a Aeronautics

and

Space Report

of the

President

Fiscal Year

1998

Activities

National Aeronautics

and Space Administration

Washington, DC 20546

Fiscal Year 1997 Activities
bAeronautics and Space Report of the President 

The National Aeronautics and Space Act of

1958 directed the annual Aeronautics and

Space Report to include a "comprehensive

description of the programmed activities and the

accomplishments of all agencies of the United

States in the field of aeronautics and space

activities during the preceding calendar year."

In recent years, the reports have been prepared

on a fiscal year (FY) basis, consistent with the

budgetary period now used in programs of the

Federal Government. This year's report covers

activities that took place from October 1, 1997,

through September 30, 1998.
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

TABLE OF CONTENTS c

National Aeronautics and Space Administration . . . . . . . . 1

Department of Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Federal Aviation Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Department of Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Department of the Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Federal Communications Commission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Department of Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

National Science Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Department of State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Department of Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Smithsonian Institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Arms Control and Disarmament Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Environmental Protection Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

U.S. Information Agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

A-1 U.S. Government Spacecraft Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

A-2 World Record of Space Launches Successful in 

Attaining Earth Orbit or Beyond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

B Successful Launches to Orbit on U.S. Launch Vehicles, 

October 1, 1997-September 30, 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

C U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights, 

1961-September 30, 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

D U.S. Space Launch Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

E-1A Space Activities of the U.S. Government—Historical Budget Summary–

Budget Authority (in millions of real-year dollars) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

E-1B Space Activities of the U.S. Government—Budget Authority In Millions of

Equivalent FY 1998 Dollars (adjusted for inflation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

E-2 Federal Space Activities Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

E-3 Federal Aeronautics Budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

d

The Space Shuttle

Columbia begins its rollout

from the Vehicle Assembly

Building for the April 1998

STS-90 mission, whose

primary payload was the

Neurolab experiments

focusing on the effects of

microgravity on the human

nervous system.
In the area of human space flight, the Space Shuttle program continued its

goal of providing safe, reliable, and affordable access to space. In FY 1998,

28 crew members spent approximately 605 crewdays in orbit, including time

spent by American astronauts aboard the Russian space station Mir. Also in

FY 1998, the Shuttle successfully completed the ninth and last of its

planned rendezvous missions to Mir. This milestone marked the completion

of Phase I of the International Space Station (ISS) program. On this same

mission, the Shuttle carried into orbit the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

(AMS) payload. The cutting-edge AMS scientific payload found and measured highly charged particles.

The Space Shuttle program continued to fly more safely, reliably, and

at lower cost than at any previous time in its history. Recent restructuring

activities have resulted in operations cost reductions of more than 30 percent since 1992. The consolidation of Space Shuttle contracts into a single

prime contract continued on pace with the incorporation of the Solid

Rocket Booster production contract into the Shuttle Flight Operations

Contract in FY 1998. The Phase I upgrades, to improve Shuttle safety and

performance, neared completion in FY 1998 with the first launch of the

Super Light Weight Tank. The program also scheduled final testing of the

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

1

NATIONAL AERONAUTICS

AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION

NASA
Block II Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) in preparation for its first flight

on STS-96 in September 1999. The Block II SSME will require less maintenance between flights than previous engines and will deliver increased

thrust so that, when combined with flight design changes, the Shuttle will

be able to reach the altitude and inclination of the ISS orbit with as much

as 17,200 pounds of additional payload. Phase II upgrades to improve supportability and combat obsolescence also progressed on schedule.

During FY 1998, NASA and the Russian Space Agency (RSA) completed joint activities on the Shuttle-Mir program (Phase I), ending more

than 2 years of U.S. astronaut presence aboard Mir in orbit. With the successful completion of the Shuttle-Mir program, a total of 17 successful crew

member exchanges between the two countries occurred, with 10 cosmonauts on the Shuttle and 7 U.S. astronauts on long-duration missions on

Mir. As a highly valuable precursor for the successful implementation of

Phase II and III of the ISS program, Phase I provided significant benefits in

four major areas:

1. American and Russian experts had an opportunity to learn from

each other on ways to work together on operating and maintaining a space station.

2. NASA gained a better understanding of ways to conduct longduration science in advance of planned research on the ISS.

3. U.S. and Russian hardware, systems, and scientific aims have

become closely integrated.

4. ISS risks were reduced through lessons learned and a better

understanding of joint operations, the spacecraft environment,

rendezvous and docking, on-orbit repair, spacewalks, and hardware exchange.

Also on the ISS program, the Russian-built first element, Zarya

(which is Russian for “sunrise”), was delivered to the launch site in Baikonur.

The second major element, Unity (Node 1), along with two Pressurized

Mating Adapters, all built by the United States, underwent final checkout

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 2
and inspection at the Kennedy Space Center. Several other key elements,

including the Z-1 Truss, a third Pressurized Mating Adapter, and the

Integrated Electronics Assembly, were also delivered to Kennedy in preparation for a mid-1999 launch. At the end of FY 1998, NASA had completed

75 percent of its development activity, and its international partners had also

made considerable progress. Although funding shortfalls in Russia continued

to present challenges, RSA’s work on the development of the Service

Module continued. To address Russian government funding shortfalls,

NASA continued to implement its contingency plans, established in 1997,

and planned to proceed with the launch of its first two elements in late 1998.

In terms of robotic space flight, there were 29 successful U.S.

Expendable Launch Vehicle launches in FY 1998. Of those, 3 were NASAmanaged missions, 2 were NASA-funded/Federal Aviation Administration

(FAA)-licensed missions, 8 were Department of Defense (DoD)–managed

missions, and 16 were FAA-licensed commercial launches. There were two

launch vehicle failures—a U.S. Air Force-managed Titan IV-A and a commercially licensed Delta III. NASA collaborated with the U.S. Air Force,

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and Boeing in the failure investigations, corrective action, and return-to-flight process.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities 3

In June 1998, the STS-91 crew and the

Russian Mir-25 crew pose for the traditional joint inflight Shuttle-Mir portrait in

the Core Module of the Russian space

station. Left to right are cosmonaut

Valery Ryumin (who flew as a mission

specialist on Discovery), mission specialist Wendy Lawrence, Shuttle

commander Charles Precourt, Andrew

Thomas (who spent more than 

4 months on Mir), Mir commander

Talgat Musabayev, mission specialist

Janet Kavandi, Shuttle pilot Dominic

Gorie, cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin, and

payload commander Franklin ChangDíaz. This was the last docking of the

Shuttle-Mir program.
In the area of space communications, NASA’s space and ground networks successfully supported all NASA flight missions and numerous

commercial, foreign, and other Federal Government agency missions.

Mission Control and Data Systems provided the operation of 15 on-orbit science missions, including launch and mission support for the Tropical Rainfall

Measuring Mission (TRMM) and the Transition Region and Coronal

Explorer (TRACE). In FY 1998, NASA awarded a consolidated space operations contract to outsource NASA’s space operations under a single contract.

The contractor, Lockheed Martin, will manage all of NASA’s data collection,

telemetry, and communications operations supporting NASA’s Earth-orbiting

satellites, planetary exploration, and human space flight activities.

NASA continued to work with DoD and other agencies to develop a

national architecture for satellite operations and to provide the radio spectrum allocations crucial to U.S. Government flight missions. NASA

personnel also made significant improvements to NASA’s mission control

and data systems as well as ground networks, which contributed to several

successful launches and significantly reduced operations staff for several

orbiting missions. Internationally, NASA collaborated with colleagues from

Japan, the European Space Agency (ESA), Germany, and France to foster

the cooperative and reimbursable use of communications networks. 

NASA’s Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications

(OLMSA) supported a total of 850 ongoing noncommercial investigations

during FY 1998. Commercial investment in space products and service

development took significant steps forward, as demonstrated by an increase

from $35 million to $48 million of industry-leveraged resources. Also,

28 new industry partners joined the Commercial Space Centers, and

OLMSA researchers received 11 commercial patents.

Findings in the life and microgravity sciences ranged from fundamental information on human physiology to basic results in combustion science.

For example, Dr. Kenneth Baldwin published research that has clarified the

role of nerve connections and the thyroid gland in the development of

muscle. Dr. Gerald Faeth’s research in combustion science suggested the

existence of a “soot paradigm,” which may supply improved methods for

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 4
controlling soot processes in applications such as aircraft propulsion systems,

diesel engines, and furnaces. Based on protein crystal growth in space,

NASA’s Dr. Alex MacPherson established a new benchmark in the study of

viruses by publishing a structure of the satellite tobacco mosaic virus at far

greater resolution than had ever been published before. 

OLMSA’s premier mission of FY 1998 was the flight of the Neurolab

mission, which addressed both basic neuroscience questions and applied

studies related to the astronauts’ responses to space flight. Among the many

“firsts” on this mission were three experiments that used state-of-the-art

technology to record nerve activity in human and nonhuman subjects.

Also flown in FY 1998 was the fourth U.S. Microgravity Payload

(USMP-4) mission. OLMSA researchers used this mission to conduct a

series of experiments in physics and materials science. The initial results

included validation of theories of physical behavior on a quantum

mechanical scale when matter is confined to only two dimensions during

the Confined Helium Experiment. The mission also allowed researchers to

measure the growth speed and crystal size of a material that serves as a model

for industrially useful metals.

In FY 1998, the Phase 1 NASA-Mir research program included seven

biomedical experiments. These evaluated the effects of space flight on sleep

patterns, vestibular and immune function, the risk of developing kidney

stones, changes in bone mineral density, changes in muscle mass and

strength, cardiovascular system function, and interactions among crew

members and ground support.

FY 1998 was another auspicious year for NASA’s Space Science

Enterprise. It began with the successful launch of the Cassini/Huygens mission to Saturn on October 15, 1997. The Galileo and Mars Surveyor

spacecraft made new discoveries in our solar system, such as ancient

riverbeds on Mars, a possible icy subsurface ocean on Jupiter’s moon,

Europa, and volcanic fireworks on Io, another Jovian moon. In addition, for

the first time in 25 years, NASA was once again studying the Moon with

the Lunar Prospector mission.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities 5
Other space science missions yielded fascinating data as well. The

Solar and Heliospheric Observatory discovered that solar flares produce

seismic waves in the Sun’s interior that closely resemble those created by

earthquakes on our planet. The TRACE mission revealed how magnetic

fields control the structure of the Sun’s corona and produce arch-like structures filled with million-degree gas. 

On August 27, 1998, a group of scientists led by NASA observed an

intense wave of gamma rays emanating from a catastrophic magnetic flare

on a mysterious star 20,000 light years away. The waves from this “magnetar” struck Earth’s atmosphere, and their impact has begun providing

important clues about some of the most unusual stars in the universe.

The Hubble Space Telescope continued its impressive performance, revealing the first optical glimpse at what is possibly a planet outside our solar

system—one that apparently has been ejected into deep space by its parent

stars. Located 450 light years away in the sky (the deepest Hubble image thus

far) within a star-forming region in the constellation Taurus, the object seems

to lie at the end of a strange filament of light. This suggests that it may have

been flung away from the vicinity of a newly forming pair of binary stars. 

For the Earth Science Enterprise (formally Mission to Planet Earth),

FY 1998 was a year of great accomplishment. TRMM was launched successfully in November 1997 and exceeded expectations by providing

unprecedented insights into rainfall cloud systems in the tropics and subtropics. TRMM’s all-weather, sea-surface temperature data from September

1998 indicated a possibly waning La Niña event, a cooling phase of El Niño.

In August 1998, TRMM provided spectacular images of Hurricane Bonnie

over the Atlantic Ocean by capturing towering clouds extending up to

59,000 feet above the hurricane’s eye. Earth scientists believe that the scientific understandings resulting from this mission will revolutionize

knowledge of how storms and hurricanes form and dissipate. Earth scientists

also completed an experiment off the coast of Florida, the Convection and

Moisture Experiment, to measure the hurricane’s structure, environment,

and changes in intensity. This effort coincided with the occurrence of

Hurricanes Bonnie, Danielle, Earl, and Georges.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 6
The Earth Science Enterprise also created the new Applications,

Commercial, and Education Division. This new organization reflects an

increased emphasis on partnerships between the commercial remote-sensing industry and the NASA-sponsored science research community.

NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise also began a planning process to enhance

international and interagency partnerships for the follow-on Earth

Observing System (EOS) missions. NASA also made significant progress in

planning the next generation of instruments and spacecraft for future Earth

Science Enterprise missions.

During FY 1998, NASA’s Aero-Space Technology Enterprise (formerly called the Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology

Enterprise) continued its work in the “Three Pillars for Success” initiative—

Global Civil Aviation, Revolutionary Technology Leaps, and Access to

Space. Within these pillars, NASA defined 10 long-range technology goals.

These goals address the Nation’s critical aerospace needs, which include

productivity, the protection of the environment, low-cost access to space,

and most notably aviation safety. 

Within the Aviation Safety program, NASA tested the airborne

Light Intersection Direction and Ranging (LIDAR), which demonstrated

the capability of precisely detecting the air turbulence level 1 kilometer

ahead of the airplane. This provides sufficient time for the crew to avoid

rough air or to prepare for an appropriate evasive action. NASA researchers

conducted flight tests to improve our understanding of aircraft tailplane

icing and developed a new, environmentally safe anti-icing fluid that is so

environmentally safe that it has been referred to as “food grade.” 

The Aeronautics Base Research and Technology program continued

its successful list of accomplishments. The Pathfinder Plus solar-powered

remotely piloted vehicle was flown to a world-record altitude of greater then

80,000 feet. In a cooperative project with the Russian Central Institute of

Aviation Motors, NASA achieved the first extended supersonic combustion in flight, using a scramjet flown to Mach 6.6. NASA researchers also

flight-tested two types of advanced electric control-surface actuators on the

F-18 Systems Research Aircraft. 

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities 7
In the High Speed Research program, NASA successfully completed

a series of flight tests of a Russian Tu-144 supersonic transport to validate

critical engineering prediction capabilities and learn about supersonic transport design practices and operational characteristics. NASA researchers

obtained aerodynamic, aerothermodynamic, and heat-transfer data at speeds

in excess of Mach 2 to validate computational fluid dynamic and heat transfer codes. Other experiments measured the effectiveness of techniques to

reduce cabin noise, pilot handling qualities, and slender wing ground effects.

The Advanced Subsonic Technology program made several important accomplishments. In terms of reducing commercial transport emissions,

advanced combustor concepts demonstrated a 50-percent reduction in

nitrous oxide (NO

x

) in flame tube tests, and these showed promise for

achieving the program’s 70-percent NO

x reduction goal. NASA researchers

also participated in a joint international field campaign to probe the North

Atlantic flight corridor to study the chemical, radiative, and dynamic interactions between Earth’s background atmosphere and aircraft exhaust.

Research in noise-reduction technology progressed as well. Active

noise-control tests in a high-fidelity engine simulator indicated that it is

technically feasible to reduce fan tones by as much as 10 decibels. NASA

aeronautics researchers also developed concepts that indicate great promise

in significantly reducing flap edge airframe noise. In developing ways to

lessen the noise impact on passengers, researchers conducted flight tests that

demonstrate an optimized active control system to reduce the interior noise

of propellers on commuter aircraft.

During FY 1998, the Space Transportation Technology program

achieved several major milestones. The X-33 flight demonstrator successfully completed its Critical Design Review, verifying the feasibility of the

integrated design prior to major hardware construction and integration. The

dual-lobe liquid oxygen tank, the first major X-33 flight component, was

delivered to the X-33 final assembly area in Palmdale, California. Workers

also broke ground for the X-33 launch site.

The X-34 program also completed many key milestones in FY 1998.

The program completed the first flight wing, the test fuselage, the qualification

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 8
testing on the liquid oxygen tanks, and the delivery of the first tank.

Technicians also completed the development of the generator component

and the injector development testing, while work on the Fastrac engine

continued on pace. Finally, the propulsion test article and Fastrac engine

assembly were delivered to NASA’s Stennis Space Center for testing.

In the area of international relations, the most significant new agreements were those associated with the ISS. In January 1998, the United

States, Russia, Japan, 10 nations of Europe, and Canada signed the

Intergovernmental Agreement for the ISS. In parallel, NASA memoranda

of understanding (MOU) were signed with the Canadian Space Agency,

ESA, RSA, and the government of Japan, outlining additional details of the

cooperation. In October 1997, another related agreement was signed

between NASA and the Brazilian Space Agency, which makes Brazil a participant in the program. Other agreements signed during this period provide

for cooperation in aeronautics, space science, Earth science, and life and

microgravity sciences.

NASA actively participated in many international aerospace forums.

These included various coordination mechanisms for strategic planning in

life and microgravity sciences, space science, Martian exploration, orbital

debris research and observations, and Earth observation programs. In addition, NASA led the U.S. delegation to the Scientific and Technical

Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of

Outer Space (COPUOS) and supported the Legal Subcommittee and full

COPUOS meetings. A major focus for COPUOS was the planning for

Unispace III, a United Nations conference on space, held in July 1999 in

Vienna, Austria. NASA was actively involved in drafting background papers

and report material, as well as in planning for various technical sessions. 

Several significant international projects achieved the major milestone of launch in late 1997. The Cassini mission to Saturn—with the

orbiter provided by NASA, the Huygens Probe provided by ESA, and the

communications system provided by the Italian Space Agency—was

launched in October 1997. The U.S.-Japanese TRMM was launched in

November 1997 and has returned substantial data during its highly successful

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities 9
operations. Virtually all Space Shuttle missions during this period included

crew members from other nations, foreign payloads, or both. The ShuttleMir cooperation between NASA and RSA was brought to a successful close

in June 1998. In support of NASA’s research programs, numerous aircraft

campaigns were conducted around the world for space and Earth science

observations. 

Overall, safety remained one of NASA’s fundamental or core operating values. In support of this value during FY 1998, NASA implemented a

multifaceted approach to measure and improve the health, stability, and

capability of its safety processes. By combining customer agreements, annual

planning, and process and performance assessment into a unified effort,

NASA strengthened safety insight. Independent assessments, conducted by

NASA safety and mission assurance experts, provided valuable input for

10

This shows workers installing three radioisotope thermoelectric generators on the Cassini spacecraft at

Cape Canaveral Air Station’s Launch Complex 40.

Cassini was successfully launched on October 25,

1997; its target is Saturn. NASA provided the orbiter,

ESA contributed the Huygens Probe, and the Italian

Space Agency delivered the communications system. Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 
several NASA programs, including the Space Shuttle, the ISS, the Super

Light Weight Tank, the X-33 and X-34, Cassini, the Chandra X-ray

Observatory (formerly the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility), and the

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. NASA extrapolated

valuable safety and mission assurance information from the Shuttle-Mir program and incorporated these lessons into the ISS. NASA has fortified its

risk management implementation through policy, training, and tools.

NASA safety personnel developed the Quantitative Risk Assessment

System, a new software tool for advanced computer-assisted quantitative or

probabilistic risk assessment. This software, generic enough to support any

NASA program, already began supporting decisionmaking on Space

Shuttle safety-enhancing upgrades. During FY 1998, three NASA Centers

(Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, and Marshall Space Flight

Center) were certified to ISO 9001 as part of NASA’s continuing effort to

implement this quality management standard. In addition, the Langley

Research Center became the first Federal installation to receive “Star” certification under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s

Voluntary Protection Program.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

11
Aeronautics

12

This XTE66/SE “CAESAR”

engine is operating on a

test stand.
DoD focused on three areas of aeronautics research and development in FY

1998. The first demonstrated technologies that offer the best potential for

increasing the capability and affordability of future aircraft and missile systems, such as the Joint Strike Fighter and Joint Transport Rotorcraft. The

second area enhanced emerging aircraft systems, such as the F-22, F-18 E/F,

and V-22, to reduce program risk. The third area extended the service life for

the full spectrum of currently fielded systems. Specific aeronautics technology highlights for FY 1998 included transonic wind tunnel validation of an

advanced compact inlet system, which offers the potential for a 35-percent

reduction in inlet weight and volume for a typical fighter aircraft inlet.

Another highlight was the evaluation of bonded repair techniques on a fullscale fatigue test article, which demonstrated the capability to arrest fatigue

cracks on metallic aircraft structures. A third highlight was the evaluation of

an advanced rotorcraft airfoil concept, which demonstrated stall-free operation in a dynamic stall environment. Modelers also developed a low-speed

data base for tailless fighter aircraft to improve modeling accuracy and

reduce development time and cost, as well as the Control Designer’s Unified

Interface software package for optimizing helicopter control system laws.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

13

DEPARTMENT OF

DEFENSE

DoD
In aircraft propulsion, the joint DoD-NASA-industry Integrated High

Performance Turbine Engine Technology program successfully completed

the testing of Pratt & Whitney’s turbofan/turbojet core engine demonstrator,

which indicated a significant increase in engine thrust-to-weight ratio. The

program also successfully completed component and engine structure assessment research with core engine testing, which verified component durability

in an experimental engine relevant to a broad spectrum of applications,

including the Joint Strike Fighter and F-22. In aircraft power, DoD personnel successfully transferred technologies demonstrated under the More

Electric Aircraft initiative—including an engine external starter/generator,

an auxiliary power starter/generator, an electric actuator controller, and electric power distribution technologies—to the Joint Strike Fighter program.

During FY 1998, DoD’s evolving space capabilities to provide communications, surveillance, reconnaissance, navigation, and weather data

continued to support U.S. national security objectives. In terms of direct support to military operations, DoD’s space systems played a crucial role as a force

multiplier everywhere U.S. forces were deployed, particularly in Bosnia.

In FY 1998, the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command,

Control, Communications and Intelligence became responsible for space

management functions. The Secretary of Defense disbanded the Office of

the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Space, and its functions were

transferred to the new Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense

for Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance,

Reconnaissance, and Space Systems.

During FY 1998, several milestones were accomplished in the

Military Satellite Communications (MilSatCom) area. The Global

Broadcast Satellite Service (GBS) system was awarded, and a GBS payload

was successfully launched. A UHF Follow-On satellite, a Defense Satellite

Communications System spacecraft, and a Polar Adjunct program payload

were successfully launched. Also, Milstar II began its initial operational test

and evaluation.

In terms of surveillance and warning capability, the Space Based

Infrared System (SBIRS) made significant progress during the past year.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

14
Technicians began the manufacturing development of the high-altitude

component of SBIRS, proceeding on schedule for deployment during FY

2002. DoD managers updated mission requirements for SBIRS in FY 1998,

and the low-altitude element underwent a program review in preparation

for the start of program definition. Two flight demonstrators, designed to

test new technologies for the low component, have made significant

progress toward their scheduled launch in FY 2000, with one of the demonstrators beginning sensor and bus assembly and integration.

