Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/DAILY_2/930803.DFC

Text File | 1993-08-04 | 23KB | 531 lines

03-Aug-93 Daily File Collection
   These files were added or updated between 02-Aug-93 at 21:00:00 {Central}
                                         and 03-Aug-93 at 21:01:03.

=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:930803.REL

8/03/93:  ASTRONAUT BAGIAN TAKES LEAVE OF ABSENCE

Ed Campion
August 3, 1993
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
NOON. EDT

Barbara Schwartz
Johnson Space Center, Houston


RELEASE:  93-139

     Astronaut James P. Bagian, M.D., P.E., is taking a leave of absence from
NASA to work as Vice-President of Corporate Development and Medical Affairs at
Somanetics Corp., Troy, Mich. Bagian will use his medical and engineering
expertise to head up the company's clinical research activities.

     Bagian became an astronaut in July 1980 and took part in the planning and
provision of emergency medical and rescue support for the first 6 Space Shuttle
flights.  He was a mission specialist on Space Shuttle missions STS-29 in March
1989 and on STS-40 in June 1991.

     On his first Shuttle flight, Bagian was the principal investigator for an
experiment to study the changes of cerebral blood flow and its relationship to
space adaptation syndrome and space motion sickness.  He was the first to treat
space sickness with the drug Phenergan by intramuscular injection, which was
the first successful treatment regimen for the symptoms.  This method now has
been adopted by NASA as the standard of care for the control of space sickness
in Shuttle crews.

     Bagian's second Shuttle flight was the first Spacelab Life Sciences
mission, and the crew members performed experiments which explored how the
heart, blood vessels, lungs, kidneys and hormone-secreting glands respond to
microgravity, the causes of space sickness and changes in muscles, bones and
cells which occur in humans during space flight.

     Bagian will return to flight status upon his return to NASA.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:930803.SHU

KSC SHUTTLE STATUS 8-3-93



        KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                      Tuesday, August 3, 1993

KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham


-----------------------------------------------------------------
             MISSION: STS-51 -- ACTS-TOS/ORFEUS-SPAS

VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103             ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 miles
LOCATION: Pad 39-B                    INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees
LAUNCH DATE: August 12, 1993          CREW SIZE: 5
LAUNCH WINDOW: 9:10 - 10:07 a.m. EDT
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: August 21/22
MISSION DURATION: 8 days/22 hours (+ 1 day)

NOTE: On Friday, July 30, NASA mission managers decided to
postpone the launch of Discovery on mission STS-51 until August
12. This delay is due to concerns regarding the Perseid meteor
shower which is expected to peak on the evening of August 11.

IN WORK TODAY:
*  Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS)
   accelerometer polarity adjustments
*  Solid rocket booster (SRB) thermal curtain installation
*  SRB aft skirt foaming
*  Crew compartment close-outs

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Transfer Orbiter Stage state-of-health checks (Wednesday)
*  ORFEUS argon servicing (Thursday)
*  ACTS battery charging (Friday)
*  Launch countdown preparations
*  Countdown scheduled to begin 9:30 a.m. Monday, August 9 at the
   T-43 hour mark

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Aft engine compartment closeouts
*  ACTS battery discharge

-----------------------------------------------------------------
          MISSION: STS-58 -- SPACELAB LIFE SCIENCES - 2

VEHICLE: Columbia/OV-102              ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 176 miles
LOCATION: OPF bay 2                   INCLINATION: 39.00 degrees
MISSION DURATION: 14 days             CREW SIZE: 7
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: Mid September
LAUNCH TIME: Approximately 11:28 a.m. EDT
LAUNCH WINDOW: 2 hours, 30 minutes
LANDING LOCATION: Edwards Air Force Base, Ca.

