| Associated Press Wed 04-DEC-1985 16:48 Space Shuttle
Mock Countdown for Next Shuttle Flight Held as Atlantis Readied for Return
By HOWARD BENEDICT
AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The astronauts who will fly Columbia
on the next shuttle flight Dec. 18 took part in a successful mock
countdown Wednesday, while across the continent in California the
just-returned orbiter Atlantis was declared in ``excellent''
condition.
``We went through a very successful test today,'' mission
commander Robert Gibson told reporters after the crew spent two
hours in the cabin of Columbia, which is slated to make its first
flight in two years.
The main concern now is finding time to shop for Christmas gifts
with the mission so close to the holiday, said pilot Charles Bolden.
``The training is keeping us very busy, and I don't know when
we'll be able to shop,'' he said. ``We'll have to find an hour here
and there.''
The Atlantis, which landed at Edwards Air Force Base on Tuesday
with its seven-member crew after a flawless mission, was being
readied for a return flight to the cape atop a modified jetliner
over the weekend.
``The overall condition of the orbiter is excellent,'' said Les
Reinertson, a spokesman for the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
``So far only about 11 thermal protection tiles have been
identified as needing replacement'' because of minor damage, he
added.
The brakes were removed and were in ``excellent shape,'' he
added. Because of damage to the brakes on past missions, shuttles
have been landing at Edwards in the Mojave Desert, where there is a
greater margin for error, instead of at the cape.
Atlantis ``was awfully clean,'' Reinertson said. ``Everybody was
impressed with the appearance of it, the lack of staining and marks
on it.''
Heat-shielding tiles have previously been damaged and stained
during launch and re-entry, but the problem has been diminishing.
NASA planned to send Atlantis back to Kennedy Space Center
Saturday morning, arriving in Florida midday Sunday after an
overnight stop at a yet-undetermined location, Reinertson said.
The week-long mission was the shuttle's second voyage and the
23rd orbiter flight since the first in 1981.
The astronauts, including Mexico's first, practiced space
station construction methods, deployed three communications
satellites and purified a hormone that someday may help millions of
people with red blood cell ailments such as anemia.
Columbia's Dec. 18 launch date is just 15 days after the return
of Atlantis, and would be the shortest turnaround time between
shuttle missions. The present record is 17 days.
During Columbia's five-day mission, astronauts are to launch an
RCA communications satellite, train ultraviolet telescopes on stars
and galaxies and conduct materials processing and other experiments.
The crew includes Rep. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who
represents the district containing Cape Canaveral and the space
center. He will be the second congressional observer to take a
shuttle trip.
Nelson chairs the House subcommittee on space science and
applications. Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, chairman of a subcommittee
that overses NASA funding, orbited in April.
The other crew members are Steve Hawley, George Nelson, Franklin
Chang-Diaz and Robert Cenker.
As the first shuttle to go into space, Columbia carried a lot of
test gear and lacked much of the sophisticated equipment of the
three craft that followed. After six flights, it underwent an
18-month overhaul at Rockwell International's plant in Palmdale,
Calif.
``It's a real thrill for us to work with Columbia,'' Gibson
said. ``It's the flagship of the fleet. It's been locked up for two
years and we look forward to flying it again.''
|
| Associated Press Tue 17-DEC-1985 08:03 Space Shuttle
Tight Schedule Forces One-Day Launch Delay
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The launching of Columbia was
postponed 24 hours, until Thursday, when the countdown team fell
far behind today in readying the flagship of the space shuttle
fleet for its first flight in more than two years.
``Essentially there were too many tasks to complete and too
little time to complete them,'' said George Diller, a spokesman for
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Diller said crews exhausted more than eight hours of contingency
time built into the countdown as they worked feverishly through the
night to close out the engine compartment, a job that must be done
before propellants can be loaded into the power-producing fuel
cells and in the engine fuel tanks.
The launching was reset for 7 a.m. EST Thursday, with Columbia
carrying a crew of seven that includes a Florida congressman and
the first Hispanic-American astronaut. The ship recently underwent
an 18-month overhaul to remove test gear and add sophisticated
electronic equipment.
Officials said on Monday the schedule was tight for a Wednesday
morning launch.
With work running behind schedule in closing out the engine
compartment, NASA inserted an unplanned four-hour ``hold'' in the
countdown Monday night, stopping the clock for four hours. The time
was borrowed from an 8 hour, 40 minute hold period that had been
planned today to give crews time to catch up on any task that might
have fallen behind.
One reason the work on the engine compartment fell behind was
explained in this space agency statement: ``Because it has been so
long since Columbia last flew, workers have stringent inspection
requrements as they complete their work in the aft engine
compartment.''
Columbia will be commanded by astronaut Robert Gibson. The other
crew members are Rep. Bill Nelson, a Democrat whose district
includes Cape Canaveral; Franklin Chang-Diaz, a Costa Rican-born
Hispanic-American; Charles Bolden, Steve Hawley, George Nelson and
Robert Cenker.
Nelson is flying as a fact-finder in his role as chairman of the
House subcommittee on space science and applications. Sen. Jake
Garn, R-Utah, who heads a subcommittee that oversees NASA spending,
flew as the first congressional observer last April.
During five days in space, the astronauts will release an RCA
communications satellite, point ultraviolet cameras at distant
stars and galaxies and conduct numerous medical, materials
processing and other experiments.
Nelson will participate in several medical experiments and, in a
cancer research project for the University of Alabama at
Birmingham, he will attempt to grow crystals in zero gravity of a
protein linked to cancer.
|
| Associated Press Thu 19-DEC-1985 14:10 Space Shuttle Bjt
Space Shuttle Launch Aborted by Faulty Rocket Steering System
By HOWARD BENEDICT
AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - A faulty rocket steering unit forced
NASA to abort the launch of Columbia just 15 seconds before liftoff
Thursday, and the flight was rescheduled for Jan. 4 to give shuttle
workers time off for the holidays.
Mission commander Robert Gibson reported the seven-member crew
was ``surprised'' and ``disappointed'' but displayed no anxiety,
just the professional discipline needed to safely secure a shuttle
loaded with volatile fuel.
``17 seconds...16...15...14 (pause). We have an unexpected
shutdown,'' reported launch control commentator Jim Ball as he
ticked off the final seconds before the clock stopped without
warning - scrapping what was to have been Columbia's first flight
in two years following an overhaul.
Although the clock halted at 14 seconds, officials said a
computer had ordered an end to the countdown at 15 seconds when it
detected that a turbine was spinning too fast in a hydraulic power
unit that guides the nozzle on one of two solid fuel rocket motors.
The crew, including a Florida congressman and the first
Hispanic-American astronaut, sat in Columbia's cabin atop half a
million gallons of fuel, monitoring gauges to make sure all systems
were safe.
Half an hour later, with the vehicle secure, they returned to
quarters to await another attempt to fly a mission in which they
are to release a communications satellite, photograph Halley's
comet and conduct medical, materials processing and other
experiments.
``Obviously we were disappointed,'' Gibson said later. ``We're
disappointed that we're not 200 miles up right now.''
``We were a bit surprised when it stopped at 15 seconds,''
Gibson said. ``We were waiting for the noise of the main engine at
that point. We immediately got into the safing procedures to put
the vehicle in a safe condition. We were awfully busy at that point
so we didn't have time to think about anxiety.''
Safing measures included reducing fuel tank pressures and
flipping switches to shut down shuttle systems.
Gibson said the discipline of the crew was ``very good. ... We
might have expected there would be a lot of complaining and
carrying on by everyone on board, but everyone was very
professional about the whole thing.''
``We could have launched the vehicle between Christmas and New
Year's ... on Dec. 30 or 31,'' said shuttle operations director Bob
Sieck. ``You trade that against giving all these (launch team)
people the holidays off, which they've been promised, and which
they well deserve for this year's effort.''
Sieck also reported that workers called back from their planned
vacations would have to be paid triple time, adding up to about
$500,000 a day above normal wages.
Gibson said the delay also would change the astronauts' holiday
plans.
``We thought we were all done Christmas shopping, but it looks
like we've got a couple extra days,'' he said. ``In terms of
Christmas family togetherness, it's going to make Christmas
better.''
Members of Gibson's crew are Rep. Bill Nelson, a Florida
Democrat whose district includes Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy
Space Center; Franklin Chang-Diaz, a Costa Rican-born
Hispanic-American; pilot Charles Bolden, Steve Hawley, George
Nelson, and Robert Cenker.
Nelson was to fly as a congressional observer in his role as
chairman of the House subcommittee on space science and
applications. The only other congressional representaive to make a
shuttle trip, Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, was among the thousands who
were here to watch the launch.
