Apr 1 1986
From The Space Library
A student photography experiment, "CAN DO," from the Charleston County School District, South Carolina, scheduled to fly on the Space Shuttle Columbia March 6 was rescheduled for April 5-24. The goal of the experiment was to observe Comet Halley from NASA's high-flying Kuiper Airborne Observatory aircraft, a converted C-141. The aircraft was scheduled for several high-altitude flights over New Zealand, a part of the southern hemisphere where the Comet would be most visible.
Students from other schools, both in the United States and abroad, were to participate in the program by photographing the Comet from the ground and comparing their pictures with those taken in flight. The pictures taken at ground level would assist professional astronomers because most large observatory telescopes are not designed to view large objects, and resolving the fine detail in Comet Halley's tail could be enhanced with the much wider overall view from a standard camera lens. (NASA Release 86-35)
A section of debris recovered from the Atlantic Ocean in March was found to be the part of the right booster rocket suspected as the cause of the Challenger accident. Although the piece was a section opposite the flame seen coming from a joint in the rocket, it contained part of the joint. Recovery of the section could both aid investigators and assist engineers in their redesign. (B Sun, Apr 2/86; W Post, Apr 2/86; NY Times, Apr 2/86)
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