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| Title: | Space Exploration |
| Notice: | Shuttle launch schedules, see Note 6 |
| Moderator: | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN |
|
| Created: | Mon Feb 17 1986 |
| Last Modified: | Thu Jun 05 1997 |
| Last Successful Update: | Fri Jun 06 1997 |
| Number of topics: | 974 |
| Total number of notes: | 18843 |
588.0. "NASA Year in Review - 1989" by RENOIR::KLAES (N = R*fgfpneflfifaL) Wed Dec 27 1989 12:51
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: The Year in Review - 1989 (Forwarded)
Date: 26 Dec 89 18:33:52 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
David W. Garrett
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. December 22, 1989
RELEASE: 89-183
THE YEAR IN REVIEW - 1989
Major events in the United States space program included the following:
o A new "golden era" of space science got underway as NASA
sent the Magellan spacecraft to map Venus, Galileo to orbit Jupiter
and drop a probe into its atmosphere and the Cosmic Background
Explorer to study the origin of the universe and look for its "missing
matter." Voyager II paid a spectacular visit to the planet Neptune
2.8 billion miles from Earth. By the time the 5-year "golden era"
concludes, NASA will have launched 37 major science missions that may
radically alter mankind's view of the Universe.
o President Bush announced on July 20, the twentieth
anniversary of the Moon landing, that it would be a goal of the
United States to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon
and use the experience gained there to begin human exploration of
the planet Mars.
o Richard H. Truly became NASA's eighth administrator on
July 1. The day before, he retired from the Navy as a Vice
Admiral, having served more than 30 years. A former astronaut,
he headed NASA's Office of Space Flight for almost 3-1/2 years.
o NASA launched five successful Space Shuttle missions,
deploying - in addition to the Magellan and Galileo science
missions - a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite to complete the
TDRS network.
o Truly consolidated the Space Flight and Space Station
Freedom offices and announced plans to merge the offices of
Exploration and Aeronautics and Space Technology. In both cases
the goal is close coordination of programs. Final Space Station
agreements were signed by the United States and its international
partners.
SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS
SOLAR SYSTEM
Planetary science spearheaded accomplishments in 1989 with
Voyager 2's exploration of Planet Neptune and departure from the
solar system and the launch of two probes that began "a new
Golden Age of Space Science," in the words of Dr. Lennard A.
Fisk, NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Science and
Applications.
Voyager 2's close-up view of Neptune showed a bright blue
planet with winds of 1,500 mph and six previously unknown
moons. Triton posed several new challenges for planetary
geologists, the most interesting being how the coldest known body
in the solar system could be one of the most geologically active,
with four ice volcanoes.
Months before Voyager's main mission ended, the second phase
of planetary exploration had begun. In May, the Space Shuttle
deployed the Magellan spacecraft, which will map the surface of
Venus. In October, Galileo began its roundabout trip to Jupiter,
where it will drop a probe into the Jovian atmosphere in the
first direct study of the solar system's largest planet.
Closer to home, NASA scientists discovered last spring that
on March 23 an asteroid a half-mile or more in diameter passed
within 500,000 miles of Earth, about twice the distance between
the Earth the Moon. "On the cosmic scale of things, that was a
close call," said Dr. Henry Holt of the University of Arizona,
who discovered the asteroid while working on a NASA-funded
project for the U.S. Geological Survey.
In the fall, scientists at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto
Rico used the radio telescope there to map another asteroid that
passed within 2.5 million miles of Earth. Images showed a two-lobed
body a mile long spinning like a propeller every four hours.
ASTROPHYSICS
In November, NASA launched the Cosmic Background Explorer,
an unmanned observer that will measure the cosmic radiation
remaining from the "Big Bang" in hopes of developing a clearer
picture of the early history of the universe.
Astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute,
following research sponsored by NASA, reported unanticipated gas
emissions from a "white dwarf" star. White dwarves had been
thought to mark the end of some stars' lifespans, precluding such
emissions. At the end of the year, NASA and science institute
scientists were continuing preparations for the Shuttle
deployment in March 1990 of the Hubble Space Telescope, which
many astronomers believe will open a new era for the field.
EARTH SCIENCES
In February, NASA announced the selection of scientific
instrument investigations for the proposed Earth Observing
System, a multi-purpose platform for launch in late 1997. EOS
would be an interdisciplinary program conducted with the European
and Japanese space agencies using four platforms in polar orbits
to examine Earth on a global scale.
EOS would be one of the largest science missions ever
undertaken, providing 15 years of comprehensive data on Earth's
atmosphere, oceans and land. EOS is part of the Mission to
Planet Earth concept discussed by President Bush in July.
Mission to Planet Earth would be a major interagency effort to
understand the complex interactions of our environment, to assess
humanity's role in shaping them and to build credible models
capable of predicting future change.
This year a NASA satellite gathered further evidence of
humans' effect on their environment as the Total Ozone Mapping
Spectrometer showed the ozone levels over Antarctica between
August and October were as low in 1989 as the record low levels
measured in 1987. Earlier aircraft campaigns had already shown
that the ozone hole over Antarctica was due to human activities,
specifically the release of chlorine compounds.
Scientists from the Soviet Union, Canada, the United Kingdom
and France joined NASA in Kansas over the summer to continue the
first field experiment for the International Satellite Land
Surface Climatology Project. The experiment investigated the
role of biological processes in controlling atmosphere-vegetation
interactions and investigated the use of satellite and airborne
observations to infer how land-surface conditions affect climate.
SPACE PHYSICS
NASA signed a memorandum of understanding with the European
Space Agency to conduct a series of missions as part of the
International Solar Terrestrial Physics Programme, which will
track solar energy from its source, through space and as it
reaches and passes the Earth. A similar agreement for a
Japanese-U.S. mission is in the final stages of negotiation.
NASA launched four suborbital rockets over Canada to measure
Earth's electric fields aligned with its magnetic field and
possibly explain how aurora are created. The rockets released
barium payloads, creating greenish-purple clouds over parts of
Canada and the north-central United States.
NASA has provided a payload instrument (PEGSAT) for flight
aboard the experimental air-launched vehicle Pegasus now
undergoing flight tests with an anticipated launch date of late
January 1990. The instrument will conduct studies of the Earth's
magnetic field and ionosphere.
LIFE SCIENCES
U.S. and Soviet scientists confirmed the adverse physiological
and biomedical effects of prolonged space flight after analyzing data
from the cooperative life sciences experiments flown aboard an
unmanned Soviet satellite. The United States has invited Soviet
scientists to participate in the analysis of life science experiments
to be flown aboard the June 1990 Spacelab mission.
NASA scientists identified the molecular structure of blood
protein using special X-ray techniques. Their discovery may help
in the design of new or improved disease-fighting drugs.
SPACE FLIGHT
In 1989, 25 astronauts orbited the Earth aboard Space
Shuttles Discovery, Atlantis and Columbia. As a result,
sophisticated interplanetary spacecraft, Magellan and Galileo,
are speeding toward orbital encounters with Venus and Jupiter, a
new Tracking and Data Relay Satellite had been deployed and
experiment data have been sent to investigators nationwide.
With the exception of a handful of small-class Scouts, the
stable of NASA-owned expendable launch vehicles (ELVs) was
emptied in 1989 with the successful launches of the Atlas-
Centaur/FLTSATCOM and Delta/Cosmic Background Explorer
missions. Procurement of future medium- and intermediate-class
launch services from the private sector accelerated during the
year as NASA/industry launch teams looked forward to a new way of
doing ELV business.
Among Space Flight highlights, 1989 are:
- January 20: Sixth and final full-scale static test firing of
NASA's redesigned Space Shuttle solid rocket motor took place
successfully.
- March 2: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center selected
Aerojet General Corp., Rockwell International and United
Technology Corp. to develop efforts for demonstrating mature new
propulsion technologies for the Nation's Advanced Launch System.
- March 13: Space Shuttle Discovery was launched with STS-29
Astronauts Coats, Blaha, Buchli, Springer and Bagian on board to
deploy a new Tracking and Data Relay Satellite. Landing was
March 18.
- April 21: NASA selected Lockheed Missile Systems Division
and its principal subcontractor, Aerojet Space Booster Company,
for final negotiations leading to award of a contract to design,
develop, test and evaluate a Space Shuttle advanced solid rocket
motor (ASRM) and a contract for construction of facilities for
production and testing of the ASRM hardware.
- May 4: Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched with STS-30
Astronauts Walker, Grabe, Thagard, Cleave and Lee on board to
deploy the Magellan spacecraft on a mission toward Venus.
Landing was May 8.
- June 19: NASA held the first of two Commercial Launch
Services Symposia to better understand specific industry concerns
about the agency's launch services procurement practices. A
follow-up symposium was held in August during which NASA
responded to industry concerns expressed in June.
- June 30: NASA selected Boeing Co. and Martin Marietta Corp.
for negotiations leading to award of contracts to study future
Space Transfer Vehicle concepts.
- July 18: NASA selected McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co.
for negotiations leading to award of a contract for up to 15
medium-class expendable launch vehicle services.
- August 8: Space Shuttle Columbia was launched with STS-28
Astronauts Shaw, Richards, Leetsma, Adamson and Brown on board
this dedicated DoD mission. Landing was August 13.
- September 25: NASA successfully launched its final Atlas/Centaur
launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The payload was
a FLTSATCOM Navy communications satellite.
- October 18: Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched with STS-34
Astronauts Williams, McCulley, Baker, Chang-Diaz and Lucid on
board to deploy Galileo spacecraft on a mission toward Jupiter.
Landing was October 23.
- November 16: Proposals were received by NASA from two
industry teams for the performance of definition studies for a
new vehicle -- the Assured Crew Return Vehicle -- to serve as a
lifeboat for Space Station Freedom astronauts.
- November 18: NASA successfully launched its Cosmic
Background Explorer spacecraft from Vandenberg Air Force Base,
Calif., aboard the final NASA-owned Delta launch vehicle.
- November 22: Space Shuttle Discovery was launched with STS-
33 Astronauts Gregory, Griggs, Musgrave, Thornton and Carter on
board this dedicated DOD mission. Landing was November 27.
SPACE STATION FREEDOM
Major changes in the the organization and management of the
Space Station Freedom program occurred 1989. In additional to
being named Associate Administrator for Space Station, Dr.
William B. Lenoir developed and implemented a plan consolidating
the Space Station and Space Flight offices.
A major review of the Space Station Freedom project, brought
on by the changes in the management of the multi-national project
and under threat of a significant budget cut for Fiscal Year
1990, resulted in modifications to the project and a revised
timetable for its development and deployment.
Under direction from the NASA Administrator, newly appointed
Space Station Freedom Project Director Richard H. Kohrs led the
program through a major technical, budget and schedule
evaluation, resulting in changes to the station's baseline
configuration and assembly schedule.
The scheduled date for the first launch of an element of
Freedom was held to March 1995. Subsequent milestones for
achieving a man-tended configuration and a permanent manned
capability were adjusted 5 and 7 months, to April 1996 and July
1997, respectively, and assembly completion was delayed 18 months
to August 1999.
System modifications made as a result of the review included
changing from a hydrogen/oxygen propulsion system to a modular
hydrazine system and switching from a hybrid ac/dc system to an
all-dc system for distributing electrical power throughout
Freedom. Development of high-pressure space suits for
extravehicular activities was put off indefinitely in favor of
using current, Shuttle-based suits for assembly and maintenance
of Freedom. Various subsystems, such as the closed-loop
environmental control system, data management and communications
and tracking, will be incrementally brought to their full
capability as the station is being assembled.
The final agreement between NASA and its international
partners, which together are developing Freedom, was signed March
14 as the former NASA Administrator James Fletcher and Japanese
ambassador to the U.S. H. E. Nobuo Matsunaga signed a memorandum
of understanding on cooperation in the detailed design,
development, operation and utilization of the space station.
Similar agreements with the European Space Agency and Canada were
signed in September 1988. Japan will provide the Japanese
Experiment Module to the Freedom program.
In April, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
Md., selected Martin Marietta Space Systems Co., Denver, to build
the Flight Telerobotic Servicer, a space station-based robot to
aid in the assembly and maintenance of Freedom.
EXPLORATION
On July 20, 1989 President Bush announced a national
commitment to an evolutionary program to complete Space Station
Freedom, establish a manned lunar outpost, begin the exploration
of Mars and eventually to move beyond.
The work of the NASA Office of Exploration over the past two
years laid the foundation for that decision. In 1989, the office
also initiated a variety of activities to better understand
technology needs and science opportunities involved in expanding
the human presence beyond Earth orbit. The office continued to
develop multiple options for human exploration through the case
study framework.
Three case studies were evaluated in 1989: Lunar Evolution,
Mars Evolution and Mars Expedition. These case studies refined
NASA's understanding and broadened its knowledge of human
exploration options, the investments required to support them and
the scientific and technological capabilities and benefits they
would spawn.
Other key developments in 1989 included:
- Formation of a NASA Advisory Council Exploration Task
Force to provide independent advice to NASA and the Office of
Exploration. The Task Force is chaired by Robert McC. Adams,
Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
- Support of and participation in preparation of NASA's
"Report of the 90-Day Study on Human Exploration of the Moon and
Mars". The report was commissioned by NASA Administrator Richard
H. Truly to help the National Space Council develop
recommendations to President Bush on ways to achieve his
exploration goals.
- Initiation of an Innovative Studies Program designed to
encourage innovative concepts and support independent studies
that may offer unique capabilities for human exploration. The
program encompassed three areas in 1989: an "Innovative
Outreach" program designed to solicit original and creative ideas
from traditional and non-traditional sources; a lunar enterprise
study to provide a non-NASA perspective on commercial uses of the
Moon; and a study designed to define a potential operational
lunar mining system. More than 100 proposals were submitted
under the "Innovative Outreach" program.
