yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (11/30/90)
NASA
REVISED
SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION STS-35
PRESS KIT
DECEMBER 1990
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS
Mark Hess/Ed Campion
Office of Space Flight
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 202/453-8536)
Paula Cleggett-Haleim/Michael Braukus
Office of Space Science and Applications
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 202/453-1548)
Terri Sindelar
Educational Affairs
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone: 202/453-8400)
Nancy Lovato
Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, Calif.
(Phone: 805/258-3448)
Randee Exler
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-7277)
James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston
(Phone: 713/483-5111)
Lisa Malone/Pat Phillips
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone: 407/867-2468)
Jean Drummond Clough
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
(Phone: 804/864-6122)
David Drachlis/Jerry Berg
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 205/544-0034)
CONTENTS
GENERAL RELEASE 1
SUMMARY OF MAJOR ACTIVITIES 2
STS-35 CARGO CONFIGURATION 3
STS-35 QUICK LOOK FACTS 4
GENERAL INFORMATION 5
TRAJECTORY SEQUENCE OF EVENTS 6
SPACE SHUTTLE ABORT MODES 6
PAYLOAD AND VEHICLE WEIGHTS 7
STS-35 PRELAUNCH PROCESSING 7
ASTRO-1 MISSION 8
ASTRO-1 OBSERVATORY 12
Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope 12
Wisconsin Ultraviolet Photo-Polarimeter Experiment 15
Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope 17
BROAD BAND X-RAY TELESCOPE 19
ASTRO CARRIER SYSTEMS 22
ASTRO OPERATIONS 25
ASTRO GROUND CONTROL 27
ASTRO-1 HISTORY 29
SHUTTLE AMATEUR RADIO EXPERIMENT (SAREX) 30
STS-35 COLUMBIA SAREX FREQUENCIES 32
"SPACE CLASSROOM, ASSIGNMENT: THE STARS" 32
ORBITER EXPERIMENTS PROGRAM 33
STS-35 CREW BIOGRAPHIES 36
STS-35 MISSION MANAGEMENT 38
UPCOMING SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGHTS 40
PREVIOUS SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGHTS 41
GENERAL RELEASE
RELEASE: 90-63
COLUMBIA TO FLY ASTRONOMY MISSION
Highlighting mission STS-35, the 38th flight of the Space Shuttle
and 10th mission of orbiter Columbia, will be around-the-clock
observations by the seven-member crew using the ultraviolet astronomy
observatory (Astro) and the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT). Both
instruments are located in Columbia's payload bay and will be operated
during 12-hour shifts by the crew.
Above Earth's atmospheric interference, Astro-1 will observe and
measure ultraviolet radiation from celestial objects. Astro-1 is the first in
a series of missions that will make precise measurements of objects such
as planets, stars and galaxies in relatively small fields of view.
Liftoff of the 10th flight of Columbia is scheduled for the week of
Dec. 2, 1990 from launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Columbia will be placed into a 218 statute (190 nautical) mile circular
orbit, inclined 28.5 degrees to the equator. Nominal mission duration is
expected to be 9 days 21 hours 57 minutes. Landing will take place at
Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Astro-1 uses a Spacelab pallet system with an instrument pointing
system and a cruciform structure for bearing the three ultraviolet
instruments mounted in parallel configuration. The three instruments
are the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), the Wisconsin Ultraviolet
Photo-polarimeter Experiment (WUPPE) and the Ultraviolet Imaging
Telescope (UIT). The star tracker, which supports the instrument
pointing system, also is mounted on the cruciform.
HUT will study faint astronomical objects such as quasars, active
galactic nuclei and supernova remnants in the little-explored ultraviolet
range below 1200 Angstroms. It consists of a mirror that focuses on an
aperture of a prime focus spectrograph. Observations of the outer planets
of the solar system will be made to investigate aurorae and gain insight
into the interaction of each planet's magnetosphere with the solar wind.
