Frontier Status 08/21/98

Frontier Status 111

Frontier Status August 21, 1998

The frontier is preparing for a big week with the first launch of the new generation of Delta rocket. NASA is continuing its salvage operation of last week's failed Titan 4A launch. The Mir space station is currently inhabited by five Russians. A Chinese launch of two Iridium satellites on a Great Wall rocket was the only reported launch activity.

Headlines of the week of August 21 include:

SOYUZ/MIR

Following a Thursday, August 13 launch, a Soyuz TM-28 carrying a crew of three successfully docked with the rear port of Mir's Kvant module at 6:56 am EDT on August 15. At the last minute controllers noticed a "minor problem" with the automatic docking system so commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineer Sergei Avdeyev docked with the station manually. The docking was two minutes ahead of schedule. Doors opened between craft and station at 8:29 am EDT. The third member of the crew, Yuri Baturin, will remain on the station about a week and then return to Earth with the retiring Mir crew. The Soyuz is production vehicle 7K-STM 11F732 No. 77, built by RKK Energia (AP; Jonathan's Space Report).

In addition to the three cosmonauts, the Soyuz transported a small volcanic rock from England. A piece of the Butterton Dyke, the rock has been dubbed the "Millennium rock". The Dyke is associated with the early works of Charles Darwin and with the geophysical instrument tests of Lord John Cadman. While its flight on Mir will have little scientific value, the rock will be a touchstone with our past and a symbol of our future as it is displayed at several museums and space sites after its return to Earth in June of 1999 (Flatoday).

ISS

The Russian economy continues to plague the International Space Station. While the launches of the first elements of the station are apparently still on schedule, declining ruble values are beginning to affect Russia's ability to finance their portion of the station construction. Russia plans on selling space-related assets to generate the funds earmarked for the station. This is likely to cause problems with the two lab modules, crew rescue vehicle and supply missions to be provided by Russia (Flatoday).

TITAN 4A

Salvage efforts have begun off the Florida coast to recover the remains of the Titan 4A that exploded 40 seconds into flight on August 12. While most of the rocket fell into a relatively small area, an 18 square-mile security zone extending three miles from shore has been established. The US Navy has begun mapping the ocean floor while 45 divers have begun to search for remains of the rocket. A sophisticated Navy sonar system is being towed by Freedom Star, which normally is used to recover the Shuttle's solid rocket boosters after flight. Five smaller Navy craft are assisting with the search. Other ships will be called in to raise debris when it is found. NASA is also collecting floating debris both in the ocean and as it is washed up on shore (Flatoday).

IRIDIUM/LONG MARCH

Iridium LLC has successfully completed its 16th launch in the past fifteen months with the launch of two replacement satellites on board a Chinese Long March 2C/SD rocket. The launch occurred from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China at 7:01 pm EDT August 12. The two-stage launch vehicle placed the SD upper stage into an elliptical orbit. The SD upper stage then fired to circularize the orbit of the Smart Dispenser Bus. The SD then fired again to lower its perigee and assure rapid reentry. The Smart Dispenser ejected the two satellites into orbital plain two around 50 minutes after launch. The two satellites bring the total number of operational Iridium satellites up to 67 by replacing two failed satellites in the same orbital plane. An additional Iridium launch on a Delta 2 rocket later this month will bring the constellation up to full strength including spares in orbit. The system will offer hand-held telephone, fax, messaging and data services from anywhere on Earth (Iridium; Jonathan's Space Report).

DELTA 3/GALAXY 10

Boeing is preparing for the inaugural flight of their new Delta 3 class of rockets. The rocket is slated to launch the Galaxy 10 satellite from pad 17B on August 24. The 65- minute launch window opens at 8:47 pm EDT. The Delta 3 uses that same Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine as the Delta 2, but has an augmented fuel tank. The nine strap-on solid rocket motors used on the Delta 2 have also been improved by Alliant Techsystems to provide 25 percent more thrust and they feature thrust vectoring. The second stage features an evolved Pratt & Whitney RLB10-2 engine which has been derived from the dependable RL10 engine. As with the Delta 2, the new rocket utilizes Redundant Inertial Flight Control Assembly (RIFCA) avionics system with redundant three-axis attitude and velocity data from ring laser gyros and accelerometers. The new design also provides a larger, thirteen-foot nose cone. The rocket is expected to keep Boeing competitive in the rapidly-evolving world-wide launch market and give it the capability to lift heavier payloads that previously had to go abroad for launches. A launch on the Delta 3 rocket is priced around $85 million (Boeing; Flatoday; Hughes).

The Galaxy 10 satellite to be boosted to orbit by the Delta 3 was built for PanAmSat corporation by Hughes Space and Communications Company. The satellite is based upon the HS 601HP platform and features 24 C-band transponders and 24 Ku- band transponders. It will be placed in the 123 degrees West longitude orbital slot where it will serve the US and Caribbean (Hughes).

ARIANE 4/ST-1

Arianespace is preparing for the August 25 launch of Flight 109 which will be carrying the ST-1 telecommunications satellite. The Ariane 44P launch will be the fifth Ariane launch this year, but the first since April 28. Seven Ariane 4 launches and an Ariane 5 launch are slated by the end of the year (Arianespace).

X-38

NASA has awarded a $16.4 million contract to GenCorp Aerojet for the development of a deorbit propulsion stage for the X- 38 technology demonstrator program now undergoing flight tests. The prototype is hoped to lead to the design and construction of an emergency Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) for the International Space Station. The first unpiloted space flight for the X-38 is planned for the winter of 2000/2001 when it will be released from the Shuttle, deorbit and land. The space test vehicle is currently under construction at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The GenCorp contract has an option for an additional unit and a second option for five operational units for the CRV. The total package if all the options are exercised is valued at $71.9 million with hardware delivery through 2005 (LaunchSpace).

GPS FRONTIER

ATX Technologies has developed a GPS-based technology to protect small ATM machines. The company's On-Guard Tracker will be placed in these portable ATMs which weigh as little as 200 pounds and are prone to theft. The On-Guard Tracker would notify Security Corporation if the ATM had been compromised and would provide location, direction and speed of the ATM as it is transported by the thieves. Local authorities could then be contacted before the ATM is breached (ATX; Spacer).

REMOTE SENSING FRONTIER

EOS

The launch of NASA'S Earth Observing System AM-1 (EOS AM-1) has been delayed. Problems with the command and control software may force the postponement to as late as mid-1999. The satellite had originally been slated for launch in mid-1998 (SpaceNews).

BUSINESS

Alliant

Alliant Techsystems announced on August 12 the opening of their new 110,000 square foot composite structures manufacturing plant in Iuka, Mississippi. The plant will construct composite structures for the Boeing Delta 4 rocket now in development. The Delta 4 is Boeing's successful entry in the USAF's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. The Delta 4 family of rockets feature common components with a variety of lift capabilities. The first composite structures will be delivered by barge to Boeing's Decatur, Alabama plant in the second quarter of 1999 as part of a long-term contract estimated to be valued at one billion dollars if all options are exercised. Delta 4 parts to be manufactured at the facility include common booster core nose cones, interstages, and other large vehicle structures. The Alliant facility was designed with an eye to significant future growth. Alliant also holds contracts for the Lockheed Martin X-33 fuel tank and numerous aircraft components both military and civilian. Alliant employees 6,600 people in 24 states with $370 million in sales in fiscal year 1998 (Alliant).

SATELLITES

PAS-7

PanAmSat's PAS-7 satellite has arrived at French Guiana for final integration into an Ariane 44LP rocket. The satellite is scheduled for launch September 15 and is destined for the 68.5 degrees East Longitude orbital slot where it join PAS-2 and PAS-4 to serve the Indian Ocean region. The satellite is an FS1300 built by Space Systems/Loral and features 14 C-band and 30 Ku-band transponders. The satellite will be the second of nine planned satellite launches designed to upgrade PanAmSat services (PanAmSat).

STEX

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) is set to launch the Space Technology Experiment (STEX) on September 20 on an Orbital Sciences Taurus rocket. The 770 kg satellite will demonstrate twenty-nine advanced technologies, including an electric propulsion system, a six-kilometer tether and an advanced solar array design. The satellite was built by Lockheed Martin and has a two-year mission (SpaceNews).

UHF Follow-On

The flight of the Navy's UHF Follow-On F9 satellite has been postponed from September 15 to October 19. This delay will allow Hughes Space and Communications to replace an electronic part on the HS 601 satellite. The satellite was designed to transmit to small, mobile tactical terminals. It is the ninth in the series built by Hughes (Hughes).

SCIENCE

Deep Space 1

NASA's Deep Space 1 probe arrived at Kennedy Space Center on August 17. It was transported 2700 miles from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California to KSC in a convoy of two tractor trailers and a mobile home staffed with engineers monitoring the probe. Designed to travel to an asteroid using an advanced ion-propulsion system, the $82 million spacecraft was designed to validate twelve new technologies. In addition to the ion propulsion, the craft also features a new guidance system that doesn't depend on a link to Earth. Deep Space 1 will now be prepared in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility for its October 15 launch on a Delta 2 rocket. The $152 million mission is the first of NASA's new Millennium Program and expects to bring the spacecraft within 33,000 feet of near-Earth asteroid 1992 KD on 28 July 1999. The diameter of 1992 KD is about 3 km and its orbit crosses that of Mars (Flatoday; NASA; LaunchSpace). http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/database/www-nmc?DEEPSP1

TECHNOLOGY

Spar

The Servo Power Amplifiers (SPAs) developed by Toronto- based Spar Aerospace for use in the Canadian-built robot arm that will be used in the International Space Station have found new uses in the control of tracking antennas for the station and on remote- sensing spacecraft. The SPAs were designed to digitally control the fifteen-meter-long robotic manipulator that will move payloads to and from the Shuttle cargo bays (SpaceNews).

COMING EVENTS

Courtesy J. Ray, and R. Baalke

(www.flatoday.com/space/next/sked.htm)
(newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/)

FRONTIER CENSUS REPORT

The current population of space is five--all Russians. All are on board the Mir space station. This marks the completion of 3259 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 90 days. (http://uttm.com/spac e/statistics.html).

SOURCES

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 21, 1998. This week's Frontier Status is made possible in part by the generosity of a reader who prefers to remain anonymous.

Contributions to Frontier Status are used to defray expenses associated with the author's presentation of his paper "Current Space Development as a Manifestation of Historical Frontier Processes"at the 49th International Astronautical Congress in Melbourne, Australia. Reader support has helped raise $1870 of a goal of $3200 to attend the Congress. E-mail the author for details.

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