Dec 2 1989
From The Space Library
The Solar Maximum (Solar Max) satellite tumbled out of orbit and reentered the Earth's atmosphere, spreading small amounts of debris over the Indian Ocean. The satellite had been launched in February 1980 to conduct gamma ray and ultraviolet observations of the Sun, the Earth's atmosphere, and deep space objects. In April 1984, Solar Max was retrieved by the Space Shuttle Challenger (Mission 41-C) for in-orbit repairs and redeployment. Solar Max's orbit had been deteriorating faster than expected over the past several months because of unusually high solar activity, which caused the Earth's atmosphere to expand and increase the amount of aerodynamic drag experienced by the satellite. (SSR 1980 014 A; AP, Dec 2/89; UPI, Dec 2/89; NY Times, Dec 3/89; W Post, Dec 3/89; P Inq, Dec 3/89; B Sun, Dec 3/8)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
