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Space History for August 19
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1646
Born, John Flamsteed, first Astronomer Royal of England
John Flamsteed (19 August 1646 - 31 December 1719) was the first Astronomer Royal of England. Among other things, he accurately calculated the solar eclipses of 1666 and 1668. He also observed Uranus on 23 December 1690, without realizing it was an undiscovered planet, mistaking it for a star which he classified as 34 Tauri.
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1662
Died, Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, physicist
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1839
Details of Louis Daguerre's photographic process, the first practical photographic process, were released in Paris, France.
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1871
Born, Orville Wright, aviation pioneer
Orville Wright (19 August 1871 - 30 January 1948) and his brother Wilbur are generally credited with the design and construction of the first practical airplane, and making their first controllable, powered, heavier-than-air flight on 17 December 1903.
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1882
J. Palisa discovered asteroid #228 Agathe.
1890
A. Charlois discovered asteroid #296 Phaetusa.
1893
A. Charlois discovered asteroid #372 Palma.
1906
Born, Philo T. Farnsworth (at Beaver, Utah, USA), inventor (all-electronic television, and a small nuclear fusion device, the Farnsworth-Hirsch fusor)
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1913
Born, Rudi Beichel, rocket engineer, member of the German Rocket Team in the United States after World War II
Rudi Beichel (19 August 1913 - 25 October 1999), was a German expert in guided missile propulsion during World War II, and a member of the German Rocket Team in the United States after the war. As of January 1947, he was working at Fort Bliss, Texas. He left the von Braun team and became a key decision maker in US Army liquid propulsion selection decisions. He moved to the Aerojet company in 1956, where he worked on the LOx/LH2 Titan I engine conversion, Aerojet large engine studies and proposals for NASA, and the USAF ARES program for a single-stage liquid propellant ICBM.
See also www.ancientfaces.com
See also www.rnz.de (in German)
ref: www.myheritage.com
1914
Born, Karl Sendler, German expert in guided missiles during World War II, member of the German Rocket Team in the US after the war, retired 1974 as KSC's director of Instrumentation System
ref: www.nasa.gov
1921
Born, Gene Roddenberry, television producer, best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Star Trek
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1933
G. Neujmin discovered asteroid #1289 Kutaissi.
1935
Born, Dr. F. Story Musgrave (at Boston, Massachusetts, USA), NASA mission specialist astronaut (STS 6, STS 51-F, STS 33, STS 44, STS 61, STS 80; nearly 53d 10h total time in spaceflight)
Astronaut Dr. F. Story Musgrave, NASA photo S79-37745 (26 October 1979)
Source: Wikipedia (www.jsc.nasa.gov unavailable August 2019)
ref: www.nasa.gov
1935
C. Jackson discovered asteroid #1634 Ndola.
1938
K. Reinmuth discovered asteroid #1469 Linzia.
1946
Born, Charles F. Bolden Jr, (at Columbia, South Carolina, USA), Major General USMC, NASA astronaut (STS 61C, STS 31, STS 45, STS 60; over 28d 8.5h total time in spaceflight), NASA Administrator 2009-2017
Astronaut Charles F. Bolden Jr., official portrait 17 October 1991, NASA photo
Source: Wikipedia
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1957
USAF Major David Simons reached an altitude of 101,516 feet (30.942 km) in the Man High 2 balloon.
ref: stratocat.com.ar
1959
Born, Christopher Austin "Chris" Hadfield (at Sarnia, Ontario, Canada), Colonel Canadian AF, CSA mission specialist astronaut (STS 74, STS 100, NEEMO 14, ISS 34/35 Commander; over 165d 16.25h total time in spaceflight)
Astronaut Chris Hadfield prior to ISS mission Expedition 34/35
CSA official photo (28 Sept 2005)
Source: CSA
ref: www.asc-csa.gc.ca
1959 19:24:00 GMT
The US DARPA launched Discoverer 6 (KH-1 # 9003, a first generation low resolution photo surveillance satellite) into polar orbit. The film capsule return failed when the retro rockets malfunctioned, preventing recovery.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1960
A C-119J aircraft recovered the re-entry capsule of Discoverer 14 (KH-1 # 9009), the first successful air recovery of a spacecraft.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1960
The first photograph was bounced off a satellite (Echo 1), from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Richardson, Texas.
