Jun 14 1991
From The Space Library
The press reported that NASA had staged a mock emergency landing in preparation for Columbia's touchdown at Edwards Air Force Base, California. (USA Today, Jun 14/91; AP, Jun 14/91)
NASA announced that its Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) was maneuvered to point at its first scientific target of opportunity, the sun, on June 7. Controllers at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, repositioned the observatory to gather data from two X-class solar flares. All four GRO instrument teams reported receiving good data on solar activity as a result. (NASA Release 91-91)
The media covered the flawless touchdown of Shuttle Columbia on June 14. The Shuttle apparently suffered no major damage. After a night's sleep, four of the astronauts remained to undergo a series of medical and physical tests of their readjustment to gravity. Tests also were to be performed on the animals that traveled on Columbia. (UPI, Jun 14/91; W Post, Jun 15/91; P Inq, Jun 15/91; AP, Jun 15/91; UPI, Jun 15/91; W Post, Jun 16/91)
NASA's next Shuttle mission is to be that of Atlantis, scheduled for launch in July to release a giant Tracking and Data Relay Satellite intended to link Shuttles and other low-orbiting spacecraft with the ground. Conrad Nagel, the NASA manager responsible for the launch preparation, raised the possibility that Atlantis might be launched earlier than July 25. (Fla Today, Jun 14/91; AP, Jun 15/91)
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