Space History News - People and events in development of space travel

Space History for April 28

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1774
Born, Francis Baily, English astronomer, mathematician, described "Baily's Beads" during a solar eclipse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Baily

1846
Born, Johan Oskar Backlund (aka Oskar Andreevich Baklund), Swedish/Russian astronomer, specialized in celestial mechanics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Backlund

1900
Born, Jan Hendrik Oort, Dutch astronomer (hypothesized the "Oort Cloud", Bruce Medalist 1942)
https://phys-astro.sonoma.edu/brucemedalists/jan-oort

1903
M. Wolf discovered asteroid #509 Iolanda.

1906
Born, Bartholomeus J. "Bart" Bok, Dutch/American astronomer, married to American astronomer Priscilla Fairfield Bok with whom he studied and wrote about the Milky Way
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_Bok

1906
Born, Kurt Godel, mathematician

Kurt Godel (28 April 1906 - 14 January 1978) was a logician, mathematician, and philosopher of mathematics, originally born in Austria-Hungary, and finally a US citizen after World War II.

He was a deep logician whose most famous work was the incompleteness theorem stating that any self-consistent axiomatic system powerful enough to describe integer arithmetic will allow for propositions about integers that can neither be proven nor disproven from the axioms. He also produced celebrated work on the Continuum hypothesis, showing that it cannot be disproven from the accepted set theory axioms, assuming that those axioms are consistent. Godel made important contributions to proof theory; he clarified the connections between classical logic, intuitionistic logic and modal logic by defining translations between them.

Kurt Godel is arguably the greatest logician of the twentieth century and one of the three greatest logicians of all time, the other two of this historical triumvirate being Aristotle and Frege.

https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Godel/

1913
G. Neujmin discovered asteroid #751 Faina; and J. Palisa discovered asteroid #750 Oskar.

1914
F. Kaiser discovered asteroid #788 Hohensteina.

1916
M. Wolf discovered asteroid #826 Henrika.

1924
J. Hartmann discovered asteroid #1029 La Plata.

1928
Born, Eugene M. "Gene" Shoemaker, planetary scientist

Eugene Merle "Gene" Shoemaker (28 April 1928 - 18 July 1997) was one of the founders of the fields of planetary science and is best known for co-discovering the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with his wife Carolyn Shoemaker and David Levy.

Renowned both as a geologist and an astronomer, and a member of the Board of Directors of The Spaceguard Foundation, Dr. Shoemaker was killed instantly on the afternoon of 18 July 1997, when his car collided head-on with another vehicle on an unpaved road in the Tanami Desert northwest of Alice Springs, in the Northern Territory of Australia. His wife Carolyn, who had closely collaborated with him in both his geological and his astronomical activities for many years, was also injured in the accident.

For his Ph.D. at Princeton, Dr. Shoemaker conclusively showed that the Barringer Crater in Arizona arose from a meteor impact. Dr. Shoemaker has done more to advance the idea that sudden geologic changes can arise from asteroid strikes, and that asteroid strikes are common over geologic time periods, than any other person.

https://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/sl9/news81.html

1932
C. Jackson discovered asteroid #1242 Zambesia.

1937
The first commercial flight across the Pacific was completed when a Pan-American Boeing 314 Clipper seaplane arrived in Hong Kong.
http://www.pilotspost.co.za/arn0001194

1943
Born, John Oliver Creighton (at Orange, Texas, USA), Captain USN, NASA astronaut (STS 51G, STS 36, STS 48; nearly 16d 20.5h total time in spaceflight)

Astronaut John O. Creighton, NASA photo
Source: Wikipedia (www.jsc.nasa.gov unavailable from April 2019)
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/creighton_john.pdf

1949
Born, Jerome "Jay" Apt III PhD (at Springfield, Massachusetts, USA), NASA astronaut (STS 37, STS 47, STS 59, STS 79; over 35d 7h total time in spaceflight)

Astronaut Jay Apt, NASA photo (31 May 1995)
Source: Wikipedia (spaceflight.nasa.gov killed 25 Feb 2021)
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/apt_jerome.pdf

