Conference 7.286::space

From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Date: 8 Jan 91 23:41:14 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

                                   Payload Status Report
                                   Kennedy Space Center
                                   January 8, 1991

          George Diller
          407/867-2468
          FTS 823-2468


          TETHERED SATELLITE (TSS)  STS-46/Discovery

               The Tethered Satellite arrived at KSC on Nov. 13 and has
          been undergoing receiving inspection and initial tests in an
          off-line laboratory of the payload Operations and Checkout
          building.

               Verification testing of the flight pallet was completed on
          Nov. 21.  Hardware associated with the TSS deployer is currently
          being integrated onto the pallet as well as integrating some
          associated experiments onto the mission peculiar support
          structure (MPESS).

               The first fit check of the satellite with the deployer is
          scheduled to occur on Jan. 17 and will extend until Jan. 22.

From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Date: 18 Jan 91 18:45:33 GMT
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

                                   Payload Status Report
                                   Kennedy Space Center
                                   Thursday, January 17, 1990

          George Diller
          407/867-2468
          FTS 823-2468


          TETHERED SATELLITE (TSS)  STS-46/Discovery

               The Tethered Satellite has been undergoing receiving
          inspection and initial tests in an off-line laboratory of the
          payload Operations and Checkout building.

               Hardware associated with the TSS deployer is currently being
          integrated onto the pallet as well as integrating some associated
          experiments onto the mission peculiar support structure (MPESS).

               The first fit check of the satellite with the deployer is
          scheduled to occur Friday and will last about a week.  A second
          fit check will also be scheduled for later this month or during
          February.

Don Savage
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                      September 26, 1991

Debra J. Rahn
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

RELEASE:  91-154

     Dr. Franco Malerba has been named Prime Payload Specialist and
Dr. Umberto Guidoni has been named Backup Payload Specialist for the
Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1) mission scheduled for flight aboard
the Space Shuttle Atlantis next Summer.  The Tethered Satellite System
is a cooperative mission between NASA and Italy's space agency,
Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI).  As Prime Payload Specialist, Dr.
Malerba will be the first Italian citizen to fly in space.

     Malerba was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1946, and obtained his
doctorate in physics at the University of Genoa in 1974.  He joined
ASI in 1989 after preliminary selection as an Italian candidate for
TSS-1 Payload Specialist.  During the mission he will work with the
mission specialists in operating the Tethered Satellite System aboard
the Shuttle orbiter and carry out other TSS science investigations
during the 7-day mission.

     Guidoni was born in Rome in 1954 and obtained his doctorate in
physics at the University of Rome in 1978.  Since 1984 he has been
involved with the TSS program as a co-investigator of one of the
Italian experiments on the satellite, and in 1989 he joined ASI after
preliminary selection as a candidate for TSS-1 Payload Specialist.  As
backup, he will be ready to participate in the TSS-1 flight as Prime
Payload Specialist if Malerba is unable to fulfill his duties.  During
the mission he will serve in a key science team role at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala..

     The Tethered Satellite System consists of a satellite attached to
the Shuttle orbiter by a conducting cable, or tether, which is wound
on a motorized reel assembly in the Shuttle's payload bay.  The ASI is
developing the satellite and NASA is developing the deployer
mechanism.  Both are developing the scientific complement.  During the
mission, the satellite will be reeled out on the tether to 12 miles
above the Shuttle's orbit to verify the system design, demonstrate the
capability to safely deploy, control and retrieve the satellite and to
conduct science investigations.  Twelve scientific investigations have
been selected for TSS-1, including studies of the electrodynamic
processes taking place in the Earth's upper atmosphere and of the
dynamic forces in a tethered satellite system.

Is Dr. Malerba still a Digital employee?

- dave

    Re. .3:
    
>   mechanism.  Both are developing the scientific complement.  During the
>   mission, the satellite will be reeled out on the tether to 12 miles
>   above the Shuttle's orbit to verify the system design, demonstrate the
    ^^^^^
    
    Do they mean below? The Shuttle/tethered satellite combination will
    surely behave like a gravity-gradient stabilised system, in which case
    they will certainly be stacked one above the other in orbit. However, I
    understood the purpose of the mission to be to study the Earth's
    extreme upper atmosphere, at altitudes too low for the Shuttle but too
    high for aircraft of any kind. In this case, I would have expected the
    experiment to hang down below the Shuttle so that it was lower in the
    atmosphere than the Orbiter.
    
    Dave Hazel

Yeah Dave, I saw that too.  Maybe they meant below the orbit of the Shuttle but
"above the *orbiter* itself" since it flies upside down!  :-)

...Roger...

        re: .4
        
        He is not currently listed in ELF. It sound like he signed up for
        a 2-3 year commitment with the program. I don't know what length a
        LOA can be, he may have had to resign from Digital.

                           PAYLOAD TEST AND ACTIVITY SHEET
                             Tethered Satellite (TSS-1)

                                  January 7, 1992


          George Diller
          NASA Kennedy Space Center
          407/867-2468
          FTS 823-2468

          Mission: STS-46
          Orbiter: OV-104 Atlantis
          Crew: 7
          Pad: 39-B
          Earliest launch timeframe: July, 1992
          Launch window: mid-morning
          Mission Duration: 7 days
          Landing Site: KSC (early morning)
          Primary TAL: Ben Guerir
          Orbit: 185 statute miles  28.5 degrees


          Current location: Operations & Checkout Building (O&C)


          Upcoming Activity: (* denotes change since last status)

          Mate Satellite to deployer  1/15/92 *
          Satellite/Deployer IVT and functional test  1/21-1/29 *
          Mission Sequence Test  2/11-2/18 *
          Move to CITE stand  3/13
          O&C CITE testing  3/23-4/1
          Transfer TSS to Pad B  6/4
          Install TSS into Atlantis payload bay  6/6


          Activity Completed:

          TSS arrival 11/16/90
          Reel Assembly mated to experiment pallet  2/8/91
          Final fit check with Satellite Support Assembly (SSA)  4/12
          Satellite Support Assembly mated to experiment pallet  7/16
          Flight tether installed  9/11
          Flight tether testing completed  9/13
          Deployer to pallet IVT completed  10/21
          Mate Satellite to Satellite Support Assembly  12/18

    Does anyone have an up-to-date crew manifest on STS-46?
    
    Help!
    
    						--Eric--

 FLT  DATE   INCL  CRW  CARGO BAY  CARRIER      MIDDECK     CREW ASSIGNMENT
      ORBITER  ALT   DUR  PAYLOADS              PAYLOADS
46  AUG  92   28.5   7   TSS-01    PAL+MPESS   PHCF-01   CDR:LOREN J.SHRIVER
ATLANTIS       230   7   EURECA-1L EURECA-A    AMOS-14   PLT:ANDREW M. ALLEN
                         IMAX-06   ICBC        UVPI-09   MS (PLC):J A. HOFFMAN
                         EOIM-III/
                         TEMP2A-03  MPESS               MS:FRANKLIN R.CHANG-DIAZ
                         CONCAP2-01 GAS CAN              MS:MARSHA S. IVINS
                         CONCAP3-0  GAS CAN              MS:CLAUDE NICOLLIER
                         LDCE-01    GAS CAN              PS:FRANCO MALERBA

    Re. -1
    
    Thanks! 
    					--Eric--
    			

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, APR. 6, 1992  2:30 PM


 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Post flight inspections and tests.
- Preparations to remove the ATLAS payload from the payload bay.

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, APR. 7, 1992  10 AM

 
        STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Post flight inspections and tests.
- Preparations to remove the ATLAS payload from the payload bay.
- Cleaning of the radiators.
- Removing the wheels.
-  Preparations  to  offload residual hypergolic propellants from
the orbiter.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Removed the FAUST payload.

 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, APR. 8, 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Fit  checks  of the rotational hand controller with members of
the flight crew.
- Post flight inspections and tests.
- Cleaning of the radiators.
- Removing the wheels.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Removed the ATLAS payload.
- Deserviced the auxiliary power units.


 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, APR. 9, 1992  10 AM


 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Polishing windows.
- Inspections of the main propulsion system.
- Removal of the SSBUV payload.
- Offloading of residual hypergolic propellants.
-  Removing  heat shields and carrier panels from around the main
engines.
- Deconfiguring the payload bay.


 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, APR. 10, 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Polishing windows.
- Inspections of the main propulsion system.
- Removal of the SSBUV payload.
- Removing heat shields and carrier panels from around  the  main
engines.
- Deconfiguring the payload bay.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Removed the orbiter's potty.
- Removed the SSBUV payload.
- Removed the main landing gear wheels.



 

     In 1992, a new era in space research begins when the Tethered
Satellite System, a reusable space sciences research facility,
performs its first mission in space.

     Using a cable, or tether, the Tethered Satellite System is
designed to deploy a multipurpose satellite as far as 100 kilometers,
or 62 miles, above or below the orbiting Space Shuttle.  When its
science mission is completed, the satellite can be "reeled back" into
the Shuttle and returned to Earth for refurbishment and reflight.

     The tethered satellite project is a cooperative effort between
the United States and Italy.  The responsible government agencies are
the Italian Space Agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, and NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center.

     The Tethered Satellite System (TSS) consists of a tether deployer
located in the cargo bay of the Space Shuttle, and a satellite that is
attached to the end of the tether.  A variety of science instruments
are located within the orbiter payload bay and on the satellite.
Martin Marietta in Denver, Colo., is developing the tether and control
system deployer.  Alenia in Turin, Italy, is developing the satellite
for the tethered satellite mission.  Various universities, government
agencies and companies in the United States and Italy are developing
the science instruments.

     The control system deployer includes a tether reel with a
"level-wind" mechanism; tension control; a 12-meter, or 40-foot
extendable boom for satellite deployment and retrieval operations; and
the Spacelab Mission-Peculiar Equipment Support Structure on which
science instruments are mounted.

     The tethered satellite mission will demonstrate the system's
capabilities and will study the electrodynamic interaction of the
tethered satellite with the Earth's ionosphere.  The satellite will be
deployed on a 2.5-millimeter conductive, insulated tether about 20
kilometers or 12 miles above the Shuttle's orbit.  As the conductive
tether cuts through the Earth's magnetic field at orbital velocity, an
electrical potential of 4 to 6 kilovolts will be generated and an
electron current will flow from the upper to the lower end of the
tether.

     For this mission, the satellite will be raised about 40 feet out
of the Shuttle payload bay with the extendable boom.  Small thrusters
will be fired to release it from the boom, at which time it will be
reeled out slowly to its 20-kilometer objective.

     Deployment should take 5 to 6 hours.  After 10 hours on-station
at 20 kilometers, the satellite will begin its 7- to 8-hour journey
back to the Shuttle.  When it is within 2.4 kilometers, or 1.5 miles,
of the Shuttle, it will stop for 5 hours for dynamic stabilization
before the final 2-hour reel-in to the cargo bay and for additional
science and technology investigations.

     A second tethered satellite mission is being discussed to make
full use of the Tethered Satellite System's ability to make extended
scientific measurements in regions of the Earth's atmosphere that are
too high for balloons, too low for free-flying satellites, and
reachable only by sounding rockets for a few seconds.  The objective
is to investigate the relatively unexplored region of the upper
atmosphere between the altitudes of 130 and 180 kilometers (81 to 112
miles).

     For such a mission, the satellite would be deployed from the
Shuttle on a non-conductive tether as far as 100 kilometers or 62
miles toward Earth.  Staged deployment would take 6 to 7 hours.  While
it is on-station for about 20 hours, the tether will be gradually
shortened to ensure that the satellite remains at a constant
altitude.  Retrieval would take 7 to 8 hours.

     The Tethered Satellite System is a reusable facility capable of
performing a variety of science and technology tasks -- perhaps as
many as 10 missions.  Advanced missions for scientific investigations
and technology development applications are in the conceptual stage.
They could include tethered platforms on the Space Station,
tethered-assisted de-orbit and launch of vehicles from the Space
Station, use of electrodynamic tethers to convert between mechanical
energy and electrical power, and the use of tethers to develop
artificial gravity for planetary travel.

     As space tethers become better understood, the Tethered Satellite
System may become an essential part of our research into the physical
properties of our own atmosphere and previously unexplored regions of
space.

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - THURSDAY, APRIL 13, 1992 -- 11:00 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
          STS-46/TSS --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- OPF bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Main propulsion system leak checks
*  Removal of main engine dome heatshields

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Post flight deservicing
*  Auxiliary Power Unit catch bottle drain and deservicing

 

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 1992 -- 11:00 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
           STS-46/TSS --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- OPF bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Main propulsion system leak checks
*  Engine drying operations
*  Leading edge RCC panel # 10 replacement

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Post flight deservicing
*  Main engine heat shields removed
*  Auxiliary Power Unit catch bottle drain and deservicing

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, APR. 20, 1992  11 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units and the
forward reaction control system.
- Inspections of the hydraulic system.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Removal of the three main engines this week.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, APR. 21, 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Tests of the power reactant  storage  and  distribution  system
(PRSD).
- Preparations to remove the three main engines.
- Servicing and sampling of the fuel cell coolant system.
-  Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units and the
forward reaction control system.
- Inspections of the hydraulic system.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Removal of the three main engines this week.

    ##     STS-46 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/MLP-1 - VAB BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Stacking the left aft center segment.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Mated the left aft booster to the launch platform.

 

  KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1992 -- 12:00 NOON
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 
     STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- OPF bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Auxiliary power unit leak and functional tests
*  Forward Reaction and Control System leak and functional checks
*  Water Spray Boiler leak and functional tests
*  Payload bay vent filter checks
*  Aft flight deck and mid-body deconfigurations
*  Continue stacking solid rocket boosters in Vehicle Assembly
   Building.

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Main engine foam insulation removal

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Remove main engines

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, APR. 23 1992  11 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Tests of the power reactant  storage  and  distribution  system
(PRSD).
- Removal of the three main engines.
-  Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units and the
forward reaction control system.
- Inspections of the hydraulic system.

    ##     STS-46 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/MLP-1 - VAB BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Close outs of booster segments.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Mated the left forward center booster to the launch platform.

 

      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, APR. 24 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Tests  of  the  power reactant storage and distribution system
(PRSD).
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units and  the
forward reaction control system.
- Servicing of the water spray boilers.
- Installation of the remote manipulator arm.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Removed the three main engines.

   ##   STS-46 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/MLP-1 - VAB BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Leak checks of the left forward center segment.


 

      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, APR. 27 1992  10 AM


 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Testing of the main propulsion system.
- Orbital maneuvering system functional tests.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Servicing of the water spray boilers.
- Installation of the remote manipulator arm.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Tests of the power reactant  storage  and  distribution  system
(PRSD).
-  Leak and functional tests of the forward reaction control sys-
tem.

   ##      STS-46 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/MLP-1 - VAB BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Preparations  to  mate the left forward segment to the booster
this evening.


 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, APR. 28 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Orbital maneuvering system functional tests.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Configuring the aft flight deck for the STS-46 mission.
- Troubleshooting of the Ku-band antenna.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the remote manipulator arm.

    ##   STS-46 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/MLP-1 - VAB BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Pinning the left forward segment to the left booster.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Transfer of the right  aft  booster  to  the  Vehicle  Assembly
Building today.


 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, APR. 29 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Orbital maneuvering system functional tests.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Configuring the aft flight deck for the STS-46 mission.
- Troubleshooting of the Ku-band antenna.
- Testing of the main propulsion system.


    ##   STS-46 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/MLP-1 - VAB BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Connecting the right aft booster to the launch platform.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Transfered the right aft booster to the Vehicle Assembly Build-
ing last night.
- Mated the left forward segment to the left booster.

 
 

 
      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, MAY 1 1992  10 AM
 
 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Orbital maneuvering system functional tests.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Configuring the aft flight deck for the STS-46 mission.
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of the three main engines next week.
 
    ##   STS-46 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/MLP-1 - VAB BAY 1
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Attaching  the  left  forward  assembly/nose  cone to the left
booster.
- Connecting the right aft booster to the launch platform.
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
- Mate the right aft center segment  to  the  right  aft  booster
early next week.

 

       KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, MAY 4 1992  10 AM


 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Orbital maneuvering system functional tests.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Configuring the aft flight deck for the STS-46 mission.
- Preparation of the hydraulic system for testing.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the new beefed-up main landing gear wheels.
-  Serviced the auxiliary power units with lube oil.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of the three main engines this week.


  ##     STS-46 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/MLP-1 - VAB BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Stacking of the right aft center segment to the booster.


 

       KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, MAY 5 1992  10 AM
 
 
 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Orbital maneuvering system functional tests.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Configuring the aft flight deck for the STS-46 mission.
- Testing of the hydraulic system.
- Tests of the nose wheel steering system.
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of the three main engines this week.
 
      ###   STS-46 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/MLP-1 - VAB BAY 1
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Transfer  of  the  right  forward center segment to the VAB in
preparation for stacking.
 
WORK COMPLETED:
- Stacking of the right aft center segment to the booster.

 
 

      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, MAY 6, 1992 -- 12:00 NOON
  -----------------------------------------------------------------
 
     STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- OPF bay 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Preparations for main engine removal beginning tonight
*  Continue stacking solid rocket boosters in Vehicle Assembly
   Building.

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Hydraulic fill and bleed functional tests
*  Nose wheel steering operations
*  Brake and anti skid tests

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Remove main engines
*  External tank door cycling

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, MAY 11 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Electrically connecting the No. 2 main engine.
- Installation of getaway special canisters in the payload bay.
- Thermal protection system operations.
- Configuring the aft flight deck for the STS-46 mission.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed all three main engines.

      ## STS-46 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/MLP-1 - VAB BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Close outs of both stacked boosters.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Mated the right forward assembly to the right booster.

