[Yes, this is very late. The combination of illness and heavy workload has caused a lot of delays. To cap it off, those with long memories will object that I already did Feb 17... Yes, I did, and I did this one too, but it never showed up in s.s.n. Mailer failure? Whatever, it needs another visit, but this one's going to be brief.]
Cover is "Russians reveal space secrets", and a picture of Mir.
NASA "planners" predict shuttle operations at about 8/yr until 2020 with a four-orbiter fleet [forget it, they'll lose at least one and probably several by then], and forecast its replacement by an NLS-launched vehicle [I like Griffin's comment on NLS: "a license plate without a car"].
Navstar launch postponed due to minor fuel leak from faulty valve.
FCC approves use of Inmarsat from aircraft until a US mobile-satellite system is operational; yet unclear is whether it will be necessary for airliners to switch systems at the border eventually.
SDIO is big on acquiring Russian ABM technology, people, and hardware (including Soviet-built ballistic missiles for testing, since most Third World missile threats would be from Soviet-built missiles or derivatives of same). Estimated initial cost is under $50M. Apart from the missiles, SDIO's big interests are large liquid rocket engines (since the Soviets have a number of designs available and the US has only the troublesome SSME), electric thrusters, space reactors, high- speed electrical switches, and neutral-particle-beam technology.
Major article on recent Russian revelations: development problems with Buran, Mir's troubles, the fact that Energia is several tons overweight, and detailed drawings and mission profiles for the old Soviet lunar- landing program.
New NASA "strategic plan"; no surprises. The message to Congress is clear: "stable funding and management flexibility, please".
Russians seeking international funding to keep their Mars 1994 mission alive. The problem is the rapid deterioration of the value of the ruble. The whole 1992 requirement for the mission is under $20M, but the Russian government has only managed to put up about a fifth of that. They note that German is spending $60M on the camera system for the mission! "A small amount of Western input can save the project."
Russian Mars-exploration officials plan to test a rover prototype in Death Valley in May: the terrain is right, the weather is good (unlike their former test site in Kamchatka), and electronics are easy to get.
ISDN, n: Incredibly Slow and Dumb | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology Networking | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry