Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 7997;andrew.cmu.edu;Ted Anderson Received: from beak.andrew.cmu.edu via trymail for +dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl@andrew.cmu.edu (->+dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl) (->ota+space.digests) ID ; Fri, 12 Oct 1990 03:02:59 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: Precedence: junk Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Fri, 12 Oct 1990 03:01:15 -0400 (EDT) Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #450 SPACE Digest Volume 12 : Issue 450 Today's Topics: Re: Launch cost per pound Galileo Update - 10/11/90 Administrivia: Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to space+@andrew.cmu.edu. Other mail, esp. [un]subscription notices, should be sent to space-request+@andrew.cmu.edu, or, if urgent, to tm2b+@andrew.cmu.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 9 Oct 90 14:15:24 GMT From: edsews!teemc!fmeed1!cage@uunet.uu.net (Russ Cage) Subject: Re: Launch cost per pound In article <0093DE36.2F98A6C0@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU> sysmgr@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU (Doug Mohney) writes: >Ok. How do I get licensed to be a certified Soviet-booster clone? You think >we could buy the blueprints to everything and get someone like GM Heavy >Equipment to build 10 launchers a year? I seem to recall that the Soviets are licensing the design for the kerosene/oxygen engine powering the Energia strap-ons. Go for it. >Now, who wants to loan me $2 billion dollars for startup costs? ;-) Show me a business plan and I'll call up the venture capitalists. -- Russ Cage Ford Powertrain Engineering Development Department Work: itivax.iti.org!cfctech!fmeed1!cage (Business only, NO CHATTY MAIL PLS) Home: russ@m-net.ann-arbor.mi.us (Everything else) I speak for the companies I own, not for the ones I don't. ------------------------------ Date: 11 Oct 90 23:42:01 GMT From: usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov!baalke@ucsd.edu (Ron Baalke) Subject: Galileo Update - 10/11/90 GALILEO MISSION STATUS REPORT October 11, 1990 As of noon (PDT) Thursday, October 11, 1990, the Galileo spacecraft is 32,399,810 miles from the Earth and traveling at a heliocentric speed of 53,010 miles per hour; distance to the Sun is 113,033,200 miles (1.22 AU). The spacecraft is spinning at 3.15 rpm with a sun point angle of 5.6 degrees. Round trip light time is 5 minutes, 52 seconds. Sometime between the end of the DSN (Deep Space Network) track on October 4 and the start of track on October 5, the eighth despun CDS (Command Data Subsystem) Critical Controller A POR (Power on Reset) telemetry indication was observed. The signature was the same as that observed in the previous seven occurrences. Due to the weekend, recovery actions to reset the telemetry indication were completed the following Monday, October 8. Recovery actions were successfully completed and a NO-OP command was sent to reset the Command Loss Timer to 264 hours, the planned value for this mission phase. Two delta DOR (Differential One-way Ranging) activities were successfully completed on October 8 and 10, one prior to and one after TCM-6 (Trajectory Course Maneuver 6) on October 9. These two activities were both North/South passes using the 70 meter antennas in Goldstone and Australia; and were the fifth and sixth of 17 planned prior to Earth closest approach. Delta DOR is an additional navigation data source in addition to doppler and ranging data. When the delta DOR signal is modulating the downlink carrier, spacecraft telemetry data from the TMU (Telemetry Modulation Unit) is interrupted; no spacecraft telemetry is transmitted during this interruption. Another USO (Ultra Stable Oscillator) test was conducted on October 8. This test provides continuing trend information characterizing the performance of the ultra-stable RF downlink frequency source. Cruise Science Memory Readouts (MROs) were successfully performed for the EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer), DDS (Dust Detector) and MAG (Magnetometer) instruments on October 8. The TCM-6 maneuver sequence memory load was successfully transmitted and received by the spacecraft on October 8. The maneuver was executed, as planned, on October 9. The first burn segment was completed without incident using the axial (z) thrusters. A preliminary navigation assessment indicates a small overburn of about 0.8 percent compared with the nearly 2 percent overburn for TCM-5. The TCM-6 maneuver was the first axial burn design incorporating the performance results observed in TCM-1 and TCM-5. The second burn segment using the lateral (L) thrusters was also completed successfully without incident. Due to Earth look angle considerations, it is not possible to reliably assess the total affect of lateral burn. Subsequent orbit determination data will provide an assessment of the total maneuver. Spacecraft performance during the maneuver was excellent. All RPM (Retro Propulsion Module) pressures and temperatures were near expected levels; the thruster temperature profiles were similar to those of previous burns. The L2B thruster temperature was inferred from the cluster temperature sensor readings. No unexpected cluster temperatures were observed. After the axial burn segment, the sequence allowed time for a spin rate correction and pointing error correction; neither correction was necessary since the attitude excursions were small (less than 4 mrad) for both burn segments. Commands were sent on October 11 to reconfigure the CDS spun hardware via critical controller commands to enable the telemetry data rate (1200 bps) switch planned for October 16. This series of commands also configured the CDS to route 40 bps uncoded data to the TMU low rate channel for downlink transmission. Commands to update the star vectors were sent on October 8. This updated star information will be used for the forthcoming activities later in the VE-5 (Venus-Earth 5) stored sequence. The 19th RPM flushing activity was successfully performed on October 11. All thrusters were flushed during this activity except the P-thrusters which were last used for the October 4 sunpoint activity. Detailed thruster temperature profiles are not available due to operation at 40 bps. Successful flushing was inferred from other spacecraft telemetry measurements/events including AACS (Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem) performance and thruster counts. The AC/DC bus imbalance measurements exhibited some activity. The AC measurement increased 15DN during a period of no spacecraft activity, about 12 hours prior to TCM-6 and then dropped about 12DN several hours after TCM-6, and is stable near 48.6 volts. The DC measurement began acting erratically about 30 hours after TCM-6 with fluctuations up to 65DN and is near 19.8 volts. All other power-related and subsystem telemetry measurements are normal. The Project reviewed and approved the TCM-6 maneuver sequence on October 5. The Project also reviewed and approved the Final sequence and command generation product for the VE-9 sequence on October 9. This sequence controls the spacecraft activities from October 22 to December 7 and includes the PLS (Plasma) instrument shade retraction, Probe checkout, and the playback of Venus data activities. The Preliminary GDS (Ground Data System) Test Plan for Earth 1 support was distributed for final review. End-to-end GDS testing is scheduled to start on October 26th in conjunction with Mission Readiness Tests (MRT) by the DSN. Galileo MRTs with the 34 meter HEF (High Effiecency) antennas have been successfully completed at Goldstone and Spain. Normal ranging operations using 3db suppression rather than 9 db are now possible due to the improved signal levels. ___ _____ ___ /_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| | | | | __ \ /| | | | Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov ___| | | | |__) |/ | | |___ Jet Propulsion Lab | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov /___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| M/S 301-355 | |_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ Pasadena, CA 91109 | ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V12 #450 *******************