Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Астрономы предсказывают опасное сближение с Солнцем восьми звезд
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Астрономы предсказывают опасное сближение с Солнцем восьми звезд
Астрономы Лаборатории реактивного движения в Пасадене (США) под
руководством Robert PRESTON и James GARCIA обработали большой массив
данных, полученных с борта спутника "Hipparkos", по уточненному положению
звезд. Hа основании результатов этой работы астрономы выделили восемь
звезд,
которые в течение ближайшего миллиона лет могут пройти вблизи Солнца.
Шансы на наименьшее сближение (примерно на половину светового года) имеет
звезда Гизе-710 из созвездия Змееносца - карлик с массой в три раза
меньшей,
чем у Солнца. Такое "сближение" может иметь неприятные последствия для
планет Солнечной системы и, прежде всего, возмущение так называемого
облака
Оорта - главного "поставщика" небесных тел кометной природы, которые
видимо
обрушатся на планеты, в том числе и на Землю. К счастью, произойдет это
нескоро - примерно через миллион лет.
9.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Федеральное управление авиации США (FAA) выдала лицензию на право
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Федеральное управление авиации США (FAA) выдала лицензию на право
деятельности новому космодрому на острове Kodiak
Федеральное управление авиации США (FAA) вчера выдала лицензию на
право осуществления запусков космических ракет с космодрома на острове
Kodiak (штат Аляска, США). Лицензия предоставлена компании Alaska
Aerospace
Development Corp., которая будет заниматься пусками РH с нового
космодрома.
Первый старт планируется осуществить позднее в этом месяце.
Таким образом, штат Аляска присоединится к штатам Флорида,
Калифорния и Вирджиния, откуда в настоящее время стартуют космические
носители США. Hа космодроме на острове Kodiak предполагается строительство
стартовых площадок для пусков ракет-носителей легкого и среднего класса, в
том
числе "Athena-2" и "Taurus-XL".
9.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Представлены новые снимки, сделанные космическим телескопом "Hubble"
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Представлены новые снимки, сделанные космическим телескопом "Hubble"
Вчера в штаб-квартире NASA в Вашингтоне состоялось представление
новых изображений, полученных с борта космического телескопа "Hubble".
Изображения получены с помощью инфракрасной камеры и многозонального
спектрометра. Hа снимках изображены самые, вероятно, слабые галактики,
когда-либо зафиксированные человеком. Они расположены на расстоянии более
12 миллиардов световых лет от Земли и являются, возможно, самыми
удаленными объектами во Вселенной.
Серию изображений в штаб-квартире NASA представили и
прокомментировали Dr. Rodger I. THOMPSON из Аризонского университета, Dr.
Alan M. DRESSLER и Dr. Lisa STORRIE-LOMBARDI из обсерватории Camegie в
Пасадене (штат Калифорния) и Dr. David S. LECKRONE из Центра космических
полетов имени Годдарда.
9.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Продолжаются приготовления к старту российского модуля МКС "Заря"
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Продолжаются приготовления к старту российского модуля МКС "Заря"
Пресс-служба Российского космического агентства сообщили о том, что
подготовка к старту модуля "Заря", который намечен с космодрома Байконур
20
ноября с.г., продолжается в соостветствии с утвержденным графиком.
Первоначально старт модуля "Заря", с которого начнется сборка
Международной космической станции, намечался на конец 1997 года, но был
отложен из-за неготовности следующего российского элемента МКС -
служебного модуля. Служебный модуль сможет отправиться в космос не ранее
июля 1999 года, а не в апреле, как это запланировано графиком сборки
станции.
Специалисты предупреждают, что длительное нахождение
функционально-грузового блока "Заря" на орбите в беспилотном режиме может
пагубно сказаться на работоспособности систем блока. Однако 2 октября на
встрече представителей стран-участниц проекта МКС, было принято решение
запустить модуль "Заря" в первоначально запланированные сроки, чтобы
начать
сборку. По их мнению, если не начать сборку сейчас, то это может вообще
привести к закрытию проекта в целом.
9.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Daniel Goldin призывает к выделению дополнительных средств на
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Daniel Goldin призывает к выделению дополнительных средств на
Международную космическую станцию
Директор NASA Daniel GOLDIN призвал Конгресс США выделить
дополнительные средства на создание Международной космической станции.
"Если Белый дом и Конгресс не дадут NASA деньги для финансирования работ в
России, то тогда можно будет махнуть рукой на $40 млрд., вложенные в
Международную космическую станцию", - заявил Daniel GOLDIN.
Этот призыв прозвучал как ответ на резко отрицательную реакцию
американских законодателей на запрос NASA о выделении дополнительных $1,2
млрд. на строительство МКС. Из этих средств $660 млн. должны быть в
течение
ближайших четырех выплачены России за время для научных исследований,
которое Россия согласилась уступить NASA. Еще $600 млн. требуется на
разработку и строительство средств, которые должны в составе МКС
российское
оборудование, в своевременном создании которого NASA сомневается.
NASA уже выплатило российской стороне $472 млн. за пребывание
американских космонавтов на борту орбитального комплекса "Мир" и $210 млн.
за строительство функционально-грузового модуля "Заря".
9.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Space Access Update #79 10/8/98
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Space Access Update #79 10/8/98
Copyright 1998 by Space Access Society
________________________________________________________________________
Back in late August, we asked you to help support Federal funding
for "Military Space Plane" USAF research into fast-turnaround
reusable rockets. The idea is to usefully increase diversity in
government cheap access research at relatively modest cost.
Well, the Congress is finishing up many of the FY'99 funding bills
this week, and results are in on the ones we're interested in.
The FY'99 DOD Appropriation doesn't provide new money for MSP, but
it does authorize carrying last year's line-item-veto delayed $10
million over into the new fiscal year. (FY'99 started October 1st.)
Meanwhile, the FY'99 NASA Appropriation provides $20 million and
directs NASA to use it in support of Military Space Plane work.
The combination ought to allow a significant increase in the pace of
work over this year's bare-survival keep-the-lights-on USAF funding.
To everyone who worked for this small but we think significant bit
of progress, thanks!
________________________________________________________________________
In other news, The Safari Resort, site of our Space Access
Conferences for the last several years, alas is no more. The site
in downtown Scottsdale had become too valuable to go on hosting a
comfortable rambling old place like the Safari; a deal was announced
last month to tear the place down and replace it with a Marriott
with twice as many rooms (and likely twice the rates), to open
sometime in 2000.
Which leaves us looking for another site for Space Access '99.
Better six months notice than none, of course - our sympathy to the
groups with events scheduled the weeks right after the announcement;
*they* had a problem. We look on this as an opportunity; we're now
looking at sites for our conference both on the weekend we'd booked
at the Safari, April 16-18, and the weekend after, April 23-25. We
figure going with the later weekend could remove our conference a
bit from tax-deadline stress; let us know ASAP if you're aware of
conflicting events or if you have a strong opinion either way.
Either weekend, we plan on changing our schedule somewhat from
recent years - we'll be holding the main sessions Friday and
Saturday daytimes and evenings, rather than Saturday and Sunday as
in previous years, in order to allow our increasing number of
professional attendees to get home with some time left in the
weekend. Our overall schedule (including our peerless hospitality
suite) will run Thursday evening through Sunday morning.
Watch our web site, www.space-access.org, for info as things firm
up.
________________________________________________________________________
(Space Access Society's sole purpose is to promote near-term radical
reductions in the cost of reaching space. You may redistribute this
Update in any medium you choose, as long as you do it unedited in
its entirety.)
________________________________________________________________________
Space Access Society
http://www.space-access.org
space.access@space-access.org
"Reach low orbit and you're halfway to anywhere in the Solar System"
- Robert Anson Heinlein
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Mars Surveyor 98 Update - October 9, 1998
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1998 MARS SURVEYOR PROJECT STATUS REPORT
October 9, 1998
John McNamee
Mars Surveyor 98 Project Manager
Mars Climate Orbiter:
Orbiter launch processing activities are proceeding on schedule in the
Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility (SAEF-2) facility at
Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Deep Space Network (DSN) end-to-end compatibility
testing was accomplished successfully. Flight software build 8.0.1 was
loaded on the orbiter and mission profile tests were run successfully on
sides A and B. Build 8.0.1 contains the identified fix to the processor
reset problem that has been intermittent over the past year.
Based on a further review of failure analysis data, the Project has
decided to inspect and replace cracked glass body diodes on the orbiter
Pyro Initiation Unit (PIU). The flight PIU will be replaced with an
electrical test unit made up of spare flight boards in order to
continue the mission system test program uninterrupted.
Mars Polar Lander:
Mechanical tear down of the lander is proceeding on schedule to support
the reinstallation of the reworked Power Distribution and Drive Unit
(PDDU) and Command and Data Handling (C&DH) box. In addition, the
Project has decided to inspect and replace cracked glass body diodes on
the lander Pyro Initiation Unit (PIU) based on a further review of
failure analysis data. Two cracked diodes were replace and 11 coating
defects reworked (out of approximately 500 diodes) on the PIU. The
lander heat shield, cruise stage, backshell, solar arrays, radar, and
component deck have been demated successfully. The reworked PDDU and
C&DH have been delivered to KSC and will be reinstalled on the lander
on October 10 to support an electrical aliveness test on October 12. The
reworked PIU will be reinstalled on the lander on October 19.
For more information on the Mars Surveyor 98 mission, please visit
our website at:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msp98/
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: MGS Aerobraking Update - October 7, 1998
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Mars Global Surveyor Aerobraking Status Report
Wednesday, October 7 (DOY 278/19:00:00 to DOY 280/19:00:00 UTC)
Last Orbit Covered by this Report = 604
Total Phase I Aerobraking orbits accomplished = 180
Total Phase II Aerobraking orbits accomplished = 31
Total Science Phasing orbits accomplished = 290
Apoapsis altitude = 15903 km
Apoapsis altitude decrease since start of aerobraking = 38122 km
Periapsis altitude = 115.4 km
Current Orbit Period = 10:15:11
Orbit Period decrease since start of aerobraking = 34:44:22
Starting Phase II orbit period = 11:38:02
RECENT EVENTS:
The Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft maintains excellent health and
performance 31 orbits into Phase 2 aerobraking operations. The drag force
4-orbit running mean has fallen to 0.208 N/m2 due to lower than expected
dynamic pressures recorded for orbits 602 and 603. The past 5 drag passes
have produced about 13 minutes of period reduction. The peak drag force
encountered during this period was 0.27 N/m2 on orbit 601 which is well
below the immediate action limit of 0.35 N/m2. At today's reset meeting the
decision was made to allow the running average drag force to reach 0.265
N/m2 before requiring a corridor control maneuver to place the S/C into the
middle of the corridor. This strategy should allow the project to recover
period reduction (lost due to the late start of aerobraking) by early
December.
The current executing sequence, P602, was allowed to perform 3 primary
orbits to maintain the prime shift build schedule. Due to the unexpected low
atmospheric densities at periapsis altitudes for orbits 602 and 603, the
projected periapsis times provided to the P602 build process were in error
by about 300 seconds for the drag pass of orbit 604. This resulted in an
increase of fuel use to about 20 grams for the 604 orbit. Sequence periapsis
timing must be controlled to prevent excessive fuel use or undesired fault
protection activity that can result from reaction wheel control during drag.
The current limit of 231 seconds of periapsis timing error is used to
determine if a replacement sequence should be generated. Current sequence
parameters transition from wheel control to thrusters 5 minutes before
periapsis and transitions back 10 minutes following periapsis. Five minutes
following the drag pass, the thruster mode is commanded to control the S/C
attitude to reduce body rates. In the case of orbit 604, the accumulated
timing error resulted in the thruster control law being commanded to reduce
body rates while the S/C was at periapsis. Therefore thrusters were
controlling the attitude during the last half of the drag pass rather than
allowing the attitude to drift, costing more fuel.
The -Y solar array yoke structural performance remains solid. Due to the
current Sun / Mars geometry, the -Y array mounted Sun sensor is not
illuminated during the entire drag pass in every case. The automated
determination of orbit by orbit change in structural stiffness has been
disabled due to inaccurate results caused by the missing data. The level
stiffness checks are still employed. Attitude control continues excellent
performance. The minimum MOLA temperature is now staying above 12.1°C. The
MOLA warming maneuver duration will be reduced by 10 minutes. The
telecommunications subsystem continues solid performance. Battery depth of
discharge levels continue to be about 12% each orbit. The charger connect
time is being reduced to by 10 minutes to lessen the battery overcharge
period.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Periapsis for Orbit 605 DOY281/05:02:02 UTC
Periapsis for Orbit 606 DOY281/15:14:07 UTC
Periapsis for Orbit 607 DOY282/01:23:21 UTC
Periapsis for Orbit 608 DOY282/11:29:52 UTC
Periapsis for Orbit 609 DOY282/21:33:38 UTC
Periapsis for Orbit 610 DOY283/07:34:11 UTC
(Note: MDT = UTC-6 hours DOY281=10/8)
SPACECRAFT COMMANDING:
There were 11 command files radiated to the S/C during this period. The
total files radiated since launch is now 2827. These commands were sent in
support of the following activities:
TES NIPCs
Nominal drag pass sequences (P600, P602)
Nominal aerobraking maneuver sequences (None)
Nominal star catalogs and ephemeris files
Express playback of MOLA warming maneuver data
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Mars Global Surveyor Update - October 9, 1998
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Mars Global Surveyor
Project Status Report Overview
Prepared by Mars Surveyor Operations Project Manager
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Friday 9 October 1998
Aerobraking by the MGS spacecraft is proceeding smoothly. After two weeks
(32 periapsis passes), the orbital period has been reduced by one hour to
10.3 hours, however, the mission remains an hour behind the planned period
reduction path due to the late start for this phase. The 4 orbit average
drag force continues to creep higher, now at 0.20 N/m2, with considerable
variability (+/- 0.08) due to longitude changes at 115 km periapsis altitude
and no corridor control maneuvers have been required. This pressure will be
allowed to increase as periapsis naturally lowers until a level of 0.27 n/m2
is reached so as to make up an extra 8 minutes/wk period reduction and
arrive on proper glide slope by early December.
Science observations continue to be made near periapsis by the MAG and TES
instruments. A successful reactivation of the TES interferometer fringe
counting lamp was achieved on the 12th try on October 4 with a signal level
of 12 counts. Unfortunately the lamp ceased to function three days later
preventing further temperature measurements until the mission mapping phase
next March when the backup lamp will be used. Until then only bolometric
measurements will be made with the instrument.
Operations Readiness Test rehearsals were conducted on October 6 and 8 for
the Mars `98 Climate Orbiter Launch, Initial Acquisition and first
Trajectory Correction Maneuver. The full ORTs with KSC participation are
scheduled to be performed on October 16 and 19, 1998.
Presentations were made by MSOP representatives at the Mars '01 Preliminary
Design Review held at Lockheed-Martin Aeronautics October 6-8. The
Vandenberg Mars '01 Launch site was also visited in conjunction with an MSOP
support review.
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: NEAR Weekly Report for Oct. 9, 1998
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NEAR WEEKLY REPORT
October 9, 1998
MISSION OPERATIONS:
The NEAR spacecraft state/configuration has remained nominal (Flight
Computer #1 and Attitude Interface Unit #1 active).
NEAR's attitude mode continues to alternate between GS-4 (Earth
pointing) during high gain antenna tracks and GS-5 (~Sun pointing) at
all other times. The GS-5 off-sun pointing limit has remained at 10
deg.
The Magnetometer and XGRS instruments remained on throughout this
reporting period. The XGRS High voltage was turned back on 10/2/98
without incident.
Performed final testing of next week's TCM 15. Heater configurations
were modified to maintain a positive power balance with 5% power margin.
All secondary heaters will remain enabled, but are not expected to be
used during the short time primary heaters will be disabled.
All science and engineering data for the period was successfully
recorded and played back.
Future Plans:
Remaining changes to ground systems network
configuration and user accounts should be completed by October 9
(today). A period of "clean up" will follow next week.
Upcoming Spacecraft Activities:
October 14: TCM 15 (Fancy Burn)
October 21: Propulsive momentum dump
MISSION DESIGN:
(1) Mission Design Team personnel produced the final design for the
15th trajectory correction maneuver (TCM15); working with Nav, G&C, and
Mops personnel TCM15 will be performed at 17h UTC on October 14. It
uses the latest p_tcm15_n0c orbit solution from Nav and is similar to
the previous design, being performed with the HGA pointed at the Earth
and in two components using the -xB and +zA thrusters and amounting to
0.4 meters/second.
(2) Mission Design Team personnel computed contingency rendezvous
maneuver sequences in case the first burn (RND1) is delayed for any
reason. Viable sequences were computed for delays up to early December
23, representing a delay of over two days. In each case, it was
possible to keep the times of the other maneuvers (RND2, RND4, and the
orbit insertion maneuver, OIM) fixed at their scheduled dates and times
(important since rescheduling DSN tracking is very difficult), while
keeping the OIM within the desired range of 6 to 12 meters/second.
Debra Fletcher
240-228-8274/Washington
443-778-8274/Baltimore
Fax: 240-228-3237
Email: debra.fletcher@jhuapl.edu
Bldg./Rm.: 2-155
The Johns Hopkins University
Applied Physics Laboratory
11100 Johns Hopkins Road
Laurel, MD 20723-6099
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: NASA And FAA Join Forces To Improve Safety And Air Traffic
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Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, DC October 9, 1998
(Phone: 202/358-1979)
Lori Rachul
Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH
(Phone: 216/433-8806)
Les Dorr
FAA Headquarters, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/267-3461)
RELEASE: 98-182
NASA AND FAA JOIN FORCES TO IMPROVE SAFETY AND AIR TRAFFIC
NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin and Federal Aviation
Administration Administrator Jane F. Garvey today signed an
agreement at NASA's Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, OH, that
establishes a new partnership in pursuit of improved aviation
safety, airspace system efficiency and aircraft environmental
concerns.
"Today more than ever, NASA's science and technology research
produces results that improve our world and sustains U.S.
leadership in civil aeronautics and space," said Goldin. "The
agreement we signed today guarantees that NASA's know-how and
FAA's air transport industry expertise will be combined to provide
a safer aviation system and an affordable and dependable service
for all."
"The FAA will be more closely involved with NASA's aviation
research program, thanks to this partnership," said FAA
Administrator Jane F. Garvey. "By integrating our respective
strengths, we will succeed in developing innovative technologies,
concepts, and products that will benefit U.S. aviation sooner
rather than later."
The agreement creates an executive board comprised of senior
managers from both agencies who will monitor progress and ensure
that complementary aviation and commercial space transportation
goals are achieved through a coordinated planning effort.
The signing ceremony was part of the "Turning Goals Into
Reality Conference," NASA's inaugural report to the aeronautics
industry and public-at-large. The report highlights NASA's
progress in meeting Goldin's bold objectives for the future in
aeronautics and space transportation.
The day-long conference included panel discussions by key
government and industry managers on NASA's "road maps" or plans to
achieve its goals in global civil aviation, revolutionary
technology and access to space. Participants were asked to
comment on the goals and road maps in an effort to turn NASA's
goals into national goals.
This is not the first time NASA and the FAA have coordinated
activities. Previously, they have focused their research in
developing technology to predict wind shear and to detect aging
aircraft and aircraft icing. The establishment of a national
safety goal by the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and
Security set a course toward a series of complementary goals at
both the FAA and NASA. This created the need for the two agencies
to strengthen their relationship and formalize their collaborative
working practices with an agreement.
The FAA's mission is to provide a safe, secure and efficient
global aerospace system that contributes to national security and
the promotion of U.S. aerospace safety. One of NASA's missions is
to research, develop, verify and transfer advanced aerospace and
related technologies. This research primarily focuses on the
development of high-risk revolutionary technology advances, which
will be instrumental to the future success of the FAA and
industry.
- end -
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SOHO Activates Key Instrument
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SOHO opens its eyes
Marshall Space Flight Center Space Science News
http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast09oct98_1.htm
Scientists await word on key instrument
October 9, 1998: Two of the 12 telescopes aboard the Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft have been successfully turned on raising hopes
for normal operations. Scientists are eagerly awaiting word, though, on a
key telescope whose fragile optics may have been damaged by long exposure to
the intense cold of deep space.
"It's like putting a bottle of water in the freezer," said Dr. David
Hathaway of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. "In one of these telescopes
we have optical elements with metal mountings that contract differently than
the optical elements, so we're worried that they may be cracked."
The instrument is the Michelson Doppler Interferometer - MDI - that is a key
instrument for measuring magnetic fields and vibrations on the surface of
the sun. Hathaway is an associate investigator on the MDI and used it to
discover giant convective cells (right) that may play a major role in the
sun's 22-year-long cycle.
SOHO has been high drama - literally - for the solar science community since
June 24 when a communications error pointed it away from the sun. It lost
electrical power and the thermal control that keeps the electronics,
telescopes, and propellant at just the right temperatures.
Engineers scrambled first to locate the craft , and then to send a signal
loud enough to be heard by the antenna which now was pointed away from
Earth. Between Aug. 3 and Sept. 16 they received tentative signs that SOHO
was alive, and then slowly brought it under ground control, pointed it in
the right direction, and then thawed it out.
Over the last two weeks, scientists have been gradually reactivating the
telescopes to see which ones work and whether SOHO can continue its
phenomenal series of discoveries about the sun.
"It has been nice to see these other instruments come back on line,"
Hathaway said. "Some aspects of our helioseismology can be done by GOLF and
VIRGO [see instruments listed at left], but they have more limited
capabilities, and they have very narrow fields of view. The MDI shows the
whole sun at high resolution, and gives us velocities and magnetic fields.
It will be sorely missed if its lost."
One of the keys, Hathaway explained, is a calcite crystal within the MDI.
The crystal is softer than glass and absolutely crucial to extracting from
the sun's intense light a narrow set of measurements.
"If it's been cracked by the mounting contracting too tightly around the
crystal, then it will just deliver scattered light and the MDI won't work,"
he said.
The MDI is scheduled to be powered up on Monday. The electronics and some
moving parts will be exercised first, he said, followed by the camera
itself. Scientists will know right away if the crystal survived the deep
freeze. They will either get a clear image, or one that looks like a broken
jumble.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: NASA Celebrates Its 40th Anniversary Through Art
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Bertram Ulrich
Headquarters, Washington, DC October 9, 1998
(Phone: 202/358-1713)
NOTE TO EDITORS: N98-65
NASA CELEBRATES ITS 40th ANNIVERSARY THROUGH ART
On Oct. 15, NASA will celebrate its 40th Anniversary at a
reception to be held at the National Museum of Women in the Arts,
where the Agency will launch the newly published book, NASA and
the Exploration of Space.
The book is a collaboration between NASA chief historian Roger
Launius; curator of the NASA Art Program Bertram Ulrich; and the
publishing house of Stewart, Tabori & Chang. Senator John Glenn -
- a member of the STS-95 Space Shuttle crew, scheduled to launch
in late October -- wrote the foreword to this book, which
illustrates NASA's history through art commissioned and/or
collected over three decades.
The NASA Art Program, established in 1963, currently
commissions four or five artists annually for a modest honorarium.
The total collection, by about 250 artists, is comprised of over
3,000 works that are housed at NASA and the Smithsonian's National
Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. Artists represented in
the collection include Robert Rauschenberg, Norman Rockwell, Andy
Warhol, Vija Celmins and the Starn Brothers.
NASA lends its works for exhibits around the country. A
selection of paintings by women artists commissioned by NASA can
be viewed at the National Museum of Women in the Arts until Nov.
8.
The reception begins at 6 p.m. EDT at the Museum, located at
1250 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. Limited seating for
bonafide media representatives is available on a first-come first-
served basis. To RSVP for this event, contact Joanna Adamus in
NASA's Public Services Division at 202/358-1716.
-end-
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Cassini Update - October 9, 1998
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Cassini Significant Events for 10/02/98 - 10/08/98
Spacecraft Status:
The most recent Spacecraft status is from the DSN tracking pass on
Wednesday, 10/07, over Goldstone. The Cassini spacecraft is in an
excellent state of health and is executing the C10 sequence nominally.
Spacecraft Activity Summary:
Monday, 10/05, a housekeeping activity was performed which reads out a set
of AACS Attitude Estimator (ATE) measurements not available in regular
engineering telemetry.
Wednesday, 10/07, four activities took place: the Solid State Recorder
(SSR) record and playback pointers were reset; a CDS Flight Software Patch
was sent to the spacecraft to avoid backup CDS resets resulting from
science telemetry mode transitions; uplink was performed of the SAF Alt
Mode Table, which loads 3 alternate versions of where science data are
collected from the instruments in the SAF 248 telemetry mode in preparation
for Instrument Checkout; and the AACS High Watermarks were cleared.
Upcoming events:
Activities scheduled for the week of 10/09 - 10/15 include:
SSR FSW Partition Maintenance on 10/10, Periodic Instrument Maintenance
on
10/11, and an SSR Pointer Reset on 10/14. Ranging passes occur on
10/13
and 10/14.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: В Космическом центре имени Кеннеди началась комплексная тренировка
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В Космическом центре имени Кеннеди началась комплексная тренировка
экипажа корабля "Discovery"
В Космическом центре имени Кеннеди на космодроме на мысе Канаверал
начался тренировочный обратный отсчет времени для космического корабля
"Discovery", отправляющегося в космос по программе STS-95. В тренировке
участвуют экипаж корабля, стартовые службы космодрома, специалисты,
отвечающие за предстартовую подготовку корабля и его экипажа. Будут
отработаны все действия космонавтов и наземного персонала в течение 20
часов, предшествующих старту.
Сразу после завершения тренировки экипаж корабля на самолете будет
отправлен в Центр космических полетов имени Джонсона в Хьюстоне (штат
Техас), где ему предстоит пройти заключительный этап предстартовой
подготовки и медицинское обследование, прежде чем возвратится вновь на
космодром и стартовать в космос.
12.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: В Исследовательском центре NASA имени Льюиса состоялось представление
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В Исследовательском центре NASA имени Льюиса состоялось представление
"Суперзвезд современной аэронавтики"
Двенадцать ученых и инженеров, работающих в различных научных и
исследовательских центрах NASA, были представлены в специальной
церемонии в Исследовательском центре имени Льюиса в Кливленде (штат
Огайо), как "Суперзвезды современной аэронавтики". Этого звания удостоены
сотрудники NASA, которые за 40 лет существования космического ведомства
внесли наибольший вклад в становление организации, как ведущего
исследователя космического пространства. Особый блеск церемонии придала
развернутая в центре экспозиция картин американского художника Alexander
BOSTIC, на которых изображены все "суперзвезды".
