Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V16_9/V16NO988.TXT

Text File | 1993-08-13 | 37KB | 819 lines

Space Digest                Fri,  6 Aug 93       Volume 16 : Issue 988

Today's Topics:
                             black holes
                                 DC-X
                 Ghost Wheel and who I am, some what!
               Mars Observer Update - 08/02/93 (2 msgs)
          NASA's planned project management changes (3 msgs)
             SPACE TRIVIA LIST UPDATE - 5th August, 1993
                        subject: space lotter
                 The Inquisition (The Usenet edition)
                           Titan IV failure

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

Date: Thu, 05 Aug 1993 09:32:06 -0400 (EDT)
From: [e-mail]
Subject: black holes

The event horizon of a black hole is not some magical boundry. It is the point
from which a BALI
STIC partical would have to be traveling ftl to escape.
If the partical were acelerated by an adjasent gravity well it could be pulled
out of the previous boundry. Actualy what would happen is that the gravity
well of a nearby object would change the shape of the event horizon.IMHO

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

Date: 5 Aug 1993 09:11:21 -0400
From: Pat <[e-mail]>
Subject: DC-X
Newsgroups: sci.space

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Gary Coffman) writes:
>The poverty line today has been raised higher than my middle
>class income of 1966. The most insidious kind of poverty is
>when the government debases the currency so it can "give" you
>a hand up.


Well, in this case,  most of it wasn't  direct currency debasement,
but inflation.  much of it driven by high energy prices in the
70's  and real estate speculation int he 80's.

pat
--
I don't care if it's true.  If it sounds good, I will
publish it.  Frank Bates Publisher  Frank Magazine.

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

Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1993 12:43:28 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Ghost Wheel and who I am, some what!
Newsgroups: sci.space

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (S.H.) writes:
>>===
>>Ghost Wheel - [e-mail]
>
>
>
> What is your backgroud? Ghost. Are you part of Ghost_Green?
> Who do you speak for ?
>
> What do you do besides writing posters ?
> >

Okay here goes. I work two jobs, hard ware clerk, and local after hours
hangout/restaurant.. I used to work full time as a AGR for the local Army Guard
Eskimo Scout Battalion, as a Unit Clerk (I used to use a spell checker, and
generally had more time to correct grammer). Gave it up after 7 years, now Im
just a part timer (traditional guardsmember). Have lived in Alaska since 1970,
been into computers since about 1979, space snce about 1970 or so, Star Trek I
think, and also got a old apollo moon landing book/stamp book or soem such,
forget what it was, its been a long time. Im 31, about the same age as the
berlin wall was.. Father was a Sergeant Major in the Special Forces. Born in
Idaho (near were much of my family was born). Im mostly white, but have soem
indians (Umatilla). I get into history, languages technology, space, sciences
in general, and much more.. Product of the late 20th century education system,
so I'm soem what mostly self taught. Anything else??

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

Im into cyberpunk/space/virtual reality and much more.. Think that the body is
a prison for true exploration of reality, but I have to deal with it until,
found a way to leave it while still "living".. A human powered AI..

I try to not be held down by the normal, average, status quo and such..
If humanity believes it, is it true?

===
Ghost Wheel - [e-mail]


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

Date: 5 Aug 1993 09:08:57 -0400
From: Pat <[e-mail]>
Subject: Mars Observer Update - 08/02/93
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,alt.sci.planetary

  CGRO was GRO  until  launch day.  I think.

maybe it will get named  once it passes  check out.

my nomination,  TYCHO.  or COpernicus.

pat
--
I don't care if it's true.  If it sounds good, I will
publish it.  Frank Bates Publisher  Frank Magazine.

