Author Topic: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty  (Read 70829 times)

Offline Ares67

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Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« on: 02/22/2013 07:26 pm »
Coming in second

A secret shuttle mission, such as Atlantis STS-36, does not have many changes to be recorded in public history books. STS-36, with a tentative launch date of February 16, lost its one big chance for the books. The flight was slated to be the first flight of the 1990s – until STS-32 was postponed from December to January. Now STS-36 will be the second off the pad in the new decade, and second usually rates as only a footnote in history. Out of the public eyes, STS-36 will be more than a footnote for the military intelligence community. The flight, which should last four days, is scheduled to deploy a photo reconnaissance satellite, which will remain in low Earth orbit.

“This DOD classified military mission by the orbiter Atlantis was always going to be a quiet affair, other than the usual comical revelation of exactly what the classified payload was going to be,” we can read in “Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961 – 2006,” by Tim Furniss and David J. Shayler with Michael D. Shayler (Springer/Praxis, 2007). “In this case, it was a digital imaging and electronic signals intelligence satellite, which was to be deployed on the shuttle’s eighteenth orbit, comparatively late in the proposed four-day mission, by a new system called the Stabilized Payload Deployment System, SPDS. This was fixed to the payload in the payload bay before launch and was to be used to rotate the satellite clear of the shuttle before release by spring-loaded pistons.” – Weighing 180 pounds, SPDS is much lighter than spring-ejection systems, and it takes up less room – only two feet at either end of the satellite.

Prior to Challenger, the Air Force and CIA were jointly developing a new series of spy satellites, which could only be launched from the shuttle. The Challenger disaster struck a blow at the military’s shuttle plans, and the situation worsened greatly on April 18, 1986, when a Titan 34D carrying an earlier version of the reconnaissance satellite, the KH-11, exploded five seconds after lift-off from Vandenberg Air Force Base. That accident left the United States with only a single KH-11 in orbit. This precarious situation lasted for 18 months, until another KH-11 could be launched on October 26, 1987, aboard a revamped Titan.

According to an article by Jonathan McDowell in Quest (Summer 1995), “The KH-11 was the last series to get a Keyhole designation. To date, the secret successor to the KH-11 is known among analysts simply as Improved Crystal or Advanced KH-11. The AFP-731 satellite deployed by the shuttle into a 62 degree orbit in February 1990 on mission STS-36 is believed to be the first of the new imaging satellites. According to Aviation Week, AFP-731 combines CIA digital imaging sensors and NSA signals intelligence receivers.”

“Only a single aspect of STS-36 would ultimately be declassified,” tells Mike Mullane in ‘Riding Rockets’, “our orbit inclination. Atlantis would carry us into an orbit tilted 62 degrees to the equator, the highest inclined orbit ever flown by humans (it still remains the record). This wasn’t the polar orbit planned for STS 62-A (that would have been nearly a 90-degree inclination), but it meant we would get a view of more of the earth’s surface than any astronauts in history. Our orbit would almost reach the Arctic and Antarctic circles.”

According to Aviation Week, Atlantis will soar to an orbital inclination of 62 degrees, arching more than twice as far north of the equator at liftoff as the typical non-classified shuttle mission, which flies to the east from Cape Canaveral at a 28.5-degree inclination. A 62-degree inclination would also exceed the previous 57-degree launch limit for Cape Canaveral missions, established to ensure the safety of coastal residents of northern Florida and Georgia from the solid rocket boosters that drop off the shuttle about two minutes after liftoff.

In late January 1990, the space agency disclosed that new studies show the shuttle can be launched as far as 63.5 degrees to the north from Cape Canaveral. Ideally, U.S. spy satellites are launched into polar orbits of nearly 90 degrees from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The Air Force once planned to launch shuttles with spy satellites from the West Coast site. But the Department of Defense mothballed the multibillion-dollar Vandenberg shuttle complex in the wake of the 1986 Challenger accident.

According to John Pike, a space policy analyst with the Washington-based American Federation of Scientists, a 62-degree inclination will place Leningrad within the ship's ground track, allowing the satellite it deploys to snap images as far north as the Arctic Circle, a first for a shuttle-launched photo reconnaissance satellite. A prime target is likely to be Murmansk, a primary naval base for the Soviets' northern fleet, as well as a number of air fields and missile bases, he believes. Pike says the signals-intercept antennas on the $1 billion advanced KH-11 are also likely intended to survey Soviet air defense radar equipment as well as to snoop on broadcast military and diplomatic communications. Like similar payloads launched by previous shuttle flights, this spy satellite is intended to keep tabs on Soviet compliance with strategic arms agreements. AFP-731, weighing 37,300 pounds, carries 5,000 pounds of maneuvering fuel. Able to move quickly, the satellite is said to be able to gather photos of a target within a few hours of request, compared to the half-day needed by previous systems.

Only three more military flights will follow STS-36. After Challenger, the military abandoned the shuttle as a primary launch vehicle, switching future missions to the new Titan IV. The Titan IV successfully flew for the first time in 1989, and STS-36 will mark only one of two military shuttle flights for 1990. One military secret flight will occur in 1991 and the last will fly in 1993, resigning the marriage of the shuttle and the military to a footnote in history. A total of eight secret flights will have been flown, rather than half the dozen per year once planned. For the military, eight will have to be enough. (The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 18, 1990; Countdown, February and April  1990; Quest, Summer 1995; Furniss/Shayler/Shayler, “Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961 – 2006;” and Mike Mullane, “Riding Rockets,” Scribner 2006  – edited)

Offline Ares67

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #1 on: 02/22/2013 07:29 pm »
Freedom and liberty

Freedom and liberty form the images the astronauts wish to carry into the skies during the STS-36 Department of Defense mission. The astronauts, who designed their own patch for the mission, said it signifies “the essential role space plays in preserving freedom and liberty for Americans.” The eagle represents “our country’s commitment to strength and vigilance; its domain is not bound by the limits of Earth but reaches out to the stars,” they said.

“The shuttle,” they expressed, “majestically beginning its journey into orbit, demonstrates how man and machine work together for the security of the nation.” A crew spokesman went out to say the American flag highlighted in the background represents the patriotism and love for America possessed by each member of the five-man crew and the honor accorded them through participation in national defense. (Countdown, February 1990, and description on STS-36 decal – edited)
« Last Edit: 02/22/2013 07:30 pm by Ares67 »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #2 on: 02/22/2013 07:33 pm »
The troops are ready for a February tour of duty
 
An all-military crew will man the shuttle Atlantis for the STS-36 secret Department of Defense space mission. The five crew members include:

Commander John Oliver “J.O.” Creighton, 46, a Navy Captain and pilot of 1985 shuttle mission 51-G that spanned seven days.  That crew included a Saudi prince and a French test pilot. Creighton was born April 28, 1943, in Orange, Texas, and grew up in Seattle, Washington. He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and holds a master's degree in science and technology administration from George Washington University.

“J.O.” completed pilot training in October 1967. He was with VF-154 from July 1968 to May 1970, flying F-4Js and making two combat deployments to Vietnam aboard CVA-61 U.S.S. Ranger. He is a decorated combat veteran of 175 missions in Southeast Asia. Creighton is a graduate of the Navy's test pilot training school at Patuxent River, Maryland and was instrumental in the development of the F-14 Tomcat fighter plane. From 1973 to 1977 he was a member of the first operational F-14 squadron, making two deployments aboard the carrier U.S.S. Enterprise. Creighton has logged 4,500 hours flying time, the majority of it in jet fighters, and has completed 500 carrier landings.

After his selection by NASA in 1978 Creighton graduated as shuttle pilot in August 1979.”His technical assignments included a tour in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Lab (SAIL) and serving as deputy manager for operations integration in the Shuttle Program Office,” says Michael Cassutt in his book “Who’s Who in Space, The ISS Edition” (Macmillan Library Reference USA, New York, 1999). “During the launch hiatus caused by the Challenger accident Creighton served as astronaut office representative to the Shuttle Program Manager. He also served as CapCom for STS-26, 27, 29 and 30.” Since 1989 Creighton is head of the mission support branch of the astronaut office.

Pilot John Howard Casper, 46, an Air Force Colonel, is making his first space flight. A native of Greenville, South Carolina, born July 9, 1943, Casper is a graduate of the Air Force Academy, where he received a bachelor of science degree in engineering science in 1966, and he holds a 1967 master's degree in astronautics from Purdue University. Casper received his pilot wings at Reese Air Force Base, Texas, in 1968. After F-100 upgrade training at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, he was assigned to the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing at Phan Rang Air Base, Vietnam, where he flew 229 combat missions in the F-100.

Casper was assigned to the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing, RAF Lakenheath, United Kingdom, from 1970 to 1974. He served as a flight commander, squadron scheduling officer and wing weapons officer flying the F-100 and later F-4 aircraft. Casper is a 1974 graduate of the Air Force's test pilot training program, and participated in the development of tactical weapons and avionics systems for the F-4 fighter and A-7 attack plane. He was operations officer and later commander of the 6513th Test Squadron from 1976 to 1980. Later, in 1982, Casper served as deputy chief of the Air Force special projects office in the Pentagon. He has logged over 4,600 flying hours in 48 different aircraft.

“Casper was one of the 17 astronaut candidates selected by NASA in May 1984,” says Michael Cassutt (Who’s Who in Space), “and in 1985 qualified as a shuttle pilot. His subsequent technical assignments included acting as astronaut office representative for improved shuttle landing equipment and sites, work in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory and service as a CapCom in Mission Control.”

Mission Specialist MS1 David Carl Hilmers, 40, is a Marine Lieutenant Colonel and the veteran of two previous spaceflights, including He flew aboard Atlantis on the secret 51-J mission in 1985 and on Discovery STS-26 in 1988, the first shuttle flight to follow the 1986 Challenger accident. On this mission, Hilmers will serve as the flight engineer, assisting the Commander and Pilot by monitoring instrument displays on the flight deck during the launch and re-entry. He is also one of two crewmen designated to make a spacewalk during the mission if one is required.

A native of Clinton, Iowa, born on January 28, 1950, Dave Hilmers is a 1972 honors graduate of Cornell College. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics (summa cum laude), and earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School in 1978. He trained as an A-6 bombardier-navigator after entering with the U.S. Marine Corps in July 1972. Hilmers was first assigned to the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, South Carolina, and then became an air liaison officer 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, stationed with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. After graduating first in his electrical engineering class from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in 1978 he was stationed with the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in Iwanuki, Japan, where, according to Michael Cassutt’s “Who’s Who in Space” he also taught mathematics for the University of Maryland’s overseas branch. Hilmers has coauthored several technical papers.

At NASA Hilmers developed expertise in shuttle-borne satellite upper stages, such as the Centaur, PAM and IUS. He also worked on shuttle computer software and has served as a training coordinator for Pentagon payloads within the agency's astronaut office.  “He served as CapCom for shuttle missions between October 1984 and April 1985,” according to Michael Cassutt’s “Who’s Who in Space, ISS Edition, 1999.” Dave Hilmers “was also assigned to shuttle mission 61-F, scheduled for launch in the summer of 1986 but cancelled following the shuttle Challenger disaster.” 

Mission Specialist MS2 Richard Michael Mullane, 44, is an Air Force Colonel and veteran of two shuttle missions. He flew on the 41-D mission in 1984 mission aboard the orbiter Discovery and the STS-27 secret mission aboard the orbiter Atlantis in 1988. A native of Wichita Falls, born September 1945, he grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he graduated from St. Pius X Catholic School in 1963. Mullane is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, earning a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1967.

He is the decorated veteran of 150 combat missions in Southeast Asia, where he served as a navigator and weapons system officer on the RF-4C Phantom, including a 1969 tour at Ton Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam. A graduate of the Air Force test pilot school, Mullane specialized in weapons systems development. He “spent four years in England at Alconbury Royal Air Force Base,” according to Michael Cassutt’s “Who’s Who in Space.” In 1976 Mullane completed the first test engineer course at the USAF Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base. California, and was assigned to test weapon systems at Eglin AFB, Florida.

“Mullane was one of the 35 astronauts selected by NASA in January 1978,” says Michael Cassutt. “In August 1979 he completed a training and evaluation course which qualified him as a shuttle mission specialist. He served on the support crew for STS-4 prior to being assigned to STS-12 (later known as mission 41-D) in February 1983. From November 1983 to October 1984 Mullane trained as Mission Specialist for a shuttle crew assigned to a Department of Defense standby payload consisting of the Teal Ruby satellite and the AFP-675 CIRRIS equipment package. When AFP-675 was shifted to another DOD mission, STS-62-A, the first Vandenberg launch, Mullane went with it. He served as CapCom for shuttle missions from January to July 1985. Mission 62-A was cancelled following the Challenger disaster, and in September 1987 most of the crewmembers, including Mullane, were reassigned to STS-27. Just prior to the launch of STS-36, Mullane announced his plans to retire from NASA and the USAF on July 1, 1990.”

“The unknowns, the fear, the burden on the family… they all were all pointing to the NASA JSC front gate – time to drive out of it forever,” Mike Mullane recounts his “standard postflight depression” after STS-27 in “Riding Rockets” (Scribner, 2006). “I was within days of telling Brandenstein of my decision when the phone rang. It was Don Puddy. I was being assigned to another DOD mission, STS-36, only a year away. My sentence as an unassigned astronaut had lasted a month.

Puddy’s call put me on a 6-G pullout from the bottom loop of the astronaut roller coaster. I now soared skyward. Every doubt, every fear about staying at NASA was gone. Within a year, I would once again be Prime Crew. When I told Donna the news, she smiled, but her eyes said volumes more. My announcement gun-shot her. I knew she wanted out. But she took it like a loyal soldier. She would be there for me no matter what.

I would be one of the TFNGs on the mission. The other, J.O. Creighton (owner of the Sin Ship ski boat and Corvette my children found so alluring) would be the mission CDR. Like Hoot, J.O. was an exceptional pilot and leader. John Casper (class of 1984) would be the PLT. The other two MSes on the mission would be Dave Hilmers (class of 1980) and Pierre Thuot (class of 1985). In spite of his wimpy-sounding French name, Pierre was all-American. His astronaut nickname was Pepe.

Though my assignment to STS-36 had buried all thoughts of immediate retirement, I continued to debate the course of my life after the mission was complete. Time and again I would resolve to tell Mike Coats (now the acting chief while Brandenstein was in mission training) that I would be resigning after STS-36, only to walk into something that would shatter that resolve. God, what an incredible business, I thought. How can I ever walk away from it?

My (family escort) tour on the LCC roof with the STS-30 wives gave me a much better sense of what my launches were doing to (Donna). And it wasn’t just Donna’s fear. My own fear had become a worrisome burden. How many times could I make the trip and survive? The fear, the unknowns of the business, my doubts about NASA’s management… all of it had conspired to propel me down the hall to Mike.  I left Mike’s office and called home. “I did it, Donna. I just told Coats we would be leaving after the mission.” For a moment, Donna was silent. I had told her that morning of my retirement intentions, but I knew she didn’t believe me. I had changed my mind too many times before.

She understood the agony I was going through. She finally spoke. ‘Mike, I’m so happy. Thank you. I know you’ll second-guess this decision to death, but it’ll be okay. It’ll all work out for the best. God has His plan.’ As I hung up the phone, I knew exactly what she was doing… lighting a candle of thanksgiving at her home shrine.”

Mission Specialist MS3 Pierre Joseph Thuot, 34, a Navy Lieutenant Commander, will be making his first space flight. The son of a Navy Captain, born May 19, 1955, in Groton, Connecticut, Thuot is the second Atlantis crew member designated for a spacewalk if one was required during this flight. He is a 1977 graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy, having received a B.S. in physics. In 1985 Thuot earned a master's degree in systems management from the University of Southern California.

Thuot commenced naval flight officer training in July 1977. After receiving his wings in August 1978, he reported to VF-101 at NAS in Oceana, Virginia Beach, Virginia, for initial F-14 Tomcat training. Thuot was assigned to VF-14 and from 1978 through 1981 made overseas deployments to the Mediterranean and Carribean Seas aboard the USS John F. Kennedy and USS Independence. In 1982 Thuot attended the “Top Gun” Naval Weapons School and graduated from the Naval Test Pilot School at Patuxent River, Maryland, in June 1983. Thuot was an instructor at Pax River when chosen by NASA in June 1985. He has logged 2,000 flight hours in more than 40 different fixed and rotary wing aircraft, including more than 270 carrier landings.

Thuot qualified as a Space Shuttle mission specialist in August 1986. Within the space agency, he was assigned to the missions support branch in August 1987, working at the SAIL and later as CapCom during missions STS-26 through STS-30. Thuot has specialized in the development of payloads and equipment for space walking astronauts and use of the mechanical arm that is employed on some shuttle missions to deploy and retrieve satellites. (The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 18, 1990, Countdown, February 1990, Mike Mullane, “Riding Rockets,” 2006, and Michael Cassutt, “Who’s Who in Space, The ISS Edition,” 1999 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #3 on: 02/22/2013 07:39 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #4 on: 02/22/2013 07:47 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #5 on: 02/22/2013 07:59 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #6 on: 02/22/2013 08:11 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #7 on: 02/22/2013 08:22 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #8 on: 02/22/2013 08:29 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #9 on: 02/22/2013 08:42 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #10 on: 02/22/2013 08:49 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #11 on: 02/22/2013 08:52 pm »
January 2, 1990: STS-36 LAUNCH DELAYED AT LEAST TWO WEEKS
Atlantis underwent installation of the right OMS pod on December 12, 1989, and the pod was mechanically and electrically mated to the vehicle on December 14. The three main engines were installed on December 15. The filling and bleeding of the orbiter’s hydraulic system took place December 21, followed by a flight control frequency response test to test a replaced actuator on the right inboard elevon.

On December 30 KSC spokesman Bruce Buckingham announced that the STS-36 launch, tentatively scheduled for February 1, 1990, had been delayed at least two weeks due to NASA’s inability to launch Columbia STS-32 in December. “There’s still a lot of work to do before we get that flight off the ground,” he said. At the time planning called for Atlantis to move from the OPF to the VAB no earlier than January 14 and from the VAB to the launch pad on January 25.

On January 2 workers checked for possible leaks in the crew cabin and the main propulsion system. Technicians started preparing to power up the vehicle for systems testing. (Countdown, February 1990, and Florida Today, Dec. 30, 1989 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #12 on: 02/22/2013 08:54 pm »
January 9: COSMONAUTS INSTALL SENSORS OUTSIDE MIR
During a three-hour spacewalk, cosmonauts at the Mir orbiting complex installed equipment to improve their craft's navigation system, the official Tass news agency said Tuesday (Jan. 9). Cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov were in good health after completing the mission early Tuesday, Tass said, adding that installation of the two "stellar transducers" was a success. Radio Moscow said the new sensors were required because of the docking last month of another research module that changed the configuration of the Mir complex to an L-shape. That made a new orientation system necessary, it said.

Viktorenko and Serebrov have been aboard the Mir complex since September, when they remanned it after it had been left empty for six months while new experiments were being prepared. Radio Moscow said the cosmonauts have four more space walks on their schedule before they return to Earth in mid-February. (Deseret News, Jan. 9, 1990)


January 19: KSC CONSTRUCTION PLANS
Approximately 450 managers attended a briefing today to learn what is on Kennedy Space Center's $1 billion shopping list. Patrick Air Force Base and KSC contractors also outlined contracts that will be up for grabs this year. Lockheed Space Operations Co. will spend about $20 million to upgrade a third Orbiter Processing hangar and to buy about $1.3 million worth of computers, printers, scanners and terminals for the shuffle data processing system. EG&G Inc. will hire firms to pave roads, repair buildings and supply equipment and services.

Other projects include: building a new Space Station processing facility at a cost of between $1 million and $1.5 million; building a new complex  between launch pads 39A and 39B to house fire fighting and emergency medical equipment and personnel, costing between $100,000 and $500,000; repairing Saturn Causeway from the VAB to LC 39A at a cost of between $350,000 to $500,000; replacing the cooling towers at the VAB utility annex, costing $3 to $5 million; installing an automated fingerprint reader system, costing between $100,000 and $1 million; and hiring a company to deliver liquid hydrogen at a cost of more than $5 million. (Florida Today, Jan. 20, 1990)
« Last Edit: 02/22/2013 09:01 pm by Ares67 »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #13 on: 02/22/2013 08:56 pm »
January 22: ONE-DAY ROLLOUT DELAY FOR ATLANTIS
After being towed to the VAB three days ago (Jan. 19), overhead cranes were holed to Atlantis to hoist her off the transporter. The Vehicle was hard-mated to the External Tank the following evening. Today the tail service masts on the Mobile Launcher Platform were connected and the vehicle was powered up tonight for the Shuttle Interface Test. The test will verify critical connections between the vehicle elements and the launch platform.

Atlantis will roll out to Pad 39A on January 24, a day later than scheduled due to the replacement of the yaw rate assembly on the left Solid Rocket Booster tomorrow. The move to the launch pad will start at 8 a.m. EST. (Countdown, March 1990 and Florida Today, Jan. 23, 1990 – edited)


January 25: ATLANTIS ROLLS OUT
Atlantis was rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building this morning with first motion at 6:54 EST and headed for launch pad 39A. It made the 3.5 mile trip in six hours and fifteen minutes. The shuttle was reported to be in excellent condition and ready for its February 22 launch. Conrad Nagel, Launch Processing Manager for the Atlantis launch, said, "The spaceship is in the best shape it's ever been in since our return to flight. If the hardware is as good to us as it has been, we should have no problem making our launch on the 22nd."

The pre-rollout preparation was conducted in record time, according to Nagel. The shuttle spent 69 days in the Orbiter Processing Facility, ten days fewer  than any of its post-Challenger missions; in six days, Atlantis was mated to her Solid Rocket Boosters and External Tank in the VAB, two days faster than normal. (Florida Today, Jan. 26, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #14 on: 02/22/2013 08:59 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #17 on: 02/22/2013 09:09 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #18 on: 02/22/2013 09:13 pm »
January 26: COSMONAUTS INSTALL DOCK FOR SPACE BIKE
Two Soviet cosmonauts stationed on the Mir orbiting complex installed a docking device for a "space motorcycle" and other scientific gear Friday during a three-hour spacewalk, Tass said. The spacewalk by Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov was their third in recent weeks. On January 9 they already installed star sensors on the Kvant module; three days later they performed another EVA and worked on Mir’s docking adapter to prepare for the arrival of the Kristall module scheduled sometime during spring of this year. Viktorenko and Serebrov plan two more spacewalks before they return to Earth in mid-February after a six-month mission.

The cosmonauts assembled a docking mechanism that will be used later when they install the "space motorcycle," a device to help cosmonauts get around near the orbiting complex. Tass said they also installed a television camera that will be used for geophysical research and made an inspection of the outside of their spacecraft and checked their radio communications (Deseret News, Jan. 27, 1990 – supplemented and edited)


January 28: ATLANTIS TEST COMPLETED
Workers at Kennedy Space Center successfully completed a routine two-day helium signature leak test of Atlantis' main engines today and thereby cleared the way for next month's Department of Defense mission. At the end of the test, Atlantis was powered down. Also, interface verification tests between the orbiter and launch pad will be performed prior to the crew’s arrival next week for the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) now planned for February 3.

