Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V10_2/V10_268.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V10 #268

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 10 : Issue 268

Today's Topics:
  Dates for USSR's Mir expansion, Juno crew & old Soviet Space Plane
              Apollo cosmic ray flashes
             Re: Galileo boost from Venus
         NASA Headline News for 11/21/89 (Forwarded)
            Re: Moon Colonies / Ant Tanks?
          Re: So how elastic is the market?
                 Space Person
           Re: SPACE ACTIVIST ALERT (time critical)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Tue, 21 Nov 89 14:30:09 EST
From: Glenn Chapman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Dates for USSR's Mir expansion, Juno crew & old Soviet Space Plane

     On board the  USSR's Mir space station cosmonauts Alexander Viktorenko
and Alexander Serebrov are now preparing for the arrival of the new
D or airlock module (a 20 Tonne expansion section to the station which has a
larger airlock and a Manned Maneuvering System called the "Space Bicycle"
as its main functions".  A Tass announcement on Nov. 15 indicated that the
module would be loaded with fuel on Nov 17 and the Proton booster moved out to
the pad.  As of this morning (Nov. 21) neither event has been confirmed by
announcements on shortwave.  The crew has currently been in orbit for 77
days.
    No announcement has been made about discarding the Progress M-1
cargo craft that docked with the station on Aug. 25.  The Nov. 19 orbital
elements posted by TS Kelso show it to still be attached to the station.
This ejection must happen within the next few days as the stated launch
date for the module is Nov. 26.  The same TASS announcement says that
Progress M-2 cargo craft will head to Mir on Dec. 15.  This means the D
module will have to dock and be transferred to the side port of the
ball end of Mir rather quickly, in agreement with what has been
stated by the soviets previously. (TASS announcements sent by Larry Klaes)
     A couple of other interesting space announcements have been made in the
week of Nov. 13-20 on Radio Moscow.  First the Juno crew (British mission
to Mir in 1991) has arrived in Russia to begin their medical checks.
The announced crew (confirmed from Nature, Nov. 9) is Gordon Brooks (Royal
Navy physician, 33 years old), Major Timothy Mace (Army Air Corps, 33),
Clive Smith (Kingston Polytechnic lecturer, 27) and Helen Sharman (food
technologist, 26).
    In the other Glavcosmos, their space marketing agency, and Space
Commerce corp. has sold their first launch contract for a soviet Proton
booster (20 Tonne to orbit) to a US company, Energetics Satellite Corp.
The satellite is an inflatable parabolic antenna and some transponders
that communicate with earth base transceivers, as a
location determination system.  This small package will be deployed as
a piggy back rider on a satellite system launched to geosynchronous orbit.
Since other boosters use Payload Assist Modules or similar rockets to go from
an initial transfer orbit to geostationary, only the Soviets are able to offer
a cheap package for small cargos to that elevation according to an
Energetics spokesman.  The cost is $6.5 million per launch, about $8 million
less than what western rockets would charge according to the company.
The only hold up now is whether the state department will give permission
for the launch.  The company argues that there is no technology transfer
stating that it is nothing more than an updated Echo type system (however
there is mention of transponders, but it is not certain it they are located
on the soviet portion of the satellite system).  They have an option for 6
other launches if this works out. It appears that this is an interesting
market niche that only the soviets can serve at present. (Radio Moscow and
AW&ST Nov. 20)
    In Aviation Week there were some interesting pictures about an
earlier soviet space plane program.  This consisted of a two stage vehicle,
the first being a hypersonic carrier craft which would carry a small,
one man lifting body style vehicle. The combined vehicle would mass
about 140 Tonnes at takeoff.  The mini-shuttle looks very similar
to the Cosmos 1445/1374 lifting body that the USSR landed in the Indian
Ocean during 1982.  These are best seen in pictures taken by the Royal
Australian Air Force of the recovery.  Hence this probably answers the mystery
of what those vehicles were originally designed for, since their lifting
body shape bares little resemblance to the final Soviet Shuttle.
The article does not give a end date for the program so the mini-shuttle
may have been part of it, or older vehicles which were revamped to test
their thermal protection tiles.  (AW&ST Nov. 13)
    The Russians are seeking cooperation with France to add instrumentation
on the large 18.5 Tonne Almaz earth observation platform.  These 7 x 4.2 meter
(23 x 14 ft.) modules which carry 4 tonnes of instruments and have solar
power of 2.5 Kilowatts. The next systems are scheduled for 1990 and 1993
launches, the 1990 one being too close for the French to attempt to put
other instruments on board.  The first of the series, Cosmos 1870, was
launched in July '87 and turned off in July '89, about 1.5 months before
its design lifetime ended.  Its main instrument was a radar imaging system
with 20 Km (13 mi) sweep path and a 25 meter (81 ft.) resolution.  The
upcoming systems will be able to sweep 40 Km (25 mi) sections.  Note that
the Soviets have admitted that some of the design parameters were
set by requirements for military systems.  (AW&ST Nov. 20)
    In about a week we will see if the Russians can start the next
stage in Mir's existence, the docking of the first side module.  That is
if nothing new goes wrong.

