Day: December 8, 1990

Galileo’s antenna problem

GalileoLaunched in 1989 via Space Shuttle, the unmanned Galileo probe reveals a significant technical problem during its first flyby of Earth: the umbrella-like high-gain antenna, allowing it to send its observations of Jupiter and its moons back to Earth at high speed, is stuck in a partly-open, partly-closed configuration that prevents its use. Ground engineers at JPL have to devise data compression schemes, and a tight record/playback schedule, that will allow Galileo to take all of its planned observations and send them back to Earth at a lower bit rate than planned. It is theorized that the long delays in Galileo’s launch – the probe was ready for launch in 1982 but had to wait through delays in the early shuttle program and was then kept in storage in the aftermath of the Challenger disaster – allowed the antenna’s lubricant to dry up. Galileo won’t reach its target planet, Jupiter, until 1995.

Super Force: Come Home To Die

Super ForceThe ninth episode of the science fiction crime drama Super Force is broadcast in syndication in North America, starring Ken Olandt, Larry B. Scott, and Patrick Macnee (The Avengers).

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Superboy: Mindscape

SuperboyThe 62nd episode of the syndicated series Superboy, starring Gerard Christopher and Stacy Haiduk, airs.

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Dracula: The Series: Get A Job

Dracula: The SeriesThe 11th episode of Dracula: The Series airs in syndication, starring Bernard Behrens, Geordie Johnson, and Mia Kirshner.

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Galileo visits a small blue planet

Earth and moonNASA/JPL’s Galileo space probe reaches the second destination on the lengthy “VEEGA” (Venus/Earth/Earth Gravity Assist) flight path that will eventually take it to Jupiter. This leg of Galileo’s journey brings it back to its home planet, Earth, where crystal-clear images of the planet are obtained from the perspective of a passing spacecraft. Galileo will loop past Earth once more at a later date en route to Jupiter.