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Date: Sat, 3 Oct 92 17:11:44
From: Space Digest maintainer <digests@isu.isunet.edu>
Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu
Subject: Space Digest V15 #277
To: Space Digest Readers
Precedence: bulk
Space Digest Sat, 3 Oct 92 Volume 15 : Issue 277
Today's Topics:
Alleged Benefits of Military $
anybody got an analysis of the perot space position?
Editorial Cartoon
HRMS Press Kit
HST Explores Io
perot's stand on space funding
Revised FAQ on launchers
Space and Presidential Politics
Welcome to the Space Digest!! Please send your messages to
"space@isu.isunet.edu", and (un)subscription requests of the form
"Subscribe Space <your name>" to one of these addresses: listserv@uga
(BITNET), rice::boyle (SPAN/NSInet), utadnx::utspan::rice::boyle
(THENET), or space-REQUEST@isu.isunet.edu (Internet).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: 2 Oct 92 00:34:00 GMT
From: Mark Goodman <mwgoodman@igc.apc.org>
Subject: Alleged Benefits of Military $
Newsgroups: sci.space
Reply-To: mwgoodman@igc.org
Gary writes:
> Military and aerospace dollars have a particularly
>high multiplier, 7x, because the jobs pay well and allow the workers
>more discresionary income that can be spent in the civilian economy.
>Direct public assistance funds have a much smaller multiplier, around
>2x, because the recipients don't have large discressionary funds for
>major capital purchases, they mostly pay rent and buy food.
I wonder where these numbers come from. They seem implausible
to me, and would in any case be very hard to measure. Everything
I have read suggests precisely the opposite, that money spent on
the military and other unproductive high-technology efforts (read
NASA) is particularly unbeneficial to the economy.
Mark W. Goodman
------------------------------
Date: 2 Oct 92 18:09:29 GMT
From: games@max.u.washington.edu
Subject: anybody got an analysis of the perot space position?
Newsgroups: sci.space
Now that Perot is back in the race, and looks like he might be a contender,
does anybody out there have any scoop on what might happen to the space
program under him? (anybody actually KNOW what he is planning to do? or
even what he has SAID that he is planning to do?)
John.
------------------------------
Date: 2 Oct 92 13:35:56 GMT
From: FRANK NEY <tnc!m0102>
Subject: Editorial Cartoon
Newsgroups: sci.space
Who else saw the Endeavor cartoon in the 22 Sep issue of Newsweek?
It was good for a laugh if nought else.
--
The Next Challenge - Public Access Unix in Northern Va. - Washington D.C.
703-803-0391 To log in for trial and account info.
------------------------------
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 00:57:16 GMT
From: Ron Baalke <baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov>
Subject: HRMS Press Kit
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
HIGH RESOLUTION MICROWAVE SURVEY (HRMS)
PRESS KIT
OCTOBER 1992
PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS
NASA HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Office of Space Science and Applications
Michael Braukus
(Phone: 202/358-1547)
Ames Research Center, Mountain View, Calif.
Michael Mewhinney
(Phone: 415/604-9000)
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
Mary Hardin
(Phone: 818/354-5011)
CONTENTS
General
Release 1
Media Services Information 3
Quick-Look Facts. 4
Project History 5
Project Objectives 6
Targeted Search 7
Sky Survey 9
Signal Detection Plans 10
Project Management. 11
RELEASE: 92-161
NASA TO BEGIN SEARCH FOR INHABITED PLANETS
On Oct. 12, NASA will begin the most comprehensive search
ever conducted for evidence of intelligent life elsewhere in the
universe.
The search will use telescopes and antennas to detect radio
transmissions from other planetary systems. The search will
commence 500 years after Columbus landed in North America.
"In the first few minutes, more searching will be
accomplished than in all previous searches combined," according
to Dr. John Billingham of NASA's Ames Research Center, Mountain
View, Calif.
"Over the past few decades, " Billingham added, "scientific
opinion has increasingly supported the theory that complex life
may have evolved on planets orbiting other stars in the galaxy
and the universe. In some cases, further evolution may have led to
the emergence of intelligence, culture and technology."
Billingham, the program chief at Ames, said the High
Resolution Microwave Survey (HRMS) consists of two parts -- a
Targeted Search and a Sky Survey.