The yaw rate gyro assembly on the left Solid Rocket Booster was replaced inside the VAB last Tuesday (Jan. 23) and successfully retested on the pad three days later. The unit provides information to the orbiter’s computers and guidance, navigation and control system during ascent in conjunction with the orbiter’s roll rate gyros. (Florida Today, Jan. 29, 1990 and JSC Space News Roundup, Jan. 26, 1990 – edited)


January 29: ATLANTIS GETS PROPELLANTS
Yesterday (Jan. 28) a skeleton crew at launch pad 39A began loading toxic propellants into Atlantis' onboard storage tanks for use by the orbiters steering jets. Lisa Malone, Kennedy Space Center spokeswoman, said nitrogen tetroxide and monomethyl hydrazine will also be loaded into the shuttle's Auxiliary Power Units and Hydraulic Power Units on Atlantis' Solid Rocket Boosters tomorrow. The loading operations will continue through January 31, when the SRB HPUs will be hot fired for about 20 seconds. Liftoff remains set for February 22. (Countdown, March 1990, and Florida Today, Jan. 30, 1990 – edited)


January 30: IN OTHER NEWS – TRADE SANCTIONS AGAINST CHINA
President Bush is expected to sign legislation that provides for trade sanctions against China but allows the president to suspend them if he finds it is in the national interest. The Senate voted 98-0 late Tuesday (Jan. 30) for the measure, which was passed by the House in November before Congress' two-month break. Prompted by Beijing's crackdown last June on pro-democracy demonstrators, the sanctions are part of a $9.7 billion measure authorizing activities of the State Department for the 1990 and 1991 fiscal years. Among other things the legislation would suspend the export of U.S.-built satellites, certain bilateral nuclear cooperation and liberalization of multilateral export control, unless reform occurs in China or if Bush finds waiver of the sanctions is "in the national interest" of the United States. (Deseret News, Jan. 31, 1990 – edited)


January 31: ATLANTIS TESTS COMPLETE – EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENTS SCHEDULED 
Kennedy Space Center workers today completed testing the hydraulic power units in Atlantis' Solid Rocket Boosters and finished loading fuel at launch pad 39A. Technicians spent the day removing heat shields and panels from around the No. 3 main engine, which will have its turbopump changed out during the weekend. Tests on another pump at manufacturer Rocketdyne revealed minute imperfections, and X-rays are being analyzed to determine if this pump is damaged.

KSC technicians also will exchange the gasket seals on the devices that ignite the spacecraft's two solid-fuel rocket boosters just before liftoff, said NASA spokesman Kyle Herring. The replacement of the booster gaskets was prompted by the discovery of a defect in an identical seal on the right booster used in the launch of the shuttle Columbia on Jan. 9.

The defect was found in the backup to the primary gasket seal, and the flaw had no impact on Columbia's liftoff, Herring said. But a review of the records on identical seals on Atlantis does not conclusively document that a required pre-flight safety test was completed. A similar lack of documentation prompted the decision to replace the fuel turbopump, the spokesman said.

Last month, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration said a similar lack of clarity in record-keeping was behind a decision to delay the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope on the shuttle Discovery from late March to no sooner than April 19. For the Hubble flight, NASA elected to completely replace the nozzle and aft segments on Discovery's right booster to erase any doubt that thoroughly tested and inspected O-ring seals will be employed. (The Houston Chronicle and Florida Today, February 1, 1990 – edited)


February 1: ATLANTIS CREW ARRIVES FOR PRACTICE COUNTDOWN 
Atlantis' five-member crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center today in an enthusiastic but not talkative mood. The Commander John Creighton hollered, "You bet," when he was asked if the crew were ready for flight on February 22. He and the remainder of his crew gave "thumbs-up" signals when their T-38 training jets touched down on the space center's Shuttle Landing Facility. The crew will participate in a practice countdown beginning tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. EST. The countdown demonstration will end February 3 at 11:00 a.m. with a simulated main engine shutdown at T minus 5 seconds. The astronauts will return to Houston Saturday afternoon.

Today, workers will position Atlantis' engines, place scaffolding and prepare a device that will be used to hoist the turbopump. The procedure will start on Monday (Feb. 5) and should be completed next Thursday, when a new turbopump and heat shields are in place, according to KSC spokeswoman Lisa Malone. (Countdown, March 1990, and Florida Today, Feb. 2, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #19 on: 02/22/2013 09:17 pm »
SOVIETS INVITE U.S. ASTRONAUTS
NASA has accepted an unprecedented invitation from the Soviet Union that would allow four U.S. astronauts to witness a manned rocket launch, tour a cosmonaut training base and observe operations at Soviet mission control. The invitation, according to some experts, may signal a new era in U.S.-Soviet space cooperation aimed at one day placing cosmonauts aboard U.S. spaceships and astronauts on Soviet spacecraft.

The astronauts who will make the six-day trip were selected by Johnson Space Center officials. They are Dan Brandenstein, NASA's chief astronaut, who helped arrange the trip, Ron Grabe, Jerry Ross and Paul Weitz. They are scheduled to arrive Feb. 9 in Moscow, said Jeffrey Carr, a Johnson Space Center spokesman. The astronauts will travel to the Soviet launch site at Baikonur the next day to watch the liftoff of a two-man replacement crew for the Mir space station. After that, Carr said, they will visit Star City, about 25 miles outside of Moscow, and Soviet mission control in a Moscow suburb. They are scheduled to leave Moscow Feb. 14.

While the invitation to the U.S. astronauts is unprecedented, a few western reporters and businessmen have been allowed to visit the three sites. In the past year, there has been a parade of Soviet cosmonauts through the United States, including the Johnson Space Center. Cosmonaut Igor Volk witnessed a launch at Cape Canaveral, Florida, last year.

For years, the leaders of the Soviet space program and those who head the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have been wary of one another. The Americans have feared that what the Soviets really want is U.S. space technology, not cooperation. The Soviets have been traditionally secretive, an attitude that has drawn private complaints from some NASA officials for years. But recent developments may indicate that the Soviet attitude is changing.

"Listening to the Russians for the last 18 months, everything they are peddling is cooperative," said Soviet space expert John Pike. "They are doing everything they can to encourage Soviet-American space cooperation for a trip to Mars or moon bases. Their space program clearly has become a political controversy in the Soviet Union, especially its high cost. If nothing else, a cooperative flight with the United States would improve their prospects to improve their image and financing.' The Soviet space program has become increasingly open, after years of secrecy, with the advent of Gorbachev's "glasnost," or openness, policy. To earn hard western currencies, the Soviets have even taken to selling advertising messages for everything from pantyhose to perfumes on their rockets.

"It's just a matter of time before you've got an American going up to the Mir space station and a cosmonaut flying off on the shuttle," said Pike, a space policy analyst with the American Federation of Scientists in Washington. It is a cherished dream of Soviet space officials that the United States share technology and financing for the long and expensive trip to Mars sometime in the next century, according to many observers.

In the latest edition of Air & Space, a Smithsonian Institution publication, Soviet commentator Oleg Borisov noted: "We are calling for an international effort for this mission (to Mars) in the hope that the United States and other nations will join us.” Details of the invitation to the astronauts were kept secret by NASA, which refused to release a copy for diplomatic reasons. "It's their invitation, not ours," said Carr, the JSC spokesman. He said the offer was sent to Brandenstein in Russian and so its date and details were uncertain. "I think it is clearly an astronaut-to-astronaut invitation," he said. "I don't know if it should be characterized in any other way.”
 
The invitation came from Maj. Gen. Alexei A. Leonov, a veteran cosmonaut who performed the first walk in space in 1965, Carr said. He is deputy head of the cosmonaut training base at Star City. In July, Leonov was a visitor in Washington and Houston during the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing festivities. During his stop in Houston, he met with Brandenstein at JSC, according to Carr. That is apparently when details of the visit to view Soviet space facilities were worked out. NASA's top brass has pondered the merits of the invitation since early January, and the details were kept confidential within the space agency's ranks. Carr explained that the invitation had been accepted Wednesday, and that it would be made public today.

Brandenstein described the upcoming visit as a "quick once-around trip" but as far as any future cooperative mission with the Soviets, "there is nothing to my knowledge in the mill.” Asked what he expected to gain from the trip, he replied: "You try to expand your understanding of how things work and you do that by looking at how things are done, and how they do business, how they train ... how they conduct their operations, and anything that might help our operations.” He said JSC officials decided which astronauts would go. Brandenstein just commanded a record setting 11-day mission of the shuttle Columbia, which retrieved a bus-sized scientific satellite from orbit.

Grabe has flown in space twice, most recently as pilot of the April 1989 mission that launched the Magellan probe to Venus. He will command a December shuttle mission devoted to materials processing studies, research into new manufacturing processes in weightlessness that are expected to be a key activity aboard NASA's planned space station Freedom. Ross and an astronaut companion successfully demonstrated space station assembly techniques during a long space walk on a 1985 shuttle flight. Weitz, who is a deputy director of the Johnson Space Center, was one of the first three astronauts to fly on Skylab in 1973. He also commanded the agency's sixth Space Shuttle mission. "The four astronauts are a pretty good representation in terms of experience," Carr said. "It seems like a reasonable kind of combination of folks to me.' (The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 1, 1990)


February 3: COUNTDOWN TEST ENDS AS PLANNED
Atlantis’ all military crew suited up in their partial pressure gear and spend the final two hours of their dress rehearsal Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test for STS-36 inside the orbiter. “All operations went as planned,” KSC spokeswoman Pat Phillips commented. The crew left KSC at 2 p.m. EST to fly back to Houston in their T-38 trainer jets. Meanwhile, workers continued changing the high-pressure fuel turbopump on Atlantis’ main engine No. 3. (Countdown, April 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #20 on: 02/22/2013 09:19 pm »
February 4: U.S. AND SOVIETS TALK ABOUT A SPACE SWAP
U.S. and Soviet space officials are discussing a swap in which an American astronaut would fly aboard the Soviet Mir space station and a Soviet cosmonaut would travel aboard a U.S. Space Shuttle. The informal proposal, which accompanied agreements to cooperate in space medicine research, envisions an exchange of space-flying medical doctors. They would conduct, and be the subjects of, experiments on the effects of weightlessness during their flights. The swap was discussed by a U.S.-Soviet space science working group in the Soviet Union in December, Samuel W. Keller, associate deputy administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and head of the U.S. delegation, said in a recent interview.

The cosmonaut could fly aboard a U.S. Space Shuttle as early as mid-1992, on a flight carrying the European-built high-technology laboratory Spacelab, he said. NASA has expressed some interest in flying its astronaut on the Soviets' Medilab, a module carrying sophisticated research equipment, to be attached to Mir and scheduled for launch in 1992 or 1993, other sources said. The idea of an astronaut exchange is to be presented to a U.S. interagency review group in a few weeks, Keller said, and would next be reviewed by Vice President Dan Quayle's National Space Council, which would make a recommendation to President Bush. Officials said there are some concerns because a cosmonaut training for a shuttle mission would learn a great deal about U.S. space operations but that such a project might be approved because its positive aspects are considered more important. (The Washington Post, Feb. 4, 1990)


February 5: ATLANTIS TURBOPUMP INSPECTED
A main engine turbopump was removed today from Atlantis to determine whether an internal weld was repaired properly. Depending on the outcome of the tests (which use X-Rays and special dyes) and schedule demands, NASA will either replace the pump or use a refurbished pump from Columbia's last mission. "We don't expect it to change the launch date, but we'll be hard pressed to get the aft compartment closed out on time," said spokeswoman Lisa Malone. A Flight Readiness Review scheduled for February 9-10, will assess launch preparations and set a firm launch date. (Florida Today, Feb. 6, 1990)


February 6: ATLANTIS LAUNCH PREPARATIONS
Today technicians at Launch Pad 39A continued preparations to remove and replace a suspect fuel turbopump from the No. 3 main engine of Atlantis. The changeout will occur later this week and will take two days. Kennedy Space Center managers today will meet to determine whether Atlantis and her classified cargo will be ready for its February 22 launch date. The firm launch date will be announced upon the conclusion of the two-day Flight Readiness Review which concludes February 10. (Florida Today, Feb. 7, 1990)


NEW CONSTRUCTION PLANS AT KSC
NASA has given permission for the Astronauts Memorial Foundation to build an education center at Kennedy Space Center, according to AMF officials today. The center will be constructed on approximately six acres near Spaceport USA and will house a resource center for use by children from kindergarten-age through high school. Costing about $14 million, which includes a trust for continuous operations, the center would be paid for through money raised by Challenger license plate sales and corporate donations.

If Congress approves President Bush's request for $47.2 million for construction, Kennedy Space Center will experience a construction boom. The building program would include a building for readying pieces of the Space Station Freedom for launch. Other construction in the president's budget proposal includes: $14 million for two new buildings to help shuttles for flight and $5 million to improve existing Shuttle facilities. (Florida Today, Feb. 7, 1990 – edited)


February 8: UNUSUAL PAD ACTIVITIES
At launch pad 39A, workers rolled back the Rotating Service Structure from around Atlantis just after noon today, but NASA officials would not say why. Spokeswoman Lisa Malone said, "We've got activities planned at the launch pad that require the move. There is nothing wrong with the vehicle." The structure is usually rolled back the day before the payload arrives at the pad. (Florida Today, Feb. 9, 1990)


CLASSIFIED SDI DELTA LAUNCH BACK ON TRACK
A Strategic Defense Initiative mission delayed by an accident on the launch pad will lift off aboard a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station next week. During launch preparations, a technician dropped a small tool in an area near two satellites; the 4-inch-long tool became lodged about four feet below an access door on the nose cone of the Delta rocket. Workers had to remove part of the nose cone to reach the tool and then had to perform additional tests to assure that the satellites were undamaged. (Florida Today, Feb. 9, 1990)


NEW LAB DEDICATED AT KSC
A new facility which will improve satellite rocket motor inspections was dedicated today. The laboratory, which cost $4.9 million, replaces a facility which was too small and which had obsolete equipment, said Jim Towles, Kennedy Space Center's Director of Facilities Engineering. The new facility will house an upgraded X-ray machine which will be used to make sure motors don't have cracks. An Intelsat communications satellite will be the first to undergo inspections in the new building. (Florida Today, Feb. 9, 1990)


SENSENBRENNER ASKING NASA TO PUT MORE EFFORT INTO SHUTTLE-C
Congress today told NASA they aren’t devoting enough effort to develop Shuttle-C, an unmanned cargo version of the Space Shuttle. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), told Space Station chief Bill Lenoir that his concentration on the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM) may be sabotaging the cargo vehicle. Lenoir told Sensenbrenner that NASA supports Shuttle-C but it isn’t needed for Freedom’s construction like the ASRM is. (Countdown, April 1990 – edited)


February 10: ATLANTIS STS-36 LAUNCH SET
Lift-off for Atlantis' classified Department of Defense mission will occur February 22 between midnight and 4 a.m., according to Kennedy Space Center spokeswoman Lisa Malone. The announcement came at the conclusion of the two-day Flight Readiness Review today at the space center. The mission is expected to be the first in which a new northerly flight path is taken by a shuttle. (Florida Today, Feb. 11, 1990 – edited)


FLORIDA TODAY REPORT REVEALS SHUTTLE EXPLOSION SPECULATIONS
A report obtained through the Freedom of Information Act says a shuttle explosion shortly after lift-off could kill or injure hundreds of KSC workers, media members and spectators if the vehicle’s destruct system failed, says an article in Florida Today. The report uses computer simulations to predict that thousands of fiery chunks of shuttle debris – some weighing almost 326,000 pounds – can injure the 4,800 KSC workers in the industrial area and 1,800 reporters watching the launches near the Vehicle Assembly Building. Also in danger are as many as 20,000 spectators seven miles away from Launch Pads 39A and 39B. A disaster could be expected every 60 launches, the report says, and 50 launches are scheduled from now through 1995. (Countdown, April 1990)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #21 on: 02/22/2013 09:23 pm »
February 11: COSMONAUTS STREAK TOWARD MIR SPACE STATION
Cosmonauts Anatoli Solovyov and Alexander Balandin raced toward a Tuesday (Feb. 13) docking with the Mir space station on the 10th manned mission to the Soviet Union's giant orbiting complex. Their silver-tipped, 184-foot Soyuz TM-9 rocket rumbled off the ground at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Soviet Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan at 9:16 a.m. Sunday, the official Tass news agency said.

Commander Solovyov, making his second trip to the Mir, and flight engineer Balandin, on his first space journey and also trained to fly the Soviets' Buran shuttle, were feeling good, Tass reported three hours into the mission. The Soyuz's onboard systems were working normally, it said.

The three-stage rocket carrying Solovyov, 42, and Balandin, 36, trailed an orange flame as it left the same desert launching pad from which Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space April 12, 1961. Engineers filled the Soyuz earlier Sunday with the liquid fuel - kerosene and liquid oxygen – that the Soviets claim does less harm to Earth's ozone layer than the solid propellant used by the United States.

"The crew is to dock the spaceship with the Soviet orbital complex Mir and then replace the crew of the fifth main expedition, Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov, who are in their sixth month of working in orbit and who are expected to return to Earth on February 19," Tass said. The spaceship was scheduled to dock with the Mir - which means "Peace" in Russian – on Tuesday, bringing the 22nd and 23rd cosmonauts to the complex since it was launched February 20, 1986, and opening the next chapter in the Soviets' troubled space station program.

During their stay on the Mir, Viktorenko and Serebrov have done hundreds of medical and biological experiments and research for the Soviets' beleaguered agricultural program. Soviet space officials, who have warned that the space program could be destroyed by penny-pinching legislators, are trying hard to make the program self-funding. (Deseret News, Feb. 12, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #22 on: 02/22/2013 09:26 pm »
IN OTHER NEWS – FREE NELSON MANDELA
President de Klerk announced Saturday that Nelson Mandela would be released from a prison outside Cape Town on Sunday (Feb. 11) afternoon, ending 27 and a half years of imprisonment for South Africa's most celebrated black leader. Saying the release ''will bring us to the end of a long chapter,'' Mr. de Klerk coupled his announcement with an appeal to the 71-year-old black leader to help steer the country toward a negotiated political settlement between whites and blacks.

Mr. de Klerk also said that the national state of emergency declared in July 1986 could be lifted soon if there was no upsurge of unrest. He voiced a willingness to negotiate the possible release of remaining political prisoners. In recent talks with the Government, Mr. Mandela has demanded freedom for all political prisoners and an end to the state of emergency.

The President's announcement followed a week of secretive maneuvering over conditions for the release since Mr. de Klerk's parliamentary speech, in which the white leader linked his pledge to free Mr. Mandela to other reforms. The moves amounted to the most far-reaching relaxation of policy since Mr. de Klerk's National Party predecessors won power in 1948 and set out to construct apartheid, a system of strict racial segregation and white domination that the Government has now pledged to abandon. (John F. Burns, The New York Times, Feb. 11, 1990 - edited)

INTERNATIONAL BACKGROUND: SANCTIONS AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA

ARMS EMBARGO: Imposed by the United Nations. The European Community prior to 1986 also barred sales of military equipment to South Africa.

ECONOMIC: The European Community in 1986 banned the import of South African iron, steel and Kruggerand gold coins and barred new investment there. The United States issued similar bans in the same year and barred imports of coal, uranium and agricultural products, including sugar. The United States also prohibits bank loans to the South African government. Britain regards the iron, steel and coin embargoes as mandatory but not the investment ban. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said on Feb. 1 that Britain would lift the ban on investments as soon as Nelson Mandela was freed. President Bush has said the United States may reconsider its sanctions against South Africa.

LANDING RIGHTS: The United States has refused to allow South African airlines to land at U.S. airports.

SCIENCE: Prior to 1986, the EC froze scientific and cultural relations with South Africa. Britain has already announced that it is no longer observing the scientific and cultural embargo. The United States has banned all nuclear trade and prevented American companies from exporting computers to South Africa.

SPORTS: The International Olympic Committee has barred South African athletes from the Olympic Games since 1964 and banished the South African National Olympic Committee in 1970. In addition, there is an international boycott of competing in South Africa, a ban defied this month by an English cricket team.

(Deseret News, Feb. 11, 1990)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #23 on: 02/22/2013 09:28 pm »
February 12: ATLANTIS’ ENGINE TESTS GOING SMOOTHLY
Workers at Kennedy Space Center today will continue testing and inspections necessary before Atlantis lifts off next week on a mission for the Department of Defense. The shuttle's main engines will be calibrated during a simulated main engine start, and then leak tests will be performed on a main engine turbopump that was replaced over the weekend, according to KSC spokeswoman Lisa Malone. She said all weekend tasks went smoothly and Atlantis is expected to launch Feb. 22. (Florida Today, Feb. 12, 1990)


February 13: HELIUM LEAK TEST TODAY
Today workers at Launch Pad 39B will test Atlantis' three main engines by pumping gaseous helium through the main propulsion system and then checking for its presence in unwanted areas, indicating leaks. This standard pre-launch check follows a routine engine test conducted yesterday on the shuttle's hydraulic system. (Florida Today, Feb. 13, 1990)


COSMONAUTS DOCK WITH MIR FOR 6-MONTH STINT
A Soviet space ship with two cosmonauts aboard docked with the Mir space station Tuesday, two days after blastoff, the official Tass news agency reported. It was the latest step in a mission designed to turn a profit of more than $40 million, a first in the 32-year history of the Soviet space program. Tass reported no problems as flight commander Anatoly Solovyov and engineer Alexander Balandin docked their Soyuz TM-9 capsule with the space station.

The two are to take over from Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov, who have been aboard the station for two months. Viktorenko and Serebrov are scheduled to return to Earth on Monday, Tass said. The new cosmonauts also are to spend six months in space. Under President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, pressures have increased on the once sacrosanct Soviet space program to prove its usefulness to the shortage-plagued economy. (Deseret News, Feb. 13, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #24 on: 02/22/2013 09:30 pm »
Soviets shuffle space plans

(By Samrat Upadhyay)

Compared to all the adventures in and around the Mir space station, the life of Soviet space shuttles seems to have come to a standstill. The Soviet Union has still held firm to its plans to delay launching of Buran. Last year in May, the coutry’s chief test pilot Igor Volk announced that the Buran will not see its second flight until 1991. A manned flight of Buran will not take place until at least 1992 due to a growing concern among Soviet test pilots about the shuttle’s landing gear and automatic pilot system, which they say does not provide adequate safety in landing.

The impressive automated flight of Buran was hailed by the Soviets themselves as the outstanding technical achievement of the year. Reportedly, 30 new materials developed for the Buran program and 700 packages of computer programs have already found their way into industry.

The Soviets have displayed eagerness to expand their commercial capabilities. West Germany’s Kayser-Threde GmbH has booked four microgravity missions on Soviet recoverable spacecraft this year in an agreement that allows access for the West to Soviet production and launch sites. The West German company’s new contract provides it with access to a Photon spacecraft in April, followed by missions onboard Resurs-F satellites in June, July and August. Photon is a large satellite designed for microgravity experiments, while Resurs is a remote sensing satellite on which the Soviets offer payload capacity on a commercial basis. Kayser-Threde managing director Reiner Klett said the missions are “very attractive technically, operationally and cost-wise.” The West German company also claims that the short mission preparation time makes the Soviet offers even more attractive.

In the spirit of glasnost, the Soviets have increasingly allowed foreign access to its space facilities at the Baikonur cosmodrome. What visitors see are evident signs of expansion, with construction cranes working on buildings that appear to be sprouting everywhere on this vast 600-square-mile area.

But perestroika also is shaking the bureaucratic foundations upon which the Soviet space program has smugly rested for the last few decades. Now certain space programs are being postponed due to new budget constraints. The Soviet Union has cancelled its planned 1990 mission with the Energia launcher, and its next flight is now scheduled for the beginning of 1991 with an unmanned Space Shuttle orbiter as its payload.

“We don’t see any sense to use Energia at the present time unless it is to launch Buran,” said one Soviet army general at Baikonur. “Therefore, the previous plans to launch an unmanned satellite payload in 1990 with Energia are cancelled – we do not envision any launches before the early 1991 flight.” Activities in support of the Energia and the Soviet Space Shuttle programs, however, continue at the Baikonur cosmodrome, with fueling tests on the No. 1 Energia launch pad and active construction of the second Energia launch complex.

Despite a slight lull in the Soviet space activity, the Soviets have extensive, detailed plans for future space programs in all fields: space research, study of Earth’s natural resources, space navigation, communications and TV broadcasting systems, space technologies and manned complexes. The Radioastron project will provide for the development of a ground- and space-based radio interferometer for studying the structure of celestial radio sources with high resolution. The Relict-2 project will investigate cosmic background radiation.

The Resurs-O and Okean-O satellites will allow prompt collection of data on conditions of land, the oceans and the environment, as well as more remote probing of the Earth. By the year 2005, the Soviets plan to have envisioned a permanent system equipped with a synthesized aperture radar, a video-spectrometer and other television devices for prompt observation of land, oceans and atmosphere.

The Glosnass satellite will be used for highly accurate navigation of aircraft, sea vessels and land vehicles. By early next century, the Soviets intend to develop automatic platforms in space for commercial production of semi-conductor materials, metals and alloys, glasses, the growth of crystals, and the separation and purification of biologically active substances.

