Jonathan's Space Report No. 254 1995 Aug 30 Cambridge, MA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shuttle ------- Launch date for Endeavour on mission STS-69 has been set for Aug 31. Crew of Endeavour/STS-69 are David Walker (Commander), Ken Cockrell (Pilot), James Voss (Payload Commander), James Newman (Mission Specialist), and Michael Gernhardt (Mission Specialist). The flight will see the deployment and retrieval of the Wake Shield Facility microgravity processing satellite and the Spartan-201 ultraviolet solar observatory, as well as a spacewalk by Voss and Gernhardt to test new equipment and techniques, and operation of the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker (IEH-1) and the Capillary Pumped Loop Hitchhiker/GAS Bridge Assembly experiment payloads in the cargo bay. Meanwhile, Columbia has been moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building and mated with the STS-73 stack. Mir ---- Can anyone forward me details of a reported EVA on Mir on Aug 18? (It's mentioned on Ron Baalke's Space Calendar). I haven't been able to confirm it. Recent Launches -------------- JCSAT 3 is a Hughes HS-601 model communications satellite owned by JSAT (Japan Satellite Systems). JSAT was formed in 1993 by the merger of Japan Communications Satellite Co (JCSAT, which operated the first two JCSAT satellites) and Satellite Japan Corp (SAJAC). JCSAT 1 and 2 are HS-393 spin-stabilized satellites launched in 1989-90 and still operating. JCSAT 3 was launched on a Lockheed Martin Atlas 2AS on 1995 Aug 29. The Atlas first stage was serial 8205, with Centaur AC-117 as the second stage. Launch was from pad 36B at Cape Canaveral. JCSAT 3 is the first Japanese digital TV broadcasting satellite, and programming will be operated by DMC (Digital Multi-Channel Planning Co, Ltd), a partnership of JSAT, Itochu Corp, Mitsui and Co, Ltd, Nissho Iwai Corp and Sumitomo Corp. The satellite will also provide data and fax transmission services. The hybrid 3-axis stabilized payload has 28 Ku band and 12 C band transponders. The Atlas IIAS launch vehicle placed JCSAT 3 in a supersynchronous transfer orbit. The higher the apogee, the less velocity change needed to change the orbital plane and reach geostationary orbit, and the Atlas placed JCSAT in an orbit which was even more favorable than anticipated. (I don't have the parameters yet). The `N-STAR a' satellite (yes, the lower case letter a is, perversely, correct) is an FS-1300 class Space Systems/Loral satellite built for Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT) of Japan. N-STAR a was launched 1995 Aug 29 on the V77 flight of Ariane, using an Ariane 44P with an H-10 III third stage and the 01 fairing. The launch profile used a standard geostationary transfer orbit. N-STAR a is to replace the CS-3 satellite at 132E. The satellite was damaged during transportation from California to Guiane, and several weeks were needed for repairs. The N-STAR a satellite has a launch mass of 3410 kg, a dry mass of 1617 kg, and a BOL mass of 2057 kg. The 3-axis stabilized satellite has a solar panel span of 27.3m, and a bus size of 2.4 x 2.2 x 2.2 m. Height is 6.3 m including the payload mast. Mass of the third stage in orbit with the VEB is 2065 kg at orbit insertion, or 1770 kg after fuel depletion (1240 kg H-10-3, 530 kg VEB). The payload includes 11 Ka-band and 8 Ku-band transponders for telephone relay, 5 C-band transponders for communications to remote islands, and an S-band transponder for mobile communications. (source: Av Week, Arianespace) In a third success for Japan this week, a small TR-1A suborbital sounding rocket was successfully launched from Tanegashima on Aug 25. The IABS final stage of the DSCS III B7 launch has now been cataloged as object 23648. Table of Recent Launches ------------------------ Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL. DES. Jul 5 0309 Kosmos-2315 Kosmos-3M Plesetsk LC132 Navigation 32A Jul 7 1623 Helios 1A ) Ariane 40 Kourou ELA2 Recon 33A CERISE ) Sigint 33B UPM LBSAT 1 ) Technology 33C Jul 10 1238 USA 112 Titan 4 Centaur Canaveral LC41 Sigint 34A Jul 13 0530 Galileo Probe - Galileo, Solar orb. 89-84E Jul 13 1342 Discovery Space Shuttle Kennedy LC39B Spaceship 35A Jul 13 1955 TDRS 7 IUS Discovery,LEO Comsat 35B Jul 20 0304 Progress M-28 Soyuz-U Baykonur LC1 Cargo 36A Jul 24 1552 Kosmos-2316 ) Proton-K/DM2 Baykonur LC?? Navigation 37A Kosmos-2317 ) Navigation 37B Kosmos-2318 ) Navigation 37C Jul 31 2330 DSCS III B7 Atlas IIA Centaur Canaveral LC36A Comsat 38A Aug 2 2359 Prognoz-M2 ) Molniya-M Plesetsk LC43/3 Science 39A Magion 4 ) Science 39F Aug 3 2358 PAS 4 Ariane 4 Kourou ELA2 Comsat 40A Aug 5 1110 Mugunghwa-ho Delta 7925 Canaveral LC17B Comsat 41A Aug 9 0121 Molniya-3 Molniya-M Plesetsk LC43 Comsat 42A Aug 15 2230 Gemstar 1 LLV-1 Vandenberg SLC6 Comsat FTO Aug 29 0053 JCSAT 3 Atlas IIAS Canaveral LC36B Comsat 43A Aug 29 0641 N-STAR a Ariane 44P Kourou ELA2 Comsat 44A Reentries --------- Jul 7 Atlantis Landed at KSC Jul 22 Discovery Landed at KSC Current Shuttle Processing Status ____________________________________________ Orbiters Location Mission Launch Due OV-102 Columbia VAB Bay 3 STS-73 Sep 26 OV-103 Discovery OPF Bay 1 OMDP OV-104 Atlantis OPF Bay 2 STS-74 Oct 26 OV-105 Endeavour LC39A STS-69 Aug 31 ML/SRB/ET/OV stacks ML1/RSRM-48/ET-72/OV-105 LC39A STS-69 ML2/RSRM-51 VAB Bay 1? STS-74 ML3/RSRM-50/ET-73/OV-102 VAB Bay 3 STS-73 .-------------------------------------------------------------------------. | Jonathan McDowell | phone : (617) 495-7176 | | Harvard-Smithsonian Center for | | | Astrophysics | | | 60 Garden St, MS4 | | | Cambridge MA 02138 | inter : jcm@urania.harvard.edu | | USA | jmcdowell@cfa.harvard.edu | | | | JSR: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/jsr/jsr.html | | ftp://sao-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/jcm/space/news/news.* | '-------------------------------------------------------------------------'