Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V11_2/V11_287.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #287

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 287

Today's Topics:
         Re: Apollo 13, STS-1, Vostok 1 anniversaries
            Re: Energy consumption
          Re: Pegasus launch from Valkyrie  (or ...
       Re: Drake Equation (was Re: Interstellar travel)
          Re: Pegasus launch from Valkyrie  (or ...
            Decompression and 2001
           "Family Portrait" (Has anyone seen it?)
              ESA bulletin no.61
            Ariane Launch Failure
         NASA Headline News for 04/19/90 (Forwarded)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 19 Apr 90 15:21:40 GMT
From: idacrd![e-mail]  (Robert McGwier)
Subject: Re: Apollo 13, STS-1, Vostok 1 anniversaries

> Grissom was not just a Gemini astronaut, but one of the original seven


What?  I thought Grissom flew in the first Gemini?  What gives?

Bob

--
____________________________________________________________________________
    My opinions are my own no matter    |    Robert W. McGwier, N4HY
    who I work for! ;-)            |    CCR, AMSAT, etc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: 18 Apr 90 17:05:02 GMT
From: hplabsb![e-mail]  (David Smith)
Subject: Re: Energy consumption

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
>Hermes will be mostly aluminum, for example, not
>titanium like the shuttle.

The Shuttle is aluminum.
--
    David R. Smith, HP Labs    | "It is said that St. Patrick drove the
    [e-mail]    | snakes out of Ireland.  They were last seen
    [phone]        | selling junk bonds."  -- Johnny Carson

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

Date: 19 Apr 90 16:07:50 GMT
From: skipper![e-mail]  (Mary Shafer)
Subject: Re: Pegasus launch from Valkyrie  (or ...

Concorde is limited to 2.06 Mach.  Any faster than than and the wing spars
soften in the heat.

In my opinion, Concorde is a bad launch aircraft, too.  There are only
a few of them, they're obsolete, and they're expensive.  Each of the
two airlines have one plane that they're cannibalizing for spares.

The only way that the Concorde shows a profit is that the acquisition
costs was written off rather than amortized.  It's a lot easier to make
a profit on an airplane if someone gives you the airplane and that, in
bookkeeping terms, is what happened.

What you want for the Pegasus launch vehicle is a good workhorse, with
a large fleet for support, inexpensive to operate.  You don't want a
plane that's a bigger risk than the Pegasus.
--
Mary Shafer  [e-mail]  ames!skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov!shafer
         NASA Ames Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA
                   Of course I don't speak for NASA

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

Date: 19 Apr 90 14:27:04 GMT
From: unmvax!nmtsun![e-mail]  (Daniel Briggs)
Subject: Re: Drake Equation (was Re: Interstellar travel)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Tim Bedding) writes:
>From article <[e-mail]>, by [e-mail] (Forrest Gehrke,2C-119,7239,ATTBL):
>> I don't expect any
>> intelligence in this galaxy to initiate a supernova and then
>> sentiently modulate it to get our radio astronomers' attention.
>>
>No, but if a supernova went off by chance, it would make sense to start
>sending signals in the _opposite_ direction.  Any ETs who studied the SN
>closely might notice the signal (or may be smart enough to look for it).
>
>I vaguely remember someone suggesting this neat idea when SN1987a went
>off.  As far as I know, nobody has tried looking for radio signals in
>the direction of it.

I remember the suggestion that you're thinking of.  It was a little more
recent than 1987, though.  About a year ago in the letters section of either
Nature or Science?  Anyway, wasn't the point that if a culture was unlucky
enough to be in the immediate vicinity of a SN, (and hence doomed), that
it might want to save the ammassed knowledge of the race.  If it did that,
the logical direction to send it would be away from the SN.  (BTW, I don't
know how close you have to be to a SN to get cooked, yet far enough away to
have some time to do anything about it.  If there is interest, we could
probably figure it out, but it would take some work.)   This idea got
generalized to the idea of using SNs as beacons, although I don't see that
the incentive is as strong as in the first case.

To the several people who have pointed out that we are probably radiating
like crazy at 50 & 60 Hz:  I didn't think of that.  We certainly don't have
anything like a decent telescope at those ultralow frequencies.  Still, I
can't think of a good reason why such a thing couldn't be built.  My inital
thought is that such a frequency would probably be strongly attenuated by
any sort of plasma.  Maybe the solar wind would be a problem?  I really
don't know.  On a slightly more practical side, you would need an antenna
of rough order the wavelength to see anything.  The wavelength of such a
frequency is slightly less than the diameter of the earth.  To get any sort
of spatial resolution, you probably would want to fly several of these things
as an interferometer.  An Earth-Moon distance gives you a little less than
degree.  Maybe you would want to fly a whole bunch of these things in solar
orbit.  Not impossible, but rather unlikely in the immediate future.  I
remember reading a science fiction story at one point that involved an ultra
low frequency antenna, but can't for the life of me remember what it was.

