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Aviation History
1988
1988 - 0018.PDF
SPACEFLIGHT Cosmonaut criticises space effort MOSCOW In a remarkably frank inter view with the Soviet publica tion Nedelya, former cosmo naut and Star City official Lt Gen Vladimir Shatalov has criticised aspects of his coun try's space programme. Commenting on the eco nomic return on Soviet space research, Shatalov said that, remote-sensing apart, there was a "lack of purposefulness and consistency". There is an unsystematic search going on, he said, with a diverse range of experi ments. There is a lack of a "good programme with precise formulation of goals". This was clearly due partly to the general state of science in the country, which is poorly co ordinated with the national economy and remote from practical needs, Shatalov said. Much is being done in space which is capable of producing a considerable spin-off, he said, but the crews "will bring the results back and every thing will disappear down a hole." The effect of microgravity on certain processes has not been as predicted and, in some cases, not as advantageous as expected. This has slowed progress, Shatalov said, suggesting that this situation could change if experiments could be brought back to Earth every six months. "It is possible to use descent capsules for rapid delivery; we did conduct such an experi ment once [from the Cosmos 1443 heavy module docked to Salyut 7 in August 1983], but for some reason it was forgotten. "We carry out experiments, wait six months to get them back, spend a year studying them, and only then do we prepare the next experiment. "At this pace, we won't set up orbital workshops and factories even by the year 2000. At the same time, tech nology on Earth has not stood still. What seemed yesterday to be economically advan tageous to do in space has now already been done on Earth at comparable cost." Military astronauts named US Air Force manned spaceflight engineers Capt Maureen Lacomb and Capt Craig Puz have been named as payload specialists on the Strategic Defence Initiative Shuttle mission called Star lab in March 1990. Key Shuttle valve fitted KENNEDY SC The processing of Shuttle Orbiter Discovery, in prepara tion for its planned June 2 launch, has included the fitting of a 43cm-long liquid- hydrogen external-tank dis connect valve, a major modifi cation called for by the Rogers Commission, reports Tim Furniss. A positive latch-open design feature has been devel oped for the main propulsion- system disconnect valve, to replace a "flapper valve" and to ensure that it remains open during powered flight, even in the event of an electrical failure. Other preparation activities include testing of the main propulsion system and check out of the Ku-band antenna and payload recorder. A payload interface test has been delayed, however. Crew escape system installation and modifications to the chin panel on the nose of the Orbiter continue. The installation of thermal TV direct from orbit Two Hughes HS376 spacecraft to be handed over in orbit to British Satellite Broadcasting in August 1989 will have three HOW high-power direct television broadcast channels, each with two 55W medium-power transmitters in parallel. protective blankets on the orbital manoeuvring system pod decks also continues, while the pods themselves have been tested in the hyper- golic maintenance facility. They will be installed on Discovery this month. The first power-up of Orbiter Atlantis is proceeding well, according to Nasa. The wings of the Orbiter are being strengthened, and an elevon cove seal, crew escape system, and aft compartment wiring are being fitted. Tiles are being removed from the right-hand payload- bay door of orbiter Columbia for structural inspection to be made. The final-assembly test article mate test of solid- rocket-booster segments began on December 14. The test is designed to validate new tools required to put the tighter-fitting field joints together. China achieves microgravity success BEIJING Microgravity processing ex periments conducted during the China 20 and 21 satellite missions last August and September have produced encouraging results, says the Chinese Academy of Sciences. More than 80 experiments included those to produce "superconductors comprising barium, yitrium, copper, and oxygen in a more homogenous form than possible on Earth." The Academy also reported that plants, micro-organisms, and animals showed abnormal growth patterns after they had returned to Earth. Vege tables and grain seeds showed "remarkable variations". Experiments on 70 varieties showed that microgravity can accelerate or retard sprouting and growth rates, and affect resistance to insects. After exposure to the radiation and microgravity of orbital flights, seeds of cucumber, pine, tomato, green pepper, barley, wheat, and maize were found to sprout higher, grow faster, and flower earlier. Radish seeds became more resistant to insects. 16 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 2/9 January 1988
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