Jim Cast
  Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                                          
  January 29, 1992
  (Phone:  202/453-8536)                                                        
  2:30 p.m., EST
  
  
  Release:  92-15
  
  NASA RELEASES UPDATED MIXED FLEET MANIFEST
  
  
       NASA today released its regular update of the Mixed Fleet 
  Manifest which includes projected Space Shuttle and expendable 
  launch vehicle schedules extending to FY 1998.  This  update 
  reflects all current budgetary constraints. 
  
       The near-term Shuttle flight schedule has changed very 
  little since March 1991.  Since the August 1991 manifest, several 
  flights have been accelerated to earlier dates (STS-42, -45 and 
  -52).  These schedule accelerations were supported by the success 
  of the continuous improvement activities which resulted in 
  significant mission preparation efficiencies.  Since August, the 
  only change to the flight sequence through FY 1993 is the 
  deletion of the flight opportunity scheduled in August 1993.
  
       While the flight rate has been reduced to eight per year 
  through FY 1996 and nine flights per year thereafter, resulting 
  in the loss of seven flights through 1997, these reductions have 
  been accommodated without significantly impacting customer 
  commitments.  This primarily has been accomplished by deleting 
  three flight opportunities and a number of payload opportunities, 
  termination of the Aeroassist Flight Experiment and the Flight 
  Telerobotics Experiment, and transfer of the X-ray Timing 
  Explorer to a Delta II expendable launch vehicle.
  
       TDRS-G has been moved back onto the Shuttle in 1995.  Space 
  Station Freedom flights remain basically unchanged although three 
  additional Shuttle flights may be required in the absence of the 
  Advance Solid Rocket Motor to support Freedom's permanently 
  manned capability by late 2000.  
  
  
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       Shuttle missions scheduled for the upcoming calendar year 
  include the April flight of Atlantis carrying the Atmospheric 
  Laboratory for Applications and Science; the first flight of 
  Endeavour in May to retrieve and reboost the Intelsat-VI 
  communications satellite and to accomplish EVA experiments 
  relating to Space Station Freedom assembly; the refurbished 
  Columbia flight in June to conduct a 13-day 
  Extended-Duration-Orbiter flight carrying the U.S. Microgravity 
  Laboratory; an August Atlantis Tethered Satellite mission; 
  September missions with Shuttles Columbia and Endeavour carrying 
  LAGEOS II and Spacelab-J payloads; and the last scheduled, 
  dedicated DoD Shuttle mission aboard the refurbished Discovery in 
  December. 
  
       Expendable Launch Vehicle highlights include cancellation of 
  the Comet-Rendezvous-Asteroid-Flyby mission; TDRS-G, considered 
  for launch in April, 1995, but retained for launch aboard the 
  Space Shuttle in the 3rd quarter of FY 1995; the Earth-Observing 
  System spacecraft designs have been changed to be launched on a 
  series of intermediate and smaller performance ELVs.
  
       In addition, Atlas-I launch dates for Geostationary 
  Operational Environmental Satellites I, J and K have been changed 
  to December 1993, 1994 and 1998, respectively, due to spacecraft 
  reprogramming.
  
       Two new Space Exploration Initiative precursor missions have 
  been added to today's manifest -- the Lunar Resources Mapper and 
  a Lunar Geodetic Scout are scheduled for launch aboard Delta  II 
  launch vehicles in April 1995 and March 1996, respectively.
  
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  EDITORS' NOTE:  A limited number of abbreviated copies of the 
  newly-released manifest is available in the NASA Headquarters 
  newsroom (400 Md. Avenue, S.W., Wash., D.C., Room 6043;  
  202/453-8400).  Complete copies of the document will be available 
  at NASA center newsrooms as soon as possible.