[My, I've gotten a bit behind... I'm going back into quick-and-short mode until I'm caught up some.]
Researchers at the Technological University of Nagaoka develop a magnesium-lithium alloy (57%Mg, 38%Li, the rest Al or Zn) so light that it would float, and capable of being molded or rolled at room temperature. It corrodes quickly in air, but might be of use for in-space fabrication of space structures.
ESA Council confirms funding for manned spaceflight, including Columbus, capsule studies, the ATV (an Ariane OMV that might form part of a manned capsule system), and cooperative flights with the US and Russia. These programs will be placed under a "unified" management.
Minor kickback and bribery charges result from an extensive "sting" operation by federal investigators at JSC.
Hughes announces that its second broadcastsat has been moved from Ariane to Atlas, in the wake of the January Ariane launch failure. GD is promising July launch, while Arianespace was struggling to make late Sept. Mind you, Arianespace says it has a firm, binding contract for the launch...
Arianespace defines Ariane third-stage changes, with late May the target for launch resumption. Investigators confirm that the failure resulted from overheating of the LOX-side bearing in the third-stage turbopump, but could not identify a single cause.
As the White House dithers over launcher policy, Goldin speaks his mind: he wants a leapfrog approach, rather than an expensive effort that would only match what others already have. "We should be bold and go for the long haul..." His preferred approach is "building and launching things every few years".
Congress fretting about the space station, as schedules slip and savings from using Russian hardware shrink. Current plans call for 16 shuttle missions (using the AlLi external tank) versus a previous count of 14. The launch window into the 51.6deg orbit would be only about 5min long, and Goldin has ordered investigation of operational changes to increase the probability of launching on time (e.g., delaying upload of wind data closer to launch and raising crosswind limits for emergency landings).
John Manley, industry minister in the new Canadian government, confirms Canadian station participation will be cut substantially from old plans. Goldin indicates willingness to adjust plans to keep Canada involved.
NPO Energia attracts unidentified US investor for its Signal LEO-comsat system, which will provide mobile-phone connections, low-rate data communications, and low-precision position fixing within the CIS. The L-band system will eventually comprise 48 satellites (24 operational, plus full on-orbit redundancy), each 310kg in 1500-1700km orbits. The satellite bus is based on a Soviet military design. Two will be launched late this year for testing and validation. The mobile phones, weighing 2-2.5kg, will be built in Russia and the CIS -- they won't be as good as Iridium etc., but they'll be better than what the CIS has now. The satellites will be silent when passing over North America, to avoid the "legal morass" of US regulatory authorities.
NPO Energia also joins US consortium investigating power systems for very large comsats, under US DOE contract.
Norman Thagard and Bonnie Dunbar go to Moscow to start training for Mir missions, specifically Thagard's 90-day mission to start March 1995. Thagard's mission will be primarily biomedical, emphasizing long-duration effects, using NASA equipment. He will go up on a Soyuz, and will return aboard Atlantis on the June Spacelab/Mir shuttle mission. Dunbar, his backup, will probably fly on a later shuttle-Mir mission. Details of the training are still being sorted out, including whether they will train for EVA (awkward because of their limited Russian).
Imminent Columbia flight -- the longest non-Spacelab extended-duration mission currently planned -- to run a variety of experiments, including testing the Dextrous End Effector (a magnetic "hand" for the arm, which could latch onto a smaller, lighter "handgrip" than the current standard grapple fixture).
Taurus cleared for March 4 launch after final rehearsal successful. The same rehearsal in January uncovered problems in electronics assembly and engineering documentation, causing a six-week slip in the launch schedule. The original launch target was late 1992, but OSC found that ground launch involved unexpected problems with vibration etc., and the payloads (USAF STEP-0 and a classified ARPA satellite) also ran behind schedule. Perhaps because of the payload delays, OSC has not been asked to pay a penalty for the schedule slip. ARPA has also waived the rapid-response requirement (set up and launch in 8 days) for the first launch, given that it was demonstrated successfully in the rehearsals.
CTA Inc. buys first launch of the Lockheed Launch Vehicle, for a 250lb satellite launched into polar orbit this Nov. CTA chose the LLV because "we were in a hurry" and Lockheed had already scheduled a demo launch then. Nature of payload not revealed; demo comsat? CTA is planning its own Orbex launcher, but it won't be ready that soon.
Lockheed has a "firm agreement" to launch Ball's Geosat Follow-On in 1996, and is talking to a possible 1995 customer. They think the lead time for smallsat construction is about two years, so they expect business to be light for the first couple of years after the first successful launch. LLV mockup work is well underway, and some metal is being bent on flight hardware. The launch pad will be an adapter fitted onto one of the SRB mounts of the abandoned Vandenberg shuttle pad.
"All I really want is a rich uncle." | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology - Wernher von Braun | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry