henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) (03/13/91)
[Another light week for the obvious reason.] Discovery mission to fly in March [well, whenever...] to try out improved shuttle computers: more compact, lighter, less power, larger memory, and higher speed. Lockheed reveals project to develop three standard satellite buses, "F-Sat". "F" officially is for "frugal", but it also stands for "fat", signifying use of greater weight and power margins to minimize redesign for new payloads. The F-Sats are meant for Atlas/Delta-class payloads, with a target cost [not clear whether this is bus or whole bird] of $30M each. [The list of suggested applications is basically NASA and military, suggesting little interest in commercial customers initially.] USAF Space Systems Div. officially delays the next Navstar launch until the solar-array pointing failure in the last Navstar is understood. Cape York project hits a financial snag: Essington Developments, the project's current developer, is withdrawing and wants to sell out. Discovery launch slips slightly due to defects in maneuvering thrusters. [They haven't found the cracked door hinges yet.] SDIO expects a strong shift in its funding, away from space-based hardware towards ground-based hardware, in keeping with the new White House emphasis on countering limited attacks. Brilliant Pebbles is still hanging in there, though, with SDIO bravely trying to prove that it could stop Scuds. NASA tightens security, especially at KSC and JSC, as a precaution against terrorism. Most JSC tours have been suspended, and KSC tours are being watched more carefully. Employee entrances to crucial areas are also getting more attention. US Army's experimental Eris interceptor successfully sorts out an imitation warhead from decoys and destroys it in test Jan 28. Two more flight tests are planned this year, aimed mostly at presenting more difficult problems with decoys and countermeasures. White House initiative to refocus SDI sparks Congressional debate, with some claiming it revives the program while others claim it shows a program still in search of a mission. Spy satellite coverage of Gulf reported excellent, with frequent satellite passes aided by the more modern birds' ability to work well to either side of their ground track. The Lacrosse radarsat is particularly useful in spotting armored-vehicle concentrations in bad weather. The missile- warning satellites in Clarke orbit are proving to be somewhat useful for reconnaissance as well; notably, the new-model warning sensors turn out to be capable of spotting fighter afterburners, and use of this is being studied. [A sidelight on this is that the KH-12 that reportedly broke up after shuttle launch last March appears to be operational; apparently the "breakup" was jettisoning of covers and shields before maneuvering, not an accident.] Martin Marietta and Bechtel are scrambling to get pad 40 at the Cape rebuilt in time for the Mars Observer launch in Sept 1992. MO will go up on Commercial Titan, but the main objective of rebuilding pads 40 and 41 is better Titan 4 facilities, to support the USAF's plans for up to six launches a year. Pad 40 rebuilding is particularly drastic, with the old structure essentially being torn down and replaced in its entirety. -- "But this *is* the simplified version | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology for the general public." -S. Harris | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
dlbres10@pc.usl.edu (Fraering Philip) (03/14/91)
In article <1991Mar13.043442.3045@zoo.toronto.edu> henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes: >Martin Marietta and Bechtel are scrambling to get pad 40 at the Cape >rebuilt in time for the Mars Observer launch in Sept 1992. What sort of other work does Bechtel do in the aerospace field? I heard they got a lot of the contracts for rebuilding Kuwait, and they do a lot in construction. Do they mainly do launch complex construction, or what? Phil Fraering dlbres10@pc.usl.edu