Дата: 12 мая 1998 (1998-05-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Make an IMPACT: NSS and "Deep Impact" Creators Launch Comet Campaign
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 7, 1998
Contact: Karen Rugg
National Space Society
202-543-1900, ext. 77
Warren Betts
Paramount Pictures
310-479-1305
NATIONAL SPACE SOCIETY AND CREATORS OF "DEEP IMPACT" ANNOUNCE CAMPAIGN TO
COLLECT ONE MILLION NAMES FOR COMET MISSION
Public invited to go to <http://www.nss.org/impact> to "Make an IMPACT"
(Washington, DC) -- May 7 -- The National Space Society, along with Paramount
Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures, today announce a joint online campaign to
collect one million names to be placed on board a spacecraft that will
intercept an actual comet. The campaign, "Make an IMPACT," is being launched
in time for tomorrow's nationwide release of the film, "DEEP IMPACT," and will
continue through the summer or until the one million mark is met.
The spacecraft, STARDUST, is being prepared for launch by NASA and the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory to intercept Comet Wild-2, collect samples and return to
Earth. The names will be printed onto a microchip to be placed aboard the
craft later this year. Already on the chip are the names of every member of
the National Space Society, and the names of the cast and crew of "DEEP
IMPACT." Names can be submitted by going to the National Space Society
website at nss.org/impact or to the film's website at deep-impact.com.
"We are firm believers in the idea that, today, fact can be as spellbinding as
fiction," said Ms. Pat Dasch, executive director for the National Space
Society. "In this case, a film tells a fictional story of an impending comet
collision while, in fact, NASA and JPL are preparing a craft to intercept a
comet and learn more about it. We are very pleased to be partnering with
Paramount on this project; with a one million name goal, we're committed to
making a real 'impact.'"
The National Space Society is also producing a slide set for educators on
comets and asteroids, featuring text prepared by leading scientists. The set
will include several images from "DEEP IMPACT."
The National Space Society, founded in 1974, is an independent, nonprofit
space advocacy organization headquartered in Washington, DC. Its 23,000
members and 90 chapters around the world actively promote a spacefaring
civilization. Information on NSS and space exploration is available at
<http://www.nss.org/>.
"DEEP IMPACT" is a contemporary action thriller about the chaos that ensues
when it is discovered that a comet is on a deadly collision course with the
Earth. DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures present "DEEP IMPACT," a
Zanuck/Brown production, directed by Mimi Leder. The executive producers are
Oscar-winner Steven Spielberg, Joan Bradshaw and Walter Parkes. The film is
written by Michael Tolkin and Bruce Joel Rubin. DreamWorks SKG is a multi-
faceted entertainment studio formed in October 1994 by Steven Spielberg,
Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. Paramount Pictures is part of the
entertainment operations of Viacom Inc.
###
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 мая 1998 (1998-05-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Cassini Update - May 8, 1998
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CASSINI SIGNIFICANT EVENTS FOR
WEEK ENDING 05/08/98
Spacecraft Status:
The Cassini spacecraft is presently traveling at a speed of approximately
145,000 kilometers/hour (~90,000 mph) relative to the sun and has traveled
approximately 580 million kilometers (~359 million miles) since launch on
October 15, 1997.
The most recent Spacecraft status is from the DSN tracking pass on
Wednesday, 05/06, over Goldstone. The Cassini spacecraft is in an
excellent state of health and is executing the C7 sequence nominally.
Inertial attitude control is being maintained using the spacecraft's
hydrazine thrusters (RCS system). The spacecraft continues to fly in a
High Gain Antenna-to-Sun attitude. It will maintain the HGA-to-Sun
attitude, except for planned trajectory correction maneuvers, for the
first 14 months of flight.
Communication with Earth during early cruise is via one of the
spacecraft's two low-gain antennas; the antenna selected depends on the
relative geometry of the Sun, Earth and the spacecraft. The downlink
telemetry rate is presently 40 bps.
