Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V11_5/V11_548.TXT

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Date: Thu, 21 Jun 1990 01:47:19 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #548

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 548

Today's Topics:
               Re: cosmosphere
          Re: Investing is our space future.
               Japan's Planetary Plans
             Retraction: Smileys
              Re:  SPACE Digest V11 #545
            Soviet Mars Mini-Rover
     Re: Space incentives (was Re: NASA 91 Appropriation (long))
               Re: Model Rocket Contest
         Re: Aim For The Moon - model rocket contest

Administrivia:

    Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to
  [e-mail].  Other mail, esp. [un]subscription notices,
  should be sent to [e-mail], or, if urgent, to
             [e-mail]

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

Date: 18 Jun 90 12:20:20 GMT
From: ksr![e-mail]  (Chris Jones)
Subject: Re: cosmosphere

In article <[e-mail]>, hburford@enprt (Harry Burford) writes:
>[e-mail] ("Bill Ball") writes:
>
>The Cosmosphere is located in Hutchinson Kansas just north west of
>Wichita 316-622-2305.  There you will find a large collection of
>space artifacts as well as an OmniMAX theater.
>           For example, I think the Cosmosphere is the only
>place in the western world where you can view an actual Russian
>space suit.

The Boston Museum of Science currently (through September 23) has an exhibit
called "Soviet Space".  Among the approximately 50 artifacts on display (which
include some impressively large pieces of hardware) are several actual flight
suits and two EVA suits.

Though nothing has been finalized, the Soviets are interested in taking the
collection to other North American sites.

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

Date: 20 Jun 90 18:45:02 GMT
From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!ogicse!unicorn![e-mail]  (Worth Henry A)
Subject: Re: Investing is our space future.

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]
(Jonathan Leech) writes:
>    If you want an investment in the future instead of an investment
>in your portfolio, you would do well to send some money in the
>direction of the Space Studies Institute, which is doing the basic R&D
>to build space industries - and building a private lunar probe as
>well.  You won't make a monetary profit out of it, but you'll help
>leverage the Breakout onto the High Frontier(1).
>
>    More SSI info by email request to me.  Anyone who is serious about
>going into space should be giving to them until it hurts.
>

     Hey, I'm just a broke grad-student, but I'd find the money to join
an organization that was making a REAL effort to MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
What other organizations exist to promote future space initiatives?

    (NSS, Lunar Society, British Interplanetary Society...???)

    If knowledgeable netters would care to email the following information
on such organizations, I'll summarize and post:

    1) Organization's title and a summary of its charter and goals

    2) Major projects and accomplishments

    3) Summary of its current budget, number of members, notable members,
       countries in which it is active...

    4) Opinions on how well it meets its stated goals; include opinions
       only if you are willing to have them attributed to YOU.

       (ie. does it actually exist merely to support its own lobbying
    apparatus and/or directors?)

    5) Membership information and contact address

    6) Other information that might help netters to decide where to
       BEST invest their money.

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

P.S.     The WWU net was just upgraded to class B IP addresses, therefore,
     your email may bounce.

     The new IP address for  @unicorn.wwu.edu is : 140.160.240.10

------------------------------- 6/20/90 ------------------------------------

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

Date: 20 Jun 90 15:19:35 GMT
From: mcsun!unido!mpirbn![e-mail]  (Daniel Fischer)
Subject: Japan's Planetary Plans

The SPACE NEWS have reported recently that Japan's space agency ISAS has
decided to send a complicated mission to the moon, including penetrators etc.
Last year ISAS was talking of three different options for their next great
step: a lunar mission, a Venus orbiter and a Comet Coma Sample Return(!). Does
the announcement of the lunar S/C mean that the other two ideas have been
abandoned? A decision was due this year, so I wonder whether that's it.
Anyone knowing the details? [I asked Japan's embassy in Bonn: they hadn't
even heard about the new lunar plans.]

                    Daniel Fischer --- [e-mail]

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

Date:         Wed, 20 Jun 90 10:27:55 CDT
From: John Nordlie <[e-mail]>
Subject:      Retraction: Smileys

I recently posted a guide concerning smileys on this digest.
I meant to send this humorous article to the network humor
magazine "Nutworks", but mistyped the destination.

To those of you who I have offended by wasting space in this
digest: I apologize.
=================================================================
John Nordlie

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

From: [e-mail]
Date:     Wed, 20 Jun 90  13:09:06 EDT
Subject:  Re:  SPACE Digest V11 #545

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date: 19 Jun 90 16:31:48 GMT
> From:
>  swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!dali.cs.montana.edu!milton!maven!games@uc
>  sd.edu
> Subject: Rockets to the moon
>
> Rocket to the moon.
>
> I think that this is a good idea.  However are there not some really
> terrible beaurocratic paperwork things that need to be done in order for
> a launch like this to take place?
>
> (Having only launched D birds to a height of about 1000 feet myself, I am
> unsure.)
>
>                     John.
>
> ------------------------------

The mention of paperwork related to moon shots reminded me of something
I heard about and would like to investigate.

A very long time ago in the 1950s, somebody advertised in the science
fiction magazines of the day, that people could buy 1 inch square sec-
tions of the moon for $1.00. I don't know the numbers, but I have heard
that quite a large number were sold. This raises several interesting
questions.

    1. Does anyone on the list know anything about this?

    2. Does anyone on the list own any of the 1 in. sq. "lots."

    3. If the answer to (2) is yes, would you be willing to sell,
       and if so for how much?

    4. If someone were to acquire say, 5,000 of these "lots" in
       a 50 X 100 grid, and then secure passage to the moon on a
       future moon flight, could that individual then lay claim
       to that "land," and do something with it, say declare it
       a sovereign nation?