In FY 1998, DoD led an interagency Global Positioning System

(GPS) modernization effort to document the evolving needs of all GPS

users and identify effective modifications to the system to satisfy those needs

well into the next century. As part of this effort, DoD personnel performed

a significant amount of analysis to satisfy the requirement for a second GPS

signal for civil use.

In the area of meteorology, DoD’s ongoing interagency and international cooperative efforts made great strides during FY 1998. A milestone

toward the convergence of U.S. civil and military polar-orbiting weather

satellites was reached during FY 1998 when the command and control of

both military and civil weather satellites were consolidated.

During FY 1998, DoD continued to work on the Evolved Expendable

Launch Vehicle (EELV) program to develop a national launch capability

that satisfies Government requirements and reduces the cost of a space

launch by at least 25 percent. In November 1997, DoD approved a revision

to the EELV acquisition strategy, which included awarding launch services

instead of purchasing launch vehicles and operations. In June 1998, DoD

released a request for proposal (RFP) that reflected this strategy. A month

later, the two contractors submitted proposals for engineering and manufacturing development, as well as for the provision of initial launch services

from FY 2002 to FY 2006.

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) continued to contribute

substantially to the expanding flow of vital information to the warfighter, its

national customers, and a growing set of “nontraditional” users, such as

civil, environmental, and diplomatic customers. The NRO began work on

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

15
one such program, Eagle Vision II, a mobile commercial imagery satellite

ground receiving and processing system. During FY 1998, the NRO also

joined with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Air

Force in the Discoverer II program, an initiative to prove the feasibility of

using a space-based radar for moving target indication. Finally, the NRO

issued two RFP’s on the Future Imagery Architecture to officially begin the

acquisition process.

The NRO continued to work with its mission partners—the National

Security Agency, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, the Central

Measurement and Signature Intelligence Office, the U.S. Space Command,

the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the Central Intelligence Agency—to

ensure support for intelligence analysis, policy enforcement, and military

operations. To also ensure improved organizational communication,

requirements analysis, and architecture review, the NRO established both a

Systems-of-Systems Architect and the Air Force-NRO Integration Program

Group. In addition, the NRO assigned personnel to the newly formed

National Security Space Architect’s Office.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

16
The FAA continued a dynamic research and development program in support of its mission to ensure the safe and efficient use of the Nation’s

airspace, to foster civil aeronautics and air commerce in the United States

and abroad, and to support the requirement of national defense. To achieve

these goals, during FY 1998, the FAA continued to acquire new automation systems for the National Airspace System (NAS). The agency

installed display system replacements at 12 air route traffic control centers,

bringing the total installed to date up to 16 of the eventual 21 that will be

installed. The FAA also installed nine voice switching and control system

backup systems at en route centers that will be used for training purposes.

At the end of FY 1998, the FAA had installed 10 of 22 of these systems.

Installation of the host and oceanic computer system replacement began

with 11 systems delivered to en route centers, the FAA Academy, and the

William J. Hughes Technical Center. The agency upgraded the existing

terminal automation system software and hardware at 21 terminal radarapproach control facilities nationwide. These upgrades established a

common hardware and software baseline, providing new maintenance efficiencies for the agency. Work also continued on a new standard terminal

automation replacement system that will provide a platform for future

automation enhancements to meet the increased traffic demands.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

17

FEDERAL AVIATION

ADMINISTRATION

FAA
The FAA made substantial progress in two programs that aid controllers in reducing incidents and accidents that are attributable to runway

incursions. The first, the Airport Surface Detection Equipment Model 3

(ASDE-3), provides radar surveillance of aircraft and airport service vehicles

at high activity airports. The second, the Airport Movement Area Safety

System (AMASS), visually and aurally prompts tower controllers to respond

to situations that potentially compromise safety. The agency commissioned

ASDE-3 systems at Memphis, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Dulles International

Airports, bringing the total number commissioned to 30 out of 40 systems.

The agency also commissioned 15 Mode S, Monopulse Secondary

Surveillance Radars, bringing the total to 130 systems of 148 commissioned.

These systems provide highly accurate aircraft identification and altitude

information to air traffic controllers. In addition, the FAA awarded a contract to the Raytheon Corporation for up to 127 Air Traffic Control Beacon

Interrogator replacement systems, which will replace 30-year-old, secondarysurveillance beacon systems.

In cooperation with NASA and industry, the FAA’s Aeronautical

Data Link Program continued research and development on next-generation data link applications. As part of that effort, a Government-industry

consortium, the FAA-sponsored Flight Management System-Air Traffic

Management Next Generation, developed a “Required Functional

Capabilities Document,” outlining the required flight operations (air and

ground), air traffic management, communications, and navigation and surveillance capabilities. The FAA and NASA sponsored a study to compare

aircraft fuel consumption during flight management system–derived flight

paths and air traffic management–derived flight paths to validate the concept of flight profile negotiation via data link. The FAA and NASA also

jointly sponsored and authored a test plan to use data from revenue aircraft

to validate the benefits of incorporating user information into air traffic

automation functionality.

The FAA made continued progress toward the implementation of the

Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), which will provide the availability, integration, and accuracy for GPS to be used for precision civilian

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

18
navigation. During the fiscal year, the FAA completed the installation of

25 reference and 2 master land-based stations necessary for the WAAS to

achieve initial operating capability in the summer of 1999. A partnership

of the FAA, NASA, DoD, and the aviation industry made substantial

progress in moving the NAS toward free flight—a concept that could ultimately allow pilots to choose their own routes, speeds, and altitudes during

flight. This free flight concept could improve safety, save time and fuel, and

be a more efficient use of airspace and our natural environment. Efforts

toward a Global Navigation Satellite System continued to produce results.

Cooperative agreements with Canada, Mexico, Iceland, and Chile, as well

as cooperation with Europe and the Far East, represented measurable

progress toward seamless worldwide coverage.

The FAA’s en route automated radar terminal system became fully

operational at all offshore facilities during the fiscal year. The FAA reduced

the vertical separation standards from 2,000 to 1,000 feet over North

Atlantic airspace and implemented the new standards at the New York

oceanic center, allowing for the addition of two north-south routes to the

North Atlantic airspace. Ground-to-ground data link communications via

the air traffic services interfacility communications system also became

operational between Oakland, California, and Japan and between

Anchorage, Alaska, and the Russian Far East. This enabled a more efficient

transfer of aircraft navigation information and provided more timely position and performance data to controllers.

The FAA commissioned its 350th automated surface observing

system to automate weather observation gathering and dissemination

during the fiscal year. The FAA unconditionally certified the Weather and

Radar Processor (WARP) program, which is the first program to receive

such certification. WARP is a system that receives and processes real-time

weather data from multiple sources and produces displays of weather information for multiple users to support the en route environment. The

Integrated Terminal Weather System (ITWS) program was installed as a

prototype at New York’s LaGuardia Airport and completed its preliminary

design review. This is an automated weather system that provides near-term

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

19
(0 to 30 minutes) prediction of significant terminal area weather, integrating data from radars, sensors, and automated aircraft reports. The FAA’s

Runway Incursion Reduction Program and NASA’s Terminal Area

Productivity Program completed the data analysis and final report on the

joint demonstration of the Low Visibility Landing and Surface Operations

project at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport. The demonstration

allowed the FAA to integrate several operational and research and development surveillance systems to provide real-time seamless coverage, conflict

alerts, identification, and information sharing of targets on the airport surface. The FAA continued to improve wind shear detection capability by

commissioning nine Terminal Doppler Weather Radars. At the end of FY

1998, this improved capability was available at 38 major airports.

The FAA and NASA jointly sponsored the development of a prototype for a worldwide aircraft noise impact model. In April 1998, at the

fourth meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s

Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection, the FAA successfully

promoted the inclusion of further model development into the current work

program with the commitment of continued FAA and NASA support.

The FAA continued its advanced research activities in a number of

critical aviation safety areas, including structural integrity, nondestructive

inspection, and crashworthiness. For example, in conjunction with the U.S.

Air Force, the FAA has developed a new user-friendly software tool, Repair

Assessment Procedure and Integrated Design (RAPID), that is capable of

static strength and damage tolerance analysis of fuselage skin repairs. The

FAA began deploying the Safety Performance Analysis System, a web-based

automated risk-based analytical tool, to all aviation safety inspectors. As of

September 1998, more than 2,000 aviation safety inspectors had received

training and been granted access to the system. In April 1998, the FAA made

RAPID 2.1 software and supporting documentation available to the public

through the World Wide Web. In September 1998, the FAA teamed with

NASA and DoD to sponsor the Second Joint Conference on Aging Aircraft.

The FAA teamed with Boeing to construct and operate the Airport

Pavement Test Facility, which will be used to explore and validate new paveAeronautics and Space Report of the President 

20
ment design, construction methods, and paving materials. Researchers conducted a successful evaluation of the prototype Advanced Taxiway Guidance

System during FY 1998. They collected data from subject pilots that clearly

indicated that the implementation of such a system would enhance airport

safety by reducing the chances of incorrect turns and/or runway incursions,

particularly in night and/or low-visibility operations. During the fiscal year,

the FAA ordered the retrofit of approximately 3,000 airliners in the U.S.

fleet with cargo compartment fire-detection and suppression systems because

of demonstrated hazards of aerosol cans in passenger luggage during a cargo

fire and the effectiveness of halon extinguishing agent in preventing aerosol

can explosions. The FAA also reestablished a flight loads data collection program for large transport airplanes.

The FAA continued to lead the Nation in research and development

activities to prevent explosives, weapons, and other threat materials from

being introduced on aircraft. During FY 1998, to detect weapons in checked

luggage, the FAA worked with its industry partners to support the certification of an upgraded InVision explosives detection system, the CTX

5500DS, and develop a Prototype 3 View X-Ray System and an advanced

quadruple resonance research prototype. To enhance checkpoint security

operations, the agency worked in partnership with the aviation community

to complete laboratory evaluations of 6 trace detection systems, leading to

the deployment of more than 350 machines at domestic airport checkpoints. To optimize and standardize security system operator performance,

the agency deployed computer-based training and screener selection tests to

18 of the 19 major domestic airports and deployed threat image projection

equipment to the Atlanta, Detroit, and Seattle airports for data collection

and evaluation. Researchers also are working with international partners to

examine potential development of trace detection techniques for cargo and

to establish interagency cooperation for conducting baseline evaluations of

cargo inspection systems. In addition, researchers validated wide-body aircraft vulnerability estimates by explosives testing, certified an LD3

hardened container, and, with Boeing, conducted aircraft vulnerability validation with explosive tests on a pressurized L-1011 airframe.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

21
During FY 1998, the FAA continued an ongoing effort to develop

reliable, valid, and sensitive human-performance metrics and baselines to

support system-performance tests and evaluation during acquisition. These

measures are essential to evaluate changes in system hardware, software, and

procedures. Researchers at the Civil Aeromedical Institute, from the U.S.

Air Force, and from Japan continued their assessments of the effects of

bright lights as a potential fatigue countermeasure for air traffic control personnel working midnight shifts. Human factors specialists continued to

explore several display concepts designed to improve the quality of information available to the busy air traffic controller.

Human factors specialists also continued work to enhance the performance of pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians by developing

techniques that will allow the airlines to assess pilots in a more standardized

way, target deficiencies, and provide needed training. The FAA worked on

developing advanced data collection and analysis systems to allow air carriers and FAA oversight offices to monitor the effectiveness of pilot training

systems. For aircraft maintenance technicians, new computer-based training

programs provided concentrated instruction on concepts such as human

error and teamwork. Human factors researchers also participated in a joint

FAA–National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health 5-year study of

airline cabin air quality. Areas of concentration included the potential

routes of transmission of disease from an infected individual to other airline

passengers in the same cabin, the reproductive health problems of flight

attendants, and the health consequences of repeated exposure to higher

levels of cosmic radiation at various altitudes.

During the fiscal year, FAA’s Associate Administrator for Commercial

Space Transportation monitored a new record of 22 FAA-licensed commercial space launches—more than 50 percent higher than the previous

year—and issued two new launch site operator licenses for new sites in

Virginia and Alaska, doubling the number of such commercially or Stateoperated launch sites. The FAA issued nine license amendments, including

four renewals. The FAA briefly suspended one license in an enforcement

action to correct a potentially dangerous situation and completed 27 comAeronautics and Space Report of the President 

22
pliance inspections relating to commercial launches. The Office of

Commercial Space Transportation compiled and published its annual lowEarth orbit (LEO) commercial satellite market projection and collaborated

with its Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee to produce

its geostationary Earth orbit market projection.

The FAA also published in the Federal Register the final rule relating

to financial responsibility requirements for licensed launch activities and

continued work on a proposed final rule updating commercial space

transportation licensing regulations relating to launches from Federal

launch sites. It also undertook a major new initiative to develop a concept

of operations to integrate the needs of space transportation into the NAS.

The Office of Commercial Space Transportation, Air Traffic Control, the

FAA’s Office of General Counsel, and the U.S. Air Force agreed to work

together to provide an organizational framework to facilitate the development of an integrated Space and Air Traffic Management System. By the

end of FY 1998, the agency had completed a draft “Commercial Space

Transportation NAS 2005 Concept” document for internal coordination.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

23
Aeronautics and Space Report of the Pre
The Department of Commerce (DoC) is responsible for promoting U.S.

commercial interests in both domestic and international markets. During FY

1998, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),

the Office of Air and Space Commercialization (OASC), the International

Trade Administration (ITA), the National Telecommunications and

Information Agency (NTIA), and the National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST) engaged in a wide variety of space-related activities to

ensure U.S. economic growth, development, and competitiveness in the

global marketplace.

NOAA successfully launched NOAA-K (15), the first of its new

series of polar-orbiting satellites, on May 13, 1998. NOAA-15 is the first in

a series of five satellites with improved imaging and sounding capabilities

that will operate over the next 12 years and will collect meteorological and

environmental data and transmit information to users around the world. On

May 29, 1998, as part of the convergence of the U.S. polar satellites under

the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System

(NPOESS), NOAA assumed operational responsibility for the Defense

Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) from the U.S. Air Force. With

respect to the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)

program, NOAA took operational responsibility of the GOES-10 satellite,

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

25

DEPARTMENT OF

COMMERCE

DoC
which had been launched in 1997, and placed it into an onorbit storage

mode for use as an “onorbit spare” satellite, should one of the two

operational satellites (GOES-8 or GOES-9) fail. In April 1998, when

GOES-9 (GOES West) started to experience anomalies, NOAA personnel

brought GOES-10 back into onorbit operational mode to provide meteorological coverage with minimal impact to the Nation’s weather forecasting.

NOAA personnel continued to conduct both the polar satellites—those of

DMSP and the Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES)

program—and GOES program operations from the Suitland, Maryland,

satellite control center.

NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information

Services (NESDIS) continued its involvement in the Landsat Program

Management group, comprised of NESDIS, NASA, and the U.S.

Geological Survey (USGS). NOAA, NASA, and the USGS cohosted the

27th Landsat Ground Station Operations Working Group in May 1998, as

well as conducted a Special Technical Session on Landsat 7 operations.

NESDIS continued negotiations with 18 international ground stations

interested in signing Landsat 7 MOU’s to receive data directly from the

spacecraft. NESDIS continued to work with the 11 international ground

stations that are currently part of the Landsat 4/5 program.

At NOAA’s NESDIS, research and data centers made significant

progress toward utilizing the World Wide Web as a means to meet national

and global customer data demands. The three data centers—the National

Climatic Data Center, the National Geophysical Data Center, and the

National Oceanographic Data Center—surpassed prior records for fulfilling

data requests from the public and the research community. NESDIS personnel continued to develop new products for public and Government use.

National Climatic Data Center personnel participated in a number of

global climate change studies in which long-term data revealed significant

anomalies in global land-surface temperature. The National Geophysical

Data Center continued its geophysical and paleo-environmental work, as

well as applications of the DMSP data to develop global nighttime lights

and global fire products.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

26
The Washington, D.C., Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC)

within NOAA began operations in November 1997. One purpose of the

VAAC is to provide to the aviation and volcanology community virtually

real-time analysis of satellite products to support volcanic ash eruptions. In

addition to providing operational messages about other eruptions in its area

of responsibility, the VAAC provided more than 435 advisory messages for

the Soufriere Hills volcano in Montserrat, West Indies. This VAAC is the

largest of nine worldwide and is operated under the auspices of the World

Meteorological Organization and the International Civil Aviation

Organization. NESDIS provided operational satellite-derived fire support

for wildfires in Indonesia, Mexico, Central America, and Brazil at the

request of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department

of State, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, and

the governments of Mexico and Brazil. NESDIS personnel also provided

satellite-derived products to support fire-suppression activities to local firefighting units in southern Florida.

In the area of commercial licensing, NESDIS published a Notice of

Proposed Rulemaking on private remote-sensing regulations in November

1997 and held a public meeting to solicit comments on the proposed regulations in April 1998. NESDIS issued its first Synthetic Aperture Radar

(SAR) license, issued two license amendments, and approved six international agreements. In response to statutory requirements on the commercial

imagery of Israel, NESDIS worked with an interagency group to develop

and publish the 2-meter imaging limitation.

During FY 1998, the Administrators of NOAA and NASA signed a

basic agreement on behalf of the two agencies concerning collaborative programs. This was an umbrella agreement covering 12 MOU’s, some of which

also involved international partners. In addition, the NOAA and NASA

Administrators signed an MOU with the secretary of the Indian

Department of Space for science cooperation in the areas of Earth and

atmospheric sciences. The Indian MOU will provide for real-time exchange

of Indian geostationary satellite data (from INSAT) within the context of

cooperative activities in the Earth and atmospheric sciences.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

27
Also in the international arena, NOAA completed amendments to

the Argos MOU Amendment with France’s Centre National d’Etudes

Spatiales (CNES) to cover instruments on the future NOAA-N’ (N prime)

satellite. NESDIS participated in a number of bilateral activities with the

Canadian Space Agency for Radarsat I/II, the National Space Development

Agency (NASDA) of Japan for the Advanced Land Observing Satellite and

Advanced Earth Observing Satellite II systems. Negotiators made significant progress on the proposed Integrated Joint Polar Systems with the

European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites

(EUMETSAT) for instruments on future polar satellites as part of the

NPOESS program.

NESDIS also participated in many activities associated with the

Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) at the plenary, working group, and project levels. NESDIS chaired the Disaster Management

Support Project in connection with CEOS and the Integrated Global

Observing Strategy and held a number of meetings in Europe, Asia, and

the United States aimed at gathering information from space agencies and

disaster/emergency managers about their current use of satellite data and

their requirements.

Also at DoC, OASC continued efforts to foster an economic and

policy environment that promotes the global preeminence of the U.S. commercial space industry. OASC served as an advocate for the U.S.

commercial satellite imaging industry during high-level interagency meetings on U.S. remote-sensing policy regarding Canada, Greece, Israel, Italy,

Japan, Korea, Russia, and Spain. The office also worked in coordination

with other DoC bureaus to serve U.S. commercial interests in the areas of

GPS and launch services.

As a member of the Interagency GPS Executive Board (IGEB), DoC

contributed significantly to major U.S. decisions affecting the future of

GPS. NOAA, OASC, and the NTIA participated in the decisionmaking

processes that led to and stemmed from the March 1998 commitment to add

new civilian capabilities to GPS, as announced by Vice President Al Gore.

In particular, NOAA and OASC cochaired an interagency working group

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

28
established by the IGEB to develop a strategy for funding GPS as a national

priority. NOAA also led the collection and documentation of civilian

requirements for GPS modernization. With respect to GPS radio spectrum,

NTIA played an essential role in conducting technical studies, supporting

both the GPS modernization effort and the U.S. position at the World

Radio Conference. DoC officials also served on U.S. delegations that met

with Japan and the European Union to negotiate agreements intended to

establish GPS as a worldwide standard. The consultations with Japan culminated in a joint statement on GPS cooperation signed by President Bill

Clinton and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi in September 1998.

OASC and ITA represented the interests of U.S. launch and satellite

industries during annual consultations with China, Russia, and the Ukraine

on commercial space launch services. In October 1997, DoC participated in

the negotiation and signing of an amendment to the U.S.-China agreement

covering price guidelines for launches to LEO.

ITA’s Office of Aerospace also participated in discussions with the

European Union concerning government support for the development of

new civil aircraft programs. ITA, in concert with other agencies, undertook

efforts to advance U.S. trade interests regarding regulatory measures in

Europe that could restrict U.S. exports. ITA also participated in discussions

with Russia and the Ukraine to encourage them to sign the GATT

Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft as a part of their World Trade

Organization (WTO) accession. In the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

(APEC) forum, ITA sought to advance a proposal aimed at eliminating aircraft tariffs imposed by APEC members. ITA served on a U.S. delegation

that met with Russia to discuss the implementation of tariff waivers on civil

aircraft. ITA also supported efforts of the U.S.-China Joint Committee on

Commerce and Trade to expand intergovernmental cooperation and trade

in civil aviation and airports.

To promote the export of U.S. aerospace products, ITA sponsored

Aerospace Product Literature Centers at major international aerospace exhibitions and air shows in Berlin, Chile, China, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, South

Africa, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Trade leads generated through

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

29
this literature center concept numbered more than 7,500. ITA also supported U.S. firms in international aerospace competitions, including those

for helicopters, commercial transport aircraft, and space launch vehicles.

ITA’s Office of Telecommunications continued its work to support

U.S. access to satellite markets overseas through a variety of bilateral and

multilateral initiatives. Under the WTO Agreement on Basic

Telecommunications Services, the Office of Telecommunications supported

the U.S. Trade Representative’s office in monitoring several aspects of the

agreement, including provisions relating to market access for satellite service providers. ITA supported the inclusion of certain satellite products in

the Information Technology Agreement II, with the goal of reducing tariffs

and facilitating increased trade. ITA sought to increase market access for

U.S. companies through its support for the U.S.-Argentina Satellite

Services Agreement, which was signed in June 1998. ITA also endeavored

to open Japan’s direct-to-home satellite services market for U.S. companies

through the U.S.-Japan Enhanced Initiative on Deregulation and

Competition Policy. Also with regard to Japan, ITA monitored compliance

with the 1990 U.S.-Japan Satellite Procurement Agreement.

ITA developed updated market data and projections on the sales of

satellite services and equipment, space transportation services, and other

space-related goods and services for inclusion in the 1999 U.S. Industry and

Trade Outlook. ITA also released a major study of market trends and growth

in the commercial GPS industry.

As the lead advisory agency for Federal Government telecommunications issues, NTIA undertook a number of policy initiatives regarding

satellites and other space-based communications systems. Specifically,

NTIA provided policy guidance on the restructuring of the International

Telecommunications Satellite (INTELSAT) Organization and the

International Mobile Satellite (INMARSAT) Organization. NTIA continued to manage the Federal Government’s use of the radio spectrum,

including assignments for NASA, DoD, NOAA, and other Government

satellite programs. NTIA worked closely with other U.S. regulatory authorities and commercial satellite users at the ITU World Radio Conference to

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

30
secure spectrum allocations for satellite systems in frequency bands above

15 gigahertz (GHz).

