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Conference 7.286::space

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

713.0. "Joust 1 commercial launch set for March 29" by PRAGMA::GRIFFIN (Dave Griffin) Tue Feb 26 1991 18:10

From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee)
Date: 26 Feb 91 21:42:41 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

Barbara Selby
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                                February 26, 1991
(Phone:  703/557-5609)
 
Rick Mould
University of Alabama-Huntsville
(Phone:  205/895-6414)
 
George Purvis
Orbital Science Corp., Space Data Div., Chandler, Ariz.
(Phone:  602/899-6000)
 

RELEASE:  91-33
 
JOUST 1 COMMERCIAL LAUNCH SET FOR MARCH 29

	The launch of Joust 1, a commercial suborbital rocket carrying
10 materials and biotechnology experiments, has been scheduled for 8:30
a.m. EST on March 29 from Launch Complex 20 at the Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station, Fla.

	The Joust 1 mission is sponsored by the University of Alabama
in Huntsville's Consortium for Materials Development in Space (UAH
CMDS), a NASA Center for Commercial Development of Space.  Orbital
Sciences Corp., Space Data Division, Chandler, Ariz., under a contract
with UAH CMDS, will provide the rocket and launch services.

	Space Data will use its Prospector launch vehicle to lift the
payload approximately 400 miles into space.  The one-stage rocket will
provide about 13 minutes of microgravity for the experiments.
Following reentry, the payload will splash down in the Atlantic Ocean
about 200 miles downrange where it will be recovered by ship and
returned to Cape Canaveral.

	The Joust 1 flight will involve participation from four other
NASA commercial development centers.  The CCDS payload participants
include:

	* UAH CMDS -- Three materials science and processing experiments;

	* Advanced Materials Center, Battelle Columbus Laboratories, Columbus, 
	Ohio -- Three materials processing experiments;

	* Center for Cell Research, Penn. State University, State College -- one 
	biotechnology experiment;

	* Bioserve Space Technologies, University of Colorado, Boulder -- one
	biotechnology experiment; and

	* The Center for Commercial Development of Space Power and Advanced 
	Electronics, Auburn University, -- power distribution and control units.

	Additionally, two industrial members of UAH CMDS will have experiments
as part of the payload:

	* Thiokol Corp., Logan, Utah -- a materials science experiment with
	thin films; and

	* Instrumentation Technology Associates, Inc., (ITA) Exton, Pa. --
	Materials Dispersion Apparatus which will hold experiments in
	biomedical, manufacturing processes and fluid science fields.

	Teledyne-Brown Engineering, Huntsville, Ala., will provide payload
	integration.

	The Joust launch is funded in part by a grant from NASA's Office
of Commercial Programs.  Total cost for the launch, payload and launch
services is about $3 million.

	This will be the fourth commercial launch sponsored by the UAH CMDS.
The previous launches -- all part of the consortium's Consort launch
series -- were conducted at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.  - end -

	EDITORS NOTE:  A preflight press briefing will be conducted the day
before launch at NASA's Kennedy Space Center News Center, followed by a
photo opportunity at Launch Complex 20.  News media planning to cover
the Joust 1 flight should direct their request for accreditation to:

	 Lisa Fowler, PA-PIB                       Phone: 407/867-2468
	 John F. Kennedy Space Center,             FAX:  407/867-2692 
	 Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899

