Space History for August 11

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1578
Died, Pedro Nunes [Nonius], Portuguese mathematician, astronomer
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1912
Born, Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs, astronomer (variable stars)
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1915
M. Wolf discovered asteroid #809 Lundia.

1928
K. Reinmuth discovered asteroid #1097 Vicia.

1953
K. Reinmuth discovered asteroid #2097.

1960
The Discoverer 13 re-entry capsule was retrieved and became the first successful recovery of a spacecraft from Earth orbit.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1962 08:24:00 GMT
USSR launched Vostok 3 carrying Andriyan Nikolayev, the third Soviet cosmonaut to orbit Earth.

Vostok 3 (call sign Sokol/Falcon), the third spacecraft in the USSR's manned flight series, was launched 11 August 1962, piloted by cosmonaut Andriyan G. Nikolayev. The spacecraft consisted of a nearly spherical cabin covered with ablative material. There were three small portholes and external radio antennas. Radios, a life support system, instrumentation, and an ejection seat were contained in the manned cabin, which was attached to a service module that carried chemical batteries, orientation rockets, the main retro system, and added support equipment for the total system. The service module was separated from the manned cabin on reentry. The flight lasted approximately 94 hours, during which 64 orbits were completed. The spacecraft flew in an orbit close to Vostok 4 for 70 hr 28 min. As with the other Vostoks, cabin TV photography was obtained. A series of scientific and biomedical experiments was performed during the flight. The spacecraft landed on 15 August in the Karaganda region at 48:02 N 75:45 E. Vostok 3 and 4 landed successfully six minutes apart a short distance from each other.

Vostok 3 was a joint flight with Vostok 4, the first such flight, where Vostok capsules were launched one day apart, coming within a few kilometers of each other at the orbital insertion of the second spacecraft. The flight was supposed to occur in March, but following various delays, one of the two Vostok pads was damaged in the explosion of the booster of the third Zenit-2 reconnsat in May. Repairs were not completed until August. Vostok 3 studied man's ability to function under conditions of weightlessness; conducted scientific observations; furthered improvement of space ship systems, communications, guidance and landing. Immediately at orbital insertion of Vostok 4, the spacecraft were less than 5 km apart. Popovich (in Vostok 4) made radio contact with cosmonaut Nikolayev, who reported shortly thereafter that he had sighted Vostok 4. Since Vostok had no maneuvering capability, they could not rendezvous or dock, and quickly drifted apart. The launches gave the launch and ground control crews practice in launching and handling more than one manned spacecraft at a time. Nikolayev took color motion pictures of the Earth and the cabin interior.

Nikolayev later married Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, under pressure from Primier Nikita Kruschev.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1969
L. Chernykh discovered asteroids #1832 Mrkos, #1833 Shmakova and #1975 Pikelner.

1969
USSR Zond 7 flew past the Moon at a distance of 1984.6 km (1233.2 mi) and conducted two picture taking sessions.

Zond 7 was launched 7 August 1969 towards the Moon from a mother spacecraft (69-067B) on a mission of further studies of the Moon and circulmunar space, to obtain color photography of the Earth and the Moon from varying distances, and to flight test the spacecraft systems. It was the only completely successful L1 flight that could have returned cosmonauts alive or uninjured to Earth. Earth photos were obtained on 9 August 1969. On 11 August 1969, the spacecraft flew past the Moon at a distance of 1984.6 km and conducted two picture taking sessions. Zond 7 successfully accomplished a double-dip re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere on 14 August 1969, and achieved a soft landing 50 km from its aim point south of Kustani in the USSR.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1978
Hans-Emil Schuster discovered asteroid # 3266 Bernardus.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1978 20:43:00 EDT (GMT -4:00:00)
The Double Eagle II, piloted by Ben Abruzzo, Maxie Anderson, and Larry Newman, took off from Presque Isle, Maine on what would become the first successful balloon crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1989
NASA's Voyager 2 discovered two partial rings of Neptune.

One of two ring arcs just outside the orbit of the Neptunian moon 1989N4, NASA Voyager 2 photo
ref: www.upi.com

1991 08:23:25 EDT (GMT -4:00:00)
NASA's STS 43 (Atlantis 9, 42nd Shuttle Mission) ended after carrying TDRS-E to orbit, and flying the SSBUV and SHARE-II experiments.

The launch of STS 43 was originally set for 23 July 1991, but was moved to 24 July to allow time to replace a faulty integrated electronics assembly that controls orbiter/external tank separation. The mission was postponed again about five hours before liftoff on 24 July due to a faulty main engine controller on engine number three. The controller was replaced and retested, and the launch reset for 1 August. The liftoff set for 11:01 AM EDT was delayed due to a cabin pressure vent valve reading, and postponed at 12:28 PM EDT due to unacceptable return-to-launch site weather conditions. The launch was then reset for 2 August, when STS 43 was finally launched.

The STS 43 primary payload, Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-5 (TDRS-5), attached to an Inertial Upper Stage (IUS), was deployed about six hours into flight, and the IUS propelled the satellite into geosynchronous orbit; TDRS-5 became the fourth member of the orbiting TDRS cluster. The secondary payloads were: the Space Station Heat Pipe Advanced Radiator Element II (SHARE II); the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultra-Violet (SSBUV) instrument; the Tank Pressure Control Equipment (TPCE); and Optical Communications Through Windows (OCTW). Other experiments included the Auroral Photography Experiment (APE-B); Protein Crystal Growth III (PCG III); Bioserve/Instrumentation Technology Associates Materials Dispersion Apparatus (BIMDA); Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP); Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS); Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE); Ultraviolet Plume Instrument (UVPI); and the Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) experiment.

STS 43 ended on 11 August 1991 when Atlantis landed on revolution 142 on Runway 15, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, the first landing scheduled at KSC since STS 61-C in January 1986 (which was diverted to Edwards). Rollout distance: 9,890 feet. Rollout time: 59 seconds. Launch weight: 259,374 pounds. Landing weight: 196,088 pounds. Orbit altitude: 174 nautical miles. Orbit inclination: 28.45 degrees. Mission duration: eight days, 21 hours, 21 minutes, 25 seconds. Miles Traveled: 3.7 million.

The flight crew for STS 43 was: John E. Blaha, Commander; Michael A. Baker, Pilot; Shannon W. Lucid, Mission Specialist 1; James C. Adamson, Mission Specialist 2; G. David Low, Mission Specialist 3.
ref: www.nasa.gov

1999
A total eclipse was visible over Central Europe and Asia - from Northern France to India. (2m 23s maximum duration)
ref: eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov

2008
Died (pulmonary disease), John Sumter Bull PhD, astronaut candidate (NASA Group 5 - 1966), managed NASA research programs in autonomous systems technology for space applications
ref: en.wikipedia.org

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