Jonathan's Space Report May 8 1990 (no.38) ---------------------------------------------------- The Hubble Space Telescope is in its Orbital Verification phase. A large (6 arcsec/min) oscillation has been found by the Fine Guidance Sensors. First out-of-focus images are expected this week. Launch of STS-35/Columbia is due for May 17. Anatoli Solov'yov (Komandir) and Aleksandr Balandin (Bortinzhener) continue in orbit aboard the Mir complex. The Soyuz TM-9 transport and the Progress-42 freighter are currently at the station. The Progress M-3 freighter undocked and was deorbited to destruction over the Pacific on Apr 28. Progress 42 was launched on May 5 to bring more supplies to the station, and according to Glenn Chapman it docked on May 8. Solov'yov and Balandin have been in space for 85 days, breaking the US record of 83 days in 1974. The Soviet record is 1 year. The Foton materials processing satellite and the Kosmos-2073 recon satellite landed in Kazakhstan on Apr 27 and Apr 28. Two Soviet Air Defense satellites were launched on Apr 25 and Apr 28, the Kosmos-2075 radar calibration satellite and the Kosmos-2076 missile early warning satellite. Topic of the Week --------------------------------------------------------------- Protivo-Vosdushnaya Oborona - Soviet Air Defense Command The space activities of the PVO began in 1968 with the antisatellite program. In this program, a satellite filled with high explosive manoeuvred next to a target satellite and exploded, damaging the target with shrapnel. There have been no launches in the ASAT program since 1982, but a series of satellites with orbital characteristics similar to the old target satellites continues. This series, which began with Kosmos-752 in 1975, was initially puzzling. Were the Soviets launching targets and then forgetting to launch the ASATs at them? Worse, the targets seemed to be disintegrating anyway! Many fragments were being cataloged in orbit with them. Were they being attacked with secret laser weapons? Eventually it was realized that some of the K-752 series were periodically releasing groups of 25-30 small objects into orbit to simulate missile attacks, so that Soviet defense radars could be tested. The K752 series continues with the launch of Kosmos-2075 on a Kosmos launch vehicle from Plesetsk, but this launch vehicle is being phased out and a replacement series using the Tsiklon launch vehicle began with Kosmos-1985 in 1988. Not all of the satellites release extra objects tracked in orbit; why is unclear. For instance, Kosmos-1960 in 1988 released 28 objects, while Kosmos-2027 launched into an identical orbit a year later has released none. Currently, the calibration satellite program sees one Tsiklon-class launch per year each December, one Kosmos-class launch into elliptical orbit in February, and one Kosmos-class launch into circular orbit in mid-year. All launches are from Plesetsk, except occasional Kosmos circular orbit missions from Kapustin Yar. The PVO is also believed to operate the missile early warning program, with spacecraft in similar orbits to the Molniya satellites. Kosmos-2076 is the 63rd launch in the program, and the second this year. A constellation of satellites in 9 orbital planes is maintained. After many early failures, the satellites seem to be operating more reliably in recent years. (c) 1990 Jonathan McDowell