Path: santra!tut!draken!kth!mcvax!uunet!lll-winken!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!GROUCH.JPL.NASA.GOV!PJS From: PJS@GROUCH.JPL.NASA.GOV (Peter Scott) Newsgroups: sci.space Subject: Magellan update Message-ID: <890501150357.00001B116B1@grouch.JPL.NASA.GOV> Date: 1 May 89 23:03:57 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 52 This is most of the text of a recorded announcement made available to JPL employees: This is the JPL broadcast news service prepared at 2pm PDT, Sunday April 30. Since Friday's launch attempt the Magellan spacecraft and the attached IUS booster have remained in the payload bay of Atlantis. The payload's state of health is being monitored by telemetry and the trickle charge has been reestablished on the flight batteries aboard Magellan. Control of the payload continues to be via the Magellan ground station and the IUS checkout station which are located at the Kennedy Space Center. The Magellan receiver lockup observed after the MYLAR [?] tracking station switched to high power shortly before launch received troubleshooting yesterday. There was no damage to the receiver as a result of the occurrence, however, while Magellan's computer is designed to preclude receiving inadvertent commands, there was a reverification of the spacecraft onboard computer software Friday night. Yesterday propellants were offloaded from Atlantis' external tank and the rotating service structure was moved back in place back around the vehicle. Workers have opened up the orbiter's aft compartment and are removing insulation from the liquid hydrogen pump recirculation package. Engineers are planning to conduct checks of the pump power lines and replace at least one of the pumps tonight. Tomorrow checks of the new pump will begin. These pumps circulate liquid hydrogen to the main engines and condition them prior to starting these engines. The 3 pumps are contained as a package in the orbiter's aft compartment and each is about the size of a softball. Scaffolding has been erected on the pad to gain access to the exterior four inch liquid hydrogen recirculation line between the orbiter and the external tank. Managers decided to replace the line because of vapors seen escaping minutes after the launch scrub. The vapors indicate the presence of a pinhole in the seal. Workers are removing insulation around the line today and are scheduled to remove the line late tonight. Tomorrow the new line will be installed and secured in place. STS-30 pilot Donald Walker and commander David Grabe left the Kennedy Space Center today for Houston today. The 3 mission specialists left yesterday. The whole crew will practice in the shuttle simulator in Houston during the next few days. [Launch has been rescheduled for Thursday since this recording.] Peter Scott (pjs@grouch.jpl.nasa.gov) Path: santra!tut!draken!kth!mcvax!uunet!lll-winken!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!GROUCH.JPL.NASA.GOV!PJS From: PJS@GROUCH.JPL.NASA.GOV (Peter Scott) Newsgroups: sci.space Subject: Magellan update update Message-ID: <890501154828.00001B11831@grouch.JPL.NASA.GOV> Date: 1 May 89 23:48:28 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 10 A new status report was just posted for Magellan at 3pm, PDT, Monday May 1st: Officials at Kennedy Space Center in Florida have announced a new launch date of Thursday, May 4th for the shuttle at 10:48 PDT. The weather is expected to be good at Kennedy on Thursday, but will begin to degrade on Friday and be poor over the weekend. The next status report is scheduled for May 2nd at 1pm PDT. Peter Scott (pjs@grouch.jpl.nasa.gov) Path: santra!tut!draken!kth!mcvax!uunet!lll-winken!ncis.tis.llnl.gov!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!GROUCH.JPL.NASA.GOV!PJS From: PJS@GROUCH.JPL.NASA.GOV (Peter Scott) Newsgroups: sci.space Subject: Magellan update Message-ID: <890502112213.00001CA5251@grouch.JPL.NASA.GOV> Date: 2 May 89 19:22:13 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 19 Latest Magellan update recording, as of 4:30 pm PDT Monday May 1st: [Repeat of new launch date/time and weather info] The delay actually enhances the mission by making a propellant savings of at least 5 kg of hydrazine possible [hydrazine is used for trajectory correction maneuvers and attitude control]. There are a total of 133 kg hydrazine on board Magellan. The reason for the savings on propellant is that with the later launch date the path to Venus is more direct, resulting in fewer TCMs. For each 2kg of hydrazine saved, one complete Venus mapping cycle (which lasts for 243 earth days) is possible; thus a savings of 5 kg could allow for 2 more complete mapping cycles, or almost 2 more years (607.5 days) of mission science. Joe Cutting, mission design manager, stated that it is possible that not all of this extra hydrazine will be used to extend space science; it could be used for attitude control on the way. [Explanation of how lack of propellant results in loss of radio contact] Peter Scott (pjs@grouch.jpl.nasa.gov) Path: santra!tut!draken!kth!mcvax!uunet!lll-winken!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!GROUCH.JPL.NASA.GOV!PJS From: PJS@GROUCH.JPL.NASA.GOV (Peter Scott) Newsgroups: sci.space Subject: Magellan update Message-ID: <890505101058.000004130A1@grouch.JPL.NASA.GOV> Date: 5 May 89 18:10:58 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 20 Here's most of the text of the latest recorded announcement at JPL: This is the JPL broadcast news service 9:30 pm PDT May 4. [...] Magellan was deployed at 6:02 pm PDT, the first IUS burn occurred at 7:01 pm PDT, the second IUS burn at 7:06 pm PDT, and separation was confirmed at 7:27 pm. Once placed into an orbit around the Sun from which it will intercept Venus, Magellan will cruise for 15 months. There will be 3 trajectory correction maneuvers, the first will occur 15 days after launch [and I'm told that the trajectory is so good that this will be at most 3 m/s], the second 345 days later, and the last 17 days before Magellan reaches Venus orbit to ensure correct arrival conditions. The landing of the space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for 12:44 pm PDT Monday May 8, and there will be a post-landing press conference at 2:15 pm PDT. Peter Scott (pjs@grouch.jpl.nasa.gov) For those of you who can't get enough of disclaimers: I'm not responsible in any way for the content of the message. I just call up the number and type in what's said, editing slightly for the benefit of this group.