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Return-path: <ota+space.mail-errors@andrew.cmu.edu> X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 32766 Received: from beak.andrew.cmu.edu via trymail for +dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl@andrew.cmu.edu (->+dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl) (->ota+space.digests) ID </afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr1/ota/Mailbox/wZeWwXC00VcJ00qE4e>; Tue, 9 Jan 90 13:36:19 -0500 (EST) Received: from beak.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID </usr/spool/ViceMsgQueue/QF.QZczGFC00VcJA2A092>; Thu, 4 Jan 90 20:12:49 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <oZczFi-00VcJA2=05x@andrew.cmu.edu> Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Thu, 4 Jan 90 20:12:14 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V10 #368 SPACE Digest Volume 10 : Issue 368 Today's Topics: The Year in Review - 1989 (Forwarded) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 26 Dec 89 18:33:52 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: The Year in Review - 1989 (Forwarded) David W. Garrett Headquarters, Washington, D.C. December 22, 1989 RELEASE: 89-183 THE YEAR IN REVIEW - 1989 Major events in the nation's space program included the following: o A new "golden era" of space science got underway as NASA sent the Magellan spacecraft to map Venus, Galileo to orbit Jupiter and drop a probe into its atmosphere and the Cosmic Background Explorer to study the origin of the universe and look for its "missing matter." Voyager II paid a spectacular visit to the planet Neptune 2.8 billion miles from Earth. By the time the 5-year "golden era" concludes, NASA will have launched 37 major science missions that may radically alter mankind's view of the universe. o President Bush announced on July 20, the twentieth anniversary of the Moon landing, that it would be a goal of the United States to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon and use the experience gained there to begin human exploration of the planet Mars. o Richard H. Truly became NASA's eighth administrator on July 1. The day before, he retired from the Navy as a Vice Admiral, having served more than 30 years. A former astronaut, he headed NASA's Office of Space Flight for almost 3-1/2 years. o NASA launched five successful Space Shuttle missions, deploying - in addition to the Magellan and Galileo science missions - a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite to complete the TDRS network. o Truly consolidated the Space Flight and Space Station Freedom offices and announced plans to merge the offices of Exploration and Aeronautics and Space Technology. In both cases the goal is close coordination of programs. Final Space Station agreements were signed by the United States and its international partners. - more - - 2 - SPACE SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS SOLAR SYSTEM Planetary science spearheaded accomplishments in 1989 with Voyager 2's exploration of Planet Neptune and departure from the solar system and the launch of two probes that began "a new Golden Age of Space Science," in the words of Dr. Lennard A. Fisk, NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Science and Applications. Voyager 2's close-up view of Neptune showed a bright blue planet with winds of 1,500 mph and six previously unknown moons. Triton posed several new challenges for planetary geologists, the most interesting being how the coldest known body in the solar system could be one of the most geologically active, with four ice volcanoes. Months before Voyager's main mission ended, the second phase of planetary exploration had begun. In May, the Space Shuttle deployed the Magellan spacecraft, which will map the surface of Venus. In October, Galileo began its roundabout trip to Jupiter, where it will drop a probe into the Jovian atmosphere in the first direct study of the solar system's largest planet. Closer to home, NASA scientists discovered last spring that on March 23 an asteroid a half-mile or more in diameter passed within 500,000 miles of Earth, about twice the distance between the Earth the Moon. "On the cosmic scale of things, that was a close call," said Dr. Henry Holt of the University of Arizona, who discovered the asteroid while working on a NASA-funded project for the U.S. Geological Survey. In the fall, scientists at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico used the radio telescope there to map another asteroid that passed within 2.5 million miles of the Earth. Images showed a two-lobed body a mile long spinning like a propeller every four hours. ASTROPHYSICS In November, NASA launched the Cosmic Background Explorer, an unmanned observer that will measure the cosmic radiation remaining from the "Big Bang" in hopes of developing a clearer picture of the early history of the universe. Astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute, following research sponsored by NASA, reported unanticipated gas emissions from a "white dwarf" star. White dwarves had been thought to mark the end of some stars' lifespans, precluding such emissions. At the end of the year, NASA and science institute scientists were continuing preparations for the Shuttle deployment