	Letters of accreditation should be written on the letterhead of
the requesting organization, be signed by a management official and
list the name, function and Social Security number of the individual(s)
for whom press credentials are requested.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
713.1	Launch delayed a bit...	PRAGMA::GRIFFIN	Dave Griffin	`Tue Mar 19 1991 13:02`	4
	I misfiled the press release for this, but Joust 1 has been delayed a month or so. - dave
713.2	JOUST 1 mission ended prematurely	JVERNE::KLAES	All the Universe, or nothing!	`Tue Jun 18 1991 11:37`	76
	Article 1444 From: [email protected] Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.aviation,clari.news.military Subject: LEAD: urgent Date: 18 Jun 91 11:46:33 GMT _ _u_r_g_e_n_t _ _C_o_m_m_e_r_c_i_a_l_ _r_o_c_k_e_t_ _d_e_s_t_r_o_y_e_d _ _B_y_ _W_I_L_L_I_A_M_ _H_A_R_W_O_O_D _ _U_P_I_ _S_c_i_e_n_c_e_ _W_r_i_t_e_r CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- A small commercially built rocket tumbled out of control and exploded a little more than 10 seconds after liftoff Tuesday, destroying a package of experiments in a spectacular $3 million failure. Running 40 days behind schedule because of a series of technical glitches, the 46-foot Prospector rocket, made up of a Thiokol Corp. solid-fuel booster and special guidance equipment, ignited with a rush of flame at 7:34 a.m. EDT, 34 minutes late because of last-minute snags. The slender rocket instantly shot skyward along a short launch rail for what was to have been a 59-second ``burn'' to boost the ``Joust-1'' payload on its way to a maximum altitude of some 380 miles. But about 10 seconds into the flight, the rocket began tumbling out of control, prompting Air Force safety officers to radio self-destruct commands to the errant missile, triggering an explosion. The nose cone, housing 10 materials science experiments, appeared to parachute safely into the Atlantic Ocean. ``We have had a command destruct from the range,'' said launch commentator George Diller. ``We have lost the vehicle. We had a destruct of the Prospector launch vehicle.'' Long-range television tracking cameras showed fire jetting from both ends of the rocket as it cartwheeled through a blue morning sky trailing multiple contrails from various pieces of debris. The flight plan had called for the payload module to be boosted to an altitude of some 380 miles, subjecting the experiments to 13 minutes of weightlessness before the nose cone was to arc over for a parachute descent to the Atlantic Ocean 280 miles east of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It was the first in a series of Joust launches planned over the next few years by the University of Alabama at Huntsville's Consortium for Materials Development in Space in an arrangement with NASA's Office of Commercial Programs, which encourages private-sector space initiatives. Launch originally was scheduled for May 16, but the hard-luck rocket was grounded by a technical problem that prevented the ignition signal from reaching the booster when the countdown hit zero. A second launch attempt June 9 ended in failure because of electrical problems. The 10 on-board experiments were devoted primarily to materials science experiments that utilize weightlessness to eliminate the disruptive effects of gravity on the processing of various ultra-pure materials. The mission cost $3 million, including the rocket, payload and Air Force launch services. The Prospector rocket, provided by Space Data, a division of Orbital Sciences Corp. of Fairfax, Va., was made up of a 27,000-pound Castor 4A solid-fuel booster typically used with large Delta rocket for additional liftoff power. For the Joust-1 mission, the rocket was equipped with a special guidance and navigation system to provide steering during ascent. The rocket launched Tuesday was fired from complex 20 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which spent $2.5 million modifying the facility for use by small rockets.
713.3		STAR::HUGHES	You knew the job was dangerous when you took it Fred.	`Tue Jun 18 1991 14:23`	10
	Boy, and that bozo has the gall to put his name on that article. The payload was NOT known to be lost at the time the article was written. It did seperate and deploy its recovery system. Note that the payload capsule was intended to be recovered and reused. OSC had scheduled a press conference for 10:30a EDT. This article is somewhat premature. gary
713.4	More details on the mission	JVERNE::KLAES	All the Universe, or nothing!	`Tue Jun 18 1991 15:39`	79
	Article 1446 From: [email protected] (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer) Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.aviation,clari.news.military Subject: Commercial rocket destroyed Date: 18 Jun 91 14:51:31 GMT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- A commercially built rocket carrying a package of university experiments cartwheeled out of control seconds after launch Tuesday, forcing ground crews to destroy the errant missile in a spectacular $3 million failure. Running 40 days behind schedule because of a series of technical glitches, the 46-foot Prospector rocket, built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Fairfax, Va., ignited with a rush of flame at 7:34 a.m. EDT, 34 minutes late because of last-minute snags. The slender solid-fuel rocket instantly shot skyward along a short launch rail for what was to have been a 59-second ``burn'' to boost the ``Joust-1'' payload on its way to a maximum altitude of some 380 miles. But about 10 seconds into the flight, the rocket, made up of a Thiokol Corp. booster and special guidance equipment, began tumbling wildly out of control. Twenty-five