henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (01/06/90)
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