Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V13_1/V13_104.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #104

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 13 : Issue 104

Today's Topics:
             Re: Humanity's Launch Window
            Re: liquid SCUBA -- possible?
              Magellan Update - 01/29/91
              Re: Why man rate?
     Re: Request for Feedback on Proposed Lunar Analog Robotics C
            Re: liquid SCUBA -- possible?
              Galileo Update - 01/29/91
               Shuttle schedule
     NSDSSO Draft Standard for FITS Available for Review
             Re: Was it Salyut 7?

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: 25 Jan 91 17:58:06 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!caen!hellgate.utah.edu!csn!ub!dsinc!unix.cis.pitt.edu!pitt!nss![e-mail]  (Paul Blase)
Subject: Re: Humanity's Launch Window


>> Maybe.  I think the more likely scenario is that another culture,
>> perhaps Japanese will cross the threshold.  I say this because we seem
>> too pre-occupied with militarism and the Europeans with happenings east
>> of them to have a PLAN for space.

 AS> I have also heard the same by mail.  Well, call me a pessimist,
 AS> but I'm concerned that we're all interconnected and if the US
 AS> can't make it happen, no one can.

Looking at what is happening in the Gulf, as well as other historical
trends, it seems that we are taking care of the Japanese national defense
(not to mention many of their technical R&D costs), leaving them free to
spend money on space exploration.  Recall that the Japanese recently
launched the first lunar probe in 20 years.

--- via Silver Xpress V2.26 [NR]
--
Paul Blase - via FidoNet node 1:129/104
UUCP: ...!pitt!nss!Paul.Blase
INTERNET: [e-mail]

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

Date: 29 Jan 91 20:23:57 GMT
From: prism![e-mail]  (Matthew DeLuca)
Subject: Re: liquid SCUBA -- possible?

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:
>I've seen experiments with this but restricted to mice and other rodents.

>Don't know how they suppressed the gag reflex in the rats, if they did
>at all, and/or how it would be done with humans.  The one experiment with
>the rat I saw the rodent was weighted and just plain dropped into the
>liquid.  (Reminded me of a cheap mobster movie!)

If I recall, rats don't *have* a gag reflex...which is why certain types of
rat poison are effective.  No clue how they'd deal with the problem in humans.

And yes, I know this has well and truly diverged from sci.space...so flame
me. :-)

--
Matthew DeLuca
Georgia Institute of Technology      Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards,
Office of Information Technology     for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
Internet: [e-mail]

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

Date: 29 Jan 91 20:56:29 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Magellan Update - 01/29/91


                         MAGELLAN STATUS REPORT
                           January 29, 1991

     The Magellan spacecraft and its radar system are performing nominally.
All STARCALS (star calibrations) and DESATS (desaturations) since yesterday
were successful.

     Late today, the mapping command sequence M1030 will be sent to the
spacecraft, along with the associated parameter files.

     During the 4-day mapping sequence now being executed, the radar swath
width at the North Pole was increased to 40 km to facilitate studies of the
pole location by the RAND Corporation.

     The temperature of spacecraft Battery #1 has gone above the alarm limit
of 20 degrees Celsius several times in the last few days.  This was expected
due to the changing sun angle on the orbit and the return to full mapping
passes.  Spacecraft controllers are discussing options for temperature control
of the battery.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Jet Propulsion Lab |
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   M/S 301-355        | It's 10PM, do you know
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  Pasadena, CA 91109 | where your spacecraft is?
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                      | We do!

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

Date: 29 Jan 91 20:58:17 GMT
From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Why man rate?

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Fraering Philip) writes:
>>Not that I have anything against Titans, but why was it man-rated? Did
>>they ever expect to launch capsules?
>
> They did, way back when, launch capsules on Titans...

Titan II was used for Gemini, of course, but one might rule that evidence
out of order on the grounds that II didn't use SRBs.  However, there were
firm plans to man-rate a variant of Titan III, specifically the IIIM, for
launch of MOL (essentially a small military space station) with a Gemini
on top.
--
If the Space Shuttle was the answer,   | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
what was the question?                 |  [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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

Date: 28 Jan 91 11:55:41 GMT
From: van-bc!rsoft!mindlink![e-mail]  (Bruce Dunn)
Subject: Re: Request for Feedback on Proposed Lunar Analog Robotics C

> [e-mail] writes:
>
>
> In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Douglas E
> Helbling) writes...
> >          b) Size - the current limit on physical size for the "unextended
> unit"
> >             is two feet square.  (Must fit in a box two by two by two
> feet.)
>
> Aw, c'mon, make it a three-foot cube, so we can bring Waldo (the real thing)
> , instead of just Tycho (the toy).
>


     Better yet, make this an international contest and stop using American
measurements.  I think a 1 meter cube would be appropriate.
-:)
--
Bruce Dunn   Vancouver, Canada    [e-mail]

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

Date: 29 Jan 91 01:03:16 GMT
From: swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!censor!geac!gjetor![e-mail]  (Anthony DeBoer)
Subject: Re: liquid SCUBA -- possible?

