October 10, 1999 |
Today, as the spacecraft Galileo swoops past Jupiter's volcano-ridden moon Io collecting images and scientific data, few will be as mesmerized by the close encounter as La Verne resident Eileen Clark. The 49-year-old space buff is a mission operations analyst at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. She trouble-shoots the Galileo project, anticipating problems before they occur. Clark loves her job. In fact, she'd be thrilled to remain at JPL for years to come.
CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
May 17, 1991 |
Getting a student-designed science experiment into space is almost as difficult as making a perfect metal sphere. But later this month, four former Cal State Northridge students hope to accomplish both. After almost seven years of false starts and bureaucratic delays, their experimental device for making a flawless ball bearing in space has been loaded aboard the space shuttle Columbia, which is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Wednesday morning.
August 21, 1989 |
Scientists have discovered a "Rogue's Gallery" of storm centers in the atmosphere of Neptune, including hurricane-like storms that are so intense they defy explanation. Packing winds of up to 400 m.p.h., the fierce storms appear as dark spots on photos that are being sent back to Earth from the Voyager spacecraft, which is zipping toward a close encounter with the distant planet Thursday night.
December 6, 1999 |
It's a scene that plays over and over in his mind: On the final leg of a mission to Mars, the spacecraft disappears with his experiments on board. It's no fantasy. In fact, three times UCLA planetary scientist David Paige has lost years of work and millions of dollars in equipment on three separate missions to Mars over the last decade. Throughout the weekend, the question lingered: Is he about to relive his worst nightmare?
July 5, 1997 |
In a spectacular success for NASA's return to Mars after a 21-year absence, the Pathfinder spacecraft bounced safely off the rocky surface of the Red Planet at just after 10 a.m. on the Fourth of July and coasted to a halt right on target and--more astonishingly--right-side up.
July 29, 1988
Fueling of the shuttle Discovery in a twice-delayed countdown test was interrupted by a small leak in an 8-inch liquid hydrogen rocket fuel line at the launch pad, officials said. If the leak persisted, they planned to pressurize the line in a bid to reseat a suspect seal. The three-hour procedure to fill the giant external tank with supercold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuel served as a rehearsal for a crucial main engine test firing Monday.