January 29
President Bush asked Congress to increase NASA's FY91 budget by 17.5 percent, including money for a start on his plan to send astronauts back to the moon and later to Mars. NASA would be authorized to spend $14.1 billion in the Fiscal Year beginning October 1, an increase of $2.1 billion over the current Fiscal Year. (Huntsville News. "Bush Asks Hike in NASA Budget," Huntsvile News, January 30, 1990)
January 31
Air Force General Samuel Phillips, who served as NASA's Apollo Program Director from 1964-69, died of heart failure. (Marshall Star, February 7, 1990)
January 31
The Inertia! Upper Stage/Payload Assist Module-S Quarterly Review was held at MSFC. (MSFC Space Systems Office Inputs for Draft Chronology of MSFC Events for 1990)
January 31
Technicians began replacing a turbopump in one of the three Main Engines in Space Shuttle Atlantis. The turbopump became a concern after the failure of an unrelated fuel pump during routine pressure test at the engine's manufacturer, the Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell international. ("Repairs Not Expected to Delay Shuttle Launch," Huntsville Times, February 1, 1990)
During January
Dr. Ulf D. Merbold, European Space Agency, and Dr. Roberta L. Bondar, Canadian Space Agency, were designated primary flight payload specialists for the first International Microgravity Laboratory mission. (Marshall Star, January 24, 1990)
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