Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V15_4/V15NO435.TXT

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Date: Thu, 19 Nov 92 05:00:05
From: Space Digest maintainer <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Space Digest V15 #435
To: Space Digest Readers
Precedence: bulk


Space Digest                Thu, 19 Nov 92       Volume 15 : Issue 435

Today's Topics:
                                Aurora
                          Breasts in zero-g
            FREE-ENERGY TECHNOLOGY For Spacecraft (2 msgs)
                       Hubble's mirror (2 msgs)
                Interesting Swift-Tuttle Scenario ...
                    Mars Simulation in Antarctica
                           SATELLITE PHOTO
                   Saturn V for Freedom deployment
                          Shuttle computers
          Skywatch - Nov 15-21 - Meteors Spark up the Night
                         Space suit research?
                   Spy Satellite to Arab Emirates?

    Welcome to the Space Digest!!  Please send your messages to
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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 92 13:20:39 EET
From: [e-mail] (F.Baube x554)
Subject: Aurora

    Can anyone summarize the rumors and speculation
about the "Aurora" black project ?  Perhaps some comments
about the technologies that are involved, and what that
would mean for the development of SSTO, DC-X, HL-20. etc. ?

    fred :: [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 92 11:36:58 +0100
From: [e-mail] (MAGNUS OLSSON)
Subject: Breasts in zero-g

I know this may sound like a weird kind of question, but we were discussing
a comment in an SciFi book about the effect of zero-gravity on a female
characters breasts, and started wondering what really happens to womens
breasts in space.  Do women astronauts need to wear bras, for example?

/M

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

Date: 17 Nov 92 16:44:40 -0600
From: [e-mail]
Subject: FREE-ENERGY TECHNOLOGY For Spacecraft
Newsgroups: sci.space

     The technology described in the article copied below could be used to
power spacecraft, space colonies, etc.:


                            FREE-ENERGY TECHNOLOGY
                       by Robert E. McElwaine, Physicist

               Ninety to a hundred years ago, everybody "knew" that a
          heavier-than-air machine could not possibly fly.  It would
          violate the "laws" of physics.   All of the "experts" and
          "authorities" said so.

               For example, Simon Newcomb declared in 1901:  "The
          demonstration that no possible combination of known
          substances, known forms of machinery and known forms of
          force, can be united in a practical machine by which man
          shall fly long distances through the air, seems to the writer
          as complete as it is possible for the demonstration of any
          physical fact to be."

               Fortunately, a few SMART people such as the Wright
          Brothers did NOT accept such pronouncements as the final
          word.  Now we take airplanes for granted, (except when they
          crash).

               Today, orthodox physicists and other "scientists" are
          saying similar things against several kinds of 'Free Energy'
          Technologies, using negative terms such as "pseudo-science"
          and "perpetual motion", and citing so-called "laws" which
          assert that "energy cannot be created or destroyed" ("1st law
          of thermodynamics") and "there is always a decrease in useful
          energy" ("2nd law of thermodynamics").  The physicists do not
          know how to do certain things, so they ARROGANTLY declare
          that those things cannot be done.  Such PRINCIPLES OF
          IMPOTENCE are COMMON in orthodox modern "science" and help to
          cover up INCONSISTENCIES and CONTRADICTIONS in orthodox
          modern theories.

               Free Energy Inventions are devices which can tap a
          seemingly UNLIMITED supply of energy from the universe, with-
          OUT burning any kind of fuel, making them the PERFECT
          SOLUTION to the world-wide energy crisis and its associated
          pollution, degradation, and depletion of the environment.

               Most Free Energy Devices probably do not create energy,
          but rather tap into EXISTING natural energy sources by
          various forms of induction.  UNLIKE solar or wind devices,
          they need little or no energy storage capacity, because they
          can tap as much energy as needed WHEN needed.  Solar energy
          has the DIS-advantage that the sun is often blocked by
          clouds, trees, buildings, or the earth itself, or is reduced
          by haze or smog or by thick atmosphere at low altitudes and
          high latitudes.  Likewise, wind speed is WIDELY VARIABLE and
          often non-existent.  Neither solar nor wind power are
          suitable to directly power cars and airplanes.  Properly
          designed Free Energy Devices do NOT have such limitations.