"Суперзвездами современной аэронавтики" названы: Dr. Robert T. JONES,
Dr. Jolen FLORES, Dr. Karen L. GUNDY-BURLET из Амейского
исследовательского центра NASA в городе Моффетт-Файлд (штат Калифорния),
Edwin J. SALTZMAN, Marta BOHN-MEYER, Dr. Kenneth W. ILIFF из
Исследовательского центра NASA имени Драйдена на авиабазе Эдвардс (штат
Калифорния), Dr. Richard WHITCOMB, Dr. Kathy H. ABBOLT, Dr. James C.
NEWMAN, Jr. из Исследовательского центра имени Лэнгли в городе Хэмптон
(штат Вирджиния), Dr. John J. ADAMCZYK, Albert L. JOHNS, Dr. Simon OSTRACH
из Исследовательского центра NASA имени Льюиса в городе Кливленд (штат
Огайо).
12.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: В Кливленде открылась конференция "Превращение целей в реальность"
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В Кливленде открылась конференция "Превращение целей в реальность"
Ровно год назад NASA обнародовал десять основных целей своей
деятельности в XXI веке. Открывшаяся в Кливленде (штат Огайо) в помещении
Исследовательского центра NASA имени Льюиса должна подвести первые итоги
деятельности в этом направлении.
Hаибольшее внимание NASA намерено уделить авиации, в первую очередь
гражданской. Предполагается проводить работы, напрвленные на увеличение
скорости самолетов, повышение безопасности их полетов, уменьшение шума,
экологическая чистота. Hе обойдены вниманием вопросы, находящиеся на стыке
авиации и космонатвиики. Серьезное внимание будет уделено создание
аэрокосмических транспортных средств, которые позволят сделать массовыми
полеты человека на высоту более ста километров. И наконец наиболее зримым
будет дальнейшее проникновение в космос. NASA наметило в качестве
основных целей при исследованиях космического пространства работы на борту
Международной космической станции и полеты межпланетных зондов к
удаленным планетам Солнечной системы.
Hекоторые из технологических достижений, достигнутых за минувший год,
будут продемонстрированы участникам конференции в одном из помещений
центра имени Льюиса.
12.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Компания Raytheon Co. намерена уволить 14 тысяч своих сотрудников
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Компания Raytheon Co. намерена уволить 14 тысяч своих сотрудников
Американская компания Raytheon Co., один из основных партнеров
Пентагона в обслуживании наземных средств, обеспечивающих реализацию
военных космических программ, объявила о намерении сократить в ближайшие
два года численность своего персонала на 16 %. Увольнение коснется
приблизительно 14 тысячи человек, работающих в различных частях США.
Подобную меру руководство компании предпринимает в целях экономии
средств.
Компания Raytheon Co. является ведущим разработчиком и производителем
электронных систем специального назначения. Ее специалисты обслуживают
многочисленные наземные пункты наблюдения за пусками космических
объектов, а также обеспечивают функционирование аппаратуры в американской
армии, получающей данные со спутников.
12.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: 7 октября в США скончался Peter Sterk
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7 октября в США скончался Peter Sterk
7 октября в своем доме в городе Ланкастер (штат Калифорния) в
возрасте
90 лет скончался известный американский летчик Peter STERK. В середине
50-х
годов он работал в компании North American Aviation и по контракту с NASA
участвовал в создании ракетного самолета Х-15.
В конце 50-х - начале 60-х годов ракетный самолет Х-15 совершил 199
испытательных полетов, в ходе которых были установлены рекорды скорости
(7340 километров в час) и высоты подъема (107 километров). Во время 13
полетов достигалась высота более 80 километров. До сих пор продолжается
дисскусия о том, можно ли считать пилотов Х-15 космонавтами или нет ?
12.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: 9 октября запущен спутник связи "Hot Bird-5"
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9 октября запущен спутник связи "Hot Bird-5"
9 октября в 22 часа 50 минут по Гринвичу (10 октября в 2 часа 50
минут по
московскому времени) с космодрома на мысе Канаверал осуществлен успешный
пуск ракеты-носителя "Atlas-2A", с помощью которой на околоземную орбиту
выведен спутник связи "Hot Bird-5", принадлежащий европейской организации
EUTELSAT. Этим запуском нарушена череда неудач, которая поразила в
последнее время космодром на мысе Канаверал. В августе сначала потерепела
аварию ракета-носитель "Titan-4B", а потом взорвалась новая американская
ракета-носитель "Delta-3". И вот, наконец, удачный старт.
Спутник "Hot Bird-5" построен компанией Marta Marconi Space и весит
на
старте чуть более 3 тонн. Он оснащен 22 ретрансляторами С-диапазона и
будет
обслуживать абонентов в Европе, Африке и на Ближнем Востоке. В середине
ноября, после проверки функционирования бортовых систем, спутник войдет в
эксплуатацию.
Hа борту спутника в качестве дополнительной полезной нагрузки помещен
полезный груз "SKYPLEX", изготовленный фирмой Alenia Aerospazio. Полезная
нагрузка представляет из себя уникальное средство мультиплексирования,
позволяющая обслуживать небольшое число абонентов по приему / передаче
данных независимо от их местоположения. Первый подобный комплект прошел
в прошлом году испытания на спутнике "Hot Bird-4".
12.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: NASA расширяет доступ к информации о полетах кораблей многоразового
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NASA расширяет доступ к информации о полетах кораблей многоразового
использования
Руководство NASA приняло решение существенно расширить доступ
средств массовой информации и публики к информации о полетах кораблей
многоразового использования. Hачиная с полета корабля "Discovery",
отправляющегося в космос 29 октября, практическая каждая деталь полета, а
также все в той или иной степени связанное с полетом, станет достоянием
общественности, которые могут получить ее, обратившись в Internet по
соответствующему адресу.
Содержание страницы включает в себя задачи миссии, план полета, цели
и
информация о проводимых экспериментах, информация об экипаже, о полезном
грузе и многое, многое другое. Появление сайта стало возможным благодаря
сотрудничеству NASA с компаниями United Space Alliance и Boeing North
American.
12.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Сенат США одобрил Коммерческий космический акт
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Сенат США одобрил Коммерческий космический акт
9 октября на своем заседании Сенат США одобрил Коммерческий
космический акт. Палата представителей Конгресса США одобрила акт в
сентябре нынешнего года. Как ожидается, в течение ближайших десяти дней
президент США Bill CLINTON подпищет акт, после чего он приобретет силу
федерального закона.
Коммерческий космический акт регулирует деятельность американских
частных компаний в исследованиях и использовании космического
пространства. В соответствии с ним компании получат практически те же
права,
какими до настоящего момента располагало только правительственное NASA. В
частности, коммерческие компании получат возможность возвращать из космоса
космические аппараты, чего они были лишены до последнего момента.
12.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: NASA продолжает праздновать свое сороколетие
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NASA продолжает праздновать свое сороколетие
В NASA продолжаются празднования 40-й годовщины со дня основания
агентства. 15октября на приеме, который состоится в Hациональном музее
"Женщины в искусстве", будет представлена новая книга "NASA и космические
исследования". Она стала результатом совместной работы главного историка
NASA Roger LAUNIUS, куратора художественной программы NASA Bertran
ULRICH и издательства Stewart, Tabori & Chang. Предисловие к книге написал
американский сенатор и космонавт John GLENN, отправляющийся черех 18 дней
в свой второй космический полет.
Книга иллюстрирует историю NASA через живопись. В настоящее время в
коллекции NASA более 3000 картин, написанных более чем 250 авторами.
Приблизительно десятая часть живописной коллекции NASA приведена в книге.
12.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Конгресс США увеличивает ассигнования на космическую разведку
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Конгресс США увеличивает ассигнования на космическую разведку
Сенат США 8 октября одобрил выделение дополнительных ассигнований
на совершенствование средств космической разведки. Решение об этом было
принято без обсуждения. Днем раньше аналогичное решение приняла палата
представителей.
Американские законодатели обеспокоены состояниями разведывательных
космических систем после того, как в мае нынешнего года не удалось
зафиксировать подготовку ядерных испытаний в Индии.
12.10.98
Источник: InfoArt News Agency
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Тридцать лет назад начались пилотируемые полеты по программе
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Тридцать лет назад начались пилотируемые полеты по программе
"Аполлон"
Тридцать лет назад, 11 октября 1968 года с космодрома на мысе
Канаверал
был осуществлен запуск космического корабля "Apollo-7". Этим стартом
начались
пилотируемые полеты по программе "Аполлон". Космический корабль "Apollo-7"
пилотировал экипаж в составе Walter SCHIRRA, Walter CUNNINGHAM и Donn
EISELE. В ходе 11-суточного полета были проведены испытания в условиях
реального космического полета командного модуля корабля, разработанного
для
осуществления экспедиции на Луну. Испытания прошли без замечаний, что дало
возможность уже во время следующего запуска в декабре 1968 года
осуществить
первый пилотируемый облет Луны.
12.10.98
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [1/13]
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S P A C E V I E W S
Volume Year 1998, Issue 10
October 1998
http://www.spaceviews.com/1998/10/
*** News ***
NASA Plans to Help Support Russian Space Agency
Gingrich, Congress Criticize NASA
Shuttle Rolls Out for Glenn Launch
Two New Extrasolar Planets Discovered
Engineers Regain Control of SOHO
Gamma Ray Burst Had Effect on Atmosphere
Mir Cosmonauts Complete Brief Internal Spacewalk
Astronomers See Dust Disks in Binary Star System
Mars Global Surveyor Resumes Aerobraking
Senate Hearing Explores Government Launch Incentives
SpaceViews Event Horizon
Other News
*** Articles ***
The Beginnings of America's Man in Space Program
[part 2]
The Mars Underground Emerges: The Founding Convention of the Mars
Society
Spaceweek Organizers Sought
*** Book Reviews ***
Just Visiting This Planet
Two Physics Books
*** NSS News ***
Upcoming Boston NSS Events
Boston NSS September Lecture Summary
*** Regular Features ***
Jonathan's Space Report No. 373
Space Calendar
Editor's Note: As you are no doubt aware by now, we have had significant
problems e-mailing recent issues of SpaceViews. Our old mailing list
provider, ARI, could not handle the large size of the list (SpaceViews now
has about 7,500 subscribers.) We switched to one provider, but they had
technical problems as well that prevented the delivery of the September 15
issue. However, we have found a new home for the list that should end
these problems.
If you did not receive some of the past issues, the best way to get them is
by FTP:
September 15:
ftp://ftp.seds.org/pub/info/newsletters/spaceviews/update/980915.txt
September 1:
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August 15:
ftp://ftp.seds.org/pub/info/newsletters/spaceviews/update/980815.txt
These issues are also archived on the SpaceViews Web site,
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We hope our mailing list problems are behind us and we can continue to
deliever the latest space news and article to you in a timely manner. Feel
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you may have about SpaceViews.
Sincerely,
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Editor, SpaceViews
jeff@spaceviews.com
*** News ***
NASA Plans to Help Support Russian Space Agency
NASA is seeking up to $660 million in additional funds over
the next four years to provide desperately needed money for the
Russian Space Agency (RSA), whose funding problems pose a serious
threat to the International Space Station, the Washington Post
reported Monday, September 21.
According to the Post, NASA is seeking $60 million now to
purchase additional Russian hardware, plus an additional $40 million
by the end of the year to help keep the troubled Service Module from
falling further behind schedule.
The $40 million would be the first installment in up to $150
million a year that NASA would pay to the RSA over four years to
support their work on the station. The $150 million a year would
represent about half of the annual costs Russia would incur for the
station, and would be a substantial fraction of the RSA's overall
budget.
"In effect, we're buying $150 million per year worth of
insurance" on the station, Joseph Rothenberg, NASA associate
administrator for space flight told the Post. "A year ago, we
wouldn't have predicted things would be this bad."
While NASA is willing to pay half of Russia's space station
assembly costs, Rothenberg warned, "we can't be sure they'll come up
with the other half, though."
The Port reported that, rather than welcoming the addition
funds, Russian officials are holding out for more money than the U.S.
is willing to pay for certain pieces of hardware. Rothenberg said
that since Russia sees its space program as a source of national
pride, they may have trouble continuing to support the station if
their role in the project is reduced.
Also of concern is the new Russian government installed this
month, the third one this year. "We collectively don't really
understand the implications of the Primakov government yet," NASA
administrator Dan Goldin told the Post, referring to new Russian prime
minister Yevgeny Primakov.
The initial $100 million to go to Russia will likely pay for
two Soyuz capsules that will be used as interim station "lifeboats"
until a permanent escape vehicle, based on the X-38, is put into
place. As reported last week, NASA would pay the money now but not
have to take delivery on the Soyuz capsules until 2002.
NASA still plans to launch the first segments of the
International Space Station -- the Russian-built Zarya control module
and the American-built Unity docking module -- in November and
December of this year, respectively, Rothenberg told the Post.
However, the launch of the Service module may slip from April to July
of 1999, even if the RSA receives the money needed now to complete the
module.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [2/13]
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Gingrich, Congress Criticize NASA
Key members of both the House and the Senate have spoken out
in opposition of a NASA proposal to financially support the Russian
Space Agency, while Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich leveled strong
criticism against the agency in general.
Speaking at a press conference Thursday, September 24,
Gingrich lashed out at NASA, claiming that the space agency was
bureaucratic and slow. "We have got to break out of slowing down and
making space as boring as possible, which seems to be one of NASA's
major achievements," he said.
Calling current launch systems "slow, cumbersome, and
extraordinary expensive", Gingrich said there was no technological
reason why NASA could not have done more. "If you go back and look at
the last 30 years, and ask yourself how far could we have gotten,
there is no reason today we aren't permanently on the Moon," he said.