in March 1990 of the Hubble Space Telescope, which many astronomers believe will open a new era for the field. - more - - 3 - EARTH SCIENCES In February, NASA announced the selection of scientific instrument investigations for the proposed Earth Observing System, a multi-purpose platform for launch in late 1997. EOS would be an interdisciplinary program conducted with the European and Japanese space agencies using four platforms in polar orbits to examine Earth on a global scale. EOS would be one of the largest science missions ever undertaken, providing 15 years of comprehensive data on Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land. EOS is part of the Mission to Planet Earth concept discussed by President Bush in July. Mission to Planet Earth would be a major interagency effort to understand the complex interactions of our environment, to assess humanity's role in shaping them and to build credible models capable of predicting future change. This year a NASA satellite gathered further evidence of humans' effect on their environment as the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer showed the ozone levels over Antarctica between August and October were as low in 1989 as the record low levels measured in 1987. Earlier aircraft campaigns had already shown that the ozone hole over Antarctica was due to human activities, specifically the release of chlorine compounds. Scientists from the Soviet Union, Canada, the United Kingdom and France joined NASA in Kansas over the summer to continue the first field experiment for the International Satellite Land Surface Climatology Project. The experiment investigated the role of biological processes in controlling atmosphere-vegetation interactions and investigated the use of satellite and airborne observations to infer how land-surface conditions affect climate. SPACE PHYSICS NASA signed a memorandum of understanding with the European Space Agency to conduct a series of missions as part of the International Solar Terrestrial Physics Programme, which will track solar energy from its source, through space and as it reaches and passes the Earth. A similar agreement for a Japanese-U.S. mission is in the final stages of negotiation. NASA launched four suborbital rockets over Canada to measure Earth's electric fields aligned with its magnetic field and possibly explain how aurora are created. The rockets released barium payloads, creating greenish-purple clouds over parts of Canada and the north-central United States. NASA has provided a payload instrument (PEGSAT) for flight aboard the experimental air-launched vehicle Pegasus now undergoing flight tests with an anticipated launch date of late January 1990. The instrument will conduct studies of the Earth's magnetic field and ionosphere. - more - - 4 - LIFE SCIENCES U.S. and Soviet scientists confirmed the adverse physiological and biomedical effects of prolonged space flight after analyzing data from the cooperative life sciences experiments flown aboard an unmanned Soviet satellite. The United States has invited Soviet scientists to participate in the analysis of life science experiments to be flown aboard the June 1990 Spacelab mission. NASA scientists identified the molecular structure of blood protein using special X-ray techniques. Their discovery may help in the design of new or improved disease-fighting drugs. SPACE FLIGHT In 1989, 25 astronauts orbited the Earth aboard Space Shuttles Discovery, Atlantis and Columbia. As a result, sophisticated interplanetary spacecraft, Magellan and Galileo, are speeding toward orbital encounters with Venus and Jupiter, a new Tracking and Data Relay Satellite had been deployed and experiment data have been sent to investigators nationwide. With the exception of a handful of small-class Scouts, the stable of NASA-owned expendable launch vehicles (ELVs) was emptied in 1989 with the successful launches of the Atlas- Centaur/FLTSATCOM and Delta/Cosmic Background Explorer missions. Procurement of future medium- and intermediate-class launch services from the private sector accelerated during the year as NASA/industry launch teams looked forward to a new way of doing ELV business. Among Space Flight highlights, 1989 are: - January 20: Sixth and final full-scale static test firing of NASA's redesigned Space Shuttle solid rocket motor took place successfully. - March 2: NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center selected Aerojet General Corp., Rockwell International and United Technology Corp. to develop efforts for demonstrating mature new propulsion technologies for the Nation's Advanced Launch System. - March 13: Space Shuttle Discovery was launched with STS-29 Astronauts Coats, Blaha, Buchli, Springer and Bagian on board to deploy a new Tracking and Data Relay Satellite. Landing was March 18. - April 21: NASA selected Lockheed Missile Systems Division and its principal subcontractor, Aerojet Space Booster Company, for final negotiations leading to award of a contract to design, develop, test and evaluate a Space Shuttle advanced solid rocket motor (ASRM) and a contract for construction of facilities for production and testing of the ASRM hardware. - more - - 5 - - May 4: Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched with STS-30 Astronauts Walker, Grabe, Thagard, Cleave and Lee on board to deploy the Magellan spacecraft on a mission toward Venus. Landing was May 8. - June 19: NASA held the first of two Commercial Launch Services Symposia to better understand specific industry concerns about the agency's launch services procurement practices. A follow-up symposium was held in August during which NASA responded to industry concerns expressed in June. - June 30: NASA selected Boeing Co. and Martin Marietta Corp. for negotiations leading to award of contracts to study future Space Transfer Vehicle concepts. - July 18: NASA selected McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co. for negotiations leading to award of a contract for up to 15 medium-class expendable launch vehicle services. - August 8: Space Shuttle Columbia was launched with STS-28 Astronauts Shaw, Richards, Leetsma, Adamson and Brown on board this dedicated DoD mission. Landing was August 13. - September 25: NASA successfully launched its final Atlas/Centaur launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The payload was a FLTSATCOM Navy communications satellite. - October 18: Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched with STS-34 Astronauts Williams, McCulley, Baker, Chang-Diaz and Lucid on board to deploy Galileo spacecraft on a mission toward Jupiter. Landing was October 23. - November 16: Proposals were received by NASA from two industry teams for the performance of definition studies for a new vehicle -- the Assured Crew Return Vehicle -- to serve as a lifeboat for Space Station Freedom astronauts. - November 18: NASA successfully launched its Cosmic Background Explorer spacecraft from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., aboard the final NASA-owned Delta launch vehicle. - November 22: Space Shuttle Discovery was launched with STS- 33 Astronauts Gregory, Griggs, Musgrave, Thornton and Carter on board this dedicated DOD mission. Landing was November 27. SPACE STATION FREEDOM Major changes in the the organization and management of the Space Station Freedom program occurred 1989. In additional to being named Associate Administrator for Space Station, Dr. William B. Lenoir developed and implemented a plan consolidating the Space Station and Space Flight offices. - more - - 6 - A major review of the Space Station Freedom project, brought on by the changes in the management of the multi-national project and under threat of a significant budget cut for Fiscal Year 1990, resulted in modifications to the project and a revised timetable for its development and deployment. Under direction from the NASA Administrator, newly appointed Space Station Freedom Project Director Richard H. Kohrs led the program through a major technical, budget and schedule evaluation, resulting in changes to the station's baseline configuration and assembly schedule. The scheduled date for the first launch of an element of Freedom was held to March 1995. Subsequent milestones for achieving a man-tended configuration and a permanent manned capability were adjusted 5 and 7 months, to April 1996 and July 1997, respectively, and assembly completion was delayed 18 months to August 1999. System modifications made as a result of the review included changing from a hydrogen/oxygen propulsion system to a modular hydrazine system and switching from a hybrid ac/dc system to an all-dc system for distributing electrical power throughout Freedom. Development of high-pressure space suits for extravehicular activities was put off indefinitely in favor of using current, Shuttle-based suits for assembly and maintenance of Freedom. Various subsystems, such as the closed-loop environmental control system, data management and communications and tracking, will be incrementally brought to their full capability as the station is being assembled. The final agreement between NASA and its international partners, which together are developing Freedom, was signed March 14 as the former NASA Administrator James Fletcher and Japanese ambassador to the U.S. H. E. Nobuo Matsunaga signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the detailed design, development, operation and utilization of the space station. Similar agreements with the European Space Agency and Canada were signed in September 1988. Japan will provide the Japanese Experiment Module to the Freedom program. In April, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., selected Martin Marietta Space Systems Co., Denver, to build the Flight Telerobotic Servicer, a space station-based robot to aid in the assembly and maintenance of Freedom. EXPLORATION On July 20, 1989 President Bush announced a national commitment to an evolutionary program to complete Space Station Freedom, establish a manned lunar outpost, begin the exploration of Mars and eventually to move beyond. - more - - 7 - The work of the NASA Office of Exploration over the past 2 years laid the foundation for that decision. In 1989, the office also initiated a variety of activities to better understand technology needs and science opportunities involved in expanding the human presence beyond Earth orbit. The office continued to develop multiple options for human exploration through the case study framework. Three case studies were evaluated in 1989: Lunar Evolution, Mars Evolution and Mars Expedition. These case studies refined NASA's understanding and broadened its knowledge of human exploration options, the investments required to support them and the scientific and technological capabilities and benefits they would spawn. Other key developments in 1989 included: - Formation of a NASA Advisory Council Exploration Task Force to provide independent advice to NASA and the Office of Exploration. The Task Force is chaired by Robert McC. Adams, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. - Support of and participation in preparation of NASA's "Report of the 90-Day Study on Human Exploration of the Moon and Mars". The report was commissioned by NASA Administrator Richard H. Truly to help the National Space Council develop recommendations to President Bush on ways to achieve his exploration goals. - Initiation of an Innovative Studies Program designed to encourage innovative concepts and support independent studies that may offer unique capabilities for human exploration. The program encompassed three areas in 1989: an "Innovative Outreach" program designed to solicit original and creative ideas from traditional and non-traditional sources; a lunar enterprise study to provide a non-NASA perspective on commercial uses of the Moon; and a study designed to define a potential operational lunar mining system. More than 100 proposals were submitted under the "Innovative Outreach" program. The 20 proposals selected for funding came from groups located in 12 states and included five industry-related firms, two space support-related organizations and 13 universities. The subject matter of the selected studies ranges from nuclear thermal rockets using Martian propellants to pneumatic structures for lunar and Martian habitats. - more - - 8 - AERONAUTICS AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY Aeronautics The National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) program, a joint NASA/Department of Defense program, continued technology development that could lead to a unique flight research vehicle, called the X-30, capable of taking off horizontally, accelerate into Earth orbit and returning through the atmosphere to land on a conventional runway. NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleveland is leading an effort to develop "slush" hydrogen as a high-energy NASP propellant. It is denser than liquid hydrogen and may result in smaller, lighter fuel tanks that could reduce the X-30's takeoff weight by up to 30 percent. Lewis also tested a Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) engine inlet to verify computer codes used in analysis of the inlet's performance. This research will apply to the NASP program and other future high-speed aircraft. Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., has wind-tunnel tested the performance characteristics of NASP advanced engine concepts at 4 and 8 times the speed of sound. Scientists at Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif., have used wind tunnel tests and computational methods to research questions on high- temperature materials for structures and structure coatings. NASA's high-performance aircraft based at Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, Calif., made important contributions to the agency's aeronautics research program. The F/A-18 High- Alpha Research Vehicle completed the first phase of a three-part program to validate computer codes and wind tunnel predictions of airflow during high angle-of-attack flight. Results from this program will yield a better understanding of airflow phenomena at various flight angles, which should lead to improved maneuverability in future high-performance aircraft. The first experimental forward-swept-wing X-29 aircraft wrapped up a highly successful test program after 242 flights that demonstrated its unique wing configuration is practical. The second X-29, modified to fly safely at angles-of-attack up to 70 degrees, also made its first research flight. As part of the NASA/DOD Self-Repairing Flight Control Program, computers aboard Ames-Dryden's F-15 research aircraft correctly identified and isolated a simulated failure in the flight control system. NASA also continued efforts to enhance the efficiency of commercial air travel. The Propfan Test Assessment aircraft, a Gulfstream II business jet modified with an eight-bladed advanced turboprop engine on its left wing, wrapped up flight tests at Lewis Research Center. - more - - 9 - The program was the end result of a major NASA-industry- university effort to develop the aerodynamic, structural, mechanical and acoustical technologies needed to verify the performance of such unique, fuel-efficient propellers. At NASA's Langley Research Center, scientists and engineers conducted a series of high-speed ground tests to study the effect of heavy rain on the performance of aircraft wings. A full-scale commercial airfoil section mounted atop a tubular steel carriage made repeated runs through a curtain of simulated "rain" at typical takeoff and landing speeds. Initial results tend to confirm wind tunnel data that there is a loss of wing lift at extremely high rainfall rates. Langley officials also announced development of an innovative