Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V12_6/V12_602.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #602

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 12 : Issue 602

Today's Topics:
           Re: Apollo LightCraft and Lasers
                 MIR broken?
             Re: Galileo News Conference
       NASA Employees (Re: Translunar/interplanetary shuttle?)
            CRAF Update - 11/29/90
               DOVE-1 Telemetry Decoded
       Request for information on the SARSAT satellites
              Ulysses Update - 11/26/90
            Reply to your comments

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

Date: 26 Nov 90 22:50:49 GMT
From: mojo![e-mail]  (Doug Mohney)
Subject: Re: Apollo LightCraft and Lasers

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Paul Dietz) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
>
>>Since lasers are inefficient, you will need several gigawatts of power.
>>Your local power company simply won't sell you that much.  They don't
>>have that kind of capacity lying around, especially when you want it in
>>bursts of a few minutes at random times.  You will have to build your
>>own power plant, and it will be among the world's biggest.
>
>Henry, you know better than that. The most economical source of
>electrical power to for delivery over a period of minutes is a stack
>of lead-acid batteries (granted, a sizeable stack in this case).  The
>utility would be happy to sell you a few tens of megawatts of power to
>charge your batteries so you could launch one payload per day.  One
>need not generate one's own power.

Or you could be high risk and build your own superconducting storage ring to
pump Mr. Laser. Siphon off excess wattage during the evenings and you can also
make a few bucks by selling the stuff back to utility companies in the summer.
See how easy that was? :-)

                          %%%%% Signature v1.1 %%%%%
 Doug Mohney, Operations Manager, CAD Lab/ME, Univ. of Maryland College Park
*    Why do VMS system managers get more sleep and less ulcers than their  *
*        UNIX(TM) counterparts, despite the sophistication of UNIX?        *

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

Date: Mon, 26 Nov 90 22:45:14 PST
From: fermat![e-mail] (Richard Schroeppel)
Subject: MIR broken?

I was talking to someone who works on Fred design at a Thanksgiving dinner.
He claimed that MIR is sufficiently disabled that it should be regarded
as broken: that the damaged air-lock hinges -> they can't pressurize the
main large module -> they must wear suits in this module, which prevents
their accomplishing useful work; and that the remaining two pressurized
modules were disconnected, and going from one to the other required a suit,
and probably used up a lot of air every time they opened a door.

If true, these statements do support the description "broken"; and yet
I've seen no mention of the seriousness of the hinge problem.  It's been
treated more as "they had to use the spare tire, and it's prudent to get
the original fixed promptly."

Can someone who follows the Russian program comment?

Are they really taking up a Japanese journalist without having a verified
fix for this problem?  Could be mighty cramped.

Did the Skylab astronauts go outside much?

Rich Schroeppel
[e-mail]

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

Date: 27 Nov 90 18:45:03 GMT
From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!uwm.edu!src.honeywell.com!msi.umn.edu!cs.umn.edu!sialis!orbit!pnet51![e-mail]  (S Schaper)
Subject: Re: Galileo News Conference

IF_ the New Madrid fault does let loose the 2nd or 3rd, would this impair
NASA's ability to direct the spacecraft?

**************************************************************************
Zeitgeist Busters!
UUCP: {amdahl!bungia, uunet!rosevax, chinet, killer}!orbit!pnet51!schaper
ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51![e-mail]
INET: [e-mail]

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

Date: 29 Nov 90 22:50:34 GMT
From: julius.cs.uiuc.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!dahm.engin.umich.edu![e-mail]  (Ken Sheppardson)
Subject: NASA Employees (Re: Translunar/interplanetary shuttle?)

[e-mail] (Matthew DeLuca) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Millard Edgerton) writes:
>>If the engines(mains) are not restartable, HOW DO THEY FIRE TO DE-ORBIT?
>>THINK ABOUT IT!
>
>Okay.  They fire the OMS (Orbital Maneuvering System) engines to de-orbit.
>After MECO (main engine cutoff) at about 8 minutes into the flight, the
>main engines don't start up again.
>
>Um, not to be rude or anything...do you really work for NASA?

   I was going to make a comment about the fact that NASA employees may
   or may not be posting from a nasa.gov net address and that some non-NASA
   employees may be posting from other systems and that just because a
   person is a NASA employee and/or posting from a NASA system he/she
   may not necessarily know what he/she is talking about, but I think that's
   rather obvious and I wouldn't want to offend anyone, so I won't bother.


