Shuttle and Mir
Atlantis is in VAB High Bay 1. The new BI-83 solid booster stack is being assembled on Mobile Launch Platform 1 in VAB High Bay 3. However, a problem during assembly means that they're going to have to disassemble one part of one of the SRBs and try again; no word yet on whether this will be a delay. Around Aug 1, external tank ET-82, originally intended for STS-80, will be connected to the BI-83 stack. Atlantis will be dismounted from BI-82/ET-80 about the same time, and connected to the BI-83/ET-82 stack on around Aug 13. ET-80 will then be disconnected from BI-82, the SRB stack will be disassembled, cleaned and reassembled (possibly getting a new BI designation?), and according to a story on Bill Harwood's page will be used for STS-81. Launch of Atlantis is now planned for around Sep 12.
Launch to Mir of a Progress cargo ship (vehicle No. 232) was originally planned for Jul 25, but was scrubbed due to a tank pressurization problem at T-45s. Another launch attempt will be made Jul 26.
Recent Launches
Atlas II flight AC-125 was launched from Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Air Station on Jul 25. Payload was an HS-601 comsat built by Hughes for the US Navy, UHF Followon F7 (UHF F/O F7). The UHF Followon comsats are used for US Navy fleet communications. The Lockheed Martin Atlas II uses a stretched Atlas first stage and a Centaur II liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen second stage. The Centaur makes two burns to deliver the HS-601 satellite to geostationary transfer orbit. The early UHF F/O satellites were launched on Atlas I, but with the addition of an EHF (extremely high frequency) communications package they were moved to the Atlas II.
Navstar SVN 40's apogee motor fired successfully prior to Jul 21 and on Jul 23 it was in a 723.65 min, 20275 x 20368 km x 55.0 deg drift orbit. It has been assigned the telemetry number PRN 10 and will be placed in position E3 to begin service on Aug 12. Meanwhile, Navstar 20, launched in 1990, was retired last May 21; it was the first of the Block II GPS satellites to leave service.
The two comsats launched by Ariane on Jul 9 are reaching their final orbits. Arabsat 2A was on station at 26.0 deg E on Jul 23. Turksat 1C was at 31.3 deg E on Jul 22, drifting 0.1 degree per day.
Table of Recent Launches
Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL. DES. Jun 4 1234 Cluster F1 ) Ariane 5 Kourou ELA3 Science FTO Cluster F2 ) Cluster F3 ) Cluster F4 ) Jun 15 0655 Intelsat 709 Ariane 44P Kourou ELA2 Comsat 35A Jun 20 1449 Columbia ) Shuttle Kennedy LC39B Spaceship 36A Spacelab LMS 1) Jun 20 1845 Kosmos Soyuz-U Plesetsk Recon FTO Jul 2 0748 TOMS Pegasus XL Vandenberg Rem.sens. 37A Jul 3 0031 USA 125 Titan 404 Canaveral LC40 Comsat? 38A Jul 3 1047 Apstar 1A Chang Zheng 3 Xichang Comsat 39A Jul 9 2224 Arabsat 2A ) Ariane 44L Kourou ELA2 Comsat 40A Turksat 1C ) Comsat 40B Jul 16 0050 Navstar SVN 40 Delta 7925 Canaveral LC17B Navsat 41A Jul 25 1242 UHF F7 Atlas 2 Canaveral LC36 ComsatPayloads no longer in orbit
Jul 7 Columbia/LMS Landed at KSCCurrent Shuttle Processing Status
Orbiters Location Mission Launch Due OV-102 Columbia OPF Bay 1 STS-80 Nov 11 OV-103 Discovery OPF Bay 2 STS-82 Feb 13 OV-104 Atlantis VAB Bay 1 STS-79 Sep 12 OV-105 Endeavour OPF Bay 3 OMDP ML/SRB/ET/OV stacks ML1/RSRM-56 VAB Bay 3 STS-79 ML2/RSRM-54/ET-80/OV-104 VAB Bay 1 STS-79 ML3/
* indicates changes from last month's calendar
To see the full calendar, check out http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/August 1996
* Aug 01 - Alpha Capricornids Meteor Shower Aug 02 - Asteroid 1685 Toro Near-Earth Flyby (0.2208 AU) * Aug 03 - Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) Open House, Kanagawa, Japan Aug 05 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #8 (OTM-8) Aug 06 - 35th Anniversary (1961), Vostok 2 Launch Aug 06 - Asteroid 3103 Eger Near-Earth Flyby (0.1158 AU) * Aug 06 - Southern Iota Aquarids Meteor Shower * Aug 07 - Telecom-2D/Insat-2D Ariane 4 Launch Aug 08 - Asteroid Nausikaa at Opposition * Aug 09 - Possible Venus Occultation of 40682 (8.2 Magnitude Star) and 40817 (8.7 Magnitude Star) Aug 09 - 20th Anniversary (1976), Luna 24 Launch (Soviet Moon Sample Return) Aug 10 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Lunar Orbiter 1 Launch Aug 12 - Perseids Meteor Shower * Aug 12 - Asteroid 37 Fides Occults PPM 268941 (8.1 Magnitude Star) * Aug 12 - Asteroid 115 Thyra Occults PPM 173861 (10.5 Magnitude Star) * Aug 13 - Possible Venus Occultation of SAO 95633 (8.6 Magnitude Star) and SAO 95634 (9.2 Magnitude Star) * Aug 16 - FAST Pegasus XL Launch Aug 16 - Moon Occults Mercury Aug 17 - ADEOS/NSCAT Launch * Aug 17 - Soyuz TM-24 Launch (Russia) Aug 17 - Asteroid Lutetia at Opposition Aug 17 - Asteroid Dembowska at Opposition Aug 17 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Pioneer 7 Launch (Solar Orbiter) Aug 18 - Comet 1996 A1 Jedicke Perihelion (4.06 AU) * Aug 18 - Asteroid 1760 Sandra Occults PPM 203628 (8.6 Magnitude Star) Aug 19 - Asteroid Urania at Opposition Aug 19 - Venus Reaches Greatest Elongation (46 Degrees) Aug 20 - Comet Shoemaker-Holt 2 Perihelion (2.663 AU) Aug 20 - Asteroid Laetitia at Opposition Aug 21 - Mercury At Its Greatest Elongation (27 Degrees) Aug 24 - Johnson Space Center Open House, Houston Texas Aug 24 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Luna 11 Launch (Soviet Lunar Orbiter) * Aug 25 - Northern Iota Aquarids Meteor Shower Aug 25 - 15th Anniversary (1981), Voyager 2 Saturn Flyby Aug 27 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #9 (OTM-9) Aug 28 - Asteroid 1991 CS Near-Earth Flyby (0.0508 AU) * Aug 28 - Asteroid 400 Ducrosa Occults PPM 298185 (8.7 Magnitude Star) Aug 29 - Interball-2 Launch (Russia) * Aug 30 - GE-1 Atlas IIA Launch Aug 31 - Comet Wild 4 Perihelion (1.989 AU)September 1996
Sep ?? - Bion-11 Cosmos Launch (Russia) Sep 03 - Asteroid Thyra at Opposition Sep 03 - 20th Anniversary (1976), Viking 2 Mars Landing Sep 04 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #10 (OTM-10) Sep 04 - Venus Passes 3 Degrees South of Mars Sep 05 - Progress M-33 Launch (Russia) * Sep 05 - Possible Venus Occultation of 58982 (6.4 Magnitude Star) Sep 06 - Galileo, 2nd Ganymede Flyby (Orbit 2) Sep 09 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #11 (OTM-11) Sep 09 - Comet Wirtanen Closest Approach to Earth (1.4917 AU) Sep 09 - Asteroid 1994 PC Near-Earth Flyby (0.1706 AU) * Sep 10 - Echostar 2 Ariane 4 Launch Sep 10 - Asteroid 24 Themis Occults LU 2610 * Sep 10 - Possible Mars Occultation of SAO 80009 (9.1 Magnitude Star) * Sep 12 - STS-79, Atlantis, Mir Docking * Sep 12 - GPS II R-1 Delta Launch Sep 12 - 30th Anniversary (1966), Gemini 11 Launch * Sep 13 - 35th Anniversary (1961), Mercury Atlas 4 Launch (Unmanned Mercury) Sep 14 - Asteroid 1996 EN Near-Earth Flyby (0.1466 AU) Sep 15 - 5th Anniversary (1991), UARS Deployment from STS-48 Sep 16 - Asteroid 1989 RS1 Near-Earth Flyby (0.1937 AU) Sep 18 - Loral DBS Atlas Launch * Sep 20 - Possible Mars Occultation of 64658 (9.0 Magnitude Star) Sep 21-28 - National Astronomy Week '96, England Sep 23 - Autumnal Equinox (17:59 UT) Sep 23 - 150th Anniversary (1846), J. Galle's Discovery of Neptune Sep 24 - Minisat-1 Pegasus XL Launch Sep 26 - Saturn at Opposition Sep 26-27 - Lunar Eclipse * Sep 27 - Jupiter Occults SAO 180954 Sep 28 - 25th Anniversary (1971), Luna 19 Launch (Soviet Lunar Orbiter) * Sep 29 - Possible Mars Occultation of 67580 (8.7 Magnitude Star)
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