new tool to help pilots make the critical go/abort decision during the takeoff roll. The Takeoff Performance Monitoring System provides continual "real-time" updates on an aircraft's performance, graphically presenting its progress relative to a normal takeoff for that type of airplane under the existing flight conditions. Recognizing that U.S. leadership in the production and sale of commercial airliners is being challenged, NASA greatly expanded its research into advanced "composite" structures made from epoxy-type resins and high-strength carbon fiber. Use of such materials in the wings and fuselages of future transport aircraft could significantly reduce their weight, improve their fuel efficiency and reliability. Space Technology The Civil Space Technology Initiative addresses near-Earth orbital requirements in areas such as automation and robotics, space power and information technology. Space systems of the next decade will use these technologies for cost-effective and reliable operations in Earth orbit. The Pathfinder program focuses on technology research for future solar system voyages in four broad areas: surface exploration, in-space operations, transfer vehicles and humans in space. In May, NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif., successfully demonstrated a low-cost, parallel-processing computer that potentially rivals today's most advanced supercomputers. The research program, a joint effort by NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, may allow applications such as structural analysis, artificial intelligence and computational electro-mechanics to run on smaller, more easily-affordable computers. Scientists at Lewis reached a milestone in the application of high-temperature superconductors in July, when they produced the first electronic circuit able to operate at 33-37 Gigahertz -- three times higher than frequencies previously obtainable. - more - - 10 - The circuit was fabricated from yttrium barium copper oxide, a material recently found to become superconductive at 77 degrees Kelvin. The use of these ultra-high frequencies will allow satellites to process data at much faster rates, tripling the number of communications linkups they can handle. Voyager 2's encounter with Neptune gave researchers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., an opportunity to demonstrate a new "artificial intelligence" computer program to detect and analyze spacecraft and ground data system anomalies. The Spacecraft Health Automated Reasoning Prototype helped to identify a problem in the science data streaming down from Voyager prior to its Neptune fly-by. During the encounter, the prototype detected three telecommunications errors simultaneously with human operators. The demonstration may lead to future expert systems that will increase the efficiency of mission operations and reduce the work force needed during planetary encounters. NASA is preparing Shuttle Mission 32 to retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility that has carried 57 science, technology and applications experiments in Earth orbit since April 1984. Scientists expect the facility, managed by Langley Research Center, to provide a "treasure trove" of data about the effects of long-term exposure to space on components and materials -- invaluable knowledge in designing future spacecraft. SPACE OPERATIONS The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-4) was successfully deployed in March from the Shuttle Discovery, marking completion of the TDRS system. In June the system was declared operational following completion of a switchover involving TDRS 1, which was moved to 79 degrees west longitude, to serve as backup to TDRS-4 and TDRS-3, also known as TDRS-East and TDRS-west, respectively. The TDRS system covers at least 85 percent of each low- Earth-orbiting spacecraft's orbital period and facilitates a much higher information flow rate between these spacecraft and the ground. The system will support up to 23 user spacecraft simultaneously and provide both multiple-access service relaying data from as many as 19 low-data-rate user spacecraft at the same time and a single-access service that provides two high-data-rate communications relays from each satellite. NASA concluded an agreement with INTELSAT, Washington, D.C., for the use of the C-Band capacity on two Tracking and Data Relay Satellites for international telecommunications purposes. - more - - 11 - SAFETY, RELIABILITY, MAINTAINABILITY AND QUALITY ASSURANCE NASA's Lewis Research Center (LeRC), Cleveland, was selected by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as a quality improvement prototype, which is one of the highest honors a federal government facility can achieve for quality and productivity. The award is part of the Presidents' Productivity Improvement program. The program is administered by OMB and is the second year the national award was presented. The Lockeed Engineering and Sciences Co. (LESC), Houston, one of eight finalists selected in May, was named recipient of the NASA 1988-89 Excellence Award for Quality and Productivity. LESC was selected by the NASA Quality and Productivity Steering Committee and endorsed by the Administrator based on review of the findings report and recommendations of the Excellence Award Evaluation Committee. To encourage more small businesses to improve their quality and productivity processes, NASA established a separate small business category for the 1989-90 Excellence Award Program. Key goals of the NASA Excellence Award are to institutionalize quality and productivity practices throughout NASA and the agency's contractors. The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) released its annual report in March praising NASA for its work on return-to- flight. The main focus of the ASAP was monitoring and advising NASA and its contractors on the STS recovery program. The report stated that efforts restored the flight program with better management, safety and quality assurance organizations and management communications. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS NASA's international cooperative activities in 1989 included: o In October 1989, the Galileo spacecraft to Jupiter was successfully launched. Galileo is an international cooperative project with the Federal Republic of Germany, which provided the orbiter's retropropulsion module to perform mission maneuvers and permit insertion of the spacecraft into Jovian orbit. There are two German scientific experiments on Galileo as well and German scientists are participating in five other experiments. o NASA signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Japan in March, completing the international agreements for the construction and use of Space Station Freedom. Under the agreement, Japan will provide the Japanese Experiment Module consisting of a pressurized laboratory and an exposed facility. The European Space Agency and Canada had signed agreements for their participation in the project in September 1988. - more - - 12 - o In July, NASA and the German Minister for Research and Technology signed a memorandum of understanding to launch German Spacelab payloads on the Space Shuttle. This agreement confirms general understandings of the terms and conditions with which NASA will furnish launch and associated services for both reimbursable flights and cooperative activities. 0 In September, the U.S. government and the government of Japan exchanged diplomatic notes approving cooperation on the Geotail Mission. Geotail is a Japanese-built spacecraft which will make solar-terrestrial physics measurements using Japanese and U.S. science instruments. NASA will launch the spacecraft in 1992. o In December, NASA and the European Space Agency concluded an agreement for cooperation in the joint Solar Terrestrial Science Programme. This program consists of two missions, the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and Cluster (four spacecraft that will fly in formation to observe the Earth's plasma environment). Under this agreement, ESA will develop the spacecraft for SOHO and Cluster. NASA will launch and operate SOHO and ESA will launch and operate Cluster. Experiments on the spacecraft will be provided by the U.S. and European scientists. o Cooperation with the Soviet Union continued to progress under the U.S./USSR Joint Working Groups on Space Biology and Medicine; Solar System Exploration; Space Astronomy and Astrophysics; Solar-Terrestrial Physics and Earth Sciences. Key activities included: --A telemedicine spacebridge for Armenia, linking U.S. and Soviet hospitals, permitted medical consultation to assist with the longer-term consequences of the Armenian earthquake and injuries from the train explosion in Ufa. Comsat and Intelsat provided satellite transponders free of charge. Discussions continue on how the experience gained can be applied both to space flight and to terrestrial needs. --Twenty-nine NASA science experiments were flown on the September Soviet Biosat mission --Progress was made in feasibility discussions on the proposed flight of the U.S. Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer on a Soviet Meteor-3 meteorological satellite and the flight of a French receiver to support Mars surface measurements planned for the Soviet Mars '94 mission. --The Soviets selected two U.S. instruments for flight on the Soviet Spectrum-X astrophysics mission, and NASA accepted, in principle, a Soviet proposal to fly the gamma-ray burst instrument KONUS on the U.S. WIND spacecraft scheduled for launch in 1992. - more - - 13 - o Planning accelerated in 1989 for NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS), the cornerstone of the Mission to Planet Earth. A group of 41 instruments from the U.S., Canada, Japan and Europe was selected this year for flight on EOS and over 500 scientists from 13 countries, from as far away as China, Australia and Brazil, have been identified to participate in the EOS program. o In February, NASA convened a panel of experts on Earth science and technology, which met in Abingdon, England, and generated 10 projects in the Earth sciences which will be implemented internationally in observance of International Space Year (ISY) in 1992. COMMERCIAL PROGRAMS Significant progress was made in 1989 by NASA's Office of Commercial Programs (OCP) in defining an overall program of commercial space development. The Commercial Programs Advisory Committee (CPAC) conducted a thorough review of commercial space issues and formulated a