WUPPE will measure the polarization of ultraviolet light from
celestial objects such as hot stars, galactic nuclei and quasars. It uses
two-mirror telescope optics in conjunction with a spectropolarimeter.
This instrument will measure the polarization by splitting a beam of light
into two mutually-perpendicular planes of polarization, passing the beams
through a spectrometer and focusing the beams on two separate array
detectors.
UIT consists of a telescope and two image intensifiers with 70 mm
film transports (1000 frames each). It will acquire images of faint objects
in broad ultraviolet bands in the wavelength range of 1200 to 3200
Angstroms. This experiment also will investigate the present stellar
content and history of star formation in galaxies, the nature of spiral
structure and non-thermal sources in galaxies.
Also in the payload bay is the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope which
has two co-aligned imaging telescopes with cryogenically cooled lithium-
drifted silicon detectors at each focus. Accurate pointing of the
instrument is achieved by a two-axis pointing system (TAPS).
BBXRT will study various targets, including active galaxies, clusters
of galaxies, supernova remnants and stars. BBXRT will directly measure
the amount of energy in electron volts of each X-ray detected.
Astro observations will begin about 23 hours after Columbia has
completed its maneuvering burn to circularize its orbit at 190 nautical
miles. BBXRT will be activated approximately 13 hours after orbital
insertion. Astro will be deactivated 12 hours before deorbit and BBXRT
deactivation will be 4 hours before the deorbit burn.
Columbia's middeck will carry the Shuttle Amateur Radio
Experiment (SAREX) to communicate with amateur radio stations within
line-of-sight of the orbiter in voice mode or data mode. This experiment
has previously flown on STS-9 and STS-51F. Also on this mission,
Columbia will function as the subject for ground sensor operations as part
of the Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) calibration test.
Commander of the seven-member crew is Vance Brand. Pilot is
Guy Gardner. STS-35 is Brand's fourth trip to space. He previously flew
on the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project mission in 1975. He also commanded
Shuttle missions STS-5 in November 1982 and STS-41B in February
1984. Gardner previously piloted STS-27 in December 1988.
Mission Specialists are Mike Lounge, Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert
Parker. Lounge previously flew on STS-51I in August 1985 and STS-26
in September 1988. Hoffman flew as a Mission Specialist on STS-51D in
April 1985. Parker's previous spaceflight experience was STS-9 in
November 1983.
Payload Specialists Ronald Parise and Samuel Durrance round out
the STS-35 crew. Both are making their first space flights.
-end
SUMMARY OF MAJOR ACTIVITIES
Day One
Ascent
Post-insertion
Unstow Cabin
Astro/BBXRT Activation
SAREX Setup
DSO
Day Two
Astro/BBXRT Observations
SAREX
Day Three
Astro/BBXRT Observations
SAREX
Day Four
AMOS
Astro/BBXRT Observations
SAREX
Day FIVE
AMOS
Astro/BBXRT Observations
SAREX
Space Classroom
Day Six
Astro/BBXRT Observations
SAREX
Day Seven
Astro/BBXRT Observations
RCS Hotfire
Day Eight
Astro/BBXRT Observations
SAREX
DTO
FCS Checkout
Day Nine
Astro/BBXRT Observations
SAREX
SAREX Stow
Astro/BBXRT Deactivation
Cabin Stow
Deorbit Burn
Landing at Edwards AFB
STS-35 QUICK LOOK
Launch Date: December 2, 1990
Launch Window: 1:24 a.m. - 3:54 a.m. EST
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Launch Complex 39-B
Orbiter: Columbia (OV-102)
Altitude: 218 statute miles (190 nm)
Inclination: 28.45
Duration: 9 days, 21 hours, 57 minutes
Landing Date/Time: Dec. 11, 1990, 8:21 p.m. PST
Primary Landing Site: Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Abort Landing Sites: Return to Launch Site -- Kennedy Space
Center, Fla.
Trans-Atlantic Abort -- Banjul, The Gambia
Abort Once Around -- Edwards AFB, Calif.