Spacecraft Activity Summary:
On Friday, 05/01, part two of Solid State Recorder (SSR) Flight Software
Partition maintenance was performed. Part one occurred on 04/28 as part of
the background sequence. This activity repaired SSR double bit errors
(DBEs) which had occurred in the code-containing portions of the Flight
Software partitions during the preceding period. Friday's real-time
command based portion of the activity cleared telemetry flags and sent
down the results of the maintenance activity.
The Reaction Wheel Assembly Exercise also occurred on Friday, as planned.
On Saturday, 05/02, data from the Radio Plasma Wave Subsystem (RPWS)
Venus-1 activity was successfully played back. A separate news release
will detail the results of the RPWS experiment.
On Sunday, 05/03, data from the Radar Venus-1 engineering test was
successfully played back. Results have confirmed that the RADAR
instrument's electronic components functioned end-to-end, which was the
objective of the test.
Also on Sunday, the Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem Inertial
Vector Propagation (AACS IVP) vector update was successfully performed.
This update is a maintenance activity, performed as needed based on the
geometry of the trajectory.
On Tuesday, 05/05, the Solid State Recorder record and playback pointers
were reset, according to plan. This housekeeping activity, done
approximately weekly, maximizes the amount of time that recorded
engineering data is available for playback to the ground should an anomaly
occur on the spacecraft.
On Wednesday, 05/06, the first portion of the Stellar Reference Unit-A
(SRU-A) decontamination activity was performed. Part one of the activity
involves powering a heater attached to the SRU radiator for a period of
time, inducing volatilization of any contaminants which may have
accumulated on the radiator since Launch. The temperature profile followed
in the SRU-A decontamination was very similar to that followed by SRU-B
which was decontaminated in mid-March. Part two of the activity will be
performed on Friday, May 8, and will involve collecting a test star image
and powering down SRU-A.
Also on Wednesday, the C8 background sequence was successfully uplinked to
the spacecraft. The C8 sequence begins on Sunday afternoon, May 10.
On Thursday, 05/07, there were no changes in spacecraft configuration.
Upcoming events:
Activities scheduled for the week of 5/08 - 5/14 include: completion of
SRU-A decontamination activity and turn-off of RPWS instrument (5/08), an
SSR Pointer Reset and AACS Attitude Estimator readout (5/11), and an SSR
Pointer Reset and SSR Flight Software Maintenance (5/13). As noted in last
week's report, the Trajectory Correction Maneuver originally scheduled for
5/14 was cancelled due to excellent Navigation during Venus-1 flyby.
DSN Coverage:
Over the past week Cassini had 9 scheduled DSN tracks, occurring from
05/01 through 5/07. In the coming week there will be 6 DSN passes.
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 мая 1998 (1998-05-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Lunar Prospector Update - May 7, 1998
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Lunar Prospector Mission Status Report #31
May 7, 1998
The Lunar Prospector spacecraft continues to perform very well and
instruments are collecting good data.
No commanding has been done in the last week. Results of the orbit
trim performed last week show that the final orbit was reached as
targetted, 88 km x 112 km.
Current spacecraft state (0000 GMT 5/7/98):
Orbit: 1396
Downlink: 3600 bps
Spin Rate: 11.96 rpm
Spin Axis Attitude (ecliptic):
Latitude: 89.2 deg
Longitude: 75 deg
Trajectory:
Periselene Alt: 88 km
Aposelene Alt: 112 km
Inclination: 90.9 deg
Period: 118 minutes
Fuel Remaining: 30.7 kg; (22%)
Occultations: 46
Eclipses: 43 minutes
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 мая 1998 (1998-05-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Mars Surveyor 98 Update - May 8, 1998
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1998 MARS SURVEYOR PROJECT STATUS REPORT
May 8, 1998
John McNamee
Mars Surveyor 98 Project Manager
Orbiter integration and test activities are proceeding on schedule with a
major system test of the mapping mission scheduled for next week.
Troubleshooting of the various Pressure Modulator InfraRed Radiometer
(PMIRR) anomalies is in progress.
Lander integration and test activities are proceeding on schedule. The
lander will be moved into the thermal vacuum chamber on May 11 and chamber
pump down for cruise configuration thermal vacuum testing is scheduled for
May 15.