The 20 proposals selected for funding came from groups
located in 12 states and included five industry-related firms,
two space support-related organizations and 13 universities. The
subject matter of the selected studies ranges from nuclear
thermal rockets using Martian propellants to pneumatic structures
for lunar and Martian habitats.
AERONAUTICS AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY
Aeronautics
The National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) program, a joint
NASA/Department of Defense program, continued technology
development that could lead to a unique flight research vehicle,
called the X-30, capable of taking off horizontally, accelerate
into Earth orbit and returning through the atmosphere to land on
a conventional runway.
NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleveland is leading an effort
to develop "slush" hydrogen as a high-energy NASP propellant. It
is denser than liquid hydrogen and may result in smaller, lighter
fuel tanks that could reduce the X-30's takeoff weight by up to
30 percent.
Lewis also tested a Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound)
engine inlet to verify computer codes used in analysis of the
inlet's performance. This research will apply to the NASP
program and other future high-speed aircraft.
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., has wind-tunnel
tested the performance characteristics of NASP advanced engine
concepts at 4 and 8 times the speed of sound. Scientists at Ames
Research Center, Mountain View, Calif., have used wind tunnel
tests and computational methods to research questions on high-
temperature materials for structures and structure coatings.
NASA's high-performance aircraft based at Ames-Dryden Flight
Research Facility, Edwards, Calif., made important contributions
to the agency's aeronautics research program. The F/A-18 High-
Alpha Research Vehicle completed the first phase of a three-part
program to validate computer codes and wind tunnel predictions of
airflow during high angle-of-attack flight. Results from this
program will yield a better understanding of airflow phenomena at
various flight angles, which should lead to improved
maneuverability in future high-performance aircraft.
The first experimental forward-swept-wing X-29 aircraft
wrapped up a highly successful test program after 242 flights
that demonstrated its unique wing configuration is practical.
The second X-29, modified to fly safely at angles-of-attack up
to 70 degrees, also made its first research flight. As part of
the NASA/DOD Self-Repairing Flight Control Program, computers
aboard Ames-Dryden's F-15 research aircraft correctly identified
and isolated a simulated failure in the flight control system.
NASA also continued efforts to enhance the efficiency of
commercial air travel. The Propfan Test Assessment aircraft, a
Gulfstream II business jet modified with an eight-bladed advanced
turboprop engine on its left wing, wrapped up flight tests at
Lewis Research Center.
The program was the end result of a major NASA-industry-
university effort to develop the aerodynamic, structural,
mechanical and acoustical technologies needed to verify the
performance of such unique, fuel-efficient propellers.
At NASA's Langley Research Center, scientists and engineers
conducted a series of high-speed ground tests to study the effect
of heavy rain on the performance of aircraft wings. A full-scale
commercial airfoil section mounted atop a tubular steel carriage
made repeated runs through a curtain of simulated "rain" at
typical takeoff and landing speeds. Initial results tend to
confirm wind tunnel data that there is a loss of wing lift at
extremely high rainfall rates.
Langley officials also announced development of an
innovative new tool to help pilots make the critical go/abort
decision during the takeoff roll. The Takeoff Performance
Monitoring System provides continual "real-time" updates on an
aircraft's performance, graphically presenting its progress
relative to a normal takeoff for that type of airplane under the
existing flight conditions.
Recognizing that U.S. leadership in the production and sale
of commercial airliners is being challenged, NASA greatly
expanded its research into advanced "composite" structures made
from epoxy-type resins and high-strength carbon fiber. Use of
such materials in the wings and fuselages of future transport
aircraft could significantly reduce their weight, improve their
fuel efficiency and reliability.
Space Technology
The Civil Space Technology Initiative addresses near-Earth
orbital requirements in areas such as automation and robotics,
space power and information technology. Space systems of the
next decade will use these technologies for cost-effective and
reliable operations in Earth orbit. The Pathfinder program
focuses on technology research for future solar system voyages in
four broad areas: surface exploration, in-space operations,
transfer vehicles and humans in space.
In May, NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.,
successfully demonstrated a low-cost, parallel-processing
computer that potentially rivals today's most advanced
supercomputers. The research program, a joint effort by NASA and
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, may allow
applications such as structural analysis, artificial intelligence
and computational electro-mechanics to run on smaller, more
easily-affordable computers.
Scientists at Lewis reached a milestone in the application
of high-temperature superconductors in July, when they produced
the first electronic circuit able to operate at 33-37 Gigahertz
-- three times higher than frequencies previously obtainable.
The circuit was fabricated from yttrium barium copper oxide,
a material recently found to become superconductive at 77 degrees
Kelvin. The use of these ultra-high frequencies will allow
satellites to process data at much faster rates, tripling the
number of communications linkups they can handle.
Voyager 2's encounter with Neptune gave researchers at the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., an opportunity to
demonstrate a new "artificial intelligence" computer program to
detect and analyze spacecraft and ground data system anomalies.
The Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype helped to
identify a problem in the science data streaming down from
Voyager prior to its Neptune fly-by.
During the encounter, the prototype detected three
telecommunications errors simultaneously with human operators.
The demonstration may lead to future expert systems that will
increase the efficiency of mission operations and reduce the work
force needed during planetary encounters.
NASA is preparing Shuttle Mission 32 to retrieve the Long
Duration Exposure Facility that has carried 57 science,
technology and applications experiments in Earth orbit since
April 1984. Scientists expect the facility, managed by Langley
Research Center, to provide a "treasure trove" of data about the
effects of long-term exposure to space on components and
materials -- invaluable knowledge in designing future spacecraft.
SPACE OPERATIONS
The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-4) was
successfully deployed in March from the Shuttle Discovery,
marking completion of the TDRS system. In June the system was
declared operational following completion of a switchover
involving TDRS 1, which was moved to 79 degrees west longitude,
to serve as backup to TDRS-4 and TDRS-3, also known as TDRS-East
and TDRS-west, respectively.
The TDRS system covers at least 85 percent of each low-
Earth-orbiting spacecraft's orbital period and facilitates a much
higher information flow rate between these spacecraft and the ground.
The system will support up to 23 user spacecraft simultaneously
and provide both multiple-access service relaying data from as many as
19 low-data-rate user spacecraft at the same time and a single-access
service that provides two high-data-rate communications relays from
each satellite.
NASA concluded an agreement with INTELSAT, Washington, D.C.,
for the use of the C-Band capacity on two Tracking and Data Relay
Satellites for international telecommunications purposes.
SAFETY, RELIABILITY, MAINTAINABILITY AND QUALITY ASSURANCE
NASA's Lewis Research Center (LeRC), Cleveland, was selected
by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as a quality
improvement prototype, which is one of the highest honors a
federal government facility can achieve for quality and
productivity. The award is part of the Presidents' Productivity
Improvement program. The program is administered by OMB and is
the second year the national award was presented.
