Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V16_1/V16NO147.TXT

Internet Message Format | 1993-07-13 | 36KB

Date: Fri, 12 Feb 93 10:18:40
From: Space Digest maintainer <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Space Digest V16 #147
To: Space Digest Readers
Precedence: bulk


Space Digest                Fri, 12 Feb 93       Volume 16 : Issue 147

Today's Topics:
                    Ceramic tiles on Space Shuttle
           Clinton's Promises (space) in Charlotte Observer
                        Clinton Email Address
        Electronic Journal of the ASA (EJASA) - February 1993
     Honorary Names (was: Today in 1986-Remember the Challenger)
                           In Memorium, RAH
               NF-104 (was Re: kerosene/peroxide SSTO)
           Precursors to Fred (was Re: Sabatier Reactors.)
                 Space Station Media Handbook - 18/18
                 The day before Challenger exploded.
                Today in 1986-Remember the Challenger
                    Using off-the-shelf-components
                      Zero funding for SSF 1994

    Welcome to the Space Digest!!  Please send your messages to
    "[e-mail]", 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 [e-mail] (Internet).
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1993 01:57:43 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Ceramic tiles on Space Shuttle
Newsgroups: sci.materials,sci.space,sci.space.shuttle

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Johan A. Grape) asks in sci.materials:
> I was just wondering if anyone could tell me what material
> the infamous ceramic tiles on the space shuttle are made of?
>
> Anyone know who manufactures them too?

Since I've seen this discussed at length in the space newsgroups
recently I've included them in the followup.  They're some pretty
interesting composites.

-Bill Gawne,  Space Telescope Science Institute

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

Date: Fri,  5 Feb 93 17:13:29 PST
From: Brian Stuart Thorn <[e-mail]>
Subject: Clinton's Promises (space) in Charlotte Observer
Newsgroups: sci.space

>: > >You don't understand.  NASA doesn't *want* Space Station Freedom
>: > >completed.


    Funny thing is, this complaint is not raised about Mir.
    Launched in 1986, and there are two more major modules
    scheduled for launch in '94, I think.

    If NASA plans this way, its "welfare for the military
    industrial complex" or some such nonsense. If Russia
    does this, its "a sensible, stable approach to orbital
    space stations." Phooey.

    -Brian

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

Date: 6 Feb 93 00:58:57 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Clinton Email Address
Newsgroups: sci.space

Clinton email address is as follows..

Clinton's email address
[e-mail] (Peter Webb), Hibbitt, Karlsson & Sorenson,Inc.
Date: 1 Feb 93 06:40:46 -0800

[ fwd's removed ]

Communications Daily, January 19, 1993
CLINTON WHITE HOUSE TO MAKE DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE ELECTRONICALLY
BODY:
Carrying through successful campaign operation, Clinton Administration this
week will become first White House to set up office dedicated to making
official Presidential documents available electronically for widespread
distribution. There has been limited distribution of White House press
information in past through now-defunct Dialcom, but nothing on scale that
Clinton staff is contemplating.

  Clinton transition effort has named Jonathan Gill as director of Electronic
Publishing and Public Access E-Mail. Gill, software developer from Medford,
Mass., signed onto Clinton campaign as electronic mail coordinator. He
originally worked from home, later moved to Little Rock as demands on system
became more intense. At one point, Clinton E-mail operation was answering
5,000 queries daily, most sent out automatically. Gill will work in White
House Office of Communications with Jeff Eller, who was named deputy asst.
to President and dir.-Media Affairs. Eller is credited with moving electronic
computer communications for first time into mainstream of political
campaigns.

Clinton's address is:  [e-mail]

Ramona Curry


--
Peter Webb                                      [e-mail]
Hibbitt, Karlsson & Sorensen, Inc.              Voice: 401-727-4200
1080 Main St, Pawtucket RI 02860                FAX: [phone]


If you don't get thru the first time, it could be due to email backlog..
Alot of people have sent email to it..

==
Michael Adams, [e-mail] -- I'm not high, just jacked

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

Date: 5 Feb 1993 20:18:36 -0500
From: Matthew DeLuca <[e-mail]>
Subject: Electronic Journal of the ASA (EJASA) - February 1993
Newsgroups: sci.space

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Jeff Bulf) writes:

>As I understand it, isn't the Sun a considerably larger-than-average star?
>Recent articles in Astronomy have gone into this some. Apparently average
>is around red-dwarf size.

Well, it depends on what you consider to be 'average'.  There are more red
dwarfs than anything else, so if you add up all the sizes of all the stars
and divide by the number of stars, you'er going to get an average mass pretty
close to that of a red dwarf.

However, if you consider stars as placed on the Hertzprung-Russell diagram,
you'll find that the Sun is about halfway along the chart, and hence is
pretty 'average'.  Basically, there's lots of stars larger than the Sun, and
lots that are smaller.
--
Matthew DeLuca
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
uucp:      ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!matthew
Internet: [e-mail]

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

Date: Fri,  5 Feb 93 17:12:57 PST
From: Brian Stuart Thorn <[e-mail]>
Subject: Honorary Names (was: Today in 1986-Remember the Challenger)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle

>Continuing the divergance from this somber thread, Sunnyvale Air Force
>Station, the "Houston Control" for the military  space program, was renamed
>"Onizuka Air Force Station" after the Challenger. I'm sure there must be
>some schools named after McCallife (sp?) too. Have the other Challeger crew
>members been honored by significant namings?
>
>- Jack

   In the Cape Canaveral area, there is now a Challenger Seven
   elementary and a Ronald McNair Middle School. There was an
   Astronaut High and a Freedom 7 Elementary prior to Challenger.

   -Brian

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

Date: 6 Feb 1993 01:05:19 GMT
From: "David M. Palmer" <[e-mail]>
Subject: In Memorium, RAH
Newsgroups: sci.space

        Under the wide and starry sky,
    Dig the grave and let me lie.
    Glad did I live and gladly die,
        And I laid me down with a will.
    This be the verse you grave for me:
    "Here he lies where he longed to be;
    Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
        And the hunter home from the hill.'

written on a tag from an air tank, pinned to the ground with a knife,
on an Earthlit mare.

If we can't do that for him, all he gave us was dreams.

--
        David M. Palmer        [e-mail]
                    [e-mail]

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

Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1993 02:56:20 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: NF-104 (was Re: kerosene/peroxide SSTO)
Newsgroups: sci.space

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail]
(Henry Spencer) writes:

> Also of note were the peroxide monopropellant rocket engines used in the
> NF-104 rocket-boosted aircraft flown by NASA and the USAF, which worked
> quite well and were serviced and fuelled by ordinary USAF technicians.

Isn't that the one Chuck Yeager almost killed himself in?  Seems I recall
somebody saying its flight envelope had more holes in it than a
Tiajuana .... [nevermind].

I guess what I'm asking is did the engines work well, or the plane as
a whole, or both, or neither?  Maybe Mary can provide some light on this
if nobody else can.

-Bill Gawne,  Space Telescope Science Institute

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

Date: Fri,  5 Feb 93 17:12:24 PST
From: Brian Stuart Thorn <[e-mail]>
Subject: Precursors to Fred (was Re: Sabatier Reactors.)
Newsgroups: sci.space

>As far as building in orbit.....  The first element launch (FEL)......
>
>(*********1995!!!! This has held firm......SINCE 1988!!********)

   First element launch is now planned for March, 1996.
   Don't hold your breath.

   -Brian

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian S. Thorn                                    "If ignorance is bliss,
[e-mail]                               this must be heaven."
                                                -Diane Chambers, "Cheers"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: Sat, 6 Feb 1993 01:52:48 GMT
From: Bruce Dunn <[e-mail]>
Subject: Space Station Media Handbook - 18/18
Newsgroups: sci.space

From NASA SPACELINK:

"6_10_2_9.TXT" (20735 bytes) was created on 10-06-92

Space Station Freedom Payloads

This appendix summarizes the payloads which are under
consideration for launch on Space Station Freedom by NASA's Office
of Space Science and Applications (OSSA), Office of Aeronautics and
Space Technology (OAST) and Office of Commercial Programs (OCP).

OSSA Payloads
The Office of Space Science and Applications is responsible for
planning, directing, executing and evaluating scientific studies of the
universe and studies of physical problems on Earth. OSSA also
provides a scientific research foundation for expanding human
presence beyond Earth into the solar system. In its role as a sponsor
of space station users, OSSA has identified several payloads and
payload concepts as candidates for flight on Space Station Freedom.
They are being considered by OSSA's Life Sciences Division and
Microgravity Science and Applications Division.

OSSA Payloads: Life Sciences Division (LSD). The OSSA LSD's focus is
to conduct a comprehensive program in operational medicine,
biomedical monitoring and countermeasures, space biology,
exobiology, and Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS)
development.

Currently, the LSD is studying five space station facility concepts to
support life sciences research. The five facilities are: Centrifuge
Facility, Gravitational Biology Facility, Biomedical Monitoring and
Countermeasures Facility, CELSS Test Facility and Gas-Grain
Simulation Facility. Each facility is modular in construction to support
a large number of different scientific investigations. The modularity
also enables the facility to be easily upgraded when new equipment
and techniques become available and to accommodate new directions
in research that will occur in the future.

Centrifuge Facility. The Centrifuge Facility is expected to be the
single most important research tool for space life sciences. The
Centrifuge Facility is scheduled to be placed in a node and launched
on the first Shuttle flight after PMC.

The Centrifuge Facility will be utilized to conduct basic research to
determine the influence of gravity and radiation on biological
systems, and to develop countermeasures to enable long-duration
human activity in space. The facility will accommodate the diverse
requirements of a wide variety of biological investigations using
animals, plants, cells and tissue cultures. The effects of the space
environment, including gravity and radiation, on reproduction,
development and maturation of living systems will be of particular
interest. By studying these effects down to the cellular level,
scientists will learn how long-duration spaceflight affects living
systems over single and multiple generations. The facility will also be
used to examine the need for artificial gravity in long-duration
manned flight.

In order to investigate the effects of microgravity in space, the
Centrifuge Facility provides animal and plant vivaria at the ambient
microgravity level (Modular Habitats in Holding Systems) and
housing at controlled gravity levels (Modular Habitats in the
Centrifuge). The Centrifuge Facility is composed of two major
systems: a 2.5 m. Centrifuge Rotor and the Habitat Holding Systems
with Modular Habitats.

The Modular Habitats are specimen chambers for housing small
animals (mice, rats and monkeys) and plants, along with the
structure and engineering subsystems required to supply
consumables, maintain the appropriate environment, control
experiment sensors and collect data. The habitats are modular and
have standardized interfaces allowing them to be changed-out and
used in the Centrifuge Rotor, Habitat Holding Systems and Life
Sciences Glovebox.

The Centrifuge Rotor is able to generate fractional gravity levels
between zero-gravity (impossible to do on Earth) and two-g, allowing
investigators to examine the effects of variable gravity. The Rotor
provides accommodations for a mixed group of Modular Habitats,
thus supporting concurrent research on multiple species.

Gravitational Biology Facility.JThe Gravitational Biology Facility will
be a two-rack facility that is launched in several complements. The
facility will include equipment to support experiments that utilize
the Centrifuge Facility and includes the Life Sciences Experiment
Control Computer System. The Gravitational Biology Facility will also
include additional multipurpose life sciences equipment utilized by
both human and non-human life sciences experiments.
Typical examples of hardware which may be included in the
Gravitational Biology Facility are:

Animal Biotelemetry System - a set of sensors and transducers to
monitor various physiological parameters of animal specimens
through telemetered data to the Experiment Control Computer
System;

Mass Spectrometer - an instrument used to determine components of
a solution or gas by analyzing the molecular fragments according to
their atomic mass;

Perfusion and Fixation Unit - a set of chemicals and ancillary
hardware required to treat and preserve tissue samples for later
examination and study;

Plant HPLC Ion Chromatograph - an instrument to separate and
identify components of a solution by the differences in type and
magnitude of ionic charge, specifically designed for monitoring plant
specimens;

Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter - a microdosimeter designed
to determine radiation dosimetry at the organ/cellular level and to
assess radiation damage to tissue; and,

Experiment Control Computer System - a life sciences computer
system to provide buffer memory and mass storage capability for
experiments, and an interface between experiment hardware and the
SSF data management system.

Biomedical Monitoring and Countermeasures (BMAC) Facility. The
BMAC Facility is designed to provide an understanding of the
underlying mechanisms of the physiological changes induced by
spaceflight; develop and validate countermeasures to prevent or
reverse undesirable effects of prolonged exposure to weightlessness;
ensure human performance and well-being in space and enable
successful readaptation to Earth's gravity.

The BMAC Facility will contain hardware that will evaluate
physiological control mechanisms and behavioral processes of man in
the space environment. Systems to be studied include
cardiopulmonary and musculoskeletal adaptation, neurovestibular
function, behavior, radiation exposure, blood cell dysfunctions and
alterations in physiological regulation mechanisms.
Typical examples of hardware which may be included in the BMAC
Facility are:

Blood Flow and Plethysmography System - a system for measuring
and recording the changes in volume of an organ, part or limb, and
the amount of blood present or passing through it;

Electrocardiograph (ECG) System - a system that measures, records
and displays the electrical activity of the heart;

Fundus Camera - a handheld instrument used in examining the
fundus region of the retina of the eye;

Image Digitizing System - a system that converts images from any
source into digital form; performs limited pattern recognition and
transfers digital data from Space Station Freedom to the ground;

Motion Analysis System - a video system used to monitor, record and
analyze the motion of crew members during weightlessness; and,

Pulmonary Analysis System - a system that measures respiratory
system functions by determining expired and inspired air amounts
and total lung volume.

CELSS Test Facility. The purpose of the CELSS Test Facility (CTF) on
Space Station Freedom is to provide NASA with a test bed to develop
advanced life-support systems based on biological systems. The long
on-orbit time gives scientists the capability to study plant
populations throughout complete life cycles and over many
generations in a controlled microgravity environment. The
monitoring and environmental control of the experiment will be fully
automated, including a robotic arm for specimen handling.
CTF results will be used to identify candidate crops for future CELSS,
to determine how well the experiment's subsystems work and to
pinpoint plant growth techniques that yield the highest quality and
quantity of crops. The CTF's experiments will determine the best
combinations of environmental factors such as lighting, humidity,
temperature and plant growth area. The amount of plant growth area
needed is particularly important given the limited quarters on the
Station.

Gas-Grain Simulation Facility. The Gas-Grain Simulation Facility will
be used to simulate and study fundamental chemical and physical
processes, such as the formation, growth and interaction of clouds,
dust grains and other small particles in microgravity. These studies
will help scientists address questions related to phenomena such as
solar system formation and the origin of life. Studies performed in
this facility will also address scientific issues relevant to the
disciplines of exobiology, planetary science, astrophysics,
atmospheric science, biology, physics and chemistry. In the study of
small particle process, the demands on experiment design are severe.
Two common requirements are low relative velocities between
particles and long time periods during which the particles must be
suspended.  Sufficiently long duration suspension times to do this
fundamental research cannot be attained on Earth, but can be
investigated with this general-purpose particle research facility in
Earth orbit.

OSSA Payloads: Microgravity Science and Applications
Division. Currently, the MSAD is studying six Space Station Facility
concepts to support microgravity research. The six facilities are:
Advanced Protein Crystal Growth Facility, Biotechnology Facility,
Fluid Physics Dynamics Facility, Modular Combustion Facility,
Modular Containerless Processing Facility, and the Space Station
Furnace Facility. Each facility is modular in construction to provide
the flexibility needed to support a large number of different
scientific investigations. The modularity also enables the facility to
be easily upgraded as new equipment and techniques become
available and to accommodate new directions in research that will
occur in the future.

Advanced Protein Crystal Growth Facility (APCGF). The Advanced
Protein Crystal Growth Facility will support biotechnology research
by growing macromolecular protein crystals. Preliminary research
indicates that some types of protein crystals grow with a higher
degree of internal order in the microgravity environment of low
Earth orbit. Highly ordered crystals may be used to improve our
understanding of the three dimensional structure of proteins. The
APCGF will house long-duration protein crystallization experiments
designed to understand the growth process of protein crystals and to
grow crystals of better quality than those grown in the Space Shuttle
Middeck and on Earth. This knowledge will be used to aid protein
crystallization efforts on Earth.

