Jim Cast
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                                             
December 16, 1991
(Phone:  202/453-1142)

Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone:  202/453-1549)

Dolores Beasley
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone:  301/286-2806)

RELEASE: 91-207

NASA PLANS ULTRAVIOLET ASTRONOMY SATELLITE LAUNCH IN MAY

     The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) satellite has been 
scheduled for launch on May 28, 1992, from the Cape Canaveral Air 
Force Station, Fla.

     Originally set for launch on Jan. 16, 1992, the launch was 
rescheduled because EUVE must accomplish two critical milestones 
at the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., before it is 
shipped to Kennedy Space Center, Fla.  The two milestones are 
Modular Antenna Pointing System (MAPS) acceptance testing and 
software/hardware verification.  Only the software/hardware 
verification remains to be completed.

     These milestones were scheduled to be completed earlier, 
allowing a Jan. 16 launch, but problems with the printed circuit 
boards and electric motors in the MAPS moved the schedule to 
late-February, early-March time frame.

     The selection of the May 28 launch date also will provide the 
Air Force, which is providing the Delta II expendable launch 
vehicle, with an opportunity to refurbish launch Pad 17A in the 
first half of 1992.

     The EUVE will map the entire sky to determine the existence, 
direction, brightness and temperature of thousands of objects that 
are sources of extreme ultraviolet radiation.

     The scientific mission of EUVE will consist of a 6-month 
all-sky survey, which will be followed by a spectroscopy phase of 
at least 1 year.  In the spectroscopy phase, individual targets, 
whether discovered in the all-sky survey or identified from other 
information, will be analyzed in detail through individual 
observations made with an on-board extreme ultraviolet 
spectrometer.

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