Feb 22 1994
From The Space Library
A feature article described the work of astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. The astronomers devised plans for a Polar Stratospheric Telescope (POST) intended to reveal stars and galaxies in twice the detail possible with the Hubble Telescope and do so more cheaply. The telescope, which was to hang from a blimp tethered over the South Pole, was to be the prototype for a new generation of observatories that could follow Hubble into space. The Institute, together with Johns Hopkins University, a consortium of other universities, and two private manufacturers, planned to ask NASA for $500,000 to $1,000,000 for a six-month design and cost study. (B Sun, Feb 22/94)
Norman Augustine, chairman of Martin Marietta Corporation, said the company would not buy General Dynamics Corporation's space-launch business for $208.5 million as planned unless the government agreed to pay more for those services. Martin Marietta wanted a part of the more than $400 million in savings it anticipated that the government could realize over 10 years as a result of Martin Marietta merging its Titan IV heavy-launch rocket business with General Dynamics' medium-lift Atlas-Centaur system. (WSJ, Feb 22/94)
A 20-month long Justice Department sting operation centered on NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston resulted in criminal fraud and bribery charges against nine employees and one contractor. Two other contractors, General Electric Corporation and Martin Marietta Corporation, which had employed two of those charged, agreed to pay the government $1 million to cover cost of the undercover operation, code named Operation Lightning Strike. The two firms cooperated with the probe and might continue to do business with the government. Among the charged were Astro International Corporation of League City, Texas, and two NASA employees. The sting, conducted by the FBI, NASA's Office of Inspector General, and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, particularly targeted NASA's Space and Life Sciences Division in Houston. In October 1993, NASA Inspector General Bill Colvin told Congress that NASA had some 400 criminal fraud investigations underway. (Reuters, Feb 22/94; UP, Feb 22/94; W Post, Feb 23/94; W Times, Feb 23/94; USA Today, Feb 23/94; NY Times, Feb 23/94; B Sun, Feb 23/94; WSJ, Feb 23/94; AP, Feb 23/94; C Trib, Feb 23/94)
The new Canadian Liberal government announced that budget constraints obliged it to discontinue participation in NASA's planned International Space Station. Later, the Canadian government said this was a misunderstanding and that Canada's commitment was to be reduced. (Reuters, Feb 22/94; UP, Feb 22/94; AP, Feb 23/94; AP, Feb 24/94)
NASA downplayed a slip in the first U.S. assembly launch for the Space Station, promising no more schedule bumps. Originally scheduled for launch in July 1997, the Boeing-built node was now scheduled for launch in December 1997. Moreover, the U.S. Habitation module was now scheduled for launch in March 2002 instead of January 2001. The program changes annoyed congressional staffers because the program put more dependence on the Russians. NASA station chief Wilbur C. Trafton remained confident that the changes would not cause serious harm to station assembly. (Defense Daily, Feb 22/94)
Jim Doyle, spokesperson for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, said that additional Federal funding would allow the Magellan Spacecraft to continue studying Venus' interior and atmosphere at least through September 1994. Space Shuttle Atlantis launched Magellan in May 1989, and it arrived at Venus 15 months later. (AP, Feb 28/94; W Post, Mar 1/94)
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