| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 905.1 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 05/17/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Wed May 18 1994 12:02 | 27 |
| _______________________________________________________________
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Tuesday, May 17, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
______________________________________________
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: Palmdale, Calif. INCLINATION: 57 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: late October CREW SIZE: 6
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early afternoon LANDING LOCATION: KSC
LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/6 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
NOTE: Atlantis has been undergoing inspections and modifications
at Palmdale, Calif., for future docking missions with Russia's
space station Mir. Atlantis, which last flew in July/August 1992,
was ferried to the Rockwell International orbiter manufacturing
facility on October 18, 1992. Current plans are for Atlantis to
be ferried back to KSC on Saturday, May 28 as processing
continues for its next flight, STS-66, in October.
|
| 905.2 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 05/27/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Fri May 27 1994 19:27 | 36 |
| KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Friday, May 27, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
______________________________________________
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: En route to KSC INCLINATION: 57 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: late October CREW SIZE: 6
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early afternoon LANDING LOCATION: KSC
LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/6 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
NOTE: The orbiter Atlantis, atop NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier
Aircraft, departed Palmdale, Calif., today en route to Tinker Air
Force Base, Okla., following a 19 month period of vehicle
enhancements and modifications. Departure from Palmdale occurred
about 8:40 a.m. EDT. Arrival at Tinker is expected about 12:30
p.m. EDT.
Once at Tinker, the 747 will be refueled and the weather
will be assessed. A decision will then be made either to remain
at Tinker overnight or to continue eastward to either Ft.
Campbell, Ky., or Robins AFB, Ga. It remains unlikely that
Atlantis will be able to make it all the way back to KSC today.
In that event, the trip will be continued tomorrow or whenever
weather conditions permit.
Once Atlantis is back at KSC, it will be moved into Orbiter
Processing Facility bay 3, recently vacated by Discovery, and
prepared for its next flight, STS-66, scheduled for launch in
October.
|
| 905.3 | Crew List | TROOA::SKLEIN | Nulli Secundus | Mon May 30 1994 17:26 | 11 |
|
The following is the crew list for this mission:
STS 66 - Atlantis (13) October 27 1994
- ATLAS-3; CRISTA-SPAS-1; SSBUV/A-4
- Commander: Donald McMonagle (3)
- Pilot: Curtis Brown (2)
- PC/MS1: Ellen Ochoa (2)
- FE/MS2: Joseph Tanner
- MS3: Scott Parazynski
- MS4: Jean-Francois Clervoy (ESA)
|
| 905.4 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 06/13/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Mon Jun 13 1994 19:44 | 30 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Monday, June 13, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
______________________________________________
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 3 INCLINATION: 57 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: late October CREW SIZE: 6
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early afternoon LANDING LOCATION: KSC
LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/6 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
IN WORK TODAY:
* Radiator mechanical functional checks
* Power up electrical tests
* Water spray boiler checkout
* Remove pseudo orbital maneuvering system pods from vehicle
WORK SCHEDULED:
* Orbiter reaction control system functional checks
WORK COMPLETED:
* Initial orbiter power up
* Open payload bay doors
|
| 905.5 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 06/28/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Wed Jun 29 1994 20:06 | 30 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Tuesday, June 28, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
______________________________________________
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 3 INCLINATION: 57 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: late October CREW SIZE: 6
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early afternoon LANDING LOCATION: KSC
LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/6 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
IN WORK TODAY:
* Auxiliary power unit leak and functional checks
* Electrical system validation tests
* Water spray boiler checkout
WORK SCHEDULED:
* Orbiter reaction control system functional checks
* Install remote manipulator arm
WORK COMPLETED:
* Drag chute installation
* Radiator mechanical functional checks
|
| 905.6 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 07/01/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Tue Jul 05 1994 20:12 | 32 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Friday, July 1, 1994
_______________________________________________________________
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
______________________________________________
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 3 INCLINATION: 57 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: late October CREW SIZE: 6
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early afternoon LANDING LOCATION: KSC
LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/6 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
IN WORK TODAY:
* Install remote manipulator arm
* Fuel cell checks
* Auxiliary power unit leak and functional checks
* Electrical system validation tests
* Main propulsion system tests
WORK SCHEDULED NEXT WEEK:
* Install left hand orbital maneuvering system pod
WORK COMPLETED:
* Cycle payload bay doors
* Drag chute installation
* Radiator mechanical functional checks
|
| 905.7 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 08/03/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Thu Aug 04 1994 14:44 | 37 |
| KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Wednesday, August 3, 1994
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham
407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 3
INCLINATION: 57 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: late October
CREW SIZE: 6
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early afternoon
LANDING LOCATION: KSC
LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/6 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
IN WORK TODAY:
o Main propulsion system leak and functional checks
o Forward reaction control system interface tests
WORK SCHEDULED:
o Preparations to install ATLAS-3 payload
o Preparations to install new flash evaporator system
WORK COMPLETED:
o Install forward reaction control system
o Freon coolant loop deservice
o Transport forward reaction control system to OPF
o Fuel cell system checks
o Orbital maneuvering system interface tests
|
| 905.8 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 08/11/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Fri Aug 12 1994 18:43 | 35 |
| KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Thursday, August 11, 1994
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham
407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 3
INCLINATION: 57 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: late October
CREW SIZE: 6
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early afternoon
LANDING LOCATION: KSC
LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/6 minutes
MISSION DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
IN WORK TODAY:
o Freon coolant loop servicing
o Main propulsion system leak and functional checks
o Forward reaction control system interface tests
o Forward module close-outs
WORK SCHEDULED:
o Preparations to install ATLAS-3 payload
o Begin stacking solid rockets boosters in Vehicle Assembly Building
WORK COMPLETED:
o Landing gear cycles
o Install forward reaction control system
|
| 905.9 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 08/23/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Wed Aug 24 1994 09:50 | 55 |
| KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Tuesday, August 23, 1994
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham
407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 3
INCLINATION: 57 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: late October CREW SIZE: 6
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early afternoon KSC LANDING
DATE/TIME: TBD
LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/6 minutes MISSION
DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
IN WORK TODAY:
o Install ATLAS-3 payload into orbiter
o Auxiliary power unit servicing
o Forward reaction control system interface verifications
WORK SCHEDULED:
o Orbiter/payload interface verification test (Wednesday)
o Ammonia boiler servicing
o Continue stacking solid rockets boosters in Vehicle Assembly Building
WORK COMPLETED:
o Transport ATLAS-3 payload to OPF (Monday)
o Ku-band and radar system tests
MISSION: STS-73 -- UNITED STATES MICROGRAVITY LABORATORY - 2
VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102
LOCATION: OPF bay 1
NOTE: Columbia is in OPF bay 1 where work continues in
preparation for transfer to Palmdale, Calif., for the scheduled
orbiter maintenance down period (OMDP). The target period for
transfer of Columbia to the west coast has been advanced by two
weeks since Columbia will not have to go to the VAB for storage
has was planned prior to the launch delay of Endeavour. Current
plans show Columbia being ready for its ferry flight to
California on or about October 1. When Columbia returns to KSC
early next year, processing will begin for mission STS-73
scheduled for launch in late summer 1995.
The three main engines and the forward reaction control system
have been removed. Today, the processing facility is closed for
normal work as toxic hypergolic reactants are drained from the
vehicle. Later this week, work includes removing the orbiters
left hand orbital maneuvering system pod.
|
| 905.10 | KSC Shuttle Status Report - 08/30/94 | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Wed Aug 31 1994 16:23 | 40 |
| KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
Tuesday, August 30, 1994
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham
407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104
ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: OPF bay 3
INCLINATION: 57 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: late October CREW SIZE: 6
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: early afternoon KSC LANDING
DATE/TIME: TBD
LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/6 minutes MISSION
DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
IN WORK TODAY:
o Auxiliary power unit leak and functional checks
o Checks of Freon coolant loop systems
o Hydraulic operations
o Space Shuttle Backscatter Ultraviolet payload interface
verification test
WORK SCHEDULED:
o ATLAS-3 end-to-end test
o Landing gear pyrotechnic connections
o Continue stacking solid rockets boosters in Vehicle Assembly
Building
WORK COMPLETED:
o Ammonia boiler servicing
o Orbiter/payload interface verification test
o Install Space Shuttle Backscatter Ultraviolet payload into
orbiter
|
| 905.11 | KSC Status Report 4 Oct 94 | TROOA::SKLEIN | Nulli Secundus | Wed Oct 05 1994 13:47 | 30 |
|
[Downloaded from ftp.hq.nasa.gov]
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1994 (12:09 PM)
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: VAB high bay 1 INCLINATION: 57 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH DATE: Nov. 3 CREW SIZE: 6
APPROX. LAUNCH TIME: 11:56 a.m. LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/6 minutes
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Nov. 14/7:42 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
IN WORK TODAY:
Mate with external tank and solid rocket boosters in
Vehicle Assembly Building
WORK SCHEDULED:
Remove and replace scratched outside pane of no. 8 window
Shuttle interface test
Roll out to pad 39B (Oct. 10)
WORK COMPLETED:
Move orbiter to Vehicle Assembly Building (first motion
occurred on Monday at 8:25 p.m.)
Rotate orbiter to vertical position and lift to VAB high bay 3
|
| 905.12 | KSC Status Report - Oct 17, 1994 (11:30 AM EDT) | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Wed Oct 19 1994 13:05 | 33 |
| [Downloaded from ftp.pao.hq.nasa.gov]
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: Pad 39B INCLINATION: 57 degrees
TARGET LAUNCH DATE: Nov. 3 CREW SIZE: 6
LAUNCH TIME: 11:56 a.m. EST LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/2 minutes
TARGET KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Nov. 14/7:42 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
IN WORK TODAY:
Helium signature test (tonight)
Cavity purges and leak checks
Payload interface verification tests
Preparations to load hypergolic fuels
WORK SCHEDULED:
Load hypergolic fuels
Hot fire three auxiliary power units
Flight Readiness Review (Wednesday)
WORK COMPLETED:
Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test
Crew emergency egress training
Main engine leak checks
Launch Readiness Review
Hydraulic operations
Pad validations
Main engine flight readiness test
Install payload
|
| 905.13 | Preliminary Element set pufrom NASA WWW Spacelink home page | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Fri Oct 21 1994 13:25 | 26 |
| STS-66 prelaunch elements
STS-66
1 00066U 94307.76579162 .00051270 00000-0 16849-3 0 29
2 00066 56.9997 196.6306 0011659 276.4103 83.5649 15.89544561 20
Satellite: STS-66
Catalog number: 00066
Epoch time: 94307.76579162 = (03 NOV 94 18:22:44.40 UTC)
Element set: 002
Inclination: 56.9997 deg
RA of node: 196.6306 deg Space Shuttle Flight STS-66
Eccentricity: .0011659 Prelaunch element set JSC-002
Arg of perigee: 276.4103 deg Launch: 03 NOV 94 16:56 UTC
Mean anomaly: 83.5649 deg
Mean motion: 15.89544561 rev/day Gil Carman
Decay rate: 5.1270e-04 rev/day^2 NASA Johnson Space Center
Epoch rev: 2
Checksum: 321
The deorbit burn will be on orbit 172 at MET 10/18:47 (Nov 14 at 11:43 UTC).
Gil Carman, WA5NOM
NASA Johnson Space Center
|
| 905.14 | STS-66 text version of Press Kit | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Fri Oct 21 1994 13:27 | 2111 |
| STS-66 PRESS KIT
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION STS-66
PRESS KIT
NOVEMBER, 1994
ATMOSPHERIC LABORATORY FOR APPLICATIONS AND SCIENCE-3 (ATLAS 3)
CRYOGENIC INFRARED SPECTROMETERS AND TELESCOPES FOR THE ATMOSPHERE -
SHUTTLE PALLET SATELLITE (CRISTA-SPAS)
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS
For Information on the Space Shuttle
Ed Campion Policy/Management 202/358-1778
Headquarters, Wash., D.C.
James Hartsfield Mission Operations 713/483-5111
Johnson Space Center, Astronauts, Houston
Bruce Buckingham Launch Processing 407/867-2468
Kennedy Space Center, Fla. KSC Landing Information
June Malone External Tank/SRBs/SSMEs 205/544-0034
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
Don Haley DFRC Landing Information 805/258-3448
Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif.
For Information on NASA-Sponsored STS-66 Experiments
Brian Dunbar ATLAS-3 202/358-1547
Headquarters, Wash., D.C.
Debra Rahn International Cooperation 202/358-1639
Headquarters, Wash., D.C.
Franz Spanhorst CRISTA 011-49/228-447-545
German Space Agency (DARA)
Bonn, Germany
George Diller SPAS 407/867-2468
Kennedy Space Center
Tammy Jones ESCAPE 301/286-8955
Goddard Space Flight Center
Mike Braukus 202/358-1979
Headquarters, Wash., D.C NIH-R-1, NIH-C-2, PCG, SAMS
James Cast HPP 202/358-1779
Headquarters, Wash., D.C.
CONTENTS
GENERAL BACKGROUND
General Release 3
Quick-Look Facts 7
Shuttle Abort Modes 9
Summary Timeline 10
Payload and Vehicle Weight 13
Orbital Events Summary 14
Crew Responsibilities 16
CARGO BAY PAYLOADS & ACTIVITIES
Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-3 (ATLAS-3) 17
Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the
Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (CRISTA-SPAS)(CRISTA-SPAS) 36
Experiment of the Sun for Complementing the Atlas Payload and for
Education-II (ESCAPE-II) 42
IN-CABIN PAYLOADS
National Institutes of Health-R-1 43
National Institutes of Health-C-2 48
Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) Experiments 49
Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) 50
Heat Pipe Performance and Working Fluid Behavior in Microgravity
(HPP) 51
STS-66 CREW BIOGRAPHIES
Donald (Don) R. McMonagle, Commander (CDR) 52
Curtis (Curt) L. Brown, Pilot (PLT) 52
Ellen Ochoa, Ph.D., Payload Commander/
Mission Specialist-1 (MS-1) 52
Joseph (Joe) R. Tanner, Mission Specialist-2 (MS-2) 53
Jean-Francois Clervoy (ESA), Mission Specialist-3 (MS-3) 53
Scott E. Parazynski, M.D, Mission Specialist-4 (MS-4) 54
RELEASE: 94-175
ATMOSPHERIC LABORATORY MAKES THIRD FLIGHT
NASA will continue to study how the Earth's environment is changing
and how human beings affect that change during the upcoming flight of
Space Shuttle Atlantis. STS-66, the third flight of the Atmospheric
Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS), is part of NASA's Mission
to Planet Earth, a coordinated research effort to comprehensively study
the planet's environment. Also during the STS-66 mission, astronauts will
deploy and retrieve a free-flying satellite designed to study the middle
and lower thermospheres and will perform a series of experiments covering
life sciences research and microgravity processing.
The STS-66 crew will be commanded by Donald R. (Don) McMonagle who
will be making his third Shuttle flight. Curtis L. (Curt) Brown will
serve as pilot and will be making his second flight. The four STS-66
mission specialists aboard Atlantis will include Ellen Ochoa, the STS-66
Payload Commander and Mission Specialist-1, who will be making her second
flight, Joseph R. (Joe) Tanner, Mission Specialist-2, Jean-Francois
Clervoy, Mission Specialist-3, and a European Space Agency astronaut, and
Scott E. Parazynski, Mission Specialist-4. Tanner, Clervoy and Parazynski
will be making their first space flight.
Launch of Atlantis on the STS-66 mission is currently targeted for
Nov. 3, 1994 at 11:56 a.m. EST from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex
39-B. After launch, the crew will work in two teams, each on 12 hour
shifts, making observations and collecting data with the experiments and
instruments being carried on the mission. The mission is scheduled to
last 10 days, 19 hours, 46 minutes An on-time launch on Nov. 3 would
produce a landing at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility on
Nov. 14 at 7:42 a.m. EST.
ATLAS-3 is the third in NASA's series of Atmospheric Laboratory for
Applications and Science Spacelab missions. The remote sensing laboratory
studies the Sun's energy output, the middle atmosphere's chemical makeup,
and how these factors affect global ozone levels. ATLAS-3's highly
calibrated instruments also will provide a check on similar instruments on
free-flying satellites, allowing scientists to determine how much those
instruments may have been degraded by the harsh environment of space.
Complementing the ATLAS science mission, the German-built Shuttle
Pallet Satellite (SPAS) which will carry two instruments -- the Cryogenic
Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA) and the
Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI).
On Flight Day Two, the SPAS and its instruments will be deployed from
Atlantis using the Shuttle's mechanical arm. The pallet will fly free of
the Shuttle as it observes a variety of gases in the middle atmosphere and
measures amounts of nitric oxide and hydroxyl in the middle atmosphere and
lower thermosphere. Also onboard the satellite will be the small Surface
Effects Sample Monitor, a materials-science experiment aimed at measuring
decay of surfaces exposed to the near- Earth space environment.
For the retrieval of CRISTA-SPAS on the 10th day of STS-66, Atlantis
will use a new rendezvous approach to the satellite than has been standard
for past satellite retrievals. The new approach is being evaluated for
use in rendezvous with the Russian Mir Space Station in 1995 due to the
propellant savings that it may achieve. The new approach may not only
conserve propellant when approaching the Mir station but also could mean
less braking thruster firings are required during the rendezvous in
general, reducing risk of damaging Mir.
Also flying in the payload bay will be the Experiment of the Sun for
Complementing the Atlas Payload and for Education-II (ESCAPE-II ), a
student-designed and developed payload engineered to gather data that will
contribute to a better understanding of the Sun's radiative effects on the
Earth's upper atmosphere.
The ESCAPE II experiment was designed, managed and built entirely by
undergraduate and graduate students at the Colorado Space Grant Consortium
at the University of Colorado, Boulder. ESCAPE II is expected to shed new
light on how the Sun's extreme ultraviolet wavelengths affect the
temperature and chemical composition of the upper atmosphere. The release
of human-produced chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), is believed to be largely
responsible for the recent seasonal decline in stratospheric ozone levels,
most markedly over the Earth's poles. In order to understand the
magnitude of human-caused changes in the atmosphere, scientists first need
to measure the variability of natural solar radiation.
Two collaborative experiments developed by NASA and the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) will be part of the STS-66 mission. The
NIH-R-1 payload is a developmental biology experiment consisting of 11
experiments that will study the effects of space flight on developing
rats. These experiments will provide important insights into the fields
of gravitational and space biology and gravity's effects on living
organisms. The NIH-C-2 payload is comprised of two biomedical experiments
that will make use of a computerized tissue culture incubator known as the
Space Tissue Loss (STL) Culture Module. STL was developed at the Walter
Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to study cells in
microgravity. Both experiments will study the effects of space flight on
cells from chicken embryos.
The STS-66 mission will carry two related Protein Crystal Growth
(PCG) experiments -- the Crystal Observation System and the Vapor
Diffusion Apparatus. These two experiments will continue research into
the structure of proteins and other macromolecules such as viruses.
Proteins are important, complex biochemicals that serve a variety of
purposes in living organisms. Determining their molecular structure will
lead to a greater understanding of functions in living organisms.
Knowledge of the structure can also assist the pharmaceutical industry in
the development of disease-fighting drugs.
The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) will be flying for
the eleventh time during the STS-66 mission. The middeck payloads that
SAMS is supporting are the PCG experiments. SAMS will collect and record
data characterizing the microgravity environment in the Shuttle's middeck.
SAMS will provide the scientists studying the PCG experiments with
information on the microgravity environment these crystals experienced
during the mission. The scientists will be able to account for the rocket
thruster firings, crew activity and background vibrations that influence
these delicate experiments.
The Heat Pipe Performance-2 (HPP-2) Experiment will investigate the
thermal performance and fluid dynamics of heat pipes operating with
asymmetric and multiple heating zones under microgravity conditions. A
Thermal Performance Apparatus (TPA) mounted to middeck seat studs allows
the Orbiter crew members to test individual heat pipes in the crew
compartment during the flight. Thirty-five tests will be performed with
ten different axially grooved aluminum/freon heat pipes.
The design of effective spacecraft thermal control systems requires
an understanding of heat pipe fluid dynamics in a microgravity
environment. This behavior cannot be adequately evaluated on Earth because
gravity tends to dominate the capillary forces developed in the apparatus.
For these reasons, flight experiments are critical for collecting the data
necessary for computer model validation.
The original Heat Pipe Performance Flight Experiment (HPP-1) was
flown on STS-52 in October, 1992, to investigate and document the
microgravity behavior and performance of several different types of heat
pipes. Data from HPP-1 was used to modify and validate a NASA heat pipe
computer model known as the Groove Analysis Program (GAP). The current
version of GAP models heat pipes with single and uniform heating and
cooling zones. The HPP-2 experiment will test heat pipes with asymmetric
and multiple heating zones, providing data for correlation with new
modifications to the GAP model. The basic difference between the two
experiments is that HPP-1 tested "ideal case," or simple heat pipes, while
HPP-2 will test more realistic heat
pipe designs that mirror the complexity of actual spacecraft
applications.
The end product of the HPP-1 and HPP-2 Flight Experiments will be a
GAP model capable of accurately predicting the performance of any type of
axially grooved heat pipe design prior to manufacture, so large costs
incurred by building and testing prototype heat pipes can be avoided. The
final version of GAP will allow thermal system engineers to be less
conservative in their designs, leading to fewer heat pipes per spacecraft,
thereby achieving significant weight and cost savings.
Shuttle Mission STS-66 will be the 13th flight of Atlantis and the
66th flight of the Space Shuttle system.
- end general release -
STS-66 Quick Look
Launch Date/Site: Nov. 3, 1994/KSC Pad 39B
Launch Time: 11:56 a.m. EST
Orbiter: Atlantis(OV-104) - 13th Flight
Orbit/Inclination: 165 nauticalmiles/57 degrees
Mission Duration: 10 days, 19 hours, 46minutes
Landing Time/Date: 7:42 a.m. EST November 14, 1994
Primary Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla.28
Abort Landing Sites:
Return to Launch Site - KSC, Fla.
TransAtlantic Abort landing -Zaragoza, Spain
Moron, Spain
Ben Guerir, Morocco
Abort Once Around- White Sands Space Harbor, N.M.
Crew: Don McMonagle, Commander (CDR)
Curtis Brown, Pilot (PLT)
Ellen Ochoa, Mission Specialist 1(MS1)
Joseph Tanner, Mission Specialist 2 (MS2)
Jean-Francois Clervoy, Mission Specialist 3(MS3)
Scott Parazynski, Mission Specialist 4 (MS4)
Red Team: McMonagle, Ochoa, Tanner
Blue Team: Brown, Clervoy, Parazynski
Cargo Bay Payloads: Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and
Sciences-3 (ATLAS-3)
Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes
for Atmosphere/Shuttle Pallet Satellite
(CRISTA/SPAS)
Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet(SSBUV/A)
Experiment of the Sun Complementing the ATLAS
Payload and Education-II (ESCAPE-II)
Middeck Payloads: Protein Crystal Growth-Thermal Enclosure System
(PCG-TES)
Protein Crystal Growth-Single Locker Thermal
Enclosure System (PCG-STES)
Heat Pipe Performance Experiment-Reflight
(HPP-RFL)
Physiological and Anatomical Experiment/National
Institute of Health-Rodents (PARE/NIH-R)
Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS)
Space Tissue Loss-A (STL-A)
Development Test Objectives/Detailed Supplementary Objectives:
DTO 254: Subsonic Aerodynamics Verification (part 2)
DTO 301D: Ascent Structural Capability Evaluation
DTO 307D: Entry Structural Capability Evaluation
DTO 312: External Tank Thermal Protection System Performance
DTO 414: Auxiliary Power Unit Shutdown Test (sequence A)
DTO 623: Cabin Air Monitoring
DTO 664: Cabin Temperature Survey
DTO 668: Advanced Lower Body Restraint Test
DTO 677: Evaluation of Microbial Capture Device in Microgravity
DTO 680: On Orbit Fit Check of the Recumbent Seating System on OV-104
DTO 683: Interlimb Resistance Device Evaluation
DTO 700-2: Laser Range and Range Rate Device
DTO 700-7: Orbiter Data for Real Time Navigation Evaluation
DTO 805: Crosswind Landing Performance
DTO 834: Notch Filter
DTO 835: Mir Approach Demonstration
DTO 836: Tools for Rendezvous and Docking
DSO 484B: Circadian Shifting in Astronauts by Bright Light
DSO 485: Inter Mars Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter
DSO 487: Immunological Assessment of Crewmembers
DSO 493: Monitoring Latent Virus Reactivation and Shedding in Astronauts
DSO 603: Orthostatic Function During Entry, Landing and Egress
DSO 604: Visual-Vestibular Integration as a Function of Adaptation
DSO 605: Postflight Recovery of Postural Equilibrium Control
DSO 608: Effects of Space Flight on Aerobic and Anaerobic Metabolism
During Exercise
DSO 612: Energy Utilization
DSO 614B: The Effect of Prolonged Space Flight on Head and Gaze
Stability During Locomotion
DSO 621: In-Flight Use of Florines to Improve Orthostatic Intolerance
Postflight
DSO 624: Pre and Postflight Measurement of Cardiorespiratory Responses to
Submaximal Exercise
DSO 626: Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Responses to Standing
Before and After Space Flight
DSO 901: Documentary Television
DSO 902: Documentary Motion Picture Photography
DSO 903: Documentary Still Photography
SPACE SHUTTLE ABORT MODES
Space Shuttle launch abort philosophy aims toward safe and intact
recovery of the flight crew, Orbiter and its payload. Abort modes
include:
* Abort-To-Orbit (ATO) -- Partial loss of main engine thrust late
enough to permit reaching a minimal 105-nautical mile orbit with
orbital maneuvering system engines.
* Abort-Once-Around (AOA) -- Earlier main engine shutdown with the
capability to allow one orbit around before landing at White Sands Space
Harbor, N.M.
* TransAtlantic Abort Landing (TAL) -- Loss of one or more main engines
midway through powered flight would force a landing at either Zaragoza,
Spain; Moron, Spain; or Ben Guerir, Morocco.
* Return-To-Launch-Site (RTLS) -- Early shutdown of one or more engines,
and without enough energy to reach Zaragoza, would result in a pitch
around and thrust back toward KSC until within gliding distance of the
Shuttle Landing Facility.
STS-66 contingency landing sites are the Kennedy Space Center, White
Sands, Zaragoza, Moron and Ben Guerir.
STS-66 SUMMARY TIMELINE
Red/Blue Flight Day One
Ascent
OMS-2 burn (163 n.m. x 165 n.m.)
Red Flight Day One
ATLAS activation
RMS checkout
SPAS activation
Group B powerdown
Blue Flight Day Two
ATLAS operations
SSBUV activation
SSBUV operations
Red Flight Day Two
Group B powerup
CRISTA/SPAS checkout
CRISTA/SPAS deploy
CRISTA/SPAS separation
RMS payload bay survey
ESCAPE activation
Group B powerdown
Blue Flight Day Three
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
Red Flight Day Three
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
CRISTA/SPAS stationkeeping
Blue Flight Day Four
HPP operations
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
Red Flight Day Four
HPP operations
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
CRISTA/SPAS stationkeeping
Blue Flight Day Five
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
Red Flight Day Five
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
HPP operations
ESCAPE deactivation
CRISTA/SPAS stationkeeping
Blue Flight Day Six
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
HPP operations
Red Flight Day Six
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
HPP operations
Blue Flight Day Seven
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
HPP operations
CRISTA/SPAS stationkeeping
Red Flight Day Seven
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
CRISTA/SPAS stationkeeping
ESCAPE activation
Blue Flight Day Eight
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
HPP operations
ESCAPE deactivation
Red Flight Day Eight
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
HPP deactivation, stow
Half day off duty
Blue Flight Day Nine
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
Half day off duty
CRISTA/SPAS stationkeeping
Red Flight Day Nine
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
CRISTA/SPAS stationkeeping
Blue Flight Day Ten
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
Group B powerup
CRISTA/SPAS rendezvous
Red Flight Day Ten
CRISTA/SPAS proximity operations
CRISTA/SPAS grapple
CRISTA/SPAS deactivation/stow
Group B powerdown
Blue Flight Day Eleven
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
ESCAPE activation
Flight Control Systems checkout
Red Flight Day Eleven
ATLAS operations
SSBUV operations
RMS stow
Red/Blue Flight Day Twelve
ESCAPE deactivate, stow
Group B powerup
Cabin stow
ATLAS deactivation
SSBUV deactivation
Deorbit
Entry
Landing
STS-66 VEHICLE AND PAYLOAD WEIGHTS
Vehicle/Payload Pounds
Orbiter (Atlantis) empty and 3 SSMEs 173,103
Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Sciences-3 8,287
Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet 893
CRISTA/SPAS (deployable) 7,194
ESCAPE-II 747
Heat Pipe Performance experiment 141
Physical and Anatomical Rodent Experiment-National
Institutes of Health - R 134
Protein Crystal Growth 250
Space Tissue Loss 57
Detailed Test/Supplementary Objectives 175
Shuttle System at SRB Ignition 4,508,369
Orbiter Weight at Landing 209,857
STS-66 ORBITAL EVENTS SUMMARY
EVENT START TIME VELOCITY CHANGE ORBIT
(dd/hh:mm:ss) (feet per second)
OMS-2 00/00:39:00 262 fps 163 x 165
SPAS deploy 00/19:52:00 n/a 162 x 165
Sep 2 00/20:09:00 1 fps 165 x 162
NC1 00/23:11:00 0.4 fps 165 x 162
NC 1/17:18:00 2.8 fps 164 x 165
NC3 01/21:50:00 3.3 fps 162 x 165
NC4 02/14:27:00 1.2 fps 162 x 165
NC5 03/01:01:00 TBD 162 x 165
NC6 03/07:04:00 .2 fps 162 x 165
NC7 04/01:11:00 1.2 fps 163 x 165
NC-8 04/11:46:00 TBD 162 x 165
NC-9 04:17:48:00 2.4 fps 161 x 165
NC-10 05/08:55:00 TBD 161 x 165
NC-11 05/19:30:00 .7 fps 162 x 165
NC-12 06/00:02:00 TBD 162 x 165
NC-13 06/15:08:00 .2 fps 161 x 166
NC-14 07/13:49:00 .2 fps 161 x 165
NC-15 08/01:55:00 TBD 161 x 165
NC-16 08/08:32:00 TBD 162 x 165
NC-17 08/13:11:00 16 fps 162 x 166
NH 08/13:56:00 1 fps 162 x 175
NCC-1 08/15:15:00 TBD 160 x 161
MF 08/16:12:00 10 fps 160 x 161
NCC-2 08/16:46:00 TBD 161 x 161
TI 08/17:43:00 9 fps 161 x 165
GRAPPLE 08/20:09:00 n/a 161 x 165
DEORBIT 10/18:46:00 265 fps n/a
LANDING 10/19:46:00 n/a n/a
NOTES:
1. All maneuvers are recalculated in real time based on actual tracking
and the orbiter�s navigation. Many times and total velocities may change.
