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Clipper Graham Crashes, Burns After Test Flight

NASA's DC-XA, or "Clipper Graham" reusable test vehicle was severely damaged Wednesday, July 31 when a landing leg failed to deploy, causing the vehicle to tip over on landing and explode.

"The vehicle tipped over and started burning, and then we had some explosions," program manager Dan Dumbacher told Reuters. "The vehicle has been severely damaged."

The accident took place at the end of a 2 minute, 20 second test flight, the fourth in a series of five at White Sands. NASA video showed that two of the four landing legs on the DC-XA extended normally and a third extended a few moments later. The fourth leg failed to deploy.

Upon landing, the three legs were not able to support the vehicle, and it tipped over on the side where the landing leg failed to extend. the DC-XA crashed to the ground and exploded. A second explosion took place 90 seconds later when the liquid oxygen tank ruptured and caught fire.

The accident makes any future flights of the Clipper Graham unlikely. "It is definitely not flyable," said Dave Schweikle, project manager with manufacturer McDonnell Douglas. "It is severely damaged." A committee is being established to investigate the failure. Engineers and technicians were scheduled to start examining the vehicle on Thursday.

The vehicle had just finished a successful test flight when the accident occurred. The Clipper Graham had flown to an altitude of 1,250 m (4,100 feet) and swung from side to side in an arc-like sweeping maneuver.

The DC-XA, an upgraded version of the original DC-X rocket, was being used by NASA to test advanced technologies such as lightweight composite fuel tanks that may be used on future generations of reusable launch vehicles. NASA had spent $50 million on the program.

Boeing to Buy Rockwell Aerospace Units

In the latest consolidation in the aerospace industry, Rockwell and Boeing announced Thursday, August 1 that Boeing would purchase Rockwell aerospace and defense units, a move that would allow both companies to better pursue their long-range goals.

Under the agreement, Boeing would issue $860 million in stock and assume $2.165 billion in Rockwell debt. In exchange, Boeing would acquire Rockwell's aerospace and defense subsidiaries. The remainder of Rockwell's businesses, including avionics, automation, communications, semiconductors and automotive components, would move to a new company that retains the Rockwell name.

In a blast from the past, the former Rockwell aerospace and defense units would be known as Boeing North American, Inc. North American was the old name for the aerospace company before merging with Rockwell. Boeing North American would include Rockwell's Space Systems Division in Downey, CA and Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, CA.

Also included in the merger is Rockwell's 50 percent share of United Space Alliance (USA), a joint venture with Lockheed Martin that is negotiating with NASA to take over space shuttle operations.

In a statement on August 1, NASA associate administrator Wilbur Trafton said the deal should not affect negotiations between the space agency and USA on a shuttle contract. "It is still our hope and expectation to sign the Shuttle single-prime contract with USA in the October time frame," Trafton said.

"This merger accelerates us on our way to achieving our 20-year vision, which calls for Boeing to be a fully integrated aerospace company," said Boeing president Phil Condit. He added that he forsees few layoffs from the merger.

"This is an historic step in the continuing transformation of Rockwell, which has been shifting strategic focus to higher growth commercial and international businesses, with a particular focus on electronics," said Rockwell chairman and CEO Donald Beall.

The merger requires the approval of Rockwell shareholders and certain regulatory approvals. Rockwell shareholders will meet in November to vote on the issue, and the transaction will be completed shortly thereafter.

Panel: Software Error Caused Ariane 5 Crash

A problem in the software that controls a critical guidance system was the cause of the destruction of Europe's new Ariane 5 rocket only seconds into its maiden flight last month, a panel reported Tuesday, July 23.

"The failure of Ariane 501 was caused by the complete loss of guidance and attitude information 37 seconds after start of the main engine ignition sequence," the board of inquiry concluded in its final report. "This loss of information was due to specification and design errors in the software of the inertial reference system."

The report was issued by a board of inquiry assembled days after the accident, which was given approximately one month to report its findings.

The first launch of the heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket took place June 4 from the European Space Agency's launch facility at Kourou, French Guiana, on the northeast coast of South America. The unmanned rocket carried four European scientific satellites.

The launch was normal until 37 seconds after the engines first fired, or 30 seconds after the rocket lifted off. According to the report, two inertial reference systems, which provide attitude and directional information for the rocket's computers, failed simultaneously.

At that point, the computers on board the rocket commanded the nozzles at the ends of two solid rocket boosters attached to the rocket to swivel "into the extreme position." The nozzle of the main engine of the Ariane 5 also moved out of position moments later.