1957
Born, Leopold Eyharts (at Biarritz, France), Brig. General French AF, ESA astronaut (Soyuz TM-27/Mir/Soyuz TM-26 , ISS 16; nearly 68d 21.5h total time in spaceflight)

ESA astronaut Leopold Eyharts, STS 122 mission specialist, NASA photo (24 April 2007)
Source: Wikipedia (spaceflight.nasa.gov killed 25 Feb 2021)
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Astronauts/Leopold_Eyharts

1958 21:53:00 EST (GMT -5:00:00)
The US Navy launched Vanguard TV-5, planned as a communications satellite, which failed to achieve Earth orbit when the third stage failed to separate.
https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=VAGT5

1961
Soviet Lt. Colonel Gueorgui Mossolov took Ye-6T/1 (a rocket-powered variant of the E-66 MiG-21 fighter) to 34,714 meters (113,890 feet) altitude, setting a world record for altitude achieved by an aircraft taking off under its own power.
https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/tag/georgy-konstantinovich-mosolov/

1961 14:03:00 GMT
NASA launched Little Joe LJ-5B, an unmanned test vehicle, for a maximum dynamic pressure abort test, and qualification of the project Mercury launch escape system and structure. The test was successful.

Little Joe 5B launch, NASA photo
Source: Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Joe_5B

1968
T. Smirnova discovered asteroid #2422 Perovskaya.

1971
T. Smirnova discovered asteroid #2093 Genichesk.

1982
E. Bowell discovered asteroids #2956 Yeomans and #3253 Gradie; and L. G. Taff discovered asteroid #3343 Nedzel.

1983 22:26:00 GMT
NASA launched GOES F (GOES 6) to support weather prediction.

GOES 6, launched 28 April 1983, was the eighth in a series of NASA developed, NOAA operated, geosynchronous spacecraft. It carried (1) a visible infrared spin scan radiometer (VISSR) atmospheric sounder (VAS) to provide high quality day and night cloud cover data, to take radiance derived temperatures of the Earth/atmosphere system, and to determine atmospheric temperature and water vapor content at various levels, (2) a meteorological data collection system to relay processed data from central weather facilities to regional stations equipped with APT and to collect and retransmit data from remotely located Earth-based platforms, and (3) a space environment monitor (SEM) system to measure proton, electron, and solar X-ray fluxes and magnetic fields. The cylindrically shaped spacecraft measured 190.5 cm (6.25 ft) in diameter and 230 cm (7.5 ft) long, exclusive of a magnetometer that extended an additional 83 cm (32.7 inches) beyond the cylindrical shell. The primary structural members were a honeycombed equipment shelf and a thrust tube. The VISSR telescope, which was mounted on the equipment shelf, viewed the Earth through a special aperture in the side of the spacecraft. A support structure extended radially from the thrust tube and was affixed to the solar panels, which formed the outer wall of the spacecraft to provide the primary source of electrical power. Located in the annulus-shaped space between the thrust tube and the solar panels were stationkeeping and dynamics control equipment, batteries, and most of the SEM equipment. Proper spacecraft attitude and spin rate (approximately 100 rpm) were maintained by two separate sets of jet thrusters mounted around the spacecraft equator and activated by ground command. The spacecraft used both UHF band and S band frequencies in its telemetry and command subsystem. A low power VHF transponder provided telemetry and command during launch and then served as a backup for the primary subsystem once the spacecraft attained synchronous orbit. GOES 6 was moved from its 135 deg W position to a more central 98 deg W position when GOES 5 failed on 29 July 1984. GOES 6 was turned off on 12 November 1994.

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1983-041A

1991 07:33:14 EDT (GMT -4:00:00)
NASA launched STS 39 (Discovery 12, 40th Shuttle mission, 70th US manned space mission) for a dedicated Department of Defense mission.

