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Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #276

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 276

Today's Topics:
          Re: Earthbound Asteroid.....trying again!
          Re: Teenage Mutant Ninja Tomatoes
            * SpaceNews  16Apr90 *
              Re: Arecibo (sp?) message
         NASA Headline News for 04/31/90 (Forwarded)
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 17 Apr 90 22:45:10 GMT
From: samsung!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx![e-mail]  (Srinivas Bettadpur)
Subject: Re: Earthbound Asteroid.....trying again!

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Brian E. Alber) writes:
>
>I had heard that sometime last year or the year before that a large asteroid
>or some other LARGE (I mean really BIG) object nearly hit the Earth.  It
>    1.) Is there any truth to this?
>    2.) When did this happen (where is it documented)?
     Yes, this would sometime near the end of Spring semester 1989
and the reports in most newspapers.
>    3.) How large was it?
If I remember correctly, it was either 2 km or 20 km dia.
>    4.) What would have happened if it hit?
  It was not large enough to throw earth off the orbit on a fly-by
or to crush it to dust on impact, but large enough to cause
interesting tidal waves or dust clouds.
>    5.) Why didn't we see it coming?
I thought we *did* see it coming.  Actually there is not much we can
do except *duck* :-)
>    6.) How often do things this big come our way?
Sorry, cannot help you there.
>    7.) etc...
Most of this is reconstructed from memory, but the timing seems
right because I was planning to do a term project on how large an
object could make the earth do interesting things without getting
pulverised in a collision (for one of my classes) !
>
>Brian ALBER
>[e-mail]

                                Hoping I am not too wrong,
                                        Srinivas

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

Date: 16 Apr 90 21:19:31 GMT
From: cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jpl-devvax![e-mail]  (Larry Wall)
Subject: Re: Teenage Mutant Ninja Tomatoes

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Brian L. McCormick) writes:
: One thing that struck me about this incident was when NASA officials
: said that they wouldn't have any problem with eating a tomato from one
: of these plants.  Excuse my paranoia, but I don't think I would.  It
: strikes me that the fruit of most members of the genus Solanum (of which
: the tomato is a member) contains a poison, solanin.  I would be worried
: that a relatively minor mutation had occured that would render the fruit
: poisonous.  Does anyone know what the actual likelihood of such a mutation
: is?  Am I justified?

That would depend on how the gene got disabled in the tomato.  Without
specific knowledge, I'd guess the chances are good that the gene has been
disabled in a sufficiently destructive fashion that it would be impossible
to re-enable it by mere mutation.  It's possible to suppress a gene by the
mere expression of some other gene, but I think if that were so we'd have
people dying from eating mutant tomatoes occasionally.

"My name is Larry W., and this is my first time at SA [Speculators Anonymous]."

Larry Wall
[e-mail]

P.S.  Around here, we plan to feed the tomatoes to the Med flies and see
if it kills them any faster than Malathion.  If so, they'll start aerial
bombardment with mutant tomatoes...

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

Date: 15 Apr 90 02:02:12 GMT
From: att!tsdiag!ka2qhd![e-mail]  (John Magliacane)
Subject: * SpaceNews  16Apr90 *


Bulletin ID: SPC0416

                              =========
                              SpaceNews
                              =========

                         MONDAY APRIL 16, 1990

SpaceNews is published and distributed weekly around the world on USENET
and Amateur Packet Radio.  It is available for unlimited distribution.


* RUDAK-2 *
===========
RUDAK-2 has now been integrated into a Soviet Geological research satellite,
GEOS, scheduled to fly in July.  RUDAK-2 will not only carry a Mode B linear
transponder but also a variety of packet radio experiments with data rates
from 400-9600 bps using various modulation schemes.  It will be compatible
with AX.25 protocols and those amateurs equipped for FO-20, PACSAT, LUSAT,
AO-13 PSK telemetry, and UO-14.

Linear Transponder Uplink:    435.030 - 435.120 MHz (90 KHz)
Linear Transponder Downlink:  145.880 - 145.970 MHz (inverted)
O/P Power: 12 watts max.
Beacon  : 145.880 MHz, CW telemetry.

