Frontier Status Report #200

Frontier Status Report #200

April 28, 2000

Dale M. Gray

While the Russians managed to launch a commercial resupply vessel to Mir, America's Florida coast experienced five launch scrubs in only six days with no launches occurring. The Progress resupply vehicle later successfully docked with the Mir space station. Poor weather at home and abroad caused the Shuttle Atlantis to be rescheduled. Two technical problems caused a Delta II launch to be postponed. A Russian missile test launch goes awry, leaving a crater near a Kazakhstan town.

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Highlights of the week of April 28 include:

• Atlantis scrubbed three times due to weather
• Progress launches and docks with Mir
• Delta rocket stands down due to payload concerns
• "Blue Marble" updated for Earth Day
• NEAR Shoemaker adjusts orbit inward
• Frontier Status begins tracking space stocks

SHUTTLE - On April 24, with crew aboard the Shuttle Atlantis awaiting launch, the countdown for STS-101 held at the nine-minute mark and never resumed. Local winds exceeded limits for landing in case the Shuttle would have to do an emergency landing in the first minutes of the flight. The count was recycled for Tuesday, April 25. Again, the launch was delayed by an ill-wind blowing no-good across the potential landing strip at Kennedy Space Center. Flight rules prohibit launch if the crosswinds at the landing strip exceed 17 m.p.h. Gusts up to 38 m.p.h. were recorded. The launch was scrubbed at the T-40 minute mark. On Wednesday, April 26, the crew once again suited and sitting in their launch couches as the count wound down. While local conditions were favorable for launch, all three down-range emergency landing strips (Transoceanic Abort Landing -TAL) had bad weather. The countdown proceeded until the T-9 mark in the hopes that winds at one of the TAL sites, Ben Guerir, Morocco, would calm after sun down. When this did not occur within the launch window, the decision was made to stand-down. The Shuttle Atlantis has since been de-tanked and perishables in the crew compartment removed. Items stowed in the SpaceHab module will not be affected by the delay. The crew has returned to Houston for a rest period before the next attempt.

The Kennedy facility was booked on Thursday and Friday by a Titan 4B test, followed by a launch attempt of the delayed Delta 2 carrying a NAVSTAR satellite as payload. Shuttle Managers attempted to reshuffle the KSC calendar so they can recycle the count for launch on May 3, but had to settle for May 18 for the next attempt. This is the first time in the 19-year history of the Shuttle that there have been three back-to-back delays. Each delay is expected to cost about 1.2 million in overtime expenses and non-recovered cryogenic fuel (NASA; Space.com; AP; Reuters; Spaceflight Now; MSNBC).

SRB Recovery: NASA is experimenting with a new one-man submarine to perform hazardous recovery tasks normally performed by divers. The chartered submarine, DeepWorker 2000 will be put in the water to assist in the recovery of the right-side solid rocket booster about 140 miles east of Jacksonville, Florida. The sub will then cut tangled parachute tether lines as necessary and install a Diver Operator Plug (DOP). The DOP is used to extract water and provide flotation for the SRB. The operation will also test the new Enhanced Diver Operator Plug. The new plug has a motorized locking mechanism that replaces the manual locking mechanism on the DOP. The test will be monitored by two divers with a third safety diver present. After the test the EDOP will be removed and a standard DOP used for the tow back to Port Canaveral. DeepWorker 2000 is built by Nuytco Research of Vancouver, British Columbia (Spaceflight Now).

ISS -

Zvezda: While the Americans tried three times this week to launch to the orbiting International Space Station (ISS), Russia continues to make progress on the Zvezda Service Module. Zvezda is a critical path component that has delayed the construction of the station by over a year. The module will provide both life support and station-keeping propulsion for the first crew. In design, it is similar to the follow-on Mir II module. Though often delayed by lack of funds and Proton rocket failures, Russian officials maintain both module and rocket will be ready for launch by July 12.

Zvezda has been nearly ready for launch for several months. It now enters a period of final testing. By April 29, the module will complete electrical testing. On May 2, the module will experience a four-day test in a giant vacuum chamber. Future crews of the ISS will visit the module to familiarize themselves with its features around May 20. The launch date for Zvezda will be finalized on June 20.

