Mar 9 1994
From The Space Library
NASA announced the scheduled delivery on March 24 of a Boeing 757-200 aircraft to serve as a "flying laboratory" for aeronautical research. The research was intended to benefit the U.S. aviation industry and commercial airline customers. (NASA Release 94-39)
NASA announced that Space Shuttle Endeavour was to be launched in April to study Earth's global environment. The Space Radar Laboratory was to consist of the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar and the Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellite. Of these instruments, the German Space Agency (DARA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI) were to provide the X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar. An international team of 49 science investigators from 13 nations were to conduct the experiments. In addition, the mission was to include NASA's Get Away Special experiments that allow average persons a chance to perform experiments in space; it was also to be the first cooperative initiative with the National Institutes of Health using a special cell culture system. (NASA Release 94-38)
An Air Force Delta 2 rocket blasted into orbit carrying the final advanced satellite in the U.S. military's Global Positioning System, NAVSTAR. Delta 2 also carried NASA's experiment to test a space tether 12.5 miles long to determine how long it survived in orbit among space junk. The tether could ultimately be used for various purposes such as generating electricity or changing spacecraft altitudes. (Reuters, Mar 9/94; UP, Mar 9/94; AP, Mar 10/94; NY Times, Mar 11/94; NY Times, Mar 15/94)
As the astronauts aboard Space Shuttle Columbia neared and passed the halfway point of their mission, they continued medical and metal research experiments, growth studies with protein crystals, and physical exercises. Lettuce and other seeds flown on Columbia were to be planted after the shuttle returned and then tested. Apart from the desire for a hot shower, the astronauts had no complaints and hoped they might break the U.S. record of time in space flight. The study of spacecraft glow on March 12 experienced difficulty when the ultraviolet light detector malfunctioned. On March 14, the astronauts began tests of a robot arm targeting system. On March 17, the astronauts started packing up experiments in preparation for landing the following day.
Columbia landed uneventfully on March 18, having completed 223 orbits over 5.8 million miles. (Reuters, Mar 9/94; UP, Mar 10/94; AP, Mar 10/94; Reuters, Mar 10/94; Reuters, Mar 11/94; AP, Mar 11/94; UP, Mar 11/94; B Sun, Mar 12/94; W Post, Mar 12/94; NY Times, Mar 12/94; Reuters, Mar 12/94; W Times, Mar 12/94; LA Times, Mar 13/94; B Sun, Mar 13/94; Reuters, Mar 13/94; UP, Mar 13/94; B Sun, Mar 14/94; P Inq, Mar 14/94; USA Today, Mar 14/94; AP, Mar 14/94; UP, Mar 14/94; AP, Mar 15/94; Reuters, Mar 15/94; UP, Mar 15/94; W Post, Mar 16/94; AP, Mar 16/94; C Trib, Mar 16/94; USA Today, Mar 17/94; W Times, Mar 17/94; AP, Mar 17/94; UP, Mar 17/94; Reuters, Mar 17/94; UP, Mar 18/94; AP, Mar 18/94; Reuters, Mar 18/94; B Sun, Mar 19/94; NY Times, Mar 19/94; W Times, Mar 19/94; W Post, Mar 19/94; USA Today, Mar 21/94)
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