astronautics and aeronautics

296 Pages·2010·1.17 MB·English

ASTRONAUTICS AND AERONAUTICS:
A CHRONOLOGY, 2001–2005

NASA SP-2010-4031

February 2010

Authors: William Noel Ivey and Marieke Lewis
Project Manager: Alice R. Buchalter
Federal Research Division, Library of Congress

NASA History Division
Office of External Relations
NASA Headquarters
Washington, DC 20546
Aeronautics and Astronautics: A Chronology, 2001-2005

PREFACE
This report is a chronological compilation of narrative summaries of news reports and
government documents highlighting significant events and developments in U.S. and foreign
aeronautics and astronautics. It covers the years 2001 through 2005. These summaries provide a
day-by-day recounting of major activities, such as administrative developments, awards,
launches, scientific discoveries, corporate and government research results, and other events in
countries with aeronautics and astronautics programs. Researchers used the archives and files
housed in the NASA History Division, as well as reports and databases on the NASA Web site.

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Aeronautics and Astronautics: A Chronology, 2001-2005

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE ........................................................................................................................................ i

JANUARY 2001 ............................................................................................................................. 1
FEBRUARY 2001 .......................................................................................................................... 5
MARCH 2001 ................................................................................................................................. 9
APRIL 2001 .................................................................................................................................. 14
MAY 2001 .................................................................................................................................... 18
JUNE 2001 .................................................................................................................................... 22
JULY 2001 .................................................................................................................................... 27
AUGUST 2001 ............................................................................................................................. 31
SEPTEMBER 2001 ...................................................................................................................... 36
OCTOBER 2001 ........................................................................................................................... 40
NOVEMBER 2001 ....................................................................................................................... 45
DECEMBER 2001 ........................................................................................................................ 49

JANUARY 2002 ........................................................................................................................... 53
FEBRUARY 2002 ........................................................................................................................ 58
MARCH 2002 ............................................................................................................................... 62
APRIL 2002 .................................................................................................................................. 66
MAY 2002 .................................................................................................................................... 71
JUNE 2002 .................................................................................................................................... 75
JULY 2002 .................................................................................................................................... 79
AUGUST 2002 ............................................................................................................................. 83
SEPTEMBER 2002 ...................................................................................................................... 87
OCTOBER 2002 ........................................................................................................................... 92
NOVEMBER 2002 ....................................................................................................................... 97
DECEMBER 2002 ...................................................................................................................... 101

JANUARY 2003 ......................................................................................................................... 105
FEBRUARY 2003 ...................................................................................................................... 112
MARCH 2003 ............................................................................................................................. 117
APRIL 2003 ................................................................................................................................ 124
MAY 2003 .................................................................................................................................. 131
JUNE 2003 .................................................................................................................................. 138
JULY 2003 .................................................................................................................................. 145
AUGUST 2003 ........................................................................................................................... 151
SEPTEMBER 2003 .................................................................................................................... 156
OCTOBER 2003 ......................................................................................................................... 163
NOVEMBER 2003 ..................................................................................................................... 169
DECEMBER 2003 ...................................................................................................................... 174

JANUARY 2004 ......................................................................................................................... 179
FEBRUARY 2004 ...................................................................................................................... 183
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Aeronautics and Astronautics: A Chronology, 2001-2005

MARCH 2004 ............................................................................................................................. 187
APRIL 2004 ................................................................................................................................ 192
MAY 2004 .................................................................................................................................. 196
JUNE 2004 .................................................................................................................................. 199
JULY 2004 .................................................................................................................................. 202
AUGUST 2004 ........................................................................................................................... 205
SEPTEMBER 2004 .................................................................................................................... 208
OCTOBER 2004 ......................................................................................................................... 211
NOVEMBER 2004 ..................................................................................................................... 214
DECEMBER 2004 ...................................................................................................................... 217

JANUARY 2005 ......................................................................................................................... 220
FEBRUARY 2005 ...................................................................................................................... 225
MARCH 2005 ............................................................................................................................. 231
APRIL 2005 ................................................................................................................................ 238
MAY 2005 .................................................................................................................................. 244
JUNE 2005 .................................................................................................................................. 250
JULY 2005 .................................................................................................................................. 253
AUGUST 2005 ........................................................................................................................... 256
SEPTEMBER 2005 .................................................................................................................... 259
OCTOBER 2005 ......................................................................................................................... 262
NOVEMBER 2005 ..................................................................................................................... 265
DECEMBER 2005 ...................................................................................................................... 268

APPENDIX A: TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................... 273

APPENDIX B: BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................. 281

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JANUARY 2001

3 January
Using data from the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Infrared Space Observatory, a team of
NASA and university researchers identified three stars that they believed contain enough
hydrogen to create a Jupiter-like gas planet. The scientists, from Italy, the Netherlands, and the
United States, indicated that the stars Beta Pictoris, 49 Ceti, and HD1235344 have particularly
fertile environments, which might eventually form planets. Perhaps most significant, the
researchers found a “thousand times more hydrogen” in several stars than scientists had
discovered in earlier studies.1

8 January
NASA astronomer Gerard M. Williger announced the discovery of a massive cluster of quasars
and galaxies, a concentration presumed to be the largest structure ever observed in the universe.
Collaborating with fellow NASA astronomers Luis E. Campusano, Roger G. Clowes, and Chris
P. Haines, Williger had located the body approximately 6.5 billion light-years away from Earth,
in the heart of the constellation Leo the Lion. Not prepared to state with certainty that the find
was the largest ever discovered, Williger clarified, “We have found nothing bigger in the
literature and nobody has brought to our attention anything bigger.” Moreover, he speculated that
the enormous gathering of quasars might be “an artifact of the Big Bang.” Articles in scientific
journals and in popular publications expressed excitement at the find.2

9 January
A team of astronomers led by Geoffrey W. Marcy of the University of California at Berkeley and
R. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution of Washington announced that, during a long-term
project to search for planets that orbit stars residing within 300 light-years of Earth, they had
discovered two new planetary systems. Astronomers had already discovered dozens of planetary
systems, but Marcy and Butler had found the first and second examples ever observed of systems
with more than one planet orbiting a star. Furthermore, one of the planets discovered was so
massive that it defied the parameters that scientists had previously used to define planets. In
response to the discovery, one of Butler’s colleagues stated simply, “I am astonished.” Marcy
admitted that he and his team did not know how to classify their discovery, saying, “The outer
companion (of this star) is so massive, between 17 and 40 times the mass of Jupiter, that it seems
too large for a conventional planet. We frankly don’t know what name to give it!”3

10 January
At the American Astronomical Society convention, astronomers Victoria M. Kaspi and Mallory
S. E. Roberts of McGill University presented evidence dating a known pulsar to 386 AD.
Because scientists consider it quite difficult to determine the age of particular pulsars or of any
astronomical body, the scientific community regarded the find as especially significant. The

1 W. F. Thi et al., “Substantial Reservoirs of Molecular Hydrogen in the Debris Disks Around Young Stars,” Nature
409, no. 6816 (4 January 2001): 60–63; Associated Press, “Study Finds Nearby Star Systems Capable of Making
Big Planets,” 3 January 2001.
2 New York Times, “Bigger Than A Breadbox, or Anything Else,” 8 January 2001; Reuters, “Quasars May Point To
Universe’s Biggest Structure,” 8 January 2001.
3 Kathy Sawyer, “A Giant Find Startles Astronomers,” Washington Post, 10 January 2001; Reuters, “Astronomers
Find Two New Planetary Systems,” 9 January 2001.
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researchers had used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to locate the pulsar exactly at the
center of a supernova remnant known as G11.2-0.3, which astronomers had already definitively
dated. Scientists believed that both the pulsar and the supernova had formed during an explosion
in 386 ADan event that early Chinese astronomers had recorded. Astronomers have
experienced difficulty tracking and interpreting the patterns of pulsars, because the formations
spin and move rapidly. In light of the successful dating, many scientists hoped that the discovery
might help them understand how pulsars develop.4

