Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V13_0/V13_061.TXT

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Date: Sun, 20 Jan 91 01:56:42 -0500 (EST)
Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #061

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 13 : Issue 61

Today's Topics:
NASA selects scientists for SETI Microwave Observing Project (Forwarded)
             NASA Headline News for 01/15/91 (Forwarded)
                                Drat!
 Dealing with ice "creep" (was: Humankind's Second Off-world Colony)

Administrivia:

    Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to
  [e-mail].  Other mail, esp. [un]subscription requests,
  should be sent to [e-mail], or, if urgent, to
                         [e-mail]

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

Date: 18 Jan 91 18:24:59 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA selects scientists for SETI Microwave Observing Project (Forward\
ed)

Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                   January 15, 1991
(Phone:  [phone])

Diane Stanley
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.
(Phone:  [phone])


RELEASE:  91-7

NASA SELECTS SCIENTISTS FOR SETI MICROWAVE OBSERVING PROJECT


     NASA has selected 9 scientists from around the country to
participate as team members and interdisciplinary scientists in
the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Microwave
Observing Project, scheduled to begin in 1992.

     The SETI Microwave Observing Project consists of two
elements, a Targeted Search element and a Sky Survey element.
The Targeted Search will use the largest available antennas
around the world and search over the frequency range from 1 to 3
gigahertz (GHz), seeking a variety of patterns in the
frequency/time domain that could be indicative of an artificially
generated signal.  The Targeted Search will perform the most
sensitive search ever conducted of nearby (less than 80 light-
years distant) solar-type stars.

     In a complementary search strategy, the Sky Survey will use
the 34-meter antennas at NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) sites in
the northern and southern hemispheres to scan the entire sky over
the frequency range from 1 to 10 GHz.  Because of the tremendous
increase in the area of the sky covered, a signal will have to be
stronger to be detected by the Sky Survey.  But this element
could detect signals coming from the vicinity of distant sun-like
stars or from directions that might be overlooked if the search
were limited to nearby solar-type stars.

     The SETI observations will formally commence on Columbus Day
1992, with the Sky Survey system deployed at the Goldstone,
Calif., DSN complex and the Targeted Search System mounted on the
large radio telescope at the National Science Foundation's
Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

     The selected investigators were chosen on the basis of a
proposal to strengthen and/or enhance the SETI observations
planned by NASA.  The designs for the SETI-specific hardware that
will be utilized to make these searches are already quite mature,
but the investigators will assist in finalizing the system
designs and in the development of prototype systems.

     The selected investigators will form the core of the project
science team that will help refine the SETI search procedures,
optimize the list of targeted solar-type stars, and formulate
methods to extract the greatest amount of traditional radio
astronomical data during the course of the scheduled SETI
observations.  The science team will be led by Project Scientist
Dr. Jill C. Tarter at Ames Research Center, Mountain View,
Calif., and by Deputy Project Scientist Dr. Sam Gulkis of the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

     The overall Microwave Observing Project is being managed by
NASA's Ames Research Center, which also bears responsibility for
the Targeted Search portion of the Project.  NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory is working with Ames and has responsibility
for the Sky Survey portion of the search.  The SETI Microwave
Observing Project is part of NASA's Exobiology Program and is
managed by the Office of Space Science and Applications, NASA
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

The selected SETI Microwave Observing Project principal
investigators, their current affiliations and the title of their
research proposals follow:

Dr. Peter B. Boyce
American Astronomical Society
Washington, DC

"SETI Interdisciplinary Investigations; Search Strategy,
Verification and Education"


Dr. James M. Cordes
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY

"Interstellar Scattering Implications for SETI Detection Samples"


Dr. Michael M. Davis
Arecibo Observatory (NAIC)
Arecibo, Puerto Rico

"Research Facility Team Membership for the SETI Targeted Search"


Dr. Dayton L. Jones
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Pasadena, CA

"Interdisciplinary Proposal for Radio Astronomy Investigations
with the SETI Microwave Observing Project"


Dr. David W. Latham
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Cambridge, MA

"Target Selection and Characterization:  A Team Member
Investigation Proposal for the Targeted Search Project  of the
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Microwave Project"


Dr. David R. Soderblom
Space Telescope Science Institute
Baltimore, MD

"An Enhanced Target Selection Strategy for the SETI Microwave
Observing Project"


Dr. Kenneth C. Turner
Innovative Systems
Centreville, VA

"Special Targets in the SETI Microwave Observing Project"


Professor Paul G. Steffes
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA

"Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence/Microwave Observing
Project:  Sky Survey Team Member Proposal"


Dr. Woodruff T. Sullivan
University of Washington
Seattle, WA

"MOP Search Strategies and Interpretations"

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

Date: 18 Jan 91 18:07:01 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 01/15/91 (Forwarded)


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

  Tuesday, January 15, 1991     Audio Service: 202 / 755-1788

This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, January 15, 1991

The Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite
again last night deployed a barium cannister.  The release
occurred at 11:11 pm EST.  There are four opportunities again
tonight and tomorrow morning for release of a lithium cannister.
Those times are 11:00 pm, 11:30 pm tonight, midnight and 12:30
am tomorrow.  Washington-area weather is expected to be
cloudy, so viewing conditions may preclude area residents from
seeing the artificial aurora, which would appear about 40
degrees above the horizon in the Southeast.  Marshall Space
Flight Center's CRRES operations number is 205/544-5356.
An updated release schedule is available at that number.

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

NASA and university astronomers announced yesterday, at the
American Astronomical Society meeting in Philadelphia, that for
the first time, they have mapped the distribution of
nitrogen throughout our galaxy.  The new observations were
made by the Far Infrared Absolute Spectrophotometer aboard
the Cosmic Background Explorer.

