[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 128 (Thursday, July 3, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36080-36081]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-17404]
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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[Notice 97-090]
National Environmental Policy Act; Cassini Mission
AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Notice of availability of final supplemental environmental
impact statement (FSEIS) for the Cassini Mission to Saturn and its
moons.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et.seq.), the Council on
Environmental Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural
Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and NASA policy and
procedures (14 CFR part 1216, subpart 1216.3), NASA has prepared and
issued an FSEIS for the Cassini Mission. The FSEIS focuses on the most
recently available information pertinent to the risk analyses of
potential accidents during the launch and cruise phases of the mission.
Certain accidents could potentially result in some release of plutonium
dioxide from one or more of the three Radioisotope Thermoelectric
Generators (RTG's) and the 129 Radioisotope Heater Units (RHU's)
onboard the Cassini spacecraft. The currently planned mission involves
the launch of the Cassini spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Station
(CCAS), Florida, during the primary launch opportunity that begins in
early October 1997.
DATES: NASA will take no final action on the proposed launch of the
Cassini Mission before August 4, 1997, or 30 days form the date of
publication in the Federal Register of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's notice of availability of the Cassini Mission
FSEIS, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: The FSEIS may be reviewed at the following locations:
(a) NASA Headquarters, Library, Room 1J20, 300 E Street SW, Washington,
DC 20546.
(b) Spaceport U.S.A. Room 2001, John F. Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899.
Please call Lisa Fowler beforehand at 407-867-2497 so that arrangements
can be made.
(c) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Visitors Lobby, Building 249, 4800 Oak
Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (818-354-5179).
In addition, the FSEIS may be examined at the following NASA
locations by contacting the pertinent Freedom of Information Act
Office:
(d) NASA, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (415-604-4190).
(e) NASA, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA 93523 (805-258-
3448).
(f) NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (301-286-
0730).
(g) NASA, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058 (713-483-8612).
[[Page 36081]]
(h) NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23655 (757-864-2497).
(i) NASA, Lewis Research Center, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, OH
44135 (216-433-2222).
(j) NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 (202-544-0031).
(k) NASA, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 (601-688-2164).
Limited copies of the FSEIS are available, on a first request
basis, by contacting Mark R. Dahl at the address or telephone number
indicated below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Mark R. Dahl, NASA Headquarters, Code SD, Washington, DC 20546-
0001; telephone 202-358-1544.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The planned Cassini Mission is an
international cooperative effort of NASA, the European Space Agency,
and the Italian Space Agency, to explore the planet Saturn and its
environment. Saturn is the second-largest and second-most massive
planet in the solar system and has the largest, most visible dynamic
ring structure of all the planets. The planned mission is an important
part of NASA's program for exploration of the solar system, the goal of
which is to understand the system's birth and evolution. The Cassini
Mission would involve a 4-year scientific exploration of Saturn, its
atmosphere, moons, rings, and magnetosphere. The Cassini spacecraft
consists of the Cassini Orbiter and the detachable Huygens Probe. The
Huygens Probe would be released for a parachute descent into the
atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's largest moon. The scientific information
gathered by the Cassini Mission could help provide clues to the
evolution of the solar system and the origin of life on Earth.
NASA issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the
Cassini Mission in July 1995 (hereinafter the ``EIS'') followed by the
associated Record of Decision (ROD) to complete preparation of the
Cassini Mission for launch in the October 1997 opportunity, or either
the secondary or backup opportunities, and to implement the mission.
The Cassini spacecraft would carry three RTG's that use the heat of
decay of plutonium dioxide to generate electric power for the
spacecraft and its instruments. The spacecraft would also use 129
RHU's, each containing a small amount of plutonium dioxide, to generate
heat for controlling the thermal environment of the spacecraft and
several of its instruments.
The action selected and documented in the ROD associated with the
EIS consists of completing preparations for and implementing the
Cassini Mission to Saturn and its moons, with a launch of the Cassini
spacecraft onboard a Titan IV(SRMU)/Centaur. The launch would take
place at CCAS during the primary launch opportunity that begins in
early October 1997 and continues into mid-November 1997. A secondary
launch opportunity extends from the end of November 1997 to early
January 1997, with a backup opportunity from mid-March to early April
1999, both using the Titan IV(SRMU)/Centaur. The primary launch
opportunity would employ a Venus-Venus-Earth-Jupiter-Gravity-Assist
trajectory to Saturn; the secondary and backup opportunities would both
employ a Venus-Earth-Earth-Gravity-Assist (VEEGA) trajectory. The above
primary launch opportunity remains NASA's preferred alternative and
Proposed Action and would allow the Cassini spacecraft to gather the
full science return desired to accomplish mission objectives.
Along with the No-Action alternative (ceasing preparations and not
implementing the Cassini Mission), the EIS evaluated in detail two
other mission alternatives. The March 1999 alternative would have used
two Shuttle flights with on-orbit integration of the spacecraft and
upper stage, followed by injection of the spacecraft into a VEEGA
trajectory to Saturn. Due to the long lead-time in developing and
certifying the new upper stage that would be needed to implement it,
this alternative is no longer considered reasonable. The other mission
alternative considered in the EIS was the 2001 alternative which would
use a Titan IV(SRMU)/Centaur to launch the spacecraft from CCAS in
March 2001 on a Venus-Venus-Venus-Gravity-Assist trajectory. A backup
opportunity in May 2002 would use a VEEGA trajectory. The 2001
alternative would require completing development and testing of a new
high-performance rehenium engine for, as well as adding about 20
percent more propellant to, the spacecraft. Science returns from this
alternative would meet the minimum acceptable level for the mission.
The results from the safety risk analyses have recently become
available. The FSEIS compares this recent best available information
with that presented in the EIS. The FSEIS addresses the Proposed
Action, the No-Action alternative, and the 2001 mission alternative
(which is still available to NASA).
Comments on the draft supplemental environmental impact statement
were solicited from Federal, State and local agencies, organizations,
and members of the general public through: (a) notices published in the
Federal Register--NASA notice on April 9, 1997, (62 FR 17216) and U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency notice on April 11, 1997, (62 FR
17810); and (b) direct mailings to interested parties. Comments
received have been addressed in the FSEIS.
Benita A. Cooper,
Associate Administrator for Management Systems and Facilities.
[FR Doc. 97-17404 Filed 7-2-97; 8:45 am]
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