Date: Mon, 8 Feb 93 07:28:54 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V16 #133 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Mon, 8 Feb 93 Volume 16 : Issue 133 Today's Topics: ASGSB information Griping Honorary Names (was: Today in 1986-Remember the Challenger) In Memorium, RAH (was:needed: a real live space helmet) Polar Orbit Solar sail (was: ** BUSSARD RAMJET **) Solar wind nits Space Station Freedom Media Handbook - 12/18 Space Station Freedom Media Handbook - 13/18 Using off-the-shelf-components Welcome to the Space Digest!! Please send your messages to "space@isu.isunet.edu", and (un)subscription requests of the form "Subscribe Space " to one of these addresses: listserv@uga (BITNET), rice::boyle (SPAN/NSInet), utadnx::utspan::rice::boyle (THENET), or space-REQUEST@isu.isunet.edu (Internet). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 4 Feb 93 13:29 PST From: kcowing@nasamail.nasa.gov Subject: ASGSB information American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology The American Society for Gravitational and Space Biology (ASGSB) was founded in 1984 and is the largest organization of space life science researchers in the world. The ASGSB is a young and rapidly growing organization which fosters research, education, training, and development in gravitational and space biology. Society members are drawn from university, government, and industry and represent many backgrounds ranging from research scientists, students, and payload engineers to astronauts, aerospace researchers, and NASA program managers. The Society holds annual meetings and through its publications and workshops promotes the application of gravitational and space biology research for solving both terrestrial and space biological problems. The ASGSB offers a widely-respected forum for the exchange of scholarly and applied biological gravitational research data. More specifically, from the Constitution of the Society, the purposes of the ASGSB are: 1. To promote research, education, training, and development in the areas of gravitational and space biology and to apply the knowledge gained to a better understanding of gravity and other space environmental factors on the flora and fauna of the Earth. 2. To disseminate information on gravitational and space biology research and application of this research to the solution of terrestrial and space biological problems. 3. To provide a forum for communication among professionals in government, business, academia, and other segments of society involved in gravitational and space biological research and application. 4. To promote the study of concepts and the implementation of programs that can achieve these ends and further the advancement and welfare of humankind. ANNUAL MEETING The 1993 Annual Meeting of the ASGSB will be held 21-24 October at the Hyatt Regency, Crystal City, Virginia. The 1994 Annual meeting will be held in October 1994 in San Francisco, California. Topics at ASGSB meetings include: plant and animal gravisensing, biophysics of cellular responses to microgravity, musculoskeletal physiology, and long duration human spaceflight. Also presented are: current Space Shuttle mission results, payload hardware design, and updates on Space Station Freedom. Sessions dedicated to student presentations are also a regular feature. For further information on membership and/or annual meetings, write the address (or email) below. MEMBERSHIP: To apply, please send the following information to: ASGSB P.O. Box 12247 Rosslyn, VA 22219 or email to: kcowing@nasamail.nasa.gov who will forward to the ASGSB office. ==================================================== Name: Position/affiliation: Address: Telephone: Fax: Email: Type of membership: [ ] Individual, [ ] Corporate, or [ ] Student ===================================================== Criteria for individual members: * Experience and/or education related to ASGSB interests; * Doctoral degree; * Masters degree with 2 years of work experience; or * Bachelors degree with 4 years of work experience Criteria for student membership: * Enrollment in a curriculum relevant to the ASGSB's objectives. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Feb 93 17:21:27 EST From: Tom <18084TM@msu.edu> Subject: Griping Hey folks. I have a small gripe regarding long posts; I know I'm just as guilty as anyone of making long posts, when opinion or new information is running high, and that's good for free information echange, IMHO. But can we at least try to limit the super-long attributions? Maybe just a line or two, or a synopsis, would be adequate to get the idea of the thread...just a little reminder. -Tommy Mac ------------------------------=========================================== Tom McWilliams; Average dude | The Freedom of our minds is what binds us 18084tm@ibm.cl.msu.edu | as a Nation; a People. But the National (517) 355-2178 -or- 336-9591 | government tries to bind us, not free us. ------------------------------=========================================== ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1993 15:33:34 GMT From: jason sattler Subject: Honorary Names (was: Today in 1986-Remember the Challenger) Newsgroups: sci.space jack@rml.UUCP (jack hagerty) writes: > Continuing the divergance from this somber thread, Sunnyvale Air Force > Station, the "Houston Control" for the military space program, was renamed > "Onizuka Air Force Station" after the Challenger. I'm sure there must be > some schools named after McCallife (sp?) too. Have the other Challeger crew > members been honored by significant namings? > There is a Christa McAuffle (sp?) school in Germantown, MD and a Dick Scobee drive in Myrtle Beach, SC. In Dayton, Ohio there are Challenger Centers in schools to help children become interested in the space program by having simulated shuttle liftoffs/missions/landings at school. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1993 16:35:23 GMT From: Henry Spencer Subject: In Memorium, RAH (was:needed: a real live space helmet) Newsgroups: sci.space In article ssi!lfa@uunet.UU.NET ("Louis F. Adornato") writes: >What I'm wondering about is the possibility of naming some sort of geological >feature after him. Something on Venus would be appropriate, as all the other >features there are named for women... Not quite, actually; Maxwell Montes is named after James Clerk Maxwell. However, the current rule is that he is to be the only exception. Besides, Venus is a cloud-covered hellhole; better RAH should get something with a view of open space. -- "God willing... we shall return." | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology -Gene Cernan, the Moon, Dec 1972 | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1993 16:15:03 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: Polar Orbit Newsgroups: sci.space In <1993Feb3.223956.13954@pixel.kodak.com> dj@ekcolor.ssd.kodak.com (Dave Jones) writes: >fred j mccall 575-3539 (mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com) wrote: >> In <1993Feb2.235514.1@acad3.alaska.edu> nsmca@acad3.alaska.edu writes: >> >> >Why does the US launch polar orbit missions from Vandenburg? other than for >> >military missions? I wonder is they know about Poker Flats here in Alaska >> >which has many of the same benfits as Vandenburg (open spaces) but nicely is >> >near the pole.. Actually more like near or at the Arctic Circle.. >> >> They launch from Vandenburg because the facilities exist, the weather >> is nice and warm, and they have lots of open water to the south for >> range safety purposes. Alaska is a bad choice for regular operations. >> It's too cold for too big a part of the year. >> >Unlike, say, Baikonur - or whatever its real name is now..... Well, Baikonur is in the middle of what amounts to a desert, I believe, and the Russians typically were not launching segmented solids. They're heavily into liquid-fuel boosters, which aren't as sensitive to the external temperature. >Actually Alaska does have heavy polar maritime weather which is a whole >different kettle of fish from mid-continental weather, even if the >temperature is similar. -- "Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1993 16:53:07 GMT From: Henry Spencer Subject: Solar sail (was: ** BUSSARD RAMJET **) Newsgroups: sci.space In article lord@tradent.wimsey.bc.ca (Jason Cooper) writes: >Just curious... Does anybody out there know how much acceleration a >solar sail could offer, and how big it would have to be in area? As others have pointed out, it depends on materials. However, the bottom line is that sail performance is really pretty pitiful unless you get very close to the Sun and have a very big sail made out of very light material. Sail thrust at 1 AU is a few micronewtons per square meter. As interstellar propulsion, solar sails are marginal at best. Any system which is already using fusion or antimatter won't want to bother with a sail. -- "God willing... we shall return." | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology -Gene Cernan, the Moon, Dec 1972 | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Feb 93 17:28:36 EST From: Tom <18084TM@msu.edu> Subject: Solar wind nits Tom said: >>Further nit: If light has momentum and protons have a wavelength, >>how do you classify one as wind and not the other? They are both >>"stuff emitted from the sun at supersonic velocities" after all. >>(Yes, I know the light gives greater momentum, and that the def. of >>solar wind is "Protons from the sun". But it is a rather arbitrary >>def., isn't it?) Josh replies: > Contrary to what Vanna White may think...[reference to their difference > in momentum]...calling the > two the same is a little like spraying gamma rays around when you want a > flashlight. "Hey, it's all light, right?" I didn't call them the same. I suggested that the definition of solar wind is a bit arbitrary, since it's based on proton-ness, rather than wave-icle-ness. Does the difference in their momentum make the defintion any less arbitrary? Aaaand, since we were talking about solar-sails, which are just ways of catching momentum, it doesn't matter what you use; unlike flashlights, which are only really effective when they match the frequency response of human eyeballs. On the ohter hand...protons interact with Earth's magnetic field, while photons do not. But they do both interact with the Earth... -Tommy Mac ------------------------------=========================================== Tom McWilliams; Average dude | The Freedom of our minds is what binds us 18084tm@ibm.cl.msu.edu | as a Nation; a People. But the National (517) 355-2178 -or- 336-9591 | government tries to bind us, not free us. ------------------------------=========================================== ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1993 15:26:22 GMT From: Bruce Dunn Subject: Space Station Freedom Media Handbook - 12/18 Newsgroups: sci.space From NASA SPACELINK: "6_10_2_6_5.TXT" (12575 bytes) was created on 10-06-92 Kennedy Space Center Traditional Center Roles and Missions Carved out of virgin savanna and marsh in the early 1960s as the departure point for Project Apollo's manned explorations of the moon, the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC) has primary responsibility for ground turnaround and support operations, prelaunch checkout and launch of the Space Shuttle