Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V13_7/V13_722.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #722

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 13 : Issue 722

Today's Topics:
            Body Mass Measurements
              Re: Vote on Space Station
          MAJOR SOLAR FLARE ALERT - 10 JUNE
          Re: Negative Economic Multipliers
          Re: Democracy:  Easy Come, Easy Go
             Olympus services interrupted
            Re: Fred Vote Thursday
               Re: More on Freedom Vote
            Re: orbiter production
              ESA Press Release No.17/91

Administrivia:

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

Date: 10 Jun 91 17:22:49 GMT
From: pmafire![e-mail]  (Alan Herbst)
Subject: Body Mass Measurements


How are body mass measurements made aboard the shuttle in the weight-
lessness of space?  Is it the mirco-gravity at 180 miles up?

Thanks, Alan

--
Alan Herbst - WINCO Computer Engineering Group
208-526-3939, 0800 to 1615 MST
Path: [e-mail]

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

Date: 10 Jun 91 20:10:10 GMT
From: cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!isi.edu![e-mail]  (Craig E. Ward)
Subject: Re: Vote on Space Station

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Joe Cain) writes:
>...As
>Rep. Traxler noted, the added money required for the next few years to
>continue the Space Station cannot be sustained without significant
>increases in taxes or severe cutting of other programs in this part of
                                                        ^^^^^^^^^^^^
>the federal budget.

This is the piece of sophistry that Traxler is using to con part of the
pro-space community.  The whole of the federal budget should be looked at for
funding balances, not the less than 1% that goes to NASA.

I'm told that the victory margin for the station was larger than expected and
that it will encourage those on the Senate side.  The question to the AGU now
is does it still want to strive to make the space budget smaller or to push
for the station, improving the environment for remotely-manned projects?
--
Craig E. Ward <[e-mail]>     Slogan:    "nemo me impune lacessit"
USPS:    USC/Information Sciences Institute
    4676 Admiralty Way, Suite 1200
    Marina del Rey, CA 90292

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

Date: Mon, 10 Jun 91 12:11:02 MDT
From: oler <@BITNET.CC.CMU.EDU:[e-mail]> (CARY OLER)
Subject: MAJOR SOLAR FLARE ALERT - 10 JUNE
X-St-Vmsmail-To: st%"[e-mail]"

                        --  MAJOR SOLAR FLARE ALERT  --

                                 JUNE 10, 1991

                              Flare Event Summary
                          Potential Impact Assessment


                                    --------



MAJOR ENERGETIC EVENT SUMMARY

     A major class M6.4/1N flare occurred at 13:58 UT on 10 June.  The flare
was located at N32W14 and was associated with fairly strong initial radio
bursts.  A Type II sweep was observed from this event, but does not appear to
be associated with a Type IV.  This event was rather impulsive.  The event
began at 13:51 UT, peaked at 13:58 UT and ended at 14:13 UT.

     Region 6659 continues to pose a major threat.  Solar activity from this
region has been high over the past 24 hours.  A significant flurry of M-class
flare activity has developed and is expected to continue for the next 24
hours.


POTENTIAL TERRESTRIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT

     This last major class M6.4/1N flare is not expected to have a
significant terrestrial impact.  A light to possibly moderate impact is
possible, but will probably be confined to the "low" category if an impact
materializes at all.

     Proton levels are currently running between 60 and 80 pfu at greater
than 10 MeV.  PCA has also increased over the past several hours, although
this increase is expected to be only temporary (barring a major proton
flare).  There is an approximate 50% chance for a significant proton flare
over the next 24 to 72 hours.

     Solar activity will remain high.  M-class flaring and isolated major
X-class flares are possible and are expected over the next three days from
Region 6659.  Terrestrial impacts could be high given further major flares.
High-energy events are possible from this region.  White light flares may
also be possible.


**  End of Alert  **

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

Date: 11 Jun 91 00:37:56 GMT
From: sequent!muncher.sequent.com![e-mail]
Subject: Re: Negative Economic Multipliers

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jim Bowery) writes:

>...you can do damage to people and industries by giving them money...

Whew, that was long.  But _well_ worth the read.  I highly recommend
this article to all those either interested in or fed up with the
recent NASA funding wars.



--
Nick Szabo                [e-mail]
"If you understand something the first time you see it, you probably
knew it already.  The more bewildered you are, the more successful
the mission was." -- Ed Stone, Voyager space explorer

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

Date: 10 Jun 91 17:33:36 GMT
From: cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!unix.cis.pitt.edu!dsinc!bagate!cbmvax![e-mail]  (Mark Ricci - CATS)
Subject: Re: Democracy:  Easy Come, Easy Go

Matthew DeLuca writes:

>NASA's money is NASA's money.

Try again.  NASA's money is our tax dollars.  As Casey Stengel said,
"You could look it up."

And he writes:

>Of course I won't.  The government takes care of itself; when was the last
>dispute you heard about funding for House and Senate activities?  They
>sit down, hash it out, and do it.  Likewise for the rest of the government.
>The dispute over Congressional salaries was such a big deal only because
>of the growing dissatisfaction over government idiocy.

If you mean when the last time there was a dispute over funding the operation
of the Congress, you are absolutely correct, they never argue about that.
Congress has become just another black hole entitlement program sucking in
tax dollars for itself.

Your picture of the government -- from NASA having its own money to a
bureaucracy that takes care of itself -- is far from correct.  It might
be politically correct, however.  $*)


--
=============================================================================
  Mark Ricci - CATS              | "I don't think so! Homey don't play dat."
  Commodore Applications and     |
  Technical Support              |    - Homey the Clown
  [e-mail]     |         In Living Color
==============================================================================

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

Date: 5 Jun 91 08:28:20 GMT
From: news-server.csri.toronto.edu!torsqnt!lethe!telly!moore!eastern!egsgate![e-mail]  (Bev Freed)
Subject: Olympus services interrupted


31 May 1991

ESA RELEASE #16

                     OLYMPUS SERVICES INTERRUPTED

After nearly 2 years of successful operations Olympus, an advanced
telecommunications satellite of the European Space Agency, had to
interrupt its experimental services on 29 May 1991 at 03.21 GMT due
to difficulties encountered with the attitude control of the
satellite.  The attempts to return the satellite back to normal mode
have not been successful for the time being and it is possible that
a significant delay will occur before operations can be resumed.

An independent Enquiry Boar4d will be set up to investigate the
incident, assess the technical difficulty and recommend the best
course of action.

Olympus is a multi-purpose telecommunications satellite featuring
direct TV broadcasting, distance learning, various business networks
and several other experimental payloads.  It was launched on 12 July
1989 and is operated from the control center in Fucino, Italy.



--
Bev Freed - via FidoNet node 1:129/104
UUCP: ...!pitt!nss!freed
INTERNET: [e-mail]

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

Date: 4 Jun 91 19:22:36 GMT
From: news-server.csri.toronto.edu!torsqnt!lethe!telly!moore!eastern!egsgate![e-mail]  (Allen W. Sherzer)
Subject: Re: Fred Vote Thursday


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

>Just as a point of information, the tiebreaking authority of the Vice
>President is in the Senate, not the House.

Stupid mistake on my part, thanks for the correction.

>Maybe this near-death will scare the Freedom people into getting some
>hardware built...

I hope so too. Even now there is a lot which could be done to reduce
program costs. I hope they will be looked into.

  Allen
--
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Allen W. Sherzer |   DETROIT: Where the weak are killed and eaten.         |
|   [e-mail]   |                                                         |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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

Date: 4 Jun 91 20:41:33 GMT
From: cis.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!torsqnt!lethe!telly!moore!eastern!egsgate![e-mail]  (Doug Mohney)
Subject: Re: More on Freedom Vote


In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Allen W. Sherzer)
writes:

>It's more than just Congress, it's also the Space Council and space
>activists.

Should be space fanatics.

> Look at the signs: OMB is using the money for another
>orbiter to fund HLV work. Congress is moving toward commercial
>procurement policies which will move cargo off the Shuttle. The
>only thing left is spacelab and Freedom resuply which can be done
>for FAR less with expendables.
>
>If NASA doesn't get the orbiters they will be forced to allow for
>the use of ACRV or perhaps Comet to transport astronauts. When
>that happens the Shuttle is finished.

If Freedom is canned, NASA can put-put along with a 4 Shuttle fleet. Less
wear
and tear on all orbiters.

>This won't happen overnight and it will take work by activists
>who want to see cost effective infrastructure. But it will
>happen.

Allen has obviously not yet butted heads with the Astronaut Mafia, DoD and
the
Air Force, Congressional Pork Barrel, and the lobbying firms who work for
Rockwell International and Lockheed.

