17216 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 68 / Wednesday, April 9, 1997 / Notices

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice 97–040]

National Environmental Policy Act;

Cassini Mission

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and

Space Administration (NASA).

ACTION: Notice of availability of draft

supplemental environmental impact

statement (DSEIS) for the Cassini

mission to Saturn and its moons.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National

Environmental Policy Act of 1969

(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et

seq.), the Council on Environmental

Quality Regulations for Implementing

the Procedural Provisions of NEPA (40

CFR Parts 1500–1508), and NASA

policy and procedures (14 CFR Part

1216, Subpart 1216.3), NASA has

prepared and issued a DSEIS for the

Cassini mission. The DSEIS focuses on

updated information pertinent to the

consequence and risk analyses of

potential accidents during the launch

and cruise phases of the mission. Such

accidents could result in the release of

plutonium dioxide from one or more of

the three Radioisotope Thermoelectric

Generators (RTG’s) and the

approximately 130 Radioisotope Heater

Units (RHU’s) onboard the Cassini

spacecraft. The currently planned

mission involves the launch of the

Cassini spacecraft from Cape Canaveral

Air Station (CCAS), Florida, during the

primary launch opportunity that begins

in early October 1997.

DATES: Comments on the DSEIS must be

submitted in writing and received by

NASA no later than May 27, 1997, or 45

days from the date of publication in the

Federal Register of the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency’s

notice of availability of the Cassini

mission DSEIS, whichever is later.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should

be addressed to Mr. Mark R. Dahl,

NASA Headquarters, Code SD,

Washington, DC 20546–0001. The

DSEIS may be reviewed at the following

locations:

(a) NASA Headquarters, Library,

Room 1J20, 300 E Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20546.

(b) Spaceport U.S.A., Room 2001,

John F. Kennedy Space Center, FL

32899. Please call Lisa Fowler

beforehand at 407–867–2497 so that

arrangements can be made.

(c) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Visitors

Lobby, Building 249, 4800 Oak Grove

Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (818–354–

5179).

In addition, the DSEIS may be

examined at the following NASA

locations by contacting the pertinent

Freedom of Information Act Office:

(d) NASA, Ames Research Center,

Moffett Field, CA 94035 (415–604–

4190).

(e) NASA, Dryden Flight Research

Center, Edwards, CA 93523 (805–258–

3448).

(f) NASA, Goddard Space Flight

Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (301–286–

0730).

(g) NASA, Johnson Space Center,

Houston, TX 77058 (713–483–8612).

(h) NASA, Langley Research Center,

Hampton, VA 23665 (757–864–2497).

(i) NASA, Lewis Research Center,

21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, OH

44135 (216–433–2222).

(j) NASA, Marshall Space Flight

Center, AL 35812 (205–544–0031).

(k) NASA, Stennis Space Center, MS

39529 (601–688–2164).

Limited copies of the DSEIS are

available, on a first request basis, by

contacting Mark Dahl at the address or

telephone number indicated herein.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark Dahl, 202–358–1544.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

planned Cassini mission is an

international cooperative effort of

NASA, the European Space Agency, and

the Italian Space Agency, to explore the

planet Saturn and its environment.

Saturn is the second-largest and secondmost massive plant in the solar system

and has the largest, most visible

dynamic ring structure of all the

planets. The planned mission is an

important part of NASA’s program for

exploration of the solar system, the goal

of which is to understand the system’s

birth and evolution. The Cassini

mission would involve a 4-year

scientific exploration of Saturn, it’s

atmosphere, moons, rings, and

magnetosphere. The Cassini spacecraft

consists of the Cassini Orbiter and the

detachable Huygens Probe. The

Huygens Probe would be released for a

parachute descent into the atmosphere

of Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. The

scientific information gathered by the

Cassini mission could help provide

clues to the evolution of the solar

system and the origin of life on Earth.

NASA issued the Final Environmental

Impact Statement for the Cassini

Mission in July 1995 (hereinafter the

‘‘EIS’’) followed by the associated

Record of Decision (ROD) to complete

preparation of the Cassini mission for

launch in the October 1997 opportunity,

or either the secondary or backup

opportunities, and to implement the

mission.

