Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Space Station Agreements To Be Signed In Washington
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, DC January 29, 1998
(Phone: 202/358-1979)
Susan Povenmire
U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC
(Phone: 202/647-3486)
RELEASE: 98-17
SPACE STATION AGREEMENTS TO BE SIGNED IN WASHINGTON
Today marks an important milestone for the International
Space Station as senior government officials from 15 countries
meet in Washington to sign agreements to establish the framework
for cooperation among the partners on the design, development,
operation and utilization of the Space Station.
Acting Secretary of State Strobe Talbott will sign the
1998 Intergovernmental Agreement on Space Station Cooperation,
along with representatives of Russia, Japan, Canada and
participating countries of the European Space Agency (Belgium,
Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom). The signing will be
held at the U.S. State Department's Dean Acheson auditorium at 4
p.m. EST.
Three bilateral memoranda of understanding also will be
signed by NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin separately with his
counterparts: Russian Space Agency General Director Yuri Koptev,
ESA Director General Antonio Rodota and Canadian Space Agency
President William (Mac) Evans. The memorandum of understanding
between NASA and the government of Japan will be signed at a later
date.
Today's new agreements supersede previous Space Station
agreements among the U.S., Europe, Japan and Canada signed in
1988. These new agreements reflect changes to the Space Station
program resulting from significant Russian participation in the
program and program design changes undertaken by the original
partnership in 1993.
Led by the U.S., the International Space Station will be
the largest, most complex international cooperative science and
engineering program ever attempted. Taking advantage of the
technical expertise from participating countries, the
International Space Station will bring together scientists,
engineers and researchers from around the globe to assemble a
premier research facility in orbit.
Beginning in June 1998, with the launch of the first
Space Station element, the partnership will ultimately assemble
more than 100 components in low Earth orbit over the next five
years, using approximately 45 assembly flights. When completed,
the Station will provide access for researchers around the world
to permanent, state-of-the-art laboratories in weightlessness.
As currently envisioned, the International Space Station
will support a crew of up to seven and include five complete
pressurized laboratories and attached external sites for research.
The Station will provide a focal point for space operations among
the partners well into the next century, and will serve as a
stepping-stone for human exploration of the solar system. On the
football-field-sized station, permanent crews will perform long-
duration research in a variety of scientific disciplines advancing
the world's understanding of life sciences, earth sciences and
materials processing, while fostering commercial research
activities in space.
- end -
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Cambridge Conference Digest - January 29, 1998 [1/2]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
CAMBRIDGE-CONFERENCE DIGEST, 29 January 1998
(1) WHY IMPACT PROBABILITY CALCULATIONS ARE STILL GUESSWORK
(2) NEW EVIDENCE FOR MAJOR PUNCTUATION OF GLOBAL CLIMATE AT THE
PLEISTOCENE/ HOLOCENE BOUNDARY
(3) ... AND AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL HYPOTHESIS
(1) WHY IMPACT PROBABILITY CALCULATIONS ARE STILL GUESSWORK
A brief comment on the Kobres/Chapman controversy
From: Benny J Peiser <b.j.peiser@livjm.ac.uk>
What is the probability of throwing a "six" when the die is cast? You
may think that this is a rather simple exam question which does
not require complex mathematics. In reality, however, you cannot
even begin your calculations without some additional information.
In order to calculate the probability of "throwing a six", you
have to obtain a number of known facts first on which to base
your maths. What you need to know is
* how many dice are included in one throw?
* are all dice regular cubes with six faces?
* have all dice the same numbers on their faces, ranging from
1 to 6, or some other numbers?
* are there dice with different shapes and different numbers on
their faces?
There are, thus, some essential requirements for any probability
theory to be considered tenable. The main requirement, as I have
shown, is the existence of an e s s e n t i a l number of k n o w n
variables on which to base any calculation of probability.
What, then, is the probability of on "impact event" with "civilisation
threatening effects" occurring in the next two hundred years (or
tomorrow)? All impact probability calculations, as I understand
this complex mathematical theory, would only be v a l i d if we
knew
* that the currently observed asteroidal and cometary flux is more or
less constant over time
* the number and orbital dynamics of all (or most) of the long
period comets
* the nature and extent of all (or most) meteor streams
* the actual effects and the chronology (and perhaps periodicity)
of past impacts
* the number and dynamics of most of the giant asteroids
* the absolute dates of the last four or five cosmic catastrophe
of global extent.
Since most of this vital information about our cosmic environment
is simply not available to mankind at this stage of human
evolution and scientific exploration (mind you, the above list is
not comprehensive by any means), I remain rather sceptical about
assurances by researchers who claim that the probability of a
civilisation threatening impact in the foreseeable future is
"low".
There are doubts whether such claims are based on sound scientific
evidence and reasoning. It also appears that our current
astronomical, geological and historical knowledge is not nearly as
thorough enough yet as to arrive at a r e l i a b l e
calculation of impact probabilities. After all, all papers on the
complex issue of impact probability are based, necessarily so,
on what little is known about the currently observable asteroidal
and cometary flux (including our limited knowledge of the number
and ages of impact events in the geological record). This
relatively modest amount of data together with its inherent
vagueness is, as far as I can see, not enough for any reliable
calculations about future impact events.
Let's face it: during the last couple of centuries, mankind has
only obtained a glimpse of the real cosmic picture. The entire
panorama will most likely look quite different from what we
currently know or believe (just think about what most
scientists told us 20 years ago about the main features of our
world).
I do sympathise with the philosophical concerns and psychological
re-assurances of some people involved in NEO research. However,
scientists who wish to be truthful to interested lay-people and
the general public, should readily admit that mankind will
continue to live in a world of cosmic uncertanties as long as
we fail to spent more time, more research and much more money on
gathering the vital information which is not only necessary for
any tenable calculation of impact probabilities but, moreover,
for the establishment of a global system of planetary defense.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Cambridge Conference Digest - January 29, 1998 [2/2]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
(2) NEW EVIDENCE FOR MAJOR PUNCTUATION OF GLOBAL CLIMATE AT THE
PLEISTOCENE/ HOLOCENE BOUNDARY
From: Clark Whelton <whel@worldnet.att.net>
The New York Times Science Section, January 27, 1998
If Climate Changes, It May Change Quickly.
William K. Stevens
"...A growing accumulation of geological evidence is making it ever
clearer that in the past the climate has undergone drastic changes in
temperature and rainfall patterns in the space of a human lifetime, in
a decade or in even less time."
"....In uncovering one of the latest pieces of evidence of abrupt
climate change, American scientists led by Dr. Jeffrey P. Severinghaus
of the University of Rhode Island examined climatic clues taken from
corings of ancient ice in Greenland.
"The Severinghaus team determined that when the world began its final
ascent out of the last ice age more than 11,000 years ago,
temperatures in Greenland initially spiked upward by about 9 to 18
degrees F. -- at least a third, and perhaps more, of the total
recovery to today's warmth -- in, at most, mere decades and probably
less than a single decade. They also found that the impact of the
sudden warming had been felt at least throughout the Northern
Hemisphere.
"That amount of heating, coming so quickly, is astounding," said Dr.
Richard Alley of Pennsylvania State University, a member of the study team.
Another recent study, by Dr. Peter deMenocal, a paleoclimatologist at
Lamont-Doherty, examined clues in Atlantic Ocean sediments off sub-tropical
North Africa. He discovered that every 1,500 years or so since the end of
the ice age, ocean temperatures there have fluctuated wildly and abruptly.
"In a cold phase, they fell by 5 to 15 degrees, and seasonal rains
on the continent were severely curtailed -- all within no more than 50 to
100 years, and possibly less (the sediment analysis is not fine enough to
tell). Then, in another 1,500 years, the picture reversed just as abruptly,
causing flooding rains and creating widespread lakes in what is now the Sahara.
"The transitions are sharp," Dr. deMenocal said. "Climate changes
we thought should take thousands of years to happen occur within a
generation or two," at most. The changes may have wreaked havoc on nascent
civilizations in Africa and the Middle East. "It was certainly something
that would have rocked somebody's world," Dr. deMenocal said..
(3) ... AND AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL HYPOTHESIS
E. P. Izokh: Australo-Asian tektites and a global disaster of about
10,000 years BP, caused by collision of the Earth with a comet.
GEOLOGIYA I GEOFIZIKA, 1997, Vol.38, No.3, pp.628-660
[in Russian]
RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE, SIBERIAN DIVISION, JOINT INSTITUTE
OF GEOLOGICAL GEOPHYSICS & MINERALOGY, NOVOSIBIRSK 630090, RUSSIA
About 10,000 years ago, at the Pleistocene-Holocene border, some
important events occurred: the glaciation stopped abruptly; the
sea level elevated, and quick (for 20-50 years) climatic and
ecological changes took place, leading to the extinction of the
so-called mammoth fauna and exerting a direct effect on the
mankind's evolution and appearance of civilizations. These and
other disastrous events providing a distinct boundary between the
Pleistocene and the Holocene received no relevant explanation in
the Quaternary geology until now.
It is shown in the paper that the disaster under study was caused by
the collision of the Earth with an eruptive comet, brought various
volcanic tektite glasses from a remote planetary body. This extra-
terrestrial source of tektites is proven by the well-known but not
adopted paradox of tektite age, i.e. a difference in hundreds of
thousands and millions of years between the radiogenic age of
tektites (time of formation) and time of their fall onto the Earth.
The volcanic nature of tektites is supported (by analogy with
volcanic bombs, lavas, tufflavas, and extrusive formations taking
into account extraterrestrial conditions) by their long and many-
stage formation, by ordered trends of composition variability
inherent only in magmatic differentiation, etc. Relying on a
diversity of forms, structure, and composition of tektites, we made
an attempt to reconstruct various types of volcanic eruptions. Most
likely, the place of volcanic activity was a small or light planetary
body of the type of Io, Callisto, Triton, etc. with ice crust, acid
upper and relatively basic lower mantle, with small gravitation,
without atmosphere, etc., situated somewhere on the periphery of the
Solar System. It is supposed that a very powerful explosion ejected
into space some part of a stone-ice volcanic construction, i.e.
eruptive comet, according to S. K. Ysekhsvyatsky.
The comet hypothesis permits explanation of main features of
distribution of tektites over the Earth's surface, various forms of
their connection with impact craters as well as many other features
of tektites. The common Earth impact hypothesis for tektite origin is
not able to explain all these facts; it is deeply perplexed and is
severely criticized in this paper.
The <<mammoth>> disaster is comparable with the so-called
<<dinosaur>> catastrophe at the Cretaceous-Paleogene border, which
also was accompanied with impact craters and fall of tektites. An
analogy is traced with the collision of the Shoemaker-Levi comet with
the Jupiter. Thus, a special class of eruptive comets, cosmic bodies the most
dangerous for the Earth, which are beyond attention of investigators,
is discussed for the first time.
The Cambridge-Conference Network is a scholarly electronic conference
organised by Dr Benny J Peiser at Liverpool John Moores University,
United Kingdom. For furher information about the network and how to
subscribe, please contact b.j.peiser@livjm.ac.uk. Information
circulated on the cambridge-conference network is for scholarly and
educational use only and may not be copied or reproduced for any other
purposes without prior permission of the copyright holders.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Sky & Telescope News Bulletin - January 30, 1998
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN
JANUARY 30, 1998
A SECOND CLOSE COUSIN TO THE CRAB
Thanks to a recent study of archived data from the Rossi X-ray Timing
Explorer (RXTE), one of the youngest known pulsars has been found in the
Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Francis E. Marshall (NASA/Goddard Space
Flight Center) and his colleagues analyzed an October 12, 1996, observation
of the diminutive galaxy and found a signal repeating itself 62 times each
second. Other observations from RXTE and the Advanced Satellite for
Cosmology and Astrophysics (ASCA) were then used to confirm the discovery
and to estimate the pulsar's age -- 4,000 to 5,000 years (and after the
light has traveled 180,000 years from the galaxy). Marshall's team
announced its finding last week in IAU Circular 6810. The pulsar's inferred
age, luminosity, and magnetic-field strength make it a kissing cousin to
the Crab Nebula's 943-year-old pulsar and to PSR 0540-69, a roughly 1,600-
year-old pulsar that X-ray astronomers found in the LMC in 1984. The new
finding proves particularly satisfying for Q. Daniel Wang (Northwestern
University) and Eric V. Gotthelf (Goddard), who have been analyzing the
properties of an X-ray-luminous supernova remnant on the edge of the
Tarantula Nebula. They reasoned that a 5,000-year-old Crab-like pulsar had
to be powering the remnant.
SOLAR BLINKERS
Astronomers reported this week that the surface of the Sun undergoes short-
lived and widespread explosions, which they dubbed "blinkers." Using the
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), Richard Harrison of the
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and his colleagues found that the flashes
erupt sporadically over the Sun's entire surface. Each explosion is about
the size of the Earth and only emits one millionth the energy of a solar
flare. Further study of these blinkers may help explain the origin of solar
wind. Details will appear in the journal SOLAR PHYSICS.
COMET TEMPEL-TUTTLE
Reports over the past week have Comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle, the parent of the
Leonid meteor stream, at a respectable magnitude 7.5, appearing as a fuzzy
spot 10 to 15 arcminutes in diameter. During the upcoming week, Tempel-
Tuttle moves from Andromeda into Pisces. The earlier observers in mid-
northern latitudes look after sunset, the higher up in the sky the comet
will be. More information about the comet can be found in the February
issue of SKY & TELESCOPE, page 91, and on SKY Online at
http://www.skypub.com/comets/tempel98.html. Here are positions for Tempel-
Tuttle at 0 hours Universal Time in 2000.0 coordinates:
R.A. Dec.
January 30 01h 24m +34.1 deg.
February 1 01 21 +30.2
3 01 20 +26.9
5 01 19 +24.2
SPACE PROGRAM TURNS 40
Saturday marks the 40th anniversary of the U.S. space program. On January
31, 1958, the Explorer 1 satellite was successfully launched into Earth
orbit. The spacecraft was developed at Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
and launched by the U.S. Army, nearly 4 months after the Soviet Union
launched Sputnik 1. Explorer 1 discovered bands of charged particles in
Earth's magnetosphere called the Van Allen radiation belts.
THIS WEEK'S "SKY AT A GLANCE"
Some daily events in the changing sky, from the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE.
FEB. 1 -- SUNDAY
* Saturn shines just to the right or lower right of the Moon this evening.
FEB. 2 -- MONDAY
* Find Saturn in the west-southwest soon after dark this week; it's the
brightest starlike object to the lower right of the Moon. To Saturn's right,
by about two fist-widths at arm's length, is the Great Square of Pegasus. The
Square is currently tilted onto one corner.
FEB. 3 -- TUESDAY
* First-quarter Moon (exact at 5:53 p.m. Eastern Standard Time).
* The eclipsing variable star Algol should be at its minimum brightness,
magnitude 3.4 instead of its usual 2.1, for a couple hours centered on 8:34
p.m. EST. Algol takes several additional hours to fade and brighten. For a
complete schedule of Algol's eclipses for the rest of this observing season,
see http://www.skypub.com/whatsup/algol.html.
FEB. 4 -- WEDNESDAY
* Above the Moon in early evening is the Pleiades star cluster. To the
Moon's left is orange Aldebaran.
* The red long-period variable star V Cancri should be at its maximum
brightness (8th magnitude) around this date.
FEB. 5 -- THURSDAY
* Aldebaran is to the Moon's right or lower right this evening as seen
from North America. The Moon occults Aldebaran as seen from southern Europe
and southwestern Asia.
FEB. 6 -- FRIDAY
* The Moon shines above (or to the upper left) of Orion this evening. To
Orion's lower left is brilliant Sirius.
* Algol has a minimum for a couple hours centered around 5:23 p.m. EST.
After that it will brighten for several hours through the evening.
FEB. 7 -- SATURDAY
* This week, look high in the northwest in early evening for the W-shaped
constellation Cassiopeia. (The bottom of the W is currently to the upper left.)
Cassiopeia is always located on the opposite side of the North Star from the
Big Dipper; the Dipper is currently standing on its handle low in the
north-northeast.
============================
THIS WEEK'S PLANET ROUNDUP
============================
MERCURY is hidden deep in the glow of sunrise.
VENUS is low in the southeast during dawn.
MARS, quite dim at magnitude +1.2, is low in the west-southwest during dusk.
It's well to the upper left of Jupiter, which sets earlier.
JUPITER is very low in the west-southwest during early dusk, to the lower
right of dim Mars. Try binoculars.
SATURN, in Pisces, glows at magnitude +0.7 in the southwest during early
evening.
URANUS and NEPTUNE are hidden in the glare of the Sun.
PLUTO, at the Ophiuchus-Scorpius border, is in the southeastern sky before
dawn.
(All descriptions that relate to the horizon or zenith are written for the
world's midnorthern latitudes. Descriptions that also depend on longitude
are for North America. Eastern Standard Time, EST, equals Universal Time
minus 5 hours.)
