Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT_ZIP/spacedig/V11_5/V11_579.ZIP/V11_579

Internet Message Format | 1991-07-08 | 17KB

Return-path: <[e-mail]>
X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 7997;andrew.cmu.edu;Ted Anderson
Received: from beak.andrew.cmu.edu via trymail for +dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/[e-mail] (->+dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl) (->ota+space.digests)
          ID </afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr1/ota/Mailbox/4aWitUK00VcJ01FU4c>;
          Fri, 29 Jun 1990 02:00:04 -0400 (EDT)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Precedence: junk
Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Date: Fri, 29 Jun 1990 01:59:31 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #579

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 11 : Issue 579

Today's Topics:
               BBXRT servicing.
                  Re: (none)
         NASA Headline News for 06/25/90 (Forwarded)
                  Re: (none)
            Re: Galileo Update - 06/14/90
           Re: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was?
           Re: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was?
           Re: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was?
         The Scout, Pershing II's and ICBM's

Administrivia:

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

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

Date: 25 Jun 90 11:09:00 GMT
From: usc!samsung!munnari.oz.au!sirius.ucs.adelaide.edu.au!cs.ua.oz.au![e-mail]  (Francis Vaughan)
Subject: BBXRT servicing.


We constantly see the BBXRT being serviced with liquid or solid argon
as it waits for its (now long delayed) launch.
Question:
Why does the device need to remain cold? I have no trouble with sensors
that need to be cold to get enough signal to noise ratio and the like,
but the continual servicing of the BBXRT seems to imply that the system
will be damaged if it is allowed to warm up.

If the sensors are damaged at room temperature then how were they fabricated
in the first place? Technicians slopping around in a bucket of liquid argon
bolting the thing together seems a little unlikley.

Perhaps someone close to the project could enlighten us a little? A
run down on how the sensors work would be nice too.

                            Francis Vaughan.

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

Date: 25 Jun 90 15:27:50 GMT
From: mcsun!ukc!edcastle![e-mail]  (A J Cunningham)
Subject: Re: (none)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Commander Krugannal) writes:

>Also... has anyone heard about the mysterious circles appearing in the fields
> of farmers in England, with no scientific explanation available?  These are
> PERFECT circles, by the way.  Not something that could occur by any natural
> means, and there are NEVER signs of any sort of human activity.  Witnesses
> usually claim seeing bright orange lights and hearing whining noises.
> Scientists are starting to get VERY serious about these things recently.  It
> was on the CNN World Report yesterday.  It made me start thinking... are we
> REALLY ready for extra-terrestrial contact?

    Well there certainly is a scientific explanation and quite a
convincing one at that. It seems that in the areas most affected by this
phenomenon the ground topography is such that very small whirlwinds
build up and flaten the crop. For some strange reason it's been twice
reported in the British ( != English ) press. Once in 'New Scientist' (a serious
weekly science journal) and yesterday in the Sunday Independent (a
heavyweight sunday newspaper). Seems there is a conference coming up on
the phenomenon. So before you decide what can and cannot happen by
natural means perhaps you should consult some people who know what they
are talking about. It seems the lights are probably electrical
discharges from the wind system ( like lightning y'know ). So Occam's
razor wins again. No UFOs, no Little Green Men, No "Take me to your
leader".
        Tony



--
Tony Cunningham, Edinburgh University Computing Service. [e-mail]

    Yuppies think I'm a wino 'cos I seem to have no class,
    Girls think I'm perverted 'cos I watch them as they pass.

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

Date: 25 Jun 90 19:15:38 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 06/25/90 (Forwarded)

----------------------------------------------------------
Monday, June 25, 1990          Audio Service:  202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------

This is NASA Headline News for Monday, June 25........

Kennedy Space Center ground crews at launch pad 39-A picked up
preparations for the helium signature leak test of the main
engines and main propulsion systems on the orbiter Atlantis last
Friday.  In parallel, the fueling activities were scheduled on
Sunday.  The liquid hydrogen tanking test has been moved from
Wednesday to no earlier than Thursday of this week.  At that
time, the STS-38 mission that is targeted for mid-July will be
confirmed.
                            ********

The Marshall Space Flight Center has issued a call for proposals
on a space station external environment.  The model would include
the induced buildup of neutral gases around the space station
under various conditions and for different altitudes and vent
locations.  The optical emissions caused in this gas envelope, as
well as the gas kinetic temperatures, must also allow for the
effects of collisions between neutrals and surface re-emitted
atoms and molecules.

