Jonathan's Space Report

Jul 13 1990 (no.44)
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The Space Shuttle fleet has been grounded after the discovery of
hydrogen leaks in Columbia and Atlantis.  Atlantis/STS-38 remains on pad
39A for further leak tests. 

The Hubble Space Telescope has spherical aberration in its optical
system.  The implications for science operations are under study.  The
error appears to have occurred during mirror manufacture.  Use of the
WF/PC camera will be extremely limited, but a replacement instrument
with corrective optics may be installed by early 1993.  The European FOC
camera will not be able to detect objects as faint as planned, but is
still the only instrument in our out of the world capable of taking
ultraviolet images.  The FOS and GHRS ultraviolet spectrographs will
also be limited to brighter objects and longer observing times since the
bigger point source images means that not all the light from an object
will go down the detector apertures.  However most of the spectrographic
program may still be doable.  Space Telescope Science Institute
astronomers say that the limitation of HST capablility is not that
severe, but most other astronomers feel that HST has been reduced to an
improved version of the old IUE satellite. 

Meanwhile, the successful first light of the HRI imager means that all
instruments on the ROSAT x-ray observatory are working well; the sky
survey will begin soon. 

Anatoli Solov'yov (Komandir) and Aleksandr Balandin (Bortinzhener)
continue in orbit aboard the Mir complex.  They will make an EVA to
carry out repairs to the Soyuz TM-9 transport on July 17.  The Soyuz
transport was moved back to the front port last week in preparation for
the EVA, leaving the rear port free for a Progress supply ship. 

The Intelsat VI F-4 comsat, launched by Titan on Jun 23, has reached
geostationary orbit. 

Kosmos-2084, launched on Jun 21, is a Molniya communications satellite
stranded in low orbit by a perigee motor failure.

A Gorizont geostationary comsat was successfully launched on Jun 20 by
Proton; and a Meteor-2 weather satellite was launched on Jun 27 by
Tsiklon. 

(c) 1990 Jonathan McDowell