The Lockeed Engineering and Sciences Co. (LESC), Houston,
one of eight finalists selected in May, was named recipient of
the NASA 1988-89 Excellence Award for Quality and Productivity.
LESC was selected by the NASA Quality and Productivity Steering
Committee and endorsed by the Administrator based on review of
the findings report and recommendations of the Excellence Award
Evaluation Committee.
To encourage more small businesses to improve their quality
and productivity processes, NASA established a separate small
business category for the 1989-90 Excellence Award Program.
Key goals of the NASA Excellence Award are to institutionalize
quality and productivity practices throughout NASA and the
agency's contractors.
The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) released its
annual report in March praising NASA for its work on return-to-
flight. The main focus of the ASAP was monitoring and advising
NASA and its contractors on the STS recovery program. The report
stated that efforts restored the flight program with better
management, safety and quality assurance organizations and
management communications.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
NASA's international cooperative activities in 1989 included:
o In October 1989, the Galileo spacecraft to Jupiter was
successfully launched. Galileo is an international cooperative
project with the Federal Republic of Germany, which provided the
orbiter's retropropulsion module to perform mission maneuvers and
permit insertion of the spacecraft into Jovian orbit. There are
two German scientific experiments on Galileo as well and German
scientists are participating in five other experiments.
o NASA signed a memorandum of understanding with the government
of Japan in March, completing the international agreements for
the construction and use of Space Station Freedom. Under the
agreement, Japan will provide the Japanese Experiment Module
consisting of a pressurized laboratory and an exposed facility.
The European Space Agency and Canada had signed agreements for
their participation in the project in September 1988.
o In July, NASA and the German Minister for Research and
Technology signed a memorandum of understanding to launch German
Spacelab payloads on the Space Shuttle. This agreement confirms
general understandings of the terms and conditions with which
NASA will furnish launch and associated services for both
reimbursable flights and cooperative activities.
0 In September, the U.S. government and the government of Japan
exchanged diplomatic notes approving cooperation on the Geotail
Mission. Geotail is a Japanese-built spacecraft which will make
solar-terrestrial physics measurements using Japanese and U.S.
science instruments. NASA will launch the spacecraft in 1992.
o In December, NASA and the European Space Agency concluded an
agreement for cooperation in the joint Solar Terrestrial Science
Programme. This program consists of two missions, the Solar
Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and Cluster (four spacecraft that
will fly in formation to observe the Earth's plasma
environment). Under this agreement, ESA will develop the
spacecraft for SOHO and Cluster. NASA will launch and operate
SOHO and ESA will launch and operate Cluster. Experiments on the
spacecraft will be provided by the U.S. and European scientists.
o Cooperation with the Soviet Union continued to progress under
the U.S./USSR Joint Working Groups on Space Biology and Medicine;
Solar System Exploration; Space Astronomy and Astrophysics;
Solar-Terrestrial Physics and Earth Sciences. Key activities
included:
--A telemedicine spacebridge for Armenia, linking U.S. and
Soviet hospitals, permitted medical consultation to assist with
the longer-term consequences of the Armenian earthquake and
injuries from the train explosion in Ufa. Comsat and Intelsat
provided satellite transponders free of charge. Discussions
continue on how the experience gained can be applied both to
space flight and to terrestrial needs.
--Twenty-nine NASA science experiments were flown on the
September Soviet Biosat mission
--Progress was made in feasibility discussions on the
proposed flight of the U.S. Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer on a
Soviet Meteor-3 meteorological satellite and the flight of a
French receiver to support Mars surface measurements planned for
the Soviet Mars '94 mission.
--The Soviets selected two U.S. instruments for flight on the
Soviet Spectrum-X astrophysics mission, and NASA accepted, in
principle, a Soviet proposal to fly the gamma-ray burst
instrument KONUS on the U.S. WIND spacecraft scheduled for launch
in 1992.
o Planning accelerated in 1989 for NASA's Earth Observing System
(EOS), the cornerstone of the Mission to Planet Earth. A group
of 41 instruments from the U.S., Canada, Japan and Europe was
selected this year for flight on EOS and over 500 scientists from
13 countries, from as far away as China, Australia and Brazil,
have been identified to participate in the EOS program.
o In February, NASA convened a panel of experts on Earth science
and technology, which met in Abingdon, England, and generated 10
projects in the Earth sciences which will be implemented
internationally in observance of International Space Year (ISY)
in 1992.
COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS
Significant progress was made in 1989 by NASA's Office of
Commercial Programs (OCP) in defining an overall program of
commercial space development.
The Commercial Programs Advisory Committee (CPAC) conducted
a thorough review of commercial space issues and formulated a
series of key recommendations for consideration by the nation's
leaders. These recommendations, addressed in the CPAC's first
formal report entitled "Charting the Course: U.S. Space
Enterprise and Space Industrial Competitiveness," are helping to
shape the commercial development strategy.
Also supporting the OCP strategic planning effort was a
study conducted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics (AIAA) to lay groundwork for the strategic plan by
defining issues and potential objectives associated with the
commercial development of space. The AIAA formed a steering
committee consisting of senior level private sector managers.
The resulting study document, "Issues in Strategic Planning for
Commercial Space Growth," representing inputs from more than 90
industry representatives, addresses overall goals and objectives,
the scope of commercial space activities and the role industry,
academia and government, explores issues and barriers and
suggests federal actions and policy changes.
A resurgence of industrial research and development activity
took place this year following the successful return of the Space
Shuttle to flight operations in 1988. In 1989, the OCP sponsored
commercial development payloads on three Shuttle missions and
funded the first U.S. commercial launch of a materials science
payload. Commercial experiments flown on the Shuttle included:
*Protein Crystal Growth, an experiment package flown by the
NASA-sponsored Center for Macromolecular Crystallography located
at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, was carried aboard
STS-29 in March. The experiment, conducted in collaboration with
industrial partners, also will be flown on STS-32.
*Fluids Experiment Apparatus, flown on STS-30, is scheduled
to fly on STS-32. The FEA, a modular microgravity chemistry and
physics laboratory, is being flown under a NASA-Rockwell
International Corp. joint endeavor agreement (JEA) in the field
of floating zone crystal growth and purification research.
*Polymer Morphology, a 3M-developed organic materials
processing experiment, was designed to explore the effects of
microgravity on polymeric materials as they are processed in
space. The experiment, conducted on STS-34 in October, was 3M's
fifth space experiment and the first under the company's 10-year
JEA with NASA for 62 flight experiment opportunities.
In an effort to match space transportation and support
capability with the anticipated growth in industry requirements,
NASA in 1989 initiated a grant funding for a commercial sounding
rocket program. Consort 1, a package of materials science
investigations launched successfully on March 29 atop the
commercially provided Starfire rocket at White Sands Missile
Range, N.M., was the first flight conducted under this effort.