>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Roggie Boone) writes:
> [discussion of liquid-breathing apparatus such as in the movie _The Abyss_]
>My question is, does such equipment really exist?  If so, who uses it and
>for what purposes?

When I first heard of such things, it was in connection with space launch
technology.  One possible launch system would use a variation on a magnetic
coil gun, or rail gun, or some such thing, mounted on the side of a mountain
near the equator.  It would shoot a payload at about 1000 G initial
acceleration into earth orbit.  This is great for payloads that can take that,
but you or I can't, since the front of your chest would collapse right into
your lungs under that much gravity, and you'd wind up looking generally like
high-tech road kill.  The idea they had was to use liquid breathing, with some
complicated solution, to fill your lungs and breathing spaces, then fill your
sinuses and middle ears with some neutral solution and put you inside a tank
of water, such that everything would be at the same density.  Then they could
shoot you out of their cannon without it bothering you.  I don't know how far
this idea ever got developed (maybe if I cross-post to sci.space Henry Spencer
or some other kind soul might respond) but evidently at some point somebody
saw a second application of such technology to deep-sea diving and the
liquid-breathing diving apparatus in _The Abyss_ resulted.

I'm actually not sure either whether this technology is actually applicable to
diving, since the whole idea of not crushing your lungs is to be breathing
air/gas mixture at the same pressure as that around you, or whether it might
be possible that beyond a certain depth a gaseous mixture gets too dense to
breathe and the liquid might provide a better oxygen-in CO2-out mechanism.
Just for you sci.space readers, the same issues would apply to any attempt
to build a spacesuit to visit Jupiter or anywhere with a thick atmosphere.

I heard via my brother that apparently a human volunteer had breathed this
stuff successfully, but I'll leave that classified under Urban Legend unless
and until anyone can confirm that.
--
Anthony DeBoer - NAUI #Z8800                           [e-mail]
Programmer, Geac J&E Systems Ltd.             uunet!jtsv16!geac!gjetor!adeboer
Toronto, Ontario, Canada             #include <std.random.opinions.disclaimer>

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

Date: 29 Jan 91 17:46:06 GMT
From: usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Galileo Update - 01/29/91


                          GALILEO STATUS REPORT
                            January 29, 1991

     Today, the planned sun acquisition activity was successfully completed
with the Galileo spacecraft.  Tomorrow, the CDS "B" (Command Data Subsystem)
prime and extended memory readout activity will be performed.  This activity
is similar to that successfully performed for CDS "A" on January 22.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Jet Propulsion Lab |
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   M/S 301-355        | It's 10PM, do you know
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  Pasadena, CA 91109 | where your spacecraft is?
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                      | We do!

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

Date: Tue, 29 Jan 91 13:05:14 -0600
From: [e-mail] (Corporate reorgs are like 120mm JHPs, a little too much)
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Shuttle schedule

I know this information has already been posted, but like a fool, I filed it,
and now I can't find it.

My wife has a meeting in Orlando in early May.  Are there any shuttle launches
scheduled (no promises) during that time?  Anything else exciting?  Is there
any way to get tickets/close up admission (ignoring probable tightened
security)?

Thanks,

Dillon Pyron                         | The opinions are mine, the facts
TI/DSEG VAX Systems Support          | probably belong to the company.
[e-mail]                  |
[phone]                        | "Not approved for inverted flight"
                                     | - sign inside my "aerobatics" plane

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

Date: 29 Jan 91 13:54:02 GMT
From: dftsrv!nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Barry Schlesinger)
Subject: NSDSSO Draft Standard for FITS Available for Review


