SOME ITEMS BROADCAST DURING 1998

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
compiled by Andrew Rennie

BROADCAST
DATE
SUBJECTDESCRIPTION
January 7 Lunar Prospector Launch Delayed broadcast of the live commentary from NASA TV of the countdown, launch, ascent, staging and communications difficulties over Australia of the Lunar Prospector aboard an Athena 2 launch vehicle. Also the post launch news conference featuring Joseph Boyce (Programme Scientist, NASA HQ), Scott Hubbard (Mission Manager, NASA Ames), Edward Connor (Executive Director, Spacport Florida Authority), Lawrence Price (Director, Samm Launch Vehicles, Lockheed Martin), Michael Kurtz (Vice President, Civil Space Programmes, Lockheed Martin).
January 14 Shoemaker and the Moon A profile of Eugene Shoemaker and his quest to travel to the Moon.
January 21 Preview of STS 89 A look back at Australian born NASA Astronaut Andy Thomas' flight aboard STS 77 and a look forward to his pending launch aboard STS 89 to start a long duration mission aboard the Russian space station Mir.
Listen or Download STS 77 launch clip (2 min 9 s - 2.0 MB)
January 28 Launch of STS 89 Launch of Andrew Thomas aboard STS 89 to Mir. Also docking of Endeavour with Mir.
Listen or Download launch portion of programme (13 min 54 s - 13.0 MB)
March 11 Water On The Moon Detailing the search for and finding of water on the Moon by the Clementine and Lunar Prospector spacecraft.
March 11 First Woman Shuttle Commander A profile of and comment by Eileen Collins, who was selected as the first female commander of the Space Shuttle.
March 11 The Solar Wind The technique of Interplanetary Scintillation to reveal festures of the solar wind, described by John Parkinson of University College, London.
March 25 Kistler Aerospace Corporate documentary feature supplied by Kister Aerospace describing the Kister K-1 launch vehicle.
Listen or Download (11 min 11 s - 10.4 MB)
April29 Earth & Sky Young Producers All winning entries from the Earth and Sky Young producers competition, including "The Colours Of Uluru" by Mac.Robertson Girls' High School students Emma Tung and Alana Danne, which was awarded an Honourable Mention. Also music by students from this Albert Park school.
Listen or Download (10 min 12 s - 9.8 MB)
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April 29 Kistler Aerospace Contract signed with Kistler Aerospace for use of Woomera Prohited Area in South Australia. Also a Corporate documentary feature supplied by Kister Aerospace further describing the Kister K-1 mission profile.
Listen or Download (10 min 19 s - 9.6 MB)
April 29 Satellites and Us The role of satelites in our lives.
June 24 Belrose Tour Corporate documentary feature on the Belrose Satellite Ground Station, supplied by Optus Communications, Sydney.
Listen or download (6 min 43 s - 6.3 MB)
July 22 Extrasolar Planets Discussions between astronomers from the Space Telescope Science Institute on issues related to the search for extrasolar planets.
July 22 Space Technology In China Chinese documentary feature on Chinese rocket and satellite development. (Courtesy CGWM)
Listen or download (15 min 45 s - 14.7 MB)
August 12 Planetary Nebulae Discussion by astronomers from the Space Telescope Science Institute on the origin and evolution of planetary nebulae.
August 12 Apollo 14 Part One of documentary on the Apollo 14 mission, broadcast to mark the death of Alan Shepard.
August 19 Apollo 14 Part two of the documentary on the Apollo 14 mission, broadcast to mark the death of Alan Shepard.
October 14 Friendship Seven The Original NASA Documentary made in 1962 to describe the mission of John Glenn aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft. Broadcast to mark the return to space of John Glenn.
November 4 The Lights of Perth Selected outtakes from the NASA TV coverage of the flight of John Glenn aboard the Space Shuttle. The countdown, the launch and climb to orbit taken from live commentary. Includes Glenn's observation of the lights of Perth, and the comments of the citizens of Perth. Also features a description of the biomedical experiments performed by John Glenn.
November 11 Australian Space Industry Policy With a space policy bill before the Parliament, we dug out an old interview with Ken McCracken, then Director of the CSIRO Office of Space Science and Applications, on the need for Australia to have a space policy. This was compared with the current developments.
NOTE: This programme was not recorded. Listen or download McCracken's contribution (12 min 40 s - 11.8 MB)
November 18 William Herschell A profile of Herschell and his astronomical work.
November 18 International Space Station NASA documentary feature on the scientific research to be carried out aboard the International Space Station.
November 25 The Leonid Meteors A roundup of media coverage of the Leonid meteor shower, including an interview about a 7.5 kg meteorite found in Victoria.
November 25 Zarya The launch of Zarya, the first element of the International Space Station. From NASA TV: the launch coverage from Baikonur Cosmodrome, the purpose of Zarya, the plans for the first two weeks in orbit.
December 2 Zarya and Unity Plans to link Zarya and Unity.
December 23 Apollo 8 Documentary on the Apollo 8 mission, the mark the 30th anniversary of the first manned mission around the Moon.