Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/DAILY_2/930618.DFC

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18-Jun-93 Daily File Collection
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:930618.REL

6/18/93:  MINORITY STUDENTS APPRENTICE ON SPACE RESEARCH

Terri Sindelar
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.          June 18, 1993



RELEASE:  93-116

        NASA today announced the selection of 100 minority high school students
to participate in a new NASA education program called SHARP PLUS Research
Apprenticeship Program.

        SHARP PLUS is a collaborative effort between NASA, Historically Black
Colleges and Universities and aerospace and other industries to increase the
opportunities and experiences for minority students interested in careers in
mathematics, science and engineering by offering research apprenticeships.

        The ultimate goal of SHARP PLUS is to help increase the number of
minorities in the science and engineering professions by providing students
hands-on opportunities to enhance their college education and career choices.

        Beginning June 21, students will participate in an 8-week, research-
based, mentor program being held at five predominantly minority universities
located near NASA field centers.

        The students were selected from over 600 applicants based on their
aptitude and interest in science and engineering.  During the 8-week program,
students will live on campus and spend about 80 percent of their experience
working with researchers on cutting-edge research projects performed at nearby
industrial sites or in the universities' research laboratories.  Students will
earn a salary for their time spent as apprentices.

        The following universities will host 20 SHARP PLUS apprentices this
summer:

        Alabama A&M University, Normal
        Florida A&M University, Tallahassee
        Hampton University, Hampton, Va.
        Morgan State University, Baltimore, Md.
        Texas Southern University, Houston




        Each student will be placed with mentors based on the student's areas
of interest and their skill levels.  Assignments will be selected affording
students the best opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills and to
contribute to the research project.

        Twenty percent of each student's experience will be spent in campus-
related activities such as lectures, tours, career counseling and interacting
with current technical professionals.  Each student, as well as their mentor,
will prepare written reports about their individual activities, what they have
learned and their progress in the program.

        Throughout the apprenticeship, each student will have careful work-
site and residential supervision and guidance by a SHARP PLUS faculty
coordinator at each university.

        For consideration in the program, students must be at least 16 years of
age, enrolled in high school and have completed the 10th grade.  The courses
required include algebra, geometry and at least 1 year of biology, chemistry or
physics with a grade of B or better.  Students also must demonstrate an
interest in pursuing a science or engineering career.

        The Quality Education for Minorities (QEM) network, a non-profit
organization dedicated to improving the education of minorities throughout the
nation, serves as NASA's facilitator for the new education program.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:930618.SHU

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS 6-18-93

        KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
          Launch Minus 2 Days -- Friday, June 18, 1993

KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham

-----------------------------STS-57------------------------------
Mission: STS-57/Spacehab/EURECA-Retrieval  Orbital Alt. 287 miles
Vehicle: Endeavour/OV-105                 Inclination: 28 degrees
Location: Pad 39-B                        Crew Size: 6
Launch Date/Window: June 20, 9:38 - 10:49 a.m. EDT
Expected KSC Landing Date/Time: June 28, 8:33 a.m.
Expected Mission Duration: 7 days/23 hours (if cryogenics allow)

NOTE: Work crews are preparing to enter the aft engine compartment this
afternoon to check for high concentrations of helium in the main propulsion
system.  The inspections should last no more than a few hours and are not
expected to impact launch on Sunday. Some scheduled events will be delayed a
few hours to accommodate the extra work.  At this time the countdown clock is
at T-19 hours and holding and will begin counting again at 2:30 p.m. today.
The six member crew arrived at KSC at about 3:45 p.m. yesterday.  Crew members
for this mission are: Commander Ron Grabe, Pilot Brian Duffy, and Mission
Specialists David Low, Nancy Sherlock, Jeff Wisoff and Janice Voss.

