Jun 28 1991
From The Space Library
NASA announced that its Galileo spacecraft would turn and fire its on-hoard thrusters on July 2 to set its course for an encounter with the asteroid Gaspra in October 1991. This would be the first flyby of an asteroid. (NASA Release 91-99)
James Head of Brown University, a geologist on Magellan's NASA science team, announced that the Magellan spacecraft that was mapping the surface of Venus with imaging radar, had discovered a lava flow that might represent a volcanic eruption similar to those currently occurring in Japan and the Philippines. (NASA Release 91-100)
The Washington Post quoted John Knauss, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service, as saying that "We can no longer assume that a NASA-built satellite will serve our needs." The statement referred to NASA's plans to launch GOES-NEXT, the next generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites. NASA tests indicated that two of the main instruments to be used on the satellites, an imager and a temperature-humidity sensor called a sounder, were defective. UPI indicated that Knauss announced the appointment of a task force to consider alternative courses of action regarding a weather satellite, such as leasing a Japanese or European satellite. (W Post, Jun 28/91; UPI, Jun 28/91; NY Times, Jun 29/91; Time, Jul 1/91)
NASA announced that astronaut Bryan D. O'Connor would leave NASA July 29 to become Commander of the Marine Air Detachment at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland. (NASA Release 91-101; UPI, Jun 28/91)
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