                            ********

The European Space Agency's Ulysses spacecraft, a scientific
payload to be deployed by the Space Shuttle Discovery in early
October, will be the focus of a briefing and photo opportunity at
the Kennedy Space Center, tomorrow at 11:00 A.M. EDT.  The
Ulysses is a NASA/ESA international project designed to study the
poles of the Sun and interstellar space above and below the
poles.  It will be launched on a planetary trajectory to use the
gravity of Jupiter to slingshot the spacecraft out of the solar
ecliptic plane and toward the south pole of the Sun.

                            ********

A NASA Global Change Fellowship Program has been announced to
continue a major effort to encourage the next generation of
scientists and engineers.  Thirty-seven graduate students at U.S.
universities will participate.  They will be awarded fellowships
based on research proposals submitted by the selected
applicants.  Dr. Shelby Tilford, Director of the Office of Space
Science and Applications' Earth Science and Applications
Division, says they may "one day be responsible for much of the
analysis of data from the Earth Observing System."  The first EOS
platform is planned for a 1998 launch.

                            ********

Dr. Stanley Shawhan, Director of the Space Physics Division, died






of a heart attack last Thursday at his home.  He was 49 years
old.  Memorial services will be held at the Good Shepherd
Methodist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland at 11:00 A.M., this
Thursday.  The family has requested charitable donations to a
Diabetes Research Foundation in lieu of flowers.


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

Tuesday, June 26........

         11:00 A.M.        Ulysses spacecraft news briefing and
                           showing at KSC.

         12:00-2:00 P.M.   NASA Video Productions.

Thursday, June 28.......

         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 12:00 P.M.
EDT.  This is a service of the Internal Communications Branch,
NASA HQ.  Contact:  JSTANHOPE or CREDMOND on NASAmail or at
202/453-8425.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NASA Select TV:  Satcom F2R, Transponder 13, C-Band, 72 Degrees
West Longitude, Audio 6.8, Frequency 3960 MHz.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: 25 Jun 90 20:32:23 GMT
From: tristan![e-mail]  (Loren Petrich)
Subject: Re: (none)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail]-mrc (Paul Johnson) writes:
>>> From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!bionet!arisia!cdp![e-mail]
>>
>>> Some soils in Hawaii contain as much as 31.7% aluminum.
>
>>And it's a common food ingredient - check some labels.  But you object
>>to a few tons being dumped in the air near Hawaii?
>
>Reality check: if Hawaian soils contain almost 1/3 pure aluminium,
>then those Hawaians are very wealthy :-)  Aluminium in bulk is expensive
>stuff.
>
>......
>>I suggest you re-evaluate the reliablity of your sources.
>
>and then think about what you are saying.

    Aluminum in what chemical state, may I ask?

    Aluminum in rocks and other natural circumstances is oxidized
aluminum, Al+++. For example, bauxite, aluminum ore, is largely
AL(2)O(3).

    It is pure aluminum metal that is relatively expensive, since
it must be produced by refining aluminum ore. This is done by
electrolysis, since aluminum is one of the more reactive elements, and
the requisite amounts of electricity can be expensive.

    It is like claiming that there is no significant difference
between charcoal and diamond because both are made of carbon (I once
saw a cartoon about someone who gives his girlfriend/wife a small
piece of charcoal, and claims that what's the difference between that
and diamond -- they're both carbon).

                                ^
Loren Petrich, the Master Blaster             \  ^  /
    [e-mail]                  \ ^ /
One may need to route through any of:               \^/
                        <<<<<<<<+>>>>>>>>
    lll-lcc.llnl.gov                   /v\
    lll-crg.llnl.gov                  / v \
    star.stanford.edu                 /  v  \
                                v
For example, use:
[e-mail]

My sister is a Communist for Reagan

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

Date: 19 Jun 90 13:32:00 GMT
From: attcan!utgpu!utzoo!censor!comspec!tvcent!lethe!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!physics.utoronto.ca![e-mail]  (Christopher Neufeld)
Subject: Re: Galileo Update - 06/14/90

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Stephen J. Friedl) writes:
>>      The AC/DC bus imbalance measurements have remained very stable.  The AC
>> measurement continues to indicate a near short circuit to chassis.
>
>How can the spacecraft function with its AC power supply nearly
>shorted to ground?  Why is it not disabled entirely?
>
   Well, this is a novel definition of "ground." Must be quite an
extension cord on that thing!
   Seriously, it is common safety practice to float your supplies with
respect to the chassis, at least for laboratory equipment. I would guess
that Galileo does this as well. Since the chassis doesn't act as one
pole of the power supply, it is allowed to sit at any potential, and can
be safely shorted to one of the two power supply poles. This may make
the chassis electrically hot, but it would not likely endanger any of
the humans working on the project   :-)
   Can anyone confirm my guess? Is the supply floating with respect to
the chassis?