                                                 Glenn Chapman
                                                 MIT Lincoln Lab

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

Date: 22 Nov 89 00:58:07 GMT
From: vsi1!v7fs1![e-mail]  (Mike Van Pelt)
Subject: Apollo cosmic ray flashes

Does anyone know any details about the flashes that the Apollo
astronauts observed, the ones that turned out to be cosmic ray
primaries ripping through their retinas?  What color were the flashes?
(White, I'd expect.)  Were there any afterimages?  How bright were
they?  Bright enough to be visible in sunlight, or only visible in a
darkened spacecraft?
--
Mike Van Pelt          | What happens if a big asteroid hits Earth?
Headland Technology    | Judging from realistic simulations involving a
(was: Video Seven)     | sledge hammer and a common laboratory frog, we
...ames!vsi1!v7fs1!mvp | can assume it will be pretty bad. -- Dave Barry

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

Date: 18 Nov 89 03:53:57 GMT
From: rochester!rit!cci632!ccicpg!conexch![e-mail]  (Rick Ellis)
Subject: Re: Galileo boost from Venus

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Brian Holtz) writes:
>Let me ask this again:
>
>If the attraction between Galileo and, say, Venus is the same
>when Galileo is coming and going, how does the encounter speed
>up the craft?  Does it have something to do with the fact that it's
>passing Venus as they both orbit the the sun?


Look at it as changing the direction of the orbit.  Speed doen't change but the vector does.
.

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

Date: 21 Nov 89 19:31:20 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 11/21/89 (Forwarded)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, Nov. 21, 1989                       Audio:  202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------


This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, November 21st......



Workers at Kennedy Space Center continue to prepare the orbiter
Discovery for its scheduled launch tomorrow.  The DoD classified
mission is targeted for lift off during a four hour period that
begins at 6:30 P.M., Eastern time.  Technicians loaded liquid
oxygen and liquid nitrogen into the orbiter's fuel cells
yesterday and last night.  Today, the crew is being briefed on
the DoD payload and the weather.  In addition, workers are
closing out the Solid Rocket Booster aft skirts.  The mission
management team, headed by astronaut Brewster Shaw, says the
schedule for a Wednesday evening launch is tight....but makeable.

NASA Select TV will begin coverage of the launch at 5:30 P.M.
since the mission is classified, no other NASA Select TV coverage
will occur until shortly before landing.  Generalized mission
status reports will be issued daily.



Aerospace Daily reports that "NASA's $12.4 billion budget for
fiscal 1990 would be cut by $100 to $150 million, instead of $550
million under a compromise reconciliation bill" being considered
by the House and Senate today.  The publication says the
reconciliation bill is being given top priority and has the okay
of the White House.



Checkout of the Cosmic Background Explorer satellite launched
last saturday continues at Goddard Space Flight Center.  COBE is
is in a circular, near polar orbit.  The COBE antennas and solar
arrays have been satisfactorily deployed as has the instrument
shield.



The third meeting of the U.S./USSR Joint Working Group on Solar
System Exploration concluded this past weekend in Moscow.  At the
three-day meeting specialists from both sides said Mars continues
to be a prime topic of discussion.  The delegations have also
agreed to coordinate scientific programs and studies and
participate in each other's missions.


                   *       *         *



-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the broadcast schedule for public affairs events on NASA
Select TV.   All times are Eastern.


Wednesday, November 22.....


   5:30 P.M.    Coverage begins of the launch of STS-33 during a
                four hour window that begins at 6:30 P.M.  NASA
                Select TV will provide launch and landing only
                video of the mission.

This viewing reminder....NASA Update will not be transmitted
Thursday Thanksgiving day.  The next NASA Update will be on
November 30.


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 Communications Branch (LPC), NASA
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

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

Date: 21 Nov 89 17:37:06 GMT
From: att!cbnewsl!clyde![e-mail]  (Forrest Gehrke,2C-119,7239,ATTBL)
Subject: Re: Moon Colonies / Ant Tanks?

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Tom Neff) writes:
> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Donald A. Varvel) writes:
> >Somebody once asked Arthur C. Clarke, who lives in Sri Lanka, what
> >it would be like to live in a space colony.  He replied, ``You'll
> >have to ask my friend Isaac Asimov.  He lives in New York.''  Asimov
>
> This gets repeated ad nauseam.
>
> A city like New York may look like a steel cave to someone like Clarke,
> but it assuredly is not.  It's a breathing organic entity literally
> filled with life and ecology.  It's quite diverse and TOTALLY
> uncontrolled.  I don't mind if country folk amuse themselves with
> erroneous preconceptions about what cities are like :-) but don't
> try and apply it to this debate as fact.
>

A little buttressing of Tom's point: A guy I know has a penthouse
in Manhattan. 50 plus floors up.  He has peach trees growing up there
and one Spring day they got visited by a swarm of bees.  He was in
a panic because they stayed around for hours!

