Aug 8 1994
From The Space Library
NASA announced the appointment of J. Stuart Fordyce, currently Deputy Director of NASA's Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, as Chief Scientist at the Ohio Aerospace Institute, Cleveland, effective September 18. (NASA Release 94-130)
NASA announced the selection of BDM Federal, Inc., McLean, Virginia, to form a Remote Sensing Public Access Center for demonstrating, testing, and transferring technology to help provide public use of Earth and space science data over the Internet. (NASA Release 94-131; Federal Computer Week, Aug 22/94)
The nature of Space Ship Endeavour's forthcoming mission, after its projected launch on August 18 was described. In comparison to the April flight that mapped vegetation across the globe, searched for ancient rivers and trade routes, and studied the world's oceans, the August flight, using the $600-million Space Radar Laboratory, by taking the same trajectory was to compare seasonal variations and verify scientists' ability to interpret radar data. The first six days of the 10-day flight essentially were to be a near duplicate of the April flight. The last four days were to use the radar lab's instruments to per-form interferometric measurements of the Earth's surface. Interferometry typically used multiple antennas to observe a single site, then calculated the difference in the returned signals to determine the distance to that site. Endeavour scientists hoped to achieve the same result by using their single set of radar to observe the same ground tracks from parallel orbits. They expected to have three opportunities to observe long ground tracks in North America and two for Central Africa, each for about 20 minutes. The operation would require expert navigation and flying to maintain a correct observation position within 850 meters. (Av Wk, Aug 8/94)
The requirements for Rockwell International's Space Systems Division in integrating a Russian-built mechanism into airlock hardware it had manufactured so Space Shuttle Atlantis could dock with Space Station Mir were described. The docking assembly would he the first in what could be a long line of hybrid U.S.-Russian space hardware. Rockwell executives were confident they could meet the May 1995 launch date for Atlantis. Rockwell's Russian partner was NPO Energia, with whom it had worked some 20 years previously on the [[Apollo-Soyuz Test Project]]. Some of the complications of the collaboration were discussed. (Av Wk, Aug 8/94)
A Japanese cabinet advisory commission report stated that Japan needed to double its space budget over the next 15 years to initiate planetary expeditions, become a leader in Earth observation, and develop advanced robotics. The new space plan confirmed Japan's existing commitment to international space programs, including the Japanese Experiment Module for NASA's International Space Station. The recommendations came from a long-term planning group within the Space Activities Commission and were to be for-warded to Japan's Finance Ministry at the end of August when the fiscal 1995 budget would he prepared. (Av Wk, Aug 8/94)
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