Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, September 13, 1993 TAG: 9309130082
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Knight-Ridder/Tribune
DATELINE: CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
After a flawless blastoff, the crew of the space shuttle Discovery prepared to launch a super-powered communication satellite that, among other uses, should speed validation of credit cards and electronic communication between doctors and their distant diagnostic consultants.
But what should have been a routine deployment about nine hours into Discovery's much-delayed mission fell flat when controllers could not establish communication with the $362 million Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) tucked inside Discovery's cavernous cargo bay.
For an hour and a half, engineers struggled for a new way to send messages to the balky satellite.
With only one 30-second window of opportunity left Sunday, engineers changed radio frequencies and at 5:13 p.m. sent a new signal. This one made it, and the satellite obeyed.
Mission managers breathed a sigh of relief when a set of springs popped loose and propelled the 26,750-pound satellite away from the shuttle.
"It looks awful pretty out there," Discovery Commander Frank Culbertson said as he gently backed the shuttle away from the satellite.
Later this week, controllers will fire rockets sending the satellite to its final orbit nearly 23,000 miles above the equator.
The Advanced Communications Technology Satellite was built for NASA by Martin-Marietta. NASA, in partnership with dozens of firms and schools, will experiment with the new technology, in some cases recovering money from its users.
Sunday's scare brought back visions of recent NASA problems. The Mars probe has wandered off, and the Hubble Space Telescope is squinting and unable to focus properly. Another communication satellite failed to reach orbit last month.
But Sunday was a day for celebration.
After five delays for mechanical mishaps, meteor mayhem and paperwork problems, shuttle Discovery thundered into space on the harnessed fury of nearly 2 million pounds of rocket fuel.
"You got a lot of happy people down here," NASA controller Kevin Chilton radioed from Houston to Discovery commander Frank Culbertson as the shuttle reached orbit.
The launch, visible for more than 100 miles, was the first step in a 10-day science mission that includes deployment of the fastest and most complex communication satellite ever built.
ACTS is designed to speed the flow of computerized words, numbers and pictures and to greatly increase the quality of high-resolution television pictures and diagnostic medical images.
Sunday's successful liftoff also clears the way for an early December shuttle mission during which astronauts will rescue the troubled Hubble Space Telescope and correct its blurry vision.
Aboard Discovery are Culbertson, 44, a Navy captain; pilot Bill Readdy, 41, a former Navy test pilot; and three NASA rookies: Navy Cmdr. Dan Bursch, 36; James H. Newman, 36, a civilian astronaut; and Air Force Maj. Carl Walz, 37.
The Discovery is scheduled to return to the Kennedy Space Center just after 4 a.m. EDT Sept. 22.
by CNB