Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V10_0/V10_087.TXT

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Date: Fri, 29 Sep 89 03:37:43 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: SPACE Digest V10 #87

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 10 : Issue 87

Today's Topics:
         NASA Headline News for 09/20/89 (Forwarded)
          Air Navigation & Assisted Landing Systems
     Re: Galileo Jovian atmospheric probe -- is it sterilized???
         Re: Plutonium-power for space craft .. how ?
         Re: Magellan Status for 09/19/89 (Forwarded)
         Re: Saturn V- Were they ever in production?
               Re: Galileo RTGs
            Lost Papers of Edward Ruppelt
             Pluto meets Neptune
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 21 Sep 89 00:24:39 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 09/20/89 (Forwarded)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
                           NASA Headline News
Wednesday, Sept. 20, 1989                     Audio: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is NASA Headline News for Wednesday, September 20.....


As Hurricane Hugo continues to move in a northwesterly direction
towards the U.S. East Coast, Kennedy Space Center launch
officials have decided not to make a decision yet on moving the
Space Shuttle Atlantis back to the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Launch Chief Robert Sieck says that KSC will maintain a posture
to allow for a 24 hour move, but personnel are continuing launch
processing activities.  There are indications the storm will come
ashore well north of the Cape Canaveral area.  But, as part of
contingency plans, the Solid Rocket Booster on Mobile Launch
Platform-3 was removed yesterday and the platform itself moved
out of the Vehicle Assembly Building to make way for the STS-34
stack, if necessary.

Meanwhile, launch officials have made a tentative decision not to
demate the FltSatCom satellite from the Atlas-Centaur booster at
the Cape.  The launch has been slipped to no earlier than Sunday
at 4:13 A.m., Eastern time.


The Virginia Attorney-General has asked the Circuit Court in
Richmond to order the immediate shutdown of the Avtex fiber plant
in Front Royal.  The plant produces high quality rayon yarn
used in NASA and DoD solid rocket motors.  The state contends the
Avtex plant is the source of highly toxic PCBs that are allowed
to flow into the Shenandoah River.  The Washington Post says the
court will hold a hearing on the request tomorrow.  The plant is
the sole producer of the rayon yarn in the United States.


The Senate has completed debate on the bill that contains the
NASA FY 90 appropriations.  Senators are expected to vote on the
measure today.  The $12.3 billion money bill contains $1.85
billion for Space Station Freedom.  The House version of the NASA
appropriation allows about $1.65 billion for the station.  That
and other differences in the bill must be worked out in a
House-Senate conference in the near future.


And a Landsdale, Pennsylvania, student has been named winner of
the Space Station Freedom experiment proposal competition.  Diane
Fogel was awarded a $3000 scholarship and a personal computer at
a space science student involvement program meeting in Washington
this past weekend.


                    *           *            *


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the broadcast schedule for public affairs events on NASA
Select TV (GE SatCom F2R, Transponder 13).  All times are
Eastern.



Thursday, September 21....

    11:30 A.M.     NASA Update will be transmitted.



Friday, September 22.........

      2:00 P.M.    News briefing on the FltSatCom launch from
                   Kennedy Space Center.


Sunday, September 24......

      3:00 A.M.    NASA Select TV coverage begins of FltSatCom
                   launch at KSC.  Window opens at 4:13 A. M.


All events and times are subject to change without notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon,
Eastern time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A service of the Internal Commiunications Branch (LPC), NASA
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

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

Date: 19 Sep 89 16:33:21 GMT
From: mcsun!goya!colon![e-mail]  (Javier Romanach)
Subject: Air Navigation & Assisted Landing Systems


 Hello there,

I'm trying to gather information about air navigation routes, navigation
and Assisted Landing Systems. I'm absolutely lost, and would appreciate
any clues (bibliography, courses, specialized publications....).

        Thanks in advance


Javier Romanach                          Ph. [phone]
Grupo de Mecanica del Vuelo, S.A. (GMV)  Fax [phone]
Cristobal Bordiu, 35                     Telex  48487 GMEV E
E-28003 MADRID                           [e-mail]
SPAIN                                    mcvax!gmv.es![e-mail]
                                         uunet!mcvax!gmv.es!jromanach

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

Date: 19 Sep 89 18:57:10 GMT
From: mnetor!utzoo!bnr-vpa!bnr-fos!bmers58!![e-mail]  (Henry Troup)
Subject: Re: Galileo Jovian atmospheric probe -- is it sterilized???

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Tom Neff) writes:
>... that an RTG can indeed end up, and has ended up, in the drink --
>a factoid NASA would be unlikely to want to harp on just now.  :-)

And, the Apollo 13 LEM RTG wound up in the Earth's atmosphere,
didn't it?  Frankly, after the megatonnes of radioactivated junk
that the 1950's dumped in the air, two RTGs are a small dose.

But, I know that public opinion has to do with loudest shout.
utgpu!bnr-vpa!bnr-fos!hwt%bnr-public | BNR is not       | All that evil requires
[e-mail] (BITNET/NETNORTH)         | responsible for  | is that good men do
[phone] (Voice)               | my opinions      | nothing.

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

Date: 19 Sep 89 18:10:40 GMT
From: mnetor!utzoo!censor!geac!yunexus![e-mail]  (Tony Wallis)
Subject: Re: Plutonium-power for space craft .. how ?


Thanks to the many people who e-mailed me the answer.
Heat from radio-isotope decay and thermo-couples.  No moving parts.

Actually, I had thought of that - but although I knew Pu was warm (warm
enough to make the oxide "creep") I didn't know it was that hot.
Significant contribution from isotopes with shorter half lives than
Pu-239 ?

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

Date: 21 Sep 89 01:02:48 GMT
From: rochester![e-mail]  (Cesar Quiroz)
Subject: Re: Magellan Status for 09/19/89 (Forwarded)

|                      Magellan Weekly Status
|                          Sept. 19, 1989
|
| [...] The spacecraft continued to cool slightly after the
| MGA offpoint maneuver at the beginning of the cruise 10 load.

Is it only me, or someone else has noticed that no hard data on the
actual temperature has been released in recent memory?  Is there any
word on the mechanism that cause[ds] the heating?  What is the
current prognosis?  (And thanks to Peter Yee for keeping us posted.)
--
                                      Cesar Augusto Quiroz Gonzalez
                                      Department of Computer Science
                                      University of Rochester
                                      Rochester,  NY 14627

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

Date: 20 Sep 89 17:02:54 GMT
From: jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Saturn V- Were they ever in production?

In article <[e-mail]> ruane@andromeda (Michael T Ruane Jr) writes:
>... 2 posters said that the S5 production line was shut down by NASA.
>I didn't think that S5 ever went into *production*. I thought that they
>were still pretty much custom built...

Well, bear in mind that there were only 15 built.  However, within the
limits of that, they were well advanced in the transition from prototypes
to production.  For example, the first few were built at Marshall by a
mixed contractor/NASA team, but the last few mostly came from contractor
plants.  Remember that the planning was based on a much longer production
run -- it made sense to try to move towards production-line techniques
as soon as possible, even though in hindsight this was pointless.
--
"Where is D.D. Harriman now,   |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
when we really *need* him?"    | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

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

Date: 21 Sep 89 12:28:53 GMT
From: crdgw1!crdos1![e-mail]  (Wm E Davidsen Jr)
Subject: Re: Galileo RTGs

There was a very good program on NPR Tuesday night, about a number of
space topics including the telescope and RTGs. The danger was discussed
realisticaly, and hopefully listeners will get a true idea of the
problem. Then again, NPR listeners probably understood already.

--
bill davidsen    ([e-mail] -or- uunet!crdgw1!crdos1!davidsen)
"The world is filled with fools. They blindly follow their so-called
'reason' in the face of the church and common sense. Any fool can see
that the world is flat!" - anon

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

Date: 21 Sep 89 05:45:00 GMT
From: pikes!udenva!isis!scicom!paranet!f428.n104.z1.FIDONET.ORG![e-mail]  (Michael Corbin)
Subject: Lost Papers of Edward Ruppelt

To All UFO Researchers....
Public Service Announcement


FOR SALE:  THE LOST RUPPELT PAPERS

THE 35 TO 40-YEAR-OLD SECRET, HIDDEN PERSONAL PAPERS OF CAPTAIN EDWARD J.
RUPPELT (OF PROJECT BLUE BOOK FAME)

Sellers:

Researchers Robert B. Klinn and David Branch (authors of "The Continuing
UFO," the 1970's weekly investigative columns in The Orange County Register
and The Anaheim Bulletin)

Captain Edward J. Ruppelt's "The Report On Unidentified Flying Objects,"
published in 1956 by Doubleday, stood as a monument of candor and honesty
in research at a time when Government UFO activities were shrouded in secrecy.
Ruppelt had briefly pulled aside the curtain of secrecy, revealing UFO
sightings and pro-UFO official documents previously unknown to the public.

Early UFO writer Max B. Miller summed up reactions of many readers of
Ruppelt's UFO book:
"A feeling of 'At last the truth!' surges within the reader."

In that book, Ruppelt had dared to present unsolved UFO cases that
challenged science's and the Government's UFO stance of the 1950's.  And
he had done it years before J. Allen Hynek made known his real UFO views,
before the Freedom of Information Act, before there was a NICAP or a MUFON,
before physicist James E. McDonald's significant UFO research, before the
controversy about MJ-12, and before UFOlogists became aware of
"disinformation."

Now after 20 years, the 35 to 40-year-old papers and notes that Ruppelt
used in the preparation of his all-time classic book, as well as other
documents prepared by or belonging to Ruppelt, are being made available for
purchase.  Invaluable for research purposes are cases edited out of the
original manuscript and never published.

Preventing imminent destruction of these files, in 1969
researchers/columnists Robert B. Klinn and David Branch purchased from Mrs.
Edward J. Ruppelt the complete original papers, constituting several boxes of
material.  These priceless personal papers of Captain Edward J. Ruppelt
include:

-- A file marked "Not For Publication Under Any Circumstances," in which
Ruppelt sets down the involvement and views of certain key UFO officials
and individuals such as Dr. Donald Menzel.

The late Dr. J. Allen Hynek, after finding this file among all the others in
this collection, stated, "This is worth the price of admission."  That file
has been seen only by Hynek and the owners of the Ruppelt papers.

-- A complete, original [carbon], unedited, unexpurgated manuscript of
"The Report On Unidentified Flying Objects" with information not included
in the published book.  An example of material this
manuscript presents is a reference to a UFO intelligence agency so secret
that Ruppelt writes that if he named it, it would not be recognized.  However,
he writes, it was headed by a renowned scientist.

-- A file compiled by Ruppelt detailing many UFO reports.

-- Personal letters written to Ruppelt, including at least one official
military/[AF] letter denying Ruppelt key material for a followup book.

-- An unpublished report by Ruppelt on UFO contactees.

There are also intriguing and revealing quotes by highly placed individuals in
the intelligence community, including candid remarks by General Cabel, a high
ranking official in the CIA, who says, with respect to the
situation on UFOs, "I've been lied to!  I've been lied to!"
(What would a man with that attitude about UFOs and that position of power
in the CIA then likely do to investigate UFOs?)

More details later on ParaNet re the upcoming sale of this remarkable,
previously unavailable UFO find.
========================================================================

ParaNet has been retained as the exclusive marketing agent for this
incredible cache of treasures.  Direct all inquiries to ParaNet by
phoning our offices at 303-431-3703 during business hours or by
phoning our data number at 303-232-6115.  Details of the sale and
asking price are available on request.  More information will
follow.

UUCP inquiries can be directed to [e-mail]

--
Michael Corbin - via FidoNet node 1:104/422
UUCP: !scicom!paranet!User_Name
INTERNET: [e-mail]

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

Date: Thu, 21 Sep 89 09:39:23 EDT
From: [e-mail]
To: rochester![e-mail]
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Pluto meets Neptune

Cesar Quiroz's answer is needless technical for such a simple question.

In <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (John Sparks) wrote:
| Something I've wondered:
|
| Does Pluto's orbit actually intersect Neptune's orbit? If so has
| any body ever done a computer simulation to see if and when they
| would ever collide?

Pluto's orbit is tilted so that at the distance of Neptune from the sun Pluto
is far from the plane inwhich Neptune orbits. Thus, Pluto's orbit doesn't
actually intersect Neptune. (Although it appears to do so on a 2 dimensional
map)....

Yours                   +-----------------------------------------------------+
Dr. Daniel E. Loeb      | Internet:     [e-mail]                     |
                        | ATT:          617/776-1605 (w/ Answering Machine)   |
"The best defense is a  | Bitnet:       [e-mail]                  |
good offense."          | UUCP:         pnet01!pro-angmar!loeb                |
 -Thesis Defense 9/12/89| USnail:       45 Concord Avenue, Apartment 32,      |
                        |               Somerville, MA 02143-3939, USA        |
                        | MIT:          2-032, x2190                          |
                        +-----------------------------------------------------+
PS: I will be moving to France October 2. My last login here will likely be on
September 28 or 29. I hope to have a permanent address available soon there.
However, in the meantime, I can be reached in France in care of the Cohen-Scali
family, 13 Bd Fontenelles, 31940 L'Union FRANCE; Phone: [phone].

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

End of SPACE Digest V10 #87
*******************