NASA Daily News Summary For Release: June 8, 1999 Media Advisory m99-114

NASA

Summary:

-- News Release: FUSE Spacecraft Will Search for 'Fossils' of the Big Bang -- Video File for June 8 -- Upcoming Live Interview Opportunity: Hyper-X...Preview of 21st Century Space Flight, June 10

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FUSE SPACECRAFT WILL SEARCH FOR 'FOSSILS' OF THE BIG BANG

Scientists will soon have a new tool to search for the "fossil record" of the Big Bang and uncover clues about the evolution of the universe. Scheduled to launch June 23, NASA's Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) will observe nearby planets and the farthest reaches of the universe and will provide a detailed picture of the immense structure of our own Milky Way galaxy. The FUSE mission's primary scientific focus will be the study of hydrogen and deuterium (a different form of hydrogen), which were created shortly after the Big Bang. With this information, astronomers in effect will be able to look back in time at the infant universe and hopefully better understand the processes that led to the formation and evolution of stars, including our solar system.

Contact at NASA Headquarters: Donald Savage, 202/358-1547; Contact at NASA Goddard: Donna Drelick, 301/286-8955; Contact at Johns Hopkins: Gary Dorsey, 410/516-7160.

Full text of the release:

ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-068.txt

If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will e-mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list.

Index of 1999 NASA News Releases:

http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html

***** Video File for June 8, 1999

ITEM 1 FUSE: SEARCHING FOR 'FOSSILS' OF THE BIG BANG (TRT 05:55) ITEM 2 HYPER-X: 21ST CENTURY SPACE FLIGHT (TRT 04:22) ITEM 3 REMOTE AGENT: SPACECRAFT FLIES ITSELF (TRT 10:00) (REPLAY)

***** ITEM 1 FUSE: SEARCHING FOR 'FOSSILS' OF THE BIG BANG (TRT 05:55)

ITEM 1A FUSE ANIMATION

ITEM 1B FUSE LOOKS WITHIN AND BEYOND MILKY WAY The FUSE science team will study the hot gas content of our galaxy, the Milky Way, and its nearest neighboring galaxy, the Magellanic Clouds. To conduct these large studies, FUSE will observe hundreds of astronomical objects.

ITEM 1C FUSE IN THE CLEAN ROOM AT GODDARD The Johns Hopkins University developed FUSE for NASA. Johns Hopkins University has the primary responsibility for all aspects of the project, including both development and operational phases of the mission. This is the first time that a mission of this scope has been developed and operated entirely by a university. Credits: NASA and Orbital Sciences Corporation

ITEM 1D ANIMATION OF FINE ERROR SENSOR ON FUSE Animation shows the Fine Error Sensor and how it operates on the FUSE satellite. The sensor is a Charge Coupled Device camera, which takes star images by focusing light from the field of the primary mirror onto a charge coupled device through any of three filters. The sensor provides pointing information to the satellite attitude control system. Credits: NASA and CSA

Contact at NASA Goddard: Donna Drelick, 301/286-7995; Contact at NASA Headquarters: Don Savage, 202/358-1727.

***** ITEM 2 HYPER-X: 21ST CENTURY SPACE FLIGHT (TRT 04:22)

ITEM 2A HYPER-X ANIMATION NASA's Hyper-X program seeks to demonstrate, for the first time, a hypersonic air-breathing engine in flight. Engineers believe this engine will do for space flight what the jet did for air travel. Animation shows a rocket boosting the Hyper-X research vehicle to the test altitude and speed. It will be the first time a non-rocket engine powers a vehicle in flight at hypersonic speeds.

ITEM 2B HYPER-X WIND TUNNEL TESTS The 8 ft. High Temperature tunnel at NASA's Langley Research Center very accurately simulates the speed and temperature of the Hyper-X flight. Footage show Langley researchers test firing a model of the Hyper-X research vehicle in preparation for the first realistic flight of this new engine concept early next year.

ITEM 2C INTERVIEW Larry Huebner, Hyper-X propulsion engineer, NASA Langley Research Center

Contact at NASA Langley: Keith Henry, 757/864-6120 Contact at NASA Headquarters: Michael Braukus 202/358-1979.

***** ITEM 3 REMOTE AGENT: SPACECRAFT FLIES ITSELF (REPLAY) (TRT 10:00)

As scientists and science fiction buffs alike have long suspected, artificial intelligence software can indeed operate a spacecraft millions of miles from Earth. During the week of May 17, experts from NASA's Ames Research Center and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) pooled their expertise to conduct Remote Agent, an experiment designed to push the limits of spacecraft autonomy. Their efforts, involving commanding of NASA's Deep Space 1 spacecraft, proved that this sophisticated artificial intelligence software is capable of achieving high-level goals by issuing spacecraft commands. Perhaps more importantly, however, they demonstrated that Remote Agent can also play doctor, diagnosing its own problems and developing effective action plans to regain its own good health.

Item 3A Remote Agent software Animation shows the command sequence as the Remote Agent software directs Deep Space 1 to fire its thrusters. Drawing dissolves to spacecraft as it flies by and fires its thrusters.