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Aviation History
1994
1994 - 2273.PDF
mCEFUGNT Insurance will rise after Telstar failure JULIAN MOXON/KOUROU SATELLITE INSURANCE premiums are due to rise fol lowing the failure of the Martin- Marietta-built Telstar 402 satellite on 8 September. The satellite was insured for $ 18 7 million by a consortium set up by US satellite insurance bro ker Marsh McLennan. "We're always prepared for another loss" says one insurance under writer, "but, taken with the fail ure of the Ariane V63 launcher in January, rates are bound to go up somewhat." Built for AT&T, the satellite was lost after a flawless launch from the Kourou space centre aboard an Ariane 42L rocket. Following release, a leak of the helium gas used to push propel- lant to the satellite thrusters meant that the thrusters failed to operate. The satellite was unable to orientate itself correctly, and contact was lost about lOmin after release. Arianespace president Charles Bigot says that the loss was "very disheartening". It was the first launch of an AT&T satellite by Arianespace, which can now count all of the major telecom munications-satellite builders among its customers. AT&T marketing vice-presi dent Karl Savatiel says that he "fully intends" to use Ariane space for future satellite launch es. "We've been very impressed with their operation at Kourou," he says. The Telstar 402 was the second of a new generation of broadcast and video satellites developed by Martin Marietta for the company. The first was placed into orbit on 15 December, 1993, aboard a US Atlas launcher, and is said to be operating normally. A third satellite, originally a spare, will now be deployed, again using the Atlas, "probably in early 1995", says Savatiel. Arianespace will launch tele communications satellites for Thailand and Mexico on 4 Octoberand has won the contract to launch Argentina's National Satellite in 1996. • Night of Titan THE THIRD MARTIN Matrietta Titan 4 Centaur booster lifted off from Cape Canaveral on 27 August, car rying what is thought to be a geostationary signals-intelli gence satellite for the National Reconnaisance Office. Lifting off 91 days after arrival at the pad, the fastest-ever turnaround in the Titan 4 programme was recorded for the launcher. Ten Titan 4 variants have been launched from Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg AFB, California, since 1989, with one failure. The next launch is scheduled for late this month, carrying a Boeing Inertial Upper Stage, instead of the Centaur. AUGUST SATELLITE LAUNCH LOG No Date Spacecraft Type Launcher!*) Country!*) Launch site!*) 45 2 Aug 46 3 Aug 47 3 Aug 48 5 Aug 49 10 Aug 50 11 Aug 51 23 Aug 52 25 Aug 53 26 Aug 54 27 Aug Cosmos 2285 Apex DBS 2 Cosmos 2286 Brasilsat Bl Turksat IB Cosmos 2287 -2289 Molniya 3 Progress M24 Cosmos 2290 DoD Milsat Science Comsat Early/W Comsats Navsats Comsat Tanker Obs GEO/Mil Cosmos (3) Pegasus(2) Atlas (3) Molniya (1) Ariane 4 (3) Proton (6) Molniya (2) Soyuz(12) Zenit (2) Titan 4 (3) CIS (24) USA (14) USA (15) CIS (25) Europe (3) CIS (26) CIS (27) CIS (28) CIS (29) USA (16) Plesetsk (10) Air launch (2) Canaveral (7) Plesetsk (11) Kourou (3) Baikonur (15) Plesetsk (12) Baikonur (16) Baikonur (17) Canaveral (8) 55 27 Aug Optus B3 Comsat LM2E(1) China (4) Xichang(3) 56 28 Aug ETS6 Comsat H2(2) Japan (2) Tanegashima (2) 57 29 Aug DMSP Metsat Atlas E(l) USA (17) Vandenberg (4) * Indicates total number of orbital launches by this launch vehicle, country and launch site in 1994. ETS6 is stranded in useless orbit DASA sells Rokot launcher DEUTSCHE AEROSPACE Space Systems (DASA) has linked with Russian company Khrunichev to market commer cially former SS-19 Stiletto inter continental ballistic missiles as the Rokot satellite launcher. The SS-19 was designed by DB Salyut and has been built by Khrunichev. When it is operational, the 106t 24.6m-high Rokot will be launched from Plesetsk and be able to carry a payload of up to 2,000kg into low-Earth orbit. It will be fitted with a new payload shroud and a DB Salyut- built orbital-injection stage, called the Breaz. The missile will be launched from the surface, rather than the silo which would have been used had it been used by the military. The Rokot was tested twice on sub-orbital flights from Baikonur, in November 1990 and December 1991. Development began in 1965 and the missile was deployed operationally in 1974. • Shuttle engine cleared THE SPACE Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), problems on which caused the ground abort of the launch of the Endeavour on 18 August, has been test-fired at the Stennis Space Center, Mississippi for 340s. The 4 September test proceeded without difficulty Flight Inter national, 31 August-6 September). NASA will now attempt to fly the Endeavour, fitted with three new engines taken from the Atlantis, on its STS68 mission on 2 October. The Atlantis mission, STS66, could be delayed from 27 October, to ensure that ade quate time is allowed for fitting three other engines. The Endeavour arrived on its launch pad on 13 September The STS64/Discovery, mean while, was launched successfully on 9 September on its nine-day Earth-observation and space- walking flight Flight International, 7-13 September). It was scheduled to be returned to Earth on 18-19 September. The discharge temperature of the high-pressure oxidiser turbopump of the engine 3024 exceeded its limits by 8°C dur ing the STS68 abort. The lift-off could have taken place and the engine could have functioned normally, says NASA, but conservative launch rules had been built into the on board launch computer. It seems that the problem was caused by several factors. A flow meter in the liquid-oxygen feed system had a small fluctuation, causing a slight oxygen-rich mix, with a resulting higher discharge temperature. The engine also had a slower start than usual. • FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 21 - 27 September 1994
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