Space History for October 28

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1704
Died, John Locke, English empiricist philosopher
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1831
English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday demonstrated the first electric dynamo by revolving a disk between the poles of a magnet: With one end of a wire pressed against the circumference, the other on the axis, a continuous current was produced.
ref: books.google.com

1854
J. Chacornac discovered asteroid #33 Polyhymnia.

1908
W. Lorenz discovered asteroid #674 Rachele.

1927
K. Reinmuth discovered asteroid #1082 Pirola.

1940
Born, Gennadi Mikhailovich Strekalov (at Mytishchi, Moscow Oblast, Russian SFSR), Soviet cosmonaut (Salyut 6, Soyuz T-8, Soyuz T-10-1, Salyut 7/3, Mir 7, 18; over 268d 22.25h total in spaceflight) (deceased), survived 1st manned launch pad abort (T-10-1)

Cosmonaut Gennady Strekalov, NASA photo (June 1994)
Source: Wikipedia
ref: www.spacefacts.de

1946
German rocket engineers began working in the USSR.
ref: weebau.com

1949
The Secretary of the Army OK'd transfer of the Ordnance Research and Development Division, Rocket Sub-Office at Fort Bliss, Texas, to Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama. The transfer included Dr. Wernher von Braun and his team of German scientists.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1954
Goethe Link Observatory discovered asteroids #2322 Kitt Peak and #3572.

1955
Born, William H. Gates III, billionaire CEO (Microsoft)
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1960 17:43:00 GMT
NASA and the USAF launched X-15A Stability/Control Test mission # 24 in which John McKay attained a maximum speed of 1332 mph (2145 kph, Mach 2.02) and reached a maximum altitude of 50,700 ft (15.453 km, 9.602 mi).
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1962
Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev announced that he had ordered the removal of Soviet missile bases in Cuba, ending the Cuban Missle Crisis.

The Cuban Missile Crisis, which lasted from 15 October through 28 October 1962, was a stand-off between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba, putting the entire world under threat of a nuclear war. It started after a US U-2 spy plane had observed Soviet missles in Cuba on 14 October, and ended when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announced the missles were being removed, on 28 October.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1966 12:00:00 GMT
The US Air Force launched OV3-2 from Vandenberg, California, on a Scout booster, for studies of the ionosphere and trapped radiation.

OV3-2, launched 28 October 1966, was a small spin stabilized solar cell powered satellite instrumented for direct studies of the ionosphere and trapped radiation. The spacecraft was an octagonal cylinder 74 cm long and 74 cm across the points. It was powered by n-p solar cells, located on the octagon panels, and nickel cadmium batteries. PAM/FM/FM telemetry and a turnstile antenna were employed. The spacecraft systems included a command receiver, tape recorder, and sun sensors and magnetometers for aspect measurements. The spacecraft was built by Space General Corp. for the AFCRL.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1968 17:51:00 GMT
USSR Soyuz 2 landed after an unsuccessful flight as an unmanned docking target for Soyuz 3.

USSR launched Soyuz 2 on 25 October 1968 as an unmanned docking target for Soyuz 3, officially for "complex testing of spaceship systems in conditions of space flight." The launch took place on schedule at noon local time, in 0 deg C temperatures and 5 m/s (30 mph) winds. Docking with Soyuz 3 proved to be a failure. Soyuz 2 was recovered 28 October 1968 after landing 5 km from its aim point.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1971 04:09:00 GMT
With the launch of Prospero 1 on a Black Arrow booster, Great Britain became sixth spacefaring nation, with its own satellite in orbit carried by its own launch vehicle, sent to test in space equipment and measure the incidence of micrometeoroids.

Prospero was a British scientific satellite launched 28 October 1971 from Woomera, Australia, aboard a Black Arrow rocket. It was used to test equipment for future satellites, and to conduct a scientific experiment to measure the incidence of micrometeoroids. It had an external shape similar to a pumpkin, with an equatorial diameter of 1.2 m and a height of 0.7 m. Its anticipated life was 100 years. This launch made the United Kingdom the sixth nation to put a satellite into orbit on its own rocket.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1973
F. Borngen and K. Kirsch discovered asteroid #3338 Richter.

1974 10:19:00 GMT
USSR launched the Meteor 1-19 weather satellite from Plesetsk to acquire meteorological information needed for use by the weather service.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1974 14:30:32 GMT
USSR launched Luna 23 toward the Moon where it was damaged during landing, precluding return of Lunar samples to Earth.

Luna 23 was a Moon lander mission which was intended to return a Lunar sample to Earth. Launched to the Moon by a Proton SL-12/D-1-e booster on 28 October 1974, the spacecraft was damaged during landing in Mare Crisium (Sea of Crises) on 6 November 1974 at ~12 deg N ~62 deg E. The sample collecting apparatus could not operate and no samples were returned. The lander continued transmissions for 3 days after landing. In 1976, Luna 24 landed several hundred meters away and successfully returned samples.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1976
L. Zhuravleva discovered asteroid #2188 Orlenok.

1977 01:37:00 GMT
USSR launched Molniya 3-8 from Plesetsk to operate the long range telephone and telegraph radio communication system in the USSR, and transmit USSR central television programs to stations in the Orbita and cooperating international networks.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1977 04:52:00 GMT
NASA launched the Transit-O 11 satellite for the US Navy from Vandenberg AFB on a Scout D rocket. Transit was also known as the Navy Navigation Satellite (NNS) system, and one of the first operational satellite systems.

