Sep 7 1991
From The Space Library
Extensive media coverage preceded the scheduled launching of Space Shuttle Discovery on September 12. The countdown was planned to begin on September 9, but the discovery of a leak in the orbital steering system might delay the mission. The flight was to be the first in NASA's Mission to Planet Earth program and was to place into orbit the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). The UARS was to carry 10 scientific instruments, of which four would study the ozone layer. (AP, Sep 7/91; AP, Sep 8/91; W Post, Sep 8/91; NY Times, Sep 8/91; P Inq, Sep 9/91; W Post, Sep 9/91; W Times, Sep 9/91; USA Today, Sep 9/91; C Trin, Sep 9/91; B Sun, Sep 10/91; NY Ts, Sep 10/91; P Inq, Sep 10/91; W Times, Sep 10/91; LA Times, Sep 10/91; AP, Sep 10/91; UPI, Sep 10/91)
The media reported the concern of Soviet cosmonauts aboard the Mir Space Station that the station and the space program in general might he sold because of Russia's economic plight. The role of the new Soviet republics with regard to space was also undetermined. Subsequently, Yuri Semenov, general designer of the Energia team that managed Mir, said according to Tass, that the Space Station would remain the property of his collective. (NY Times, Sep 7/91; AP, Sep 7/91; P Inq, Sep 8/91; B Sun, Sep 8/91; AP, Sep 12/91; NY Times, Sep 13/91)
UPI quoted the publication Aviation Week and Space Technology as saying that a huge Soviet SL-16 Zenit rocket carrying a spy satellite exploded shortly after launch on August 30. (UPI, Sep 7/91)
A local newspaper described the flight of the ER-2 (Earth Resources) giant high-flying spy plane that flew over the San Joaquin-Sacramento Valley. In 4 1/2 hours, the plane of the NASA-Ames Research Center captured more than seven million acres on film. The photographs were to be a resource for the best use of water supplies in California. (Bakersfield Californian, Sep 7/91)
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