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NASA Terminates Clark Earth Science Mission

David E. Steitz
Headquarters, Washington, DC                  February 25, 1998
(Phone:  202/358-1730)

RELEASE:  98-35

NASA TERMINATES CLARK EARTH SCIENCE MISSION

     After an extensive review, NASA has partially terminated the 
Clark Earth science mission due to mission costs, launch schedule 
delays, and concerns over the on-orbit capabilities the mission 
might provide.  NASA will retain launch vehicle services.

     The Clark mission was part of NASA's Small Satellite 
Technology Initiative (SSTI) program, originally scheduled for 
launch in mid-1996.  Named after the famous American explorer 
William Clark, the Clark spacecraft was to provide a very high 
resolution optical element with stereo imaging capabilities that 
would provide NASA's former Office of Mission to Planet Earth (the 
current Earth Sciences enterprise) with useful environmental data.  
Imagery provided from Clark also would have been available 
commercially with applications such as helping city planners 
assess community growth from the unique perspective of space and 
providing space surveys of construction sites.

     The Clark mission's prime contractor was originally a company 
named CTA, with a launch vehicle to be provided by Martin Marietta 
Astronautics.  Since the start of the program, CTA has been 
purchased by Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, VA, and Martin 
Marietta Astronautics was merged with the Lockheed Corporation 
which formed a new company, Lockheed Martin Aerospace, Bethesda, MD. 
  
     In June 1994, there was an industry-led competition to build, 
launch and operate Clark, based on a March 1996 launch.  To date, 
NASA has invested approximately $55 million in Clark.  The Agency
expects to recover some assets of the mission, such as some spacecraft
payloads, components and subsystems which may be used on other NASA projects.

                             -end-