series of key recommendations for consideration by the nation's leaders. These recommendations, addressed in the CPAC's first formal report entitled "Charting the Course: U.S. Space Enterprise and Space Industrial Competitiveness," are helping to shape the commercial development strategy. Also supporting the OCP strategic planning effort was a study conducted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) to lay groundwork for the strategic plan by defining issues and potential objectives associated with the commercial development of space. The AIAA formed a steering committee consisting of senior level private sector managers. The resulting study document, "Issues in Strategic Planning for Commercial Space Growth," representing inputs from more than 90 industry representatives, addresses overall goals and objectives, the scope of commercial space activities and the role industry, academia and government, explores issues and barriers and suggests federal actions and policy changes. A resurgence of industrial research and development activity took place this year following the successful return of the Space Shuttle to flight operations in 1988. In 1989, the OCP sponsored commercial development payloads on three Shuttle missions and funded the first U.S. commercial launch of a materials science payload. Commercial experiments flown on the Shuttle included: *Protein Crystal Growth, an experiment package flown by the NASA-sponsored Center for Macromolecular Crystallography located at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, was carried aboard STS-29 in March. The experiment, conducted in collaboration with industrial partners, also will be flown on STS-32. - more - - 14 - *Fluids Experiment Apparatus, flown on STS-30, is scheduled to fly on STS-32. The FEA, a modular microgravity chemistry and physics laboratory, is being flown under a NASA-Rockwell International Corp. joint endeavor agreement (JEA) in the field of floating zone crystal growth and purification research. *Polymer Morphology, a 3M-developed organic materials processing experiment, was designed to explore the effects of microgravity on polymeric materials as they are processed in space. The experiment, conducted on STS-34 in October, was 3M's fifth space experiment and the first under the company's 10-year JEA with NASA for 62 flight experiment opportunities. In an effort to match space transportation and support capability with the anticipated growth in industry requirements, NASA in 1989 initiated a grant funding for a commercial sounding rocket program. Consort 1, a package of materials science investigations launched successfully on March 29 atop the commercially provided Starfire rocket at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., was the first flight conducted under this effort. Consort 2, launched Nov. 15 at White Sands, was only a partial success due to a malfunction in the rocket's guidance package, resulting in termination of the mission as the rocket strayed off course. However, the experiments payload parachuted safely to Earth and suffered only minor damage. Important payload data was recorded during the brief flight and indicated that the experiment equipment performed flawlessly. The payload will be launched again at a later date. Other key OCP activities in 1989 included: *Announcement of new digital, visual-filtering technology, developed by a researcher at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., to aid sufferers (mostly elderly) from maculopathy or central spot blindness. Visualtek, Inc., Santa Monica, Calif., is collaborating with JPL to market an effective, inexpensive commercial product by the end of 1991. *Introduction of an implantable, rechargeable physiologic sensor to monitor glucose marked a major advance for insulin- dependent diabetics. The sensor is now being developed in a collaborative effort among the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md.; the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. *The collaboration of the Center for Commercial Development of Space Power, Auburn University, Ala., and Maxwell Laboratories, San Diego, to develop a stronger, more efficient power supply for lasers, x-rays, spacecraft and other users. The advance, which will result in commercial uses of the technology on Earth, represents the first technology spinoff from NASA/industry-supported research at NASA's 16 Centers for Commercial Development of Space. - more - - 15 - *NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.; Genentech Inc., South San Francisco, Calif.; and Penn State's Center for Cell Research, announced collaboration on a ground- based and Space Shuttle experiment program to increase medical knowledge to treat human bone diseases, organ regeneration and transplantation, and immune and skeletal muscle cell deficiency. The Small Business Innovation Research Division awarded 248 Phase I and 84 Phase 2 contracts to small, high technology firms. Additional Phase 2 selections, to be made in early 1990, are expected to bring the total number of selections to more than 100 and the total procurement value to more than $50 million. EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS The first 17 Designated Space Grant Colleges/Consortia were selected on Aug. 31, 1989, initiating NASA's National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. These designated colleges/consortia, already significantly involved in space- related activities, will receive up to $225,000 in grants and $100,000 in fellowships, beginning in Fiscal Year 1990 for 5 years. The program is designed to create a network of universities capable of contributing to aerospace science and technology and training a highly skilled workforce. President Bush selected "Endeavour" as the name for the replacement Space Shuttle orbiter on March 20, 1989. The name resulted from a nationwide competition supported by educational projects created by student teams in elementary and secondary schools. Over 6,100 entries, involving over 71,000 students, were evaluated. The national winner in the kindergarten-6th grade division was the 5th-grade class from Senatobia Middle School, Miss. The national winner in the 7th-12th grade division was a team from the Tallulah Falls School, Inc., Ga. NASA announced the opportunity for educators to participate in the first experiment ever to study the effects of long-term space exposure on living tissue. With the return of the Long Duration Exposure Facility, deployed in Earth orbit in April 1984, 12.5 million tomato seeds, packaged in kits, will be available to teachers in grades 5 through university. The program encourages student involvement by providing them the opportunity to design their own experiments and make decisions, gather data and report final results to NASA by June 15, 1990. Through a pilot program, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., has opened its computerized science data bases to the nation's universities to stimulate "cottage industry" space research by professors and entice more students into science and engineering studies. The Joint Venture (JOVE) Program, makes NASA's scientific and engineering data, generated from space missions, available to universities in exchange for analysis and interpretation by faculty members and students. - more - - 16 - Three student experiments, selected under the Space Shuttle Student Involvement Program, flew aboard the Space Shuttle in 1989. On STS-29, student investigator John Vellinger, Lafayette, Ind., flew 32 chicken eggs to determine whether a chicken embryo can develop normally in a weightless environment. Also flown on STS-29 was an experiment designed by Andrew Fras, Binghamton, N.Y., to determine whether rat bone healing is impeded by the loss of calcium and the absence of weight-bearing during space flight. An ice crystal experiment was flown on STS-34 to observe geometric ice crystal shapes formed at supercooled temperatures without the influence of gravity. Proposed by Tracy Peters, Concord, Calif., the experiment results could aid in the design of radiator cooling and cryogenic systems and in understanding of high altitude meteorology and planetary ring structure theories. In its 8th year, the Space Science Student Involvement Program selected eight national winners in the Space Station category. Top honors, plus a $3,000 scholarship and a computer, went to Diane Fogel, Landsdale, Pa., for her proposed experiment to test remedies for bone loss during space flight. Also honored were the winners of the student newspaper competition, Allen Chen, Columbus, Ind., and Paul Schumacher, Yuma, Ariz., and a team of Mechanicsburg, Pa., students who won a pilot project to design and plan the first permanent manned Mars colony. The Aerospace Education Services Project continues to be one of NASA's most popular education programs. During 1989, over 1.2 million students and 28,000 teachers participated in school visits, classroom lectures and teacher workshops conducted by the NASA project. During the summer, educators spent 2 weeks at one of NASA's nine field centers learning the latest in aerospace science, working with educational specialists to fit materials into classroom curriculum. There were 115 elementary school teachers participating in NASA's Educational Workshop for Elementary School Teachers and 100 teachers participating in NASA's Educational Workshops for High School Math and Science Teachers. Over 20,000 educators in the 50 states and parts of Canada tuned in for NASA's satellite video conferences. NASA projects covered in the live, interactive program this year included planetary exploration, flight testing, future explorations and technology for the classroom. Over $8 million was awarded to 496 students at 110 universities for advanced study in engineering and space, physical, life and environmental sciences under NASA's Graduate Student Researcher's Program, including the Under-represented Minority Focus component. - more - - 17 - In the University Advanced Design Program, 36 universities received 3-year grants to study topics in space and aeronautical missions in the post-Space Station era, such as manned Mars aircraft and delivery systems, long-term space habitat, lunar launch and landing facilities and high-speed civil transport. The grants are $32,000 per year for each new participant and $20,000 per year for each school participating in the previous design program. - end - ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V10 #368 *******************