henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (12/14/88)
Japan officially commits to unrestricted distribution of data from the Japanese Earth Remote Sensing satellite; the US had been concerned that Japan might restrict image distribution in its own favor. Roald Sagdeev, outgoing head of IKI [the Soviet Space Research Institute] denounces "figureheads" in charge of key elements of the Soviet space program, probably referring to Alexander Dunayev of Glavcosmos. (There is reported to be an internal power struggle among Soviet space groups.) Pentagon plans to restart antisatellite work next year, probably aimed mostly at ground/ship-based near-term interceptors. The Navy wants a role in Asat work, partly because it has the only well-defined mission -- knocking out Soviet radarsats whose primary role is tracking the US fleet -- and it's a good bet that the revised design will be a Tomahawk- sized missile that will fit submarines and Aegis cruisers. Congress is likely to balk at anything beyond low-level study work, though, and the change of launch platform isn't likely to help much. The replacement Mir crew that will [did] go up with Chretien will probably remain up for well under a year, breaking the current pattern of steadily increasing duration. The medical people want a pause, presumably for more thorough study and planning. Soviets say Buran's swing arm was in fact retracting properly during the firstl launch attempts, but the automated safety system checked its status too soon. They say the lengthy delay before the next launch attempt simply reflects lack of urgency and a desire for thoroughness with a new system. Investigating board concludes, as expected, that the electrical fire on Magellan was the result of a technician's inability to see what he was doing, and his incorrect assumption that battery connectors could not be mated incorrectly. (True, but they could be mated far enough for some contacts to meet.) Board recommends a change in connector design, an alert to test personnel, and temporary removal of obstructing panels so that the technicians can see the connections they are trying to make. Atlantis launch preparations in final stages. Bush transition team studying plan to reorganize US space program management along the lines of the US intelligence agencies. The head of NASA would acquire a second hat as assistant to the president for civil space, with broad powers for managing the federal space effort. (Similarly, the CIA head is also the director of central intelligence.) The National Space Council would be important in policy decisions, but would not have day-to-day executive responsibility. The organization of the council, and transfer of power to it from the current Senior Interagency Group on Space, is still being sorted out. The first major agenda item for the council will probably be a major review of the space station. [I am not sure that putting the head of NASA in that position is a good idea. Many people, including me, see private spaceflight as the best hope for a revived US space effort... and NASA historically has been deeply hostile to any space project it does not control. Much of what has been accomplished in recent years is at least partly due to the Reagan administration's policy of keeping NASA *out* of a larger management role. Maybe it will all work out, but I'm worried. A lot depends on who replaces Fletcher as head of NASA, and how soon.] NASA briefings to the new administration will stress keeping the space station on track. That aside, major priorities within NASA include continuing and increasing NASA's newly-revived technology-development efforts (Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology), providing enough funding so existing projects can be finished on time (Office of Space Science), and stable funding for shuttle operations (Office of Space Flight). Avtex Fibers is back in the rayon business, after NASA, DoD, Morton Thiokol, and other aerospace manufacturers hastily arranged long-term contracts to keep production going. Radar measurements by William Dent (U of Mass.) indicate that the permafrost on Mars is at least a meter deep, raising hopes that it might be useful as a source of water and volatiles for manned expeditions. ESA prepares to select its next major space-science project, out of five possibilities: Cassini mission to Saturn and Titan (joint project with NASA, ESA supplying the Titan descent probe), GRASP (gamma-ray astronomy satellite), Vesta asteroid/comet encounter (joint project with USSR, ESA supplying encounter module including penetrators), Lyman faint-object spectroscopic astronomy satellite, and Quasat very-long-baseline radio astronomy observatory. ESA's advisory council recommended Cassini, but its recommendations are not binding. One problem with Cassini is that it's a joint project with NASA, historically an unreliable partner, and assumes prompt Congressional approval of NASA's part of it. Failing Cassini, the council recommended re-opening competition among the four remaining projects. Actually, ESA has its own budget problems, since most of this assumes modest annual space-science budget growth, which Britain has been vetoing (such base-budget decisions must be unanimous). Many of these projects have been waiting in the wings for several years, as both Lyman and Quasat were originally joint work with NASA, and GRASP was designed for shuttle deployment; the chaos within NASA after January 1986 scuttled those plans. -- SunOSish, adj: requiring | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology 32-bit bug numbers. | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu