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Subject: SPACE Digest V9 #484

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 9 : Issue 484

Today's Topics:
          Re: Hang gliders and "bailing out"
      Astronaut "Pinky" Nelson to leave NASA (Forwarded)
                   Saturn V
            Management of Scientific Data
          Re: Space Station computer system
            Re: asteroid almost hits earth
            Condensed CANOPUS - 1989 April
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1989 16:12-EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Hang gliders and "bailing out"

> is because I recall seeing one scheme using a rather unusual parachute
> to do most of the declerating at very high altitude, high enough to keep
> the heat loads down to what a conventional spacesuit could handle.)

The first AMROC commercial suborbital flight has a paying customer
testing a parasol like device. It faces outward initially, I guesss
acting somewhat like a ballute. Then it flips over to act as a Mary
Poppins-like drogue chute. (That unfortuneately sums up my total
knowledge of the gadget. Maybe someone else who was at George's session
remembers more details. Glenn??)

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

Date: 9 Jun 89 14:42:28 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Astronaut "Pinky" Nelson to leave NASA (Forwarded)

Barbara Selby
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                       June 9, 1989

Jeffrey Carr
Johnson Space Center, Houston


RELEASE:  89-89

ASTRONAUT "PINKY" NELSON TO LEAVE NASA


     Three-time space flight veteran George D. "Pinky" Nelson,
Ph.D., will leave NASA on June 30 to accept academic and
administrative positions at the University of Washington,
Seattle.  Nelson has been named assistant provost at the
university as well as an associate professor of astronomy.

     "I am excited with the prospects of a new challenge at the
University of Washington in Seattle," Nelson said.  "At the same
time, I know that I will miss NASA and the Johnson Space Center,
especially the people.  I don't think there is a more dedicated,
motivated and skilled group around.  Thanks to everyone for
making the past 11 years so enjoyable."

     He added, "I hope to continue to promote the space program
in my new career, because I believe that the exploration of space
and the development of new technology is key to the future
success of our civilization."

     Nelson joined NASA with the first Shuttle-era astronaut
selection in January 1978.  While awaiting a flight crew
assignment, he flew as scientific equipment operator aboard the
WB-57F high-altitude research airplane, flew as chase plane
photographer for Shuttle mission STS-1 and served as support
crewman and Capcom for missions STS-3 and STS-4.

     He made his first flight as a mission specialist aboard the
Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS 41-C in April 1984.  The
41-C crew successfully deployed the Long Duration Exposure
Facility and retrieved, repaired and replaced into orbit the
ailing Solar Maximum Satellite.  Nelson flew the Manned
Maneuvering Unit and, with fellow crewman James "Ox" van Hoften,
repaired and deployed the Solar Max during two spacewalks in the
first space salvage operation in history.

     Nelson flew again in January 1986 aboard Columbia on mission
STS 61-C which featured the deployment of the SATCOM KU
satellite, experiments in astrophysics and materials processing,
and a night landing at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

     In September 1988, Nelson made his third flight as a mission
specialist aboard Discovery on the first post-Challenger mission,
STS-26.  Discovery's crew successfully deployed a Tracking and
Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-C) and operated 11 mid-deck scientific
experiments in returning the nation's Space Transportation System
to flight.

     Nelson has a total of 411 hours in space aboard three
different Shuttle orbiters, including 10 hours of spacewalk.

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jun 89 10:55:25 PDT
From: Peter Scott <[e-mail]>
Subject: Saturn V

For the several correspondents who've recently posted questions about the
Saturn V, there's an excellent article in the June/July _Air & Space
Smithsonian_ (if I could only read 2 aerospace mags, they'd be that one
and _Final Frontier_; really good stuff).

Did any of the Saturn V first stages land in diveable water (sport scuba,
<150')?  If so, where???  One of those would make for terrific wreck
diving.

Peter Scott ([e-mail])

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

Date: 9 Jun 89 17:52:20 GMT
From: ogccse![e-mail]  (Hitomi Ohkawa)
Subject: Management of Scientific Data


I would like to know if there are any research projects in various
areas of natural science
that could be improved if there were a better form of data
management, e.g., a better database system that
enables you to correlate and to access relevant data efficiently
rather than a simple file system storing raw, unstructured data.
Examples that quickly come to mind include chemistry/biology
applications such as DNA databases, massive data handled
in astrophysics
and geology.  I am trying to come up with a design of
databases suited to scientific
applications, and collecting information on requirements
regarding management of scientific data, experimental or
otherwise.
Since I had been in physics before
I got into computer science, I am in particular interested
in physics application, though any information on the above
issue is greatly appreciated.  Below is my address;

Hitomi Ohkawa
Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering
Oregon Graduate Center
19600 N.W. Von Neumann Drive
Beaverton, Oregon 97006-1999
[phone]

[e-mail] (CSNET)

Thank you very much in advance.

