European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Nasal a ambitious plan to save a satellite four space walkers Are the envy of the astronaut corps optional Jet Backpack allows astronaut to Man Euver without tether urine collection device inside suit holds 1 quart Cost per suit $10 million Earth weight 270 lbs. Useful lifetime 15 years suiting up an astronaut can put the spacesuit on in five minutes. Suits Are stored in the shuttle s Airlock. Liquid cooled undergarment pants Torso and Backpack gloves and communications hat helmet source Nasa United technologies a Karl Tate by Marcia Dunn a aerospace writer it is the rendezvous of All time Complete with space walking astronauts a Jazzy new spaceship and a powerful rocket motor that will attempt to hurtle a satellite nearly a fourth of the distance to the Moon. Quot this is the Granddaddy of them All Quot boasts astronaut Bruce Melnick. Quot this is the Only show in town Quot in a bold Rescue attempt Early next month the seven member Crew of the fledgling shuttle endeavour will aim for the same place in space As a stranded communications satellite that has been stuck in a uselessly Low orbit for two years. There s a catch though the motor that will be employed to blast the satellite Back on track can be attached Only by hand by space walking astronauts. Once that attempt has been made the astronauts will try two More spacewalks a a the first Back to Back to Back spacewalks in shuttle history a to practice Assembly methods for space station Freedom which Nasa Hopes to Start building in late 1995, Quot this is Man in space s shining hour Quot flight director Al Pennington said of the Mission by endeavour which is set for a May 4 launch. The solar cells of the $157 million Intelsat satellite will be ruined by atomic oxygen unless it is boosted to its proper 22,300-mile-High orbit by years end. Its owner the International telecommunications satellite organization or Intelsat is anxious to say the least. It already has lost tens of millions of dollars because of the inability to use the Craft which was uninsured officials say. Intelsat a Washington based consortium of 122 member nations paid $93 million to Nasa for the Rescue Effort and $46 million to Hughes aircraft co. For the motor. That s far less than what it would Cost to build and launch another satellite a and quicker too experts say. There Are no refunds no matter what and there is no second Chance. The shuttle cargo Bay doors cannot close with the satellite inside so there s no bringing it Back. Quot this is a one shot Deal Quot Intelsat Mission manager Lakhbir Virdee says. Nasa has conducted six space Salvage missions the first during skylab in 1973 and the rest during the shuttle Era. But none involved moving a satellite to an appointed place at an appointed time. Intelsat wants to keep its satellite As High As possible for As Long As possible because of the corrosive effects of atomic oxygen at Low orbits. As a result ground controllers will wait until endeavour lifts off before dropping the satellite from its current 345-mile-High orbit woefully Low because of a rocket malfunction. The satellite gradually will be lowered until it is inside an invisible Quot control Box or moving window 220 Miles above Earth satellite and shuttle Are supposed to meet in this Quot Box Quot on Day four of endeavour s seven Day flight As the two Craft Whiz around the world at 17,500 Mph astronaut Pierre Thuot will be hanging by his heels on the end of endeavours 50-foot robot Arm operated by Meinick from inside the Cabin shuttle commander Daniel Brandenstein will close in on the satellite using Star trackers cameras radar handheld laser guns and most importantly in the final moments his eyes. The last time Brandenstein rendezvoused with a satellite in january 1990, everyone was inside and he did no to have to worry about squashing one of his Crew. Quot on this one we have a human Between the vehicle and the satellite so it will probably be a Little More tense Quot he said. Thuot will try to Clamp a bar across the Bottom of the satellite which is 12 feet in diameter and 171/2 feet High by then the satellite should be spinning just .65 revolutions a minute once the bar is secured Melnick will grapple it with the shuttle Arm and berth the satellite on the 23,000-Pound motor in the open cargo Bay to prevent dangerous hydrazine fuel from escaping the valves Between the satellite thrusters and fuel tank will be closed by ground controllers before the encounter. Quot we be Analysed it to death through a series of meetings for the last two years Quot said Calvin Seaman a Nasa Engineer who designed the satellite capture bar Quot we know the vehicle is Safe it s healthy its functional. There a no reason Why one would Ever expect to see any kind of hydrazine  besides the thrusters there Are other areas to avoid a batteries that could Jolt Thuot and a titanium Light shield rimming the Bottom of  that could cause irreparable damage to the Craft if Bent. Moving gingerly Thuot and partner Richard Hieb will Latch the satellite and motor together. The Craft then will be freed and float away Intelsat will fire the motor by computer commands anywhere from six hours to two weeks later depending on when the satellite is released. The Craft will be catapulted 51,750 Miles from Earth and then slowly lowered to its final station 22,300 Miles above the Atlantic Ocean. The amount of fuel saved by this unusual Transfer a the Craft travels slower the higher it is a is expected to space shuttle endeavour Nasa s newest space shuttle incorporates Many modifications upgrades and technologies added to the orbiter Fleet Over the past several years. Endeavour s unique features shown below will later be added to existing shuttles. Drag Chute to Aid deceleration and reduce loads on the Landing gear and brakes dimensions same for All shuttle orbiters length 122.2 it. Height 56.67 it. Wingspan 78.06 it. Source Nasa Rockwell International add 1 Viz years to the satellite s working lifetime. Intelsat expects the satellite to transmit television broadcasts and Telephone conversations among 60 countries for More than 11 years. Once the satellite is gone endeavours Crew will be free to attend to less stressful spacewalks. A major goal of the flight is to demonstrate the capability of performing three consecutive spacewalks in preparation of space station construction As Well As next year s Mission to repair the nearsighted Hubble space Telescope. Each of endeavour s spacewalks is expected to last six to 6v� hours with the astronauts tethered to the shuttle the entire time. Space walking team no. 2 a Thomas Akers and Kathryn Thornton a is to assemble a Pyramid shaped Structure in the cargo Bay. The plan is for Thornton to slip into foot restraints on the end of the shuttle Arm and lift the Structure Over her head shaking it Back and Forth. Hieb is to hoist an even bigger Structure when he and Thuot go Back out the next Day. The space walkers will test five self Rescue devices including an inflatable pole a Wand like propulsive unit redesigned from gemini and skylab Days and a Bola rope a nicknamed Quot astr Oropez a to be tossed about in the cargo Bay the devices Are prototypes for the space station Era when there won t always be a shuttle on hand to zip Over and Rescue astronauts who float away. None of the four has Ever performed a spacewalk. Thornton in fact will be Only the second american woman to walk in space when she Steps through the cargo Bay Hatch. Kathryn Sullivan was first in 1984. Quot we need to have More people experienced in spacewalks before we go into station Assembly Quot Thornton said. Quot in baseball terms we re developing a  the four Are quite understandably the envy of the astronaut corps. Not Only do they get to do spacewalks the most coveted Job for an astronaut they will be christening a new shuttle endeavour is the $2 billion replacement for the challenger which exploded with seven astronauts aboard shortly after liftoff in 1986. It is named after the first ship commanded by James Cook an 18th Century British explorer and astronomer new shuttle features include a drag Cnute More Cabin stowage and hookups for extra fuel tanks that would allow endeavour to stay up for 28 Days. Endeavour was supposed to have three new main engines too but Nasa replaced them with used ones after an april 6 test firing turned up flaws. Shuttle Pilot Kevin Chilton feels especially honoured to be taking endeavour on its first spin he s the Only Rookie on the Crew Quot Back in the air Force it was always special if you got a Chance to go to the factory and pick up a new air plane. I never got to do that. Now i get to do this Quot Chilton said Quot it s just incredible to be Able to make your first flight on this a Karl Tate  endeavour flight will be Salvage Mission no. 7 Nasa Drew upon experience in preparing for the shuttle endeavours upcoming flight to Rescue a stranded communications satellite. There have been six space Salvage missions to Date. All but one a last minute Effort succeeded. Here is a list of those encounters a May 25-june 7, 1973 the unmanned skylab station is crippled during launch and astronauts perform two spacewalks to free a solar panel jammed by a torn meteoroid and heat shield. They also poke an umbrella like sunshade through an Airlock module to cover the area exposed by the ripped shield. A april 10-12, 1984 the challenger Crew snares the solar maximum satellite with the shuttle s robot Arm and space walking astronauts replace two defective electronic units on the satellite. A rejuvenated solar Max is dropped overboard and resumes its study of the Sun. A nov 12-14, 1984 space walking astronauts wrestle two off course communications satellites one by one into discovery s cargo Bay. The satellites which had been stuck in uselessly Low orbits Are returned to Earth and later sent Back up on unmanned rockets. A april 16-17, 1985 space walking astronauts attach a makeshift Quot Flyswatter Quot to the end of discovery s robot Arm which is used to Snag a Power switch on a communications satellite just delivered into orbit. The Impromptu attempt fails and the inactivated satellite is abandoned a aug. 31-sept. 1, 1985 space walking astronauts capture the satellite left behind in april and rewire it. The repaired satellite is released from discovery and boosted by Remote control to a working orbit. A Jan. 12,1990 the Columbia Crew tracks Down a scientific satellite that has been in orbit for nearly six years and is about to plunge into the atmosphere and Burn up. The Craft is snatched by the shuttles robot Arm and returned to Earth for analysis. At 11 tons and 30 feet Long it is the biggest orbiting satellite Ever recovered by astronauts