Commentary | Space-based Missile Defense: Advancing Creativity, Protecting Lives - SpaceNews.com

http://spacenews.com/41559space-based-missile-defense-advancing-creativity-protecting-lives/


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Need shuttle capability-- lost in space by Abbey

Fwd: Classified Shuttle Missions: Secrets in Space

Now that they are not flying---- what is impact on national security????

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: October 27, 2016 at 9:27:33 AM EDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Classified Shuttle Missions: Secrets in Space

 

 

Reference:

Classified Shuttle Missions: Secrets in Space

By Elizabeth Howell, Space.com Contributor | October 26, 2016 07:49pm ET

STS-39 Mission Specialist Charles L. Veach monitors an AFP-675 panel on Discovery's aft flight deck.

Credit: NASA

The space shuttle was NASA's primary option for transporting astronauts to Earth orbit between 1981 and 2011. The five shuttles that went into space flew 135 missions. Crews deployed satellites, conducted experiments and studied the Earth. A handful of the missions were classified, and little is known about these secret missions, even 30 years after the fact.

Joint operations

In the early days of the space shuttle program, some of the missions were run jointly by NASA and the military. This was in part because the National Reconnaissance Office had successfully requested the shuttle's payload bay — the part of the shuttle that carried satellites be carried into space — be enlarged to accommodate large military satellites,  according to Air & Space Magazine. 

NRO also wanted polar shuttle missions, since polar missions make it possible to see the Earth's entire surface below (as opposed to equatorial missions, which are limited.) The Air Force went so far as to create a launch pad in Vandenberg, California for polar-orbiting space shuttle missions, but after the Challenger incident, plans to use the pad were permanently mothballed.

After the Challenger disaster on Jan. 28, 1986, U.S. policy changed to allow the Department of Defense to use expendable, uncrewed rockets again. Classified shuttle flights continued with payloads that could not be shifted to the Titan IV rocket, the magazine added. The astronauts encountered considerable challenges in keeping information secret since the shuttle did not have secure information channels, and their movements and training operations had to be somehow kept separate in a normally open public agency.

Here is some of what we know about the missions with DOD.

STS-4 Columbia (Launched June 27, 1982)

The classified payload was known as Cryogenic Infrared Radiance Instrument for Shuttle (CIRRIS), which was supposed to test infrared sensors for a future surveillance satellite called Teal Ruby, according to America Space. The lens cap on CIRRIS failed to open, and the experiment failed. America Space added that Teal Ruby ended up being cancelled after the Challenger incident, which delayed shuttle flights by several years.

"Teal Ruby was first shifted onto STS-39 and finally cancelled," the publication said. "By the time STS-39 lifted off in April 1991, it carried not Teal Ruby … but an updated version of CIRRIS. Apparently, by the time it would have been ready to launch, the Teal Ruby technology — considered 'advanced' in the late 1970s — would be virtually obsolete, because sensor technology was advancing rapidly."

STS-51C Discovery (Launched Jan. 24, 1985)

Little is known about STS-51C's payload officially besides this terse line on the NASA website: "The U.S. Air Force Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster was deployed and met the mission objectives." 

Multiple sources suggest that the satellite deployed was called Magnum/ORION ELINT, a signals intelligence program about which little is known. Before launch, no pre-flight commentary was available until nine minutes before liftoff — a first in the shuttle program.

STS-51J Atlantis (Launched Oct. 3, 1985)

Two Defense Satellite Communications System satellites were released on this mission, according to NASA. The system is intended to support secure data and voice transmissions for military users from across the globe. 

STS-62A Discovery (Cancelled)

This mission was supposed to be the first one using the Air Force pad in Vandenberg, Calif., but it was cancelled after the Challenger explosion. Its main mission was to put Teal Ruby into orbit, according to NASASpaceflight.com. 

STS-27 Atlantis (Launched Dec. 2, 1988)

It's probable that the crew released a satellite called ONYX, which had radar on board capable of observing targets on the ground through any kind of weather or cloud cover. According to Air&Space Magazine, one of the satellite's antenna dishes did not open and the crew possibly — although it's not confirmed officially — did a spacewalk to fix the issue.

STS-28 Columbia (Launched Aug. 8, 1989)

Air&Space Magazine reports that STS-28 hauled the Satellite Data System spacecraft into orbit; SDS was supposed to relay imagery from other military satellites. The magazine got confirmation on this from an Air Force officer, who was not named in the story.

STS-33 Discovery (Launched Nov. 22, 1989)

NASA's website simply says this was a Department of Defense mission. The payload has not been confirmed.

STS-36 Atlantis (Launched Feb. 28, 1990)

There are many theories as to what STS-36 carried, but nothing has been officially confirmed. The shuttle's ground track took it as high as 62 degrees, which is a record for the shuttle program.

STS-38 Atlantis (Launched Nov. 15, 1990)

NASA's website only says that this was a Department of Defense mission. No confirmed information about the payload is available.

STS-39 Discovery (Launched April 28, 1991)

The Air Force partially declassified this mission before launch. The unclassified payload was known as Air Force Program-675 (AFP-675), which was an updated version of CIRRIS. According to NASA, the classified payload "consisted of Multi-Purpose Release Canister (MPEC)," but no further information appears to be available.

STS-53 Discovery (Launched Dec. 2, 1992)

The main payload for this mission remains classified, with little information about what it could be.

 

Copyright © 2016 TechMediaNetwork.com All rights reserved. 

 

---

 

 

Fwd: CATHOLIC VOTER ALERT!

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Peter M. Callahan" <pmcallah@gmail.com>
Date: October 28, 2016 at 8:55:34 PM EDT
To: bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com
Subject: CATHOLIC VOTER ALERT!