The upgraded second-stage rocket engines to be used in the launch arrived at Krunichev's assembly plant in Moscow on April 1. The integration into the second stage is expected to be completed shortly with shipment of the stage to Baikonur on May 15. Two launches of Protons with the upgraded second stage will occur prior to the Zvezda launch to assure that the ISS launch will be a success. These launches will carry the Gorizont 45 communications satellite at the end of May and the Geyser data-relay satellite for the Russian Ministry of Defense in late June. Beginning around June 27, irreversible operations such as loading toxic and corrosive fuels will begin. On July 3, Zvezda, cloaked in its shroud, will be united with the assembled Proton rocket, then transported to the launch pad for final preparations (Space.com).

ESA: The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced this past week that it will sign an agreement with researchers from Germany, Italy and Switzerland to develop a space bioreactor for use in the International Space Station. The bioreactor will be capable of growing bacteria, yeast, animal cells and even tissues. The micro-gravity environment is expected to provide a better environment for the growth of three-dimensional cell structures. The signature ceremony will occur at the ESA's Space Research and Technology Centre at Keplerlaan, the Netherlands on May 3 (ESA).

Marshall Space Flight Center: The Marshall Space Flight Center has initiated consultation with private launch service providers regarding possible alternative resupply vessels for the International Space Center. Two cargo categories are being considered: a Progress-class scheduled resupply vehicle and a smaller "launch on demand" vehicle. A formal solicitation for a study may be issued in May (Space Transportation News).

MIR -

Progress: The Progress M-1-2 docked successfully with the Mir Space Station on April 27. The privately funded Progress will provide both supplies for the cosmonauts on board Mir and will also be used to boost the station into a higher orbit. The Progress has 1.5 tons of fuel. The station is losing altitude at an accelerated rate due to the recent expansion of Earth's atmosphere. This temporary expansion is due to a period of increased solar activity. On Monday, April 24, the attached Progress M-1-1 used its engines to boost the orbit of the station. Mir is currently in a 353 x 329.4 km orbit (Reuters; Interfax; SpaceDaily).

Mir's Future: The Russian Space Agency (RSA) has expressed doubts over the future of the Mir Space Station. While the station has been funded until August through the efforts of MirCorp and Energiya, the RSA does not expect MirCorp to be able to book a tourism flight for the required $30 million dollars due to the Spartan conditions on the station. MirCorp recently pumped an additional $10 million into the development of the Mir station as a commercial business park. Energiya has countered the RSA statement by declaring it has funds enough to keep the station in orbit two or three more years (Space Daily).

LAUNCHES -

Progress: A Progress M-1-2 supply vessel was launched on a Soyuz booster on April 26 from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The Mir-bound rocket left the pad at 4:07 EDT. The Progress vessel was released into orbit 10 minutes after launch. The privately funded launch carried air, propellant and other necessary supplies. Progress M-1-1, which has been attached to the Mir Station since February 3, was undocked from Mir at 12:30 p.m. April 26. The garbage-filled M-1-1 will be directed to burn up on reentry. The new Progress M-1-2 docked safely on Thursday, April 27 (Spaceflight Now; MSNBC; Space.com; AP citing ITAR-Tass).

Delta 2 / GPS: A potential problem with the NAVSTAR GPS satellite scrubbed a scheduled April 22 launch of an Air Force Delta II rocket. The launch was to have occurred at pad 17A at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11:01 p.m. EDT. The halt to the countdown came when Lockheed Martin Space Systems discovered a problem with another satellite that uses similar hardware. Engineer at Lockheed Martin wish to inspect the solar array deployment mechanism before launch. This marks the second scrub in two days for the Delta rocket. On Friday, April 21, the rocket was left on the pad due to a ground-based power supply problem. Scheduling problems will probably force the launch to be pushed back to May 10 at the earliest (Florida Today; Spaceflight Now).

LAUNCH SYSTEMS -

Delta 3: Thanks to an altered business plan of ICO Global, Boeing's next Delta 3 rocket flight does not have a payload. The ICO Global launch was delayed from May 31 to October due to a change in strategy caused by the loss of their first satellite on a failed Sea Launch flight. This next Delta 3 will be the third attempt to reach a proper orbit. The first flight failed due to improper flight software. The second flight put its payload into the wrong orbit when the second stage engine failed in flight. Boeing has 18 Delta 3 rockets sold through 2002 (Spaceflight Now).

Delta 4: The solid rocket boosters for the new Delta 4 family of rockets was successful tested on April 27. The graphite epoxy GEM-60 motor performed without error during the static firing. The test was conducted at cold temperature and utilized the thrust vector control system. This was the second of three static test firings that will be conducted by Alliant Aerospace Propulsion Company of Magna, Utah (Alliant Techsystems PR).

