Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT_ZIP/daily/921222.ZIP/921222.DFC

Text File | 1992-12-22 | 101KB | 2,186 lines

22-Dec-92 Daily File Collection
   These files were added or updated between 21-Dec-92 at 21:00:00 {Central}
                                         and 22-Dec-92 at 21:00:13.

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12/22/92:  JANUARY 13 SET FOR THE FIRST SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGHT OF 1993

Ed Campion
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                        December 22, 1992

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

EDITORS NOTE:  N92-110


    NASA managers today set Jan. 13 as the launch date for the first
Shuttle mission of 1993.  Designated STS-54, the flight has two primary
objectives -- deployment of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-F) and
astronomical observations of invisible x-ray sources within the Milky Way
Galaxy with the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer. A space walk (EVA) to evaluate
training methods and gain additional EVA experience also will occur during the
mission.

    The launch window opens at 8:52 a.m.  EST and extends for 2 1/2 hours.
The mission duration is planned for 6 days.  Landing is scheduled for Jan. 19
at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

    Commanding the STS-54 mission will be John Casper, making his second
flight.  Don McMonagle, also making his second flight, will be the Pilot. The
three mission specialists for STS-54 are Mario Runco, making his second flight;
Greg Harbaugh, making his second flight, and Susan Helms, making her first
flight.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT 12/22/92


          SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                   Kennedy Space Center, Florida

                   Tuesday, December 22, 1992


George H. Diller


Vehicle: OV-105/Endeavour   Mission Number: STS-54
Location: Launch Pad 39-B
Primary Payload: TDRS-F/IUS-13 + Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS)
Launch Timeframe: NET January 13
Mission Duration: 5 Days 23 Hours 33 Minutes
Inclination: 28.45 degrees   Crew Size: 5
Nominal Landing Site: KSC


IN WORK TODAY:

- Flight Readiness Review (FRR)
- aft main engine compartment closeouts
- close payload bay doors for the holidays at 2 p.m.
- power off Space Shuttle vehicle for the holidays 4 p.m.
- preparations for holiday work suspension/holiday outages


WORK COMPLETED:

- IUS ordnance installation
- IUS flight battery installation
- Space Shuttle vehicle ordnance installation
- aft main engine compartment confidence test
- IUS Flight Readiness Checks


WORK SCHEDULED:

- continue aft main engine compartment closeouts
- Pad B securing and walkdown for the holidays

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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12/22/92: HARRIS, FREEMAN NAMED HEADS OF NASA OFFICES



Sue Richard
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.          December 22, 1992



RELEASE:  92-229

        NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin today announced the appointments of
Dr. Wesley L. Harris as Associate Administrator for Aeronautics and Dr. Yvonne
Freeman as the Assistant Administrator for Equal Opportunity Programs.

Dr. Wesley L. Harris

        Harris, an aeronautical engineer, comes to NASA after serving as Vice
President of the University of Tennessee Space Institute, Tullahoma, since
1990.  Previously, he was Dean of the School of Engineering at the University
of Connecticut, Storrs (1985-90).  From 1981 to 1985, he was professor of
aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in
Cambridge (MIT), Cambridge.

        "Dr.  Harris brings to this critical position an extensive background
in aeronautical engineering and management," Goldin said.  "It is imperative
that NASA move aggressively to help America regain the leading edge in
aeronautics.  Dr. Harris' appointment is a key step in that effort."

        As Associate Administrator for Aeronautics, Harris will be responsible
for directing research and technology development efforts in support of
AmericaUs aeronautics industry.  This includes fundamental research in
aerodynamics, materials and propulsion, flight tests with advanced aircraft and
efforts to improve safety.

        From 1979 to 1980, Harris took a leave of absense from MIT to work at
NASA as Manager of Computational Methods in the Office of Aeronautics and Space
Technology. He was Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of
Ocean Engineering at MIT from 1973-79.

        Harris has published more than 100 technical articles.  He received a
bachelor of aeronautical engineering in 1964 from the University of Virginia
(honors) and a Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1968.


Dr. Yvonne B. Freeman

        Freeman was Manager of the Minority Science and Engineering Program at
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., prior to her
appointment as Assistant Administrator for Equal Opportunity.

        Before serving at JPL, she was Manager of the Minority University
Program at NASA Headquarters (1987-90).  In this capacity, she was responsible
for planning, developing, managing and monitoring NASA- sponsored programs at
historically black colleges and universities.  She also reviewed program
policies to ensure compliance and equal access by minority institutions.

        "Dr.  Freeman has an excellent background in equal opportunity
programs, particularly in the education area.  She knows NASA, and it will be
great to have her back at Headquarters," Goldin said.  "She shares my deep
commitment to developing a NASA workforce that reflects the rich diversity of
our society."

        Freeman will be responsible for maximizing opportunities for women and
minorities throughout NASA, with a particular emphasis on senior management
levels.  She will lead efforts to recruit and retain employees from
under-represented groups in the NASA workforce and strengthen multicultural
education efforts within the agency.

        At JPL, Freeman was responsible for the design, development and
implementation of training and outreach programs to enhance education and
opportunities for minorities.

        Freeman received a bachelors degree in elementary education from Fisk
University, Nashville, Tenn. She was awarded a masters degree from Loyola
Marymount University, Los Angeles, and a doctoral degree from the University of
Massachusetts, Amherst.

- end -
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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12/22/92: DANTE ROBOT TO PROVIDE LIVE VIDEO AS IT DESCENDS INTO VOLCANO


Charles Redmond/Barbara Selby
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                   December 22, 1992


Randee Exler
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.



EDITORS NOTE:  N92-111


    Dante, an eight-legged NASA robot, will provide live video of its
descent down the steep inner rim to the lava lake of the Antarctic volcano Mt.
Erebus during a technology demonstration and science expedition to begin about
Dec. 28.

    The robot demonstration is a joint NASA and National Science Foundation
undertaking using the Antarctic as a demonstration site for robotic exploration
development which could be used during future lunar or Martian missions.

    The robotic exploration of the live Mt. Erebus volcano will take a
minimum of 3 days.  Each day, the Antarctic team will transmit five 20-minute
live video feeds from cameras mounted atop the robot.

    The feeds will be transmitted from Mt. Erebus via NASA's Tracking and
Data Relay Satellite-West to the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
NASA will issue further media advisories via the Goddard Broadcast News Service
(301/286-NEWS) when the dates and times of the feeds are better known.

    NASA also will provide commentary on the robot's progress provided by
robotics and volcano experts at Goddard. The television feed and commentary
will be available both at Goddard and on NASA Select television.

    A news operation will be active at the Goddard Visitor Center on Soil
Conservation Road during these activities.  Media wishing to participate will
be able to access Goddard's payload operations activities via closed circuit
television.  Background materials, both print and video, will be available
prior to the first live video feed.

- end -
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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STS-45 MISSION MANAGEMENT

NASA HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Office of Administrator

Richard H. Truly - Administrator
Aaron Cohen - Deputy Administrator (Acting)
Roy S. Estess - Special Assistant

Office of Space Flight

Dr. William Lenoir - Associate Administrator
Thomas E. Utsman -  Deputy Associate Administrator

Office of Space Science

Dr. Lennard A. Fisk - Associate Administrator
Alphonso V. Diaz - Deputy Associate Administrator
Robert Benson - Director, Flight Systems Division
Earl Montoya - Program Manager
Dr. Shelby Tilford - Director, Earth Science and Applications Division
Dr. Jack Kaye - Program Scientist
George Esenwein - Experiments Program Manager
Dr. Charles Pellerin - Director, Astrophysics Division
Dr. Barry Welsh - Program Scientists, FAUST
Dr. George Withbroe - Director, Space Physics Division
Lou Demas - Chief, Space Physics Flight Programs Branch

Office of Commercial Programs

John G. Mannix - Assistant Administrator
Richard H. Ott - Director, Commercial Development Division
Garland C. Misener - Chief, Flight Requirements and Accommodations
Ana M. Villamil - Program Manager, Centers for the Commercial
            Development of Space




Office of Safety & Mission Quality

George A. Rodney - Associate Administrator
Charles Mertz - Deputy Associate Administrator (Acting)
Richard U. Perry - Director, Programs Assurance Division

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA.

Robert L. Crippen - Director
Jay Honeycutt - Director, Shuttle Management and Operations
Robert B. Sieck - Launch Director
Conrad G. Nagel - Atlantis Flow Manager
John T. Conway - Director, Payload Management and Operations
P. Thomas Breakfield - Director, STS Payload Operations
Joanne H. Morgan - Director, Payload Project Management
Mike Kinnan - STS-45 Payload Processing Manager

MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, HUNTSVILLE, ALA.

Thomas J. Lee - Director
Dr. J. Wayne Littles - Deputy Director
Harry G. Craft, Jr. - Manager, Payload Projects Office
Anthony O'Neil - Mission Manager
Ms. Teresa Vanhooser - Assistant Mission Manager
Gerald Maxwell - Assistant Mission Manager
Dr. Marsha Torr - Mission Scientist
Paul Craven - Assistant Mission Scientist
Robert Beaman - Chief Engineer
Dr. George McDonough - Director, Science and Engineering
James H. Ehl - Director, Safety and Mission Assurance
Alexander A. McCool - Manager, Shuttle Projects Office
Alexander A. McCool - Acting Manager, Space Shuttle Main Engine Project
Victor Keith Henson - Manager, Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor Project
Cary H. Rutland - Manager, Solid Rocket Booster Project
Gerald C. Ladner - Manager, External Tank Project

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON

Paul J. Weitz - Director (Acting)
Paul J. Weitz - Deputy Director
Daniel Germany - Manager, Orbiter and GFE Projects
Donald R. Puddy - Director, Flight Crew Operations
Eugene F. Kranz - Director, Mission Operations
Henry O. Pohl - Director, Engineering
Charles S. Harlan - Director - Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance
Sharon Castle - ATLAS-1 Payload Manager

GODDARD SPACE FLIGHT CENTER, GREENBELT, MD.

Dr. John M. Klineberg - Director
Dr. Vincent V. Salomonson - Director, Earth Sciences
Dr. Franco Einaudi - Chief, Laboratory for Atmospheres
Dr. Mark R. Schoeberl - Head, Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics
Ernest Hilsenrath - SSBUV Principal Investigator
Donald Williams - SSBUV Mission Manager
Clarke Prouty - GAS Mission Manager
Larry Thomas - Technical Liaison Officer

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, BAY ST. LOUIS, MISS.

Gerald W. Smith  - Director (Acting)
Gerald W. Smith - Deputy Director
J. Harry Guin - Director, Propulsion Test Operations

AMES-DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH FACILITY, EDWARDS, CALIF.

Kenneth J. Szalai  - Director
T. G. Ayers - Deputy Director
James R. Phelps  - Chief, Space Support Office

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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 NOTE: This file is too large {53013 bytes} for inclusion in this collection.
    The first line of the file:

NASA SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION STS-45

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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12/22/92:  JANUARY 13 SET FOR THE FIRST SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGHT OF 1993

Ed Campion
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                        December 22, 1992

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

EDITORS NOTE:  N92-110


    NASA managers today set Jan. 13 as the launch date for the first
Shuttle mission of 1993.  Designated STS-54, the flight has two primary
objectives -- deployment of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-F) and
astronomical observations of invisible x-ray sources within the Milky Way
Galaxy with the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer. A space walk (EVA) to evaluate
training methods and gain additional EVA experience also will occur during the
mission.

    The launch window opens at 8:52 a.m.  EST and extends for 2 1/2 hours.
The mission duration is planned for 6 days.  Landing is scheduled for Jan. 19
at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

    Commanding the STS-54 mission will be John Casper, making his second
flight.  Don McMonagle, also making his second flight, will be the Pilot. The
three mission specialists for STS-54 are Mario Runco, making his second flight;
Greg Harbaugh, making his second flight, and Susan Helms, making her first
flight.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_8_2_5_43.TXT

GALILEO STATUS REPORTS   12/09-15/92


GALILEO STATUS REPORT
December 9, 1992

     The Galileo Spacecraft is operating normally in the dual-spin mode and is
transmitting coded telemetry at 115.2 Kbps (115,200 bits/second).

     Yesterday, Earth closest approach occurred at approximately 7:09 AM PST.
Real-time commands were sent to enable the Sun algorithms, set the Command Loss
Timer to 11 days, update attitude control bright body vectors, and turn the EPD
(Energetic Particles Detector) bias off.  Near continuous tracking was
scheduled over DSS-12 (Goldstone 34 meter antenna), DSS-16 (Goldstone 26 meter
antenna), DSS-42 (Canberra 34 meter antenna), DSS-43 (Canberra 70 meter
antenna), DSS-46 (Canberra 26 meter antenna) and DSS-63 (Madrid 70 meter
antenna).

     Today, December 9, 1992, Earth closest approach and SSI (Solid State
Imaging camera) zoom movie observations are continuing.  The GOPEX (Galileo
Optical Communications Experiment from an Earth-based Xmitter) experiment has
begun.  Tracking is scheduled over DSS-14 (Goldstone 70 meter antenna), DSS-43
and DSS-63.

     Tomorrow, a SITURN of -11 degrees is scheduled along with the SSI zoom
movie observations.  The GOPEX experiment will continue and is scheduled
through December 16.  Continuous tracking is scheduled over DSS-14, DSS-43 and
DSS-63.





GALILEO STATUS REPORT
December 10, 1992

     The Galileo Spacecraft is operating normally in the dual-spin mode and is
transmitting coded telemetry at 67.2 Kbps (67,200 bits/second).

     Yesterday, Earth closest approach and SSI (Solid State Imaging camera)
zoom movie observations continued.  The GOPEX (Galileo Optical Communications
Experiment from an Earth-based Xmitter) experiment began.  Tracking was
scheduled over DSS-14 (Goldstone 70 meter antenna), DSS-43 (Canberra 70 meter
antenna) and DSS-63 (Madrid 70 meter antenna).

     Today, December 10, 1992, a SITURN of -11 degrees is scheduled along with
the SSI zoom movie observations.  The GOPEX experiment will continue and is
scheduled through December 16.  Continuous tracking is scheduled over DSS-14,
DSS-43 and DSS-63.

     Tomorrow, science instrument calibration characterization activities are
scheduled.  Continuous tracking is scheduled over DSS-12 (Goldstone 34 meter
antenna), DSS-43 and DSS-63.






GALILEO STATUS REPORT
December 14, 1992

     The Galileo Spacecraft is operating normally in the dual-spin mode and is
transmitting coded telemetry at 7.68 Kbps (7680 bits/second).

     Over the weekend, science instrument calibration and characterization
activities were performed.  Continuous tracking was scheduled over DSS-12
(Goldstone 34 meter antenna), DSS-14 (Goldstone 70 meter antenna), DSS-43
(Canberra 70 meter antenna) and DSS-63 (Madrid 70 meter antenna).

     Today, December 14, 1992, a sun vector update is scheduled.  The GOPEX
experiment is continuing and is scheduled to complete on December 16.
Real-time commands are scheduled to disable attitude control bright body fault
protection, and a NO-OP command to reset the Command Loss Timer. Continuous
tracking is scheduled over DSS-14, DSS-43 and DSS-63.

     Tomorrow, the GOPEX experiment is continuing.  A SITURN of 14 degrees is
also scheduled.  Continuous tracking is scheduled over DSS-14, DSS-43 and
DSS-63.





GALILEO STATUS REPORT
December 15, 1992

     The Galileo Spacecraft is operating normally in the dual-spin mode and is
transmitting coded telemetry at 7.68 Kbps (7680 bits/second).

     Yesterday, a sun vector update was performed.  The GOPEX experiment
continued and is scheduled to complete on December 16.  Real-time commands were
sent to disable attitude control bright body fault protection, as planned.
Continuous tracking was scheduled over DSS-14 (Goldstone 70 meter antenna),
DSS-43 (Canberra 70 meter antenna) and DSS-63 (Madrid 70 meter antenna).

     Today, December 15, 1992, the GOPEX experiment is continuing.  A SITURN of
about 14 degrees is also scheduled.  Continuous tracking is scheduled over
DSS-14, DSS-43 and DSS-63.

     Tomorrow, the Earth/Moon Conjuction movie is scheduled.  Continuous
tracking is scheduled over DSS-14, DSS-43 and DSS-63.

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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MARS OBSERVER STATUS REPORTS   12/09-14/92



MARS OBSERVER STATUS REPORT
December 9, 1992
5:30 AM PST
Launch +75 Days

The first of three sets of commands to perform Geotail measurement activities
will be sent today.  The Magnetometer and Electron Reflectometer, and Gamma Ray
Spectrometer instruments will be taking data.  Commanding performed earlier
left MAG and GRS powered on but in quiescent states.

Commanding today will power on the ER, Payload Data System, and Digital Tape
Recorder 1, and activate GRS operation from its random access memory.

Commanding on Friday, December 11, will power off DTR1, and power on DTR3,
which will continue recording through the end of Geotail measurements.

On Monday, December 14, ER and PDS will be commanded off.  MAG and GRS will
remain powered on but quiescent.

Activities to "clean up" tape recorders will begin 2 weeks after completion of
Geotail measurement.




MARS OBSERVER MISSION STATUS
December 11, 1992

     All spacecraft subsystems are performing well.

     The radio science flight sequence is winding down and scheduled for
completion on Dec. 14, 1992.  The next flight sequence will prepare the
spacecraft for its transition to the outer cruise flight mode in which the
high-gain antenna rather than the low-gain antenna will be used.  The outer
cruise attitude transition begins on Dec. 15, 1992.  The Mars Observer camera
"bakeout" to prepare the instrument for operation will continue in this next
sequence through Dec. 28, 1992.

     A science experiment to observe Earth's geotail at a greater distance than
has been performed by other spacecraft started on Dec. 9, 1992.  The geotail is
the region of space in which the solar wind is disturbed as Earth moves in its
orbit around the sun.  The experiment will use Mars Observer's magnetometer and
electron reflectometer to gather data on solar and magnetic particle disruption
in this region.

     Star-ephemiris tables, uploaded about once a week, continue to adjust the
spacecraft's solar panels so that they are beginning to point more directly at
the sun and the high-gain antenna is pointing more directly at Earth. These
adjustments are planned to continue through Jan. 2, 1993, when the high-gain
antenna is pointing directly at Earth.

     Today the spacecraft is about 25 million kilometers (16 million miles)
from Earth, traveling at a speed of about 23,500 kilometers per hour (15,000
miles per hour) relative to Earth. The spacecraft is traveling at a
heliocentric velocity of about 105,000 kilometers per hour (66,000 miles per
hour).



MARS OBSERVER STATUS REPORT
December 11, 1992
1:00 PM PST
Launch +77 Days

The Spacecraft and Instrument Teams report that all Mars Observer subsystems
and instruments continue to perform well.  Flight sequence C4 remains active
through December 18.  The Mars Observer Camera bakeout is continuing through
December 28.

The first set of commands to perform Geotail measurement activities was sent
December 9.  The Electron Reflectometer, Payload Data System, and Digital Tape
Recorder 1 were powered on.  The Magnetometer and Gamma Ray Spectrometer had
previously been powered on but quiescent.

Commands were sent today to power off DTR 1 and power on DTR3, which will
continue recording though the end of Geotail measurements.  Commanding will be
performed to power off the Electron Reflectometer and Payload Data Systems on
December 14.

The Preliminary Design Review of the "Power-In" maneuver working group's
recommendation was held today at JPL. Project Management, Science, and Flight
Team representatives participated.

Today the spacecraft is 25,462,777 km (15,821,836 miles) from Earth, traveling
at a velocity of 6.5314 kilometers per second (14,610 miles per hour) with
respect to Earth. One way light time is approximately 85 seconds.





MARS OBSERVER STATUS REPORT
December 14, 1992
9:00 AM PST
Launch +80 Days

The Spacecraft continues to perform well in its Inner Cruise configuration with
downlink communications at 250 bps and uplink at 125 bps utilizing the low gain
antenna array.  Flight sequence C4 continues to clock out through December 18.

The Electron Reflectometer and Payload Data Systems will be powered off today.
Geotail measurement data taken by the Magnetometer/Electron Reflectometer has
been recorded on Digital Tape Recorders 1 and 3.  The data recorded during
Geotail measurement will be replayed during the C6 sequence in late January,
after High Gain Antenna communications have been established and higher
playback data rates can be supported.

Over the course of last week, Standard Control Processor 1 experienced 3
Single-Event Upsets. This is only slightly higher than the predicted rate and
is not considered a cause for concern by the spacecraft team.  The Attitude,
Articulation and Control Subsystem (AACS) experienced an unusually large number
of unidentified star transits during the transition to the new star catalog for
the second week in a row last week.  AACS engineers believe the problem to be
related to gyro scale factor growth during the large star
catalog/ephemeris-induced spacecraft attitude transitions in preparation for
transition to Outer Cruise configurations and operations.  Using this
hypothesis, Spacecraft Team members have been successful in replicating this
phenomenon on the Verification Test Laboratory spacecraft testbed and are
planning command changes in the next star catalog/ephemiris loads to insure
that the spacecraft retains its internal reference for star identification.

The Flight Software Version 7 Final Design Review is being held today at JPL.

Today, the spacecraft is 27,169,270 km (16,882,201 miles) from Earth, traveling
at a velocity of 6.9548 kilometers per second (15,557 miles per hour) with
respect to Earth. One way light time is approximately 91 seconds.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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ULYSSES MISSION STATUS REPORTS  12/01-11/92



SUBJECT:  ULYSSES MISSION OPERATIONS REPORT

PERIOD:   1st December to 7th December 1992

1.   MISSION OPERATIONS

     Experiment  reconfigurations  have  been  carried   out   as
     required.

     On 2nd December a HED (Magnetic Field instrument) calibration
     was carried out.

     On 7th December a KEP EPAC (Energetic Particles instrument) in
     flight calibration took place.

     Routine Earth pointing manoeuvres were performed on 1st  and
     4th December.

     An  average of 93.29 % data recovery was achieved during the
     reporting period.

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

     1024 bps 62.29 %
      512 bps 30.98 %

     On 5th December problems were experienced with the Goldstone
     34  meter antenna subreflector control system.  More than  8
     hours of realtime and playback data were lost before it  was
     possible   to   make   an  alternative  antenna   available.
     Unfortunately  the alternative antenna suffered  from  radio
     interference originating from the 70 meter antenna which was
     carrying out a high power radio astronomy experiment.  As  a
     result a further 46 minutes of data were lost.

     A reduction in the number of ranging passes continued during
     the reporting period in order to improve the poor signal  to
     noise  ratio  encountered at the present  large  spacecraft-
     Earth distances.

2.   SPACECRAFT STATUS

     POWER

     Nominal.
     Estimated S/C power consumption 258 watts.

     AOCS

     Nominal.

     TTC

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

     The  34  meter  ground stations are in use  to  support  TTC
     operations, with at least one 70m station pass per  week  to
     support ranging.

     Received downlink level -142 dBm.(34 meter) X-band.

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

     Received uplink level -126 dBm.

     DATA HANDLING

     The  anomaly on CTU2 reported in previous Operations Reports
     is  still  under investigation.  The operational  impact  of
     this anomaly is being studied by both the Spacecraft Control
     Team  and  the instrument teams in the event that  this  CTU
     would have to be configured for operational use.

     THERMAL

     Nominal.

3.   FLIGHT DYNAMICS

     Solar Aspect   The angle increased from 10.67 on
     Angle (deg.)   1st December to 10.98 on 7th December.

     Sun-Probe-Earth  The angle increased from 10.82 on
     Angle (deg.)     1st December to 11.04 on 7th December.

     Spin Rate               4.981 rpm.

4.   ORBITAL DATA

     Data taken at 13:00 PDT on 7th December.
     Distance from Earth                767,566,804 km.
     Velocity relative to the Earth         130,168 km/hr.
     Velocity relative to the Sun            33,088 km/hr.
     Ecliptic latitude                         14.3 deg/south

5.   PLANNED OPERATIONS

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

     On 9th December a HET calibration will take place.

     Also  on  9th  December KEP GAS (Interstellar Neutral Gas
     instrument) sky scanning  will  commence again.

     On 10th December the HET will be reset.

     On  12th  December  the  on-board tapes  recorders  will  be
     changed over.  Recorder 2 will become the prime unit.

     Earth pointing manoeuvres will be performed on 9th and  14th
     December.

     Periods  of  2048  bps  at low antenna  elevations  will  be
     avoided  to improve the signal to noise ratio in the  coming
     months.   This will slightly reduce the percentage  of  1024
     bps real-time data received.  During this period, 70m passes
     will   also  be  scheduled  to  perform  ranging  at   large
     spacecraft-Earth distances while maintaining the desired bit
     rates.

6.   GROUND SEGMENT

     The  ground segment performed nominally during the reporting
     period with the exception of the problems reported above.






ULYSSES MISSION STATUS
December 11, 1992


  All spacecraft and science operations are performing well.  Routine
Earth-pointing maneuvers continue to be conducted about every five days.
The last maneuver was performed on Dec. 9 and the next is scheduled for Dec.
14.

     Ulysses' on-board tape recorders will be switched tomorrow, Dec. 12.  Tape
recorder 2 will become the primary recorder and tape recorder 1 will be used as
a backup unit.

     A reduction in the number of ranging passes continued during this
reporting period to improve the spacecraft signal at its great distance from
Earth. Today Ulysses is about 760 million kilometers (470 million miles) from
Earth, traveling at a heliocentric velocity of about 32,500 kilometers per hour
(20,600 miles per hour).  The spacecraft is 14.3 degrees south of the ecliptic
plane in which the planets orbit, slowly looping its way back toward the sun.

     The Keppler Gas Experiment that measures neutral helium gas from
interstellar space was turned on again on Dec. 9.  Measurement of the arrival
speed and direction of the interstellar gas allows scientists to determine how
our solar system is moving through interstellar space.  Now that Ulysses has
climbed more than 14 degrees out of the ecliptic plane, it is possible to
determine speed and direction more accurately by including measurements made in
the third dimension.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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OFFICE OF SPACE FLIGHT

Space Shuttle

     This was a banner year for the Shuttle program as it demonstrated its
maturity and reliability in the missions flown, a reduction in the program's
operational costs, and the addition of significant hardware upgrades that
improved the overall system.

     In January, the manifest showed eight flights scheduled and at year's end,
all eight had been flown.  Seven of the eight mission launched on the day set
at the flight readiness review and the eighth was 1 day late.  The Shuttle
system flew so trouble free that two missions were extended for additional
science gathering.  This year also saw the longest mission ever flown to date,
STS-50, which lasted 14 days.

     Highlighting the missions conducted was Endeavour's maiden voyage in May
on the STS-49 mission.  The crew rescued a wayward satellite and in the
process, set three new records for space flight - 4 spacewalks on a single
mission, the longest spacewalk ever conducted (8 hours, 29 minutes) and the
first 3-person spacewalk ever performed.

     Three Shuttle missions, STS-42 in January, STS-50 in June and STS-47 in
September, carried the pressurized spacelab module.  Experiments conducted on
those flights previewed the activities that will be undertaken on Space Station
Freedom.

     The Shuttle system showed its versatility though out the year.  In March
it served as an orbiting observatory for the STS-45/ATLAS mission.  The STS-46
mission in July demonstrated new technology in space with the Tethered
Satellite System payload.  Columbia and the STS-52 crew in October showed the
orbiter's ability to fly a combination mission as they deployed the LAGEOS
satellite and then conducted microgravity research with the United States
Microgravity Payload.

     The year also saw the last dedicated Department of Defense mission flown
by the Shuttle during the STS-53 flight in early December.

     Safety remained the Shuttle program's top priority.  Space Shuttles
Columbia and Discovery completed major structural inspections and
modifications.  Structural inspections and modifications of Space Shuttle
Atlantis, including work to allow it to dock with the Mir Space Station, began
in October. When Atlantis returns to flight status in 1993, all of NASA's
orbiters will have incorporated modifications to the braking system and drag
chutes.

     During the year, a detailed budget review resulted in significant cost
reductions.  The total reduction achieved for fiscal year (FY) 1992 was $368
million or 9 per cent of the FY 1992 baseline budget.  A budget reduction plan
is in place that will result in over a billion dollars in cost savings in FY
1996, again, as compared to the FY 1992 baseline budget.

     A new class of 19 astronaut candidates was named in March. During the year
astronauts Vance D. Brand, Bruce E. Melnick, John O. Creighton, Kathryn D.
Sullivan, David C. Hilmers, James C. Adamson, James F. Buchli and Daniel M.
Brandenstein left the agency.

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OFFICE OF SPACE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

Space Station Freedom

     Moving ever-closer to the first element launch of Space Station Freedom,
1992 was the year of the critical design review (CDR).  CDRs for each
individual work package, leading to a design review for the entire human-tended
configuration, are on schedule to be completed by June 1993.  Completion of the
CDR marks the point at which the design is 90 percent completed and the
contractor is given authority to proceed with development of the flight
hardware.

     At the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., prime contractor
Boeing Defense and Space Group began a series of hardware tests demonstrating
how space station components will be joined in orbit.  Among the tests were
"berthing" tests of a full-size pressurized module to a node.  Other tests
included thermal and structural loads simulating conditions the hardware will
be exposed to in space.

     At the Johnson Space Center, Houston, responsible for major space station
systems, several milestones were achieved in the Work Package 2 program.
Nineteen detailed design reviews examining the JSC-managed space station
subsystems have been completed with the remaining 15 scheduled for completion
prior to the April 1993 Work Package 2 CDR.

     More than 400 pieces of development hardware now exist and 50 percent of
prime contractor McDonnell Douglas' development test program is complete.
Examples include development of the pre- integrated truss (PIT) segments 1 and
2 used in underwater testing at JSC's Weightless Environment Training Facility
which allows the astronauts to conduct critical assessment of orbital
replacement unit positioning.

     Integrated truss assembly segments S1 and S2 vibroacoustic and thermal
vacuum test articles were built and tested for use in assessing structural
integrity during launch operations and exposure to the space environment.  The
propulsion module development unit was constructed and tested under similar
conditions and the test article is currently undergoing cold and hot-flow tests
at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico.

     The segment-to-segment attach systems development test was conducted
verifying the connections required to join the individual PIT segments
on-orbit.  In the Data Management System, DMS kits, an integrated set of
electronic units functionally equivalent to the station's data management
system, were delivered to the Johnson Space Center and to the Kennedy Space
Center. Releases of DMS software were delivered to NASA on or ahead of
schedule.

     At the Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, responsible for the system that
supplies Freedom's electrical power, nearly one-half of the critical design
reviews for the various components that comprise the Photovoltaic Module and
the Power Management and Distribution System were completed.  Development
testing of the solar array panels and extensive fault current tests also were
successfully completed.

     "More than 24,000 flight solar cells have been delivered (75 percent of an
array) and cell production is proceeding quite well," said Lewis's Space
Station Freedom Project Manager Ron Thomas. Battery testing is underway with
this year's accumulation giving 3 years of cycle testing on some cells.

     In the power management and distribution area, Work Package-4 engineers
have completed the first three phases of system tests in the Solar Power
Electronics Laboratory at prime contractor Rocketdyne's facility in Canoga
Park, Calif. These included steady- state, transient, stability, battery
control and communications tests.

     In addition to the manufacturing and testing activities, construction
began on modifications to Lewis's Power Systems Facility. The modifications are
necessary to support the integration, checkout and assembly of the flight
hardware before it is shipped to the launch site at the Kennedy Space Center,
Fla.

     Preparations for on-orbit assembly and maintenance were highlighted by
several neutral buoyancy tests of the PV module cargo element mockup as well as
robotic tests on replacement of several orbital replacement unit boxes.

     In October, Administrator Goldin announced changes to Space Station
Freedom management that would "ensure NASA's top talent is working on the
program."



     Marty Kress, previously the Assistant Administrator for Legislative
Affairs, was named Deputy Program Manger for Policy and Management. Tom
Campbell was named Chief Financial Officer for Freedom. Campbell had been
serving as the NASA Comptroller.

     In December, NASA announced plans to consolidate management of the Space
Station Freedom program in Reston, Va. "Reston will remain the focal point for
the space station program for the foreseeable future," said Associate
Administrator for Space Systems Development Arnold Aldrich.

     The Space Shuttle continued to play a critical role in paving the way for
space station assembly, utilization and operations in 1992.

     Four Space Shuttle missions carried up Spacelab hardware, demonstrating
human interaction in the conduct of science in space and bridging the gap
between the first small steps taken in microgravity research in space started
in Apollo to its full-blown maturity on Freedom.

     A number of space station precursor research facilities were flown on
STS-50, the first United States Microgravity Laboratory, such as a glovebox and
a crystal growth furnace.  In addition, space station hardware - two foot
restraints - were flown for evaluation by USML crew members.

     On STS-49, the maiden flight of Endeavour, astronauts Kathy Thornton and
Tom Akers performed a space walk to demonstrate assembly techniques for
Freedom. The experiment, called Assembly of Station by EVA Methods, or ASEM,
evaluated such things as construction techniques and the ability of astronauts
to move large, heavy objects around in space.

     The first major conference devoted to describing Freedom's capabilities
and services to the user community was held in Huntsville, Ala., in August.
Administrator Goldin gave the keynote address, calling Freedom "NASA's 10th
research facility, as well as well as a national and international program."
Goldin challenged NASA to increase the participation by the user community to
200 to 300 real researchers at the next conference.

     In Congress, Freedom's future was debated in three separate measures over
a 13 month period.  In each case, the Congress voted to maintain America's
commitment to build the space station and preserve U.S. leadership in space.  A
final conference bill resulted in NASA's securing $2.1 billion for space
station in Fiscal Year 1993, $150 million less than the President's request.

ASRM

     In 1992, Congressional direction and budgetary shortfalls were driving
factors in the restructuring and termination of two other major activities.

     Congress determined that the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM) program
should proceed but at a reduced level of funding for FY 1993.  Consequently,
the program was restructured during the year resulting in a 22-month delay for
the first launch, now scheduled for December 1998.  During the past year, ASRM
facilities design reached 100 percent and construction of facilities passed the
50 percent mark.  Construction of case production facilities in Southern
Indiana was completed; two of a total of four large ASRM segment transporters
were delivered to NASA by the German contractor in December.

NLS

     Also in 1992, the Congress voted to terminate the joint NASA/Air Force New
Launch System (NLS) which was to have been a new family of vehicles designed to
meet both civil and military launch requirements after the turn of the century.
$10 million was appropriated to the Air Force for accomplishing the
termination; an additional $10 million was appropriated to NASA for
continuation of development work, begun under NLS, for a new Space
Transportation Main Engine.

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AERONAUTICS

     In 1992, NASA's aeronautics research took on a higher profile, with major
advances in high-speed research, subsonic transports, high-performance aircraft
and the creation of a new, separate Office of Aeronautics.

     Early in the year, NASA's Lewis Research Center, General Electric Co. and
Pratt & Whitney teamed up in a unique government- industry partnership to
develop advanced materials for a next- generation U.S. supersonic transport.
The 5-year, $88 million effort, part of NASA's High-Speed Research Program,
focuses on composite materials for high-temperature, low-emissions engine
combustion chambers.

     In July, construction began on a high-flying, lightweight unpiloted
research aircraft called Perseus that NASA will use to measure ozone levels and
gather other atmospheric data for the High- Speed Research Program. When it
begins science missions in 1994, Perseus will carry up to 110 pounds (49.5
kilograms) of instruments as high as 82,000 feet (25 kilometers).

     The highlight of NASA's subsonic research in 1992 was a dramatic series of
flights to evaluate airborne windshear sensors under actual severe weather
conditions.  NASA's Boeing 737 research plane, based at Langley Research
Center, Hampton, Va., tested a laser radar (lidar) system, an infrared sensor
and a microwave radar at the Denver and Orlando, Fla. airports.  It was the
first flight test of the lidar system.

     During the year, NASA and the Army began a 5-year program to increase
helicopter agility and maneuverability.  The effort at NASA's Ames Research
Center, Mountain View, Calif., uses a modified UH-60A helicopter as a flying
laboratory.  The experiments focus on computer software that determines how
helicopters respond to pilots' commands, improved navigation systems and pilot
displays.

     A NASA F-15 based at Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards,
Calif., started supersonic flight tests of a Performance Seeking Control system
that may make future high-speed aircraft more fuel-efficient and reliable.

     In 1992, Dryden also became home to tests with the X-31 Enhanced Fighter
Maneuverability aircraft.  NASA is part of an international group flying the
X-31 to show the value of coupling thrust vectoring (directing engine exhaust
flow) with advanced flight control systems to increase maneuverability in
nose-high forward flight.

National Aero-Space Plane (NASP)

     The nation got a preview of tomorrow's space transportation in June when a
50-foot mockup of the National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) rolled out of its hanger
at Mississippi State University, Starkville, Miss. Senior engineering students
at the school won the chance to build the mockup in a nationwide competition
sponsored by NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD).

      NASP is a joint NASA/DoD effort to develop advanced technologies for
future vehicles that could take off like an airplane, fly into Earth orbit
using supersonic combustion ramjets (scramjets) and minimal rocket propulsion,
then return through the atmosphere to land on a runway.

SPACE TECHNOLOGY

     NASA's research on space technology in 1992 stressed new methods that
robots and humans eventually may use to explore the moon and Mars.

     A pair of experiments evaluated telepresence technology that lets a
person, wearing a video headset, see remote locations through cameras mounted
on a robot.  The technology could be used by future astronauts to control
robotic explorers on planetary surfaces.

     Beginning in October, NASA scientists employed telepresence to direct the
mini-sub during explorations of ice-covered Lake Hoare on Antarctica's Ross
Island. A 5-person research team studied the physical and biological nature of
the lake to obtain clues about organism that may once have lived on Mars.

     In June, NASA's Jet Propulsion laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., unveiled
Rocky IV, the latest in a series of planetary mini-rovers.  Rocky IV is a
prototype of a robot that may go to Mars in 1996 as part of the Mars
Environmental Survey (MESUR) mission.  The 16.5- pound (7.4-kilogram) testbed
is helping NASA researchers learn how to integrate planetary landers and their
science instruments under Mars-like conditions.

     Around the same time, NASA-Langley engineers assembled a large- scale
parabolic (double-curve) antenna in a huge water tank at NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. The tank's buoyancy simulated the microgravity
environment that astronauts must work in while putting together large objects
in space.  The tests helped to establish assembly times and work procedures for
antennas that are too large to fit inside a space vehicle in one piece.

     In October, NASA chose 29 supercomputing research proposals that will pave
the way for revolutionary advances in Earth and space science.  The projects
will try to achieve computer capabilities far beyond those of today's machines,
allowing scientists to produce realistic computer models of phenomena such as
the interactions of Earth's oceans, air and land masses and the evolution of
the universe.

     In October, NASA Administrator Goldin announced that the agency's space
technology work would be combined with commercial space activities in a new
Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology.

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ADVANCED CONCEPTS AND TECHNOLOGY

     The new Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology (OACT) was established
to improve the way in which NASA approaches the development and transfer of
advanced technology, as well as the commercialization of space and space
technologies.

     An interim organizational structure was established and an Organizational
Process Action Team was formed to develop an integrated plan for combining the
two offices.  The team -- comprising personnel from the two offices, as well as
other NASA program offices and field installations -- will present its initial
recommendations to the NASA Administrator sometime this month.

Commercial Flight Activities

     Throughout 1992, OCP sponsored more than 20 commercial payloads aboard the
Space Shuttle. In June, OCP participated in the flight of the U.S. Microgravity
Laboratory-1 (USML-1) -- aboard STS-50 -- with the Office of Space Science and
Applications. Five commercial payloads, consisting of more than 30
investigations in materials, fluids and biological processes, were flown on the
record-breaking, 2-week mission.

        One USML-1 payload specialist was Dr. Lawrence J. DeLucas, the first
scientist from a NASA Center for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS) to
fly aboard the Space Shuttle. Successful results obtained from protein crystal
growth experiments conducted during the mission are directly attributable to
the involvement of DeLucas.

        Forty percent of the proteins flown on the mission produced larger and
higher quality crystals than their groundbased counterparts, compared to 20
percent on previous flights.  Other commercial investigations on USML-1
provided promising results, including the growth of zeolite crystals; a 98
percent success rate in the flight hardware used to process more than 20
separate biomaterials, biotechnology and life sciences experiments; and
successful demonstration of a safe and reliable way of providing water and
nutrients to plants for indefinite periods of time in a microgravity
environment -- an international first.

        In October, four commercial payloads, comprising more than 30
investigations, were flown aboard STS-52 to evaluate a compound being developed
to treat osteoporosis; to further study protein crystal growth for drug
research and development; to test a furnace to learn more about growing larger
and more uniform industrial crystals; and to learn more about how microgravity
can aid research in

drug development and delivery, basic cell biology, protein and inorganic
crystal growth, bone and invertebrate development, immune deficiencies,
manufacturing processes and fluid sciences.

        Other commercial experiments were flown aboard the Space Shuttle during
1992 to study the influence of microgravity on the processing of gelled sols;
to investigate the physical and chemical processes that occur during the
formation of polymer membranes in microgravity; to further investigate and
develop the bases for materials processing in space; to study the effects of
the low-Earth orbit environment on space structure materials; and to assess the
utility of an Electronic Still Camera.

Technology Transfer

     1992 marked the 30th anniversary of NASA's Technology Transfer Program,
established under congressional mandate to promote the transfer of aerospace
technology to other sectors of the U.S. economy.

     In January, NASA, as part of a major initiative to upgrade its technology
transfer program, established six Regional Technology Transfer Centers (RTTC)
to directly serve the commercial sector through the transfer and commercial use
of NASA and other federal technologies.  The RTTCs, closely aligned with
state-level programs, operate as industry-driven catalysts for federal
technology transfer throughout their regions.

     Also in 1992, the National Technology Transfer Center (NTTC) -- sponsored
by NASA in cooperation with other federal agencies -- initiated operations in
conjunction with the RTTCs and other technology transfer programs.  The RTTCs
and NTTC, along with affiliated federal and state programs, now form the basis
of the innovative National Technology Transfer Network.

     In February, the National Technology Initiative (NTI) was launched by NASA
and the Departments of Commerce, Energy and Transportation to spur U.S.
economic competitiveness by promoting a better understanding of the
opportunities for industry to commercialize new technology advances.  The NTI
consisted of a series of regional meetings to highlight the federal
government's investment in advanced technologies, much of which has commercial
potential.

     In May, a pair of computer-driven glasses that can help millions of
Americans afflicted with certain low vision problems was introduced.  The Low
Vision Enhancement Project is derived from NASA technology and is a product of
NASA's Technology Transfer Program in cooperation with the NASA Stennis Space
Center, Miss., and the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, Baltimore, Md.

     The third national technology transfer conference and exposition,
TECHNOLOGY 2002, took place Dec. 1-3, at the Baltimore Convention Center in
Baltimore, Md. Sponsored by NASA, "NASA Tech Briefs" magazine and the
Technology Utilization Foundation, the conference featured exhibits from NASA's
nine field centers, other government agencies, universities, government
research centers and a diverse array of high-tech companies.
  Communications and Remote Sensing

     In July, NASA selected 30 experiments proposed for inclusion in the
Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) program.  The experiments
represent the work of an impressive cross section of industry and academic
investigators.  Ten experiments also were selected to conduct propagation
research at Ka-band.

     During the year, the ACTS Experiments Program signed memoranda of
understanding with three agencies:

   * The National Telecommunications and Information Administration/Institute
for Telecommunication Sciences will test and evaluate the ACTS unique
capabilities and technology to gain knowledge of advanced communication
satellite system performance.

   * The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is developing a high data
rate satellite research testbed network.

   * The U.S. Army Space Command will use the ACTS to conduct demonstrations of
technology and applications which involve interoperation between ACTS and the
Army communications facilities.

Small Business Innovation Research

     From December through March 1992, the Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) Division selected 138 research proposals for negotiation of Phase II
contract awards in NASA's SBIR program.  Included were 126 small, high
technology firms located in 28 states.

     The selection of 348 research proposals for negotiation of Phase I
contracts in the 1992 SBIR program was announced in November. Proposals
selected were submitted by 256 small, high technology firms in 34 states.

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EXPLORATION

     Early in the year the Office of Exploration conducted a workshop with the
Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston to define the scientific requirements
for the first lunar orbital precursor missions.  Instruments to fly on these
missions were selected based on recommendations and input from the workshop.

     In addition, Exploration program officials conducted an in- depth
technical study of a First Lunar Outpost concept intended to be the baseline
architecture to return humans to the Moon. The program currently is evaluating
trade-offs and options for this baseline, which is expected to evolve and be
modified before it is flown.

     The Office of Exploration also initiated conceptual studies of possible
mission scenarios for human exploration of Mars.




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INTERNATIONAL

     The year 1992 was probably the most active international space cooperation
in NASA's history.  Highlights included increased cooperation with the Russian
Space Agency; the launch of international spacecraft/payloads; flight of
foreign payload specialists and an ESA mission specialist on the Space Shuttle
and the culmination of the Space Agency Forum on International Space Year
activities.

     Other highlights of 1992 include:

   * Scientists from NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space
Agency (CSA), the French National Center for Space Studies (CNES), the German
Space Agency (DARA) and the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA)
cooperated in the International Microgravity Laboratory-1 (IML-l) Space Shuttle
STS-42 mission launched on Jan. 22.  More than 200 scientists from 16 countries
participated in the investigations.  Dr. Robert Bondar, M.D. and Ph.D., of the
CSA, and Dr. Ulf Merbold of ESA flew as payload specialists.

   * The first Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (Atlas-l),
carried 12 instruments and investigations from the United States, France,
Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Japan. These instruments and
investigations studied the chemistry of Earth's atmosphere, solar radiation,
space plasma physics and ultraviolet astronomy on board the March STS-45 Space
Shuttle mission.  Dr. Dirk Frimout, an ESA scientist, flew as the first Belgian
payload specialist.

   * President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a
U.S./Russian space agreement in June which expanded bilateral cooperation in
space science, space exploration, space applications and the use of space
technology.

   * In July, NASA signed a contract with the Russian firm NPO Energia,
focusing on possible use of the Russian Soyuz-TM vehicle as an interim Assured
Crew Return Vehicle.

   * Geotail, a Japanese built-spacecraft, was launched from the Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station, Fla., on a Delta II expendable launch vehicle on July 24,
1992.  This joint U.S./Japanese project is the first in a series of five
satellites with significant participation from NASA, ESA and Japan to better
understand the interaction of the sun, the Earth's magnetic field and the Van
Allen radiation belts.  Geotail was developed by the Japanese Institute for
Space and Astronautical Science, in Sagamihara, Japan.

   * The Topex/Poseidon satellite was successfully launched on an Ariane IV
launch vehicle from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana on August
10.  Topex/Poseidon is a joint NASA/CNES program to study ocean circulation and
its role in regulating global climate.

   * The July/August STS-46 Space Shuttle mission included the flight of the
NASA-Italian Space Agency (ASI) Tethered Satellite System and deployment of the
European Retrievable Carrier platform.  Dr. Claude Nicollier, ESA mission
specialist and first Swiss astronaut, and Dr. Franco Malerba, ASI payload
specialist and the first Italian payload specialist, were members of the crew.

   * During the last meeting of the Space Agency Forum on International Space
Year (SAFISY) in Washington, D.C., in late August, the participants decided to
create a Space Agency Forum as a follow-on to SAFISY. A planning group,
including the United States, Japan, Europe, Russia, Canada, Brazil and China,
has been formed to work out details for the operation of the proposed new
organization, which will hold its first meeting in 1993.

   * The 50th Space Shuttle (STS-47) mission launched in September was a joint
U.S./Japanese Spacelab mission: 34 Japanese experiments, collectively called
Fuwatto '92, were flown on a reimbursable basis and shared the Spacelab module
with 7 from the United States and 2 joint experiments.  Dr. Mamoru Mohri flew
as the first Japanese payload specialist aboard the Shuttle.

   * In October, NASA and the Russian Space Agency signed an agreement for the
flight of a Russian cosmonaut on the U.S. Space Shuttle, the flight of a U.S.
astronaut on the Russian Mir Space Station and a joint mission including the
rendezvous and docking of the Space Shuttle with the Mir Space Station. Another
agreement also was signed in October for the flight of two U.S./NASA scientific
instruments on the Russian Mars '94 mission.

   * The STS-52 mission in October included the ASI's Laser Geodynamics
Satellite (LAGEOS) II launched on an Italian IRIS upper stage, CSA's CANEX-2
payload and the CNES/French Atomic Energy Commission's Mephisto instrument on
the U.S. Microgravity Payload. Steve MacLean flew as a payload specialist and
the third Canadian citizen to fly aboard the Space Shuttle.

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OFFICE OF SPACE COMMUNICATIONS

Space Network

     The on-orbit Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) provided
continuous communications coverage to NASA Space Network customers for up to 85
percent of each orbit, performing at a proficiency in excess of 99.8 percent.
A 33 percent increase in Space Shuttle flights, the addition of the Extreme
Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) and Ocean Topography Experiment satellites, and
continued heavy support for the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and Hubble Space
Telescope contributed to the TDRSS's added workload.

     In addition, commercial use of the TDRSS C-band resources started, via a
lease of those capabilities, to a small business private sector firm.

     Since becomming operational in late 1983, TDRSS has relayed approximately
3.5 million minutes of data to the ground, and its resources have been required
by every subsequent Space Shuttle mission.

     The TDRSS Continuation Program moved closer to the completion of the
ground terminal modifications required to maintain Space Network user services
and meet the evolving needs for satellite tracking and communications through
the first decade of the 21st Century. Construction of the Second TDRSS Ground
Terminal at the White Sands Complex, N.M., was completed and hardware/software
integration testing is underway.

Ground Data Systems

     The data processing program received and processed over 8 trillion bits of
scientific data containing space acquired images and measurements from both
free-flyer low Earth-orbiting spacecraft and Shuttle payloads.  The captured
data was converted to forms the science community could interpret and
distributed to world-wide science facilities.  With the advent of EUVE and
SAMPEX data, a new all-time record of 1 trillion bits of data a month was
processed.

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OFFICE OF SAFETY AND MISSION QUALITY

     Frederick D. Gregory, NASA Astronaut and Colonel, USAF, was named to the
position of Associate Administrator. Gregory is responsible for the safety and
mission quality for all NASA programs and activities and for the direction of
reporting and documentation of problem identification, problem resolution and
trend analysis.

     The Office of Safety and Mission Quality (SMQ) made significant
contributions to the successful operation of this year's Space Shuttle and
expendable launch vehicle missions.  SMQ provided independent safety oversight,
technical assessments, safety assurance engineering, policy development, risk
assessment and mishap investigations.

     A NASA Mechanical Parts Control Program Implementation Plan was initiated
to assure the integrity of NASA spaceflight hardware components critical to
protect human lives and programs.  The program is based on the Total Quality
Management concept and stresses continual improvement of mechanical parts.  The
program will increase the reliability and quality of NASA hardware, thereby
providing assurance necessary to launch crews and vehicles on more lengthy and
complex missions.

     A Safety, Reliability and Quality Assurance Working Group was established
to assure that both NASA's and the USSR's space plans for joint missions and
operations will meet all safety, reliability and quality assurance needs.
Also, the group is working to get a better understanding of Russian Space
programs safety issues, particularly when applied to crewed flights for joint
missions.  The Working Group participants include representatives from NASA
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.; Johnson Space Center, Houston; Kennedy Space
Center, Fla.; Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.; and Rockwell
International Corp., Calif.

     Over 2500 safety professionals, program personnel, and managers throughout
NASA were trained at the newly implemented NASA Safety Training Center.

     Established at the Johnson Space Center, training is conducted via
satellite or by center visits, with areas of training including Safety
Requirements, Payload Safety, Manager Safety, and Occupational Safety and Heath
Administration issues.

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

     During the International Space Year (ISY) kick-off celebration, NASA and
the Young Astronaut Council announced an ISY student space art contest, called
Outer Sight. Over 1,800 school children in grades K through 9 entered the
competition to capture ISY's spirit of world-wide celebration of space
cooperation and discovery by expressing their vision of future space
exploration and discovery.

     July 22 marked a major milestone for aerospace education by expanding the
National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program to include all 50 states,
the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The addition of Kentucky, Nebraska,
Puerto Rico, Vermont and Wyoming, along with their 26 colleges and
universities, brings the total number of participating institutions to more
than 320 nationwide.

     The first student managed and built payload flown on a NASA sounding
rocket was launched successfully on Sept. 21, from the NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. The pilot project,
known as the Colorado Student Ozone Atmospheric Rocket was developed to
demonstrate the use of sounding rocket flight as a valuable educational tool
for undergraduate and graduate students.

     Coinciding with the historic first flight of an African American female
astronaut, Dr. Mae C. Jemison, in September, NASA Administrator Goldin,
Congressman Louis Stokes (D-OH), and NAACP Chairman Dr. William Gibson
participated in a symposium to expand education and career opportunities for
minorities in science, engineering and technology.  Over 100 representatives of
organizations dedicated to expanding education and career opportunities for
underrepresented groups in science, engineering and technology attended.

     During STS-52, the Earth-orbiting crew of Space Shuttle Columbia talked
with the sea-voyaging crew of the historic Hawaiian canoe Hokule'a on Oct. 28.
At the same time, students throughout Hawaii, plotting the course of the
canoe's historic voyage, watched the televised conversation.  Selected students
asked both crews about flight and sail plans, weather, procedures for
navigating both vessels and about exploration.

     Tens of thousands of students in more than 20 nations interacted with
scientists, engineers and astronauts to learn about activities in space
exploration and Mission to Planet Earth through a series of satellite video
conferences.  To observe International Space Year, NASA conducted the first of
two live, interactive satellite videoconferences.  The first broadcast on Oct.
21 featured "Space Exploration."

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FY 1993 NASA APPROPRIATIONS

     Under the constraints facing all domestic discretionary programs in 1992,
congressional action on NASA's FY 1993 budget request produced a budget for the
civil space program lower than FY 1992, marking the first decrease in NASA
appropriations (not counting inflation) since 1974.  However, given earlier
indications that congressional budget cuts in NASA programs would be much
deeper, possibly including the deletion of funding for Space Station Freedom,
the final congressional outcome for FY 1993 was significantly better than
expected.

     The FY 1993 VA-HUD-Independent Agencies Appropriations Bill cleared
Congress on September 25 and was signed by President Bush on October 5.  NASA's
funding was set at $14.330 billion, $663 million less than the President's FY
93 request, and a $4 million decrease from FY 92.

     Among the most significant issues was the proposed cancellation of the
Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM) program due to budgetary constraints.  In
the final appropriations bill, however, Congress restored funding for ASRM,
$195 million in the Space Flight, Control And Data Communications appropriation
and $165 in the Construction Of Facilities appropriation.

     Funding for Space Science and Applications in FY 93 is $130 million less
than the request, but $127 million above the FY 92 level.  Included was funding
for the major science projects, including the Earth Observing System, the
Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility, the Cassini mission and the Shuttle Test
of Relativity Experiment/Gravity Probe B. The Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby
mission was canceled.

     The Space Station Freedom program was extensively debated again this year
in both houses of Congress. In the House, floor challenges to the space station
were rejected during both the authorization and appropriations debates.  In the
Senate, an amendment seeking to strike all funding for the space station was
defeated.  Funding in the amount of $2.1 billion was appropriated, $150 million
less than the request.

     Twenty-five million dollars was added to the Research and Development
appropriation for the High Speed Civil Transport program.  The joint NASA/DoD
National Aero-Space Plane program received no funding in the NASA budget for FY
93.  However, funding was included in the DoD appropriation for continued
development.

     The joint NASA/DoD New Launch System program was terminated, although
funding in the amount of $10 million was appropriated for continued work on new
engine development.

     Space Shuttle Operations was reduced by $175 million to $2.9 billion to
support a planned flight rate of eight Shuttle missions during the fiscal year.

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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1992 NASA Year-End Report

1992 SEEN AS NASA'S MOST PRODUCTIVE YEAR FOR SCIENCE DISCOVERIES

David W. Garrett
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.             December 21, 1992


RELEASE:  92-228

     It was a blockbuster year for NASA space science missions, with scientific
discoveries ranging from the beginning of time to black holes to the innermost
workings of the human cell.

     "Given the unprecedented return on science information and the robust
launch record, 1992 was the most productive year in the history of space
science," said Dr. Lennard A. Fisk, Associate Administrator for NASA's Office
of Space Science and Applications in Washington, D.C.

     "NASA is leading the way in a worldwide resurgence of space sciences and
exploration with 31 space science missions in operation and returning science.
This year is one for the record books," said NASA Administrator Daniel S.
Goldin.

     "Because of the successes of our operational spacecraft and the new
missions undertaken this year, we can look forward to an exciting and
increasingly productive future," Goldin said.

     Highlighting 1992 were a number of major science discoveries as well as
eight successful Space Shuttle missions providing an on- orbit life sciences
and microgravity research facility.

     Environmental research included studies which indicated the 1992 ozone
hole was larger than any previously seen.  International cooperation in space
missions increased in 1992, and the the ninth NASA Administrator, Daniel S.
Goldin, was appointed on April 1.

Secrets Yielded

     The Big Bang -- the primeval explosion that began the universe 15 billion
years ago -- yielded some of its secrets to the Cosmic Background Explorer
spacecraft in 1992.  The orbiting observatory detected temperature variations
within the glow from the initial expansion of the universe following the Big
Bang.



     Astronomers came closer this year to understanding mysterious black holes
when the Hubble Space Telescope uncovered evidence that there might be massive
black holes in the core of two galaxies.  The orbiting telescope also provided
the first direct view of an immense ring of dust which may fuel a massive black
hole at the heart of another galaxy.

     Six scientific spacecraft were launched during 1992 to explore the
universe, the solar system, the Earth and the Earth-sun environment.  Among
these was the Mars Observer, America's first mission to the Red Planet since
Viking 17 years ago.

     Five Spacelab missions aboard the Space Shuttle advanced human
understanding of how to live and work in space.

     A number of microgravity experiments tested various methods of growing
protein and zeolite crystals in space.  The results could have major commercial
potential and medical applications.

     Space technology research in 1992 stressed new methods that robots and
humans may eventually use to explore the moon and Mars, including
"telepresence" technology that lets a person, wearing a video headset, see
remote locations through cameras mounted on a robot.  The technology could be
used by future astronauts to control robotic explorers on planetary surfaces.

     International cooperation was highlighted by the flight of the first Swiss
astronaut and the first Italian payload specialist on STS-46 and the first
Japanese payload specialist flew on the STS-47 Spacelab mission.

     Also, NASA signed a contract with the Russian firm, NPO Energia, focusing
on possible use of the Russian Soyuz-TM vehicle as an interim Assured Crew
Return Vehicle for space station astronauts.

     Dr.  Mae C. Jemison became the first African American female astronaut to
fly in space in September aboard STS-48.

     These subjects and other 1992 NASA activities are covered in the following
background release.

- end general release -

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1992 NASA Year-End Report

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NASA MANAGEMENT

    Daniel S. Goldin became the ninth Administrator of NASA on April 1,
appointed by President Bush to succeeded Richard H. Truly. Prior to joining the
agency, Goldin was Vice President and General Manager of the TRW Space &
Technology Group which built 13 spacecraft during his tenure.

    The new Administrator assumed command at a time of shrinking financial
resources caused by the recession, the deficit reduction effort and growing
demands in other areas such as education, medical care and housing.

    Forecasts indicted that NASA would not receive appropriations
sufficient to support outyear development of projects initiated prior to the
recession, when the outlook for funds was more positive.

    Goldin initiated a series of efforts to respond to this situation with
the goal of preserving essential space exploration and aeronautics research
programs despite necessary cost reductions, while permitting the nation to
undertake new projects in both areas.

    Simultaneously, he launched campaigns to reform the agency's
procurement process, introduce greater cultural diversity into the workforce
and contracting, renew the NASA's commitment to quality and stimulate public
support for the program.

"Cheaper, Faster, Better"

    Constantly urging NASA employees and contractors alike to do things
"cheaper, faster and better," the Administrator created a group of blue and red
teams to review major NASA projects and their organizational settings.

    The blue teams consisted of persons who would examine their own
programs for creative ways to reduce cost without compromising safety or
science.  The red teams were composed of people unconnected with programs who
might bring fresh insights or insure that none were stiffled.

    This review began in May and has led to significant changes in a number
of major projects, with a 17 percent reduction in costs thus far.  The process
is intended to be on-going.

    In a closely related effort, Goldin constantly stressed the adoption of
the approaches and tools of Total Quality Management (TQM) which calls for a
continuous effort to improve quality, reduce cost and speed production.

    NASA, he declared in a talk to employees, is a "world class"
organization whose people must meet the most stringent standards for excellence
measured on a worldwide basis.  They were responsible, he said, for increasing
efficiency, saving money, improving quality and shortening the time to project
fruition - all without compromising safety.




A "Shared Vision" of the Future

    Soon after the formation of the blue and red teams, Goldin called on
NASA employees to submit their ideas for a NASA "shared vision of what we, as a
nation, should strive to accomplish in space." Closely coupled with this was a
series of well-attended "town meetings" held in cities throughout the country
to give the general public the opportunity to state its view about the future
of the space program.

    Goldin said the ultimate goal of these activities was to produce a
vision of America's future in space that would be shared and support by NASA,
Congress, the President and executive branch, academia, the space community and
the general public.

    In another major effort aimed at insuring quality and controlling cost,
the Administrator announced a series of procurement reforms.  Awards would be
made on the basis of well demonstrated adherence to quality, cost control and
schedule maintenance.  Award fees would be determined on the same basis, with
opportuity for greater gain by staying on schedule and within estimates.

    The reforms placed substantial emphasis on opportunity for small and
disadvantaged businesses, including culturally diverse businesses.  The agency
said it would step up deadlines for prime contractors to meet their quota of
awards to subcontractors in this category.  Incentive fees would stimulate the
effort.  Paperwork, which discouraged many small firms, was to be reduced
substantially.

    The Administrator also underscored the need for greater cultural
diversity in the agency's workforce, requiring the head of each NASA facility
to submit a plan to increase minority hiring. "I am personally and deeply
committed to making NASA a model for the nation in building a culturally
diverse workforce at every level," he said in a speech.  He said he wanted NASA
to reflect the nation's "wonderful mosaic of diverse people," and to signal
opportunity to young people of all races.

    In October, Goldin announced a series of structural changes in the
agency's organization designed to focus greater attention on certain projects
critical to the nation's future.  Mission to Planet Earth to aid the
environment would become an individual office, as would planetary science and
astrophysics, or Mission From Planet Earth, to explore the solar system and
look beyond into the universe.

Concern About America's Aeronautics Industry

    Aeronautics and space technology development, which were combined in a
single office, were to be separated.  Goldin stated in a speech that the
nation's aeronautics industry was loosing ground to aggressive foreign
competitiors to such a degree that it was in a crisis.  He declared that NASA
would place substantially greater emphasis on aeronautics and that this would
be the sole responsibility of the Aeronautics Office.

    Technology was joined to the commercial development function in a
"one-stop shopping" concept to serve both NASA and private industry.  The goal
is speed the introduction of new technology throughout the space program and to
enhance the process of spinoff to American industry which, in the past, has led
to thousands of new commercial products and processes.

    Goldin maintained an aggressive schedule of speaking throughout the
country on a large variety of subjects.  Of particular prominence was the
effort to explain and win support for a return to the moon and exploration of
Mars; to win anew congressional funding for Space Station Freedom; to explain
the value of the space program as a national investment to rebuild
technological leadership and hone a competitive edge, and to proclaim the need
for far greater international cooperation in space to continue the exploration
of the universe beyond planet Earth.

    In the latter regard, the Administrator represented the nation in
signing historic new agreements with the Soviet Union that will expand
considerably space cooperation between the two nations.  The agreements provide
for the exchange of astronauts and cosmonauts on space flights, study of a
Russian vehicle for possible emergency crew return from Space Station Freedom,
a Shuttle-Mir Space Station link-up, and life sciences and robotic exploration
activities.

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

EXPLORING THE UNIVERSE

     NASA's astrophysics program delivered new and important results about the
fundamental nature of the cosmos in 1992.  Discoveries throughout the year
increased human understanding of the origin and fate of the universe, the laws
of physics and the evolution of galaxies, stars and planets.

     Highlights of 1992 discoveries made by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST),
Compton Observatory, Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), Roentgen Satellite
(ROSAT), Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) are listed below, by astronomical
object.

Planets

   * Conducting long-term observations of global weather changes on Mars (HST).

   * Measured the extent of the atmosphere of the Jovian moon Io and looked for
surface changes (HST).

Stellar Evolution

   * Provided the first clear view of one of the hottest known stars (360,000
degrees Fahrenheit), which lies at the center of the Butterfly Nebula, NGC 2440
(HST).

Star Clusters

   * Discovered a cataclysmic variable star in the core of globular cluster 47
Tucanae, the first known optical counterpart to an x-ray source in a globular
cluster (HST).





Stars

   * Detected several sources of extreme ultraviolet light through interstellar
gas and dust, including the corona of a star, a white dwarf companion star and
red dwarf stars (EUVE).

   * Discovered unexpected "gamma ray afterglow" on the sun.  A strong
emanation of high-energy gamma rays persisted for more than 5 hours after a
solar flare explosion (Compton).

Pulsars

   * Solved 20-year old mystery about the power source of Geminga, a gamma ray
pulsar, which was found to be a 300,000 year-old rotating neutron star (ROSAT,
Compton).

Galaxies

   * Uncovered circumstantial evidence for the presence of a massive black hole
in the core of the neighboring galaxy M32 as well as the giant elliptical
galaxy M87 (HST).

   * Provided the first direct view of an immense ring of dust which may fuel a
massive black hole at the heart of the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 4261 and the
spiral galaxy M51 (HST).

   * Detected for the first time high-energy gamma rays from a class of active
galaxy similar to quasars and possibly powered by a black hole (Compton).

   * Found three new gamma-ray quasars, detected more than 200 cosmic gamma ray
bursts and captured the best ever observation of the glow of gamma radiation
from the disk of the Milky Way galaxy (Compton).

Cosmology

   * Detected the long-sought variations within the glow from the Big Bang --
the primeval explosion that began the universe 15 billion years ago.  This
detection is a major milestone in a 25-year search and supports theories
explaining how the initial expansion happened (COBE).

   * Determined more accurately the expansion rate of the universe by detecting
27 "Cepheid variable" stars in a faint spiral galaxy called IC 4182.  Cepheid
variables are used to estimate distances to galaxies (HST).

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EXPLORING THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Mars Observer

     "Launched Sept. 25 aboard a Titan III ELV, "Mars Observer will examine
Mars much like Earth satellites now map our weather and resources," said Dr.
Wesley Huntress, Director of NASA's Solar System Exploration Division,
Washington, D.C. "It will give us a vast amount of geological and atmospheric
information covering a full Martian year.  At last we will know what Mars is
actually like in all seasons, from the ground up, pole to pole," Huntress said.

     On Aug. 24, 1993, the spacecraft will begin orbiting the planet Mars. Mars
Observer will provide scientists with an orbital platform from which the entire
Martian surface and atmosphere will be examined and mapped by the seven science
instruments on board.  The measurements will be collected daily from the low-
altitude polar orbit, over the course of 1 complete Martian year -- the
equivalent of 687 Earth days.

High Resolution Microwave Survey (HRMS)

     Initiated on Columbus day, 500 years after the explorer landed in America,
the HRMS project began searching for signals transmitted by other
civilizations.  The search will be conducted in two modes - - a sky survey that
will sweep the celestial sphere for signals and a targeted search that will
look at about 800 nearby "sunlike" stars.  NASA's Deep Space Network, in
Goldstone, Calif., and the Aericibo Observatory in Puerto Rico will conduct
most of the survey.

Cassini

     A comprehensive examination of the Cassini spacecraft and mission, was
successfully completed Dec. 11.  Cassini is scheduled for launch in Oct. 1997
with an arrival at Saturn in June 2004.  Cassini will fly by Venus and twice by
Earth and Jupiter before arriving at Saturn to begin a 4-year orbital tour of
the ringed planet and its 18 moons.

     In addition to the 12 instruments aboard the orbiter, the Huygens probe,
built by the European Space Agency, will penetrate the thick atmosphere of
Titan (the largest of Saturn's moons) in Nov. 2004.

Ulysses

     The Ulysses spacecraft received a gravity assist as it flew by Jupiter on
Feb. 8 at 280,000 miles from the planet's center.  Ulysses, designed to study
the sun's magnetic field and solar wind, used Jupiter's gravity assist to gain
the momentum needed to break out of the plane of the ecliptic and into a solar
polar orbit.  During the hazardous Jupiter fly-by, scientists investigated the
interaction of the giant planet's magnetic field and the solar wind.

Pioneer Venus

     As expected, after the Pioneer Venus orbiter's maneuvering fuel ran out,
it made a fiery entry into Venus' upper atmosphere on Oct. 8.  Pioneer Venus
had been orbiting the planet since 1978 and over the past 14 years, has
returned numerous data about Venus' atmosphere and surface topography.

     The first topographic maps of the cloud-shrouded surface of the planet
were made using the radar instrument on Pioneer Venus.

Magellan

    The Magellan spacecraft, mapping the hidden surface of Venus with radar
since August 1990, lowered its closest altitude to Venus on Sept. 14, when it
began a full 243-day cycle of gravity mapping.

     Magellan has completed three cycles of mapping with its radar, covering 99
percent of the surface of Venus. The objective of cycle 4, which extends to May
15, 1993, is to obtain a global map of the Venus gravity field from the
elliptical orbit.

Galileo

     NASA's Galileo spacecraft flew by the Earth on Dec. 8 at an altitude of
189 miles (304 kilometers) above the South Atlantic Ocean, completing a 3-year
gravity-assist trajectory.

     This latest gravity-assist added about 8,300 miles per hour (13,300
kilometers per hour) to the spacecraft's speed in its solar orbit and changed
its direction slightly, to put it on an elliptical trajectory directly to the
orbit of Jupiter, about 480 million miles (780 million kilometers) from the
sun.  The spacecraft will arrive at Jupiter on Dec. 7, 1995.

     At Jupiter, Galileo will relay data from a probe launched into the
planet's atmosphere to obtain direct measurements of that environment for the
first time.  Over a 23-month period, the spacecraft will fly ten different
elliptical orbits of Jupiter, making at least two close passes by each of its
four major satellites and carrying out extended observations of the planet
atmosphere and magnetosphere.

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UNDERSTANDING THE EARTH - SUN ENVIRONMENT

SAMPEX

     The Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer was launched July
2, is the first of a new series of Small Explorer missions which will enable
scientists to develop less costly astronomy and space science experiments in a
shorter period of time.

     The spacecraft's peculiar 342-by-419-mile-high elliptical orbit will
enable the onboard instruments to use the Earth as a giant magnetic shield.  By
doing this, the 4 instruments can determine if particles are coming from the
sun, from the Milky Way Galaxy, or whether they are the anomalous cosmic rays.

     SAMPEX is expected to contribute new knowledge and improve understanding
of the evolution of the sun, solar system and galaxies.

Geotail

     Launched July 24, 1992, Geotail is investigating the interactions of the
solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere, providing scientists with new
information on the flow of energy and its transformation in the region called
the magnetotail.

     The Geotail mission -- a joint U.S./Japanese project -- is the first in a
series of satellites in an international program to better understand the
interaction of the sun, the Earth's magnetic field and the Van Allen radiation
belts.

     The solar wind, interacting with the Earth's magnetic field, can cause
disruptions in short-wave radio communications and power surges in long
transmission lines.

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LIVING AND WORKING IN SPACE

     During the past year, several opportunities to work in a laboratory in
space, perform life and material sciences experiments and learn more about how
humans adapt to the space environment have afforded scientists with vital
information that may lead to useful commercial and medical applications on
Earth.

Microgravity Science

     Three spacelab missions were flown to explore the effects of space on
protein crystals, electronic materials, fluids, glasses and ceramics and metals
and alloys.

     Missions flown aboard the Space Shuttle this year include the
International Microgravity Laboratory, flown in January; United States
Microgravity Laboratory-1, June, and United States Microgravity Platform-1,
October. The September flight of Spacelab- J, the Japanese Spacelab, also
included NASA-sponsored microgravity experiments.

     A total of 45 NASA sponsored microgravity experiments flew on these
missions.  They were exposed to the microgravity environment for an average of
approximately 10-days.  These flights represented more peer-reviewed, hands-on
microgravity research than had been conducted by the United States since Skylab
in 1974-75.

Life Sciences

     The International Microgravity Laboratory-1 carried 29 life sciences
experiments and Spacelab-J, the Japanese Spacelab, seven.  The United States
Microgravity Laboratory-1 (USML-1) mission, although dedicated to microgravity
science, supported a series of medical investigations as part of the Extended
Duration Orbiter Medical Project.

     The longest Space Shuttle mission to date, USML-1 proved to be an
excellent laboratory for these investigations.  Many of the other Space Shuttle
missions also included life sciences experiments.

     During the winter of 1992, life sciences experiments were conducted in the
most unearthly place on the planet -- Antarctica. NASA and National Science
Foundation sponsored several unique science and technology projects developed
under a joint effort called the Antarctic Space Analog Program.

     NASA also is participating in a cooperative life sciences mission with
Russia. Late in December, Russia will launch COSMOS '92 "biosatellite," a
recoverable, unpiloted spacecraft that carries plant and animal experiments.
Flight Systems

     In March, the ATLAS-1 mission used two Spacelab pallets to conduct
investigations into the sun's energy output, the chemistry of the Earth's
atmosphere, space plasma physics and astronomy.  A core set of six instruments
will fly repeatedly to study the interaction of the Sun and the Earth's
atmosphere.

     In cooperation with the Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology, the
division managed NASA's contribution to the national High-Speed Computing and
Communications program.

     In October, 29 supercomputing proposals were selected to advance
substantially how computers can be used to study problems ranging from the
environment to the evolution of the universe.  These projects will use
"parallel processing" computers, machines that use up to thousands of
processors to work simultaneously on a problem.

     In January, the NASA Science Internet (NSI) helped implement the world's
first high-speed computer network link to Antarctica, providing voice and data
links between the continental United States and the U.S. base at McMurdo Sound.
In November, NSI staff set up the first video link between Antarctica and the
United States to transmit images between the Ames Research Center and a
remotely operated vehicle maneuvering under ice-covered lakes.

     In January, the National Space Science Data Center's Data Archive and
Dissemination System became operational.  User interest in these electronically
available astrophysics and space physics data sets has been high, with recent
access rates running at 700 remote user sessions per month.

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UNDERSTANDING THE EARTH

     In its first full year, NASA's Mission to Planet Earth encompassed three
flight programs, a series of ground-based and airborne expeditions and ongoing
research and analysis to better understand the Earth as a global environmental
system.

TOPEX/POSEIDON

     The U.S.-French satellite TOPEX/POSEIDON, launched in August, will help
define the relationship between the Earth's oceans and climate.  By measuring
the sea-surface height with unprecedented accuracy, TOPEX/POSEIDON will provide
scientists with global maps of ocean circulation.

     The oceans transport heat from the Earth's equator toward the poles, and
TOPEX/POSEIDON data will provide a better understanding of how this mechanism
works.  TOPEX/POSEIDON is a joint mission between NASA and CNES, the French
space agency.

LAGEOS II

     A passive satellite, the Italian LAGEOS II is covered with reflectors that
send laser beams back to the ground stations that sent the beams.  Measurements
over the years and over wide geographic areas show how the techtonic plates
that make up the Earth's crust are moving.  Since most earthquakes and
volcanoes occur where these plates meet, LAGEOS II will help geologists
understand how these cataclysmic events occur and where they are likely to
happen.

Earth Observing System

     The centerpiece of Mission to Planet Earth, the Earth Observing System
(EOS) continued to progress to the launch of its first satellite in June 1998.
Internal teams reviewed the program with the goal of reducing funding
requirements through FY 2000 by approximately 30 percent while retaining the
essence of the instrument complement and science plan.

Ozone Research

     Continuing its leading effort in the study of ozone depletion, NASA
cooperated with NOAA and other organizations to mount the second Airborne
Arctic Stratospheric Expedition from November 1991 through March 1992.

     The campaign discovered record-high levels of chlorine monoxide, a key
chemical in the ozone depletion cycle, over Eastern Canada and New England.
This finding was complemented by data from the Upper Atmosphere Research
Satellite (UARS), which observed high concentrations of chlorine monoxide over
Europe and Asia.

     In the Antarctic, the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer, which has been
observing global ozone levels for 14 years, indicated the 1992 ozone hole was
15 percent larger in area than any previously seen.  Earlier, UARS had observed
chemicals involved in ozone depletion in the Antarctic atmosphere as early as
June, 3 months before significant ozone depletion begins.

     NASA's ozone research expanded with the first of a new series of Space
Shuttle missions in April. Titled the ATLAS program, these missions study the
sun's energy output and the atmosphere's chemical makeup, and how these factors
affect ozone levels.  ATLAS' instruments are precisely calibrated before and
after flight, providing a check on data gathered by similar instruments on
free- flying satellites.

     To distinguish natural global change from human-induced change and to
understand how humans are changing their environment, Mission to Planet Earth
provides scientists with data on how the Earth's large environmental components
- air, water, land and life - interact.  Several NASA-sponsored airborne and
ground expeditions studied these complex relations.





Search and Rescue

     NASA's Earth Science and Application program also was involved in a
technology test that already has significant down-to-Earth dividends.  A
hand-held transmitter, used in conjunction with Search-and-Rescue equipment
flying aboard NASA-developed weather satellites, allowed rescuers to locate an
Alaska hunter immobilized by abdominal cramps on Alaska's largely uninhabited
North Slope.

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLES

     For the fifth consecutive year, NASA's expendable launch vehicles provided
100-percent successful launches.  Five expendable vehicles were launched this
year.

     The first was on June 7, when a Delta 2 placed the Extreme Ultraviolet
Explorer, an astrophysics satellite, into low-Earth orbit.  On July 3, a Scout
placed SAMPEX, a small-explorer class space physics satellite, into low-Earth
orbit.

     A Delta 2 carried the Japanese Geotail satellite into space on July 24.
On Sept. 25, a Titan III lifted the Mars Observer into Earth orbit where the
Transfer Orbit Stage (TOS) ignited, sending the spacecraft on to Mars. This was
the maiden flight of the TOS. The final launch of the year was on Nov. 21 when
a Scout placed a Strategic Defense Initiative Office payload into orbit.

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