Jonathan's Space Report No. 288, 1996 May 28
scubalee@kktv.com
Tue, 28 May 1996 20:47:48 -0500
OW>Jonathan's Space Report
OW>No. 288 1996 May 28 Cambridge, MA
OW>----------------------------------------------------------------------------
OW>Sender: owner-jsr@head-cfa.harvard.edu
OW>Precedence: bulk
OW>Shuttle and Mir
OW>---------------
OW>OV-105 Endeavour (mission STS-77) was launched on May 19 at 1030 UTC.
OW>The solid rocket boosters (RSRM-47) separated at 1032 UTC, and the main
OW>engines shut down at 1038 UTC, with external tank ET-78 jettisoned
OW>shortly afterwards, to place the Orbiter in an elliptical transfer
OW>orbit. This was the first launch to use three of the improved Block I
OW>engines. The two smaller OMS engines were fired at apogee at 1112 UTC,
OW>circularizing the orbit. At 1214 UTC opening of the payload bay doors
OW>was complete and Endeavour was declared 'Go for Orbit Ops' in a 280 x
OW>290 km x 39.0 deg orbit.
OW>On May 20 at 1129 UTC the Spartan 207 satellite was deployed from the
OW>robot arm. Endeavour moved 120 m from the satellite, and at 1338 UTC the
OW>Spartan began deploying the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE). Three
OW>28-m booms inflated to push the dish away from the satellite; the dish
OW>then inflated to make a 14-m diameter parabolic antenna. The Spartan/IAE
OW>was observed to tumble slowly. The IAE was jettisoned at 1458 UTC (?) on
OW>May 20. A day later at 1453 UTC on May 21, Canadian astronaut Marc
OW>Garneau used the RMS arm to retrieve Spartan 207 from orbit, together
OW>with its cameras which had filmed the IAE deployment.
OW>On May 22 at 1018 UTC the PAMS STU (Satellite Test Unit) was ejected
OW>from the TEAMS MPESS bridge in the Shuttle's payload bay. PAMS-STU is
OW>intended to test out a passive aerodynamic stabilization and magnetic
OW>damping system. At around 1500 UTC Endeavour returned to PAMS-STU in the
OW>first of three rendezvous operations with the small satellite. A second
OW>rendezvous was conducted on May 25 and the third on May 27.
OW>Meanwhile, aboard the Mir complex, the EO-21 commander Yuriy Onufrienko
OW>and flight engineer 1 Yuriy Usachyov made a spacewalk on May 24 at on
OW>May 20 at 2250 UTC. The cosmonauts removed the US/Russian Mir
OW>Cooperative Solar Array (MCSA) from its location on the exterior of the
OW>316GK Stikovochnoy Otsek (Docking Compartment) and carried it to the
OW>other end of the complex using the Strela-2 crane. The MCSA was
OW>attached to the 37KE Kvant module, opposite another panel which was
OW>added last year. The EVA concluded at 0410 UTC on May 21 after 5h 20m.
OW>The second spacewalk began on May 24 at 2047 UTC. Onufrienko and
OW>Usachyov completed the installation of the MCSA and connected it
OW>electrically. The spacewalk was concluded on May 25 at 0230 UTC. The
OW>MCSA panel was deployed from its initial folded configuration on May
OW>25. (Source: C. v.d.Berg's Mir News).
OW>Columbia was transferred to the VAB on May 21 and was mated
OW>to the external tank for STS-78 on May 22.
OW>Recent Launches
OW>---------------
OW>Orbital Sciences Corp. has had another launch success, placing the DoD's
OW>MSTI-3 satellite in orbit aboard a Pegasus. The Lockheed L-1011 carrier
OW>aircraft took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base's runway 30/12 and
OW>proceeded to the drop point at 36 deg 0 min N, 123 deg 0 min W over the
OW>Pacific. The Pegasus rocket was released and a few seconds later ignited
OW>the first of its three stages. It is the 'Pegasus Hybrid' version,
OW>a standard Pegasus with modified fins to accommodate the L-1011 carrier
OW>plane instead of the original B-52.
OW>MSTI 3 will test out new sensor technology for ballistic missile
OW>defense. The satellite is built by Spectrum Astro Inc, and carries three
OW>sensors: a mid wave IR camera, a short wave IR camera, and a visible
OW>imaging spectrometer. Its goal is to study the IR emission from the
OW>Earth to determine if tactical ballistic missiles can be spotted during
OW>their coast phase against the bright Earth background. Initial checkout
OW>of the satellite is reported to have gone well.
OW>The Galaxy 9 comsat was launched on May 23 by a McDonnell Douglas Delta
OW>7925 rocket from Cape Canaveral. The Hughes HS-376 satellite will
OW>provide communications for the Hughes Galaxy network.
OW>It has 24 C-band transponders which will be
OW>used for cable TV feeds.
