glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman) (01/28/89)
Glavcosmos general manager Dimitri Poletayev, in charge of marketing space
material, said that there was uncertainty in the design of the Mir 2 station
to replace Mir. Five expansion modules will be added to Mir at about 6 month
intervals starting in April, and reaching competition in 1991. If Mir proves
sufficient for their needs at that point the replacement station will be
delayed, and they will not operate both station simultaneously. (Defense Daily
Jan 6). Connected with this Space Commerce Corp. is now selling 20 meter (66
ft.) resolution images taken from Mir and earth observation satellites covering
20 Km (12 mi) squares or 5 meter (16 ft.) for 5 km (3 mi) square pictures.
Digital data can be delivered to a customer's ground station within 3 hours.
(Soviet Aerospace, Jan 9 and AW&ST Jan 9).
The Russians announced at a space power conference that they have flown
twice an advanced thermionic orbital nuclear reactor design called Topaz.
Thermionic reactors produce electricity directly within their core and are
more efficient than the older style liquid metal cooled reactors used on
Soviet Rodar radar satellites, or the US's similar thermoelctric SP-100 system
(scheduled to fly in 1993). The two missions, Cosmos 1818 and 1867, has
the reactors operating for 6 and 12 months, compared to the 2-3 months of a
Rodar system. These 5-10 tonne satellites will produce several hundred
kilowatts for up to 5 years in future missions. In addition the Soviets are
looking at a nuclear propulsion/power system for a manned Mars mission. In a
typical mission a 665 day round trip would using Venus gravity assist an allow
along stay at Mars. The Russians have stated these new reactors will also be
offered for sale. (AW&ST Jan 16)
The USSR's first launch of the year used a Proton booster to put Glonass
navigation satellites and an Etalon laser geodesic satellite. The Etalon was
described as a 1.4 Tonne hollow sphere 1.3 meters (51 inches) in diameter
covered with about 2000 quartz tetrahedral shaped prisms, which reflect laser
beams back towards their source. This allows very fine measurements of the
earth's gravity field and of course can be used as a military laser target.
Note the stated ground laser sources are at Sary Shagan and Dushanbe (the
latter site figuring prominently in Tom Claney's new spy thriller "The Cardinal
of the Kermlin"). Such candor was unusual in such a military related system
prior to now. Previous Glonass launches have sometimes contained a third
satellite which went into a strange orbit - possibly they were similar
systems. Total Soviet launches for 1989 were 90, the lowest since 1981, but
these included the flight of Buran, and the manning of Mir for the whole year.
(Defense Daily Jan 13, 18)
Developing advanced nuclear reactors for planetary missions, and
selling orbital data from a space station. When a non market oriented
economy does that you know that space is viewed as a money making venture by
them. With the grounding of the Discovery today due, to moisture in the main
engines causing the cracking of the bearing race way, it will be a while
before the US catches up. The Russians are moving in this area, will the USA
join them.
Glenn Chapman
MIT Lincoln LabPJS@GROUCH.JPL.NASA.GOV (Peter Scott) (01/30/89)
Glenn Chapman <glenn@ll-vlsi.arpa> writes: >The Etalon was >described as a 1.4 Tonne hollow sphere 1.3 meters (51 inches) in diameter >covered with about 2000 quartz tetrahedral shaped prisms, which reflect laser >beams back towards their source. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >This allows very fine measurements of the >earth's gravity field and of course can be used as a military laser target. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ PRAVDA: "Bungling Colonel Destroys New Free-Electron Laser By Aiming It At Wrong Target; Three Posted To Siberia" I have read that this is a feature that the U.S. plans to use to protect orbital SDI platforms from said military lasers. Peter Scott (pjs@grouch.jpl.nasa.gov)
tneff@well.UUCP (Tom Neff) (01/30/89)
In article <8901280512.AA29429@ll-vlsi.arpa> glenn@LL-VLSI.ARPA (Glenn Chapman) writes: > Glavcosmos general manager Dimitri Poletayev, in charge of marketing space >material, said that there was uncertainty in the design of the Mir 2 station >to replace Mir. Five expansion modules will be added to Mir at about 6 month >intervals starting in April, and reaching competition in 1991. If Mir proves >sufficient for their needs at that point the replacement station will be >delayed, and they will not operate both station simultaneously. I hope no one is too surprised at this. The Soviet space program, for all the chic Western talk of its "stability," is clearly in upheaval. In the past year or two the advent of Energiya, Buran and _glasnost_ have completed the revolution that Mir and Sagdeyev started back in the chilly days of Andropov and Chernenko. Energiya and Buran suddenly give the entire program a dizzying new flexibility, and _glasnost_ does two things: it enlists the support of the West and it clears the way for PROFIT as a space program motive. Not to be forgotten, either, is the Afghan pullout. The war down there required a significant amount of spysat and military comsat investment over a decade. Money will be freed up, specifically for Star Wards research unless I miss my guess. Mir 2 may well be abandoned and a military station lofted instead, while Mir 1 is augmented with handfuls of profit making facilities. It would be ruinously expensive to maintain two Mirs at once in the current configuration. > The USSR's first launch of the year used a Proton booster to put Glonass >navigation satellites and an Etalon laser geodesic satellite. The Etalon was >described as a 1.4 Tonne hollow sphere 1.3 meters (51 inches) in diameter >covered with about 2000 quartz tetrahedral shaped prisms, which reflect laser >beams back towards their source. I can't help but wonder whether the Soviets can tell if anyone ELSE illuminates this thing... :-) > ... With the grounding of the Discovery today due, to moisture in the main >engines causing the cracking of the bearing race way, it will be a while >before the US catches up. Uh, let's not confuse the large with the small here. From what I understand the bearing race was a disturbing one time affair - the moisture was present *when the bearing was cast* and that's what ultimately led to the crack. They can and will test for anything similar in the other bearings. Work on Discovery proceeds on schedule - nothing is "grounded." -- Tom Neff tneff@well.UUCP or tneff@dasys1.UUCP