11 January
The People’s Republic of China launched a robotic spacecraft from the Gobi desert, a significant
step in the country’s long-term plan to join the United States and Russia as one of the only
nations capable of sending humans into space. The Shenzhou 2 craft reached orbit about 10
minutes after launch. China had shrouded its 31-year-old space program in secrecy, releasing
few details about funding or about China’s future goals. People’s Daily, however, called the
launch “an important step in realizing manned spaceflight.” President Jiang Zemin urged
Chinese space officials to further accomplishments, saying, “I hope you will work persistently
and unremittingly to achieve even greater victory.” Space experts speculated that a successful
Shenzhou 2 mission could mean that China would be ready to send a man or woman to space in
the next two to five years. Chinese officials remained circumspect regarding their exact plans.5

20 January
Administrator Daniel S. Goldin became NASA’s first head to serve three different presidents
when George W. Bush assumed the presidency of the United States. Although some had
speculated that Goldin’s tenure would end when President William J. Clinton left office,
President George W. Bush asked Goldin to remain in his position indefinitely, while the new
administration reviewed possible candidates to replace him. Originally appointed by President
George H. W. Bush in 1992, Goldin had instituted vast changes at NASA with his “faster, better,
cheaper” approach. During his tenure, Goldin had reduced the number of NASA employees from
24,000 to 18,000 while overseeing the successful building and deployment of the International
Space Station (ISS).6

24 January
The Russian Space Agency launched a cargo ship headed for the aging Mir space station. The
mission’s aim was simple: to remove the 15-year-old space station from orbit safely, by
propelling it into Earth’s atmosphere. To accomplish the task, Russia selected an unpiloted
Progress M1-5 cargo ship, carrying enough fuel for its own journey and to fire Mir’s thrusters. A
series of mechanical problems, including a fire and a collision with another cargo craft in 1997,
combined with Russia’s shortage of funds for space endeavors, had led to the Russian
government’s decision to end Mir’s successful run. With the launch of the Progress craft, some
cosmonauts and Russian space officials protested the destruction of the last remaining symbol of

4 NASA, “Chandra Links Pulsar to Historic Supernova,” news release 01-02, 10 January 2001.
5 Associated Press, “Rocket Launch Aids New Space Program,” 11 January 2001; Associated Press, “Second
Unmanned Chinese Spacecraft Returns to Earth,” 16 January 2001.
6 Frank Morring Jr., “Goldin Sees Station, Innovation as Legacies of His NASA Tenure,” Aerospace Daily, 8
January 2001; Brian Berger, “Goldin Responds to Presiding over NASA Through Bush Team Transition,” Space
News, 23 January 2001; Bryant Jordan, “NASA’s Goldin Likely Gone,” Federal Computer Week, 11 January 2001,
http://www.fcw.com (accessed 11 January 2001).
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the space heyday of the Soviet Union. Amateur astronomers aimed their telescopes toward the
skies to glimpse Mir one last time as it orbited Earth.7

DiversityBusiness.com named NASA one of the United States’ top 50 organizations for
providing multicultural business opportunities. Sparked by the efforts of its Office of Small and
Disadvantaged Business Utilization, NASA had awarded more than US$2 billion in contracts to
minority-owned and women-owned businesses during 2000. NASA joined companies such as
Cisco Systems Inc., Microsoft Corporation, and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. among those honored.
NASA’s hiring of disadvantaged businesses had more than doubled during Administrator Daniel
S. Goldin’s tenure.8

