NASA programs - Current status and a look at the future
Ongoing and planned NASA activities are reviewed as of March 1982. The successful flights of the Shuttle are mentioned, noting progress toward an operational system. The Galileo Jupiter Probe, a mission being undertaken jointly by the U.S. and West German governments, is scheduled for launch in 1985. Althoug the American counterpart has been cancelled, the U.S. will launch the European Solar Polar Mission with the Shuttle, placing a satellite in an orbit around the sun in a plane out of the ecliptic. Work also continues on the Space Telescope. DoD payloads cover one-third of the total Shuttle launches until 1986. The construction of the Vandenberg Space Facility and the sharing of aeronautics research by the two agencies are outlined. Finally, the capabilities of the STS to launch, retrieve, and repair satellites in orbit are described. The evolution and exploitation of the Shuttle capabilities will eventually lead, it is predicted, to a permanently manned orbital station.