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Дата: 26 января 1998 (1998-01-26) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews Update -- 1998 January 15 [1/6] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... S P A C E V I E W S U P D A T E 1998 January 15 http://www.seds.org/spaceviews/980115/ *** Top Stories *** Lunar Prospector Flies to the Moon Mir Crew Struggle with Hatch, Computer Shuttle Cleared for January 22 Launch *** Technology *** Delta II Launches British Satellite Northrop Grumman, Kistler Reach Agreement Arianespace Places Large Ariane 5 Order *** Policy *** Glenn To Fly on Shuttle This Year New NASA Directors Named Space Science Groups Push Budget Lobbying *** Science *** Oceanic Asteroid Impacts More Dangerous Than Once Thought Black Holes in the Milky Way News On Origin, Fate of Universe A Planet Around Beta Pictoris? *** CyberSpace *** GSOC Satellite Predictions Lunar Prospector Peoria Astronomical Society Equator-S *** Space Capsules *** including SpaceViews Event Horizon Editor's Note: Be sure to check out SpaceViews' "Top Ten Stories of 1997" on the Web site at http://www.seds.org/spaceviews/topten97/ . It's also a sneak preview of the upcoming new design of the Web site! *** Top Stories *** Lunar Prospector Flies to the Moon Lunar Prospector, the first exclusively-NASA mission to the Moon since Apollo 17 25 years ago, successfully launched January 6 from Cape Canaveral and made its way into lunar orbit several days later. A Lockheed Martin Athena II rocket launched Lunar Prospector at 9:28pm EST January 6 (0228 UT Jan. 7) from the new commercial Spaceport Florida launch site at Cape Canaveral. The three-stage Athena II, on its maiden flight, performed flawlessly, delivering the spacecraft into a temporary parking orbit before a booster engine placed the spacecraft on a lunar trajectory about one hour after launch. Following a 4 1/2 day cruise to the Moon, Lunar Prospector entered a preliminary lunar orbit on Sunday, January 12 in the first of three planned thruster firings. The spacecraft is expected to enter its final orbit, a circular orbit 100 km (62 mi.) above the lunar surface, after a final thruster burn Thursday. "We're basically there," said project scientist Alan Binder at a January 13 press conference. "This [the Thursday thruster burn] is just a typical tweaking maneuver you make at the very end." The instruments on Lunar Prospector have been turned on and are already beginning to return data about the Moon, officials said. The mission to date has been relatively uneventful, with almost no problems reported by mission controllers at NASA's Ames Research Center. "The mission so far has felt like we're flying simulations -- it's been that smooth," Binder told UPI. The launch of Lunar Prospector was delayed one day when a ground control radar operated by the Air Force failed. The radar was one of several used to track the rocket after launch. The radar was especially critical since the Athena II used a more vertical trajectory than typical Cape launches, meaning the rocket was near land and populated areas longer than usual. Had the January 6 launch been scrubbed, NASA would have postponed the launch to early February, when the low-energy trajectory Lunar Prospector used to reach the Moon would next have been available. The launch had already been pushed back several times since late September due to delays in testing the Athena II (formerly LMLV-2) launcher. Once Lunar Prospector enters its final orbit, it will begin a detailed survey of the composition of the lunar surface. Other instruments on the spacecraft will measure the magnetic and gravity fields of the Moon, and study the Moon's internal structure. Of particular interest will be permanently shadowed regions of the south pole, where traces of water ice may be hidden. Clementine, a U.S. Defense Department satellite with some participation from NASA that orbited the Moon in 1994, detected what some scientists believe to be ice. However, those findings have been disputed by others with ground-based data, who detect no such deposits of water ice. Lunar Prospector also carries a special payload. NASA announced a day before the launch that a small container with several grams of the ashes of the late planetary geologist Eugene Shoemaker was on the spacecraft. Shoemaker, a leading lunar scientist, trained the Apollo astronauts who would walk on the moon but was unable to go himself because of a health problem. The tribute to Shoemaker was made with the cooperation of NASA and friends and family of Shoemaker, and organized by University of Arizona professor Carolyn Porco, a former student of Shoemaker. "I felt that this was Gene's last chance to get to the moon, and that it would be a fitting and beautiful tribute to a man who was a towering figure and a pioneer in the exploration of the solar system," she said. The container that carries Shoemaker's ashes was provided by Celestis, a company that provides similar space memorial services. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 26 января 1998 (1998-01-26) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews Update -- 1998 January 15 [2/6] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Mir Crew Struggle with Hatch, Computer The crew of the Russian space station Mir performed a pair of spacewalks this month, including one unsuccessful attempt to repair a leaking hatch, while dealing with yet another problem with the station's computer system. Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyov and Pavel Vinogradov spent just three hours outside Mir January 8 in an effort to repair a leaking hatch on the Kvant-2 module. The hatch, used by cosmonauts to enter and exit the station during spacewalks, failed to seal after a November spacewalk, forcing the crew to depressurize the Kvant-2 airlock and use an interior room in the module as a makeshift airlock. Solovyov and Vinogradov found that one of the 10 main locks on the hatch had broken, and five of 10 backup locks had failed to latch, leaving a gap nearly 1 cm (0.4 in.) wide. Mission controllers decided the cosmonauts would not have time to repair the broken lock during their scheduled six-hour spacewalk, and instructed them instead to latch all the locks when closing the hatch. However, the locks failed to completely seal the hatch after the spacewalk was completed. Russian mission control officials reported that the pressure in the airlock has dropped by about 100 millibars three days after the spacewalk. "The leak has become slower, but there is still a leak," said spokesman Viktor Blagov. Solovyov and Wolf spent nearly four hours outside Mir on the afternoon of January 14, using a spectrometer to take readings on the hull of Mir to see how it has faired after spending nearly twelve years in orbit. The spacewalk was delayed by about a half-hour due to problems with the hatch, and wrapped up early so the spacewalkers would have more time to deal with the balky hatch. Wednesday's spacewalk was the 16th for Solovyov, who has now spent nearly 80 hours in spacewalks, a world record. The spacewalk was the first for Wolf, who received extra guidance from Solovyov and Russian mission controllers while working outside the station. "This is very spectacular," Wolf said after the spacewalk. "I'd like to do it again." The crew also had to deal with another problem with Mir's computer. The computer system failed early Friday, January 2, forcing the crew to shut down most systems as the solar cells on the station drifted out of alignment with the Sun. The computer was repaired, and power restored, the following day. All three crew members are nearing the end of their stays on Mir. Wolf will be relieved by astronaut Andy Thomas when the shuttle Endeavour docks with Mir later this month. A Soyuz is scheduled for launch at the end of January, carrying two Russian cosmonauts to relieve Solovyov and Vinogradov as well as French guest cosmonaut Leopold Eyarts. Shuttle Cleared for January 22 Launch NASA gave the green light January 8 for the January 22 launch of the shuttle Endeavour on a nine-day mission to dock with the Russian space station Mir for the next to last time. Mission STS-89 is scheduled for launch on the 22nd at 9:48pm EST 90248 UT Jan. 23), at the beginning of a five-minute launch window. If the shuttle launched on time landing is scheduled for 5:36pm EST (2236 UT) January 31 at the Kennedy Space Center. The mission will feature the eighth and next-to-last docking of the shuttle with Mir. Astronaut Andy Thomas, who will fly up on Endeavour, will take the place of David Wolf on Mir. Wolf will return to Earth with the rest of the Endeavour crew, ending his four-month tour of duty on the Russian space station. In addition to the astronaut exchange approximately 3,200 kg (7,000 lbs.) of food, equipment, and other supplies will be transferred between the shuttle and Mir. The seven-person crew of STS-89 is commanded by Terrence Wilcutt and includes four rookie astronauts, among them Salizhan Sharipov, a cosmonaut from Kirghizia who trained at Russia's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. Veteran astronaut Bonnie Dunbar will be making her fifth flight in space on STS-89 as a mission specialist. STS-89 was originally slated for a January 15 launch, but was delayed five days last month at the request of the Russian government, who wanted to give the Mir crew more time to complete experiments before the arrival of the shuttle. An additional two-day delay was added when technicians needed time to remove extra insulation