Biotechnology Facility (BTF). The BTF will provide the capability to
culture both mammalian cells. These cells or their constituent
molecules may be used to culture tissues in an environment more
conducive to tissue development and differentiation. This will allow
biological processes to be studied and unique biologic materials to be
produced. These products could include membranes, monoclonal
antibodies or new tissues for transplantation research and treatment.
The BTF will be a multi-user facility designed to house a wide
variety of biotechnology experiments.

Fluid Physics Dynamics Facility (FPDF). The FPDF will be used by the
science and engineering community to perform experiments in a
reduced gravity environment to further understand fundamental
theories of fluid behavior, to provide improvements in
thermophysical property measurement and to provide scientific and
engineering data related to a wide variety of fluids-related
applications and systems.

The FPDF consist of a fluids experiment rack which will be supported
by a control rack associated with the Modular Combustion Facility.
Modular Combustion Facility (MCF). The MCF will be used by the
science and engineering community to perform experiments in a
reduced gravity environment to develop a further understanding of
fundamental theories of combustion processes and phenomena and
to provide scientific and engineering data for a wide variety of
combustion related applications, such as spacecraft fire safety.
The MCF will initially be housed in two space station racks. One of
these will be the control rack, and the other, the experiment rack.
The control rack, which contains the support systems, will provide
common support for both the combustion and fluids experiment
racks.

Modular Containerless Processing Facility (MCPF). MCPF will
accommodate a variety of experiments requiring the positioning and
manipulation of materials without physical contact with other solids.
This facility will allow researchers the opportunity to conduct studies
minimizing contamination or other physical effects from container
walls.

The experiments being designed for the MCPF will test theories
pertaining to phenomena that range from the behavior of liquid
drops to the characterization of metal, glass and ceramic samples
heated to temperatures up to and even over 2700C. The individual
experiment modules will employ acoustic, electrostatic and magnetic
forces to position the samples without using physical contact with
solid materials. Heating will be provided by combinations of resistive
furnaces, induction, microwave and light beams. Rapid cooling,
needed by some experiments, will be provided. The facility itself will
provide services and equipment common to many experiments such
as advanced optical diagnosis, non-contact temperature
measurement and data services not otherwise provided by Space
Station Freedom. The configuration now being planned will include
three kinds of test chambers for MSAD experiments. One test
chamber will be used to conduct experiments at near ambient
temperature. The second will be used to conduct experiments with
ceramic, glass and metal samples at temperatures up to about 1700C
in an inert atmosphere. The third experiment chamber will provide
the capability to process metal samples at temperatures up to about
2700C in either a vacuum or an inert atmosphere.

Space Station Furnace Facility (SSFF). The SSFF will accommodate
solidification research in electro-optic materials, metals and alloys,
composite materials, glasses and ceramics. Apparatus optimized to
perform melt, vapor and solution crystal growth will be included, as
well as instruments to perform thermophysical property
measurement of materials and directional solidification of metals and
alloys.

The SSFF will allow two furnace modules to be operated
simultaneously, allowing a high throughput of investigations when
resources are available. Crew interaction will be used primarily for
furnace reconfiguration, maintenance and repair. The crew will also
install the samples to be processed and harvest them after an
experiment. Some crew interactive research will be required for
certain types of experiments. The SSFF will accommodate the use of
telescience, so that ground investigators will be able to directly
influence their experiments in near real-time when the crew is
unavailable.

OAST Payloads
The Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology (OAST) is responsible
for the on-orbit evaluation of advanced space technologies utilizing
Space Station Freedom. Advanced technology experiments are those
which gather data relating to space environmental effects,
communications, automation and robotics, information systems,
advanced space structures and systems and human systems
engineering. Some of the experiments which OAST is considering for
flight on Space Station Freedom are as follows:

In Situ Trace Contaminants Analysis. This is a real-time system
consisting of a mass spectrometer and sampling apparatus which will
identify and measure trace atmospheric contaminants within the
Station. This experiment will provide data to validate current
atmospheric trace contaminants models and will demonstrate the
technology required to provide long-term real-time monitoring and
analysis of spacecraft atmosphere.

