Apr 8 1997
From The Space Library
Satellite-based monitoring instruments, owned by NASA and used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), documented startlingly low levels of ozone over the Arctic North Pole. The measurements indicated ozone levels of nearly 40 percent below the levels found in 1979 and 1982. Scientists attributed the low ozone levels to a series of unusual meteorological conditions, although they did not yet know the principal causes of the change.
Shuttle Columbia landed safely at KSC in Cape Canaveral, Florida, less than three days after its liftoff. The mission, planned for 16 days, ended early, and the Shuttle completed the return flight without incident. Columbia weighed more than 236,000 pounds (107,000 kilograms) at landing, the heaviest Shuttle ever to land, because of its load of unused supplies for experiments. Almost immediately after the safe landing, NASA officials began to consider repeating the flight as soon as possible, to allow the Shuttle crew to accomplish its original objectives and to avoid the substantial cost of launching an entirely new mission.
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