Space News for July 21, 1999

Shuttle Launch Aborted at Last Second

Everything was ready to go, but a hydrogen leak detected in the last few seconds caused NASA to abort the launch of the Space Shuttle Columbia. It turned to be a false alarm, and the shuttle is being prepared for another window on Thursday.

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Pluto Contains Natural Gas

Pluto has been found to contain deposits of frozen natural gas, in large deposits on the surface of the planet. Composed of ethane, a simple hydrocarbon, the gas was discovered using the newly commissioned Japanese Subaru telescope in Hawaii.

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Grissom’s Capsule Brought to the Surface

Gus Grissom’s Liberty Bell capsule, sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, was finally raised to the surface by the salvage team today. The team was plagued by delays, including storms, malfunctioning equipment, and navigational problems, but the recovery was timed almost perfectly with the 30th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.

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Kazakhstan Wants More Control Over Launches

The recent launch mishap at the Baikonur cosmodrome gave the Kazakh government the opportunity to flex its political muscles. Now it wants to be more involved in the launch process, and plans are in place to negotiate a tougher deal with Russia that gives Kazakhstan more control over launches, as well as a larger share in the profits.

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