Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V13_0/V13_011.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #011

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 13 : Issue 11

Today's Topics:
    Re: Air pressure questions   (A human being in vacume)
        Re: Translunar/interplanetary shuttle?
          Recent Newsstand Magazine Articles
      Re: You can help clear cloud over MIR SWEERSTAKES.
               Re: Interstellar travel
          Re: HST images via anonFTP and SPAN/HEPnet
               Re: Interstellar travel
    Re: Air pressure questions   (A human being in vacume)
             Heat Transfer Fomulas Wanted
          Re: News from FLIGHT International
               * SpaceNews  31-Dec-90 *

Administrivia:

    Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to
  [e-mail].  Other mail, esp. [un]subscription requests,
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Date: 28 Dec 90 23:02:51 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Adam R. Brody)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, California
Subject: Re: Air pressure questions   (A human being in vacume)
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Were Mercury and Gemini over pressurized with pure Oxygen as well?
If so, were they just lucky to not have fires?  If not, why not?

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Date: 28 Dec 90 21:39:02 GMT
From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Subject: Re: Translunar/interplanetary shuttle?
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In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Russ Cage) writes:
>3.)    Probably not.  Among other things, the Shuttle is not
>    safe to use for transporting liquid fuels, so loads
>    of fuel must go up on expendables...

Only if you insist on using cryogenics.  NASA is still happy to ship large
quantities of hypergolics in the cargo bay, oddly enough.  (Well, actually,
it's not odd at all, given that the prohibition on cryogenics is basically
irrational.)
--
"The average pointer, statistically,    |Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
points somewhere in X." -Hugh Redelmeier| [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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Date: 27 Dec 90 11:56:26 GMT
From: van-bc!rsoft!mindlink![e-mail]  (Bruce Dunn)
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Subject: Recent Newsstand Magazine Articles
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     The December issue of Omni contains a large fold-out poster which is a map
of the earth marked with the position of 46 major satellites in geosynchronous
orbit. Around the map are thumbnail descriptions of each satellite such as "
#19  ANIK C1 - SENT ALOFT IN: 1985   DIES IN: 1995   TRANSPONDERS: 16
OPERATOR: Telesat Canada   PURPOSE: Telecommunications links for Canada".  The
poster also includes small pictures of about half of the satellites.
    The January issue of Popular Science has an article "Soviet Space Odyssey".
The text results from a visit to the USSR in the summer of 1990 by a group of
US VIPs who were given fairly extensive access to facilities.  There are a
number of good color photos of Soviet hardware (Soyuz launch, EVA maneuvering
unit with strapped in astronaut, Mir mockup underwater, Voskhod capsule showing
three crammed couches, Soyuz external view, Vostok vehicle, gantry for Proton
launches, Buran in launch position).  Most useful is a full page color diagram
of Mir, annotated to indicate the location of important equipment.  I
personally will be keeping this diagram near my computer so that I can
understand net discussions of Mir hardware!
--
Bruce Dunn   Vancouver, Canada    [e-mail]

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Date: 28 Dec 90 20:20:50 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!emory!wa4mei!ke4zv![e-mail]  (Gary Coffman)
Organization: Gannett Technologies Group
Subject: Re: You can help clear cloud over MIR SWEERSTAKES.
References: <[e-mail]>, <[e-mail]>
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In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (M. Edward Borasky) writes:
>Let me get this straight -- someone is selling tickets to a drawing?
>The winner gets a trip into space, and the sponsor of the lottery gets
>the difference between what the trip cost and the total ticket revenues?
>And the local DA thinks this is a ripoff and is bringing action against
>the lottery?  And someone wants ME to call the DA up, and tell him I
>DON'T think it's a ripoff -- please back off and let the sweepstakes
>proceed?
>
>Well, Buster, I DO think it's a ripoff!  If I were a Texan I'd call the
>DA up and give him all the encouragement I could.  And if anybody tries
>a scam like that here in Oregon, I'd go after petition signatures if
>I had to!

Temper. Temper. If this lottery really results in an ordinary American
civilian actually going to Mir, the attendant publicity could result
in the biggest boost to the American space program since Sputnik.
Frankly I don't care if the organizers make a mint or lose their
shirts. I don't care if a lot of people waste $3 calling the number.
I do care that this may be the last chance in a long time to wake up
the American public to the stretch out, phase out, give up, being planned
for the US space program while the Soviet program plods ahead with a
real permanent presence in space.

Gary

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Date: 29 Dec 90 03:24:08 GMT
From: pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Subject: Re: Interstellar travel
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In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Gary Coffman) writes:
>I seem to recall reading that there is some fundamental problem with the
>Bussard Ramjet idea and that the thing can't work...

