Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT_ZIP/spacedig/V11_0/V11_091.ZIP/V11_091

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Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #91

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 11 : Issue 91

Today's Topics:
         NASA Headline News for 02/27/90 (Forwarded)
         Re: Geosync DSN (was Re: Cheap DSN?)
               Re: Tethered Satellites
         Replica NASA flight jackets -- info wanted ?
              On-orbit juggling
         Re: Geosync DSN (was Re: Cheap DSN?)
         NASA Headline News for 02/28/90 (Forwarded)
         Re: Geosync DSN (was Re: Cheap DSN?)
                 Re: Beanpole
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 27 Feb 90 17:59:20 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 02/27/90 (Forwarded)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, February 27, 1990                   Audio:  202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, February 27...


Kennedy Space Center ground crews at Pad 39-A are proceeding
toward picking up the launch count this afternoon.  The four-hour
launch window for the STS-36 shuttle Atlantis will open at
midnight, tonight.  During this most recent delay, the liquid
oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants were replaced and the
shuttle main engine purge was completed.  Mission managers meet
this afternoon to review the shuttle status and decide when to
begin cryogenic tanking.

The weather conditions have improved since Monday -- only a 40%
possibility of violating launch constraints exists.  However, a
cloud deck at 8,000 feet and possible high winds at the nearby
shuttle landing facility are still a primary concern.



For those who have to see it to believe it, the National Science
Foundation may receive $192 million from the President's new
budget to build the Interferometer Gravitational Wave
Observatory.  This new so-called "window on the universe" will
detect the existence of gravity waves -- the ripples in the
space-time fabric that move at the speed of light after the
violent birth and death of stars.



USA Today reports an Office of Technology Assessment study
suggests a cut in the cost of putting payloads into space.  Jerry
Grey of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
says its more advantageous to launch the single concept satellite
--  Meaning lighter and smarter with fewer capabilities.



The House Space Subcommittee will hear testimony today on NASA's
Space Science and Applications, and Exploration and Technology
programs.  Associate Administrators Lennard Fiske and Arnold
Aldrich will present their portions of the FY 91 budget request
to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.



                 *          *        *          *






-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the broadcast schedule for public affairs events on NASA
Select TV.  All times are Eastern.


Tuesday, February 27......

          11:30 P.M.              Weather permitting, coverage
                                  of the STS-36 launch only.
                                  Window is from 12 midnight to
                                  4:00 A.M., Wednesday.


Wednesday, February 28.....

          2:30 P.M. - 3:00 P.M.   Quarterly aeronautics and
                                  space report from NASA
                                  Headquarters audio-visual
                                  office.


Thursday, March 1..........

          11:30 A.M.              NASA Update will be
                                  transmitted.

All events and times are subject to change without notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon,
Eastern time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A service of the Internal Communications Branch (LPC), NASA
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

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

Date: 27 Feb 90 22:26:27 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Re: Geosync DSN (was Re: Cheap DSN?)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Tom Neff) writes:
>It seems to me this is a case where GEO would help.  Deploying a few
>really BIG guidable antenna arrays in geosynchronous orbit, parked over
>dedicated ground stations, would allow tracking and commanding probes
>all over the solar system without usurping valuable observatory time.

BIG guidable antenna arrays are not feasible for earth orbit. A 70 meter
antenna on the earth weighs 8 million pounds. The cost of placing such
an antenna into orbit would be astronomcal. And this is before the antenna
is outfitted for the space environment. Also, how would such large antennas
be powered in space? What about maintenance when the antenna breaks down?


 Ron Baalke                       |    [e-mail]
 Jet Propulsion Lab  M/S 301-355  |    [e-mail]
 4800 Oak Grove Dr.               |
 Pasadena, CA 91109               |

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

ReSent-Message-ID: <gZv6AFe00VRh811VE=@andrew.cmu.edu>
ReSent-Date: Wed, 28 Feb 90 18:47:29 -0500 (EST)
ReSent-From: "Todd L. Masco" <[e-mail]>
ReSent-To: Space <[e-mail]>
Sender: "Jack_Bacon.WBST897ai"@Xerox.COM
Date: 27 Feb 90 05:56:47 PST (Tuesday)
Subject: Re: Tethered Satellites
From: "Jack_Bacon.WBST897ai"@Xerox.COM
Cc: "Jack_Bacon.WBST897ai"@Xerox.COM

In response to the request for info on the Tethered Satellite test, my copy
of the long-term manifest says that Atlantis will carry the satellite on a
7-day mission beginning 5/16/91 (STS-46).  Commander is Hoot Gibson,
Mission Specialists are Jeff Hoffman, Frank Chang-Diaz, and Claude
Nicollier.  Pilot is TBD, and I suspect that there will be 2 Payload
Specialists aboard.

