Happy birthday, Sadako Pointer!

 Sadako Pointer, born March 25, 1984 in Marin County, California, is the granddaughter of Ruth Pointer, and is currently touring with her aunt Issa and Ruth.  

Sadako, Ruth, and Issa "Jump"

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Nikolai Chub!

Nikolai Chub, born June 10, 1984 in the former USSR, went into space aboard Soyuz MS-24 as flight engineer to the International Space Station in September 2023.  He participated in Expeditions 69-71 and conducted two EVAs, for a total of twelve hours, seventeen minutes. 

He returned to Earth aboard Soyuz MS-25 in September 2024 after almost 374 days in space. 

"Return of the Jedi" wins five Saturn Awards 1984

IMHO, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is one of the best movies ever made.  Fortunately, I might not be the only one who thinks that, since the movie was nominated for ten Saturn Awards, and won five at the annual ceremony by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films, March 24, 1984.

It won Best Science Fiction Film, Best Actor for Mark Hamill for his performance as Luke Skywalker,  Best Costumes for Aggie Guerard Rodgers and Nilo Rodis-Jamero, Best Make-up for Phil Tippett and Stuart Freeborn, and Best Special Effects for Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, and Ken Ralston.  

Return of the Jedi was nominated for Best Director for Richard Marquand, Best Actress for Carrie Fisher, Best Supporting Actor for Billy Dee Williams, Best Writing for Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas, and Best Music for John Williams. 

Something Wicked This Way Comes, an unusually dark film from Walt Disney won Best Fantasy Film and Best Writing for Ray Bradbury.  It was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Jonathan Pryce, Best Music, Best Costumes, Best Make-up, and Best Special Effects.

Krull was not a box-office success, but I'm glad to see that the Academy showed it some love.  They nominated it for Best Fantasy, Best Music, and Best Costumes. 

The Go-Go's release "Talk Show" 1984

The Go-Go's released their third studio album Talk Show, March 19, 1984. It only peaked at #18 on the Billboard 200 and the first single Head Over Heels peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100.

During recording, conflict arose among the members of the band and they broke up shortly after.  

Celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month: Pablo Morales, Olympic gold medalist

Pablo Morales, born December 5, 1964 in Chicago, Illinois to Cuban immigrants, won gold medals in swimming at the 1984 and 1992 Olympics.  He also set world records in the 100 m butterfly in 1984 and 1986.

At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Morales won a gold for the 4x100 m relay and two silver medals for the butterfly, setting the world record. Unfortunately, he did not qualify for the 1988 Olympics, and retired from the sport. 

He returned to swimming and qualified for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, where he won the gold in the 100 m butterfly.

Vega 2, Venus and Halley's Comet spacecraft, launched 1984

 

Vega 2, launched December 21, 1984 by the Soviet Union, visited Venus and Halley's Comet.  The descent module was released from the flyby probe on June 13, 1985 and reached Venus two days later.  It consisted of a surface lander and a balloon explorer.

The lander touched down in the northern region of Aphrodite Terra.  Pressure was 91 atm and the temperature was 865° F or 463° C. The lander transmitted data for 56 minutes. The balloon explorer floated at a stable altitude of 53-54 km where the pressure was about 0.5 atm and the temperature of 95° - 109° F or 35° - 43° C. It transmitted for almost two days, during which it travelled 11,100 km or 6900 mi.   until the final transmission.

The Vegas' motherships were redirected to intercept Halley's Comet and reached its destination on March 9, 1986. The encounter lasted about 3 hours at its closest approach at 8030 km or 4990 mi.   Contact with Vega 2 was lost on March 24, 1987 after it measured dust as it passed through orbits of Comet 72P/Denning-Fujikawa, Biela's Comet and Comet 289/Blanpain.

https://youtube.com/shorts/mRZbpLc1NT0?si=HxvXIaM11n7in_s-

Day 9: Challenger (STS-41-G) crew lands 1984

STS-41-G crew 

Front Row (L-R): Jon McBride, Sally Ride, Kathryn Sullivan, David Leestma

Back Row (L-R): Paul Scully-Power, Robert Crippen, Marc Garneau

On October 13, 1984, the Challenger (STS-41-G) crew woke up to OU's fight song Boomer Sooner and Rocket Man by Elton John.  I haven't figured out the connection between OU and the mission.  Rocket Man seems appropriate though.

They prepared for re-entry by closing the payload bay doors and fired the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines over Australia.  Due to the shuttle's 57-degree inclination, their re-entry took them over the eastern United States, which was one of many firsts experienced during the mission.

Challenger touched down at 12:25pm at Kennedy Space Center.  They spent 8 days, 5 hours and 23 minutes in space, traveling almost 3.3M miles and completing 133 orbits.  

