Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 7997;andrew.cmu.edu;Ted Anderson 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 ; Sat, 5 May 90 02:44:24 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Sat, 5 May 90 02:43:56 -0400 (EDT) Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #362 SPACE Digest Volume 11 : Issue 362 Today's Topics: Payload Summary for 05/04/90 (Forwarded) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 5 May 90 05:06:21 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: Payload Summary for 05/04/90 (Forwarded) Status Report Expendable Vehicles Kennedy Space Center May 4, 1990 George Diller 407/867-2468 FTS 823-2468 DELTA/ROSAT Work is proceeding on schedule at Launch Complex 17 toward a May 31 launch of the Delta II rocket which will carry the ROSAT spacecraft into a 360-statute-mile-high orbit. Spacecraft check- out and other work to prepare the satellite for its upcoming mating with the Delta vehicle is also on schedule. ROSAT arrived from Germany aboard a 747 air cargo plane on Feb. 20 and was taken to NASA's Hangar AE on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to begin processing. The Wide Field Camera was in- stalled in the spacecraft on March 12. The spacecraft functional checks were completed by mid-April. On Apr. 27, a compatability test with JPL's Deep Space Net- work (DSN) was completed. This week, end-to-end communications testing is underway between the spacecraft in Hangar AE and the German Satellite Operations Center (GSOC) in Germany. This over- seas project control center can send commands to and receive data directly from the spacecraft by way of trans-Atlantic satellite link. Transportation of ROSAT to the launch pad is planned to oc- cur May 17. Approximately one week later, the satellite will be enclosed in the Delta nose fairing. This is the first flight of a new 10-foot diameter fairing. The Delta rocket was erected on Pad 17-A, starting with the first stage on April 5. The attachment of the nine strap-on solid rocket motors followed beginning on Apr. 6, with completion on Apr. 9. The Delta second stage was then erected on Apr. 16. Yesterday, at the pad, the vehicle was loaded with liquid oxygen for "LOX Leak Checks" to verify the integrity of the first stage. Today, a Simulated Flight Test is scheduled. The exer- cise operates the electrical and mechanical systems aboard the vehicle, verifying they will work during the flight as intended. Separation of the spacecraft occurs at T+43 minutes. There is a one hour launch window for Delta/Rosat which opens at 5:35 p.m. Eastern time. This window could be refined somewhat closer to launch. Atlas Centaur AC-69/CRRES Work is proceeding toward an approximate mid-June launch of an Atlas Centaur vehicle carrying the Combined Release and Radia- tion Effects Satellite. This will be the first flight of an At- las Centaur with the new fairing that is 14 feet in diameter. The Atlas Centaur arrived aboard a C-5 Air Force transport plane on April 3. The Atlas stage was erected on Pad 36-B on April 4 and the Centaur stage was hoisted atop the Atlas on April 5. The vehicle was powered up to begin prelaunch testing on April 16. The only problem encountered has been with one of the Centaur hydrogen vent valves which is being replaced. During the second week of May, a Simulated Flight test, or plus count, is scheduled. The spacecraft separation occurs at approximately 29 minutes into the plus count. This check will operate the vehicle's electrical and mechanical systems, verify- ing they will perform as designed during the ascent to orbit. A countdown dress rehearsal is scheduled for mid-May which will be a full countdown exercise, including the filling of the vehicle with its full complement of liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen, and RP-1 propellants. The new 14-foot fairing has been undergoing final assembly in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF), located in the KSC Industrial Area. It is being taken to the launch pad on Saturday to begin fit checks, electrical tests, and to verify that it will open and separate from the vehicle properly during the ascent. The CRRES spacecraft arrived at the PHSF on March 23. Electrical checks and functional testing of the spacecraft were completed on April 20. This week, the canisters designed for releasing the chemicals in orbit were loaded with their respec- tive elements and were placed aboard the spacecraft. There are eight small canisters and 16 large canisters which collectively contain the elements barium, litihium, strontium, and calcium. On May 14 three days of spacecraft end-to-end compatability tests are scheduled between the CRRES satellite at Cape Canaveral and the Air Force Consolidated Satellite Test Center (CSTC) in Sunnyvale, Ca. This will be the control center for the spacecraft during the mission. Spacecraft commands, telemetry and data communications will be verified. ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V11 #362 *******************