IN WORK TODAY:
*  Orbiter aft and mid-body closeouts
*  Spacelab external closeouts
*  Crew module with Spacelab leakage tests
*  Final payload bay cleaning

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Close payload bay doors
*  Frequency response test

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Crew equipment interface test
*  Orbiter/tunnel 'C' hatch installation and inspections
*  Freon coolant loop adjustments and checks
*  Landing gear functional checks

---------------------------------------------------------------
            MISSION: STS-61 -- HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
                                SERVICING MISSION

VEHICLE: Endeavour/OV-105             ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 356 miles
LOCATION: OPF bay 1                   INCLINATION: 28 degrees
MISSION DURATION: 11 days             CREW SIZE: 7
TARGET LAUNCH PERIOD: Early December 1993
LANDING LOCATION: KSC

IN WORK TODAY:
*  5th cryogenic tank set installation
*  Orbital maneuvering system functional checks
*  Payload integration operations
*  Radiator functional checks

WORK SCHEDULED:
*  Main propulsion system leak and functional checks

WORK COMPLETED:
*  Landing gear wheel and tire assembly installation
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:930803.SKD

DAILY NEWS/TV SKED 8-3-93

Daily News
Tuesday, August 3, 1993
Two Independence Square; Washington, D.C.
Audio Service:202/358-3014

% STS-51 mission status;
% Galileo and Magellan Update


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

Concerned about the the Perseid meteor shower, which is expected to occur on
the evening of August 11, NASA mission managers decided to postpone the launch
of Space Shuttle Discovery until August 12.  The launch window will open at
9:10 a.m.  EDT. The STS-51 mission is scheduled to concluded on August 21.
However there is a possibility of extending the mission a day.

Discovery's crew of 5 will deploy the ACTS-TOS payload and deploy and retrieve
the ORFEUS-SPAS science satellite.  Crew members also will perform a spacewalk
during this STS-51 mission.

Technicians at the Kennedy Space Center continue launch countdown preparations.
The countdown is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, August 9.

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

Galileo will encounter asteroid Ida on August 28, 1993.  Scientific
observations will be recorded for later playback.  The spacecraft condition is
excellent and the high-gain antenna is still only partly deployed.  Therefore,
the scientific and engineering data are being transmitted via the low-gain
antenna, which the mission team is planning to use for the Jupiter mission.
Galileo will go into Jupiter's obiter on December 7, 1995.

 The Magellan aerobraking program, which began May, 25, is expected to be
complete early this month.  The spacecraft will then be in a lower and more
circular orbit for higher-resolution gravity mapping of higher latitudes and
the poles.  The aerobraking procedure of going into Venus's upper atmosphere
each orbit, has provided new knowledge of the atmospheric properties.



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


Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA TV. Note that
all events and times may change without notice and that all times listed are
Eastern.



Tuesday, August 3, 1993

        noon                    NASA Today featuring stories on the STS-51
                mission and the HRMS experiment.
        12:15 pm                Aeronautics & Space Report.
        12:30 pm                Eating and Sleeping in Space.
          1:00 pm               Women's Health Issues: Space-based Medical
                Research.
          2:00 pm               Starfinder # 14.
          2:30 pm               Journey Through the Solar System; Venus.
          3:00 pm               TQM #14.

Wednesday, August 4, 1993

        noon                    NASA Today.
        12:15 pm                Aeronautics & Space Report.
        12:30 pm                Quieter Faster and Safer Aircraft.
          1:00 pm               Space Shuttle: A Remarkable Flying Machine.
          2:00 pm               Starfinder # 15.
          2:30 pm               Journey Through the Solar System; Mars.
          3:00 pm               TQM #15.



NASA TV is carried on GE Satcom F2R, transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees West
Longitude, transponder frequency is 3960 MHz, 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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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:930803A.REL

8/03/93:  COMMANDER NAMED FOR FUTURE SHUTTLE MISSIONS


Ed Campion
August 3, 1993
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

Barbara Schwartz
Johnson Space Center, Houston


RELEASE:  93-140

     Astronauts Tamara E. Jernigan, Ph.D., Thomas David Jones, Ph.D., James S.
Voss, and Ellen Ochoa, Ph.D., have been named payload commanders on upcoming
Space Shuttle missions.