Economic accountability will obviously be playing a major role in further Soviet space activity. As alternative measures, Soviet industries that benefit from the space programs are being asked to support them financially. The issue of self-funding space research has also been raised. As historic changes are spreading across the Soviet Union, clearly the course of the Soviet space program into the 21 st century will not be insulated from economic and political pressures. Like much in the Soviet Union, it will be shaped by all layers of the Soviet society. (Countdown, February 1990 – edited)


Astronauts see Soviet “simplicity”

(By Kelly Humphries)

The first active American astronauts to witness a Soviet space shot were impressed with the relative simplicity of Soyuz launch preparations, but said it appears Soviet vehicles are becoming more complex. The four-man delegation to Moscow and the Baikonur launch complex witnessed the launch of a Mir space station replacement crew – cosmonauts Anatoly Solovyov and Alexander Balandin – on February 11 and returned to JSC last week.

JSC Deputy Director P.J. Weitz and Chief Astronaut Dan Brandenstein said their “cosmonaut to astronaut” visit was interesting but provided no new revelations. Weitz and Brandenstein were joined by astronauts Ron Grabe and Jerry Ross for the trip. “There were no doors open to us that hadn’t been opened within the past two years to someone else,” Weitz said. “We got a little more personal attention from cosmonauts.”

They saw essentially all of the manned spaceflight program vehicles and facilities and some of the unmanned, Brandenstein said. He got to take the stick of the TU-134 jet that flew the group between Moscow and Baikonur, and Ross took advantage of opportunities to step into a Soviet space suit and to fly a simulation of the Soviet version of the Manned Maneuvering Unit or space backpack. The group also visited the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center at Star City, and the manned Spaceflight Control Center at Kaliningrad.

“Overall, their processing and their equipment appear to be less complicated than ours,” Brandenstein said. “At L-2 days they hauled the Soyuz out to the pad, erected it and did their tests. At L-1 day, we were given the opportunity to go out to the pad and look at it. There was essentially nothing happening because everything checked out at L-2 and it was just sitting there and waiting for launch day.”

“I think their Energia is coming our direction some,” Brandenstein said. “That particular pad resembled ours more” with more access panels and platforms that surround the hydrogen-oxygen fueled rocket much like the Space Shuttle pad’s Rotating Service Structure. “Their Buran/Energia system will not be that simple because it’s a more complicated, state-of-the-art kind of vehicle,” Brandenstein added. “As you get more advanced vehicles, they become more complicated and the time it takes to stack them and launch them increases.”

Weitz said the group was allowed to walk about the Buran Space Shuttle, but didn’t get to look inside the flight deck or cargo bay. Brandenstein said the simpler design philosophy evident in the Soyuz preparations is carrying over to the new vehicle to some extent. “The example is the wing leading edge. The reinforced carbon-carbon attachment scheme is significantly less sophisticated appearing than ours. They just bolt them on with bolts whereas we have an intricate structural mounting system.”

Weitz and Brandenstein said the Baikonur launch complex covers a much larger area than Kennedy Space Center and that the facilities were larger, too. The building used for Energia processing probably has a larger volume than Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building, and the Soviets’ four-bay orbiter processing facility for their Buran Space Shuttle is much larger than Kennedy’s.

The group saw the Soyuz launch from about a mile away on a clear, cold, windy day. A thick blanket of ice fog obstructed their view of the launch, Weitz said, and “I was giving them points for guts.” The weather at the pad was clear, however, and the astronauts saw the rocket rise above the fog at about 2,000 feet. “It’s not a big vehicle. It almost takes you back to Gemini days,” Weitz said.

Weitz said the group’s days were all carefully planned, apparently to be hospitable. They met few “men in the street,” he said, but the English-speaking aerospace workers and twenty cosmonauts they talked to seemed quite open about the political changes going on in their country. “The impression I got was that they are very much happier with their political plight now than they were a few years ago,” Brandenstein said. “Although, on the other side of the coin, they are suffering through some of the things we do in that funding is not as forthcoming as they thought it was in the past.”

Weitz, who visited Moscow about fifteen years ago with his Skylab crewmates, said one change that stood out was that there were very few automobiles on the streets of Moscow then. Now, he said, there are rush hours and cars in the streets most of the time. (JSC Space News Roundup, Feb. 23, 1990)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #25 on: 02/22/2013 09:34 pm »
February 14: DELTA II LAUNCHES STAR WARS EXPERIMENT
A Delta II rocket, built by McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co., lifted off from Pad 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station this morning at 11:15 a.m. EST. The launch, which sent two Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) “Star Wars” satellites into orbit, represented the first time that the Department of Defense purchased a rocket and launch services from a private company instead of NASA. McDonnell Douglas will earn $38 million from the launch and DOD estimates it will save between $13 and $17 million by buying commercial services.

"We're off to a very good start," said Lt-Col. Roger Hartman of the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. "It was really an exceptional launch. The actual lift-off was within 600 milliseconds of the scheduled launch time and the satellites' orbits are right on the money."

Delta flight 192 placed the Low-power Atmospheric Compensation Experiment (LACE) and Relay Mirror Experiment (RME) into low Earth orbit inclined 43 degrees to the equator. LACE consists of a 3,175-pound spacecraft to assess the distorting effects of the atmosphere on laser beams fired from the ground. Over a 30-month lifetime, LACE, designed and built by the Naval Research Laboratory, will serve as target for low-powered lasers. It’s Sensor Array System (SAS) contains more than 200 sensors to measure the intensity of different types of laser beams.

LACE also is carrying an Ultraviolet Plume Instrument (UVPI) which uses two cameras to track rocket plumes. UVPI will attempt to confirm that the ultraviolet component of the plumes can be used to pinpoint a rocket’s exact location. A third experiment, the Army Background Experiment (ABE), built by Los Alamos National Laboratory, will measure the background neutron activity in space.

RME, weighing 2,300 pounds, was built by Ball Aerospace for the Air Force Weapons Laboratory in New Mexico. During its six-to-eight-month lifetime, it will relay a low-power laser beam from one ground station to  a second one. The laser beams are fired from the Air Force Maui Optical Station on Mount Haleakala, Maui, Hawaii. RME employs 12 fast-steering mirrors, including a 24-inch relay mirror, to bounce the beam back to ground receiving sites. The fast-steering mirrors can react up to 4,000 times per second to beam movements.

“The experiment’s objective is to determine how accurately and with what stability a laser beam can be directed and tracked with our existing state-of-the-art technology,” says John Simson, RME program manager for Ball. (Countdown, April and May 1990, and Florida Today, Feb. 15, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #26 on: 02/22/2013 09:36 pm »
ATLANTIS: ALL SYSTEMS GO
“There are no problems to report. We're just another day closer to launch," said Kennedy Space Center spokesman Bruce Buckingham of the preparations for Atlantis' February 22 launch. Today's helium leak check test revealed no trouble for the main propulsion system, according to Buckingham. Last-minute inspections and installations of thermal blankets still remain to be accomplished. The five-member crew is expected to arrive at KSC on February 18. (Florida Today, Feb. 14 and 15, 1990 – edited)


MARTIN READIES SECOND COMMERCIAL TITAN
Martin Marietta workers moved the company's second Commercial Titan rocket to Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station today. The launch vehicle is expected to boost an Intelsat VI communications satellite into orbit March 14. Intelsat VI is owned and operated by an international consortium which includes the United States. The satellite is undergoing final inspections at Astrotech Space Operations' satellite processing facility in Titusville and is expected to arrive at the launch pad this weekend. (Florida Today, Feb. 15, 1990 – edited)


February 15: A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN?
NASA Administrator Richard Truly told a Houston aerospace forum Thursday (Feb. 15) that the Soviets are showing an increased willingness to work cooperatively on future space ventures, agreeing to share results of research on the long-term effects of space flight. But the former Space Shuttle astronaut said ongoing deliberations within the Bush administration will determine just how closely the two superpowers work together for exploration of the solar system.

"Things are changing extremely rapidly in the Soviet Union," Truly told an annual forum sponsored by the Rotary Space Achievement Foundation. "The Soviets, I think it is safe to say, are very interested in future cooperation.” For instance, he said, the Soviets have permitted the use of U.S. heart-monitoring equipment aboard their Mir space station to collect information about the cardiovascular systems of orbiting cosmonauts. The Soviets have also permitted the cosmonauts to follow data collecting techniques devised by U.S. researchers and allowed American doctors to observe the preflight medical examinations given Mir fliers.

"That may be a small point in the larger scale of things," said Truly. "But I can tell you in the understanding of life sciences in long-duration space flight, I think it's a significant achievement.” The Soviets have accumulated vastly greater experience with long-term space flight than their American counterparts, something that will be a critical factor in how any group of explorers undertakes the first journey to Mars, a mission that would likely span two to three years. Last July, Bush marked the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing by committing the nation to a return to the moon to establish a permanent outpost and human exploration of Mars in the next century. Two Mir cosmonauts spent record 365-day stays on the Soviet space station in 1988, while the U.S. record of 85 days was established by a three-man Skylab space station crew in 1974.

Later Thursday, forum participants and several hundred aerospace officials gathered at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Houston to honor Lew Allen, director of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as the fourth recipient of the Rotary foundation's National Award for Space Achievement. The award, originated by the Space Center Rotary Club of Houston, is presented each year an individual who has contributed to the success of the nation's space effort.  Allen, 64, is a one-time Air Force chief of staff and director of the National Security Agency. He has headed NASA's primary center for unmanned space exploration in Pasadena, Calif., since 1982. In 1989, the nation's civilian space program, under the JPL's guidance, began a resurgence in its robotic exploration of the solar system with the launch of the Magellan probe to Venus and the Galileo probe to Jupiter. The space agency also acquired spectacular close-up photos of distant Neptune and its moon Triton last August with Voyager II, another JPL managed program. (The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 16, 1990)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #27 on: 02/22/2013 09:38 pm »
February 16: ORDNANCE PLACED ON ATLANTIS
Workers continued to prepare Atlantis for her February 22 liftoff by installing ordnances on the shuttle, pressurizing onboard rocket propellant tanks and loading liquid oxygen and hydrogen storage tanks on the shuttle's service tower. Before the pad was closed late today, technicians repaired some torn and missing insulation on the outside of the exhaust nozzles on the three main engines, said NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham. (Florida Today, Feb. 17. 1990 – edited)


ASTRONAUT REINHARD FURRER SURVIVES PLANE CRASH
49-year-old German astronaut Reinhard Furrer, who flew aboard the Challenger STS 61-A Spacelab D1 mission in 1985, and three passengers have survived the crash of a Cessna 210 at Kassel-Calden Airport in the state of Hesse, Germany. The aircraft, piloted by Furrer en route to Hanover, belongs to the German Space Agency (DLR).

Friday evening shortly before 8:00 p.m. CET the single-engine Cessna lifted off from Kassel-Calden Airport and almost immediately ran into difficulties, losing height and velocity. Furrer was able to turn the aircraft away from the busy federal highway B7 and attempted an emergency landing in a field only 250 meters away. On touchdown the aircraft went out of control, somersaulted three times and finally came to rest upside down. The Cessna was heavily damaged, but the cabin remained intact; Furrer and his passengers – Professor Angela Friderici (41), astronaut physician Dr. Paul Klukinski (48) and Helga Ruebsamen-Waigmann (38) with the University of Frankfurt – remained essentially unharmed. “It’s a miracle,” one emergency official was quoted. (German media reports, Feb. 17, 1990 – translated and edited)

See also:

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=27577.msg841884#msg841884
« Last Edit: 02/22/2013 09:41 pm by Ares67 »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #28 on: 02/22/2013 09:45 pm »
February 18: THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING
Kennedy Space Center welcomes two diverse groups today. An all-military crew of astronauts, scheduled to fly STS-36 on February 22, will arrive at 10:30 a.m. EST today, as will a contingent of some two dozen Soviet officials, including ten members of the Defense Committee of the Soviet National Legislature. And while the Soviets tour the Operations and Checkout Building and Launch Pad 39B, technicians at Launch Pad 39A prepare the launch site for Atlantis and her classified cargo which is thought to be an advanced spy satellite that will photograph Soviet military installations. Dick Young, NASA spokesman, said efforts would be focused on completing work in the shuttle's rear compartment where the three main engines are located. Countdown for the STS-36 mission will begin at 4 p.m. February 18.

The space agency and the Air Force will say only that Atlantis and its crew of five will be launched sometime during a four-hour period that begins Thursday at 12 a.m.  EST. The respected trade publication Aviation Week & Space Technology and Associated Press, quoting an unnamed source, report the exact launch time as Thursday at 1:14 a.m. EST; the space agency will not reveal the exact liftoff time until nine minutes before Atlantis leaps from the launch pad. The Pentagon's policy is to provide a description of the events during the final minutes of the countdown, the shuttle's ride into orbit and the re-entry. If an emergency developed during the mission, the veil of secrecy would be lifted. (The Houston Chronicle and Florida Today, Feb. 18, 1990 – edited)


February 19: SO FAR, SO GOOD
"So far, so good," said Kennedy Space Center spokesman Karl Kristofferson. "The countdown is going very smooth." Atlantis is scheduled for a liftoff sometime between midnight and 4 a.m. February 22. The exact liftoff time is classified as is the cargo which is known to weigh 37,300 pounds. At launch pad 39A today, technicians activated the shuttle's navigation system and stowed equipment the astronauts will use in the orbiter's crew compartment. Workers also completed final checks of the shuttle's main propulsion system and began loading propellants.

Forecasters today predicted generally favorable weather for the early-Thursday launch. Air Force meteorologists said there was a 60 percent chance the expected conditions would meet space agency launch weather criteria, said NASA spokesman George Diller. The major weather threat is the expected passage of a cold front through the Cape Canaveral area Wednesday that could stall, then back up, creating a layer of thick upper level clouds in the launch path, Diller said. (The Houston Chronicle and Florida Today, Feb. 20, 1990 – edited)


A ROYAL VISIT TO KSC
Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, was given an insider's look at the U.S. space program today as Kennedy Space Center Director Forrest McCartney escorted the prince through the center's wildlife refuge, a firing room in the Launch Control Center and a hangar where Space Shuttles Columbia and Discovery are being refurbished. Charles conversed with KSC workers in the places he visited. Roberta Wyrick (Cocoa, FL) said, "He wanted to know what the consoles are up there, what the different systems are and how we get through a normal launch."

Charles was accompanied by several friends, including King Constantine of Greece, and by astronaut Michael McCulley. The Prince spent about an hour in the wildlife refuge, filming segments for a 60-minute British environmental documentary which will be televised in May. McCartney said, "We've got one of the premiere wildlife refuges in the United States. As luck would have it, there was a big alligator swimming in the lagoon when we got there." McCartney gave Prince Charles a book on eagles - one of the 280 bird species on Kennedy Space Center. The center director, in turn, was given a copy of the Prince's book: "A Vision of Britain." (Florida Today, Feb. 20, 1990)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #29 on: 02/22/2013 09:50 pm »
MIR COSMONAUTS RETURN TO EARTH
Two Soviet cosmonauts have safely returned from the Mir space station. Soyuz TM-8 landed in icy conditions, with temperatures hitting minus 30 degrees Celsius, about 55 kilometers northeast of Arkalyk. Alexander Viktorenko and Alexander Serebrov spent 166 days and seven hours in space, during which they oversaw the expansion of the orbital complex. The duo also made semiconductors in the zero-gravity environment, and it was the first mission including an American experiment aboard Mir. The U.S. experiment exposed protein crystals to weightlessness.

On February 1, 1990, Serebrov became the first cosmonaut to fly the Soviet version of the MMU; four days later Viktorenko used the 220-kg device to reach a distance of about 45 meters away from the station. During January 1990 the two cosmonauts already had performed three EVAs, installing and retrieving equipment and making preparations for the arrival of the new Kristall module. Viktorenko and Serebrov spent a total of over 17 hours outside Mir. The final three EVAs, on January 26 and the two MMU trips in February were performed from the large airlock located at the rear end of the recently attached Kvant 2 module. (Countdown, April 1990 – supplemented and edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #30 on: 02/22/2013 09:52 pm »
Building a castle in heaven

(By Samrat Upadhyay)

On September 8, 1989, Col. Alexander Viktorenko and engineer Alexander Serebrov boarded the Soyuz TM-8 transport spacecraft at Baikonur cosmodrome and reached Mir two days later. As the Soyuz approached the rear docking port for an automated docking attempt, it came to a stop several meters from the station – it was misaligned vertically. So the cosmonauts backed it up approximately 40 feet and, using a manual approach, docked to the aft end of the station’s Kvant astrophysical module attached at Mir’s rear docking port.

The other end of Mir was occupied by Progress M1 – a modernized unmanned cargo resupply spacecraft – which had docked in August to the axial position on the ball-shaped docking adapter. This unique feature, studded with five ports, resembled Mother Earth herself – round and receptive. This docking hub gave Mir its unique capability to receive expansion modules that would transform the Spartan station into a large space complex, symbolizing the first step towards building Konstantin Tsiolkovsky’s cities in orbit.

Trudging on the cold landscape of the Russian empire long before the Bolshevik revolution, Tsiolkovsky had dreams of setting man free of gravity. Not by levitation – the Czars would not have tolerated that – but by putting up human colonies in near-Earth orbit. The bearded, bespectacled small-town schoolteacher kept his vision to spoken and written words, hoping that someday someone would put to shame the notion that you cannot build castles in heaven.

The goal of Viktorenko and Serebrov involved overseeing the major expansion of the Mir space station. The station they entered – a 56-feet-long cylinder with a first-generation Kvant module attached like a caboose – was not the station they intended to leave behind. Two advanced modules were slated to be launched during the few months, greatly increasing the scientific capabilities of the station.

When the cosmonauts entered the station they noticed a stale odor inside from the months of inactivity in the station, indicative of their first task – bringing Mir back to life. They silently thanked the previous crew which had left them instructions where equipment was stored, said Viktorenko. The two cosmonauts reported to the deputy manned spaceflight director at the Kaliningrad control center, Victor Blagov, that Mir seemed to be in good condition after remaining on automatic controls. Some of the station’s systems needed replacing, including three batteries. Blagov declared, “The batteries still work, but they are not up to full capacity. So we’ll change them.”

The second Progress M modernized cargo transport was launched as scheduled December 20, 1989, from Baikonur cosmodrome and docked at Mir’s rear docking port on December 22. Progress vehicles normally use this rear docking port on the space station. The forward-end docking position remains less favored because propellants carried by Progress have to travel a longer distance to reach Mir’s onboard reservoirs, located near the rear docking port.

The Progress carried the first U.S. space station payload since Skylab, a set of protein crystal growth experiments from Payload Systems, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts. Payload Systems is the only U.S. company that has been granted an export license by the Commerce Department, allowing it to fly a payload aboard a Soviet spacecraft. A spokesman for Payload Systems said that it decided to use the Soviet station because it is the only manned facility offering extended time in microgravity.

Even though Mir was repowered and reactivated, the new modules could not go up on their original schedule. Plans called for Kvant 2 – alternatively known as Module D – to be docked on October 23, but delays in production, final assembly and checkout for the module shifted the actual docking date to December 6, 1989. The 44,000-pound module contained new control moment gyros, used to gyroscopically control the attitude of the station, a water electrolytic decomposition system for oxygen supply, and a new camera system. The module also housed the Soviet Union’s first manned maneuvering backpack, very similar to that flown by the U.S. in 1984. The Soviets like to refer to their version as a “space motorcycle” allowing untethered spacewalks. The module also contained equipment to add to the crew’s comfort – a shower and lavatory.

Kvant controllers could not relax once the new module reached space. As Kvant 2 separated from the Proton booster, the right solar array of the module did not open up as planned. In order to be used, the wing would have to be locked in place before docking. Inn order for the module’s full use, it would need the power supplied by the array. Kvant-2 rode a restless orbit as controllers nursed the lame wing.

Kvant 2 is equipped with two four-panel solar arrays, each producing 3.5 kW of power for the module. The left solar array was providing power while efforts were underway to fully deploy the right one. No power was provided by the right array while it was flopping. “The rigid part of the array began to flop back and forth, and this really gave us a problem,” said Dmitri A. Poloukhin, Kvant 2 module chief designer at the Ministry of General Machinery. “It was very difficult to correctly guide the module in space while the panel was flopping free.”

The module could have latched on to Mir even without the full deployment of the solar array, but the array needed to be fixed before the actual docking could be attempted. The cause soon emerged: The inboard panel on the right array had not been freed from the saw-tooth-type lock that grasped the complete wing. The launch lock had not retracted like it should when the deployment was to have taken place. The deployment electric motor system had sufficient force to pull free the right array’s three outer panels from the launch lock, while the inner panel continued to be held in place by the lock.

“The locking device was to have rotated back about 60 degrees, but we don’t think it moved at all,” said Poloukhin. To free the stuck panel, a number of options were considered, and finally one was attempted: rolling the module while driving the right solar array’s rotary support arm. “By rolling the spacecraft and operating the joint, we created an action like a screw, and it was sufficient to free the final panel from the lock,” said Poloukhin

But the saga lingered as Kvant 2 experienced guidance problems during its approach to Mir. Soviet controllers managed to overcome these glitches, too, in short order. The module successfully docked to the station on December 6 and was repositioned perpendicular to the core two days later. Mir now flies ready to expand from the mere core launched four years ago. “Kvant 2 was our most difficult baby, and I think we will remember these past days for a long time,” said Poloukhin. (Countdown, February 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #31 on: 02/22/2013 09:56 pm »
February 20: POOR WEATHER COULD DELAY ATLANTIS LAUNCH
The forecast for the launch of Atlantis STS-36 became increasingly gloomy Tuesday, with Air Force meteorologists finally placing the odds that rain showers, overcast skies and strong winds will force a delay at 70 percent. "We're looking at a 30 percent chance the weather will be favorable for launch," said Lisa Malone, NASA spokeswoman. The problem is an approaching cold front now over South Florida, said Air Force spokeswoman Terri Bracher. "Apparently, the front slowed down and isn't going to move through the area as fast as expected," she said. Weather later in the week is expected to be more cooperative.

Despite the weather threat, pre-launch preparations proceeded smoothly. In recent days, the five Atlantis astronauts have readjusted their work schedules, beginning their sleep periods at midday and arising after sunset. After an afternoon status meeting, top Atlantis mission managers said the weather stood as their only major concern. "Launch preparations at Pad 39A continue to proceed smoothly,” the space agency said in a brief statement. Crucial pre-launch activities that remain include the loading of main engine propellants into the shuttle's external fuel tank. Mission managers will reassess weather conditions before the lengthy loading process begins late tonight.

Under NASA guidelines, the shuttle cannot be launched into rain showers because the impact of the droplets with the accelerating spacecraft could damage the surface tiles that protect it from the heat of re-entry. Depending on their formation, thick clouds could induce lightning or obscure the shuttle crew's view of the runway here should the astronauts have to attempt an emergency landing. Air Force Capt. Marty Hauser said the launch will remain scheduled for a four-hour period that begins at 12 a.m. EST. (The Houston Chronicle, The Miami Herald, The Orlando Sentinel and Florida Today, Feb. 21, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #32 on: 02/22/2013 09:57 pm »
Creatures of the night
 
(By Mike Mullane)

Unlike STS 41-D and STS-27, both of which had banker’s hours for launch windows, STS-36’s window was from midnight to 4:00 a.m. This necessitated a killer sleep/awake schedule. We were going to bed at 11:00 a.m. and waking at 7:00 p.m. Breakfast was at 8:00 p.m., lunch at midnight, and supper at 6:00 a.m. A vampire kept better hours.

