Дата: 26 октября 1998 (1998-10-26)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: New astronaut joins European Space Agency's corps (Forwarded)
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European Space Agency
Press Release No. 38-98
Paris, France 19 October 1998
New astronaut joins European Space Agency's corps
The Director General of ESA, Antonio Rodota, together with the Belgian
Minister for Science Policy, Yvan Ylieff, announced Europe's newest
astronaut, Frank De Winne, today at the opening of the Association of
Space Explorers congress, a meeting of about 100 astronauts being held
this week in Brussels, Belgium.
Frank De Winne (37), a senior test pilot in the Belgian Air Force, joins
the other 13 astronauts that make up the European corps. He will begin
training around mid-1999 to qualify for future missions onboard the
International Space Station.
De Winne, a major with 12 years of flying experience and a special
interest in man-machine interfaces, has logged 2300 hours of flying time
on various types of high-performance aircraft. He is currently the
squadron commander of the 349th Fighter Squadron stationed at the Kleine
Brogel Airbase in Belgium.
De Winne is the second Belgian astronaut. The first one, Dirk Frimout,
flew on the Space Shuttle's Atlas-1 (STS-45) mission in 1992.
With this nomination, ESA has completed the first phase of its creation
of a single European astronaut corps. Since June, five astronauts from
existing national astronaut programmes have been integrated into the ESA
programme and several new astronauts have been recruited. Other
existing national astronauts will join the corps in 1999. The objective
is to have a total of 16 astronauts by mid-2000 in order to be able to
meet the demand for European astronauts foreseen in the coming years as
the International Space Station is being built and research onboard gets
underway.
Presently, the European corps consists of 13 astronauts: Jean-Francois
Clervoy, Leopold Eyharts, Jean-Pierre Haignere (France); Thomas Reiter,
Hans Schlegel, Gerhard Thiele (Germany); Umberto Guidoni, Paolo Nespoli,
Roberto Vittori (Italy); Andr( Kuipers (The Netherlands); Pedro Duque
(Spain); Christer Fuglesang (Sweden); and Claude Nicollier
(Switzerland). Their home base is ESA's European Astronaut Centre in
Cologne, Germany.
For further information, see the following Web pages:
* European Astronaut Centre:
http://www.estec.esa.int/spaceflight/astronaut
* International Space Station:
http://www.estec.esa.int/spaceflight/index.htm
* ESA in general:
http://www.esa.int
For further information, please contact:
ESA Public Relations Division
Tel: +33(0)1.53.69.7155 Fax:+33(0)1.53.69.7690
Fank DE WINNE
ESA ASTRONAUT
BIRTHPLACE AND DATE: Ghent, Belgium, 25 April 1961.
EDUCATION: Frank De Winne graduated from the Royal School of Cadets,
Lier, in 1979. He received a Masters Degree in telecommunications and
civil engineering from the Royal Military Academy, Brussels, in 1984. In
1991, he completed the Staff Course at the Defence College, in Brussels
with the highest distinction and in 1992 he graduated from the Empire
Test Pilots School (ETPS) in Boscombe Down, England. Awarded the McKenna
Trophy.
FAMILY: Married, three children.
RECREATIONAL INTERESTS: Football, small PC applications, gastronomy.
ORGANISATIONS: Chairman of the Belgian Armed Forces Flying Personnel
Association.
EXPERIENCE: After completing his pilot training with the Belgian Air
Force, in 1986, Frank De Winne was an operational pilot on Mirage V
aircraft. Detached to the company SAGEM in Paris, in 1989, he then
worked in the Mirage Safety Improvement Programme where he was
responsible for the preparation of the operational and technical
specifications of the Mirage upgrade programme.
In December 1992, he was appointed to the Test and Evaluation branch of
the Belgian Air Force. As a test pilot, he was involved in various
activities, such as CARAPACE (an electronic warfare programme on F16) at
Eglin Air Force Base, US, and a Self Protection Programme for the C130
aircraft. During that period, he also flew as a reception pilot on
different aircraft types in Gosselies.
From January 1994 to April 1995, Frank De Winne was responsible for the
flight safety programme of the 1st Fighter Wing at Beauvechain,
Belgium.
From April 1995 to July 1996, as a senior test pilot in the European
Participating Air Forces (EPAF), he was detached to Edwards Air Force
Base, California, where he worked on the mid-life update of the F16
aircraft, focussing on radar testing.
Frank De Winne has logged more than 2300 hours flying time on several
types of high-performance aircraft including Mirage, F16, Jaguar and
Tornado.
From 1996 to August 1998, he was senior test pilot in the Belgian Air
Force, responsible for all test programmes and for all pilot-vehicle
interfaces for future aircraft/software updates.
SPECIAL HONOURS : First non-American pilot to receive the Joe Bill
Dryden Semper Viper Award, in 1997, for demonstrating exceptional skills
during a flight.
CURRENT SITUATION: Since August 1998, Frank De Winne has been the
Squadron Commander of the 349th Fighter Squadron at Kleine Brogel
Airbase, Belgium.
October 1998 MSM-A/E/98-156
Andrew Yee
ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca
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Дата: 26 октября 1998 (1998-10-26)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Deep Space 1 Successfully Launched
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MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
DEEP SPACE 1 MISSION STATUS
October 24, 1998
Deep Space 1, the first spacecraft in NASA's New Millennium
Program of missions to flight-test new technologies, blasted
into space at 8:08 a.m. Eastern time today from Cape Canaveral
Air Station, FL.
Deep Space 1 separated from the Delta II launch vehicle
about 550 kilometers (345 miles) above the Indian Ocean and was
sent on its way to test 12 technologies in coming months. The
spacecraft is on a trajectory to fly by asteroid 1992 KD in July
1999, allowing further validation of two science instruments.
All critical spacecraft systems, such as power, temperature
and attitude control were performing well, the spacecraft team
reported from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. Two
technologies -- large solar arrays and a new radio
transmitter/receiver -- were validated within the first two
hours after launch. "The Deep Space 1 spacecraft is in fine
health and is ready to begin its mission of technology
validation," said Deputy Mission Manager Dr. Marc Rayman at JPL.
Telemetry was received from the spacecraft through NASA's
Deep Space Network at 1 hour, 37 minutes after launch, and 13
minutes later it was determined that the spacecraft's two solar
arrays had been deployed. A key new technology, the spacecraft's
ion engine, will be tested for the first time in approximately
two weeks.
The New Millennium Program is designed to test new
technologies so that they can be confidently used on science
missions of the 21st century.
#####
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Дата: 26 октября 1998 (1998-10-26)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Boeing Delta 2 Launches Deep Space 1
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Boeing Delta 2 launches NASA spacecraft into deep space
Boeing Co. News Release
October 24, 1998
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR STATION, Fla. - A NASA spacecraft designed
to test 21st century technology began its mission into deep
space at 8:08 a.m. EDT today aboard a Boeing [NYSE: BA] Delta
II rocket.
The mission is the first deep space launch by NASA to have
technology, rather than science, as its key focus. The term
deep space generally refers to all space beyond the
Earth-moon system or some 240,000 miles altitude. In addition
to the primary payload, Deep Space 1 (DS1), the Delta II also
carried a microsatellite designed and built by students at
the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
Deep Space 1 will be the first spacecraft to use an ion
thruster to provide solar electric propulsion for its primary
source of thrust. Large solar arrays will give a positive
electrical charge to atoms of xenon gas and accelerate them
to a very high speed.
If Deep Space 1 expends its full load of 180 pounds of
propellant, it would be able to change its speed by 10,000
miles per hour. That enormous change, however, would require
thrusting for 20 months. Conventional spacecraft accelerate
faster, but typically require 10 times more propellant.
Deep Space 1, is also the first mission in NASA's New
Millennium Program, to test and validate new technologies to
be used on 21st century spacecraft. Among the technology
carried aboard the spacecraft is software that tracks
celestial bodies that allow Deep Space 1 to make navigation
decisions without assistance by ground controllers.
Although much of the testing will be completed during the
first eight weeks of the mission, Deep Space 1 will attempt
an encounter with asteroid 1992 KD in July 1999, as a final
demonstration of its technologies by observing a
scientifically interesting body.
"Today's Delta launch provides an excellent beginning to
DS1's mission of validating important technologies," said Dr.
Marc Rayman, Deep Space 1 chief mission engineer. "We greatly
appreciate Boeing's launch service and the smooth delivery of
our spacecraft to its orbit around the Sun," he added.
"The successful flight of this new version of the Delta II,
carrying two spacecraft, is an important step in NASA's move
toward the use of smaller, more affordable launch vehicles
for its science missions," Dr. Rayman concluded.
"The Deep Space 1 mission continues the tradition of the
Delta launch vehicle family, which since 1960 has lifted 76
scientific payloads into space," said Darryl Van Dorn, Boeing
director of NASA and Commercial programs. "This mission is
particularly significant because it will be the first time
that ion propulsion is being used as the primary propulsion
system for a spacecraft traveling in deep space," he added.
The 85-pound secondary payload, Students for the Exploration
and Development of Space Satellite (SEDSAT) satellite, was
delivered to orbit following deployment of Deep Space 1.
An objective of SEDSAT is to further space science and
engineering education through hands-on experience. Other
objectives include providing packet and repeater
communication services to the amateur radio community,
providing a public internet-accessible multispecteral Earth
imaging system, and conducting experiments in attitude
determination, stabilization, battery technology, and
radiation-tolerant computer design.
Delta launch vehicles have carried a variety of critical
scientific payloads for NASA, the most recent include the
Advanced Composition Explorer, Near Earth Asteroid
Rendezvous, Mars Pathfinder and Mars Global Surveyor.