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

Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1993 14:01:33 GMT
From: Hartmut Frommert <[e-mail]>
Subject: Mars Observer Update - 08/02/93
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,alt.sci.planetary

[e-mail] (Pat) writes:
>  CGRO was GRO  until  launch day.  I think.
>maybe it will get named  once it passes  check out.
>my nomination,  TYCHO.  or COpernicus.
                            ^^^^^^^^^^ Wasn't that an OAO, approx '73 ?
  Hartmut Frommert
  <[e-mail]>

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

Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1993 12:57:33 GMT
From: "Allen W. Sherzer" <[e-mail]>
Subject: NASA's planned project management changes
Newsgroups: sci.space

In article <23n4iv$[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Pat) writes:

>I read Alan and doug  flaming back and forth on FAR's  and I really have
>to wonder how much either of you have done in government contracting.

I have already posted that.

>    There are numerous forms of Government contract.

That's not my point. My point is simply that any and all of these
regulations can be waived at the discression of the government program
manager.

>    I've written proposals  (That won, BTW)  (okay, i was the
>    co-author)  that were no more then 12 pages long,  including
>    resumes.

I got you beat. I wrote one only 9 pages long which won. :-)

   Allen

--
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lady Astor:   "Sir, if you were my husband I would poison your coffee!"   |
| W. Churchill: "Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it."             |
+----------------------16 DAYS TO FIRST FLIGHT OF DCX-----------------------+

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

Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1993 13:26:28 GMT
From: "Allen W. Sherzer" <[e-mail]>
Subject: NASA's planned project management changes
Newsgroups: sci.space

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

>>Oh, Doug, we're friends. You can call me 'my lord'.

>Your humility is touching, but wasted.

Now now Doug, that should be 'My lord, Your humility is touching, but
wasted'. :-)

>Actually, the FARs still apply,

Only if the program manager wishes. Any one can be waived at his or her
discression.


>Obviously I must quote for you from the words of the gu'vment:

>_From the Guide to Defense Contracting Regulations for Small Business,..

>MAJOR DIFFERERENCES BETWEEN COMMERCIAL AND GOVERNMENT PRACTICES

Pat has already explained how most of these are relevent to the private
sector. But there is one point which needs to be made: This list identifies
places where the government claims to be different and I agree that some
are real differences. But this only says how government IS different, now
why government NEEDS to be different.

Why does government procuremnt NEED to be different from accepted industry
practice?

>Now, did you want a further exploration on why the government is not quite
>the capitialist business entity which you'd like to think?

No, all I want is an explanation of why it must be different, not why
it is different.

>I'm going to look both of those up, but it seems like, at the very least, your
>blanket condemnation of NASA management doesn't hold true if both examples
>hold, does it?

I have said over and over that there is a lot NASA does right. Manned space
is by and large seriously screwed up, but much if not most of the rest
is in good shape. When I worked in aerospace I read a lot of the stuff
coming from NASA in aeronautics. It was all first rate work. I also
have a minor acquaintence with the Planetary Science work and it is also
very worthwhile.

I think the Endeavour procurement was outstanding. It put incentives in
for both government and Rockwell to perform and both came through. If all
of NASA procurement worked like Endeavour, I it would be great.

My condemnation of NASA isn't universal and never has been. NASA isn't a
monolithic agency.

>>In addition, this sort of commercial purchase fo launch services
>>is the law of the land for NASA.

>I find it very interesting that it had to be mandated.  Don't you?

See my other posting. The intent of Congress (according to a staffer
who writes NASA procurement legislation) the intent is to make them
do what they can more often. It is a signal of the intent of Congress.

BTW, the Government Operations Subcommittee is working on legislation
to do the same thing throughout government.

>And before
>you start on your knee-jerk kicking of NASA management, why don't you ask
>why not ALL types of services weren't "commercial purchases."  Why just
>launch services?  Hmm.

Because the existing practice was doing harm to a real commercial interest.

>>>And do you care to speculate on what would have
>>>happened to Rockwell and NASA if either party screwed up?  Ignore those
>>>external factors again.

>>Rockwell wouldn't have been paid. No problem.

>Rockwell wouldn't have been paid on a $1 billion dolllar piece of hardware?
>Hohoho.  Boy, I'd love to see the lawsuits fly.

I'm sure there would be lawsuits and the courts would decide. That happens
all the time. BTW, if you think the FAR's protect the govenrment from
being sued, it doesn't. It does however reduce the number of lawsuits
since often contractors are paid the same if it works or doesn't.

>>>NASA was also given the option to buy either one Endeavour old-style
>>>or purchase three with upgraded components?

>>Irrelevant. Either way it was a commercial procurement.

>You'll willing to praise NASA for successfully procuring a piece of "old"
>hardware, rather than bitching at them for not being INNOVATIVE and DARING.

Sure, why not? The important thing is that it works. Research efforts
should be innovative and daring, operational systems should be dull, old,
and boring (and relaible and cheap).

>It seems at this juncture you're taking the flavor of ice cream which
>suits your taste.

No, your just not listining to what I am saying but rather to what
you want or think I will say.

   Allen
--
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Lady Astor:   "Sir, if you were my husband I would poison your coffee!"   |
| W. Churchill: "Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it."             |
+----------------------16 DAYS TO FIRST FLIGHT OF DCX-----------------------+

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

Date: 5 Aug 1993 09:22:32 -0400
From: Pat <[e-mail]>
Subject: NASA's planned project management changes
Newsgroups: sci.space

 I wouldn't even bother on insurance,  merely require
that the launch service provider gaurantee that the payload be delivered
to X,Y,Z  (+/- 1%)  and if not  to pay the government for the lost cargo.

pat
--
I don't care if it's true.  If it sounds good, I will
publish it.  Frank Bates Publisher  Frank Magazine.

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

Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1993 23:03:51 GMT
From: Luke Plaizier <[e-mail]>
Subject: SPACE TRIVIA LIST UPDATE - 5th August, 1993
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle,sci.astro,rec.radio.amateur.space

   IF YOU POSSIBLY CAN, PLEASE CONTRIBUTE TO THIS LIST. THIS LIST DEPENDS
         UPON THE KIND DONATIONS OF ITEMS FROM PEOPLE ON THE NET.

    I must warn you that some items are not quite in their final
form. This list has been posted as it is for the moment to make way
for other projects using this system for the next few days, so I
wanted to clear the update file area.

    It's pretty much hit it's peak now I think. The incoming
trivia has slowed down the last day or two, and I myself am getting
down to business with other commitments. The last few weeks have been
really quite intense, as you can see with the frequency of updates
I've been posting. In the last 2 weeks the list has grown quite
rapidly, and the change of post format (from full to update) has
demanded some extra time from myself in the creating of two files. At
this moment I am not absolutely sure that the TRIVIA LIST is perfectly
in agreement with the update.

    I've also gone through a couple of about-faces with my posting
to rec.radio.amateur.space. I have received quite a number of
submissions from people who come from that group who found it
interesting. Whilst I'm still not sure of the majority consensus of
that group, it seems at the moment the benefits of posting there are
marginally better than the drawbacks. All followups to that group,
though, are forced into sci.space, so readers of the trivia list be
warned that this is where your followups will be fed if you are moved
to do this.

    I haven't heard anything from sci.astro, so I am assuming that
it is being well received in that group. Aside from a recent
correction, in fact, I can't recall anyone specifically mentioning
that the they are posting from sci.astro.....hope all is well.

    The latest full list has also just been posted to the two
ftp sites.

    This list is now available via anonymous ftp from the following sites:

        krakatoa.jsc.nasa.gov as /misc-docs/trivia.txt
        ames.arc.nasa.gov as /pub/SPACE/MISC/trivia.txt

    If at ANY time you want the latest update on the trivia list, then it
will be at one of these sites. I will be updating the complete list to
these sites each time an update appears in the newsgroups.

    The news distribution of this file is now:-

        sci.space
        sci.space.shuttle
        sci.astro
        rec.radio.amateur.space

                Luke Plaizier - Space Trivia List Moderator

*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************
*                                                                           *
*       SPACE TRIVIA - Interesting Trivia Information on Manned and         *
*                       Unmanned Spaceflight from anywhere around the       *
*                       Globe. (Or the Universe for that matter!)           *
*                                                                           *
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************

(11) This is actually several combined into one, as they are from the
    same source. They are fact, but the exact source is unknown at
    the moment. Further SSME details have become available, and are
    located as items 149 - 162. Anyone with information as to the
    source of confirmation or denial of the following items, please
    direct email to the moderator.
(a) 2 SSME's could generate as much power as that used by a NIMITZ class
    aircraft carrier.
(b) The Fuel and hydrogen pumps of 3 SSME's combined could generate as much
    power as that used by the battleship IOWA plus 12 ETHAN class
    submarines.
(c) The combustion in 3 SSMEs combined, to make one shuttle flight
    system, releases more energy than the combined nuclear
    power plants of 9 non-US countries. (but which ones?)
(d) The turbo-pumps on the SSME rotate at 37,000 rpm. Formula One
    engines can rotate at up to 15,000 rpm. A standard 1990's
    vintage motor vehicle is very lucky to rev to 10,000rpm.
    [PLEASE SEE ITEMS 149-152 FOR FURTHER SSME ITEMS]

(19) The Liquid Hydrogen Turbo-Pumps on a Space Shuttle Main Engine weigh
    as much as a standard  V8 Motor Vehicle engine, but output some 310
    times the power. (See also item 150) [SHUTTEL, Nigel MacKnight.]

(128) There was a much cheaper way of launching satellites, according to
    McGill University experimenters  in 1963. Developing an idea
    proposed by Jules Verne, the McGill team used a rebored 50-foot-long
    cannon from the battleship USS Washington to loft missiles to an
    altitude of 65 miles.
        By employing this technique to launch a Martlet rocket, the
    McGill experimenters reckoned they could put a 50-pound payload
    into orbit for less than the dollar equivalent of 18,000 pounds.
    [Item from GUESSWORK that could have True or False. Below is answer.]
          True, except that it turns out to be really hard to design a
    useful payload that will survive the G-loads. I'm not sure if he was
    at McGill, but the person who was involved in the project (HARP) was
    a guy called Bull who was later involved in the Iraqi supergun and
    ballistic missile projects and was recently killed. "Project HARP"
    never put projectiles into ORBIT, just sent them to high ALTITUDES.
    [Answered by [e-mail] (Jonathan McDowell)]
(128a) Jules Verne was not the first guy to propose shooting cannonballs
    into space!  There's a famous illustration in Newton's *Principia
    Mathematica* showing a cannon launching satellites...
    [Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey <[e-mail]>]

(130) The Manned orbiting Laboratory, simply a cylindrical lab attached to
    a Gemini spacecraft, was to provide for 30-day missions to orbit
    like the early soviet Salyut space stations. The MOL got so far as
    having a mock-up launched atop a Titan IIIC rocket on November 3, 1966.
    [The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Space Technology. Kenneth Gatland.]

(133) Models of the Vostok space capsule, which took the world's first
    man into space, Yuri Gagarin, in 1961, were tested previously as
    Sputniks 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 and were successful 3 of these times.
    [Manned Spaceflight Log, Tim Furniss.]
    Sputnik was a Western name for the early Soviet unpiloted space
    satellites, known at that time in the USSR generically as
    Iskusstvenniy Sputnik Zemli (Artificial Earth Satellite). The
    spacecraft known in the West as Sputniks 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10 were
    announced at the time in the USSR as Korabl'-Sputnik 1, 2, 3, 4
    and 5. Their internal names were Vostok type 1K nos. 3, 5, 6 and
    (the last two) Vostok type 3KA nos. 1 and 2. [Source: Vladimir
    Agapov, Moscow]. There were two other Korabl'-Sputnik launches which
    failed to reach orbit, so the success rate was 3 out of 7.
    [[e-mail] (Jonathan McDowell)]

(137) Gordon Cooper was the first man to enter orbit twice, with a flight
    on  Mercury-Atlas 9 (The first Mercury-Atlas flight was no 6, with
    John Glenn), and  Gemini 5.
    [Manned Spaceflight Log, Tim Furniss.]
(137a)  Grissom flew on
    MR-4/Liberty Bell Seven in 1961 (suborbital) and on Gemini 3 in 1965.
    Joe Walker made suborbital spaceflights on the X-15 in 1961 and 1963,
    becoming the first in space twice in Jul 1963 and three times in Aug
    1963.  Joe Engle made his second suborbital X-15 spaceflight a couple
    of weeks before Gemini V. [The X-15 flights qualify if space
    is considered to start at 80 km, although even if you adopt the FAA
    boundary of 100 km Walker's two 1963 flights qualify and make him
    beat Grissom].
    [[e-mail] (Jonathan McDowell)]

(148) The Gemini spacecraft needed an object to aim for in practising
    rendezvous techniques necessary for the Apollo missions. They used
    special Agena Docking Adaptor launched by an Atlas. The original
    Adaptor (Not used with Gemini 9)
    was essentially a modified Agena stage. The adaptor to be used
    on Gemini 9 unfortunately failed to release it's nose shroud
    correctly, resulting in the renowned 'Angry Alligator' pictures
    of the two half sections of the nose cose apart but unwilling to
    move any further.
    [The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Space Technology. Kenneth Gatland.]
(148a) The GATV (Gemini Agena Target Vehicle) was an Agena D with a TDA
    (Target Docking Adapter) on the front. But the GATV for Gemini 9
    fell in the ocean on launch. It was replaced by a backup called the
    ATDA (Augmented Target Docking Adapter) which was NOT a modified
    Agena - it was just the TDA with a cylindrical back end to mate
    it straight to the Atlas.
    [[e-mail] (Jonathan McDowell)]

(149) Fifty times a second, the SSME electronic controller evaluates itself
    and the engine and then adjusts the engine valves to obtain peak
    performance during the Shuttle Orbiter's launch and ascent.

(150) Although not much larger than an automobile engine, the SSME high-
    pressure fuel turbopump generates 100 horsepower for each pound of
    its weight, while an automobile generates about one-half horsepower
    for each pound of its weight.

(151) Each of the 122 high-pressure fuel pump turbine blades, about the
    size of a half-dollar, generates 700 horsepower while spinning
    at 37,000 rpm.

(152) Rocketdyne's Space Shuttle Main Engines operate at greater temperature
    extremes than any mechanical system in common use today. The fuel,
    liquid hydrogen, is -423 degrees Farenheit, the second coldest liquid
    on Earth, and when burned with liquid Oxygen, the temperature in the
    engine's combustion chamber reaches +6000 degrees Farenheit - higher
    than the boiling point of iron.

(153) The SSME high-pressure fuel turbopump main-shaft rotates at 37,000rpm
    compared to about 3,000rpm for an automobile engine operating at
    60mph. (roughly 110km/h)

(154) The maximum equivalent horsepower developed by the three SSME's, is
    just over 37 million horsepower.

(155) If water, instead of fuel, were pumped by the three Rocketdyne Space
    Shuttle Main Engines, an average family-sized swimming pool could
    be drained in 25 seconds.

(156) One Rocketdyne Space Shuttle Main Engine generates enough thrust to
    maintain the flight of 2.5 Boeing 747 airliners.

(157) Discharge pressure of an SSME high-pressure fuel turbo-pump could
    send a column of liquid Hydrigen 180,000 feet into the air.

(158) The energy released by three of Rocketdyne's Space Shuttle Main
    Engines is equivalent to the output of 23 Hoover Dams.

(159) During launch and ascent, the three SSME's empty the half-million
    gallon exteranl tank in about 8.5 minutes.

(160) Even though Rocketdyne's Space Shuttle Main Engine weighs one-seventh
    as much as a locomotive engine, it's high pressure fuel pump alone
    delivers as much horsepower as 28 locomotives, while its high-
    pressure oxidizer delivers the equivalent horsepower for 11 more.

(161) The ACTS - Adavanced Communication Technology Satellite, launched on
    STS-51, will provide the largest transponder throughput ever -
    1.0 gigibits per second (GBPS)
    [STS-51 Payload Handbook]

(162) The space-suits worn by the original 7 Mercury astronauts were
    individually tailored to each astronaut. In Schirra's words they
    required "More alterations than a bridal gown."
    [Life in Space, ISBN 0-8094-4900-5]

(163) The 27-year-old test pilot, Yuri Gagarin, of the Soviet Air Force,
    was jumped from senior lieutenant to Major just before his
    memorable Vostok flight.
    [Life in Space, ISBN 0-8094-4900-5]

(164) Even though Gemini was by far a larger and more sophisticated
    version of Mercury, A simplified sequencing system - and especially
    the elimination of the scape tower - reduced the number of relays
    from 220 in Mercury to 60 in Gemini.
    [Life in Space, ISBN 0-8094-4900-5]

(165) Oddly, while everything but metal was badly burned during the tragic
    Apollo 1 fire, a portion of the flight plan survived with only a few
    pages singed.
    [Life in Space, ISBN 0-8094-4900-5. Page 139, you can see the paper.]

(166) Each of the F-1 engines, used in the first stage of the Saturn V
    Apollo moon launcher, was about as big as a two-and-a-hald-ton truck,
    and used three tons of propellants a second.
    [Life in Space, ISBN 0-8094-4900-5]

(167) The Saturn V absorbed the know-how and energies of 325,000 people
    in 12,000 firms. As tall as a 36-story building, it had 11 engines.
    The five engines that powered the first stage alone were designed to
    develop 160 million horsepower, the capacity of 86 Hoover Dams.
    [Life in Space, ISBN 0-8094-4900-5]

(168) The journalists recording the historic launch of Apollo 11 had to wait
    some 15 seconds for the noise of the Saturn V ignition to reach them.
    By that time, the rocket had already risen silently into the air.
    [Life in Space, ISBN 0-8094-4900-5]

(169) When Soyuz 19 was launched in July of 1975, for the Apollo Soyuz
    Test Project, the Soyuz was launched from the same pad that had
    launched Sputnik some 18 years before.
    [Life in Space, ISBN 0-8094-4900-5]

(170) NASA investigated at some stage the possibility of flying Columbia
    unmanned so that they could remove the back-log of payloads waiting
    to reach orbit. NASA had 13 old-specification SRBs in storgae at
    the time. Unfortunately, this approach proved unfeasible.
    [Space Flight News, September 1988.]

(171) The Mobile Service Structure (MST) at Cape Canaveral LC-40 is believed
    to be the world's largest moving building. The 23 story (206 feet)
    structure weighs 11.4 million pounds and can move at 50 feet/minute.
    LC-40 is used to launch Titan-IV vehicles.
    [gregb <[e-mail]>]

(172) Sometimes even rocket technicians can overlook the obvious.
    Case in point: Alan Shepard's Mercury-Redstone suborbital flight.
    Because the expected duration of the flight was 15 minutes, none of
    the engineers thought that Shepard would have to "relieve his
    bladder" during that time. However, Shepard was strapped into the
    Mercury capsule some 3 hours or so before liftoff.  After a couple
    of hours sitting on his back, Shepard felt the urge to go in a bad
    way and asked for "permission to relieve his bladder."  After some
    debate, the engineers and medical team decided that it was OK for him
    to pee in his spacesuit.  And this is what he did.
        I also suspect that NASA didn't want any negative publicity by
    cancelling the launch.  The newspapers would have had a field day:
    (e.g. "Shepard has to pee, launch cancelled")
        Starting with Gus Grissom's flight, strap on urine receptacles
    were provided to the Mercury astronauts.
      [Tom Wolfe, "The Right Stuff" -
        from [e-mail] (Robert Yantosca)]

(173) Since September 1989, Mir has been occupied by cosmonauts continuously
    without a break. This date would have been February 1987 except for
    a break between Apr 27 and Sep 5 when Mir was left unattended for
    awhile. In the future, we may look back and say that Sep 5, 1989,
    was the last day that ALL of mankind was residing on Earth!
    [Idea from Joe Dellinger <[e-mail]> Dates and
        Information from [e-mail] (Jonathan McDowell)]

