Jet Propulsion Laboratory UNIVERSE - Pasadena, California - Vol. 24, No. 21 - October 21, 1994 __________________________________________________________________ Magellan: thanks for a job well done The successful 5 1/2-year mission of JPL's Magellan spacecraft to map the surface and measure the gravity of Venus ended Oct. 12 when ground controllers lost contact with the spacecraft. Magellan burned up in the planet's upper atmosphere on Oct. 13 at about 1 p.m. PDT. The final chapter of the Magellan story was written as Earth- based tracking stations lost the spacecraft's radio signal at 3:02 a.m. PDT. The loss of signal, which was anticipated, was due to low power on the spacecraft, exacerbated by Magellan's orientation as it performed a final experiment in the upper atmosphere of Venus. Spacecraft control was maintained right up to the end, even at the very low bus voltage of 20.5 volts, said Project Manager Doug Griffith. JPL Director Dr. Edward Stone noted that "The Magellan mission has been successful beyond all expectations. It not only fulfilled its science and mission objectives, it also demonstrated innovative technologies for future missions." Griffith added, "The tremendous success of the Magellan program was made possible by the spirit of team members from JPL, NASA, Martin Marietta (Denver) and Hughes Aircraft (Los Angeles) that built the spacecraft and operated the mission." The spacecraft's thrusters were fired in five sequences Oct. 11, to lower Magellan's orbit into the thin upper atmosphere and set up the termination experiment before the spacecraft's failing power system or dynamic forces and friction from the Venusian atmosphere shut off communication. Magellan gathered scientific data on the planet's upper atmosphere, including aerodynamic interactions with it during the spacecraft's final descent, by orienting its wing-like solar panels in opposite directions, like a windmill. The termination experiment was an extension of the windmill experiment performed in early September. The windmill experiment will help scientists understand how much torque will be needed to keep the spacecraft from spinning on its axis, which will allow them to derive gas-surface interactions, as well as aerodynamic and atmospheric data. Launched by Space Shuttle Atlantis in May 1989, Magellan entered Venus orbit in August 1990 and gathered data for more than four years while making 15,000 orbits of the planet. It used radar to map 98 percent of the planet's cloud-covered surface to an average resolution of better than 200 meters (about 650 feet) and compiled a high-resolution, comprehensive gravity field map for 95 percent of the planet. The gravity data will allow scientists to see "underneath the planet's skin" and compare that knowledge of the interior to the wealth of surface features revealed by Magellan's radar imaging, Griffith said. "The data that streamed back from Magellan's radar images, its atmospheric studies, and its gravity data acquisition maneuvers have built a vast database of new knowledge about Venus and the formation of the solar system that will be studied by scientists for decades to come," he added. Magellan's first-of-a-kind "aerobraking" maneuver from May- August 1993 provided a scientific bonus for an already-successful mission after radar mapping had been completed. The technique allowed the spacecraft to record high-resolution gravity data by dipping into the atmosphere to reshape its orbit. The aerobraking maneuver is now being used in the design of the Mars Global Surveyor mission to enable the spacecraft to enter orbit around the planet Mars in 1997, using less fuel, and resulting in significant savings of weight and cost. Griffith noted that "we were willing to take risks" to perform the aerobraking maneuvers. "The prime mission was behind us when we started aerobraking. But Mars Global Surveyor can now use aerobraking as part of its primary mission, but at less risk, due to Magellan's pioneering operations and subsequent windmill tests," he said. Magellan data will help scientists better understand geologic forces on Earth, he noted, as "Venus was like a pristine laboratory for us to study volcanic formations, and meteorite impact craters and how they form." Besides being the first planetary mission to perform aerobraking, Griffith had reason to be proud of many other "firsts" accomplished by Magellan. Among them: -- First planetary mission launched from a space shuttle; -- First spacecraft to use synthetic aperture radar from an elliptical orbit; -- First spacecraft to use synthetic aperture radar and telecommunications with the same antenna; -- Deepest penetration of the Venus atmosphere using spacecraft radio signals; -- First mission to release image data on CD-ROMs (127 produced thus far, more data than all other missions combined). Griffith also expressed appreciation for the commitment of team members when "they saw job cutbacks were coming. They still were willing to work for the good of the mission and to do their jobs more efficiently." The team was pared from about 240--including Hughes and Martin Marietta contractors--during full radar operations to 25 JPLers and Martin Marietta contractors who composed the so-called "lean, mean gravity team" for the past year. The spacecraft may be gone and the data-gathering exhausted, but Magellan's legacy is far from complete. Noting that the science community will study Magellan data "for decades," Griffith said "Most of the greatest discoveries are yet to happen." ### __________________________________________________________________ SIR-C delivers on its promises By MARK WHALEN From the beginning, JPL's Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) mission promised big things. After all, it was the largest piece of flight hardware ever built at JPL. The mission was the first to utilize a set of radars operating at three different frequencies. And the new antenna design allowed the radar beams to be steered electronically, without physically moving the antenna. So when Space Shuttle Endeavour touched down at Edwards Air Force Base Oct. 11, ending SIR-C/X-SAR's 11-day mission in its second of two planned flights, those associated with it had reason to be proud. The promises had been fulfilled, and in many regards, exceeded. In addition to meeting the mission's original goals of observing 19 "supersites" and hundreds of other locations worldwide to compare seasonal changes between the April and October flights, SIR-C/X-SAR was able to "see" remnants of ancient civilizations and pinpoint areas devastated by mudflows, volcanoes, fires and floods. SIR-C/X-SAR was forced to make the best of the situation when the launch of the second flight, scheduled for Aug. 18, was aborted with about one second remaining in the countdown. Redline limits had been exceeded on the high-pressure oxidizer turbo pump engines on one of Endeavour's engines. In some ways, though, the delay turned out to be fortuitous, as just before the launch of the second flight on Sept. 30, a volcano erupted in Papua New Guinea. Then, a second volcanic bonanza presented itself when the Kliuchevskoi volcano on eastern Russia's Kamchatka peninsula erupted about six hours after liftoff. However, the "crown jewel" of the mission, according to Project Manager Mike Sander, was the observation of the Kilauea volcano on the big island of Hawaii. An example of SIR-C/X-SAR's scanning of changes around the same spot on the two missions to create "stereo" images of selected areas, the data on the volcano "showed how the terrain changed remarkably," Sander said. An area on the coast of Hawaii appeared as a slow-moving landslide, moving down about 10 centimeters (4 inches). "This sort of thing is in the geologic record, but we actually caught it in the act," Sander said. "Although this a known phenomenon, we're the first ones to image it." Project Scientist Diane Evans noted that SIR-C/X-SAR's Kilauea data "corroborated ongoing Global Positioning System studies showing that the area is breaking apart," and that some of the radar data were "instantly interpretable for geophysicists." "This technology could be a very powerful tool in pointing out where stress is building up on or under the Earth's surface. An earthquake may be an end result of that stress," Sander added. "The images we obtained showed a powerful technique for visualization of that stress." Closer to home, SIR-C/X-SAR retraced its steps over California, mapping the same ground features from slightly different angles on consecutive days, detecting changes in ground features as small as a centimeter (about one-half inch). Evans said this provided "a baseline of data" that could be used to monitor earthquake faults. The scarred regions from last fall's fires in Altadena and elsewhere were also imaged. An interesting application of the radar detected an intentional oil spill off the coast of Denmark Oct. 6. German scientists had dumped more than 100 gallons (380 liters) of diesel oil and algae into the sea two hours before Endeavour passed overhead, hoping that the radar could distinguish between an oil spill and the naturally occurring film produced by fish and plankton. The attempt was successful. Two areas that were imaged in April--gorilla habitats in Rwanda and an ancient irrigation channel along China's old "Silk Road" trade route--were again studied in the second flight. Evans said the most striking seasonal differences between the April and October observations were in the regions of the Northern Hemisphere that were first observed in frozen and then unfrozen states--particularly at Mammoth Mountain in central California and the forests of Raco, Mich.