===============================================================================
 Ken Sheppardson                                  Email: [e-mail]
 Space Station Freedom Advanced Programs Office   Phone: [phone]
 NASA Langley Research Center                     FAX:   [phone]
===============================================================================

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

Date: 30 Nov 90 03:09:52 GMT
From: usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: CRAF Update - 11/29/90


                        CRAF Status Report
                        November 29, 1990

     Two scientific instruments were dropped from the CRAF mission in order
to reduce the cost of the mission.  The two instruments eliminated were the
penetrator and a scanning electron microscope.  The cost of the penetrator
ranged from $35 million to $120 million, depending on its complexity.  The
scanning electron microscope was estimated to cost around $20 million.  The
total science budget for the CRAF/Cassini has a cap of $363 million, and due
to the rising costs of several elements in the joint missions, it was decided
to drop the two science instruments from the CRAF mission.  The penetrator
was to have been used to penetrate the comet Kopff and sample the surface
materials coming off the comet.  The scanning electron microscope would have
studied cometary debris captured by the CRAF spacecraft.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   Jet Propulsion Lab | [e-mail]
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  M/S 301-355        |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/   Pasadena, CA 91109 |

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

Date: 25 Nov 90 02:49:00 GMT
From: ka2qhd![e-mail]  (John Magliacane)
Subject: DOVE-1 Telemetry Decoded



Here is what telemetry from the DOVE-1 spacecraft looks like once it's been
decoded.  Calculations applied to the raw telemetry frame are based on
calibration equations labeled "Rev 1":


  DOVE-1 Telemetry Analysis by KD2BD

 DOVE-1/OSCAR-17 Raw Telemetry Display

DOVE-1>TIME-1:
PHT: uptime is 113/23:52:49.  Time is Sun Nov 25 01:02:06 1990

DOVE-1>TLM:
00:5A 01:59 02:84 03:31 04:5A 05:59 06:6E 07:52 08:6A 09:72 0A:A2
0B:DA 0C:E9 0D:D8 0E:02 0F:24 10:D4 11:A8 12:00 13:02 14:A5 15:91
16:89 17:86 18:88 19:88 1A:86 1B:6E 1C:8D 1D:8A 1E:29 1F:5F 20:BE

DOVE-1>TLM:
21:B0 22:88 23:23 24:1E 25:2A 26:02 27:00 28:01 29:02 2A:01 2B:02
2C:01 2D:28 2E:00 2F:9E 30:CC 31:A0 32:11 33:D6 34:C0 35:99 36:A6
37:A5 38:AD



   DOVE-1/OSCAR-17 Telemetry Values:


[00] Rx E/F Audio (W)    2.21    V(p-p)
[01] Rx E/F Audio (N)    2.19    V(p-p)
[02] Mixer Bias V        1.35     Volts
[03] Osc. Bias V         0.50     Volts
[04] Rx A Audio (W)      2.21    V(p-p)
[05] Rx A Audio (N)      2.19    V(p-p)
[06] Rx A DISC           0.23       KHz
[07] Rx A S Meter       82.00    Counts
[08] Rx E/F DISC        -0.88       KHz
[09] Rx E/F S Meter    114.00    Counts
[10] +5 Volt Bus         4.94     Volts
[11] +5V Rx Current     21.80        mA
[12] +2.5V VREF          2.52     Volts
[13] +8.5V Bus           8.45     Volts
[14] IR Detector         2.00    Counts
[15] LO Monitor I        1.33        mA
[16] +10V Bus           10.76     Volts
[17] GaAs FET Bias I     4.37        mA
[18] Ground REF          0.00     Volts
[19] +Z Array V          0.20     Volts
[20] Rx Temp             1.21    Deg. C
[21] +X (RX) Temp       13.31    Deg. C
[22] Battery 1 V         1.33     Volts
[23] Battery 2 V         1.32     Volts
[24] Battery 3 V         1.32     Volts
[25] Battery 4 V         1.31     Volts
[26] Battery 5 V         1.33     Volts
[27] Battery 6 V         1.42     Volts
[28] Battery 7 V         1.32     Volts
[29] Battery 8 V         1.32     Volts
[30] Array Voltage       4.25     Volts
[31] +5V Bus             4.90     Volts
[32] +8.5V Bus           8.55     Volts
[33] +10V Bus           11.30     Volts
[34] BCR Set Point     148.86    Counts
[35] BCR Load Curr     157.20        mA
[36] 8.5V Bus Curr      47.77        mA
[37] +5V Bus Curr      186.04        mA
[38] -X Array Curr      -6.45        mA
[39] +X Array Curr     -13.49        mA
[40] -Y Array Curr      -9.57        mA
[41] +Y Array Curr      -6.85        mA
[42] -Z Array Curr     -14.08        mA
[43] +Z Array Curr      -6.81        mA
[44] Ext Power Curr    -17.50        mA
[45] BCR Input Curr     65.58        mA
[46] BCR Output Curr   -17.24        mA
[47] Bat 1 Temp          5.44    Deg. C
[48] Bat 2 Temp        -22.39    Deg. C
[49] Baseplate Temp      4.23    Deg. C
[50] FM TX#1 RF Out      0.03     Watts
[51] FM TX#2 RF Out      3.61     Watts
[52] PSK TX HPA Temp   -15.13    Deg. C
[53] +Y Array Temp       8.47    Deg. C
[54] RC PSK HPA Temp     0.60    Deg. C
[55] RC PSK BP Temp      1.21    Deg. C
[56] +Z Array Temp      -3.63    Deg. C



