March 29, 1993

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HEADLINE NEWS

POLAR PLATFORM TO OFFER CONSTANT EARTH OBSERVATION

BRISTOL, ENGLAND The Polar Platform spacecraft to be used for the European Space Agency's Envisat-1 mission in mid-1998 will be twice the size as its European Remote Sensing satellite predecessors and carry more than double the payload.

By CAROLE A. SHIFRIN5 min

HEADLINE NEWS

GLOBAL SPACE ALLIANCES SHIFT WITH STATION CRISIS

European budget pressures and concern about the U. S. station's future are combining to rearrange potential long-term manned space partnerships

By CRAIG COVAULT5 min

HEADLINE NEWS

LAUNCH ABORT HAS NASA SCRAMBLING

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER NASA and Rocketdyne are striving to quickly understand why a main engine valve stuck seconds before Columbia's intended liftoff, so the problem will not disrupt shuttle launch plans for the rest of the year. A team of engineers from Rocketdyne and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center were working last week to verify initial indications that a check valve on the No. 3 main engine's oxidizer preburner failed, prompting Columbia's on-board computers to shut down its three 375,000-lb.-thrust main engines 3 sec. before launch Mar. 22.

By JAMES T. MCKENNA5 min

HEADLINE NEWS

DC-X VEHICLE NEARS FLIGHT TEST

LOS ANGELES McDonnell Douglas Aerospace plans to roll out the Delta Clipper experimental (DC-X) test vehicle this week in preparation for a series of flight tests scheduled to begin in June at White Sands Missile Range, N. M. Paul Klevatt, McDonnell Douglas DC-X program manager, said the vehicle—developed for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization—is in the final stages of assembly and checkout at McDonnell Douglas in Huntington Beach, Calif. (AW&ST Feb. 3, 1992, p. 55).

By BRUCE A. SMITH4 min

HEADLINE NEWS

SDIO BOOKS PAYLOAD ON COMET FLIGHT

WASHINGTON A two-month launch delay in the Comet microgravity mission first flight has enabled the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) to book a piggyback payload on the experiment transporter. The $395,000 contract from SDIO to install a package of coated materials samples for exposure to space illustrates the type of commercial business that can be generated by lower-cost missions to Earth orbit, according to program officials.

By JEFFREY M. LENOROVITZ4 min

HEADLINE NEWS

GE EYES VARIABLE CYCLE FOR ENGINE COMPETITION

EVENDALE, OHIO General Electric is attempting to parlay its variable cycle engine experience into a winning bid to build a core demonstrator under the next phase of the U. S. Air Force's advanced turbine engine gas generator (ATEGG) competiton.

By STANLEY W. KANDEBO4 min

HEADLINE NEWS

ASPIN MOUNTS DUAL ATTACK ON BUDGET

WASHINGTON U. S. Defense Secretary Les Aspin is trying to reduce the Defense budget with a policy crossfire between two new Pentagon reviews—a tougher roles and missions study to cut down on redundancy between services and a cost-benefit analysis of the military's most expensive weapon systems.

March 221993

April 51993

March 29, 1993

March 29, 1993

DASSAULT'S FALCON 2000: NEW BIG CABIN TWINJET

By MICHAEL A. DORNHEIM9 min