Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V09_5/V9_554.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V9 #554

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 9 : Issue 554

Today's Topics:
            Re: Apollo 12 (And Surveyor 3)
           Re: Satellite images - at home!
       Budget cuts (Re: NASA funding is not transitive)
           Re: space news from May 15 AW&ST
Re: NASA, Canadians to fly plasma experiment on OMV mission (Forwarded)
             Re: Atari(s) and Sat Photos
           Request for NOAA satellite info
           Re: space news from May 15 AW&ST
             NGC 321 information.
           Frequently asked SPACE questions
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 14 Jul 89 18:25:00 GMT
From: cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx![e-mail]
Subject: Re: Apollo 12 (And Surveyor 3)

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Lee Mellinger) writes:

> The scoop housing was presented to Dr. William Pickering on his retirement as
> Director of JPL in 1976.  (...)

Isn't he Sir William Pickering?  I believe his knighthood came through his
New Zealand citizenship; he initially came from there for graduate(?) studies
at CALTECH.

--



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Phillip MacQueen                  McDonald Observatory,
  ARPA: [e-mail]     University of Texas at Austin,
                                    RLM 15-308,
                                    Austin, Texas 78712, U.S.A.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: 10 Jul 89 10:33:43 GMT
From: mcvax!euroies!kom![e-mail]
Subject: Re: Satellite images - at home!

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Johnathan Vail) writes:
> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:
>
>    A license is required for receiving pictures from the NOAA satellites, but this
>    is a mere formality.
>
> What is this?  Is this something required by your govt in Ireland?  As
> far as I know I don't need a license here.
>
>    The only organisation I know of who are dedicated to weather satellite picture
>    reception are the Remote Imaging Group in the UK. They also supply a range of
>
> There is the Dallas Remote Imaging Group in this country with a BBS
> available.  Email me if you would like the number (I don't have it
> with me now...)
>
> "Like a clock, they sent, through, a washing machine:
>  come around, make it soon, so alone." -- Syd Barrett
>  _____
> |     | Johnathan Vail | tegra![e-mail]
> |Tegra| [phone] | N1DXG@145.110-,145.270-,444.2+,448.625-
>  -----

A series of articles was published in a UK Electronics magazine detailing how
to build a WEFAX receiver/decoder. It was in this magazine that the reference
to a license being required was made. This applies only to the UK. In Ireland,
as far as I am aware, no such license is needed.

---------------------------+---------------------------------------------------
 Gary Nugent,              | Internet:   [e-mail]
 System Support Specialist,| EARN/Bitnet:[e-mail]
 EuroKom,                  | uucp:       [e-mail]
 University College Dublin,| EuroKom:    [e-mail]
 Dublin 4,                 | Janet:      [e-mail]-relay
 Ireland.                  | PSImail:    PSI%027243159000637::GNUGENT
---------------------------+
"Astronomers love watching | Phone:      [phone]
 heavenly bodies."         | Telex:      (0500) 91178 UCD EI
---------------------------+---------------------------------------------------

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

Date: 17 Jul 89 08:26:43 GMT
From: agate![e-mail]  (William Baxter)
Subject: Budget cuts (Re: NASA funding is not transitive)

In article <[e-mail]>, dls@mtgzz (d.l.skran) writes:
>
>If the station budget is cut, it will not in a million years go to other
>space projects except in the naive fantasies of bowery and baxter.

Fortunately, our "naive fantasies" consist of such activities as
visiting congressmen and formulation of alternatives priorities for a
space program.  This is quite different from the "CALL THESE CONGRESSMEN
NOW AND SCREAM AT THEM UNTIL THEY GIVE NASA AS MUCH MONEY AS IT WANTS TO
WASTE ON THE SPACE STATION" approach to space activism.

>The "pigs" are the trough include
>    SSC, EPA, HUD, Veterans, NSF...

The discussions in the appropriations committee often center around the
possible trade-offs between funding of different projects within a
single agency.  The committee is not fundamentally against spending
money on space -- if anything, they are just the opposite.  But they do
have trouble with projects which are obvious losers, like the space
station.

>However, I do agree with Mr. Baxter that you should call your Congresscritter
>and ask them to co-sponsor the Launch Services Purchase Act.

It is now called the Space Transportation Services Purchase Act of 1989.
The bill number is HR2674.  Ron Packard of district 43 in California
introduced it (a result of the "naive fantasies" of Jim Bowery and
friends in San Diego).

Visit your congressman's office and hand him or his aid a copy of the
bill.  If you don't have a copy, ask him for one, or send me email.  You
may have to visit a couple of times before they get serious and look at
it.  A phone call will not do it.

This is an opportunity to engage in real pro-space activity.  It
requires that you do more than sit at a keyboard and make noise over the
network.  Visit your congressman and present him with something he will
not find elsewhere.

William Baxter

ARPA: web@{garnet,brahms,math}.Berkeley.EDU
UUCP: {sun,dual,decwrl,decvax,hplabs,...}!ucbvax!garnet!web

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

Date: 7 Jul 89 21:11:05 GMT
From: ecsvax![e-mail]  (Robin C. LaPasha)
Subject: Re: space news from May 15 AW&ST

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
> NASA proposes to switch much of the station's power system from solar
> arrays to a solar dynamic scheme.  Solar-dynamic was originally put off
> to phase 2, but the technology has developed well and an important
> advantage has appeared:  by using a phase-change heat-storage system,
> a solar dynamic system can maintain full output even when the station
> is in Earth's shadow.  Doing the same for solar arrays requires large
> battery banks, which deteriorate and have to be replaced, to the tune
> of the equivalent of a dedicated shuttle mission every five years just
> for battery replacement.  Solar-dynamic systems also make power growth
> cheaper, a significant issue since some feel the station is underpowered.
> $10 million equals 18 PM       |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
> (Pentagon-Minutes). -Tom Neff  | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]


Can anyone tell me what solar dynamic systems are?  Refs please,
in email.

(I looked at the solar power info at the local universities
and haven't found much.  And I'd post instead to sci.energy,
but it's not here yet.)

Does "the technology has developed well" mean that it's cutting-edge
in several years, or that commercial/consumer products are within
a year, or somewhere in between?  And what does the system use for
photovoltaics (if it uses them at all,) thin films or crystal or
something else?

Full of questions... it sounds intriguing.


--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Robin LaPasha               |Deep-Six your
[e-mail]    |files with VI! ;^) ;^) ;^)

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

Date: 7 Jul 89 23:58:59 GMT
From: bfmny0![e-mail]  (Tom Neff)
Subject: Re: NASA, Canadians to fly plasma experiment on OMV mission (Forwarded)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Peter E. Yee) writes:
>scheduled for launch aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1993.
                           ^^^^^^^^^

that settles that
--
"My God, Thiokol, when do you     \\    Tom Neff
want me to launch -- next April?"  \\    uunet!bfmny0!tneff

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

Date: 7 Jul 89 19:31:06 GMT
From: jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!watmath!maytag!watdcsu![e-mail]  (Mike Gore, Institute Computer Research - ICR)
Subject: Re: Atari(s) and Sat Photos


    Time to announce that I have a new version of the software for
NOAA & METEOR receiver/display program. This version now works on IBM
XT/AT/386 systems and can use 800(H)*600(V)*256(GREY) VGA modes. I hope to
post a final release within a month. As before this project uses the
signal received _directly_ from the satellites. The results can be *very*
nice - just yesterday I received an image from NOAA in IR where I can see the
thermal footprint of the Kitchener/Waterloo area where I live. Any medium to
large city can be seen in this way due to the extra heat ...

# Mike Gore, Technical Support, Institute for Computer Research
# Internet: [e-mail]   or   [e-mail]
# Bitnet:   [e-mail]    UUCP:     uunet!watmath!watdcsu!magore
# These ideas/concepts do not imply views held by the University of Waterloo.

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

Date: 8 Jul 89 20:20:45 GMT
From: pacbell!hoptoad!peora!rtmvax![e-mail]  (David Andrews)
Subject: Request for NOAA satellite info

A week or so ago, someone posted a circuit diagram and prose describing
how to capture NOAA pictures on an Atari ST system.

I've lost the file somehow, and my local Usenet system has purged it.

Would someone please email a copy to me?  Thanks bunches.

---
David Andrews
{uiucuxc,hoptoad,petsd}!peora!rtmvax!dandrews

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

Date: 8 Jul 89 22:35:05 GMT
From: mailrus!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: space news from May 15 AW&ST

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Robin C. LaPasha) writes:
>Can anyone tell me what solar dynamic systems are? ...

Solar dynamic is mirrors, boilers, and turbogenerators.  Well, in this case
it's not technically a boiler, since they plan to use a hot-gas system with
no liquid involved.  Discounting valves, it has one moving part.

>Does "the technology has developed well" mean that it's cutting-edge
>in several years, or that commercial/consumer products are within
>a year, or somewhere in between? ...

Well, most commercial/consumer electric power is generated using thermal
dynamic systems already...  The particular technology I am less sure about;
I suspect it means that NASA and contractors have put enough development
into it that they are now fairly sure they can make it work.  (Pity they
didn't do the same before they chose the imbecilic 20kHz power frequency.)
Me, I'd cross my fingers.

If NASA is going to do a space station, it sure would be nice to see it
happen soon enough that crucial technology doesn't change AGAIN before
it flies.
--
$10 million equals 18 PM       |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
(Pentagon-Minutes). -Tom Neff  | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

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

Date: 9 Jul 89 15:51:14 GMT
From: wrksys.dec.com![e-mail]  (CUP/ASG, MLO5-2/G1 6A, 223-3283)
Subject: NGC 321 information.


        I want to thank very much the people who looked up and posted
    information on the NGC 321 galaxy.  My friend, Drew LePage, is making
    an informal study of the stars and other celestial objects mentioned
    in the Star Trek series, in order to find out how the series matched
    up to reality in regards to its astronomy; considering that it is one
    of the few science fiction series on television for which the writers
    actually knew what a galaxy is (and scores better than average with
    other sciences as well), he felt it was worth checking out.

        Drew plans on making a map and catalogue of the various star
    systems in the ST universe.  I will be glad to send a copy of the
    current list of star information he has over the net to anyone who
    requests it.  Anyone who would like to help with the list is also
    welcome to do so.

    For the record, NGC 321 was stated in the 1967 first season ST
    episode, "A Taste of Armageddon", as a star cluster located towards
    the edge of the Milky Way Galaxy.  Obviously the cluster's designation
    does not match up with the galaxy data already given.

    Thanks again for all your work, and Drew greatly appreciates it.

        Larry Klaes  [e-mail]
             or - ...!decwrl!renoir.dec.com!klaes
                 or - [e-mail]

             N = R*fgfpneflfifaL

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

Date: Mon, 10 Jul 89 04:00:18 PDT
From: Eugene Miya <[e-mail]>
Subject: Frequently asked SPACE questions

This is a list of frequently asked questions on SPACE (which goes back
before 1980).  It is in development.  Good summaries will be accepted
in place of the answers given here.  The point of this is to circulate
existing information, and avoid rehashing old answers.  Better to
build on top than start again.  Nothing more depressing than rehashing
old topics for the 100th time.

Questions fall into three basic types:
1) Where do I find some information about space?
Try you local public library first.  You do know how to use a library, don't
you?  Can't tell these days.  The net is not a good place to ask for
general information.  Ask individuals if you must.  There are other sources,
use them, too.  The net is a place for open ended discussion.

2) I have an idea which would improve space flight?
Hope you aren't surprised but 9,999 out of 10,000 have usually been
thought of before.  Again, contact a direct individual source for
evaluation.  NASA fields thousands of these each day.

3) Miscellanous queries.  Sorry, have to take them case by case.

Initially, this message will be automatically posted once per month
and hopefully, we can cut it back to quarterly.  In time questions and
good answers will be added (and maybe removed, nah).

1) What happen to Saturn V plans?

Underconstruction by Henry.

2) Where can I learn about space computers: shuttle, programming,
core memories?

%J Communications of the ACM
%V 27
%N 9
%D September 1984
%K Special issue on space [shuttle] computers

Other various AIAA and IEEE publications.

3) SETI computation articles?

%A D. K. Cullers
%A Ivan R. Linscott
%A Bernard M. Oliver
%T Signal Processing in SETI
%J Communications of the ACM
%V 28
%N 11
%D November 1984
%P 1151-1163
%K CR Categories and Subject Descriptors: D.4.1 [Operating Systems]:
Process Management - concurrency; I.5.4 [Pattern Recognition]:
Applications - signal processing; J.2 [Phsyical Sciences and Engineering]:
astronomy
General Terms: Design
Additional Key Words and Phrases: digital Fourier transforms,
finite impulse-response filters, interstellar communications,
Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence, signal detection,
spectrum analysis

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

End of SPACE Digest V9 #554
*******************