Note that the spacecraft was in eclipse when this telemetry sample was taken
(actual location was off the east coast of New Jersey).  Also note that the
24-hour UTC clock is one hour slow.

By the way, the software that performed this telemetry analysis was written
in 'C' and was compiled and run on a Commodore 64 computer (!!).

...John A. Magliacane, KD2BD

--
John A. Magliacane                 FAX  : [phone]
Electronics Technology Department  AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
Brookdale Community College        UUCP : ...!rutgers!ka2qhd!kd2bd
Lincroft, NJ  07738  USA           VOICE: [phone] ext 607

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

Date: 26 Nov 90 10:29:46 GMT
From: kb2ear![e-mail]  (Dave Marthouse N2AAM)
Subject: Request for information on the SARSAT satellites


I am looking for any information about the SARSAT search and rescue

satellites. I know that they are low orbiting birds that listen to 121.5 and

243.0mhz. They are listening for elt signals. I know that they, with a ground

station can pinpoint downed aircraft by listening to the elt. What is the

downlink frequency used by SARSAT? What form of modulation does it use? Is

any onboard data processing taking place on the birds? If so what kind? What

kind of equipment is used at the ground stations? What type of signals do the

birds send to the ground? Are they the output of the rcprs listening on 121.5

and 243.0? Or is it sum kind of data from an onboard computer? Any information

would be appreciated.

Dave Marthouse

[e-mail]

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

Date: 27 Nov 90 01:40:02 GMT
From: usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Ulysses Update - 11/26/90


                       ULYSSES STATUS REPORT
                         November 26, 1990

     As of 9 AM (PST), Monday, November 26, the Ulysses spacecraft is
28,893,339 miles (46,499,322 km) from Earth, and 424,134,037 miles
(682,577,568 km) from Jupiter.  The spacecraft is traveling at 82,133 mph
(132,180 kph) relative to the Sun, and 24,727 mph (39,794 kph) relative to
the Earth.

     A precession maneuver of 1.6 degrees was conducted on Tuesday,
November 20, to keep the High Gain Antenna pointed towards Earth for S-band.
The next precession maneuver is planned for Monday, November 26.

     Routine experiment housekeeping was performed during the week.  A Radio
and Plasma Waves Sounder Experiment interference test was conducted with the
Cosmic Dust Experiment.  The investigators are currently evaluating the data.
Currently the Sounder duty cycle is every three hours, with the experiment on
for two minutes.

     The spacecraft nutation remains a concern.  No further maneuvers were
conducted to reduce the nutation.  Analysis of the data is continuing.  The
remainder of the week will be devoted to monitoring experiments.  On board tape
recorder operations will begin.  The nutation amplitude will continue to be
closely monitored.  The possibility of performing a spin-up maneuver is being
studied.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   Jet Propulsion Lab | [e-mail]
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  M/S 301-355        |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/   Pasadena, CA 91109 |

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

Date: 22 Nov 90 13:15:57 GMT
From: hpda!hpcuha!aspen!hpcc05!col!hpldola!hp-lsd!oldcolo![e-mail]  (Kieth Hamburger)
Subject: Reply to your comments

I would like to toss out that there is a small scale development project
based on the Phoenix vehicle and aerospike engine.  The Hummingbird
sounding rocket is a fully reusable VTOL sounding rocket which is
designed to bring microgravity experimentation costs down to less than
$100/kilo/second (intent is to be MUCH less.)  This vehicle was designed
by Hummingbird Launch Systems, Inc of Colorado Springs, CO. I am the
Secretary and one of the founders of that company.
Now, if any of you have one million dollars or more we would like to
begin development of the design.

Keith L. Hamburger

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

End of SPACE Digest V12 #602
*******************