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Dale M. Gray is the president of Frontier Historical Consultants. Frontier Status reports are a free weekly annotated index chronicling the progress of the emerging "space frontier".
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Understanding the Frontier
Space Launch Initiative
Frontier Processes at Work
Current Space Development as a Manifestation of Historic Frontier Processes
Why has the U. S. State Department Declared War on the American Satellite Industry?
Congress is Closing The Wrong Barn Door
Intelligent Life in Washington
Wither Iridium?
High Flight from the High Country
Robotic Spacecraft: Loaded for Bear or Barely Loaded?
Wanted: Freedom
Go Web, Young Man!
Imponderables
"Why", asked the Mad Hatter, "is a raven like a writing desk?"
Forging Plowshares into Spears
Amateur Rocketry Takes Flight
Why Compton Had to Die
The New Frontier
Previous postings are archived at:FSR Archive and ASI.org
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Frontier Status 246
March 16, 2001
by Dale M. Gray
Frontier Historical Consultants
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The Shuttle Discovery's docking with the International
Space Station and subsequent space walks and crew rotation
dominated the space news this week. However, a drop test
of the X-40A was conducted. The Galileo mission was
extended. A candidate for the head of NASA bowed out of
contention. Events are accelerating for the reentry of the Mir
complex. While there were no reported launches in the past
seven days, this week marked the 75 anniversary
of the first flight of a liquid-fueled rocket.
Highlights of the week of March 16 include:
SHUTTLE
Discovery / ISS Alpha
DockingThe scheduled docking of the Shuttle Discovery
with the International Space Station Alpha was delayed over
an hour early in the morning of Saturday, March 10 when
mission control had difficulties locking down one of the
station's giant solar arrays. When the array was finally
locked down in a position to minimize its exposure to the
Shuttle's thruster blasts, Discovery eased into docking at
1:38 a.m. EST somewhere over the ocean east of New
Zealand. Despite the delay, Shuttle Commander Jim
Wetherby was able to accomplish the docking using 80
pounds of propellant less than anticipated. This savings will
be used to give the station an additional altitude boost later in
the mission during three one-hour reboost sessions.
Hatches between Discovery and the station were opened at
3:51 a.m. and the Expedition One crew welcomed the
Shuttle crew and their replacements of the Expedition Two
crew. After the greetings and tours of the station and
shuttle, the crews began the initial work of transferring crew
and equipment. The hatches were then resealed so that
Shuttle pressure could be lowered in anticipation of the first
of two planned spacewalks (Spaceflight Now; NASA).
Walk OneLate in the evening on March 10, two Expedition
Two crew members ventured outside to conduct the first
mission spacewalk. Susan Helms and Jim Voss switched
on internal suit power at 12:12 a.m. EST. On their way out
of the airlock a back of hydrazine detector equipment drifted
out with them. Jim Voss was able to snag the bag before it
drifted off. Later in the walk, a small foot restraint would
get away from them and drift away. Their first task, after
acclimating was to help with the removal and relocation of
Pressurized Mating Adapter 3 from the nadir port. They
disconnected cables between the Unity Node and the PMA.
Voss then released the Early Communications Antenna from
the side port where PMA-3 will be relocated. Together the
space walkers then attached the Lab Cradle Assembly to the
top of the Destiny Module. This 3.3 meter square Assembly
will be used to attach the Station's robot arm during the April
Shuttle flight. The team then attached the Rigid Umbilical,
but to save time, did not attach its various cables. Problems
with cabling caused the spacewalk to fall behind schedule.
The pair retreated to the airlock, while the shuttle arm was
used to move the PMA-3 to its new location. The walk
lasted 8 hours and 56 minutes, making it the longest
spacewalk in US history. While this was Voss's third space
walk, it was the first for Susan Helms (Spaceflight Now;
NASA).
