Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V11_5/V11_581.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #581

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 581

Today's Topics:
Re: The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (was: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was?)
         NASA Headline News for 06/27/90 (Forwarded)
           Re: The Scout, Pershing II's and ICBM's
Re: NASA announces next steps in Space Exploration Outreach Program (F
         Re: Spacelab costs, pricing politics
          Unofficial HST report - aberration problem
         NASA Headline News for 06/28/90 (Forwarded)

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: 27 Jun 90 17:23:35 GMT
From: mephisto!prism![e-mail]  (Daniel McGurl)
Subject: Re: The Manned Orbiting Laboratory (was: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was?)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jonathan McDowell) writes:
>----  The Space Station that Never Flew: MOL ------
[lots of neat studd deleted]
>However, real hardware for the program was behind schedule,
>and after many delays the program fell victim to the Vietnam
>war and  was scrapped in 1969.

Are you sure about this?  You message seems to imply that hardware was built,
but my reference says that no hardware was built for the project.
Quoting without permission for _Deep Black_

"there was a planned satellite designated KH-10 (this was the MOL we've been
talking about), but it was superseded so quickly by the KH-11 that it never made
it off the drawing board"  (p 21)

I guess it could just be a definition of what real hardware is being different.
At any rate, where did you get that info from? (If nothing else it ought to be
another good source about satelite hardware :-)

>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  - hope you find this interesting. Jonathan
it was...

Daniel Sean McGurl                  "He is always decieving you into believing
Office of Computing Services and     that he's only hunting for mice."
Information and Computer Science Major at:
Georgia Institute of Technology                     ARPA: [e-mail]

--
Daniel Sean McGurl                  "He is always decieving you into believing
Office of Computing Services and     that he's only hunting for mice."
Information and Computer Science Major at:
Georgia Institute of Technology                     ARPA: [e-mail]

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

Date: 27 Jun 90 17:24:48 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 06/27/90 (Forwarded)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, June 27, 1990              Audio Service: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------
This is NASA Headline News for Wednesday, June 27 ......

The Space Telescope Program Office called a press conference
today at 3:00 p.m. at Goddard Space Flight Center to brief media
on a problem discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope's optical
system.  Anticipated image quality for the mirror system has not
been achieved and computer models suggest this may be the result
of "spherical aberration."  The HST project is now assessing the
cause and will determine the implications to the astronomical
science program.  An inquiry board will be named.

At Kennedy Space Center the special tanking test call-to-stations
is set for 4 p.m. today with the test scheduled to begin tomorrow
at 4 p.m.  The Rotating Service Structure will be moved away from
Atlantis at about 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.  The tank will be filled
about half full with about 200,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen
while engineers monitor sensors from the Firing Room to determine
if there are any leaks.

Meanwhile, in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF), preparations
are underway to remove the 17-inch disconnect on Columbia.  The
valve is expected to be out by this weekend and will be shipped
to Rockwell for testing and analysis.  The disconnect from the
Shuttle Endeavour has arrived at KSC.

Also in the OPF, Discovery had a functional test of its star
tracker completed and checkout of the main propulsion system
liquid hydrogen system is scheduled to start today.  Orbiter
structural inspections and routine testing of all Discovery's
systems are continuing this week.

And in deep space, the Magellan spacecraft continues its normal
cruise toward its rendezvous with Venus August 10.  All star
calibrations during the past week were successful with an average
attitude update of 0.04 degrees.  The spacecraft team is closely
monitoring the predicted gradual temperature increases of
spacecraft components as Magellan approaches closer to the sun.
So far, actual temperatures are within the predicted tolerances
and no problems are anticipated.  Magellan is now 117 million
miles from Earth and about 250,000 miles from Venus moving at a
heliocentric velocity of just over 82,000 miles per hour.

At the Jet Propulsion Laboratory a very successful Venus Orbit
Insertion (VOI) operations readiness test was conducted last
week.  The test anomalies presented to the flight team were
solved more rapidly than the training coordinators had
anticipated, and the test was completed a half-day early.







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

Wednesday, June 27..........

