Jun 27 1991
From The Space Library
NASA announced that the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) had discovered a new, distant object that astronomers described as the most luminous object ever seen in the universe. Findings were published in the British science journal Nature, indicating it was a massive dust cloud that radiated 99 percent of its light in the infrared part of the spectrum. Astronomers speculated it might be a massive galaxy in the process of formation or a quasar in a massive galaxy. (NASA Release 91-98; P Inq, Jun 29/91)
NASA announced information about the flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis scheduled for launch July 23 from Kennedy Space Center. The Shuttle was to deploy NASA's fourth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) into orbit to update the satellite tracking network. Details of the TDRS, its size, capacities, and capabilities, were provided. (NASA Release 91-97)
The media reported that a private study by American scientists concluded that an international manned mission to Mars could be done within 21 years for less than $60 billion. These figures represented faster and cheaper estimates than those of a proposed United States-only project. (USA Today, Jun 27/91; UPI, Jun 27/91; AP, Jun 27/91; H Post, Jun 30/91)
In a letter to the editor, Lennard A. Fisk, Associate Administrator of NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications, and John N. Bahcall, professor of natural science at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, declared that "There is strong national support for both a vigorous manned space program and a strong science program." Believing that both were essential, they pointed out that to maintain its space leadership position, the United States must continue such programs as the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysical Facility, missions to a comet and to Saturn, and the Earth Observing System. (W Post, Jun 27/91)
UPI reported that General Dynamics concluded from its investigation that a piece of debris sucked into a pump apparently triggered an engine failure April 18 that sent a commercial Atlas-1 rocket tumbling out of control. The rocket was carrying a satellite for the Japan Broadcasting Corporation. (UPI, Jun 27/91)
According to UPI, a jammed antenna crippling NASA's $1.4 billion Galileo Jupiter probe might pop free after its support structure contracts in the cold of space. (UPI, Jun 27/91)
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