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Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #378

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 13 : Issue 378

Today's Topics:
      Report on proceedings of PARSEC '91 (Introduction)
                   Re: SETI
          NASA Prediction Bulletins:  Space Shuttle
         Re: Space Stations, Money, Startrek
                 SETI
            Re: Japan Moon Probes article
             Shuttle Mission #39
        Re: Underground Nuclear Test in Nevada
              Re: Genesis Rock?

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: 7 Apr 91 20:36:08 GMT
From: mcsun!ukc!edcastle!hwcs![e-mail]  (Stewart T. Fleming)
Subject: Report on proceedings of PARSEC '91 (Introduction)

The first one-day Pro-Amateur Rocketry & SpacEflight Conference took
place recently at Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh, Scotland.  There
were a large number of space- and astronomy-related topics presented
which I think are relevant (as a matter of interest if nothing else) for
the net.at.large.

The morning session was devoted to amateur and educational issues and
are included in this posting.  The afternoon session I have split into
three postings.  I am not decrying the contribution made by the amateur
groups; merely that two of the afternoon topics - solar sailing and
waverider craft - have generated previous interest and I present them
here for information and potential discussion.

Disclaimer : I do not have any connection with PARSEC organizers except
as a highly satisfied delegate.  A full list of contact addresses can be
found at the end of this article.  I will be quite happy to field e-mail
enquiries and pass them on.

Stewart
--
[e-mail]                        ...ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!sfleming
"But February made me shiver/With every paper I delivered"
  - Don Maclean on the rigours of attending winter seminars.

----------Start of Proceedings.

PARSEC : Pro-Amateur Rocketry & Spaceflight Conference

Organised jointly by Space School and Space Technology Applications, Astronomy
& Rocket (STAAR) Research.

Location : Queen Margaret College, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Date: April 6th 1991 10am - 9pm.

Contributors :

John Stewart, Paisley Rocketeering Society,
Discovery Space Club, Paisley,
Trevor Sprotson, Manchester
Colin McInnes, Department of Physics, University of Glasgow.
Dr. Rodney Buckland, Space School,
John Bonsor, STAAR Research.

Morning Session

9am John Stewart, "History and Activities of Paisley Rocketeer's"

This was an entertaining talk outlining the history and activities of the
Society, from its origins in the mid-1930's, through dissolution in the War
years and its subsequent revival and growth.

The Society experiments with various forms of model rockets, including
chemical and aquajet designs, and holds regular payload and distance
launch competitions.  The talk was accompanied by various slides detailing
the design and performance of these rockets.

The Society has carried out many demonstration and charity launches and
presented a number of exhibitions.  Its focus on different propulsion
methods provides for different levels of expertise - for example, aquajets
allow younger members to experiment easily and cheaply before proceeding
to more complex designs.  The Society maintains a healthy membership and
a strong interest in all aspects of rocketry.


10am Discovery Space Club, "Amateur Satellites"

This was a comprehensive review of contributions made by amateur groups
in the design, construction, operation and monitoring of artificial
satellites.  It outlined the development of amateur satellites, from
OSCAR I (US, 1959), through Soviet experimentation, to UOSAT I&II
(UK 1980, 1984).

The talk described some of the problems faced by satellites, detailing
orbital configurations and equipment needed for tracking and satellite
reception.  Slides were shown, covering the design, construction, testing
and launch of UOSAT II - designed and built by Surrey University and
still in operation, 7 years on.

11am Robert Law, DSC, "History and Activities of the Discovery Space Club"

The speaker outlined the activities of the club, formed in 1987 to
provide a forum in the West of Scotland for individuals and groups with
an interest in space and amateur astronomy.  The club meets weekly at the
Coats Observatory, Paisley as well as organising various exhibitions and
public demonstrations.

The talk was accompanied by slides of previous exhibitions plus pictures
taken of various atmospheric phenomena and astronomic observations by the
club members.  Various methods were described for this type of photography.

Also outlined were some of the problems faced by amateur groups in this
country, usually working with limited funding, of keeping up to date with
space-related news and contacts.  Club members obtain information,
particularly video film, from a variety of sources and are always on the
lookout for good sources of space news.

12pm Trevor Sprotson, "Space Studies in Schools"

Trevor Sprotson is a space enthusiast with an interest in the involvement
of space studies in education.  He outlined some of the problems found in
the introduction of such topics into the school curriculum and described
some of the contributions they could make, not only in the obvious areas
of physical sciences, but across a wide range of subjects.

Contact Addresses

Paisley Rocketeer's Society

Hon. Secretary - John Stewart,
15 Bushes Avenue,
PAISLEY,
Scotland,
PA2 6JR

Tel: [phone]

Discovery Space Club

President - Robert Law,
14 Marmion Court,
Foxbar,
PAISLEY,
Scotland
PA2 0LU

Solar Sailing

Colin McInnes,
Department of Physics and Astronomy,
University of Glasgow,
GLASGOW,
Scotland
G12 8QQ

Space School

Dr. Rodney Buckland,
Director,
Space School,
Brunel University,
UXBRIDGE,
Middlesex UB8 3PH,
United Kingdom.

Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]

STAAR Research

Secretary - John Bonsor,
65D Lamont Drive,
IRVINE,
Ayrshire,
Scotland
KA12 8HD

Tel: [phone]

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

Date: 8 Apr 91 10:20:11 GMT
From: qualcom.qualcomm.com!qualcom.qualcomm.com![e-mail]  (Franklin Antonio)
Subject: Re: SETI

[e-mail] (Brett Breitwieser) writes:
>  Columbus Day 1992 begins NASA's 10 year SETI experiment.
>(See April issue of DISCOVER magazine, article by Judith Stone
>"Won't You Be My Neighbor") Does anyone know have any more on

Are you sure it wasn't an April fool's joke?

>amateur contributions to the field including what equipment to

There's an amateur radio telescope right down the street from me which
does regular SETI searches.  It's hooked to a BBS.  You can dial up &
download the "results".  The sysop seems knowledgable (and obviously
very interested) in this field.  The ZEKE bbs can be reached at
619-755-5675.  Tell him N6NKF sent you.

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

Date: 9 Apr 91 00:00:59 GMT
From: udecc.engr.udayton.edu!blackbird.afit.af.mil![e-mail]  (TS Kelso)
Subject: NASA Prediction Bulletins:  Space Shuttle


The most current orbital elements from the NASA Prediction Bulletins are
carried on the Celestial BBS, [phone], and are updated several times
weekly.  Documentation and tracking software are also available on this
system.  As a service to the satellite user community, the most current
elements for the current shuttle mission are provided below.  The Celestial
BBS may be accessed 24 hours/day at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud using 8 data
bits, 1 stop bit, no parity.

STS 37
1 21224U 91 27  A 91 98.44077275  .00010011  00000-0  25599-3 0    80
2 21224  28.4708 219.1816 0014663 307.1712  52.7219 15.37498536   446
--
Dr TS Kelso                           Assistant Professor of Space Operations
[e-mail]          Air Force Institute of Technology

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

Date: 9 Apr 91 03:42:16 GMT
From: groucho![e-mail]  (Steve Emmerson)
Subject: Re: Space Stations, Money, Startrek

In <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Matthew DeLuca) writes:

>The U.S. and the Soviet Union have been exchanging data on the biological
>effects of extended zero-gee for some years now.  I believe a new agreement
>was recently signed not too long ago, to exchange yet more information.

Excellent!

>Nobody is 'afraid' to ask for help.  But you never learn anything if all
>you do is copy from your neighbor.

Odd.  I've learned a lot using data I never personally collected.

Steve Emmerson        [e-mail]        ...!ncar!unidata!steve

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

Date: 7 Apr 91 00:35:26 GMT
From: cruzio![e-mail]  (Brett Breitwieser)
Subject: SETI



  Columbus Day 1992 begins NASA's 10 year SETI experiment.
(See April issue of DISCOVER magazine, article by Judith Stone
"Won't You Be My Neighbor") Does anyone know have any more on
this that they could email or post? Or know where I could find
archives?
   Also, it seems to me that Monitoring Times had an article
on SETI sometime in the last few years...it mentioned possible
amateur contributions to the field including what equipment to
use and a few "for further reading" sources.  Does anyone remember
the article that could e-mail or post a synopsis or know of
further source materials? Thanks very much!