Crew Vance D. Brand - Commander - Red/Blue Team
Guy S. Gardner - Pilot - Red Team
Jeffrey A. Hoffman - Mission Specialist 1/EV1 - Blue Team
John M. "Mike" Lounge - Mission Specialist 2/EV2 - Blue Team
Robert A.R. Parker - Mission Specialist 3 - Red Team
Samuel T. Durrance - Payload Specialist 1 - Blue Team
Ronald A. Parise - Payload Specialist 2 - Red Team
Red Team shift is approximately 10:30 p.m. -- 10:30 a.m. EST
Blue Team shift is approximately 10:30 a.m. -- 10:30 p.m.
EST
Cargo Bay Payloads: Ultraviolet Astronomy Telescope (Astro)
Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT)
Middeck Payloads: Air Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS)
Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX)
GENERAL INFORMATION
NASA Select Television Transmission
NASA Select television is available on Satcom F-2R, Transponder 13,
C-band located at 72 degrees west longitude, frequency 3960.0 MHz,
vertical polarization, audio monaural 6.8 MHz.
The schedule for tv transmissions from the orbiter and for the
change-of-shift briefings from Johnson Space Center, Houston, will be
available during the mission at Kennedy Space Center, Fla.; Marshall
Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.; Johnson Space Center; Goddard
Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. and NASA Headquarters,
Washington, D.C. The schedule will be updated daily to reflect changes
dictated by mission operations.
TV schedules also may be obtained by calling COMSTOR, 713/483-
5817. COMSTOR is a computer data base service requiring the use of a
telephone modem. Voice updates of the TV schedule may be obtained by
dialing 202/755-1788. This service is updated daily at noon EDT.
Status Reports
Status reports on countdown and mission progress, on-orbit activities
and landing operations will be produced by the appropriate NASA news
center.
Briefings
An STS-35 mission press briefing schedule will be issued prior to
launch. During the mission, flight control personnel will be on 8-hour
shifts. Change-of-shift briefings by the off-going flight director will occur
at approximately 8-hour intervals.
TRAJECTORY SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
__________________________________________________________________
RELATIVE
EVENT MET VELOCITY MACH ALTITUDE
(d:h:m:s) (fps) (ft)
Launch 00/00:00:00
Begin Roll Maneuver 00/00:00:09 162 .14 613
End Roll Maneuver 00/00:00:16 340 .30 2,505
SSME Throttle Down to 70% 00/00:00:26 608 .54 6,759
Max. Dyn. Pressure (Max Q) 00/00:00:54 1,229 1.17 28,976
SSME Throttle Up to 104% 00/00:01:03 1,473 1.46 39,394
SRB Staging 00/00:02:05 4,203 3.87 150,267
Negative Return 00/00:03:58 6,940 7.58 309,526
Main Engine Cutoff (MECO) 00/00:08:31 24,439 22.99 360,922
Zero Thrust 00/00:08:37 24,556i 22.73 363,937
ET Separation 00/00:08:49
OMS 2 Burn 00/00:40:22
Landing 09/21:57
Apogee, Perigee at MECO: 185 x 33
Apogee, Perigee post-OMS 2: 190 x 190
SPACE SHUTTLE ABORT MODES
Space Shuttle launch abort philosophy aims toward safe and intact
recovery of the flight crew, orbiter and its payload.
Abort modes include:
* Abort-To-Orbit (ATO) -- Partial loss of main engine thrust late
enough to permit reaching a minimal 105-nautical mile orbit with orbital
maneuvering system engines.
* Abort-Once-Around (AOA) -- Earlier main engine shutdown with the
capability to allow one orbit around before landing at Edwards Air Force
Base, Calif.; White Sands Space Harbor (Northrup Strip), N.M.; or the
Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at Kennedy Space Center, Fla..
* Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing (TAL) -- Loss of two main engines
midway through powered flight would force a landing at Banjul, The
Gambia; Ben Guerir, Morocco; or Moron, Spain.
* Return-To-Launch-Site (RTLS) -- Early shutdown of one or more
engines and without enough energy to reach Banjul would result in a
pitch around and thrust back toward KSC until within gliding distance of
the SLF.
