 seconds. Orbit altitude: 252 nautical miles. Orbit inclination: 28.45 degrees. Mission duration: nine days, 23 hours, 44 minutes, 54 seconds. Miles traveled: 4.1 million. Landing attempts on 29 June and 30 June were waved off due to unacceptable cloud cover and rain showers at KSC; Mission 61-C (1986) was last time prior to the flight when there were two wave-offs in one Shuttle mission. After landing, the STS 57 crew in Endeavour talked to the STS 51 crew in Discovery at Pad 39B, the first orbiter-to-orbiter crew conversation since the orbiting 51-D crew talked to the 51-B crew at KSC in 1985.

The flight crew for STS 57 was: Ronald J. Grabe, Commander; Brian Duffy, Pilot; G. David Low, Payload Commander; Nancy J. Sherlock, Mission Specialist 2; Peter J. Wisoff, Mission Specialist 3; Janice E. Voss, Mission Specialist 4.
ref: www.nasa.gov

1993 14:32:58 GMT
Russia launched Soyuz TM-17 from Baikonur carrying Vasili Tsibliyev, Alexander Serebrov and Jean-Pierre Haignere to the Mir space station for Mir Expedition EO-14.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1994 12:24:50 GMT
Russia launched Soyuz TM-19 from Baikonur with cosmonauts Malenchenko and Musabayev aboard to the Mir space station for Mir Expedition EO-16.

Soyuz TM-19 was a Russian spacecraft launched 1 July 1994 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome to dock with the Mir space station, and deliver supplies and the cosmonaut team of Malenchenko and Musabayev to the station. The docking occurred on 3 July 1994. Designed and manufactured by RKK Energiya, the Soyuz TM was capable of carrying three cosmonauts and had a gross weight of just over seven metric tons, a length of seven meters, and a maximum diameter of 2.7 meters. The spacecraft consisted of three main sections: the orbital module, the command and reentry module, and the service module. Two solar arrays (10.6 meter span) provided electrical power for the typical 50-hour journey to Mir, and could be interconnected with the space station's electrical system to furnish additional 1.3 kW. The nominal flight time for Soyuz TM spaceship was 5-6 months.

Soyuz TM-19 undocked from Mir with the crew of Malenchenko, Merbold and Musabayev aboard at 07:29 GMT on 4 November 1994. The Soyuz instrument module (PAO, priborno-agregatniy otsek) fired its deorbit engine, and was jettisoned together with the orbital module (BO, bitovoy otsek) at 10:51 GMT, with entry interface for the descent module (SA, spuskaemiy apparat) at 10:54. It landed 170 km northeast of Arkalyk in Kazakhstan.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1997 14:02:00 EDT (GMT -4:00:00)
NASA launched STS 94 (Columbia 23, 85th Shuttle mission) carrying the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1 Reflight) experiment package to orbit.

The 1 July 1997 liftoff of STS 94 was delayed about 12 minutes because of unacceptable weather conditions in the launch area in the event a return-to-launch-site abort was necessary.

STS 94 marked the first reflight of the same vehicle, crew and payloads, following the shortened STS 83 mission in April due to indications of a fuel cell problem. The primary payload was the Microgravity Science Laboratory-1 (MSL-1). A quick turnaround in processing Columbia for the reflight was accomplished in part by the first reservicing of a primary payload, MSL-1, in the orbiter.

During the flight, the crew maintained 24 hour, two-shift operations. Using the Spacelab module as a test bed, MSL-1 tested some of the hardware, facilities and procedures that were to be used on the (then upcoming) International Space Station. The 33 investigations conducted also yielded new knowledge in the principal scientific fields of combustion, biotechnology and materials processing.

Combustion experiments resulted in the discovery of a new mechanism of flame extinction caused by radiation of soot, the ignition of the weakest flames (as low as one watt, or 1/50 the power of a birthday candle) ever burned in laboratory conditions in space or on Earth, as well as the longest burning flames in space (500 seconds). Although only 144 fires or combustion experiment runs were scheduled, more than 200 were completed. The combustion investigations provided valuable information for improved fire safety on future spacecraft and for development of cleaner, more efficient internal combustion engines.

Experiments processed in the Electromagnetic Containerless Processing Facility (TEMPUS) yielded the first measurements of specific heat and thermal expansion of glass-forming metallic alloys, and the highest temperature (a maximum of 2,000 degrees Centigrade) and largest undercooling (to 340 degrees C) ever achieved in space. These measurements are necessary for modeling industrial materials systems to manufacture new and better products.

The mission also produced progress in learning how to control and position liquid drops which could lead to improvements in chemical manufacturing, petroleum technology and the cosmetics and food industries. The crew performed over 100 test runs (more than double number planned) in the Middeck Glovebox Facility in areas of liquid and bubble behavior, fluids-based heat transfer devices and solid-liquid mixtures. Droplets of a hydrocarbon, heptane, were burned at the lowest atmospheric pressure achieved during a mission.