"That is entirely an artifact of bureaucracy."
Gingrich also spoke out against the current state of the
International Space Station, putting the blame for ISS's current
problems on the Clinton Administration. "The space station now is a
mess," he said, "in large part because this administration got off to
a feel-good, manage-bad model."
Other members of Congress also voiced concerns about plans
reported September 21 where NASA would pay $660 million to Russia over
a four-year period to help support their contributions to ISS.
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), chair of the House Science
Committee, said NASA's plans is an acknowledgment by the space agency
that putting Russia on the "critical path" for ISS development was a
mistake. "NASA's request that the American taxpayer now pay for that
mistake while simultaneously treating Russia as an equal partner is
unacceptable," Sensenbrenner said.
"If the U.S. is to assume greater financial responsibilities,
the international agreement with Russia should be renegotiated to
reflect Russia's reduced contribution," Sensenbrenner said. "I oppose
the Administration's scheme to turn a vital and important science
program like the Space Station into more Russian foreign aid."
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), chairman of the Senate Commerce,
Science, and Transportation Committee, also was skeptical of the NASA
bailout plan. "The situation in Russia could signal future needed
bailouts, and raise concerns over quality control procedures," he
said.
McCain and Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) called on the General
Accounting Office to study the proposed funding plan, to see how
likely Russia is to meet its obligations if the funding is approved,
and whether it would be more cost-effective to simply remove Russia
from the program.
"American taxpayers deserve to know how this most recent
announcement affects the total cost of the space station, a full
account of where their dollars would be going, and an assurance that
funds will not be diverted for unapproved uses," McCain said. "Only a
full justification of these costs is acceptable, especially
considering Russia's record as an unreliable financial partner."
Shuttle Rolls Out for Glenn Launch
Workers at the Kennedy Space Center rolled out the space
shuttle Discovery early Monday, September 21, in preparation for an
October launch that includes the second flight of John Glenn, and
narrowly abvoided having to roll it back just three days later.
Discovery was rolled out from the Vehicle Assembly Building to
Pad 39B starting at around 2 am EDT (0600 UT) September 21. It took
six hours for the shuttle assembly, which includes Discovery, its
external fuel tank, and two solid-fuel boosters, to make the 6.8-km
(4.2-mile) trek to the pad.
The shuttle sports a new paint job, with the round blue NASA
"meatball" logo on the left wing and the American flag and the
orbiter's name on the right wing. The meatball logo replaces the old
NASA "worm" logo on Discovery and the other shuttles, including
Atlantis, which completed 10 months of servicing work in California
this month.
Kennedy Space Center officials canceled late Thursday,
September 24, the planned rollback of the space shuttle Discovery
after it was clear that a hurricane would pose no threat to the
shuttle.
The rollback of the shuttle to the safety of the Vehicle
Assembly Building (VAB) was prompted by Hurricane Georges, a powerful
hurricane approaching the south Florida coast. The shuttle was to
begin its six-hour trek from Pad 39B early Thursday morning, but
lightning from an unrelated storm system has delayed the move.
By Thursday night, the hurricane was forecast to pass through
the Straits of Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico, posing no threat
to the space center. KSC officials then decided to keep Discovery on
the pad.
Discovery is scheduled to lift off on the afternoon of October
29 on mission STS-95. The nine-day mission has garnered extraordinary
publicity as it will mark the second flight into space for Senator
John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth.
The 77-year-old Glenn will be the subject of a number of
experiments sponsored by NASA and the National Institute on Aging to
look for links between the aging process and the adaptation to
weightlessness. Those experiments will include research into bone and
muscle loss, balance disorders, and sleeping problems.
The shuttle will also refly the Spartan-201 solar research
satellite. The satellite, designed to fly free from the shuttle for
several days while performing observations of the Sun, failed to
deploy properly on its last flight in November 1997. The tumbling
satellite had to be retrieved in a special spacewalk by two
astronauts.
Discovery will also carry a package of experiments to test
equipment that will be used on the next Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
servicing mission. The equipment tested includes a new cooler that
may be attached to the HST's NICMOS infrared camera, extending its
life, as well as various electronics equipment.
The mission will be commanded by four-time shuttle astronaut
Curtis Brown, with Steven Lindsey as pilot. Mission specialists
include Scott Parazynski, Stephen Robinson, and Spain's Pedro Duque.
Japan's Chiaki Mukai will join Glenn as payload specialists on the
mission. The crew ranges in age from 77-year-old Glenn to Duque, who
was born a little more than a year after Glenn's Mercury flight 36
years ago.
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [3/13]
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Two New Extrasolar Planets Discovered
A team of astronomers that includes the two most prolific
planet discoverers announced Thursday, September 24, that they had
discovered two more extrasolar planets, one that orbits extremely
close to its parent star and another in a more Earth-like orbit.
One planet, orbiting the Sun-like star HD 187123, orbits the
star at a distance nine times closer than Mercury's distance from the
Sun. The planet, with a minimum mass half that of Jupiter, takes only
three days to complete one orbit of its star.
The other planet, orbiting HD 210277, orbits at a more
Earth-like distance, but has a far more elliptical orbit than the
Earth. The planet, with a mass about 1.4 times that of Jupiter, takes
437 days to complete one orbit.
The discovery of the second planet was significant, according
to co-discoverer Geoff Marcy of San Francisco State University. "We
had discovered planets that orbit much closer and much farther from
their stars than the Earth-Sun distance," he said. "We wondered if
nature rarely puts planets at one Earth-Sun distance. Now we know that
such planets are not rare."
The discoveries were made by an international team of
scientists that includes Marcy and Paul Butler of the Anglo-Australian
Observatory, who together have discovered nine of the 12 extrasolar
planets found to date.
The team's junior member was Kevin Apps, a sophomore at
England's University of Sussex. An avid amateur astronomer, he poured
over Marcy and Butler's initial list of stars to study and suggested
replacing some of them with stars more like the Sun. One of Apps'
replacement stars, accepted by Marcy and Butler, was HD 187123.
"I don't think I can put into words how I feel about Geoff and
Paul finding a planet around one of my suggested targets," Apps said.
The team used a high-resolution spectrograph on one of the
10-meter (33-foot) telescopes at the Keck Observatory to measure the
wobble of stars. The wobble is caused by the gravitational tug on the
star from orbiting planets. The wobble is measured by noting minute
shifts in wavelength in light from the star, caused by the Doppler
effect.
The team has studied 430 stars using the Keck Telescope over
the last nine months. Continuing such observations, Marcy said,
should allow them to discover up to two dozen more Jupiter-sized
planets at the Earth's distance from the Sun in the next two to three
years.
Marcy's big interest, though, is looking for Jupiter-sized
worlds farther away from stars, as is the case in our solar system.
"What we're all about is discovering (planets) where evolution might
have gotten a toehold," Marcy said. "Jupiter-sized planets at a
greater distance from their star would suggest a solar system that
could host a rocky Earth-like planet."
"If it should turn out that out of more than 400 stars, none
has a Jupiter orbiting at five Earth-Sun distances, that would be a
frightening reality," Marcy added. "It might be the first sign that
Earth is truly unusual and so life may be rare."
Engineers Regain Control of SOHO
NASA announced Thursday, September 17, that a team of
engineers successfully regained control of the Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft nearly three months after ground errors
sent the spacecraft spinning out of control.
The attitude recovery maneuver was completed September 16 at
2:29pm EDT (1829 UT), NASA said. Engineers commanded SOHO to fire its
thrusters to take it out of its spin and point its solar panels
towards the Sun to generate power.
Contact was lost with SOHO on June 24 when a series of errors
by ground controllers sent the spacecraft spinning, breaking contact
with the Earth. Contact with SOHO was restored in early August, and
engineers have been working since then on procedures to return the
spacecraft to normal condition.
"It's a big step forward in our recovery plan for SOHO," said
Francis Vandenbussche, who heads the SOHO recovery team for the
European Space Agency (ESA). "We were never quite sure that we would
manage to make the spacecraft point back towards the Sun."
The next step, explained ESA SOHO project scientist Bernhard
Fleck, is a slow, comprehensive check of all the spacecraft systems
and the scientific instruments used to study the Sun. Some
instruments were subjected to temperature ranges of -100 to +100
degrees Celsius (-148 to +212 degrees Fahrenheit).
"We shall take our time and go step by step," Fleck said, "but
I'm cautiously optimistic that SOHO can win back much of its
scientific capacity for observing the Sun."
SOHO, a joint ESA/NASA mission to study the Sun, was launched
in December 1995. It completed its primary mission in April, after
which ESA and NASA agreed on an extended mission through 2003 to study
the Sun as it passed through the peak of its 11-year cycle of
activity. The ability of SOHO to continue this mission will depend on
the status of the instruments and other spacecraft systems.
NASA and ESA are also continuing a review of all ground
systems used to control the spacecraft, based on recommendations of a
report released earlier in the month about the June 24 accident. That
report pinned the blame on the accident on ground controllers, who
relied on a gyroscope on SOHO that had been previously disconnected as
well as another one which was in an improper mode.
Gamma Ray Burst Had Effect on Atmosphere
A powerful gamma ray burst detected in late August had an
effect on the Earth's atmosphere, increasing the electrical activity
in the ionosphere to daytime levels, scientists reported September 29.
Researchers at Stanford University's Very Low Research Group
found that when the gamma ray burst hit the Earth's atmosphere on the
night of August 27, electrical activity increased from normally
quiescent nighttime levels to the much higher levels seen during the
day. The levels remained high for the five-minute duration of the
burst.
"It is amazing that such a burst could produce ionization
levels similar to those produced by all the radiation coming from the
Sun," said Umran Inan, professor of electrical engineering at
Stanford. "It was as if night was briefly turned into day in the
ionosphere."
The ionization increase was caused by the powerful gamma and
X-rays stripping electrons from atoms in the tenuous ionosphere. The
burst has about the same intensity as a dental X-ray, scientists said,
and posed no threat to life on Earth.
The burst was traced back to SGR 1900+14, a distant object
thought to be a magnetar, a neutron star with an intense magnetic
field. The object is one of four known soft-gamma repeaters, objects
which will occasionally release a burst of gamma rays.
Inan said similar increased in ionospheric activity had been
seen in the past, but the cause of them were unknown. Thus, "this may
be the first time that a transient extra-solar phenomenon has
measurably affected a part of the Earth's environment," he said.
The sudden burst of energy from the magnetar, believed th be
caused by a "starquake" on the surface of the star, was also detected
in early September by radio astronomers. They detected radio waves
emitted by particles accelerated away from the magnetar by its intense
magnetic field.
"All this goes to show that the Earth does not exist in
splendid isolation," said Inan. "We now know that the Earth's physical
environment is affected not only by our own sun but by energy
originating from distant parts of our universe."
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [4/13]
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Mir Cosmonauts Complete Brief Internal Spacewalk
Two Mir cosmonauts spent less than an hour -- far less time
than expected -- completing repairs inside the unpressurized Spektr
module Tuesday evening, September 15.
The spacewalk began at 4:00 pm EDT (2000 UT) as cosmonauts
Gennady Padalka and Sergei Avdeyev entered the Spektr module to
reconnect cables for the solar panels mounted outside the station.
The spacewalk ended after just half an hour, although they had planned
to spend three hours on the task.
The reconnected cables should permit the panels to be turned
remotely, allowing them to be oriented to capture the maximum possible
amount of sunlight and convert it into electricity.
"We now have to turn the whole station toward the sun in order
to preserve power, while the normal mode of operation envisages
turning the panels," Viktor Blagov, deputy chief of mission control,
told the Itar-Tass news agency.
A Russian Space Agency spokesman also hinted that Mir,
scheduled to be deorbited in mid-1999, might stay up even longer.
Vyacheslav Mikhailichenko told Reuters that further delays with the
Russian-built Service Module for the International Space Station,
caused by Russian economic woes, may prompt Russia to keep Mir in
orbit until the Service Module can be launched.
"As long as the International Space Station is not in orbit it
doesn't make sense to bring Mir down," Mikhailichenko said. "What if
the new station turns out not to work? Technology is technology after
all."
Astronomers See Dust Disks in Binary Star System
Astronomers using the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope
have detected evidence of large dust disks -- from which planets are
believed to form -- around both stars in a binary star system,
evidence that many more stars could support planets than first
thought.
An international team led by Luis Rodriguez of the National
Autonomous University in Mexico City detected the disks around both
stars of a binary system 450 light years from Earth in the
constellation Taurus. The two stars, separated from one another by
only slightly more than the distance between the Sun and Pluto, each
have disks that extend out to Saturn's distance from the Sun.
The finding was a surprise, since astronomers had assumed the
gravitational effects of the two stars would prevent protoplanetary
disks from forming. "It was surprising to see these disks in a binary
system with the stars so close together," Rodriguez said.
While the astronomers did not detect any planets in the disks,
there is enough material there to support their formation. "Each of
these disks contains enough mass to form a solar system like our own,"
said team member David Willner of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics.
"However," he noted, "we don't think these solar systems would
be able to form outer, icy planets like Uranus and Neptune, because of
the small size of the dust disks."
Dust disks seen around other stars appear to extend to up to
100 AU (15 billion kilometers, 9.3 billion miles) from the star, about
ten times farther than the disks seen around these stars.
Had the two stars formed a few times closer, the astronomers
noted, the gravitational forces would have been enough to prevent the
disks from forming. "If these disks form planetary systems, they would
be among the closest possible adjacent sets of planets in the
universe," said Rodriguez.