Yam: While the Russian, Ukraine and Kazakhstan governments seek to modify the Zenit rocket into an environmentally friendly replacement for the Proton rocket. The countries have little capital to invest in the Sodruzhestvo project. The project was initially estimated to cost $170 million, but more recent estimates have raised the bar to $300 million. As an alternative, the Progress design bureau is looking into upgrading the venerable Soyuz rocket. The joint Russian and Kazakh project, dubbed the Yamal, would use the abandoned Energiya launch pads at Baikonur. The last Energiya rocket launched in 1987 and it is estimated that it would take 800 million rubles to restore the pads to operation (Space Daily; Interfax).

Buran: Russia's echo of NASA's Space Shuttle has fallen on hard times since the program was canceled. The 14.5 billion ruble program managed to launch one unmanned shuttle, which orbited the Earth twice and landed safely. The Buran was capable of lifting 30 tons to orbit or carry 10 cosmonauts for 30 days. After only one flight the program was canceled, leaving eleven test vehicles and one flight vehicle to slowly decay from neglect. In 1995, one of the test vehicles was moved to a Moscow park where it was used by a theme park for simulated missions. Thirty movable seats were installed to simulate the one and only flight. However, poor management and declining ticket sales have caused the Kosmopark to reduce the ride time and remove the space meal. Recently, as part of a publicity stunt, the Park offered the Buran for sale on the Internet for $3 million. While the Buran is owned by the State, the theme park is ready to part with its 56 percent interest in the project (Space Daily).

VentureStar: California has selected the Harper Dry Lake area as its primary launch site candidate for the Lockheed Martin VentureStar reusable launch vehicle. The site was selected over Lancaster, Merced and Vandenberg AFB. The Harper Dry Lake area will compete against sites in 15 other states (Space Transportation News).

SPACEPORTS -

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station: A long-time problem with the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station appears to be on its way toward a solution. With increasing numbers of launches scheduled for the facility, the two-day period it takes to reset the range for a new launch is no longer acceptable. The 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base has been working to reduce the turn around time to one day. The changeover is nearly complete with only one problem awaiting resolution. Changing the lighting for launches remains problematic. However, a second set of floodlights is on order. The new illumination is expected to be in place by August, allowing back-to-back night launches. The new lighting is part of a $1.2 billion effort to modernize the 50-year-old range (Space.com).

TECHNOLOGY -

Heat Tubes: The problem of transporting and eliminating heat has plagued designers of spacecraft since the first active circuitry entered orbit. A new look at an old design may provide an efficient transport of heat for new designs. A device called a heat tube was first created by the DOE's Los Alamos National Laboratory nearly 40 years ago. At the tip of the pipe a small amount of fluid is vaporized by heat and then condenses as it reaches the other, cooler, end of the pipe. Capillary action then returns the fluid to the hot end. The original technology borrows heavily on heat-conducting pipes used by English bakers over a century ago. The modern heat pipes use lithium instead of the earlier water or sodium and can operate in temperatures approaching 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Heat pipes working at room temperature are now being used routinely in commercial satellites. Larger pipes half an inch in diameter and up to 5 feet long will be used in future NASA spacecraft and have been tested on the Shuttle Endeavor (Space Daily).

Solar Cell: The USAF has awarded a two-year $750,000 contract to Energy Conversion Devices (ECD) to advance its photovoltaic space technology. The Phase I contract will develop laser-integrated, ultralight, thin-film amorphous, silicon-based solar panels on a 1 to 2 mil plastic substrate. The technology will deliver 2,500 watts per km, far superior to current 30-50 watts per kg. At 12 percent efficiency the ECD cells are not as efficient as sophisticated gallium arsenide solar cells, but are extremely durable. The cells are currently installed on Mir where they have experienced thousands of thermal cycles with no degradation. ECD and United Solar have formed a strategic alliance with Bekaert to expand United Solar's manufacturing capacity (Space Daily).

Lithium Batteries: Lithium Power Technologies (LPT) has been awarded a contract with the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) as part of its Small Business Innovation Research program. The $750,000 award will be used to refine LPT's ultra-thin film, rechargeable lithium solid-state battery. The goal of the program is to produce 25 prototypes in two years. In addition to military applications, LPT expects commercial use in laptop computers, smart cards, medical electronics and even electric vehicles. The battery is capable of delivering in excess of 300 Watt-hours per kg and is capable of being recharged over 1,000 times. It operates in a wide range of temperatures from 15C to 150 C. The battery is flexible and can conform to almost any shape. LPT is based out of Texas (Space Daily).

