Jonathan's Space Report Oct 2 1990 (no.54) ---------------------------------------------------- The launch of STS-41/Discovery is due on Oct 6. Atlantis was slightly damaged while being remated to its external tank. This is the first time ever that there have been three fully mated Shuttle stacks at once. Gennadiy Manakov and Gennadiy Strekalov continue in orbit aboard the Mir/Kvant/Kvant-2/Kristall/Soyuz TM-10/Progress M-5 complex. The Progress M-5 automatic cargo craft was launched on Sep 27 and docked at Mir's forward port on Sep 29. The USAF's Navstar GPS 15 navigation satellite was launched from Canaveral on Oct 1 by a Delta 6925. GPS 15 is a Navstar Block IIA satellite; future launches will use the improved Block IIB satellite. A Soviet Ministry of Communications Molniya-3 comsat was launched from Plesetsk on Sep 20. A Soviet Hydrometeorological Service Meteor-2 weather satellite was launched from Plesetsk by a three-stage Tsiklon rocket on Sep 29. Ariel VI, the last of the British Ariel series of scientific satellites, reentered on Sep 23 after 11 years in space. The satellite, which operated from 1979 to 1982, was intended to study x-ray astronomy; unfortunately, it was plagued with technical problems and did not live up to the reputation of its very successful predecessor, Ariel V. A British soft x-ray experiment, the Wide Field Camera, is currently operating successfully on the German-led international ROSAT satellite. British Scientific and Technological Satellites: Satellite Launch End of Reentered Ops Ariel I 1962 1964 1976 Ariel II 1964 1967 1967 Ariel III 1967 1970 1970 Ariel IV 1971 1973 1978 Ariel V 1974 1980 1980 Ariel VI 1979 1982 1990 Prospero 1971 1981? In orbit Miranda 1974 1974 In orbit AMPTE-UKS 1984 1984 In orbit ___________________________________ |Current STS status: | |Orbiters | | | |OV-102 Columbia LC39A | |OV-103 Discovery LC39B | |OV-104 Atlantis VAB Bay 3 | | | |ML/ET/SRB stacks | | | |ML3/STS-35/ET/OV102 LC39A | |ML1/STS-38/ET/OV104 VAB Bay 3 | |ML2/STS-41/ET/OV103 LC39B | ----------------------------------- (c) 1990 Jonathan McDowell