Message-ID: <Ea1QnB200VcJ4GxE5X@andrew.cmu.edu>
Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU
From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU
To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 90 01:25:17 -0500 (EST)
Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #163

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 163

Today's Topics:
			 Re: Shuttle Escapes
		    Re: Challenger Report question
		Re: What was Challenger really doing?
			   new subscription
			Re: Ulysses at Jupiter
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Date:     Mon, 19 Mar 90 13:22:53 GMT
From: ZZASSGL%cms.manchester-computing-centre.ac.uk@NSFnet-Relay.AC.UK
Myname:   Geoff. Lane. (Phone UK-061 275 6051)
Subject:  Re: Shuttle Escapes

 
Just how difficult is it to get a reasonably well protected human from
low earth orbit to the ground alive and without a space craft?  Is it possible
to lose velocity slow enough that heat shields are not required?

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Date:       Mon, 19 Mar 90 08:23:34 EST
From: JC%RMC.BITNET@vma.cc.cmu.edu
Subject:    Re: Challenger Report question

"Mike Hewett" <hewett@sumex-aim.stanford.edu> writes:

>Subject: Challenger Report question
>
>I understand that Feynman wrote an addendum to the report that
>put stronger blame on the parties involved.  I recently checked
>the Challenger Commission report out of the library and Feynman's
>addendum was not in it.  Does anyone know where I could find it?

I believe you are referring to Appendix F of the Presidential Report.  This
is found in the chapter entitled "Personal Observations on the Reliability
of the Shuttle" in the book

   "What Do _You_ Care What Other People Think? (Further Adventures
   of a Curious Character)" by Richard P. Feynman, 1988, W. W. Norton
   and Company, ISBN 0-393-02659-0

The book, and it's predecessor, "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!
(Adventures of a Curious Character)" ISBN 0-393-01921-7, make for excellent
reading.

John Coughlin    Net: JC@RMC.BITNET   Vox: 613-541-6439   Fax: 613-547-3053

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Date: Mon, 19 Mar 90 10:50:51 PST
From: hairston%utdssa.dnet%utadnx@utspan.span.nasa.gov
X-Vmsmail-To: UTADNX::UTSPAN::AMES::"space+@andrew.cmu.edu"
Subject: Re: What was Challenger really doing?

I think the "laser-destruct" version is a variation on an older paranoid
fantasy.  Everyone knows that Dallas was a hotbed for the lunatic right-wing 
fringe back in the 50's and 60's, and sadly, it hasn't disappeared entirely.
Back in fall 86 or winter 87 some nut group held their national meeting 
here. (I forget their name, something on the order of CAPWOEJFS: Concerned 
Americans Patriots Who Oppose Everything Jane Fonda Supports.)
The "Dallas Morning News" ran a short article about it and quoted one of the 
attendees, the noted foreign relations expert Mrs. Lorne Greene (yes, THAT
Lorne Greene), about how the Russians had "secretly" shot down Challenger.
Seems they had a powerful Star Wars laser on one of the Russian intelligence
ships off the Canaveral coast that fired on the SRB after liftoff, thus
burning the O-ring and making it look like an "accident".  As Dave Barry
would say: I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP!!   I wish I were, but my imagination isn't
that good.  The proof of this was something about American technology being
too good to fail the way the Rogers Commission said it did.  Obviously, the 
woman doesn't drive a Chevy.

Also, Mike Hewett writes:
>I understand that Feynman wrote an addendum to the report that
>put stronger blame on the parties involved.  I recently checked
>the Challenger Commission report out of the library and Feynman's
>addendum was not in it.  Does anyone know where I could find it?
>If you haven't done it yet, I highly recommend reading the report.
>It has all the pertinent information, great pictures, and absolutely
>the best writing on a scientific subject that I have ever read
>(apologies to Stephen J. Gould, who formerly held the top spot
>on my list).  I expected to spend a week wading through semi-coherent
>writing.  In fact, I finished it in one evening and was spellbound
>the entire way through.

The Rogers Commission Report is five volumes long.  What Mike read was
volume 1, the Executive Summary.  This part was written for the policy
makers, media people, general public, etc. who most likely don't have
a lot science/engineering background.  Volumes 4 and 5 are the complete
transcripts of the public hearings.  Volumes 2 and 3 are the technical
appendixes where all the nitty-gritty details are.  Feymann's personal
report is Appendix F in volume 2.  If you need it, the government document 
number for it is Pr40.8:Sp1/R29/V.2.

Marc Hairston--Center for Space Sciences--University of Texas at Dallas
SPAN address  UTSPAN::UTADNX::UTD750::HAIRSTON

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 19 Mar 90 10:09 EST
From: SIMON%RCSMPB@gmr.com
Subject: new subscription


Could you please add the following to your mailing list


csbulletin@gmr.com

thanks

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Date: Mon, 19 Mar 90 16:56:04 +0100
From: p515dfi@mpirbn.uucp (Daniel Fischer)
Subject: Re: Ulysses at Jupiter

              Marc Hairston writes <16 Mar 90 08:35 PST>:
> Sorry, this is strictly a particle and fields mission and according to the
> documents I have, there are no imaging experiments on board.

But there *might* be a unique opportunity to probe the thin and exotic
atmosphere of Io by observing Ulysses' radio beam through it. I've heard from
a 'radio scientist' here in Bonn that ESA is considering this: it would be
the first time that Io's atmosphere could be analyzed using two radiofrequencies
simultaneously. Pioneer had only one frequencey, and the Voyagers didn't pass
Jupiter at the right time. 

+- p515dfi@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de --- Daniel Fischer --- p515dfi@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de -+
| Max-Planck-Institut f. Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, D-5300 Bonn 1,FRG |
+----- Enjoy the Universe - it's the only one you're likely to experience -----+

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End of SPACE Digest V11 #163
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