henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (04/17/89)
Chinese becomes a customer for Soyuzkarta, buying images of China from the Soviets. China has a Landsat receiving station, but apparently wants to hedge its bets in case the US lets Landsat die. Team from Payload Systems Inc. visits Moscow, delivering training models of their protein-crystallization experiment that will fly on Mir later this year. A Soviet team will visit Boston in March to certify the hardware for flight, and PSI will visit Baikonur in April to sort out preflight procedures. Launch is set for mid-June, with a stay in orbit lasting until October. [I would assume that the dates on this have slipped a little bit in the light of the hiatus in manned activity on Mir.] Quayle wants -- guess what -- another major review of space policy. "This has US space managers rolling their eyes in frustration." Quayle *is* making noises about getting things done thereafter, though. Aerospace Plane project in middle of major progress review. The necessary air-breathing propulsion efficiencies appear possible, although the X-30 will probably have a rocket engine for final boost. Aerospace-plane work is now consuming 60% of the US's supercomputer capacity, it is reported. FY90 budgeting is a cloud on the horizon, though, since a lot of spaceplane funding comes out of DoD even though near-term military applications are few. Negotiations with Britain on spaceplane collaboration are underway. Japan is generally considered the biggest competitor in the spaceplane business, with propulsion and materials work receiving funding similar to that in the US and technical progress impressive. Los Alamos proposes to build a lunar-surface simulation facility for testing lunar mining and construction hardware. They would like a small amount of NASA funding for it; so far, no response from NASA. Los Alamos says that paper studies of lunar base operations, notably oxygen production, are beginning to peter out for lack of experimental results. Picture of Mir mockup with mockup of the first expansion module attached. Opinions differ on how quickly the US needs to upgrade its ability to detect possible future space-weapons activity. It is important to spot testing, because operational deployment would be much harder to detect -- weapons on standby would give little indication of their nature. Negotations on a space-weapons control treaty were progressing well when they were suspended for the US elections, with few major issues still open. Subject to final approval by member states, ESA has selected Matra's design for the Columbus polar platform, over British Aerospace's. The Matra design is based on Matra's "Mk. 2 service module" design that will be used for Spot 4 and the Helios spysat. Ironically, despite BA's design losing, BA will be prime contractor, because Britain is taking the lead in financing the polar platform. Matra has begun initial hardware work for Helios, which is scheduled to be operational in 1993. Japan launches Exos-D auroral-research satellite successfully Feb 22. Pratt & Whitney's redesigned shuttle-main-engine turbopumps will fly on a shuttle mission in 1992. Certification tests will end in June 1991, after which P&W will deliver four pumps (a flight set plus a spare) for installation in an unspecified orbiter. [When last heard from, there was no commitment to fly the P&W pumps. Rocketdyne would undoubtedly prefer it had stayed that way...] USAF is refurbishing the F-1 engine test stands at Edwards for use in engine testing for ALS. -- Welcome to Mars! Your | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology passport and visa, comrade? | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu