Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V09_5/V9_575.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V9 #575

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 9 : Issue 575

Today's Topics:
           Re: Don't Mess with NASA (afterburners)
              Re: S-Band Beacon on Moon
               Re: Space Quest
          Re:  Vaguely space related queries
              Re: George Koopman killed
         Re: Space Activist Survey, Food for Thought
             Re: Atari(s) and Sat Photos
         Re: Magellan Status for 07/17/89 (Forwarded)
             Re: Apollo 11 program alarms
    From the July 17 issue of AVIATION WEEK AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY.
            Re: Questions about Apollo 11
              Re: S-Band Beacon on Moon
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 20 Jul 89 23:49:25 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Andy Stadler)
Subject: Re: Don't Mess with NASA (afterburners)

In article <[e-mail]>
 [e-mail] (Mary Shafer) writes:
>>In article <[e-mail]>
 [e-mail] (david s. channin) writes:
>>> ... What are the laws, regulations, etc (if any) that prevent you from
>>> doing the following:
>>>     1. Walk into the Northrop offices in wherever.
>>>     2. Pull out a bank check for x million dollars.
>>>     3. Say,``I'd would like that nice T-38 that's in the showroom''.
>>>     4. Fly away with same after filling the tank...
>>>
>>>     Why wouldn't this scenario work?? (or would it?).
>
>Change the scenario to:
>
>     1. Walk into the Bede offices in wherever.
>     2. Pull out a bank check for x million dollars.
>     3. Say,``I'd would like that nice BD-5J that's in the showroom''.
>     4. Fly away with same after filling the tank...
>
>and you'll be on your way.  Just speaking personally, as a fairly
>frequent flier, I'd really prefer that fighters be limited-distribution
>items.  There are enough things to worry about, without worrying about
>some yahoo out there in an F-something with sidewinders at my 747's six.
>
> [...]
>
>Just because you can afford an airplane, doesn't mean you can fly it.
>Look at the stereotype about MDs and Bonanzas.
>

I used to consider that a stereotype until about the 3rd time a Bonanza
tried to run me down....  Why is it always Bonanzas making straight in's
at uncontrolled airports?

(This probably belongs in rec.aviation)

--Andy          [e-mail]

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

Date: 20 Jul 89 15:58:47 GMT
From: jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: S-Band Beacon on Moon

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Lyndon Nerenberg) writes:
>>... when the Apollo seismometer network was shut down (to save some
>>trifling amount of money!!! :-[ ) some years ago...
>
>Eh? Was ConEd charging NASA for the power produced by the (moon-based)
>nuclear reactors?

No, but it was costing some small amount of money to receive, store, and
analyze the data.
--
$10 million equals 18 PM       |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
(Pentagon-Minutes). -Tom Neff  | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

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

Date: 21 Jul 89 18:25:44 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Dan Pezely)
Subject: Re: Space Quest

I got some mail in response to my posting, and an interesting point was
brought up.  Since I want the space contractors to actually own their
own space administration corporation, Seth Hollub <poopsie![e-mail]>
wrote:

>Some things like this are violations of the Anti-Trust Act, I hope
>that's not an impediment.

I'm not very knowledgeable about the annoying government policies in
this area.  Does any know for sure?

This brings up another point about Space Quest, we need people to help
us with matters such as these.  Anyone care to spend their one hour a
week helping us here?

Yes, there are many obstacles, but they are just little details that we
can get around somehow.  If you're determined enough, you can do
anything.

- Daniel

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

Date: 20 Jul 89 16:44:06 GMT
From: emory![e-mail]  (Scott R. Anderson)
Subject: Re:  Vaguely space related queries

In article <Added.IYfxRrG00Ui38Gzk9=@andrew.cmu.edu> [e-mail] writes:
>Will Martin asked several questions, which got various responses, some
>of which were rather dubious attempts at physics.
>
>>2) Regarding elementary particles -- one of their characteristics is called
>>"spin". Is this REALLY "spin" the way a top or gyroscope spins -- that is,
>
>Here there was some misinformation.  Spin is NOT angular momentum!!
>Rather, it is a purely quantum mechanical phenomenum (like the quantites
>of colour you mention above).  People mistakenly think that it is an
>angular momentum because of its mathematical properties.  In the
>mathematics of quantum mechanics, spin transforms and has operators that
>are identical to the normal angular momentum operator, though with its
>own unique eigenvalues (values that it can take on in particular
>physical situations)....In fact, spin is an intrinsic feature of any
>particle, just like mass and electrical charge....
>(Another example of using macroscopic terms for unrelated microscopic
>processes.)