               For example, at least three U.S. patents (#3,811,058,
          #3,879,622, and #4,151,431) have so far been awarded for
          motors that run EXCLUSIVELY on permanent MAGNETS, seemingly
          tapping into energy circulating through the earth's magnetic
          field.  The first two require a feedback network in order to
          be self-running.  The third one, (as described in detail in
          "Science & Mechanics" magazine, Spring 1980), requires
          critical sizes, shapes, orientations, and spacings of
          magnets, but NO feedback.  Such a motor could drive an
          electric generator or reversible heatpump in one's home, YEAR
          ROUND, FOR FREE.  [Complete descriptive copies of U.S.
          patents are $3.00 each from the U.S. Patent Office, 2021
          Jefferson Davis Hwy., Arlington, VA  22202; correct 7-digit
          patent number required.  Or try getting copies via your local
          public or university library's inter-library loan dept..]

               A second type of free-energy device, such as the 'Gray
          Motor' (U.S. Patent #3,890,548), the 'Tesla Coil', and the
          unpatented motor of inventor Joseph Newman, taps ELECTRO-
          MAGNETIC energy by INDUCTION from 'EARTH RESONANCE' (about 12
          cycles per second plus harmonics).  They typically have a
          'SPARK GAP' in the circuit which serves to SYNCHRONIZE the
          energy in the coils with the energy being tapped.  It is
          important that the total 'inductance' and 'capacitance' of
          the Device combine to 'RESONATE' at the same frequency as
          'EARTH RESONANCE' in order to maximize the power output.
          This output can also be increased by centering the SPARK GAP
          at the 'NEUTRAL CENTER' of a strong U-shaped permanent
          magnet.  In the case of a Tesla Coil, slipping a 'TOROID
          CHOKE COIL' around the secondary coil will enhance output
          power.  ["Earth Energy: Fuelless Propulsion & Power Systems",
          by John Bigelow, 1976, Health Research, P.O. Box 70,
          Mokelumne Hill, CA  95245.]

               During the 1930's, an Austrian civil engineer named
          Viktor Schauberger invented and partially developed an
          'IMPLOSION TURBINE' (German name, 'ZOKWENDLE'), after
          analyzing erosion, and lack of erosion, in differently shaped
          waterways, and developing sophisticated mathematical
          equations to explain it.  As described in the book "A
          Breakthrough to New Free-Energy Sources", by Dan A. Davidson,
          1977, water is pumped by an IMPELLER pump through a
          LOGARITHMIC-SPIRAL-shaped coil of tubing until it reaches a
          CRITICAL VELOCITY.  The water then IMPLODES, no longer
          touching the inside walls of the tubing, and drives the pump,
          which then converts the pump's motor into an ELECTRIC
          GENERATOR.  The device seems to be tapping energy from that
          of the earth's rotation, via the 'Coriolis effect', LIKE A
          TORNADO.

               A fourth type of Free Energy Device is the 'McClintock
          Air Motor' (U.S. Patent #2,982,261), which is a cross between
          a diesel engine (it has three cylinders with a compression
          ratio of 27 to 1) and a rotary engine (with solar and
          planetary gears).  It burns NO FUEL, but becomes self-running
          by driving its own air compressor.  This engine also
          generates a lot of heat, which could be used to heat
          buildings; and its very HIGH TORQUE makes it ideal for large
          trucks, preventing their slowing down when climbing hills.
          [David McClintock is also the REAL original Inventor of the
          automatic transmission, differential, and 4-wheel drive.]

               Crystals may someday be used to supply energy, as shown
          in the Star Trek shows, perhaps by inserting each one between
          metal capacitor plates and bombarding it with a beam of
          particles from a small radioactive source like that used in a
          common household smoke detector.