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

Date: Fri, 9 Jun 1989 16:23-EDT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Space Station computer system

THEY NEVER LEARN DEPT...

> IBM is developing the workstations and the current mockup models are
> PS/2 model 80s, cleverly hidden behind rack mockups.  The real
> workstations, however, will not be model 80s.  Currently there are no
> plans to use the 80486 or any other processor.

It seems to me that there are loads of highly capable workstations that
can be bought off the shelf. If you want to get fancy, you can probably
pay a bit to get them repackaged in your favorite rack mount.

But developing a special workstation for use in a single space station
is utterly assinine. Whoever made the decision to reinvent yet another
wheel at great expense should be fired.

I really am getting tired of this kind of bullshit for brains design
methodology.  It's right up there with the power supplies that are
useless to anyone else. But then, maybe they had to design special
computers to run on their special power supplies. Have to justify them
somehow...

No wonder our $8B 1992 space station is going to cost $30B and be on
paper by 1998.

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

Date: 8 Jun 89 21:02:01 GMT
From: [e-mail]  (Jordan Kare)
Subject: Re: asteroid almost hits earth

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Larry Wall) writes:
>....  Let's remember that ecological niches aren't cast in
>concrete...

What about all those alligators living in the New York City sewer system??

    Jordin Kare

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

Date: 9 Jun 89 18:44:24 GMT
From: frooz!cfashap![e-mail]  (Steve Willner)
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - 1989 April


Here is the condensed CANOPUS for April 1989.  There are 12 articles.
(There was supposed to be a thirteenth, but I couldn't download it.
Maybe next month.)  CANOPUS is copyright American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics, but distribution is encouraged.  See
full copyright information at end.

----------CONTENTS -- 5 ARTICLES CONDENSED----------------------
SMALL EXPLORERS SELECTED - can890403.txt - 4/4/89
COMMERCIAL ROCKET FLIGHT A SUCCESS - can890404.txt - 4/4/89
VOYAGER STATUS - can890408.txt - 4/3/89
"RED AIR" LAUNCHED FROM WALLOPS - can890411.txt - 4/11/89
SPACE TRANSPORTATION ANALYSIS STARTS - can890412.txt - 4/11/89
-----------------------------------------------------------------

SMALL EXPLORERS SELECTED - can890403.txt - 4/4/89

NASA today announced selection of four spacecraft {from 51 proposals
submitted!} in the Small Explorer program initiated in 1988. Small
Explorers weigh approximately 400 lbs. and can be launched from
available Scout-class expendable launch vehicles.

o Solar, Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer, Glenn M.
Mason, University of Maryland, College Park. A study of solar
energetic particles, anomalous cosmic rays, galactic cosmic rays and
magnetospheric electrons.  Launch in mid-1992.

o Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite, Gary J. Melnick,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass. A study
of how molecular clouds collapse to form stars and planetary systems.
Launch in mid-1993.

o Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer, Charles Carlson, University of
California, Berkeley. An investigation of the processes operating
within the auroral region. Launch in late 1993.

o Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), Charles E. Cote, NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Md. It will provide
daily mapping of global ozone and detect global ozone trends. This
investigation is a high-priority Earth observing mission that is
critical to monitoring long-term stratospheric ozone depletion
trends. No launch date given.

COMMERCIAL ROCKET FLIGHT A SUCCESS - can890404.txt - 4/4/89

The first commercially-procured and -licensed space launch was held
March 29 at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.  The 14-minute
Consort 1 mission carried a 650-pound materials science payload
developed by the Consortioum for Materials Development in Space at
the University of Alabama in Huntsville.  Launch services were
procured from Space Services Inc. of Houston, Texas.

VOYAGER STATUS - can890408.txt - 4/3/89

Editor's note: The following information is taken from the March 22
status report for the Voyager 2 spacecraft.

A bright cloud feature on Neptune, similar to spots seen by planetary
astronomers using Earth-based telescopes, is visible in images taken
by Voyager 2 on January 23, 1989, when the spacecraft was about 309
million kilometers from the planet. The fact that distinct cloud
features are visible while the spacecraft is still so distant
suggests that pictures taken as Voyager 2 approaches its August 1989
flyby of Neptune will show many more features than were visible in
the atmosphere of Uranus, which Voyager 2 encountered in January
1986.
----------
Spacecraft Review and Status

Both Voyager spacecraft have survived in space for nearly 12 years,
and although each has experienced some hardware failures, they are
still in robust health and capable of returning valuable scientific
data well into the next century.  Each Voyager is powered by three
radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which produce
electrical energy through the conversion of heat generated by the
radioactive decay of plutonium-238. At launch, the power output of
the RTGs was about 423 watts. The power output steadily declines as
the plutonium decays, and is now about 380 watts. The science
instruments require about 105 watts.

