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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1442.PDF
SPACEFLIGHT INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ROB COPPINGER / LONDON Russia manoeuvres for greater ISS payback Lack of alternatives to Space Shuttle puts Moscow in strong negotiating position Russia is positioning itself to benefit from a multi-national agreement on the International Space Station (ISS) expected in early 2005, because it is the only partner that can guarantee supply and crew return flights. NASA's Space Shuttle grounding, the lack of alternative supply flights and the pressure to conclude a new emergency crew return deal has led Russia to call for its partners to contribute more to crew and cargo transport. Since the Columbia disaster on 1 February 2003, ISS crew and cargo transport has been provided solely by Russia. At the ISS heads of agency meet ing late last month in the Netherlands, Russia's Federal Space Agency (FSA) said that it wanted to develop and launch its three ISS sections - a multipurpose labora tory, a research module and a solar power platform - and that the FSA would have to make a 50% cut in its transport contribution in 2005 to do this. This would undermine ISS operations, forcing the partners to increase their contributions. Russia knows that, with a final ISS configuration decision and mutual responsibilities agreement set for early next year and no immediate credible alternative to its annual provision of two Soyuz crew and four Progress supply flights, it has a strong negotiating position. One outcome of the heads of agency meeting that strengthened Russia's position was the agree ment for an ISS crew greater than three - up from two - at the earli est opportunity. This would require two Soyuz vehicles to be docked for an emergency return at any one time and four crew flights a year. NASA's problem is that Russia's responsibility for crew return ends in October 2005. Because of the lead time for Soyuz manufacture and launch preparation, an agreement on crew transport by Russia is needed by January, or the ISS can not be manned after October 2005. One obstacle to any agreement is the US law that prohibits NASA from buying Russian spacecraft. Although the Space Shuttle's return to flight in March 2005 could compensate for the possible Russian transport reduction, the FSA is raising questions over its credibility because of NASA's bud get problems. The deputy head of the FSA, Nikolay Moiseyev, says that the renewal of Shuttle flights "requires substantial funding, which the Congress has not yet approved. We are talking about a sum in the region of $1 billion. This is problematic even for a wealthy country like the USA." SURVEILLANCE Apollo site in NASA sights Lunar module descent stages from the Apollo programme era could be photographed where they remain on the Moon during the first robotic mission to be car ried out under US President George Bush's Project Constel lation exploration initiative. A high-resolution camera on the first of NASA's robot lunar probes, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), could take the photographs while carrying out its mapping mission in 2008 (Flight International, 27 July-2 August). NASA's Surveyor landers that pre-date Apollo, and the Apollo 15,16 and 17 lunar rovers, could also be photographed. Although payload decisions for the LRO will not be made until November, Lockheed Martin has revealed details of the probe it is offering NASA. Lockheed Martin vice-presi dent for space exploration John Karas says: "I would anticipate for LRO a resolution of 40-20cm. With that you could find the Surveyors left in the 1960s." SPACE SHUTTLE TIM FURNISS / LONDON Improved bipod heads for orbiter NASA is preparing to manufacture and install an improved bipod fit ting that connects the forward underside of the Space Shuttle orbiter to the upper section of the external tank (ET) for launch. Insulation foam shed from the bipod during launch of the orbiter Columbia, which hit the vehicle's left wing leading-edge, was the prime cause of the loss of the Shuttle and its seven crew during re-entry on 1 February. NASA knew of the potential problem because it was revealed that redesign concepts were being developed before the STS 107 mis sion, after an incident in October 2002 when the orbiter Atlantis lost insulation foam from the same region during the STS 112 launch. The new bipod will be fitted to an external tank at the Kennedy Space Center in preparation for the return- to-flight mission STS 114 Discovery, The bipod, to be fitted to an external tank, will reduce risk from debris which will take place no earlier than the second quarter of 2005. The new bipod design addresses the Columbia Accident Investigation Board's recommendation to reduce the risk of debris falling from the Shuttle stack during launch. The design eliminates the foam covering from the bipod fitting and replaces it with four rod-shaped heaters that will serve the same pri mary function as the foam, prevent ing ice build-up on the bipod fit tings on the ET. The heaters will be below the bipod fitting, protected by covers made of a nickel, chromium and iron alloy. They will be between the fitting and a hard dense material that separates the heater from the tank. • China successfully launched a Long March 2C booster from Taiyuan on 26 July, carrying the second Double Star satellite. This will operate with the first Double Star in tandem with the European Space Agency's Cluster 2 satel lites to study the interaction between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetic field. Meanwhile Huang Chun Ping, chief of the Chinese manned space programme's Long March 2F launcher, says that the flight of Shenzhou 6 with a two-man crew will take place in 2005, and that a Shenzhou 7 astronaut will make a spacewalk in 2006. • India has approved the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Rp1,778 million ($38.4 million) Astrosat project. The multi-wavelength astronomy satellite is due be launched in 2007 aboard a four-stage Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 3-9 AUGUST 2004 23
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