    5. Could the individual in the above question lay claim to the
       "land" while still Earthside, and then say, charge the Soviet
       Union rent for one of their left-behind vehicles that just
       happened to be on that piece of "land."

Incidentally, as I understand it, actual Deeds of Title and Owner-
ship were sent to the people who bought "moon inches."

The questions could go on for quite a while but these should suffice
for starters.

                                               Derd Valpar
                                               AZM@NIHCU

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

Date: 20 Jun 90 16:39:54 GMT
From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Soviet Mars Mini-Rover


                            Soviet Mars Mini-Rover
                               June 20, 1990

     The Soviet Union has announced a shift of strategy in the Soviet Union's
Mars '94 mission, a change that could mean addition of a mini-rover on the
robotic project.  A decision by the Soviet Space Research Institute would
decide this September whether or not to include a mini-rover on the mission.

     The current Mars '94 mission plan is to launch two spacecraft aboard a
Proton launcher in October 1994, with each spacecraft carrying an orbiter and
a balloon-borne science platform, portions of which would be provided by the
French.  The mini-rover could be added to one of the balloon stages.  The
mini-rover is still unofficial and expected to cost nearly $14 million, the
major impediment is to be funding.
       _   _____    _
      | | |  __ \  | |       Ron Baalke           |  [e-mail]
      | | | |__) | | |       Jet Propulsion Lab   |  [e-mail]
   ___| | |  ___/  | |___    M/S 301-355          |
  |_____/ |_|      |_____|   Pasadena, CA 91109   |

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

Date: 20 Jun 90 20:41:09 GMT
From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!ogicse!unicorn![e-mail]  (Worth Henry A)
Subject: Re: Space incentives (was Re: NASA 91 Appropriation (long))

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (David Smith) writes:
>
>All this talk about prizes is (for the sake of this argument) nonsense.
>What we really should do is hire a launch of a light sail.  Sail it out
>to an asteroid, link up with it, and sail the asteroid over into an orbit
>which will cause it to collide with Washington, Moscow, Paris, Tokyo,
>or Canberra.  Disconnect sail.  Point out fact to world.  That ought to get
>some kind of action on some sort of space development.
>
>      :-)   <-- Is the smiley really necessary?
>

     Unfortunately ( or perhaps fortunately :-) ), space enthusiasts don't
have the funds to hire such a mission, or any other major mission (sigh).
My original posting suggested a private prize fund which enthusiasts
could initiate (using insurance to leverage contributions), but, which had
incentives that would make it in the best interests of industry, and even
governments, to get involved (major contributors would have a "guaranteed"
opportunity to be subcontractors in any project attempting to claim the prize).
Unfortunately, the above, although rather amusing, reply has been the only
response, ... so far(?).

     It is unlikely that enthusiasts would ever be able to directly
fund a major mission -- however, there must be SOME method -- thus my
original, although much too long, posting. Such a scheme would have to have
INCENTIVES for the general public, industry, and government -- and not just
be a simple plea for contributions. Any ideas out there in net-land? Anyone
interested in refining the prize concept? Or, how about some good arguments
as to why something like my original posting, <[e-mail]>,
would never work?

HW
6/20/90

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

Date:         Wed, 20 Jun 90 17:24:29 CDT
From: John Nordlie <[e-mail]>
Subject:      Re: Model Rocket Contest

I like Vincent's idea of spinning the rocket to stabalize it, but
I think that using fins on the first stage to spin it up would create
unnessessary drag.  I read in a book that years ago (I think around
WWII or so) the army was testing a system to launch unguided, finless
rockets.  They basically placed the rocket in a tube, spun up the
tube using a small gasoline engine, then ignited the rocket.  The
rocket would keep spinning after launch due to intertia.  The advantages
to not having fins on the rocket included, less drag, easier storage,
less weight, greater resistance to "weather vaning" (turning into the
wind after launch), easier to make the rockets, etc.  The army abandoned
the project after determining that the rotating launch tube was not
portable enough for field use.  This system might be ideally suited
to launch the moon rockets in the contest.

I know that I said before that I didn't think it was possible to
launch model rockets to the moon, but the numbers presented by
those in the know have cast serious doubt.  The performance of
these "model" rocket engines is very impressive.  I wish Vincent
luck on the project.

=========================================================================
John Nordlie     :     "Flamest me not, less I strike thee down!"
                 :     ( Or get really pissed off, at least )
=========================================================================

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

Date: 20 Jun 90 19:34:37 GMT
From: swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!van-bc!mdivax1![e-mail]
Subject: Re: Aim For The Moon - model rocket contest

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Vincent Cate) writes:

>I think us little
>guys could really make rockets to send things into space!!!!!!!!!!!
>
Hmmm....  Let's see.  Escape velocity is about 7 miles/sec = 25,000 m.p.h.
Now while this space rocket wouldn't reach top velocity until the final stage
burned, it seams to me that the friction associated with Mach 10+ in the
upper atmosphere would turn this rocket into a crispy critter. Not to
mention the structural stresses of super-sonic speeds on a balsa and paper
model.  Of course the rocket could be made from light weight metals but then
its no longer a *model* rocket.  At this point we're starting to enter
amatuer rocketry (no flames please - I have nothing against properly
supervised amatuer rocketry).

Still, the idea of a non-governmental, non-commercial hobbyist space launch
is quite interesting.  This could probably catch the attention of some media
types and provide some positive press for model rocketry, esp. if the launch
were combined with another rocketry event.


Barry Moss

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

End of SPACE Digest V11 #548
*******************