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Aviation History
1981
1981 - 0067.PDF
FUGHT International, 10 January 1981 61 Space Shuttle Columbia reaches the Kennedy launch pad FIRST - FLIGHT Orbiter Columbia, complete with External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters, reached launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Centre (KSC), Florida, on December 29. The Shuttle took about seven hours to travel the few kilometres from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad, where it will stay until launch in mid- March. Columbia left prime contractor Rockwell's Palmdale, California, fac tory roughly 20 months ago, arriving at KSC aboard Nasa's specially modi fied Boeing 747. Since then, Columbia has been in the Orbiter processing facility, having thermal-protection tiles and various systems installed. On November 24, Columbia was rolled into the Vehicle Assembly Building. Three days later, mating of Columbia with the External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters was completed. A series of tests was then begun and some minor tiling completed. The tests included simulations with first- flight astronauts John Young and Robert Crippen sitting in Columbia. Backup crew Joe Engle and Richard Truly also took part in the simula tions, which covered various launch aborts and an entry and landing. Columbia was originally scheduled to reach the launch pad on December 26, but replacement of about 20 tiles and problems with some ground sup port equipment forced a delay. Having reached the pad, Columbia and the other Shuttle elements will spend about a week in validation tests. Several days of pad operations will follow, building on the way paved by Orbiter Enterprise in May last year. Five days of propellant-loading prac- First-flight Orbiter Columbia is mated with on External Tank and Solid Rocket Boosters ot the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida. The Space Shuttle was moved to the launch pad on December 29, 1980 i: ~**, *%#' V tice are the next step, in which liquid oxygen and hydrogen are pumped into the External Tank. Next major milestone will be a 20sec static-firing of Columbia's three main engines, scheduled for February 7. Columbia will be unmanned during the firing, which is intended to prove that the Shuttle is ready for flight. The first flight will last almost 55hr if all goes as planned, ending with a landing at Edwards AFB, California (Flight, December 13). Indonesia signs for Palapa launches INDONESIA'S post and telecommuni cations organisation has signed an agreement with Nasa covering the launch of two communications satel lites, Palapa B-l and B-2. Indonesia has the option of using Nasa's Space Shuttle or a more expensive Delta launch. Current plans call for Palapa B-l to be launched by Shuttle in January 1984 or by Delta one year earlier. Palapa B-2 is scheduled for a Shuttle flight in March 1984, or a Delta launch in January 1984. Nepal to get Marconi Earth station NEPAL is to get international com munications via satellite', with a ground station being supplied under British foreign aid. The Earth station is being supplied by Marconi Com munication Systems in an order worth £2-3 million. Nepal now relies on high-frequency radio communica tions through India for its links with the rest of the world. Radio links suffer from interfer ence!,, so the new ground station will greatly improve the quality of inter national links. The ground station being supplied is an Intelsat Standard B with an ll-13m diameter dish. It will operate at a frequency of 4-GGHz and is to be installed at Balambu— about 7km from Kathmandu. Marconi is supplying an H7200 microwave link between Balambu and Kathmandu, plus an exchange that will connect with Nepal's telephone system. The ground station is being supplied through the Crown Agents in Britain.
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