Transit-O 11 was a 94 kg US Navy navigation satellite launched from Vandenberg AFB, California, USA on 28 October 1977 at 0452 UTC by a Scout D rocket into a 1064x1109 km orbit inclined 89.9 degrees with a period of 107 minutes. Transit, one of the first operational satellite systems, was also known as the Navy Navigation Satellite (NNS).

The Transit spacecraft were developed for updating the inertial navigation systems on board US Navy Polaris submarines, and later for civilian use. Transit receivers used the known characteristics of the satellite's orbit, measured the Doppler shift of the satellite's radio signal, and thereby calculated the receivers position on the earth. As a single spacecraft travelled overhead, the user measured the Doppler shift over a 15 minute period by receiving timing marks and satellite orbital information on two separate frequencies, 149.99 and 399.97 MHz. These signals were corrected for ionospheric refraction and the information was then fed into the users navigation system.

Individual Transit satellites operated for over 10 years. Technical breakthroughs during the program included gravity gradient stabilization, the use of radio-isotope thermoelectic generators (RTG), and navigation satellite technologies later used in the GPS system. Transit was superseded by the Navstar global positioning system. The use of the satellites for navigation was discontinued at the end of 1996 but the satellites continued transmitting and became the Navy Ionospheric Monitoring System (NIMS).
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1977 15:50:00 GMT
USSR launched Cosmos 962 from Plesetsk on a "Cosmos" rocket (a modified SS-5 (SKean IRBM) with an upper stage), part of a 6-satellite Soviet military navigation system.

Cosmos 962 was part of a 6-satellite Soviet military navigation system distributed in orbital planes spaced 30 degrees apart. It was launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome aboard a Cosmos rocket on 28 October 1977 at 1550 UTC, placed into a 983x1022 km orbit inclined 83 degrees with respect to the equator, with an orbital period of 104.90 minutes.

Navigation information was derived from Doppler-shifted VHF transmissions (approximately 150 and 400 MHz) of the satellite position and orbital data. By acquiring fixes from several satellite, a user's location could be calculated with an accuracy of 100 m. The time needed to ascertain a position was dependent upon the user's latitude and the number of operational spacecraft in orbit. Normally, accurate location determination could be made within 1-2 hours.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1978
H. L. Giclas discovered asteroids #2415 and #3487; Purple Mountain Observatory discovered asteroids #2209 Tianjin, #3476 and #3509.

1982 01:28:00 GMT
NASA launched RCA-SATCOM 5 (RCA-E) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a Delta 3000 series, which was positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 143 deg W 1982-1991; 105 deg W from 1992.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1983 09:07:00 GMT
USSR launched the Meteor 2-10 weather satellite from Plestesk to gather meteorological information and data on penetrating radiation fluxes in circumterrestrial space.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1985 17:16:00 GMT
USSR launched Molniya 1-66 from Plesetsk, replacing Molniya 1-56 in operation of the long range telephone and telegraph radio communications system in the USSR and transmission of USSR Central Television programs to stations in the Orbita network.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1987
S. Ueda and H. Kaneda discovered asteroid #3720.

1988 02:17:03 GMT
An Ariane 2 launched from Kourou carried France's TDF-1 direct broadcasting satellite into space, which was positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 19 deg W 1988.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1991
Died, Dudley McConnell, headed NASA's Earth Science Division
ref: www.nytimes.com

1992 00:15:00 GMT
An Ariane 42P launched from Kourou carried the Galaxy 7 communications satellite into space, which was positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 91 deg W.

An Ariane 42P launched from Kourou on 28 October 1992 carried the Galaxy 7 commercial communications satellite into space, which was positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 91 deg W in 1992-1999. As of 1 September 2001, it was at 32.55 deg E drifting 2.022 deg W per day.

Galaxy 7 failed on 22 November 2000, the third such satellite to fall victim to a design flaw in the on-board computers.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1993 15:17:00 GMT
USSR launched Gorizont 28 from Baikonur to replace Gorizont 21 at 90 degrees E in geosynchronous orbit, allowing Gorizont 21 to be repositioned for the inauguration of a new station at 145 degrees E.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1994
Japanese space probe Sakigake passed Earth for the third time.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

1998 22:16:00 GMT
An Ariane 44L launched from Kourou carried the WorldSpace Afristar and GE 5 commercial communications satellites into space, which were initially positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 21 deg E and 79 deg W, respectively.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

2003 02:14:00 GMT
Russia's Soyuz TMA-2 landed in Kazakhstan with three astronauts returning from the International Space Station.

Soyuz TMA-2 was a Russian passenger transport craft launched by a Soyuz-U rocket from Baikonur on 26 April 2003, carring two astronauts, US astronaut Edward Lu and Russian Yuri Malenchenko, for a six month stay at the International Space Station (ISS) to perform microgravity biology experiments. It docked with the ISS on 28 April 2003. The two man crew provided minimal manning for the station following the Columbia re-entry failure. The previous three man crew on the ISS left the station on 4 May 2003 in the earlier Soyuz TMA-1 that had remained docked since it arrived.

Russia's Soyuz TMA-2 landed 28 October 2003 with US astronaut Edward Lu, Russian Yuri Malenchenko and Spaniard Pedro Duque returning from the International Space Station (ISS), 35 kilometers south of Arkalyk. Crew recovery was delayed by a snowstorm in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, and by heavy fog grounding all of the rescue party's helicopters.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov

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