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, MAY 19 1992  12:30 PM


 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Testing the Ku-band antenna.
- Functional test of the external tank doors.
- Testing of connections for the STS-46 payloads.
- Preparations to close the payload bay doors.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the IMAX camera.
- Installing heat shields around the main engines.

 ##      STS-46 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/MLP-1 - VAB BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Routing cables between the boosters and external tank.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 1992  10 AM


 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Functional test of the landing gear.
- Testing the Ku-band antenna.
- Functional test of the external tank doors.
- Testing of connections for the STS-46 payloads.
- Preparations to close the payload bay doors.
- Closeouts of the midbody and aft compartment.

WORK COMPLETED:
- An interface verification test of the IMAX camera.

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, MAY 26 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Cleaning of the payload bay.
- Preparations to close the payload bay doors.
- Closeouts of the midbody and aft compartment.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Tested the Ku-band antenna.
- Functional tests of the waste containment system.
- Closed out the robot arm for flight.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Cleaning of the payload bay.
- Preparations to close the payload bay doors.
- Closeouts of the midbody and aft compartment.
- Applying protective foaming to close out the main engines.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Rollover to the VAB for mate with  its  boosters  and  external
tank next week.
- Rollout to Launch Pad 39-B after five days in the VAB.


 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, MAY 29, 1992  11 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Closeouts of the midbody and aft compartment.
- Cleaning of the aft compartment.
- Attaching small doublers on the rudder speed brake  over  minor
corrosion.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Closed the payload bay.
- Foamed the main engines.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Rollover  to  the  VAB for mate with its boosters and external
tank next week.
- Rollout to Launch Pad 39-B after five days in the VAB.

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, JUNE 1, 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Closeouts of the midbody and aft compartment.
- Cleaning of the aft compartment.
- Attaching small doublers on the rudder speed brake  over  minor
corrosion.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Rollover  to  the  VAB for mate with its boosters and external
tank targeted for Thursday afternoon.
- Rollout to Launch Pad 39-B after five days in the VAB.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, JUNE 2, 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Closeouts of the midbody and aft compartment.
- Cleaning of the aft compartment.
- Top off the main landing gear tires.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Weight and center of gravity determination Wednesday night.
- Rollover to the VAB for mate with  its  boosters  and  external
tank targeted for Thursday afternoon.
- Rollout to Launch Pad 39-B targeted for June 11.
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test targeted for June 15-16.

 

     The Tethered Satellite System is comprised of a satellite
attached to the Shuttle orbiter by a superstrong conducting cord
that will be reeled into space from the Shuttle's payload bay.
The system will provide scientists experimental capabilities never
before possible.

     Operating the tethered system is much like trolling for fish
in a lake.  But the "catch" is the potential for gathering in
valuable scientific data from the vast sea of space.  Once the
experiments are concluded, the satellite may be reeled back into
the payload bay and stowed until the Shuttle returns to Earth.

     The concept of tethering or connecting bodies together in
space to explore possible engineering applications and scientific
merits has been studied for many years by the United States and
other countries.

     Scientists and engineers are evaluating tethers for their
potential uses.  One possible technological application is using a
long conducting tether to generate electrical power for Space
Station Freedom or other orbiting bodies.  Tethers may also be
used to raise or lower spacecraft orbits.  This could be done by
releasing a tethered body from the primary spacecraft, thereby
transferring momentum (and imparting motion) to the spacecraft.
It also is possible that by applying electrical power to a
conducting cable, the tether may serve as a thrust generator.
Another potential application is the creation of artificial
gravity through the rotation of two or more masses on a tether,
much like a set of bolas.  A downward deployment of the tether
would allow aerodynamic and wind tunnel type testing in the region
50-75 nautical miles (90-140 km.) above the Earth.

     Scientific applications include the creation and study of a
large-scale, tether-generated current system in the Earth's
magnetosphere.  Scientists may be able to use such a tether-
generated current system as a controllable model for studying the
natural currents that exist in the polar regions of the Earth's
magnetosphere and which, for instance, are responsible for the
Northern Lights.  This system may also serve as a model for
understanding the interaction between Jupiter and Jupiter's moon,
Io, as Io moves rapidly through the Jovian magnetosphere, creating
intense currents and bursts of radio waves.  Other scientific
applications may include:

     o    Investigation of the generation and propagation of
          ultra-low-frequency radio emissions and various plasma
          waves by the tether;

     o    Study of the characteristics of the high-voltage plasma
          sheath around the satellite;

     o    Study of ionization processes in the vicinity of the
          satellite; and

     o    Investigation of the interaction of the satellite with
          the ionosphere while variables such as the satellite's
          electric potential are carefully controlled.

     Interest in a tethered experiment culminated in 1984 with an
agreement between NASA and the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI --
the Italian Space Agency) to jointly pursue the definition and
development of a Tethered Satellite System (TSS) to fly aboard the
Space Shuttle.

     The Tethered Satellite System is being developed to provide a
capability to deploy and control a multipurpose satellite as far
as 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, above or below the orbiting Space
Shuttle.  The tether system is being developed as a reusable
facility, but since qualifying such a system can only be done in
the space environment, the first mission will be used to verify
the system design as well as to carry out scientific experiments.

                            Objectives

     The objectives of the first tethered satellite mission are to
demonstrate the capability to safely deploy, control, and retrieve
the tethered satellite, and to conduct electrodynamic science
investigations.  A complement of nine experiments have been
selected for the mission, to further our understanding of the
electrodynamic processes taking place in the Earth's upper
atmosphere, as well as the dynamic forces in effect in a tethered
satellite system.

                             Deployer

     Developed by NASA, the deployer consists of a satellite
support structure to retain the satellite during launch and
landing; an extendable/retractable boom to initially deploy the
satellite; a motor and reel assembly to store, deploy, and
retrieve the tether which mechanically connects the satellite to
the deployer; and a data acquisition and control assembly to
provide data and control during the mission.

     The deployer systems will be installed on a Spacelab Enhanced
Multiplexer-Demultiplexer Pallet.  The pallet is a general purpose
unpressurized carrier developed for use with partial payloads,
such as the TSS, and equipped to provide structural mounting,
thermal, power, command and data systems.

     A Spacelab-provided Mission Peculiar Equipment Support
Structure (MPESS) will be used to mount the orbiter-based
scientific instruments, providing flexibility for changeouts to
different instruments in follow-on missions.  It is a bridge-like
structure also developed for partial payloads and experiments
which will be  equipped with cold plates, cabling and brackets to
support the tethered satellite science, mechanical, electrical,
and thermal requirements.  In all, the total deployer assembly
takes up approximately half the orbiter cargo bay.

     The satellite support structure attaches to the pallet and
connects the stowed satellite to the deployer.  This includes six
latching devices that clamp the 1,141-pound (518 kg.) satellite to
the deployer during launch, pre-deployment on orbit, and following
retrieval for landing.  The support structure also provides the
alignment mechanism for docking the retrieved satellite to a
pre-determined position for stowing and landing. Housed within the
lower section of the support structure is the extendible/retrieval
boom, boom canister, and boom ejection assembly.

     The 12-meter boom assembly will provide the initial
separation from the orbiter during deployment and provide
clearance from the orbiter surfaces during retrieval.  The boom is
housed in a canister in the lower section of the satellite support
structure during ascent and descent phases of the mission.  The
boom mast is a four-sided lattice structure with articulated
aluminum longerons, fiberglass batten cross members under tension
and diagonal tension cables.  It is unfolded out of a large
cylinder similar to a large nut and bolt assembly whereby the nut
rotates and forces the bolt outward.

     As the canister rotates and sections are moved forward, the
tension-loaded battens force the folded longerons to pivot into
place while the cables guide and limit the unfolding action.  The
process is reversed for retrieval.

     The tether reel is designed to hold up to 68 miles (110 km.)
of tether.  The reel weighs approximately 160 pounds (72 kg.), is
3.3 feet (1 meter) in diameter, and 3.9 feet (1.2 meters) between
the reel flanges.  It is equipped with a level-wind mechanism to
assure uniform winding on the reel, a brake assembly for control
of the tether, and a drive motor.  The drive motor is a 5
horsepower brushless direct current motor capable of driving the
reel between 0 and 600 rpm.

     A DC-DC converter conditions orbiter power for use by the
reel motor.  During the electrodynamic mission, the converter
provides 26 volts DC to the reel motor.  The converter also
supplies the satellite with 33 volts DC for pre-deployment
checkout.

     The TSS-1 control and data system includes the equipment to
interface with the orbiter, satellite, and ground systems.  The
deployer avionics include a computer which interfaces with the
satellite while in the pre-deployed mode.  The Shuttle crew will
control the deploy and retrieval from the aft flight deck.

     Following deployment the orbiter S-band Payload interrogator
provides control to and receives telemetry data from the
satellite.  Using on-board sensors and pre-programmed functions,
the computer controls the tether system.  The orbiter Ku-band
system will be used to help track the satellite.  Sent back to
Earth as part of the orbiter's data stream, experiment data will
be relayed through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to
ground stations at NASA's Marshall and Johnson Centers, giving
investigators the capability for real-time viewing and controlling
of the science operations during the mission.

     The tether itself will provide the structural connection
between the deployer and the satellite.  For the first flight, the
tether will be a conducting cable, to aid in studying the
electrodynamics of an upward-deployed satellite.  The tether is a
multi-layer insulated copper conductor with a stranded Nomex core.
The conductor is a 10-strand #34 AWG tin-coated copper bundle
wrapped around the Nomex core.  Insulation for the conductor is
provided by an extruded Teflon coating.  Strength for the tether
is provided through a braided Kevlar section outside the
insulation with a final outer braid of Nomex for atomic oxygen
protection.  The diameter of the cable is approximately 0.1 inch
(2.5 mm), or approximately the diameter of a match stick.  It can
carry 1 ampere of current at 10 kv with a maximum leakage of 5 mA.

                            Satellite

     Developed by ASI, the 1,141-pound (518 kg.) satellite is a
little more than 5 feet (1.6 meters) in diameter and mounts atop
the deployer satellite support structure.  The payload module of
the satellite contains scientific instruments and support systems
for functions such as electrical power, data handling, attitude
measurement and control, and an auxiliary propulsion system.  The
satellite is made up of several replaceable subsystems.

     A service module provides electrical power, on-board data
handling, attitude measurement and control, and telemetry and
telecommand operational support to the satellite.  The auxiliary
propulsion module controls two sets of half-pound (2.0 newton)
in-line thrusters, two sets of 0.6-pound (2.5 newton) thrusters
for control of dynamic modes, two sets of 0.6-pound yaw thrusters,
and a high pressure gas storage bottle.  The payload module
contains the scientific experiments support facilities for
structural, thermal, electrical power and data and control.

     The spherical shape of the satellite is composed of eight
exterior sections with access doors for servicing batteries,
windows for Sun and Earth sensors, and surface mounted umbilical
connectors.  The satellite also has an S-band antenna and a fixed
boom for mounting science instruments.  In addition, it has two
opposing deployable/retrievable booms capable of extending 2.5
meters from the satellite to support science instruments.  The
tether is attached at the polar cap of the satellite and is
integrated into the in-line thruster assembly.

                Science Experiment Instrumentation

     NASA and Italy, in a cooperative effort, selected nine
scientific investigations for the TSS-1 mission.  The science
instrumentation will provide measurements of the behavior of
charged particles at the satellite and orbiter, and magnetic and
electric fields at the satellite.  The selected investigations
represent a wide range of scientific interests and institutions
and will provide a good understanding of the basic electrodynamic
tether-space plasma interactions and tethered satellite dynamics.

     The instrumentation includes electron guns and tether
current-control hardware, along with a set of interdependent
diagnostic instruments, provided by the TSS-1 investigators, that
will measure the behavior of charged particles and electric and
magnetic fields.  To supplement the primary experiment
instrumentation, a set of core equipment, common to most of the
tethered satellite experiments, is being supplied by both NASA and
ASI.  Core equipment elements will provide a higher capacity
electron gun and additional diagnostic instruments.

                                      # # #
June 1991
 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 1992  10 AM

 
         STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - VAB

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Mating the orbiter to the external tank and launch platform.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Atlantis towed from the OPF yesterday and was inside the VAB by
6:30 p.m.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Rollout to Launch Pad 39-B targeted for June 11.
- Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test targeted for June 15-16.

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS - MONDAY, JUNE 8, 1992 -- 10:00 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
 
       STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- VAB

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Shuttle interface verification test
*  External tank and solid rocket booster closeouts

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Orbiter mate to external tank and solid rocket boosters

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Rollout to pad 39-B set for 12:01 a.m. Thursday

 

 KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - TUESDAY, JUNE 9, 1992 -- 11:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------


 
       STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- VAB

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Shuttle interface verification test
*  Main Propulsion System tests
*  Orbiter and external tank mate closeouts

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Orbiter mate to external tank and solid rocket boosters

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Rollout to pad 39-B set for 12:01 a.m. Thursday


 

KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------


 
     STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Pad validations
*  Rotate service structure around vehicle
*  Procedures to power-up the vehicle

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Shuttle transfer to pad 39-B (First motion occurred at 11:54
   p.m. last night and the vehicle was hard down on the pad at
   7:16 a.m. today.)
*  Orbiter and external tank mate final closeouts
*  Shuttle interface verification test

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) T-0 scheduled for
   Tuesday June 16. Crew will arrive at KSC late Saturday night.

 

 KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - MONDAY, JUNE 15, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
     STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Call to stations for Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test
   (TCDT) occurred at 8:00 a.m. today. T-0 is scheduled for 11:00
   a.m. tomorrow.
*  Orbiter hydraulic operations
*  Rudder speed brake bondings
*  Preparations for Auxiliary Power Unit servicing

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Orbiter hydraulic operations
*  Launch pad validations
*  Crew arrival for TCDT

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  TCDT T-0 scheduled for 11:00 a.m. tomorrow.
*  Pre-launch propellant loading operations

 

KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
     STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. T-0 set for 11:00 a.m.
*  Rudder speed brake bondings
*  Preparations for Auxiliary Power Unit pre-launch propellant
   servicing

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Open payload bay doors
*  Orbiter hydraulic operations
*  Launch pad validations

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Pre-launch propellant loading operations
*  Inertial Measurement Unit calibrations
*  Helium Signature Test


 

KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
     STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Rudder speed brake bondings
*  Preparations for Auxiliary Power Unit pre-launch propellant
   servicing
*  Helium Signature test

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test.
*  Inertial Measurement Unit calibrations

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Pre-launch propellant loading operations


 

KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
     STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Pre-launch propellant loading operations (Pad closed to all
   but essential personnel)

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Helium Signature test
*  Preparations for Auxiliary Power Unit pre-launch propellant
   servicing
*  Payload bay doors closed for hypergolic operations

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Rudder speed brake bondings

 

 KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
     STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Pre-launch propellant loading operations (Pad closed to all
   but essential personnel)

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Helium Signature test
*  Payload bay doors closed for hypergolic operations

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Rudder speed brake bondings
*  Cabin vent door checks
*  Auxiliary Power Unit checks

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, JUNE 23, 1992  10 AM


 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Purging the cavity between the external tank and the orbiter.
- Attaching small doublers on the rudder speed brake.
- Replacing a motor for vent door No. 3.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Launch targeted for mid-July.


 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 1992  11 AM


 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to close the payload bay doors.
- Preparations to power down the orbiter until after  the  STS-50
launch.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Purged the cavity between the external tank and the orbiter.
- Replaced a motor for vent door No. 3.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Launch targeted for mid-July.

 

The preliminary press kit for STS-46 is available.  There is still some
formatting left to do, and no graphics.  A prettier version will be released
in a few weeks.

   pragma::public:[nasa]sts-46.ps

24 pages


- dave

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 1992  10 AM
 
 
 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B
 
WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Close outs of the rudder speed brake.
- Power up testing.
 
WORK SCHEDULED:
- Transfer of the payload to the launch pad  the  first  week  of
July.
- Launch targeted for later in July.
 
 

 KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - TUESDAY, JUNE 29, 1992 -- 10:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------


 
     STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Hydraulic circulation and sample operations
*  Preparations for main engine flight readiness test
*  Preparations for payload arrival at pad

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Rudder speed brake bondings

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Main engine flight readiness test
*  Arrival of payload to pad


 

KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - TUESDAY, JUNE 30, 1992 -- 9:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------


 
     STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Main engine Flight Readiness Test
*  Aerosurface cycle and checks
*  Rudder Speed Brake closeouts
*  Preparations for payload arrival at pad

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Preparations for main engine flight readiness test
*  Hydraulic circulation and sample operations
*  Rudder speed brake bondings

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Arrival of payload to pad

 

 KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1992 -- 9:30 A.M.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 
     STS-46/TSS and EURECA --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
*  Engineering evaluations of recently completed Flight Readiness
   Test and hydraulic operations
*  Preparations for payload arrival at pad

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Main engine Flight Readiness Test
*  Aerosurface cycle and checks
*  Hydraulic circulation and sample operations
*  Rudder Speed Brake closeouts

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Arrival of payload to pad and installation into payload bay
   next week.

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, JULY 6, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Preparations  to install the Tethered Satellite System and the
EURECA payload in the Payload Changeout Room at the pad.
- Retest of the newly replaced main engine liquid oxygen tempera-
ture transducers.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Transferred the STS-46 payloads to the launch  pad  early  this
morning.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Install the payloads into the orbiter's payload bay on Wednes-
day.
- Begin interface verification testing between  the  orbiter  and
payloads on Thursday.
- KSC Launch Readiness Review tomorrow.
- Launch targeted for later in July.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, JULY 7, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Preparations  to install the Tethered Satellite System and the
EURECA payload in the orbiter's payload bay.
- Moving the rotating service structure around the vehicle.
- Connecting the orbiter midbody umbilical unit  (OMBUU)  to  the
orbiter.
- Open payload bay doors for payload installation.
- KSC Launch Readiness Review.

