Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V11_3/V11_337.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #337

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 337

Today's Topics:
        QSO's (was Three unconnected thoughts)
               Re: French art in orbit?
         One Small Step for a Space Activist
               Re: French art in orbit?
           Re: Space Station Distribution Frequency
               Re: Sex in space
   The Feasibility of Interstellar Flight-AIAA Dinner Meeting Topic
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 30 Apr 90 17:55:29 GMT
From: frooz![e-mail]  (Steve Willner, OIR)
Subject: QSO's (was Three unconnected thoughts)

From article <[e-mail]>, by [e-mail] (Daniel Briggs):
> know off the top of my head exactly which QSO has the red shift record in
> the optical, but I am sure that it is well over z=3.  (In fact, I wouldn't
> be surprised if the various detections past z=4 have optical counterparts.)

If a QSO has a redshift, you can be sure that it has an optical
counterpart.  The redshifts are all measured from optical spectra.
There are several detections past z=4.

> If the QSO doesn't happen to lie in a particularly awkward direction, we
> can see it fairly easily.  The problem is *finding* it.  What radio does for
> you is put out a banner that there is something intersting at a particular
> point in the sky.

This is generally correct, and all of the early discoveries of QSO's
were by radio detections.  However, many of the recent discoveries of
high-redshift QSO's have been entirely optical.  The procedure is to
take CCD frames in several different wavelengths and measure the colors
of every stellar object detected.  Anything with unusual colors is a
QSO candidate, and spectra determine which of the candidates are really
QSO's.

> You'll have to plug in your favorite cosmological constants, but I'm sure
> that it will correspond to a lookback time a lot closer to 14 Gyr that 2 Gyr.

Greater redshift implies greater distance, of course, but the change in
distance keeps getting smaller as the redshift increases.  Infinite
redshift is reached at a finite distance, "the edge of the observable
Universe."  Any objects beyond that distance would be receding from us
faster than the speed of light and therefore unobservable.

Objects with redshifts above 1 are already nearly all the way to the
maximum distance.  This distance is something over 10^10 light-years,
depending on the exact cosmological parameters one favors.  HST cannot,
therefore, extend the raw distance record very far.  (This is exactly
equivalent, in fact, to saying that the SSC will not extend the speed
record for particles by much.  Existing accelerators already push
particles nearly to the speed of light, and they can't go faster.  The
SSC will extend the _energy_ record.)  HST may very well extend the
_redshift_ record; it's just that redshift does not translate linearly
to distance.

What HST can also do is see intrinsically fainter - and better
understood - objects at larger distances than are now possible.  For
example, it may be possible to see clusters of galaxies around distant
QSO's or to see galaxies in early stages of formation.  The former
would give confidence that the redshift really indicates distance for
the QSO's; the latter would be extremely exciting because nobody yet
has a clue as to how or when galaxies formed.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Willner            Phone [phone]         Bitnet:   willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA                 Internet: [e-mail]

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

Date: Mon, 30 Apr 90 09:38:58 PDT
From: [e-mail]
X-Vmsmail-To: UTADNX::UTSPAN::AMES::"[e-mail]"
Subject: Re: French art in orbit?

             French art in orbit?
In SPACE Digest V11 #321, sun.udel.edu![e-mail]  (Andrew Salamon)
writes:

>I recently heard that someone from France was planning/is planning to launch
>a sattelite that consists of mylar balloons strung in a circle.  Something
>large enough to be seen from the ground.

>How old is this news?  What became of the idea?  Were the perpetrators shot
>or just imprisoned?

>Thanks.

>(there should probably be a smiley on that last question, guess slipped.)

    In 1987, or at least sometime before 1988, the government of France
ran a contest to see whom (among the citoyens of France) could come up with
the best idea for a space based monument to the French Revolution (of 1789).
The winning concept, a large ring of mylar balloons, was to have been
launched into low Earth orbit, at midnight on 1/1/89 I guess, where it
would have orbited for two or three years before falling back into the
atmosphere.  I think it was to have had a diameter of about 500m, which
would give it a visual diameter about half that of the Moon.
    After much protest from astronomers, who said the satellite would be
bright enough not only to mess up their research, but also to destroy their
more delicate photosensors, the project was scrapped.
    My memory on this is admittedly fuzzy, but nobody else answered the
question, so I thought I'd go ahead and give it a shot.

_____________
Dale M. Greer, whose opinions are not to be confused with those of the
Center for Space Sciences, U.T. at Dallas, UTSPAN::UTADNX::UTDSSA::GREER
      While the Bill of Rights burns, Congress fiddles. -- anonymous

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

Date: 1 May 90 00:54:07 GMT
From: ox.com!itivax!vax3.iti.org![e-mail]  (Allen W. Sherzer)
Subject: One Small Step for a Space Activist


           One Small Step for a Space Activist...

                             by
                        Allen Sherzer
                          Tim Kyger

                    Own a Piece of the Rock

Some of you may have read about a TV pilot called "Plymouth". In case you
haven't, "Plymouth" is a proposed TV movie and pilot about a town which is
moved to a company's mining facility on the moon. The company is having
trouble turning a profit on its mining operations because they can't get
anybody to make a commitment to stay long enough. The people of Plymouth (in
a nutshell) agree to go. A neat twist is that the show takes place in 1989 to
show what would be happening if we hadn't abandoned space after Apollo.

If properly done this show represents a good opportunity to capture the
public imagination. Just as "Top Gun" stimulated interest in the Navy and as
"LA Law" has increased law school applications, "Plymouth" could interest
people in space. By reaching a mass audience "Plymouth" can generate more
interest in the colonization of space then we could ever do on our own.

Properly done, however, doesn't mean great special effects or total
technical accuracy. In fact, technical accuracy could be one of the least
important aspects of the show. What will matter is the shows human aspects.
People didn't watch "Hill Street Blues" because the procedures were 100%
correct, they tuned in because they liked and cared about the characters. If
the viewers like and empathize with the characters of "Plymouth" the show
can do well. In the meantime, they will see what might have been and what
still could be.

But (you knew there had to be one of these didn't you?) just because we are
not producing the show doesn't mean space activists have nothing to do.
"Plymouth" has great potential and our help is needed so it can achieve that
potential. We need to watch the show and get our friends to watch as well.
If the show looks good, write to both the network AND the sponsor(s). Getting
people to watch can be hard and new shows don't get much chance to gain
audience before they are canned; our help will be needed.


                       Legislative Roundup

         Space Transportation Services Purchase Act (HR 2674)

A compromise version of HR 2674 has been added as Title II to the FY91 NASA
authorization bill (HR 4196). A lot of the intent of HR 2674 is in Title II,
but it is flawed in other respects. For example, the language requiring NASA
to use commercial procurement practices has been softened (relative to HR2674)
which will make Title II far less effective in promoting commercial space.
Efforts are currently underway to strengthen the language of Title II. If
these efforts fail, an amendment might be offered to restore to Title II the
original language of HR 2674.

The bill is VERT TENTATIVELY scheduled to be voted on by the full House Science
Committee on April 25. Although that is before you will read this, the vote
could well slip again. [The vote has slipped again, currently there is no
scheduled date for a vote] There is still time for us to have an effect. We
must ask Representative Roe (D-NJ) to support the inclusion of Title II in the
authorization bill sent to the full House.

Things you should do are:

1. Call or write Representative Roe 202-225-5751. Ask him to support Title II
   of HR 4196 (NASA authorization bill).

2. Call or write Senator Gore 202-224-4944 and ask him to include the original
   language of HR 2674 in the Senate FY91 NASA authorization bill.

Title II affects only NASA operations and not DoD (the House Science Committee
has no juristiction over DoD). DoD is a large user of space transportation
services and they must be bound by a similar requirements if we are to see
beneficial effects for the US commercial launch industry. We need HR 2674 to
be included as part of the DoD authorization bill.

Things you should do are:

1. Call or write Representative Aspen 202-225-3031. Ask him to look at HR
   2674 and support including HR 2674 as part of the DoD authorization bill.

2. Call or write Senator Nunn 202-224-3521. Ask him to look at HR
   2674 and support including HR 2674 as part of the DoD authorization bill.


                   Space Patents (HR 2946 and S 459)

This act will extend US patent protection to products developed in space.
This will allow companies who develop new products and processes in space
to secure US patents for them.

The House Science Committee recently reported favorably to the full House on
this bill and it is now expected to pass. On the Senate side the bill recently
went to markup in the full Commerce Science and Transportation with no changes.

Finally, if you need help on any of this contact:

Allen Sherzer
[phone] (work) [phone] (home) [e-mail] (Internet)

Tim Kyger
[phone] (work) [phone] (home)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Allen W. Sherzer         |   Real men write self modifying code.          |
|   [e-mail]            |                                                |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: 30 Apr 90 16:13:44 GMT
From: convex![e-mail]  (Edward V. Wright)
Subject: Re: French art in orbit?