Gain of satellite RX/TX antennas: 2.3 dBi each (dipoles)
Input sensitivity:  -125 dBm (435 MHz) for a C/No of 45 dB/Hz

SAT-RX-1:  435.016 MHz +-10 KHz  1200 bps, FSK, NRZIC/Biphase-M (JAS, PACSAT)
SAT-RX-2:  435.155 MHz +-10 KHz  (AFC) 2400 bps, BPSK, Biphase-S
SAT-RX-3a: 435.193 MHz +-10 KHz  (AFC) 4800 bps, RSM, NRZIC/Biphase-M
SAT-RX-3b: 435.193 MHz +-10 KHz  (AFC) 9600 bps, RSM, NRZI (NRZ-S) +Scrambler
SAT-RX-4:  435.041 MHz +-10 KHz  (digital AFC) RX for RTX-DSP experiments

The downlink can be switched to the following operating modes:
Transmit frequency:  145.983 MHz

Mode 1: 1200 bps, BPSK, NRZI (NRZ-S) (like FO-20)
Mode 2: 400 bps, BPSK, Biphase-S (AMSAT mode for OSCAR-13 beacon)
Mode 3: 2400 bps, BPSK, Biphase-S (planned for OSCAR-13)
Mode 4: 4800 bps,  RSM, NRZIC (Biphase-M) (like 4800 bps uplink)
Mode 5: 9600 bps,  RSM, NRZI (NRZ-S) + Scrambler (like 9600 bps uplink)
Mode 6: CW keying (only for special events)
Mode 7: FSK (F1 or F2B), e.g. RTTY, SSTV, FAX, etc. (only for special events)
Mode 8: FM modulated by D/A signals from DSP-RISC processor (e.g. speech)

RUDAK-2 is a joint project of AMSAT-U-ORBITA, the Adventure Clubs in Moscow
and the AMSAT-DL/RUDAK Group in Marburg, Munich and Hannover.

[ From DB2OS and DJ0HC/KE6MN via OSCAR-11 ]


* STS-31 NEWS *
===============
NASA managers set April 25 as the new target launch date for STS-31.  This
date is based on the decision to remove and replace Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)
No. 1 on Space Shuttle Discovery and to allow time for recharging the Hubble
Space Telescope (HST) batteries.  The decision to replace APU #1 comes after
examination of the APU controller by the manufacturer, which verified that no
problems existed within the controller.

A new APU will serve as the replacement APU on Discovery.  The recharging of
the HST batteries will be accomplished by removing the batteries from the
telescope and charging them in a laboratory.  This allows the batteries to be
serviced under the most favorable conditions while HST remains in the clean
environment of the shuttle's cargo bay.

[ From: Ron Baalke @ The Jet Propulsion Lab ]


* WELCOME ABOARD! *
===================
Interested in learning more about the Amateur Radio Service?  For information
on licensing requirements and operating privileges, write:

The American Radio Relay League
225 Main Street
Newington, Connecticut 06111
U.S.A.


* FEEDBACK WELCOMED *
=====================
Feedback regarding SpaceNews can be directed to the editor (John) via any
of the following paths:

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MAIL   : John A. Magliacane
         Department of Electronics Technology
         Advanced Technology Center
         Brookdale Community College
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<eof>

--
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UUCP : ucbvax!rutgers!petsd!tsdiag!ka2qhd!kd2bd
       "For every problem, there is one solution which is simple,
       neat and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken

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

Date: 17 Apr 90 17:58:13 GMT
From: manta![e-mail]  (Michael A. Simpkins)
Subject: Re: Arecibo (sp?) message

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Christopher Neufeld) writes:
>>   My question: why wasn't the message sent to closer stars, since cost
>>couldn't have been an object? Was it fear of space invaders? ...
>
>It was basically a symbolic gesture as part of the ceremonial commissioning
>of some new equipment, as I recall, and so optimizing the choice of target
>wasn't important.  Also, bear in mind that Arecibo is not steerable to any
>great extent, so they needed a target that would be in the field of view
>during the ceremony.
>--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Exactly what image did they choose to send to these far off worlds?

I do hope it was something suitable to reflect the Earth populations general
cultural values. (Was Bart Simpson around then?) :-)

                   -SimpKINS-

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

Date: 30 Apr 90 03:59:59 GMT
From: trident.gum.nasa.guv![e-mail]  (Joseph P. Isuzu)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 04/31/90 (Forwarded)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, April 31, 1990                       Audio: 202/555-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, April 31.....

The Congressional Budget Explorer Module (CBEM) is scheduled for
installation in the orbiter Titanic's payload bay this afternoon.
Technicians resolved an earlier problem with hydraulic line pressure
when it was discovered that several fragments of lobbyist had become
stuck in a flapper valve.  The 127-ton CBEM payload will mark the
beginning of NASA's ambitious decade-long "Mission to Fort Knox."

