Jonathan's Space Report No. 157 1993 Jun 14 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Proton Failure - ERRATUM ------------------------ The launch failure of a Gorizont comsat on May 27 turns out to be due to the Proton's third stage rather than an upper stage problem. It now appears that the spacecraft failed to enter orbit. The UR-500K Proton is built by NPO Mashinostroenie's Krunishchev factory. This is the first time the UR-500K has failed to reach orbit since 1986, although there have been several upper stage failures since then. Kosmos-2240 ----------- The Kosmos-2240 spy satellite, launched on Apr 2, reentered on Jun 7. Kosmos-2240 is one of a series of satellites known in the West as '4th generation' spy satellites. It appears that, unlike all earlier Soviet imaging recon satellites, they do not use the 1959-vintage Vostok satellite bus, although they are probably still made by the same company, the TsSKB (Central Specialized Design Bureau), formerly a subdivision of NPO Energiya. They were introduced in 1975, and originally had a lifetime of 30 days which was a big improvement on the Vostok satellites, at that time limited to 15 day missions. Later minor improvements increased the lifetime, first to 44 days and then, in 1984, to 59 days. The two flights so far this year show a further improvement, lasting 65 and 66 days. This modest increase is nevertheless significant as the first sign of an upgrade to this satellite class in a decade. By my count, Kosmos-2240 is the 107th in the series, although the classification of several flights is controversial. Shuttle ------- The launch of STS-57 is now due for June 20. The following launch, STS-51, has now slipped to July 17. The new manifest is out; here is my own version, concentrating on the major items of cargo. (most acronyms explained at the end) Mission Date Orbiter Cargo Type Cargo Name STS-57 1993 Jun Endeavour SHAB Spacehab-1 SL-TA Spacehab-1 MPESS-GBA GBA 5 MPESS-HH-M SHOOT EURECA EURECA-1 STS-51 1993 Jul Discovery TOS/GE4000 ACTS ASTRO-SPAS ORFEUS STS-58 1993 Aug Columbia SL-LM Spacelab SLS-2 SL-TT,SL-TA Spacelab SLS-2 EDO EDO 2 STS-60 1993 Nov Discovery SHAB Spacehab 2 SL-TA Spacehab 2 WSF Wake Shield Facility MPESS-GBA GBA 6 STS-61 1993 Dec Endeavour FSS HST SM-1 SAC HST SM-1 (solar panels) ORUC HST SM-1 (COSTAR, WFPC2, etc) STS-62 1994 Feb Columbia MPESS USMP-2 MPESS USMP-2 MPESS HH-M OAST 2 EDO EDO 3 STS-59 1994 Mar Endeavour SL-PLT Spacelab SRL-1 MPESS Spacelab SRL-1 STS-63 1994 May Discovery SHAB Spacehab 3 SL-TA Spacehab 3 MPESS-SFSS/SEC Spartan-201 MPESS-HH-M International EUV/FUV Hitchhiker STS-65 1994 Jun Columbia SL-LM Spacelab IML-2 SL-TA,SL-TT Spacelab IML-2 EDO EDO 4 STS-66 1994 Aug Endeavour SL-IG Spacelab Atlas-3 SL-PLT Spacelab Atlas-3 ASTRO-SPAS CRISTA STS-64 1994 Sep Discovery SL-PLT LITE MPESS-SFSS/SEC Spartan-204 MPESS-GBA GBA 7 STS-67 1994 Nov Columbia SL-IG Spacelab Astro-2 SL-PLT Spacelab Astro-2 SL-PLT Spacelab Astro-2 EDO EDO 5 STS-68 1994 Dec Atlantis SL-PLT Spacelab SRL-2 MPESS Spacelab SRL-2 STS-69 1995 Jan Discovery SHAB Spacehab 4 SL-TA Spacehab 4 SPAS SPAS-3 (BMDO) STS-70 1995 May Endeavour MPESS-HH-M Int'l EUV/FUV Hitchhiker MPESS-SFSS/SEC OAST-Flyer MPESS-GBA GBA 8 WSF Wake Shield Facility STS-71 1995 