Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/STSKITS/STS_52.NWS

Text File | 1992-09-18 | 35KB | 780 lines

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STS-52 GENERAL RELEASE


RELEASE:  92-153                              October 1992


COLUMBIA TO DEPLOY LAGEOS-II, SERVE AS TECHNOLOGY TESTBED

    Shuttle flight STS-52 will be an ambitious mission, demonstrating the
versatility of orbiter Columbia as a satellite launcher, science platform and
technology testbed.  Launch is planned for Oct. 15 from the Kennedy Space
Center, Fla. The 9-day, 20-hour and 54-minute mission is scheduled to land on
Oct. 25 at the Kennedy center.

    A crew of six and 11 major payloads will be aboard Columbia's 13th mission,
the 51st Space Shuttle flight.  Mission Commander is James Wetherbee with
Michael Baker the Pilot. Mission specialists are Charles Lacy Veach, William
Shepherd and Tamara Jernigan. Steve MacLean is the Payload Specialist and the
third Canadian citizen to fly aboard the Shuttle.

LAGEOS 2 - Small Satellite, Big Results

    Columbia will eject the LAGEOS-II satellite from the cargo bay on the
second mission day.  Built by the Italian Space Agency using NASA blueprints,
this small, 900-pound satellite will help geologists fill in important details
about the Earth. The first LAGEOS was launched in 1976.  Adding a second
spacecraft will enable researchers to gather twice the data.

    "The satellite may be small, but the data returned is big time science,"
says Program Scientist Dr. Miriam Baltuck. This information will be
particularly useful for monitoring regional fault movement in earthquake-prone
areas.

    Baltuck said geologists use this information to monitor the extremely slow
movements of the Earth's crustal plates, to measure and understand the "wobble"
in the Earth's axis of rotation, collect information on the Earth's size and
shape and more accurately determine the length of the day.

    Baltuck explained that ground-based researchers from 30 countries will
participate in collecting and analysing the data received from the satellite .
The researchers will bounce laser beams off the mirror-covered spacecraft and
log how long it takes the beams to make the round-trip voyage.

    "We know the speed that light travels," said Baltuck. "So by plugging that
into our formula, we can measure precisely the distances between stations on
the Earth and the satellite."

USMP Makes Debut

    A major new materials processing payload makes its debut on STS-52 -- the
first United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-1).  The payload consists of
three experiments mounted on a new carrier, derived from the previously flown
Materials Science Lab, in Columbia's cargo bay.

    "This is an excellent use of the Shuttle to perform microgravity
experiments that are primarily operated remotely from the ground," said Program
Manager David Jarrett. This type of remote operations will help prepare the
science community for Space Station Freedom prior to its permanently manned
operational phase.

    Experiments on USMP-1 will explore using the unique space environment to do
research that is not possible on Earth. The science, while basic in nature,
could impact applications on Earth in areas such as computer memory, metals and
semiconductors.  Another experiment will measure the Shuttle's vibrations,
information critical to scientists understanding the current experiments and
planning future experiments.

Canada Provides Variety of Experiments

    Canadian Payload Specialist MacLean will perform a bevy of experiments
called CANEX-2. Many of these experiments are extensions of work carried out by
Dr. Marc Garneau as part of the CANEX group of experiments that flew in 1984.

    CANEX-2 is actually 10 separate investigations.  Results from CANEX-2 have
potential applications in machine vision systems for use with robotic equipment
in space and in environments such as mines and nuclear reactors.  Other
potential applications relate to the manufacturing of goods, the development of
new protective coatings for spacecraft materials, improvements in materials
processing, and a better understanding of Earth's stratosphere which contains
the protective ozone layer.

    Greater knowledge of human adaptation to microgravity is another objective
of the CANEX-2 payload.  MacLean will conduct experiments on back pain, body
water changes and the effect of weightlessness on the vestibular system.

Columbia, An Orbiting Testbed

    Columbia will be turned into an orbiting test-bed for other STS-52
experiments.  One, called the Attitude Sensor Package built by the European
Space Agency, will gather information on the performance and accuracy of new
sensors.  Space is the best place to test these sensors.  The data returned
could be used in the design of sensors for future spacecraft.