--and images of the Amazon River in South America, which showed more flooding than in April. "The results of the April mission needed those of the companion mission," Evans said. "I thought it would be hard to top the April flight. The reflight exceeded my expectations, by far," she added. In the wake of the second flight's launch delay, Sander vowed to "make lemonade out of the lemons" that the mission has seemingly been handed. And the powerful combination of radars, able to penetrate clouds, smoke, sand, ice and vegetation, made some of the sour taste disappear. "We took all data we planned to take," Sander said. "It was predicted that the delayed flight might result in a loss of about 20 percent of the value of the seasonal data. But it turned out that some of the leaf fall was later than expected, and the areas we thought might have less value actually had considerable value." SIR-C/X-SAR completed 935 "data takes" during the October flight, with the radar operating for 107 hours. Each data take is a 1,000-kilometer by 20-to-40-kilometer swath of the Earth, and each image is a "slice" of that swath, Sander said, representing seven seconds of data. "We've got reams of data," he added. "It will be a real challenge for us to most cleverly use the resources we have to get the data into the science community." Even before the completion of the April and October flights, mission officials had hoped for a third chance with SIR-C/X-SAR, possibly from a continuously orbiting satellite rather than a shuttle-based view. A decision on a third flight is pending. "My impression is that a follow-on mission would go in June or July 1996, to gather data that were missed this time and acquire additional interferometry data," Evans said. "We'll have enough data from the first two flights to make a clear proposal for follow-on activities as part of the National Research Council's review over the next couple of months." Following its review, she added, the panel will report to Dr. Charles Kennel, associate administrator for Mission to Planet Earth at NASA Headquarters, who will further consider the proposed third flight. Sander praised the efforts of all who contributed to the mission. "The character and nature of the teaming that went on was extraordinary. We and the X-SAR team [representing the German and Italian space agencies] worked very well together. "The crew at the Cape did an excellent job in preparing us for launch, starting just 10 days after the STS-59 mission ended. And we had a marvelous partnership with the Johnson Space Center team. "The people who played a part in this mission can look back on this as a major highlight in their lives," Sander said. ### __________________________________________________________________ JPL infrared telescope to study starburst galaxies By DIANE AINSWORTH Starburst galaxies--vast clouds of molecular gas cradling the sites of newborn stars -- will be the target of a new JPL satellite selected for flight in 1998 as part of NASA's Small Explorer Program. The new satellite, called the Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE), will be a cryogenically cooled, small infrared telescope designed to study the evolution of starburst galaxies billions of light-years away and luminous protogalaxies--or infant galaxies--at much greater distances. "Starburst galaxies are galaxies that appear to be undergoing a burst of star formation," said Dr. Perry Hacking, principal investigator at JPL and co-inventor of the telescope along with Dr. Paul Graf of Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colo. "These galaxies represent about 10 percent of the local galaxy population and account for about 30 percent of the local energy budget," he said. "If starburst galaxies have continued to evolve since they first formed, they may represent the main source of stars in the universe today." Most of the luminosity from young, hot stars is blocked at optical wavelengths by dust and molecular material enveloping their nurseries. But their luminosity escapes and can be detected at infrared wavelengths. For instance, M82 is a typical starburst galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major, which lies at a distance of about 10 million light-years away. WIRE will be able to detect galaxies like M82 at 5 billion to 10 billion light-years away, revealing their evolutionary past. The infrared explorer will also search for protogalaxies even farther back in time that are undergoing extremely luminous starbursts. JPL has teamed with Space Dynamics Laboratory of Utah State University in Logan, Utah, to build the infrared telescope. As envisioned, WIRE will be a simple, 30-centimeter (12-inch) aperture telescope with no moving parts and a field of view about the size of Earth's full moon. The instrument will require only 35 watts of power and a low data rate of 9,000 bits per second. Recent major advances in infrared detector technology will allow the satellite to detect distant galaxies in the 12 to 25 micrometer wavelength range (12 to 25 millionths of a meter). The infrared detectors will be supplied by the