IN WORK TODAY:
*  Access set-ups to enter aft engine compartment this afternoon
*  Late stowage set-ups for SPACEHAB
*  Final stowage of mid-deck and flight deck supplies & payloads

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  SPACEHAB late stowage operations (late Friday/Saturday)
*  Rotate service structure to launch position (Saturday)

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Countdown began at 2:30 a.m. Thursday
*  Crew arrived at 3:45 p.m. Thursday
*  Load reactants into onboard cryogenic tanks
*  Close payload bay doors for flight
*  Final SHOOT servicing and payload bay closeouts

-----------------------------STS-51------------------------------

Mission: STS-51/ACTS-TOS/ORFEUS-SPAS      Orbital Alt.: 184 miles
Vehicle: Discovery/OV-103                 Inclination: 28 degrees
Location: OPF bay 3                       Crew Size: 5
Mission Duration: 9 days/22 hours     Target Launch Date: July 17

NOTE: Discovery was rolled to the Vehicle Assembly Building at about 11:00 a.m.
today.  Operations this weekend include mating to the external tank and Shuttle
interface verification tests.  Rollout to pad 39-B is targeted for Friday June
25.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:930618A.REL

6/18/93:  NASA TO ENCOURAGE USE OF SMALL DISADVANTAGED BUSINESSES

David Steitz
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                 June 18, 1993



NOTE TO EDITORS:  N93-34

         NASA has made available a 21-minute videotape and brochure,
"Successful Subcontracting with SDB's." The video is part of an effort by NASA
to encourage the use of Small Disadvantaged Businesses (SDB) by NASA's prime
contractors.

        "Successful Subcontracting with SDB's" features four examples of
effective teamwork between prime contractors and SDB subcontractors, including
the pairing of a prime contractor (General Dynamics) and a Historically Black
University (Tuskegee University in Alabama).

        The video is designed to help contractor CEO's, executives, managers
and buyers to enhance their SDB subcontracting performance.  With this
initiative, NASA seeks to build on its fiscal 1992 SDB subcontracting awards of
$865 million by prime contractors and approach $900 million for fiscal 1993.

        "As Administrator of NASA, I have made a personal commitment to
increasing cultural diversity in the workplace and to increasing the
contracting opportunities for small and disadvantaged contractors," NASA
Administrator Daniel S. Goldin said.

        "Successful Subcontracting with SDB's" was produced by Morris
Communications International Inc., a SDB located in Des Moines, Iowa. Copies of
the videotape and brochure may be obtained by contacting the NASA Headquarters
Newsroom, Code PM, NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., 20546, or by phone at
202/358-1600.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_2_2_45_9.TXT

STS-57  L-2 DAY WEATHER FORECAST
LAUNCH DAY WEATHER FORECAST

        L-2 DAY LAUNCH WEATHER FORECAST FOR STS-57



George H. Diller
NASA Kennedy Space Center

Synopsis: High pressure will dominate.

At the opening of the launch window forecast conditions will be:

Clouds:  low level scattered
Visibility: 7 or miles or greater
Wind - Pad 39B: SE/08 knots
Temperature:  78 degrees
Dewpoint:     70 degrees
Humidity:     76%
Precipitation: very slight chance of showers
Other weather concerns: no other significant clouds or weather



Probability of launch weather violation on Sunday: 10%
                      tanking violation on Sunday:  0%

Chance of violation with 24 hour scrub turnaround: 10%
                         48 hour scrub turnaround: 10%




Cape Canaveral Forecast Facility
Department of the Air Force
6/18/93
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_8_5_3_13.TXT

ULYSSES MISSION OPERATIONS REPORT     5/25-31/93

PERIOD:   25th May to 31st May 1993

1.   MISSION OPERATIONS

     Experiment reconfigurations have been carried out as required.

     On 25th May a HET calibration was carried out.

     On 31st May a KEP in-flight calibration was carried out.

     An Earth pointing manoeuvre was carried out on 30th May.

     An average of 97.5% data recovery was achieved during the reporting
     period.

     The percentage of data acquired as a function of bit rate is as follows:

     1024 bps 47.13 %
      512 bps 50.28 %

2.   SPACECRAFT STATUS

     POWER

     Nominal.

     Estimated S/C power consumption 255 watts.

     AOCS

     Nominal.

     TTC

     The spacecraft is currently configured with receiver 2 as the prime unit
     fed via the high gain antenna and with receiver 1 as backup fed through
     the low gain antenna (LGA- F). The downlink is provided through
     EPC2/TWTA2.