    Other space technology experiments will examine how very cold liquids
behave in space, the use of heat pipe technology for temperature control, and
the effects of atomic oxygen on different materials -- technologies that may
have important contributions to the design of future spacecraft.

Commercial Office Payloads

    Major payloads, sponsored by NASA's Commercial Programs Office, will
examine a compound for possible use in combating diseases which involve loss of
bone mass; thin-film membrane research which has potential application in the
biotechnology and pollution control field; and a new facility for growing
semiconductor crystals which permits interaction from the crew to achieve
optimum growth.

    A commercial protein crystal growth facility will fly on STS-52. Scientists
hope the new facility will result in more crystals that are better ordered,
larger and more uniform in size than their ground-based counterparts.

    With the exception of the Canadian Payload Specialist, there are no
"rookie" astronauts on this flight.  STS-52 will mark Wetherbee's second
Shuttle flight.  He was the Pilot on the STS-32 Columbia mission.  Baker also
will be making his second flight, but his first as a Pilot. Baker was a mission
specialist on STS-43.

    Veach, Shepherd and Jernigan are Shuttle veterans.  Veach previously flew
on STS-39, and Shepherd has two previous flights, STS-27 and -41.  Jernigan
last flew on STS-40, a Columbia mission devoted to life sciences research.

    MacLean is one of six Canadian astronauts selected in December 1983.  In
addition to his CANEX-2 duties, he is the Program Manager for the Advanced
Space Vision System experiment.

                   -end of general release-


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STS-52 MEDIA SERVICES INFORMATION


NASA Select Television Transmission

    NASA Select television is available on Satcom F-2R, Transponder 13, located
at 72 degrees west longitude; frequency 3960.0 MHz, audio 6.8 MHz.

    The schedule for television transmissions from the orbiter and for mission
briefings will be available during the mission at Kennedy Space Center, Fla;
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.; Ames-Dryden Flight Research
Facility, Edwards, Calif.; Johnson Space Center, Houston and NASA Headquarters,
Washington, D.C. The television schedule will be updated to reflect changes
dictated by mission operations.

    Television schedules also may be obtained by calling COMSTOR 713/483-5817.
COMSTOR is a computer data base service requiring the use of a telephone modem.
A voice recording of the television schedule is updated daily at noon Eastern
time.

Status Reports

    Status reports on countdown and mission progress, on- orbit activities and
landing operations will be produced by the appropriate NASA newscenter.

Briefings

    A mission press briefing schedule will be issued prior to launch.  During
the mission, change-of-shift briefings by a flight director and the science
team will occur at least once per day.  The updated NASA Select television
schedule will indicate when mission briefings are planned.





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STS-52 QUICK LOOK

Launch Date and Site:            Oct. 15, 1992
                      Kennedy Space Center, Fla. -- Pad 39B

Launch Window:                   11:10 a.m. EDT (1510 GMT) to
                                 1:37 p.m. EDT (1737 GMT)

Orbiter:                         Columbia's 13th Flight

Orbit/Inclination:      160 x 163 nm (LAGEOS)/ 28.45 degrees
                        110 x 111 nm (CANEX)/   28.45 degrees

Landing Time/Date:      8:04 a.m. EDT (1204 GMT)/Oct. 25

Primary Landing Site:   Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Abort Landing Sites
Return To Launch Site Abort:   Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
TransAtlantic Abort Landing:   Banjul, The Gambia -- Prime
                            Ben Guerir, Morroco -- Alternate
                            Moron, Spain -- Alternate
Abort-Once-Around:          Edwards AFB, Calif. -- Prime
                            KSC, Fla./White Sands, N.M.
                            -- Alternates

Crew:                       James Wetherbee - Commander
                            Michael Baker - Pilot
                            Charles Lacy Veach - MS1
                            William Shepherd - MS2
                            Tamara Jernigan - MS3
                            Steven MacLean - PS1

Cargo Bay Payloads:     Laser Geodynamics Satellite (LAGEOS)
                        U.S. Microgravity Payload (USMP-1)
                        Canadian Experiments (CANEX-2)
                        Attitude Sensor Package (ASP)
                        Tank Pressure Control Exp. (TPCE)

