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Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #448

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 12 : Issue 448

Today's Topics:
            Re: Magellan Update - 10/09/90
              Ulysses Update - 10/10/90
             Ulysses Update #2 - 10/11/90
            Re: N-waste sea water dilution
            Re: N-waste sea water dilution
            ulysses and galileo questions
              Ulysses Update - 10/11/90
           Re: disposal of N-waste into sun
       Deep Space Network use (Was: Ulysses Update - 10/06/90)
          Re: Wanted: GIF of Solar Eclipse.

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: 11 Oct 90 18:19:29 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!samsung!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx![e-mail]  (Anita Cochran)
Subject: Re: Magellan Update - 10/09/90

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Ron Baalke) writes:
: In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Sandi Piazza) writes:
: >>
: >>      The Magellan spacecraft has now completed 177 mapping orbits of Venus,
: >> with good radar data recieved from at least 173 orbits.  Spacecraft systems
: >
: >  This is probably a dumb question, but I'll ask anyway.  What is going to
: >  be done about getting the information missed in the 4 orbits for which
: >  there was no good data received?
:
: It will pick up the missing data during the extended mission.  The primary
: mission is only going to last 243 days, which is the length of one Venus
: rotation.
: All of these missing gaps are expected to
: be recovered during the extended mission.


What Ron answered is true but only sort of.  The plan is to fill the gaps
during the extended mission.  Also to do the gravity field measurements.
However, the extended mission is not currently funded (of course, no one
knows what is in NASA's budget due to the budget hassles but that should
clear up soon).  Magellan is currently funded only through April 1991
which is the end of the nominal mission (1 Venus rotation).  As of Tuesday,
NASA did not know where the funds for the extended mission were coming
from.  They are trying hard to find it because they believe in it strongly.

Actually, Magellan is not NASA's only funding woe.  Comet Rendezvous
Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) is in serious trouble since it is not in the Senate
budget (it is in the house budget).   If CRAF is lost, Cassini could also
possibly be lost since many of the startup costs are in CRAF and they
costs rely on mission commanality.  Mars Observer also has problems:
the instruments and the space craft are possibly behind schedule and
Congress removed $15M for a MO enhancement, $10M of which was actually
for MO operations.  Lunar observer was totally taken out of the
budget since Congress associated it with the Space Exploration Initiative
and Congress doesn't like SEI this week.

So everyone,  write to your congressman and Senators and tell them
what a good thing the Planetary exploration program is for the
nation:  It is very successful, brings in good basic knowledge, keeps
the US at the forefront of technology in space, trains scientists and
engineers and IT IS DAMN EXCITING!

For letters to congressman, it is
    The Honorable whomever
    House Office Building
    Washington, DC 20515

For letters to Senators, it is
    The Honorable whomever
    Senate Office Building
    Washington, DC 20515

(Each Senator and Congressman has an office number but it will get there with
this general address).

Key peopl are Bob Traxler and Bill Green in the House and Barbara Mikulski
and Jake Garn in the Senate.  However, your senators and congressman
are also critical.
--
Anita Cochran   arpa:  [e-mail]
                       [e-mail]
                snail: Astronomy Dept., The Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX, 78712
                at&t:  [phone]

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

Date: 11 Oct 90 18:50:13 GMT
From: usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Ulysses Update - 10/10/90


                     ULYSSES MISSION STATUS
                        October 10, 1990

     Four days after launch, the Ulysses spacecraft is being
tracked continuously by the NASA/JPL Deep Space Network (DSN) in order
to make an extremely precise determination of its current flight
path in space.  Using that information, ground controllers will
command Ulysses to fire its onboard thrusters in a trajectory
correction maneuver Monday and Tuesday, October 15-16, to fine-
tune its course toward Jupiter.

     As Ulysses moves outward from the orbit of Earth, its
speed in relation to Earth has been gradually slowing to about
25,380 miles per hour at 12 noon Pacific Daylight Time today.
The craft's speed in relation to the Sun, on the other hand, has
been steadily increasing to 91,850 miles per hour.  Distance from
Earth is about 3.07 million miles.  All onboard systems were operating
normally.

     The next significant event scheduled will be the
pointing of Ulysses's high-gain antenna dish toward Earth on
Thursday through Saturday, October 11-13.

     Shortly after a trajectory correction maneuver
October 15-16, the craft's nine instruments will be turned on
over a period spanning about 6-1/2 weeks.

     The five-year mission to study the Sun's poles and
interstellar space beyond the poles is conducted jointly by
NASA/JPL and the European Space Agency.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   Jet Propulsion Lab | [e-mail]
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  M/S 301-355        |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/   Pasadena, CA 91109 |

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

Date: 11 Oct 90 21:32:25 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!forsight!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Ulysses Update #2 - 10/11/90


                      ULYSSES MISSION STATUS
                        October 11, 1990

     The Ulysses spacecraft this morning began a complex series of
maneuvers continuing today and Friday, October 12, firing its
thrusters to turn the large dish of the spacecraft's high-gain
antenna toward Earth.

     Since launch, the craft's high-gain antenna has been
pointed nearly 180 degrees away from Earth because of the way
Ulysses was mounted atop the booster rockets that sent it on its
initial trajectory.  Communication with Earth has been maintained
through the spacecraft's low-gain antennas.  Orienting the high-
gain antenna toward Earth will allow the spacecraft to use
considerably higher data rates in communicating with Earth.

     Operations reorienting the high-gain antenna will
conclude Saturday, October 13, with tests to measure how
accurately the antenna pointing was completed and to calibrate
the system which keeps the antenna locked on Earth.

     On Monday and Tuesday, October 15-16, Ulysses will
again fire its thrusters in a trajectory correction maneuver to
fine-tune its flight path toward Jupiter.  Shortly after that
maneuver, the craft's nine science instruments will be turned on
over a 6-1/2-week period.

     All onboard systems were operating normally.  At 12
noon Pacific Daylight Time today, Ulysses was 3.68 million miles
from Earth and traveling at a velocity of 25,372 miles per hour
in relation to Earth, and at a velocity of 91,900 miles per hour
in relation to the Sun.

     The five-year mission to study the Sun's poles and
interstellar space beyond the poles is conducted jointly by the
European Space Agency and NASA/JPL.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   Jet Propulsion Lab | [e-mail]
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  M/S 301-355        |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/   Pasadena, CA 91109 |

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

Date: 11 Oct 90 21:28:34 GMT
From: voder!dtg.nsc.com![e-mail]  (Alan Hepburn)
Subject: Re: N-waste sea water dilution

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Michael Hermann) writes:
+In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Alan Hepburn) writes:
+>Picture this:  a supertanker modified slightly so that the nuclear
+>waste starts out in the bow tank, being diluted 100:1 with sea water.
+>This mix is then pumped to the next tank where it is diluted 100:1 with
+>sea water.  And so on till the last tank, which is pumped into the open
+>ocean.  You would be unable to detect other than background radiation
+>in the resulting water.
+
+Gee, that's such a good idea. We could even do the same thing on land.
+Perhaps in the desert. Or normal garbage headed for the landfill. I'm sure
+Mr. Hepburn wouldn't mind us using his local landfill site. Afterall, one
+backyard is as good as another.
+
+I hope you were joking.
+
+|  Mike Hermann  | [e-mail] ..!uunet!ubc-cs!calgary!hermann
+_Organized_ religion is like organized crime: it preys on peoples' weaknesses,
+generates huge profits, and is nearly impossible to eradicate.
+--
+|  Mike Hermann  | [e-mail] ..!uunet!ubc-cs!calgary!hermann
+_Organized_ religion is like organized crime: it preys on peoples' weaknesses,
+generates huge profits, and is nearly impossible to eradicate.

My point was that sufficient dilution would render the waste harmless.
The human race is not creating radioactivity; it is merely concentrating
that which is already here.  By unconcentrating what we concentrate, we
are merely returning it to its natural form.  What is a cubic metre of
any material when diluted with <how many millions> of cubic metres of
seawater?  Try this experiment:  place 1 ounce of food colouring into
a large (say 10,000 gallons) tank of clear water.  Will it be detectable?




--
Alan Hepburn                 "It is better to know nothing than to know
mail: [e-mail]        what ain't so."
                                       - Josh Billings

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

Date: 11 Oct 90 23:34:04 GMT
From: uceng![e-mail]  (daniel mocsny)
Subject: Re: N-waste sea water dilution

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Alan Hepburn) writes:
>The human race is not creating radioactivity; it is merely concentrating
>that which is already here.

Not strictly true. Unconcentrated uranium undergoes spontaneous
fission at a very slow rate compared to other radioactive decay
pathways. So we are vastly increasing the amount of fission
products. Some of these are much hotter than the original ore,
even after dilution to the original concentration.

But the more radioactive a substance is, the faster it decays. So
after 600 years or so, the fission wastes are down to the original
level of radioactivity, and thereafter we come out ahead.

In the short run (i.e., our lifetimes, and the lifetimes of
the next 30 generations), the human race is creating radioactivity.
In the long run, we are destroying radioactivity.

[e-mail]

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

Date: 11 Oct 90 17:46:57 GMT
From: att!cbnewsc![e-mail]  (k.c.archie)
Subject: ulysses and galileo questions

Ulysses is going to get to Jupiter in
about 14 months, or so I understand.
This is because of the multi-stage rocket attached.
Why couldn't this be used with Galileo? Is it too big?
Second, why will it take so much longer for Ulysses
to get back to the sun from Jupiter?
Or do I just have the timelines wrong?
Thanks in advance,
**kent
[e-mail]

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

Date: 11 Oct 90 18:16:58 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Ulysses Update - 10/11/90


                       Ulysses Status Report
                          October 11, 1990

     The Ulysses spacecraft is now 3,070,740 miles from Earth.  It is
traveling 91,700 mph relative to the sun, and 25,367 mph relative to Earth.
The spacecraft is spinning at 4.7 rpm with a solar aspect angle of
86.56 degrees.  The telemetry bit rate is at 1024 bits/second, and the RTG
power output is at 283 watts and stabilized.  Thermal configuration is within
a few degrees of the expected thermal model.

     The spacecraft continues to be kept in a quiescent dynamic state.
Tracking has been carried out continuously and the acquired data is being
used to further refine the orbit determination.  The on-board data recording
devices together with the AOCS (Attitude and Orbital Control System) and
data handling redundant units have been checked out successfully.  Earth
acquisition maneuvres will commence this morning at 8AM PDT, and will
continue until Saturday, October 13.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   Jet Propulsion Lab | [e-mail]
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  M/S 301-355        |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/   Pasadena, CA 91109 |

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

Date: 11 Oct 90 01:47:45 GMT
From: munnari.oz.au!mel.dit.csiro.au!latcs1![e-mail]  (Jonathan Burns)
Subject: Re: disposal of N-waste into sun

In article <[e-mail]>  [e-mail] (Alan Hepburn)
writes

> Picture this:  a supertanker modified slightly so that the nuclear
> waste starts out in the bow tank, being diluted 100:1 with sea water.
> This mix is then pumped to the next tank where it is diluted 100:1 with
> sea water.  And so on till the last tank, which is pumped into the open
> ocean.  You would be unable to detect other than background radiation
> in the resulting water.

But subsequently, every marine creature that concentrates iodine will
be concentrating I-131, and e.m.c.t.c calcium will be concentrating
strontium and maybe barium. In a little while we could be getting
seriously radioactive krill, shrimps etc, and then fish....

This is how the Japanese got injurious concentrations of mercury in
fish. Food-chain concentration was also observed after the atmospheric
nuclear tests of the 50s.

Glassification or synrock is the proper first line of defense, perhaps
backed up with final storage in geologically stable areas with low water
tables. The one place we DO NOT want it is circulating in solution.

Continue in sci.energy if you will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jonathan Burns        |      Next week this show having new name
[e-mail]       |          ! RONOMOTO, ATOMIC GUMSHOE !
Computer Science Dept |     and no Buddhist scriptwriters either....
La Trobe University   |                        -Firesign Theatre
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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

Date: 11 Oct 90 17:40:37 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!samsung!xylogics![e-mail]  (Jim Barnes)
Subject: Deep Space Network use (Was: Ulysses Update - 10/06/90)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Ron Baalke) writes:
>
>If everthing goes well, Ulysses will be operational around December 6 and
>will collecting continuous data requiring 8 hours of DSN coverage every day.

Just a random question:

If Ulysses needs 8 hours per day of coverage, Magellan is returning radar
images several times a day, and Galileo is doing some interesting things
at the same time, are there enough minutes in the day?  Will we just
ignore the Voyagers/Pioneers/etc. for a while?  How much extra bandwidth
does the DSN have?

 --
  Jim Barnes               ([e-mail])

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

Date: 11 Oct 90 16:01:43 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!euclid.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter Scott)
Subject: Re: Wanted: GIF of Solar Eclipse.

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Philip Nettleton) writes:
> Has anyone out there got a GIF picture of an Solar Eclipse which is
> in the Public Domain? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

You shouldn't have any problem here: all Solar Eclipses are in the
public domain...

--
This is news.  This is your       |    Peter Scott, NASA/JPL/Caltech
brain on news.  Any questions?    |    ([e-mail])

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

End of SPACE Digest V12 #448
*******************