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Return-path: <ota+space.mail-errors@andrew.cmu.edu> X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 7997;andrew.cmu.edu;Ted Anderson Received: from beak.andrew.cmu.edu via trymail for +dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl@andrew.cmu.edu (->+dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl) (->ota+space.digests) ID </afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr1/ota/Mailbox/4bUMOHK00VcJ82RE44>; Wed, 2 Jan 1991 02:07:00 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <EbUMNj200VcJ82PU5Y@andrew.cmu.edu> Precedence: junk Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Wed, 2 Jan 1991 02:06:24 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #712 SPACE Digest Volume 12 : Issue 712 Today's Topics: NASA Highlights of 1990 (Forwarded) Administrivia: Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to space+@andrew.cmu.edu. Other mail, esp. [un]subscription notices, should be sent to space-request+@andrew.cmu.edu, or, if urgent, to tm2b+@andrew.cmu.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 17 Dec 90 23:59:35 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: NASA Highlights of 1990 (Forwarded) David W. Garrett Headquarters, Washington, D.C. December 17, 1990 (Phone: 202/453-8400) RELEASE: 90-160 NASA HIGHLIGHTS OF 1990 The year 1990 for NASA was filled with major scientific achievements and several disappointments. In April, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) was successfully deployed from the Shuttle Discovery. Several weeks later, the telescope's large mirror was found to have a spherical abberration which would prevent certain visible light observations. However, the HST has begun unprecendented scientific work in spectroscopy, photometry, astrometry and ultraviolet wavelength imaging not possible from the ground. And by using computer image processing, several visible light observations have been made of Orion's nebula and a giant storm on Saturn. The Magellan spacecraft began detailed radar mapping of the planet Venus in August; the European Space Agency's Ulysses spacecraft, launched in October by the Space Shuttle, is on its way to study the poles of the Sun; and the Galileo spacecraft, launched last year, made its first of 2 gravitational assist passes by Earth in its journey to the planet Jupiter. NASA Administrator Richard H. Truly launched an effort to collect the best ideas on how to return to the Moon and go on to Mars. Former astronaut Tom Stafford was named to head the group which will analyze the ideas and report to Truly in February. Despite a stand-down of 5 months due to hydrogen leaks, 6 successful Shuttle missions were flown. Two dedicated Department of Defense paylods, deployment of the SYNCOM IV communications satellite and the Long Duration Exposure Facility retrieval, the Hubble and Ulysses deployments and the Astro-1 astronomy mission comprised the 1990 manifest. In December, the Advisory Committee on the Future of the U.S. Space Program (the Augustine Committee) issued its final report recommending that primary emphasis be placed on science; obtaining exclusions for a portion of NASA's employees from civil service rules; redesigning Space Station Freedom; a mission from planet Earth to complement the mission to planet Earth; and reducing dependence on the Space Shuttle by developing a new unmanned heavy-lift launch vehicle. END GENERAL RELEASE BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOLLOWS OFFICE OF SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS For NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications, 1990 was a very successful year, punctuated by substantial challenges. The space science programs initiated this year, despite some setbacks, will continue to expand and provide scientists with rich returns of data that scientists will be studying well into the next century. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) epitomized 1990's highs and lows before finishing the year on an optimistic note. After years of anticipation, HST was launched aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in April. By orbiting above the Earth's atmosphere which distorts astronomers' observations, Hubble would see more clearly than any other telescope ever had, gathering data on the beginning of the universe. Its very first optical-engineering test returned a valuable science observation, resolving the star cluster 30 Doradus three to four times better than the best ground-based observation. The elation over Hubble was deflated by the discovery in June that the telescope's optical system is affected by a spherical aberration, a misshaping of the primary mirror that prevents the telescope from focusing light to a single, precise point. As a result, the telescope cannot see very faint objects or distinguish faint objects in a crowded field. Dr. Lennard A. Fisk, Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications, appointed a review board chaired by Dr. Lew Allen, former Director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to investigate how the aberration had occurred and why it had not been detected before launch. After 5 months, the Board concluded that a key device used to test the shape of the primary mirror had been assembled incorrectly. As a result, the mirror was improperly ground by 2 to 3 microns (thousandths of a millimeter) at its edge. The Board's report faulted the contractor, Perkin-Elmer (now Hughes Danbury Optical Systems) and NASA for quality-control practices that allowed the error to remain uncorrected. The Board also concluded that mechanisms are in place to prevent similar problems from affecting future systems such as the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility. Spherical aberration notwithstanding, Hubble is proving itself an exemplary observatory, still capable of seeing objects in visible light much more clearly than ground-based telescopes and making extraordinary observations in the ultraviolet wavelengths, which are blocked from the surface by the Earth's atmosphere. The Wide Field/Planetary Camera (WFPC) observed a jet of material streaming away from the Orion Nebula with unprecedented clarity, offering insights into this region of young stars. The Faint Object Camera, built by the European Space Agency, returned the clearest image yet of Pluto, and its moon, Charon. Most dramatically, the WFPC took several hundred pictures as the white spots on Saturn grew into an immense storm that spread around the planet's equator. The discovery of the spherical aberration gave new emphasis to the previously planned HST servicing mission in 1993, when astronauts will replace the WFPC with its backup unit, WFPC-2, which will be modified to compensate for the spherical aberration. Once that is accomplished, NASA astronomers are confident HST will accomplish most of its major scientific objectives. Another NASA astrophysics project, the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), completed its survey of the entire sky in infrared and microwave radiation and made unprecedented measurements of background radiation that support the Big Bang theory of the origin of the Universe. In April, COBE sent back to Earth a clear infrared view of the center of the galaxy, which is usually obscured from view in visible light by interstellar dust. In December, astronomers used three ultraviolet telescopes and the Broad-Band X-Ray Telescope in the ASTRO-1 payload aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia to study the high-energy Universe. They made 394 observations of 135 objects, including Jupiter and its moon Io, a comet, exploding stars, galaxies and quasars. ASTRO-1 also marked the return to flight of the Spacelab payload systems, which last flew in 1985. By the end of the year, NASA's 1989 planetary missions, Magellan and Galileo, were returning data, and the Ulysses spacecraft had been launched toward the Sun. After Magellan's controllers worked through some early technical problems, the spacecraft returned radar images of Venus that showed geological features unlike anything seen on Earth. One area sported what scientists called crater farms; another was covered by a checkered pattern of closely spaced fault lines running at right angles. Most intriguing were indications that Venus still may be geologically active, though much less so than Earth. Scientists hope to map the entire surface of Venus and observe evidence of a volcanic eruption during Magellan's mission, which will continue into 1991. Galileo flew by Venus in February, conducting the first infrared imagery and spectroscopy below the planet's cloud deck. In December, Galileo used the Earth's gravity to pick up speed on its way to its ultimate rendezvous with Jupiter in 1995. In October, the Space Shuttle Discovery launched Ulysses on its mission to study the Sun's polar regions, areas that never had been studied closely. Planetary missions from the past continued to make news in 1990 on their way into deep space. Voyager 1 turned its camera toward the Sun and took a family portrait of six of the nine planets, the first time such a perspective had ever been seen. Pioneer 11 left the solar system for interstellar space, while Pioneer 10 set an unworldly distance record by passing the 50 astronomical-unit milestone, 4.6 billion miles from Earth. NASA explored the space closer to Earth in 1990 as well. July saw the launch of the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES), which uses chemical releases to study the Earth's magnetic fields and the plasmas, or ionized gases, that travel through them. A sounding-rocket campaign in the South Pacific made sub-orbital studies in conjunction with the CRRES satellite. Releases from a similar mission, PEGSAT, were seen in the spring over parts of Northern Canada. The agency also expanded its commitment to study the Earth, receiving approval from Congress to begin the Earth Observing System, a series of satellites that will use the perspective from space to observe the Earth as a global environmental system beginning in 1998. More immediately, NASA scientists analyzed global temperatures from the 1980s to offer insights into potential global warming. Though no net trend could be seen within the last decade, observations indicated that the 1980s were warmer than the 1970s. Ozone depletion studies, an ongoing program within NASA, showed that the 1990 ozone hole over Antarctica opened as rapidly and covered as wide an area as the record 1987 hole. Papers stemming from a 1989 airborne expedition co-sponsored by NASA showed that local areas of ozone depletion also had been observed over the Arctic. In October, the Space Shuttle flew the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet instrument used to calibrate other ozone-detection instruments. To continue global ozone monitoring through the end of the decade, NASA agreed with the Soviet Union to place a Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer aboard a Soviet Meteor satellite in 1991. U.S.-Soviet cooperation extended into the life sciences as well as the two nations exchanged biomedical data from 1989 space flights at a September meeting. In addition, specialists from both countries began to analyze data obtained from short- and long-duration missions dealing with bone, muscle and cardiovascular physiology. Space science research extended into other areas as well. Space Shuttle middeck payloads included experiments to investigate how protein crystals and how flames spread in the absence of the Earth's gravity. NASA aircraft took measurements that ultimately will be used to build instruments to study global winds and tropical rainfall and studied the chemistry of the lower atmosphere over Canada. Balloon flights observed atmospheric processes and tested balloon designs. In all, NASA conducted approximately 30 suborbital rocket flights and 25 balloon flights in support of space science. OFFICE OF SPACE FLIGHT Space Station A 1991 fiscal year budget shortfall of more than $550 million, along with a Congressional mandate to significantly reduce out-year spending, prompted NASA to begin a 3-month assessment of the Space Station Freedom program. This action will be worked within the existing program structure. "We will conduct a 3-month assessment to determine what deletions or deferrals in content and what adjustments in schedule will be necessary," said Richard H. Kohrs, Director, Space Station Freedom. Recommendations on the restructuring of the Freedom program are planned to be forwarded to Space Flight Associate Administrator Dr. William B. Lenoir and NASA Administrator Richard H. Truly about the end of January. Ground rules given to the program to aid in this assessment were developed from Congressional language in NASA's FY 1991 Appropriations Bill. Congress told NASA to expect no more than 8 to 10 percent growth over