and its payloads, including those of Space Station Freedom. This responsibility extends to Space Shuttle operations, including the construction and maintenance of Shuttle payload and flight element processing facilities, and the development of ground operations management, processing schedules and logistics, and their use in support of Shuttle missions and payloads. The construction of a Space Station Processing Facility began in April of 1991. Kennedy Space Center responsibility also extends to the facilities and ground operations at Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in California and designated contingency landing sites. Shortly after President John F. Kennedy announced bold plans in 1961 to fly American astronauts to the moon and return them safely by the end of the decade, Congress approved development of a strip of marsh and sandy scrub 34 miles long and five to ten miles wide on Florida's east coast, midway between Jacksonville and Miami. The "space coast" of Florida has long been determined ideal for launches and landings. The Atlantic Missile Range was built at Cape Canaveral, adjacent to the northern part of Merritt Island where KSC is now located. Later the Cape Canaveral peninsula became the Eastern Test Range where both Mercury and Gemini Spacecraft were launched. NASA began acquiring land across the Banana River from Cape Canaveral in 1962. By 1967, Complex 39 was operational, and the new space center was variously known as Cape Kennedy, Cape Canaveral, and the Cape. Complex 39 is strategically located next to a barge site and soon consisted of a variety of structures including a vehicle assembly building, processing facilities, press site, crawlerways to Complex 39 launch pads, and the launch control center. The Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) is described as the "heart" of Complex 39. This huge building, covering eight acres and standing 525 feet tall, is used for assembly, stacking and mating of Space Shuttle elements. The Launch Control Center (LCC) is described as the "brain" of Complex 39. Launch, mission support, and loading are controlled here. Twelve manned and unmanned Saturn V/Apollo missions were launched from the Cape between 1967 and 1972, and in 1973 the Skylab space station was placed into high-circular orbit, followed by three-member crews aboard Saturns later that year to tend the station. The Saturn/Apollo era ended in 1975 with the launch of a Saturn IV/Apollo crew on a joint manned mission with the former Soviet Union. Earlier, in 1972, KSC was selected as the primary launch and landing site for the Space Shuttle because of its existing facilities and structures. A three-mile Shuttle Landing Facility and an Orbiter Processing Facility were built, and the Orbital Flight Test Program began at KSC in 1979. Within three years, KSC launched the Shuttle four times. The current phase, commencing in 1982, is called the Shuttle Operational Period for KSC. The European-built Spacelab was flown within 18 months, plus a variety of observational, scientific and communications payloads. By 1983, KSC was involved with parallel processing of three Space Shuttles. Today KSC continues lead responsibility for Shuttle integration and rollout, cargo processing, launch pad operations, and Shuttle recovery. With the launch of STS- 26, the Discovery Orbiter, KSC resumed its primary role in preparing and launching America's Space Shuttles. KSC also continues its role of launching unmanned rockets as America prepares to enter the space station era. Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) By September of 1994, Kennedy Space Center plans operational readiness for an approximately $72 million Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF). Construction began in 1991. The SSPF will be a 466,500 square foot building designed especially for the processing of Space Station Freedom elements. These payloads will be launched by multiple Space Shuttle missions using the cargo bay for transportation and staging. A high bay will support on-line module and element processing and large attached payload processing operations. An intermediate bay will provide rack and payload processing areas. Logistics and support areas will also be provided. Nineteen laboratories will be provided in an area adjacent to the intermediate bay. There will be two chemical labs, two dark rooms, and fifteen labs for general experiments. Flight elements will arrive at KSC by various means, including a C- 5A, which has been modified by the U.S. Air Force to carry Shuttle payloads. A mobile transporter will move the hardware to the SSPF where it will be removed from shipping containers, inspected, and serviced in preparation for power-up testing, if necessary. Other elements, such as pressurized modules, will require full functional testing at the SSPF. Specific processing steps will be selected from capabilities appropriate for each flight element. Generally, each flight element will follow a multiphase handling. The processing will move from post-arrival inspection through various technical tests and evaluations that cover all phases of electrical, electronic, and mechanical systems. These checks will constitute a well-balanced approach to the systematic testing of elements prior to flight. During the processing flow, the elements will be protected via fire suppression, climate control, and other ground support elements. Since Space Station Freedom is an international program in scope, elements from Canadian, Japanese, and European partners will also be processed at Kennedy Space Center. Working with KSC engineers and technicians, representatives from international