Author Archives: Gray Rinehart

Two Observatories on 12/02

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Twenty years ago today — December 2, 1990 — the Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center carrying seven astronauts and a space observatory.

STS-35 astronauts Vance D. Brand, Guy S. Gardner, Jeffrey A. Hoffman, John M. “Mike” Lounge, Robert A. R. Parker, Samuel T. Durrance and Ronald A. Parise surveyed the sky in the ultraviolet and x-ray frequencies using the ASTRO-1 observatory.

ASTRO-1 combined the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope, Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment, Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope, and Broad Band X-Ray Telescope into a single observatory. Between problems with the data display units used to point and operate the instruments, and bad weather at the primary landing site that cut the mission short, only about 70% of the planned observations took place.

And then 5 years later, on this date in 1995, another observatory was launched: the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) flew from Cape Canaveral Air Station atop an Atlas-IIAS launch vehicle. SOHO consisted of twelve different instruments — three from the U.S. and nine from Europe — that have produced stunning images of the Sun and the solar corona, like the one below, over the last 15 years.


(SOHO close-up image of a large solar prominence, taken with the 304A filter on 07/01/02, with Earth superimposed for scale. NASA image.)

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Space Station Assembly Flight Four-Alpha

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Ten years ago today — November 30, 2000 — the Space Shuttle Endeavour launched from Kennedy Space Center on ISS Assembly Flight 4A.


(STS-97 on ascent. NASA image.)

Also known as STS-97, the mission carried a crew of five astronauts: Brent Jett, Michael J. Bloomfield, Joseph R. I. Tanner, and Carlos Noriega of the U.S., plus Marc Garneau of Canada. The shuttle crew visited the ISS residents (the “Expedition One” team) and installed solar arrays and other equipment on the space station.

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Four International Space Launches

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This day in space history — November 26 — has a very international flair, with space activities involving countries around the world.

Forty-five years ago today, in 1965, France joined the “space launch club” by launching its first satellite, Asterix-1, on a Diamant-A launch vehicle out of Hammaguir, Algeria. (According to this Wikipedia article, the satellite was originally designated simply “A-1,” and later renamed after the famous French cartoon.) With this launch, France became the only nation other than the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. to launch a satellite with its own rocket.

On the same day, the U.S.S.R. launched Cosmos-97, a DS-type (Dnepropetrovsk Sputnik) military satellite, on a Kosmos-2 rocket out of Kapustin Yar.

And 35 years ago today, in 1975, the Peoples Republic of China launched the military photoreconnaissance satellite China-4 on a Long March CZ-2 launch vehicle out of Shuang Cheng-Tzu. China-4 was the PRC’s first retrievable satellite; its photo canister returned to earth ten days after launch and was recovered successfully.

And 25 years ago today — November 26, 1985* — the Space Shuttle Atlantis launched from the Kennedy Space Center on an international mission of its own.


(During STS-61B, astronaut Jerry Ross, on the Remote Manipulator System, works on the ACCESS [Assembly Concept for Construction of Erectable Space Structure] truss. NASA image.)

STS-61B included U.S. astronauts Brewster H. Shaw, Bryan D. O’Connor, Mary L. Cleave, Sherwood C. Spring, Jerry L. Ross, and Charles D. Walter, along with the first Mexican-citizen astronaut, Rudolfo Neri Vela. The crew launched three international communications satellites: Morelos-B for Mexico, Aussat-2 for Australia, and Satcom KU-2 for the U.S.

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* The National Space Science Data Center lists the launch on November 27th, because the Zulu data had already changed when the shuttle lifted off at 7:29 p.m. EST on the 26th.

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Lifting Body Powered Flight: M2-F3

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Forty years ago today — November 25, 1970 — test pilot Bill Dana flew the M2-F3 lifting body on its first powered flight.


(M2-F3 on the lakebed at Edwards AFB. NASA image.)

The M2-F3 was an upgraded model of the M2-F2 lifting body, which had control problems resulting in a crash. The F3 version added a central vertical fin, and the result improved the control so much that only three few unpowered glide flights were needed before Dana’s powered flight.

Dana later flew the M2-F3 on its fastest-ever flight, reaching Mach 1.6 (1064 mph) on December 13, 1972.

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Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

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First New Millennium Program Earth Observer

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Ten years ago today — November 21, 2000 — the EO-1 (Earth Observing mission 1), was launched from Vandenberg AFB on a Delta-II rocket.


(EO-1 image of the island of Oahu. NASA image.)

EO-1 was the first earth-observing spacecraft in the New Millennium Program, a NASA program to use low-cost spacecraft to test new technologies.

