Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V11_4/V11_462.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #462

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 462

Today's Topics:
             Re: shuttle progress
            Re:  The 'real world'
               Re: HAWAII AND STAR WARS
               Re: Naming Stars
           Re: Voyager Confirms Relativity
             Re: Manned mission to Venus
            Re: Magellan Update - 05/21/90
  Re: US/Soviet Planetary Activity (was Re: Manned mission to Venus)
              Re: Shuttle models
         NASA Headline News for 05/29/90 (Forwarded)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 29 May 90 16:49:40 GMT
From: ucla-seas!boole![e-mail]  (James F. Small/;093090)
Subject: Re: shuttle progress

The shuttle cabin has already been mated to the body and most of the tiles
are already in place.  The control surfaces have not yet been installed.
Did you know that the actual shuttle color is green?  The special alluminum
used in the body is green.  (How do I know?  I was at Airforce plant 42 two
fridays ago and I saw it, - palmdale sucks,  its just a desert.  arrrggh!)

--
                                       Devout Atheist
                                       [e-mail]
                                       [e-mail]
                                       [e-mail]

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

Date: Tue, 29 May 90 16:15:20 CDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re:  The 'real world'

> mordor!lll-tis!ames!ucsd!pnet01.cts.com![e-mail] (Jim Bowery)

> Welcome to the 'real world' of economics and government where
> communism, socialism, fascism (national socialism) and capitalism
> compete for the hearts and minds of people.

I'm rather curious where you got your degree in economics, Mr.
Bowery.  You toss economic systems and policito/ideological systems
together willy-nilly, and then speak as if they're all the same type
of thing.

> Close association of "private" contractors with managing civil
> servant bureaucracies is a form of fascism --

This is an untrue remark.  While it is true that the economic form
usually associated with the political philsophy of fascism is one or
another of the command forms of economy, at least historically, they
are not necessarily concomitants.

> [Fascism], like the other forms of socialism, . . .

Fascism is not a form of socialism, despite the best known example
of it having been associated with a political party named "National
Socialists".  In point of fact, the German economy under the
Fascists did not really qualify very well as 'socialist' at all.

> . . .  is appealing and catastrophic . . .

Another point of fact.  The German economy was in quite good shape
under the Fascists, especially when compared to what it was like
under the laisez faire capitalism in effect when they took power.

> .  .  .  in that it is usually imposed as an "emergency measure" to
> "take control" of a bad situation (MCC, US Semiconductor, HDTV, and
> NASA are all examples of such government "initiatives").

You've left me somewhat confused here.  I thought your complaint was
with NASA *post* Apollo.  Now you seem to be saying that it's always
been bad.  Under your apparent position, there would *still* be no
satellites (communication or otherwise), since the initial risk to
put together the booster programs and such just wouldn't pay.

[Various politico-ideological babbling deleted.  Let's just say that
it's diatribe instead of reasoned debate and leave it at that.]

> What changes things is to renounce the national socialism of the
> "space program" for the harsh yet redeeming uncertainties of
> entreprenuerial space activities.

My suggestion to you, Mr. Bowery, would be to take a good basic
economics course with attention to the concepts of 'public goods'
and 'market failures'.

> ---
> Typical RESEARCH grant:
> $
> Typical DEVELOPMENT contract:
> $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

==============================================================================
| Fred McCall  ([e-mail]) | "Insisting on perfect safety is for  |
| Advanced Systems Division           |  people who don't have the balls to  |
| Defense Systems & Electronics Group |  live in the real world."            |
| Texas Instruments, Inc.             |                     -- Mary Shafer   |
+-------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
|  I speak for me.  I don't speak for others, and they don't speak for me.   |
==============================================================================

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

Date: 29 May 90 20:54:39 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (David Conrad)
Subject: Re: HAWAII AND STAR WARS

From article <[e-mail]>, by [e-mail] (Daniel McGurl):
> In article <1050400017@cdp> [e-mail] writes:
>>HAWAII TO BE SACRIFICED TO STAR WARS!
> (is this message a joke?  If so, I missed the smiley here)

I assure you the residents of the big island do not view the space port
proposal as a joke.

>>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.
> Ah, but we already know the results of this unreleased study?  Or is the
> following information just guesswork?

What makes you think the arguments that <[e-mail]> puts forth
are 'guesswork'?  Is the goverment the only one who can do research
and determine what the impact on the environment is?

>>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.
> Great!  I tell you what, I'll take the aluminum and HCL dispersed over
> the ocean,

Oh, please.  Weather patterns can blow from Ka Lae towards the Puna
district of Hawaii where a good number of people live or towards the
resort town of Kailua-Kona where a good number of other people live.

>and you can live with the nuclear warheads exploding on your
> doorstep.

I guess you believe star wars will work and it will reduce the
likelihood of 'nuclear warheads exploding on your doorstep'.  Sad.

> Well, I don't know about you, but I have no intention of being anywhere
> close to launching rockets.

Then why are you flaming someone who is attempting to stop having
rockets launched close to where they live?  Or is this just another
case of 'not in my backyard, but great if its in yours'?

>Consider how many thousands of people go to
> watch shuttle launches?  If the health hazard was that great, do you think
> that NASA would allow people that close to the site?

How close is the launch site to residences and which way do the
weather patterns blow?

>>ENDANGERED SPECIES
> Oh no, more dangerous launch stuff.

Yeah, who cares about endangered species.  Many people in Hawaii are
rather sensitive when it comes to endangered species and the ecology
in general.

>>WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
>>Contact you congressional representatives and ask them to
>>cut funding for Star Wars.
> That's right folks, let's cut funding of those production systems... Please,

Production systems?  What production systems?  The request is to cut
funding for Star Wars which, last I heard, wasn't in production.

Many people on the big island are interested in a commercial space
facility, since it would bring a much needed industry onto the island
as well as probably increase the tourist trade.  Many other people are
worried about the impact of a commercial space facility on the
'Hawaiian lifestyle' as well as the ecology of the island.  About the
only thing these two groups agreed on was they didn't want Star Wars
type launches (I've gathered this from reading the local paper 'West
Hawaii Today').  The State government, on the other hand, seems to
have ignored the people of the big island (after all, they make up
only 10% of the voting population) and have given a go-ahead to star
wars oriented launches.

-drc

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

Date: 28 May 90 14:48:41 GMT
From: usc!samsung!munnari.oz.au!uniwa!vax6![e-mail]
Subject: Re: Naming Stars

Good idea, YOU can call it what you want, whether anybody else
calls it that doesn't matter, you gave it a name, just
happens most people call it something else and wouldn't know
with star you where speaking about.
In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (rb duc) writes:
> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jason Edward Floyd) writes:
> ->
> ->    I have heard that it is possible to name a star or galaxy. Is this
> ->true? If so how does one go about doing it?
>
> Sure - you can call a star anything you want. You can even call it anything
> you want and give away your money at the same time. If you are a famous
> astronomer, it may even catch on. :^}
>
> rb duc
>
>
>
> --
> \\\   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - >
>  - -   Richard Ducoty                               ..uunet!grumbly!root
>  _]    Capitola, Calif                                [e-mail]
>  U

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

Date: 21 May 90 00:00:00 GMT
From: snorkelwacker!bu.edu!mirror!frog!wendy!bambam![e-mail]  (Tara C. Woods)
Subject: Re: Voyager Confirms Relativity

>I would rather see confirmation that black holes exist.  Recent work with
>quantum gravity suggest such critters may not even be possible (but there
>still could be superdense solutions).


Are you saying QUANTUM THEORY OF GRAVITY?  I thought this isn't known.  I
thought that the whole reason why we can't understand the first 10E-43 sec.
or so of the big bang is because we are missing a quantum theory of gravity.
Please explain where this came from.  Who developed it?  Who is working with
it?  Aaaack!  I'm confused!

[e-mail]
[e-mail]

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

Date: 30 May 90 02:46:19 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!samsung!munnari.oz.au!metro!pta!mcc![e-mail]  (Chris Robertson)
Subject: Re: Manned mission to Venus

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Mark SOKOLOWSKI) writes:
>... I WANT TO GO TO VENUS!!!! PERIOD!!!!!
>
>Mark S.

It's a great dream, Mark.  We'd all like you to go to Venus, too.

--
"Down in the dumps?  I TOLD you you'd     |    Chris Robertson
 need two sets..."                        |  [e-mail]

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

Date: 27 May 90 22:13:10 GMT
From: crash!orbit!pnet51![e-mail]  (S Schaper)
Subject: Re: Magellan Update - 05/21/90

How much better is the resolution of Magellan compared with the soviet mapping
mission(s)?

UUCP: {amdahl!bungia, uunet!rosevax, chinet, killer}!orbit!pnet51!schaper
ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51![e-mail]
INET: [e-mail]

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

Date: 29 May 90 20:53:31 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)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jonathan Leech) writes:
>>Now, what about american activity in planetary research in the 80's????
>
>    If that's a question, you need to be more specific.  Henry is
>probably the best person to summarize the reasons why there was so
>little of it.  Considering the political and economic conditions in
>the USSR, it wouldn't be surprising to see their planetary activities
>cut back to a similar level this decade.
>
Considering the amount of resources the russian have, their space program
is quite an achievement, so I doubt very much that the current instabilities
can have an effect. Don't forget that even in the most crazy period of
the cultural revolution in China, the engineers pursued in complete
tranquility their work in camps well protected by the army (with the
red guards "playing" all around). And it's in this most instable period
that the Chinese got their atomic bomb and their space program.

Mark S.
-------

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

Date: 29 May 90 09:22:04 GMT
From: mcsun!ukc!icdoc!syma![e-mail]  (Andy Clews)
Subject: Re: Shuttle models

From article <[e-mail]>, by [e-mail] (Kevin Dowling):
> Does anyone know what high-quality scale models of spacecraft (specifically
> the shuttle) are available or which companies make them?
>
> I found that Monogram and Revell make a 1:72 scale model of
> the orbiter and the Revell seems
> to be slightly better detailed than the Monogram. They also make
> 1:148 and 1:200 scale models of the orbiters.

I have the 1:72 scale Revell orbiter. Excellent detail, but I've had to
refer to lots of colour pics to get better information about fine
details.

Further to this, does anyone know if decent models of the Apollo
vehicles (LM, CSM, Saturn IB/V etc) are available? I would have thought
they might have been re-issued on the 20th anniversary but the model shops
in my area had nothing.  Any information, address, prices etc would be
much appreciated.


--
Andy Clews, Computing Service, Univ. of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QN, England
JANET: [e-mail]   BITNET: [e-mail]

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

Date: 29 May 90 23:48:49 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 05/29/90 (Forwarded)

[For those that have heard, the launch is scrubbed for tonight.  LH2 leak
or something that looks the same. -PEY]


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, May 29, 1990                Audio Service:  202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, May 29........


The countdown looks good at the Kennedy Space Center for launch
of the Space Shuttle Columbia.  The launch is scheduled for 12:38
A.M. EDT on Wednesday, May 30.  Columbia's payload bay doors are
closed.  The Astro-1 payload with the four telescopes that will
study ultraviolet and X-ray spectrums of the universe are ready
for launch.

On Monday, the commander's head-up display electronics package
was replaced.  The display cues the commander's line of sight
during the final phase of entry and final approach to the
runway.  Also, a timing signal problem with one of two Pulse Code
Modulation Master Units has been traced to a loose connector but
it is not expected to delay launch.

Preparing the payload to final testing has demonstrated the
versatility of the payloads team.  During the launch countdown,
the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope's temperature will be monitored.
Checks will range from every 30 minutes to every four hours.
Payload processing manager, Glenn Snyder, says the payloads team
members "have shown patience, flexibility and dedication.  After
all this time, we're ready to fly!"

The weather forecasts for the launch time are favorable with an
80 percent chance of being within required conditions.  The
temperature is expected to be 75 degrees with scattered clouds
and winds at 12 knots.  The landing is currently scheduled for
7:24 P.M. EDT at Edwards Air Force Base on June 8.

                            ********

Space News reports South Korea plans to enter the international
space arena.  Plans to place its first spacecraft into orbit in
1993 are underway.  South Korea would build and launch remote-
sensing and communications satellites.

                            ********

Also, European Space Agency officials may send the four-year-old
Giotto satellite on a second tour of duty, according to Space
News.  The mission would be to get a closer look at Comet Grigg
Skjellerup in June 1992.  All experiment systems on the satellite
are found to be in good health although the camera appears to be
damaged.  A decision is expected this week.








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


Wednesday, May 30.......

         2:30 A.M.      STS/35-Astro 1 Post-launch briefing
         4:30 A.M.      STS/35-Astro 1 Flight Director change
                        of shift briefing at JSC
        10:30 A.M.      Mission Science briefing at MSFC
         2:15 P.M.      Flight Director change of shift briefing
                        at JSC
         5:30 P.M.      Mission Manager briefing at MSFC
        10:15 P.M.      Flight Director change of shift briefing
                        at JSC.


Coverage of all Astro-1 activities will begin with the prelaunch
briefings on Tuesday and will continue through the end of the
mission.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
All events and times are subject to change without notice.  These
reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12:00 Noon,
EDT.  This is a service of the Internal Communications Branch,
NASA HQ.  Contact: JSTANHOPE on NASAmail or at 202/453-8425.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NASA Select TV:  Satcom F2R, Transponder 13, C-Band 72 Degrees
West Longitude, Audio 6.8, Frequency 3960 MHz.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

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

End of SPACE Digest V11 #462
*******************