This all-sky survey, along with additional maps of carbon and
dust, provides quantitative information that may enable
scientists to better understand the heating and cooling processes
that take place throughout the Milky Way.  These new data
show that carbon and nitrogen atoms, key building blocks of life,
are extremely widespread in the thin gas that fills the space
between the stars.  Carbon and nitrogen atoms are created
inside stars by nuclear reactions, then released back into space
by stellar winds or the explosions which often accompany the
end of a star's life.

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

Workers at the Kennedy Space Center continue on
schedule in their ground processing activities of Discovery,
scheduled to roll over from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the
Vehicle Assembly Building at the end of the month.

On Atlantis, main propulsion system leak checks are continuing.
Tests were conducted last night of the auxiliary power units.

Work on Columbia's protective tile system continues in the VAB,
while that orbiter awaits Discovery's berth in the OPF.





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

Tuesday, 1/15/91
        12:00 pm        NASA Productions

Wednesday, 1/16/91
        12:30 pm        Hubble Space Telescope "Investigations of
                        Massive Stars" (two new images taken by HST Goddard
                        High Resolution Spectrograph), video captions and
                        images only, no audio.

Thursday, 1/17/91
        11:30 am        NASA Update will be transmitted.

        12:30 pm        "First UIT Images" (the first images released by
                        the STS-35 Astro-1 Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope);
                        "The White Storm on Saturn" (video made from HST
                        Wide Field/Planetary Camera images of Saturn's
                        white storm); video captions and images only, no audio.

Wednesday, 1/23/91
         9:30 am        **STS-39 Flight Director briefing from JSC.

        11:00 am        **STS-39 Department of Defense payload
                        briefing from JSC.

         2:00 pm        **STS-39 crew briefing from JSC.


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.

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

Date: 18 Jan 91 03:52:43 GMT
From: swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!zardoz.cpd.com!dhw68k!ofa123!Wales.Larrison@u\
csd.edu  (Wales Larrison)
Subject: Drat!

Henry Spencer replies:
>>  Magellan, from my recollection, was never planned to use a
>>Shuttle-Centaur. The use of the TOS stage was allowed when they
>>removed the requirement to circularize the orbit at Venus ...
>
>???  Wales, I think you need to check the references on this.
>Magellan has never used a TOS; it went up on an IUS.  And a quick
>look through the files confirms my recollection:  Magellan was
>originally slated to be the first NASA customer for Centaur G (as
>opposed to the bigger G-prime planned for Ulysses and Galileo).  And
>Magellan, as opposed to its predecessor VOIR, has always planned an
>elliptical orbit.

   Darn it!  Henry, you're right.  Re thinking my post, the
Magellan did use the IUS.  The first use of the TOS is for the ACTS
in 1992. My apologies to the net - I just remembered seeing the
picture of that IUS first stage coasting out of the payload bay, and
thought it was a TOS.  In my defense, however, the IUS and TOS both
use the same first stage motor, though.

>>[Ulysses] The Delta-VEGA maneuver used was a god-
>>send to them.
>
>Again, ???  Unless I am badly mistaken, Ulysses is going direct to
>Jupiter, no delta-VEGA involved.  Only Galileo gets to bat around
>the inner system for a while first.
>
   Hmmm - you may also be right on this.  I can't find confirming or
denying data. Considering my batting average on this posting, you're
probably right.  Although that's a whole lot of energy to get out of
that IUS.
   My remembrance of all this is from about 5 years ago when my
company was hot and heavy into the upper stage business - and I was
doing some of the preliminary mission and market planning.  I
remember that there were lots of performance issues with the Ulysses
(then called the International Solar Polar Mission), and we were
looking at a Delta-VEGA maneuver trajectory for it as well because
of the high energy requirements.  I know they were talking about
lightening up the spacecraft, and even playing games with elliptical
shuttle parking orbits to get more performance - so maybe the IUS
had enough poop to do the mission.
   Unfortunately, my firm got out of the upper stage business in
about 1985, and my upper stage technical and market files got tossed
when I took a leave to finish off my MBA in 1986.  (Sigh... where
are the files when you need them...)

--------------------------------------------------------------------
A much chagrined Wales Larrison            Space Technology Investor



--
Wales Larrison
Internet: [e-mail]
Compuserve: >internet:[e-mail]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: 14 Jan 91 19:58:21 GMT
From: julius.cs.uiuc.edu!wuarchive!sdd.hp.com!caen!math.lsa.umich.edu!sharkey!\
cfctech!teemc!fmeed1![e-mail]  (Russ Cage)
Subject: Dealing with ice "creep" (was: Humankind's Second Off-world Colony)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Tom Neff) writes:
>Oh yes, but if what you specifically want is to study the ice, you'll
>probably have to tackle the heat problem sooner or later.

Or not.  There is always the final fix:  to avoid sinking, be buoyant.
If your base is buoyant and stable against tipping, it would not matter
if you melted out a sea around yourself.

Considering the ease of making balloons for habitats, and the
density of air-space compared to water and ice, this problem
seems easily solved.  An outer balloon full of water/ice could
be a radiation shield.  (Will 30 feet of water do for Ganymede?)
--
Russ Cage       Ford Powertrain Engineering Development Department
Work:  itivax.iti.org!cfctech!fmeed1!cage   (CHATTY MAIL NOT ANSWERED HERE)
Home:  [e-mail]  (All non-business mail)
Member:  HASA, "S" division.

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

End of SPACE Digest V13 #061
*******************