August 16
Thousands of federal workers began receiving notices that they might soon face furloughs that could reduce their salaries as much as 40 percent during some bay periods because of an masse in budget negotiations between Congress and the Bush administration. ("Furlough Warnings Going Out," Huntsville Times, August 15, 1990)
August 17
Magellan lost contact with Earth, but contact was restored briefly before the spacecraft went behind Venus. When it emerged the signal was heard again but briefly. Steady contact was re-established about 13 hours later. (Kennedy Space Center, Spaceport News, August 24, 1990)
August 21
Flight controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory lost contact with the Magellan spacecraft at 9:03 p.m. (Johnson Space Center, Space News Roundup, August 24, 1990)
August 22
Negotiations were completed for the design/build construction project entitled "Construct Project Engineering Facility (4203)." (See MSFC History Office Microfiche #2127, "Notable MSFC Events During 1990," August 27, 1990)
August 22
The Magellan spacecraft radar mapping probe confirmed it had responded to a computer command and established constant contact with Earth. (Johnson Space Center, Space News Roundup, August 24, 1990)
August 22
NASA announced that it was assigning the Marshall Center the responsibility for determining the cause of the hydrogen leak that grounded the Space Shuttle Atlantis. ("MSFC Searches for Cause of Hydrogen Leak in Atlantis," Huntsville Times, August 23, 1990)
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