Alan Boss, a theorist at the Carnegie Institution of
Washington, notes that if a giant planet formed at the edge of these
disks, the gravitational tug-of-war between the planet and the two
stars could eject the planet from the system.
This could explain TMR-1C, an object discovered in May by
astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope. The object, located in
the same dust cloud as this binary system, is thought to have been
ejected from another binary system. Further studies are planned to
determine if TMR-1C is a planet or a heavier brown dwarf star.
Mars Global Surveyor Resumes Aerobraking
After two false starts earlier in the month, the Mars Global
Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft successfully resumed aerobraking with a
thruster burn on Wednesday, September 23.
The 14.8-second firing of the main thruster on MGS altered its
orbit so that the spacecraft passes through the upper fringes of the
Martian atmosphere, slowing down the spacecraft and circularizing its
orbit with each pass.
The aerobraking was originally scheduled to begin on September
14, but a problem with the backup receiver on the spacecraft's antenna
delayed the aerobraking for three days.
A computer glitch then delayed the aerobraking just hours
before it was to begin September 17. A faulty command placed the
solar panels of MGS in the wrong orientation, reducing the amount of
electricity they could generate. the spacecraft drained much of the
charge in its batteries until the problem was corrected.
With the batteries recharged and other problems resolved,
controllers were able to restart the aerobraking as planned.
Aerobraking will continue for four and a half months, as drag from
repeated passes through the upper atmosphere moves the spacecraft's
orbit into the desired circular mapping orbit.
The aerobraking operation was originally planned to take place
between September of 1997 and last January, but was delayed when a
solar panel began bending beyond its design limits. Fearing continued
aerobraking could snap the panel off, the aerobraking was halted last
October until a plan to split the aerobraking into two longer, less
intense sections, was adopted. MGS will enter its final mapping orbit
in March of 1999, one year later than planned.
Senate Hearing Explores Government Launch Incentives
Both the administrator of NASA and leading members of the
launch industry encouraged the development of government incentives,
ranging from tax credits to guaranteed loans, to promote the
development of new, low cost, reusable launch vehicles.
Speaking at a hearing of the U.S. Senate's Science,
Technology, and Space subcommittee Wednesday, September 23, NASA
administrator Dan Goldin said current high launch costs is inhibiting
not only the commercial development of space, but future uses by NASA.
"The potential for the future seems almost limitless," Goldin
said, but noting that NASA spends more than $4 billion a year on
launch costs, "without affordable and reliable access to space, this
potential will remain unrealized."
Goldin said a NASA analysis of the launch industry indicated
that if private industry developed a large reusable launch vehicle on
its own, it could lower the price per pound to orbit to around $2,500.
Government incentives, though, could lower that per pound cost to as
little as $1,000. "The contrast is stark, and could make all the
difference in opening up space."
Goldin outlined four kinds of government incentives that could
help private industry develop new low-cost launch vehicles. Through
research and development support, guaranteed government loans, advance
purchase agreements of launch vehicles, and tax credits and holidays,
new affordable launch vehicles can be developed.
Goldin had a sympathetic ear from Senator John Breaux (D-LA),
who earlier this year introduced S.2121, the Space Launch Cost
Reduction Act. Breaux's bill includes many of the incentives outlined
by Goldin, including government loan guarantees administered by NASA.
"I am a big believer in the private sector," Breaux said.
"But while we are competing with other countries that are not
market-based economies, it is important that we be able to compete."
The idea of government loan guarantees was criticized earlier
this year by two space activist organizations, the National Space
Society and the Space Frontier Foundation, who feared such a program
would allow NASA to pick "winners" among established aerospace
companies while stifling innovative new projects.
"Federal loan guarantees sound nice, but they are a bad idea
that will wreck the embryonic reusable space transportation industry
by warping the market and stifling innovation," SFF president Rick
Tumlinson said in June.
Some members of the launch industry are in favor of loan
guarantees. Jerry Rising of Lockheed Martin's X-33 project told the
committee that the most effective means "of facilitating private
investor confidence would be through a government loan program."
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [5/13]
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SpaceViews Event Horizon
October 1: 40th Anniversary of the creation of NASA
October 2: OSC Taurus launch of the STEX satellite from
Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
October 7: Ariane 4 launch of the Eutelsat-W2 and Sirius-3
satellites from Kourou, French Guiana
October 8: Atlas 2AS launch of the Hot Bird 5 satellite from Cape
Canaveral, Florida.
October 9-11: Space Frontier Foundation Conference, Los Angeles,
California
(http://www.space-frontier.org/EVENTS/SFC7/)
October 11-16: American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary
Sciences annual meeting, Madison, Wisconsin
October 19: Atlas 2A launch of the UHF-F9 satellite from Cape
Canaveral, Florida
October 22: Pegasus XL launch of the SCD-2/Wing GLove payloads
from off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida
October 25: Delta 2 launch of Deep Space-1 and SEDSAT-1 from Cape
Canaveral, Florida
October 29: Launch of shuttle on mission STS-95 (John Glenn
flight)
Other News
Ariane, ORBCOMM Launches: Ariane 4 and Pegasus XL rockets
successfully placed satellites into orbit in September. An Ariane 4
booster launched a PanAmSat communications satellite into orbit early
Wednesday, September 16, from Kourou, French Guiana. The PAS-7
satellite will go into geosynchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean. It
is designed to provide video and telecommunications services
throughout the region in conjunction with PAS-4, an existing PanAmSat
satellite. An Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) Pegasus booster
launched eight ORBCOMM satellites into orbit early Wednesday,
September 23, completing a constellation of 28 satellites that will
provide worldwide messaging services. The system is expected to go
into full commercial service in a few months, after the new satellites
are checked out.
Space For Sale: NASA is considering selling to companies the rights
to display their logo during NASA media events, an industry newsletter
reported Tuesday, September 21. According to "Science & Government
Report", a newsletter published by John Wiley and Sons' Technical
Insights subsidiary, a Congressionally-mandated report to be delivered
to the space agency soon will recommend a wide range of advertising
ventures that could raise funding for NASA. The first step would be
to sell the rights to display corporate logos during NASA media
events, and would grow to include advertising during the construction
of the space station and the possibility of allowing the entertainment
industry to use the space shuttle and station.
More Human Studies Needed: Additional studies, both on the ground and
in orbit, of the effects of weightlessness on the human body are
needed as missions become longer, a panel of medical experts recently
concluded. In a report released September 22, the Committee on Space
Biology and Medicine, part of the Space Studies Board of the National
Research Council, issued a report calling for additional studies to
see how long-duration space flight might adversely affect both the
human body and the mind. Of greatest importance, the committee
concluded, were studies of how weightlessness affects bone and muscle
mass, blood pressure, orientation, and movement.
Dust Rings Around Jupiter: Data from the Galileo spacecraft show that
Jupiter's system of thin, intricate rings is formed from dust from the
planet's innermost small moons, scientists announced Tuesday,
September 15. Using images from Galileo, scientists from Cornell
University and the National Optical Astronomy Observatories (NOAO) saw
that one of Jupiter's three rings, a dim "gossamer" ring, has one ring
embedded inside another, with both composed of dust from the small
inner moons of Amalthea and Thebe. The dust likely comes from
collisions of asteroid or comet fragments with the moons.
Globalstar Restructures: Globalstar announced Tuesday, September 22,
plans to recover from a failed Zenit launch earlier in the month by
purchasing additional Delta and Soyuz launches to put its
communications satellite constellation in orbit next year. The company
announced a plan to move up three Soyuz launches, originally planned
for early 1999, to November and December of 1998 and January of 1999.
The company will then select from among five additional Soyuz
launches, six Delta 2 launches of four satellites each, and two Zenit
launches of 12 satellites each with the goal of placing an additional
12 satellites in orbit by May 1999 and 16 more by the end of the year.
In Brief: Scientists from the Carnegie Institution of Washington,
using data from Mars Pathfinder, believe that the bulk composition of
the planet Mars does not match that of carbonaceous chrondites, a
common class of meteorite thought to be left over from the formation
of the solar system, placing into doubt a commonly-held theory of
planetary formation... The first of four 8.2-meter mirrors of the Very
Large Telescope in Chile is returning scientific data, European
astronomers reported. The telescope collected 100 hours of data in
late August and September... A Congressional conference committee
agreed September 17 to reclassify communications satellites as
munitions, making them harder to export to China for launch on Long
March boosters. The Clinton Administration said in the past it would
veto any bill that made such a reclassification... NASA turns 40 years
old on October 1. Happy Birthday! But, is it time for a mid-life
crisis?...
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [6/13]
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*** Articles ***
The Beginnings of America's Man in Space Program
by Andrew J. LePage
Introduction
On October 1, 1958 - days short of the first Sputnik
anniversary - the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
officially came into being. After months of study and debate in the
wake of the launching of the first Soviet satellites, the United
States government reached a consensus on how the country should
proceed into the Space Age when President Dwight Eisenhower signed the
National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 on July 29.
NASA was formed around the existing NACA (National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics) which had been under the direction of Hugh
L. Dryden. Appointed as NASA's first administrator was T. Keith
Glennan while Dryden became his deputy. While the military would
continue to run space projects related to the needs of national
security, all purely scientific space programs under military control
would eventually be transferred to NASA. This included, much to the
chagrin of officials in the Department of Defense, the United States'
nascent man-in-space effort.
Early Studies
The genesis of what would become America's first manned space
programs can be traced back to July 14, 1952 when the NACA executive
committee passed a resolution to "devote modest effort to problems of
unmanned and manned flights at altitudes from 50 miles to infinity and
at speeds from Mach 10 to escape from earth's gravity." The direct
result of this resolution was the X-15 program conducted jointly by
NACA, the USAF, and the U.S. Navy starting in December of 1954. This
advanced rocket-powered aircraft would fly to the edge of space at 80
kilometers (50 miles) and as fast as Mach 7. It would bridge the
performance gap between existing X-planes and what was needed to meet
NACA's ultimate goal.
The next step lead to joint NACA and USAF studies of still
higher flying manned aircraft or the "Manned Glide Rocket Research
System". Conducted under the aegis of the USAF's ARDC (Air Research
and Development Command) starting in March 1956, this set of studies
eventually lead to the "Dyna-Soar" or X-20 program. At the same time
ARDC also established a parallel research project for a manned
ballistic capsule known as "The Manned Ballistic Rocket Research
System". Since the development of a simple ballistic capsule would
require much less time than an aerospace glider, such a program could
give the USAF much needed experience in this new environment in the
shortest time possible. As had been done in many earlier USAF
research programs, NACA was invited to participate.
Although there was a vocal minority in the NACA hierarchy who
were against involvement in a purely ballistic approach to manned
spaceflight, by early 1956 there had already been much research
conducted at NACA laboratories on the subject. As a result of
hypervelocity experiments performed during June 1952, a team of
scientists and engineers under H. Julian Allen at the High-Speed
Research Division of NACA's Ames Aeronautical Laboratory (now NASA
Ames Research Center) discovered that a blunt body minimized heating
during a hypersonic reentry into the atmosphere. The previous
conventional wisdom held that a slender shape would be preferred but
studies had shown that they produced more heat than any known
materials could withstand. Allen and his team had now solved this
thermal barrier problem with their counterintuitive blunt shape in
which 90% of the heat is absorbed by the shock wave generated during
reentry.
On April 28, 1953 Allen and Alfred J. Eggers Jr. of Ames
co-authored a secret NACA report detailing their findings. This
report, which was distributed to missile contractors and the military
that spring, heavily influenced the designs of the first generation of
ICBM warheads and subsequent manned spacecraft.
Choosing the Best Approach
In early 1954 Allen, Eggers and Stanford E. Neice of Ames
wrote a now classic paper on atmospheric reentry entitled "A
Comparative Analysis of the Performance of Long-Range Hypervelocity
Vehicles". In this paper they compared the advantages and
disadvantages of three different reentry body configurations: A blunt
no-lift body, a high-drag lifting body, and a low-drag gliding body.
These three concepts would be the focus of manned spaceflight research
in the following years.
Eggers went on to present a modified version of this paper at
the annual meeting of the American Rocket Society in San Francisco in
June of 1957. At the time he was convinced that a glider would be a
better approach to manned spaceflight than a simple ballistic capsule.
While the total heat load would be greater, a glider's heating rate
would be much lower as would be the G-forces during reentry. A glider
would also be maneuverable and allow the pilot to make a precision
landing. Unfortunately it was soon realized that such a spacecraft
would be too heavy for any military rockets then envisioned to lift
into orbit.
Eggers then began to push for a lighter and simpler
lifting-body design (originally proposed in an Ames report on
hypersonic flight released in January of 1957) as a compromise between
the ballistic capsule and the glider. His design, called M-1, was a
triangular shaped craft about 3 meters (10 feet) wide and 2 meters (7
feet) long with a rounded underside and a flat top. Looking like a
quarter of an egg, this design would minimize heating and G-forces
during reentry and allow 320 kilometers (200 miles) of cross-range and
1300 kilometers (800 miles) of down-range maneuverability in a package
that military rockets could handle.
The third concept using a simple ballistic capsule was
championed by a team at NACA's Langley Aeronautical Laboratory (now
NASA Langley Research Center) who wrote a minority view in the
appendix of the January 1957 Ames report. During the mid-1950s Maxime
A. Faget, Robert O. Piland, and a team of engineers at Langley's
Pilotless Aircraft Research Division (PARD) had conducted a series of
flight tests with models of blunt bodies under the supervision of
Langley's Associate Director, Robert R. Gilruth, in an effort to
extend Allen's original work. They felt that a blunt, nonlifting
shape like a sphere would offer the best chances of getting a man into
orbit in the shortest time.