-Jack
"Jack Bacon:wbst897ai:xerox"[e-mail]

--I'm trying to lose weight:  I want to get to Zero in about 8.5 Minutes.

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

Date: 27 Feb 90 01:06:09 GMT
From: mcsun!sunic!tut!tukki!jyu.fi![e-mail]  (Otto J. Makela)
Subject: Replica NASA flight jackets -- info wanted ?

Can anyone name me a good source for replica NASA shuttle flight jackets in
New York City, Boston, Minneapolis or Kansas City ?  It would be nice if
they could make personalized name patches: "Makela O, Mission Specialist,
SETI/CETI" or something like that :-)

Please mail replies... thanx in advance.
--
* * * Otto J. Makela ([e-mail], [e-mail]) * * * * * * *
* Phone: [phone], BBS: [phone] (CCITT, Bell 2400/1200/300) *
* Mail: Kauppakatu 1 B 18, SF-40100 Jyvaskyla, Finland, EUROPE             *
* * * freopen("/dev/null","r",stdflame); * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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

Date: Wed, 28 Feb 90 09:25 CST
From: [e-mail]
Subject: On-orbit juggling

Edmund Hack writes:
>Recently sent out on space-tech:

>> The amount of debris that an ET's insulation will
>> produce in orbit isn't a problem for your station;
>> it ought never come back and nail you any faster than
>> it was 'popped' off the outside...

>Actually, the debris from the ET _is_ a big problem if you are in an orbit
>at another inclination.  If you are in a polar orbit or high inclination,
>the debris is coming at a large angle to your flight path - a problem for
>the USSR and for earth observers that are in polar or sun-synchronous orbits.
>Or if in equatorial orbit, the debris from polar launches hits you and you get
>hit in any case as you climb up or drop down.

(a lot of good stuff on the orbital mechanics problems dealing with getting
 ET's and Progress ships together is deleted)

>The problem with space operations blue-skying is that orbital mechanics
>is subtle and unforgiving.  (Read "Those Pesky Belters and Their Torch
>Ships" in _A Step Farther Out_ by Jerry Pournelle for an interesting semi-
>technical essay on this.)  To do things fast requires lots of delta-V - to
>do things efficiently takes lots of time.

>Edmund Hack
>Intelligent Systems Department
>Lockheed Engineering & Sciences - supporting NASA/JSC
>[e-mail]

All of what you say makes very good sense. But.  The only change I see is the
need to send your space tug up first to collect the station parts that are
falling all over the sky.  I still think it would be cheaper to use ET's and
Progress's (tanj, what is the correct plural of "Progress"?) and pay the price
of juggling the delta vees.  Besides, think of all the on-orbit manuvering
practice that we'd get. :)

George K. Ott
University of WI - High Energy Physics
[e-mail]

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

Date: 28 Feb 90 19:19:32 GMT
From: usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Re: Geosync DSN (was Re: Cheap DSN?)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Tom Neff) writes:
>>It seems to me this is a case where GEO would help.  Deploying a few
>>really BIG guidable antenna arrays in geosynchronous orbit, parked over
>>dedicated ground stations, would allow tracking and commanding probes
>>all over the solar system without usurping valuable observatory time.
>
>JPL et al have looked at the idea of putting antennas in orbit.  It would
>have advantages and disadvantages.  The decisive counterargument right now
>is that it would be very expensive and there is not enough deep-space
>traffic to justify it.

JPL has indeed already looked at orbital antennas, and has opted instead to
upgrade all of the subsystems of the of Deep Space Network's antennas.
This first phase of the upgrade will go operational in 1992, the second
phase in 1993, and the last phase in 1995.
 Ron Baalke                       |    [e-mail]
 Jet Propulsion Lab  M/S 301-355  |    [e-mail]
 4800 Oak Grove Dr.               |
 Pasadena, CA 91109               |

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

Date: 28 Feb 90 22:56:02 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 02/28/90 (Forwarded)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, February 28, 1990                  Audio: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is NASA Headline News for Wednesday, February 28....


