Conference 7.286::space

Associated Press Thu 25-OCT-1984 11:50                            Space Shuttle

   Successful Practice Countdown For Discovery's Next Launch
   CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - A successful practice countdown was
conducted today for the space shuttle Discovery's Nov. 7 launch on
a mission to deploy two communications satellites and retrieve two
others from incorrect orbits.
   The four men and one woman who will fly the mission climbed
aboard the shuttle for the final 21/2 hours of the test, which ended
at the time Discovery's rocket engines would have been ignited had
the launch been real.
   ``Everything proceeded very well in this dress rehearsal,''
reported Jim Ball, a spokesman for the National Aeronautics and
Spae Administration. ``We're now ready to proceed toward
Discovery's second journey into space.''
   Astronaut Rick Hauck commands the crew, which also includes
pilo David Walker and mission specialists Anna Fisher, Joseph
Allen and Dale Gardner.
   Early in the eight-day flight, the astronauts will release
commercial communications satellites for Telesat of Canada and
Hughes Communications Services Inc.
   Then Allen and Gardner, wearing jet-propelled back packs, will
fly free of Discovery to recover the Palapa B2 and Westar 6
satellites, which were fired into useless orbits by faulty rockets
after they were deployed by another shuttle crew last February.
Insurance underwriters are paying NASA $5.5 million to retrieve the
satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment.

Associated Press Mon 05-NOV-1984 03:38                            Space Shuttle

   Eds: SUBs 6th graf pvs. ``Liftoff for...'' to CORRECT Challenger
to Discovery; Picks up 7th graf ``On the...''
                          By HOWARD BENEDICT
                          AP Aerospace Writer
   CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The countdown began today for
Wednesday's launch of space shuttle Discovery on a mission in which
astronauts will release two communications satellites and recover
two others that were sent into errant orbits.
   ``It's an exciting mission,'' commander Rick Hauck told
reporters as he and his shuttle crew arrived here Sunday to make
final preparations for launch.
   Pointing in the direction of the launch pad, three miles away,
Hauck added: ``We're looking forward to climbing into that machine
in a couple days, and I guarantee you we're going to have a lot of
fun. We're very excited about taking two satellites into
space...and bringing back two others that have been in wayward
orbits.''
   The other crew members are pilot David Walker and mission
specialists Anna Fisher, Joe Allen and Dale Gardner. Mrs. Fisher is
the fourth American woman and the first mother named to a space
flight. She and her astronaut husband Bill are parents of a
year-old daughter.
   The countdown started at 2 a.m. EST when test conductor Jerry
Crute issued the traditional ``call to stations'' that summoned
crews to the launch pad and the control center.
   Liftoff for the 14th shuttle mission, the second for Discovery,
is set for 8:18 a.m. Wednesday. The ship is to return to Earth
eight days later, landing on a runway at this spaceport.
   On the second and third days of the flight, the astronauts will
release commercial communications satellites owned by Telesat of
Canada and Hughes Communications Services Inc.
   The deployments will empty the cargo bay, clearing the way for
the retrieval of the Palapa B2 and Westar 6 satellites. These
payloads were released successfully by a shuttle crew last
February, but faulty booster rockets injected them into useless
orbits.
   Hauck and Walker are to guide Discovery through a series of
complex maneuvers to within 35 feet of each satellite - Palapa on
the fifth day and Westar on the seventh.
   Allen and Gardner are to capture the satellites during two space
walks expected to last six hours each. Allen will use a jet-powered
back pack to fly free of the shuttle and latch onto Palapa with a
pole-like grasping device. Gardner will do the same for Westar.
   Insurance underwriters are paying the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration $5.5 million to return the satellites to Earth
for refurbishment. The underwriters hope to resell the renovated
satellites to recoup some of the $180 million in premiums they paid
out when the payloads entered the wrong orbits.

NOTE: Discovery did not lift off this morning due to strong winds
high up in the atmosphere.  Here is another report of what the
astronauts hope to accomplish.

					    -Dave


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Path: decwrl!amd!dual!zehntel!ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe
Subject: Shuttle mission 51-A
Posted: Sun Nov  4 11:49:00 1984

Liftoff of space shuttle Discovery is set for 8:18 a.m. EST November 7.
The fourteenth shuttle mission, the second for Discovery, is designated
mission 51-A and will feature deployment of two communications satellites
followed by retrieval of two others which were sent into incorrect orbits
after leaving shuttle Challenger last February.

The crew of five will deploy communications satellites Telesat-H and
Syncom IV-2 (Leasat 2) on November 8 and 9.  Commander Rick Hauck and
pilot David Walker will then maneuver the orbiter to rendezvous with
Palapa B-2 on November 11 and Westar-VI on November 12.  Both satellites
have been maneuvered by ground controllers into nearly circular orbits
at an altitude of 195 nautical miles.  They are separated from each other
by 600 nautical miles.

In each case, Discovery will approach within 35 feet of the satellite
and fly in formation with it.  Mission specialist Joseph Allen will use
a manned maneuvering unit (MMU) to insert a pole-like "stinger" into the
nozzle of the slowly spinning (1 RPM) Palapa satellite and push it near
enough the shuttle so that mission specialist Anna Fisher can grapple a
fixture on the stinger with the orbiter's 50-foot-long mechanical arm.
She then will hoist it into the cargo bay where mission specialist Dale
Gardner, outside Discovery but attached to the cargo bay, will clip an
antenna from the top of the satellite and install a grapple fixture there.
Fisher then will move the arm from the stinger fixture to the newly mounted
one and Allen will withdraw the stinger, allowing the arm to lower the
satellite onto a pallet in the bay.  Allen and Gardner will latch the payload
firmly in place.  The Westar retrieval will be identical but with Allen
and Gardner switching roles.  Each recovery effort is expected to take about
six hours.

The wayward satellites were originally owned by the Indonesian government and
Western Union.  When faulty payload assist modules put them into the wrong
orbits after their flawless release from shuttle Challenger, the insurance
underwriters paid $180 million in insurance claims and took ownership of the
satellites.  The underwriters are paying NASA $5.5 million to retrieve the
satellites for refurbishment.  They plan to resell the renovated payloads.

Landing of Discovery is scheduled for November 15 at Kennedy Space Center.
--
Roger Noe			ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe

Path: decwrl!decvax!mcnc!akgua!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe
Subject: Discovery lands at KSC
Posted: Fri Nov 16 07:10:51 1984

Space shuttle Discovery touched down on runway 15 at the Kennedy Space
Center at 7:00 a.m. EST this morning, November 16.  Tucked away inside
the cargo bay of the orbiter were Palapa B-2 and Westar VI, two com-
munications satellites rescued from useless orbits and being returned
to Earth for repair and reuse.  The mission was a success by any measure.

Next launch of a space shuttle will probably not be until January 22,
1985 at the earliest.  Shuttle Challenger was to have lifted off with
a secret Defense Department payload December 8 but that flight (and
subsequent ones) has been postponed because of a recently discovered
problem with a material underlying about one tenth of that orbiter's
thermal tiles.  If Discovery can be turned around before Challenger can
be made ready, the shuttles might trade some missions and Discovery
would then lift off in January.

The Washington Post quoted unnamed sources at NASA's Johnson Space Center
in Houston, Texas as saying that plans are being made for a joint U.S.-
U.S.S.R. astronaut rescue demonstration mission, which could occur as
early as October, 1985.  No agreement has yet been signed but both countries
appear to agree that such a demonstration is very desirable and long overdue.
--
Roger Noe			ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe