Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V10_4/V10_443.TXT

Internet Message Format | 1991-07-08 | 17KB

Return-path: <[e-mail]>
X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 7997;andrew.cmu.edu;Ted Anderson
Received: from beak.andrew.cmu.edu via trymail for +dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/[e-mail] (->+dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl) (->ota+space.digests)
          ID </afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr1/ota/Mailbox/0ZhfIhO00VcJ0=AU4r>;
          Fri, 19 Jan 90 01:35:26 -0500 (EST)
Message-ID: <cZhfIJu00VcJA=[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 90 01:35:02 -0500 (EST)
Subject: SPACE Digest V10 #443

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 10 : Issue 443

Today's Topics:
          Columbia Re-Entry Experiments (Forwarded)
              Re: Shuttle fuel reserves
            Re: booster pollution
          Condensed CANOPUS - September 1989
            Re: NASP Recon. Drones
            Re: Magellan Update - 01/17/90
            Re: booster pollution
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 19 Jan 90 02:23:29 GMT
From: elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Columbia Re-Entry Experiments (Forwarded)



RELEASE:  90-8

RESEARCH EXPERIMENTS TO MONITOR COLUMBIA RE-ENTRY

     During Columbia's fiery re-entry through Earth's atmosphere
at mission end, two experiments will measure the orbiter's
aerodynamic and thermodynamic characteristics to acquire data for
future space transportation systems.

     STS-32 is the third flight of the Shuttle Infrared Leeside
Temperature Sensing (SILTS) and the Shuttle Entry Air Data System
(SEADS) experiments, developed by Langley Research Center,
Hampton, Va., in NASA's Orbiter Experiments (OEX) program.

     The OEX program conducts atmospheric entry research during
the Shuttle orbiter's return from space.  OEX experiments are
placed within the orbiter structure for data collection, leaving
the payload bay free to support the flight's primary payloads.
SILTS and SEADS previously flew on STS-61C in January 1986 and on
STS-28 in August 1989.

     On STS-32, SILTS will gather additional data to predict
thermal protection requirements for the upper surfaces of
advanced entry vehicles.  As Columbia slows from orbital speed
down to about Mach 8 (eight times the speed of sound), an
infrared camera located in a pod at the tip of the orbiter's
vertical tail will gather high-resolution infrared imagery of the
upper (leeward) left wing.  Researchers will use the data to
produce detailed thermal maps showing the magnitude and
distribution of aerodynamic heating.

     On STS-28, SILTS images revealed increased temperatures just
behind the leading edge of the wing and in an area between the
inboard and outboard elevons flight control surfaces which
reached around 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit.

     Prior to the experiment's next flight on the STS-35 mission
scheduled for April 1990, the experiment will be reconfigured to
monitor Columbia's upper fuselage.

     The SILTS results are vital to the design of advanced winged
spacecraft because each pound of unnecessary thermal protection
that can be eliminated allows another pound of payload to be
carried for the same launch cost.  Moreover, SILTS collects data
under flight conditions that can not be duplicated in ground-
based facilities.

     SEADS is housed in Columbia's nosecap.  The experiment
incorporates 14 penetration assemblies distributed about the
nosecap surface, each containing a small port through which local
surface air pressure is measured.

     Measurement of air pressure distribution allows precise
post-flight determination of "air data" such as angle of attack,
angle of sideslip, free stream dynamic pressure and Mach
number.  Accurate information on these factors, coupled with
vehicle motion information measured by a separate experiment, are
required to determine the orbiter's aerodynamic flight
characteristics.  SEADS provides accurate data during ascent from
liftoff to about 56 miles and from that altitude through landing
during re-entry.

     The principal technologists for SILTS are David A.
Throckmorton and E. Vincent Zoby of Langley's Space Systems
Division.  Paul M. Siemers III of the Space Systems Division is
the principal technologist for SEADS.

 Ron Baalke                       |    [e-mail]
 Jet Propulsion Lab  M/S 301-355  |    [e-mail]
 4800 Oak Grove Dr.               |
 Pasadena, CA 91109               |

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

Date: 18 Jan 90 16:10:07 GMT
From: tramp![e-mail]  (SERRE GLENN)
Subject: Re: Shuttle fuel reserves

The type of hydrazine used by most (many?) rockets
(the ones that use hydrazine, at least) is called "Aerozine-50",
(this might be a TRW trademark) which is
composed of 50% UDMH (Unsymmetrical DiMethyl Hydrazine) and 50% "regular"
hydrazine (N2H4).  This mix is used because it is more stable and has a larger
liquid temperature range (I think).

--Glenn Serre
[e-mail]

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

Date: 16 Jan 90 23:39:41 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Daniel Alexander Davis)
Subject: Re: booster pollution

Also, I heard someone mention a local problem
of heat pollution adversely affecting the ecology
of Cape Canaveral.  I do not know whether this
is true, my memory of where I heard it is too inexact.
Does anyone know?



