July 2, 1997 Vol. 1 - No. 7 ============================== THE ORBITAL REPORT ON-LINE ============================== Space Executive's Weekly News Digest This issue of Takyon International's latest on-line newsletter was published in cooperation with New Space. (www.newspace.com) OReOL covers space industry news, market trends, and provides the necessary background information for immediate analysis. Please feel free to contact us for any comment. === HEADLINES === * One of MIR space station's six main research modules, SPEKTR, was depressurized on June 25 after a breach was opened in its hull when it was violently collided by the PROGRESS M34 cargo spacecraft, which was performing a remotely-controlled rendezvous maneuver. The 7.5-t resupply ship, which was experimenting a new remote control system, also caused severe damage to SPEKTR's solar arrays and radiator. The crew, composed of two Russian cosmonauts and a US astronaut, was able to close the damaged module and isolate it from the rest of the station. No injury was reported. In the emergency, the crew disconnected all wires running through the docking hatch between SPEKTR and MIR's core module. These included power lines from solar arrays of two of the station's modules, SPEKTR (launched May 20, 1995) and KRISTALL (launched May 30, 1990), which jointly supplied about 20 kW of electrical power. MIR now relies on older, less performing, solar arrays on its core module (launched February 19, 1986) and the KVANT 1 and KVANT 2 modules (launched March 31, 1987 and November 26, 1989). This loss of power has caused several failures in the station including stabilization gyrodynes, cooling systems and onboard computer. Several systems had to be turned off to save power. About 50% of NASA's experiments onboard MIR are stranded in the SPEKTR module. France's CNES and the Canadian Space Agency have both reported that none of their science material onboard the station had been lost or damaged after the accident. The crew is expected to remain in the station although it can leave at any time onboard the SOYUZ TM25 spacecraft. RKA, the Russian space agency, plans to operate MIR through 2000. Three US SPACE SHUTTLE flights, 7 SOYUZ TM manned spacecraft and 11 PROGRESS M unmanned resupply ship are still planned to be launched to the station through 1999. * Space shuttle COLUMBIA lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on July 1 for the STS-94 mission. This is a reflight of the MSL-1 microgravity science laboratory mission already flown in early April as STS-83 and interrupted 4 days into flight due to an in-orbit fuel cell failure. STS-83 cost was estimated at about US$550 million (including US$100 million for the MSL-1 hardware). The reflight is expected to cost less than US$350 million. * The INTELSAT 802 communication satellite (36C/6Ku) was successfully launched by an ARIANE 44P-3 vehicle (V96) on June 25. The 3,440-kg LOCKHEED MARTIN-built satellite will replace INTELSAT 701 over the Pacific Ocean Region. === BUSINESS === * TELECOMUNICACIONES DE MEXICO (TELECOMM) has signed a new contract with ARIANESPACE for the launch of the 3,550-kg MORELOS 3 communication satellite (48C/Ku), built by HUGHES, in late 1998. This is ARIANESPACE's 10th launch contract for 1997. * HUGHES SPACE & COMMUNICATIONS, of El Segundo, California, has turned a launch agreement with CHINA GREAT WALL INDUSTRY CORP. (CGWIC) into a firm contract for one CZ-3 launch in late 1998 and four launches on the more powerful CZ-3B vehicle. The contract also includes options for five more launches through 2006. The CZ-3B failed during maiden flight on February 14, 1996. The vehicle is due to return to flight in early August to loft Philippine's MABUHAY communication satellite. * HUGHES SPACE & COMMUNICATIONS, of El Segundo, California, has filed a lawsuit against LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP., of Bethesda, Maryland, and its subsidiaries LOCKHEED MARTIN COMMERCIAL SPACE, of Sunnyvale, California, and INTERNATIONAL LAUNCH SERVICES (ILS), of San Diego, California, claiming that the latter refused to provide six launches on PROTON K vehicles at a price fixed under an agreement signed in November 1994. HUGHES asks for at least US$550 million of damage. LOCKHEED MARTIN announced it will contest the claim. * MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CO. (MELCO), of Tokyo, Japan, will provide 46 C-band SSPAs to ALCATEL ESPACE, of Nanterre, France. The SSPAs will be part of the payload ALCATEL is building for the two INTELSAT 9 satellites under subcontract from SPACE SYSTEMS/LORAL, of Palo Alto, California. MELCO is also providing a Ku-band beacon transmitter to MATRA MARCONI SPACE, of Velizy, France, for the INTELSAT K-TV satellite. ********************************************************************* * As part of the New Space Journal, two interactive columns are now * * being published. "Minimum Cost Design" by Arthur Schnitt focuses * * on the MCD criteria and its application to space launch vehicles. * * "Reality Check" by Rick Fleeter takes a critical look at current * * space industry