April 2000 Space News

Brazil and Boeing continue logistics and engineering work for International Space Station Boeing 28 Apr 2000 -- The Boeing Company recently signed a contract change with the National Institute of Space Research (INPE), the executing agency of the Brazilian Government for space-related activities.
ATK Successfully Completes Second Static Test Firing of Solid Rocket Motor For Boeing Delta IV Launch Vehicle Family ATK 27 Apr 2000 -- ATK (Alliant Techsystems) (NYSE: ATK), said Alliant Aerospace Propulsion Company, Magna, Utah, successfully completed the second of three static test firings to qualify a new solid rocket motor for The Boeing Company's Delta IV Medium-plus family of launch vehicles.
Airborne Laser Program Team Members to 'Celebrate' Critical Design Review This Week April 27, 2000 -- Three and one-half years following the start of design work on a revolutionary airborne theater ballistic-missile defense system, Team ABL this week successfully completed final critical review of its robust design for the Airborne Laser system.
Sea Launch Hosts Mass Casualty Exercise Boeing 26 Apr 2000 -- Sea Launch Home Port, based in Long Beach Harbor, hosted a Mass Casualty exercise this morning managed by the City of Long Beach. While a serious incident was simulated, no actual emergency existed and no injuries were sustained.
Boeing Tells Customers 'Delta III Ready for Flight' Boeing 26 Apr 2000 -- Boeing told members of the satellite industry Tuesday that the Delta III rocket is ready to resume operations at the end of this month.
MISSILE DEFENSE Voice of America 26 April 2000 -- Defense Secretary William Cohen is questioning a new report that puts the cost of a proposed National Missile Defense (N-M-D) at 60 billion dollars --- roughly double previous estimates.
U.S. Air Force Ready for Launch of Boeing Delta II Boeing 25 Apr 2000 -- The U.S. Air Force announced that it is prepared to move forward with the launch of a Boeing Delta II rocket carrying a Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space-built Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite.
NASA Space Shuttle Atlantis to Continue Assembly of International Space Station on 10-day Mission Boeing 24 Apr 2000 -- A new 'glass cockpit' that increases Shuttle safety by improving the display of key information about ascent and entry mission performance is one of more than 100 significant improvements Space Shuttle Atlantis will debut during its upcoming mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The Shuttle is set to lift off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 4:15 p.m. EDT.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems' Hubble Space Telescope marks ten years of astronomical discovery Lockheed Martin 24 Apr 2000 -- NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST), built and integrated at the Lockheed Martin Space Systems facility in Sunnyvale, was launched ten years ago aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, on April 24, 1990, ushering in a new golden age of astronomy. HST was released by the crew into Earth orbit the next day and the Universe hasn't looked the same since.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Rudy de Leon Media Availability Monday, April 24, 2000 -- I think the general view is in fact it will take a little bit more than 30 days after the next shot to evaluate all of the data that comes in from the tests, so once that analysis is completed then you could go and do your critical review. So just working against the calendar, if the test is late June, then you're going to need a month to absorb all the data.

Air Force Officials Delay Launch of GPS Satellite Aboard Boeing Delta II Boeing 22 Apr 2000 -- Tonight's launch of a U.S. Air Force Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite aboard a Boeing [NYSE: BA] Delta II rocket has been scrubbed in order to gather data on the spacecraft's solar array deployment mechanism.
Air Force Postpones Boeing Delta II Launch Attempt of Global Positioning Satellite Boeing 21 Apr 2000 -- U.S. Air Force officials scrubbed tonight's launch attempt of a Boeing [NYSE: BA] Delta II rocket carrying a Lockheed Martin-built Global Positioning System (GPS) IIR-4 spacecraft for the U.S. Air Force.
Sea Launch Review Board Meets to Discuss Anomaly Boeing 20 Apr 2000 -- Members of the Sea Launch Failure Review Oversight Board met last week to hear briefings from the independent teams that are investigating the launch failure of March 12.
Boeing Delta II Rocket Stands Ready to Launch USAF Navigation Satellite Boeing 20 Apr 2000 -- A U.S. Air Force Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite launched aboard a Boeing [NYSE: BA] Delta II rocket 11 years ago, is scheduled to be replaced during an April 21 launch.
LOCKHEED MARTIN SPACE SYSTEMS COMPANY ANNOUNCES WORK FORCE REDUCTION Lockheed Martin 20 Apr 2000 -- Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company – Michoud Operations advised employees of plans to eliminate approximately 150 positions from its work force within the next year.
GLOBAL NETWORK MEMBERSHIP CALLS FOR PROTEST ACTIONS ON/BEFORE NEXT BMD TEST SET FOR JUNE 26 20 April 2000 -- At the Washington DC meetings of the Global Network the membership called for groups worldwide to organize local protest actions on/before the next scheduled test of the BMD system.
Countdown is on for return to space station: Mission STS-101/2A.2a Boeing 20 Apr 2000 -- More than 3,000 pounds of hardware and supplies will accompany Space Shuttle Atlantis when it begins its journey to the International Space Station (ISS) April 24 to make final preparations for the Russian service module Zvezda ('Star').
BUDGETARY AND TECHNICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATION'S PLAN FOR NATIONAL MISSILE DEFENSE Congressional Budget Office - April 2000
Army to test world's first combat laser KENT FAULK The Birmingham News 04/18/2000 -- John Pike, policy analyst for the Federation of American Scientists, said he believes there may be no real use for such a laser system.
Boeing Stresses Quality Management, Engineering Accountability to Space Suppliers Boeing 12 Apr 2000 -- The leaders of the Boeing space transportation businesses met with their top 150 suppliers to discuss the results of the Boeing Mission Assurance Review (BMAR) and its findings in terms of supplier expectations.
Missile Defense Milestones: 1944 - 2000, April 2000
Missile Defense Chief Says System Can Deal with Countermeasures By Ralph Dannheisser Washington File 12 April 2000 -- The U.S. Air Force general overseeing development of the proposed national missile defense system says that a panel of scientists urging abandonment of the project misses the point of the effort.
Lockheed Martin Begins Fabrication of Airborne Laser Turret Lockheed Martin 10 Apr 2000 -- Lockheed Martin Space Systems, a member of Team Airborne Laser (ABL), has begun fabrication of the revolutionary, high-energy laser weapon system's turret assembly at its Sunnyvale, Calif., facility.
Statement on Have Stare Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs SAF/PAM - 07 April 2000
Team ABL Begins Fabrication Of Airborne Laser Turret Boeing 07 Apr 2000 -- Team Airborne Laser (ABL) has begun fabrication of the ABL's revolutionary, high-energy laser weapon system turret assembly at Lockheed Martin Space Systems' Sunnyvale, Calif., facility.
ORBIMAGE'S ORBVIEW-1 IMAGING SATELLITE CELEBRATES FIFTH ANNIVERSARY IN ORBIT Orbital Sciences Corp. 07 Apr 2000 -- Orbital Imaging Corporation (ORBIMAGE), an affiliate of Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) and a leading global provider of satellite-delivered Earth imagery products and services, announced that its OrbView-1 atmospheric imaging satellite has successfully completed its fifth year in space.
Text: Air Force Official Says National Missile Defenses Are Highly Complex 06 April 2000 -- Air Force Lieutenant General Ronald Kadish told members of Congress and their staffs that the limited National Missile Defense (NMD) program being explored as a defense against a projected threat to the continental United States "is one of the most complex systems our country has ever attempted to develop and produce."
ANTHRAX STUDY Voice of America 04 April 2000 -- In a new report, U-S scientists say they don't know if a vaccine against anthrax causes any long term health problems.
ANTI-MISSILE DEFENSE Voice of America 03 April 2000 -- The Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers says a decision to deploy the proposed limited national missile defense would increase, rather than reduce, nuclear dangers.

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