The motion of the nozzles, which channel the flow of exhaust from the engines, caused the rocket to suddenly veer off course. As such a sudden course change could endanger people on the ground, the rocket's self-destruct system automatically triggered, destroying the rocket.

The panel made a number of recommendations to correct the problem and prevent similar problems on future flights. The recommendations include more and better testing procedures, a "critical reappraisal" of all software, and a review of ways with dealing with double failures.

The work required to meet those recommendations will push the second flight of the unmanned rocket from this fall into 1997. "We can reasonably say that [the second Ariane 5 rocket] will be launched in the middle of the first half of 1997," said Jean-Marie Luton, director-general of the European Space Agency (ESA).

Booster Problems Delay Progress Launch

The launch of a Russian Progress spacecraft carrying food and other supplies for the crew aboard the space station Mir was delayed twice last week due to problems with its Soyuz booster, but finally lifted off on August 1.

A launch attempt on Monday, July 22 was scrubbed when officials announced "additional checks" needed to be made to the Soyuz-U2 booster. The launch, rescheduled for Thursday the 25th, was stopped with only ten seconds remaining in the countdown. Officials cited unspecified technical problems for the delay.

The Progress launch had already been delayed several weeks due to an investigation into problems with the Soyuz booster. Two Soyuz-U2 rockets launched in may and June exploded after launch. In both cases the ordinarily-dependable rockets were carrying military reconnaissance satellites.

The Progress spacecraft is carrying food, water, fuel, and other supplies for the three-person crew onboard the space station. Russian space officials have noted that the crew has enough supplies to last until August, when a Russian relief crew is scheduled to be launched.

The Progress delay adds to the delays for the hapless American-Russian crew aboard Mir. The two Russians aboard Mir, Yuri Onufrienko and Yuri Usachev, were scheduled to return to Earth in late July but were delayed for over a month due to problems paying for the rocket to launch the replacement crew. The relief crew, which includes the first French woman to go into space, is now scheduled to launch on August 19.

American Shannon Lucid's stay on Mir has been extended by six weeks, to mid-September, due to solid rocket booster problems that have delayed the launch of the shuttle Atlantis on the fourth Mir-Shuttle docking mission.

Ariane, Long March Ink New Launch Contracts

Arianespace announced a contract with telecommunication companies in Singapore and Taiwan to launch a communications satellite in 1998. The French-built Matra Marconi satellite will serve Asia and the Middle East. The contract is the first one announced since the destruction of Europe's Ariane 5 rocket on its maiden flight June 4.

People's Insurance Property Company, the largest Chinese insurance company, announced contracts for two satellites to be launched on Long March rockets by the Great Wall Industry Company. One satellite is an American-built communications satellite for China, the other is a spacecraft built by China's Academy of Space Technology.

The announcement comes one day after Great Wall officials reported that they would launch satellites next year for a Filipino consortium as well as Apstar, based in Hong Kong. An Apstar satellite was destroyed when its Long March rocket exploded shortly after launch in January 1995.

The Long March returned to service in July when it launched a Hughes-built Apstar communications satellite on a Long March booster. The launch was a first since the crash and explosion of a new Long March 3B seconds after launch in February, killing at least six people on the ground.

Galileo Shows Io Volcanic Activity Continues

The first Galileo image of Jupiter's moon Io shows that the volcanically active moon has undergone significant changes since the Voyager spacecraft provided the first close-up view of the body 17 years ago.

"The changes we are seeing on Io are dramatic," said Michael Belton, leader of the Galileo camera team. "The colors of material on the ground and their distribution have changed substantially since the Voyager flybys of 1979."

Belton noted in particular a bright deposit of material around the volcano Masubi in Io's southern hemisphere. The deposit is believed to be sulfur and sulfur dioxide frost that condensed from volcanic eruptions. "The sulfur dioxide gas that drives the volcano makes a big plume, condenses, then paints the surface white," Belton said.

The two Voyager spacecraft first discovered volcanic activity on Io when images from the spacecraft showed plumes rising above the limb of the planet. Other volcanic activity has been observed in recent years by groundbased telescopes observing in heat-sensitive infrared wavelengths.

The volcanic activity on Io is related to its orbit around Jupiter. Io is locked into an orbital resonance with Jupiter and two other large moons, Europa and Ganymede. This resonance creates tidal friction which heats up Io's core, providing enough energy for volcanic activity.

The image of Io was taken in late June when Galileo was about 2.25 million kilometers (1.4 million miles) away from the moon. The image was taken shortly before Galileo made its close flyby of Ganymede, Jupiter's largest moon. The image resolution of 27 km (17 mi) compares favorably to Voyager images from this region of Io.

NASA Council Approves Bion Missions

The NASA Advisory Council announced its approval of the Bion 11 and 12 astrobiology missions, a month after the House of Representatives cut funding for the American share of the joint U.S.-Russian-French program.

The council accepted a report by Bion Task Force chairman Dr. Ronald Merrell of Yale University. The task force reviewed the scientific goals of the proposed missions, looked into any possible alternatives to the mission, and certified that ethical and humane animal treatment standards were being followed.

The Bion program is a cooperative venture between the U.S., Russia, and France, to investigate the effects of weightlessness on animals. Dating back to the 1970s, the missions have investigated weightlessness effects on rats, monkeys, and other animals. The next two missions, scheduled for late 1996 and 1998, will involve Russian-owned rhesus monkeys flown in space for two weeks before being returned safely to Earth.

American participation in the Bion program was jeopardized in June when the House passed a measure that prevented NASA from spending money on the program. "Let us be clear about one thing, Bion 11 and 12 are really not about science, they are about subsidizing the Russian space program," claimed Rep. Greg Ganske (R-IA), one of the cosponsors of the measure, which passed 244-171.

Funding for the program will not be certain until the Senate acts on NASA appropriations and differences between the House and Senate bills are patched up in conference committees.

Galaxy Communications Satellite to Be First Delta III Payload

The Galaxy X communications satellite will be the first payload launched into orbit by McDonnell Douglas's heavy-lift Delta III rocket when the large booster debuts in 1998, company officials announced July 19.

The Hughes-built satellite is one of 11 that will be launched by the Delta III, thanks to a long-term deal between McDonnell Douglas and Hughes Electronics.

"McDonnell Douglas values greatly the continued confidence Hughes Communications has shown by their selection of the Delta III for a program of such critical importance to their business," said Bob Cowls, general manager of McDonnell Douglas Commercial Delta, Inc.

The Delta III will have a payload capability of 3,800 kg (8,400 lbs) to geosynchronous orbit, more than twice of McDonnell Douglas workhorse booster, the Delta II. The Delta III is based on the Delta II, but with a cryogenically-fueled upper stage and larger payload faring.

NASA Announces Awards for Low Cost Launch Research

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center has selected 15 proposals from nine companies for further work into technologies to reduce the cost of launching small payloads into orbit.

The goal of the project, according to NASA officials, is to reduce the price of launching 225-kg (500-lb) payloads into orbit to no more than one million dollars. The research will focus on using current technologies to develop more efficient and less expensive launcher components like fuel tanks, pressurization systems, electronics and structures.

"We want to tap into existing technologies and common methods of manufacturing that are often available from companies not typically associated with traditional aerospace industry," according to Danny Davis, manager of the Low Cost Boost Technology Project.

Ground tests of the new systems are planned by 1998, with a demonstration flight by mid-1999. While not directly associated with NASA's reusable launch vehicle research, officials said that some of the technology produced by the project may aid in the development of future reusable vehicles.

"Ultimately, we want to enable development of a low-cost commercial launch system with minimal investment costs," said Davis.

Other News

Mergermania Continues? McDonnell Douglas, which had earlier been rumored to buy the Rockwell divisions snapped up August 1 by Boeing, may be setting its eyes on Raytheon. A complete merger between St. Louis-based McDonnell Douglas and Raytheon, headquarters in Lexington, Massachusetts, outside Boston, is unlikely, according to analysts, due to the diversity of holdings between the two companies... Getting sunburns faster? A report in the August 1 issue of Geophysical Research Letters showed that surface ultraviolet levels have increased by up to 10 percent between 1979 and 1992. The data, collected by an instrument aboard NASA's Nimbus-7 satellite, showed the greatest increases in northern Europe and far southern Chile and Argentina, with smaller increases of 4 percent near the U.S.-Canadian border... Surveyors working at NASA's Langley Research Center July 15 found the fossil remains of a 3.5-million-year-old, 30-foot whale. Like a downsized employee, the remains have been removed from Langley, in this case to the College of William and Mary for further study.

PHOTO CREDITS: (top to bottom) NASA, J. Foust, ESA. NASA/JPL, NASA

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