The same Delta-II rocket also launched the Swedish Munin nanosatellite designed to research the formation of aurarae, and the SAC-C remote sensing satellite built by a coalition of the U.S., Argentina France, Italy, Denmark, and Brazil.

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Update: Edited to note that EO-1’s status not as the first spacecraft in the NMP, but as the first earth-observing spacecraft in the NMP.

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Delivering a Secret Payload

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Twenty years ago today — November 15, 1990 — Space Shuttle Atlantis launched from the Kennedy Space Center on a classified Department of Defense mission.


(STS-38 crewmembers in the crew compartment trainer. NASA image.)

STS-38 astronauts Richard O. Covey, Frank L. Culbertson, Jr.,* Charles “Sam” Gemar, Robert C. Springer and Carl J. Meade deployed their classified payload — which was probably classified higher than SECRET — and then returned to Earth on November 20th.

This Wikipedia article includes speculation about what that payload might have been. Don’t ask me: I don’t know, and if I did I still wouldn’t say.

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*I met CAPT (Ret.) Culbertson last year, at the NASA Industry/Education Summit. In the “small world” department, our high schools used to be in the same conference, back when my high school still existed.

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Voyager Visits Saturn, Atlantis Launches to Mir

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Thirty years ago today — November 12, 1980 — Voyager-1 made its closest approach to Saturn.


(Image of Saturn and its moons Tethys and Dione, taken on November 3, 1980, as Voyager-1 approached the planet. The shadow of another moon can also be seen on the planet itself. NASA image.)

Voyager-1 flew by the ringed planet at a distance of about 78,000 miles. It sent back wonderful close-up photographs of Saturn and many of its moons. Voyager-1 continues to operate even now, along with its sister spacecraft Voyager-2, exploring beyond the boundary of the solar system. (This Voyager Interstellar Mission page has a neat counter ticking off how far away both Voyagers travel every second.)

On this same date, 15 years ago, the Space Shuttle Atlantis blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center on mission STS-74. U.S. astronauts Kenneth D. Cameron, James D. Halsell, Jerry L. Ross, and William S. McArthur, Jr., along with Canadian astronaut Chris A. Hadfield, delivered the Russian Docking Module to the Mir space station on only the second Shuttle-Mir flight.

Personally, I look forward to the day when people get to visit the outer planets, too. I wish I could.

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The First Moon Rover

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Forty years ago today — November 10, 1970 — the Luna-17 mission launched on a Proton-K rocket out of the Baikonur Cosmodrome.


(Sketch of Luna-17. Image from the National Space Science Data Center.)

Luna 17 landed in Mare Imbrium (the “Sea of Rains”), where it deployed the first Moon Rover, Lunokhod-1.

A team on Earth directed Lunokhod-1 by remote control as it took photos and soil samples. The rover was only intended to operate for 3 months — i.e., 3 lunar days — but it ended up working for 11 months, until operations ended on the anniversary of Sputnik-1.

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Venus Express, and Frogs in Space

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Five years ago today — November 9, 2005 — the European Space Agency’s Venus Express mission launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.


(Artist’s conception of lightning on Venus. European Space Agency image by J. Whatmore, from the ESA Images Multimedia Gallery.)

Venus Express launched atop a Soyuz-Fregat rocket; it arrived at its destination in April 2006. Its mission to study the Venusian atmosphere is currently scheduled to continue through 2012.

In other space history, 40 years ago today the U.S. launched the Orbiting Frog Otolith (OFO-A) spacecraft on a Scout rocket out of Wallops Island, Virginia. True to its name, the spacecraft carried two bullfrogs into orbit to study the effects of weightlessness on the otolith, i.e., the part of the inner ear that senses gravity and linear acceleration.

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Milstar Flight Two

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Fifteen years ago today — November 6, 1995 — Milstar-2 launched from Cape Canaveral on a Titan-IV rocket.


(Artist’s conception of a Milstar satellite. USAF image.)

I was newly assigned to the 4th Space Operations Squadron when the Milstar-2 satellite was launched and went through its on-orbit checkout. This was not a Milstar “Block II” satellite, with the medium data rate payload, but the second of the Block I satellites.

Serving in the 4 SOPS at the time of the launch, since the launch vehicle was a Titan, made a nice combination of assignments: my previous assignment had been with the Titan system program office.

Bonus space history: On this date 45 years ago, the GEOS-1 (Geodetic Earth Orbiting Satellite) satellite was launched on a Delta launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral. It was “the first successful active spacecraft of the National Geodetic Satellite Program.”

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