ATI Space Email Newsletter - February-March 1999 

In this issue of ATI Space News: 


__NEW ORGANIZATION TO FOCUS ON SPACE AS A BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY 
__NASA ANNOUNCES FIELD CENTER NAME CHANGE 
__NASA SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR ADVANCED RADAR TECHNOLOGY
__NASA PLANS AN EARLY SERVICING MISSION TO HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE
__WIRE SCIENCE INSTRUMENT RUNS OUT OF HYDROGEN 
__NEAR SPACECRAFT REVEALS MAJOR FEATURES OF EROS
__RECENT U.S. GOVERNMENT POLICY CHANGE COULD COST SPACE INDUSTRY $5 BILLION
 
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NEW ORGANIZATION TO FOCUS ON SPACE AS A BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

     In February 1999, the formation of the International Space
Business Council (ISBC) was announced.  Promoted as part chamber
of commerce, part think tank, the ISBC was established to meet
the needs of the evolving and expanding global space industry.  
With an overall mission to pursue initiatives which will benefit
the business activities of today's companies while encouraging 
the future growth of the industry for tomorrow, the ISBC believes 
that a growing industry is of benefit to all. Member companies 
and individuals will receive a continually expanding range of 
marketing and business-development-oriented benefits. 

     For more information on the ISBC, interested organizations 
can call: 703-524-2766 or visit their website at http://www.spacebusiness.com


NASA ANNOUNCES FIELD CENTER NAME CHANGE

     NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin today officially changed 
the name of the Lewis Research Center, Cleveland, OH, to the John 
H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field. 

     "I cannot think of a better way to pay tribute to two of 
Ohio's famous names -- one an aeronautic researcher and the other 
an astronaut legend and lawmaker -- than by naming a NASA research 
center after them," said Goldin. 

     Glenn, a native of Ohio, became the first American to orbit 
the Earth in 1962. In 1998, after serving four terms as a U.S. 
Senator, Glenn again made history as the oldest astronaut to fly 
in space as a crew member on the STS-95 mission.  During the mission, 
he served as a test subject for investigations that explored the 
similarities between aging on Earth and in the microgravity 
environment of space.

     Over 2100 civil service employees and 1500 on-site support-
service contractors carry out its work.  The center consists of 24 
major facilities and over 500 specialized research facilities at 
the 350-acre Cleveland site, next to Cleveland Hopkins 
International Airport. http://www.grc.nasa.gov


NASA SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR ADVANCED RADAR TECHNOLOGY

     NASA is seeking proposals for a low-cost, advanced imaging 
radar technology that will reduce the cost and enhance the 
performance of Earth observing satellites -- opening new 
opportunities for the U.S. commercial remote-sensing industry.
Proposals must be submitted by May 10, 1999.

     The Lightweight Synthetic Aperture mission, or "LightSAR," is 
part of NASA's long-term effort in the development and productive 
use of imaging radars.  Past NASA radar missions, which have been 
short in duration, have established the potential of imaging radar 
to expand scientific knowledge of Earth and the planets. 

     The satellite's capability to observe the Earth day and night 
in all weather is expected to result in numerous scientifically 
valuable and commercially lucrative applications.  For example, 
LightSAR will have the unique capability to continuously monitor 
minute changes in the Earth's surface, down to the one-millimeter 
level, which will lead to improved understanding of natural 
hazards such as earthquakes and volcanoes.  

     Proposals for mission development and operations using 
LightSAR are being sought from many organizations, including 
educational institutions, industry, nonprofit institutions, NASA 
field centers, federally funded research and development centers 
and other government agencies.  The LightSAR announcement of 
opportunity is available via the Internet at URL:

     http://www.earth.nasa.gov/nra/current/.

     ATI offers two courses: Fundamentals of SAR (April 19-20) 
and Advanced SAR (April 21-23) in Washington DC. 

     See http://catalog.com/hitekweb/

 
NASA PLANS AN EARLY SERVICING MISSION
TO HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE 

     NASA will launch a Space Shuttle mission to the Hubble 
Space Telescope in October so astronauts can replace portions of 
the spacecraft's pointing system, which has begun to fail.

     Hubble is operating normally and continuing to conduct its 
scientific observations, but only three of its six gyroscopes -- 
which allow the telescope to point at stars, planets and other 
targets -- are working properly.  Two have failed and another is 
acting abnormally. If fewer than three gyroscopes are operating, 
Hubble cannot continue its science mission and automatically 
places itself in a protective "safe mode."

     In addition to replacing all six gyroscopes on the October 
flight, the crew will replace a guidance sensor and the 
spacecraft's computer.  The new computer will reduce the burden of 
flight software maintenance and significantly lower costs. 

     The later servicing mission will focus on installing the 
Advanced Camera for Surveys.  With its new imaging capabilities, 
this camera will be 10 times more powerful than the present Faint 
Object Camera. 

