From ota Wed Jun 15 03:07:26 1988 Received: by angband.s1.gov id AA19671; Wed, 15 Jun 88 03:07:15 PDT id AA19671; Wed, 15 Jun 88 03:07:15 PDT Date: Wed, 15 Jun 88 03:07:15 PDT From: Ted Anderson Message-Id: <8806151007.AA19671@angband.s1.gov> To: Space@angband.s1.gov Reply-To: Space@angband.s1.gov Subject: SPACE Digest V8 #253 SPACE Digest Volume 8 : Issue 253 Today's Topics: Soviet Space Shuttle space news from April 18 AW&ST Re: Astronaut selection More Soviet Shuttle news Re: NASA Technical Briefs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 24 May 88 19:54:05 GMT From: nbires!isis!scicom!wats@ucbvax.berkeley.edu (Bruce Watson) Subject: Soviet Space Shuttle See rec.ham-radio message #4313 Amsat News #135 posted by Phil Karn for the latest information on the Soviet Space Shuttle. ------------------------------ Date: 24 May 88 05:14:18 GMT From: attcan!utzoo!henry@uunet.uu.net (Henry Spencer) Subject: space news from April 18 AW&ST [If you're wondering why there's been somewhat of a hiatus in my AW&ST postings, it's because I got rather more caught up than usual and took it easy for a bit. I normally run about a month behind, partly because it often takes that long for me to get and read AW&ST, and partly as a deliberate policy to avoid direct competition with AW&ST.] Arianespace says it would have to match China's $30M launch price if Long March started really attracting customers, although it would be difficult to keep it that low. SDI's Boost Surveillance Tracking System satellite will use solar power rather than an isotope power pack, due to a combination of launch- safety clearance worries and the high cost and scarcity of Pu-238, the isotope normally used. USAF report urges efforts in small space nuclear reactors, in the 5-40kW range. Report recommends against a second full-scale development project at this time, as the existing SP-100 project is very expensive and is eating up all available resources in the area; this is unfortunate since some other concepts could be demonstrated at rather lower cost. ESA is replacing possibly-faulty US-supplied memory chips in Ulysses while waiting for its 1990 (maybe) launch. The project is also installing a new ground-based mission operations computer because the existing one is now seriously obsolete! Ulysses was originally meant to fly in 1983. One other effect of the delay is that power-management procedures are being revised, since the output of Ulysses's isotope power pack will be down substantially by launch time. It was deemed too difficult and far too expensive to refuel the power pack, despite the long delay. The loss of power is awkward but is not expected to jeopardize the primary mission. ESA's Hipparcos astrometry satellite undergoes final tests, after which it will go into storage until launch next year on Ariane 4. Ariane's problems have delayed the launch from this July to next June. Picture of TDRS-C being readied for delivery to KSC as payload for STS-26. NASA doubles official limits for insulation debonds on shuttle SRBs and begins to stack SRBs for STS-26. Tests on the SSME LOX pumps have given them a clean bill of health, and they have been reinstalled. Ed Aldridge, Sec USAF, says that ALS is no longer a project to develop a specific heavy launcher: it has been revised to a much vaguer technology effort, partly as a result of budget-induced delays in SDI and the space station. Retired USAF general Sam Phillips [if that name does not ring a bell, dig into your reference books and find out who was the overall top boss of Project Apollo] says the US space program has been "trying to do the impossible" by trying to maintain space leadership "on the cheap". He urges attention to the lessons from Apollo: the need for firm support from the White House on down, realistic budget planning, better relations between government and industry, and much simpler organizations and review processes. Space station price tag on the rise, yet again... NASA says that inflation and the one-year stretchout from FY88 budget cuts have turned $14.6G into $16G. [Does anyone seriously still think this gold-plated turkey has any real chance of survival?] British decision imminent on whether to re-enter the polar-platform part of ESA's Columbus; this would probably mean abandoning its proposed role in Canada's Radarsat project. [They did and it did. Boo hiss. I think it's good that Britain is being a bit less negative toward ESA, but dumping Radarsat was dumb.] Fletcher tells symposium that a joint US/USSR lunar base makes more sense as an initial objective than a joint Mars mission, saying this would allow building a "stable foundation" for further exploration. Pictures of the March 25 Scout launch from the San Marco platform. Aerospatiale picked as lead contractor for the Infrared Space Observatory, to be launched in 1993 carrying a 9m-focal-length infrared telescope and enough liquid helium to keep it running 18 months. Selenia Spazio picked as lead contractor for ESA's Data Relay Satellite system (ESA's answer to TDRS). Italy is financing quite a bit of the program, hence