European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 11, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes saturday August 11, 1990 Mabel in hits Venus orbit amid cheers Nasa Mission Breaks run of bad Luck Pasadena Calif. A Magellan the first . Planetary spacecraft launched since 1978, fired its braking rocket and dropped into orbit around Venus Friday on a Mission to make the Best pictures yet of the planet s Cloud covered terrain. The system worked As planned. A lot of hard work was rewarded said George Al expander chief spokesman for the National aeronautics and space administration s Jet propulsion Laboratory. I m tremendously gratified we were Able to do something for Nasa and the Public that shows this is a capable Agency following troubles with the shuttle Fleet and the Hubble space Telescope he said. This Breaks the string of bad  Magellan dived Over Venus North pole then ignited the Forward facing rocket at 9 32 a.m., slowing from about 24,600 Mph to roughly 18,500 Mph. That allowed Magellan to be captured by Venus Gravity and Start orbiting the second planet from the Sun said Mission commentator Steve Wall. The rocket ignition occurred when the spacecraft was behind Venus and out of radio Contact with engineers on Earth. Magellan emerged at 9 53 a.m., but preliminary confirmation that All went Well came 13 minutes later the time Magel Lan s radio signal takes to reach Earth. We Are now in orbit said David Okerson a Magellan project Engineer. In the Magellan project office there was cheering and applause and whistling and hooting by scientists and engineers Secretary Sharon Kyle said. Magellan encountered Venus 144 Mil lion Miles from Earth after circling the Sun 1 /2 times during a roundabout 948 million mile journey. The $413 million Magellan the heart of a $744 million Mission was designed to use radar to penetrate thick venusian Clouds allowing the spacecraft to make maps and pictures of the planet s deformed volcanic landscape with unprecedented detail. Map Ping is slated to Start sept i. Nasa plans to release the first Pic Tures in september but May do so this month if images made during tests pro Duce any interesting discoveries. Magellan has raised Nasa s Hopes after its recent woes including the shuttle Fleet s temporary grounding because of Hydrogen leaks and a defective Mirror that crippled the $1.5 billion Hubble space  major pressure we feel is the pres sure to succeed Wesley t. Huntress jr., Nasa director of solar system exploration said thursday. I d prefer not to speculate on what failure might  the 21-foot Magellan deployed from the shuttle Atlantis in May 1989, was the first . Planetary spacecraft launched since 1978, when Nasa sent the Pioneer 12 orbiter and the Pioneer 13 probe to Venus. Magellan is the beginning of a new Era of planetary exploration Huntress  re looking Forward to the  the voyager probes that explored Jupi Ter Saturn uranus and Neptune Between 1979 and last year were launched in 1977. Galileo launched in october is headed to Ward a 1995 rendezvous with Jupiter. During the coming decade or so Nasa also plans to Send spacecraft to explore Mars the Moon Saturn comets and the Sun s Polar regions. Nasa has said Magellan would Send More data than All previous Nasa mis Sions combined. Venus is similar to Earth in size Den sity and position in the solar system Al though a runaway greenhouse effect has raised its surface temperature to 900 degrees fahrenheit. Nasa wants to learn if the planet s Geo logical processes Are similar to Earth s. Venus has tens of thousands of volcanoes but no one knows if any Are Active. Magellan was named for the portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan who sailed around the world in the Early 1500s. The spacecraft was built by Martin Marietta corp. And its radar was built by Hughes aircraft co. Wildfires sear the West shut Yosemite Park by the associated press firefighters on Friday battled lightning kindled wildfires that have burned More than 275,000 acres in the West including 12,000 acres in Yosemite National Park which was closed to most visitors. Scattered fires in California left 100,000 acres charred by morning. More than 90,000 acres of Forest land have burned in Oregon in recent Days More than 80,000 acres burned in Idaho and nearly 5,500 acres in Utah. In Yosemite the Park immortalized by naturalist John Muir and photographer Ansel Adams 10,000 visitors were stranded overnight to keep roads Clear for emergency vehicles. Two villages were evacuated