Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/DAILY_1/920910.DFC

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"920910.DFC" (21235 bytes) was created on 09-10-92
   10-Sep-92 Daily File Collection
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9/10/92:  NASA STRENGTHENS EDUCATION TIES WITH MINORITY GROUPS

HQN92-81/NASA EDUCATION TIES W/MINORITY GROUPS


Terri Sindelar                September, 10, 1992
Dwayne Brown
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.


EDITORS NOTE:  N92-81

       NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin, Congressman Louis Stokes (D-OH),
NAACP Chairman Dr. William Gibson, and NASA Astronaut Col. Charles Bolden will
participate in a symposium to expand education and career opportunities for
minorities in science, engineering and technology in Orlando, Friday, Sept. 11.

        The education symposium coincides with the historic first flight of an
African American female astronaut, Dr. Mae C. Jemison. Over 100 representatives
of organizations dedicated to expanding education and career opportunities for
underrepresented groups in science, engineering and technology plan to attend.

        Thursday evening, the conference will feature personal and professional
associates of Dr. Jemison who will discuss her training experiences and her
mission responsibilities.

        Friday, there will be panel discussions with noteworthy educators: *
Dr. Israel Tribble, Florida Endowment Fund
        *  Dr. Abdulalim Shabazz, Clark-Atlanta University.
        *  Ms. Salathiel Kendricks, Spelman College
        *  Dr. Joe Johnson, Forida A&M University
        *  Mr. Earnest DeLoach, University of Miami
        *  Dr. William Alter, Texas Space Grant Consortium

         Dr.  Asa Hillard, Professor Urban Education, Georgia State University
is the conference luncheon speaker on Thursday.

        Other special guests will include seven students from the NAACP's
national African-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympic
(ACT-SO) competitions, and ten student NASA award-winners from the
International Science and Engineering Fair.

        News media wishing to cover the educators conference on Sept. 10-12
should register in the Hibiscus Room, Orlando Marriott, 8001 International
Drive.

       - end -
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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KSC SHUTTLE STATUS 9/10/92


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

         STS-47/SPACELAB J - ENDEAVOUR (105) - PAD 39-B
                      LAUNCH MINUS TWO DAYS

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Preparations to disconnect the orbiter midbody  umbilical  unit
used  to load cryogenic reactants into the orbiter's onboard fuel
cell storage tanks.
- Activate the orbiter's communications system.
-  Preparations  to  load  time  critical  experiments  into  the
Spacelab module including the frogs and fish.
- Countdown clock enters planned 4-hour built-in hold at the T-19
hour mark.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Loaded liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen reactants into the or-
biter for use by the fuel cells.

STS-47 FLIGHT CREW ACTIVITIES:
-  Commander Hoot Gibson and Pilot Curt Brown flew in the Shuttle
Training Aircraft this morning.  Crew members receive  a  medical
exam today, review flight data files and collect baseline data.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Move  rotating service structure away from the vehicle at 1100
Friday.
- Begin loading cryogenic propellants into the external  tank  at
0203 Saturday.
-  Crew  wake-up time on Saturday morning is at 0458 for the blue
team and at 0528 for the red team.
- Crew breakfast is at 0558 Saturday.
- Flight crew departs for the launch pad at 0708 Saturday.
- Launch at 1023 EDT Saturday, Sept. 12.

WEATHER FORECAST:
- Forecasters are predicting an 80 percent chance of  having  ac-
ceptable conditions at launch time on Saturday.

          STS-52/LAGEOS - COLUMBIA (OV 102) - OPF BAY 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Replacement of TACANs No. 1 and 3.
- Check out of the forward reaction control system.
- Tests of the robot arm.
- Close outs of the vehicle.
- Main engine interface leak checks.

WORK SCHEDULED:
-  Transfer  to  the Vehicle Assembly Building next week for mate
with the external tank and boosters.


           STS-53/DoD - DISCOVERY (OV 103) - OPF BAY 3

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Electrical redundancy testing of the orbital maneuvering system
and reaction control system.
- Leak and functional tests of the auxiliary power units.
- Integrated testing the main propulsion system.
- Testing of the Ku-band antenna.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Installed the drag chute door.


       MODIFICATION PERIOD - ATLANTIS (OV 104) - OPF BAY 2

WORK IN PROGRESS:
- Transfer the power reactant  storage  and  distribution  system
tanks to the Logistics Facility for storage.
- Removal of auxiliary power unit lines.
- Preparations to deservice the freon cooling system.
- Removing TACAN antennas and the radar altimeter.