WORK COMPLETED:
-  Transferred the STS-46 payloads into the pad's Payload Change-
out Room yesterday.
WORK SCHEDULED:
- Install the payloads into the orbiter's payload bay tomorrow.
- Begin interface verification testing between  the  orbiter  and
payloads on Thursday.
- Launch targeted for later in July.

 

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, JULY 9, 1992  11 AM

 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Interface verification tests between the EURECA payload and the
orbiter.

WORK COMPLETED:
-  Installed the Tethered Satellite System and the EURECA payload
in the orbiter's payload bay yesterday.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Flight Readiness Review tomorrow.
- Launch targeted for late July.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, JULY 10, 1992  11 AM


 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Interface verification testing  between  the  orbiter  and  the
EURECA payload.
- Flight Readiness Review.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Interface verification tests between the EURECA payload and the
remote manipulator system.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Interface  verification  tests  between  the  orbiter  and the
Tethered Satellite this weekend.
- Ordnance operations early on Monday.
- Launch targeted for late July.

 

Ed Campion                                     July 10, 1992
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                    6:00 P.M.
(Phone:  202/453-8536)

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

NOTE TO EDITORS:


     NASA managers today announced July 31, 1992 as the official
launch date for Shuttle Mission STS-46.  The STS-46 mission will
involve Space Shuttle Atlantis carrying two international
payloads - the Tethered Satellite System (TSS-1), a project
jointly developed by NASA. and the Italian Space
Agency and the European Carrier (EURECA) payload which was
developed by the European Space Agency  The launch window on July
31st opens at 9:56 a.m. EDT and extends for 2 1/2 hours.

     Atlantis will be commanded by USAF Col. Loren Shriver,
making his third shuttle flight.  Marine Corps Major Andy Allen
will serve as pilot, making his first flight. Mission Specialists
will include Claude Nicollier, a European Space Agency astronaut
making his first shuttle flight; Marsha Ivins, making her second
shuttle flight; Jeff Hoffman, making his third space flight; and
Franklin Chang-Diaz, making his third space flight. Franco
Malerba from the Italian Space Agency will be a payload
specialist aboard Atlantis.

     STS-46 will be the 12th flight of Space Shuttle Atlantis and
the 49th flight of the Shuttle system overall.
 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, JULY 13, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Close outs of aft compartment.
- Checks of the mobile launcher platform liquid oxygen system.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Interface verification tests between the orbiter and the EURECA
and Tethered Satellite payloads.
- Flight Readiness Review was completed on Friday.  The  official
launch date and time is July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.
- Ordnance operations earlier today.

 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, JULY 14, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Close outs of part one of ordnance activities.
- Close outs of the aft compartment.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Interface verification tests of the Evaluation of Oxygen Inter-
action with Materials (EOIM) experiment which  is  mounted  on  a
support structure in the payload bay.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Install doors on the aft compartment for flight next week.
- Launch on July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.

 

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, JULY 15, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Close outs of the aft compartment.
- Close outs of the solid rocket booster hold down posts.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of two contingency space suits in the airlock next
week.
- Purges of the external tank.
- Install doors on the aft compartment for flight next week.
- Begin the launch countdown at 4 p.m. EDT on July 28.
- Launch on July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, JULY 16, 1992  10 AM


 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Close outs of the aft compartment.
- Final inspections of the base heat  shield  thermal  protection
system.
- Testing of the environmental monitoring package on the EOIM ex-
periment.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of two contingency space suits in the airlock next
week.
- Purges of the external tank.
- Install doors on the aft compartment for flight next week.
- Begin the launch countdown at 4 p.m. EDT on July 28.
- Launch on July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.


 

    Hi does anyone know what the dipoles on the end of the boom are for.
    The main down link is in the S band but on the end of one of the booms
    there are several dipoles on the onther boom there are what is called
    the Langmuir Probe.  They look to be about 8 or 9 in. long, if they
    were 1/2 wave dioples then they would be in the 600-800 mhz range.
    
    Any ideas?
    
    thank john
    

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, JULY 17, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Close outs of the aft compartment.
- Cleaning of the aft compartment.
- Inspections of the thermal protection system base heat shield.
- Installation of the hold down post blast shields.
- No work is scheduled this weekend.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Replaced CRT monitor No. 3 which is located on the pilot's side
of the crew module.  Crew members recently  discovered  that  the
monitor's brightness may not be up to standards.
-  Removed  an  electronic  assembly  for  the EOIM environmental
monitoring package.  The assembly is being tested in a laboratory
here at KSC. This issue is not expected to impact the schedule.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Installation of two contingency space suits in the airlock next
week.
- Purges of the external tank.
- Install doors on the aft compartment for flight next week.
- Begin the launch countdown at 4 p.m. EDT on July 28.
- Launch on July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.


 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, JULY 20, 1992  10 AM


 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Close outs of the aft compartment and avionics bays.
- Cleaning of the aft compartment.
- Power up testing.
- Retest of the pilot's CRT monitor.
- Installation of two contingency space suits in the airlock.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Purges of the external tank.
- Install doors on the aft compartment for flight this week.
- Begin the launch countdown at 4 p.m. EDT on July 28.
- Launch on July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.


 

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, JULY 21, 1992  10 AM


 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Installation of the repaired electronics assembly for the  EOIM
payload environmental monitoring package.
- Close outs of the aft compartment and avionics bays.
- Cleaning of the aft compartment.
- Power up testing.
- Retest of the pilot's CRT monitor.
- Installation of two contingency space suits in the airlock.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Retest of the replaced pilot's CRT monitor.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Purges of the external tank.
- Install doors on the aft compartment for flight this week.
- Begin the launch countdown at 4 p.m. EDT on July 28.
- Launch on July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.

 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Stowing equipment in the crew module.
- Retest of  the  repaired  electronics  assembly  for  the  EOIM
payload environmental monitoring package.
- Close outs of the aft compartment and avionics bay.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed two contingency space suits in the airlock.
- Installed baggies on the engine low pressure fuel ducts.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Purges of the external tank.
- Final ordnance operations on Friday.
- Install doors on the aft compartment for flight tomorrow.
- Begin the launch countdown at 4 p.m. EDT on July 28.
- STS-46 crew arrives at 7:30 p.m. July 28.
- Launch on July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.

 

    re .-1 ..
    
>WORK COMPLETED:
>- Installed two contingency space suits in the airlock.
>- Installed baggies on the engine low pressure fuel ducts.
             *******
    
    Gee, I would have expected a more technical name like "anti contaminant
    shielding"
    
    :-)
    
    jeff
    

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, JULY 23, 1992  10 AM


 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B


WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Purges of the external tank.
- Preparations for final ordnance operations.
- Stowing equipment in the crew module.
- Inspections of the aft compartment,  removing non-flight equip-
ment and platforms.
- Launch countdown preparations.
- Washdown of the top of the mobile launcher platform.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Retested the repaired electronics assembly for the EOIM payload
environmental monitoring package.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Final ordnance operations tomorrow.
- Install doors on the aft compartment for flight tonight.
- Begin the launch countdown at 4 p.m. EDT on July 28.
- STS-46 crew arrives at 7:30 p.m. July 28.
- Launch on July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.


 

   KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, JULY 24, 1992  10 AM

 
     STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Close outs of the payload.
- Close outs of the ordnance areas on the vehicle.
- Stowing equipment in the crew module.
- Launch countdown preparations.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the doors on the  aft  compartment  for  flight  last
night.
- Purged the external tank.
- Final ordnance operations.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Pressurization of the hypergolic propellant tanks for launch.
- Begin the launch countdown at 4 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 28.
- STS-46 crew arrives at 7:30 p.m. July 28.
- Launch on Friday, July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.

 

Article: 2562
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.local.texas,clari.news.aviation
Subject: Countdown begins for Friday shuttle launch
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 19:02:57 PDT
 
	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- Countdown clocks began ticking
Tuesday for the shuttle Atlantis's liftoff Friday on one of NASA's
most ambitious missions, a bold flight to launch, and then reel back
in, an Italian satellite at the other end of a 12-mile tether. 

	It is one of the most promising, technically challenging and
potentially dangerous shuttle flights ever attempted, one that
prompted NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin to order additional safety
reviews before clearing Atlantis for liftoff. 

	But the debate is over -- NASA managers concluded earlier this
month that the Tethered Satellite System is safe to fly -- and
engineers at the Kennedy Space Center started Atlantis's countdown at
4 p.m. EDT Tuesday. With forecasters calling for a 90-percent chance
of good weather, launch is scheduled for 9:56 a.m. Friday. 

	``We are very confident that we ... can handle situations as
they come up,'' commander Loren Shriver told reporters late Tuesday.
``But we expect to see some things about flying satellites attached to
tethers that nobody's really thought about. That's not to say we
expect wild and crazy things. But we (put in extra time training)
trying to prepare ourselves for most anything that could happen.'' 

	Joining Shriver, 47, aboard Atlantis will be co-pilot Andrew
Allen, 36, Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier, 47, Marsha Ivins, 41,
Jeffrey Hoffman, 47, Franklin Chang-Diaz, 42, and Italian astronaut
Franco Malerba, 45. 

	``We look at this as kind of a voyage of discovery, of
exploration, sort of like the first time we ever went into space and
tried a rendezvous or landed on the moon,'' Hoffman said after the
crew arrived from Houston. ``It's a test flight in the very real sense
of that word. We're looking forward to going and flying and seeing how
all this stuff works.'' 

	The goal of the 49th shuttle mission, the fifth of nine
planned for 1992, is to launch two European satellites. One of them, a
$400 million, 10,000-pound spacecraft called Eureca, will be deployed
Saturday morning. Loaded with materials science and biochemical
experiments, Eureca is scheduled to be returned to Earth by a shuttle
crew next April. 

	While Eureca is a major element of Atlantis's mission, it is
the Tethered Satellite System, or TSS, that is the clear highlight of
the flight. 

	The astronauts plan to deploy the spherical satellite Monday
afternoon. Connected to the shuttle by a pencil-thin electrically
conductive cable, TSS will be slowly reeled out to a distance of 12
miles. 

	As the cable sweeps through Earth's magnetic field, electrons
will be attracted to the satellite and flow down the cable to the
shuttle. Electron guns in Atlantis's payload bay will help fire the
negatively-charged particles back into space, completing a gigantic
circuit. 

	Such technology has a variety of applications, including space
station power generation and, if such satellites were deployed
downward toward Earth, atmospheric research. Tethered spacecraft also
could be set spinning to create artificial gravity for long-duration
space flights to the planet Mars or beyond. 

	While a modest tether experiment was conducted during the
Gemini program in the 1960s, the TSS mission represents the most
complex such project ever attempted. 

	And the stakes are high.

	The dynamics of the shuttle-satellite system cannot be tested
on Earth and while engineers are confident they understand the forces
involved, no chances will be taken: at the first sign of any major
instability, the satellite can be cut free to eliminate any chance of
a collision with the shuttle. 

	But NASA managers are optimistic that will not be necessary.

	The satellite will be launched from a 39-foot-long boom that
will be extended straight up and out of Atlantis's cargo bay. Using
small gas thrusters to maintain tether tension, the TSS satellite will
be slowly reeled out. 

	A satellite's orbital velocity depends only on its altitude.
Because the TSS satellite will end up 12 miles higher than Atlantis's
184-mile-high orbit, it's orbital speed will be slightly less than
the shuttle's, producing tension in the cable and helping maintain
stability. 

	After conducting a battery of experiments, the astronauts will
reel the TSS spacecraft back onto its launch boom in two stages, taking 
about four hours to complete the final mile and a half Tuesday evening. 

	With the TSS research complete, Shriver and company plan to
glide to a landing Aug. 7 at the Kennedy Space Center. Assuming an
on-time takeoff, touchdown would be scheduled for 8:05 a.m. 

For a DEC first it's probably worthwhile noting that Franco Malerba will be in
charge of the Tethered Satellite System experiment.

Franco Malerba (a personal friend), ex Telecom consultant at the Valbonne ETC, 
joined DEC in Geneva as a European Telecom Marketing manager and worked from 
1987-91 in the Valbonne European Technical Center as Telecom consultant. He 
was selected by the Italian space agency and NASA in late '90 and has lived in 
Houston since. He is married to an american.

           Digital Employee Selected As Space Shuttle Astronaut

    Author: Franco Malerba                
    Date:   03-Jul-1989

    My dear colleagues,

    Something quite extraordinary has happened to me last week: I have
    been selected by the Italian Space Agency and by NASA as one of the
    two Payload Specialist Candidates for the Shuttle mission TSS-1 due
    to fly in May 1991. 

    Back in April I had participated to the pre-selections in Rome with
    ASI and the Italian Air Force and in May I had gone through the
    final steps of the competition at the Stanford University in San
    Francisco-Palo Alto and at NASA in Houston.

    Last Friday June 30 the big news: Franco Malerba and Franco 
    Rossitto are the two chosen to go ahead for the two-years training
    in the States. In one year time one of us will fly on the Shuttle
    and the other one will act as Back-up and as Ground-Specialist for
    the same TSS-1 mission.

    I am very proud of this achievement as an individual, as a 
    representative of my Country and as a Digital employee, and I want
    now to share this with you all.

    In the near future I will have to relocate (again!!) to the US; 
    from the little bit I know, it looks like I will be based for one 
    year in Denver Colorado at the Martin Marietta premises and then 
    for another year in Houston Texas at the Astronauts headquarters for
    the specific space training for the mission.

    The current plan for the mission is May 91, and if all goes well I
    hope and dream to see you all at my return "down to earth.."

    All the best to you all and your families, big hug to your children
    who dream to become an Astronaut! 

    God bless you!

    Franco Malerba

                                THE MISSION

    With the Tethered Satellite mission ASI and NASA will test a new 
    concept of deploying satellites from the Shuttle hanging from a 
    long wire up to 100 km long; a very spectacular and also a very 
    innovative approach to Space Research in the fields of 
    Electrodynamics, Atmospheric Physics and Telecommunications. The
    major contractors involved are Martin Marietta and Aeritalia.

                               THE SELECTION

    Some of you may know that in 77-78 I participated to the Selection
    of the European astronauts for the first Spacelab mission and
    managed to get in the final four but did not quite make it for the
    first flight (which was done by Dr. Ulf Merbold from FRG).

    This very year, I heard through contacts in the Aerospace world 
    that the newly born Italian Space Agency - ASI was going to select
    the first Italian Astronaut for the joint ASI-NASA project 
    "Tethered Satellite" due to fly in May 91.

    Taking leave from Digital, I passed a first medical screening at 
    the Italian Air Force, then an English Knowledge test, then a 
    scientific exam with a board of Italian Scientists (Broglio, 
    Napolitano, Formisano..). 

    With other 10 candidates, was then invited (May 22) to appear 
    before a Board of Scientists at Stanford University in San 
    Francisco (the Investigators Working group) who are responsible for
    the definition and implementation of the scientific experiments of
    the TSS-1 Space mission. There I was selected among four finalists
    and sent immediately to NASA-JSC in Houston for the NASA class III
    medical exams.

    All four finalists were found acceptable from a medical point of 
    view and the two best ones at the scientific board - Franco Malerba
    and Franco Rossitto - were retained. This is what has been announced
    June 30 in Rome by the Secretary of the Italian Minister for Science
    and Technology and by NASA.

    Any news on the launch???

re Note 695.77 by AKO452::GERMAIN:

>     Any news on the launch???

        Heard it on the radio -- a few minutes before 10:00 AM EDT --
        apparently successful (I could only listen for about 5
        minutes).

        Bob

Article: 2576
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (United Press International)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.news.aviation,clari.news.military
Subject: Franco Malerba, 45: Atlantis astronaut
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 5:59:24 PDT
 
	Franco Malerba, looking forward to a ``tremendous experience''
aboard the shuttle Atlantis this week, said he feels a special pride
at becoming Italy's first space flier. 

	Malerba, 45, is scheduled to spend a week in orbit with six
crewmates to launch the Italian Tethered Satellite System, an ambitious 
project to learn more about Earth's magnetic field and the ability of 
satellites to tap into an unlimited source of electrical power. 

	As the satellite, connected to Atlantis by a 12-mile-long
tether, sweeps through the ionosphere and Earth's magnetic field,
electrons will be attracted to the surface of the spacecraft and flow
down the cable to the shuttle. 

	``It will be a challenge to see the satellite when it's (12
miles) up above the shuttle,'' he said. ``But we expect there will be
fluorescence, luminescence phenomena associated with capturing
electrons and we want to document that. There, we'll really be the
eyes of the scientists.'' 

	The satellite is scheduled to be towed through the ionosphere
for some 30 hours before being reeled back into the shuttle's cargo
bay for return to Earth. The crew's long hours of training were
difficult, but uniquely satisfying. 

	``It's the best video game that they ever played,'' Malerba
said of the crew's simulator training. ``They don't say it, but this
is the truth.'' 

	As the first Italian to fly in space, Malerba looked forward
to launch, saying ``I think it also will be a tremendous experience
for me.'' 

	``Being a team member of such a proven and skilled corps of
astronauts like all the people around here, it's a great honor and
it's also a great responsibility,'' he said. ``I hope I will be good
help and become very skillful at managing the computer that controls
the science both in the payload bay and in the satellite. And also, we
expect to see optical phenomena associated with the intricate science
that will happen around the satellite.'' 

	Malerba was born Oct. 10, 1946, in Genova, Italy. After
graduating from high school in 1965, he earned an electrical
engineering degree from the University of Genova in 1970 and a
doctorate in physics from the same institution four years later,
specializing in biophysics after research at the Italian National
Research Council and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. 

	Off and on between 1976 and 1989, Malerba held technical and
management positions with Digital Equipment Corporation in Italy and
Europe, working primarily in the field of multi-processor systems and
computer networks. 