The STS 39 launch was originally scheduled for 9 March 1991, but during processing work at Pad A, significant cracks found on all four lug hinges on the two external tank umbilical door drive mechanisms. NASA managers opted to roll back the vehicle to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on 7 March, and then to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) for repair. The hinges were replaced with units taken from the orbiter Columbia, and reinforced. Discovery was returned to the pad on 1 April, and the launch was re-set for 23 April. The mission was again postponed when, during the prelaunch external tank loading, a transducer on the high pressure oxidizer turbopump for main engine number three showed readings out of specification. The transducer and its cable harness were replaced and tested. The launch was rescheduled for 28 April 1991 when it was then completed.

STS 39 was a dedicated Department of Defense mission. The unclassified payload included Air Force Program-675 (AFP-675); Infrared Background Signature Survey (IBSS) with Critical Ionization Velocity (CIV), Chemical Release Observation (CRO) and Shuttle Pallet Satellite-II (SPAS-II) experiments; and Space Test Payload-1 (STP-1). The classified payload consisted of a Multi-Purpose Release Canister (MPEC). Also on board was Radiation Monitoring Equipment III (RME III) and Cloud Logic to Optimize Use of Defense Systems-1A (CLOUDS-1).

STS 39 ended on 6 May 1991 when Discovery landed on revolution 134 on Runway 15, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The landing was diverted to the Kennedy Space Center because of unacceptably high winds at the planned landing site, Edwards Air Force Base. Rollout distance: 9,235 feet. Rollout time: 56 seconds. Launch weight: 247,373 pounds. Landing weight: 211,512 pounds. Orbit altitude: 190 nautical miles. Orbit inclination: 57 degrees. Mission duration: eight days, seven hours, 22 minutes, 23 seconds. Miles Traveled: 3.5 million.

The flight crew for STS 39 was: Michael L. Coats, Commander; L. Blaine Hammond, Jr., Pilot; Guion S. Bluford Jr., Mission Specialist 1; Gregory J. Harbaugh, Mission Specialist 2; Richard J. Hieb, Mission Specialist 3; Donald R. McMonagle, Mission Specialist 4; Charles L. Veach, Mission Specialist 5.

https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-39.html

2001 07:37:20 GMT
Millionnaire Dennis Tito went into orbit on Soyuz TM-32 and became the world's first space tourist. He spent 7 days, 22 hours, 4 minutes in spaceflight, most of the time at the International Space Station where the Soyuz docked.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Tito

2003 07:00:00 GMT
Russia's Soyuz TMA-2 docked at the International Space Station.

Soyuz TMA-2 was a Russian passenger transport craft launched by a Soyuz-U rocket from Baikonur on 26 April 2003, carring two astronauts, US astronaut Edward Lu and Russian Yuri Malenchenko, for a six month stay at the International Space Station (ISS) to perform microgravity biology experiments. It docked with the ISS on 28 April 2003. The two man crew provided minimal manning for the station following the Columbia re-entry failure. The previous three man crew on the ISS left the station on 4 May 2003 in the earlier Soyuz TMA-1 that had remained docked since it arrived.

Russia's Soyuz TMA-2 landed 28 October 2003 with US astronaut Edward Lu, Russian Yuri Malenchenko and Spaniard Pedro Duque returning from the International Space Station (ISS), 35 kilometers south of Arkalyk. Crew recovery was delayed by a snowstorm in Kazakhstan's capital Astana, and by heavy fog grounding all of the rescue party's helicopters.

https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2003-016A

2021
Died (cancer), Michael Collins (at Naples, Florida, USA), Major General USAF Reserve, NASA astronaut (Gemini 10, Apollo 11; over 11d 2h total time in spaceflight)

Michael Collins (born 31 October 1930) was an astronaut in the Gemini and Apollo space programs. On the Gemini 10 flight he and shipmate John Young set a new record for the highest flight, 475 miles above the Earth. Collins also walked in space on this mission.

Collins flew on the Apollo 11 mission, the first Lunar landing as the Command Module pilot who orbited the Moon while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed and walked on the Lunar surface. He was described, at that time, as "the loneliest person on or off the planet."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Collins_(astronaut)

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