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Subject: SPACE Digest V8 #323

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 8 : Issue 323

Today's Topics:
Rocket Triggered Lightning Research Program enters sixth summer (Forwarded)
               Spacesploitation
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 5 Aug 88 14:11:58 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Rocket Triggered Lightning Research Program enters sixth summer (Forwarded)


        George H. Diller                                   August 1, 1988
        Kennedy Space Center

        Release No. 55-88



        ROCKET TRIGGERED LIGHTNING RESEARCH PROGRAM ENTERS SIXTH SUMMER


             KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. -  The   NASA-sponsored    Rocket
        Triggered  Lightning  Program (RTLP) has entered its sixth summer
        season at the Kennedy Space Center.   Triggered lightning  launch
        activity  has  resumed  from  the  pads  on  the shore of Merritt
        Island's Mosquisto Lagoon,  approximately 8 miles  north  of  the
        Vehicle Assembly Building.

             A  space  age,  high-tech version of Ben Franklin's key on a
        kite string,  the program entails launching three-foot-tall solid
        fueled  rockets into a thunderstorm to an altitude of 3,000 feet,
        trailing a wire to ground.   Data are collected by lightning  in-
        vestigators at the launch control site and at near-by field loca-
        tions.   There is capability to launch up to a dozen rockets from
        each pad in a  single  thunderstorm,  depending  on  the  storm's
        lightning potential.

             The principal investigators began installing instrumentation
        at  KSC  on  July 15 for the summer program,  which lasts through
        August.   Approximately 40 investigators are participating in the
        program this year from  15  institutions  including  the  federal
        government,  the private sector, leading universities, and inter-
        national organizations.

             The lightning research program grew out of NASA's desire  to
        improve lightning protection systems for KSC facilities and space
        launch  vehicles.    This  objective continues with an additional
        goal of improving lightning forecasting.   Because the nature  of
        this research has a broad range of applications,  and because the
        the result of a lightning strike is everyone's problem,  NASA has
        encouraged others to participate.

             Eventual  civil applications of the Rocket Triggered Lightn-
        ing Program may include earlier and more precise lightning  warn-
        ings,  lightning  avoidance  by aircraft,  and the development of
        lightning protection systems that would  preclude  power  outages
        and loss of communications.

             A  new  element  has  been  added  for  the 1988 season.   A
        tethered balloon  1500 feet in the air has suspended from  it  an
        instrumented  lightning strike object at an altitude of 500 feet.
        The ultimate goal is to develop a set of data that will delineate
        the characterics of  the  lightning  strike  potential  in  three
        environments; over land, over water, and in the air.

             This  year NASA continues to collect data for evaluating the
        effectiveness of lightning protection systems used for facilities
        at the Kennedy Space Center, and to increase understanding of the
        lightning initiation process.   This will improve early detection
        of thunderstorm development and lightning strikes.   It will also
        enhance the  quality  and  reliability  of  launch  criteria  for
        lightning   avoidance  by  understanding  how  rockets  or  other
        aerospace vehicles can trigger lightning.

             In addition, a data base continues to be established to bet-
        ter understand the climatology of the Cape Canaveral area so that
        more precise weather forecasts can be developed.

             Along with NASA, the leading institutions participating this
        year are NOAA,  the U.S.  Air Force Geophysical  Laboratory,  the
        Naval Research Laboratory,  Boeing Aircraft,  Dayton Granger Cor-
        poration,  the Electric Power Research Institute,  Florida  Power
        Corportion, the University of Florida, the University of Arizona,
        the  State  University  of  New  York  at  Albany,  Embry  Riddle
        Aeronutical University,  the University of Mississippi,  the  New
        Mexico Institute of Mining Technology,  and the University of San
        Juan in Puerto Rico.

             Also, three government-sponsored research groups from France
        are  again  participating  which  include  CENG  (Centre   Etudes
        Nucleaires  de  Grenoble),  ONERA (Office National d'Etudes et de
        Recherches Aerospatiales),  and CNET  (Centre  National  d'Etudes
        Telecommunications).   The French have had an ongoing involvement
        in the KSC program and along with the United States pioneered the
        first rocket triggered lightning research.

             The participants collaborating in the  program  change  from
        year  to year because the objective of each organization differs,
        predicated on distinct areas of direct application.

             The field mill system at KSC,  used  to  detect  and  locate
        lightning,  is  providing data as part of most experiments in the
        program this summer.  As in the past,  field mills are being used
        to  study  the  electric  field  environment  in situations where
        lightning is being triggered.   This will provide a more complete
        picture  of weather conditions conducive to triggering lightning,
        and will provide data which can assist in  developing  guidelines
        that can extend to larger launch vehicles.