Michael A. Chowdry, the founder and chairperson of Atlas Air Inc., and Jeff Cole, the aerospace
editor for the Wall Street Journal, died in a plane crash, which occurred minutes after takeoff
from the Front Range Airport in Watkins, Colorado. Chowdry had formed Atlas Air in 1992, to
lease jumbo cargo jets and to provide flight crews to the airfreight industry. Since 1999, readers
of the Wall Street Journal had known Cole for his detailed and insightful coverage of the defense
and aerospace industries. After interviewing Chowdry, Cole had accepted his invitation to ride
aboard a Czech fighter jet. Chowdry was piloting the jet when it crashed.9

25 January
NASA made available the first large-scale images revealing a tail of electrified gas streaming
from Earth toward the Sun. One of the images, which NASA’s Imager for Magnetopause to
Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft had produced, appeared on the cover of Science.
The IMAGE technology had captured new views of previously unverifiable gas trapped within
Earth’s magnetic field, known as the magnetosphere. The images placed in the context of the
solar system the vast reach of the region affected by Earth’s magnetosphere, which extends past
the Moon on the night side of Earth. Astronomers compared the perspective the new images
provided them, to the perspective satellite images of Earth provide to scientists researching
hurricanes.10

30 January
Presiding over the launch of a Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite, Major Nina M.
Armagno became the first female launch director at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Armagno assumed responsibility for a 400-person crew and for making the final decision about
whether to proceed with launch plans.11

7 Associated Press, “Cargo Ship Intended To Dump Mir Blasts Off Successfully,” 24 January 2001; Reuters,
“Kazakhstan: Russia To Launch Ship To Bring Mir Era to End,” 17 January 2001; Agence France-Presse, “Russia
Sets January 18 as Date for Mir’s Final Appointment in Space,” 4 January 2001; Michael Alicea, “See Mir in
FlightBefore It’s Gone,” Palm Beach Post (FL), 21 January 2001.
8 NASA, “NASA Makes the A-Team for Multicultural Contract Awards,” news release 01-10, 24 January 2001.
9 Wall Street Journal, “Crash Kills Atlas Air Chairman and Journal’s Aerospace Editor,” 25 January 2001.
10 NASA, “NASA’s Image Reveals Earth’s Invisible Magnetic Tail,” news release 01-08, 25 January 2001; cover of
Science 291, no. 5504 (26 January 2001).
11 Kelly Young, “First Woman Directs Launch,” Florida Today (Brevard, FL), 31 January 2001.
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31 January
NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft completed its primary mission, having collected more
information about Mars than all of the previous missions combined had acquired. “By any
conceivable measure the scientific impact of Mars Global Surveyor has been extraordinary,” said
Global Surveyor Project Scientist Arden L. Albee. Since reaching the Red Planet in 1998, Global
Surveyor had gathered data on Mars’s climate, topography, and geology, as well as mapping the
entire planet. The orbiter, which launched in November 1996, had provided a steady stream of
invaluable data. Among the most significant findings of the primary mission had been the
detection of significant evidence of liquid water, the detection of a magnetized crust on the
planet’s southern hemisphere, and the discovery of new information about seasonal changes on
the planet. The spacecraft had gathered the data in the course of more than 8,500 orbits of the
planet, during which it had collected 58,000 images. With Mars Global Surveyor still functioning
effectively, NASA planned to extend its mission and continue its research.12

NASA’s Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) Shoemaker spacecraft completed its primary
mission to the asteroid Eros. NEAR was the first spacecraft successfully to orbit an asteroid and
to provide detailed data about it. Even in its first year, the NEAR spacecraft had exceeded
expectations, gathering 10 times more data than scientists had forecast. Traveling more than 2
billion miles (3.2 billion kilometers), NEAR had captured 11 million laser pulses; x-ray, gamma-
ray, and infrared readings; and approximately 160,000 images of Eros. With its initial objectives
accomplished, the NEAR team focused on accomplishing another firsta controlled descent of
the spacecraft onto the asteroid. Astronomers hoped that the landing would gather close-up
images, otherwise impossible to obtain. With the low-cost and efficient spacecraft nearly out of
fuel, NEAR Mission Director Robert W. Farquhar explained that NEAR’s landing was a final
attempt to glean as much as possible from the endeavor. Said Farquhar, “With the spacecraft just
about out of fuel and our science objectives met, this is a great way to end a successful mission.
It’s all bonus science . . . at this point the only real risk is not taking one.”13