     The 34 meter ground stations are in use to support TTC operations.
     Ranging from 34 meter or 70 meter antennas is routinely performed.

     Received downlink level -141 dBm.(34 meter) X-band.

     (Variations of up to 10 db. can be expected as a result of station antenna
     in use, local weather conditions, and spacecraft antenna off-pointing).

     Received uplink level -122 dBm.

     DATA HANDLING

     Nominal.

     THERMAL

     Nominal.

3.   FLIGHT DYNAMICS

     Solar Aspect   The angle reduced from 12.54 on
     Angle (deg.)   25th May to 12.09 on 31st May.

     Sun-Probe-Earth  The angle reduced from 12.42 on
     Angle (deg.)     25th May to 12.35 on 31st May.

     Spin Rate               4.978 rpm.

4.   ORBITAL DATA

     Data taken at 00:00:00 UTC on 31st May

     Distance from Earth                707,792,766 km.
     Velocity relative to the Earth          77,292 km/hr.
     Velocity relative to the Sun            38,791 km/hr.
     Ecliptic latitude                         24.5 deg/south

5.   PLANNED OPERATIONS

     Routine data gathering operations will continue together with experiment
     reconfigurations as required.

     On 2nd June a HED calibration will be carried out.

     On 7th June a KEP in-flight calibration will be carried out.

     An Earth pointing maneuvre will be carried out on 9th June.

6.  GROUND SEGMENT

     The ground segment performed nominally during the reporting period.




ULYSSES MISSION STATUS  5/27/93

The spacecraft is in a highly inclined solar orbit now 31.7 degrees south
relative to the Sun's equator, in transit from its Jupiter gravity assist in
February 1992 toward its solar polar passages (about 80 degrees south and
north) in 1994 and 1995.  Spacecraft condition and performance are excellent,
with Ulysses gathering data on the heliosphere -- the realm dominated by the
solar wind, a stream of charged particles flowing from the Sun. The Ulysses
spacecraft was built by the European Space Agency and launched October 6, 1990.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_8_5_3_14.TXT

ULYSSES MISSION OPERATIONS REPORT    6/1-7/93

PERIOD:   1st June to 7th June 1993


1.   MISSION OPERATIONS

     Experiment reconfigurations have been carried out as required.

     On 2nd June a HED calibration was carried out.

     The KEP in-flight calibration scheduled for 7th June was postponed until
     9th June because of commanding problems.

     An average of 83.7% data recovery was achieved during the reporting
     period.

     The percentage of data acquired as a function of bit rate is as follows:

     1024 bps 33.9 %
      512 bps 38.9 %
      256 bps 10.9 %

     The low percentage data recovery is due to a bearing failure on the DSS 61
     antenna on 3rd June. The passes lost resulted in the loss of more than 26
     hours of realtime and playback data.  In addition, record rates were
     reduced to 256 bps to provide data continuity during the larger gaps in
     coverage.

2.   SPACECRAFT STATUS

     POWER

     Nominal.

     Estimated S/C power consumption 255 watts.

     AOCS

     Nominal.

     TTC

     The spacecraft is currently configured with receiver 2 as the prime unit
     fed via the high gain antenna and with receiver 1 as backup fed through
     the low gain antenna (LGA- F). The downlink is provided through
     EPC2/TWTA2.

     The 34 meter ground stations are in use to support TTC operations.
     Ranging from 34 meter or 70 meter antennas is routinely performed.

     Received downlink level -141 dBm.(34 meter) X-band.

     (Variations of up to 10 db. can be expected as a result of station antenna
     in use, local weather conditions, and spacecraft antenna off-pointing).

     Received uplink level -123 dBm.

     DATA HANDLING

     Nominal.

     THERMAL

     Nominal.

3.   FLIGHT DYNAMICS

     Solar  Aspect   The angle reduced from 12.12 on Angle (deg.)
     1st June to 12.22 on 8th June.

     Sun-Probe-Earth   The  angle reduced  from  12.31  on  Angle
     (deg.)     1st June to 12.08 on 8th June.

     Spin Rate               4.978 rpm.