Walk TwoOn March 13, NASA conducted the 102nd
spacewalk in its history. Beginning at 12:23 a.m. EST,
Astronauts Andrew Thomas and Paul Richards spent 6
hours, 21 minutes outside the International Space station
installing the External Stowage Platform on the outside of
the Destiny module and placed within a 114 kg spare cooling
pump. Once attached, the pump was connected to heater
cables. The pair then connected cables, wires and hoses for
the Lab Cradle Assembly. They then climbed the solar
power mast to inspect one of four locking pins that failed to
set in place when the port side solar panel was attached to the
station. Thomas found the pin to be jammed. A tap with a
crow-bar then set the pin into place. The space walkers then
climbed to the top of the P6 solar array to inspect the
Floating Potential Probe. They found no lights showing.
The FPP operated intermittently since installation and has not
been active since the station was briefly mothballed when the
Expedition One crew moved their Soyuz capsule to a
different port. The device measures the electrical potential
around the station so that controllers can forestall dangerous
electrical discharges when the astronauts are working
outside. This was the first space walk for both Thomas and
Richards (NASA;
Space.com;
Spaceflight
Now).
Crew Exchange
The exchange of custom seat-liners in the
Soyuz return capsule is a Russian tradition that has extended
to the International Space Station. Saturday, March 10, Yuri
Usachev moved onto the station to maximize his interaction
with Bill Shepard in preparation of his assumption of duties
as station commander. Usachev replaced Expedition One
crew members Yuri Gidzenko. On Sunday evening, Jim
Voss replaced Expedition One crew member Sergei
Krikalev. On Wednesday, Susan Helms completed the crew
rotation by installing her seat-liner in the Soyuz and began
sleeping in the Destiny module -- her assigned quarters. At
the same time, commander Bill Shepard removed his seat-
liner and moved to the Shuttle. Though the Expedition One
crew has transferred to the Shuttle, Bill Shepard will remain
in command of the station until the hatches are sealed for
undocking on March 18 (CNN.com; AP;
Space.com;
Spaceflight
Now).
LeonardoFollowing the first spacewalk, Australian-born
Andy Thomas Leonardo used the Shuttle's robot to move the
Leonardo mini pressurized logistics module (MPLM) from
the Shuttle cargo bay and attached it to the station. The
operation took only two hours. A minor problem was
revealed after docking when internal systems did not
activate. This was remedied once a power cable was
installed. Once the fans had a chance to eradicate any
pockets of bad air, the crew was given permission to access
the module and begin the transfer of materials. The module
contains over five tons of equipment and experiments that
will be installed in the Destiny module. The $150 million
Leonardo module was built by the Italian Space Agency. It
provided a controlled pressurized environment during launch
and orbit operations and allows shirtsleeve assess to new
supplies and equipment after it is docked. NASA extended
the mission an extra day to give the astronauts time to repack
the Leonardo MPLM with trash, old equipment and no-
longer-needed packing materials. One of the key
components included in the module are the computer work
stations for the Canadian robotic arm that will be delivered in
April. The module will be undocked from the station and
returned to Discovery's payload bay late Saturday to prepare
for its departure on March 18. The Shuttle is scheduled to
return to Earth on March 21 (Reuters; NASA; Spaceflight
Now;
Aviation
Now;
Spaceflight
Now).
AtlantisThe Shuttle Endeavour is located at the Shuttle
Processing Facility bay 2. It is being prepared for an April
19 launch to the International Space Station. The Orbiter
will carry the Canadian robot arm for the station as well as
the Raffaello MPLM. The Shuttle is being prepared for
rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building on Saturday,
March 17 (NASA).
MIR
Station Status
This week's activities on the Mir space
station have been geared toward its deorbit on March 22
(plus or minus one day). Earlier this week, ground
controllers successfully restarted Mir's main computer. The
computer is directing the solar arrays and is part of the
system that will be used to fire the station's rockets to direct
its reentry. The computer had switched itself off on January
18 after problems with the station's batteries. In the coming
week, the computer will give commands for three thruster
firings to lower the station's orbit to intersect the
atmosphere. The first firing will occur on March 21 at 7:32
p.m. EST. The second firing will occur at 9:22 p.m. EST
on March 21. Analysis of the resulting orbit will determine
the timing of the final thruster 11 minute firing. The final
firing will use both station and attached Progress engines to
slow the station down. The Progress will also be used to
provide a backup computer control system should the
station's computer go off-line. The burn is expected to
begin about 12:28 to 12:48 a.m. March 22. Due to technical
changes, the final flight path will avoid Japan. Russia is
now committed for a reentry of the station. The point of no
return for the deorbit has been calculated at 250 km. On
Tuesday, March 16, the station's orbit was listed at 236 km
with a 2.5 km per day decay rate (BBC; Space.com;
MSNBC; RussianSpaceWeb.com;
BBC;
Space.com;
S
pace.com Update).
Web Fall
The Citron expedition to the South Pacific to
witness the fiery demise of the Mir space station will also
offer virtual tourists a chance to watch the event on their
computer screens. On March 22, the announced date of
Mir's reentry, the expedition will transmit images of its
passage via the Internet using NaviSite stream OS. The
images will be transmitted about four hours after the
splashdown at mirrrentry.com (Reuters;
mirrrentry.com;
NaviSite PR at
SpaceRef.com).
CHINA
Manned flight
China has announced that it will send its first
manned spacecraft into orbit in late 2002. The event will
follow two additional test flights of the Shenzhou capsule.
The first Taikonauts are currently in preparing for space
flight at a secret training center on the west side of Beijing.
This past week, China for the first time allocated funds in
their five-year economic plan for the development and
construction of manned rockets capable of taking up to 25
tons into low Earth orbit. This would give the Chinese the
capability of orbiting their own space station. The upgraded
Long March 5 is expected to begin service in 2005
(Spaceflight Now; AP; AFP;
Space.com).
LAUNCHES
No launches were reported for the week of March 16, 2001.
LAUNCH SYSTEMS
Atlas V
Lockheed Martin announced this past week that its
new Atlas V rocket is nearing completion and is approaching
Air Force certification. The company's Evolved Expendable
Launch Vehicle Program is sponsored in part by the USAF,
but Lockheed Martin has contributed $1 billion of its own
money on the rocket. While 80 percent of the subsystems of
the rocket have previously flown, the new generation rocket
is capable of placing over 8,600 kg into geostationary
transfer orbit in its heavy-lift configuration. This is twice the
capability of previous Atlas rockets. Its new RL-10A-4-2
Centaur engine is currently in final testing and inspection.
The Atlas launch system has a string of 54 successful flights
dating back to 1993. The Atlas V is closer to USAF
certification than its competitor's Delta IV system (Aviation
Now).
Delta IV
Having invested $1.5 billion of its own money
and $500 million of the USAF, Boeing is approaching
completion of development of its Evolved Expendable
Launch Vehicle Program. Problems with the development
of its new RS-68 and a softening of the commercial satellite
launch market have slowed the development of the program.
One of the more serious set-backs, now resolved, was a
vibration in fuel turbopump in the engine. In the past week,
Boeing has conducted four successful tests of the new
engine, totaling 800 seconds. Boeing has also had difficulty
in finding a customer willing to put a satellite on the first
launch of the system, despite $4 billion in commercial launch
orders. The first USAF launch is scheduled for May of
2002 (Wall Street Journal; Reuters;
Space.com).
Ariane 5-Plus
This past week, the French Snecma Group
Company placed an order for 20 Vulcain-2 thrust chambers
and 20 sets of cryogenic valve systems for the Ariane 5.
The thrust chambers and valve systems will be built by
Astrium. The new thrust chambers have increased thrust by
30 percent to 135 tons -- corresponding to a performance of
4 million horsepower. Using new design and production
techniques, this performance increase was accomplished
even as manufacturing costs were lowered by 30 percent.
The Ariane 5-Plus program seeks to increase the
performance of the Ariane rocket, while cutting costs by 50
percent. The first launch of the new system is expected to
occur in 2006 (SpaceDaily).