Setting aside the mythical "ramjet speed limit", there are two or three
big, nasty problems with the Bussard ramjet:

1. Fusion of ordinary hydrogen is very slow, and there is no obvious way
    to make it fast.  You can sort of get around this by using it as
    reaction mass with a different energy source, e.g. antimatter.
    One very interesting notion is the possibility (rather faint, alas)
    that magnetic monopoles might exist and might catalyze proton decay.

2. The inverse-square law demands humongous magnetic field intensities
    at the ship to get useful intensities at very long distances
    (interstellar gas is thin and a ramscoop must be big).  Internal
    repulsion within the field coils will try to tear them apart, and
    the structural strength needed to hold them together is pushing
    fundamental limits on the strengths of materials.

3. Interstellar gas is not very ionized, and something might have to be
    done to ionize it before you could get a useful grip on it with
    a magnetic field, and doing that at reasonable energy cost is hard.

None of these is such an obvious derivative of the basic laws of physics
that one can authoritatively state that there is no way around it, although
number 1 is going to be a toughie.
--
"The average pointer, statistically,    |Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
points somewhere in X." -Hugh Redelmeier| [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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Date: 3 Dec 90 16:06:06 GMT
From: hsdndev!frooz![e-mail]  (Steve Willner, OIR)
Subject: Re: HST images via anonFTP and SPAN/HEPnet
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From article <[e-mail]>, by [e-mail] (Gary Strand):
>   Well, I pulled the Saturn picture over, and besides its large size (5Mb+)
>   I can't get 'saoimage' to show anything useful. Is there something obvious
>   that I'm missing?

I've not tried these images, but two general comments: 1) You will
probably need the '-fits' keyword in the command line and maybe some
others.  Check the man page for saoimage carefully.  2) The default
threshold and saturation values are seldom useful.  Mouse around the
image to find out the range of pixel values, then reset the grey scale
accordingly.  Good luck.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Willner            Phone [phone]         Bitnet:   willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA                 Internet: [e-mail]

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Date: 29 Dec 90 01:04:50 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!spool2.mu.edu!news.cs.indiana.edu!maytag!watmath!watdragon!watyew![e-mail]  (Brian or James)
Organization: University of Waterloo
Subject: Re: Interstellar travel
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In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Brian or James) writes:
>>    Bussard ramjets have thermodynamics problems, and
>>probably can't work.
>
>Details, please.  If this is the alleged "ramjet speed limit", please be
>advised that only the ignorant think it exists, based on fallacious
>analogies to aircraft jet engines.

    If I meant 'ramjets have a low speed limit', I would have said so.
'Not working' is *not* 'Moves slowly'. My brother's 1978 Honda moves slowly.
My grandfather's minesweeper doesn't work at all, any more (The last mine was
a little close). If you're going to imply that I'm ignorant, at least
credit me with the correct ignorance.

    What I meant was (I should look this up first, but) the p-p
reaction might occur too slowly to be useful as propulsion in a ramjet.
I think Heppenheimer (sp) mentioned it first.

                                James Nicoll

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Date: 29 Dec 90 03:14:27 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Subject: Re: Air pressure questions   (A human being in vacume)
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In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Adam R. Brody) writes:
>Were Mercury and Gemini over pressurized with pure Oxygen as well?
>If so, were they just lucky to not have fires?

That's right.  It had been standard practice since the beginning of the
US manned program, and nobody had thought about the implications.
--
"The average pointer, statistically,    |Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
points somewhere in X." -Hugh Redelmeier| [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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

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Date: 29 Dec 90 01:02:32 GMT
From: snorkelwacker.mit.edu!primerd!primerd![e-mail]
Subject: Heat Transfer Fomulas Wanted
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Can anyone give me a good rule 'o thumb in regards to atmospheric temperature
transport?  In essence, given that the average temp is ~40 degrees latitude,
and one can determine an average temperature (15 C for us), how does one figure
temperatures for lower or highter latitudes?  WHile direct latitudes get
~1.305 times the normal luminosity per unit square, polar latitudes get
much much less.  Obviously you can not simply plug in the luminosity for the
latitude (adding greenhouse modifiers), as the temperatures are too
extreme.  Polar areas must have their temperatures moderated by warmer
climates.  Likewise, equatorial temps must be limited by cooler latitudes.

The question is therefore -- anyone have a quick and dirty formula, or
the names of a few reference books that can get me going?