	In 1977, Malerba was selected by the European Space Agency as
one of four candidates to train for launch on the first Spacelab
shuttle mission.  He was named to Atlantis's crew in 1989 by the
Italian Space Agency, which supplied the Tethered Satellite System. 

	Married and the father of one child, Malerba enjoys mountain
climbing, skiing and tennis. He is a private pilot and scuba diver who
is a reserve officer in the Italian navy. 

    re .77,.78
    
    It looked like a picture-perfect launch up through MECO (which is when
    I stopped watching). Very smooth countdown; only one unplanned hold
    which was resolved almost immediately.
    
    gary

Article: 2583
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.local.florida,clari.news.aviation
Subject: Shuttle takes off on daring mission
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 7:55:38 PDT
 
	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) - The Atlantis astronauts rocketed
into orbit Friday for the most complex flight in shuttle history, a
daring mission to cast a tethered satellite 12 miles into the sea of
space next week and then to reel it back aboard. 

	Whether the astronauts can haul in the science data they are
trolling for with their tethered satellite remains to be seen: no one
knows exactly how the Italian satellite, connected to Atlantis by a
pencil-thin cord, will behave in the weightlessness of space. 

	While NASA managers say the odds of a collision or other
mishap are minimal, the astronauts have been cleared to cut the line
if their safety is threatened at any time. 

	``Mission success is deploying the satellite, getting the data
and after that point, if safety dictates it, or at any time that it's
dictated, we'll have to sever the cable,'' said shuttle chief Jeremiah
Pearson. ``But if we get the satellite out and get the data, that's
success. If they happen to bring (the satellite) back, we're heroes.''

	With its three main engines roaring with power, Atlantis's
twin solid-fuel boosters ignited with a rush of brilliant orange flame
at 9:56 a.m. EDT, quickly pushing the 4.5-million-pound space
freighter skyward through blue skies with scattered clouds. 

	At the controls were commander Loren Shriver, 47, and co-pilot
Andrew Allen, 36. Their crewmates are Swiss astronaut Claude
Nicollier, 47, Marsha Ivins, 41, Jeffrey Hoffman, 47, Franklin
Chang-Diaz, 42, and Italian astronaut Franco Malerba, 45. 

	Eight-and-a-half minutes after liftoff, Atlantis slipped into
its planned preliminary orbit. A smaller rocket firing 41 minutes into
the flight put the ship in a circular orbit 265 miles up. 

	The goal of the 49th shuttle mission, the fifth of nine
planned for 1992, is twofold. On Saturday, the astronauts are
scheduled to launch a European satellite called Eureca that is packed
with materials science and biochemical experiments. 

	The satellite, part of a $429 million European Space Agency
project, will be brought back to Earth next April by another shuttle
crew. NASA was paid about $29 million for the launch and retrieval. 

	But the clear highlight of Atlantis's mission is the
deployment Monday of the Tethered Satellite System, or TSS. The
spherical satellite is the centerpiece of a $379 million joint
U.S.-Italian project to study the interaction between Earth's magnetic
field and the extreme upper ionosphere, a region of the atmosphere
dominated by electrically charged particles. 

	Attached to the shuttle by an electricity-conducting cable as
thin as a clothes line, the 5-foot-wide, 1,200-pound TSS spacecraft
will be reeled out a distance of 12 miles, remaining attached to
Atlantis much like the lure on the end of a fishing line. 

	As the cable trolls through Earth's magnetic field, negatively
charged electrons in the ionosphere will be attracted to the surface
of the satellite and flow down the tether to the shuttle's cargo bay. 

	They then will be fired back out into space, completing a
gigantic 5,000-volt circuit generating about 2,500 watts of power,
enough to run the lights and appliances in an average house. 

	The goal of the unprecedented project is to learn more about
how to control satellites connected by cables and to confirm theories
about how electric currents can be generated and utilized in space. 

	Such technology one day could lead to new power sources for
future space stations and, if two tethered satellites were set
spinning, allow engineers to design spacecraft that could utilize what
would amount to artificial gravity for long-duration voyages to Mars
or beyond. 

	But it will not be easy. Engineers first must learn how to
control a tethered satellite in the weightlessness of space where
uncontrolled motions could, in time, escalate into serious trouble. 

	While the chances of a collision with TSS are remote - the
satellite will be moving extremely slowly throughout its 30-hour
deployment - the astronauts can easily fire special cutters that would
instantly sever the tether, eliminating any chance of a collision. 

	``The initial reaction that most people have when they learn
that we're about to attach the shuttle to a satellite by a
(12-mile-long) rope is ... 'Oh my God, why would anybody want to do
that?''' Hoffman said in a recent news conference. 

	``The first thing you think about is, what's going to happen
to all that rope, what's going to keep it in the place? What we've
learned is that there are some very clear physical laws that we
believe the tether should follow. We feel extremely confident that we
have addressed adequately all the safety concerns.'' 

	Even so, the actual behavior of the tether could not be
simulated in Earth's gravity and surprises are no doubt in store for
the astronauts. But Shriver downplayed the odds of a serious problem. 

	Atlantis is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center in
Florida next Friday at 8:05 a.m. EDT. 

Article: 1547
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Shuttle Status for 07/24/92 (Forwarded)
Sender: usenet@news.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 01:10:37 GMT
 
              KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - FRIDAY, JULY 24, 1992  10 AM
 
             STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B
 
          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          - Close outs of the payload.
          - Close outs of the ordnance areas on the vehicle.
          - Stowing equipment in the crew module.
          - Launch countdown preparations.
 
          WORK COMPLETED:
          - Installed the doors on the  aft  compartment  for  flight  last
          night.
          - Purged the external tank.
          - Final ordnance operations.
 
          WORK SCHEDULED:
          - Pressurization of the hypergolic propellant tanks for launch.
          - Begin the launch countdown at 4 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 28.
          - STS-46 crew arrives at 7:30 p.m. July 28.
          - Launch on Friday, July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.
 

Article: 1569
From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
Subject: Shuttle Status for 07/27/92 (Forwarded)
Date: 29 Jul 92 19:13:55 GMT
Sender: usenet@news.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
              KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, JULY 27, 1992  10 AM
 
             STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B
 
          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          - Verifying the hazardous gas detection system at the pad.
          - Close outs of the payload.
          - Stowing equipment in the crew module.
          - Launch countdown preparations.
          - Washdown of the pad surface and flame trench.
 
          WORK COMPLETED:
          - Workers re-entered the orbiter's aft  compartment  Saturday  to
          replace  and  retest a heater thermostat for auxiliary power unit
          number 3.  The flight doors were re-installed on the aft compart-
          ment for flight yesterday morning.
          - Installed batteries for the Tethered Satellite.
          - Pressurized the hypergolic propellant tanks for launch.
 
          WORK SCHEDULED:
          - Begin the launch countdown at 4 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, July 28.
          - STS-46 crew arrives at 7:30 p.m. July 28.
          - Launch on Friday, July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.
 
 
Article: 1572
From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
Subject: Shuttle Status for 07/29/92 (Forwarded)
Date: 29 Jul 92 19:14:29 GMT
Sender: usenet@news.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
 
             KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - WEDNESDAY, JULY 29 1992  10 AM
 
             STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B
                                LAUNCH MINUS TWO DAYS
 
          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          - Verification of six electrical connectors between  the  orbiter
          and the Tethered Satellite pallet.
          - Removing platforms from the crew module.
          - Countdown entered its first planned built-in hold at 8 a.m.  at
          the T-27 hour mark. Countdown resumes at 12 noon.
          - Preparations to load liquid oxygen and  liquid  hydrogen  reac-
          tants into Atlantis' fuel cell storage tanks.
 
          WORK COMPLETED:
          - Countdown began on time at 4 p.m. yesterday.
          - Powered up the main engine controllers for pre-launch tests.
          - Activated the orbiter's navigation system.
          - Verified software in the firing room.
          -  Flight  crew  arrived  at the Shuttle Landing Facility at 9:15
          p.m. yesterday.
 
          WORK SCHEDULED:
          - Close the payload bay doors for flight early this afternoon.
          - Load cryogenic reactants into the orbiter's onboard  fuel  cell
          storage tanks late this afternoon.
          - Activate the orbiter's communications system overnight.
          - Begin tanking operation at 1:36 a.m. Friday, July 31.
          - Launch on Friday, July 31 at 9:56 a.m. EDT.
 
          STS-46 FLIGHT CREW:
          -  The  crew will perform checks of their flight equipment.  Com-
          mander Loren Shriver and pilot Andy Allen  flew  in  the  Shuttle
          Training  Aircraft today.  The crew will be briefed on the status
          of launch readiness later today as they prepare for their  upcom-
          ing mission.
 
          WEATHER FORECAST:
          -  There is a 95 percent chance of having acceptable weather con-
          ditons at the time of launch.  The temperature is expected to  be
          at 85 degrees and no rain is forecast.
 

Article: 1591
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Shuttle Status for 07/30/92 (Forwarded)
Sender: usenet@news.arc.nasa.gov
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 00:24:32 GMT
 
[Resent after I erroneously sent the Daily News under the title Shuttle
Status.  Enjoy tomorrow's launch! -PEY]
 
              KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, JULY 30 1992  10 AM
 
             STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - LAUNCH PAD 39-B
                                LAUNCH MINUS ONE DAY
 
          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          - Countdown entered the planned built-in hold at 8  a.m.  at  the
          T-11 hour mark. Countdown resumes at 7:36 p.m.
          -  Relieving  a small pressure build-up from auxiliary power unit
          No. 3 in the aft compartment.
          - Preparations to move the rotating service structure  away  from
          the Shuttle Atlantis between 6-7 p.m.
          - Stowing time critical items in the crew cabin.
          - Removing window covers from the Shuttle.
          - Configuring switches on the flight deck for launch.
          - Filling the sound suppression system water tank.
 
          WORK COMPLETED:
          -  Successfully  verified  six electrical connections between the
          orbiter and the Tethered Satellite pallet.
          - Closed the payload bay doors at 4:50 p.m. last night
          - Loaded liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen reactants into  Atlan-
          tis' fuel cell storage tanks by midnight last night.
          - Activated the orbiter's communications system.
 
          WORK SCHEDULED:
          - Begin tanking operation at 1:36 a.m. Friday, July 31.
          - Launch on Friday,  July 31 at 9:56 a.m.  EDT. Launch window ex-
          tends to 12:26 p.m. EDT.
 
          STS-46 FLIGHT CREW:
          - All crew members are preparing for tomorrow's launch. Commander
          of the crew is Loren Shriver and the pilot is Andy Allen. Mission
          Specialists are Claude Nicollier from the European Space  Agency,
          Marsha Ivins,   Jeff Hoffman and Franklin Chang-Diaz. The payload
          specialist Franco Malerba from the Italian Space Agency.
          - The crew was briefed on the  status  of  launch  readiness  and
          weather  conditions  earlier  today.  The  crew also flew in T-38
          trainers this morning.
 
          CREW SCHEDULE ON LAUNCH DAY:
          - Wake up at 5 a.m.
          - Breakfast at 5:31 a.m.
          - Don flight suits and equipment at 6:01 a.m.
          - Depart for the launch pad at 6:41 a.m.
          - Begin climbing aboard the orbiter at 7:11 a.m.
          - Atlantis' hatch closure is set for 8:26 a.m.
 
          WEATHER FORECAST:
          - Excellent conditions are  forecast  tomorrow  with  95  percent
          chance of having  good weather.

CNN gave it's typical 10 second news bite about problems with the satellite
(the non-tethered one) and then deployment and further problems with the 
transfer booster. Any reports from the net or JPL yet?

[Apologies for the delay... I was at JPL last week, and I'm just getting things
 flowing again..  -dg]

STS-46 Launch Statement 7/31/92

Like clockwork, Atlantis lifted off this morning right on time at 9:56 am
EDT to begin the STS-46 mission.  The ascent into exceptionally clear
Florida skies was absolutely nominal.  First and second stage performance
were right on the money.  Atlantis is now in a circular 267-statute-mile-
high orbit.  The flight crew will spend the afternoon activating the
European Space Agency's European Retrievable Carrier spacecraft and then
deploy it from the payload bay early tomorrow morning.  On Sunday, the
STS-46 crew will begin to carry out a series of experiments with the
Tethered Satellite System, which will be deployed on Monday.

==============================================================================

STS-46 Mission Control Status Report #1
4 p.m. CDT
Friday, July 31


The space shuttle Atlantis lifted off at 8:57 a.m. central time today
to begin a week-long international space adventure that will involve
the deployment of the European Retrievable Carrier, or EURECA, early
tomorrow morning followed by the deployment, testing, and retrieval of
the Italian tethered satellite Monday and Tuesday.

Atlantis reached a 230 nautical mile orbit without trouble. All of the
spacecraft's systems are in excellent condition with no problems seen
by either crew or flight controllers. To provide around the clock
operations during this mission, the shuttle crew is divided into two
12-hour shifts, called the red team and blue team. The blue team --
Pilot Andy Allen, Mission Specialist Claude Nicollier and Payload
Specialist Franco Malerba -- went to sleep shortly after Atlantis
reached orbit. The Red Team -- Mission Specialists Jeff Hoffman,
Marsha Ivins and Franklin Chang-Diaz -- has spent the afternoon
setting up shop and checking out equipment that will be used to deploy
the European Retrievable Carrier and for operations with the tethered
satellite. Atlantis' Commander Loren Shriver is not assigned to either
shift but is presently keeping hours with the Red Team.

Ivins checked Atlantis' mechanical arm this afternoon and found it in
good working order, ready to be used by Nicollier to unberth EURECA
from the cargo bay at about 9:23 p.m. CDT today and release it into
orbit five and a half hours later at about 2:51 a.m. CDT tomorrow.
Following the release, Atlantis will fly in formation with EURECA,
about 1,000 feet away, for about four and a half hours to ensure the
satellite is in good shape before leaving the vicinity.

The Red Team is scheduled to spend the final hours of their shift
checking the reel used to wind and unwind the tether for the tethered
satellite system; the latches that hold the tethered satellite in the
cargo bay during launch and landing; and the motors that feed out
the tether during deploy of the satellite.

The Blue Team will awaken at about 6:30 p.m. CDT today and relieve
their fellow crew members at about 7:10 p.m. with the deployment of
the European Retrievable Carrier their first order of business.
Atlantis is in a 230 by 228 nautical mile orbit, circling Earth every
93 minutes, 14 seconds.

===============================================================================

STS-46 MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #2
6:30 a.m. CDT
Saturday, August 1


The European Retrievable Carrier will spend the day attached to Atlantis' robot
arm while controllers at the European Space Operations Center in Darmstadt,
Germany continue to troubleshoot a problem with the data handling subsystem on
the spacecraft.

The satellite was scheduled to be released by Mission Specialist Claude
Nicollier just before three this morning, but data dropouts caused controllers
to hold off while the problem was evaluated.  The next deploy attempt will be
made on Orbit 28 at about 3:41 a.m.  Central (MET 1/18:45).

The data handling subsystem supports management, control and monitoring of
the EURECA on-board operations, providing for the remote controlled execution
of all EURECA operations.  Controllers in Germany continue to evaluate the
problem.


Meanwhile, Atlantis operates without anomaly, allowing crew members to focus on
the payload activities.

================================================================================

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                        STS-46 Status Report #3

Saturday, August 1, 1992, 2 p.m. CDT

Shuttle flight controllers in Houston have been working throughout  the
day with Eureca spacecraft controllers in Darmstadt, Germany, to solve
problems with the processing and flow of payload data between the
European Retrievable Carrier and the ground.  The problems have forced
a one-day delay in the release of the experiment platform which will
remain perched above the Shuttle's payload bay on the end of the robot
arm overnight.

This afternoon, ground controllers from the European Space Agency and
NASA  collaborated on a plan to reconstruct the payload data path
within the Eureca itself, and as of 3:00 pm central time - one hour
after the reconfiguration was completed - data flow has been solid.
Should this prove over the next several hours to solve the data
problem, Eureca would be cleared for deployment on Sunday morning just
after 2 am central time.

The delay will also push the start of tethered satellite deployed
operations into Tuesday and Wednesday.  A decision on extending the
mission will be deferred by mission managers until after tethered
satellite operations are complete.

All systems aboard Atlantis, itself, are in great shape.  The red team
consisting of Marsha Ivins, Jeff Hoffman, and Franklin Chang-Diaz spent
much of the day filming science demonstrations for use in producing
educational films.  They will start their sleep shift, along with crew
commander Loren Shriver, at 6:30 pm central time this evening after
handing over to the blue team - Andy Allen, Claude Nicollier, and
Franco Malerba.

================================================================================

MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #4
9 p.m.. CDT
Saturday, August 1


Flight controllers are currently awaiting a communications check
between the European Retrievable Carrier, or EURECA, spacecraft and
the European Space Operations Center controllers in Darmstadt,
Germany, planned for about 11:15 p.m. CDT when Atlantis is above
Kourou, French Guiana.

The check will provide EURECA controllers with information on the
quality of transmissions to and from EURECA directly, without using
Atlantis as a communications relay station for the satellite. If the
check goes well, EURECA controllers may deem their spacecraft ready
for a deploy from Atlantis at about 2:07 a.m. CDT Sunday, at the start
of five deploy opportunities for tomorrow morning.

Several equipment switches by EURECA controllers have apparently not
solved a problem with slight communications dropouts experienced
earlier by the satellite when using Atlantis' Payload Interrogator
system as a communciations relay station. In earlier ground passes
with direct EURECA communications, no dropouts were seen, although all
of the ground passes have been fairly short in duration. Flight
controllers in Mission Control have seen no problems in the Payload
Interrogator or any of Atlantis' communications equipment.

All systems onboard Atlantis are continuing to operate well. If and
when EURECA is deployed, Atlantis will fly in formation with the
satellite, 1,000 feet away, for about three and half hours while
payload controllers check out other EURECA systems.

Whether or not EURECA is successfully deployed, current plans are for
operations with the Tethered Satellite System to begin about 24 hours
later than had been planned at the beginning of the flight. Atlantis
is tentatively scheduled to lower its orbit to 160 nautical miles
beginning at 5:56 a.m. CDT Monday and deploy the tethered satellite at
about 1:20 p.m. CDT Tuesday. Retrieval of the tethered satellite is
planned for 6:54 p.m. CDT Wednesday.

At present, Atlantis remains scheduled for a landing at the Kennedy
Space Center at about 7:10 a.m. Friday.

==============================================================================

MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #5
3 a.m. CDT
Sunday, August 2, 1992

  The European Retrievable Carrier was released from Atlantis' robot arm at
2:07 central this morning after two orbits worth of ground checks over the
Kourou and Maspalomas sites proved a healthy spacecraft with all systems
operating as planned.

  The satellite was released 230 nautical miles above the southern Pacific
Ocean northeast of New Zealand on the 27th orbit of the mission.

  Just after deploy, Atlantis was maneuvered to a distance 1000 feet behind
EURECA to fly in formation with the satellite for a period of four hours while
the payload community conducts final checks to ensure a healthy spacecraft.

  Once EURECA is deemed in proper working condition, Atlantis and crew will be
released from further work associated with the satellite.  Attention will then
be switched to lowering the orbiter's altitude to 160 nautical miles in
preparation for operations with the Tethered Satellite System on Tuesday and
Wednesday.

  The orbit lowering burn using the orbital maneuvering system engines is
scheduled for Monday morning.

================================================================================

MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #6
9:30 a.m. CDT
Sunday, August 2, 1992

The Space Shuttle Atlantis has successfully completed its deployment of the
European Retrievable Carrier, but continues to provide support for the European
Space Agency's efforts to place the microgravity science platform in its
intended orbit.

Flight Director Phil Engelauf said EURECA was released from Atlantis' robot arm
by Mission Specialist Claude Nicollier at 2:07 a.m.  CDT Sunday after two
orbits worth of ground checks showed a healthy spacecraft.  Following the
release, ESA's control center in Darmstadt, Germany performed a full checkout
and loading of attitude data while Atlantis flew in formation.

At 7:29 a.m.  CDT, ESA ground controllers commanded the satellite to begin its
first of two separation burns.  ESA controllers interrupted the planned
24-minute burn after about 6 minutes when they saw unexpected attitude data
from EURECA. The satellite has been placed in a safe Sun-pointing mode while
ESA continues to evaluate telemetry to determine whether to resume the burn.

About 25 percent of the planned burn was completed and EURECA began
separating from Atlantis at about 16 feet per second, or 40 nautical miles per
orbit.  Atlantis is now about 80 nautical miles ahead of EURECA. The shuttle
continues to provide C-band tracking of EURECA through ground stations.

Engelauf said interruption of the burn does not necessarily mean there is a
serious problem with the spacecraft, and that current data indicates EURECA is
in a retrievable configuration.

The STS-46 crew is now turning its attention to Tethered Satellite System
operations, which are scheduled to begin Tuesday after the shuttle's altitude
is lowered to 160 nautical miles.

================================================================================

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                        STS-46 Status Report #7

Sunday, August 2, 1992, 9 p.m. CDT


Following release of the European Retrievable Carrier this morning,
Atlantis' crew  and Mission Control have turned their focus to the
Tethered Satellite System.

Several of the tethered satellite experiments have been activated and
tested today with no major problems found. Experiments that have been
tested thus far include the Shuttle Electrodynamic Tether System, or
SETS, an experiment that will gauge the amount of electricity being
produced and conducted in the tether from the satellite; the Shuttle
Potential and Return Electron Experiment, or SPREE, an experiment that
will mesure the amount of electrons in the area around Atlantis prior
to and during tethered satellite operations; and the Deployer Core
Experiment, or DCORE, a device that will regulate the amount of
current flowing down the tether and make a number of other
measurements regarding the electricity planned to be produced.

Tethered satellite operations will begin in earnest when Atlantis
lowers its orbit to 160 nautical miles with the first of two maneuvers
at 5:56 a.m. CDT Monday. A second maneuver about 45 minutes later will
circularize Atlantis at that altitude. The next 24 hours will entail
further activation and fine-tuning of the tethered satellite equipment
as well as science investigations with the experiments while the
satellite is in Atlantis' cargo bay. At 1:19 p.m. CDT Tuesday, the
crew will begin unwinding the tether and deploying the satellite.
After reaching a maximum distance of twelve and a half miles from
Atlantis, the satellite will be reeled back in and secured in the cargo
bay at 6:53 p.m. Wednesday.

This evening, the blue team aboard Atlantis -- Andy Allen, Claude
Nicollier and Franco Malerba -- have had a fairly relaxed shift with
Malerba continuing to check tethered satellite equipment while
Nicollier and Allen monitor a test of dumping water from Atlantis
using about half the pressure that is normally used for that
procedure.  The water dump test is designed to give flight controllers
insight into whether or not the lower pressure could be used to dump
excess water overboard, a routine chore on each shuttle flight, if the
higher pressure normally used were not available. A camera at the end
of Atlantis' mechanical arm has been positioned to watch the water
dump and ensure that the water particles are ejected clear of
Atlantis.

Atlantis is in a 232 by 228 nautical mile orbit, circling Earth every
93 minutes, 13 seconds.

================================================================================

                  MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #8
                  7 a.m. CDT
                  Monday, August 2, 1992


Atlantis was lowered from a 230 to 160-nautical-mile-altitude,
setting the stage for the second part of the STS-46 mission to
deploy and retrieve a tethered satellite mounted in the forward
portion of the payload bay.

With the European Retrievable Carrier deployed and under full
control of the European Space Agency, the crew is busy readying the
orbiter  and experiments associated with the Tethered Satellite
System for the TSS-1 mission which begins tomorrow.

Several of the tethered satellite experiments were activated and
tested yesterday prior to lowering Atlantis' orbit.  Experiments
tested included  an experiment that will measure electricity
production; on that will measure the amount of electrons in the area
around Atlantis prior to and during tethered satellite operations;
and a device designed to regulate the amount of current flowing down
the tether.

During the next 24 hours, remaining TSS experiments will be
activated and fine-tuned.

Early Tuesday afternoon the crew is scheduled to begin reeling out
the 12-mile-long tether attached to the satellite.  After about 30
hours of science data gathering, the satellite will be stowed in the
payload bay for the remainder of the flight.


Orbiter systems continue to perform well.  The only issue that has
developed is possible water accumulation in one of the two fan
separators used to transfer waste water from the bathroom to the
waste water tank.  The accumulation is believed to have occurred
during a test yesterday dumping waste water at a lower than normal
pressure to evaluate the performance of new nozzles.  The secondary
unit is working properly.

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, AUG. 3 1992  10 AM
 
 
 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - ON ORBIT
 
     Atlantis was launched on July 31 at 9:56:48.0684  a.m.  EDT.
Launch  was  delayed about 48 seconds as the countdown clock held
briefly at the T minus 5 minute mark  while  the  orbiter's  com-
puters verified that the cockpit switches for the auxiliary power
units were in the proper configuration to start the APUs.   Very
little pad damage was reported from the launch.
 
     Both  solid  rocket boosters were towed to Hangar AF on Cape
Canaveral Air Force  Station  on  Saturday.  Cranes  hoisted  the
boosters out of the water by noon on Saturday for post-flight in-
spections.  Engineers  will  perform  an  open  assessment of the
boosters' condition today.
 
     Landing of Atlantis is planned for Friday,  Aug.  7 at  8:09
a.m. EDT at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility.
 
 
 

David W. Garrett                                8/3/92
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
 
N92-70
NOTE TO EDITORS/PROGRAM DIRECTORS
 
NASA Select television coverage of the Tethered Satellite experiment on the
current Space Shuttle mission will begin Tuesday, August 4, at
approximately 11:41a.m.EDT with downlink television of pre-deployment
activities.  The current flight plan calls for coverage of the unlatch of
the satellite at 11.56 a.m., initialization at 12:27 p.m., extension of the
boom at 12:50 p.m., and the deployment starting at 2:19 p.m. and ending
after the initial stage of the flyaway at approximately 2:56 p.m.
 
There may be an opportunity to downlink television when the satellite is at
the maximum length of the tether at 7:39 p.m.Tuesday.  A briefing on the
mission's status is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. and a videotape wrap-up of the
day's activities will be televised on NASA Select at 10:30 p.m.
 
Coverage of the retrieval of the tethered satellite could start at 6:19
a.m.  Wednesday when the first effort to reel in the 12.5 mile tether will
begin.  A mission status briefing is schedule for 1:00 p.m.
 
On the nominal retrieval timeline, the satellite should be at l.5 miles
from the Space Shuttle at 5:05 p.m.  Depending upon conditions at that
time, downlink television may resume and continue through the first attempt
of the retrieval from that distance at 5:54 p.m.
 
If operations proceed according to plan, the retrieval will be completed
and the satellite docked in Atlantis' cargo bay at 7:52 p.m. Downlink
television should become available just prior to the docking.
 
Slightly more than one hour of on-orbit television of operations associated
with securing the satellite will be downlinked starting at 8:43 p.m. and a
twenty minute compilation of on-board videotape will be downlinked at 10:11
p.m.
 
The lead Flight Director will conduct a mission status briefing at 10:00
p.m., followed by a videotape wrap-up of the day's activities at 11:00 p.m.

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                        STS-46 Status Report #9

Monday, August 2, 1992, 9 p.m. CDT


Activation of many of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS) experiments
has gone smoothly and some science gathering is under way to
characterize the electrical enviroment in the cargo bay prior to
deploying the
satellite.

Several electron beam firings have been performed by experiments in
the cargo bay as part of the characterizations and to further fine-
tune equipment that will be used tomorrow to assist in completing a
planned 5,000 volt circuit between Atlantis, the Earth's upper
atmosphere and magnetic fields and the tethered satellite. All
preparations for a deploy of the tethered satellite at 1:19 p.m. CDT
Tuesday have gone smoothly.

The tethered satellite operations schedule calls for TSS to reach its
maximum 12.5-mile distance from Atlantis at about 6:39 p.m. Tuesday;
for retrieval from that distance to begin at 5:19 a.m. Wednesday; for
the satellite to arrive at a stopping point 1.5 miles from Atlantis at
4:09 p.m. Wednesday; and for the final retrieval to begin at 4:54 p.m.
leading to a docking with Atlantis at 6:52 p.m.

Aboard Atlantis this afternoon, Italian Payload Specialist Franco
Malerba took time out from a busy day with the tethered satellite to
wish his son happy birthday in French, Spanish, Italian and English,
four of the languages that can be spoken by Atlantis' crew.

Atlantis continued to function in excellent shape.  A flooded fan
in the toilet was the only problem seen by the crew. A backup fan was
switched on and is performing well.

After lowering its altitude early this morning, Atlantis is now in a
160 nautical mile orbit, poised for tomorrow's tethered satellite work,
circling Earth every 90 minutes, 33 seconds.

Rev. J is available:

  pragma::public:[nasa]sts-46.nasa_select


- dave

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, AUG. 4 1992  10 AM


 
       STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - ON ORBIT


     Mobile launcher platform No.  1 is  being  transferred  from
Launch Pad 39-B to the refurbishment site. Hydrolasing activities
are  underway on the solid rocket boosters to strip exterior cork
and foam from the cable trays.  This work is being  performed  at
Hangar  AF  on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Saturday.  En-
gineers completed an open assessment of the boosters' condition.

     Landing of Atlantis is planned for Friday,  Aug.  7 at  8:09
a.m. EDT at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility.


 

MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #10
2 a.m. CDT
Tuesday, August 4, 1992


Activities focused on the health of all science instruments in
Atlantis' payload bay as the long awaited deploy of the tethered
satellite draws closer.


Some science gathering is under way to characterize the electrical
enviroment in the cargo bay prior to deploying the satellite which
remains on track to begin about one this afternoon.


Several electron beam firings have been performed by experiments in
the cargo bay as part of the characterizations and to further fine-
tune equipment that will be used tomorrow to assist in completing a
planned 5,000 volt circuit between Atlantis, the Earth's upper
atmosphere and magnetic fields and the tethered satellite.


Following deployment, the satellite will reach its maximum 12.5-mile
distance from Atlantis at about 6:30 this evening.  After 10 hours of
science data gathering at that distance, the satellite will be slowly
reeled back in beginning at 5 a.m.  If all goes smoothly, the
satellite will be docked back on top of its boom assembly and stowed
in the payload bay just before 7 p.m. Wednesday.


Other than some water accumulation in one of the fan separators in the
onboard bathroom, Atlantis is performing without problem.

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

MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #11
2 a.m. Central
Wednesday, August 5, 1992

The STS-46 mission has been extended one day to allow for
completion of operations with the Tethered Satellite System
and other experiments aboard Atlantis on its twelfth flight.


The tethered satellite remains stable and healthy following
the initial sequence to reel the spacecraft out to 20
kilometers or about 12 and a half miles above Atlantis.


Binding in the tether reel assembly halted the deploy
sequence on two occasions, precluding further operations with
the system until later this morning after the primary
operation crew aboard the orbiter can get some rest.


The Red Team -- Commander Loren Shriver and Mission
Specialists Marsha Ivins, Jeff Hoffman and Franklin Chang-
Diaz  -- was put to bed at midnight for a seven hour sleep
period in preparation for further operations to reel the
satellite out to the desired distance of 12 and a half miles
for the science data gathering phase of the mission.


The rough timeline sketched out earlier this morning has the
deploy beginning again just after 8 a.m. central.  If no
problems occur during the deploy or reel out phase, the
tethered satellite is expected to reach its on station
location at 2:30 this afternoon.


Following eight hours of science operations, retreival would
begin about 10:30 tonight.  The satellite would be docked
back on top of its extended boom at 11:30 Thursday morning.


Once TSS operations are completed Atlantis' altitude will be
lowered to 128 nautical miles to support a third set of
experiments called the Evaluation of Oxygen Interaction with
Materials.  It is designed to obtain accurate atomic oxygen
interaction with space station materials as well as the
environment around the Shuttle.


The latest estimate on landing Atlantis at the Kennedy Space
Center Saturday shows the deorbit burn occuring above the
Indian Ocean on orbit 125 at 5:45 Saturday morning with
landing about an hour later on orbit 126 at 6:39.

    Hi, Has anyone heard the lastest stutus on the TSS release?
    
    Last night, they had the TSS out at about 690 ft or so and
    it was jamed.  They were letting it out from 1/10 in per sec
    to as much as 4/10 inch per sec.  They had seveal reports
    on the cable tension and it was about 1.5 lb.
    
    I think they had stoped and were testing the TSS stability
    then started it out again, it all of a sudden got jamed.
    
    they were working on the theory that the cable in the shuttle
    bay had jamed...
    
    that is the last I heard...
    
    any recent news... john
    

TSS is currently (14:00 EDT) stuck about 900 feet out.   [This is from NPR,
so the description isn't very technical]

The tether apparently has a kink in it of some sort, and they've been trying
to wiggle it a bit to give TSS enough momentum to pull it out.  So far, no
luck.   The most recent problem points to a possible jam in the pulley.

They have extended the flight one day for more experiment time.

Flight controllers are currently evaluating whether an EVA is worthwhile in
helping free the cable, etc.   At this point they cannot reel it out or *in*.
The reporter noted that severing the tether was an option, but at this point
is very premature to discuss.


- dave

>luck.   The most recent problem points to a possible jam in the pulley.

I meant to say "a pulley".   I have no detailed knowledge of the tether
reel mechanism.


- dave

The problems encountered to extend the tether out to the full 12 miles have
reached a level that they feel uncomfortable going further.

At this point, they will reel it in (they managed to fix it that much), stow it,
and head home.


Too bad.  The tether idea had a lot of promise for upper atmospheric
research.  There are no other tether flights on the manifest at this time,
and this setback may push development back further...

- dave

    The TSS was not  a lost, they were able to get some good 
    dynamic stability test done at about 690 ft.  I believe I saw
    the dynamic stability test on TV but the coverage was bad,
    however one could see the cable moving back and forth as if
    one had pluck a guitar string at a very low freq... I would 
    say it had a 1/2 node period  over 1/2 the lenght of the
    extented cable.  Tension and Stability of the TSS were good.
    The radar was off about 20 ft per 1000 on one measurement
    but typical only a few feet error with the lasar and I forgot
    what the other measurment device was.
    
    
    
    jb
    

                 MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #12
                          10 p.m. Central
                     Wednesday, August 5, 1992


The Tethered Satellite was retrieved and stowed safely in
Atlantis' cargo bay this afternoon following one last attempt
to deploy the satellite to 12 and a half miles.


The tether apparently got stuck near the top of the 39 foot
boom assembly making deploy or retrieval of the satellite
impossible.


Following several hours of meetings, flight controllers
formulated a plan calling for partial retraction of the boom
while keeping the tether taught which freed the tether and
allowed the satellite to be reeled back in for the remainder
of the flight.


Later this morning, Atlantis' altitude will be lowered to 124
nautical miles to support a third set of experiments called
the Evaluation of Oxygen Interaction with Materials.  It is
designed to obtain accurate atomic oxygen interaction with
space station materials as well as the environment around the
Shuttle.