The Targeted Search will use the largest available radio
telescopes around the world to search the frequency range from
1,000 to 3,000 megahertz, seeking a variety of patterns that may
indicate the presence of an artificially generated signal. A
megahertz is a unit of frequency equal to one million cycles per
second.
The Targeted Search will perform the most sensitive search
ever conducted of solar-type stars less than 100 light-years
distant. The Targeted Search begins from the world's largest
radio telescope at the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center's
Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. It is operated for the
National Science Foundation by Cornell University.
The Sky Survey will use the 34-meter antennas at NASA's Deep
Space Network sites in the northern and southern hemispheres to
scan the entire sky over the frequency range from 1,000 to 10,000
megahertz. The Sky Survey begins at the Goldstone, Calif., site.
"Because of the large increase in the area of sky and
frequencies covered, a signal will have to be stronger to be
detected by the Sky Survey," Billingham said. "But it could
detect signals emitted in distant regions from directions that
would be overlooked if the search were limited to nearby solar-
type stars," he added.
Both elements of the HRMS are using specially developed
digital signal processing systems capable of simultaneously
analyzing tens of millions of radio frequency channels.
The HRMS is managed by NASA's Ames Research Center, which
also is responsible for the Targeted Search project. The Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., is responsible for the
Sky Survey.
The HRMS is part of NASA's Toward Other Planetary Systems
program in the Solar System Exploration Division, Office of Space
Science and Applications at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
- end -
MEDIA SERVICES INFORMATION
NASA Select Television Transmissint on Oct. 12, 1992. Video footage of
the HRMS deployment will be taken for documentary and archival purposes.
Media Coverage
Those interested in attending the initial deployment at
Arecibo on Oct. 12, contact Michael Mewhinney at NASA Ames
Research Center by calling 415/604-9000. Those wishing to attend
the initial deployment at Goldstone, Calif., contact Mary Hardin
at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory by calling 818/354-5011.
Because of limited parking, use of private vehicles at both sites will be
restricted. Buses will be available at both locations to
transport reporters. Reportt the press desks
at either the Holiday Inn, Barstow, Calif., or the Hyatt Dorado
Beach Hotel, Dorado, Puerto Rico, for transportation and
admissionhis telescope is operated for the National
Science Foundation by Cornell University. The new 34-meter (112-
foot diameter) antenna at NASA's Goldstone Deep Space
Communications Complex near Barstow, Calif., will be used for the
Sky Survey.
Time of Deployment: Targeted Search at 3 p.m. EDT, Arecibo,
Puerto Rico; Sky Survey at noon PDT, Goldstone, Calif.
Project Duration: Expected to last until about 2001.
PROJECT HISTORY
The Earth is the only location known to harbor life. But as
knowledge of the nature of lhere may, in the long run, be one of
science's most important and most profound contributions to
mankind and to our civilization." Also in 1972, NASA published
its first report describing how NASA-developed technology could
make such a search possible.
In the years between 1972 and 1988, NASA maintained a low-
level research and development activity that resulted in the
initiation of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
Microwave Observing Project (MOP) in FY 1989.
In 1992, NASA established the High Resolution Microwave
Survey (HRMS) as part of the Toward Other Planetary Systems
(TOPS) program within NASA's Solar System Exploration Division.
The Sky Survey (scanning the entire sky for strong signals
coming from any direction) will begin observations at noon PDT
using a 34-meter antenna at NASA's Goldstone Deep Space
Communications Complex near Barstow, Calif.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The detection and characterization of planetary systems
around other stars is the goal of NASA's Toward Other Planetary
Systems (TOPS) program. Earth's solar system is still the only
known example of a planetary system, and Earth is the only known
planet that sustains life. Recent astrophysical observations
suggest the existence of other planetary systems around distant
stars. The existence of these systems could support the
hypothesis that lifts TOPS program to include a new
project called the High Resolution Microwave Survey (HRMS). The
project will observe the microwave region of the electromagnetic
spectrum in a manner that can detect signals produced by a
distant technology.
Potentially, there are billions of solar systems in the
Milky Way galaxy at tremendous distances from Ear provide for an expanded
comparative study of the universe.
TARGETED SEARCH
Scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center will conduct the
Targeted Search portion of the HRMS.
