Jan 3 1990
From The Space Library
Technical assistant Edwin She, from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, explained a or problem that the Spacecraft Magellan had developed three days earlier and a We more than halfway into its journey to map Venus. A computer chip failure, caused either by electrical corrosion or an electrically charged particle spewed out by the sun, necessitated frequent commands from ground crews to keep Magellan moving in the right direction. The craft's guidance system normally focused on two stars to ascertain and adjust its heading. Sherry explained that some difficulties with the vast array of electronics during flight were expected and that the mission was in no danger. Scientists hoped to send a new program aloft that would allow the ship's computer to bypass the damaged chip. (AP, Jan 4/90)
NASA released a request on this date to various companies for a proposal concerning design, management, building and testing of the Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. The first ATDRSS was scheduled for delivery in 1987 and could replace one of the older TDRS systems in orbit. By 2001, "A four-satellite constellation of ATDRSS is expected to be in orbit," said Thomas Underwood, Assistant Chief for the TDRS system at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. The ATDRSS promised to offer a much higher communication rate needed for Space Station Freedom missions. (NASA Release 90-2; C90-x)
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