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨

Catholic Voter Alert ❗️

🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨

#TrumpForCatholics

http://www.ewtn.com/tv/live/worldover.asp

Needed capability

Money spent on human exploration should be used to develop capabilities needed for a meaningful program. Research into long space flights can be done at the International Space Station, which should therefore be vigorously supported. Abundant launch vehicles are already on the commercial market, and yet a new and very expensive launch vehicle, with undefined payload and mission, is being developed. Three spacecraft are being developed to carry astronauts to space. Does the nation need three space capsules with limited capabilities? The capability that is lacking is the one that saved Hubble and built the largest structure ever assembled and flown in space. A redesigned X-37 that can carry astronauts could provide such a capability.

Reducing the cost of space flight would be a big help. Jeff Bezos of Blue Origin and Elon Musk of SpaceX are pursuing the technology for reusable rockets. United Launch Alliance is pursuing reusable first-stage engines for its next-generation Vulcan rocket. It expects the recovery of the engines alone to reduce the propulsion cost of the booster by up to 90 percent. A fly-back booster was considered during early design studies for the space shuttle, and could be achieved today. NASA should lead the way to provide such a capability and establish U.S. leadership in launch technology.

America needs a space policy that has a vision that can build on past achievements and keep moving forward. A big part of that is construction, maintenance and servicing in low-Earth orbit. Another is international cooperation. And we should realign our goals with those of other major space-faring nations and look back to the Moon, so we again become the leaders in space. After all, we've been there before. A lunar exploration program would provide the foundation for manned missions beyond the Moon. Our eyes must look to the skies with purpose toward that limitless frontier.

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Fwd: REAL Space Act (H.R. 2036)

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Peter M. Callahan" <pmcallah@gmail.com>
Date: October 27, 2016 at 8:53:43 PM EDT
To: bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com
Subject: REAL Space Act (H.R. 2036)

REAL Space Act (H.R. 2036) 

Washington, April 27, 2015 - Congressman Posey reintroduced the Reasserting American Leadership in Space Act, or REAL Space Act, on April 27, 2015. This bill directs NASA to return to the Moon by 2023 and develop a sustained human presence as a stepping stone to Mars and other destinations within our solar system.  The legislation also emphasizes the importance of maintaining the United States' preeminence in space.

The Moon offers a worthy vision and goal for human space exploration. Numerous technologies and practices for Mars and for other deep space missions can be demonstrated and refined just three days away from earth.

http://posey.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394378

Fwd:

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Peter M. Callahan" <pmcallah@gmail.com>
Date: October 27, 2016 at 9:07:28 PM EDT
To: Bobby Martin <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>

Bobby,

Please listen to this short video and consider posting it to your blog.  Thanks again.

###

Michael Moore Perfectly Explains Why Trump Will Win

https://youtu.be/XsPlwhahHAo

👍🏼🇺🇸👍🏼🇺🇸👍🏼🇺🇸👍🏼🇺🇸👍🏼🇺🇸👍🏼🇺🇸👍🏼🇺🇸

--
Sent from Gmail Mobile

Fwd: Michael Moore Perfectly Explains Why Trump Will Win

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Peter M. Callahan" <pmcallah@gmail.com>
Date: October 27, 2016 at 9:08:51 PM EDT
To: Bobby Martin <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>
Subject: Michael Moore Perfectly Explains Why Trump Will Win

Bobby,

Please listen to this short video and consider posting it to your blog.  Thanks again.

###

Michael Moore Perfectly Explains Why Trump Will Win

https://youtu.be/XsPlwhahHAo

👍🏼🇺🇸👍🏼🇺🇸👍🏼🇺🇸👍🏼🇺🇸👍🏼🇺🇸👍🏼🇺🇸👍🏼🇺🇸

--
Sent from Gmail Mobile

Placing ourselves in danger!

How crazy can we be---- give up space capability, not assure the best missile defense & put ordinary criminals in all levels of gov!

Sent from my iPad

Fwd: Why Trump is Running for President

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Peter M. Callahan" <pmcallah@gmail.com>
Date: October 26, 2016 at 2:35:41 PM EDT
To: bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com
Subject: Why Trump is Running for President

Bobby, please consider posting this to your blog.  Thank you. 

###

Why Trump is Running for President

Every day I wake up determined to deliver a better life for the people all across this nation that have been ignored, neglected and abandoned.

I have visited the laid-off factory workers, and the communities crushed by our horrible and unfair trade deals. These are the forgotten men and women of our country. People who work hard but no longer have a voice.

Help Me Fight. Let's Win a Great Victory For America on November 8th
Please SUPPORT Donald J. Trump For President TODAY.

https://donate.donaldjtrump.com/why-we-started?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=JFC_direct-ask_why-we-started&additional%5Butm_content%5D=102616-why-we-started-cbo-jfc-o-o-hf-e&utm_source=e_o-o

No plans to reacquire this important capability!

Fwd: Another U.S. Air Force weather satellite just broke up in orbit

Sent from my iPad

Armstrong: Obama NASA plan 'devastating' - NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams | NBC News

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/36470363/ns/nbc_nightly_news_with_brian_williams/t/armstrong-obama-nasa-plan-devastating/#.WA9J5Os8KrU


Sent from my iPad

Hubble can't be repaired , thanks to this adm placing shuttle in museum!

Fwd: Helmet Norporth : Trump will be POTUS : Ignore What Polls Say!

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Peter M. Callahan" <pmcallah@gmail.com>
Date: October 23, 2016 at 3:15:36 PM CDT
To: Bobby Martin <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>
Subject: Helmet Norporth : Trump will be POTUS : Ignore What Polls Say!