While the M-1 design held much promise and stimulated further
research into lifting bodies (which continues to this day), NACA
management began to favor Langley's ballistic approach due to its
simplicity. In parallel with the USAF efforts in the manned ballistic
rocket project (which eventually became known as MIS or
"Man-In-Space") and those of a group of 11 contractors who answered
the ARDC call for proposals, Langley engineers continued to slowly
develop the design and specifications for a manned ballistic space
capsule during the months leading to the Space Age.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [7/13]
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The Dawn of the Space Age
After the launch of Sputnik, the entire country was struck by
a sense of panic. And with the launching of Sputnik 2 in November
1958 with its canine passenger, it was clear that the Soviet Union
were taking the first steps needed to send a man into space. During
this time, NACA leaders sought to determine what role their
organization would play in an American manned spaceflight effort. But
in addition to the NACA plans and the USAF MIS study (which quickly
became MISS or "Man In Space - Soonest"), the U.S. Army and Navy also
started pushing their own proposals for a manned space mission.
The Army proposal originated from the Wernher von Braun's team
at the ABMA (Army Ballistic Missile Agency). Initially called "Man
Very High" and later known as Project Adam, their proposal called for
using a modified Redstone rocket to launch a manned capsule on a short
suborbital flight. The ABMA proposal was essentially an updated
version of the British Interplanetary Society's V-2-based Megaroc
concept. The Navy's Bureau of Aeronautics proposal, called Mer I for
"Manned Earth Reconnaissance I", envisioned a cylindrical spacecraft
with deployable wings launched on a two-stage rocket. As with other
aspects of the nation's space program, ARPA (Advanced Research
Projects Agency) was put in charge of coordinating all these efforts
in the spring of 1958. From the start ARPA clearly preferred the MISS
proposal but whoever finally got the project, NACA was guaranteed a
leading role due to their experience in the field.
Still, as the spring of 1958 approached, it was becoming
increasing clear that the nation's space program would be run not by
ARPA but by a civilian agency and NACA had already quietly accepted
the task. Because of this and growing differences in opinion between
NACA and USAF over the best way to proceed with MISS, NACA began to
quietly break out and push its own ideas among the various military
and civilian study groups and panels that were set up to consider the
issue. In order to bring their own ideas into the forefront, NACA
sponsored the Conference on High Speed Aerodynamics from March 18 to
20, 1958 where NACA engineers presented their proposals for a manned
space mission to a group of military, industrial, and contractor
personnel.
During this symposium, the NACA management's eventual plan was
outlined in a Langley paper by Faget, Benjamin Garland, and James J.
Buglia. They proposed a 3.35 meter (11 foot) long, roughly conical
shaped ballistic capsule with a 2.13 meter (7 foot) in diameter heat
sink mounted on its blunt end. The pilot would be strapped into a
form fitting couch to better withstand the G-forces associated with
launch and reentry. Because the effects of spaceflight on the pilot
were totally unknown, the simple capsule would be designed to operate
automatically. Unlike the USAF which wanted to develop a new
Thor-based launch vehicle for MISS, NACA wanted to use the Atlas ICBM
(which had just begun test flights) to orbit their capsule.
Once in orbit, the capsule would be turned so that it traveled
blunt-side first using small gas jets to control attitude. A solid
retrorocket package would then be used to slow the capsule enough to
perform a high drag, no-lift reentry into Earth's atmosphere at the
end of the mission. By June 1958 Langley's Faget and Charles W.
Mathews had already completed the first draft of the manned
satellite's preliminary specifications based on this concept that NACA
officials clearly preferred.
Project Mercury is Born
As ARPA and the USAF continued to jockey for position
throughout mid-1958 in a bid to monopolize the manned space program,
NACA engineers continued to refine their space capsule design and
specifications. But the unofficial competition for the manned space
program ended on August 18 when President Eisenhower finally decided
that the soon to be created NASA would be in charge. Money ARPA had
allocated for MISS would be transferred to NASA along with the funding
for other scientific space projects that had been given to NASA.
To ease the program's transition, a Joint NASA-ARPA Manned
Satellite Panel headed by Gilruth was established on September 17,
1958 to make final recommendations to NASA for the manned program.
Their proposals were submitted to Glennan and ARPA director Roy
Johnson between October 3 and 7. On October 7 NASA formally organized
its manned space program and gave it the task of placing a capsule in
orbit, investigating the pilot's reaction to the orbital environment,
and safely recovering the pilot and capsule. By the end of October,
NASA representatives had already started negotiations to procure the
rockets they needed for their project.
By November 5, 1958 NASA's new Director of the Office of Space
Flight Programs, Abe Silverstein, had organized the STG (Space Task
Group) at Langley to run the manned space program. Gilruth was
appointed as Director of the program with his former Technical
Assistant, Charles J. Donlan, assigned as his deputy. Faget became
the Flight System Chief in charge of the spacecraft's design while
another former-PARD member, Piland, became Assistant Chief for
Advanced Projects. With NASA's manned space program management team
and an initial staff of 33 people in place, the program's pace began
to accelerate.
On November 7, 1958 40 perspective bidders met at Langley for
a briefing from STG engineers on their vision of the manned space
capsule. About half expressed continued interest in the project and
on November 14 they received a copy of the 50-page document entitled
"Specifications for Manned Space Capsule". On December 11 STG
received bids from 11 contractors for the manned space capsule. After
STG established component assessment teams to review the bids, the
long task of choosing a contractor for America's first manned space
capsule began.
But as the pace of the manned program began to pick up, there
was a need to give the new project a name. While several were
proposed, on November 26 Glennan and Dryden choose Silverstein's
suggestion which he had based on Greek mythology. On December 17,
1958 NASA officially announced it - Project Mercury.
Bibliography
David Baker, The History of Manned Spaceflight, Crown Publishers, 1981
William M. Bland Jr., "Project Mercury", in The History of Rocket
Technology, Eugene M. Emme (editor), Wayne State University Press, pp.
212-240, 1963
Eugene M. Emme, Aeronautics and Astronautics 1915-1960, NASA, 1961
Loyd S. Swenson Jr., James M. Grimwood, and Charles C. Alexander, This
New Ocean: A History of Project Mercury, NASA, SP-4201, 1966
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [8/13]
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Вот, свалилось из Internet...
The Mars Underground Emerges:
The Founding Convention of the Mars Society
by Keith Cowing
Introduction
Boulder, Colorado has been the temporary base camp for
Earthbound Martians for more than a decade. Every few summers, they
roll into town for one in a series of "Case for Mars" conferences
wherein a diverse mixture of scientists, engineers, and space
enthusiasts (the so-called "Mars Underground") have gathered to keep
the dialog going -- even if NASA had apparently lost interest.
This summer there was another Mars meeting in Boulder. Unlike
all previous meetings, this one came in the wake of the new and
exciting information from Mars: the Mars Pathfinder landing and the
Mars Global Surveyor mission. Add in the residual excitement from the
ALH84001 discoveries, and Mars was a hot topic for the first time
since the Viking days
This summer, the Mars Underground finally came out of hiding -
with a vengeance.
The Attendees
The attendees came from both predictable and unpredictable
backgrounds. While the overwhelming portion of the participants were
white males 25-50 with scientific or engineering backgrounds, there
was a surprising number of females, children, the elderly, and people
of color. Indeed, I'd say that there was more diversity than I had
expected to see -- and was very pleased to see this. It was this
diversity of backgrounds, all drawn together by an interest in Mars,
which made this conference special.
Once you got beyond the obvious categories, you really saw
some spectacular diversity. Political backgrounds ranged from left to
right, from environmentalists and feminists to archconservative
nationalists and libertarians. One common characteristic was
pervasive and made all other characteristics of secondary importance:
these people are explorers, visionaries, and pioneers. Whether or not
they actually have the ability or opportunity to go to Mars themselves
was irrelevant: this crowd represented the broad mix needed to make it
possible for humans to walk on Mars.
By the end of the conference, it certainly became clear to me
that the white male bias was misleading, and possibly only a temporary
phenomenon. These people were all Martians. While the word has yet to
get out to everyone, it is now well on its way thanks to this event.
The Organizers
The organizers consisted of Bob Zubrin, his entire family, and
just about anyone in Boulder he could arm twist into helping. While
there were the inevitable (minor) glitches here and there the
organizers managed to pull off a comfortable, friendly gathering, one
where the participants joined in whenever needed to help make things
work. I guess you could say everyone helped organize and run his
meeting -- and it showed. Something needed to emerge from this
conference and everyone seemed to feel that they were going to help
craft that outcome.
The Presentations and the Presenters
Presentations covered the entire range of topics you'd expect
at a conference on Mars -- plus quite a number you would not. Notable
among the speakers were astronauts John Young and Scott Horowitz;
former NASA Exploration Office head Mike Griffin; JPL Mars mission
scientists Matt Golombek and Mike Manning; extremeophile biologist
Penny Boston; NASA Ames scientists Chris McKay, Carol Stoker, and
Larry Lemke; Mars Society founder Bob Zubrin; and Space Frontier
president Rick Tumlinson.
Topics covered living off the land, mission design, propulsion
technologies, colonization sociology, politics, and the arts. With an
attendance of 600 and several hundred presenters, this had to be the
highest presenter to participant ratio I have ever seen! With so many
presentations, there were often 5 or more simultaneous sessions
underway. I eventually found myself surfing sessions so as to try and
get a representative flavor of the whole event. A visit to the Mars
Society website is perhaps the only fitting way to truly appreciate
the breadth of topics discussed.
Having attended innumerable scientific and technical meetings,
I was immediately struck at how well attended each and every session
was. Rooms were frequently filled beyond capacity, people were very
polite, and every effort was made to stay on schedule. Night sessions
were equally jammed. The biggest surprise was that the very last
session of the meeting was heavily attended. These people wanted to
drink in as much about Mars as they possibly could.
Diversity Breeds Controversy
There was certainly no shortage of opinions expressed at this
conference - which is what made it so interesting. Meetings of
traditional organizations such as the AIAA or AAS can be so
orchestrated and sanitized that they can be sleep inducing. This
crowd was spontaneous and interactive on and off stage.
Perhaps the most dynamic event was the evening session held on
Terraforming. As far as I am able to tell, with 600 people in the
auditorium, this was the largest single assembly of people ever
convened to discuss the deliberate alteration of another planet.
Although the organizers had intended to have a range of opinions
represented on the panel, last minute changes resulted in a panel that
was generally pro-terraforming.
The most extreme example of the pro-terraformers was Lowell
Woods from Stanford University. His blatantly pro-America, manifest
destiny inspired message that humans had an obligation to terraform
Mars got the audience going. While some panel members sought to soften
Woods views, many people remained extremely opposed to Woods and let
their feelings be known. Overall, the premise of all remarks was not
if to terraform; rather it was more an issue of when and how.
By the time the night was over it became abundantly clear that
the Mars Society represented a very nice cross section of all of the
electorate. It also became clear that the Society has growing pains
ahead as it strives to become a truly international organization, not
one with an Americentric focus and base of support.
The Rally Cry
The meeting ended with a banquet followed by an organizing
rally. Once the attendees had been given an introduction to the
avowed aims of the Mars Society, they all voted unanimously to approve
its charter. This was followed by an open microphone organizing rally
where the enthusiasm and diversity of the attendees once again became
evident. This was then followed by a splintering off of people into
chapters organized by geography, which ranged from Mozambique to
Washington DC. When the university began to close the doors for the
evening, these groups moved out into the darkness and continued to
organize.
The Outcome -- And The Road Ahead
Within a few days people had settled back at home and the
email and web activity started. For my part, I updated my Whole Mars
Catalog so as to have a Mars Society hot button on every page.
Meanwhile, the Mars Society website leapt into action and has been
constantly updated ever since. Local chapters and focus groups set up
mailing lists and the email traffic began. Now, two months after the
event, things have settled down a bit. This is to be expected -- the
initial hoopla spawned at the meeting has collided with the reality of
what everyone had waiting for them back home.
As with all nascent political organizations (make no doubt,
politics is at the core of what the Mars Society is all about), the
challenge before the Society is to transform the heady enthusiasm of
campaign rallies into the drudgery of going door to door. This aspect
of the task is not as glamorous or immediately satisfying, but it is
what will be required if the Mars Society is to awaken and focus the
public's interest such that real changes can be made.
Based upon what I saw in Boulder, I have to say that kilo for
kilo, this crowd has the highest energy density I have ever seen in a
space oriented organization, energy which will suit them well as they
tackle the big tasks ahead.
Keith Cowing is editor of NASA Watch, The Astrobiology Web, and The
Whole Mars Catalog.
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [9/13]
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Spaceweek Organizers Sought
by Spaceweek
Pro-space individuals and organizations are invited to help
put a global "spotlight" on space via Spaceweek, an annual event
consisting of many simultaneous activities and media coverage.
"Space needs its Earth Day," said Dennis Stone, volunteer
President of Spaceweek International Association (SIA), a non-profit
organization based in Houston. "By cooperating in an annual media
event, the pro-space community can demonstrate grass roots support for
space."
Spaceweek is now celebrated during the first full week of
March of each year. In 1999, this will be March 7-13. It was moved
two years ago to these new dates to impact education. "During the old
Spaceweek dates in July, we completely missed the schools. Now
Spaceweek benefits the classroom at the same time it involves the mass
public in space," Stone said.
