henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (03/02/88)
[For the benefit of those who haven't been paying attention :-) and have
complained because I don't always explain abbreviations, CRAF is Comet
Rendezvous / Asteroid Flyby and AXAF is Advanced X-ray Astronomy Facility.
I get very tired of typing the full names every time. (These are the top
items on NASA's new-start wishlist, so they get mentioned a lot.)]
Future of SDI's proposed quick-and-dirty heavylift booster for its Zenith
Star space laser experiment is unclear, because people are accusing SDI of
really wanting it as an early-SDI-deployment booster.
Space station pressurized modules will not be built to a standard diameter.
The US diameter will be the biggest that will fit in the shuttle, the
European diameter will match that of Spacelab to permit reuse of equipment,
and the Japanese would like to use the US diameter but their ground-
transportation facilities can't handle something that size, so they will
use an intermediate choice. [Just when you think you've heard the worst
possible screwups, a still bigger one comes along...]
Albert Gore (Dem. presidential candidate) comes out in favor of an
international manned Mars mission and of "reversing the imbalance" in
funding between DoD's space budget and NASA's.
Pictures of the latest SDI Delta mission, being readied for launch.
NASA will run out of space-station money by the end of Feb, and cancel
the four prime contracts [!], unless NASA either gets its act together
on leasing SII's Industrial Space Facility (Fletcher says NASA has no
need for it [!]) or Congress relents on its insistence on this as a
condition of station funding. So far NASA is firmly saying "no". As
a result, there is talk of moving control of a government-leased ISF
away from NASA.
Congress says it cannot approve the large NASA funding boosts requested
by Reagan unless, under the administration/Congress budget compromise,
Reagan takes the money out of something else.
NASA sets August as new STS-26 launch target, with Aug 4 the tentative
specific date. This puts final stacking in early May, rollout in mid-May,
and flight-readiness firing in mid-June. Various minor problems have
turned up, but none seem unmanageable.
Reagan sends new space-leadership proposals to Congress, but postpones
release of the new Space Policy until a commercial-space-initiatives
review is complete. The new commercial initiatives will include yet
more pressure on NASA to lease ISF as an interim pre-space-station step and
limits on third-party liability insurance required for commercial space
activities [now THAT is an important initiative].
GE Space Division signs with Martin Marietta to launch 15 commercial
comsats on Commercial Titan. This is 7-8 launches. The probable result
is price breaks for GE customers due to the volume deal. [Only in space
would an order for 8 of something count as "volume", sigh.] This is not
yet a cast-in-concrete binding agreement, but it's solid enough to have
cancellation penalties.
Rockwell and two ex-Rockwell managers charged with fraud over Navstar
contracts.
As recommended by Langley, NASA will smooth the ends of the KSC shuttle
runway to reduce tire wear on landing.
Progress 34 tanker docks to Mir.
SDI cancels its big in-space neutral-particle-beam experiment due to
shortage of money.
Japan and NASA sign agreement allowing NASA to receive data from Japan's
ERS-1 earth-resources satellite (launch 1992).
Big set of articles on DoD's space recovery program, notably Titan 4.
Long-term plans call for two Titan 4 pads on each coast, for redundancy.
DoD establishes space test-range organization to coordinate all orbital
testing activities. Previously such organizations had to be assembled on
an ad-hoc basis every time a major space test was planned. Eventually
the organization may have its own satellites for tracking and/or data relay.
USAF studies proposal from Rowan Companies of Houston to use its "Gorilla"
mobile drilling rig as an offshore launch platform for heavylift boosters.
Building new pads at Vandenberg is hard because of all the regulatory
bureaucracies that have to be placated first. An equatorial site has been
thought about, but building it would be costly. Transferring big rockets
to a floating platform would also be tricky. The "Gorilla" would be towed
into a loading facility at Vandenberg, would jack down its legs until it
was resting on the bottom, and would then pick up a mobile launcher platform
on a sort of giant forklift. It would then retract its legs, be towed out
to sea, extend its legs again to provide firm support, and extend the
launcher out over the water on the forklift. After final checkout, the
crew would evacuate and the launch would be done by remote control from
the shore. One big asset: it would use existing launch-control facilities.
Main problem: security and logistic problems of launching from a mobile
platform. NASA is also interested.
SDI alters two of its midcourse-sensor-satellite projects to cut costs.
Space-nuclear-power programs are in trouble because of SDI budget cuts.
Article giving more details about proposed projects, not very interesting.
GAO expresses some doubts about some of the projects, too, saying that
there are major technological challenges in the programs as now conceived,
and that there is a lack of specific applications. (They do note the
chicken-and-egg problems involved here: specific applications are
reluctant to commit to unproven technology.)
McDonnell-Douglas to deliver first operational in-space laser communications
system this summer, for a military inter-satellite application. (There
have been earlier projects for laser communication in space, including one
for the NASA Advanced Communications Technology satellite, but all were
cancelled.)
JPL studies lasers for deep-space communications; one study suggests a
transmission rate of 700kbps from Saturn with about a watt of laser power.
[This is lots better than radio systems.]
Letter of the week, from Lannon Stafford (Phoenix AZ), criticizing AW&ST
editorial that called for NASA to control US space activities: "Enduring
exploitation of space will occur only under the banner of free enterprise
and individual activities, which NASA (or any other government agency)
cannot control and can only hamper with intervention... devotion to
government handouts and control still seems very difficult to cure..."
--
Those who do not understand Unix are | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
condemned to reinvent it, poorly. | {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,utai}!utzoo!henrymikewa@microsoft.UUCP (Mike Walma) (03/03/88)
Pardon my ignorance, but what is scheduled to go up on the August fourth launch? Mike Walma
f12012ag@deimos.unm.edu.unm.edu ( ) (03/04/88)
To answer your question about Discovery's payload - STS-26: According to GODDARD NEWS, November, 1987, the primary payload will be the TDRS-C satellite. (Tracking & Data Relay Sat.) -Ollie N6LTJ SEDS - Students for the Exploration and Development of Space -Info:277-3171 Box 92 Student Union, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87106