Conference 7.286::space

    The launch has been pushed back to 10:59am (EST) due to lighter
    upper-atmospheric winds.  The launch window is now from 10:59am
    to 1:59pm.  (This is the latest as of 8:00am).

    you can listen to cape radio live without the network
    jokers overtalking it if you have a shortwave radio
    capable of receiving Upper Side band, on 20.198 MHz
    

    	Has the launch been delayed until 1:30 p.m. EDT?  Without access
    to radio or television, I have little way of knowing.
    
    	Larry
    

    They're talking 11:30 right now. Upper altitude winds look ok.
    Apparently they just need to button her up and get everyone behind the
    roadblocks... 
    
    -Glenn-

    as of 11:26 am...it is set for launch at 11:37am
    
    Hope it goes up straight and true
    
    Jim

could someone point me to the note that describes shuttle main engines and what
fuel the use? LOX and ????

Thanks-

Lee

Everything OK up to and past SRB separation.

...Just got my car radio on at the 6 second count.  Don't know more
because the program cut back to normal scheduling.

Jeremy Barker - Reading - England

    SRbs worked flawlessly (I remembered to breath a short while after
    "go with throttle up"). MECO just completed.
    
    The U.S. has people back in space!
    
    -Glenn-

    The fuels are LOX (liquid oxygen) and LH2 (liquid hydrogen).
    
     They are not hypergolic, which means that they do not burn on contact.
    Which is why you see the horizontal shower of sparks just before
    engine ignition.
    
     			Gregg

    "We have liftoff of 'America's Return to Space' as Discovery clears
    the tower!"
    
    11:37 EDT 29 Sep 1988
    
    Godspeed, Discovery. See you Monday.

    Any news ? ? ?
    

    I wanted to say this at 11:40 but could not get in.
    
    
    Yahoo!!!

    
    Great day!  Just a beautiful liftoff, lots of cheering, etc.
    First pictures are being sent back, they're getting ready to deploy
    the communications satellite, just a great day.
    
    We had about 50 people packed into one of our conference rooms here
    in the ACT watching the NBC/ABC/CBS feed from KSC via our satellite
    dish.  Our operations manager just outdid himself with all the 
    electronic whizz bangs to make sure we had "appropriate coverage".
    
    Everybody loved it, lots of yelling and screaming at liftoff.
    
    Great Day!
    
    S. Chase
    
    

    According to my father, who lives in Titusville, FL, the evening
    news down there is reporting that one of the SRBs appeared to have
    a similar leak to the one that destroyed Challenger, only this one
    was further down toward the nozzle and away from the external tank.
    Anyone else hear this?

Re:< Note 468.16 by COOKIE::HOYT "KDWT: All widgets, all the time!" >
>    According to my father, who lives in Titusville, FL, the evening
>    news down there is reporting that one of the SRBs appeared to have
>    a similar leak to the one that destroyed Challenger, only this one
>    was further down toward the nozzle and away from the external tank.
>    Anyone else hear this?


Not only heard it, I saw the video tape.  Sure should make NASA worry.

Tony

    re .16 and .17
    
    Taken from the Boston Globe, 30-Sep-1988
    
    "Although everything appeared to go smoothly during the launch and
    the shuttle reached its intended orbit, fears were raised by television
    pictures that appeared to show flames around the base of the solid
    fuel booster rockets, flames that resembled those seen in films
    of the Challenger launch just before the explosion, Jan 28, 1986.
    
    " 'Normally there is some reflection' from the base of the rockets,
    explained Thomas Ustman, deputy director of Kennedy Space Center,
    at a press conference.  Pictures of launches, he added, 'all look
    different'.
    
    "Launch director Robert Sieck said 'data from the solid rockets
    will be analyzed before a go is given for the next mission' of the
    space shuttle, now set for Nov 17.
    
    "The casings of the solid rockets were recovered at sea by waiting
    ships yesterday, and after they are towed back here tonight they
    will be carefully disassembled and analyzed to make sure that design
    changes made after the Challenger disaster worked as expected.
    
    "But officials at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, which is
    in charge of the booster rockets, said yesterday that data radioed
    back from Discovery during the launch had been reviewed and 'no
    anomalies were detected.' "
    
    

    I thought it was rather interesting that while CNN had lots of live
    coverage and lots of 'the voice of mission control', ABC went back
    to some silly sitcom during that 1/2 hour hold, and Headline News
    Network had ads till T-20, then before the SRBs were dumped they
    were back to Teewana Brawley (sp) complaining about the fact that
    someone told that she lied.....  
    
    Gene Cernan was on ABC, I haven't watched the tape yet (we were
    watching and taping CNN, taping and monitoring ABC, and monitoring
    HNN), but I'll definately be making some sixels for those who missed
    him!
    
    Willie

    When I saw what looked like flame wandering from the bottom of
    the SRBs back toward the ET, my heart just about stopped.  I
    don't think I breathed until those (explitive) SRBs separated.
    
    In retrospect, I vaguely remember seeing a similar "apparition"
    during a pre-STS25 launch.  Of course, it is a little hard to
    remember something from 3 or so years ago.  Anyone else ever
    notice this?
    

    The latest report I heard on the flames near the base of the SRB
    was that they were a 'reverse' flame from the main engines.
    According to the report, this phenomenon has been observed on
    previous Shuttle flights and is not a hazard.
    
    John B.

    re .21
    
    I'll have to look again but I didn't notice the plume that appeared
    on Challenger.  It did look like a relection of some sort.

    I'm waiting to see what happens after the analysis of the SRBs.
    Hopefully we can get some "real" information rather than what you
    usually get from the networks and newspapers.
    
    Yes, CNN had the better coverage.  I started the tape at 9AM and
    let it run for 5 hours.  I haven't looked at all of it yet but it
    was far more informative and comprehensive than the ABC version
    we watched here at LKG.
    
    					Mike

    I notice two different times for the plume
    the first just after lift off, but it look
    like it could be steam reflecting the light
    of the main eng
    
    the 2nd was the good footage just before seperation
    this look like a true plume at the base of the
    solid booster
    
    I too wait for the analysis and hope it is ok
    
    jb
    

    If you want good coverage and you have a satellite receiver, tune
    it to Satfom F2, transponder 13.  That's NASA Select, and it runs
    live audio plus live video interspersed with VTR dumps from the
    shuttle, replays of the day's interesting video, and replays of
    the launch from "isolated cameras".  I left my VCR running from
    6AM to Noon yesterday, and when I got home I got to watch the
    launch without any commercial network commentary.  When NASA doesn't
    have anything to say, they don't say anything---a revolutionary
    idea in news reporting.
    
    Last night and this morning NASA Select was showing pictures of
    Mission Control, mostly CAPCOM and the plotting board.  The astronauts
    were asleep, so there was no audio.
        John Sauter

Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!RAND-UNIX.ARPA!pace%tp3
Subject: Dial-a-Shuttle
Posted: 28 Sep 88 16:58:58 GMT
Organization: The Internet
 
    The National Space Society, in cooperation with NASA and AT&T, has
reestablished the Dial-a-Shuttle service beginning with the Discovery
launch. Beginning two hours before launch and continuing until two
hours after landing, callers can listen directly to Shuttle flight
activity and communications. During times when the Shuttle in not
communicating with the ground or is out of range, there will be
commentary, interviews, and descriptions of flight operations.  The
service costs $2 for the first minute and 45 cents for each additional
minute. Part of the proceeds will go directly to the National Space
Society. The service is available 24 hours a day at 900-909-NASA (or
900-909-6272 or the numerically inclined) 

    "The meek can have Earth; the rest of us have other plans."

                 - Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology

Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle,rec.ham-radio,ca.general,misc.misc
Subject: Got Shutle Frequencies !!!
Posted: 29 Sep 88 00:21:27 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA.
Sender:Charles J. Guest
 
*****************************************************************
*         >>>>>>>>>> Space Shuttle Frequencies <<<<<<<<<<<      *
*          >>>>>>>>>>>>>> For STS - 26 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<       *
*****************************************************************
 
    Thanks to all of you who sent me frequencies for the rebroadcast,
of NASA Select's presentation of the STS-26 mission and other previous
shuttle missions.  I have been requested to make what I have learned
available.  What follows is my eleventh hour posting of a distilation
of the frequencies tat I received. 
 
================================================================
=                     Rebroadcasts of NASA Select              =
================================================================  
 
    The NASA Ames Amateur Radio Club (K6MF) at Moffet Field Calif.:
 
                         145.5800 mcs FM
 
    The Goddard Space Flight Center Amateur Radio Club (WA3NAN) at
Greenbelt Md.: 

                         3.860 mcs LSB
                         3.960 mcs  
                         7.185 mcs LSB
                        14.295 mcs USB
                        21.390 mcs
                        21.295 mcs
                        21.395 mcs USB
                       147.450 mcs FM
 
================================================================ 
=                 Onboard Shuttle Frequencies                  =
================================================================ 
          296.8 mcs air to ground or orbiter to suit
          259.7 mcs air to ground orsuit to orbiter
          279.0 mcs suit to orbiter or suit to suit
          243.0 mcs possible emergency frequency
 
================================================================
=       Support Frequencies Used On Previous Missions          =
================================================================
         4.3760 mcs USB - coast guard looking for wreckage
         4.4287 mcs USB - same as above
         5.6800 mcs USB - same as above
         7.6750 mcs USB - air force traffic durring launch/ksc ops.
        10.7800 mcs     - air force cape radio
        11.2520 mcs USB - same as above        
        11.4070 mcs USB - NASA 
        14.4550 mcs USB - NASA  barge traffic
        20.1860 mcs     - NASA shuttle tracking
        20.1983 mcs LSB - NASA
 
------------------------------------END FREQUENCY SECTION________
 
    Special Thanks To:
          
                  B. Parnass
                  Ron Parise
                  Marshal Jose
                  Millard Edgerton
 
************************************************************
*      OVERAL AND ALL INCLUSIVE DISCLAIMER:                * 
*      (except for what I left out and meant to say)       *
*      The above reply/article is my opinion **only*       *
*      True and articulable facts had no bearing on        * 
*      the above statements.    8=)  :-)  :->              *
************************************************************
 
========================================================================
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	id AA07937; Wed, 28 Sep 88 18:53:01 PDT

Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: decwrl!labrea!rutgers!mailrus!ncar!ames!yee
Subject: Mission Control Status Report - Flight Day 2 (A) (Forwarded)
Posted: 30 Sep 88 16:51:09 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
  
	MCC STATUS REPORT 7
 
Mission Control Status Report - Flight Day 2 (A)
 
9/30/88 - 5:00 a.m. CDT
 
Discovery's crew was awakened this morning at 4:37 by the pre-recorded
voice of popular comedian Robin Williams saying "Gooooooood Morning
Discovery!!!"  The original recording, provided by a Houston area
radio disc jockey, also included original lyrics recorded to the theme
music of the television show "Green Acres". 
 
Crew Commander Rick Hauck responded with a hearty "Gooooood Morning
Houston!!!", and the crew and flight control team got down to business
preparing for the day's activities. 
 
The first order of business for the day will be to maneuver Discovery
to the necessary attitude for alignment of the Inertial Measurement
Units (IMUs). 
 
After the IMU alignment, the crew will deploy the KU-band antenna
which will support high data rate communications between the Orbiter
and the Mission Control Center throughout the mission. 
 
Crew activities today will include maintenance of a wide array of
middeck experiments while flight controllers continue efforts to thaw
ice which has accumulated in Discovery's launch and entry cooling
system.  A maintenance program is currently in work which includes
running the payload bay door radiators about 4 degrees higher than
normal, activation of dual heaters to gradually warm the valve, and an
increased flow rate in the system's freon loops. 
 
The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite which was successfully deployed
from the Orbiter yesterday has reached it's intended orbit and it's
appendages fully deployed, capping off a highly successful first day
on orbit. 
 
The next MCC Summary Report is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. and will
include an overview of the secondary payloads. 

Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: decwrl!labrea!rutgers!mailrus!ncar!ames!yee
Subject: STS-26 Wake Up Call  (Forwarded)
Posted: 30 Sep 88 16:52:11 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
Following is a transcript of the wake up call sent to the STS-26 crew
at 4:37 a.m. CDT (MET 18:37). 
  
STS-26 CREW WAKE UP (MET 18:37 - 4:37 a.m. CDT)
  
(Following done by Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam style)
  
GOOD MORNING DISCOVERY! 
 
GOOD MORNING DISCOVERY!
 
Good Morning Discovery
 
Rise and shine boys.  Time to start doing that Shuttle shuffle. You
know what I mean. Hey here's a little song coming from the billions of
us to the five of you.  Rick, start 'em off baby. The Hauckster to you. 
  
