Frontier Status 212

July 21, 2000

by Dale M. Gray

Frontier Historical Consultants

This was one of the busiest weeks in the history of space flight. Four successful launches placed seven satellites in orbit. This makes 14 successful launches in four weeks! Mars Global Surveyor resumes operations and NEAR begins work at its lowest altitude above Eros. MirCorp and Arianespace reveal business strategies. Globalstar and Orbital Sciences announced positive business news.

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Highlights of the week of July 21 include:

Shuttle train derails
Zvezda maneuvers for July 25 docking with ISS
MirCorp announces flight plans
Mir tether revealed
Kosmos launches three satellites
Delta 2 launches GPS satellite
Soyuz launches Cluster satellites
Minotaur launches MightySat II
Titan 4B launch delayed
Mars Global Surveyor resumes operations
NEAR starts circular orbit at 35 km
Arianespace reveals launch strategy
Globalstar on the rise
Orbital Sciences settles litigation
Elderly GPS satellite fails in orbit

SHUTTLE

Shuttles Atlantis, Endeavor and Discovery are in the Orbiter Processing Facility being prepared for their upcoming missions to the International Space Station. Atlantis, which will be launched on September 8, has had its engines and engine heat shield installed this past week. Workers have completed testing the robot arm on Discovery, while tests continue on its docking and pyrotechnic systems. Discovery's window number 4 was replaced. On Endeavor, workers installed a new space-to-space radio system and tested the docking system and pyrotechnic systems as well (NASA).

Shuttle Program Derailed

A train carrying SRB rocket segments derailed July 18 at the Kennedy Space Center. The train was traveling at about 3 mph when two cars crossing a switch jumped track. The booster segments were not damaged and accelerometers showed the boosters received only a slight "nudge". The incident delayed the delivery of the segments as the track was repaired. The event is not expected to have any affect on assembly timelines (Florida Today; Space.com).

ISS

Zvezda

Controllers continued to test Zvezda's guidance, communications, power, and docking camera systems in anticipation of the July 25 docking with the International Space Station. On Friday, July 21, a mechanical capture test was conducted that assured operation of both software and hardware systems. On July 19, the module performed two small correction burns of 5 seconds each. The burns were part of a simulation that included the Kurs docking system. Both primary and secondary systems were reported to have performed correctly. On Wednesday, July 19, Zvezda fired its engine for 15 seconds to raise its perigee by 21 kilometers. On Friday, July 21, Zvezda was to conduct two more burns 30 minutes apart. The results of these burns has not yet been posted. The next maneuver will occur on July 23. The opportunity for three more minor correction burns are available as the module approaches docking at 8:53 p.m. July 25 (NASA; SpaceDaily.com; Spaceflight Now; About Space).

Progress M1

While the Zvezda module and International Space Station were out of communications range on July 19, controllers conducted a simulation of the Progress M1 supply ship docking with the station. The Progress is slated to be launched August 6 with docking on the three-module space station on August 8. The Progress will contain supplies for the first crew and will be used for waste disposal after it has been emptied (NASA).

Russian Money Woes

Even as the Zvezda module successfully rocketed to orbit, Russian officials are warning that the assembly schedule should be adjusted. In a post- launch statement, Yuri Semenov stated that Russia needed both moral and financial support from the U.S. to complete its commitments. The problem appears to be the usual Russian fiscal shortage. Deputy General Designer of Energiya Yuri Grigoryev has stated that work on the next seven or eight Russian elements for the station is at a stand- still. He suggested a review of assembly and deployment of Russian segments of the station. The next critical component, the docking module, may not fly until 2002, a year beyond the current schedule (Interfax; Florida Today).

ATV

The Russian Space Agency / Energiya have signed an agreement with Alenia Spazio by which RSC/Energiya will provide docking systems and control avionics for the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). The first ATV will be launched on an Ariane 5 rocket in 2003 and will dock with the International Space Station. Once docked, the engines of the ATV will be used for boosting the station's orbit. The ATV will also carry up to 5.5 metric tons of dry cargo and up to 1 metric ton of water and fuel to the station. Once empty, the ATV will be used to carry waste away. Eight ATVs have been scheduled for use during the life of the station (SpaceRef; NASA Dryden).