The wives were exhausted. Besides being Prime Crew spouses and wanting to see their men in the few opportunities remaining, they were also family entertainers for the week. Relatives and friends who were on normal sleep schedule sought them out for KSC tour information, weather forecasts, and information on launch-day bus schedules. Cheryl Thuot and Chris Casper also had young children to deal with. If our wives were getting three hours of sleep a night, I would have been surprised. (Mike Mullane, “Riding Rockets,” Scribner, 2006)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #33 on: 02/22/2013 09:59 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #34 on: 02/22/2013 10:01 pm »
February 21: A MEDICAL LAUNCH DELAY
Early Wednesday morning the bane of winter everywhere struck – they don’t call it the colds and flu season for nothing. Atlantis Commander John Creighton has developed what NASA terms “an upper respiratory tract infection.” Anyone else would call it a cold. "It's basically a sore throat with a little head congestion," said NASA spokesman Kyle Herring. He added that the astronaut was not running a temperature. Creighton is being treated with antibiotics. His symptoms developed within 24 hours before the announcement of the postponement. The origin of the infection had not been determined, Kyle Herring said. The Atlantis astronauts have observed a standard procedure that limits their exposure to infection for seven days before the scheduled launch.

The medical condition of her Commander has grounded Atlantis for at least 24 hours and meteorologists said today that weather could postpone the mission even longer. A poor forecast was a factor in today's postponement, but the countdown would have continued in the hopes of clear skies if not for Creighton's illness. The charts of the weather forecasters, which had risen to a 50-50 chance of acceptable weather on Thursday (Feb. 22), are jumping around like a stock market ticker. They list only a 20 percent chance of launch on Friday, in the wake of a front that moves through with high winds and light rain.

"We've never postponed a launch due to illness," said Kyle Herring. "This is the first time it's ever happened in the history of the space program.” – Actually, the postponement marked the second time NASA delayed a manned mission because of an astronaut's health. The Apollo 9 launch was delayed from February 28 to March 3, 1969, when all three crew members – James McDivitt, David Scott and Russell Schweickart – came down with a mild viral respiratory illness.

The last time an astronaut's health affected a mission was in April 1970, when Apollo 13 Command Module Pilot Thomas Mattingly was replaced five days prior to launch because he had been exposed to German measles. Mattingly was replaced by James Swigert. The switch did not delay the launch of Apollo 13; however, the ill-fated flight had to be aborted when an oxygen tank exploded on the way to the moon. Mattingly was reassigned to the Apollo 16 flight and walked on the moon.

There are no plans to remove Creighton from the mission due to his illness. "I do not consider it anywhere near significant enough to give consideration to replacing him as a crew member on this flight," said Director of Flight Crew Operations Don Puddy. Replacing Creighton could be done, but it would create difficulties because NASA has discontinued the practice of training back-up crew members after the fourth Shuttle flight in 1982. "As the Shuttle flight rate goes up, you are obviously going to have a number of astronauts who are capable - if it's critical - to take that role," Kyle Herring said. (Countdown, April 1990, JSC Space News Roundup, Feb. 23, 1990, The New York Times, The Houston Chronicle, The Orlando Sentinel and Florida Today, Feb. 22, 1990 – edited)


Quarantined from quarantine

(By Mike Mullane)

That J.O. had gotten sick didn’t surprise me – we were all exhausted. The week of JSC quarantine to progressively shift our sleep cycle had been completely inadequate. And the sleeping pills were useless at inducing good periods of refreshing sleep. I was certain all of our immune systems were in chaos.

To prevent J.O. from infecting the rest of us, he was moved out of the crew quarters and into an unused room next door. He was being quarantined from the quarantine. At our 6:00 a.m. supper the rest of us put on germ masks and took him his meal. His room was an abandoned Apollo-era spacesuit facility painted brilliant white and illuminated with a full ceiling of intense fluorescent lights. Except for a small table, chair, and bed, the room was deserted. J.O. was seated at a table and. In the supernova lighting, he appeared remarkably like the old astronaut at the end of “2001: A Space Odyssey.” We wished him a quick recovery but none of us wanted to go anywhere near him. We placed his food tray on the floor and used a long-handled push broom to shove it close to his table and then immediately retreated from the room. He croaked a laugh at that.

J.O.’s sickness was just the beginning. John Casper began to feel poorly and went on medication. Dave Hilmers quickly followed. Then one of the mission support astronauts rushed from a briefing to vomit. The crew quarters had suddenly become a biohazard. Health-and-safety technicians entered in full-body moon-suits to swab the quarters for viruses. The flight surgeons also ordered urine and stool samples from all of us.

(…) Pepe and I were the only healthy ones remaining. I prayed it would stay that way. If the bug slowly worked its way through all of us, there was the potential for a significant delay. If I was the last to be infected, I could get the giant screw. I could envision being pulled from the flight and a substitute MS taking my place. My old paranoia was back with me… that I would get to within hours of launch only to have the mission snatched away. In spite of the fact it was my third mission, that it wasn’t going to make my astronaut pin any more “golden,” and that I was scared out of my wits, I still needed this mission as desperately as a heroin addict needs his fix. The flight surgeons were going to have to pry my jaws open to get a tongue depressor in my mouth. (Mike Mullane, “Riding Rockets,” Scribner, 2006)


February 22: LAUNCH HINGES ON CREIGHTON’S HEALTH – AND WEATHER
Space agency doctors examined ailing astronaut John Creighton early today to determine if he was fit enough to proceed with the launch of the shuttle Atlantis on a secret mission. Air Force forecasters said today that thunderstorms and gusty winds expected in the launch area during the period would reduce the odds of acceptable weather to just 20 percent. NASA spokesman George Diller said, though, that a decision to proceed with the countdown would hinge more on Creighton's health than on the weather. "The condition of John Creighton showed some improvement overnight but remains under assessment," said NASA spokesman Kyle Herring. "He is currently undergoing medical examination and we expect some results to be available by late this morning.”

Poor weather at the Florida launch site had threatened to delay the originally scheduled launch opportunity early today. But in spite of the "50-50" weather odds posted when Creighton's illness surfaced Wednesday, the weather cleared overnight and would have been met the launch criteria, said Diller. The intermittent poor weather is associated with the latest in a series of cool fronts moving through Florida.
Significant improvement is not expected until late Saturday, said Terri Bracher, a spokeswoman for Air Force weather officers. (The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 22, 1990 – edited)


STS-36 LAUNCH DELAYED AT LEAST ANOTHER 24 HOURS
NASA said the health of ailing Atlantis Commander John Creighton was better today, but that the astronaut was still not well enough to start the shuttle's secret mission. So, for the second day in succession, the space agency announced at least a 24-hour delay in the liftoff. Atlantis, its crew of five and a spy satellite will lift off no sooner than Saturday at 12 a.m. EST. The exact launch time is concealed within a four-hour period that ends Saturday at 4 a.m. EST. As they have been since the first launch opportunity - an identical period early Thursday - forecasters predict poor weather. The weather outlook, though, is expected to improve dramatically for a launch attempt early Sunday.

"Physicians examining Commander J.O. Creighton report that his condition has improved but that he still has some infection of the upper respiratory tract," NASA spokesman Dick Young announced at midday. Young said Creighton's illness, combined with poor weather this afternoon that would not permit engineers to load the main engine propellants into the ship's external fuel tank, led to the second postponement.

Cape Canaveral weather this week has been disrupted by a series of cold fronts that have moved through the state. Had Creighton been well, Air Force meteorologists said there was only a 20 percent chance of favorable weather for a launch tonight. Terri Bracher, a spokeswoman for the forecaster group, said the odds remain the same for Saturday morning as an approaching front brings rain, clouds and winds. The favorable odds improve to 70 percent by early Sunday, Bracher said. (The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 22, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #35 on: 02/22/2013 10:04 pm »
ARIANE ROCKET CARRYING TWO JAPANESE SATELLITES EXPLODES
An Ariane rocket carrying two Japanese satellites suffered a loss of power 6.2 seconds after liftoff Thursday and exploded 95 seconds later in a major setback for the European space program, officials said Friday. The spectacular disaster, the fifth in 36 Ariane launches, destroyed both costly satellites - valued at more than $250 million - and grounded the European rocket program for at least two months and possibly longer for an investigation. A board of inquiry will be named next week, officials said.

At a news conference Friday, officials with Arianespace, the European consortium that markets Ariane boosters in competition with American rocket companies, said it was not clear what caused one of the rocket's four first stage engines to lose power. "We have to now look carefully at the origin of the failure of the engine and assess the failure," said Arianespace director Frederic d'Allest. "This failure happened after a nominal liftoff. We shall resume our flights after we determine the cause of the failure."

Lost along with the Ariane 4 rocket was Superbird-B, the second in a series of high-power Japanese communications satellites, and B.S-2X, a three-channel direct broadcast relay station. Superbird was valued at up to $200 million while the B.S-2X had an insured value of $73 million. The failure will undoubtedly push inflated insurance rates even higher.

Equipped with four liquid-fueled strap-on boosters for extra power, the 190-foot, three-stage Ariane 4 rocket flashed to life on time at 8:17 p.m. EST and quickly climbed away from its firing stand at the European Space Agency's jungle launch complex on the northern coast of South America. But 6.2 seconds after ignition, one of the first stage's four liquid-fueled engines suddenly lost power. (Deseret News, Feb. 23, 1990)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #36 on: 02/22/2013 10:14 pm »
ARIANE V36 LAUNCH FAILS – ENGINE BEGINS FALTERING SECONDS AFTER LIFT-OFF
The roar of rocket fire broke through the dark South American evening at 8:17 p.m. EST on February 22. A European-built Ariane rocket,  a core stage containing four liquid-fueled Viking V engines, surrounded by four liquid-fueled strap-on boosters, each employing a single Viking VI engine, began rising from the pad. Only briefly did  the rocket appear destined for the 18th straight success for the commercial Ariane launcher.

About six seconds after lift-off, the 190-ft.-tall Ariane 44-L began to veering towards its launch tower. Pressure in the Viking VI strap-on nearest the tower had decreased, resulting in reduced thrust. The side-slipping rocket barely missed the tower. As it cleared, the trail of flaming hydrogen and oxygen from one booster engine torched the top of the tower. Sparks flew from the tower top, but it was not seriously damaged.

As the rocket continued to rise, the guidance system commanded the other engines to compensate for the failing booster engine. The struggle for control continued for nearly two minutes, until the steering system could no longer cope with the thrust deviations. The rocket began to tumble and fall apart due to aerodynamic stresses. Approximately one minute 50 seconds after lift-off, controllers at Kourou, French Guiana, commanded the destruct system to blow apart the remains of Ariane mission V36. The failure of V36 broke Arianespace’s happy track record of 17 successful launches since May 1986.

Engineers, using telemetry data, soon mapped what had happened: After lift-off,  a drop in combustion chamber pressure was noticed with engine D. Because of the decrease in thrust, two other booster engines were swiveled out for compensation – A and C – but that was not enough to correct the attitude. The end came at an altitude of 5.6 miles and 12.5 miles downrange from the pad.

Two satellites, both belonging to Japan, were transformed into debris with Ariane V36. The launch marked the first mission of Arianespace, the European company responsible for marketing Ariane, attempted for the Japanese. The Superbird-B was built by Ford Aerospace Corporation, and when deployed, the 11-ft.-tall satellite would have had solar arrays spanning more than 65 feet. Its main body measured 7.9 ft. by 7.2 ft. and it weighed 5,500 pounds at lift-off. Superbird-B would have been able to spend ten years in a geostationary orbit over the Pacific Ocean east of Japan at 162 degrees East. The satellite was designed to handle messages from telephones, telegraphs, and telex machines by using its three bands – C, K and X.

The B.S-2X was made by General Electric’s Astro Space Division and was intended to direct television broadcasts for NHP (Nippon Hoso Kyokai) which purchased the craft. The 2,755-pound satellite had a height of 6.4 ft. and a main body of 6.6 ft. by 4.3 ft. with a solar array span of nearly 56 feet. Its orbit was to be geostationary at 110 degrees East over the Pacific Ocean. It carried a K-Band with an onboard power capacity of 2,400 Watts to carry it through its projected 9.3 year lifetime.

V36 became the third failure since Ariane started launching commercially in May 1984. Ariane’s 44-L version debuted on June 5, 1989. Arianespace has captured for nearly half of the world’s commercial satellite launches. It has been launching payloads monthly for about the past year-and-a-half. Arianespace announced that all of its launchings will be suspended until it finds out the cause of the mishap.

Arianespace and the European Space Agency appointed seven persons to the independent inquiry board. The group, composed of members from the French national space agency CNES as well as European industries, was to find causes of the accident and make recommendations to correct them. Their report was due by March 20. Despite the loss, Arianespace, while hurt by the accident, does not expect to lose business due to its strong hold on the launch market. The company hopes to regain the ground lost by the launch hiatus during the first year after launches resume. (Countdown, April 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #37 on: 02/22/2013 10:19 pm »
A PIECE OF CLOTH DOOMED ARIANE V36
The cause of the Ariane failure has been traced. A piece of cloth blocking the main water valve of the first stage engine number D led to the loss of Ariane V36. The accident on February 22 resulted in the detonation of the booster, destroying two Japanese communications satellites about 100 seconds after lift-off. The first stage Viking V engine experienced a drop in combustion chamber pressure, and even gimbaling the remaining engines to their maximum point was not enough to save the rocket.

An inquiry board was established by Arianespace to find the cause of the accident and to make recommendations. From 44 recommendations made by the group, nine have to be implemented prior to the next Ariane launch. The suggestions focus upon upgrading quality control and launcher verification procedures.

Arianespace officials say the cloth may have entered the water line while being worked on following reinstallation prior to launch from French Guiana. Water is fed via steel tubes from a mid-stage tank to the first stage engines and to the strap-on boosters. The water regulates propellant mixture for the Vikings, and controls combustion pressure by regulating the gas generator. (Countdown, May 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #38 on: 02/22/2013 10:21 pm »
The four horsemen of the shuttle program

(By Dixon P. Otto)

I casually turned on Ted Turner’s Cable News Network (CNN) shortly after 6 p.m. on February 22, and to my sheer surprise, they announced they were going to show the lift-off of the European Ariane V36 live. The news that day must have been running slow! The CNN announcers chirped that the launch, carrying two Japanese communications satellites, would mark the 18th straight success for the Ariane, sounding as if the flight had already succeeded.

The rocket, aided by four strap-on liquid-fueled boosters, lit the dark South American sky as it cut loose from the French Guiana launch pad – slowly, it seemed. As the CNN announcers chirped on happily, I watched in horror as the rising rocket skidded towards its launch tower, passing so close that flames from the boosters torched the top of the tower. “This does not look right,” I told myself – but the CNN announcers pronounced it the 18th successful launch and quickly cut away to the next story.

Later they had to come back to say that the rocket had blown up about two minutes into flight.

The Space Shuttle is preparing for its 10th post-Challenger launch (STS-31). By the time of its 18th one, the networks may be cutting away as soon as it clears the tower – if they cover it at all. MECO – Main Engine Cut-Off – makes for the only measure of a successful launch. And the travail and trauma to reach safe MECO does not cease – or even lessen – with the 10th flight, the 18th one or even the 88th.

Four horsemen are pulling at the shuttle program in two opposite directions. Safety marks the center point in this tug of war. From one side, the pressures to keep up with the schedule attempt to gallop beyond the safety point. An invisible horseman rides at its side – the wear and tear on a shuttle system suffering the effects of reuse and aging.

In the opposite direction, the quality control and safety inspectors pull, gaining ground with the knowledge provided by each flight experience. Alongside them ride improvements in the system to keep up with the wear and aging. The horsemen never cease their strain. And while their sinewy muscles and digging hooves threaten to tear the program apart, in balance they keep it together.

These forces must stay in balance – but that means the forces to upgrade the system must match the wear on the system. The safety inspectors must match the pace as the launch schedule accelerates.

This shifting balance means that making the safe harbor of MECO never becomes less risky. The shuttle system – the first of its kind – will always remain a finicky, difficult mount to ride. We, the supporters of the shuttle, must remain the first to recognize this fact and support the shuttle despite its limitations. It’s our only ticket to ride for the critical decade ahead. (“CapCom” editorial, Countdown, April 1990)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #39 on: 02/22/2013 10:22 pm »
February 23: ASTRONAUT BETTER, BUT FRONT DELAYS ATLANTIS AGAIN
NASA said today that Atlantis Commander John Creighton has recovered from a cold, but poor weather forced a third delay in the launch of the secret mission. Spokesman Dick Young said shuttle program managers will pass up a launch attempt tonight because of the rain, clouds and winds associated with a cold front that was descending on the launch site. The next launch opportunity occurs during a four-hour period that begins Sunday at 12 a.m. EST.

Creighton developed a cold Wednesday, forcing two consecutive days of launch postponements while the 46-year-old Navy captain underwent medical treatment. "They looked at him this morning, and he improved overnight," NASA crew spokesman Kyle Herring said early today. The space agency would not permit news reporters to question NASA medical personnel face-to-face on Creighton's status, but did allow them to submit written questions to the doctors, whose individual identities were not disclosed. The responses were vague on whether the origin of Creighton's illness was bacterial or viral. Nor would the doctors describe their treatment, diagnostic tests or the medication the astronaut received. The source of the infection is not known, medical personnel said.

The latest in a series of cold fronts to foul Florida weather this week was expected to move through Cape Canaveral area late today. Scattered showers, cloudy skies and gusty winds prevailed in advance of the front, hampering final launch preparations. But Terri Bracher, a spokeswoman for Air Force meteorologists said prospects of favorable weather for tonight's launch period were just 20 percent. However, the odds improve to 80 percent for the next launch period early Sunday.

J.O. Creighton, the veteran of a previous shuttle mission, and Atlantis Pilot John Casper resumed their flight training today, practicing emergency landings here in a twin-engine jet that handles like the Space Shuttle. Late Thursday, a large protective structure on the launch pad was repositioned around Atlantis to protect it from high winds. At the launch pad, technicians replaced a communications device called a transponder on the spacecraft, when testing revealed it was not functioning properly. (The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 22, 1990 – edited)


February 24: CREIGHTON FEELING FINE – ATLANTIS READY TO FLY
NASA said Friday that shuttle commander John Creighton had whipped a pesky illness, and it resumed preparations to launch Atlantis on its secret mission. "Now that Creighton has been given the go-ahead, we're just watching the weather," said NASA shuttle crew spokesman Kyle Herring. The thrice-delayed liftoff will be attempted during a four-hour period that begins Sunday at 12 a.m. EST. Temperatures dipping to the low 40s, scattered clouds and northerly winds occasionally gusting up to 20 miles per hour were forecast. Air Force meteorologists placed the prospects of favorable weather at 80 percent, the best odds yet during a week of mostly cloudy skies, periodic heavy rains and windy conditions. (The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 24, 1990 – edited)


THIOKOL PERSONNEL WILL SOAR INTO ACTION AFTER LIFTOFF
With Space Shuttle Atlantis scheduled but not destined - to make its lift-off Sunday from Cape Canaveral, one group of Utahans was to finish its vigil and another group was ready to start work. The thrice-delayed shuttle Atlantis was loaded with rocket fuel Saturday with the ship in tip-top shape for a predawn liftoff on a blacked-out flight to put a secret military satellite in orbit.

The Utahans are employees of Thiokol, whose plant near Brigham City manufactures the shuttle's reusable solid rocket motors. The first group consists of scientists there to watch the engines' performance during launch and lend assistance, while the second group will be analyzing the twin boosters after they are recovered from the Atlantic Ocean following the launch. Thiokol has a permanent contingent of nearly 600 specialists in Florida.

The reusable boosters are made of eleven pieces of steel. Once they are recovered, they are disassembled. Then the pieces are reassembled into new boosters, meaning none of the boosters is actually reused in an intact form. Different parts of any particular booster may have been used up to five times and some parts may be new, Raab said. The motors - which are manufactured in Utah by Thiokol Space Operations and assembled and tested by Thiokol workers at Kennedy Space Center in Florida - are "go for launch" according to Thiokol officials.

The boosters provide more than 80 percent of the liftoff thrust for the shuttle. Their combined consumption of propellant amounts to 2.25 million pounds of fuel in just over two minutes of flight. The motors then separate from the rest of the shuttle and parachute into the ocean. Thiokol retrieval crews then tow them to land for refurbishment. Metal components are expected to be reusable as many as 20 times.  (Joseph Bauman, Deseret News, Feb. 25, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #40 on: 02/22/2013 10:26 pm »
Sunday, February 25, 1990 (Launch Attempt 1) – Bad trip

In “Riding Rockets” Mike Mullane recalls: “February 25 looked as if it would be the day. The weather forecast was good for the midnight opening of our launch window. J.O. looked and sounded like a consumptive, but he somehow managed to convince the flight surgeons he was okay.” Leaving the Operations and Checkout Building as the count ticked down to a 12:55 a.m. EST lift-off, Mullane made an interesting observation: “In the elevator I noticed J.O. and Casper had net bags filled with flight surgeon-prescribed Afrin, throat lozenges, antibiotics, and other treatments. Casper held up his medicine bag and suggested a STS-36 motto: ‘Just say maybe to drugs.’ I wondered if this was a first in the space program… a Commander and Pilot carrying a small pharmacy as they headed for their machine.” – Later that night Mullane would notice more evidence the Commander and Pilot were well equipped for this…um, ‘trip’… “Before complying with LCC’s call (i.e. ‘Atlantis… close helmet visors.’) I heard J.O. and John snort Afrin for the last time. I would be flying with a CDR and PLT on drugs.”

And then they rode out to Launch Pad 39A. “The van continued toward the pad and I sucked in every detail of the journey. The memories would have to last me the rest of my life, be that another few hours or decades,” remembers Mike Mullane. “I watched the crew. Hilmers was quiet. I knew he was praying and that was more than fine with me. If God protected him, He would be protecting the rest of us Playboy Channel-watching children of Gomorrah. J.O. and Casper, still struggling with the effects of their illness, were subdued. Pepe and I were the motormouths, trying to hide behind our joking.

Pepe quipped, ‘I forgot my badge. We’re going to have to go back.’ We had left our NASA badges in our EOM bags – standard prelaunch protocol. With NASA security cars leading and trailing our van, the roadblock guards weren’t about to stop us and ask for badges. It would be like the Vatican Swiss Guard stopping the pope mobile to check the badge of the guy in the funny hat.

Atlantis appeared above the darkened palmetto as an incandescent white obelisk. I couldn’t imagine the gates of heaven appearing more brilliant or more beckoning. Everybody twisted in their seats to look and have their breath taken away. The scene instantly brought to mind Chesley Bonestell’s painting Zero Hour Minus Five from my childhood book Conquest of Space. His winged rocket had been made of stainless steel but otherwise he had nailed the image. He had foreseen the soul-tugging drama of an illuminated spaceship standing ready against a star-filled sky.”

A week of rainy, overcast weather had cleared as predicted Saturday night, leaving cool temperatures that dipped toward the mid-40s as the secret countdown progressed. Overall, the odds of favorable weather for a liftoff were 80 percent, Air Force meteorologists said. The potential for a stiff northerly breeze posed a slim threat to the launch plans. "Operations are going very smoothly out at the launch pad," said NASA spokeswoman Pat Phillips. "It appears we will have an excellent shot at a launch tonight.”

The cold temperatures, while not a launch violation, allowed a light frosting to spread across the belly of the External Tank. The tank turned a white color, reminiscent of the early days of the shuttle program when External Tanks had been painted white. NASA determined that the frost posed no danger to launch, as would a heavier icing which might break off and damage the orbiter’s heat tiles.

Again, Mike Mullane: “As we stepped from the crew van, the pad sights and sounds closed around me: the screeching his of the engine purge, the shadows playing on the vapors, workers marked with yellow light sticks hurrying to the booming call of the countdown, a light fall of snow from the maze of frosted cryogenic propellant lines. I crammed it all into my brain.

I stood at the edge of the gantry awaiting my turn for cockpit entry. I could feel Judy’s presence. At this exact spot she and I had waited for our entry into Discovery… four times. My STS-27 flight had launched from Pad 39B, so this return to the 39A gantry was sort of a homecoming for me. I could see Judy’s smile, her wind-whipped hair. I could hear her voice, ‘See you in space, Tarzan.’ I missed her. I missed them all.

Pepe came to my side. ‘Sure hope it all works.’ I appended his comment. ‘I sure hope it all works today. I’ve got a sorry record for launching on the first attempt. This will be my seventh strap-in for a third ride into space.’”