The Deep Space 1 launch is a part of the Medium-Light
Expendable Launch Vehicle Services (Med-Lite) contract with
NASA. In December, a Delta II will launch NASA's Mars Orbiter
spacecraft to be followed by five additional NASA missions in
1999 and two in 2000. Five options remain in the Med-Lite
contract.
The Delta II is a medium capacity rocket which is
manufactured in Huntington Beach, Calif., with final assembly
in Pueblo, Colo., and is powered by the RS-27A engine built
by Boeing in Canoga Park, Calif. The launch team at Cape
Canaveral Air Station handled launch coordination for the
mission.
Alliant Techsystems, Magna, Utah, builds the graphite epoxy
motors for boost assist; Aerojet, Sacramento, Calif.,
supplies the second-stage engine; Cordant Technologies,
Elkton, Md., builds the upper-stage engine; and Allied
Signal, Teterboro, N.J., provides the guidance and flight
control system.
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Дата: 26 октября 1998 (1998-10-26)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Glenn to perform Purdue soybean experiment in space (Forwarded)
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Purdue University
Source: Rick Vierling, (765) 474-3494; e-mail: vierling@dcwi.com
Writer: Tom Campbell, (765) 494-8084; e-mail tc@aes.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@uns.purdue.edu
October 20, 1998
Glenn to perform Purdue soybean experiment in space
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Rick Vierling may have the oldest and most famous
lab assistant in the world when the Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off from
the Kennedy Space Center on Thursday (10/29).
If all goes as planned, 77-year-old John Glenn, current U.S. senator who in
1962 became the first American to orbit the earth, will perform an experiment
designed by Vierling to assess the ability of pathogens to incorporate foreign
DNA into soybeans in microgravity. The experiment is a modification of a
technique that is successfully used on earth.
"How many people can say an American hero and U.S. senator is acting as their
technician in space?" says Vierling. "John Glenn performing my experiment
came as a complete shock to me. If I had written a scenario myself, it would
not have been this good."
Vierling, an adjunct associate professor of agronomy at Purdue University and
director of the Indiana Crop Improvement Association's genetics program since
1992, says the experiment should take 22 hours to complete and is scheduled
to begin Oct. 30.
Vierling approached NASA's Commercialization Center in Madison, Wis., in
February 1997, with an eye on a shuttle flight sometime in 2000.
"It was just an idea. I didn't even have any preliminary data when I pitched
it to the Commercialization Center," Vierling says.
In January, NASA told Vierling his experiment had been bumped up and was now
listed on the manifest for STS-95, Glenn's historic return to space.
That gave Vierling less than six months to get his experiment approved and
in a format that would allow the payload specialist (Glenn) adequate time
for training.
"I had to do two years worth of research in six months to meet the earlier
deadline," says Vierling, who was amazed to find his experiment was moved up
in such a short period of time.
"I didn't know the federal government could move that fast," Vierling says.
"It really put me under the gun. I had planned on about 18 to 20 months to
get the background information so we could correctly design the experiment."
Weightlessness poses unique parameters and problems that had to be overcome.
The final experimental design is vastly different from what he had originally
envisioned.
The abbreviated preparation time has exacted a personal toll on Vierling, who
got help from Steve Goldman, a professor of biology at the University of
Toledo. Goldman is a key patent holder of related technology.
"I've had to spend more than a few nights and weekends to get this project
ready to go," Vierling says. "Steve gave me a lot of help. I don't think I
could have done all of the preliminary work in my lab alone."
Vierling says he hopes the experiment will lay the groundwork for additional
experiments on future shuttle flights and perhaps even the space station:
"If this shows some positive results, I would hope that I could have an
experiment a year on board the shuttle."
Vierling says 1,000 soybean seeds, of a variety named after retired Purdue
plant pathologist Kirk Athow, will occupy a mid-deck locker about the size
of a large safe deposit box (18x12x7 inches).
Given the short amount of preparation and the lack of available background
information, Vierling says he is cautiously optimistic about the success of
the experiment.
"Something like this has never been performed in microgravity. There isn't a
wealth of background information for us to go to and say this may happen, or
this might not happen. Things may not go as we expect, so we can't get too
excited yet," he says.
The seeds will be returned to Purdue and cultivated in greenhouses. The
progeny of those seeds will be analyzed as part of Vierling's experiment next
spring.
PHOTO CAPTION:
[http://news.uns.purdue.edu/UNS/images/Vierling.spacebeans.jpeg]
Soybeans selected by Purdue agronomist Rick Vierling will be on board the
Space Shuttle Discovery when it launches Oct. 29. Only 1,000 of the 5,000
beans Vierling holds will be part of the experiment conducted by John Glenn.
(Purdue Ag Communications Photo by Tom Campbell) Color photo, electronic
transmission, and Web and ftp download available. Photo ID:
Vierling.spacebeans
Andrew Yee
ayee@nova.astro.utoronto.ca
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