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Abmd70.166 net.columbia utzoo!decvax!duke!bmd70!jcp Tue Nov 10 01:38:26 1981 Soviet Venera Launch

The Soviet Union has launched a second Venera soil-analysis mission to Venus, Venera 14, on November 4th, following Venera 13, on Oct. 30th.

The Venera probe is designed to ingest small paricles of Venusian soil for analysis internal to the spacecraft. The target region for the landing was changed to the lowland area southeast of the Beta Shield volcano region, using data supplied by the US Pioneer-Venus probe under an information exchange agreement, the first time the Soviets have openly modified their scientific program in response to US generated data.

Also on the Venera probe is an X-ray flourescence spectrometer, which should provide better surface composition data than previous Venera missions, and an improved imaging system. The only pictures of the surface of Venus ever to be transmitted to Earth came from the Soviet Venera 9 and 10 probes. The Venera 11 and 12 probes failed upon landing on Venus.

Another space related note:

The State Dept. has withdrawn its proposal to license ARABSAT, an Arab-League nations satellite TV/communications system, because of the possible military implications. ARABSAT members include: Libya, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, the Sudan, Syria, Algeria, North and South Yemen, Oman, Tunisia, Morocco, Somalia, Mauritania, Djibout, and The Palestine Liberation Organization

The proposed satellite would have provided 8000 telephone circuits on the C band frequencies, and one S band community televison frequency, which would probably have been used to rebroadcast the Arab League TV station program, now originated in Damascus, Syria.

-Joe Pistritto- jcp@brl

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