Conference 7.286::space

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, SEPT. 24, 1992  10 AM

 
           STS-54/TDRS-F - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to remove the Spacelab-J payload.
- Inspections of the windows.
- Leak and functional tests of the main propulsion system  helium
system.
- Post-flight inspections and tests.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Payload bay door functional test.

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, SEPT. 25, 1992  10 AM

 
           STS-54/TDRS-F - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Removing  the Spacelab-J payload from the orbiter and securing
it inside the payload canister.
- Validations of the orbiter's power system.
- Inspections of the windows.
- Leak and functional tests of the main propulsion system  helium
system.
- Post-flight inspections and tests.

          KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, SEPT. 28, 1992  10 AM


 
           STS-54/TDRS-F - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Removing the main engine heat shields.
- Auxiliary power units water deservicing.
- Post-flight inspections and tests.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Removed the Spacelab-J payload from the orbiter.


 

       KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - TUESDAY, SEPT. 29, 1992 -- 10:00 A.M.
        --------------------------------------------------------------

 
        STS-54/TDRS-F --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Preparations for removing residual hypergolic fuels
*  Remove main engine heat shields
*  Auxiliary Power Unit water deservicing
*  Post-flight inspections

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Removed Spacelab-J from orbiter payload bay



 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, OCT. 1, 1992  10 AM


 
           STS-54/TDRS-F - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Removing the Spacelab-J tunnel adapter and extension.
- Removing the main engine heat shields.
- Post-flight inspections and tests.
- Polishing the windows.
- Preparations to offload residual hypergolic propellants.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Removed the chin panel for inspections.

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, OCT. 5, 1992  11 AM


 
           STS-54/TDRS-F - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Removing the main engine heat shields.
- Taking samples from the helium tanks.
- Removing windows.
- Functional tests of the forward reaction control system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Offloaded residual hypergolic propellants.

          George Diller                                     October 5, 1992
          Kennedy Space Center
          407/867-2468

          Jessie Katz
          Goddard Space Flight Center
          301/286-5566

          Jerry Berg
          Marshall Space Flight Center
          205/544-0034

          KSC Release No. 137-92


          TDRS-F MATED TO IUS-13  FOR JANUARY ENDEAVOUR LAUNCH

               NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-F) was mated
          today to its Inertial Upper Stage booster (IUS-13 ) in the
          Kennedy Space Center's Vertical Processing Facility.

               TRDS-F is the primary payload for the STS-54  mission to be
          flown aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour scheduled for launch in
          mid-January.  In preparation for the mission, two significant
          tests will be performed before the payload leaves the Vertical
          Processing Facility.

               The Interface Verification Test, or IVT, is scheduled for
          Oct. 16.  This test will verify the electrical connections
          between the two payload elements and the interface compatability
          of the payload stack with the Space Shuttle vehicle.

               An End-to-End test is scheduled to follow on Oct. 20.
          This is a network communications test to verify links between the
          payload and numerous ground-based facilities including the
          Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD., the TDRS ground
          station at White Sands, NM, the TRW plant in California, the
          Johnson Space Center in Houston, the MILA tracking station at
          Kennedy Space Center, the TDRS checkout station at Hangar AO on
          Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and the Air Force Consolidated
          Space Test Center (CSTC) in Sunnyvale, CA.  All possible data
          link conditions are created to verify that there is proper
          communication with the payload.

               The payload is scheduled to be moved to the launch pad in
          mid to late November and will be fueled in the payload changeout
          room. After installation into the payload bay of the Space
          Shuttle Endeavour, tests will be performed to verify the
          interfaces between the payload and the orbiter.

               The Inertial Upper Stage is built by Boeing and arrived at
          KSC from a checkout facility at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
          on Sept. 21.  The TDRS-F spacecraft was delivered by C-5A
          aircraft from the TRW plant in Redondo Beach, CA. on Sept. 24.

               NASA's Office of Space Communications, Wsahington, D.C., is
          responsible for overall program management of the Tracking and
          Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS). NASA's Goddard Space Flight
          Center, Greenbelt, MD., manages the operation of the TDRSS.
          Project management for the Inertial Upper Stage is by the
          Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL.

               SPACE SHUTTLE WEEKLY STATUS SUMMARY
               Friday, October 9, 1992

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center


 
                STS-54

Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour/OV-105
Location: OPF Bay 1
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13
Mission: STS-54
Launch Timeframe: January Wk 2
Mission Duration: 1 week
Nominal Landing: KSC


IN WORK:

- Drag Chute installation
- TACAN #2 retest
- Crew hatch functional check
- Install crew sleep restraints
- Landing gear deployment
- Orbital maneuvering system functional test
- Window inspections
- Main engine leak checks
- External tank installation into test cell in VAB
- TDRS White Sands Compatability Testin in the VPF




STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- Installation of wheels and tires
- OMS pod functional testing
- APU 1/3 hot lube oil flush
- Window polishing


WORK COMPLETED:

- Post flight inspections
- Forward reaction control system functional test complete
- Replacement of payload bay floodlights
- TDRS mate to IUS complete in the VPF
- TDRS state of health checks complete

               SPACE SHUTTLE WEEKLY STATUS SUMMARY
               Friday, October 16, 1992


George Diller/Mitch Varnes
Kennedy Space Center

 
                               STS-54

Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour/OV-105
Location: OPF Bay 1
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13
Mission: STS-54
Launch Timeframe: January Wk 2
Mission Duration: 1 week
Nominal Landing: KSC


IN WORK:

- Auxiliary power unit servicing
- reactant system checkout
- Inspections of 17" quick disconnect
- Main propulsion system leak checks
- Nose wheel steering checkout
- Brake hydraulic system testing
- left booster stacking in the VAB
- External tank electrical testing in the VAB
- Window replacement/window polishing


STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- Installation of beam for Get Away Special canisters 

 COMPLETED:

- Drag chute installation
- Drag chute mortar installation
- Crew hatch functional check
- OMS functional test
- Main engine leak checks
_ Power Reactant Storage and Distribution (PRSD) system checks
- Waste Management System drain and flush

Bruce Buckingham
Kennedy Space Center                              Oct. 19, 1992

Jessie Katz
Goddard Space Flight Center

KSC RELEASE NO. 146 - 92

     The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-F), scheduled to be launched
on Shuttle mission STS-54, completed two significant tests last week while in
the Vertical Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.

     On Oct. 14-15, the spacecraft, the sixth of its kind to be launched aboard
the Shuttle, successfully completed an Interface Verification Test (IVT)
between the satellite and the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster.  The IVT, a
30-hour-long systems test, revealed no problems with the electrical or
mechanical connections between the TDRS and the IUS. The test also confirmed
the ability of the two components to communicate with each other and with the
Space Shuttle vehicle.  The TDRS was mated to the IUS on Oct. 5.

     Following the IVT, Roelof Schuiling, the TDRS Payload Manager, said, "we
are continuing on schedule and found nothing that will cause us to deviate from
our current timeline."

     Also last week, the spacecraft successfully passed the all encompassing
"End-to-End" test, a network communications test designed to reveal any
specific areas of concern with the satellite and its ground controlling
stations.  The test involved the spacecraft and the IUS booster; the IUS
control facility at the Air Force Consolidated Space Test Center in Sunnyvale,
Ca.; the TRW plant in Redondo Beach, Ca., where TDRS was manufactured; the TDRS
ground station at White Sands, N.M.; Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
Md., the primary network operations center for TDRS; Space Shuttle mission
control at Johnson Space Center, Tx.; the MILA tracking station at KSC; and the
TDRS checkout station at Hanger AO and the IUS checkout station, both on Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station.


     The test checked the configuration of the satellite and its controlling
NASA centers, allowing for simulated control of the spacecraft in the orbiter's
payload bay and in its eventual orbit in space.

     The end-to-end test was completed Oct. 17 without any surprises, prompting
Schuiling to reiterate that the spacecraft is in good health and work is on
schedule.

     This week, TDRS and IUS will be powered up for additional power-on tests
as preparations continue to ready the spacecraft and booster for delivery to
pad 39-B in mid-November.

     TDRS-F is scheduled to be launched aboard the Shuttle Endeavour in January
1993.

               SPACE SHUTTLE WEEKLY STATUS SUMMARY
                  Friday, October 23, 1992

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center
407/867-2468

 
                            STS-54

Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour/OV-105
Location: OPF Bay 1
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13
Mission: STS-54
Launch Timeframe: January Wk 2
Mission Duration: 1 week
Nominal Landing: KSC


STS-54 IN WORK:

- Routine main engine changeout
- Vertical stabilizer inspections
- Crew hatch functional test
- Tire pressure checks
- Tile repair and replacement
- Payload bay light replacement
- Payload bay door bulb seal inspections


STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- Window 5 and 6 replacement
- Potable water servicing
- Main engine leak checks
- OMS electrical redundancy checks
- Orbiter/external tank door functional check
- Ammonia boiler servicing
- Ku band antenna upper gimbal unit replacement
- Auxiliary power unit servicing
- Auxiliary power unit functional checks
- Flight deck data display system multifunction test
- Flight deck communications system retest
- Install waste containment system


COMPLETED:

- Main propulsion leak checks
- APU hot oil flush
- APU leak and functional checks
- Aft communications display panel changout
- Postflight structural inspections
- Chin panel thermal protection rework
- IUS/TDRS payload Interface Verification Test (IVT) in the VPF
- IUS/TDRS payload End-to-End (ETE) test in the VPF
- IUS flight guidance system (RIMU) installation in the VPF

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, OCT. 26, 1992  10 AM

 
           STS-54/TDRS-F - ENDEAVOUR (105) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installing seals around windows.
- Inspections of the chin panel.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed three flight ready main engines.

STS-54 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/ MLP-2 - VAB HIGH BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Mating the right forward center segment to the right booster.
- Joint close outs.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Transfer of the right forward segment to the VAB.

              SPACE SHUTTLE WEEKLY STATUS SUMMARY
                    Friday, October 30, 1992

 
                          STS-54

Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour/OV-105
Location: OPF Bay 1
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13
Mission: STS-54
Launch Timeframe: January Wk 2
Mission Duration: 7 days
Nominal Landing: KSC


STS-54 IN WORK:

- Post installation main engine leak and electrical checks
- Water spray boiler servicing
- Potable water servicing
- Auxiliary power unit lube oil servicing
- OMS/RCS electrical redundancy checks
- TDRS Ku band antenna upper gibmal remove & replace
- Air-to-ground communications uplink checkout
- Payload bay flood light retest
- Tile maintenance and water proofing
- Chin panel area rework
- Vertical stabilizer structural bolt changeouts
- Bulb seal repair
- Remove window #5 and #6 for seal replacement
- Reinstall window #7
- Closeouts of SRB joints and nosecones in the VAB


STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- Heat shield and carrier panel installation
- Leak check of the external tank/orbiter quick disconnect
- external tank/orbiter door functional check
- auxiliary power unit leak and functional checks
- payload bay door #3 radiator repair
- payload bay door radiator cleaning
- waste containment system functional check
- Install drag chute door
- Begin orbiter midbody closeouts
- IUS airborne support equipment interface verification test
- DXS payload installation
- Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT)


COMPLETED:

- Waste containment system installed
- Routine main engine changeout
- Main propulsion system leak checks
- Crew hatch functional test
- Payload bay flood light replacement
- APU hot oil flush
- IUS ordnance installation in the VPF

 

                   SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                    Thursday, November 5, 1992

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center

 
                      STS-54

SPECIAL TOPICS:  In VAB High Bay 1 today, the STS-54 external
tank is being mated to the solid rocket boosters. In the Vertical
Processing Facility today, the STS-54 payload (TDRS-F/IUS-13) is
being installed into the payload canister in preparation for
transportation to Pad 39-B on Nov. 9.  In OPF Bay 1 this weekend,
Endeavour's Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) with the STS-54
flight crew is scheduled.

               SPACE SHUTTLE WEEKLY STATUS SUMMARY
                    Friday, November 6, 1992

 
                    STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/Orbiter Endeavour
Location: OPF Bay 1
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Mission: STS-54                    Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Launch Timeframe: January Wk 2     Nominal Landing Site: KSC
Mission Duration: 6 days           Crew Size: 5


STS-54 IN WORK:

- drag chute door installation
- bulb seal repair
- midbody closeouts
- heat shield installation
- torque readjustment of vertical stablilizer bolts
- auxiliary power unit leak and functional checks
- tile water proofing



STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) on Saturday
- ammonia boiler servicing on Sunday
- waste containment system checkout and functional test
- payload airborne support equipment Interface Verification Test
- changeout of reaction control system (L3A) thruster bellows
- begin payload bay cleaning
- move TDRS/IUS payload to Pad 39-B on Monday
- install DXS payload in payload bay on Tuesday



STS-54 WORK COMPLETED:

- installation of TDRS/IUS into payload canister in VPF
- remove and replace orbiter window #6
- changeout two reaction control system thrusters (L3A and L5D)
- OMS/RCS flight control system checkout
- OMS pod redundancy checks
- auxiliary power unit water servicing
- auxiliary power unit leak and functional checks
- potable water servicing
- waste containment system installation
- star tracker door functional test

 

              SPACE SHUTTLE WEEKLY STATUS SUMMARY
                    Friday, November 13, 1992

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center
 
                             STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/Orbiter Endeavour
Location: OPF Bay 1
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Mission: STS-54                    Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Launch Timeframe: January Wk 2     Nominal Landing Site: KSC
Mission Duration: 6 days           Crew Size: 5



STS-54 IN WORK:

- OMS thruster reaction control system bellows remove and replace
- drag chute closeouts/door installation
- orbiter/external tank door functional testing
- waste containment system functional testing
- main propulsion system leak checks (hydrogen side)
- mid-body closeouts



STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- test cycle flight controls and aerosurfaces
- tire checks/pressure topoff
- aft compartment closeouts
- aft compartment leak checks
- orbiter structural leak checks
- crew compartment closeouts
- TDRS-F fueling at Pad 39-B


STS-54 WORK COMPLETED:

- Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT)
- ammonia boiler servicing
- payload airborne support equipment Interface Verification Test
- transfer IUS/TDRS to Pad 39-B
- install DXS payload in payload bay on Tuesday
- DXS Interface Verification Test

 

              SPACE SHUTTLE WEEKLY STATUS SUMMARY
                    Friday, November 20, 1992

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center
 
                       STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/Orbiter Endeavour
Location: OPF Bay 1
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Mission: STS-54                    Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Launch Timeframe: January Wk 2     Nominal Landing Site: KSC
Mission Duration: 6 days           Crew Size: 5


STS-54 IN WORK:

- weight and center of gravity determination
- mating to orbiter transporter


STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- rollover to Vehicle Assembly Building transfer isle Saturday
- attach lifting sling and orbiter lifting preps Saturday night
- mate to external tank and solid rocket booster stack Sunday


STS-54 WORK COMPLETED:

- TDRS-F fueling at Pad 39-B
- aft compartment closeouts
- crew compartment closeouts
- external tank door functional test
- orbiter structural leak check
- aft compartment leak check
- right nose wheel changeout
- nose wheel steering retest
- payload airborne support equipment Interface Verification Test
- DXS Interface Verification Test


 

Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

November 25, 1992

James Hartsfield
Johnson Space Center, Houston


RELEASE:  92-210


        With just over 3 years left before construction of Space Station
Freedom begins in Earth orbit, NASA has decided to add spacewalks to upcoming
Shuttle flights when possible, beginning with one during STS-54 in January
1993.

        The spacewalks, or extravehicular activities (EVAs), will fine-tune the
methods of training astronauts for assembly tasks in space and increase the
spacewalk experience levels of astronauts, ground controllers and instructors.

EVAs will be added to Shuttle missions only when they can be performed with no
impact on the other objectives and they will be the lowest priority activity on
each mission.

        For STS-54, astronauts Greg Harbaugh and Mario Runco, Jr.,will perform
a 5-hour spacewalk evaluating their abilities to move about Endeavour's cargo
bay with and without large objects; closely align large objects; and install
large equipment.  In addition, the tests will provide information on the amount
of time required for various tasks and for the astronauts to become acclimated
to the spacewalk environment.

        STS-54 is the only Shuttle flight to have a spacewalk officially added
as part of the new tests.  However, several other 1993 Shuttle flights as well
as many in the following years are being studied as candidates for further
spacewalk additions.

        Although spacewalks have been conducted periodically on NASA flights
since the Gemini Program in the mid-1960s, the tasks being performed outside
the spacecraft have become, in general, increasingly more demanding.  The
challenge will continue to increase when Space Station Freedom construction
begins in March 1996.


        During spacewalks performed on Shuttle mission STS-49 in May to repair
the INTELSAT VI satellite and test Freedom construction techniques, differences
between ground training and actual orbital tasks were noted that can
significantly affect the performance of a spacewalk.  The effect of these
differences could become more pronounced as the duration and complexity of the
spacewalk work grows.