LEGISLATION -

ABM Treaty: Senator Jesse Helms, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has stated that any modified Anti Ballistic Missile treaty negotiated by the Clinton administration would be "dead-on-arrival" at the U.S. Senate. Helms opposes the current ABM Treaty because it was negotiated with the Soviet Union and not Russia. Helms also favors the National Missile Defense (NMD) system and considers limited missile defense vital to shield the US from rogue states such as North Korea or Iran. Clinton is currently preparing for a June 4 summit with Russian President Vladimier Putin in which arms control will be a central topic of discussion. President Clinton is expected to make a decision later this summer on the deployment of the $60 billion system. His decision is contingent on the success of a final test of the system in June (Space Daily).

CHARISMA -

Earth Day: On the 30th Anniversary of Earth Day, NASA scientists have utilized images from three satellites in September 1997 to update the image of the "Blue Marble". Cloud cover imagery was taken from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), which includes an image of Hurricane Linda off the west coast of Mexico. Ocean images were taken from NASA's SeaWIFS. Land images were taken by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer. Land features were exaggerated by 50 times. An image of the Moon was added to the picture at about twice its size. Apollo astronauts returning from the Moon took the original image (Space.com).

Mission: SPACE: Walt Disney Company has announced that the Walt Disney World's Epcot Center is developing a new attraction that will offer visitors simulated space adventures and "astronaut thrills". Using high-speed lifts for passenger cars, the company will produce the sensation of weightlessness. The company will also offer live interactive links with astronauts on orbital missions, and simulations of rover missions to the Moon and Mars. Retired NASA astronaut Story Musgrave is serving as a technical consultant for the project. NASA will provide some equipment and information and will facilitate links to orbiting astronauts. The attraction is scheduled to open in 2003 (Space.com).

Art Module: At a recent conference on the International Space station, artist Richard Seabra introduced the concept of a module on the space station dedicated to the arts. He stated that we have to date dedicated our expansion into space to the science, but that exploration also includes the arts and humanities. He stated that musicians, writers, video artists, film makers, dancers, anthropologist and philosophers could do fascinating work in an orbital facility. He contended that we have become sophisticated enough in our space exploration to include the humanities. Seabra named his proposed module the Isadora Module after the modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan. Both Mir and the ISS have recently announced that they were planning commercial "studios" (NASA; Space.com).

EXPLORATION -

NEAR Shoemaker: The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft was instructed on April 22 (1:50 p.m. EDT) fire its thrusters to alter its orbit to 100 x 50 km this past week. For the previous 11 days the spacecraft orbited asteroid Eros at a distance of 100 km. The spacecraft will complete its transfer to a 50 km circular orbit on April 30. The lower orbit will allow the spacecraft to study the asteroid at greater resolution. The Laser Rangefinder and X-Ray Gamma Ray Spectrometer were designed to work from this closer range. This was the fifth orbital correction since the spacecraft arrived at Eros on February 14 (Space Daily; NEAR; Spaceflight Now).

Martian Prospector: NASA has announced that it will be launching the next round of Mars Explorers on April 7, 2001. The orbiting Mars Prospector will arrive at the Red Planet on October 20, 2001. Like the Mars Global Surveyor, the Mars Prospector will use aerobraking to gradually lower its orbit. The spacecraft will take 76 days to lower itself to a two hour orbit. The Prospector will be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a Boeing Delta 7925 rocket equipped with mine strap-on solid rocket boosters. No lander will accompany the orbiter during this launch window (Space.com).

Stardust: An instrument on-board the Stardust spacecraft has completed analysis of five interstellar dust particles. The Cometary and Interstellar Dust Analyzer (CIDA) found the particles to be tar-like substances. Technically the particles were describes as "3-dimensionally cross-linked organic macro-molecules, so-called polymeric-heterocyclic- aromates. The particles impacted the CIDA at a velocity of 30 km/seconds and were vaporized at impact and broken up into molecular fragments that could be analyzed. Stardust will reach Comet Wild-2 in 2004 (Max-Planck-Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics).

OBSERVATORIES -

Cluster 2: The Cluster 2 satellites have been authorized by the European Space Agency's Flight Acceptance Review Board for transport to Baikonur Cosmodrome. However, the launch has been delayed by about a month to address concerns over the thruster system that will allow the four satellites to fly in formation in space. A soft polymer seal used in the thrusters was found to allow small leaks of propellant. A partial replacement of seals is hoped to correct the problem. The four satellites will be shipped in pairs on an Antonov cargo plain. FM6 and FM7 will be shipped April 27 and FM 5 and FM8 will follow on May 3. The satellites were built by DaimlerChrysler Aerospace/Donier and will be launched on two Soyuz-Fregat rockets. Launches are set of July 12 and August 9 (Note: the July 12 launch date is in conflict with the Proton launch of the Service Module). The launches are subject to the results on tests on the Cluster's attitude control thruster system being conducted by DASA (MirCorp; Space Views).

INTERNET IN THE SKY FRONTIER -

Broadband: The gold-rush for broadband service is heating up. Cable modems have taken an early lead with an estimated 1.1 million US homes receiving the service in 1999. However, cable-based service may not be able to maintain the lead because of a reported problem with the technology; the more users, the slower the service. Alternately, phone service providers have developed the digital subscriber line (DSL), which allows a single phone line to be used for voice and data services. The service is offered at a rate and speed comparable to cable-modems. However, in 1999 only 300,000 US homes had subscribed to the new service. By 2004, 9.6 million Americans are estimated to be using cable-modems, while DSL lines will be used by seven million. Because of the technological shortcoming, DSL is expected to take the lead shortly thereafter. An unknown factor in the equation is the satellite-based broadband industry. DirecPC currently has only 120,000 customers for its one-way satellite service (it requires a land line for outgoing information). DirecPC and Gilat both plan to begin true two-way satellite Internet services beginning in late 2000. DirecPC plans on offering its service for about $20 per month. Satellite technology allows the service providers to avoid bottlenecks of information transfer on the ground (Space Daily).

DirecPC: Hughes Network Systems has announced that it will begin true satellite Internet access beginning in the fourth quarter of 2000. Their DirecPC system currently offers satellite information retrieval, but outbound information must utilize phone line connections. The two-way service will be offered using DirecDuo dishes, which can receive both video programming and Internet information. The service was recently given a boost by the purchase of 50,000 units for use as information kiosks in India (Skyreport; Business Wire).

Teledesic: In a move to assure that the Teledesic remains competitive with terrestrial fiber-based broadband solutions, the company recently became an "adopter" of the Advanced Television Enhancement Forum (ATVEF). The company expects to launch its service in 2004 (MediaNews).

Connexion: Boeing announced that it will begin offering airline passengers access to e-mail and high-speed Internet. The service makes the airplane a node on the Internet. The antenna and equipment will be incorporated into new airplanes and can be retrofitted to existing jetliners. For the project, Boeing has joined services with Loral Space & Communications, Finmeccanica SpA and Mitsubishi to create the technology for the service. Loral Skynet will provide access to its 10 satellite network for the Internet connection. Italian firm Finmeccanica SpA will provide technology such as the antenna required to connect with satellite signals. CNN and CNBC will provide content for the service. Passengers will be able to access e-mail, surf the Internet and watch television at a rate comparable to cellular phone calls -- less than $30 per hour. The Connexion service will be tested on Cathay Pacific airlines this year. Boeing hopes to put the service on US airlines by late 2001 and world-wide by 2005. The service is seen by many as Boeing's first step to become a leader in the race to provide broadband service. Because Boeing has not yet signed major airline partners, an official announcement of the service has been delayed (USA Today; Wall Street Journal).

SETI -

SETI @ Home: The wildly popular Seti@Home screen saver will reach its first anniversary on May 17. In the year of operations of the UC Berkeley developed software, more than 2 million users in 226 countries have installed the program. The program has amassed an amazing 260,000 years of computer time analyzing radio signals from the 1,000-foot Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Versions of the program are running on Windows, Mac, UNIX, Be, OS/2 and other operating systems. Analysts at Berkeley examine signals flagged in the data sets sent to software users. While strong signals have been found, to-date they have been linked to radio interference, spurious computer data or intentional test signals (Space News).

MILITARY -

USAF Space Budget: The space budget of the US Air Force for FY 2001 has been announced. The budget was reported at $8.8 billion, which translates to about 9 percent of the total USAF budget. Areas funded include the upgrading of the Global Positioning System, the Space Based Infrared System, the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. However, some programs such as Milstar will see a decrease in funding (Air Force Space Command PR).