Image:

Helmet Cams

Using technology directly imported from Racecams used in NASCAR and IRL racing, Sirius Communications NV will outfit space-walking astronauts' helmets with a set of three cameras. These cameras will be able to broadcast images using S-band transceivers. The cameras can be independently directed from the ISS or Shuttles. The camera technology will be provided by Broadcast Sports Technology, Inc. with Sirius Communications signal transmission technology (Sirius Communications PR).

MIR

MirCorp

On July 19, the MirCorp board of directors approved the permanent occupation of the Mir space station. The private company plans on launching a Progress supply vessel to the station later this fall to set up two long-term manned missions in 2001. During the crew exchange between the missions, the first space tourist, Dennis Tito, will spend 10 days on the station ( MirCorp Press Release; Spaceflight Now).

MirCorp plans to test an electrodynamic tether system -- nicknamed Firefly -- to stabilize Mir's orbit. The system was built in the US and has already been shipped to Russia for inclusion in the next Progress flight. Once hooked onto the exterior of the Kvant Module, Firefly will deploy a 5-km anodized aluminum wire with a surplus jet backpack as ballast to keep the wire pointed straight down. Mir's solar panels will be used to power the system and a hollow cathode emitter used to complete the circuit. Interaction with the Earth's magnetic fields will then raise the station's orbit. To install the 159 kg system will require one spacewalk to mount it on a ladder, connect electrical cables and manually deploy a small pilot tether. Deployment should take about 5 hours. The tether is expected to generate 0.1 N of thrust for every kilowatt of solar power used. By applying 1.4 kW of power, the tether could compensate for Mir's air drag and save 1,500 kg of propellant per year. The system could also be used to move Mir into a closer orbit to the International Space Station -- allowing inter-station flights ( James Oberg, IEEE Spectrum July 2000 Volume 37 Number 7; MirCorp; Spaceflight Now).

LAUNCHES

Kosmos 3M

A Polyot Kosmos-3M rocket was launched from complex 132 at Plesetsk, Russia on July 15 at 8 a.m. EDT. The rocket contained three satellites: CHAMP (550 kg, MITA (170 kg) and Rubin (37 kg). The rocket's first stage, powered by two RD-216 engines performed as planned. Thirty-two minutes and 18 seconds into the flight, the rocket released its payloads into a 421 x 476 x 87.3 degree orbit (Jonathan's Space Report; JPL; Spaceflight Now).

Challenging Minisatellite Payload (CHAMP) satellite was built by NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). CHAMP was designed to study geophysical, geodetic and oceanographic experiments to contribute to understanding climate change. Microsatellite Italiano di Technologia Avanzata (MITA) is an Italian-made satellite designed to study energy particles in space and nuclei of light elements in the upper atmosphere. It was built by Carlo Gavazzi Space of Milano and contains a NINA particle detector and an experimental attitude control system. Rubin is a German- built test platform for satellite technologies. The satellite was designed to remain attached to the rocket's payload adapter. The satellite was built by OHB and students at Hochschule Bremen (Interfax; JPL; Jonathan's Space Report).

Soyuz U / Cluster

Four years after the destruction of the first four Cluster satellites, the first half of the Cluster II mission was successfully launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Cluster FM6 and FM7, more popularly known as Salsa and Samba, were the payload on a Soyuz U rocket fitted with a Fregat upper stage. The rocket lifted off from pad 6 at 8:39 a.m. EDT on July 16. The first stage fired for 2 minutes then separated. The payload fairing was jettisoned at T+3:30. At T+ 5 minutes the second stage completed its burn and dropped away. The third stage fired for about 4 minutes. Just under 9 minutes into flight the upper Composite containing the satellites and the Fregat upper stage separated from the spent Soyuz rocket. The upper stage fired for 3 minutes and 45 seconds to achieve a 200 km circular parking orbit. A second burn at T+75 minutes lasted 9:42 minutes to put the pair of satellites into a 251 x 18,053 km orbit. After the Fregat stage "spun-up", the two satellites were released. The launch was delayed one day due to a communications problem between the ground system and the Soyuz rocket ( ESA Cluster page; Spaceflight Now Delay; Spaceflight Now Launch).