Consort 2, launched Nov. 15 at White Sands, was only a
partial success due to a malfunction in the rocket's guidance
package, resulting in termination of the mission as the rocket
strayed off course. However, the experiments payload parachuted
safely to Earth and suffered only minor damage. Important
payload data was recorded during the brief flight and indicated
that the experiment equipment performed flawlessly. The payload
will be launched again at a later date.
Other key OCP activities in 1989 included:
*Announcement of new digital, visual-filtering technology,
developed by a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL), Pasadena, Calif., to aid sufferers (mostly elderly) from
maculopathy or central spot blindness. Visualtek, Inc., Santa
Monica, Calif., is collaborating with JPL to market an effective,
inexpensive commercial product by the end of 1991.
*Introduction of an implantable, rechargeable physiologic
sensor to monitor glucose marked a major advance for insulin-
dependent diabetics. The sensor is now being developed in a
collaborative effort among the Johns Hopkins University Applied
Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md.; the University of New Mexico,
Albuquerque; and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
*The collaboration of the Center for Commercial Development
of Space Power, Auburn University, Ala., and Maxwell
Laboratories, San Diego, to develop a stronger, more efficient
power supply for lasers, x-rays, spacecraft and other users. The
advance, which will result in commercial uses of the technology
on Earth, represents the first technology spinoff from
NASA/industry-supported research at NASA's 16 Centers for
Commercial Development of Space.
*NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.;
Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, Calif.; and Penn State's
Center for Cell Research, announced collaboration on a ground-
based and Space Shuttle experiment program to increase medical
knowledge to treat human bone diseases, organ regeneration and
transplantation, and immune and skeletal muscle cell deficiency.
The Small Business Innovation Research Division awarded 248
Phase I and 84 Phase 2 contracts to small, high technology
firms. Additional Phase 2 selections, to be made in early 1990,
are expected to bring the total number of selections to more than
100 and the total procurement value to more than $50 million.
EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS
The first 17 Designated Space Grant Colleges/Consortia were
selected on Aug. 31, 1989, initiating NASA's National Space Grant
College and Fellowship Program. These designated
colleges/consortia, already significantly involved in space-
related activities, will receive up to $225,000 in grants and
$100,000 in fellowships, beginning in Fiscal Year 1990 for 5
years. The program is designed to create a network of
universities capable of contributing to aerospace science and
technology and training a highly skilled workforce.
President Bush selected "Endeavour" as the name for the
replacement Space Shuttle orbiter on March 20, 1989. The name
resulted from a nationwide competition supported by educational
projects created by student teams in elementary and secondary
schools. Over 6,100 entries, involving over 71,000 students,
were evaluated. The national winner in the kindergarten-6th
grade division was the 5th-grade class from Senatobia Middle
School, Miss. The national winner in the 7th-12th grade division
was a team from the Tallulah Falls School, Inc., Ga.
NASA announced the opportunity for educators to participate
in the first experiment ever to study the effects of long-term
space exposure on living tissue. With the return of the Long
Duration Exposure Facility, deployed in Earth orbit in April
1984, 12.5 million tomato seeds, packaged in kits, will be
available to teachers in grades 5 through university. The
program encourages student involvement by providing them the
opportunity to design their own experiments and make decisions,
gather data and report final results to NASA by June 15, 1990.
Through a pilot program, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center,
Huntsville, Ala., has opened its computerized science data bases
to the nation's universities to stimulate "cottage industry"
space research by professors and entice more students into
science and engineering studies. The Joint Venture (JOVE)
Program, makes NASA's scientific and engineering data, generated
from space missions, available to universities in exchange for
analysis and interpretation by faculty members and students.
Three student experiments, selected under the Space Shuttle
Student Involvement Program, flew aboard the Space Shuttle in
1989. On STS-29, student investigator John Vellinger, Lafayette,
Ind., flew 32 chicken eggs to determine whether a chicken embryo
can develop normally in a weightless environment. Also flown on
STS-29 was an experiment designed by Andrew Fras, Binghamton, N.Y.,
to determine whether rat bone healing is impeded by the loss of
calcium and the absence of weight-bearing during space flight.
An ice crystal experiment was flown on STS-34 to observe
geometric ice crystal shapes formed at supercooled temperatures
without the influence of gravity. Proposed by Tracy Peters,
Concord, Calif., the experiment results could aid in the design
of radiator cooling and cryogenic systems and in understanding of
high altitude meteorology and planetary ring structure theories.
In its 8th year, the Space Science Student Involvement
Program selected eight national winners in the Space Station
category. Top honors, plus a $3,000 scholarship and a computer,
went to Diane Fogel, Landsdale, Pa., for her proposed experiment
to test remedies for bone loss during space flight. Also honored
were the winners of the student newspaper competition, Allen Chen,
Columbus, Ind., and Paul Schumacher, Yuma, Ariz., and a team of
Mechanicsburg, Pa., students who won a pilot project to design
and plan the first permanent manned Mars colony.
The Aerospace Education Services Project continues to be one
of NASA's most popular education programs. During 1989, over 1.2
million students and 28,000 teachers participated in school
visits, classroom lectures and teacher workshops conducted by the
NASA project.
During the summer, educators spent 2 weeks at one of NASA's
nine field centers learning the latest in aerospace science,
working with educational specialists to fit materials into
classroom curriculum. There were 115 elementary school teachers
participating in NASA's Educational Workshop for Elementary
School Teachers and 100 teachers participating in NASA's
Educational Workshops for High School Math and Science Teachers.
Over 20,000 educators in the 50 states and parts of Canada
tuned in for NASA's satellite video conferences. NASA projects
covered in the live, interactive program this year included
planetary exploration, flight testing, future explorations and
technology for the classroom.
Over $8 million was awarded to 496 students at 110
universities for advanced study in engineering and space,
physical, life and environmental sciences under NASA's Graduate
Student Researcher's Program, including the Under-represented
Minority Focus component.
In the University Advanced Design Program, 36 universities
received 3-year grants to study topics in space and aeronautical
missions in the post-Space Station era, such as manned Mars
aircraft and delivery systems, long-term space habitat, lunar
launch and landing facilities and high-speed civil transport.
The grants are $32,000 per year for each new participant and
$20,000 per year for each school participating in the previous
design program.
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| 588.1 | KSC Year in Review - 1989 | RENOIR::KLAES | N = R*fgfpneflfifaL | Wed Jan 03 1990 16:24 | 502 |
| Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: KSC closes out 1989 and gears up for the coming new decade (Forwarded)
Date: 3 Jan 90 19:00:40 GMT
Reply-To: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Bruce Buckingham
Kennedy Space Center, Florida Dec. 27, 1989
KSC RELEASE NO. 137-89
"We begin the new decade with dedication to our mission and
pride of our past accomplishment."
--- Center Director Forrest McCartney.