A Flight Eagerness Review is scheduled for tomorrow and Thursday.  The
current target launch date is Friday, May 11.  If no further problems
are uncovered in the FER, the launch will probably be pushed back a few
days anyway just for the heck of it.  The CBEM launch window ends on
Tuesday, May 21, when Venus rises in Aquarius and Neptune's influence is
no longer balanced, violating critical Astral launch criteria.

                       *                    *

Meanwhile, the Velikovsky spacecraft is in good health on its journey to
Venus.  It's now 122 million miles from Venus and about 28 feet from
Earth.  Engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory report that failure
to actually launch Velikovsky has had little impact on its ability to
perform the primary pseudoscience missions.  Earlier problems with
voltage fluctuations in the Wide Eyed/Credulous Subject Scanner are
being monitored carefully.  "I'm pretending this is really exciting,"
says JPL team leader Geraldo R. Spencer.

In other planetary mission news, technicians at the Deep Space Network
installation in Canberra, Australia have identified the probable cause
of signal weakness in the primary 90-meter antenna: the dish was
apparently mounted upside-down.  A tentative schedule and budget
estimate for correcting the mount is underway.  DSN Australian
Coordinator Michael J. Dundee was quoted in the Australian weekly "P***
Off Mate" as saying that this mystifying problem had never been
encountered before, but was probably due to reliance on American antenna
design parameters.  "I'm still not convinced that anything's wrong, but
we'll try it the other way and see."

                       *                    *

Leak checks are underway on the Contractor Information Network (CIN) at
Huntsville, Alabama.  Technicians at the Huntsville Program Survival
Facility (PSF) expect to begin CIN closeouts by Thursday.  The system
will then be purged for use.

Aerobuck Weekly reports that in testimony last Thursday before the House
Space and Storm Door Subcommittee, NASA Administrator Roald Sagdeev
testified that a recent re-re-reshuffling and "options devaluation"
would enable Space Station to proceed despite the latest round of budget
cuts, but warned this was "absolutely the last cut that can be
sustained."  Citing internal NASA studies, the publication listed
several cost cutting measures under consideration, including a two year
stretchout of the Ground Telerobotic Administrator (GTA) subsystem, and
eliminating atmospheric pressure in the one remaining crew module, which
would also be downsized from 23 feet to 16 feet.  The name of the station
would be officially changed from "Freedom" to "Fred" to fit the new
bulkhead dimensions.

                       *                    *

The Soviets and Japanese jointly announced a contract with Hilton Hotels
last week, to provide a 335-room passenger module for the international
Sakharov Space Station currently under construction in Earth orbit.

Malawi became the 78th nation in space Sunday, launching an 1820-pound
satellite into orbit atop an Indonesian Merlata II booster.  This
launcher now has a record of 69 successes in 71 launches.

The last remaining Scout rocket was lost in a launch pad accident near
Wallops Island Proving Ground last week, according to a NASA spokesman.
Technicians apparently made an error in connecting a hydraulic feed line
to the rocket as it awaited payload checkout, connecting it to the
purge valve for a nearby Toxic Waste Holding Facility instead.  The
first stage appears to have partially dissolved and melted itself to
the concrete apron; EPA officials have ordered the site sealed pending
checkout by an Emergency Response team.

                         * * * * * * * *

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA
Deflect TV.  All times are Eastern.

Tuesday, April 31.....

     11:30 A.M.      "Budget Cut Spinoffs" - classroom teaching aid

Monday, May 0....

     9:00 A.M.       Colloquium on Soviet Inferiority

    10:00 A.M.       Three Letter Acronym (TLA) List Update (LU)

    11:00 A.M.       Pre-launch News Conference

    12:00 A.M.       Post-scrub News Conference

Friday, April 35....

    4:00 A.M.        Replay of the Administrator's Good Friday speech:
                     "The Crucifixion: A Lesson for NASA?"

    5:30 A.M.        Livestock Report

    6:00 A.M.        Astronaut Aerobics/Morning Workout

All events and times and missions and appropriations are subject to
change without notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon,
EDT.  My god, CNN, when do you want me to file?  Last April?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A service of the Infernal Communications Branch, NASA HQ.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Help -- I am being held hostage in the Public Affai<MMMMPPHHH>

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

End of SPACE Digest V11 #276
*******************