In the days following release, the satellites have completed two orbit-raising maneuvers using their Astrium (former MBB) S400 liquid engines. The first on July 17 occurred at perigee for 10:33 minutes. The burn raised the apogee of the orbit to 24,442 km. Burns on July 18, 19 and 20 raised the orbits to 18,000 x 121,000 km. A sixth and final burn will change the inclination of the orbit from 64 degrees to 90.6 degrees (Spaceflight Now; Jonathan's Space Report).

The Cluster II satellites built by Astrium Friedrichshafen are identical in many respects to the satellites lost in June of 1996. FM5 (Rumba), which is awaiting an August 9 launch with FM8 (Tango), was built around a satellite structure constructed in 1992 as part of the original mission and contains an analog transponder and signal amplifier from the original series. The other three satellites have new structures and have several improvements such as a larger solid state recorder, two new computers and high power digital transponders. Economics dictated that a suite of 11 new science instruments be used rather than recycling left-over parts for FM5. Each spacecraft weighs 1.2 tonnes, is 1.3 meters high and 2.9 meters in diameter. Most of the mass is for propellant to achieve operational orbit and adjust separation from each other during the 2-year mission. The spacecraft are designed to fly in formation with extended 50 meter wire antennas to study the Earth's magnetosphere and near-Earth space. Cluster II is considered the cornerstone for the Horizons 2000 long-term scientific program (Astronomy Now; Jonathan's Space Report; ESA PR).

Delta 2 / Navstar

On July 16 a Delta 2 rocket carrying a NAVSTAR GPS satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 17-A at 5:17 a.m. At lift-off the main engine and six ground-lit solid fuel rocket boosters pushed the rocket upward. The six SRBs completed their work in about a minute and were jettisoned. Three air-lit SRBs took over for the next minute of flight before they too were jettisoned. The Delta 2's main engine cut off at T+4:30 minutes. Following separation, the second stage began its work, firing until T+11 minutes. The rocket then coasted until T+20 minutes before the second stage reignited for a 37-second maneuver. Around T+22 minutes the second stage separated and the PAM-D third stage began its burn. At T+ 24 minutes the third stage completed its burn. At T+25:40 the NAVSTAR GPS satellite was released into a 209 x 20445 km x 38.9 degree transfer orbit. The GPS satellite is equipped with a Thiokol Star 37XFP solid kick motor that was used two days later (July 18) to circularize the orbit. This is the 29th GPS satellite to be launched on a Delta rocket ( Jonathan's Space Report; Boeing Press Release; Spaceflight Now).

The NAVSTAR GPS 2R-5 satellite was built by Lockheed Martin / Sunnyvale at a cost of $44 million. This is slightly higher than previous GPS satellites because of some upgrades. It will be placed in slot 5 of orbital Plane B of the constellation. The spacecraft is expected to go active in about 30 - 45 days. The satellite will function in that location until another GPS satellite fails and then it will be moved to fill in the gap (Spaceflight Now).

Minotaur / MightySat II

On July 19, an Orbital Sciences Minotaur rocket carrying the MightySat II satellite was launched from Vandenberg AFB Commercial Launch Facility. The first stage, a decommissioned Minuteman II ICBM, ignited at 4:09 p.m. EDT. At T+1:15, the first stage separated and the second stage began its firing. The payload fairing separated at T+3:15. The second stage completed its work at T+3:40. The third stage, a solid fuel Orbital Sciences Pegasus derived engine burned for about a minute. The rocket, with third stage still attached, coasted until T+9 minutes when the spent stage was dropped and the fourth stage started. At T+10 minutes, the rocket passed the limits of the Vandenberg tracking station as planned. The satellite released unobserved at T+12 minutes. Thirty-one minutes into the flight the McMurdo tracking station began tracking the fourth stage at the time predicted. Tracking stations later confirmed that the satellite was in the targeted 55 km polar orbit with solar panels deployed. This was the second Minotaur launch. While there are three more sets of Minuteman II stages available for Minotaur launches, no additional payloads are currently manifested. Priced at only $13 million, Minotaur provides inexpensive orbital access for small payloads. However, because the government provides the first two stages from decommissioned Minuteman II ICBMs, the Minotaur can only be used for "launches of national need carrying government or university payloads" ( Orbital Sciences Press Release; Spaceflight Now).

The 120 kg MightySat II satellite was built by Spectrum Astro for the Air Force Research Laboratory as a demonstration of 10 advanced technologies. The prime experiment is a new camera system called the Fourier Transform Hyperspectral Imager. MightySat I was launched in 1998 by the Space Shuttle (Orbital Sciences PR; Spaceflight Now).

LAUNCH SYSTEMS

Titan 4B

The planned July 31 launch of the Titan 4B B-28 mission from Vandenberg AFB has been moved to August 10 to give technicians time to replace a leaking hydraulic actuator on one of the solid rocket motor nozzles. The rocket will be carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The rocket has a 66-foot payload fairing with a 12-foot diameter, making it capable of carrying payloads designed to fly on the Shuttle. The launch was originally slated for July 17, but was delayed for inspections of the wiring harness on the booster (Florida Today; Spaceflight Now).

Arianespace

Arianespace has announced a new launch strategy based upon its Ariane 5 rocket. The company plans to phase out its less-capable Ariane 4 rocket. To fill the market niche for smaller satellites, Arianespace will sub- contract Starsem Soyuz rockets launched out of Baikonur. Arianespace is a major partner in Starsem. For smaller payloads, Arianespace will make Rokot boosters launched from Plesetsk available through Eurockot. Astrium is a major stockholder in Eurockot and a stockholder and contractor for Arianespace (SpaceViews).

India GSLV

While an exact launch date has not been announced, India plans on launching its liquid-fueled Geostationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV) at year's end. The rocket is India's most powerful, capable of lifting 2.5 tons to geostationary orbit. The rocket was developed using Indian technology, though there are allegations that engine designs were aided by Russia in violation of the Missile Technology Control Regime. India and Russia deny any violations. The rocket is in the same class as the Delta 2 and Starsem Soyuz/Ikar rockets. Dr. K. Kasturirangan, Chairman of India's Space Research Organization (ISRO), spoke at a dinner meeting held by the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C Thursday, July 13th ( Spaceflight Now; Space.com).

TECHNOLOGY

Armchair Astronomy

NASA and the National Science Foundation have released the results of the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) in a big way. The joint project of University of Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center/California Institute of Technology has collected 1.9 million images -- enough to fill 6,000 CD- ROMs, a volume of data several orders of magnitude larger than the human genome. The infrared images have been made available to any on-line computer equipped with a browser (SpaceDaily.com; 2MASS Index).

LEGISLATION

Presidential Space Views

In a debate sponsored by Women in Aerospace (WIA), representatives for the American Presidential candidates showed little difference in their support for the American space program. Former House Science committee chair Bob Walker spoke for George W. Bush, while Steve Palmer represented Vice President Al Gore. Both representatives pledged an easing of satellite export restrictions and policy reform. Both predicted bigger NASA budgets with more money for research. Bush's camp indicated more money would be spent on space technology research and advanced space propulsion systems. Gore's side indicated a priority would be given to new launch systems, robotic technology and missile defense. Both called for the completion of the International Space Station (SpaceRef).