     In addition, an advanced cooling system will be installed 
on the Near-Infrared Camera and Multiobject Spectrometer, which 
became dormant after its solid nitrogen coolant was exhausted in 
January 1999.


WIRE SCIENCE INSTRUMENT RUNS OUT OF HYDROGEN

     Ground controllers are slowly gaining control of NASA's 
Wide-Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE), but the entire supply of 
frozen hydrogen needed to cool its primary scientific instrument 
has been released into space, ending the scientific mission of 
the spacecraft.

     "We are very disappointed at the loss of WIRE's science 
program," said Dr. Ed Weiler, NASA's Associate Administrator for 
Space Science at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC.  "We are 
establishing a formal anomaly investigation board to find out 
what happened, which will help us to plan future missions.  I'm 
confident that many of the scientific goals can be accomplished 
by upcoming missions such as the Space Infrared Telescope 
Facility, so it will be science delayed rather than science 
lost."

     WIRE's primary instrument is a 30-centimeter aperture 
(12.5-inch) Cassegrain telescope enclosed inside a solid 
hydrogen cryostat.  The cryostat was designed to cool the 
telescope's inner workings to minus-430 degrees F -- cold enough so 
that the telescope's own heat emissions would not mask the 
infrared light that it is trying to detect in space.

     WIRE was launched March 4 at 9:57 p.m. EST from Vandenberg 
Air Force Base, CA. When the spacecraft made its second pass 
over one of the WIRE tracking stations, ground controllers 
determined that WIRE was spinning instead of maintaining a 
stable position in orbit, and temperatures for the cryostat and 
the instrument were warmer than expected.  

    After the anomaly investigation board completes its work 
with WIRE, engineers plan to use the spacecraft as an 
engineering testbed to evaluate advanced attitude control 
systems, communications, and data handling and operations.


NEAR SPACECRAFT REVEALS MAJOR FEATURES OF EROS

     Asteroid 433 Eros is slightly smaller than predicted, with at 
least two medium-sized craters, a long surface ridge and a density 
comparable to the Earth's crust, according to measurements from 
NASA's Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft.

     NEAR's science instruments observed about two-thirds of Eros 
on Dec. 23, 1998, as the spacecraft flew by the asteroid following 
an unsuccessful firing of its main engine a few days earlier.  A 
subsequent successful firing of the engine put NEAR on course to 
rendezvous with Eros to begin its planned yearlong orbital mission 
starting in mid-February 2000. 

     During the flyby, 222 photos and supporting spectral 
observations of Eros were taken from as close as 2,375 miles 
(3,830 kilometers) from the asteroid by the spacecraft's 
multispectral imager, infrared spectrometer and radio science 
experiment.  "The flyby of Eros has given us fundamental 
information that will help us plan a better orbital mission at 
Eros," said Dr. Andrew F. Cheng, NEAR project scientist at APL.  

     Flyby images of Eros and a related movie, an asteroid  shape 
model and a chart of spectral observations are available on the 
NEAR mission Web site at:

     http://near.jhuapl.edu.


RECENT U.S. GOVERNMENT POLICY CHANGE COULD COST SPACE INDUSTRY $5 BILLION 

     The transfer of export licensing authority for satellites 
from the Department of Commerce to the Department of State could 
cost the United States an estimated $3-5 billion in lost 
manufacturing activity over the next 18 months as security measures 
begin to effect the commercial community.  This shift has already 
effected current activities of U.S. companies who have contracts with 
non-U.S. organizations.  Shareholder value, in a number of stocks 
directly affected by this policy, is expected to drop costing 
investors billions [as share prices fall].

     "This change in policy has the potential to cause long-term 
damage to the [space] industry.  Delays in the ability of companies 
to offer services and generate revenues could make it more difficult 
for the industry to raise money for future projects," according to 
Scott Sacknoff, President of the International Space Business 
Council (ISBC). "In addition, the reduction of information available 
to insurance companies, many of whom are located in Europe and 
elsewhere who need to review technical schematics to determine risk, 
could increase rates for U.S. firms."

     Since the U.S. is the largest manufacturer and supplier of 
space hardware and services, the new policies and regulations will 
make it more difficult for companies in the U.S. to do business. 
The ISBC expects that much of the manufacturing activity could be 
picked up by organizations in Europe and Japan.  France is expected 
to be the primary beneficiary of this action.

     The policy change has already blocked the sale of a Hughes 
satellite to China, delayed the first flight from Sea Launch, and 
was one factor in the postponement of the launch of satellites 
that provide digital audio radio services.  It is essential that 
the government reconsider this switch in policy before any more 
damage occurs.  Because of its market share, reducing the 
effectiveness of the U.S. is detrimental to the growth of the 
industry as a whole.

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