4.   ORBITAL DATA

     Data taken at 00:00:00 UTC on 7th June

     Distance from Earth                720,116,453 km.
     Velocity relative to the Earth          77,651 km/hr.
     Velocity relative to the Sun            39,090 km/hr.
     Ecliptic latitude                         25.0 deg/south

5.   PLANNED OPERATIONS

     Routine data gathering operations will continue together with experiment
     reconfigurations as required.

     On 9th June a KEP EPAC RAM dump will be performed.

     On 9th and 14 June a KEP EPAC in-flight calibration will be carried out.

     An Earth pointing manoeuvre will be carried out on 9th June.

     The Ulysses spacecraft will enter unexplored regions of the of the solar
     system on 9th June as it crosses the highest ever achieved heliographic
     latitude of more than 32 degrees south. (The Voyager 1 spacecraft is
     currently 32 degrees north of the Sun's equator).

6.  GROUND SEGMENT

     On 3rd June, a bearing failed on the DSS 61 antenna and it is not expected
     to be repaired before early August. The impact to the Ulysses project is
     high for the next couple of weeks since many DSS 61 passes were scheduled.
     Extra passes will be added where possible using other stations but
     competition is high because of 24 hour coverage for both Mars Observer and
     Magellen. Some recording at the reduced bit rate of 256 bps is inevitable.
     Near to normal data return is expected by the end of June when use of DSS
     61 by the Ulysses project reduces.





     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_8_5_3_15.TXT

ULYSSES MISSION OPERATIONS REPORT    6/8-14/93

PERIOD:   8th June to 14th June 1993

1.   MISSION OPERATIONS

     On 9th June the Ulysses spacecraft entered unexplored regions of the solar
     system as it crossed the highest ever achieved heliographic latitude of
     more than 32 degrees south. (The Voyager 1 spacecraft is currently 32
     degrees north of the Sun's equator).

     Experiment reconfigurations have been carried out as required.

     On 8th June a KEP in flight calibration and a EPAC RAM dump were
     performed.

     An Earth pointing manoeuvre was carried out on 9th June.

     An average of 89.64 % data recovery was achieved during the reporting
     period.

     The percentage of data acquired as a function of bit rate is as follows:

     1024 bps 28.7 %
      512 bps 29.8 %
      256 bps 31.1 %

     The low percentage data recovery is due to the continued mechanical
     problem with the 34 meter antenna at Madrid. In addition on 13th June a
     telemetry processor restart at Goldstone caused a small loss of realtime
     and playback data.

     Extensive rescheduling of station passes for this reporting period took
     place to reduce as much as possible the data loss.

     During this week much of the data on board was recorded at 256 bps to
     permit shorter playback periods.  A return to 512 bps recording has been
     planned for future weeks.

     The 34 meter antenna at Madrid is not expected to be operational again
     until early in August.

2.  SPACECRAFT STATUS

     POWER

     Nominal.

     Estimated S/C power consumption 255 watts.

     AOCS

     Nominal.

     TTC

     The spacecraft is currently configured with receiver 2 as the prime unit
     fed via the high gain antenna and with receiver 1 as backup fed through
     the low gain antenna (LGA- F). The downlink is provided through
     EPC2/TWTA2.

     The 34 meter ground stations are in use to support TTC operations.
     Ranging from 34 meter or 70 meter antennas is routinely performed.

     Received downlink level -141 dBm.(34 meter) X-band.

     (Variations of up to 10 db. can be expected as a result of station antenna
     in use, local weather conditions, and spacecraft antenna off-pointing).

     Received uplink level -123 dBm.

     DATA HANDLING

     Nominal.

     THERMAL

     Nominal.

3.   FLIGHT DYNAMICS

     Solar Aspect   The angle reduced from 12.20 on
     Angle (deg.)   9th June to 11.86 on 14th June.

     Sun-Probe-Earth  The angle reduced from 12.12 on
     Angle (deg.)     9th June to 11.84 on 14th June.

     Spin Rate               4.978 rpm.

4.   ORBITAL DATA

     Data taken at 00:00:00 UTC on 14th June

     Distance from Earth                731,842,840 km.
     Velocity relative to the Earth          78,700 km/hr.
     Velocity relative to the Sun            39,393 km/hr.
     Ecliptic latitude                         25.4 deg/south
     Heliographic latitude                     32.1 deg/south

5.   PLANNED OPERATIONS

     Routine data gathering operations will continue together with experiment
     reconfigurations as required.

