[Ed. Note: Go to http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/jsr/jsr.html for back issues and other information about Jonathan's Space Report.]

Shuttle and Mir

Atlantis docked with Mir at 0355 UTC on Jan 15. Jerry Linenger has replaced John Blaha on the Mir crew. The Shuttle undocked from the SO module on Mir at 0216 UTC on Jan 20, and backed off along the -RBAR (i.e. towar d the Earth) to a distance of 140m before beginning a flyaround at 0231 UTC. Most of the flyaround was at a distance from Mir of about 170m. The first 'orbit' around Mir was complete at 0315, and the second was completed at 0402 UTC, when the Orbiter fire d its jets to separate from the vicinity of Mir. The return crew for Atlantis comprised Mike Baker, Brent Jett, Marsha Ivins, Jeff Wisoff, John Grunsfeld, and John Blaha.
     Atlantis closed its payload bay doors early on Jan 22 and fired the OMS engines for the deorbit burn at 1317 UTC. The spaceship touched down on Runway 33 at Kennedy Space Center at 1422 UTC, completing mission STS-81. Atlanti s will make its next trip to Mir in May.
     The next Shuttle mission, STS-82 on Feb 11, will deliver new science instruments to the Hubble Space Telescope. Discovery was rolled to the pad on Jan 17; during the rollout, the steel surface plate of Mobile Launch Platform 1 developed a 7 meter long crack, with a 'loud bang'. NASA reports that the weight-bearing surface of the MLP, which supports the fully fuelled Shuttle, is intact and there is apparently no big problem. Mobile Launch Platform 1 was originally part of Apol lo-Saturn Launch Umbilical Tower 3 (LUT-3), first rolled out to pad 39A in March 1966 and first used for a launch for Apollo 10 in May 1969.

Recent Launches

A McDonnell Douglas Delta 7925 was destroyed shortly after launch from Cape Canaveral on Jan 17. According to a Florida Today report, a solid rocket booster may have failed just before the spectacular explosion. This is the first Delta II rocket to fail to reach orbit, and the first failure to orbit of any Delta since 1986. The payload was the first GPS Block IIR spacecraft to be launched (actually the second production vehicle), built by the former Lockheed Martin A stro Space in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. (now part of Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space/Sunnyvale). Navstar GPS satellites carry atomic clocks to provide precise navigational information; Boeing North American Block II and Block IIA GPS satellites make up the current system, which Block IIR will replace.
     The Delta 7925 is a three stage rocket. The first stage is an Extra Extended Long Tank Thor, a derivative of the 1950s Thor IRBM. The second stage is a restartable liquid stage, usually denoted 'SSPS' for Second Stage Propuls ion System, and using the Aerojet AJ-10-118K engine. This stage derives from the AJ-10-118E Improved Delta stage of the mid-1960's which in turn came from the AJ-10-104 Ablestar stage. The third stage is the PAM-D (Payload Assist Module-Delta) which uses the Thiokol Star 48 solid motor. In addition to the three main stages, there are nine strap-on solid motors attached to the first stage. These Alliant Techsystems GEM (Graphite Epoxy Motor) solids distinguish the Delta 7000 series from earlier models usin g Thiokol Castor solid boosters. The only GEM failure to date occurred when a GEM failed to separate during the Koreasat 1 launch, but it appears that one of the GEMs may have failed on this latest launch.
     AT&T's Telstar 401 communications satellite has failed in geostationary orbit. Reason for the failure is unknown. The satellite was built by Lockheed Martin Astro Space/East Windsor and is a Series 7000 model.

Table of Recent Launches

Date UT       Name            Launch Vehicle  Site            Mission    INTL.
                                                                          DES.

Dec  4 0658   Mars Pathfinder  Delta 7925     Canaveral LC17B Mars probe  68A
Dec 11 1200   Kosmos-2335      Tsiklon-2      Baykonur LC90   Recon       69A
Dec 18 0157   Inmarsat III F3  Atlas IIA      Canaveral LC36  Comsat      70A
Dec 20 0644   Kosmos-2336      Kosmos-3M      Plesetsk LC132  Navsat      71A
Dec 20 1804   USA 129          Titan 4        Vandenberg SLC4E Recon      72A
Dec 24 1350   Bion No. 11      Soyuz-U        Plesetsk LC43   Life sci    73A
Jan 12 0928   Atlantis         Shuttle        Kennedy LC39B   Spaceship   01A
Jan 17 1628   GPS IIR No. 2    Delta 7925     Canaveral LC17A Navsat      FTO