flight organizations will ensure that international and American elements test out together, and that they are compatible in both software and hardware applications. The processing will also include important testing between Payloads Operations Control Centers at various sites in the U.S. and abroad. Throughout the process, astronauts will participate in key testing milestones. This will allow them to become familiarized with the elements they will be transporting to and using on Space Station Freedom. Upon return of the Shuttle from orbit, user payloads will be removed at the SSPF and routed to international, governmental, and private users. Logistics modules will be refurbished and refilled for the next flight to the station. Thousands of orbital replacement line items will be handled at KSC for logistical purposes aboard the space station. Nonhazardous station elements will be processed at the SSPF. Such items as fuel and oxidizers will be loaded on modules at the hazardous processing facility. Space Station Freedom Unique Activities Once the space station elements and systems are manufactured and tested by either the NASA Work Package Centers, their contractors, or international partners, all roads will lead to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The various shipments will be off-loaded at KSC for receiving and inspection in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF). There the space station elements, systems and user payloads to be launched by the Space Shuttle will be inspected and monitored for damage or leaks. All structural and mechanical parts will be reviewed for safety, verification, and interface with elements or systems from other Centers and partners. Both hardware and software will be verified for post-shipment health, fit, and functionality. Pressure, temperature, and humidity will be evaluated, and some assembly may take place there before the payload is placed into a canister for transport. Ground processing of logistics elements will be critical to Space Station Freedom operations. Three types of logistics carriers will be designed for the station, supplied and resupplied by the ground crew at KSC. A pressurized logistics module will carry hardware and consumables in a benign temporary storage facility, accessible in orbit without EVA equipment. A fluids pallet will handle the resupply of consumables for the on-orbit Environmental Control and Life Support System, laboratories and satellite servicing. An unpressurized cargo pallet will carry tools, equipment, and supplies. Each of these will be loaded into the payload canisters for transportation and installation in the Shuttle cargo bay at KSC and off-loaded after return for refurbishing and resupply in the Space Station Processing Facility. Payload canisters are environmentally controlled. Supporting subsystems, such as instrumentation, monitoring devices, fluids, gases and electrical power are used as needed. Users will be expected to provide payload-peculiar Ground Support Equipment (GSE) and technical data documentation. All international and domestic users must ensure interface compatibility of their equipment. Interface and verification of payload-to-station and station-to-Shuttle will be required before canisters leave the Space Station Processing Facility. Various types of payload processing facilities will be used to support SSPF work, depending upon the mission-unique requirements. Meanwhile, the orbiter will be prepared for flight, and mated with the solid rocket boosters and external tank in the Vehicle Assembly building (VAB) in Complex 39. The VAB covers eight full acres and stands 525 feet high, one of the largest buildings in the world. The orbiter and its stack will be moved to the launch pad in a vertical position. They will be carried by a crawler with four double- track drives, each 10 feet high and 41 feet long. They will travel along a roadway as broad as an eight-lane turnpike at about two miles per hour. Environmentally controlled canisters transport payloads to the Space Shuttle for installation into the payload bay. Most Space Station Freedom elements will be installed vertically at the launch pad after the orbiter is rolled out to the launch pad. Payloads loaded horizontally are installed in the Orbiter Processing Facility prior to VAB operations. Nominal post-landing processing follows roughly the same procedure in reverse. The returned payload from Space Station Freedom will be transported to the Space Station Processing Facility after the Orbiter has been returned and the flight systems hardware removed. At the SSPF, Kennedy Space Center workers will examine the payload and return the experiments or products to the users. The reusable flight systems hardware will be refurbished and tested for the next flight to Space Station Freedom. Currently, Shuttle flights to the station are scheduled over a period of four years, with elements being flown in a "phased construction" approach to space station assembly. Payload processing can begin from one year to six months before flight. At any one time, payloads for several flights can be processed. Space Station Freedom Project Office The KSC Space Station Project Office plans for and oversees systems engineering and integration, ground support equipment management, operations and customer support, project control, and logistics systems. Because NASA has overall responsibility for the integration of both international and U.S. elements and systems with the National Space Transportation System, Kennedy will be the focal point for prelaunch and launch activities. Technicians from Japan, Canada, and ESA will provide technical and hands-on support for the integration of international elements at the KSC. The KSC Space Station Freedom test teams will provide launch site final acceptance testing and certification of facilities at science and technology centers, if requested. Launch site testing is designed to verify major interfaces, provide confidence tests of critical systems, and verify end-to-end operations between the flight elements and ground control centers. The KSC processing team is also responsible for the resupply of the fluids, supplies, and hardware that require early access to the Orbiter cargo bay upon return. Less critical items, such as experiment racks and specimens are off-loaded at the SSPF and routed to users. The material above is one of many files from SPACELINK A Space-Related Informational Database Provided by the NASA Educational Affairs Division Operated by the Marshall Space Flight Center On a Data General ECLIPSE MV7800 Minicomputer SPACELINK may be contacted in three ways: 1) Using a modem, by phone at 205-895-0028 2) Using Telnet, at spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov 3) Using FTP capability. Username is anonymous and Password is guest. Address is 192.149.89.61. -- Bruce Dunn Vancouver, Canada Bruce_Dunn@mindlink.bc.ca ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1993 16:43:26 GMT From: Bruce Dunn Subject: Space Station Freedom Media Handbook - 13/18 Newsgroups: sci.space From NASA SPACELINK: "6_10_2_6_6.TXT" (12462 bytes) was created on 10-07-92 Langley Research Center Traditional Center Roles and Responsibilities The Langley Research Center (LaRC) is in Hampton, Virginia, on the tidewater peninsula within the mouth of Chesapeake Bay (Hampton Roads). Langley's history is a history of NASA itself, having officially been established by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), NASA's predecessor, in 1917. Popularly known as "Langley Field," the Center was dedicated as the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory on June 11, 1920, to honor Samuel Pierpont Langley--a contemporary of the Wright brothers who very nearly was successful in his own quest to achieve the first engine-powered, piloted flight. The laboratory was NACA's first research center--and remained its only such facility until 1939. Langley's first wind tunnel began operation in 1921, and the Center has since garnered five Collier Trophies. Langley has grown to cover more than 800 acres. The Center now manages nearly 2,000 contracts and a work force of approximately 5,500 civil service or contract personnel, and is one of the world's premier aerospace research operations. More than 50 major research and simulation facilities are utilized for work in aeronautics or space technology, supporting research and development in the fields of aerodynamics, advanced materials and structures, flight systems, information systems, acoustics, aeroelasticity, and atmospheric science. Approximately 26 major wind tunnels are now being used to explore the entire flight range at a variety of scales. Aeronautical research accounts for 60 percent of Langley's work. Its programs reflect studies over the entire range of aeronautical design, from general aviation and transport aircraft through hypersonic vehicles. Researchers are working on basic technologies to improve aircraft through the development of advanced avionics and new composite fabrication materials, the investigation of vortex flow and laminar flow, and research to find ways to cope with dangerous weather conditions such as wind shear, heavy rain, and lightning. In addition, extensive work was performed in helping NASA develop the Space Shuttle, and the Center is now applying its expertise to the design of the proposed National Aerospace Plane. Langley became part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration when NASA was formed in 1958. The historic Mercury program was managed at the Center by its pioneering Space Task Group. However, important unmanned space programs have also been managed at Langley. Langley's Lunar Orbiter Program successfully photographed candidate landing sites on the moon as a precursor to the Apollo program, and the Center also managed the Viking Project which, in 1976, placed two unmanned spacecraft into orbit about Mars and two unprecedented robotic landers on the surface of the Red Planet. Viking Lander 1, the first spacecraft to land successfully on Mars, continued to take pictures and monitor Martian weather at its landing site until November of 1982. Important NASA Space Shuttle payloads have been developed at Langley, including the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) and ACCESS (Assembly Concept for Construction of Erectable Space Structures). ACCESS, an experiment designed to demonstrate that large structures can be assembled, tested, repaired and manipulated in Earth orbit, was flown on STS Mission 61-B in 1985; its experience will be applied to the development of improved structural assembly technologies that will one day be utilized in the space station. LDEF contained 57 experiments contributed by the United States and eight other countries. It was brought back to Earth during the STS-32 mission in January 1990, after spending nearly six years in space. LDEF data derived from the effects--on various materials--of long term exposure to space environments, as well as data on the manmade and natural debris environment in low Earth orbit, will be extremely beneficial to the design of the space station. Space Station Freedom Unique Activities Space Station Evolution Langley is responsible for the definition of space station evolution to meet future needs, such as: increased research and development activities, support of a return to the moon and support of a manned expedition to Mars. This responsibility includes conducting missions, systems and operations analyses; systems level planning of options and/or configurations; coordinating and integrating study results by others (including international partners and U.S. industry); chairing the evolution working group; and supporting advanced development program planning. Systems Engineering and Analysis Langley's Space Station Freedom Office is responsible for providing Level I engineering support for various systems engineering and analysis activities. This responsibility includes carrying out continuing planned studies to provide accurate and current requirements, as well as engineering analyses for upcoming program milestones. The engineering analyses involve systems requirements analysis and definition and systems engineering studies of space station systems, interfaces and performance. Support is also provided for the technical assessment of Level I changes and the independent assessment of flight and ground systems. Utilization Representation Langley is responsible for representing the research and engineering community interested in using the space station for in-space technology development experimentation. This responsibility includes conducting user accommodation analyses; representing NASA's Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) on various space station users panels and working groups; participating in OAST's In-Space Technology Experiments Program; identification and analysis of the evolutionary space station's technology needs for OAST; and managing the space station modal identification experiment. Langley is also responsible for providing system engineering and utilization support to the Microgravity Science and Application Division in the Office of Space Science and Applications. Space Station Evolution Space Station Freedom is designed to evolve as a highly flexible and expandable research platform which will accommodate future software and hardware growth elements. Langley Advanced Programs Office (APO) is responsible for studying its evolution in the context of future needs. This goal reflects research being focused on systems growth beyond that reflected in the initial completed configuration, including the study of systems needed to support initiatives to return to the moon and undertake the human exploration of Mars. This responsibility includes conducting evolution studies for Level I, advanced program definition, change request evaluation for impacts to evolution capabilities and evolution technology analyses for OAST. The goals of this work are to define evolution configurations that are consistent with both user requirements and program constraints, and the baseline accommodations necessary to satisfy evolution requirements. A systems analysis capability and an operations simulation capability to study the operational feasibility of growth configurations have been or are being developed for this effort. Systems Engineering & Analysis Langley's space station office provides Level I engineering support for various systems engineering and analysis activities. The Center's previous SE&I involvement in the Space Station Freedom Program included key studies associated with configuration definition and launch vehicle utilization, including single/dual keel microgravity assessment, critical evaluation task force, rephased program options, the Administrator's mixed fleet study/report, the ASRM enhanced assembly sequence and Shuttle-C utilization options. A number of special studies were also performed for agency management, including the joint LaRC/GSFC stationkeeping platform, SSF assembly alternatives, and the commercially developed space facility (CDSF) definition. Langley also participated in the 90-day study of the Human Exploration Initiative (HEI) now called Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). Langley has developed an extensive multidisciplinary systems engineering analysis capability supported by advanced CAD/CAE analytical tools. The Level I engineering support role will utilize this capability to conduct various user studies of SSF systems, interfaces and performance. These studies are expected to include such issues as: EVA utilization, space suit development, and assembly stage systems performance issues associated with in-flight assembly and buildup alternatives; assembly and logistics relating to the use of a mixed launch vehicle fleet; power and thermal systems capacity; phase-up ACRV accommodation/interface assessments; information management and software system architecture performance assessment. Utilization Representation To ensure that the space station will accommodate a variety of user activities, Langley is responsible for representing the research and engineering community (industry, universities and government) interested in in-space technology development experimentation. This experimentation includes: basic or applied research to improve understanding of phenomena and buildup of engineering databases; technology development involving test and evaluation of prototype components and subsystems; and demonstrations involving proof of maturity and performance verification in integrated system context. Langley is also responsible for conducting various use accommodation analyses such as determining support equipment outfitting needs, assessing the station's ability to accommodate all known technology disciplines, and developing and maintaining a technology experiment database of all planned technology experiments. Langley represents OAST on various space station user panels and working groups, including the user integration panel; user design accommodation working group; design reference mission working group; ground operations panel; multilateral payload integration emulation study; small and rapid response steering committee; and the support equipment development steering committee which defines and develops industry, academic and NASA in-space experiments. The program includes experiments in space structures, space environmental effects, power systems and thermal management, fluid management and propulsion systems automation and robotics, sensor and information systems, in-space systems, and humans-in- space systems. These experiments will initially utilize the Space Shuttle or ELVs (expendable launch vehicles) but they will transition to the space station as it becomes available. One of these experiments, the Space Station Modal Identification Experiment, is being managed by Langley. This experiment will instrument the space station and provide valuable engineering data to validate computer modeling codes and lay the basis for future large space systems, including space station evolution. Space Station Freedom Organization The Langley Space Station Freedom Office is the focal point for the Center's involvement in the agency-wide Space Station Freedom Program and is responsible for the implementation and coordination of Langley's direct support of the program. This organization currently includes more than 40 civil servants, and there are an additional 50 people working in other Langley organizations supporting research, studies and analysis. The Langley Space Station Freedom Office is NASA's lead office for the identification, definition and evaluation of evolutionary space station capabilities, and for the identification of technology and advanced development required for long-term evolutionary development. The office also has a lead role in providing Level I engineering support for systems engineering and analysis. Finally, this organization represents the engineering community that will be involved with the space station as technology users. It advocates flight experiments for future NASA Space Shuttle flights that will contribute to space station technology use, as well as those from technology programs that can contribute to both the initial space station operational capability and the evolutionary space station. The material above is one of many files from SPACELINK A Space-Related Informational Database Provided by the NASA Educational Affairs Division Operated by the Marshall Space Flight Center On a Data General ECLIPSE MV7800 Minicomputer SPACELINK may be contacted in three ways: 1) Using a modem, by phone at 205-895-0028 2) Using Telnet, at spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov 3) Using FTP capability. Username is anonymous and Password is guest. Address is 192.149.89.61. -- Bruce Dunn Vancouver, Canada Bruce_Dunn@mindlink.bc.ca ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1993 14:25:51 GMT From: Alan Carter Subject: Using off-the-shelf-components Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1993Feb4.102735.2524@mr.med.ge.com>, szopinsk@picard.med.ge.com (Jerry Szopinski Mfg 4-6983) writes: |> ... |> Even given reliable, low-cost space transport and space stations with |> artificial gravity, etc., you're still going to need parts that are going |> to withstand the rigors of space travel. Space stations and bases are |> going to be spread-out pretty far; it wom't be like jumping into your car |> and running down to the nearest mall... |> |> Then there's the fact that some missions/explorations are going to last |> weeks, months, maybe even years... |> |> In the early 1960's the government established a series of Military |> Standard (MIL-STD) specifications for components that were to go into |> NASA and military vehicles/equipment. These specifications require items |> to be tested above and beyond the normal testing that manufacturers |> usually do; this is the main reason why NASA/military-qualified parts |> cost so much. |> |> ...he doesn't want to waste his valuable time troubleshooting/fixing/ |> swapping-out parts. This cuts both ways. Hasselblad and Rolex haven't done so bad out of the fact that their off-the-shelf products *are* space qualified. And because they amortise the development and manufacturing costs of these high quality products over more than a half dozen astronauts, the cost to the US space program is no greater than it is to the person who wants a really nice watch. Ultra-high costs of space qualified components are only unavoidable in an economy that is oriented towards achieving the lowest possible manufacturing cost rather than the lowest desirable manufacturing cost of a product, and them multiplying the margin on that low price by achieving multiple sales through built in redundancy. I will need a watch every day until my "mission" to be rich enough to throw it away is completed. Are the astronaut and I really so different in our desires (qualitatively at least)? Spin-off is a somewhat discredited concept today, but might there be some milage in taking a whole section of an economy into very high quality manufacturing, with the space program as sink rather than source? Alan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maidenhead itself is too snobby to be pleasant. It is the haunt of the river swell and his overdressed female companion. It is the town of showy hotels, patronized chiefly by dudes and ballet girls. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome, 1889 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 133 ------------------------------