An interesting week on the frontier. The last crew to occupy Mir was launched. The US Government shut down Boeing's SeaLaunch venture while it investigates possible technology transfers. The USAF successfully concluded the first drop test of the X-40 Space Maneuver Vehicle prototype. Topping the news was the launch and destruction of a Titan 4A rocket carrying a classified NRO payload.
Headlines of the week of August 14 include:
In preparation for the August 15 arrival of a Soyuz capsule with the last Mir crew, the present Mir crew detached the Progress cargo vessel on August 13. The Soyuz TM-38 was successfully launched on Thursday, August 14 at 1:43 PM local time from Baikonur, Kazakstan. The Soyuz is commanded by Sergey Avdeev with engineer Gennadiy Padalka and former presidential security advisor Uri Baturin. It is hoped that the Soyuz will be able to dock with Mir using the intermittently-operational Kurs automatic docking system. Although much has been made of the political connections of Baturin, 49, he is a space physicist by training. The launch was delayed by ten days until Energia could obtain loans to pay the overdue power bills and have the power at the launch site restored. The power had been turned off for two weeks prior to obtaining the loan. The government is said to owe Energia $600 million (AP).
The present Mir crew of Talgat Muasbayev and Kikolai Budarin along with Uri Baturin will leave the station on August 25. Muasbayev and Budarin began their stay by conducting a series of space walks to stabilize the station and repair damage caused by the collision over a year ago. Their stay on Mir has been remarkably free of the failures that plagued previous crews. Padalka is to stay on Mir until February and return with visiting French and German cosmonauts. Sergey Avdeev may stay on the station alone until June when it is abandoned (AP).
In one of the stranger developments concerning the International Space Station, it has been reported that the Khrunichev space engineering company has built a second cargo module despite refusals from both the Russian and US governments to pay for it. Khrunichev built the original cargo module under a $190 million contract with NASA. The module, which contains fuel tanks and gyroscopes, will be attached to the station's solar batteries. As the first element of the station to be launched, it is now in Baikonur awaiting launch on a Proton rocket in November. The module was built by Khrunichev as a back-up in case of failure. Since neither country offered to pay for the work, Khrunichev proceeded with the work on their own. The company also has the contract for the living quarters, but has not been paid by the Russian government. Khrunichev took out loans to complete the work on schedule. The living quarters are due to be launched in August of 1999, but some of the internal components furnished by Energia may not be done in time due to Russia's failure to pay Energia (AP).
On August 12, 42 seconds after launch from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 41, a Lockheed Martin Titan 4A-20 rocket exploded, destroying a classified National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) payload reported to be valued at one billion dollars. The five-ton satellite, designed and built by the NRO, was to be positioned in Geostationary Orbit as part of National Security Agency's space- based efforts. The eighteen-story rocket pitched over at an altitude of 3.4 miles and had to be destroyed by range safety officers. A guidance problem or a problem with the steering nozzle of a solid rocket booster could be possible causes. An accident investigation board was set up immediately after the accident by the USAF. An eighteen-square-mile area in the Atlantic Ocean where the rocket and its payload splashed down has been placed off limits to marine craft so that the remains of the satellite containing sensitive technology might be recovered (JSR; Flatoday).
The rocket was the last of the Titan 4A's to be launched and the last usage of the UTC/CSD solid-rocket boosters. The launch was delayed by three weeks to replace a torn thermal blanket on the Centaur upper stage. The Titan system has recorded seventeen consecutive successful launches prior to the August 12 launch. The last Titan failure was in 1993 when an $800 million ocean surveillance satellite was lost. The Titan 4A was designed to launch heavy spy satellites that were previously flown on the Shuttle. Future Titan launches will be of the newer Titan 4B with Alliant SRMU solid rocket boosters. The new rocket is both more powerful and more reliable (JSR; Flatoday)
In the wake of the controversy over technology transfers involving American companies utilizing Chinese launch services, Boeing's SeaLaunch has come under scrutiny. The international effort led by Boeing involves Norway, Russia and Ukraine. Because the two billion dollar effort involves the combination of Russian and Ukrainian rockets with American systems, Boeing notified the government when it became aware of the issue. The State Department ordered a halt to the project on July 27 so that it could investigate possible breaches by Boeing of rules on technological transfer. Except for routine maintenance, work on the 200 meter assembly and command ship has been suspended during the investigation. Work is expected to resume once security concerns are met. It is unclear if the investigation will affect the first planned satellite launch scheduled for early 1999 (Flatoday; Reuters, Washington Post).
The USAF successfully drop tested the X-40A flight test vehicle on August 11. A UH-60 Black Hawk carried the Space Maneuver Vehicle (SMV) prototype to 9000 feet above Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico. After the SMV was released, on-board systems took over and successfully guided the vehicle to a safe landing. The ninety-percent-scale test article is 22 feet long with a wing span of 12 feet, weighing 2600 pounds. The vehicle validates low-speed handling qualities and demonstrates autonomous approach and landing capability. The Space Maneuver Vehicle is designed for rapid turn around while being able to remain on station for up to a year. The vehicle is being developed at the Boeing Phantom Works (Boeing PR)
The satellite was originally to be launched on July 29, but was delayed due to an investigation of similar Hughes satellites which were experiencing problems in orbit. The problem was traced to tin- plated relay switches that have already been replaced with improved models in subsequent satellites (Hughes PR).
MGS was launched in November of 1996. After launch, it was determined that one of the two solar panels had not deployed properly. While still functional, the panel has caused an extension of the aerobraking portion of the mission so that lower stresses would be experienced. The spacecraft arrived in Mars orbit in September of 1997. Aerobraking was suspended this spring so that the craft would be in proper orbital position when the aerobraking concluded. During the hiatus, the craft has been collecting science and conducting photography utilizing the low point of its current elliptical orbit. When aerobraking concludes, the craft will be in a circular orbit at a slightly higher altitude (NASA).
The current population of space has risen to five--all Russians. Three are in a Soyuz capsule enroute to Mir and two are on board the Mir space station. This marks the completion of 3252 days of continuous human habitation in space since the reoccupation of Mir on Sept 7, 1989. The first element of the International Space Station is slated for launch in 97 days. (http://uttm.com/spac e/statistics.html).
Dale M. Gray is a frontier historian working for GCM Services in Montana and Idaho. Frontier Status reports are a weekly annotated index chronicling progress of the emerging space frontier. Editorial assistance by Rick Bier. Timeline computation courtesy of Simone Cortesi. Send comments/corrections or subscription requests (subscribe FS or unsubscribe FS). Past Frontier Files are archived here or at http:// www.asanet.it/ospiti/gap/frontier/index.html)
(c) Copyright Dale M. Gray August 14, 1998. This week's Frontier Status is made possible in part by the generosity of a reader who prefers to remain anonymous.
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