/============================================================================\
|Burton Choinski                                       [e-mail]|
|  Prime Computer, Inc.                                  [phone] x3233|
|  Framingham, Ma.  01701               PRIME Computer -- We're still the one|
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|Disclaimer: Don't even think that these are PRIME's opinions...             |
\============================================================================/

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Date: 28 Dec 90 08:10:40 GMT
From: snorkelwacker.mit.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Subject: Re: News from FLIGHT International
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In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:
>As someone who has appreciated Henry Spencers regular postings of space
>titbits from AWST, I wonder if anybody out there would like to read
>similar postings from FLIGHT Int, which is the British equivalent...

I think this would be a fine idea.  I try to include noteworthy items
from Flight, but my time is scarce enough that I seldom manage it
nowadays -- just doing AW&ST is a noticeable drain.  Flight often has
better coverage of non-US-military-industrial-complex spaceflight.

(A further consideration is that I may not be renewing my Flight
subscription the next time it comes up; getting it by international air
mail is *extremely* expensive, and they seem to have dropped the surface-
mail option I used to use.)
--
"The average pointer, statistically,    |Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
points somewhere in X." -Hugh Redelmeier| [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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

Date: 29 Dec 90 04:18:34 GMT
From: ka2qhd![e-mail]  (John Magliacane)
Subject: * SpaceNews  31-Dec-90 *


SB SPACE @ ALLBBS < KD2BD $SPC1231
* SpaceNews  31-Dec-90 *

Bulletin ID: $SPC1231


                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========

                       MONDAY DECEMBER 31, 1990

SpaceNews originates at KD2BD in Wall Township, New Jersey, United States.
It is published every week and is made available for unlimited distribution.



* UoSAT NEWS *
==============
The launch of six microsatellites designed and built by dedicated amateur
radio operators from around the world was the most significant amateur
satellite news event in history.  These six microsats flew as secondary
payloads on the European Space Agency's V-35 mission on 21-Jan-90.
Twelve minutes after liftoff, the Ariane launch vehicle placed these six
satellites into Earth orbit.  UoSAT-3 and UoSAT-4 alone carried a total
of 9 microprocessors and 5000 kilobytes of RAM.  That's more computing
power than had ever been launched by one rocket!

UoSAT-3 (OSCAR-14) carries a 16-bit embedded microprocessor controller
with 4.5 megabytes of RAM.  UoSAT-4 (OSCAR-15) carries the first
Transputer parallel-processing microprocessors in space.  UoSAT-3 is
currently being used to test new "PACSAT" communications software.
UoSAT-3's PCE uses a multi-tasking operating system created by Quadron,
Inc., which was specifically designed for communications intensive
systems.

UoSAT-4 (OSCAR-15) carries three microprocessors and a CCD Earth imaging
camera.  Parallel processing available on the spacecraft will provide
high-speed compression of camera images.  Tests of radiation tolerance
of the Transputer chips used will also be made.


* ITALIAN MICROSAT *
====================
Work continues in Italy on a new microsat amateur satellite.
During the first week of December, the transmitter module, BCR module
and CPU were all integrated and the PHT software was run succesfully,
controlling each different module.  The PSK transmitter has been
tested at varous power settings, showing excellent linearity and
the telemetry frames has been received by many stations in the 50 km
radius of Rodano (Italy), where the engineering unit of the spacecraft
is being integrated.  A completed unit is expected to be ready by the
end of Janaury after all tests are complete.


* BADR-1 DECAYS *
=================
BADR-1, a Pakistani satellite launched by the People's Republic of China
earlier this year, decayed in the Earth's atmosphere between 08-Dec-90
and 09-Dec-90.  BADR-1 transmitted telemetry using an FM carrier in the
2-meter amateur radio band on frequencies of 144.030 and 145.825 MHz.
It was never determined why this spacecraft used amateur radio frequencies
for its downlink of telemetry since it clearly was not an amateur satellite.


* TNX QSL! *
============
A special thanks to all those who sent e-mail messages to SpaceNews:

DL5SBS, K8VDU, WA2ISE, WA2TMF, WC1L, RW3DZ, ZL2AXJ


* FEEDBACK WELCOMED *
=====================
Feedback regarding SpaceNews can be directed to the editor (John) via any
of the following paths:

INTERNET : [e-mail]
PACKET   : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA
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MAIL     : John A. Magliacane, KD2BD
           Department of Electronics Technology
           Advanced Technology Center
           Brookdale Community College
           765 Newman Springs Road
           Lincroft, New Jersey 07738
           U.S.A.


        << All The Best Wishes For A Healthy And Happy 1991! >>

/EX
--
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

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End of SPACE Digest V13 #011
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