         3:00-4:00 pm              Hubble Space Telescope
                                   Status Report and
                                   Press Briefing from
                                   Goddard Space Flight Center.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
All events and times are subject to change without notice.  These
reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12:00 pm,
EDT.  This is a service of the Internal Communciations Branch,
NASA Headquarters.  Contact:  JSTANHOPE or CREDMOND or at
202/453-8425.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NASA Select TV:  Satcom F2R, Transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees
West longitude, Audio 6.8, Frequency 3960 MHz.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: 27 Jun 90 16:31:01 GMT
From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: The Scout, Pershing II's and ICBM's

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Mark SOKOLOWSKI) writes:
>On the other side, Pershing II stages are wasted in
>massive media oriented buring seances, so why not use them
>for other purposes.

Because the treaty which rendered them obsolete specifically demanded
that they be destroyed, period.  The problem with hanging onto them for
use as space launchers is that it means *hanging onto them*, with no easy
way to guarantee that, in a crisis, they couldn't just be fitted with
warheads again.
--
"Either NFS must be scrapped or NFS    | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
must be changed."      -John Osterhout |  [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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

Date: 26 Jun 90 21:55:05 GMT
From: att!mcdchg!laidbak!obdient!vpnet![e-mail]  (*Greg*)
Subject: Re: NASA announces next steps in Space Exploration Outreach Program (F

Getting idea's from proper scientwits is the best way to obtain lowcost
conception.  Corporations, Schools, Groups of Professionals all want to
achieve space as a reality.  And if *we* get involved, (we = Corporations,
Private Business, Scientists, (the little guy), *we* will provide answers
where as other countries are dealing in a certain group.  Plus, think of
Private Funding!  After all, wasnt the trip that the Mayflower took to reach
America a *Private* escape?

Was government involved in this?  (Only to stop them).  And when America was
thriving, England tried to bust up the colonies.  If you remember history
corectly, we became a nation and are still surviving.  ALL because of 3
ships which contributed to the making of America.  If you just leave out
Business and the little guy, you will stifle exploration.  Hinder fundings
for research  and  allow other governments which are trying to get to the
moon.. to beat us in inovation.

We still are in a race.  If Corporate America will pitch in.  We will have
the funds to make dreams possible.  But as far as I am concerned,  lets not
allow (our laws and sensibilities) to be left out of space exploration.  And
look for the open door to our vast universe with an humble but "pitch in"
additude.

*

Our Cosmos is awaiting.  We must make endeavors now.  For this will make
space a possibility tomorrow.

*

[Just think a moment]
What if Russia or Japan or Europe gets a Colony on
the moon first?  What kind of {sensibilities} will they bring with them?
What "idealologies" will they include in their view of life?  What kind of
freedoms?  What kind of beliefs?

The choice is clear.  It cuts into our being.  We must make an effort for
the Cosmos that captured the hearts of mankind from our beginning.  To
insure that our future will never forget our ventures.  And make our mark in
history for the future.

Never leave out the common man.  And the freedom and ideals that are the
heart of America.  Paid for in blood.

:End

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

Date: 28 Jun 90 16:28:44 GMT
From: clyde.concordia.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Spacelab costs, pricing politics

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Nick Watkins) writes:
>> ... Spacelab is considered more a "dead end" (because of its Shuttle reliance)
>> and Ariane is the "European success story".
>What about the Columbus pressurized module, is this not a Spacelab
>derivative ?

Only in a very loose sense.
--
"Either NFS must be scrapped or NFS    | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
must be changed."      -John Osterhout |  [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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

Date: 28 Jun 90 16:30:15 GMT
From: uoft02.utoledo.edu![e-mail]
Subject: Unofficial HST report - aberration problem


Here is some more unofficial info and comments from developements
over the last few weeks.