Scattered clouds over Florida delayed but did not prevent the
spectacular night launch of the STS-36 Space Shuttle Atlantis
during clear skies this morning at 2:50 A.M., EST.  After one
hour and 50 minutes into the flight, the crew was given the go
ahead for orbit operations after Commander Creighton and Co-pilot
John Casper fired the orbital maneuvering engines and put the
spacecraft into its operational orbit.  The orbiter and crew are
performing well.

The landing time announcement will be made later.  The public
viewing site for watching Space Shuttle landings at Edwards AFB
will be closed when Atlantis touches down.  Officials say, "it's
been DOD policy during all classified missions."


It looks like a futuristic medical diagnosis system may actually
be here today.  Technical access to clinical practice library of
medicine will provide a physician instant reference information
on a display screen rather than from a library of text books --
miles from home or just around the block.  KSC's Biomedical
Operations and Research Team says its one of a kind.


The Christian Science Monitor reports that Japan's cooperative
program with NASA for scientific missions to the moon, the 1992
Geotail mission and the Earth observing system program may
enhance an even more productive scientific climate as well as
public awareness of the overall benefits from space research.


The Florida Space Port Authority has begun negotiations with the
Air Force and state agencies to reactivate a sub-orbital rocket
launch pad near Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida panhandle for
microgravity, atmorspheric and environmental research.  In an
effort to attract more aerospace industry to Florida,
demonstration launches could come as early as this year.


Donald E. Williams, who has flown on two Space Shuttle missions,
will retire on March 1 to become a senior systems engineer for a
Houston engineering firm.  Williams served as pilot of Discovery
on STS-51D in April, 1985, which included the first unscheduled
satellite rendezvous and space walk as well as STS-34D to deploy
the Jupiter probe, Galileo.

                 *           *           *         *



-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the broadcast schedule for public affairs events on NASA
Select TV.  All times are Eastern.


Thursday, March 1.....

          11:30 A.M.         NASA Update will be transmitted.

To be determined.....

                             Landing of the STS-36 Atlantis
                             orbiter at Edwards Air Force Base,
                             California.

All events and times are subject to change without notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon,
Eastern time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A service of the Internal Communications Branch (LPC), NASA
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

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

Date: 28 Feb 90 21:24:37 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uflorida!haven!wam![e-mail]  (Ian James Hawthorn)
Subject: Re: Geosync DSN (was Re: Cheap DSN?)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Ron Baalke) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Tom Neff) writes:
>>It seems to me this is a case where GEO would help.  Deploying a few
>>really BIG guidable antenna arrays in geosynchronous orbit, parked over
>>dedicated ground stations, would allow tracking and commanding probes
>>all over the solar system without usurping valuable observatory time.
>
>BIG guidable antenna arrays are not feasible for earth orbit. A 70 meter
>antenna on the earth weighs 8 million pounds. The cost of placing such
>an antenna into orbit would be astronomcal. And this is before the antenna
>is outfitted for the space environment. Also, how would such large antennas
>be powered in space? What about maintenance when the antenna breaks down?

Most of that weight is needed to support such a large rigid structure in the
earth's gravitational field. In a weightless environment a large antenna can
be supported using a system of thin wires and rods (HOLY GIANT UMBRELLAS
BATMAN!). The frame could be used to support a lightweight net or foil of
conductive or even superconductive (if shaded, low temperature is no problem)
material. This is one case where it is easier to build something in space than
on the ground.

The power requirement, on the other hand, is not so easily solved. Actually it
would be far better to do things the other way around - that is use the
orbital antenna for observation and dedicate the ground based arrays to
tracking and command. Reception does not require much power at all, and you
could get some pretty good baseline measurements between receivers in
opposite geosynchronous orbits.

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

Date: 27 Feb 90 16:58:15 GMT
From: snorkelwacker!usc!cs.utexas.edu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Beanpole

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (A JETSON News User) writes:
>  NASA, in 1987, was planning a flight in Oct. of 1990 to test
>a similar theory.  A sat. would be raised on a kevlar tether from
>the bay of the shuttle.  The gravity gradient would raise the sat
>into a higher orbit and lower the shuttle.  Plans were also made
>to lower a sat from the shuttle into the upper atmosphere.

The tethered-satellite project is still going, although I think the flight
date has slipped slightly.
--
"The N in NFS stands for Not, |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
or Need, or perhaps Nightmare"| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

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

End of SPACE Digest V11 #91
*******************