yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (11/09/90)
Headline News Internal Communications Branch (P-2) NASA Headquarters Thursday, November 8, 1990 Audio Service: 202 / 755-1788 This is NASA Headline News for Thursday, November 8, 1990 NASA yesterday announced the selection of Thursday, Nov. 15, as the new target launch date for the Atlantis STS-38 Department of Defense mission. The delay from Atlantis' original target date of Nov. 9 is due to payload problems. Start of the 4-hour launch opportunity period is unchanged at 6:30 pm EST. It will be the seventh flight of Atlantis and the 37th shuttle mission. The STS-35 Flight Readiness Review for Columbia's Astro-1 mission is now scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 26 and 27, at the Kennedy Space Center. A launch date for STS-35 will be announced following review of performance data from the STS-38 mission and review of mission status during the readiness review. Shuttle chief Robert Crippen said yesterday that he was confident NASA would be flying Columbia sometime in early December. In the Orbiter Processing Facility, preparations for the removal of Discovery's three main engines has begun. They will be removed tomorrow and transferred to the engine shop for refurbishment. Stacking of the solid rocket boosters for the STS-39 mission has begun in the Vehicle Assembly Building. The left aft booster segment is on the mobile launcher platform. STS-39 is the Department of Defense mission slated for next February on Discovery. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * At yesterday's monthly space flight press briefing, William Lenoir said that John Young's special Kennedy Space Center accident investigation group had found no common thread in the string of accidents which have occurred at KSC. The report has not been finalized yet, but will be distributed to media when it is. Lenoir also said the reassessment of the space station program is underway, and the challenge will be to find a way to reduce anticipated program cost by six billion dollars in the next five years and still maintain a useful station. The reassessment process will involve all of NASA's work package centers, the work package contractors and all the international partners. Results of the assessment will be given to station chief Richard Kohrs, who will assemble the input as individual recommendations to be presented to Lenoir and Adm. Truly. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Jet Propulsion Laboratory Magellan flight controllers report that the spacecraft is still too close to the Sun in the Earth- Venus line of sight for clean, high-bit-rate communications. The current schedule calls for mapping to resume on Saturday. JPL will begin to transmit a new mapping sequence tomorrow if communications improve, as expected. Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select TV. All times are Eastern. **indicates a live program. Thursday, 11/8/90 11:30 pm NASA Update will be transmitted. 12:00 pm "A Look to the Future," Eisenhower Institute and Smithsonian Institution space symposium. 1:15 pm Aeronautics & Space Report #254 1:30 pm Back Space, one of a continuing series in the NASA Productions. 2:00 pm Replay of yesterday's Magellan-at-Venus report from JPL. 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.