For more information on the Mars Surveyor 98 mission, please visit this
website:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 мая 1998 (1998-05-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Sky & Telescope News Bulletin - May 8, 1998
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SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN
MAY 8, 1998
GAMMA-RAY BURST REACHES ACROSS VISIBLE UNIVERSE
With the help of the BeppoSAX satellite, the Keck II reflector, and the
Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have shown that a gamma-ray burst (GRB)
took place in a galaxy with a redshift of 3.42. This means that the gamma
rays traveled for at least 10 billion years before reaching Earth last
December 14th. And that, in turn, implies that an energy of 3 x 10^53 ergs
was released in the form of gamma rays. That's more than 100 times a
supernova's luminous output, and it was released within seconds. The
finding may force theorists to revise or abandon the currently favored
explanation for GRBs: a pair of coalescing neutron stars. Details were
discussed Wednesday at a NASA press conference, and appear in the May 7th
issue of Nature.
NEW DISTANCE RECORD GALAXY
Astronomers announced yet another universal distance record. As mentioned
in the June issue of SKY & TELESCOPE (page 16), Esther M. Hu (University of
Hawaii) and her colleagues used Keck's Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph
to find emission lines at a redshift of 5.64. This beats the previous
record of 5.34 -- made only a few weeks earlier. Details will appear in
Astrophysical Journal Letters.
COMET STONEHOUSE
Comet Stonehouse (1998 H1) is hanging in there at about 11th magnitude, but
a bright Moon (full on the 11th) will interfere with viewing. Nevertheless,
the comet is well placed in the sky for comet watchers in the Northern
Hemisphere. During the upcoming week, the comet moves from Bootes into
Canes Venatici, and is thus visible throughout the night and is highest in
the sky near local midnight. Here are positions for Comet Stonehouse at 0
hours Universal Time in 2000.0 coordinates:
R.A. Dec.
May 9 14h 09 +36.2 deg.
11 13 58 +38.5
13 13 47 +40.5
COMET SOHO
On May 3rd, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) satellite
discovered its 45th comet. The spacecraft is good at catching "sun-grazing"
comets because its telescopes continuously stare toward the Sun. The new
interloper, designated C/1998 J1, was caught at the edge of the field of
view of SOHO's Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO). Usually,
Comet SOHOs disappear as they either collide or venture too near the Sun.
This one, however, will undoubtedly survive its May 8th 24-million-
kilometer closest approach to the Sun. Although the comet is predicted to
peak at magnitude -0.8 over the weekend, it will be only 9 degrees from the
Sun. By the end of the month, Comet SOHO will move well away from the Sun
and still be about 4th magnitude, but only visible from the Southern
Hemisphere. For those up for the challenge of spying the comet immediately
after sunset as it moves directly above the Sun from midnorthern latitudes,
here are 2000.0 coordinates for the coming week:
R.A. Dec.
May 9 3h 17m +25.3 deg.
11 3 47 +24.3
13 4 13 +21.5
THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, from the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE.
MAY 10 -- SUNDAY
* Late this evening, when the Moon is high in the sky, look well to its
upper right (by about two fist-widths at arm's length or a bit more) for
the star Spica. About the same distance to the Moon's lower left, the orange
star Antares is rising. About three fists above the Moon is brighter Arcturus.
MAY 11 -- MONDAY
* Full Moon (exact at 10:29 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time).
* As dawn brightens on Tuesday morning, scan with binoculars just above the
eastern horizon for Saturn and Mercury only 1 degree apart. Saturn is to
Mercury's left or upper left.
MAY 12 -- TUESDAY
* During or just after twilight, telescope users in parts of the Southwest
and Mexico can try timing an 11th-magnitude asteroid, 25 Phocaea, occulting
an 8.3-magnitude star near Spica. The asteroid should black out the star for
up to 7 seconds around 7:53 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (that's Arizona time).
The tricky part will be finding the star quickly in the fading dusk -- assuming
the sky will be dark enough at your location. A finder chart is in the May
Sky & Telescope, page 98, and at
http://www.skypub.com/occults/occults.html.