(Following done to theme of Green Acres)
 
On orbit is the place to be
Free wheeling on Discovery
Earth rolling by so far below
Just give her the gas and look at this baby go
 
We can't believe we've made it here
So high above the atmosphere
We just adore the scenery
Yea Houston's great but give me that zero-g
 
Hey look out the windows - That's me
Captain I'm hungry - Let's eat
Maybe we'll land at White Sands
Uh-Uh  - Look Ma, no hands
 
This is the life
Oh what a flight
 
Earth orbit we are here
 
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 
 
Wake up tape was produced by radio station 
KKBQ in Houston with the help of Robin Williams.

Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: decwrl!labrea!rutgers!mailrus!ncar!ames!yee
Subject: Shuttle Status for 09/30/88 (Forwarded)
Posted: 30 Sep 88 16:53:23 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
  
            KSC SPACE SHUTTLE PROCESSING REPORT FOR - Fri. Sept. 30, 1988
 
                  STS-26  -  DISCOVERY (OV 103) LAUNCH -  PAD 39-B
 
               Discovery was launched at 11:37:00.687 a.m. (EDT) yesterday
          from Launch Pad 39-B. The pad sustained minimal damage from the
          launch - some of the stadium lights will need replacing.
 
               Mobile launcher platform number 2 is scheduled to be
          transferred from the pad to the VAB. This pplatform will be used
          for Discovery's second flight - STS-29.
 
               The solid rocket boosters were recovered by the retrieval
          ships yesterday at 5:45 p.m. The Freedom Star and the Liberty
          Star are scheduled to arrive at the entrance of Port Canaveral at
          11 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.  Later in the day, the ships will proceed
          through the Canaveral Locks System and into the Banana River. The
          ships will travel north to Hangar AF where the boosters will be
          taken apart and inspected.
 
               Discovery is scheduled to land on the dry lakebed runway at
          Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. on Monday, Oct. 3.  With a total
          mission elapsed time of 4 days, 56 minutes, the landing would
          occur at 12:33 p.m. (EDT).
 
               After the landing, KSC's processing team will begin
          preparing the orbiter for the return trip to Florida. The one-day
          ferry flight includes a refueling stop over at Kelly AFB in San
          Antonio, Tx.  Discovery is scheduled to arrive back at KSC atop
          the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on Saturday, Oct. 8. After being
          demated from the 747, Discovery would be towed to OPF bay 1 for
          post-flight servicing and preparations for its next mission, STS-
          29, scheduled for launch in February.
 
                     STS-27  -  ATLANTIS (0V 104)  -  OPF BAY 2
 
               Leak checks of the main propulsion system are continuing
          today. The modified gaseous oxygen flow control valve poppets
          have been installed and are undergoing leak checks today.
 
               Thermal protection system operations are underway. Atlantis
          is scheduled to be rolled over to the VAB no earlier than Oct. 14
          for mating to the external tank and solid rocket boosters.
 
                     STS-28  -  COLUMBIA (OV 102)  -  OPF BAY 1
 
               Return to flight modifications are underway on Columbia.
          Yesterday, technicians installed the crew hatch. Activities
          scheduled today include orbiter airframe inspections, thermal
          protection system operations and installation of the power drive
          unit for the body flap. Columbia is scheduled to be transferred
          to the Orbiter Modification and Refurbishment Facility (OMRF) a
          week from today.

                      "Does one really have to fret
                       About enlightenment?
                       No matter what road I travel,
                       I'm going home."

    I flew down for the launch Thursday.  I flew down from Logan and then
    drove up with a friend (Jeff) from Ft. Lauderdale to Satellite Beach
    the night before the launch.  We got in at about midnight and then left
    a 5:45am wakeup call.  Jeff was pretty paranoid that the wakeup
    call wouldn't come and kept waking up all night checking the time.  But
    the call came and we got on the road north to the Cape at about 6:30am. 
    While I waited for Jeff, I watched the road (A1A for the familiar)
    outside the hotel, seeing how much traffic there was.  More than one
    person was going to see the launch that day, that was for sure.
    
    We hopped in the jeep and drove north with traffic heavy, but not
    really the sort that prevents good progress.  As we approached the
    southern gate to the Air Force base there, there were already a good
    number of people pulled off to the side of the road.  This was at a
    distance of about 15 miles, almost all over water.  From that distance,
    the Vehicle Assembly Building was visible, but there was plenty of
    ground mist, or fog of some sort, partly obscuring the view.
    
    When we actually reached the gate, traffic was backed up about 150
    yards, so it wasn't bad at all.  At the gate, we were waved through by
    (apparently) military police.  Once onto the station roads, we quickly
    drove the 5 or so miles up to the NASA Causeway.  There was a steady
    stream of cars and the directions of how to get there were fairly
    straightforward.  We were fooled only once by a turnoff that was being
    used by other cars.  Unfortunately, they were Air Force personnel
    reporting for work as usual.  A little help from a nearby soldier and
    we were away again.
    