        The spacewalk tests to be conducted during the years leading up to
Space Station Freedom construction will help characterize the exact nature of
these differences and assist in developing better training of astronauts for
spacewalking construction work.  They will characterize astronauts' abilities
to move large objects in space and evaluate the amount of time required to
perform various tasks.  Also, they will attempt to identify the physical
demands of various spacewalk jobs and evaluate new training techniques.
 

                  SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                   Thursday, December 3, 1992

Mitch Varnes
Kennedy Space Center

 
                     STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105
Current location: en route to Launch Pad 39-B
Mission: STS-54/TDRS-F
Launch: mid-January 1993
Mission Duration: six days

IN WORK:

--  Endeavour  is  today  being  moved  from the Vehicle Assembly
Building to 39-B.  First motion occurred at 7:14 a.m. EST.

-- The vehicle should arrive at the pad by early  afternoon,  and
the  Rotating  Service  Structure is scheduled to be moved around
the orbiter at 5:30 p.m. today.

WORK SCHEDULED:

-- Hook-up of ground support equipment and checkouts  of  systems
between the mobile launch platform, the vehicle and the ground.

--  Installation  of  TDRS-F  spacecraft into Endeavour's payload
bay.   That operation is scheduled to begin at 6 a.m.  on Friday,
December 4.  The payload should be mechanically installed by mid-
night.   Connections and checkouts between the orbiter and satel-
lite will occur thoughout the weekend.

FUTURE ACTIVITY:

-- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test T-0 set for December 16.

                   SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                    Friday, December 4, 1992

Bruce Buckingham
Kennedy Space Center
 
                        STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/ Space Shuttle Endeavour
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Mission: STS-54/TDRS-F
Mission Duration: 6 days     Crew Size: 5
Target Launch Date: Second Week in January, 1993
Estimated Launch Time: 8:52 am EST


IN WORK TODAY:

*  Installation of TDRS into orbiter payload bay
*  Launch pad validations
*  Gain access to aft engine compartment
*  Preparations for prelaunch hypergolic propellant loads
*  Main engine leak checks

WORK SCHEDULED:

*  TDRS/Orbiter integration verification test
*  Helium signature test

WORK COMPLETED:

*  Shuttle transfer to pad 39-B
*  Rotate service structure around orbiter
*  Orbiter power up
*  Open payload bay doors
*  Open crew Module doors
*  Remove TDRS/IUS covers

                  SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                    Monday, December 7, 1992

Mitch Varnes
Kennedy Space Center

 
                          STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Mission: STS-54/ TDRS-F
Mission Duration: Six days
Target launch date: Mid-January 1993

IN WORK TODAY:

* Orbiter/TDRS-F Interface Verification Test
* Preparations for pre-launch loading of propellants
* Preparations for helium signature leak check

WORK SCHEDULED:

* Helium signature leak check scheduled for late this evening

WORK COMPLETED:

* Installation of TDRS-F into Endeavour's payload bay


 

                       KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                          Tuesday, December 8, 1992

Bruce Buckingham
Kennedy Space Center
 
                                STS-54

Vehicle: Endeavour/OV-105
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Mission: STS-54/TDRS-F
Mission Duration: 6 days     Crew Size: 5
Target Launch Date: Second Week in January, 1993
Estimated Launch Time: 8:52 am EST


IN WORK TODAY:

*  Helium signature test
*  Preparations for pre-launch hypergolic propellant loads

WORK SCHEDULED:

*  Pre-launch propellant load (Wednesday/Thursday)
*  TDRS/IUS end-to-end test (Monday)
*  Close payload bay doors for propellant load

WORK COMPLETED:

*  Helium Signature preparations
*  TDRS/Orbiter integration verification test
*  Replace three main engine pressure transducers

 

                KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                   Wednesday, December 9, 1992

                                             Bruce Buckingham
                                             Kennedy Space Center
 
                        STS-54

Vehicle: Endeavour/OV-105
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Mission: STS-54/TDRS-F
Mission Duration: 6 days     Crew Size: 5
Target Launch Date: Second Week in January, 1993
Estimated Launch Time: 8:52 am EST


IN WORK TODAY:

*  Preparations for pre-launch hypergolic propellant loads
*  Begin clearing pad for hypergolic operations at 4 pm

WORK SCHEDULED:

*  Pre-launch propellant load begins at 4:00 today
*  Close payload bay doors for propellant load
*  TDRS/IUS end-to-end test (Monday)

WORK COMPLETED:

*  Helium signature test
*  TDRS/Orbiter integration verification test

 

                KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                    Friday, December 11, 1992

Bruce Buckingham
Kennedy Space Center
 
                            STS-54

Vehicle: Endeavour/OV-105
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Mission: STS-54/TDRS-F
Mission Duration: 6 days     Crew Size: 5
Target Launch Date: Second Week in January, 1993
Estimated Launch Time: 8:52 am EST


IN WORK TODAY:

*  Work to secure heaters for Orbital Maneuvering System and
   Reaction Control System for weekend powerdown.
*  Preparations for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test
*  Auxiliary Power Unit leak checks

WORK SCHEDULED:

*  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test next week
    - Crew arrival 11:30 am Monday;
    - PAO session with crew at pad 3:30 pm Tuesday;
    - T-0 11:00 am Wednesday.
*  Open payload bay doors
*  Launch Readiness Review (Thursday, Dec. 17)
*  Flight Readiness Review (Dec. 22)
*  TDRS/IUS end-to-end test (Monday, Dec. 14)
*  IUS flight readiness checks (Wednesday, Dec. 16)

WORK COMPLETED:

*  Pre-launch hypergolic propellant loads
*  Pad open for normal work 10:00 p.m. Thursday
*  TDRS/Orbiter integration verification test


 

                   SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                   Kennedy Space Center
                   December 14, 1992

George H. Diller
 
                          STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/Endeavour
Mission Number: STS-54
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Launch Timeframe: January 13 (tentative)
Mission Duration: 6 Days
Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Crew Size: 5
Nominal Landing Site: KSC


IN WORK TODAY:

- orbiter power is on through Dec. 23
- TDRS/IUS payload End-to-End communications test
- delivery of liquid oxygen to Pad 39-B
- orbiter/external tank quick disconnect purges
- preparations for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT)
- astronaut arrival for TCDT
- astronaut M113 orientation and driver training
- astronaut fit check of launch/re-entry suits


SCHEDULED:

- begin TCDT countdown 8:30 a.m. Tuesday
- astronaut pad safety training on Tuesday
- TCDT T-0 11 a.m. Wednesday
- TDRS/IUS launch simulation exercise Wednesday
- KSC Launch Readiness Review (LRR) Thursday
- main engine flight readiness test on Thursday
- Flight Readiness Review (FRR) on Dec. 22

 

                     SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                    Kennedy Space Center, Florida

                         December 15, 1992
George H. Diller
 
                             STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/Endeavour   Mission Number: STS-54
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Launch Timeframe: NET January 13   Mission Duration: 6 Days
Inclination: 28.45 degrees   Crew Size: 5
Nominal Landing Site: KSC


IN WORK TODAY:

- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test
- astronaut Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) flights
- astronaut Pad B emergency egress training
- astronaut inspection of TDRS/IUS in payload bay
- delivery of liquid hydrogen to Pad B storage spheres
- orbiter/external tank cavity purge leak check
- preparation of orbiter hydraulics for Flight Readiness Test
- calibration of inertial measurement units
- solid rocket booster flight battery installation
- crew cabin and aft compartment cleaning


SCHEDULED:

- complete TCDT at 11 a.m. Wednesday
- TDRS/IUS launch simulation exercise Wednesday
- SRB parachute camera installation Wednesday
- begin IUS Flight Readiness Checks Wednesday
- KSC Launch Readiness Review (LRR) Thursday
- main engine flight readiness test on Thursday
- install IUS flight batteries on Friday
- Flight Readiness Review (FRR) on Dec. 22


WORK COMPLETED:

- TDRS/IUS payload End-to-End communications test
- DXS  compatability test
- delivery of liquid oxygen to Pad 39-B
- orbiter/external tank quick disconnect purges
- astronaut M113 orientation and driver training
- astronaut fit check of launch/re-entry suits


 

                  SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                 Kennedy Space Center, Florida

                      December 16, 1992

George H. Diller
 
                          STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/Endeavour   Mission Number: STS-54
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Launch Timeframe: NET January 13   Mission Duration: 6 Days
Inclination: 28.45 degrees   Crew Size: 5
Nominal Landing Site: KSC


IN WORK TODAY:

- Flight Readiness Test of main engines and flight controls
- IUS Flight Readiness Checks
- calibration of inertial measurement units
- crew cabin and aft compartment cleaning
- SRB parachute camera installation
- avionics bay closeouts
- calibration of inertial measurement units


SCHEDULED:

- TACAN testing on Thursday
- KSC Launch Readiness Review on Thursday
- aft main engine compartment confidence test on Friday
- install IUS flight batteries on Friday
- Flight Readiness Review (FRR) on Dec. 22


WORK COMPLETED:

- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT)
- TDRS/IUS countdown simulation
- astronaut Pad B emergency egress training
- astronaut inspection of TDRS/IUS in payload bay
- delivery of liquid hydrogen to Pad B storage spheres
- orbiter/external tank cavity purge leak check
- preparation of orbiter hydraulics for Flight Readiness Test
- solid rocket booster flight battery installation

 

The "early bird" edition of the STS-54 press kit is available (crude editing,
no graphics, etc.).  16 pages.

pragma::public:[nasa]sts-54.ps


- dave

SPACE SHUTTLE WEEKLY                           Friday, December 18, 1992

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center
 
                              STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/Orbiter Endeavour
Location: OPF Bay 1
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Mission: STS-54                 Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Launch Timeframe: January Wk 2     Nominal Landing Site: KSC
Mission Duration: 6 days           Crew Size: 5


STS-54 IN WORK:

- IUS Flight Readiness Checks
- IUS Safety hold-fire check
- IUS flight battery installation
- aft main engine compartment confidence test engine compartment closeouts
- crew cabin anaft compartment cleaning
- avionics bay closeouts
- testing orbiter television cameras

STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- orbiter/external tank cavity purge reverification tonight
- ordnance installation on Monday
- Flight Readiness Review next Tuesday
- preparations for holiday work suspension and facility outages
- close payload bay doors Tuesday night for the holidays

STS-54 WORK COMPLETED:

- DXS interim servicing
- Inertial Measurement Unit calibrations
- Flight Readiness Test (FRT)
- KSC Launch Readiness Review

 

              SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
             Kennedy Space Center, Florida

              Monday, December 21, 1992


George H. Diller
 
                        STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/Endeavour   Mission Number: STS-54
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Launch Timeframe: NET January 13
Mission Duration: 5 Days 23 Hours 33 Minutes
Inclination: 28.45 degrees   Crew Size: 5
Nominal Landing Site: KSC

IN WORK TODAY:

- IUS ordnance installation
- IUS flight battery installation
- Space Shuttle vehicle ordnance installation
- aft compartment closeouts
- preparations for holiday work suspension/holiday outages


WORK COMPLETED:

- IUS Flight Readiness Checks
- retest IUS Range Safety hold-fire circuit
- calibration of inertial measurement units
- crew cabin and aft compartment cleaning
- avionics bay closeouts
- aft main engine compartment confidence test


WORK SCHEDULED:

- Flight Readiness Review on Tuesday
- close payload bay doors for the holidays on Tuesday night
- power down Space Shuttle vehicle for the holidays on Wednesday

 

                  SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                   Kennedy Space Center, Florida

                   Tuesday, December 22, 1992


George H. Diller
 
                        STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/Endeavour   Mission Number: STS-54
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Launch Timeframe: NET January 13
Mission Duration: 5 Days 23 Hours 33 Minutes
Inclination: 28.45 degrees   Crew Size: 5
Nominal Landing Site: KSC


IN WORK TODAY:

- Flight Readiness Review (FRR)
- aft main engine compartment closeouts
- close payload bay doors for the holidays at 2 p.m.
- power off Space Shuttle vehicle for the holidays 4 p.m.
- preparations for holiday work suspension/holiday outages


WORK COMPLETED:

- IUS ordnance installation
- IUS flight battery installation
- Space Shuttle vehicle ordnance installation
- aft main engine compartment confidence test
- IUS Flight Readiness Checks


WORK SCHEDULED:

- continue aft main engine compartment closeouts
- Pad B securing and walkdown for the holidays
 

Ed Campion
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                        December 22, 1992

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

EDITORS NOTE:  N92-110


        NASA managers today set Jan. 13 as the launch date for the first
Shuttle mission of 1993.  Designated STS-54, the flight has two primary
objectives -- deployment of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-F) and
astronomical observations of invisible x-ray sources within the Milky Way
Galaxy with the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer. A space walk (EVA) to evaluate
training methods and gain additional EVA experience also will occur during the
mission.

        The launch window opens at 8:52 a.m.  EST and extends for 2 1/2 hours.
The mission duration is planned for 6 days.  Landing is scheduled for Jan. 19
at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

        Commanding the STS-54 mission will be John Casper, making his second
flight.  Don McMonagle, also making his second flight, will be the Pilot. The
three mission specialists for STS-54 are Mario Runco, making his second flight;
Greg Harbaugh, making his second flight, and Susan Helms, making her first
flight.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61

                   SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                   Kennedy Space Center, Florida

                   Monday, January 4, 1993

 
                          STS-54
George H. Diller


Vehicle: OV-105/Endeavour   Mission Number: STS-54
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Launch Timeframe: January 13  8:52 a.m. EST
Mission Duration: 5 Days 23 Hours 33 Minutes
Inclination: 28.45 degrees   Crew Size: 5
Nominal Landing: KSC  Jan. 19  8:24 a.m. EST



IN WORK TODAY:

- aft main engine compartment closeouts
- launch countdown simulation exercise
- solid rocket booster electrical checks
- solid rocket booster thermal curtain installation
- TDRS battery charging
- IUS battery checks
- preparations for IUS simulated countdown
- preparations to install EVA spacesuits



WORK COMPLETED:

- power-on orbiter and solid rocket boosters
- open payload bay doors/extend payload access platforms
- open crew compartment


STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- EVA spacesuit installation on third shift overnight tonight
- IUS countdown simulation beginning second shift Tuesday evening
- TDRS/IUS payload stray voltage checks on Wednesday
- DXS interim servicing
- ordnance connections/hypergolic tank pressurization on Thursday
- begin launch countdown at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, January 10


ISSUES & CONCERNS: None
 

                   SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                   Kennedy Space Center, Florida

                   Tuesday, January 5, 1993

George H. Diller
 
                           STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/Endeavour   Mission Number: STS-54
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Launch Timeframe: January 13  8:52 a.m. EST
Mission Duration: 5 Days 23 Hours 33 Minutes
Inclination: 28.45 degrees   Crew Size: 5
Nominal Landing: KSC  Jan. 19  8:24 a.m. EST

IN WORK TODAY:

- aft main engine compartment closeouts
- removal of aft compartment access platforms and portable lights
- removal of main engine protective covers
- loading orbiter mass memory unit software
- star tracker inspections
- fuel cell purges
- external tank purges
- external tank electrical checks
- TDRS battery charging
- IUS simulated countdown
- EVA spacesuit checkout in orbiter airlock
- launch countdown preparations in Firing Room 3


WORK COMPLETED:

- installation of EVA spacesuits into orbiter airlock
- launch countdown simulation exercise
- solid rocket booster electrical checks
- solid rocket booster thermal curtain installation


STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- TDRS/IUS stray voltage checks on Wednesday
- Range Safety command checks on Wednesday
- DXS interim servicing Wednesday
- remove main engine compartment access platforms Wednesday
- ordnance connections Thursday
- hypergolic tank pressurization on Thursday
- close payload bay doors on Saturday, January 9
- begin launch countdown at 9 a.m. on Sunday, January 10


ISSUES & CONCERNS: None

               SPACE SHUTTLE WEEKLY STATUS SUMMARY
                   Thursday, January 7, 1993

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center
 
                            STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/Orbiter Endeavour   Mission Number: STS-54
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Launch Date: January 13  8:52 a.m. EST
Inclination: 28.45 degrees  Crew Size: 5 astronauts
Mission Duration: 5 days 23 hours 33 minutes
Nominal Landing: KSC Jan. 19  8:24 a.m. EST

STS-54 IN WORK:

- ordnance connections
- hypergolic tank pressurization

STS-54 WORK COMPLETED:

- Range Safety command checks
- TDRS battery charging
- IUS/TDRS power-on stray voltage checks
- DXS interim servicing
- external tank purges
- reactant system purges
- install crew escape pole

STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- external tank closeouts on Friday
- solid rocket booster closeouts on Friday
- IUS battery voltage checks on Friday
- final payload closeouts on Saturday
- begin launch countdown at 1 p.m. Sunday, January 10
- astronaut arrival at 3:30 p.m. Sunday
- close payload bay doors at 8:45 p.m. Sunday

 

                  SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS SUMMARY
                    Friday, January 8, 1993

Lisa Malone
Kennedy Space Center
 
                          STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/ Space Shuttle Endeavour
Current Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Mission: STS-54/TDRS  Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Launch: Jan. 13, 8:52 a.m. EST /  Landing: KSC Jan. 19,  8:24 a.m. EST

IN WORK TODAY:
- check out of the solid rocket booster forward and aft skirts
- launch countdown preparations
- removing protective covers from the reaction control system thrusters
- preparing the crew compartment for flight
- preparing the hazardous gas detection system for launch
- removing service platforms from the pad area
- moving the booster flame deflectors to the launch position
- standard pre-launch inspection of the launch pad
- close outs of the TDRS and IUS payload

WORK SCHEDULED:
- STS-54 launch team on station in the firing room 3 on Sunday for the start of
the launch countdown at 1 p.m.  EST at the T-43
- STS-54 flight crew arrives at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility at 3:30 p.m.
EST Sunday
- close payload bay doors for flight Sunday evening
- launch on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 8:52 a.m.  EST


WORK COMPLETED:
- pressurized the hypergolic propellant tanks for flight
- completed final ordnance operations


* The extended weather outlook for next week indicates that there is a 70
percent chance of having acceptable conditions at launch time.