             For a second year,  in addition to the traditional land pad,
        a raft-like launching pad is being used.  The 12-by-12 foot plat-
        form used to launch rockets from about 100 feet offshore, is con-
        nected with the launch control and  instrumentation  facility  by
        pneumatics  and fiber-optic instrumentation.   A lightning strike
        with a more "pure"  electrical  signature  is  generated  from  a
        launch  over  water.    This  is  more  characteristic of natural
        lightning since it is not subject to electrical  current  distor-
        tions from the ground or pad-associated ground support equipment.

             The  tethered  balloon  included  in  this  year's  research
        resembles a blimp,  is 85 feet long,  25 feet  in  diameter,  and
        holds 20,000 cubic feet of helium.  Suspended from the balloon is
        the  instrumented lightning strike object.   This cylinder is ap-
        proximately  8 feet long,  2 feet in diameter,  and weighs  about
        60 pounds.

             Also  suspended  from  the  balloon  is an airborne electric
        field mill.   This is being provided by the University of Missis-
        sippi,  with research assistance from the New Mexico Institute of
        Mining Technology.

             The objectives using the balloon  are  being  closely  coor-
        dinated  with  the French research team.   Four lightning science
        objectives are under study.

        1.)  Determine the  pre-attachment  of  electric  fields  to  the
        suspended  lightning strike object which would initiate a lightn-
        ing strike.   Eventually,  by  detecting  and  understanding  the
        process  by  which  a cloud develops a charge,  it is anticipated
        that forecasters can be provided with advance notice as to  where
        and when lightning will occur.

        2.)   Attempt to document with photography and other data collec-
        tion methods the lightning initiation process of an  upward-going
        positively   charged  "streamer"  and  downward-going  negatively
        charged  "step leader" from a free-flying object,  believed  gen-
        erated  by  high electric fields.   This process exists in nature
        between ground and cloud.

        3.)  Improve understanding of how far lightning will travel  from
        its  point of origin to a distant object during a strike,  called
        the "lightning striking distance."  In addition it will hopefully
        be learned why lightning also chooses to strike  some  particular
        secondary object instead of some other.

        4.)  Study the relationship between a ground-based field mill and
        an  airborne  field mill which is above the area of space charge,
        or interference created from the ground environment.    This  can
        ultimately improve the accuracy of launch criteria.

             NOAA  is  flying  a  pair of P-3 Orion weather reconnaisance
        aircraft with standard meteorological observation instruments and
        an airbourne field mill to compare data with a similarly  instru-
        mented pod and a field mill which are suspended from the balloon.
        The  intent is to correlate the data from each set of instruments
        and assess reliability.

             It is possible that lightning may  not  strike  the  instru-
        mented canister suspended from the balloon.   If this is found to
        be true,  then the rockets will be attached to the  canister  for
        launch.

             Using  the  tethered  balloon  probably comes the closest to
        recreating Ben Franklin's original experiment  using  "high-tech"
        methods.  Hopefully it will lead to discoveries as significant as
        Franklin's original studies.

             The  private  sector participants each have an objective for
        the summer program with a specific application in mind  and  have
        provided  lightning  strike objects which are mounted on the land
        launching pad.

             Boeing Aircraft has installed a fiberglass  radome  and  as-
        sociated  radar  dish  taken  from  the nose of a jet aircraft to
        study the effectiveness of metal lightning  diverter  strips  at-
        tached to the radome.   This essentially creates  an airborne at-
        tach point on which  to  focus  a  lightning  strike  which  then
        provides a preferred path through the skin of the aircraft.

             Boeing,  together  with the Dayton Granger Corporation which
        manufactures the diverter strips,  will  attempt  to  learn  what
        type,  how many, and where these metal strips should be placed on
        the radome to  establish  effective  protection.    However,  the
        desire is to use as few as possible so that the efficiency of the
        radar antenna beneath it is not impaired.

             Again  this year,  the Electric Power Research Institute and
        Florida  Power  Corporation  are  testing  the  effectiveness  of
        lightning current recorders.  These recorders measure the lightn-
        ing  current  wave form with its associated effect throughout the
        power distribution system.

             Based on data obtained during last summer's program, changes
        have already been  implemented  into  recorders  associated  with
        FPC's power grid.   This measures more accurately what happens to
        the power line system when lightning occurs.

             In addition,  the effectiveness of  protective  devices  for
        Florida Power will be assessed under actual conditions on a dedi-
        cated,  normally  powered  line subject to the lightning environ-
        ment.

             The ongoing participation of three major university institu-
        tions in the program will enable them to move closer to their re-
        search objectives,  expanding upon the knowledge gained  in  pre-
        vious years.

             The  State  University  of New York at Albany is taking high
        speed video and film photography of lightning flashes.  From this
        imagery  they  will  study  the  lightning  stroke  process,  the
        velocity of the stroke,  and the stroke's fractal geometry.  This
        data will be of benefit to other lightning researchers.

             The University of Arizona has three  objectives  during  the
        1988 summer season.   They are studying the optical properties of
        lightning with the specific objective of improving satellite air-
        borne sensors which are being  developed  by  the  NASA  Marshall
        Space  Flight  Center  for  installation on future weather satel-
        lites.

             The optical equipment can distinguish  where  the  lightning
        strikes,  and by photographic analysis quantify the type and mag-
        nitude of the strike.  Approximately 1,000,000 watts of light per
        meter of lightning channel has been  measured  with  an  internal
        temperature of 60,000 degrees.  This optical system also provides
        accurate  data  on which to judge the accuracy and reliability of
        other lightning instrumentation.  Further, this could assist NASA
        in the  field  of  planetary  meteorology  in  understanding  the
        lightning process on other planets.

             The  Univeristy  of  Arizona is also measuring and analyzing
        the production of ozone  from lightning.   It is postulated  that
        ozone  generation  by lightning may replenish the Earth's natural
        supply, possibly being depleted by aerosols.

             Again this year University of Arizona researchers are taping
        the sound of thunder at various distances from the  rocket  trig-
        gered  lightning  launch  site,  hoping  to  learn how thunder is
        produced,  and how the sound characteristics  of  thunder  change
        with distance from the lightning.

             The  University  of Florida is continuing to develop sensors
        which remotely sense the electrical  atmospheric  environment  to
        detect  the early lightning initiation processes.   This will im-
        prove the ability to measure  and  forecast  a  three-dimensional
        electrical  environment up to 25 miles distant from Kennedy Space
        Center.   Antennas for this system are under installation at KSC.
        Associated instruments will be installed later in the season.

             The  goal  is to gather information which may help determine
        the pre-initiation process of lightning before  it  actually  oc-
        curs.  From  this  may come a more cost-effective way to forecast
        thunderstorm development and the lightning  initiation  process--
        parameters that can be included in KSC's launch commit criteria.

             Another  aspect of the  University of Arizona research has a
        similar objective but takes an alternative approach, using a sen-
        sor buried in the earth.   This sensor detects a  ground  current
        which  is correlated with the measured negative potential between
        ground and cloud.  The purpose is to locate the generating source
        of currents in the cloud that are associated with specific  cloud
        development.

             Potentially,  either  system could provide advance notice of
        the occurance of lightning.   Also,  aircraft may be able to  use
        such instrumentation to map and avoid charged clouds.

             The Advanced Program Development Office of NASA Headquarters
        and  NASA-KSC  are  supporting  the  Rocket  Triggered  Lightning
        Program by attempting to transfer  technology  generated  by  the
        program  to  private  industry,  other federal agencies,  univer-
        sities,  and the general public.   In addition NASA is  promoting
        the attributes of the Cape Canaveral area for lightning research,
        hoping to demonstrate the feasibility of establishing a permanent
        atmospheric science research laboratory at the Kennedy Space Cen-
        ter, attracting other private sector participants.

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

Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Spacesploitation
Date: Fri, 05 Aug 88 15:53:38 -0400
From: Fred Baube <[e-mail]>


Regarding the discussion and comparison of the ocean seabed,
Antarctica, and outer space as "common heritages of mankind",
and whether this is a deterrent to exploitation, entrepeneurial
or otherwise ..

There's not really anything fundamentally wrong or evil about the
economic development/exploitation regime established by the Law
of the Sea Treaty ("UNCLOS 3").  And because the legal statuses
of the Antarctic and outer space are much less well-defined,
similar criticism about either is premature.

UNCLOS 3 does not tell private interests they are forbidden to
exploit the seabed. It's mainly the legalistic aspects of UNCLOS
3 as a treaty instrument that have kept the US from ratifying it;
among other things, it seems to leave signatories vulnerable to
an open-ended amendment process.  This hasn't stopped the US from
taking advantage of transit rights codified by the treaty, but it
*has* inhibited private parties from leaping into the legal limbo
of seabed development. It's not a big problem for the US and the
OECD, because placer deposits and crusts that fall within the US
EEZ are turning out to be much better economic bets than seabed
nodules, and the Soviet Union and South Africa have not (yet)
moved to exploit OECD import vulnerability in manganese, cobalt,
or any other metal found in marine deposits. Check OTA reports
for details.

Roughly speaking, an entity (such as a US company) wishing to
develop a seabed tract is to give its survey results, and a list
of pairs of tracts, to the "International Seabed Authority"
(ISA), which gets its choice of the better of each pair of
tracts, and use on its tract (the ISA's) of the same technology
available to the company on its (the company's) tract.   The
notion is REJECTED that a monopoly on economical technology shall
imply a monopoly on exploitation of the "common heritage".  How
*else* can the ISA be expected to exploit a plot and develop a
distributable surplus value ?  The US objects to the treaty's
tech transfer provisions, but they are objections to the specific
implementation set forth in the treaty, and not to the principle
involved.

UNCLOS 3's seabed provisions are not absolute prohibitions on
development or developers, they're novel (and as yet untried)
mechanisms to try to ensure that everyone (in the UN) gets a
piece of the pie.  A company is not denied the fruits of its
developmental abilities, it is denied absolute property rights.
Property rights and developmental rights are a creature of gov-
ernment, and there's no government in the seabed, or Antarctica,
or space, just the UN.  Unilateral assertion of US interests
outside of a treaty framework would invite, even *mandate*,
corresponding acts by other nations, ensuring a mess.

Presumably, if Capitalist Company "A" can profitably develop a
tract, then so can Multi-National "ISA", if it has access to
comparable technology, and a modicum of managerial competence.
This should then preclude unilateral exploitation.

An ISA-type model was not the only way seabed development could
have been accommodated, but the US went along with it at the
time.  (There's a belief in some parts that the US traded the
seabed provisions for the codification of transit rights, never
intending to ratify the treaty, thus getting what it wanted in
the short-term at the cost of establishing an undesireable
precedent for the "common heritage's exploitation.)

Regarding alternatives to an ISA-type regime, royalty schemes and
the like have their own problems.  For the Antarctic, an ISA-like
scheme is only one of several possible institutional models that
could be implemented.  Environmental considerations seem to be
paramount, and there's the nasty matter of conflicting claims
(cf. the Falklands), so progress is very slow.  The recent
minerals agreement on the Antarctic reinforced the current scheme
wherein non-Treaty-signatories are excluded, but that is about
all it settled, I believe.

There *are* other institutional models under consideration that
implement certain flavors of ownership wherein signatory nations
have incentives both to encourage exploitation and to preserve
the environment.  Virtually *none* of these models provide for
the recognition of existing national claims, despite Chilean
mothers giving birth down there and other imaginative claims-
advancement methods.

If Outer Space is asserted to be the "common heritage of man-
kind", that is not in principle excluding its exploitation, or
locking out entrepeneurs.  It's asserting a principle that
although private initiative may be [is] a motivational force for
development, perhaps the heavens are not best left solely to the
technological "Haves", i.e. the likes of Union Carbide and
Occidental Petroleum.  It also leaves an opening for *multi-
lateral* regulation of environmental issues, so that we don't end
up with something like Heinlein wrote about in "The Man Who Sold
the Moon", where rockets lay carbon trails on the lunar surface
to create a giant soft drink logo.  Or nuclear contamination of
Mars.

Horatio Alger is a story for kids, not a useful model for
extending "progress" into space.  Armchair libertarian entre-
peneurs should not be concerned that they will not be able to
exploit exploit exploit. What they *should* be concerned about
is that on the high seas, flagless ships are strictly verboten,
and any country can board a flagless ship.  If you want to set up
your own operation at L1 or L2 or the Asteroid Belt, you'll be
able to build it, but if current customary practice holds, you'll
have to submit to some nation's jurisdiction.  The US is the
enemy here; we've been vigorously enforcing the UNCLOS 3 provi-
sion that a ship under Slobovian registry must have a "genuine
link" to Slobovia, clamping down on "flags of convenience". Fur-
ther, at least in the case of the Sarah (Radio New York Inter-
national), we boarded the ship, and later lied about asking the
permission of the flag state (I have this from an authoritative
source).  Not a pretty precedent.

If you think that "common heritage of mankind" is some sort
of romantic tripe, or Third-World blathering, or One-World
Commie-nism, so be it.

#include <disclaimer.h>

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

End of SPACE Digest V8 #323
*******************