Third Intelsat 5 satellite scheduled for launch
The launch sequence of the Intelsat 5-C satellite is announced. A brief description of the satellite and the Atlas Centaur launch vehicle is given. Prelaunch operations are included.
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The launch sequence of the Intelsat 5-C satellite is announced. A brief description of the satellite and the Atlas Centaur launch vehicle is given. Prelaunch operations are included.
Plans for the Intelsat 5D (F4) satellite launch are presented. The spacecraft and its subsystems are described and the mission is summarized. The Atlas Centaur launch vehicle is also described.
This catalog contains 1273 proven or probable Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) members, as found on deep objective-prism plates taken with the Curtis Schmidt telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. The stars are generally brighter than about photographic magnitude 14. Approximate spectral types were determined by examination of the 580 A/mm objective-prism spectra; approximate 1975 positions were obtained by measuring relative to the 1975 coordinate grids on the Uppsala-Mount Stromlo Atlas of the LMC (Gascoigne and Westerlund 1961), and approximate photographic magnitudes were determined by averaging image density measures from the plates and image-diameter measures on the 'B' charts. The machine-readable version of the LMC survey catalog is described to enable users to read and process the tape file without problems or guesswork.
An environmental noise assessement of the initial launch of the Space Transportation System, STS-1 Columbia was conducted. The principal objective of the environmental noise assessment was to measure the noise generated during the initial launch of the space shuttle to ascertain the validity of the levels predicted in the 1979 environmental impact statement. In the 1979 study information obtained for expendable launch vehicles, Titan, Saturn and Atlas was used to predict the noise levels that would be generated by the simultaneous firing of the two solid rocket boosters and the three space shuttle main engines. Fifteen monitoring sites were established in accessable areas located from 4,953 to 23,640 meters from the launch pad. Precision sound level meters were used to capture the peak level during the launch. Data obtained was compared to the predicted levels and were also compared to the identified levels, standards and criteria established by the federal agencies with noise abatement and control responsibilities.
Oscillations, physical properties of the solar atmosphere, motions in the quiet solar atmosphere, coronal holes, motions in solar active regions, solar flares, the structure of plage regions, an atlas, and aeronomy are summarized. Photometric sensitivity, scattered light, ghosts, focus and spectral resolution, wavelength drive, photometric sensitivity, and scattered light, are also summarized. Experiments are described according to spacecraft made and experiment type. Some of the most useful data reduction programs are described.
The history of U.S. manned spaceflight and the vehicles used is discussed. The programs began with low budgets and handwritten charts, then proceeded through the Redstone Mercury launch in 1961 and the Atlas Mercury orbital mission in 1962, with the decision to begin the Apollo project coming between those flights. Use of a sole source procurement with a nonprofit institution like the MIT Draper Laboratory for the Apollo guidance system is noted to have expedited the speed of paperwork. A lunar orbital rendezvous was chosen in October 1962 for the Saturn CV-launched Apollo. The Gemini capsule, eliminated early as a lunar module, served to expose problems of operation in a zero-g environment. The benefits of humans in space were made apparent in the process of fixing the Skylab solar panels. The Shuttle capabilities are reviewed, and the necessity for a vehicle for access and return from GEO is emphasized. Finally, attention is given to a single stage to orbit vehicle and launch systems for a Solar Power Satellite.
The present investigation is concerned with the calculation of the fluorescence efficiency of OH over a wide range of heliocentric radial velocities. Three vibrational states in each of the two lowest electronic states are included in these calculations, producing a total of nine vibrational bands in the ultraviolet. The attempt is made to reproduce observed, ultraviolet, cometary spectra of OH by utilizing the Swings fluorescence mechanism. The inclusion of four rotational states within each of the three vibrational states and a detailed solar atlas make it possible to match observations very well, although there remain some discrepancies. This ability to reproduce observations provides confidence that the more general results obtained for the fluorescence efficiency as a function of heliocentric radial velocity can be used in interpreting both previous and future observations of OH in comets.
The Centaur upper stage has been used with Atlas and Titan boosters for a total of 66 launches, and is now being considered for future use with the Space Shuttle. Centaur's high-energy oxygen-hydrogen propellant combination provides the maximum performance capability for launching geosynchronous and earth-escape missions with both boosters. Shuttle/Centaur performance, combined with the demonstrated low-thrust operating capability of the Centaur engines, will allow gentle transfer of large communications spacecraft into geostationary orbit, thus significantly increasing the economies of communication satellites. This paper presents Centaur configurations, payload capabilities, and payload envelopes for future applications.
The Spacelab investigation entitled Atmospheric Trace Molecule Spectroscopy (ATMOS) is designed to obtain fundamental information related to the chemistry and physics of the Earth's upper atmosphere using the techniques of infrared absorption spectroscopy. There are two principal objectives to be met. The first is the determination, on a global scale, of the compositional structure of the upper atmosphere and its spatial variability. The establishment of this variability represents the first step toward determining the characteristic residence times for the upper atmospheric constituents; the magnitudes of their sources and sinks; and, ultimately, an understanding of their effects on the stability of the stratosphere. The second objective is to provide the high-resolution, calibrated spectral information which is essential for the detailed design of advanced instrumentation for subsequent global monitoring of specific species found to be critical to atmospheric stability. This information will be disseminated in the form of a three dimensional atlas of solar absorption spectra obtained over a range of latitudes, longitudes, and altitudes.
To be placed into a highly elliptical transfer orbit by the Atlas Centaur (AC-61) launch vehicle, the INTELSAT V-F satellite has 12,000 voice circuits and 2 color television channels and incorporates a maritime communication system for ship to shore communications. The stages of the launch vehicle and the launch operations are described. A table shows the launch sequence.
The NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center has developed a computer data base of infrared astronomical observations. The data base represents a machine-readable library of infrared observational data published in the relevant literature since 1960 for celestial sources outside the solar system. It likewise includes the contents of infrared surveys and catalogs. A catalog of infrared observations has been developed in both printed and magnetic-tape formats. The data base will be accessed through a bibliographic guide and an atlas of infrared source names and positions. Future plans also include two-dimensional graphical displays of infrared data and a user-interactive data terminal.
An atlas of CH4 lines between 700 and 5,500 cm(-1) obtained from long-path-length samples at 296 K is presented. Many of the line centers are marked and their positions tabulated.
To facilitate analysis of the tectonic framework for Africa, Europe and adjacent marine areas, MAGSAT scalar anomaly data are differentially reduced to the pole and compared to regional geologic information and geophysical data including surface free-air gravity anomaly data upward continued to satellite elevation (350 km) on a spherical Earth. Comparative analysis shows magnetic anomalies correspond with both ancient as well as more recent Cenozoic structural features. Anomalies associated with ancient structures are primarily caused by intra-crustal lithologic variations such as the crustal disturbance associated with the Bangui anomaly in west-central Africa. Anomalies correlative with Cenozoic tectonic elements appear to be related to Curie isotherm perturbations. A possible example of the latter is the well-defined trend of magnetic minima that characterize the Alpine orogenic belt from the Atlas mountains to Eurasia. In contrast, a well-defined magnetic satellite minimum extends across the stable craton from Finland to the Ural mountains. Prominent magnetic maxima characterize the Arabian plate, Iceland, the Kursk region of the central Russian uplift, and generally the Precambrian shields of Africa.
Evolution of unmanned space exploration (Pioneer, Ranger, Surveyor, and Prospector) up to 1960, and the problems in the design and use of the Atlas Centaur launch vehicle were discussed. The Mariner Program was developed from the experience gained from the previous unmanned flights.
The NOAA P-3 1-sec and 20 Hz gust probe data, dropsonde measurements, and lidar data were combined to study the organized convection and the effects of the coastal shape and the sea surface temperature (SST) pattern on the development of the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) during cold air outbreaks. The preliminary analysis indicated that the SST pattern and the coastal shape caused the MABL to deepen eastward and southward, which is in good agreement with the suggestion of Atlas et al. (1983). Also, good agreements were found between the lidar data and the NOAA P-3 and dropsonde date, e.g., the boundary heights, the dominant scales of motion, and the heat flux ratio between the top of MABL and the sea surface. The planetary boundary layer (PBL) height measured by lidar was found to be in good agreement with that measured by the dropsonde temperature profile. Assuming a linear heat flux profile in the clear PBL, the heat flux ratio between the PBL top and the surface may be estimated from the ratio of the entrainment zone to the completely mixed boundary layer height. The heat flux ratio estimated by lidar measurements was found to be in good agreement with that derived from the gust probe data.
A catalogue of dark nebulae and globules was compiled from a study of the ESO-B and SRC-J sky atlas for galactic longitudes 230 deg 1 360 deg. This catalogue closes the great southern gap open since the work of Lynds (1962). Listed were 489 dark nebulae and 311 globules. The catalogue contains positions, sizes, opacities, and the van den Bergh classification on the filamentary morphology of dark clouds. Statistics are presented concerning the northern and southern distributions and sizes of the nebulae.
The shuttle/Centaur vehicle is being developed as an expendable, cryogenic high energy upper stage for use with the National Space Transportation System (NSTS). The stage is expected to meet the demands of a wide range of users. The shuttle/Centaur will be a modification of the highly successful Centaur stage, used extensively with the Atlas and Titan boosters since 1966 to launch planetary, geosynchronous and Earth orbital missions. The design changes required for use with the NSTS are described. These are primarily related to: (1) tank resizing to take advantage of the orbiter payload bay dimensions; (2) provisions for physically adopting Centaur to the orbiter; and, (3) accommodating safety requirements of the manned NSTS. The expected performance capabilities of two versions of the shuttle/Centaur are also described. The initial version, designated G-prime, is the larger of the two, with a length of about 9.1m (30 ft.). This vehicle will be used to launch the Galileo and International Solar Polar Mission to Jupiter in May 1986.
The morphological characteristics and evolutionary development of rock labyrinths on Earth (in sandstone, volcanics, and carbonates) are compared with those on Mars. On Earth rock labyrinths originate as parallel, an echelon, or intersecting narrow grabens, or develop where fault and joint networks are selectively eroded. Labyrinths frequently contain both downfaulted and erosional elements. Closed labyrinths contain depressions; open labyrinths do not, they are simple part of a fluvial network generally of low order. As closed labyrinths made up of intersecting grabens or made up of connected erosional depressions are extremely common on Mars, the research focussed on an understanding of these labyrinth types. Field investigations were carried out in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, and in the Chirachahua Mountains of Arizona. Martian labyrinths were investigated using Viking orbiter images. In addition, research was undertaken on apparent thermokarst features in Lunae Planum and Chryse Planitia where closed depressions are numerous and resemble atlas topography.