* Mars is in conjunction behind the Sun. In fact Mars actually passes
behind the Sun's disk as seen (or not seen!) from Earth -- something that
hasn't happened since 1976.
* During dawn Wednesday morning, Saturn is 1 degree above Mercury.
MAY 13 -- WEDNESDAY
* After the Moon rises late this evening look to its right (by about
1 1/2 fist-widths at arm's length) for orange Antares. Near Antares are
fainter white stars of Scorpius.
MAY 14 -- THURSDAY
* The brightest star very high in the southeast these evenings is Arcturus,
pale yellow-orange. Far to its lower right is dimmer Spica, blue-white. In
the northeast, a little lower than Spica, is bright white Vega.
MAY 15 -- FRIDAY
* Some more spring starwatching: Look northwest right after dark this week.
The brightest star there is Capella. Far to its upper left are Castor and
Pollux, the heads of Gemini, lined up horizontally. To their lower left (and
a little nearer to them than Capella is) shines Procyon.
MAY 16 -- SATURDAY
* The Big Dipper is very high in the north during the evening around this
time of year. It's floating upside down. Examine the middle star of its handle,
Mizar. Can you see Mizar's tiny companion star, Alcor, barely to its lower
right?
============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY and SATURN are barely above the eastern horizon as dawn brightens;
they're close together well to the lower left of Jupiter and Venus. Scan for
them with binoculars!
VENUS shines low in the east during dawn, with Jupiter to its upper right.
Venus is six times brighter than Jupiter. They're 16 degrees apart on the
morning of May 10th and are separating by about 1 degree per day.
MARS is in conjunction with the Sun this week, hidden behind its glare.
JUPITER is to the upper right of Venus, in the east-southeast during dawn;
see above.
URANUS and NEPTUNE, magnitudes 6 and 8, respectively, are in Capricornus in
the southeast before dawn. See the finder chart in the May Sky & Telescope,
page 96.
PLUTO, magnitude 13.7, is near the Ophiuchus-Scorpius border. It's well up
in the southeast by 11 p.m. See the finder chart in the May Sky & Telescope,
page 97. The finder charts for Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are also at
http://www.skypub.com/whatsup/urnepl98.html.
(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith are written for the
world's midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude
are for North America. Eastern Daylight Time, EDT, equals Universal Time
minus 4 hours.)
More details, sky maps, and news of other celestial events appear each month
in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential magazine of astronomy. See our ever-changing
Web site at http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
SKY & TELESCOPE, P.O. Box 9111, Belmont, MA 02178 * 617-864-7360 (voice)
Copyright 1998 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to the
astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these paragraphs
are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may not be
published in any other form without permission from Sky Publishing (contact
permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360). Illustrated versions,
including active links to related Internet resources, are available via SKY
Online on the World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.
In response to numerous requests, and in cooperation with the Astronomical
League (http://www.mcs.net/~bstevens/al/) and the American Association of
Amateur Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list too. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to skyline@gs1.revnet.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send e-mail
to skyline@gs1.revnet.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first line of the
body of the message.
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more than
200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands worldwide.
For subscription information, or for a free copy of our catalog of fine
astronomy books and products, please contact Sky Publishing Corp., P.O. Box
9111, Belmont, MA 02178-9111, U.S.A. Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and
Canada); 617-864-7360 (International). Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail:
custserv@skypub.com. SKY Online: http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 мая 1998 (1998-05-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: STARDUST Update - May 1, 1998
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STARDUST Status Report
May 1, 1998
Ken Atkins
STARDUST Project Manager
Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations activities this week
continued installation & testing of the Command and Data Handling
unit, the Dust Flux Monitor sensor, the Medium Gain Antenna, the first
Inertial Measurement Unit , and continuing interface work on the
Navigation Camera. The Sample Return Capsule spin balance testing was
initiated and will continue through next week.