The latest estimate on landing Atlantis at the Kennedy Space
Center Saturday shows the deorbit burn occuring above the
Indian Ocean on orbit 125 at 5:45 Saturday morning with
landing about an hour later on orbit 126 at 6:39.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STS-46 KEPLERIAN ORBITAL ELEMENTS/STATE VECTOR

STS-46 element set GSFC-016 (orbit 77)

 STS-46
 1 22064U 92 49  A 92218.41588833 0.00088755  00000-0  25599-3 0   166
 2 22064  28.4738 315.7904 0003676 310.8540  49.1753 15.91539100   777

 Satellite: STS-46
 Catalog number: 22064
 Epoch time:      92218.41588833         (05 AUG 92   09:58:52.75 UTC)
 Element set:     GSFC-016
 Inclination:       28.4738 deg
 RA of node:       315.7904 deg          Space Shuttle Flight STS-46
 Eccentricity:    0.0003676                  Keplerian Elements
 Arg of perigee:   310.8540 deg
 Mean anomaly:      49.1753 deg
 Mean motion:   15.91539100 rev/day      Semi-major Axis: 6676.1075 Km
 Decay rate:     8.8755E-04 rev/day*2    Apogee  Alt:        300.17 Km
 Epoch rev:              77              Perigee Alt:        295.27 Km


 NOTE - This element set is based on NORAD element set # 016.
        The spacecraft has been propagated to the next ascending
        node, and the orbit number has been adjusted to bring it
        into agreement with the NASA numbering convention.

 G.L.CARMAN


                               STS-46
                     FLIGHT DAY FOUR STATE VECTOR
                         ON ORBIT OPERATIONS
                 (Posted 08/03/92 by Roger Simpson)

The following vector for the flight of STS-46 is provided by NASA
Johnson Space Center Flight Design and Dynamics Division for use in
ground track plotting programs.  The vector is valid for flight day
four and represents the trajectory of ATLANTIS during on orbit
operations.  Questions regarding these postings may be addressed to
Roger Simpson, Mail Code DM4, L.  B. J.  Space Center, Houston,
Texas 77058, Telephone (713) 483-1928.

Lift off Time: 1992:213:13:56:47.976
Lift off Date: 07/31/92

Vector Time (GMT) : 216:22:56:47.000
Vector Time (MET) : 003:08:59:59.024
Orbit Count :  053
Weight : 223893.0 LBS
Drag Coefficient : 2.0
Drag Area: 1208.0 SQ FT

     M50 Elements                           Keplerian Elements
-----------------------                 --------------------------
X    = -14012021.4    FT                A          = 3606.0477 NM
Y    = -13393036.4    FT                E          = 0.000684
Z    = -10185549.0    FT                I  (M50)   =  28.32377 DEG
Xdot =  18330.276053  FT/S              Wp (M50)   = 276.32939 DEG
Ydot = -17369.032198  FT/S              RAAN (M50) = 326.55573 DEG
Zdot =  -2366.564930  FT/S            / N (True)   = 342.31679 DEG
                           Anomalies  \ M (Mean)   = 342.34060 DEG

                                        Ha         = 160.5490  NM
                                        Hp         = 159.2627  NM

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

      KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - THURSDAY, AUG. 6 1992  10 AM

 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - ON ORBIT

     At Hangar AF, hydrolasing activities are continuing to strip
exterior cork and foam away from the STS-46 boosters. Disassembly
operations are scheduled to begin next week.  The pieces will  be
shipped to the manufacturers for refurbishment.

     Landing  of  Atlantis is scheduled for Saturday,  Aug.  8 at
7:39 a.m. EDT at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility.

 

From: clarinews@clarinet.com (WILLIAM HARWOOD, UPI Science Writer)
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 92 7:00:31 PDT

	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (UPI) -- The Atlantis astronauts gave up on a
problem-plagued, $376 million experiment and reluctantly hauled their
tethered satellite back on board before pressing ahead Thursday with
other research and gearing up for landing Saturday.
	Getting a bit of good news, the astronauts were told early Thursday
that a European science satellite they launched over the weekend was
finally on its way to the proper orbit after a critical rocket firing
was cut short Sunday due to a technical glitch.
	European Space Agency ground controllers spent the week
troubleshooting the problem and carried out a 24-minute firing that
began at 6:28 a.m. Thursday. This time around, the ``burn'' went as
planned, raising one side of Eureca's 289-mile-mile-high orbit to 315
miles. A second firing Friday will finish the job.
	Eureca is scheduled to be picked up by another shuttle crew next
April after exposing various materials and biological samples to
weightlessness. Without the rocket firings, friction with the outer
reaches of the atmosphere would have slowly pulled Eureca down into an
orbit the shuttle could not reach.
	Aboard Atlantis, meanwhile, skipper Loren Shriver fired the shuttle's
maneuvering jets early Thursday to lower the ship's orbit from 185 miles
up to 142 miles, the preferred altitude for an experiment to learn more
about the corrosive effects of oxygen atoms in the extreme upper
atmosphere.
	Other research on tap Thursday and Friday included work with an
experimental radiator in Atlantis's cargo bay that might prove useful in
the space station era later this decade.
	If all goes well, Shriver, 47, co-pilot Andrew Allen, 36, Swiss
astronaut Claude Nicollier, 47, Marsha Ivins, 41, Jeffrey Hoffman, 47,
Franklin Chang-Diaz, 42, and Italian Franco Malerba, 45, will glide to a
landing at 7:39 a.m. EDT Saturday at the Kennedy Space Center to close
out an eight-day mission.
	The primary goal of the 49th shuttle flight came to a disappointing
conclusion Wednesday when the astronauts finally hauled in the Italian
tethered satellite. A series of frustrating problems prevented them from
unreeling the probe more than 870 feet into space. The goal was 12
miles.
	While engineers with the Tethered Satellite System - TSS - project
gleaned valuable data about how two connected spacecraft behave in
different orbits, scientists hoping to learn more about generating
electricity from Earth's magnetic field failed to collect any
significant results.
	``We did not achieve our primary objectives from a science point of
view, we didn't approach those,'' said mission scientist Nobie Stone. 
``We were at very short tether lengths and that translates into low
voltages and low currents. The currents we were able to draw were not
able to excite the types of instabilities and space plasma phenomena
that we set out to study.''
	The satellite generated a meager 40 volts of electricity instead of
the 5,000 volts that would have been generated by a 12-mile tether. The
science team, Stone said, ``was very disappointed in the result of the
mission. We put a great deal of time and effort into it.''
	``When I began working on TSS, my oldest son was entering first
grade,'' Stone said. ``This year, he enters Auburn University. It's a
long time to have such a little return. But ... I'm very proud of the
science team. They reacted to this situation in a very professional and
positive way.''
	The idea was to tow the satellite through Earth's electrically
charged ionosphere, using the planet's magnetic field to generate 5,000
volts of electricity in the tether.
	But repeated cable jams prevented the astronauts from deploying the
satellite farther than 870 feet from Atlantis on Tuesday and after a
final jam Wednesday, the half-ton spherical satellite was stuck 750 feet
above the shuttle's cargo bay, its tether snagged inside a 40-foot-tall
collapsible mast.
	Late Wednesday, Hoffman and Chang-Diaz geared up for a possible
emergency spacewalk Thursday to free the jammed tether if all else
failed
	But first, the astronauts made a final attempt to free the cable by
remote control, lowering the satellite's fishing pole-like launch mast
back toward the payload bay and setting a brake on the reel at its base.
	When the mast was re-extended, the jam cleared and the crew was able
to haul the probe back aboard.
	And with that, the astronauts, NASA and the Italian Space Agency
wrote off the bulk of the science planned for a joint U.S.-Italian
experiment valued at some $376 million. 

MISSION CONTROL CENTER
STS-46 Status Report #15
Friday August 7, 1992, 7 a.m. CDT

As Atlantis soared 124 miles above the Earth on its last full day in space,
crew members took time out to discuss the mission during three special
events.

Payload Specialist Franco Malerba received a call from Giuliano Amato,
prime minister of Italy and Enrico Cerrai, a member of the board of
directors of the Italian Space Agency. He also answered several questions
from Italian news media.

A call from Jean-Marie Luton, director general of the European Space
Agency and Adolph Ogi, vice president of Switzerland was received aboard
Atlantis by Mission Specialist Claude Nicollier.  He also answered questions
from European press.

Later, the entire crew participated in a press conference to discuss the
progress of the mission.

During its work shift today, the Red Team of Jeff Hoffman, Franklin Chang-
Diaz and Marsha Ivins will continue its work with a set of experiments
called the Evaluation of Oxygen Interaction with Materials.  The experiment
gathers accurate information about atomic oxygen interaction with space
station materials as well as the environment around the Shuttle.


[MCC Status Reports #13, 14 were not available.]

STS-46 MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #16
11 a.m. CDT
Friday, August 7, 1992

The Atlantis astronauts are preparing today for the return trip
home tomorrow morning. Crew commander Loren Shriver and pilot
Andy Allen conducted a thorough checkout of their ship's flight
control mechanisms and maneuvering jets which met with no
problems. Atlantis and crew should be ready to maneuver out of
orbit starting at 5:45 am central time tomorrow.

Should weather at the Kennedy Space Center permit, Atlantis
and crew would glide to a landing there at 6:39 am central time with
a backup opportunity about 90 minutes later.  Should weather
preclude a Florida landing, the first opportunity to land at Edwards
Air Force Base in California would be at 8:04 am central time, also
with a backup opportunity about 90 minutes later.

Current weather predictions for the Florida landing site call for
low to mid-level scattered clouds with a chance for rain within 30
miles. Right now, weather in California is expected to be clear and
breezy.

The astronauts have spent most of their final full day in orbit
concluding experiments, preparing for the return trip home, and
participating in some special inflight broadcast events including
phone calls from government officials in Italy and Switzerland, and
with news corresondents from around the world gathered at the
Johnson and the Kennedy Space Centers.

All systems aboard Atlantis continue to perform in outstanding
fashion.

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

                         MISSION CONTROL CENTER
                           STS-46 Status #17

Friday, August 7, 1992, 6 p.m. CDT


After a quiet afternoon aboard Atlantis, the crew's day shift
-- Marsha Ivins, Jeff Hoffman, Franklin Chang-Diaz and
Commander Loren Shriver -- turned the reins over to a
shortened night shift -- Andy Allen, Claude Nicollier and
Franco Malerba -- who will begin preparing Atlantis for
tomorrow's trip home.

The day shift members will awaken again at midnight central
time to begin work that will lead to a Saturday morning
landing. Landing is currently planned for about 6:38 a.m.
central at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the first of
four landing opportunities tomorrow -- two in Florida and two
for Edwards Air Force Base, California.  Atlantis would fire
its braking engines at about 5:43 a.m.  central to begin its
descent from orbit for the first opportunity.

However, the current forecast for Florida predicts a chance
of rain at the landing site Saturday. If, by early tomorrow,
the forecast remains unfavorable for a landing in Florida
for either of Saturday's two chances or for a Sunday landing,
Atlantis may land at Edwards. The second opportunity for a
Florida landing tomorrow calls for a deorbit burn at 7:18
a.m. central followed by an 8:12 a.m. touchdown at Kennedy.

Tomorrow's California landing opportunities include a
deorbit burn at 7:10 a.m central followed by a 8:04 a.m.
touchdown and a 8:44 a.m central deorbit followed by a 9:38
a.m. touchdown. As landing preparations begin in earnest
early Saturday morning, the weather forecast will be the
determining factor in choosing a landing site.

Aboard Atlantis today, Mission Specialist Franklin Chang-
Diaz, a Costa Rican native, received greetings from Costa
Rican President Rafael Calderon during a special long-
distance phone call to the spacecraft. Atlantis remains in a
123 nautical mile high orbit, circling Earth every 89 minutes
and eight seconds.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
STS-46 Landing Statement

The STS-46 Space Shuttle mission ended at 8:14 CDT this morning as Atlantis
touched down at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Total mission elapsed time
was 7:23:10:16.

     KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - MONDAY, AUG. 10 1992  10 AM


 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 2

     Atlantis' main gear touched down  at  9:11.50  a.m.  EDT  at
KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) ending the 8 day STS-46 mis-
sion.  The  total mission elapsed time to wheels stop was 7 days,
23 hours, 16 minutes and 10 seconds.  The total distance Atlantis
traveled was 3,321,007 miles.  During this flight,  which was ex-
tended one day, Atlantis made 127 orbits of the Earth.

     Atlantis was towed to OPF bay 2 by 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon
for post-flight deservicing and inspections.  Initial inspections
indicate  the  vehicle faired well during the flight.  An average
number of tile dings were reported and  the  new  tires  were  in
very  good  condition.  Continued  inspections of the vehicle are
planned this week including the tiles and main engines.

     Technicians are preparing to  open  the  payload  bay  doors
tomorrow  and  begin  removing  the Tethered Satellite System and
EURECA hardware on Wednesday.


 

  I have to say that I'm not surprised that they failed at unwinding 12 miles
of cable. In fact, I'm not surprised that they were only able to unwind it a
few feet. NASA has shown over and over again that they are great at flying to
places, taking pictures, taking measurements, relaying data, etc., but when it
comes to mechanical things they get into big trouble real fast. 

  They are lucky that it doesn't rain in space because they could never do
anything as mechanically complex as opening an umbrella. 

  George 

The updated press kit (mission logo, some graphics, misc. fixups) is
now available: pragma::public:[nasa]sts-46.ps

24 pages.


- dave

RE: <<< Note 695.102 by HELIX::MAIEWSKI >>>

Yeah, I'm kind of non-plussed with the US approach of ultra-high-tech (e.g.,
telemetry about zillions of parameters for spacecraft health, so that WHEN,
not if, something goes wrong it will be understandable) which doesn't prevent
the common simple mechanical problems that are experienced. I'm more and more
in favor of keeping things simple.

>In fact, I'm not surprised that they were only able to unwind it a few feet.

According to AW&ST, the maximum distance out was 690 feet.
						-- Tom

    re: .102 + .104
    While I agree that the TSS experiment can and should be considered a
    failure with no more than 10% of the test objectives met, I disagree
    with the generalizations made regarding mechanical designs.  One
    structure that worked perfectly was the telescoping deployment and
    capture tower.  This in itself had significant engineering challenges.
    True, the HST and Galilio are experiencing problems (mechanically
    related), but over the large number of vehicles launched, most have worked.  
    I would like to see more standardization of spacecraft buses where the
    satellite structure (including mechanically operated booms, solar
    panels, and antennas) would be alike and the instrumentation packages would
    be unique but interchangeable.  Unfortunately, this strategy doesn't
    help state of the art experiments like the TSS......

RE: <<< Note 695.105 by LANDO::STONE >>>

>    I would like to see more standardization of spacecraft buses where the
>    satellite structure (including mechanically operated booms, solar
>    panels, and antennas) would be alike and the instrumentation packages would
>    be unique but interchangeable.

Yes, absolutely.
						-- Tom

    KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT - TUESDAY, AUG. 11, 1992  10 AM


 
      STS-46/TSS AND EURECA - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 2

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Opening the payload bay doors.
- Installing protective covers over payload items.
- Preparations to remove the chin panel for inspections.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Removal of the Imax camera in the morning.
-  Removal of the Tethered Satellite and EURECA hardware tomorrow
beginning at 1300.


 

Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                August 11, 1992


Jerry Berg
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.



RELEASE:  92-129

        A Board of Investigation has been formed to assess the problems
that occurred during the first mission of the Tethered Satellite System
(TSS) during Shuttle mission STS-46.  The board was appointed by
Jeremiah W. Pearson, Associate Administrator, Office of Space Flight,
NASA Headquarters.

        The board is chaired by Darrell Branscome, Chief Engineer at the
NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.  Other members include:

        % Gianfranco Manarini, Italian Space Agency
        % Bill J. Comer, Office of Safety and Mission Quality, HQ
        % William G. Mahoney, Payload Operations, KSC
        % John A. Wegener, Mission Operations, JSC
        % James M. McMillion, Flight Systems, MSFC
        % Thomas D. Stuart, Office of Space Flight, HQ (observer)

        "The board is authorized to take all necessary action to review the
anomalies associated with the TSS problems to determine the probable
cause and recommend corrective measures to prevent reoccurrence,"
Pearson said.

        An initial report of the review findings, supporting data and analysis
are to be submitted to Pearson by August 28, 1992.


        All relevant flight hardware and data that team members will need
to examine are being maintained in the "as flown" condition.  Tethered
Satellite System hardware removed from Atlantis following its landing is
being kept in a secure location at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.  Data
obtained during the mission, as well as pertinent data gathered during
development and testing phases of the Tethered Satellite program, is
being preserved with no alteration.

        The Board of Investigation is supported by the TSS Systems
Working Group based at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC),
Huntsville, Ala., and by any other MSFC elements the board may require.

        The Tethered Satellite System-1 mission was a joint project of
NASA and the Italian Space Agency.

Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.         August 28, 1992

        The Tethered Satellite System (TSS) Investigative Board today presented
an interim status report to Space Flight Associate Administrator Jeremiah
Pearson.

        Board Chairman Darrell Branscome reported the team is focusing on 5
problems that occurred during the deployment of the Tethered Satellite System
on Space Shuttle mission STS-46. Those problems are:

o Failure of the No. 2 umbilical to retract from the tethered satellite o
Failure of the satellite to deploy on the first "flyaway" attempt o The
unplanned stop of the satellite at 179 meters o The unplanned stop of the
satellite at 256 meters o Inability to either deploy or retrieve the satellite
at 224 meters.

        The tethered satellite has been removed from the orbiter Atlantis and
placed in a checkout stand in the Operations and Control facility at the
Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The Board had its first look at TSS hardware this
week.

        Detailed inspection of the tether reel assembly provided evidence that
the unplanned stops at 179 and 256 meters were due to a mechanical obstruction.

        Visual evidence and preliminary analysis point to a 1/4-inch diameter
bolt which prevented part of the reel mechanism from freely traveling back and
forth.  The level wind mechanism, which operates similar to the way a fishing
reel feeds out line, contacted the end of the bolt preventing it from moving
all the way out to its stopping point.

        The bolt is part of a structural modification that was installed on the
reel assembly earlier this year.  The modification was required following the
final computer analysis which is done for every Shuttle mission to verify that
all structural connections between the payload and orbiter will withstand the
rigors of launch and landing.