After a series of tests it has been realized that there is more
spherical aberation in the secondary than expected.  Thus 90%
of the light is focused into an image about 2" in diameter,
poorer than earth based observations for most telescopes.  They
are planning to send the second generation WFPC up in '93 with
a corrector lens which should help considerably.  I have heard no mention
for the other instruments.  While some ingenious processing can be
done ("Postprocessing") this does seriously compromises the data.
For example, the high dispersion spectrograph was designed for an
input image of something like 0.1" thus most of the light will
be lost (==> 10% efficiency) and with the additional guiding
problems calibration will be VERY difficult.  Thos who work with IUE
are familiar with that.  Same goes for the high speed photometer.

There have been reports in the press that the complete system had
not been tested.  Before everyone jumps on this I think this
is *probably* not unreasonable (but we will have to wait until
the dust settles before we can be sure).  I cannot speak for NASA
but I suspect they felt that testing the complete thing under GRAVITY
would not be terribly useful since things will change considerably
in orbit.  Thus they chose to test all the components as accurately
as possible.  Actuators were added to make corrections but they
seem to be larger than anticipated.

Before people like certain chem profs jump on this lets wait and
see what is really going on.  Some of my info comes stright
from StSci, other from the press.

Robert Dempsey
Ritter Observatory

(Thanks to MO and ANW for info and comments).

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

Date: 28 Jun 90 20:18:29 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 06/28/90 (Forwarded)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, June 28, 1990               Audio Service: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is NASA Headline News for Thursday, June 28........

Dr. Lew Allen will head an inquiry board, members of which will
be named soon, to investigate the cause of the aspheric mirror
problem on the Hubble Space Telescope.

The Kennedy Space Center Ground crews have completed the loading
of storable propellants aboard the shuttle Atlantis.  The
hydrogen leak check is scheduled this afternoon.  Recent
thunderstorms have slightly slowed work at the launch pad.
However, the Rotating Service Structure has been moved away from
the orbiter in preparation for the testing.  The Flight Readiness
Review will be held on schedule beginning today and will conclude
tomorrow afternoon.  The current mid-July launch date will be
discussed tomorrow afternoon.

Meanwhile, the 17-inch quick disconnect will be removed from the
orbiter Columbia this weekend.  The replacement valve should
arrive today.  The target launch date remains mid-August.

                            ********

AEROSPACE DAILY reports the Senate Commerce Committee has
approved a $14.755 billion FY '91 NASA authorization bill.  The
authorization bill made marginal cuts in the Space Station,
zeroed the funds for Moon/Mars missions and authorized the full
National Aero Space Plane budget request.  It is $370 million
below the Administration's request.  The panel approved the full
$119 million request for NASA's portion of an effort to develop
the high technology Aero Space Plane.

                            ********

The results of a Penn State Biomodule experiment flown on last
month's Consort-3 microgravity flight show that a Chameleon's
skin cells did not respond in near zero gravity as they do on the
ground.  However, the director of the Biomodule project cautioned
that it is too early to label internal structure alteration as an
effect of microgravity.  The skin cells were sent into space to
test a hypothesis that weightlessness alters internal cell
structure, thereby preventing cells from responding normally.

                            ********

The European Space Agency Spacecraft, Giotto, will perform its
first-ever Earth gravity assist July 2.  The Giotto will come
within 23,000 km of our planet this Monday.  It has been assigned
its long awaited second tour of duty to rendezvous with comet
Grigg-Skjellerup on July 10, 1992.  It was first launched to
encounter Halley's Comet on July 2, 1985.

                            ********







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

Thursday, June 28........

          11:30 A.M.         NASA Update
          12:00 P.M.         Hubble Space Telescope
                               Status News Briefing Replay
           1:10 P.M.         The Hubble Space Telescope:
                               The Challenge and Complexity
                               of Operations
           1:30 P.M.         The Hubble Space Telescope
           3:00 P.M.         Kennedy Space Center Tanking
                               Test of the Space Shuttle
                               Atlantis.  Live.
           4:00 P.M.         Tanking Test Commentary.

_________________________________________________________________
All events and times are subject to change without notice.  These
reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12:00 P.M.,
EDT.  This is a service of the Internal Communications Branch,
NASA HQ.  Contact:  JSTANHOPE or CREDMOND 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 #581
*******************