Dec 20 1994
From The Space Library
A feature article described some of the findings of spacecraft Ulysses, which used Jupiter's gravity to enter an orbit perpendicular to those of the planets and for the preceding four months had been studying the Sun's polar regions.
These were hitherto unexplored areas, and Ulysses mapped the Sun's magnetic field and its cosmic rays, providing a wealth of data about solar dynamics. Ulysses was launched from a Space Shuttle in October 1990. (NY Tames, Dec 20/94)
NASA spokesperson George Diller said that as a result of an engine leak discovered in California, NASA had decided to check the welds on all engine nozzles of Space Shuttle Discovery. This fact, combined with the decision to replace one of Discovery's auxiliary power units, might result in a delay of the scheduled February 2, 1995 launch of Discovery. (0 Sen Star, Dec 20/94)
NASA announced the highlights of its 1994 activities and provided a chronology of major space events. Of particular note were the flight of a Russian cosmonaut aboard a U.S. spacecraft for the first time and a spectacular cosmic collision that occurred on Jupiter. However, it was the work of the refurbished Hubble Space Telescope that dominated NASA news in 1994. Among Hubble results were the following: evidence of a massive black hole in the center of a galaxy 50 million light-years away, supporting Einstein’s theory of relativity; observations of huge pancake-shaped disks of dust, raw material for planet formation, swirling around half the stars in the Orion Nebula; confirmation of a critical prediction of the Big Bang theory that helium should be widespread in the early universe; and significant progress in determining the age of the universe-between 8 and 12 billion years-and its size. (NASA Release 94-216; UPI, Dec 22/94)
NASA unveiled its new Mission Control Center in Houston with a flight simulation that pretended to rendezvous a Space Shuttle with a satellite. The demonstration went well and provided an opportunity to identify additional equipment needed, such as more display facility. The new center should be directing the Shuttle in orbit by the summer of 1995. (Federal Computer Week, Dec 20/94; H Post, Dec 21/94)
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