Space

In addition to these measures, further inflight instrumentation was fitted to the vehicle and it is expected that future Titans will also carry such equipment.

Concern over this launch was such that almost all quid propellant engines on the vehicle were twice fired statically. In late November the USAF followed up with a Titan 34D launch from Cape Canaveral, successfully placing a strategic early warning satellite into geosynchronous orbit.

The Titan 34D is currently the largest expendable launcher in US service and the suspension of Tian and Shuttle launches has created a backlog of large payloads which may take over two years to clear.

The Shuttle recovery program is also proceeding and several SRB firing tests were carried out. Reports in January this year suggested that some additional delays may force the planned first launch to sip to later this year.

NASA Awards Design and Development Contracts for Space Station

In a milestone decision, NASA has awarded contracts to four contractor teams for design/development of space station hardware. At US$5,000m the space station is the largest single US civilian space program in the coming decade. The winners of the contracts were announced in early December with formal notification in mid December.

The Space Station program is split into two phases, with the first phase covering the construction of a single keel design which may require over 19 Shuttle payloads of hardware to be lifted to low orbit. While NASA has been given a commitment to ‘adequate funding over the next two years, it is unclear whether the funds will actually be available at the time. with some suggestions of a stretched project timescale being made.

The contracts were awarded to four contractor teams, each responsible for a specific subsystem of the station. The Boeing Aerospace Co. team won a $$750m contract to design and build the station’s pressurised modules and ancillary systems. McDonnell-Douglas Astronautics Co. won a US$1,900m contract to build the integrated truss structure, mobile transporter, resource nodes, Shuttle airlocks and other subsystems. Rockwell’s Rocketdyne Division won a US$1,600m contract to supply a 75kW photovoltaic (solar) power system to power the first phase, the second phase would involve a 50kW Brayton cycle solar dynamic system, General Electric won a US$800m contract to provide free flying platforms and satellite servicing support. It is expected that the first phase of the program will involve 2,900 jobs at Boeing. 4,050 at MDC. 1,540 at GE and 3,230 at Rocketdyne; most of which will be new positions.

Boeing’s Huntsville, Alabama, facility will be assembling the modules, which will contain crew living quarters science facilities and laboratory areas. These module types are designated Habitation and Laboratory Modules respectively, with Boeing in turn awarding major subcontracts for the subsystems and equipment. The Seattle architectural firm Walter Dorwin Teague Associates will develop a habitation module intertor placing major emphasis on astronaut comfort, with extensive sound level reduction (living areas less than 45dB) and separation of sleeping quarters and active areas. Grumman will be involved in the design of the galley, wardroom and waste management systems.

A key feature of the Boeing proposal was the degree of commonality between the primary (Habitation, Lab) modules and the station nodes and Logistics Modules. The Logistics Modules posed particular design problems as the rack structure designed for zero-g conditions had to allow for use in a 1g earth surface situation. A Boeing 757 low profile cargo loading system will be adapted for use in this application.

The contract also covers resource node structures, module airlock systems, environmental control, Me-support and audio-visual subsystems throughout the station.

Lockheed will be responsible for outfitting a life sciences and animal facility and for integrating the station’s health maintenance facility. TRW will have a major involvement in station software development and Teledyne-Brown Engineering will integrate payloads and outfit the station materials lab.

McDonnell Douglas Truss Will Build Framework and Plan Station Assembly

McDonnell Douglas won the contract in a close run contest with Rockwell; the station assembly is considered to be one of the most difficult aspects of the whole program.

Prime contractor responsibilities include the development and manufacture of the truss framework structure which is the backbone of the station, the development of four resource nodes which will connect the individual Boeing modules (the nodes will be built by Boeing), the development and manufacture of two airlocks for Shuttle docking and the development and manufacture of a propulsion system to compensate for the effects of atmospheric drag in low orbit. The propulsion system will use electrical power to heat waste fluids and gases which will be fed to a thruster.

Another major part of the contract is the operations oriented planning of the station assembly in orbit.

Subcontracts have also been awarded to other members of the MDC team. IBM Federal Systems Division will provide a US$200m Data Management System which will provide software support for both software and station systems. (in effect a station operating system). Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. will build an external thermal control system which will carry waste heat to a set of external truss-mounted radiators.

RCA Government Communications Systems will be responsible for external communications and tracking, Honeywell for station attitude reference and control.

Lockheed will also be responsible for systems used in the extravehicular activity, ie space suits, a crew and equipment retrieval vehicle and a crew sled for the truss.

The budget issue is of major concern to NASA and the contractors involved. Industry sources in the US indicated that cuts of up to 70% of the proposed program budget were possible, primarily as a result of a lack of interest in the US legislature. A late December report stated that only US$525m will be available for the station program, against the sought-after $767m.

NASA Initiates $1,700M Space Technology Base Program

NASA has started a large US$1,700m program to revitalise the US space technology base by 1992. This program is the largest space technology development exercise carried out in the US since the sixties Apollo program and is specifically aimed at restoring the United States’ leadership position as a world space power.

The program will reverse the past NASA practice of using major and specific projects as a means of generating new technology; the new strategy is to create a technology base and then apply the technology to lower risk lower cost projects.

Key elements of the program are a civilian space technology initiative, a pathfinder program to develop entirely new concepts, a space engineering research program ultimately involving 20-30 universities and an outreach and in reach program, both of which are aimed at encouraging use of NASA facilities in orbit and on the ground respectively. The program is to be closely coordinated with the SDI, USAF and DARPA NASP programs to avoid duplication of effort.