yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (08/31/88)
Barbara Selby Headquarters, Washington, D.C. August 30, 1988 RELEASE: 88-120 NASA ISSUES UPDATED, MIXED-FLEET MANIFEST NASA today issued the newest update of its mixed-fleet manifest reflecting current planning for primary payloads for Space Shuttle missions and expendable launch vehicles (ELV's) through Fiscal Year 1993. The manifest is for planning purposes only. Firm Shuttle payload assignments are made during the formal integration process approximately 19 months prior to launch. The next Shuttle launch (STS-26) is currently targeted for late September 1988. The new manifest reflects NASA's current assessment of the rate at which Shuttle flights can be resumed during 1989. In addition to supporting Department of Defense mission requirements, this mixed-fleet manifest continues to reflect the high priority assigned to civil space science and applications payloads and the commercial space initiatives. The Hubble Space Telescope has been moved 7 months until 1990. The reasons are: o the delayed initial launch of STS-26; o an orderly flight rate buildup in 1989; o maintaining the planetary launch opportunities and avoiding the long mission slippages incurred when planetary windows are missed; and o preserving important DOD missions A top priority in revising payload schedules has been to maintain the fixed launch window opportunities of three interplanetary missions: o Magellan -- a mission to map the planet Venus, scheduled to be launched in 1989; o Galileo -- a cooperative project with Germany to survey Jupiter and its moons, scheduled to be launched in October 1989; and o Ulysses -- a cooperative project with the European Space Agency to investigate the properties of the sun and its environment, scheduled to be launched in October 1990. The DOD mission on the first flight of the orbiter Columbia has been moved from February to July 1989, following the launch of Magellan. Launch of NASA's U.S. Microgravity Laboratory (USML-1) remains scheduled to be launched in March 1992. The first step in extending mission durations beyond 9 days is planned for the USML-1 flight. All other payloads manifested on Columbia have later launch dates than those published in the March 1988 manifest. With the move of the Hubble Space Telescope from its June 1989 launch to February 1990, the DOD mission, which had been scheduled for February 1990, moved to July 1990. To accommodate this series of changes, one of the two DOD Shuttle missions, previously slated for FY 1991, is now scheduled on a DOD ELV. Seventeen Space Shuttle missions are planned through the Ulysses launch (STS-42) in October 1990. Of these, seven are DOD, one carries both a DOD and NASA payload (STS-32) and the remaining nine are NASA missions. In each of the fiscal years beyond 1991, there are two DOD dedicated flights. This approach is consistent with the National Mixed Fleet concept. This mixed- fleet manifest reflects NASA's plans to use ELV's for those payloads not requiring the capabilities of the Space Shuttle. Twenty-eight ELV launches are planned through FY 1993. The manifest continues to support the commercial space initiatives announced with the National Space Policy, Feb. 11, 1988.