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Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #486

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 486

----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to
  [e-mail].  Other mail, esp. administrivia, should be
       sent to [e-mail], or, if urgent, to
             [e-mail]
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Today's Topics:
      Re: mars vs. venus, which is easier to terraform?
     Re: Ulysses plutonium essay in *The Nation*, 14 May
     Re: Ulysses plutonium essay in *The Nation*, 14 May
     Re: Ulysses plutonium essay in *The Nation*, 14 May
            Re: Ulysses propulsion
              Re: SPACE Digest V11 #471
                 Men on Venus
              Re: Imperial units
           NASA Prediction Bulletin Format
         space news from April 30 AW&ST etc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 3 Jun 90 17:35:09 GMT
From: portal!cup.portal.com![e-mail]  (H Keith Henson)
Subject: Re: mars vs. venus, which is easier to terraform?

Given nanotechnology terraforming either would be a trivial task (though
it might take a while for venus to cool off.)  First thing to do with
venus would be a sunshade, block *all* the solar input, and let it cool.
The CO2 could all be liquified and stored in diamond cased cylindars
underground; convert the sulfer to solid and store it the same way.
But who wants to stay around this star anyway?  Keith Henson

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

Date: 3 Jun 90 02:05:04 GMT
From: mtndew![e-mail]  (Stephen J. Friedl)
Subject: Re: Ulysses plutonium essay in *The Nation*, 14 May

Kenneth Arromdee writes:
>
> Does anyone have any good references to exactly _how_ toxic plutonium is?
> Hopefully when the next round starts on this newsgroup we'll be ready so there
> won't be thousands of postings of the same factoid over and over again....

Dr. Edward Teller has offered to *eat* a quantity of Pu if a journalist
will at the same time eat a similar quantity of caffeine.  No takers...

     Steve

--
Stephen J. Friedl, KA8CMY / Software Consultant / Tustin, CA / 3B2-kind-of-guy
[phone]  / [e-mail]  / {uunet,attmail}!mtndew!friedl

"I will defend to your death my right to my opinion" - me

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

Date: 3 Jun 90 18:03:44 GMT
From: thorin!homer![e-mail]  (Jonathan Leech)
Subject: Re: Ulysses plutonium essay in *The Nation*, 14 May

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Stephen J. Friedl) writes:
>Dr. Edward Teller has offered to *eat* a quantity of Pu if a journalist
>will at the same time eat a similar quantity of caffeine.  No takers...

    I'd be more impressed if he changed the offer to inhalation rather
than eating.
--
    Jon Leech ([e-mail])    __@/
    "We've already learned something we didn't know and that's fun!"
    - Dr. James Westphal on the first Hubble photo

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

Date: 3 Jun 90 02:01:14 GMT
From: mtndew![e-mail]  (Stephen J. Friedl)
Subject: Re: Ulysses plutonium essay in *The Nation*, 14 May

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey) writes:
>
> "Groups that see solar-powered space missions as the best alternative to those
> scenarios have filed a lawsuit to block the Ulysses launch and to abort the
> Galileo mission before its plutonium probe makes two flybys of the Earth, the
> first this December, passing 625 miles above the Earth, and the second, in
> December 1992, 185 miles overhead."

Two questions on this.  First, what is the absolute worst scenario
for a "disaster" on a flyby?  Is the probe large enough to survive
reentry if somehow it got routed that way?

Second (and my main question), can we assume that the second pass will
get a much bigger gravity assist than the first one?

     Steve

--
Stephen J. Friedl, KA8CMY / Software Consultant / Tustin, CA / 3B2-kind-of-guy
[phone]  / [e-mail]  / {uunet,attmail}!mtndew!friedl

"I will defend to your death my right to my opinion" - me

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

Date: 3 Jun 90 23:45:15 GMT
From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Ulysses propulsion

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (David Anderman) writes:
>I have heard that the Soviets will unveil a Lh2 powered upper stage for
>the Proton next year. Perhaps that combination might be able to
>out-perform the shuttle/IUS combination that will be used for Ulysses.

