Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V12_5/V12_541.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #541

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 12 : Issue 541

Today's Topics:
             Fundamental FITS Information
             Re: LNLL Inflatable Stations
          Re: Space Station Work Package #3
         NASA Headline News for 11/08/90 (Forwarded)
      Payload systems & Cape York (was LLNL Astronaut Delivery)

Administrivia:

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Date: 7 Nov 90 16:33:41 GMT
From: dftsrv!nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Barry Schlesinger)
Organization: NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center
Subject: Fundamental FITS Information
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Fundamental FITS information can be obtained primarily from three
papers:

Wells, Greisen, and Harten, 1981, "FITS: a flexible image transport
system", Astronomy and  Astrophysics Supplements, v. 44, p. 363.

Grosbol, et al., 1988, "Generalized extensions and blocking factors
for FITS", Astron. Astrophys. Suppl., 88, 359.

Harten, et al., 1988, "The FITS tables extension", Astron. Astrophys.
Suppl., 88, 365.

These titles show that FITS is capable of transforming a far wider
range of information than simply digital images.

An additional paper immediately following the first one cited above
discusses "groups" format.  In practice, this format is used only to
transfer and store radio interferometry results.  It is not widely
used or understood elsewhere.

In original FITS, as discussed in the first paper, the data matrix
could contain only integers.  By international agreement, it now may
contain IEEE-754 single and double precision floating point.
A data matrix consisting of floating point numbers is signalled by
negative values of the BITPIX keyword (-32 for single and -64 for
double precision).

The FITS Handbook is not yet available; the first sections are
expected to be available later this year.

We have not yet collected contributed software.  Probably, this office
will have available information on availability of software that the
originators are willing to make available before software is available
directly from this office.

                    Barry Schlesinger
                    NSDSSO FITS Support Office

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

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Date: Thu, 8 Nov 90 08:33:06 -0500
From: "Allen W. Sherzer" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: LNLL Inflatable Stations
Newsgroups: sci.space
In-Reply-To: <[e-mail]>
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Organization: Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow
Cc:

In article <[e-mail]> Marco Parigi writes:
>What are the repairment proposals for damage due to space debris for the
>LLNL inflatable space station.

I don't know the details but provisions have been made. There is an outer
bubble around each module pressurized to 2.5 PSI. If this is punctured, it
will have no effect on the areas where people are. If it deflates, I assume
they would go EVA and fix it.

Space debris would need to go through the external shield, the outer kevlar
envelope and the inner kevlar envelope before it could put people in danger.
Also remember that since the station is inflatable the envelopes will absorb
shock before puncturing, like a tire on your car.

>Would the material tend to tear due to the
>pressure differential once a small rip was instigated (fail catastrophically,
>much like an ALOHA airliner did some time ago, ripping its top off)

This is covered in the ILC report I quoted. Provisions are made to make
sure that any rip does not become too large. Remember that this company
has built large inflatable aerospace structures in the past. These are
not new problems.

  Allen
--
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Allen W. Sherzer| I had a guaranteed military sale with ED-209. Renovation |
|   [e-mail]  | programs, spare parts for 25 years. Who cares if it      |
|                | works or not?  - Dick Jones, VP OCP Security Concepts    |

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Date: 8 Nov 90 03:25:18 GMT
From: sumax!thebes!polari![e-mail]  (Charles Radley)
Organization: Seattle Online Public Unix [phone]
Subject: Re: Space Station Work Package #3
References: <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>
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In response to requests for Freedom info, in comparison to LLNL, here
is some more......

+In terms of differences with Freedom, the LLNL station is bigger but
+provides a little less power. It also would require free flying
+platforms to be associated with it for microgravity. I suspect the
+CDSF or a modified Spacelab would do just fine.
-
Freedom includes microgravity and life science capability, without
the additional expense of these free-flyers.   The LLNL/Free-flyer
system combination is  not useful for life sciences.  Freedom also
has some polar orbit free-flyers for Earth Observation activites,
which LLNL does not have.

Freedom weighs 250 tonnes, over six times as heavy as LLNL.
Freedom will not be habitable until the fourth assembly flight, when
it will achieve "Man Tended Capabilty", scheduled for Jan 97.   After
about flight 11, in Nov 97, Permanently Manned Capability will be
achieved.  After the last of the appropriated flights, it will
achieve "Assembly Complete" configuration.
  The station will then operate for thirty years.   It is
designed like an aircraft, with Orbital Replaceable Units, allowing
it to be repaired and maintained on orbit.   The Freedom habitable
volume is not much more than Skylab, but the science does not need
volume.
   Initial crew size is 4, growing to 8 when the international
modules are attached.   Oh yes, it is international,   US pays about
70 %, Canada 4 % and ESA and Japan pay about 13 % each.  So pretty
well everybody on this net has an interest......
Canada provides a mobile Remote Servicer robot with a large
manipulator arm.  Japan and ESA each provide one habitable science
module.

  History:-

Phase-A was 5/82 until award of Phase-B contracts in 4/85.

Phase-B ran from 4/85 to 12/87.

Phase-C contracts were awarded 12/87, and is currently in progress.
Phase-C will culminate with a Critical Design review in 1992.

Phase-D will begin 1992.    First element launch is schedule 3/95,
and Assembly Complete in 1998.

+(Freedom will take over 50 flights of the Shuttle). Most of this
+advantage is due to the use of+ inflatables.
-
Freedom will take less than 30 flights, I think the number authorized
is 28.    LLNL weighs much less than Freedom, because it has only a
tiny fraction of the science capability and equipment.

Freedom's solar arrays were recently reduced by half, now two pairs
of panels will provide about 37.5 KW.  Each panel is 32 by 108 feet.
The Freedom truss structure has now been shortened to a little less
than 150 metres.  the solar panels are at right angles to the truss.
 The station is equippped with hydrazine thrusters to prevent orbital
decay.

I will leave it at that for now.   Happy to answer any questions if I
can.

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

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Date: 8 Nov 90 22:08:28 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Subject: NASA Headline News for 11/08/90 (Forwarded)
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             Headline News
Internal Communications Branch (P-2) NASA
Headquarters

  Thursday, November 8, 1990    Audio Service: 202 / 755-1788

This is NASA Headline News for Thursday, November 8, 1990

NASA yesterday announced the selection of Thursday, Nov. 15,
as the new target launch date for the Atlantis STS-38
Department of Defense mission.  The delay from Atlantis'
original target date of Nov. 9 is due to payload problems.  Start
of the 4-hour launch opportunity period is unchanged at 6:30 pm
EST.  It will be the seventh flight of Atlantis and the 37th
shuttle mission.

The STS-35 Flight Readiness Review for Columbia's Astro-1
mission is now scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 26 and
27, at the Kennedy Space Center.  A launch date for STS-35 will
be announced following review of performance data from the
STS-38 mission and review of mission status during the
readiness review.  Shuttle chief Robert Crippen said yesterday
that he was confident NASA would be flying Columbia sometime
in early December.

In the Orbiter Processing Facility, preparations for the removal
of Discovery's three main engines has begun.  They will be
removed tomorrow and transferred to the engine shop for
refurbishment.

Stacking of the solid rocket boosters for the STS-39 mission has
begun in the Vehicle Assembly Building.  The left aft booster
segment is on the mobile launcher platform.  STS-39 is the
Department of Defense mission slated for next February on
Discovery.

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

At yesterday's monthly space flight press briefing, William
Lenoir said that John Young's special Kennedy Space Center
accident investigation group had found no common
thread in the string of accidents which have occurred at KSC.
The report has not been finalized yet, but will be distributed to
media when it is.

Lenoir also said the reassessment of the space station
program is underway, and the challenge will be to find a way
to reduce anticipated program cost by six billion dollars in the
next five years and still maintain a useful station.  The
reassessment process will involve all of NASA's work package
centers, the work package contractors and all the international
partners.  Results of the assessment will be given to station chief
Richard Kohrs, who will assemble the input as individual
recommendations to be presented to Lenoir and Adm. Truly.

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

Jet Propulsion Laboratory Magellan flight controllers report
that the spacecraft is still too close to the Sun in the Earth-
Venus line of sight for clean, high-bit-rate communications.  The
current schedule calls for mapping to resume on Saturday.
JPL will begin to transmit a new mapping sequence tomorrow if
communications improve, as expected.


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

Thursday, 11/8/90
    11:30 pm    NASA Update will be transmitted.

    12:00 pm    "A Look to the Future," Eisenhower Institute
and Smithsonian Institution space symposium.

    1:15 pm    Aeronautics & Space Report #254

    1:30 pm    Back Space, one of a continuing series in the NASA
Productions.

    2:00 pm    Replay of yesterday's Magellan-at-Venus report
from JPL.



All events and times may change without notice.  This report is
filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12:00 pm, EST.  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.

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Date: Thu, 8 Nov 90 11:56:45 -0500
From: "Allen W. Sherzer" <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail]
Subject: Payload systems & Cape York (was LLNL Astronaut Delivery)
Newsgroups: sci.space
In-Reply-To: <[e-mail]>
References: <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]> <[e-mail]>
Organization: Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow
Cc:

In article <[e-mail]>:
>Payload Systems did indeed slip through the net.   What I mean by
>that is that they did obtain an export license, but  the license
>was issued by the Department of Commerce, and not by the Department
>of State.

Well if you want to call following existing US export law in an open
and above bord manner 'slipping through the net' fine, they slipped
through the net.

>The latter was extremely annoyed, and had strong words
>to say to the Dept of Commerce.

Yawn. But since Commerce had the strong support of the administration,
there's not a lot State can do about it.

>It is now highly unlikely that Commerce will want to incurr the wrath of
>State again, and are not likely to issue any more licenses without State's
>approval.

The Office of Commercial Space is very supportive of commercial space. They
want to see this take off. They will (in accordance with US law and policy)
issue other licenses as needed.

>  Ref USBI and CYSA - there were lots of reports in the media in the
>summer that  an export license had been issued to USBI.   However, I
>never saw a formal announcement.   I attended the Vandeburg Space
>Week conference at the end of July, where Norman Bowles, Associate
>Director of Licensing Programs at the Department of
>Transportation stated strongly that the reports in the media were
>incorrect, and that no formal approval had been given.

This is true. The anouncement was that approval would be given, not
that it had been given. Final approval needed changes to federal
policy which where to be included in the new space policy.

>  I still have not seen a formal announcement.     Have you ?

My understanding is that formal approval is either done or very
soon. I have seen copies of the policy changes needed. BTW, the
entire policy is still in the works but the parts needed to approve
Cape York where accelerated so permission could be given on time.
This amounts to a very strong show of support from the administration
and the space council.

   Allen

--
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Allen W. Sherzer| I had a guaranteed military sale with ED-209. Renovation |
|   [e-mail]  | programs, spare parts for 25 years. Who cares if it      |
|                | works or not?  - Dick Jones, VP OCP Security Concepts    |

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

End of SPACE Digest V12 #541
*******************