Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V11_4/V11_460.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #460

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 460

Today's Topics:
  Re: US/Soviet Planetary Activity (was Re: Manned mission to Venus)
               Shuttle centaur
               Re: HAWAII AND STAR WARS
    Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)
          Re: space news from April 2 AW&ST
              Voyager Update - 05/29/90
             HAWAII AND STAR WARS
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 29 May 90 20:54:02 GMT
From: clyde.concordia.ca!mcgill-vision!quiche!calvin![e-mail]  (Mark SOKOLOWSKI)
Subject: Re: US/Soviet Planetary Activity (was Re: Manned mission to Venus)

Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Manned mission to Venus
Summary:
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Sender:
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Mark SOKOLOWSKI)
Followup-To:
Distribution:
Organization: SOCS, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Keywords:

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Ron Baalke) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
>>
>>The fact is, after the Magellan mission, it will probably be a long
>>time before the next Venus mission.  Most everybody gives it a rather
>>low priority now.
>
>This is true.  The U.S. do not have any plans on the drawing board for
>Venus after the Magellan mission, and the Soviets won't launch another
>mission until 2005 with another Venera Venus soft lander.
>
So why don't you guys do something about it???? It's a terrible loss!!!!
(I hope it's not true...)

Mark S.
-------

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

Date: 29 May 90 20:54:15 GMT
From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!uupsi!grebyn![e-mail]  (Pat Bahn)
Subject: Shuttle centaur

Why kill teh shuttle centaur?  Granted, an IUS is safer, works and is
man rated, but it is ineffecient.   why not fly the centaur unfueled,
and then rendevous with a tanker  so you get best of both.  High energy
flight and maned tending in case of trouble.  Am i just off-base and
it'd be better then to just use titan/centaur.

I just finished reading journey into space by bruce murray and when he's
not groaning about shuttle, he's groaning about centaur.  you'd think
the man would never suggest any alternatives.  actually he does, ELV's.

well, thanks

pat
--
=============================================================================
Pat @ grebyn.com  | If the human mind was simple enough to understand,
301-948-8142      | We'd be too simple to understand it. -Emerson Pugh
=============================================================================

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

Date: 30 May 90 00:59:16 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uflorida!stat!sun13!fsu!prism![e-mail]  (Matthew DeLuca)
Subject: Re: HAWAII AND STAR WARS

In article <1050400017@cdp> [e-mail] writes:
>
>HAWAII TO BE SACRIFICED TO STAR WARS!
>
>The State of Hawaii is proposing to construct a Star Wars Rocket
>Launch Facility in the Ka'u District of Hawaii Island (southern end of
>the Big Island).  An Environmental Impact Statement is due to be
>completed in the latter part of 1990.

Are you sure you're not confused a bit here?  The state of Hawaii has no
specific interest in the SDI (note proper name) program...why would they
build a whole spaceport dedicated to a program that may or may not ever get
into orbit?  Are you sure this isn't the commercial spaceport idea that
a couple of states (Hawaii and Florida, perhaps California) are thinking about?

[A list of nasty chemicals that are produced by rockets was deleted here; I
 am not qualified to discuss them at any length.  I do feel qualified to note
 that all these nasties have been produced via rocket at KSC for thirty years
 with no complaints (that I am aware of) or problems.]

>BERYLLIUM-POWERED STAR WARS ROCKETS
>
>Star Wars payloads will include a new weapons system called Space
>Based Interceptors (SBI).  Morton Thiokol is building a solid-fueled
>first stage, which uses beryllium hydride fuel, to be used for SBIs.
>Beryllium replaces the aluminum in the fuel, reducing fuel weight by
>about 45%.
>
>BERYLLIUM and its compounds are severe pulmonary irritants, skin

Ahem.  *Space Based* Interceptors.  Meaning that they are based in space.
What is wrong with beryllium rockets over 160 miles away?

>ENDANGERED SPECIES
>SEA TURTLES
>MAMMALS
>ENDANGERED BIRDS

To reiterate what my coworker said, take a look at Cape Canaveral/Kennedy
Space Center.  It's been the busiest space center in this country for
thirty years, and it's also a prime example of how high technology and
wildlife can coexist in peace.

>WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
>
>Contact you congressional representatives and ask them to
>cut funding for Star Wars.

Personally, I hope they maintain SDI funding at its current level; it's
a good technology driver in a number of areas, and might even produce
something to reduce the risk of nuclear war, or reduce the damage if one
should occur.

In a followup to a followup to the original article, someone mentioned
something about prevailing winds, neighbors, and nasty chemicals.  I have
no references available at the moment, but if I remember things correctly,
(1) Hawaii (the Big Island, not the chain as a whole) is relatively sparsely
populated, (2) all the other islands in the chain are to the west, including
the population centers such as Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, and (3)
prevailing winds in the region blow west to east, meaning that the rocket
exhaust will blow out to sea.  Am I missing something?

--
Matthew DeLuca
Georgia Institute of Technology      Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards,
Office of Computing Services         for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
ARPA: [e-mail]

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

Date: 24 May 90 23:16:41 GMT
From: mcsun!inria!axis!axis!coms![e-mail]  (John H)
Subject: Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus)


So far no-one has mentioned the methods proposed in "The Space Merchants",
Phol & Kornbluth, 195?.  They had big flutes generating enough energy from
the wind to do anything you wanted.  Maybe it wouldn't have worked but it
was a nice idea.

This is all bullshit anyway, we can't even get int LEO in big enough numbers,
masses, to do anything interesting, never mind Venus!

John Hughes.

Future!  What Future!  Where are the wrist watch radios?  The flying cities?
The fision powered cars?  The ROCKETSHIPS!!

THIS IS THE PAST!

(not original, but the truth)

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

Date: 29 May 90 23:55:36 GMT
From: munnari.oz.au!metro!natmlab.dap.csiro.au!ditsyda![e-mail]  (Craig.Lindley)
Subject: Re: space news from April 2 AW&ST

in article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Gregory N. Bond) says:
> Xref: ditsyda sci.space:8690 sci.space.shuttle:1125
> In-Reply-To: [e-mail]'s message of 14 May 90 03:41:07 GMT
>
> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
>
>    White House is dithering on whether to let United Technologies Corp's
>    USBI division get involved in managing the Cape York spaceport.  The
>    problem is that although the spaceport would be in Australia and
>    manned by Australians, they'd be using Soviet boosters.
>
> Well, the security guards and the cleaners might be Australians.   I
> doubt thant any of the "key" personnel would be; we have no space
> industry to build experience and no uni degrees in space engineering.
>
> (There is some reasonable aero expertise - last week the last of 72
> FA-18s was assembled locally - would that count??)
> --
> Gregory Bond, Burdett Buckeridge & Young Ltd, Melbourne, Australia
> Internet: [e-mail]    non-MX: [e-mail]
> Uucp: {uunet,pyramid,ubc-cs,ukc,mcvax,prlb2,nttlab...}!munnari!melba.bby.oz!gnb
iThe proposal is to train Australian technicians in the appropriate Zenit
kit building techniques and spacecraft integration in the USSR. The Zenits
are built for very quick and simple preparation, and are intended to arrive
in this country in a substantially finished form. I think the figure was
about two weeks from unpacking from the crates to readiness for payload
integration. This work is to be completely performed by Australian
technicians.

Uni. degrees in space engineering are not necesary. All of the expertise is
already present in Electrical, Electronic, Mechanical, and Computer
engineering courses, etc.. Australian industry has all of the technical
skills necessary to construct space systems. All that we lack is the
political motivation. Space engineering is an exotic application for some
fairly standard technologies.

Craig Lindley
CSIRO DIT
[e-mail]

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Craig Lindley       ( [e-mail] )
CSIRO Division of Info. Tech., Sydney.

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

Date: 30 May 90 02:27:56 GMT
From: usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Voyager Update - 05/29/90


                    Voyager Mission Status Report
                            May 29, 1990

                              Voyager 1

     The Voyager 1 spacecraft continues to collect routine cruise science
data.  Spacecraft activity was very limited this week. Plasma Wave (PWS)
data was recorded on May 22. High-rate Ultraviolet Spectrometer (UVS)
observations of the stars HD 217675 and Markarian 335 were conducted on
May 18 and May 22, respectively.  No data was acquired during either of the
two UVS high rate periods due to lack of Deep Space Network (DSN) coverage.
On May 22, following the second UVS high rate period, X-BAND was switched to
low power and the BAY 1 HEATER was turned on.  All spacecraft activity was
as expected.


                              Voyager 2

     The Voyager 2 spacecraft also continues to collect routine cruise science
data.  An ASCAL was performed on May 18 and one frame of high-rate PWS data
was recorded on May 22.  High-rate UVS observations of Markarian 509 were
conducted on May 21 and May 24, but, due to limited DSN station availability,
only about 30% of the total data were acquired.

     The last Cruise Maneuver was performed in the blind on May 23 because the
telemetry was below the threshold limits.  The playback the next day was fine
until the station was taken for another project.  The data indicated a smooth
transition through 4 of the negative yaw turns.  The Plasma (PLS) instrument
responded nominally.  The Low Energy Charged Particles Subsystem (LECP) recorded
data as well.

Thermal events on May 17 (bay 1 heater off/XTWT to high power and BC gyros
on), May 23 (Cruise Maneuver and BC gyros off), and May 24 (STWT to low power)
caused command moratoria to be imposed that resulted in approximately four
and one-quarter days of this period being unavailable for acquisition of
ranging or coherent Doppler data.

A PWS frame was played back on May 24 as well.


                   CONSUMABLE STATUS AS OF 5/29/90

    P R O P E L L A N T    S T A T U S          P O W E R

                     Consumption
             One Week    Propellant Remaining     Output     Margin
  Spacecraft  (Gm)                (Kg)            Watts      Watts

   Voyager 1    5             36.4 + 2.0          370         59
   Voyager 2   54             39.5 + 2.0          374         66

       _   _____    _
      | | |  __ \  | |       Ron Baalke           |  [e-mail]
      | | | |__) | | |       Jet Propulsion Lab   |  [e-mail]
   ___| | |  ___/  | |___    M/S 301-355          |
  |_____/ |_|      |_____|   Pasadena, CA 91109   |

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

Date: 28 May 90 21:54:00 GMT
From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!bionet!arisia!cdp![e-mail]
Subject: HAWAII AND STAR WARS


HAWAII TO BE SACRIFICED TO STAR WARS!

The State of Hawaii is proposing to construct a Star Wars Rocket
Launch Facility in the Ka'u District of Hawaii Island (southern end of
the Big Island).  An Environmental Impact Statement is due to be
completed in the latter part of 1990.

SOLID ROCKET MOTOR EXHAUST HAZARDS

The State plans to use three different rockets at the proposed
rocket launch facility, all would use solid rocket motors (SRM).  SRMs
release large amounts of both aluminum and hydrogen chloride (forms
hydrochloric acid) into the atmosphere.  For example, the Delta rocket
releases approximately 10 tons of aluminum (as 20 tons of aluminum
oxide) and about 10 tons of hydrogen chloride into the environment
during each launch.

A recent study, reported in the British medical journal "LANCET",
Jan. 14, 1989, found a direct relationship between aluminum in the water
supply and Alzheimer's disease.  The report concludes "The results of
the present survey provide evidence of a causal relation between
aluminum and Alzheimer's disease."  In other words, the more aluminum
that was present in the drinking water, the more cases of Alzheimer's
disease that occurred.

HYDROGEN CHLORIDE is a severe pulmonary and skin irritant.  Direct
contact produces serious corneal and skin burns.  Chronic contact may
cause nasal ulceration, dental erosion and dermatitis. Hydrogen chloride
is mutagenic (HAZARDLINE).

MAJOR FLUIDS AND GASES USED FOR LAUNCHING

DIMETHYLHYDRAZINE (UDMH) is corrosive to the eyes, skin and
respiratory system.  Dimethylhydrazine is carcinogenic (causes cancer)
in mice following oral administration. Eighty-one percent of mice
subcutaneously injected with dimethylhydrazine developed colon cancer
and 76% developed squamous cell carcinoma (HAZARDLINE).

HYDRAZINE is an eye and mucous membrane irritant, severe skin
irritant and convulsant.  Administered orally, mainly as hydrazine
sulfate, a high incidence of multiple pulmonary adenomas and
adenocarcinomas, hepatomas and hepatocarcinomas of several strains were
produced in mice.  Low-level exposure to hydrazine caused lung tumors in
a small number of mice (HAZARDLINE).

NITROGEN DIOXIDE (nitrogen tetroxide) is teratogenic (causes birth
defects), mutagenic (causes genetic mutations), and tumorigenic (causes
tumors) (HAZARDLINE).

BERYLLIUM-POWERED STAR WARS ROCKETS

Star Wars payloads will include a new weapons system called Space
Based Interceptors (SBI).  Morton Thiokol is building a solid-fueled
first stage, which uses beryllium hydride fuel, to be used for SBIs.
Beryllium replaces the aluminum in the fuel, reducing fuel weight by
about 45%.

BERYLLIUM and its compounds are severe pulmonary irritants, skin
irritants and skin sensitizers.  Chronic inhalation causes "berylliosis"
(chronic pulmonary granulomatosis).  Epidemiological studies show that
occupational exposure to beryllium may lead to pulmonary cancer.
Beryllium metal produced lung tumors in rats exposed via inhalation or
intratracheally, and osteosarcomas in rabbits following intravenous
and/or intramedullary administration. (HAZARDLINE).

ENDANGERED SPECIES

SEA TURTLES - Sandy beaches in the vicinity of the site are
nesting areas of the threatened Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas) and
the endangered Hawaiian Hawksbill Sea Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).
Any environmental impacts involving degradation of the near-shore
habitat and any changes in temperature and salinity could effect the
algae for these turtles.  Other impacts include nighttime lighting,
increased beach activity, sand compaction or extraction and increased
human activity.

MAMMALS - Endangered mammals include the Hawaiian Bat or
'ope'ape'a (Lasiurus cinereus semotus) and the humpback whale (Megaptera
novaengliae).  Humpback whales breed in the South Point area of the Big
Island.  Contamination of habitat by launch pad deluge (wash-down and
cooling) water has the potential to adversely effect the humpback whales
and several other species of marine mammals that inhabit the area.

ENDANGERED BIRDS - The Hoonoua wetland is located near the
proposed Kahilipali Point launch site.  Present in this wetland are
federally-listed endangered birds, including Dark-Rumped Petrel (Banko,
1980), Band-Rumped Storm Petrel (Harrison et all, in press; Banko and
David, in press), Hawaiian Coot or 'Alae Ke'oke'o (Fulica americana
alai), Black-necked (Hawaiian) Stilt or A'eo (Himantopus mexicanus
knudseni) and other migratory indigenous birds.  Noise could effect
endangered forest birds in the Ka'u Forest Reserve or Hawaii Volcanoes
National Park by adding stress that could increase the mortality rate or
interfere with breeding.  Bright lights may attract fledging Newell's
shearwaters and cause them to become disoriented and grounded.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

Contact you congressional representatives and ask them to
cut funding for Star Wars.

Aloha,


Jay Hanson                              808-322-7268
78-6622 Alii Drive,
Kailua-Kona, HI  96740

For more information see EN.HAWAIIECONET

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

End of SPACE Digest V11 #460
*******************