May 27

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May 27

1948 - Nation: USA. Launch Site: White Sands . Launch Complex: LC33. Launch Vehicle: V-2. LV Configuration: V-2 number 35.

V-2 number 35 Agency: Applied Physics Lab, John Hopkins University. Apogee: 140 km.
Launched 07:16 local time. Reached 140 km. Carried cosmic and solar radiation, photo, composition (Signal Corps Engineering Lab, University of Michigan) experiments for Applied Physics Lab, John Hopkins University.

1948 - Nation: Ukraine.

Future cosmonaut Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Volkov born in Gorlovka, Donetsk, Ukraine.

1949 - Nation: USA.

XS-1 Flight 115 Payload: XS-1 # 2 flight 46. Class: Manned. Type: Rocketplane. Spacecraft: XS-1. Flight Crew: Champine.
NACA flight 26. Spanwise pressure distribution, stability and control. Mach 0.91. Stabilizer found more effective than the elevator during pull-ups at mach 0.91. References: 49 , 97 .

1959 - Nation: USA.

STG staff discusses the possibility of an advanced manned spacecraft Program: Apollo.
Director Robert R. Gilruth met with members of his STG staff (Paul E. Purser, Charles J. Donlan, James A. Chamberlin, Raymond L. Zavasky, W. Kemble Johnson, Charles W. Mathews, Maxime A. Faget, and Charles H. Zimmeman) and George M. Low from NASA Headquarters to discuss the possibility of an advanced manned spacecraft. References: 16 .

1960 - Nation: USA. Launch Vehicle: Titan 1. LV Configuration: Titan 1.

Titan 1
8000 km range

1965 - - 19:26 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Vandenberg . Launch Complex: PALC2-4. Launch Vehicle: SLV-3 Atlas / Agena D. LV Configuration: Atlas s/n 7102 / Agena D.

KH 7-18 Payload: KH-7 no. 18. Mass: 2,000 kg. Class: Surveillance. Type: Military. Spacecraft: KH-7. Agency: U.S. Air Force. Perigee: 149 km. Apogee: 267 km. Inclination: 95.6 deg. Period: 88.7 min. COSPAR: 1965-041A.
KH-7 type satellite. Space craft engaged in investigation of spaceflight techniques and technology (US Cat A). References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 278 .

1968 - Nation: USSR.

Engineer cosmonaut group authorised.
Ministry of General Machine Building (MOM) Decree 163 'On formation of a new group of engineer cosmonauts under MOM' was issued. References: 474 .

1969 - Nation: USA.

Manned Apollo lunar roving vehicle go-ahead Program: Apollo. Spacecraft: Apollo LRV.
MSFC was authorized to proceed with development of a manned lunar roving vehicle for use on the Apollo missions beginning in mid-1971. A meeting was scheduled for June 6 in Washington to establish requirements for development of the vehicle. References: 16 .

1969 - - 13:00 GMT. Nation: USSR. Launch Site: Plesetsk . Launch Complex: LC133/1. Launch Vehicle: Kosmos 11K63.

Cosmos 283 Program: DS. Payload: DS-P1-Yu s/n 19. Mass: 250 kg. Class: Military. Spacecraft: DS-P1-Yu. Perigee: 196 km. Apogee: 1,501 km. Inclination: 81.9 deg. Period: 102.0 min. COSPAR: 1969-047A. Completed Operations Date: 11 December 1969.
Investigation of the upper atmosphere and outer space. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 99 .

1971 - - 12:00 GMT. Nation: USSR. Launch Site: Plesetsk . Launch Complex: LC133/1. Launch Vehicle: Kosmos 11K63.

Cosmos 423 Program: DS. Payload: DS-P1-Yu s/n 47. Mass: 325 kg. Class: Military. Spacecraft: DS-P1-Yu. Perigee: 272 km. Apogee: 487 km. Inclination: 71.0 deg. Period: 92.2 min. COSPAR: 1971-047A. Completed Operations Date: 20 November 1971.
Investigation of the upper atmosphere and outer space. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 99 .

1974 - - 07:25 GMT. Nation: USSR. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 11A511.

Cosmos 656 Program: Salyut. Payload: Soyuz 7K-T(A9) s/n 61. Mass: 6,675 kg. Class: Manned. Type: Spacecraft. Spacecraft: Soyuz 7K-T/A9. Perigee: 195 km. Apogee: 364 km. Inclination: 51.6 deg. Period: 90.0 min. COSPAR: 1974-036A. Duration: 2.01 days.
Unmanned test flight of the Soyuz 7K-T(A9) Soyuz variant designed for docking with the military Almaz space station. Recovered May 29, 1974 7:50 GMT. References: 1 , 2 , 6 .

1975 - Nation: USA.

Enterprise vertical stabilizer complete. Program: STS. Class: Manned. Type: Spaceplane. Spacecraft: Enterprise.
Vertical stabilizer on dock, Palmdale (main fin box only), Enterprise (OV-101) References: 15 .

1977 - Nation: USA.

Complete systems installation MPTA-098 Program: STS.
Complete systems installation/final acceptance, MPTA-098, transport from Downey to Seal Beach References: 15 .

1978 - - 01:25 GMT. Nation: USSR. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC200P. Launch Vehicle: Proton 8K82K / 11S86. LV Configuration: Proton 8K82K s/n 294-02 / 11S86 s/n 11L. FAILURE: Stage 1 - vehicle failed at launch.

Ekran s/n 13L Payload: Ekran s/n 13L. Mass: 1,970 kg. Class: Communications. Spacecraft: Ekran. COSPAR.
Failed launch of communications satellite. References: 5 , 67 , 274 .

1986 - Nation: USSR. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: Jubilee.

