11-Aug-93 Daily File Collection These files were added or updated between 10-Aug-93 at 21:00:00 {Central} and 11-Aug-93 at 21:00:30. =--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:930811.REL 8/11/93: HUBBLE FIRST SERVICING MISSION HARDWARE ARRIVES AT KSC George H. Diller August 11, 1993 KSC Release No. 97-93 Preparations for the first servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) began today at KSC with the arrival of the Space Support Equipment (SSE). Some of this flight hardware will house the delicate Hubble replacement components inside Endeavour's payload bay during the mission. The SSE was shipped from Baltimore on Aug. 6 after checkout at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Traveling aboard the Space Shuttle external tank barge, the hardware is enclosed in shipping containers previously used by the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) and the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). After being offloaded from the barge, the equipment will be taken to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) located in KSC's Industrial Area for launch preparations. One of the significant processing milestones will take place in mid-September when the Hubble replacement components, including the Wide Field/Planetary Camera II and Hubble corrective optics, are mated with their carriers. Astronauts will install these components on the 43-foot-long, 14-foot diameter HST during the mission. The SSE consists of three parts: the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier which is a dedicated Spacelab maintenance and repair pallet; the Solar Array Carrier which will hold the replacement solar panels; and the Flight Support Structure which will hold and orient the telescope while it is being repaired by the astronauts in Endeavour's payload bay. This device was used previously aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984 during the Solar Maximum Satellite repair mission. Replacement components for the Hubble Space Telescope are scheduled to arrive at KSC later this month. Mission STS-61 is a planned 11-day flight featuring five spacewalks with seven crew members dedicated to the servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. Launch is currently targeted for early December. Source:NASA Spacelink Modem:205-895-0028 Internet:192.149.89.61 =--=--=-END-=--=--= =--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:930811.SHU KSC SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT 8/11/93 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT Wednesday, August 11, 1993 KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham MISSION: STS-51 -- ACTS-TOS/ORFEUS-SPAS LAUNCH MINUS 1 DAY VEHICLE: Discovery/OV-103 ORBITAL ALTITUDE: 184 miles LOCATION: Pad 39-B INCLINATION: 28.45 degrees LAUNCH DATE: August 12, 1993 CREW SIZE: 5 LAUNCH WINDOW: 9:10 - 10:07 a.m. EDT KSC LANDING DATE/TIME: August 21/22 (7:09 a.m. on the 21st) MISSION DURATION: 8 days/21 hours/59 minutes (+ 1 day) The countdown for Discovery's launch continues today. Managers and engineers decided late last night to replace a faulty liquid oxygen temperature sensor on main engine #1 following erratic temperature readings. Workers entered the aft engine compartment earlier this morning to remove and replace the sensor. It is expected the aft compartment will again be closed for flight by mid to late afternoon. Following aft compartment closeouts, an aft confidence test will be run and preparations will be made to retract the rotating service structure to launch position at about 7 p.m. today. At about 10 p.m. the pad will be cleared as preparations are made to load the external tank with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. Loading is scheduled to begin at about 12:30 a.m. Thursday. Two mid-deck experiments will be installed into the orbiter today. The Commercial Protein Crystal Growth (CPCG) experiment will be installed by 11 a.m. and the Chromosome and Plant Cell Division in Space (CHROMEX) experiment will be installed by about 8 p.m. Forecasters continue to indicate a 30 percent probability of weather prohibiting launch with the primary concerns being possible offshore thunderstorms and a low cloud ceiling. The winds at the pad are expected to be from the southeast at 6 to 10 knots; temperature 83-85 degrees F.; relative humidity 75-70 percent; visibility 7 miles; and clouds scattered to broken at 2,500, 12,000 and 25,000 feet. The 24-hour and 48-hour delay forecast reveal similar conditions with 20 percent and 10 percent chance of violation respectively. The five astronauts for this mission are reviewing their flight data files today. They will also take part in orbiter and payload briefings and fly in their T-38 training aircraft prior to preparing for sleep at about 6:30 p.m. SUMMARY OF REMAINING HOLDS FOR STS-51 T-TIME ------- LENGTH OF HOLD ---- HOLD BEGINS ---- HOLD ENDS T-11 hours --- 13 hrs.,20 mins. -- 5:30 am Wed.----- 6:50 pm Wed. T-6 hours ---- 1 hour ---------- 11:50 pm Wed.--- 12:50 am Thurs. T-3 hours ---- 2 hours --------- 3:50 am Thurs.--- 5:50 am Thurs. T-20 minutes - 10 minutes ------ 8:30 am Thurs.--- 8:40 am Thurs. T-9 minutes -- 10 minutes ------ 8:51 am Thurs.--- 9:01 am Thurs. CREW FOR MISSION STS-51 Commander (CDR): Frank Culbertson Pilot (PLT): Bill Readdy Mission Specialist (MS1): Jim Newman Mission Specialist (MS2): Dan Bursch Mission Specialist (MS3): Carl Walz SUMMARY OF STS-51 LAUNCH DAY CREW ACTIVITIES Thursday, August 12, 1993 4:00 a.m. Wake up 4:30 a.m. Breakfast 5:00 a.m. Weather briefing (CDR, PLT, MS2) 5:00 a.m. Don flight equipment (MS1, MS3) 5:10 a.m. Don flight equipment (CDR, PLT, MS2) 5:40 a.m. Depart for launch pad 39-B 6:10 a.m. Arrive at white room and begin ingress 7:25 a.m. Close crew hatch 9:10 a.m. Launch Source:NASA Spacelink Modem:205-895-0028 Internet:192.149.89.61 =--=--=-END-=--=--= =--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_2_2_46_8.TXT NOTE: This file is too large {24698 bytes} for inclusion in this collection. The first line of the file: STS-51 WEATHER PREDICTIONS / PREVIOUS DELAY AND LAUNCH INFORMATION Source:NASA Spacelink Modem:205-895-0028 Internet:192.149.89.61 =--=--=-END-=--=--= =--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_7_2_18_6.TXT 8/11/93: HUBBLE FIRST SERVICING MISSION HARDWARE ARRIVES AT KSC George H. Diller August 11, 1993 KSC Release No. 97-93 Preparations for the first servicing mission of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) began today at KSC with the arrival of the Space Support Equipment (SSE). Some of this flight hardware will house the delicate Hubble replacement components inside Endeavour's payload bay during the mission. The SSE was shipped from Baltimore on Aug. 6 after checkout at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Traveling aboard the Space Shuttle external tank barge, the hardware is enclosed in shipping containers previously used by the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) and the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF). After being offloaded from the barge, the equipment will be taken to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) located in KSC's Industrial Area for launch preparations. One of the significant processing milestones will take place in mid-September when the Hubble replacement components, including the Wide Field/Planetary Camera II and Hubble corrective optics, are mated with their carriers. Astronauts will install these components on the 43-foot-long, 14-foot diameter HST during the mission. The SSE consists of three parts: the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier which is a dedicated Spacelab maintenance and repair pallet; the Solar Array Carrier which will hold the replacement solar panels; and the Flight Support Structure which will hold and orient the telescope while it is being repaired by the astronauts in Endeavour's payload bay. This device was used previously aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984 during the Solar Maximum Satellite repair mission. Replacement components for the Hubble Space Telescope are scheduled to arrive at KSC later this month. Mission STS-61 is a planned 11-day flight featuring five spacewalks with seven crew members dedicated to the servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope. Launch is currently targeted for early December. Source:NASA Spacelink Modem:205-895-0028 Internet:192.149.89.61 =--=--=-END-=--=--= =--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_8_4_12_2.TXT NOTE: This file is too large {15728 bytes} for inclusion in this collection. The first line of the file: THE MARS OBSERVER NEWSLETTER Source:NASA Spacelink Modem:205-895-0028 Internet:192.149.89.61 =--=--=-END-=--=--= =--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:9_6_14_3.TXT THE NIGHT SKY: Meteor Showers Meteors are flashes of light commonly referred to as shooting stars. They are small bits of ice, rock and or metal that hit our atmosphere at an altitude of 60 to 100 kilometers. Because of their velocities of tens of thousands of kilometers per hour, they are incinerated by friction with molecules of air high in the atmosphere. Most particles are the size of grains of sand. Some may be baseball sized. Meteors streak across the sky in an instant, sometimes being bright enough to cast shadows. Often a glowing path remains visible for a few seconds after the meteor vanishes. When a large chunk of material, perhaps the size of a basketball, hits our atmosphere and forms an exceptionally bright meteor, it is called a fireball. Fireballs often break up in flight causing bursts of light. On any night of the year you can go out and see meteors. If the sky is bright because of the Moon or city lights you will have to patient and wait for one that is bright enough to shine through the background glow. In a dark sky you can expect to see about six per hour. But there are some times when there are many more meteors visible. These times are known as showers. Showers occur each year at about the same time. Shower meteoroids, particles that are traveling in space towards Earth, are material left behind by comets. Comets are composed mostly of ice. Some orbit the Sun in elliptical orbits. Others come from deep space, pass near the Sun, and then fly off never to be seen again. The orbital path of the comet is often filled with grains of material that have separated from the comet's nucleus. It is possible for the path of a comet to intersect the orbit of Earth. In all probability Earth will be nowhere near the comet at that time, but as Earth orbits the Sun it will cross the path of the long gone comet and encounter some of the grains. When that occurs we have a shower. Since Earth will reach the same point in space at the same time each year we can predict the dates of showers. Some showers are better than others and each shower varies from year to year. They last several days but peak during one night. Showers are named for the apparent point from which the meteors appear to originate. In other words, if you observe several meteors and plot their positions on a star chart, and then draw a line backwards, the lines will meet at one small region of the sky. For example, during the shower that peaks around October 20/21 of each year your map would show meteor streaks all over the sky. Extending each of those lines backwards, or in the opposite direction from which the meteor was heading, would find those lines meeting in the constellation of Orion. This shower is known as the Orionid meteor shower. This shower is from material lost by Halley's Comet. The most famous and reliable meteor shower is the Perseid which occurs on the night of August 11/12 each year. Typically there are ten times the usual number of shooting stars, 60 or more per hour. The debris that creates the Perseids is from the comet P/Swift-Tuttle. Swift-Tuttle is a periodic comet-- meaning that it is in orbit around the Sun. Its orbit carries it across Earth's orbit once each 130 years. The last passage was in December, 1992 so the Perseid shower could turn into a storm for the next several years. There might also be a large number of large chunks that could produce fireballs. The best time to view meteors is typically after midnight. As Earth spins on its axis each day it also orbits the Sun. As viewed from above the north pole of the Sun or Earth, Earth spins counterclockwise and orbits the Sun counterclockwise. This means that, at any given moment, half of Earth is facing forward into the direction that Earth orbits, and half facing in the direction that Earth has been. From midnight until noon we are on the leading side of Earth and from noon until midnight on the trailing side. In the evening the meteors have to catch up with Earth from behind. After midnight Earth is running into the particles and the number of meteors increases as does the speed at which they hit the atmosphere. This similar to the effect of driving in the rain. The front windshield is being hit with many raindrops while the back window may actually be dry. Observing meteors is probably the easiest astronomical activity. All you need is a view of the sky and some patience. The darker sky the better, but you need no special equipment. In fact a telescope will do no good at all since telescopes have narrow fields of view and meteors cross a lot of sky. Binoculars can be used to try to see if there is any glow left in the meteorUs path but can not be used to spot the meteors themselves. Try to make yourself comfortable; a lawnchair or blanket will help and be sure to dress warmly enough. Snacks and drinks are a good idea, too. If you want to make a record of your observations you should have a copy of a wide field of view star chart and a pencil. If you are in a group arrange the members so that each person is looking off in a different direction with a chart that covers the stars in their view. That way you can cover the whole sky. You can photograph meteors but is difficult to get good photographs. You will need a camera, probably a 35mm, with a B setting or some other method for keeping the shutter open for a long period of time, and a tripod. A cable release can be attached to most 35mm cameras. The cable release can be secured so that the film remains exposed to the sky for as long as you leave it open. With a normal or wide angle lens and fast film, ISO 200 or higher, you are hoping that a bright meteor will shoot through the cameraUs field of view while the shutter is open. Plan to take several photographs of about ten minutes in length. If you think that a meteor has been captured on film, stop the exposure and go on to the next one. Prominent Showers Night of Peak Hourly Rate Quadrantids Jan. 2 20-80 Eta Aquarids May 3 20 Delta Aquarids July 27 35 Perseids Aug. 11 60 Orionids Oct. 20 35 Leonids Nov. 15 10-100 Geminids Dec. 11 50 Source:NASA Spacelink Modem:205-895-0028 Internet:192.149.89.61 =--=--=-END-=--=--= =--=END OF COLLECTION---COLLECTED 6 FILES---COMPLETED 21:12:01=--=