September 24, 1990

View Full Issue Table of Contents

HEADLINE NEWS

NASA Again Postpones Shuttle Launch After Detecting Hydrogen Fuel Leaks

NENNEDY SPACE CENTER NASA was forced to put the Astro space shuttle mission on hold last week while its experts again try to find the cause of one or more hydrogen fuel leaks that caused another launch scrub on Sept. 17, the fourth time the countdown for Mission 35 has been stopped in the terminal phase.

By EDWARD H. KOLCUM7 min

HEADLINE NEWS

NASA Design for Manned Spacecraft Draws on Soviet Subscale Spaceplane

WASHINGTON NASA is designing a small, winged spacecraft that could ferry 10 astronauts at a time to and from the space station and allow the space shuttle to be reserved for carrying large payloads. A mock-up of the proposed “space taxi,” called the HL-20 Personnel Launch System, closely resembles a Soviet subscale spaceplane flown on four orbital missions in the 1980s.

By JAMES R. ASKER4 min

HEADLINE NEWS

YF-23A Conducts Air Refueling Tests, Reaches Supersonic Speeds on Following Mission

CALIF The Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23A conducted a series of air refueling tests during its fourth flight, then expanded its speed envelope into the supersonic regime on a fifth test mission. A 3.1-hr. flight on Sept. 14 concentrated on approaching and contacting a KC135 tanker, evaluating the fighter’s handling qualities and stability during refueling operations.

By EDWARDS AFB1 min

AVIATION WEEK PILOT REPORT

British Pilot Lauds Performance of Su-27

FARNBOROUGH The Sukhoi Su-27 has plenty of “poke,” excellent maneuvering capability and truly impressive slow-speed handling characteristics. This was the comment of Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Harding, chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Force after flying the Su-27 from the front seat with Sukhoi chief test pilot Viktor Pougachev at Famborough on Sept. 7.

CRISIS IN GULF

U.S.War Plan: Air Strikes To Topple Hussein Regime

SAUDI ARABIA U. S. plans for war in the Mideast call for a rapid and massive bombing campaign against key military and industrial targets in Iraq and air strikes targeted against President Saddam Hussein and his inner circle, according to senior U. S. Air Force officials.

By JOHN D. MORROCCO10 min

September 171990

October 11990

September 24, 1990

September 24, 1990