It was the first shuttle to: 

• carry a crew of seven
• carry two women into space
• involve a woman in an EVA (Sullivan)
• carry a Canadian into space (Garneau)
• carry an Australian-born person into space (Scully-Power)
• carry an astronaut with a beard into space (Scully-Power)
• fly over the eastern US during re-entry

The crew consisted of Commander Robert Crippen, pilot Jon McBride, Kathryn Sullivan, Sally Ride, David Leestma, Paul Scully-Power, and Marc Garneau.

Commander Robert Crippen became the first American to complete two space missions in the same calendar year.

Footage of the mission appeared in The Dream is Alive, an IMAX documentary film about NASA's Space Shuttle program.  

Day 7: STS-41-G crew conducts first woman EVA 1984

On Day 7 of Challenger's (STS-41-G) historic flight, the crew wok up to Take Me Home, Country Roads by John Denver.  David Leestma and Kathryn Sullivan donned their space suits, with help from Jon McBride, to conduct an EVA.  They maneuvered to the ORS, situated at the rear of the cargo bay.  Leestma installed a valve assembly into the simulated Landsat propulsion plumbing.  

Sullivan secured the Ku antenna as they headed back to the air lock.  One of the two motors that steered the Ku antenna failed on the first day, but Mission Control managed to devise a workaround for it so it would point at the TDRS satellite and send the stored data to NASA. The EVA lasted 3 hours and 29 minutes and Sullivan became the first American woman to conduct a spacewalk. 

Day 3: STS-41-G crew continue Earth-observing observations 1984

 

Shuttle Imaging Radar-B deployment

The crew woke up to John Denver’s Leaving on a Jet Plane on Day 3, October 7.  They lowered Challenger’s orbit to 140 miles, which was the optimal altitude for the Shuttle Imaging Radar-B (SIR-B) and other Earth-observing instruments. Garneau continued his CANEX investigations.  Leestma conducted several scheduled ORS fuel transfers.  Scully-Power continued his oceanography studies. 

Day 2: STS-41-G crew begin experiments 1984

Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau with the Sunphotometer

The second day of flight STS-41-G, the Challenger crew woke up to Irene Cara’s Flashdance…What a Feeling.  Starting with Apollo 15, NASA started playing music to wake up the flight crew.  Each song is chosen specifically by the astronauts’ families and typically has a special meaning to their family member or the crew.  Or it can be applicable to their daily activities.  I haven’t found which astronaut is connected to this song.

The crew lowered the Challenger’s orbit to an altitude of 151 miles, down from 218 miles the day before. Marc Garneau began the Canadian experiments (CANEX), sponsored by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada.  His experiments included investigations into medical, atmospheric, climatic, materials, and robotic sciences.  One piece of equipment Garneau used was the Sunphotometer, a handheld instrument which measures solar radiation at several wavelengths.  The Canadian Atmospheric Environment Service used the readings to measure local atmospheric constituents and to monitor acidic haze.

Paul Scully-Power (Australian-American astronaut) began oceanographic observations, and successfully photographed spiral eddies in the world’s oceans.

David Leestma completed tests on the Orbital Refueling System remote-controlled hydrazine fuel transfer. The structure was designed to develop and demonstrate equipment and techniques for refueling satellites in orbit.

Day 1: STS-41-G crew deploys the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite 1984

Less than 9 hours after launch, the crew of the space shuttle Challenger (STS-41-G) deployed the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS).  Sally Ride, on her second mission, used the Canadarm to remove the satellite from the payload bay.  Then the ERBS fired its on-board thrusters and boosted it into orbit. It was the first spacecraft to be launched and deployed by a space shuttle mission. 

One of the solar panels on the ERSB did not extend properly so Ride shook the satellite with the Canadarm for the panel to extend fully.  Pilot Jon McBride maneuvered the shuttle away from the satellite when it was finally deployed.

The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II), an instrument on board the ERSB, measured the decline in ozone over the Antarctic, and the data collected was key in the international community's decisions during the Montreal Protocol Agreement in 1987. 

Another instrument was the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) Scanner which studied longwave radiation, shortwave radiation, and total energy radiating from Earth. The third instrument was the ERBE non-scanner, which measured the total energy from the sun.  Both were included in the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System mission and NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission.  

The instruments were powered off in August 2005 in preparation for decommissioning.  During the decommissioning process, fuel was depleted, batteries were discharged, on-board memory was scrubbed, and the solar arrays were disconnected from the battery.  

ERSB re-entered Earth's atmosphere on January 8, 2023. 

Happy birthday, cosmonaut and actress Yulia Peresild!

Yulia Peresild, born September 5, 1984 in the former Soviet Union, is an actress and astronaut.  She went into space aboard Soyuz MS-19, launched October 5, 2021 to the International Space Station.  She traveled with her producer/director Klim Shipenko.  They stayed aboard the ISS for over 11 days, filming scenes for the Russian movie The Challenge.  She had to train to be a cosmonaut in order to do the movie.

