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Space History for June 7
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1826
Died, Joseph von Fraunhofer, German physicist (studied the Sun's spectrum)
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1886
Born, Henri Coanda, Romanian inventor, aerodynamics pioneer, and father of modern jet aircraft
Henri Marie Coanda (7 June 1886 - 25 November 1972) was a Romanian inventor, aerodynamics pioneer and the parent of the modern jet aircraft.
With the support of engineer Gustave Eiffel and aeronautical pioneer Paul Painleve, he began experimenting the aerodynamic techniques: one of this experiments was mounting a device on a train running at 90 km/hour so he could analyze the aerodynamic behavior. Another experiment used a wind tunnel with smoke and an aerodynamical balance to profile wings to be used in designing aircraft. This led to the discovery of the aerodynamic effect now known as the Coanda Effect.
In 1910, using the workshop of Joachim Caproni, he designed, built and piloted the first 'thermojet' powered aircraft, known as the Coanda-1910, which he demonstrated publicly at the second International Aeronautic Salon in Paris. The powerplant used a 4-cylinder piston engine to power a compressor, which fed to two burners for thrust, instead of using a propeller.
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1886
Died, Richard March Hoe, American printer, built the first successful rotary printing press
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1896
Born, Robert S. Mulliken, US chemist, physicist (Nobel 1966 "for his fundamental work concerning chemical bonds and the electronic structure of molecules by the molecular orbital method")
ref: www.nobelprize.org
1901
M Wolf discovered asteroid #471 Papagena.
1954
Died, Alan Mathison Turing, British mathematician, logician, cryptographer, often considered a father of modern computer science
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1962 18:29:00 GMT
NASA launched X-15A Local flow, M=5 Test mission # 56 in which civilian test pilot Joseph A. Walker flew to 103,400 ft (31.577 km, 19.621 mi) with a maximum speed of 3672 mph (5910 kph, Mach 5.39).
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1965 17:12:11 GMT
NASA's Gemini 4 mission ended when astronauts James McDivitt and Edward White splashed down in the western Atlantic Ocean.
Gemini 4, launched 3 June 1965, was the second manned and first long duration mission in the Gemini program, and carried James McDivitt and Edward White on a 4 day, 62 orbit, 98 hour flight. The mission included the first American spacewalk in which White also became the first person to use jet propulsion to maneuver himself in space while on a spacewalk. Gemini 4 was also the first mission to be controlled from the mission control center in Houston. The main objectives of the mission were to test the performance of the astronauts and capsule, evaluating effects on the crew of prolonged exposure to the space environment, and to evaluate work procedures, schedules, and flight planning for an extended length of time in space. Secondary objectives included demonstration of extravehicular activity (EVA) in space, conducting stationkeeping and rendezvous maneuvers, evaluating spacecraft systems, demonstrating the capability to make significant in-plane and out-of-plane maneuvers, demonstrating the ability of the orbit attitude and maneuver system (OAMS) to back up the retrorockets, and conducting 11 experiments.
Gemini 4 was launched from Complex 19 at 10:15:59.562 am EST, and inserted into a 162.3 x 282.1 km Earth orbit at 10:22:05. The orbit was raised to 166 x 290 km during the first revolution to attempt a rendezvous with the second stage. The stationkeeping exercise was cancelled early in the second revolution: After depletion of 42% of the fuel (most of the OAMS propellant allocated for the exercise), it was determined that use of more fuel through further efforts would jeopardize primary mission objectives, and could mean the cancellation of several secondary objectives.
The flight crew began preparing for EVA immediately after terminating the stationkeeping exercise. Although preparations went smoothly, McDivitt decided to delay EVA for one revolution, both because of the high level of activity required and because deletion of the rendezvous attempt reduced the tightness of the schedule. White donned special gear and pressurized his suit at 3.7 psi. McDivitt depressurized the cabin, bringing the pressure to zero at 2:33:35 pm EST, and the hatch was opened at 2:34, 4 hours 18 minutes into the flight. White stood up two minutes later and exited the spacecraft using a hand-held gas gun at 2:46, becoming the first American to walk in space. White was attached to the spacecraft by an 8 meter tether. The gas gun fuel supply was depleted in 3 minutes, after which White pulled on the tether and twisted his body to maneuver around the spacecraft. The extravehicular activity (EVA) lasted 23 minutes, after which White pulled himself back into the spacecraft. Difficulty was encountered sealing the hatch, but working together the astronauts finally closed it, at 3:10 pm EST. Cabin repressurization began at 3:12:50.
The Gemini 4 space walk was hurriedly included after the Russian first in Voskhod 2. White seemed to have a lot more fun than Leonov. and McDivitt took the pictures that came to symbolize man in space.