Middeck Payloads:       Commercial Protein Crystal Growth
                        (CPCG)
                        Commercial Materials ITA Exp. (CMIX)
                        Crystals by Vapor Transport Exp.
                        (CVTE)
                        Heatpipe Performance Experiment
                        (HPP)
                        Physiological Systems Experiment
                        (PSE)
                        Shuttle Plume Impingement Exp. (SPIE)


STS-52 SUMMARY OF MAJOR ACTIVITIES

Flight Day One
Launch/Post Insertion
LAGEOS Checkout

Flight Day Two
LAGEOS Deploy
Robot Arm (RMS) Checkout
Heatpipe Performance Experiment (HPP)

Flight Day Three
Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP)
Space Vision Systems Operations (CANEX)
HPP

Flight Day Four
HPP
Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG)

Flight Day Five
LBNP/HPP

Flight Day Six
LBNP/CPCG/HPP
Phase Partitioning in Liquids (CANEX)
Crystals by Vapor Transport Experiment Setup/Activation

Flight Day Seven
LBNP/CPCG
Phase Partitioning in Liquids

Flight Day Eight
LBNP
Material Exposure in Low Earth Orbit (CANEX)
Attitude Sensor Package Maneuvers

Flight Day Nine
LBNP/SVS Operations
Material Exposure in Low Earth Orbit (MELEO)
Orbiter Glow Experiment (OGLOW)

Flight Day Ten
Canadian Target Assembly Release
Flight Control Surface Checkout
Reaction Control System Hotfire
Cabin Stow

Flight Day Eleven
Deorbit Preparation
Deorbit Burn and Landing at Kennedy Space Center


STS-52 VEHICLE AND PAYLOAD WEIGHTS


Vehicle/Payload                           Pounds

Orbiter Columbia Empty and three SSMEs    181,502

Laser Geodynamics Satellite (LAGEOS)       5,512

LAGEOS Support Equipment                   2,214

U.S. Microgravity Payload (USMP-1)         8,748

Attitude Sensor Package (ASP)                632

Canadian Experiments (CANEX-2)               301

Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG)      63

Heatpipe Performance Experiment (HPP)        100

Physiological Systems Experiment (PSE)       142

Detailed Supplementary Objectives (DSO)       96

Total Vehicle at Solid Rocket Booster Ignition 4,511,341

Orbiter Landing Weight                         214,289



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STS-52 TRAJECTORY SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

EVENT           Elapsed Time   Velocity   Mach      Altitude
                (d/h:m:s)       (fps)                (feet)

Launch         00/00:00:00


Begin Roll Maneuver  00/00:00:10   188     .17        799


End Roll Maneuver    00/00:00:14   299     .26      1,956


SSME Throttle To     00/00:00:29   692     .62      8,573
67 Percent


Max. Dynamic Press   00/00:01:00   1,371   1.36     34,977
(Max Q)


SSME Throttle Up     00/00:01:06   1,576    1.63     42,771
(104 Percent)


SRB Separation       00/00:02:04   4,111    3.84    151,131


Main Engine Cutoff   00/00:08:31   24,512   22.73    363,666
(MECO)


Zero Thrust          00/00:08:37    24,509           362,770


Fuel Tank Separation  00/00:08:50


OMS-2 Burn            00/00:39:55


Deorbit Burn           09/19:54:00
(orbit 158)


Landing at KSC         09/20:54:00
(orbit 159)

Apogee, Perigee at MECO:      156 x   35 nautical miles
Apogee, Perigee after OMS-2:  163 x 160 nautical miles

SPACE SHUTTLE ABORT MODES

     Space Shuttle launch abort philosophy aims toward safe and intact recovery
of the flight crew, orbiter and its payload.  Abort modes include:

     * Abort-To-Orbit (ATO) -- Partial loss of main engine thrust late enough
to permit reaching a minimal 105-nautical mile orbit with orbital maneuvering
system engines.

     * Abort-Once-Around (AOA) -- Earlier main engine shutdown with the
capability to allow one orbit around before landing at either Edwards Air Force
Base, Calif., White Sands Space Harbor, N.M., or the Shuttle Landing Facility
(SLF) at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

     * Trans-Atlantic Abort Landing (TAL) -- Loss of one or more main engines
midway through powered flight would force a landing at either Banjul, The
Gambia; Ben Guerir, Morocco; or Moron, Spain.

     * Return-To-Launch-Site (RTLS) -- Early shutdown of one or more engines
without enough energy to reach Banjul would result in a pitch around and thrust
back toward KSC until within gliding distance of the Shuttle Landing Facility.

     STS-52 contingency landing sites are Edwards Air Force Base, the Kennedy
Space Center, White Sands Space Harbor, Banjul, Ben Guerir and Moron.


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STS-52 Prelaunch Processing

     With three other vehicles at various processing stages, the KSC's Shuttle
team began work on July 10 to ready Columbia for its 13th voyage into space -
the day after its unscheduled landing at KSC. Columbia was towed to Orbiter
Processing Facility (OPF) bay 1 where post-flight inspections and tests were
accomplished.

     In August, technicians installed the Shuttle orbiter main engines.  Engine
2030 is in the number 1 position, engine 2015 is in the number 2 position and
engine 2028 is in the number 3 position.

     Following completion of space vehicle assembly and associated testing, the
Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test with the STS-52 flight crew was scheduled
for late September.

     A standard 43-hour launch countdown is scheduled to begin 3 days prior to
launch.  During the countdown, the orbiter's fuel cell storage tanks and all
orbiter systems will be prepared for flight.

     About 9 hours before launch, the external tank will be filled with its
flight load of a half million gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen
propellants.  About 2 and one-half hours before liftoff, the flight crew will
begin taking their assigned seats in the crew cabin.

     Columbia's end-of-mission landing is planned at Kennedy Space Center's
Shuttle Landing Facility. KSC's landing and recovery team will perform convoy
operations on the runway to safe the vehicle and prepare it for towing to the
OPF.

     Columbia's next flight, STS-55, targeted for early next year, is a 10-day
mission with the German Spacelab D-2 module.


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LASER GEODYNAMICS SATELLITE (LAGEOS) II

     The Laser Geodynamics Satellite (LAGEOS) II, like its predecessor launched
in 1976, is a passive satellite dedicated exclusively to laser ranging.  Laser
ranging involves sending laser beams from Earthto the satellite and recording
the round-trip travel time.  This measurement enables scientists to precisely
measure the distances between laser ranging stations on the Earth and the
satellite.

     LAGEOS is designed to provide a reference point for laser ranging
experiments that will monitor the motion of the Earth's crust, measure and
understand the "wobble" in the Earth's axis of rotation, collect information on
the Earth's size and shape and more accurately determine the length of the day.
The information will be particularly useful for monitoring regional fault
movement in earthquake-prone areas such as California and the Mediterranean
Basin.

     The LAGEOS II project is a joint program between NASA and the Italian
space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), which built the satellite using
LAGEOS I drawings and specifications, handling fixtures, dummy spacecraft and
other materials provided by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt,
Md. GSFC also tested the corner-cube retroreflectors on the surface of LAGEOS
II. ASI provided the Italian Research Interim Stage (IRIS) and the LAGEOS
Apogee Stage (LAS), the two upper stages that will transport LAGEOS II to its
proper altitude and circularize its orbit.  NASA is providing the launch aboard
Space Shuttle Columbia.

The Spacecraft

     The LAGEOS II satellite is a spherical satellite made of aluminum with a
brass core.  It is only 24 inches (60 cm) in diameter yet it weighs
approximately 900 pounds (405 kg).  This compact, dense design makes the
satellite's orbit as stable as possible.

     The LAGEOS design evolved from several trade-offs that proved necessary to
achieve the program objectives.  For example, the satellite had to be as heavy
as possible to minimize the effects of non-gravitational forces, yet light
enough to be placed in a high orbit.  The satellite had to be big enough to
accommodate many retroreflectors, but small enough to minimize the force of
solar pressure.

     Aluminum would have been too light for the entire body of the sphere.
Design engineers finally decided to combine two aluminum hemispheres bolted
together around a brass core.  They selected the materials to reduce the
effects of the Earth's magnetic field.  LAGEOS II should remain in orbit
indefinitely.

     LAGEOS II has the dimpled appearance of a large golf ball.  Imbedded into
the satellite are 426 nearly equally spaced, cube-corner retroreflectors, or
prisms.  Most of the retroreflectors (422) are made of suprasil, a fused silica
glass.  The remaining four, made of germanium, may be used by lasers of the
future.  About 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) in diameter, each retroreflector has a flat,
circular front-face with a prism-shaped back.

     The retroreflectors on the surface of LAGEOS II are three-dimensional
prisms that reflect light, in this case a laser beam, directly back to its
source.  A timing signal starts when the laser beam leaves the ground station
and continues until the pulse, reflected from one of LAGEOS II's
retroreflectors, returns to the ground station.

     Since the speed of light is constant, the distance between the station and
the satellite can be determined.  This process is known as satellite laser
ranging (SLR).  Scientists use this technique to measure movements of the
Earth's surface up to several inches per year.  By tracking the LAGEOS
satellites for several years, scientists can characterize these motions and
perhaps correlate them with Earth dynamics observed on the ground.

Launch, Orbit Insertion And Data Collection

     After the Shuttle releases LAGEOS II, two solid-fuel stages, the Italian
Research Interim Stage (IRIS) and the LAGEOS Apogee Stage (LAS), will engage.
The IRIS will boost LAGEOS II from the Shuttle's 184-mile (296 km) parking
orbit to the satellite injection altitude of 3,666 miles (5,900 km).  The LAS
will circularize the orbit.  This will be the first IRIS mission and will
qualify the IRIS, a spinning solid fuel rocket upper stage, for use in
deploying satellites from the Space Shuttle cargo bay.

     LAGEOS II's circular orbit is the same as that of LAGEOS I, but at a
different angle to the Earth's equator: 52 degrees for LAGEOS II and 110
degrees for LAGEOS I. The complementary orbit will provide more coverage of the
seismically active areas such as the Mediterranean Basin and California,
improving the accuracy of crustal-motion measurements.  It also may help
scientists understand irregularities noted in the position of LAGEOS I, which
appear to be linked to erratic spinning of the satellite itself.

     LAGEOS II will undergo a very intensive tracking program in its first 30
days of flight.  This will allow laser ranging stations to precisely calculate
and predict the satellite's orbit.  By the end of the 30 days, full science
operations will have begun.

     NASA operates 10 SLR stations.  Four are Transportable Laser Ranging
Systems (TLRS), built to be moved easily from location to location.  Four
Mobile Laser Ranging Systems (MOBLAS) are in semi-permanent locations in
Australia and North America, including GSFC. The University of Hawaii and the
University of Texas at Austin operate the other two NASA systems.

     NASA and ASI have selected 27 LAGEOS II science investigators from the
United States, Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Hungary. The
investigators will obtain and interpret the scientific results that come from
measurements to the satellite.  By tracking both LAGEOS I and LAGEOS II,
scientists will collect more data in a shorter time span than with LAGEOS I
alone.

     Data from LAGEOS II investigations will be archived in the Crustal
Dynamics Data and Information System (CDDIS) at GSFC. It will be available
worldwide to investigators studying crustal dynamics.

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U.S. MICROGRAVITY PAYLOAD 1 (USMP)

     The first U.S. Microgravity Payload (USMP-1) will be launched aboard Space
Shuttle Columbia for a 10-day mission.  The USMP program is a series of NASA
missions designed for microgravity experiments that do not require the
"hands-on" environment of the Spacelab. The Marshall Space Flight Center
(MSFC), Huntsville, Ala., manages USMP for NASA's Office of Space Science and
Applications.

     The USMP-1 payload will carry three investigations.  The Lambda-Point
Experiment (LPE) will study fluid behavior in microgravity.  The Materials for
the Study of Interesting Phenomena of Solidification on Earth and in Orbit,
(Materiel pour l'Etude des Phenomenes Interessant la Solidification sur Terre
et'en Orbite, or MEPHISTO) will study metallurgical processes in microgravity.
The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) will study the microgravity
environment onboard the Space Shuttle.

     In orbit, the crew will activate the carrier and the experiments, which
will operate for about 6 days during the mission.  Science teams at MSFC's
Payload Operations Control Center will command and monitor instruments and
analyze data.

     Two Mission-Peculiar Equipment Support Structures (MPESS) in the Shuttle
cargo bay make up USMP-1. Carrier subsystems mounted on the front MPESS provide
electrical power, communications, data-handling capabilities and thermal
control.  MSFC developed the USMP carrier.

Lambda-Point Experiment (LPE)

Principal Investigator:  Dr. J.A. Lipa, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
Project Manager:  R. Ruiz, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

     The Lambda-Point Experiment will study liquid helium as it changes from
normal fluid to a superfluid state.  In the superfluid state, helium moves
freely through small pores that block other liquids, and it also conducts heat
1,000 times more effectively than copper.  This change occurs at liquid
helium's "lambda point" (-456 degrees Fahrenheit or 2.17 degrees Kelvin).
Because the transition from one phase to another causes the organized
interaction of large numbers of particles, it is of great scientific interest.

     The transition from fluid to superfluid state can be studied more closely
in microgravity than on Earth. Gravity causes a sample of liquid helium to have
greater pressure at the bottom than at the top, in turn causing the top of the
sample to become superfluid at higher temperatures.

     Onboard USMP, a sample of helium cooled far below its lambda point will be
placed in a low-temperature cryostat (an apparatus used to keep something cold,
such as a thermos bottle).  During a series of 2-hour runs controlled by an
onboard computer, the helium's temperature will be raised through the
transition point by a precision temperature- control system.  Sensitive
instruments inside the cryostat will measure the heat capacity of the liquid
helium as it changes phases.  The temperature of the helium sample will be
maintained to within a billionth of degree during the experiment.

Materials for the Study of Interesting Phenomena of Solidification on Earth and
in Orbit (MEPHISTO)

Principal Investigator:  Dr. J. J. Favier, Commissariat a' l' Energie Atomique,
Grenoble, France
Project Manager:  G. Cambon, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, Toulous

     MEPHISTO is a joint American-French cooperative program.  The definition
and development of the flight hardware has been led by CNES (French Space
Agency) and CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission). This mission will be the
first of a series of six flights, about 1 per year, provided by NASA on the
USMP carrier.

     MEPHISTO will study the behavior of metals and semiconductors as they
solidify to help determine the effect gravity has during solidification at the
point where solid meets liquid, called the solid/liquid interface.  Data
gathered from MEPHISTO will be used to improve molten materials.  For example,
more resilient metallic alloys and composite materials could be designed for
engines that will power future aircraft and spacecraft.

     The cylindrical-shaped MEPHISTO furnace experiment will contain three
identical rod-shaped samples of a tin-bismuth alloy.  MEPHISTO will process the
samples using two furnaces, one fixed and one moving.  As a run begins, the
mobile furnace will move outward from the fixed furnace, melting the samples.
The mobile furnace then moves back toward the fixed furnace, and the sample
resolidifies.  The fixed furnace contains a stationary solid/liquid interface
to be used as a reference for studying the mobile solid/liquid interface.

     MEPHISTO has been designed to perform quantitative investigations of the
solidification process by using several specific diagnosis methods.  During the
experiment runs, a small electrical voltage will constantly measure the
temperature changes at the interface to verify solidification rates.  During
the last experimental run, electrical pulses will be sent through one sample,
"freezing" the shape of the interface for post-mission analysis.

     The MEPHISTO apparatus allows many cycles of solidification and remelting
and is particularly well-adapted for long-duration missions.  During the
mission, scientists will compare the electrical signal to data from a SAMS
sensor to see if the Shuttle's movement is disturbing the interface.  They then
can make adjustments to the experiments if necessary.  Post-mission analysis of
the space-solidified sample will allow correlation between the electrical
measurements and changes in the sample.

Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS)

Scientific Investigator:  Charles Baugher, MSFC, Huntsville, Ala.
Project Manager:  R. De Lombard, Lewis Research Center, Cleveland

     The Space Acceleration Measurement System (SAMS) is designed to measure
and record low-level acceleration during experiment operations.  The signals
from these sensors are amplified, filtered and converted to digital data before
it is stored on optical disks and sent via downlink to the ground control
center.

     USMP-1 will be the first mission for two SAMS flight units in the cargo
bay configuration.  The two units each will support two remote sensor heads.
Two heads will be mounted in the Lambda Point Experiment (LPE) and the other
two heads will be mounted to the MPESS structure near the MEPHISTO furnace.

     Some of the data will be recorded on optical disks in the SAMS units,
while other data will be down-linked to the Marshall Spaceflight Center's
Payload Operations Control Center.

     The down-linked SAMS data will be utilized during experiment operations by
the principal investigators (PI) involved with LPE and MEPHISTO. The SAMS data
also will be monitored by the SAMS project team.

     The PIs will look for acceleration events or conditions that exceed a
threshold where the experiment results could be affected.  This may be, for
example, a frequency versus amplitude condition, an energy content condition or
simply an acceleration magnitude threshold.  Experiment operations may be
changed based on the observed microgravity environment.

     SAMS flight hardware was designed and developed in-house by the NASA Lewis
Research Center and Sverdrup Technology Inc. project team.  The units have
flown on STS-40, STS-43, STS-42, STS-50 and STS-47 missions.







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ATTITUDE SENSOR PACKAGE (ASP)

     STS-52 will carry the third Hitchhiker payload to fly in space.
Hitchhikers are a part of Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Shuttle Small
Payloads Project (SSPP).  Hitchhiker provides quick-response, economical
flights for small attached payloads that have more complex requirements than
Get Away Special experiments.

     The STS-52 Hitchhiker payload carries one foreign reimbursable experiment,
the Attitude Sensor Package (ASP) experiment.  This experiment was prepared by
the In-Orbit Technology Demonstration Programme of the European Space Agency
(ESA).

     The ASP experiment consists of three unique spacecraft attitude sensors,
an on board computer and a support structure.  The primary sensor is the
Modular Star Sensor (MOSS).  The other two sensors are the Yaw Earth Sensor
(YESS) and the Low Altitude Conical Earth Sensor (LACES).  The ASP sensors and
their support structure are assembled on a Hitchhiker small mounting plate.
The Hitchhiker avionics, mounted to another small mounting plate, provides
power and signal interfaces between the ASP experiment and the Shuttle.

     Often the performance of the space instruments cannot be predicted
accurately on Earth because of the lack of knowledge of and actual simulation
of the space environment.  The ASP experiment exposes these attitude sensors to
actual space conditions, demonstrating their performance and accuracy.  This
flight experience will be evaluated by ESA for possible use of these sensors on
future ESA programs.

     During the mission, the ASP experiment will operate for 16 orbits from the
Hitchhiker Payload Operations Control Center (POCC) located at GSFC, Greenbelt,
Md. ESA personnel and contractors will operate their ground support equipment
in the POCC during the Shuttle flight.

     The SSPP is managed by Goddard for NASA's Office of Space Flight. The
Hitchhiker Program, managed by the SSPP, performs overall mission management
duties for Hitchhiker payloads flying on the NASA Shuttle, including experiment
integration on the Shuttle and operations management during the flight.

     Theodore C. Goldsmith is SSPP Project Manager. Chris Dunker is Goddard's
ASP mission manager.  The In-Orbit Technology Demonstration Programme Manager
for ESA is Manfred Trischberger, the ESA ASP payload Manager is Roberto Aceti
and the ESA Principal Investigator is Peter Underwood. The In-Orbit Technology
Demonstration Programme is part of the European Space Technology and
Engineering Center, Noordwijk, The Netherlands.




     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_8_3_4_14.TXT

MGN REPORT 9/17

Magellan Status

Status report of Magellan for Thursday, September 17, 1992:

1.  Magellan continues to operate normally, performing only
    starcals and desats as the spacecraft begins a week-long
    battery reconditioning sequence.

2.  The battery reconditioning sequence was successfully
    uplinked to the spacecraft yesterday.

3.  Early this morning, on orbit #5772, the spacecraft
    experienced a triple spurius shutoff (SSO) of the TWTA.
    On-board fault protection quickly restored normal
    operations, but express commands were needed to turn off
    the 360 kHz subcarrier which is not being used during
    present operations.

4.  Yesterday's playback of tape recorded engineering data
    from Monday's orbit trim maneuver and other spacecraft
    telemetry was unsuccessful due to the inability of the DSN
    stations to lock up to the spacecraft signal.  This is a
    result of the cooling of Transmitter B following the 10-
    day mapping period which ended September 13.

5.  Primary science activity from now to the end of Cycle 4 on
    May 15, 1993 will be the collection of very precise
    doppler tracking data from which gravity measurements can
    be extracted.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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