RSF%SU-AI@sri-unix.UUCP (06/01/83)
From: Ross Finlayson <RSF@SU-AI>
a073 0538 01 Jun 83
PM-Rocket Failure,350
Satellite in Wrong Orbit Because of Rocket Failure, Newspaper Says
HOUSTON (AP) - Placement of a $100 million communications satellite
into the wrong orbit during the flight of the space shuttle in April
was caused by the failure of a cone that steers a two-stage booster
rocket, the Houston Chronicle reported today.
The Tracking and Data Relay satellite, designed to communicate with
future shuttle flights and other satellites, experienced a failure in
the cone, the Chronicle quoted an unidentified source at the U.S. Air
Force Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colo., as saying.
An improper orbit renders the satellite useless for communications
with future shuttle flights and other satellites, officials have said.
Space agency engineers hope to correct the orbit through a series of
small rocket firings that will compensate for the failed booster.
The official told the Chronicle that the booster rocket, called the
Inertial Upper Stage, failed in other ways but those problems
involved the rocket's guidance and communications equipment and did
not affect its mission.
Because of the limited space available, the second-stage motor of
the rocket has a cone made in segments that nest like a collapsing
traveler's cup. The nested segments extend after the first-stage motor
finishes firing and separates. The cone directs gases from the rocket
motor rearward and steers the booster.
The IUS failed after the first stage of the rocket had raised the
communication satellite's orbit and as the second stage was placing
the device into its final position over the Atlantic Ocean.
A second use of the IUS was been postponed until the failure was
understood, officials said earlier. The Chronicle said that the
shuttle missions already scheduled indicate that the next IUS launch
would not come before next March.
An investigation committee that has studied the IUS failure is
expected to report next week on a recommendations for repair and
modification of the booster system.
The system was developed by Boeing Aerospace under an Air Force
contract. Failure of the IUS is not related to the space shuttle
Challenger, which delivered the satellite as planned. The failure
occurred later. The satellite, manufacutured by TRW Inc., has
functioned properly.
The shuttle crew was not responsible for any of the failures, NASA
officials say.
ap-ny-06-01 0837EDT
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