Year: 1981

Categories
Science & Technology Uncrewed Spaceflight Weather & Climate

GOES-5 goes up

  • May 22, 1981

GOES-5NOAA’s GOES-5 Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite is launched from Cape Canaveral into a geosynchronous orbit over 85 degrees west longitude on Earth, a position which will change several times over GOES-5’s career until 1988, allowing it to monitor weather over the continental United States and Europe. GOES-5’s primary set of “eyes” will fail in 1984, forcing NOAA to return GOES-1 and GOES-4 to service until a replacement can be launched in 1987. Its usefulness as a weather satellite at an end, GOES-5 will be boosted into a graveyard orbit in 1990.

Categories
Astronomy Science & Technology

The disappearing moon of Neptune

  • May 24, 1981

LarissaA team of American astronomers discovers what they believe is a third moon of Neptune from ground-based telescope observations, but S/1981N1 isn’t seen again for several years, so the discovery is left in the “unconfirmed” category…until it is next seen by Voyager 2 in 1989, confirming the original sighting many years later. In 1991, the International Astronomical Union will name this moon Larissa. (Voyager 2 photo of Larissa shown)

Categories
Radio & Audio Star Wars

Star Wars Radio: Force And Counter Force

  • June 14, 1981

Star Wars RadioThe 13th episode of Brian Daley’s radio drama adaptation of the science fiction blockbuster Star Wars airs on National Public Radio stations in the U.S. Mark Hamill stars as Luke Skywalker and Brock Peters stars as Darth Vader. This episode concludes the radio retelling of the first movie, and has proven to be Public Radio’s most popular (and, during fundraising pledge drives, profitable) radio drama production.

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Categories
Crewed Spaceflight Salyut

Salyut 6 expanded

  • June 19, 1981

Salyut 6Launched unmanned in April, the Kosmos 1267 space station module docks automatically with the recently vacated Salyut 6 space station – the first-ever on-orbit expansion of a previously launched space structure. The module, a hardware holdover from the abandoned Almaz military space station program, provides engineers on the ground with information needed to safely add modules to the upcoming Salyut 7 space station to expand its habitable space. The experience gained will also be instrumental in the construction of the Mir station and the International Space Station. Kosmos 1267 remains docked to Salyut 6 until the combined structure tumbles out of orbit in 1982.

Categories
Video Games

Warp Warp

  • July 10, 1981

Warp WarpBetter known for making jukeboxes and speakers, Rock-Ola dips its toes into the video game industry by releasing Warp Warp in the United States. The arcade game, originated in Japan by Namco, features cute, colorful characters in a maze setting, not entirely unlike Pac-Man, but fails to catch on in American arcades.

More about Warp Warp in Phosphor Dot Fossils

Categories
Video Games

Venture

  • July 15, 1981

VentureExidy’s swashbuckling coin-op video game Venture arrives in arcades, letting players control the actions of the bow-and-arrow-shooting treasure hunter, Winky. The game’s unique structure provides an early example of an “interactive graphical menu” letting players choose which treasure room to plunder next – but a choice has to be made quickly, in real time, because there are still monsters that can kill Winky on the menu screen.

More about Venture in Phosphor Dot Fossils