The Targeted Search will examine 1,000 nearby solar-type
stars within 100 light years distance from Earth (one light year
is approximately 5.9 trillion miles). The objective is to test
the hypothesis that extraterrestrial technologies are
transmitting radio signals whose characteristics are greatly different
from natural sources of radio emissile sensitivity, the largest
available radio telescopes will be used to conduct the Targeted
Search. The number of targets covered will be much larger than
previous searches, and the range of frequencies covered will be
thousands of times greater than all previous searches combined.
To accomplish this, specialized digital signal processing
equipment has been constructed to listen for microwave radio
transmissions reaching the Earth from distant planetary systems.
The specialized digital signal processing equipment will
simultaneously study the radio spectrum over tens of millions of
individual frequency channels, at spectral resolutions ranging
from 1, 2, 4, 7, 14 and 28 helses, a likely form of interstellar
transmission. An automatic data analysis subsystem will be used
to detect the presence of fixed frequency or drifting continuous
wave (CW) signals or sequences of regularly spaced pulses.
The Targeted Search will use the National Science
Foundation's National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center's 305-meter
(1,000-ft) diameter radio telescope located at the Arecibo
Observatory near Arecibo, Puerto Rico, for the initial deployment
of the HRMS on Oct. 12, 1992. Theng very large observations of each
target at each frequency. It will serve as the logistical hub of
the HRMS Targeted Search. Over the next 3 years, three more such
systems will be built and packaged into two mobile research
facility trailers for air transport to the observation sites.
SKY SURVEY
The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., will
conduct the Sky Survey portion of NASA's HRMS to search for radio
signals from other planetary systems. The Sky Survey will scan
all directions of the sky to cover a wide range of frequencies
from 1,000 to 10,000 megahertz.
NASA's HRMS will conduct a comprehensive, systematic search
of a portion of the microwave radio spectrum to detect evidence
of radio transmissions from other planetary systems. An
intentionally transmitted signal is easiest to detect in a
frequency band where the background radio noise or static is
minimal. One of the quietest frequency bands is the "microwave
window," which lies between 1,000 and 10,000 megahertz. Since
thstic of microwave ally mapping small areas of the sky, called sky
frames. As the observations are completed, over the entire sky.
For each of 31 frequency bands, the sky is divided into sevplex of
NASA's Deep Space Network in California's Mojave Desert. Toward
the latter part of the survey, the search will move to a
The prototype receiver, spectrum analyzer and signal processor
will break up incomiwith 40 megahertz total bandwidth or a
dual polarization mode with 20 megahertz total bandwidth.
Specially designed digital hardware, operating at supercomputer
speeds, will simultaneously process the 2 million channels to
identify and separate intersterch organizations.
After the discovery has been verified, national and
international authorities are to be informed. News of the
confirmed discovery then will be disseminated promptly, openly
and widely through scientific channels and the news media. All data
necessary for the confirmation of the detection will be made
available to the international scientific community through
publications, meetings, conferences and other appropriate means.
No response to any confirmed signal will be sent from Earth
until appropriate international consultations have occurred.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Wesley Huntress Director, Solar System Exploration Division
Dr. Nicholas Renzetti Manager, Telecommunications and Data Acquisition
Science Complex
Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex
Dr. Michael J. Klein JPL SETI Project Manager and HRMS Sky Survey Manager
Dr. Samuel Gulkis HRMS Deputy Project Scientist
J. Richard Kolden HRMS Sky Survey Implementation Manager
Arecibo Observatory, Puerto Rico
Dr. Daniel Altschuler Director
___ _____ ___
/_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
| | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab |
___| | | | |__) |/ | | |__ M/S 525-3684 Telos | Einstein's brain is stored
/___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | in a mason jar in a lab
|_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | in Wichita, Kansas.
------------------------------
Date: 3 Oct 92 02:31:07 GMT
From: Ron Baalke <baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov>
Subject: HST Explores Io
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,alt.sci.planetary
Paula Cleggett-Haleim
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. October 2, 1992
(Phone: 202/350-1547)
Jim Elliot
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-6256)
Ray Villard
Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md.
