Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 32766 Received: from beak.andrew.cmu.edu via trymail for +dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl@andrew.cmu.edu (->+dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl) (->ota+space.digests) ID ; Tue, 9 Jan 90 13:43:19 -0500 (EST) Received: from beak.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Sat, 6 Jan 90 01:30:14 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <0ZdN0BS00VcJA7GU4d@andrew.cmu.edu> Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Sat, 6 Jan 90 01:28:31 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V10 #378 SPACE Digest Volume 10 : Issue 378 Today's Topics: space news from Nov 20 AW&ST space news from Dec 4 AW&ST Wide-field planetary camera to be installed on space telescope (Forwarded) NASA Headline News for 12/20/89 (Forwarded) Re: space science ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 4 Jan 90 03:16:52 GMT From: mailrus!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!henry@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: space news from Nov 20 AW&ST Soviets study launching a probe for a close flyby of the Sun, using an Energia launch to avoid the need for a Jupiter gravity assist. Picture of the first Pegasus captive flight Nov 9. The flight went fairly well, with minor communications problems plus some flaking of thermal-protection paint. Loads were within acceptable levels at all speeds up to Mach 0.84, higher than will be needed for launches. First flight of Japan's H-2 slips from 1992 to 1993 after serious development problems with the LE-7 oxyhydrogen engine. A test-stand fire in September may cause a further slip. Glavcosmos signs first US commercial launch customer. Energetics Satellite Corp. has signed up for up to $54M worth of small secondary payloads on Protons, as a cheap way of launching its small-satellite navsat system. [I don't recognize Energetics, although it might be what used to be known as Starfind.] US government approvals remain a worrisome issue, although Energetics believes it is in a strong position: its satellites are mostly inflatable antenna arrays, "hardly different from an old Echo satellite", so there is minimal new technology. If, as many suspect, the US embargo on use of Soviet launches is really a buy-American policy in disguise, Energetics is prepared to move its manufacturing out of the US. Glavcosmos is talking to Australia and Brazil about building foreign launch sites for its boosters. Payload Systems Inc, which is already flying small payloads on Soviet manned missions, says recent upheavals in the Soviet Union may have eased life in some ways, but they have also introduced uncertainties about future policies and about who is in charge. However, PSI says its existing agreements still look solid, and it is very happy about a clause in the agreements which says that any flight which takes the payload environment outside certain tight limits is free. "This is exactly what we're having trouble doing with NASA." Soviets seek French instruments for their Almaz heavy recon/resources platforms. Cosmos 1870, which ended operations in July, was the first Almaz. Another is scheduled for launch in 1990, and a third in 1993. The third will be officially operational, the other two for development. Almaz is 18.5 tons at launch, with 4 tons of instruments. The basic platform is 7m x 4.15m, with a 100-cubic-meter pressurized payload compartment. Available power is 2.5kW from solar arrays. The Soviets have admitted [as many suspected] that Almaz was developed with an eye on military reconnaissance. France is interested in Almaz, but thinks the 1990 and 1993 ones are too soon for major French participation. NASA is giving its Commercial Development of Space centers more freedom in purchasing hardware and services. The result is that many of the centers are now talking openly about wanting an unmanned free-flying platform operational before the space station, and are voicing serious uncertainty about how suitable the station will be for microgravity work. Galileo makes first course correction, using over 5500 thruster firings spread over three days. (The multiple [!] firings are partly because of concerns about possible thruster overheating, and partly because the thrusters are on the spinning section and have to be fired in bursts anyway.) Galileo is generally in good health. There are performance problems with the gyroscopes, and the scheme for moving the RTG booms to adjust the center of mass has not worked as well as expected, but overall the ground crew is quite happy. Discovery launch slips while NASA assesses electronics problems in the SRBs. An electronics assembly shorted out in a bench test, and when another one from inventory was tested, it failed too... so NASA wants inspections of all units from the same production batch, including the two that are in Discovery's SRBs. There was also some concern about a small hydrazine leak in the right SRB's hydraulic power unit. Hughes Electron Devices confirms that its travelling-wave-tube amplifiers have a design defect affecting long-term reliability, and that this has caused a slip in the launch of Japan's Superbird B. A fix has been devised, although more tests will be needed to confirm that it works. At least one Eutelsat [European] and Anik [Canadian] comsat awaiting launch are also affected. -- 1972: Saturn V #15 flight-ready| Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology 1990: birds nesting in engines | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu ------------------------------ Date: 6 Jan 90 02:34:50 GMT From: cs.utexas.edu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!henry@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: space news from Dec 4 AW&ST The "Juno" 1991 British commercial Mir mission has signed British Aerospace, Memorex, and Interflora as major sponsors, and sold TV rights to ITV. The two final astronaut candidates, Helen Sharman (scientist working for Mars Confectionery) and Timothy Mace (Army Air Corps major), have begun 18 months of training in the USSR. Japan's LE-7 big oxyhydrogen engine has another pump fire during testing Nov 22. Further schedule slips are likely. National Space Council expected to conclude that the Moon/Mars initiative should undertake a technology effort similar to SDI's: aggressive funding of key technologies (e.g. advanced propulsion and life support) for several years, to determine whether major progress could be helpful. This differs considerably from NASA's initial idea, which is to use existing technologies and get going on hardware development. [The *right* approach, of course, is to do both: get something underway immediately, while restarting the long-neglected advanced-technology work with an eye on better second- generation hardware a decade or so down the road. Of course, that would require a long-term plan, something that is conspicuously lacking...] Several Congressmen are upset by rumors that one option being considered for the long-term fate of Landsat is to turn it over to the Pentagon. Thiokol employee complains to NASA's inspector general that instruments on the post-Challenger SRBs were not properly certified for flight. Thiokol says they met or exceeded requirements and flew successfully. NASA says no safety issues appear to be involved, with the question being whether Thiokol did the inspections and paperwork it was paid to do, not whether the instruments worked. Columbia rolls out to pad 39A in preparation for the Syncom/LDEF mission. Discovery landing delayed almost a full day by high winds, which also forced a runway change during reentry. Interestingly, the landing time was 1h20m after reentry, an unusually long time -- normally it's about an hour -- which suggests an unusually high orbit. General Dynamics is doing well; firm commercial orders for Atlas launches now total 22, with options for 8 more. Space Data Corp (an Orbital Sciences subsidiary) gets small SDI contract for six sounding-rocket launches, with twelve more possible. USAF buys 18 more Titan 4s, for launch through 1995. One of the solar panels on the first Mir add-on has failed to deploy after launch Nov 26. Solutions are being studied. [They fixed it.] Shuttle managers are studying the possibility of mounting up to 14 launches a year without the pre-Challenger problems. Most of the problems are at least under control. Current overtime rates are 10-12%, a considerable improvement over pre-Challenger rates although still (in Crippen's opinion) too high. Crippen says that the program will continue to require three shifts a day seven days a week, like airlines and the Navy, but it should not be necessary for individuals to work overtime frequently. The biggest concern remains the main engines, although various efforts are underway to improve them. The OMS pods are also a headache, as they are getting pulled off the orbiters for servicing much more often than NASA would like. There is too much paperwork, and computerization is progressing slowly because older workers are unenthusiastic about it. The current astronaut corps -- 88 -- is adequate. The orbiter's braking and steering problems are being dealt with -- Discovery will have carbon brakes for the Hubble mission, and the other orbiters will get them when processing permits, while Endeavour will add redundant nosewheel-steering systems and a braking chute, to be added later to the others -- and together with better weather forecasting at the Cape, this might eventually permit shuttle landings at KSC again. The mothballing of the Vandenberg shuttle pad has freed up access stands and platforms from there, which will be installed in the orbiter maintenance facility to essentially add another processing bay. [Voyager enthusiasts might want to look at the 15 Dec 1989 issue of Science, which is a special issue with preliminary Voyager Neptune results. Science does not get a lot of routine space/planetary-science papers -- its papers section is usually mostly biomedical -- but it is prominent enough to be the preferred place for "headline news" papers. This issue includes the usual news-and-comment sections (which are typically very good, by the way) and then 85 pages of Voyager papers. Be warned that these are real live scientific papers, long on content and short on explanation, not popularized babytalk. They are still interesting reading, especially the 28-page paper on imaging results.] -- 1972: Saturn V #15 flight-ready| Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology 1990: birds nesting in engines | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu ------------------------------ Date: 20 Dec 89 19:38:35 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: Wide-field planetary camera to be installed on space telescope (Forwarded) George H. Diller KSC Release No. 135-89 Dec. 20, 1989 WIDE-FIELD PLANETARY CAMERA TO BE INSTALLED ON SPACE TELESCOPE A significant event in the preparation of the Hubble Space Telescope for launch next spring occurs today, Wednesday, Dec. 20 in the Vertical Processing Facility at KSC. The Wide-Field Planetary Camera (WFPC) is under installation and is being readied for upcoming checkout activity. This is one of two cameras aboard HST. Unlike the Faint Object Camera, the Wide Field Planetary Camera will photograph brighter objects of larger area. It can be used to photograph the face of a planet in our solar system or hundreds of galaxies at once. The installation is being performed by the HST payload test team from NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lockheed, Perkin Elmer, and McDonnell Douglas. The WFPC arrived at KSC on Dec. 6 from JPL. It was delivered to NASA's Hangar S on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for receiving inspection and its initial checks. The camera weighs 600 pounds, and its dimensions are 7 1/2 