More details, sky maps, and news of other celestial events appear each month
in SKY & TELESCOPE, the essential magazine of astronomy. See our Web site at
http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
SKY & TELESCOPE, P.O. Box 9111, Belmont, MA 02178 * 617-864-7360 (voice)
Copyright 1998 Sky Publishing Corporation. S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance stargazing calendar are provided as a service to the
astronomical community by the editors of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine.
Widespread electronic distribution is encouraged as long as these paragraphs
are included. But the text of the bulletin and calendar may not be
published in any other form without permission from Sky Publishing (contact
permissions@skypub.com or phone 617-864-7360). Illustrated versions,
including active links to related Internet resources, are available via SKY
Online on the World Wide Web at http://www.skypub.com/.
In response to numerous requests, and in cooperation with the Astronomical
League (http://www.mcs.net/~bstevens/al/) and the American Association of
Amateur Astronomers (http://www.corvus.com/), S&T's Weekly News Bulletin and
Sky at a Glance are available via electronic mailing list too. For a free
subscription, send e-mail to skyline@gs1.revnet.com and put the word "join"
on the first line of the body of the message. To unsubscribe, send e-mail
to skyline@gs1.revnet.com and put the word "unjoin" on the first line of the
body of the message.
SKY & TELESCOPE, the Essential Magazine of Astronomy, is read by more than
200,000 enthusiasts each month. It is available on newsstands worldwide.
For subscription information, or for a free copy of our catalog of fine
astronomy books and products, please contact Sky Publishing Corp., P.O. Box
9111, Belmont, MA 02178-9111, U.S.A. Phone: 800-253-0245 (U.S. and
Canada); 617-864-7360 (International). Fax: 617-864-6117. E-mail:
custserv@skypub.com. SKY Online: http://www.skypub.com/. Clear skies!
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Galileo Update - January 30, 1998
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
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
Galileo Europa Mission Status
January 30, 1998
NASA's Galileo spacecraft has been transmitting to
Earth this past week pictures and other science information
gathered during the Dec. 16, 1997 flyby of Jupiter's icy moon,
Europa. The information, which had been stored on the
spacecraft's onboard tape recorder, includes fields and particles
observations of the interaction between Europa and Jupiter's
magnetic and electric field environment. Also included are
pictures and observations of Europa's wedged regions and hot
regions. Important observations of surface changes on the
volcanic moon Io will help later on in the Galileo Europa
Mission, when one or two close Io flybys are planned.
Next week, Galileo will transmit science information and
pictures of Europa's regions of fretted shapes and regions of
dark lines, as well as images of the Gilgamesh region on another
Jovian moon, Ganymede.
There have been no further occurrences of anomalous behavior
by Galileo's attitude control subsystem, which controls where the
spacecraft and scan platform are pointing. Team members have
confirmed that a hardware error in one of the spacecraft's two
gyroscopes caused the two anomalies, which temporarily slowed
down the rate at which data could be transmitted to Earth. The
gyroscopes are used to point the spacecraft when very precise
pointing control and knowledge of the spacecraft's position and
orientation are needed, usually for camera and other remote
sensing science observations or for maneuvers that adjust the
spacecraft's flight path. The team will continue studying the
anomalies to determine whether they may recur and to design ways
to work around the situation for the remainder of the mission.
A flight path maneuver was performed successfully on
Thursday, Jan. 22, to prepare for Galileo's upcoming Europa
encounter on Feb. 10. Special precautions were taken in the
design of this maneuver to minimize its vulnerability to any gyro
problems. Another flight path maneuver will be performed on Sat.,
Feb. 7, if it is deemed necessary for fine-tuning before
Galileo's Europa flyby on Feb. 10. Because of the solar
conjunction, when the Sun is between Galileo and Earth, that
flyby will include no data collection except for radio science
information.
On Tues. Feb. 3, the spacecraft will be turned slightly to
adjust the antenna position. The turn will be executed in
normal mode with some precautions built in, but no problem is
anticipated. This will be the final attitude adjustment needed
before the end of February, when Galileo leaves its solar
conjunction period.
#####
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Mars Global Surveyor - January 30, 1998
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Mars Global Surveyor
Flight Status Report
Friday, 30 January 1998
Last week, the flight team celebrated a mission milestone as
Surveyor completed its 100th orbit around Mars. Afterward, flight
operations manager Joe Beerer characterized aerobraking operations to
reduce the size of the orbit as proceeding at a "very satisfying" pace.
As of today, Surveyor is completing one revolution around Mars every 19.2
hours. This orbital period is nearly 75 minutes shorter than that
predicted for this time prior to the winter holidays.
Aerobraking progress continues to be assisted by the relative calm
state of the Martian atmosphere despite the continuance of the
traditional dust storm season. A stable atmosphere allows the spacecraft
to aerobrake at slightly lower altitudes in order to experience more air
resistance. This increase in air resistance results in the size of the
orbit shrinking at a faster rate.
In other news, the flight team has inserted spacecraft rotation
commands to the list of tasks executed on every orbit. Normally, Surveyor
spends the majority of its time with its high-gain antenna pointed
directly at the Earth. The new commands occur twice per orbit and rotate
the spacecraft so that different parts are better exposed to the Sun.
These rotations are necessary to keep the temperatures on the Mars
Orbiter Laser Altimeter science instrument from falling below its
functional limit of 10 degrees Celsius. Current analysis shows that the
laser will require these warming rotations until September of this year.
After a mission elapsed time of 449 days from launch, Surveyor is
207.12 million miles (333.33 million kilometers) from the Earth and in an
orbit around Mars with a high point of 17,260 miles (27,777 km), a low
point of 75.2 miles (121.0 km), and a period of 19.2 hours. The
spacecraft is currently executing the P112 command sequence, and all
systems continue to perform as expected. The next status report will be
released on Friday, February 20th.
Status report prepared by:
Office of the Flight Operations Manager
Mars Surveyor Operations Project
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA 91109
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: STARDUST Update - January 30, 1998
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
STARDUST Status Report
January 30, 1998
Ken Atkins
STARDUST Project Manager
We have completed all steps to conduct the Structural Thermal Model (STM)
Sample Return Capsule (SRC) Aerial Drop Test. The test unit was checked out
end-to-end, packaged and shipped with support equipment to the Utah Test &
Training Range near Salt Lake City. We will be ready to test Tuesday during
the 7:00 to 10:00 am window, weather permitting (5 day forecast indicates
snow!). Remember, this is to drop the capsule from a balloon at 10, 000
feet.
The Flight computer and data system has been installed on the spacecraft for
Electrical Power and Continuity (EP&C) testing. This is to make sure the
wiring is ok and the nerve system and brain is ready to begin work with all
the units as they become installed. Note: ATLO means the Assembly, Test and
Launch Operations phase of the project. This is where the flight system
comes together as a unit. All interfaces are mated and tested as the project
prepares for the shipment next November to Cape Canaveral for launch.
All three Low Gain Antennas (LGA's) were mounted on the spacecraft in the
high bay. The Medium Gain Antenna thermal and performance tests were
completed and the antenna delivered to ATLO.
The propulsion subsystem was delivered to ATLO.
The star camera flight units are now proceeding on schedule to deliver 3/13.
This represents recovery of a long-term top issue and will be a very welcome
milestone completion. Note: The star cameras take pictures of the star
background and these are used by the spacecraft to keep its balance in space
where there is no "up" or "down"!
5 of 6 NavCam flight power supplies have been delivered. This represents
significant progress in getting the flight build back on schedule for March
delivery. Note: the navigation camera is the camera with a telescope to pick
out the comet nucleus as early as possible so the navigators can target the
spacecraft for the right flyby distance to catch the particles. The Navcam
is also what captures the pictures we will see back here on Earth.
Project completed review of the launch vehicle mission plan to meet the
Stardust mission launch requirements for next February's blast off. This
includes timeline of events from lift-off through Stardust's separation from
the rocket and arrival on the trajectory to the comet.
Project also completed a review of the flight commands for collector
deploy/stow, image sequencing (picture taking) of the comet and the timeline
of the events at encounter.
We think we're almost ready to begin sending pictures from the high bay of
the spacecraft as it is being assembled. One more check off meeting is
scheduled for next week. So stay tuned!!!
For more information on the STARDUST mission - the first ever comet sample
return mission - please visit the STARDUST home page:
http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Space Calendar - January 31, 1998 [1/4]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Welcome to the Space Calendar!
This Space Calendar covers space-related activities and anniversaries
for the upcoming year. It is also available on the World Wide Web at:
http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/
The WWW version of the Space Calendar includes over 800 links to related
home pages.
This calendar is compiled and maintained by Ron Baalke. Please send any
updates or corrections to baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov. Note that launch dates
are subject to change at any time. Also, note that anniversary dates are
listed in 5 year increments only.
The following people have contributed to this month's calendar:
Greg Chin, Andrew Yee, Philippe Berthe, Mike Shoemaker,
Sunil Deshpande, Hans Tremmel, Leo Hill, Yuji Hamada,
Dave Steitz
=========================
SPACE CALENDAR
January 31, 1998
=========================
* indicates changes from last month's calendar.
January 1998
* Jan 31 - Space Shuttle Endeavour Returns To Earth (STS-89)
* Jan 31 - Iridium 7 Delta 2 Launch
Jan 31 - 40th Anniversary (1958), Explorer 1 Launch
February 1998
* Feb ?? - CRSS-1 Athena 2 Launch
Feb 01 - Moon Occults Saturn
Feb 02 - Mercury Passes 2.0 Degrees From Neptune
Feb 02 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 DB2 at Opposition (39.263 AU - 23.5
Magnitude)
Feb 02 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 DA2 at Opposition (33.031 AU - 23.3
Magnitude)
* Feb 04 - SNOE/BATSAT Pegasus XL Launch
* Feb 04 - NEAR, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #12 (TCM-12)
Feb 04 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CT29 at Opposition (43.898 AU - 21.5
Magnitude)
Feb 05 - Globalstar-1 Delta 2 Launch
* Feb 05 - Odin Start 1 Launch (Russia)
Feb 05 - Asteroid 1997 CU26 at Opposition (12.717 AU - 17.3 Magnitude)
Feb 06 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CR29 at Opposition (41.011 AU - 22.7
Magnitude)
Feb 07 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #41 (OTM-41)
Feb 08 - Mercury Passes 1.3 Degrees From Uranus
Feb 08 - Asteroid 30 Urania at Opposition (10.3 Magnitude)
Feb 08 - Asteroid 704 Interamnia at Opposition (10.9 Magnitude)
Feb 08 - Asteroid 3800 Karayusuf Closest Approach to Earth (0.588 AU)
Feb 08 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CV29 at Opposition (39.000 AU - 23.0
Magnitude)
Feb 08 - Jules Verne's 170th Birthday (1828)
* Feb 09 - GEOSAT/ORBCOMM Taurus Launch
Feb 09 - Asteroid 1951 Lick Closest Approach to Earth (0.524 AU)
Feb 10 - Galileo, Europa 13 Flyby
* Feb 10 - Asteroid 3521 Comrie Closest Approach to Earth (1.172 AU)
Feb 11 - JawSat Minuteman II Launch
* Feb 11 - Asteroid 7335 (1989 JA) Closest Approach to Earth (1.535 AU)
Feb 12 - Asteroid 3361 Orpheus Near-Earth Flyby (0.1668 AU)
Feb 12 - Asteroid 63 Ausonia at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
* Feb 12 - Asteroid 105 Artemis Occults TAC -052851 (9.7 Magnitude Star)
Feb 12 - Marcel Minnaert's 105th Birthday (1893)
Feb 13 - Asteroid 1992 EB1 Closest Approach to Earth (1.218 AU)
Feb 14 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #42 (OTM-42)
* Feb 14 - Asteroid 1116 Catriona Occults Beta Aurigae (1.9 Magnitude Star)
Feb 14 - Edouard Baillaud's 150th Birthday (1848)
Feb 14 - Fritz Zwicky's 100th Birthday (1898)
Feb 15 - Voyager 1 Overtakes Pioneer 10 (Farthest Man-Made Object To Leave
The Solar System)
Feb 15 - ORBCOM-2 Pegasus XL Launch
Feb 16 - 50th Anniversary (1948), Kuiper's Discovery of Uranus Moon Miranda
Feb 17 - Asteroid 192 Nausikaa at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Feb 17 - Asteroid 405 Thia at Opposition (11.0 Magnitude)
Feb 17 - Asteroid 1996 DH Closest Approach to Earth (0.980 AU)
* Feb 18 - GPS Delta 2 Launch
* Feb 18 - Asteroid 95 Arethusa Occults TAC -056044 (9.7 Magnitude Star)
* Feb 18 - Asteroid 6 Hebe Occults TAC -078628 (11.0 Magnitude Star)
Feb 19 - Asteroid 516 Amherstia at Opposition (10.8 Magnitude)
Feb 19 - Asteroid 1995 LH Closest Approach to Earth (2.782 AU)
Feb 19 - Copernicus' 525th Birthday (1473)
* Feb 20 - Progress M-38 Soyuz Launch (Russia)
* Feb 20 - Chinastar-1 Long March 3B Launch (China)
* Feb 20 - COMETS-1 H-II Launch (Japan)
* Feb 20 - 5th Anniversary (1993), ASCA (Asuka) X-Ray Observatory Launch
(Japan)
Feb 21 - STEX Taurus 3 Launch
* Feb 21 - Asteroid 1998 BY7 Near-Earth Flyby (0.030 AU)
Feb 22 - Asteroid 5590 1990 VA Near-Earth Flyby (0.2383 AU)
Feb 22 - Mercury Passes 1.0 Degree From Jupiter
* Feb 22 - Asteroid 153 Hilda Occults PPM 717088 (9.8 Magnitude Star)
Feb 23 - Comet McNaught-Hughes Perihelion (2.116 AU)
Feb 24 - Asteroid 1994 CN2 Closest Approach To Earth (1.186 AU)
Feb 24 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Discovery of the First Pulsar
Feb 26 - Solar Eclipse, Visible from Galapagos, S. America & Carribean
Feb 26 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 DC2 at Opposition (44.230 AU - 23.5
Magnitude)
Feb 26 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CQ29 at Opposition (40.176 AU - 22.6
Magnitude)
Feb 27 - Hot Bird-4/BSAT-1B Ariane 4 Launch
Feb 27 - Moon Occults Mars
Feb 27 - Comet P/1997 G1 Montani Closest Approach to Earth (3.577 AU)
Feb 28 - Comet Tempel-Tuttle Perihelion (0.977 AU)
Feb 28 - Asteroid (6037) 1988 EG Near-Earth Flyby (0.0316 AU)
March 1998
Mar 01 - Moon Occults Saturn
Mar 02 - Comet Kowal 2 Perihelion (1.397 AU)
Mar 04 - NEAR, Thruster Calibration (CAL-1)
Mar 04 - Comet Shoemaker-Levy 3 Perihelion (2.817 AU)
Mar 04 - Mercury Occults 146752 (6.5 Magnitude Star)
Mar 05 - Asteroid 111 Ate at Opposition (11.0 Magnitude)
* Mar 05 - Asteroid 1998 BZ7 Near-Earth Flyby (0.113 AU)
Mar 05 - Comet P/1997 C1 (Gehrels) Closest Approach to Earth (4.582 AU)
Mar 05 - Comet C/1997 BA6 (Spacewatch) Closest Approach to Earth (5.575 AU)
Mar 05 - Kuiper Belt Object 1994 ES2 at Opposition (44.414 AU - 24.0
Magnitude)
* Mar 06 - TRACE Pegasus XL Launch
Mar 06 - Asteroid 115 Thyra at Opposition (11.0 Magnitude)
Mar 07 - Venus Passes 3.8 Degrees From Neptune
* Mar 09 - Asteroid 1993 JE Closest Approach to Earth (1.798 AU)
Mar 10 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #43 (OTM-43)
Mar 10 - Mercury Passes 1.0 Degree From Mars
Mar 10 - Comet C/1997 J2 Meunier-Dupouy Perihelion (3.058 AU)
* Mar 10 - Asteroid 3648 Raffinetti Closest Approach to Earth (1.347 AU)
Mar 11 - Asteroid 7822 (1991 CS) Closest Approach To Earth (0.901 AU)
* Mar 11 - Asteroid 5189 (1990 UQ) Closest Approach To Earth (1.113 AU)
Mar 14 - Mercury at Perihelion
Mar 15 - 25th Anniversary (1973), San Juan Capistrano Meteorite Fall
* Mar 16 - Intelsat 806 Atlas IIAS Launch
* Mar 16 - UHF-F8 Atlas 2 Launch
Mar 16 - Asteroid 511 Davida at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Mar 17 - Asteroid 116 Sirona at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Mar 17 - 40th Anniversary (1958), Vanguard 1 Launch (2nd Successful US
Launch)
* Mar 17 - 10th Anniversary (1988), IRS-1A (1st Soviet Commerical Launch)
Mar 18 - Venus Passes 3.3 Degrees From Uranus
* Mar 18 - Comet P/1997 T3 (Lagerkvist-Carsenty) Perihelion (4.161 AU)
* Mar 18 - Asteroid 1991 EE Closest Approach to Earth (0.932 AU)
Mar 18 - Asteroid 6456 Golombek Closest Approach to Earth (1.572 AU)
Mar 19 - Mercury At Its Greatest Eastern Elongation (18 Degrees)
* Mar 19 - Asteroid 275 Sapientia Occults PPM 94539 (8.9 Magnitude Star)
* Mar 20 - Spot-4 Ariane 4 Launch
Mar 20 - Vernal Equinox (19:54 UT)
Mar 20 - Asteroid 3 Juno at Opposition (9.1 Magnitude)
Mar 20 - Kuiper Belt Object 1994 GV9 at Opposition (41.180 AU)
Mar 21 - Mercury Passes 5.0 Degrees From Saturn
Mar 23 - Cassini, Perihelion (0.68 AU)
Mar 23 - Asteroid 1995 BL2 Closest Approach to Earth (0.496 AU)
Mar 24 - Moon Occults Venus
Mar 24 - 5th Anniversary (1993), Discovery of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
Mar 24 - Walter Baade's 105th Birthday (1893)
Mar 25 - Clark Athena 1 Launch
Mar 25 - Asteroid 1995 OO Closest Approach to Earth (0.517 AU)
Mar 26 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #44 (OTM-44)
Mar 26 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Mar 26 - Asteroid 1996 EN Closest Approach to Earth (0.490 AU)
Mar 27 - Venus, Greatest Western Elongation (46 Degrees)
Mar 27 - Asteroid 22 Kalliope at Opposition (10.9 Magnitude)
Mar 29 - Galileo, Europa 14 Flyby
Mar 29 - Moon Occults Saturn
Mar 30 - Asteroid 1997 WT22 Near-Earth Flyby (0.277 AU)
Mar 31 - Mercury Passes 3.8 Degrees From Mars
Mar 31 - Asteroid 5145 Pholus at Opposition (12.128 AU - 18.2 Magnitude)
* Mar 31 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Cosmos 1000 Launch (Soviet Union)
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Space Calendar - January 31, 1998 [2/4]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
April 1998
Apr ?? - Insat 2E/Nilesat-1 Ariane 4 Launch
Apr 01 - NEAR, Thruster Calibration (CAL-2)
Apr 01 - Asteroid 1993 BX3 Near-Earth Flyby (0.377 AU)
Apr 02 - STS-90 Launch, Columbia, Neurolab
Apr 02 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #45 (OTM-45)
Apr 02 - Mars Passes 1.9 Degrees From Saturn
Apr 03 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Salyut 2 Space Station Launch (USSR)
* Apr 04 - 15th Anniversary (1983), STS-6 Launch (Challenger), TDRS-1,
1st Launch of Challenger
Apr 04 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Apollo 6 Launch
Apr 05 - Daylight Savings - Set Clock Ahead 1 Hour (North America)
* Apr 05 - Asteroid 23 Thalia Occults TAC +311855 (10.4 Magnitude Star)
Apr 05 - Kuiper Belt Object 1993 FW at Opposition (41.002 AU - 23.2
Magnitude)
Apr 05 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 HM5 at Opposition (31.271 AU - 23.1
Magntude)
Apr 06 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Pioneer 11 Launch (Jupiter/Saturn
Flyby Mission)
Apr 07 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Luna 14 Launch (Soviet Moon Orbiter)
Apr 08 - Asteroid 1995 DW2 at Opposition (17.973 AU - 21.7 Magnitude)
* Apr 08 - 5th Anniversary (1993), STS-56 Launch (Discovery), Atlas-2 Spacelab
* Apr 10 - Asteroid 7413 (1990 SH28) Occults Regulus (1.3 Magnitude Star)
Apr 11 - Comet Harrington-Wilson Perihelion (1.889 AU)
* Apr 12 - Easter Sunday
Apr 14 - Kuiper Belt Object 1994 EV3 at Opposition (43.692 AU - 23.5
Magnitude)
* Apr 14 - 10th Anniversary (1988), Foton 1 Launch (USSR - Material Processing
Satellite)
Apr 16 - Comet 1997 G2 (Montani) Perihelion (3.084 AU)
Apr 17 - Ulysses At Jupiter's Orbit
Apr 17 - Comet Peters-Hartley Closest Approach to Earth (1.390 AU)
* Apr 18 - Iridium 8 Delta 2 Launch
Apr 19 - Comet Tsuchinshan 1 Perihelion (1.496 AU)
Apr 20 - Lyrids Meteor Shower Peak
Apr 20 - Asteroid 887 Alinda Closest Approach to Earth (1.567 AU)
Apr 22 - Venus Passes 0.3 Degrees From Jupiter
Apr 23 - Moon Occults Venus
Apr 23 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Apr 23 - Asteroid 433 Eros Closest Approach To Earth (0.502 AU)
* Apr 24 - Globalstar-2 Delta 2 Launch
Apr 24 - Moon Occults Mercury
Apr 24 - Asteroid 25 Phocaea at Opposition (10.1 Magnitude)
Apr 24 - Asteroid 5653 (1992 WD5) Closest Approach to Earth (0.682 AU)
Apr 24 - Asteroid 2368 Beltrovata Closest Approach to Earth (1.372 AU)
Apr 26 - Cassini, 1st Venus Flyby
Apr 26 - Kuiper Belt Object 1994 JQ1 at Opposition (41.980 AU - 23.3
Magnitude)
Apr 26 - 5th Anniversary (1993), Discovery of Asteroid 7066 Nessus by
Spacewatch
Apr 26 - 5th Anniversary (1993), STS-55 Launch (Columbia), Spacelab D2
Apr 26 - 150th Anniversary (1848), Graham's Discovery of Asteroid 9 Metis
* Apr 27-May 03 - Astronomy Week
* Apr 28 - Islamic New Year
Apr 28 - Eugene Shoemaker's 70th Birthday (1928)
Apr 30 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #46 (OTM-46)
* Apr 30 - Eutelsat W1 Atlas IIAS Launch
Apr 30 - Asteroid 32 Pomona at Opposition (10.2 Magnitude)
May 1998
* May ?? - Mars Global Surveyor, Aerobraking Phase 1 Ends
May 01 - Comet Klemola Perihelion (1.755 AU)
* May 02 - Astronomy Day
May 02 - Comet Denning Near-Jupiter Flyby (0.3389 AU)
May 03 - 2060 Chiron at Oppositon (7.937 AU - 15.9 Magnitude)
May 04 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation (26.5 Degrees)
May 05 - ORBCOM-3 Pegasus XL Launch
May 05 - Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak
May 05 - Comet Barnard 3 Perihelion (Lost Comet)
* May 05 - Asteroid 7088 Ishtar Closest Approach to Earth (1.349 AU)
May 05 - Asteroid 1995 GO Closest Approach to Earth (9.147 AU - 19.0
Magnitude)
May 07 - Asteroid 1992 TB Near-Earth Flyby (0.384 AU)
* May 08 - DOD US Air Force Titan 4B Launch
May 09 - Asteroid 16 Psyche at Opposition (10.4 Magnitude)
May 12 - Mercury Passes 0.8 Degrees From Saturn
May 12 - Asteroid 3103 Eger Closest Approach to Earth (1.713 AU)
* May 13 - Asteroid 25 Phocaea Occults SAO 139602 (8.3 Magnitude Star)
May 14 - Comet Howell Closest Approach to Earth (1.065 AU)
May 14 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Skylab Launch
May 15 - 35th Anniversary (1963), Faith 7 Launch (Gordon Cooper)
May 18 - NOAA-K Titan 2 Launch
* May 20 - NEAR, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #13 (TCM-13)
May 20 - Moon Occults Jupiter
May 20 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Pioneer Venus Orbiter Launch
May 21 - Space Day
* May 21 - Thor 3 Delta 2 Launch
May 21 - Comet 1997 G2 (Montani) Closest Approach to Earth (2.870 AU)
* May 21 - Asteroid 1994 JF1 Closest Approach To Earth (0.581 AU)
May 25 - Asteroid 1997 US9 Near-Earth Flyby (0.283 AU)
May 25 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Skylab 2 Launch
* May 26 - 15th Anniversary (1983), Exosat Launch (ESA X-Ray Observatory)
* May 27 - Asteroid 1917 Cuyo Closest Approach to Earth (1.827 AU)
May 27 - Kuiper Belt Object 1994 JS at Opposition (34.301 AU - 23.4
Magnitude)
May 28 - STS-91 Launch, Discovery, 9th Shuttle-Mir Docking
May 28 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #47 (OTM-47)
May 28 - Venus Passes 0.3 Degrees From Saturn
May 28 - Asteroid 1995 UO5 Closest Approach to Earth (0.415 AU)
May 29 - Asteroid 1994 VR6 Closest Approach to Earth (1.392 AU)
May 30 - Asteroid 1997 UF9 Near-Earth Flyby (0.385 AU)
May 30-31 - Jet Propulsion Lab Open House, Pasadena, California
May 31 - Galileo, Europa 15 Flyby
May 31 - Sky One Proton Launch
June 1998
* Jun ?? - ARD/Hot Bird 5 Ariane-503 Launch
* Jun ?? - SCD-2 Pegasus XL Launch
* Jun ?? - Iridium 9 Delta 2 Launch
Jun 01 - Asteroid 2063 Bacchus Closest Approach to Earth (1.307 AU)
Jun 02 - Kuiper Belt Object 1994 JR1 at Opposition (33.748 AU - 22.9
Magnitude)
Jun 02 - 15th Anniversary (1983), Venera 15 Launch (Soviet Venus Orbiter)
Jun 04 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #48 (OTM-48)
* Jun 04 - Intelsat 805 Atlas IIAS Launch
Jun 04 - Asteroid 5066 Garradd Closest Approach to Earth (0.839 AU)
Jun 04 - Asteroid 1995 YV3 Closest Approach to Earth (2.840 AU - 19.7
Magnitude)
Jun 05 - Mercury Passes 0.3 Degrees From Mars
Jun 06 - Asteroid 6 Hebe at Opposition (9.4 Magnitude)
Jun 07 - 15th Anniversary (1983), Venera 16 Launch (Soviet Venus Orbiter)
Jun 08 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 KV1 at Opposition (40.176 AU - 23.1
Magnitude)
* Jun 09 - Galaxy 10 Delta 3 Launch
Jun 09 - Asteroid 4183 Cuno Near-Earth Flyby (0.2079 AU)
Jun 09 - Mercury at Perihelion
Jun 10 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Explorer 49 Launch (Moon Orbiter)
Jun 14 - Asteroid 18 Melpomene at Opposition (9.6 Magnitude)
* Jun 15 - Asteroid 211 Isolda Occults PPM 195267 (9.5 Magnitude Star)
Jun 15 - 10th Anniversary (1988), First Flight of the Ariane-4 Rocket
Jun 16 - 35th Anniversary (1963), Vostok 6 Launch (1st Woman in Space)
Jun 17 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Jun 17 - Asteroid 1994 AH2 Near-Earth Flyby (0.1930 AU)
Jun 17 - Mercury Occults 78331 (6.5 Magnitude Star)
* Jun 18 - Asteroid 59 Elpis Occults PPM 203414 (9.6 Magnitude Star)
* Jun 18 - 15th Anniversary (1983), STS-7 Launch (Challenger), Anik C2,
Palapa B1, 1st American Woman In Space (Sally Ride)
Jun 20 - FGB (Functional Cargo Block) Proton-K Launch (Element
of the International Space Station)
Jun 20 - Asteroid 72 Feronia at Opposition (11.0 Magnitude)
Jun 21 - Summer Solstice, 14:03 UT
* Jun 21 - 5th Anniversary (1993), STS-57 Launch (Endeavour), Spacehab-1,
EURECA
Jun 22 - Asteroid 1995 LG Closest Approach to Earth (0.909 AU)
Jun 22 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Discovery of Charon (Pluto's Moon)
Jun 25 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #49 (OTM-49)
Jun 25 - Asteroid 92 Undina at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Jun 26 - Mars Occults 77221 (8.0 Magnitude Star)
* Jun 27 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Seasat 1 Launch
Jun 29 - George Hale's 130th Birthday (1868)
Jun 30 - EOS-1 Atlas IIAS Launch
Jun 30 - Asteroid 1990 HA Closest Approach to Earth (1.478 AU)
Jun 30 - 90th Anniversary (1908), Tunguska Explosion
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Space Calendar - January 31, 1998 [3/4]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
July 1998
* Jul ?? - Sirius 3 Ariane 4 Launch
Jul 01 - Deep Space 1 Delta Launch (Asteroid/Mars/Comet Flyby Mission)
* Jul 04 - Earth at Aphelion (1.017 AU From Sun)
Jul 04 - Henrietta Leavitt's 130th Birthday (1868)
Jul 05 - Asteroid 4953 (1990 MU) Closest Approach to Earth (0.615 AU)
Jul 05 - Asteroid 1992 JB Closest Approach to Earth (0.872 AU)
Jul 09 - STS-88 Launch, Endeavour, 1st Space Station Assembly Flight
Jul 09 - Landsat 7 Delta 2 Launch
Jul 09 - Asteroid 1862 Apollo Near-Earth Flyby (0.339 AU)
Jul 10 - Asteroid 7 Iris at Opposition (8.6 Magnitude)
Jul 12 - Comet Arend-Rigaux Perihelion (1.371 AU)
* Jul 12 - 10th Anniversary (1988), Phobos 2 Launch (Soviet Mars Orbiter)
Jul 14 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Jul 15 - Asteroid 1993 PB Closest Approach to Earth (0.590 AU)
* Jul 16 - GPS IIR-3 Delta 2 Launch
Jul 16 - Comet Arend-Rigaux Closest Approach to Earth (2.354 AU)
Jul 17 - Mercury at Greatest Eastern Elongation (27 Degrees)
Jul 17 - Asteroid 432 Pythia at Opposition (10.9 Magnitude)
Jul 17 - Comet Russell 3 Closest Approach to Earth (1.941 AU)
Jul 18 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #50 (OTM-50)
Jul 20 - Asteroid 43 Ariadne at Opposition (9.1 Magnitude)
Jul 21 - Galileo, Europa 16 Flyby
* Jul 21 - Asteroid 59 Elpis Occults TAC -106880 (11.1 Magnitude)
Jul 21 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Mars 4 Launch (USSR)
Jul 25 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #51 (OTM-51)
* Jul 25 - DOD US Air Force Titan 4 Launch
Jul 25 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Mars 5 Launch (USSR)
* Jul 26 - 35th Anniversary (1963), Syncom 2 Launch, 1st Geosynchronous
Satellite
Jul 28 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Skylab-3 Launch
* Jul 29 - JCSat 6 Atlas IIAS Launch
Jul 29 - South Delta-Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak
August 1998
Aug ?? - STS-93 Launch, Space Shuttle Columbia, AXAF-1
* Aug ?? - Iridium 10 Delta 2 Launch
Aug 01 - Alpha Capricornids Meteor Shower Peak
Aug 01 - Asteroid 980 Anacostia at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Aug 01 - Maria Mitchell's 180th Birthday (1818)
Aug 02 - Asteroid 29 Amphitrite at Opposition (9.2 Magnitude)
* Aug 02 - Asteroid 490 Veritas Occults TAC -214637 (11.2 Magnitude Star)
Aug 03 - Asteroid 13 Egeria at Opposition (10.9 Magnitude)
Aug 04 - Venus Passes 0.8 Degrees From Mars
Aug 04 - Asteroid 7341 (1991 VK) Closest Approach to Earth (1.638 AU)
Aug 05 - Terriers/Mublcom Pegasus XL Launch
Aug 05 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Mars 6 Launch (USSR)
Aug 06 - Planet B Launch (Japan Mars Mission)
Aug 06 - Southern Iota Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak
Aug 07 - Asteroid 1997 GZ3 Closest Approach to Earth (1.500 AU)
Aug 08 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Pioneer Venus 2 Launch (Venus Atmospheric
Probes)
Aug 09 - Asteroid 71 Niobe at Opposition (10.6 Magnitude)
Aug 09 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Mars 7 Launch (USSR)
Aug 10 - Venus Occults 79782 (6.9 Magnitude Star)
Aug 10 - Asteroid 4886 (1981 EZ14) Closest Approach to Earth (2.113 AU)
Aug 11 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Aug 11 - Comet Peters-Hartley Perihelion (1.624 AU)
Aug 12 - Perseids Meteor Shower Peak
Aug 12 - 20th Anniversary (1978), ISEE-3/ICE Launch (Comet Mission)
Aug 15 - Comet C/1997 J2 Meunier-Dupouy Closest Approach to Earth (2.494 AU)
Aug 18 - 5th Anniversary (1993), 1st Test Flight of the Delta Clipper (DC-X)
Aug 19 - Asteroid 1987 OA Near-Earth Flyby (0.1019 AU)
Aug 19 - Asteroid 7350 (1993 VA) Closest Approach to Earth (1.414 AU)
Aug 22 - Annular Eclipse, Visible From Indian Ocean
Aug 23 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #52 (OTM-52)
Aug 24 - Asteroid 354 Eleonora at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Aug 25 - Comet Shoemaker-Levy 7 Perihelion (1.697 AU)
Aug 25 - Comet Russell 1 Perihelion (2.182 AU)
Aug 25 - Northern Iota Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak
* Aug 27 - Argos/Orsted/Sunsat Delta 2 Launch
Aug 27 - Mercury Passes 2.2 Degrees From Venus
* Aug 28 - Asteroid 1036 Ganymed Occults TAC +541187 (9.9 Magnitude Star)
Aug 28 - 5th Anniversary (1993), Galileo Flyby of Ida
Aug 30 - Venus Occults 98676 (8.0 Magnitude Star)
Aug 31 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation (18 Degrees)
September 1998
* Sep ?? - Afristar Ariane 4 Launch
* Sep ?? - Skynet 4E Ariane 4 Launch
* Sep ?? - CRSS-2 Athena 2 Launch
Sep 05 - Mercury at Perihelion
Sep 06 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 RR20 at Opposition (42.449 AU - 23.4
Magnitude)
Sep 07 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Sep 07 - Venus at Perihelion
Sep 07 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 RT5 at Opposition (41.272 AU - 23.2
Magnitude)
Sep 07 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 RX9 at Opposition (40.912 AU - 24.2
Magnitude)
* Sep 09 - Asteroid 45 Eugenia Occults GSC 12820410 (10.9 Magnitude Star)
Sep 09 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Venera 11 Launch (Soviet Venus Lander)
Sep 10 - Asteroid 804 Hispania at Opposition (10.6 Magnitude)
* Sep 10 - Asteroid 1036 Ganymed Occults TAC +491415 (10. Magnitude Star)
Sep 10 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 QY9 at Opposition (28.506 AU - 21.6
Magnitude)
Sep 11 - Mercury Passes 0.3 Degrees From Venus
* Sep 14 - GPS IIR-4 Delta 2 Launch
Sep 14 - Mercury Occults 118535 (7.8 Magnitude Star)
Sep 14 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Zond 5 Launch (Soviet Moon Mission)
Sep 14 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Venera 12 Launch (Soviet Venus Lander)
Sep 16 - Jupiter at Opposition
Sep 15 - Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) Pegasus XL Launch
Sep 16 - Asteroid 2 Pallas at Opposition (8.2 Magnitude)
Sep 18 - Asteroid 1991 RB Near-Earth Flyby (0.0401 AU)
Sep 19 - Moon Occults Venus
Sep 19 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 QH4 at Opposition (40.320 AU - 22.6
Magnitude)
Sep 19 - 150th Anniversary (1848), William Bond's Discovery of Saturn Moon
Hyperion
Sep 20 - Moon Occults Mercury
Sep 20 - Asteroid 5786 Talos Closest Approach to Earth (0.943 AU)
Sep 20 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 QJ4 at Opposition (33.804 AU - 22.9
Magnitude)
Sep 22 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 TX8 at Opposition (31.047 AU - 23.1
Magnitude)
Sep 22 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TO66 at Opposition (44.834 AU - 20.6
Magnitude)
Sep 23 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #53 (OTM-53)
Sep 23 - Autumnal Equinox, 05:37 UT
Sep 23 - Kuiper Belt Object 1993 RO at Opposition (30.492 AU - 22.9
Magnitude)
Sep 25 - Kuiper Belt Object 1994 TB at Opposition (29.128 AU - 21.8
Magnitude)
Sep 26 - Galileo, Europa 17 Flyby
Sep 27 - Comet Howell Perihelion (1.406 AU)
Sep 29 - Asteroid 521 Brixia at Opposition (11.0 Magnitude)
Sep 29 - Kuiper Belt Object 1993 SC at Opposition (33.640 AU - 22.4
Magnitude)
Sep 29 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TK66 at Opposition (41.873 AU - 23.3
Magnitude)
Sep 30 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #54 (OTM-54)
Sep 30 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TR66 at Opposition (34.448 AU - 23.0
Magnitude)
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: Space Calendar - January 31, 1998 [4/4]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
October 1998
* Oct 01 - Orion F3 Delta 3 Launch
Oct 01 - Asteroid 236 Honoria at Opposition (10.5 Magnitude)
Oct 01 - Kuiper Belt Object 1992 QB1 at Opposition (39.906 AU - 23.1
Magnitude)
Oct 01 - NASA's 40th Birthday (1958)
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 - Kuiper Belt Object 1993 SB at Opposition (30.112 AU - 22.9
Magnitude)
Oct 05 - Asteroid 14 Irene at Opposition (10.6 Magnitude)
Oct 06 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 RQ20 at Opposition (38.550 AU - 22.9
Magnitude)
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 - Ejnar Hertzsprung's 125th Birthday (1873)
Oct 09 - Draconids Meteor Shower Peak
Oct 09 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 SZ4 at Opposition (29.285 AU - 22.7
Magnitude)
Oct 10 - Comet McNaught-Hughes Closest Approach to Earth (1.707 AU)
Oct 10 - 15th Anniversary (1983), Venera 15 Venus Orbit Insertion
Oct 11 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Apollo 7 Launch
Oct 11 - Wilhelm Olbers' 240th Birthday (1758)
Oct 13 - British Interplanetary Society's 65th Birthday (1933)
Oct 14 - Comet Lovas 1 Perihelion (1.69 AU)
Oct 14 - Asteroid 1036 Ganymed Closest Approach to Earth (0.464 AU)
Oct 14 - 15th Anniversary (1983), Venera 16 Venus Orbit Insertion
Oct 15 - Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) Launch
Oct 16 - Moon Occults Mars
Oct 16 - Comet Klemola Closest Approach to Earth (1.522 AU)
Oct 17 - Asteroid 44 Nysa at Opposition (9.8 Magnitude)
Oct 18 - 5th Anniversary (1993), STS-58 Launch
Oct 20 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TP66 at Opposition (25.403 AU - 20.7
Magnitude)
Oct 21 - Orionid Meteor Shower Peak
* 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 23 - Saturn at Opposition
Oct 24 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #55 (OTM-55)
Oct 25 - Daylight Savings - Set Clock Back 1 Hour (USA)
Oct 25 - Asteroid 106 Dione at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Oct 26 - Asteroid 20 Massalia at Opposition (8.8 Magnitude)
Oct 26 - Asteroid 674 Rachele at Opposition (11.0 Magnitude)
Oct 27 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Canon City Meteorite Fall (Hit Garage)
Oct 28 - Asteroid 1508 Kemi Closest Approach to Earth (1.201 AU)
* Oct 29 - STS-95 Launch, Endeavour, Spacehab-SM
Oct 29 - Asteroid 1994 TA Closest Approach to Earth (15.923 AU - 23.7
Magnitude)
Oct 30 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TL66 at Opposition (34.099 AU - 20.4
Magnitude)
Oct 31 - Moon Occults Jupiter
* Oct 31 - Asteroid 6 Hebe Occults GSC 6255-1346 (9.2 Magnitude Star)
November 1998
* Nov ?? - Mars Global Surveyor, Aerobraking Phase 2 Begins
Nov ?? - Quickscat (Quick Scattermoter) Launch
Nov 01 - TSX-5 Launch
* Nov 01 - Asteroid 102 Miriam Occults SAO 164159 (8.7 Magnitude Star)
* Nov 01 - Asteroid 576 Emanuela Occults TAC +096711 (10.4 Magnitude Star)
Nov 01 - Kuiper Belt Object 1996 TS66 at Opposition (37.825 AU - 21.9 Mag)
Nov 03 - Cassini, Deep Space Maneuver #1 (DSM-1)
Nov 03 - Taurids Meteor Shower Peak
Nov 03 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Mariner 10 Launch (Venus/Mercury Flyby
Mission)
Nov 05 - Asteroid 15 Eunomia at Opposition (7.9 Magnitude)
Nov 07 - Comet Takamizawa Perihelion (1.585 AU)
Nov 08 - Asteroid 51 Nemausa at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Nov 08 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Pioneer 9 Launch
Nov 09 - Asteroid 69 Hesperia at Opposition (10.8 Magnitude)
Nov 09 - Mercury Occults 184412 (7.8 Magnitude Star)
Nov 10 - Asteroid 46 Hestia at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Nov 10 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Zond 6 Launch (Soviet Moon Flyby Mission)
Nov 11 - Mercury Greatest Eastern Elongation (22 Degrees)
Nov 13 - Moon Occults Mars
Nov 15 - William Herschell's 260th Birthday (1738)
Nov 16 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Skylab-4 Launch
Nov 17 - Leonids Meteor Shower Peak (Potential Meteor Storm)
Nov 18 - Asteroid 270 Anahita at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Nov 19 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #56 (OTM-56)
* Nov 19 - Bonum Delta 2 Launch
Nov 19 - Comet Kowal-Vavorva Perihelion (2.575 AU)
* Nov 20 - Asteroid 532 Herculina Occults PPM 709785 (9.8 Magnitude Star)
Nov 21 - Comet Giacobini-Zinner Perihelion (1.034 AU)
Nov 22 - Galileo, Europa 18 Flyby
Nov 23 - Asteroid 3753 (1986 TO) Near-Earth Flyby (0.313 AU)
* Nov 24 - ICO Atlas 2 Launch
Nov 24 - Asteroid 1865 Cerberus Near-Earth Flyby (0.1634 AU)
Nov 25 - Asteroid FG3 Near-Earth Flyby (0.0384 AU)
Nov 26 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #57 (OTM-57)
Nov 26 - Asteroid 5 Astraea at Opposition (9.8 Magnitude)
Nov 28 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Nov 28 - Mercury Passes 0.25 Degrees From Venus
Nov 28 - Asteroid 42 Isis at Opposition (10.6 Magnitude)
Nov 28 - Asteroid 1989 UR Near-Earth Flyby (0.058 AU)
Nov 28 - Kuiper Belt Object 1994 VK8 at Opposition (42.519 AU
- 22.9 Magnitude)
Nov 29 - Asteroid 1 Ceres at Opposition (7.0 Magnitude)
December 1998
* Dec ?? - ROCSAT Athena 1 Launch
Dec 02 - Kuiper Belt Object YY3 at Opposition (29.786 AU - 23.3 Magnitude)
Dec 02 - Mercury at Perihelion
Dec 04 - Venus Occults 185332 (7.8 Magnitude Star)
Dec 04 - Asteroid 1866 Sisypus Near-Earth Flyby (0.338 AU)
Dec 04 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Pioneer Venus, Venus Orbit Insertion
Dec 05 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Pioneer 10, Jupiter Flyby
Dec 06 - Asteroid 3362 Khufu Near-Earth Flyby (0.364 AU)
Dec 06 - 40th Anniversary (1958), Pioneer 3 Launch (Moon Flyby Mission)
Dec 09 - STS-96 Launch, Endeavour, ISS-2 (Spacehab-DM), Logistics Carrier
Dec 09 - Asteroid 6524 Baalke at Opposition (1.251 AU - 15.0 Magnitude)
Dec 09 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Pioneer Venus 2 Landing on Venus
Dec 10 - Mars Surveyor '98 Orbiter Launch (Mars Orbiter)
Dec 11 - Asteroid 52 Europa at Opposition (10.2 Magnitude)
* Dec 11 - Asteroid 245 Vera Occults SAO 77824 (10.2 Magnitude Star)
Dec 11 - Asteroid 3122 Florence Closest Approach to Earth (1.092 AU)
Dec 12 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 WY2 at Opposition (46.432 AU - 23.7
Magnitude)
* Dec 17 - LORAL Atlas 2 Launch
Dec 17 - 95th Anniversary (1903), Wright Brothers' 1st Airplane Flight
Dec 20 - NEAR, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #14 (TCM-14)
Dec 20 - Mercury At Its Greatest Western Elongation (21 Degrees)
* Dec 21 - DOD US Air Force Titan 4 Launch
Dec 21 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Venera 12 Venus Flyby/Landing
Dec 21 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Apollo 8 Launch
Dec 22 - Winter Solstice, 01:55 UT
Dec 25 - Moon Occults Jupiter
Dec 25 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Venera 11 Venus Flyby/Landing
Dec 27 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #58 (OTM-58)
* Dec 28 - NEAR, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #15 (TCM-15)
Dec 29 - Asteroid 132 Aethra at Opposition (10.9 Magnitude)
January 1999
* Jan 02 - 40th Anniversary (1959), Luna 1 Launch (1st Moon Mission)
* Jan 03 - Mars Surveyor 98 Lander Launch
* Jan 03 - NEAR, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #16 (TCM-16)
* Jan 03 - Quadrantids Meteor Shower Peak
* Jan 04 - Earth at Perihelion (0.983 AU From Sun)
* Jan 05 - Venus Passes 1.7 Degrees From Neptune
* Jan 05 - 30th Anniversary (1969), Venera 5 Launch (Soviet Venus Lander)
* Jan 10 - NEAR, Asteroid Eros Encounter
* Jan 10 - 30th Anniversary (1969), Venera 6 Launch (Soviet Venus Lander)
* Jan 11 - Comet Tsuchinshan 2 Closest Approach to Earth (0.875 AU)
* Jan 12 - NEAR, Asteroid Eros Orbit Insertion
* Jan 13 - Venus Passes 0.9 Degrees From Uranus
* Jan 13 - Mars Occults 139407 (7.1 Magnitude Star)
* Jan 13 - Olin Wilson's 90th Birthday (1909)
* Jan 14 - STS-92 Launch, Atlantis, ISS-3 (3-Person Permanent Habitation)
* Jan 15 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CU29 at Opposition (43.808 AU - 23.0
Magnitude)
* Jan 16 - 30th Anniversary (1969), 1st Manned Vehicle Docking & 1st Crew
Exchange
(Soyuz 4 & 5)
* Jan 17 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CS29 at Opposition (42.620 - 21.4 Magnitude)
* Jan 18 - Asteroid 1991 VE Near-Earth Flyby (0.1434 AU)
* Jan 21 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CW29 at Opposition (41.495 AU - 22.8
Magnitude)
* Jan 25 - SWAS (Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite) Pegasus XL Launch
* Jan 25 - 5th Anniversary (1994), Clementine Launch (Moon Orbiter)
* Jan 27 - Mercury Passes 2.2 Degrees From Neptune
* Jan 27 - Comet Harrington-Abell Perihelion (1.758 AU)
* Jan 29 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #59 (OTM-59)
* Jan 29 - 10th Anniversary (1989), Phobos 2 Mars Orbit Insertion
___ _____ ___
/_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
| | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab |
___| | | | |__) |/ | | |__ Pasadena, CA | The truth always turns out
/___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| | to be simpler than you
|_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | thought. Richard Feynman
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [1/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
This is the February 1998 "SpaceViews" (tm) newsletter, published by the
Boston chapter of the National Space Society.
For a description of related e-mail lists maintained by the Boston NSS, or
to stop receiving this SpaceViews newsletter, see the instructions at the
end of this message.
The next Boston meeting is Thursday, February 5, 1998, 7:30pm
8th floor, 545 Main Street (Tech Square), Cambridge; see "Upcoming Boston
NSS Events"
Speaker: Supriya Chakrabarti, Boston Univ.
"TERRIERS: Hands-on Space Experiments by Students and
Young Professionals"
Future meetings are on the first Thursdays of each month:
March 5, April TBD, May 7
SpaceViews is available on the WWW at http://www.spaceviews.com (NEW!)
and by FTP from ftp.seds.org in directory /pub/info/newsletters/spaceviews
See the very end for information on membership, reprinting, copyright, etc.
Copyright (C) 1997 by Boston Chapter of National Space Society,
a non-profit educational 501(c)3 organization.
All articles in SpaceViews represent the opinions of the authors and do not
necessarily represent the views of the Editor, the National Space Society
(NSS), or the Boston chapter of the NSS.
S P A C E V I E W S
Volume Year 1998, Issue 2
1998 February 1
http://www.spaceviews.com/1998/02
*** News ***
Glenn to Fly on Shuttle in October
Teacher-in-Space Morgan Scheduled to Begin Astronaut Training
Mir Astronaut off to Rocky Start
Moon, Mars Research Funding Restored
Mars Life Evidence Questioned
Station, Glenn, Get Mention in State of the Union
Space Station Pact Signed, More Delays Possible
Atlas Launches Military Satellite; Ariane, Delta Delayed
Rotary Rocket Gets Key Financial Advisor
Other News
*** Articles ***
Explorer: America's First Satellite
Three Times around the Earth: John Glenn's Historic Space Flight
*** Book Reviews ***
Reliving Apollo
Studying the Earth from Space
*** NSS News ***
Upcoming Boston NSS Events
Philadelphia Area Space Alliance News
*** Regular Features ***
Jonathan's Space Report No. 348
Space Calendar
Editor's Note: As you may have noticed from the URL above, SpaceViews has
moved to a new Web site, http://www.spaceviews.com/ . This site features
all the space news and information from the old site, plus new features and
an all-new layout that should make the articles easier to access and read.
Some changes will continue to take place over the next month as a few
remaining items from the old site are moved into the new site.
This SpaceViews issue is a little shorter than normal, as extra
time was needed to ready the Web site. Future issues will return to their
normal length.
Should you have any questions or comments about the new site, or
anything else related to SpaceViews, please contact me at
jeff@spaceviews.com. Thanks!
-- Jeff Foust, Editor
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [2/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
*** News ***
Glenn to Fly on Shuttle in October
In an move that confirmed reports from a day earlier, NASA
announced Friday, January 16 that former astronaut and current senator
John Glenn would fly on a shuttle mission this October to test the
effects of weightlessness on the elderly.
"What an incredible day for John Glenn, for Ohio, for NASA, but
most of all, for America, because the man who almost 36 years ago
climbed into the Friendship 7 and showed the boundless promise for a new
generation, is now poised to show the world that senior citizens have
the right stuff," NASA administrator Dan Goldin said at a press
conference.
"I'm very proud to have been part of the beginning of America's
space program, and needless to say I am excited to be back and I am
honored and privileged," the 76-year-old Glenn, the first American to
orbit the Earth, said.
Glenn will fly as a payload specialist on the shuttle Discovery
on mission STS-95, tentatively scheduled for launch October 8. The
remainder of the crew has yet to be named.
Glenn will take part in a series of experiments sponsored by the
National Institute of Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health.
The experiments will look for parallels between the physical effects
astronauts suffer while on orbit and the aging process.
The experiments planned include studies on sleep disorders,
muscle atrophy, balance, and blood and heart function. Doctors and
scientists will seek to understand if the elderly adapt differently both
to weightlessness and a return to normal gravity. They also hope
research from the mission can help the treatment of older Americans on
Earth, helping them lead longer, more productive lives.
"The research on this mission will contribute to building our
knowledge and understanding of the aging process," said Dr. Richard
Hodes, director of the National Institute on Aging.
Before selecting Glenn for the mission, the senator underwent a
series of detailed medical examinations to verify he was in condition to
fly on the shuttle. "There are no significant medical issues that would
prevent Senator Glenn from going into space on the Space Shuttle," a
panel of medical experts concluded.
"We have 42 years of medical history on Senator Glenn and we
were able to perform an exhaustive medical evaluation," said Dr. Denise
Baisden, a NASA flight surgeon. "He is medically qualified to fly."
NASA went to great lengths Friday to emphasize the medical
experiments planned for Glenn's flight, in an effort to deflect claims
that the flight was a political reward for the Ohio Democrat for
supporting the Clinton administration during Congressional fundraising
hearings last summer.
In the past, Glenn had expressed a strong interest in flying on
a shuttle mission, so long that it had a scientific purpose. "There is
very good scientific reason for putting somebody back up there again,"
he said last July on "Meet the Press". "And, obviously, I'd be
interested in being that somebody if they decide to do this."
Reaction to Glenn's selection for the mission has been mixed.
The National Space Society, a non-profit space activism organization,
have its guarded approval for Glenn's selection in a statement.
"We are delighted for the Senator," said NSS executive director
Pat Dasch. "His evident enthusiasm for spaceflight and his confidence in
the progress that the space program has made in the last 36 years are
inspirations to us all."
"While this falls short of reopening the civilian space program,
this move by NASA does suggest that flight opportunities will be
available to people other than career astronauts in the future," Dasch
added.
However, another space advocacy group, the Space Frontier
Foundation, decried the selection as the "most expensive Congressional
junket ever." "This shows that NASA is still more interested in reliving
its past than in opening space to the American people," said Rick
Tumlinson, president of the foundation.
Tumlinson pointed out that other older astronauts have been
removed from flight duty at ages much younger than Glenn's, such as
Story Musgrave, who flew his last shuttle mission in late 1996 at the
age of 61. "Honoring this great American hero is one thing, but NASA's
claims that they are flying him to do 'research' is simply a lie,"
Tumlinson said.
Teacher-in-Space Morgan Scheduled to Begin Astronaut Training
In an announcement on the same day as the selection of John
Glenn, NASA reported that Barbara Morgan, the runner-up in the mid-1980s
Teacher-in-Space competition won by Christa McAuliffe, would report for
training as a mission specialist for a future shuttle mission.
The 46-year-old Morgan, an elementary school teacher in Idaho,
was one of thousands of teachers who participated in NASA's
"Teacher-in-Space" competition in the mid-1980s to select one teacher to
fly on a shuttle mission. Morgan finished as the runner-up to New
Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe.
McAuliffe was selected to fly on the shuttle Challenger on
mission STS-51L in January 1986. She and the other six members of the
crew were killed in an explosion 73 seconds after launch.
After the Challenger accident, NASA suspended the
Teacher-in-Space program, and canceled plans for similar programs,
including a journalist-in-space program. Morgan, though, continued to
undergo yearly physicals to keep in flight condition should the program
be reinstated.
"I think this is great news for education," Morgan said at a
January 20 press conference. "NASA's in the business of inspiring and
learning and that's exactly what we teachers are in the business of
doing."
"The best thing about all of this is that it's not a one-shot or
a two-shot deal. This is fully integrating education, which has always
been a really important part of NASA's mission into a highly visible
area that's broadening the reach of the astronaut program."
Goldin said January 16 he had some reservations initially about
placing civilians on shuttle missions, largely due to their lack of
training. "One of the issues I personally had with the civilian-in-space
program was the lack of full training," he said. "That is why [Morgan]
is going to become a fully trained mission specialist."
Goldin said other civilians would be considered for future
missions. He placed a special emphasis on scientists, including
biologists and geologists. "We're trying to get biologists and
geologists, because of the tremendous finding we're having in planetary
science," Goldin said. These people would also be fully trained as
astronauts.
No date was chosen for a mission for Morgan, and none would
likely be chosen until she completed the year-long astronaut training
program.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [3/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Mir Astronaut off to Rocky Start
American astronaut Andy Thomas, the seventh and last American
scheduled to stay on Mir, had troubles with a custom-made spacesuit and
his command of the Russian language as he began his stay on the Russian
space station in late January.
Thomas reported problems fitting into the pressure suit on
Sunday, January 25, the day after the shuttle Endeavour docked with Mir.
"I cannot pull it up over my shoulders," Thomas said. "It's either not
sized correctly, or there's not been adequate allowance for the growth
of my height in zero gravity."
Thomas also tried David Wolf's pressure suit, but found it was
too long, especially in the arms. As the pressure suit is required
should the crew need to perform an emergency evacuation in the Soyuz
capsule, NASA ordered Thomas back to the shuttle and Wolf, the astronaut
Thomas was replacing, back to Mir.
After discussions with Russian officials, though, NASA reversed
the order an hour later, allowing Thomas to spend the night on Mir. The
following day, Thomas was able to fit into his suit after releasing some
straps on the torso and underarms of the suit which had been sewn down.
Thomas, though, had to deal with another problem: the language
barrier. Thomas struggled with questions from Russian reporters last
week, and admitted his command of the Russian language was not as great
as he desired, despite over a year of intensive training before the
mission.
"I would have to say I wish my Russian was better," Thomas said.
"I think it will slow us down a little bit, particularly initially. But
I think after a while we'll learn a basis for communication which will
be acceptable."
Thomas's actions and statements brought public criticism from
Russian cosmonauts and officials. Commenting on Thomas's difficulties
with his space suit, Russian spokesman Viktor Blagov said, "One should
treat this in a Russian way, just have some patience to live through a
couple of uncomfortable minutes as our cosmonauts do." Blagov also
accused Thomas of acting "capriciously", which others have suggested was
a mistranslation of a Russian word better translated as "whiny."
"We understand that it will be very hard for us to work with
him," said cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev shortly before he launched on a
Soyuz spacecraft to relieve the current Russian crew on Mir. "But
knowing his determination and his great professionalism and our
determination, too, I think we will manage the task in hand."
Other than Thomas's problems and a minor problem with a thruster
control system, the eighth shuttle-Mir docking mission, and the first to
use the shuttle Endeavour, went well. Endeavour launched on schedule at
9:48pm EST (0248 UT) January 22 and docked with the station on the
afternoon of January 24.
After spending five days transferring equipment and supplies, as
well as exchanging Thomas for Wolf, Endeavour undocked Thursday, January
29. Endeavour successfully landed at the Kennedy Space Center at 5:36pm
EST (2036 UT) January 31.
A Soyuz spacecraft carrying Musabayev, Nikolai Budarin, and
French guest cosmonaut Leopold Eyharts launched at 11:33am EST (1633 UT)
January 29 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. It docked with Mir on the
afternoon of January 31.
The current Russian crew of Anatoly Solovyov and Pavel
Vinogradov will return to Earth in mid-February with Eyharts.
Moon, Mars Research Funding Restored
NASA has reportedly reversed plans to cut spending on technology
development projects that would directly lead to future human missions
to the Moon and Mars, after a sharp outcry from space activists and
members of Congress.
NASA Administrator Dan Goldin told Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) late
Thursday, January 29 that earlier reports that NASA was cutting $25
million in funding for technology projects was "inaccurate". The
report, including a copy of the memo announcing the cuts, had been
circulated in the media last week.
Although Goldin called the cuts inaccurate, Weldon, a member of
the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee, interpreted
Goldin's comments to mean the cuts had been planned and since reversed.
"I'm pleased that Administrator Goldin has reversed this
decision," Weldon said. "It would be short-sighted to stop NASA's
efforts to return to the Moon and eventually go to Mars."
The furor over the funding issue started last week when a copy
of a NASA headquarters memo was leaked to the NASA Watch Web site. The
memo was later reported in the trade magazine Aviation Week and the
newspaper Florida Today.
"The NASA Capital Investment Council has directed that the
Advanced Projects program... be terminated in FY [fiscal year] 1998 to
contribute to the resolution of funding shortfalls within the Agency,"
wrote Richard Wisniewski, the acting associate administrator for space
flight, in the January 9 memo. "Specific direction included that no
activities uniquely directed toward human exploration beyond
low-Earth-orbit shall be conducted by the Agency at this time."
The memo directed NASA centers to issue notices "effective
immediately" that would terminate any studies or research related to
"beyond-Earth-orbit (BEO) activities such as human Lunar or Mars
exploration."
"This decision indicates a 'stop-go, go-stop' mode of operating
at NASA," said Pat Dasch, executive director of the National Space
Society. "Background work on future human missions was accelerated just
over a year ago in response to overwhelming public reaction to the
possible finding of evidence of life on ancient Mars. What strategic
planning mechanism suggests accelerating studies one year and
terminating them the next?"
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [4/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Mars Life Evidence Questioned
Organic material found in Martian meteorite ALH84001, used to
show that primitive life once existed on Mars, may in fact be just
contamination from terrestrial sources, two studies reported in January,
leading one member of the team that announced the 1996 discovery of
possible past life to reconsider the original findings.
Researchers at the University of Arizona and the University of
California at San Diego's Scripps Institute of Oceanography reported in
separate papers in the January 16 issue of Science that organic
materials found in the meteorite likely came from the Earth, not Mars.
"This is bad news with respect to using these meteorites to
assess whether there ever was or is life on Mars," said Jeff Bada, a
professor of marine chemistry who headed the Scripps team. "It shows
that the meteorites aren't going to give us a definitive answer."
Bada and colleagues studied amino acids found in the meteorite,
while a team led by Timothy Jull of Arizona looked at levels of the
radioactive isotope carbon-14 in the meteorite samples. Both teams
found evidence of contamination from sources on Earth.
"What we found was that, yes, there are amino acids in the
meteorite at very low levels, but they are clearly terrestrial and they
look similar to amino acids we see in the surrounding Antarctic ice,"
Bada said. "How they got in there is still an open issue."
Jull's team found that most of the organic material found in
meteorite appeared to have identical ratios of carbon isotopes as
organic compounds on Earth. "It looks like regular terrestrial organic
material, with the exception of one small component in ALH 84001," Jull
said.
One of the strong points in the original announcement of past
life on Mars was the lack of contamination of the sample. That team
showed the concentration of one class of organic compound, polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), increased as one went deeper inside the
meteorite, which would tend to rule out terrestrial contamination.
"How they [amino acids] got in there is still an open issue,"
Bada said.
One of the members of the 1996 team, Richard Zare of Stanford
University, agreed that its possible that ALH84001 was far more
contaminated than they originally thought. "In that sense, Jull's study
does cast new doubt on our hypothesis that the meteorite contains
evidence of past Martian life," Zare said.
However, Zare said that even if the amino acids were terrestrial
in origin, it did not mean that the PAHs Zare and his group studied were
also terrestrial. "PAHs are highly insoluble and I don't know of any
mechanism that would transport them into the rock's interior where we
found them," he said.
Kathy Thomas-Keprta, another member of the original team, agreed
that comparing water-soluble amino acids with the insoluble PAHs was an
error. The new studies were "definitely not putting nails in the
coffin, or anywhere near it yet," she told UPI.
Station, Glenn, Get Mention in State of the Union
John Glenn's upcoming shuttle flight and the impending assembly
of the International Space Station both warranted mention by President
Bill Clinton in a widely-viewed State of the Union address January 27.
"Even as we explore this inner space [the Internet] in a new
millennium we're going to open new frontiers in outer space," Clinton
said near the end of the speech. "Throughout all history, humankind has
had only one place to call home -- our planet Earth. Beginning this
year, 1998, men and women from 16 countries will build a foothold in the
heavens -- the International Space Station."
"With its vast expanses, scientists and engineers will actually
set sail on an unchartered sea of limitless mystery and unlimited
potential."
Clinton also paid tribute to senator and former astronaut John
Glenn, scheduled to fly on a shuttle mission this October. "John, you
will carry with you America's hopes," Clinton said. "And on your
uniform, once again, you will carry America's flag, marking the unbroken
connection between the deeds of America's past and the daring of
America's future."
Seated in the gallery to the immediate right of First Lady
Hillary Clinton was astronaut Robert Cabana, the commander of the first
shuttle mission dedicated to the station, scheduled for launch this
July.
Clinton did not point out Cabana during his address, although he
did point out several other people seated near the First Lady. No
reason was given for the oversight, although Clinton may have chosen to
skip over Cabana to save time. The full State of the Union address ran
72 minutes, the second longest given by the verbose president.
Clinton's lack of any mention of human missions beyond the space
station drew the attention of the National Space Society. "The
President's address, our current National Space Policy, and NASA's most
recent long-term strategic plan fail to provide... any vision for our
nation in space beyond the year 2002 and completion of Space Station --
a mere four to five years away," said NSS executive director Pat Dasch.
"We are, in fact, building a glass ceiling in space."
"Our nation needs a mandate that justifies the investments being
made in Space Station, whose purpose is to test the effects of long
duration spaceflight on humans, and in technologies to lower the cost of
access to space," Dasch added. "A mandate that sets the next
destination for humans -- the moon? Mars? Both?"
Space Station Pact Signed, More Delays Possible
Representatives from the United States and 14 other nations
signed an agreement in Washington January 29 establishing a "framework
for cooperation" for the International Space Station, while Russia
warned its Service Module may be delayed yet again.
The United States, Russia, Canada, Japan, and 11 European Space
Agency member nations signed the agreement at a State Department
ceremony. The agreement outlines the responsibilities each nation has
for the assembly and operation of the station, rights of use, and
obligations to provide equipment and services to it.
The agreement replaces the original accord signed in September
1988, which at that time did not include Russia. Russia was formally
invited to join the project in 1993.
"Russia's involvement will enable us to build a better space
station," said Strobe Talbot, acting as Secretary of State in the
absence of Madeleine Albright, who was traveling overseas at the time of
the signing.
Talbot predicted that the project would help to bring the U.S.
and Russia closer together. "It will deepen the reservoir of trust in
which to dissolve the lingering antagonisms and suspicions of the past,"
he said.
While the agreement paved the way for the space station, a key
Russian-built module may delay the project further. Russian Space
Agency head Yuri Koptev, speaking January 30, hinted that the Service
Module, already delayed eight months, may be pushed back further.
Koptev said that a series of tests on the module's electrical
system, scheduled for April, will let engineers know if they will be
able to launch the module in December, as planned. "Based on our
experience with the last two modules for the Mir station, which were
tested in the same way, we believe that we can meet these schedules," he
told UPI.
The Service Module was scheduled for launch in April, but fell
behind schedule, delaying the entire station project by 6-8 months. The
module is key to early station plans, providing living quarters for a
three-person crew and enabling the station's orbit to be adjusted.
The Russian-built Control Module, the first module of the
station, was rolled out for reporters earlier in January in Russia.
That module is on schedule for a June launch on a Proton rocket,
followed in July by a shuttle mission to deliver a docking node.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [5/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Atlas Launches Military Satellite; Ariane, Delta Delayed
An Atlas IIA rocket launched a classified military satellite
January 29 while attempts to launch Ariane and Delta rockets on
commercial missions were delayed by poor weather.
The launch of the Atlas satellite, carrying the "CAPRICORN"
satellite, took place at 1:37pm EST (1837 UT) from Cape Canaveral.
Three previous launch attempts on previous days had been scrubbed
because of poor weather and, in once case, a military exercise taking
place offshore.
Although the Air Force would only report than the satellite had
successfully reached orbit, outside analysts believe the satellite is a
test of technologies for a new generation of military communications
satellites.
The launch of an Ariane booster carrying two communications
satellites was delayed Saturday until Monday, after launch attempts on
Friday, January 30 and Saturday, January 31 were scrubbed due to poor
weather at the Kourou, French Guiana launch site. The Ariane 44LP will
launch an Embratel communications satellite for Brazil and an Inmarsat
communications satellite for that international organization.
Bad weather has also delayed the launch of five Iridium
satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Launch attempts
on the morning of January 31 and February 1 were canceled until Monday.
If weather permits, the next launch opportunity would be Monday,
February 2 at 10:27am EST (1527 UT).
Rotary Rocket Gets Key Financial Advisor
Rotary Rocket Company, a California company developing the Roton
single-stage to orbit reusable spacecraft, announced January 20 that it
has brought on the same financial advisors who raised funding for the
Iridium communications satellite project.
Barclays Capital, investment banking division of Barclays Bank
PLC, London, will serve as financial advisor for Rotary Rocket and
placement agent for a $30 million to $35 million private equity
investment in the company.
"In addition to being one of the largest banks in the world,
Barclays' is one of the few that has a dedicated space division," said
Frederick Giarrusso, chief financial officer for Rotary Rocket. The
same team working for Rotary Rocket previously raised $1.75 billion for
the Iridium network of 66 low-Earth-orbit communications satellites,
currently being launched.
"The breakthrough technology and expert management of Rotary
Rocket Company are an exceptional combination," said Afsaneh Naimollah,
managing director, global head of the technologies group of Barclays
Capital. "It will quickly become the world leader in cost-effective
space transportation."
The funding Barclays' will attract will be used to complete
development and flight testing the Roton. The first atmospheric flight
tests of the Roton are planned for early 1999, with final tests, using a
new rotary aerospike engine, scheduled for late that year. Rotary
Rocket plans to put the Roton in commercial service in 2000.
Rotary Rocket also announced that it will provide free flights
for small "Bantam-class" spacecraft on scientific missions to NASA and
others. "We like to think of it as a 'Reverse Getaway Special'
program," Gary Hudson, CEO of Rotary Rocket, said online. "The purpose
is only to offer flight opportunities to scientists; it is a gift to the
American taxpayer, nothing more."
Other News
Nearby Extrasolar Planet: A large planet, or possibly a brown dwarf, may
be circling the star closest to the Sun, astronomers reported last
month. In a paper published in the Astronomical Journal and later
reported in the weekly magazine New Scientist, astronomers using the
Hubble Space Telescope believe they have imaged a planet orbiting
Proxima Centauri, a star only 4.2 light-years from the Earth. If
correct, it would mark the first time a planet had been directly
detected outside the solar system; previous extrasolar planet
discoveries have relied on inferring the existence of the planet based
on the wobble of its parent star.
SpaceDev, NASA Reach Agreement: NASA will allow scientists to propose
experiments for a private satellite mission, and receive NASA funding
for them, according to a recent agreement. According to a letter from
NASA, scientists will be able to propose experiments for SpaceDev's Near
Earth Asteroid Prospector (NEAP) spacecraft under NASA's Discovery
program. Proposals for the purchase of data from NEAP would also be
allowed, according to Carl Pilcher, acting director of the science
program in NASA's solar system exploration office. The announcement of
opportunity for the next stage of the Discovery program is due out March
20, with proposals due 60 days after that.
Blame It on El Nino: Astronomers looking for a new excuse for poor data
may have found it in today's most popular scapegoat, the weather
phenomenon El Nino. Ohio State astronomer Jay Frogel found that changes
in the water content in southern hemisphere air varied by as much as 2
percent, enough to throw off the results of any data not carefully
calibrated. "If you're trying to make measurements accurate to 1
percent, a 2-percent error is enormous," Frogel said. The effect would
be most prominent for observers in South America, Australia, and the
U.S. West Coast, home to some of the most productive observatories in
the world.
Mars Surveyor Logo Content: Time is running out to enter a content to
design the logo for the 1998 Mars Surveyor orbiter and lander missions.
The content, announced in mid-January by JPL, is open to anyone. "We're
interested in flashy, eye-catching designs that convey the excitement of
this mission to Mars," said logo content coordinator Cathy Davis. More
information about the contest is available at http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov.
Submissions can be sent to Cathy Davis, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800
Oak Grove Drive, Mail Stop T1129, Pasadena, CA 91109, and are due by
February 4. A winner will be announced February 6.
In Brief: Takao Doi, who became the first Japanese astronaut to perform
a spacewalk with two such excursions outside the shuttle late last year,
was given an award by Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto January
21... Astronauts on future missions to the Moon and Mars may eat
homegrown carrot "drumsticks", tempeh sloppy Joes, and tofu cheesecake,
if current research by Cornell food scientists pans out. Cornell is
working with NASA to develop nutritional foods that can be grown in
spacecraft. The foods are tested weekly by a panel of students and
faculty. No word if the food is better than typical college cafeteria
fare... What's the real reason behind all those power outages on Mir?
D'Angelo's, a regional chain of fast-food sandwich shops, has an idea in
a current radio commercial. After a news anchor describes the chain's
new sandwich to an astronaut, the astronaut asks how much longer he has
to stay on Mir. The answer, four more months, is greeted with the sound
of equipment shorting out. "Uh, Houston," the astronaut says, "we seem
to have another problem with the power. Looks like you're going to have
to send up some repair supplies."
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [6/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
*** Articles ***
Explorer: America's First Satellite
by Andrew LePage
(Background information on this program can be found in "Project
Orbiter: Prelude to America's First Satellite" in the January 1998 issue
of Space Views)
The Satellite
The satellite that would be lofted by ABMA's (Army Ballistic
Missile Agency) Juno 1 launch vehicle was the responsibility of
Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), then directed by William H.
Pickering. Development work on the satellite actually began back in
December of 1954. The payload compartment, which remained attached to
the last stage of the Juno 1 carrier rocket once in orbit, weighed only
8.23 kilograms (18.13 pounds) of which 5 kilograms (11 pounds) was
actual instrumentation. The stainless steel tube that would carry the
instruments was 15 centimeters (6 inches) in diameter and 81 centimeters
(32 inches) long including the aerodynamic cone at the top. The total
length of the satellite, with the spent fourth stage motor casing, was
2.03 meters (6 feet 8 inches) and it weighed 14 kilograms (30.8 pounds).
Despite its diminutive size, especially compared to the first Soviet
Sputniks, the satellite was able to carry a respectable array of
scientific instruments due to America's lead in miniaturization.
The satellite was equipped with a pair of mercury
battery-powered phase-modulated telemetry and tracking transmitters
operating at a frequency of about 108 MHz like the Navy's Vanguard
satellite. Each "microlock" transmitter had eight telemetry channels to
relay data back to the ground. The primary transmitter, with a power of
10 milliwatts, used the satellite casing, with the aid of a dipole
antenna gap toward the top of the satellite, as an antenna to transmit
data to large military receivers. The backup 60 milliwatt transmitter
used a four-wire turnstile antenna that could be detected using amateur
radio equipment. A prototype of the satellite successfully tested an
early version of the microlock transmitter on the maiden launch of Juno
1's forerunner, the Jupiter C, on September 20, 1956 during a suborbital
test flight.
The scientific payload of the satellite consisted of three
instruments. The first, supplied by JPL engineers, was a set of four
thermistors to measure spacecraft temperatures. This mission was to test
passive thermal control techniques so that the payload could withstand
the temperature extremes of space. First the stainless steel exterior of
the payload was sandblasted so that micrometeorite impacts would not
substantially change its surface properties. Eight white aluminum oxide
stripes were painted down the length of the payload section to reflect
sunlight while still allowing heat to be efficiently radiated away. The
thermistors, which were placed throughout the satellite, would allow the
engineers to assess their efforts to control the satellite's
temperature. The frequency drift of the transmitters subcarrier
oscillator could also be used to independently check on the temperature.
This data would then be used to improve the thermal design of future
spacecraft.
The remaining two instruments were concerned with characterizing
the environment in orbit. First was a cosmic ray experiment designed and
built by a University of Iowa team led by James A. Van Allen. This
instrument consisted of a commercially-available Anton 314 Geiger-Muller
tube that was 10.2 centimeters (4.0 inches) long and 2.0 centimeters
(0.79 inches) in diameter. The instrument was similar to those Van Allen
and others had flown during the previous decade on sounding rockets and
high altitude balloons. The electronics of this Geiger counter were
designed to handle counting rates five times higher than predictions
based extrapolations of rocket and balloon data. Van Allen and his team
hoped to determine if cosmic ray intensities continued to increase with
altitude as had been observed in earlier experiments.
Next was a trio of detectors supplied by the Air Force Cambridge
Research Center to detect micrometeorites. One sensor was a lead
zirconate piezoelectric crystal microphone designed to detect the impact
of micrometeorites against the satellite's metallic casing. This
detector had an effective area of 0.23 square meters (2.5 square feet)
and could detect a micrometeorite as small as 2 nanograms (75
trillionths of an ounce) travelling at 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) per
second The other pair made use of electrical resistance measurements to
detect the effects of micrometeorite strikes. One consisted of a group
of a dozen fine wire gauges, mounted on the fourth stage motor casing,
that were electrically connected in parallel. The total resistance of
this array, which had a total effective area of about 12 square
centimeters (two square inches), would change when a wire broke from a
the impact of a micrometeorite larger than 10 microns (0.4 thousandths
of an inch). The last micrometeorite sensor consisted of metallic film
deposited on a substrate whose resistance would increase as its surface
eroded.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [7/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Preparing for Launch
The rocket that would attempt to launch America's first
satellite was designated Round 29 by ABMA. This rocket was the backup
for Jupiter C Round 27 which flew the design's maiden flight in 1956.
Since this flight made use of the Juno 1 launch vehicle configuration
(save for a dummy fourth stage), Round 29 was the easiest to modify for
a satellite launch. The modified Redstone first stage was flown to Cape
Canaveral from the Redstone Arsenal in Alabama in a C-124 Globemaster
cargo aircraft on December 20, 1957 only six weeks after von Braun
received authorization to proceed. After its arrival, the first stage
was moved to the Army missile firing laboratory's Hangar D where it was
checked out and integrated with the upper stage rocket cluster which had
been checked out earlier at Jalaps spin-test facility on the Cape. By
January 13, 1958 the Rocketdyne A-7 powerplant had been checked and
final preparations were begun.
The U.S. Air Force, which operated the Cape Canaveral's test
range, assigned January 29, 1958 as the beginning of a three day period
for the ABMA satellite launch attempt. If the launch of the Juno 1 was
delayed beyond this, it would have to wait until after the Vanguard
TV-3BU satellite launch attempt which was being prepared only a
kilometer and a half (one mile) away in Hangar S. To help even the
satellite's exposure to sunlight during the first days in orbit, the
launch window was set to extend from 10:30 PM to 2:30 AM Eastern
Standard Time.
In order to avoid alerting the press to the impending launch,
the Juno 1 was erected under cover of darkness on Pad 26-A. By dawn, the
gantry was in position so that the upper stages were covered. To
observers on the beach, Round 29 looked like just another Redstone
missile test. On January 24, 1958 the press finally started receiving
daily briefings on the upcoming launch on the condition that no
information would be released until after launch. Amazingly, both the
Army and press corps kept the agreement. With the successful completion
of a flight simulation test on January 28, America's second attempt to
send a satellite into orbit was ready to go.
While all the hardware was ready, Mother Nature refused to
cooperate. Weather reports on January 29 were not promising and
indicated a wind speed of 270 kilometers (168 miles) per hour at
altitudes of 11 to 12 kilometers (36,000 to 40,000 feet). The threat of
lightning, which could prematurely set off the upper stage rocket motor
igniters on the pad, combined with the buffeting from the upper level
winds made a launch impossible. The next day the winds had hardly died
down and it was a cool and cloudy day on the ground. Hoping for improved
conditions later in the day, the 11 hour countdown started at 11:30 AM
and the Redstone was fueled. With wind speeds reported to be 349
kilometers (217 miles) per hour at 12 kilometers (40,000 feet), the
countdown was finally halted at 9:00 PM. As the night wore on the winds
slackened somewhat but not enough for a launch. Although there was some
concern that the modified Redstone's corrosive Hydyne fuel might degrade
the seals in the launch vehicle's plumbing, the rocket was left fueled
for one last launch attempt on January 31 when conditions were predicted
to be better.
As hoped, conditions on the 31st were good enough for a launch
attempt. That night about one hundred reporters gathered at a hastily
assembled grandstand 2.3 kilometers (7,500 feet) from Pad 26-A near
Hangar D. Range Safety officers would not allow them any closer. With 15
minutes to go before launch, the pad area was cleared. Three minutes
later the upper stage cluster was set spinning at 550 RPM as programmed.
After a rapid paced series of events the count reached "Zero" and the
firing command was given. This was followed by a series of events
culminating with the ignition of the main engine 14 seconds later.
Finally at 10:47:56 PM EST on January 31, 1958 (T+15.75 seconds), the
first Juno 1 leapt from the launch pad and into the night sky.
Seventy seconds after launch the upper stage cluster's spin rate
was automatically increased to 650 RPM to avoid resonant vibrations that
could shake the ascending rocket to pieces. After another 45 seconds the
spin rate was increased again to its final value of 750 RPM. Finally 2
minutes and 36.7 seconds after launch the Redstone shut down just a
fraction of a second early. Six seconds later the instrument section
with the spinning upper stage cluster separated from the now-spent
Redstone and continued to coast towards the apex of its trajectory for
another four minutes. Six minutes 43 seconds after launch, at an
altitude of 362 kilometers (225 miles), the second stage rocket cluster
was ignited on ground command. After 6.5 seconds the third stage cluster
ignited followed 6.5 seconds later by the final stage.
Telemetry received on the ground indicated that the satellite
had probably reached orbit but they would have to wait until 12:41 AM
EST when the satellite made its first pass over JPL's tracking station
in Earthquake Valley, California for confirmation. Although the signal
was received an agonizing eight minutes after the predicted time, it was
finally detected confirming the success of the launch. America's first
satellite, called Explorer 1, was in a 360 by 2,534 kilometer (224 by
1,575 miles) inclined 33.24 degrees to the equator. America was finally
in the Space Race and von Braun and his team managed to do it six days
before their 90-day deadline was reached.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [8/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Exploring the Unknown
Explorer 1 continued to transmit data until May 23, 1958 when
its batteries were finally exhausted. During its 112 day active lifetime
in orbit, its instruments returned some interesting data. The microphone
used to detect the small micrometeorites recorded 153 impacts during a
total observation time of almost 22 hours. While a slight change in
resistance was noted, none of the wire gauge detectors were
unambiguously broken by a micrometeorite. Most interesting of all were
the results of Van Allen's cosmic ray experiment. Starting at the
perigee altitude of 360 kilometers (224 miles), the cosmic ray counts
increased with altitude about as expected. Above altitudes of about 1000
kilometers (600 miles), however, the Geiger counter mysteriously fell
silent. Once the satellite fell below 600 kilometers altitude as it
returned towards perigee, the instrument started returning data once
more. Since the other instruments continued to transmit normally, it was
suspected that the cosmic ray experiment's behavior was a symptom of a
problem in the instrument or its telemetry channel. A second satellite
was needed to make more observations.
JPL engineers prepared a second satellite for launch. Explorer
2, which carried a payload of 8.55 kilograms (18.83 pounds), was
virtually identical to its predecessor. On March 5, 1958 Explorer 2
lifted off from Cape Canaveral on top of Juno 1 Round 26. Unfortunately
for the first time in the Jupiter C/Juno 1 program, the launch vehicle
suffered a major malfunction during flight. The final stage of the upper
stage cluster did not ignite and the satellite failed to reach orbit.
Already in the pipeline was yet another satellite that was being
quickly prepared for launch as part of ABMA's now expanded $16 million,
four-satellite "Project 416". While similar in appearance to the first
two Explorers, the new satellite possessed a slightly different mix of
internal equipment. Deleted to keep the total payload weight down to
8.42 kilograms (18.53 pounds) were the micrometeorite microphone, the
turnstile antenna, and all but two thermistors. A miniature tape
recorder was now carried to store cosmic ray data when the satellite was
out of range of tracking stations. This device could record an entire
orbit's worth of radiation data and transmit it upon ground command in
five seconds. The scaling circuits of the cosmic ray experiment were
also modified to slightly increase the maximum count rate.
On March 26, 1958, just nine days after the first successful
Vanguard launch, Explorer 3 was lifted into orbit by Juno 1 Round 24.
Due to a large deviation in its injection angle, the satellite ended up
in a highly eccentric 188 by 2,801 kilometer (117 by 1,741 mile) orbit
inclined 33.5 degrees to the equator. The low perigee caused the
satellite's orbit to decay faster than planned and limited the
spacecraft's useful lifetime to 93 days. Despite the shortened mission,
the cosmic ray experiment experienced the same lack of particle counts
at altitudes above 1000 kilometers (600 miles). Dr. Van Allen
immediately began to suspect that the radiation counts were not falling
to zero but instead became so high as to saturate the instrument's
electronics.
Van Allen's discovery of what appeared to be a belt of trapped
radiation encircling the Earth, and not cosmic rays from deep space, was
of major importance. Decades earlier a Norwegian geophysicist named Carl
Stormer predicted the existence of zones above the Earth where charged
particles could become trapped between magnetic field lines. The problem
at the time Stormer developed his theory was that there was no mechanism
known to allow particles into this trap. Van Allen's findings
demonstrated that these zones of "soft" radiation actually did exist and
that somehow nature found a way to let particles into the trap. Van
Allen's remarkable discovery was formally presented on May 1, 1958
during a landmark talk to a special joint meeting of the National
Academy of Sciences and the American Physical Society in Washington, DC.
The detection of what later became known as the Van Allen Belts was the
first major discovery of the Space Age.
The Last ABMA Satellites
The instrumentation of the last satellite in ABMA's Project 416,
Explorer 4, was totally devoted to studies of the Van Allen belt. The
final stage of this satellite's launch vehicle, Round 44, was modified
to make use of a new high performance propellant that increased the
useful payload for this and subsequent Juno 1 flights from about 8.4
kilograms (18.5 pounds) to 11.70 kilograms (25.76 pounds). The sensors
on this satellite included a pair of Anton 302 Geiger-Muller tubes
which, with a diameter of 7 millimeters (0.28 inches) and a length of 9
millimeters (0.35 inches), were smaller than the Anton 314 tubes carried
by earlier Explorers. One of the tubes was shielded with one millimeter
(0.04 inches) of lead to help reduce the particle count rate and filter
out low energy particles. The Anton 302 tube was subsequently carried by
many satellites and space probes thus allowing direct comparison of the
data.
Also carried were a pair of photomultiplier tube-equipped
scintillators mounted behind windows drilled into the satellite's
casing. These detectors allowed for the detection and differentiation of
various types of radiation as well as allowing an estimate to be made of
their energies. The smaller sizes of the detectors meant that the count
rates would be reduced to levels that could be more easily handled by
the satellite's electronics.
Explorer 4 was successfully launched into a 262 by 2,210
kilometer (163 by 1,374 mile) orbit inclined 50.1 degrees to the equator
on July 26, 1958. During its 455-day mission, Explorer 4 was able to
produce a much clearer picture of the structure of the inner portions of
the Van Allen belt as it bobbed in and out of the belt a dozen times a
day. It also made observations of man-made radiation the was injected
into the belts as a result of a trio of one- to two-kiloton nuclear
bombs detonated at an altitude of 480 kilometers (300 miles) over the
South Atlantic Ocean between August 27 and September 6, 1958. Called
Project Argus, this was an ARPA (Advanced Research Project Agency)
sponsored project to determine the effects of high altitude nuclear
detonations not only on radiation levels in the belt but on long
distance radio communications and radar.
By this point in history, however, the ABMA satellite program
was winding down. With the upcoming creation of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) in October of 1958, it was anticipated
that all ABMA space-related projects would be transferred to the new
civilian agency. But before this happened, the Army would make two more
satellite launch attempts. The first was Explorer 5 launched on Round 47
on August 24, 1958. It carried a payload similar to its predecessor to
make observations of the upcoming Project Argus nuclear detonations.
Unfortunately it failed to achieve orbit when the upper stage fired in
the wrong direction resulting in a collision with the instrument
compartment. The final ABMA-launched satellite made use of Round 49 on
October 22, 1958. Initially designated Explorer 6 but later renamed
Beacon 1, this satellite carried radio equipment to yield information on
the Earth's ionosphere. Unfortunately this satellite also failed to
reach Earth orbit. With this rather anticlimactic failure, the Juno 1
launch vehicle, with three successes and three failures, was retired
making way for the larger Juno 2. This rocket would be used to send
larger Explorer satellites into orbit as well as push the frontiers of
space exploration out to the Moon and beyond.
Bibliography
Josef Boehm, Hans J. Fichtner, and Otto A. Hoberg, "Explorer Satellites
Launched by the Juno 1 and Juno 2 Space Carrier Vehicles", in
Astronautical Engineering and Sciences, edited by Ernst Stuhlinger,
Frederick I. Ordway III, Jerry C. McCall, and George C. Bucher,
pp.215-239, McGraw-Hill Books Company, 1963
William R. Corliss, Space Radiation, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, 1968
Richard S. Lewis, Appointment on the Moon, The Viking Press, 1968
Charles A. Lundquist, "Progress in Design and Implementation of
Scientific Spacecraft", in Space Research: Proceedings of the First
International Space Science Symposium, edited by Hilde Kallmann Bijl,
Interscience Publishers, pp. 540-562, 1960
William H. Pickering, "History of the Juno Cluster System", in
Astronautical Engineering and Sciences, edited by Ernst Stuhlinger,
Frederick I. Ordway III, Jerry C. McCall, and George C. Bucher,
pp.203-214, McGraw-Hill Books Company, 1963
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [9/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Three Times around the Earth: John Glenn's Historic Space Flight
by Barbara Fitzgerald-Malone
The men and women who dedicate their lives to serving the
country are heroes in the minds of all Americans. Senator John H. Glenn,
Jr., is a true American hero for, on February 20, 1962, he became the
first American to orbit the Earth.
For centuries, people have been curious about the origins of the
Earth, Sun, the Moon, and the entire Solar System. With the invention of
the telescope in the sixteenth century, the world was on its way to
discovering the mysteries of the universe. Space flight, however, had
not become a reality until the early 1960's.
Sending a man into orbit around the Earth was a key milestone
for NASA's space program and for the United States. The name of the man
responsible for that milestone is John Herschel Glenn, Jr.
United States Marine Corps Veteran
On July 18, 1921, forty years before the late President John F.
Kennedy made sending a man to the Moon a national goal, John Herschel
Glenn was born in Cambridge, Ohio. He was an honor student in high
school and a star player in football, basketball, and tennis, before
graduating in 1939.
Glenn had a fascination with aviation from an early age. One
year, when an epidemic of scarlet fever restricted him from going
outside, Glenn began building model airplanes out of wood. When the
models crashed, he repaired them and flew them again.
Glenn learned to fly in a Navy program for civilians in New
Philadelphia, Ohio, while attending Muskingum College. After three years
of college, he left to join the Naval Aviation Cadet Program and became
a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He became a naval aviator
in March of 1943. In October of 1944, the Marine Corps promoted Glenn to
first lieutenant.
The first time John Glenn served his country was when he joined
the Marine Fighter Squadron. During World War II, he flew in fifty-nine
missions and became a captain in July of 1945. He also served in the
Korean War from 1950 to 1953, where he flew in ninety combat missions.
He shot down three enemy planes two weeks before the fighting ended. By
1952, he advanced to the rank of major.
For his courageous efforts during the wars, the Armed Forces
awarded Glenn four Distinguished Flying Crosses for "heroism while
participating in aerial flights". John Glenn also received nineteen Air
Medals for "meritorious achievements while participating in aerial
flights, and for single acts of merit, or of sustained operational
activities".
During the war, mechanics often declared Glenn's aircraft unfit
to fly, because he brought them back in such bad shape. The amazing
thing was that he returned the planes without injury to himself. Glenn
defended his country in the Korean War and in World War II, yet his acts
of heroism did not stop there.
After the Korean War, Glenn became a test pilot. At the Navy's
Test Pilot School in Patuxent, Maryland, he tested the Navy's new
fighter jets. Later, while assigned to the Fighter Branch of the Navy's
Bureau of Aeronautics, John Glenn gained experience in the design of new
planes and equipment.
On July 16, 1957, he set a transcontinental speed record in a
supersonic jet. He traveled from New York to Los Angeles in three hours
and twenty-three minutes, in an F8U jet aircraft. After his
record-breaking flight, he received his fifth Distinguished Flying
Cross. Less than three months later, something happened that changed his
life forever.
Astronaut Selection
On October 4, 1957, Russia launched the first artificial
satellite, Sputnik 1. That event hurled the United States into the Space
Age. When President Kennedy announced that the U.S. would send a man to
the Moon, he was confident in this country's ability to achieve that
goal, in part because of the people willing to work toward that goal.
President Kennedy called space "a new ocean" and he named the
astronauts "admirals of that ocean". Becoming an astronaut was a new and
exciting career option in the early 1960's. Before the formation of
NASA, people mentioned astronauts only in the world of science fiction.
On October 1, 1958, NASA sent requests to commanding officers of
the Air Force, the Navy, and the Marines. NASA was searching for men
with the qualifications required to become part of the U.S. space
program. The men would be part of the first of three programs planned by
NASA, called Project Mercury. Project Mercury's objectives were to put a
man into orbit around the Earth, and to successfully recover the
astronaut and his spacecraft. Another goal of the Mercury program was to
explore the abilities of man in the strange and hostile environment of
space.
Candidates for the Mercury program had to be university
graduates, with a degree in the physical sciences or engineering. They
also had to be graduates from a military test pilot training school,
with a minimum of 1500 hours of flight time. They could be no taller
than five feet, eleven inches, and no more than 40 years old.
NASA received a list of possible candidates from the Armed Forces and,
from that list, had chosen one-hundred and ten of the best. NASA called
them in for interviews. When the men arrived for the meeting, NASA
officials asked if they would like to participate in a program that
would put a man in space. After the interviews, NASA narrowed down the
list of possibilities down to thirty-two names.
A team of the finest specialists in the medical field worked
with NASA to come up with one of the most extensive battery of physical
and psychological test imagined. The physical tests included the study
of blood and tissue samples, X-rays, and several different types of eye
examinations. Other tests involved the candidates' heart, circulation,
and nervous system. There were various lab tests related to the type of
work the men would carry out during space flights.
The tests subjected the men to accelerative forces, high-energy
noises, low barometric pressures, and thermal stresses. The medical team
evaluated their personalities, and tested their stress and fatigue
levels. There were also tests in the behavioral sciences, and in
anthropology.
On April 9, 1959, after an extensive battery of tests, NASA
chose Lieutenant Colonel John H. Glenn, Jr. and six others to become
astronauts in the Mercury Program. Once selected, those seven men began
evaluations and tests to determine their potentials.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [10/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Astronaut Training
NASA had to prepare its new astronauts for the dangers of space
flight. Hazardous physical conditions of space included the problems of
extreme temperatures, exposure to radiation, the absence of atmosphere,
and the problems associated with weightlessness. Space flight would
confine the astronauts within a small spacecraft in an unfamiliar
setting. Confinement may cause human beings to become mentally fatigued,
which, in turn, produces unsound judgment and impaired cognitive
thinking. NASA's medical team included an exercise program for the
astronauts to keep them alert while in space.
Besides all the space flight training, the astronauts spent a
large amount of time in the classroom. The astronauts studied
meteorology, computer applications, aerodynamics, and other
space-related subjects.
Astronauts had to become familiar with all spacecraft systems.
To accomplish this, the astronauts studied rocket engineering,
astronomy, basic mechanics, and navigation and communications systems.
Another segment of instruction for the astronauts involved
simulated test flights. They simulated liftoff, reentry, orbital
maneuvers, and lunar landings. They practiced survival training in the
desert, the jungle, and in the water. These procedures were in
anticipation of malfunctions in the spacecraft that would force the
astronauts to make an emergency landing hundreds of miles from the
selected landing site. The astronauts also participated in other
simulated emergencies.
Controlling the spacecraft was an important simulated test to
prepare the astronauts for tumbling about in space. It simulated three
types of turning motions; up and down; left to right; and front to back.
At times, they conducted all three turning motions at once.
Each astronaut specialized in certain aspects of the U.S. Space
Program. Glenn was responsible for the design of the cockpit, for the
layout of the controls, and for the instrumentation of the space
vehicle. He also contributed to the spacecraft's design by suggesting a
secondary power system for the space capsule.
NASA set up a threefold plan for sending a man to the Moon. They
called these programs Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo. Project Mercury began
in October of 1958. The project's objectives were to put a man into
space, keep him there, and return him safely to Earth.
Astronaut Alan B. Shepard was the first American in space aboard
the Mercury spacecraft Freedom 7, on May 5, 1961. His suborbital flight
lasted fifteen minutes. The second American in space was astronaut Gus
Grissom. He proved how valuable the water survival training was during
his suborbital flight on July 21, 1961. The bolts securing the hatch of
his spacecraft blew off prematurely after the capsule's splashdown. His
survival training prevented him from drowning.
NASA named John Glenn the backup pilot for the first two Mercury
flights but his turn to pilot a spacecraft of his own would come soon
enough. On November 29, 1961, NASA assigned Glenn to make the first
manned orbital flight. Glenn named the Mercury capsule Friendship 7
after the original seven, to honor his fellow astronauts.
They originally scheduled the flight of Friendship 7 for
December 20, 1961. Mechanical problems and bad weather conditions
postponed the flight. NASA delayed it ten times within two months. It
would have been enough to make anyone anxious and unnerved, but Glenn
took it in strides. He used the time to study and practice as he waited
for the big moment.
First American to Orbit the Earth
On February 20, 1962, millions of people watched as astronaut
John H. Glenn lifted off into space at 9:47 a.m. Seated on a couch
inside the Mercury capsule, Glenn was in orbit five minutes after
liftoff. They put the spacecraft into a low orbit using the craft's
guidance systems. NASA devised the systems to keep the spacecraft in an
upright position. Tracking stations were situated around the world,
monitoring his flight. A tracking station over Mexico picked up a signal
from the craft that showed that it was swinging to the right.
Due to a malfunction in the system, Glenn had to control his
spacecraft manually to maintain the proper position, or attitude. Glenn
managed it with cleverness and agility, as only an experienced pilot of
his stature could have done.
Glenn crossed the Atlantic Ocean, flew over Africa, the Indian
Ocean, and Australia. He flew over the Pacific Ocean, the West Coast of
the United States, and back over Florida. Each orbit took one and
one-half hours.
Glenn was slated to stay in space for seven orbits. However,
ground controllers received an indication that the head shield that
would protect his spacecraft may have loosened. Without the heat shield,
the capsule would not be able to survive the intense heat of reentry.
NASA decided to bring Glenn back after just three orbits. The
retrorocket pack, which slowed the capsule down to begin reentry, was
kept in place during the reentry to help hold the heat shield in place.
Glenn successfully splashed down four hours and 56 minutes after launch.
Later analysis of the capsule showed the heat shield was never loose;
the warning about a loose heat shield was an error.
After The Mission
Two days later, New York gave a parade in Glenn's honor.
Millions rushed to New York City to catch a glimpse of John Glenn. They
held parades in Washington, DC, in Cocoa Beach, Florida, in Glenn's
hometown, and in other cities, as well.
He received three more medals; The Navy's Astronaut Wings, The
Marine Corps' Astronauts Medal (a new insignia) and The Medal of Honor
from New York City. To commemorate his historic space flight, the United
States Post Office issued a four-cent stamp with a caption that read,
TU.S. Man in Space'. Glenn received the Distinguished Service Medal of
NASA, and the Hubbard Medal of the National Geographic Society, as well.
John Glenn served his country a second time by paving the way
for other manned space flights. Glenn made it possible for other
astronauts to travel to, and eventually land on, the Moon.
United States Senator Glenn's loyalty to his country did not end
after he left the astronaut program in 1964. John Glenn retired from the
Marines in 1965, to own his own business and to serve as a consultant
for NASA. In 1974, he was elected as a United States Senator from Ohio.
He won reelection to the office in 1980, 1986, and 1992, before
announcing in 1997 his plans not to run for reelection in 1998.
Although Glenn's three-orbit flight was one of the shortest in
the history of the American space program, it was also one of the most
important. The confidence gained by that successful flight helped propel
the nation to greater successes later in the Mercury program, the Gemini
program, and eventually the Apollo lunar missions.
In the years since Friendship 7, Glenn has made it no secret
that he was interested in flying in space again, so long as it could be
justified through scientific experiments. While some will criticize the
selection of Glenn to October's shuttle mission, Glenn -- one of the
great heroes of the space program -- will at least get the opportunity
to make up the four orbits his missed on his original flight, and then
some.
Barbara Fitzgerald-Malone is a freelance writer. She lives in
Philadelphia, PA with her husband and three children. Barbara
specializes in writing articles about NASA and the American space
program.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [11/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
*** Book Reviews ***
by Jeff Foust
Reliving Apollo
Moon Missions: Mankind's First Voyages to Another World
by William F. Mellberg
Plymouth Press, 1997
softcover, 196pp., illus.
ISBN 1-882663-12-8
US$19.95
It's now been over 25 years since the last Apollo moon landing,
and only within the last month has another NASA mission, Lunar
Prospector, been dispatched to the Moon (although other spacecraft,
including a few Soviet missions in the 1970s and the Defense
Department's Clementine mission in 1994, have gone to the Moon.) While
Lunar Prospector may herald a new generation in lunar exploration, it's
clear the first generation has long since passed us. William Mellberg
provides a concise history of those early space exploration efforts in
"Moon Missions".
Mellberg's book is as much a capsule history of the Space Race
as it is a history of missions to the Moon, as the Moon was the
overarching goal of the American and Soviet space efforts of the day.
Manned programs in both nations are covered as well as robotic missions
to the Moon. The book does not place an emphasis on any particular
missions or method of exploration: Apollo 11 and 13 receive as much
coverage in the book as other manned Apollo missions (if not less), and
the Ranger, Surveyor, and Lunar Orbiter missions are discussed in
detail.
The future of lunar exploration is not excluded, with a small
section mainly focusing on former Apollo astronaut Harrison Schmitt's
proposal to establish a base on the Moon to extract helium-3 for fusion
reactors on Earth. (Schmitt also provides the foreword to the book.)
Still, the focus on the book is on the past missions, and the lessons --
technical and scientific -- learned from them. As new data and
discoveries return to Earth from Lunar Prospector, those looking for an
introduction or refresher on the past deeds of lunar exploration would
be well served by "Moon Missions".
Studying the Earth from Space
Earth from Above: Using Color-Coded Satellite Images to Examine the
Global Environment
by Claire L. Parkinson
University Science Books, 1997
softcover, 176pp., illus.
ISBN 0-935702-41-5
US$24
Remote Sensing Calibration Systems: An Introduction
by H. S. Chen
A. Deepak Publishing, 1996
hardcover, 238pp., illus.
ISBN 0-937194-38-7
US$64
Although most attention to space efforts has been to exploring
the solar system and beyond, with human and robotic missions, the study
of our own world from orbit has been a key achievement of the Space Age.
Satellites orbiting the Earth are able to monitor everything from cloud
patterns and the content of the atmosphere to sea-level changes and
changes both natural and human-induced to the land. Two books, working
at opposite ends, provide more information on this topic.
"Earth from Above" by NASA climatologist Claire Parkinson
provides a basic introduction to remote sensing for students and others
new to the field. The book uses actual data from different spacecraft
to illustrate their ability to detect changes in the environment, from
snowfall levels to El Nino. Although designed primarily for students
(the book includes review questions in each chapter, with answers in the
back) it's a useful introduction for anyone who wants to understand how
satellites can provide data on such diverse topics.
Those already knowledgeable in the field and who seek further
information may prefer "Remote Sensing Calibration Systems". Designed
more as a reference work and upper-level textbook, the book goes into
detail on various instruments used in remote sensing and the methods
available to calibrate their data. Only those who are students in the
field or have a great deal of knowledge about it already will find the
book useful, but for those people, it may serve as a handy reference.
*** NSS News ***
Upcoming Boston NSS Events
Thursday, February 5, 7:30pm
"TERRIERS: Hands-on Space Experiments by Students and Young
Professionals"
by Supriya Chakrabarti
At Boston University students and young scientists have
developed a state-of-the-art satellite mission to answer important
scientific questions at less than 10% of the cost. In this talk, the
mission and the process that led to its successful development will be
described.
Professor Supriya Chakrabarti is the Director of the Center for
Space Physics at Boston University and is a member of the TERRIERS
development team.
Thursday, March 5, 7:30pm
"Supersonic Projectiles Producing Thrust by External Combustion: A
Potential System for Low-Cost Access to Space"
by Robert G. Hohlfeld, Research Associate Professor, Center for
Computational Science, Boston University, and Vice President for
R & D, HyperKinetics, Inc.
Air-breathing hypersonic propulsion systems have received
renewed interest in recent years for use in systems for economical
access to low earth orbit and in other aerospace systems. Such systems
are expected to have significantly enhanced performance due to their use
of atmospheric oxygen over all or part of their mission profile. We
have produced and successfully tested projectiles which generate thrust
by the combustion of a metallic fuel on the external, trailing surfaces
of the projectile. Proposals for thrust production by external
combustion date from the 1950s, but to our knowledge, this is the first
tractable experimental system exhibiting thrust production by external
combustion, and almost certainly the first such system for a free-flying
projectile. Plans for further experimental testing and computational
fluid dynamics studies to produce new projectile designs operating at
higher Mach numbers will be discussed.
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [12/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Philadelphia Area Space Alliance News
by Jay Haines
PASA business luncheon and formal meeting from 1-3 pm, the
second Saturday, at least for the next couple of months. Locations might
vary.
Scheduled PASA activities: Feb.14th regular monthly meeting at
Liberty One food court (see below). Mar. 14th regular monthly meeting,
location TBA. Apr. 18th (N.B., 3rd Sat.) regular monthly meeting,
location TBA. Call Earl for details.
Jan. Meeting Report: The Feb. 14th meeting will take place at
the Liberty One food court (2nd level), 16th & Market. Go toward the
windows, then to the right. Public parking in Liberty on 17th St., or at
16th & Spring. The following reports were presented: Michelle Baker
discussed the NSS Director-At-Large nominations, and we all signed
several nominations. She suggested we construct the Cassini and Galileo
models: plans are on the NASA Web site. Oscar Harris discussed
International Space Station Launch Countdown educational materials.
Mitch Gordon discussed his four points for growth: non-profits,
for-profits, universities, and the Internet, and proposed a
multi-non-profit-organization convention at Rittenhouse Square, which he
was given approval to investigate. Earl proposed our 98 theme: The Solar
System: Our Extended Home.
Earl Bennett presented the technical report on: the Lunar
Prospector launched Tues., and should arrive today (Sat.). It will look
for water at 60 mi. altitude for up to 12 mos., then from 6 mi. for 6
mos., then impact the moon. A bare-bones satellite, the Lunar Prospector
cost $20M, with total costs including launch at $63M.
Earl also discussed: Europa pictures available on the NASA
Galileo Web site (full-screen pictures can be downloaded), the Jan. 98
Sensors magazine articles on off-the-shelf Kodak image sensors used on
the 97 Mars lander (768*512 pixels), the 1024*1024 pixel image sensors
to be on the 98 Mars orbiter/lander, and strain gauge testing of the 97
Mars lander.
*** Regular Features ***
Jonathan's Space Report No. 348
by Jonathan McDowell
[Ed. Note: Go to http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/jsr/jsr.html for
back issues and other information about Jonathan's Space Report.]
The annual launch log (JSR 347) is on the web at
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/jsr/log.1997
and an updated geostationary log is at
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~jcm/space/jsr/geo.html
Shuttle and Mir
The Kvant-2 airlock hatch, partially repaired in a spacewalk on Jan 9,
is still leaking slightly. Solov'yov and Wolf made a 3-hour EVA on Jan
14 to inspect the station exterior.
Space Shuttle Endeavour took off on Jan 22 on mission STS-89. Launch
was at 0248 UTC; Endeavour flew up the eastern seabord of the US into a
51 degree orbit, and I was easily able to see it, in the seconds prior
to main engine cutoff, from the street in downtown Cambridge. Crew is
Terrence Wilcutt, Joe Edwards, James Reilly, Michael Anderson, Andy
Thomas and Bonnie Dunbar (all of NASA) and Salizhan Sharipov (Russian
Air Force). Thomas will replace David Wolf aboard Mir, and will be the
final NASA long-stay visitor to Mir. Endeavour docked with the SO module
on Mir at 2014 UTC on Jan 24.
Endeavour's cargo bay contains:
Bay 1 Tunnel Adapter
Bay 3 Orbiter Docking System/External Airlock
Bay 4-7 Transfer Tunnel
Bay 8-12 Spacehab Double Module
Bay 13P GABA carrier with G-141, G-145
Bay 13S GABA carrier with G-093, G-432
The four Getaway Special cans are G-141 and G-145, a pair of German
materials processing experiments, G-093, a University of Michigan fluid
dynamics experiment, and G-432, a Chinese materials processing payload.
The orbiter middeck carries CEBAS, a German/US biological module for
aquatic organisms including fish and snails, and a locker containing a
dinosaur skull carried as part of a museum educational program. (As far
as I know, this is not the start of a regular `dinosaurs in space'
project, and so is unrelated to the forthcoming flights of Glenn and
Ryumin). The Spacehab carries supplies for Mir, and a test of an X-ray
crystallography detector for the Space Station.
Recent Launches
Israel launched a three-stage Shaviyt vehicle from Palamchim Air Force
Base on Jan 22, attempting to place the 'Ofeq-4 imaging satellite into
orbit. The failure seems to have occurred during second stage burn. The
Shaviyt vehicle launches west from Israel over the Mediterranean.
The NEAR asteroid rendezvous spacecraft flew past Earth on Jan 23
at 0723 UTC on Jan 23, 530 km above Iran. Sun glint from the
solar panels briefly made NEAR a naked eye object from the Western
hemisphere.
Lunar Prospector has now reached its final mapping orbit. After trim
burns it was in a 99 x 100 km circular orbit, but the uneven lunar
gravity field soon perturbed this to 80 x 120 km.
Errata
Maxim Tarasenko spotted two goofs in JSR347 - first, the launch on Dec
20 was Progress M-37 not Progress M-36; secondly, the Parus-class
satellite Kosmos-2346 (1997-52A) was made by AO Polyot, not NPO PM.
Table of Recent Launches
Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL.
DES.
Jan 7 0228 Lunar Prospector Athena-2 SP Florida LC46 Probe 01A
Jan 10 0032 Skynet 4D Delta 7925 Canaveral LC17B Comsat 02A
Jan 22 1300 'Ofeq-4 Shaviyt Palamchim Imaging F01
Jan 23 0248 Endeavour Shuttle Kennedy LC39A Spaceship 03A
Current Shuttle Processing Status
____________________________________________
Orbiters Location Mission Launch Due
OV-102 Columbia OPF Bay 3 STS-90 Apr 2
OV-103 Discovery OPF Bay 2 STS-91 May 28
OV-104 Atlantis Palmdale OMDP
OV-105 Endeavour LEO STS-89 Jan 22
MLP/SRB/ET/OV stacks
MLP1/
MLP2/RSRM65 VAB Bay 3 STS-90
MLP3/ LC39A STS-89
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
Дата: 01 февраля 1998 (1998-02-01)
От: Alexander Bondugin
Тема: SpaceViews - February 1998 by Boston NSS [13/13]
Привет всем!
Вот, свалилось из Internet...
Space Calendar
by Ron Baalke
[Ed. Note: visit http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/ for the complete
calendar]
Feb ?? - CRSS-1 Athena 2 Launch
Feb 01 - Moon Occults Saturn
Feb 02 - Mercury Passes 2.0 Degrees From Neptune
Feb 02 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 DB2 at Opposition (39.263 AU - 23.5
Magnitude)
Feb 02 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 DA2 at Opposition (33.031 AU - 23.3
Magnitude)
Feb 02-04 - International Workshop on Electric Components For The
Commercialization of Military and Space Systems, Huntington
Beach, California
Feb 02-05 - First International Conference on Comet Hale-Bopp, Canary
Islands, Spain
Feb 03-04 - 1998 Direct Broadcast Satellite Conference: Five Burning
Questions, Los Angeles, California
Feb 04 - SNOE/BATSAT Pegasus XL Launch
Feb 04 - NEAR, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #12 (TCM-12)
Feb 04 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CT29 at Opposition (43.898 AU - 21.5
Magnitude)
Feb 05 -Globalstar-1 Delta 2 Launch
Feb 05 - Odin Start 1 Launch (Russia)
Feb 05 - Asteroid 1997 CU26 at Opposition (12.717 AU - 17.3 Magnitude)
Feb 05-06 - Space Weather: Research To Operations II, Boulder, Colorado
Feb 06 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CR29 at Opposition (41.011 AU - 22.7
Magnitude)
Feb 07 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #41 (OTM-41)
Feb 07-08 - Northwoods Winter Starfest, Fall Creek, Wisconsin
Feb 08 - Mercury Passes 1.3 Degrees From Uranus
Feb 08 - Asteroid 30 Urania at Opposition (10.3 Magnitude)
Feb 08 - Asteroid 704 Interamnia at Opposition (10.9 Magnitude)
Feb 08 - Asteroid 3800 Karayusuf Closest Approach to Earth (0.588 AU)
Feb 08 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CV29 at Opposition (39.000 AU - 23.0
Magnitude)
Feb 08 - Jules Verne's 170th Birthday (1828)
Feb 09 - Asteroid 1951 Lick Closest Approach to Earth (0.524 AU)
Feb 09-10 - COSPAR/IAF Workshop on Scientific and Technical Aspects and
Applications of Space-Based Meteorology, Vienna, Austria
Feb 09-11 - 1998 AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Monterey,
California
Feb 10 - Galileo, Europa 13 Flyby
Feb 10 - Asteroid 3521 Comrie Closest Approach to Earth (1.172 AU)
Feb 10-11 - 1st FAA Commerical Space Transportation Conference,
Arlington, Virginia
Feb 10-13 - Toward Solar Max 2000 Workshop, Yosemite, California
Feb 11 - JawSat Minuteman II Launch
Feb 11 - Asteroid 7335 (1989 JA) Closest Approach to Earth (1.535 AU)
Feb 12 - Asteroid 3361 Orpheus Near-Earth Flyby (0.1668 AU)
Feb 12 - Asteroid 63 Ausonia at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Feb 12 - Asteroid 105 Artemis Occults TAC -052851 (9.7 Magnitude Star)
Feb 12 - Marcel Minnaert's 105th Birthday (1893)
Feb 13 - Asteroid 1992 EB1 Closest Approach to Earth (1.218 AU)
Feb 14 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #42 (OTM-42)
Feb 14 - Asteroid 1116 Catriona Occults Beta Aurigae (1.9 Magnitude
Star)
Feb 14 - Edouard Baillaud's 150th Birthday (1848)
Feb 14 - Fritz Zwicky's 100th Birthday (1898)
Feb 15 - Voyager 1 Overtakes Pioneer 10 (Farthest Man-Made Object To
Leave The Solar System)
Feb 15 - ORBCOM-2 Pegasus XL Launch
Feb 16 - 50th Anniversary (1948), Kuiper's Discovery of Uranus Moon
Miranda
Feb 17 - Asteroid 192 Nausikaa at Opposition (10.7 Magnitude)
Feb 17 - Asteroid 405 Thia at Opposition (11.0 Magnitude)
Feb 17 - Asteroid 1996 DH Closest Approach to Earth (0.980 AU)
Feb 18 - GPS Delta 2 Launch
Feb 18 - Asteroid 95 Arethusa Occults TAC -056044 (9.7 Magnitude Star)
Feb 18 - Asteroid 6 Hebe Occults TAC -078628 (11.0 Magnitude Star)
Feb 18-20 - 3rd International Symposium on Sources and Detection of Dark
Matter in the Universe, Santa Monica, California
Feb 19 - Asteroid 516 Amherstia at Opposition (10.8 Magnitude)
Feb 19 - Asteroid 1995 LH Closest Approach to Earth (2.782 AU)
Feb 19 - Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking Program Lecture, Pasadena,
California
Feb 19 - Copernicus' 525th Birthday (1473)
Feb 20 - Progress M-38 Soyuz Launch (Russia)
Feb 20 - Chinastar-1 Long March 3B Launch (China)
Feb 20 -[Jan 24] COMETS H-II Launch (Japan)
Feb 20 - Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking Program Lecture, Pasadena,
California
Feb 20 - 5th Anniversary (1993), ASCA (Asuka) X-Ray Observatory Launch
(Japan)
Feb 21 - STEX Taurus 3 Launch
Feb 21 - Asteroid 1998 BY7 Near-Earth Flyby (0.030 AU)
Feb 22 - Asteroid 5590 1990 VA Near-Earth Flyby (0.2383 AU)
Feb 22 - Mercury Passes 1.0 Degree From Jupiter
Feb 22 - Asteroid 153 Hilda Occults PPM 717088 (9.8 Magnitude Star)
Feb 23 - Comet McNaught-Hughes Perihelion (2.116 AU)
Feb 23-27 - 17th AIAA International Communications Satellite Systems
Conference, Yokohama, Japan
Feb 24 - Asteroid 1994 CN2 Closest Approach To Earth (1.186 AU)
Feb 24 - 30th Anniversary (1968), Discovery of First Pulsar
Feb 26 - Solar Eclipse, Visible from Galapagos, S. America & Carribean
Feb 26 - Kuiper Belt Object 1997 CQ29 at Opposition (40.176 AU - 22.6
Magnitude)
Feb 26 - Kuiper Belt Object 1995 DC2 at Opposition (44.230 AU - 23.5
Magnitude)
Feb 27 - Hot Bird-4/BSAT-1B Ariane 4 Launch
Feb 27 - Moon Occults Mars
Feb 27 - Comet P/1997 G1 Montani Closest Approach to Earth (3.577 AU)
Feb 28 - Comet Tempel-Tuttle Perihelion (0.977 AU)
Feb 28 - Asteroid 1988 EG Near-Earth Flyby (0.0316 AU)
Hа сегодня все, пока!
=SANA=
сайт служит астрономическому сообществу с 2005 года
