June 1990
From The Space Library
NASA awarded a $1.3 million contract to Martin Marietta Corporation to study design concepts for a space based "service station." The system would service satellites beyond the range of the Space Shuttle, provide them with fuel as well as replace certain components. (W Times, Jun 7/90)
The Air Force and NASA entered their final stage of a $250 million, ten-year experiment for the X-29 program, scheduled to be completed in March 1991. The test plane was designed to be 30 percent unstable and was dependent upon a sophisticated flight control system to produce and maintain stability. Glenn Spacht of Grumman Corporation, developer of the X-29 and producer of the F-14, said, "When applied to the F-14, the plane will get better handling qualities, survivability, maneuverability, and antispin characteristics... .The F-14 can certainly reap the benefits of the X-29." (Def News, Jun 25/90)
Scientists and engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California began extensive tests on its recently developed untended planetary rover. An unproven technology was needed for a vehicle on a distant planet con-trolled by ground crews on Earth inasmuch as round-trip communication would be anywhere from 8 minutes to 40 minutes. Computer Aided Remote Driving allowed vehicle planning and identification of a 10s-of-meters-long-obstacle-free path, with a three-dimensional display from stereo cameras aboard the vehicle. Semi-Autonomous Navigation allowed an operator to determine a nominal extended route tens of kilometers long. (NASA Release 90-85)
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