CHARISMA

Aviation Hall of Fame

On July 15, Astronauts Edwin Aldrin and Eugene Cernan were inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame at the Dayton Convention Center. Aldrin was the second man to walk on the Moon, while Cernan was the last of the Apollo astronauts to leave his footprints in the lunar dust. The Hall of Fame was established in Dayton in 1962 and later established by Congress. It currently has over 150 inductees including the Wright Brothers, Neil Armstrong and Charles Lindbergh. Also inducted during the ceremony were World War II combat pilot Thomas McGuire and Laurence Craigie. McGuire shot down 38 enemy aircraft before he was killed in combat. Military pilot Laurence Craigie held key positions in aircraft testing and development. Craigie died in 1994 (AP).

Aviation Hall of Fame

Gender Gap

The National Science Foundation has released its "Science and Engineering Indicators 2000" report, which contains the results of a 1999 survey of 1,882 Americans. The survey found that while 57 percent of the men thought the benefits of space exploration outweighed the costs, only 43 percent of the women held that opinion. Men also tended to support the construction of the International Space Station more than women. The study also noted a gap in support of space activities between persons of college and high school educational levels. The poll differs from the "American's Space Poll", which reported 75 percent of Americans had a favorable opinion of space exploration (SpaceViews).

EXPLORATION

Mars Global Surveyor

On Saturday, July 15, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) began to receive images from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS). The Surveyor has been silent since June 21 when the Earth / Mars transmission line drew too close to the Sun conjunction. The Mars Orbiter Camera was turned off June 21 and commanded to resume operations on July 13. Stored images were then transmitted to Earth on July 15 (JPL; Spaceflight Now).

Mars Images

NEAR Shoemaker

On July 13, the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft activated its engine to circularize its orbit at 35 km above the asteroid Eros. The NEAR team spent the first four days in the new orbit refining estimates of the asteroid's gravity. The spacecraft will gather data on the density of the asteroid for use in designing even lower orbits. In the current orbit, the spacecraft will pass within 19 km of the ends of the asteroid. Following the gravity studies, the spacecraft began imaging and other scientific activities. At this altitude, the magnetometer could detect a weak magnetic field. The spacecraft will push its orbit back to 50 km beginning on July 24 after 14 orbits at the lower level ( NEAR Press Release July 14; NEAR Press Release July 21).

OBSERVATORIES

Hubble Space Telescope

Having seen the fate of the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, a group of scientists, engineers and shuttle experts believe they have a better future to offer the Hubble Space Telescope. A study team formed in 1999 has revealed a plan to outfit HST with an 8-meter primary mirror by 2010. The enhancement would allow the telescope to detect Earth-like planets at a distance of up to 10 parsecs. However, NASA did not directly participate in the project and has its own plans for the Next Generation Space Telescope to be launched in 2007. The HST upgrade would come with a hefty price tag and would depend on some components two decades old. Further, the mass of the large mirrors would make pointing and controlling vibration problematic. The plan is not currently being considered by NASA. With the clock ticking on Hubble, a solution for its final disposition is a real concern ( Spaceflight Now).

SATELLITES

GPS

A day after successfully launching a GPS satellite on a Delta 2 rocket, the Air Force announced that one of its GPS satellites had failed on June 28. Controllers were unable to revive the satellite. The Boeing-built satellite was launched in 1989 and has far exceeded its 7.5-year design life. At $65 million, the 1989 satellite was significantly more expensive than the $44 million GPS satellite launched this past week (Florida Today).

PanAmSat

PanAmSat has announced that its new Galaxy XI telecommunications satellite is on its way to it final operational orbit at 91 degrees West longitude where it will replace Galaxy VI and Galaxy VII. PanAmSat has also inaugurated broadcast services from their new Galaxy IVR satellite. The satellite provides digital video, high-speed Internet and radio programming. The satellite will also be used in conjunction with Galaxy 3D to deliver live Olympic coverage to North American broadcasters (PanAmSat; SpaceDaily.com).

BACK TO THE MOON

Lunar Explorers Society

This past week during the Fourth International Conference on the Exploration and Utilisation of the Moon (ICEUM4) in The Netherlands, a new lunar explorers club was founded. The Lunar Explorers Society has a goal to settle the Moon as soon as possible (Oregon L5 Society Press Release).

Indian Moon

Despite numerous recent news article about India's plans to send a robotic mission to the Moon, Dr. Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, has stated that the mission may not happen. He stated that the feasibility of such a mission will be studied for the next five to eight years. A team of scientists will determine the cost-effectiveness of the mission and India's technical capabilities for such an endeavor. The plan would have to be submitted to India's central government for approval. With over half its population living below the poverty line, earning less than $1 per day, justifying the enormous cost of such a project will not be without opposition. India sees a lunar mission as a way to raise its International prestige. Spin-off applications would also be considered useful for the country (Space.com).

MILITARY

Iran

This past week Iran test-fired its Shahab-3 missile. The July 15 test is the second trial of the medium-range weapon -- capable of reaching Israeli or U. S. troops in Saudi Arabia. The missile has a range of 800 miles, travels at 4,320 mph and can be equipped with a 1-ton warhead. The missile is believed to be based upon the North Korean No Dong ballistic missile. Iran stated the test was to strengthen its defense through deterrence. Israel expects Iran to have nuclear capability by 2005 and is understandably worried about any missile systems that could reach Israel. Western experts have reported that the first test failed in 1998 -- exploding seconds after launch. Iran denies the claim (AP).

INTERNET IN THE SKY

iSKY

The satellite broadband service provider iSKY has announced that it has raised an additional $137 million in a second round of financing. The company has now raised half of the $750 million required for its initial phase of operations. This money will be used to build and launch iSKY's first satellite and to purchase services on Telesat ANIK F2. iSKY plans to unveil its affordable satellite- based broadband services in late 2001 (SpaceDaily.com).

SATELLITE TELEPHONE FRONTIER

GlobalStar

Shares of Globalstar Telecommunications reached a two- month high this past week on news that the company would be slashing prices for its Qualcomm phones. The GPS-1600 model was cut from $1400 to $1199. The Freedom 20 and Freedom 120 plans for 24 months can buy the phones for $699. Further, the service charges were dropped from $1.39 per minute for 250 minutes per month to $1 per minute for 500 minutes. For the quarter, Globalstar reported 1,137,000 billable minutes, doubling its first quarter numbers. Service revenues increased from $177,0000 to $483,000. Royalty revenues totaled $318,000. The increases in revenue reflect improved system usage along with the start-up of additional gateways around the world. Seventeen gateways are now in revenue service with an additional four in systems testing. Globalstar has documented accelerating minutes of use on a month by month basis. Globalstar stock closed at 10.875 on Monday (July 17). Its previous high was $47 in January (Reuters; SpaceDaily.com).

ASTRONOMY

Jupiter's 17th Moon

Scientists for the University of Arizona and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Massachusetts have discovered a new moon circling Jupiter. Originally discovered last year during a comet and asteroid search by the Spacewatch program, the 3-mile diameter object was originally designated 1999 UX18. However, it was not until this past month that orbital calculations showed it was not orbiting the sun, but slowly orbiting Jupiter every two years. The discovery was made by Tim Spahr, a staffer at the Minor Planet Center. The moon, temporarily designated S/1999 J1 rotates in an opposite direction than most of Jupiter's moons and is the smallest moon to be discovered orbiting a planet. This is the first moon to be discovered around Jupiter since Leta, a 5-10 mile diameter moon, was discovered in 1974 (Reuters; Spacewatch PR; Press Release).

BUSINESS

Orbital Sciences

A long-standing, securities class-action litigation against Orbital Sciences has been settled. The settlement will require no cash outlay, but will issue $11.5 million in warrants. Orbital Sciences' insurance carrier National Union Fire Insurance Company will pay $11 million to shareholders who filed suit. The litigation revolves around a dispute over restatement of financial results for the years 1995 through 1997. The settlement is expected to be approved by U.S. District Court in Virginia by year's end. Orbital Sciences stock closed up at 14.875 on Friday (Reuters; PR Newswire).

P&W Space Propulsion

Two leading aerospace companies have signed a letter of intent to form a new space propulsion company, P&W Space Propulsion. The new company will be formed by the joining of forces of Pratt & Whitney with Aerojet-General. Pratt & Whitney would have the majority interest in the company, which would operate out of Pratt & Whitney facilities. Most of Aerojet's propulsion programs would be acquired by the new company in exchange for 20 percent equity in the new company and cash. The merger is part of a trend in the propulsion industry toward consolidation to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Aerojet-General is a segment of GenCorp (Pratt & Whitney PR; Spaceflight Now).

Alcatel Space

The French satellite manufacturer, Alcatel Space, has announced that it has signed a contract with GE American Communications to build four satellites. The satellites will be based on the Spacebus platform and weigh between 4 and 5 metric tons (Alcatel Space PR; Florida Today; Spaceflight Now).

SpaceHab

NASA has awarded SpaceHab an additional $5 million in business for additional flight services on STS- 107. The microgravity and life sciences research flight is slated for launch in June of 2001. The additional funding is for a modification of the existing Research and Logistics Mission Support (REALMS) contract and will bring the total for the contract to $34.9 million (SpaceHab PR; Florida Today).

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 Previous Friday Change

Boeing BA 46.8125 44.4375 2.375

EchoStar DISH 44.9375 44.1875 0.75

GlobalStar GSTRF 8.0312 10.5625 -2.5313

Hughes Electronics GMH 29.875 33.25 -3.375

Lockheed Martin LMT 26.3125 26.375 -0.0625

Loral Space LOR 6.625 7.6875 -1.0625

Motorola MOT 36.25 38.125 -1.875

Orbital Sciences ORB 14.875 14.4375 0.4375

Sirius SIRI 43.0 49.25 -6.25

SpaceDev SPDVE.OB 1.25 1.35 -0.10

SpaceHab SPAB 6.25 6.4062 -0.1562

TRW TRW 44.75 42.3125 2.4375

COMING EVENTS

Courtesy J. Ray and SpaceViews

July 25 - Booster Verification Test 1, Dummy EKV, Vandenberg AFB.
July 28 - SeaLaunch Zenit-3SL, PanAmSat PAS-9, Odyssey launch platform, equatorial Pacific Ocean.
July - GSLV (Indian Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle), Sriharikota, India.
August 6 - Soyuz-U, Progress M1 supply ship to ISS, Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
August 9 - Starsem Soyuz/Fregat, Cluster 2, FM5 and FM8, Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
August 10 - Titan 4B, NRO payload, Vandenberg AFB, SLC-4E.
August 17 - Ariane 4, Brasilsat B4 & Nilesat 102, Kourou French Guiana.
August 20 - Pegasus XL, HETE 2, Kwajalein Missile Range.
August 23 - Delta 3 - Demonstration flight, launch complex 17-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
August 25 - ISC Kosmotras Dnepr, 5 satellites, Area 109, Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
September 8 - Shuttle Atlantis, STS-106 (ISS 2A.2b), SpaceHab Double Module, pad 39-B, Kennedy Space Center.
September 12 - Titan II, NOAA L G-13, SLC-4W, Vandenberg AFB.
September 14 - Soyuz-U, Progress M2, Baikonur, Kazakhstan.
Delayed - Ariane 5, Astra 2B and GE-7, Kourou, French Guiana.

FRONTIER CENSUS REPORT

The space population remains at the baseline of zero. Humans have spent a total of 268.5 man-days in orbit in the year 2000. The first element of the International Space Station has been in orbit for 610 days. The occupation of the International Space Station is expected to begin in early November, 2000.

SOURCES

SERVICES

112 articles archived; 94 used

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". Send subscription requests (subscribe or unsubscribe).

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