        Engineers require that attach points such as these be at least twice as
strong as necessary to pass stringent safety criteria.  Analysis indicated the
margin of safety was less than that for some fasteners at the point where the
reel assembly was mounted to its specially adapted support structure.  The
modification strengthened the mounting area to provide the required factor of
safety.

        Testing of the flight hardware is planned to verify that this
mechanical obstruction was the cause of the jamming of the deployment reel and
the subsequent unplanned stops of the satellite at 179 and 256 meters.

        The Board believes that even without the problems with the umbilical
and the jamming of the tether at the upper tether control mechanism, this
problem would have prevented full deployment of the tethered satellite.

        Branscome said the board is continuing work to identify causes for the
other anomalies: the umbilical problem; the first "flyaway" attempt; and the
jamming at 224 meters.  The next interim report is expected to be complete in
about a month.

Article 2411 of sci.space.news:
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
Path: nntpd2.cxo.dec.com!pa.dec.com!decwrl!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!dont-send-mail-to-path-lines
From: yee@atlas.arc.nasa.gov (Peter Yee)
Subject: Report details causes of Tethered Satellite malfunctions [Release 92-196] (Forwarded)
Message-ID: <1992Nov7.223359.22714@news.arc.nasa.gov>
Apparently-To: sci-space-news@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Followup-To: sci.space
Originator: yee@atlas.arc.nasa.gov
Sender: usenet@news.arc.nasa.gov
Reply-To: yee@atlas.arc.nasa.gov (Peter Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1992 22:33:59 GMT
Approved: sci-space-news@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Lines: 80

Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.              November 6, 1992
(Phone:  202/453-4164)

Jerry Berg
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone:  205/544-0034)


RELEASE:  92-196

REPORT DETAILS CAUSES OF TETHERED SATELLITE MALFUNCTIONS


     The report of NASA's Tethered Satellite System 
Investigative Board was released today, presenting the 
panel's findings on problems which prevented full deployment 
of the satellite during Space Shuttle mission STS-46.

     The 47-page report examined five problems that occurred 
during the deployment effort and identified causes for four 
of them.  It made recommendations for actions to be taken to 
prevent similar occurrences in the future.

     The board said the two snags during deployment and 
retrieval -- when first releasing the satellite from the 
deployer and when the satellite was at 735 feet -- were due 
to slack which developed in the tether at a point where it 
moves between one pulley and another -- somewhat similar to 
movie film misfeeding in a projector. 

      "The crew found a way to procedurally get around this 
slack problem," said Board Chairman Darrell Branscome.  "In 
both cases the jamming was overcome.  By itself, this problem 
would not have prevented us from fully deploying the 
satellite."  

     NASA previously had reported on Aug. 28 that the cause 
of the unplanned stops at 587 and 840 feet was a mechanical 
obstruction -- a protruding bolt -- which prevented part of 
the tether reel mechanism from moving across its full range 
of travel.  

     "We contacted the bolt when the satellite was out at 587 
feet," said Branscome.  "What we learned from our ground 
simulations was that in spite of the bolt obstruction, it was 
possible to pull additional tether off the reel, out to 840 
feet."

     According to the report, the bolt was part of a hardware 
change made late in the review process and should have been 
caught in the systems engineering review.

     "The board made some excellent recommendations in the 
report on how to deal with things like late changes to the 
hardware," said Pearson.  "We are going to look carefully at 
their recommendations and apply the lessons learned from this 
flight to future missions."

     No plausible scenario has been validated by post-flight 
demonstration regarding difficulty in retracting one of two 
umbilicals between the tethered satellite and deployer.

     Based on its findings, the board recommended several 
specific hardware assessments and modifications which should 
be made to other elements of the tethered system if NASA 
decides to refly it.  

     The board was formed on Aug. 12 by Jeremiah Pearson, 
NASA Associate Administrator for Space Flight.  The six-
member board included representatives from various NASA 
centers and the Italian Space Agency.  

- end -


EDITORS NOTE:  Copies of the report are available to the 
media by contacting the NASA Headquarters Newsroom on 
202/453-8400 or the Marshall Space Flight Center Newsroom on 
205/544-0034.

Article: 55208
From: A6%ESOC.BITNET@vm.gmd.de
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: ESA press release 02-93
Date: 18 Jan 93 13:21:11 GMT
Sender: news+@cs.cmu.edu
Organization: ESA/ESOC European Space Agency, Operations Centre
 
    Press Release Nr 02-93
    Paris, 18 January 1993
 
    EURECA Mission Progressing towards Retrieval
 
            A EURECA Workshop  and Press Briefing is scheduled on
    Monday 8th February 1993 at ESA's Space Operations Centre, ESOC,
    Darmstadt, home of the EURECA Operations Control Centre (OCC)
    when Principal Investigators will present to the public the purpose,
    progress and preliminary findings of their experiments.
 
            Five months after the launch on 31 July 1992, more than three
    quarters of the planned work programme of science and technology
    experiments on-board EURECA have been accomplished successfully
    according to the original plan. The remaining payload related
    activities are anticipated to be concluded by mid-February 1993.
 
            EURECA, currently orbiting at an altitude just below 500 km,
    is planned to be retrieved together with its experiments and samples,
    at the beginning of May 1993 by Space Shuttle Endeavour on flight
    STS-57 scheduled for launch on 28 April 1993.
 
            The mission's output is composed of space science and
    experiment data sent to the ground regularly for scientific and
    engineering analysis, materials processes in the environment of very
    low residual acceleration that is offered by the EURECA mission,
    sample exposure to the space ambient, surface forces research,
    space particle collection and new technology applications. While a
    significant portion of the mission's yield is contained in its abundant
    and continuous data generation, the primary mission
    objective is the analysis in ground based laboratories of the
    biological and material-samples after their return to Earth and the
    ability, in principle, to re-use the spacecraft and payloads again in
    a later flight.
 
            Science and engineering data are made available to the users
    electronically with minimum delays, thus avoiding the ponderous
    physical shipment of data media of the past. To date, more than
    122100 data requests (on average around 800 per day) from various
    remote locations/ investigators (experiment home institutes, DLR's
    Microgravity user Support Centre, industry and ESTEC) have been
    served by the EURECA Data Disposition System (DDS) at ESOC,
    using mainly packet switching public data networks (PSPDNs) to
    transmit a total data volume in excess of 6000 million bytes (on
    average around 35 Megabytes per day).
 
            The satisfactory progress of the mission proves the underlying
    concept of operating a complex space research by means of satellite
    autonomy and on-board operations that are pre-programmed and
    controlled during scattered daily control centre contact times
    totalling only around 5% of the duration of the mission on average.
 
            Journalists wishing to attend the EURECA Press Briefing on
    8th February in Darmstadt, Germany and/or receive the programme,
    are kindly requested to contact directly the Public Relations Office
    at ESOC (Tel. :+49-6151-90.26.96).
 
            More detailed status and progress reports will be provided at
    the press event on 8 february.
 
Regards Hermann Schneider
        Network Coordinator
        ESOC (European Space Agency's Operations Centre)

Article: 3816
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (AP)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space
Subject: NASA To Launch Tether
Date: Sun, 6 Mar 94 9:10:14 PST
 
	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- It's an awfully loooooong bird.
It's an awfully loooooong plane.  No, it's not either.  It's just
another NASA tether, 12 1/2 miles of cord circling Earth. 

	Be aware: NASA plans to launch its latest tether experiment
this week. 

	The 12.43-mile cord -- the length of nearly 219 football
fields or almost half a marathon -- is to be unfurled 218 miles above
Earth after hitching a ride on an unmanned rocket. The Air Force plans
to launch the Delta rocket with a navigation satellite on Wednesday
night. 

	Once unwound, the polyethylene fiber cord will remain attached
to the rocket's spent second stage until a zooming micrometeorite
or chunk of man-made space junk severs the tether -- it's just
three-hundredths of an inch thick -- or until the rocket body falls
through the atmosphere and burns up.

	Either way, researchers win.

	The experiment will show whether low Earth orbit is a mine field
for tethers or whether tethers can remain intact long enough to be
used one day to power spacecraft, change spacecraft altitudes,
lower packages to Earth and explore parts of the atmosphere too
high for instrumented balloons but too low for free-flying satellites.

	``If fishermen's lines were cut by the natural environment as
soon as they cast their lines into the sea, fishing would never
have developed,'' said Joe Carroll, an entrepreneur from Chula
Vista, Calif., who designed the tether deployer.

	``We're trying to find out basically whether something analogous
is going to happen in space.''

	A speck of sand or chip of paint could cut the tether if
colliding head-on, given the orbital speed of 17,500 mph, Carroll said.

	The $5 million experiment will be NASA's fourth attempt to cast
a long line into space.

	The first -- and most complicated, expensive and disastrous --
was the $379 million Tethered Satellite system that flew on space
shuttle Atlantis in August 1992. 

	A protruding bolt caused the tether to jam, and the ball on the
end of the electricity-generating line got no farther than 840 feet
from the shuttle and generated a puny 40 volts. The tether was
supposed to go out 12 1/2 miles and generate 5,000 volts. Despite the
jams, the Atlantis astronauts managed to safely reel the satellite
back into the shuttle.

	NASA plans to fly the Italian Space Agency's Tethered Satellite
on a shuttle again in 1996.

	NASA succeeded with its next two space tethers, simple affairs
using Delta rockets and costing no more than $5 million each. Both
times, the tethers unreeled fully: 12 1/2 miles of polyethylene fiber
cord in March 1993, the longest object ever flown in space by NASA,
and one-third mile of copper wire in June 1993.

	Physicists conducted electricity through the copper line and
generated 50 to 100 volts while hurtling through Earth's magnetic field.

	This time, no electricity will be generated. The tether that's
up next has no conductor; it resembles braided strands of dental
floss. It also will not be cut loose deliberately, as was the case
with the equally long Tether Two.

	This tether is wound inside a can that's attached to the
rocket's second-stage booster, with the outer end hooked to a
57-pound aluminum box. The box contains instruments to collect data
on orientation and tether force, but the batteries will operate for
only six hours.

	The spring-loaded box is to pop off the booster an hour after
liftoff, unwinding the tether as the box drops. Researchers hope a
brake designed to automatically regulate the speed of the unfurling
tether will cause the cord and box at the end to point straight
down toward Earth instead of swinging widely as before.

	``Future applications will require us to be able to control the
behavior of the tether,'' said NASA project manager Jim Harrison.

	NASA doesn't expect the tether, because of its relatively low
orbit, to become entangled with shuttles. Pilots could steer away
if the rocket segment and tether came too close.

	The rocket segment and whatever's left of the tether should
orbit for about a month, gradually losing altitude and eventually
burning up on re-entry. A cut piece of tether and the attached box
would go into a short-lived orbit and survive just a few hours,
Carroll said.

	At least once a day, ground radar will observe the rocket
segment and box on the other end of the tether in orbit. When the
box can no longer be seen 12 1/2 miles from the segment, ``we'll know
the tether was cut,'' Carroll said.

	Carroll said people in the southernmost United States and
anywhere else within about 35 degrees north and south of the
equator may be able to see the tether streaking across the dark sky
just before dawn or just after dusk, with binoculars or possibly
even the naked eye.

Article: 3814
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (The Associated Press)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space
Subject: A Look At NASA's Tether Study
Date: Sun, 6 Mar 94 9:10:16 PST
 
	NASA plans to launch its fourth space tether experiment this
week. A brief look at the space agency's previous tether tests:

	Aug. 4-5, 1992: Astronauts aboard space shuttle Atlantis unreel
the Tethered Satellite out to a distance of 840 feet instead of the
planned 12 1/2 miles. Despite jams, the crew safely reels the
satellite back in and returns with it to Earth. A protruding bolt
later is blamed. Cost: $379 million.

	March 29, 1993: An unmanned Delta rocket carries up 12 1/2 miles of
cord. The tether unwinds fully and becomes the longest object flown
in space by NASA. Cost: $5 million.

	June 26, 1993: An unmanned Delta rocket carries up one-third
mile of copper wire that unwinds fully and conducts and generates
electricity while sweeping through Earth's magnetic field. Cost: $3
million to $4 million.

Article: 3826
From: clarinews@clarinet.com (AP)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space
Subject: NASA Unfurls Space Tether
Date: Thu, 10 Mar 94 0:40:15 PST
 
	CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- NASA unfurled 12 1/2 miles of
cord high above Earth Thursday in a test of a futuristic new means of
space exploration. 

	The cord is called a space tether. Scientists say tethers
could be used someday to change spacecraft altitudes, generate
electricity, lower packages to Earth and explore parts of the
atmosphere too high for balloons and too low for satellites. 

	The tether was carried into a 218-mile-high orbit Wednesday
night aboard a Delta rocket that also put the last of a series of 24
military navigation satellites into space. 

	It's the third time in a year that NASA has unwound a tether
in orbit. Unlike other tether tests, this one will not attempt to
generate electricity as the cord zooms through Earth's magnetic field.

	Instead, NASA wants to see how long the thin cord -- it's just
three-hundredths of an inch thick -- will survive in orbit amid whizzing 
space junk. 

	It took nearly two hours for the entire tether to unwind. Sid
Saucier, manager of the space systems project office at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., said everything
appeared to go as expected. 

	The tether was wound inside a can aboard the rocket's spent
second stage, with one end of the cord hooked to a 57-pound aluminum
box. The spring-loaded box popped off an hour after liftoff, unwinding
the tether as the box dropped. 

	The polyethylene fiber cord will remain attached to the rocket
body until a micrometeorite or a manmade chunk of junk severs it, or
until the rocket body falls through the atmosphere and burns up in
about a month. 

	The experiment cost $5 million. In contrast, the failed
tethered satellite experiment that flew on space shuttle Atlantis in
1992 cost $379 milllion. NASA succeeded with its two 1993 tether
tests; both were low-priced Delta missions. 

	The tether is not expected to become snarled with space
shuttle Columbia, orbiting 184 miles high, or any working satellites. 

    
(From USENET: Southern California Observations)
 
Tonight at 6:45 pm the SEDS 2 tether was observed fly from
west to east across the southern sky.  The apparet
apparent length was about twice the diameter of the moon.
It had the appearance of a fine, but quite visible line
connecting two stars (the Delta second stage at one end
and the instrument end mass  at the other).  It moved across
the sky at about the speed of a rapidly moving airplane.
 
SEDS 2 will be visible for the next 30 to 60 days depending
on when it enters the earths  atmosphere or when the tether
is severed by a meteorite or some space debris.  This is the
longest structure ever deployed in space (except for SEDS 1)
and I believe the only one ever to be visible as having a linear
dimension.
 
It is a sublime an beautiful sight.
..
 
-- 
Michael D. Fennell                                         fennell@netcom.com
San Francisco, CA
I-5
San Diego, Ca

RE: <<< Note 695.115 by CXDOCS::J_BUTLER "E pur, si muove..." >>>

>It had the appearance of a fine, but quite visible line
>connecting two stars (the Delta second stage at one end
>and the instrument end mass  at the other).

Too cool! I'd love to see that.
						-- Tom

Article 34472 of sci.space:
Path:
jac.zko.dec.com!pa.dec.com!decwrl!parc!barrnet.net!sgiblab!sdd.hp.com!vixen.cso.
uiuc.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!cs.utexas.edu!execu!mike
From: mike@execu.execu.com (Mike McCants)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: SEDS 2 tether elements
Message-ID: <9241@execu.execu.com>
Date: 12 Mar 94 19:59:20 GMT
References: <fennellCMJL9I.I58@netcom.com> <BPA.94Mar12061842@netcom.netcom.com>
Organization: Comshare, Inc. Austin Development Center
Lines: 7

1994 16B
1 23028U 94016B   94070.14546443  .00309147  00000-0  19984-2 0    51
2 23028  32.3557 352.0889 0003048  14.3151 345.7617 15.74128655   138

Mike McCants
-- 
signature file: please use the address "mike@comshare.com"

Article: 54755
Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: fennell@netcom.com (Michael Fennell)
Subject: NASA space tether visible from ground
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 14:35:55 GMT
 
Nasa Space Tether Visible From The Ground
 
On Wednesday, March 9, NASA launched into orbit an experiment
involving a 12 mile long tether.  Remarkably, the tether is quite
visible from the ground under good viewing conditions, despite its
being only 1/32 inch ( 0.8 mm)  in diameter.  If the tether passes
overhead roughly an hour after sunset or an hour before sunrise, it
appears as a glowing line gliding across the sky.  Its apparent length
can exceed 3 times the diameter of the full moon. 
 
Evening observers usually spot the tether when it is already receding
to the east, because the sun illuminates only the west side of the
tether.  This often limits observation time to a minute or less. 
Morning observers see the tether best in the west, as it approaches
them.  The tether was seen by observers as far north as Virginia on
Saturday March 12, but future viewing opportunities are limited to
lower latitudes. 
 
The experiment was the second test of the Small Expendable Deployer
System (SEDS), and NASA's third successful tether experiment in a row.
As with the two previous experiments, SEDS-2, was launched into orbit
as a secondary payload on a Delta launch of an Air Force GPS satellite. 
 
The primary purpose of the experiment was to verify that the SEDS
deployer could suspend a payload 12 miles below the Delta with a
minimum swing.  (By comparison, SEDS-1 used a large swing and timed
release to sling a payload back to Earth in a controlled manner.)  The
tether deployment was completed 3 hours after launch.  Data collected
over the following 7 hours verified the stability of the assembly and
indicated that the swing angle was less than 5 degrees.  The remainder
of the experiment will determine the resistance of the braided Spectra
polyethylene tether to micrometeoroids, space debris, and atomic oxygen.  
This phase will last until the Delta reenters late this month. 
 
