Daily News Monday, June 29, 1992 24-hour audio service at 202/755-1788 % Hubble scientist discovers possible embrionic galaxies; % Hubble science team narrows range of numbers for Hubble Constant; % Work aboard Columbia continues apace with only minor troubles; % Drop physics module investigator gets treat from orbiting colleague; % Atlantis payloads to be delivered to pad for STS-46 mission this week; % Administrator Goldin awards Rockwell for ontime delivery of Endeavour. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The chance discovery by Dr. Richard Griffiths of extremely unusual objects at great distances may lead to a better understanding of how galaxies form. Griffiths was using the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera to obtain random observations while another instrument was carrying out specific observations. This method allows for a greater efficiency of the Telescope's instruments and in this case produced several examples of what Griffiths described as interacting or merging galaxies. The objects previously only had been seen as blobs in ground-based views. According to one cosmological model, these early objects, varying from 5 to 20 billion light years away, may be undergoing a cannibalization process whereby smaller structures are absorbed by larger structures -- forming the building blocks for the galaxies of today. Griffiths, who works at the Space Telescope Science Institute, is presenting his results at a Hubble Telescope workshop in Sardinia, Italy, today. In another result also being presented today in Sardinia, several other members of the Telescope Institute are presenting data which suggest the rate of expansion of the universe -- the Hubble Constant -- is between 40 and 60 kilometers a second for a megaparsec of volume. (A megaparsec is equivalent to 3.26 million light years.) This new finding narrows significantly the range of possibilities for the Hubble Constant, previously thought to be between 50 and 100 kilometers/second/megaparsec. The definition of the Hubble Constant is one of the principal reasons for developing and launching the Hubble Telescope and bears significantly on which cosmological theory is correct. The work, by Duccio Macchetto, Nino Panagia and Abhijit Saha, will continue through the coming year as the team tries to narrow the range of the Hubble Constant even more. The work was performed by obtaining images of a special class of star called Cepheid variables, known to vary in brightness over a specified time period and used extensively as cosmic "mileposts" by astronomers. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The ongoing microgravity research aboard the Spacelab module in orbit within Columbia continues on schedule and with only minor problems cropping up through the weekend. Ground team members in the Mission Control Center in Houston discovered a slow leak in one of Columbia's internal oxygen tanks. The flight crew has reconfigured the plumbing to use oxygen from that tank ahead of the Extended Duration kit tanks in the event the slow leak grows. Other minor problems included the failure of a sensor inside the Regenerative Carbon Dioxide Removal System and the subsequent planned shutdown of that system. The sensor had caused the device to cycle off frequently. The regenerative system is being tested as a possible lighter-weight replacement for the air-scrubbing lithium hydroxide canisters. Another nuisance-level problem which came up over the past few days was the failure of the frequently-irksome Text and Graphics System -- the onboard equivalent of a facsimile machine. In lieu of their fax, the crew is getting visual messages via a test model of a computer modem which is using air-to-ground communications to transmit information from computers in the MCC to personal computers aboard Columbia. The USML-1 crew had the opportunity yesterday to view the Mir space station as they flew to within 90 miles of the Russian orbiting laboratory. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Microgravity experiments continue to go very well inside the Spacelab module with the zero gravity furnace and glove box getting a vigorous workout by the crew. Inside the drop physics module, payload specialist Eugene Trinh was able to delight his ground-based colleagues two days ago as he was able to tune the acoustic suspension device to first break apart and then re-join a water drop. The investigator, Robert Apfel from Yale University, said these studies may have a significant impact on studies into chemical surfactants and could assist industrial processes such as enhanced oil recovery, detergent and cosmetic production and even protein crystal studies. The onboard crew also unstowed and set up the Lower Body Negative Pressure device, used to simulate the pull of Earth's gravity on the lower part of a crewmember's body. The crew will be taking turns inside the pressure device as other crewmembers measure their heart rate and blood pressure. These studies are part of the continuing research into the effects and possible workarounds for the long-term effects of weightlessness on the human body. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Meanwhile back home in Florida, technicians are preparing to move Atlantis's payload to the launch pad sometime this week for insertion into the orbiter's payload bay as the final processing of the STS-46 Tether Satellite System and Eureca deploy mission comes to a close. Launch of Atlantis for the week-long mission is still planned for the latter third of July. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * This past Friday, Administrator Goldin awarded the first NASA Award for "World Class" Performance to two contractors at ceremonies held at the Johnson Space Center. Goldin recognized Rockwell International's Space Systems Division for delivering the new orbiter Endeavour on time and below cost and awarded Lockheed Space Operations Company for outstanding work on orbiter processing for space shuttle missions. The new award will be given to organizations, companies, universities or other government agencies for work which has been determined to be of significant benefit to NASA and the U.S. taxpayer. Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select TV. Note that all events and times may change without notice, and that all times listed are Eastern. Live indicates a program is transmitted live. Monday, June 29, 1992 Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. Live 2:00 pm Today in Space report on the progress of the USML-1 mission. Live 3:00 pm Mission status briefing on crew, orbiter and Spacelab systems. Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. Tuesday, June 30, 1992 Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. Live 2:00 pm Today in Space report on the progress of the USML-1 mission. Live 3:00 pm Mission status briefing on crew, orbiter and Spacelab systems. Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. Wednesday, July 1, 1992 Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. Live 2:00 pm Today in Space report on the progress of the USML-1 mission. Live 3:00 pm Mission status briefing on crew, orbiter and Spacelab systems. Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. Thursday, July 2, 1992 Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. Live 2:00 pm Today in Space report on the progress of the USML-1 mission. Live 3:00 pm Mission status briefing on crew, orbiter and Spacelab systems. Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. Friday, July 3, 1992 Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. Live 2:00 pm Today in Space report on the progress of the USML-1 mission. Live 3:00 pm Mission status briefing on crew, orbiter and Spacelab systems. Live Throughout the day, live experiment video and crew activity from crew cabin and Spacelab module aboard Columbia. This report is filed daily at noon, Monday through Friday. It is a service of NASA's Office of Public Affairs. The editor is Charles Redmond, 202/453-8425 or CREDMOND on NASAmail. NASA Select TV is carried on GE Satcom F2R, transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees West Longitude, transponder frequency is 3960 MegaHertz, audio subcarrier is 6.8 MHz, polarization is vertical.