Posting this question on the Rendezvous thread. Can anybody clarify this puzzle?
The disastrous space shuttle mission that Ron McNair was on was code STS-51-L and it took off on January 28th, 1986 and was due to last 6 days (according to Wikipedia).
That means he'd be back on Earth in early February, several months before the Rendezvous Houston concert, that took place on April 5th,1986.
It's widely understood that had the mission been a success, Ron would have played saxophone as part of a "live link up" with Jean-Michel Jarre during the concert.
But how could this be, given the time gap between the shuttle mission and the concert?
- Was Ron to perform and record in space in January or February that year, and the film footage and audio be used as playback at the concert in April? If so, that's not exactly a live link up.
- Did the concert shift dates from a Jan/Feb date to April? I doubt very much this happened, as I've seen no mention of this and the Houston Festival, of which Rendezvous Houston was a part, has always had a spring slot.
- Was there another space shuttle mission planned for late March, early April that would have coincided with the concert, and that Ron would also have been on? This theory means the STS-51-L misson was not the one due to sync with the concert, but after the disaster all subsequent missions were postponed, and with this, the live link up opportunity is lost.
Any theories, answers or clarifications welcome!
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