She returned to Earth on Soyuz MS-18 October 17, 2021. 

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Sergey Korsakov!

Sergey Korsakov, born September 1, 1984 in the former Soviet Union, went into space aboard Soyuz MS-21 as a flight engineer to the International Space Station in March 2022.  He participated in Expeditions 66 and 67 while on board.  He returned to Earth in September after spending almost 195 days in space.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Te74sMzI-NQ?si=pZDXue4p44RoBPv0

Vega 1 to Venus and Halley's Comet launched 1984

Vega 1, Soviet spacecraft to Venus and Halley's Comet, was launched December 15, 1984.  Its twin Vega 2 was launched six days later.  It reached Venus June 11, 1985, releasing its descent module two days prior.  The landing module contained a surface lander and a balloon explorer.

Vega 1 made a gravitational assist using Venus's gravity to continue its mission to Halley's Comet.  The first images of the comet were received March 4, 1986 and made its closest approach on March 6. Vega 1 sent images for the next two days.  The last contact made with the spacecraft as it headed into deep space was January 1987. 

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Forge, Cheyenne superhero

Forge, who first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men comic #184 in August 1984.  He is one of dozens of Native American superheroes and is a mutant with the superhuman talent for invention and intuitive genius.  He trained as a shaman in the Cheyenne nation, but uses his technology genius rather than his mysticism in conflicts.

He has had a romantic relationship with Storm, and even a brief affair with Mystique.  He has been a member of the X-Men, X-Factor, and X-Force.  

Forge has made appearances in the animated television series, X-Men (1992); X-Men: Evolution (2000); and most recently in Wolverine and the X-Men (2009).

Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called To Say I Love You" reaches #1 1984

One of Stevie Wonder's greatest hits and one of my favorite songs, I Just Called to Say I Love You reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 October 13, 1984 and remained there for three weeks.  It topped the charts all over the world, giving Wonder his first ever #1 in the UK.

The song was featured on the soundtrack to The Woman In Red, a comedy starring Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, and Kelly LeBrock.  I Just Called to Say I Love You won both the Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.  

Cash Box described it as "a tender and romantic love letter which captures the ever-present and Wonderous feeling of love and optimism."  It doesn't get much better than this.

Lyrics:

No New Year's Day to celebrate
No chocolate covered candy hearts to give away
No first of spring, no song to sing
In fact, here's just another ordinary day

No April rain, no flowers bloom
No wedding Saturday within the month of June
But what it is, is something true
Made up of these three words that I must say to you

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart

No summer's high, no warm July
No harvest moon to light one tender August night
No autumn breeze, no falling leaves
Not even time for birds to fly to southern skies

No Libra sun, no Halloween
No giving thanks to all the Christmas joy you bring
But what it is, though old, so new
To fill your heart like no three words could ever do

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care, I do
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care, I do
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart

Of my heart
Of my heart (baby, of my heart)

"The Day After" wins two Primetime Emmys

One of the scariest movies ever made, The Day After, which depicts an all-out nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, won two Primetime Emmys at the 36th ceremony, September 23, 1984.  It won the awards for Outstanding Film Sound Editing for a Limited Series or a Special and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Special Visual Effects.

It was nominated for ten more Emmys.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special (John Lithgow)

Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling

Outstanding Achievement in Makeup

Outstanding Art Direction for a Limited Series or a Special

Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited Series or a Special

Outstanding Directing in a Limited Series or a Special

Outstanding Drama/Comedy Special

Outstanding Film Editing for a Limited Series or a Special

Outstanding Film Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or a Special

Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or a Special

Celebrating Asian-American Heritage Month: Jonny Kim, Korean-American astronaut

Jonny Kim, born in 1984 to South Korean immigrants in Los Angeles, California, is an astronaut, a former Navy SEAL, and received a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School.  NASA announced that he is in training for a 2024 moon landing.

Sheesh!

The Pointer Sisters release "Jump (For My Love)" 1984

My girls the Pointer Sisters released Jump (For My Love) April 11, 1984, the third single from their album Break Out.  It was the best-selling American dance single of 1984 and became an international hit.  It won a Grammy Award in 1985 for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. 

It was on April 11, 2006 that we lost June. :(

Rest in Power, Rest in Peace, June!

Soyuz T-11 launched 1984

Soyuz T-11 launch crew (L-R): Gennady Strekalov, Rakesh Sharma, Yuri Malyshev

Soyuz T-11, launched April 3, 1984, carried the first Indian cosmonaut into space.  The spacecraft docked with Salyut 7.  Its crew consisted of Commander Yuri Malyshev, Gennady Strekalov, and Rakesh Sharma.  

Soyuz T-11 remained docked with the space station until October.  Its landing crew consisted of Commander Leonid Kizim, Vladimir Solovyov, and Oleg Atkov.