Jul 9 1998
From The Space Library
Heinrich K. Paetz, an original member of Wernher von Braun's German rocket team, died of natural causes at the age of 88, the second team member to die within the week. Before retiring from NASA in 1970, Paetz had participated in the Redstone, Jupiter, Saturn I, and Saturn V programs as a member of the test branch.
A month after its launch, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began activating the weather satellite, Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-10 (GOES-10), a backup to the failing GOES-9 satellite. The momentum wheels on GOES-9, similar to a gyroscope, which maintain the satellite's stability, were "showing signs of impending failure." GOES-9 was responsible for monitoring weather on the west coast of the United States. GOES-10, placed in storage mode above the center of the country, would need about 30 days, moving approximately 1° of longitude each day, to move to the west coast location. GOES-10's well-timed placement in storage mode would ensure data continuity, saving NOAA a 12- to 15-month wait for a time slot for launch, following the imminent failure of GOES-9.
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