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Aviation History
1994
1994 - 0069.PDF
SPACEFLIGHT Russia schedules ten Mir launches BY TIM FURNISS The Russian Space Agency is planning three manned oc cupations of the Mir 1 space station in 1994, plus the launch of six unmanned Pro gress tankers and the Spektr add-on technology module. Following the scheduled 8 January launch of the Soyuz TM18 with Viktor Afanasyev, Yuri Usachev and Dr Valeri Poliakov, the Progress M21 will be launched on 26 Janu ary, followed by the M22 and the M23 in March'and May. Resident Mir 1 cosmonauts, the TM17's Yuri Tsiblyev and Alexander Serebrov, are due to return to Earth on 16 January. They were launched on 1 July, 1993 and should have returned in November 1993, but the TM18's launch was delayed be cause of a shortage of boosters. Poliakov is scheduled to re main on the Mir 1 for the whole of 1994, returning in 1995 after a record flight of 430 days or more, exceeding the Soyuz TM4 365-day record of 1986-7 (Flight International, 28 April-4 May, 1993). Afanysev and Usachev will return on 4 July after 179 days, leaving Poliakov aboard with a new crew from the Soyuz TM19, to be launched on 26 NEWS IN BRIEF JAPANESE CONTRACT Hughes Space and Commu nications has been selected to negotiate a contract with Japan's Broadcasting Satellite System (BSS) consortium for the supply of two B-Sat communications satellites based on the HS-376 spin- stabilised spacecraft bus. BSS, which consists of NHK, Japan Satellite Broadcasting and other companies, plans to launch the B-Sats in 1997-8. Hughes competed for the order against Space Systems Loral and Martin Marietta. June. This crew consists of Yuri Malenchenko and Kazhak cos monaut Talgat Musabayev. According to the schedule, provided by the London-based Molniya Space Consultancy, Gennadi Strekalov, making his fifth space mission, will also be aboard the TM19. He will re turn with the TM18 crew after 14 days. Following the Progress M24 and M25 launches in July and August, the Soyuz TM20 will be launched on 3 October. Commander Alexander Vik- torenko will be joined by flight engineer Yelena Kondakova — wife of the veteran cosmonaut Valeri Ryumin. They will fly for 159 days, making Konda kova the first woman to fly on a long-duration mission. European Space Agency astro naut Ulf Merbold will fly as the TM20 research engineer and will remain on the Mir 1 for 30 days, returning with Malench enko and Musabayev. The Ger man astronaut will be making his third space mission, after two US Shuttle flights in 1983 and 1992. The launch of the Progress M26 in November will be fol lowed by the scheduled 27 November flight of the Spektr technology module aboard a Proton booster. This will dock with the Mir 1 on 29 Decem ber, after a protracted autono mous flight. The 1995 Mir schedule is uncertain after the delay of the planned STS71 Atlantis/Mir docking mission from June to October. One launch, on 3 March, 1995, has been planned, carrying the Soyuz TM21, with US astronaut doc tor Norman Thagard on a 97- day flight with the Russian crew of Anatoli Solovyov and Nikolai Budarin. Thagard will exceed by 13 days the US space endurance record set with the Skylab 4 in 1974. The Tsyklon launch of a Meteor satellite on 27 Decem ber was cancelled. • NEW ATLAS FLIES A thrust-augmented General Dynamics Atlas 2A booster, designated the 2AS, lifted off from Pad 36 at Cape Canaveral on 15 December, carrying AT&T's Telstar 401 communi cations satellite. For this maiden flight, the Atlas 2AS was equipped with four Thiokol Cas tor 4 solid-propellant boosters. The l,730kN thrust of the Cas tor booster increases the Atlas 2A's payload capability into geostationary orbit from 2,800kg to 3,500kg. There are now four operational Atlas mod els in the GD fleet, which is being acquired by Martin Mari etta in 1994 (Flight Interna tional, 5-11 January). Software error caused Indian failure Asoftware error in the guid ance system of India's first Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) prevented the IRS IE remote-sensing satellite from being placed into orbit after the PSLV's launch from Shriharikota Island on 20 Sep tember, 1993 (Flight Interna tional, 29 September-5 Octo ber, 1993). Although all engines on the PSLV's four stages worked per fectly, a guidance error created disturbances during the sec ond- and third-stage separa tion, causing the vehicle to veer off course and crash into the Indian Ocean. The next attempt to fly a PSLV is un likely until later this year. India will receive four cryo genic rocket engines from Rus sia, starting in 1995, to help it develop the Geostationary Sat ellite Launch Vehicle (Flight International, 22 December, 1993-4 January). A $200 million deal to allow India to produce cryogenic en gines itself, using Russian tech nology transfer, was stopped in 1993 after the USA had im posed sanctions. • Egypt plans first satellite lift-off The Nilesat, Egypt's first sat ellite, will be launched in 1996, according to Safwat al- Sharif, the country's informa tion minister. The 24-television-channel spacecraft will be financed by several investors, possibly in cluding South Africa, and will provide broadcasting services to Africa, the Middle East and parts of Europe. Egypt also operates an ex perimental television trans mission for 2h a day using Europe's Eutelsat satellite. • December satellite launch log No Date Spacecraft Type Launcher Country)*) Launch site 75 2 Dec Endeavour 5 Hubble STS 61 (7) USA (21) KSC (7) 76 8 Dec NATO 4B 77 15 Dec 78 17 Dec Telstar 401 DBS 1 Thaicom 1 service Milcoms Comsat Comsat Comsat Delta 2 (7) USA (22) Canaveral (11) Atlas 2 (4)+ USA (23) Canaveral (12) Ariane 4 (7) Europe (7) Kourou (7) 79 22 Dec Molniya 1-87 Comsat Molniya (8) CIS (47) Plesetsk (26) ('(Indicates total number ol orbital launches by this launch vehicle, country and launch site in 1993 + First launch ol Atlas 2AS model FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 12 - 18 January. 1994 •9
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