               One other energy source should be mentioned here,
          despite the fact that it does not fit the definition of Free
          Energy.  A Bulgarian-born American Physicist named Joseph
          Maglich has invented and partially developed an atomic FUSION
          reactor which he calls 'Migma', which uses NON-radioactive
          deuterium as a fuel [available in nearly UNLIMITED quantities
          from sea water], does NOT produce radioactive waste, can be
          converted DIRECTLY into electricity (with-OUT energy-wasting
          steam turbines), and can be constructed small enough to power
          a house or large enough to power a city.  And UNLIKE the
          "Tokamaks" and laser fusion MONSTROSITIES that we read about,
          Migma WORKS, already producing at least three watts of power
          for every watt put in.  ["New Times" (U.S. version), 6-26-78,
          pages 32-40.]

               And then there are the 'cold fusion' experiments that
          have been in the news lately, originally conducted by
          University of Utah researchers B. Stanley Pons and Martin
          Fleischmann.  Some U.S. Navy researchers at the China Lake
          Naval Weapons Center in California, under the direction of
          chemist Melvin Miles, finally took the trouble to collect
          the bubbles coming from such an apparatus, had them analyzed
          with mass-spectrometry techniques, and found HELIUM 4, which
          PROVES that atomic FUSION did indeed take place, and enough
          of it to explain the excess heat generated.

               There are GOOD INDICATIONS that the two so-called "laws"
          of thermodynamics are NOT so "absolute".  For example, the
          late Physicist Dewey B. Larson developed a comprehensive
          GENERAL UNIFIED Theory of the physical universe, which he
          calls the 'Reciprocal System', (which he describes in detail
          in several books such as "Nothing But Motion" (1979) and "The
          Universe of Motion" (1984)), in which the physical universe
          has TWO DISTINCT HALVES, the material half and an anti-matter
          half, with a CONTINUOUS CYCLE of matter and energy passing
          between them, with-OUT the "heat death" predicted by
          thermodynamic "laws".  His Theory explains the universe MUCH
          BETTER than modern orthodox theories, including phenomena
          that orthodox physicists and astronomers are still scratching
          their heads about, and is SELF-CONSISTENT in every way.  Some
          Free Energy Devices might be tapping into that energy flow,
          seemingly converting "low-quality energy" into "high-quality
          energy".

               Also, certain religious organizations such as 'Sant Mat'
          and 'Eckankar' teach their Members that the physical universe
          is only the LOWEST of at least a DOZEN major levels of
          existence, like parallel universes, or analogous to TV
          channels, as described in books like "The Path of the
          Masters", by Julian Johnson, 1939, and "Eckankar: The Key to
          Secret Worlds", by Sri Paul Twitchell, 1969.  For example,
          the next level up from the physical universe is commonly
          called the 'Astral Plane'.  Long-time Members of these groups
          have learned to 'Soul Travel' into these higher worlds and
          report on conditions there.  It seems plausible that energy
          could flow down from these higher levels into the physical
          universe, or be created at the boundary between them, given
          the right configuration of matter to channel it.  This is
          supported by many successful laboratory-controlled
          experiments in PSYCHO-KINESIS throughout the world, such as
          those described in the book "Psychic Discoveries Behind the
          Iron Curtain".

               In terms of economics, the market has FAILED.  Inventors
          do not have enough money and other resources to fully develop
          and mass-produce Free Energy Equipment, and the conventional
          energy producer$ have no desire to do so because of their
          VE$TED INTERE$T$.  The government is needed to intervene.  If
          the government does not intervene, then the total supply of
          energy resources from the earth will continue to decline and
          will soon run out, prices for energy will increase, and
          pollution and its harmful effects (including the 'GREENHOUSE
          EFFECT', acid rain, smog, radioactive contamination, oil
          spills, rape of the land by strip mining, etc.) will continue
          to increase.

               The government should SUBSIDIZE research and development
          of Free Energy by Inventors and universities, subsidize
          private production (until the producers can make it on their
          own), and subsidize consumption by low-income consumers of
          Free Energy Hardware.

