From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Why Fly STS-76 Now?
Date: 9 Mar 1996 16:41:44 -0500

Time for another awkward and embarrassing question -- why are we flying
STS-76 to Mir in two weeks when the scientific gear for our astronaut
hasn't been delivered as promised (and paid for)?? 

It's not like we have extra shuttle missions to throw away, since we have
to find another mission or two after the planned seven visits to add on
the end of the sequence. The cheapest place to find such a mission, seems
to me, is at the front end of the sequence, especially since we're not
going to get anywhere near the planned research until (if) the Priroda
module ever gets up there.

Remember the big rush on last November to get STS-74 launched "on
schedule" so the Russians could have their new solar arrays to deploy? Now
it turns out they haven't yet deployed them, and won't until after STS-76
at the earliest (what WAS the big hurry??). But in order to get those
arrays up in a hurry, we cut off extra science days from one Spacelab
mission and we pushed the SFU retrieval mission off into bad lighting
conditions, with the risk of spacecraft failure due to aging, costing the
Japanese (REAL partners, those guys!) a lot more anxiety and operating
expenses. 

And for what? It wasn't worth flying STS-74 then, it could easily have
been slipped forward into the STS-76 slot, and all the rest of the Mir
missions could slip one to "the right" to avoid having to find and pay for
the newly added Mir visit missions at the end of the sequence.

But no, we pay the money, and take the chances, in order to "keep to the
schedule" even when the original mission goals have become OBE (overtaken
by events). This mindless momentum is silly, seems to me.

Why not WAIT to send our Mir astronaut, let the equipment be delivered,
give our folks extra training, save ourselves a mission operations cost
we'd otherwise have to pay for again later, and let the Russians know that
when they screw the schedule, we don't bail them out.

Golly, more bolshie-bashing from that wild-eyed unreconstructed cold
warrior, looks like to some. But I'd be curious how NASA officials would
respond at the upcoming STS-76 press briefing.

From: julie.clements-1@kmail.ksc.nasa.gov (Julie Clements)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Why Fly STS-76 Now?
Date: 11 Mar 1996 13:19:13 GMT

In article <4hstuo$en6@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, jamesoberg@aol.com says...

>Time for another awkward and embarrassing question -- why are we flying
>STS-76 to Mir in two weeks when the scientific gear for our astronaut
>hasn't been delivered as promised (and paid for)?? 


I'm not close to this, so I do not have all the answers you seek.  But 
another reason for these Mir missions is because during the negotiations 
with Russia we agreed to send more supplies (food and water) up there.  
Although they may not be ready for the science, the schedule for needing 
food and water should remain the same, eh?

Cheers,
Julie Clements
NASA - KSC

From: jcogges@ssp.jsc.nasa.gov (John Coggeshall)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Why Fly STS-76 Now?
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 16:57:14 GMT

jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg) wrote:

>(( But 
>another reason for these Mir missions is because during the negotiations 
>with Russia we agreed to send more supplies (food and water) up there.  
>Although they may not be ready for the science, the schedule for needing 
>food and water should remain the same, eh?))

>I think you've hit it on the head: Mir can't survive on the supplies the
>Russians can send up on their own, it needs support from the US. Support,
>I might add, that we are providing gratis. It's not part of any signed
>agreement, it's due to our generosity. Meanwhile we send them hundreds of
>millions of dollars for, among other things, the privilege of providing
>them with crucial life support consumables. That's a deal?? 

If you slip STS-76 a month or two, you must slip the entire OV-104
line, that impacts when you can do the OMDP, that impacts other lines,
you start impacting the entire manifest which includes building the
ISS.  There is a significant amount of our own Science going up on
STS-76, which will be started without the Priroda there.  Granted it
is not the ideal situation, but you don't cut off your head to ....
whatever that saying is.  

John Coggeshall
Manifest and Schedules

From: kcowing@reston.com (Keith Cowing)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Why Fly STS-76 Now?
Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 21:46:18 -0500

In article <4i2h2e$njv@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, jamesoberg@aol.com
(JamesOberg) wrote:

> (( But 
> another reason for these Mir missions is because during the negotiations 
> with Russia we agreed to send more supplies (food and water) up there.  
> Although they may not be ready for the science, the schedule for needing 
> food and water should remain the same, eh?))
> 
> I think you've hit it on the head: Mir can't survive on the supplies the
> Russians can send up on their own, it needs support from the US. Support,
> I might add, that we are providing gratis. It's not part of any signed
> agreement, it's due to our generosity. Meanwhile we send them hundreds of
> millions of dollars for, among other things, the privilege of providing
> them with crucial life support consumables. That's a deal?? 

This already happened vis-a-vis Norm Thagard's research hardware last
year, so there is a precedent.

It looks like Phase 1 may well be an accurate preview of the ISS program,
eh Jim?

Question: Which 2 already-manifested STS flights are going to be
sacrificed/drastically modified to implement the additional Mir logistics
support deal we cut with the Russians in January?  What happens to the
payloads which were _supposed_ to fly on these missions?

From: jamesoberg@aol.com (JamesOberg)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Why Fly STS-76 Now?
Date: 13 Mar 1996 22:56:43 -0500

Thanks for all the thoughtful and informed replies. Note that STS-76 is
flying the emptiest payload bay since STS-1, and the previous recent
record "low payload" holder was STS-74. Expensive meals indeed!