from the external tank of the shuttle. *** Technology *** Delta II Launches British Satellite A Boeing Delta II launched a British communications satellite into orbit Friday, January 9, marking the first of 18 scheduled Delta II and III launches in 1998. The Delta II lifted off from Pad 17B at Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 7:32pm EST January 9 (0032 UT Jan. 10). The launch has been delayed by nearly an hour due to several minor problems, including a technical problem with an upper stage of the booster, a ship in a restricted area offshore, and concerns about lightning. The rocket carried into orbit the SKYNET 4D satellite for the British military. The satellite, built by Matra Marconi, is the first of three new satellites that will replace Great Britain's existing system of three older comsats the country uses to maintain contact with its military forces worldwide. The launch was the first at Pad 17B since modifications were made to the facility so it can accommodate Delta III boosters. The pad can now handle the Delta II and the larger Delta III, the first launch of which is scheduled later this year. Seventeen more Delta launches, including two Delta III launches, are scheduled for the rest of 1998, according to Jay Witzling, director of Boeing's Delta and Titan programs. Northrop Grumman, Kistler Reach Agreement Kistler Aerospace Corporation has awarded a contract worth $145 million to Northrop Grumman to develop and build the structures for Kistler's K-1 reusable launch system. Northrop Grumman has already been working on the preliminary design of the K-1 launcher, based on a preliminary contract awarded by Kistler a year earlier. The new contract includes the design, development, and manufacture of the structures for the two-stage launcher. The Kistler K-1 launcher is billed as the world's first fully reusable launcher. A first stage, powered by three NK-33 engines, would launch the booster to an altitude of approximately 36,000 meters (120,000 feet). The first stage would then separate and return to Earth by way of parachutes and airbags, while the second stage, using a single NK-43 engine, flies into orbit. After deploying its payload the stage would reenter and land, also using parachutes and airbags. Kistler plans to operate the K-1 at launch sites in Nevada and/or Woomera, Australia, with test flights starting in late 1998. Kistler CEO George Mueller personally approved the Woomera site in a visit there last month, according to Australian reports. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 26 января 1998 (1998-01-26) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews Update -- 1998 January 15 [3/6] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Arianespace Places Large Ariane 5 Order The French aerospace firm Arianespace has announced plans to build 50 of the new heavy-lift Ariane 5 boosters for commercial launches well into the next decade, company officials announced last week. An initial order of 20 Ariane 5 launchers will be used for commercial launches in 2001 and 2002, with the additional 30 to be obtained for future launches. The company has already ordered 14 Ariane 5 for launches starting with the third qualification flight, Ariane 503, scheduled for this June. Arianespace plans to start commercial Ariane 5 launches in late 1998, according to Jean-Marie Luton, chairman and CEO of Arianespace. The company plans to start with 5 Ariane 5 launches a year in 1999, growing to 10 by 2001 and up to 14 in future years. Arianespace currently operates the highly-successful series of Ariane 4 launchers, which have captured a large fraction of the commercial launch market. While the Ariane 4 boosters will be phased out in future years, 10 Ariane 4 launches are still scheduled for 1998. Although the large order of Ariane 5s will allow the company to reduce the cost of each booster, Arianespace has plans to raise up to $200 million in new capital to cover the manufacture of both Ariane 4 and Ariane 5 rockets. *** Policy *** Glenn To Fly on Shuttle This Year Former astronaut and retiring U.S. Senator John Glenn may fly as a payload specialist on a shuttle mission late this year, the weekly news magazine Newsweek reported this week. The magazine cited anonymous sources who claimed a decision was near to let Glenn fly on the shuttle Discovery this October on mission STS-95. Glenn would fly on the mission as part of a National Institutes of Health study to test the effects of weightlessness on the aging process. A decision, if any, would lie solely in the hands of NASA administrator Dan Goldin, said a White House source in the January 14 issue of the Washington Post. A spokesperson for Goldin said there was "no deadline" for that decision, according to the Post. However, Glenn would require