Astro Info Service

David J. Shayler

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

STS-100 (ISS-6A) MS Chris Hadfield becomes the 1st Canadian to perform an EVA OTD 2001. The 7h 10m EVA (with Scott Parazynski) was the 19th at ISS & 197th since 1965. The pair supported the permanent installation, activation & checkout of the Canadarm2 delivered on STS-100.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

Explorer 10 (P-14) launched, OTD 1961, into an highly ellpitical orbit (221 x 180,100km). Designed to investigated Earth's magnetic field & local plasma it was the first satellite to record solar flare generated shock waves. Contact lasted 2 days. Explorer 10 decayed 30 June 1968

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

Today (16 March) is a double celebration. The 100th anniversary of the historic flight of a liquid-fuelled rocket by Robert Goddard in 1926, & the 60th anniversary of the 1st space docking during Gemini 8 (1966), in an abbreviated mission, by Neil Armstrong & Dave Scott.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

@swampyankeeri Yes, I enjoy Dwayne's features on Space Review, I will revisit them. He should write a history of MOL book to complement the 'official' accounts... it would fill a overdue gap on the shelves.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

Reported in the media OTD 1964, the USAF plans to launch 6 Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL) missions over an 18-month period starting late 1967 or early 1968. Each 30-day classified flight would be crewed by two military astronauts, returning in a modified Gemini spacecraft.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

@ShuttleAlmanac Yes - docking, crew transfer, equipment replacement or upgrades, and resupply are issues I would like to see addressed. ALSO, if MOL could operate without out a crew between flights, that would have been a factor in the debate for totally uncrewed ops or the move towards spysats?

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

@ShuttleAlmanac I have read that the Mol lab was to be left in orbit for reuse, so if anyone has detail of how that was to be achieved, I would appreciate the info. I have yet to read ALL the released NRO documents in detail.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

@ShuttleAlmanac Yes, the original MOL lab was not recoverable and did not have docking facilities. Each 2-man 30-day mission meant 60 man days on resources and equipment performance, which in 1964 was an unknown challenge with just 4 American orbital missions of a few hours completed.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

The 183rd Progress resupply mission launched OTD 2025. Progress MS-30 (#460), the 91st mission to the ISS (91P), docked at the aft port of Zvezda 2 days later (1 March) delivering almost 6,000kg of supplies for EO-72. MS-30 remained docked at ISS until 9 September (191+ days).

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

@GBApollo I WISH, Littrow was just one candidate site for Ap14 H3 as Ap15 was then H4 shortlisted for Censorinus at the time, so the LRV would not have flown until Ap16 J1 in late 1971 or early 72

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

Apollo 13 LMP Fred Haise descibed EVA plans during a KSC News conference OTD 1970. During the 2 surface EVAs Jim Lovell & Haise would deploy an ALSEP, drill three 3m holes for two heat sensors & extact a core sample from the third, collect lunar samples and climb up Cone Crater.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

ISS EO-1 crew took a 30 minute trip, OTD 2001, to relocate their Soyuz TM-31 (1S) spacecraft from the aft port of Zvezda to the nadir port on Zarya. This was necessary to free up the aft Zvezda port to receive the uncrewed Progress M-44 (3P) resupply craft on 28 February.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

Galileo swept past Jupiter's moon Io at just 198 km OTD 2000. The I-27 flyby captured data from the northern volcanic region, including (subsequent false colour images of) Prometheus, infrared spectrometer temperature images of the Pele volcano and other dynamic structures.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

NASA's Space Task Group announced, OTD 1961, that astronauts John Glenn, Virgil Grissom and Alan Shepard were to begin 'special training' for the first crewed Mercury flight. This was planned for Mercury-Redstone 3 (MR-3) later that spring & feature a 15 minute suborbital flight.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

Completing a 12+day mission to the ISS, Atlantis lands at Dryden, California OTD 2001. The STS-98 (ISS 5A) mission delivered & installed, supported by 3 EVAs totalling 19+ hrs, the US Destiny Laboratory at the complex. The 23rd flight of Atlantis was the 102nd of the programme

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

Joe Kerwin turns 94 today. Selected 1965 (Group 4); (1968) 2TV-1 crewmember 8-day CSM simulation; (1970) Capcom Apollo 13; (1973) Science Pilot Skylab 2 (28 days); considered for STS-41C; 1982-83 NASA's senior science rep Australia; (1984-87) JSC Director of Space & Life Sciences

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

FD11 (18 Feb) OTD 2010 the joint STS-130/EO-22 crew received a phone call from US President Barack Obama & several school children. The rest of the day was taken up by transferring ECLSS racks to the Tranquility module, setting up the Cupola & get-ahead tasks in Quest airlock.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

FD3 STS-98. Atlantis docked at Unity's nadir port OTD 2001. ISS assembly mission 5A delivered the US Lab Destiny, which was attached to Unity's forward port the next day. Atlantis remained docked for 6+d during which 3 EVA were conducted & over 1,300+kg of supplies transferred.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

Boeing delivers the first of eight Lunar Orbiter spacecraft (inc 5 flight vehicles) to the Kennedy Space Center OTD 1966. This 38.5 kg (85 lb) engineering test vehicle was destined for ground tests prior to the launch of the first flight vehicle (Lunar Orbiter A) later that year.

[Astro Info Service @aisoffice]

NASA announced OTD 1985 that Warren North (1922-2012) had retired effective 1 Feb. A specialist in astronaut selection & training he joined NASA's STG in 1959; (1962-71) Chief, Flight Crew Operations MSC; (1971-1985) Assistant Director for Shuttle Flight Operations (MSC/JSC).