-----
This is a shared guest account, please send replies to
[e-mail] (Internet)
Dan Briggs / NRAO / P.O. Box O / Socorro, NM / 87801  (U.S. Snail)

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

Date: 19 Apr 90 13:11:00 GMT
From: rti![e-mail]  (Stephen Duncan)
Subject: Re: Pegasus launch from Valkyrie  (or ...

Can the Concorde carry any cargo?  Maybe the British or French can be
convinced to part with one.  How much effect does the pod have on the
ability of an aircraft to go supersonic?  I seem to remember hearing
that the Concorde could go about Mach 2.2.  (An unmodified 747 or B-52
goes what, about Mach .7 to .8?)

Steve Duncan
[e-mail]

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

From: [e-mail]
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 90 10:03:12 EDT
X-Mailer: Mail User's Shell (6.4 2/14/89)
Subject: Decompression and 2001

> I am wondering wheter or not a human body exposed to void would explode...

I have often wondered about this as well, and recall reading a sci-fi story
or two where humans moved between two craft in open space without suits
(supposedly the decompression problems were solved by hyperventilating, then
expelling all air from the lungs and leaving your breathing passages open
8-O ?).  Also, in light of recent comments concerning the degree of accuracy
of the portrayal of space flight, etc. in the film _2001_, I couldn't help
but wonder about the scene where Dave is forced to blow the pod door and
reenter Discovery through the emergency hatch.  It would appear that he is
in the vacuum of space for a fair number of seconds, and what's more he
takes a deep breath and holds it to the point where the veins are bulging
from his forehead just before the explosive bolts blow.  What gives?

Gregg TeHennepe                        | Minicomputer Specialist
[e-mail]                  | Connecticut College, New London, CT

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

Date: 19 Apr 90 19:44:25 GMT
From: ogicse!cs.uoregon.edu!spencer.cs.uoregon.edu![e-mail]  (David Solana)
Subject: "Family Portrait" (Has anyone seen it?)

Hi all,


    What happened to the "Family Portrait" (a photograph that would
    depict some planets of our solar system altogether) that was
    supposed to be taken by the Voyager 1?

    I heard its transmission would be completed by the end of March.

    Has anyone seen it? Where?

    Were the cameras of the probe damaged when they turned
    to the sun?

Thanks.

(And thanks also for all the answers that I got to the questions
on the Voyagers).

By the way, is there a good book about planetary probes or
about the Voyagers in particular?

/-----------------------------------------------------------------\
| David Solana ([e-mail])                    |
| Department of Computer Science, University of Oregon, Eugene OR |
\-----------------------------------------------------------------/

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

Date: Thu, 19 Apr 90 09:44:03 SET
From: [e-mail]
Comment: CROSSNET mail via MAILER@CMUCCVMA
Comment: File BULL61 TEXT A
Subject: ESA bulletin no.61

Subject: esa bulletin no. 61

I just received the february issue of the esa bulletin.
Here is an overview of the articles:

- The history of the Hubble Space Telescope and ESA's involvement
  (short overview article)
- ESA's first in-orbit replacable solar array
  (description of the solar arrays for the Hubble space telescope)
- The scientific instruments for ISO - technical highlights
  (ISO: ESA's Infrared Space Observatory, to be launched in 1993.
   Here the four instruments: camera, imaging photo-polarimeter,
   long-wavelength spectrometer and short-wavelength spectrometer
   are described)
- Wissenschaftliche Zusammenarbeit im Weltraum
  (German language article about the 'International Space Year' 1992
   and the present and future international cooperation in space)
- The data-relay preparatory programme
  (description of ESA's planned data relay satellite system)
- Le moteur vulcain
  (French language article about the vulcain rocket motor, developed
   for Ariane 5)
- New structural materials for space applications
  (Description of recent developments in ESTEC and industry)
- The ESOC spacecraft performance evaluation system
  (Description of a database system to store and retrieve spacecraft
   telemetry data)
- World-wide interactive access to scientific databases via satellite
  and terrestrial data network
  (articel about networking demonstrations held at a Inter-Agency
   Consultive Group (IACG) meeting at Prague. A transportable
   ground station at Prague established a link to ESOC, Darmstadt
   and then via the ESA network services the conference members
   used facilities in Japan and at Goddard (USA)
- The ESA astronaut sleep restraint - its development and use onboard
  Spacelab and MIR
  (Very enjoyable article about the zero gravity sleeping bag developed by
   ESA astronaut Wubbo Ockels and H. Stoewer from ESTEC.
   W.Ockels took the sleeping bag as personal stowage
   on a shuttle flight and used it there successfully. Also a Russian
   cosmonaut, who received a model for evaluation, took one to Mir and
   used it there. The article is written in the usual "high-tech style",
   describing how the first engineering model was made from cloth and
   a bicycle-tyre inner tube .... .  fun reading)


You can order the esa bulletin (free of charge, as far as I know)
from
      ESA Publications Division
      ESTEC, Postbus 299
      2200 AG Noordwijk
      The Netherlands

Regards, Lutz Massonne

 +===================================+===============================+
 | Lutz Massonne                     |   [e-mail]         |
 |                                   |                               |
 |                                   |This mail expresses my personal|
 | Robert-Bosch Str. 5               |opinions only and is in no way |
 | D-6100 Darmstadt, FRG             |official or reliable.          |
 +===================================+===============================+

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

Date: Thu, 19 Apr 90 09:46:38 SET
From: [e-mail]
Comment: CROSSNET mail via MAILER@CMUCCVMA
Comment: File FAILURE2 TEXT A
Subject: Ariane Launch Failure

(Resent as my first posting seems to have disappeared)
Some news from the ESA Information Retrieval System,
regarding the recent Ariane launch failure:


   I R S   Distribution of Aerospace Daily Information     Page  1
                   FRIDAY APRIL 13, 1990
                        Article No :  7

 ARIANE 44L booster exploded Feb. 22 because a piece of cloth lodged in a
 water pipe, an Arianespace accident inquiry board reported.

 CLOTH LODGED IN WATER LINE BLAMED FOR ARIANE EXPLOSION
    A piece of cloth lodged in a water pipe caused the Feb. 22 explosion of an
 Ariane 44L booster carrying two Japanese satellites, an Arianespace accident
 inquiry board reported yesterday.
    The cloth was probably left behind after workers conducted "non- standard
 servicing" on the water tubing six or seven months ago when the booster was
 being integrated in Kourou, the board said. Technicians had to repair the
 tubing when two pieces failed to screw together properly.
    The material obstructed the main water valve leading to the booster's first
 stage D engine, reducing the flow to a turbine used to pump propellants into
 the combustion chamber. The engine dropped to about half of its normal thrust
 6.2 seconds after launch and exploded 101 seconds into the mission (DAILY,
 April 3, 10).
    Divers recovered the D engine's water valve and flexible tubing Sunday and
 it was flown to France Tuesday for inspection at the Sacley Jet Propulsion Test
 Center near Paris.

Regards, Lutz Massonne

 +===================================+===============================+
 | Lutz Massonne                     |   [e-mail]         |
 |                                   |                               |
 |                                   |This mail expresses my personal|
 | Robert-Bosch Str. 5               |opinions only and is in no way |
 | D-6100 Darmstadt, FRG             |official or reliable.          |
 +===================================+===============================+

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

Date: 19 Apr 90 18:24:29 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 04/19/90 (Forwarded)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, April 19, 1990                      Audio: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is NASA Headline News for Thursday, April 19.....

All is nearly ready to go for the launch of STS-31 next
Tuesday.  Work on the orbiter has been completed and charging of
the Hubble Space Telescope's batteries is nearly completed.
Space Shuttle Director Robert Crippen polled mission managers
yesterday and then moved the launch date up to April 24.  The
window opens at 8:31 a.m., EDT.

Telescope batteries will be re-installed Friday and Saturday.  On
the pad, ordnance installation is expected to be completed later
today.

The weather outlook for Tuesday is very good.  The Air Force
Weather Station at Cape Canaveral says there is an 80 percent
chance of favorable weather for launch.

                        *              *

Astronauts who will fly on the STS-35 Astro space shuttle flight
in mid-May will hold a news conference at Johnson Space Center
tomorrow.  The event will be carried on NASA Select TV beginning
at 10:30 a.m., EDT.

                        *              *

Comet watchers will be able to get a good look at Comet Austin
over the next week or so.  Acceptable viewing will commence
tomorrow and watchers are urged to view the "celestial visitor"
through powerful binoculars or better yet...a telescope.  Austin
will appear in the northeast part of the sky for several hours
before dawn each day.  As yet the comet hasn't shown a tail.

                        *              *

A West German will take a ride on the Soviet Union's Mir space
station.  Space Fax Daily reports an agreement has been signed
between the Cologne-based German Aviation and Astronautics
Research Institution and Glavkosmos. The eight day flight will
take place in 1992.  The cost to the West Germans is $9-million.
The Soviets have also signed agreements for commercial space
flights with organizations in Japan, Great Britian, France and
Austria.


                          ************








_________________________________________________________________
Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA
Select TV.  All times are EDT.


Friday, April 20....

    10:30 a.m.     STS-35 astronaut news conference from
                   Johnson Space Center.


Sunday, April 22.....

     1:00 p.m.     STS-31 crew arrival at KSC.


Monday,  April 23.....

     9:00 a.m.     STS-31 Countdown Status Report.

    10:00 a.m.     APU/Hubble telescope Status Report.

    11:00 a.m.     Prelaunch News Conference.


Tuesday, April 24......

      4:00 a.m.    STS-31 mission launch coverage begins.

NOTE:  During the STS-31 mission, television highlights will be
transmitted on Satcom F1R, transponder #13 at 12 midnight, EDT,
for the benefit of TV stations and educational institutions in
Alaska and Hawaii.

All events and times are subject to change without notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon,
EDT.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A service of the Internal Communications Branch, NASA Hq.

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

End of SPACE Digest V11 #287
*******************