 

Ed Campion
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                         January 6, 1993

RELEASE:  93-004



        The versatility of NASA's Space Shuttle system will be demonstrated
next week during the first mission of 1993 when Shuttle Endeavour and her crew
conduct a diverse group of experiments and tasks in Earth orbit.

        During the mission, a communications satellite will be deployed, x-ray
astronomy observations will be taken, experiments covering a wide range of
scientific disiplines will be conducted and a spacewalk to evaluate training
techniques will be performed.

        Endeavour and her crew are scheduled to be launched on Wednesday, Jan.
13 with a launch window opening at 8:52 a.m.  EST. The mission duration is
approximately 6 days with landing scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 19 at Kennedy
Space Center, Fla.

        Crew members for the STS-54 mission are Commander John Casper, Pilot
Don McMonagle and three mission specialists -- Mario Runco, Jr., Greg Harbaugh
and Susan Helms. The STS-54 mission will be the third flight of Space Shuttle
Endeavour and the 53rd flight of the system overall.

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System

        The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) is a space-based
network that provides communications, tracking, telemetry, data acquisition and
command services essential to the Space Shuttle and low-Earth orbital
spacecraft missions.  All Shuttle missions and nearly all NASA spacecraft in
Earth orbit require TDRSS's capabilities for mission success.

        Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-6) being deployed on the STS-
54 mission is the sixth in a series of communications spacecraft planned for
the TDRS system.

        The successful launch and checkout of TDRS-6 will give NASA the
essential requirement of having two fully operational satellites and a fully
operational ready reserve capability.  This will assure that NASA
communications, telemetry and data acquisition capabilities required by space
missions will not be jeopardized.

Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer

        The Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS) addresses a fundamental question
of present-day astrophysics: What is the origin and nature of the interstellar
medium -- the matter that fills the space between stars?

        A large percentage of x-rays from space do not originate fobjects like
stars or galaxies, but from some source that appears to distributed over the
entire sky.  Astronomers have found that these emissions fall into two types:
high-energy or "hard" x-rays that may be the unresolved emissions from a
collection of distant galaxies and low-energy or "soft" x-rays that are not yet
well understood.  DXS will study the latter.

        Because low energy x-rays cannot travel more than a few hundred light
years in interstellar space before they are absorbed, most of the diffuse soft
x- ray background observed must have originated in the Milky Way galaxy from
the vicinity of Earth's solar system.

        The DXS measures the arrival direction and wavelength of incident low
energy x-rays in the wavelength range of 42 to 84 Angstroms (an Angstrom is one
ten-thousandth of a millimeter).  From this information, the DXS scientists
will be able to determine the spectrum (brightness at each wavelength) of the
diffuse soft x-ray background from each of several regions of the sky.

        By analyzing these spectral features, scientists can identify the
temperature, the ionization state and the elements which constitute this
plasma.  From these data they can tell whether the plasma is young and heated
in the last 100,000 years or old and heated millions of years ago.  Previous
experiments were not capable of measuring the spectrum of the diffuse soft
X-ray background.

EVA Test Objectives

        On the fifth day of the STS-54 flight, Mission Specialists Greg
Harbaugh and Mario Runco, Jr., will perform the first in a series of test
spacewalks to be conducted on Shuttle missions during the years leading up to
the construction of Space Station Freedom, scheduled to begin in 1996.

        The spacewalk tests are designed to refine training methods for future
spacewalks; expand the experience of ground controllers, instructors and
astronauts; and aid in better understanding the differences between true
weightlessness and the underwater facility used to train crew members.

        During the STS-54 spacewalk, Runco and Harbaugh will evaluate how well
they respectively adapt to spacewalking; test their abilities to move about the
cargo bay with and without carrying items; test the ability to climb into a
foot restraint without handholds; and test their ability to align a large
object in weightlessness.

CHROMEX-4

        Developmental and Physiological Processes Influencing Seed Production
in Microgravity (CHROMEX-4) is designed to gain an understanding of the
reproductive abnormalities which apparently occur in plants exposed to
microgravity and to determine whether changes in developmental processes may be
due to spaceflight conditions, especially microgravity.  This experiment also
will help scientists understand how gravity influences fertilization and
development on Earth.

        To date, only a few studies have been conducted on developing seeds in
space.  They all showed very poor seed production.  NASA would like to use
plants as a source of food and atmospheric cleansing for astronauts staying in
space for extended periods of time.  Seed production is vital if crops like
wheat and rice are to be utilized for food.

Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus

        The purpose of the Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA) is
to allow a wide variety of sophisticated biomaterials, life sciences and
biotechnology investigations to be performed in one apparatus in microgravity.

        During the STS-54 mission, the CGBA will support 28 separate commercial
investigations, loosely classified in three application areas: biomedical
testing and drug development, controlled ecological life support system and
agricultural development and manufacture of biological-based materials.

        Results from the 28 investigations will be carefully considered in
determining subsequent steps toward commercialization.  STS-54 marks the second
of six CGBA flights.  Future flights will continue to focus on selecting and
developing investigations that show the greatest commercial potential.

Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment

        The second Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE.02) is
a secondary payload flight experiment located in a locker on the Space
Shuttle's mid-deck.  The goal of PARE.02 is to determine the extent to which
short-term exposure to microgravity alters the size, strength and stamina of
skeletal muscles normally used to support the body against the force of
gravity.

        The PARE.02 experiment is important for two reasons.  When individuals
are exposed to ta significant loss in muscle mass.  This appears to be because
the muscle must no longer exert a sufficient level of force, which produces a
signal to the body to conserve mass.

        However, the loss of muscle mass hinders one's capability to function
when returning to Earth. All movement patterns are difficult, and the
individual may be prone to accidents because of this instability.  Scientists
need to find out the extent to which the muscle atrophies, what impact the
atrophy process has on muscle performance and how to prevent the atrophy from
occurring.

        Second, the problem of muscle atrophy is similar in part to what is
seen on Earth during the normal span of aging.  As one gets older, he or she
becomes less physically active, and the degree of muscle disuse is exaggerated.
This leads to the same problems as occur during exposure to microgravity.
Thus, if the problem of atrophy in space can be solved, scientists should have
good insight for maintaining the muscle system in a more viable condition as
people age.

Solid Surface Combustion Experiment

        The purpose of the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE) is to
study the physical and chemical mechanisms of flame propagation over solid
fuels in the absence of gravity-driven buoyant or externally-imposed airflows.
The controlling mechanisms of flame propagation in microgravity are different
than in normal gravity.

        On Earth, gravity causes the air heated by the flame to rise.  This air
flow, called buoyant convection, feeds oxygen to the flame and cools the fire,
creating competing effects.  In microgravity, this flow is absent.  Therefore,
the fire is sustained only by the oxygen that it consumes as it migrates along
the fuel's surface.  The results of the SSCE have a practical application in
the evaluation of spacecraft fire hazards, as well as providing a better
understanding of flame propagation in microgravity and on Earth.

                             - end -
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61

George H. Diller                               January 8, 1993
Kennedy Space Center

KSC Release No. 01-93

     The countdown clock for  the  STS-54  flight  of  the  Space
Shuttle  Endeavour is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.  (EST) Sunday,
Jan.  10 at the T-43 hour mark.  The countdown includes 24  hours
and 32 minutes of built-in hold time leading up to the opening of
the launch window at 8:52 a.m. (EST) on Wednesday, Jan. 13.

     At  the  start  of the countdown,  the launch team in firing
room 3 of the Launch Control Center verifies the Shuttle  vehicle
is  powered  up  and  that  the data processing system and backup
flight control system are operating.  Flight software  stored  in
the  orbiter's twin memory banks will be reviewed,  computer con-
trolled display systems will be activated,  and the backup flight
system general purpose computer will be loaded.

     Preparations  also  start  at  the  liquid oxygen and liquid
hydrogen storage farms for loading the external tank  with  super
cold,  or  cryogenic,  propellants.  Orbiter  navigation aids are
turned on and tested and the inertial measurement units  are  ac-
tivated.

     In parallel with these activities,  the launch team prepares
for loading Endeavour's onboard fuel cell storage tanks with liq-
uid oxygen and liquid hydrogen reactants.  Also performed at  the
start  of the countdown is the final stowage,  microbial sampling
and water level adjustment of the crew waste management system.

     At T-27 hours,  the countdown will enter its first  built-in
hold.    This is a 4-hour hold which extends from 5 to 9 a.m.  on
Monday,  January 11.  When the countdown resumes,  the launch pad
will  be  cleared of all personnel in preparation for loading the
fuel cell storage tanks.

     Servicing of the liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fuel cell
supply tanks is scheduled to start at the T-25 hour mark. Servic-
ing activities take approximately five hours.

     When servicing of the fuel cell tanks  has  been  completed,
the pad will be reopened for normal work,  and the countdown will
enter the second planned hold.  During this four-hour hold at the
T-19 hour mark,  the orbiter mid-body umbilical unit used to load
the super cold fuel cell  reactants  into  the  orbiter  will  be
demated.  This hold will extend from 5 to 9 p.m. on Monday.

     When the countdown resumes,  technicians will complete final
vehicle and facility closeouts and begin activating the orbiter's
communications systems and configuring  Endeavour's  cockpit  for
flight.  The  main propulsion system and shuttle main engines are
prepared for cryogenic loading.

     The orbiter's flight control system navigation aids and com-
munications systems will be activated,  and switches in the cock-
pit  will  be  configured  for loading of the external tank.  The
stowable mission specialist seats will be installed in the flight
and mid-decks.

     The countdown will enter the  next  built-in  hold  at  T-11
hours  at  5  a.m.  on Tuesday.   During the hold,  time critical
equipment will be installed in the orbiter's cockpit and the  in-
ertial  measurement  units  will  be activated and warmed up.  At
about 11 a.m.,  the rotating service structure will be moved away
from the vehicle to the launch position.   This hold is scheduled
to last 13 hours, 32 minutes, or until 6:32 p.m. on Tuesday.

     At T-9 hours, the onboard fuel cells will be activated,  and
the  launch  team  will begin evacuating the blast danger area at
T-8 hours,  or about 9:32 p.m.  Tuesday.  The final items  to  be
placed  in  the crew module are now stowed aboard,  and the joint
heaters on the solid rocket boosters are also turned on  at  this
time.  At T-7 hours,  30 minutes, conditioned air that is flowing
through the  orbiter's  payload  bay  and  other  areas  will  be
switched  to  gaseous nitrogen in preparation for loading the ex-
ternal tank with  super-cold  liquid  propellants.  The  inertial
measurement  units  will transition from the warm up stage to the
operate/attitude determination mode at T-6 hours and 45  minutes.
At  T-6  hours a steering check of the orbital maneuvering system
engines will be performed.

     The countdown will enter another planned  built-in  hold  at
the  T-6  hour mark at approximately 11:32 p.m.  Tuesday.  During
this one-hour hold,  final preparations for loading the  external
tank will be completed and a pre-tanking weather briefing will be
conducted.

     Chilldown  of the lines that carry the cryogenic propellants
to the external tank will begin at  the  T-6  hour  and  counting
mark,  at 12:32 a.m. Wednesday. Filling and topping of the exter-
nal tank should be complete at the beginning of the planned  hold
at T-3 hours which will start at 3:32 a.m. Wednesday.

     This  hold is two hours in duration.  During this time,  the
ice inspection team will perform a survey of the tank's outer in-
sulation,  and the closeout crew will begin configuring the  crew
module  and  white  room  for the flight crew's arrival.   Liquid
oxygen and liquid hydrogen will be in  a  stable  replenish  mode
during this time to replace the propellant that "boils" off.

     The  astronauts  are  scheduled  to be awakened at 3:57 a.m.
Wednesday and have breakfast.  Their breakfast  is  scheduled  at
4:27 a.m.

     After eating, the crew will receive a briefing on world-wide
weather conditions via satellite from Mission Control in Houston.

     The  flight  crew  will  suit  up  in their partial pressure
suits,  then leave the Operations and Checkout Building at  about
5:37 a.m.,  at T-3 hours.  They will arrive at the pad white room
at about 6:07 a.m. where they will be assisted by white room per-
sonnel in getting into the crew cabin.

     Just prior to the T-1 hour  mark,  the  test  team  and  the
flight  crew will get another weather update,  including observa-
tions from an astronaut flying in a Shuttle Training Aircraft  in
the KSC area.

     The last two built-in holds will be 10 minutes in duration
and will occur at the T-20 minute mark or at 8:12 a.m. and at the
T-9 minute mark or at 8:33 a.m. During the final hold, the flight
crew  and  ground team receive the NASA Launch Director's and the
Mission Management Team's final "go" for launch.

     Milestones after the T-9 minute mark include  start  of  the
ground launch sequencer;  retraction of the orbiter access arm at
T-7 minutes,  30 seconds;  start of the orbiter's auxiliary power
units at T-5 minutes; pressurization of the liquid oxygen tank at
T-2  minutes,  55 seconds;  pressurization of the liquid hydrogen
tank at T-1 minute,  57  seconds;  and  the  electronic  "go"  to
Endeavour's   onboard  computers  to  start  their  own  terminal
countdown sequence at T-31 seconds.  The orbiter's three main en-
gines will start at T-6.6 seconds.


                      COUNTDOWN MILESTONES

              Launch - 3 Days (Sunday, January 10)

     Perform the call-to-stations at T-43 hours.  Begin check out
of the backup flight system and review flight software stored  in
mass memory units and display systems.  Astronauts arrive.

     Load  backup flight system software into the orbiter's fifth
general purpose computer.

     Begin  stowage  of  flight  crew  equipment.   Inspect   the
orbiter's  mid and flight decks and remove crew module platforms.
Start external tank loading preparations.


              Launch - 2 Days (Monday, January 11)

     Enter first planned built-in hold at T-27 hours for a  dura-
tion of 4 hours. Activate orbiter's navigation system.

     Resume countdown. Start preparations for servicing fuel cell
storage  tanks and begin final vehicle and facility closeouts for
launch.

     Clear launch pad of all personnel and load liquid oxygen and
liquid hydrogen reactants into the orbiter's  fuel  cell  storage
tanks.

     Enter  second  planned  built-in hold at T-19 hours for four
hours.

       After the loading operation, the pad will be reopened for
normal work and orbiter and ground  support  equipment  closeouts
will resume.

      Demate  orbiter  mid-body  umbilical  unit used during fuel
cell loading. Resume countdown.   Activate orbiter communications
systems  and  prepare Shuttle main engines for propellant tanking
and flight.


              Launch - 1 Day (Tuesday, January 12)

      Install mission specialist seats in crew  cabin.  The  tail
service  masts on the mobile launcher platform will be closed out
for launch.

     Enter planned hold at T-11 hours (5 a.m.) for a duration  of
13 hours and 32 minutes.

     During  this hold,  the orbiter's inertial measurement units
will be activated and kept in the "warm up" mode and film will be
installed in the numerous cameras on the launch pad. In addition,
safety personnel will conduct a debris walkdown and the pad sound
suppression system water tank will be filled.

     The rotating service structure will be  moved  to  the  park
position  during  this  hold  at  11 a.m.  Perform orbiter ascent
switch list in crew cabin.

      Resume countdown at 6:32 p.m. Install time critical flight
crew equipment and perform the  pre-ingress  switch  list.  Start
fuel cell flow-through purge.

     Activate  orbiter  fuel  cells.  Configure communications at
Mission Control in Houston for launch.  Clear  the  blast  danger
area  of all non-essential personnel and switch orbiter purge air
to gaseous nitrogen.

