Space History for January 13

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1864
Born, Wilhelm Wien, physicist (Nobel 1911 "for his discoveries regarding the laws governing the radiation of heat")

Wilhelm Wien (13 January 1864 - 30 August 1928) was a German physicist who, in 1893, used theories about heat and electromagnetism to compose Wien's Law, which relates the maximum emission of a blackbody to its temperature.

As Max von Laue wrote of Wien, "his immortal glory" was that he "led us to the very gates of quantum physics".

Wien was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for 1911.
ref: www.nobelprize.org

1875
Paul Henry discovered asteroid #141 Lumen.

1877
A. Borrelly discovered asteroid #171 Ophelia.

1888
The National Geographic Society was founded in Washington, DC.
ref: en.wikipedia.org

1901
M. Wolf discovered asteroid #465 Alekto.

1908
French pilot Henry Farman became the first European to fly a round trip flight by taking off, crossing a line, flying to a marker 500 m away, and returning to the starting line without touching the ground.
ref: www.thosemagnificentmen.co.uk

1920
A New York Times editorial asserted that rockets would never be able to fly ("now" quite obviously in error, and which the Times recanted on 17 July 1969).
ref: www.popsci.com

1920
J. Comas Sola discovered asteroid #925 Alphonsina.

1929
K. Reinmuth discovered asteroid #1985 Hopmann; and S. Arend discovered asteroid #1127 Mimi.

1940
K. Reinmuth discovered asteroids #1553 Bauersfelda and #1880 McCrosky.

1949
Born, Rakesh Sharma (at Patiala, India), Lieutenant Colonel Indian AF, cosmonaut (Soyuz T-11/Salyut 7; nearly 7d 21.75h in spaceflight)

Cosmonaut Rakesh Sharma
Source: Wikipedia
ref: www.spacefacts.de

1983
C. Shoemaker discovered asteroid #2906 Caltech; and L. G. Karachkina discovered asteroid #2892 Filipenko.

1993 08:59:30 EST (GMT -5:00:00)
NASA launched STS 54 (Endeavour 3, 54th Shuttle mission) to deploy the TDRS-F Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, and carry the DXS Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer experiment to space and back.

STS 54 was launched 13 January 1993. Its liftoff was delayed about seven minutes due to concerns associated with upper atmospheric winds. The mission's primary payload was the fifth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-6), which was deployed about six hours after liftoff. The attached Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster fired about one hour later to propel TDRS-6 to an intermediate checkout orbit. Also carried in the cargo bay was a Hitchhiker experiment, the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS), which was used to collect data on X-ray radiation from diffuse sources in deep space.

The middeck payloads on STS 54 were: the Commercial General Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA) for life sciences research; the Chromosome and Plant Cell Division in Space Experiment (CHROMEX) to study plant growth; the Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE) to examine skeletal system and adaptation of bone to space flight; the Space Acceleration Measurement Equipment (SAMS) to measure and record microgravity acceleration environment of middeck experiments; and the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment to measure rate of flame spread and temperature of burning filter paper.

On flight day five, Runco and Harbaugh spent nearly five hours walking in the open payload bay, performing a series of extravehicular activity (EVA) tasks designed to increase NASA's knowledge of working in space. The two mission specialists tested their abilities to move about freely in the cargo bay, climb into foot restraints without using their hands, and simulated carrying large objects in the microgravity environment.

STS 54 ended when Endeavor landed 19 January 1993 on revolution 96 on Runway 33, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, delayed one orbit due to ground fog at KSC. Rollout distance: 8,724 feet (2,659 meters). Rollout time: 49 seconds. Mission duration: five days, 23 hours, 38 minutes, 19 seconds. Orbit altitude: 165 nautical miles. Orbit inclination: 28.45 degrees.

The STS 54 flight crew was: John H. Casper, Commander; Donald R. McMonagle, Pilot; Mario Runco, Jr., Mission Specialist 1; Gregory J. Harbaugh, Mission Specialist 2; Susan J. Helms, Mission Specialist 3.
ref: www.nasa.gov

1996
Japan's Space Flyer Unit (SFU) was retrieved from orbit by NASA's STS 72 crew.

Japan launched their Space Flyer Unit (SFU) 18 March 1995 aboard an H-2 rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center. The satellite was plucked from orbit by NASA's STS 72 crew on 13 January 1996, completing a 10 month scientific mission involving almost a dozen experiments ranging from materials science to biological studies. Both solar arrays on the SFU had to be jettisoned prior to retrieval when sensors indicated improper latching following their retraction.

See also NSSDCA Master Catalog
ref: en.wikipedia.org

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