     Jernigan, 37, who holds degrees in engineering science, space physics and
astronomy, is Payload Commander on the STS- 67 Astro-2 mission scheduled for
late 1994 aboard Columbia. Astro-2 is a mission to study the far ultraviolet
spectra of faint astronomical objects using imaging and spectroscopy and to
study the polarization of ultraviolet light coming from hot stars and galaxies.

     Jernigan was a mission specialist on STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences-1 in
June 1991 and on STS-52, a mission to deploy the Laser Geodynamic Satellite to
measure the movement of the Earth's crust, to operate the U.S. Microgravity
Payload-01 and to test the Space Vision System developed by the Canadian Space
Agency, in October 1992.

     Jones, 38, is Payload Commander on the STS-68 Space Radar Laboratory-2
(SLR-2) mission scheduled for late 1994 aboard Atlantis. SRL-2 will take radar
images of the Earth's surface for Earth system sciences studies, including
geology, geography, hydrology, oceanography, agronomy and botany.

     Jones has a doctorate in planetary science and is a mission specialist on
SRL-1 in the spring of 1994.

     Voss, 44, who has a master of science degree in aerospace engineering
sciences and is a USA Lieutenant Colonel, is Payload Commander on the STS-69
SPACEHAB-04 and the Shuttle Pallet Satellite-III scheduled for early 1995
aboard Discovery. SPACEHAB is a complement of commercial experiments flown in a
pressurized module in the Shuttle's cargo bay as a supplement to the middeck
area of the orbiter and SPAS-III is a group of instruments which will measure
the atmosphere around the orbiter and the background clutter in the Earth's
atmosphere, calling for a complicated flight plan.

     Voss was a Mission Specialist on STS-44 in November 1991, a mission to
deploy a Defense Support Program satellite and to conduct Military Man in Space
experiments, radiation monitoring experiments and numerous medical tests to
support longer duration Shuttle flights.  He also was a mission specialist on
STS-53 in December 1992, a mission to deploy a classified Department of Defense
payload DOD-1 and to conduct Military Man in Space and NASA experiments.

     Ochoa, 35, is Payload Commander on the STS-66 Atmospheric Laboratory for
Applications and Science-3 mission scheduled for the fall of 1994 aboard
Endeavour. ATLAS-3 continues the series of Spacelab flights to study the energy
of the Sun during an 11-year solar cycle and to learn how changes in the Sun's
irradiance affect the Earth's climate and environment.

     Ochoa has master of science and doctorate degrees in electrical
engineering.  She was a Mission Specialist on STS- 56 in April 1993, the
ATLAS-2 mission.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
=--=--=-END-=--=--=

=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:930803B.REL

8/03/93: COMPTON OBSERVATORY DISCOVERS INTENSE NEW X-RAY PULSAR

Paula Cleggett-Haleim
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                     August 3, 1993

Jerry Berg
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.



RELEASE:  93-141

     Using NASA's Earth-orbiting Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, scientists have
discovered a powerful pulsar which has become one of the brightest x-ray
sources in the sky during the past 2 weeks.

     A pulsar is an unusual celestial object or system that emits pulses of
radiation at regular intervals.  The new pulsar emits a pulse of x-rays every
93.5 seconds.  That also is the period of rotation for the pulsar.  A pulsar's
flashes of energy are emitted much like the sweeping motion of a lighthouse
beam.

     Several hundred pulsars emitting radio energy have been found, but only
about 30 have been found that emit x-rays, nearly all of them within the Milky
Way galaxy.  The new pulsar is thought to be one of an even smaller class of a
half-dozen objects called transient x-ray pulsars.  These undergo enormous
change in brightness on time-scales ranging from hours to years.

     The energy outbursts occur when matter, emitted as a "solar wind" from a
high-mass star, falls onto a neutron star in orbit around it.  A neutron star,
although it has a diameter of only about 12 miles (20 km), and about the same
mass as Earth's sun, has a much higher gravitational field since it is so
dense.