seconds after liftoff, Air Force safety officers radioed self-destruct commands to the errant missile, triggering an explosion. The rocket body, spewing fire from both ends, then pinwheeled into the Atlantic Ocean 2.3 miles east of the launch pad. The nose cone, housing 10 materials science experiments, appeared to separate from the missile shortly after it began tumbling, but it was not known where it landed or what damage it may have suffered. ``We have had a command destruct from the range,'' said launch commentator George Diller as the rocket's self-destruct system fired. ``We have lost the vehicle. We had a destruct of the Prospector launch vehicle.'' Long-range television tracking cameras showed fire jetting from both ends of the rocket as it cartwheeled through a blue morning sky trailing multiple contrails from various pieces of debris. The flight plan had called for the payload module to be boosted to an altitude of some 380 miles, subjecting the experiments to 13 minutes of weightlessness before the nose cone was to arc over for a parachute descent to the Atlantic Ocean 280 miles east of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It was the first in a series of Joust launches planned over the next few years by the University of Alabama at Huntsville's Consortium for Materials Development in Space in an arrangement with NASA's Office of Commercial Programs, which encourages private-sector space initiatives. Launch originally was scheduled for May 16, but the hard-luck rocket was grounded by a technical problem that prevented the ignition signal from reaching the booster when the countdown hit zero. A second launch attempt June 9 ended in failure because of electrical problems. The 10 on-board experiments were devoted primarily to materials science experiments that utilize weightlessness to eliminate the disruptive effects of gravity on the processing of various ultra-pure materials. The mission cost $3 million, including the rocket, payload and Air Force launch services. The Prospector rocket, provided by Space Data, a division of Orbital Sciences Corp. of Fairfax, Va., was made up of a 27,000-pound Castor 4A solid-fuel booster typically used with large Delta rocket for additional liftoff power. For the Joust-1 mission, the rocket was equipped with a special guidance and navigation system to provide steering during ascent. The rocket launched Tuesday was fired from complex 20 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which spent $2.5 million modifying the facility for use by small rockets.
713.5	Instant success for $3,000,000?	UNTADH::HAZEL	Million-to-one chances crop up nine times out of ten	`Wed Jun 19 1991 05:39`	7
	$3,000,000 sounds incredibly cheap for a rocket launch. And they (ie. the journalists) expected it to be right first time? So was the payload recovered, or was it destroyed? Dave Hazel
713.6	From CNN last night...	ZENDIA::REITH	Jim Reith DTN 226-6102 - LTN2-1/F02	`Wed Jun 19 1991 11:07`	7
	The news conference was on CNN last night and they said that the payload had separated and the recovery system seemed to operate but they hadn't found it yet. The main comment was that IF the recovery system operated properly, almost all of the payload would be reusable. The shot of the rocket after destruct showed flames at both ends like a pinwheel.
713.7		STAR::HUGHES	You knew the job was dangerous when you took it Fred.	`Thu Jun 20 1991 13:10`	7
	FWIW, the video implied that the recovery system did not fully deploy, so impact forces may have been more than its design limits. The low cost results from the use of off the shelf hardware, albeit in a new configuration. gary
713.8	JOUST 1 payload search called off	JVERNE::KLAES	All the Universe, or nothing!	`Mon Jun 24 1991 17:33`	48
	Article 32465 From: [email protected] (Peter E. Yee) Newsgroups: sci.space Subject: NASA Headline News for 06/19/91 (Forwarded) Date: 22 Jun 91 01:11:53 GMT Sender: [email protected] (USENET Administration) Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA Headline News Internal Communications Branch (P-2) NASA Headquarters Wednesday, June 19, 1991 Audio Service: 202 / 755-1788 This is NASA Headline News for Wednesday, June 19, 1991 . . . Shortly after 7:34 am EDT yesterday, and only 25 seconds into the flight of the Prospector/Joust-1 mission, the Eastern Test Range safety officer destroyed the vehicle after the Prospector deviated from its planned trajectory. A statement from the University of Alabama-Huntsville payload team, issued this morning, said recovery efforts for the Joust-1 payload will not be renewed. The payload was apparently destroyed upon impact into the Atlantic Ocean after separating from the Prospector rocket during the launch attempt. Small pieces of debris determined to be part of the payload were retrieved by a recovery ship. An Orbital Sciences Corp. review board has begun an investigation into the cause of the mishap. OSC was contracted by UA-H to provide the launch vehicle and launch services. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select TV. Note that all events and times may change without notice, and that all times listed are Eastern. indicates a program is transmitted live. Wednesday, 6/19/91 1:00 pm Magellan Sciences Seminar from Jet Propulsion Laboratory, taped last week. This report is filed daily at noon, Monday through Friday. It is a service of NASA's Office of Public Affairs. The contact is Charles Redmond, 202/453-8425 or CREDMOND on NASAmail. NASA Select TV is carried on GE Satcom F2R, transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees West Longitude, transponder frequency is 3960 megaHertz, audio is offset 6.8 MHz, polarization is vertical.