henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) (11/03/87)
Again the inside-front-cover two-page-spread ad with the Apollo photo
and the caption "It's time we raised our sights again", from United
Technologies.
Ariane launches two Clarke-orbit comsats successfully, restoring it to
operational service.
The Spartan shuttle-based free-flyer has been given four mission slots
through 1992. (A Spartan Halley-imaging mission was one of the Challenger
payloads.)
US space-station negotiators return from Europe, progress nil, after what
was supposed to be the final bilateral meeting. Military use and the
management structure remain unresolved. An interim plan may be needed to
keep the international partners involved, because development will start
in November and agreement by then is unlikely.
USAF to hold competition in 1988 for a new expendable to carry ten military
comsats that used to be booked on the shuttle. This will be an Atlas-Centaur
class launcher [and nobody will be surprised if the Atlas Centaur wins, since
it is the only major US expendable without a current government subsidy, er
um I meant contract]. A significant change is that the USAF just might be
willing to listen to companies selling launch services rather than just
hardware.
Parts of the next Ariane to start arriving at Kourou end of Sept., launch
set for mid-Nov carrying German TV broadcast comsat. The one after that,
V21, is scheduled for December with French and US comsats (the US one will
carry a piggyback Geostar package). After that, in 1988, will be the first
flight of an Ariane 4, carrying a European metsat, a US comsat, and the
latest Amsat amateur-radio satellite.
Security is being tightened up at Kourou, partly because of unrest in the
neighboring country of Surinam, partly as a dry run for later military
payloads, and partly because of Kourou's growing strategic importance as
an operational spaceport. Antiaircraft weaponry was much in evidence for
the V19 launch, and press photography from above ground (roofs etc.) was
banned to ensure that security measures are not revealed. A segment of
the country's #1 highway will be rerouted to keep the road out of portable-
weapon range of newer launch complexes.
As predicted, the call for tenders for Aussat's next generation of satellites
calls for delivery into orbit by the supplier, including up to two replacement
satellites in the event of launch failure.
Eutelsat is debating whether to drop its opposition to a competing (private
venture) broadcast-satellite venture, SES. Eutelsat's director recommends
accepting the competition in the belief that SES won't survive it.
FCC rejects Arinc's proposal to build a global aviation comsat system to be
owned by the airlines (as Arinc is). The rejection was due to a request for
too much spectrum space (in conflict with the FCC's desire to use some of
that band for land-mobile communications) and inadequate documentation of
proper financial backing. Arinc says the rejection was groundless and will
challenge it in court if necessary.
NASA officially declares the Aug 30 SRB test a success, with no hot gas
leaks and joint opening about a tenth of the old design's.
NRC reports on the space station, saying that the Phase One design is okay,
but there are problems with cost estimates, management structure, and
excessive reliance on the shuttle. It recommends various improvements
but neither cancellation nor major changes.
NRC says shuttle performance improvement is needed. "The current shuttle
is barely adequate for the limited purpose of deploying the space station.
It is clearly inadequate to meet broader national needs in space." NRC
recommends improving the SRBs right away, deferring shuttle-derived heavylift
developments, and pursuing later use of expendables. NRC stresses the need
for another orbiter after the Challenger replacement: "It is dangerous and
misleading to assume that there will be no shuttle losses and to fail to
plan for such possibilities." At least one orbiter should be equipped for
two-week stays in space. NASA should strengthen its backup hardware plans
for the station and include a crew-rescue vehicle, and should pursue a
man-rated expendable as a shuttle backup.
NRC says committing to Phase Two of the station is premature, especially
when the US has not set its long-term goals in space; NRC says that setting
said goals should have high priority. NRC also questions inclusion of the
free-flying platforms in the station project, saying that the polar platform
in particular has nothing to do with the station and should be evaluated on
its own merits or lack thereof.
Jim Beggs, ex-administrator of NASA who oversaw early station development,
does not believe the $30G cost estimates some people are citing, and says
that the station has "been reviewed to death".
General Dynamics and Martin Marietta selected for small study contracts
for liquid-fuelled shuttle boosters.
Picture of Martin Marietta's design for the Awesomely Lucrative Spacelauncher,
er excuse me Advanced Launch System: looks like sort of a fat Delta, with
a bunch of solid strap-ons and a hydrogen-fuelled core. The solids would be
mass-produced as monolithic units (not segmented) and would have fixed nozzles
to make them cheaper. The core would use SSMEs for starters, with later cost
reductions from redesign for one-shot use. For the later "objective" version,
the solids might be replaced by a flyback LOX/hydrocarbon booster that would
drop off at about Mach 3 (roughly the point at which conventional materials
hit their limits). MM thinks that investing in cheaper production of non-
reusable systems is cheaper than complicating the systems to make them
reusable, but is pursuing both possibilities for the moment.
NASA names all-military crew for STS-27 (a military mission): Robert Gibson,
Guy Gardner, Richard Mullane, Jerry Ross, William Shepherd.
British aerospace industry calls on British government to reverse its policy
of reducing space R&D funding.
Weinberger re-affirms DoD policy that the space station must be available for
military use.
West Germany reserves a Titan 3 launch for its TVSat 2. Hughes signs for
a Titan 3 launch for Japan's JCSat-2.
Interesting side note: Air France expects Concorde charter business to pick
up now that Ariane is flying again! Arianespace frequently uses Concorde
to fly VIPs to Ariane launches.
"Aerospace Forum" piece by Dr. Thomas O. Paine, administrator of NASA from
1968 to 1970 and chairman of the National Commission on Space, criticizing
the US for lack of coherent space objectives. "After a lifetime spent
studying the rise and fall of great civilizations, the historian Toynbee
identified the critical factor as national response to challenge... We
failed our first test. In the 1950s, the US had the technology base needed
to launch an artificial satellite. Forward-looking engineers discussed the
project for a decade, but our leaders lacked vision and decisiveness. We
were mere spectators in 1957 when Sputnik rocketed into orbit... [NASA was
created] with a charter to place America at the forefront of space
exploration. But the US only fell further behind as prominent scientists
denounced Project Mercury. Their argument collapsed in 1961 when Yuri
Gagarin [flew]. Six weeks later, John Kennedy responded with characteristic
vigor... The dramatic lunar expeditions established the US as undisputed
leader on the new frontier. NASA's triumphs were followed by 15 years of
presidential indecision and neglect... Hadn't we won the space race? ...
An aimless NASA was a welcome target for short-sighted budget cutters.
Without long-range objectives, investment to renew NASA's increasingly
obsolescent technology base could not be justified... The loss of Challenger
was only a symptom... By the mid-1980s, America's underfunded civilian space
program was exhibiting the lack of vision and direction that had lost America
the opportunity to lead humanity into space in 1957..."
"The year 1992 marks the 500th anniversary of Columbus, and the 75th
anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Will it be celebrated in the Soviet
Union with TV images transmitted to Earth by cosmonauts orbiting the Moon?
And in the US with a Santa Maria replica flying a pizza company flag as it
chugs up the Potomac?"
--
PS/2: Yesterday's hardware today. | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
OS/2: Yesterday's software tomorrow. | {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,utai}!utzoo!henry