TRW Completes Last Major Environmental Test For NASA's Newest X-Ray Observatory.

REDONDO BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 8, 1998--TRW (NYSE:TRW), the prime contractor for NASA's Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), has completed the observatory's thermal vacuum test, the last major phase of a rigorous environmental test program the satellite must complete before delivery.

The month-long test was performed at TRW's Space Park satellite integration and test facilities in Redondo Beach, Calif.

"The AXAF thermal vacuum testing was a solid success," said Joanne Maguire, vice president and general manager of TRW's Space & Laser Programs Division. "It did exactly what it was designed to do, allowing us to test the AXAF hardware and software under operational conditions."

The thermal vacuum test was run with the 39-foot tall AXAF placed in a large sealed chamber that was pumped down to simulate the vacuum of space. Over a period of several weeks, the observatory was exposed to alternate periods of extreme hot and cold.

During that time, its electrical subsystems and instruments were functionally "exercised" to ensure that they will operate reliably in the extreme thermal environment of space throughout the observatory's mission life. Since the AXAF instruments are designed to operate in a vacuum, this thermal vacuum test is the last time prior to launch when its key functions can be tested in a realistic environment.

The AXAF thermal vacuum testing process also provided opportunities for the operators of the AXAF Operations Control Center (OCC) in Cambridge, Mass. to send commands to the satellite to validate procedures that will be used on-orbit to communicate with the observatory and its science instruments.

According to Craig Staresinich, TRW's AXAF program manager, the testing process proved invaluable because the AXAF team uncovered a mechanical problem with one of the observatory's science instruments, the AXAF CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS).

"We do these tests to check and double check every aspect of satellite operation that could affect the ultimate success of the science mission," Staresinich explained. "Discovering a problem now is a success. Discovering a problem later, after launch, would be a failure."

TRW and NASA engineers are currently investigating the cause of the ACIS malfunction and developing repair plans. "We believe that the repair can be made in parallel with upcoming electrical testing of the observatory with little or no impact to the delivery schedule," added Staresinich.

The completion of thermal vacuum testing is the latest of a string of program successes that the AXAF team has experienced since restructuring the delivery schedule in late 1997.

"Since last mid-November, when we began the integrated electrical test program on the observatory," said Staresinich, "we've met every milestone on the schedule, including electrical tests, an acoustic test and deployment tests of the solar arrays and other spacecraft appendages. We've even done some additional testing over and above the baseline plan and still maintained the schedule."

TRW expects to deliver AXAF to Kennedy Space Center in Florida in late August. The third of NASA's Great Observatories, AXAF is scheduled for launch in January 1999 aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.

TRW leads a team of contractors, including the Eastman Kodak Co., Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., and Raytheon Optical Systems Inc., that is producing AXAF for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. Data gathered by the satellite will be processed and distributed by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge.

Since 1958, TRW has been a partner with NASA in developing scientific, communications and environmental satellite systems, including the High Energy Astronomy Observatories, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer-Earth Probe.

The company is currently studying the architectures and technologies needed to implement several of NASA's future space astronomy missions, including the Space Interferometry Mission, the Next Generation Space Telescope, which are both part of NASA's Origins program, and Constellation-X, the next major NASA X-ray mission after AXAF.

TRW Inc., based in Cleveland, provides advanced technology products and services for the automotive, space and defense, and information technology markets worldwide. The company's 1997 sales totaled nearly $12 billion, including the recent BDM acquisition.

    CONTACT:  TRW Inc., Redondo Beach
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