yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (02/09/91)
Headline News
Internal Communications Branch (P-2) NASA Headquarters
Friday, February 8, 1991 Audio Service: 202 / 755-1788
This is NASA Headline News for Friday, February 8, 1991
Discovery will be rolled from Kennedy Space Center's Orbiter
Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building
Saturday afternoon. Mating of Discovery to its external tank
and solid rocket booster stack will follow the rollover. Columbia
will be rolled from the VAB into Discovery's vacated spot in the
OPF by dusk tomorrow. Activity today on Discovery includes
weight and center--of-gravity measurements. The heater
problem on Discovery's thruster has been isolated to a
cable harness located between the thruster and an associated
logic unit. Launch of Discovery for the STS-39 Department of
Defense mission is set for early March.
Work on Atlantis continues on a schedule which would allow an
early April launch for the STS-37 Gamma Ray Observatory
deploy mission. Current activity on Atlantis includes the
installation of the left-hand orbital maneuvering system
pod this weekend, and tests of the right-hand pod today. The
STS-37 Atlantis crew equipment interface test will occur
tomorrow.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Galileo is now more than 28 million miles from Earth. It has
traveled 763 million miles since launch and has gone 120
million miles in its solar orbit since the December Earth flyby.
Current spacecraft orbital speed is about 80,300 mph. Galileo's
health and performance continue to be excellent.
Engineering telemetry and cruise science data are being
transmitted through the primary low-gain antenna at a rate of
40 bits per second.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NASA has scheduled two chemical releases from the
Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite for
February. There are opportunities to make the two releases,
one of barium and one of lithium, on the nights of Feb. 9, 11, 13,
and 16, and the morning of Feb. 19. There are multiple release
opportunities each evening. The CRRES scientists seek to
understand what processes cause aurora. The studies are
conducted using charged-particle clouds, released by the CRRES
spacecraft, which induce aurora. These artificial aurora are
then observed to study the interaction between them and
Earth's ionosphere and magnetosphere.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
In testimony yesterday before the House Committee on Science,
Space and Technology, Administrator Richard Truly said that
NASA activities make significant contributions to
America's competitive posture in the global marketplace,
to our national pride and accomplishment, to our creative and
intellectual spirit, and to our understanding of the fragile Earth
we inhabit. He also said the 1991 budget request reflects
Congressional guidance to temper the proposed rate of
growth of the agency's budget, and to restructure Space Station
Freedom, and responds to recommendations of the Report of the
Advisory Committee on the Future of the U.S. Space Program.
Truly noted that the budget contains a 17 percent increase for
NASA's educational activities, which represents a sustained
commitment on the part of NASA and the President to stimulate
young people's interest in science, mathematics and engineering,
and to provide resources for teachers and support for university
activity in these areas.
Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA
Select TV. All times are Eastern. **indicates a live program.
Monday, 2/11/91
1:00 pm NASA Radio Program will be transmitted.
Tuesday, 2/12/91
12:00 pm NASA Productions will be transmitted.
All events and times may change without notice. This report is
filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12:00 pm, EST. It is a
service of Internal Communications Branch at NASA
Headquarters. Contact: CREDMOND on NASAmail or at
202/453-8425.
NASA Select TV: Satcom F2R, Transponder 13, C-Band, 72
degrees West Longitude, Audio 6.8, Frequency 3960 MHz.