Wanted on the space station: better suits, robots and parts
Article Abstract:
Estimates indicate that Freedom, the planned $30 billion space station, might require much more repair and maintenance than was originally foreseen. If the station is built as it is now conceived, the project might require more than 2,200 hours of maintenance by astronauts in space suits each year, a considerable jump when compared with the 130 hours planned for by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). A better space suit would help, and NASA is working on one. Attention is also being paid to engineering the station to make it simpler. Robots are yet another possibility. Scientists estimate that robots might manage as much as 25 percent of the maintenance load. David E. Provost, who heads the robotics laboratory at the Goddard Space Flight Center, believes that robots might eventually perform 50 to 70 percent of the work.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: News, opinion and commentary
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1990
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Hope is held out on space station; new robots could help solve problems of maintenance, an astronaut testifies
Article Abstract:
A study, released in the week of Mar 19, 1990, indicates that Freedom, the proposed $30 billion space station, might require much more maintenance by spacewalking astronauts than had been anticipated. The leaders of the study - William F. Fisher, an astronaut; and Charles R. Price, a robotics engineer at the Johnson Space Center - tell Congress that NASA can manage the problem, but the agency, they say, must act quickly. Fisher, testifying before the House Appropriations subcommittee on Mar 27, 1990 says that possible solutions include advanced robots for maintenance and repairs; new spacesuits that will facilitate spacewalks; and a redesign and simplification of station parts, rendering them more easily serviced by humans or robots. But, he adds, costs will skyrocket if action is not prompt.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: News, opinion and commentary
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1990
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New computer failure imperils U.S. shuttle astronomy mission; lint from uniforms clogs telescope mechanism
Article Abstract:
The US National Aeronautics and Space Exploration (NASA) agency experiences some setbacks when a computer becomes overheated on the space shuttle Columbia and makes it difficult to operate ultraviolet telescopes on the Astro observatory. The $150 million observatory sits in the space shuttle's 60-foot payload and is intended to detect ultraviolet radiation from deep space, providing information on exploding stars and other cosmological phenomenon. The problem of the overheating computer is apparently linked to lint from workers' and astronauts' uniforms. The mishap is a further blow to the agency, which suffered from the Columbia disaster, the Hubble telescope engineering flaws and hydrogen leaks that kept the entire fleet grounded for months.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: News, opinion and commentary
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1990
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