               The long-range effects of such government intervention
          would be wide-spread and profound.  The quantity of energy
          demanded from conventional energy producer$ (coal mining
          companie$, oil companie$ and countries, electric utilitie$,
          etc.) would drop to near zero, forcing their employees to
          seek work elsewhere.  Energy resources (coal, uranium, oil,
          and gas) would be left in the ground.  Prices for
          conventional energy supplies would also drop to near zero,
          while the price of Free Energy Equipment would start out high
          but drop as supply increases (as happened with VCR's,
          personal computers, etc.).  Costs of producing products that
          require large quantities of energy to produce would decrease,
          along with their prices to consumers.  Consumers would be
          able to realize the "opportunity costs" of paying electric
          utility bills or buying home heating fuel.  Tourism would
          benefit and increase because travelers would not have to
          spend their money for gasoline for their cars.  Government
          tax revenue from gasoline and other fuels would have to be
          obtained in some other way.  And energy could no longer be
          used as a MOTIVE OR EXCUSE FOR MAKING WAR.

               Many conventional energy producer$ would go out of
          business, but society as a whole, and the earth's environment
          and ecosystems, would benefit greatly.  It is the People,
          that government should serve, rather than the big
          corporation$ and bank$.


               UN-altered REPRODUCTION and DISSEMINATION of this
          IMPORTANT Information is ENCOURAGED.


                                   Robert E. McElwaine
                                   B.S., Physics, UW-EC

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

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 03:42:03 GMT
From: Mark Schlegel <[e-mail]>
Subject: FREE-ENERGY TECHNOLOGY For Spacecraft
Newsgroups: sci.space

[e-mail] writes:

>                            FREE-ENERGY TECHNOLOGY
>                       by Robert E. McElwaine, Physicist
>
>               Ninety to a hundred years ago, everybody "knew" that a
>          heavier-than-air machine could not possibly fly.  It would
>          violate the "laws" of physics.   All of the "experts" and
>          "authorities" said so.
>          Technologies, using negative terms such as "pseudo-science"
>          and "perpetual motion", and citing so-called "laws" which
>          assert that "energy cannot be created or destroyed" ("1st law
>          of thermodynamics") and "there is always a decrease in useful
>          energy" ("2nd law of thermodynamics").  The physicists do not
>          know how to do certain things, so they ARROGANTLY declare

           I notice that you say "The physicists" and "they ARROGANTLY..."
           which seems to suggest that you're not a physicist
           but above when you gave your name you said that you were a
           physicist?  Why?  I wonder.

>          Maglich has invented and partially developed an atomic FUSION
>          reactor which he calls 'Migma', which uses NON-radioactive
>          deuterium as a fuel [available in nearly UNLIMITED quantities

           ^^^ in contrast to radioactive deuterium?  Is there such a thing?
           (I assure you there isn't) (alright that was a nitpick but I'm
           having fun here)

>               In terms of economics, the market has FAILED.  Inventors
>          do not have enough money and other resources to fully develop
>          and mass-produce Free Energy Equipment, and the conventional
>          energy producer$ have no desire to do so because of their
>          VE$TED INTERE$T$.

           Now this is just ridiculous, the energy industry spends huge
           amounts of money scrubbing sulfur compounds out of their
           exhaust products and would virtually kill to get a clean source
           of energy.  Let's assume you are right and these magic sources
           work and they have these qualities.

           1.  nearly limitless supply
           2.  this supply is effectively free (in terms of cost)
           3.  non-polluting
           4.  safe to humans and the environment

The only vested interest the utilities have is to their past investment of
money in their power plants.  But the above advantages reduce operating costs
SO much that they would jump at it.  (imagine an electric plant that doesn't
need to buy any coal, has virtually no cost related to safety equipment, spends
nothing on environmental technology, and still charges what it used to)==profit!


Mark Schlegel, Univ. of Nebraska at Omaha, Dept. of Physics
[e-mail]

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

Date: 17 Nov 92 12:18:39 GMT
From: Mario Wolczko <[e-mail]>
Subject: Hubble's mirror
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
> The *only* test that would have detected the error [an end-to-end test]
> [would have been difficult due to problems]
> like gravitational distortion of the primary
I've seen this mentioned a few times, and it has me confused.
Any idea why an end-to-end test would have been more susceptible to
gravitational problems than the null corrector test?  Couldn't both be
performed with the primary flat on its back?  And why are there
more risks of surface contamination?

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

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 04:20:21 GMT
From: "robert.f.casey" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Hubble's mirror
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John F. Woods) writes:
>All the managers who approved ignoring those tests (who were probably rewarded
>with bonuses for bringing the mirror in on-time) ought to be billed the repair
>costs.  (and whoever thought to add random spacing washers to a piece of
>*precision* equipment, instead of asking why it didn't fit like it was supposed
>to, ...

Whoever did the above adding washers to the test jig probably felt a lot of
time pressure from management to get it done NOW! and don't waste time
about it.  He also probably figured the designer made an error overlooking
a small mounting detail, and he could "correct" it easy enough with the
washers, and deliver it as done.  And his boss won't be on his ass.
Hell, in my job, I have to deal with a lot of bad documentation, missing
info, lack of proper training, time pressure, bad bosses, not enough time,
and other problems (excuses my boss calles them).  Odds are, given time
pressure and bad management, I might have hacked the above mirror tester
to get it done myself.  And probably I would have figured I had to make
the "correction" with the washers.  And not be able to ask the designer
about it ("he's in a meeting all day", "he's out of town", or some such,
or "can't you figure it out yourself, you idiot").

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

Date: 16 Nov 92 22:19:54 GMT
From: Mario Wolczko <[e-mail]>
Subject: Interesting Swift-Tuttle Scenario ...
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space

Here's something to think about.  Suppose, after S-T has passed out of
the range of our best telescopes, and good orbital elements have been
obtained, all calculations show a direct hit on Earth is very likely.
However, even then there will be no certainty until S-T is reacquired,
inbound, presumably many decades hence.

What will happen?

Here's my guess: there'll be a flurry of discussion and ideas on how
to divert the comet, but after that everything will die down and the
whole thing will lie dormant (like the comet ;-) -- apart from the
occasional minor study -- until the early 22nd century.  Then, the
schemes will be dusted off and re-assessed, some new ones invented,
and -- nothing will happen until either the comet is reacquired, or
the last moment to actually start building something arrives.

Of course, by then S-T could be an exhibit in the Natural History
Museum in Lunar Orbit, or a tour stop on the way to Alpha Centauri ...

T-48848 days and counting!

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

Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 22:41:21 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Mars Simulation in Antarctica
Newsgroups: sci.space

        At one point I believe that the US was operating a small nuclear
reactor as a source of power and heat in one of their Antarctic bases.  Does
anyone know the details - this would be highly relevant to moon and or mars
bases (which of course would have to however have alternate methods of
rejecting heat).

--
Bruce Dunn    Vancouver, Canada   [e-mail]

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

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 01:55:49 GMT
From: Tim Fogarty <[e-mail]>
Subject: SATELLITE PHOTO
Newsgroups: sci.space

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (IEGS000) writes:
|>
|>COULD SOMEONE HELP ME: SUPPOSE A HURRICANE JUST BLEW IN! WHERE CAN I
|>FIND A SATELLITE PHOTOS OF IT'S PROGRESS?
|>PLEASE REPLY TO MC.BER
|>

CNN

--
Tim Fogarty
Sys Man and Sys Admin for the EGSE in the POCC at JSC for SRL-1, STS-59
[e-mail]

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

Date: 18 Nov 92 00:50:14 GMT
From: Rich Kolker <[e-mail]>
Subject: Saturn V for Freedom deployment
Newsgroups: sci.space

Chris,

There are lots of good references on the Saturn Launch Vehicles.

I'd start with "Stages to Saturn", published by NASA in 1980.

It's reference number is NASA SP-4206.  Try a college library, interlibrary
loan or the Government Printing Office.

++richys
-------------------------------------------------------------------
   rich kolker       [e-mail]
                          It's been a long, long time
--------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 92 08:12:48 EST
From: John Roberts <[e-mail]>
Subject: Shuttle computers

-From: [e-mail] (Henry Spencer)
-Subject: Re: Shuttle computers
-Date: 17 Nov 92 21:44:07 GMT

-In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John Roberts) writes:
->Do you recall how tight the lockstep is? I don't believe I've seen anything
->written on that since before STS-1.