X-40A
The first of up to seven free-fall flights of the X-
40A was conducted on March 14 at the Dryden Flight
Research Center at Edward, California. An army Chinook
helicopter carried the test flight vehicle to 4,500 meters
where it was released at 8:29 a.m. PST to glide to a landing.
The vehicle flew for about 74 seconds and reached an
airspeed of 168 knots (200 mph). The landing was picture
perfect on the center line of the runway. The 6.7 meter long
test vehicle was built by Boeing at Seal Beach California. It
has a 3.65 meter wing span and weighs about 1178 kg. The
vehicle has one previous flight to its credit, having been
tested once before at Holloman AFB in New Mexico as part
of the USAF Space Maneuver Vehicle program. The X-40A
is an 85 percent scale version of the X-37. The X-40A
flights will be used to reduce risk in the follow-on program
-- validating the Computed Air Data Systems (CADS) that
will be used in the flight control system of the X-37. Other
tests include the GPS Inertial Navigation system, control
room operations, and the flight guidance, navigation and
control software. The X-37, part of a Marshall Space Flight
Center program, will be carried to orbit by the Space Shuttle
beginning in 2003 to fly two orbital missions (AP; SpaceToday.net;
Space.com;
Marshall SFC
PR at SpaceRef.com).
TECHNOLOGY
64-bit RISC chip
The High-Reliability Components
Corporation (HIREC) of Tokyo has developed the first 64-
bit RISC microprocessor chip for space applications under a
contract with the National Space Development Agency of
Japan. The chip's development was a collaborative effort
led by HIREC with NEC, Toshiba and Kyocera. The chip
will be used first in the Engineering Test Satellite VIII and
the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (SpaceDaily.com).
LEGISLATION
NASA Leadership
The changing of the leadership took an
interesting turn this past week when former US
Representative Robert Walker stated that he would not accept
a nomination to serve as the head of NASA, if offered.
Walker had been considered a front-runner for nomination.
During a speech at a commercial space conference at the Cato
Institute in Washington, D.C., Walker explained that he had
spent 30 years in government and had no desire to return.
NASA's current administrator, Dan Goldin, has served for
nine years, but is slated for replacement by the Bush
administration (
Spaceflight
Now;
Space.com).
Russia Space Budget
The 2001 budget for the Russian
Space program has been released and has been found
wanting. The Russian Space Agency put in a request for 3
billion rubles to produce a minimum federal space program.
The new budget contains only $1.4 billion rubles ($150
million US). One of the programs that is expected to be lost
will be the Russian GLONASS navigation system -- the
equivalent of the US GPS system. Only 13 of 20 required
satellites are still functional, but many are on their last legs.
With the folding of the system, the country's military would
be without benefit of a secure satellite navigation system
(Interfax; MSNBC;
Space.com).
EXPLORATION
Galileo
The veteran Galileo spacecraft has been granted one
last mission extension before it is consigned to destructive
atmospheric entry into Jupiter. This third extension will
continue operations through August of 2003. During this
time, the spacecraft will make five flybys of Jovian moons,
including Callisto, Io and Amalthea. The first encounter will
be on May 25, when Galileo passes within 123 km of
Callisto. This passage will set up two encounters with Io in
August and October. A third Io encounter will occur in
January of 2002. In November of 2002, the spacecraft will
pass within 500 km of Amalthea, which is half Io's distance
from Jupiter. The final elliptical orbit will end with the space
craft's entry into Jupiter's atmosphere in August of 2003.
The extended mission has been budgeted $9 million. During
its five-year mission to study Jupiter, the Galileo spacecraft
has made 29 orbits and survived radiation levels three times
what it was built to endure. Galileo was launched on the
Shuttle Atlantis on October 1989 and has produced prolific
scientific data on Jupiter and its moons despite the failed
deployment of its primary communication antenna (
Aviation Now;
NASA JPL;
Space.com;
SpaceRef.com).
