Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V11_5/V11_567.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #567

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 567

Today's Topics:
                 Just DO IT!
              Weather pics, data
    Scientific American has an article on commercial space
        Re: redefining time units (was Re: SpaceList)
              Rogers' Commission Report
            HUBBLE TELESCOPE NEWS
          More on NASA 91 Appropriation Vote
           Re: NSS protests Chinese launch pricing
                  Re: AMROC
           Re: NSS protests Chinese launch pricing
               Re: 10 psi overpressure

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: 21 Jun 90 19:19:10 GMT
From: usc!samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!zardoz.cpd.com!dhw68k!ofa123![e-mail]  (David Anderman)
Subject: Just DO IT!

About ignoring the government, stop torturing congresspersons about
space issues, and just going ahead and building your own rockets: Number
one: that's what AMROC tried to do. In their case, it didn't
particularly work well, perhaps someone here can do better. I believe,
however, that the chances of someone on this net actually going forward
are fairly small.
The problem with the statement, however, is that even if you can
organize a real "space" company, you still can't afford to ignore the
politicians. The government bureaucracy will try to stifle you, if only
out of concern for your company's success. You need to get poltical
support (still) if you want to "compete" with NASA


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Date: 16 Jun 90 05:55:04 GMT
From: netcom!teda!ditka!mcdchg!laidbak!obdient!vpnet![e-mail]  (Jason J. Levit)
Subject: Weather pics, data


  I've become pretty interested in obtaining this weather data and
  pictures people have started talking about.  I'm a MAJOR weather
  buff, and I plan to go into Meteorlogy as a career.  If anyone knows
  how to obtain recent pictures (within 24 hours or sooner) through
  ftp, I would be really interested.  I've started to investigate the
  source at VMD.CSO.UIUC.EDU, but if there's any place else that
  provides this stuff, I'd like to know.  GIFS, Weather Data, Radar
  Digitizations, Sat. Pictures (same as GIFS), you name it, I'll go for
  it.

  Seems to me that SOMEWHERE out there in netland, there must be a
  government NOAA site or an Air Force site or something that turns
  these things into GIFS.  Or they could turn them into GIFS rather
  quickly.

  Thanks for the help....


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
:     A good planet is hard to find.                Jason J. Levit           :
:         Let's save this one!                      [e-mail]    :
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                               APPLE II FOREVER!

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Date: 24 Jun 90 22:09:06 GMT
From: uvaarpa!murdoch!astsun8.astro.Virginia.EDU![e-mail]  (Greg Lindahl)
Subject: Scientific American has an article on commercial space

The July, 1990 issue of Scientific American (which is available in
many countries other than the US) contains an article entitled "The
New Space Race", which discusses commercial spaceflight. I found it to
be very interesting.

--
"Perhaps I'm commenting a bit cynically, but I think I'm qualified to."
                                              - Dan Bernstein

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

Date: 24 Jun 90 16:35:33 GMT
From: att!watmath!maytag!watdragon!watyew![e-mail]  (Brian or James)
Subject: Re: redefining time units (was Re: SpaceList)


    A clarification: When I said I wanted one day to equal 10**5 seconds,
I didn't mean 'redefine the second so that 10**5 of them equal what we now
call 8.64x10**4'. I meant 'redefine the *day* to equal 10**5 seconds'. Our
current day [God, do I dread using that phrase in this newsgroup] would be
about .864 Standard Days long. This is lots easier than changing a fundimental
measuring unit like the second [but no more likely to be adopted,alas].
                                JDN

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

Date: 21 Jun 90 05:31:51 GMT
From: usc!samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!zardoz.cpd.com!dhw68k!ofa123![e-mail]  (Mark Perew)
Subject: Rogers' Commission Report

If you are interested in getting the "Report to the President by the
Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident" it
is available from the National Technical Information Service (NTIS)
(do not call the Gov't Printing Office!)

The NTIS phone # is [phone]

The prices are:

Volume I      $31.00    ADA 171 402  %  This is the actual commission
                                     %  report.  It has the synthesized
                                     %  version of the information in
                                     %  appendices.  Also has Appendices
                                     %  A-D which are commision activities
                                     %  and procedures.
Volume II/III $57.50    ADA 171 403  %  Appendices E-O which are mostly
                                     %  NASA investigation team reports.
                                     %  It also includes Appendix F
                                     %  "Personal Observations on
                                     %  Reliability of Shuttle" by
                                     %  Richard P. Feynman, PhD.
Volume IV/V   $69.00    ADA 171 404  %  Transcripts of the public
                                     %  hearings.

I have found the report useful not only in getting a better
understanding of how STS 51-L failed but in its discussion of shuttle
systems.  In order to understand how a system failed it is generally
good to know how it is *supposed* to operate.  This report is good,
IMHO, is explaining how things should work on the shuttle.



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Date: 15 Jun 90 13:34:11 GMT
From: netcom!teda!ditka!mcdchg!laidbak!obdient!gagme![e-mail]  (jack schmidling)
Subject: HUBBLE TELESCOPE NEWS

COPE "NEWS"

 A participant on the Amateur Radio Forum passed along a news
 brief heard on Hubble.  But as usual, it just left one
 hanging with either wrong information or not enough.

 It went something like.....

 "The entire Hummble memory is erased everytime it passes
 over the South Atlantic abnormality."

 First of all, it is hard to believe that all of its memory
 is lost on a regular basis.

 Secondly, what is the "South Atlantic abnormality"?

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

 ARFNET: A Network of concerned Americans utilizing
         computer and ham radio communication links.

                  Unix: arf@lopez

             Amateur Radio Forum (ARF)    NR9Q

               Thurs 09:PM CST   3950 KHZ

            Jack Schmidling for County Commissioner

      NEVER VOTE FOR THE INCUMBENT!   VOTE SOLIDARITY

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

Date: 24 Jun 90 17:59:06 GMT
From: usc!samsung!umich!umeecs!itivax!vax3.iti.org![e-mail]  (Allen W. Sherzer)
Subject: More on NASA 91 Appropriation Vote


I recently posted the results of the House Appropriation Subcommittee
vote which zeroed out almost all the money for SEI. Several people have
written asking questions. To save time (and in case anybody else is
interested), I will answer them here.

1. What does this mean?
This means that almost nothing will be done on the Presidents moon/Mars
program this year unless the Senate puts money in and the conference
committee agrees with it. It also indicates that the House Appropriations
Subcommittee which funds NASA is opposed to human exploration. After all,
the only money being asked for is to study the problem. Some of the members
(Congressman Green for example) are famous for their opposition to human
exploration.

There are also two longer term bad indications in this vote. The first is
the increased funding for Mission to Planet Earth. It got every penny it
asked for and then an additional $40 million or so. MPE is a BIG program.
If this continues in the out years when MPE needs big $$ a lot of space
science programs will get killed. In a few years, we may see CRAF/Cassini
or Mars Observer canned to free money for MPE. Getting MPE out of NASA and
into NOAA should be a high priority for any space enthusiast (no matter how
you feel on human exploration).

The second is the effect it may have on Bush. The President, the VP, the Budget
Director, and the Chief of Staff are all big supporters of human space
exploration. This is the first time we have had this much support this high
in the administration (including JFK). They support this, but they are also
political realists. They are expending a lot of political capital here and
aren't seeing much return. Without support they could decide it's not worth
it and look for other issues. Future presidents will take note of this and
not waste their time with space.

2. Why did it happen?
In a nutshell, because Bob Traxler (D-MI) and Richard Malow (chief staffer
on the appropriation subcommittee that funds NASA) didn't want it to happen.
Bob Traxler heads the Appropriations Subcommittee for HUD, VA, and
Independent Agencies. Traxler doesn't care about NASA (because his
constituents don't care) and so he lets Malow take care of all the NASA
funding issues. In other words, a staffer who nobody ever voted for gets
to decide what NASA will do.

Why is Malow opposed to SEI? My sources tell me that it is mainly a lack
of money. Now, for the NASA $500B program, he is correct. However, there are
lots of proposals for far far less and if we can get the SEI money from the
Senate, we may get a good idea what it will cost. Malow is also rather
closed minded. He has already decided it will cost $500B and nothing will
change his mind.

A personal theory of mine is that it may reflect an attempt to get Bush to
call for raise taxes. They take a high profile program Bush has invested
political capital in and tell him it won't happen because of money. Part
of the budget deal in the works may be more taxes with some going to space.

3. What can we do now?
It is too late to do anything in the House. The full Appropriations
Committee will vote on it next Tuesday and the full House on Thursday.
It would be very rare for the full committee to change anything and
even rarer for the full house to make changes. We must focus efforts
on the Senate.

VISIT, write, and call your Congresscritters in both houses. Do it in that
order, if everybody who reads this visits their congressperson, they would
find the money. This is a long term strategy but an important one. For this
vote, you should call and write Senator Mikulski and your own senator (ESP
if they are on the Appropriations Committee). Ask her to make full funding of
SEI part of the Senate NASA Appropriation bill. Remember, it's not too late.
Last year NASP was in similar shape but funding was restored in large part
because of grassroots suport.