OW>The Russian Space Forces launched a Krunichev Proton-K rocket on
OW>May 25 with an RKK Energiya Blok DM-2 upper stage. The vehicle placed
OW>an NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki `Gorizont' communications satellite
OW>in orbit, reportedly nicknamed `Prezidentskiy' since it will provide coverag
OW>of the Russian presidential election campaign to Western Siberia and the
OW>Ural region.
OW>The initial orbit of the putative USA 119 payload, as derived by Rainer
OW>Kracht from amateur observations, was 312 x 622 km x 63.4 deg. The
OW>payload was later found to have moved to a 1050 x 1150 km x 63.4 deg
OW>orbit, characteristic of the US Navy ocean surveillance triplet
OW>spacecraft. Four objects have been cataloged by Space Command, including
OW>1996-29D = USA-122, but no orbital data have been officially released.
OW>The Italian Satellite per Astronomia a raggi X has been renamed
OW>BeppoSAX in honor of Guiseppe 'Beppo' Occhialini, a pioneer in Italian
OW>gamma ray and cosmic ray astronomy.
OW>The McDonnell Douglas/NASA DC-XA reusable vertical-landing rocket
OW>made its first flight from White Sands on May 18, reaching an apogee of 240
OW>Table of Recent Launches
OW>------------------------
OW>Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INT
OW> D
OW>Apr 3 2301 Inmarsat III F1 Atlas IIA Canaveral LC36 Comsat 20
OW>Apr 8 2309 Astra 1F Proton-K/DM3 Baykonur LC81 Comsat 21
OW>Apr 20 2236 M-SAT 1 Ariane 42P Kourou ELA2 Comsat 22
OW>Apr 23 1148 Priroda Proton-K Baykonur LC81 Spaceship 23
OW>Apr 24 1227 MSX Delta 7920 Vandenberg SLC2W Mil.tech. 24
OW>Apr 24 1303 Kosmos-2332 Kosmos-3M Plesetsk Radar cal 25
OW>Apr 24 2337 USA-118 Titan 401 Canaveral LC41 Sigint 26
OW>Apr 30 0431 BeppoSAX Atlas I Canaveral LC36B Astronomy 27
OW>May 5 0704 Progress M-31 Soyuz-U Baykonur LC1 Cargo 28
OW>May 12 2132 USA-119 Titan 403? Vandenberg SLC4E Recon? 29
OW> USA-120? 29
OW> USA-121? 29
OW> USA-122 29
OW>May 14 Kometa? Soyuz-U Baykonur LC31 Recon FT
OW>May 16 0156 Palapa C2 ) Ariane 44L Kourou ELA2 Comsat 30
OW> AMOS ) Comsat 30
OW>May 17 0244 MSTI-3 Pegasus L-1011,Pacific Technology 31
OW>May 19 1030 Endeavour Shuttle Kennedy LC39B Spaceship 32
OW> Spartan 207 Technology 32
OW> IAE Technology 32
OW> PAMS STU Technology 32
OW>May 23 2310 Galaxy 9 Delta 7925 Canaveral LC17B Comsat 33
OW>May 25 Gorizont Proton-K/DM2 Baykonur Comsat 34
OW>Payloads no longer in orbit
OW>--------------------------
OW>May 13 Kosmos-2293
OW>May 22 IAE
OW>Current Shuttle Processing Status
OW>____________________________________________
OW>Orbiters Location Mission Launch Due
OW>
OW>OV-102 Columbia VAB Bay 3 STS-78 Jun 27
OW>OV-103 Discovery Palmdale OMDP
OW>OV-104 Atlantis OPF Bay 1 STS-79 Jul 31
OW>OV-105 Endeavour On orbit STS-77
OW>
OW>ML/SRB/ET/OV stacks
OW>
OW>ML1/ LC39B
OW>ML2/RSRM-54 VAB Bay 1 STS-79
OW>ML3/RSRM-55/ET-79/OV102 VAB Bay 3 STS-78
OW>.-------------------------------------------------------------------------.
OW>| Jonathan McDowell | phone : (617) 495-7176 |
OW>| Harvard-Smithsonian Center for | |
OW>| Astrophysics | |
OW>| 60 Garden St, MS6 | |
OW>| Cambridge MA 02138 | inter : jcm@urania.harvard.edu |
OW>| USA | jmcdowell@cfa.harvard.edu |
OW>| |
OW>| JSR: http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/jsr/jsr.html |
OW>| ftp://sao-ftp.harvard.edu/pub/jcm/space/news/news.* |
OW>'-------------------------------------------------------------------------'
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Jonathan's Space Report
No. 288 1996 May 28 Cambridge, MA
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
Sender: owner-jsr@head-cfa.harvard.edu
Precedence: bulk
Shuttle and Mir
---------------
OV-105 Endeavour (mission STS-77) was launched on May 19 at 1030 UTC.