    So we reached the area that was designated on the NASA Causeway Pass as
    the viewing area.  Arriving at 7am turned out to be a little bit late. 
    We actually were told to park at the base of the eastern peninsula that
    the Causeway runs over, instead of being towards the middle.  But the
    placement worked out pretty well.
    
    We parked right near the water (ignoring direction to park in another
    location which would have placed us in a cruddy position for viewing in
    the middle of a bunch of other parked vehicles), and immediately got up
    on top of the jeep with binoculars to see what we could see.  We were
    reasonably lucky.  The view was mostly over water, with a thin strip of
    bush-covered land jutting out between us and the shuttle.  There were
    buildings in the foreground to either side of the shuttle, but we had a
    basically clear shot except for the bushes.  Fortunately, standing on
    top of the jeep afforded us a clear view even over those.  Except for
    that ground fog or whatever it was.  The top of the shuttle was
    visible, but the rest was completely obscured.  Most people were having
    a hard time locating it through the mist.  The sun wasn't really doing
    anything just yet, so we sat and waited.
    
    NASA had a public address system set up behind us, piping the realtime
    conversations and 'official NASA commentary' through to us.  Not having
    the networks there to make their annoying comments was very nice.  So
    was the lack of commercials.
    
    The original launch time was 9:59am.  So we settled down for a 3-hour
    wait, munching on the food that we had picked up at a 7-Eleven just
    before driving north from the hotel.  We passed the time by worrying
    over whether the launch would take place, listening to the PA system,
    worrying over whether the launch would take place, worrying over
    whether we'd be able to see the launch because of that stupid ground
    fog, worrying over whether the launch would take place, watching the
    wildlife (birds, dolphins, people, etc), worrying over whether the
    launch would take place, etc.
    
    Surprisingly, even though the launch kept getting further and further
    out, spirits remained high and the time went by fairly quickly.  The
    visibility steadily improved (courtesy of the hot Florida sun) until
    the shuttle was easily visible through binoculars, the 35mm camera's
    telephoto lens and even the video camera that we had brought.  As
    stated elsewhere, viewing from the NASA Causeway (and just about
    everywhere else, for that matter) gives you a view looking right at the
    orbiter's cargo bay doors.  The black areas of the top windows was
    about the best resolution possible with the opticals we were carrying. 
    But the overall shape of the vehicle was very obvious.  The orange-red
    external tank, the two SRBs and the black and white shuttle orbiter.
    
    Eventually, we reached the T-minus-9-minute mark and its 10 minute
    planned hold.  At that point, it seemed like things were actually going
    to work, even though another hold was planned for the 31 second point.
    When the 10 minute hold was over, the remaining 9 minutes flew by
    incredibly quickly.  At about the 3� minute mark, the NASA commentator
    started talking about the hold that would occur at the 31 second mark
    and something about a 'failure'.  Groans all around.  But the countdown
    went on, closing in on the 31 second mark.  Then the 31 second mark
    came.  And went.  They were going for it.  No more holds.  Jeff went to
    the video camera and I went to my 35mm camera.
    
    We heard 'main engine start' and a roar started coming in over the
    water.  Then we spotted the exhaust cloud growing from under the
    shuttle.  Click.  First photo.  The cloud grew and started to obscure
    the shuttle.  Click.  'SRB ignition'  Now the orbiter is totally
    invisible behind a cloud of white exhaust.  And then we saw a long
    tongue of flame on the ground and the orbiter slipped clear of the
    exhaust.  It was almost surreal at that distance.  It looked like a
    toy, but it was also so very real as it slowly picked up visible
    amounts of speed, rising straight up on that tail of fire.  Click. 
    Then the roll maneuver turned it 90� and the whole beast kicked over to
    the side and seemed to really take off like a shot.  Click.
    
    It was partly cloudy for the launch and everyone was cheering, yelling
    and generally going bonkers when the shuttle reached a low cloud.  The
    entire crowd became silent for a split second when the white exhaust wasn't
    showing any progress through the white cloud and the flames from the
    engines dimmed dramatically.  Had the engines shut off?
    