WORK COMPLETED:
- Flushed the auxiliary power units.


      STS-52 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS/EXTERNAL TANK - VAB HB 1

WORK IN PROGRESS:
-  Making  connections  between  the  external  tank to the solid
rocket boosters.

WORK COMPLETED:
- External tank was attached to the orbiter yesterday.

WORK SCHEDULED:
- Mating the orbiter Columbia later this month.




                             # # # #
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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DAILY NEWS/TV SKED 9/10/92

Daily News
    24-hour audio service at 202/755-1788

 % Preparations for Saturday's launch of Endeavour
                continue to go well;
 % STS-47 Spacelab and secondary experiments briefings
                set for tomorrow;
 % JPL reports Magellan resumes mapping the Venusian
                surface;
 % TOPEX/Poseidon performing nominally, orbit tweaking
                continues;
 % Administrator says Senate Space Station vote reflects
                investment in future;
 % University of Alabama-Huntsville Consort launch goes
                on time.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

NASA Shuttle Test Director Al Sofge said at this morning's STS-47 countdown
status briefing that all processing work is proceeding on schedule with no
anomalies or glitches so far.  Glenn Snyder, the STS-47 payload processing
manager, said today's activity will focus mainly on installing mission
consumables and experiments into their appropriate Spacelab compartments.
Launch Pad 39-B's Rotating Service Structure will be moved back from Endeavour
tomorrow.  The loading of cryogenic propellants into the orbiter's External
Tank is set to begin at 2:00 am Saturday morning, September 12.

Ingress of the seven-member STS-47 crew into Endeavour is set for 7:38 am
Saturday and launch is set for 10:23 am.  The launch window extends through
2:17 pm.  The present weather forecast for Saturday still calls for clear skies
and light winds with an 80 percent probability of favorable launch weather
throughout the window.  Ed Priselac, Shuttle Weather Officer, did indicate some
concern for a front which is expected to be sitting over northern Florida by
Saturday morning.  The concern is not for winds or rain so much as it is for
possible lightning and upper level thunderstorm debris.  The seven-day mission
is scheduled to conclude on Sept. 19 with a landing at KSC.

Tomorrow, NASA will hold a series of briefings beginning at 8:30 am and
covering the Spacelab-Japan mission experiments and requirements; the Get Away
Special and Isaiah secondary experiments, and the formal programmatic review of
mission readiness.  All the briefings will be covered live on NASA Select
television.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jet Propulsion Laboratory flight controllers report the Magellan spacecraft
resumed its successful radar mapping of the Venusian surface this week.  The
current mapping schedule will enable the spacecraft to fill the largest
remaining gap in its global coverage of Venus. During its two 243-day mapping
cycles, Magellan so far has covered 97.5 percent of Venus' surface.  The
current mapping will bring that total to 99 percent.  Spacecraft performance
remains nominal.  Controllers are planning to perform an orbit trim maneuver on
Monday, September 14, to lower the spacecraft altitude from 162 to 113 miles to
increase the precision of the data for the gravity mapping cycle set to begin
on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

JPL flight controllers working with the TOPEX/Poseidon spacecraft report it
also is performing nominally with all onboard systems in good shape.  The
second in-plane maneuver was successfully completed this Tuesday with the next
one set to occur next Monday. The NASA altimeter will be placed in stand-by
mode tomorrow and the French altimeter will be turned on.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Following yesterday's U.S. Senate vote of 63-to-34 in favor of funding for
Space Station Freedom, NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin said "the vote reflects
a commitment by members in the Senate to invest in America's future.  As NASA
reaches for the stars, it produces cutting edge technology that creates new,
high-quality jobs on Earth. Space Station Freedom will provide new medical
technology to improve health care and inspire young Americans to remain and
excel in school."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The launch of the Consort 5 sounding rocket for the Consortium for Materials
Development in Space, University of Alabama, Huntsville, went successfully this
morning at 10:30 am, right on time, from the White Sands Missile Range in New
Mexico. The payload consisted of nine materials science and biotechnology
experiments.  Recovery of the payload is expected to be complete by early this
afternoon.  The consortium is one of the NASA Centers for the Commercial
Development of Space. EER Systems Corp., Vienna, Virginia, provided the Consort
launch vehicle and the payload recovery system.  McDonnell Douglas Space
Systems Division, Huntsville, provided payload integration for the consortium.


   Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select TV.
Note that all events and times may change without notice, and that all times
listed are Eastern. Live indicates a program is transmitted live.

Thursday, September 10, 1992
  1:00 pm  Replay of remarks made last week to employees
                of Dryden Flight Research Center by NASA Administrator
                Daniel Goldin.

Friday, September 11, 1992
Live   8:30 am  Countdown status briefing from Kennedy
                Space Center, featuring Al Sofge, Shuttle Test Director,
                and Glenn Snyder, STS-47 Payload Processing Manager.
Live   9:00 am  Spacelab-Japan briefing from Kennedy
                Space Center, featuring Fred Leslie, Marshall Space
                Flight Center Mission Scientist, Aubray King, MSFC
                Mission Manager, and Yoshinori Fujimori, Japan National
                Space Agency Project Scientist.
Live   10:00 am  Get Away Special briefing from Kennedy
                Space Center, featuring Clarke Prouty, Goddard Space
                Flight Center GAS mission manager, Kenneth Loth, Swedish
                Space Corporation, Stephen Goodman, British Aerospace,
                George Thomas, TRW, Jeff Slostad, University of
                Washington, Diane Chenevert, Spar Aerospace, and David
                Francisco, Lewis Research Center.
Live   11:00 am  ISAIAH briefing from Kennedy Space
                Center, featuring Gary Gutschewski, Johnson Space Center
                Mission Manager, Marvin George Klemov, Israeli Aircraft
                Industries, and Jacob Ishay, Tel-Aviv University.
Live   11:30 am  Pre-Launch Press conference from Kennedy
                Space Center, featuring Lennard Fisk, Associate
                Administrator for Space Science and Applications, Leonard
                Nicholson, Space Shuttle Manager, Robert Sieck, Kennedy
                Space Center Launch Director, Mike Adams, US Air Force
                Weather Liaison Officer, and a representative from the
                Japan National Space Agency.
  1:00 pm  (possible) Playback of Consort 5 launch from
                White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico (taped on 9/10/92).

Saturday, September 12, 1992
Live   10:23 am  Scheduled launch time for Endeavour for
                STS-47 Spacelab-Japan mission.

NASA Select TV is carried on GE Satcom F2R, transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees
West Longitude, transponder frequency is 3960 MegaHertz, audio subcarrier is
6.8 MHz, polarization is vertical.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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 NOTE: This file is too large {132058 bytes} for inclusion in this collection.
    The first line of the file:

Educational Horizons Fall 1992

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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Searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

SPACELINK NOTE: This is an excerpt from the Fall 1992 Educational Horizons


"Are we alone?" This question has been a focus of philosophical speculation
since humans first contemplated the cosmos.  Within recent decades, it has also
become a topic of legitimate scientific inquiry within the field of exobiology,
the study of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the universe.
Current knowledge of the origin and nature of life, the process of the
formation of stars and planets, and the evolution of intelligence and
technology leads many scientists to speculate that there are millions of other
potential "life sites" within the Milky Way galaxy.  To test this hypothesis,
NASA will inaugurate the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI)
Microwave Observing Project (MOP) on October 12, 1992.  The NASA SETI MOP is
the most comprehensive attempt ever undertaken to answer this compelling and
enduring question.

The SETI MOP will employ some of the world's largest and most sensitive radio
telescopes and the advanced radio antennas belonging to NASA's Deep Space
Network. Upon completion of its initial observing period (through 2001), the
SETI MOP will have probed 10 billion times more search space than the sum of
all previous searches, and at frequencies and sensitivities not previously
obtainable.  The project employs two complementary search strategies; a
Targeted Search and a Sky Survey. The very high sensitivity Targeted Search
will use the world's largest radio telescopes and will focus on 800 solar-type
stars within 100 light years of Earth at frequencies between 1 and 3 gigahertz
(GHz).  The Sky Survey will perform a high- resolution search of the entire
celestial sphere, including the 99.9 percent of the sky that the Targeted
Search does not cover, at frequencies from 1 to 10 GHz. The Sky Survey will
employ the 34-meter high efficiency radio antennas of the NASA Deep Space
Network. The NASA Ames Research Center is the lead center for the project and
is in charge of the Targeted Search. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is in charge
of developing and implementing the Sky Survey.

The interdisciplinary nature of SETI and the natural enthusiasm children show
for the subject make SETI an exciting avenue to attract and retain student
interest in science and engineering disciplines.  Therefore, the SETI Program
is developing several educational initiatives that are designed to introduce
young students to science, mathematics, and engineering, and to help science
teachers develop innovative classroom materials and become more familiar with
the effective classroom presentation of space science, physics and astronomy;
all to make science "tangible and enjoyable."