     Continued observations will be required to determine if the newly
discovered object definitely is an object of this type. "When we first saw this
pulsar in our data, it was a tremendous moment," said Dr. Robert B. Wilson of
the Space Science Laboratory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center,
Huntsville, Ala.

     "For 2 years we had been watching the data and up to now, we had only
observed previously known pulsars.  All such observations are useful in trying
to understand these objects, but it's much more exciting when you find
something new," Wilson said.

     The new object was first observed in data from a Compton instrument called
the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), which can view the entire
sky simultaneously.  The source brightened from the initial detection level to
become as bright as any other known x-ray pulsar in five days, remained there
for about 2 weeks and now has started to decrease.

     The new pulsar is designated GRO J1008-57 and is in the southern
constellation Carina.

     The BATSE pulsar data analysis team which discovered the x-ray pulsar
is led by Wilson. Initial discovery of the pulsed signal from the object was
made by Mark Stollberg, a Ph.D. graduate student at the University of Alabama
in Huntsville, and Dr. Mark H. Finger of the Gamma Ray Observatory Science
Support Center at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

     Astronomers around the world were notified of the new pulsar by a circular
distributed by the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams in Cambridge,
Mass.

     A wide-field optical plate of the region containing the source has been
made by an observatory in Australia, under the direction of Dr. Malcolm Coe of
the University of Southhampton, England, to attempt to identify the companion
star.  BATSE alone can provide the location of the source to an accuracy of
only about 2 degrees, so it is a difficult task to find which star is the
optical counterpart.

     Special maneuvers of the Compton Observatory are being made so that the
other experiments aboard the observatory can view the new pulsar and perhaps,
supplement the BATSE data.

     The Compton Observatory has been providing data on x-ray pulsars since it
was launched by the Space Shuttle in April 1991.  Compton has observed about 15
of the objects to date.

     Most known x-ray pulsars were discovered by instruments on U.S. rockets
that flew in the 1960s, by U.S. and British experiments aboard spacecraft
during the 1970s and by European, Russian and Japanese experiments aboard
spacecraft during the 1980s.  GRO J1008-57 is the first discovered by a U.S.
spacecraft in more than 15 years.

     Compton is managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of
Space Science, Headquarters, Wash., D.C.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
=--=--=-END-=--=--=

=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_7_5_15.TXT

8/03/93: COMPTON OBSERVATORY DISCOVERS INTENSE NEW X-RAY PULSAR

Paula Cleggett-Haleim
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                     August 3, 1993

Jerry Berg
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.



RELEASE:  93-141

     Using NASA's Earth-orbiting Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, scientists have
discovered a powerful pulsar which has become one of the brightest x-ray
sources in the sky during the past 2 weeks.

     A pulsar is an unusual celestial object or system that emits pulses of
radiation at regular intervals.  The new pulsar emits a pulse of x-rays every
93.5 seconds.  That also is the period of rotation for the pulsar.  A pulsar's
flashes of energy are emitted much like the sweeping motion of a lighthouse
beam.

     Several hundred pulsars emitting radio energy have been found, but only
about 30 have been found that emit x-rays, nearly all of them within the Milky
Way galaxy.  The new pulsar is thought to be one of an even smaller class of a
half-dozen objects called transient x-ray pulsars.  These undergo enormous
change in brightness on time-scales ranging from hours to years.

     The energy outbursts occur when matter, emitted as a "solar wind" from a
high-mass star, falls onto a neutron star in orbit around it.  A neutron star,
although it has a diameter of only about 12 miles (20 km), and about the same
mass as Earth's sun, has a much higher gravitational field since it is so
dense.

     Continued observations will be required to determine if the newly
discovered object definitely is an object of this type. "When we first saw this
pulsar in our data, it was a tremendous moment," said Dr. Robert B. Wilson of
the Space Science Laboratory at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center,
Huntsville, Ala.

     "For 2 years we had been watching the data and up to now, we had only
observed previously known pulsars.  All such observations are useful in trying
to understand these objects, but it's much more exciting when you find
something new," Wilson said.

