_                    
                                                         |_|                   
      V   V   SSSS   OOO   PPPP                 \__      |_|      __/          
      V   V  S      O   O  P   P                   --____/ \____--             
      V   V   SSS   O   O  PPPP                    _ _ _ --- _ _ _             
       V V       S  O   O  P                      |_|_|_|  @|_|_|_|            
        V    SSSS    OOO   P                             o-o                   
                                                          /                    
      ***  N    E    W    S  ***                        <)                     
 

INTEGRATION TESTS

Integration testing of the Muses-B flight module resumes at ISAS on the 28th of September, and will continue through to mid-November. Testing scheduled for the second half of these tests includes the addition of the antenna and feed and the satellite thrusters. The main antenna surface, a gold-plated molybdenum mesh, was recently installed on the six support booms at the Mitsubishi factory. Boom deployment tests, with the booms supported by counterweights to simulate zero-gravity, were also conducted at Mitsubishi. The main antenna mesh will not be transported to ISAS for testing. The first half of the integration tests began on June 13th, which is Dave Jauncey's birthday. Which radio astronomer's birthday falls on September 28th?

IMOG ACTIVITIES

Jim Ulvestad and Alex Wiercigroch visited ISAS from the 12th to the 20th of September to work on various aspects of the international interfaces necessary for Space VLBI missions. Scheduling timelines, data flow, operational responsibilities, and the in-orbit checkout sequence were among items discussed. Alex kindly penned the following paragraphs during her stay...

WORLD WIDE WEB

The Space VLBI Project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA has released its home page on the World Wide Web. A variety of information is now on line, describing the JPL Project, the VSOP and RadioAstron space missions, and the science goals of the missions. This information is being provided in an effort to educate the astronomical community about the capabilities of the VSOP and RadioAstron missions in the lead-up to the release of the first Announcements of Opportunity. The JPL Space VLBI Home Page is also devoted to informing users on the current status of the International Space VLBI program by making the VSOP news available on line and by linking to a number of related Space VLBI sites. It is hoped to add the RadioAstron newsletters in the future.

Comments and suggestions on the home page are very welcome and should be sent to www@sgra.jpl.nasa.gov. Suggested additions to the home page in the form of supplied text are considered and should be sent to the same e-mail address. Please note that the e-mail account is not read very often. The JPL Space VLBI home page can be found at the following URL (Uniform Resource Locator):

      http://sgra.jpl.nasa.gov

NOBEYAMA and USUDA

September 23rd is the Autumnal Equinox and, to commemorate that fact, a public holiday in Japan. The Nobeyama Radio Observatory will hold its open day on this day. The Usuda 64m radio telescope is celebrating its 10th birthday next month with its first open day, on Sunday 9th October. Usuda will be the site of a new 10m tracking station for VSOP. Work on the foundations is expected to begin next month, with the antenna installed and operational in a little over a years time.

 
 
       Editors: Phil Edwards and Hirax Hirabayashi