Jonathan's Space Report No. 184 1994 Feb 16 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shuttle ------- Seven small satellites were deployed from Discovery's cargo bay on Feb 9. The ODERACS (Orbital DEbris RAdar Calibration System) satellites are six tiny, passive aluminum spheres which will be used to calibrate radars used to study space debris. ODERACS A and B are 10 cm spheres (one rough, the other polished); C and D are 5 cm spheres, while E and F are 15 cm spheres. The 63 kg BREMSAT satellite, developed for the German space agency by the University of Bremen, will measure heat conductivity, micrometeorites, and the density of the upper atmosphere. Discovery made its deorbit burn at 1815 UTC on Feb 11 and landed on runway 15 at KSC at 1919 UTC. Discovery has now made 18 flights, more than any other orbiter, although Columbia maintains the record of the most flight hours, and should increase its lead on its forthcoming flight. Launches -------- Another new launch vehicle made its debut this week - the Chang Zheng (Long March) 3A. The CZ-3A is based on China's previous geostationary launch vehicle CZ-3, with an upgraded third stage. The vehicle delivered a dummy model of a communications satellite to geostationary transfer orbit; it also carried a scientific satellite called Shi Jian 4. As of Feb 15 the objects had not been tracked in the West so the launch must be considered unconfirmed at the moment. Russia launched another Raduga-1 comsat on Feb 5. The Raduga-1 series are improved versions of the Raduga ("Rainbow") government communications satellites in use since 1975. The satellite will be placed at 49 deg East in the geostationary ring. The launch of a Galaxy communications satellite on a Delta 7925 from Cape Canaveral was aborted on Feb 9 during main engine ignition. The vehicle did not leave the pad and the payload is intact. No new launch date has been set. The Japanese OREX reentry test spacecraft has been renamed 'Ryusei' (meteor). It splashed down in the Pacific but was allowed to sink; no recovery of the vehicle was planned, as all the experimental data was telemetered back. Date Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL. DES. Jan 8 1005 Soyuz TM-18 Soyuz Baykonur LC1 Spaceship 01A Jan 20 0949 Gals 1 Proton Baykonur LC81 Comsat 02A Jan 24 2137 Eutelsat IIF5 ) Ariane 44LP Kourou ELA2 Comsat FTO Turksat 1 ) Comsat FTO Jan 25 0025 Meteor-3 ) Tsiklon Plesetsk LC32 Weather 03A Tubsat B ) Technology 03B Jan 25 1634 Clementine 1 Titan 23G Vandenberg SLC4 Spaceprobe 04A Jan 28 0212 Progress M-21 Soyuz Baykonur LC1 Cargo 05A Feb 3 1210 Discovery Shuttle Kennedy LC39 Spaceship 06A Feb 3 2220 Ryusei ) H-II Tanegashima Technology 07A Myojo ) Technology 07B Feb 5 0846 Raduga-1 Proton Baykonur LC81 Comsat 08A Feb 7 2147 Milstar DFS 1 Titan 4 Centaur Canaveral LC40 Comsat 09A Feb 8 0830 Shi Jian 4 ) Chang Zheng 3A Xichang Scientific 10A? Dummy payload ) Feb 9 1454 ODERACS A ) GAS can Discovery, LEO Calibration 06B ODERACS B ) 06C ODERACS C ) 06D ODERACS D ) 06E ODERACS E ) 06F ODERACS F ) 06G Feb 9 1932 BREMSAT GAS can Discovery, LEO Scientific 06H Feb 12 0854 Kosmos-2268 ) Tsiklon Plesetsk LC32 Comsat 11A Kosmos-2269 ) Kosmos-2270 ) Kosmos-2271 ) Kosmos-2272 ) Kosmos-2273 ) Errata: The VEP satellite's on-orbit name is transliterated Myojo, not Myouzyou. The Feb 5 launch was a Raduga-1, not a Kosmos. Reentries --------- Jan 14 Soyuz TM-17 Landed in Kazakhstan Feb 4 Ryusei Impacted Pacific Ocean Feb 11 Discovery Landed at KSC Current Shuttle Processing Status ____________________________________________ Orbiters Location Mission OV-102 Columbia LC39B STS-62 OV-103 Discovery OPF Bay 3 STS-64 OV-104 Atlantis Palmdale OMDP OV-105 Endeavour OPF Bay 1 STS-59 ML/SRB/ET/OV stacks ML1/RSRM-36?/ET-62/OV-102 LC39B STS-62 ML2/RSRM-37? VAB Bay 3 STS-59 ML3/ .-----------------------------------------------------------------------------. | Jonathan McDowell | phone : (617) 495-7176 | | Harvard-Smithsonian Center for | | | Astrophysics | | | 60 Garden St, MS4 | | | Cambridge MA 02138 | inter : jcm@urania.harvard.edu | | USA | | '-----------------------------------------------------------------------------' ,