the next 5 years (FY 1992-1996), with peak spending for Freedom not to exceed $2.5-2.6 billion. The budgetary ground rules, including the cut for FY 1991, represent a $5.7 billion shortfall from what NASA had planned to spend for Freedom over that same time period. Other ground rules to be followed in conducting the restructuring include: developing a phased approach with quasi- independent phases; protect life and materials science; maintain international capability; limit assembly flights to no more than four annually; and achieve first element launch, man-tended capability and permanently manned capability as early as possible. At least one option will be developed which holds first element launch at its current date of March 1995. The Freedom program is on track to complete a major milestone in 1990, the Integrated System Preliminary Design Review. The review is the culmination of the preliminary design reviews completed by all the NASA centers and their prime contractors with responsibility for Freedom hardware. In all, over 80 separate design reviews were conducted over the course of the year focusing on a review of the preliminary design of nearly every major component, subsystem and system which together comprise the space station -- from Freedom's laboratory module to its data management system to the photovoltaic arrays which furnish power to the station. The integrated systems preliminary design review is a comprehensive review of Freedom's preliminary design. Program officials review the design to make sure it meets requirements for safety and operational adequacy, physical and functional relationship and that the design can be built, integrated and successfully checked out. While the restructuring will have an impact on the design, program officials expect to use the results of the integrated systems preliminary design review as a baseline for design changes. "We do not want to walk away from the time and resources invested in this program to date," said Kohrs, "and I expect we will be able to use the configuration that comes out of this review as a solid baseline to work from during the restructuring study." The Freedom program came to grips with several major resource issues in 1990, including the successful reduction of weight and power increases that surfaced from the various preliminary design reviews. Preliminary figures for Freedom's weight as of June 1990 were 143,000 pounds higher than the allocated limit of 512,000 pounds for the total space station, and housekeeping power exceeded the maximum 45 kw available by nearly 15 kw. An intensive summer-long resources scrub reduced weight estimates by 130,000 pounds and reduced the housekeeping power by 13 kw. Users will receive 30 kw of power to conduct their experiments. Another issue resolved during FY 1990 was the extra vehicular activity maintenance estimates to repair, replace and maintain Freedom's external hardware. A detailed 7-month long assessment by Johnson Space Center's Dr. William F. Fisher and Charles R. Price, co-chairman of the External Maintenance Task Team, showed that external maintenance would total about 3200 hours of EVA if nothing were done to change current plans. However, they estimated that annual EVA hours could be brought down to a manageable 500 hours if NASA followed their recommendations. A "Solutions Team" headed by JSC's William E. Simon arrived at similar conclusions, indicating annual EVA man- hours per year could be reduced from about 3500 hours to about 485 hours annually by implementing their solutions. Management of the polar platform was transferred to the Office of Space Science and Applications in 1990. OSSA has responsibility for the Earth Observing System, and the space station platform was to be the first in a series of polar- orbiting spacecraft to be developed for the EOS program. The move was accomplished to put the development and operation of the platform closer to the scientists who would use it. Also in 1990, a new Chief Scientist was named for the Freedom program, Dr. William W. L. Taylor, of TRW. Taylor serves as the principal advocate for the space science community in the space station program. Space Shuttle 1991 proved to be a year filled with significant accomplishments for the Space Shuttle with six successful missions being flown, an unexpected challenge as a troublesome hydrogen leak temporarily grounded the orbiters Columbia and Atlantis and a major milestone for the new Space Shuttle Endeavour as it was powered on for the first time. Current capabilities of the Shuttle system were expanded during the year with two extended duration missions flown by Shuttle Columbia on missions STS-32 in January and STS-35 in December. The STS-32 mission set a new record as the longest Shuttle mission ever flown with 261 hours logged. The Shuttle Discovery carried two long awaited payloads into orbit on missions STS-31 in April which deployed the Hubble Space Telescope and STS-41 in October which deployed the Ulysses spacecraft. Atlantis also made two flights during the year for the Department of Defense on missions STS-36 in February and STS- 38 in November. Shuttle launches were interrupted for 5 months after hydrogen leaks were detected on Columbia and Atlantis during external tank loading operations. The problem on Atlantis was isolated to the seals associated with the 17-inch disconnect area. After replacing the disconnect, Atlantis passed a tanking test and returned to flight in November. Shuttle Columbia also suffered from a leak in the 17-inch disconnect area which was replaced, but a separate leak in the main propulsion system remained elusive. A special leak team headed by Robert Schwinghammer of MSFC isolated the problem to a seal in a prevalve of the main propulsion system which had been damaged during installation after Columiba's January mission. A tanking test on Oct. 30 verified that all problems with Columbia had been resolved and the final Shuttle mission of 1990 was flown by Columbia, Dec. 2-10. With a NASA eye to the future of the Space Shuttle system, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, Colo., and Global Outpost, Inc., Alexandria, Va., signed agreements with NASA to explore the feasibility of using Shuttle external tanks as research, storage or manufacturing facilities in low-Earth orbit. On May 11, the Marshall Space Flight Center awarded a 5 year contract to Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. for the design development, test and evaluation of the Space Shuttle Advanced Solid Rocket Motor. NASA and Rockwell International signed a memorandum of agreement in April for a cryogenic pallet which will allow Shuttle missions of up to 16 days in duration. In late July, tests of a drag chute system to improve the landing capabilities of the Space Shuttle began at Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility. There were many changes in the astronaut corps in 1991. In what will become standard biennial selections, 23 new astronauts candidates, including the first woman to be named as a pilot candidate and the first Hispanic woman to be chosen, were named and reported for training at Johnson Space Center in July. Five veteran astronauts, Bruce McCandless (STS 41-B, STS-31), Michael J. McCulley (STS-34), Donald E. Williams (STS 51-D, STS-34), Richard M. Mullane (STS 41-D, STS-27) and Robert C. Springer (STS-29, STS-38) retired from the agency. o March 27: An agreement was signed with General Dynamics to provide Atlas IIAS launch services for the 1995 joint NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory mission. o May 9: Scout/Multiple Access Communications Satellite was launched for DoD. o May 11: Contract awarded to Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. for design, development, test and evaluation of the Space Shuttle Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM). A companion contract was awarded to Lockheed on May 25 for the design and construction of ASRM facilities. o June 1: Delta II launched the joint NASA/Germany Roentgen Satellite. o June 7: NASA announced termination of its Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle program. o June 13: The Board of Governors of Intelsat approved a Space Shuttle rescue mission for the stranded INTELSAT VI satellite. o July 3: Umbrella agreement signed with Orbital Sciences Corporation in support of the company's Pegasus and Taurus commercial launch vehicle programs. o July 25: Atlas I (Atlas/Centaur-69) launched the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite. o Aug. 22: A government/industry board selected the type of rocket engine which will be designed to power the NASA/USAF Advanced Launch System. OFFICE OF COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS NASA initiated a new method of outreach to American business by sponsoring "Technology 2000," the first industrial exposition and conference to showcase the transfer of NASA technology to the private sector. Aimed primarily at non-aerospace business, Technology 2000 attracted more than 2,400 people and featured presentations by NASA and industry leaders who addressed prior and potential spinoffs of the agency's research. To support its increasing commercial payload flight requirements, OCP is sponsoring the development of the Commercial Experiment Transporter (COMET), a system for launching and recovering commercial spaceborne experiments. Carried aloft by an expendable launch vehicle, the COMET free-flyer will contain both a service module and a recovery system. The two components will separate prior to reentering the atmosphere so that others not requiring retrieval, can continue their mission aboard the service module. Current plans call for a mid-1991 launch of the new system into an equatorial orbit. Additionally, to expand private sector experiment capability aboard the Space Shuttle, NASA awarded a contract to Spacehab, Inc., Washington, D.C., for a Commercial Middeck Augmentation Module. This commercially-developed and owned module will ride in the Shuttle cargo bay, be accessible through the airlock and will add the volume equivalent of about 50 middeck lockers to the orbiters' capacity. Commercial space flight activity in 1990 included six middeck experiments carried on the Space Shuttle, as well as the launch of Consort 3 aboard a Starfire sounding rocket from White Sands Missile Range, N.M., on May 16. The half-ton Consort payload was carried to an altitude of 200 miles and provided approximately 7 minutes of microgravity for 12 experiments developed by a consortium of NASA Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS). The flight was the third in the continuing sounding rocket program managed by the Consortium for Materials Development in Space, a CCDS located at the University of Alabama-Huntsville. Commercial experiments flown aboard the Shuttle in 1990 include: o Protein crystal Growth (PCG), an experiment package provided by the NASA-sponsored Center for Macromolecular Crystallography (CMC) located at the University of Alabama- Birmingham, carried aboard STS-32 in January. o Fluids Experiment Apparatus (FEA), a modular, microgravity chemistry and physics laboratory, flown on STS-32 under a NASA- Rockwell International Corp. joint endeavor in the field of floating zone crystal growth and purification research. The FEA included a Microgravity Disturbances Experiment designed to quantify how orbiter and crew-induced disturbances affect sensitive microgravity experiments. o The PCG payload was flown again on STS-31 in April for CMC. Researchers reported that this flight experiment resulted in more high-quality crystals, including some of the largest ever grown. o The STS-31 mission also carried the Investigations into Polymer Membrane Processing (IPMP) developed by the Battelle Advanced Materials Center, Columbus, Ohio. Polymer membranes are used in the separations industry for desalination, filtering drugs and serums, atmospheric purification, electrolyses and dialysis. Post-flight analysis revealed major structural differences from ground-processed membranes. o Physiological Systems Experiment on STS-41 in October, flown for the Center for Cell Research at Pennsylvania State University and its industry affiliate, Genentech, Inc., to investigate whether microgravity-induced conditions mimick medical problems on Earth. o Also carried aboard the STS-41 mission was the second flight of the Battelle IPMP experiment to study polymer membrane casting in a convection-free environment. Other key commercial program activities included: o Establishment of a Space Commerce Steering Group composed of senior NASA officials. This group, chaired by NASA Deputy Administrator James R. Thompson Jr., will provide a high-level overview of commercial applications of space technology. o An agreement between NASA and Orbital Sciences Corp., Fairfax, Va., in support of the firm's Pegasus and Taurus commercial launch vehicle programs, through which NASA will provide, on a cost-reimbursable basis, access to agency launch support property and services. o A memorandum of understanding between NASA and the Technical and Administrative Services Corps., Washington, D.C., which provides a forum for the exchange of research information associated with closed environment systems related to food production both on Earth and in space. o The Small Business Innovation Research Division awarded 280 Phase 1 and 84 Phase 2 contracts to small, high technology firms. Additional Phase 2 awards, to be made in early 1991, are expected to bring the total number of selections to more than 120. SPACE EXPLORATION NASA made significant advances this year in organizing and developing an approach to carry out President Bush's Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) to return to the Moon permanently and send humans to explore Mars. In February, NASA Administrator Richard H. Truly announced the merger of the Office of Exploration, which laid the foundation for the SEI, with NASA's Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology to form the Office of Aeronautics, Exploration and Technology. Reconfirming Administration support for the SEI, the White House issued two policy statements. The first named NASA as the principal implementing agency, with the Departments of Defense and Energy playing major roles in technology development and concept definition, and the National Space Council coordinating implementation strategy. The second dealt with an exploratory dialogue on international participation in SEI. This dialogue, with Europe, Japan, Canada, the Soviet Union and others, is expected to occur in 1991. In May, President Bush announced a goal to land humans on Mars no later than 2019. Shortly after that, Truly announced that NASA will launch an SEI Outreach effort to collect new and innovative concepts and technologies from across the nation to carry out SEI. Truly appointed a committee, known as the Synthesis Group and headed by Lt. Gen. Tom Stafford, USAF, (Ret.), to analyze the ideas submitted from academia, industry and government sources. The group will synthesize inputs from the outreach program into several significantly different architectures and will identify promising technologies to be pursued and near-term milestones, as well. It will report to Administrator Truly in late February or early March 1991. Meanwhile, NASA and the Department of Energy signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on SEI. At year's end, discussions on cooperative SEI agreements between NASA and the Department of Defense and the National Science Foundation were nearing completion. AERONAUTICS AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY Aeronautics NASA aeronautics celebrated 75 years of excellence in 1990. It was on March 3, 1915 that Congress created the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) with an appropriation of just $5,000. From that modest beginning, the NACA grew into the world's premier aeronautics research organization, pushing back the frontiers of flight for more than 4 decades. When NASA was established in October 1958, NACA centers and personnel formed the nucleus of the fledgling aerospace agency. NASA remained true to its NACA heritage during the past year, conducting a broad range of fundamental and applied aeronautical research programs. High-speed civil transport studies commissioned by NASA have led to a focused High-Speed Research Program that emphasizes the environmental compatibility of a next-generation supersonic transport. The preliminary results of emissions research show promise that acceptable emission levels can be achieved. Similarly, research indicates that compliance with noise reduction standards is possible. NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., the U.S. Air Force and Boeing Commercial Aircraft Group, Seattle, jointly flight tested a "hybrid" laminar (smooth) air flow control system on a Boeing 757 airliner from March through August. The plane mounted a porous experimental section on the leading edge of the left wing, followed by a run of natural laminar airflow. The results -- laminar flow was achieved over the forward 65 percent of the wing surface -- could lead to significantly reduced fuel consumption and lower operating costs for future U.S. subsonic transports. Ames-Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., completed military utility evaluations of the X-29 research aircraft in high angle-of-attack flight at speeds up to 0.6 times the speed of sound. Researchers discovered that small variations in key aerodynamic parameters can yield significant variations in total aircraft characteristics at high flight-angles-of-attack. The result was that the X-29 had better flying qualities than expected, allowing the design of flight control system software overlays to improve roll performance. Predictions show that roll performance near maximum lift may be much better than current fighter aircraft. In a joint program with the U.S. Air Force, the Ames-Dryden facility successfully demonstrated a self-repairing flight control system concept using NASA's F-15 Highly Integrated Digital Electronic Control aircraft. The system concept included real-time reconfiguration of flight control surfaces, fault detection and isolation, positive pilot alert and maintenance diagnostics to facilitate repairs. If fully developed, the system could greatly increase the ability of aircraft to survive battle damage and enhance safety during training missions. X-30 National Aero-Space Plane The X-30 National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) program, a joint NASA/Department of Defense effort, reached a milestone in May when the five primary NASP contractors formally merged into a single national contractor team. Combining the technical expertise and top ideas of the contractors -- Rockwell International, McDonnell Douglas, General Dynamics, Pratt & Whitney and Rocketdyne -- has produced a strong team that now uses all the best ideas from industry. The NASP program took another "giant leap" at the end of October when a new configuration for the X-30 NASP flight research vehicle was unveiled. The latest concept, a twin-tailed lifting-body shape, is a blend of design concepts from the contractor team. In addition, the technical progress of the program continued with major advances in scramjet engine testing and large-scale structural components. Space Technology After nearly 6 years in Earth orbit, the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was brought home by the crew of STS-32 in January. LDEF's 57 science and technology experiments are providing a bonanza of information about the effects of long-term exposure to the harsh environment of space -- knowledge that will be invaluable to the design of tomorrow's space vehicles. Two prototype planetary robots made their debut during the year. "Ambler" is a six-legged, 12-foot-tall testbed developed for NASA by Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. It will test technology for robots that may literally walk through rough terrain on the Moon and Mars. "Robby," a more conventional six- wheeled articulated vehicle, was designed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Both robots are equipped with experimental computerized navigation systems that let them travel autonomously according to preprogrammed general instructions. In April, NASA dedicated the Human Performance Research Laboratory (HPRL) at Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif. HPRL is the nation's first facility dedicated to studying the role of people in advanced aviation situations and long- duration space travel. The lab also will research the relationships between humans and computers in its Automation Sciences Research Facility, now under construction. NASA announced in November that it has joined the Concurrent Supercomputing Consortium, a newly-formed group of research organizations that will tackle some of today's most demanding computational challenges. As a benefit of the agency's membership, NASA researchers will have access to the world's fastest supercomputer, the Touchstone DELTA system, when it becomes operational at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif., next spring. Langley Research Center and Honeywell's Space Systems Group, Clearwater, Fla., conducted joint flight tests of an automated landing system in October and November. NASA's Boeing 737 research aircraft made 36 landings using a Honeywell integrated differential navigation system linked to the Global Positioning System constellation of Earth-orbiting satellites. The test data will be useful in designing auto-landing equipment for future spacecraft and will help researchers assess how to reduce risk in automated touchdowns. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Highlights of NASA's international cooperative activities in 1990 included the launch of three international missions: o In October 1990, the European Space Agency's Ulysses spacecraft was successfully launched from the Space Shuttle. Ulysses is a joint NASA/ESA program to study the poles of the Sun and interplanetary space above and below the poles. ESA developed the spacecraft, its ground control computer system and a number of the scientific instruments. NASA provided the upper stages, radioisotopic thermoelectric generator, a part of the science instrument payload, Space Shuttle launch and tracking and data acquisition. o NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, also a cooperative program, was successfully launched from the Space Shuttle in April 1990. ESA provided the Faint Object Camera and the Solar Arrays. In return for their contributions, ESA will receive l5 percent of the HST's viewing time. o In June, Roentgen Satellite, a German X-ray spacecraft, was successfully launched aboard a McDonnell Douglas Delta II expendable launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The spacecraft is a NASA/German Space Agency cooperative program which will provide a detailed survey of the X-ray sources across the sky, followed by studies of some l,000 of the anticipated 50,000 to l00,000 sources that will be detected. Additional international cooperative activities during the year included initiatives in a number of areas of civil space: o NASA has invited Japan, Canada and Europe to provide two mission specialist astronaut candidates to join the July 1992 astronaut training class. It is NASA's intention to offer Space Shuttle flight assignments to one or both of each countries' mission specialist candidates in the years following the successful completion of the training program. o The Italian Tethered Satellite arrived at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in November, for final testing and preparation for launch on STS-46 in early 1992, accompanied by an Italian payload specialist. Two Italian candidates are in training. o Cooperation with the Soviet Union continued to progress under the U.S./USSR joint working groups (JWG) on space biology and medicine; solar system exploration; space astronomy and astrophysics; solar-terrestrial physics and Earth sciences. Key activities included: o NASA and its Soviet counterpart signed an agreement on July 25, 1990, to fly NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer on a Soviet Meteor-3 spacecraft in 1991. The objective of this project is to continue the availability of global ozone data to assess important environmental phenomena such as the Antarctic ozone hole. o In March, NASA agreed to participate in the Soviet Academy of Sciences' radio telescope project, RADIOASTRON, a 3-4 year mission set for launch in the mid-1990s. The RADIOASTRON mission will explore fundamental astrophysical phenomena, including active galaxies and quasars, neutron stars and black holes. NASA will provide precision tracking and the loan of data recorders to support the large Soviet orbiting radio telescope. o U.S./USSR officials continued discussions on flying the U.S. X-ray All Sky Monitor and an X-Ray Polarimeter on the Soviet Spectrum-X-Gamma high energy astrophysics mission in 1993/1994. Planning also continued on NASA flying a Soviet gamma-ray burst instrument, Konus, on the U.S. spacecraft, scheduled for launch in 1992. o In November, NASA participated with ESA, the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan and the Intercomsmos Council of the Soviet Academy of Sciences in meetings of the Inter-Agency Consultative Group for Space Science. The group coordinates more than a dozen space missions in the field of space physics planned by these agencies. o In July, NASA hosted an International Spacecraft Rendezvous and Docking Conference at the Johnson Space Center. The conference included participation by representatives from the U.S. (NASA), Japan (NASDA), Canada (CSA), and Europe (ESA). The purpose of the conference was to identify standards for design and/or operational practices necessary to accommodate or enable cooperative and/or joint operations in space. o During the summer of 1990, NASA and Environment Canada together with members of the Canadian Institute for Research in Atmospheric Chemistry, conducted a major joint NASA/Canada atmospheric mission. This project, entitled Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiment-3, was a part of NASA's Global Tropospheric Experiment, a major scientific initiative established to study the underlying science of man's impact on the chemistry and dynamics of the global troposphere. OFFICE OF SPACE OPERATIONS The Office of Space Operations (OSO) provided tracking, communications and data acquisition for three major science missions: the Magellan on its mission to map the surface of Venus; Ulysses, a mission to the sun and the Hubble Space Telescope. OSO also provided coverage for six Space Shuttle flights; the Galileo spacecraft's Earth flyby on its journey to Jupiter and Titan; the Voyagers and Pioneers spacecraft as they leave the solar sytem; atmospheric research activities; and Earth-orbiting spacecraft monitoring weather and other environmental phenomenon. The fifth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite has essentially been completed and will be ready for launch on a Space Shuttle flight in 1991. The Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (ATDRSS) Phase B study contracts were awarded. Participating companies are to demonstrate their ability and capacity to design, manage, integrate and test large, modern communications spacecraft and associated ground facility modifications. The ATDRSS will ensure the essential continuation of the space network through the year 20l2. Officials of the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., and Contel Federal Systems, Chantilly, Va., signed an agreement transferring the title of the TDRSS to NASA effective July l, 1990. Under the agreement, Contel transferred ownership of the space communication system 42 months earlier than called for under the original 1976 contract. OFFICE OF SAFETY AND MISSION QUALITY The Government Accounting Office reviewed the Office of Safety and Mission Quality (SMQ) and concluded that the office is working well in providing independent oversight, review, assessment and policy development . One specific recommendation addressed in the report was to modify the processes and procedures for formulating the SMQ budget to ensure that SMQ activities are funded independently of the programs and activities they are responsible for overseeing. The Associate Administrator for SMQ is evaluating the recommendation. The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel presented its annual report to the NASA Administrator. The report covered February 1989 through January 1990, providing findings, recommendations and supporting material regarding the Shuttle, Space Station Freedom, aeronautics and other NASA activities. Overall the report concluded that NASA's management organization is reasonably well defined, communications effective and launch procedures controlled and disciplined. SMQ made a significant contribution to the successful launch of the Ulysses spacecraft and contingency planning of the Galileo spacecraft flyby. In addition to overall safety planning, the office was responsible for conducting independent reviews and evaluations of risks posed by the use of onboard nuclear power systems. Other activities included developing and coordinating radiological dispersion models, coordinating SMQ approval of contingency plans and safety procedures for all agencies and individuals involved and coordinating and conducting emergency simulations to ensure readiness in the event of a radiological accident. Over 700 government, academic and contractor personnel, representing over 300 organizations, attended the Seventh Annual NASA/Contractors Conference held in Grenelefe, Fla. The conference provided a forum for senior NASA and aerospace management to exchange information and experiences on Total Quality Management and the continuous improvement process. NASA Administrator Richard H. Truly announced at the Seventh Annual NASA/Contractors Conference that the NASA Excellence Award would be renamed the George M. Low Trophy: NASA's Quality and Excellence Award. Truly said that "George Low represented quality and excellence like few others and was involved in every success the American space program had". Low was manager of the Apollo spacecraft program and later was Deputy Administrator of NASA from 1969 to 1976. Rockwell International, Space Systems Division, Downey Calif., and Marotta Scientific Controls, Inc., Montville, N.J., two of nine finalists selected in May, were named recipients of the 1990 George M. Low Trophy. Marotta was the first recipient of the award in the newly established small business category. The award recognizes NASA prime contractors, subcontractors and suppliers for outstanding achievement in quality and productivity improvement and Total Quality Management. The Johnson Space Center was chosen as one of three Quality Improvement Prototypes, a distinction that will make it a model for quality improvement efforts at other NASA centers and an example to all federal agencies. The NASA Trend Analysis Working Group held a special session for various government and industry representatives explaining the NASA trend analysis program. Created in response to recommendations of the Rogers Commission Report, the group ensures that all significant problems and trends that either affect flight hardware and/or systems are quickly identified and communicated to the proper level. EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS NASA adopted the National Education Goals set by the President and the Governors as fundamental guidelines for developing and conducting education programs. As a result, a complementary 10-year plan is being developed. In May, NASA and DOE announced a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on education programs to help improve the nation's science, engineering and math programs. Astronauts presented the first live lesson from space on Dec. 7 during the STS-35, Astro-1 mission. "Space Classroom, Assignment: The Stars," focused on the electromagnetic spectrum and its relationship to the high-energy astronomy mission. The 30-minute science lesson was conducted by orbiting Payload Specialist Sam Durrance and Mission Specialist Jeff Hoffman. Following the crew presentation, Karen Weidenhofer, a teacher, conducted a 1-hour follow-up lecture. The lesson concluded with orbiting Mission Specialist Bob Parker and Payload Specialist Ron Parise answering questions from 12 students in a classroom at Marshall Space Flight Center and 28 students in a control room at Goddard Space Flight Center. An edited version of the lesson and accompanying teachers guide will be distributed nationally. Over 4 million budding student scientists planted gardens during the spring semester to experiment with tomato seeds flown in space. Students grew and monitored space-exposed seeds and Earth-based seeds, searching for differences caused by long-term effects of exposure to radiation. The Space Exposed Experiment Developed for Students (SEEDS), was one of 57 experiments housed on the LDEF satellite. NASA distributed over 132,000 kits to approximately 64,000 teachers. Results will be compiled, analyzed and published during the Spring 1991. Last year 21 Designated Space Grant Colleges/Consortia were selected initiating NASA's National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. In an effort to expand the program, Phase II was announced in May 1990 offering institutions in the remaining 29 states and the District of Columbia an opportunity to compete for Program Grants or Capability Enhancement Grants. Grantees will be announced in early 1991. In a new education initiative, the Teacher Training Pre- Service Program, research grants were awarded to two universities to develop teacher training courses that will enable teachers to incorporate aerospace topics and concepts into their classrooms and to create new and imaginative practices in learning. In March, NASA debuted the first of what it hopes will become a small fleet of tractor-trailer mounted mobile teacher resource centers that will travel the nation providing lesson materials to teachers who could not otherwise travel to a NASA field center. The mobile center is part of a larger education initiative, project LASER (Learning About Science, Engineering and Research). The LASER van is outfitted with six work stations each equipped with a computer providing acess to "NASA Spacelink," and electronic information system with a broad range of information and educational materials and a videotape recorder and monitoring system for copying NASA educational videotapes. Teachers also can photocopy and duplicate lesson plans, activities and slides. A student experiment, selected under the Space Shuttle Student Involvement Program, flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in April 1990. On STS-31, student investigator Greg Peterson, Brigham City, Utah, flew an experiment designed to study the effects of weightlessness on electrical arcs. In its 10th year, the Space Science Student Involvement Program selected eight national winners in the Space Station category. Top honors, plus a $2,500 scholarship, went to Catherine Cusimano, Landsdale, Pa., and to Jihyun Oh, Lenexa, Kan. Also honored were national winners in the Space Station, Student Newpaper advertisement, Newspaper Feature and Moon Base competitions. The Aerospace Education Services Project continues to be one of NASA's most popular education programs. During 1990, over 1.3 million students and 20,500 teachers were reached through school visits, classroom lectures and teacher workshops. During the summer, educators spent 2 weeks at one of NASA's nine field centers learning the latest in aerospace science and working with educational specialists to fit materials into a classroom curriculum. There were 115 elementary school teachers participating in NASA's Educational Workshop for Elementary School Teachers and 100 teachers participating in NASA's Educational Workshops for High School Math and Science Teachers. Over 120,000 educators in the 50 states and parts of Canada tuned in for NASA's satellite video conferences for educators. NASA projects covered in the live, interactive program this year included the Mission to Planet Earth program, Astro-1 mission, SEEDS and Robotics in Space. Over $10 million was awarded to 523 students at approximately 150 universities for advanced study in engineering and space, physical, life and environmental sciences under NASA's Graduate Student Researcher's Program, including the Under- represented Minority Focus component. Continuing its efforts to encourage the next generation of scientists and engineers, NASA selected 37 graduate students at U.S. universities to take part in the new Global Change Fellowship Program. Students will conduct research in atmospheric physics and chemistry, biogeochemistry, ecosystems, hydrology and oceanography, receiving $22,000 beginning in the 1990-91 academic year. FY 1991 NASA APPROPRIATIONS The VA-HUD-Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 1991 was signed Nov. 5. NASA's funding was set at $13,868.3 billion, a 13 percent increase over 1990, but $1.257 billion less than the President's request of $15,125.2 billion. NASA's request was designed to fund a start-up of the Space Exploration Initiative, begin hardware development of Space Station Freedom, continue research and development on projects such as the Earth Observing System and the National Aerospace Plane while proceeding with on-going and planned space science missions and Shuttle operations. As Congress considered NASA's budget request, several issues emerged which had an impact on the final outcome. Most important of these were the Administration/Congressional Budget Summit negotiations aimed at cutting the federal budget deficit. At the same time, oversight committees in both the House and Senate were questioning NASA's management of large-scale projects in hearings on problems such as the Hubble Space Telescope's spherical aberration, the Shuttle hydrogen leaks and maintenance requirements for the Freedon Sspace Station. On Oct. 16, House-Senate appropriation conferees reached an agreement which included $1.9 billion for SSF, $551 million less than requested, and deleted funding for SEI. Additionally, NASA was directed to submit plans for a redesigned space station and advised to expect growth of no more than 10 per cent over the next 5 years. The bill was passed by the Senate on Oct. 25 and by the House the following day. ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V12 #712 *******************