Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site decwrl.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!sdcsvax!dcdwest!ittvax!qumix!qubix!sun!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-dvinci!fisher From: fisher@dvinci.DEC (Burns Fisher, MRO3-1/E13, DTN 231-4108) Newsgroups: net.space Subject: Satellite retrieval Message-ID: <4152@decwrl.UUCP> Date: Wed, 7-Nov-84 09:50:32 EST Article-I.D.: decwrl.4152 Posted: Wed Nov 7 09:50:32 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 10-Nov-84 09:46:11 EST Sender: daemon@decwrl.UUCP Organization: DEC Engineering Network Lines: 29Fact: The AKMs were NOT fired on either Westar or Palapa at their scheduled time due to the misfire of the PAM first stage. They were fired later to bring the satellites into a more reasonable orbit, and to safe them for the retrieval operation. (Part of the retrieval operation involves jamming a pole up the AKM nozzle to make an attach point...not too safe when it is full of unburned fuel). Speculation and Inferance: Plane changes are notoriously expensive in terms of fuel. Thus it makes sense to me that the plane change should be accomplished mainly by the PAM first stage, since that would mean that the first stage would not have to push all the plane-change fuel up to a 22Kmile apogee. Whatever the case, of course, the errant satellites could not have been (except by enormous coincidence) in an equatorial orbit because the first stage failed and the second stage was not fired as planned. By the way, isn't the AKM, in this case, a second stage to the PAM, rather than a built-in part of the comsats? Burns UUCP: ... {decvax|allegra|ucbvax}!decwrl!rhea!dvinci!fisher ARPA: decwrl!rhea!dvinci!fisher@{Berkeley | SU-Shasta}