Nov 13 1986
From The Space Library
Martin Marietta, in competition for a contract to build the Space Station, unveiled a full-scale model depicting its plans at Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama. The intended crew module has eight sleeping quarters, each with a video recorder and a computer giving crew members direct access to home and the Space Station's main computer. (C Trib, Nov 14/86)
A $13 million At Force satellite that had served as a museum piece at the Smithsonian Institution was renamed Polar BEAR and lifted into polar orbit aboard a Scout rocket, NASA's smallest booster. The satellite's mission was to photograph the Northern Lights and sample electrical particles and the magnetic field in order to design better communications. (NY Times, Nov 15/86)
The third stage of a French Ariane rocket that had been launched nine months earlier blew up on this date. U.S. officials asked Arianespace to look into the matter in order to prevent a recurrence because orbiting debris posed an increased danger to other satellites. (W Times, Dec 2/86; W Post, Dec 2/86)
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