Some burns may be deleted.
2. NC-1 through NC-16 are stationkeeping burns that serve to keep
Atlantis at 20-40 nautical miles ahead of CRISTA-SPAS.
3. NC-17 will move Atlantis from a point about 20 nautical miles ahead of
CRISTA-SPAS to a point about 20 nautical miles trailing CRISTA- SPAS.
4. The MAHRSI Football (MF) burn will occur when Atlantis is about 8
nautical miles behind the CRISTA-SPAS and take Atlantis as close as 3
nautical miles to CRISTA-SPAS during one orbit for observations of the
shuttle by CRISTA-SPAS. The final phase of the rendezvous will occur when
Atlantis is again about 8 nautical miles behind CRISTA-SPAS with the
Terminal Phase Initiation (TI) burn, putting Atlantis directly on a course
over one orbit for the retrieval.
STS-66 CREW RESPONSIBILITIES
TASK/PAYLOAD PRIMARY BACKUPS/OTHERS
ATLAS-3 Ochoa (red) Parazynski (blue)
CRISTA-SPAS Ochoa (red) Clervoy (blue)
SSBUV Ochoa (red) Parazynski (blue)
ESCAPE Parazynski (blue) Ochoa (red)
Middeck Payloads:
HPP Clervoy (blue) McMonagle, Ochoa (red)
NIH-R Tanner (red) Parazynski (blue)
PCG-TES Tanner (red) Parazynski (blue)
PCG-STES Tanner (red) Parazynski (blue)
SAMS Brown (blue) McMonagle (red)
STL Brown (blue) Ochoa (red)
Detailed Supplementary/Test Objectives:
DTO 664 (cabin temp.) Brown Tanner
DTO 677 (microbial) Parazynski Ochoa
DTO 668 (lower restraint) Ochoa Clervoy, Tanner
DTO 680 (seats) Clervoy McMonagle
DTO 683 (resistance dev.) Parazynski Tanner
DSO 608 (exercise) Brown
DSO 624 (exercise) McMonagle Tanner
DSO 603B (orthostatic) Clervoy Parazynski
Other:
Photography/TV Parazynski Tanner
In-Flight Maintenance Brown Tanner
Earth Observations Brown Tanner
RMS Ochoa Clervoy
Medical Parazynski Ochoa
ATMOSPHERIC LABORATORY FOR APPLICATIONS AND SCIENCE-3 (ATLAS-3)
ATLAS 3 is the third in NASA's series of Atmospheric Laboratory for
Applications and Science Spacelab missions. The remote sensing laboratory
studies the Sun's energy output, the middle atmosphere's chemical makeup,
and how these factors affect global ozone levels. ATLAS 3's highly
calibrated instruments will also provide a check on similar instruments on
free-flying satellites, allowing scientists to determine how much those
instruments may have been degraded by the harsh environment of space.
The ATLAS flights are part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, a
long-term, coordinated research effort to study the Earth as a single,
global environment. Mission to Planet Earth's main focus is studying how
the global environment is changing and how human beings affect that
change.
The overall ATLAS 3 science mission includes six experiments on the
ATLAS pallet and a seventh on the wall of the Space Shuttle payload bay.
Complementing the ATLAS payloads, the German freeflying science satellite
CRISTA-SPAS is comanifested as a prime payload.
This satellite carries the German CRISTA telescope and the U.S. instrument
MAHRSI. CRISTA-SPAS will be deployed and retrieved during the STS-66
mission and is controlled from Kennedy Space Center. It is the second
mission in a series of at least four flights of the reusable science
satellite ASTRO-SPAS covered by a Memorandum of Understanding between NASA
and the German Space Agency DARA.
ATLAS 3's seven instruments, which flew on ATLAS 1 in March 1992 and
ATLAS 2 in April 1993, will again focus on the processes that affect ozone
levels. A thin layer of ozone, between 6 and 20 miles high in the
atmosphere, shields life on Earth from most of the Sun's harmful
ultraviolet radiation. However, in recent years ozone depletion has been
observed in both the Southern and Northern hemispheres, the most notable
example being the ozone "hole" that forms over Antarcticain September and
which can persist into December.
Ozone is created and destroyed by complex reactions involving
ultraviolet radiation from the Sun and gases in the middle atmosphere.
While some of those gases occur naturally, concentrations of destructive
chemicals are increasing due to human activity. To fully understand the
many factors that drive atmospheric chemical reactions and to predict
changes, scientists must have a comprehensive knowledge of the gases which
make up the atmosphere. In addition, they must have precise data on the
Sun's energy output as it fluctuates.
The first two flights gathered a large number of global atmospheric
measurements at many different altitudes and measured changes in the Sun's
total energy output. No other collection of space-based instruments gives
the range of atmospheric measurements provided by those of the ATLAS
payload.
Among other accomplishments, ATLAS 1 measured at various altitudes
the concentrations of chemicals resulting from the breakdown of industrial
compounds called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). These observations are the
most direct confirmation that CFCs are the source of increased chlorine in
the atmosphere. ATLAS 2 measured middle atmospheric ingredients over high
northern latitudes during daylight hours, helping scientists understand
the atmosphere's behavior following a winter of record-low ozone levels.
Indications are that total ozone decreased by 10 percent at mid-latitudes
in the Northern Hemisphere during the period between ATLAS 1 and ATLAS 2.
ATLAS 3 will make detailed measurements over the Northern Hemisphere
in the late fall, allowing scientists to study important, but poorly
understood, processes as the atmosphere shifts from relatively quiet
summer conditions to more active winter conditions. Investigators also
will study the chemical processes occurring in and near the Antarctic
ozone hole, which usually peaks in early October. Observations of both
areas should provide valuable data for comparison with the spring data of
ATLAS 1 and 2.
The Space Shuttle is an ideal platform for NASA's remote-sensing
atmospheric laboratory. The flight crew can maneuver the Orbiter so the
instruments in the bay point precisely toward the atmosphere, the Sun or
the Earth's surface. The Shuttle's generous payload capacity and power
supply allow a diverse assembly of large instruments to make simultaneous
observations. Another advantage of flying aboard the Shuttle is the
ability to calibrate the Atlas instruments before and after flight,
offering more insight to scientists. ATLAS instruments make more detailed
measurements than similar ones now flying aboard satellites.
Satellite Underflights
An important goal of the ATLAS program is to provide measurements
that relate to, and coincide with, those of instruments flying on
satellites. ATLAS data is being used to refine existing ozone information
and to measure satellite instrument degradation caused by exposure to
ultraviolet radiation and particles including atomic oxygen. Since the
Shuttle missions are short, any drift in instrument accuracy should be
small and can be determined once the Shuttle instrument is back on Earth.
On previous flights, all the ATLAS experiments achieved correlative
measurements with instruments on free-flyers such as the Upper Atmosphere
Research Satellite (UARS), NOAA meteorological satellites, the Earth
Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), and the European Retrievable Carrier
(EURECA). Coincident measurements also were made with Total Ozone Mapping
Spectrometers (TOMS) on the Nimbus- 7 and Meteor-3 satellites.
INSERT GRAPHICS A
ATLAS Atmospheric Science
ATLAS 3's atmospheric science goals continue from the previous
missions: measuring global, middle-atmosphere temperatures and trace-gas
concentrations and providing these measurements to the science community
for comparisons with those of other spacecraft. In addition, because of
factors such as time of year, orbital lighting conditions, current state
of knowledge of the atmosphere, and new instruments, some goals are unique
to the ATLAS 3 mission. When ATLAS 3 launches, atmospheric instruments
will examine the response of the Southern Hemisphere to the Antarctic
ozone hole and the change in Earth's northern middle atmosphere from
summer to winter conditions. Also, the presence of two additional
instruments on a free-flying satellite will enhance the ATLAS atmospheric
data, providing more information on gas concentrations, including details
of their physical distribution.
The ATLAS Instruments
Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS). Principal
Investigator: Dr. Michael R. Gunson, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif.
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment will
measure the concentrations of more than 30 gases in the middle atmosphere.
These measurements will be compared with those from previous ATLAS flights
to identify and characterize changes in the atmosphere's chemical
composition.
As the Shuttle's orbit carries the spacecraft in and out of Earth's
shadow (orbital night), the ATMOS instrument views the Sun as it rises or
sets through the atmosphere. The spectrometer measures changes in the
infrared component of sunlight as the Sun's rays pass through this segment
of atmosphere, called the Earth's limb. Because trace gases absorb at
very specific infrared wavelengths, the science team can determine what
gases are present, in what concentrations, and at what altitudes by
identifying the wavelengths that are "missing" from their data.
During the ATLAS 3 mission, the ATMOS instrument will have a
video camera to record pictures of the Sun during the sunrises and
sunsets, confirming the instrument's pointing. The ATMOS recorder also
will have an improved controller, designed to give ground scientists more
information about the recorder's status and condition.
Changes in the atmosphere have been observed over the years, but the
causes and effects of those changes are not fully understood. A more
thorough knowledge of which gases are present, and of how their
concentrations change over time, can help scientists determine if the
alterations are man-made, natural or a combination of both.
INSERT B
During ATLAS 1, ATMOS obtained atmospheric measurements over
latitudes between 30 degrees North and 55 degrees South. These
measurements were compared to those collected over the same areas by ATMOS
during the Spacelab 3 Shuttle flight in 1985 to determine changes in the
amounts of industrial CFCs released and to study their conversion into
inorganic chlorine. Results indicate an increase in inorganic chlorine
from 2.77 to 3.44 parts per billion, with a rise in fluorine from 0.76 to
1.23 parts per billion. The fluorine increase confirms that the source of
the increased chlorine levels is industrial CFCs.
The ATLAS 1 mission occurred only nine months after the eruption of
the Mount Pinatubo volcano, the largest such event this century. ATMOS
was able to measure changes in the components of the middle atmosphere
resulting from the presence of a thick layer of tiny droplets of sulfuric
acid formed from sulfur dioxide emitted by the eruption. Scientists are
presently working to determine if the ozone loss in the Northern
Hemisphere in 1992-1993 was a direct result of an imbalance in the middle
atmosphere's chemistry caused by the Mt. Pinatubo emissions.
The night launch of ATLAS 2 allowed the ATMOS instrument to
complement ATLAS 1 measurements by extending the area of observations to
include Northern Europe, Siberia, Alaska and Canada at sunrise. It
enabled scientists to study a large remnant of the polar vortex, a mass of
cold air normally isolated from lower latitude air by strong winds that
circulate around the North Pole in winter. Quite different conditions
exist inside and outside this area.
During the early-spring flight of ATLAS-2, conditions outside the
vortex appear to have returned to normal, although with slightly higher
ozone levels. However, the amount of chlorine nitrate, a key
chlorine-carrying gas, remained surprisingly high inside the vortex�an
important indication of the earlier ozone depletion in this region.
Scientists believe these conditions are part of the processes that lead to
the loss of ozone in polar winter and spring. Further analysis of ATLAS-2
data should help clarify details of the important changes that occur
during this complex period.
ATMOS is a single assembly mounted on the Spacelab pallet in the
Space Shuttle's cargo bay. Within the assembly are the Sun tracker,
detector, thermal control and electronics assemblies. The experiment will
operate during the orbital sunrises and sunsets during the Earth viewing
portions of the mission, observing sunrises at high southern latitudes and
sunsets spanning the northern tropics through the mid- latitudes.
Millimeter-Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS). Principal Investigator:
Dr. Gerd K. Hartmann, Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy,
Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany
The Millimeter-Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS) measures the
distribution of water vapor, chlorine monoxide and ozone at altitudes
between 12 and 60 miles (20 to 100 km).
Chlorine monoxide, formed mainly by the breakdown of CFCs in the
middle atmosphere, plays an important part in ozone loss. This compound
is produced when CFCs meet ultraviolet radiation in the upper atmosphere
approximately 3 to 5 years after their release into the air at the Earth's
surface. CFCs come from sources such as coolants in refrigerators and air
conditioners, from foam containers and from halons, chemical compounds
often used in fire extinguishers. The harmful effects of these products
were not foreseen when the chemicals were first put into use.
MAS measures the strength of millimeter waves, or waves of
frequencies between 30 and 300 gigahertz, radiating at the specific
frequencies of water vapor, chlorine monoxide and ozone. With a new
chlorine monoxide receiver that is twice as sensitive as the one that flew
on the ATLAS 1 and 2 missions, MAS will attempt to better measure chlorine
monoxide and ozone over the upper latitudes of both hemispheres. Also,
investigators plan to examine the evolution and/or breakup of the
Antarctic vortex, the mixing of polar and mid-latitude air and other
atmospheric changes occurring in the Southern Hemisphere.
Global information about ozone and chlorine monoxide helps provide
answers to the problem of human influences on the ozone layer, and MAS
therefore serves as part of an early warning system to determine how
widespread the destruction of ozone really is.
MAS results from ATLAS-1 agreed with theoretical expectations and
calculations. For example, a large daylight-to-dark ozone variation was
observed at heights above 43 miles (70 km), with much greater quantities
on the night side of the Shuttle's orbit. Also, the varied quantities of
water vapor measured in the middle atmosphere are consistent with expected
results.
The ATLAS 2 night launch made it possible for MAS investigators to
observe ozone in Earth's middle atmosphere at high latitudes in both the
Southern and Northern hemispheres. Chlorine monoxide, a key gas in ozone
destruction, was measured over the northern latitudes during the daylight.
The daily changes in ozone concentration, including increased nighttime
ozone at high altitudes, were observed over the southern latitudes. The
MAS instrument also measured water vapor, an excellent indicator of
atmospheric movement. ATLAS 2 data confirm that upward atmospheric
movement occurs over the equator and downward atmospheric movement over
the poles during the spring equinox, the time of the mission.
INSERT C
MAS, mounted on the Spacelab pallet, uses a dish-shaped antenna to
scan Earth's limb (the far horizon) to collect spectral information at
distinct altitudes. By measuring the strength of the microwave
radiations, scientists can deduce concentrations of ozone, chlorine
monoxide, water vapor and temperature.
Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer (SSBUV).
Principal Investigator: Mr. Ernest Hilsenrath, NASA Goddard Space Flight
Center, Greenbelt, Md.
SSBUV provides accurate, reliable readings of global ozone to verify
the reliability of ozone information gathered by satellite instruments
which are in orbit for extended periods of time. Scientists compare SSBUV
data with observations from National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's NOAA-9 and NOAA-11 and NASA's Ultraviolet Atmospheric
Satellite. The same atmospheric location is mapped by the UARS, SSBUV,
Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) aboard the Russian Meteor-3
Satellite and NOAA instruments within 60 minutes up to 17 times a day.
SSBUV has flown on the Space Shuttle six times since 1989, including
the ATLAS 1 and 2 missions. The instrument detected and verified a
decrease in ozone of approximately 10 to 15 percent in the northern and
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere between ATLAS 1 and 2. This
decrease was observed at the same time by satellites and through
ground-based observations.
The instrument also made solar observations, which were compared with
those made by the instrument on previous flights, and with solar
observations made by UARS instruments and other ATLAS investigations.
Recent comparisons with the UARS and ATLAS solar measurements indicate
that the precision of the solar measurements made by SSBUV is at least
five times better than measurements made before the ATLAS mission.
During ATLAS 2, controllers used SSBUV's ability to focus on specific
wavelengths to look for nitric oxide. They further refined the procedure
during STS-62 in March 1994, the instrument's last flight, to measure
nitric oxide during five orbits. Measurements of sulfur dioxide in the
lower stratosphere were also attempted.
The SSBUV spectrometer is located in a Get-Away-Special canister,
attached to the side of the Shuttle's cargo bay. A motorized door
assembly opens up to allow the SSBUV to view the Earth and Sun, and then
closes to protect the instrument from contamination when it is not in use.
Data, command and power systems are housed in an adjacent interconnected
canister.
SSBUV measures solar radiation in 12 ultraviolet wavelengths that
scatter back from the atmosphere. Variations in the 12 wavelengths of
backscattered radiation indicate how the ozone is distributed by altitude.
Ozone absorbs shorter wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation more strongly
than it does longer ones. Shorter wavelengths of ultraviolet radiation
are backscattered from higher altitudes, while longer wavelengths move
deeper into the atmosphere and are scattered from lower levels.
Solar Science
Sunlight provides the energy for many atmospheric processes; yet, the
Sun's radiant output fluctuates over an 11-year cycle, from a maximum to a
minimum and back again. Within this 11-year cycle are the short-term
variations of the 27-day solar rotation period. Earth's atmosphere is
influenced by both cycles, especially by variations in ultraviolet
radiation. By gathering nearly simultaneous data on the Sun and the
atmosphere, scientists hope to identify and quantify the connections
between variations in solar energy and changes in the atmosphere.
The absolute value of the solar irradiance is one of the critical
factors that, in combination with Earth's absorption and reflection of
that radiation, determines the energy balance that governs the circulation
of the atmosphere. More accurate measurements of the value of the solar
irradiance are needed and can be made only from above the densest layers
of Earth's atmosphere.
The first ATLAS flight occurred just after the beginning of solar
cycle 22, a time of near-maximum solar activity. ATLAS 2 experienced a
Sun without sunspots during the last half of the mission. Investigators
expect even less solar activity for ATLAS 3 as the cycle continuestoward
minimum activity, expected to occur in 1996-97. The STS-66 crew will turn
the Shuttle's cargo bay toward the Sun four times during the mission, for
solar viewing periods lasting from six to eight orbits.
The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM). Principal
Investigator: Dr. Richard C. Willson, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif.
The primary objective of ACRIM is to determine the degree and
direction of possible variations in the Sun's total output of energy, or
irradiance ACRIM measures the total solar irradiance from ultraviolet
through infrared wavelengths to better than 0.1 percent precision. INSERT
D
As part of a long-term program to study the physical behavior of the
Sun and its effect on Earth's climate, NASA is putting together a highly
precise collection of information on solar irradiance. For more than 20
years, the total solar irradiance has been monitored by instruments
orbiting on spacecraft such as Nimbus-7, the Solar Maximum Mission and
UARS. An ACRIM instrument flew on Spacelab 1 (1983), the Solar Maximum
Mission (1980-1989), UARS (1991- ) and on ATLAS 1 and ATLAS 2.
During ATLAS 2, the instrument collected 25 orbits of observations
and made measurements that coincided with UARS' ACRIM. Investigators
noticed outstanding instrument performance and highly precise
measurements. Measurements were improved because the Sun was in a very
quiet period during the mission, allowing for possibly the most stable
calibrations ever achieved between the two instruments.
Through successive comparisons, the accuracy of the satellite
measurements can be maintained. These instruments will help establish the
total solar radiation scale for the International System of Units. By
comparing measurements of the solar constant made during ATLAS 3,
scientists can further refine the accuracy of this scale.
ACRIM , located on the ATLAS 3 platform, contains four cylindrical
bays. Three of the bays house independent heat sensors, called
pyrheliometers, which are self-calibrating and automatically controlled.
The fourth bay holds a sensor that measures the relative angle between the
instrument and the Sun.
Measurement of the Solar Constant (SOLCON). Principal Investigator:
Dr. Dominique Crommelynck, Belgian Royal Institute of Meteorology,
Brussels, Belgium
SOLCON measures the absolute value of the total solar irradiance and
detects and measures long-term variations that may exist in its absolute
value. The accuracy of the instrument allows the science team to
determine the value of the solar constant during a particular mission to
within 0.1 percent accuracy and about 0.01 percent precision.
Scientists theorize that systematic changes of only 0.5 percent per
century in total solar energy reaching the Earth could explain the entire
range of past climate changes from tropical to ice age conditions. The
ATLAS solar instruments are designed to measure the changes in irradiance
to a long-term accuracy of 0.1 percent. Continuous, more accurate
measurements of the solar constant will allow future generations to
identify solar and climatic trends over the centuries.
By comparing measurements of the solar constant from SOLCON and
ACRIM, as well as those from free-flying satellites, scientists can
continue to refine the accuracy of the total solar radiation measurements.
INSERT E
SOLCON flew on Spacelab 1 (1983), ATLAS 1 and ATLAS 2. A copy,
called SOVA 1, also flew on the European Space Agency's European
Retrievable Carrier (EURECA), launched from the Shuttle in July 1992 and
retrieved in June 1993. Preliminary results from ATLAS 1 indicate the
number of solar spots on the rotating solar disc influences the
fluctuation of the solar irradiance value.
The ATLAS 2 mission provided 26 orbits of operations and measurements
that coincided with SOVA 1. These measurements were taken during a very
quiet period of solar cycle 22. As with ACRIM, this situation provided
the best possible scenario for observations and comparison of the
instrument's radiometers. Analysis of the data indicates that the
measurements made by SOLCON and SOVA 1 agree very closely on each of their
two channels regarding the approximate value of the solar constant as 1367
watts per square meter.
SOLCON is a high-resolution, self-calibrating radiometer with a
digital processing/converter unit. The only part of the experiment that
is not automatic is the pointing operation, which requires that the
investigators analyze values obtained from a Sun sensor and, if necessary,
request minor changes in the orbiter's attitude that will correctly
position the experiment to point directly at the Sun.
The majority of SOLCON commands will be issued from the Space Remote
Operations Center in Brussels, Belgium, but the principal investigator
will be in Huntsville to participate in science planning. About half of
SOLCON's operations during ATLAS 2 were commanded remotely from Brussels.
This was a significant test of technologies that will be used for future
space operations.
Solar Spectrum Measurement from 180 to 3,200 Nanometers (SOLSPEC).
Principal Investigator: Dr. Gerard O. Thuillier, Aeronomy Service of the
National Center for Scientific Research, Verrieres-le- Buisson, France
The objectives of SOLSPEC are to measure the absolute spectral solar
irradiance with the highest accuracy possible and to measure the
solarvariability at different times during a solar cycle.
Although most solar energy is contained in the visible and infrared
light that reaches the Earth's surface, the energy present in ultraviolet
and shorter wavelengths can vary significantly during an 11-year solar
cycle. This variation can change the amount of energy reaching the
atmosphere, driving changes in the middle and upper atmospheres.
Investigators want to identify regions in the atmosphere that are likely
to respond to particular changes in solar infrared, visible, and
ultraviolet ranges. More simultaneous solar and atmospheric data will
improve our understanding of atmospheric processes and, eventually, our
ability to predict atmospheric behavior.
INSERT F
SOLSPEC flew on Spacelab 1, and it was part of both ATLAS 1 and ATLAS
2. During ATLAS 1, SOLSPEC made observations of the light backscattered
by the ozone layer. The preliminary analysis of SOLSPEC data indicates
that the values for ultraviolet, visible and infrared light are close to
the expected values, which will be helpful in validating scientists'
models showing the interaction of sunlight with the atmosphere. These
measurements were compared to those taken by SSBUV and SUSIM. The total
irradiance measured was compared with that measured by the SOLCON and the
ACRIM.
During ATLAS 2, SOLSPEC operated through 26 orbits and obtained
measurements that coincide with those from similar instruments on EURECA
and UARS. Analysis of the data is continuing, and correlation between
ultraviolet and solar constant changes is being studied in great detail.
Investigators also had an important opportunity to study solar
variability when the activity level of the Sun decreased from the
beginning to the end of the ATLAS 2 mission. ATLAS 2 data agree with data
gathered during ATLAS 1, and both sets of data have a greater degree of
accuracy than those obtained during Spacelab 1. ATLAS 1 and ATLAS 2
results differ at certain wavelengths, and this dissimilarity demonstrates
the difference in solar activity during the two missions.
SOLSPEC, located on the ATLAS 3 pallet, has an onboard calibration
device and three double spectrometers that record solar radiation. Once
in orbit, the SOLSPEC equipment is closely monitored by scientists at the
Spacelab Mission Operations Control center in Huntsville, Ala., during the
first calibration. Later calibrations and observations are controlled
through the onboard equipment computer. Some commands will be sent from
the remote center in Brussels.
Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM). Principal
Investigator: Dr. Guenter Brueckner, Naval Research Laboratory,
Washington, D.C.
SUSIM has two purposes. First, it measures the fluctuation of the
Sun's ultraviolet radiation. During an 11-year solar cycle, changes in
ultraviolet radiation bring about changes in atmospheric conditions, such
as the amount of ozone in the stratosphere. A better record of the Sun's
ultraviolet output will help scientists distinguish between atmospheric
changes caused by variations in ultraviolet radiation and those brought
about by human activity.
Second, SUSIM determines how much the ultraviolet light being
measured degrades the accuracy of the measuring instrument. Unless the
extent of degradation is known, it is impossible to distinguish real
changes in solar radiation from the loss of accuracy in the instrument.
INSERT G
SUSIM operates during the Shuttle's solar-pointing periods to
establish a new and more accurate database on solar ultraviolet irradiance
(that portion of ultraviolet energy that reaches the top of Earth's
atmosphere) over a wide range of wavelengths, from 110 to 410 nanometers.
Measurements of radiation in these wavelengths are almost completely
absorbed in the middle and upper atmosphere, preventing detailed
observation from Earth.
Data from the instrument's observations are used for solar physics
studies and for a study of the Sun's influence on Earth's atmosphere. In
addition, SUSIM will continue to make measurements that coincide with
those from a similar instrument on UARS to help calibrate the satellite
instrument. During the first 800 days of the UARS mission, the UARS SUSIM
instrument lost 90 percent of its sensitivity to short wavelengths for one
of its channels. The ATLAS SUSIM data can greatly reduce the UARS error
by providing an estimate of this sensitivity loss.
During ATLAS 1, SUSIM collected more than 100 solar ultraviolet
radiation measurements. On ATLAS 2 , it collected data through 24 orbits
of solar pointing. Comparisons of data obtained by SUSIM during Spacelab
2, ATLAS 1 and ATLAS 2 show there was a drop in the total amount of
ultraviolet irradiance from the Sun between 1985 and 1993. Significantly,
observations made during ATLAS 2 did not confirm many of the assumptions
about the way ultraviolet spectral lines would follow Sunspot activity.
Rather, ultraviolet changes appear to be larger than what would be
predicted by the change in sunspot and total constant change.
Located on the ATLAS 3 platform, SUSIM is composed of two precision
ultraviolet spectrometers with two sets of optics and an in- flight
calibration deuterium lamp. A new internal computer, the Dedicated
Experiment Processor (DEP) and a new version of flight software have been
added to the SUSIM experiment for the ATLAS 3 mission. Also, several
electronics modules have been modified to allow the processor to collect
more accurate wavelength measurements over the entire spectrum. These
changes should significantly improve the total accuracy of the data.
The ATLAS-3 Team
The ATLAS program is sponsored by NASA's Office of Mission to Planet
Earth in Washington, D.C. The management and control of each ATLAS
mission is the responsibility of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, Ala. The mission manager directs a civil service and
contractor team effort to match science objectives with Shuttle-Spacelab
resources so each flight is fine-tuned to gather the maximum amount of
science information. This effort includes preparing a minute-by-minute
schedule, called a timeline, that combines crew activities, experiment
requirements, Spacelab resources and Shuttle maneuvers into an efficient
operating plan.
Principal investigators of the individual experiments form an
Investigator Working Group that meets regularly before the mission to
advise the mission manager's team on science-related issues and payload
operations. The working group is chaired by the mission scientist, a
member of the mission manager's team.
During the mission, the management, principal investigators and
science teams collect scientific data from ATLAS instruments around the
clock from NASA's Spacelab Mission Operations Control facility at
Marshall. The facility contains banks of computers, monitors and
communication consoles which enable the ground team to monitor the
payload, collect data, send direct commands to the experiments and
communicate with the Shuttle crew. The SSBUV instrument will also receive
commands from payload operations control centers at Goddard Space Flight
Center.
The science team will meet twice daily during the mission as a
Science Operations Planning Group, which includes the investigators for
the CRISTA-SPAS instruments. The team evaluates science activities, solve
problems and recommend ways to take full advantage of any unplanned
opportunities.
Every ATLAS flight crew is divided into two teams, each of which
works a 12-hour shift so science operations can continue around the clock.
At least one member of each team has special training in both Spacelab and
experiment operations and will oversee science activities on the shift.
Most of the ATLAS instruments operate automatically, commanded by the
Spacelab computers or by the science teams in Huntsville. However,
crewmembers can use keyboards to enter observation sequences if necessary.
Another crewmember on each team is part of the orbiter crew and is
responsible for maneuvering the Shuttle when an instrument requires
precise pointing or must be operated in a specific attitude.
Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-
Shuttle Pallet Satellite (CRISTA-SPAS)
Complementing the ATLAS science mission, the German-built Astronomy
Shuttle Pallet Satellite (ASTRO-SPAS) will carry two instruments to
investigate the Earth's atmosphere. The ATLAS 3/CRISTA-SPAS mission will
constitute a joint science mission, with a single set of science
objectives managed by a single science team.
The ASTRO-SPAS will carry the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and
Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA) and the Middle Atmosphere High
Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI). CRISTA will observe a
variety of gases in the middle atmosphere and MAHRSI will measure amounts
of nitric oxide and hydroxyl in the middle atmosphere and lower
thermosphere. Also onboard the satellite will be the small Surface
Effects Sample Monitor (SESAM), a materials- science experiment aimed at
measuring decay of surfaces exposed to the near-Earth space environment.
By operating apart from the Shuttle, CRISTA AND MAHRSI are
independent of orbiter maneuvers. Since the satellite is deployed and
retrieved on a single flight, data tapes can be retrieved and the
instruments recalibrated in the same way as the ATLAS instruments.
The ASTRO-SPAS program is based on a Memorandum of Understanding
between NASA and the German Space Agency (DARA) and makes provisions for
several joint missions. The first of these missions - ORFEUS-SPAS - was
launched on September 12, 1993, aboard STS-51. The satellite carried the
German Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrograph
(ORFEUS) telescope. CRISTA-SPAS is the second mission in this series.
The CRISTA-SPAS Mission
CRISTA-SPAS will be carried to space in the cargo bay of the Shuttle
Atlantis. Early in the mission, the crew will position the satellite using
the Remote Manipulator System. After release, the CRISTA-SPAS will fly
from 25 to 44 miles (40 to 70 km) behind the Space Shuttle. The satellite
will operate independently, except for required communication periods with
the Orbiter. During these periods, the instrument will relay information
about its status through Atlantis to the CRISTA-SPAS station at KSC. The
first opportunity to communicate with Atlantis will occur immediately
after the release of CRISTA-SPAS. Additional communication opportunites
will occur every 10 to 12 hours.
The payload will be controlled from the German SPAS Payload
Operations Center (SPOC) at KSC. The orbiter will link CRISTA-SPAS and
the ground station. After approximately one week, the satellite will be
retrieved and returned to Earth, where the data will be processed and the
instruments will be refurbished.
INSERT H
The ASTRO-SPAS carrier is designed for up to 14 days of autonomous
operation in the vicinity of the Space Shuttle orbiter. It is
approximately 15 feet (4.6 meters) in height, 7 feet (2 meters) in length
and weighs approximately 7,500 pounds (3,400 kilograms). Precise attitude
control is achieved by a 3-axis stabilized cold gas system incombination
with a star tracker and two specially developed Global Positioning
Satellite (GPS) receivers. Power is generated by a battery package which
can supply 20 to 50 kilowatt hours to the science instruments depending on
mission requirements. The spacecraft also carries a central onboard
computer for satellite operation and attitude control which also execute
commands and an S-band transponder for communications with the ground
which is relayed through the Space Shuttle orbiter.
CRISTA-SPAS Pre-launch Processing
The versatility of the ASTRO-SPAS as a science platform permits it to
support experiments ranging from ultraviolet astronomy to infrared sensing
of the Earth's atmosphere. Refurbishment between missions can be achieved
in less than a year.
The ASTRO-SPAS payload arrived at NASA Spacecraft Hangar AM on Cape
Canaveral Air Station on June 20 to begin the integration of instruments
and checkout. It was moved to the Vertical Processing Facility on Sept.
20 for tests to verify compatibility with the Space Shuttle Atlantis.
Finally, the payload is scheduled to be taken to the launch pad on Oct. 6
for installation into the payload bay of Atlantis on Oct. 11.
CRISTA-SPAS Instruments
Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere
(CRISTA). Principal Investigator: Dr. Dirk Offermann, University of
Wuppertal, Wuppertal, Germany
The CRISTA instrument will gather the first global information about
medium and small scale disturbances in trace gases of the middle
atmosphere. These measurements will be taken in three directions
simultaneously and will provide information about disturbances caused by
winds, wave interactions, turbulence and other processes.
Evidence suggests there are small three-dimensional wave-shaped
patterns in the middle atmosphere, such as the wave-line variations seen
during balloon flights. Many other small atmospheric structures have been
predicted theoretically; however, they cannot be measured by current
satellite instruments. These structures may be of important influence on
many processes in the atmosphere, and precise horizontal and vertical
measurements with good resolution are needed to validate and possibly
improve models of the atmosphere and Earth's energy balance.
Instruments previously used to measure the compositions of the middle
atmosphere work in either one direction or two. For example, instruments
on balloons and rockets take vertical measurements, and most instruments
on satellites provide measurements on a two- directional basis.
Previously, it has not been possible for scientists to take global
measurements in all three dimensions with good spectral resolution at
once.
CRISTA is an infrared instrument composed of three telescopes, with
four spectrometers. Three of the spectrometers measure near infrared
wavelengths (4 to 13 micrometers), and the fourth is sensitive to the
far-infrared wavelengths (14 to 71 micrometers). Each telescope has a
short-wavelength spectrometer attached, and the center telescope also
holds the spectrometer that measures longer wavelengths.
Because of the high speed of CRISTA-SPAS (about five miles, or eight
kilometers, per second) optics and detectors must be very fast to achieve
good resolution for the measurements. The spectrometers take one spectrum
per second and measure up to 15 gases in 26 channels during this time.
The telescopes obtain complete altitude observations of these gases within
about one minute as the lines-of-sight are scanned through the atmosphere.
The required high measurement speed and the required high sensitivity is
achieved by cryogenically cooling the CRISTA optics and detectors.
The CRISTA instrument is contained in a vacuum container cooled with
liquid helium. The container is covered by a motorized door assembly. An
electronics module that controls and monitors the functions and
measurements of the instrument is contained in a Get- Away Special
canister also located on the ASTRO-SPAS satellite. The satellite has its
own pointing system and, by operating apart from the Shuttle, is not
affected by orbiter maneuvers. CRISTA data is stored on the on-board data
recorder.
The Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI).
Principal Investigator: Dr. Robert Conway, Naval Research Laboratory,
Washington, D.C.
MAHRSI will measure amounts of hydroxyl and nitric oxide in the
middle atmosphere and lower thermosphere, from 24 to 72 miles (40 to about
120 km) high. The experiment also will provide precise knowledge of the
density and temperature in the upper atmosphere.
This information will be used to test many theories that havebeen
based on assumed values and will provide the first global vertical
measurements of hydroxyl in the stratosphere.
The area of the middle atmosphere between 25 and 75 miles altitude
(40 and 120 km) is too high for balloon experiments, but is too quickly
crossed by sounding rockets for scientists to obtain adequate data.
Investigators have had to make assumptions regarding the atmospheric
composition found in this region, and they have had to estimate the
effects of vertical and horizontal mixing on its chemistry. Using horizon
scanning, MAHRSI will measure the ultraviolet sunlight scattered by
hydroxyl and nitric oxide in this region of the atmosphere to give
scientists new information about these important gases.
Hydroxyl is an important part of the hydrogen family that contributes
directly to destroying the ozone in the middle atmosphere. Hydroxyl
combines with molecules of the "odd" nitrogen family to form nitric acid
and other ingredients that participate in ozone chemistry. At heights
above 37.5 miles (60 km) the distribution of nitric oxide is changed by
winds and currents from the lower thermosphere.
MAHRSI also will provide a unique measurement of the temperature of
the atmosphere in the region around 62.5 miles (100 km) high, the coldest
region of the atmosphere. In a cooperative observation with CRISTA, this
temperature and the nitric oxide quantity information will be combined to
give important understanding of the thermal balance, which plays a
significant role in ozone chemistry.
MAHRSI data will help scientists more accurately test the present
understanding of ozone levels in the middle atmosphere and resolve
conflicts between satellite ozone observations and the ozone amounts
predicted by computer models.
MAHRSI takes high-resolution ultraviolet measurements of daytime
radiation in Earth's atmosphere, in the wavelength range between 190 and
320 nanometers. MAHRSI measures light from hydroxyl and nitric oxide
after these molecules absorb ultraviolet energy from the Sun. Hydroxyl
measurements will be taken between 22 to 56 miles (35 to 90 km), and
nitric oxide measurements from 28 to 90 miles (45 to 145 km).
By knowing the shape of the nitric oxide band, researchers can also
determine the temperatures of the atmosphere at heights from 56 to 75
miles (90 to 120 km). MAHRSI will take either complete nitric oxide
measurements or complete hydroxyl measurements each orbit.
MAHRSI consists of a Czerny-Turner spectrograph with a 30-inch
(75-cm) focal length behind a 20-inch (50-cm) focal length telescope
mounted on the ASTRO-SPAS satellite. MAHRSI transmits information to the
recorder on-board.
CRISTA-SPAS Management
DARA is responsible for CRISTA-SPAS mission management, while overall
science management for the joint science mission is the responsibility of
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. Dr. Roland Wattenbach of Deutsche
Agentur F�r Raumfarhtangelegenheiten (DARA), Bonn, Germany, is the
ASTRO-SPAS program manager. Dr. Konrad Moritz of Deutsche Aerospace
(DASA) is the CRISTA-SPAS mission manager.
Detailed Test Objective 835: Mir Approach Demonstration
For the retrieval of CRISTA-SPAS on the 10th day of STS-66, Atlantis
will use a new rendezvous approach to the satellite than has been standard
for past satellite retrievals. Rather than approaching forthe final
approximately 1.5 miles to CRISTA-SPAS from a point directly ahead of the
satellite, Atlantis will approach from beneath the satellite. An approach
from directly in front of the satellite is called a �V-Bar� approach, or
approaching directly along the velocity vector of the satellite. The V-Bar
approach is the standard technique that has been used on all past shuttle
rendezvous. Atlantis will use a different approach, flying the final mile
to CRISTA-SPAS along the �R-Bar,� an imaginary line drawn from the
satellite to the center of the Earth.
The R-Bar approach is being evaluated for use in rendezvous with the
Russian Mir Space Station in 1995 due to the propellant savings that it
may achieve. Approaching the Mir, the shuttle will have to fire its
braking jets in a mode called �low Z,� where jets facing toward Mir do not
fire and risk damaging the station. Instead, braking of the shuttle�s
approach is performed by firing jets offset from facing directly at the
station. The �low Z� approach requires more propellant when used during a
V-Bar rendezvous approach than during an R-Bar approach. To fully evaluate
the planned Mir rendezvous, Atlantis will use �low Z� braking as it
performs the R-Bar CRISTA-SPAS rendezvous. The new approach may not only
conserve propellant when approaching the Mir station but also could mean
less braking thruster firings are required during the rendezvous in
general, reducing any risk of damaging Mir.
Experiment of the Sun for Complementing the Atlas Payload and for
Education-II (ESCAPE-II)
ESCAPE II (Experiment of the Sun for Complementing the Atlas Payload
and for Education), a student-designed and -developed payload, will gather
data that will contribute to a better understanding of the Sun's radiative
effects on the Earth's upper atmosphere.
The ESCAPE II experiment was designed, managed and built entirely by
undergraduate and graduate students at the Colorado Space Grant Consortium
at the University of Colorado, Boulder. The consortium is a group of 13
state colleges and universities, linked by NASA in 1989 as part of a
national effort to help maintain America's preeminence in space.
Instruments on ESCAPE II include a spectrometer and a digital imaging
telescope, which will gather data in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths in
which little research has been done over the last 20 years.
ESCAPE II will obtain digital images of the solar disk in Lyman
alpha, a wavelength (121.6 nm) in the extreme ultraviolet. The students
of ESCAPE II project are hoping the images will provide a correlation
between solar activity and solar radiation reaching the Earth's
atmosphere.
The ESCAPE II experiment is expected to shed new light on how the
Sun's extreme ultraviolet wavelengths affect the temperature and chemical
composition of the upper atmosphere. Understanding such
variation is critical changes in solar radiation are known to influence a
wide variety of chemical processes, including the natural production and
destruction of stratospheric ozone. The release of human-produced
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), is believed to be largely responsible for the
recent seasonal decline in stratospheric ozone levels, most markedly over
the Earth's poles. But to understand the magnitude of human- caused
changes in the atmosphere, scientists first need to measure the
variability of natural solar radiation.
The objectives of the ESCAPE II team earned the payload status as a
secondary payload to NASA's ATLAS 3 mission. NASA's Get Away Special
(GAS) program provided the students with an experiment canister that will
be bolted into the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. It is
roughly 3 feet tall and 23 inches in diameter. ESCAPE II's instruments are
contained in the canister, which has been fitted with a motorized door to
accommodate view of the solar disk.
ESCAPE II is a follow-on payload to ESCAPE I (Extreme ultraviolet
Solar Complex Autonomous Payload Experiment), which flew in April 1993
onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-56/ATLAS 2 mission.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH-R-1
The NIH-R-1 payload is a collaborative developmental biology
experiment developed by NASA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The 11 experiments that comprise NIH-R-1 will study the effects of space
flight on developing rats. These experiments will provide important
insights into the fields of gravitational and space biology and gravity's
effects on living organisms.
Flying in the Space Shuttle's middeck, the payload consists of two
Animal Enclosure Modules (AEMs), each containing five pregnant rats.
There are nine U. S. principal investigators, along with a principal
investigator from France and one from Russia.
Effects of Space Flight on Muscles and Nerves
Kathryn Clark, Ph.D.
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Mich.
The goal of this study is to understand the effects of gravity on the
formation, development and growth of rodent thigh muscles and nerves from
a small, general mass of cells to fully developed systems. This study
will further our understanding of how muscles develop and may also lead to
advances in treatment of muscles following injury or disease.
An Experiment to Study the Role of Gravity in the Development of the Optic
Nerve
James L. Lambert, Ph.D.
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, Calif.
The purpose of this experiment is to identify changes in development
of the optic nerve in rats exposed to the weightlessness of space prior to
birth. The results of this research may help us begin to understand the
way in which gravity influences the development of our visual system.
In young animals, the final route or destination of electrical
impulses from eye to brain is not well defined. The brain receives "fuzzy
images" of the world because images captured by the eye may be sent to a
range of points in the brain�s visual center. The microgravity
environment of space may indirectly play a role in modifying the retina to
brain signal pattern.
Effects of Weightlessness on Vestibular Development
Bernd Fritzsch, Ph.D.
Creighton University
Omaha, Neb.
This experiment addresses the questions of whether gravity is
essential for the normal development of balance and whether weightlessness
causes the growth of abnormal connections in brain
areas that control balance.
Animals that are in space for even brief periods are unable to
maintain their balance when they return to Earth. Although adults regain
the ability to orient to gravity within a few days, some animals raised in
space never acquire the ability to orient in gravity.
One cause of this abnormal response to gravity may be the development
of the connection between the gravity receptor of the ear and the brain.
This experiment will study rats that develop in space beginning at an age
before these connections are formed until near the time of birth.
Effect of Spaceflight on Development of Immune Responses
Gerald Sonnenfeld, Ph.D.
Carolinas Medical Center
Charlotte, N.C.
Space flight has been shown to change immune responses, which are
those responses of the body that protect people and other animals from
infection. These changes in immune responses could be due to the very low
gravity found in space, as well as to other factors such as stress.
Changes in immune responses could have an impact on the body's ability to
resist infection. The current flight study will look at the effects of
space flight on immune responses of developing rats.
The results of this study should indicate whether or not exposure of
a developing rat to space flight will have an effect on its ability to
have a normal immune response. This should provide information about the
human immune system as well. In addition, the increased understanding of
the development of immune responses could aid in the development of
treatments for medical problems on Earth. For example, we may be able to
find new ways to fight diseases in children on Earth.
Choroid Plexus, Brain and Heart NP Development in Space
Jacqueline Gabrion, Ph.D.
Universit� de Montpellier
Montpellier, France
This experiment, sponsored by CNES (the French Space Agency), will
study the effects of reduced gravity conditions on fluid regulation
systems in the hearts, brains and bodies of rats developing in space.
This experiment will study how the distribution of fluid regulating
hormones change when the rat develops in microgravity.
Studies performed on the heart and brain during ground development
have shown that these systems are different in developing and adult rats.
This mission offers the first opportunity to obtain basic information on
the effects of microgravity on the generation, storage and release of
these hormones in the heart and brain of developing rats.
Fluid-Electrolyte Metabolism
Luba Serova, Ph.D.
Institute of Biomedical Problems
Moscow, Russia
This experiment will examine whether microgravity causes serious
physiological changes in the mother rat, which in turn may induce changes
in fluid electrolytes. Fluid electrolytes are substances that, in liquid
form, easily transmit electric current; they are often mineral or nutrient
rich. This experiment will examine whether microgravity causes serious
physiological changes in the mother rat, which in turn may induce changes
in fluid electrolytes, directly affecting signal transmission between
nerves in developing offspring.
Previous Russian space flight studies have shown that pregnant rats
exposed to microgravity for five days were able to maintain the
fluid-electrolyte balance of developing rats within their normal limits.
However, this led to serious changes in the mother rat, including
significantly delayed body weight gain and reduced calcium in the liver
and kidneys.
The objective of this flight experiment is to measure water, sodium,
potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and iron in developing rats
that will have spent almost half of their gestation period in
microgravity.
Other objectives are to measure the size of segments of various areas
of the skeleton, to identify developmental abnormalities in young rats and
to examine the size and tissue structure of different organs of young rats
that have developed in space.
Microgravity and Placental Development
Randall H. Renegar, Ph.D.
East Carolina University School of Medicine
Greenville, N.C.
This experiment will use pregnant rats to determine the effect of
microgravity on development of the rat placenta.
Ten pregnant rats will be aboard the space shuttle during its 11-day
mission. Upon return to Earth, the rat uteruses and placentas will be
examined. Hormones produced by these tissues will be analyzed to determine
whether the cells involved have retained their structure and are operating
correctly. These studies could identify factors that regulate pregnancy
and provide important insights of the role that gravity plays in pregnancy
on Earth .
Spaceflight Effects on Mammalian Development
Jeffrey Alberts, Ph.D.
Indiana University
Bloomington, Ind.
The vestibular system, which develops before birth, is the part of
the body and brain that senses and translates information about gravity,
thus providing the basis for balance, movement and coordination.
There is reason to expect that the vestibular system needs
gravitational information to establish its early function. But there is no
way to remove gravity on Earth, so the microgravity conditions of space
provide the best insight into the role of gravity in early mammalian
development. Studying the behavior of rats that have not been exposed to
the normal force of gravity may provide information about the earliest
development of the vestibular system.
Effect of Gravity on the Attachment of Tendon to Bone
Roger B. Johnson, D.D.S., Ph.D.
University of Mississippi, School of Dentistry
Jackson, Miss.
The strength of the attachment of tendons to bone is important to the
movement of the legs. There is little information about the effects of
space flight on the attachment of tendons to bone. This experiment is
designed to determine if these attachments become weakened during space
flight. If so, tendons could be torn from the bone, producing a serious
injury and pain, thus preventing normal movement of the legs.
This experiment will study the attachment of tendons to the shin bone
and heel of rats following their return from space flight. The
attachments of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles to the shin bone and
the calf muscle to the heel (the Achilles tendon) will be given special
attention. This study will provide new and important information
concerning the probability of damage to the attachment of tendon to bone
during space flight and will aid in research designed to prevent such
injuries to astronauts during future space flights.
Effect of Microgravity on Epidermal Development in the Rat
Steven B. Hoath, M.D.
Children�s Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati, Ohio
The effects of space flight and microgravity on the multiple
functions of the skin have not yet been explored. This research will
examine the composition, organization and integrity of the skin rats
develop under the conditions of space flight. Analysis will include: the
amount of calcium in the skin; a microscopic look at the cellular
organizationof its outermost layer; and measurement of selected
properties. The data obtained from these studies will result in a better
understanding ofthe effects of non terrestrial environments in altering
the development and maturation of skin.
Development of Sensory Receptors in Skeletal Muscle
Mark DeSantis, Ph.D.
University of Idaho
Moscow, Idaho
This study of rats that undergo part of their prenatal development in
space will examine microscopically the formation of sensory
receptors(known as muscle spindles) and tendon organs in hind limb
skeletal muscles. It will determine the presence, number and size of the
muscle spindles. This research also will examine the effects of
microgravity on the hind limb walking patterns of the rats.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH-C-2
The NIH-C-2 payload is comprised of two collaborative biomedical
experiments sponsored by NASA and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
These two experiments will make use of a computerized tissue culture
incubator known as the Space Tissue Loss (STL) Culture Module. STL was
developed at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., to
study cells in microgravity. Both experiments will study the effects of
space flight on cells from chicken embryos.
Investigations of the Effects of Microgravity on in vitro
Cartilage
Calcification
Adele L. Boskey, Ph.D.
Hospital for Special Surgery
New York, N.Y.
Analyses of the crystals found in the bones of young chickens hatched
from eggs flown in space have shown the presence of smaller crystals
(cartilage or hydroxyapatite crystals) and the absence of any change in
mineral crystal properties compared with Earth-based controls.
In this experiment, a scientific model of naturally occurring
cartilage (a cartilage matrix) will be used to simulate animal cartilage.
The experiment focuses on mineral deposition or calcification of
cartilage. This experiment will be used to compare the mineral formed in
the microgravity of space with that formed on Earth. Cultures at two
different stages of development will be fixed for analysis at five points
during the flight, allowing evaluation of changes in proliferation,
maturation and mineralization of the cultures. Two additional cultures
will be fixed after re-entry.
Results will provide direct insight into how calcification in
cartilage and bone may be controlled in space. This knowledge is
important prior to extended human stays on the Space Station and may also
provide a better understanding of the events involved in normal bone
development on Earth. Such understanding may eventually lead to the
development of improved treatments for osteoporosis and other bone
disorders.
Effect of Space Travel on Skeletal Myofibers
Herman H. Vandenburgh
The Miriam Hospital and Brown University
Providence, R.I.
This experiment will use tissue-cultured muscle cells to study the
effects of space flight on muscle atrophy, protein turnover rates and
growth factor secretion. The results of the experiment will indicate
whether tissue cultured skeletal muscle fibers exposed to microgravity
atrophy in the same way as fibers in humans and other animals do on Earth.
The lack of tension on muscles in space, due to the lack of gravitational
force, offers the opportunity to study the cellular mechanisms that cause
microgravity-induced atrophy.
This type of research may help identify and develop countermeasures
to sustain muscle strength on long-duration space voyages. The experiment
also will provide a rapid screening system for testing drugs to prevent
muscle atrophy on Earth.
PROTEIN CRYSTAL GROWTH EXPERIMENTS
Dr. Larry DeLucas
University of Alabama in Birmingham
Birmingham, Ala.
The STS-66 mission will carry two related systems � the Crystal
Observation System, housed in a Thermal Enclosure System (COS/TES), and
the Vapor Diffusion Apparatus, housed in a Single-locker Thermal Enclosure
System (VDA/STES) � to continue research into the structure of proteins
and other macromolecules such as viruses. In addition to using the
microgravity of space to grow high-quality protein crystals for structural
analysis, the experiments help develop technologies and methods to improve
the protein crystallization process on Earth as well as in space.
Proteins are important, complex biochemicals that serve a variety of
purposes in living organisms. Determining their molecular structure will
lead to a greater understanding of functions in living organisms.
Knowledge of the structure can also assist the pharmaceutical industry in
the development of disease-fighting drugs.
Many proteins can be grown as crystals and their molecular structure
determined through analysis of the crystals by X-ray crystallography.
Unfortunately, crystals grown in the gravity environment of Earth often
have internal defects that make such analysis difficult or impossible. As
demonstrated on Space Shuttle missions since 1985, some protein crystals
grown in space -- away from gravity's distortions -- are larger and have
fewer defects.
Some of the proteins to be grown on STS-66 are: serum albumin, malic
enzyme, aldehyde reductase and thrombin inhibitor complex.
Experiments in both crystal growth systems will evaporate large
droplets of protein solution to begin the crystallization process. The
protein solution and precipitating agent are carried into space in
opposite sides of a double-barreled syringe.
At the beginning of the mission, an astronaut pushes the syringe
pistons to form a drop at the tip of each syringe. Water evaporates from
the droplet in the growth chamber, and it is transferred as vapor to an
absorbent wicking material in a receiving container. Proteins in the
droplets crystallize as their concentrations rise. Crystals can be viewed
through a window in the growth chamber. At the end of the mission, the
crew retracts the droplets with crystals into the syringes for safe return
to Earth.
Small video cameras within the Crystal Observation System will allow
investigators to observe growing protein crystals several times a day,
without excessive crew handling that could disrupt growth and without
removing the system from its temperature-controlled environment. These
observations could help scientists refine their control of the growing
conditions, which could produce larger crystals with a more uniform
internal order.
The Vapor Diffusion Apparatus (VDA) includes three trays, each
containing 20 protein crystal growth chambers. The crew will turn a
handwheel on each tray at the beginning of the mission to start growth,
and each tray will be scanned with a video camera. The tray will be
rescanned and photographed at the end of the mission.
The experiments are sponsored by NASA's Office of Life and
Microgravity Sciences and Applications.
SPACE ACCELERATION MEASUREMENT SYSTEM (SAMS)
The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) will be flying for
the eleventh time aboard the Space Shuttle. The middeck payloads that
SAMS is supporting are the Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) experiments. SAMS
will collect and record data characterizing the microgravity environment
in the Shuttle's middeck.
Proteins play an important role in everyday life, from providing
nourishment to fighting disease. Analyses of crystal forms of proteins
can reveal much about how they work. Earth-grown crystals that are large
enough to study often have numerous flaws caused by gravity. The study of
crystals grown in space could lead to the development of foods with higher
protein content and the design of more effective drugs.
SAMS will provide the scientists studying these crystals with the
information of the microgravity environment that these crystals
experienced during the mission. The scientists will be able to account
for the rocket thruster firings, crew activity and background vibrations
that influence these delicate experiments. The instrument is managed by
NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio for the agency's Office of
Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications, Washington, D.C.
HEAT PIPE PERFORMANCE AND WORKING FLUID BEHAVIOR IN
MICROGRAVITY (HPP)
The Heat Pipe Performance-2 (HPP-2) Experiment will investigate the
thermal performance and fluid dynamics of heat pipes operating with
asymmetric and multiple heating zones under microgravity conditions. A
Thermal Performance Apparatus (TPA) mounted to middeck seat studs allows
the Orbiter crew members to test individual heat pipes in the crew
compartment during the flight. Thirty-five tests will be performed with
ten different axially grooved aluminum/freon heat pipes.
The design of effective spacecraft thermal control systems requires
an understanding of heat pipe fluid dynamics in a microgravity
environment. This behavior cannot be adequately evaluated on Earth because
gravity tends to dominate the capillary forces developed in the wick. In
the microgravity environment, however, surface tension forces within the
apparatus. For these reasons, flight experiments are critical for
collecting the data necessary for computer model validation.
The original Heat Pipe Performance Flight Experiment (HPP-1) was
flown on STS-52 in October, 1992, to investigate and document the
microgravity behavior and performance of several different types of heat
pipes. Data from HPP-1 was used to modify and validate a NASA heat pipe
computer model known as the Groove Analysis Program (GAP). The current
version of GAP models heat pipes with single and uniform heating and
cooling zones. The HPP-2 experiment will test heat pipes with asymmetric
and multiple heating zones, providing data for correlation with new
modifications to the GAP model. The basic difference between the two
experiments is that HPP-1 tested 'ideal case', or simple heat pipes, while
HPP-2 will test more realistic heat pipe designs that mirror the
complexity of actual spacecraft applications.
The end product of the HPP-1 and HPP-2 Flight Experiments will be a
GAP model capable of accurately predicting the performance of any type of
axially grooved heat pipe design prior to manufacture, so large costs in
incurred by building and testing prototype heat pipes can be avoided. The
final version of GAP will allow thermal system engineers to be less
conservative in their designs, leading to fewer heat pipes per spacecraft,
thereby achieving significant weight and cost savings.
STS-66 CREW BIOGRAPHIES
Donald (Don) R. McMonagle, 42, Lt. Col., USAF, will be the Commander
(CDR) of STS-68. Selected as an astronaut in 1987, McMonagle was born in
Flint, Mi., and will be making his third space flight.
McMonagle graduated from Hamady High School, Flint, Mi., in 1970;
received a bachelors in astronautical engineering from the Air Force
Academy in 1974; and received a masters in mechanical engineering
from California State University-Fresno in 1985.
McMonagle completed pilot training with the Air Force at Columbus Air
Force Base, Miss., in 1975. He graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot
School as the outstanding graduate of his class in 1981 and served as a
test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base from 1982-1985. He attended the Air
Force Command and Staff College at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., from
1985-86. With NASA, his first shuttle flight was as a mission specialist
on STS-39 in April 1991, an unclassified mission devoted to studies for
the Strategic Defense Initiative Office. He next flew as pilot of STS-54
in January 1993, a mission that deployed a NASA Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite and performed astronomical studies using the Diffuse X-Ray
Spectrometer.
McMonagle has logged more than 343 hours in space and more than 4,200
hours flying time in a variety of jet aircraft.
Curtis (Curt) L. Brown, 38, Lt. Col., USAF, will serve as Pilot
(PLT). Selected as an astronaut in 1987, Brown was born in Elizabethtown,
N.C., and will be making his second space flight.
Brown graduated from East Bladen High School, Elizabethtown, in 1974
and received a bachelors in electrical engineering from the Air Force
Academy in 1978.
Brown completed pilot training with the Air Force in 1979 and was
assigned to fly the A-10 aircraft at Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, S.C., in
1980. He was reassigned as an A-10 instructor pilot at Davis-Monthan Air
Force Base, Az., in 1982. He attended the Air Force Fighter Weapons School
in 1983 and graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School in 1986 and
later served as a test pilot in the A-10 and F-16 aircraft.
Brown's first shuttle flight was as pilot of STS-47 in September
1992, the first Japanese-U.S. cooperative Spacelab mission. Brown has
logged more than 190 hours in space and 3,700 hours flying time in jet
aircraft.
Dr. Ellen Ochoa, Ph.D., 36, will be Payload Commander and Mission
Specialist 1 (MS1) on STS-66. Selected as an astronaut in January 1990,
Ochoa considers La Mesa, Ca., her hometown and will be making her second
space flight.
Ochoa graduated from Grossmont High School in La Mesa in 1975;
received a bachelors in physics from San Diego State University in 1980;
and received a masters and doctorate in electrical engineering from
Stanford University in 1981 and 1985, respectively.
Ochoa joined Sandia National Laboratories in 1985 in a research staff
position and worked on developing optical methods for distortion-invariant
object recognition and optical filters for noise removal, becoming a
co-inventor on two patents in these areas. Her doctoral dissertation on
using photorefractive crystals, a real-time holographic medium, in a
coherent four-wave mixing optical system to perform nonlinear filtering of
images also resulted in a patent. In 1988, Ochoa joined NASA's Ames
Research Center, Moffett Field, Ca., to lead a research group in optical
processing and later as chief of the Intelligent Systems Technology
Branch, performing research and development of high performance
computational systems for aerospace missions.
