Feb 29 1980
From The Space Library
MSFC said that a second full-duration test of the Shuttle main engine system February 28 was successful, and all objectives were met during the 555-second firing. For the first time, the three engines in the system were steered while being throttled back from 100% thrust, and the oxygen tank was allowed to run dry. (MSFC Release 80-27; NASA, Release 80-31)
NASA announced selection of General Electric and TRW Systems, Inc., to negotiate contracts for $500,000 six-month design studies of the gamma-ray observatory mission. One of the contractors would be chosen to build and operate the satellite under a follow-on contract after Congress approved the mission.
If approved, the observatory would carry five large gamma-ray instruments into space to observe gamma-ray sources and obtain fundamentally new information about stars, the galaxy, and the universe. It would be a Shuttle payload in the mid-1980s designed for retrieval after a two-year mission lifetime; GSFC would manage the project. (NASA Release 80-30)
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