and 25 structures burned. The Park was closed to most visitors late thursday after tires blocked All the main roads. Fire officials planned to escort out the stranded campers Early Friday. Only California route 395 Over Tioga pass a Small Road near the Nevada Border remained open. Spokeswoman Paula Brown said Only visitors with reservations at the Wawona Camp on the Park s South end would be allowed in. About 200 Miles to the North a 3,500-Acrc Blaze forced some residents to flee Ravendale Calif said slate forestry spokesman Chris Parker. Another 2,500 acre fire also threatened the town he said. A total of 17,608 lightning strikes were recorded from aug. 3 through midweek sparking More than a thousand fires Paiker said lie said that More than 6,000 firefighters were in action including 2,000brought in from out of state. A 39.000-acre fire burned in Tehama county and 20 Rural families were evacuated. A 17,500-acre fire threatened campgrounds in Sequoia National Park. In Idaho smoke from wildfires blanketed Boise Valley on Friday As a growing  of firefighters hustled to keep up with several blazes. It could be several Days before Well see Clear skies again said Kathleen hide a National weather service meteorologist in Boise. Low humidity and temperatures Topping 100 helped scores of blazes sear Central Idaho forests while three Large Range fires burned out of control on the Southern Idaho desert. The largest of the Range fires a 60,000-acre Blaze ripped across Sagebrush and grass 35 Miles North East of twin Falls Idaho and created weather of its own thursday. It looked like a Cyclone with Black Clouds and a Wall of flame rising about 1,000 feet in smoke Rolls up a Hill at Yosemite National Park thursday As Park officials and firefighters study its path. The air said Dale Chatterton a . Bureau of land management dispatcher. In Oregon a 70,000-acre Blaze turned away from three Small towns in the Southeast Corner of the state after 60-Mph winds switched direction. Some residents of Riley fled when flames came within a mile while residents three Miles from the fire in Burns and Hines watched its Progress closely said state forestry spokeswoman Christie Sohn. More than 6,500 people from state and Federal Agen cies were fighting fires statewide. In Utah Crews on thursday cleared Landing spots for helicopters planning to ferry firefighters battling a 5,350-acre Blaze into hard to reach areas on the us Tah and Ouray Indian reservation. The Blaze in the Ponderosa Pines and Oak Brush was nearly contained thursday before thunderstorms slowed firefighters and started new fires. Meanwhile Friday firefighters in Northwestern Utah battled five Brush fires totalling 1,800 acres including one that threatened Homes in the desert Community of Terra about 40 Miles West of Salt Lake City. Drug overdose killed grateful dead member Martini Calif. A grateful dead keyboardist Brent mydland who was found dead in his Home last month died from a drug overdose a Coroner said Friday. The autopsy examination revealed a recent puncture Mark on the left consistent with a recent intravenous injection prior to death said Capi. Al Moore of the Contra Costa Coroner s of fice. Toxicology tests reveal lethal Levels of morphine and cocaine in the  no drugs or narcotics paraphernalia were found and there was no indication of foul play Moore said. Mydland had reportedly been troubled Over family problems but Moore said there was no evidence of suicide. Mydland 37, was found dead july 26 in the bedroom of his secluded Lafayette Home in the Hills above Berkeley. The band had returned to Northern California two Days before from a three week National tour. Mydland joined the grateful dead in 1979 and was its newest member. In addition to playing keyboard instruments he wrote songs such As far from me and the environmental Ballad we Cancun but we can t hide led by guitarist Jerry Garcia the band was formed in the 1960s in san Francis co s Haight Ashbury District. Although it releases albums sporadically its concerts Are Alinosi always sold out thanks to de noted fans known As  mydland replaced keyboardist Keith Godchaux who died in an Auto Accident about a year after leaving the band. God Chaux had replaced Ron Pigpen me Kernan who died of cirrhosis of the liver at age 27 in 1973. Mydland and his estranged wife Lisa had two daughters. Half of his More than $2 million estate went automatically to his wife under California Law and under Midland s will the other half was placed in Trust for his daughters