Rockwell International Science Center in Anaheim, and the solid hydrogen cryogenic container will be provided by Lockheed's Palo Alto Research Laboratories. "The telescope is contained in a lightweight cryostat--that's essentially a super high-performance thermos bottle--and the optics are surrounded by a jacket of solid hydrogen," said Dr. Helene Schember, WIRE project manager at JPL. "As it melts, the cryostat cools the optics, ensuring that the telescope feels the heat from distant galaxies." Using this state-of-the-art technology, WIRE will survey about 100 square degrees of sky during its four-month lifetime and amass a catalog exceeding the size of the existing Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) Point Source Catalog. The satellite will be able to observe starburst galaxies 500 times fainter at these wavelengths than those observed by the 1983 IRAS mission. The telescope will be carried on a three-axis spacecraft bus designed and built by the Small Explorer Project team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. and launched in October 1998 by a Pegasus XL launch vehicle. The mission will be managed jointly by JPL in collaboration with Goddard, for NASA's Office of Space Science. WIRE will be placed in a nearly polar orbit 400 kilometers (250 miles) above the Earth's surface, following a "sun-synchronous" path in which the sun will be at the same point in the sky at the same time each day. That orbit will simplify other spacecraft requirements, such as being able to use a relatively small, fixed solar array and a small battery to operate the telescope. The WIRE science team will be composed of astronomers from JPL; Caltech; Goddard; Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.; and Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colo. Data processing and analysis will be performed at Caltech's Infrared Processing and Analysis Laboratory. NASA's Small Explorer Program provides frequent flight opportunities for highly focused and relatively inexpensive science missions. WIRE was one of two missions selected by NASA in September for development as a Small Explorer Program mission. Design, development and operations of WIRE through the first 30 days of orbit will cost no more than $50 million. ### __________________________________________________________________ News briefs JPL Director Dr. Edward Stone has been named the initial recipient of Caltech's David Morrisroe Professorship in Physics. The professorship honors Caltech's vice president for business and finance and treasurer, David Morrisroe, and was made possible through a gift from the late Caltech alumnus and trustee James Glanville and his wife, Nancy. Morrisroe, who has been with Caltech since 1969, oversees the business and financial operations for both the campus and JPL, as well as the investment of endowment, and is a lecturer in business economics in the humanities and social sciences departments. Stone, who has served as JPL's director since 1991, joined Caltech in 1964 as a research fellow, then rose through the academic ranks to become professor of physics in 1976. From 1983- 88 he chaired Caltech's physics, mathematics and astronomy division and from 1988-90 was the institute's vice president for astronomical facilities. ### The Institutional Computing & Information Services Office (392) has opened the Computer Education & Demo Center in Building 601- 155. Existing and planned center services include: computer-based multimedia training, acquisition of books, documentation and computer supplies, Help Desk and technology consulting, and demonstrations of hardware and software on the supported products list. The center (formerly the computer store) is open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For information, call ext. 4-8600 or 4-5332. Also available at the center or through the Help Desk is the newly published ICIS customer services guide, which lists the wide range of ICIS resources and services and how to obtain them. Section 392 also offers introductory classes on the Internet and Unix. Advanced classes in both systems will be coming soon. For more information, call the education coordinator at ext. 4- 4578. ### To increase participation in JPL's child-care assistance program, the gross annual household income limit for eligibility has been increased to $65,000. The program provides financial assistance for child care to those employees with preschool-age children and who meet eligibility criteria. For applications and eligibility information, contact the Employee Compensation, Services and Records Section at ext. 4- 7149. ### Four JPLers recently attended a reception for Argentine President Carlos Saul Menem and presented him with Galileo photographs of the Earth that show South America, along with a portfolio describing various JPL and NASA projects. Three JPL scientists in Division 32 who are natives of Argentina--Drs. Adriana Ocampo, David Tralli and Victor Zlotnicki-- along with Alejandro San Martin, an engineer in Section 343, attended the reception. Tralli said Menem, along with members of his cabinet and Argentine businessmen, was here to encourage trade, investment, science, industry and technology in Argentina. He said meetings are being planned for a JPL visit by Argentina's ambassador to the United States to discuss collaborative projects in science and technology. ### JPL's Environmental Affairs Office would like to remind Lab employees and contractors of the proper procedures for hazardous waste disposal. Arrangements for the cost-free removal of any potentially hazardous waste should be made by calling Tino Chirino of the Environmental Affairs Office at ext. 4-0635. He said that hazardous waste on Lab is temporarily stored in Building 305, where it is packaged and arrangements made for proper transportation and disposal. Chirino also noted that waste containers must be properly labeled with JPL form number 2799-S, which is available from JPL stores. ### __________________________________________________________________ New emergency preparedness plans outlined By KARRE MARINO Calling it the "most comprehensive emergency plan ever developed at JPL," Emergency Preparedness Administrator Gil Duke and a panel of Lab representatives outlined the newly revised Multihazard Emergency Response Plan in an all-hands meeting Oct. 11 in von Karman Auditorium. Changes have been made in five areas, with eight new appendices. Revisions to the plan were precipitated by the lessons learned from the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake. Many of the changes address improved communication strategies. Should disaster strike during nonwork hours, a variety of methods will be utilized to communicate with Lab personnel as quickly as possible, Duke said. "Our goal is to make information available to all personnel within four hours of an emergency, utilizing all of our communication resources: local radio and television, cc:mail and voice mail." JPL also has an emergency status update recording--accessed toll-free at (800) 303-4575--which is available 24 hours a day and updated daily at 5 a.m. The recording provides information on the Lab's operational status. If the Lab needs to close early because of an earthquake, for instance, personnel will again be notified by a variety of systems: electronic mail, voice mail and JPL's paging system. The Lab's designated building wardens and floor wardens, who are trained in emergency-evacuation operations, first aid and CPR, are responsible for the safe evacuation of all personnel in JPL buildings. If personnel are en route to work when a crisis that impacts the Lab occurs, Duke indicated that "JPL would close its gates and divert people to parking facilities until it can be ascertained that the Lab is safe." The new plan also ensures that pertinent information on transportation and commuting problems will be communicated. The Rideshare Office will pass along alternate road/freeway routes, using all of its contacts at the California Highway Patrol, Metrolink and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as that information becomes available, Duke noted. Transit schedules will be provided, as will emergency shuttle service to bus and train stations--all in a timely manner, he said. No one will be allowed on Lab until it has been determined to be structurally safe. Damage assessment teams will be dispatched throughout JPL to inspect buildings. Buildings may be cordoned off until inspections are completed and safety determinations are made. Priority will be given to those sites containing hazardous materials. The plan also considered the emotional damage that can result after a crisis. To help on this front, JPL's Employee Assistance Program offers trauma counseling. "We offer short-term counseling for employees and on a more limited basis, contractors," according to Employee Assistance Counselor Cynthia Cooper. The JPL Multihazard Emergency Response Plan is available in section offices and the JPL Library. An emergency procedures brochure and laminated wallet-size card with helpful phone numbers are also available from Duke's office, ext. 4-1091. The panel included: Duke; Petersen; Cooper; Patricia Smith- Araki, manager of the Safety Operations Section 524; Charles Buril, manager of the Environmental Affairs Office; Bill York, manager of the Construction of Facilities Program Office; and George Alexander, manager of the Public Affairs Office. ### __________________________________________________________________ United Way campaign kicks off Nov. 1 JPL will begin its 1994 United Way campaign during a special kick-off ceremony in von Karman Auditorium on Nov. 1 from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. The ceremony is designed to provide JPL employees participate in a question-and-answer session with member organizations of