Nor with anyone who has a Shuttle poster on their wall.

If there is a serious proposal to ditch STS for Soviet-made tin cans(which
Mr.
Sherzer assures us can be done for less money than it takes to build two B-2
bombers), I'll be writing a check to the "Made in the USA" advertising
council.


     Signature envy: quality of some people to put 24+ lines in their .sigs
  -- >                  [e-mail]                        < --

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

Date: 10 Jun 91 11:48:39 GMT
From: ksr![e-mail]  (Chris Jones)
Subject: Re: orbiter production

In article <[e-mail]>, aws@iti (Allen W. Sherzer) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Chris Jones) writes:
>>Also, I think you are allowing your preference for the
>>Titan to cause you to ignore the differences between the Titan II, with no
>>solid fuel strap-ons, and the Titans flying today.
>
>Not at all. Which of the differences do you consider relevant?
>
The one I mentioned, I consider relevant.  The Gemini program used,
essentially, the first two liquid-fuelled stages of today's Titans.  The
strap-on boosters have never been man-rated, and have failed in the past.  As
I've posted in the past, the Titan launch sequence, which has the thing taking
off with only the solids burning, and igniting the core liquid fuelled engines
later, is also a worry.  I'm not sure if your proposal involves an upper stage,
but that's another difference between a Titan II and a Titan 34 or Titan 4.
--
Chris Jones    [e-mail]    {uunet,harvard,world}!ksr!clj

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

Date: Mon, 10 Jun 91 15:40:23 SET
From: [e-mail]
Comment: CROSSNET mail via MAILER@CMUCCVMA
Return-Receipt-To: [e-mail]
Subject: ESA Press Release No.17/91


Subject: ESA Press Release No.17/91
Date: 10 June 1991, 15:38:50 SET
From: Mike M. Skala             ++39-6-94180-293     MSKALA   at ESRIN
To:   SEDSNEWS at TAMVM1
      [e-mail]
      [e-mail]


  ESA Press Release No.17; Paris, 6 June 1991

  ESA IS ATTEMPTING TO RECOVER OLYMPUS

  After the loss, early on 29 May 1991, of orbit and attitude control of
  the Olympus satellite, ESA  is now  attempting to  rescue the mission.
  Olympus is   an advanced   telecommunications satellite   featuring TV
  broadcasting, distance learning, various business networks and several
  other experimental paylaods.

  Since the  loss  of  orbit  and  attitude  control,  all  services are
  interrupted.  It is now believed that the satellite is  rotating witha
  period of about 90 seconds.  It is  drifting eastwards  at five dgrees
  per day.  ESA continues to receive signals from  the satellite  at the
  Fucino ground station (Italy) during a  portion of  each revolution as
  the solar array receives the sun.  Fucino  also continues  to transmit
  straems of commands, designed to enable the batteries to again receive
  power and  hence become  charged.  This  is  seen  to  be  the  key to
  performing a recovery.

  To this end, ESA has also sought assistance from the network of the US
  Space Command in Massachusetts.  NASA has also agreed  to assisit with
  their Deep  Space Network  and, after   having obtained   the required
  clearances, its Robledo station near Madrid  will shortly  be put into
  operation to transmit commands at high power to Olympus.

  The recovery action itself, will be  led by  a Chief  of Operations in
  ESA's operations centre ESOC in Darmstadt (Germany).  He will  work in
  direct  conjunction with  a team  from British  Aerospace, the company
  which headed the  industrial consortium  that developed  Olympus.  All
  teams heve been set up and joint activities are now running.

  The first task is to  confirm that  Olympus is  indeed recoverable and
  this should be known by next week.  The  second and  parallel activity
  is to determine the detailed  operational procedures  which will bring
  the spacecraft back to normal operation, if this is at all possible.

  The  Director  General  of  ESA  has  instructed  a  Board  under  the
  chairmanship of Professor Massimo Trella, Inspector General of ESA, to
  conduct the enquiry into the incident and  to determine  the technical
  or operational anomalies which led to the loss of spacecraft control.

  "One has to realize that the situation is extremly  serious.  There is
  very little chance of recovery unless we can get the  crucial commands
  into  the satellite  to enable  the  batteries  to  start accumulating
  charge   again",    said   Rene    Collette,   ESA's     Director   of
  Telecommunications Programmes.

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

End of SPACE Digest V13 #722
*******************