Following the failure of the Delta rocket carrying Echo 1 on 13 May 1960, Echo 1A (commonly referred to as just Echo 1) was successfully put in a 1519 x 1687 km orbit on 12 August 1960. The spacecraft was a 30.48 meter (100 foot) diameter balloon of mylar polyester film 0.5 mil (0.0127 mm) thick, designed and successfully used as a passive communications reflector for transcontinental and intercontinental telephone (voice), radio, and television signals. The first two-way voice communications was bounced off Echo I on 13 August 1960 between Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Richardson, Texas. The first reported picture transmission took place on 19 August, from Cedar Rapids to Richardson.
Since its shiny surface was also reflective of visible light, Echo 1A was visible to the unaided eye over most of the Earth. Brighter than most stars, it was probably seen by more people than any other man-made object in space. It had 107.9-MHz beacon transmitters for telemetry purposes, powered by five nickel-cadmium batteries charged by 70 solar cells mounted on the balloon. Because of the large area-to-mass ratio of the spacecraft, data for calculation of atmospheric density and solar pressure could be, and was, acquired. The spacecraft was also used to evaluate the technical feasibility of satellite triangulation during the latter portion of its life. Echo 1A re-entered the Earth's atmosphere on 24 May 1968.
To communicate via Echo 1, Bell Labs created a 50-foot (15-meter) horn-shaped antenna. Later, while calibrating the antenna, radio astronomers Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson detected cosmic microwave background radiation, commonly interpreted as the first solid evidence of the Big Bang, for which they won the Nobel Prize. (See http://TheSkyIsWhite.org for a different interpretation of the CMB radiation.)
See also http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/on-this-day/august-13/
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1960 08:38:00 GMT
USSR launched Sputnik 5, also called Korabl Sputnik 2, the second unmanned test of the Vostok spacecraft, carrying two dogs, a gray rabbit, rats, mice, flies, plants, fungi, microscopic water plants, and seeds, all recovered in good health the next day.
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 5 on 19 August 1960 with the dogs Belka and Strelka (Russian for "Squirrel" and "Little Arrow"), 40 mice, 2 rats and a variety of plants aboard, in addition to a television system and other scientific instrumentation. The spacecraft was the second in a series of spacecraft designed to further the development of an Earth orbiting system for the planned manned space program. It returned to Earth the next day after 18 orbits, all animals were recovered safely, making it the first successful recovery of living biological specimens after an orbital mission. Strelka later gave birth to a litter of 6 healthy puppies; one was presented to US President John F. Kennedy as a gift.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1960 16:34:00 GMT
NASA and the USAF launched X-15A Test mission # 20 in which Joe Walker reached a maximum speed of 1986 mph (3196 kph, Mach 3.13), and attained a maximum altitude of 75,980 ft (23.159 km, 14.390 mi).
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1962
Born, Michael James Massimino (at Oceanside, New York, USA), NASA mission specialist astronaut (STS 109, STS 125; over 23d 19.75h total time in spaceflight)
Astronaut Michael J. Massimino, NASA photo JSC2001-02670 (November 2001)
Source: Wikipedia (www.jsc.nasa.gov unavailable August 2019)
ref: www.nasa.gov
1964 12:15:00 GMT
NASA GSF launched the Syncom 3 communication satellite, the first true zero-inclination geostationary satellite. It also carried the Star Flash experiment.
Syncom satellite, NASA photo
Source: NSSDCA Master Catalog
Syncom 3 was the first geostationary satellite. (The earlier geosynchronous Syncom 2 had an orbit inclined to the equator.) It was an experimental geosynchronous communications satellite placed over the equator at 180 degrees longitude in the Pacific Ocean (positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 64 deg W in 1964; 180 deg E in 1964; 25 deg W in 1965; 165 deg E in 1966-1969; as of 6 December 1974, it was at 6.08 deg W drifting at 0.188 deg W per day).
Syncom 3 provided live television coverage of the 1964 Olympic games in Tokyo, Japan and conducted various communications tests. Operations were turned over to the Department of Defense on 1 January 1965, Syncom 3 was to prove useful in the DoD's Vietnam communications.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1965
A spacecraft computer malfunction caused a countdown hold 10 minutes before the scheduled Gemini-Titan 5 launch. With the weather deteriorating rapidly (thunderstorms near Cape Kennedy), the mission was scrubbed, rescheduled to 21 August.
Gemini 5, carrying astronauts Gordon Cooper and Charles "Pete" Conrad was the third crewed Earth orbiting spacecraft of the Gemini series. Mercury veteran Cooper was the first person to travel on orbital missions twice. The flight was designed to last eight days, the length of time that it would take to fly a mission to the Moon, and to test rendezvous procedures. The major objectives of this mission were to demonstrate a long-duration crewed flight, evaluate the effects of long periods of weightlessness on the crew, and test rendezvous capabilities and maneuvers using a rendezvous evaluation pod. Secondary objectives included demonstration of all phases of guidance and control systems to support rendezvous and controlled reentry guidance, to evaluate the fuel cell power system and rendezvous radar, to test the capability of either pilot to maneuver the spacecraft in orbit to close proximity with another object, and to conduct 17 experiments. Gemini 5 doubled the manned space flight duration record to nearly eight days, thanks to new fuel cells that generated enough electricity to power longer missions.
Gemini 5 was launched from Complex 19 at Cape Kennedy, Florida, on 21 August 1965 at 8:59:59 AM EST (13:59:59.518 UT), and inserted into a 162.0 x 350.1 km Earth orbit at 9:05:55. The rendezvous evaluation pod (REP), a 34.5 kg optical and electronic duplicate of the Agena planned for use in later Gemini rendezvous missions was deployed two hours into the flight on the second revolution. About 36 minutes into the evaluation of the rendezvous system, the crew noticed the pressure in the oxygen supply tank of the fuel cell system was dropping. At some point earlier in the flight, the oxygen supply heater element had failed, and the pressure dropped from nominal pressure of 850 psia to a low of 65 psia 4 hours and 22 minutes into the flight. This was still above the 22.2 psia minimum but it was decided to cancel the REP exercise and power the spacecraft down. An analysis was carried out on the ground, and a powering up procedure was started on the seventh revolution. During the remainder of the mission, the flight plan was continuously scheduled in real time, pressure slowly rose in the fuel cells, and sufficient power was available at all times.
Four rendezvous radar tests were conducted during the mission, in the first in revolution 14, on the second day, the spacecraft rendezvous radar successfully tracked a transponder on the ground at Cape Kennedy. On the third day, a simulated rendezvous with a phantom Agena was conducted at full electrical load, in which the the Gemini maneuvered to a predetermined position in space. The simulation comprised four maneuvers: apogee adjust, phase adjust, plane change, and coelliptical maneuver, using the orbit attitude and maneuver system (OAMS). On day five, thruster number 7 became inoperative and maneuvering system operation became sluggish. Thruster number 8 failed the next day, and the system became increasingly erratic. Limited experimental and operational activities continued throughout the remainder of the mission. On the last flight day, Cooper and Conrad spoke to astronaut Scott Carpenter, who was 205 feet underwater in Sealab II.
Retrofire occurred at 7:27:42 AM EST on 29 August on revolution 120, one revolution early due to a threatening tropical storm near the landing area. The crew had to use the re-entry thrusters to orient the spacecraft because of the OAMS system failures. The retrofire and re-entry were conducted in darkness by the spacecraft computer. Splashdown occurred at 7:55:13 AM EST in the western Atlantic at 29.73 N, 69.75 W after a total mission time of 190:55:14. Splashdown was 169 km short of the target due to incorrect navigation coordinates transmitted to the spacecraft computer from the ground network: Someone had entered the rate of the Earth's rotation as 360 degrees per 24 hours instead of 360.98 degrees (sidereal day correction). Cooper's efforts compensated for what he recognized as an erroneous reading and brought the capsule down closer to the ship than they would otherwise have been. The crew arrived onboard the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain at 9:26 AM EST and the spacecraft was recovered at 11:50 AM EST.
