Oct 27 1998
From The Space Library
The third and final Progress cargo spacecraft of the year, Progress M-40, arrived at Mir, docking smoothly and delivering food, water, fuel, a giant space mirror, and other scientific equipment. NASA had delayed the cargo craft's launch several times since its originally scheduled launch date in August 1998.
Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that they had placed GOES-8, the weather satellite responsible for monitoring the East Coast, in a "safe hold shutdown," after it had developed problems with its attitude sensors. GOES-10 was then required to watch the entire country, although it could provide images only every 30 minutes, instead of every 15 minutes, as it did when each of the two satellites was able to monitor half of the United States. NASA officials were especially concerned about monitoring East Coast weather, because of worry that winds from Hurricane Mitch, located over the coast of Central America, could interfere with the upcoming launch of the Space Shuttle carrying veteran astronaut, U.S. Senator John H. Glenn Jr.
NASA's Ames Research Center awarded a five-year, US$99.3 million contract to Sverdrup Technology Inc. of Tullahoma, Tennessee, to provide testing and facility operation, including wind tunnels and arc jet testing.
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