The Cassini spacecraft would carry

three RTG’s that use the heat of decay

of plutonium dioxide to generate

electric power for the spacecraft and its

instruments. The spacecraft would also

use approximately 130 RHU’s, each

containing a small amount of plutonium

dioxide, to generate heat for controlling

the thermal environment of the

spacecraft and several of its

instruments.

The action selected and documented

in the ROD consists of completing

preparations for and implementing the

Cassini mission to Saturn and its

moons, with a launch of the Cassini

spacecraft onboard a Titan IV (SRMU)/

Centaur. The launch would take place at

CCAS during the primary launch

opportunity that begins in early October

1997 and continues into mid-November

1997. A secondary launch opportunity

extends from the end of November 1997

to early January 1998, with a backup

opportunity from mid-March to early

April 1999, both using the Titan IV

(SRMU)/Centaur. The primary launch

opportunity would employ a VenusVenus-Earth-Jupiter-Gravity-Assist

trajectory to Saturn; the secondary and

backup opportunities would both

employ a Venus-Earth-Earth-GravityAssist (VEEGA) trajectory. The above

primary launch opportunity remains

NASA’s preferred alternative and

Proposed Action and would allow the

Cassini spacecraft to gather the full

science return desired to accomplish

mission objectives.

Along with the No-Action alternative

(ceasing preparations and not

implementing the Cassini mission), the

EIS evaluated in detail two other

mission alternatives. The March 1999

alternative would have used two Shuttle

flights with on-orbit integration of the

spacecraft and upper stage, followed by

injection of the spacecraft into a VEEGA

trajectory to Saturn. Due to the long

lead-time in developing and certifying

the new upper stage that would be

needed to implement it, this alternative

is no longer considered reasonable. The

other mission alternative considered in

the EIS was the 2001 alternative which

would use a Titan IV (SRMU)/Centaur

to launch the spacecraft from CCAS in

March 2001 on a Venus-Venus-VenusGravity-Assist trajectory. A backup

opportunity in May 2002 would use a

VEEGA trajectory. The 2001 alternative

would require completing development

and testing of a new high-performance

rhenium engine for the spacecraft, as

well as adding about 20 percent more

propellant to the spacecraft. Science

returns from this alternative would meet

the minimum acceptable level for the

mission.

The EIS analyses demonstrated that

completing preparations for and
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 68 / Wednesday, April 9, 1997 / Notices 17217

implementing a normal Cassini mission

would not significantly impact the

human environment. The principal

concern associated with all mission

alternatives (except No-Action) was

with accidents during launch and

operation of the mission that have the

potential to result in a release of

plutonium dioxide from the RTG’s and/

or RHU’s onboard the spacecraft. In

response, NASA and the U.S.

Department of Energy (DOE), using the

best information available at that time,

developed an array of representative

accident scenarios that could potentially

result in a release of plutonium dioxide

from the RTG’s. NASA and DOE

analyzed the representative accident

scenarios with respect to the

consequences and risks. The results of

those analyses were presented in the

Cassini EIS.

Updated results from the continuing

tests and analyses have recently become

available for NASA review. This

updated data indicates that there is new

information relevant to the

environmental impacts of the Proposed

Action.

The DSEIS compares the updated data

from the ongoing analyses with those in

the EIS and focuses on the areas where

the largest differences are estimated.

The DSEIS addresses the Proposed

Action, the No-Action alternative, and

the 2001 mission alternative that is still

available to NASA.

Jeffrey E. Sutton,

Acting Associate Administrator for

Management Systems and Facilities.

[FR Doc. 97–9104 Filed 4–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7510–01–M

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice 97–041]

Notice of Prospective Patent License

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and

Space Administration.

ACTION: Notice of Prospective Patent

License.

