Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V12_5/V12_512.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #512

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 12 : Issue 512

Today's Topics:
        Re: A great idea on how to fund NASA!
         NASA Headline News for 10/30/90 (Forwarded)
             space news from Aug 6 AW&ST
                   Re: X-15
             Re: Antenna heating
               Re: Hiten Update
             3-D Apollo pictures
       Re: You Can't Expect a Space Station to be Cheap
                  SRB HYBRID

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: 30 Oct 90 17:26:15 GMT
From: news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: A great idea on how to fund NASA!

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (david.e.wexelblat) writes:
>>    A glass ball with a vacuum inside is a bad thing to have around. If
>> it is broken it implodes...
>
>I didn't see a smiley on that followup, so:  Hey -- have you ever heard
>of a light-bulb?  How about a CRT?  Lots of people handle vacuum (or
>mostly-vacuum) containing objects without the slightest injury...

Modern light bulbs are filled with argon, not vacuum.  (Expensive ones
use krypton.)  CRTs are quite dangerous to handle "naked", and people
who work with them are careful; when enclosed in a monitor, one of the
safety requirements is that the faceplate be tough enough that an
implosion would not send fragments toward the user.  Safety-certification
agencies like UL and CSA test this regularly.

Chris N. is not kidding about the serious safety implications of glass
vacuum containers.  However, a quick fix would be to encase them in
plastic.
--
"I don't *want* to be normal!"         | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
"Not to worry."                        |  [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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

Date: 30 Oct 90 20:16:39 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 10/30/90 (Forwarded)


             Headline News
Internal Communications Branch (P-2) NASA
Headquarters

  Tuesday, October 30, 1990    Audio Service: 202 / 755-1788

This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, October 30, 1990

The tanking test for Columbia was delayed from its
originally-scheduled time of 7:00 am EST today to 1:00 pm
because preparations for the test were running slightly behind
the time line.  Chilldown of the main propulsion system lines is
now set to begin at 12:00 pm.   Main propulsion system feed
lines, main engines and all associated components in the liquid
hydrogen system will be investigated during the test.  After the
test, the tank will be drained and the residual liquid hydrogen
will be allowed to boil off.  Columbia's aft compartment has been
specially outfitted for today's test.  Ten cameras have been
installed in the aft compartment, main propulsion system joints
have been bagged and instrumentation has been installed.

On Atlantis, a flight readiness test of the three main
engines is planned for tomorrow.  This test includes a total
check of the engines' electrical system and cycling of the engine
valves. Later this week, ordnance devices will be installed on
Atlantis and tests of the firing circuits will be conducted.

Discovery remains inside Bay 1 of the Orbiter Processing
Facility.  Activity yesterday included draining residual
hypergolic propellants.  Tomorrow, the forward reaction control
system is scheduled to be removed for servicing.

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

The NASA Space Science and Applications Advisory
Committee meets tomorrow, Oct. 31, through Friday, Nov. 2,
at NASA Headquarters.  The meeting will take place in Room
226, Bldg. 10B.  The advisory committee chairman is Dr. Berrien
Moore, University of New Hampshire.  There also will be a
lunchtime science seminar on early Magellan radar-mapping
results of Venus.  This will also occur in Room 226 tomorrow at
12:35 EST.

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

According to the Washington Post, federal workers have until
Nov. 30 to retire and qualify for the lump-sum pension
option.  Afterward, the benefit will be eliminated for five years
for most employees.  During the five-year benefit suspension, the
lump sum still will be offered to workers who lose their jobs
because of no-fault involuntary separations such as reductions-
in-force.  It will not be offered to individuals in executive
schedule jobs, non-career senior executive employees or political
appointees.


Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA
Select TV.  All times are Eastern.  **indicates a live program.
Tuesday, 10/30/90

    12:00 pm    **Shuttle Columbia tanking test, with
commentary, from Kennedy Space Center.

    about 4:00 pm    **Post-tanking test press briefing with
Robert Crippen, from Kennedy Space Center.

    about 6:00 pm    Replay of "Why Graduate School in Science
and Engineering" symposium.

    about 8:00 pm    Replay of Technology 2000 press briefing.




All events and times may change without notice.  This report is
filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12:00 pm, EDT.  It is a
service of Internal Communications Branch at NASA
Headquarters.  Contact:  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.

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

Date: 29 Oct 90 03:31:39 GMT
From: ubc-cs!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: space news from Aug 6 AW&ST

[Yes, you're right, this is out of order.  Somehow I managed to skip this
one, so I'm popping back to do a quick pass over it.  That's the bad news.
The good news is that Nick Watkins has very kindly sent me xeroxes of the
space-related parts of the Aug 13 issue I missed, so it will be next.
After that I can get back to trying to catch up...]

Frederic d'Allest leaves Arianespace to become head of Matra, as planned
before the Ariane failure early this year.  Charles Bigot succeeds him.

Last month's successful Ariane launch was the first to use a new ESA
telemetry station on Ascension Island, operated by a British company,
Cable and Wireless.  Previous flights rented time on a NASA station there.

Arabsat asks for firm final bids from comsat builders for a second generation
of Arabsat regional comsats.

NASP contractors to meet and decide on a single configuration this month.
Probable dimensions are 150-200ft long with a 50ft wingspan and a weight
of 250-300klbs.  It will have some rocket propulsion to supplement its
primary air-breathing engines.  The five major contractors swapped data
for the first time in a June meeting, and it became clear that they had
very different ideas.  McDD came up with a flat rectangular design, easy
to analyze but rather draggy, with a resultant need for rocket assist in
some regions of the flight envelope.  Rockwell's design was more conical,
efficient but with more complex flow patterns.  GD vacillated and ended
up with a compromise between the two.  Propulsion systems also differed;
P&W stressed inlet design while Rocketdyne emphasized efficient fuel burn.
All parties agree that materials technology is coming along nicely.

Sandia offers its SWERVE, a Mach 14 winged vehicle developed and tested
under a tactical-nuclear-weapon research project, as a testbed for hypersonic
work.  SWERVE is an unpowered "slender, winged vehicle" 8-9ft long, launched
by a rocket booster.  It has already been used to demonstrate sending and
receiving radio signals through the plasma sheath that interferes with
communication at hypersonic speeds, a serious issue for NASP.  Improved
versions would be desirable for future work; in particular, the current
SWERVE design is not recoverable.  Sandia says that the SWERVE design
does not lend itself to either a major on-board propulsion system or a
manned variant.

Aerospatiale will propose Hermes as the space-station lifeboat, citing the
fact that ESA is already paying for its development and only minor changes
would be needed.

The Inmarsat 3s will be built by GE Astro Space.

New Mir crew launched Aug 1, planned mission length 132 days with an
emphasis on materials work in the Kristall module.

Some detail on LANL's Alexis satellite, aimed at qualifying a small
satellite design for sensor development.  The first Alexis will fly
Aug 1991 on Pegasus.  The payload will be an X-ray telescope with no
military or arms-control applications, meant primarily as a useful
test payload.  If the launch date is met, Alexis will have gone from
conception to launch in four years.
--
"I don't *want* to be normal!"         | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
"Not to worry."                        |  [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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

Date: 30 Oct 90 17:17:12 GMT
From: news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: X-15

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (alan pengelly) writes:
>What strikes me most was the X-15 programme...
>the US was well ahead in this field quite early on, but
>seemed to back-off. Was it money, was it apollo? ...

I'd call it a combination of things.  Mercury (and Vostok!) was more
significant than Apollo:  the decision to go with ballistic and semi-ballistic
capsules for manned spaceflight put winged spacecraft on the back burner.
Apollo just reinforced that, by setting a deadline which could not really
be met with the more difficult technology.  Given that winged spaceflight
was not the primary thrust of the US space program, it was an easy victim
when money ran short.

A contributing factor in the demise of the delta-winged X-15 successor
was the crash of the second XB-70A, which was intended as the launch
aircraft for it.  (The first XB-70A, with cruder control systems and
various problems at high speed, was not considered suitable.)

>... Also given what is known now, would the X-20 have worked?

If you're thinking of the Dyna-Soar, which I believe was the X-25 (I can't
remember what the X-20 was offhand), it probably would have worked... but
remember that it was basically a glider, launched by a large Titan.  There
is no obvious reason why it wouldn't have worked, but on the other hand
there was nothing terribly remarkable about it either.
--
"I don't *want* to be normal!"         | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
"Not to worry."                        |  [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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

Date: 30 Oct 90 15:01:11 GMT
From: mentor.cc.purdue.edu!mace.cc.purdue.edu![e-mail]  (Perry G Ramsey)
Subject: Re: Antenna heating

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (John Roberts) writes:
>
> >From: att!cbnewsl![e-mail]  (Stuart Warmink)
> >Subject: Re: Magellan Update - 10/26/90
>
> >As the Sun lies pretty much in between Magellan and Earth, won't the
> >dish antenna be rather effective at focussing the Sun's light and heat
>
> My boss says this problem can also affect satellite dishes, at least a few
> days per year. Note that burning or melting is not the only problem: high

The new GOES satellite has a mirror inside which is used in forming the
image.  Most of the time it's OK, since it just looks at the earth.
At the equinoxes near local midnight, however,
the sun can shine directly down the tube and the uneven heating can
distort the mirror.  "A Pringle's potato chip" was the descriptive
phrase used by one of the program managers.  This is currently the
most serious problem grounding the satellite.
--
Perry G. Ramsey           Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
[e-mail]   Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN USA
[e-mail]    Congress thinks that if you have nine women pregnant
              simultaneously, you can get one baby in one month.

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

Date: 30 Oct 90 04:29:26 GMT
From: news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Hiten Update

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Daniel Fischer) writes:
>>Mission objectives are to test Japanese navigation and control facilities
>>for spacecraft operating beyond low Earth orbit.  Period.  It is an
>>engineering mission with no attempt at science return.
>
>Wrong! There is one scientific instrument on-board, the MDC = Munich Dust
>Detector from the Techn.Univ. of Munich...

For one lousy little dust detector you would make me a liar? :-) :-)  Okay,
I missed that one; I didn't know about MDC at all.  Thanks for the update.
--
"I don't *want* to be normal!"         | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
"Not to worry."                        |  [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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

Date: Tue, 30 Oct 90 20:03:09 EST
From: John Roberts <[e-mail]>
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are those of the sender
    and do not reflect NIST policy or agreement.
Subject: 3-D Apollo pictures


Combining two of my interests, the July/August 1990 issue of Stereo World
Magazine contains two articles and quite a few examples of 3D (or stereo)
pictures taken on or around the moon during the Apollo missions. Surprisingly,
some of the best-known photos were taken in 3D so depth could be properly
perceived in the airless environment. These include the Apollo 10 lunar
orbit rendezvous (showing the command module head-on, with the moon in the
background), Neil Armstrong's footprint, and the inspection of Surveyor III.
According to one of the articles, "on the final three missions, six astronauts
exposed a total of 5223 frames of Hasselblad Data Camera photography on the
lunar surface. Perhaps half of these were taken in a manner that permits
stereoscopic examination."

In addition, many thousands of stereo mapping photos were taken from orbit,
and some fifteen of these are included with the articles. It's amazing how the
surface features really stand out in this format.

I know it is hoped that Magellan will eventually be able to produce stereo
radar maps of Venus. Is 3D used in earth orbit these days? It seems to me it
would be very handy for ground controllers supervising construction activities,
etc.

Sorry, I don't know of any way to get the magazine, other than by
joining the National Stereoscopic Association, which doesn't cost very
much and includes the magazine. Their address is P.O. Box 14801, Columbus,
Ohio 43214.

Disclaimer: I have no financial interest in this organization.
    John Roberts
    [e-mail]

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

Date: 31 Oct 90 05:03:32 GMT
From: swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ub!uhura.cc.rochester.edu!rochester!sol![e-mail]  (Brian Yamauchi)
Subject: Re: You Can't Expect a Space Station to be Cheap

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] ("Allen W. Sherzer") writes:
   In article <[e-mail]> Charles Radley writes:
   >All Moon/Mars funding has been deleted, so how come
   >LLNL think they are going to get congress to change their minds ?

Remember that part of the reason for this is that NASA said "We need
$400 billion to reach Mars," and Congress went ballistic.  I'm sure
$10 billion ($1 billion a year for 10 years) is a much more palatable
price then $400 billion ($16 billion a year for 25 years).

   They already have. The House Senate Conference put back the DoE
   IR&D money. Some of this money will go to the Great Exploration
   for A detaild study. After that, there is good reason to expect
   them to start in earnest. This probram has the support of the Space
   Council (Quale recently told the head of LLNL that he wanted to see this
   program move forward).

This sounds very promising.  Do you know how much IR&D money was
authorized, and how much is likely to reach Great Exploration?

--
_______________________________________________________________________________

Brian Yamauchi                University of Rochester
[e-mail]        Computer Science Department
_______________________________________________________________________________

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

Date: TUE, 30 OCT 90 05:18 CDT
From: BARRY BOWDEN <[e-mail]>
To: ALL <[e-mail]>
Subject: SRB HYBRID


Len,
If you get a C listing of the NORAD tracking software, could I get
a copy from you?

Thanks in advance ...

+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Barry Bowden                    |    BITNET: [e-mail]  |
| The Office of Computers and     +------------------------------------+
|  Communications                 |                                    |
| University of Alabama at        |   Knowing what to do is not the    |
|  Birmingham                     |      same thing as                 |
| Birmingham, Alabama 35294       |   Knowing how to do it ...         |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+

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

End of SPACE Digest V12 #512
*******************