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


--
 Christopher Neufeld....Just a graduate student  | "Yes, well like any open
 [e-mail]    Ad astra! | and shut case this one
 cneufeld@{pro-generic,pnet99}.cts.com           | has a few loopholes."
 "Don't edit reality for the sake of simplicity" |     -Maxwell Smart

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

Date: 26 Jun 90 16:39:20 GMT
From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was?

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John A. Weeks III) writes:
>Can anyone tell me more about MOL...

MOL was basically a small military space station.  One of the original
motives for development of the Titan III was to launch MOL, which would
have been a large cylindrical unit with the same body diameter as the
Titan and a modified Gemini capsule on top.  The modified Gemini had a
hatch through its heatshield so the astronauts could get into MOL without
an EVA.  (Unlikely though this sounds, thorough testing verified that the
heatshield worked fine even with part of it hinged to open.)  The mission
objectives were not discussed in detail, but obviously included things
like tests of manned reconnaissance systems.

I don't think they ever got around to building a real MOL, but assorted
preliminaries and mockups were done, and at least one of the modified
Geminis was flown unmanned to verify the heatshield hatch.

MOL was cancelled because (a) it cost a lot, (b) its mission was vague,
and (c) after some nasty teething troubles early on, unmanned military
satellites began to work pretty well.
--
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: 26 Jun 90 19:07:54 GMT
From: swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!bu.edu!orc!inews!td2cad!yoyodyne![e-mail]  (john reece)
Subject: Re: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was?

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Daniel
McGurl) writes:
> In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Matthew
DeLuca) writes:
> >In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John A. Weeks III) writes:
> >>Can anyone tell me more about MOL, or at least point
> >>me to some references?  Specifically, I am curious as to
> >>what the mission was, what if any hardware was built,
> >>and why it was cancelled.
> >As to the mission, a hint can be gotten from the fact that the 'missing'
> >KH-10 designation in the series of U.S. recon platforms was taken by the
> >MOL.  William Burrow's book _Deep Black_ mentions the MOL a little, but
> >does not go into great detail.  I highly recommend the book, though, if you
> >are interested in U.S. aerial and space reconaissance...it's the best
> >book on the topic I've seen.

Huh? I thought MOL once stood for Manned Orbiting Laboratory, which was a
mid-60's Air Force proposal for a very small space station using Titan/Gemini
technology.  Went the way of the Dyna-Soar, however.


John Reece
Not an Intel spokesman
[e-mail]

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

Date: 26 Jun 90 17:12:52 GMT
From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!know!samsung!emory!mephisto!prism![e-mail]  (Matthew DeLuca)
Subject: Re: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was?

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John A. Weeks III) writes:
>
>Can anyone tell me more about MOL, or at least point
>me to some references?  Specifically, I am curious as to
>what the mission was, what if any hardware was built,
>and why it was cancelled.

As to the mission, a hint can be gotten from the fact that the 'missing'
KH-10 designation in the series of U.S. recon platforms was taken by the
MOL.  William Burrow's book _Deep Black_ mentions the MOL a little, but
does not go into great detail.  I highly recommend the book, though, if you
are interested in U.S. aerial and space reconaissance...it's the best
book on the topic I've seen.

--
Matthew DeLuca
Georgia Institute of Technology      Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards,
Office of Computing Services         for they are subtle, and quick to anger.
ARPA: [e-mail]

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

Date: 27 Jun 90 05:09:10 GMT
From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!mcgill-vision!quiche!calvin![e-mail]  (Mark SOKOLOWSKI)
Subject: The Scout, Pershing II's and ICBM's

Hi,

Somebody told me that a Scout launch costs around 10-15 M $.
Needless to say that I'm scared for my manned mission project
(But I'll go ahead no matter what....)
On the other side, Pershing II stages are wasted in
massive media oriented buring seances, so why not use them
for other purposes.
At the same time a major disarmement effort can make ICBM's
affordable for free.

Any comments?????

Mark S.
---------

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

End of SPACE Digest V11 #579
*******************