It depends on your definition of angular momentum, I guess.  If you insist
that angular momentum is something that is defined by L = r x p, then, yes,
spin is not angular momentum.  But this is a little like saying that energy
is something that is defined by K = (1/2)mv^2, and potential energy or mass
energy are not really energy.

However, if something acts like angular momentum and is interchangeable with
angular momentum, then physicists generally prefer to generalize the concept
of angular momentum. Different sources of angular momentum are then qualified,
when necessary.  So, physicists now speak about orbital angular momentum, spin
angular momentum, and total angular momentum (the sum of the two).  The latter
is a conserved quantity, so, for example, when an electron in an atom changes
its orbital state and loses one unit of orbital angular momentum, a photon is
emitted which carries away one unit of spin angular momentum.

The necessary qualification here is that the name "spin" is a misnomer; as
pointed out above it is an intrinsic property of elementary particles, and has
nothing to do with them spinning like a top.  That seemed like a possibility
in 1925, and though it was disproven by Dirac in 1928, the name has stuck.

*
  *      **                  Scott Robert Anderson      gatech!emoryu1!phssra
   *   *    *    **          [e-mail]   [e-mail]
    * *      * *    * **
     *        *      *  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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

Date: 22 Jul 89 02:38:23 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Bill Ganoe)
Subject: Re: George Koopman killed


Addition:  Koopman was killed Wednesday.

Correction: Koopman was a co-founder (not THE founder) of AMROC.
   Other principals were Bevin McKinney and Jim Bennett (who
   has had a lot to do with commercial space legislation).

--
> Standard    | William H. Ganoe             sie![e-mail]
  disclaimer <| SIE Dept; Univ. of Arizona; Tucson, AZ 85721; USA
           "We have no gods.  We do business."

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

Date: 22 Jul 89 02:39:30 GMT
From: blake![e-mail]  (William Lewis)
Subject: Re: Space Activist Survey, Food for Thought

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (William Baxter) writes:
>A Survey for Space Activists
>

   [...]

>3.   Are you aware that less than half the population of Mexico was alive
                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>at the time of the last Apollo moon landing?
>
   [...]
>
>William Baxter

   The other half was dead? Why did they include corpses in the population
count?
   Maybe this questionnaire should have been in rec.humor ...

    --- phelliax
        "Eat spam. Don't eat spam. Eat spam. Don't eat spam."

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

Date: 19 Jul 89 01:15:00 GMT
From: ssc-vax!shuksan!tahoma![e-mail]  (James P. Galasyn)
Subject: Re: Atari(s) and Sat Photos

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Mike Gore, Institute Computer Research - ICR) writes:

>     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 ...

I, being an IBM 386 VGA-type guy, can hardly wait.  This is the coolest.
For digital circuit design hackers, there are excellent Home
Satellite Weather Center plans available from Circuit Cellar Ink, P.O. Box
772, Vernon, CT, 06066 [phone]. *BIG* MC68000-based project for IBM PCs,
way beyond anything I'd care to tackle.

Go easy,

                  .                      Strangers passing in the street
    DEATH       .  ..                    By chance two separate glances meet
              .     . .                  And I am you and what I see is me.
      .     .        .  .                                            - Floyd
    .  .. .           .   .   .
  .     . .            .    .  ..
.        .  .           .     . . .

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

Date: 20 Jul 89 15:54:30 GMT
From: jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Magellan Status for 07/17/89 (Forwarded)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (h.munk) writes:
>Forive me my ignorance, but what is "momentum wheel desaturation",
>and why is it done ?

There are a number of methods of attitude control for spacecraft.  Just
using control jets works, but if the spacecraft is going to have to do a
lot of turning, it uses a lot of fuel.  Magellan is going to be pivoting
around two or three times per orbit for months on end (it alternates
mapping Venus and transmitting back to Earth, through the same antenna),
so one would prefer an alternative.  If you simply put a heavy little
wheel on a motor inside, when you spin the wheel in one direction the
spacecraft turns slowly in the other.  When you stop the wheel, the
turn stops too.  In theory.  The problem is that you can get torques on
the spacecraft from outside forces, like gravity gradients and light
pressure.  Not large ones, but not insignificant.  If the momentum wheel
is used to counter those, it can end up spinning faster and faster when
the spacecraft is stationary.  So once in a while you need to put on the
brakes for the wheel to keep its speed within bounds.  (This generally
means firing control jets at the same time, to keep the spacecraft from
just picking up the wheel's rotation.)  This is momentum-wheel desaturation.
--
$10 million equals 18 PM       |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
(Pentagon-Minutes). -Tom Neff  | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

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

Date: 20 Jul 89 21:26:00 GMT
From: ux1.cso.uiuc.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Re: Apollo 11 program alarms


> In that CBS special it appeared that Armstrong made that decision. He
> said something to the effect, "Hang tight, we're going" and just kep
> going when the program alarm came up.

Among recently published books, both Aldrin's MEN FROM EARTH and
Harry Hurt III's FOR ALL MANKIND describe the events surrounding
the 1202 and 1201 alarms.  Both books claim that Bales, as GUIDO,
made the decision to ignore the alarms.  (I don't believe that
Collins deals with this topic in either of his books, but I could
be wrong about that.)
--
Charlie Richter   MCC   Austin, Texas
  uucp: [e-mail]     arpa: [e-mail]

I just read Mike Collin's first book (newly reprinted), and he mentions
this event in passing while he was monitoring the landing.

He was just going for the manuals to see what a 1202 alarm was when
somebody from Houston gave a GO to land. He thought that it was
good work on their part.

Tedd Pierce
Aero/Astro Eng. UIUC
[e-mail]

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

Date: 20 Jul 89 12:12:13 GMT
From: wrksys.dec.com![e-mail]  (CUP/ASG, MLO5-2/G1 6A, 223-3283)
Subject: From the July 17 issue of AVIATION WEEK AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY.


                           The Apollo 11 Mission

    Armstrong and Aldrin collected and brought back 48 lbs of Moon rocks
    and soil.  The task was so important that it was one the first things
    Armstrong did after stepping on the lunar surface.  After testing his
    "Moon legs", he scooped up a small bagful of lunar soil and stored
    it in a pocket of his spacesuit.

    The astronauts left behind a number of items, the largest being the
    descent stage of the lunar lander with a commemorative plaque attached
    to one of its legs.  A silicon disk about the size of a half dollar,
    etched microscopically with goodwill messages from the leaders of 73
    countries, and a gold olive branch symbolizing peace were also left
    amidst tracks of human footprints.

                         The Apollo 11 Astronauts

    Neil A. Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11, the first man to set foot
    on the Moon, was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, August 5, 1930.  Armstrong
    was the only civilian member of the Apollo 11 crew.  He was selected
    as an astronaut in 1962 and served in Gemini 8 before being assigned
    as commander of the Apollo 11 mission.  Armstrong is now Chairman of
    Computer Technologies for Aviation, Inc., Lebanon Ohio.

    Edwin "Buzz" E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module Eagle pilot, was the second
    man to walk on the Moon.  He was born Jan 20, 1930 in Montclair New
    Jersey, and is a graduate of West Point.  An Air Force Colonel at
    the time of Apollo 11, Aldrin was named as an astronaut in 1963 and
    served as a backup pilot for the Gemini 9 mission and prime pilot
    for Gemini 12.

    Michael Collins, command module Columbia pilot.  During Apollo 11,
    Collins orbited the Moon in the command module.  Collins was born in
    Rome, Italy on Oct 31, 1930.  He is a West Point graduate and was a
    Lieutenant Colonel at the time of Apollo 11.  He was the backup pilot
    in Gemini 7 and a pilot in the Gemini 10 mission.

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

Date: 20 Jul 89 15:57:58 GMT
From: jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Questions about Apollo 11

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Mike Smithwick) writes:
><The early Saturn Vs had little camera pods that separated, reentered,
><and were recovered...
>
>Most of the footage of staging is from the unmanned missions, I don't
>think that any of the manned boosters had the cameras on board.

I'm not sure about that; remember that there were only two unmanned
Saturn V launches.  I wouldn't be surprised if one or two of the early
manned ones had camera pods aboard, especially given that the second
unmanned flight hit problems.  (It took considerable boldness and a
lot of confidence in the engineers to fly Apollo 8 on the third one.)
--
$10 million equals 18 PM       |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
(Pentagon-Minutes). -Tom Neff  | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

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

Date: 20 Jul 89 17:39:28 GMT
From: n3dmc!gronk![e-mail]  (John Limpert)
Subject: Re: S-Band Beacon on Moon

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Lyndon Nerenberg) writes:
>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.
>Eh? Was ConEd charging NASA for the power produced by the (moon-based)
>nuclear reactors?

I started working at a NASA tracking station shortly after ALSEP was
shut down.  The story I heard was that NASA ran out of money to receive,
record and process the telemetry data.  The tracking stations used to
record ALSEP data for hours at a time, every day.  I was also told that
NASA had warehouses full of magnetic tape that couldn't be reduced or
analyzed due to lack of funding.

--
John Limpert        [e-mail]    uunet!n3dmc!gronk!johnl

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

End of SPACE Digest V9 #575
*******************