(Phone: 410/338-4514)
RELEASE: 92-163
NASA'S HUBBLE TELESCOPE EXPLORES JUPITER'S VOLCANIC MOON IO
Extended observations by the Hubble Space Telescope indicate that
Jupiter's moon Io has a smaller atmosphere than previously thought with very
dense regions possibly over volcanoes and surface frost, NASA announced
today.
The observations also show that despite continual volcanic activity,
Io's surface has remained largely unchanged since first photographed by the
Voyager spacecraft when it flew past the moon in 1979.
The Hubble observations mark the first time astronomers have been
able to directly gauge the size of Io's tenuous atmosphere. Sulfur and oxygen
emissions from the atmosphere indicate that it is at least three times smaller
than previously thought -- 1.5 Io diameters across instead of the previous
upper limit value of 5 Io diameters.
These observations show that the atmosphere may be patchy, with very
dense regions having 1000 times higher pressure than adjoining, low-density
regions. Likely sources for the atmospheric gas are sulfur dioxide from the
volcanoes, evaporation of surface frost in sunlit areas or material knocked
out of the surface ("sputtered") into the atmosphere. The observations also
confirm that the surface contains sulfur dioxide frost.
Hubble's observations reveal a new oxygen emission never before
detected from the torus, a giant ring of high-temperature gas encircling
Jupiter. From these measurements, the density and the amount of oxygen
relative to sulfur in the torus have been determined. Oxygen is the most
abundant component of the torus with about twice as much concentration as
sulfur.
Moon's Effects On Jupiter
Though no larger than Earth's Moon, Io affects the immense planet
Jupiter on a grand scale. Io's atmosphere feeds material to the torus
encircling Jupiter at Io's distance. Understanding Io's atmosphere is
essential to understanding the plasma torus, which in turn affects Jupiter's
immense magnetosphere and aurorae.
Sulfur from the volcanic plumes cannot escape directly into space to
fuel the plasma torus. Instead, sulfur and oxygen might be stripped from Io's
atmosphere in a complicated interaction between the atmosphere and the
plasma torus.
Observations of Io's atmosphere were made with Hubble's Faint Object
Spectrograph (FOS) by Melissa McGrath of the Space Telescope Science
Institute (STScI), Baltimore; John Clarke, University of Michigan and Darrell
Strobel, Gilda Ballester, Warren Moos and Paul Feldman of The Johns
Hopkins University, Baltimore.
Io images were taken by Francesco Paresce, European Space
Agency/STScI; Paola Sartoretti, University of Padova and co-investigators with
the Faint Object Camera (FOC). Additional images were taken by amateur
astronomer Jim Secosky with Hubble's Wide Field/Planetary Camera (WFPC).
Earlier space probes revealed that Io has surface sulfur dioxide frost
appearing as bright white patches in visible images and that Io has a very
tenuous atmosphere, composed primarily of sulfur dioxide, with a surface
pressure 1 billionth that of Earth's atmosphere.
Scientific progress on understanding Io has been slow since the 1979
Voyager observations. Io is so small and one-half billion miles from Earth,
preventing ground-based telescopes from distinguishing Io's surface features.
Because Io's atmosphere is primarily sulfur dioxide, atmospheric
studies can be undertaken best at ultraviolet wavelengths. These wavelengths
cannot penetrate Earth's atmosphere for studies by ground-based telescopes.
Io's Surface Unchanged Despite Volcanism
To look for possible surface changes, researchers compared FOC visible-
light images to a "synthetic" Voyager image modified to match Hubble's
resolution. The astronomers concluded that Io's trailing hemisphere, known
to be more geologically active, has not changed noticeably in the 13 years
between Voyager and Hubble observations.
Detailed analysis of the images is still being carried out to search
for less obvious changes. Two small areas roughly 200 miles across seem to
have undergone slight change.
This lack of large-scale change is mysterious because Io's volcanism
should resurface the moon at a rate of a few inches per year. One possibility
is that there is a constant equilibrium between volcanic eruptions and
unknown processes which might remove or cover volcanic debris. This
would preserve the general appearance of Io's surface over long periods.
Io's surface looks remarkably different in ultraviolet (UV) light.
Regions which look bright in visible light are dark in UV. The most likely
explanation is that large areas of Io are covered with a sulfur dioxide frost.