NIST performed a wide variety of metrology-related research in

support of aeronautics and space activities during FY 1998. NIST scientists

and engineers worked in collaboration with their counterparts in eight

NASA Centers on more than 50 projects. NIST supplied the Jet Propulsion

Laboratory (JPL) with time and frequency reference services for the Deep

Space Network, using the NIST atomic clock, and collaborated with

NASA scientists on the development of a laser-cooled cesium clock for

scientific and technical applications in space. NIST evaluated chemical

kinetic data in support of NASA’s upper atmospheric research program and

provided calibration services for NASA’s EOS. NIST worked closely with

NASA scientists on developing space telescope imaging spectrograph and

spectral and photometric imaging systems. Finally, several scientists from

NASA Centers conducted joint experiments with NIST staff, using the

NIST Cold Neutron Facility at the Center for Neutron Research and the

NIST Synchrotron Ultraviolet Radiation Facility.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

31
Aeronautics

32

Ed Harne of BLM at joint

BLM/USGS Bering Glacier

Field Camp (photo by

Bruce Keating, BLM).
The Department of the Interior (DoI) continued to depend on the DoD

Navstar GPS Precise Positioning Service (PPS) for real-time positioning in

wildland areas that are out of reach of traditional differential GPS methods.

DoI user growth for GPS exceeded training capacity; the USGS facilitated

five 2-day training sessions for DoI in FY 1998, and more GPS training

courses were scheduled for FY 1999. DoI GPS coordinators continued to

identify DoI requirements for specifications of future military handheld GPS

receivers, such as the Special Operations Lightweight GPS Receiver and

the Defense Advanced GPS Receiver.

The Office of Surface Mining (OSM) used GPS technology to locate

surface resources to determine their premining status and condition and to

confirm that reclamation efforts have adequately restored these resources.

On active mines, inspection staff used GPS to determine reclaimed acreage

and to locate features that require regular inspection. On abandoned mine

lands, Office of Surface Mining staff used GPS to quickly assess the disturbed areas and features to facilitate the preparation of reclamation plans

and contracts. In addition, Bureau of Reclamation personnel often used

GPS for such applications as locating sampling sites to study geologic features, vegetation, and water quality, mapping infrastructure locations, and

mapping environmental features such as wetland boundaries.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

33

DEPARTMENT OF THE

INTERIOR

DoI
The USGS Volcano Hazards Program expanded its volcano-monitoring network at Long Valley, California, by installing additional GPS sensors

during FY 1998. The expansion of this GPS network was set to continue

over the next 2 years, resulting in a modern instrument array capable of continuous, real-time detection of ground deformation associated with

potential volcanic activity in this seismically active area.

USGS scientists used a 63-station GPS network to measure the distribution of subsurface bedrock deformation across the western United

States through surveys conducted in 1992, 1996, and 1998. Subsurface

bedrock deformation was determined to be quite variable across the region

and is influenced by patterns of fault networks and plate tectonic processes.

Maximum deformation of 6.0 ± 1.6 millimeters per year occurred near the

Sierra Nevada Mountain range, reflecting a concentration of deformation

adjacent to the rigid Sierra Nevada and Colorado Plateau blocks.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs extensively used Landsat and Satellite

Pour l’Observation de la Terre (SPOT) satellite imagery, digital orthophotography, National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP) and other aerial

photography, and GPS-derived data to generate image maps, inventory natural resources, conduct environmental assessments, and support other

Geographic Information System (GIS) analyses.

Remotely sensed data derived from satellites and aircraft sensors and

GPS technology continued to play an important role in efforts by the

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to sustain the health, diversity, and

productivity of the public lands. The data provided critical information to

resource specialists in the field for use in their inventory, assessment, modeling, and monitoring efforts. BLM has significantly increased the use of

GPS and GIS technology to implement the Automated Lands and Minerals

Record System Modernization program. As a result, many BLM offices were

able to perform complex spatial data analysis at the field office level.

The Bureau of Reclamation used remotely sensed data in support of a

number of water resource management projects. The bureau derived crop

acreage from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM), SPOT high-resolution visible, Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (INSAT) panchromatic, and Radarsat

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

34
data as inputs to consumptive water use models for the Colorado and

Yakima River basins in the western United States. Scientists mapped inchannel and flooded bottomland habitat in the Yakima basin, using

large-scale aerial photography, and mapped surface temperatures in the

Yakima River, using airborne scanner imagery. Reclamation scientists also

used medium- to large-scale aerial photography to support a number of

resource mapping projects at selected Federal lands throughout the western

United States. NASA acquired Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging

Spectrometer (AVIRIS) hyperspectral imagery of the Owyhee River basin

in eastern Oregon for the Bureau of Reclamation to use in support of surface

geology and water quality mapping projects.

The National Park Service used Landsat and SPOT data, along with

conventional aerial photography, to map and monitor land cover, vegetation,

and other specific features in many National Parks, from Alaska to Florida.

The USGS EROS Data Center continued to work with NASA and

NOAA to prepare the facilities to receive, process, and deliver data from

the Landsat 7 satellite, which is planned for launch in 1999. The Landsat 7

Processing and Image Assessment Systems became operational in 1998. On

September 17, 1998, the new Landsat 7 antenna successfully acquired the

first Landsat image that the EROS Data Center had ever acquired directly

from a Landsat satellite—a TM image of the Black Hills of South Dakota.

The Multi-Resolution Land Characterization project—a joint activity of the USGS, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), NASA,

NOAA, and other agencies—released medium-resolution land-cover data

derived from Landsat data for the States of Alabama, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Scientists successfully tested an

accuracy assessment methodology in Federal Region 2 (States in the

Chesapeake Bay watershed) and applied the methodology in New York and

New Jersey. The USGS also continued to build the Alaska

Multi-Resolution Land Characterization data base. This data base contains

land-cover maps derived from Landsat Multispectral Scanner, Landsat TM,

and SPOT satellite data, dating back to 1980.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

35
The USGS worked with the USDA Forest Service to incorporate

satellite-derived fire fuels information into the Forest Service’s Fire

Potential Index (FPI) model. Technicians installed the enhanced model at

nine national study sites where fire managers began using it in daily local

fire hazard briefings. Forest Service fire managers at the national level used

the FPI to allocate funding to the field for the 1998 fire management and

suppression season. The model is also being applied internationally; fire

managers, suppression experts, modelers, and geospatial analysts from

Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Spain, and the United States met in Argentina

to complete fire fuels maps for these countries that will be used to calculate

the FPI for 1992 through 1997.

The USGS National Civil Applications Program (NCAP) provided

secure facilities for Federal civil agencies to acquire and process classified

satellite data for applications such as land and resource management, global

change research, environmental monitoring, and disaster detection and

mitigation. In addition, NCAP supported a national wildland fire detection

and global volcano monitoring network, maintained and preserved a global

library of classified remotely sensed data, and trained civil users. In FY 1998,

NCAP staff began testing the prototype Hazards Support System, which

will provide warnings of wildland fire outbreaks in the United States and

monitor volcanic eruptions worldwide. They also began developing and

testing the Global Fiducials Library, which provides the scientific community with digital classified satellite data collected at selected worldwide sites

for long-term environmental monitoring.

The USGS Alaska Volcano Observatory began using a variety of realtime and archival satellite data and computer modeling techniques to

monitor and analyze volcanic activity in the North Pacific region. During

FY 1998, the observatory provided information about airborne volcanic ash

from several volcanic events to the National Weather Service, the FAA,

and the U.S. Air Force to assist in weather forecasting and air traffic control.

USGS scientists demonstrated that satellite Interferometric

Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) is uniquely suited to monitoring

year-to-year deformation of the entire 3,000-square-kilometer Yellowstone

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

36
Caldera that underlies Yellowstone National Park. Sequential interferograms

indicated that subsidence within the caldera migrated from northeast to

southwest, from one resurgent dome to the other, between 1992 and 1995.

Subsidence of the caldera ceased in 1995–96, but it began again in 1996–97.

These patterns of subsidence are matched well by other measures of the

migration of hydrothermal and magmatic fluid throughout the entire

caldera floor at a depth of approximately 8 kilometers.

USGS scientists used a variety of remote-sensing and spatial analysis

tools for environmental analysis and modeling in Everglades National Park

and surrounding areas. Airborne, ground, and borehole geophysical methods

were used to map saltwater intrusion and develop three-dimensional water

quality models. Scientists used more than 1,500 satellite images to derive a

time series of water turbidity conditions in Florida Bay since 1985. Scientists

used these images to determine turbidity and light availability for seagrass

and to assess conditions in the bay and adjacent areas prior to the time when

extensive monitoring programs began in 1991. An analysis of the imagery

indicated that 200 square kilometers of dense Everglades seagrass meadows

were lost between 1987 and 1997.

The USGS Astrogeology Program continued to make major contributions

to Martian exploration. With the successful completion of operations of the

Mars Pathfinder spacecraft, USGS scientists turned their attention to the

creation of special digital images, image mosaics, and topical science issues

on the characteristics of the rocks, soils, and terrain at the landing site. The

USGS was also involved in both the Mars Orbital Camera and the Thermal

Emission Spectrometer teams of NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor mission,

assisting with observations and analyses to guide the spacecraft through its

critical aerobraking phases as it settled into low Martian orbit.

In addition, USGS investigators played a major role in shaping the

design of NASA’s new and highly aggressive Mars Exploration Strategy.

This plan includes two spacecraft launched to Mars every 2 years for the

next 10 years, culminating in the return of Martian surface samples in about

a decade and the exploration of the planet by humans approximately a

decade later.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

37
Aeronautics and Space Report of the Pre
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has continued to be

involved in making rules to facilitate and regulate the U.S. domestic satellite

industry and the licensing of all ground stations and satellite launches.

Internationally, the FCC continued to coordinate satellite placement with

other countries.

In terms of station licensing, the FCC streamlined the existing application

process by introducing the electronic filing of ground- and space-based

transmitter and receiver applications. The electronic filing of ground-based

applications has enabled the FCC to process applications four times faster

than the former, manual mechanism. In FY 1998, the FCC processed more

than 10,000 ground-based applications.

In the area of satellite launches, the FCC licensed a number of

launches during FY 1998. In January 1998, the FCC authorized COMSAT

to participate in the launch, positioning, and onorbit testing of the

INMARSAT-3 (F-5) satellite. This satellite will serve as a spare in orbit. In

February 1998, the FCC authorized COMSAT to participate in the launch

and onorbit testing of the INTELSAT VIII-A (F-6) (INTELSAT 806) satellite,

which was launched that month and began commercial service in May

1998. The FCC authorized the Columbia Communications Corporation in

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

39

FEDERAL

COMMUNICATIONS

COMMISSIONS

FCC
March 1998 to acquire and operate an operational C-band satellite from

INTELSAT (Columbia-515, formerly INTELSAT 515). Columbia began

commercial operation of this satellite the next month. In April 1998, the

FCC granted permission to EchoStar to launch a Direct Broadcast Service

(DBS) satellite (EchoStar 4), which was launched in May 1998 but, because

of technical difficulties, was located in a different orbital location than

originally planned. In June 1998, the FCC authorized COMSAT to participate

in the launch and testing in orbit of the INTELSAT VIII-A (F-5)

(INTELSAT 805) satellite, which later began providing international

telecommunications services to the Asia-Pacific region. The FCC authorized

PanAmSat in September 1998 to launch and operate a Fixed Satellite

Service (FSS) satellite (PAS-21).

In addition, the FCC authorized Orbital Communications

Corporation to launch and operate 12 satellites, increasing its total LEO

constellation from 36 to 48 satellites. In accordance with its FCC license,

Iridium launched the remainder of its LEO satellites (34 were launched in

the previous fiscal year) and began testing. The FCC also licensed five socalled “little” LEO systems (“little” refers to the fact that they operate at

frequencies lower than 1 GHz). These systems will provide nonvoice mobile

satellite service throughout the world.

During FY 1998, the FCC held a number of meetings with its

counterpart agencies in foreign governments to facilitate international

satellite communications. In particular, the U.S. and Argentine governments

agreed on orbital locations for a U.S.-licensed satellite and an Argentinelicensed satellite to serve North America. The agreement was instrumental

in facilitating hemispheric services licensed by both countries and in

promoting competition in the market for satellite services. FCC officials

also held two meetings with their Brazilian counterparts as part of an ongoing

effort to coordinate U.S. and Brazilian satellites.

The United States reached an agreement with Canada to allow the

use of a common satellite platform for provision of L-band multispectral

services to Canada and the United States. Canadian and U.S. officials also

reached an agreement on the operation of U.S. Digital Audio Radio Service

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

40
(DARS) in the S-band. The agreement will provide for U.S. satellite DARS

systems to operate interference-free with Canadian terrestrial systems.

The U.S. and Indian administrations met to discuss coordinating the

PanAmSat satellite systems with Indian satellite networks and to complete

the coordination of satellite networks. Japanese and U.S. officials reached

coordination agreements on six of eight commercial satellite systems and

established working methods to complete the remaining satellite coordinations. Russian and U.S. officials met to coordinate a wide range of satellite

networks. They reached coordination agreements and established methods

to coordinate other systems in the C-, Ku-, and Ka-bands.

Officials from the United States and the United Kingdom met to discuss coordination between various U.S. and British satellite networks in the

Ku- and Ka-bands. The agenda focused primarily on coordination among

the U.K. Pacific Centuries Group operator and nine separate U.S.-licensed

operators in the Ka-band. Officials also coordinated information exchanges

between a large number of U.S.-licensed satellites and British satellites.

Both administrations agreed that further exchange of information and coordination may take place directly between satellite operators.

Finally, the United States reached a coordinated agreement with

INTELSAT on behalf of Columbia Communications Corporation, a U.S.

satellite licensee. Under the agreement, which resolved a long-standing dispute, Columbia is now operating its own satellite, the Columbia-515, which

INTELSAT sold to Columbia, and INTELSAT is operating its INTELSAT

806. A coordination agreement has also been reached for the Columbia-515

and INTELSAT’s neighboring satellites.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

41
Aeronautics and Space Report of the Pre
USDA’s research and operational programs made use of remotely sensed

data and related technologies to benefit agriculture and forestry. This section of the report highlights USDA agencies that advanced remote-sensing

knowledge, developed improved applications, and used imagery and technology to produce more accurate and timely products and services.

The Agriculture Research Service (ARS) enhanced remote-sensing

knowledge and developed productive applications of the technology at

research facilities located throughout the United States. At Weslaco, Texas,

the ARS Integrated Farming and Natural Resources Unit collected data

over the Southern Great Plains to determine the relationship between soil

moisture and regional climate conditions and the variability of soil moisture

over space and time. At the Jornada Experimental Range, the ARS

Hydrology Laboratory collected laser profiler data and visible, thermal

infrared and video imagery to infer surface temperature, albedo, vegetation

indices, roughness, and other land-surface characteristics. At ARS laboratories in Ames, Iowa, Lincoln, Nebraska, and Lubbock, Texas, scientists

quantified relationships among plant populations, nitrogen stress, water

stress, and remotely sensed information. In Iowa, for example, ARS determined when in the growing season weeds can be differentiated from

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

43

DEPARTMENT OF

AGRICULTURE

USDA
economic crops, such as corn and soybeans, and how variations in soil patterns

are related to observed patterns in crops. In Phoenix, Arizona, the ARS

U.S. Water Conservation Laboratory cooperated with NASA’s Stennis

Space Center to develop products and applications using data from multispectral airborne sensors to manage crops and soils.

Using remote-sensing technology, the ARS Remote Sensing and

Modeling Laboratory (RSML) and the Hydrology Laboratory initiated a

long-term experiment to evaluate the economic and environmental impact

of four alternative farming practices on surface and subsurface water quality.

Working with the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), RSML

assessed crop yields at regional scales, using models and remote-sensing data.

Researchers succeeded in assessing spring wheat yields in North Dakota in

just 1 month following crop maturity, compared to the usual 4 months. This

increased speed and improved spatial accuracy are very important to program

managers because of the potential for assessing foreign crops. RSML also

developed a method for using multispectral fluorescence imaging to conduct

nondestructive evaluations of crop physiological status. Likewise, RSML

used fluorescent sensing to detect ozone damage, ultraviolet radiation

damage to vegetation, and the effect of increased carbon dioxide. RSML

research demonstrated that remote sensing can accurately assess tropospheric environmental problems.

The satellite remote-sensing program of the Foreign Agricultural

Service (FAS) remained a critical element in USDA’s analysis of global

agricultural production and crop conditions by providing timely, accurate,

and unbiased estimates of global area, yield, and production. Satellitederived early warning of unusual crop conditions and production anomalies

enabled more rapid and precise determinations of global supply conditions.

FAS used NOAA, Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR),

Landsat, and French SPOT imagery, crop models, weather data, attaché

reports, field travel, and ancillary data to forecast foreign grain, oilseed, and

cotton production. FAS remote sensing supported Department of State

(DoS) assessments of food needs in Indonesia, North Korea, and the former

Soviet Union. Also, FAS prepared detailed analyses of the El Niño event,

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

44
the record Argentine soybean crop, the bumper wheat crop in Australia, the

bumper soybean crop in Brazil, flooding in China and North Korea, and

drought in Mexico and Indonesia.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) continued to share with FAS the

cost of analyzing imagery of the United States. Timely analysis of U.S. crop

conditions, combined with weather data, crop model results, and GIS products, made possible the development of accurate and timely projections and

comprehensive evaluations of crop disaster situations. FSA continued to be

a partner in NAPP and the National Digital Orthoquad Program (NDOP).

FSA started to field reengineered business processes that combine the use of

digital orthophotography, GIS, GPS, and satellite imagery to replace the use

of hardcopy NAPP aerial photography and 35-millimeter slides. 

The USDA Forest Service and Stephen F. Austin University hosted

the Seventh Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Conference, in

Nassau Bay, Texas. The conference, focusing on “Natural Resources

Management Using Remote Sensing and GIS,” attracted a wide range of

representatives from Federal and State government, the private sector, and

academia, and it resulted in more than 35 published papers. Besides using

remotely sensed data to manage 191 million acres of land in the National

Forest System, the Forest Service supported many international projects by

providing remotely sensed data and expertise. These projects included prefire planning in Brazil, fire suppression support in Mexico, and fire

recovery work in Indonesia. All three countries received fire mapping support, for which remotely sensed data were essential in providing timely and

accurate information.

NASS used remote-sensing data to construct area frames for statistical sampling, to estimate crop area, to create crop-specific land-cover data

layers for GIS, and to assess crop conditions. For area frame construction,

NASS combined digital Landsat and SPOT data with USGS digital

line-graph data, enabling the user to assign each piece of land in a State to

a category, based on the percentage of cultivation or other variables. NASS

implemented new remote-sensing-based area frames and samples for Texas

and Puerto Rico for the survey and census of agriculture coverage measures.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

45
The remote-sensing acreage estimation project analyzed Landsat data of the

1997 crop season in Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota and then

collected 1998 crop season data for the same three States. End-of-season

TM analysis produced crop acreage estimates for major crops at State and

county levels, as well as a crop-specific categorization in the form of a digital mosaic of TM scenes distributed to users on a CD–ROM. Vegetation

condition images based on AVHRR data were used with conventional

survey data to assess crop conditions.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) continued its

partnership with Federal, State, and local agencies in sharing costs to

develop 1-meter digital ortho-imagery coverage through NDOP. By year’s

end, 76 percent of the Nation’s digital ortho-imagery was either complete or

in progress. Federal-State cooperative agreements for statewide orthoimagery were started in Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri,

Ohio, Texas, and West Virginia. Indiana was the first project of this magnitude to use airborne GPS horizontal ground control acquired concurrently

with new aerial imagery. The NRCS increased the use of remote sensing to

collect natural resource data for its National Resources Inventory Program

by contracting for low-level high-resolution imagery over 6,000 sampling

sites across the Nation during the growing season.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

46
Projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) continued to

contribute new knowledge about the origins, composition, and dynamics of

the universe and Earth’s near-space environment. NSF-sponsored scientists

have discovered many new outer solar system objects as a result of ongoing

optical surveys. For example, scientists now believe that the region beyond

the orbit of Neptune is home to hundreds of thousands of minor planets and

perhaps billions of comet-like objects. Astronomers have begun to develop

a picture of the relationship between these objects and the formation of

planets, the origin of comets, and the existence of dust disks around stars.

In addition, NSF-sponsored scientists began monitoring a previously

unremarkable binary star that suddenly began emitting x-rays and radio

waves. Scientists believe that one of the pair is either a black hole or a neutron star—both very compact objects. Astronomers theorize that, in such

systems, the neutron star or black hole is drawing material away from its

companion star and that the material is formed into a rotating disk around

the compact companion. The x-rays, they believe, come from superheated

material in this “accretion disk” and are ejected at right angles to the plane

of the disk. Because scientists do not fully understand the relevant physical

processes, astronomers are eager to gain as much new information as possible whenever one of these systems is discovered.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

47

NATIONAL

SCIENCE FOUNDATION

NSF
Scientists have discovered a way to study so-called “dark matter”—

matter we cannot see because it does not give off any radiation.

Astronomers have known for several years that a small galaxy is orbiting our

home galaxy, the Milky Way. New calculations indicate that the small

galaxy orbits the Milky Way in less than 1 billion years and that it has completed 10 orbits. Amazingly, the strong gravitational forces of the Milky

Way have not destroyed the small galaxy as would have been expected. This

indicates that the small galaxy contains far more mass than indicated by its

number of stars, thus signaling the presence of a significant amount of dark

matter. Astronomers think that at least 90 percent of the matter in the universe is dark and hope to clarify the nature of this dark matter.

Radio telescope studies of the fiery afterglow of a gamma ray burst

have provided astronomers with the best clues yet about the origins of these

tremendous cosmic cataclysms since their discovery more than 30 years ago.

Observations with NSF’s Very Large Array radio telescope confirm that a

blast seen to occur on March 29, 1998, had its origin in a star-forming

region of a distant galaxy. There are two leading theories for the causes of

gamma ray bursts. According to one theory, the blasts occur when a pair of

superdense neutron stars collide. The second is that a single, very massive

star explodes in a “hypernova,” more powerful than a supernova, at the end

of its normal life. Observations favor this second hypothesis.

Astronomers have found evidence for the most powerful magnetic

field ever seen in the universe. They have observed a long-sought, shortlived “afterglow” of subatomic particles ejected from a magnetar—a

neutron star with a magnetic field billions of times stronger than any on

Earth and 100 times stronger than any previously known in the universe.

The afterglow is believed to be the aftermath of a massive starquake on the

neutron star’s surface. 

