Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/pc/text/daily_2/930409.dfc

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09-Apr-93 Daily File Collection
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4/09/93:  GODDARD PROJECT STATUS FOR APRIL 1993



Highlights:
 Astro-D
 Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (Compton)
 Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE)
 Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE)
 Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
 Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (SAMPEX)
 Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS)
 Science Note: SN 1993J

Astro-D -- The instruments on the Astro-D spacecraft launched in Japan on
February 20, 1993 are being activated.  The two Japanese focal plane
instruments, the Gas Scintillation Imaging Spectrometers (GISs), were turned on
in mid- March. Both GIS counters have been verified as working normally.
GSFC's Solid State Imaging Spectrometer (SIS) Charge Coupled Device (CCD)
cameras also are being activated.  Both camera vent valves have opened and the
cameras currently are stabilized around -81 degrees Farenheit (-63 degrees
Centigrade).


Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory -- The first delivery of public Energetic
Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope (EGRET) data into the archive has been made.
This data comprises photon lists, exposure histories and maps from the
verification period through July 26, 1991.  As of March 25, the mean orbital
altitude was 233.11 statute miles (359.06 kilometers).  Planning and rehearsal
simulations for the orbit reboost operations continue.  The series of daily
orbit reboost burns are planned to begin June 15 and continue for about two
weeks.


Cosmic Background Explorer -- COBE continues to acquire all science and
engineering data without any major problems or operational errors.  The COBE
Operations team is still attempting to firm up contingency plans in the event
of a gyro failure during the upcoming eclipse season, which occurs from May
through July.



Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer -- Observations of the planet Jupiter and the
stars DELTA-CEN and HD-131156 were planned for the first week in April,
followed by a short observation of the moon.  The next sky map "gap filling"
period is scheduled for April 19 through 25.



Hubble Space Telescope -- On Wednesday, March 24, the HST spacecraft entered
Software Sun Point Safe Mode. The preliminary indication was that the solar
array electronics had sensed an erroneous position for a solar array and
transmitted this information to the onboard computer, which in turn responded
by safing the spacecraft systems.  This initial level of safing suspends
science operations but retains all vehicle control through the operations
flight computer (DF-224).  Initial analysis of the telemetry indicated that the
safing had been caused by a miscompare between the actual position of the solar
arrays and the position indicated by the Solar Array Drive Electronics (SADE)
resolver.  The most likely cause is believed to be either a failure in the DC
power supply or the resolver electronics.  The SADE are fully redundant and
operations have been switched to the correctly operating side two.  Evaluation
and analysis is continuing and science operations have been resumed.  The
number of observations may be reduced by about 20 percent for the next several
weeks until flight software safing modes can be modified.  Once this is
accomplished, normal science operations can resume.  In the event of a
subsequent failure of side two (SADE 2), science observations could still
continue by factoring power requirements into the constraints during the
planning and scheduling of the observations.


Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer -- SAMPEX acquired all
science and engineering data without any significant problems or operational
errors.  The spacecraft continues to perform well while it is in continuous
sunlight.


Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite -- UARS, launched September 12, 1992,
surpassed its 18-month mission success criteria mark.  More than 100 scientists
participated in a UARS workshop in Virginia Beach, Va., last month,
commemorating this occasion.  More than 55 studies were presented.  The
scientific focus of the workshop was high latitude processes affecting ozone in
the stratosphere and mesophere although one session highlighted higher altitude
phenomena and wind measurements.  Many of the talks illustrated new
understanding of the development and distributions of important gaseous species
impacting ozone, and a newly perceived role of dynamics and transport from high
altitudes in the formation and maintenance of the Antarctic "ozone hole."


Science Note: A supernova discovered on March 30, 1993, is the target of
opportunity for three satellites.  Observed initially by NASA's International
Ultraviolet Explorer, SN 1993J also has been looked at in the gamma-ray
spectrum by NASA's Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory and in the x-ray spectrum by
the Japanese Astro-D satellite and the German Roentgen Satellite.

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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KSC SHUTTLE STATUS 4/9/93


      KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE PROCESSING REPORT
                      Friday, April 9, 1993

Mitch Varnes


Mission: STS-55/Spacelab D-2
Vehicle: OV-102/ Columbia
Location: Launch Pad 39-A
TARGETED LAUNCH DATE: NET April 24

IN-WORK TODAY:

* Replacement and servicing of payloads inside Spacelab module
* Flight Readiness Test of orbiter's engines and aerosurfaces
* Helium Signature Test of orbiter's main propulsion system

WORK SCHEDULED:

* Continuation of Flight Readiness Test and Helium Signature leak checks
* Leak checks of Shuttle main engines

WORK COMPLETED:

* Payload bay doors opened
* Film replaced in GAUSS payload camera

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

Mission: STS-57/SPACEHAB-1/EURECA-retrieval
Vehicle: OV-105/Endeavour
Location: Vehicle Assembly Building
Mission Duration: 7 days, 23 hours
Targeted Launch Date: May 18

IN-WORK TODAY:

* Hydraulic tests of the Solid Rocket Boosters

WORK SCHEDULED:

* Begin main engine installation on April 16
* Rollout to Launch Pad 39-B targeted for April 22

WORK COMPLETED:

* Shuttle interface test
* External tank separation cameras installed
* Main Propulsion System interface inspections
* T-0 leak checks
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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4/09/93:  CLEMENTINE MISSION SCIENCE TEAM SELECTED

Paula Cleggett-Haleim
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.


Major Mike Doble
Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.


RELEASE:  93-66

        NASA today announced the selection of the science team for the
Clementine mission to orbit the moon and to visit an asteroid.

        The team will be headed by Dr. Eugene Shoemaker of the U.S. Geologic
Survey, Flagstaff, Ariz., who has been very active for many years in both lunar
and asteroid research.

        Clementine, sponsored by the Strategic Defense Initiative Office
(SDIO), will launch a small spacecraft in January 1994 to orbit the moon for
several months, then de-orbit the moon in early May 1994.  The spacecraft would
then fly by the near-Earth asteroid 1620 Geographos on Aug. 31, 1994, when the
asteroid is several million miles away, its closest distance to the Earth.

        The goals of the mission are to test new, lightweight sensors in a
space radiation environment and to demonstrate autonomous navigation and
spacecraft operation.  Lightweight and innovative spacecraft components also
will be tested, including a lightweight star tracker, an inertial measurement
unit, lightweight reaction wheels for attitude control, as well as a
lightweight nickel hydrogen battery and a lightweight solar panel.

        The science team will plan for the acquisition of the scientific
measurements, the archiving of all science data in a form easily accessible to
the planetary science community and initial analyses of the data.

        Geographos is one of the earliest discovered Earth-crossing asteroids.
It was discovered in September 1951, in a sky survey sponsored by the National
Geographic Society. Most Earth-crossasteroids are thought to be fragments
produced by collisions between asteroids in the main belt between Mars and
Jupiter, which are later perturbed into Earth-crossing orbits.

        Radar images recently obtained of the asteroid 4179 Toutatis suggest
that the shape of Geographos and other Earth crossers might be much more
complex than previously suspected.

        The sensors will be trained on the moon and on the asteroid.  Also,
mutispectral science measurements at ultraviolet, visible and infrared
wavelengths will be made and played back to Earth. The specific filter
wavelengths were selected in consultation with NASA scientists, to both meet
SDIO objectives and maximize the scientific data return.

        The science team members selected and their affiliations are:

                Charles Acton, Jet Propusion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
                Daniel Baker, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
                Jacques Blamont, CNES (France)
                Bonnie Buratti, Jet Propusion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
                Merton Davies, Rand Corp., Santa Monica, Calif.
                Thomas Duxbury, Jet Propusion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
                Eric Eliason, U.S. Geologic Survey, Flagstaff, Ariz.
                Paul Lucey, University of Hawaii, Honolulu
                Alfred McEwen, U.S. Geologic Survey, Flagstaff, Ariz.
                Carle Pieters, Brown University, Providence, R.I.
                David Smith, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
                Paul Spudis, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston

        The Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C., is responsible for
mission design, providing the spacecraft and for mission operations.  The Jet
Propulsion Laboratory will be responsible for tracking the spacecraft radio
signal using NASA's Deep Space Network and will be responsible for accurately
locating Geographos using its Near Earth Object Center in preparation for the
flyby. - end -
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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- Current Two-Line Element Sets #170 -

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STS-56: MCC Status 6


MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #6
5 p.m. Friday, April 9, 1993

Discovery astronauts continued to focus their attentions on the study of the
Earth's atmosphere with the complement of ATLAS-2 instruments, the Space
Shuttle Backscatter Ultraviolet Experiment and the Solar Ultraviolet
Experiment.

From Discovery's aft flight deck, Mission Specialist Mike Foale provided a
video primer of the process through which chlorofluorcarbons are destroying the
Earth's ozone layer, using molecular models and an inflatable globe.  As part
of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, the ATLAS-2 mission is providing valuable
data that scientists on the ground will use in an effort to better understand
the chemical reactions affecting the layer of the atmosphere that protects the
Earth from the Sun's ultraviolet radiation.

Foale and crewmate Ken Cockrell also continued to take Earth observation photos
with a variety of cameras, including the HERCULES camera which appends pinpoint
location information onto each electronic photograph it takes.  Cockrell
downlinked three HERCULES electronic still images to the ground, which were
being evaluated by the camera's experts.

The shuttle's robot the arm remained in an extended park position, poised above
 and to the left of the shuttle's nose, following the Blue Team's earlier
 completion of the arm checkout.  The arm will be kept in this position
 throughout the flight when it does not in terfere with the field-of-view of
 the ATLAS-2 instruments.  Mission Specialist Ellen Ochoa will use the arm, on
 Sunday, to deploy the SPARTAN satellite, and then to retrieve it Tuesday.

Flight controllers continued to analyze data interruptions in the high data
rate communications system aboard Discovery. The Atmosp heric Trace Molecule
Spectroscopy experiment is the only one of the instruments that requires the
high data rate transmission capabi lity.  While analysis continues, that data
is being recorded onboard.

Commander Ken Cameron is scheduled to awaken about 7:30 p.m.  CDT, and Pilot
Steve Oswald and Ochoa will end their sleep shifts about 9:30 p.m.

Discovery continues to circle the Earth every 90 minutes in a 160 nautical mile
orbit.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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ATLAS-2 STATUS REPORT &4

ATLAS 2 Public Affairs Status Report #4
6:00 p.m. CDT, April 9, 1993
1/17:31 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama

Solar instruments aboard the the second Atmospheric Laboratory for
Applications and Science (ATLAS-2) completed their first eight
orbits of observations at around noon CDT today, and the mission's
second session of atmospheric observations is in progress.
Scientists need both types of data to fit into the "big picture" of
factors which influence this planet's atmospheric life-support
system, especially its protective ozone layer.  "The sun is the
energy driver of our atmosphere and our climate system," said
Mission Scientist Dr. Tim Miller.  "We cannot measure the
atmosphere and understand all the processes taking place there
without an accurate knowledge of the energy which goes into it."

Science teams for the four solar instruments at Spacelab Mission
Operations Control in Huntsville report their observations went
very smoothly and the quality of the data collected looks good.

The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM), from
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Belgium's Solar Constant
experiment (SOLCON) each made extremely precise, independent
measurements of the total solar irradiance, or total energy from
the sun received by the planet Earth.  This quantity is known to
vary by about 0.1 percent over an 11-year solar cycle.  Computer
models suggest that even small variations in the total solar
irradiance could have significant impacts on climate.  Therefore,
these instruments measure this quantity to a long-term accuracy of
plus or minus 0.1 percent or better.  All SOLCON commands were sent
from their remote control facility in Brussels.

France's Solar Spectrum (SOLSPEC) experiment and the U.S. Naval
Research Laboratory's Solar Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor
(SUSIM) concentrated on the sun's output as a function of
wavelength. SOLSPEC measured ultraviolet, visible and infrared
radiation, while SUSIM focused on ultraviolet rays, the form of
solar radiation with the greatest fluctuation and the most impact
on photochemical reactions in the atmosphere.

The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) instrument, from
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, completed a lengthy cooling
period, then made its first observations of the mission during the
last two orbits of the solar period.  Scientists will compare those
measurements with readings of ultraviolet radiation scattered back
from the Earth's atmosphere, which SSBUV is taking during the
remaining atmospheric observation periods of the ATLAS-2 mission.
Ozone absorbs different wavelengths of ultraviolet light at
different altitudes, so comparisons of the incoming ultraviolet
radiation with backscattered radiation gives scientists a highly        accurate map of the total amount of ozone in the atmosphere, as
well as its distribution by altitude.

Atmospheric observations resumed at around 1 p.m., with
remote-sensing operations by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's
Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment,
Germany's Millimeter-Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS) and SSBUV.

Dr. Mike Gunson, principal investigator for ATMOS, reported his
instrument is working extremely well.  Gunson said the engineering
data his team is receiving at Spacelab Mission Operations Control
indicates ATMOS operations are fully nominal, even though there
continues to be a problem preventing high-rate science data from
being downlinked.

As was the case during yesterday's atmospheric observations, all
ATMOS observations are being recorded on a new onboard experiment
recorder and will be retrieved after landing.  The onboard recorder
has a storage capacity for more ATMOS data than was taken during
the entire ATLAS 1 flight.  "The only difference is that we don't
have that nice, warm, fuzzy feeling of seeing our data on the
ground," said Gunson.  Payload controllers hope to come up with a
workaround to get some ATMOS observations from the Shuttle High
Data Rate Recorder downlinked at a lower rate, allowing the ground
team to confirm the quality of their science data.  ATMOS measures
a wider variety of trace gases than any other space instrument,
providing vital information about which atmospheric processes are
becoming more relevant in determining ozone distribution.

The Millimeter-Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS) is in the midst of an
extended period of chlorine monoxide observations.  The ground
control team worked around a pointing problem by commanding their
instrument's parabolic antenna to remain stationary, while the
Shuttle itself controls pointing.  Chlorine monoxide, formed mainly
from the breakdown of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's) in the middle
atmosphere, plays an important part in ozone loss.  Evidence
suggests that great increases in chlorine monoxide concentrations
cause high ozone loss rates during the Antarctic's spring season
and participate in forming the ozone "hole."  Those increases also
may have played a role in low levels of ozone observed this past
winter at high Northern latitudes.  The MAS team is working to
pinpoint the cause of their pointing command problem and hopes to
develop a software patch to correct it later in the mission.

Atmospheric observations will continue throughout the next shift.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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MISSION CONTROL STATUS REPORT #3
Thursday, April 8, 1993
6 p.m. CDT

The Red Team of Astronauts Ken Cockrell and Mike Foale onboard the Space
Shuttle Discovery successfully fixed a cooling problem on a middeck lymphocyte
experiment and continued activation of the Atmospheric Laboratory for
Applications and Science instruments in the payload bay.

The in-flight maintenance procedure that put the Human Lymphocyte Locomotion in
Microgravity experiment in operation involved removing the bioreactor hardware
from its middeck locker near the galley, taping it to the crew cabin wall and
placing an "elephant trunk" hose over the bread-box-sized experiment's air
inlet.  The IFM alleviated a suspected cooling air flow problem and allowed the
astronauts to initiate the experiment, also called DSO-322, which looks at cell
orientation and movement that are important to the performance of human immune
system.

Foale activated the Solar Ultraviolet Irradiance Monitor in the payload bay,
which measures on the Sun's ultraviolet radiation.  Cockrell activated two sets
of the experiments belonging to the Commercial MDA ITA Experiments -- both the
Materials Dispersion Apparatus Minilabs and the Bioprocessing Modules,
recording appropriate activation and deactivation times.

Flight controllers in Houston and in Huntsville, Ala., continue to investigate
difficulties in downlinking data from the Atmospheric Trace Molecule
Spectroscopy instrument, but have not yet isolated any specific problem.

Commander Ken Cameron, Pilot Steve Oswald and Mission Specialist Ellen Ochoa
are scheduled to end their sleep shift about 7:30 p.m.  CDT.

Before the Blue Team began its sleep shift, Ochoa conducted a checkout of the
orbiter's robot arm during the early morning hours to ensure its health to
support deployment of the SPARTAN-201 satellite on Sunday and retrieval on
Tuesday. A couple of the steps in the checkout were postponed to allow enough
time to conduct an "extended park" test leaving the arm in one position for a
long period of time.  The two postponed checkout steps will be conducted before
SPARTAN operations.

Discovery continues to circle the Earth every 90 minutes in a circular orbit of
160 nautical miles.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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ATLAS 2 Status Report #2
6:00 p.m. CDT, April 8, 1993
0/17:31 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama

Six of the seven instruments aboard the second Atmospheric Laboratory for
Applications and Science (ATLAS-2) Spacelab mission have been powered up, and
two have begun taking readings of a variety of gases in the middle atmosphere.
Information from the ATLAS series of mission, along with that gathered by
free-flying satellites, will give scientists increased insight into the complex
chemistry of the middle atmosphere which affects global ozone levels.

This mission's atmospheric studies got underway as the ATLAS 2 experiment
computer activated the Millimeter-Wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS) and commanded
the spectrometer to scan the atmosphere, looking for traces of water vapor,
ozone and chlorine monoxide.  The limited amount of data received by the MAS
team thus far revealed a pointing control problem, which they are
troubleshooting with the help of other science teams and the crew.

The on-board experiment computer also activated the Atmospheric Trace Molecule
Spectroscopy (ATMOS) instrument to make measurements of the composition of the
troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and lower thermosphere, layers of the
Earth's atmosphere ranging from 10 to 150 km (6 to 93 mi).  The composition
profiles of atmospheric gases found in this region will be compared to
measurements from previous missions and with results from atmospheric models in
order to understand more about global, seasonal and long-term changes in the
distribution of 30 to 40 trace gases.

Ground control teams at Spacelab Mission Operations Control in Huntsville,
Ala., worked much of the day to isolate the cause of a problem with the
high-rate data and to rework formats for improved data transmission.  ATMOS is
the only ATLAS-2 experiment requiring high-rate data.  This afternoon, data
management controllers succeeded in receiving some real-time, high-rate data
from the ATMOS experiment.  Throughout the day, ATMOS observations of orbital
sunrises and sunsets have been captured by a new ATMOS experiment recorder,
which was installed on the instrument for the first time during ATLAS 2 for a
test flight.

Mission Specialist Ellen Ochoa activated the Shuttle Solar Backscatter
Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment, which will be used to verify the accuracy of
atmospheric ozone and solar ultraviolet irradiance data obtained by instruments
on free-flying National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA
satellites.  Its door was opened to expose the instrument to the space
environment, and it will be allowed to "outgas" and then cool until near the
end of the upcoming solar observation period, when SSBUV will take readings
during the last two solar orbits.

The Solar Ultraviolet Irradiance Monitor, the Active Cavity Radiometer and the
Solar Spectrum experiments have been activated and are in the process of being
calibrated.  The Solar Constant experiment will be activated later tonight.
The ATLAS-2 solar observation period will begin shortly after midnight.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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MISSION CONTROL CENTER  STS-56 Status Report #4

Friday, April 9, 1993, 4 a.m. CDT


Pilot Steve Oswald late yesterday began initiating maneuvers aboard Discovery
that have continued throughout the night to put the ATLAS-2 atmospheric
instruments in position to observe the very first and last rays of each orbital
sunrise and sunset.

The maneuvers put Discovery in a solar inertial attitude, an orientation that
means the shuttle's position is fixed relative to the Sun rather than to the
Earth. However, when Discovery is on the night side of the Earth, Oswald rolls
the spacecraft so the ATLAS-2 instruments point toward deep space to cool them
after their extended exposure to direct sunlight.

Members of the Blue Team -- Commander Ken Cameron, Pilot Oswald and Mission
Specialist Ellen Ochoa -- have been on duty aboard Discovery during the
morning.  Early in the shift, Ochoa and Oswald completed a successful checkout
of the shuttle's mechanical arm in preparation for operations early Sunday to
deploy the SPARTAN platform and its solar wind-observing instruments.  After
the check, the arm was again put in an extended park position, posed above and
to the left of the shuttle's nose.  The arm will be kept in this position
throughout the flight when it is not being used to avoid having it interfere in
fields of view of the ATLAS-2 instruments.

Cameron reported contacting students at the Royal Grammar School in Surrey,
England, via ham radio of the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment as Discovery
flew above that region of Earth. In addition, the Solar Ultraviolet Experiment,
or SUVE, an experiment designed, built and that will be analyzed by students at
the University of Colorado in Boulder, was activated late yesterday.  SUVE
studies how much ultraviolet radiation is absorbed by the upper layer of the
atmosphere and attempts to correlate the amounts of radiation entering the
atmosphere with sunspots, flares and other surface features of the Sun.

Other work onboard during the night included photography using the HERCULES
camera, a camera that prints the location of the area being photographed on the
film when the photo is taken.  In addition to photographing various sites,
Discovery's crew also attempted to transmit several photographs to Mission
Control.

Flight controllers are continuing to analyze and troubleshoot a problem with
the high data rate communications system aboard Discovery. In the meantime, all
high data rate science information from the ATMOS instrument of the ATLAS- 2
array is being recorded onboard.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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ATLAS 2  Status Report #03
6:00 a.m. CDT, April 9, 1993
1/5:31 MET
Spacelab Mission Operations Control
Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, Alabama


Experiments to help us understand more about our atmosphere and the sun's
influence upon it continued overnight as the Space Shuttle Discovery orbited
the Earth with the second Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science
(ATLAS 2) payload.

The Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) experiment made global
measurements of the concentration of gases in the upper atmosphere.  ATMOS
measured solar infrared radiation after it passed through the atmosphere during
sunsets and sunrises.  Since different elements absorb solar radiation at
different wavelengths, the patterns of absorption identify which molecules are
present and their amounts.  Scientists will study these trace gases to better
understand the chemistry of the stratosphere.  Teams of scientists and
engineers continued to troubleshoot a problem with data transmission on the Ku
band data system.  This anomaly is preventing the high data rate downlink of
ATMOS data from the Shuttle's High Data Rate Recorder. However, a flight tape
recorder, added as a new component for ATLAS 2, has recorded ATMOS
measurements, storing the data for analysis after the mission.  Furthermore,
data can be down linked at a lower rate, and the instrument itself continues to
function well.

The Millimeter-wave Atmospheric Sounder (MAS) instrument studied the Earth's
middle atmosphere overnight to provide a set of measurements relating to ozone
loss.  MAS measures the strength of millimeter wave emissions from water vapor,
chlorine monoxide and ozone radiating at specific frequencies.  During the
ATLAS series of missions, this instrument scans the atmosphere, providing
information about chemical influences on the ozone layer which shields the
Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation.  During this observation period, MAS
investigators worked closely with the orbiter team to ensure a stable
environment for the MAS instrument, which is operating in a contingency mode
while it is not able to correctly interpret pointing signals from the Shuttle's
Guidance, Navigation and Control Systems. Members of the science team at
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. and in Germany have
temporarily corrected the problem and are currently working to resolve it
through a software modification.  The instrument has been reconfigured and
continues to transmit data through the low-rate channel.

The Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) experiment measured the solar
ultraviolet radiation backscattered from the atmosphere.  Since the ozone layer
absorbs ultraviolet radiation, the amount of ozone present can be determined by
calculating the ratio of radiation "bouncing" back to the amount of ultraviolet
radiation reaching the top of the Earth's atmosphere.  The SSBUV experiment,
housed in two Get-Away-Special canisters on the side of the payload
bay, is used to calibrate the accuracy of ozone data obtained by free-flying
NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites.

Four ATLAS 2 instruments are designed to provide information about the sun's
energy output.  Solar energy is essential to life on Earth, and even slight
changes in the amount of that energy can affect our planet.  In order to learn
more about variations in the sun's radiant energy, it is important to measure
its total output during the remainder of this solar cycle.

The Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) measured the total
solar irradiance in wavelengths ranging from ultraviolet through infrared.
Data from this experiment will be compared to those made at the same time by
another ATLAS 2 instrument, the Measurement of the Solar Constant (SOLCON), and
the ACRIM instrument aboard the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, launched
in 1991.

SOLCON, pointing directly at the sun, operated during the solar observation
period to measure, with improved accuracy, the total solar energy arriving at
the Earth's atmosphere.  This experiment also will detect any variations in the
energy being emitted by the sun.  During this shift, the instrument made some
unique simultaneous observations with an identical device aboard the European
Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) satellite.  This enabled the ATLAS-2 SOLCON
instrument, remote-commanded from Belgium, to assist in the calibration of the
EURECA SOLCON device, controlled from Germany.

The Solar Spectrum Measurement instrument performed observations to measure
solar energy in the ultraviolet, visible and infrared wavelengths, and
scientists were encouraged by the instrument's performance.  This part of the
solar spectral irradiance is being studied to accurately determine the amounts
of these energies and how they change with time.  Solar energy variations
influence ozone and chemical balance in the upper atmosphere and water vapor
and carbon dioxide absorption at lower altitudes.

Also operating during the solar observation period overnight, the Solar
Ultraviolet Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM) measured ultraviolet radiation
in the wavelengths that are absorbed by the atmosphere between 20 and 120 km
(10 and 75 mi) high.  Although this radiation is only a small percentage of the
total solar output, it is the main source of energy for the middle atmosphere.

The next 12 hour period will conclude the first set of solar observations.
When the four ATLAS 2 solar instruments have been turned off, ATMOS, MAS and
SSBUV will again examine the Earth's atmosphere.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_2_2_44_12_9.TXT

Mission Control Center   STS-56 Status Report #5

Friday, April 9, 1993, 11 a.m. CDT

  Discovery's crew continued to conduct carefully choreographed manuevers to
assist in pointing the ATLAS instruments at the Sun as it rises and sets on
each horizon.

During the dark portions of each orbit, Pilot Steve Oswald also rotates the
orbiter 360 degrees to keep the instruments pointed toward darkness for cooling
purposes.  Primarily, the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet instrument in
the payload bay tends to get warm and needs to be cooled down between solar
observations.

After the check, the arm was again put in an extended park position, poised
above and to the left of the shuttle's nose.  The arm will be kept in this
position throughout the flight when it is not being used to avoid having it
interfere in fields of view of the ATLAS-2 instruments.

Successful ham radio contacts by Commander Ken Cameron were conducted with the
Unatego Central School District in Otego, New York, the Jarrettsville
Elementary School in Maryland and the Royal Grammar School in Surrey, England.

Flight controllers are continuing to analyze and troubleshoot a problem with
the high data rate communications system aboard Discovery. ATLAS's Atmospheric
Trace Molecule Spectroscopy experiment is the only one that requires the high
data rate transmission capability.  While troubleshooting continues, that data
is being recorded onboard.

Discovery remains in a stable, 160 nautical mile high orbit circling the Earth
every 90 minutes.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_2_2_44_7.TXT

STS-56 Orbital Element Set GSFC-007a (orbit 24)

STS-56
1 22621U 93 23  A 93 99.66958619 0.00061656  00000-0  17780-3 0    70
2 22621  57.0029 172.2596 0005303 270.9340  89.1129 15.92580451   242

Satellite: STS-56
Catalog number: 22621
Epoch time:      93099.66958619         (09 APR 93   16:04:12.25 UTC)
Element set:     GSFC-007a
Inclination:       57.0029 deg
RA of node:       172.2596 deg          Space Shuttle Flight STS-56
Eccentricity:    0.0005303                  Keplerian Elements
Arg of perigee:   270.9340 deg
Mean anomaly:      89.1129 deg
Mean motion:   15.92580451 rev/day      Semi-major Axis: 6673.1970 Km
Decay rate:       0.62E-03 rev/day*2    Apogee  Alt:        298.35 Km
Epoch rev:              24              Perigee Alt:        291.27 Km


NOTE - This element set is based on NORAD element set # 007.
       The spacecraft has been propagated to the next ascending
       node, and the orbit number has been adjusted to bring it
       into agreement with the NASA numbering convention.

R.A. Parise, Goddard Space Flight Center

G.L.CARMAN


                               STS-56
                   FLIGHT DAY 2 STATE VECTOR (ACTUAL)
                         ON ORBIT OPERATIONS
                 (Posted 04/09/93 by Bruce Williamson)

The following vector for the flight of STS-56 is provided by NASA
Johnson Space Center Flight Design and Dynamics Division for use in
ground track plotting programs.  The vector is valid for flight
day two.  The vector represents the trajectory of Discovery after
the OMS-2 maneuver.  Questions regarding these postings may be
addressed to Don Pearson, Mail Code DM4, L. B. J. Space Center,
Houston, Texas 77058, Telephone [phone].


Lift off Time : 1993/098/05:28:59.950
Lift off Date : 04/08/93

Vector Time (GMT) : 099/13:30:00.00
Vector Time (MET) : 001/08:01:00.05
Orbit Count : 22
Weight : 224876.0 LBS
Drag Coefficient : 2.00
Drag Area : 2750.0 SQ FT

     M50 Elements                           Keplerian Elements
-----------------------                 --------------------------
X    =     4453511.8  FT                A          = 3599.8507 NM
Y    =   -12175603.3  FT                E          = 0.000537
Z    =    17629159.4  FT                I  (M50)   =  57.01746 DEG
Xdot =  24651.987451  FT/S              Wp (M50)   = 318.68275 DEG
Ydot =    430.344756  FT/S              RAAN (M50) = 172.03355 DEG
Zdot =  -5921.325652  FT/S            / N (True)   = 147.49768 DEG
                           Anomalies  \ M (Mean)   = 147.46460 DEG

                                        Ha         = 160.544   NM
                                        Hp         = 157.192   NM

Mean of 1950 (M50)   : Inertial, right-handed Cartesian system whose
Coordinate System      origin is the center of the earth.  The epoch is the
                       beginning of the Besselian year 1950.
                       X axis: Mean vernal equinox of epoch
                       Z axis: Earth's mean rotational axis of epoch
                       Y axis: Completes right-hand system
A:    Semi-major axis
E:    Eccentricity                         N:    True anomaly
I:    Inclination                          M:    Mean anomaly
Wp:   Argument of perigee                  Ha:   Height of apogee
RAAN: Right ascension of ascending node    Hp:   Height of perigee
POSTED BY JBWMSON AT VMSPFHOU ON VMSPFHOU.VMBOARDS:PAONEWS
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_9_15_2.TXT

ASTRO-D BACKGROUND INFORMATION


NASA'S ROLE IN THE ASTRO-D MISSION


     Astro-D, a high-capability x-ray observatory scheduled for launch in
mid-February, will vastly enhance the capability for imaging x-ray
spectroscopy.

     This is a cooperative astronomy mission with Japan's Institute of Space
and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and NASA. Astro-D combines the conical-foil
mirror technology of the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT) with the Charge
Coupled Device (CCD) detector technology being developed for the Advanced X-ray
Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), to perform imaging x-ray spectroscopy in the
wavelength band from less than 1 KeV (1,000 electron volts) to 12 keV.

     Astro-D will launch on a ISAS M-3SII rocket, from the ISAS Kagoshima Space
Center on February 12, 1993 into a circular orbit, 550-650 kilometers (340-400
miles) above the Earth.

     The observatory is equipped with four sets of conical, grazing incidence,
thin-foil x-ray mirrors.  The mirrors were provided by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The technology was developed by Dr. Peter
Serlemitsos and his colleagues at Goddard.

     The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, under the leadership of Dr.
George Ricker, is providing two CCD-based detectors.  Japan is providing the
balance of the science payload, the spacecraft, the launch vehicle and overall
program management.

     The Astro-D software was developed by a team of Japanese and U.S.
scientists from ISAS, Goddard and U.S. and Japanese universities.



Astro-D Science

     Astro-D has been specifically designed to help understand the physics of a
variety of cosmic sources.  With its high sensitivity and high spectroscopic
capability, the investigations with Astro-D will span virtually all classes of
astronomical objects.  Through these investigations, Astro-D is expected to
make important contributions to the advancement of astrophysics and cosmology.

     "We have done x-ray astronomy investigations with better imaging
characteristics, and have done others with better spectroscopic sensitivity,"
said Dr. Steve Holt, Goddard's project scientist for Astro-D. "But combining
relatively modest imaging performance with powerful spectroscopic sensitivity
gives us the ability to perform literally thousands of observations that we
could not do before."


Astro-D Operations

     During early operations, the four telescopes will point at approximately
two targets per day which will be increased to as many as six per day by the
end of the first year of operation.  These targets will include supernova
remnants, stars, neutron stars, black holes, active galactic nuclei and
clusters of galaxies.

     The first month of the mission will be the satellite check- out phase,
followed by a seven month calibration and hardware checkout period.  Guest
observations will begin in October 1993 and will continue for as long as the
satellite is operational.

     A significant portion of the Astro-D observing time will be made available
to international investigators.  Under the guest observer program, 60 percent
of the observing time is allotted to Japanese observers, 15 percent to U.S.
observers and 25 percent for collaborative U.S. Japan observations.

     The raw data will go to Japan's Kagoshima ground station and the Canberra
Ground Station in Australia.

     Data for U.S. observers will be processed, checked for accuracy and
scientific content and distributed by the U.S. Astro-D Science Center at
Goddard. U.S. observers will have available to them analysis software provided
by the science center.  This software can be downloaded and run at an
observer's home institution; alternatively, an observer may visit the Science
Center.




BBXRT---Precursor to Astro-D

     The mirrors use the same technology as those in the Broad Band X-Ray
Telescope (BBXRT), one of four telescopes aboard Space Shuttle Columbia's
STS-35 mission Dec. 2-10, 1990.  During that mission, BBXRT observed 116
objects including stars, supernova remnants, quasars, galaxies and clusters of
galaxies.

     For each one of these classes of objects, fundamentally new results were
obtained.  BBXRT was developed, constructed and operated by Goddard Space
Flight Center.

     Like BBXRT, Astro-D will look at dark matter distribution and clusters,
supernova remnants and distant quasars.  However, unlike BBXRT, Astro-D will be
able to utilize its imaging capability to view separate objects in the same
observations, and its extended lifetime to view many examples of every category
of x-ray emitter.  BBXRT was on a shuttle mission, which allowed for several
days of observations.  Scientists will have years of observations with Astro-D.


Astro-D Management

     The approximate US cost for the development of the Astro-D mission is $10
million; which is less than 10 percent of the equivalent Japanese contribution
to the mission.  The U.S. portion of the Astro-D mission is managed by Goddard
Space Flight Center for NASA's Office of Space Science and Applications,
Washington, D.C.

     The Astro-D project manager is Mr. Jerre Hartman and project scientist is
Dr. Holt, both of Goddard. From NASA Headquarters, John Lintott is Astro-D
program manager, and Dr. Alan Bunner is Astro-D Program Scientist.


Astro-D Statistics

Launch vehicle:     M-3SII, 3-stage solid fuel vehicle
Launch site:        Kagoshima Space Center, Japan
Altitude:           550 km, circular
Inclination:        31 degrees
Spacecraft mass:    420 kilograms
Ground stations:    Kagoshima Space Center
                    NASA Deep Space Network

January 1993
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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