                                   V
                                  V V
                                 V V V
Brett Breitwieser               V V V V
VAJRACOM CONSULTANTS          *VAJRA*COM*         GRIDLOC CM86XX
Santa Cruz, CA                  V V V V         ..uunet!cruzio!brettb
                                 V V V
                                  V V
                                   V

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

Date: 8 Apr 91 05:30:55 GMT
From: sun-barr!ccut!wnoc-tyo-news!astemgw!kuis!rins![e-mail]  (will)
Subject: Re: Japan Moon Probes article

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] writes:
>Some aerospace firms (which shall go unnamed) have been
>overcharging the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and the Air Force, not to
>mention NASA and the whole U.S. Government in general, for years.  Yet they are
>still not satisfied.  Profits most be astronomical or heads must roll.  This
>mentality breeds petty bickering and wastes time in unnecessary legal
>proceedings.  When we can't pull together and move forward after suffering a
>calamity on the scale of CHALLENGER, no wonder we are loosing our leadership
>role to the Japanese and just about everyone else.

    When I was in the Marine Corps, I always caught IBM staff replacing
perfectly good boards in our computers.  One day, I actually asked one of them
why they do this, he said "to meet my quota".  I am sure other Corporations
operated by the same standards.  Also, let us not forget the Billions of Dollars
stolen by General Dynamics.  Amazing, they contract $5B for one sub, which
always ends up to be $50B(each) more than what was promised.  Maybe a little
exageration on the finance part, but it does symbolize the waste that the U.S.
government proliferates and allows.

>(May a severe geomagnetic storm fry the circuitry of every Hughes bird now in
>orbit. :-)

    I agree......


                                        William Dee Rieken
                                        Researcher, Computer Visualization
                                        Faculty of Science and Technology
                                        Ryukoku University
                                        Seta, Otsu 520-21,
                                        Japan

                                        Tel: [phone](direct)
                                        Fax: [phone]
                                        [e-mail]

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

Date: 8 Apr 91 13:20:56 GMT
From: rex!samsung!news.cs.indiana.edu!ux1.cso.uiuc.edu![e-mail]  (Ed Otto)
Subject: Shuttle Mission #39

It's about time, NASA!

The manned space program, long despised by some in congress, yesterday received
partial vindication when two astronauts managed to release the latch on the
High Gain Antenna boom on the GRO.

All telemetry as of this time indicates optimum performance.

But did you watch the spacewalk after that?

And they get to do it again today!  The sight of those two men cavorting
brought back memories of the moon walk where it was the "...Merry, merry
month of May (December)"...

Don't kill the manned program - it SAVED a satellite yesterday!

--
********************************************************************************
*                             *  Netmail addresses:                            *
*  Edward C. Otto III         *    [e-mail]                  *
*  University of Illinois     *    [e-mail]                 *

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

Date: 8 Apr 91 12:59:02 GMT
From: agate!bionet!uwm.edu!spool.mu.edu!cs.umn.edu!kksys!wd0gol!newave![e-mail]  (John A. Weeks III)
Subject: Re: Underground Nuclear Test in Nevada

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (MURTY  Hema Sandhyarani) writes:
> Yesterday there was another underground nuclear test in
> Nevada.  Why are we allowing this to continue?

I doubt that this has anything to do with sci.space unless the
test was more than 8100 miles underground.

-john-

--
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
John A. Weeks III               [phone]             [e-mail]
NeWave Communications                       ...uunet!tcnet!wd0gol!newave!john

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

Date: 6 Apr 91 03:25:19 GMT
From: hpfcso![e-mail]  (Doug Josephson)
Subject: Re: Genesis Rock?


From "To Rule the Night" (Irwin's autobiography with William Emerson):

"...the University of New York at Stony Brook has age-dated it at 4.15
 billion years, plus or minus 0.25 billion years."

It also mentions the oldest object found on Earth is 3.3 billion years
old.

Doug Josephson  [e-mail]  Fort Collins, CO

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

End of SPACE Digest V13 #378
*******************