The tether deployers for this and two previous successful space tether
experiments, SEDS-1 and the Plasma Motor-Generator, were developed by
Tether Applications under the NASA SBIR and follow-on funding.  The
SEDS project is managed at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.  The
project manager is James K. Harrison (205-544-0629).  Instrumentation
for the deployed payload was developed at NASA Langley Research Center. 
 
For updates on viewing opportunities of SEDS-2 please follow this
newsgroup or send email to fennell@netcom.com.xr 
 
Joe Carroll
Tether Applications
 
-- 
Michael D. Fennell                                         fennell@netcom.com
San Francisco, CA
I-5
San Diego, Ca

Article: 54757
Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: fennell@netcom.com (Michael Fennell)
Subject: Space tether viewing opportunities 3/21 - 4/10
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 14:37:57 GMT
 
   PROJECTED SPACE TETHER VIEWING TIMES AND LOCATIONS, MARCH 21-APRIL 10
 
The times listed below are GMT.  They may be >5 minutes off by
Thursday. "Monday" views are on Monday at each place; GMT may be
previous or next day. Good views are possible within about 6 deg of
the Lat and 4 deg of the Long. These estimates are based on SATVU
calculations using the element set below, and an assumed best-view
offset of 5 degrees from sunrise and sunset on SEDS. 
 
    1 23028U 94016B   94077.30466290  .00166049  00000-0  98781-3 0   164
    2 23028  32.3536 301.8254 0001331 290.0898  69.6684 15.76412528  1265
 
Those of you in the northern hemisphere, please note the longer term
viewing opportunities at the end of this message.  SEDS-2 will become
visible in the morning sky starting around March 28.  This will mean
viewing opportunities in the southern USA as well as southern Spain
and Italy. 
 
                             M O R N I N G   V I E W S
 
Date:         Monday, 3/21    Tuesday, 3/22    Wednesday,3/23   Thursday, 3/24
Region:      Hr:Mn Lat Long   Hr:Mn Lat Long   Hr:Mn Lat Long   Hr:Mn Lat Long
Solomon Is.                   17:13 13S 179E   17:34  8S 174E   17:54  3S 169E
Bismark Arch 18:24 17S 161E   18:44 13S 157E   19:05  8S 152E   19:26  3S 147E
Indonesia    19:55 17S 139E   20:16 13S 134E   20:36  8S 129E   20:57  3S 124E
Jakarta      21:26 17S 116E   21:47 12S 111E   22:08  7S 106E   22:28  2S 101E
Indian Oc.   22:58 17S  93E   23:18 12S  88E   23:39  7S  83E   00:00  2S  78E
Seychelles   00:29 16S  70E   00:50 12S  65E   01:10  7S  60E   01:31  2S  55E
Tanzania     02:00 16S  47E   02:21 11S  42E   02:42  7S  38E   03:02  2S  33E
Zaire        03:32 16S  25E   03:52 11S  20E   04:13  6S  15E   04:33  1S  10E
S Atlantic   05:03 15S   2E   05:23 11S   3W   05:44  6S   8W   06:05  1S  13W
S Atlantic   06:34 15S  21W   06:55 10S  26W   07:15  6S  31W   07:36  1S  36W
Brazil       08:05 15S  44W   08:26 10S  49W   08:47  5S  54W   09:07  0N  59W
Brazil-Peru  09:37 15S  67W   09:57 10S  72W   10:18  5S  77W   10:39  0N  82W
Pacific      11:08 14S  89W   11:29 10S  94W   11:49  5S  99W   12:10  0N 104W
Pacific      12:39 14S 112W   13:00  9S 117W   13:21  4S 122W   13:41  1N 127W
Iles Marqui. 14:11 14S 135W   14:31  9S 140W   14:52  4S 145W   15:12  1N 150W
Pacific      15:42 13S 158W   16:03  9S 163W   16:23  4S 168W   16:44  1N 173W
 
                             E V E N I N G   V I E W S
 
Date:         Monday, 3/21    Tuesday, 3/22    Wednesday,3/23   Thursday, 3/24
Region:      Hr:Mn Lat Long   Hr:Mn Lat Long   Hr:Mn Lat Long   Hr:Mn Lat Long
Fiji                                                            06:59 15S 179E
Solomon Is.  07:29  1S 171E   07:50  6S 166E   08:10 11S 161E   08:30 16S 156E
NwGuinea,Aus 09:00  2S 148E   09:21  7S 143E   09:41 11S 138E   10:01 16S 133E
Indonesia    10:32  2S 125E   10:52  7S 120E   11:12 12S 115E   11:33 16S 110E
Indonesia    12:03  2S 103E   12:23  7S  98E   12:44 12S  93E   13:04 17S  88E
Indian Ocean 13:34  3S  80E   13:55  8S  75E   14:15 12S  70E   14:35 17S  65E
Seych,Madag. 15:06  3S  57E   15:26  8S  52E   15:46 13S  47E   16:07 17S  42E
Tanz,Zambia  16:37  3S  34E   16:57  8S  29E   17:17 13S  24E   17:38 17S  19E
Gabon        18:08  4S  11E   18:28  8S   6E   18:49 13S   1E   19:09 18S   4W
S Atlantic   19:39  4S  12W   20:00  9S  16W   20:20 13S  21W   20:40 18S  26W
Brazil       21:11  4S  34W   21:31  9S  39W   21:51 14S  44W   22:12 18S  49W
Braz,Bolivia 22:42  5S  57W   23:02  9S  62W   23:23 14S  67W   23:43 18S  72W
Peru         00:13  5S  80W   00:33 10S  85W   00:54 14S  90W   01:14 19S  95W
S Pacific    01:44  5S 103W   02:05 10S 108W   02:25 15S 113W   02:45 19S 118W
S Pacific    03:16  5S 126W   03:36 10S 131W   03:56 15S 136W   04:17 19S 140W
Cook Islands 04:47  6S 148W   05:07 11S 153W   05:28 15S 158W   05:48 19S 163W
Phoenix Is.  06:18  6S 171W   06:39 11S 176W
 
      PROJECTED BEST LATITUDES FOR VIEWING SPACE TETHER, MARCH 25--APRIL 10:
 
Mar/Apr:    25  26  27  28  29  30  31   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10
Mornings:   4N  9N 14N 18N 22N 26N 29N 31N 32N 32N 32N 30N 28N 24N 21N 16N 12N
Evenings:  22S 25S 28S 31S 32S 32S 32S 30S 28S 25S 22S 18S 13S  8S  4S  1N  6N
 
-- 
Michael D. Fennell                                         fennell@netcom.com
San Francisco, CA
I-5
San Diego, Ca

Article: 54756
Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: fennell@netcom.com (Michael Fennell)
Subject: Space tether video contest
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 1994 14:36:54 GMT
 
                        SPACE TETHER VIDEO CONTEST
                            $1,000 First Prize
                          Up to Ten $200 Prizes
                             March 18, 1994
 
For the next two weeks, a 20 km (12 mi) tether will be orbiting the
earth at an altitude near 320 km (200 mi).  Many people around the
world have already observed the tether just before dawn or after dusk.
This tether is the first man-made space object visible to the naked
eye as an extended object.  Depending on viewing angle, the tether can
subtend an angle exceeding 1.6 degrees, or more than 3 times the
apparent diameter of the full moon.  It appears as a faintly glowing
line gliding silently across the sky from west to east. 
 
The tether has a several percent probability of being cut by a
micrometeoroid each day, and there is evidence it has already been
cut once.  Video images are the best way to find out where the tether
was cut, whether it has been cut a second time, and what the tether
dynamics are.  Tether Applications is sponsoring a video contest for
the best imagery of the tether.  The judging criteria include both
aesthetics and research utility. A list of winners and data on the
experiment will be sent to all entrants. 
 
The first prize is $1,000.  $200 prizes will be given for up to ten
other entries.  Only one prize will be given for a single viewing site
and pass, but videos of one pass from well-separated sites will be
particularly useful, since they allow a "3-D" view of the tether.  For
usable videos, your equipment must be sensitive enough to detect a
fair number of stars in the region of sky through which the tether
will pass.  You can practice by acquiring and tracking airplanes
flying overhead.  Having several people scan the sky will help you
spot the tether more quickly, and zooming from partial to full
telephoto after acquiring the tether may allow you to acquire it
faster.  Updates on times and places where the tether may be visible
will be provided every few days.  (For 3/21-23, views are limited to
the tropics.) 
 
You should follow these rules in making the imagery:

1.  Set the lens wide open and focus manually on a star, if you can do so.
2.  Take continuous imagery even if clouds interfere intermittently.
3.  Before submitting the entry, tape a piece of square-pattern graph paper
    to a flat surface, position your equipment directly in front of it so
    the graph fills the image at full telephoto, manually focus on it, and
    with the lens wide open record several seconds of images of the paper.
4.  With the setup in 3, pan horizontally back & forth across the paper at
    several speeds.  (This shows whether pixel exposures are simultaneous.)
 
Each entry must have permanently attached to it a legible record of:

1.  The submitter's name, full address, and a phone and/or fax number.
2.  The precise place & time at which it was shot, and the equipment used.
3.  For entries not recorded on standard video: format and frame-rate.
 
Other contest rules:

1.  Entries must arrive by May 15, 1994 at Tether Applications, 1813 Gotham
    St, Chula Vista, CA 91913, USA.  Prizes will be sent by Aug 31, 1994.
2.  All videos and imagery become the property of the sponsor.
3.  The judges decisions are final.
 
Whether your video comes out or not, if you do observe the tether clearly,
please post a message describing what you saw, where, and when.
 
Thank
	Joe Carroll
	Tether Applications
 
Any questions may be sent via email to:
	Michael Fennell
	fennell@netcom.com
-- 
Michael D. Fennell                                         fennell@netcom.com
San Francisco, CA
I-5
San Diego, Ca

Article: 290
From: R.DELOACH@larc.nasa.gov (Dick DeLoach)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.science,sci.space.tech
Subject: SEDS-II: The Movie!
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 1994 22:25:51
Organization: NASA Langley Research Center
 
SEDS.MPG is an MPEG digital video of a camcorder recording made of the
SEDS-II tethered satellite in orbit.  The sighting was made on March
12, 1994, by Mike MacDoran from Mt. Laguna, CA.  The camcorder tape
was sent to the Digital Visualizatiion and Animation Laboratory at
NASA Langley Research Center where it was digitized as a quick-release
video.  Signal processing techniques are being applied to the original
digital video to improve the signal to noise ratio, and will be
distributed via anonymous ftp if such improvements are successful. 
 
The SEDS.MPG quick-release video can be found on SEDS.LPL.Arizona.edu
in directory /pub/anim/space.  SEDS.TXT, in the same directory,
contains more information. 
 
   --- Dick DeLoach
 
Article: 291
From: R.DELOACH@larc.nasa.gov (Dick DeLoach)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.science,sci.space.tech
Subject: SEDS-II: The Movie! (Filename correction)
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 1994 22:34:53
Organization: NASA Langley Research Center
 
The SEDS-II tethered satellite video sighting announced in a prior
message as having been posted at the SEDS.LPL.Arizona.edu ftp site was
described as having filename SEDS.MPG and its accompanying text file
was called SEDS.TXT.   The actual file names are SEDS2.MPG and
SEDS2.TXT.  Sorry for the confusion!  Both are in /pub/anim/space. 
 
   --- Dick DeLoach
   

>On Wednesday, March 9, NASA launched into orbit an experiment
>involving a 12 mile long tether.  Remarkably, the tether is quite
>visible from the ground under good viewing conditions, despite its
>being only 1/32 inch ( 0.8 mm)  in diameter.  If the tether passes
>overhead roughly an hour after sunset or an hour before sunrise, it
>appears as a glowing line gliding across the sky.  Its apparent length
>can exceed 3 times the diameter of the full moon. 


	Any updates on this? Did the cable break? 
 

				Thanks
				Bill

Not much info has been forthcoming; however based on private correspondance and
inference from Jonathon's Space Report and the 2-line-elements that are posted
periodically, I believe that 

1) The cable did part at the 8-mile point (from the Delta) and the section in
the lower orbit reentered shortly thereafter.

2) The cable parted again at the 5-mile point

3) The Delta and about 5-miles of cable is still in orbit and visible.

Article: 58058
From: Charles Rupp <crupp@delphi.com>
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: SEDS FAQ
Date: Tue, 3 May 94 16:09:44 -0500
Organization: Delphi (info@delphi.com email, 800-695-4005 voice)
 
Here is a little more information on SEDS-1 and SEDS-2.
 
The Small Expendable-tether Deployer System was developed by NASA's Marshall
Space Flight Center and Tether Applications Co of San Diego, CA.  Two flight
experiments have been flown as part of NASA's Flight Demonstration Program.
 
SEDS-1 was a 20 km deployment to demonstrate the use of a tether to place
a payload on a deorbit trajectory.  The Delta second stage was in an
elliptical orbit and the tether deployment was initiated at apogee.  The
deployment took about one orbit and the tether brake was applied.  The
tether with its end-mass payload swung to local vertical at which time the
tether was cut at the deployer end and the end-mass, trailing the tether,
re-entered the atmosphere and burned up off the coast of Mexico.  The burn-up
was video taped by a team of observers pre-positioned for the mission.
 
SEDS-2 was again a 20 km deployment, but the mission was to demonstrate the
use of the SEDS to deploy and stabilize a tether system along local vertical.
The tether was not intentionally cut and instrumentation on both the deployer
end and end-mass measured performance for several hours until battery
depletion.  System stability was within 4 degrees.
 
The tether size and length was determined by the mission requirements.  The
length for the first mission was set by the deorbit trajectory requirements.
The length for the second mission was chosen to be the same because the
demonstration objectives could be satisfied without making any changes except
the deployer software.
 
SEDS was flown as a secondary payload on the second stage of Air Force Delta
launches of Global Positioning System satellites.  Telemetry was obtained from
the deployer through the Delta second stage telemetry system and from the
tether end-mass via an S-band transmitter.
 
The end-mass instrument package was designed and built by the Langley Research
Center and consisted of a three axis tensiometer, a three axis magnetometer,
and a three axis accelerometer.  The end-mass measured tether system
performance and end-mass attitude.  For this purpose, it was not necessary to
place the magnetometer on a boom.
 
One way of thinking of tethered satellites is to think of a thruster to replace
the tether.  In a local vertical orientation, the thruster is pushing upward on
the lower satellite causing the satellite to hover at a lower altitude than
the orbital angular rate would permit.  The upper satellite is a mirror image.
Drag causes the equilibrium attitude of the tether system to be at an angle
from local vertical where the horizontal component of the tether tension
cancels the drag and the vertical component provides the hover force.
 
Tether survivability in orbit is determined by the diameter of the tether.
The probabilities of surviving increase dramatically as the diameter increases.
This is because the particle size to sever increases in proportion to the 
diameter while the flux decreases much faster.
 
The SEDS-2 tether was severed by a micrometeoroid or debris about March 14,
which was not altogether unexpected since the calculated probability of
severing in a 30 day mission is 100 percent.  As of May 2, approximately 8 km
of tether still remains attached to the Delta.  
 
Further information regarding viewing opportunities is posted by 
fennell@netcom.com on USENETS: sci.astro and sci.space.science.  The US
might have one more set of pre dawn passes before re-entry.  Good luck.
 
crupp@delphi.com
 
Article: 58095
Newsgroups: sci.astro
From: joe@montebello.soest.hawaii.edu (Joe Dellinger)
Subject: Re: SEDS FAQ
Sender: news@news.Hawaii.Edu
Organization: School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
Date: Wed, 4 May 1994 12:09:59 GMT
 
In article <Je7tcE4.crupp@delphi.com> Charles Rupp <crupp@delphi.com> writes:
>The US might have one more set of pre dawn passes before re-entry.  Good luck.
 
_IF_ you're willing to report your observation to the proper people (see
below) you can use the "SEDS e-mail daemon" to find out observing
opportunities for SEDS-2 from your location.
Send e-mail to:
 
seds@montebello.soest.hawaii.edu
 
If you make a successful observation PLEASE send e-mail to:
fennell@netcom.com, tether@netcom.com, webster@godzilla.gsfc.nasa.gov,
and k.h.crumbly@LaRC.NASA.GOV
 
At a minimum try to note down when the satellite went over, how bright it
was, which way did the tether point, was the tether straight or crooked,
if bent how much was above the bend and how much below, how long was it, etc.
 
Your e-mail must include in it your latitude and longitude in decimal
degrees, IN THIS FORMAT:
 
latitude: 21.301
longitude: -157.819
elevation: 161.
 
Latitude is POSITIVE NORTH. Longitude is POSITIVE EAST.
Alternatively, you can specify latitude and longitude in integer
degrees, minutes, and floating-point seconds, followed by
{North South East West}, like this:
 
latitude: 21 18 3.6 North
longitude: 157 49 8.4 West
elevation: 161.
 
Elevation is optional, and it's in feet (should be in meters, but that's
what Seesat wants). If you don't know your latitude and longitude but you
do have an Internet connection, try "telnet martini.eecs.umich.edu 3000".
 
Assuming your latitude and longitude are properly given in your e-mail,
the auto-reply daemon will run a slightly hacked version of "seesat" with
the latest orbital elements for SEDS2 and send the reply to your return
address. Don't get creative in how you specify your latitude and longitude.
The program isn't very clever.

-- 
     /\    /\    /\/\/\/\/\/\/\.-.-.-.-.......___________
    /  \  /  \  /Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, Honolulu\/\/\.-.-....__
___/    \/    \/Joe Dellinger, Internet: joe@montebello.soest.hawaii.edu\/\.-.__
Soon to be relocating to the mid-continental tourist paradise of Tulsa, Oklahoma

The SEDS-2 deployer re-entered Sunday, May 8, according to Jonathon's Space
Report.  (The end mass re-entered on March 15 after the tether was broken,
apparently by debris impact).

Burns