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 2 1/2 feet high. After the installation on the telescope in the Vertical Processing Facility, a series of functional tests are required. Meanwhile, the latest in a series of prelaunch functional tests on the Hubble Space Telescope was completed on Dec. 8. Since testing began on Oct. 27, there have been no significant problems with the telescope itself, and only minor problems with associated test equipment. Testing is performed via satellite from the Lockheed Sunnyvale facility, and from the HST Payload Operations Control Center located at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. During the tests, the telescope and the onboard science instruments are operated as they are on-orbit. Test controllers gain actual operating experience on HST before launch, and also have an opportunity to de-bug or refine their software programs. In addition, controllers learn to recognize certain unique operating characteristics or "signatures" of the telescope and its science instruments. The latest test series demonstrated, among other things, the effectiveness of the fault protection system. The telescope has the ability to recognize a significant problem, safe itself by going on stand-by, then signaling controllers and awaiting help from the ground. The Hubble Space Telescope has been powered down for the holidays and functional testing will be resumed in January. Also scheduled to occur after the first of the year is the verification testing for electrical compatability with the Space Shuttle and associated deployment hardware. Called "CITE Testing," which stands for Cargo Integrated Test Equipment, these are routine tests for payloads flown on the Space Shuttle and take about four days. Based on the current manifest, the Hubble Space Telescope is scheduled to be transported to Pad B on Launch Complex 39 on March 9, 1990, placed in the payload bay of Discovery on March 12, and launched no earlier than March 26. ------------------------------ Date: 20 Dec 89 19:43:29 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: NASA Headline News for 12/20/89 (Forwarded) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, December 20, 1989 Audio: 202/755-1788 ----------------------------------------------------------------- This is NASA Headline News for Wednesday, December 20.... Work continues at launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in preparation for the STS-32 space shuttle mission now scheduled for no earlier than January 8. Workers continue to validate fuel loading systems. Aerospace Daily says U.S. astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts will be monitored in orbit to develop databases of information relative to the effects of long duration space flight. The compatible databases were negotiated by officials from NASA and the Soviet space organization last month. NASA's Director of Life Sciences Dr. Arnauld Nicogosian says a NASA team will go to the Soviet Union in January to train Soviet technicians to use a Holter heart monitor and ultrasound equipment for use aboard the Mir space station. U.S. astronauts will be monitored on space shuttle flights in 1990 and 1991. Orbital Sciences Corporation and Hercules Incorporated have signed a reservation agreement with the Swedish Space Corporation for a 1992 launch of a scientific satellite using the Pegasus air launched orbital space booster. The Swedish satellite will carry instruments to investigate the aurora and other magnetospheric phenomena. President Bush formally authorized the export of three U.S.-built communications satellites to China yesterday. The chief executive said the delivery "is in the national interest of the United States". The satellites were built by Hughes Aircraft Company...two for an Australian consortium...the other for a British-Chinese consortium. The scheduled launch of a commercial Titan 3 rocket carrying two communications satellites from Cape Canaveral was postponed last night for the fourth time. The reason....high winds over the Cape area. And....the Kennedy Space Center has awarded McDonnell Douglas Space Services Co. a three-year extension to an existing contract for payload ground operations services. The extension was valued at approximately $192 million. * * * * ----------------------------------------------------------------- Here's the broadcast schedule for public affairs events on NASA Select TV. All times are Eastern. Thursday, December 21..... 11:30 A.M. NASA Update will be transmitted. All events and times are subject to change without notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------- These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon, Eastern time. ----------------------------------------------------------------- A service of the Internal Communications Branch (LPC), NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. ------------------------------ Date: 20 Dec 89 16:33:30 GMT From: mcsun!ukc!icdoc!syma!nickw@uunet.uu.net (Nick Watkins) Subject: Re: space science In article <14997@bfmny0.UU.NET> tneff@bfmny0.UU.NET (Tom Neff) writes: >But if NASA were abolished totally, its functions distributed to >industry, the military and the NSF, the net funding for space science >might well stabilize at workable levels. The important question is, >why are America's space scientists so afraid of putting this to the >test. Not all of them are. See the comments of Bruce Murray at the end of his book "Journey into space" as an example. He argues for just such a separation, and cites the separation of Glavkosmos, IKI etc in the Soviet Union as possible evidence of its value. Nick -- Nick Watkins, Space & Plasma Physics Group, School of Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Univ. of Sussex, Brighton, E.Sussex, BN1 9QH, ENGLAND JANET: nickw@syma.sussex.ac.uk BITNET: nickw%syma.sussex.ac.uk@uk.ac ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V10 #378 *******************