Helmet Norporth : Trump will be POTUS : Ignore What Polls Say❗️👍🏼🇺🇸

https://youtu.be/tpeGihVfB3k

--
Sent from Gmail Mobile

Fwd: Chuck Todd, "The Fraud!"

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Peter M. Callahan" <pmcallah@gmail.com>
Date: October 23, 2016 at 10:34:00 AM CDT
To: bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com
Subject: Chuck Todd, "The Fraud!"

NBC's MEET THE PRESS...... AND CHUCK TODD "THE FRAUD"❗️👎🏼💩

Todd attended George Washington University from 1990 to 1994 but never graduated. 😱

Todd resides in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife, Kristian Denny Todd, and their two children.  She is a communications professional and co-founder of Maverick Strategies and Mail, which provides direct mail and consulting services for Democratic candidates and progressive causes. 😱

SUCH A LIBERAL, PROGRESSIVE PENIS❗️👎🏼💩🐓😡

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Todd

Don't need their way of life !

We must Reverse the crap this potus has thrust on the US !!

Bobby Martin

9 hrs · 

WAKE UP AMERICA. ,!!!! This Potus is destroying the USA -- wake up!

Dale Netherton Obama and His Muslim Legacy

There is much confusion about the policies and direction of the Obama presidency. Pundits and politicians alike flounder when trying to explain the actions of President Obama. The reason for this confusion and misunderstanding is the lack of courage to identify and integrate the unmistaken evidence of what they are dealing with. 

The recent defense of Islam at the prayer breakfast was a central clue to what is going on in Obama's mind. Searching for some way to downplay the role of other religions and therefore equivocate atrocities performed today with those of other religions in the past can only be described as evasion of context. Denying the words Islamist terrorists and constantly referring to Islam as a religion of peace only confirms his basic premise that translates into action to promote Islam consistently and almost openly. When you look at the words of the Koran and Obama's actions you see a pattern that cannot be misinterpreted. 

First take the Islamic tenet that lying to promote Islam is perfectly acceptable. This includes such practices as evading and distorting. We know the man is a liar from his claims on healthcare, his shovel ready jobs and " You didn't build that". Why would we accept that he was truthful when he swore to defend the Constitution. That has been an obvious lie. 

Now consider that what if a man with Muslim proclivities decides that his contribution to Muslim dominance can best be served by using his oratorial talents to become President of the United States and then undermine the county with weak leadership, massive debt and doing all that he can to diminish America and her defenses? Could not a person's intent on Muslim dominance accomplish this mission to some extent? It was pointed out by Laura Ingram that Obama seems well qualified to accomplish what he wants to accomplish and she pointed to his elections, his free college program, his stimulus , etc. But when it comes to dealing with ISIS he seems feckless. Is this because he doesn't know what to do or is it because his agenda is far different than an American President who would want to protect and promote the American Dream?

President Obama seems to have little interest in his legacy as an American President. No one would want their country to become more mediocre, weak, and debt ridden if they had a spark of rationality in them. Yet these destructive avenues keep being advocated and reflect only a mission to boost Muslim stature and diminish America. His foreign apologist speeches can only point to such a mission.

In Obama's mind where he displays many of the attributes identified by Patai in his book ," The Arab Mind", we see the notion that speech is more potent than action, lying to promote Islam is perfectly acceptable and a central drive to avoid denouncing Islam is evident by the weak leadership regarding national defense. Releasing terrorist leaders and attempting to close Gitmo also fit with the overall objective of a Muslim legacy.

At the end of his term of office he will be able to say to his Islamic cohorts, " See what I have done to promote your case and diminish the power and stature of the nation of infidels as asked by the Prophet. Such a legacy will sit well with the Muslims who will see a path to dominance they had not envisioned. Infiltration will be the strategy of the Muslim future and although simple bombing will continue, infiltration into the institutions and government will play a major part. Identifying and challenging this invasion will require more than simple vigilance. A lock step party will only accelerate the invasion as we have already seen. If no one is willing to identify this mission for what it is America will be degraded to the status the Muslim religion seeks. The land of the free without the home of the brave will cease to exist.

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Have we lost our minds!!!

Unique Capabilities critical to USA !

Go figure, we had in shuttle UNIQUE capabilities, that were the envy of the world.
We could accomplish tasks in EO that had not been accomplished by any other country, & by operating shuttle, we improved the following:
1. Improved designs for various systems & mfg. & test capabilities 
2. Created tens of thousands of excellent jobs
3. Supported iss & maintained an improved safety state than is presently being done re Kraft letter on placing Iss in danger w/ o shuttle
4. Provided the option by maintaining a STS to accomplish important EO tasks, & to explore universe by placing exploration modules in EO.
5. Improve Iss research by providing equipment & supplies that can not be done with Soyuz & cargo transportation system.
6. By maintaining a multiplicity of operations & a dynamic program, provided a Dream for our youth to strive for.
7. Developed approaches/techniques for military operations in EO which are critical to the capabilities of national security

But, after spending billions , we scrap the effort, & develop capsule approach that will not be manned for several more years, & when it is will not come CLOSE to shuttle capabilities, meanwhile WE pay Russia. 

Whole deal TOTALLY NONSENSICAL--- seem our leaders in Congress have lost their minds!!!!

Sent from my iPad

New US-Russian Crew Arrives at International Space Station

http://www.space.com/34463-new-space-station-crew-arrives-at-last.html?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Twitter&utm_campaign=socialtwitterspc&cmpid=social_spc_514648


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USA in danger!

