Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/pc/text/daily_2/930811.dfc

Text File | 1993-08-13 | 15KB | 328 lines

11-Aug-93 Daily File Collection
   These files were added or updated between 10-Aug-93 at 21:00:00 {Central}
                                         and 11-Aug-93 at 21:00:30.

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8/11/93:  HUBBLE FIRST SERVICING MISSION HARDWARE ARRIVES AT KSC



George H. Diller
                                August 11, 1993

KSC Release No. 97-93


     Preparations for the first servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope
(HST) began today at KSC with the arrival of the Space Support Equipment (SSE).

     Some of this flight hardware will house the delicate Hubble replacement
components inside Endeavour's payload bay during the mission.  The SSE was
shipped from Baltimore on Aug. 6 after checkout at NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center in Greenbelt, Md. Traveling aboard the Space Shuttle external tank
barge, the hardware is enclosed in shipping containers previously used by the
Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) and the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF).

     After being offloaded from the barge, the equipment will be taken to the
Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) located in KSC's Industrial Area
for launch preparations.  One of the significant processing milestones will
take place in mid-September when the Hubble replacement components, including
the Wide Field/Planetary Camera II and Hubble corrective optics, are mated with
their carriers.  Astronauts will install these components on the 43-foot-long,
14-foot diameter HST during the mission.

     The SSE consists of three parts: the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier
which is a dedicated Spacelab maintenance and repair pallet; the Solar Array
Carrier which will hold the replacement solar panels; and the Flight Support
Structure which will hold and orient the telescope while it is being repaired
by the astronauts in Endeavour's payload bay.  This device was used previously
aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984 during the Solar Maximum Satellite
repair mission.

     Replacement components for the Hubble Space Telescope are scheduled to
arrive at KSC later this month.

     Mission STS-61 is a planned 11-day flight featuring five spacewalks with
seven crew members dedicated to the servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Launch is currently targeted for early December.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT 8/11/93



        KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                   Wednesday, August 11, 1993

KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham


             MISSION: STS-51 -- ACTS-TOS/ORFEUS-SPAS
                        LAUNCH MINUS 1 DAY

VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103             ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 miles
LOCATION: Pad 39-B                    INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees
LAUNCH DATE: August 12, 1993          CREW SIZE: 5
LAUNCH WINDOW: 9:10 - 10:07 a.m. EDT
KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: August 21/22 (7:09 a.m. on the 21st)
MISSION DURATION: 8 days/21 hours/59 minutes (+ 1 day)

     The countdown for Discovery's launch continues today.  Managers and
engineers decided late last night to replace a faulty liquid oxygen temperature
sensor on main engine #1 following erratic temperature readings.  Workers
entered the aft engine compartment earlier this morning to remove and replace
the sensor.  It is expected the aft compartment will again be closed for
flight by mid to late afternoon.

     Following aft compartment closeouts, an aft confidence test will be run
and preparations will be made to retract the rotating service structure to
launch position at about 7 p.m. today.  At about 10 p.m. the pad will be
cleared as preparations are made to load the external tank with liquid hydrogen
and liquid oxygen propellants.  Loading is scheduled to begin at about 12:30
a.m.  Thursday.

     Two mid-deck experiments will be installed into the orbiter today.  The
Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG) experiment will be installed by 11
a.m. and the Chromosome and Plant Cell Division in Space (CHROMEX) experiment
will be installed by about 8 p.m.

     Forecasters continue to indicate a 30 percent probability of weather
prohibiting launch with the primary concerns being possible offshore
thunderstorms and a low cloud ceiling.  The winds at the pad are expected to be
from the southeast at 6 to 10 knots; temperature 83-85 degrees F.; relative
humidity 75-70 percent; visibility 7 miles; and clouds scattered to broken at
2,500, 12,000 and 25,000 feet.

     The 24-hour and 48-hour delay forecast reveal similar conditions with 20
percent and 10 percent chance of violation respectively.

     The five astronauts for this mission are reviewing their flight data files
today.  They will also take part in orbiter and payload briefings and fly in
their T-38 training aircraft prior to preparing for sleep at about 6:30 p.m.