The following help is needed across the pro-space community:
* Individuals to serve as city, regional, and state Spaceweek
coordinators
* Organizations to hold special public space events during
Spaceweek
* Help in encouraging teachers to use space in the classroom
during Spaceweek
Events held during Spaceweek have included space exhibits,
star parties, model rocket launches, space festivals, etc. It can be
a simple as helping a library feature space books that week, or as
bold as organizing and publicizing a space-theme parade. For
additional ideas on events your organization can hold, please see
www.spaceweek.org.
Coordinators are needed to encourage groups in their area to
hold events, and to help attract media coverage. To serve as a
coordinator, please notify SIA of your desired geographical region via
email to admin@spaceweek.org. We will let you know if that area is
available.
If your group holds an event during Spaceweek, please notify
SIA by early January of the planned location, date, time, and
description via email to admin@spaceweek.org. SIA encourages event
holders to report attendance and media coverage after Spaceweek is
over.
SIA is an independent, non-advocacy, non-membership
organization founded in 1981 solely to promote participation in
Spaceweek by the entire space community. It does not promote any
single company, country, policy, etc. Rather, the messages sent out
during Spaceweek are determined by the event organizers themselves.
To help encourage teachers to use space during Spaceweek, SIA
recently created the Spaceweek Activities Guide. The guide, available
at www.spaceweek.org, includes science and math activities using the
excitement of space that can be easily tailored by K-12 teachers.
*** Book Reviews ***
by Jeff Foust
Just Visiting This Planet
Just Visiting This Planet: Merlin Answers More Questions About
Everything Under the Sun, Moon, and Stars
by Neil de Grasse Tyson
Main Street Books (Doubleday), 1998
softcover, 336 pp., illus.
ISBN 0-385-48837-8
US$12.95/C$17.95
Since the late 1970s Stardate, a magazine published by the
McDonald Observatory of the University of Texas, has featured a
question-and-answer column written by "Merlin", an omniscient visitor
from the Andromeda Galaxy. Since 1983 the column has been written by
Neil de Grasse Tyson, now the director of the Hayden Planetarium in
New York City. "Just Visiting This Planet" is a collection of
Merlin's answers to a variety of questions about all aspects of
astronomy.
The answers here range from a couple of pages down to a single
word ("No"), providing just enough information to answer the questions
without going to excessive detail. The writing style is intended to
be witty, and it succeeds, although it can excessively flip (like the
several single-word answers.) Most of the topics covered in the book
are pretty basic, if frequently-asked, but for someone looking for
witty, readable answers to astronomy questions, "Just Visiting This
Planet" will be an enlightening read.
Two Physics Books
Time: A Traveler's Guide
by Clifford A. Pickover
Oxford University Press, 1998
hardcover, 285pp., illus.
ISBN 0-19-512042-6
US$25.00
Is time travel possible? The question probes the heart of our
understanding -- or lack thereof -- of time and space. Clifford A.
Pickover explores the topic in detail in "Time: A Traveler's Guide".
Using a science-fiction story involving three would-be time travelers
in 21st century New York, Pickover describes the physics which
explains why time travel may or may not be possible. Pickover doesn't
shy away from using physics equations to explain various concepts, but
the dialogue among the characters in the story helps explain the
concepts at a level an interested layman can understand. You'll be no
closer to building a time machine at the end of this book, but you'll
have a good feel for the various physics concepts behind time and
space.
Geons, Black Holes, and Quantum Foam: A Life in Physics
by John Archibald Wheeler with Kenneth Ford
W. W. Norton, 1998
hardcover, 380pp., illus.
ISBN 0-393-04602-7
US$27.95/C$39.99
John Archibald Wheeler is probably best known for the name he
gave to a body with gravity so strong that not even light can escape:
a "black hole". However, Wheeler has played a key role in physics
throughout the 20th century, from this work on the Manhattan Project
to various topics in physics research. This autobiography provides a
somewhat non-linear look at his life -- starting with his work shortly
before and during the war, before going back to his childhood -- and
his research. Anyone interested in Wheeler's life and work will find
this book a must-read.
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=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [10/13]
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*** NSS News ***
Upcoming Boston NSS Events
Thursday, October 15, 7:30pm
545 Main Street, Cambridge (Tech Square), 8th floor
"Mission Control Cambridge: NASA's New X-Ray Telescope"
by Jonathan McDowell, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
The Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility is NASA's next Great
Observatory. It is scheduled to be launched on the Shuttle in early
1999 and will provide the sharpest ever pictures of stars and galaxies
seen in X-rays. AXAF will be controlled and operated by the AXAF
Science Center, from a mission control center in Kendall Square,
Cambridge. Astronomers from all over the world have already planned
observations for the first year of AXAF operations.
Boston NSS September Lecture Summary
by Lynn Olson
Chris Carberry, a driving force behind the new NSS Speakers
bureau, presented "Space: A Revolution About to Begin" at the
September meeting of the Boston Chapter of the National Space Society.
The main points were: (1) how space technology affects us now on
earth, (2) private ventures, (3) public ventures (e.g. NASA), (4)
obstacles to the advancement of the space cause, and (5) speculation
about the future.
The space progam has produced technology which effects us
every day, such as medical diagnostics and smoke detectors. NASA
estimates there are over 30,000 spin offs from the space program which
are used in the general economy. One study estimates that we have
gotten back $15 in benefits for every dollar expended in the space
progam.
Private ventures are the way that space directly enters the
economy. In addition to the major aerospace companies there are a
variety of small companies entering the space marketplace with
innovative technologies which may greatly lower the cost of doing
business in space. The CATS (Cheap Access to Space) prize and X-Prize
provide encouragement for some of these efforts. The satellite
communications industry seems to be exploding with ventures put
forward by Bill Gates and Craig McCaw, Motorola, and others.
With the advance of private industry, what is the role of NASA
or other publicly funded organizations? One is to push the
technological envelope, to test technology which may be too risky for
private enterprise, such as single state to orbit vehicles. Another
is to explore, to satisfy human curiosity. Missions to Mars,
telescopes to peer deep into the past, and other scientific missions
fit this mold.
Some of the primary obstacles to space advances are
regulatory, especially the impact on space business as we move out
into space. The "Moon Treaty" makes property rights in space unclear.
While licensing exists for launch of commercial space vehicles, there
has been no provision for return, making it difficult for companies
developing reusable launch vehicles
Kistler, in fact, is starting its testing program in Australia
because of this issue. Space enthusiasts need to make their opinions
on regulations known to people in the government.
This talk is one which may be given to local groups to promote
the visibility of space in the community. The NSS Speaker's Bureau
is looking for volunteers to call libraries to set up talks, support
speakers at talks, and to give talks to local groups. Other talks with
slides have also been prepared.
*** Regular Features ***
Jonathan's Space Report No. 373
by Jonathan McDowell
[Ed. Note: Go to http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/jsr/jsr.html for
back issues and other information about Jonathan's Space Report.]
Shuttle and Mir
Gennadiy Padalka and Sergey Avdeev have completed one month in space,
continuing their mission on the Mir orbital station. On Sep 15 they put
on spacesuits, depressurized the PKhO compartment of the Mir core module
and entered Spektr at 2000 UTC. They reconnected some cables for the
solar panel steering mechanism and closed the hatch at 2030 UTC.
The PKhO was then repressurized.
Discovery has been connected to the external tank and boosters in
High Bay 1 of the Vehicle Assembly Building. It was rolled out
to pad 39B on Sep 21.
Recent Launches
* Ariane launches PAS 7
Arianespace successfully launched an Ariane 44LP rocket on Sep 16,
placing the PAS 7 satellite in orbit. PAS-7 was built by Space
Systems/Loral and is a FS-1300 class satellite with 14 C-band and 30
Ku-band transponders. It is owned by Panamsat, whose Galaxy 10 satellite
was destroyed in an Aug 27 launch failure. The Ariane 44LP has two
solid PAP boosters and two liquid PAL boosters attached to the Ariane 4
first stage. The H-10-3 liquid hydrogen fuelled third stage completed
its burn 18 min after launch. The PAS 7 satellite separated 21 min after
launch into a supersynchronous 140 x 54755 x 7.0 deg transfer orbit - I
believe this is the first time that an Ariane launch has used the
supersynchronous technique. On Sep 18, PAS 7 was in a 10082 x 54599 km x
2.2 deg orbit after initial burns of its Marquardt R-4D liquid apogee
motor.
PAS series satellites:
Type Launch v. Launch date 1998 position
PAS 1 GE Series 3000 Ariane 4 1988 Jun 15 Atlantic 44.9W
PAS 2 Hughes HS-601 Ariane 4 1994 Jul 8 Pacific 169.0E
PAS 3 Hughes HS-601 Ariane 4 1994 Dec 1 Launch failure
PAS 4 Hughes HS-601 Ariane 4 1995 Aug 3 Indian 68.5E
PAS 3R Hughes HS-601 Ariane 4 1996 Jan 12 Indian 91.5E
PAS 6 Loral FS-1300 Ariane 4 1996 Aug 8 Atlantic 43.2W
PAS 5 Hughes HS-601HP Proton 1997 Aug 28 Atlantic 58.0W
PAS 7 Loral FS-1300 Ariane 4 1998 Sep 16 Indian 68.5E (planned)
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [11/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
* Orbital Sciences launches Orbcomms
Eight more Orbcomm satellites were launched on Sep 23. The Orbital
Sciences L-1011 Stargazer aircraft took off from Wallops Flight Facility
at 1610 UTC and flew to the drop point at around 37.0N 72.0W. 12 km over
the Atlantic Ocean (this guesstimate location is based on info courtesy
of Keith Stein). The Pegasus XL was dropped at 1706 UTC and the winged
first stage ignited its Alliant solid motor 5 seconds later. The three
solid Pegasus XL stages fired successfully to place the payload stack in
a 254 x 446 km x 45.0 km orbit. The Primex Aerospace HAPS-Lite hydrazine
upper stage then made a burn to increase apogee to around 800 km, and
the stack coasted for about 44 minutes until a second HAPS burn
circularized the orbit. The eight Orbcomm satellites were then deployed
over a 15 minute period into an 810 km near-circular orbit. Finally, the
HAPS stage made a final burn to deplete its fuel, lowering its perigee
by 100 km. The mission profile was similar to previous Orbcomm launches,
except that the Pegasus third stage apogee is significantly lower, with
a correspondingly larger HAPS burn.
* Globalstar failure
In my description of the Zenit launch failure I said that Yuzhnoe
officials provided incorrect information about the progress of the
mission to Globalstar. A more recent Globalstar statement implies that
both Yuzhnoe's and Globalstar's people simply misinterpreted the noisy
data available to them. This is by no means the first time that a launch
success has been announced and later retracted - it happened several
times in the early days of the space program, and more recently the
Landsat 6 satellite was even cataloged by Space Command for a while
before it was discovered to be in a submarine orbit. North Korea,
meanwhile, has not yet acknowledged that its satellite never reached
orbit.
Table of Recent Launches
Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL.
DES.
DES.
Aug 2 1624 Orbcomm FM13 ) Pegasus XL Wallops Comsat 46A
Orbcomm FM14 ) Comsat 46B
Orbcomm FM15 ) Comsat 46C
Orbcomm FM16 ) Comsat 46D
Orbcomm FM17 ) Comsat 46E
Orbcomm FM18 ) Comsat 46F
Orbcomm FM19 ) Comsat 46G
Orbcomm FM20 ) Comsat 46H
Aug 12 1130 MERCURY Titan 4A Canaveral SLC41 Sigint F02
Aug 13 0943 Soyuz TM-28 Soyuz-U Baykonur LC1 Spaceship 47A
Aug 19 2301 Iridium SV03) CZ-2C/SD Taiyuan Comsat 48A
Iridium SV76) Comsat 48B
Aug 25 2307 ST-1 Ariane 44P Kourou Comsat 49A
Aug 27 0117 Galaxy X Delta III Canaveral SLC17B Comsat F03
Aug 30 0031 Astra 2A Proton Baykonur Comsat 50A
Aug 31 0307 Kwangmyongsong 1 Taepo Dong Musudan Test F04
Sep 8 2113 Iridium SV77) Delta 7920 Vandenberg SLC2 Comsat 51E
Iridium SV79) Comsat 51D
Iridium SV80) Comsat 51C
Iridium SV81) Comsat 51B
Iridium SV82) Comsat 51A
Sep 9 2029 Globalstar FM5 ) Zenit-2 Baykonur Comsat F05
Globalstar FM7 ) Comsat F05
Globalstar FM9 ) Comsat F05
Globalstar FM10) Comsat F05
Globalstar FM11) Comsat F05
Globalstar FM12) Comsat F05
Globalstar FM13) Comsat F05
Globalstar FM16) Comsat F05
Globalstar FM17) Comsat F05
Globalstar FM18) Comsat F05
Globalstar FM20) Comsat F05
Globalstar FM21) Comsat F05
Sep 16 0631 PAS 7 Ariane 44LP Kourou Comsat 52A
Sep 23 0506 Orbcomm FM21 ) Pegasus XL/HAPS Wallops I Comsat 53A
Orbcomm FM22 ) Comsat 53B
Orbcomm FM23 ) Comsat 53C
Orbcomm FM24 ) Comsat 53D
Orbcomm FM25 ) Comsat 53E
Orbcomm FM26 ) Comsat 53F
Orbcomm FM27 ) Comsat 53G
Orbcomm FM28 ) Comsat 53H
Current Shuttle Processing Status
_________________________________
Orbiters Location Mission Launch Due
OV-102 Columbia OPF Bay 3 STS-93 Jan ?