Better think long & hard re what this ignorant potus has done to the US manned program!

We have a deficient missile defense system & our manned space capability has been destroyed by this grossly inept liberal administration! We are in serious trouble & are at risk of nuclear attack. We have near zero on-orbit offense/ defensive capability Our assets in orbit are in danger of destruction! Spread the word, contact your senators & congressmen, set up blogs---- this is very serious! Wake up America!

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Fwd: The Shocking Truth: Hillary Can Still Lose, Case 'Against' Her Is Strong

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Begin forwarded message:

From: Dick Morris Reports <subscribers@dickmorris.com>
Date: October 22, 2016 at 6:00:00 AM CDT
To: Subscriber <Bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>
Subject: The Shocking Truth: Hillary Can Still Lose, Case 'Against' Her Is Strong

Dear Reader, The liberal media spin – and many of the polls – are giving many the impression that Hillary Clinton has already been elected president! But the IBD/TIPP tracking poll, the most accurate national poll during the 2012 election, shows the race between Trump and Hillary is a dead heat – they are TIED! Rasmussen is showing that too – as does the Los Angeles Times tracking poll. As Dick Morris explains in his runaway NY Times bestseller Armageddon: How Trump Can Beat Hillary, Trump need not do very much to defeat Hillary. All Trump needs to do is point to Hillary's long, sordid and very liberal record. Armageddon is the most powerful indictment of Hillary ever written. Even if she were to win the White House, Armageddon will be the handbook for any citizen concerned about stopping her radical agenda. Dick Morris argues that Trump and his supporters must focus on Hillary's shocking record – from out-and-out lies and the cover-up over her email server, to the tragedy of Benghazi – which the big media has been trying to ignore and sweep under the carpet! For 20 years Dick Morris was one of Hillary's closest confidants and advisers. He knows her darkest secrets. He not only reveals them in Armageddon – but he has accurately predicted almost her every move against Trump. Dick warned of Hillary's "October surprise" against Trump. It is now clear that the "Access Hollywood" video tape of Trump was known to NBC executives for almost 10 years! They held it back and released it at the critical moment in an attempt to destroy Donald Trump! But Trump, Morris argues in Armageddon, can deflect such attacks and turn the tables against her. This election is the ultimate battle between good and evil. There's a reason Armageddon has become the #1 bestselling book of the election season! Armageddon is at bookstores everywhere, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and Sam's Club! On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, American voters will make a momentous decision. They will decide whether or not this great country will remain a free market, constitutional democracy. The stakes could not be higher. If Hillary Clinton is elected president, it will mean the end of the America we know and love. In Armageddon, Morris offers a manual on how the forces of good can win this battle. If you love Donald Trump, you need to get this book and share it with friends and family. If you oppose him, you need to find out what Dick Morris is saying. Even if "President Hillary" becomes a reality – Armageddon will become the blueprint for every conservative who wants to stop Hillary's radical agenda. Now, in Armageddon, Morris shows Hillary's opponents how they can take advantage of her many vulnerabilities — to elect a president who wants to make America a great nation again. Armageddon is at bookstores everywhere – get it, read it and share it!

TO ADVERTISE Dickmorris.com and our email alerts are a free service. Our advertisers help us keep this service at no cost to you. We appreciate your support. The DickMorris.com email list is represented exclusively by Newsmax Media. For information on advertising, please contact Newsmax Advertising Sales via email. Go to DickMorris.com to read all of Dick's columns! Please forward this email to friends and family and tell them they can get these columns emailed to them for free by subscribing at DickMorris.com! © Copyright 2016, Dick Morris and Eileen McGann. Reprints with written permission only. To unsubscribe from commercial emails like this one but to continue to receive Dick's columns and videos, click here. To unsubscribe from all mailing from DickMorris.com, please click the link below. Thank You!

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AN ESTABLISHMENT IN PANIC: Ruling class fears the people won't accept its political legitimacy | US Defense Watch

http://usdefensewatch.com/2016/10/an-establishment-in-panic-ruling-class-fears-the-people-wont-accept-its-political-legitimacy/


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Fwd: Op-ed | Trump's space policy reaches for Mars and the stars - SpaceNews.com

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: Bobby G Martin <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>
Date: October 21, 2016 at 6:45:00 AM CDT
To: "Peter M. Callahan" <pmcallah@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Op-ed | Trump's space policy reaches for Mars and the stars - SpaceNews.com

Agree--- we can't depend on commercial--- DOD and NASA must be in charge of EO control--  more important than Mars , etc

Sent from my iPad

On Oct 21, 2016, at 5:54 AM, Peter M. Callahan <pmcallah@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks Bobby.

In my opinion, commercial space will have very limited human spaceflight success for the next 100 years, until U.S. politicians finally realize that NASA must lead and direct the show.  I believe it is tragic and dangerous that U.S. politicians haven't figured this out yet and the American public hasn't demanded this from them.

Ling live Trump!  Long live NASA!  Long live the United States of America!