Strizh 3: A failed Strizh 3 missile test launch on April 22 resulted in a crash in western Kazakhstan near the village of Primorye. The missile is believed to have flown out of control after the failure of the altitude meter. The Strizh 3 rose to an altitude of 17 miles when it was given the self-destruct signal and exploded at 22 km. The missile was not armed, but contained 16 kg of trotyl (TNT) for self-destruction. While the lower end of the missile impacted in the test range, the forward end landed in Kazakhstan. The crash resulted in a crater 4-5 meters in diameter and 2.5 meters deep. The Kazakhstan government has asked Russia to halt missile testing from the Ashuluk military test range (Interfax).

BUSINESS -

Northrop Grumman / DaimlerChrysler: The two aerospace firms Northrop Grumman and DaimlerChrysler have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to evaluate possible business alliances in several advanced technological areas. The alliance would be continued through the pending merger of Dasa, Aerospatiale Matra and CASA into the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS). The alliance covers such topics as surveillance and reconnaissance, maritime UAV technology; airborne radar for military transport; naval radars and wide bandwidth data links for use with reconnaissance (Space Daily).

Roton: Roton has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Space Operations International (SOI) for the placement of secondary payloads on Rotary Rocket's Roton launch vehicles. SOI would act as Rotary Rockets prime agent to obtain U. S. Government small payloads. SOI is jointly owned by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. and Universities Space Research Association (SOI PR).

SPACE STOCKS - Frontier Status will begin tracking select space stocks on a week-by-week basis. The stock listing is for informational purposes only and not intended for trading purposes. Frontier Status shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Additional stocks may be listed by request (dalegray@micron.net).

Company                Ticker          Friday Close     Prev. Friday


Boeing                      BA               39.6875          40.0625
EchoStar                    DISH             63.6875          49.4375
GlobalStar                  GSTRF            11.75            10.0
Hughes Electronics          GMH              96.3125          90.0
Lockheed Martin             LMT              24.875           22.6875
Loral Space                 LOR               9.8125           8.125
Motorola                    MOT             119.0            111.0
Orbital Sciences            ORB              12.5             13.5
Sirius                      SIRI             39.6875          33.25
SpaceDev                    SPDVE.OB          1.5              N/A
SpaceHab                    SPAB              5.125            N/A
TRW                         TRW              58.5              N/A

COMING EVENTS -

Courtesy J. Ray, and J. Foust

Spaceflight Now - Tracking Station: World Wide Launch Schedule
Spaceviews Website

May 2 - Space Transportation Roundtable - Space Launch Initiative, Dirksen 628. Washington D.C.

May 3 - Atlas 2A, GOES-L, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

May 4 - Space Day

May 8 - Titan 4B, DSP Payload (B-29), SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Station.

May 10 - Orbital Sciences TLV (Target Launch Vehicle, TL-DEMO, LF-06, Vandenberg AFB.

May 10 - Delta 2, NAVSTAR GPS satellite, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

May 15- Eurockot Rokot, Experimental payload, Plesetsk, Russia.

May 15- Atlas 3A, Eutelsat W-4, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Inaugural Launch.

May 18 - Shuttle Atlantis (STS-101), ISS flight 2A.2A, Kennedy Space Center.

May 20 - Pegasus XL, TSX 5, Vandenberg AFB.

May 24 - Minuteman III, FTM-02, Vandenberg AFB.

May 31 - Cosmos-3M, CHAMP, MITA, BIRD, complex 132 Plesetsk, Russia.

May 24 - Minuteman III, GT-172-GM, Vandenberg AFB.

Late May - Proton / Briz, Gorizont 45, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

June 8 - Proton, Intersputnik Express-3A, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

June 10 - Silicon Valley Space Enterprise Symposium, San Jose, California.

June 15 - Delta 2, NAVSTAR GPS satellite, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

June 28 - ILS Proton, Sirius 1 (CD Radio), Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

June 29 - SeaLaunch Zenit-3SL, PanAmSat PAS-9, Odyssey launch platform, equatorial Pacific Ocean.

Late June - Proton / Briz, Geyser data-relay satellite (Russian Ministry of Defense), Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

July - Ariane 5, Astra 2B and GE-7, ELA-3, Kourou, French Guiana.

July 10-14 - Proton / Briz, ISS flight 1R, Zvezda Service Module, Baikonur, Kazakstan.

July 20 - Lunar Development Conference, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada.

CENSUS - The population of space remains at two, both Russian cosmonauts on board the Mir space station. Mir has been occupied for 23 days. Humans have spent a total of 117.5 man-days in orbit in the year 2000. The first element of the International Space Station has been in orbit for 526 days. The occupation of the International Space Station is expected to begin in the fall of 2000.

Index for Frontier Status Report 2000