Mars Express
The spacecraft structure for the European
Space Agency Mars Express mission was delivered this past
week to Astrium at Stevenage, UK. The delivery was made
by a 5 x 3.5 meter over-sized trailer designed to protect the
spacecraft from the hostile terrestrial environment. The trip
from Zurich, Switzerland took two days. This is the first of
a series of trips from facility to facility to gradually integrate
and test the spacecraft for flight configuration (
Mars Express Site;
Image).
FOURTH FRONTIER
Dedicated to the emerging history of space as a destination
Space Adventures
Tito
Russia continues to develop plans to send US
millionaire Dennis Tito to space April 30 despite NASA's
concerns over the issue. Tito will be placed in the spare
right-hand seat of the Soyuz TM replacement capsule bound
for the International Space Station. The seat was offered to
both NASA and the ESA last year, but neither space agency
indicated any interest in using it. NASA recently stated that
Tito's mission could jeopardize the safety of professional
astronauts on the Station during this critical construction
phase of the mission. The Station's new robot arm will be
first tested during Tito's stint on the station. NASA
maintains that Tito does not have the right kind of training
for the flight and that he might get in the way of the robot
arm testing. NASA would rather Tito wait for the next
Soyuz replacement flight in October and suggested that a
ESA astronaut replace him. However, Tito's contract with
Rosaviakosmos expires at the end of May. Ironically, cash-
strapped Russia needs the estimated $20 million from Tito's
ticket to space to help pay for its commitment to the Station.
Under the terms of Russia's participation in the International
Space Station, Russia must inform its partners of members
of space crews. It does not have to ask their permission.
Tito, 60, was employed by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory for five years, but made his millions through
development of a venture capital company, Wilshire
Associates. He has been actively preparing for his trip by
extensive training at the Star City cosmonaut training centre
(Itar-Tass; Space News; SpaceDaily.com;
The Globe).
THIRD FRONTIER
Dedicated to the history of the Internet link to space.
Satellite Telephone
ICO-Teledesic Global Limited
This past week the combined
ICO-Teledesic Global Limited reached an agreement with
Boeing's Ellipso venture to join forces to plan, fund and
build a satellite system capable of delivering a variety of
Internet and telecommunications services. The joint effort is
the result of current market pressures coupled with the
difficulty of raising money in the post-Iridium aerospace
world. The inauguration of the system has also been moved
back from 2004 to 2005 (CNET News.com).
SECOND FRONTIER
Dedicated to the history of space-based network to individual
communications.
GPS
Trimble
The US Navy has awarded a multi-year contract to
Tadiran-Spectralink in partnership with Signal Engineering
to provide 15,000 radio beacons. The device, known as the
AN/PRC-149 has at its heart a Trimble Lassen LP module.
This low-power commercial GPS unit allows the beacons to
broadcast position information anywhere in the world
through the COSPAS/SARSAT Search and Rescue satellite
system. The Trimble GPS units were selected because of
their low cost and low power consumption. The AN/PRC-
149 is capable of voice transmission at the 121.5, 243 and
282.8 MHz frequencies, while transmitting GPS derived
location information on 406 MHz channel. The Lassen GPS
module was initially designed for commercial use in concert
with personal digital assistants, data recorders, cellular
phones, in-car navigation and vehicle tracking systems
(Spectralink PR; SpaceDaily.com).
Satellite Radio
XM Radio
Even as the SeaLaunch platform is moving out
into the remote Pacific Ocean for the March 18 launch of the
"Rock" XM Radio satellite, XM Radio announced that the
first satellite-ready radio receivers made by Pioneer are on
store shelves. The after-market radios are being sold at
Circuit City, Best Buy, Sears, RadioShack franchise dealer.
There is one catch. The radios do not contain the XM tuner
modules and satellite antennas. These modules are also
backward compatible with more than 3 million Pioneer head
units sold the past few years. The modules and antennas
will become available this summer when XM Radio
inaugurates its complete satellite radio service (Skyretailer).