More than 700 crystals of various proteins were grown during the 16 day mission. Since crystals grow larger and purer in space, this research will help scientists to better understand their structures and to design more effective drugs to treat such diseases as cancer, diabetes and AIDS.

Samples in the Large Isothermal Furnace were processed to study the diffusion of tracers, or impurities, in melted germanium, an element used as a semiconductor and alloying agent. This was the first time diffusion in semiconductors has been studied in space.

The Astro/Plant Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (AstroPGBA) studied the effect of microgravity on various plants, including a source of an antimalarial drug; another used in chemotherapy treatment of cancer; and a species widely used in the paper and lumber industries.

The Expedite the Processing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) Rack flew for the first time on MSL-1 (both the STS 83 and STS 94 missions) to demonstrate quick and easy installation of experiment and facility hardware on orbit. It will be used on the International Space Station.

The 25 primary experiments, four glovebox investigations and four accelerometer studies on MSL-1 were contributed by scientists from NASA, the European Space Agency, the German Space Agency and the National Space Development Agency of Japan. A record number of commands (more than 35,000) were sent from Spacelab Mission Operations Control Center at Marshall Space Flight Center to MSL-1 experiments.

STS 94 ended on 17 July 1997 when Columbia landed on revolution 251 on Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on the first opportunity. Rollout distance: 8,892 feet (2710 meters). Rollout time: 55 seconds. Orbit altitude: 184 statute miles. Orbit inclination: 28.45 degrees. Mission duration: 15 days, 16 hours, 44 minutes, 34 seconds. Miles traveled: 6.2 million.

The flight crew for STS 94 was: James D. Halsell, Mission Commander; Susan L. Still, Pilot; Janice E. Voss, Payload Commander; Donald A. Thomas, Mission Specialist; Michael L. Gernhardt, Mission Specialist; Roger Crouch, Payload Specialist; Greg Linteris, Payload Specialist.
ref: www.nasa.gov

1999 02:40:00 GMT
ESA's effectively inert Giotto probe flew by Earth at distance of 219,000 km, years after its study of Comet P/Halley.

ESA's Giotto, launched 2 July 1985, was designed to study Comet P/Halley. The major objectives of the mission were to: (1) obtain color photographs of the nucleus; (2) determine the elemental and isotopic composition of volatile components in the cometary coma, particularly parent molecules; (3) characterize the physical and chemical processes that occur in the cometary atmosphere and ionosphere; (4) determine the elemental and isotopic composition of dust particles; (5) measure the total gas-production rate and dust flux and size/mass distribution and derive the dust-to-gas ratio; and, (6) investigate the macroscopic systems of plasma flows resulting from the cometary-solar wind interaction. The spacecraft encountered the comet on 13 March 1986, at a distance of 0.89 AU from the sun and 0.98 AU from the Earth and an angle of 107 degrees from the comet-sun line. During the encounter with Halley's comet, the spin axis was aligned with the relative velocity vector. The 1.5 m X-band dish antenna was inclined and despun in order to point at the Earth (44 degrees with respect to the velocity vector). The goal was to come within 500 km of Halley's comet at closest encounter; the actual closest approach was measured at 596 km.

The scientific payload was comprised of ten hardware experiments: a narrow-angle camera, three mass spectrometers for neutrals, ions and dust, various dust detectors, a photopolarimeter and a set of plasma experiments. All experiments performed well and returned a wealth of new scientific results. Fourteen seconds before closest approach, Giotto was hit by a `large' dust particle. The impact caused an angular momentum vector shift of 0.9 degrees in the spacecraft, which performed a nutation around the new axis with a period of 16 seconds and an amplitude of 0.9 degrees; thus, the maximum deviation from the desired attitude was 1.8 degrees. Scientific data were received intermittently for the next 32 minutes. Some experiment sensors suffered damage during this 32 minute interval. Other experiments (the camera baffle and deflecting mirror, the dust detector sensors on the front sheet of the bumper shield, and most experiment apertures) were exposed to dust particles regardless of the accident and also suffered damage. Many of the sensors survived the encounter with little or no damage. Questionable or partially damaged sensors included the camera (later proved to not be functional) and one of the plasma analyzers (RPA). Inoperable experiments included the neutral and ion mass spectrometers and one sensor each on the dust detector and the other plasma analyzer (JPA).

During the Giotto extended mission, the spacecraft flew by the Earth on 2 July 1990 at a distance of 16,300 km at 10:01:18 UTC. This was the first encounter of Earth by a spacecraft coming from deep space, during which observations were made of the Earth's magnetic field and energetic particles. Giotto obtained a gravitational assist from the flyby, and successfully encountered Comet P/Grigg-Skjellerup on 10 July 1992. Its closest approach was 200 km at a relative velocity of 13.99 km/s. The heliocentric distance of the spacecraft was 1.01 AU, and the geocentric distance, 1.43 AU at the time of the encounter. The payload was switched on in the evening of 9 July. Eight experiments were operated and provided data. The Johnstone Plasma Analyser detected the first presence of cometary ions 600,000 km from the nucleus at 12 hours before the closest approach. The Dust Impact Detectors reported the first impact of a fairly large particle at 15:30:56. Bow shocks/waves and acceleration regions were also detected.

On 23 July 1992 Giotto operations were officially terminated after completion of final orbit adjustments and configuration of the spacecraft for its third hibernation. Only 1 to 7 kg of fuel was left on board, insufficient for any extensive future maneuvers. Giotto flew by the Earth on 1 July 1999 at a closest approach of about 219,000 km at approximately 02:40 UT (10:40 p.m. EDT, 30 June).
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

2001
Died, Nicolay G. Basov, Soviet atomic physicist (Nobel 1964 with Townes, Prokhorov "for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle")
ref: www.nobelprize.org

2004
The Cassini-Huygens probe reached Saturn, flew by 20,000 km above the cloud tops, and went into orbit, with orbit insertion taking place from 0112 UT through 0248 UT.

NASA's Cassini Orbiter's mission consisted of delivering an ESA probe, Huygens, to Titan, then remaining in orbit around Saturn for detailed studies of the planet and its rings and satellites. The principal objectives were to: (1) determine the three-dimensional structure and dynamical behavior of the rings; (2) determine the composition of the satellite surfaces and the geological history of each object; (3) determine the nature and origin of the dark material on Iapetus' leading hemisphere; (4) measure the three-dimensional structure and dynamical behavior of the magnetosphere; (5) study the dynamical behavior of Saturn's atmosphere at cloud level; (6) study the time variability of Titan's clouds and hazes; and, (7) characterize Titan's surface on a regional scale.

The Cassini/Huygens probe was launched on 15 October 1997. Unable to be launched directly to Saturn with propulsion systems available at the time, Cassini took a roundabout route to reach the ringed planet, referred to as a VVEJGA (Venus-Venus-Earth-Jupiter Gravity Assist) trajectory. Cassini made two flybys of Venus (April 1998 and June 1999), one of the Earth (August 1999), and one of Jupiter (December 2000). Various observations were made at each of these encounters in order to verify instrument and spacecraft systems as well as to perform calibration observations. At Jupiter, numerous simultaneous observations were made using Cassini, Galileo, and the Hubble Space Telescope, among other missions.

On 1 July 2004 UTC, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft fired its main engine to reduce its speed, allowing the spacecraft to be captured by Saturn's gravity and enter orbit. The spacecraft then started a four-year mission to explore the ringed planet, its mysterious moons, the stunning rings and its complex magnetic environment.

The first two orbits around Saturn set up the necessary trajectory for deployment of the Huygens probe on the third orbit. The maneuver placed the paired spacecraft on an intersect course with Titan and the probe was released on 25 December 2004. The two spacecraft separated with a relative velocity of 0.3-0.4 m/s but remained in the same orbit for about three weeks. Cassini then executed a deflection maneuver to enable it to fly by Titan at an altitude of 60,000 km, positioning it to receive transmissions from Huygens as it entered Titan's atmosphere, some 2.1 hours prior to Cassini's closest approach. Huygens landed on Titan on 14 January 2005.

During the Saturn Tour, Cassini was initially planned to complete 74 orbits of the ringed planet, 44 close flybys of the hazy moon Titan, and numerous flybys of Saturn's other icy moons. Cassini completed its initial four-year mission to explore the Saturn system in June 2008 and the first extended mission, called the Cassini Equinox Mission, in September 2010. The healthy spacecraft is continuing to make exciting new discoveries in a second extended mission called the Cassini Solstice Mission. That extension, which went through September 2017, was named for the Saturnian summer solstice occurring in May 2017. The northern summer solstice marks the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere and winter in the southern hemisphere. Since Cassini arrived at Saturn just after the planet's northern winter solstice, the extension allowed for the first study of a complete seasonal period.

Due to depleted fuel reserves that would prevent the probe from being maneuvered to avoid a collision with one of Saturn's natural satellites, Cassini's mission was terminated on 15 September 2017: At approximately 10:32 UT, the spacecraft entered Saturn's atmosphere at 69,368 mph (111,637 kph), ending its 294th orbit.

See also NASA's Cassini Orbiter page and NASA's Huygens page in the NSSDC Master Catalog.
ref: saturn.jpl.nasa.gov

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