-It's not a cycle-by-cycle lockstep like some redundant systems.  Every
-couple of milliseconds, the four computers in the main redundant set
-compare notes; if one disagrees with the others twice in a row, the
-others declare it to have failed.  The fifth computer runs completely
-different software, programmed by a different group using different
-methods, as a final backup against disastrous failure; I think switchover
-to it is entirely manual.

Hm - that sounds like a more software-oriented approach than
Pat Nolastname's post would indicate....

I presume there's a way for the astronauts to tell the system to switch
a GPC back in (recalling that they once replaced a GPC in-orbit).

Is it at all possible to reprogram the GPCs from the ground, or does it
have to be done from onboard?

John Roberts
[e-mail]

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

Date: 18 Nov 92 03:40:39 GMT
From: Tom Parish <[e-mail]>
Subject: Skywatch - Nov 15-21 - Meteors Spark up the Night
Newsgroups: sci.space

If there is interest I will post the weekly Skywatch written by
Jeff Kanipe who is editor of Star Date Magazine.  We have been
making these columns avaiable via FidoNet on a couple of the
echoes (ie. Astronomy, Space) for the last 18 months.

Various FidoNet users who also read sci.space on USENET have asked
me about posting Skywatch here.

So here it is ... you tell me if you "really" want it here.

Thanks,
Tom Parish
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Star Date                                                        Turning Point

                                 SKYWATCH
                              November 15-21

                        Meteors Spark up the Night
                              by Jeff Kanipe
                         Editor of Star Date Magazine


                                  PLANETS

     * Mercury is in inferior conjunction and not visible this month.

     * Venus is the bright "evening star" in the west after sunset. It
     sets about two hours after sunset.

     * Mars rises mid-evening in the constellation Gemini.

     * Jupiter is the "morning star," rising in the east-southeast
     about four hours before the sun.

     * Saturn is low in the south at sunset in Capricornus. It sets
     about midnight.

                                  EVENTS

     Nov. 15: Algol is at minimum brightness.

     Nov. 15: Mars is five degrees north of the waning gibbous moon.

     Nov. 17: Leonid meteor shower in the early morning hours. Moon
              interferes.

     Nov. 17: Last quarter moon.

     Nov. 18: Algol is at minimum brightness.

     Nov. 19: The moon is at perigee, 369,741 km (229,745 mi).

     Nov. 20: Jupiter is seven degrees north of the crescent moon.


                         THE LEONID METEOR SHOWER
                         ------------------------

     Most years, the Leonid meteor shower tends to be rather hum-drum.
     At most, one can expect to see maybe 10 to 20 meteors per hour
     zip fleetingly across the sky from a dark location out in the
     country. But every thirty-three years, this shower suddenly
     becomes a storm of "shooting stars." The last major storm
     occurred in 1966 when observers in the central United States saw
     over 5,000 meteors per hour!

     Although this is not the year of the storm--that won't happen
     until we get closer to 1998 or 1999--the shower still bears
     watching because the intensity of the shower should increase the
     closer we get to its storm year. Why does a storm happen only
     occasionally? The answer doesn't have as much to do with where
     meteors are in space as much as it has to do with where comets
     are--the sources of the meteors we see in meteor showers.

     Comets are like those snow-encrusted cars you often see
     barreling down the freeway in winter, leaving in their wake an
     icy, blustery trail. When a comet comes out of the deep freeze
     of deep space and visits the inner solar system, its surface is
     warmed by the sun. Part of its icy crust suddenly turns to
     vapor, which blows off the comet's surface, leaving a delineated
     path of debris through which Earth passes at a specific time of
     the year. The "blowback" material contains ice, dust, and small
     gravely material--stuff that later burns up in our atmosphere
     during a shower.

     The Leonids in particular are composed of debris from periodic
     Comet Tempel/Tuttle. This comet has a period of 33.176 years. As
     the comet approaches the solar system, it brings with it a
     concentrated trail of debris, which Earth passes through. When
     this happens, we see a greater display of meteors than usual.

