March 13, 1998 Vol. 37, No. 5 MissionUpdate Shuttle- Spaceport News

America’s gateway to the universe. Leading the world in preparing and launching missions to Earth and beyond. John F. Kennedy Space Center

Water found on Earth’s moon There is a high probability volume, location and that water ice exists at both distribution. “We are elated at the north and south poles of the performance of the the moon, according to initial spacecraft and its scientific Smooth Sailing: U.S. payload, as well as the Andy Thomas and new Mir 25 crew scientific data returned by mates Talgat Musabayev and NASA’s Lunar Prospector. resulting quality and are awaiting the The Discovery Program magnitude of information arrival on March 17 of a Progress mission also has produced the about the moon that we resupply vehicle. A spacewalk had already have been able to to be canceled when the two first operational gravity map cosmonauts could not open a of the entire lunar surface, extract,” said Dr. Alan Binder, secondary latch on the airlock which should serve as a Lunar Prospector principal hatch. Another attempt won’t be fundamental reference for all investigator from the Lunar made until after the Progress Research Institute, Gilroy, arrives. Below, Thomas is shown future lunar exploration on Mir during the STS-89 mission. missions, project scientists Calif. announced March 5 at NASA’s The presence of water ice at Ames Research Center. both lunar poles is strongly Just two months after the indicated by data from the LUNAR Prospector (upper) is mated to the launch of the cylindrical spacecraft’s neutron Trans Lunar Injection Module Dec. 18 last spectrometer instrument, year at the Astrotech processing facility in spacecraft, mission scientists Titusville. The Star 37 motor in the module have solid evidence of the according to mission scientists. gave the spacecraft the needed additional existence of lunar water ice, velocity to complete the nearly five-day journey to the moon. including estimates of its (See MOON, Page 6)

ARTIST’S AXAF completes concept of TRACE AXAF on critical tests orbit. AXAF’s 33-foot long The Advanced X-ray X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) telescope is the largest program got some good news and most recently when the spacecraft powerful ever completed critical tests. to be built. AXAF was originally TRACE scheduled to arrive in Florida Pegasus XL, Vandenberg AFB March 19 The Transition Region and Coronal (See AXAF, Page 6) Explorer (TRACE) will study the connection between the sun’s magnetic fields and the heating of NASA’s SNOE launched Feb. 25 its corona, complementing data A student-developed The Earth-orbiting satellite from the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). spacecraft called the Student was designed and built by a Nitric Oxide Explorer team of students, (SNOE) was launched faculty and engineers Feb. 25 aboard a from the University of Pegasus rocket from Colorado, Boulder. It Vandenberg Air Force is being operated SNOE, shown here during preflight Base, Calif. around the clock by a processing, weighs just 254 pounds.More than 100 students have participated in the SNOE is one of a team based at the project to date. long list of NASA Boulder campus. spacecraft slated for liftoff this SNOE carries instruments to sun, and ultraviolet light from year aboard expendable measure nitric oxide in the the Earth’s aurora. The launch vehicles from both the Earth’s upper atmosphere, the mission is designed to last one West and East Coasts. intensity of X-rays from the year. Page 2 SPACEPORT NEWS March 13, 1998

12 more NASA employees Calling all Oklahomans! The Oklahoma Heritage The association is asking Association is gathering that any current or past NASA take advantage of buyout material about the state’s employee who lived, attended An additional 12 NASA wishing to depart the agency contribution to the space school or was born in civil servants have departed under Early Out authority program. It will be featured in Oklahoma to contact Gini the space center under the must retire by March 31, the a book as part of the Moore Campbell toll-free at 1- Fiscal 1998 separation incen- date the authority ends. Civil association’s popular Horizons 888-501-2059. tive, or buyout, opportunity. servants at least 50 years of Series, one in a series of The book is scheduled to be An additional opportunity age with 20 years of service, publications on Oklahoma’s released in the spring or recently became available to or any age with 25 years of history and heritage. summer of 1999. NASA employees with at service, are eligible to depart least 30 years of federal ser- under the Early Out offer. Disney offers discount to KSC vice and who are at least 55 A closing date of Sept. 30 years old. This latest Optional is still in effect for civil ser- KSC employees have until Monday through Friday. The Retirement election closes vants in the Quality Assur- April 5 to take advantage of a tickets are not available at the April 3. April 3 also is the ance and Occupational discount for admission to front gate of any of the three deadline for resignations in Health Specialist fields to take Disney’s The Magic Kingdom, theme parks. conjunction with the separa- advantage of the original Epcot or Disney-MGM Studios. Purchase of a ticket also tion incentive. Employees buyout opportunity. Price of admission has been entitles the employee to reduced by more than $10 to purchase a Pleasure Island Resignations $31.50 per person. The tickets ticket at 50 percent off the Quear, Anita L. OP 01/09/98 can be purchased at a KSC regular gate price, also Gordon, Kathleen B. LO-SOD-1 01/20/98 NASA Exchange Store, through April 5. Corne, Karen E. BD-C 01/23/98 Moore, Gregory B. AA-A 01/30/98 Credit union elects board Rosato, Mark S. LO-DEP 01/30/98 Woodcock, Wendolyn M. EI-F 01/30/98 The KSC Federal Credit elected is Sandra Kennedy. Union recently held an Appointed to the credit Retirements election for the 1998 Board of union’s Supervisory Armstrong, Cheryl A. MK-MIO 01/31/98 Directors. Re-elected to the Committee were Barbara Gibson, Gerald L. PZ-B2 01/31/98 board were Lonnie Blocker LeDuke, John Styles and Lackie, Warren PK-D2 01/31/98 and Marilyn Cherubini. Newly Joanne Wilson. McCalman, James R. FF-R-B 01/31/98 Michel, Virginia K. GG-B4 01/31/98 Stevens, Joyce A. FF-S2-D 01/31/98 Employees of the Month

Aerospace environmental technology conference set for June 1-3 in Huntsville The third Aerospace the field of evolving Environmental Technology replacement and clean Conference will be held at the propulsion technologies. Marshall Space Flight Center, For registration Huntsville, Ala., June 1 – 3. information, contact Rhonda The three-day conference will Chaney, tel. 205 890-6372, or provide a forum for materials 1-800-448-4035. For exhibit and processes engineers, information, contact Bob scientists and managers to Cothran, tel. 205 890-6372, or describe, review and assess 1-800-448-4035.

International Amazing fact HONORED in March were (from left, sitting): Gisele Altman, Administration Office; Donald Carnes, Payload Carriers Program Office; Susan Wall, Procurement • By the time International Space Station 220 miles. It will orbit the Earth 18 times Office; Arthur Beller, Shuttle Processing Directorate; (from left, standing) Andy (ISS) assembly gets under way, each 24 hours and will have a view of Finchum, Logistics Operations Directorate; Tim Lewis, Shuttle Processing cumulative on-orbit time of the Space 85 percent of the Earth’s surface. Directorate; David Barker, Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate; Maria Shuttle will be around the 800-day mark • The International Space Station will be Littlefield, Engineering Development Directorate; Anthony Killiri, Payload and U.S. will have spent more 360 feet end-to-end and and 290 feet in Processing Directorate; and Robert Cummings, Biomedical Operations Office. than 950 days working and living aboard length. It will weigh 470 tons. Not shown are Tom Nguyen, Checkout and Launch Control System; Lori Jones, the Russian Space Station Mir. — NASA ISS Research Plan Installation Operations; and Wanda Henderson, Chief Financial Officer’s Office. • Average altitude of the station will be and Boeing fact sheet March 13, 1998 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 3 Clinics offer packets KSC takes part in UCF expo on controlling anger KSC TOOK PART in the student-produced 1998 University of Central Florida Area medical clinics have packets Engineering Expo on Feb. 19 in Orlando. available this month on the topic of Lisa Kestel (second from left) helped staff controlling feelings of an exhibit on NASA. The NASA Technology Transfer Office had an adjacent exhibit in anger. While most of us conjunction with the Southern Technology can control our anger, Applications Center (STAC, NASA’s there are times when the southeast region technology transfer emotion becomes partner). The two exhibits earned high marks at an awards ceremony later the unmanageable. The same day, with the NASA exhibit taking first packets provide place in the Professional Exhibit category. information on understanding anger, and The NASA-STAC exhibit won third place in techniques for expressing it the Educational Exhibit category. constructively and redirecting it in a positive way. Vanguard 1 marks 40th anniversary It doesn’t get a lot of recognition, but Geophysical Year, Vanguard 1 provided the Vanguard 1 satellite achieved a the most accurate determination of the number of successes that are still Earth’s shape, including its equatorial noteworthy today. bulge. The Vanguard team also Vanguard 1 was launched 40 years ago developed the successor to the Vanguard on March 17, 1958, following Explorer I 1 launcher, the Thor-Vanguard launch as the second U.S. satellite. The launch vehicle, which became known as the took place just months after the first Delta, one of the most reliable Vanguard launch attempt failed in expendable launch vehicles ever built. spectacular fashion, prompting critics to And last but not least, the Vanguard dub the Naval Research Laboratory team team was transferred to NASA in 1958, responsible for Vanguard as “Project with the team assigned to the new Rearguard.” Beltsville Space Center — today known In a pamplet honoring the 25th as Goddard Space Flight Center in anniversary of the launch, team Greenbelt, Md. members recalled the launch and the milestones it achieved. The satellite continues to orbit the Earth today, the oldest man-made body in orbit. It contained a tiny minitrack transmitter that was powered by the first solar cells in space. Of all the satellites launched at that time in honor of the International

LAUNCH Complex 18A on Cape Canaveral was the site for Vanguard launches. At left, the Vanguard Satellite Launching Vehicle (SLV) is shown undergoing prelaunch checkout. At right is the spherically shaped satellite, which weighed less than five pounds. Keep paper usage down In the age of electronic mail, paper Community support usage at KSC continues. The KSC REACHING OUT — USBI Vice Duplicating Facility decreased paper President and General Manager production by 7 percent each year in Don Reed (second from right) fiscal 1996 and 1997, equivalent to presents a $5,000 donation to the 10,000 reams of paper. United Way of Brevard County on March 2. With him are (from left) Employees are encouraged to conintue Bill Ellis, chairman of the United keeing paper usage down and use two- Way of Brevard board of directors; sided copying whenever possible. The Ernest Briel, vice chair; and (right) new Lanier copier machines provide Rob Rains, president of the United Way of Brevard. automatic document duplexing. Printing on both sides of the paper reduces costs and also helps conserve natural re- sources. Page 4 SPACEPORT NEWS March 13, 1998 NASA Engineering Day Feb. 9, 1998

By Ember Smith

n conjunction with Na model rockets; building tional Engineering Week a mock-up of the Space IFeb. 22-28, the Equal Station; and taking part Opportunity Program Office in a Strange Science invited about 100 local Middle show. Students were School students, mostly minority mentored by KSC and female, to KSC to partici- engineers who volun- pate in NASA Engineering Day teered their time to help the activities Feb. 9. The goal of the students. This year’s volunteers Smith, the director of Minority program is to heighten the were Nate Wright, Howard Engineering Programs, spoke awareness of the students to Sterling, and Tim Lewis, all of to the students, sharing with the opportunities available in NASA. them the importance of taking engineering sciences. control of their educational rom SPACE CAMP, choices and striving to take the ment and Shuttle Upgrades; Tip his year James Madison Fthe students were more difficult classes to prepare Talone, director, Space Station TMiddle School in transported to the KSC Mission themselves for their future. Hardware Integration Office; Titusville, Briefing Room where they and Dr. Irene Long, director, Andrew Jackson were served a box lunch. ne of the Biomedical Office, served as Middle School in After lunch, Loren Shriver, Ohighlights of the day judges. Titusville, and the deputy director of was the poster competition. Space Coast Launch and Posters were ach student received a Middle School in Payload Opera- created in advance Epacket of materials Port St. John tions addressed by the students representing the National participated in the students. He using the theme Engineers Week theme, a the day’s events. encouraged them selected for the NASA Engineering Day souvenir Activities began to reach high to National Engineers pencil pack, and a certificate of at the U. S. achieve their Week: “Engineers: participation. SPACE CAMP, goals and Turning Ideas into Bus transportation was where instructors dreams. He also Reality.” The posters provided by NASA. Funds for led the students shared his were displayed in the the SPACE CAMP activities, the through a experiences as an astro- Mission Briefing Room where luncheon and the souvenirs morning of engineering activi- naut. Also, from the University JoAnn Morgan, associate were provided by the KSC ties, building and launching of Central Florida, Jacqueline director for Advanced Develop- Exchange Council.

A STUDENT looks at one of the displays at U.S. SPACE CAMP, above. At left, one of the students poses in front of the many posters displayed in the Mission Briefing Room of the Operations and Checkout Building. STUDENTS began their day at the U.S. SPACE CAMP, where they built and then launched model rockets. Here, they prepare the rockets for liftoff. March 13, 1998 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 5 Collins tapped as first female Shuttle A commander familiar The first woman to serve as pilot on a Space Shuttle face mission also will be the first woman to serve as a mission returns commander. Eileen Marie Collins earned to KSC the first distinction in 1995 on STS-63. She’ll earn the second later this year on STS-93, which will carry the Advanced A suit technician helps astronaut Eileen Collins prepare for her second . X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) into orbit. aircraft. She served as pilot on Collins became an astronaut her first two Shuttle flights, in July 1991 and has flown in STS-63 and STS-84 last year. space twice. She is an Air Also assigned to the STS-93 KAY Hire, the first KSC employee to join the astronaut corps, recently returned to the space center to participate Force lieutenant colonel who crew are Jeffrey Ashby, pilot; in a Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT). She is shown graduated in 1990 from the Air and Steven Hawley, Catherine here at the hatch of the orbiter Columbia in Orbiter Force Test Pilot School at Coleman and Michel Tognini, Processing Facility Bay 3. Edwards Air Force Base and mission specialists. Tognini has logged more than 4,700 represents the French Space hours in 30 different types of Agency, CNES.

COMPACT in size, the X-38 demonstrator arrived at Dryden Flight Research Center last year to begin flight tests. X-38 drop tests planned this month

The first free-flight tests of Total estimated cost the X-38 technology through the completion of two demonstrator were set to begin space test vehicles could be earlier this month at Dryden less than $80 million. About Flight Research Center in 100 people are currently California. The X-38 is being supporting the effort at JSC developed as a crew return and Dryden. vehicle for the International Space Station. It was designed Tom Hanks series at Johnson Space Center and will be able to hold a seven- debuts in April person crew. The Tom Hanks-produced VETERAN communications counselor Marilyn Waters, founder and head of The full-scale, unpiloted series, From the Earth to the Watermark Strategic Communications & Public Relations in Melbourne, will be the speaker at the Women’s History Month luncheon at 11:30 a.m., March 19 at airframe shown above Moon, debuts on HBO in the KSC Visitor Complex Lunch Pad. Tickets are $8 each. In Headquarters, underwent captive-carry tests April. The first episode airs contact Jean Rhodes, 867-2307, room 2321B; Charlotte Becker, 867-7631, rm. attached to a B-52 aircraft at April 5 at 8 p.m. A wealth of 3637, or Jane Eitel, 867-3473, rm. 3533. In the Space Station Processing Facility, Dryden last summer. Further material about the show, contact Tracy Anderson, 867-6033, rm. 3054, or Kim Boatright, 867-6479, rm. M036Y. In the Operations Support Building, contact Angie Brewer, 861-3741, tests could include an including an interview with rm. 5403Q; in the Logistics Building, contact Connie Dobrin, 861-6408, rm. 3620I, unpiloted spaceflight test in Hanks, is posted on HBO’s or Sandy McCandless, 861-5381, rm. 3760. early 1999. Web site at www.hbo.com Page 6 SPACEPORT NEWS March 13, 1998 STS-91 payload NASA cancels Clark mission TEST RUN — An STS-91 payload, NASA announced Feb. 25 which may be used on other the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer that it was partially NASA projects. (AMS), will get a test flight on the terminating the Clark Earth Clark was to be part of a Shuttle mission this May and June science mission, citing duo of spacecraft under before it begins a three-year stint as concerns about mission costs, NASA’s Small Satellite an attached payload on the Interna- launch schedule delays and Technology Initiative (SSTI) tional Space Station. on-orbit capability. program. The first spacecraft The AMS is a particle detector and The agency said it would to be launched, Lewis, also features the first large magnet ever to retain launch vehicle services met an ill fate when an errant be placed in Earth orbit. Its job: and expects to recover some thruster placed the spacecraft search for assets of the mission, such as in an excessive spin mode cosmic antimat- some spacecraft payloads, following a flawless launch ter originating components and subsystems last Aug. 22. from outside the galaxy. Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. It also may AXAF ... The mirrors for AXAF are at lead to the (Continued from Page 1) Huntsville now, undergoing discovery of so- mapping and calibration tests. called “dark this June to begin This involves shining X-rays matter,” the preparations for a launch through the mirrors and then mysterious yet aboard the Space Shuttle in measuring, in great detail, the undiscovered August. NASA announced late images they project. The material that last year that delivery would results will tell the exact some scientists be delayed. Launch on STS-93 shape and performance of the say makes up still is targeted for Aug. 26, mirrors, allowing scientists to 90 percent or more of the universe. In the photo above right, the but the date is under review. better interpret the images AMS is shown undergoing preflight processing in the Multi Payload An end-to-end test in early captured by the spacecraft. Processing Facility at KSC. The artist’s concept above shows how February demonstrated a Next, the science instruments the payload will fly on the space station. smooth communications will be tested jointly with the network between the mirrors. Moon ... Prospector data, Binder and spacecraft and a newly AXAF is part of NASA’s Feldman predict that water ice constructed Operations Great Observatories program. (Continued from Page 1) is confined to the polar regions Control Center in Cambridge, Already on orbit are the and exists at only a 0.3 percent Mass. AXAF received and Compton Gamma Ray Graphs of data ratios from the to 1 percent mixing ratio in responded properly to about Observatory and the Hubble neutron spectrometer “reveal combination with the moon’s 10,000 instructions. The end- Space Telescope. Each distinctive 3.4 percent and 2.2 rocky soil, or regolith. to-end test showed that AXAF observatory will study a percent dips in the relevant How much lunar water ice can receive, understand and different portion of the curves over the northern and has been detected? Assuming a respond to the different types electromagnetic spectrum with southern polar regions, water ice depth of about a foot of data that it will receive on- unprecedented accuracy, respectively,” Binder said. and a half — the depth to orbit. yielding as a whole greater “This is the kind of data which the neutron The AXAF program is insight into the dynamics of ‘signature’ one would expect to spectrometer’s signal can managed by Marshall Space our solar system. find if water ice is present.” penetrate — Binder and However, the moon’s water Feldman estimate that the ice is not concentrated in polar data are equivalent to an John F. Kennedy Space Center ice sheets, mission scientists overall range of 11 million to cautioned. “While the evidence 330 million tons of lunar water Spaceport News of water ice is quite strong, the ice, depending upon the water ‘signal’ itself is assumptions of the model relatively weak,” said Dr. used. William Feldman, co- The Spaceport News is an official publication of the Kennedy Space Center This quantity is dispersed and is published on alternate Fridays by the Public Affairs Office in the interest investigator and spectrometer over 3,600 to 18,000 square of KSC civil service and contractor employees. specialist at the Department of miles of water ice-bearing Contributions are welcome and should be submitted two weeks before Energy’s Los Alamos National deposits across the northern publication to the Media Services Branch, AB-A. E-mail submissions can be Laboratory in New Mexico sent to [email protected] pole, and an additional 1,800 Managing editor...... Bruce Buckingham “Our data are consistent to 7,200 square miles across Editor...... Paula Shawa with the presence of water ice the southern polar region. Editorial support provided by Sherikon Space Systems Inc. Writers Group. in very low concentrations Twice as much of the water ice Photographic support primarily provided by The Bionetics Corp. and Public Affairs Photographer George Shelton, also of Bionetics. across a significant number of mixture was detected at the craters,” he added. Using moon’s north pole as at the USGPO: 633-112/80001 models based on other Lunar south.