     On 21st June a KEP in flight calibration will be carried out.

     On 22nd June a HET calibration will be carried out.

     An Earth pointing manoeuvre will be carried out on 21st June.



6.  GROUND SEGMENT

     The bearing failure on the 34 meter antenna at Madrid will continue to
     cause some difficulties in the scheduling of sufficient tracking passes.
     The antenna is not expected to be returned to service until early in
     August.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_8_5_6_2.TXT

JUPITER'S MAGNETIC FIELD SHAPED BY SOLAR WIND

HQ 92-145/Ulysses/Jupiter



Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                  September 11, 1992


Diane Ainsworth
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.


RELEASE:  92-145

        Scientists studying data from Jupiter's highly charged magnetic
environment -- acquired by the Ulysses spacecraft encounter in February 1992 --
reported in a series of papers published today that the solar wind exerts a
much stronger influence on the planet's magnetic field than previously thought.

        The discovery was the result of Ulysses' unique trajectory, which took
the spacecraft to higher latitudes near the planet than were reached by
previous spacecraft, said JPL Ulysses Project Scientist Dr. Edward J. Smith,
principal author of one of seven articles published today in Science magazine.

        "In addition, Ulysses' outbound path took the spacecraft through
another previously unexplored region in the dusk sector, where we had never
been before," Smith said.

        Three separate findings during the Jupiter encounter supported this
conclusion, Smith said.  The first evidence was derived from Ulysses' flight
through the high latitude region of the magnetic field -- called the
magnetosphere -- in which the planetary magnetic field lines led out into
interplanetary space rather than returning to Jupiter across the equator.

         "Five of the experiments sensed this transition simultaneously, once
at a distance of only 7 planetary radii (500,000 miles) and a second time at a
distance of 15 radii (1.1 million miles)," Smith said.

        The second major surprise occurred as the spacecraft was traveling
outbound.  Measurements showed that the magnetic field was not rotating with
the planet but was being swept downstream toward the magnetic tail of the
magnetosphere, Smith said.


        "This property was seen well inside the magnetosphere at large
distances from the boundary with the solar wind," Smith said. "It is,
nevertheless, attributed by scientists to a dragging effect of the solar wind
on the magnetosphere."

        The third piece of the puzzle leading the Ulysses teams to this
conclusion was the identification of a thick layer just inside the boundary of
the magnetosphere in which solar wind particles and Jovian particles appear to
be intermingling, and the magnetic field is not rotating with the planet.

        "Scientists interpreted these observations to imply that magnetic field
lines are being peeled away from the magnetosphere by the solar wind," Smith
said.

        Jupiter's magnetic field, the largest in the solar system, forms a
windsock -- the magnetosphere -- that is blown by the solar wind.  The
magnetosphere is known to vary in size and configuration over time depending on
the amount of force exerted on it by the solar wind.  Millions of highly
charged particles swirl and bounce around within this magnetic bubble and many
of them eventually escape into interplanetary space.

        Smith published his findings along with Dr. Edgar Page, European Space
Agency (ESA) science coordinator, and ESA Project Manager Dr. Klaus- Peter
Wenzel. Other results of Ulysses' milestone flight past Jupiter were reported
in subsequent articles.

        "Jupiter is like a cosmic-ray source spewing these things out into
interplanetary space all the time," said co-author Page. "The energy probably
comes from the planet's rapid rotation every 10 hours." Smith said scientists
have made similar observations of the effects of the solar wind on Earth's
magnetosphere.

        "At Earth, magnetic fields at high latitudes lead out into space,
magnetic fields on the flanks of the magnetosphere are pulled tailward and a
boundary layer exists adjacent to the solar wind flowing around the
magnetosphere," he said.

        "For many years, theorists have believed that the solar wind was
exerting much less influence on the giant, strongly magnetized Jupiter than on
the smaller magnetosphere of Earth," Smith said. "The latest results do not
mean that Jupiter is like the Earth in all aspects, but theorists aware of the
new Ulysses results are now revising their ideas."

