Jonathan's Space Report Sep 25 1990 (no.53) ---------------------------------------------------- The launch of STS-41/Discovery is due on Oct 6. Gennadiy Manakov and Gennadiy Strekalov continue in orbit aboard the Mir/Kvant/Kvant-2/Kristall/Soyuz TM-10 complex. The Progress M-4 automatic cargo craft undocked and reentered on Sep 20. As it separated from Mir, it conducted a plasma release experiment. Launch of Progress M-5 is due Sep 27. Kosmos-2100 is a Soviet Navy navigation satellite, launched by a Kosmos R-14 from Plesetsk on Sep 14. The first Kosmos satellite was launched in March 1962. The navigation satellite program uses gravity gradient stabilized satellites very similar in concept to the US Navy Transit, in 1000 km high orbits at 83 degree inclination. There are two parallel systems, a military one under the Kosmos label and an unclassified one with satellites called Nadezhda. The launch vehicle uses an R-14 IRBM (NATO designation: SS-5 Skean) as its first stage; it used to be the standard Soviet small satellite launcher, having replaced the Kosmos R-12 in the early 1970's, but most of its payload classes apart from the navsats have been transferred to the newer Tsiklon 3 vehicle. Both the Kosmos and the Tsiklon vehicles are products of the Yuzhnoye NPO. Orbital launch summary for August: Aug 1 Soyuz, Baykonur Glavkosmos Soyuz TM-10 spaceship Aug 2 Delta 6925, Canaveral US Space Command Navstar 21 navigation satellite Aug 3 Soyuz, Plesetsk Soviet GRU Kosmos-2089 recon satellite Aug 8 Tsiklon 3,Plesetsk Soviet Navy Kosmos-2090/2095 small comsat cluster Aug 10 Molniya,Plesetsk Soviet MSvyazi Molniya-1 comsat Aug 15 Soyuz, Baykonur Glavkosmos Progress M-4 robot cargo spaceship Aug 16 Soyuz, Plesetsk Soviet GUGK Resurs-F commercial imaging/materials flight Aug 18 Delta 6925,Canaveral Hughes/BSB Ltd. Marcopolo 2 broadcasting satellite Aug 23 Tsiklon 2,Baykonur Soviet GRU? Kosmos-2096 naval electronic intelligence Aug 28 Molniya,Plesetsk Soviet PVO Kosmos-2097 early warning satellite Aug 28 Kosmos R-14,Plesetsk Soviet Kosmos-2098 small military research satellite Aug 30 Ariane 44LP,Kourou European Eutelsat II F-1 broadcasting satellite and UK Ministry of Defense Skynet IVC comsat Aug 31 Soyuz, Plesetsk Soviet GRU Kosmos-2099 recon satellite ___________________________________ |Current STS status: | |Orbiters | | | |OV-102 Columbia LC39A | |OV-103 Discovery LC39B | |OV-104 Atlantis OPF Bay 2 | | | |ML/ET/SRB stacks | | | |ML3/STS-35/ET/OV102 LC39A | |ML1/STS-38/ET VAB Bay 3 | |ML2/STS-41/ET/OV103 LC39B | ----------------------------------- (c) 1990 Jonathan McDowell