    The NASA Science Data Systems Standards Office (NSDSSO) Draft
Standard for the Flexible Image Transport System (FITS) is now
available for review.  This Standard has been developed by a Technical
Panel chaired by Dr. Robert J. Hanisch (Space Telescope Science
Institute).  It is being developed with the goal of gaining
endorsement by the International Astronomical Union as the formal
standard for FITS.  The form of the standard is not final and should
not be considered to supersede the existing FITS documentation.
    The NSDSSO FITS Standard will be a formal codification of
existing FITS practices as defined in the four basic papers, the
Floating Point Agreement, and in other actions of the international
and regional FITS committees.  It is not a revision.
    This purpose of distributing the Draft Standard is to provide
for review and to gather comments.  The Technical Panel will review
and respond to all comments.
    NSDSSO wishes to have this document reviewed by as broad a
representation of the affected community as possible.  The FITS Draft
Standard may be obtained electronically on either the Space Physics
Analysis Network (SPAN) via default DECnet copy commands or the
Internet via TCP/IP anonymous FTP commands.  The NSSDCA computer is a
VMS/VAX 8650; therefore, filenames are case insensitive and disks and
subdirectories are indicated as: ANON_DIR:[FITS] for the disk
"ANON_DIR" and the directory "FITS". Retrieve the README. file first.
It describes the files in the FITS directory, provides more detail on
session and retrieval procedures, and explains how to register
comments with NSDSSO. NSSDCA is a member of a VMS/VAX cluster, and the
other principal node, NSSDCB, can also accept default DECnet and
anonymous FTP requests.

==========================================================================

                      Internet (TCP/IP)            SPAN (DECnet)
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Name:            NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV          NSSDCA
    Address:         128.183.10.4                  6.133  (6277)

    Name:            NSSDCB.GSFC.NASA.GOV          NSSDCB
    Address:         128.183.104.11                6.866  (7010)
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------

===============================================================================
==             default DECnet README. copy via SPAN                 ==
===============================================================================
ndadsa $ copy/log nssdca::anon_dir:[fits]readme. *
%COPY-S-COPIED, NSSDCA::ANON_DIR:[FITS]README.;1 copied to
                                                 DISKA":[MEV]README.;2 (1 block)
===============================================================================
==             Anonymous FTP README. copy via Internet              ==
===============================================================================
ndadsa $ ftp nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov

NDADSA.GSFC.NASA.GOV MultiNet FTP user process 2.2(100)
Connection opened (Assuming 8-bit connections)
<NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV MultiNet FTP Server Process 2.2(11) at Mon 24-Dec-90 9:17AM-EST

NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV>user anonymous
<anonymous user ok. Send real ident as password.

Password: [e-mail]
<Guest User [e-mail] logged into ANON_DIR:[000000] at Mon 24-Dec-90 09:17, job 202003a1.
<Directory and access restrictions apply

NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV>cd anon_dir:[fits]
<Connected to ANON_DIR:[FITS].

NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV>get readme.;1 readme.
<VMS retrieve of ANON_DIR:[FITS]README.;1 started.
<Transfer completed.  316 (8) bytes transferred.

NSSDCA.GSFC.NASA.GOV>quit
<QUIT command received. Goodbye.

=====================================================================

    To obtain paper copies or to have a copy electronically
mailed, send requests to NSDSSO.

Surface mail:    NASA Science Data Systems Standards Office
        Code 933
        Goddard Space Flight Center
        Greenbelt MD 20771

Electronic Mail:
    (SPAN)         NCF::NSDSSO
    (Internet)    [e-mail]

Telephone:    [phone]
        (7:30 A.M.-4 P.M., Eastern Time)

Telephone requests also can be made to the FITS Support Office at
[phone], where a machine will take messages if no one is in.
    Instructions on where to send comments will be in the README.
file of the anonymous ftp directory or the cover letter accompanying a
paper or electronic copy.  Comments should not be posted to the net.
All comments must be received by 26 February 1991 to be assured of
consideration by the Technical Panel.

                    Barry M. Schlesinger
                    FITS Support Office

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

Date: 29 Jan 91 20:29:04 GMT
From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!lavaca.uh.edu!menudo.uh.edu!lobster!lescsse![e-mail]  (Gary A. Morris)
Subject: Re: Was it Salyut 7?

In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (amos shapir) writes:

>In the referenced article I wrote:
>>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jason L. Levit) writes:
>>>  Hmmm, I didn't hear about this.  Does anyone have the stats on where
>>>  Salyut 7 is supposed to break up? ...
>>
>>I don't know either, but Bagdad sounds like a nice idea :-)
>>

As of today, Salyut 7 is predicted to reenter on February 9th plus or
minus about 1 day.  Because of the uncertainty of the reentry time it is
impossible to predict at this point where it will reenter.  It is in a
51.6 degree inclination orbit, so it could reenter anywhere between 51.6
N and 51.5 S latitude that is under those orbits on Feb 8-10, in other
words, almost anywhere on the planet except north of 51.6 north latitude
or south of 51.6 S latitude.

--GaryM
--
Gary Morris                    Internet: lescsse![e-mail]
Lockheed, Houston, Texas       UUCP:     lobster!lescsse!gamorris
Space Station Freedom          Internet: [e-mail]
N5QWC/W5RRR                    Phone:    [phone]

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

End of SPACE Digest V13 #104
*******************