Space News for April 19, 1999

Astronauts Complete Partially Successful Mir Spacewalk

Russian cosmonaut Viktor Afanasyev and French astronaut Jean-Pierre Heignere spent six hours “spacewalking” outside of the Mir spacestation on Friday. Their goal was to repair some holes in the hull and perform a few experiments, but they ran out of time and had to return before completing their mission.

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Global Surveyor Suffers Antenna Glitch

The Mars Global Surveyor was attempting to deploy its high-gain antenna boom to point at Earth when it developed a problem with one of its hinges. The spacecraft was put into “contingency mode” while JPL and Lockheed Martin engineers attempt to determine the problem.

Astronomy Now

Team Delays Mercury Capsule Salvage

Suffering problems with its equipment, the team planning to retrieve the Mercury space capsule delayed its operation at least a day – they expect to head out Monday. The team is looking for the Mercury capsule that almost drowned astronaut Gus Grissom when an emergency hatch blew open after splashdown in 1961.

CNN Space

Air Force Plans Investigation into NASA Launch Problems

Thanks to the recent botched launch of the Defense Support Program satellite, the US Air Force is investigating the upper-stage motor that apparently caused the satellite to enter an incorrect orbit. This investigation will probably delay the launch of the Chandra X-ray telescope that is planning to use the same motor.

CNN Space