STS-35 contingency landing sites are Edwards AFB, White Sands,
Kennedy Space Center, Banjul and Ben Guerir, Moron.
PAYLOAD AND VEHICLE WEIGHTS
Vehicle/Payload Weight (lbs)
Orbiter Columbia empty 158,905
Ultraviolet Astronomy Telescope (Astro) 17,276
(IPS, igloo and 2 pallets)
Astro Support Equipment 404
(middeck equipment)
Broad Band X-Ray Telescope ((BBXRT) 8,650
(including TAPS and support equipment)
Detailed Test Objectives (DTO) 274
Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) 61
Total vehicle at SRB ignition 4,523,199
Orbiter and cargo at main engine cutoff 267,513
Orbiter landing weight 225,886
STS-35 PRELAUNCH PROCESSING
Columbia's first launch attempt on May 29 was scrubbed because of
higher than allowable concentrations of hydrogen near the 17-inch
disconnect and in the aft compartment. Since that time, there have been
several launch attempts and two tanking tests.
After the first tanking test on June 6, officials decided to replace the
17-inch disconnect assemblies on both the orbiter and its external tank.
Columbia was rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building June 11,
demated from the external tank and transferred to the Orbiter
Processing Facility. A new disconnect from the shuttle Endeavour was
installed on Columbia and the orbiter and tank were remated.
Columbia was rolled out to Pad 39-A on Aug. 9 for launch.
The countdown began and launch was postponed on Aug. 30 to allow
the replacement of an electronic box for the Broad Band X-Ray
Telescope. Launch was scrubbed on Sept. 5 because of higher than
allowable concentrations of hydrogen in the aft compartment.
Another attempted launch occurred on Sept. 17, but again hydrogen
was detected in the aft compartment.
A board was appointed to find the cause of the leak. At the board's
direction, several main propulsion system seals were replaced, many leak
tests using gaseous helium were performed and various joints were
retorqued. In addition, the team completed a thorough analysis of data
collected from the tanking tests and reviewed all work performed on the
orbiter's propulsion system since Columbia's last flight.
The STS-35 vehicle was moved from Pad 39-A to 39-B on Oct. 8,
following the successful launch of Discovery on Mission STS-41. The
next day, Columbia was transferred back to the Vehicle Assembly
Building because adverse weather prevented productive work in the aft
compartment. On Oct. 14, the vehicle was rolled out to Pad 39-B, and
specially outfitted for the successful tank ing test conducted Oct. 30.
The successful tanking test paved the way for routine launch
preparations leading up to Columbia's planned liftoff.
# # # #
THE ASTRO-1 MISSION
Since the earliest days of astronomy, humankind has used the light
from the stars to test their understanding of the universe. Now, an array
of telescopes to be flown on the first Spacelab mission since 1985, will
extend scientists' vision beyond the visible light to view some of the most
energetic events in the universe.
Astro-1 is the first Spacelab mission devoted to a single scientific
discipline -- astrophysics. The observatory will operate from within the
cargo bay of Space Shuttle Columbia on the STS-35 mission. Together,
four telescopes will dissect ultraviolet light and X-rays from stars and
galaxies, revealing the secrets of processes that emitted the radiation
from thousands to even billions of years ago. Wherever it points, Astro
promises to reveal an array of information.
The Astro-1 Spacelab project is managed by NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
Seeing the Universe
Astronomy from the ground always has been hampered by the
Earth's atmosphere. Even visible light is distorted and blurred by the
motion of air masse, and visible light is just a small part of the radiation
that virtually all objects in the sky emit. Other forms of radiation -- like
cooler, low-energy infrared light and hotter, high-energy ultraviolet light
and X-rays -- are largely absorbed by the atmosphere and never reach the
ground.
Seeing celestial objects in visible light alone is like looking at a
painting in only one color. To appreciate fully the meaning of the
painting, viewers must see it in all of its colors.