Jun Atlantis SL-LM Spacelab-Mir SL-DM Mir Docking Module STS-72 1995 Jul Discovery IUS/TDRS TDRS 7 STS-73 1995 Sep Endeavour SHAB Spacehab 5 SL-TA Spacehab 5 MPESS-SFSS/SEC Spartan 201 MPESS-HH-M OAST-3 STS-74 1995 Sep Columbia SL-LM Spacelab USML-2 SL-TA,SL-TT Spacelab USML-2 EDO EDO 6 Cargo Types: ASTRO-SPAS 2nd generation Shuttle Pallet Satellite built by MBB GmBH EDO Extended Duration Orbiter Pallet EURECA European Retrievable Carrier, to be retrieved from orbit; based on modified SL-PLT GE4000 Martin Marietta Astro Space comsat with Star 37FXP apogee motor FSS Flight Servicing Structure IUS Inertial Upper Stage (Orbus 21 and Orbus 6 motors) MPESS Mission-Peculiar Experiment Support Structure, cross-bay truss MPESS-GBA GAS Bridge Assembly, modified MPESS type truss for GAS cans MPESS-HH-M Hitchhiker-MSFC, modified MPESS with avionics for experiments MPESS-SFSS Spartan Flight Support Structure, modified MPESS type truss ORUC HST Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier SAC HST Solar Array Carrier SEC Spartan Experiment Carrier (deployable satellite) SHAB Spacehab, Inc. pressurized module SL-DM Docking Module for Mir docking mission SL-IG Spacelab Igloo (avionics container) SL-LM Spacelab Long Module. SL-PLT Spacelab Pallet SL-TA Spacelab Airlock Tunnel Adapter SL-TT Spacelab Transfer Tunnel TOS Transfer Orbit Stage based on Orbus 21 motor WSF Wake Shield Facility (deployable experiment) Selected payload acronyms: ACTS Advanced Communications Technology Satellite GBA Getaway-Special (GAS) Bridge Assembly with ~10 GAS cans HST SM Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission IML International Microgravity Lab ORFEUS Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme UV Spectrometer SHOOT Superfluid Helium On Orbit Transfer experiment SLS Spacelab Life Sciences SRL Space Radar Lab USMP US Microgravity Payload -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Launches Date Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL. DES. May 11 1450? Kosmos-2245 ) Tsiklon Plesetsk Comsat 30A Kosmos-2246 ) 30B Kosmos-2247 ) 30C Kosmos-2248 ) 30D Kosmos-2249 ) 30E Kosmos-2250 ) 30F May 12 0056 Astra 1C ) Ariane 42L Kourou Comsat 31A Arsene ) Comsat 31B May 13 0007 Navstar GPS 37 Delta 7925 Canaveral Navsat 32A May 21 0920? Resurs-F2 Soyuz Plesetsk Remote Sens. 33A May 22 0645? Progress M-18 Soyuz Baykonur Cargo 34A May 26 0335? Molniya-1 Molniya Plesetsk Comsat 35A May 27 Gorizont Proton Baykonur Comsat FTO Reentries --------- May 6 Kosmos-2243 Reentered May 6 Columbia Landed at Edwards AFB May 20 Molniya-1(37) Reentered Jun 7 Kosmos-2240 Landed in Kazakhstan? Current Shuttle Processing Status ____________________________________________ Orbiters Location Mission OV-102 Columbia OPF Bay 2 STS-58 OV-103 Discovery OPF Bay 3 STS-51 OV-104 Atlantis Palmdale OMDP OV-105 Endeavour LC39B STS-57 ML/SRB/ET/OV stacks ML1?/RSRM-33/ET-59 VAB Bay 1 STS-51 ML2/RSRM-32/ET-58/OV-105 LC39B STS-57 ML3/ .-----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | Jonathan McDowell | phone : (617) 495-7176 | | Harvard-Smithsonian Center for | | | Astrophysics | | | 60 Garden St, MS4 | | | Cambridge MA 02138 | inter : jcm@urania.harvard.edu | | USA | | '-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'