When you write, DON'T ask for full funding for NASA. Ask for the things you
want (like full funding for SEI). If you ask for only full NASA funding, they
will figure you will be happy with the increase they got (overall, NASA is
getting about 15% more). They need to understand that you have goals you want
followed and that is what should be funded. Don't let them think that you
will be happy if they just throw more money at NASA.

Write to your local and national media. Ever seen or read a statement by
Bush on SEI? As soon as the quote is over the announcer or writer tells
us that: "SEI is the Presidents $500 billion, 30 year program to explore
the moon and Mars". Those statements are wrong and damaging. There are
several architectures which will cost far less and do it in less time.
Every time the media uses this $500B figure, SEI becomes that much harder
to sell. Don't let then get away with it. When you hear $500B from somebody,
fire off a polite letter to them pointing out the error. Send them some
material on the LLNL Great Exploration program. In fact, don't trust their
science reporters to get it right; write your own article on the Great
Exploration and give it to your local paper.

Write a note to the President and VP. Tell them you support their efforts to
promote SEI. They need to know that their efforts are appreciated. As I said
above, their support is costing them in Congress. Your letter will show Bush
his efforts are appreciated and worth it.

Finally, a bright note to conclude on. While everybody is focused on SEI,
there is good news elsewhere. The Authorization committee for NASA in the
House has some very big plans next year to support commercial space. It looks
like the Title II Commercial Launch Act Amendment will stay in the NASA
91 Authorization bill. If we can get the Senate to enact an authorization
bill, there is a good chance it will become law. Also under everybody's nose,
LLNL is proceding with the Great Exploration. The appropriation for the
national labs was last week and there is money for Great Exploration work.
There is also a good chance LLNL will get a green light to continue this year
or next.

   Allen

PS. If you need help with any of this, drop me a line.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
| Allen W. Sherzer         |          Death to all extremists!              |
|   [e-mail]            |                                                |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: 24 Jun 90 20:25:21 GMT
From: cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!qucdn![e-mail]  (Arnold G. Gill)
Subject: Re: NSS protests Chinese launch pricing

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(David Anderman) says:
>
>Hmmmm....NSS is protesting that the Chinese launch payloads too cheaply.
>Since the key factor in space development is the (present) high cost of
>getting into low Earth orbit, it isn't too surprising that NSS
>headquarters is worried that the Chinese are charging too little to get
>to LEO.
     However, this whole thread hinges on the premise that what the NSS decides
is the `correct' price for space flight has any relevance in the rest of the
world.  If all of the hardware is produced internally, and labour is cheap, is
it any surprise that the price is far lower in China than the US?  This is a
real red-herring argument - and a very arrogant one on top of that.  The NSS is
esentially deciding what costs should be everywhere in the world.  Just because
the US may have priced itself out of the market, doesn't mean that someone else
should not be allowed to do it cheaper.  I always thought that that was the
point behind competition - but I forget myself.  In the US, competition is
wonderful - unless, of course, you're not American.
-------
 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|  Arnold Gill                        |                                     |
|  Queen's University at Kingston     |     If I hadn't wanted it heard,    |
|  BITNET   : gilla@qucdn             |       I wouldn't have said it.      |
|  X-400    : [e-mail]  |                                     |
|  INTERNET : [e-mail]  |                                     |
 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

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Date: 25 Jun 90 00:05:53 GMT
From: news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: AMROC

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (David Becker) writes:
>What is AMROC up to these days?  Last I heard they were patching up
>their rocket from the first launch attempt.
>When will they attempt another launch?

They have, temporarily at least, decided to try to function as an engine
supplier rather than a launch firm.
--
As a user I'll take speed over|     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
features any day. -A.Tanenbaum| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

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

Date: 21 Jun 90 19:15:24 GMT
From: usc!samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!zardoz.cpd.com!dhw68k!ofa123![e-mail]  (David Anderman)
Subject: Re: NSS protests Chinese launch pricing

Here's a puzzler: what if the Chinese offered to launch *people* into
space at a lower rate than the US (assuming that the US actually charged
money for space flights). Should the NSS oppose cheap spaceflight, even
if it could culminate in the creation of a spacefaring civilization?


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Date: 21 Jun 90 19:12:44 GMT
From: usc!samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!zardoz.cpd.com!dhw68k!ofa123![e-mail]  (David Anderman)
Subject: Re: 10 psi overpressure

I would recommend you follow up with Henry Spencer on this topic; I have
exceeded whatever expertise or recollection on the accident I had;
however, I do maintain that the accident was not caused by an explosion;
the transcript mentions an explosion in the aft ET section, which is
unfortunate wording. I believe the correct term is something like
deflagaration, which doesn't appear in my dictionary.


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End of SPACE Digest V11 #567
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