SB NEWS @ AMSAT $SPC0316 * SpaceNews 16-Mar-98 * BID: $SPC0316 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY MARCH 16, 1998 SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, USA. It is published every week and is made available for non-commercial use. * COLLINS NAMED FIRST FEMALE SHUTTLE COMMANDER * ================================================ Astronaut Eileen Collins (Lt. Col., USAF) will become the first woman to command a Space Shuttle when Columbia launches on the STS-93 mission in December 1998. Collins will be joined on the flight deck by Pilot Jeffrey S. Ashby (Cmdr., USN) and Mission Specialists Steven A. Hawley, Ph.D., and Catherine G. "Cady" Coleman, Ph.D (Major, USAF). CNES Astronaut Michel Tognini (Col., French Air Force) was named to the crew on November 12. Selected as an astronaut in 1990, Collins has served as a pilot on her two previous space flights. Her first space flight was STS-63 in February 1995 as Discovery approached to within 30 feet of Mir, in a dress rehearsal for the first Shuttle/Mir docking. In May 1997, she visited the Mir space station as pilot on board Atlantis for the sixth Shuttle/Mir docking mission, delivering Astronaut Mike Foale and returning Jerry Linenger to Earth. STS-93 will be the first flight for Ashby. Hawley will be making his fifth space flight during STS-93, having flown previously on STS-41D in 1984, STS-61C in 1986, STS-31 in 1990 and STS-82 in 1997. Coleman has one previous space flight to her credit, having flown on STS-73, the second United States Microgravity Laboratory mission in October/November 1995. Tognini, who spent 14 days on the Mir space station in 1992, will be making his first Shuttle flight on STS-93. During the five-day mission, the crew will deploy the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility Imaging System (AXAF), which will conduct comprehensive studies of the universe. AXAF will be the most advanced X-ray telescope ever flown. When scientists begin using AXAF next year, they will finally be able to unlock the secrets of some of the most distant, powerful and violent objects known to exist in the universe. They will study such exotic phenomena as exploding stars called supernovae, strange powerful objects called quasars, and mysterious black holes which are so massive that everything near them is pulled inside causing an explosion of X-rays that AXAF can study. [Info via NASA Press Release 98-37] * KC5HBR RETIRES FROM ASTRONAUT CORPS * ======================================= US astronaut Jerry Linenger, KC5HBR, who was aboard the MIR space station for 122 days last year, has retired from the astronaut corps, according to NASA sources. Linenger will pursue private interests. KC5HBR was aboard the space station when a fire broke out just over one year ago, ignited by oxygen-generating 'candles' used on the spacecraft. The fire, a collision with a Progress supply rocket last summer, several computer failures, and other problems made international news and led some officials to question sending additional US astronauts to train aboard MIR. Linenger, a physician and a captain in the US Navy, was aboard the Russian space station from January to May 1997. [Info via the AMSAT News Service] * DOVE-OSCAR-17 CRASH * ======================= DOVE-OSCAR-17 appears to have experienced a problem recently. It is currently off the air on 2-meters and as of last Thrusday, control station Jim White, WD0E, hash not been able to get it to reset properly. Jim reports that he will be working on the satellite, and expects the S-band transmitter's operation to be intermittent as he works with the ROM software and loader. [Info via Jim White, WD0E] * AMSAT ANNUAL MEETING CALL FOR PAPERS * ======================================== The 16th Annual AMSAT Meeting and Space Symposium will be held October 16 to 18th at the Park Inn International Hotel in Vicksburg, Mississippi. This is the first call to authors who wish to present papers at the Symposium and be printed in the official Proceedings document. The subject matter should be topics of interest to the amateur radio satellite community. One page abstracts are due no later than June 1, 1998, and authors will be advised by June 15th regarding whether their paper has been accepted. Camera ready copies of the accepted papers are due no later than August 15, 1998. Papers will only be superficially edited and will generally be printed as submitted. Authors are requested to provide an electronic file, preferably in any version of Word or WordPerfect. Abstracts can be sent to: Malcolm Keown, W5XX, 14 Lake Circle Drive Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180. Malcolm is also available via e-mail at: w5xx@magnolia.net Proceedings of the Symposium will be printed by the ARRL and made available at, and after, the event. Information regarding Vicksburg area attractions and details on arrangements for the 16th Space Symposium and AMSAT Annual Meeting can be found at: http://pages.pordigy.com/DXHF93A For additional information please contact: Eddie Pettis, N5JGK 114 Terrace St. Vicksburg, Mississippi 39180 Eddie is also available via e-mail at: n5jgk@amsat.org [Info via the AMSAT News Service] * JOHN GLENN TAKES HAM CLASS * ============================== An unconfirmed report claims that US Senator and NASA astronaut John Glenn took Gordon West's ham class at Fry's Electronics in Southern California last weekend. John Glenn is preparing to fly on the STS-95 US Space Shuttle mission in October. A SAREX package is expected to be carried on STS-95. In addition to John Glenn, US astronaut Scott Parazynski, KC5RSY, and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque, KC5RGG, of Spain, will be among the international crew aboard the STS-95 shuttle flight. * FEEDBACK/INPUT WELCOMED * =========================== Comments and input for SpaceNews should be directed to the editor (John, KD2BD) via any of the paths listed below: WWW : http://www.njin.net/~magliaco/ PACKET : KD2BD @ KS4HR.NJ.USA.NA INTERNET : kd2bd@amsat.org, magliaco@email.njin.net SATELLITE : AMSAT-OSCAR-16, LUSAT-OSCAR-19, KITSAT-OSCAR-25 <<=- SpaceNews: The first amateur newsletter read in space! -=>> <<=- Serving the planet for 10 years -=>> /EX