Ochoa's first flight was as a mission specialist on STS-56 in April
1993, the second flight of the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and
Sciences (ATLAS-2). Ochoa has logged more than 216 hours in space.
Joseph (Joe) R. Tanner, 44, will be Mission Specialist 2 (MS2).
Selected as an astronaut in 1992, Tanner was born in Danville, Ill., and
will be making his first space flight.
Tanner graduated from Danville High School in 1968 and received a
bachelor's in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois in
1973.
Tanner joined the Navy after high school and completed pilot training
in 1975, later serving as an A-7E pilot with Light Attack Squadron 94
aboard the USS Coral Sea. He completed his regular Navy service as an
advanced jet instructor pilot with Training Squadron 4 in Pensacola, Fla.,
although he remained active in the Naval Reserves.
Tanner joined NASA's Johnson Space Center in 1984 as an aerospace
engineer and research pilot, serving as an instructor pilot in the Shuttle
Training Aircraft used to train landing techniques for the space shuttle.
He later became deputy chief of the Aircraft Operations Division. Tanner
has logged more than 6,800 hours flying time in military and NASA jet
aircraft.
Jean-Francois Clervoy, 35, a European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut,
will be Mission Specialist 3 (MS3). Selected as an astronaut by ESA in
1992, Clervoy considers Toulouse, France, his hometown and will be making
his first space flight.
Clervoy received his baccalaureate from College Militaire de Saint
Cyr l'Ecole in 1976; graduated from Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, in 1981;
graduated from Ecole Superieure de l'Aeronautique et de l'Espace,
Toulouse, in 1983; and graduated as a Flight Test Engineer from Ecole du
Personnel Navigant d'Essais et de Reception, Istres, in 1987.
Clervoy worked with the Delegation Generale pour L'Armamente of the
French Space Agency (CNES) from 1983 to 1985 on automatic systems and
attitude control systems of various projects, including the SPOT Earth
Observations Satellite, the STAR inter-satellite optical link and the VEGA
comet probe. In 1985, he was selected as a French Space Agency astronaut
and worked as chief test director of the Parabolic Flight Program and also
in the Hermes Crew Office, Toulouse, where he supported efforts in
extravehicular activity, rendezvous and robotic arms. In 1991, Clervoy
completed six weeks of intensive training in Star City, Russia, on the
Soyuz, Mir and EVA systems. In the JSC Astronaut Office, he has supported
development work on remote manipulator system and robotics issues.
Scott E. Parazynski, M.D., 33, will be Mission Specialist 4 (MS4).
Selected as an astronaut in 1992, Parazynski considers Palo Alto, Ca., and
Evergreen, Co., his hometowns and will be making his first space flight.
Parazynski attended high school first at the Tehran American School,
Iran, and then graduated from the American Community School, Athens,
Greece, in 1979; received a bachelors in biology from Stanford University
in 1983; and received a doctorate in medicine from Stanford Medical School
in 1989.
Parazynski was awarded a NASA Graduate Student Fellowship while in
medical school and conducted research on fluid shifts that occur during
human space flight. Additionally, he was involved in the design of several
exercise devices being developed for long-duration space flight.
Parazynski completed his medical internship at the Brigham and Women's
Hospital of Harvard Medical School in 1990 and completed a 22-month
residency in emergency medicine in Denver, Co., prior to his selection as
an astronaut.
-end STS-66 Press Kit-
|
| 905.15 | KSC Status Report - Oct 21, 1994 (11:24 AM EDT) | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Mon Oct 24 1994 11:54 | 39 |
| [Downloaded from NASA Spacelink]
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1994 (11:24 AM EDT)
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: Pad 39B INCLINATION: 57 degrees
LAUNCH DATE: Nov. 3 CREW SIZE: 6
LAUNCH TIME: 11:56 a.m. EST LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/2 minutes
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Nov. 14/7:42 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
IN WORK TODAY:
o Pad closed to load hypergolic fuels
WORK COMPLETED:
o Flight Readiness Review
o Close payload bay doors
o Preparations to load hypergolic fuels
o Calibrate inertial measurement units
o Cavity purges and leak checks
o ATLAS payload battery charge
o Payload interface verification tests
o Water spray boiler inspections
WORK SCHEDULED NEXT WEEK:
o Open rotating service structure
o Hot fire three auxiliary power units
o Helium signature test (rescheduled for Sunday)
o Begin aft engine compartment close-outs (Monday)
o Install and check-out contingency space suits (Tuesday)
o Ordnance Installation (Wednesday)
o Pressurize hypergolic reactant tanks (Wednesday)
o Purge external tank (Thursday)
|
| 905.16 | KSC Status Report - Oct 27, 1994 (2:53 PM EDT) | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Fri Oct 28 1994 12:52 | 43 |
| [Downloaded from ftp.pao.hq.nasa.gov]
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1994 (2:53 PM EDT)
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: Pad 39B INCLINATION: 57 degrees
LAUNCH DATE: Nov. 3 CREW SIZE: 6
LAUNCH TIME: 11:56 a.m. EST LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/2
minutes
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Nov. 14/7:42 a.m. MISSION DURATION: 10 days/20
hours
NOTE: Managers have decided to perform a special torque test on
Atlantis' three water spray boilers. Six water valves (2 on each
boiler) and the associated piping will be checked for potential
weaknesses or corrosion. The test was deemed necessary following
discovery of a failed valve on one of Endeavour<PU2>s boilers. Aft
close-out work will be extended through the weekend. No impact
to launch is expected.
IN WORK TODAY:
Purge external tank
Aft engine compartment close-outs
Water spray boiler inspections
WORK SCHEDULED:
Complete aft close-outs
Final payload servicing for flight
Close payload bay doors for flight
WORK COMPLETED:
Pressurize hypergolic reactant tanks
Install and check-out contingency space suits
Airlock close-outs
Ordnance Installation
Load hypergolic fuels
|
| 905.17 | KSC Status Report - 31 Oct, 1994 (11:08 AM EDT) | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Tue Nov 01 1994 17:17 | 74 |
|
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1994 (11:08 AM EDT)
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: Pad 39B INCLINATION: 57 degrees
LAUNCH DATE: Nov. 3 CREW SIZE: 6
LAUNCH TIME: 11:56 a.m. EST LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/2 minutes
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Nov. 14/7:42 a.m. MISSION DURATION: 10 days/20 hours
NOTE: A Delta vehicle with NASA's Wind payload is scheduled for launch
at 4:31 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, from Cape Canaveral Air Station's
complex 17B. If this Delta launch slips 24-hours, launch of Atlantis
will be delayed 24 hours as well. If this occurs, an additional 24-hour
hold will be inserted at the T-27 hour mark and launch of mission STS-66
will be rescheduled for Friday, Nov. 4, at 11:58 a.m. EST. At this time,
the Delta/Wind launch remains on schedule.
IN WORK TODAY:
STS-66 crew arrival (11:30 a.m.)
Countdown begins at T-43 hours (4 p.m.)
Final payload servicing for flight
WORK COMPLETED:
Water spray boiler inspections
Aft engine compartment close-outs
Countdown preparations
WORK SCHEDULED THIS WEEK:
Close payload bay doors for flight (early Tuesday)
Load on board cryogenic tanks (2 p.m. Tuesday)
Retract rotating service structure (1 p.m. Wednesday)
Load external tank (3:36 a.m. Thursday)
SUMMARY OF BUILT-IN HOLDS FOR STS-66
T-TIME ----------- LENGTH OF HOLD ---------- HOLD BEGINS -------- HOLD ENDS
T-27 hours ------- 4 hours ---------------- 8 a.m. Tues.--------12 p.m. Tues.
T-19 hours ------- 4 hours ---------------- 8 p.m. Tues.------- 12 a.m. Wed.
T-11 hours ------ 13 hrs.,36 mins. -------- 8 a.m. Wed.-------- 9:36 p.m. Wed.
T-6 hours -------- 1 hour -------------- 2:36 a.m. Thurs.------ 3:36 a.m. Thurs.
T-3 hours -------- 2 hours ------------- 6:36 a.m. Thurs.------ 8:36 a.m. Thurs.
T-20 minutes ---- 10 minutes ----------- 11:16 a.m. Thurs.----- 11:26 a.m. Thurs.
T-9 minutes ----- 10 minutes ----------- 11:37 a.m. Thurs.----- 11:47 a.m. Thurs.
CREW FOR MISSION STS-66
Commander (CDR): Don McMonagle (red team)
Pilot (PLT): Curtis Brown (blue team)
Mission Specialist (MS1): Ellen Ochoa (red team)
Mission Specialist (MS2): Joseph Tanner (red team)
Mission Specialist (MS3): Jean-Francois Clervoy (blue team)
Mission Specialist (MS4): Scott Parazynski (blue team)
SUMMARY OF STS-66 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES
Thursday, Nov. 3, 1994
7:01 a.m. Wake up
7:31 a.m. Lunch/Breakfast
7:31 a.m. Crew Photo
8:01 a.m. Weather briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2)
8:01 a.m. Don flight equipment (MS1, MS3, MS4)
8:11 a.m. Don flight equipment (CDR, PLT, MS2)
8:41 a.m. Depart for launch pad 39B
9:11 a.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress
10:26 a.m. Close crew hatch
11:56 a.m. Launch
|
| 905.18 | There will be no delay due to Delta launch this am.... | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Tue Nov 01 1994 17:20 | 5 |
| RE: -1 comments about NASA's launch of the Delta vehicle of
the Winds payload from 17B. It lifted off on time this morning
with no problems.
Bob
|
| 905.19 | KSC Status Report for STS-66 Mission 2-Nov-94 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Thu Nov 03 1994 11:56 | 100 |
| [Downloaded from ftp.pao.hq.nasa.gov]
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1994 (10:33 AM EST)
LAUNCH MINUS 1 DAY
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: Pad 39B INCLINATION: 57 degrees
LAUNCH DATE: Nov. 3 CREW SIZE: 6
LAUNCH TIME: 11:56 a.m. EST LAUNCH WINDOW: 1 hour/2 minutes
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: Nov. 14/7:42 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 10 days/19 hours/46 minutes
The countdown for mission STS-66 and the launch of Atlantis on
Thursday at 11:56 a.m. EST continues on schedule today. No serious
technical issues are being worked by the management team and no problems
are being reported from the pad.
Yesterday operations to load the cryogenic reactants were
completed at about 10 p.m. The orbiter's mid-body umbilical unit
has been demated from the orbiter and retracted into the fixed
service structure. This was followed by final vehicle and
facility close-outs. Later today, the 10 rodents that will fly on
the Shuttle will be loaded into the orbiter's mid-deck storage
facilities.
Preparations are now underway to retract the rotating service
structure (RSS) to launch position. RSS move is set for about 1
p.m. today. Loading of the external tank with cryogenic
propellants is scheduled to begin at about 3:36 a.m. tomorrow.
Air Force weather forecasters are currently indicating a 30
percent probability of weather prohibiting launch on Thursday.
The primary concerns are for a cloud ceiling below 8,000 feet and
a chance for exceeding the crosswind limits and the Shuttle
Landing Facility. During Thursday's launch window, the winds at
Pad B are expected to be from the east-northeast at 8-13 knots;
temperature 77 degrees F; visibility 7 miles; and clouds
scattered at 4,000-6,000 feet. The 24-hour-delay forecast reveals
similar conditions with forecasters listing a 40 percent chance
of violation.
Early weather reports from the Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL)
sites in Spain and Africa indicate a less than favorable forecast
with scattered showers and low clouds.
Today, the six-member astronaut crew will be given a briefing
on tomorrow morning's launch weather outlook at Kennedy Space
Center and the TAL sites in Spain and Africa. Also today, the
crew receive a final payload briefing and they will make last
minute adjustments to their flight plans while completing their
review of launch day activities. Tomorrow, the crew will depart
for Launch Pad 39B at about 8:41 a.m.
SUMMARY OF BUILT-IN HOLDS FOR STS-66
T-TIME --------- LENGTH OF HOLD -------- HOLD BEGINS ------- HOLD ENDS
T-27 hours ------- 4 hours -------------- 8 a.m. Tues.------ 12 p.m. Tues.
T-19 hours ------- 4 hours -------------- 8 p.m. Tues.------ 12 a.m. Wed.
T-11 hours ------ 13 hrs.,36 mins. ------ 8 a.m. Wed.----- 9:36 p.m. Wed.
T-6 hours --------- 1 hour ----------- 2:36 a.m. Thurs.--- 3:36 a.m. Thurs.
T-3 hours -------- 2 hours ----------- 6:36 a.m. Thurs.--- 8:36 a.m. Thurs.
T-20 minutes ---- 10 minutes -------- 11:16 a.m. Thurs.-- 11:26 a.m. Thurs.
T-9 minutes ----- 10 minutes -------- 11:37 a.m. Thurs.-- 11:47 a.m. Thurs.
CREW FOR MISSION STS-66
Commander (CDR): Don McMonagle (red team)
Pilot (PLT): Curtis Brown (blue team)
Mission Specialist (MS1): Ellen Ochoa (red team)
Mission Specialist (MS2): Joseph Tanner (red team)
Mission Specialist (MS3): Jean-Francois Clervoy (blue team)
Mission Specialist (MS4): Scott Parazynski (blue team)
SUMMARY OF STS-66 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES
Thursday, Nov. 3, 1994
7:01 a.m. Wake up
7:31 a.m. Lunch/Breakfast
7:31 a.m. Crew Photo
8:01 a.m. Weather briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2)
8:01 a.m. Don flight equipment (MS1, MS3, MS4)
8:11 a.m. Don flight equipment (CDR, PLT, MS2)
8:41 a.m. Depart for launch pad 39B
9:11 a.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress
10:26 a.m. Close crew hatch
11:56 a.m. Launch
NOTE: This Space Shuttle Status Report is available from a data
repository known as an anonymous FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
server at ftp.pao.hq.nasa.gov under the directory
/pub/pao/statrpt/ksc. Users should log on with the user name
anonymous , then enter their E-mail address as the password.
Within the /pub/pao directory there will be a readme.txt file
explaining the directory structure.
|
| 905.20 | They're off! | SKYLAB::FISHER | Indecision is the key to flexibility! | Thu Nov 03 1994 12:43 | 5 |
| Oops. I forgot to listen to the launch, but I hear now that they have done
OMS-2 and are about to open the payload bay doors, so it must have launched just
about on time.
Burns
|
| 905.21 | KSC Status Report 3-Nov-94 (3:18 PM EST) | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 04 1994 11:35 | 43 |
| [Downloaded from NASA Spacelink]
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1994 (3:18 PM EST)
KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham 407-867-2468 (fax 867-2692)
MISSION: STS-66 -- ATLAS-3/CRISTA-SPAS
LAUNCH DAY/FLIGHT DAY 1
VEHICLE: Atlantis/OV-104 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 189 sm
LOCATION: on orbit INCLINATION: 57 degrees
LAUNCH DATE and TIME: Nov. 3 at 11:59:43.060 a.m. EST
KSC LANDING DATE and TIME: Nov. 14 at 7:45 a.m.
MISSION DURATION: 10 days/19 hours/46 minutes
The launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-66 occurred
today at 11:59:43 a.m. EST. The countdown was held for three minutes and 43
seconds at the T-5 minute mark as managers discussed the weather at
the transoceanic abort landing sites.
This was the 66th launch of the Space Shuttle and the 13th for the
orbiter Atlantis. No significant technical issues were worked throughout
the duration of the countdown.
Post launch inspections of the pad reveal no unusual damage to the
pad surface or the mobile launcher platform.
The solid rocket booster retrieval ships have reached the spent
boosters. Divers have recovered the parachutes and the ships will begin
towing the boosters back to Port Canaveral later today.
(Mission STS-66 status reports are issued daily by the Johnson Space
Center, Houston, Tx.)
CREW: Commander Don McMonagle; Pilot Curtis Brown; and Mission Specialists
Ellen Ochoa, Joseph Tanner, Jean-Francois Clervoy and Scott Parazynski.
NOTE: This Space Shuttle Status Report is available from a data repository
known as an anonymous FTP (File Transfer Protocol) server at
ftp.pao.hq.nasa.gov under the directory /pub/pao/statrpt/ksc. Users should
log on with the user name anonymous , then enter their E-mail address as the
password. Within the /pub/pao directory there will be a readme.txt file
explaining the directory structure.
|
| 905.22 | STS-66 Status Report #1 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 04 1994 11:36 | 50 |
| Article: 24100
From: Mission Control Center
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: STS-66 Status Report 1
Date: 3 Nov 1994 23:53:57 GMT
Organization: Public Affairs Officer Console
Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #1
Thursday, Nov. 3, 1994 5 p.m. CST
The Space Shuttle Atlantis and its crew of six rocketed into orbit at 11
a.m. Central today to start NASA's latest Mission to Planet Earth, an
investigation of the atmosphere and the effects of the Sun and human
beings on its chemical composition.
Commander Don McMonagle, Pilot Curt Brown, Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa and
Mission Specialists Jean-Francois Clervoy, Scott Parazynski and Joe Tanner
immediately began configuring Atlantis and its Atmospheric Laboratory for
Applications and Science-3 payload for 11 days of scientific investigations
that should provide clues on how the environment is changing and how humans
contribute to those changes.
The astronauts were given a "go" for orbit operations at 12:33 p.m.
Central, and immediately began activation of the Spacelab pallet and its
experiments. Ochoa and Tanner successfully checked out the 50-foot robot
arm, and at 3:54 p.m. Central Ochoa reported that she had grappled the
German-built Shuttle Pallet Satellite (SPAS) and was beginning to power
up its systems.
Using the Canadian-built remote manipulator system, Ochoa will lift SPAS
out of the payload bay Friday morning and deploy it for eight days of
free-flying observations with its primary instruments -- the Cryogenic
Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere and the Middle
Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation. The instruments will
be measuring a variety of gases in the middle atmosphere and lower
thermosphere. Also onboard SPAS will be the Surface Effects Sample Monitor,
which will measure the decay of surfaces in the near-Earth environment of
space.
The astronauts are split into two teams to provide around-the-clock support
for the scientific investigations. The Red Team of McMonagle, Ochoa and
Tanner worked the first duty shift, while the Blue Team of Brown, Clervoy
and Parazynski began a six-hour sleep shift at 3 p.m. Central that will put
the astronauts on a night-shift schedule by Houston standards.
All of Atlantis' systems are functioning well in support of the scientific
investigations as the shuttle circles the world every 90 minutes at an
altitude of 164 nautical miles.
|
| 905.23 | Atlas Status Report #1 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 04 1994 11:37 | 62 |
| [Downloaded from NASA Spacelink]
ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #1
6:00 p.m. CST, Nov. 3, 1994
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
The third Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS
3) payload is in orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis, ready to paint a
more complete picture of the Earth's atmosphere, how the sun affects it,
and how human activity is changing it.
The seven atmospheric and solar instruments from the previous ATLAS
missions have reinforcements this flight - two new atmospheric experiments
mounted on the German space agency's deployable CRISTA-SPAS satellite.
The ATLAS 3 mission will make the first detailed measurements from the
Shuttle of the Northern Hemisphere's middle atmosphere in late fall. The
timing of the flight, when the Antarctic ozone hole is diminishing, allows
scientists to study possible effects of the ozone hole on mid-latitudes,
the way Antarctic air recovers, and how the northern atmosphere changes as
the winter season approaches.
Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa, a veteran of the ATLAS 2 mission,
finished activating Spacelab systems at 1:34 p.m. CST. Ground controllers
at Spacelab Mission Operations Control in Huntsville, Ala., completed
commands to power up the ATLAS payload at 2:30 p.m, three and a half hours
after launch.
The first ATLAS 3 experiment operation was a test of the Atmospheric
Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment's sun tracker. The
experiment, provided by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, views the
atmosphere illuminated by the rising and setting sun to measure the
quantity and distribution of 30 to 40 atmospheric gases - more than any
other space instrument. The sun tracker's motorized mirrors follow the
sun as it moves in relation to the orbiter, reflecting sunlight onto the
instrument's detectors. Commander Don McMonagle maneuvered Atlantis so
the experiment team in Huntsville could receive real-time video as they
commanded the tracker to scan from the middle to the edge of the solar
disk. "This is the first time we have been able to compare video of the
tracker's actual movements with the commands we sent," said Principal
Investigator Dr. Mike Gunson. "We found the instrument is positioned very
accurately, and this gives us an important reference point for commanding
throughout the mission." ATMOS made its first science observation of an
orbital sunrise at 4:30 p.m.
Mission Specialist Joe Tanner used the orbiter's Remote Manipulator
System arm to power up the CRISTA-SPAS satellite for a Cryogenic Infrared
Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA) status test. The
experiment, one of two onboard the satellite, is encased in a
thermos-bottle-like vacuum container cooled with super-cold helium. This
prevents heat given off by the instrument from interfering with its
readings of cool, infrared radiation in the atmosphere. After its
deployment, the satellite will follow about 24 to 44 miles (40 to 70
kilometers) behind the Shuttle for a week, adding new insights on the
distribution of gases which contribute to ozone chemistry in the middle
atmosphere.
Tonight, Germany's Millimeter Wave Atmospheric Sounder will make its
first set of atmospheric measurements, and ATMOS will continue to monitor
orbital sunrises and sunsets.
|
| 905.24 | STS-66 Element Set epoch rev 4 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 04 1994 11:39 | 17 |
|
STS-66
1 23340U 94073A 94307.89416744 .00051270 00000-0 16849-3 0 33
2 23340 56.9952 196.9769 0011025 276.3051 83.6778 15.89461684 45
Satellite: STS-66
Catalog number: 23340
Epoch time: 94307.89416744 = (03 NOV 94 21:27:36.06 UTC)
Element set: 003
Inclination: 56.9952 deg
RA of node: 196.9769 deg Space Shuttle Flight STS-66
Eccentricity: .0011025 Keplerian element set JSC-003
Arg of perigee: 276.3051 deg from NASA flight Day 1 vector
Mean anomaly: 83.6778 deg
Mean motion: 15.89461684 rev/day Gil Carman
Decay rate: 5.1270e-04 rev/day^2 NASA Johnson Space Center
Epoch rev: 4
|
| 905.25 | STS-66 Mission Status Report #2 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 04 1994 16:27 | 38 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #2
Friday, November 4, 7:30 a.m. CST
The CRISTA-SPAS science satellite was released from Atlantis' payload bay
early this morning for an eight-day flight free from the Shuttle to measure
the Earth's atmosphere and ozone layer.
After a complete checkout of the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and
Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA) and the Middle Atmosphere High
Resolution Spectrograph Investigation, Mission Specialist Jean-Francois
Clervoy used the Shuttle's robot arm to gently raise the satellite out of
the payload bay and released it at 6:50 a.m. Central. The release took place
as Atlantis flew 164 nautical miles above Germany on the 14th orbit of the
mission. Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa will use the robot arm again on
November 12 to capture the satellite and place it back in the payload bay
for the trip home.
Overnight, Curt Brown, Scott Parazynski and Clervoy worked with the Active
Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor, one of seven instruments that comprise
the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-3 payload. The
payload complement is designed to study the Earth's atmosphere with
particular attention to the ozone layer and will help researchers determine
how human activity is affecting the atmosphere.
Brown also took sightings on several stars to calibrate and test Atlantis'
heads up display and Course Optical Alignment Site instruments. These
instruments are used to backup the Inertial Measurement Units on board the
orbiter that keep Atlantis oriented in space.
Mission Commander Don McMonagle, Ochoa and Mission Specialist Joe Tanner
began their second day in space at about 4 a.m. today. The other three
astronauts are scheduled to go to bed at about 1 p.m. this afternoon.
All systems on board Atlantis continue to function well in support of STS-66
as the shuttle circles the Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 164
nautical miles.
|
| 905.26 | Atlas Status Report #2 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 04 1994 16:29 | 71 |
| [Downloaded from NASA Spacelink]
ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #2
6:00 a.m. CST, Nov. 4, 1994
MET 0/19:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
Instruments aboard the third Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and
Science (ATLAS-3) Spacelab mission have been powered up, and two of them
took readings of a variety of gases in the middle atmosphere throughout
the past twelve hours. Information from the ATLAS experiments, along with
that gathered by free-flying satellites, will give scientists increased
insight into the complex chemistry of the middle atmosphere which affects
global ozone levels.
The mission's atmospheric studies continued as the Millimeter-Wave
Atmospheric Sounder (MAS), made its first set of measurements and employed
its improved scan mode to continuously observe Earth's far horizon and
look for traces of water vapor, ozone and chlorine monoxide at different
altitudes. The instrument, mounted on the Spacelab pallet, uses a
dish-shaped antenna to study the chemistry of ozone, and also to measure
temperature and pressure, in Earth's middle atmosphere. Using its new
chlorine monoxide receiver, that is twice as sensitive as the one that
flew on the ATLAS 1 and 2 missions, MAS can take better measurements of
chlorine monoxide, an important compound involved in ozone depletion, over
both hemispheres.
Also, the Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) instrument
continued to operate nominally, making its observations of orbital
sunrises and sunsets and measuring the concentrations of more than 30
gases in the middle atmosphere. The device uses a technique called limb
sounding, which involves viewing the infrared portion of sunlight as it
shines through the Earth's horizon, or 'limb.' Because trace gases absorb
at very specific infrared wavelengths, the science team can determine what
gases are present, in what concentrations, and at what altitudes. A more
thorough knowledge of which gases are present, and of how their
concentrations change over time, can help scientists determine the
extent of man-made and natural changes.
Mission Specialist Ellen Ochoa activated the Shuttle Solar Backscatter
Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment, which will be used to verify the accuracy
of atmospheric ozone and solar ultraviolet irradiance data obtained by
instruments on free-flying National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and NASA satellites. Its door was opened to expose the instrument to the
space environment, and a period of "outgassing" followed, during which the
device cooled until 5:30 a.m. CST. SSBUV will take its first atmospheric
readings after the first period of solar observations.
The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere
(CRISTA) experiment began its checkout and pre-deploy activities in
preparation for its release aboard the ASTRO-SPAS retrievable satellite at
6:50 a.m. CST. This instrument will gather the first global information
about medium and small scale disturbances in trace gases of the middle
atmosphere. These measurements will be taken in three dimensions
simultaneously and will provide information about disturbances caused by
winds, waves, turbulence and other processes. A pressure increase
observed earlier in CRISTA's liquid helium container has since leveled off
and should not affect the scheduled deployment of the satellite. Also
aboard the ASTRO-SPAS carrier, the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution
Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) will measure amounts of hydroxyl and
nitric oxide in the middle atmosphere and lower thermosphere, from 24 to
72 miles (40 to about 120 km) high.
The solar instruments have been activated and calibrated for the first
period of solar observations. SOLSPEC and SUSIM are operating nominally.
ACRIM successfully completed its shutter test and is undergoing further
testing. During the next twelve hours, solar observations will begin
after the deployment of ASTRO-SPAS as ATLAS 3 starts its second day in
orbit. All Spacelab systems are working well at this time.
|
| 905.27 | STS-66 Mission Status Report #3 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 07 1994 08:36 | 40 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #3
Friday, November 4, 5 p.m. CST
With instruments in the cargo bay working well and an instrument-laden
satellite safely deployed and flying in orbital formation, Atlantis' crew has
settled into the pace of atmospheric observations that will continue
throughout the mission.
The Red Team on board Atlantis -- Commander Don McMonagle, Payload Commander
Ellen Ochoa and Mission Specialist Joe Tanner -- will complete its first full
12-hour shift working with the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and
Science-3 (ATLAS-3) at about 9:30 p.m. The Blue Team -- Pilot Curt Brown and
Mission Specialists Jean-Francois Clervoy and Scott Parazynski-- will then go
on duty to continue the 24-hour payload operations.
The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle
Pallet Satellite (CRISTA-SPAS), released from Atlantis this morning to fly
free and study the sun for eight days, is now trailing Atlantis by about 22
nautical miles, separating from the orbiter at a rate of about three miles per
orbit. During the afternoon, controllers for the satellite prepared CRISTA-
SPAS for the hands-off operations over the next several days. Controllers
refined the satellite's navigation via ground commands to solve a brief
problem with its precise pointing ability, but CRISTA-SPAS is now working well
as it aims the scientific instruments at their planned targets.
Ochoa took two brief breaks from her work today first to explain the
Measurement of Solar Constant Experiment, or SOLCON, to ground controllers and
then to answer questions about her research from high school honor students
during an interview with WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.
The crew reported a minor problem with the resistance settings on an exercise
bicycle carried on board Atlantis, however the problem was solved by manually
setting the bike's tension for each astronaut. Exercise is a constant feature
of all shuttle missions for both ongoing medical studies and as a method of
counteracting the effects of weightlessness on the body.
Atlantis is currently in a 165 by 164 nautical mile orbit, circling Earth each
90 minutes, 25 seconds.
|
| 905.28 | Atlas Status Report #3 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 07 1994 08:38 | 98 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #3
6:00 p.m. CST, Nov. 4, 1994
MET 1/7:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
With the STS-66 mission well into its second day in orbit, six additional
instruments are at work to decipher the complex chemistry of Earth's
atmosphere. The flight is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, a
coordinated research effort to comprehensively study the planet's environment.
The mission's first solar observation period, which began around noon today,
will measure the sun's energy during daylight portions of eight orbits. All
four solar instruments are veterans of both previous ATLAS flights, plus
either Spacelab 1 or 2 in the mid-1980s.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor
(ACRIM) and Belgium's Measurement of the Solar Constant (SOLCON) experiment
detect the total amount of radiation from the sun, to within 0.1 percent
accuracy. The Solar Spectrum Measurement (SOLSPEC) experiment from France
breaks sunlight down into ultraviolet, visible and infrared wavelengths, while
the Naval Research Laboratory's Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor
(SUSIM) concentrates on ultraviolet radiation.
