Jonathan's Space Report No. 185 1994 Feb 24 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shuttle ------- Launch of Columbia is due on March 3 on mission STS-62. The payload bay contains three cross-bay MPESS class pallets. Two of them comprise the USMP-2 (United States Microgravity Payload 2), a set of crystal growth experiments. The experiments are: AADSF (Advanced Automated Directional Solidification Furnace), CFLSE (Critical Fluid Light Scattering Experiment), IDGE (Isothermal Dendritic Growth Experiment), Mephisto (Material Pour L'Etude Des Phenomenes Interessant La Solidification Sur Terre Et En Orbite) and SAMS (Space Acceleration Measurement System). USMP-1 flew on STS-52 in 1992 and carried Mephisto, SAMS and another experiment called LPE. The third pallet is a Hitchhiker-M class pallet and carries a bunch of space technology experiments, many with relevance to the Space Station. The experiments study spacecraft glow, arcing in solar cells, and heat pipes. The pallet is called OAST-2, after the NASA Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology which originally sponsored it (now the office is called Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology). OAST-1 flew on Discovery's first flight in 1984 and carried a large array deployment test. Possibly the most interesting aspect of the STS-62 mission, however, is the DEE (Dexterous End Effector) experiment. This is a special magnetic 'hand' for the RMS robot arm. Mission specialist Marsha Ivins will use the arm to test the DEE, which may allow smaller grapple fixtures to be used on future satellites. The crew of STS-62 is very experienced; commander is John Casper, (STS-36, STS-54), pilot is Andy Allen (STS-46); mission specialists are Pierre Thout (STS-36, STS-49 Intelsat spacewalk), Marsha Ivins (STS-32R, STS-36) and Sam Gemar (STS-38, STS-48). Launches -------- The Chinese Shi Jian 4 satellite and the dummy DFH-3 communications satellite have now had orbital data made public. Shi Jian 4 is in a 208 x 36134 km x 28.6 deg orbit. Six satellites launched on Feb 12 by an 11K68 Tsiklon launch vehicle from Plesetsk are part of a network of small communications satellites, possibly operated by Russian intelligence agencies. The second Galaxy IR satellite was launched on Feb 19 from Cape Canaveral. Galaxy IR, operated by Hughes Communications, replaces a satellite of the same name which was lost during launch in 1992. That in turn was intended to replace the Galaxy I satellite still on orbit. Here is the list of Galaxy satellites: Name Type Launch Date Rocket Galaxy 1 HS376 1983 Jun 28 Delta Galaxy 2 HS376 1983 Sep 22 Delta Galaxy 3 HS376 1984 Sep 21 Delta Galaxy 6 HS376 1990 Oct 12 Ariane Galaxy 5 HS376 1992 Mar 14 Atlas Centaur Galaxy 1R HS376 1992 Aug 22 Atlas Centaur (Destroyed on launch) Galaxy 7H HS601 1992 Oct 28 Ariane 4 Galaxy 4H HS601 1993 Jun 25 Ariane 4 Galaxy 1R HS376 1994 Feb 19 Delta II Date Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL. DES. Jan 8 1005 Soyuz TM-18 Soyuz Baykonur LC1 Spaceship 01A Jan 20 0949 Gals 1 Proton Baykonur LC81 Comsat 02A Jan 24 2137 Eutelsat IIF5 ) Ariane 44LP Kourou ELA2 Comsat FTO Turksat 1 ) Comsat FTO Jan 25 0025 Meteor-3 ) Tsiklon Plesetsk LC32 Weather 03A Tubsat B ) Technology 03B Jan 25 1634 Clementine 1 Titan 23G-11 Vandenberg SLC4 Spaceprobe 04A Jan 28 0212 Progress M-21 Soyuz Baykonur LC1 Cargo 05A Feb 3 1210 Discovery Shuttle Kennedy LC39 Spaceship 06A Feb 3 2220 Ryusei ) H-II Tanegashima Technology 07A Myojo ) Technology 07B Feb 5 0846 Raduga-1 Proton Baykonur LC81 Comsat 08A Feb 7 2147 Milstar DFS 1 Titan 4 Centaur Canaveral LC40 Comsat 09A Feb 8 0830 Shi Jian 4 ) Chang Zheng 3A Xichang Scientific 10A Dummy payload ) Feb 9 1454 ODERACS A ) GAS can Discovery, LEO Calibration 06B ODERACS B ) 06C ODERACS C ) 06D ODERACS D ) 06E ODERACS E ) 06F ODERACS F ) 06G Feb 9 1932 BREMSAT GAS can Discovery, LEO Scientific 06H Feb 12 0854 Kosmos-2268 ) Tsiklon Plesetsk LC32 Comsat 11A Kosmos-2269 ) Kosmos-2270 ) Kosmos-2271 ) Kosmos-2272 ) Kosmos-2273 ) Feb 18 Raduga? Proton Baykonur Comsat 12A Feb 19 Galaxy IR Delta 7925 Canaveral LC17 Comsat 13A Reentries --------- Jan 14 Soyuz TM-17 Landed in Kazakhstan Feb 4 Ryusei Impacted Pacific Ocean Feb 11 Discovery Landed at KSC Current Shuttle Processing Status ____________________________________________ Orbiters Location Mission OV-102 Columbia LC39B STS-62 OV-103 Discovery OPF Bay 3 STS-64 OV-104 Atlantis Palmdale OMDP OV-105 Endeavour OPF Bay 1 STS-59 ML/SRB/ET/OV stacks ML1/RSRM-36?/ET-62/OV-102 LC39B STS-62 ML2/RSRM-37? VAB Bay 3 STS-59 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 | | '-----------------------------------------------------------------------------' ,