NSF-sponsored researchers at Hughes STX Company developed a

method for the early warning of solar events using interplanetary radio

bursts observed remotely by both the Ulysses and Wind spacecraft. These

emissions are generated when coronal mass ejections create shocks in the

interplanetary medium. The investigators have been successful in using the

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

48
timing of these radio emissions to estimate the arrival time of the shocks

on Earth.

Scientists at Science Applications International Corporation in San

Diego developed a comprehensive, three-dimensional, magnetohydrodynamic model to use remote observations of the Sun to predict the state of

the solar wind at Earth’s orbit. Researchers have already used the model to

determine the coronal magnetic field and heliospheric current sheet structure during the period from February 1997 to March 1998. Scientists also

have used the model to simulate the triggering of a coronal mass ejection,

including its appearance as seen by a space-based coronagraph.

Scientists from Cornell University used a sensitive all-sky imaging

camera to study the behavior of structured airglow layers in the thermosphere

over Puerto Rico. These elongated structures are believed to be a result of

enhanced geomagnetic activity. Their behavior is consistent with plasma

irregularities commonly seen near the magnetic equator, but scientists do not

yet completely understand the connection between the two phenomena.

Researchers at SRI International and the University of Alaska’s

Geophysical Institute in Fairbanks discovered new evidence for a theory

explaining the presence of thin sporadic layers of sodium in Earth’s upper

atmosphere. Scientists believe that these sporadic layers, distinct from the

better understood layer of neutral sodium atoms found between 80 and 100

kilometers altitude, are a byproduct of meteors vaporizing when entering

the atmosphere. Using data from the NSF-supported incoherent scatter

radar and sodium LIDAR, the investigators demonstrated that thin ion

layers are pushed downward to a region in which chemical catalysts recombine the ionized sodium, leaving behind a thin layer of neutral sodium. 

NSF-funded scientists at the High Altitude Observatory of the

National Center for Atmospheric Research continued to develop instruments to assist in studying solar irradiance—energy flux in the plane of

Earth’s orbit. Solar irradiance and total solar luminosity vary over time scales

from days to years. Not only do astronomers not know the physical mechanisms that cause these changes in the Sun’s brightness, but astronomers

cannot even identify which of the components of the Sun’s visible outer

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

49
photosphere are responsible for the solar energy flux variations that have

been detected by satellite experiments. In response to mounting documentation that terrestrial climate is correlated with such changes in the Sun,

NSF researchers have developed a long-range plan and experiment to

address how and why the Sun’s irradiance changes. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

50
After months of negotiations, the United States, Europe, Russia, Canada,

and Japan successfully reached an Intergovernmental Agreement for the

ISS. The signing ceremony took place on January 29, 1998, at DoS in

Washington, D.C., and drew considerable press coverage.

On September 22, 1998, President Clinton and Japanese Prime

Minister Obuchi signed the U.S.-Japan joint statement on GPS, pledging

that the United States and Japan would work together to promote broad

and effective use of GPS. The joint statement was the result of 2 years of

discussions between the two governments on issues related to expanding

civilian use of GPS. Cooperation between the United States and Japan—

the world’s two largest producers of GPS user equipment—is expected to

promote international acceptance of GPS for civilian applications and help

create a stable international playing field so that U.S. industry can take full

advantage of a rapidly growing multibillion dollar market. International

negotiations on GPS remained a high priority at DoS, with ongoing negotiations with Europe and Russia, as well as with Japan. 

DoS continued to promote foreign policy and national security interests as the interagency lead in considering exports of U.S.-origin

commercial remote-sensing systems. DoS controls the export of all U.S.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

51

DEPARTMENT OF

STATE

DoS
Munitions List items, including remote-sensing satellites and Earth stations

under the Arms Export Control Act.

In FY 1998, DoS concluded a bilateral Technical Safeguard

Agreement (TSA) with the Ukraine and began discussions toward a bilateral TSA with Russia and a trilateral TSA with Russia and Kazakhstan.

These agreements are designed to protect U.S. satellite and missile technology and allow U.S. industry to launch satellites from foreign locations.

In addition, DoS served as the lead agency for U.S. delegations to

meetings of the INTELSAT and INMARSAT member countries, successfully gaining agreement to privatize INMARSAT and restructure

INTELSAT. It also provided policy guidance to COMSAT, the U.S. signatory to the organizations. DoS officials also promoted access to overseas

markets for commercial satellite companies, including negotiating a landmark bilateral satellite services agreement with Argentina, and worked to

resolve complex problems of orbit and spectrum availability.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

52

The International

Space Station (ISS)

presents the opportunity for several

nations to work

together toward a

singular goal.
The Department of Energy’s (DoE) Sandia National Laboratory, in cooperation with NIST, developed the portable Josephson Voltage Standard. This

new compact, fully automated calibration system for direct current reference

standards and digital voltmeters has proved useful to NASA, and technicians may eventually adapt this portable concept for space applications.

NASA began using one portable Josephson Voltage Standard among all its

Centers, saving the cost of $150,000 per laboratory system at each Center.

DoE and NASA collaborated on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

(AMS) experiment, which flew on a Space Shuttle mission during FY 1998.

The AMS collaboration was the first time such a detector has been put in

orbit, and it measured antimatter and dark matter in space.

Los Alamos National Laboratory, which is operated by the University

of California for DoE, recently completed testing a space instrument

designed to provide a better understanding of the compositions of comets

and asteroids and delivered the instrument for eventual integration with the

NASA spacecraft. The first spectrometer combines two spectrometers into

one package and is known as the Plasma Experiment for Planetary

Exploration. This experiment package can analyze the composition of many

types of cosmic matter and can also determine whether a nuclear or chemical explosion took place in the upper atmosphere or in space.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

53

DEPARTMENT OF

ENERGY

DoE
Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists received a grant from

NASA to use laboratory space instrument design and manufacturing

expertise to test critical components of an instrument for possible use on a

future mission to Jupiter’s moon, Europa. Simultaneously, three researchers

from Los Alamos worked as part of a 17-member international team to

determine for NASA the technical requirements for an instrument to study

that moon’s icy surface. The team began studying many criteria, including

how to distinguish the various radar reflection signals returned by rocks,

cracks in the ice, salty and nonsalty ice, and other conditions on the

Europa’s surface.

DoE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory continued to serve as one of

NASA’s nine Distributed Active Archive Centers as part of NASA’s

EOSDIS, a key component of the U.S. Global Change Research Program.

Finally, DoE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory continued to support

NASA’s research on radiation levels in space and their effects on the

human body.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

54
Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is joined with the Harvard College Observatory to

form the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), where more

than 300 scientists are engaged in a broad program of research in astronomy,

astrophysics, Earth and space sciences, and science education. The Smithsonian Institution also continued to support national aerospace activities

through research and education activities at the National Air and Space

Museum in Washington, D.C.

Peering halfway across the universe to analyze light from exploded

stars that died long ago, SAO astronomers and their Harvard colleagues

have inferred that the cosmos will expand forever. Using the Hubble Space

Telescope, these scientists have found that there is too little matter in the

universe to halt its expansion. As a result, the universe should continue to

balloon outward infinitely.

A team of astronomers, including scientists at SAO, discovered a

disk of gas and dust around a nearby star that may be forming—or may have

already formed—planets. The protoplanetary disk, about three times the

diameter of Pluto’s orbit around the Sun, surrounds a star roughly 220 lightyears from Earth. The discovery was made with a NASA-funded

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

55

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
instrument on a telescope in Chile at about the same time as an

independent discovery was made by a second team using NASA’s Infrared

Telescope Facility in Hawaii.

Researchers from the CfA and the University of Arizona used the

Hubble Space Telescope to study approximately two dozen examples of

“gravitational lensing” in a project dubbed “CASTLeS” (which stands for

the CfA-Arizona Space Telescope Lens Survey). Gravitational lensing is a

phenomenon predicted by Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity in which

light rays emanating from a distant background object (such as a quasar) are

bent by the gravitational field of a foreground object (such as a massive

black hole or galaxy), thus distorting the appearance of the background

object. The results will be used to learn more about the properties of distant

galaxies and to determine the Hubble Constant—that is, the rate at which

the universe is expanding. To illustrate gravitational lensing in a more

familiar setting, the team started with a digitized photograph of the

Smithsonian’s Castle and then used computer software originally written

for analyzing astronomical gravitational lenses to distort the image as if a

black hole with the mass of the planet Saturn lay between the viewer and

the Castle.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

56
During FY 1998, the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA)

continued to support missile nonproliferation efforts and worked to prevent

the acquisition of offensive ballistic missile programs by other countries.

ACDA personnel also worked on Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty

(START) issues related to the use of excess ballistic missiles for space

launch purposes. 

ACDA continued to work in strengthening and expanding the scope

of the 32-nation Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which is

intended to limit the risks of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

(that is, nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons) by controlling transfers

that could make a contribution to delivery systems (other than piloted aircraft) for such weapons. During FY 1998, ACDA supported the inclusion of

three new members to the MTCR. Poland, the Czech Republic, and the

Ukraine were accepted at the MTCR meeting in May 1998 and officially

participated at the October 1998 plenary in Budapest, Hungary. ACDA

continued to participate in discussions focused on reformatting the MTCR

Equipment and Technology Annex to make it more useful and effective.

ACDA supported the implementation of U.S. sanctions against India and

Pakistan because of their recent activities in this area.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

57

ARMS CONTROL AND

DISARMAMENT AGENCY

ACDA
ACDA worked on the development of U.S. policy related to the use

of U.S. ballistic missiles made excess under the START I and START II

treaties. The United States intends to retain such missiles for U.S.

Government use or eliminate them. ACDA has encouraged other governments with excess ballistic missiles to adopt a similar policy. In addition, the

START I parties exchanged policy statements not to construct silo launchers of intercontinental ballistic missiles at space launch facilities located

outside their national territories. 

ACDA continued to be an active member of several interagency

committees concerned with missile-related issues. At the policy level, these

include various committees chaired by the National Security Council, such

as the Interagency Working Group on Nonproliferation and Export

Controls and the Interagency Working Group on Arms Control. 

ACDA participated in the Missile Trade Analysis Group, which

reviews intelligence related to international transfers of missile-related items,

and in the Missile Technology Export Control Group, which reviews export

license applications subject to missile proliferation controls. ACDA actively

supported the efforts of the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq to

destroy or remove from Iraq any materials, equipment, and facilities related

to missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometers. ACDA also participated

in the Weapons and Space Systems Intelligence Committee to ensure that

U.S. policy initiatives were based on accurate intelligence assessments. 

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

58
EPA continued to apply remotely sensed imagery, tools, and technologies to

a wide range of environmental applications in FY 1998. EPA’s

Environmental Photographic Interpretation Center (EPIC) utilized current

and historical aerial photography to research and identify past and current

hazardous waste and other environmental problems. In FY 1998, EPIC produced hundreds of aerial photographic products on hazardous sites around

the country. Scientists at EPIC used AVIRIS data sets to identify and evaluate polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)–contaminated soils at a Superfund

site in Massachusetts and hazardous wastes from a munitions activity at

Yorktown, Virginia.

EPA scientists also used imaging spectroscopy to research water quality issues in the Chesapeake Bay and to characterize the environmental

impacts from mining operations in the western United States. EPA and

NASA scientists jointly researched the utilization of the NASA-JPL topographic SAR and aerial photography with softcopy photogrammetry for

Digital Elevation Model construction.

Internationally, EPA personnel participated on an environmental

task force that completed a remote-sensing GIS data base for the Priobskoye

area of the Russian Arctic. EPA analysts used the data base to provide ecological risk assessment information on oil and gas exploration in the region.

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

59

ENVIRONMENTAL

PROTECTION AGENCY

EPA
In FY 1998, Government and university scientists, including NASA,

the USGS, and EPA, participated in the EPA Advanced Measurement

Initiative external grants program by preparing proposals to evaluate a variety of remote-sensing technologies and their application to EPA needs. EPA

awarded funding to five proposals: ❏ Application of the SeaWiFS for Coastal Monitoring of Harmful

Algal Blooms

❏ Feld Test of Buoy-Stationed Oil Spill Remote Sensing for Potable

Water Sources

❏ Remote Assessment of the Location and Quality of Mine

Drainage Using Spectral Reflectance

❏ Remote Sensing Technology to Support Toxics Release Inventory ❏ Validation of Aerosol and Optical Parameters from the MultiAngle Imaging Spectrometer on NASA’s AM1 Satellite with

Ground Measurements from Interagency Monitoring of Protected

Visual Environments and the Clean Air Status and Trends

Network

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

60
During FY 1998, the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) provided regular

coverage of NASA-related events in its news services, the print-based

Washington File, the Voice of America’s news broadcasts, and WORLDNET Television’s Newsfile. Other feature stories and thematic programs,

often presented in local languages, carried accounts of NASA and related

topics, to all regions of the world. For example, WORLDNET Television’s

Newsfile series carried a total of 43 NASA-related stories during the last

fiscal year, with topics ranging from the Mir spacewalk to updates on the

Mars Pathfinder project.

NASA officials and astronauts routinely make themselves available

for USIA programs. NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin participated in

U.S. Information Service (USIS)—as USIA is known abroad—programs in

Germany, France, and Italy, in which he highlighted cooperation with each

of those countries. He discussed the ISS, continued cooperation with the

Russians, and NASA’s vision for the 21st century.

One program offered a USIS Singapore-arranged interview with

astronaut Guy Gardner for the local television network. Another program

had USIS Italy-arranged coverage on Italian television of a visit by all seven

of the STS-84 astronauts as they worked with Italian public and private

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

61

U.S.

INFORMATION

AGENCY

USIA
partners on a project to support space education in Italy. The day after the

astronauts arrived, the Italian government announced its approval of an

expanded multibillion-dollar 5-year program of research and development

in space exploration, which will make the Italian Space Agency one of

NASA’s leading international partners. A WORLDNET “Window on

America” segment featured a Ukrainian astronaut in training for an upcoming Space Shuttle mission.

In FY 1998, the WORLDNET service broadcast nine interactive

dialogs, among them a call-in program in Spanish, in which callers from

around Latin America were able to speak with two Spanish-speaking

NASA officials on NASA’s future projects. A program titled “Space

Exploration and Technology Transfer” in English and Arabic featured

Robert Dotts, Assistant Director of the Technology Transfer and

Commercialization Office at the Johnson Space Center, for viewers

throughout the Middle East.

USIS San José hosted an important WORLDNET interactive dialog

with Costa Rica’s national hero, astronaut Franklin Chang-Díaz, during his

sixth mission in space. Costa Rican-born Chang-Diaz maintains strong ties

to his native country and spends a good part of each year conducting environmental and tropical disease research at an internationally renowned

center in Costa Rica. In June 1998, USIS San José linked Chang-Diaz in

space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery with the remote research center

in Costa Rica and also with Costa Rican President Miguel Rodriguez, then

in New York for a United Nations meeting.

USIA also continued to make information on NASA activities available on its World Wide Web sites. These sites maintain links to NASA’s

home page and its daily space photograph.

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

62
 Year 1998 Activities

APPENDICES APPENDICES
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

64 APPENDIX A-1

U.S. Government Spacecraft Record

(Includes spacecraft from cooperating countries launched by U.S. launch vehicles.) 

Calendar Earth Orbita Earth Escapea

Year Success Failure Success Failure

1957 0 1 0 0

1958 5 8 0 4

1959 9 9 1 2

1960 16 12 1 2

1961 35 12 0 2

1962 55 12 4 1

1963 62 11 0 0

1964 69 8 4 0

1965 93 7 4 1

1966 94 12 7 1 b

1967 78 4 10 0

1968 61 15 3 0

1969 58 1 8 1

1970 36 1 3 0

1971 45 2 8 1

1972 33 2 8 0

1973 23 2 3 0

1974 27 2 1 0

1975 30 4 4 0

1976 33 0 1 0

1977 27 2 2 0

1978 34 2 7 0

1979 18 0 0 0

1980 16 4 0 0

1981 20 1 0 0

1982 21 0 0 0

1983 31 0 0 0

1984 35 3 0 0

1985 37 1 0 0

1986 11 4 0 0

1987 9 1 0 0

1988 16 1 0 0

1989 24 0 2 0

1990 40 0 1 0

1991 32 c 0 00

1992 26 c 0 10

1993 28 c 1 10

1994 31 c 1 10

1995 24 c, d 2 1 0 

1996 30 1 3 0

1997 22 e 0 10

1998 (through September 30, 1998) 70 00

TOTAL 1,401 149 90 15

a. The criterion of success or failure used is attainment of Earth orbit or Earth escape rather than judgment of mission success. “Escape” flights

include all that were intended to go to at least an altitude equal to lunar distance from Earth.

b. This Earth-escape failure did attain Earth orbit and, therefore, is included in the Earth-orbit success totals.

c. This excludes commercial satellites. It counts separately spacecraft launched by the same launch vehicle.

d. This counts the five orbital debris radar calibration spheres that were launched from STS-63 as one set of spacecraft.

e. This includes the SSTI Lewis spacecraft that began spinning out of control shortly after it achieved Earth orbit.
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

65 APPENDIX A-2

World Record of Space Launches Successful

in Attaining Earth Orbit or Beyond

(Enumerates launches rather than spacecraft; some launches orbited multiple spacecraft.)

People’s European

Calendar United USSR/ Republic United Space

Year States CIS Francea Italya Japan of China Australia Kingdom Agency India Israel

1957 2

1958 5 1

1959 10 3

1960 16 3

1961 29 6

1962 52 20

1963 38 17

1964 57 30

1965 63 48 1

1966 73 44 1

1967 57 66 2 1 1

1968 45 74

1969 40 70

1970 28 81 2 1 b 1 1

1971 30 83 1 2 b 21 1

1972 30 74 1 1

1973 23 86

1974 22 81 2 b 1

1975 27 89 3123

1976 26 99 1 2

1977 24 98 2

1978 32 88 3 1

1979 16 87 2 1

1980 13 89 2 1

1981 18 98 3 1 2 1

1982 18 101 1 1

1983 22 98 3 1 2 1

1984 22 97 3 3 4

1985 17 98 2 1 3

1986 6 91 2 2 2

1987 8 95 3 2 2

1988 12 90 2 4 7

1989 17 74 2 7 1

1990 27 75 3 5 5 1

1991 20 c 62 2 1 9 1

1992 31 c 55 2 3 7 b 2

1993 24 c 45 1 1 7 b 

1994 26 c 49 2 5 6 b 2

1995 27 c 33 b 1 2 b 12 b 1

1996 32 c 25 1 3 d 10 1

1997 37 19 2 6 11 1

1998 23 19 2 5 6

(through September 30, 1998)

TOTAL 1,143 2,563 10 8 54 53 1 1 103 10 3

a. Since 1979, all launches for ESA member countries have been joint and are listed under ESA.

b. Includes foreign launches of U.S. spacecraft.

c. This includes commercial expendable launches and launches of the Space Shuttle, but because this table records launches rather than spacecraft, it does

not include separate spacecraft released from the Shuttle.

d. This includes the launch of ChinaSat 7, even though a third stage rocket failure led to a virtually useless orbit for this communications satellite.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

66 APPENDIX B

Successful Launches to Orbit on U.S. Launch Vehicles

October 1, 1997–September 30, 1998

Launch Date Apogee and

Spacecraft Name Perigee (km),

COSPAR Designation Period (min),

Launch Vehicle Mission Objectives Inclination to Equator (°) Remarks

Oct. 5, 1997 Communications satellite Geosynchronous

EchoStar 3

59A

Atlas IIAS*

Oct. 15, 1997 Interplanetary spacecraft

Cassini to orbit Saturn

61A

Titan IVB

Oct. 22, 1997 Military satellite 495 km Space Test Experimental

STEP-4 429 km Program 4

63A 1 hour 34 minutes

Pegasus XL 44.9 ̊

Oct. 24, 1997 Military satellite Orbital parameters

USA 133 unavailable

64A

Atlas IIA

Oct. 25, 1997 Military satellite Orbital parameters Defense Satellite Communications

DSCS 3 unavailable System 3

65A

Atlas IIA

Nov. 6, 1997 GPS satellite 20,644 km

Navstar 38 (USA 135) 19,923 km

67A 12 hours 2 minutes

Delta II 54.9 ̊

Nov. 7, 1997 Military satellite Orbital parameters

USA 136 unavailable

68A

Titan IVA

Nov. 8, 1997 Communications satellite 650 km

Iridium 38–41, 43 635 km

69A–E 1 hour 37 minutes

Delta II* 86.6 ̊

Nov. 19, 1997 Carry out EVA’s as training 286 km Payloads included USMP-4,

Space Shuttle Columbia for ISS spacewalks 280 km SPARTAN 201-04 free- flyer,

(STS-87) 1 hour 30 minutes CUE in space biology, and several

73A 28.4 ̊ other “hitchhiker” payloads.

Space Shuttle

Nov. 21, 1997 Reusable solar observatory Orbital parameters similar Recaptured manually by 

SPARTAN 201-04 to those of STS-87 spacewalking astronauts

73B

Space Shuttle
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

67 APPENDIX B

(Continued)

Successful Launches to Orbit on U.S. Launch Vehicles

October 1, 1997–September 30, 1998

Launch Date Apogee and

Spacecraft Name Perigee (km),

COSPAR Designation Period (min),

Launch Vehicle Mission Objectives Inclination to Equator (°) Remarks

Dec. 8, 1997 Communications satellite Geosynchronous

Galaxy 8

78A

Atlas IIAS*

Dec. 20, 1997 Communications satellites 642 km

Iridium 45–49 633 km

82A–E 1 hour 37 minutes

Delta II* 86.6 ̊

Dec. 23, 1997 Relay GPS signals 834 km

Orbcomm FM 824 km

84A–H 1 hour 41 minutes

Pegasus* 45 ̊

Jan. 6, 1998 Lunar orbiter

Lunar Prospector

1A

Delta II*

Jan. 9, 1998 British military Geosynchronous

Skynet-4D communications satellite

2A

Delta II*

Jan. 22, 1998 Eighth Shuttle docking 385 km Andrew Thomas replaced David

Space Shuttle Endeavour mission to Mir 379 km Wolf on Mir. Shuttle payloads

(STS-89) 1 hour 32 minutes included SPACEHAB double

3A 51.7 ̊ module of science experiments.

Space Shuttle

Jan. 29, 1998 Military photo/radar Initial apogee and perigee NRO satellite

Capricorn (USA 137) imagingsatellite of 38,400 km and 320 km,

5A respectively

Atlas IIA

Feb. 10, 1998 Military Earth science 878 km

Geosat Follow-On satellite 775 km

7A 1 hour 41 minutes

Taurus* 108 ̊

Feb. 10, 1998 Communications satellite 878 km

Orbcomm FM-3, FM-4 784 km

7B, 7C 1 hour 41 minutes

Taurus* 108 ̊

Feb. 10, 1998 Funeral ashes disposal Disintegrated with launch

Celestis 2 vehicle upon atmospheric

7D reentry

Taurus*
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

68 APPENDIX B

(Continued)

Successful Launches to Orbit on U.S. Launch Vehicles

October 1, 1997–September 30, 1998

Launch Date Apogee and

Spacecraft Name Perigee (km),

COSPAR Designation Period (min),

Launch Vehicle Mission Objectives Inclination to Equator (°) Remarks

Feb. 14, 1998 Communications satellite 1,258 km

Globalstar L-1, L-2, 1,245 km

U-1, U-2 1 hour 52 minutes

8A–D 52 ̊

Delta II*

Feb. 18, 1998 Communications satellites 643 km

Iridium 50, 52–54, 56 625 km

10A–E 1 hour 37 minutes

Delta II* 86.5 ̊

Feb. 25, 1998 Student science satellite 580 km Student Nitric Oxide Explorer

SNOE 535 km

12A 1 hour 36 minutes

Pegasus XL* 97.7 ̊

Feb. 27, 1998 International consortium’s Geosynchronous

INTELSAT 806 communications satellite

14A

Atlas IIAS*

Mar. 16, 1997 Military communications Geosynchronous

UHF F/O F8 (USA 137) satellite

126A

Atlas IIAS*

Mar. 29, 1998 Communications satellites 635 km

Iridium 55, 57–60 620 km

19A–E 1 hour 37 minutes

Delta II* 86 ̊

Apr. 1, 1998 Solar physics science 644 km Transition Region and Coronal

TRACE satellite 597 km Explorer

20A 1 hour 37 minutes

Pegasus XL 97.8 ̊

Apr. 17, 1998 Carry Neurolab module for 286 km Secondary goals included

Space Shuttle Columbia microgravity research in the 257 km measurement of Shuttle vibration

(STS-90) human nervous system 1 hour 30 minutes forces, demonstration of the

22A 39 ̊ bioreactor system for cell growth,

Space Shuttle and three Get Away Special

payloads.

Apr. 24, 1998 International consortium’s 1,253 km

Globalstar 5–8 communications satellites 1,236 km

23A–D 1 hour 51 minutes

Delta II* 52 ̊
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

69 APPENDIX B

(Continued)

Successful Launches to Orbit on U.S. Launch Vehicles

October 1, 1997–September 30, 1998

Launch Date Apogee and

Spacecraft Name Perigee (km),

COSPAR Designation Period (min),

Launch Vehicle Mission Objectives Inclination to Equator (°) Remarks

May 9, 1998 Military reconnaissance Orbital parameters NRO satellite

USA 139 satellite unavailable

29A

Titan IVB

May 13, 1998 Weather satellite 824 km Replacement for decommissioned

NOAA 15 (NOAA-K) 808 km NOAA 12 satellite

30A 1 hour 41 minutes

Titan II 98.7 ̊

May 17, 1998 Communications satellites 670 km Completed constellation of

Iridium 70, 72–75 665 km 66 operational and 6 reserve

32A–E 1 hour 38 minutes satellites

Delta II*

June 2, 1997 Last of nine docking 330 km Mission brought home Andrew

Space Shuttle Discovery missions with Mir 326 km Thomas. Payloads included DoE’s

(STS-91) 1 hour 31 minutes Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

34A 51.7 ̊ (AME) to study high-energy

particles from deep space, four

Get Away Specials, and two

Space Experiment Modules.

June 10, 1998 Norwegian communications Geosynchronous

Thor 3 satellite

35A

Delta II*

June 18, 1998 International consortium’s Geosynchronous

INTELSAT 805 communications satellite

37A

Atlas IIAS*

Aug. 2, 1998 Communications satellite 826 km

Orbcomm FM-13–20 816 km

46A–H 1 hour 41 minutes

Pegasus XL* 45 ̊

Sep. 8, 1998 Communications satellites 540 km Replacements for dysfunctional

Iridium 77, 79–82 520 km members of the fleet

51A–E 1 hour 35 minutes

Delta II* 86 ̊

Sep. 23, 1998 Communications satellites 830 km

Orbcomm FM-21–27 820 km

53A–H 1 hour 41 minutes

Pegasus XL* 45 ̊

* Commercial launch licensed as such by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

70 APPENDIX C

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Vostok 1 Apr. 12, 1961 Yury A. Gagarin 0:1:48 First human flight.

Mercury-Redstone 3 May 5, 1961 Alan B. Shepard, Jr. 0:0:15 First U.S. flight; suborbital.

Mercury-Redstone 4 July 21, 1961 Virgil I. Grissom 0:0:16 Suborbital; capsule sank after landing; 

astronaut safe.

Vostok 2 Aug. 6, 1961 German S. Titov 1:1:18 First flight exceeding 24 hrs.

Mercury-Atlas 6 Feb. 20, 1962 John H. Glenn, Jr. 0:4:55 First American to orbit.

Mercury-Atlas 7 May 24, 1962 M. Scott Carpenter 0:4:56 Landed 400 km beyond target.

Vostok 3 Aug. 11, 1962 Andriyan G. Nikolayev 3:22:25 First dual mission (with Vostok 4).

Vostok 4 Aug. 12, 1962 Pavel R. Popovich 2:22:59 Came within 6 km of Vostok 3.

Mercury-Atlas 8 Oct. 3, 1962 Walter M. Schirra, Jr. 0:9:13 Landed 8 km from target.

Mercury-Atlas 9 May 15, 1963 L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. 1:10:20 First U.S. flight exceeding 24 hrs.

Vostok 5 June 14, 1963 Valery F. Bykovskiy 4:23:6 Second dual mission (withVostok 6).

Vostok 6 June 16, 1963 Valentina V. Tereshkova 2:22:50 First woman in space; within 5 km of Vostok 5.

Voskhod 1 Oct. 12, 1964 Vladimir M. Komarov 1:0:17 First three-person crew.

Konstantin P. Feoktistov

Boris G. Yegorov

Voskhod 2 Mar. 18, 1965 Pavel I. Belyayev 1:2:2 First extravehicular activity (EVA), by Leonov, 

10 min.

Aleksey A. Leonov

Gemini 3 Mar. 23, 1965 Virgil I. Grissom 0:4:53 First U.S. two-person flight; first manual 

John W. Young maneuvers in orbit.

Gemini 4 June 3, 1965 James A. McDivitt 4:1:56 21-min. EVA (White).

Edward H. White, II

Gemini 5 Aug. 21, 1965 L. Gordon Cooper, Jr. 7:22:55 Longest duration human flight to date.

Charles Conrad, Jr.

Gemini 7 Dec. 4, 1965 Frank Borman 13:18:35 Longest human flight to date.

James A. Lovell, Jr.

Gemini 6-A Dec. 15, 1965 Walter M. Schirra, Jr. 1:1:51 Rendezvous within 30 cm of Gemini 7.

Thomas P. Stafford

Gemini 8 Mar. 16, 1966 Neil A. Armstrong 0:10:41 First docking of two orbiting spacecraft

David R. Scott (Gemini 8 with Agena target rocket).

Gemini 9-A June 3, 1966 Thomas P. Stafford 3:0:21 EVA; rendezvous.

Eugene A. Cernan

Gemini 10 July 18, 1966 John W. Young 2:22:47 First dual rendezvous (Gemini 10 with 

Michael Collins Agena 10, then Agena 8).

Gemini 11 Sep. 12, 1966 Charles Conrad, Jr. 2:23:17 First initial-orbit docking; first tethered flight; 

Richard F. Gordon, Jr. highest Earth-orbit altitude (1,372 km.).

Gemini 12 Nov. 11, 1966 James A. Lovell, Jr. 3:22:35 Longest EVA to date (Aldrin, 5 hrs.).

Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.

Soyuz 1 Apr. 23, 1967 Vladimir M. Komarov 1:2:37 Cosmonaut killed in reentry accident.

Apollo 7 Oct. 11, 1968 Walter M. Schirra, Jr. 10:20:9 First U.S. three-person mission.

Donn F. Eisele

R. Walter Cunningham

Soyuz 3 Oct. 26, 1968 Georgiy T. Beregovoy 3:22:51 Maneuvered near uncrewed Soyuz 2.

Apollo 8 Dec. 21, 1968 Frank Borman 6:3:1 First human orbit(s) of Moon; first human 

James A. Lovell, Jr. departure from Earth’s sphere of influence; 

William A. Anders highest speed attained in human flight to date.

Soyuz 4 Jan. 14, 1969 Vladimir A. Shatalov 2:23:23 Soyuz 4 and 5 docked and transferred two 

Soyuz 5 Jan. 15, 1969 Boris V. Volynov 3:0:56 cosmonauts from Soyuz 5 to Soyuz 4.

Aleksey A. Yeliseyev

Yevgeniy V. Khrunov

Apollo 9 Mar. 3, 1969 James A. McDivitt 10:1:1 Successfully simulated in Earth orbit operation 

David R. Scott of lunar module to landing and takeoff from 

Russell L. Schweickart lunar surface and rejoining with command 
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

71 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Apollo 10 May 18, 1969 Thomas P. Stafford 8:0:3 Successfully demonstrated complete system, 

John W. Young including lunar module to 14,300 m from the 

Eugene A. Cernan lunar surface.

Apollo 11 July 16, 1969 Neil A. Armstrong 8:3:9 First human landing on lunar surface and safe 

Michael Collins return to Earth. First return of rock and soil 

Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. samples to Earth and human deployment of 

experiments on lunar surface.

Soyuz 6 Oct. 11, 1969 Georgiy Shonin 4:22:42 Soyuz 6, 7, and 8 operated as a group flight 

Valery N. Kubasovf without actually docking. Each conducted 

certain experiments,

Soyuz 7 Oct. 12, 1969 A. V. Filipchenko 4:22:41 including welding and Earth and celestial 

Viktor N. Gorbatko observation.

Vladislav N. Volkov

Soyuz 8 Oct. 13, 1969 Vladimir A. Shatalov 4:22:50

Aleksey S. Yeliseyev

Apollo 12 Nov. 14, 1969 Charles Conrad, Jr. 10:4:36 Second human lunar landing explored surface of 

Richard F. Gordon, Jr. Moon and retrieved parts of Surveyor 3 

Alan L. Bean spacecraft, which landed in Ocean of Storms 

on Apr. 19, 1967.

Apollo 13 Apr. 11, 1970 James A. Lovell, Jr. 5:22:55 Mission aborted; explosion in service module. 

Fred W. Haise, Jr. Ship circled Moon, with crew using Lunar 

John L. Swigert, Jr. Module as “lifeboat” until just before reentry. 

Soyuz 9 June 1, 1970 Andriyan G. Nikolayev 17:16:59 Longest human spaceflight to date.

Vitaliy I. Sevastyanov

Apollo 14 Jan. 31, 1971 Alan B. Shepard, Jr. 9:0:2 Third human lunar landing. Mission demon

Stuart A. Roosa strated pinpoint landing capability and 

Edgar D. Mitchell continued human exploration.

Soyuz 10 Apr. 22, 1971 Vladimir A. Shatalov 1:23:46 Docked with Salyut 1, but crew did not board 

Aleksey S. Yeliseyev space station launched Apr. 19. Crew 

Nikolay N. Rukavishnikov recovered Apr. 24, 1971.

Soyuz 11 June 6, 1971 Georgiy T. Dobrovolskiy 23:18:22 Docked with Salyut 1, and Soyuz 11 crew 

Vladislav N. Volkov occupied space station for 22 days. Crew 

Viktor I. Patsayev perished in final phase of Soyuz 11 capsule 

recovery on June 30, 1971.

Apollo 15 July 26, 1971 David R. Scott 12:7:12 Fourth human lunar landing and first Apollo “J” 

Alfred M. Worden series mission, which carried Lunar Roving 

James B. Irwin Vehicle. Worden’s inflight EVA of 38 min., 

12 sec. was performed during return trip.

Apollo 16 Apr. 16, 1972 John W. Young 11:1:51 Fifth human lunar landing, with roving vehicle.

Charles M. Duke, Jr.

Thomas K. Mattingly II

Apollo 17 Dec. 7, 1972 Eugene A. Cernan 12:13:52 Sixth and final Apollo human lunar landing, 

Harrison H. Schmitt again with roving vehicle.

Ronald E. Evans

Skylab 2 May 25, 1973 Charles Conrad, Jr. 28:0:50 Docked with Skylab 1 (launched uncrewed May 

Joseph P. Kerwin 14) for 28 days. Repaired damaged station.

Paul J. Weitz

Skylab 3 July 28, 1973 Alan L. Bean 59:11:9 Docked with Skylab 1 for more than 59 days.

Jack R. Lousma

Owen K. Garriott

Soyuz 12 Sep. 27, 1973 Vasiliy G. Lazarev 1:23:16 Checkout of improved Soyuz.

Oleg G. Makarov
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

72 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Skylab 4 Nov. 16, 1973 Gerald P. Carr 84:1:16 Docked with Skylab 1 in long-duration mission; 

Edward G. Gibson last of Skylab program.

William R. Pogue

Soyuz 13 Dec. 18, 1973 Petr I. Klimuk 7:20:55 Astrophysical, biological, and Earth resources 

Valentin V. Lebedev experiments.

Soyuz 14 July 3, 1974 Pavel R. Popovich 15:17:30 Docked with Salyut 3 and Soyuz 14 crew 

Yury P. Artyukhin occupied space station.

Soyuz 15 Aug. 26, 1974 Gennady V. Sarafanov 2:0:12 Rendezvoused but did not dock with Salyut 3.

Lev S. Demin

Soyuz 16 Dec. 2, 1974 Anatoly V. Filipchenko 5:22:24 Test of Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) 

Nikolay N. Rukavishnikov configuration.

Soyuz 17 Jan. 10, 1975 Aleksay A. Gubarev 29:13:20 Docked with Salyut 4 and occupied station.

Georgiy M. Grechko

Anomaly (Soyuz 18A) Apr. 5, 1975 Vasiliy G. Lazarev 0:0:20 Soyuz stages failed to separate; crew recovered 

Oleg G. Makarov after abort.

Soyuz 18 May 24, 1975 Petr I. Klimuk 62:23:20 Docked with Salyut 4 and occupied station.

Vitaliy I. Sevastyanov

Soyuz 19 July 15, 1975 Aleksey A. Leonov 5:22:31 Target for Apollo in docking and joint 

Valery N. Kubasov experiments of ASTP mission.

Apollo July 15, 1975 Thomas P. Stafford 9:1:28 Docked with Soyuz 19 in joint (ASTP) 

Donald K. Slayton experiments of ASTP mission.

Vance D. Brand

Soyuz 21 July 6, 1976 Boris V. Volynov 48:1:32 Docked with Salyut 5 and occupied station.

Vitaliy M. Zholobov

Soyuz 22 Sep. 15, 1976 Valery F. Bykovskiy 7:21:54 Earth resources study with multispectral camera 

Vladimir V. Aksenov system.

Soyuz 23 Oct. 14, 1976 Vyacheslav D. Zudov 2:0:6 Failed to dock with Salyut 5.

Valery I. Rozhdestvenskiy

Soyuz 24 Feb. 7, 1977 Viktor V. Gorbatko 17:17:23 Docked with Salyut 5 and occupied station.

Yury N. Glazkov

Soyuz 25 Oct. 9, 1977 Vladimir V. Kovalenok 2:0:46 Failed to achieve hard dock with Salyut 6 

Valery V. Ryumin station.

Soyuz 26 Dec. 10, 1977 Yury V. Romanenko 37:10:6 Docked with Salyut 6. Crew returned in 

Georgiy M. Grechko Soyuz 27; crew duration 96 days, 10 hrs.

Soyuz 27 Jan. 10, 1978 Vladimir A. Dzhanibekov 64:22:53 Docked with Salyut 6. Crew returned in 

Oleg G. Makarov Soyuz 26; crew duration 5 days, 22 hrs., 59 min.

Soyuz 28 Mar. 2, 1978 Aleksey A. Gubarev 7:22:17 Docked with Salyut 6. Remek was first Czech 

Vladimir Remek cosmonaut to orbit.

Soyuz 29 June 15, 1978 Vladimir V. Kovalenok 9:15:23 Docked with Salyut 6. Crew returned in Soyuz 31; 

Aleksandr S. Ivanchenkov crew duration 139 days, 14 hrs., 48 min.

Soyuz 30 June 27, 1978 Petr I. Klimuk 7:22:4 Docked with Salyut 6. Hermaszewski was first 

Miroslaw Hermaszewski Polish cosmonaut to orbit.

Soyuz 31 Aug. 26, 1978 Valery F. Bykovskiy 67:20:14 Docked with Salyut 6. Crew returned in Soyuz 29; 

Sigmund Jaehn crew duration 7 days, 20 hrs., 49 min. 

Jaehn was first German Democratic Republic 

cosmonaut to orbit.

Soyuz 32 Feb. 25, 1979 Vladimir A. Lyakhov 108:4:24 Docked with Salyut 6. Crew returned in Soyuz 34; 

Valery V. Ryumin crew duration 175 days, 36 min.

Nikolay N. Rukavishnikov

Soyuz 33 Apr. 10, 1979 Georgi I. Ivanov 1:23:1 Failed to achieve docking with Salyut 6 station. 

Ivanov was first Bulgarian cosmonaut to orbit.

Soyuz 34 June 6, 1979 (unmanned at launch) 7:18:17 Docked with Salyut 6, later served as ferry for 

Soyuz 32 crew while Soyuz 32 returned 

without a crew.
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

73 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Soyuz 35 Apr. 9, 1980 Leonid I. Popov 55:1:29 Docked with Salyut 6. Crew returned in Soyuz 37. 

Valery V. Ryumin Crew duration 184 days, 20 hrs., 12 min.

Soyuz 36 May 26, 1980 Valery N. Kubasov 65:20:54 Docked with Salyut 6. Crew returned in Soyuz 35. 

Bertalan Farkas Crew duration 7 days, 20 hrs., 46 min. 

Farkas was first Hungarian to orbit.

Soyuz T-2 June 5, 1980 Yury V. Malyshev 3:22:21 Docked with Salyut 6. First crewed flight of newVladimir V. Aksenov generation ferry.

Soyuz 37 July 23, 1980 Viktor V. Gorbatko 79:15:17 Docked with Salyut 6. Crew returned in Soyuz 36. 

Pham Tuan Crew duration 7 days, 20 hrs., 42 min. 

Pham was first Vietnamese to orbit.

Soyuz 38 Sep. 18, 1980 Yury V. Romanenko 7:20:43 Docked with Salyut 6. Tamayo was first Cuban 

Arnaldo Tamayo Mendez to orbit.

Soyuz T-3 Nov. 27, 1980 Leonid D. Kizim 12:19:8 Docked with Salyut 6. First three-person flight 

Oleg G. Makarov in Soviet program since 1971.

Gennady M. Strekalov

Soyuz T-4 Mar. 12, 1981 Vladimir V. Kovalenok 74:18:38 Docked with Salyut 6.

Viktor P. Savinykh

Soyuz 39 Mar. 22, 1981 Vladimir A. Dzhanibekov 7:20:43 Docked with Salyut 6. Gurragcha first Mongolian 

Jugderdemidiyn Gurragcha cosmonaut to orbit.

Space Shuttle Apr .12, 1981 John W. Young 2:6:21 First flight of Space Shuttle; tested spacecraft in 

Columbia (STS-1) orbit. First landing of airplane-like craft from

Robert L. Crippen orbit for reuse.

Soyuz 40 May 14, 1981 Leonid I. Popov 7:20:41 Docked with Salyut 6. Prunariu first Romanian

cosmonaut 

Dumitru Prunariu to orbit.

Space Shuttle Nov. 12, 1981 Joe H. Engle 2:6:13 Second flight of Space Shuttle; first scientific 

Columbia (STS-2) Richard H. Truly payload (OSTA 1). Tested remote manipulator 

arm. Returned for reuse.

Space Shuttle Mar. 22, 1982 Jack R. Lousma 8:4:49 Third flight of Space Shuttle; second scientific 

Columbia (STS-3) C. Gordon Fullerton payload (OSS 1). Second test of remote 

manipulator arm. Flight extended 1 day 

because of flooding at primary landing site; 

alternate landing site used. Returned for reuse.

Soyuz T-5 May 13, 1982 Anatoly Berezovoy 211:9:5 Docked with Salyut 7. Crew duration of 211 days. 

Valentin Lebedev Crew returned in Soyuz T-7.

Soyuz T-6 June 24, 1982 Vladimir Dzhanibekov 7:21:51 Docked with Salyut 7. Chrétien first French 

Aleksandr Ivanchenkov cosmonaut to orbit.

Jean-Loup Chrétien

Space Shuttle June 27, 1982 Thomas K. Mattingly II 7:1:9 Fourth flight of Space Shuttle; first DoD payload; 

Columbia (STS-4) Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr. additional scientific payloads. Returned July 4. 

Completed testing program. Returned for reuse.

Soyuz T-7 Aug. 19, 1982 Leonid Popov 7:21:52 Docked with Salyut 7. Savitskaya second woman

Aleksandr Serebrov to orbit. Crew returned in Soyuz T-5.

Svetlana Savitskaya

Space Shuttle Nov. 11, 1982 Vance D. Brand 5:2:14 Fifth flight of Space Shuttle; first operational 

Columbia (STS-5) Robert F. Overmyer flight; launched two commercial satellites 

Joseph P. Allen (SBS 3 and Anik C-3); first flight with four 

William B. Lenoir crew members. EVA test canceled when 

spacesuits malfunctioned.

Space Shuttle Apr. 4, 1983 Paul J. Weitz 5:0:24 Sixth flight of Space Shuttle; launched TDRS-1.

Challenger (STS-6) Karol J. Bobko

Donald H. Peterson

Story Musgrave
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

74 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Soyuz T-8 Apr. 20, 1983 Vladimir Titov 2:0:18 Failed to achieve docking with Salyut 7 station.

Gennady Strekalov

Aleksandr Serebrov

Space Shuttle June 18, 1983 Robert L. Crippen 6:2:24 Seventh flight of Space Shuttle; launched two 

Challenger (STS-7) Frederick H. Hauck commercial satellites (Anik C-2 and Palapa 

John M. Fabian B-1); also launched and retrieved SPAS 01; 

Sally K. Ride first flight with five crew members, including 

Norman T. Thagard first woman U.S. astronaut.

Soyuz T-9 June 28, 1983 ladimir Lyakhov 149:9:46 Docked with Salyut 7 station.

Aleksandr Aleksandrov

Space Shuttle Aug. 30, 1983 Richard H. Truly 6:1:9 Eighth flight of Space Shuttle; launched one 

Challenger (STS-8) Daniel C. Brandenstein commercial satellite (Insat 1-B); first flight of 

Dale A. Gardner U.S. black astronaut.

Guion S. Bluford, Jr.

William E. Thornton

Space Shuttle Nov. 28, 1983 John W. Young 10:7:47 Ninth flight of Space Shuttle; first flight of 

Columbia (STS-9) Brewster W. Shaw Spacelab 1; first flight of six crew members, 

Owen K. Garriott one of whom was West German; first non-U.S. 

Robert A. R. Parker astronaut to fly in U.S. space program 

Byron K. Lichtenberg (Merbold).

Ulf Merbold

Space Shuttle Feb. 3, 1984 Vance D. Brand 7:23:16 Tenth flight of Space Shuttle; two communicaChallenger Robert L. Gibson tion satellites failed to achieve orbit; first 

(STS 41-B) Bruce McCandless use of Manned Maneuvering Unit in space.

Ronald E. McNair

Roben L. Stewart

Soyuz T-10 Feb. 8, 1984 Leonid Kizim 62:22:43 Docked with Salyut 7 station. Crew set space 

Vladimir Solovev duration record of 237 days. Crew returned

Oleg Atkov in Soyuz T-11.

Soyuz T-11 Apr. 3, 1984 Yury Malyshev 181:21:48 Docked with Salyut 7 station. Sharma first 

Gennady Strekalov Indian in space. Crew returned in 

Rakesh Sharma Soyuz T-10.

Space Shuttle Apr. 6, 1984 Robert L. Crippen 6:23:41 Eleventh flight of Space Shuttle; deployment of 

Challenger Frances R. Scobee Long-Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF-1) 

(STS 41-C) Terry J. Hart for later retrieval; Solar Maximum Satellite 

George D. Nelson retrieved, repaired, and redeployed.

James D. van Hoften

Soyuz T-12 July 17, 1984 Vladimir Dzhanibekov 11:19:14 Docked with Salyut 7 station. First female EVA.

Svetlana Savistskaya

Igor Volk

Space Shuttle Aug. 30, 1984 Henry W. Hartsfield 6:0:56 Twelfth flight of Space Shuttle. First flight of 

Discovery Michael L. Coats U.S. nonastronaut.

(STS 41-D) Richard M. Mullane

Steven A. Hawley

Judith A. Resnick

Charles D. Walker

Space Shuttle Oct. 5, 1984 Robert L. Crippen 8:5:24 Thirteenth flight of Space Shuttle; first with 

Challenger Jon A. McBride seven crew members, including first flight 

(STS 41-G) Kathryn D. Sullivan of two U.S. women and one Canadian 

Sally K. Ride (Garneau).

David Leestma

Paul D. Scully-Power

Marc Garneau
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

75 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Space Shuttle Nov. 8, 1984 Frederick H. Hauck 7:23:45 Fourteenth flight of Space Shuttle; first retrieval 

Discovery David M. Walker and return of two disabled communications 

(STS 51-A) Joseph P. Allen satellites (Westar 6, Palapa B2) to Earth.

Anna L. Fisher

Dale A. Gardner

Space Shuttle Jan. 24, 1985 Thomas K. Mattingly 3:1:33 Fifteenth STS flight. Dedicated DoD mission.

Discovery Loren J. Shriver

(STS 51-C) Ellison S. Onizuka

James F. Buchli

Gary E. Payton

Space Shuttle Apr. 12, 1985 Karol J. Bobko 6:23:55 Sixteenth STS flight. Two communications 

Discovery Donald E. Williams satellites. First U.S. Senator in space (Garn).

(STS 51-D) M. Rhea Seddon

S. David Griggs

Jeffrey A. Hoffman

Charles D. Walker

E. J. Garn

Space Shuttle Apr. 29, 1985 Robert F. Overmyer 7:0:9 Seventeenth STS flight. Spacelab-3 in cargo bay 

Challenger Frederick D. Gregory of Shuttle. 

(STS 51-B) Don L. Lind

Norman E. Thagard

William E. Thornton

Lodewijk van den Berg

Taylor Wang

Soyuz T-13 June 5, 1985 Vladimir Dzhanibekov 112:3:12 Repair of Salyut-7. Dzhanibekov returned to 

Viktor Savinykh Earth with Grechko on Soyuz T-13 spacecraft, 

Sept. 26, 1985.

Space Shuttle June 17, 1985 Daniel C. Brandenstein 7:1:39 Eighteenth STS flight. Three communications 

Discovery John O. Creighton satellites. One reusable payload, Spartan-1. 

(STS 51-G) Shannon W. Lucid First U.S. flight with French and Saudi 

John M. Fabian Arabian crew members.

Steven R. Nagel

Patrick Baudry

Prince Sultan Salman Al-Saud

Space Shuttle July 29, 1985 Charles G. Fullerton 7:22:45 Nineteenth STS flight. Spacelab-2 in cargo bay.

Challenger Roy D. Bridges

(STS 51-F) Karl C. Henize

Anthony W. England

F. Story Musgrave

Loren W. Acton

John-David F. Bartoe

Space Shuttle Aug. 27, 1985 Joe H. Engle 7:2:18 Twentieth STS flight. Launched three communi

Discovery Richard O. Covey cations satellites. Repaired Syncom IV-3.

(STS 51-I) James D. van Hoften

William F. Fisher

John M. Lounge

Soyuz T-14 Sep. 17, 1985 Vladimir Vasyutin 64:21:52 Docked with Salyut 7 station. Viktor Savinykh, 

Georgiy Grechko Aleksandr Volkov, and Vladimir Vasyutin 

Aleksandr Volkov returned to Earth Nov. 21, 1985, when 

Vasyutin became ill.

Space Shuttle Oct. 3, 1985 Karol J. Bobko 4:1:45 Twenty-first STS flight. Dedicated DoD mission.

Atlantis Ronald J. Grabe

(STS 51-J) Robert A. Stewart

David C. Hilmers

William A. Pailes
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

76 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Space Shuttle Oct. 30, 1985 Henry W. Hartsfield 7:0:45 Twenty-second STS flight. Dedicated German 

Challenger Steven R. Nagel Spacelab D-1 in shuttle cargo bay. 

(STS 61-A) Bonnie J. Dunbar

James F. Buchli

Guion S. Bluford, Jr.

Ernst Messerschmid

Reinhard Furrer (FRG)

Wubbo J. Ockels (ESA)

Space Shuttle Nov. 27, 1985 Brewster H. Shaw 6:22:54 Twenty-third STS flight. Launched three com

Atlantis Bryan D. O’Connor munications satellites. First flight of Mexican 

(STS 61-B) Mary L. Cleve astronaut (Neri Vela).

Sherwood C. Spring

Jerry L. Ross

Rudolfo Neri Vela

Charles D. Walker

Space Shuttle Jan. 12, 1986 Robert L. Gibson 6:2:4 Twenty-fourth STS flight. Launched one com

Columbia Charles F. Bolden Jr. munications satellite. First member of U.S. 

(STS 61-C) Franklin Chang-Diaz House of Representatives in space (Bill

Steve A. Hawley Nelson).

George D. Nelson

Roger Cenker

Bill Nelson

Soyuz T-15 Mar. 13, 1986 Leonid Kizim 125:1:1 Docked with Mir space station on May 5/6

Vladimir Solovyov transferred to Salyut 7 complex. On June 25/26 

transferred from Salyut 7 back to Mir.

Soyuz TM-2 Feb. 5, 1987 Yury Romanenko 174:3:26 Docked with Mir space station. Romanenko 

Aleksandr Laveykin established long-distance stay in space record 

of 326 days.

Soyuz TM-3 July 22, 1987 Aleksandr Viktorenko 160:7:16 Docked with Mir space station. Aleksandr 

Aleksandr Aleksandrov Aleksandrov remained in Mir 160 days, 

Mohammed Faris returned with Yury Romanenko. Viktorenko 

and Faris returned in Soyuz TM-2, July 30, 

with Aleksandr Laveykin who experienced 

medical problems. Faris first Syrian in space.

Soyuz TM-4 Dec. 21, 1987 Vladimir Titov 180:5 Docked with Mir space station. Crew of Yury 

Musa Manarov Romanenko, Aleksandr Aleksandrov, and 

Anatoly Levchenko Anatoly Levchenko returned Dec. 29 in

Soyuz TM-3.

Soyuz TM-5 June 7, 1988 Viktor Savinykh 9:20:13 Docked with Mir space station; Aleksandrov first 

Anatoly Solovyev Bulgarian in space. Crew returned Jun. 17 in 

Aleksandur Aleksandrov Soyuz TM-4.

Soyuz TM-6 Aug. 29, 1988 Vladimir Lyakhov 8:19:27 Docked with Mir space station; Mohmand first 

Valery Polyakov Afghanistani in space. Crew returned Sept. 7,

Abdul Mohmand in Soyuz TM-5.

Space Shuttle Sep. 29, 1988 Frederick H. Hauck 4:1 Twenty-sixth STS flight. Launched TDRS-3.

Discovery (STS-26) Richard O. Covey

John M. Lounge

David C. Hilmers

George D. Nelson

Soyuz TM-7 Nov. 26, 1988 Aleksandr Volkov 151:11 Docked with Mir space station. Soyuz TM-6 

Sergey Krikalev returned with Chrétien, Vladimir Titov, 

Jean-Loup Chrétien and Musa Manarov. Titov and Manarov 

completed 366-day mission Dec. 21. Crew of

Krikalev, Volkov, and Valery Polyakov 

returned Apr. 27, 1989, in Soyuz TM-7.
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

77 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Space Shuttle Dec. 2, 1988 Robert “Hoot” Gibson 4:9:6 Twenty-seventh STS flight. Dedicated DoD 

Atlantis (STS-27) Guy S. Gardner mission.

Richard M. Mullane

Jerry L. Ross

William M. Shepherd

Space Shuttle Mar. 13, 1989 Michael L. Coats 4:23:39 Twenty-eighth STS flight. Launched TDRS-4. 

Discovery (STS-29) John E. Blaha

James P. Bagian

James F. Buchli

Robert C. Springer

Space Shuttle May 4, 1989 David M. Walker 4:0:57 Twenty-ninth STS flight. Venus orbiter 

Atlantis (STS-30) Ronald J. Grabe Magellan launched.

Nomman E. Thagard

Mary L. Cleave

Mark C. Lee

Space Shuttle Aug. 8, 1989 Brewster H. Shaw 5:1 Thirtieth STS flight. Dedicated DoD mission.

Columbia (STS-28) Richard N. Richards

James C. Adamson

David C. Leestma

Mark N. Brown

Soyuz TM-8 Sep. 5, 1989 Aleksandr Viktorenko 166:6 Docked with Mir space station. Crew of 

Aleksandr Serebrov Viktorenko and Serebrov returned in 

Soyuz TM-8, Feb. 9, 1990.

Space Shuttle Oct. 18, 1989 Donald E. Williams 4:23:39 Thirty-first STS flight. Launched Jupiter probe 

Atlantis (STS-34) Michael J. McCulley and orbiter Galileo. 

Shannon W. Lucid

Franklin R. Chang-Diaz 

Ellen S. Baker

Space Shuttle Nov. 23, 1989 Frederick D. Gregory 5:0:7 Thirty-second STS flight. Dedicated DoD 

Discovery (STS-33) John E. Blaha mission.

Kathryn C. Thornton 

F. Story Musgrave 

Manley L. “Sonny” Carter

Space Shuttle Jan. 9, 1990 Daniel C. Brandenstein 10:21 Thirty-third STS flight. Launched Syncom IV-5 

Columbia (STS-32) James D. Wetherbee and retrieved LDEF.

Bonnie J. Dunbar

Marsha S. Ivins

G. David Low

Soyuz TM-9 Feb. 11, 1990 Anatoly Solovyov 178:22:19 Docked with Mir space station. Crew returned 

Aleksandr Balandin Aug. 9, 1990, in Soyuz TM-9.

Space Shuttle Feb. 28, 1990 John O. Creighton 4:10:19 Thirty-fourth STS flight. Dedicated DoD 

Atlantis (STS-36) John H. Casper mission. 

David C. Hilmers

Richard H. Mullane

Pierre J. Thuot

Space Shuttle Apr. 24, 1990 Loren J. Shriver 5:1:16 Thirty-fifth STS flight. Launched Hubble Space 

Discovery (STS-31) Charles F. Bolden, Jr. Telescope (HST). 

Steven A. Hawley

Bruce McCandless II

Kathryn D. Sullivan

Soyuz TM-10 Aug. 1, 1990 Gennady Manakov 130:20:36 Docked with Mir space station. Crew returned 

Gennady Strekalov Dec. 10, 1990, with Toyohiro Akiyama, 

Japanese cosmonaut and journalist in space.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

78 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Space Shuttle Oct. 6, 1990 Richard N. Richards 4:2:10 Thirty-sixth STS flight. Ulysses spacecraft to 

Discovery (STS-41) Robert D. Cabana investigate interstellar space and the Sun. 

Bruce E. Melnick

William M. Shepherd

Thomas D. Akers

Space Shuttle Nov. 15, 1990 Richard O. Covey 4:21:55 Thirty-seventh STS flight. Dedicated DoD 

Atlantis (STS-38) Frank L. Culbertson, Jr. mission.

Charles “Sam” Gemar

Robert C. Springer

Carl J. Meade

Space Shuttle Dec. 2, 1990 Vance D. Brand 8:23:5 Thirty-eighth STS flight. Astro-1 in cargo bay.

Columbia (STS-35) Guy S. Gardner

Jeffrey A. Hoffman

John M. “Mike” Lounge

Robert A. R. Parker

Soyuz TM-11 Dec. 2, 1990 Viktor Afanasyev 175:01:52 Docked with Mir space station. Toyohiro 

Musa Manarov Akiyama returned Dec. 10, 1990, with 

Toyohiro Akiyama previous Mir crew of Gennady Manakov 

and Gennady Strekalov.

Space Shuttle Apr. 5, 1991 Steven R. Nagel 6:0:32 Thirty-ninth STS flight. Launched Gamma Ray 

Atlantis (STS-37) Kenneth D. Cameron Observatory to measure celestial gamma-rays.

Linda Godwin

Jerry L. Ross

Jay Apt

Space Shuttle Apr. 28, 1991 Michael L. Coats 8:7:22 Fortieth STS flight. Dedicated DoD mission.

Discovery (STS-39) Blaine Hammond, Jr.

Gregory L. Harbaugh

Donald R. McMonagle

Guion S. Bluford, Jr.

Lacy Veach

Richard J. Hieb

Soyuz TM-12 May 18, 1991 Anatoly Artsebarskiy 144:15:22 Docked with Mir space station. Helen Sharman 

Sergei Krikalev first from United Kingdom to fly in space. 

Helen Sharman Crew of Viktor Afanasyev, Musa Manarov, 

and Helen Sharman returned May 20, 1991. 

Artsebarskiy and Krikalevremained on board 

Mir, with Artsebarskiy returning Oct. 10, 1991, 

and Krikalev doing so Mar. 25, 1992.

Space Shuttle June 5, 1991 Bryan D. O’Conner 9:2:15 Forty-first STS flight. Carried Spacelab Life 

Columbia (STS-40) Sidney M. Gutierrez Sciences (SLS-1) in cargo bay.

James P. Bagian

Tamara E. Jernigan

M. Rhea Seddon

Francis A. “Drew” Gaffney

Millie Hughes-Fulford

Space Shuttle Aug. 2, 1991 John E. Blaha 8:21:21 Forty-second STS flight. Launched fourth 

Atlantis (STS-43) Michael A. Baker Tracking and Data Relay Satellite 

Shannon W. Lucid (TDRS-5).

G. David Low

James C. Adamson

Space Shuttle Sep. 12, 1991 John Creighton 5:8:28 Forty-third STS flight. Launched Upper 

Discovery (STS-48) Kenneth Reightler, Jr. Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS).

Charles D. Gemar

James F. Buchli

Mark N. Brown
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

79 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Soyuz TM-13 Oct. 2, 1991 Aleksandr Volkov 90:16:00 Docked with Mir space station. Crew returned 

Toktar Aubakirov Oct. 10, 1991, with Anatoly Artsebarsky

(Kazakh Republic) in the TM-12 spacecraft.

Franz Viehboeck (Austria)

Space Shuttle Nov. 24, 1991 Frederick D. Gregory 6:22:51 Forty-fourth STS flight. Launched Defense 

Atlantis (STS-44) Tom Henricks Support Program (DSP) satellite.

Jim Voss

Story Musgrave

Mario Runco, Jr.

Tom Hennen

Space Shuttle Jan. 22, 1992 Ronald J. Grabe 8:1:12 Forty-fifth STS flight. Carried International 

Discovery (STS-42) Stephen S. Oswald Microgravity Laboratory-1 in cargo bay.

Norman E. Thagard

David C. Hilmers

William F. Readdy

Roberta L. Bondar

Ulf Merbold (ESA)

Soyuz TM-14 Mar. 17, 1992 Alexandr Viktorenko 145:15:11 First manned CIS space mission. Docked with 

Alexandr Kaleri Mir space station Mar. 19. The TM-13 

Klaus-Dietrich Flade capsule with Flade, Aleksandr Volkov, and 

(Germany) Sergei Krikalev returned to Earth Mar. 25. 

Krikalev had been in space 313 days.

Viktorenko and Kaleri remained on the 

Mir space station.

Space Shuttle Mar . 24, 1992 Charles F. Bolden 9:0:10 Forty-sixth STS flight. Carried Atmospheric 

Atlantis (STS-45) Brian Duffy Laboratory for Applications and Science 

Kathryn D. Sullivan (ATLAS-1).

David C. Leestma

Michael Foale

Dirk D. Frimout

Byron K. Lichtenberg

Space Shuttle May 7, 1992 Daniel C. Brandenstein 8:16:17 Forty-seventh STS flight. Reboosted a crippled 

Endeavour (STS-49) Kevin P. Chilton INTELSAT VI communications satellite.

Richard J. Hieb

Bruce E. Melnick

Pierre J. Thuot

Kathryn C. Thornton

Thomas D. Akers

Space Shuttle June 25, 1992 Richard N. Richards 13:19:30 Forty-eighth STS flight. Carried U.S. 

Columbia (STS-50) Kenneth D. Bowersox Microgravity Laboratory-1.

Bonnie Dunbar

Ellen Baker

Carl Meade

Soyuz TM-15 July 27, 1992 Anatoly Solovyov 189:17:43 Docked with Mir space station Jul. 29. Tognini 

Sergei Avdeyev returned to Earth in TM-14 capsule with 

Michel Tognini (France) Alexandr Viktorenko and Alexandr Kaleri. 

Solovyov and Avdeyev spent over six months 

in the Mir orbital complex and returned to 

Earth in the descent vehicle of the TM-15 

spacecraft on Feb. 1, 1993. 
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

80 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Space Shuttle Jul. 31, 1992 Loren J. Shriver 7:23:16 Forty-ninth STS flight. Deployed Tethered 

Atlantis (STS-46) Andrew M. Allen Satellite System-1 and Eureka-1.

Claude Nicollier (ESA)

Marsha S. Ivins

Jeffrey A. Hoffman

Franklin R. Chang-Diaz

Franco Malerba (Italy)

Space Shuttle Sep. 12, 1992 Robert L. Gibson 7:22:30 Fiftieth STS flight. Carried Spacelab J. Jemison 

Endeavour (STS-47) Curtis L. Brown, Jr. first African American woman to fly in

Mark C. Lee space. Mohri first Japanese to fly on NASA 

Jerome Apt spacecraft. Lee and Davis first married couple 

N. Jan Davis in space together.

Mae C. Jemison

Mamoru Mohri 

Space Shuttle Oct. 22, 1992 James D. Wetherbee 9:20:57 Fifty-first STS flight. Studied influence of 

Columbia (STS-52) Michael A. Baker gravity on basic fluid and solidification 

William M. Shepherd processes using U.S. Microgravity 

Tamara E. Jernigan Payload-1 in an international mission. 

Charles L. Veach Deployed second Laser Geodynamics Satellite 

Steven G. MacLean and Canadian Target Assembly.

Space Shuttle Dec. 2, 1992 David M. Walker 7:7:19 Fifty-second STS flight. Deployed the last major 

Discovery (STS-53) Robert D. Cabana DoD classified payload planned for Shuttle 

Guion S. Bluford, Jr. (DoD 1) with ten different secondary payloads.

James S. Voss

Michael Richard Clifford

Space Shuttle Jan. 13, 1993 John H. Casper 6:23:39 Fifty-third STS flight. Deployed Tracking and 

Endeavour (STS-54) Donald R. McMonagle Data Relay Satellite-6. Operated Diffused 

Gregory J. Harbaugh X-ray Spectrometer Hitchhiker experiment to 

Mario Runco, Jr. collect data on stars and galactic gases.

Susan J. Helms

Soyuz TM-16 Jan. 24, 1993 Gennady Manakov 179:0:44 Docked with Mir space station Jan. 26. On 

Aleksandr Poleshchuk July 22, 1993, the TM-16 descent cabin 

landed back on Earth with Manakov, 

Poleschuk, and French cosmonaut Jean-Pierre 

Haignere from Soyuz TM-17 on board.

Space Shuttle Apr. 8, 1993 Kenneth D. Cameron 9:6:9 Fifty-fourth STS flight. Completed second flight 

Discovery (STS-56) Stephen S. Oswald of Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications 

C. Michael Foale and Science and deployed SPARTAN-201.

Kenneth D. Cockerell

Ellen Ochoa

Space Shuttle Apr. 26, 1993 Steven R. Nagel 9:23:39 Fifty-fifth STS flight. Completed second 

Columbia (STS-55) Terence T. Henricks German microgravity research program in 

Jerry L. Ross Spacelab D-2.

Charles J. Precourt

Bernard A. Harris, Jr.

Ulrich Walter (Germany)

Hans W. Schlegel (Germany)

Space Shuttle June 21, 1993 Ronald J. Grabe 9:23:46 Fifty-sixth STS flight. Carried Spacelab com

Endeavour (STS-57) Brian J. Duffy mercial payload module and retrieved 

G. David Low European Retrievable Carrier in orbit since

Nancy J. Sherlock August 1992.

Peter J. K. Wisoff

Janice E. Voss
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

81 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Soyuz TM-17 July 1, 1993 Vasiliy Tsibliyev 196:17:45 Docked with Mir space station July 3. Haignere 

Aleksandr Serebrov returned to Earth with Soyuz TM-16. Serebrov

Jean-Pierre Haignere and Tsibliyev landed in TM-17 spacecraft on

Jan. 14, 1994.

Space Shuttle Sep. 12, 1993 Frank L. Culbertson, Jr. 9:20:11 Fifty-seventh STS flight. Deployed ACTS 

Discovery (STS-51) William F. Readdy satellite to serve as testbed for new 

James H. Newman communications satellite technology and 

Daniel W. Bursch U.S./German ORFEUS-SPAS.

Carl E. Walz

Space Shuttle Oct. 18, 1993 John E. Blaha 14:0:29 Fifty-eighth STS flight. Carried Spacelab Life 

Columbia (STS-58) Richard A. Searfoss Sciences-2 payload to determine the effects 

Shannon W. Lucid of microgravity on M. Rhea Seddon 

David A. Wolf human and animal subjects.

William S. McArthur

Martin J. Fettman

Space Shuttle Dec. 2, 1993 Richard O. Covey 10:19:58 Fifty-ninth STS flight. Restored planned 

Endeavour (STS-61) Kenneth D. Bowersox scientific capabilitities and reliability of the

Tom Akers Hubble Space Telescope.

Jeffrey A. Hoffman

Kathryn C. Thornton

Claude Nicollier

F. Story Musgrave

Soyuz TM-18 Jan. 8, 1994 Viktor Afanasyev 182:0:27 Docked with Mir space station Jan. 10. 

Yuri Usachev Afanasyev and Usachev landed in the TM-18

Valery Polyakov spacecraft on July 9, 1994. Polyakov remained

aboard Mir in the attempt to establish a new

record for endurance in space.

Space Shuttle Feb. 3, 1994 Charles F. Bolden, Jr. 8:7:9 Sixtieth STS flight. Carried the Wake Shield 

Discovery (STS-60) Kenneth S. Reightler, Jr. Facility to generate new semi-conductor 

N. Jan Davis films for advanced electronics. Also carried 

Ronald M. Sega SPACEHAB. Krikalev’s presence signified a

Franklin R. Chang-Diaz new era in cooperation in space between

Sergei K. Krikalev (Russia) Russia and the United States.

Space Shuttle Mar. 4, 1994 John H. Casper 13:23:17 Sixty-first STS flight. Carried U.S. Microgravity 

Columbia (STS-62) Andrew M. Allen Payload-2 to conduct experiments in materials

Pierre J. Thuot processing, biotechnology, and other areas.

Charles D. Gemar

Marsha S. Ivins

Space Shuttle Apr. 9, 1994 Sidney M. Gutierrez 11:5:50 Sixty-second STS flight. Carried the Space 

Endeavour (STS-59) Kevin P. Chilton Radar Laboratory-1 to gather data on the 

Jerome Apt Earth and the effects humans have on its

Michael R. Clifford carbon, water, and energy cycles.

Linda M. Godwin

Thomas D. Jones

Soyuz TM-19 July 1, 1994 Yuri I. Malenchenko 125:22:53 Docked with Mir space station July 3. Both 

Talgat A. Musabayev Malenchenko and Musabayev returned to 

Earth with the Soyuz TM-19 spacecraft, 

landing in Kazakhstan on Nov. 4 together 

with Ulf Merbold of Germany, who went up

aboard Soyuz TM-20 on Oct 3, 1994. 

Merbold gathered biological samples on the 

effects of weightlessness on the human body

body in the first of two ESA missions to Mir 

to prepare for the International Space 

Station.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

82 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Space Shuttle July 8, 1994 Robert D. Cabana 14:17:55 Sixty-third STS flight. Carried International 

Columbia (STS-65) James D. Halsell, Jr. Microgravity Laboratory-2 to conduct research

Richard J. Hieb into the behavior of materials and life in near 

Carl E. Walz weightlessness.

Leroy Chiao

Donald A. Thomas

Chiaki Naito-Mukai (Japan)

Space Shuttle Sep. 9, 1994 Richard N. Richards 10:22:50 Sixty-fourth STS flight. Used LIDAR In-Space 

Discovery (STS-64) L. Blaine Hammond, Jr. Technology Experiment to perform atmos

J. M. Linenger pheric research. Included the first untethered 

Susan J. Helms spacewalk by astronauts in over 10 years.

Carl J. Meade

Mark C. Lee

Space Shuttle Sep. 30, 1994 Michael A. Baker 11:5:36 Sixty-fifth STS flight. Used Space Radar 

Endeavour (STS-68) Terrence W. Wilcutt Laboratory-2 to provide scientists with data to

Thomas D. Jones help distinguish human-induced environmental

Steven L. Smith change from other natural forms of change.

Daniel W. Bursch

Peter J. K. Wisoff

Soyuz TM-20 Oct. 3, 1994 Alexsandr Viktorenko * Soyuz TM-19 returned to Earth on Nov. 4, 1994, 

Yelena Kondakova with Yuri Malenchenko, Talgat Musabayev, 

Ulf Merbold (ESA) and Ulf Merbold. Valeriy Polyakov remained

aboard Mir.

Space Shuttle Nov. 3, 1994 Donald R. McMonagle 10:22:34 Sixty-sixth STS flight. Three main payloads: the

Atlantis (STS-66) Curtis L. Brown, Jr. third Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications 

Ellen Ochoa and Science (ATLAS-3), the first Cryogenic 

Joseph R. Tanner Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the 

Jean-Francois Clervoy (ESA) Atmosphere-Shuttle Pallet Satellite (CRISTAScott E. Parazynski SPAS-1), and the Shuttle Solar Backscatter

Ultraviolet (SSBUV) spectrometer. Astronauts

also conducted protein crystal growth

experiments.

Space Shuttle Feb. 3, 1995 James D. Wetherbee 8:6:28 Sixty-seventh STS flight. Primary objective: first 

Discovery (STS-63) Eileen M. Collins close encounter in nearly 20 years between 

Bernard A. Harris, Jr. American and Russian spacecraft as a prelude 

C. Michael Foale to establishment of International Space 

Janice E. Voss Station. (Shuttle flew close by to Mir.) Main 

Vladimir G. Titov (Russia) Payloads: Spacehab 3 experiments and Shuttle

Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for

Astronomy (SPARTAN) 204, Solid Surface

Combustion Experiment (SSCE), and Air 

Force Maui Optical Site (AMOS) Calibration 

Test. Also launched very small Orbital Debris 

Radar Calibration Spheres (ODERACS).

Space Shuttle Mar. 2, 1995 Stephen S. Oswald 16:15:8 Sixty-eighth STS flight. Longest Shuttle mission 

Endeavour (STS-67) William G. Gregory to date. Primary payload was a trio of ultraJohn M. Grunsfeld violet telescopes called Astro-2.

Wendy B. Lawrence

Tamara E. Jernigan

Ronald A. Parise

Samuel T. Durrance
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

83 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Soyuz TM-21 Mar. 14, 1995 Vladimir Dezhurov * Thagard was the first American astronaut to fly 

Gennadi Strekalov on a Russian rocket and to stay on the Mir 

Norman Thagard (U.S.) space station. Soyuz TM-20 returned to Earth

on Mar. 22, 1995, with Valeriy Polyakov, 

Alexsandr Viktorenko, and Yelena 

Kondakova. Polyakov set world record by 

remaining in space for 438 days.

Space Shuttle June 27, 1995 Robert L. Gibson 9:19:22 Sixty-ninth STS flight and one hundredth U.S. 

Atlantis (STS-71) Charles J. Precourt human space flight. Docked with Mir space 

Ellen S. Baker station. Brought up Mir 19 crew (Anatoly Y.

Gregory Harbaugh Solovyev and Nikolai M. Budarin). Returned 

Bonnie J. Dunbar to Earth with Mir 18 crew (Vladimir N. 

Dezhurov, Gennady M. Strekalov, and 

Norman Thagard). Thagard set an American 

record by remaining in space for 115 days.

Space Shuttle July 13, 1995 Terence Henricks 8:22:20 Seventieth STS flight. Deployed Tracking and 

Discovery (STS-70) Kevin R. Kregel Data Relay Satellite (TDRS). Also conducted 

Nancy J. Currie various biomedical experiments.

Donald A. Thomas

Mary Ellen Weber

Soyuz TM-22 Sep. 3, 1995 Yuri Gidzenko * Soyuz TM-21 returned to Earth on Sep. 11, 1995, 

Sergei Avdeev with Mir 19 crew (Anatoliy Solovyev and 

Thomas Reiter (ESA) Nikolay Budarin).

Space Shuttle Sep. 7, 1995 David M. Walker 10:20:28 Seventy-first STS flight. Deployed Wake Shield 

Endeavour (STS-69) Kenneth D. Cockrell Facility (WSF-2) and SPARTAN 201-03.

James S. Voss

James H. Newman

Michael L. Gernhardt

Space Shuttle Oct. 20, 1995 Kenneth D. Bowersox 15:21:52 Seventy-second STS flight. Carried out microColumbia (STS-73) Kent V. Rominger gravity experiments with the U.S. 

Catherine G. Coleman Microgravity Laboratory (USML-2) 

Michael Lopez-Alegria payload.

Kathryn C. Thornton

Fred W. Leslie

Albert Sacco, Jr.

Space Shuttle Nov. 12, 1995 Kenneth D. Cameron 8:4:31 Seventy-third STS flight. Docked with Mir 

Atlantis (STS-74) James D. Halsell, Jr. space station as part of International Space 

Chris A. Hadfield (CSA) Station (ISS) Phase I efforts.

Jerry L. Ross

William S. McArthur, Jr.

Space Shuttle Jan. 11, 1996 Brian Duffy 8:22:1 Seventy-fourth STS flight. Deployed OAST 

Endeavour (STS-72) Brent W. Jett, Jr. Flyer. Retrieved previously launched 

Leroy Chiao Japanese Space Flyer Unit satellite. Crew 

Winston E. Scott performed spacewalks to build experience 

Koichi Wakata (Japan) for ISS construction.

Daniel T. Barry

Soyuz TM-23 Feb. 21, 1996 Yuri Onufrienko * Soyuz TM-22 returned to Earth on Feb. 29, 1996, 

Yuri Usachyou with Mir 20 crew (Yuri Gidzenko, Sergei 

Avdeev, and Thomas Reiter).
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

84 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Space Shuttle Feb. 22, 1996 Andrew M. Allen 13:16:14 Seventy-fifth STS flight. Deployed Tethered 

Columbia (STS-75) Scott J. Horowitz Satellite System, U.S. Microgravity Payload 

Jeffrey A. Hoffman (USMP-3), and protein crystal growth 

Maurizio Cheli (ESA) experiments.

Claude Nicollier (ESA)

Franklin R. Chang-Diaz

Umberto Guidoni (ESA)

Space Shuttle Mar. 22, 1996 Kevin P. Chilton 9:5:16 Seventy-sixth STS flight. Docked with Mir 

Atlantis (STS-76) Richard A. Searfoss space station and left astronaut Shannon 

Linda M. Godwin Lucid aboard Mir. Also carried SPACEHAB 

Michael R. Clifford module.

Ronald M. Sega

Shannon W. Lucid**

Space Shuttle May 19, 1996 John H. Casper 10:2:30 Seventy-seventh STS flight. Deployed 

Endeavour (STS-77) Curtis L. Brown SPARTAN/Inflatable Antenna Experiment, 

Andrew S. W. Thomas SPACEHAB, and PAMS-STU payloads.

Daniel W. Bursch

Mario Runco, Jr.

Marc Garneau (CSA)

Space Shuttle June 20, 1996 Terrence T. Henricks 16:21:48 Seventy-eighth STS flight. Set Shuttle record

Columbia (STS-78) Kevin Kregel for then-longest flight. Carried Life and 

Richard M. Linnehan Microgravity Sciences Spacelab. 

Susan J. Helms

Charles E. Brady, Jr.

Jean-Jacques Favier (CSA)

Robert B. Thirsk (ESA)

Soyuz TM-24 Aug. 17, 1996 Claudie Andre-Deshays (ESA) * Soyuz TM-23 returned to Earth on Sep. 2, 1996,

Valery Korzun with Claudie Andre-Deshays, Yuri 

Alexander Kaleri Onufrienko, and Yuri Usachev.

Space Shuttle Sep. 16, 1996 William F. Readdy 10:3:19 Seventy-ninth STS flight. Docked with Mir 

Atlantis (STS-79) Terrence W. Wilcutt space station. Picked up astronaut Shannon 

Jerome Apt Lucid and dropped off astronaut John Blaha.

Thomas D. Akers

Carl E. Walz

John E. Blaha**

Shannon W. Lucid***

Space Shuttle Nov. 19, 1996 Kenneth D. Cockrell 17:15:53 Set record for longest Shuttle flight. At age 61, 

Columbia (STS-80) Kent V. Rominger Musgrave became oldest person to fly in 

Tamara E. Jernigan space. He also tied record for most space 

Thomas David Jones flights (six) by a single person. Crew 

F. Story Musgrave successfully deployed ORFEUS-SPAS II 

ultraviolet observatory and Wake Shield 

Facility payloads.

Space Shuttle Jan. 12, 1997 Michael A. Baker 10:4:56 Fifth Shuttle mission to Mir. Jerry Linenger 

Atlantis (STS-81) Brent W. Jett replaced John Blaha as U.S. resident on Mir. 

Peter J.K. “Jeff” Wisoff

John M. Grunsfeld

Marsha S.Ivins

Jerry M. Linenger**

John E. Blaha***
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

85 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Soyuz TM-25 Feb. 10, 1997 Vasily Tsibliyev * Soyuz TM-24 returned to Earth on March 2, 

Aleksandr Lazutkin 1997, with Reinhold Ewald, Valery Korzun, 

Reinhold Ewald and Alexandr Kaleri.

Space Shuttle Feb. 11, 1997 Kenneth D. Bowersox 9:23:36 Crew successfully performed second servicing 

Discovery (STS-82) Scott J. Horowitz mission of the Hubble Space Telescope. 

Joseph R. Tanner

Steven A. Hawley

Gregory J. Harbaugh

Mark C. Lee

Steven L. Smith

Space Shuttle Apr. 4, 1997 James D. Halsell, Jr. 3:23:34 Crew deployed a Spacelab module configured as 

Columbia (STS-83) Susan L. Still the first Microgravity Science Laboratory. 

Janice Voss Shuttle fuel cell malfunction necessitated an 

Michael L. Gernhardt early termination of the mission.

Donald A. Thomas

Roger K. Crouch

Gregory T. Linteris

Space Shuttle May 15, 1997 Charles J. Precourt 9:5:21 Sixth Shuttle mission to Mir. Michael Foale 

Atlantis (STS-84) Eileen Marie Collins replaced Jerry Linenger on Mir. 

Jean-François Clervoy

Carlos I. Noriega

Edward Tsang Lu

Elena V. Kondakova 

Michael Foale**

Jerry M. Linenger***

Space Shuttle July 1, 1997 James D. Halsell, Jr. 15:16:45 Reflight of STS-83 and the same payload, the 

Columbia (STS-94) Susan L. Still Microgravity Science Laboratory. Mission 

Janice Voss proceeded successfully.

Michael L. Gernhardt

Donald A. Thomas

Roger K. Crouch

Gregory T. Linteris

Soyuz TM-26 Aug. 5, 1997 Anatoly Solovyev * Soyuz TM-25 returned to Earth on August 14, 

Pavel Vinogradov 1997, with Vasily Tsibliev and Alesandr 

Lazutkin.

Space Shuttle Aug. 7, 1997 Curtis L. Brown, Jr. 11:20:27 Crew successfully deployed two payloads: 

Discovery (STS-85) Kent V. Rominger CRISTA-SPAS-2 on infrared radiation and 

N. Jan Davis an international Hitchhiker package of four 

Robert L. Curbeam, Jr. experiments on ultraviolet radiation. The 

Stephen K. Robinson crew also successfully performed the Japanese 

Bjarni V. Tryggvason Manipulator Flight Demonstration of a 

robotic arm.

Space Shuttle Sep. 25, 1997 James D. Wetherbee 10:19:21 Seventh Shuttle docking with Mir. David Wolf 

Atlantis (STS-86) Michael J. Bloomfield replaced Michael Foale on Mir. Parazynski 

Scott E. Parazynski and Titov performed a spacewalk to retrieve 

Vladimir Titov four Mir Environmental Effects Payload 

Jean-Loup Chretien experiments from the exterior of the docking 

Wendy B. Lawrence module and left a solar array cover cap for 

David A. Wolf** possible future repair of the damaged Spektr

C. Michael Foale*** module. 
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

86 APPENDIX C

(Continued)

U.S. and Russian Human Space Flights

1961–September 30, 1998

Spacecraft Launch Date Crew Flight Time Highlights

(days:hrs:min)

Space Shuttle Nov. 19, 1997 Kevin R. Kregel 15:16:34 Payloads included USMP-4, SPARTAN 201-04

Columbia (STS-87) Steven W. Lindsey free-flyer, Collaborative Ukrainian 

Kalpana Chawla Experiment (CUE) in space biology, and 

Winston E. Scott several other “hitchhiker” payloads.

Takao Doi

Leonid K. Kadenyuk

Space Shuttle Jan. 22, 1998 Terrence W. Wilcutt 8:19:47 Eighth Shuttle docking mission to Mir. Andrew

Endeavour (STS-89) Joe F. Edwards, Jr. Thomas replaced David Wolf on Mir. Shuttle

James F. Reilly II payloads included SPACEHAB double 

Michael P. Anderson module of science experiments.

Bonnie J. Dunbar

Salizhan S. Sharipov

Andrew S. Thomas**

David A. Wolf***

Soyuz TM-27 Jan. 29, 1998 Talgat Musabayev * Soyuz TM-26 left Mir and returned to Earth on

Nikolai Budarin February 19 with Anatoly Solovyev, Pavel

Leopold Eyharts Vinogradov, and Leopold Eyharts.

Space Shuttle Apr. 17, 1998 Richard A. Searfoss 15:21:50 Carried Neurolab module for microgravity 

Columbia (STS-90) Scott D. Altman research in the human nervous system. 

Richard M. Linnehan Secondary goals included measurement of

Kathryn P. Hire Shuttle vibration forces, demonstration of the

Dafydd Rhys Williams bioreactor system for cell growth, and three 

Jay Clark Buckey, Jr. Get Away Special payloads.

James A. Pawelczyk

Space Shuttle June 2, 1998 Charles J. Precourt 9:19:48 Last of nine docking missions with Mir, this one

Discovery (STS-91) Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie brought home Andrew Thomas. Payloads 

Franklin R. Chang-Diaz included DoE’s Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer 

Wendy B. Lawrence to study high-energy particles from deep 

Janet Lynn Kavandi space, four Get Away Specials, and two Space 

Valery V. Ryumin Experiment Modules.

Andrew S. Thomas***

Soyuz TM-28 Aug. 13, 1998 Gennady Padalka * Docked to Mir using manual backup system

Segei Avdeev because of prior failure of one of two 

Yuri Baturin automatic systems. Soyuz TM-27 left Mir 

returned to Earth with Talgat Musabayev, 

Nikolai Budarin, and Yuri Baturin.

* Mir crew members stayed for various and overlapping lengths of time.

** Flew up on Space Shuttle; remained in space aboard Russian Mir space station.

*** Returned to Earth via Space Shuttle from Russian Mir space station.
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

87 APPENDIX D

(Continued)

U.S. Space Launch Vehicles

Max. Payload (kg)d

Max. Dia Geosynch. SunStages: Thrust x Height 185-km Transfer Synch. First

Vehicle Engine/Motor Propellanta (kilonewtons)b, c (m) Orbit Orbit Orbite Launchf

Pegasus 6.71x15.5h 380 — 210 1990

280e

1. Orion 50S Solid 484.9 1.28x8.88

2. Orion 50 Solid 118.2 1.28x2.66

3. Orion 38 Solid 31.9 0.97x1.34

Pegasus XL 6.71x16.93 460 — 335 1994g

1. Orion 50S-XL Solid 743.3 1.28x10.29 350e

2. Orion 50-XL Solid 201.5 1.28x3.58

3. Orion 38 Solid 31.9 0.97x1.34

Taurus 2.34x28.3 1,400 255 1,020 Not

0. Castor 120 Solid 1,687.7 2.34x11.86 1,080e scheduled

1. Orion 50S Solid 580.5 1.28x8.88

2. Orion 50 Solid 138.6 1.28x2.66

3. Orion 38 Solid 31.9 0.97x1.34

Delta II 2.44x29.70 5,089 1,842i 3,175 1990,

(7920, 7925) 3,890e Delta-7925

1. RS-270/A LOX/RP-1 1,043.0 (SL) 3.05x38.1 [1960, Delta]

Hercules GEM (9) Solid 487.6 (SL) 1.01x12.95

2. AJ10-118K N204/A-50 42.4 2.44x5.97

3. Star 48Bj Solid 66.4 1.25x2.04

Atlas E 3.05x28.1 820e — 910k 1968, Atlas F

1,860e, k [1958,

1. Atlas: MA-3 LOX/RP-1 1,739.5 (SL) 3.05x21.3 Atlas LV-3A]

Atlas I 4.2x43.9 — 2,255 — 1990, I [1966,

Atlas Centaur]

1. Atlas: MA-5 LOX/RP-1 1,952.0 (SL) 3.05x22.16 

2. Centaur I: LOX/LH2 73.4/ 3.05x9.14

RL10A-3-3A (2) engine

Atlas II 4.2x47.5 6,580 2,810 4,300 1991, II [1966,

5,510e Atlas Centaur]

1. Atlas: MA-5A LOX/RP-1 2,110.0 (SL) 3.05x24.9

2. Centaur II: LOX/LH2 73.4/engine 3.05x10.05

RL10A-3-3A (2)

Atlas IIA 4.2x47.5 6,828 3,062 4,750 1992, Atlas

6,170e IIA [1966,

1. Atlas: MA-5A LOX/RP-1 2,110.0 (SL) 3.05x24.9 Atlas Centaur]

2. Centaur II: LOX/LH2 92.53/engine 3.05x10.05

RL10A-4 (2)

Atlas IIAS 4.2x47.5 8,640 3,606 5,800 1993, IIAS

7,300e [1966,

1. Atlas: MA-5A LOX/RP-1 2,110.0 (SL) 3.05x24.9 Atlas Centaur]

Castor IVA (4)j Solid 433.6 (SL) 1.01X11.16

2. Centaur II: LOX/LH2 92.53/engine 3.05x10.05

RL10A-4 (2)
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

88 APPENDIX D

(Continued)

U.S. Space Launch Vehicles

Max. Payload (kg)d

Max. Dia Geosynch. SunStages: Thrust x Height 185-km Transfer Synch. First

Vehicle Engine/Motor Propellanta (kilonewtons)b, c (m) Orbit Orbit Orbite Launchf

Titan II 3.05x42.9 1,905e — — 1988,

1. LR-87-AJ-5 (2) N204/A-50 1,045.0 3.05x21.5 Titan II SLV

2. LR-91-AJ-5 N204/A-50 440.0 3.05x12.2 [1964, Titan II 

Gemini]

Titan III 3.05x47.3 14,515 5,000l — 1989, 

0. Titan III SRM (2) Solid 6,210.0 3.11x27.6 Titan III 

(5-1/2 segments) [1964,

1. LR87-AJ-11 (2) N204/A-50 1,214.5 3.05x24.0 Titan IIIA]

2. LR91-AJ-11 N204/A-50 462.8 3.05x10.0

Titan IV 3.05x62.2 17,700 6,350m — 1989,

0. Titan IV SRM (2) Solid 7,000.0 3.11x34.1 14,110e Titan IV

(7 segments)

1. LR87-AJ-11 (2) N204/A-50 1,214.5 3.05x26.4

2. LR91-AJ-11 N204/A-50 462.8 3.05x10.0

Titan IV/ 4.3x62.2 — 5,760a — 1994, 

0. Titan IV SRM (2) Solid 7,000.0 3.11x34.1 Titan IV

(7 segments) Centaur

1. LR87-AJ-11 (2) N204/A-50 1,214.5/engine 3.05x26.4

2. LR91-AJ-11(1) N204/A-50 462.5 3.05x10.0

3. Centaur:

RL-10A-3-3A LOX/LH2 73.4 4.3x9.0

4. SRMU

(3 segments) 7690 3.3x34.3

Space Shuttlen 23.79x56.14h 24,900o 5,900p — 1981,

1. SRB: Solid 11,790.0 (SL) 3.70x45.46 Columbia

Shuttle SRB (2)

2. Orbiter/ET: LOX/LH2 1,668.7 (SL) 8.41x47.00 (ET)

SSME (3) 23.79x37.24h (orbiter)

3. Orbiter/OMS: N204/MMH 26.7 23.79x37.24h

OMS engines (2)

Delta III

1. RS-27A LOX/RP-1 1,043.0 (SL) 4x39.1 8,292 3,810 6,768 1998g

Alliant GEM (9) Solid 608.8 1.16x14.7

2. RL-10B-2 LOX/LH2 110 4x8.8

3. Star 48B Solid 66.4 1.25x2.04
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

89 APPENDIX D

(Continued)

U.S. Space Launch Vehicles

NOTES:

a. Propellant abbreviations used are as follows:

A-50 = Aerozine 50 (50% Monomethyl Hydrazine, 

50% Unsymmetrical Dimethyl Hydrazine)

RP-1 = Rocket Propellant 1 (kerosene) 

Solid = Solid Propellant (any type)

LH2 = Liquid Hydrogen

LOX = Liquid Oxygen

MMH = Monomethyl Hydrazine

N204 = Nitrogen Tetroxide

b. Thrust at vacuum except where indicated at sea level (SL).

c. Thrust per engine. Multiply by number of engines for

thrust per stage.

d. Inclination of 28.5 ̊ except where indicated.

e. Polar launch from Vandenberg AFB, CA.

f. First successful orbital launch [ditto of initial version].

g. First launch was a failure

h. Diameter dimension represents vehicle wing span.

