Wednesday / 5 December 2001

Sea Launch Zenit 3SL Rocket to Undergo Design Change. NPO Yuzhnoye is planning a fundamental design modification to enable launches from Odyssey offshore platform in Pacific Ocean to carry payloads weighing 7,500 kg into GTO, an increase of 1,500 kg. The new Zenit would consist of a first stage with a core liquid oxygen tank with kerosene propellants provided by two 22 m long, 2.2 m wide strap-on stages. Inert, unfueled components of the rocket are sent to Long Beach CA where they are assembled onboard the Assembly and Command Ship (ACS) in a below-decks factory area. The third stage is joined with the first and second stages, and the assembled rocket awaits its payload. Satellites are received at the Home Port facility. After the completion of fueling and encapsulation in the payload processing facility, the integrated payload unit is transferred to the ACS for integration with the launcher. The horizontally integrated rocket is then transferred to the launch platform, where it is stored in an environmentally controlled hangar during transit to the equator. Upon arrival at the launch site, the platform is positioned at 154°W longitude, ballasted to its launch depth, and oriented to minimize wind and wave effects. At L-27 hours prior to liftoff, the rocket is rolled out of its environmentally protected hangar and automatically erected on the launch pad. Sea Launch is planning a very busy launch schedule in 2002. Next launch is set for the spring. Rocket and maintenance teams active with Home Port operations.

Successful High Pressure Vikas Engine Test Would Advance India's Lunar Goals. Indian Space Research Organization successfully tested an uprated version of the liquid fuel Vikas engine at ISRO's Liquid Propulsion Test Facilities at Mahendragiri in Tamilnadu on 30 Nov, according to an ISRO news release. The Vikas engine is employed in the second stage of India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), which could be modified to launch India's first lunar mission. The Vikas engine also is used in the second and on the four strap-on stages of Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV). The new engine, which uses UH25 (a mixture of Unsymmetrical Di-methyl Hydrazine and hydrazine hydrate) as fuel and nitrogen tetroxide as oxidizer, increases the payload capacity of the GSLV by about 150 kg to geosynchronous transfer orbit. The GSLV has the potential to launch a flyby mission to the Moon too. After the completion of qualification, the improved version of the Vikas will be introduced in the second developmental test flight of GSLV in 2002. Uprating the capability of its launch vehicles has been a top priority for ISRO not only for boosting the heavier class of Indian-made satellites but also for marketing the services of GSLV and PSLV in the global satellite launch market, according to Lunar Enterprise Daily's correspondent R. Rao in Bangalore.

Space Commercialization Discussion on "Business Without Boundaries." Tuesday's guest on the BWB radio show hosted by Dr. David Livingston was Dr. Ed Hudgins, Director of Regulatory Studies at the Cato institute. Dr. Hudgins is the former editor of Cato's Regulation magazine and he also served as a senior economist for the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, and was both deputy director for economic policy studies and director of the Center for International Economic Growth at the Heritage Foundation. On BWB, Hudgins and Livingston explored space commercialization, the regulatory environment for future space development, NASA space policy and other areas of interest to private business and economic development. "If the right policies are initiated, space can become a realm not just for NASA astronauts but for all Americans," Hudgins said last June at a hearing on space policy and tourism before the Subcommittee on Space & Aeronautics. BWB can be heard live in the Phoenix, Arizona on KFNX AM 1100, and on the Internet at www.renaissanceradio.com. Copies of the broadcast are available on CD and may be purchased for $5.00. Contact David Livingston at dmlivings@yahoo.com for more information.