Dec 16 1987
From The Space Library
NASA scientists announced that they have direct proof that exploding stars produce most of the 90-odd chemical elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. These elements are part of the composition of planets and moons in the solar system and also are found in plants and animals on Earth. The findings came from observations and analysis of the gamma-ray emissions from radioactive cobalt produced in the Supernova 1987a explosion. The observations were conducted by the Solar Maximum Mission satellite, which had been studying the Supernova since August 1987, and two balloon-borne experiments flown in October and November from Alice Springs, Australia, as part of NASA's Fall Supernova Observations Campaign, (NASA Release 87-185; H Post, Dec 20/87; NY Times, Dec 17/87; P Inq, Dec 20/87; W Post, Dec 17/87)
A spokesman for Pentagon's Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) stated that research and an experiment conducted by SDIO demonstrated for the first time that lasers and other high-powered electrical devices can be operated in space without heavy insulation to prevent short circuits. The experiment involved the launching of a 60-foot rocket from Wallops Island, Virginia, on December 13, 1987. Extending from the nose cone of the rocket were two probes about 39 inches apart. These probes were alternatively charged with high amounts of electrical power, up to 44,000 volts. Although there was no insulation between them, no arcing of the electrical charge between the two probes occurred, as it would commonly occur on Earth. The experiment confirmed that space is a good insulator in and of itself: (NY Times, Dec 17/87)
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