NOTE: Data should not be used for detailed NASA mission planning without concurrence of the 

Director of Space Transportation System Support Programs.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

90 APPENDIX E-1A

(Continued)

Space Activities of the U.S. Government

HISTORICAL BUDGET SUMMARY—BUDGET AUTHORITY

(in millions of real-year dollars)

NASA NASA Total

FY Total Spaceb DoD Otherc DoE DoC DoI USDA NSFa DoT EPAd Space

1959 331 261 490 34 34 785

1960 524 462 561 43 43 0.1 1,066

1961 964 926 814 69 68 1 1,809

1962 1,825 1,797 1,298 200 148 51 1 3,295

1963 3,673 3,626 1,550 259 214 43 2 5,435

1964 5,100 5,016 1,599 216 210 3 3 6,831

1965 5,250 5,138 1,574 244 229 12 3 6,956

1966 5,175 5,065 1,689 217 187 27 3 6,971

1967 4,966 4,830 1,664 216 184 29 3 6,710

1968 4,587 4,430 1,922 177 145 28 0.2 1 3 6,529

1969 3,991 3,822 2,013 141 118 20 0.2 1 2 5,976

1970 3,746 3,547 1,678 115 1038112 5,340

1971 3,311 3,101 1,512 127 95 27212 4,740

1972 3,307 3,071 1,407 97 55 31623 4,575

1973 3,406 3,093 1,623 109 54 40 10 2 3 4,825

1974 3,037 2,759 1,766 116 42 60932 4,641

1975 3,229 2,915 1,892 106 30 64822 4,913

1976 3,550 3,225 1,983 111 23 72 10 4 2 5,319

TQ* 932 849 460 32 5 22 3 1 1 1,341

1977 3,818 3,440 2,412 131 22 91 10 6 2 5,983

1978 4,060 3,623 2,738 157 34 103 10 8 2 6,518

1979 4,596 4,030 3,036 177 59 98 10 8 2 7,243

1980 5,240 4,680 3,848 233 40 93 12 14 74 8,761

1981 5,518 4,992 4,828 233 41 87 12 16 77 10,053

1982 6,044 5,528 6,679 311 61 145 12 15 78 12,518

1983 6,875 6,328 9,019 325 39 178 5 20 83 15,672

1984 7,458 6,858 10,195 392 34 236 3 19 100 17,445

1985 7,573 6,925 12,768 580 34 423 2 15 106 20,273

1986 7,807 7,165 14,126 473 35 309 2 23 104 21,764

1987 10,923 9,809 16,287 462 48 278 8 19 108 1 26,558

1988 9,062 8,322 17,679 737 241 352 14 18 111 1 26,738

1989 10,969 10,097 17,906 560 97 301 17 21 116 3 5 28,563

1990 12,324 11,460 15,616 512 79 243 31 25 125 4 5 27,588

1991 14,016 13,046 14,181 697 251 251 29 26 131 4 5 27,924

1992 14,317 13,199 15,023 769 223 327 34 29 145 4 7 28,991

1993 14,310 13,064 14,106 698 165 324 33 25 139 4 8 27,868

1994 14,570 13,022 13,166 601 74 312 31 31 140 5 8 26,789

1995 13,854 12,543 10,644 629 60 352 31 32 141 6 7 23,816

1996 13,884 12,569 11,514 750 46 472 36 37 147 6 6 24,833

1997 13,709 12,457 11,727 727 35 448 42 39 152 6 6 24,912

1998 13,648 12,321 12,359 768 63 456 43 42 152 6 6 25,448

* Transition Quarter

a. NSF has recalculated its space expenditures since 1980, making them significantly higher than reported in previous years.

b. Includes $2.1 billion for replacement of Space Shuttle Challenger.

c. “Other” column is the total of the non-NASA, non-DoD budget authority figures that appear in succeeding columns. The total is sometimes

different from the sum of the individual figures because of rounding. The “Total Space” column does not include the “NASA Total” column

because it includes budget authority for aeronautics as well as in space.

d. EPA has recalculated its aeronautics and space expenditures since 1989, making them significantly higher than reported in previous years.

SOURCE: Office of Management and Budget
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

91 APPENDIX E-1B

(Continued)

Space Activities of the U.S. Government

BUDGET AUTHORITY IN MILLIONS OF EQUIVALENT FY 1998 DOLLARS

(adjusted for inflation)

Inflation NASA NASA Total

FY Factors Total Space DoD Other DoE DoC DoI USDA NSF DoT EPA Space

1959 4.8506 1,606 1,266 2,377 165 165 3,808

1960 4.7579 2,493 2,198 2,669 205 205 0.5 5,072

1961 4.7149 4,545 4,366 3,838 325 321 5 8,529

1962 4.6469 8,481 8,350 6,032 929 688 237 5 15,311

1963 4.5942 16,875 16,659 7,121 1,190 983 198 9 24,970

1964 4.5409 23,159 22,777 7,261 981 954 14 14 31,019

1965 4.4796 23,518 23,016 7,051 1,093 1,026 54 13 31,160

1966 4.4057 22,800 22,315 7,441 956 824 119 13 30,712

1967 4.3070 21,388 20,803 7,167 930 792 125 13 28,900

1968 4.1756 19,154 18,498 8,026 740 605 117 0.8 4 13 27,263

1969 4.0223 16,053 15,373 8,097 568 475 80 0.8 4 8 24,038

1970 3.8525 14,431 13,665 6,464 443 397 31 4 4 8 20,572

1971 3.6594 12,116 11,348 5,533 465 348 99 7 4 7 17,346

1972 3.4803 11,510 10,688 4,897 338 191 108 21 7 10 15,923

1973 3.3220 11,315 10,275 5,392 362 179 133 33 7 10 16,029

1974 3.1821 9,664 8,779 5,620 369 134 191 29 10 6 14,768

1975 2.9674 9,582 8,650 5,614 315 89 190 24 6 6 14,579

1976 2.6904 9,551 8,677 5,335 299 62 194 27 11 5 14,310

TQ 2.5092 2,339 2,130 1,154 80 13 55 8 3 3 3,365

1977 2.4307 9,280 8,362 5,863 318 53 221 24 15 5 14,543

1978 2.3318 9,467 8,448 6,385 366 79 240 23 19 5 15,199

1979 2.1783 10,012 8,779 6,613 386 129 213 22 17 4 15,778

1980 2.0119 10,542 9,416 7,742 469 80 187 24 28 149 17,626

1981 1.8476 10,195 9,223 8,920 430 76 161 22 30 142 18,574

1982 1.6819 10,166 9,298 11,234 523 103 244 20 25 131 21,054

1983 1.5709 10,800 9,941 14,168 511 61 280 8 31 130 24,620

1984 1.5016 11,199 10,298 15,309 589 51 354 5 29 150 26,195

1985 1.4513 10,990 10,050 18,530 842 49 614 3 22 154 29,422

1986 1.4029 10,953 10,052 19,818 664 49 434 3 32 146 30,533

1987 1.3641 14,900 13,381 22,217 630 65 379 11 26 147 1 36,228

1988 1.3258 12,014 11,033 23,439 977 320 467 19 24 147 1 35,449

1989 1.2813 14,055 12,937 22,943 718 124 386 22 27 149 4 6 36,598

1990 1.2293 15,150 14,088 19,197 629 97 299 38 31 154 5 6 33,914

1991 1.1803 16,544 15,399 16,738 823 296 296 34 31 155 5 6 32,960

1992 1.1317 16,203 14,938 17,002 870 252 370 38 33 164 5 8 32,810

1993 1.1026 15,779 14,405 15,554 770 182 357 36 28 153 4 9 30,728

1994 1.0766 15,686 14,020 14,175 647 80 336 33 33 151 5 9 28,841

1995 1.0513 14,565 13,187 11,190 661 63 370 33 34 148 6 7 25,038

1996 1.0311 14,316 12,960 11,872 773 47 487 37 38 152 6 6 25,605

1997 1.0120 13,874 12,607 11,868 737 35 453 43 39 154 6 6 25,211

1998 1.0000 13,648 12,321 12,359 768 63 456 43 42 152 6 6 25,448

SOURCE: Office of Management and Budget
Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

92 APPENDIX E-2

(Continued)

Federal Space Activities Budget

(in millions of dollars by fiscal year)

Federal Agencies Budget Authority Budget Outlays

1996 1997 1998 1996 1997 1998

actual actual est. actual actual est.

NASA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,569 12,457 12,321 12,694 13,055 12,866

Defense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,514 11,727 12,359 11,353 11,959 12,230

Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 35 63 46 37 60

Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472 448 456 354 336 342

Interior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 42 43 36 42 43

Agriculture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 39 42 37 39 42

Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 6 6 6 6 6

EPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 6 6 7 6 6

NSF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 151 152 142 146 147

TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,833 24,911 25,448 24,675 25,626 25,832

SOURCE: Office of Management and Budget.
Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

93 APPENDIX E-3

(Continued)

Federal Aeronautics Budget

(in millions of dollars by fiscal year)

Federal Agencies Budget Authority Budget Outlays

1996 1997 1998 1996 1997 1998

actual actual est. actual actual est.

NASAa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,315 1,252 1,327 1,187 1,302 1,339

Defenseb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,792 6,323 6,184 6,974 6,600 6,318

Transportationc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,052 2,146 2,099 2,676 2,528 2,429

TOTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,159 9,721 9,610 10,837 10,430 10,086

a. Research, Development, Construction of Facilities, Research and Program Management

b. Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation of aircraft and related equipment.

c. Federal Aviation Administration: Research, Engineering, and Development; Facilities, Engineering, and Development

SOURCE: Office of Management and Budget.
Aeronautics and Space Report of the Pre
A

ACDA Arms Control and Disarmament Agency

ACTS Advanced Communications Technology Satellite

AMASS Airport Movement Area Safety System

AMOS Air Force Maui Optical Site

AMS Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer

APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

ARS Agricultural Research Service (USDA)

ASDE Air Surface Detection Equipment (Model)

ASTP Apollo-Soyuz Test Project

ATLAS Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science

AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer

AVIRIS Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer B

Black hole A completely collapsed, massive dead star whose gravitational field is so

powerful that no radiation can escape from it; because of this property, its existence

must be inferred rather than recorded from radiation emissions

BLM Bureau of Land Management (DoI)

C 

CASTLeS CfA-Arizona Space Telescope Lens Survey

CEOS Committee on Earth Observation Satellites

CfA Center for Astrophysics (Harvard-Smithsonian)

CIS Commonwealth of Independent States

CNES Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (France)

COPUOS Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (United Nations)

Corona The outer atmosphere of the Sun, extending about a million miles above the

surface

Cosmic rays Not forms of energy, such as x-rays or gamma rays, but particles of matter

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

95

GLOSSARY
COSPAR Committee on Space Research

CRISTA-SPAS Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the AtmosphereShuttle Pallet Satellite

CUE Collaborative Ukrainian Experiment

D 

DARS Digital Audio Radio Service

DMSP Defense Meteorological Satellite Program—DoD’s polar-orbiting weather satellite

system

DoC Department of Commerce

DoD Department of Defense

DoE Department of Energy

DoI Department of the Interior

DoS Department of State

DoT Department of Transportation

DSP Defense Support Program

E 

EELV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle

El Niño A warm inshore current annually flowing south along the coast of Ecuador

around the end of December and extending about every 7 to 10 years down the coast of

Peru

EOS Earth Observing System—a series of satellites, part of NASA’s Earth Science

Enterprise, being designed for launch at the end of the 1990’s to gather data on global

change

EOSDIS Earth Observing System Data and Information System

EPA Environmental Protection Agency 

EPIC Environmental Photographic Interpretation Center (EPA)

EROS Earth Resources Observation System (USGS)

ESA European Space Agency

ET External Tank

EUMETSAT European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites

EVA Extravehicular activity

F 

FAA Federal Aviation Administration

FAS Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA)

FCC Federal Communications Commission

Fly-by-light The use of light signals to connect the pilot’s control devices with the aircraft control surfaces; or the use of light (fiber optic) control connections with no

mechanical backup linkages and providing the pilot direct control of aircraft motion

rather than control surface position

Fly-by-wire The use of electrical signals to connect the pilot’s control devices with the

aircraft control surfaces; or the use of electrical control connections with no mechanical backup linkages and providing the pilot direct control of aircraft motion rather than

control surface position

FPI Fire Potential Index

Free flight A concept being developed by the FAA and the aviation community in

which pilots could ultimately choose their own routes, speeds, and altitudes in flight,

thus improving safety, while saving fuel, time, and natural resources

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

96
FSA Farm Service Agency (USDA)

FSS Fixed Satellite Service

FY Fiscal year

G 

Gamma rays The shortest of electromagnetic radiations, emitted by some radioactive

substances

GBS Global Broadcast Satellite Service

Geostationary Traveling around the Earth’s equator at an altitude of at least 35,000

kilometers and at a speed matching that of the Earth’s rotation, thereby maintaining a

constant relation to points on the Earth

Geosynchronous geostationary

GHz Gigahertz

GIS Geographic Information System

GOES Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite

GPS Global Positioning System

H 

Heliosphere The region of the Sun’s influence, including the Sun and the interplanetary

medium

HST Hubble Space Telescope

Hypersonic Faster than Mach 4; faster than “high speed”

Hyperspectral An instrument capability using many very narrow spectral frequency

bands (300 or more), enabling a satellite-based passive sensor to discriminate specific

features or phenomena on the body being observed (such as Earth)

I 

IGEB International GPS Executive Board

INMARSAT International Mobile (formerly Maritime) Satellite Organization

InSAR Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar

INSAT Indian Remote Sensing Satellite

Integrated modular avionics Aircraft-unique avionics cabinet that replaces multiple

black boxes with shared common equipment and generic software

INTELSAT International Telecommunications Satellite Organization

Interferometry The production and measurement of interference from two or more

coherent wave trains emitted from the same source

Internet An international computer network that began about 1970 as the NSF Net;

very slowly it became a collection of more than 40,000 independently managed computer networks worldwide that have adopted common protocols to permit the exchange

of electronic information

Ionosphere That region of Earth’s atmosphere so named because of the presence of ionized atoms in layers that reflect radio waves and short-wave transmissions

ISS International Space Station

ITA International Trade Administration

J 

JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory (NASA)

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

97
K 

K-band Radio frequencies in the 20-GHz range

Ka-band Radio frequencies in the 30-GHz range

Ku-band Radio frequencies in the 11–12-GHz range

L 

Landsat Land [remote sensing] Satellite—a series of satellites designed to collect information about Earth’s natural resources

Laser Light amplified by simulated emission of radiation—a device that produces an

intense beam of light that may be strong enough to vaporize the hardest and most heatresistant materials, first constructed in 1960

LDEF Long-Duration Exposure Facility

LEO Low-Earth orbit—100 to 350 nautical miles above Earth

LIDAR Light Intersection Direction and Ranging

M 

Mach A relative number named after Austrian physicist Ernst Mach (1838–1916) and

indicating speed with respect to that of sound in a given medium; in dry air at 32

degrees Fahrenheit and at sea level, for example, Mach 1=approximately 741 miles per

hour (1,192 kilometers per hour)

Magnetosphere The region of Earth’s atmosphere in which ionized gas plays an important role in the atmospheric dynamics and where, consequently, the geomagnetic field

also exerts an important influence; other magnetic planets, such as Jupiter, have magnetospheres that are similar in many respects to Earth’s

MilSatCom Military Satellite Communications

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MTCR Missile Technology Control Regime

N 

NAPP National Aerial Photography Program

NAS National Airspace System (FAA)

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASDA National Space Development Agency (of Japan)

NASS National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA)

NCAP National Civil Applications Program (USGS)

NDOP National Digital Orthoquad Program

NESDIS National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NOAA)

Neutron star Any of a class of extremely dense, compact stars thought to be composed

primarily of neutrons; see pulsar

NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology (DoC)

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DoC); also the designation

of that administration’s Sun-synchronous satellites in polar orbit

Nominal Functioning as designed

NO

x Nitrous oxide

NPOESS National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System

NRCS National Resources Conservation Service (USDA)

NRO National Reconnaissance Office

NSF National Science Foundation

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

98
NTIA National Telecommunications and Information Administration (DoC)—the

Federal Government’s radio spectrum manager, which coordinates the use of LEO satellite networks, such as those for Landsat, Navstar GPS, the Space Shuttle, and the

Television and Infrared Operational Satellite (TIROS), with other countries of the world

O 

OASC Office of Air and Space Commercialization (DoC)

OAST Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (former NASA office)

ODERACS Orbital Debris Radar Calibration Spheres

OLMSA Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications (NASA)

Order of magnitude An amount equal to 10 times a given value; thus if some quantity

was 10 times as great as another quantity, it would be an order of magnitude greater; if

100 times as great, it would be larger by two orders of magnitude

ORFEUS-SPAS Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet SpectrographShuttle Pallet Satellite

OSS Office of Space Science (NASA)

OSTA Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications (former NASA office) P

PAMS-STU Passive Aerodynamically Stabilized Magnetically Damped SatelliteSatellite Test Unit

Pathfinder A program that focuses on the processing, reprocessing, maintenance,

archiving, and distribution of existing Earth science data sets to make them more useful

to researchers; NASA, NOAA, and USGS are involved in specific Pathfinder efforts

PCB Polychlorinated biphenyl

Photogrammetry The science or art of obtaining reliable measurements by means of

photography

POES Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (program)

PPS Precise Positioning Service

Pulsar A pulsating radio star, which is thought to be a rapidly spinning neutron star; the

latter is formed when the core of a violently exploding star, called a supernova, collapses inward and becomes compressed together; pulsars emit extremely regular pulses

of radio waves

Q 

Quasar A class of rare cosmic objects of extreme luminosity and strong radio emission;

many investigators attribute their high-energy generation to gas spiraling at high velocity into a massive black hole

R 

Ramjet A jet engine with no mechanical compressor, consisting of specially shaped tubes

or ducts open at both ends, along with the air necessary for combustion being shoved

into the duct and compressed by the forward motion of the engine

RAPID Repair Assessment Procedure and integrated Design (software)

Radarsat Canadian radar satellite

RSA Russian Space Agency

RSML Remote Sensing and Modeling Laboratory (ARS)

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

99
S 

SAO Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar

SBIRS Space Based Infrared System

SBS Satellite Business Systems

Scramjet Supersonic-combustion ramjet

SeaWiFS Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor

SLS Spacelab Life Sciences

SNOE Student Nitric Oxide Experiment

SOFIA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

Solar wind A stream of particles accelerated by the heat of the solar corona (outer region

of the Sun) to velocities great enough to permit them to escape from the Sun’s gravitational field

SPACEHAB Commercial module for housing Shuttle experiments

SPARTAN Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy

SPOT Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre (French satellite for the observation of

Earth)

SRB Solid Rocket Booster

SRM Solid Rocket Motor

SRMU Solid Rocket Motor Upgrade

SSBUV Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet

SSCE Solid Surface Combustion Experiment

SSME Space Shuttle Main Engine

SSTI Small Satellite Technology Initiative

START Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty

STS Space Transportation System

T 

TDRS Tracking and Data Relay Satellite

TM Thematic Mapper (Landsat instrument)

TRACE Transition Region and Coronal Explorer

TRMM Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission

TSA Technical Safeguard Agreement

U 

UARS Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite

UHF Ultrahigh Frequency—any frequency between 300 and 3,000 megacycles per second

U.S. United States

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture

USGS U.S. Geological Survey (DoI)

USIA U.S. Information Agency

USIS U.S. Information Service (USIA abroad)

USML U.S. Microgravity Laboratory

USMP U.S. Microgravity Payload

USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (former) V

VAAC Volcanic Ash Advisory Center

VHF Very High Frequency—any radio frequency between 30 and 300 megacycles per second

Aeronautics and Space Report of the President 

100
W 

WAAS Wide Area Augmentation System

WARP Weather and Radar Processor (program)

Wind shear Variation of wind speed and wind direction with respect to a horizontal or

vertical plane; powerful but invisible downdrafts called microbursts focus intense

amounts of vertical energy in a narrow funnel that can force an aircraft to the ground

nose first if the aircraft is caught underneath

WSF Wake Shield Facility

WTO World Trade Organization

X-Y-Z 

X-rays Radiations of very short wavelengths, beyond the ultraviolet in the spectrum

Fiscal Year 1998 Activities

101
Aeronautics and Space Report of the Pre