United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Actor Meshach Taylor, best known for his roles in the television series "Designing Women" and "Dave's World," is scheduled to be a special guest at the event. Also on hand will be Elyssa Nelson, director of the JPL/Caltech Child Educational Center, and Bob Ketch, executive director of Five Acres, an Altadena-based home for disadvantaged children. Both will provide insights into how United Way allows each organization to support members of their local communities. Representatives from local United Way agencies and JPL's United Way steering committee will also be available to provide employees with information on how United Way donations can be designated to non-profit organizations of their choice. JPL, the largest employer and largest corporate donor in the San Gabriel Valley region, saw a significant portion of its donations made through United Way's 1993 campaign go directly to local agencies in their efforts to assist victims of last year's Altadena wildfires and Northridge earthquake. "Giving Thanks By Sharing" is the theme for the 1994 campaign, and for the second year a canned-food drive will be held in conjunction with the JPL United Way campaign, which runs Nov. 1- 18. A food-collection bin will be at the opening ceremony, and bins will be available throughout JPL during the campaign. "Last year, JPL's United Way food drive netted enough canned goods to distribute more than 254 baskets of food to families in need," said Neil Nakamoto of Division 970. "This year we will be providing food to five local agencies, and we're hopeful that we'll be able to reach even more families and individuals in need," he added. Refreshments will be available in von Karman Auditorium during the opening ceremonies. In addition, a raffle will be held for 12 one-month unassigned on-Lab parking passes, as well as gift certificates for Thanksgiving turkeys. The event will be broadcast on JPL's closed-circuit television system and in special sections of the cafeterias. Employees watching the ceremony in the cafeterias will be eligible for the raffle prizes. "In keeping with many of the changes on Lab, the steering committee felt that a grass-roots effort would be better received by members of the JPL community," said Nancy Kapell, JPL's United Way coordinator. "We're hopeful that employees will take advantage of the opening ceremony to become better informed about the vital role the United Way plays in providing services to our local communities," Kapell added. ### __________________________________________________________________ Proposed third SIR-C flight model produced in Project Design Center By KARRE MARINO Dave B. Smith is a happy customer. In early September, the systems manager for the Shuttle Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) mission spent two days in JPL's recently opened Project Design Center, where he and a team of specialists hammered out plans for a radar interferometer that he hopes will be added to a proposed third shuttle flight for the instrument. The plan calls for adding a space station boom and canister to the shuttle's mission payload support structure, with the ability to telescope out 30 meters (about 100 feet). Attached to this boom, he said, would be a "small X-band receiving antenna." The point of the addition is to enable a signal to be received by two antennas, operating as an X-band radar interferometer. "By processing radar data received by both antennas, we can determine topography--the height of the Earth--to the order of 15 meters (49 feet). The best geographical survey," he added, "is 20 meters (66 feet)." The radar interferometer also offers a good look at the Earth's changing surfaces, he explained, including data on slope roughness and the amount of deformation after earthquakes. "The extent of flooding and potential lava flows could also be determined with this boom antenna," according to Smith. The plan to add the antenna to the third flight is no less ambitious than the design center was integral to its quick creation. Smith's team of experts included radar, structural, thermal and systems engineers; an electronics specialist; a cost analyst; and Johnson Space Flight Center personnel who could answer shuttle questions. "By using the concept of concurrent engineering (having each subsystem working in the same room at the same time)," Smith said, "we could sidestep problems that might not have been made known in real time to engineers working on their portion of the instrument." It might have otherwise taken months before one subsystem group spoke to another--and the design would have been well under way. Changes would cost time and money. "Having the shuttle people available was also important. They could tell us yes or no, you [can or] can't do that," explained Smith. He also invited a cost analyst to participate in the planning, which enabled each group to work on an Excel spreadsheet, and the analyst could put an estimate early in the project's design "This saved enormous time," he said. On the first day in the design center the teams began by deciding "where we wanted to go," Smith said. "I asked, `What do we want to come out of this?' " Smith divided his group into four subteams--electronics, structure, mission and systems--which produced a cost estimate, equipment list, schedule and work plan. "The system engineer, for instance, would float, working with each group to help make decisions, first to electronics, for example, and then we went to structure. "At each step, groups made tradeoffs. In the end, four teams converged toward an answer." One problem the groups encountered was the possibility of an error source creeping into the antenna, caused by thermal expansion of the beam. That would mean an additional $1 million would have to be spent on a beam that wouldn't expand thermally, Smith explained. "Or, we could design it so return signals are perpendicular to thermal changes in the link. This would save the $1 million." Without concurrent engineering, which allowed designers to discuss this potential problem, Smith maintained, the teams would have missed this error source and gone in the wrong direction. "By compressing the design space, we could channel the team's energy in a common direction." Smith explained that his team has come up with a configuration that is still being refined. But he noted that he was "able to create a flowchart and find the critical path analysis in a few days. Most projects," he added, "take three months to do this." At the end of the first day in the design center, Smith, working with a systems engineer, compiled what he thought were the results of the workshop. These were presented to the team heads the next day. "We made a few more modifications; for instance, initially the schedule didn't work. But by working with the team leaders, we refined the proposal." Ed Caro, SIR-C/X-SAR's radar engineer, also gave the center a thumbs up. "It was a good area to work in. We had access to all the facilities we needed and were able to work in real time, interacting with an evolving design. That's very useful. Collecting all the talent in one place offers the tools to engage in a dynamic, creative process. "By massaging and revising, we could make things fit in real time," he added. The essence of the working groups' effort was presented Sept. 15 to the National Research Council, which is considering funding for a third SIR-C/X-SAR flight in 1996. ### _______________________________________________________________ JPL to work with CSULA as part of NASA grant program Six university and college research projects sponsored by NASA's Office of Equal Opportunity Programs were announced Oct. 7 at an orientation meeting at JPL. The research awards were initiated in May 1994; the orientation meeting brought representatives of all six institutions together with their sponsors for the first time. A NASA field center is associated with each university to monitor the program. JPL will work with Cal State Los Angeles and its project on the central control of a large segmented structure-- such as an antenna dish or space station element. "We are proud to be working with Cal State L.A. on their segmented-structure project," said Alfred Paiz, manager of JPL's Minority Science and Engineering Initiatives Office. "There's potentially a lot of good engineering research as well as good graduate training in it." The program's other five universities are: City College of New York; Florida International University; University of Puerto Rico; University of Texas, San Antonio; and New Mexico Highlands University. The grants provide each university $3.8 million over a five- year period. "The purpose of these awards is to strengthen research in Hispanic-serving universities across the United States," said NASA Program Manager Millie Mateu. The program is one of many in NASA's minority and educational outreach, she added. ### _______________________________________________________________ AIDS/HIV seminar on Lab Nov. 15 JPL's Medical Services Office will sponsor a seminar on HIV and AIDS education in the workplace on Nov. 15 from noon to 1 p.m. in the Building 167 Conference Room. The discussion will provide an understanding of the disease process, how HIV is and is not transmitted, how to assess one's personal risks for HIV infection, precautions in the workplace, the rights of employees with a chronic illness and the laws governing those rights. The seminar will be given by Erna Taylor-Stark of Pasadena Red Cross, and a question-and-answer session will follow. ### ___________________________________________________________ Universe Editor, Mark Whalen Assistant Editor, Karre Marino Photos, JPL Photo Lab Universe is published every other Friday by the Public Affairs Office of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109.