Sunlight, particularly ultraviolet radiation, provides energy for the chemical
reactions that create atmospheric changes. Before scientists can predict
accurately how human activity will affect the atmosphere, they must thoroughly
understand the natural forces driving it. Even small fluctuations in solar
radiation are important parts of that equation. For instance, variations of
one percent or less in total solar radiation could cause droughts or lengthy
periods of unseasonal cooling.
Two new atmospheric instruments are in operation for the first time in space �
the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere
(CRISTA) experiment and the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph
Investigation (MAHRSI). Both are aboard the autonomous CRISTA-SPAS satellite,
which the crew deployed at 6:50 CST this morning. After receiving several
hours of start-up commands from the operations team at Kennedy Space Center,
the instruments made their first observations shortly before noon.
CRISTA, provided by the University of Wuppertal in Germany, is gathering data
to give scientists their first three-dimensional global "maps" of the middle
atmosphere. The instrument uses three infrared telescopes looking in
different directions to locate small-scale structures of various gases,
thought to be distributed in the atmosphere by winds, wave interactions,
turbulence and other disturbances. Global measurements of these gases and
their changes will help scientists create more precise models of the chemistry
and dynamics of the stratosphere � the region of the atmosphere 10 to 30 miles
above the Earth which contains the ozone layer � and give them a better
understanding of Earth's energy balance.
Science operations for CRISTA were interrupted when the satellite's guidance
system lost sight of its reference stars this afternoon, but they resumed when
ground commands successfully reoriented the satellite a few hours later.
MAHRSI is making ultraviolet measurements of nitric oxide and hydroxyl in an
area parallel to that of CRISTA's center telescope. Comparing results from
CRISTA and MAHRSI will provide important insights into the chemistry and the
heating and cooling of the middle atmosphere. Both hydroxyl and nitric oxide
are natural chemicals that react with ozone and other gases to affect the
chemical balance of the ozone layer. This is the first time hydroxyl has been
measured from space so low in the atmosphere. Principal Investigator Dr.
Robert Conway, of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., reports
that the first data received from MAHRSI is remarkably close to their
predictions, based on expected hydroxyl amounts and instrument properties.
While the CRISTA/SPAS instruments were being activated, the Atmospheric
Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment got two bonus observations
of orbital sunsets, measuring the distribution of trace gases in the
atmosphere over northern Europe.
This morning, the Goddard Space Flight Center's Shuttle Solar Backscatter
Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment completed internal calibration exercises to
ensure it is operating properly. The experiment team is completing
preparations for SSBUV to take its first science data � measurements of
ultraviolet radiation from the sun � on the last two solar orbits tonight.
This afternoon, Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa restarted the ATLAS 3 Global
Positioning System (GPS), and it locked onto four of the positioning
satellites in orbit. An earlier attempt had only locked onto two of the
necessary four satellites. This will give ATLAS 3 experiment teams an extra
means for verifying the precise locations where their instruments take data.
Primary position information comes from the Shuttle's inertial measurement
units.
ATLAS 3 payload controllers and the Millimeter Wave Atmospheric Sounder
(MAS) team in Huntsville are investigating a loss of science data transmission
from the MAS instrument, which occurred after its successful observations last
night. Thus far, they have not determined the source of the problem. The
next MAS operations are scheduled for early tomorrow morning.
After solar observations conclude just before midnight, the crew will point
the Shuttle toward the CRISTA-SPAS satellite to receive a sample of science
data to be relayed to the ground. Then the atmospheric instruments will begin
another set of measurements, and SSUBV will make its first ATLAS 3 readings
of global ozone.
|
| 905.29 | STS-66 Mission Status Report #4 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 07 1994 08:38 | 40 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #4
Saturday, November 5, 9 a.m. CST
With an atmosphere-observing satellite trailing Atlantis by about 26
nautical miles, the Blue Team of astronauts spent its third day on orbit
supporting the scientific observations of the Atmospheric Laboratory for
Applications and Science.
The rate at which the CRISTA-SPAS separates from the orbiter has been
smaller than expected, but the distance between the two spacecraft is well
within safe limits for Atlantis' scheduled maneuvering engine firings. In
fact, one of those periodic engine firings that had been scheduled for
this morning was not needed as the satellite and shuttle continued to
separate at a sufficient rate, a deletion that resulted in fuel savings
for the orbiter.
The Blue Team of astronauts -- Pilot Curt Brown and Mission Specialists
Jean-Francois Clervoy and Scott Parazynski -- began their day about nine
last night.
Parazynski worked with a student-designed payload, Experiment of the Sun
for Complementing the ATLAS Payload and for Education (ESCAPE). ESCAPE is
conducting research in extreme ultraviolet wavelengths, a field in which
little research has been done over the last 20 years.
Atlantis' six astronauts are divided into two teams supporting payload
activities around the clock throughout the mission. The Red Team of
Commander Don McMonagle and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa and Joe Tanner
woke up about six this morning and took over from the Blue Team at about
eight.
Today's activities for the Red Team include an interview by The Weather
Channel with McMonagle aboard Atlantis. The Red Team reported early this
morning good views of hurricane Florence, a late-season hurricane that has
developed in the central Atlantic.
Atlantis is currently in a 165 by 161 nautical mile orbit, circling Earth
each 90 minutes.
|
| 905.30 | Atlas Status Report #4 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 07 1994 08:40 | 91 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #4
6:00 a.m. CST, Nov. 5, 1994
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
Solar instruments aboard the third Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications
and Science (ATLAS 3) completed their first eight orbits of observations
last night, and the mission's second session of atmospheric observations
is currently in progress. Scientists need both types of data to view the
"big picture" of factors which influence this planet's atmospheric
life-support system, especially its protective ozone layer.
The period of solar observations concluded around midnight CST, and the
crew pointed the Shuttle toward the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and
Telescopes for the Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (CRISTA-SPAS) to
receive a sample of science data to be relayed to the ground. Science
teams for the four solar instruments at Spacelab Mission Operations
Control in Huntsville report their observations went very smoothly, and
the quality of the data collected looks good.
At around 6:45 p.m. CST, Commander Don McMonagle, aided by Mission
Specialist Ellen Ochoa, maneuvered the Orbiter Atlantis to perform a
special calibration of the Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor
(SUSIM). This planned procedure allowed the SUSIM device to scan across
the sun, pointing at the sun's center and at four off-center points to
verify the alignment of the instrument on the center of the sun. Changes
in ultraviolet radiation output bring about changes in Earth's atmospheric
conditions, such as the amount of ozone in the middle atmosphere. A
better record of the sun's ultraviolet output will help scientists
distinguish between atmospheric changes caused by variations in
ultraviolet radiation and those brought about by human activity.
The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM), from NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, and Belgium's Solar Constant experiment (SOLCON)
each made extremely precise, independent measurements of the total solar
irradiance, or total energy from the sun received by the planet Earth.
Computer models suggest that even small variations in this total solar
irradiance could have significant impacts on climate. Therefore, these
instruments measure this quantity to a long-term accuracy of plus or minus
0.1 percent or better. SOLCON commands were sent from their remote
control facility in Brussels.
France's Solar Spectrum (SOLSPEC) experiment concentrates on measuring
solar radiation as a function of wavelength in the ultraviolet, visible
and infrared. The device is monitored by scientists at the Spacelab
Mission Operations Control center in Huntsville, Ala., but most
calibrations and observations for this instrument are controlled through
the onboard equipment computer. Some commands are sent from the remote
center in Brussels.
The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) instrument, from NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center, completed a cooling period and then made its
first observations of the mission during the last two orbits of the solar
observation period. Scientists will compare those measurements with
readings of ultraviolet radiation scattered back from the Earth's
atmosphere, to be obtained by SSBUV in the atmospheric observation periods
of the ATLAS 3 mission. Ozone absorbs different wavelengths of
ultraviolet light at different altitudes, so comparisons of the incoming
ultraviolet radiation with backscattered radiation give scientists a
highly accurate picture of the total amount of ozone in the atmosphere, as
well as its distribution by altitude.
Atmospheric observations resumed at around 1 a.m. CST, with remote-sensing
operations by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Atmospheric Trace Molecule
Spectroscopy (ATMOS). The instrument is observing orbital sunrises around
the South Pole to study the Antarctic ozone hole and compare ozone amounts
inside and outside the edge of the swirling mass of cold air known as the
"polar vortex." This vortex acts as a container for chemical reactions
that cause ozone depletion.
The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere
(CRISTA) and the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph
Investigation (MAHRSI), two new atmospheric instruments aboard the
retrievable CRISTA-SPAS satellite, continue to make observations of the
middle atmosphere's chemistry. CRISTA measures a variety of gases in the
middle atmosphere, and MAHRSI detects the amounts of nitric oxide and
hydroxyl in the middle atmosphere and lower thermosphere. With its fast
scanning technique, CRISTA recorded several hundred thousand spectra of
trace gases in Earth's atmosphere. Currently, all systems aboard the
CRISTA-SPAS satellite are working nominally.
The ground control team for the Millimeter-Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS)
instrument is currently working with ATLAS 3 payload controllers to
determine the nature of a problem which is preventing the reception of
scientific data from the instrument. It is suspected that the problem is
internal, possibly a malfunction in the instrument's microprocessor.
Until the source of the problem is determined, its potential impact on
MAS's science remains uncertain.
Atmospheric observations will continue throughout the next twelve hours.
|
| 905.31 | STS-66 Mission Status Report #5 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 07 1994 09:09 | 32 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #5
Saturday, November 5, 5 p.m. CST
The astronauts on board Atlantis gathered spectacular views of a late season
hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean as they continued supporting scientific
observations being made with the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and
Science.
Mission commander Don McMonagle shared images of Hurricane Florence during an
interview this morning with The Weather Channel. Throughout the day, McMonagle
and his crew mates on the Red Team -- Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa and
Mission Specialist Joe Tanner -- tended to a variety of middeck experiments on
board Atlantis and continued supporting both the ATLAS-3 and CRISTA-SPAS
payloads.
The CRISTA-SPAS satellite currently is trailing Atlantis by about 42 miles,
and the distance between the two spacecraft is increasing by about 2 miles
each orbit.
The Blue Team of astronauts -- Pilot Curt Brown and Mission Specialists
Jean-Francois Clervoy and Scott Parazynski -- begins its fourth day on orbit
about 8 p.m. CST. Following an operational handover, the Red Team begins its
sleep period about 9 p.m. Atlantis' six astronauts are divided into two teams
supporting payload activities around the clock throughout the mission.
All systems on board Atlantis are performing extremely well as Atlantis
continues to circle the Earth every 90 minues at an altitude of approximately
164 x 160 nautical miles.
|
| 905.32 | Atlas Status Report #5 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 07 1994 09:09 | 99 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #5
6:00 p.m. CST, Nov. 5, 1994
MET 2/7:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
ATLAS 3 experiments aboard the Shuttle Atlantis are in the midst of an
atmospheric observation period which began early this morning and will
continue until Sunday night. The two instruments aboard the autonomous
CRISTA-SPAS satellite are in their second day of collecting additional
information about the composition of the atmosphere.
"The ATLAS 3 mission is the most complete global health check on the
atmosphere that has ever been done, measuring more trace gases that are
important in ozone chemistry than any previous research effort," said
Mission Scientist Dr. Tim Miller. Scientists will add the mission's
atmospheric and solar studies to those of satellite instruments to help
determine what creates ozone variations over different parts of the globe
at different times of the year.
The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV), from NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center, is measuring the total amount of ozone under the
orbiter's path and how it is distributed by altitude. SSBUV's primary
purpose is to verify ozone readings made by its sister instrument aboard
the NOAA-9 meteorological satellite and NASA's Total Ozone Mapping
Spectrometer on the Russian Meteor 3 satellite. Satellite instruments can
be degraded by extended exposure to ultraviolet radiation and particles
such as atomic oxygen. SSBUV undergoes rigorous calibration before and
after flight. By comparing its measurements with those made by the
satellites over the same Earth location within the hour, scientists can
make corrections for any drift in the satellite instruments. ATLAS 3 is
SSBUV's seventh flight.
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) instrument made
spectral measurements of the atmosphere during orbital sunsets over
Northern Hemisphere sites from Eastern Europe to the middle portion of
North America. Orbital sunrises illuminated the atmosphere for ATMOS
observations as far south as the Antarctic coast. The ATMOS team at
Spacelab Control in Huntsville relays data to their lab at NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in California, where it is translated to show the
amounts and distribution of 30 to 40 trace gases which influence ozone
chemistry in the middle atmosphere.
This morning, Commander Don McMonagle pointed the orbiter's cargo bay
toward the CRISTA-SPAS satellite for three hours of communications with
the instruments onboard -- the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and
Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA) and the Middle Atmosphere High
Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI). The Shuttle relayed
sample data that had been recorded onboard to scientists at Huntsville and
the Payload Operations Center in Florida.
Preliminary data analysis indicates that MAHRSI science operations are
going very well, according to instrument scientist Jeff Morrill of the
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. "We feel confident that we will be able
to determine distributions of hydroxyl in the middle atmosphere."
Hydroxyl is a hydrogen compound that plays a part in the natural
destruction of ozone. Measurements of nitric oxide, another catalyst in
ozone chemistry, will take place later in the mission.
CRISTA Principal Investigator Dr. Dirk Offermann said he is "very
satisfied" with his data, reporting the instrument had measured more than
two million spectra in 22 hours of operation. The instrument is making a
three-dimensional map of how a variety of gases are distributed in the
middle atmosphere. CRISTA's space observations are supported by an
ambitious ground-based campaign. Sounding rockets are launched twice a
day when the Shuttle and CRISTA-SPAS pass over the Wallops Flight Facility
in Virginia. On both daily passes over the Hohenpeissenberg station in
Germany, high-precision ozone-measuring balloons are launched.
Coordinated readings also are being made by airplane flights west of
Scotland over the Atlantic. Data from these instruments will provide
extra calibration for the CRISTA measurements.
Throughout the morning, the Millimeter Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS) team
worked with ATLAS 3 payload controllers to revive their instrument. The
onboard computer still is not responding. Though they will continue these
efforts the remainder of the flight, the MAS team feels they have very
little chance of obtaining more science data from ATLAS 3.
According to Principal Investigator Dr. Gerd Hartmann, MAS experienced an
apparent malfunction of its onboard computer system at 6:56 CST Friday
morning, resulting in loss of science data transmission to the ground and
an inability to communicate with the computer. The problem was discovered
when communications were reestablished with the ATLAS 3 payload after the
CRISTA-SPAS deployment.
Indications are that a sudden input current surge in MAS data control
electronics may have burned out some electrical components. The cause of
the current surge and the actual components which failed probably will not
be firmly established until the instrument is examined after landing, .
Prior to the malfunction, MAS worked flawlessly for 12 hours, with ten
hours of data obtained on water vapor and ozone distribution over America,
Africa and Europe. Some useful information on chlorine monoxide also was
gathered.
Atmospheric observations will continue throughout the night, with an
hour-long interruption around midnight to relay science data from
instruments on the CRISTA-SPAS satellite through Atlantis to the ground.
|
| 905.33 | STS-66 Mission Status Report #6 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 07 1994 09:10 | 33 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #6
Sunday, November 6, 9 a.m. CST
With the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science operating in
Atlantis' payload bay, the six astronauts are continuing round-the-clock
studies of the Earth's atmosphere and ozone layer.
The Blue Team -- Pilot Curt Brown and Mission Specialists Jean-Francois
Clervoy and Scott Parazynski -- began its fourth day on orbit about 8 p.m. CST
Saturday. Throughout their shift, the three astronauts have worked with the
instruments comprising the ATLAS-3 payload.
Atlantis is station-keeping in front of the CRISTA-SPAS science satellite at a
distance of about 48 nautical miles. The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and
Telescopes for the Atmosphere satellite was deployed Friday and will be
retrieved Saturday following eight days of atmospheric data gathering.
Clervoy devoted most of his work day with the Heat Pipe Performance experiment
designed to evaluate fluid transfer through various types of pipes for
possible use on future spacecraft.
Today the Red Team -- Mission Commander Don McMonagle, Mission Specialist Joe
Tanner and Ochoa -- will support a number of secondary experiments housed in
tlantis' middeck. McMonagle will work with the Heat Pipe Performance
experiment. Each of the Red Team astronauts will exercise on the Shuttle's
bicycle ergometer during their workday.
All systems aboard Atlantis are in excellent shape as the orbiter circles the
Earth every 90 minues at an altitude of approximately 164 by 160 nautical
miles.
|
| 905.34 | Atlas Status Report #6 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 07 1994 09:11 | 61 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #6
6:00 a.m. CST, Nov. 6, 1994
MET 2/19:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
Atmospheric instruments of the ATLAS-3 Spacelab continue to use a variety of
remote-sensing techniques to define the chemical composition of Earth's
atmosphere. The chemistry of the middle atmosphere is very complex, involving
many gases. Accurate measurements of a large number of trace molecules are
needed to verify computer models of how that chemistry works, so atmospheric
changes which occur naturally can be distinguished from those that are induced
by human activity.
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) instrument continued to
view the sun's infrared radiation through the Earth's atmospheric limb during
orbital sunrises and sunsets, making global measurements of the composition of
the troposphere, stratosphere and mesosphere. Already, the device has provided
additional data on atmospheric trace gases in near real-time.
For the first time, scientists here at the Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville have been completing analysis of ATMOS' observations within 24 hours
of acquisition and comparing their results with those obtained by the Total
Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) aboard the Russian Meteor 3 satellite. Such
rapid data reduction represents a remarkable improvement over the previous
flights of the ATMOS instrument. According to ATMOS team member Mark Abrams,
"by building automated data processing systems, we've been able to reduce the
data processing time by more than a factor of a hundred....from months to
hours." ATLAS 3 marks the fourth flight of ATMOS aboard the Shuttle.
The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer (SSBUV) peered through
the atmosphere to the Earth's surface to identify both the total amount of
ozone present and its distribution by altitude. The SSBUV team has already
done preliminary processing of solar data taken by the instrument on Friday to
determine how well it compares with data from previous missions. So far,
analysis has revealed that these measurements are of high quality and that they
agree to within one or two percent with results from ATLAS 1 and 2. This
information should help the scientists to distinguish those processes induced
by solar activity from those caused by human activities. During the current
atmospheric observation period, SSBUV has completed 14 orbits of Earth views
and 12 concurrent measurements with its sister instrument aboard the NOAA-9
spacecraft. The primary purpose of SSBUV, now on its seventh flight , is to
verify the accuracy of data being gathered by free-flying satellites.
After 30 hours of data collection, the CRISTA instrument had measured more than
three million infrared spectra of trace gases in the Earth's atmosphere. The
device has completed over 6000 measurements of variations in the distribution
of trace gases at heights between 30 and 150 km with a resolution of 1.5 km.
CRISTA continues to collect data at a rate of 26 spectra per second, and all
parts of the system are working nominally. The second instrument aboard
CRISTA-SPAS, the MAHRSI experiment, is measuring hydroxyl spectra in the middle
atmosphere, and the observed spectral data shows a clear detection of hydroxyl.
Hydroxyl plays a key role in the natural destruction of ozone. Both CRISTA and
MAHRSI are very pleased with the quantity and quality of the data they have
received.
Atmospheric observations will continue to be the primary focus of activity for
the next shift, followed by another period of communication period with the
CRISTA-SPAS spacecraft. Then, the mission's second solar pointing period will
begin.
|
| 905.35 | Shuttle & MIR viewing this week | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 07 1994 12:51 | 31 |
| I ran the following pass predictions this weekend for both STS-66
and MIR. There are good opportunities (provided the weatherman
cooperates), for viewing both of them this week.
These are predictions for vewing from my location in Westford, Ma.
Also it was reported that the Atlas platform can also be seen 3-4
degrees behind the shuttle with a magnitude of about 3 compared
to a -3 for the shuttle.
All times are military format.
Enjoy...
Bob
Pass predictions for STS-66
---------------------------
STSORBIT PLUS Data output to STSPLUS.log
----------#23340 AOS-------- --MAX VISIBILITY-- ------LOS------
# EST Date EST Time Azm EST Time Alt Azm EST Time Azm Duration
1 11/07/1994 17:29:31 319.3 17:33:57 36 39.1 17:38:23 117.8 0:08:52
2 11/08/1994 17:39:28 312.8 17:43:59 85 217.7 17:48:31 136.0 0:09:03
3 11/09/1994 17:49:33 304.6 17:53:55 29 229.5 17:58:16 155.2 0:08:43
4 11/10/1994 17:59:52 293.7 18:03:43 12 235.0 18:07:34 176.4 0:07:42
Pass predictions for MIR
------------------------
STSORBIT PLUS Data output to STSPLUS.log
----------#16609 AOS-------- --MAX VISIBILITY-- ------LOS------
# EST Date EST Time Azm EST Time Alt Azm EST Time Azm Duration
1 11/07/1994 17:14:03 305.9 17:19:11 43 27.3 17:24:19 107.7 0:10:16
2 11/08/1994 17:54:34 299.9 17:59:43 51 217.8 18:04:52 136.8 0:10:18
3 11/09/1994 16:58:50 303.7 17:04:02 79 34.8 17:09:14 121.8 0:10:24
4 11/10/1994 17:39:27 294.2 17:44:19 25 223.9 17:49:14 153.1 0:09:47
|
| 905.36 | STS-66 Mission Status Report #7 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 07 1994 12:56 | 39 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #7
Monday, November 7, 8 a.m. CST
With the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science in the
cargo bay and an atmosphere-observing satellite flying free, Atlantis
continues to perform well as its crew supports around-the-clock studies
of the Earth.
The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere
satellite is trailing Atlantis at a distance of about 55 nautical miles.
On Sunday, Commander Don McMonagle performed a station-keeping burn to
keep the two spacecraft at a relative distance of about 40 n.m. until
CRISTA-SPAS is retrieved on Saturday following eight days of atmospheric
data gathering.
On board Atlantis, two teams of astronauts continue to work in 12-hour
shifts to support atmospheric studies to determine how the global
environment is changing and how human beings may affect that change.
Throughout the night, the Blue Team -- Pilot Curt Brown and Mission
Specialists Jean-Francois Clervoy and Scott Parazynski -- maneuvered
Atlantis to allow one of the seven instruments to measure fluctuations
in the amount of ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun. Middeck
payload activities included a status check of the protein crystal growth
experiment and activation of the student-designed ESCAPE experiment
which is studying extreme ultraviolet wavelengths.
After completing his shift, Clervoy discussed the mission and his
experiences thus far with French Prime Minister Edouard Balladur,
Minister of Defense Francois Leotard, Minister of Transportation and
Telecommunications Jose Rossi and European Space Agency Director General
Jean-Marie Luton.
Crew members also used cameras on board Atlantis to document
environmental changes as they orbited at an altitude of approximately
160 n.m.
|
| 905.37 | Atlas Status Report #7 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 07 1994 12:57 | 185 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #7
6:00 p.m. CST, Nov. 6, 1994
MET 2/7:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
ATLAS 3 instruments are wrapping up an extended period of
atmospheric observations, and scientists at Spacelab Mission
Operations Control are already seeing preliminary results
from data obtained over the last three days. "As we do more
missions, we get more experienced and more capable of doing
real-time data processing," observed Mission Scientist Dr.
Tim Miller.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's ATMOS team reported
interesting preliminary results of their observations inside
the Antarctic polar vortex, an area of high-speed circulation
over the South Pole. The circulation bottles up chemical
constituents, making it something of a test tube where the
atmosphere can be studied in isolation.
"Our data show very low ozone levels over the Antarctic, as
expected for this time of year," said ATMOS Principal
Investigator Dr. Mike Gunson. "We also see evidence from
certain long-lived gases that the air descended to lower
altitudes as it cooled over the preceding winter period.
This also was expected, but it is the first time it has
actually been observed over such a broad range of altitudes."
A "hole" in the ozone layer forms over the Antarctic around
September each year, when increased springtime sunlight
strikes air cooled during the Southern Hemisphere winter.
The sun's ultraviolet radiation triggers chemical reactions
that both create and destroy ozone. In recent years, human
activity has introduced high levels of chemicals into the
atmosphere which upset its natural balance. For instance,
one free atom of chlorine released from chlorofluorocarbons
can destroy thousands of ozone molecules.
"By late November, ozone-rich air from the mid-latitudes
mixes with the Antarctic air to fill in the lost ozone, and
chemicals such as nitrogen oxides -- which act like a sort of
atmospheric antacid -- begin to gobble up free chlorine,
repairing the ozone loss," explained Gunson. In the winter,
nitrogen oxides are frozen as nitric acid in ice crystals in
polar stratospheric clouds. ATLAS 3 is flying during an
intermediate period, when the ozone hole has begun to recover
but before it has dissipated. Today's data indicate that
nitrogen oxides are still very low. Chlorine measurements
will be available in the next couple of days.
During this morning's communications period with the free-
flying CRISTA-SPAS satellite, the Middle Atmosphere High
Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) began taking
readings of nitric oxide at high altitudes. The instrument
previously had been making global readings of hydroxyl, and
it will return to that mode during the next communications
period. Both gases are active in the natural cycle of ozone
chemistry.
The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the
Atmosphere (CRISTA) continues to scan the atmosphere, making
millions of spectra to map global locations and movements of
some 15 trace gases. The huge number of observations is
necessary because each cubic mile of atmosphere over the
Earth is essentially its own separate chemical laboratory.
For scientists to thoroughly understand chemical reactions
and transport mechanisms like atmospheric winds, they must
have extensive samples from as many latitudes, longitudes and
altitudes as possible.
The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment
is finishing up its first period of atmospheric viewing,
recording ozone levels and distribution for comparison with
instruments aboard free-flying ozone-monitoring satellites.
SSBUV is housed in two Get-Away Special canisters, mounted in
the orbiter's cargo bay just in front of the ATLAS 3 Spacelab
pallet. Data from the instrument is being relayed to the
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the
instrument's home base, for preliminary analysis.
The atmospheric observation period for the Shuttle-mounted
instruments will end at about 6:30 p.m. CST. Then the
orbiter will maneuver to relay communications between CRISTA-
SPAS instruments and ground controllers for one orbit. Eight
orbits of solar observations will follow.
Article: 24212
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
From: [email protected] (mary-frances jagod)
Subject: STS-66/ATLAS 3 Status Report #07
Sender: [email protected] (News System)
Organization: University of Chicago
Date: Mon, 7 Nov 1994 14:22:44 GMT
[Downloaded from ftp.pao.hq.nasa.gov]
ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #7
6:00 p.m. CST, Nov. 6, 1994
MET 2/7:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
ATLAS 3 instruments are wrapping up an extended period of
atmospheric observations, and scientists at Spacelab Mission
Operations Control are already seeing preliminary results
from data obtained over the last three days. "As we do more
missions, we get more experienced and more capable of doing
real-time data processing," observed Mission Scientist Dr.
Tim Miller.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's ATMOS team reported
interesting preliminary results of their observations inside
the Antarctic polar vortex, an area of high-speed circulation
over the South Pole. The circulation bottles up chemical
constituents, making it something of a test tube where the
atmosphere can be studied in isolation.
"Our data show very low ozone levels over the Antarctic, as
expected for this time of year," said ATMOS Principal
Investigator Dr. Mike Gunson. "We also see evidence from
certain long-lived gases that the air descended to lower
altitudes as it cooled over the preceding winter period.
This also was expected, but it is the first time it has
actually been observed over such a broad range of altitudes."
A "hole" in the ozone layer forms over the Antarctic around
September each year, when increased springtime sunlight
strikes air cooled during the Southern Hemisphere winter.
The sun's ultraviolet radiation triggers chemical reactions
that both create and destroy ozone. In recent years, human
activity has introduced high levels of chemicals into the
atmosphere which upset its natural balance. For instance,
one free atom of chlorine released from chlorofluorocarbons
can destroy thousands of ozone molecules.
"By late November, ozone-rich air from the mid-latitudes
mixes with the Antarctic air to fill in the lost ozone, and
chemicals such as nitrogen oxides -- which act like a sort of
atmospheric antacid -- begin to gobble up free chlorine,
repairing the ozone loss," explained Gunson. In the winter,
nitrogen oxides are frozen as nitric acid in ice crystals in
polar stratospheric clouds. ATLAS 3 is flying during an
intermediate period, when the ozone hole has begun to recover
but before it has dissipated. Today's data indicate that
nitrogen oxides are still very low. Chlorine measurements
will be available in the next couple of days.
During this morning's communications period with the free-
flying CRISTA-SPAS satellite, the Middle Atmosphere High
Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) began taking
readings of nitric oxide at high altitudes. The instrument
previously had been making global readings of hydroxyl, and
it will return to that mode during the next communications
period. Both gases are active in the natural cycle of ozone
chemistry.
The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the
Atmosphere (CRISTA) continues to scan the atmosphere, making
millions of spectra to map global locations and movements of
some 15 trace gases. The huge number of observations is
necessary because each cubic mile of atmosphere over the
Earth is essentially its own separate chemical laboratory.
For scientists to thoroughly understand chemical reactions
and transport mechanisms like atmospheric winds, they must
have extensive samples from as many latitudes, longitudes and
altitudes as possible.
The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment
is finishing up its first period of atmospheric viewing,
recording ozone levels and distribution for comparison with
instruments aboard free-flying ozone-monitoring satellites.
SSBUV is housed in two Get-Away Special canisters, mounted in
the orbiter's cargo bay just in front of the ATLAS 3 Spacelab
pallet. Data from the instrument is being relayed to the
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the
instrument's home base, for preliminary analysis.
The atmospheric observation period for the Shuttle-mounted
instruments will end at about 6:30 p.m. CST. Then the
orbiter will maneuver to relay communications between CRISTA-
SPAS instruments and ground controllers for one orbit. Eight
orbits of solar observations will follow.
|
| 905.38 | STS-66 Mission Status Report #8 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Tue Nov 08 1994 10:18 | 36 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #8
Monday, November 7, 5 p.m. CST
Instruments in Atlantis' cargo bay continue to study the global
environment as the six astronauts on board maintain a steady
pace working with the secondary experiments on the middeck.