FIRST FRONTIER
Dedicated to the preservation of space-based network to
network communications.
GE Americom
On Friday, March 6, GE Americom retired
Aurora II/Satcom C-5. The spacecraft was launched in 1991
by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral. The C-band
satellite was built by Lockheed Martin using a Series 3000
bus. At retirement, all 24 of its 12-watt transponders were
still operational. The satellite provided telecommunication
service for AT&T Alasom, GE Americom and the state of
Alaska. The satellite was replaced by Aurora III/GE-8,
which is based on a Lockheed Martin A2100 satellite. The
spacecraft has 24 C-band 20-watt transponders. Located at
139 degrees West Longitude, the satellite will serve all 50
states plus the Caribbean (Business Wire).
BUSINESS
Ariane V
The US company Alliant Techsystems has been
awarded contracts worth about $1.8 million by EADS CASA
Espacia, of Madrid, Spain, to produce composite structures
for the Ariane V launch vehicle. The company will provide
the adapter that links the upper stage and the payload and
interstage skirts that connect the lower and upper stages of
the rocket. This contract is a follow-on for a $4 million
contract awarded in 1999 (ATK PR at SpaceRef.com).
Orbital Sciences
The good news keeps rolling for Orbital
Sciences. Having successfully auctioned off it bankrupt
Orbcomm Global business two weeks ago, Orbital has
announced this week that it has inked a deal to build six
microsatellites for the Republic of China's National Space
Program. The $56 million contract is for the ROCSAT-3
Constellation Observing System for Meteorology,
Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC). Orbital Sciences will
be responsible for constellation design and analysis and joint
development of the spacecraft bus with the National Space
Program Office (NSPO) of Taiwan. The satellites will be
based on Orbital Sciences' successful MicroStar platform
and will carry a GPS receiver, an ionospheric photometer
and a tri-band beacon. The satellites build on experience
gained through an experiment placed on the Orbital Sciences
Orbview-1 satellite, which was launched in 1995 and is still
active. The six satellites are slated for launch in 2005
(Orbital Science PR).
SPACE STOCKS
The stock listing is for informational
purposes only and not intended for trading purposes.
Frontier Status shall not be liable for any errors or delays in
the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Additional stocks may be listed by request
(dalegray@micron.net).
| Company |
Ticker |
Friday Close |
Last Friday |
Change |
| Alliant Techsys |
ATK |
78.33 |
84.20 |
-5.87 |
| Boeing |
BA |
53.75 |
65.5 |
-11.75 |
| EchoStar |
DISH |
26.50 |
28.25 |
-1.75 |
| GlobalStar |
GSTRF |
0.5625 |
0.5938 |
-0.0313 |
| Hughes Electronics |
GMH |
19.0 |
22.9 |
-3.9 |
| Lockheed Martin |
LMT |
37.00 |
38.56 |
-1.56 |
| Loral Space |
LOR |
2.96 |
3.35 |
-0.39 |
| Motorola |
MOT |
14.00 |
15.55 |
-0.45 |
| Orbital Sciences |
ORB |
5.90 |
6.95 |
-1.05 |
| Sirius |
SIRI |
18.0625 |
22.625 |
-4.5625 |
| SpaceDev |
SPDVE.OB |
1.0312 |
0.9062 |
0.125 |
| SpaceHab |
SPAB |
2.75 |
2.6875 |
0.0625 |
| TRW |
TRW |
36.02 |
39.91 |
-3.89 |
| NASDAQ |
NASDAQ |
1890.91 |
2052.78 |
-128.23 |
COMING EVENTS
- March 18 - Sea Launch Zenit 3SL, XM-2 (Rock), Equatorial
Pacific.
- March 21 - Shuttle Discovery, STS-102/ISS 5A.1, landing,
Kennedy Space Center.
- March 22 - Mir deorbit, remote Pacific Ocean.
- March - Proton M/ Briz (Maiden Flight), Russian
communications satellite, Baikonur Cosmodrome,
Tyuratam, Kazakhstan.
- March - GSLV, G-Sat 1, Srkharikota, India. This is will be
the maiden flight of India's Geosynchronous Satellite
Launch Vehicle.
- April 7 - Delta 2, Mars Odyssey, Kennedy Space Center.
- April 12 - Soyuz U, Progress 4P ISS resupply, Baikonur
Cosmodrome, Tyuratam, Kazakhstan.
- April 12 - Yuri's Night celebration .
- April 14- Pegasus XL, HESSI, Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station.
- April 19 - Shuttle Endeavour, STS-100/ISS 2S, Robot Arm
/ Raffaello, Cape Kennedy LS-39A.
- April 21 - Delta 2, Jason/TIMED, Vandenberg AFB.
- April 30 - Soyuz, ISS crew return vehicle swap-out,
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Tyuratam, Kazakhstan.
- May 2 - Delta 2, GeoLITE, Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station.
FRONTIER CENSUS REPORT
With the docking of the Shuttle Discovery on
March 10, the population of the International Space Station
/ Shuttle complex has risen to 10. Five
Americans, one Russian and an Australian- born astronaut
arrived on the Shuttle and two Russians and one American on the
International Space Station. Humans have spent a total of
350.685 man-days in orbit in the year 2001. The
International Space Station has been occupied for 135 days
beginning on November 2, 2000. ISS has been in orbit for
847 days.
NASA Human
Spaceflight
HISTORY
- March 14, 1996 - Russia launched a Soyuz rocket with a
6,600 kg Yantar-4K2 no. 73 surveillance satellite from
Plesetsk.
- March 14, 1996 - Arianespace launched an Ariane 44LP rocket
from Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket carried the 4,175
kg Intelsat 707 communications satellite.
- March 15, 1996 - Russia conducted an EVA on the Mir
space station. Cosmonauts Onufrienko and Usachyov
installed a telescopic boom. Five years later (March 10,
2001) Usachyov would return to space as the commander of
the Expedition Two crew on the International Space Station.
- March 12, 1991 - The USSR launched a Kosmos rocket
from Plesetsk. The payload was the 825 Nadezhda 3
navigation satellite.
- March 13, 1986 - The USSR launched the 7,020 kg Soyuz
T-15 spacecraft to Mir. The epic mission featuring
commander L. D. Kizim and flight engineer V. A. Solovyo
docked with Mir for six weeks, then transferred to the ice-
bound Salyut 7. The crew repaired the station over the
course of seven weeks, then returned to Mir for a month.
The mission was the first and only mission to change
stations and was the last to visit Salyut 7.
- March 14, 1986 - The European Space Agency spacecraft
Giotto passed within 600 km of Halley's comet. The
spacecraft was on its extended mission, having already
passed by comet Grigg-Skjellerup in 1992. The 960-kg
spacecraft was launched on an Ariane 1 rocket from Kourou
on July 2, 1985 (
ESA Giotto;
ESA PR at
SpaceRef.com).
- March 12, 1981 - The USSR launched the 6,850 kg Soyuz
T-4 spacecraft to Salyut 6 from Baikonur. The spacecraft
carried V. V. Kovalenko and V. P. Savinykh, who repaired
the station and conducted a series of experiments during the
75 day mission.
- March 14, 1981 - The USSR launched a Tsyklon 2 rocket
from Baikonur. The payload was a 1,400 kg IS-A anti-
satellite system. The system failed to intercept the Cosmos
1241 target.
- March 16, 1981 - The US launched a Titan 3C from Cape
Canaveral. The payload was the 1,670 kg IMEWS 11 Early
warning satellite.
- March 10, 1976 - The USSR launched a Vockhod rocket
from Baikonur with the 6,300 kg Zenit-4MK surveillance
satellite.
- March 11, 1976 - The USSR launched a Molniya rocket
from Plesetsk carrying a 1,600 kg Molniya-1T
communications satellite into an elliptical orbit (also known
as a Molniya orbit).
- March 12, 1976 - The USSR launched a Kosmos rocket
from Plesetsk with the 400 kg Taifun-1 radar calibration
satellite.
- March 12, 1976 - Construction of the Shuttle Enterprise was
completed.
- March 15, 1976 - The US launched a Titan 4C with two 454
USAF technology satellites and the 181 Solrad solar studies
satellites.
- March 15, 1976 - The Shuttle Enterprise begins function
checkout tests.
- March 16, 1976 - The USSR launched a Voskhod rocket
from Baikonur with a 6,000 kg Zenit-2M surveillance
satellite.
- March 13, 1971 - The US launched Explorer 43 on a Delta
M rocket. The 288 kg satellite investigated the upper
atmosphere and the Earth's magnetosphere.
- March 16, 1969 - The USSR launched a R-36-0 rocket from
Baikonur carrying the OGCh spacecraft (FOBS).
- March 16, 1969 - The US launched a Titan 2 from Cape
Canaveral carrying the 3,788 kg Gemini 8. Neil Armstrong
and David Scott spent half a day in space. The flight
featured the first successful docking with an Agena target
vehicle. Twenty-seven minutes after docking the combined
spacecraft began uncontrolled roll and yaw motion. Release
from the Agena accelerated the problem that was eventually
traced to a stuck thruster on the Gemini capsule. Because of
fuel use in controlling the situation, Scott's planned
spacewalk was canceled and the Gemini made an emergency
splashdown in the Pacific.
- March 16, 1969 - The US launched an Atlas Agena D target
vehicle from Cape Canaveral. The 3,175 kg Agena Target
Vehicle would serve as a docking target for Gemini 8.
- March 13, 1961 - The US launched an Atlas E in a
development test. The launch failed when a Propellant
Utilization System failed.
- March 16, 1961 - The Central Committee and Politburo
approved the development of the UR-200 universal rocket to
be used as a ballistic missile and an orbital launch vehicle.
- March 12, 1956 - The US launched an Aerobee rocket from
Holloman AFB. The sounding rocket reached an altitude of
95 km.
- March 14, 1956 - The US launched an Aerobee rocket from
Holloman AFB. The sounding rocket reached an altitude of
106 km.
- March 16, 1956 - The US Army launched a Jupiter A rocket
from Cape Canaveral. The first launch of the Jupiter system
ended in failure when an incorrect guidance cut-off equation
pre-setting caused early cut-off of the engine at 310 seconds.
The missile missed its target by 19,100 meters.
- March 15, 1946 - The US conducted the first static test firing
of a captured V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Grounds.
- March 15, 1936 - Robert Goddard published his report
"Liquid Propellant Rocket Development," which reviewed
his work with rockets since 1919.
- March 14, 1931 - Johannes Winkler launched the first
liquid-fueled rocket in Europe. The launch of the HW-1
from Dessau, Germany used methane and liquid oxygen.
- March 16, 1926 - Robert Goddard launched the world's first
liquid-fueled rocket from Auburn, Massachusetts. The
rocket traveled 184 feet in 2.5 seconds (
Space.com;
Press Release at
SpaceRef.com).
- March 13, 1781 - William Hershel discovers the Planet
Uranus. At first, he thought it to be a comet, but realized
over time that its orbit was that of a planet. He named the
planet Georgium Sidus (George's Star) after England's
infamous King George. Others called it Hershel after its
discoverer. Johanne Bode proposed that it be named after
the Greek god Uranus to keep with the nomenclature of the
other planets (
Space.com).
Mark Wade's Encylopedia Astronautica
Chronology Pages; "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Space Technology" by
Kenneth Gatland.
SOURCES
SERVICES
138 articles archived; 100 used
(c) Copyright Dale M. Gray March 16, 2001.
Dale M. Gray is the president of Frontier Historical
Consultants. Frontier Status reports are a free weekly
annotated index chronicling the progress of the emerging "space frontier".
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