Drifting flight was maintained for the next 30 hours to conserve propellant. An inadvertent alteration of the computer memory during the 48th revolution in an attempt to correct an apparent computer malfunction made the planned computer controlled reentry impossible. A zero-lift ballistic reentry, similar to that used by the Mercury program, was started at the beginning of revolution 62 with retrofire at 11:56:00 am EST on June 7. Gemini 4 splashed down 16 minutes later at 12:12:11 pm EST in the western Atlantic at 27.73 N, 74.18 W, about 725 km east of Cape Kennedy, 81 km from the target. Total elapsed mission time was 97:56:12. The crew were recovered by helicopter 34 minutes later, flown to the aircraft carrier USS Wasp at 1:09 pm, and the capsule was recovered at 2:28 pm, a little more than 100 hours after Gemini 4 had been launched.
The experiments performed during the mission were electrostatic charge (MSC-1), proton-electron spectrometer (MSC-2), triaxial magnetometer (MSC-3), two-color Earth limb photos (MSC-4), inflight exerciser (M-3), inflight phonocardiogram (M-4), bone demineralization (M-6), synoptic terrain photos (S-5), synoptic weather photos (S-6), dim and twilight phenomena (S-28), radiation (D-8), and simple navigation (D-9). All experiemnts were performed successfully. All other objectives except the rendezvous and computer controlled reentry were achieved.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1971
USSR Soyuz 11 cosmonauts Dobrovolski, Volkov and Patsayev boarded the Salyut 1 space station after successfully docking with it.
Soyuz 11 (callsign Yantar - "Amber"), launched 6 June 1971, was crewed by Commander Georgi Dobrovolski, Flight Engineer Vladislav Volkov, and Research Engineer Viktor Patsayev. During the first day of flight, maneuvers were made to effect a rendezvous with the unmanned Salyut 1 space station. The first orbital correction in the set of rendezvous maneuvers to head for Salyut 1 was made on the fourth revolution. When Soyuz 11 was 6 to 7 km from Salyut on 7 June, automatic devices took over, and in 24 minutes, closed the gap between the two ships to 9 m and reduced the relative speed difference to 0.2 m/sec. Control of the ships went from automatic back to manual at 100 m. Docking took 3 hr 19 min to complete, and involved making the connection mechanically rigid, engaging various electrical and hydraulic links, and establishing air-tight seals before locks could be opened. When the pressure was equalized between the ships, the locks were opened and all three members of the crew passed into Salyut, and remained there for 22 days. Equipment aboard Salyut 1 included a telescope, spectrometer, electrophotometer, and television. The crew checked improved on-board spacecraft systems in different conditions of flight and conducted medico-biological research. The main instrument, a large solar telescope, was inoperative because its cover failed to jettison. A small fire and difficult working conditions led to a decision to return the crew before the planned full mission duration of 30 days. On 29 June, the crew loaded the scientific specimens, films, tapes, and other gear into Soyuz 11, transferred manual control back from Salyut to Soyuz 11, and returned to their ferry craft. Undocking occurred at 1828 UT. Soyuz 11 flew in a co-orbit configuration for a while, and retrofired at 2235 UT. The work compartment and service module were routinely cast off prior to entering the Earth's atmosphere. Radio communications abruptly ended at the moment of separating the work compartment (about 2247 UT), before the normal ionospheric blackout. Automatic systems landed the craft safely at approximately 2317 UT. Total flight duration of the crew was 570.22 hours, and involved 383 orbits - 18 prior to docking, 362 docked, and 3 after undocking. On reaching the landing site and opening the hatch (early morning, USSR time), the helicopter rescue crew discovered all three men dead in their seats. The offical investigation results showed that the men died of pulmonary embolisms when the imperfect seal of the hatch between their command module and work compartment permitted the air supply to evacuate in the seconds after the two crafts separated. The actual problem was that a pressure equalization valve was jolted open at the jettison of the Soyuz Orbital Module: The service and descent modules were held together by explosive bolts designed to fire sequentially, but which fired simultaneously while over France. The valve, less than 1 mm in diameter, was not supposed to open until an altitude of 4 km was reached, to equalize pressure inside the capsule in the final moments before landing. It should have been impossible for the valve to open until the external barometric pressure had increased to a set level. The only crew instructions and training in relation to the valve were that it was to be closed by either the crew or the recovery forces in case of a landing in water. Located beneath the cosmonaut's couches, it proved impossible to locate and block the leak before atmosphere was lost, within 112 seconds, the capsule fully depressurised. The three man crew did not have space suits. The Soyuz was thereafter redesigned to accomodate only two crew, but in spacesuits. The actual Soyuz 11 Prime Crew was Leonov, Kubasov, and Kolodin. Dobrovolskiy, Volkov, Patsayev were their backups (and support crew to Soyuz 10). Kubasov was grounded by physicians few days before launch, and the backup crew ended up going instead.
The Soyuz 11 cosmonauts were given a large state funeral. US astronaut Tom Stafford was one of the pallbearers.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1983
A. Gilmore and P. Kilmartin discovered asteroid #3152.
1983 02:32:00 GMT
USSR launched the Venera 16 orbiter to Venus to study its surface properties using an 8 cm band side-looking Synthetic Aperture Radar mapper.
USSR Venera 16 Venus orbiter
Source: NSSDCA Master Catalog
Venera 16, launched 7 June 1983, was part of a two spacecraft mission (along with Venera 15) designed to use 8 cm band side-looking radar mappers to study the surface properties of Venus. The two spacecraft were inserted into Venus orbit four days apart, Venera 16 arriving second on 14 October 1983, with their orbital planes shifted by an angle of approximately 4 degrees relative to one another. This made it possible to reimage an area if necessary. Each spacecraft was in a nearly polar orbit with a periapsis at 62 N latitude. Together, the two spacecraft imaged the area from the north pole down to about 30 degrees N latitude (i.e., approximately 25% of the surface of Venus) over the 8 months of mapping operations. In June 1984, Venus was at superior conjunction and passed behind the Sun as seen from Earth. No transmissions were possible, so the orbit of Venera 16 was rotated back 20 degrees at this time to map the areas missed during this period.
The Venera 15 and 16 spacecraft were identical and were based on modifications to the the orbiter portions of the Venera 9 and 14 probes. Each spacecraft consisted of a 5 m long cylinder with a 6 m diameter, 1.4 m tall parabolic dish antenna for the synthetic aperture radar (SAR) at one end. A 1 m diameter parabolic dish antenna for the radio altimeter was also located at this end. The electrical axis of the radio altimeter antenna was lined up with the axis of the cylinder. The electrical axis of the SAR deviated from the spacecraft axis by 10 degrees. During imaging, the radio altimeter would be lined up with the center of the planet (local vertical), and the SAR would be looking off to the side at 10 degrees. A bulge at the opposite end of the cylinder held fuel tanks and propulsion units. Two square solar arrays extended like wings from the sides of the cylinder. A 2.6 m radio dish antenna for communications was also attached to the side of the cylinder.
Both Venera 15 and 16 were equipped with a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). A radar was necessary in this mission because nothing else would be able to penetrate the dense clouds of Venus. The probes were equipped with on board computers that saved the images until the entire image was complete.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1988 14:03:00 GMT
USSR launched Soyuz TM-5 from Baikonur to the Mir space station with cosmonauts Solovyev (USSR), Savinykh (USSR) and Aleksandrov (Bulgaria) aboard.
USSR launched Soyuz TM-5 on 7 June 1988, transporting to the Mir orbital station a Soviet/Bulgarian crew comprised of cosmonauts A. Y. Solovyev, V. P. Savinykh and A. P. Aleksandrov (Bulgaria), to conduct joint research and experiments with cosmonauts V. G. Titov and M. K. Manarov. It initially entered an interim orbit 343 x 282 km, then maneuvered to Mir's 355 x 349 km orbit. Soyuz TM-5 docked 15:57 GMT 9 June to Mir's aft port, and was moved to the forward port on 18 June.
Soyuz TM-5 undocked from Mir at 22:55 GMT 5 September 1988, and jettisoned the Orbital Module at 23:35 GMT. The planned landing at 02:15 6 September failed due to confusion of the infrared horizon sensors. The repeat retrofire attempt one orbit later resulted only in a partial burn. The crew had to spend a tense 24 hours in the cramped Descent Module (the Orbital Module having already been jettisoned before the retrofire burn) before making a last chance to deorbit. Finally Lyakhov and Afghani cosmonaut Mohmand (Soyuz TM-6) returned safely to Earth, and landed 00:50 GMT 7 September 1988, 160 km SE of Dzhezkazgan.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
1990
NASA announced termination of its Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle Program.
ref: www.nasa.gov
1996 16:15:00 GMT
A DC-XA test mission was launched which reached an altitude of 590 m (1936 ft) during a 64 second flight, experiencing maximum structural stresses with a 50% full LOX tank.
ref: en.wikipedia.org
1997 16:57:00 GMT
USSR launched Cosmos 2344 (Araks 11F664) on a Proton-K, a 20 ton imaging reconnaissance satellite. Half of the rechargeable batteries and one of three channels in the onboard flight control computer failed at separation, the mission lasted four months.
ref: nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov
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