baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) (01/19/90)
----------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, January 17, 1990 Audio: 202/755-1788 ----------------------------------------------------------------- This is NASA headline news for Wednesday, January 17..... The crew of the orbiter Columbia continues to operate a variety of experiments as they near completion of their ten day mission. Astronaut Bonnie Dunbar has completed her participation as a subject in the lower body negative pressure experiment. The device pulls fluids toward the body's lower extremities. Dunbar spent more than four hours in the device after consuming 32 ounces of liquid and eight salt tablets. Hopefully, the technique will help astronauts readapt better to gravity on return to earth. Mission Commander Dan Brandenstein, who celebrates his 47th birthday today, reported sighting a developing tropical storm northwest of Australia. The storm is nicknamed Sam. The latest predicted landing time, Friday, at Edwards Air Force Base, is about 5:55 A.M., Eastern Time. The deorbit burn is scheduled for 4:50 A.M. on orbit 157. In a related story...Associated Press reports that ground-water pumping brought about by a growing population in southern California's Antelope Valley is cracking and sinking the dry lakebed runways at Edwards Air Force Base. U.S. Air Force officials told the California Water Commission last week that the lake bed upon which the space shuttle often lands has subsided three feet in some areas and many fissures on the lakebed surface run for hundreds of feet. Aerospace Daily reports that the first flight test of the Pegasus air-launched orbital booster is planned for no earlier than March. DARPA and the Air Force say a third captive flight of the winged booster carried by a NASA B-52 aircraft will evaluate several fixes to the vehicle. The captive flight, scheduled for no earlier than January 30, will also check out upgrades made in the communications and data transfer systems. Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov Jet Propulsion Lab M/S 301-355 | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov 4800 Oak Grove Dr. | Pasadena, CA 91109 |