The Eighties in America - Salem Press (2009)

to the planet on August 25, 1989. Voyager 2 discov-
ered the Great Dark Spot, a hole in Neptune’s cloud
cover; spotted six new moonlets; and scrutinized its
largest moon, Triton, detecting active volcanism.
Two additional highly successful probes were
launched in 1989. Magellan was released into Earth
orbit by a space shuttle on May 4 and then blasted off
toward Venus, and on October 18, Galileo was also
released from a space shuttle and sent on its way to
Jupiter.

Impact Once Voyager 2 passed Neptune in 1989,
all of the solar system’s major planets had been vis-
ited by U.S. probes, a triumph for NASA quite in
addition to the wealth of photographs and data
the Voyager probes returned. These successful pro-
grams encouraged the agency to focus on deep
space probes through the next two decades. The
COBE infrared observatory produced data that gave
crucial support to a cosmological theory that the
early universe experienced a spurt of “inflationary”
growth. The theory later became accepted among
cosmologists.

Subsequent Events The Voyager probes soon
passed Pioneer 10 to become the most distant human-
made objects and throughout the decade continued
returning data about the outermost reaches of the
solar system. Magellan reached Venus on August 10,
1990, and began mapping its surface with radar. Af-
ter photographing two asteroids en route, Galileo
entered orbit around Jupiter on December 7, 1995,
and was operational for eight years.

Further Reading
Evans, Ben, with David M. Harland.NASA’s Voyager
Missions: Exploring the Outer Solar System and Be-
yond. Chichester, England: Springer, 2004. Covers
planetary discoveries of the two Voyager probes,
and the historical background to them, in detail;
describes the design, launch, and flights of the
probes themselves. With an abundance of black-
and-white and color photographs.
Godwin, Robert, and Steve Whitefield, eds.Deep
Space: The NASA Mission Reports. Burlington, Ont.:
Apogee Books, 2005. Contains original articles,
overviews, and technical descriptions of the Pio-
neer and Voyager missions written during the
programs, with many illustrations. A resource for
space exploration enthusiasts and amateur histo-
rians.

Neal, Valerie, Cathleen S. Lewis, and Frank H. Win-

ter.Spaceflight: A Smithsonian Guide. New York:

Macmillan, 1995. This pleasantly written, non-

technical general history of American spaceflight

includes a chapter on planetary probes and offers

many dramatic photographs and graphics.

Tobias, Russell R., and David G. Fisher, eds.USA in

Space. 3 vols. 3d ed. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press,

2006. Comprehensive collection of nontechnical
      articles that detail the history of American space
      programs and individual voyages. With black-and-
      white photographs and graphics.
      Roger Smith

See also Astronomy;Challengerdisaster; Garneau,

Marc; Ride, Sally; Science and technology; SETI In-

stitute; Space shuttle program.

Space shuttle program

Definition Program using reusable manned

spacecraft

The space shuttle provided the National Aeronautics and

Space Administration with the means to conduct varied

missions for scientific, governmental, militar y, and com-

mercial customers.

President Richard M. Nixon approved the space

shuttle program in April, 1972. Capable of hauling

cargo and personnel to low Earth orbit and return-

ing to a runway landing, the Space Transportation

System (STS) promised launch service cost reduc-

tion and reusability. In the realm of American crewed

flight, after the Apollo program, only three Skylab

missions and a joint U.S.-Soviet docking (Apollo-

Soyuz Test Project) were conducted during the re-

mainder of the 1970’s. Shuttle development suf-

fered budget constraints and technical problems.

The first orbiter,Columbia, had been scheduled for a

March, 1978, launch, but that date slipped repeat-

edly.

Columbia’s First Missions In 1981, the nation

turned its attention toward Kennedy Space Center

(KSC) for the first crewed National Aeronautics

and Space Administration (NASA) spaceflight since

1975. AboardColumbiaon STS-1 were veteran astro-
      naut John W. Young and rookie astronaut Robert L.
      Crippen, Jr. On April 10, a computer timing discrep-

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Space shuttle program The Eighties in America