     Enter one-hour planned built-in hold  at  T-6  hours  (11:32
p.m.).


               Launch Day (Wednesday, January 13)

     Resume countdown.   Launch team verifies there are no viola-
tions of launch commit criteria prior to cryogenic loading of the
external tank.   Start loading the external tank  with  cryogenic
propellants.

     Complete  filling  the external tank with its flight load of
liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.  Perform open loop
test with range safety and conduct gimbal profile checks of orbi-
tal maneuvering system engines.

     Perform  inertial measurement unit preflight calibration and
align Merritt Island Launch Area (MILA) tracking antennas.

     Enter two hour hold at T-3 hours. Closeout crew and ice  in-
spection team proceeds to launch pad.

     Resume  countdown at T-3 hours (5:32 a.m.) Complete closeout
preparations in the white room and cockpit switch configurations.
Crew departs astronaut quarters at Operations and Checkout Build-
ing for the pad.

     Flight crew enters orbiter. Astronauts perform air-to-ground
voice checks with Mission Control in Houston.  Close orbiter crew
hatch.  Begin range safety final network open loop command check,
perform hatch seal and cabin  leak  checks,  begin  the  inertial
measurement unit preflight alignment and range safety closed loop
test. The white room is closed out and the closeout crew moves to
fallback area. Primary ascent guidance data is transferred to the
backup flight system.

     Enter planned 10-minute hold at T-20 minutes.

     Resume  countdown.  Transition  orbiter onboard computers to
launch configuration and start fuel  cell  thermal  conditioning.
Close orbiter cabin vent valves. Backup flight system transitions
to launch configuration.

     Enter planned 10 minute hold at T-9 minutes.

     Resume countdown.



Start automatic ground launch sequencer (T-9 minutes).
Retract orbiter crew access arm (T-7:30).
Start mission recorders (T-5:30).
Start APU's. Arm SRB and ET range safety safe/arm devices (T-5).
Start liquid oxygen drainback (T-4:55).
Start orbiter aerosurface profile test (T-3:55).
Orbiter transfers to internal power (T-3:30).
Start MPS gimbal profile test (T-3:30).
Pressurize liquid oxygen (LO2) tank (T-2:55)
Retract gaseous oxygen vent arm (T-2:55).
Fuel cells to internal reactants (T-2:35).
Pressurize liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank (T-1:57).
Deactivate SRB joint heaters (T-1:00).
LPS go for start of orbiter automatic sequence (T-0:31 seconds).
Start SRB gimbal profile test (T-0:6.6).
SRB ignition and liftoff (T-0).
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61

                 SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                Kennedy Space Center, Florida

                  Monday, January 11, 1993

George H. Diller
407/867-2468
 
                         STS-54

Vehicle: OV-105/Endeavour   Mission Number: STS-54
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Launch Timeframe: January 13  8:52 a.m. EST
Mission Duration: 5 Days 23 Hours 33 Minutes
Inclination: 28.45 degrees   Crew Size: 5
Nominal Landing: KSC  Jan. 19  8:24 a.m. EST


IN WORK TODAY:

- Launch countdown operations in Firing Room 3
- cryogenic reactant loading operations until 4:30 p.m.
- main engine final preparations
- IUS battery voltage checks
- communications system activation
- inertial measurement unit checkout
- potable water microbial sample
- commander and pilot Shuttle Training Aircraft flights
- astronaut fit checks of launch and entry suits

WORK COMPLETED:

- astronaut arrival at KSC 3:30 p.m. Sunday
- payload bay door closure at 7:10 p.m. on Sunday night
- navigation aids activation
- pad washdown and initial debris inspections
- mass memory unit checkout


STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- demate orbiter mid-body umbilical tonight
- install flight crew mission items and personal effects tonight
- closeout tail service masts on Tuesday
- retract rotating service structure 11 a.m. Tuesday
- final launch pad debris insepctions Tuesday
- payload mid-deck late stowage including rodents Tuesday
- IUS guidance system calibration Tuesday night
- activate inertial measurement units Tuesday night
- check main engine steering (gimbal check) Tuesday night
- begin external tank fueling loading 12:32 a.m. Wednesday


ISSUES & CONCERNS: None


SPECIAL TOPICS: Launch Weather Forecast

At the opening of the launch window at 8:52 a.m. on Wednesday
conditions are forecast to be:

    Temperature: 67 degrees
    Dewpoint: 61 degrees
    Humidity: 80%
    Wind:  SSW-8 knots
    Visibility: 7+ miles

Significant clouds or weather: Chance of showers and cloud
ceilings below 8,000 feet.

Chance of acceptable launch weather conditions: 70%

                   SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                   Kennedy Space Center, Florida

                   Tuesday, January 12, 1993


George H. Diller


Vehicle: OV-105/Endeavour   Mission Number: STS-54
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Launch Timeframe: January 13  8:52 a.m. EST
Mission Duration: 5 Days 23 Hours 33 Minutes
Inclination: 28.45 degrees   Crew Size: 5
Nominal Landing: KSC  Jan. 19  8:24 a.m. EST


IN WORK TODAY:

- Launch countdown operations in Firing Room 3

- retract rotating service strucure at 11 a.m.

- closeout tail service masts

- final launch pad debris insepction

- payload mid-deck late stowage including rodents

- activate inertial measurement units

- OMS gimbal profile

- align IUS Redundant Inertial Measurement Unit (RIMU)

- commander and pilot Shuttle Training Aircraft flights

- countdown status briefings for the astronauts


WORK COMPLETED:

- cryogenic reactant loading operations

- retract orbiter mid-body umbilical

- communications system activation

- navigation aids activation



STS-54 WORK SCHEDULED:

- begin tanking 12:32 a.m.

- awaken astronauts 4:02 a.m.

- astronauts depart for Pad 39-B 5:37 a.m.

- close and seal crew access hatch 7:22 a.m.


ISSUES & CONCERNS: None


SPECIAL TOPICS: Launch Weather Forecast

At the opening of the launch window at 8:52 a.m. on Wednesday
conditions are forecast to be:

Clouds: 1,500 scattered  3,000 scattered  20,000 broken
Temperature: 70 degrees
Dewpoint: 65 degrees
Humidity: 84%
Wind:  SW-12 knots (becoming 14 to 20 knots)
Visibility: 7+ miles

Significant clouds or weather: Chance of scattered showers,
chance of ceilings below 8,000 feet, limited chance for crosswind
concern.

Chance of acceptable launch weather conditions: 70%

pragma::public:[nasa]sts-54.nasa_select

STS-54 FLIGHT DAY ONE STATE VECTOR (PREDICTED) ON ORBIT OPERATIONS
                  (Posted 01/11/93 by Roger Simpson)

The following vector for the flight of STS-54 is provided by NASA Johnson
Space Center Flight Design and Dynamics Division for use in ground track
plotting programs.  The vector is valid for flight day one.  The vector
represents the predictied trajectory of ENDEAVOUR during on orbit operations,
after the OMS-2 maneuver.  This vector assumes an on time launch.  Questions
regarding these postings may be addressed to Roger Simpson, Mail Code DM4, L.
B. J. Space Center, Houston, Texas 77058, Telephone (713) 483-1928.

                           ****ATTENTION****

 ****THIS VECTOR WILL NOT BE UPDATED UNTIL POST IUS/TDRSS DEPLOY****

 Lift off Time: 1993:013:13:52:00.000
 Lift off Date: 01/13/93

 Vector Time (GMT) : 013:14:35:00.000
 Vector Time (MET) : 000:00:43:00.000
 Orbit Count :  001
 Weight : 248287.3 LBS
 Drag Coefficient : 2.0
 Drag Area: 1250.0 SQ FT

      M50 Elements                           Keplerian Elements
 -----------------------                 --------------------------
 X    =  17158160.5    FT                A          = 3608.0483 NM
 Y    =  10032508.9    FT                E          = 0.000521
 Z    =  -9223989.3    FT                I  (M50)   =  28.56997 DEG
 Xdot = -14697.604738  FT/S              Wp (M50)   = 258.69307 DEG
 Ydot =  19840.008844  FT/S              RAAN (M50) = 151.85886 DEG
 Zdot =  -5751.755438  FT/S            / N (True)   = 342.97764 DEG
                            Anomalies  \ M (Mean)   = 342.99511 DEG

                                         Ha         = 162.4034  NM
                                         Hp         = 159.9997  NM

 Mean of 1950 (M50)   : Inertial, right-handed Cartesian system whose
 Coordinate System      origin is the center of the earth.  The epoch
                        is the beginning of the Besselian year 1950.
                        X axis: Mean vernal equinox of epoch
                        Z axis: Earth's mean rotational axis of epoch
                        Y axis: Completes right-hand system
 A:    Semi-major axis
 E:    Eccentricity                         N:    True anomaly
 I:    Inclination                          M:    Mean anomaly
 Wp:   Argument of perigee                  Ha:   Height of apogee
 RAAN: Right ascension of ascending node    Hp:   Height of perigee
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61

What appeared to be a clean lift-off this morning right around 9AM ET.

The launch was delayed a few minutes to load new upper-wind data into
the computers.


- dave

Launch Statement: STS-54 TRDS-F/DXS Mission       January 13,1993

The space shuttle Endeavour lifted off this morning at 8:59:30 EST into partly
cloudy Florida skies.  Mission Control Status Reports are generally issued
several hours after liftoff, and are usually updated on a 12 hour basis,
depending on mission events.  We will be posting these updates as they are
released.

Endeavour is now safely in its planned 185-mile-high orbit (298 kilometers)
with all systems performing nominally.  A few minor glitches occurred prior to
launch, including the loss of some consoles at the Kennedy Space Center launch
control room and resetting the main launch sequencer computer.  These glitches
notwithstanding, the countdown and launch were completely nominal according to
Robert Sieck, NASA launch director, and Brewster Shaw, Shuttle safety chief.
Liftoff was delayed by about 10 minutes because of the combination of minor
problems.  The orbiter crew also had to reconfigure the auxiliary power unit
cooling system because of what appeared to be the freeze-up of the unit's
cooling system.  This will have no impact on the mission and will probably
resolve itself as a natural consequence of the ice evaporating, Shaw said.

The STS-54 flight crew is set to deploy the fifth Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite at 3:05 pm EST today.  Following the deployment of the TDRS
spacecraft, the crew will begin activation of a number of secondary experiments
and later this evening will begin the first scan of the diffuse X-ray
background using a spectrometer supplied by the Goddard Space Flight Center.
This experiment will scan the sky measuring the distribution of energy in the
X-ray wavelengths to try and provide astronomers with evidence as to the source
of this diffuse background illumination.  A leading theory states the radiation
is coming from the hot gas plasma surrounding our solar system.

On Friday, the Endeavour crew will participate in a space-based science lesson
with students from four schools located in New York, Ohio, Michigan and Oregon.
The astronaut-teachers will use ordinary toys to demonstrate several of the
fundamental laws of physics.

NASA Select television will provide continuous, live, coverage of the mission
throughout the next five days, concluding with the nominal end-of-mission
landing at the Kennedy Shuttle Landing Facility on Tuesday, Jan. 19, at 8:24 am
EST. Also, NASA will again provide a two-hour edited program containing daily
highlights of the mission on a different satellite for the benefit of
interested individuals and organizations in Alaska and Hawaii. Beginning with
this mission, the two-hour programming will be on transponder 19 (4080 MHz,
audio at 6.2 and 6.8 MHz) on the Galaxy 6 satellite located at 99 degrees West
Longitude.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-54 Status Report #1
MISSION CONTROL CENTER

Wednesday, January 13, 1993, 10 a.m.

Endeavour performed a normal launch and ascent to orbit this morning at 7:59:30
a.m.  CST, following a few minutes long delay to allow extra analysis of
high-altitude winds and their predicted effect on Endeavour.

After reaching a 164 by 160 nautical mile orbit, the crew activated the Diffuse
X-Ray Spectrometer to allow ground commanding of the instrument to begin from
the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The crew's main focus for the
remainder of today will be the deploy of the Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite-F scheduled for about 2:12 p.m.  CST, after the satellite is checked
out and powered up.

The crew will go to sleep for their first night in orbit at 6:29 p.m.  CST
today.

STS-54's Spacewalk Tests: Preparing for Space Station Freedom NASA Facts

   The spacewalk on STS-54 by mission specialists Mario Runco, Jr., and Greg
Harbaugh is the first in a series of test spacewalks planned over the next
three years to refine methods of training astronauts to perform the work in
space required by the construction and maintenance of Space Station Freedom,
slated to begin in 1996.

    All of the spacewalk tests will be done without impacting the primary
objectives of any shuttle flight, and, on STS-54, without interrupting other
experiments in the crew cabin or cargo bay.  In addition, the spacewalk is
being performed as efficiently as possible, taking advantage of the supplies,
materials and time already allotted for a spacewalk on STS-54 prior to the test
spacewalk's addition to the flight.  For instance, the air, water and
electricity planned for use on the test spacewalk are the same consumables that
would be used to perform a spacewalk to assist with deployment of the Tracking
and Data Relay Satellite-F if needed.  For that reason, if a contingency
spacewalk were needed for TDRS-F, the test spacewalk would be cancelled.  Along
the same lines, Runco and Harbaugh will use the tools at hand, and each other,
to simulate the methods and limits under which astronauts might best be able to
perform construction or repair work.

  For example, Runco and Harbaugh will use each other to simulate handling a
large mass in space.  Runco will move along the edge of the cargo bay with one
hand while holding Harbaugh with the other hand, at first holding Harbaugh by a
tether and later by holding Harbaugh by a rigid part of the suit.  Such
evaluations, along with the information to be obtained from ensuing spacewalks
on ensuing flights, will assist in planning how best to move large pieces of
space station equipment about.  It will give planners an idea of the amount of
effort and time required to move items and perform certain jobs, knowledge that
is extremely important since both effort and time are highly limited and
valuable resources on a spacewalk.  Although it is not a priority objective,
the spacewalk also will, as a fringe benefit, provide insight into how an
incapacitated crew member might be carried.

  The spacewalk tests are designed to:

1.  Increase the amount of spacewalk experience in the astronaut corps, among
flight controllers and among trainers.  Expanding the experience base among
these personnel during the next three years will help prepare them for Space
Station Freedom operations.

2.  Refine the training methods used to plan spacewalks and prepare astronauts
for the job.  Runco and Harbaugh will perform a variety of tasks and
characterize the difficulties encountered, the time required and the best
methods of performing each.  Although using neutral bouyancy under water on
Earth is the best way to simulate spacewalking, many differences exist, such as
the drag created by the water on objects, present in training but not present
in space, and the sense of direction provided by gravity's effect on the inner
ear, which is still present under water but absent in wieghtlessness.  Runco
and Harbaugh, along with the other tests that will follow, will help develop a
baseline that characterizes these differences to make spacewalk training and
planning more efficient.

   The rules under which spacewalk tests like the STS-54 test, formally called
Detailed Test Objective 1210 (DTO 1210), will be added to shuttle flights
include:

1.  They will not interfere in any way with the other objectives of the flight.
Thus, they will be the lowest priority experiment on board, as is the STS-54
spacewalk.

2.  They will be performed inexpensively, taking advantage of time, materials
and supplies already on board a flight.

3.  They will not significantly change the plans or training for the flight.

4.  The information learned from them will be as generic as possible, thus
being applicable to as many possible space station repair and construction
scenarios as possible.

From: [email protected] (IRENE BROWN)
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 93 12:29:08 PST

	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- The space shuttle Endeavour and a crew
of five soared into orbit Wednesday and deployed a NASA communications
satellite, the start of a six-day mission that also features a spacewalk
and science experiments.
	Riding atop a peach-tinged pillar of smoke and flame, Endeavour
thundered off its Kennedy Space Center launch pad at 8:59 a.m. EST
following a seven-minute delay so shuttle managers could reassess
weather conditions and resolve minor equipment glitches.
	Heading east through partly cloudy skies, the spaceplane hurled over
the Atlantic Ocean and into an orbit 184 miles above the planet. Six
hours and 13 minutes after liftoff, Endeavour astronaut Mario Runco
flipped a switch in the shuttle's flight deck and the 2 1/2-ton Tracking
and Data Relay Satellite gently floated out of its restraining cradle
and into space.
	``There she goes,'' said Runco, watching the satellite drift away
from the orbiter.
	``Not a sound,'' added rookie astronaut Susan Helms.
	Commander John Casper quickly fired the shuttle's steering jets to
move the spaceship away from the satellite, which was equipped with a
two-stage Boeing Aerospace Co.-built upper-stage booster to hurl the
satellite to a final orbit 22,250 miles above the equator.
	The spacecraft was to join four identical satellites already in orbit
that funnel information between ground control stations and the shuttle,
the Hubble Space Telescope, the Gamma Ray Observatory and other
spacecraft in low orbit around Earth.
	A sixth TDRS was destroyed in the 1986 Challenger accident.
	Following a month-long checkout, the new TDRS will be stationed over
South America where it will be kept in reserve until needed.
	The satellite constellation replaced NASA's vast and expensive
network of ground-based tracking and communications stations throughout
the world and nearly quadrupled the amount of time operators could
communicate with their spacecraft.
	Following the TDRS deployment, scientists at the Goddard Space Flight
Center in Greenbelt, Md., awaited their first data from an X-ray
detector that hangs in Endeavour's payload bay.
	The Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer, a $10 million astrophysics tool built
by the University of Wisconsin, is designed to sweep the sky during the
shuttle's nighttime passes, collecting spectral information on X-ray
emissions from stellar gases. Astronomers hope to learn more about a
suspected, relatively nearby supernova explosion that occurred 300,000
years ago.
	A low-priority but high-profile spacewalk by Runco and flight
engineer Gregory Harbaugh is scheduled for Sunday. The exercise is
modest compared to previous spacewalks to capture satellites and repair
equipment. During Sunday's spacewalk, the two astronauts are to spend
five hours practicing moving, carrying objects and using tools.
	``Nothing we're going to be doing here is especially profound from
the standpoint of extravehicular activity,'' said lead flight director
Phil Engelauf. ``The focus is going to be on collecting data from the
crew.''
	Shuttle mission planners want the information to better understand
the limitations of preparing for such zero-gravity excursions by
practicing in one-gravity environment of water-filled tanks on Earth.
	The spacewalk planned during Endeavour's mission is the first in a
series to groom astronauts for the routine spacewalks that will be
necessary to build and maintain NASA's $30 billion space station
Freedom.
	``We in the astronaut business have realized that our corporate
knowledge (of spacewalking) is dwindling,'' Harbaugh said during a
prelaunch briefing.
	Space station planners estimate astronauts will need more than 200
hours of spacewalks beginning later this decade to assemble the orbiting
outpost.
	Also with an eye toward the future, the astronauts' spaceship is
equipped with a new more-advanced toilet that will enable crews to stay
in orbit on the shuttle for a month.
	The $23 million system, criticized by government accountants because
of its cost, bags solid wastes rather than just leaving them packed in a
bowl for the duration of the mission.
	Secondary experiments aboard Endeavour include a mini biological
materials processing laboratory, a plant chromosome study and six rats
for a medical investigation of skeletal muscle loss in weightlessness.
	Casper, 49, Runco, 40, Harbaugh, 36, Helms, 34, and co-pilot Donald
McMonagle, 40, also plan to participate in an interactive physics lesson
with four elementary school classes, using toys for microgravity
demonstrations.
	And though they are in space, the crew expects to join Americans
across the country in ringing bells of hope for the incoming Clinton
administration on Sunday.
	Endeavour's landing is scheduled for 8:31 a.m. Tuesday at the Kennedy
Space Center.

STS-54
1 22313U 93  3  A 93 13.63355244 0.00081466  00000-0  25599-3 0    27
2 22313  28.4672 154.4649 0002337 340.5647  19.4874 15.89882975    26

Satellite: STS-54
Catalog number: 22313
Epoch time:      93013.63355244         (13 JAN 93   15:12:18.93 UTC)
Element set:     GSFC-002
Inclination:       28.4672 deg
RA of node:       154.4649 deg          Space Shuttle Flight STS-54
Eccentricity:    0.0002337                  Keplerian Elements
Arg of perigee:   340.5647 deg
Mean anomaly:      19.4874 deg
Mean motion:   15.89882975 rev/day      Semi-major Axis: 6680.7429 Km
Decay rate:       0.81E-03 rev/day*2    Apogee  Alt:        303.92 Km
Epoch rev:               2              Perigee Alt:        300.79 Km


NOTE - This element set is based on NORAD element set # 002.
       The spacecraft has been propagated to the next ascending
       node, and the orbit number has been adjusted to bring it
       into agreement with the NASA numbering convention.

R.A. Parise, Goddard Space Flight Center

G.L.CARMAN



                                STS-54
                  FLIGHT DAY 1 STATE VECTOR (ACTUAL)
                          ON ORBIT OPERATIONS
                (Posted 01/13/93 by Bruce Williamson)

 The following vector for the flight of STS-54 is provided by NASA
 Johnson Space Center Flight Design and Dynamics Division for use in
 ground track plotting programs.  The vector is valid for flight
 day one.  The vector represents the  trajectory of Endeavour during
 on orbit operations, after the OMS-3 maneuver.


 Lift off Time : 1993/013/13:59:29.953
 Lift off Date : 01/13/93

 Vector Time (GMT) : 013/21:29:29.950
 Vector Time (MET) : 000/07:29:59.997
 Orbit Count : 6
 Weight : 210130.6 LBS
 Drag Coefficient : 2.00
 Drag Area : 1208.5 SQ FT

      M50 Elements                           Keplerian Elements
 -----------------------                 --------------------------
 X    =   -17227492.5  FT                A          = 3617.5736 NM
 Y    =   -10022853.6  FT                E          = 0.0021500
 Z    =     9263916.3  FT                I  (M50)   =  28.57112 DEG
 Xdot =  14665.815671  FT/S              Wp (M50)   = 149.41268 DEG
 Ydot = -19823.879821  FT/S              RAAN (M50) = 151.59327 DEG
 Zdot =   5696.142191  FT/S            / N (True)   = 272.39038 DEG
                            Anomalies  \ M (Mean)   = 272.63652 DEG

                                         Ha         = 178.85172 NM
                                         Hp         = 163.09400 NM

 Mean of 1950 (M50)   : Inertial, right-handed Cartesian system whose
 Coordinate System      origin is the center of the earth.  The epoch
                        is the beginning of the Besselian year 1950.
                        X axis: Mean vernal equinox of epoch
                        Z axis: Earth's mean rotational axis of epoch
                        Y axis: Completes right-hand system
 A:    Semi-major axis
 E:    Eccentricity                         N:    True anomaly
 I:    Inclination                          M:    Mean anomaly
 Wp:   Argument of perigee                  Ha:   Height of apogee
 RAAN: Right ascension of ascending node    Hp:   Height of perigee

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-54 Status Report #2

Wednesday, January 13, 1993, 4 p.m. CST


Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-F is cruising to its geosynchronous altitude
following its on-time deploy from the Space Shuttle Endeavour today.

Mission Specialist Mario Runco flipped the switch to deploy TDRS-F and its
Interial Upper Stage booster at 2:12 p.m.  Central. Commander John Casper then
eased Endeavour away from the spacecraft, before firing the orbiter's engines
to move to a safe distance for the IUS's first rocket motor burn.

TDRS-F is NASA's fifth orbiting communications relay station.  It will be held
on orbit in a "ready reserve" status, thus completing the TDRS system's
constellation of satellites.  As the "ready reserve" satellite, TDRS-F will be
available to be placed into active service should one of the current satellites
fail.

With the successful deploy of TDRS-F, STS-54's other primary payload began
operations.  During orbital night, the Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer will take
measurements of the x-ray background of the solar system's interstellar medium.
This information will be used to answer questions about a nearby super nova
that scientists believe occurred about 300,000 years ago.

Endeavour began its third mission at 7:59 a.m.  Central and continues to
perform well at this time.  The orbiter is circling the Earth once every 90
minutes at an altitude of about 178 x 163 n.m.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61

STS-54 Status Report #3
MISSION CONTROL CENTER


Thursday, January 14, 1993, 7 a.m.  CST

The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite F, released from Endeavour's cargo bay
yesterday, has reached it's initial destination following two successful
booster firings.  The inertial upper stage booster fired twice yesterday,
capping a highly successful first day for the crew of Endeavour.

Late last night, payload controllers at the Goddard Space Flight Center decided
to temporarily stow the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer instrument while experts
investigate fluctuations in the readings of detectors mounted on both sides of
the payload bay.

Detectors on the DXS -- designed to study the interstellar medium, or that
portion of space that exists between stars -- automatically shut down when the
sensors began recording the fluctuations.  Investigators are using the first
three orbital night passes in the crew's day to troubleshoot the instruments
(orbits 15, 16 & 17).

In place of DXS, the crew is performing a test to evaluate the effectiveness of
the Shuttle's star trackers to help in the alignment of the onboard navigation
system by pinpointing specific stars through the upper layers of the Earth's
atmosphere.  This experiment had been scheduled for later in the flight as time
allowed.

The astronauts have also begun work with several other experiments including
one that will collect information on various biomaterials that could provide
information to better understand diseases and disorders that affect human
health, including cancer, osteoporosis and AIDS. Called the Commercial Generic
Bioprocessing Apparatus, the experiment could help in the development and
testing of new drugs to treat these diseases.

Just after 10 this morning, Endeavour's crew will perform an on- orbit adjust
burn to lower the high point of the orbit to protect two landing opportunities
at the Kennedy Space Center on the 19th, 20th and 21st.

Endeavour is performing well with no serious problems being worked by the
flight control team.  The current orbit is 178 by 162 nautical miles.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STATUS REPORT
DIFFUSE X-RAY SPECTROMETER

January 14, 1993    4 p.m. EST
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

     The Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS) was successfully activated on orbit
soon after Endeavor's payload bay doors were opened about 90 minutes into the
mission.  All systems were operational and no problems were encountered.  DXS
then remained in standby mode until after the TDRS satellite was deployed on
orbit 6.  At that time, a preliminary checkout of DXS was completed-- including
internal calibration and gas flushes--and no problems were indicated.

     DXS science scanning began on orbit 7 with good results.  Data was first
returned to the POCC at about 7:30 p.m.  EST on January 13.  Successful
scanning continued through orbits 8 and 9.  On orbit 10, the starboard
instrument experienced problems with high radiation counts and high voltage to
the instrument was automatically shut off to protect the detectors.  The port
instrument did not indicate any problem on orbit 10, but on orbit 11 the port
instrument also began to indicate abnormally high counts.  To facilitate
troubleshooting, science scans were discontinued beginning with orbit 11 and
continued through orbit 18.  Although DXS sensors were still indicating higher
than normal radiation counts, the instrument resumed collecting science data on
orbit 19 at about 1 p.m.  EST today.

     At present, DXS has collected and processed about 3,150 seconds of
high-quality data.  Additional data is expected from playbacks yet to be
processed.

     The nature of the problem has yet to be determined.  A variety of tests
have been conducted within the past few hours to determine the cause of the
problem and all indications are that the instrument is normal except for the
increased count rate.  The increased count rate has not been at a level high
enough to threaten the instrument.  The problem was first encountered as the
orbiter passed over the South Atlantic Anomaly, an abnormally high energy
region of the Earth. It is not known if this environmental phenomenon was
responsible for producing the high count rates.  Another possible reason for
the high count rates could be recent solar flare activity.  Two small solar
flares were observed within the last few days and may be responsible for
producing charged particles that might be affecting the instrument.

     At this time, attempts to diagnose the problem are continuing and in the
meantime DXS will continue to collect science data.


Approved by: Chris Dunker, DXS Mission Manager, GSFC
Dr. Wilton Sanders, DXS Principal Investigator, University of
Wisconsin, Madison.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-54 Status Report #4

Thursday, January 14, 1993, 5 p.m. CST


The Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer is again examining the interstellar medium
surround our solar system following extensive troubleshooting procedures today.

During Orbit 10, DXS detectors recorded fluctuations in the sensing
instruments.  The DXS scanners subsequently were shut down for the next several
orbits so payload operators could examine the anomaly.  DXS operations returned
to the nominal timeline beginning with Orbit 19, and the twin scanners have
been receiving good data since.

As of 4 p.m.  Central, good DXS observations had occurred on Orbits 19-21 and
continued operations are scheduled per the nominal flight plan.

Endeavour's crew filled its second day in space with secondary payload
activities.  All five astronauts worked with a specially designed rowing
machine for an aerobic exercise investigation.  Crew members also tested a
rotating cellular growth device.

Commander John Casper and Pilot Don McMonagle also guided Endeavour through a
firing of the right Orbital Maneuvering System engine to circularize
Endeavour's orbit.  The burn maximizes the landing opportunities for the end of
STS-54. Endeavour is now in a 164 by 163 n.m. orbit.

Endeavour continues to perform in an outstanding fashion, and flight
controllers have no system failures to monitor at this time.  The flight
control team also reports that the new Waste Collection System is working very
well thus far into the flight.

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-54 Status Report #5


Friday, January 15, 1993, 7 a.m. CST
  Endeavour's five crew members took time out of their schedule this morning to
discuss the progress of the mission with WOR Radio in New York. Questions to
Mission Specialist Mario Runco ranged from the experience of launch on
Wednesday to the various experiments being conducted inside the orbiter,
including the spacewalk planned for Sunday and the new improved waste
containment system.

Maneuvers continued throughout the morning hours of the crew's third day in
space in support of the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer. The crew will be
maneuvering the Shuttle throughout the mission to keep the DXS sensors pointed
at targeted regions of the galaxy, as they gather information on X-ray sources.

Other activities underway aboard Endeavour include lighting a small, controlled
fire to burn a piece of plexiglas.  This experiment is the sixth of eight
investigations designed to help understand the properties of a flame and how to
deal with it if a fire actually occurred in the orbiter.

The crew also activated a precursor experiment called ASPECS, which is designed
to examine fluid and nutrient flow through a rotating chamber.  This device
will be flown on a later flight carrying cancer cells.  On the ground, cells
tend to move out of the nutritional fluid and bump into the wall of the
chamber, but in space the cells remain suspended in the fluid allowing full
development without disturbance.

The crew has also lowered the atmospheric pressure in the cabin in order to
reduce the level of nitrogen in the bloodstream of spacewalkers Mario Runco and
Greg Harbaugh in preparation for their EVA on Sunday.

 STS-54
 1 22313U 93  3  A 93 15.26855535 0.00062469  00000-0  20323-3 0    84
 2 22313  28.4706 142.2944 0006372 259.2579 100.7315 15.89178370   289

 Satellite: STS-54
 Catalog number: 22313
 Epoch time:      93015.26855535         (15 JAN 93   06:26:43.18 UTC)
 Element set:     GSFC-008
 Inclination:       28.4706 deg
 RA of node:       142.2944 deg          Space Shuttle Flight STS-54
 Eccentricity:    0.0006372                  Keplerian Elements
 Arg of perigee:   259.2579 deg
 Mean anomaly:     100.7315 deg
 Mean motion:   15.89178370 rev/day      Semi-major Axis: 6682.7175 Km
 Decay rate:       0.62E-03 rev/day*2    Apogee  Alt:        308.59 Km
 Epoch rev:              28              Perigee Alt:        300.07 Km


 NOTE - This element set is based on NORAD element set # 008.
        The spacecraft has been propagated to the next ascending
        node, and the orbit number has been adjusted to bring it
        into agreement with the NASA numbering convention.

 R.A. Parise, Goddard Space Flight Center

 G.L.CARMAN

STS-54 Status Report #6
MISSION CONTROL CENTER

  Friday, January 15,1993, 5 p.m.  CST

STS-54 crew members used common toys today to give students across the nation a
unique lesson in Space Physics.

Students from schools in The Bronx, New York; Willoughby, Ohio; Portland, Ore.;
and Flint, Mich., served as the co-investigators of a special interactive
experiment.  The students spoke with crew members during the televised event,
as they demonstrated basic laws of physics in space.

"Now try to remember science applies to everything, even toys," said Commander
John Casper. "We hope we've achieved giving you a taste of scientific research
in space.  We'd like to encourage each of you to do well in math and science
and learn all you can about the world around you.  We'll be needing people like
you to design and maybe even fly the experiments of the future."

Endeavour astronauts also performed the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment.
Twice today crew members incinerated small pieces of Plexiglas to observe how
the weightless environment of space influences fire behavior.

The Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer has continued collecting information about the
interstellar medium.  Payload controllers initiated a procedure to "bake out"
and flush the port sensor to eliminate contamination.  Since then, the port
sensor has been gathering much improved data.  The procedure has been repeated
on the starboard sensor, improving it as well.

Although the nature of the problems with the DXS is still uncertain, observers
at NORAD confirmed that unusual solar activity occurred at the time the DXS
instruments began to experience high count rates.  Two solar flares were
observed and high-energy X-rays produced by those flares may have caused
contamination in the instrument's proportional counters.  Subsequently, those
contaminants may have congealed on the counters' anode wires, resulting in the
higher than expected counts for DXS.

Endeavour continues to perform well and orbits the Earth once every 90 minutes
at an altitude of 164 x 163 n.m.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-54 Status Report #7
MISSION CONTROL CENTER


Saturday, January 16, 1993, 7 a.m.  CST

The suits to be used in tomorrow's spacewalk were verified to be in good
working condition and ready to support the extravehicular activity which is
intended to better prepare crews, trainers and controllers for the assembly and
maintenance of Space Station Freedom beginning in 1996.

Crew members also taped an educational video on board to be brought home and
distributed to schools to promote interest in math and science.

The Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer has been working well and is expected to collect
all the data that was hoped for.  DXS, as it is known, is mounted in the
payload bay and gathers X-ray data on the interstellar medium - - that portion
of the Milky Way galaxy that spans the distance between the stars.

Taking time out of its schedule, the crew participated in three interviews
today with Associated Press Radio, Cable News Network and the Reuters
Information Services. Discussions included the various experiments being
conducted, the upcoming spacewalk and the performance of the improved toilet
being flown in space for the first time.

Also on Saturday, the crew will have an opportunity to add to the vast
collection of Earth photographs returned by crews since the early 1960s.  These
photographs are cataloged by the Earth Observation Project at Johnson Space
Center, which provides a liaison to various ongoing scientific research efforts
around the world, and enables Shuttle crews to record features of interest to
scientists.

On Saturday morning at about 10, for example, as Endeavour passes over Mexico's
Yucatan peninsula, the crew will attempt to obtain color infrared photography
of vegetation patterns around the city of Merida. The Yucatan photographs also
may reveal new growth in forested areas damaged by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988.

These photos may yield evidence of the Chixculub impact crater considered one
of the more likely locations of an asteroidal impact 65 million years ago that
may have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.  The theory linking a massive
impact event to that extinction was first postulated by Luis Alvarez in the
1960s.

Another example of how photographs from space can be useful to scientists on
Earth came on Friday, when the crew was asked to photograph surface waters over
the East central Pacific Ocean near the equator.  Predictive models of
oceanographers and atmospheric scientists suggest that surface waters in the
equatorial Pacific are starting to warm again.  El Nino, as this is called, has
been the topic of serious scientific interest in the last few years and is
thought to influence weather in countries around the Pacific rim.

On this and subsequent missions, ground-based researchers will be interested in
any photos that show long linear features in the water.  These can be several
hundred yards wide and up to 20 miles long, and are suggestive of temperature
differences in the water that may be characteristic of El Nino formation.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-54 Status Report #8
MISSION CONTROL CENTER
  Saturday, January 16, 1993, 3 p.m.  CST

Endeavour astronauts spent their afternoon wrapping up educational activities
and watching the world roll by as the fourth day of STS-54 came to a close.

Astronauts also reported that they were having a "photo frenzy" for Earth
Observation scientists.  Shuttle crews frequently document features of
meteorological, oceanographic and geographic interest.  Mission Specialist
Mario Runco reported that the atmospheric debris from the Mt. Pinatubo volcano
eruption in the Philippines appears to be clearing.

Earlier today Runco and Greg Harbaugh checked the suits they will wear for
Sunday's five hour space walk.  The extravehicular activity is designed to
better prepare crews, trainers and controllers for the assembly and maintenance
of Space Station Freedom beginning in 1996.  The checkout showed the suits are
ready to support the space walk.  The EVA is scheduled to start at about 4:14
a.m.  Central and end at 8:44 a.m.  Central.

Also today, payload controllers at Goddard Space flight Center continued to
collect data on the interstellar medium with the Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer.
The port DXS sensor is performing well and will collect more than 50,000
seconds of data before the mission's end.  The starboard instrument is
operating after contaminants were flushed from the unit, and science team
members were assessing the quality of the data being received.

The initial problems with DXS have been traced to a time lag between detection
of high levels of high-energy particles that triggered the instrument's
automatic shutoff and the actual shutoff.  In that interval, the particles
ionized gas within the instrument, leading to the buildup of hydrocarbons on
some of the instrument's wiring.  Those deposits then gave false readings to
the science team on the ground.

TDRS-6 is being moved, at a rate of 2.9 degrees per day, to its checkout
position of 150 degrees (southeast of Hawaii). TDRS-6 is scheduled to be at its
checkout position in 8-9 days.  There were no problems encountered with any of
the antenna deployments or pre-checkout phases.  Following the successful
checkout of the satellite's systems, it will be moved to its "ready reserve"
location of 62 degrees (over Brazil).

Endeavour continues to perform well.  Houston flight controllers relayed a
procedure to reset a fault light on the new Waste Collection System, but the
WCS continues to work well in all modes.

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-54 Status Report #9

9:30 a.m. CST Sunday, Jan. 17, 1993

  Astronauts Greg Harbaugh and Mario Runco, Jr., completed a four-hour, 28-
minute spacewalk this morning, the first in a series of spacewalks that will be
peformed periodically during the remaining three years leading up to
construction of Space Station Freedom.

Harbaugh and Runco exited Endeavour's hatch at about 4:50 a.m.  CST, about 40
minutes behind schedule.  Donning of the spacesuits and preparation of gear had
taken slightly longer than expected.  After peforming a variety of tasks
designed to evaluate the difficulties encountered and better define the
differences between spacewalk training and reality, the two climbed back into
Endeavour's airlock at 9:11 a.m.  CST

Due to the late start, the spacewalk was slightly shorter than scheduled,
however the majority of planned tasks were accomplished.  Flight controllers
opted to end the spacewalk at the prescheduled time despite the late start to
allow work with the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer to resume.

On of the rules under which this spacewalk and others in the test series will
be performed makes them the lowest priority experiment on the flight, and
prohibits them from having any significant impact on the major experiments on
board.

Endeavour's crew will go to sleep at 2:29 p.m.  CST this afternoon.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DXS STATUS REPORT 1/17/93

Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer
Status Report
Noon CST, January 17, 1993

The DXS port instrument continues to work well and provide excellent science
data.  While the starboard instrument still exhibits symptoms of hydrocarbon
deposits on the high-voltage anode wires, repeated heating/cooling and flushing
of the instrument have enabled the DXS science team to obtain some useful
scientific data from that instrument.  Subsequent to the most recent
heating/cooling cycle, on the orbit prior to the extra-vehicular activity
(EVA), the starboard instrument yielded data of a quality comparable to that of
the port detector.

Working with the DXS science team at the Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Md., the STS-54 Mission Control team at the Johnson Space Center,
Houston, has worked in extra observing time for DXS science without extending
the mission.  Because there were some orbits when DXS was not scheduled to do
any science scanning during a nominal six-day mission, rescheduling of some
orbiter activities could provide DXS with up to 15 extra orbits.  The extra
orbits will help DXS make up for time lost earlier in the mission.

The DXS science team reports that science data obtained so far is of high
quality, as good as anticipated in pre-flight models.  The port instrument
seems to be yielding data with greater efficiency than predicted.  The reason
for this is that some orbits were not expected to provide high- quality science
data because of low-energy electrons from electron contamination regions of the
Earth's radiation belts.  However, these orbits are yielding very good results.
In these regions, DXS could detect low- energy electrons and mistake them for
X-rays. But the instrument, employing devices called electron rejection
magnets, is successfully filtering those electrons and thus yielding better
than expected science data over those regions of the Earth.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-54 Status Report #10
Mission Control Center

Sunday, January 17, 1992
3:30 p.m. CST

The STS-54 crew has concluded its fifth day in space, highlighted by a 4-hour,
28-minute space walk by Mission Specialists Mario Runco and Greg Harbaugh.

Following the extravehicular activity, Runco and Harbaugh conducted an
extensive debriefing with their fellow crew members to analyze and characterize
the EVA experience.  Information gathered during the space walk will be used to
refine the current EVA training methods and planning.  The STS-54 EVA is the
first in a series of space walks designed to prepare astronauts, trainers and
controllers for Space Station Freedom construction and maintenance.

Crew members then recharged the space suits, repressurized the crew cabin to
14.7 pounds per square inch and configured the vehicle for the eight-hour sleep
period.  The crew will awaken for its final full day in space at 10:29 p.m.
CST.

Payload controllers at Goddard Space Flight Center resumed operations with the
Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer once the EVA was complete.  Both scanning
instruments are collecting good data during the orbital night passes.

Later tonight, members of the flight control team will participate in a
nationwide ringing of bells as part of inaugural ceremonies.  The Bells for
Hope presentation will be from 4:45 to 5 p.m.  CST.

Endeavour continues to operate cleanly as it orbits the Earth once every 90
minutes.


     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-54 Status Report #11


Monday, January 18, 1993, 6 a.m. CST
  Another step in certifying the Space Shuttle orbiter fleet for long duration
periods while docked to Space Station Freedom was conducted today when the crew
of Endeavour turned off one of the electricity-producing fuel cells.

Shutting down the fuel cells will be a routine occurrence in the space station
era since the shuttle's electricity can be provided by the orbiting laboratory.

Also today the orbiter was put through a complete checkout to ensure all
systems are ready for tomorrow's deorbit and landing at the Kennedy Space
Center in Florida or at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Three landing opportunities are available Tuesday for Endeavour and the STS- 54
crew.  Two at the Kennedy Space Center and one at Edwards. The KSC landing
times are 6:02 a.m.  Central on orbit 95 and 7:38 a.m.  Central completing 96
orbits.  The Edwards landing opportunity is at 9:05 a.m.  Central on orbit 97.

 The forecast for tomorrow's opportunities shows acceptable weather at KSC with
a chance of some low clouds in the area due to a frontal passage and a slight
chance of ground fog.  Conditions at Edwards are expected to be marginal with a
chance of overcast skies and ground fog possible.

Endeavour has continued to perform with no problems on its third trip in space,
orbiting the Earth every 90 minutes at an average altitude of 162 nautical
miles.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

STS-54 Status Report #12
MISSION CONTROL CENTER


Monday, January 18, 1993, 2 p.m.  CST

Endeavour's five-member crew stowed the orbiter's experiment equipment in
preparation for deorbit and landing operations Tuesday, should weather in
Florida or California permit.

STS-54 astronauts spent the afternoon preparing for the end of their six-day
flight.  They also successfully restarted a fuel cell on-orbit for the first
time.  The test, which was a demonstration of the capability to shut-down and
start a fuel cell, went nominally and Fuel Cell 2 is performing as expected.

In the Space Station Freedom era, the shuttle will be docked to the station for
a month or more at a time.  This would require a power down of shuttle
equipment to conserve cryogenic fuels for producing electrical power.  Today's
fuel cell test was the first in a series to demonstrate such a procedure.

Endeavour's third mission is scheduled to come to a close Tuesday, and the only
outstanding issue is weather at the landing sites.  Forecasts call for
acceptable weather at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., with a chance of some low
clouds in the area due to a frontal passage and a slight chance of ground fog.
Conditions at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., are expected to be marginal with
a chance of overcast skies and possible ground fog.

Three landing opportunities are available Tuesday -- two at KSC and one at
Edwards. The KSC landing times are 6:02 a.m.  Central on orbit 95 and 7:38 a.m.
Central on orbit 96.  The Edwards landing opportunity is at 9:05 a.m.  Central
on orbit 97.

The crew will be awakened for landing day at 9:59 p.m.  Central.

Brian Dunbar
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.


Dolores Beasley
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.


Terry Devitt
University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.


NASA-WISCONSIN EXPERIMENT LINKS X-RAYS TO SUPERNOVA

Astrophysicists analyzing preliminary data from a NASA-University of Wisconsin
instrument aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour have obtained the first direct
evidence that mysterious X-rays from deep space emanate from clouds of
invisible gas.

The clouds of ionized, extremely hot gas, many scientists believe, were
produced long ago by cataclysmic supernova explosions.

Using a detector known as the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS), astrophysicists
from the University of Wisconsin-Madison sampled faint X-rays that appear to be
a signal from a supernova event that occurred in the vicinity of our solar
system.

Since the beginning of X-ray astronomy in the early 1960s, scientists have
puzzled over the origins of the low-energy X-rays that emanate from seemingly
empty space, including a huge region around our solar system.

If scientists' ideas of how these enormous pockets of superheated gas came to
be is correct, then the X-ray signal detected by DXS may be coming from gas
heated by the blast wave of a supernova, said Dr. Wilton T. Sanders of the
University of Wisconsin- Madison, the DXS' principal investigator.

That supernova, which occurred approximately 300,000 years ago, likely created
a pulsating star known as Geminga as well as an expanding pocket of superhot
X-ray emitting gas that now surrounds our solar system and extends for several
hundred light years in all directions.

Recent observations from the German-American X-ray satellite ROSAT and NASA's
Compton Gamma Ray Observatory identified Geminga as a pulsar, a very dense,
rapidly rotating species of star associated with supernova events.

"What we are seeing is like an echo from the past," said Sanders. "For thirty
years, scientists have speculated about the origins of these X-rays and now
this echo, these faint X-rays that we're looking at, are starting to give us
some answers."

The X-rays being deciphered by the Wisconsin scientists seem to underpin a
theory put forward 20 years ago by UW-Madison scientists that the X-rays are
produced in vast clouds of superhot, ionized gas heated by supernova explosions
in our galaxy.

"We're looking at objects that are so hot they glow in X-rays, " said Sanders.
"They're hotter than white hot, they're hotter than blue hot.  They're X-ray
hot, and that means that the temperatures of these clouds is something on the
order of a million degrees."

In addition to scanning the sky in the direction of Geminga, the DXS
detectors--a pair of extremely sensitive X-ray spectrometers mounted on
opposite sides of Endeavour's cargo bay--swept other regions of space.  There
they detected X-rays who signature looks distinctly different from that of
Geminga, and could possibly be from a far older supernova event.

That supernova, which probably occurred millions of years ago, created a
similar gas bubble that is now much bigger than the one that may have been
caused by Geminga.

"So what we may be seeing with Geminga is the creation of a gas bubble within a
gas bubble," said Sanders. "The effect of Geminga would be to reheat and, if it
exploded near the edge of this region, enlarge the existing cavity in one
direction."

Sanders cautioned that while the DXS data look good, they are still preliminary
and will require extensive analysis before they can be presented to the
scientific community.

High counts of high-energy particles initially led to some problems with the
instrument early in the flight of STS-54, which was launched from the Kennedy
Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Jan. 13.  However, by purging the
detectors with gas and heating them, ground controllers at the Goddard Space
Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Md., were able to return the instruments to
operation.  GSFC manages the DXS for NASA's Office of Space Science and
Applications.
 

Landing was successful at KSC, on orbit later than planned due to the need to
wait for fog to burn off.

Burns

                  SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                   Wednesday, January 20, 1993

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center
 
                    STS-54

SPECIAL TOPICS--Endeavour post landing analysis:

     OV-105 touched down at 08:38:17 a.m.  EST on Tuesday, landing
approximately 1,500 feet from the Runway 33 threshhold about three feet right
of centerline, and rolling out approximately 8,700 feet.

     Brake and tire wear was normal, except for a cut 5/16th-inch deep and two
plys of scuffing on the right inboard tire.  There were 57 debris impacts, with
13 greater than one inch.  Four to five tiles are expected to be replaced.

     Endeavour arrived at OPF Bay 1 at approximately 2 p.m.  Tuesday where
deservicing is now in work.

From:	DECWRL::"[email protected]" "VOLCANO"  8-FEB-1993 16:45:06.39
To:	Multiple recipients of list VOLCANO <[email protected]>
CC:	
Subj:	shuttle photos from 3 missions

Here is another listing of significant photographs of volcanoes taken
from the Space Shuttle this fall and winter
 
STS-47 flew in mid-September.
STS-53 flew in early December.
STS-54 flew in mid January.
 
The astronauts photograph interesting features as they see them. The
photographs are generally taken with a 70mm film format, although
there are some with 5 in format.  Most of the film is Ektachrome 64,
but there are some color infrared (CIR) photographs as well.  I have
marked the CIR shots. 
 
The photograph identifications may not be exact (uncertain ids are
generally marked with question marks) -- they are taken from
quick-look notes.  It will be a few months before they are properly
cataloged and added to our database. 
 
As always, the photographs are provisioned through the EROS Data
Center (605)594-6151 or Technology Applications Center (505) 277-3622.
These outlets need to know the mission-roll-frame number. The
cheapest way to go is to order a slide -- it can be reproduced. The
highest caliber product is a contact transparency. 
 
If you wish to inventory other photography, The Space Shuttle Earth
Observations Office maintains a free database (of some 140,000 images)
which youcan query, with an account which holds about 200digital
images available for downloading. The database can be queried by
lat-long coordinates or by country, or by mission. 
 
The database is accessed through Internet

enter: TELNET SSEOP.JSC.NASA.GOV.

The searchable database has PHOTOS for both the username and password.
The digital images account has a username ANONYMOUS and a password GUEST. 
 
The photos are listed below.
 
Cindy Evans
Space Shuttle Earth Observations Office
[email protected]
STS-53  Dec 2-9 1992
Significant photography of volcanoes
 
mission-roll-frame      subject
 
STS053-74-13    volcanic terrain, central Mexico
STS053-76-78    S. Kamchatkaa, wide angle
STS053-76-81    S. kamchatka, wide angle
STS053-76-83    central Kamchatka, oblique from east
STS053-76-85    central kamchatka
STS053-76-86    N. Kamchatka: Tolbachinsky to Shiveluch
STS053-76-87    Shiveluch
STS053-76-91    Alaskan Peninsul
STS053-76-92    Katmai to Augustine
STS053-76-45    Aniakchak volcano, Alaska
STS053-76-46    Aniakchak volcano
STS053-76-43    edge of Veniamanoff ??STS053-76-57      Shasta
STS053-76-58    Mt St Helens
STS053-76-60    Hood ??
STS053-77-28    N. Kamchatka from north
STS053-78-34    central kamchatka
STS053-78-36    Kamchatka
STS053-78-42    Kamchatka
STS053-78-55    Veniamanoff ??STS053-81-88 Shiveluch, Kamchatka (ash on slopes)
STS053-81-90    Shiveluch, with ash on slopes
STS053-82-22    S. Kamchatka
STS053-82-24    Central Kamchatka
STS053-82-25    Kamchatka
STS053-82-69    Etna
STS053-82-70    Etna
STS053-95-03    One of Kurils
STS053-95-4     S. tip Kamchatka
STS053-95-8     S. central kamchatka
STS053-95-9     oblique of S. tip of Kamchatka
STS053-95-15    Ranier??
STS053-96-26    Atka I
STS053-96-27    Seguam I.
STS053-96-73    S. Kuriles
STS053-96-85    volcano in N. Cascades
STS053-100-83   Atka I
STS053-100-85   Seguam I
STS053-102-54   Maar field in Saudi ?
STS053-102-57   rift and Maar field, Saudi?
STS053-106-53   Hawaii, steam at coast
STS053-97-66    Shiveluch, Kamchatka (ash on slope)STS053-97-72 N. Kamchatka
STS053-98-61    Crater Lake
STS053-98-64    central Oregon
STS053-99-45    volcanic peak, Arizona ??
STS053-107-66   oblique of Alaskan Peninsula
STS053-109-41   N. kamchatkan volcanoes
STS053-109-42   Northen volcanoes, kamchatka
STS053-109-44   Shivelucch to Kluchevskaya, Kamchatka
 
STS-54  Jan 13-20, 1993
Significant photography of volcanoes
 
mission-roll-frame      subject
 
STS054-74-56    Ascension I
STS054-74-90    Clarion I?? Clipperton ??
STS054-74-90    Clipperton??
STS054-85-22    Oblique view to Nicaragua/El Salvedor
STS054-85-24    oblique view Nicaragaua, 2 steam plumes
STS054-86-8     W. Galapagos
STS054-86-12    S. Isabella, Galapagos
STS054-86-14    Isabella, Galapagos
STS054-86-16    Isabaella, Galapagos
STS054-94-1     Tibesti, Pic Tousside
STS054-94-5     Tibesti
STS054-94-29    One of the Canary I.
STS054-94-69    Oblique of Galapgos
STS054-94-90    snow-covered Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea
STS054-95-22    steam from Kilauea
STS054-95-23    steam from Kilauea
STS054-95-25    steam from Kilauea
STS054-95-28    steam from Kilauea
STS054-95-82    Oblique view of Hawaii
STS054-95-85    oblique view of Hawaii
STS054-151-64   S. Isabella, Galapgos
STS054-151-136  Peruvian Andes
STS054-151-139  oblique view to southwest down Andes
STS054-152-201  wide angle view of Tibesti massif
 
 
STS-47  Sept 12-21, 1992
Significant photography of volcanoes

Note:  This mission collected excellent imagery of Kamchatka, some of
the Kurile I., Unimak I, and the far end of the Alskan Peninsula. 

At the end of the file I have included some captions which were
written for thec rew.  They are a very small sampling of the
photography, but represent some of the best views. 
 
mission-roll-frame      subject
STS047-71-83            Tambora
STS047-72-1             Veniamanoff
STS047-72-67            Erte Ale
STS047-72-68            N. edge of Afar
STS047-73-1             Bermuda
STS047-73-39            Hokkaido
STS047-73-40            Hokkaido
STS047-73-51            S. Hokkaido
STS047-73-54            Mt St Helens
STS047-73-56            MT St Helens
STS047-73-58            St-Helens to Ranier
STS047-74-99            Veniamanoff
STS047-75-01            Unimak
STS047-75-02            far Alaskan Peninsula
STS047-75-82            Kurile volcano
STS047-76-81            Unimak I
STS047-76-84            Alaskan Peninsula
STS047-76-85            Alaskan Peninsula
STS047-77-34            UNimak no clouds
STS047-77-36            W. end of Alaskan Peninsula
STS047-78-99            Vesuvius
STS047-79-97            Greek I, with Santorini
STS047-81-19            Tolbachinsky-Kluchevskaya, Kamchatka
STS047-81-25            Unimak
STS047-81-27            Alaskan Peninsula
STS047-81-28            Alaskan Peninsula
STS047-81-29            Alaskan Peninsula
STS047-84-48            Hawaii
STS047-84-94            Etna, shrouded in smog
STS047-85-52            Etna
STS047-85-92            Canary I with breached caldera
STS047-89-23 through 29:  oblique of Kuriles to Hokkaido
STS047-90-85 through 90:  variuos Kurile I
STS047-90-91 through 97  S. Kamchatka
STS047-90-10 thru 12:  Mono lake
STS047-94-22 thru 24:  Vesuvius
STS047-88-2             Kluchevskaya, Kamchatka
STS047-90-58            Alaskan Peninsula
STS047-90-59            Alaskan Peninsula
STS047-90-85            Kurile I
STS047-90-87            KUrile
STS047-90-88            Kurile (one of the disputed I)
STS047-90-90            Kurile I
STS047-90-93            S. tip Kamchatka
STS047-90-95            Kamchatkan volcano w. sulfur mine??
STS047-91-8             Aleutian I
STS047-91-12            Mono lake
STS047-93-92            Santorini
STS047-94-22 through 94  Vesuvius
STS047-94-32            Mono Lake
STS047-95-6             Kamchatka
STS047-106-117  Rio grande-- Taos, color infrared
STS047-106-119  Valles caldera, color inrared
STS047-107-54    Ranier ?? color infrared
STS047-110-101  Etna
STS047-153A-6   Kuriles
STS047-153A-8   Kurile I Oblique
STS047-153-106  Aleutians
STS047-153-107  Unimak to Veniamanoff ??STS047-153-160   Kamchatka
STS047-153-161  dissected volcano, Kamchatka
STS047-151-132 thru 134 Unimak
STS047-151-135  w. Alaskan Peninsula
STS047-151-180  Unimak
STS047-151-181 &182     Alaskan Peninsula
STS047-151-509  Pinacates
STS047-151-511  Pinacates
STS047-151-522A Greek I
STS047-151-549  Mt St helens
STS047-153-285  Etna
STS047-151-640 thru 645 ash cloud from Mt Spurr over Quebec
 
selectd  photos for which captions were written for the crew:
 
DZUNGARIAN BASIN and LOP NOR DRY LAKE, Xinjiang province (Sinkiang), NW. China
 
S47-77-90
The Dzungarian Basin appears in the foreground of this south-looking
view of arid northwest China.  The dry lakebed known as Lop Nor is the
ear-shaped dry lake bed in W China in the distance.
 
LOP NOR, Dry Lake, Sinkiang, W. China
S47-153-193, and S47-151-026, S47-77-90
Lop Nor is the ear-shaped dry lake bed in W China near the Chinese
nuclear test site. 
 
YELLOW RIVER DELTA, China
S47-151-148
An orange tongue of sediment issues into the Bohai Gulf at the north
end of the Yellow Sea.  The sediment is derived mainly from recent
windblown sediments known as loess, a sediment type that blankets much
of the Gobi Desert of inland China. 
 
YELLOW RIVER DELTA, China
S47-82-036
Detail of the Yellow River delta and the neighboring coastline of
China is shown in good detail the south-looking, oblique view. 
 
LOWER AMUR RIVER PLAIN, Russian Far East
S47-151-222, 223
This summer view of the lower Amur River basin shows large tracts of
lakes, anastomosing stream beds and swampy country, clearly lit up in
sunlight. 
 
N. SAKHALIN ISLAND, Russian Far East
S47-112-225
This summertime view, in sunglint, shows coastlines of Sakhalin Is.
and the neighboring mainland.  These coastlines are almost impossible
to locate from low Earth orbit under the snow and ice cover of winter.
 
AMMAN, Capital city of the Kingdom Jordan
S47-151-318
Amman is visible as the gray blotch about fifty kilometers (thirty
miles) NE of the Dead Sea.  Jerusalem on the other side of the Dead
Sea is almost invisible, however, possibly because its buildings are
largely constructed of the local limestone. 
 
SAHARAN WIND-ERODED LANDFORMS, Chad
S47-151-302 and -304
Parallel lines are channels, meters deep termed "megagrooves" that
have been carved in the local country rock by persistent winds in a
hyperarid climate over millions of years.  Chains of yellow,
horn-shaped barchan dunes follow some of these.  Individual dunes can
be detected. 
 
IRRIGATED PARTS OF THE LOWER AMU DARYA BASIN, Uzbekistan, Central Asia
 
S47-88-099
Detail of natural river channels and irrigation canals appear in this
sunglint image of the lower Amu Darya floodplain.  The fan shape of
this feature is typical of many inhabited floodplains in inner Asia. 
 
THE BOSPORUS, Turkey
S47-74-047, 048
The city of Istanbul can be seen dimly on both sides of the Bosporus. 
The Bosporus waterway cuts the land bridge which connects Europe to
Asia.  As Constantinople, Istanbul, was the center of the Eastern
Roman Empire for centuries. 
 
ZERAVSHAN RIVER DELTA, Bokhara, Uzebekistan
S47-78-042
The irrigated and well vegetated inland delta of the Zeravshan River
contrasts strongly with the surrounding sandy grassland known as the
Kanshinskaya steppe. The famous rug-weaving city of Bokhara is located
on the delta.  The Zeravshan R. drains the west side of the Pamir Mtns. 
 
NAPLES and VESUVIUS, Italy
S47-78-099
The city of Naples lies between two promontories on the west side of
Italy. The volcano Vesuvius is more prominent from low Earth orbit
immediately to the south of the city.  Lava and ash from an eruption
in 79 AD covered the Roman city of Pompeii on the slopes of Vesuvius. 
The larger island is Ischia and the smaller Capri. 
 
BANGKOK, Thailand
S47-80-046
The Chao Phraya River and the numerous manmade canals which it
supplies stand out in sunglint.  The river empties into the Bight of
Bangkok.  Bangkok, Thailand's capital city, lies on the river a short
distance inland. 
 
SAPPORO, Hokkaido, Japan
S47-82-079
The city of Sapporo lies at the base of the convoluted peninsula at
the south end of the island of Hokkaido.  Volcano Bay is the large bay
surrounded by the peninsula.  Sapporo is the hometown of Japan's first
astronaut, Dr. Mamoru Mohri. 
 
KUWAIT, Persian Gulf
S47-88-084
The northwest corner of the Persian Gulf is seen in this broad,
north-looking view.  The soot-covered desert surfaces south of Kuwait
city are becoming progressively lighter in color as sand blows over
them from Iraq. 
 
SAPPORO, Hokkaido, Japan
S47-90-077 and -078
The city of Sapporo is visible in some detail as the gray area against
the mountains.  Surrounding low country is intensively exploited for
agriculture. The agriculture is located mainly in the large valley of
the Ishikari River which can be seen winding through the fields.  The
river injects a prominent sediment plume into the Ishikari-wan bay. 
 
SAND DUNES, East of Air Mountains, Niger (18.7N, 11.3E)
S47-89-038
Fields of sand dunes of two very patterns are seen here separated by
an unusually straight line. 
 
ALLUVIAL FAN, NW China
S47-95-070
A large fan of river sediment can be seen here in the Gobi Desert of
NW China. Such fans are the source of underground water and tillable
land for most of the populations of China's desert country. 
 
LARGE-SCALE DUNE PATTERNS, NW China (25.5N, 13.8E)
S47-96-054
The dunes shown here are of the largest type, known as draa.  The
reticulate pattern shown here is unusual in such large dunes. 
 
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah
S47-97-022
Salt Lake City can be seen here in some detail, with colorful salt
ponds fringing the Great Salt Lake. 
 
STS047-76-76 Tokyo Bay
 
STS047-82-79  Hokkaido.
Sunglint off the ocean rings southern Hokkaido in this oblique view to the
south.  Sapporo can be seen, as can two crater lakes along the southern coast.
 
STS047-73-39  South Hokkaido, nadir view.
This vertical view shows the coastal city of Muroran, and the volcanic forms
around it, including the two crater lakes seen in the sunglint in STS047-82-79
(the large one is Toya-ko).  The large volcanic cone is Iwaonupuri.
 
STS047-90-85  Kurile Islands
These islands are just south of Kamchatka and are not the "disputed"
islands, but are Russian territory.  The Kurile islands are very young
and active volcanoes, evidenced by their very pristine volcanic forms.
Seen here are One-kotan (the island with the crater lake), and
Kharimkotan and Shiashkotan to the south. 
 
STS047-95-06  Kamchatkan volcanoes
This oblique view shows the northern volcanoes of Kluchevskaya and Tolbachinsky,
with the Kamchatka River in the background.  The dark mountain is Kluchevskaya.
It is frequently active.
 
STS047-90-93  Ksudach caldera, S. Kamchatka
This large volcanic caldera contains large summit lakes.  The north and south
flanks are devoid of vegetation,  but the last eruption of the mountain was in
1909.  Cones north and south of the caldera are Khodutk and Zheltovsky.  Note
the circles of green to the west of the large cones -- older cones with heavy
forest cover.
 
STS047-90-95  Kamchatka
Vulkan Mutnavoskaya withlarge sulfur mines (??) seen here as large yellow pits
marring the slopes of the volcano.
 
STS047-77-36  Alaskan Peninsula
This oblique view of the western end of the Alaskan Peninsula and Unimak Island
(the first of the Aleutian Islands) shows Pavlov volcano (the westernmost cone
on the peninsula at the edge of the slide),  Shishaldin (the large cone in the
middle of the island, the largest volcano in the Aleutian chain), and Westdahl,
a recently active volcano in a complex of mountains at the western end of the
island.
 
STS047-75-01  Unimak Island
This oblique view from the northeast of Unimak shows the  large cones making up
the spine of the island:  Isanotski (east), Shishaldin (central cone) and the
Pogromni and Westdahl complex (west)  The central caldera east of Westdahl is
cloud covered.  However, the area affected by Westdahl's 1991 eruptions can be
seen.
 
STS047-74-99.  Veniamanoff volcano, Alaskan Peninsula.
This is one of Alaska's largest volcanoes.  The eruption in 1983-1984 built a
new summit cone, seen in this photograph.
 
STS047-151-643  Mt Spurr ash GMT 9/19 12:36;31
Mt Spurr, on the northern end of the Alaskan Peninsula, erupted on September 17,
1992.  The large ash plume was easily visible on environmental satellites, and
started to move east from the mountain.  Although the STS47 south-looking
attitude prevented the crew from viewing the ash  right after the eruption, they
caught up with the long, dark ash cloud roughly 2 days later.  This photograph
of the ash cloud was taken over eastern Quebec and views west.
 
STS047-73-56  Mt. St. Helens, Washington
This is a near nadir view of the mountain which erupted violently in 1980. The
blast zone is clearly identifiable from space.
 
STS047-74-91.  Cascade Mountains.
Mt Ranier rises in the foreground in this south-looking view down the Cascade
chain.  The mountains are:  Ranier, St. Helens, Adams, and Hood.
 
STS047-94-32 Mono Lake and Inyo Craters, California.
Mono lake sits at the north end of the Long valley caldera, one of north
America's active seismic and volcanic regions.  The string of domes and craters
south of Mono lake show clearly in the low light.
 
STS047-151-083  San Francisco
This is part of a larger scene with excellent views of San Francisco,  San
Francisco Bay, San Jose, the Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey Bay.
  
STS047-84-71
Oakland , CA, and east to the cities of Stockton and Sacremento in the Central
Valley.
 
STS047-84-75  Southern California.  A view of the coastal cities of Los Angeles
and San Diego on an exceptionally clear day.
 
STS047-84-74.   Los Angeles, California
 
STS047-84-48  Hawaii
Steam rises from the lava lake on Kilauea's East Rift Zone.  The eruption has
been ongoing since 1983.
 
STS047-85-51: Mt Etna, Sicily
Steam blows from Etna's summit.  The current eruption is ongoing.
 
STS047-78-99  Vesuvius
 
STS047-82-78  Lake Baikal, Russia
This view looking down  Baikal to the south shows effluent from the Selenga
Delta, and wind streaks across the lake.
 
STS047-110-98  Lake Baikal
This oblique, south looking view of the lake in CIR centers on Ohlkon Island and
the Selenga delta.  The vegetation pattern parallel to the shore of the lake
highlights a large fault which is part of the Baikal rift zone .
 
STS047-87-66: Sea of Azov and Don River Delta
A large bloom of plankton lends a bright green color to the water of the
embayment just south of the Don River in the Sea of Azov.
 
STS047-93-61 Galveston Bay and Clear Lake
This early morning photograph (7:43 AM local) clearly shows the Space Center,
Clear Lake and surroundings, and Galveston Bay.  Of particular note are the
patterns of turbulence just offshore the Kemah Bridge and in the southeast part
of the bay.  The curly-cue patterns suggest shrimping activities.

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: [email protected]
% Subject: shuttle photos from 3 missions

An Educational Publication of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Space Shuttle Endeavour
January 13-19, 1993

Commander: John H. Casper (COL, USAF)
Pilot: Donald R. McMonagle (LTCOL, USAF)
Mission Specialist: Mario Runco, Jr. (LCDR, USN)
Mission Specialist: Gregory J. Harbaugh
Mission Specialist: Susan Helms (MAJ, USAF)

Major Mission Accomplishments

� Successfully deployed the Tracking Data and Relay Satellite-6.

� Obtained the first direct evidence that a mysterious X-ray glow emanating
        from seemingly empty space actually originates from vast invisible
        clouds of hot gas.  The Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer that made this
        discovery is a joint experiment of NASA and the University of
        Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin.

� Conducted a four-hour, 28-minute spacewalk to evaluate extravehicular
        techniques and define the differences between training simulations and
        actual spacewalks.  The spacewalk was conducted in preparation for
        Space Station Freedom activities.

� Successful shut down and restart of one of three of Endeavour's
        electricity-producing fuel cells to verify that fuel cells can be
        restarted in space.  The experiment continues NASA's preparation for
        Space Station Freedom operations.

� Conducted a live interactive classroom event on the topic of Physics of Toys.
        Students in New York, Ohio, Michigan, and Oregon schools participated
        directly in the event.  Elementary school children in over 6,000
        schools throughout the U.S. watched the experiments performed on cable
        TV. Additional toys were tested for a follow-up educational videotape
        to be released to schools in the fall. (The Physics of Toys experiment
        was sponsored by the Houston Museum of Natural Science.)

� Completed 98 percent of the science objectives in the Commercial Generic
        Bioprocessing Apparatus experiment.

� Obtained excellent video of strips of burning plastic in the Solid Surface
        Combustion Experiment.

� Collected many Earth resources photographs for scientific analysis of
        changing environmental conditions.


        Following a smooth countdown, the Space Shuttle Endeavour lifted off on
its third mission since it began service 8 months ago.  Designated STS-54, this
diversified flight included: the deployment of a communications satellite, a
space walk for two crewmembers in preparation for future Space Station Freedom
activities, a variety of scientific tests, and an innovative educational
activity that linked crewmembers with students in four schools across the
United States.

        Six hours after liftoff, the crew deployed the Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite-6 (TDRS-6) from Endeavour's payload bay.  The 2,540 kg satellite was
attached to a 14,850 kg solid propellant Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster
rocket.  With Endeavour moved to a safe distance, the IUS fired and accelerated
TDRS-6 to its planned 36,000 km altitude.  Following systems checkout, TDRS-6
will be moved to a position of 46 degrees west longitude, serving as a backup
to the TDRS constellation.  The TDRS system, now consisting of five satellites
in geostationary orbit, relays voice, video, and data communications between
Space Shuttle crews and Mission Control in Houston, Texas. The system makes it
possible for crew and controllers to remain in nearly continuous contact (85%
or more of each orbit).  In addition, TDRS can provide communications services
for as many as 24 Earth-orbiting spacecraft simultaneously.  The TDRS system
presently communicates with all low Earth-orbiting scientific satellites
including the Compton Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and the Upper
Atmosphere Research Satellite.

        During the mission, the flight crew maneuvered Endeavour so that the
Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS) instrument in the orbiter's payload bay could
study so-called Soft X-ray diffuse background radiation within the Milky Way
Galaxy. Since the beginnings of X-ray astronomy in the early 1960s, scientists
have puzzled over the origin of low-energy X-rays that emanate from seemingly
empty space.  The DXS instrument obtained the first direct evidence that these
puzzling X-rays emanate from clouds of invisible hot gas.  If the scientists
are correct in their initial evaluation of DXS data, the invisible gas was
heated by the blast wave of a supernova that occurred approximately 300,000
years ago in the neighborhood of our solar system.  Likened to an "echo from
the past," the gas became so hot that it glows in X-rays.

        Flight day four permitted extensive Earth photography activities.  The
photographs taken will aid scientists in monitoring changes in Earth's surface,
oceans, and atmosphere.  Crewmembers reported that atmospheric dust from the
eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines appears to be clearing.

        On flight day five, crewmembers Mario Runco and Greg Harbaugh donned
spacesuits for a 4-hour, 28-minute spacewalk.  This was the first in a series
of spacewalks to be performed periodically on future Shuttle missions to
prepare for extra-vehicular activities on Space Station Freedom. While
operating in Endeavour's payload bay, Runco and Harbaugh evaluated the
difficulties involved in moving heavy masses.  For the test, one crew-member
served as the heavy mass while the other moved him about.  Another objective of
the spacewalk was to define the differences between training simulations on
Earth and the actual spacewalk.  Following the activity, Runco and Harbaugh
conducted an extensive debriefing with their fellow crewmembers to analyze
their experiences.

        Two of the middeck experiments conducted on the mission studied
processing of biologic materials.  In its second flight on the Shuttle, the
Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (CGBA) was used to mix, heat, and
process biological samples in microgravity.  Crewmembers accomplished nearly
100 percent of the experiment's objective.  Individual experiments within the
apparatus studied immune systems, bone marrow cultures, tissue regeneration,
cell division, seed germination, etc.  The experiments were designed by
researchers at universities in Alabama, Kansas, Colorado, and Florida. Results
from the experiments could help in the development and testing of new drugs to
treat cancer, osteoporosis, and AIDS. The second experiment, the Bioreactor,
used a special apparatus to examine fluid and nutrient flow through a rotating
chamber.  The device will be flown on a later flight carrying cancer cells.  On
the ground, cells in a nutritional fluid tend to bump into the wall of a
chamber and become damaged or distorted.  But, in space, the cells remain
suspended in fluid contained within the Bioreactor chambers allowing full
development without disturbance.

        In other STS-54 activities, crewmembers performed tests to evaluate the
effectiveness of the Shuttle's star trackers to help in the alignment of the
onboard navigation system and a restart test of one of Endeavour's
electricity-producing fuel cells.  Turning off and restarting fuel cells will
be a routine activity when Space Shuttle orbiters visit Space Station Freedom.
Powering down equipment and shutting down fuel cells will permit the
conservation of cryogenic fuels.  Although designed to restart in space, this
capability of the fuel cells has never been tested in orbit.  The fuel cell
restarted without any problems.

        In the Solid Surface Combustion Experiment (SSCE) research was
conducted on the burning of plastics to study the combustion process in the
absence of convection currents, studies of electronic still photography, and
evaluation of a new microgravity toilet.  Medical studies on human lymphocytes,
aerobic exercise, and vestibular function were also conducted.  In addition,
eight rodents were carried onboard for later study of the microgravity effects
on the muscular-skeletal system in the Physiological and Anatomical Rodent
Experiment (PARE).  The rodents were returned to Earth in excellent condition.

        As a part of NASA's commitment to education, the STS-54 crew
participated in a live interactive classroom event from space.  Working with
students in four elementary schools located in New York, Ohio, Michigan, and
Oregon, crewmembers responded to student questions by conducting scientific
demonstrations of common children's toys.  Through the use of toys in the
microgravity environment of Earth orbit, basic scientific principles can be
investigated in ways not possible on Earth. Students participating directly in
the lesson attended schools that are alma maters of four of the STS-54
crewmembers.  In addition, students in many thousands of schools were also able
to observe the lesson through satellite or cable television.  A videotape of
the live lesson will be distributed to schools through NASA's Teacher Resource
Center network in the spring.  A second tape, containing demonstrations of
other toys carried on the flight will be distributed during the fall semester
of the 1993-94 school year.


Mission Facts

Orbiter:  Endeavour
Mission Dates:  January 13-19, 1993
Commander: John H. Casper (COL, USAF)
Pilot: Donald R. McMonagle (LTCOL, USAF)
Mission Specialist: Mario Runco, Jr. (LCDR, USN)
Mission Specialist: Gregory J. Harbaugh
Mission Specialist: Susan Helms (MAJ, USAF)

Mission Duration: 5 days, 23 hours, 38 minutes
Kilometers Traveled: 4,027,056
Orbit Inclination: 28.45 degrees
Orbits of Earth: 96
Orbital Altitude: 296 km
Payload Weight Up: 18,611 kg
Orbiter Landing Weight: 93,181 kg
Landed:  Kennedy Space Center, Runway 33



Payloads and Experiments:


TDRS-6 -  Tracking Data and Relay Satellite
DXS -     Diffuse X-Ray Spectrometer
CHROMEX-  Chromosome Plant Cell Division in Space
PARE-02 - Physiological and Anatomical Rodent Experiment Human Lympocyte
          Locomotion in Microgravity
SSCE -    Solid Surface Combustion Experiment
CGBA -    Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus

EVA for Space Station Freedom Applications
Fuel Cell Shutdown/Restart
Educational Activities
Physics of Toys Interactive Event
Educational Videotaping

From:	DECWRL::"[email protected]" "Peter Yee"  2-APR-1993 17:34:57.92
To:	[email protected]
CC:	
Subj:	NASA TDRSS network marks 10 years of operation [Release 93-60]
       (Forwarded) 

Dwayne C. Brown
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                               April 2, 1993
(Phone:  202/358-0547)

Fred A. Brown
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone:  301/286-7277)

RELEASE:  93-60

NASA TDRSS NETWORK MARKS 10 YEARS OF OPERATION

	April marks the 10th anniversary of NASA's Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite System (TDRSS), a revolutionary, space-based network developed to
meet telecommunications needs essential to the success of Space Shuttle, space
station and other low Earth-orbiting spacecraft missions.

	The TDRSS replaced a nearly 25-year-old, world-wide, ground-based
tracking and communications network.  That system only allowed spacecraft to
communicate with Earth when in sight of a ground station.  The TDRSS,
initiated following studies in the early 1970's, was seen as a means of halting
the spiralling costs of upgrading and operating ground stations as NASA
telecommunications requirements grew.

	"In essence, TDRSS allows NASA to do more with less.  Communications
operating costs were cut by as much as 60 percent while the system actually
increases NASA capabilities to work in space," said Charles Force, Associate
Administrator for Space Communications, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

	TDRSS began with the launch of the first satellite on April 4, 1983.
Since then, four other satellites have been put into orbit, the latest in
January of this year.  This communications capability in orbit and the one
remaining spacecraft nearing completion for a future Space Shuttle launch
should carry NASA's communications capabilities into the later part of this
decade.

	The TDRSS is equipped to support up to 24 user spacecraft, including
the Space Shuttle, simultaneously.  It neither processes nor alters
communications, rather it functions as a repeater.  At its highest capacity,
the TDRSS can transfer in a second the equivalent of a 20-volume encyclopedia
containing over 34 million words.

	The TDRSS consists of two elements:  a constellation of  geosynchronous
satellites and a ground terminal located in White Sands, N.M.  Because of their
high geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles (35,800 km) above the equator, the
TDRSS has increased data acquisition and communications with spacecraft from
15 to 85 percent of each Earth orbit and in some cases 100 percent depending
on a spacecraft's orbit position.

	The TDRSS enables uninterrupted, real-time communications -- a vital
function monitoring astronaut life support and other systems during Shuttle and
space station operations.

	"The TDRSS supports nearly all of NASA's Earth orbital spacecraft.  The
Gamma Ray Observatory, the Cosmic Background Explorer, the Hubble Space
Telescope and many other missions all were designed with TDRSS in mind,"
said Charles Vanek, TDRSS Project Manager at the Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC), Greenbelt, Md.

	The TDRSS also can provide multiple access relaying data from as many
as 20 low-data-rate (100 bits per second to 50 kilobits per second) user
satellites simultaneously and single access which will provide two high data
rate channels to 300 megabits per second from both the East and West satellite
locations.

	Among future TDRSS dependent missions are the space station and the
Earth Observing System.  It is estimated that over $70 billion in space
missions throughout the end of the decade will be TDRSS dependent.

	Each TDRS is a three-axis stabilized satellite weighing about 5,000
pounds (2,540 kg) -- one of the largest, heaviest and most complicated
satellites ever launched into geosynchronous orbit.  The satellite measures 57
feet (17.4 meters) across the solar panels.

	TRW Space & Electronics Group, Redondo Beach, Calif., is the prime
TDRSS spacecraft contractor.  Ground operations are conducted by GTE
Government Systems, Corp., Needham Heights, Mass., and Bendix Field
Engineering Corp., Columbia, Md.  NASA's GSFC manages the daily operation of
the system.  The Office of Space Communications, Washington, D.C., has overall
management responsibility.

From:	US1RMC::"[email protected]" "Ron Baalke" 13-MAY-1993 
To:	[email protected]
CC:	
Subj:	TDRSS Ground Stations Receive Native American Names

Dwayne C. Brown
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
May 13, 1993
(Phone:  202/358-0547)

RELEASE:  93-83

NASA GROUND TERMINALS RECEIVE NATIVE AMERICAN NAMES

	NASA's two Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System's (TDRSS)
ground stations in White Sands, New Mexico, will now have Native American 
names as a result of a "Name the Ground Terminals" contest held for New 
Mexico students. 

	The names selected were Cacique (kah-see-keh) and Danzante
(dahn-zahn-teh).  Cacique means "leader," Danzante means "dancer". 
These names refer to the Tortugas Indians of Tortugas, N.M., who
preserved their culture through traditional dance.  The winning entry
was submitted by four female students from Zia Middle School, Las
Cruces, N.M. 

	"To those familiar with the culture of the Southwest, these
names will give meaning to the purpose of the stations.  To those 
who understand the role of the stations, the names will convey
appreciation for the culture of the area" said Charles Force,
Associate Administrator for Space Communications, NASA Headquarters,
Washington, D.C. 

	Entries had to relate to Native American, Hispanic or African
American local culture; be appropriate for space communications and
America's involvement in space; limited to one to two words in length;
and show relationship between the two names. 

	"The students compared the TDRSS to the Tortugas dancers.  
The dancers communicate through complex maneuvers as do the TDRSS
satellites. The ground terminals are the leaders of this orbital
dance," said Wilson Lundy, Manager, Space Network Complex, White
Sands, N.M. 

	 The contest was sponsored by NASA, the New Mexico Space Grant
Consortium and New Mexico State University.  Students from elementary,
middle and high schools, in qualifying school districts, were eligible
to participate.  More than 100 entries were received. 

	Each team consisted of four students and a team coordinator. 
The coordinator was responsible for guiding the team's activities and
submitting the entry.  Each team could submit only two names, one for
each station.  Each team had to be from the same school and only one
entry could be received from a team.  There could, however, be more
than one team and one entry from each school. 

	Winner, runner-up and honorable mention teams were selected by
a panel of judges.  The winning students will receive a 2-day, expense
paid trip to NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston.  Each member of the
runner-up team will receive a Franklin Language Master, which
functions as a thesaurus, dictionary, and spelling corrector.  Members
of the honorable mention team will receive an official TDRSS Ground
Terminal Naming Contest T-shirt.  Each team member will receive a
certificate for his or her participation. 

	The ground terminals are responsible for receiving and
transmitting telemetry, voice, video and data acquisition for Space
Shuttles and Earth-orbiting satellites.  The Office of Space
Communications, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., is responsible
for overall management of these facilities. 

-end-

Editors Note:   A ceremony officially announcing the new ground
terminal names will be carried live on NASA Select television on May
17, 1993, at 11 a.m. EDT.  The program will feature the students
explaining, through informal discussions and a "rap" song, the
significance of their winning entry.  The program also will include
presentation of awards to the students by former Apollo 8 astronaut
Frank Borman, remarks from NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, and student
interaction with Senator Pete Domenici (R), N.M.. 

	Media interested in attending the ceremony should contact
Wilson Lundy at 505/527-7139.  To view the ceremony at a NASA center
near your organization, contact that center's Public Affairs Office. 

     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | [email protected]
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Once a year, go someplace
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | you've never been before.
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | 

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Newsgroups: sci.space.news
% From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
% Subject: TDRSS Ground Stations Receive Native American Names
% Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
% Date: Thu, 13 May 1993 21:20:00 GMT
% Approved: [email protected]