[Okay, I'm finally back... let's see if I can catch up a bit.]
NASA announces "Express", a GAS-like program for the space station, aimed at getting small experiments with standardized interfaces onto the station promptly. Current lead time for small payloads on the shuttle can be five years.
GE Astro Space wins Landsat 7 contract, the first from the joint NASA/USAF program office.
Moody's Investor Service announces it is reviewing McDonnell Douglas's credit ratings for possible downgrade.
SDIO issues draft RFP on launch services for an orbital test of a Topaz 2 reactor.
General Dynamics wins USAF contract to modify pad 3E at Vandenberg for Atlas-Centaur launches.
Most key members of space-related Congressional committees re-elected. Bill Green (ranking Republican on House appropriations committee for NASA) defeated narrowly. Les Aspin and John Glenn survive easily despite predictions. George Brown (Houes science/space chair) beats out challenge from Dick Rutan (perhaps partly because Jeana Yeager endorsed Brown!).
ESA ministerial conference looms, amid squabbling over priorities and hints that France might threaten to reduce its ESA contributions with the loss of Hermes (France's pride and joy). Managers are also worried that ESA's ministers will want to go on doing this once a year, leading to the same kind of constant instability found in NASA programs. [In fact, the meeting went off fairly smoothly, without serious disasters.]
NASA reports favorable results from the Space Vision System, meant to assist arm operations in poor viewing conditions, as Columbia lands at KSC.
GAO sharply criticizes NASA's bookkeeping and contractor management, especially at JSC.
FAA team visits Fiji to help with Fijian authorities' plan to switch to GPS as the primary navigation aid for internal civil aviation. Fiji has few modern navigation aids, and flying is greatly hampered by cloud cover in the rainy season.
SDIO starts investigation of several launch failures affecting SDIO tests. A Minuteman meant as a target for airborne sensors was destroyed by range safety when the third stage malfunctioned, an Aries sounding rocket had first-stage engine problems at Wallops, and an OSC sounding rocket at Wake had first-stage engine problems and a second-stage ignition failure.
Imminent, after several postponements, is Scout launch of SDIO's MSTI-1 sensor-test satellite from Vandenberg. MSTI-1 is noteworthy because the satellite went from conception to launch in under a year.
USAF preparing to receive bids for its MLV-3 launcher competition, for up to 36 launches of (mostly) GPS satellites. McDD is bidding Delta, GD is bidding an "innovative version" of Atlas 2, and MM is bidding refurbished Titan 2s after a "difficult" decision (part of the difficulty was presumably that the Cape's Titan 2 launch site is no longer operational). Lockheed is considering entering but has not firmly decided; one possible concept is an ASRM (!) with strap-ons.
The USAF is also considering how to proceed on son-of-NLS, including the possibility of not asking for FY93 continuation funding in favor of getting the program off the ground with a full-scale development RFP in FY94. They are still bound and determined to have a new 20-50klb launcher, but admit that NLS's joint NASA/USAF management, with no clear division of responsibilities, was a bad idea: "even our supporters didn't like the management setup...".
Thiokol finishes propellant loading of the second Castor 120 test motor. C120 is a private-venture development of the MX first stage for launcher use, slated to be the definitive Taurus first stage and also being marketed for other purposes (including as a superheavy strap-on for son-of-NLS).
Investor conference predicts slowing of satellite industry growth, as investor caution and tax changes limit funding for innovative satellite projects.
Good-quality photograph of the Soviet N-1 lunar booster on the pad in the last 60s.
C++ is the best example of second-system| Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology effect since OS/360. | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry