Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V10_3/V10_378.TXT

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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![e-mail]  (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 [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 6 Jan 90 02:34:50 GMT
From: cs.utexas.edu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (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 [e-mail]

------------------------------

Date: 20 Dec 89 19:38:35 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (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![e-mail]  (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![e-mail]  (Nick Watkins)
Subject: Re: space science

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (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: [e-mail]   BITNET: [e-mail]

------------------------------

End of SPACE Digest V10 #378
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