[e-mail] (Mark SOKOLOWSKI) writes:

>I don't remember the name of the 2 satellites that were lauched in the 60's,
>but I know they were deisgned to reflect radio waves and their mission was
>a failure due to the rapid deflation provoked by micrometoeritic impacts.

Echo.

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

Date: Mon, 30 Apr 90 15:59:37 CDT
From: [e-mail] (If Clayton's an Aggie, I'm not!)
Subject: Re: Space Station Distribution Frequency

Both DC and AC have their own unique shock hazards.  DC has something called
(by them what knows) shock & lock, which is caused by involuntary muscle
contraction.  AC, on the other hand, can cause cardiac fibrilation at low
freqs, and intracranial cooking at the higher side.

Additionally, I am told that a phenomenom called HF creep exists where current
will actually pass over some insulating materials.  Something about dielectric
strength, but I'm just a computer jock.

But, on the other hand, I would expect the station's power system to be safe
enough for a two-year old, quite unlike most American houses.  :-(

Dillon Pyron                         | The opinions are mine, the facts
TI/DSEG VAX Systems Support          | probably belong to the company.
[e-mail]                  |
[phone]                        | Commercial diver, not exactly what
                                     | they mean by "wet work"

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

Date: 1 May 90 02:40:38 GMT
From: mcgill-vision!mcgill-vision![e-mail]  (Frank P. DiGiuseppe)
Subject: Re: Sex in space

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Chris May) writes:
>>... a friend and I are interested in knowing whether anyone has
>>had sexual intercourse while in orbit...
>
>Nobody has admitted to it. :-)  I consider it rather unlikely:  workloads
>are heavy, privacy is nonexistent, and the sponsoring agencies are prudish.
>(For example, there are married couples among the US astronauts, but they
>do *not* fly together.)  It's just possible that it might have been tried
>on the US shuttle as a highly-unauthorized private venture. :-)

Henry, you wouldn't, by any chance, happen to know the names of the
married couples in the astronaut corps, would you?? ;-)

Just curious... ;->

>--
>If OSI is the answer, what is |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
>the question?? -Rolf Nordhagen| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Frank P. DiGiuseppe        McGill Research Centre for Intelligent Machines
[e-mail]    Computer Vision and Robotics Lab, Dept. EE,
                McGill University, Montreal
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: 30 Apr 90 15:56:50 GMT
From: eagle![e-mail]  (Steve Podleski (Sverdrup))
Subject: The Feasibility of Interstellar Flight-AIAA Dinner Meeting Topic



                     Northern Ohio AIAA Meeting Announcement

                     The Feasibility of Interstellar Flight
                                     by
                          Dr. Robert L. Forward


Going to the stars is difficult, but not impossible.  Dr. Forward, one of
the nations's leading researchers in interstellar flight, will describe for
us the various proposed techniques for traversing the interstellar gulf. The
best technique appears to be the use of beamed power.  Examples will be
given for microwave beam pushed ultralight flyby probes of the nearer stars
and a round-trip crewed mission to Epsilon Eridani using multistage laser
pushed light sails.

Dr. Forward is an aerospace consultant and writer formely with the Hughes
Aircraft Company Research Laboratories.  He has 18 patents and over 75
professional publications on antimatter propulsion, solar sails, interstellar
flight, gravitational radiation, gravitational sensors, and low-noise
electronics.  His thesis involved the construction and operation of the first
resonant bar detector for gravitational radiation. (The bar is now in the
Smithsonian Museum.)  He also built and operated the first laser interferometer
gravitional radiation antenna.  He has invented a number of novel space
propulsion concepts and missions, and was the first to propose the use of
lasers for propulsion.

In addition to his professional publications, he is editor of the
"Mirror Matter Newsletter", now in its 16th issue; has co-authored a
Wiley Science book, "Mirror Matter: Pioneering Antimatter Physics";
and has published three hard-science fiction novels and over 70 popular
science articles.



                    Date: Thursday, May 17, 1990
                    Time: 5:30 Reception
                          6:30 Dinner
                          7:30 Program

                    Location: DEB Cafeteria
                              NASA Lewis Research Center

                    Reservations by noon Thursday May 15, 1990
                    Gary Harloff (826-6683)
                    Pay at door

                    Cost $10.00
                           7.00 Students

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

End of SPACE Digest V11 #337
*******************