Spacecraft Strain and Acoustic Sensors. Advanced sensors will be
integrated in the Station's structural components to measure strain.
Both acoustic emission and fiber-optic sensors will be used. This
information will be used to assess the level of wear, predict failures
and develop improved materials and structural designs for future
spacecraft.

Advanced Sensor Development. The shirt-sleeve environment on
Space Station Freedom will be used to develop advanced Earth/space
viewing sensors. Using the optical window in the U.S. Laboratory
Module, advanced sensors can be developed and tested in a short
time frame for rapid technology transfer to civil applications.

Transient Upset Phenomena in VLSIC Devices. Very Large Scale
Integrated Circuits (VLSIC), which are especially fabricated to permit
accurate detection of circuit failures (upsets), will be exposed to
environmental radiation within the space station. This experiment
will provide technologies to improve reliability and the ability to
recover from upsets for future spacecraft and large scale Earth-based
computer systems.

OCP Payloads
The Office of Commercial Programs (OCP) has identified several
potential commercial payloads for flight on Space Station Freedom.
Some of these payloads are:

Bioregenerative Water System (BWS). The Bioregenerative Water
System (BWS) will conduct experiments to quantify to what extent
plant systems can be used to purify and recycle water in space and
to validate the reliability and safety of such a system for closing the
air and water loops of an environmental control system. During the
man-tended phase of Space Station Freedom's operations, the BWS
experiment will utilize a proprietary water condensing subsystem
developed by the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and
Robotics to quantify the amount of water that can be obtained from a
unit area of growing plants. The experiments will provide
information on the extent that waste water can be used by the plant
growing unit to provide purified potable water. The availability of a
reliable and safe potable water supply system will significantly
reduce the costs of maintaining any long-duration space mission,
such as Space Station Freedom, a mission to Mars or a base on the
moon.

U.S. Commercial Electrophoresis (USCEPS). U.S. Commercial
Electrophoresis (USCEPS) will develop better methods to separate
biological materials into pure components for commercial biomedical
purposes. Continuous flow electrophoresis conducted in space can
often be used to separate closely related cell lines, or complex
protein mixtures much better than the same process conducted on
Earth. Microgravity eliminates dispersion effects caused by density
differences in the fluid, sample and product streams which hamper
the process on Earth. Biological materials separated in space via
electrophoresis can yield larger quantities of purer products than can
be produced on Earth using the same process. U.S. companies could
use space-based electrophoresis to purify existing or new products
such as growth hormone, beta cells and epidermal growth factors.

Float Zone Crystal Growth (FZCG). The purpose of Float Zone Crystal
Growth (FZCG) is to grow large, high-quality, single crystals of
cadmium telluride and other electro-optical materials utilizing a
furnace facility. The elimination of the harmful role of gravity
convection and sedimentation, as well as the possibility of growing
electronic crystals in space without contact with ampoule walls,
allows an improvement of the structure and properties of
semiconductor materials grown in space compared to their ground
equivalents.

Protein Crystal Growth (PCG). When crystals are grown on Earth,
gravitational forces cause sedimentation and density-driven
convection which results in poor quality crystals. Protein Crystal
Growth (PCG) will utilize the microgravity environment of space to
grow highly-ordered, high-quality, large protein crystals which will
be analyzed via X-ray diffraction to reveal the proteins' three-
dimensional structure. The end product of the space-borne protein
crystal growth experiments is knowledge which has practical
pharmaceutical applications in many health-related areas such as
treatments for cancer and diabetes.


The material above is one of many files from SPACELINK
A Space-Related Informational Database
Provided by the NASA Educational Affairs Division
Operated by the Marshall Space Flight Center
On a Data General ECLIPSE MV7800 Minicomputer

SPACELINK may be contacted in three ways:

1) Using a modem, by phone at 205-895-0028

2) Using Telnet, at spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov

3) Using FTP capability. Username is anonymous and Password is guest.
Address is 192.149.89.61.


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

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

Date: 6 Feb 93 01:13:15 GMT
From: "Allen W. Sherzer" <[e-mail]>
Subject: The day before Challenger exploded.
Newsgroups: sci.space

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] writes:

>The fact is that beyond the management failures and the one major design
>flaw the system worked and is working well.

As a professional engineer I find it hard to accept that anything which
failed so utterly in all design criteria and costs so much more to operate
can even be called working much less working well.

