Jonathan's Space Report No. 156 1993 Jun 2 Off to the AAS in Berkeley for a week - there will probably be no JSR next week. Anyone at the AAS, stop by and say hi at my poster on Monday. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shuttle ------- The STS-57 launch has been delayed until the middle of June. The delay was caused by the decision to replace a main engine turbopump. Here's an update on the current Shuttle schedule. Jun STS-57 Endeavour Spacehab-1, GBA 5, SHOOT, Eureca retrieval,DTO-1210 EVA Jul STS-51 Discovery ACTS/TOS, ORFEUS-SPAS, DTO-1210 EVA Sep STS-58 Columbia Spacelab Life Sciences 2/Extended Duration Orbiter Nov STS-60 Discovery Spacehab-2, GBA 6, Wake Shield Facility, RKA Dec STS-61 Endeavour HST Servicing Mission, 5 repair EVAs Mir --- The Progress M-18 cargo craft docked with Mir on May 24. The Mir complex now consists of the core module, the Kvant, Kvant-2 and Kristall modules, the Sofora structure, and the Soyuz TM-16, Progress M-17 and Progress M-18 ferry craft. A return capsule on board Progress M-18 will be used to return experimental samples to Earth in July. Launches -------- The spacecraft launched on May 21 has been confirmed as a Resurs-F remote sensing flight. It is the Resurs-F2 model, which stays in orbit for around 30 days. On May 26 its orbit was 228 x 233 km x 82.6 deg. The Arsene amateur radio satellite has successfully fired its SEP Mars apogee motor and is in a 17600 x 37000 km orbit inclined at 1 degree to the equator. Its VHF system isn't working right but the S-band reportedly is fine. A Gorizont communications satellite was launched by Proton on May 27 from Baykonur. I don't have any orbital elements yet, but a Space News article indicates that the NPO Energiya-built Blok-DM fourth stage failed, leaving the payload either in parking orbit or in an incorrect transfer orbit. The Blok-DM is separate from the main UR-500K Proton rocket built by NPO Mashinostroeniye, and is essentially considered to be part of the payload, like IUS stages on Shuttle missions. On geostationary orbit missions, it burns twice, first to go from low circular orbit to geostationary transfer orbit, and second to circularize the transfer orbit at apogee. A bigger stage is needed for this than for US launch vehicles: Russia's launch site in Kazakhstan is at 46 deg North, and because of ground range constraints the initial orbit is at 51 degrees to the equator, requiring a large velocity change to enter the final equatorial orbit. The Blok-D series of upper stages was originally developed for the Soviet piloted moon landing program. Date Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL. DES. May 11 1450? Kosmos-2245 ) Tsiklon Plesetsk Comsat 30A Kosmos-2246 ) 30B Kosmos-2247 ) 30C Kosmos-2248 ) 30D Kosmos-2249 ) 30E Kosmos-2250 ) 30F May 12 0056 Astra 1C ) Ariane 42L Kourou Comsat 31A Arsene ) Comsat 31B May 13 0007 Navstar GPS 37 Delta 7925 Canaveral Navsat 32A May 21 0920? Resurs-F2 Soyuz Plesetsk Remote Sens. 33A May 22 0645? Progress M-18 Soyuz Baykonur Cargo 34A May 26 0335? Molniya-1 Molniya Plesetsk Comsat 35A May 27 Gorizont Proton Baykonur Comsat 36A? Reentries --------- May 6 Kosmos-2243 Reentered May 6 Columbia Landed at Edwards AFB May 20 Molniya-1(37) Reentered Current Shuttle Processing Status ____________________________________________ Orbiters Location Mission OV-102 Columbia OPF Bay 2 STS-58 OV-103 Discovery OPF Bay 3 STS-51 OV-104 Atlantis Palmdale OMDP OV-105 Endeavour LC39B STS-57 ML/SRB/ET/OV stacks ML1?/RSRM-33 VAB Bay 1 STS-51 ML2/RSRM-32/ET-58/OV-105 LC39B STS-57 ML3/ Acronym reminder: ET: External Tank LC: Launch Complex ML: Mobile Launcher OMDP: Orbiter Maintainance Down Period OPF: Orbiter Processing Facility OV: Orbiter Vehicle RSRM: Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor SRB: Solid Rocket Booster VAB: Vehicle Assembly Building .-----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | Jonathan McDowell | phone : (617) 495-7176 | | Harvard-Smithsonian Center for | | | Astrophysics | | | 60 Garden St, MS4 | | | Cambridge MA 02138 | inter : jcm@urania.harvard.edu | | USA | | '-----------------------------------------------------------------------------'