at least several months of training before flying any mission, which implies that a decision about flying on October's STS-95 mission would have to come in the near future. There was no word whether Glenn would resign from the Senate should he be selected on fly on STS-95. The long-time senator announced last year he would not run for reelection in 1998. Although Glenn has been quiet on the subject of flying in space again in recent weeks, he had been very outspoken on the topic last year and earlier. Last July on the NBC news program "Meet the Press" Glenn said he was interested in flying on a shuttle mission. "There is very good scientific reason for putting somebody back up there again," Glenn said. "And, obviously, I'd be interested in being that somebody if they decide to do this." At that time, Goldin said NASA was evaluating Glenn's request. "He has a burning desire to go back into space," Goldin said of Glenn on the same program, "and we're giving it very serious consideration, and we'll see where this goes." Some people with NASA have quietly criticized the thought of flying Glenn into orbit, claiming the decision is based more on politics than on scientific research. Glenn, a Democrat, supported President Clinton in last summer's Congressional hearings on alleged fundraising abuse by Clinton during his 1996 reelection campaign. LATE NEWS: As this issue was going to press, CNN reported that John Glenn will fly on the STS-95 mission, with an official announcement expected Friday, January 16. Look for updated information on the SpaceViews Web site and in the next issue of SpaceViews. New NASA Directors Named The director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has been named as the new director of NASA's Office of Space Flight, while his lieutenant has been named as the new director of Goddard. NASA named Joseph H. Rothenberg as the new Associate Administrator in charge of the Office of Space Flight on January 8. "He brings a wealth of experience and a fresh perspective as NASA's human space flight enterprise enters a new era with the construction of the International Space Station," NASA administrator Dan Goldin said in a statement. Rothenberg came to NASA Goddard in 1983 as operations manager of the Hubble Space Telescope project, after spending 19 years with Grumman Aerospace. Rothenberg advanced through the ranks at Goddard, becoming Associate Director in charge of Hubble in 1990 and director in 1994. Rothenberg replaces Wilbur C. Trafton, who announced his resignation from the position in November. Trafton, who served in the position for over 18 months, had come under some heat in Congressional hearings for cost overruns on the International Space Station, but all involved claimed there was no link between Trafton's resignation and the problems with ISS. Replacing Rothenberg as director of Goddard is Alphonso V. ("Al") Diaz, who had been the deputy director of the space center. Diaz has been with NASA since joining the Langley Research Center in 1964 as a co-op student. Diaz moved from NASA Headquarters to Goddard in 1996. Space Science Groups Push Budget Lobbying Several professional organizations representing scientists urged their members to lobby for increased science funding, including space science, as the Clinton administration finishes its draft of the fiscal year 1999 budget. Separate but similar mailings by the American Geophysical Union (AGU), American Physical Society (APS), and the American Astronomical Society (AAS) urged their members to write to key officials within the Clinton administration, urging them to support increased funding for the sciences. The administration had planned "only minimal increases for research" according to a January 8 mailing by AAS president Andrea Dupree and senior associate Peter Boyce, "but the large response from chemists and physicists has begun to change some opinions at the White House." At the same time, reports indicate any budget cuts in NASA's 1998 budget will be far less severe than once thought. While cuts of up to $1 billion from NASA's $13.6 appropriation for FY 1998, were considered, NASA Watch reports cuts may only be on the order of $200 million. The American Institute of Physics' FYI newsletter also reported Tuesday, January 13 that cuts on the order of $200-300 million, but no higher, could be expected from NASA's budget. The newsletter, citing a report in Congressional Quarterly, explained the change on a letter signed in the late fall, organized by Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL), by 200 members of the House, requesting an increase, not cut, in NASA's budget. Clinton's proposed 1999 budget is expected to be released in early February. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 26 января 1998 (1998-01-26) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews Update -- 1998 January 15 [4/6] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... *** Science *** Oceanic Asteroid Impacts More Dangerous Than Once Thought Asteroids impacting the Earth's oceans could generate waves more powerful than once thought, strong enough to inundate huge portions of coastlines thousands of kilometers away from the impact, Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers reported this month. Astrophysicist Jack Hills and Charles Mader used advanced computer simulations to study the effects of the impacts of large asteroids in the Earth's oceans. Hills reported on the results at the winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Washington, D.C. Hills and Mader showed that an asteroid 5 km (3 mi.) across colliding with the mid-Atlantic would generate waves powerful enough to inundate the entire upper East Coast of the United States, all the way to the Appalachian mountains, as well as coastlines in western Europe. While an asteroid that large is expected to strike the Earth only once every ten million years, Hills and Mader showed even small asteroids could cause significant damage from water impacts. An asteroid only 400 m (1,300 feet) in diameter, striking in the middle of an ocean, could inflict tsunamis up to 90 m (300 ft.) high on opposite coasts. While it has been long known that oceanic impacts of asteroids could generate huge tsunamis (often incorrectly called tidal waves), the model of Hills and Mader is the most detailed yet to study the issue. Hills and Mader have funding for an additional three years of study the effects of such impacts in greater detail. Hills, while explaining the destructive power of such asteroids, noted that they were entirely avoidable if a system was built to detect and deflect, if necessary, and threatening asteroids. "It's a problem that could be solved for much less than the cost of one hurricane. We could just set it up and be done with it." Black Holes in the Milky Way Astronomers have discovered new evidence of a massive black hole in the center of our galaxy, while another black hole in our galaxy has been found to eject a mass equal to a large asteroid in half-hour intervals. Astronomers have focused their attention on Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), an unusual radio source located in the center of the galaxy. German astronomers measured the motions of stars near Sgr A* and found them moving at up to 1000 km/sec (223,000 mph). The speed implies the stars are moving around a source nearly three million times as massive as the Sun, but in an area only 100 times the size of the Solar System. Based on this information alone, astronomers could not rule out either a black hole or a dense cluster of stars. Another team of astronomers led by Mark Reid of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center of Astrophysics used the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) to measure the movement of Sgr A* itself to very high accuracy. Reid and his collaborations concluded that Sgr A* was moving very slowly, apparently anchored to the center of the galaxy. This movement was consistent with Sgr A* being a black hole, the researchers concluded, weighing up to three million times the Sun. Another team of astronomers from Caltech, MIT, and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center focused on another, smaller, black hole in the Milky Way galaxy. Using a combination of x-ray and infrared observations, the astronomers found that x-rays emitted from hot gas circling the black hole in an accretion disk would disappear on a regular basis, every half-hour. At the same time the x-ray emission disappeared, jets of hot gas were visible in the infrared observations. The astronomers concluded that the hot gas was the x-ray emitting gas being hurled away from the black hole at nearly the speed of light as the disk was disrupted. The mass of the disrupted gas was estimated to be about 100 trillion tons, or the mass of a sizable asteroid. However, noted astrophysicist Jean Swank of NASA Goddard, the gas is hurled away at nearly the speed of light, requiring an amount of energy equal to six trillion times the annual energy consumption of the United States. "The system behaves like the celestial version of Old Faithful," said Craig Markwardt of Goddard. Every half-hour, more gas is disrupted and flung away from the black hole. New gas is added to the black hole from the surface of a nearby star. Astronomers hope the study of this black hole will give them a greater understanding of black holes and the formation of jets. News On Origin, Fate of Universe Astronomers studying the infrared background radiation of the universe have provided a better understanding