All objectives were achieved except rendezvous with the REP and pilot tests associated with the rendezvous and the demonstration of controlled reentry to a predetermined landing point. Scientific studies included zodiacal light, synoptic terrain, synoptic weather photography, and a cloudtop spectrometer experiment. In addition, five medical and seven technological experiments were performed during the mission. One photography experiment was cancelled because of cancellation of the rendezvous maneuver. The mission demonstrated human ability to adapt to weightlessness over an extended period and then readapt to normal gravity and was considered successful.
With this flight, the US finally took the manned spaceflight endurance record from Russia, while demonstrating that the crew could survive in zero gravity for the length of time required for a Lunar mission. However, the astronauts found the mission incredibly boring, with the spacecraft just drifting to conserve fuel most of the time, and was "just about the hardest thing I've ever done" according to a hyperactive Pete Conrad who later lamented that he had not brought along a book. An accident with freeze dried shrimp also resulted in the cabin being filled with little pink subsatellites.
The Gemini program was designed as a bridge between the Mercury and Apollo programs, primarily to test equipment and mission procedures in Earth orbit and to train astronauts and ground crews for future Apollo missions. The general objectives of the program included: long duration flights in excess of of the requirements of a Lunar landing mission; rendezvous and docking of two vehicles in Earth orbit; the development of operational proficiency of both flight and ground crews; the conduct of experiments in space; extravehicular operations; active control of reentry flight path to achieve a precise landing point; and onboard orbital navigation. Each Gemini mission carried two astronauts into Earth orbit for periods ranging from 5 hours to 14 days. The program consisted of 10 crewed launches, 2 uncrewed launches, and 7 target vehicles.
The Gemini 5 capsule is now on display at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1966
L. Chernykh discovered asteroid #1789 Dobrovolsky.
1966 18:04:00 GMT
NASA and the USAF launched X-15A BLN, OBE, H Test/Aeronomy mission # 168 in which William Dana reached a maximum speed of 3607 mph (5805 kph, Mach 5.20), and attained a maximum altitude of 178,000 ft (54.254 km, 33.712 mi).
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1966 19:26:00 GMT
An Agena rocket was launched from Vandenburg, California, carrying the Midas 11 (Missile Defense Alarm System), SECOR 7 (geodetic), and ORS 1 (cold welding experiments) satellites into orbit.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1967
Died, Hugo Gernsback, inventor, science fiction writer, editor, and magazine publisher
Hugo Gernsback (16 August 1884 – 19 August 1967) was responsible for science fiction becoming an independent literary form, largely through his work as an editor and publisher. Science fiction writing awards are now given as "Hugo" awards in his honor.
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1968
Died, George Gamow, nuclear physicist, cosmologist, writer, early advocate and developer of Lemaitre's Big Bang theory
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1970 12:11:00 GMT
Britain's Skynet 1B military communications satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. However, failure of the apogee kick motor (AKM) left the satellite in an unusable orbit.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1972 02:40:00 GMT
Japan launched the Denpa satellite into orbit from Kagoshima to conduct ionospheric experiments.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1976 05:25:00 GMT
USSR's Luna 24 lifted off from the Moon, carrying 170 grams of Lunar soil in the third Soviet Lunar sample return mission.
The last of the Luna series of spacecraft, Luna 24 was launched 9 August 1976 as the third Soviet mission to retrieve Lunar samples (the first two were returned by Luna 16 and 20). After entering an initial 115 x 115 km Lunar orbit with an inclination of 120 degrees, the probe landed in Mare Crisium (Sea of Crisis) at 12.75 N, 62.2 E on 18 August 1976. Using a sample arm and drill, the mission successfully collected 170.1 grams of Lunar samples and deposited them into a collection capsule. The capsule was launched from the Moon at 5:25 UT on 19 August and landed at 5:55 UT on 22 August in western Siberia, about 200 km southeast of the town of Surgut, where the samples were collected for scientific study.