The Astro-1 telescopes were constructed to add some of these
"colors" to scientists' view of stars and galaxies. The telescopes' perch
above the veil of Earth's atmosphere in Columbia's cargo bay will allow
scientists to view radiation that is invisible on the ground.
Three of Astro-1's telescopes will operate in the ultraviolet portion
of the spectrum and one in the X-ray portion. One will take photographs;
two will analyze the chemical composition, density and temperature of
objects with a spectrograph; and the other will study the relative
brightness and polarization (the study of light wavelength orientation) of
celestial objects. Some sources will be among the faintest known, as faint
as the glow of sunlight reflected back from interplanetary dust.
By studying ultraviolet and X-rays, astronomers can see emissions
from extremely hot gases, intense magnetic fields and other high-energy
phenomena that are much fainter in visible and infrared light or in radio
waves -- and which are crucial to a deeper understanding of the universe.
Several space telescopes -- notably the Orbiting Astronomical
Observatory-3 (Copernicus) launched in 1972, the International
Ultraviolet Explorer launched in 1978 and the second High Energy
Astronomy Observatory launched in 1979 -- opened the window in these
exciting parts of the spectrum. The combined observations by Astro, the
Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories will provide
astronomers with a more comprehensive view of the cosmos than ever
before.
What Astro-1 Will "See"
The universe viewed by Astro will look strikingly different from the
familiar night sky. Most stars will fade from view, too cool to emit
significant ultraviolet radiation or X-rays. Yet, very young massive stars,
very old stars, glowing nebulae, active galaxies and quasars will gleam
brightly.
Astro will make observations in this solar system. Astro will examine
the chemistry of planetary atmospheres and the interactions of their
magnetic fields. The Astro observatory will study comets as they interact
with light and particles from the sun to produce bright, streaming tails.
Stars
Astro will peer far beyond this solar system to study many types of
stars. The sun is only one of an estimated several hundred billion stars in
the galaxy. Stars like the sun are the most common type: fiery spheres of
gas, about 1 million times larger in volume than Earth, with nuclear
furnaces that reach temperatures of millions of degrees.
Today, current evidence indicates that the sun is a stable, middle-
aged star, but some 5 billion years hence it will swell and swallow the
inner planets including Earth. As a red giant, it may eject a shell of dust
and gas, a planetary nebula. As the sun fades, it will collapse to an object
no bigger than Earth, a dense, hot ember, a white dwarf. Astronomers
predict that most stars may end their lives as white dwarfs, so it is
important to study these stellar remains. White dwarfs emit most of their
radiation in the ultraviolet, and one of Astro-1's main goals is to locate
and examine white dwarfs in detail.
Supernova
Astro-1 instruments will locate hot, massive stars of all ages so that
astronomers can study all phases of stellar evolution. Stars with 10 to 100
times more mass than the sun burn hydrogen rapidly until their cores
collapse and they explode as supernovas, among the most powerful events
in the universe. These stars are initially are very hot and emit mostly
ultraviolet radiation.
Astro will view the recent explosion, Supernova 1987A, which
spewed stellar debris into space. Supernovas forge new elements, most
of which are swept away in expanding shells of gas and debris heated by
the shock waves from the blast. Astro-1 will look for supernova remnants
which remain visible for thousands of years after a stellar death. Astro-1's
ultraviolet and X-ray telescopes will provide information on element
abundances, the physical conditions in the expanding gas and the
structure of the interstellar medium.
Neutron Stars, Pulsars, Black Holes
After a supernova explosion, the stellar core sometimes collapses
into a neutron star, the densest and tiniest of known stars, with mass
comparable to the sun compacted into an area the size of a large city.
Matter can become so dense that a sugar cube of neutron star material
would weigh 100 million tons.
Sometimes neutron stars are pulsars that emit beacons of radiation
and appear to blink on and off as many as hundreds of times per second
because they spin so rapidly. Scientists have theorized that some stars
may collapse so far that they become black holes, objects so dense and
gravitationally strong that neither matter nor light escape. Astro will look
for the ultraviolet radiation and X-rays thought to be produced when hot,
whirling matter is drawn into a black hole.
