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Aviation History
1984
1984 - 1002.PDF
SPACEFLIGHT Discovery is poised to fly ORLANDO __ Nasa's twelfth Space Shuttle flight, mission 4ID, is now due to lift-off on June 22, a few weeks later than previously planned. The flight will be the first with Orbiter Discovery, the third and most modern of the four space- worthy craft which Rockwell is building for Nasa. It will also be the first time that an industry-nominated astro naut, Charles Walker, flies on Shuttle. Mission 4ID is due to lift off at around 08.43hr EDT on June 22, during a "window" lasting some 45min. It is due to last seven days, and will end with a landing at Edwards AFB, California, at roughly 06.35hr PDT on June 27. Principal payload for the mission is Syncom IV (Leasat 1), Large Format Camera (LFC), and Oast 1. Syncom IV is a UHF communications satellite. It was built by Hughes Aircraft, but its capacity has been leased to the US Department of Defence (DoD) via Fair- child. The craft is shaped like a fat cylinder to minimise Shuttle launch cost, and is the first of its kind. It lies on its side in the Orbiter's payload bay, is ejected by a spring mechanism that imparts "spin" as well as "push", and carries its own propulsion system for the climb to geosynchronous orbit. Until now, most Shuttle-launched satellites have sat upright in the payload bay, and those destined for geosynchronous orbit have used a separate boost stage (Pam D or IUS). LFC is a Government- sponsored instrument de signed for use in map-making. It will be used toward the end of mission 41D, when Discov ery will be placed in a particu larly low 225km-high circular orbit Discovery's initial orbit will be 320km-high and circu lar). Oast 1 is a Lockheed- developed solar array that will be extended and retracted several times during the flight. The experimental array is aimed at extended Shuttle missions and Nasa's Space 1550 Orbiter Discovery will make its debut on mission 41D. It is some 450kg lighter than its sisters, and nearly all of the white thermal-protection tiles of previous craft have been replaced by insulating "blankets"—hence the quilted appearance Station, and measures 4m x 31m when fully deployed. Charles Walker will operate the continuous-flow electro phoresis equipment for a total of about 80nr—much longer than when it was flown on earlier flights. The equipment was developed by McDonnell Douglas and Johnson & John son, and is designed to produce exotic drugs such as Interferon. This is the first time that the companies have paid for their ride. In addition to Walker, the mission 4 ID crew comprises Cdr Henry Hartsfield, pilot Michael Coats, and mission specialists Judith Resuik, Steven Hawley, and Richard Mullane, Salyut 7 gets extra power MOSCOW ~ Salyut 7 cosmonauts Leonid Kizim and Vladimir Solovyov have been "spacewalking" again, this time to add more solar arrays to the orbiting laboratory. Their EVA began at 21.52hr Moscow time on May 18, and lasted 3hr 5min. During this time the pair added two solar arrays to Salyut 7's existing solar array "wings", apparently in a repeat of the technique first practised by a previous crew Flight, November 26, 1983, page 1419). The solar panels were brought up in a Progress 21, and each measures 4 • 6m2 in area. The solar arrays feature gallium-arsenide solar cells. Kizim and Solovyov also installed a special antenna during their spacewalk. The antenna is for use in docking manoeuvres, and is described as being screened to prevent interference. One possibility is that the extra solar arrays confused rendezvous radars aboard approaching Soyuz craft, and that the new antenna will sort things out. Kizim and Solovyov now have a total of 17hr 50min outside Salyut 7, achieved in five spacewalks. • Progress 21 docked with Salyut 7's rear port at 04.10hr Moscow time on May 10. The unmanned cargo craft appears to have been part of a routine mission to resupply the orbiting laboratory with consumables, including fuel, mail, food, oxygen, and scientific equipment. Progress 21 is the first craft to refuel Salyut 7 since in- orbit repairs were made to its fuel system Flight, May 19, page 1356). Anuneventual re fuelling would be a good omen that the repair was successful. Progress 21 was separated from Salyut 7 at 13.41hr Moscow time on May 26. More join astronaut trail HOUSTON Nasa has named a further 17 astronaut candidates. They will begin a year of basic training at Nasa-Johnson this summer, after which their training will be aimed at specific Space Shuttle flights. Seven of the new candi dates will train as Shuttle pilots—the remainder will learn how to be mission specialists. All of the pilot candidates are male, and one of them is of Hispanic origin. Three of the mission special ists are women. The candi dates were chosen from a total of almost 5,000 applicants, and were among the 120-strong short-list which were interviewed at the John son Space Centre in Houston. The pilot candidates are Capt Mark Brown, Cdr Manley Carter, Cdr Frank Culbertson, Capt Sidney Gutierrez, Capt Lloyd Hammond, Capt Mark Lee, and Lt James Weatherbee. The mission specialists are Maj James Adamson, Maj Kenneth Cameron, Lt Col John Casper, Marsha Irvins, George Low, Lt Cmdr Michael McCulley, Lt Cmdr William Shepherd, Ellen Schulman, Kathryn Thorn ton, and Charles Veach. FLIGHT International, 16 June 19S
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