Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V09_5/V9_560.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V9 #560

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 9 : Issue 560

Today's Topics:
Force to head NASA Space Operations, Aller to leave civil service (Forwarded)
NASA exhibit at EAA focuses on "Investing in the future"  (Forwarded)
Re: Spinoffs are irrelevant (was Apollo-era technology spinoffs continue to enhance human life (Forwarded))
             Re: breaking up NASA
              Re: Don't mess with NASA?
    Re: NASA's Voyager 2 finds new moon around Neptune (Forwarded)
            Re: Questions about Apollo 11
              Re: S-Band Beacon on Moon
         Re: Call for Votes: SCI.AERONAUTICS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 15 Jul 89 06:42:37 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Force to head NASA Space Operations, Aller to leave civil service (Forwarded)

Dwayne C. Brown
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                      July 12, 1989


RELEASE:  89-115

FORCE TO HEAD NASA SPACE OPERATIONS, ALLER TO LEAVE CIVIL SERVICE


     NASA Administrator Richard H. Truly announced today the
appointment of Charles T. Force to head the Office of Space
Operations.  He succeeds Robert O. Aller who will leave the
agency and government service effective July 14, 1989.

     Force was appointed the Deputy Associate Administrator for
Space Tracking and Data Systems in September 1986.  He spent 10
years in private industry before joining NASA in 1965.  Force has
considerable accomplishments in the development, operation and
management of NASA's global networks that provide tracking and
communications support for NASA missions.  Prior to becoming
Deputy Associate Administrator, he held several senior level
positions at NASA including two overseas assignments.

     He has received several awards for his career achievements,
including the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award, Outstanding
Leadership Medal and the Department of State's Meritorious Honor
Award.

     A native of Shoals, Ind., Force earned a BS degree in
aeronautical engineering at Purdue University.  He and his wife
Marilyn have five children and reside in southern Anne Arundel
County, Md.

     Aller was named Associate Administrator of the Office of
Space Operations (OSO) on Jan. 9, 1987.  During his tenure, he
oversaw the completion of the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite
System (TDRSS).  The three-spacecraft system became fully
operational following the successful deployment and check-out of
TDRS-3 and TDRS-4, launched aboard the Space Shuttle in September
1988 and March 1989, respectively.  The space-based TDRSS network
permits almost continuous communications with the Space Shuttle
and other low-Earth orbiting spacecraft.

     Aller served as Associate Administrator for the Office of
Space Tracking and Data Systems, predecessor to OSO, from
November 1983 to January 1987.

     In both positions, he was responsible for NASA's worldwide
tracking and data network, which tracks and communicates with all
manned and unmanned spacecraft and interplanetary probes.
Previously, he was Director of the TDRSS Division and responsible
for the planning, direction, execution and evaluation of the
TDRSS Program.

     Citing many disappointments in the treatment of government
employees, Aller accelerated his departure because of the vague
new-post government employee regulations.  "NASA has produced
this nation's most exciting programs and it is my belief we are
on the threshold of a decade of intense worldwide space
activities, with the United States being the leader in discovery,
exploration and utilization", he said.

     Aller came to NASA in August 1964 from the Philco Corp.,
Houston.  Prior to joining Philco, he served in the Air Force.
He held numerous positions in NASA during the Gemini, Apollo,
Skylab, Apollo/Soyuz Test Project and Space Transportation System
programs.  He also served as Deputy Director of Expendable Launch
Vehicles in 1977.

     Aller received numerous awards including the Presidential
Rank Award, NASA's Distinguished Service Medal, the Outstanding
Leadership Medal and two Exceptional Service Medals.

     A native of Dayton, Ohio, Aller earned a BS degree from the
U.S. Naval Academy and a MS degree in aeronautics from the
University of Michigan.  He also studied at Harvard.

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

Date: 15 Jul 89 06:50:15 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA exhibit at EAA focuses on "Investing in the future"  (Forwarded)

Mary Sandy
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                      July 13, 1989

Linda S. Ellis
Lewis Research Center, Cleveland


RELEASE:  89-116

NASA EXHIBIT AT EAA FOCUSES ON "INVESTING IN THE FUTURE"


     NASA returns to Oshkosh, Wisc., July 28-August 3, as a main
exhibitor at the 37th Annual Experimental Aircraft Association
International Fly-In Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition.
This year's exhibit, "Investing in the Future," will emphasize
how the United States benefits from NASA's leadership in
aeronautics, space science and exploration.

     In the aeronautics area, visitors will see how NASA
scientists, engineers and craftsmen are working to make the
aircraft of tomorrow safer, faster and more efficient.

     Visitors also will learn about high-speed research and
technology projects that will enable commercial airliners to
travel from Los Angeles to Tokyo in less than four hours.