Educators at the SETI Institute recently received a 3-year, $700,000 National
Science Foundation award (to which the SETI Program added $300,000) for a
curriculum development project entitled "Life in the Universe--An Exciting
Vehicle for Teaching Integrated Science" to develop cross-disciplinary and
multidisciplinary science curriculum guides for grades 3-9.

Curriculum guides for grades 5, 6 and 8 have been developed and evaluated in
classrooms by interdisciplinary teams of teachers, education specialists, NASA
scientists and support staff.  Each guide is written, tested and revised three
times before publication.  Details of the SETI curriculum project will be
displayed next April at the National Science Teachers Association Convention,
in Kansas City.

The SETI Program is part of NASA's Exobiology Program and is managed by the
Life Sciences Division, Office of Space Science and Applications, NASA
Headquarters, Washington, DC.

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_2_2_39_10.TXT

L-2 DAYS STS-47 WEATHER

FROM: George H. Diller

Weather Forecast for STS-47
Forecast prepared on L-2 day
Thursday, 9/10/92



Synopsis: An upper level low pressure trough and a weak frontal boundry will be
over the Florida peninsula.  The influence of a surface high pressure system
centered over the Great Lakes will bring generally easterly winds in eastern
Florida.

     During the launch window from 10:23 a.m. - 2:17 p.m. on Saturday,
September 12, the conditions are forecast to be:

Clouds:

2,500-5,000 scattered cumulus
40% sky coverage

25,000-28,000 scattered cirrus
50% sky coverage

Visibility: 7 miles or greater

Wind - Pad 39B:  E at 8 to 12 knots

Temperature:  84 degrees at window open, 88 by window close.

Dewpoint:     74 degrees

Humidity:     72% at window open, 69% by window close.

Precipitation: chance of showers

Probability of launch weather criteria violation: 20%
Probability of tanking constraint violation: 5%

Chance of violation at launch time on Sunday:  20%
                                      tanking:  5%

Chance of violation at launch time on Monday :  20%
                                      tanking:   5%


Developed by Cape Canaveral Forecast Facility, USAF

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_6_10_4_5.TXT

Topex/Poseidon status 9/9/92

PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109



                  TOPEX/POSEIDON STATUS REPORT
                        September 9, 1992

          The TOPEX/Poseidon satellite is performing nominally
and is healthy.  Attitude control, solar array, batteries,
telecommunications, and the on-board computer are all functioning
normally.

          In-Plane Maneuver #2 was performed successfully
Tuesday, Sept. 8 at 11:47 a.m. PDT.  The next In-Plane Maneuver
is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 14 and this maneuver will use the
1 Newton thrusters for the first time.

          The solar array bias has been changed by an additional
+2.5 degrees to a total bias of +57.5 degrees.  This was done so
as to not overcharge the batteries when the Sun hits the solar
array after coming from eclipse.

          On Friday, the NASA altimeter will be placed in the
idle mode and the CNES SSALT altimeter will be turned on.

                             ######
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_8_2_5_26.TXT

Galileo status 9/8/92

PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109.


                     GALILEO MISSION STATUS
                        September 8, 1992

     The Galileo spacecraft is almost 107 million kilometers
(66.5 million miles) from Earth. It is just three months until
the second Earth gravity assist, when the spacecraft will gain
enough energy to fly to Jupiter, arriving just three years later.
It is now almost 230 million kilometers (143 million miles) from
the Sun, and its speed in orbit is 24.4 kilometers per second or
54,640 miles per hour.

     Galileo is operating normally, transmitting coded telemetry
at 40 bits per second.  Today and tomorrow, the flight team are
conducting a diagnostic test of the antenna-deployment mechanism,
in preparation for activities planned for January to try to free
the stuck ribs of the high-gain antenna.

     This week's test will involve two pulses, separated by a
day-long warming period. A similar operation was carried out in
July, when the spacecraft was farther from the Sun, and therefore
somewhat cooler.  Today, the antenna motor region is estimated to
be about -13 degrees Celsius (8.6 Fahrenheit); tomorrow, after
the warming, it is expected to be about +8 Celsius (46 F).  The
engineers are studying temperature effects on the operation; in
January, conditions will be nearly the warmest, believed most
favorable for releasing the ribs.

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