December 9, 1996

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HEADLINE NEWS

Air Force Readies Pick of Two Eelv Finalists

WASHINGTON The U.S. Air Force is set to announce two finalists for a contract to develop an upgraded family of American boosters that could propel the U.S. back to the top of the launch business. The $ 1.4-billion Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program is aiming to replace today’s medium-lift Delta and Atlas boosters and heavy-lift Titan with a new family of vehicles that cost half as much to operate.

By JOSEPH C. ANSELMO6 min

HEADLINE NEWS

Hatch Problem Focuses Attention on Evas

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER Ajammed airlock hatch on the orbiter Columbia, which prevented shuttle Mission 80 astronauts from performing two extravehicular activities (EVAs), has refocused attention on shuttle single point failures that could disrupt station assembly or resupply missions.

By CRAIG COVAULTI3 min

HEADLINE NEWS

A 'Stitch in Time' Saves Pathfinder

Cape Canaveral A critical element of the Pathfinder lander’s Mars surface weather station was seriously damaged just as JPL technicians were about to fold the spacecraft into its launch configuration. But an “electronic seamstress” rushed here was able to repair the instrument—saving one of the lander’s most important science instruments.

PLANETARY EXPLORATION

Comet, Asteroid Missions Seek Clues to Earth's Origins

WASHINGTON Planetary scientists are on the verge of a new age of discovery about comets and asteroids, thanks to several spacecraft that are scheduled for rendezvous missions over the next 15 years. The exploration is being kicked off by three low-cost NASA spacecraft, which are slated to be followed early in the next decade by a Japanese mission and a more complex European endeavor.

By JOSEPH C. ANSELMO11 min

PLANETARY EXPLORATION

Planetary Flight Surge Faces Budget Realities

Planetary exploration is proceeding at a high pace, exemplified by about 20 missions planned to be en route to deep space targets through 2005. To continue this surge, a NASA-convened group has been charting an ambitious outline of exploration up to 2015, updating the last such plan made in 1983.

By MICHAEL A. DORNHEIM,Cassini fires its braking rockets at Saturn in July, 2004, to start a four-year orbital tour. The attached Huygens probe will enter Titan in November.,1 more...11 min

Mars 98 to Seek Water Near Martian South Pole

CAPE CANAVERAL The NASA "assault" on Mars will continue in 1998-99 with the launch of an orbiter for atmospheric studies and a lander planned to touch down near the south pole to image geologic layers that could reveal millions of years of Martian history-and search for evidence of water that could have sup ported ancient life.

By CRAIG COVAULT10 min

PLANETARY EXPLORATION

U.S., Japanese Moon Missions to Seek Water, Lunar Core

CAPE CANAVERAL New evidence that a large region of subsurface water ice exists on the Moon will increase the importance of two new U. S. and Japanese unmanned lunar missions set for launch by early 1998. The data could revitalize planning for new human operations on the lunar surface using the Moon's resources.

By CRAIG COVAULT10 min

December 21996

December 161996

December 9, 1996

December 9, 1996

First U.S. Mars Rover Launched to Red Planet

By CRAIG COVAULT8 min