Jun 2 1993
From The Space Library
USA Today reported that the world's average temperature rose about one degree during the past year. Scientists writing in the National Geographic Society's Research & Exploration continued to disagree on the cause and effect of the temperature rise. (USA Today, June 2/93)
Writing in the Baltimore Sun, Gwynne Dyer, syndicated columnist, described the plan for "terraforming" Mars held by a group of scientists loosely called "The Mars Underground." One of the leaders of the group was Christopher McKay of NASA's Ames Research Center in California.
The group had worked out a plan, based on currently available or at least easily imaginable technology, for turning Mars into a second Earth over a period of 280 years. Dyer concluded her discussion by noting that unless we take more care of our own earthly environment, we might well have to use some of the technology envisioned for Mars to maintain our own planet. (B Sun, June 2/93)
NASA announced that the material that keeps the Space Shuttle from burning up when it returns from space may help treat medical problems on Earth. Researchers from NASA's Ames Research Center in California were working with physicians in San Antonio to determine whether the Space Shuttle's ceramic surface insulation materials could be used in bone trans-plants. (NASA Release 93-102)
NASA announced that a new camera to fix the Hubble Space Telescope's blurry vision had been shipped from Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, where it was built, for testing at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. It was scheduled to be sent into orbit later in the year. (AP, June 2/93)
NASA said that the launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour would he delayed for at least two weeks because the Shuttle's engine maker, Rocketdyne, had failed to correctly document whether one of the engine's parts was reliable. In a review of Rocketdyne's operation, NASA discovered many problems with how the company documented its work. In one case earlier in the year, a paperwork problem made it impossible for NASA to determine whether a Shuttle's engines contained proper seal retainers or older, phased-out models.
In addition, the review found cases where the general engineering drawings and instructions to Rocketdyne's assemblers were not as specific as they should have been. The situation led to "several hundred" discrepancies between engineering drawings and employees' workshop manuals. A company spokesperson said that some workshop manuals were being rewritten to eliminate discrepancies and ambiguities. (0 Sen Star, June 2/93; LA Times, June 3/93)
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