                   SUMMARY OF REMAINING HOLDS FOR STS-51


T-TIME ------- LENGTH OF HOLD ---- HOLD BEGINS ---- HOLD ENDS

T-11 hours --- 13 hrs.,20 mins. -- 5:30 am Wed.----- 6:50 pm Wed.
T-6 hours ---- 1 hour ---------- 11:50 pm Wed.--- 12:50 am Thurs.
T-3 hours ---- 2 hours --------- 3:50 am Thurs.--- 5:50 am Thurs.
T-20 minutes - 10 minutes ------ 8:30 am Thurs.--- 8:40 am Thurs.
T-9 minutes -- 10 minutes ------ 8:51 am Thurs.--- 9:01 am Thurs.



                      CREW FOR MISSION STS-51


Commander (CDR): Frank Culbertson
Pilot (PLT): Bill Readdy
Mission Specialist (MS1): Jim Newman
Mission Specialist (MS2): Dan Bursch
Mission Specialist (MS3): Carl Walz




           SUMMARY OF STS-51 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES

Thursday, August 12, 1993

4:00 a.m.      Wake up
4:30 a.m.      Breakfast
5:00 a.m.      Weather briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2)
5:00 a.m.      Don flight equipment (MS1, MS3)
5:10 a.m.      Don flight equipment (CDR, PLT, MS2)
5:40 a.m.      Depart for launch pad 39-B
6:10 a.m.      Arrive at white room and begin ingress
7:25 a.m.      Close crew hatch
9:10 a.m.      Launch


     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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STS-51 WEATHER PREDICTIONS / PREVIOUS DELAY AND LAUNCH INFORMATION

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_7_2_18_6.TXT

8/11/93:  HUBBLE FIRST SERVICING MISSION HARDWARE ARRIVES AT KSC



George H. Diller
                                August 11, 1993

KSC Release No. 97-93


     Preparations for the first servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope
(HST) began today at KSC with the arrival of the Space Support Equipment (SSE).

     Some of this flight hardware will house the delicate Hubble replacement
components inside Endeavour's payload bay during the mission.  The SSE was
shipped from Baltimore on Aug. 6 after checkout at NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center in Greenbelt, Md. Traveling aboard the Space Shuttle external tank
barge, the hardware is enclosed in shipping containers previously used by the
Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) and the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF).

     After being offloaded from the barge, the equipment will be taken to the
Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) located in KSC's Industrial Area
for launch preparations.  One of the significant processing milestones will
take place in mid-September when the Hubble replacement components, including
the Wide Field/Planetary Camera II and Hubble corrective optics, are mated with
their carriers.  Astronauts will install these components on the 43-foot-long,
14-foot diameter HST during the mission.

     The SSE consists of three parts: the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier
which is a dedicated Spacelab maintenance and repair pallet; the Solar Array
Carrier which will hold the replacement solar panels; and the Flight Support
Structure which will hold and orient the telescope while it is being repaired
by the astronauts in Endeavour's payload bay.  This device was used previously
aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984 during the Solar Maximum Satellite
repair mission.

     Replacement components for the Hubble Space Telescope are scheduled to
arrive at KSC later this month.

     Mission STS-61 is a planned 11-day flight featuring five spacewalks with
seven crew members dedicated to the servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Launch is currently targeted for early December.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_8_4_12_2.TXT

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    The first line of the file:

THE MARS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:9_6_14_3.TXT

THE NIGHT SKY: Meteor Showers


Meteors are flashes of light commonly referred to as shooting stars.  They are
small bits of ice, rock and or metal that hit our atmosphere at an altitude of
60 to 100 kilometers.  Because of their velocities of tens of thousands of
kilometers per hour, they are incinerated by friction with molecules of air
high in the atmosphere.  Most particles are the size of grains of sand.  Some
may be baseball sized.  Meteors streak across the sky in an instant, sometimes
being bright enough to cast shadows.  Often a glowing path remains visible for
a few seconds after the meteor vanishes.  When a large chunk of material,
perhaps the size of a basketball, hits our atmosphere and forms an
exceptionally bright meteor, it is called a fireball.  Fireballs often break up
in flight causing bursts of light.

On any night of the year you can go out and see meteors.  If the sky is bright
because of the Moon or city lights you will have to patient and wait for one
that is bright enough to shine through the background glow.  In a dark sky you
can expect to see about six per hour.  But there are some times when there are
many more meteors visible.  These times are known as showers.  Showers occur
each year at about the same time.

Shower meteoroids, particles that are traveling in space towards Earth, are
material left behind by comets.  Comets are composed mostly of ice.  Some orbit
the Sun in elliptical orbits.  Others come from deep space, pass near the Sun,
and then fly off never to be seen again.  The orbital path of the comet is
often filled with grains of material that have separated from the comet's
nucleus.  It is possible for the path of a comet to intersect the orbit of
Earth. In all probability Earth will be nowhere near the comet at that time,
but as Earth orbits the Sun it will cross the path of the long gone comet and
encounter some of the grains.  When that occurs we have a shower.

Since Earth will reach the same point in space at the same time each year we
can predict the dates of showers.  Some showers are better than others and each
shower varies from year to year.  They last several days but peak during one
night.

Showers are named for the apparent point from which the meteors appear to
originate.  In other words, if you observe several meteors and plot their
positions on a star chart, and then draw a line backwards, the lines will meet
at one small region of the sky.  For example, during the shower that peaks
around October 20/21 of each year your map would show meteor streaks all over
the sky.  Extending each of those lines backwards, or in the opposite direction
from which the meteor was heading, would find those lines meeting in the
constellation of Orion. This shower is known as the Orionid meteor shower.
This shower is from material lost by Halley's Comet.

The most famous and reliable meteor shower is the Perseid which occurs on the
night of August 11/12 each year.  Typically there are ten times the usual
number of shooting stars, 60 or more per hour.  The debris that creates the
Perseids is from the comet P/Swift-Tuttle. Swift-Tuttle is a periodic comet--
meaning that it is in orbit around the Sun. Its orbit carries it across Earth's
orbit once each 130 years.  The last passage was in December, 1992 so the
Perseid shower could turn into a storm for the next several years.  There might
also be a large number of large chunks that could produce fireballs.

The best time to view meteors is typically after midnight.  As Earth spins on
its axis each day it also orbits the Sun. As viewed from above the north pole
of the Sun or Earth, Earth spins counterclockwise and orbits the Sun
counterclockwise.  This means that, at any given moment, half of Earth is
facing forward into the direction that Earth orbits, and half facing in the
direction that Earth has been.  From midnight until noon we are on the leading
side of Earth and from noon until midnight on the trailing side.  In the
evening the meteors have to catch up with Earth from behind.  After midnight
Earth is running into the particles and the number of meteors increases as does
the speed at which they hit the atmosphere.  This similar to the effect of
driving in the rain.  The front windshield is being hit with many raindrops
while the back window may actually be dry.

Observing meteors is probably the easiest astronomical activity.  All you need
is a view of the sky and some patience.  The darker sky the better, but you
need no special equipment.  In fact a telescope will do no good at all since
telescopes have narrow fields of view and meteors cross a lot of sky.
Binoculars can be used to try to see if there is any glow left in the meteorUs
path but can not be used to spot the meteors themselves.  Try to make yourself
comfortable; a lawnchair or blanket will help and be sure to dress warmly
enough.  Snacks and drinks are a good idea, too.

If you want to make a record of your observations you should have a copy of a
wide field of view star chart and a pencil.  If you are in a group arrange the
members so that each person is looking off in a different direction with a
chart that covers the stars in their view.  That way you can cover the whole
sky.

You can photograph meteors but is difficult to get good photographs.  You will
need a camera, probably a 35mm, with a B setting or some other method for
keeping the shutter open for a long period of time, and a tripod.  A cable
release can be attached to most 35mm cameras.  The cable release can be secured
so that the film remains exposed to the sky for as long as you leave it open.
With a normal or wide angle lens and fast film, ISO 200 or higher, you are
hoping that a bright meteor will shoot through the cameraUs field of view while
the shutter is open.  Plan to take several photographs of about ten minutes in
length.  If you think that a meteor has been captured on film, stop the
exposure and go on to the next one.



Prominent Showers    Night of Peak    Hourly Rate
Quadrantids        Jan. 2        20-80
Eta Aquarids        May 3        20
Delta Aquarids        July 27        35
Perseids        Aug. 11        60
Orionids        Oct. 20        35
Leonids            Nov. 15        10-100
Geminids        Dec. 11        50
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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