Jan 13 1995
From The Space Library
A contract for the design and development of the International Space Station was signed today by NASA and the Boeing Defense and Space Group, Missiles and Space Division. This 400-ton Space Station will be a catalyst for global cooperation, bringing together resources from the United States, Russia, Japan, member nations of the European Space Agency, Canada, and Italy. The new contract was for $5.63 billion. Assembly will begin in November 1997 with the launch of the U.S.-purchased Russian FGB "space tug"- a power and propulsion module. It will be followed in December 1997 with Node 1, that will connect laboratory and crew modules and allow the Space Shuttle to dock. (NASA Releases 95-2 & 13; Space News, May 1/95; Av Wk, Apr 10/95)
The 1995 Astronaut Class, which begins in March, will include two inter-national candidates. They are Japanese astronaut Takao Doi, Ph.D., and Canadian astronaut David S. Williams, M.D. Their selection as mission specialists brings the class size to 21. (NASA Release 95-3)
Large-scale conceptual models of the X-32 Common Affordable Lightweight Fighter are scheduled to begin at the Ames Research Center this summer and continue through the summer of 1996. The idea for the X-32, which could be introduced into service around 2010, is to have two versions.
One would he a conventional take-off and landing aircraft. The second version would he much as the first, except configured for short take-offs and vertical landings. They would share a common fuselage and engine, while a powered-lift propulsion system would he used for vertical landings. (NASA Release 95-4)
The Hubble Space Telescope's images of 14 bright quasars produce a giant leap backward in the scientific understanding of them. Current theory caused astronomers to expect each quasar to be surrounded by its host galaxy. However, most were alone in space. Scientists will have to rethink theories about what makes quasars shine. (W Post, Jan 13/95; Science, Jan 27/95 & Nov 24/95)
NASA and Boeing Defense and Space Group of Houston, Texas, signed a $5.63 billion contract for the design and development of the International Space Station. In particular, Boeing accepted responsibility for the design, manufacture, and delivery of the U.S. on-orbit segments of the station in a contract that extended through 2003. Assembly of the Space Station is projected to begin in November 1997; completion is foreseen in June 2002. (NASA Release 95-2; H Chron, Jan 14/95; Phillips Business Information, Jan 17/95; Av Wk, Jan 23/95)
Anatoly Kiselyov, General Director of the Khrunichev State Space Research and Industrial Center, said that NASA's terms for financing the work to develop and build the cargo module for the Alpha Station were unrealistic and that Russian air and space firms could not agree to them. Kiselyov said the real costs of building the functional cargo module would be 40 to 50 percent higher than American estimates, or at least $220 million. The cargo module is to be the first component of a future space station and is scheduled for launch in November 1997. It will serve as the basis on which to build a future space complex. (FBIS-Soy, Jan 13/95) January 16: A Japanese-German attempt to put a space capsule into orbit for five days of experiments failed, sending it tumbling through the atmosphere where it broke up and burned over the Pacific after two or three orbits. The $60 million "Express" satellite was supposed to land in Australia's outback Saturday for retrieval. (H Chron, Jan 17/95; Reuters, Jan 16/95)
January 18: NASA announced that it planned a February 2 liftoff for the Shuttle Discovery, whose astronauts were to attempt the first rendezvous of a Space Shuttle with the Russian Space Station Mir. The planned eight-day flight was considered a rehearsal for a series of Shuttle-Mir docking missions set to begin in late May or early June. The STS-63 Mission was to be commanded by James D. Wetherbee, with Eileen M. Collins as pilot. (NASA Release, 95-5; H Chron, Jan 19/95; AFP, Jan 19/95; APn, Jan 18//95; NASA Note to Editors, N95-4)
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