The project announced a second opportunity for the public to participate in
the Stardust mission through its program to collect names that will be
inscribed on a microchip and flown on a round-trip to comet Wild 2 onboard
the Stardust Sample Return Capsule. The name collection
home page is at:
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/microchip/signup.html
For more information on the STARDUST mission - the first ever comet sample
return mission - please visit the STARDUST home page:
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 мая 1998 (1998-05-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: STARDUST Update - May 8, 1998
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STARDUST Status Report
May 8, 1998
Ken Atkins
STARDUST Project Manager
Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) activities: ATLO this week
involved installation of the Solar Array Switching Unit (SASU), the test
battery, and making harness modifications for the Navigation Camera. The
Sample Return Capsule (SRC) spin balance testing and ballasting was
successfully completed. The total SRC mass is about 46 kg (101 lbs).
Outreach: The Project in collaboration the National Space Society, along
with Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures, today announced a joint
online campaign to collect one million names to be flown round-trip to
comet Wild 2 onboard the Stardust Sample Return Capsule. The campaign,
"Make an IMPACT," is being launched in time for todays's nationwide
release of the film, "DEEP IMPACT," and will continue through the summer.
The names will be printed onto a microchip to be placed aboard the craft
later this year. Already collected are the names of every member of the
cast and crew of "DEEP IMPACT." Names can be submitted by going to the
National Space Society website at http://nss.org/impact, the film's website at
http://deep-impact.com, or the signup page on the Stardust website:
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/microchip/signup.html.
The Stardust Educator Fellowship Workshop was held this week at Lockheed
Martin Astronautics (LMA) in Denver. This workshop involved the initial 10
Stardust Fellowship winners from 10 states. They were exposed to three days
of intensive training on the mission and its science. The Principal
Investigator, Project Manager, LMA's Flight System Manager, and LMA's VP
for Flight Systems participated along with a number of the Stardust team
scientists and engineers. The training is central to Stardust's
nationwide teacher training initiative aimed at grades 4-8 and focused on
teaching students about small solar system bodies such as comets and the
engineering adventures to explore them. The core Educator Fellows will
return to their districts with materials and curricula to use with their
own students and to provide training for other teachers. An additional 15
Fellows will be chosen in the fall. Stardust's Fellows Program is part of
an educational outreach partnership between the Project, the Virginia-based
Challenger Center for Space Science Education; the JASON Foundation for
Education headquartered in Waltham, Mass.; and Omniplex Science Museum,
Oklahoma City, OK. The list of fellows and their affiliations is at:
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/news/fellows.html
For more information on the STARDUST mission - the first ever comet sample
return mission - please visit the STARDUST home page:
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 мая 1998 (1998-05-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Hughes Satellite On Its Way To The Moon
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HUGHES GLOBAL SERVICES, INC.
HUGHES SPACE AND COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY
Communications and Customer Relations
P.O. Box 92919 (S10/S323)
Los Angeles, CA 90009
Media Relations (310) 364-6363
Investor Relations (310) 662-9688
www.hughesglobal.com
www.hughespace.com
HUGHES SATELLITE ON ITS WAY TO MOON
LOS ANGELES, May 8, 1998 -- The HGS-1 satellite fired its motor at 5:42 p.m.
PDT yesterday, heading off on its 9-day journey around the moon and back to
Earth orbit.
This is the first known lunar mission involving a communications satellite
and the first mission financed by a non-governmental entity.
Controllers in the Hughes Mission Control Center in El Segundo, Calif., have
confirmed that the spacecraft is on its way, by using signals received at
ground stations and images seen by optical telescopes around the globe. The
satellite reached a maximum speed of 24,000 mph after the firing to send it
on its nearly 6-day outbound trip. On May 13, it will pass behind the moon,
coming as close as 5,000 miles above the surface. With an assist from lunar
gravity, it will swing around the moon, change directions and head off on
its 3-day return trip to Earth. On May 16, satellite controllers will begin
braking maneuvers to help the satellite settle into an orbit around the
equator.
HGS-1 is an HS 601HP model satellite built by Hughes Space and
Communications Company of Los Angeles. It was designed to provide television
and other telecommunications services for Asia and neighboring regions.
