NASA Daily News Summary
For Release: Nov. 9, 1999
Media Advisory m99-233

SUMMARY:

No News Releases Today

Video File for Nov. 9, 1999

ITEM 1 - STS-103 - THIRD HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SERVICING MISSION 
ITEM 2 - HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE IMAGE OF THE TRIFID NEBULA
ITEM 3 - AIRBORNE INFORMATION FOR LATERAL SPACING (replay) 
ITEM 4 - NASA TESTS CONCEPT FOR A ULTRA LONG DURATION 
         BALLOON (replay) 
ITEM 5 - MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES OF SOLAR ECLIPSE ON MARS 
         (replay)

NOTE:  Today's The STS-103 Mission Overview Briefing will rerun 
throughout the day, beginning at 1:00 pm.

LIVE TELEVISION EVENTS THIS WEEK:

NOVEMBER 9, TUESDAY
STS-103 Mission Briefing
9:00 am - 11:00 am - Mission Overview and EVA Briefing - JSC
11:00 am - noon - STS-103 Hubble Space Telescope Payload Briefing 
                - HQ

2:00 - 3:00 pm - STS-103 Crew News Conference - JSC

NOVEMBER 10, WEDNESDAY
6:00 - 10:00 am - Precision Farming Live News Interviews - MSFC
2:00 - 3:00 pm - Mars Climate Orbiter Failure Investigation Board 
                 Briefing - HQ

*****************************

If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will e-
mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list.

Index of 1999 NASA News Releases:
http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html

*****************************

Video File for Nov. 9, 1999

ITEM 1 - STS-103 - THIRD HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SERVICING MISSION 

NASA officials decided to move up part of the servicing mission 
that had been scheduled for June 2000 after three of the 
telescope's six gyroscopes failed.  Having fewer than three 
working gyroscopes would preclude science observations, although 
the telescope would remain safely in orbit until a servicing crew 
arrived.  In addition to replacing all six gyroscopes on the 
November flight, the crew will replace a guidance sensor and the 
spacecraft's computer.  The new computer will reduce the burden of 
flight software maintenance and significantly lower costs.  A 
voltage/temperature kit will be installed to protect spacecraft 
batteries from overcharging and overheating when the spacecraft 
goes into safe mode.  A new transmitter will replace a failed 
spare currently aboard the spacecraft, and a spare missions will 
replace telescope insulation that has degraded.  The insulation is 
necessary to control the internal temperature on spacecraft. 

Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD:  Nancy 
Neal (Phone 301/286-0039).
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Donald Savage 
(Phone 202/358-1547).

ITEM 1a - HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FIRST TWO HUBBLE SPACE--------TRT 2:07
          TELESCOPE SERVICING MISSIONS, STS-61 AND STS-82

HST First Servicing Mission Highlights - In June, 1990 scientists 
and engineers discovered that the HST's primary mirror was flawed.    
Images of starlight were spread out in a fuzzy halo rather than 
being focused into a sharp point.  This defect was caused by a 
manufacturing error in the polishing of the primary mirror which 
rendered it too flat.  The HST was designed to allow new 
instruments to be easily installed as old ones become obsolete.  
This was demonstrated during the first servicing mission in 
December 1993, when, during an 11-day mission that included a 
record five EVAs, astronauts successfully installed a new camera 
called the Wide Field/Planetary Camera II (WF/PC-II) which had its 
corrective optics built right in, and a special instrument, called 
the COSTAR (Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement) 
that would properly refocus light from the flawed main mirror to 
the other instruments. 

HST Second Servicing Mission Highlights - Every few years, the 
telescope is visited by a Space Shuttle to allow astronauts to 
switch old instruments for new.  During HST's second servicing 
mission, in February 1997, the seven-member crew conducted 
spacewalks to remove two older instruments and install two new 
astronomy instruments, as well as other servicing tasks.  The two 
older instruments that were replaced were the Goddard High 
Resolution Spectrometer and the Faint Object Spectrograph.  
Replacing these instruments were the Space Telescope Imaging 
Spectrograph (STIS) and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object 
Spectrometer (NICMOS). 