Dan Davis (is), the Repunzel of the Mathematics Department.
Carnegie Mellon student
Disclaimer - don't look at me, I'm also a music major.

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

Date: 17 Jan 90 23:49:31 GMT
From: frooz!cfashap![e-mail]  (Steve Willner)
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - September 1989


Here is the condensed CANOPUS for September 1989.  There are 4
articles condensed or in full and 6 articles by title only.  CANOPUS
is copyright American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, but
distribution is encouraged.  See full copyright information at end.

---------- CONTENTS -- 4 ARTICLES CONDENSED OR IN FULL -----------------

SPACE STATION CHIEF PREDICTS CUTS IN SCIENCE CAPABILITIES -
   can890901.txt - 9/5/89
SPACE TELESCOPE GUIDE STAR CATALOG COMPLETED - can890905.txt - 9/5/89
HST PROPOSALS FOR THE FIRST CYCLE - CAN890906.TXT - 9/18/89
THE INFRARED SPACE OBSERVATORY (ISO) - CAN890907.TXT - 9/18/89
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPACE STATION CHIEF PREDICTS CUTS IN SCIENCE CAPABILITIES -
   can890901.txt - 9/5/89

Science capabilities may be cut by as much as half and advanced data
systems may be deferred as NASA looks for ways to trim up to $400
million from the cost of the Space Station, the program's top manager
said Thursday.

William Lenoir {Associate Administrator} said the internal study on
budget reductions has not yet reach the $400 million reduction (which
is in the House version of NASA's budget), but he is optimistic that
a House-Senate conference will not cut so deep.

Among the deferrals being studied are switching from 20 kilohertz AC
power, which requires hardware development, to DC; body-mounted
radiators instead of separate arrays on the station; resupplying
rather than recycling oxygen in the life support system; manning with
four rather than eight astronauts; and using two rather than four
pairs of solar arrays.  The latter would have the greatest impact on
science operations, he said.

In other program areas, Lenoir predicted that there will be no
Shuttle II until well into the next century. He said that the current
Shuttle and the Station "will go forever.  "There's not a lot of
extra money around," he continued, "so I think the Shuttle we have
now is the one we're going to have for ... 20 to 30 years."

SPACE TELESCOPE GUIDE STAR CATALOG COMPLETED - can890905.txt - 9/5/89

Almost 18 million celestial objects have been crammed into two
compact disks at the conclusion of an 8-year project to generate the
Guide Star Catalog for the Hubble Space Telescope. The catalog was
generated by the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

The catalog lists 18,891,291 objects, including:
     about 15 million stars between 9th and 15th magnitude,
     about 3 million non-stellar objects, mostly galaxies.

The catalog was compiled from positions recorded by automatic
microdensitometers (Perkin-Elmer PDS machines) scanning 1,477 survey
plates, each covering a 6.4-degree square of sky.  {Glass plates
taken with ground-based Schmidt telescopes--SPW}

HST PROPOSALS FOR THE FIRST CYCLE - CAN890906.TXT - 9/18/89
     by Piero Benvenuti - ST-ECF Garching, Aug. 22, 1989

The ST Science Institute has recently completed the time allocation
process for the first cycle of General Observer proposals. The
process was certainly not an easy one, due to the large
oversubscription (about 9:1 in terms of spacecraft time).

The average `ESA' fraction of HST time (time awarded to PI's from ESA
member states) by ESA/NASA agreement, should not be less than 15%
over the lifetime of the project.  {Calculated in complicated way.}
The ESA fraction for the first cycle is 21%, i.e. well above the
nominal value.

THE INFRARED SPACE OBSERVATORY (ISO) - CAN890907.TXT - 9/18/89
     by Martin Kessler - ESTEC, Aug. 22, 1989

All aspects of ISO's design, including the operations, have been
examined in detail at the System Design Review.  The review, finished
in July, showed that the design of the payload module (essentially a
large cryostat) was good, that the integration of the structural and
thermal model of the satellite could start, and that the definition
of the ground segment activities including the Science Operations
Centre of the Observatory was acceptable.

Some difficulties have been encountered in the design, manufacture
and testing of the primary mirror.  The mounting pads have now been
re-designed to reduce stresses induced in the mirror during thermal
cycling and various changes have been made to the procedures for
polishing and lightweighting the mirror.  These problems have caused
delays and, in order to keep the schedule compatible with a launch in
May 1993, the development of the telescope has been decoupled from
the mechanical qualification of the payload module.  It is now
planned to integrate a dummy telescope in the ISO structural/thermal
model and to wait for the qualification model of the payload module
before testing and qualifying the entire optical sub-system.

Good progress has been made on the scientific payload.  The
alignment/thermal/mass dummies of the instruments are practically
ready for delivery to ESA; that of the `Short Wavelength
Spectrometer' still needs to be vibrated again at liquid-helium
temperatures.  All four instruments have successfully held formal
design reviews and, therefore, are proceeding with the manufacture
and testing of their engineering qualification models.

-------------------- 6 ARTICLES BY TITLE ONLY --------------------------

NASA DESIGNATES 17 SPACE GRANT COLLEGES/CONSORTIA - can890902.txt - 9/5/89
NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT (NRA89-OSSA-15) - can890903.txt - 9/5/89
  {Magellan Guest Investigator Program}
NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT (NRA) 89-OSSA-16 - can890904.txt - 9/5/89
  {The Atmospheric Effects of Stratospheric Aircraft: Modeling
   and Measurement in Support of the High-Speed Research Program}
MAGELLAN STATUS - can890908.txt - 9/18/89
HURRICANE HUGO MAY AFFECT GALILEO LAUNCH - can890909.txt - 9/23/89
MAGELLAN STATUS - can890910.txt - 9/23/89

----------------END OF CONDENSED CANOPUS-----------------------------

This posting represents my own condensation of CANOPUS.  For clarity,
I have not shown ellipses (...), even when the condensation is
drastic.  New or significantly rephrased material is in {braces} and
is signed {--SW} when it represents an expression of my own opinion.
The unabridged CANOPUS is available via e-mail from me at any of the
addresses below.

Copyright information:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics.  Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor ([e-mail];
e-mail to [e-mail] will probably be forwarded).  Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA,
1633 Broadway, NY, NY 10019.  Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS
and registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS
widely, either electronically or as printout copies.  If you do,
however, please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many
others receive copies.  CANOPUS is partially supported by the
National Space Science Data Center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Willner            Phone [phone]         Bitnet:   willner@cfa
60 Garden St.            FTS:      830-7123           UUCP:   willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA                 Internet: [e-mail]

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

Date: 18 Jan 90 19:50:42 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!aplcen!stdb.jhuapl.edu![e-mail]  (Jim Meritt)
Subject: Re: NASP Recon. Drones

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Steve Rehrauer) writes:
}In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Larry Smith) writes:
}>The following summarizes an article which appeared in Defense Week;
}>Jan. 8, 1990; Pg 1.
}>
}>There is a secret $3 million Air Force study going on to study the
}>design for a unmanned hypersonic drone that can fly to any continent
}>in under an hour to perform recon. or strikes.
}>
}[ stuff deleted ]
}>
}>Some sources say that such a drone could be built for as little
}>as 150 million, and be rolled out by the end of 1991.
}
}Right.  Translate from mil-contractor speak and we get "each costs $150M,
}after an unspecified expenditure on R&D for the program."  Why do we need
}this albatross?  What does it buy that present or improved satellite recon
}couldn't?  (No, I didn't ignore the "strike capability"; I chose to
}disbelieve the final product would have it.  Budget constraints in mid-
}stream, don'tcha know...)

First, you cannot sneak a satellite anywhere.  Their paths are VERY well
known.

Second, have you thought what a vessel going at 14,000 mph with fuel tanks
with a lot of hydrogen in them would do?  Why bother with a warhead?
(most of the damage to Naval ships hit by cruise missiles recently has been
due to the fuel burning up, not the puny warhead)

note:  a bullet has NO warhead.


Opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily
represent those opinions of this or any other organization.  The facts,
however, simply are and do not "belong" to anyone.
[e-mail]  - or - [e-mail]  - or - meritt%aplvm.BITNET

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

Date: 18 Jan 90 21:24:23 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!sci.ccny.cuny.edu!phri![e-mail]  (Roy Smith)
Subject: Re: Magellan Update - 01/17/90

In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Ron Baalke) writes:
> Today, the Magellan spacecraft is 113,471,037 miles from Earth

    Arghh!  Why do they give the distances to 9 significant figures?
Considering that the thing is moving at about 1.5 million miles per day, to
quote today's distance to a precision of units of miles is absurd.  Do they
do this just because it sounds better to the lay public?
--
Roy Smith, Public Health Research Institute
455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016
[e-mail] -OR- {att,philabs,cmcl2,rutgers,hombre}!phri!roy
"My karma ran over my dogma"

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

Date: 19 Jan 90 03:43:58 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jpl-devvax![e-mail]  (Larry Wall)
Subject: Re: booster pollution

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
: In article <0Zgv2xK00XcS4==[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Daniel Alexander Davis) writes:
: >Also, I heard someone mention a local problem
: >of heat pollution adversely affecting the ecology
: >of Cape Canaveral...
:
: Sounds very implausible.  A shuttle launch is maybe 20-30 gigawatts of power
: for half a minute or so (it climbs quickly, remember).  Sunlight is roughly
: a gigawatt per square kilometer, continuously.  Any effects from launches
: would be transient and localized.

Where are the LOX and LH made, and how many calories does one put into the
environment to make them?  How efficient is the process?  I could well
imagine it warming up a stream or bay somewhat, somewhere, if they use
water for cooling.

Larry Wall
[e-mail]

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

End of SPACE Digest V10 #443
*******************