>Calling the Shuttle a poor design is a personal opinion. It is not optimal,
>how can anything designed by Cap Weinburger be perfect, but it is doing the
>job, Allen not withstanding.

On the contrary Dennis; I think Shuttle IS doing the job NASA intends it
to do. It fufills the vital job of keeping billions flowing through
NASA and keeping civil servents bush.

As the Guild Navigator put it in the film 'Dune': "The pork must flow!".

  Allen

--
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Allen W. Sherzer | "A great man is one who does nothing but leaves        |
|  [e-mail]     |  nothing undone"                                       |
+----------------------130 DAYS TO FIRST FLIGHT OF DCX----------------------+

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

Date: 4 Feb 93 14:50:48 GMT
From: Peter Jarvis <phred!petej>
Subject: Today in 1986-Remember the Challenger
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle

Source-Info:  Sender is really [e-mail]

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Allen W. Sherzer) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Mary Shafer) writes:
>
>>...... They knew and accepted the risks.  Their deaths
>>were sad, of course, but it was not a great tragedy.

PJ - Not a great tragedy? I would call losing 7 very valuable professionals
PJ - in that manner a great tragedy.

>........ It's too bad it happened but it
>isn't a national tragedy. Some of our engineers had been working on
>flight test for the F-111 radar where a few crews where killed. It's
>part of the job.

PJ - What has to happen for it to *be* a national tragedy? Being part of
PJ - the job doesn't make it less tragic. What word would you use?

>The one exception I would make would be the teacher. I think the others
>where in the profession and had a realistic understanding of the risks
>involved and could make intelligent decisions regarding it. I don't
>think the teacher was.
>  Allen
>
PJ - The teacher (Christa M.) was made well aware of the risks of the
PJ - ascent phase of the flight. I've talked to Niki Wenger, one of the
PJ - 10 finalists who knew her.

Peter Jarvis........pilot




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

Date: Fri, 05 Feb 93 21:03:39 EST
From: Jonathan Deitch <[e-mail]>
Subject: Using off-the-shelf-components
Newsgroups: sci.space

 >From: [e-mail]
 >Date: Thu, 4 Feb 1993 22:05:00 GMT Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
 >Newsgroups: sci.space

 >It depends on who you ask.  NASA is pretty fussy.  Others aren't.
 >In practice, "space qualified" often means "it's been tried in space
 >and it works".  The UoSAT people have been heard to complain that as
 >soon as they fly something once, the price zooms because the vendor
 >now thinks it's "space qualified" and therefore worth a lot more.

Does this mean Apple can charge twice as much for a Mac Portable since they
flew one on the Shuttle ?  :-)  How bout one of those GRiD laptops ?  :-) :-)

- Jonathan



--
 Internet: [e-mail]      Fidonet: Jonathan Deitch@1:133/411.7
           [e-mail]   Bellnet: 1 - (404) - 261 - 3665
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Atlanta 1996 !! | Play Pinball !! | Don't Panic ! | "I hate it when I can't
--------------------------------------------------| trust my own technology!"
"Thrills!  Chills!  Magic!  Prizes!" -- Hurricane |    -- Geordi LaForge

Gene Roddenberry, Isaac Asimov, Jim Henson, Dr. Seuss, Mel Blanc ... Sigh ...

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

Date: 5 Feb 93 14:21:30 PDT
From: morando@alad
Subject: Zero funding for SSF 1994
Newsgroups: sci.space

Here we go again...

Latest word from Washington is that a bill will be introduced to
reduce 1994 SSF funding to zero real soon now.  Not a 50% funding cut,
not a delay for another year or so, but rather put on mothballs with
no futher  spending after this year. This was substantiated by a
program manager  at a major SSF contractor.

Whether you are for or against the Space Station, reading this post
indicates interest in the space program. We should communicate our
wishes and thoughts to our Representative and Senators and to our
President.

Disclaimer: I work for a space station contractor. Nuff said :-)

! Alex Morando
! [e-mail]
!------------------------------------------------------------------
! For a technology to work, reality must take
! precedence over public relations, for Nature
! cannot be fooled.
! - Richard Feynman, Rogers Commission Report

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End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 147
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