On Thursday, October 20, 2016, Bobby G Martin <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com> wrote:

http://spacenews.com/trumps-space-policy-reaches-for-mars-and-the-stars/?utm_source=Today%27s+Deep+Space+Extra%2C+Thursday%2C+October+20%2C+2016&utm_campaign=dailycsextra&utm_medium=email


Sent from my iPad

--
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Op-ed | Trump's space policy reaches for Mars and the stars - SpaceNews.com

http://spacenews.com/trumps-space-policy-reaches-for-mars-and-the-stars/?utm_source=Today%27s+Deep+Space+Extra%2C+Thursday%2C+October+20%2C+2016&utm_campaign=dailycsextra&utm_medium=email


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Fwd: Remembering Galileo’s Ride on STS-34

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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: October 20, 2016 at 10:47:42 AM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Remembering Galileo's Ride on STS-34

 

AmericaSpace

For a nation that explores
October 15th, 2016 

The Romance of Adventure: Remembering Galileo's Ride on STS-34 (Part 1)

By Ben Evans

 

Atlantis roars into orbit on 18 October 1989 to deploy the Galileo spacecraft on its mission to Jupiter. Photo Credit: NASA

When the Galileo spacecraft drifted out of Shuttle Atlantis' payload bay on the evening of 18 October 1989, on the first leg of its voyage to Jupiter, the sight was a moving one for Shannon Lucid. As STS-34's lead mission specialist, she was primarily responsible for the deployment of one of the most important payloads ever launched by NASA. For almost a dozen years, Lucid had lived and worked with the reality that her job was an overwhelmingly technical one, drawing from its roots in engineering and pure science … but on this day, as Galileo and its Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster floated silently into the inky void, she beheld a new reality: the romance of adventure. Emblazoned across the base of the spacecraft which would one day circle Jupiter and deposit an instrumented probe into its atmosphere were two names: "Galileo" in script and "NASA" in worm-like block capitals.

To Lucid, those two words symbolized exactly what the mission stood for: The script represented the romance of adventure and exploration, whilst the worm was indicative of the outstanding engineering and scientific talent which had brought this awesome project from the drawing board to fruition. Yet Galileo's journey to the launch pad had been a long and tortured one, and its voyage to Jupiter would be longer and harder still.

The mission traced its genesis back to the mid-1970s. Named in honor of the great Italian scientist, Galileo Galilei, whose endeavors in the early 17th century included the discovery of Jupiter's four large moons—Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, and Io—but which also assured him a retirement under house arrest, courtesy of the Roman Inquisition.

Originally known as "Jupiter Orbiter and Probe" (JOP), the name "Galileo" seemed an obvious one and the project received Congressional approval on 1 October 1977, with a planned launch four years later. However, delays to the first flight of the shuttle and the limited capability of Boeing's IUS to boost Galileo on its way to Jupiter raised concerns. In 1979, Washington Post journalist Thomas O'Toole highlighted that problems with certifying the three Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) to operate at the 109 percent performance threshold needed to lift Galileo posed additional obstacles.

Galileo's target was Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System. Photo Credit: NASA, ESA and E. Karkoschka (University of Arizona)

By now, the launch had slipped until 1982 at the earliest. O'Toole noted that if the 109-percent-capable SSMEs were not ready for this date, Galileo could slip even further. Timing was critical, since a 1982 launch depended upon a Mars gravity assist and if it was delayed much further, the potential existed to halve the scientific mission at Jupiter, from 11 to just five orbits of the giant planet. At length, in late 1980, under pressure from Rep. Edward Boland, a Democrat from Mass., NASA was obliged to abandon the IUS plan and initiate planning for a launch on General Dynamics' liquid-propeled Centaur-G Prime, which Administrator Robert Frosch had earlier opposed.

The situation for Galileo's future dimmed substantially for much of 1981, with Congressional mutterings of closing down the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., which managed many of NASA's planetary projects. A massive letter-writing campaign to George Keyworth, head of the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, was spearheaded by Galileo investigator and famed physicist James van Allen. In a speech to the National Academy of Sciences, van Allen identified Galileo as one of the most exciting missions of exploration ever undertaken and that its cancellation would prove devastating.

Thankfully, in December 1981 the Office of Management and Budget relented, reinstated Galileo and it was rescheduled for 1983. There was a caveat, however: Galileo would not use the powerful Centaur-G Prime. In January 1982, NASA rescoped the mission and returned to the less powerful IUS fitted with a third, "injection stage" to provide increased propulsion. As a consequence, Galileo's launch was rescheduled for August 1985, but the absence of the powerful Centaur meant that it would take five years, instead of two, and the spacecraft would be injected into a two-year-long elliptical solar orbit, would require a gravity assisted boost from Earth in June 1987, and would finally reach Jupiter in January 1990.

By the summer of 1982, some members of Congress—led by New Mexico Sen. Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, a former Moonwalker and chairman of the Senate Space Subcommittee of the Science, Commerce and Transportation Committee—were pushing vigorously for a return to the Centaur and a reduced journey time. Despite worries about additional expense in changing boosters again, coupled with concerns about further delays to the mission, in July President Reagan approved the move and NASA was forced to replan. The Centaur would be used to boost Galileo, but launch would be unavoidably postponed until May 1986, with a two-year flight time to the giant planet.

Artist's impression of Galileo, attached to the giant Centaur-G Prime upper stage, shortly before deployment from the Shuttle in May 1986. The Challenger disaster sounded the death knell for the highly dangerous human-rated Centaur. Image Credit: NASA

At this stage, the mission truly entered the phase of equipment testing. In the early summer of 1983, the parachute for the instrumented probe, which would descend into Jupiter's atmosphere, successfully passed full-scale tests, and by September of that year the main spacecraft and probe were integrated. A model of the Centaur passed its own tests in September 1984, and the actual flight model was rolled out of General Dynamics' plant in San Diego, Calif., in August of the following year. By this time, NASA Administrator Jim Beggs had endorsed other possible tasks for Galileo, most notably a flyby of the asteroid Amphitrite, which it was hoped might unlock secrets of the primordial solar nebula from which the Sun and planets formed. An Amphitrite flyby would delay the Jupiter arrival from August to December 1988, however, and it was decided to make a final decision after launch. In December 1985, only weeks before the loss of Challenger, Galileo was transported, cross-country by truck, guarded by police, state troopers, and other guards, and arrived safely at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for launch the following May.