Star Systems
Few stars live in isolation; most are found in pairs or groups. Some
stellar companions orbit each other and often pass so close that mass is
transferred from one star to the other, producing large amounts of
ultraviolet and X-ray radiation which Astro-1's four telescopes are
designed to study. These binary star systems may consist of various
combinations of objects including white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black
holes.
Star Clusters
Stars may congregate in star clusters with anywhere from a few to
millions of members. Often, there are so many stars in the core of a
cluster, it is impossible to distinguish the visible light from individual
stars. Because they shine brightly in the ultraviolet, Astro-1 can isolate
the hot stars within clusters.
The clusters are excellent laboratories for studying stellar evolution
because the stars residing there formed from the same material at nearly
the same time. However, within a single cluster, stars of different masses
evolve at different rates.
Stellar evolution can be studied by looking at clusters of different
ages. Each cluster of a given age provides a snapshot of what is
happening as a function of stellar mass. By examining young clusters (less
than 1 million years old) and comparing them to old clusters (1 billion
years old), scientists can piece together what happens over a long time.
Interstellar Medium
The space between stars is filled with dust and gas, some of which
will condense to become future stars and planets. This interstellar
medium is composed chiefly of hydrogen with traces of heavier elements
and has a typical density of one atom per thimbleful of space. Astro-1 will
be able to measure the properties of this material more accurately by
studying how it affects the light from distant stars.
For the most part, the interstellar medium is relatively cool, but it
includes pockets of hot matter as well. Dense clouds of dust that
surround stars and scatter and reflect light are called reflection nebulae.
These are often illuminated by hot, young stars in stellar nurseries
hidden within the clouds. Ultraviolet observations will reveal the features
of stars hidden by the dust as well as the size and composition of the dust
grains.
Other Galaxies
Beyond the Milky Way are at least a hundred billion more galaxies,
many with hundreds of billions of stars. They contain most of the visible
matter in the universe and are often found in clusters of galaxies that
have tens to thousands of members. X-ray and ultraviolet emission will
allow scientists to study the hottest, most active regions of these galaxies
as well as the intergalactic medium, the hot gas between the galaxies in a
cluster.
Galaxies have a variety of shapes and sizes: gigantic spirals like the
Milky Way, egg-shaped elliptical and irregular shapes with no preferred
form. Astro will survey the different types of galaxies and study their
evolution. The nearby galaxies will appear as they were millions of years
ago, and Astro will see the most distant ones as they were billions of years
ago. By comparing these galaxies, scientists can trace the history of the
universe.
Quasars
Some galaxies are in the process of violent change. Such active
galaxies have central regions (nuclei) that emit huge amounts of energy;
their ultraviolet and X-ray emission may help us identify their source of
power. Astro-1's ultraviolet and X-ray telescopes will detect quasars, very
distant compact objects that radiate more energy than 100 normal
galaxies.
Quasars may be the nuclei of ancient active galaxies. Strong X-ray
and ultraviolet radiation arising in the central cores of these powerful
objects may help scientists discover what these objects really are.
This overview is the known universe today, but many of these ideas
are only predictions based on theory and a few observations. Scientists
still lack the definitive observations needed to confirm or refute many of
these theories. Scientists do not know the exact size of the universe or
its age. Scientists have never definitely seen a black hole, and they
continue to question the nature of quasars.
To understand these mysteries, scientists need to see the universe
in all its splendor. Astro is part of NASA's strategy to study the universe
across the electromagnetic spectrum, in all wavelengths.
THE ASTRO-1 OBSERVATORY
The Astro-1 observatory is a compliment of four telescopes.
Though each instrument is uniquely designed to address specific
questions in ultraviolet and X-ray astronomy, when used in concert, the
capability of each is enhanced. The synergistic use of Astro-1's
instruments for joint observations serves to make Astro-1 an
exceptionally powerful facility. The Astro-1 observatory has three
ultraviolet-sensitive instruments: