Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 7997;andrew.cmu.edu;Ted Anderson Received: from beak.andrew.cmu.edu via trymail for +dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl@andrew.cmu.edu (->+dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl) (->ota+space.digests) ID ; Fri, 19 Jan 90 01:26:12 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Fri, 19 Jan 90 01:25:43 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V10 #441 SPACE Digest Volume 10 : Issue 441 Today's Topics: Re: NASA Funding Re: SSX: Space Ship Experimental (summary) Edwards AFB how to get NASA data from shuttle? Geosat News Space Shuttle broadcast frequencies Shuttle fuel reserves Re: Not-Frequently Asked Space Questions Re: Shuttle fuel reserves ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 18 Jan 90 16:25:52 GMT From: psuvm!aea1@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu (Amy Antonucci) Subject: Re: NASA Funding As I understand it, NASA is under the gov't so that anything that NASA may get goes to Congress and then Congress decides how much to give back. (Sucks, doesn't it?) ------- :^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^: :"You know, MacGyver,: "Mom- how?"- Kevin : "I don't know- fly casual"- : :that's why you're so: "Girl Scouts"-Sam B: your friend & mine-Han Solo: :hard to beat, no one:^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^: :knows what you're :"If you think we're gonna make it,:"Oh, joy"-Bones: :doing next-including: you'd better hang on to yourself":^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^: :you." -Murdoc : David Bowie aka Ziggy Stardust : Go PSU Icers!!: :^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^: :Raistlin - MacGyver, Quantum Leap, SF, ice hockey fan- astronomy major: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ------------------------------ Date: 17 Jan 90 05:47:55 GMT From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!cs.utexas.edu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!henry@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: Re: SSX: Space Ship Experimental (summary) In article <8266@xenna.Xylogics.COM> barnes@Xylogics.COM (Jim Barnes) writes: >In article <9001121009.AA01853@zit.cigy.> bpistr@cgch.UUCP writes: >>For about a billion dollars over four years we can build and fly SSX >>prototypes... > >If these cost/time to develop estimates are true, then why isn't someone >(like Boeing) doing this now? My recollection (I don't have any references >at hand, so my memory may be wrong) is that Boeing takes longer and spends >more money just to develop a new commercial plane (e.g. the 767). Boeing does not even start serious development of something like the 767 until major customers sign on the dotted line. The problem with SSX and similar concepts is technical uncertainties and unknown market, i.e. no customers willing to promise to buy a bunch. -- 1972: Saturn V #15 flight-ready| Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology 1990: birds nesting in engines | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu ------------------------------ Date: 17 Jan 90 18:04:05 GMT From: att!cbnewsm!mhuxo!rma@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (atkins, robert m) Subject: Edwards AFB I will be out in the area of Edwards AFB later this month. Are there any visitor facilities or public exhibits there that would make a detour worthwhile? Thanks in advance for any replies. Bob Atkins att!mhuxo!rma ------------------------------ Date: 18 Jan 90 10:35:58 GMT From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu!tiger!lynx!breeden@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu Subject: how to get NASA data from shuttle? Hello sci.space readers, I am a graduate student studying nonlinear dynamics at the Center for Complex Systems research at the U. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. I have developed a method for learning dynamics from spatial experimental data, and have been playing with some different test cases. Recently, I saw on the news where NASA was filming lightening storms over various parts of the world from the shuttle. (I believe they did this in previous missions, too.) My question is, "How does one attempt to get data like this from NASA?" Who would I have to contact? I would like to simply get a videotape of the observations and could do the digitization myself. Any ideas? Thanks to anyone who knows the answers, especially if you are in the know at NASA. --Joe Breeden-- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 18 Jan 90 16:08:25 AST To: CANSPACE%UNB.CA@vma.cc.cmu.edu, "Space Digest" From: LANG%UNB.CA@vma.cc.cmu.edu Subject: Geosat News From the Climate Diagnostics Bulletin of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, issue of November 1989: "Geosat data collection has been dramatically curtailed since October 3, 1989. Although the altimeter itself is still operating, both tape recorders have failed. Because the sole operational ground station for Geosat is at Johns Hopkins APL in Maryland, data are being collected (by direct broadcast) only for the western North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico." ======================================================================== Richard B. Langley BITnet: LANG@UNB.CA or SE@UNB.CA Geodetic Research Laboratory Phone: (506) 453-5142 Dept. of Surveying Engineering Telex: 014-46202 University of New Brunswick FAX: (506) 453-4943 Fredericton, N.B., Canada E3B 5A3 ======================================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 17 Jan 90 10:20:03 EST From: John Roberts Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are those of the sender and do not reflect NIST policy or agreement. Subject: Space Shuttle broadcast frequencies [There have been several requests in recent months for the frequencies at which one can receive shuttle communications. Somebody sent me this message from an amateur radio list.] Date: 15 Jan 90 21:24:08 GMT >From: masscomp!ocpt!tsdiag!ka2qhd!kd2bd@think.com (John Magliacane) Subject: *COMPLETE* List of Space Shuttle Frequencies! Message-ID: <92@ka2qhd.UUCP> >From NASA SPACELINK Provided by the NASA Educational Affairs Division Operated by the Marshall Space Flight Center -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=- Amateur Radio Retransmission of Shuttle Audio/Video NOTE: This information is unofficial, and its accuracy is not guaranteed. [Long list of retransmission frequencies in various cities, both audio and video. (I can post if desired.) One example...] People in the greater San Francisco Bay area and Sacremento can view the mission via the W6NKF Amateur Television repeater on MT.Diablo which operates on 427.250 MHZ with vertical polarization. Those with cable ready TVs and VCRs or cable TV converters can tune this equipment to channel 58 in the CATV format and by hooking up an outside TV antenna should be able to receive the telecast. This makes the service available to the general public, including schools, colleges, etc. ===== >From Ron Parise, ASTRO-1 Shuttle Astronaut: Hi Folks! This is in response to the question about shuttle frequencies. I tried to reply the other day but apparently it didn't work. The space shuttle transmits on three frequency bands, UHF, S-Band, and Ku-Band. The UHF frequencies are simple AM voice and very easy to copy. These frequencies are used for launch and landing operations, EVA comunications, (i.e. from the spacesuits back and forth to the shuttle), and as an additional voice downlink when other channels are in use or the current ground station has no S-Band capability. The frequncies in use are: 296.8 MHz - air to ground, or orbiter to suit 259.7 MHz - air to ground, or suit to orbiter 279.0 MHz - suit to orbiter or suit to suit 243.0 MHz - standard Mil aircraft emergency freq. The S-Band system is one of the primary orbiter downlink bands. The voice channels are digital slope delta modulation and are mux'ed in with the rest of the orbiter telemetry, very difficult to copy. Much of the downlink TV is on S-Band also but it is wideband FM and should be easily copyable. The frequencies are: 2287.5 MHz - primary digital downlink 2250.0 MHz - wideband FM with either main engine analog telemetry during launch, or TV during orbit operations. The Ku-Band system is used in conjunction with the tracking and data relay satellites and is used much more heavily in Spacelab flights than in others. The data is *very* high rate digital (50 Mbits/sec range) and therefore essentially impossible for you to demodulate and decommutate in your basement. Nevertheless the shuttle transmits on 15.003GHz. You should also note however that these transmissions are directed toward the TDRS satellite with a high gain antenna and would therefore not be copyable on the ground. The UHF frequencies are fun to listen to but are not heavily used except during EVA's. You will almost always hear some activity on them however sometime during a mission but you just have to be patient. Happy Listening! Ron WA4SIR ==== Other Frequencies of interest: USAF/NASA Frequencies ===================== 4.510 MHz 9.974 MHz 4.760 MHz 10.780 MHz 4.855 MHz 11.104 MHz 4.992 MHz 11.414 MHz 5.350 MHz 11.548 MHz 5.810 MHz 14.615 MHz 6.727 MHz 19.303 MHz 6.740 MHz 19.984 MHz 8.993 MHz 20.191 MHz 9.315 MHz 20.475 MHz HF USED AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER : 2.182 MHz 3.023 MHz Search/Rescue (Aircraft) : 164.800 MHz (Ships) : 148.500 MHz, 149.100 MHz, 162.000 MHz S-Band Microwave ================ Air-to-Ground : 2205.0, 2217.5, 2250.0, 2287.5 MHz Ground-to-Air : 2041.9, 2201.4 MHz NASA Aeronautical Frequencies VHF/UHF in MHz ============================================ KENNEDY SC PATRICK AFB EDWARDS AFB 117.8 118.4 116.4 121.7 121.7 120.7 126.2 125.1 121.8 126.3 126.2 126.1 284.0 128.7 127.8 138.3 236.6 138.45 269.9 149.925 290.3 162.6120 318.1 273.5 390.1 335.8 340.9 348.4 358.3 KSC Ground Support VHF in MHz ============================= 148.480 163.510 170.350 149.170 163.560 171.150 162.610 165.190 171.260 163.460 170.150 173.560 163.480 170.170 173.680 NASA Malabar (Palm Bay) HF Networks (in KHz) ============================================================================= 2405 Data Buoys 2622 SRB Recovery (Primary) 2664 Backup Mission Audio-Cape/Hou 2678 ETR Range Control 2716 Navy Harbor Cntl-Port Canav. 2764 SRB Recovery Channel 3024 Coast Guard SAR (Primary) 3187 SRB Recovery Ships Channel 4376 Primary Recovery Zone SAR 4510 SRB Recovery Ships Channel 4856 Cape Radio/Leader 4992 Cape Radio/Coast Guard Ships 5180 NASA Tracking Ships 5187 NASA Tracking Ships 5190 ETR Primary Night Channel 5350 Launch Support Aircraft 5680 Launch Support Ships 5810 ETR Secondary Night Channel 6720 SAR Primary Atlantic 6896 Cape Radio 6837 Cape Radio 7412 SAR Communications with Bahamas 7461 Cape Radio/Launch Support A/C 7525 NASA Ground Tracking Net 7676 Launch Support Aircraft 7765 SRB Recovery Ships 7919 Data Channel 7985 Data Channel 9022 Launch Support Aircraft 9043 Launch Support Aircraft 9132 Launch Support Aircraft 10305 Space Missile Tactical Net 10310 Malabar-to-Ascension Is-MUX 10780 ETR Primary Day Channel 11104 Launch Support Ships 11252 Launch Support Ships 11407 SRB Recovery Ships 11414 Cape Radio 11548 Cape Radio 11621 SRB Recovery Ships 13227 Launch Support Aircraft 13237 Data Channel 13495 Data Channel 13600 Malabar-to-Ascension Is-MUX 13878 Launch Support Aircraft 14937 Ascension Is-to-Malabar-MUX 18009 Launch Support Ships 19303 Launch Support Ships 19640 Cape Radio 19966 Ascension Is-to-Malabar-MUX 20186 Launch Tracking Net 20192 Malabar-to-Ascension Is-MUX 20198 OCC Shuttle Mission Audio 20390 ETR-Secondary Day Channel 22755 Ascension Is-to-Malabar-MUX 23413 Cape Radio 27065 NASA CB Radios 73, de John, KD2BD ------------------------------ Date: 18 Jan 90 04:30:50 GMT From: cs.utexas.edu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!physics.utoronto.ca!neufeld@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Christopher Neufeld) Subject: Shuttle fuel reserves I was quite surprised to read on clari.tw.space that one of the shuttle's forward thrusters fired accidentally last night. You'd think this sort of thing would require pushing a few buttons, not just a passing whim in an on-board computer (if that's what it was). So, was the thruster which fired one of the ones used to break orbit? What is the fuel reserve on the shuttle? Are there similar thrusters on the stern, which would not deorbit the shuttle, but could burn so much fuel that the shuttle would no longer be able to break orbit? Does the shuttle always fly with the nose pointing along the orbit (ie. forward)? While we're on the subject of fuel, does the shuttle exhaust all its fuel before landing, or does it land with some fuel left in the tanks? Also, are the shuttle's thrusters powered by hydrogen-oxygen, hydrazine, or something else? -- Christopher Neufeld....Just a graduate student | neufeld@helios.physics.utoronto.ca | The meek can have the cneufeld@pro-generic.cts.com | earth, I want the stars. "Don't edit reality for the sake of simplicity" | ------------------------------ Date: 18 Jan 90 22:09:49 GMT From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!henry@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: Re: Not-Frequently Asked Space Questions In article <9001162022.AA04346@gn.ecn.purdue.edu> hasara@GN.ECN.PURDUE.EDU (Andrew J Hasara) writes: >WHO is working on this SSX "thingy"? Max Hunter and some associates of his, and now, apparently, some SDI money. It's not exactly a group of giant corporations yet. Nobody is giving away glossy brochures. >What is an "aerospike" engine? Who works on it? Where can I get info on it? Conventional rocket engines have bell-shaped nozzles. Turn one of those inside out, so the combustion chamber is a ring around the top of a tapering spike. Turns out it still works: the gases coming out expand against the spike and give much the same effect as a nozzle. The spike is a structural and thermal nuisance, however. Chop it off short and blow some low-velocity gas (e.g. turbopump exhaust) into the center, and the effect is much as if the spike were still there. That's an "aerospike". The concept has had little bits of attention from a lot of people since the mid-60s; check the rocket-propulsion literature under "aerospike" and "plug nozzle". Again, nobody is giving away glossy brochures -- you'll have to go digging in a good library. -- 1972: Saturn V #15 flight-ready| Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology 1990: birds nesting in engines | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu ------------------------------ Date: 18 Jan 90 06:05:56 GMT From: cs.utexas.edu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!henry@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: Re: Shuttle fuel reserves In article <1990Jan17.233050.3044@helios.physics.utoronto.ca> neufeld@physics.utoronto.ca (Christopher Neufeld) writes: >...one of the shuttle's forward thrusters fired accidentally last night... > So, was the thruster which fired one of the ones used to break orbit? A 'forward thruster' will be an RCS thruster, used for attitude control and minor maneuvering. I *think* they normally use the OMS for retrofire. >What is the fuel reserve on the shuttle? Are there similar thrusters on the >stern, which would not deorbit the shuttle, but could burn so much fuel >that the shuttle would no longer be able to break orbit? Fuel reserves are substantial, and although I don't have a shuttle plumbing diagram handy, it is normal to split such multi-thruster systems into two entirely separate subsystems, with separate tanks, each capable of doing any crucial jobs. This guards against massive malfuction in one subsystem. (For example, a thruster which cannot be turned off except by shutting down an entire subsystem -- it happened to Gemini 8.) > Does the shuttle >always fly with the nose pointing along the orbit (ie. forward)? No. Shuttle attitude is determined by what it's doing (i.e. whether the cargo bay wants to point in some specific direction) and a variety of other minor issues. > While we're on the subject of fuel, does the shuttle exhaust all its >fuel before landing, or does it land with some fuel left in the tanks? The latter. That's why the first ground crews around a landed shuttle are wearing protective gear -- the fuel and oxidizer are very toxic. >Also, are the shuttle's thrusters powered by hydrogen-oxygen, hydrazine, or >something else? Oxidizer is nitrogen tetroxide, fuel is one of the hydrazine family (I think it's monomethyl hydrazine but I could be wrong). They're toxic and corrosive and vile in other ways, but they don't need refrigeration and they're hypergolic (ignite on contact --> no ignition system). -- 1972: Saturn V #15 flight-ready| Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology 1990: birds nesting in engines | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V10 #441 *******************