August 12, 1999
In the time it took you to read this, the Earth moved another thousand miles through space. You are not standing still. You never have been.
Deploying Spartan
Birthday · August 12, 1999
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published August 12, 1999. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Last October the Space Shuttle Discovery deployed Spartan 201, a spacecraft that monitored the corona of the Sun. Instruments on Spartan 201 were used to estimate the density of electrons emitted into the solar corona, calibrate data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite, and study how the Sun is changing as it reaches maximum activity over the next few years. Pictured above, the space shuttle's robot arm (top left) releases Spartan (center) into space. The tail fin of the space shuttle is visible on the right, while the Earth hovers in the background. Spartan floated near the shuttle for two days before it was picked up again and returned to Earth.