Jul 20 1992
From The Space Library
NASA announced that the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) had resumed full science operations following the resolution of problems with the satellite's solar array drive. Flight controllers had turned off the satellite's instruments June 2 after observing that the solar array drive was not operating smoothly and that the solar array itself was not properly tracking the Sun. UARS was launched September 12, 1991, by the Space Shuttle Discovery. It was designed to study the chemistry, dynamics, and energetics of the Earth's upper atmosphere, focusing particularly on ozone depletion. UARS was the first major satellite element of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. (NASA Release 92-117)
A V-22 Osprey "tiltrotor" aircraft carrying seven people crashed into the Potomac River at the Quantico Marine Corps Air Station in northern Virginia, killing all seven passengers. The crash involved the fourth of five prototype Ospreys built by the military since 1989. The craft was on its maid-en flight from Florida when the crash occurred. (W Post, Jul 21/92; NY Times, Jul 21/92; The Sun, Jul 22/92)
The seven astronauts who returned to Earth July 9 after spending 14 days on the Shuttle Columbia said that getting used to Earth again had been similar to adjusting after shorter flights. They also said that preliminary results indicated their experiments had been successful. The crew grew protein crystals for use in medical research, studied fire safety in space by lighting candles and igniting wiring insulation and polyurethane foam, jiggled drops of liquid with sound waves to see how fluids behave in space, and tested a new miniature space greenhouse. (AP, Jul 10/92, Jul 21/92)
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