     The new object was first observed in data from a Compton instrument called
the Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), which can view the entire
sky simultaneously.  The source brightened from the initial detection level to
become as bright as any other known x-ray pulsar in five days, remained there
for about 2 weeks and now has started to decrease.

     The new pulsar is designated GRO J1008-57 and is in the southern
constellation Carina.

     The BATSE pulsar data analysis team which discovered the x-ray pulsar
is led by Wilson. Initial discovery of the pulsed signal from the object was
made by Mark Stollberg, a Ph.D. graduate student at the University of Alabama
in Huntsville, and Dr. Mark H. Finger of the Gamma Ray Observatory Science
Support Center at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.

     Astronomers around the world were notified of the new pulsar by a circular
distributed by the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams in Cambridge,
Mass.

     A wide-field optical plate of the region containing the source has been
made by an observatory in Australia, under the direction of Dr. Malcolm Coe of
the University of Southhampton, England, to attempt to identify the companion
star.  BATSE alone can provide the location of the source to an accuracy of
only about 2 degrees, so it is a difficult task to find which star is the
optical counterpart.

     Special maneuvers of the Compton Observatory are being made so that the
other experiments aboard the observatory can view the new pulsar and perhaps,
supplement the BATSE data.

     The Compton Observatory has been providing data on x-ray pulsars since it
was launched by the Space Shuttle in April 1991.  Compton has observed about 15
of the objects to date.

     Most known x-ray pulsars were discovered by instruments on U.S. rockets
that flew in the 1960s, by U.S. and British experiments aboard spacecraft
during the 1970s and by European, Russian and Japanese experiments aboard
spacecraft during the 1980s.  GRO J1008-57 is the first discovered by a U.S.
spacecraft in more than 15 years.

     Compton is managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of
Space Science, Headquarters, Wash., D.C.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
=--=--=-END-=--=--=

=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_8_4_9_21.TXT

Mars Observer Status 8/3/93

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

                  MARS OBSERVER MISSION STATUS
                         August 3, 1993

     The Mars Observer spacecraft has taken the first photograph of Mars since
the Viking missions of the mid-1970s as it approached the planet at a distance
of about 5.8 million kilometers (3.6 million miles) on Monday, July 26.  The
photograph was taken using the spacecraft's high resolution, narrow-angle
camera, which provides resolution of about 21.5 kilometers (13.4 miles) per
picture element.  The photograph is currently being processed and will be ready
for release within about a week.

     The flight team reports that all spacecraft subsystems and instrument
payload are performing well.

     The spacecraft experienced a brief episode in which it switched to an
automatic contingency mode, a benign, self- protective default mode.  The
switch occurred at approximately 5 p.m.  Pacific Daylight Time on Sunday, Aug.
1, after the spacecraft had successfully completed a sequence of thermal
emission spectrometer calibrations.  While reorienting its position relative to
stars and the sun, the spacecraft performed a larger than expected attitude
correction, precipitating the events which led to loss of inertial reference.
Full recovery to normal cruise mode, called "array normal spin," was completed
by 8 p.m.  PDT on Monday, Aug. 2.

     Contingency mode is one of three built-in safing modes designed to restore
communications with the spacecraft when unknown events occur in space.  In this
instance, the onboard flight software was unable to identify the spacecraft's
position in space in relation to certain stars and the sun.  When that happens,
the spacecraft automatically points at the sun, throwing the high-gain antenna
off target with Earth. Communications are switched to the low-gain antenna,
which operates on lower data rates.  Unnecessary power loads, such as the
science instruments and tape recorders, are temporarily turned off.

     Today Mars Observer is about 4.5 million kilometers (2.8 million miles)
from Mars, traveling at a speed of about 8,640 kilometers per hour (5,400 miles
per hour) relative to Mars. The spacecraft will be captured in orbit around
Mars on Aug. 24, and begin its global mapping mission in mid-December.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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