The count drained into its final moments – pad and shuttle in perfect shape for launch. Unfortunately, miles away, a $3-million tracking computer chose this moment to fail. With two minutes to launch, the backup of two computers used by range safety to track the shuttle stopped accepting data from six sources. "It was a software problem," Capt. Ken Warren, an Air Force spokesman, would say later. Lt. Col. Jim Janette, another spokesman, said the primary computer was functioning but that the backup also required for the shuttle launch failed. Launch rules dictate that both computers be operating at lift-off. The computers are used to track the Space Shuttle as it ascends to ensure it does not veer out of control, endangering populated areas.

Range safety raced against impossible odds. A T minus five minutes, as is normal, Pilot John Casper had flipped the switches to turn on the Auxiliary Power Units, the turbines that provide power to the hydraulic systems. The APUs, with a limited fuel supply, dictate that launch occur in about ten minutes after they are started – meaning only about five minutes of hold time existed.

Mike Mullane describes the astronauts’ perspective of the problem: “Around T minus 45 minutes the Range Safety Officer threw in the first wrench of what had been a smooth countdown. ‘RSO is no-go for blast.’ The blast to which he referred was the Space Shuttle being blown up. The RSO’s computers had determined atmospheric conditions would amplify the power of the shuttle’s destruction and jeopardize the safety of those around the LCC. His no-go call elicited groans and profanities in the cockpit.

The RSO must have sensed the universal outrage at his no-go call and quickly reran the calculations to come up with acceptable numbers. ‘The RSO is go for the blast.’ We all cheered… and laughed at the irony. We were cheering because a detonating shuttle would now kill only us and that was good because it meant the countdown could continue. Everything was nominal and I was beginning to actually believe I had carried my luck from the (suit room) card table to the cockpit.

And then… ‘RSO is no-go for backup computer.’ The intercom was immediately alive with our colorful assessments of the RSO. The Launch Director ordered the countdown held at T minus 31 seconds in the hopes the RSO could clear his problem and the count resume. But we couldn’t hold for long with the APUs burning their fuel. A minute ticking away. Come on… come on… fix your freakin’ computer and give us a go for launch! But as we waited, the liquid oxygen inlets on all of the SSMEs got too cold. The mission was scrubbed. I just melted into a formless blob. The suit technicians would have to look for me in the bottom of the LES.”

“We have scrubbed for today,” KSC launch commentator Lisa Malone said shortly after 1:00 a.m. EST. The three main engines carried the label as official cause of the scrub. During the delay, their temperature had dropped too low to allow launch even if the RSO computer had risen from the dead. The temperature of the propellant inlets in the SSMEs dipped below the minus 290 degrees Fahrenheit limit. The threshold was exceeded by super cold liquid oxygen draining through the engines in the latter stages of the countdown.

Also, during the period while the APUs were operating, three instrumentation anomalies occurred: The failure of exhaust gas temperature sensor 1 on APU 1; erratic operation of APU 1 injector temperature sensor; and a bias on the gas generator valve module temperature on APU 1. In addition, General Purpose Computer GPC-4 experienced a “failure to synchronize” and had to be reinitialized. None of the described problems would have prevented the launch. (Countdown, April 1990; The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 25 and 26, 1990; Mike Mullane, “Riding Rockets,” Scribner 2006; STS-36 Mission Report, April 1990 – NSTS-08354 – edited and supplemented)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #41 on: 02/22/2013 10:28 pm »
Monday, February 26, 1990 (Launch Attempt 2) – Sit and watch

The KSC launch teams went into their exhausting 24-hour turnaround, aiming for a 12:54 a.m. lift-off on the 26th. The five shuttle fliers were awakened after sunset Sunday for a meal and weather briefings, a routine followed the night before. They re-boarded Atlantis late Sunday in a fifth bid to begin their secret mission. The four previous delays were the most for post-Challenger era shuttle flights. The era opened in Sept. 1988 and includes eight successful missions.

Forecasters charted the chance of acceptable weather at only 40 percent. Blustery winds kicked up from the north late Sunday, and the temperature dropped toward the upper 40s. "We're going to have to sit and watch our wind gusts," predicted Capt. Tom Strange, an Air Force meteorologist. The high winds threatened to exceed the limits for the shuttle to clear the launch pad safely and to use the emergency runway should an emergency develop during the ascent.

With wind gusts raking the area NASA proceeded to count – then waited. Launch Director Robert Sieck and his crew were hoping conditions would improve. And then the launch attempt was stopped at 2:32 a.m. EST, as a thick layer of low level clouds drifted on Cape Canaveral's shore, obscuring the end of the shuttle's emergency runway at the Kennedy Space Center. "The final decision was based on cloud cover," said Capt. Tom Strange, an Air Force meteorologist. "But we were fighting the winds all night.” At one point, space agency engineers even relaxed the launch pad wind restraint from 27 mph to 30 mph in an effort to get Atlantis launched. The strategy might well have worked had the cloud cover not drifted over the runway.

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #42 on: 02/22/2013 10:30 pm »
"We're disappointed we didn't launch today, but we're convinced the launch team    made the correct decision," STS-36 Commander John Creighton said after the scrub. The launch teams and flight crew are given a short rest now, with the next attempt set for two days hence. NASA spokeswoman Lisa Malone said another attempt would be made during a four-hour period that begins Wednesday, February 28, at 12 a.m. EST. Even then, the weather outlook is poor as winds, rains and clouds are expected to move into the Cape Canaveral area. "We're just in a bit of a stalemate with the weather right now," said Capt. Tom Strange.

“With J.O.’s illness, the two scrubs, the Ariane blowing up, and the Challenger movie, it was a good thing I didn’t believe in omens,” Mike Mullane tells us in Riding Rockets. “The advertisements for that show (the docudrama on the Challenger disaster) were in all the newspapers and magazines, and the network was constantly hyping it. The stations played the video (of the Ariane rocket) again and again. There was no way Donna and the rest of the families could possibly miss it and I was certain the images of the flaming rocket falling into the sea would add to their anxiety.

The evening of February 26 our crew flew to Houston for a refresher simulation. It had been so long since J.O. and John had practiced ascent emergencies, the mission trainers thought it would be a good idea to get them back in the JSC sim. I made the trip even though I had no duties associated with ascent. I just couldn’t face the thought of sitting around the crew quarters all night with nothing to do. I had already watched more movies in the past thirteen days of quarantine than I had watched in the past thirteen years. I couldn’t watch another. After landing at Ellington Field, I left the crew to their sim, drove home, watered the houseplants, and went running.”

The movies they had watched during the past two weeks – well, here is a short list: Lawrence of Arabia, The Great Escape, How the West Was Won, The Terminator, Predator, Alien, Top Gun… “We had seen more blood and guts than a meat packer. I resolved that the next movie I watched would be Heidi,” Mullane states in his “outrageous tales of a Space Shuttle astronaut.” (Countdown, April 1990; Mike Mullane, “Riding Rockets,” Scribner 2006; The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 26, 1990 – edited and supplemented)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #43 on: 02/22/2013 10:33 pm »
February 27: BOY, WE ARE READY!
The space agency Monday prepared for a sixth bid to launch the shuttle Atlantis on a secret mission, the most attempts for a single flight since the Challenger accident four years ago. NASA resumed a suspended countdown today and plans to launch the shuttle, its spy satellite and crew of five sometime during a four-hour period that begins at 12 a.m. EST Wednesday. Unofficially, lift-off of Atlantis is expected at 12:50 a.m. EST. "We're ready. Boy, are we ready," Mission Specialist Mike Mullane said when the STS-36 returned to the Kennedy Space Center earlier today. Commander Creighton gave a thumbs up sign as the astronauts stepped from their planes.

Bad weather again threatens the launch. "The big factor will be cloudy skies," said NASA spokesman George Diller. But stiff northeasterly winds gusting to 20 mph were also expected to be a concern. Overall, weather experts predicted just a 40 percent chance of favorable conditions, a slight improvement over earlier forecasts. The clouds and winds would restrict the shuttle's use of the emergency runway at the Kennedy Space Center in the event trouble developed during the ship's ascent. Diller said the weather outlook was not expected to improve later in the week if there were further postponements.

After the latest delay, shuttle managers elected to wait two days for another attempt so that the launch workers could rest and more fuel could be trucked to launch pad storage facilities. As fuel once again is flowing through the veins and arteries of Pad 39A and Atlantis in preparation of tonight’s launch attempt, NASA has already lost 300,000 gallons of propellants during the two scrubs and a total of just over $3 million for all the delay. (Countdown, April 1990, and The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 27 and 28, 1990 – edited and supplemented)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #44 on: 02/23/2013 04:33 pm »
Wednesday, February 28, 1990 (Launch Day) – Night into day

Tuesday evening, under mostly clear skies, the secret countdown ticked toward the launch again. But strong winds blowing across the shuttle's SLF emergency runway threatened to thwart the sixth attempt to begin mission STS-36 – the third attempt in as many days with Commander Creighton and his crew boarding Atlantis. "We do have a chance," said Capt. Ken Warren, a spokesman for Air Force weather forecasters. "Essentially what we think is that there will be wind gusts at the beginning of the period and they will die down toward the end." NASA's crosswind limit for the runway is 11 mph, a safety factor for the astronauts should they have to attempt an emergency landing following their launch.

Taking note that forecasters expected the winds to calm, NASA's mission management team instructed engineers to load the shuttle's external fuel tank Tuesday afternoon. The five Atlantis astronauts were awakened after sunset. They dined and received a weather update before donning pressure suits worn during the ride into space. Then, under a security escort that included a helicopter following overhead, they were driven to the launch pad, where they began boarding Atlantis about 10 p.m. EST.
« Last Edit: 02/23/2013 04:33 pm by Ares67 »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #45 on: 02/23/2013 04:39 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #46 on: 02/23/2013 04:46 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #47 on: 02/23/2013 04:54 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #48 on: 02/23/2013 05:06 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #49 on: 02/23/2013 05:12 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #50 on: 02/23/2013 05:23 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #51 on: 02/23/2013 05:29 pm »
PAO (Lisa Malone): This is shuttle launch control; we’re about one hour away from the beginning of our launch period today for the STS-36 launch countdown. Everything is proceeding smoothly here in the Firing Room 3 and at the Launch Pad 39A area. Lift-off of Atlantis’ sixth mission into space will occur sometime during the four-hour launch period that extends until 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time. This mission is dedicated to the Department of Defense and all mission objectives and details are classified. For a nominal end-of-mission landing, that will occur at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The day of landing will be announced sometime tomorrow morning.

This morning marks the third time we have fueled the External Tank to attempt a launch. The other two launch attempts were postponed once because of a computer with the range safety system, and the second time was postponed because of bad weather. This morning the weather does look favorable for a launch today, sometime during our launch period. The winds are acceptable at the launch pad and at the runway for return to launch site. There is a band of rain showers south of the space center around… by Vero Beach. They are moving to the west and there’s a possibility they could be in the area. But it is not expected that they would at all impact launch for today. They’re moving very quickly and there’s no chance that they would be building up.

This launch will mark the fourth launch in darkness in the history of the shuttle program. There were three others – one in 1983, 1985, and the most recent one was STS-33 this past November. The five-member flight crew for mission STS-36 is currently aboard the vehicle. Commander is John Creighton, Pilot is John Casper, the three Mission Specialists are Mike Mullane, David Hilmers and Pierre Thuot.

Atlantis’ external fuel tank has been filled with its liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants and the ice team has made its assessment of the ice and frost on the pad. And this morning it is very minimal, only in certain areas; everything is acceptable for launch in that area. The team has completed taking their measurements of various temperatures on the surface of the tank, the boosters, the orbiter and the main engines. And all is go for launch in that area for today. Again, everything going smoothly in the countdown for mission STS-36; this is shuttle launch control. 

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #52 on: 02/23/2013 05:37 pm »
The countdown was placed in a prolonged hold at 12:30 a.m. EST when the thin band of showers moved onshore toward the launch complex. Launch safety guidelines do not permit the shuttle to fly through precipitation. The unexpected rain moved into the 10-mile limit set in the weather criteria. The main band arrived at about 1:00 a.m. EST. It was expected to pass in about an hour… but an hour later, a light sporadic drizzle was still falling. The crew reported rain on the windshield. The rumor mill for “secret” flights pegged the close of the window at 2:25 – 2:30 a.m. EST. That end of the launch period proved “soft.” NASA and the Air Force managed to crack the window open a bit more, to 2:50 a.m. EST.

The countdown was held at the nine-minute mark for one hour and 57 minutes as Launch Director Bob Sieck and his team waited for the rain and the low level, loosely organized clouds that produced the showers to clear. They relied on both weather radar readings and the first-hand observations of astronaut Mike Coats to find the break that would allow a safe lift off. Coats flew through the launch path and the runway approach in a NASA jet, radioing back his findings. Sieck said the astronauts aboard Atlantis had been "pretty quiet and very patient."


PAO: … T minus 8 minutes 30 seconds… still monitoring the weather here at Kennedy and at the TAL site… the plan is to count down to T minus 5 minutes and to hold if the weather hasn’t cleared by then. And we will hold and continue to monitor the weather at T minus 5 if we don’t have a final go at that point… coming up on the T minus 7 minute 30 second-point when the Ground Launch Sequencer will start retracting the orbiter crew access arm… and we have a go for OAA retract… the access arm now being moved back from the vehicle. And it can be re-extended in just a few moments if necessary… T minus 7 minutes and counting… We will count down to T minus 5 minutes and we will not start the orbiter’s Auxiliary Power Units until the T minus 5 minute and counting mark. The countdown will hold at T minus 5 minutes… in just a few moments Pilot Casper will be asked to set the switches in the cockpit for the prestart position for the orbiter Auxiliary Power Units… this consists of positioning a number of switches and verifying that they are in the proper position… T minus 6 minutes and counting… counting down to the launch of the Space Shuttle Atlantis’ sixth flight into space… Mission Control has transmitted the signal to start the onboard flight recorders. These recorders will collect measurements of shuttle systems performance during flight, and they will be played back for evaluation after the mission… T minus 5 minutes 30 seconds… The countdown will be holding here coming up in twenty seconds waiting on a clear for weather… and Pilot Casper reporting the APU prestart is complete… T minus 5 minutes and holding…

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #53 on: 02/23/2013 05:41 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #54 on: 02/23/2013 05:46 pm »
And so the launch team held the countdown to be ready to jump off. Weather in other locations also was not cooperating. Due to the targeted high 62-degree inclination, the Transatlantic Abort Landing sites available for Atlantis in an emergency were located in Spain at Zaragoza and Moron. Due to the unusual inclination, Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, also  was targeted as a landing site should two main engines fail. The TAL sites reported unacceptable weather – until Zaragoza finally cleared. The weather was declared acceptable for launch and the countdown resumed. "We didn't bend any rules," Launch Director Bob Sieck later assured reporters.

That’s being confirmed by Mike Mullane in Riding Rockets: “I listened to the urgent voices of the launch controllers. Like us, they were exhausted and wanted to put this flight behind them and escape the inhumane sleep-work cycle. We were all gripped with a dangerous ‘launch fever,’ a headlong rush to get Atlantis flying. The sane one among us was our Launch Director, Bob Sieck. Nobody was going to stampede him into a wrongheaded decision.

As he did a final poll of his LCC team he was calm, deliberate. Mr. Rogers singing ‘It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood’ sounded manic compared with Bob’s measured voice. Everybody listening wanted to jump in and finish his sentences. He was the perfect man for one of the most stressful jobs within NASA… and another person I would remember forever.

He polled the STA weather pilot and we heard Mike Coats reply, ‘Go.’ Next he polled the TAL weather pilot in Zaragoza, Spain, and there was another go. There had been a blessed nexus of satisfactory weather conditions on both sides of the Atlantic. We were cleared to fly. ‘Atlantis, we’ll be coming out of the hold in a few moments. It’s been a real pleasure working with you guys. Good luck and Godspeed.’

I was shocked. For hours I had been convinced we would scrub. Now Casper was going through the APU start procedures. The clock was running. God had smiled on us. It had to have been Dave Hilmer’s work. The rest of us reprobates didn’t warrant any breaks from the Almighty.”

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #55 on: 02/23/2013 05:50 pm »
PAO: And Houston Flight reporting we are go for weather here at Kennedy, and TAL site weather is go. The countdown clock will be picking up… 3… 2… 1… T minus 5 minutes and counting… we have a go for orbiter APU start… Pilot Casper now flipping switches in the cockpit to start each of the APUs… and Commander Creighton has been asked to reconfigure the orbiter heaters for launch; T minus 4 minutes, 32 seconds… T minus 4 minutes 15 seconds and counting… Coming up on the T minus 4 minute and counting mark, the main engine final purge sequence is underway. Main engine valves are being configured for flight. Orbiter flight control surfaces – elevons, speed brake and rudder – are now being moved through a preprogrammed pattern to verify they are ready for launch…  T minus 3 minutes 40 seconds and counting… three main engines now being gimbaled in a pattern to verify their readiness… and they will be positioned for launch…

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #56 on: 02/23/2013 05:55 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #57 on: 02/23/2013 06:00 pm »
PAO: T minus 3 minutes 15 seconds and counting… T minus 3 minutes and counting; at T minus 2 minutes 55 seconds we’ll start External Tank liquid oxygen pressurization – and we just received a go for that… and we’ll begin the gaseous nitrogen purges of the main engines – we’ll begin terminating that… that activity… T minus 2 minutes 40 seconds… and Pilot Casper has been instructed to clear the caution and warning memory… the gaseous oxygen vent arm is now being retracted away from the External Tank. T minus 2 minutes 20 seconds and counting… and Pilot Casper reports there are no unexpected errors… T minus 2 minutes and counting, the crew has been instructed to close and lock their visors for flight… and we have a go for pressurization of the liquid hydrogen tank… T minus one minute 45 seconds… just ninety seconds away from lift-off of STS-36… T minus one minute 30 seconds… less than two minutes away now from launch; Ground Launch Sequencer will verify that the main engines are ready to start at the one-minute point…

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #58 on: 02/23/2013 06:05 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #59 on: 02/23/2013 06:08 pm »
PAO: T minus one minute and counting, the sound suppression water system is now armed; pre-lift-off water will be released at T minus 16 seconds. The Solid Rocket Booster joint heaters have been turned off… T minus 45 seconds and counting; all systems are go for the launch of Atlantis… T minus 31 seconds and counting, we have a go for auto sequence start; Atlantis’ four redundant computers have assumed primary control of the vehicle… T minus 20…

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #60 on: 02/23/2013 06:12 pm »
PAO: T minus 15… 13… 12… 11… 10… 9… we have a go for main engine start… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… zero, ignition and lift-off of Atlantis and mission STS-36…


At 2:50 a.m. EST, with just seconds left in the launch window, Atlantis ignited the night with the hydrogen beacon of three main engines. About three seconds later, the aluminum fire of the Solid Rocket Boosters added to the cauldron of light at Pad 39A. Atlantis quickly rose above the launch tower, hitting a cloud layer about 30 seconds after lift-off. Suddenly a wreath of clouds became visible, glowing orange as if from internal fires, as the shuttle climbed through the ring of vapor.

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #61 on: 02/23/2013 06:20 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #62 on: 02/23/2013 06:27 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #63 on: 02/23/2013 06:31 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #64 on: 02/23/2013 06:34 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #65 on: 02/23/2013 06:35 pm »
PAO (Billie Deason): This is Mission Control Houston… roll program has begun; that program puts the vehicle in the proper launch plane… guidance officer confirms good roll… three engines now throttling back as Atlantis passes through the area of maximum dynamic pressure…the throttle down reduce the aerodynamic pressure on the vehicle… three APUs looking good, all engines looking good, velocity is 12-hundred feet per second, Atlantis now downrange three nautical miles…

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #66 on: 02/23/2013 06:41 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #67 on: 02/23/2013 06:43 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #68 on: 02/23/2013 06:44 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #69 on: 02/23/2013 06:48 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #70 on: 02/23/2013 06:52 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #71 on: 02/23/2013 06:56 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #72 on: 02/23/2013 07:00 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #73 on: 02/23/2013 07:03 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #74 on: 02/23/2013 07:04 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #75 on: 02/23/2013 07:06 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #76 on: 02/23/2013 07:14 pm »
PAO: The crew has received the go at throttle up call; that call means that all systems are performing well. All three engines are now back at 104 percent; velocity 22-hundred feet per second, downrange 8 nautical miles…

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #77 on: 02/23/2013 07:18 pm »
At two minutes, the SRBs, like Fourth-of-July skyrockets, fell away, spewing sheets of red sparks.


PAO: Separation of the Solid Rocket Boosters confirmed by the booster officer. Atlantis now travelling at 45-hundred feet per second, 39 miles downrange… Flight Dynamics Officer reports nominal performance at this stage… and the crew has received the two-engine Transatlantic Abort Landing call, which means they could reach that transatlantic site on two engines if that were necessary… all three engines are looking good, all three APUs running properly, velocity is now 6,000 feet per second, Atlantis 86 miles away from the Kennedy Space Center.

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #78 on: 02/23/2013 07:22 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #79 on: 02/23/2013 07:27 pm »
True to the pre-launch rumors, Atlantis hugged the east coast as it rode her three main engines for orbit. It was only the fourth night launch in the shuttle program's 34-flight history but the first such trajectory ever flown after dark. As such, Atlantis' fiery climb toward orbit was visible from Florida to as far north as the mid-Atlantic states. As far north as Washington, D.C., Atlantis shone like a fleeting comet with quickly-evaporating tail. "It was kind of a light yellow, goldish color," said Kris Morrill, who saw the ship pass over Dover, Delaware. "It was the brightest object in the sky," said Mike Robertson, 29, of Charleston, South Carolina. "It was unmistakable - you could tell it was the Space Shuttle." Said Officer Jeff Edwards of the Murfreesboro, North Carolina, police department, "It looked kind of like an airplane, only quite a bit brighter, with a tail, kind of like a comet." 

Just eight and a half minutes after liftoff, after passing about ten miles east of Cape Hatteras, N.C., Atlantis' three powerful main engines shut down as planned with the space plane about 100 miles east of Atlantic City, N.J., and more than 100 miles up. "The crew of Atlantis has been given the go for orbit operations," NASA spokeswoman Billie Deason said one hour and 50 minutes after takeoff, briefly lifting an Air Force-imposed news blackout. "The orbiter and the crew are performing well." NASA Administrator Richard Truly congratulated the launch team, saying, "It was a tough one to get off, but a great job.”

Due to the 62-degree inclination ascent track this time the External Tank splashed down in the Antarctic Ocean at 61.46 degrees south,  145.11 degrees east, 1,140 miles south of Tasmania. Thiokol's solid-fuel booster rockets performed perfectly, the missile maker said. All performance data were within specifications, said Chuck Speak, Thiokol space operations program manager. The boosters were floating in the Atlantic Ocean about 169 miles from the launch pad early Wednesday, with recovery ships nearby, awaiting daybreak to commence berthing operations.

During ascent Houston controllers had noticed that the reservoir quantity in hydraulic system loop #1 remained steady. The reservoir quantity should show a rise as the hydraulic fluid heats up because of thermal effects. In addition, the reservoir pressure fluctuated and was not tracking the orbiter’s other two systems. Controllers scratched their heads over the data. It could just be a faulty sensor… The APU hydraulic system was shut down for most of the mission until shortly before reentry and landing. (Countdown, April 1990; Spaceflight News, September 1990; Deseret News and The Houston Chronicle, Feb. 28, 1990;  Florida Today, Mar. 1, 1990; Mike Mullane, “Riding Rockets,” Scribner 2006; STS-36 Mission Report, April 1990 – NSTS-08354 – edited and supplemented)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #80 on: 02/23/2013 07:32 pm »
March 1: ASTRONAUTS “DOING WELL” – LANDING SET FOR SUNDAY
NASA announced today that the Atlantis astronauts are "doing well" and will end their secret Space Shuttle mission Sunday with a landing at Edwards Air Force Base, California. The landing statement came early on the second day of the flight. "Meanwhile, the crew is doing well and the Space Shuttle Atlantis is continuing to perform satisfactorily," said NASA spokesman Kyle Herring, concluding the announcement from Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center.

If the five shuttle fliers followed the procedures established during previous four- to five-day missions, they have deployed a spy satellite they carried into space. Today's statement broke the official secrecy surrounding the shuttle mission for only the second time since Atlantis blasted off Wednesday at 2:50 a.m. Eastern time. The first, shortly after launch, said Atlantis had achieved orbit and that the crew had been cleared to begin their mission duties.

Prior to liftoff, the Air Force said it expected to announce both a landing day and time period about 24 hours after the mission began. But no information other than the day of landing was available Thursday. Capt. Marty Hauser, an Air Force spokesman, acknowledged that there had been a change in plans ordered by the Pentagon's Space Shuttle security representative. "We base all of our announcements on mission progress, and that is all we are prepared to discuss," he said. "Obviously, on a Department of Defense-dedicated shuttle mission security is imperative.” The time of Sunday's planned landing probably will be announced Saturday, Hauser said.

The Air Force refused to release a three-hour shuttle landing period as promised, raising some questions about the progress of the mission. "The announcement normally includes the landing day and a three-hour period," Capt. Marty Hauser said on Thursday. "However, all public affairs announcements during DOD-dedicated missions are provided based on mission progress," he said. "The planned landing day is the only information DOD is prepared to release at this time." Unofficial rumors state landing for mission STS-36 is slated for 10:34 a.m. PST on March 4. (The Houston Chronicle, Mar. 1 / 2, 1990; Countdown, May 1990 – edited)


HOWARD BENEDICT RETIRES
Space writer for the Associated Press, Howard Benedict, retires following the successful launch of Atlantis. Benedict has been covering launches for the AP since 1959, which includes every manned mission as well as more than 2,300 launches. After retirement he will become executive director of the Mercury 7 Foundation to raise money for scientific scholarships. (Countdown, May 1990)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #81 on: 02/23/2013 07:34 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #82 on: 02/23/2013 07:38 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #83 on: 02/23/2013 07:45 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #84 on: 02/23/2013 07:49 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #85 on: 02/23/2013 07:51 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #86 on: 02/23/2013 07:55 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #87 on: 02/23/2013 08:02 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #88 on: 02/23/2013 08:04 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #89 on: 02/23/2013 08:05 pm »
Devil in the Sky

(By Mike Mullane)

One unclassified experiment aboard Atlantis proved immensely entertaining – a human skull loaded with radiation dosimeters. After returning to Earth those dosimeters would yield an exact measure of how much radiation was penetrating the brains of astronauts.

To reduce the creepiness factor of the experiment, the investigators had used a plastic filling to give the head an approximation of a face. The result was far more menacing than plain bone would have been. The face was narrow, cadaverous, with two bolts at the back of the skull looking like horns. Satan himself was riding with us.

During a break in our payload work, I floated into a sleep restraint and extended my arms through the armholes, then ducked my head into the bag. Pepe and Dave taped the skull on top of the restraint so it appeared our friend had a body. (Your tax dollars at work.) They silently floated the bag to the flight deck and maneuvered me behind John Casper, who was engaged at an instrumental panel. When he turned to find the creature in his face with arms waving, it scared the bejesus out of him.

Later we clamped Satan on the toilet. No doubt my desecration of the poor anonymous soul who had volunteered his body (and skull) to science has earned me a few more millennia in hell’s fire. We wanted to include the fun video we had taken of our satanic crewmember in hilarious poses in our public mission film, but Dan Brandenstein squelched that. “If we keep showing on-orbit pranks, headquarters is going to assume control of editing our postflight movies. They don’t like the press only showing us screwing off in space.” The world would never see Beelzebub clamped on a shuttle toilet. (Mike Mullane, “Riding Rockets,” Scribner 2006 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #90 on: 02/23/2013 08:07 pm »
SHIVER ME TIMBERS – SECRET SHUTTLES FLYING SKULL, NO CROSSBONES
A medical research specimen that includes a human skull was flown aboard the secret Space Shuttle mission STS-36. The "phantom head," as it is termed by researchers, also flew aboard a secret shuttle mission flown in August and is scheduled to fly aboard the shuttle Discovery in April when it lofts the Hubble Space Telescope.

Equipped with hundreds of instruments, the purpose of flying the "phantom head" is to gather readings on radiation exposure in space for medical researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Johnson Space Center. The findings will be used to determine the radiation risks faced by future astronauts who will spend three to four months at a time on the space station, or who embark on expeditions to the moon or Mars that could span two years or more, said JSC spokesman Brian Welch.

The head was obtained from the Phantom Laboratory, Inc., of Salem, N.Y., which supplies the specimens to hospitals and research facilities worldwide, said company president Joshua Levy. The head is fashioned from a human skull, probably obtained from India, which for years has been a source of skeletons for medical schools, he said. A soft plastic material is applied to the skeleton to simulate muscle and skin tissues, and the interior is also filled with a similar substance to represent the brain matter. The phantom head is separated into 13 "slices," permitting scientists to place the radiation measuring dosimeters throughout the specimen to obtain radiation readings.

"It's all very clean and sterile," said Welch, explaining actual skeletal material rather than a substitute substance for the bones is needed to record the exposures accurately. The tissues are applied to give the "phantom head" an authentic appearance. "It is manufactured in such a way that it has basic facial features, a nose, eyes and a mouth," Welch said.

The phantom head is placed in a fireproof bag and stored in a locker in the crew cabin during launch and reentry. While in orbit, the specimen, still in the bag, is mounted on a wall so that its instrumentation can be activated, he said. Welch said NASA was not trying to hide anything from the public by flying the head on secret shuttle flights.

The flight of Atlantis followed a unique orbital path that took it further north and south of the equator than any previous shuttle mission. The August mission also took its five astronauts closer to the Earth's polar regions that most shuttle missions. And the April mission to launch the Hubble Space Telescope will take Discovery to an altitude of nearly 380 miles, the highest ever during a shuttle flight. Each of those flights subjected its astronaut crews to higher levels of cosmic radiation than they get from the typical shuttle mission, which flies at a 200-mile altitude and closer to the equator. Welch said that while NASA does not discuss the secondary objectives of the secret missions for the Department of Defense before they are launched, some of the activities can be divulged later.

The discussion of the "phantom head" was sparked by an article entitled Human Skull Launched Into Space On Secret Military Shuttle Flight that will appear in next week's edition of the trade publication Aviation Week & Space Technology. The magazine reported that space agency researchers are discussing the possibility of flying the torso of a human cadaver on a future shuttle mission to further their radiation research. Welch said such an experiment has not been scheduled for a shuttle flight. Levy's company produces the "phantom head" as part of a "phantom body" that includes a human skeleton containing synthetic organs and covered with plastic muscle and skin tissues. (The Houston Chronicle, March 10, 1990)

See also:

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=29830.msg949866#msg949866
« Last Edit: 02/23/2013 08:08 pm by Ares67 »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #91 on: 02/23/2013 08:15 pm »
March 2: SOME INFLIGHT ANOMALIES
At 1:07 a.m. CST cathode ray tube 4 went blank aboard Atlantis. The crew performed power cycles and recovered the CRT. However, after about two hours, the CRT again went blank and power cycles were only able to temporarily recover the CRT. Consequently, it was powered off for the remainder of the mission. Three CRTs were still available for crew use.

Upon AOS at 11:17 a.m. CST, the astronauts reported free water below the middeck floor as a result of water carry-over from humidity separator A. They had switched to HumSep A about seven hours earlier. A redesigned vacuum cleaner wand was used to clean up the water. The crew switched back to HumSep B, and further inspections revealed no water coming from the air outlet on that humidity separator, which was used for the remainder of the mission.

After a normal supply water dump, tank A started emptying into tank B before tank A was full, and the tank A inlet valve was closed to stop the flow. Flight data indicates that the valve resealed and there was no apparent leakage for the remainder of the mission. The check valve between supply tanks A and B had a leak above specification that was waived before flight. (STS-36 Mission Report; April 1990 – NSTS-08354 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #92 on: 02/23/2013 08:22 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #93 on: 02/23/2013 08:24 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #94 on: 02/23/2013 08:33 pm »
THE WORLD’S FASTEST SKIER
Recently released onboard photography from STS-36 shows how the crew used some of its unclassified time during the dedicated Department of Defense mission. Commander J.O. Creighton, an avid skier, became the self-proclaimed “world’s fastest skier” with this workout on Atlantis’s middeck. While some may question his right to claim that title based on the 17,500 miles an hour the shuttle flies in Earth orbit, few would take issue with his ingenuity in fashioning makeshift ski gear. (JSC Space News Roundup, Apr. 6, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #95 on: 02/23/2013 08:50 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #96 on: 02/23/2013 08:54 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #97 on: 02/23/2013 09:02 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #98 on: 02/23/2013 09:03 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #99 on: 02/23/2013 09:05 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #100 on: 02/23/2013 09:06 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #101 on: 02/23/2013 09:09 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #102 on: 02/23/2013 09:14 pm »
Belly up, looking down, watching the movie of my life

(By Mike Mullane)

During the last sleep period of the mission, I stayed awake in the upper cockpit to soak up the space sights that would have to last the rest of my terrestrial life. I put on the headphones of my NASA-supplied Walkman, then switched off the cockpit lights. Floating horizontally, I rolled belly up and pulled forward until my head was nearly touching a forward cockpit window. It was a trick Hank Hartsfield had taught me on STS 41-D. With Atlantis in a ceiling-to-Earth attitude, my orientation had me lying face down toward Earth.

The real joy of my new position was the illusion it created. I could put my head so far forward that the shuttle’s structure disappeared behind me. My view of Earth was completely unobstructed. I was floating free of any contact with Atlantis, enhancing the sensation of being a creature of space, not an astronaut locked in a machine. To the strings of Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” I watched my planet silently move under me. But this time I was seeing it as never before.

Not only was our orbit steeply tilted to the equator, we were also in one of the lowest orbits ever flown by a Space Shuttle. We were scarcely 130 statute miles above the Earth, approximately the distance from New York City to the eastern tip of Long Island, or Los Angeles to San Diego. At this altitude the planet was hugely close and there were new details of its earth, sea, and sky to thrill me.

At the southern limit of her orbit, Atlantis’ nadir came within three hundred miles of the coast of the Antarctic continent, now in late summer. I pulled a pair of gyroscopically stabilized binoculars from their Velcro anchor and peered southward. The pole was nearly 1,800 miles distant, so I had no view of it. Instead, I focused on the rugged coastal mountain chains. The occasional black of a windswept cliff was the only color in an otherwise sheet-white topography.

Just twenty-two minutes after leaving Antarctica’s seas, Atlantis passed over the equator and I was treated to the never-ending light show of the intertropical convergence zone. Here, the trade winds of the northern and southern hemispheres mixed in equatorial heat and humidity to produce perpetual thunderstorms. The nimbus clouds took on the appearance of sputtering fluorescent light bulbs, so continuous was the lightning within them.

Atlantis crossed Central America in less than a minute and I looked ahead to America’s East Coats. In a six-minute passage, the city lights of the entire seaboard passed by my window. The lights sprawled over the darkened continent like so many yellow galaxies. Twenty-two minutes north of the equator, Atlantis brushed the Arctic Circle. The deep night of winter in the northern hemisphere made it ideal for viewing the lights of the aurora borealis.

Atlantis curved over northern Europe toward another forty-five minute day. If ever there was a music composition perfect for watching the beauty of an orbit sunrise, that composition would be Pachelbel’s Canon. As the violin melody played on my Walkman, the rising sun painted the horizon in twenty shades of indigo, blue, orange, and red. God, how I wanted to stop and just hover.

The orbits continued… 25,000 miles, 90 minutes, one sunrise, one sunset, a brush with the Antarctic Circle. At each equatorial crossing Atlantis passed 1,500 miles west of her prior transit, and effect of the earth’s eastward spin underneath our orbit. In circuit after circuit, I was seeing a different sea, a different land, a different sky.

I watched North African deserts stretch to the horizon in dunes as perfectly spaced as ripples in a pond. I passed over snowy Siberian forests as virgin as the Garden of Eden. I saw the green vein of the Nile and the white-tipped chaos of the Himalayas and the Andes. I saw perfect fans of alluvial debris debouching onto desert floors, each a signature of millions of years of mountain erosion.

I thrilled to shooting stars and the stellar mist of space and twinkling satellites and the jewel that was Jupiter. I saw the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Sputnik I’s launch site, with the nearby Aral Sea appearing oil black against the winter white of the Kazakh Steppes. A few turns later the desert-lonely lights of Albuquerque came to view and I marveled at how those two places, so geographically distant from each other, had been inexorably linked in my life.

I passed over every unimproved road my parents had ever dared, every mountain I had ever climbed, every sky I had ever flown. With the music of Vangelis and Bach and Albioni as a sound track, I watched the movie of my life. (Mike Mullane, “Riding Rockets,” Scribner 2006 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #103 on: 02/23/2013 09:15 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #104 on: 02/23/2013 09:17 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #105 on: 02/23/2013 09:19 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #106 on: 02/23/2013 09:21 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #107 on: 02/23/2013 09:21 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #108 on: 02/23/2013 09:23 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #109 on: 02/23/2013 09:24 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #110 on: 02/23/2013 09:25 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #111 on: 02/23/2013 09:28 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #112 on: 02/23/2013 09:32 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #113 on: 02/23/2013 09:33 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #114 on: 02/23/2013 09:34 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #115 on: 02/23/2013 09:36 pm »
March 3: HIGH WINDS AND RAIN IN THE FORECAST FOR EDWARDS
The Space Shuttle Atlantis battled the weather to lift off on her secret mission, and it appeared Saturday that the threat of high winds and rain could force a postponement of Sunday’s planned landing in the California desert. "The weather at landing time is acceptable, but marginal," said NASA spokeswoman Nancy Lovato at the shuttle's landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

The space agency broke the Pentagon-imposed silence surrounding the mission Saturday to announce that the ship was performing "satisfactorily" and that its five astronauts were preparing for an Edwards landing Sunday at 10:08 p.m. PST. "Later, the winds will pick up, the ceiling will drop and there is the possibility of showers," Lovato said. "I think we will be watching the weather very carefully in the morning.' Blustery winds, clouds and rain were forecast for Monday as well. Spokesman Jack Riley at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the agency's meteorology group is headquartered, said forecasters will size up the California weather conditions early Sunday just before clearing the Atlantis' crew for reentry maneuvers.

Also Saturday, a Toronto, Canada-based group of amateur astronomers reported they had sighted Atlantis and its spy satellite flying in close proximity, but raised the possibility the satellite was deployed later than originally planned. Amateur astronomer Ted Molczan, a specialist in energy conservation, said a network of a dozen global observers has sighted the shuttle periodically since it lifted off early Wednesday. In articles published well before Atlantis' launch, the trade publication Aviation Week & Space Technology reported the secret mission plan included deployment of an advanced photo reconnaissance satellite on the shuttle's 18th orbit, or early Thursday about 27 hours into the flight.

"My group observed the shuttle on every day of the flight," Molczan told the Chronicle in a telephone interview. "On the second day of the mission, they saw it a few hours after we expected deployment. They saw the orbiter after that on two, maybe three, passes and there was absolutely no sight of the payload at that time," he said. "That suggests that there was a delay.” By early Friday, however, network observers in Scotland and the Northwest Territories of Canada spotted Atlantis and a satellite, trailing about 57 seconds behind. "The payload was observed to be a very bright object, also very large," Molczan said.

According to the network's observations, Atlantis was launched into a relatively low altitude - about 125 miles, matching Aviation Week's prelaunch reports - then she maneuvered higher to about 160 miles, where the satellite deployment occurred. Later, the distance between the two objects increased gradually as Atlantis dropped toward an altitude of about 155 miles. As the shuttle's orbit dropped, it would speed up relative to the satellite at the higher altitude, Molczan said.

Because of the secrecy surrounding the mission, neither NASA nor the space agency will discuss the astronauts' activities during the flight. But the Air Force on Thursday backed off plans to disclose a three-hour landing period. A Pentagon spokesman said then that the decision to disclose only that Sunday would be the landing day was made on the progress of the mission at the time of the announcement. Molczan said that if the deployment was not later than planned, it may be that the satellite and the orbiter were so close initially that they could not be distinguished by his network of ground observers. (The Houston Chronicle, Mar. 4, 1990 – edited)


SHUTTLE SUCCESSOR WILL EVENTUALLY BE NECESSARY
The National Research Council says the future of spaceflight does not include the Space Shuttle. The council called for a new, less-complicated, more reliable system to replace the Shuttle. The panel urged the development of alternatives to the Shuttle: "Eventually, a plan for a graceful phasing out of the shuffle system should be prepared. Because operations of the Space Shuttle will continue to be labor intensive and expensive, because the system is not robust and because the system will probably reach the end of its useful life sometime between 2000 and 2010, the committee believes that a successor to the Shuttle eventually will be necessary for human transport to orbit."

Regarding the Space Station, the committee agreed with NASA that a permanently manned space station is necessary for space exploration, but said the current design is stretched too thin to meet the demands of scientists and also be a depot for missions into deep space. “The question even arises whether an additional station, complementary to the first and designed as a transportation node, will eventually be necessary to accommodate the later, more demanding mission," the report stated. (The Orlando Sentinel and Florida Today, Mar. 3, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #116 on: 02/23/2013 09:42 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #117 on: 02/23/2013 09:52 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #118 on: 02/23/2013 10:00 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #119 on: 02/23/2013 10:11 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #120 on: 02/23/2013 10:19 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #121 on: 02/23/2013 10:20 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #122 on: 02/23/2013 10:23 pm »
Sunday, March 4, 1990 (Landing Day) – Leaky Loop Landing

As dawn approached the salt flats of Edwards Air Force Base in the California desert, the outlook for the landing of Atlantis appeared as bleak as the clouds overhead. Winds were gusting across the runway at 28 knots, above the shuttle’s limits. Forecasters churned out estimates of rain.

A hundred miles and more up, the crew of Atlantis may have been anticipating a waive off. After all, an extra day in space – free time at the shuttle’s windows – was evolving into a tradition. Both the previous two shuttle missions had been extended a day due to weather. Would that extra day become an inalienable right of shuttle crews? The morning gloom evaporated like the clouds and threats of rain. The winds died to acceptable levels, and the planned return of Atlantis proceeded.
« Last Edit: 02/23/2013 10:25 pm by Ares67 »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #123 on: 02/23/2013 10:30 pm »
PAO (Billie Deason): This is Mission Control. At Dryden Flight Research Center the convoy crew has just completed its landing briefing. The convoy manager always gathers all members of the convoy together shortly before landing to run over procedures and any last-minute changes. Here in Mission Control we’ve reacquired communications and data with the crew. And the propulsion officer confirms that we had a good deorbit burn. Just before we went LOS we saw indication that a circuit breaker had tripped. There’s no major impact to the landing procedures this morning. The crew is in the process right now of trying to turn that breaker back on. We will keep you informed of their progress.

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #124 on: 02/23/2013 10:35 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #125 on: 02/23/2013 10:36 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #126 on: 02/23/2013 10:42 pm »
Shortly after the deorbit burn, as Atlantis descended through the thin upper layers of atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean, the routine of reentry suddenly was broken. The quantity of hydraulic fluid in loop #1 was registering low, indicating a possible leak. Ascent/Entry Flight Director Ron Dittemore said flight controllers were watching the system because a pressure fluctuation had been noticed during ascent. Routine tests of the hydraulic system the day before proved inconclusive; was it a leak or a bad sensor?

As a precaution Mission Control ordered APU 1 switched to low-pressure, reducing pressure in the hydraulic loop from 3,200 psi to 800 psi to ease any leakage. Without hydraulics, the wing elevons would not move, the tail speed brake could not open – in short, the shuttle would be without muscle power, without control. For this reason, the orbiter is equipped with three redundant hydraulic systems.

The crew flipped switches to isolate the #1 loop from the shuttle’s computer system, which might interpret the problem as requiring all three loops be shut down. The glitch, just the kind the crew was trained to handle, posed no danger to the landing… no immediate danger. Yet if one hydraulic loop was failing, could the same problem begin to attack the remaining two? Could a cold touch of uneasiness be creeping into the minds of crew and controllers? To be snuggled back in effortless orbit, gazing at the Earth for an extra day… or even to be back on the pad, where any problem could be probed by the ground team…

As the shuttle approached the California coastline, APU loop #1 continued spraying red hydraulic fluid – like blood –  into the aft fuselage engine compartment. Pressure in the system fluctuated – dipping to 600 psi instead of the 800 psi controllers had dialed in. Could the pump be failing?

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #127 on: 02/23/2013 10:44 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #128 on: 02/23/2013 10:48 pm »
PAO: This is Mission Control. We can now see Atlantis visually at Dryden. APU 1 will now be taken back to normal pressure. Mechanical systems officer reports that APU 1 looks good so far. Atlantis now at Mach 1.6, 71,000 feet over California and about 39 miles away from Edwards…


The astronauts switched back APU #1 to high pressure – and the system responded. Only about ten minutes had elapsed from the time controllers took first action. The landing proceeded normally.

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #129 on: 02/23/2013 10:58 pm »
PAO: This is Mission Control, velocity now Mach 1, altitude 55,000 feet… Atlantis just about a minute from intercepting the Heading Alignment Circle… mechanical systems officer reports that APU 1 still looks good.


At that point Billie Deason’s microphone was able to catch up CapCom Steve Oswald’s voice in the background.


CapCom: Atlantis, Houston, you’re looking good (…)

PAO: Mechanical systems officer expects APU 1 to be able to support the landing all the way through touchdown…

CapCom: Atlantis (…)

PAO: Flight dynamics officer reports that Atlantis looks good coming onto the Heading Alignment Circle; velocity is now feet per second 800 feet per second, 37,000 feet altitude, about 19 miles from touchdown…


The shuttle’s double sonic boom rolled over the Mojave Desert.


PAO: And the flight dynamics officer reports that energy is right on target as Atlantis comes around the Heading Alignment Circle…

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #130 on: 02/23/2013 11:00 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #131 on: 02/23/2013 11:03 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #132 on: 02/23/2013 11:07 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #133 on: 02/23/2013 11:13 pm »
PAO: Velocity now 700 feet per second, altitude 20,000 feet, Atlantis coming down at about 330 feet per second… Coming in now to the final approach at about 14,000 feet; velocity is 500 feet per second… Mechanical systems officer reports APU 1 still performing alright; velocity is 400 feet per second, altitude about 10,000 feet… This is Mission Control. Flight Dynamics reports that Atlantis is all lined up right on the glide slope over Runway 23, about 8,000 feet above the runway now… winds remain the same, 18 gusting to 22 knots headwind and a very negligible crosswind…


Skies were clear and sunny as Atlantis floated down to touch the Rogers lakebed Runway 23 at 10:08 a.m. PST, four days and ten days after launch from KSC.

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #134 on: 02/23/2013 11:16 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #135 on: 02/23/2013 11:20 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #136 on: 02/23/2013 11:22 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #137 on: 02/23/2013 11:26 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #138 on: 02/23/2013 11:30 pm »
PAO: Altitude now about 700 feet… landing gear is down… main gear touchdown… nose gear touchdown… and… wheels stop reported by Mission Commander J.O.  Creighton…
« Last Edit: 02/23/2013 11:30 pm by Ares67 »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #139 on: 02/23/2013 11:33 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #140 on: 02/23/2013 11:40 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #141 on: 02/23/2013 11:42 pm »
Because of the high head winds and the light weight of the orbiter, the rollout was much shorter than expected – only 53 seconds elapsed between main gear touchdown and wheels stop. Nose gear touchdown came ten seconds after the main gear had touched down. Immediately after landing, APU 1 was shut down, again as a precaution. APU 2 and 3 were shut down about 16 minutes later.

CapCom Steve Oswald radioed, “Congratulations on a great flight, guys, and welcome back.” Oswald’s words were only relayed second-hand to the public. Whether the drop in hydraulic pressure caused him to put more inflection into the “welcome back” remains a secret with the mission. (Countdown, April 1990; The Houston Chronicle, March 4, 1990; JSC Space News Roundup, Mar. 9, 1990 – edited and supplemented)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #142 on: 02/23/2013 11:45 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #143 on: 02/23/2013 11:46 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #144 on: 02/23/2013 11:50 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #145 on: 02/23/2013 11:51 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #146 on: 02/23/2013 11:54 pm »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #147 on: 02/24/2013 12:01 am »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #148 on: 02/24/2013 12:05 am »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #149 on: 02/24/2013 12:08 am »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #150 on: 02/24/2013 12:17 am »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #151 on: 02/24/2013 12:21 am »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #152 on: 02/24/2013 12:23 am »
A WARM WELCOME AT ELLINGTON FIELD
Co-workers welcomed the Atlantis astronauts home to Houston late Sunday, several hours after their successful secret mission ended with a smooth landing in the California desert. After brief medical exams and visits with their families, Commander John Creighton, Pilot John Casper and Mission Specialists David Hilmers, Mike Mullane and Pierre Thuot flew on to Houston's Ellington Field and a welcome by Johnson Space Center colleagues. Thanks to a strong tailwind, they arrived about 25 minutes early.

“Sometimes it requires patience in order to do the job correctly,” said JSC director Aaron Cohen as he welcomed the astronauts, referring to several false starts on the STS-36 launch. “We did the job correctly. The ground team, the flight crew and the shuttle performed in an outstanding manner.”

J.O. Creighton, whose cold caused the first postponement, gave special thanks to flight surgeons Bradley Beck and Philip Stepaniak. “Since I had probably the world’s most famous cold, I would like to give special thanks to the two doctors that helped us out,” he said. “Without their help, we’d probably still be in Florida.”

"You can probably tell by the smiles on our faces we had a great time," Creighton told about 200 well-wishers. "We did something that was important for the country. Everything went very well and we enjoyed doing it. We got to go to some places nobody has ever gone before," Creighton said, referring to the high-inclination orbit of Atlantis.
.
"As one of the rookies on this crew," said Casper, "I just want to say, ‘Wow, what a fantastic experience.’“ After the successful return of Atlantis he felt a tremendous sense of pride at being part of the NASA team. “It’s an amazing thing we do, to put this vehicle up into space again and again. It’s through the efforts of all of you people out there either working directly or indirectly in support of NASA. I’m proud to be part of that team, and you should be proud, too.”

Mission Specialist Dave Hilmers said perseverance was the watchword of the mission, and remembered the many people who came out in the middle of the night to help with between-launch-attempt simulations at JSC. “With that kind of perseverance, NASA is going to continue to fly successfully,” he said.

“There is no finer organization in the world,” added Mission Specialist Mike Mullane, who announced his impending retirement before the flight. “Not in government, not in universities, not in industry.”

Mission Specialist Pierre Thuot likened the welcome home ceremonies to the Academy Awards, and shared his with the entire supporting cast. “The STS-36 crew just got an Academy Award for Best Flight,” he said. (The Houston Chronicle, The Orlando Sentinel and Florida Today, March 5, 1990; JSC Space News Roundup, Mar. 9, 1990 – edited)


FAOs HANG STS-36 PLAQUE
Gail Schneider and John Walsh hung the STS-36 mission plaque on behalf of the Flight Activity Officer team. Lead Flight Director Larry Bourgeois said the FAO team earned the honor for its outstanding performance during the mission. Tha plaque traditionally is hung on the wall of the Mission Control Center’s Flight Control Room shortly after a shuttle landing by the flight control team designated as having contributed the most to the flight. (JSC Space News Roundup, Mar. 23, 1990)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #153 on: 02/24/2013 12:28 am »
March 6: HYDRAULIC LEAK DELAYS ATLANTIS RETURN TO KSC
A leaking hydraulic system which has fouled Atlantis' tail section is delaying the return of the orbiter to Kennedy Space Center from California. "We know what we have to do and have looked at all the schedules. We're still looking forward to a one-day ferry flight beginning Saturday (March 10) morning," said space center spokeswoman Lisa Malone.

Post-flight inspections showed several spots of hydraulic fluid near the three main engines, the right main landing gear and the place where Atlantis is attached to her External Tank, officials said. When workers entered the aft compartment where the main engines are located, they found the entire area coated with a thin film of hydraulic fluid, Malone said. They began immediately to clean the spill and found the source: a one-inch slit in the outer covering of a steel, rubber-coated tube that feeds highly pressurized hydraulic fluid from pump No. 1. The slit, it is thought, was probably caused by a problem with the connection between the pump and the hose, which allowed fluid improperly to flow between the steel tube and its covering.

Other post-flight examinations revealed that two of the shuttle's steering thrusters failed during the mission and must be replaced before Atlantis' next flight in July. The crew used other thrusters to maneuver safely and complete the mission, a NASA spokesman said. (The Miami Herald, Mar. 27, 1990; Florida Today, Mar. 6/7, 1990 edited)


March 8: HYDRAULIC PROBLEM “NOT SERIOUS”
Atlantis had trouble with its hydraulic system during launch, but flight controllers did not think it was serious enough to take actions, NASA said today. The leaking hose was removed from the orbiter March 7 and sent to Rockwell International at Downey, California, for analysis. Rockwell inspectors have been unable to locate the source of the leak. NASA said that it believes the leaking hose was a quirk and not a generic problem. (The Orlando Sentinel, Mar. 8, 1990; Florida Today, Mar. 9, 1990 – edited)


KSC DEDICATES NEW BUILDING
Kennedy Space Center officials today dedicated a new $28 million, six-story office building - the Operations Support Building - which will house about 1,700 NASA and contractor employees in the Space Shuttle Engineering Support Division. The building, located near the Vehicle Assembly Building, will provide permanent office areas for workers now located in modified railroad cars, portable trailers and prefabricated modules. W & J Construction Corp., Cocoa, Florida, started construction on the building in September 1988 and completed it three months ahead of schedule. The building was designed by HWH Architects, Engineers and Planners, Orlando, Florida. (Florida Today, Mar. 9, 1990)


March 9: INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IN SPACE
Officials at NASA say if Congress does not pass the agency’s request for a $2.6 billion for 1991, international partners may back out of Freedom. The Space Station project includes efforts by the United States, Europe, Japan and Canada, and is considered by NASA to be the largest international project ever to be undertaken. Administrator Richard Truly tells a Senate subcommittee, “I think we’re to the point this year where our international credibility is on the line.” Freedom is part of the Bush administration’s $15.1 billion dollar request for space projects which begin in October for the 1991 fiscal year.

Meanwhile The Soviet Union and the United States have agreed to participate in a radio telescope project. Known as Radioastron, the Soviets would launch a 10-meter radio telescope into orbit in 1993. The United States will provide tracking facilities as well as recorders 

A poll sponsored by Rockwell International indicates nearly 80 percent of Americans favor space exploration with other countries, preferably the Soviet Union. The poll also shows manned missions are favored more than robotic missions, and 75 percent of Americans support Space Station Freedom. (Countdown, May 1990 – edited)


“SPACE SHUTTLE” NOW OFFICIALLY PROGRAM’S TITLE
Space Shuttle Program Director Robert Crippen has announced the change of the title “National Space Transportation System” to “Space Shuttle.” With the advent of the mixed fleet policy, the term “NSTS” is no longer appropriate, according to Crippen, and the name “Space Shuttle” is considered a more familiar term to those outside the agency.

As of now, the terms “NSTS,” “STS,” and “Space Shuttle” all stand for the same program, although all future documentation should use the term “Space Shuttle” only. Crippen did not suggest updating existing documentation, however, and mission designations of “STS” will not be changed. (JSC Space News Roundup, Mar. 9, 1990)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #154 on: 02/24/2013 12:31 am »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #155 on: 02/24/2013 12:32 am »
March 10: ATLANTIS ATTEMPTS RETURN
Today Atlantis is to begin her return journey to Kennedy Space Center from her landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, California; she is expected to arrive at the space center tomorrow at sunset. If weather delays the last leg of the flight, the orbiter and its carrier plane will not touch down at the Shuttle Landing Facility till March 12. (Florida Today, Mar. 10 – edited)


March 11: ATLANTIS GROUNDED IN TEXAS
Rain grounded Atlantis at Biggs Army Air Field in El Paso, Texas, and unfavorable weather conditions may postpone the trip to KSC a day. The 747 which carried the orbiter from Edwards will need to be refueled one more time before reaching KSC. (Countdown, May 1990)


March 13: ATLANTIS’ RETURN CLEARS WAY FOR DISCOVERY AND COLUMBIA
"After several delays, it's good to have the bird back in the nest again," NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham said today. After refueling at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, Atlantis, atop her Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, touched down at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility at 5:51 p.m. EST. Space Center spokeswoman Lisa Malone said, "It was a smooth flight. We didn't have any problems."

"It's always good to get them back after a good flight," said KSC Director Forrest McCartney. "We're going to turn it around again and get it out of town again in July." Atlantis’ next flight is scheduled for a Department of Defense mission on July 9. 

NASA will launch the $1.5 billion Hubble Space Telescope next month. The 43-foot Hubble Space Telescope - HST - is scheduled to be taken to the launch pad's ultra-clean payload changeout room March 26 for installation in Discovery's cargo bay March 28. Liftoff of the 35th shuttle mission, the third of nine planned for 1990, is set for April 12, the ninth anniversary of the first shuttle flight and the 29th year to the day since cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.

Once in operation above Earth's obscuring atmosphere, the Hubble Space Telescope's 94.5-inch mirror, the smoothest ever made, will allow astronomers to peer seven times deeper into the cosmos and with 10 times more clarity than ever before, allowing astronomers to gain unprecedented insights into the forces that forged the universe. Discovery astronaut Kathryn Sullivan said the telescope will open so many new vistas that astronomers will have to struggle just to figure out the right questions to ask, much less come up with the right answers. Originally scheduled for launch in August 1986, the $1.5 billion telescope was grounded by the Challenger disaster.

And another astronomy mission will follow on the heels of the Hubble deploy – the Astro 1 observatory is scheduled to be launched aboard Columbia on mission STS-35 between 12:50 a.m. and 3:03 a.m. EDT on May 9. (Countdown, May 1990; Deseret News, Mar. 5 and 14, 1990; Florida Today, Mar. 14, 1990 – edited)
« Last Edit: 02/25/2013 05:58 pm by Ares67 »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #156 on: 02/24/2013 12:35 am »
THIOKOL PLANS TO TEST-FIRE SHUTTLE MOTOR THURSDAY
Travelers driving west of Brigham City on U-83 Thursday (March 15) may be surprised to see great billows of smoke rising - but they shouldn't worry, it will only be Thiokol Corp. firing off a Space Shuttle motor. At 11 a.m. MST, Thiokol officials plan to carry out a full-scale shuttle motor test, the sixth in a planned series of 11 static firings. The motor contains segments that are more than 4 years old, and the test is expected to show how well they lasted. The propellant, liner and insulation materials will be checked. Also the test will be used to qualify an improved joint protection system and give more data on joint heaters. Special instruments have been added to the motor's nozzle and nozzle housing to assess pressure distributions. After the test, the motor will be disassembled and sent to Thiokol's refurbishing facility in Clearfield for analysis and refurbishment of reusable parts. (Deseret News, Mar. 14, 1990)


SPACEHAB DEAL CLOSED
Spacehab Inc. of Washington, D.C. closes a $104 million deal from a group of banks to develop a pressurized module containing science experiments in the front section of the shuttle cargo bay. The device will provide an extra 1,000 cubic feet of room for experiments and tests. Currently, apart from Spacelab missions, the only place to conduct testing is in the middeck section of the orbiter. (Countdown, May 1990 – edited)


SECOND COMMERCIAL TITAN READY FOR LAUNCH
"All systems are go. The rocket is ready, the range is ready and we intend to push the button at 6:49 a.m. EST and get that sucker off the ground," said Ed Browne, President of Martin Marietta Commercial Titan Inc. Martin Marietta spokeswoman Judith Stowell said there is only a five percent chance that weather will cause a delay tomorrow. The launch will be the second commercial lift-off for Martin Marietta; the first was on December 3I, 1989, when a Titan carried British and Japanese communications satellites into orbit. (Florida Today, Mar. 14, 1990)


March 15: BOOSTER TEST SENDS PHONES RINGING OFF WALL
The test-firing of a pre-Challenger space shuttle rocket booster came off with nary a hitch - except the blast had telephones busy at the University of Utah seismograph stations. Callers reported what they thought was an earthquake at 11 a.m. MST Thursday (March 15), but experts said the shaking was due to unusually amplified sonic waves from the 126-foot-long rocket itself. University of Utah seismic analyst Linda Hall said people as far away as Salt Lake City, about 60 miles south of the test site, reported feeling the test. A meteorologist with the National Weather Service said strong northwest winds may have contributed to the vibrations carrying so far.

Thiokol said the booster motor, which burned 1.1 million pounds of fuel in two minutes, performed as expected, and preliminary visual inspection showed the rocket to be in good shape. "It looked to me like everything went perfectly," said Charles A. Speak, manager of Thiokol's redesigned solid rocket motor program.

The test was the sixth of eleven being done with motors made before the 1986 Challenger explosion. A faulty seal on an old-model rocket was blamed for the blast, which killed seven astronauts. Thiokol extensively redesigned the booster before NASA allowed shuttle missions to resume in 1988. (Deseret News, Mar. 17, 1990)


INTELSAT VI STRANDED IN LOW EARTH ORBIT
The infant U.S. commercial launch industry, still trying to get off the ground, could not gloat over last month’s Ariane failure for long. Space mishaps tend to happen in clusters – within a month another failure has struck, this time hitting Martin Marietta’s Commercial Titan III. The rocket boosted a high-power $157 million communications satellite into orbit Wednesday evening (March 14), but at first engineers were unable to pick up signals from the relay station, raising the possibility of a major loss. Four hours after the satellite's launch, technicians at a ground tracking station in Hawaii were unable to communicate with the satellite or determine its health. It was not clear if the satellite was working. Later Intelsat was receiving some signals from the satellite, but controllers were unsure whether the spacecraft was functioning properly.

The $130 million Titan rocket, carrying the second of a new breed of radio relay stations capable of handling 120,000 telephone calls at once, thundered to life at 6:52 a.m. EST and blasted away from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with a burst of flame and smoke. But 25 minutes after launch, the satellite and its 17,000-pound motor failed to separate properly from the rocket's second stage. Ground controllers were finally able to split the satellite and rocket, but the satellite was stranded in an egg-shaped orbit ranging from 96 to 214 miles above Earth.

"This maneuver allowed the satellite to be placed in a safe low Earth orbit for the time being while options, including a Shuttle recovery, are examined," said Dean Butch, Director General of Intelsat. "What kind of decision may be made would be pure speculation at this time," Intelsat spokeswoman Sigrid Badinelli said Thursday.

The total cost of the failed flight is pegged at $265 million. Due to the already high costs of launch insurance, the satellite was self-insured by Intelsat, a consortium of 118 nations. Martin Marietta, which launched the rocket, has not yet determined what went wrong, company spokesman Bob Gordon said Thursday. The mishap dims the chances of the Commercial Titan to compete in the world market. An identical Intelsat satellite was slated to be launched by a Titan in June. However, Martin Marietta only has gained contracts for four commercial launches. (Deseret News, March 14/15, 1990; The Orlando Sentinel and Florida Today, March 15, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #157 on: 02/24/2013 12:39 am »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #158 on: 02/24/2013 12:40 am »
March 16: INTELSAT TRYING TO LIFT ERRANT SATELLITE
The international Intelsat communications consortium attempted to nudge its sinking $157 million satellite to a higher altitude Thursday (March 15) in the slim hope it could be rescued by a Space Shuttle crew. The 10,000 pound, four-story tall Intelsat VI could fall March 25 if its thrusters cannot boost it to a higher orbit, said Army Maj. Thomas Niemann, a spokesman for the U.S. Space Command. The Space Command tracks thousands of orbiting objects from its facilities at Colorado Springs, Colorado. Niemann said the satellite would most likely reenter over water, but he stressed the Space Command could not predict exactly where the return would occur until the Intelsat's final hours in orbit.

A spokesman for the Washington-based International Telecommunications Satellite Organization said the consortium was attempting to boost the satellite to a circular orbit with an altitude of 150 miles. The Intelsat VI was stranded in an elliptical orbit Wednesday, ranging from 103 miles to 218 miles, after it was launched by an unmanned Commercial Titan III rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The satellite must be in a 22,300 mile high orbit to perform its telephone and television signal communications function.

An undisclosed difficulty after launch left the Intelsat VI temporarily locked to the Titan's second stage. Though it was eventually separated from the rocket Wednesday, it was also separated from the small rocket motor needed to move it to the desired altitude. "We have contact with it, and we are able to execute commands to the spacecraft," said Intelsat spokesman Tony Trujillo. "We are engaged in maneuvers to move the satellite to a safer, higher orbit where it could stay awhile.” The maneuvering will take several days, Trujillo estimated. If the operation is successful, the 118-nation Intelsat communications consortium that owns the satellite will decide whether to ask NASA to attempt a rescue with the Space Shuttle.

However, a satellite retrieval mission, such as those executed by NASA last January and in November 1984, seems like a long shot. The April 12 launch of the shuttle Discovery with the Hubble Space Telescope will occur too soon to permit such a major change in the mission plan. The May launch of the shuttle Columbia will carry a large astronomical instrument that will return to Earth with the shuttle, and the July flight of Atlantis will be a secret military mission. "We haven't ruled it out at all, but there are a lot of questions that would have to be answered," said NASA spokesman Brian Welch. (The Houston Chronicle, Mar. 16, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #159 on: 02/24/2013 12:42 am »
March 17: FAULTY WIRING CAUSED TITAN FAILURE
Martin Marietta Corp.'s Titan III failed to deploy a $157-million satellite properly because the vehicle was wired to carry two satellites instead of one, according to company officials. "It was a case where the computer people said they would launch the first payload and the wiring people thought that meant the bottom payload," if two satellites had been stacked in the nose cone, said Steve Frank, a Martin Marietta spokesman. "There was just nothing at the separation device to receive the signal," he said.

The Titan is equipped with two circuit harnesses which carry the separation commands, and both are used for a two-satellite mission, as was the first Commercial Titan launched on December 31, 1989. For the single-satellite launch, one harness was deleted. Unfortunately, the software commands for separation were programmed through the deleted harness. The deletion of the harness never was reported to the software programmers.

Workers failed to find the faulty electrical wiring during pre-launch tests of the commercial rocket. The company will change its pre-launch procedures to prevent the same kind of mistake from happening again, said Martin spokesman Steve Frank. Another Intelsat is scheduled to be lofted by a Commercial Titan this summer. The same defect was discovered on it, and it is being rewired.

Although the failure of the second Commercial Titan III can be traced to simple human error, the future of Martin Marietta’s booster appears dim. The Titan may be the first victim in the shake out of the commercial launch market. No Commercial Titans are firmly scheduled following the launch of the second Intelsat. “Three strikes and out” could ring true for the Commercial Titan. (Countdown, May 1990; The Orlando Sentinel and Florida Today, Mar. 17 and 21, 1990 – edited)


CHINA TO LAUNCH U.S.-MADE SATELLITE
China next month will launch a U.S.-made communications satellite whose transfer to the mainland was nearly blocked by U.S. sanctions following Beijing's brutal suppression of the pro-democracy movement. AsiaSat, a communications satellite intended to provide television and telephone service throughout the Far East, will be launched aboard a Chinese-made Long March III rocket from the Xichang missile range in China's southwest Sichuan Province.

Delivery to China of the satellite was held up by U.S. sanctions against the Beijing government following the crackdown on protesters at Tiananmen Square in June. The sanctions include a ban on transferring to China U.S. high technology that has possible military applications. The satellite was manufactured by the Hughes Aircraft Co. of Westchester, Calif., near Los Angeles. Hughes is one of the biggest defense contractors in the United States. The AsiaSat satellite is owned by a joint venture among Chinese, British and Hong Kong companies.

Meanwhile, China has won a bidding competition to launch a communications satellite for a telecommunications consortium of eight Arab nations, a state-run news agency reported. The semiofficial China News Service said the satellite will be launched aboard a Chinese carrier rocket at the end of 1991 for the Arabian Satellite Communications Organization. The Chinese government has been marketing its Long March III rocket launch capability for several years. (Deseret News, Mar. 8 and 18, 1990 – edited)


March 21: DELTA II LAUNCH SET FOR LAUNCH TONIGHT
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station will light up tonight when a McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co. Delta II is launched at 10:02 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 17. The Delta is carrying a Global Positioning System Satellite. The launch vehicle is 128 feet tall and has three stages. The first two stages are liquid fuel and the third has solid propellants. The 207,000 pounds of thrust is augmented by nine strap-on rockets. The launch window tonight is 21 minutes. (Florida Today, March 21, 1990)

UPDATE: Unacceptable weather forced the postponement of a Delta II launch scheduled for today. The liftoff was rescheduled for 9:41 a.m. March 26. The Delta II will carry a Navstar Global Positioning System satellite; the launch will be the seventh of 21 scheduled to occur at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the next few years. (Florida Today, March 22, 1990)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #160 on: 02/24/2013 12:45 am »
March 22: SATELLITE RESCUE MEETING AT JSC
NASA officials meet today at Johnson Space Center with owners of the stranded Intelsat communications satellite to discuss a possible Space Shuttle rescue mission. Hal Lambert, Manager of Integration Operations at JSC said of his Intelsat  counterparts, "They are just going to come in and give us some information about where the spacecraft is and its condition and so forth. We are going to discuss whether it's possible to get the satellite."

NASA says it doesn't know how much it would charge today because the agency no longer does commercial business and there is no published rate schedule. Before the Challenger accident, astronauts saved four satellites, bringing two home and repairing two in orbit. At the time NASA charged commercial owners about $15 million apiece. (The Orlando Sentinel, Mar. 21, 1990, and Florida Today, Mar. 22, 1990 – edited)


March 23: NASA: SATELLITE RESCUE FEASIBLE
Robert Crippen, Director of the Space Shuttle Program, said today that it is possible that NASA will be able to mount a rescue mission to save a $157 million international communications satellite which was stranded after launch on March 14. He said NASA engineers and officials of the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, which owns Intelsat VI, have decided to look into the possibility of delivering a new motor to the satellite by means of the Space Shuttle.

Associate Administrator for Space Flight Bill Lenoir - Crippen's boss – has expressed interest in NASA's attempting the rescue. "We looked at two things: One was we could take a motor up, and go ahead and boost it up... or we could return it," Crippen said. "Our initial look-see from our safety panel was that they didn't see any show-stoppers, although in their normal prudent way they want to go through and do a detailed scrutiny of it to assure that they don't see any problem." (The Miami Herald, Mar. 23, 1990; The Orlando Sentinel, Mar. 24, 1990; Florida Today, Mar. 23 and 24, 1990 – edited)


March 24: LUTON TO REPLACE LUEST
The European Space Agency has announced its new director general beginning October 1, 1990, and ending September 30, 1994. Reimar Luest will be replaced by Jean-Marie Luton as the new director. (Countdown, May 1990)


March 25: DELTA II LAUNCHES SEVENTH GPS SATELLITE
A Delta II carrying a navigation satellite was launched tonight a day ahead of schedule, lifting off at 9:45 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. An effort to launch March 21 was scrubbed due to high winds. The Delta carried a $65 million Global Positioning System Satellite which will allow military vehicles to determine their location within fifty feet and in some cases to within ten feet, their speed within a fraction of a mile per hour and the precise time within a millionth of a second. The satellite, which at 10:10 p.m. EST was flawlessly deployed into orbit, is the seventh of a planned 21. (Florida Today, Mar. 25, 1990)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #161 on: 02/24/2013 12:46 am »
March 29: TITAN ROCKET STAGE REENTERS
The upper stage of the Titan III rocket that launched a $157 million communications satellite but failed to put it in the proper orbit either burned up in the atmosphere or fell into the ocean, according to Army Major Thomas Niemann, a U. S. Space Command spokesman. "We don't have any indication that it survived" reentry, Niemann said, but any fragments returning to Earth would probably have landed in the Pacific Ocean southeast of Talwan. A spokesman for Intelsat, Tony Trujillo, said of the satellite, "We can keep it there for several months, if not up to a year." (The Miami Herald, Mar. 30, 1990 – edited)


April 3: ISRAEL ORBITS SECOND SATELLITE
Israel orbited its second satellite, Offeq-2, today at 3:02 p.m. local time (8:02 a.m. EDT) from a pad in the Negev desert. An upgraded version of the Jericho missile positioned the payload, into a 931 by 130-mile orbit with an inclination of 38 degrees. The booster raced into orbit in a westward retrograde course over the Mediterranean so Arab opponents could not get a view of the craft, and to keep booster segments from falling in the neighboring countries.

The Israelis deny that the launch was a response to a threat made hours earlier by Iraq. The Iraqi president Saddam Hussein stated he would use chemical weapons against Israel if they tried to destroy Iraq’s Scud missile launchers. The Soviet-made launchers are located in Western Iraq and are within range of Israel.

Offeq-2 is an experimental satellite to test communications systems that may be used for future spacecraft. This launch was similar to the Offeq-1 mission on September 26, 1988. Israeli officials say the new payload is not a spy satellite and will remain in orbit for two months. (Countdown, May 1990 – edited)


IN RELATED NEWS: SIGNS AND PORTENTS
Some lawmakers are readying legislation to halt all U.S. aid to Iraq as tensions mount over a series of incidents, including a threat by President Saddam Hussein to use chemical weapons against Israel. "We should be ashamed" of the U.S. trading relationship with Iraq, said Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif. Berman has drafted proposed sanctions that would end all U.S. assistance to Iraq, including agricultural credits and investment guarantees under the Export-Import Bank.

Several others in Congress, including Sens. William Cohen, R-Maine, and John McCain, R-Ariz., said they support some kind of sanctions against the Baghdad government. "I think we ought to take action," Cohen said recently, adding it was "not an acceptable situation" for the United States to be doing business with a country seeking to add nuclear weapons to an arsenal that already includes chemical weapons. Sen. Claiborne Pell, D-R.I., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he will push for legislation to impose sanctions against any nation that uses chemical weapons illegally.

But not everyone in Congress favors immediate sanctions. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., said it would be premature to do anything without first talking with Hussein. Specter, who visited Iraq in January with Sen. Richard Shelby, D-Ala., urged Hussein to exercise restraint. "We believe discussions and negotiations can go far to resolve current tensions," Specter and Shelby said in a letter to Hussein.

The outrage among some in Congress comes amid growing tension over Iraq's actions. Hussein has been criticized for threatening to use chemical weapons against Israel and for executing an Iranian-born British journalist accused of spying. Last month, U.S. and British intelligence agents broke up an Iraqi smuggling ring allegedly trying to obtain nuclear triggers for atomic weapons. Iraq denied the charge. The sour climate prompted the Commerce Department to cancel the Iraqi leg of a trade mission scheduled to visit Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Egypt in May. "We thought it was inappropriate to take a group of U.S. companies to Iraq at this time," said Elizabeth Dugan, a Commerce Department spokeswoman.

An expelled U.S. diplomat left Baghdad Tuesday (April 10), diplomats said, hours after Iraq ordered him out in retaliation for the U.S. expulsion of an Iraqi envoy accused in a murder plot. The diplomats identified the American as Zachary White, second secretary at the U.S. mission, which refused to comment on his departure. (Deseret News, Apr. 10, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #162 on: 02/24/2013 12:48 am »
April 7: WESTAR VI “REBORN” AS LONG MARCH III ROCKET LIGHTS NIGHT SKY
China launched the AsiaSat 1 communications satellite today. It’s kind of a rebirth for a second-hand satellite, which originally was called Westar VI.  Westar had been put into space by the U.S. Space Shuttle Challenger in February 1984. Because its rocket motor malfunctioned after deploy, Westar was plucked from orbit by Discovery and brought back to Earth for repairs in November 1984.

The gleaming white three-stage Long March III rocket, emblazoned with the gold-starred red flag of the People's Republic of China, roared off the pad at the Xichang space center in remote southwest Sichuan Province at 9:30 p.m. Beijing Time. "Fire," the mission commander ordered. The rocket motors ignited in a ball of orange flame and hurled the satellite above the gantry, set in a hilly farm area.

Lift-off was originally scheduled for 7:49 p.m. Beijing Time, but was delayed by concerns over thick clouds over the launch site. The launch occurred during the final 30-minute window as the skies finally cleared. Chinese and foreign officials gathered in the Xichang control center broke into applause about 25 minutes after the launch as controllers announced that the payload had separated from the rocket and achieved its initial transfer orbit. A kick motor on the satellite was to lift it into a circular orbit, where its antenna array and solar power panels were to be deployed. The satellite was then to achieve a geostationary orbit some 22,300 miles above the equator, hovering roughly over Singapore, and become operational in about six weeks.

Lift-off of the 203-ton booster from Xichang Satellite Launch Center opens the door for China to compete commercially with Western systems. The Long March boosters have a well-known history of reliability, and successfully completed 20 out of 22 launches during the last two decades.

AsiaSat 1 is equipped with 24 C-band transponders to beam television and other telecommunication signals to 2.5 billion people throughout 30 Asian countries. The 2,700-pound craft has a life span of ten years and is owned by the Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. based in Hong Kong, a joint venture formed by China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC), British Cable and Wireless PLC, and the Hong Kong Hutchinson Whampoa Limited. The launch of Asiasat 1 was insured by the China People’s Insurance Company for $120 million. U.S. officials were in Xichang to ensure against Chinese snooping into the satellite's sophisticated technology.

The launch was originally scheduled for the week of April 13, but was moved up a week for political reasons. China wanted to launch the craft to shift attention from the 10-month anniversary of the Beijing massacre. The Chinese charged AsiaSat $30 million for the launch, which was $15 million less than what Arianespace would have charged for an Ariane flight. (Countdown, May 1990; Deseret News, Apr. 8, 1990 – edited and supplemented)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #163 on: 02/24/2013 12:50 am »
May 15: RESCUE DOABLE – FOR A PRICE
NASA has agreed to develop a mission to rescue the stranded Intelsat VI if its owner will pay the cost of the mission. "We've agreed ifs doable. Now it's going to be up to Intelsat to see if they want to pay the cost to do whatever we have to do to save the spacecraft," said NASA spokesman Dave Garrett. Intelsat spokesman Tony Trujillo said, "Our board of governors will decide what to do about the shuttle mission, whether to go forward with it or not."

NASA said a rescue mission could be launched in late 1991 or 1992 and might cost between $100 and $150 million. The mission itself would involve a spacewalk to attach a special motor to propel the satellite from its present location of 345 miles above Earth to geosynchronous orbit at 22,300 miles above Earth. (The New York Times, May 17, 1990; The Orlando Sentinel and Florida Today, May 16, 1990 – edited)


June 13: ENDEAVOUR'S FIRST MISSION: RESCUE INTELSAT VI
When the newest Space Shuttle joins the fleet at Kennedy Space Center its first mission will include the rescue of the Intelsat VI satellite stranded in low orbit since March. The satellite’s owners, the 118-nation International Telecommunications Satellite Organization, will pay NASA $97.3 million for the rescue attempt in February 1992. NASA plans to pack a 20,000 pound rocket motor in Endeavour's cargo bay that will be fitted to the satellite by spacewalking astronauts so the Intelsat can reach its intended destination.

The space agency has elected to do the unusual mission in part because it will give its astronauts experience in space walking. "The rescue offers us the opportunity for expanding our experience base in the planning, training and performance of extravehicular activity," said Navy Capt. Robert Crippen, NASA's shuttle program director. "Knowledge gained in this effort will help with the preparations for Space Station Freedom.” Freedom's assembly and long term maintenance will depend in large part on the skills of space walking astronauts. Unless an undisclosed space walk has been conducted during a secret Department of Defense mission, NASA astronauts have not walked in space since 1985. Astronauts Jerry Ross and Jay Apt are scheduled to make a space walk in November to test Space Station assembly techniques.

The space agency has yet to announce an astronaut crew for the Intelsat rescue mission. Typically, crews are not named until one year before a flight. Under the scenario envisioned, Endeavour will rendezvous with the Intelsat VI satellite. Two astronauts riding Endeavour's robot arm would then attach a "grapple fixture" to the free-floating satellite. The device will permit the robot arm, operated by an astronaut inside Endeavour, to latch onto the Intelsat VI and maneuver it into the shuttle's cargo bay. Working in the bay, spacewalking astronauts would then attach the new booster rocket to the satellite, and the assembly would be re-deployed by the robot arm. After Endeavour's crew maneuvers the orbiter a safe distance away, Intelsat's ground controllers would then fire the motor, blasting the satellite to its intended altitude.

NASA spokesman Jeff Cart said, "To have the first flight of a new orbiter is a plum, but to have that and a sexy flight like going up to pick up the Intelsat, fix it and reboost it will just make any experienced crew commander's mouth water." (The Houston Chronicle, The Orlando Sentinel and Florida Today, June 14, 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #164 on: 02/24/2013 12:53 am »
Endeavour: T minus two years and counting…

Two years to go? Not a long time in space semantics, especially when you consider the hectic schedule Space Shuttle orbiter Endeavour has been keeping and will be keeping till its launch exactly two years from now – February 1992.

Endeavour, under construction by Rockwell International, is rapidly coming together. Major fuselage sections are being joined at Rockwell’s assembly facility in Palmdale, California. The upper forward fuselage was shipped to Palmdale in September 1989, while the aft fuselage was transferred in December 1989. The shuttle’s mid-fuselage, wings, and lower forward fuselage have already been mated, and the installation of the orbiter’s thermal protection system has been nearly complete. “The construction of Endeavour is approximately two months ahead of schedule and under budget,” said a Rockwell International spokesperson.

In January the aft fuselage was attached to the mid-fuselage. The crew module, which is scheduled to be transferred to Palmdale sometime this month, and the upper forward fuselage will me mated in March. Endeavour will keep a busy schedule during the upcoming months with the power-on systems testing scheduled for July 1990. A complete mating of all major structural components except the OMS pods will take place in October and finally, the vehicle will rollout from Palmdale for shipment to the Kennedy Space Center in April 1991. After the OMS pods are delivered to KSC from Palmdale in September 1991, the orbiter will be ready for its first flight the following year.

The new shuttle, whose name was chosen by school children in a competition held last year, will have distinct features incorporating advanced technologies in the area of orbiters. While essentially identical to the Discovery and Atlantis, Endeavour will have two distinct features that will temporarily distinguish her from the rest of the fleet. She will be installed with a drag chute to aid deceleration and reduce loads on the landing gear and brakes. In addition, Endeavour will accommodate installation of an Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) kit that will enable her to remain in orbit for up to 28 days.

Production of many basic elements for the vehicle actually began in 1983, when NASA awarded Rockwell a $400-million contract to build orbiter structural “spare parts,” as a way of keeping the shuttle production line open. These parts, which include such items as the wings, crew module, and aft and mid-fuselage, are now are being used to construct the new orbiter, saving approximately two years of production time. More than 250 major subcontractors and thousands of associated suppliers across the nation are performing work on shuttle components and are providing support services, accounting for nearly 50 percent of the total work on the program.

With the completion of Endeavour, the shuttle production line will cease. However, a few voices are endeavoring to keep the pipeline open. Former NASA Administrator James Fletcher said recently the construction of a new orbiter should begin. As Apollo demonstrated, when the pipeline shuts down, so can the entire space endeavor. (Countdown, February 1990 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #165 on: 02/24/2013 12:55 am »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #166 on: 02/24/2013 12:57 am »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #167 on: 02/24/2013 12:58 am »
 The Saga of USA 53 - Found, Lost, Found Again and Lost Again

(By Ted Molczan)

Satellite sleuths will recall Space Shuttle mission STS 36, which deployed a secret CIA/Air Force satellite named USA 53 (90019B, 20516) on March 1, 1990.  Aviation Week reported it to be a large digital imaging reconnaissance satellite.  Members of an observation network which I organized, observed the satellite between the 2nd and 4th of March.  It was deployed into a 62 deg inclination, 254 km altitude orbit.  Early on March 3rd, it maneuvered to a 271 km altitude.

Observers noted that the object was extremely bright, reaching a visual magnitude of -1 under favorable conditions.  Its brightness was similar to that of the very large KH-9 and KH-11 imaging reconnaissance satellites.

On March 16th, the Soviet news media reported that several large pieces of debris from the satellite had been detected in orbit on March 7th, and suggested that it had exploded.  In response to Western media enquiries, the Pentagon stated that hardware elements from the successful mission of STS 36 would decay over the next six weeks".  As expected, the Air Force statement was vague about the status of USA 53. The debris could have been from a break-up of the satellite, or simply incidental debris.  Only five pieces of debris were ever catalogued.  An intensive search by observers in late March failed to locate the satellite.  Six months later, the mystery of USA 53 was solved, through the efforts of three European observers.

On October 19th, 1990, I received a message from Russell Eberst, stating that he, along with Pierre Neirinck and Daniel Karcher had found an object in a 65 deg inclination, 811 km altitude orbit, which did not match the orbit of any known payload, rocket body or piece of debris. He suspected that the object could be a secret U.S. payload, and asked me to try and identify it.

There are many secret U.S. objects in orbit, however, initial orbital elements, released in accordance with a United Nations treaty, are available for most of them.  Most objects could be easily ruled out on the basis of orbital inclination.  There remained three recent high inclination launches for which the U.N. had not yet received elements, and three satellites in near 65 deg inc orbits which had been tracked for a short time by observers, then lost after they maneuvered.  I found an excellent match with one of the latter, USA 53.  There were no close matches with any of the other objects.

My analysis revealed that the orbital plane of the mystery object was almost exactly coplanar with USA 53 on March 7, 1990, the same date that the Soviets found debris from USA 53 in orbit!  This is a strong indication that the object in question actually is USA 53, now in a new orbit.  The debris may have been connected with the maneuvers to the new orbit.

USA 53 was successfully tracked by observers until early November 1990, when it maneuvered once more.  The orbit was raised slightly on or about Nov 2nd, which is reflected in the most current elements.  Bad weather prevented further observation attempts until 7 November, by which time, the object had made a much more significant maneuver, and could no longer be found.  So far, all attempts to once again locate USA 53 have failed.

Source:

http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/imint/tm_usa53.html


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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #168 on: 02/24/2013 01:00 am »
She’s one of the boys

(By Mike Mullane)

The highlight of our meager postflight PR tour was a visit to George Bush, Senior’s White House. We were shocked by the invitation. STS-36 had been virtually ignored in the press. There were no women on the crew, no minorities, no firsts of any kind that might have turned out the press to cover a presidential handshake. Whatever the reason, the invitation was sincerely appreciated.

We met the President in the Oval Office, taking seats in sofas set around a coffee table. Mr. Bush sat in a nearby chair. The questions he asked indicated that he was well briefed on our mission. But it was hard to carry on a conversation. A steady stream of aides and secretaries were constantly coming to his side to get answers to questions and his signature on documents. I wondered if the man was ever alone, even on the toilet.

We left the President to his never-ending work and followed Barbara Bush on a tour of the White House. If I had not been aware she was the First Lady, I would have never guessed it from her behavior. She was talkative, witty, and completely devoid of any air of celebrity. She reminded me of my mother. I could easily picture her baiting a hook or hoisting a beer or throwing another log on the campfire.

We stepped into an ancient elevator for a trip to the upstairs living quarters. With five astronauts, five wives, Mrs. Bush, and an assistant, we were cheek to jowl in the small volume. Mrs. Bush was directly behind me and I did my best to resist being crushed into her front. Before the elevator door closed, Millie, the First Dog, somehow managed to wiggle under our feet to make it an even tighter squeeze.

As the box crept upward, the silence was total. In spite of Mrs. Bush’s easy manner we were all very self-conscious of her company. To occupy the uncomfortable seconds we watched the elevator indicator panel with the same intensity as an astronaut watching a space rendezvous. Some of us moved slightly to accommodate the dog. Chris Casper, John’s wife, finally cracked under the oppressing silence. She nervously offered an icebreaker – “Oh, I feel it between my legs.”

While it was obvious she was referring to Millie’s wagging tail, the words hung over our sardined group like really bad flatulence. A reference to anything between an woman’s legs was tough to comment on in polite company, much less in the company of the First Lady of the nation. Chris quickly realized her mistake and tried to recover by amending her words. She nervously added, “I mean I feel the dog between my…  er… my legs.”

It was just too much for me to keep my mouth shut. She had served up a ball just begging to be spiked. I couldn’t resist. “Are you sure it’s not John’s hand?” I inquired. My comment elicited a few snickers and an elbow jab from Donna. As had frequently been the case in my life, I immediately wished the joker in me would have kept quite. What was Mrs. Bush thinking? I wondered. Maybe this time I had gone too far.

I need not have worried. As regret shot through my brain, I felt Mrs. Bush’s hand lightly pat me on a butt cheek as she said, “That’s John’s hand.” Then she winked at Donna and said, “I’ve got him right where I want him.” I was stunned. She was a Mike Mullane clone. She couldn’t let a perfect setup fall to the sand – she had to nail it.

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #169 on: 02/24/2013 01:01 am »
After tea, Mrs. Bush led us downstairs to finish our tour, giving us a running commentary on the history of the rooms we passed. But she skipped over some recent history I was privy to. An astronaut who had made an earlier White House visit had told of entering a room in the company of Mrs. Bush and being brought to a sudden halt by the overpowering stench of dog crap.

Everybody had quickly fixated on the source… Millie’s deposit. The astronaut witness had recounted how a silence as heavy as the odor had enveloped their group. Nobody wanted to acknowledge the obvious, that Millie had desecrated the carpet. But, without missing a beat, Barbara Bush turned to look at her astronaut visitors and jokingly warned, “If I read about this in the Post tomorrow, you’re all dead meat!”

Mrs. Bush would have fit perfectly into our TNFG gang. I could see her at the Outpost and Pete’s BBQ and on the LCC roof. There are some things the trappings of wealth and power and great political office can never dissolve. Among these are the bonds of the military family. As the wife of a WWII naval aviator, Barbara Bush had long ago experienced everything we had lived and were continuing to live… fear, the heartache of hearing “Taps” played over friends’ graves, and consoling grieving widows and fatherless children.

As we walked away, I thought of those dissident Wellesley women. Mrs. Bush had been invited to give a commencement address at Wellesley College, but, after accepting, some of the students had organized a movement to disinvite her. These women considered her a poor role model since her only identity was through her husband. Apparently, for them, being a wife and mother were not qualifying credentials for a commencement speaker.

They had been right about one thing – Mrs. Bush shouldn’t have been invited to speak at their commencement merely because she was the First Lady. Any woman could be one of those. Rather, she should have been invited because she was a member of the Greatest Generation, because she had kissed her man off to war and been left to wonder if she would ever see him again, because – as loving and supportive wife of a WWII naval aviator – she had done her part to save the world. Those were commencement address qualifications for any college, even Wellesley. (Mike Mullane, “Riding Rockets,” Scribner 2006 – edited)

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #170 on: 02/24/2013 01:03 am »
So ends this look back on the STS-36 mission and other space-related events during the first months of the year 1990.

As always, here is a link to the mission’s high-res photos in the L2 section:

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=14468.0



And, although I have extensively quoted several times from Mike Mullane’s outrageous tales of a Space Shuttle astronaut, much of the best stuff would have collided with the language rules of this forum. So, if you are interested in all the “dirty” details, once again, I highly recommend reading “Riding Rockets.” 



“It may be more than you wanted to know about today’s all-American boys laying it all on the line to fly the Space Shuttle. Mike’s story is honest… brutally honest. You haven’t read it before, and you are not likely to see it in the future.” (Walter Cunningham, Apollo 7 astronaut and author of “The All-American Boys”)


See also:

http://mikemullane.com/

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #171 on: 02/24/2013 01:05 am »
"The Hubble Space Telescope represents the single biggest leap in astronomical viewing capacity since Galileo put a telescope to his eye. With that kind of capability, strange new things are going to be discovered."

Edward J. Weiler, HST program scientist


And things just kept getting stranger and stranger, or should I say “curiouser and curiouser,” when the first of the Great Observatories had finally reached orbit…
« Last Edit: 02/24/2013 01:13 am by Ares67 »

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #172 on: 02/24/2013 01:07 am »
Relive the epic launch of the Hubble Space Telescope aboard Discovery and the “Trouble with Hubble” in my next Space Shuttle history presentation here at NSF – tentatively scheduled for April 2013.


Discovery STS-31 – An Adventure Beyond the Mirror


So, see ya on the other side…

- Oliver (aka Ares67)   :)

Offline Archibald

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #173 on: 02/24/2013 11:30 am »
Coincidentally I'm re-reading Riding rockets this week-end.  ;D

As for Ariane flight 36 it is pretty much a case study in Murphy Law history.

It is Friday evening in Les Mureaux, near Paris.
A metalurgist working on the coolant assembly of a Viking engine found two tubes that doesn't match.
On his own initiative he slightly polish the tube so that it fits into the other. Because this is a non standard procedure, and because it is late on Friday and his boss is not there, he decides to signal the non-standard procedure by placing his red cloth into the tube. It is apparently a metalurgist tradition.
On Monday the flashy color will catch his eye, he will remind, and signal his superiors what he has done.
He goes home for the week end.
And he fell ill during that week end.
On monday his fellow co-workers found the two tube matching pretty well, and the assembly is cleared. It goes into the Viking, the Viking into the booster, the booster to Ariane, and Ariane to Kourou.
... with the cloth still inside.

The cloth blocked the flow of water cooling the Viking; the Viking lost power, ruining the rocket trajectory from the beginning.
Incidentally, Ariane missed the top of the launch tower by 2 meters only; it did not struck the tower only because it was a 44L with eight engines that lifted the doomed rocket high and far enough it did not damaged the pad.

It happened that, due to delays with one of the two japanese satellites, flight 35 and flight 36 swapped their payloads and Ariane type.
Had flight 36 been an Ariane 40 as planned, the engine loss would have been even more brutal; Ariane would have struck its launch tower in a major disaster.

http://liris.cnrs.fr/amille/enseignements/Master_PRO/BIA/chap10.htm

http://www.forum-conquete-spatiale.fr/t10688-retour-sur-l-echec-d-ariane-4-v36

http://www.ina.fr/video/CAB06056640/ja2-20h-emission-du-23-fevrier-1990.fr.html

Was Arianespace lucky or unlucky on that flight ? it's anyone guess...
« Last Edit: 02/24/2013 11:36 am by Archibald »
Han shot first and Gwynne Shotwell !

Offline Kyra's kosmos

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #174 on: 02/25/2013 02:25 am »
Another view of the phantom headand the RME-III experiment

Offline Kyra's kosmos

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #175 on: 02/25/2013 02:45 am »
The STS-36 locker configuration.  I found a good close up picture of the label of the secure locker. Does anyone or can anyone say how these locks worked?

Offline Overflow

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #176 on: 02/25/2013 08:58 pm »
Not only did I get to read up on a mission done by my favorite orbiter, but I also got to see construction pictures of Endeavour! Awesome!!

Have you thought about making threads filled with Space Shuttle construction pictures?

Offline Ares67

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #177 on: 02/26/2013 05:55 pm »
Not only did I get to read up on a mission done by my favorite orbiter, but I also got to see construction pictures of Endeavour! Awesome!!

Have you thought about making threads filled with Space Shuttle construction pictures?

I'm glad that you've enjoyed the trip back in time.

This project is mainly centered around reliving the shuttle missions. But I'm always looking at other space-related events - and sometimes (in order to give a little perspective) major historical events the world was watching at the time (see the Mandela reference in this thread, and of course I was also hinting at the Middle East situation in 1990 - more will follow)

I'm not planning "construction threads" - there are already some really great high-resolution construction photo threads for each orbiter at L2. That doesn't mean I won't refer to orbiter construction or maintenance cycles during my planned chronological journey through shuttle history in the coming years.

So stay tuned for that - and a report on the next 1990 flight of your favorite orbiter (Atlantis STS-38) is already planned for the end of this year. ;)

Offline Lewis007

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #178 on: 02/27/2013 06:39 pm »
With regard to the classified payload of this mission, the Wings in Orbit supplement (attached) issued by NASA states that the main cargo was the KH 11-10 electro-optical reconnaissance satellite ! (page 32)

Offline Kyra's kosmos

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Re: Atlantis STS-36 – Tour of Duty
« Reply #179 on: 02/28/2013 06:20 pm »
With regard to the classified payload of this mission, the Wings in Orbit supplement (attached) issued by NASA states that the main cargo was the KH 11-10 electro-optical reconnaissance satellite ! (page 32)

Interesting, I wonder if that was an accidental leak or not. What are the rules regarding disclosing this for those who knew at the time, given this is an official NASA publication?

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