As the crew worked through its fifth day in space, Mission
Commander Don McMonagle spent some time testing heat
pipe designs and a special type of cooling radiator that has no
moving parts. The tests are part of the Heat Pipe Performance experiment
which involves applying specifically-measured amounts of heat to the various
heat pipe designs, measuring the cooling capacity of the pipe, and
determining the limits of each design's operation. McMonagle found time
for additional experiment runs with the heat pipes today beyond those
originally planned. The tests will provide designers with insight into how
well the pipe designs operate in weightlessness. Heat pipes, because of their
efficiency and reliability, already are used on some permanent satellites
as cooling devices.
Earlier today, ground controllers noticed performance of one of the channels
of Atlantis' Ku-band communication system was degrading. The system is
used for high data rate communications with the ground, such as the ATLAS
science data. The problem was traced to the connections between one of
Atlantis' network signal processors and the Ku-band system. Ground
controllers switched to a backup processor aboard Atlantis and full
communications capability has been restored. The original network signal
processor still works well for all modes of communication except the
single Ku-band channel.
Around midday today, Atlantis performed a slight engine firing to maintain
its distance from the CRISTA-SPAS satellite. CRISTA-SPAS is now trailing
Atlantis at a distance of approximately 47 nautical miles, and is extending
that distance by about 1 nautical mile per orbit.
|
| 905.39 | Atlas Status Report #8 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Tue Nov 08 1994 10:20 | 71 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #8
6:00 a.m. CST, Nov. 7, 1994
MET 3/19:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
ATLAS 3 operations are proceeding smoothly on this fourth day of the
STS-66 mission. Scientists and engineers at Spacelab Mission Operations
Control in Huntsville are pleased with the quality of information they
have been able to review thus far, and they look forward to more detailed
analysis of their data in the days and months ahead.
ATLAS 3 had completed a total of 30 orbits of atmospheric observations at
the conclusion of the mission's second atmospheric period last night, when
Commander Don McMonagle maneuvered Atlantis to relay communications
between CRISTA-SPAS instruments and ground controllers for one orbit.
During these scheduled communications, the Cryogenic Infrared
Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA) and Middle
Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) instruments
send their data through the Shuttle Orbiter to scientists on the ground.
This enables them to make real-time calibrations and adjustments of these
instruments . The CRISTA instrument has now collected about 5 million
infrared spectra of trace gases in the Earth's atmosphere. In this
communication period, the MAHRSI science team again turned their
instrument from nitric oxide measurements at high altitudes to global
hydroxyl measurements which will continue into the next shift. Both
hydroxyl and nitric oxide participate significantly in the ozone chemistry
cycle.
The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) and the Solar
Constant (SOLCON) experiment took "superb" readings of the total solar
energy coming to Earth, according to Roger Helizon of the ACRIM team.
They made preliminary data comparisons with each other, as well as with
observations by the ACRIM 2 instrument aboard the Upper Atmosphere
Research Satellite (UARS). Science teams said that the rough comparisons
were very good, indicating that instruments measuring total solar
irradiance on the satellites had not experienced significant degradation.
ATLAS instruments take very reliable readings of the sun, since they are
carefully calibrated against strict laboratory standards before and after
each flight. Yet these readings are "snapshots" of only a few days'
duration. Long-term conditions are tracked by free-flying satellites,
whose instruments may be somewhat degraded by extended exposure in space.
By comparing the two measurements, scientists can determine the amount of
degradation in free-flying satellite readings. This allows them to make
accurate corrections, essential to tracking subtle changes over time in
the solar energy influencing atmospheric conditions.
The Solar Spectrum (SOLSPEC) instrument again received good data from
solar observations of the infrared, visible and ultraviolet radiation from
the sun. The data from these observations is sent to Paris, France for
processing, and so far the results of this data analysis are according to
expectations. The Naval Research Laboratory's Solar Ultraviolet Spectral
Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM) was calibrated successfully, then received good
data during the seven solar orbits, permitting comparisons with the SUSIM
instrument aboard the UARS satellite. The UARS SUSIM has been decreasing
in sensitivity since the satellite was placed in orbit. This is to be
expected since ultraviolet light, which SUSIM monitors, has a severe
impact on space instruments. Comparison with ATLAS measurements gives
scientists an accurate yardstick for evaluating that degradation.
The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment made solar
irradiance measurements during the sixth and seventh solar orbits of this
shift. The instrument is operating nominally. The instrument has now
completed a total of four solar and 22 Earth orbital views and is making
solar ultraviolet data comparisons with SUSIM and SOLSPEC.
The current solar viewing period will continue until around 7:30 am CST
this morning. Atmospheric observations will follow, after the next
communication between the CRISTA-SPAS instruments and ground controllers.
|
| 905.40 | Great visibility last night | SKYLAB::FISHER | Indecision is the key to flexibility! | Tue Nov 08 1994 12:56 | 21 |
| Atlantis appeared right on schedule last night in the north-western sky over
Nashua, with Christa/SPAS trailing along behind like a little dog. After my
experiences with the last high-inclination flight (getting up early in the AM
several times and seeing nothing), it was quite a thrill to see it right at a
reasonable hour, complete with the other satellite!
Sorry I'm not into magnitudes, but Atlantis was at least as bright as you ever
see Venus; CHRISTA/SPAS was easy to see, but dimmer than most of the stars in
the most well known constellations like Ursa Major, Orion, etc. It was probably
2-3 full-moon-widths behind Atlantis.
Tonight we have an even better pass:
--------#23340 AOS-------- --MAX VISIBILITY-- ------LOS------
# EST Date EST Time Azm EST Time Alt Azm EST Time Azm Duration
8 11/08/1994 17:35:01 313.3 17:39:31 87 47.7 17:44:01 134.0 0:09:00
That means it should be nearly directly overhead just a bit after it gets dark!
Burns
|
| 905.41 | ...Saw all known humans flying in space in one evening :-) | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Tue Nov 08 1994 13:32 | 21 |
| Yup I saw it too along with "little" Atlas-3 tagging along behind. :-)
My estimation of Atlantis' magnitude was about -3 or -4, and Atlas-3
was about mag 3. When Mir came thru earlier, I made myself a note
to gauge it's apparent speed as it made its passage across the sky.
When Atlantis appeared, I was a little surprised at first at its
relatively faster speed as it made its passage, but then noticed
later when looking at my STSORBIT display that MIR has about an 80-90
nautical mile higher orbit than Atlantis.
I also gauged Atlas-3 to be about a "fist" width behind STS-66, or
roughly 8-9 degrees. I also noticed that Atlantis appeared almost
2 minutes earlier than predicted. I attributed this to the element
set (the latest available) being 3 days old. They had made some
burn adjustments apparently on Sunday to compensate for some drag
on their orbit which was causing them to lose some of the separation
between the orbiter and Atlas-3. This seemed to be substantiated by
a thread posted on the USENET sci.space.shuttle newsgroup. I think
this burn adjustment is also mentioned in one of the NASA status
reports.
Bob
PS: hope the weather clears enough for tonights passage. :-)
|
| 905.42 | Latest Atlantis element set pulled from NASA Spacelink | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Tue Nov 08 1994 13:34 | 25 |
| STS-66 element set JSC-005
STS-66
1 23340U 94073A 94311.60280921 .00227057 10335-4 74551-3 0 53
2 23340 56.9917 179.8536 0013979 289.8548 70.1021 15.91012262 632
Satellite: STS-66
Catalog number: 23340
Epoch time: 94311.60280921 = (07 NOV 94 14:28:02.71 UTC)
Element set: 005
Inclination: 56.9917 deg
RA of node: 179.8536 deg Space Shuttle Flight STS-66
Eccentricity: .0013979 Keplerian element set JSC-005
Arg of perigee: 289.8548 deg from NASA flight Day 5 vector
Mean anomaly: 70.1021 deg
Mean motion: 15.91012262 rev/day Gil Carman
Decay rate: 2.27057e-03 rev/day^2 NASA Johnson Space Center
Epoch rev: 63
Checksum: 303
Gil Carman, WA5NOM
NASA Johnson Space Center
Internet: gcarman%[email protected]
|
| 905.43 | Missed MIR, saw Atlantis | ROGER::GAUDET | Because the Earth is 2/3 water | Tue Nov 08 1994 15:52 | 11 |
| I caught last night's performance just as I was walking out of LKG. What a neat
sight to see mother duck (Atlantis) and her chick (Atlas) :-). I, too, figured
on Bob's posting and was surprised to see it at just about maximum elevation a
full 2 minutes before the scheduled time. I'm sure the "old" element set had
something to do with it.
OK clouds, you can go away now. We only have 1.5 hours before the big show! I
even brought in my binoculars & telescope today! That's probably why the clouds
are hanging around.
...Roger...
|
| 905.44 | | PRAGMA::GRIFFIN | Dave Griffin | Tue Nov 08 1994 15:59 | 7 |
| My wife reported seeing all three objects last night as well. I missed
them both (sigh!).
Re: .41 -- nit: Atlas-3 is in the cargo bay. CRISTA/SPAS is the free-flyer.
- dave
|
| 905.45 | Getting them mixed up in my ....er excitement :-) | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Tue Nov 08 1994 16:13 | 5 |
| >>-- nit: Atlas-3 is in the cargo bay. CRISTA/SPAS is the free-flyer.
Ah yes....got them mixed up fer-sure. It's "little" CRISTA/SPAS.
Bob
|
| 905.46 | Atlas Status Report #9 | TROOA::SKLEIN | Nulli Secundus | Tue Nov 08 1994 17:33 | 88 |
| From: [email protected] (mary-frances jagod)
Subject: STS-66/ATLAS 3 Status Report #09
Organization: University of Chicago
Date: Tue, 8 Nov 1994 00:03:00 GMT
[Downloaded from ftp.pao.hq.nasa.gov]
ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #9
6:00 p.m. CST, Nov. 7, 1994
MET 4/7:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
Complementary instruments aboard the Shuttle Atlantis and the CRISTA-SPAS
satellite are in the fifth day of the STS-66 mission, making a detailed
examination of Earth's life support system, the atmosphere.
"Each separate experiment is enhanced by the others, because we can
compare similar measurements with other instruments," said Ernest Hilsenrath,
principal investigator for the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV)
experiment . SSBUV studies both solar radiation and atmospheric gases. It
compares the amount of ultraviolet radiation from the sun with that scattered
back from the Earth. The difference reveals the amount of ozone in the
atmosphere.
Over the past few months, Hilsenrath and his colleagues with the Naval
Research Laboratory's Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM)
and France's Solar Spectrum (SOLSPEC) experiment have been closely
comparing their solar ultraviolet measurements from the previous ATLAS flights.
They are also comparing the short-term, highly calibrated ATLAS readings with
long-term measurements from solar ultraviolet instruments on NASA's Upper
Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS). "We're finding that the agreement
among the instruments is ten times better than the agreement which existed
between solar instruments that flew before UARS [launched in 1991] and
ATLAS [first launched in 1992]," said Hilsenrath.
New computer capabilities and experience from previous flights are speeding
up comparisons of the solar observations, Hilsenrath added. "It took us 30
months to compare results from ATLAS 1 and 18 months to compare those from
ATLAS 2, but within 36 hours of our first ATLAS 3 observations, we were
beginning some preliminary comparisons," he said.
Ultraviolet light is the driver for ozone chemistry. Therefore, for scientists
to predict atmospheric changes, they must have a thorough understanding of
fluctuations in ultraviolet radiation.
At the end of the flight's second solar observation period this morning, the
astronaut crew maneuvered the Shuttle to scan the solar experiments across
the disk of the sun. The "criss-cross" scan checks the accuracy of their
coalignment and measures how much the instruments' response depends on
the sun angle.
A communications period with the CRISTA-SPAS instrument followed. It was
extended for about an hour, allowing the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution
Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI) to refine their pointing by doing extra
light-of-sight calibrations with bright guide stars.
Both MAHRSI and the other satellite-mounted instrument, the Cryogenic
Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA), will
furnish detailed measurements about the global atmosphere that complement
those of the ATLAS instruments. MAHRSI zeros in on hydroxyl and nitric oxide,
two natural gases important in ozone chemistry. CRISTA is mapping three-
dimensional distributions and movements of some 15 trace gases.
After the satellite communication period, SSBUV joined the Atmospheric Trace
Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment for the mission's third round of
atmospheric observations.
ATMOS principal investigator Dr. Mike Gunson reports that his instrument has
already collected the equivalent of some 40,000 floppy disks of data on trace
gases in the atmosphere. "To understand the myriad of chemical pathways in
the atmosphere and how they relate to each other, we need to collect detailed
information on as many gases as possible," Gunson said.
Gunson said preliminary ATMOS data show the Antarctic ozone hole region
seems to be very well contained, with marked differences between the
atmosphere inside and outside the hole. Thus far, he has seen no signs of
intermediate zones.
Though it is too early to interpret readings of Northern Hemisphere ozone, both
Hilsenrath and Gunson expect to see it recovering to normal levels after
depletion triggered by the Mt. Pinatubo volcano eruption in 1991. "Of course,
predictions have been known to be disproved by actual observations," added
Hilsenrath.
Atmospheric observations will continue overnight, with time out for CRISTA-
SPAS communications relays near the beginning and end of the period.
|
| 905.47 | MCC Status #9 | TROOA::SKLEIN | Nulli Secundus | Tue Nov 08 1994 17:35 | 41 |
| From: [email protected] (mary-frances jagod)
Subject: STS-66 Mission Control Status Report #09
Organization: University of Chicago
Date: Tue, 8 Nov 1994 14:31:09 GMT
[Downloaded from ftp.pao.hq.nasa.gov]
Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #9
Tuesday, November 8, 8 a.m. CST
With Atlantis' systems performing without problem, the six astronauts that
make up the STS-66 crew took time to discuss the progress of the mission with
reporters during the traditional in-flight press conference.
Questions from reporters in Texas, Florida and France covered a variety of
subjects ranging from the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-
3 activities to election day. Besides stating that he was pleased with the
progress of the mission thus far, Mission Commander Don McMonagle also
confirmed that all five U.S. astronauts had the opportunity to vote prior to
the flight.
Over night, the Blue Team of Curt Brown, Jean-Francois Clervoy and Scott
Parazynski worked supporting the ATLAS-3 instruments and a Heat Pipe
Performance unit designed to test various types of cylinders that could
provide a more effective and efficient method of dissipating heat on future
spacecraft and space stations.
Brown oversaw a small maneuvering engine firing performed just after five this
morning to refine Atlantis' orbit in front of the Shuttle Pallet Satellite
which was deployed on the second day of the mission. The series of engine
firings maintain the proper distance from the satellite prior to its capture
and return to the payload bay scheduled for Saturday.
The Red Team of Commander Don McMonagle and Mission Specialists Ellen Ochoa
and Joe Tanner took over control of the orbiter and payloads about six o'clock
this morning as the crew continues to divide the day into two 12-hour shifts.
The current orbit of Atlantis is 163 by 158 nautical miles.
|
| 905.48 | Atlas Status Report #10 | TROOA::SKLEIN | Nulli Secundus | Tue Nov 08 1994 17:36 | 99 |
| From: [email protected] (mary-frances jagod)
Subject: STS-66/ATLAS 3 Status Report #10
Organization: University of Chicago
Date: Tue, 8 Nov 1994 14:24:10 GMT
[Downloaded from NASA Spacelink]
ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #10
6:00 a.m. CST, Nov. 8, 1994
MET 4/19:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
The third mission of the Atmospheric Laboratory for
Applications and Science (ATLAS 3) is providing an
opportunity for scientists from around the world to gather
data about our planet and its atmosphere. Instruments on
board Space Shuttle Atlantis operated throughout the night,
sending back information about the conditions of the Earth's
protective blanket.
The Atlas 3 instruments have completed their second
atmospheric and second solar observation periods. The
atmospheric instruments continue to gather high-quality data
about the atmosphere, and the ATLAS science teams are very
pleased with the mission's results so far. Currently, the
Shuttle Atlantis' cargo bay is pointed toward the Earth for
the flight's third atmospheric period.
Investigators for the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet
(SSBUV) experiment have been compiling a precisely calibrated
database of global stratospheric ozone measurements. SSBUV,
which compares direct solar ultraviolet radiation with the
amount of sunlight scattered off the Earth's surface, is
using the amount of cloud coverage seen through a payload bay
camera in order to determine what produces the backscattering
in their field of view. According to SSBUV co-investigator
Richard Cebula, "cloud cover helps us understand the
reflectivity of the Earth and how that reflectivity affects
the retrieval of ozone data."
A primary objective of SSBUV during the ATLAS series of
missions is to provide highly accurate ozone measurements
that will be used to verify data being obtained by free-
flying satellites. SSBUV readings help scientists resolve
the problem of calibration drifts in ozone-sensing
instruments that are exposed to the environment of space for
long periods of time, thus improving the accuracy of the
measurements.
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscope (ATMOS) continued
to observe the atmosphere last night, having completed a
total of 110 observations of the sun through the atmosphere
during sunrises and sunsets. Scientists want to learn more
about the components of the middle atmosphere, how they
interact, and how they change over time. Models of
stratospheric chemistry are used to predict the future
evolution of this atmospheric region, and ATMOS data will
help in the evaluation of those models. ATMOS also viewed
the Sun with no atmospheric interference to provide
calibration of the solar spectral background, solar spectral
features, and instrument response to the sun.
The CRISTA-SPAS instrument completed its period of
communications with the Orbiter early in the evening, during
which the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes
(CRISTA) made a small, two degree turn from viewing the
atmospheric limb to view the Earth directly and verify the
instrument's altitude, then turned back to look through the
atmosphere. According to CRISTA Principal Investigator Dirk
Offermann, this planned special mode of operation "gives us
an altitude reference independent of the star tracker."
CRISTA has begun a period of observations in the high
atmosphere and is acquiring approximately 4,000 height scans
of trace gases per day. These measurements have important
applications for atmospheric dynamics and chemistry, as well
as for the understanding of Earth's energy balance.
The Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph
Investigation (MAHRSI) experiment continues to accurately
measure the concentration of hydroxyl in the middle
atmosphere, collecting data that will help scientists more
accurately test the current understanding of observed ozone
levels in the middle atmosphere and resolve conflicts between
satellite ozone observations and ozone amounts predicted by
computer models. MAHRSI does this by observing light emitted
by hydroxyl molecules after they absorb ultraviolet energy
from the Sun. Hydroxyl is an important member of the odd
hydrogen family, those gases that contain a single hydrogen
atom, and contributes directly to the destruction of ozone in
the middle atmosphere. "Things are looking very good for
data analysis," said Principal Investigator Robert Conway as
MAHRSI continues to work on producing "the first ever global
maps of hydroxyl."
During the next twelve hours, atmospheric observations will
continue, following this morning's CRISTA-SPAS communication
and co-alignment period.
|
| 905.49 | Another sighting | 19472::petert | rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty | Wed Nov 09 1994 10:37 | 10 |
| I caught the shuttle as I walked out of the building last night, but couldn't
quite make out the satellite. It was fairly hazy when I walked out of
ZKO and looked up. The moon was visible through the overcast, but no stars.
But sure enough, almost directly overhead, was a fast moving white dot.
As I continued gazing up at it, one of the people hanging outside the
door having a smoke said, "It's too cloudy. No stars out tonight."
To which I said, "Yeah, but you can still see the space shuttle right
there," pointing it out. "That's the space shuttle? Neat" ;-)
PeterT
|
| 905.50 | Atlantis & "little companion" seen here in Littletoneton, MA. | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Wed Nov 09 1994 12:27 | 14 |
| There were a few of us here at our site (LKG Littleton,MA.),
who hoped that it would be clear enough to see both Atlantis,
CRISTA/SPAS and MIR. So we went out to our parking area after
work to wait for them. Atlantis with it's little "companion"
came through first. The hazy cloud cover had not come in yet,
so we got a good zenith crossing for Atlantis with CRISTA/SPAS
trailing about 10 degrees or so behind. we were able to follow it
from almost horizon to horizon, save for about 10 degrees in the
east that were packed with clouds. Atlantis got as bright as
roughly -1 with CRISTA/SPAS trailing at about mag 2 - 3.
MIR unfortunately was not seen as within the 10 minutes between
crossings, clouds moved in to block viewing.
Bob
|
| 905.51 | | SKYLAB::FISHER | Indecision is the key to flexibility! | Wed Nov 09 1994 15:23 | 5 |
| Caution! Atlantis did a bit of maneuvering last night. I'll try to find a new
element set. (Probably not THAT much different...it's still close to
CIRSTA/SPAS.)
Burns
|
| 905.52 | New TLE and predictions for Nashua | SKYLAB::FISHER | Indecision is the key to flexibility! | Wed Nov 09 1994 15:37 | 28 |
| STS 66
1 23340U 94073A 94313.25000000 -.00000898 10350-4 70651-5 0 266
2 23340 56.9914 172.2385 0012492 294.0255 146.9296 15.91735728 882
1994073B
1 23341U 94073B 94311.91705109 .00250327 33662-4 77139-3 0 79
2 23341 56.9917 178.4041 0010888 284.8994 75.0810 15.91343261 675
I assume the latter is CRISTA/SPAS
STS 66 predictions for Nashua, NH:
STSORBIT PLUS Data Output to STSPLUS.LOG, Data = 19
--------#23340 AOS-------- --MAX VISIBILITY-- ------LOS------
# EST Date EST Time Azm EST Time Alt Azm EST Time Azm Duration
1 11/09/1994 16:09:06 324.7 16:13:12 17 31.8 16:17:19 98.3 0:08:13
2 11/09/1994 17:42:38 305.9 17:46:59 34 229.0 17:51:22 151.6 0:08:44
3 11/10/1994 08:26:46 164.4 08:29:46 6 121.4 08:32:47 78.3 0:06:01
4 11/10/1994 09:58:30 227.8 10:02:57 79 319.7 10:07:24 46.0 0:08:54
5 11/10/1994 11:33:23 279.3 11:37:03 10 335.4 11:40:44 31.3 0:07:21
6 11/10/1994 13:09:20 320.4 13:11:56 4 356.5 13:14:32 32.5 0:05:12
7 11/10/1994 14:43:40 330.7 14:46:57 7 18.2 14:50:13 65.5 0:06:33
8 11/10/1994 16:16:58 320.0 16:21:20 31 37.7 16:25:42 114.8 0:08:44
9 11/10/1994 17:50:51 296.3 17:54:49 15 233.5 17:58:47 171.1 0:07:56
10 11/11/1994 08:33:36 188.0 08:37:31 14 125.9 08:41:25 64.1 0:07:49
11 11/11/1994 10:06:39 244.9 10:10:58 32 322.2 10:15:20 40.1 0:08:41
12 11/11/1994 11:42:07 294.5 11:45:22 7 342.0 11:48:38 29.3 0:06:31
13 11/11/1994 13:17:46 327.4 13:20:22 4 3.5 13:22:59 39.6 0:05:13
14 11/11/1994 14:51:34 328.6 14:55:15 10 24.7 14:58:57 80.5 0:07:23
|
| 905.53 | STS-66 Status Report #10 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Wed Nov 09 1994 16:46 | 30 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #10
Tuesday, November 8, 5 p.m. CST
Science data continues to accumulate for the STS-66 atmospheric investigations
as Atlantis performs well in support of this Mission to Planet Earth.
Throughout the day, the Red Team of Don McMonagle, Ellen Ochoa and Joe Tanner
worked with the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science-3,
maneuvering the orbiter to provide the scientific instruments with the
best view of the Earth and the Sun. Crew members also spent time with a
variety of middeck payloads, including the protein crystal growth experiment
and a space tissue loss study designed to validate Earth-based models on how
microgravity affects the human body.
This afternoon, McMonagle commanded a small maneuvering engine firing to
increase the closing rate between CRISTA-SPAS and Atlantis. The maneuver
will keep the relative distance between the two spacecraft at 40 to 60
nautical miles prior to its capture and return to the payload bay
scheduled for Saturday morning.
The Blue Team, now in its seventh flight day, is awake and preparing for
another busy shift. Pilot Curt Brown, and Mission Specialists Jean-Francois
Clervoy and Scott Parazynski will perform routine communications health
checks with CRISTA-SPAS and Brown will maneuver Atlantis in support of
ATLAS-3 observations of cloud tops and atmospheric gasses.
All orbiter systems are operating as expected as Atlantis circles the Earth
every 90 minutes at an altitude of approximately 164 x 159 nautical miles.
|
| 905.54 | STS-66 Status Report #11 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Wed Nov 09 1994 16:47 | 37 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #11
Wednesday, November 9, 8 a.m. CST
STS-66 crossed the half-way point Tuesday evening with science activities
and orbiter operations progressing smoothly during Atlantis' thirteenth
flight.
Overnight, Pilot Curt Brown commanded a maneuvering burn that placed
Atlantis in a station keeping orbit 35 miles ahead of the Cryogenic
Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere satellite. The
satellite will continue to gather data about t he Earth's atmosphere and
protective ozone layer until Saturday when Brown and Mission Commander Don
McMonagle are scheduled to complete a rendezvous with CRISTA-SPAS.
In the orbiter's payload bay, the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications
and Science continues its observations of the chemical processes that
affect the Earth's atmosphere. Throughout the day, both teams of
astronauts will continue to monitor the ATLAS -3 investigations with Brown
and McMonagle commanding Atlantis into a series of attitudes to enhance
the scientific observations.
The Blue Team, consisting of Brown and Mission Specialists Jean-Francois
Clervoy and Scott Parazynski, supported the Heat Pipe Performance and
Protein Crystal Growth Experiments. Parazynski also demonstrated a new
resistive exercise device comprised of a series of tethers which allowed
him to use his own body weight for resistance. Data indicate that
load-bearing exercise may minimize bone density loss during extended space
flights.
Parazynski also discussed mission objectives and Tuesday's election
results with KCBS television in Los Angeles, Calif., during an interview
late last night.
All orbiter systems are operating as expected as Atlantis circles the
Earth every 90 minutes at an altitude of 163 nautical miles.
|
| 905.55 | Atlas-3 Status Report #11 | 56821::BATTERSBY | | Wed Nov 09 1994 16:48 | 99 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #11
6:00 p.m. CST, Nov. 8, 1994
MET 5/7:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
"As we approach the halfway point in this mission, the management team is
very proud of the flawless performance of the Spacelab, and the scientists are
very pleased with the data they are getting," said ATLAS 3 Mission Manager
Paul Hamby in today's press briefing. Information being collected during the
11-day flight will help scientists understand the chemistry, dynamics and
physics of Earth's protective ozone layer.
The German ASTRO-SPAS satellite, with its payloads the Cryogenic Infrared
Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA) and Middle
Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI), is orbiting
the Earth about 65 miles away from Atlantis. ASTRO-SPAS systems are in very
good health, and CRISTA and MAHRSI continue gathering large amounts of
data. Thus far in the mission, CRISTA has collected more than eight million
infrared spectra of trace gases in the atmosphere.
During their communication period with the ground this morning, the two
instruments checked alignment of their fields of view with bright targets in the
night sky. CRISTA tracked Mars and MAHRSI used Sirius, the brightest star in
the sky, as reference points. The coalignment confirmed that both were pointing
at the correct altitudes.
The two instruments then began several hours of cooperative observations,
taking measurements of nitric oxide in the coldest part of the atmosphere,
called the mesopause, about 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the Earth's surface.
"In this region, nitric oxide has a fairly long lifetime," explained MAHRSI
Principal Investigator Dr. Robert Conway. "By watching its movement as the
instruments circle the globe, orbit after orbit, we can see how waves and winds
transport the gas."
Nitric oxide collects high in the mesosphere above the winter polar region.
Atmospheric circulation then transfers it to lower latitudes above the equator
and pushes it down into the upper stratosphere. Though other members of the
nitrogen oxide family slow ozone depletion in the lower stratosphere by
absorbing chlorine, nitric oxide at higher altitudes participates in the
chemical cycle that destroys ozone.
MAHRSI returned to its primary task of measuring hydroxyl in the upper
stratosphere during this afternoon's communications linkup between the
satellite and the ground.
Dr. Dominique Crommelynck, principal investigator for Belgium's Solar
Constant (SOLCON) experiment, and Roger Helizon with the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory's Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) say they are
pleased with results so far from their measurements of the total radiation from
the sun. Both appear to agree with previously obtained values from the Upper
Atmosphere Research Satellite's ACRIM-II instrument and the ATLAS 2
mission. Crommelynck said he has been able to adjust measurements from
earlier space instruments to assemble a single set of continuous observations
since 1978. He stressed, however, that "scientists will need measurements
over tens or even hundreds of years to truly understand the influence of solar
radiation on Mother Earth."
Principal Investigator Dr. Gerard Thuillier has received the first processed
Solar Spectrum (SOLSPEC) data from his home laboratory at the National Center
for Scientific Research in Paris, and science teams here in Huntsville are
beginning to compare ultraviolet radiation data taken during the mission's
initial solar observation period. Thuillier and Dr. Michael VanHoosier,
co-investigator for the Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM),
say data from both of their instruments and Shuttle Solar Backscatter
Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment show a high level of agreement.
This afternoon, SSBUV completed a series of atmospheric measurements to
calibrate their sister ozone-monitoring instrument aboard the NOAA-9
meteorological satellite. Then they adjusted their spectrometers to detect a
wavelength range virtually identical to that measured by the Total Ozone
Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS). For 11 orbits, SSBUV will make six
measurements per second of the total ozone under the Shuttle's orbital path.
Results will be used to calibrate the mapping spectrometer, which has been
making similar readings from the Russian Meteor-3 satellite since 1991.
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment continues
to collect information on trace gases which will help scientists build a precise
map of the atmosphere's chemical makeup.
Several STS-66 crew members expressed their appreciation today for the
feedback they have been receiving from scientists at Spacelab Mission
Operations Control in Huntsville. "We've been getting almost daily updates
from the Marshall team on scientific results from the experiments. It appears
they are getting fantastic data," said Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski.
The general public can get up-to-date information on the ATLAS 3 mission as
well, by way of the Internet computer network. The ATMOS team is posting
some charts of their data on new ATMOS Internet home page. Its Mosaic
address is "http://remus.jpl.nasa.gov/". As is true during every Shuttle,
mission daily updates are being posted on Spacelink, NASA's education database.