----------
Instrument Descriptions and Health

{Most of the 10 science instruemnts are astonishingly healthy.  The
biggest loss seems to be in the photopolarimeter, where five of the
eight original color filters and four of the eight original
polarization analyzers are no longer accessible.}

----------
Voyager 2's Health

Both Voyagers have experienced several health pblems since launch,
some minor and some rather major ones. Nonetheless, mission
controllers have in every case been able to identify the problems and
provide a way to continue to meet mission objectives.

In September 1977, about a month after launch, Voyager 2 suffered a
hardware failure in the FDS. {Flight Data Subsystem - collects and
formats all data, including compression and encoding.} As a result,
15 engineering measurements can no longer be made (about 215
engineering measurements remain).

In 1978, eight months after launch, Voyager 2's main radio receiver
failed, and a tracking loop capacitor failed in the backup receiver.
As a result, Voyager 2 can receive signals in only a narrow "window"
of frequencies -- and the window slides.  The flight team has devised
a rigorous routine for commanding the spacecraft.  Signals are sent
several times at different frequencies to determine the receiver's
current frequency "window". Commands are then transmitted, after
calculating where the receiver's "window" will be, and taking into
account how the signal frequency will change due to the Earth's
rotation and other motions.  The receiver problem occurred nearly a
year before Voyager 2 reached its first objective, the Jupiter
system, yet successful encounters of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus
followed.

In August 1981, just after Voyager 2 passed Saturn, the scan platform
quit moving.  The failure has been attributed to a lack of full
lubrication of the bearing area between the gear and pin in the
azimuth actuator.  Lubricant has probably migrated back to the
bearing surfaces, healing the problem.

Just days before its closest approach to Uranus, Voyager 2 suffered
the loss of one word of memory in one FDS processor. As a result,
bright and dark streaks appeared in images. Only imaging data was
affected, and a software patch was sent to bypass the failed bit.

"RED AIR" LAUNCHED FROM WALLOPS - can890411.txt - 4/11/89

RED AIR -- Release Experiments to derive Airglow Inducing Reactions
-- was designed to study the formation of ionospheric holes. Releases
of CO2 into the ionosphere at 70 km altitude cause a red airglow at
630 nm wavelength.  Two releases of carbon dioxide into this region
were conducted at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island,
Va., recently.

SPACE TRANSPORTATION ANALYSIS STARTS - can890412.txt - 4/11/89

General Dynamics Space Systems Division has been awarded a $5.5
million, three-year contract to conduct a Space Transportation
Infrastructure Study (STIS) for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
The objective is to develop recommendations for an integrated
transportation approach that will support space objectives and goals
and make best use of available and potential resources.

--------------SEVEN ARTICLES BY TITLE ONLY-----------------------

NASA PERSONNEL CHANGES - can890401.txt - 4/3/89
HIGH-ENERGY ASTROPHYSICS RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENTS - can890402.txt - 4/3/89
UPDATED VERSION OF "CURRENT SOLAR ACTIVITY - CAN890303.TXT" - CAN890405.TXT -
4/7/89
THOMPSON TO BE NASA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR - can890406.txt - 4/5/89
SHUTTLE SCIENCE CREWS NAMED - can890407.txt - 4/5/89
MAGELLAN ON TRACK FOR LAUNCH - can890409.txt - 4/5/89
SATELLITE SERVICING CONFERENCE PLANNED - can890410.txt - 4/5/89

----------------END OF CONDENSED CANOPUS-----------------------------

This posting represents my own condensation of CANOPUS.  For clarity,
I have not shown ellipses (...), even when the condensation is
drastic.  New or significantly rephrased material is in {braces} and
is signed {--SW} when it represents an expression of my own opinion.
The unabridged CANOPUS is available via e-mail from me at any of the
addresses below.

Copyright information:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics.  Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor ([e-mail].)
Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and registered its name, you
are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely, either electronically or
as printout copies.  If you do, however, please send a brief message
to Taylor estimating how many others receive copies.  CANOPUS is
partially supported by the National Space Science Data Center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Willner            Phone [phone]         Bitnet:   willner@cfa
60 Garden St.            FTS:      830-7123           UUCP:   willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA                 Internet: [e-mail]

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

End of SPACE Digest V9 #484
*******************