Quite possibly.  However, Ulysses will be en route by then, and long
overdue at that.  (Also, the Soviets would probably want to be paid in
cash, while NASA is providing the shuttle launch free as part of the
vestigial US participation in what was once the International Solar
Polar Mission.)
--
As a user I'll take speed over|     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
features any day. -A.Tanenbaum| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

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

Date:         Sun, 03 Jun 90 22:45:00 EDT
From: Iqbal Qazi <[e-mail]>
Subject:      Re: SPACE Digest V11 #471

Please unsubscribe me.  Thank you very much.

________________________________________________________________________

< Insert funny remarks here >          Iqbal Qazi
< I'm all tapped out        >          WQ956C at GWUVM
________________________________________________________________________

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

Date: 4 Jun 90 03:25:45 GMT
From: thorin!homer![e-mail]  (Jonathan Leech)
Subject: Men on Venus

[I hate 'interp buffer overflow' errors when the References: line gets
 too long so I have to construct the reply by hand.  Anyone have a
 patch for this?  Anyway...]

In some article or other, Mark Sokolowski writes
>Sorry, I find the Moon terribly boring and unexciting since men have been
>there.

    Mark, if this is your concern, there's a much easier and quicker
solution than going to Venus.  Launch a manned exploration mission to
the women's bathroom of your computer center.
--
    Jon Leech ([e-mail])    __@/
    "Why do you suppose we only feel compelled to chase the ones who run away?"
    "Immaturity."
    _Dangerous Liasons_

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

Date: 2 Jun 90 15:22:24 GMT
From: van-bc!rsoft!mindlink![e-mail]  (Bruce Dunn)
Subject: Re: Imperial units

> [e-mail] writes:
>  - While one can get a metric ruler or meter stick, it seems to be impossible
>    to buy a long metric tape measure.

     The next time you are in Canada, drop in at any hardware store for a
metric tape.  The standard household tape is marked 3m/10', and of course
longer tapes are available.  What I find difficult to get is drill bits in
metric dimensions.  I used to have a nice metric set where the bits were in
half millimeter sizes (3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 mm etc.) but I have broken or lost
many and can't easily get replacements.  Such a drill bit set is infinitely
easier to use than those marked in fractional inches (quick - if your drill bit
set is in increments of 1/64 of an inch, what is the next drill size larger
than 3/8 inch !).
--
Bruce Dunn   Vancouver, Canada    [e-mail]

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

Date: 3 Jun 90 14:57:08 GMT
From: ncis.tis.llnl.gov!blackbird![e-mail]  (TS Kelso)
Subject: NASA Prediction Bulletin Format


As a service to the satellite user community, the following description
of the NASA Prediction Bulletin's two-line orbital element set format is
uploaded to sci.space on a monthly basis.  The most current orbital elements
from the NASA Prediction Bulletins are carried on the Celestial RCP/M, (513)
427-0674, and are updated several times weekly.  Documentation and tracking
software are also available on this system.  The Celestial RCP/M may be
accessed 24 hours/day at 300, 1200, or 2400 baud using 8 data bits, 1 stop
bit, no parity.

==============================================================================

Data for each satellite consists of three lines in the following format:

AAAAAAAAAAA
1 NNNNNU NNNNNAAA NNNNN.NNNNNNNN +.NNNNNNNN +NNNNN-N +NNNNN-N N NNNNN
2 NNNNN NNN.NNNN NNN.NNNN NNNNNNN NNN.NNNN NNN.NNNN NN.NNNNNNNNNNNNNN

Line 1 is a eleven-character name.

Lines 2 and 3 are the standard Two-Line Orbital Element Set Format identical
to that used by NASA and NORAD.  The format description is:

Line 2
Column     Description
 01-01     Line Number of Element Data
 03-07     Satellite Number
 10-11     International Designator (Last two digits of launch year)
 12-14     International Designator (Launch number of the year)
 15-17     International Designator (Piece of launch)
 19-20     Epoch Year (Last two digits of year)
 21-32     Epoch (Julian Day and fractional portion of the day)
 34-43     First Time Derivative of the Mean Motion
        or Ballistic Coefficient (Depending on ephemeris type)
 45-52     Second Time Derivative of Mean Motion (decimal point assumed;
           blank if N/A)
 54-61     BSTAR drag term if GP4 general perturbation theory was used.
           Otherwise, radiation pressure coefficient.  (Decimal point assumed)
 63-63     Ephemeris type
 65-68     Element number
 69-69     Check Sum (Modulo 10)
           (Letters, blanks, periods = 0; minus sign = 1; plus sign = 2)

Line 3
Column     Description
 01-01     Line Number of Element Data
 03-07     Satellite Number
 09-16     Inclination [Degrees]
 18-25     Right Ascension of the Ascending Node [Degrees]
 27-33     Eccentricity (decimal point assumed)
 35-42     Argument of Perigee [Degrees]
 44-51     Mean Anomaly [Degrees]
 53-63     Mean Motion [Revs per day]
 64-68     Revolution number at epoch [Revs]
 69-69     Check Sum (Modulo 10)

All other columns are blank or fixed.

Example:

NOAA 6
1 11416U          86 50.28438588 0.00000140           67960-4 0  5293
2 11416  98.5105  69.3305 0012788  63.2828 296.9658 14.24899292346978

Note that the International Designator fields are usually blank, as issued in
the NASA Prediction Bulletins.

--
Dr TS Kelso                           Assistant Professor of Space Operations
[e-mail]          Air Force Institute of Technology

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

Date: 4 Jun 90 00:39:43 GMT
From: cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: space news from April 30 AW&ST etc.

Payload Systems, which recently flew a commercial payload on Mir, says
that Soviet paperwork was just as much of a nuisance as NASA paperwork,
but in general things went more quickly in Moscow and Baikonur than in
Washington and the Cape.  Why?  Because most disagreements could be
eliminated quickly and quietly by simply paying more.

HST is up and functioning, after headaches during solar-array deployment.
When the array masts were ordered to swing out to proper position, they
did so, but telemetry indicated they had not locked.  McCandless and
Sullivan were told to prepare for an EVA as a precaution, while Goddard
controllers commanded the mast motors to full power in a second attempt.
This succeeded, but raised doubts about control electronics, and in
particular made controllers wonder whether the deployment-complete
sensors on the arrays themselves would work.  The astronauts were told
to order a manual halt when the arrays reached full extension, in case
the automatic halt failed.  The port-side array deployed flawlessly.
However, sending of the manual-halt command also cut off telemetry on
deployment and locking, and there was some delay while things were
restarted momentarily to check.  Then came the starboard array, which
moved out a few inches... and stopped.  After half an hour of trouble-
shooting, it was tried again, and again stopped after about 30 seconds.
McCandless and Sullivan, by this time suited up and ready, were told
to start depressurizing the airlock.  Meanwhile, Goddard tried to sort
out what was going on.  The camera views showed everything normal (this
array was not visible from the orbiter windows).  The major reason for
halting deployment early would be excessive tension on the array -- i.e.
something sticking -- but tension showed as normal in the telemetry.
A third attempt was made with the array controller's tension limits
disabled, and it worked.

The final orbit for HST was 332x331nmi, a record for the shuttle and
the highest US astronauts have flown since Apollo 17.  Originally 330
was the target, but it turned out that an extra 1-2nmi was available,
and of course they took it.

HST launched three minutes late due to human error.  A fix to avoid a
potential safety problem (possible trouble if ground computers lost
power at a crucial moment) had been put in manually, and as a result
a crucial valve was open instead of closed at T-48s.  The software
noticed it and stopped the count.  The controllers said "oops", tidied
things up, and picked up the count with the valve properly closed.