Spacelink may be accessed via the Internet at "spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov" or by
direct-dial modem at (205) 895-0028. SSBUV results from previous flights are
available at "http://ssbuv.gsfc.nasa.gov/".
The current atmospheric observation period will continue until just before noon
Wednesday.
|
| 905.56 | Possible MIR Sighting | LHOTSE::DAHL | | Wed Nov 09 1994 17:09 | 7 |
| I think I saw MIR last night from Westford MA, but it was quite low in the sky
(maybe 10 degrees), much lower than the pass prediction data. It was visible
about the correct time, was a pretty bright yellowish, and not blincking. There
were thin coulds at the time in that part of the sky, so I wasn't expecting to
see it well. Did anyone else in the MA/NH area see MIR on the evening of the
8th (Tues), and if so, how high in the sky was it?
-- Tom
|
| 905.57 | STS-66 Status Report #12 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Thu Nov 10 1994 13:36 | 40 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #12
Wednesday, November 9, 5 p.m. CST
Atlantis' Red Team continued its observations of the Earth's atmosphere
without interruption today, switching midway through the day to study the
sun and its effects on the atmosphere.
The crew told Mission Control that night time passes are becoming shorter
as the shuttle's orbit aligns more with the line between night and day,
called the terminator. By the last day of the flight, Atlantis' orbit will
be almost parallel to the terminator, putting the crew in continual
daylight for several orbits.
Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa told controllers the crew can see as many
as 13-14 layers in the atmosphere during sunsets, while Commander Don
McMonagle said they are collecting photographs of the sunsets with a 300
millimeter telephoto lens to supplement the atmospheric data obtained by
cargo bay instruments.
Throughout the day, McMonagle performed a series of maneuvers to position
the ATLAS instruments for solar science gathering, rotating the orbiter
toward the sun during observations and away from it between observing
opportunities. During one maneuver, several "failed jet" messages were
observed.
Flight controllers are studying the possibility that one of two hand
controllers used to fire the shuttle's large steering jets may have sent
spurious firing commands to the shuttle's jets when it was powered on for
a maneuver. The jets were turned off at the time and did not fire. The
problem does not impact any of the shuttle's current scientific work, since
the smaller steering jets, or verniers, are used to point the shuttle for
the atmospheric observations. An analysis of the problem, including a
possible checkout of the hand controller, is continuing.
All other systems on board Atlantis are performing well in support of the
science-gathering activities as the orbiter circles the Earth every 90
minutes at an altitude of approximately 161 x 157 nautical miles.
|
| 905.58 | Atlas-3 Status Report #12 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Thu Nov 10 1994 13:37 | 82 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #12
6:00 a.m. CST, Nov. 9, 1994
MET 5/19:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
Halfway through the eleven-day ATLAS 3 mission, the atmospheric instruments
continue to amass detailed information on the chemical constituents of the
middle atmosphere. These instruments are working well and are providing
high-quality data to the science teams.
The solar instruments are in standby, as science teams evaluate data from
the first two solar observation periods and prepare for the third.
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment measured the
chemical and physical composition of the middle atmosphere. Since ATMOS
first flew on Spacelab 3 in 1985, scientists have retrieved height profiles
of over 30 trace gases from ATMOS data, including several chlorofluorocarbons,
nitrogen-oxygen compounds, ozone, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, water and
methane. The instrument measures these gases selectively and can
simultaneously observe about ten to fifteen trace gases in one observation.
The ATMOS instrument viewed the stratosphere at orbital sunrise and sunset,
gathering information in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Since trace gas molecules absorb solar radiation at different wavelengths,
ATMOS determines which wavelengths are being absorbed, giving scientists a
more detailed picture of the molecular makeup of the atmosphere. ATMOS data
from ATLAS 3 will be compared to information gathered during other missions
to examine worldwide, seasonal and long-term atmospheric changes. According
to Principal Investigator Mike Gunson, ATMOS has already far exceeded its
minimum success requirements for the mission, performing "well beyond
expectations" on its "most productive, and certainly most scientifically
interesting, flight ever on any Shuttle mission." ATMOS has now filled about
80 percent of its onboard recorder, having completed a total of 166 sunrise
and sunset observations.
The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment continued to
perform coincident measurements for NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer
(TOMS) and with ozone measuring instruments flying on the NOAA 9 satellite as
called for by the National Plan for Stratospheric Monitoring. The SSBUV
instrument makes its ozone measurements by comparing the amount of solar
radiation reaching the top of the Earth's atmosphere to the amount being
scattered back from the atmosphere. This information gives scientists a
measure of the amount of ozone present in a given area.
At around 3:45 CST this morning, the SSBUV team participated in what Principal
Investigator Ernest Hilsenrath called "a spontaneous experiment collaboration"
with the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation
(MAHRSI) instrument to test the possibility of using MAHRSI's limb-scanning
ability to measure ultraviolet radiation and ozone in the lower stratosphere.
Taking advantage of a planned CRISTA-SPAS maneuver in which MAHRSI scanned the
ultraviolet portion of the electromagnetic spectrum at heights between 55 and
15 km, the SSBUV team cooperated with the MAHRSI team to demonstrate the
feasibility of this ozone limb-scanning technique in preparation for a solar
limb-scanning instrument currently under development for possible use on
future space missions.
SSBUV measures ozone in the upper stratosphere by looking straight down at
the Earth using ultraviolet backscatter observations. MAHRSI, on the other
hand, measures hydroxyl and nitric oxide in the stratosphere and mesosphere,
using limb-scanning, or edge on viewing above the Earth's horizon. This
experiment successfully demonstrated the feasibility of using limb-scanning
of the ultraviolet spectrum to obtain ozone measurements in the lower
stratosphere. According to MAHRSI Principal Investigator Robert Conway,
"there was a question about whether our instrument had enough sensitivity
to perform this experiment successfully, but, sure enough, we did. The data
look excellent." Analysis of this experiment's results will continue
throughout the next shift.
During the second half of the next 12 hour shift, the four solar science
instruments for ATLAS 3 will begin their third period of solar observations.
The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor, from the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, and Belgium's SOLCON experiment will measure the total solar
energy received by the Earth. The SOLSPEC experiment will concentrate on
the sun's radiant output in ultraviolet, visible and infrared wavelengths
while the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory's Solar Ultraviolet Spectral
Irradiance Monitor examines solar output in the ultraviolet wavelengths.
SSBUV will also observe the sun during one or two of the solar orbits, and
the second Experiment of the Sun for Complementing the Atlas Payload and for
Education (ESCAPE-II) will be in operation for all solar orbits.
|
| 905.59 | STS-66 Status Report #13 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 11 1994 12:14 | 38 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #13
Thursday, November 10, 8 a.m. CST
Scientific observations of the sun, clouds and gases in the Earth's
atmosphere continued throughout the night as the Blue Team supported
operations for the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science.
The Blue Team -- Pilot Curt Brown and Mission Specialists Jean-Francois
Clervoy and Scott Parazynski -- continued to monitor ATLAS-3
science-gathering activities, and Brown performed a series of maneuvers to
position the ATLAS instruments to observe the sun during orbital daylight
periods.
After several "failed jet" messages were observed following a maneuver
earlier today, ground controllers had the crew check the forward hand
controller to verify its operation. Checkout validated performance in all
axes and flight controllers continue to study the possibility that
contacts in the hand controllers were transiently energized when the
flight control power was turned on. The problem does not impact any of the
Shuttle's current scientific work, since the smaller steering jets, or
verniers, are used to point the shuttle for the atmospheric observations.
Clervoy took time to discuss the science and objectives of the STS-66
mission with European media representatives during an interview overnight.
With the mission past its halfway point, the Red Team -- Mission Commander
Don McMonagle, Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa and Mission Specialist Joe
Tanner -- are scheduled to take a half day off today and the Blue Team
will take a half day off following wakeup late this afternoon. The half
day off is a standard practice for Shuttle missions lasting more than 10
days.
All systems on board Atlantis are performing well in support of the
science-gathering activities as the orbiter circles the Earth every 90
minutes at an altitude of approximately 161 x 158 nautical miles.
|
| 905.60 | Atlas Status Report #13 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 11 1994 12:15 | 92 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #13
6:00 p.m. CST, Nov. 9, 1994
MET 6/7:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
ATLAS 3 atmospheric instruments have finished another two days of
observations to check the health of the atmosphere, and the four solar
instruments are in the midst of their third set of observations.
With the mission less than a day past its mid-point, the Atmospheric Trace
Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) instrument has already gathered more data
than it did during either ATLAS 1 or ATLAS 2. One of the gases it focused
on in the last observing period was hydrogen chloride, which provides a
direct measurement of the amount of chlorine available in the atmosphere
for ozone chemistry.
Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa explained this morning that ATMOS is
unique not only because it measures as many as 30 or 40 trace gases
simultaneously, but also because it can detect very small concentrations of
those gases -- down to a few parts per billion. "Even though the quantities
are small," she observed, "these gases can play a large part in ozone
destruction."
The ATMOS team has encouraged the crew to get as many photographs of the
atmosphere as possible, and this afternoon Commander Don McMonagle made
pictures as a sunrise illuminated Earth's thin protective blanket. Ochoa
viewed the sunrise with high-magnification binoculars, and she commented
that she could see 13 or 14 atmospheric layers above the clouds.
The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment completed a
series of Earth ozone measurements to calibrate those being made by NASA's
Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) aboard the Russian Meteor-3
satellite.
A six-orbit period of solar observations began at around 1 p.m., with the
Solar Constant (SOLCON) experiment and the Active Cavity Irradiance Monitor
(ACRIM) making very precise measurements of the total radiation arriving at
Earth from the sun. The Solar Spectrum (SOLSPEC) instrument and Solar
Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM) are looking at the sun's
radiation as a function of wavelength.
This morning, principal scientists for SUSIM, SOLSPEC and SSBUV
announced that preliminary data for their first set of ultraviolet solar
observations agree approximately to five percent of one another. This is
the closest agreement ever achieved by three individual solar instruments
without post-flight calibration. The correlation is especially significant
since each instrument uses different physics to achieve their calibration.
The scientists expect to refine the agreement even further during post-
flight analysis.
"It is important to obtain very accurate measurements of ultraviolet
radiation, because it sets up the chemistry in the atmosphere, triggers
catalytic cycles that make and destroy ozone, and drives heating in the
atmosphere," said SSBUV Principal Investigator Ernest Hilsenrath. Changes
in this ultraviolet output are very subtle, but their impact is of the same
order as that of chemicals released into the atmosphere by industrial
activity. To distinguish changes due to solar variations from those caused
by human activity, both must be closely tracked. "Measurements made by the
ATLAS missions and the satellite instruments they calibrate will provide a
baseline for the future," said Hilsenrath. "They will be a legacy for
environmental investigators in the next century, so they can look back at
our data and compare it with changes they may observe in the atmosphere."
While the Shuttle-based experiments concentrate on the sun, the Cryogenic
Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA)
experiment and the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph
Investigation (MAHRSI) are continuing atmospheric observations from aboard
Germany's free-flying CRISTA-SPAS satellite.
CRISTA Principal Investigator Dr. Dirk Offermann, of the University of
Wuppertal in Germany, reported his instrument has made the first global
readings of atomic oxygen in far-infrared wavelengths as low as 62 miles
(100 kilometers). "This is important because it will help us understand
how atomic oxygen functions as a cooling mechanism in the upper atmosphere,"
explained Offermann. Though far-infrared readings of atomic oxygen at
similar altitudes have been made during brief sounding rocket flights, and
by satellite instruments at higher altitudes, they have never before been
made so low in the atmosphere on a global scale. Atomic oxygen is produced
in the upper stratosphere when solar ultraviolet light strikes molecular
oxygen (the form of oxygen people breathe), breaking it down into single
oxygen atoms.
The MAHRSI team has processed preliminary data showing global
concentrations of hydroxyl. Hydroxyl is very influential in the ozone
chemistry of the middle atmosphere.
Solar observations will continue until around 9:30 p.m. CST. An orbit-long
communications period with the CRISTA-SPAS satellite will follow, and then
atmospheric observations will resume.
|
| 905.61 | STS-66 Status Report #14 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 11 1994 12:15 | 29 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #14
Thursday, November 10, 5 p.m. CST
As the crew on board Atlantis took a few hours off from their duties today, the
science instruments they carried into orbit continued observing changes in the
Earth's atmosphere.
During space flights lasting more than 10 days, flight controllers schedule a
few hours of off-duty time for each crew member. This break from the steady
pace of activities helps astronauts maintain their high performance levels
throughout the mission. The Red Team -- Mission Commander Don McMonagle,
Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa and Mission Specialist Joe Tanner -- had its
off-duty time Thursday afternoon while the Blue Team -- Pilot Curt Brown,
and Mission Specialists Jean-Francois Clervoy and Scott Parazynski -- has
Thursday evening off.
Maneuvers to orient Atlantis to enhance the science gathering efforts of the
Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science continued throughout the
day. During the first half of its day, the Red Team also worked with a
variety of middeck experiments being carried on Atlantis.
The Blue Team is now awake and will continue to monitor ATLAS-3 activities
throughout their ninth day on orbit.
All systems on board Atlantis are performing well in support of the science-
gathering activities as the orbiter circles the Earth every 90 minutes at an
altitude of approximately 161 x 158 nautical miles.
|
| 905.62 | Atlas Status Report #14 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 11 1994 12:16 | 89 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #14
6:00 a.m. CST, Nov. 10, 1994
MET 6/19:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
The ATLAS 3 solar instruments completed the sixth and final orbit of their
solar observation period at around 9:25 p.m. CST, and then last night's
scheduled communications with the CRISTA-SPAS satellite started. This was the
third of four periods planned during ATLAS 3 for the Shuttle's cargo bay to
point at the sun. By accumulating data during multiple observation periods,
scientists can make extremely precise measurements of the sun's total energy
output and its dispersion. Multiple solar periods also allow them to study
short-term solar variations. All the solar instruments collected very high
quality data.
Two University of Colorado students participated in science planning meetings
in Huntsville during the last three solar observation periods. The students
represented a Colorado Space Grant Consortium project, the second Experiment
of the Sun for Complementing the ATLAS Payload and for Education (ESCAPE-II),
housed in a Get-Away-Special canister in the Shuttle cargo bay.
A secondary payload co-manifested for the ATLAS 3 mission, ESCAPE-II is making
observations concurrently with the ATLAS solar instruments, in particular with
the Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM), which also measures
solar ultraviolet radiation in the same wavelength ranges. The experiment was
designed, managed and built entirely by 60 undergraduate and graduate students
at the University of Colorado in Boulder. ESCAPE II is a follow-on payload to
the Extreme Ultraviolet Solar Complex Autonomous Payload Experiment (ESCAPE
I), also known as the Solar Ultraviolet Experiment (SUVE), which flew in April
1993 onboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as part of the STS-56/ATLAS 2
mission.
Instruments on ESCAPE II include a Far Ultraviolet Spectrometer (FARUS) and a
digital Lyman Alpha Spectrum Imaging Telescope (LASIT), which obtain digital
images of the solar disk in extreme ultraviolet, 121.6 nanometer, wavelengths
in which little research has been done over the last 20 years. The experiment
is expected to shed new light on how the sun's extreme ultraviolet wavelengths
affect the upper atmosphere, as well as providing for the ESCAPE II students
what instrument Team Leader Kathy Wahl called "a hands-on education that you
do not get in any classroom experience."
The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) monitored solar
irradiance in its ongoing effort to determine possible fluctuations in the
sun's total output of optical energy. The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite
(UARS) also carries a similar ACRIM instrument, and the two ACRIM's have
been making cooperative observations throughout the mission. At the close of
the last solar observation period, ACRIM team member Roger Helizon observed,
"the sun is very stable this year. This gives us flat data plots, allowing us
to do very tight collaborative measurements with UARS."
After the end of the solar period and during the communications between the
orbiter and the CRISTA-SPAS instruments, atmospheric observations resumed as
the Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI)
switched from measuring hydroxyl to measuring nitric oxide at heights of 60 to
84 miles (100-140 km).
At around 3:30 a.m. CST, the MAHRSI science team at the Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville used an Internet connection to research data records of
the International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE), a satellite launched in 1978, to
obtain an old ultraviolet spectrum observation of the Moon. In order to
compare and validate their spectral measurements of hydroxyl, the MAHRSI team
looks for an ultraviolet spectrum, that is free from atmospheric interference,
to use as a reference. Ultraviolet spectra of the Moon are ideal for such
purposes, and the data records of IUE furnished this reference. "For us, it's
a real breakthrough in the analysis of our data," commented MAHRSI Principal
Investigator Robert Conway .
Meanwhile, the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the
Atmosphere (CRISTA) instrument continued collecting infrared spectra of trace
gases. CRISTA has taken a total of over ten million spectra so far, an amount
that would fill more than six thousand computer discs with raw data. Both the
CRISTA and MAHRSI instruments continue to perform well, amassing valuable
atmospheric data.
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) instrument continued
observing orbital sunrises and sunsets to identify and measure molecules and
their vertical distribution in the atmosphere. ATMOS acquired good spectral
data on key atmospheric molecules, especially chlorine-containing gases, that
it is intended to measure as part of its science objectives. The ATMOS
science team reports that the experiment's onboard data recorder is over
eighty-five percent full and that they are trying to take as many of their
measurements via live down link in order to conserve the remaining recorder
space for the rest of the mission. The Shuttle crew made occasional maneuvers
of Atlantis during the night to help facilitate this live down link.
Atmospheric observations will continue throughout the next twelve hours as
ATLAS 3 approaches its eighth day of flight.
|
| 905.63 | STS-66 Status Report #15 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 11 1994 12:43 | 34 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #15
Friday, November 11, 8 a.m. CST
Following a few hours off to rest and relax, the STS-66 crew resumed
around-the-clock support of the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications
and Science mission and checked out Atlantis' flight control system in
preparation for Monday's planned landing at the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida.
The Blue Team -- Pilot Curt Brown, and Mission Specialists Jean-Francois
Clervoy and Scott Parazynski -- spent time attempting to fix a hand-held
laser device being carried on board Atlantis. The laser is part of a
technology demonstration to show that the hand held radar can provide
reliable range and range rate information during shuttle rendezvous
operations.
Maneuvers to orient Atlantis to enhance the science gathering efforts of
the ATLAS-3 payload continue on board, as do operations with several
middeck payloads including the Protein Crystal Growth and Space Tissue
Loss experiments.
The Red Team -- Mission Commander Don McMonagle, Payload Commander Ellen
Ochoa and Mission Specialist Joe Tanner -- woke up at 2 a.m. Houston time
this morning and began its work day at about 6 a.m.
The flight control system checkout was performed while all six crew
members were awake so that the commander, pilot and flight engineer could
perform the necessary checks required before landing day.
All systems on board Atlantis are performing well in support of the
science-gathering activities as the orbiter circles the Earth every 90
minutes at an altitude of approximately 161 x 158 nautical miles.
|
| 905.64 | Atlas Status Report #15 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 11 1994 12:44 | 78 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #15
6:00 p.m. CST, Nov. 10, 1994
MET 7/7:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
On this eighth day of the ATLAS 3 mission, instruments aboard the Shuttle
Atlantis and Germany's CRISTA-SPAS satellite continue to collect an
unprecedented volume of information about Earth's complex atmosphere.
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment support
team, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, has been working around
the clock to convert the instrument's raw data into gas-distribution charts.
ATMOS scientists at Spacelab Mission Operations Control in Huntsville say
preliminary results seem to provide important pieces in the puzzle of how the
Antarctic ozone hole originates and what happens after the ozone is completely
destroyed.
"We knew that industrial chlorofluorocarbons have been reaching the
stratosphere, where they release free chlorine atoms which then break down
Antarctic ozone by the end of winter," said ATMOS Principal Investigator Dr.
Mike Gunson. "Today's preliminary results tell a very interesting story about
how the chlorine is deactivated in the springtime, as the Antarctic ozone layer
begins to return to normal conditions." The data indicated that at altitudes of
about 12 miles (20 kilometers), where ozone depletion is greatest, almost all of
the chlorine had been chemically bound into hydrogen chloride molecules. At
15 miles (25 kilometers), the atmosphere recovers in a different way. There,
the chlorine appeared in both chlorine nitrate and hydrogen chloride compounds.
Gunson added that ATMOS data from ATLAS 3 strongly suggest the ozone hole
is a very contained region of the atmosphere. "If the very low water-vapor and
nitrogen levels we see in the ozone hole were being spread out to other parts of
the atmosphere, that would help explain what causes decreases in ozone
levels at mid-latitudes and the tropics," he said. "However, we are not seeing
a direct tie between the two areas. If the ozone hole does affect
mid-latitudes, it must be in a more indirect fashion."
Sunsets in the Shuttle's orbital path are occurring further south as the
mission progresses, so ATMOS observations in the Northern Hemisphere are
focusing increasingly on tropical regions.
The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere
(CRISTA) experiment, aboard the free-flying CRISTA-SPAS satellite, has
mapped the atmosphere over nearly the entire globe five times since it went
into operation Friday. Its three-dimensional records of trace gases in the
middle atmosphere will reveal details never measured before.
The CRISTA instrument was built to a large part by students at the University
of Wuppertal in Germany and two of their professors. The original idea for
the experiment was conceived in 1985. "While the actual instrument was
manufactured by industry, students did the calculations, constructed the
cryostat, designed the optics, then integrated the equipment with the help of
university technicians," said Professor Dirk Offermann. After the mission, the
data reduction will be done almost entirely by students. "The instrument is
working almost perfectly, and we are very pleased with the results," Offermann
added. Offerman is guiding CRISTA science planning at Spacelab Mission
Operations Control in Huntsville, and his colleague, Professor Klaus
Grossmann, is commanding telescope operations from the Kennedy Space
Center in Florida. About 20 students from undergraduate to doctoral levels
have been involved in the project over the last nine years.
The Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI)
made measurements of hydroxyl this morning as the CRISTA-SPAS satellite
orbited over Southern California. MAHRSI then began a 12-hour set of scans to
track distributions of nitric oxide in the middle atmosphere.
At the same time, the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment
started 24 hours of nitric oxide measurements. During last night's solar
observations, SSBUV took readings of the sun in nitric oxide wavelengths to
furnish comparisons for today's observations. SSBUV controllers first studied
nitric oxide during the ATLAS 2 mission, using their instrument's ability to
focus on specific wavelengths to pinpoint the gas, then refined the procedure
during the STS-62 flight last March. Both nitric oxide and hydroxyl are active
in the chain of chemical reactions that destroys ozone in the middle atmosphere.
Atmospheric observations will continue until Friday night when the Shuttle
begins maneuvers to retrieve the CRISTA-SPAS satellite.
|
| 905.65 | Recent elements for STS-66 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Fri Nov 11 1994 15:26 | 36 |
| Article: 6692
Newsgroups: sci.space.news,rec.radio.info,rec.radio.amateur.space
From: [email protected] (Shuttle Elements)
Subject: STS-66 Element Set (94314.805)
Sender: [email protected] (Gary Morris)
Organization: Alsys, San Diego, CA, USA
Date: Thu, 10 Nov 1994 21:15:33 GMT
STS-66
1 23340U 94073A 94314.80545708 .00267769 16725-4 84539-3 0 77
2 23340 56.9949 165.0315 0010404 290.5741 69.4212 15.92652338 1148
Satellite: STS-66
Catalog number: 23340
Epoch time: 94314.80545708 = (10 NOV 94 19:19:51.49 UTC)
Element set: 007
Inclination: 56.9949 deg
RA of node: 165.0315 deg Space Shuttle Flight STS-66
Eccentricity: .0010404 Keplerian element set JSC-007
Arg of perigee: 290.5741 deg from NASA flight Day 8 vector
Mean anomaly: 69.4212 deg
Mean motion: 15.92652338 rev/day Gil Carman
Decay rate: 2.67769e-03 rev/day^2 NASA Johnson Space Center
Epoch rev: 114
This data is also available via the Shuttle Elements Mailing
List. For more information about the list and how to subscribe,
send a message to with only the command "info elements" in the
body of your message to "[email protected]".
--
--
Gary Morris Internet: [email protected]
Alsys Inc. Packet: KK6YB @ N0ARY.#NOCAL.CA.USA.NA
San Diego, CA, USA Phone: +1 619-457-2700 x128 (voice/fax)
|
| 905.66 | STS-66 Status Report #16 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 14 1994 12:57 | 34 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #16
Friday, November 11, 5 p.m. CST
The STS-66 astronauts continued their observations of Earth�s atmosphere
and the other experiments on board Atlantis with only a few problems
punctuating their ninth day in orbit.
The ATLAS-3 observations were put on hold for a little more than an hour
today due to an electrical problem. A power inverter that converts direct
current electricity to alternating current electricity for the ATLAS
instruments and their support equipment shut down unexpectedly. Payload
Commander Ellen Ochoa aboard Atlantis quickly switched to a backup
inverter that repowered the equipment. However, to ensure there was not an
electrical problem with the instruments themselves, flight controllers
delayed observations for a short while to analyze the situation.
Observations with the ATLAS-3 instruments resumed about 4 p.m.
Also, the crew switched the onboard flight control computer being used for
systems management to a backup mass memory unit after a connection between
the computer and the primary MMU proved faulty. Both the computer, one of
five flight control computers on board Atlantis, and the MMU are in
excellent condition. The problem was only in the connection between the
two devices. To restore full backup capability onboard, flight controllers
may eventually ask the crew to switch the Systems Manager function to a
different computer and assign another function to the current SM computer.
During the day, Mission Specialist Joe Tanner took a brief break to talk
with a Chicago radio station, answering questions about Atlantis�s.
Commander Don McMonagle took a phone call from Dr. Herman Smith, a retired
Marine Corps Captain in Houstan�s VA Medical Center, to commemorate
Veterans Day and christen a new patient bedside telephone system.
|
| 905.67 | Atlas Status Report #16 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 14 1994 12:58 | 66 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #16
6:00 a.m. CST, Nov. 11, 1994
MET 7/19:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
Science teams at the Spacelab Mission Operations Control Center in Huntsville,
Ala., monitored the activities of atmospheric instruments for the third
Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS 3) mission last
night. While solar instruments remained in standby mode, atmospheric
observations were conducted for the fourth time during this mission.
Preliminary results, available for the first time during an ATLAS mission,
continue to provide scientists and the crew with insights to both the
investigations and the processes occurring in the atmosphere. Among the
results to date is the detection of increasing amounts of Freon-22 in the
stratosphere. This chemical, used as a replacement for Chlorofluorocarbons,
is not as great a threat as Chlorofluorocarbons to the ozone layer, but is
still a growing source of stratospheric chlorine.
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment is viewing
sunrises and sunsets through the Earth's atmospheric limb, measuring the trace
gases involved in the chemistry of the stratosphere and mesosphere. The
ATMOS onboard recorder is nearing capacity, and observations will likely be
downlinked live from the orbiter Atlantis throughout the remainder of the
mission. The crew will continue to maneuver the Shuttle in ways to best
enable the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) to provide real-
time downlink of ATMOS's observations of sunrises and sunsets.
ATMOS Principal Investigator Dr. Mike Gunson commented that the data are
posing a "challenging scientific puzzle" as well as providing a "really
interesting story to tell about the ozone hole and the processes leading to
its formation." "I'm really happy with the way things have gone," he added.
"Enormously successful is almost an understatement at this point."
The Solar Spectrum Measurement (SOLSPEC) instrument, which measures
solar radiation in the ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared wavelengths,
viewed the Earth during this atmospheric period. Although primarily a solar
instrument, SOLSPEC took advantage of the Earth-viewing position of the
orbiter to record ultraviolet and visible light as it was scattered back from
the atmosphere. This data will be combined with information from SOLSPEC's
solar observations to determine concentrations of trace gases in the
atmosphere
The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) instrument continues to
obtain measurements of nitric oxide concentrations as the instrument viewed
the Earth. These observations are being performed in conjunction with the
MAHRSI instrument to produce a more comprehensive understanding of nitric
oxide distribution in the atmosphere.
The Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI)
instrument continues to gather nitric oxide data and is working with the SSBUV
team to measure global distributions of this compound, which is active in the
chain of chemical reactions that destroys ozone in the middle atmosphere.
The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere
(CRISTA) experiment acquired very high resolution data through
"oversampling," or making double measurements in specific altitudes to obtain
better resolution, during its scans. At this time, CRISTA has taken
observations in all of its operating modes, and the science team is very
pleased with its performance.
All Spacelab systems continue to work well. During the next twelve hours, the
fourth interval of atmospheric observations will continue as the Atlantis crew
prepares to retrieve the CRISTA-SPAS satellite early Saturday morning.
|
| 905.68 | STS-66 Status Report #17 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 14 1994 12:58 | 42 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #17
Saturday, November 12, 5 a.m. CST
The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere
(CRISTA) satellite ended its eight-day mission this morning when the
STS-66 crew retrieved the science satellite and returned it to the
orbiter's payload bay for the trip home.
Payload Commander Ellen Ochoa captured the Shuttle Pallet Satellite, with
its CRISTA and Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph
Investigation (MAHRSI) instruments, with the robot arm at 7:05 a.m.
Central this morning as Atlantis traveled southeast of New Zealand on
Orbit 141. Following additional testing while on the end of the robot arm,
the satellite is scheduled to be placed back into the payload bay at about
9:30 a.m. today.
During the rendezvous sequence, Atlantis flew an elliptical pattern in
front of the satellite called a MAHRSI Football maneuver to allow the
instrument to gather Shuttle glow data. Investigators will use the
information to calibrate data obtained from the atmospheric instruments by
detecting and measuring the gas hydroxyl in the proximity of the orbiter.
Crew Commander Don McMonagle also tested a new rendezvous technique to
demonstrate the approach that will be used on Atlantis' next flight in
June 1995 to rendezvous and dock with the Russian Space Station Mir. The
technique, which has the orbiter approaching from beneath its target,
minimizes thruster jet firings that could "plume" or contaminate the space
station systems and solar arrays.
