Jun 11 1980
From The Space Library
UPI reported that the 500-pound Magsat that gathered data indicating that Earth's magnetic poles would reverse in 1,200 years had fallen into the Norwegian Sea between Greenland and Norway at 3:30 a.m. EDT. NASA said that no debris survived the plunge. NORAD said earlier that the reentry occurred northwest of Spain but later moved the location north.
The Magsat program cost $19.7 million; project scientist Dr. Robert A. Langel said the findings predicting a magnetic reversal were only the first in a series expected as scientists from nine nations studied Magsat data. The magnetic-field reversal should have no bad effects, Langel said; reversals had occurred more than 130 times in Earth's history. Besides the United States, nations participating in the project were Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom. (UPI-045, June 11180; NASA Release 80-90)
DFRC announced that the HiMAT (highly maneuverable aircraft technology) plane would fly again in mid-June after four months of modifications, scheduled during the rainy season when flooding would prevent landing the plane on a dry lakebed. Modifications included airframe, flight-control and instrumentation systems, and data link. The 3,400-pound craft had reached speeds up to 595 mph at altitudes to 40,000 feet and a maximum load factor of 4.5 grams. (DFRC Release 80-8)
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