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) announced that Charles Elachi would become Director
of its 5,000-employee, US$1.3 billion research facility in Pasadena, California. Elachi, an expert
in the field of remote sensing best known for developing radar systems, had assumed JPL’s top
post after 30 years of service with NASA. JPL had interviewed more than 70 candidates over
eight months before selecting Elachi. Concerning JPL’s challenge to encourage further
exploration while meeting tight budgets, Elachi remarked, “It’s basically striking a balance
between faster implementation and cheaper implementation and making sure we have success.”
Having lost two separate spacecraft headed for Mars in 1999, JPL stood at a critical juncture as
Elachi assumed control.14

12 NASA, “New Era Begins as Mars Global Surveyor Completes Prime Mission,” news release 01-14, 31 January
2001.
13 NASA, “NEAR Mission Completes Main Task, Now Will Go Where No Spacecraft Has Gone Before,” news
release 01-13, 31 January 2001.
14 Associated Press, “New Director Named for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory,” 31 January 2001; Usha Lee
McFarling, “30-Year Veteran of JPL Is Chosen as Its Leader,” Los Angeles Times, 31 January 2001.
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FEBRUARY 2001

2 February
NASA opened a new command and control center that would allow researchers on Earth to
participate in scientific research conducted aboard the ISS. The new facility, located at NASA’s
Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, featured state-of-the-art
communication and research technologies. Director of MSFC Arthur G. Stephenson described
the new center as a significant part of NASA’s ongoing plan to make space research more
efficient and useful: “From this facility we will manage fundamental scientific research that can
only be done in spaceresearch that will lead to knowledge to benefit all humanity here on
Earth.” NASA planned to staff the 13,000-square-foot (1,200-square-meter) facility 24 hours per
day to support research aboard ISS. In addition to its link to the ISS, the new facility was
equipped to monitor payload resources, facilitate data transfer, and communicate with
universities and research centers throughout the world. The new command post opened only days
before Space Shuttle Atlantis’s scheduled trip into space to carry the Destiny research laboratory
module to the ISS.15

7 February
Space Shuttle Atlantis STS-98/ISS-5A lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in
Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the most expensive and crucial component of the ISSthe
United States–built Destiny science laboratory. Mark Stephenson of the Boeing Company, which
had built the US$1.4 billion research module, called the vessel “the crown jewel” of the ISS.
NASA had set high stakes on the Destiny laboratory, which was so expensive and complicated to
build, that NASA could not afford to assemble a backup module. Therefore, any problem in the
transport and connection of the Destiny module would set back the ISS several years. NASA had
delayed Atlantis’s mission for three weeks when engineers discovered evidence that faulty
wiring might compromise the Shuttle’s safety. The vital mission brought the ISS closer to
becoming the permanent and highly functional research station that NASA and the international
space community had long awaited. The Destiny laboratory measured 28 feet (9 meters) long,
weighed more than 30,000 pounds (13,600 kilograms), and held 13 computers. NASA expected
to control the ISS using the computers and communications equipment built into Destiny.
Because of the Space Shuttle’s cargo, some officials speculated that Atlantis’s mission was the
most important for NASA’s research agenda ever undertaken. One NASA spokesperson called
the Destiny module “the cornerstone for space-based research aboard the orbiting platform.” The
STS-98 crew consisted of Commander Kenneth D. Cockrell; Pilot Mark L. Polansky; and
Mission Specialists Robert L. Curbeam Jr., Thomas D. Jones, and Marsha S. Ivins.16

15 NASA, “NASA Opens Space Station Command Post,” news release 01-15, 2 February 2001; Shelby G. Spires,
“MSFC Opens Science ‘Mission Control’ Today,” Huntsville Times (AL), 2 February 2001.
16 NASA, “Space Shuttle Mission Archives: STS-98,” http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/
shuttlemissions/archives/sts-98.html (accessed 2 February 2009); William Harwood, “Atlantis Heads for Space
Station; Shuttle Flight No. 102 Will Transport $1.4 Billion Lab Module,” Washington Post, 8 February 2001; Kelly
Young, “Atlantis To Deliver Destiny,” Florida Today (Brevard, FL), 7 February 2001; Associated Press, “Shuttle
Totes Space Station’s ‘Crown Jewel’,” 8 February 2001; Associated Press, “Countdown Begins for Launch of
NASA Lab,” 5 February 2001; NASA, “Atlantis Set To Deliver International Space Station’s Destiny,” news release
01-16, 5 February 2001.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed a new director of Russia’s largest manufacturer of
spacecraft and rockets, the Khrunichev State Research and Production Company. Putin selected
Alexander I. Medvedev to succeed Anatoly Kiselyov, who had headed the company for 26 years.
At the time of the change in leadership, Kiselyov had reported failing health. Companies with
interests in Russian space exploration continued to adjust to postcommunist operations. The
Khrunichev State Research and Production Company, providing much of the revenue to keep
Russia’s space projects alive, manufactured Proton booster rockets used to launch commercial
and communication satellites.17

9 February
Lieutenant Governor of Florida Frank T. Brogan and Roy D. Bridges Jr., Director of NASA’s
KSC, broke ground on a new research facility located just south of KSC. The new project,
officially named the Space Experiment Research and Processing Laboratory (SERPL), joined
researchers from the state of Florida, NASA, the Florida Space Research Institute, and the
University of Florida. The research center would devote significant resources to ISS research and
to examining the commercial potential of space-related research. Bridges described the venture
as widely beneficial, saying, “SERPL and the unprecedented opportunities for collaboration that
it represents are key to Kennedy’s evolution to a recognized center for technology development.
We expect this partnership to pay dividends to NASA, the State of Florida, and the space
industry well into the future.18

10 February
The crew of Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully installed the Destiny laboratory on the ISS.
Using the Shuttle’s robotic arm, astronaut Marsha S. Ivins moved the module from the Shuttle’s
payload area to its place on the side of the ISS. After patching up a small leak from one of the
module’s coolant lines, two spacewalking astronauts connected electrical, fluid, and data lines
between the ISS and the Destiny laboratory. After carefully completing the installation,
astronauts opened a hatch connecting the new module to the rest of the ISS. The additional 3,750
cubic feet (106 cubic meters) of space made the ISS the largest spacecraft ever. Astronaut
Kenneth D. Cockrellalong with William M. Shepherd, the first to enter the Destiny
modulereported, “The lab looks and feels and smells great, and looks like all the hard work
has really paid off. It’s a beautiful piece of hardware in here.”19

12 February
The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft landed on the 433 Eros asteroid, becoming the first probe ever
to accomplish such a feat. The landing was a bonus. NEAR had already successfully completed a
1 billion-mile mission, which had provided pictures of Earth, comet Hoylake, and the asteroid
253 Mathilde. After a carefully scripted 5-hour descent, NEAR touched down safely, traveling at
about 4 miles (6 kilometers) per hour. The spacecraft, which engineers had not designed for the
impromptu landing mission, did not have a parachute to lessen its impact on the asteroid’s

17 Associated Press, “New Chief for Russia Space Company,” 7 February 2001.
18 M2 Presswire, “NASA and Florida Join Forces To Develop Space Science Facility,” 9 February 2001.
19 William Harwood, “Spacewalking Astronauts Attach Lab Module to Space Station,” Washington Post, 11
February 2001; USA Today, “Space Station Module Gives Crew More Space,” 12 February 2001; Washington Post,
“Astronauts Open Hatch to Destiny Laboratory; Alpha Now Largest Orbiting Outpost,” 12 February 2001;
Associated Press, “Astronauts Install Lab on Station,” 12 February 2001.
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