Orbital Sciences goes public, selling 2.4M shares of common stock at
$14 each in the wake of the successful Pegasus launch.  An earlier
plan to offer stock at $13 had been halted due to skeptical press
reports before the launch.

Pictures of LDEF stripped down to the frame, and various experiments
and pieces thereof.  There is starting to be discussion of reflying
LDEF, possibly as a paying joint venture with a commercial firm.
Most of LDEF's experimenters would like another chance to fly, as would
many who lost out in the competition for the first-flight payloads.
There is no firm decision yet, except that the structure will not be
broken up or donated to a museum for at least a year.  There would be
some difficulty in getting a new launch slot soon, as LDEF is big and
heavy.

Pictures of microcraters in LDEF experiments.  First-look results from
the experiments are starting to come in.  Although there is a lot of
visible weathering on external surfaces, that *is* strictly a surface
phenomenon; the insides are fine.  Lewis Research Center's solar-cell
experiment was actually alive and recording data until early last year,
in a low-power hibernation mode that minimized battery drain.  Most of
the hardware from the experiments still works.  Some of the tape recorders
are stuck over the capstans, but that happens even on Earth when recorders
are idle for long periods.  Pretty well everyone has good data, although
some experiments did not function perfectly.

LDEF's chief scientist, William Kinard, says the results so far indicate
that there is no problem for long-life space systems if some care is
taken about the outer surfaces.  Atomic-oxygen erosion attacks materials
on the leading face, so those materials must be chosen carefully.  However,
it looks like even composites are usable with proper protective coatings.
A slight surprise is that most meteorite/debris impacts are on the leading
face, with very strongly directional behavior.  However, the "meteor
bumper" approach -- using an outer layer to vaporize incoming objects
so nothing solid reaches an inner layer -- works very efficiently, even
better than was expected.  "We've got situations where thermal blankets
have 400-500 penetrations in them, and we have to look extremely hard
for any marks on the surfaces underneath..."

LTV and SNIA BPD [a Fiat subsidiary] agree on the development of the
San Marcos family of small launchers, souped-up versions of Scout.  The
first version is expected to be a Scout with a new fourth stage and two
big strap-on boosters.  More and bigger strap-ons are the obvious route
to further growth.

Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite arrives at KSC for
Atlas-Centaur launch in mide-June.  The satellite will map the Van Allen
belts in detail and release chemicals into space to study interactions
with the atmosphere and magnetosphere.

[From Flight International, 21 March:]

Aeritalia completes assembly and tests of the Tethered Satellite project,
for shuttle launch in May 1991.

The Christics and their buddies are getting organized to try to stop the
Ulysses launch in October, since Ulysses is (gasp) nuclear powered,
carrying a single isotope generator similar to the ones on Galileo.

[From Flight International, 28 March:]

Spacehab, the private-venture middeck-extension module for the shuttle,
gets its necessary funding, from a consortium of banks led by Central
Bank and including The Mitsubishi Bank, Banque Nationale de Paris, and
Banque Paribas.  Hardware construction has begun in Turin (Aeritalia is
a major subcontractor).

Giotto successfully retargeted for Earth encounter this summer, taking
it on to comet Grigg-Skjellerup in 1992.

India announces plans to keep on trying to build its own launchers,
despite two failures of its ASLV in a row (in 1987 and 1988).  The next
ASLV launch attempt will be next year.

[From Flight International, 25 April:]

Alexander Alexandrov, Soviet cosmonaut and manager of cosmonaut training,
says flights by mixed-gender crews cause "moral and ethical problems" and
there will be no more female cosmonauts for now.

[And a late note to LDEF fans:  the coverage of the LDEF retrieval in
the March 1990 issue of Spaceflight (one of the BIS's journals) struck
me as the best of the bunch, better than either Aviation Week or
Flight International and beating out the other space magazines by a
mile.  Spaceflight still gets my nomination for best all-round space
periodical.]
--
As a user I'll take speed over|     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
features any day. -A.Tanenbaum| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry [e-mail]

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

End of SPACE Digest V11 #486
*******************