KSC CLOSES OUT 1989 AND GEARS UP FOR THE COMING NEW DECADE
As America's space program steps boldly into a new decade,
KSC's accomplishments in 1989 will be the cornerstone upon which
the dreams and hopes of this country's space future will be built.
Spearheading the successes of the past year were the five
Space Shuttle missions. The shuttle flights included two
planetary missions, two Department of Defense dedicated launches,
and a mission to deploy a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite.
In addition to the shuttle launches, KSC played a leading
role in the successful launch of the Cosmic Background Explorer
(COBE) by a Delta rocket from Vandenberg AFB, Ca., and the launch
of a FLTSATCOM from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on an
Atlas/Centaur booster (AC-68).
At the beginning of the year, NASA had laid out an
aggressive launch schedule for KSC. In order to continue the
success of the previous year -- when the world witnessed the
shuttle's successful return to space -- 1989 would have to
provide an even more impressive show of resiliency.
ECONOMIC IMPACT AND CONTRACT EXTENSIONS
The Kennedy Space Center continued to be a major factor in
the Central Florida economy. During the past year, KSC employed
over 18,000 workers, both civil service and contractor. Contracts
and employment generated a $1.24 billion boost to Florida's
economy, of which approximately $750 million remained in Brevard
County.
The major contractors at KSC continued to provide valuable
services to the nation's space effort. Lockheed Space Operations,
Co., the Shuttle Processing Contractor, had its contract extended
for three years through September 1992. EG&G Florida, Inc., the
Base Operations Contractor, had its existing contract extended
for the eighth year, making it effective through the end of 1990.
The Payload Ground Processing Contract, awarded to McDonnell
Douglas Space Systems Co. in 1987, was extended for the first
time, adding an additional three years to the existing contract.
McDonnell Douglas will continue to provide ground support, test
and integration for payload operations at Kennedy Space Center
through the end of 1992.
BUILDING, MODIFICATION, AND REFURBISHMENT PROJECTS
Numerous building projects continued at KSC through 1989,
the largest of them being the Operations Support Building which
will be opened for occupancy four months ahead of schedule in
early 1990. This 300,000-square-foot facility will provide office
space for about 1,800 employees currently working out of
temporary trailers and renovated boxcars.
On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, construction began on
a new spacecraft x-ray facility. The $1.9 million contract
--awarded to David Boland, Inc. of Titusville, Fla. -- will also
cover the building's design for non-destructive x-ray testing of
various spacecraft hardware, such as upper stage motors used to
boost spacecraft into higher orbits.
On the human side, KSC identified a special need of its
employees and worked vigorously to see the solution come to pass.
Through the NASA/KSC Exchange Council, an agreement was reached
in June 1989 with Tutor Time International, Inc. of Salt Lake
City, Utah, for the design, construction, staffing and operation
of a child day care center at KSC. In September, ground was
broken for the 6,600 square foot facility to be located outside
the security perimeter in the KSC Industrial Area. The
establishment of a full-time child day care center at KSC was
the result of an employee suggestion. It is expected to open
in January 1990.
In the shuttle processing arena, the Orbiter Maintenance and
Refurbishment Facility was targeted for modification and eventual
upgrade to Orbiter Processing Facility status. In preparation for
this improvement, work platforms, service structures and other
equipment were shipped in from Vandenberg AFB, arriving at KSC on
Nov. 10. By using the existing structures from the California
facility, NASA is expected to realize a saving of about $3.7
million.
The most challenging modifications were those made at launch
pad 39-A which underwent 138 significant modifications at a cost
of about $50 million. Pad A was the launching point for the first
24 successful shuttle missions. The complex was temporarily
deactivated following the Challenger mishap as mission managers
chose to concentrate efforts to first modify Pad B for the
resumption of flight. Some of the modifications to Pad A include:
* improvements to the environmental control system in the payload
changeout room on the RSS;
* addition of a heater to the solid rocket joint umbilical;
* added safety features to the crew emergency egress system and
the addition of two slidewire baskets;
* improvements to the slidewire bunker area;
* service umbilicals to support the orbiter Columbia's fifth
cryogenic fuel cell.
In addition to the resumption of pad A's support for shuttle
launches, KSC's third mobile launcher platform was declared ready
to support the agency's aggressive 1990 schedule. Pad A will next
be used for launch of the STS-32 mission in January.
A key component in meeting the 1990 launch schedule is the
ability to quickly replace orbiter tiles damaged late in the
flow. KSC's Thermal Protection System Facility upgraded its
capabilities this past year and began on-site production of high
and low temperature reusable surface insulation tiles. In order
to avoid having to fly replacement tiles in from production
facilities in California, KSC now has the tools necessary to make
its own tiles from scratch, thus saving the agency up to three
days turn around time.
ORBITER MODIFICATIONS AND PROCESSING
Flying on the orbiter Columbia in January 1990 will be the
first tile produced at KSC. But with that tile, about 258
modifications new to Columbia since early 1986 will also be
flown. Of those modifications, including the list of critical
return-to-flight vehicle improvements, about 16 modifications are
unique to the agency's oldest orbiter.
Return-to-flight modifications were conducted on Columbia
throughout the past year. These included upgrades to the
electrical system, cockpit computer keyboards, new on-board
cryogenic fuel cells and new auxiliary power unit controllers.
Also, in order to decrease brake wear, the orbiter's axles were
stiffened on the landing gear and a dozen extra clamps were added
to Columbia's hydraulic braking lines. Also, larger protective
tiles were installed on the elevons leading edges and the
trailing edges of the wings. Columbia's payload bay doors and
fuselage, originally covered with over 2,300 small white diced
tiles, were eventually recovered with thermal protective
blankets. In addition, a reinforced carbon-carbon chin panel was
installed to replace about 40 tiles between the nose cap and nose
landing gear doors.
FIVE SUCCESSFUL LAUNCHES, FIVE SUCCESSFUL MISSIONS
Five successful flights of the Space Shuttle highlighted the
center's accomplishments in 1989. Each mission ended successfully
at Edwards AFB, Ca., after five days in orbit (with the exception
of STS-30's four day mission).
The following is a brief summary of each mission:
* STS-29 -- The year's first mission began with the launch of
Discovery on March 13 and the successful deployment of the third
Tracking and Data Relay Spacecraft (TDRS-4). This spacecraft will
allow near continuous communication links with Earth and
low-orbiting spacecraft.
* STS-30 -- Less than two months later, Atlantis was launched on
May 4. Atlantis deployed the nation's first planetary spacecraft,
Magellan, in over 10 years. Magellan is now speeding on its way
to map the surface of Earth's closet planetary neighbor, Venus.
* STS-28 -- Columbia was launched on the year's first Department
of Defense dedicated mission on Aug. 8. This marked the first
flight of Columbia since Space Shuttle mission 61-C in January
1986.