        Ulysses is a joint NASA-ESA mission to study the poles of the sun and
will begin its primary mission in June 1994.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_8_5_6_3.TXT

6/09/93:  ULYSSES REACHES HIGH LATITUDE

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

Contact: Diane Ainsworth

June 9, 1993

     The Ulysses spacecraft has entered unexplored regions of the solar system
as it crossed today into the highest latitude ever achieved relative to the
sun's equator of more than 32 degrees, scientists on the joint NASA-European
Space Agency (ESA) mission reported.

     "Ulysses is gathering important new information about the sun and its
environment as it continues to journey farther south toward the sun's southern
pole," said JPL's Dr. Edward Smith, NASA project scientist for the mission.

     "About one year from now, Ulysses will be 70 degrees south of the sun's
equator and begin its primary mission of exploring the highest solar
latitudes," he said.

     The heliosphere is the region of space carved out of the interstellar
medium by the solar wind, Smith said.  While reaching higher latitudes with
respect to the sun than Voyager 1, the Ulysses spacecraft is not traveling
toward the edge of the heliosphere, as are both Voyagers, but rather is heading
back toward the sun.

     The spacecraft, launched by the space shuttle Discovery in October 1990,
used a gravity assist at Jupiter in February 1992 to dive out of the ecliptic
plane and set its course in a highly inclined solar orbit.  The spacecraft's
trajectory will bring it over the south pole of the sun in September 1994, at
which time Ulysses will climb to its maximum latitude of slightly more than 80
degrees.

     The spacecraft and its scientific instruments are in excellent condition,
the flight team reported.  Data coverage since launch has been consistently
close to 100 percent, as a result of efforts by the joint NASA-ESA mission
operations team and NASA's Deep Space Network.

     Although the most exciting phase of the mission -- the study of the sun's
polar regions -- will not begin until mid-1994, Ulysses has already produced a
wealth of new scientific results.  Those results include:

     * The first direct detection of neutral helium atoms arriving from
interstellar space.

     * The measurement of micron-sized dust grains arriving from interstellar
space.

     * The first measurement of singularly charged hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen
and neon ions, entering the heliosphere as interstellar neutral atoms and then
becoming ionized.

     * The highest resolution measurements to date of the isotopic composition
of cosmic ray nuclei.

     In addition to these discoveries, Ulysses' path through Jupiter's
magnetosphere at the time of the February 1992 flyby enabled mission
investigators to acquire new and highly valuable data concerning this very
complex and dynamic plasma environment, Smith said.


     "Among the most exciting results to emerge is the possible entry into the
polar cap of Jupiter's magnetosphere near the time of closest approach (on Feb.
8, 1992)," Smith said, "and the unexpectedly strong influence of the solar wind
deep in the magnetosphere during the outbound passage."

     With the Jupiter flyby safely accomplished, the scientific focus is now
directed toward phenomena related to the increasing latitude of the spacecraft.

     "Already there is strong evidence that by the end of the summer, Ulysses
will be firmly in the domain of the southern polar magnetic field, having
permanently crossed the boundary separating northern and southern fields,"
Smith said.

     Following the flight over the sun's southern pole, Ulysses' orbit will
bring the spaceprobe swinging back toward the sun's equatorial regions, heading
for its second high-latitude excursion in mid-1995, this time above the north
polar region.

     "By the end of September 1995, Ulysses will have put our knowledge of the
sun and its environment in a completely new perspective," said Dr. Richard
Marsden, ESA project scientist.

     "Only by studying the way the sun influences the space around it in a
global manner can we hope to understand its influence on our local
interplanetary environment."

     The European Space Agency, which built the spacecraft along with Dornier
Systems of Friedrichshafen, Germany, oversees Ulysses' in-orbit operations.
NASA, which provided the launch vehicle and the spacecraft's electrical power
source, is responsible for tracking and data acquisition through the Deep Space
Network, and for processing and distributing scientific data.

     The mission operations center at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
Calif., is staffed by a joint team of ESA/European Space Operations Centre and
NASA technicians.  The scientific payload is provided by institutes from
ESA-member states and the United States.

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