henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (04/10/89)
Construction of the mobile service tower for the Titan 4 pad at Vandenberg may be delayed due to incorrect fasteners: some of the one-inch-dia. bolts are too small for the nuts, causing stripping of threads. Martin Marietta and the USAF are trying to decide what to do. [Uh, change bolt suppliers?] NASA FY90 budget gets bipartisan support at its first Senate subcommittee hearing. Phobos 2 enters Mars orbit Jan 29. [I'll skip the details, since we all know that Phobos 2 is now dead. They really should have launched three of them.] Discovery launch preparations continue, with replacement liquid-oxygen pumps about to arrive at KSC. Data from the #3 engine on Atlantis shows that its cracked bearing was present at launch -- vibration levels were higher than usual, although within operating limits for the engine. Inmarsat decides to investigate using its satellites for land-mobile communication, in addition to their maritime and aviation roles. Test-firing of Pegasus third-stage engine is imminent [went fine]. The test will be run by a Pegasus flight computer in a blockhouse. A second-stage motor firing will follow in late March, and a first- stage motor in April. Only one test of each motor will be done before first flight. Hercules has started construction on the first flight motors. The first Pegasus is still on schedule for launch in late July. Scaled Composites [Rutan's company] has finished the top half of the wing and is finishing the bottom half. Subcontractors are starting to deliver flight hardware. A captive flight test on a B-52, using an inert model now under construction, will occur in late June. Two captive flight tests of the first Pegasus will be run before it is launched. Launch will be off Vandenberg. Assuming success, the second Pegasus goes up in September. The B-52 being government-owned, OSC is evaluating proposals from a number of aircraft cargo and leasing companies to provide either a Lockheed Tristar or a Boeing 747 for commercial Pegasus launches; OSC's studies showed these aircraft to be preferred. A 747 would carry Pegasus under its wing the same way the NASA B-52 will; a Tristar would carry it under the belly, with Pegasus's tail sticking up into the unpressurized cargo hold through a slot. European and Japanese companies, in addition to US ones, have offered aircraft leases on "interesting" terms. -- Welcome to Mars! Your | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology passport and visa, comrade? | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu
leech@zeta.cs.unc.edu (Jonathan Leech) (04/10/89)
In article <1989Apr10.025652.28387@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes: >Phobos 2 enters Mars orbit Jan 29. [I'll skip the details, since we >all know that Phobos 2 is now dead. They really should have launched >three of them.] Perhaps the effort would better be spent putting more reliable hardware on board the spacecraft, and better trained personnel on the ground. Of what use would *three* failed Mars probes be? :-) Unrelated topic: anyone interested in sharing a hotel room at the Chicago Space Development Conference? Respond by email, please. -- Jon Leech (leech@cs.unc.edu) __@/ ``God is more interested in your future and your relationships than you are.'' - Billy Graham