* STS-34 -- The second planetary mission of the year was sent
on its way by the orbiter Atlantis. On Oct. 18, the Galileo
spacecraft began its six-year journey to the planet Jupiter. As
Galileo approaches the solar system's largest planet, a probe
will be released to parachute toward the Jovian surface sending
valuable information back to earth until it is crushed by the
enormous pressure of Jupiter atmosphere.
* STS-33 -- The year's last shuttle mission was another DOD
mission. The orbiter Discovery was launched on Nov. 22.
PAYLOADS PROCESSING AT KSC
As the three orbiters were being processed and readied for
flight, the payloads world was also extremely active. Here,
technicians spent hours upon hours testing and retesting
components that will experience the extreme heat and cold of
space. Of the payloads processed and launched at KSC during the
past year, all are still performing perfectly. The TDRS
communications spacecraft (launched on mission STS-29) is now in
its proper orbit and functioning without error.
The planetary spacecraft, Magellan and Galileo, are also
performing without problem and both are speeding toward their
intended encounters with their respective planets, Venus and
Jupiter. These very specialized scientific spacecraft were sent
through extensive testing and scrutiny at KSC, first in the
center's Spacecraft Assembly and Encapsulation Facility (SAEF-2)
and then in the Vertical Processing Facility (VPF).
Magellan, launched aboard STS-30 and deployed for its
journey to Venus, marked the resumption of the United States'
reach to another planetary body since 1978. It kicks off a core
program of solar system exploration involving NASA and
organizations from the U.S. and the international community. The
Magellan Venus Radar Mapper will yield the most detailed and
comprehensive picture to date of the cloud covered planet.
Mission objectives include learning more about the structure and
geological history of the planet; its geophysics, such as density
distribution; and its small-scale surface physics, such as
temperature and roughness. By year's end, Magellan will be
halfway to its rendezvous with our sister planet. Magellan is
expected to reach Venus in August 1990.
Galileo was launched aboard the orbiter Atlantis on mission
STS-34. Fueled by nearly 48 pounds of plutonium-238 for the
generation of heat for electrical power, Galileo began its six
year long journey to our Solar System's largest planet, Jupiter.
Throughout the trip, Galileo will examine the celestial bodies it
encounters including the asteroid Gaspra and the planet Venus
when it performs a gravitational assist flyby.
As Galileo approaches Jupiter in 1995, a probe will be
released to parachute into the dense Jovian atmosphere. The
probe's instruments will measure atmospheric temperatures, light
and radio frequency interference from lightning.
On the Galileo mother ship, cameras will capture details of
the planet and her moons at a resolution many times greater than
that seen during the Voyager spacecraft flybys in the 1970s. As
Galileo prepares to enter orbit around Jupiter, it will pass
within 22,000 miles of Europa and 620 miles of Io, two of the
large Galilean moons.
The Deep Space Network (DSN) at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, California, will monitor the progress of both
Magellan and Galileo with the support of the huge
230-foot-diameter antennas at Goldstone, Ca., Spain and
Australia. However, KSC is the home of a DSN station with a much
lower profile. The terminal, referred to as "MIL-71," is located
at the MILA tracking station at KSC. Using the tracking antennas
of MILA and linked to the other DSN stations through the NASA
Communications Network (NASCOM), the MIL-71 station supported
both the Magellan and the Galileo missions from the closure of
the orbiter's payload bay doors, through spacecraft deployment,
the upper stage burns, and finally spacecraft separation.
FUTURE MISSION PAYLOADS FROM KSC
Concurrently, several payloads slated for future missions
also began their KSC processing in 1989. The SYNCOM-IV
communications satellite built for the Navy by Hughes Aircraft,
utilized the AstroTech facilities south of Titusville, Fla., for
its initial checkout phase. It was later transferred to the
Vertical Processing Facility's airlock in the KSC industrial area
prior to being installed into the orbiter Columbia at Pad A.
SYNCOM-IV is the fifth and final satellite in its class. Once on
station in a geosynchronous orbit, it will be known as LEASAT-5.
Just prior to SYNCOM's move to the VPF's airlock, perhaps
the most significant scientific payload slated for launch next
year arrived at KSC's shuttle landing facility and was
transported with great care to the VPF's clean room. The Hubble
Space Telescope (HST), the world's largest and most sophisticated
orbiting telescope, finally arrived at KSC after years of delay.
At the VPF, HST began a series of rigorous tests and
validations. Under the protective covering of a translucent bag,
HST passed a significant test when it was first powered-up at KSC
and underwent a series of functional checks of its on-board
science instruments on Oct. 28. Power was also applied to the
telescope via satellite from the HST control facility at Lockheed
in Sunnyvale, Ca. A return data stream confirmed to controllers
that the power was on. Performance testing was also conducted on
the five science instruments, the telescope's pointing control
system, and the fine guidance sensors. Testing was completed
Dec. 8.
On Dec. 20, the Wide-field Planetary Camera was installed on
HST. This camera, which weighs 600 pounds, will be used to
photograph individual planets in our solar system or hundreds of
galaxies at once. HST, our window to the universe, will allow
scientists a view of the universe 10 times greater than that now
available on Earth. HST is slated for launch on Space Shuttle
mission STS-31 in March 1990.
Also undergoing tests at KSC is the ASTRO-1 (STS-35) payload
in the Operations and Checkout Building high bay. ASTRO-1 is a
payload consisting of 4 optical instruments capable of performing
independent or simultaneous observations of selected targets.
EXPENDABLE VEHICLES AND THEIR PAYLOADS
At 4:56 a.m. on Sept. 25, teams from NASA and General
Dynamics worked together to launch Atlas/Centaur (AC-68) from
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Complex 36. This was NASA's
last launch of the Atlas/Centaur vehicle carrying the FLTSATCOM-8
into earth orbit for use by the Navy. In the future, NASA will
contract with either the Air Force or the vehicle manufacturer to
procure expendable launch vehicles such as the Atlas/Centaur and
related launch services. NASA will, however, retain oversight
responsibilities for the vehicles which carry NASA payloads.
The two-stage, liquid-fueled Atlas/Centaur has a long
history and was used to launch a variety of technological and
scientific spacecraft, including Surveyors to the moon, Mariners
to Venus, Mercury and Mars, and Pioneers to Jupiter and Saturn.
On its final mission for NASA, Atlas/Centaur sent the
FLTSATCOM-8 spacecraft on its way to serve as part of a
versatile, high-capacity worldwide military communications system
operated by the United States. FLTSATCOM, one of a series of six
satellites now operating in orbit, will be used to provide
instant communications between the President of the United States
and his commanding officers located in remote stations around the
world. FLTSATCOM's orbit is geosynchronous and it is be stationed
at about 22,238 miles above the equator.
Last year also saw the last launch of a NASA owned and
managed Delta rocket when, on Nov. 18, Delta 183 was launched
from Vandenberg AFB, Ca. The launch was successful in its attempt
to place into orbit the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), the
66th spacecraft in the Explorer series. KSC workers had been
involved for over two years in preparing the west coast facility
for COBE. Finally, following the processing of the first and
second stages of the Delta at KSC's Hanger M, the electrical
mating of the two components, and a test which simulated in-
flight events, the sections were shipped to Vandenberg for launch.
Under KSC's supervision, much work went into preparing the
Space Launch Complex 2-West for COBE and NASA's last Delta
vehicle. Extensive refurbishment activities lasted over a year.
Work included corrosion repair, sand-blasting and painting;
replacement of deteriorated pad support equipment; recertification
of pad cranes used to lift the launch vehicle and COBE spacecraft;
repair of pad lighting systems and recertification of pressure
vessels for helium and nitrogen used for the hydraulic and
pneumatic systems.
The launch went perfectly and COBE is currently working on
its assignment -- a one year to two year mission to gather
information to possibly answer questions like: Was there a
primeval explosion that started the universe expansion? What
started the formation of galaxies? What caused galaxies to be
arranged in giant clusters?
The Delta launch vehicle was originally designed and built
for NASA as an improved version of the Air Force's Thor-Able.
Delta first flew in 1960. There have been more NASA Delta
launches than all other launch vehicles in its class combined.
SPINOFFS, CELSS, AND OTHER FUTURE PROJECTS
As a result of the intense experimentation in the world of
payloads and the increased awareness of continued safe manned
flight, science has reaped marvelous benefits from various
spinoff technologies.
But to simply reap the benefits is not enough. A way was
needed to carry the word from NASA to the outside commercial
community. As a result, KSC and the State of Florida signed a
Memorandum of Understanding for the transfer of NASA technology.
This agreement was formalized during a meeting by Center Director
Forrest McCartney and Florida Governor Bob Martinez on July 18 at
KSC. It provides for the continuation of the ongoing NASA
Technology Utilization program to transfer NASA technology to
Florida's governmental and industrial organizations in a timely
manner.
Examples of possible benefits spun-off from NASA derived
inventions and technology include: advanced breathing packs for
fire fighters; running shoes that lessen stress on legs; heat
pipe technology that assisted a candy maker; sun glasses that
decrease the risk of late-life blindness by diminishing
ultraviolet rays; home solar energy applications; insulation for
both home and camping; and an aerial color infrared mapping
system used for inventory of Florida citrus groves.
NASA technology developed during experimentation at KSC has
also provided improvements to the health and life styles of the
aging. During an in depth three day conference co-sponsored by
NASA/KSC from Jan. 30 - Feb. 1 at Lake Buena Vista, Fla., several
KSC technical managers presented a forum for discussing various
issues ranging from communications to health care services for
space colonization.
Later in the year, NASA/KSC announced the reaching of a
preliminary understanding with the medical community by the
creation of a new Space Medicine Institute. This agreement will
enhance NASA's role in responding to research in health needs and
create closer ties between the health and space communities.
Sharing of knowledge and the ability to match health problems
with existing technology is the primary goal of the partnership.
The unique match will improve health care here on Earth and in
space.
Another agreement was reached between KSC/NASA and the
Florida American Cancer Society. This agreement calls for the
transfer of technology from the space program to the medical
profession and industry to assist in solving problems associated
with cancer prevention, detection and treatment.
Continuing studies in rocket triggered lightning research
entered the seventh year in 1989. The NASA-sponsored program
resumed from the pad on the shore of Mosquito Lagoon, 8 miles
north of the Vehicle Assembly Building. A space age version of
Ben Franklin's key-on-a-kite-string, the program entails launching
three-foot-tall solid fueled rockets into thunderstorms while
trailing a wire to the ground. The research program grew out of
NASA's desire to improve lightning protection systems for KSC
facilities and forecasting lightning potential during launches.
First in January then again in August, Kennedy Space Center
scientists from the Controlled Ecological Life Support System
(CELSS) project, harvested their second and third crops of dwarf
wheat -- and it was grown without soil in a computer controlled
biomass chamber.
The two-story, bubble-shaped sphere, located in Hanger L on
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, was once a test chamber for the
Mercury and Gemini programs. Using the specially developed
environment, strictly controlled by computers, KSC scientists and
technicians learned how to deliver nutrients to seedlings and
monitor the growth and gaseous outputs of dwarf wheat plants with
minimum human intervention. Following successful wheat crops, the
CELSS scientists began chamber research with soy beans.
Since future spacecraft will not have enough room to grow
traditional plants in soil, the CELSS experimenters carefully
analyzed the interaction of plants, nutrients, computer controls,
lighting, nutrient delivery systems and even how humans affect
the system by their mere presence. In the later case, the system
was designed to adjust for even the slightest increase in carbon
dioxide in the air from technicians breathing.
Efforts by other KSC workers in 1989 should provide answers
to other scientists who are questioning the circulation of air in
zero-gravity. The Chromosomes and Plant Cell Division in Space
experiment (CHROMEX) was designed to create an atmosphere
exchange system that circulates cabin air around plants inside
the CELSS chamber. This accomplishment will bring scientists a
step closer in understanding how to grow plants in space.
Still ahead are needed answers to intriguing questions like:
Can several types of plants be grown in one chamber or will space
age farms require the separation of plants? Answers to this and
other extremely important questions will need to be found before
building lunar bases or sending men to Mars. KSC's Biomedical
Operations and Research Office will be studying the multitude of
possible solutions to this dilemma in the coming year.
APOLLO 11 20TH ANNIVERSARY
But as NASA marched on into the future, triumphs of the past
were remembered. July 16, 1989 marked the launch of the Apollo 11
20th Anniversary which landed the first humans on the Moon and
returned them safely to Earth. In remembrance of this monumental
occasion, KSC hosted the return of the original Apollo 11 crew.
Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins were greeted by
thousands of cheering KSC employees and open house guests as they
recalled the experience of the century. The day-long celebration
reminded all Americans of the incredible, unequaled feat of the
Apollo program.
LOOKING AHEAD
Now, as KSC looks to the future, the possibilities seem
endless. Just around the corner is the Space Station, and further
ahead a possible lunar base and human mission to Mars. When the
time comes for these grand explorations, their beginnings may be
from KSC.
KSC will undertake the challenge of the future one step at a
time. Next year, NASA plans a record number of Space Shuttle
missions. Over 55 astronauts are scheduled to begin their journey
into space from KSC's Launch Complex 39 and a long list of
important payloads and experiments will be serviced here.
Astronomical sciences will be the focus of later missions. Hubble
Space Telescope (STS-31) will bring into clear view by 10 fold a
new look at our universe. Then two star-searching devices --
Astro-1 and the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (STS-35) will be
deployed. The Gamma Ray Observatory (STS-37) will study stellar
and intergalactic phenomena through deep space. Two final DOD
missions (STS-36, STS-38) are also scheduled for launch next
year. Then, scientific research will focus on the Sun with the
deployment of the Ulysses (STS-41) spacecraft. Spacelab Life
Sciences-1 (STS-40) and the International Microgravity Laboratory
(STS-42) will round out the year.
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