ITEM 1b - ANIMATION OF STS-103, THIRD HST SERVICING-------TRT 8:48
          MISISON

Sequences show how description of spacecraft components, arrival 
and departure of Space Shuttle, and how astronauts will accomplish 
servicing work during several EVAs (extravehicular activity). 

ITEM 1c - GYROSCOPE ANIMATION-----------------------------TRT 1:01

Astronauts will replace all six of the Telescope's gyroscopes 
during STS-103.  Currently three of Hubble's six gyros are not 
working, leaving only the minimum number needed to continue its 
mission.  The gyroscopes are needed for pointing the telescope. 
The pointing system is comprised of reaction wheels that actually 
move the telescope, gyros that report its position, star trackers 
that provide reference points, and the onboard computer that 
controls the pointing process.  Based on nearly one and a half 
years of intensive chemical, mechanical and electrical 
investigations, the HST team believes that the thin wires are 
being corroded by the fluid in which they are immersed and 
ultimately this corrosion causes them to break.

ITEM 1d - THERMAL BLANKET LAYER ANIMATION------------------TRT :33

During the mission astronauts will cover Hubble's electronic bay 
doors with seven permanent coated-stainless steel foil sheets 
called the New Outer Blanket Layer (NOBL).  The crew will also 
carry seven rolls of special fabric, called the Shell/Shield 
Replacement Fabric (SSRF) which will be installed on Hubble's 
forward shell and light shield if time is available.  The NOBL 
covers and SSRF pieces are designed to protect Hubble's external 
blankets and prevent its insulation from further degradation.  
Animation shows how these "thermal blankets" are replaced.  
Blankets are attached with "bottle-stopper" fasteners and then are 
unrolled like "wallpaper".  This multi-layer insulation protects 
the Telescope from the severe and rapid temperature changes as it 
moves through its 90-minute orbit from very hot sun to very cold 
night.

ITEM 1e - TECHNICIANS "QUILT" SSRF B-ROLL------------------TRT :56

B-roll of technicians at the Goddard Space Flight Center 
"quilting" the Shell/Shield Replacement Fabric (SSRF).  The fabric 
pieces are stored in rolls for their trip to orbit.  The fabric is 
composed of flexible, aluminized Teflon with rip-stop material 
bonded to the back side.  Seven pieces up to 22 feet (7 meters) 
long will cover 80 percent of the sun-side light shield and 
forward shell.  This special fabric was designed and tested to 
ensure that it can withstand exposure to charged particles, X-
rays, ultraviolet radiation, and thermal cycling for at least ten 
years.

ITEM 1f - STS-103 CLEANROOM B-ROLL------------------------TRT 2:12

Astronauts training for the Hubble Space Telescope Third Servicing 
Mission in the cleanroom at the Goddard Space Flight Center.  
Footage includes astronauts working with gyroscopes and applying 
thermal blankets to a full-sized mock-up of the Hubble Space 
Telescope.  The seven-member crew will rendezvous with the 
Telescope, capture it with the Space Shuttle Discovery's robotic 
arm and dock it in the Shuttle bay.  Working in teams of two, four 
astronauts will outfit the Hubble with new equipment, including 
six gyroscopes, a Fine Guidance Sensor, Solid State Recorder, new 
Main Computer, New Outer Blanket Layers (NOBL), and a transmitter.  
The astronauts will take more than 150 crew aids and tools on this 
service call.

ITEM 1g - ACTIVITY IN STOCC---------------------------------TRT:26

Activity in Space Telescope Operations Control Center (STOCC) at 
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, during the 
mission.  Working 24 hours a day, ground controllers command and 
control the Hubble Space Telescope.  Commands are sent to the 
Telescope to direct the observation of astronomical targets all 
across the sky.  Hubble operators monitor the Telescope's health 
and safety while they control flight operations and science 
activities.

ITEM 1h - HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE ANIMATION------------------TRT:22
           (5 glamour shot sequences)  

ITEM 1i - THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM (animation)----------TRT:15

Animations of the electromagnetic spectrum, the communication 
path, and the Hubble Telescope.  

ITEM 1j - HUBBLE TRACKING/SATELLITE RELAY ANIMATIONS

Cut 1:  Animation of HST Communication----------------------TRT 17

Communications through the Tracking & Data Relay Satellite System 
(TDRSS), White Sands, NM, and DOMSAT, to the Goddard Space Flight 
Center (GSFC).

Cut 2:  TDRSS Animation-------------------------------------TRT:22

Animation of the Tracking & Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) 
Communications Satellite depicting the data flow from TDRSS to 
Earth, equivalent to a set of encyclopedias every second.  

ITEM 1k - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS------------------------------TRT 2:02

Dr. David Leckrone, Sr. Project Sicentst Hubble Space Telescope

ITEM 1l - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS------------------------------TRT 3:38

Dr. John Campbell, Associate Director, Hubble Space Telescope

ITEM 2 - HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE IMAGE----------------------TRT :23
         OF STAR FORMATION IN THE TRIFID NEBULA

This NASA Hubble Telescope image of the Trifid Nebula reveals a 
stellar nursery being torn apart by radiation from a nearby, 
massive star.  It also provides a peek at embryonic stars forming 
within an ill-fated cloud of dust and gas.  Sequence opens on 
ground-based image of the Trifid Nebula and then zooms in to the 
remarkable images captured by Hubble..

Images and other information available at 
http://hubble.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Credits: NASA and Jeff Hester (Arizona State University), Paul 
Scowen (Arizona State University), Karl Stapelfeldt (Jet 
Propulsion Laboratory), John Krist (STScI) and the HST WFPC2 
Investigation Definition Team

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Donald Savage 
(Phone 202/358-1547).
Contact at Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD:  Ray 
Villard (Phone 410/338-4707).

ITEM 3 - AIRBORNE INFORMATION FOR LATERAL SPACING (replay)-TRT :55

NASA is developing a technology that would decrease air traffic 
delays by enabling airports with closely spaced parallel runways 
to keep both runways open in bad weather.  Animation shows a 
normal runway approach in good visibility and how an Airborne 
Information for Lateral Spacing alert would warn of an incorrect 
approach.

Contact at NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA:  Judi Tull 
(Phone 757/864-3189).
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Michael Braukus 
(Phone 202/358-1979).

Item 3a - PILOT TESTING AILS IN SIMULATOR-----------------TRT 3:48

Pilots tested the AILS system in a NASA simulator.  AILS would 
give pilots a cockpit display to detect, warn, and avoid possible 
encroaching traffic.  They confirmed those results on board NASA 
757 and a Honeywell Gulfstream.

Video Courtesy Discovery Channel

Item 3b - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS-------------------------------TRT :57

Brad Perry, AILS Project Manger, NASA Langley Research Center, 
Hampton, VA

Item 3c - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS-------------------------------TRT :19

Bob Puley, 757 Pilot, Northwest Airlines

Item 3d - INTERVIEW EXCERPTS-------------------------------TRT :35

Bill Cowin, Senior Research Program Manager, Honeywell, Inc.

ITEM 4 - NASA TESTS CONCEPT FOR A ULTRA LONG DURATION 
         BALLOON (replay) 

A test flight was successfully conducted recently from Ft. Sumner, 
NM, of a pumpkin-shaped balloon half the size of a football field 
and approximately one-tenth the volume of NASA's Ultra Long 
Duration Balloon (ULDB). The ULDB will stay aloft at altitudes of 
up to 115,000 feet (35 kilometers) for as long as 100 days with 
more than a ton of scientific instruments. 

Scientists are excited about the new balloons because they can 
carry huge payloads to the very edges of the Earth's atmosphere at 
a fraction of the cost of launching them on rockets.

Contact at NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA:  
Betty Flowers (Phone 757/824-1584).
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Donald Savage 
(Phone 202/358-1547).

More ULDB program information can be found at:
http://www.wff.nasa.gov/~uldb/index.html

Item 4a - NASA'S ULTRA LONG DURATION BALLOON--------------TRT 5:07

A test flight was successfully conducted recently from Ft. Sumner, 
N.M. of a pumpkin-shaped balloon half the size of a football field 
and approximately one-tenth the volume of what NASA calls its 
Ultra Long Duration Balloon (ULDB). The ULDB will stay aloft at 
altitudes of up to 115,000 feet (35 kilometers) for as long as 100 
days with more than a ton of scientific instruments. 

FILE FOOTAGE:---------------------------------------------TRT 8:12

Item 4b - LAUNCH ANIMATION SEQUENCE

Ultra Long Duration Balloons (ULDB) are being designed to stay 
afloat for several months with over a ton of astronomy or remote 
sensing equipment.  This new balloon technology will enable a 
science payload to stay aloft for up to 100 days, at a constant 
altitude of approximately 120,000 feet.  That is about 15 miles 
higher than typical passenger planes fly and above 99.9 percent of 
the Earth's atmosphere.  This represents an enormous advance over 
current long-duration balloons that stay aloft for about 10 days 
and cannot maintain a constant altitude.  A ULDB platform can be 
used to perform many types of research effectively, inexpensively 
and the payload can be recovered for reuse.

Item 4c - ALTITUDE COMPARISON ANIMATION

Day and night temperature differences, along with barometric 
pressure differences affect the altitude of current long duration 
balloons because they are open systems.  The Ultra Long Duration 
Balloon is a closed system enabling it to maintain a more constant 
altitude.

Item 4d - SIZE COMPARISON

Height comparison of ULDB at launch and at altitude with the 
Washington Monument.  The ULDB balloon consists of 20 acres of a 
special polyethylene composite material (.08 mil thick) and 20 
miles of seams.

Item 4e - ANIMATION OF POTENTIAL ULDB SCIENCE PAYLOADS

Scientists will be able to command the instrument and receive 
science data on a home computer via the Internet.  

Cut 1:  Atmospheric payloads such as cosmic ray detection, and 
anti-matter detectors.
Cut 2:  Earth Observation payloads

Item 4f - ULDB MATERIAL TESTING B-ROLL

New composite materials were developed to accomplish ULDB's 
mission.  This new material must withstand the environmental 
stresses the balloon will encounter at 120,000 feet for 100 days.  
These stresses include  temperature variations, pressure, and 
ultraviolet radiation.

Item 4g - MANUFACTURING METHODS TESTING B-ROLL

Inflating a 30 foot diameter ULDB "model" to its bursting point 
gives engineers insight into the durability and strength of 
balloon manufacturing methods.

Item 4h - SOUNDBITE

Steve Raque, Aerospace Engineer, NASA Balloon Program Office

ITEM 5 - MARS GLOBAL SURVEYOR IMAGES OF SOLAR ECLIPSE------TRT :42
         ON MARS (replay)

The shadow of the martian moon, Phobos, has been captured in many 
recent wide angle camera views of the red planet obtained by the 
Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC).  Designed to 
monitor changes in weather and surface conditions, the wide angle 
cameras are also proving to be a good way to spot the frequent 
solar eclipses caused by the passage of Phobos between Mars and 
the Sun. Image shows Phobos, the inner and larger of the two moons 
of Mars.  Imaged on Aug. 19, 1998, by the Mars global 
Surveyor/Mars Orbiter Camera.

Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC:  Doug Isbell (Phone 
202/358-1753).
Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA:  Mary 
Hardin (Phone 818/354-5011).

----------

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