its prominent role. Final production goahead would be late next year, for first launch (out of two) in 1995. Starfind, the dark-horse private-navsat company, signs major contract with Starfind South America to provide navsat services there, and claims similar contracts near completion in other areas. Starfind is hoping for a December launch on a Conestoga booster, but there may be some delay. Starfind says it will not apply for an FCC license, as it expects to operate under DoD authorization. [Now, for a less positive report, from the 23 April issue of Flight International...] Starfind still has no funding or FCC approval, despite committing to five launches and the 17-year South American contract. It is also running behind, with Geostar conspicuously out in front. Geostar's piggyback payloads on existing comsats are already getting results: Countrywide Truck Service of California located a $50k stolen truck using the truck's Geostar transponder. -- NASA is to spaceflight as | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology the Post Office is to mail. | {ihnp4,decvax,uunet!mnetor}!utzoo!henry ------------------------------ Date: 25 May 88 04:56:19 GMT From: sonia!khayo@cs.ucla.edu (Eric Behr) Subject: Re: Astronaut selection >Um, why does Stanford show up twice in that list? >-=Paul Flaherty, N9FZX Good question - I'll ask when I have a chance. Eric ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 May 88 16:16:58 EDT From: Glenn Chapman Subject: More Soviet Shuttle news The latest information on the Soviet Shuttle seems to be raising the confusion level as to whether it is going to be manned or not. Alexander Dunayev, chairman of Glavcosmos, stated that first flight would be unmanned, consisting of 2 orbits and an automated landing during a interview in Spaceflight magazine. Also it would be several years before it few manned. In an interview with CBS Col. Vladimir Dzhanibekov, the most senior Russian cosmonaut (5 missions) stated that the first few shuttle flights will be ' unmanned. The next night on Radio Moscow the statement was made by first mission would "probably" have a two person crew. Aviation Week of May 23 then reported that Lt. Gen. Vladimir Shatalov, head of the Star City cosmonaut training facility, stated "When the Americans tested their shuttle, two men took off. I believe that this experience is reasonable and can be used in our country". Mission time is uncertain, with statements from Radio Moscow saying a few weeks ago that flights will be done in June, while AWST is stating that August will be the flight time. It appears now from several sources that the actual flight vehicle does not have jet engines for landing. These are only on the atmosphere test vehicle, which has had between 20 and 50 test landings (depending on which source you hear - respectively AWST and Dzhanibekov). The rumour that their Shuttle was going to fly on May 18th probably came from someone seeing that there was going to be a major tour of the Baikonur Cosmodrome for the western press on that date, and assuming that it was the promised news coverage of the shuttle mission. Actually it may a dry run of by their publicity people to see what problems would occur on the shuttle launch date handling the western media people. Also it was good publicity just before the summit meeting. In one shuttle and space station related mission it was pointed out in the May Spaceflight issue that the Luch communication satellite launch of Cosmos 1897 in Nov. '87 placed the comsat at 85 degrees West, just over South America where it cannot be directly seen by the USSR. The Luch' are the Russian equivalents of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, and are designed certainly for Mir communications (which they have been tested with) and probably for their Shuttle. This position is ideal for communications just prior to the reentry path for a Baikonur Cosmodrome landing (where their big runway is). Data from the Luch can be sent via Cuba to another comsat, or to the Luch over the USSR, and down to the control center. All of this confirms the reports that there is a battle between the robot orientated Institute for Automated Studies (which works on the control systems and built the successful Progress robot cargo craft) and the cosmonaut corps which argues humans handle tasks like landing etc. better. It is the manned verse unmanned debates, but it is both public and proceeding just months before the missions. The cosmonauts feel they are ready (they have trained for a flight for years), while the robot scientists do not want to risk them. Who knows which side will win. I just hope this country's shuttle will begin flying again soon so that the West has some manned missions this year. Glenn Chapman MIT Lincoln Lab. ------------------------------ Date: 25 May 88 14:15 PDT From: William Daul / McAir / McDonnell-Douglas Corp Subject: Re: NASA Technical Briefs message Write to: NASA Tech Briefs 41 E. 42nd Street Suite 921 New York, NY 10017-5391 ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V8 #253 *******************