I live 35 miles from Manhattan.  On a clear night I can see the
lighted-up top of the Empire State building. I can't grow a
vegetable garden because deer and raccoons are absolute pests.
Deer will eat an entire tomato plant.  I have counted as many
as 21 deer at one time in my backyard and have seen a bear there
a few years back.

So, it's not wall-to-wall concrete out here as many may imagine
it is.

   Forrest Gehrke clyde!feg

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

Date:     TUE NOV 21, 1989 08.18.24 EST
From: "Richard Mauren -  RAM9" <[e-mail]>
To: <[e-mail]>

unsubscribe space

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

Date: 21 Nov 89 16:51:02 GMT
From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!ists!yunexus!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: So how elastic is the market?

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Allen W. Sherzer) writes:
>...some estimate of how elastic the market is. In other words,
>if the cost to launch a pound were cut in half, how much bigger
>would the market get in terms of pounds to orbit? Anybody have
>access to any graphs on this or can point me to a source?

This is one of the Catch-22s of the launch industry.  Nobody knows how
elastic the market is, really, because cutting the price in half has
never been tried.  The major market for launches right now is comsats.
*That* market probably isn't very elastic, at least not with "classic"
comsats of the types now launched; current launch capacity is -- apart
from some backlog due to launch failures and other disruptions a few years
ago -- probably adequate, and the customers are willing to pay current
prices.  Other markets are rather more speculative.

Startup launch companies would find it a whole lot easier to get funding
if there were solid knowledge about the elasticity of the market.
--
A bit of tolerance is worth a  |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
megabyte of flaming.           | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

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

Date: 21 Nov 89 21:46:46 GMT
From: ecsvax.uncecs.edu!uncmed!uncmed.med.unc.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Space Person


 I know that this isn't the Correct place to put this, but I feel that it
 is the Best place to get any information.

 I am looking for Henry (Hank) DeWitt Irvin.  He was an Engineer with Bell
 Labs working at Kennedy Space Center from around 1960 to 1962, on the
 Mercury Program.  He would be around 60 years old now.  He had a wife,
 Barbara  - a college professor, two daughters ranging from 5 to 8 years
 old.

 It is very urgent that I get in touch with him in some way, since I have
 valuable materials that belong to him.  I REALLY appreciate any help that
 anyone can give me.  Thanks again.


                            Charles Balan
[e-mail]   ,    [e-mail]    ,   [e-mail]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%  A Witty Saying Proves Nothing - Voltaire  %%%%%%%%%%%%

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

Date: 20 Nov 89 17:22:52 GMT
From: microsoft![e-mail]  (David Levine)
Subject: Re: SPACE ACTIVIST ALERT (time critical)


Recently, an article was posted encouraging readers of this group
to support a particular position re. the space station.  I've not
been keeping up on the developments there recently, but it seemed that
the posting was very weak on facts and long on emotional manipulation:

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jim Bowery) writes:
>keep the old design.  He must not only stop them from
>pressuring NASA, but must enlist their support of the new
>design, conceived as it was, by the people who put humans
>on the Moon successfully during the Apollo program.

I can't support a particular design because it comes from the Apollo program
people.  While that dosn't hurt, it seems pretty irrelevent here.

>
>Hill, many members of Congress became infuriated, pointing
>to the complaints of the international partners as evidence
>that Admiral Truly should have "gone through proper channels"
>before doing what he had to do.  We must let our Congressmen
>know that when a NASA Administrator shows the leadership
>shown by Admiral Truly, that they should line up in support
>of him -- not try to fight him in favor of foreign interests.

This seems to be the crux of the reasons you give for supporting
the proposal.  It sounds pretty xenophobic to me.  The PR sheets claim
that these "foriegn interests" are integral to the success of the space
station.  We need a strong NASA administrator, but I'm not going to
support him *just* because he/she has shown leadership.

I was sorry to see so little technical content to your posting.  All
space activities are embroiled in politics, but surely it would have
been possible to note just why Truly's proposal is better from an
engineering point of view.

A previous posting pointed out some technical and political reasons
why the "foriegn interests" are correct and I won't repeat them
here.

The style of your posting is somewhat annoying.  It appears that you
are exploiting the reader's probable support and fascination with space
in order to further a particular point of view without presenting an
evenly balanced discussion more appropriate for this newsgroup.


David Levine

======================================================
=== Space: The Final Frontier (or is it trying to get my
=== mailer to append my .signature which would indicate that
=== these are my opinions and not my employers facts.)
======================================================

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

End of SPACE Digest V10 #268
*******************