     Look for the Leonids on the morning of November 17. Although the
     last quarter moon interferes somewhat, the sky should be dark
     enough to see some of the brighter meteors. Leo rises in the
     east around 1:30 a.m., local time, just as Earth is meeting
     these meteors head on. The greatest number, however, will be
     seen when the place in the sky from which the meteors appear to
     radiate (near the Lion's "sickle") is halfway up in the eastern
     sky, and that occurs around 4 a.m.

     You can expect to see a half-dozen or more meteors per hour. Then
     again, if we pass through a "knot" of debris, as occasionally
     happens with the Leonids, you may see a brief flurry of meteors.
     Who knows what you may see? I can guarantee, however, that if
     you remain in bed, you won't see anything at all.


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

     Jeff Kanipe is editor of Star Date Magazine, published by
     McDonald Observatory at the University of Texas at Austin. Write
     to Star Date at 2601 University, Room 102, the University of
     Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712 for subscription information.
     It is very reasonable in cost, informative and colorful.

     Copyright 1992 The University of Texas McDonald Observatory.
     Material is intended for personal education and should not
     be rebroadcast in any written or verbal form without
     prior permission from the University of Texas.

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

             Also see the daily scripts from the Star Date
                   Radio Program on the Turning Point.
                           HST/DS 512-219-7848

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

Date: 17 Nov 92 22:59:02 GMT
From: Frank Crary <[e-mail]>
Subject: Space suit research?
Newsgroups: sci.space

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Pat) writes:
>...What i was wondering is why have the shuttle run at 14PSI
>earth normal atmosphere?   if the shuttle ran on a mostly O2 atmosphere at
>3-4 PSI  wouldnt all the pre breathe stuff become irrelevant?

You don't have to go nearly that far: At 6psi of nitrogen partial
pressure (~9psi total cabin pressure) there wouldn't be any
need for pre-breathing with the current suits.

                                               Frank Crary
                                               CU Boulder

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

Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 00:44:00 GMT
From: "Carlos G. Niederstrasser" <phoenix.Princeton.EDU![e-mail]>
Subject: Spy Satellite to Arab Emirates?
Newsgroups: talk.politics.space,sci.space

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Daniel
Ray Sawyer) writes:
>
> The specific case involved is in today's (Nov 17) New York Times. It seems
> that several months ago the United Arab Emirates approached the US gvt
> about getting a license to buy an advanced spy satellite from a US firm.
> According to the article, the satellite model would be able to pick out
> objects one to two meters large.  This is supposedly much better than the
> photographic satellites sold for "commercial" purposes.
>
> The Emirates motive is supposedly to be the "first on the block" with
> a spy satellite in the Arab world.

My philosophy on this is better us than them (them being the Russians)  As I
see it if we give the satellite to them we will have _some_ control over it.
We will know its abilities, its orbit (if we launch it), its lifetime, even its
radio frequency and computer encoding.  With some restrictions/recomendations
we could at least try to make sure the UAE don't use it for purposes contrary
to our national interest.

On the other hand we could refuse.  Odds are that if they really want a
satellite they could get it from the Russians.  It is not even like they are
asking for top of the line (2m resolution isn't that great if you believe some
of the rumors about our 'real' spy satellites)  The Russians have already
started selling photos what is to stop them from selling a whole satellite?
And in this case we would barely know anything about it.  Of course if the CIA
can insure us that the UAE will definetly not buy a sat from the Russians then
there is nothing to worry about right?

And better that the 'first kid on the block' with a spy satellite be someone we
at least can kind of trust, and is politically stable (for now)

Oh, and there's always the famed jobs question, which applies to both Russia
and the U.S.

--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| Carlos G. Niederstrasser        |   It is difficult to say what   |
| Princeton Planetary Society     | is impossible; for the dream of |
|                                 | yesterday, is the hope of today |
|                                 |   and the reality of tomorrow   |
| [e-mail]   |---------------------------------|
| [e-mail]     |    Ad Astra per Ardua Nostra    |
---------------------------------------------------------------------

--
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| Carlos G. Niederstrasser        |   It is difficult to say what   |
| Princeton Planetary Society     | is impossible; for the dream of |
|                                 | yesterday, is the hope of today |

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End of Space Digest Volume 15 : Issue 435
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