     Plans include the exhibition of an 80-foot half-scale mockup
of the National Aero-Space Plane built by engineering students at
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg,
Va.

     The National Aero-Space Plane program, a joint NASA and
Department of Defense effort, is developing the technology for a
single-stage-to-orbit vehicle capable of taking off and landing
on airport runways, accelerating to orbital speeds (Mach 25) and
flying at sustained hypersonic speeds (up to Mach 12) within the
atmosphere.

     The vision for the 21st century is a family of reusable,
economical aero-space vehicles for rapid, long-distance,
intercontinental transportation as well as easy access to Earth
orbit.

     A 7-foot model of the X-29 forward-swept wing, supersonic
research aircraft will be exhibited.  The first X-29 flew 242
technology-proving missions and a second X-29 is being tested for
maneuverability.

     Aircraft safety improvements will be featured.  The exhibit
showcases NASA technology designed to help pilots avoid
collisions, make critical takeoff decisions, detect and correct
engine problems and overcome weather hazards such as wind shear,
heavy rain and icing.

     Engineers from the Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.,
have added a vortex flap to the front of the wing of an F-106
aircraft to reduce drag and increase aircraft lift.  This
concept, which will be on display, promises to increase the
maneuverability of swept-wing aircraft by 20 percent.

     Also on display will be revolutionary new engine, wing and
fuselage designs being tested to make the aircraft of tomorrow
more maneuverable and fuel efficient.

     Visitors can examine a scale model of a Mach 5 aircraft
engine inlet model that recently underwent wind tunnel tests at
Lewis Research Center, Cleveland.  The tests were focused on
validating computational codes used to analyze the inlet's
performance.  The work will have application for the next
generation of high-speed transports, including the National Aero-
Space Plane and trans-atmospheric military vehicles.

      In the 20 years since man first stepped on the moon, NASA
has taken bold strides toward even greater achievements in space
science and exploration.  In addition to launching three major
space science missions this year, NASA stands on the brink of
establishing a permanent manned presence in space aboard Space
Station Freedom.

     At the NASA exhibit, visitors can learn more about Space
Station Freedom and this year's three major space exploration
projects -- the Hubble Space Telescope, the Magellan mission to
Venus and the Galileo mission to Jupiter.  Models of the Hubble
Space Telescope and Space Station Freedom will be available for
inspection.

     The exhibit also describes the Pathfinder Program which is
developing technology for possible 21st century missions such as
a manned outpost on the moon or robotic or manned exploration of
Mars.

    The U.S. investment in aeronautics and space research has
paid enormous dividends on Earth.  For example, NASA-developed
technology has been successfully adapted for more than 30,000
"spinoff" applications here on Earth.  The NASA exhibit
highlights some of these spinoffs which have enriched the
nation's economy and improved our daily well-being.

     One of the most popular displays, the NASA craftsmanship
exhibit, returns this year.  Operated by technicians from the
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.; Lewis Research Center,
Cleveland; and Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif. [No, we
are really located at Moffett Field, California -PEY], the
exhibit highlights fabrication crafts and focuses on selected
examples of metal and composite structures, aeronautical models,
test equipment and data measurement hardware.

     A variety of live and taped programs will be presented daily
in the mini-theater.  Outside the exhibit building will be the
AEROVAN traveling aeronautics exhibit and the SARSAT van, a
mobile exhibit that presents an overview of the Search and Rescue
Satellite system.

     More than 2 dozen NASA speakers will conduct technical
forums throughout the convention on subjects ranging from "How to
Measure Angle of Attack" to "Aircraft De-Icing Systems."

     Education Specialists will be on-hand to inform teachers of
the many services available to them through the Teacher Resource
Center Network and Educational Services Offices.

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

Date: 17 Jul 89 13:26:15 GMT
From: prism![e-mail]  (Daniel McGurl)
Subject: Re: Spinoffs are irrelevant (was Apollo-era technology spinoffs continue to enhance human life (Forwarded))

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (William Baxter) writes:
>>APOLLO-ERA TECHNOLOGY SPINOFFS CONTINUE TO ENHANCE HUMAN LIFE
>>[Nonsense about how NASA is primarily responsible for the development
>>of cordless tools, radial tires and sliced bread]
>
>Much of the advance in this
>surgery is due to the frequency of knee injury in the NFL.
>
>Does this mean that Congress should appropriate billions of dollars to
>support the NFL in order to benefit those in need of this surgery, or
>that the spinoff argument is absurd?

Have you ever heard of the concept of scale?  You named one advance, in one
particular field resulting from the NFL.  The spinnoff from NASA technology
in the medical field alone is asstounding (for a refrence on this read
"Spinoff" by Robert Heinlein from Expanded Universe).   The minaturzation
in large part from space activites has wide ranging effects in the field,
not to mention the works with polymers and other such things... No, it
probably isn't enough justifaction for the space program, but then again
it's only a small part.

The other benefits of space have been hashed out here many times before,
and I won't get into them again...

>William Baxter


--
Daniel Sean McGurl                       "He's got to make his own mistakes,
Office of Computing Services              and learn to mend the mess he makes."
Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta Georgia, 30332                                ARPA: [e-mail]

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

Date: 18 Jul 89 17:41:39 GMT
From: bfmny0![e-mail]  (Tom Neff)
Subject: Re: breaking up NASA

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
>NO!!!  Absolutely 100% wrong!!  ...

Note to US readers: at current exchange rates this means I am 84% wrong,
American. :-)
--
"My God, Thiokol, when do you     \\    Tom Neff
want me to launch -- next April?"  \\    uunet!bfmny0!tneff

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

Date: 5 Jul 89 18:19:09 GMT
From: hpfcdc!hpfcdj![e-mail]  (Bob Myers)
Subject: Re: Don't mess with NASA?

>Me too!  Unfortunately the US military wants to keep jet aviation all to
>itself, so even its tamer aircraft are never sold to civilians.  (Both
>the Starfighter and the T-38 were rebuilt from hardware that slipped out
>basically by accident.)

Well, it hasn't got afterburners, but the BD-5J always looked like a hoot and
a half to me!  :-)

(Any word on the BD-*10*J?  The supposed Mach 1+ homebuilt?)



Bob Myers            | "Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of -
myers%hpfcla@hplabs. |  but do it in private, and wash your hands afterwards."
hp.com               |                   - Lazarus Long/Robert A. Heinlein

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

Date: 7 Jul 89 16:39:31 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Jonathan Patrick Leech)
Subject: Re: NASA's Voyager 2 finds new moon around Neptune (Forwarded)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Peter E. Yee) writes:
>NASA's VOYAGER 2 FINDS NEW MOON AROUND NEPTUNE

    Did anyone else see this and immediately think we should set up a
betting pool (on total # of Neptunian satellites post-encounter)?
--
    Jon Leech ([e-mail])
    Apple Integrated Systems
    __@/

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

Date: 17 Jul 89 18:22:58 GMT
From: cwjcc!hal!nic.MR.NET!ns![e-mail]  (John Logajan)
Subject: Re: Questions about Apollo 11

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (dbp) writes:
> There is lots of footage looking backward as a stage separates and
> falls away.  The cameras that took these shots were mounted in other
> stages that were eventually discarded as well.  How were the pictures
> from those cameras retrieved?

I believe that the camera (or film) is ejected and falls back to
earth where it is radio-located and recovered.

> pictures were looking out through the LEM's window.  Just at landing,
> something that looks like a hand holding a needle-like object appears in
> the upper right-hand side of the picture and comes down across the window.
> What was that?  What did it do?

I believe that is a shadow of the LM landing leg with a "feeler" extension
so that the pilot can tell when he is a few feet from the lunar surface.

1
2
3
--
- John M. Logajan @ Network Systems; 7600 Boone Ave; Brooklyn Park, MN 55428  -
- [e-mail] / ...rutgers!umn-cs!ns!logajan / [e-mail] -

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

Date: 18 Jul 89 00:13:02 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Jonathan Patrick Leech)
Subject: Re: S-Band Beacon on Moon

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
>As far as I know, all the Apollo lunar-surface transmitters were shut
>down when the Apollo seismometer network was shut down (to save some
>trifling amount of money!!! :-[ ) some years ago.  I could be wrong.

    As I recall, there was a Popular Science article about the
shutdown titled "The Man who Turned Off the Moon".  Were the topic
different, this bit of Heinlein homage would be worth a smiley.
--
    Jon Leech ([e-mail])
    Apple Integrated Systems
    __@/

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

Date: 7 Jul 89 15:42:29 GMT
From: cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!walt.cc.utexas.edu![e-mail]  (Robert Dorsett)
Subject: Re: Call for Votes: SCI.AERONAUTICS

Some immediate fallout from the voting:

1.  Please don't post your votes to news.groups.  Mail them to me
instead.

2.  A couple of people have been asking "why just airliners?"  Answer: it's
what I'm interested in.  :-)  However, I feel the name of the group
is broad enough to let the people who want to discuss broad-spectrum
"atmospheric" issues (such as aerodynamics, propulsion, etc) to have
their say (although, from my experience in rec.aviation, such discussions
are hurt by the lack of an easy way to represent graphs).

At any rate, since the group won't be moderated, the users can take it
in whatever direction they want.





Robert Dorsett                                    VOTE on sci.aeronautics!
Internet: [e-mail]               yes: [e-mail]
UUCP: ...cs.utexas.edu!rascal.ics.utexas.edu!rdd  no: [e-mail]

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

End of SPACE Digest V9 #560
*******************