OV-103 Discovery LC39B STS-95 Oct 29
OV-104 Atlantis Palmdale OMDP
OV-105 Endeavour OPF Bay 1 STS-88 Dec 3?
MLP2/RSRM-68/ET-98/OV-103 LC39B STS-95
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [12/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Space Calendar
by Ron Baalke
[Ed. Note: visit http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/ for the
complete calendar]
Oct ?? - Kitt Peak National Observatory's 40th Birthday (1958)
Oct ?? - Space Memorabilia Auction, Beverly Hills, California
Oct 01 - Asteroid 236 Honoria at Opposition (10.5 Magnitude)
Oct 01 - Asteroid 1998 SG2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.217 AU)
Oct 01 - Kuiper Belt Object 1992 QB1 at Opposition (39.906 AU - 23.1 Magnitude)
Oct 01 - NASA's 40th Birthday (1958)
Oct 01-03 - 1998 National Aerospace Conference, Dayton, Ohio
Oct 01-03 - Pushing The Envelope III: From The Mountains Of Earth To The
Mountains Of The Moon, Houston,
Texas
Oct 02 - STEX/ATEx Taurus Launch
Oct 02 - Meteorite Lecture, Greenbelt, Maryland
Oct 02 - 4th Annual Toys, Games and Multimedia Workshop: Playing Among The
Planets 98, Pasadena, California
Oct 02-03 - Astro Assembly 98, North Scituate, Rhode Island
Oct 03 - Asteroid 1998 QO52 Closest Approach To Earth (0.489 AU)
Oct 04 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Oct 04 - Asteroid 185 Eunike at Opposition (10.9 Magnitude)
Oct 04 - Asteroid 532 Herculina at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Oct 04 - Asteroid 1998 ST27 Near-Earth Flyby (0.220 AU)
Oct 04 - Kuiper Belt Object 1993 SB at Opposition (30.112 AU - 22.9 Magnitude)
Oct 04 - Great Debate In 1998: The Nature Of The Universe, Washington DC
Oct 04-09 - Optical/IR Interferometry Workshop, Flagstaff, Arizona
Oct 05 - Asteroid 14 Irene at Opposition (10.6 Magnitude)
Oct 05 - Asteroid 6852 (1985 CN2) Closest Approach To Earth (1.334 AU)
Oct 05 - Asteroid 1997 WU22 Closest Approach To Earth (1.353 AU)
Oct 05 - Venus Revealed Lecture, New York, New York
Oct 05-07 - Workshop on Emerging Scatterometer Applications, Noordwijk, The
Netherlands
Oct 05-07 - 5th International Conference On Remote Sensing for Marine and
Coastal Environments, San Diego,
California
Oct 05-07 - Bulges Mini-Workshop: When And How Do Bulges Form and Evolve?,
Baltimore, Maryland
Oct 05-09 - Solar Wind 9 Conference, Nantucket, Massachusetts
Oct 06 - Comet P/1998 QP54 Perihelion (1.885 AU)
Oct 06 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 RQ20 at Opposition (38.550 AU - 22.9
Magnitude)
Oct 07 - Eutelsat-W2/ Sirius-3 Ariane 4 Launch
Oct 07 - Asteroid 1998 SB15 Near-Earth Flyby (0.127 AU)
Oct 07 - Asteroid 5255 Johnsophie Closest Approach To Earth (1.746 AU)
Oct 07 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 SZ10 at Opposition (30.617 AU - 23.5
Magnitude)
Oct 07 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 QZ9 at Opposition (33.987 AU - 22.9 Magnitude)
Oct 08 - Hot Bird 5 Atlas 2AS Launch
Oct 08 - Asteroid 1998 PG Near-Earth Flyby (0.247 AU)
Oct 08 - Asteroid 5051 (1984 SM) Closest Approach To Earth (1.116 AU)
Oct 08 - Ejnar Hertzsprung's 125th Birthday (1873)
Oct 08-11 - 5th Annual Enchanted Skies Star Party, Socorro, New Mexico
Oct 09 - Moon Occults Aldebaran (Daylight Occultation)
Oct 09 - Draconids Meteor Shower Peak
Oct 09 - Asteroid 1998 QC1 Near-Earth Flyby (0.181 AU)
Oct 09 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 SZ4 at Opposition (29.285 AU - 22.7 Magnitude)
Oct 09 - Radarsat Lecture, Greenbelt, Maryland
Oct 09-11 - 7th Space Frontier Conference, Los Angeles, California
Oct 10 - Comet McNaught-Hughes Closest Approach to Earth (1.707 AU)
Oct 10 - 15th Anniversary (1983), Venera 15 Venus Orbit Insertion
Oct 11 - Asteroid 1994 TF2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.275 AU)
Oct 11 - Asteroid 1998 FR11 Near-Earth Flyby (0.346 AU)
Oct 11 - Asteroid 1620 Geographos Closest Approach To Earth (1.011 AU)
Oct 11 - Asteroid 6904 (1990 QW1) Closest Approach To Earth (1.294 AU)
Oct 11 - Asteroid 5731 Zeus Closest Approach To Earth (1.610 AU)
Oct 11 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Apollo 7 Launch
Oct 11 - Wilhelm Olbers' 240th Birthday (1758)
Oct 11-16 - 30th Annual Meeting Of the Division For Planetary Sciences,
Madison, Wisconsin
Oct 12 - Mars Polar Lander Arrives At Kennedy Space Center
Oct 12 - Asteroid 1990 BA Closest Approach To Earth (0.815 AU)
Oct 12 - Asteroid 6020 Miyamoto Closest Approach To Earth (1.219 AU)
Oct 12-14 - 9th Annual October Astrophysics Conference, College Park, Maryland
Oct 12-16 - Workshop On Dust In The Interstellar Medium, Bern, Switzerland
Oct 13 - Asteroid 1998 QP63 Near-Earth Flyby (0.392 AU)
Oct 13 - Asteroid 1998 RR2 Closest Approach To Earth (0.584 AU)
Oct 13 - Asteroid 7655 Adamries Closest Approach To Earth (1.412 AU)
Oct 13 - British Interplanetary Society's 65th Birthday (1933)
Oct 14 - NEAR, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #15 (TCM-15)
Oct 14 - Comet Lovas 1 Perihelion (1.692 AU)
Oct 14 - Asteroid 1036 Ganymed Closest Approach To Earth (0.464 AU)
Oct 14 - Asteroid 1998 ST4 Closest Approach To Earth (0.947 AU)
Oct 14 - Asteroid 6893 (1983 RS3) Closest Approach To Earth (1.222 AU)
Oct 14 - 15th Anniversary (1983), Venera 16 Venus Orbit Insertion
Oct 14-16 - ESO Conference on Chemical Evolution From Zero to High Redshift,
Garching, Germany
Oct 14-16 - 9th International Conference On Adaptive Structures and
Technologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Oct 14-16 - Inspection 98, Houston, Texas
Oct 15 - Asteroid 6047 (1991 TB1) Near-Earth Flyby (0.375 AU)
Oct 15 - Comet C/1998 M6 (Montani) Perihelion (5.970 AU)
Oct 15 - STARDUST Lecture, Pasadena, California
Oct 15 - Chuck Yeager Lecture, Washington DC
Oct 15-20 -[Sep 25] Mid-Atlantic Star Party, Central North Carolina
Oct 16 - Moon Occults Mars
Oct 16 - Comet Klemola Closest Approach to Earth (1.522 AU)
Oct 16 - Asteroid 4339 Almamater Closest Approach To Earth (0.816 AU)
Oct 16 - STARDUST Lecture, Pasadena, California
Oct 16 - Aerosels And Climate Lecture, Greenbelt, Maryland
Oct 16-18 - 20th Custer Astronomy Jamboree, Southold, New York
Oct 17 - Iridium 11 Delta 2 Launch
Oct 17 - Comet C/1998 P1 (Williams) Perihelion (1.162 AU)
Oct 17 - Asteroid 44 Nysa at Opposition (9.8 Magnitude)
Oct 18 - Asteroid 1998 OX4 Near-Earth Flyby (0.177 AU)
Oct 18 - 5th Anniversary (1993), STS-58 Launch, Space Lab Sciences 2
Oct 18-25 - 15th Annual Okie-Tex Star Party, Fort Davis, Texas
Oct 19 - UHF-F9 Atlas 2A Launch
Oct 19-22 - 1st International Conference On Mars Polar Science and Exploration,
Houston, Texas
Oct 19-23 - Chapman Conference On Space Based Radio Observations at Long
Wavelengths, Paris, France
Oct 20 - ARD/ MAQSAT 3 Ariane 503 Launch
Oct 20 - Asteroid 1991 PM5 Closest Approach To Earth (0.951 AU)
Oct 20 - Asteroid 7006 (1981 ER31) Closest Approach To Earth (1.615 AU)
Oct 20 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TP66 at Opposition (25.403 AU - 20.7
Magnitude)
Oct 20-22 - Workshop On Space Exploration and Resources Exploitation
(ExploSpace), Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy
Oct 20-23 - International Conference On The Universe As Seen By ISO, Paris,
France
Oct 21 - Globalstar-4 Zenit 2 Launch
Oct 21 - Orionids Meteor Shower Peak
Oct 21 - Asteroid 1996 TR6 Closest Approach To Earth (0.586 AU)
Oct 21 - Asteroid 457 Alleghenia Closest Approach To Earth (1.552 AU)
Oct 21-23 - 2nd International Workshop On The Retrieval of Bio- and Geo-
Physical Parameters From SAR Data For
Land Applications, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Oct 21-23 - Remote Sensing Applications Conference, Logan, Utah
Oct 22 - SCD-2/Wing Glove Pegasus XL Launch
Oct 22 - Asteroid 409 Aspasia Occults SAO 75073 (9.9 Magnitude Star)
Oct 22 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TQ66 at Opposition (33.604 AU - 21.9
Magnitude)
Oct 22-24 - EVN/JIVE VLBI Symposium #4, Dwingleoo, The Netherlands
Oct 23 - Saturn at Opposition
Oct 23 - Asteroid 6841 Gottfriedkirch Closest Approach To Earth (1.585 AU)
Oct 23-24 - Workship On TeV Astrophysics On Extragalactic Sources, Cambridge,
Massachusetts
Oct 23-25 - Blackwater Falls Astronomy Weekend, Davis, West Virginia
Oct 24 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #55 (OTM-55)
Oct 24 - Asteroid 1998 SU27 Near-Earth Flyby (0.112 AU)
Oct 24 - Asteroid 1998 SC15 Near-Earth Flyby (0.314 AU)
Oct 24 - Mars Exploration Teachers Workshop, Pasadena, California
Oct 25 - Deep Space 1 Delta 2 Launch
Oct 25 - Daylight Savings - Set Clock Back 1 Hour (USA)
Oct 25 - Asteroid 106 Dione at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Oct 25 - Asteroid 2099 Opik Closest Approach To Earth (0.492 AU)
Oct 26 - Asteroid 20 Massalia at Opposition (8.8 Magnitude)
Oct 26 - Asteroid 674 Rachele at Opposition (11.0 Magnitude)
Oct 26-29 - Annual Meeting Of The Geological Society Of America, Toronto,
Canada
Oct 26-29 - 34th International Telemetering Conference, San Diego, California
Oct 26-29 - 20th Space Simulation Conference, Annapolis, Maryland
Oct 26-30 - 6th Huntsville Modeling Workshop: The New Millennium Magnetosphere,
Guntersville, Alabama
Oct 27 - Asteroid 1998 QK56 Near-Earth Flyby (0.285 AU)
Oct 27 - Asteroid 1989 NA Closest Approach To Earch (1.524 AU)
Oct 27 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Canon City Meteorite Fall (Hit Garage)
Oct 27-30 - Symposium On Solar Physics With Radio Observations, Kiyosato, Japan
Oct 28 - Asteroid 7358 (1995 YA3) Closest Approach to Earth (0.438 AU)
Oct 28 - Asteroid 1508 Kemi Closest Approach to Earth (1.201 AU)
Oct 28-29 - First International Workshop On Radiowave Propagation Modelling For
SatComm Services at Ku-Band
and Above, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Oct 28-30 - Defense & Civil Space Programs Conference, Huntsville, Alabama
Oct 29 - STS-95 Launch, Discovery, Spacehab-SM
Oct 29 - Progress M-40/Znamya-2.5 Soyuz U Launch (Russia)
Oct 29 - Tethys Occults PPM 145101 (6.6 Magnitude Star)
Oct 29 - Comet C/1998 M1 (LINEAR) Perihelion (3.110 AU)
Oct 29 - Asteroid 1994 TA Closest Approach to Earth (15.923 AU - 23.7
Magnitude)
Oct 29-Nov 01 - 8th Annual Meeting Of The American Association Of Variable Star
Observers (AAVSO), Cambridge,
Massachusetts
Oct 30 - Fengyun-1C Long March 4B Launch (China)
Oct 30 - Afristar/ GE-5 Ariane 4 Launch
Oct 30 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TL66 at Opposition (34.099 AU - 20.4
Magnitude)
Oct 30 - Mars Pathfinder Lecture, Greenbelt, Maryland
Oct 30-31 - NOAA Meeting On Satellites In Our Everyday World, Seattle,
Washington
Oct 31 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Oct 31 - Asteroid 6 Hebe Occults GSC 6255-1346 (9.2 Magnitude Star)
Oct 31-Nov 06 - IEEE/AIAA Digital Avionics Systems Conference, Bellevue,
Washington
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 12 октября 1998 (1998-10-12)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - October 1998 [13/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
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