Apr 13 1991
From The Space Library
A $40 million communications satellite was launched by a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The satellite was owned by GTE Spacenet Corporation of McLean, Virginia. The satellite was scheduled to take over the work of the present Westar spacecraft in June and increase GTE's transponder capacity for relaying information. (AP, Apr 13/91; UPI, Apr 13/91; CSM, Apr 15/91)
The Los Angeles Air Force Base at El Segundo was omitted from the list of proposed base closings of the Department of Defense. The base houses the Air Force Space Systems Division, a 3,200-employee unit that oversees military contracts for procurement of space hardware. (LA Times, Apr 13/91)
The two astronauts on NASA's first Shuttle flight 10 years ago, John W. Young and Robert Crippen, returned to Cape Canaveral for an anniversary celebration. The 20,000 workers at Kennedy Space Center and their families were invited for the occasion. (AP, Apr 13/91; B Sun, Apr 14/91)
NASA engineers worried over data indicating that the critical 16-foot main antenna of Galileo, essential for the Jupiter probe, may have failed to unfold properly. Such a failure would limit the speed of transmitting data from Jupiter to Earth and reduce the number of photographs that could be sent. Galileo was unique among spacecraft launched to date in that it has a "dual spin" design with the antenna being located on the spinning section. Efforts were underway to see how the situation could be remedied. (LA Times, Apr 13/91; UPI, Apr 13/91; AP, Apr 13/91; UPI, Apr 15/91; NY Times, Apr 17/91; B Sun, Apr 18/91; W Times, Apr 18/91; USA Today, Apr 18/91)
An internal memorandum signed by four NASA officials as well as interviews with staff at the Reston, Virginia, facility indicated a strong opinion that moving the headquarters now would disrupt development of the $30 billion Space Station. At a recent meeting three-quarters of NASA staff were said to oppose a move. Despite this fact, NASA Assistant Administrator William B. Lenoir was said to have decided to recommend moving the head-quarters. (H Chron, Apr 13/91)
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