Buran Analog BST-02 flight 3 Program: Buran. Class: Manned. Type: Spaceplane. Spacecraft: Buran Analogue. Flight Crew: Stankiavicius, Volk.
Maximum speed 540 kph. Maximum altitude 4000 m. Time 23 minutes. References: 81 .

1986 - - 09:21 GMT. Nation: USSR. Launch Site: Plesetsk . Launch Complex: LC32. Launch Vehicle: Tsyklon 3.

Meteor 2-14 Payload: Meteor-2 no. 15. Mass: 2,750 kg. Class: Earth. Type: Weather. Spacecraft: Meteor-2. Perigee: 935 km. Apogee: 954 km. Inclination: 82.5 deg. Period: 103.9 min. COSPAR: 1986-039A.
Gathering meteorological information and data on penetrating radiation fluxes in circumterrestrial space. References: 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 .

1993 - - 01:21 GMT. Nation: Russia. Launch Site: Baikonur . Launch Complex: LC81L. Launch Vehicle: Proton 8K82K / 11S861. LV Configuration: Proton 8K82K s/n 364-02 / 11S861 s/n 69L. FAILURE: Second stage did not reach planned velocity. Cause determined to be propellant contamination.

Gorizont s/n 39L Payload: Gorizont s/n 39L. Mass: 2,125 kg. Class: Communications. Spacecraft: Gorizont. COSPAR. References: 5 , 67 , 111 , 274 .

1996 -

Chechnya peace treaty signed

1999 - - 07:21 GMT. Nation: USA. Launch Site: Cape Canaveral . Launch Complex: LC39B. Launch Vehicle: Shuttle. LV Configuration: STS-96.

Starshine Program: ISS. Class: Technology. Spacecraft: Starshine. Agency: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt. Manufacturer: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt. Perigee: 311 km. Apogee: 324 km. Inclination: 51.6 deg. COSPAR: 1999-030B.
At 0:721 GMT on June 5 the Starshine satellite was ejected into a 379 x 396 km x 51.6 degree orbit from a canister at the rear of STS-96 Space Shuttle Discovery's payload bay. The small Starshine satellite, built by NRL, was to be observed by students as part of an educational exercise.
Spacehab-DM Program: ISS. Payload: Spacehab-DM. Class: Manned. Type: Spacelab. Spacecraft: Spacehab. COSPAR: 1999-030x.
STS-96 Program: ISS. Payload: Discovery F26 / Spacehab-DM. Class: Manned. Type: Spaceplane. Spacecraft: Discovery. Agency: NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston. Manufacturer: Boeing Reusable Space Systems, Palmdale. Perigee: 379 km. Apogee: 385 km. Inclination: 51.6 deg. COSPAR: 1999-030A. Duration: 9.80 days. Flight Crew: Rominger, Husband, Jernigan, Ochoa, Barry, Payette, Tokarev. Manned flight: STS-96.
Discovery docked at the PMA-2 end of the International Space Station PMA-2/Unity/PMA-1/Zarya stack. The crew transferred equipment from the Spacehab Logistics Double Module in the payload bay to the interior of the station. Tammy Jernigan and Dan Barry made a space walk to transfer equipment from the payload bay to the exterior of the station. The ODS/EAL docking/airlock truss carried two TSA (Tool Stowage Assembly) packets with space walk tools. The Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC), built by Energia and DASA-Bremen, carried parts of the Strela crane and the US OTD crane as well as the SHOSS box which contains three bags of tools and equipment to be stored on ISS's exterior.
The STS-96 payload bay manifest:
- Bay 1-2: Orbiter Docking System/External Airlock
- Bay 3-4: Tunnel Adapter S/N 001
- Bay 5-7: Spacehab Tunnel
- Bay 5: Keel Yoke Device (KYD) and Integrated Cargo Carrier (ICC)
- Bay 8-12: Spacehab Logistics Double Module
- Bay 13 Port: Adapter Beam (ABA) with IVHM
- Bay 13 Stbd: Adapter Beam (ABA) with SVF/Starshine
- Sill: RMS Arm S/N 303
The STS-96 stack, on mobile launcher 2, was rolled back out to pad 39B after hail damage to the external tank had been repaired. On the launch day, solid rocket booster separation was at 10:51 GMT, main engine cut-off of external tank ET-100 at 10:57 GMT. Discovery was in an initial 74 km x 320 km x 51.6 degree transfer orbit. After the OMS-2 burn at 11:32 GMT, the orbit was 324 km x 341 km x 51.6 degree. Discovery docked with the International Space Station's PMA-2 docking port at 04:24 GMT on May 29. ISS was in a 379 km x 385 km x 51.6 degree orbit. In its configuration at that time it consisted of the PMA-2 docking port, NASA's Unity node, the NASA-owned, Russian-built Zarya module, and the PMA-1 docking unit connecting Unity and Zarya.
On May 30 at 02:56 GMT Tammy Jernigan and Dan Barry entered the payload bay of Discovery from the tunnel adapter hatch, and made a 7 hr 55 min space walk, transferring equipment to the exterior of the station.
On May 31 at 01:15 GMT the hatch to Unity was opened and the crew began several days of cargo transfers to the station. Battery units and communications equipment were replaced and sound insulation was added to Zarya. Discovery undocked from ISS at 22:39 GMT on June 3 into a 385 x 399 km x 51.6 degree orbit, leaving the station without a crew aboard. On June 5 the Starshine satellite was ejected from the payload bay. The payload bay doors were closed at around 02:15 GMT on June 6 and the deorbit burn was at 04:54 GMT. Discovery landed on runway 15 at Kennedy Space Center at 06:02 GMT. Additional Details: STS-96. References: 4 , 7 .

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Last update 12 March 2001.
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