Because sulfur dioxide is a strong absorber of UV radiation, sulfur
dioxide-rich areas are dark in the UV and bright in visible light.
Dr. Paresce points out that there also are regions that are bright or
dark in images taken at both wavelengths. This suggests that the size of
sulfur dioxide grains also may play a role in brightness. The reflectivity of
sulfur dioxide is very sensitive to the grain size at ultraviolet wavelengths.
Amateur astronomer Jim Secosky made near-infrared images (7100
Angstroms) of Io which complement the FOC images by providing new
constraints on Io's surface composition. Some models predict the presence
of basalts and polysulfur oxide on the surface. But these dark compounds do
not show up in Hubble's longer wavelength images. This further supports the
model for Io's surface being predominantly sulfur and sulfur dioxide.
Secosky took HST snapshots of Io emerging from Jupiter's shadow to
look for evidence of frost evaporation which might have formed on Io while it
was chilled behind Jupiter. This would have been evident if Io was 10
percent brighter than while emerging from eclipse.
Secosky did not see any evidence of the "post-eclipse brightening"
phenomena which have been reported occasionally by ground-based observers
since 1964. Secosky thinks his negative results mean that the post-eclipse
brightening effect, if real, may be driven by sporadic volcanic activity.
The researchers continue developing models of Io's complex surface
structure and composition to account for Hubble's imaging and simultaneous
spectroscopic observations. Because Io is the solar system's most dynamic
and evolving moon, Hubble will continue to be used for detecting changes in
Io's atmosphere and on its surface.
- end -
Editors Note: Photographs and a video, "HST Studies Jovian Moon Io," are
available to media representatives by calling 202/453-8373.
HST Single Image HST Comparison Images
Color: 92-HC-671 92-HC-672
B&W: 92-H-726 92-H-727
___ _____ ___
/_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
| | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab |
___| | | | |__) |/ | | |__ M/S 525-3684 Telos | Einstein's brain is stored
/___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | in a mason jar in a lab
|_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | in Wichita, Kansas.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 15:42:11 CST
From: "Alex Falkenberg" <ST7759@SIUCVMB.SIU.EDU>
Subject: perot's stand on space funding
Does Perot have a position on space funding? Not that I'm going to vote
for him or anything, but it would be interesting to know given the other
questionable stances he has taken... -agf (just a lowly student,
perhaps forever...)
------------------------------
Date: 2 Oct 92 17:19:41 GMT
From: Josh 'K' Hopkins <jbh55289@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
Subject: Revised FAQ on launchers
Newsgroups: sci.space
I've been working on a revisions of the FAQ on launch services. I'm including
it here to get some feedback on the format - you're welcome to point out
anything that looks like a typo too. I've already noticed that I left out one
rocket (brownie points to anyone who can tell which :-). Rest assured that
that will be corrected.
-------------------------------
The following data comes from _International Reference Guide to Space Launch
Systems_ by Steven J. Isakowitz, 1991 edition.
Notes: * Unless otherwise specified, LEO and polar paylaods are for a 100 nm
orbit.
* Reliablity data includes launches through Dec, 1990. Reliabity for a
familiy of vehicles includes launches by types no longer built when
applicable
* Prices are in millions of 1990 $US and are subject to change.
* Only operational vehicle families are included. Individual vehicles
which have not yet flown are marked by an asterisk (*) If a vehicle
had first launch after publication of my data, it may still be
marked with an asterisk.
