In Space Today has received the memorandum below from a reliable source in the space industry. In response, we forwarded the memo to Science Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner to comment on the questions we offer herewith and upon the memorandum itself. Here is the memorandum. Following it are our questions for the chairman.
Lab is red on schedule.
Eight Shuttle flights in FY 1999 represents one of the most ambitious shuttle launch schedules for any fiscal year since the loss of space shuttle Challenger. We have recently learned that the AXAF launch is being slipped by NASA for the benefit of TRW, the main contractor, which is still conducting software audits on the spacecraft. See also NASA Delays AXAF Shipment for more details. The NASA News Release in question does not indicate an April launch as the memo above seems to indicate. We wonder what might happen if the launch slips to July-August 1999.