See also Luna 24 Descent Craft
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1977
N. Chernykh discovered asteroids #2207 Antenor, #2254 Requiem, #2295, #2389 Dibaj, #2564 Kayala, #2793 Valdaj, #3084, #3557 and #3738.
1979 12:30:00 GMT
Soviet cosmonauts Vladimir Lyakov and Valery Ryumin, the crew launched on Soyuz 32, returned to Earth aboard Soyuz 34 after having spent a record 175 days in orbit.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1982
Z. Vavrova discovered asteroid #2781.
1982 17:11:00 GMT
USSR launched Soyuz T-7 with cosmonauts Svetlana Savitskaya, Leonid Popov, Alexander Serebrov to Salyut 7 to conduct scientific and technical research and experiments. Svetlana Savitskaya thus became the second woman to travel to space.
Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya (8 August 1948 - ) was the first woman to walk in space, on 25 July 1984, aboard the Soyuz T-12 (launched 17 July 1984). Her spacewalk lasted 3.58 hours. Savitskaya was also the second woman to go into space (aboard Soyuz T-7, launched 19 August 1982), and the first woman to go to space twice (1982 and 1984).
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
ref: www.spacefacts.de
1992 10:10:00 GMT
Russia launched the Resurs F-16 landsat from Plesetsk for investigation of the Earth's resources. It also carried a US Department of Defense experiment and two Pion passive satellites to study how the upper atmosphere affects spacecraft reentry.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1997 07:07:59 EDT (GMT -4:00:00)
NASA's STS 85 (Discovery 23, 86th Shuttle mission) landed after carrying a complement of payloads focused on Mission to Planet Earth objectives, and in preparation for the International Space Station assembly.
STS 85 was launched on time on 7 August 1997 after a smooth countdown carrying a complement of payloads in the cargo bay that focused on Mission to Planet Earth objectives, and as preparations for International Space Station assembly: the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite-2 (CRISTA-SPAS-02); the Japanese Manipulator Flight Development (MFD); the Technology Applications and Science-01 (TAS-1) and the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker-02 (IEH-02).
This was the second flight of the CRISTA-SPAS payload. CRISTA-SPAS-02 also represented the fourth mission in a cooperative venture between the German Space Agency (DARA) and NASA. The payload included three telescopes and four spectrometers, deployed on flight day one, to gather data about Earth's middle atmosphere. After more than 200 hours of free flight, CRISTA-SPAS was retrieved on 16 August. The three CRISTA telescopes collected 38 full atmospheric profiles of the middle atmosphere. A total of 22 sounding rockets and 40 balloons were launched from the ground to provide correlating data during the mission. A complementary instrument, the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) also performed well. Data from STS-85 and first CRISTA-SPAS flight, STS-66 in 1994, was expected to yield new insight into the distribution of ozone in the Earth's atmosphere. Once science operations were complete, CRISTA-SPAS was used in simulation exercise to prepare for the first International Space Station (ISS) assembly flight, STS-88, with the payload being manipulated as if it were the Functional Cargo Block (FGB) that will be attached to ISS Node 1.
TAS-1 was a Hitchhiker payload carrying eight experiments designed to demonstrate faster, better, cheaper avionics and processes: Solar Constant Experiment (SOLCON), Infrared Spectral Imaging Radiometer (ISIR) and Shuttle Laster Altimeter (SLA), all part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth program; and the Critical Viscosity of Xenon (CVX), Space Experiment Module (SEM); Two Phase Flow (TPF); Cryogenic Flight Experiment (CFE) and Stand Alone Acceleration Measurement Device and the Wide Band Stand Alone Acceleration Measurement Device (SAAMD/WBSAAMD). All the experiments were completed successfully.