    Then the shuttle was through the other side and everybody *really* went
    goofy.  It was almost as if the cloud had been put there as a test and
    everyone was confident of the success of the mission based on coming
    through the other side.  Then they remembered the 74 second point.  But
    throttle up came and went and the cheering continued.  SRB separation
    came and everybody started to calm down.
    
    At about the throttle up point, we could really hear the roar and
    crackle of the engines since they were pointed pretty much in our
    direction.  At SRB separation, the cloud of the solid propellant
    exhaust faded and the liquid exhaust was the only way to follow the dot
    that was the shuttle, far up in the sky.  Finally, it was lost in the
    clouds that rolled in.
    
    Ten minutes after the launch, the skies were totally obscured with
    clouds even though we could occassionally hear the faint, deep rumble
    of the engines far away, closing in on space.
    
    And it was over for us.  A moving experience, seeing one of the
    greatest achievements of mankind in action.  Despite all the politics
    and misgivings that people might have, it's pretty incredible to see
    those astronauts being sent up successfully in all that fire and smoke.
    After seeing the one launch, it became possible for me to see the day
    when mankind actually has some measure of control over his future.  A
    shuttle launch is such a deliberate gesture of desiring something
    better, that it's hard to miss the vision of what could be.
    
    By the way, the shuttle had completed its first few orbits before we
    had even gotten out of the parking area.  In other words, we had been
    lapped.
    
John

    . . . and Discovery is home!
    

    What a beauty...

I have to eat my words.

Up until last week I still believed that the first launch would not take 
place until after the election and have said so in this conference.

Publicly I say, I was wrong and glad of it!!

Tony

Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!pasteur!ames!yee
Subject: Discovery Status for 10/04/88 (Forwarded)
Posted: 5 Oct 88 05:43:36 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
    DISCOVERY PROCESSING REPORT FOR - TUES., OCT. 4, 1988
          AMES-DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH FACILITY, CALIF.
  
     Discovery's main landing gear touched down at 9:37:08 a.m. (PDT)
yesterday on Runway 17, completing the first Space Shuttle mission
since January 1986. The nose gear touched down at 9:37:57 a.m. and the
wheels stopped at 9:37:57 a.m. (PDT). Total mission elapsed time was 4
days, 1 hour and 57 seconds. 
 
     STS-26 Commander Rick Hauck touched the orbiter down at the 2,500
foot mark on the runway and stopped the vehicle at the 9,951 mark. The
distance Discovery rolled from the touchdown point was 7451 feet. 
 
     After members of the convoy team completed safing the vehicle the
crew hatch was opened at 10:14 and the flight surgeons entered the
cockpit. The STS-26 five-member flight crew departed from the orbiter
at 10:32 a.m. 
 
     Technicians removed the brakes for inspections and replaced the
flight tires with the ground "roll around" tires. An assessment of the
thermal protection system indicates that this is the cleanest vehicle
after a mission, and no tiles fell off during the mission or landing.
There was some minor damage to the tiles which is always expected. 
 
     Discovery was spotted in the Mate/Demate Device (M/DD) by 6:50
p.m. last night. Post-flight inspections and ferry flight preparations
are underway. 
 
     Today, workers will hookup ground equipment that will allow the
residual liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen reactants to boil off from
the fuel cell storage tanks. Other activities include sampling the
orbiter's potable water, safing ordnance devices on the vehicle,
thermal protection system inspections and installating tail cone fittings. 
Later today, the main engines will undergo a post-flight purge. 
 
     If all goes as planned, the tail cone will be installed on
Thursday and Discovery will be mated to the 747 Shuttle Carrier
Aircraft on Friday. A one-day ferry flight of Discovery is planned on
Saturday. The 747/Shuttle Discovery will depart Dryden before sunrise
and stop at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas to refuel
before completing the second leg of the ferry flight to the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida. The SCA should arrive at the Shuttle Landing
Facility before sunset. 
 
     Once back at KSC, Discovery will be towed to the Orbiter
Processing Facility where post-flight servicing and STS-29
preparations will occur. 

    "When you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's time to
  reform." - Mark Twain 
 

Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: decwrl!purdue!mailrus!nrl-cmf!ames!yee
Subject: Shuttle-launched satellite passes early tests with flying colors 
Posted: 16 Nov 88 17:54:45 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
Jeff Vincent
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                  November 14, 1988
 
James Elliott
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
  
RELEASE:  88-157
 
    SHUTTLE-LAUNCHED SATELLITE PASSES EARLY TESTS WITH FLYING COLORS
  
     The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS), launched by the
Space Shuttle Discovery on Sept. 29, has performed flawlessly on all
tests to date and may support the next Space Shuttle mission, NASA
officials at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., announced today. 
 
     Since its launch by the crew of Discovery, the 5,000-pound
communications satellite, known as TDRS-3, has been moved for testing
to 150 degrees west longitude over the Equator.  This location is best
for communications with the White Sands Ground Terminal in New Mexico,
for spacecraft antenna testing, for pre- mission tests and mission
support for STS-27. 
 
     Following deployment of the satellite's antennas and solar
arrays, the satellite's thrusters were first fired on Oct. 2 to start
TDRS drifting towards the test location.  The satellite's movement was
stopped by additional firings on Oct. 11 and 12 when it arrived on station. 
 
     Spacecraft communication systems were activated between Oct. 7
and 18.  All systems performed flawlessly and testing is ahead of
schedule, according to Dr. Dale W. Harris, TDRS project manager at
Goddard.  Although tests and calibrations will not be complete, NASA
hopes to use the TDRS-3, along with TDRS-1 launched in April 1983, for
improved communications during the STS-27 mission. 
 
     TDRS-3 is the third to be launched.  The first has been in
operation since 1983 and is located at 41 degrees west longitude.  The
second was lost with the Challenger.  The fourth, to complete NASA's
constellation of three on-orbit satellites, is scheduled for launch on
the Discovery in February 1989. 
 
     TDRS provides comprehensive telecommunications services by
relaying voice, television, digital and analog signals between
low-Earth-orbiting spacecraft, including the Space Shuttle and the ground. 
 
     The TDRS satellites are built by TRW Space & Technology Group,
Redondo Beach, Calif.  The satellites are owned and operated by Contel
Federal Systems of Fairfax, Va., which also operates the White Sands
Ground Terminal under a lease agreement with NASA. 
 
     Orbiting at 22,250 miles above the Earth, the tracking and data
relay satellites look down on NASA's fleet of low-Earth- orbiting
spacecraft and shuttles, tracking them worldwide and relaying two-way
communications between them and mission control centers through a
single ground station at White Sands, N.M. 
 
     NASA established the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System
(TDRSS) to increase the flow of information between low-
Earth-orbiting spacecraft and the ground.  TDRSS will provide
significantly greater geographical coverage than that provided by
NASA's worldwide network of ground-based tracking stations. 
 
     With two operational TDRS, low-orbit spacecraft are in
communication with Earth for about 85 percent of each orbit. Before
the TDRS system, spacecraft could communicate with Earth only when
they were in sight above one of several ground tracking stations,
typically less than one-sixth of an orbit. 

Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!husc6!mailrus!ames!yee
Subject: Shuttle Status for 11/16/88 (Forwarded)
Posted: 16 Nov 88 18:02:49 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
  
           KSC SPACE SHUTTLE PROCESSING REPORT - WEDNESDAY, NOV. 16, 1988
 
                      STS-27  -  ATLANTIS (0V 104)  -  PAD 39-B
 
               Yesterday the isolation valve on auxiliary power unit number
          two was removed and replaced. Today, technicians are scheduled to
          reload hydrazine into the APU 2 storage tank. The pad will be
          closed for this operation.
 
               Today, shuttle managers are continuing the Flight Readiness
          Review that began yesterday. This is a standard meeting held
          about two weeks prior to launch to assess the readiness of the
          vehicle elements and various areas of support required for the
          launch, mission, landing and ferry flight back to KSC. An
          official launch target date for STS-27 is expected after the
          meeting ends today.
 
                       STS-29 - DISCOVERY (OV 103) - OPF BAY 1
 
               Activities continuing today include: orbiter systems
          testing, configuration of the payload bay, thermal protection
          system operations, check out of the left hand orbital maneuvering
          system pod and a self test of the TACAN antenna, one of the
          orbiter's navigation units.
 
               Discovery's right OMS pod and forward reaction control
          system are being prepared in the Hypergolic Maintenance Facility
          for the next flight. Two of the three main engines are scheduled
          to be installed the week after Thanksgiving.
 
                     STS-28  -  COLUMBIA (OV 102)  -  OPF BAY 2
 
               Columbia was powered up yesterday morning and validation of
          the orbiter's electrical system is underway. Orbiter return-to-
          flight modifications and thermal protection system operations are
          continuing.
 
                        STS-29  SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS  -  VAB
 
               Technicians are preparing the right aft and aft center
          segments for mating tomorrow. The right forward segment is
          scheduled to be transferred to the VAB on Friday for mating next
          week. The left forward assembly is scheduled to be stacked next
          week prior to Thanksgiving.

Date: 15 Mar 89 16:53:10 GMT
From: [email protected]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Discovery's return-to-flight photographs record many firsts.
 
Charles Redmond
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                March 14, 1989
 
James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston
  
RELEASE: 89-
 
    DISCOVERY'S RETURN-TO-FLIGHT PHOTOGRAPHS RECORD MANY FIRSTS
  
     Earth observation photographs taken by Discovery's crew during
America's return to piloted space flight in 1988 were among the
clearest in more than 20 years, and they captured a variety of
environmental conditions. 
 
     Included in the astronauts' photography from the September 1988
mission is a photograph showing at least a 1 million square- mile
smoke cloud over South America's Amazon River basin and, in Africa,
evidence of flooding in areas that have experienced a lengthy drought.
 
     Due to an unexpected improvement in atmospheric clarity over the
Northern Hemisphere, the Discovery crew could distinguish ground
details about 700 miles away from their spacecraft, much farther than
has been normal for Space Shuttle flights. Visibility over the
Northern Hemisphere during STS-26 was the best since the 1960s Gemini
Program flights. 
 
     In total, the crew took 1,505 photographs of Earth during the
4-day mission.  Discovery was launched into an orbit that kept it
above only the tropical and subtropical regions of Earth.  That orbit
took the spacecraft over about half of Earth's surface, covering parts
of 122 nations and regions that hold about 75 percent of the world's
population. 
 
     Photographs show a dense, white smoke cloud, the result of
tropical forest, pasture and croplands being cleared and burned,
completely obscuring the ground over much of South America's Amazon
River basin.  If placed over the United States, the same cloud would
cover an area of the country more than three times the size of Texas. 
 
     It is the largest and thickest accumulation of smoke ever
photographed by astronauts, much larger than the previous largest
smoke cloud photographed by astronauts over the same region in 1984. 
 
     STS-26 also photographed smoke clouds over Sumatra and Borneo,
Indonesia, Madagascar, eastern Africa, northern Australia and Bolivia.
Some photographs show apparent irrigation features in the tropics --
in areas that normally receive 100 inches of annual rainfall. 
 
     In Africa, the "green line" of vegetation that generally marks
the southern boundary of the Sahara Desert had moved the farthest
north it has been in astronaut photography since 1965. Also, standing
water was photographed in the Sahara. 
 
     For the first time in Shuttle history, Africa's Niger river was
photographed in full flood and out of its banks.  Photographs of the
Blue and White Nile rivers also showed evidence of recent flooding. 
 
     Throughout eastern Africa, the landscape was tinted with green, a
condition never before seen in this region during the Shuttle program.
Still, Africa's Lake Chad and Lake Nasser, two lakes that have long
been studied by space photography, were at the lowest levels ever
photographed by astronauts.  Since 1960, Lake Chad's surface area is
estimated to have declined by more than 90 percent. 
 
     The extreme atmospheric clarity over the Northern Hemisphere
during the mission was due, at least in part, to the absence of major
global duststorms.  Duststorms of million-square mile dimensions over
northern Africa, even extending halfway across the Atlantic Ocean,
were photographed during 1984 and 1985 Shuttle flights.  But no such
African duststorms were seen during STS-26, nor were major duststorms
observed elsewhere. 
 
     A lack of recent major volcanic eruptions, which cause dust in
the upper atmosphere, also may have contributed to the extreme clarity. 
 
     As a result, the STS-26 photographs captured details not usually
seen in Shuttle photography: for the first time, an aircraft was
photographed generating a contrail; individual buildings could be seen
in the Canary Islands; a line of electrical transmission pylons was
seen in southern Sudan; and oil platform flares were seen in the Gulf
of Campeche.  STS-26 also photographed the effects of Hurricane
Gilbert on the Mexican Gulf Coast and five volcanoes with signs of
eruptive activity. 
 
     Earth photography from the Space Shuttle is managed by the Space
Shuttle Earth Observations Office at the Johnson Space Center.  The
office trains Shuttle crews in Earth photography, selects targets for
photography for each mission and analyzes the resulting photographs. 
In addition, research is conducted by specialists in environmental
sciences, biology, climatology, geology and other fields using data
obtained with Shuttle photography.