Debra J. Rahn
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                                                  
March 10, 1994
(Phone:  202/358-1639)

Jim Cast
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
(Phone:  202/358-1779)

RELEASE:  94-40
 
REFLIGHT OF TETHERED SATELLITE SYSTEM CONFIRMED

   NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin and Italian Space Agency (ASI) 
Special Administrator Professor Giampietro Puppi have confirmed 
the reflight of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS).  Target date 
for the mission is February 1996.

   NASA and ASI long have planned this reflight but a formal 
commitment awaited U.S. congressional approval for NASA to spend 
FY 1994 funds.  TSS originally was flown on the Space Shuttle 
STS-46 mission launched July 1992.  TSS deployment was curtailed 
when mechanical interference in the deployer reel assembly 
prevented full deployment of the satellite.  The TSS reflight will 
focus on science objectives not accomplished on the STS-46 
mission.

   NASA and ASI completed a study last year of the 
jointly-developed TSS and confirmed their judgement of its 
usefulness as a unique Shuttle-based experiment carrier.  The TSS 
could place a satellite into the Earth atmospheric regions that 
are difficult to study.  These regions lie above the range of high 
altitude balloon flights and below the altitude of free-flying 
science satellites.

   The mission announced today is expected to complete 
demonstration of the technology of deploying satellites on long, 
gravity-gradient stabilized tethers in space and through 
scientific investigations, to verify the value of such systems for 
scientific and technological research.

   TSS consists of a deployer system, 13.47 miles (21.68 km) of 
tether and a 1,139 pound (517 kg), 5 foot (0.15 m) in diameter 
spherical satellite.  The  satellite, developed by the Italian 
Space Agency, contains payload, service and propulsion modules.  
The payload module will carry several science instruments while 
the service module houses power, data handling, telemetry and 
navigation systems.  Other TSS-1 instruments -- such as the 
Italy-developed core equipment -- are mounted in the Space Shuttle 
orbiter's cargo bay.
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