Sieck said it would take about three days to replace a faulty
hydraulic power unit in one of two solid fuel booster rockets that
help propel the shuttle into space.
The unit, about the size of a breadbox, provides power to two
actuators that guide the rocket nozzle. It operates like power
steering in an automobile.
Larry Malloy, a NASA rocket expert, said the computer sensed
that the unit's turbine speed was about 86,000 rpm, some 7,000 rpm
above the safety red-line. Normal speed is about 72,000 rpm.
He said there is a redundant unit in each motor, but mission
rules dictate that liftoff cannot occur without a backup system. If
there were only one system working on launch, and it failed, the
shuttle would cartwheel out of control and the crew probably would
be killed.
|
| Path: decwrl!decvax!bellcore!petrus!sabre!zeta!epsilon!gamma!ulysses!
mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!wd9get
Subject: STS 61-C Press Release
Posted: 24 Dec 85 22:34:14 GMT
Organization: Purdue University MAD Laboratories
Here's the NASA press release for the STS-61C mission. This article
still refers to the December 18th launch date, thought the launch
is currently scheduled for January 4.
COLUMBIA TO MAKE 24TH STS FLIGHT ON DEC. 18 [make that Jan. 4]
The Space Shuttle Columbia will make its first space flight
in 2 years on mission 61-C, the 24th flight of America's Space
Transportation System. Liftoff is scheduled for Dec. 18 at 7 a.m.
EST. The launch window extends for 49 minutes that day.
Robert L. "Hoot" Gibson will command this last Shuttle mission
for 1985, his second trip into space. Charles F. Bolden,
making his first space trip, is the 61-C pilot. Three mission
specialists will be flying aboard Columbia: Franklin R. Chang-
Diaz, Steven A. Hawley and George D. "Pinky" Nelson. Chang-Diaz
will be the first Hispanic American to journey into space. Hawley
and Nelson will be making their second space flights. The two
payload specialists are Robert J. Cenker of RCA and Florida U.S.
Rep. Bill Nelson.
Columbia will be launched into a 201-mile, circular orbit
inclined 28.5 degrees to the equator, for its 5-day mission.
During the mission, the crew will deploy RCA's Satcom K-1
communications satellite, the second in a series of three, with
its PAM D-2 upper stage. Satcom K-2 was deployed on flight 61-B
in November 1985.
Also aboard Columbia in the payload bay are the Materials
Science Laboratory-2 (MSL-2); the first Hitchhiker payload; the
RCA Infrared Imaging Experiment (IR-IE); and 13 Getaway Special
Experiments in a specialized canisters, 12 of which are mounted on a
GAS bridge which is attached to the payload bay.
MSL-2, sponsered by the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville,
Ala., is controlled by onboard computers and contains three
materials processing experiments to be operated by Chang-Diaz.
Samples of a variety of materials will be carefully observed while
they are melted and solidified in zero gravity. Those materials
will be compared with their ground controls.
The Hitchhiker (HG-1), sponsered by Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Md., is mounted to the side of the payload bay and supports
three experiments. One of the experiments is the Particle
Analysis Cameras for the Shuttle (PACS) experiment to provide
film images of any particle contamination around the Shuttle
in support of future Department of Defense infrared telescope
operations. Another experiment is the Capillary Pump Loop to
provide a zero-gravity test of a new two-phase heat transport
system. The third experiment used coated mirrors to test the
effects of the Shuttle's environment.
The IR-IE infrared camera was developed by RCA and will be
under the supervision of Cenker during the mission. Its purpose
is to acquire radiometric information that appears within the
field of view of the self-contained optical system. RCA hopes to
have an opportunity to photograph storms, volcanic activity or
other natural occurences during the mission as well as mapping the
orbiter's payload bay to determine its thermal characteristics at
various times on orbit.
Middeck payloads include the Comet Halley Active Monitoring
Program (CHAMP), Initial Blood Storage Experiment (IBSE) and three
student experiments.
IBSE, funded by Johnson Space Center, with the Center for
Blood Research, Boston, acting as the lead institution, will study
blood storage and sedimentation characteristics in microgravity.
This is one of several Shuttle flights on which the CHAMP
experiment will be flown to obtain photographs and spectra of
Halley's Comet as well as its dynamic and structural behavior and
its chemical structure.
During the mission, Chang-Diaz will produce a videotape in
Spanish for live distribution to audiences in the United States
and Latin America via the NASA Select television circuit.
Payload specialist Bill Nelson will participate in the University
of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center experiment.
The object of the experiment is to try to grow crystal
proteins in space for cancer research.
Columbia's last flight was STS-9, launched Nov. 28, 1983.
After that flight, hundreds of modifications were made to Columbia
during its 18-month visit at the Rockwell International Shuttle
manufacturing plant, Palmdale, Calif.
One modification includes the installation of a cylindrical
housing atop the vertical stabilizer which contains the Shuttle
Infrared Leeside Temperature Sensing (SILTS) experiment. SILTS
will obtain high-resolution, infrared images of the upper (lee-
side) surfaces of Columbia's port wing and fuselage as the orbiter
reenters Earth's atmosphere. The infrared images will provide
detailed temperature maps that will indicate the amount of aero-
dynamic heating of those surfaces in flight.
Another less obvious change to Columbia is a new nose cap to
house the Shuttle Entry Air Data System (SEADS) experiment. A
number of pressure sensors inside the nose cap will provide aero-
dynamic flight characteristics during reentry.
Another modification was made to accommodate the Shuttle
Upper Atmosphere Mass Spectrometer (SUMS) experiment. Inside the
nosewheel well, SUMS will sample air at Columbia's surface through
a small hole to measure the number of molecules of various gas
species. This data, combined with vehicle motion information,
will allow determination of orbiter aerodynamic characteristics at
altitudes where the atmosphere is extremely thin.
On ascent, the wing pressure distribution will be measured
for the first time with transducers located on the top and bottom
sides of the wings. The actual load on th wings will be accurately
calculated to determine if more performance can be gained from
the orbiter.
Another orbiter experiment is the Forward Reaction Control
System (FRCS) test which involves firing the forward thrusters on
the nose of the orbiter. Five tests will be conducted at various
Mach speeds. One jet from the left and right FRCS will be fired
for 1 second and 7 seconds later, two jets from both the left and
right FRCS will be fired for 1 second. This test is a simulation
for future missions that may require lighter abort-landing
weights. In such a case, the FRCS propellant would be dumped
before landing.
This will be the first KSC landing since mission 51-D on
April 19, 1985, when Discovery's right main landing gear tire
experienced a blowout. Shuttle managers then decided to introduce
modifications permitting nosewheel steering capability on the
orbiters. That system was verified with Challenger at the conclusion
of mission 61-A at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.
Landing will come on Flight Day 6 at Kennedy Space Center on
orbit 80, Dec. 23 at 7:13 a.m. EST.
--
--Keith E. Brandt "Back off man -- I'm a scientist"
wd9get@pur-ee
Newsgroups: net.columbia
Path: decwrl!decvax!bellcore!petrus!sabre!zeta!epsilon!gamma!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!wd9get
Subject: STS 61-C General Info
Posted: 24 Dec 85 22:58:50 GMT
Organization: Purdue University MAD Laboratories
Here's some general information on the upcoming STS 61-C mission.
NASA-Select television coverage of Shuttle mission 61-C will
be carried on a full satellite transponder:
Satcom F-2R, Transponder 13, C-Band
Orbital Position: 72 degrees west longitude
Frequency: 3954.5 MHz vertical polarization
Audio Monaural: 6.8 MHz
The television schedule will be updated daily to reflect
changes dictated by mission operations. Television schedules also
may be obtained by calling COMSTOR (713/280-8711). COMSTOR is a
computer data-base service requiring the use of a telephone modem.
SHUTTLE MISSION 61-C QUICK LOOK
Crew: Robert L. Gibson, Commander
Charles F. Bolder, Jr., Pilot
George D. Nelson, Mission Specialist (MS-1)
Steven A. Hawley, Mission Specialist (MS-2)
Franklin R. Chang-Diaz, Mission Specialist (MS-3)
Robert J. Cenker, Payload Specialist (PS-1)
C. William (Bill) Nelson, Payload Specialist (PS-2)
Orbiter: Columbia (OV-102)
Launch Site: Pad 39-A, Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
Orbital inclination: 28.45 degrees
Insertion orbit: 201 mi. circular
Mission Duration: 5 days; 79 full orbits; landing on orbit 80
Primary landing site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla., runway 33
Weather alternative: Edwards AFB, CA, Runway 22
Trans-Atlantic Abort: Dakar, Senegal
Abort-once-around: Edwards AFB
--
--Keith E. Brandt "Back off man -- I'm a scientist"
wd9get@pur-ee
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