During its launch last Christmas Day, however, the rocket that was carrying
it malfunctioned, leaving the satellite in an unusable, highly inclined,
elliptical orbit. The satellite itself is fully functional, with 44
high-power transponders in C- and Ku-band.
After the launch failure the original owner of the spacecraft filed an
insurance claim. The insurers declared the spacecraft a total loss for its
original purposes.
Scientists and engineers from Hughes Space and Comm and its subsidiary,
Hughes Global Services, Inc., (HGS), devised a salvage mission using the
moon to move the satellite into a usable circular orbit. HGS has obtained
the title to the spacecraft, with the agreement to share profits with the
insurers if the satellite can be put to use.
During the last several weeks, Hughes controllers have fired the satellite's
onboard rocket motor several times to raise its altitude. Thursday's was the
12th firing, and it burned for almost 2 minutes to give HGS-1 its final kick
toward the moon. Controllers may use short burns during the 9-day cruise to
make minor adjustments in the flight path. The commands for the final firing
were sent to the spacecraft about 2 a.m. PDT Thursday, and HGS-1 executed
the maneuver while out of view from the ground stations. Controllers were
able to confirm the motor firing within about half an hour, and within
another hour verified that HGS-1 was on the correct trajectory.
Hughes Space and Comm, a unit of Hughes Electronics Corporation, has been
building communications and scientific spacecraft and instruments for more
than 35 years. It is the world leader in manufacturing commercial
geostationary communications satellites. Hughes Global Services packages
commercial satellite services for government and military customers. HGS
also works with other Hughes Electronics companies to provide end-to-end
solutions for underserved commercial markets. The earnings of Hughes
Electronics are used to calculate the earnings per share attributable to GMH
(NYSE symbol) common stock.
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 мая 1998 (1998-05-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: This Week On Galileo - May 11-17, 1998
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THIS WEEK ON GALILEO
May 11-17, 1998
Galileo spends most of the week processing and transmitting to Earth science
information stored on the spacecraft's onboard tape recorder. All of the
data on this week's schedule contains information describing Jupiter's icy
moon Europa. The data set returned this week was gathered by the
spacecraft's camera, near-infrared spectrometer and suite of fields and
particles instruments during the spacecraft's close flyby of the moon, just
over 6 weeks ago.
Some data from last week's schedule slipped into this week when Galileo
released antenna time at the Deep Space Network's 70-meter antenna in
Canberra, Australia. The antenna time was released to support radio
frequency observations of the newly identified gamma ray burst you may have
heard about in the news. The burst was located in a relatively close galaxy
and the Canberra antenna was considered a key part for very long baseline
interferometry (VLBI) observations required to study the event.
Last week's efforts to change the attitude control computer's onboard
software have encountered a glitch. It appears that the onboard software was
successfully modified, but the effect on the gyroscopic data is not as
expected. The flight team will continue to gather and analyze spacecraft
engineering data to determine what went wrong. Another gyroscope performance
test is scheduled this Friday.
This week's information processing and transmission activities continue to
retrieve data from a section of the onboard tape recorder that has already
been accessed once this orbit. This second processing and transmission
opportunity allows data gaps to be filled, re-processing of data with
different parameters, or selection of entirely new data.
On the data return schedule we find two observations by the spacecraft's
camera of a region of Europa characterized by dark spots. Together they will
provide a stereo topographic view of the area. The camera team also returns
an observation of a region containing characteristic triple bands. Finally,
the camera team returns an observation designed to provide photometric
measurements of Europa's surface. Photometry is the measurement of light
intensities which can then be used to help identify the different materials
on the surface of Europa.
The near-infrared spectrometer team contributes to this week's schedule by
scheduling the return of an observation of a region of Europa containing
dark spots and pull-apart wedges. The observation is expected to provide
more information on the materials that make up this region of Europa.
Finally, the fields and particles instruments return measurements that will
add to the repository of information describing the interaction of Jupiter's
magnetic and electric fields with Europa.
For more information on the Galileo spacecraft and its mission to Jupiter,
please visit the Galileo home page:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
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