Text File

Aalice.135 net.columbia utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!mhtsa!research!alice!wolit Thu Nov 5 14:18:13 1981 NON-SHUTTLE NEWS

[The following information is from the November 2 issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology.]

NASA's Solar System Exploration Committee met last week to begin examining solar system exploratory probe proposals for study by the Ames Research Center and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Probes would be based on a new Mariner-class 3-axis stabilized spacecraft, designated Mariner Mk.2, and on Pioneer spin-stabilized craft. Missions would start in the late 1980's.

Mariner Mk.2 missions to be evaluated by the JPL are: * Ballistic rendezvous with the Tempel 2 comet. * A Mars geochemical orbiter mission. * A near-earth asteroid (eg, Anteros) rendezvous. * Saturn orbiter / Titan flyby probe. * A Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune flyby/probe carrier. * Multiple asteroid rendezvous.

Pioneer-class missions include: * A lunar or Mars geochemical orbiter (JPL). * Near-earth asteroid mission (JPL). * Mars upper atmosphere orbiter (Ames). * Mars orbiter with surface penetrators (Ames). * Mars hydrology orbiter (Ames).

------------------------------------------------------

The US Air Force has awarded a 1-year contract to General Dynamics to study the required technology for a small manned space vehicle, known as AMSC (advanced military spaceflight capability). Launch concepts include carrier aircraft launch; runway, sled, or accelerator horizontal launch; and vertical ground launch. The vehicle might also have folding wings for deployment from the Shuttle.

------------------------------------------------------

The Soviet Union is developing a very large booster, with the ability of lifting a 390,000 - 455,000 lb. payload into orbit. By comparison, the U.S. Saturn 5 used during the Apollo and Skylab programs had an orbital capacity of 280,000 lb. The booster, which could be tested by 1983, may be used to launch a 220,000-lb. class military/scientific space station, which might be permanently manned by about 12 cosmonauts.

------------------------------------------------------

Recent Soviet satellite launches include:

Designation Date Orbit Mission comments ---------- ---- ----- ---------------- Cosmos 1297 8/18 389 x 209 km reconnaissance Cosmos 1298 8/21 351 x 179 reconnaissance Cosmos 1299 8/25 281 x 250 ocean surveillance - nuclear powered - boosted to 955 x 910 km orbit after 12 days Cosmos 1300 8/25 675 x 648 military weather satellite Cosmos 1301 8/27 300 x 224 film-return earth resources Cosmos 1302 8/28 824 x 783 store-dump communications craft Cosmos 1303 9/4 398 x 216 reconnaissance Cosmos 1304 9/4 984 x 917 navigation Cosmos 1305 9/11 13870 x 648 failed Molniya communication satellite Cosmos 1306 9/15 458 x 408 ocean surveillance Cosmos 1307 9/15 418 x 209 reconnaissance Cosmos 1308 9/18 1107 x 979 navigation Cosmos 1309 9/18 282 x 225 film-return earth resources Arcad 3 9/21 1920 x 380 Soviet-French scientific satellite Cosmos 1310 9/23 525 x 478 antisatellite system test satellite Cosmos 1311 9/28 521 x 470 unknown Cosmos 1312 9/30 1530 x 1495 navigation Cosmos 1313 10/1 314 x 214 reconnaissance

------------------------------------------------------------

In its first multiple-satellite launch, China used an FB-1 launcher to boost 3 satellites into a 1610 x 240 km orbit on September 19. These are China's 9th, 10th, and 11th spacecraft since 1970. The FB-1 is a space launch version of the CSS-X-4 ICBM. One of the satellites involves a balloon linked by a cable to a solid sphere.

----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen <jgoerzen@complete.org> of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/

This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided:

1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles.

2. The following notice remains appended to each copy:

The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.