The solid rocket boosters (RSRM-47) separated at 1032 UTC, and the main
engines shut down at 1038 UTC, with external tank ET-78 jettisoned
shortly afterwards, to place the Orbiter in an elliptical transfer
orbit. This was the first launch to use three of the improved Block I
engines. The two smaller OMS engines were fired at apogee at 1112 UTC,
circularizing the orbit. At 1214 UTC opening of the payload bay doors
was complete and Endeavour was declared 'Go for Orbit Ops' in a 280 x
290 km x 39.0 deg orbit.
On May 20 at 1129 UTC the Spartan 207 satellite was deployed from the
robot arm. Endeavour moved 120 m from the satellite, and at 1338 UTC the
Spartan began deploying the Inflatable Antenna Experiment (IAE). Three
28-m booms inflated to push the dish away from the satellite; the dish
then inflated to make a 14-m diameter parabolic antenna. The Spartan/IAE
was observed to tumble slowly. The IAE was jettisoned at 1458 UTC (?) on
May 20. A day later at 1453 UTC on May 21, Canadian astronaut Marc
Garneau used the RMS arm to retrieve Spartan 207 from orbit, together
with its cameras which had filmed the IAE deployment.
On May 22 at 1018 UTC the PAMS STU (Satellite Test Unit) was ejected
from the TEAMS MPESS bridge in the Shuttle's payload bay. PAMS-STU is
intended to test out a passive aerodynamic stabilization and magnetic
damping system. At around 1500 UTC Endeavour returned to PAMS-STU in the
first of three rendezvous operations with the small satellite. A second
rendezvous was conducted on May 25 and the third on May 27.
Meanwhile, aboard the Mir complex, the EO-21 commander Yuriy Onufrienko
and flight engineer 1 Yuriy Usachyov made a spacewalk on May 24 at on
May 20 at 2250 UTC. The cosmonauts removed the US/Russian Mir
Cooperative Solar Array (MCSA) from its location on the exterior of the
316GK Stikovochnoy Otsek (Docking Compartment) and carried it to the
other end of the complex using the Strela-2 crane. The MCSA was
attached to the 37KE Kvant module, opposite another panel which was
added last year. The EVA concluded at 0410 UTC on May 21 after 5h 20m.
The second spacewalk began on May 24 at 2047 UTC. Onufrienko and
Usachyov completed the installation of the MCSA and connected it
electrically. The spacewalk was concluded on May 25 at 0230 UTC. The
MCSA panel was deployed from its initial folded configuration on May
25. (Source: C. v.d.Berg's Mir News).
Columbia was transferred to the VAB on May 21 and was mated
to the external tank for STS-78 on May 22.
Recent Launches
---------------
Orbital Sciences Corp. has had another launch success, placing the DoD's
MSTI-3 satellite in orbit aboard a Pegasus. The Lockheed L-1011 carrier
aircraft took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base's runway 30/12 and
proceeded to the drop point at 36 deg 0 min N, 123 deg 0 min W over the
Pacific. The Pegasus rocket was released and a few seconds later ignited
the first of its three stages. It is the 'Pegasus Hybrid' version,
a standard Pegasus with modified fins to accommodate the L-1011 carrier
plane instead of the original B-52.
MSTI 3 will test out new sensor technology for ballistic missile
defense. The satellite is built by Spectrum Astro Inc, and carries three
sensors: a mid wave IR camera, a short wave IR camera, and a visible
imaging spectrometer. Its goal is to study the IR emission from the
Earth to determine if tactical ballistic missiles can be spotted during
their coast phase against the bright Earth background. Initial checkout
of the satellite is reported to have gone well.
The Galaxy 9 comsat was launched on May 23 by a McDonnell Douglas Delta
7925 rocket from Cape Canaveral. The Hughes HS-376 satellite will
provide communications for the Hughes Galaxy network.
It has 24 C-band transponders which will be
used for cable TV feeds.
The Russian Space Forces launched a Krunichev Proton-K rocket on
May 25 with an RKK Energiya Blok DM-2 upper stage. The vehicle placed
an NPO Prikladnoi Mekhaniki `Gorizont' communications satellite
in orbit, reportedly nicknamed `Prezidentskiy' since it will provide
coverage
of the Russian presidential election campaign to Western Siberia and the
Ural region.
The initial orbit of the putative USA 119 payload, as derived by Rainer
Kracht from amateur observations, was 312 x 622 km x 63.4 deg. The
payload was later found to have moved to a 1050 x 1150 km x 63.4 deg
orbit, characteristic of the US Navy ocean surveillance triplet
spacecraft. Four objects have been cataloged by Space Command, including
1996-29D = USA-122, but no orbital data have been officially released.
The Italian Satellite per Astronomia a raggi X has been renamed
BeppoSAX in honor of Guiseppe 'Beppo' Occhialini, a pioneer in Italian
gamma ray and cosmic ray astronomy.
The McDonnell Douglas/NASA DC-XA reusable vertical-landing