Current Shuttle Processing Status

Orbiters               Location   Mission    Launch Due

OV-102 Columbia        OPF Bay 1     STS-83  Apr  3
OV-103 Discovery       OPF LC39A     STS-82  Feb 11
OV-104 Atlantis        KSC RW33      STS-81
OV-105 Endeavour       Palmdale      OMDP

ML/SRB/ET/OV stacks

ML1/RSRM-58/ET-81/OV-103    LC39A          STS-82
ML2/                        LC39B          STS-81
ML3/RSRM-59/                VAB Bay 1      STS-83

Shuttle Processing Explanation (or, what are all these acronyms anyway?):

The Shuttle consists of an Orbiter (OV), an expendable External Tank (ET), and a reusable pair of Redesigned Solid Rocket Motors (RSRM). It is launched from Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The OV is prepared for flight in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) which consists of three bays (one of which is actually a separate building) after which it is towed to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and `mated to the stack' or joined to the ET and RSRM. First, the segments of the RSRM are stacked up on a Mobile Launch Platform (ML) and then the ET is connected to it. After the OV is mated, a Crawler-Transporter is moved underneath the ML and carries the ML/RSRM/ET/OV stack to one of the two pads (A or B) at launch complex 3 9 (LC39) where it is eventually launched on a Space Transportation System (STS) mission. Occasionally an OV is returned to the Rockwell International plant in Palmdale, California for refit - an Orbiter Maintenance Down Period or OMDP.

* indicates changes from last month's calendar
To see the full calendar, check out http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/

February 1997

* Feb ?? - NASA Space Summit
  Feb ?? - Hot Bird 3 Launch
  Feb ?? - Mabuhay-1 Long March Launch (Philippines/China)
  Feb 01 - Venus Passes 1 Degree South of Neptune
  Feb 01 - Asteroid 20 Massalia Occults 9.4 Magnitude Star
  Feb 02 - 20th Anniversary (1977), Burnup of Salyut 4 Space Station 
           (USSR)
  Feb 03 - Comet Russell 4 Perihelion (2.23 AU)
  Feb 04 - Mars Pathfinder, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #2 (TCM-2)
* Feb 04 - Asteroid 84 Klio Occults PPM 091967 (9.9 Magnitude Star)
  Feb 05 - 30th Anniversary (1967), Lunar Orbiter 3 Launch
  Feb 06 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #19 (OTM-19)
  Feb 06 - Comet Holt-Olmstead Perihelion (2.15 AU)
  Feb 06 - Venus Passes 0.3 Degrees South of Jupiter
* Feb 07 - Chinese Year 4634 Begins
  Feb 07 - VSOP-Muses-B M-5 Launch (Japan)
  Feb 07 - Minisat-01 Pegasus XL Launch
  Feb 07 - Mercury Passes 1.4 Degrees South of Neptune
  Feb 07 - Venus Passes 0.2 Degrees South of Uranus
* Feb 07 - Asteroid 936 Kunigunde Occults PPM 265431 (9.1 Magnitude 
           Star)
* Feb 07 - Asteroid 511 Davida Occults PPM 119290 (10.2 Magnitude Star)
  Feb 07 - 20th Anniversary (1977), Soyuz 24 Launch (USSR)
* Feb 08 - USAF Titan 4B Launch (1st Launch of Titan 4B)
  Feb 08 - 5th Anniversary (1992), Ulysses Flyby of Jupiter
* Feb 10 - Soyuz TM-25 Launch (Russia)
  Feb 10 - Comet Shoemaker-Holt 2 Closest Approach to Earth (1.9245 AU)
* Feb 10 - Asteroid 451 Patientia Occults GSC 2471-1267 (9.8 Magnitude
           Star)
* Feb 11 - STS-82 Launch, Discovery, Hubble Space Telescope Servicing 
           Mission #2
  Feb 12 - Mercury Passes 1 Degree South of Jupiter
* Feb 12 - 50th Anniversary (1947), Sikhote-Alin Meteorite Shower
  Feb 13 - Mercury Passes 0.9 Degrees South of Uranus
* Feb 14 - Lewis LMLV-1 Launch
  Feb 14 - 25th Anniversary (1972), Luna 20 Launch (Soviet Moon Sample
           Return)
  Feb 15 - JCSAT-4 Atlas-2AS Launch
  Feb 16 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #20 (OTM-20)
  Feb 16 - Jupiter Passes 0.2 Degrees North of Uranus
* Feb 18 - Asteroid 445 Edna Occults PPM 068862 (6.9 Magnitude Star)
* Feb 18 - Asteroid 100 Hekate Occults PPM 128061 (9.3 Magnitude Star)
  Feb 20 - Galileo, 2nd Europa Flyby (Orbit 6)
  Feb 20 - 35th Anniversary (1962), Friendship 7 Launch (John Glenn)
  Feb 22 - Thor-2A Delta 2 Launch (Sweden/USA)
  Feb 23 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #21 (OTM-21)
  Feb 23 - Asteroid 1991 CS Near-Earth Flyby (0.2229 AU)
  Feb 23 - 10th Anniversary (1987) of Supernova 1987A Explosion
* Feb 24 - Asteroid 64 Angelina at Opposition (10.3 Magnitude)
  Feb 26 - Progress M-34 Launch (Russia)
* Feb 26 - Asteroid 386 Siegena Occults PPM 153989 (9.1 Magnitude Star)
* Feb 28 - Intelsat 801 Ariane 4 Launch
* Feb 28 - Comet Hale-Bopp Crosses the Ecliptic Plane

March 1997

  Mar ?? - Thaicom-3/BSAT-1A Ariane 4 Launch (ESA/Japan)
  Mar ?? - Feng Yun-2B Long March 4 Launch (China)
* Mar 01 - Asteroid 139 Juewa at Opposition (10.5 Magnitude)
  Mar 01 - 15th Anniversary (1982), Venera 13 Venus Flyby/Landing (USSR)
  Mar 02 - Mercury Passes 0.8 Degrees from Venus
  Mar 02 - Asteroid 16 Psyche at Opposition (10.3 Magnitude)
* Mar 02 - Asteroid 71 Niobe at Opposition (10.5 Magnitude)
  Mar 03 - SWAS Pegasus XL Launch
  Mar 03 - 25th Anniversary (1972), Pioneer 10 Launch (Jupiter/Saturn 
           Flyby)
* Mar 05 - Tempo-2 Atlas-2A Launch
  Mar 05 - 15th Anniversary (1982), Venera 14 Venus Flyby/Landing (USSR)
  Mar 07 - John Herschel's 205th Birthday (1792)
  Mar 09 - Solar Eclipse, Visible from Russia, Arctic
  Mar 09 - Comet Hale-Bopp Crosses Over Earth's Orbit
  Mar 10 - Asteroid 1990VA Near-Earth Flyby (0.2069 AU)
  Mar 10 - 20th Anniversary (1977), Discovery of Rings Around Uranus
  Mar 11 - Asteroid 6 Hebe at Opposition (9.6 Magnitude)
  Mar 11 - Asteroid 18 Melpomente at Opposition (10.1 Magnitude)
  Mar 13 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #22 (OTM-22)
* Mar 13 - Summer Solstice on Mars
* Mar 14 - Comet Hale-Bopp Occults PPM 63645 (10.9 Magnitude Star)
  Mar 14 - Comet Wirtanen Perihelion (1.065 AU)
  Mar 15 - Mars Pathfinder Passes Mars Global Surveyor En Route to Mars
  Mar 15 - Forte Pegasus XL Launch
  Mar 16 - 35th Anniversary (1962), Maiden Launch of the Titan 2 Rocket
* Mar 16 - 35th Anniversary (1962), 1st Cosmos Launch (USSR)
  Mar 17 - Mars at Opposition
  Mar 20 - Comet Schwasmann-Wachmann 2 Near-Jupiter Flyby (0.2461 AU)
  Mar 20 - Vernal Equinox, 13:55 UT
  Mar 20 - Mercury Passes 1.9 Degrees From Saturn
  Mar 22 - Mars Global Surveyor, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #2 
           (TCM-2)
  Mar 22 - Comet Hale-Bopp Closest Approach to Earth (1.315 AU)
* Mar 22 - India's Year 1919 Begins
  Mar 22 - 15th Anniversary (1982), STS-3 Launch (Columbia)
  Mar 24 - Partial Lunar Eclipse
  Mar 26 - Comet Helin-Roman-Alu 1 Perihelion  (3.715 AU)
  Mar 27 - 25th Anniversary (1972), Venera 8 Launch (Venus Lander)
  Mar 28 - 195th Anniversary (1802), Wilhelm Olber's Discovery of the 
           2nd Asteroid, Pallas
  Mar 29 - 190th Anniversary (1807), Wilhelm Olber's Discovery of 
            Asteroid 4 Vesta
  Mar 31 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #23 (OTM-23)
  Mar 31 - Venus Passes 0.9 Degrees from Saturn
* Mar 31 - 10th Anniversary (1987), Kvant Launch, Astrophysics 
           Observatory Module Added To Mir