The Astronaut Who Captured a Satellite
Explanation:
In 1984, high above the Earth's surface, an astronaut captured a satellite.
It was the second satellite captured that mission.
Pictured above, astronaut
Dale A. Gardner
flies free using the
Manned Maneuvering Unit and begins to
attach a control device dubbed the Stinger to the rotating Westar 6 satellite.
Communications satellite
Westar 6 had suffered a rocket
malfunction that left it unable to reach its intended high
geosynchronous orbit.
Both the previously caught
Palapa B-2
satellite and the
Westar 6 satellite were guided into the cargo bay of the
Space Shuttle Discovery
and returned to Earth.
Westar 6
was subsequently refurbished and
sold.
Note: An APOD editor will review great space images this Thursday night in Houghton, Michigan.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