issues and concepts from the perspective of a * * seasoned veteran. You can view these columns on the web: * * * * www.newspace.com/schnitt -or- www.newspace.com/fleeter * ********************************************************************* === MARKETS === * The US FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION (FTC) has unconditionally approved the US$14-billion merger of THE BOEING CO. and McDONNELL DOUGLAS CORP. The EUROPEAN COMMISSION, in Brussels, Belgium, is still expected to oppose the deal on July 23, claiming that the merger will place the new entity in a non-competitive situation on the market of large commercial aircraft. BOEING and McDONNELL DOUGLAS shareholders are due to meet on July 25 to approve the merger. * The US FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION (FCC) has awarded operating licenses to two more global mobile telephony systems relying on satellite constellations in low Earth orbit. The two new licensees, CONSTELLATION COMMUNICATIONS INC. (CCI), of Fairfax, Virginia, and MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS HOLDING INC. (MCHI), of Washington, DC, had been dismissed on the previous licensing round for the so-called 'Big LEOs' in January 1995 (FCC then licensed GLOBALSTAR LP, IRIDIUM LLC and ODYSSEY WORLDWIDE SERVICES). CCI plans to launch 12 ECCO satellites before 2000 and to later expand its network to 46 satellites; Its main industrial partners are MATRA MARCONI SPACE and RAYTHEON E-SYSTEMS. MCHI plans to implement the 16-satellite ELLIPSO network with the industrial support of HARRIS CORP. and ISRAEL AIRCRAFT INDUSTRIES. * Australia has completed a AU$1.2-million feasibility study for a 400-kg commercial hyperspectral remote sensing satellite dubbed ARIES-1 (Australian Resource Information and Environment Satellite). The program is backed by CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation) and Australia's mining industry. Launch is tentatively set for 2000. === TECHNOLOGIES === * The first US element of the INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS), the BOEING-built NODE 1, arrived in NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on June 23. It will be launched onboard space shuttle ENDEAVOUR in July 1998 and docked to Russian-built FGB which is due to be lofted to orbit by a PROTON K vehicle a few days earlier. * NASA's NEAR EARTH ASTEROID RENDEZVOUS (NEAR) spacecraft performed a successful flyby of asteroid 253 MATHILDE on June 27 on its way to its final target asteroid 433 EROS which will be reached in February 1999. Some 500 pictures of the 52-km diameter carbon-rich asteroid were taken showing details of its dark surface spreaded with craters. * Japan's National Space Development Agency of Japan has lost control of its 3.6-t ADVANCED EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITE (ADEOS-1) on June 30. Attempts to stabilize the spacecraft have apparently been unsuccessful and the satellite has been declared lost. Dubbed 'Midori', ADEOS-1 had been launched on August 17, 1996. An ADEOS-2 is prepared for launch in 1999. ******************************************************************** * THE ORBITAL REPORT NEWS AGENCY * * Takyon International's Internet News Service * * was inaugurated on July 1 * * It currently includes launch logs and launch schedules, * * as well as back issues of THE ORBITAL REPORT ON-LINE. * * * * URL: www.orbireport.com * ******************************************************************** === PREVIEW === * July 4 NASA's MARS PATHFINDER is due to perform hard-landing on Mars in the Ares Vallis region. * July 5 Launch of the PROGRESS M35 cargo to Mir on a SOYUZ U vehicle from Baykonur, Kazakhstan. * July 7 A McDonnell Douglas DELTA 2 vehicle is planned to carry a cluster of 5 IRIDIUM global telephony satellites to low Earth orbit from Vandenberg AFB, California. * July 11/12 MIR's crew to perform spacewalk inside the SPEKTR module to reconnect electrical power lines to the station's core module. * July 15 Another McDonnell Douglas DELTA 2 vehicle is slated to loft the second LOCKHEED MARTIN-built NAVSTAR Block 2R global positioning satellite from Cape Canaveral, Florida. * Mid July Lockheed Martin's LMLV-1 small launch vehicle is expected to return to flight, lofting the TRW-built LEWIS experimental remote sensing satellite for NASA from Vandenberg AFB, California. * July 16 Launch of a TITAN 403A heavy lift vehicle from Vandenberg AFB, California. The payload is classified. The Orbital Report On-Line is published 3 to 4 times per month by Takyon International (RCS Paris B 401 465 398) 34, boulevard Exelmans, 75016 Paris, France Phone: +33 (0) 146 566 490 or +33 (0) 607 995 056 Fax: +33 (0) 146 561 355 or +33 (0) 467 607 155 E-mail: orbirep@worldnet.net URL: www.orbireport.com Chief Editor: Stefan Barensky Technical Contributor: Samuel Szdat © Takyon International - July 1997 Takyon International also publishes The Orbital Launcher Report, a monthly space transportation newsletter. ------------------- End of issue Vol.1, No.7 ----------------------
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