Jonathan's Space Report Apr 1, 1990 (no.33) I have been off the net due to a hacker attack on our computer network; anyone who sent me mail in the last 2 weeks should resend. ---------------------------------------------------- Discovery is on pad 39B, ready for launch of mission STS-31 on Apr 12. The Hubble Space Telescope was moved to the pad on Mar 25. Atlantis returned to KSC aboard the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft on Mar 13. It is due to fly another DoD mission in July. Anatoli Solov'yov (Komandir) and Aleksandr Balandin (Bortinzhener) continue in orbit aboard the Mir complex. The Soyuz TM-9 transport and the Progress M-3 freighter are currently at the station. The USA-53 strategic intelligence satellite launched by Atlantis at the beginning of March appears to have failed. The Soviet Union reports that it broke up and pieces have reentered. The DoD confirms that its mission is over. The Japanese Hiten (MUSES-A) space probe placed a small test satellite in lunar orbit on Mar 20. Intelsat VI F-1, the second Intelsat VI satellite to be launched, went into space aboard a Martin Marietta Commercial Titan III on Mar 14. The satellite failed to separate from the Titan final stage, and was finally separated from its Orbus 21S perigee kick motor, leaving it stranded in low orbit with only its stationkeeping engine available for propulsion. INTELSAT is an intergovernmental organization for international telecommunications; of the 44 satellites it has launched since 1965, it has lost 9 in launch accidents. Another USAF Navstar GPS Block II navigation satellite was launched by McDonnell Douglas Delta 6925 from Canaveral on Mar 26. Kosmos-2060, a Soviet Naval Intelligence satellite for detecting radio emissions from ships, was launched from Baykonur on Mar 14. Kosmos-2061, a Soviet Navy navigation satellite, was launched from Plesetsk on March 20. Kosmos-2062 was launched on March 22. (c) 1990 Jonathan McDowell r 18. Hiten flew past the Moon at 14000 km and remains in orbit around the Earth-Moon system. Intelsat VI F-1, the second Intelsat VI satellite to be launched, went into space aboard a Martin Marietta Commercial Titan III on Mar 14. The satellite failed to separate from the Titan final stage, and was finally separated from its Orbus 21S perigee kick motor, leaving it stranded in low orbit with only its stationkeeping engine available for propulsion. The satellite's orbit has been raised to a several-hundred km parking orbit using the stationkeeping engine, while the Titan/Orbus has reentered. INTELSAT is an intergovernmental organization for international telecommunications; of the 44 satellites it has launched since 1965, it has lost 9 in launch accidents. Another USAF Navstar GPS Block II navigation satellite (SVN-20) was launched by McDonnell Douglas Delta 6925 from Canaveral on Mar 26. Ofek-2 (Offeq-2? comments on alternative transliterations and original Hebrew spelling solicited), the second Israeli test satellite, was launched on Apr 3. Press speculation that Ofek is a recon satellite is IMHO almost certainly unfounded; even the Israelis are unlikely to do that on their second launch. The satellite is a small one and would probably contain only tests of telemetry and spacecraft systems (you learn how to build sats first, then you try and do something with them!) and possibly some elementary experiments. While an early experiment might well be a small CCD camera, it would not have the resolution needed for recon work. Kosmos-2060, a Soviet Naval Intelligence satellite for detecting radio emissions from ships, was launched from Baykonur on Mar 14. Kosmos-2061, a Soviet Navy navigation satellite, was launched from Plesetsk on March 20. Kosmos-2062, a polar orbiting recon/remote sensing satellite, was launched on March 22. [Acknowledgements: Aviation Week, Space News, Radio Moscow, Pravda, Spacewarn telexes, Two-Line Orbital Elements, CNN, sci.space, Canadian Space Society BBS, NASA Spacelink BBS, and the public affairs depts of UTC, Intelsat and the Japanese Embassy.] (c) 1990 Jonathan McDowell