*****************************************************************************
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*                                                                           *
*      SPACE RUMOURS - Interesting Rumours - True or Popular - that have    *
*                       surfaced from anywhere around the globe concerning  *
*                       space topics.                                       *
*                                                                           *
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************

(5) Von Braun was one of the most far-sighted men in human history. The
    rocket he designed for the V-2 worked perfectly, he told a friend
    when the first V-2's hit London, except that they landed on the
    wrong planet!
    [Life in Space, ISBN 0-8094-4900-5]

(6) Gemini 3's lift-off was reportedly so smooth that neither of the
    astronauts felt anything - the starting of the mission clock
    on the instrument panel alerted them.
    [Life in Space, ISBN 0-8094-4900-5]

(7) One of the CapCom's during the recovery of (I think) Apollo 15 said
    (roughly): "we can bring these things down in Clear Lake if we want".
    [[e-mail] (Allen W. Sherzer)]


*****************************************************************************
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*                                                                           *
*      PURE GUESSWORK - Items that are awaiting verification for            *
*                       placement into either rumour or fact trivia.        *
*                                                                           *
*                                                                           *
*****************************************************************************
*****************************************************************************

(1) It seems that after STS-1 got in orbit, one of the astronauts was eager
    to try out the (older, also expensive) toilet.  I think it was Crippen.
    Apparently all John Young heard was this "Whoosh AHHHHHH!!!!!".
    There is a fan in it to suck down the contents.  Apparently the
    fan was verified to be working correctly (i.e. it spun up) but nobody
    ever checked to see if it sucked or blew...
    [From [e-mail]]

(2) When trying to find a way to keep the water out of the parachute
    compartment after splashdown, scientists ended up using a product
    from a drug store.  I saw this on a space travel special.  The story
    goes something like one of the project scientists sons was up with a
    cold.  So, the scientist mixed up a cold remedy gel (added water to a
    powder) for his son late one night.  This gave him the idea. When
    itemizing the inventory for the project budget, they used the drug
    store product code and used a backwards spelling of the product name.
    Of course, they adapted it a bit for the spacecraft, but the same
    principle of this gel was used.
    [[e-mail]]

(3) Supposedly, one shuttle launch was delayed due to a rare bird nesting
    in the launch pad gantry. Does anyone know if this is true and if so
    which launch ? (According to the guide on a KSC coach tour -
    probably not the most reliable of sources 8-})
    [Mark Grant <[e-mail]>]

(4) The Demise of Blue Streak and ELDO put paid to plans laid in 1968 to
    launch leeches - 'the world's most ideal space travellers' - on an
    extended flight.
        "Give them a bloody meal before they go, and they'll need
    nothing for a year-and-a-half!" was how one scientist characterized
    the suitability of leeches for space travel. Posing no feeding or
    waste disposal problems, leeches might even breed en-route -
    providing researchers with a useful insight into the genetic side-
    effects induced by exposure to radiation in space.

(5) In some respects, Neil Armstrong was fortunate to become the first
    Moonwalker. In 1963, his place in the history books was under seige
    from a chimpanzee named Howard!
        After just one year of study at the US Space School, Howard
    had broken the world's land speed record in a rocket propelled
    sled, and had been banned from playing noughts-and-crosses with
    visitors because he usually won!
        The chances are that if a monkey had been selected to fly to

    the Moon instead of a man, it would have been Howard.

(6) Under the direction of NASA's Ames Research Center in California, a
    study was conducted into the viability of employing a 'vacuum cleaner'
    type device in Low-Earth orbit to collect some of the particles of
    Moonrock (tectites) that are dislodged from the lunar surface by
    annual meteorite showers and sometimes find their way to the
    Earth's surface.
        Collected in orbit and returned to Earth by parachute, samples
    gathered in this way would be free from the contamination caused by
    passage through the Earth's atmosphere.

(7) In reference ot item 64 in the trivia list, Is the reason given true?
    1978-1986 the rumor was that if ejected at 100 Kft then you would drift
    up to 200 Kft before falling back.  During the fall, the aero heating
    would become so intense that helmet melting would be likely.  I'd love
    to know real reason the 100Kft limit was enacted.
    [from [e-mail]]

(8) One of my favorite stories (though you should probably check out the
    veracity of it) is in regards to the Apollo program.  Several of the
    early launches were on Little Joe II rockets, which were solid fuel
    boosters, and were designed mainly to test the escape tower system.
    The Little Joe II rocket was described by one NASA official as being
    "the most reliable booster we've ever built".  On the last such flight,
    the fuel charge in the Little Joe II shattered several seconds before
    the scheduled test of the escape tower, creating a true emergency for
    the escape tower to handle (the escape tower worked perfectly).  The
    Little Joe II launches, by the way, took place at White Sands Missle
    range.
    [[e-mail] (Clark Jones)]

(9) Is there any truth to the rumor that Dick Nixon ordered all plans for
    the Saturn V destroyed so that they wouldn't fall into the hands of
    the Soviets?
    [[e-mail] (Clark Jones)]

(10) At one time, the Gemini space craft was going to land on land rather
    than on water, with a rather bizzare inflatible "hang-glider" instead
    of parachutes.  (I remember having a NASA publication when I was a
    kid that had drawings of this configuration.  It even showed the
    storage compartment for the inflatible wing running between the two
    hatches.)
    [[e-mail] (Clark Jones)]
    (Can anyone come up with some sources for backing up/refuting the last
        three items?)


*****************************************************************************

(255)

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

Date: Thu,  5 Aug 93 06:37:00 -0500
From: Charles Radley <[e-mail]>
Subject: subject: space lotter
Newsgroups: sci.space

 -=> Quoting Games to All <=-

 > And just don't try to run your space lottery in the wonderful state
 > of Texas. When Jim Davidson tried it for a trip to MIR, he was
 > briefly made a guest of the state of Texas.


 Ga> Um, I thought that the idea was for NASA to raise money to fund some

No way !   NASA is prohibited by law from rasing money by lottery.

Jim Davidson's lottery was to raise money to send a private
citizen to the Russian space station Mir.

Knowing Jim Davidson's view, he would make darn sure that
none of the money went to NASA.

... Internet address:- [e-mail]  Ad Astra per Guile !
--- Blue Wave/QWK v2.10

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

Date: Thu, 5 Aug 1993 12:19:25 GMT
From: Ward Paul <[e-mail]>
Subject: The Inquisition (The Usenet edition)
Newsgroups: sci.space

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (S.H.) writes:
>
>What is your backgroud?
>Who do you speak for ?
>
>What do you do besides writing posters ?

Gee, no one told me the inquisition had started again.
--

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

Date: Thu, 5 Aug 93 09:04:14 CDT
From: R. H. Sparr <[e-mail]>
Subject: Titan IV failure

In article <23pi7k$[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Pat) writes:
> A correspondent tells me the T4, was carrying a triple satellitte
>payload,  the three birds were supposed to work in tandem.
>
>What are the odds this was supposed to be some sort of
>Interferometry package?  Optical?  radio?

[from a _New York Times_ article printed in the _Houston Chronicle_]:
"They [the CIA] said the highly classified spy satellite system destroyed in
the explosion consisted of a trio of solar powered ocean surveillance
satellites, each about the size of a small car, used by the Navy to track
foriegn ships and listen to their communications.  They denied accounts that it
was an even more expensive satellite system, code-named Lacrosse, that uses
radar to take photographs from space."

This caught my eye because it reminded me of a posting to sci.space in the last
week or so.  The poster said that he and his wife had seen a cluster of three
satellites the previous night.  A response was posted that referred to a secret
Navy ocean surveillance project involving sets of three satellites very close
together.  I'm afraid I didn't save the conversation.

******************************************************************************
[e-mail]                     I do not speak on behalf of LESC,
R. H. Sparr                                  NASA, or the U. S. Government.
Lockheed Engineering & Sciences Co.          Especially the CIA or Navy. :)

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

End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 988
------------------------------