SUMMARY: NASA hereby gives notice

that Grand Illusion/Living Window,

Inc., of Dover, New Hampshire 03820,

has applied for a partially exclusive

license to practice the invention

described and claimed in U.S. Patent

No. 5,559,923, entitled ‘‘VAPOR

GENERATOR WAND,’’ which is

assigned to the United States of America

as represented by the Administrator of

the National Aeronautics and Space

Administration. Written objections to

the prospective grant of a license should

be sent to Langley Research Center.

DATES: Responses to this notice must be

received by June 9, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Kimberly A. Chasteen, Patent

Attorney, NASA Langley Research

Center, Mail Stop 212, Hampton, VA

23681–0001, telephone (757) 864–3227;

fax (757) 864–9190.

Dated: April 2, 1997.

Edward A. Frankle,

General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 97–9103 Filed 4–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7510–01–M

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND

SPACE ADMINISTRATION

[Notice 97–042]

Notice of Prospective Patent License

AGENCY: National Aeronautics and

Space Administration.

ACTION: Notice of Prospective Patent

License.

SUMMARY: NASA hereby gives notice

that HITCO Technologies, Inc. of

Gardena, California 90249–2506;

Materials and Electromechanical

Research Corporation (MER), of Tucson,

Arizona 85706; P & P Machine Tool,

Inc., of Cleveland, Ohio 44146, and

Zollner Piston of Fort Wayne, Indiana

46803, have each applied for a partially

exclusive license to practice the

inventions described and claimed in

NASA Case No. LAR–15274–1, entitled

‘‘Carbon Fiber Reinforced Carbon

Composite Valve for an Internal

Combustion Engine,’’ and NASA Case

No. LAR–15653–1, entitled ‘‘Method of

Manufacturing Carbon Fiber Reinforced

Carbon Composite Valves for an Internal

Combustion Engine,’’ both for which

United States Patent Applications were

filed on March 12, 1997, by the United

States of America as represented by the

Administrator of the National

Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Written objections to the prospective

grant of a license should be sent to

Langley Research Center.

DATES: Responses to this notice must be

received by June 9, 1997.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Kimberly A. Chasteen, Patent

Attorney, Langley Research Center, Mail

Stop 212, Hampton, VA 23681–0001,

telephone (757) 864–3227; fax (757)

864–9190.

Dated: April 2, 1997.

Edward A. Frankle,

General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 97–9102 Filed 4–8–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7510–01–M

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS

ADMINISTRATION

Records Schedules; Availability and

Request for Comments

AGENCY: Office of National Archives and

Records Administration, Records

Services.

ACTION: Notice of availability of

proposed records schedules; request for

comments.

SUMMARY: The National Archives and

Records Administration (NARA)

publishes notice at least once monthly

of certain Federal agency requests for

records disposition authority (records

schedules). Records schedules identify

records of sufficient value to warrant

preservation in the National Archives of

the United States. Schedules also

authorize agencies after a specified

period to dispose of records lacking

administrative, legal, research, or other

value. Notice is published for records

schedules that (1) Propose the

destruction of records not previously

authorized for disposal, or (2) reduce

the retention period for records already

authorized for disposal. NARA invites

public comments on such schedules, as

required by 44 USC 3303a(a).

DATES: Requests for copies must be

received in writing on or before May 27,

1997. Once the appraisal of the records

is completed, NARA will send a copy of

the schedule. The requester will be

given 30 days to submit comments.

ADDRESSES: Address requests for single

copies of schedules identified in this

notice to the Civilian Appraisal Staff

(NWRC), National Archives and Records

Administration, College Park, MD

20740–6001. Requesters must cite the

control number assigned to each

schedule when requesting a copy. The

control number appears in the

parentheses immediately after the name

of the requesting agency.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Each year

U.S. Government agencies create

billions of records on paper, film,

magnetic tape, and other media. In order

to control this accumulation, agency

records managers prepare records

schedules specifying when the agency

no longer needs the records and what

happens to the records after this period.

Some schedules are comprehensive and

cover all the records of an agency or one

of its major subdivisions. These

comprehensive schedules provide for

the eventual transfer to the National

Archives of historically valuable records

and authorize the disposal of all other

records. Most schedules, however, cover

records of only one office or program or

a few series of records, and many are