Throughout the night, the Blue Team of astronauts -- Pilot Curt Brown and
Mission Specialists Jean-Francois Clervoy and Scott Parazynski --
supported the rendezvous activities, maneuvering Atlantis through a series
of burns to place it in the correct position for its rendezvous with
CRISTA-SPAS. The Red Team -- McMonagle, Ochoa and Mission Specialist Joe
Tanner -- woke up at 2 a.m. to oversee the final stages of the satellite
rendezvous and retrieval. Tanner used a hand-held laser device that will
be used on the Shuttle/Mir docking missions to gather precise range and
range rate data throughout the rendezvous.
* * *
|
| 905.69 | Atlas Status Report #17 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 14 1994 12:58 | 104 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #17
6:00 p.m. CST, Nov. 11, 1994
MET 8/7:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
"The ATLAS 3 mission so far is the best one we've had," observed Dr.
Guenter Brueckner, Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM)
principal investigator. Brueckner, of the U.S. Naval Research
Laboratory, has been involved in NASA solar research since the 1970s.
"This mission has been completely dedicated to science, since we have
not had to concentrate on technical problems. The various science teams
are working together in real time to conceive new observations, so we
can compare our findings to one another and establish long-term trends."
With many of the mission's primary atmospheric research goals already
accomplished, several ATLAS 3 scientists are using innovative methods to
test their instruments' capabilities or get data on additional subjects.
The Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation
(MAHRSI), aboard the autonomous CRISTA-SPAS satellite, completed its
nitric oxide measurements this morning. It then made readings of
hydroxyl over California for comparison with those being made by an
instrument at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Table Mountain Observatory
near Pasadena. The Fritz Mountain Observatory in Colorado is also
making cooperative hydroxyl measurements.
This afternoon, MAHRSI began a series of one-orbit experimental
measurements to identify several gases which show up in a variety of
ultraviolet wavelengths at various altitudes. Targets include magnesium
II, an indicator of solar activity; atomic oxygen, the major component
of the atmosphere at Shuttle heights; and stratospheric chlorine
monoxide, a chemical active in ozone destruction.
The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere
(CRISTA) experiment is making its three-dimensional maps of trace gases
at somewhat higher altitudes. Later tonight, both CRISTA and MAHRSI
will take measurements looking straight down at the Earth. Thus far,
they have been scanning long slices of the atmosphere above the horizon,
using a method called atmospheric limb sounding.
The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment has
completed all observations required to calibrate ozone sensors on long-
term satellites. This morning, it wrapped up 24-hours of nitric oxide
measurements, made in coordination with MAHRSI. Then, at about noon,
SSBUV controllers put their instrument into a "sweep mode." This mode
scans the atmosphere below the Shuttle over a wide spectral range, to
distinguish additional gases SSBUV could study in detail on future
flights. SSBUV's sensitivity to nitric oxide was identified on a
similar "sweep" during the March 1992 ATLAS 2 mission. The next
scheduled flight for SSBUV is STS-72 in late 1995.
France's Solar Spectrum (SOLSPEC) instrument is looking at ozone in
Earth's atmosphere again, after completing a similar set of ozone
measurements this morning. Principal Investigator Dr. G�rard Thuillier
first used his solar instrument to monitor Earth's atmosphere during the
ATLAS 2 flight. Based on results from that effort, he refined the
procedure and is collecting additional ozone data during ATLAS 3. The
method is similar to that used by SSBUV to monitor global ozone, and
results from both instruments will be compared after the mission.
Near midday, a special Shuttle maneuver turned its payload bay toward
the flight path, exposing the Solar Constant (SOLCON) experiment's
sensor cavity to hypersonic air flow in the upper atmosphere. During
regular solar observations, great care is taken to avoid exposing
SOLCON's optics to the atmosphere. However, as the Shuttle rounds the
Earth to begin solar observations, the instruments briefly face into the
path of flight. SOLCON scientist Dr. Dominique Crommelynck thinks that
atmospheric interference might explain occasional glitches in his
readings of total solar radiation. Today's test should help him
determine how much interference is present. Once he characterizes its
effect, he can then remove it from his observations.
If SOLCON proves sensitive to atmospheric particles, Crommelynck says a
similar instrument might be designed to measure the density of the upper
atmosphere. Solar activity increases this density, which in turn
increases atmospheric drag on orbiting spacecraft. For instance, high
levels of solar activity in the late 1970s caused Skylab's orbit to
decay earlier than expected.
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment team took
advantage of the special Shuttle maneuver to try some innovations of
their own. After completing a normal sunrise observation, they kept
their sensor on the solar disk as it ascended above the atmosphere.
They attempted to move their field of view from the sun's center to its
edge, hoping to make the first detailed, space-based infrared
spectrograph of the sun's atmosphere. "Our colleagues in the solar
science community have been encouraging us to try this for a long time,"
said ATMOS scientist Dr. Mike Gunson. The ATMOS sun sensor did its job
too well, though, preventing the team from moving their view so far from
the sun's center. They are thinking through some new procedures which
might let them give the unique observation one more try before landing.
ATMOS missed two of their regularly scheduled atmospheric observations
late this afternoon, due to the temporary shutdown of an electrical
power inverter aboard the Shuttle. Observations resumed after power was
restored.
CRISTA and MAHRSI will make some special measurements tonight as the
Shuttle closes ranks with CRISTA-SPAS satellite, and ATMOS will continue
to view orbital sunsets. There will be no science observations during
the actual satellite retrieval early Saturday morning.
|
| 905.70 | STS-66 Status Report #18 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 14 1994 12:59 | 35 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #18
Saturday, November 12, 8 p.m. CST
Atlantis' crew safely tucked an atmosphere-observing satellite into the
shuttle's cargo bay today ending eight days of independent science gathering
activities taking measurements of the Earth's atmosphere and sun.
The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere
instrument mounted on its Shuttle Pallet Satellite is now latched securely in
Atlantis' payload bay for its return trip to Earth. Observations with the
Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science instruments aboard Atlantis
continued throughout the day.
The Red Team -- Mission Commander Don McMonagle, Payload Commander Ellen
Ochoa and Mission Specialist Joe Tanner -- successfully completed the rendezvous
and retrieval of the CRISTA-SPAS satellite and then turned its attention to some
of the experiments housed on Atlantis' middeck.
With CRISTA securely in place, Ochoa again commanded the shuttle's robot arm to
view an icicle that formed on the exterior of the left hand cargo bay door
during a routine water dump Friday. The television views showed the door's
edges and latches to be free of ice. Flight controllers are considering a
variety of options to dislodge the icicle, including using the shuttle's robot
arm to break it off of Atlantis' payload bay doors.
Throughout the evening hours, the Blue Team -- Pilot Curt Brown, and Mission
Specialists Jean-Francois Clervoy and Scott Parazynski -- will continue to
support ATLAS-3 observations as this Mission to Planet Earth enters its final
days on orbit.
All systems on board Atlantis are functioning as expected as the orbiter
continues to circle the globe every 90 minutes at an altitude of approximately
156 nautical miles.
|
| 905.71 | Atlas Status Report #18 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 14 1994 12:59 | 96 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #18
6:00 a.m. CST, Nov. 12, 1994
MET 8/19:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
Having gathered almost all of the basic science data desired
for this flight, ATLAS 3 principal investigators are now
looking to make the most of their last scheduled
opportunities for joint investigations of the atmosphere and
solar environment. "This is our opportunity to explore."
said Middle Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph
Investigation (MAHRSI) Principal Investigator Dr. Robert
Conway, reflecting the feelings of his fellow ATLAS
scientists.
Both MAHRSI and the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and
Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA) instrument
participated overnight in a cooperative experiment with the
Shuttle Solar Ultraviolet Backscatter (SSBUV) instrument.
The CRISTA-SPAS satellite, which carries CRISTA and MAHRSI,
pointed in an almost completely downward, or nadir, direction
to allow these two instruments to operate in an observation
mode similar to that of SSBUV, measuring variations in
infrared and ultraviolet radiation scattered back from cloud
tops and Earth surface areas. Dr. Dirk Offermann, the CRISTA
principal investigator, reports that the experiment went very
well, and the instruments even passed over one end of the
now-elongated Antarctic ozone hole. According to Dr.
Offermann, CRISTA verified this fact when it recorded "a
clearly visible decrease in our ozone signals" over the tip
of South America. CRISTA is the only instrument flying with
the STS-66 mission that can use infrared scanning to view the
Earth's atmosphere even at night.
At around 12:45 a.m., MAHRSI and CRISTA collaborated on
another exploratory observation, simultaneously obtaining
spectral measurements of the moon in ultraviolet and infrared
wavelengths. This direct look at Earth's satellite will be
used as a reference standard for data processing. Robert
Conway described the spectrum as superior to the one acquired
from the Internet on the previous day, saying, "We needed to
know exactly how our instrument looks at these measurements."
The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment
has completed 73 Earth observations periods and, along with
the other ATLAS 3 experiments, has temporarily shut down for
CRISTA-SPAS retrieval. The instrument team is assessing
whether to attempt observations of the moon in conjunction
with other instruments and is preparing for further Earth and
solar view observations.
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS)
instrument primarily observed sunsets over equatorial
latitudes last night. "That's really important to us," said
ATMOS Co-Investigator Mark Abrams, who described the equator
as a "source region" for ozone mixing over more heavily
populated areas of the globe. "Having a good idea about what
the source region looks like gives us a good idea about what
is going on over the mid-latitudes," he added. ATMOS has
made more than 200 solar occultations in this mission, more
than the combined occultations of its three previous flights.
Many of these measurements will be correlated with
observations from instruments on NASA's Upper Atmosphere
Research Satellite.
Although ATLAS 3 is flying during what was expected to be the
quietest portion of the current solar cycle, information from
other observatories obtained via the Internet reveals an
unexpected amount of solar activity, including sun spots.
The SUSIM instrument has detected higher solar intensities at
short wavelengths than expected during its observations, and
these data will be critical in characterizing what is
occurring and developing a better understanding of solar
activity. The instrument team decided to keep the instrument
door open and take data during CRISTA-SPAS retrieval. This
data will be compared with that obtained with the instrument
door closed during deployment.
Preparations are now underway to retrieve the CRISTA-SPAS
carrier and secure it in the Shuttle's payload bay. As part
of this, the orbiter is in the process of maneuvering around
the carrier, in an operation known as the "MAHRSI football"
because of the shape of its path, so the MAHRSI instrument
can make ultraviolet observations of the Shuttle and the area
immediately around it. The measurements of the Shuttle and
its attendant "Shuttle glow" will help scientists improve
their understanding of this phenomenon and assist with
refining data from ATLAS and other missions by allowing
interference created by the glow to be predicted.
After the ASTRO-SPAS carrier has been secured at around 7
a.m. this morning, the ATLAS 3 mission will begin its final
period of atmospheric and solar observations.
|
| 905.72 | | SKYLAB::FISHER | Indecision is the key to flexibility! | Mon Nov 14 1994 12:59 | 5 |
| NASA Select is playing what sounds like a post-landing news conference, so I
assume they landed. It was moved to EAFB, since there is a tropical depression
in the FL area.,
Burns
|
| 905.73 | STS-66 Status Report #19 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 14 1994 13:00 | 29 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #19
Sunday, November 13, 10 a.m. CST
STS-66 crew members are wrapping up their payload activities today as flight
controllers focus on entry and landing preparations for Monday morning.
A tropical storm system off the coast of Florida in the Atlantic is expected to
bring a chance of clouds and thunderstorms into the Kennedy Space Center for
tomorrow's two east coast landing opportunities. The two landing times in
Florida are 6:31 a.m. and 8:04 a.m. central time with the deorbit burn occurring
about an hour prior to landing. Two landing opportunities are available for
California's Edwards Air Force Base at 9:34 a.m. and 11:07 a.m. central time.
The weather is expected to be favorable on the west coast tomorrow.
Today, crew members continued supporting observations of the instruments that
make up the third dedicated Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science.
They also checked the small thruster jets to ensure their health for tomorrow's
landing activities, deactivated several of the middeck secondary experiments and
began packing up equipment for the trip home.
Mission managers have decided not to use the robot arm to dislodge an icicle
that developed on the left payload bay door and extends to the water dump
nozzles on the left side of the orbiter. The decision was made after the camera
on the end of the robot arm which would provide ground controllers with insight
into the operation malfunctioned overnight. Since the ice is not a safety
concern, managers opted to not perform the procedure without the ability to
watch it on the ground.
|
| 905.74 | Atlas Status Report #19 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 14 1994 13:01 | 112 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #19
6:00 p.m. CST, Nov. 12, 1994
MET 9/7:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
Two unique atmospheric instruments concluded almost eight
days of very successful operations, as STS-66 Payload
Commander Ellen Ochoa retrieved the German Space Agency's
reusable CRISTA-SPAS satellite this morning.
Its two instruments -- the German Cryogenic Infrared
Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA),
from the University of Wuppertal, and the Middle Atmospheric
High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation (MAHRSI), from the
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. -- were
designed to measure concentrations and distribution of trace
gases in Earth's atmosphere on a global scale.
Dr. Dirk Offermann, principal investigator for the CRISTA
experiment, reported that his instrument performed almost
flawlessly as it gathered unprecedented three-dimensional
profiles of the atmosphere. About 100 gigabits of data from
180 hours of CRISTA observing time are stored on magnetic
tapes onboard the satellite. "The measurement speed of
CRISTA is so high, that conventional satellites would deliver
this data set in about half a year," said German Space Agency
representative Dr. Wolfgang Frings. CRISTA will be the first
instrument to provide such detailed information on the
"weather" in the upper atmosphere -- the dynamics of winds,
temperature changes and movements which distribute the gases
that influence ozone chemistry.
According to Offermann, the CRISTA investigation is not
finished yet. A campaign of balloon and rocket experiments
will continue for about two weeks, providing additional
comparisons on the dynamic atmosphere. Post-flight
calibrations at Kennedy Space Center will check on the
accuracy and precision of CRISTA measurements. "This is an
important capability only offered by the Space Shuttle,
because it brings instruments back to Earth," Offermann said.
"Like CRISTA, we have had a most amazing week," said MAHRSI
Principal Investigator Dr. Robert Conway. The instrument
accomplished what he termed the "difficult and rather
delicate" task of collecting high-resolution, global maps of
hydroxyl in the middle atmosphere. It also did almost 30
hours of nitric oxide mapping, much of it in cooperation with
the Shuttle Solar Ultraviolet Backscatter (SSBUV) experiment.
Both gases are active catalysts in ozone destruction.
Conway compared some early MAHRSI hydroxyl measurements with
water vapor data from the Millimeter Wave Atmospheric Sounder
(MAS), collected during the mission's first atmospheric
research period. "Water vapor is a parent molecule of
hydroxyl, because the production of hydroxyl depends on the
abundance of water vapor," explained Conway. "By combining
the MAS water vapor maps with MAHRSI's maps of hydroxyl
abundances, we have two parts of the puzzle for understanding
the photochemistry of ozone."
The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS)
experiment has completed atmospheric observations for ATLAS
3, after having accumulated the equivalent of 110,000 floppy
disks of data -- more than from all three of its previous
flights combined.
Today ATMOS viewed the sun directly, rather than using it to
illuminate Earth's atmosphere. The current angle of the
Shuttle's orbit in relation to the sun would spread
atmospheric observations over such a wide area that they
would not be useful. "It would be like taking the
temperature of Los Angeles and Mexico City at the same time,"
said ATMOS Assistant Project Manager Gregory Goodson. The
unusual illumination conditions of the STS-66 orbit, which
changed gradually over the course of the flight, were planned
to accommodate the requirements of both ATMOS and CRISTA.
Sensitive infrared measurements of the full sun provide an
essential reference for ATMOS scientists because they must
remove solar spectra from their atmospheric observations to
properly interpret results. Solar scientists will get
valuable information about the sun's chemistry and physics
from the high-resolution infrared spectra as well.
Spectacular Earth scenes broadcast from Shuttle cameras today
supported the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV)
experiment's "reflectivity measurements." The video and
SSBUV spectra will be compared to determine how various Earth
surface features like clouds, oceans, deserts and mountains
reflect sunlight back into the atmosphere. Variations in
reflectivity affect SSBUV's measurements of the total ozone
above the different surface features. "Today's studies give
atmospheric scientists a tool for adjusting their ozone
models," explained an SSBUV team member.
France's Solar Spectrum (SOLSPEC) experiment is making more
readings of solar radiation scattered back from Earth.
Though its primary objective is measuring the spectral
radiation of the sun, SOLSPEC's Earth views will be compared
with its solar results to determine the amount of ozone in
the atmosphere. The data also can be compared with that
being made by SSBUV, whose primary assignment is to track
ozone concentrations by comparing ultraviolet radiation
backscattered from the Earth with solar ultraviolet
radiation.
The mission's final solar observation period will begin at
about 1 a.m. Sunday. The four ATLAS 3 solar instruments will
operate during daylight portions of five orbits, cool for one
entire orbit, then take measurements for an additional four
orbits.
|
| 905.75 | Atlas Status Report #21 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Mon Nov 14 1994 13:02 | 222 |
| ATLAS 3 Public Affairs Status Report #21
6:00 p.m. CST, Nov. 13, 1994
MET 10/7:00
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Ala.
Solar instruments aboard the international Atmospheric
Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS 3) completed
their last observation period just before 4 p.m. CST. This
morning, most of the ATLAS 3 instruments took advantage of a
bonus science opportunity, focusing their sensors on the
moon. In addition to giving experiment teams a better
understanding of their equipment, the moon observations will
provide the most detailed ultraviolet and infrared chemical
"fingerprints" ever made of solar radiation reflected from
the lunar surface.
The ATLAS 3 payload is scheduled for deactivation at
around 8:15 p.m. Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski should
have Spacelab systems powered down by about 11:20 p.m.,
bringing to a successful conclusion the most comprehensive
examination ever made of the Earth's atmosphere and the solar
energy that drives its chemistry.
"The mission not only met all our expectations, but all
our hopes and dreams as well," said Mission Scientist Dr. Tim
Miller. "One of its high points was our ability to receive
and process so much data in real time. This enhanced our
science and allowed us to plan and carry out some new,
unprecedented cooperative experiments."
ATLAS 3 scientists will spend months refining the volumes
of data they accumulated during the 11-day flight, but the
success of their experiments is already apparent.
The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor
(ACRIM), from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, took
extremely precise measurements of the sun's total radiation
for 30 orbits. ACRIM's primary purpose is to check the
accuracy of a sister instrument, which has been making solar
measurements aboard NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research
Satellite (UARS) since its launch in 1991. "Preliminary
results tell us that the UARS ACRIM instrument has stabilized
to a final level, and it should remain close to this level
for the remainder of the UARS mission," said Co-Investigator
Roger Helizon. Long exposure to solar radiation degrades the
accuracy of satellite instruments, so comparisons with highly
calibrated ATLAS 3 instruments help ensure their reliability.
Belgium's Solar Constant (SOLCON) experiment "worked
perfectly throughout the whole mission," according to
Principal Investigator Dr. Dominique Crommelynck. Like
ACRIM, SOLCON records very precise values of solar radiation,
providing a reference point to track subtle changes over tens
or even hundreds of years. On Saturday, a special test
exposed SOLCON's sensors to atmospheric particles in the
Shuttle's direction of travel. Results confirmed that the
particles are the source of data glitches Crommelynck
sometimes sees at the beginning of observations. Adjusting
SOLCON data to allow for the particle interference will make
it even more reliable.
The Solar Spectrum (SOLSPEC) experiment, from France,
fulfilled its primary assignment -- taking absolute
measurements of the sun's radiation as a function of
wavelength, from far ultraviolet to far infrared. It also
made direct Earth measurements in ultraviolet ranges to
assist in determining the chemical composition of the
atmosphere. Principal Investigator Dr. G�rard Thuillier
cited the quality of ATLAS 3 measurements and the absence of
technical problems in declaring the mission "a great
success."
Throughout ATLAS 3, SOLCON and SOLSPEC were commanded
from the Belgian Science Remote Operations Center, and the
instruments' home labs in Brussels and France processed the
incoming data. "The operation was highly effective, freeing
the principal investigators here in Huntsville to dedicate
more time to science planning," said Dr. Hans-J�rgen Volpp of
the European Space Agency. "The short turnaround time in
data processing allowed them to exchange data with other
ATLAS 3 scientists while the mission was in progress."
Remote operations will often be the standard mode for
experiments aboard the International Space Station.
The Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor
(SUSIM) collected its highest precision solar ultraviolet
radiation measurements in its 15-year lifetime, thanks to
improvements made during refurbishment since ATLAS 2. In
fact, improvements made since the instrument's creation have
decreased uncertainties from 30 percent in 1979 to 3 percent
today, according to Co-Investigator Michael VanHoosier of the
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. The ATLAS 3 SUSIM made
simultaneous measurements with the SUSIM instrument on UARS
during each solar period, and preliminary comparisons to
correct the satellite instrument's measurements are being
made.
Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV)
experiment Principal Investigator Ernest Hilsenrath called
the ATLAS 3 mission "one of the most productive in data
acquisition and the most productive in science," thanks to
close collaboration among the science teams, powerful
computer tools, and the "enormously flexible Shuttle
systems." SSBUV took ozone measurements to calibrate the
ozone monitor on the aging NOAA-9 satellite, which has been
in orbit since 1984. It also matched observations with the
Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer on a Russian meteorological
satellite.
In addition, SSBUV took cooperative measurements with
every other ATLAS 3 instrument. Comparisons of preliminary
solar ultraviolet radiation data from SSBUV, SUSIM and
SOLSPEC showed the instruments to agree to within
approximately five percent of each other, a remarkable
achievement for three instruments with different designs and
calibration standards "For the first time, this
demonstrates that the solar spectral Irradiance is known in
the absolute scale with an accuracy of more than five
percent," said SOLSPEC scientist Thuillier.
STS-66 was in orbit at a time of year when the Antarctic
ozone hole had already passed its deepest level and had begun
to recover, and the Northern Hemisphere atmosphere was
beginning to adjust to the approaching winter. This gave the
ATLAS 3 atmospheric instruments unique insights into how
these changes take place.
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Atmospheric Trace
Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment collected more
data on trace gases in the atmosphere than on all three of
its previous flights combined.
The instrument took readings over the Northern Hemisphere
from just above the U.S.-Canadian border, down to the
equator. Southern Hemisphere observations, both inside and
outside the Antarctic ozone hole, revealed new insights into
atmospheric chemistry there.
Water vapor and nitrogen oxides are almost absent inside
the ozone hole, but this lack was not seen on the outside.
ATMOS Principal investigator Dr. Mike Gunson says this
indicates that the ozone hole is a self-contained region.
"If the ozone hole is affecting ozone depletion in mid-
latitudes, it must be in a more indirect fashion," he said.
The chlorine which has already destroyed most of the
ozone inside the "hole" is now trapped inside hydrogen
chloride molecules at lower altitudes, but it is found in
both hydrogen chloride and chlorine nitrate higher in the
stratosphere.
Big increases in the halogen-containing gas HCFC-22 were
clearly evident between the first ATMOS flight in 1985 and
the ATLAS 3 mission. Though not as great a threat to the
atmosphere as the chlorofluorocarbons it replaces, this gas
is a growing source of stratospheric chlorine.
In the last days of the mission, ATMOS took lengthy
readings of the sun, providing the highest quality infrared
data on the sun's atmosphere ever collected.
Germany's Millimeter-Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS)
took nine hours of observations, termed "excellent" by
Principal Investigator Dr. Gerd Hartmann, on the first day of
the mission. A malfunction in the instrument's onboard
computer system after the first atmospheric observation
period made it impossible to communicate with MAS for the
remainder of the flight.
However, the data MAS did collect was revealing. "The
variation we saw in the ozone and water vapor with altitude
and latitude in our preliminary data is especially
interesting," said Hartmann. "The structure suggests that a
considerable flow already exists from the south pole to the
north pole in the mesosphere, a region of the atmosphere
above the ozone layer."
Northern Hemisphere measurements showed evidence of a
high latitude ozone "cavity" or "notch" in the lower
stratosphere over the Antarctic. This is in qualitative
agreement with a similar feature MAS observed over the
Antarctic during ATLAS 2 in April 1993.
MAS got useful measurements of chlorine monoxide despite
the relatively short observation period. This is due
primarily to improvements made to their chlorine monoxide
detector, making it twice as sensitive as it was on the
previous ATLAS flights. Chlorine monoxide, formed mainly by
the breakdown of chlorofluorocarbons in the atmosphere, plays
an important part in ozone loss.
Two new atmospheric instruments aboard a German Shuttle
Pallet satellite trailed the Shuttle for more than eight
days to provide additional perspectives on the atmosphere.
The Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes
for the Atmosphere (CRISTA) instrument, from the
University of Wuppertal in Germany, made the first three-
dimensional global maps of atmospheric gases. Its purpose
was to find out how the "weather" of the upper atmosphere
transports gases from one place to another. "For instance,
we were looking for cloud-like structures in ozone
distribution, predicted by computer models, which could help
explain why there is no lasting hole in Northern Hemisphere
winter and spring," said Principal Investigator Dr. Dirk
Offermann. "So far, that is unexplained."
CRISTA made infrared measurements both inside and outside
the Northern polar vortex, and viewed the edge of the
Antarctic ozone hole as well. A total of 51,000 vertical
scans of Earth's atmosphere, ranging from the upper
atmosphere to near the ground, will furnish three-dimensional
profiles of the distribution and movement of ten trace gases
involved in ozone chemistry.
The other satellite-mounted instrument, the Middle
Atmosphere High Resolution Spectrograph Investigation
(MAHRSI) gave scientists an unprecedented look at an ozone-
destroying molecule called hydroxyl. Principal Investigator
Dr. Robert Conway, of the Naval Research Laboratory, said,
"We now have in our hand four complete global maps of
hydroxyl in the middle atmosphere. That's something we never
had before, and we're thrilled." Conway said that hydroxyl
variations by latitude which showed up in his preliminary
data may reflect similar variations of water vapor and ozone
detected by the Millimeter Wave Atmospheric Sounder.
MAHRSI also observed nitric oxide, another gas involved
in ozone destruction, for 24 orbits. Sixteen of those were
in coordination with nitric oxide measurements by the Shuttle
Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment.
Other cooperative observations with SSBUV included MAHRSI
ozone measurements to test a potential system for the next
generation of ozone sounders, and studies of cloud tops made
simultaneously by SSBUV, MAHRSI and CRISTA. Their combined
ultraviolet and infrared measurements will help define the
influence of clouds on the measurement of stratospheric
ozone.
"The decisions we make to protect the health of our
environment need to be based on accurate scientific
knowledge, and that's what the ATLAS missions were all
about," said Tim Miller. "Results will be shared by
scientists all over the world in their studies of the sun and
Earth's changing atmosphere."
|
| 905.76 | STS-66 Status Report #20 | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Tue Nov 15 1994 09:03 | 18 |
| Mission Control Center
STS-66 Status Report #20
Monday, November 14, 10 a.m. CST
Atlantis glided to a flawless landing on Edwards Air Force Base, Ca., runway 22
this morning, completing its almost 11-day long study of the atmosphere on
shuttle mission STS-66.
Atlantis' main gear touched down at 9:33:45 a.m. central. Nose gear touch
down followed 11 seconds later at 9:33:56 a.m., and the spacecraft's wheels
came to a stop at 9:34:34 a.m. central, completing the mission with a total
duration of 10 days, 22 hours, 34 minutes and 51 seconds.
Atlantis, on its 13th flight, completed 175 orbits and traveled about
4,554,791 miles. The crew is expected to return to Ellington Air Field,
Houston, this evening. This recording will be updated this afternoon with a
more exact time for the expected return.
|
| 905.77 | STS-66 landing statement | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Tue Nov 15 1994 09:04 | 14 |
| [Downloaded from NASA Spacelink]
STS-66 Landing Statement 11/14/94
The Space Shuttle Atlantis returned to Earth this morning after completing
175 orbits and traveling over 4,555,000 miles. Atlantis was scheduled to
land in Florida at Kennedy Space Center, but the tropical storm in the
Gulf of Mexico forced the landing site to be moved to Edwards Air Force
Base in California. Below you will find the official landing times for
STS-66.
Main Gear Touchdown: 9:33:45 CST
Nose Gear Touchdown: 9:33:56 CST
Wheel Stop: 9:34:34 CST
|
| 905.78 | PI Reports on this mission were fascinating.... | NETCAD::BATTERSBY | | Tue Nov 15 1994 09:30 | 17 |
| I don't know about others, but what I found fascinating about this
mission was some of the Scientific Investigators press conferences
during the mission on the early results of the measurements as they
described the measurements of gases, and critical elements involved
in the ozone depletion, and of the structure of the polar atmosphere,
which was found to be much more complex than previous thought. The
discussion about the Antartic vortex, and how the clorine molecules
get locked up in ice particles etc.
When the PI's finally come out with some detailed reports and results
next spring after analyzing their data, and publish them, it should put
a solid dent into understanding the complex process'es involved in the
upper atmosphere. It will take a number of years to sort out other
aspects of the data collected on this mission, and the previous Atlas
missions. The CRISTA/SPAS data also looks like it will greatly help
modelers calibrate and adjust their atmospheric models.
Bob
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| 905.79 | About the R-bar rendezvous | SKYLAB::FISHER | Indecision is the key to flexibility! | Fri Nov 18 1994 17:34 | 16 |
| For those who wondered about the "new rendezvous technique" that Atlantis used
to catch Crista/SPAS, I give you the following excerpt from Jonathon's Space
Report:
Atlantis carried out a new type of rendezvous on Nov 12, the plus R bar
approach. R-bar is the radius vector of the target satellite (in
Earth-centered spherical polar coordinates), while V-bar is the velocity
vector of the satellite (almost parallel to the tangential - theta -
vector in the orbit plane since low orbits are all roughly circular).
Usually the Shuttle gets to the right value of R but a greater Theta and
brakes to let the target catch up - a V-bar approach. In the R-bar
approach the Shuttle gets to about the right Theta but a smaller value
of R, with velocity adjusted so that its slightly elliptical orbit will
carry it outward to the correct R value without any further thruster
firings. This approach minimizes thruster effluent contamination of the
target. (Rendezvous gurus, correct me if I have any of this wrong).
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