MFD was designed to evaluate use of the Small Fine Arm that will be part of the future Japanese Experiment Module's Remote Manipulator System on the ISS. Despite some glitches, MFD completed a series of exercises by the crew on orbit as well as operators on the ground. Two unrelated Japanese experiments, Two-Phase Fluid Loop Experiment (TPFLEX) and Evaluation of Space Environment and Effects on Materials (ESEM), were mounted near the Small Fine Arm in the payload bay.
IEH-02 was flying a second time and consisted of four experiments, all of which performed well on-orbit: Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker-2 (SEH); Ultraviolet Spectrography Telescope for Astronomical Research (UVSTAR); Distribution and Automation Technology Advancement - Colorado Hitchhiker and Student Experiment of Solar Radiation (DATA-CHASER); and Shuttle Glow Experiment-5 and -6, all with common objective to investigate solar extreme ultraviolet (EUV) flux and EUV emissions of the Jupiter Io plasma torus system.
In-cabin payloads included: Bioreactor Demonstration System-3 (BDS-3), a cell biology research payload which has flown previously. On this flight, BDS was used for growing colon cancer cells to a larger size than can be achieved on Earth. Also flown were: Protein Crystal Growth - Single locker Thermal Enclosure System (PCG-STES); Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX); Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Local Exhaust (SIMPLEX); Southwest Ultraviolet Imaging System (SWUIS), used to observe the Hale-Bopp comet; two Get Away Special (GAS) payloads; Biological Research in Canisters-10 (BRIC-10), one in a series of flights; and the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE).
The crew also worked with the Orbiter Space Vision System (OSVS), which will be used during ISS assembly. OSVS features a series of dots strategically placed on various payload and vehicle stuctures that permit precise alignment and pointing capability.
STS 85 ended 19 August 1997 when Discovery landed on revolution 190 on Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Rollout distance: 8,792 feet (2,680 meters). Rollout time: One minute, eight seconds. Orbit altitude: 173 statute miles. Orbit inclination: 51.6 degrees. Mission duration: 11 days, 20 hours, 26 minutes, 59 seconds. Miles Traveled: 4.7 million. The landing opportunity on 18 August was waved off due to the threat of ground fog in the local area.
The flight crew for STS 85 was: Curtis L. Brown, Jr., Mission Commander; Kent V. Rominger, Pilot; N. Jan Davis, Mission Specialist; Robert L. Curbeam, Jr., Mission Specialist; Stephen K. Robinson, Mission Specialist; Bjarni Tryggvason, (CSA) Payload Specialist.
ref: www.nasa.gov
1997 17:50:00 GMT
China launched the Philippines Agila 2 communications satellite from Xichang on a Chang Zheng 3B booster, positioned in geosynchronous orbit at 146 deg E.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1998 23:01:00 GMT
Two Iridium communication satellites (numbers 3 and 76) were launched from Taiyuan, China on a Chang Zheng 2C-III/SD booster, and placed into Plane 2, Ascending node at 199.4 degrees.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
2010
NASA's WMAP mission finished collecting science data on the Cosmic Microwave Background emission from the Earth-Moon L2 libration point.
The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP), launched 30 June 2001, was placed in a 167 x 204 km x 28.8 deg parking orbit at 1958 GMT. At 2104 GMT the second stage was reignited for a 4 second burn, raising the orbit to around 181 x 308 km; the third stage spun up and ignited at 2108 GMT, accelerating WMAP to a highly elliptical orbit of 182 x 292,492 km x 28.7 deg. WMAP used on-board fuel to tweak the orbit. By 22 July, WMAP was in a 4055 x 355,935 km x 28.0 deg orbit. It flew past the Moon at the fourth apogee at 30 July 1639 GMT at an altitude of 5200 km above the Lunar surface. It arrived at the L2 Earth-Sun Lagrangian point 1.5 million km from Earth three months later, on 1 October 2001. From L2, WMAP measured fluctuations in the cosmic 3 Kelvin microwave background with the degree of precision required to answer questions about the Big Bang and the total mass and fate of the universe. WMAP ended the collection of science data on 19 August 2010, with full analysis of the data complete and publications submitted as of 20 December 2012.
ref: map.gsfc.nasa.gov
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