Mar 15 1988
From The Space Library
A report released by an international panel of over 100 scientists assembled by NASA showed that the depletion of the Earth's ozone layer over the Northern Hemisphere had creased at a much faster rate than previously believed. The report, prepared over 17 months, provided definitive evidence showing that the ozone layer, which shields life on Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation, had been depleted by an average of about 2.3 percent, since 1969 over most of the United States, and by as much as 5 percent over the South Pole. The observed ozone loss was at least twice as large as scientists had predicted and was attributed primarily to the continued release of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
The NASA study group reexamined years of ground-based and satellite observations of the atmosphere in order to remove the normal biennial fluctuations of many atmospheric characteristics and the effects of the 11-year solar cycle. The ground-based observations were limited to mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere because there were few stations elsewhere in the world. This was the first effort by scientists to separate the effects of solar and biennial fluctuations from the monthly data at different latitudes. The release of the study results followed ratification by the U.S. Congress of the Montreal Protocol, an agreement endorsed by 46 countries, which calls for a 50 percent reduction in emissions of CFCs by the end of the century. (UPI, Mar 15/88; NY Times, Mar 16/88; W Post, Mar 16/88; W Times, Mar 16/88; USA Today, Mar 16/88; WSJ, Mar 16/88; CSM, Mar 16/88; B Sun, Mar 16/88; P Inq, Mar 16/88; C Trib, Mar 16/88; LA Times, Mar 21/88)
NASA issued an updated fleet manifest reflecting current planning for primary payloads for Space Shuttle missions and expendable launch vehicles through fiscal year 1993. Two interplanetary missions were planned for launch in 1989: Magellan, a mission to map Venus; and Galileo, a cooperative project with Germany to survey Jupiter and its moons. The Hubble Space Telescope also maintained the flight assignment date of June 1989. Astro-l, a Spacelab mission designed to study the universe m the ultraviolet spectrum was being reconfigured to enhance the study of Supernova 1987a and was slated to fly on STS-35 M November 1989. Two additional Spacelab missions were assigned flights for September 1990-a Spacelab Life Sciences mission m March and the first Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-1) mission. The Gamma Ray Observatory was moved forward in the projected schedule for a March 1990 launch, and the Ulysses mission to study the Sun and its environment remained at the projected October 1990 launch date.
Another important addition to the manifest was a mission to retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) in July 1989. The manifest was also designed to support the commercial space initiative included in the National Space Policy. In addition to the Shuttle launches, 35 launch vehicle launches were planned through fiscal year 1993. (Payload Flight Assignments NASA Mixed Fleet, Mar/88; NASA Release 88-38)
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