Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V13_3/V13_314.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #314

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 13 : Issue 314

Today's Topics:
   !! MAG STORM CORRECTION - ALERT REISSUED AT 21:00 UT 24 MARCH !!
             Re: Galileo asteroid imaging
             Re: Galileo asteroid imaging
                Re: "Follies"
         Shuttle Manifest Changes (Forwarded)
              Galileo Update - 03/21/91
           Re: Need source for manned space flights
            Commercial Space News (3 of 4)

Administrivia:

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Date: Sun, 24 Mar 91 14:18:25 MST
From: [e-mail] (CARY OLER)
Subject: !! MAG STORM CORRECTION - ALERT REISSUED AT 21:00 UT 24 MARCH !!
X-St-Vmsmail-To: st%"[e-mail]"

CORRECTIONS: PLEASE READ

                       /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

                       INFORMATIONAL MAGNETIC STORM UPDATE
                            Storm Alert CONTINUATION

                       /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

                               21:00 UT, 24 March

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


CORRECTION:

     The decision has been made to continue Major Geomagnetic Storm Alert
until at least 06:00 UT on 24 March.  Major geomagnetic storming has
resumed as of 20:00 UT on 24 March.  An intense perturbation accompanied
with a local HF radio blackout has occurred.  It appears the previous storm
alert cancellation was premature.

     PLEASE DISREGARD THE PREVIOUS INFORMATIONAL STORM UPDATE MESSAGE.  The
following revised forecast has been issued.

     LOW LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY WILL BE POSSIBLE for North American
observers again this evening.  Sporatic bursts of minor to major
storm-level geomagnetic fluctuations accompanied by enhanced auroral
activity will be possible.  The past six to seven hour period of unsettled to
active geomagnetic activity prompted a premature end to the storm warning.
Ths warning will be updated near 06:00 UT.  Electrical geomagnetic induction
will remain possible (although somewhat less likely than 12 to 24 hours
ago) throughout the period.


The following alerts are IN PROGRESS (disregard previous update):

   - MAJOR GEOMAGNETIC STORM ALERT (reissued as of 21:00 UT, 24 March)
   - LOW LATITUDE AURORAL ACTIVITY ALERT (reissued as of 21:00 UT, 24 March)
   - ELECTRICAL GEOMAGNETIC INDUCTION ALERT (reissued as of 21:00 UT, 24 March)
   - SATELLITE PROTON EVENT ALERT
   - POLAR CAP ABSORPTION EVENT ALERT
   - POLAR TO MIDDLE LATITUDE RADIO SIGNAL BLACKOUT ALERT


The following warnings remain in progress:

   - POTENTIAL MAJOR SOLAR FLARE ALERT
   - POTENTIAL PROTON FLARE ALERT


                       /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

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

Date: 22 Mar 91 23:10:45 GMT
From: ingrid![e-mail]  (Loren Petrich)
Subject: Re: Galileo asteroid imaging


    I am not sure if it would be practical to do it, but it might
be possible to take pictures of Gaspra from a distance, before closest
encounter, to assist in targeting the asteroid.

    For that purpose, I attempted to calculate the time margin. If
I remember correctly, the resolution of the Voyager cameras was
1/50,000 radians. I presume the Galileo cameras have similar
performance.

    If the asteroid has a size of 10 kms, and it fills one pixel
of the Galileo images, it will have a distance of 500,000 kms. The
time needed to traverse that distance is the time margin needed. Its
value depends on the relative velocity of the spacecraft and the
asteroid.

    Currently, Galileo is moving in an orbit with a period of
about 2 years and a periapsis of nearly 1 AU. This gives a major axis
of 1.587 AU and an apoapsis of 2.175 AU. Since the encounter is due in
November, this implies that the spacecraft will be near its apoapsis.
The asteroid I will assume to be moving in a nearly circular orbit.
The relative velocity becomes approximately 4.2 km/s. Thus, it will
take 10^5 seconds or 33 hours to travel that distance. This seems like
plenty of time to work out an observation schedule.

    Any comments on trying to get an "early view" of the asteroid?
I presume someone at JPL had thought of what I had been thinking of
before me.


$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Loren Petrich, the Master Blaster: [e-mail]

Since this nodename is not widely known, you may have to try:

[e-mail]

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

Date: 23 Mar 91 02:31:52 GMT
From: magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!spool.mu.edu!munnari.oz.au!uhccux![e-mail]  (David Tholen)
Subject: Re: Galileo asteroid imaging

[e-mail] (Loren Petrich) writes:

>     I am not sure if it would be practical to do it, but it might
> be possible to take pictures of Gaspra from a distance, before closest
> encounter, to assist in targeting the asteroid.

Spacecraft navigation will be done, but range information is still the
hardest to get, so triangulation using ground-based observations is also
being pursued vigorously.

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

Date: Thu, 21 Mar 91 08:37:28 -0500
From: "Allen W. Sherzer" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: "Follies"
Newsgroups: sci.space
Cc:

In article <[e-mail]>:

>> [New world colonies started with 50 families]

>The obvious differences are that both Massachusetts and northern Utah
>support human life quite readily.  Food, water, building materials,
>etc. are all readily and cheaply available.  In sharp contrast to the
>moon.

These materials where not so readily available as you may think. Lots of
people starved to death in the first colonies. Jamestown lost half its
population in each of its first three years. Other colonies where totally
wiped out.

The only things not readily available are food and water. Energy and
building materials are available. There is even water (though not much)
in the soil. The main problem is booting up the farms with enough biomas
to get things going. After that, the incrimental cost of a new person is
in line with the 50 family cost outlined in the original post.

>> Now this approach does assume that there is an infrastructure there...

>Of course, the Salt Lake City and Plymouth colonists sold everything
>and endured great hardship to GET AWAY from the government,

Other colonies started because of percieved economic advantages. They
wanted the chance to grow with the new frontier. Most who went west
for example, did so for that exact reason. They endured similar hardship.

>If you want people
>to tolerate such loss of freedom, you're not only going to have to
>pay for the infrastructure, you're going to have to give them a
>bunch of incentives to do it.

For many (myself included) the chalange and opportunity will be
enough motivation.

>I like to be hopeful, but hoping that a few hundred families are
>going to drop everything to go live alone on the moon and pay for it
>themselves is going a bit far.

Perhaps but that may be what it takes.

  Allen

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

Date: 21 Mar 91 17:16:10 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Shuttle Manifest Changes (Forwarded)

Mark Hess/Ed Campion
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                                                                         March 21, 1991
(Phone:  [phone])

RELEASE:  91-44

NASA ISSUES MODIFICATIONS TO SHUTTLE MANIFEST

        NASA managers today announced adjustments to modify the February 1991
Mixed Fleet Manifest.  The modifications to the manifest were necessary after
the STS-39 mission, scheduled for March with Space Shuttle Discovery, was
postponed due to cracks on the orbiter's external tank door drive mechanism
housing.

        The flights now projected for calendar year 1991 begin with Space
Shuttle Atlantis and the Gamma Ray Observatory flying in April.  Following
repairs to the door drive mechanism housing, Discovery will fly the STS-39
mission in May.  The projected date for STS-40/Spacelab Life Sciences mission
aboard Shuttle Columbia remains in May.  Columbia will be taken off line as
planned for structural inspections and modifications for Extended Duration
Orbiter capability following completion of the STS-40 mission.

        The Tracking Data Relay Satellite mission originally scheduled to fly
on Discovery in July is now on Atlantis in August.  The Defense Support Program
mission remains on Atlantis but will move from August to December.  These two
adjustments preserve the agency's capability to fly Discovery with the Upper
Atmosphere Research Satellite payload during its required science window with
launch projected now for October.

        The International Microgravity Laboratory mission which was planned
for December 1991 will become the first flight in calendar year 1992.  The
mixed cargo flight of the Tethered Satellite System and the European Space
Agency's European Retrievable Carrier originally scheduled for February on
Shuttle Discovery will move to August 1992 and will fly on Space Shuttle
Atlantis.

          Flights in the mid-1992 time frame remain in their original
manifested positions with Atlas-1 in April, the Intelsat reboost mission in
May which will involve the first flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour and the U.S.
Microgravity Laboratory in June.  Spacelab-J and the mixed cargo flight of the
U.S. Microgravity Payload and the Laser Geodynamics Satellite also remain as
scheduled for September 1992.  The Canadian Experiments payload also is
joining this mission.

        Adjustments to the manifest beyond September 1992 are still being
examined and will be announced at a later date.


1991 Shuttle Launches

 DATE                MISSION                VEHICLE           PAYLOAD

April 1991           STS-37                 Atlantis          GRO

May 1991             STS-39                 Discovery         AFP-675/IBSS

May 1991             STS-40                 Columbia          SLS-1

August 1991          STS-43                 Atlantis          TDRS-E

October 1991         STS-48                 Discovery         UARS

December 1991        STS-44                 Atlantis          DSP


1992 Shuttle Launches

DATE                MISSION                VEHICLE            PAYLOAD

February 1992       STS-42                 Discovery          IML-1

April 1992          STS-45                 Atlantis           ATLAS-1

May 1992            STS-49                 Endeavour          INTELSAT-R

June 1992           STS-50                 Columbia           USML-1

August 1992         STS-46                 Atlantis           TSS-1/EURECA

Sept. 1992          STS-47                 Endeavour          Spacelab-J

Sept. 1992          STS-52                 Columbia           USMP/LAGEOS/CANEX

      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Jet Propulsion Lab |
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   M/S 301-355        | Change is constant.
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  Pasadena, CA 91109 |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                      |

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

Date: 22 Mar 91 01:03:04 GMT
From: swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Galileo Update - 03/21/91


                            GALILEO STATUS REPORT
                              March 21, 1991

     Yesterday, the Galileo spacecraft successfully completed the TCM-9B
(Trajectory Correction Maneuver).  Spacecraft  performance throughout the
maneuver was normal; preliminary navigation data indicates an overburn of
less than 1 percent.  Today, no spacecraft activities are planned.  Tomorrow,
activities will be limited to a USO (Ultra Stable Oscillator) calibration test.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Jet Propulsion Lab |
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   M/S 301-355        | Change is constant.
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  Pasadena, CA 91109 |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                      |

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

Date: 22 Mar 91 23:54:06 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Patty Winter)
Subject: Re: Need source for manned space flights

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (eric smith) writes:
>
>Can anyone point me to a source that lists all manned space flights
>to date? The reference materials I know about only list "selected"
>missions, generally ones with some outstanding feature.

The April issue of _Odyssey_ magazine (the children's astro/space
magazine from the same publishers as _Astronomy_) has a really nice
summary of all the U.S. space shuttle missions. Since those are the
only manned missions we've done in years, that would at least get
you caught up on U.S. activities.


Patty

--
*****************************************************************************
Patty Winter N6BIS                        INTERNET: [e-mail]
AMPR.ORG: [44.4.0.44]                     UUCP: {decwrl,nsc,sun}!apple!winter
*****************************************************************************

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

Date: 9 Mar 91 05:55:57 GMT
From: snorkelwacker.mit.edu!spool.mu.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!peregrine!ccicpg!felix!dhw68k!ofa123![e-mail]  (Wales Larrison)
Subject: Commercial Space News (3 of 4)



OSC WINS CONTRACT FOR EXPLORER SATELLITE LAUNCH SERVICES
   It was recently announced by NASA that Orbital Sciences Corp
(OSC) has been selected by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center GSFC)
to provide launch services for several small explorer-class
satellites.  The contract being negotiated provides for seven
Pegasus launches, with an option for an additional three, at a firm,
in a fixed-price contract of about $10.5 M for the first launch, and
$7.4 M for each subsequent launch for a total value of about $55 M.
The first three satellites to be flown are the TOMS (Total Ozone
Mapping Spectrometer), FAST (Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer), and
SWAS (Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite).
   [Commentary:  OSC adds another 7 launches to its Pegasus manifest
for small NASA scientific satellites.  In general, this is a good
action by NASA since they have needed to return to smaller explorer
class satellites which can be developed and launched for less money
in less time.  The Explorer program at NASA has been the mainstay of
the space physics and sciences program, but their satellites have
been getting larger and larger and taking longer and longer to
launch.  COBE, for example, was in the $100-200M range, and took
about 10 years to get launched.  Science programs have suffered due
to the lack of data and the increased budgets required.
   OSC has needed to book some more users for the Pegasus.  The
expected flood of users of Pegasus has not shown up, and they were
starting to get worried about users after they had completed the
half-dozen or so DARPA missions on their books.  This should bump
the number of booked Pegasus launches up to about 15 in total (I
have to dig around and try to put together a listing of that....)
   The NASA Explorer program has traditionally been a fairly active
program satellite, and OSC's capture of a major portion of the small
scientific satellite program is strategically very important.]




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

End of SPACE Digest V13 #314
*******************