Vehicle | Payload kg (lbs) | Reliability | Price | Launch Site
(nation) | LEO Polar GTO | | | (Lat. & Long.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ariane 35/40 87.5% Kourou
(ESA) (5.2 N 52.8 W)
AR40 4,900 3,900 1,900 1/1 $65m
(10,800) (8,580) (4,190)
AR42P 6,100 4,800 2,600 1/1 $67m
(13,400) (10,600) (5,730)
AR44P 6,900 5,500 3,000 0/0 ? $70m
(15,200) (12,100) (6,610)
AR42L 7,400 5,900 3,200 0/0 ? $90m
(16,300) (13,000) (7,050)
AR44LP 8,300 6,600 3,700 6/6 $95m
(18,300) (14,500) (8,160)
AR44L 9,600 7,700 4,200 3/4 $115m
(21,100) (16,900) (9,260)
* AR5 18,000 ??? 6,800 0/0 $105m
(39,600) (15,000)
[300nm]
Atlas 213/245 86.9% Cape Canaveral
(USA) (28.5 N 81.0W)
Atlas E ??? 820 ??? 15/17 $45m Vandeberg AFB
(1,800) (34.7 N 120.6W)
Atlas I 5,580 4,670 2,250 1/1 $70m
(12,300) (10,300) (4,950)
Atlas II 6,395 5,400 2,680 0/0 $75m
(14,100) (11,900) (5,900)
Atlas IIA 6,760 5,715 2,810 0/0 $85m
(14,900) (12,600) (6,200)
* Atlas IIAS 8,390 6,805 3,490 0/0 $115m
(18,500) (15,000) (7,700)
Delta 189/201 94.0% Cape Canaveral
(USA) Vandenberg AFB
Delta 6925 3,900 2,950 1,450 14/14 $45m
(8,780) (6,490) (3,190)
Delta 7925 5,045 3,830 1,820 1/1 $50m
(11,100) (8,420) (2,000)
Energia 2/2 100% Baikonur
(Russia) (45.6 N 63.4 E)
Energia 88,000 80,000 ??? 2/2 $110m
(194,000) (176,000)
H series 22/22 100% Tangeshima
(Japan) (30.2 N 130.6 E)
* H-2 10,500 6,600 4,000 0/0 $110m
(23,000) (14,500) (8,800)
Kosmos 371/377 98.4% Plestek
(Russia) (62.8 N 40.1 E)
Kosmos 1100 - 1350 (2300 - 3000) $??? Kapustin Yar
[400 km orbit ??? inclination] (48.4 N 45.8 E)
Long March 23/25 92.0% Jiquan SLC
(China) (41 N 100 E)
* CZ-1D 720 ??? 200 0/0 $10m Xichang SLC
(1,590) (440) (28 N 102 E)
Taiyuan SLC
CZ-2C 3,200 1,750 1,000 12/12 $20m (41 N 100 E)
(7,040) (3,860) (2,200)
CZ-2E 9,200 ??? 3,370 1/1 $40m
(20,300) (7,430)
* CZ-2E/HO 13,600 ??? 4,500 0/0 $???
(29,900) (9,900)
CZ-3 ??? ??? 1,400 6/7 $33m
(3,100)
* CZ-3A ??? ??? 2,500 0/0 $???m
(5,500)
CZ-4 4,000 ??? 1,100 2/2 $???m
(8,800) (2,430)
Pegasus/Taurus 2/2 100% Peg: B-52/L1011
(USA) Taur: Canaveral
Pegasus 455 365 125 2/2 $10m or Vandenberg
(1,000) (800) (275)
* Taurus 1,450 1,180 375 0/0 $15m
(3,200) (2,600) (830)
Proton 164/187 87.7% Baikonour
(Russia)
Proton 20,000 ??? 5,500 164/187 $35-70m
(44,100) (12,200)
SCOUT 99/113 87.6% Vandenberg AFB
(USA) Wallops FF
SCOUT G-1 270 210 54 13/13 $12m (37.9 N 75.4 W)
(600) (460) (120) San Marco
(2.9 S 40.3 E)
* Enhanced SCOUT 525 372 110 0/0 $15m
(1,160) (820) (240)
Shavit 2/2 100% Palmachim AFB
(Israel) ( ~31 N)
Shavit ??? 160 ??? 2/2 $22m
(350)
Space Shuttle 37/38 97.4% Kennedy Space
(USA) Center
Shuttle/SRB 23,500 ??? 5,900 37/38 $248m (28.5 N 81.0 W)
(51,800) (13,000) [FY88]
* Shuttle/ASRM 27,100 ??? ??? 0/0
(59,800)
SLV 2/6 33.3% SHAR Center
(India) (400km) (900km polar) (13.9 N 80.4 E)
ASLV 150 ??? ??? 0/2 $???m
(330)
* PSLV 3,000 1,000 450 0/0 $???m
(6,600) (2,200) (990)
* GSLV 8,000 ??? 2,500 0/0 $???m
(17,600) (5,500)
Titan 160/172 93.0% Cape Canaveral
(USA) Vandenberg
Titan II ??? 1,905 ??? 2/2 $43m
(4,200)
Titan III 14,515 ??? 5,000 2/3 $140m
(32,000) (11,000)
Titan IV/SRM 17,700 14,100 6,350 3/3 $154m-$227m
(39,000) (31,100) (14,000)
Titan IV/SRMU 21,640 18,600 8,620 0/0 $???m
(47,700) (41,000) (19,000)
Vostok 1358/1401 96.9% Baikonur
(Russia) [650km] Plesetsk
Vostok 4,730 1,840 ??? ?/149 $14m
(10,400) (4,060)
Soyuz 7,000 ??? ??? ?/944 $15m
(15,400)
Molniya 1500kg (3300 lbs) in ?/258 $???M
Highly eliptical orbit
Zenit 12/13 92.3% Baikonur
(Russia)
Zenit 13,740 11,380 4,300 12/13 $65m
(30,300) (25,090) (9,480)
--
Josh Hopkins jbh55289@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu
The views expresed above do not necessarily reflect those of
ISDS, UIUC, NSS, IBM FSC, NCSA, NMSU, AIAA or the American Association for the
Advancement of Acronymphomaniacs
------------------------------
Date: 2 Oct 92 00:38:00 GMT
From: Mark Goodman <mwgoodman@igc.apc.org>
Subject: Space and Presidential Politics
Newsgroups: sci.space
Reply-To: mwgoodman@igc.org
Allen Sherzer writes:
>(quoting Mark Goodman):
>>I would like to comment on some of the more egregious
>>extrapolations that have been made. For example, Allen Sherzer
>>accuses Al Gore of being insufficiently enthusiastic about the
>>space program because his subcommittee (Science, Space, and
>>Technology) has not produced an authorization bill for NASA in
>>years. All the action in the Senate takes place in the full
>>committees, not the subcommittees, so this complaint is more
>>properly aimed at the full committee (Commerce, Science, and
>>Transportation) Chairman, Fritz Hollings.
>
>This is simply wrong. According to the rules, the full committee cannot
>act on a bill until the subcommittee reports it out. Gore routinely fails
>to do so therefore the full committee can do nothing. Who told you this
>anyway?
Excuse me, but you are quite wrong. Bills get referred to committees.
Once they get there, the committee is free to do with it as it pleases.
It may refer it to a subcommittee, or not (the Appropriations Committees --
House and Senate -- are the exception, I believe). The chairman has great
discretion in that. Like many important committee chairmen (John Dingell,
Bennett Johnston, etc.), Fritz Hollings does not like to dilute his power
by giving it away to subcommitte chairmen. In fact, it is quite rare for
Senate subcommittees to do markups on (write) bills. So the fact is that
Hollings bears the bulk of the responsibility for the Senate's failure to
produce authorization bills for NASA.
I know this because I am working in Congress now.
[stuff deleted]
>>improve their lot while reducing the deficit
>
>Clinton going to reduce the deficit? Come on now, nobody actually
>believes that. Surely you don't?
I didn't say Clinton would reduce the deficit, but that it was a more
important issue than the space program. I continue to believe that.
I find the pipedreams that human space exploration offers an economic
bonanza incredible, at least for the foreseeable future. I don't think
such remote prospects deserve great weight in public policy, though I
continue to support modest efforts at space exploration for its own
sake.
However, I do believe that Clinton would do a better job of reducing
the deficit than either of his predecessors, whose performance has
been abysmal. He has a strong record as a fiscal conservative.
Dennis Wingo writes:
> The Slick Willie plan to "Help the
>Poor" is no more than a regurgitation of the government policies that have
>brought our republic to the edge of bankruptcy. There are currently 26 million
>people on public assistance.
Dennis Wingo obviously has not listened to what Clinton has actually said.
Clinton proposes to take people off the welfare rolls by 1) giving them access
to job training and 2) requiring them to get jobs after two years on public
assistance, assuming they are not disabled. In the short run, this will cost
a modest amount of money. In the long run, it would save money and offer
great benefits to the economy.
I single this out only because I have no time to respond to all the silly
things Dennis Wingo says.
Mark W. Goodman
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End of Space Digest Volume 15 : Issue 277
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