When Challenger exploded in the skies above Florida on 28 January 1986, Galileo was undergoing final checkout and preparation for attachment to its Centaur-G Prime booster. In the weeks after the accident, NASA Acting Administrator William Graham spoke of the possibility of a return to flight in the spring of 1987, which kept alive the option to launch Galileo in the next Jovian "window" in June of that year. Eventually, the modifications to the shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and the orbiters themselves inevitably pushed the return to flight further to the right.

On 19 June 1986, newly-reappointed NASA Administrator Jim Fletcher formally canceled Centaur-G Prime and new options had to be found. One of these was an "enlargement" of the IUS, possibly coupled with an additional booster, such as a Special Payload Assist Module (PAM-S). However, as already noted, the IUS was insufficient to send Galileo directly to Jupiter and alternate trajectories, involving planetary gravity assists, were explored. Even before NASA settled on October-November 1989 as the most appropriate "window" for Jupiter, Galileo's planners were already working toward this date, creating a complex flight profile, known as the Venus-Earth-Earth Gravity Assist (VEEGA), in which the spacecraft would perform a flyby of Venus in February 1990, return to Earth in December, and be placed into a two-year elliptical solar orbit. Returning a second time to Earth in December 1992, it would pick up sufficient energy to reach Jupiter in December 1995.

The VEEGA technique was highly conservative of Galileo's on-board propellant, with predictions indicating that up to 176 pounds (80 kg) would remain, even after the arrival at Jupiter and completion of its primary mission. The trajectory also permitted possible rendezvous with up to three asteroids—Ausonia, Gaspra, and Ida—and eventually the latter two were selected. However, since the spacecraft would fly much closer to the Sun than had been planned, additional thermal shielding was added in the three-year down time after Challenger. It is interesting that Galileo also "leapfrogged" Ulysses in the launch pecking order. "NASA based its decision on optimising data return from the two missions," wrote Michael Meltzer in Mission to Jupiter. "Launching Ulysses first would have resulted in too long a wait before Galileo reached Jupiter and began transmitting prime data from the Jovian system."

Jupiter and Galileo adorn the official crew patch for STS-34, together with the names of the five-member crew: Commander Don Williams, Pilot Mike McCulley and Mission Specialists Shannon Lucid, Franklin Chang-Diaz, and Ellen Baker. Image Credit: NASA

As launch neared, with an opening of the Jupiter window at 1:29 p.m. EST on 12 October 1989, there were still last-minute concerns about Galileo … although these were not focused upon its mission, but upon its power system. Since the spacecraft would be traveling so far from the Sun, the use of solar cells for electrical provision was impractical. Therefore, General Electric supplied a pair of Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs), fueled by fracture-resistant pellets of plutonium-238, whose decay produced heat which was in turn converted into electricity. To keep them at a safe distance from the sensitive scientific instruments, the RTGs were mounted on a boom, which extended them 16 feet (5 meters) away from the main body of the spacecraft.

Both power plants produced 570 watts of electricity at launch, which steadily decreased by around half a watt per month and reached around 493 watts by the time Galileo reached Jupiter. Shuttle Atlantis also required modification to incorporate an RTG coolant line and purging system in her payload bay. In the late 1980s, of course, "nuclear" was a dirty word—a word which conjured images of military superpowers, the faceless Department of Defense and Department of Energy, and greedy power corporations. Peace marches were undertaken and representatives of several anti-nuclear groups gathered at the gates of KSC to express their disgust and fear that a Challenger-like explosion could spread radioactive plutonium across much of the United States' eastern seaboard.

The allegation that NASA was playing "ecological roulette" with the lives of Floridians was not groundless. Memories of the "messy" crash of the Soviet Union's nuclear-fueled Cosmos 954 satellite in Canada, a decade earlier, were fresh in many minds, and even the noted physicist Carl Sagan remarked that "there is nothing absurd about either side of this argument." Final approval to proceed with the Galileo launch came from President George H.W. Bush himself in September 1989. Three days before the scheduled launch, on 9 October, outraged protestors staged a mock "death scene" at the Cape and even threatened to sit on Pad 39B itself to prevent Atlantis from launching into orbit.

STS-34 astronaut Franklin Chang-Díaz was astonished by the controversy surrounding a mission which was not a military one, but a scientific odyssey. "It was striking to drive through the gates…and see all these demonstrators, trying to stop the launch," he told a Smithsonian interviewer, years later. "The topic of nuclear power is going to come up over and over again as we move into space. It's a key issue we are going to have to resolve, because the survival of people in space, far away from Earth, will totally depend on the use of nuclear power."

The launch window for Jupiter would close on 21 November 1989, after which the next opportunity would not arise until 1991, so there existed a very real risk that the mission might be canceled. Security was increased at KSC, as guards armed with M-16 assault rifles and 9 mm semi-automatic pistols patrolled the perimeter of the launch site. A faulty main engine controller put paid to the 12 October attempt and launch was rescheduled for the 17th, then the 18th when rain showers drifted within 18 miles (30 km) of the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). During these few days, final efforts to stop the launch were rejected by the Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. In her summary, Chief Justice Patricia Wald declared that she could find no evidence that NASA had improperly compiled its environmental assessment reports for Galileo, and on 16 October a number of activists were arrested at the Cape for trespassing.

With this final clearance, the last hurdle was removed before Galileo's long-awaited mission to the King of the Planets.

 

Copyright © 2016 AmericaSpace - All Rights Reserved

 

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AmericaSpace

For a nation that explores
October 16th, 2016 

The Romance of Adventure: Remembering Galileo's Ride on STS-34 (Part 2)

By Ben Evans

 

Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io were key focuses for the Galileo mission. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/Goddard Space Flight Center

Almost three decades ago, shuttle mission STS-34 and the crew of Atlantis rocketed into orbit to launch NASA's Galileo spacecraft on a lengthy odyssey to Jupiter. As described in yesterday's AmericaSpace history article, the mission was extensively delayed, by political and technical issues—including the Challenger tragedy—and almost met with outright cancellation, when anti-nuclear protesters campaigned against the use of its plutonium-powered Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (RTG). However, after considerable rain, on the wet morning of 18 October 1989, the five astronauts departed their crew quarters at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), bound for Pad 39B and Atlantis.

In command of STS-34 was Don Williams, who had previously flown as pilot of Mission 51D in the spring of 1985. He was joined by pilot Mike McCulley and mission specialists Shannon Lucid—a veteran of the multi-national Mission 51G—Franklin Chang-Díaz, and Ellen Baker. The quintet had been training since November 1988. Their launch on 18 October was postponed by 3.5 minutes, in order to update the shuttle's computers for a change in the Transoceanic Abort Landing (TAL) site, which had been moved to Zaragoza in Spain, due to heavy rain at Ben Guerir in Morocco. Finally, at 12:53 p.m. EST, Atlantis thundered into clear Florida skies, bound for low-Earth orbit.

Despite all of his training, the dynamic nature of the launch surprised Mike McCulley, who described much of its effect as "acoustic," which "shakes your body and your soul." At one stage, a few seconds after liftoff, as the tower disappeared faster than his simulator experience had taught him to expect, he turned to Williams and jokingly remarked: "You didn't prepare me for this!" Another thing which came as unexpected was the separation of the twin Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs), about two minutes into the ascent. "In the simulator, there's a flashbulb that goes off when you get to SRB sep," McCulley told the STS-34 post-flight press conference, "and in real life there's an explosion that goes off, right in front of your face. It was wonderful … but it was surprising!"

Atlantis roars into orbit on 18 October 1989 to deploy the Galileo spacecraft on its mission to Jupiter. Photo Credit: NASA

To be fair to Williams, his position in command of STS-34 was quite distinct to his previous stint as a shuttle pilot. "There's some amount of loneliness at the top," he told the NASA oral historian, "and having that authority and with it comes the responsibility for accomplishing the mission. With those first two comes the most important one, in my mind, which I learned early on as a midshipman at Purdue … is with the authority and responsibility comes the accountability and if something goes wrong, it's not somebody else's fault, it's the person in command's fault! The same thing is true when you command a mission. You're accountable for the performance of the crew, for the accomplishment of the mission, for getting the objectives completed successfully, and for getting the spacecraft back so somebody else can use it again. That's the name of the game." Command was important to Williams. In fact, by his own admission, it was his primary goal as a pilot: to command the shuttle. "Okay, this is what you came here for," he told himself. "Let's go do it."

Six hours into the mission, at 7:15 p.m., under the watchful eye of Shannon Lucid, Galileo and its Boeing-built Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) booster were tilted to their deployment position and set free. "Galileo is on its way to another world," exulted Williams. "It's in the hands of the best flight controllers in the world. Fly safely!" Franklin Chang-Díaz felt a very personal affinity with Galileo. To him, it was a memorable occasion, because it represented his childhood desire to leave Earth and travel to other planets. Shortly thereafter, Williams and McCulley maneuvered Atlantis to a safe separation distance, and the IUS fired to boost Galileo onto a course for Venus, which it would reach in a little over three months' time.

"Both Ellen and I sighed a great sigh of relief," recalled Lucid, "because we figured Galileo was not our concern at that point, because we'd gotten rid of it. Happiness was an empty payload bay and we got happier and happier as the IUS and Galileo went further away from us." An hour after deployment, the IUS fired to commence Galileo's six-year journey to the King of the Planets.

As circumstances transpired, it would prove a remarkable example of the triumph of human ingenuity over adversity. Eighteen months into its cruise, and several months after its first flyby of Earth, Galileo's high-gain antenna only partially unfurled, threatening to ruin the mission. "Workaround" techniques were devised to use the low-gain antenna instead, and the spacecraft returned remarkable images from the asteroids Gaspra (in October 1991) and Ida (in August 1993) and, far from conducting two years of scientific exploration at Jupiter, Galileo spent almost eight years in operation. During that period, it measured the chemical composition of the giant planet's atmosphere, directly observed its ammonia clouds and mysterious Great Red Spot, analyzed the causes and effects of volcanism on Io, and yielded tantalizing clues for liquid oceans beneath the frozen surfaces of Europa and Ganymede, and the extent of Jupiter's gigantic magnetosphere was mapped and modeled for the first time. On its way to the planet, in July 1994, Galileo also observed the impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 into the Jovian clouds.

By the time Galileo eventually left Earth in October 1989, it was boosted towards Jupiter by a less powerful Inertial Upper Stage (IUS). Photo Credit: NASA

Having set Galileo on its way, for all intents and purposes, the primary mission of STS-34 was over. Several secondary experiments were performed, including the first flight of the Shuttle Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet (SSBUV) instrument in the payload bay. This was part of an ongoing NASA effort to calibrate ozone sounders on free-flying satellites and verify the accuracy of atmospheric ozone and solar irradiance data. A polymer solidification study was conducted on the middeck, and observations were made of lightning events in the high atmosphere.

Living in space, even for just five days, was quite different to anything the astronauts had experienced before. Williams described it as akin to a camping trip, with the exception that none of them departed their camper van, at all, for the entire five days. "What's it like to be in space?" he rhetorically asked his audience at the STS-34 post-flight press conference. "Unfortunately, this is one of the most difficult questions to answer, since the word 'like' implies a comparison, and it's not 'like' anything you've ever done before. So most of us are stuck with describing the differences. Weightlessness. How do you describe weightlessness, when we live in a world where everything weighs something? The ability to move about, almost be thinking about it. No up or down. Behavior and misbehavior of common, ordinary things, such as liquids, elastic, food, objects.

"Watch the video with us," Williams invited his audience. "Compare it to things you do on Earth. Look for the differences. Perhaps you can describe 'em to us!"

Betwixt this wonderland of weightlessness, the crew was periodically called away to tend to minor issues with Atlantis herself. A problem with one of the shuttle's Auxiliary Power Units (APUs) triggered an alarm on 22 October, together with a glitch with the Flash Evaporator System (FES) and cryogenic oxygen manifolds. Predicted high winds at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., on the 23rd prompted a decision to bring the shuttle home two orbits earlier than planned, and Williams and McCulley guided the shuttle to a smooth touchdown at 6:33 a.m. PST (12:33 p.m. EST), just 20 minutes short of five full days after launch.

Don Williams regarded STS-34 and having accomplished something quite remarkable for science. "We knew that Galileo was going to be a lasting program," he said, "as opposed to the first flight, where we deployed the two satellites. The Galileo mission, we knew, if it was successful, the spacecraft was going to end up in orbit around Jupiter several years later and then there were going to be several years of data and images sent back. It was going to be a living, ongoing program and we got to be a part of it."

 

Copyright © 2016 AmericaSpace - All Rights Reserved

 

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Fwd: BOEING will far exceed SpaceX!

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Peter M. Callahan" <pmcallah@gmail.com>
Date: October 19, 2016 at 5:21:12 PM CDT
To: Bobby Martin <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>
Subject: BOEING will far exceed SpaceX!

BOEING will far exceed SpaceX!

SpaceX is a flop.

Spacecraft Team is Dancing with the Stars

Boeing Starliner undergoes rigorous testing in run-up to first flight

October 18, 2016 in Space

http://www.boeing.com/features/2016/10/starliner-dancing-stars-10-16.page

--
Sent from Gmail Mobile

Missile defense & space capabilities must be improved or likelihood of attack increases

We have a deficient missile defense system & our manned space capability has been destroyed by this grossly inept liberal administration! We are in serious trouble & are at risk of nuclear attack. We have near zero on-orbit offense/ defensive capability Our assets in orbit are in danger of destruction! Spread the word, contact your senators & congressmen, set up blogs---- this is very serious! Wake up America!

Fwd: Congress Must Impeach

Sent from my iPad

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsel" <jay.sekulow@email.aclj.org>
Date: October 19, 2016 at 8:14:43 AM CDT
To: <bobbygmartin1938@gmail.com>
Subject: Congress Must Impeach
Reply-To: "American Center for Law and Justice" <reply-fe9315727c66037976-88_HTML-468316-6234688-47@email.aclj.org>

Corporate cronyism, collusion, and corruption reach new heights . . .

Take Action  |   Contribute   Like     f   Like this on Facebook   Bobby, The more we learn, the worse it gets. The FBI's own notes reveal quid pro quo bribery offers from State Department officials to the FBI - to change the classification on emails. Reports reveal corporate cronyism giving millions to Clinton Foundation and then lobbying the State Department. Sign the Petition Now It's obvious. President Obama's FBI Director led a faux investigation. He made secret deals to destroy evidence. He violated the law. He violated his oath of office. The FBI Director's job is to uphold the law, not break it; investigate crimes, not commit them. FBI Director Comey must resign. If he doesn't, Congress must impeach him. Our team is working with Congress, demanding his impeachment. We've already filed four federal lawsuits to hold the Obama Administration accountable for its lawlessness, including demanding answers about Clinton Foundation collusion with the State Department. Defend the Constitution from corruption. Join us in demanding President Obama's FBI Director resign or be impeached. Sign Our Petition: Impeach Obama's FBI Director Comey. Jay Sekulow ACLJ Chief Counsel Contribute Now Like     f   Like this on Facebook   To ensure that you continue to receive e-mails from the ACLJ, please add jay.sekulow@email.aclj.org to your address book.

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The ACLJ is an organization dedicated to the defense of constitutional liberties secured by law. American Center for Law and Justice is a d/b/a for Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism, Inc., a tax-exempt, not-for-profit, religious corporation as defined under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, specifically dedicated to the ideal that religious freedom and freedom of speech are inalienable, God-given rights. The Center's purpose is to engage legal, legislative and cultural issues by implementing an effective strategy of advocacy, education and litigation to ensure that those rights are protected under the law. The organization has participated in numerous cases before the Supreme Court, Federal Court of Appeals, Federal District Courts, and various state courts regarding freedom of religion and freedom of speech. Your gift is very much appreciated and fully deductible as a charitable contribution. A copy of our latest financial report may be obtained by writing to us at P.O. Box 90555, Washington, DC 20090-0555. As always, let us know of threats to freedom in your area by calling (757) 226-2489. And tune in to our daily radio program, "Jay Sekulow Live." Do not send a response message to this e-mail for any reason. Legal requests will not be answered through jsekulow@aclj.org. Legal requests must be submitted at ACLJ.org. HOW CAN I SUPPORT THE AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE? Make a secure online donation. For other ways to support the ACLJ at no additional cost to you, go here. Copyright © 2016, ACLJ | Privacy & Security Policy | Unsubscribe To view the email as a web page click here.