August 1983
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(New page: NASA said that it would cease in September to operate Nimbus 6, launched June 12, 1975, for tracking balloons floating around the Earth to gather data on winds in the tropical and mid-...)
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NASA said that it would cease in September to operate Nimbus 6, launched June 12, 1975, for tracking balloons floating around the Earth to gather data on winds in the tropical and mid-latitudes. This system was the forerunner in one-way platform-to-satellite data collection that had provided worldwide ocean temperatures from buoys, tracked animal migration on land and sea, and kept in contact with numerous adventures, such as the crew of the Eagle I balloon rescued after it crashed in the Atlantic and a Japanese who crossed the North Pole by dogsled from Canada.
Nimbus 6 had lost attitude-control capability in October 1982 when two momentum wheels failed with an accompanying severe power reduction. It would remain in polar orbit at 600 miles altitude, reentering the atmosphere some time after the year 2500, NASA said. (NASA Release 83-126)
Tass reported that the cosmonauts on the Salyut 7-Soyuz T-9-Cosmo 1443 complex were working on a "new and unusual mission" to determine the ways in which man affects Earth's environment. The Soviet Union had established about 10 biospheres in its territory, and space photography would allow experts to assess the state of the flora and fauna there. The Soviets were emphasizing environmental issues, as provided in the USSR constitution, and space surveys were helping to detect sources of environmental pollution and mapping ways to improve land reclamation or bring water to desert areas.
The crew had loaded Cosmos 1443 with half a ton of excess material for the return to Earth, including photographic films and some instruments (including a nonworking air regenerator and a defunct memory unit of the autonomous navigation system) that would be examined for effects of space. Cosmos 1443 undocked August 14 at 6:04 p.m. Moscow time and soft-landed August 23 with 350 kilograms of cargo. Another cargo ship, Progress 17, was launched August 17 at 4:08 p.m. Moscow time and docked August 19 at 5:47 p.m. Moscow time. (FBIS, Tass in English, Aug 1-23/83)
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