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Wed, 24 Apr 91 01:48:56 -0400 (EDT)
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Date: Wed, 24 Apr 91 01:48:50 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #449
SPACE Digest Volume 13 : Issue 449
Today's Topics:
Re: Atlas Centaur bites the big one, 4/18
NASA Headline News for 04/23/91 (Forwarded)
new gifs available
Re: Saturn V blueprints
Galileo's main antenna.
Watching the Space Shuttle Land
Re: Saturn V blueprints
Re: Government vs. Commercial R&D
Administrivia:
Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to
space+@andrew.cmu.edu. Other mail, esp. [un]subscription requests,
should be sent to space-request+@andrew.cmu.edu, or, if urgent, to
>> In article <1991Apr19.055759.4781@nas.nasa.gov> ranma@noc.arc.nasa.gov (Robert Gutierrez) writes:
>>>I wrote:
>>>> Aside from the usual news reports, does anybody have any better details
>>>> on the Atlas Centuar KSC self-destructed???
>>>I'll bet those Arainespace launchings are looking better and better
>>>every day to everybody else ...
>> The folks who lost one to the Atlas had just finished losing one to
>> Arianespace.
>Okay! What is everybody doing WRONG? How can we (meaning all of Earth) develop
>a reliable, economic orbital delivery system?
By building them and blowing them up until we learn how to do it right?
------------------------------
Date: 24 Apr 91 04:19:48 GMT
From: usenet@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 04/23/91 (Forwarded)
Headline News
Internal Communications Branch (P-2) NASA Headquarters
Tuesday, April 23, 1991 Audio Service: 202 / 755-1788
This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, April 23, 1991 . . .
NASA mission managers cancelled today's planned launch of
Discovery for the STS-39 mission at 1:15 am this morning. The
cancellation was based on the failure of a transducer on the high
pressure oxidizer turbopump on main engine #3. The Kennedy Space
Center launch team is in the process of detanking and safing the
orbiter now. Once the safing operation is completed, engineers will
enter Discovery's aft compartment to perform troubleshooting
procedures.
The launch team is currently working on an extended turnaround
schedule for the STS-39 mission, but the earliest possible date for a
launch would be Sunday, April 28.
STS-39 crew members Mike Coats, Blaine Hammond, Gregory
Harbaugh and Donald McMonagle will fly back to Houston and return
to Kennedy by Friday. Crew members Richard Hieb, Guy Bluford and
Charles Veach will remain in Florida.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Marshall Space Flight Center Gamma Ray Observatory scientists
report that their Burst and Transient Source Experiment
instrument detected its first gamma-ray burst last Thursday,
April 18. Gamma-ray bursts are mysterious flashes of gamma-ray
energy which occur randomly in different positions of the sky. The
bursts are so powerful that they release in just 1/10 of a second the
energy our Sun releases in a thousand years. Dr. Gerald Fishman,
Marshall, is the principal investigator and reports that this first
observation confirms that their instrument is working. The next day,
the instrument experienced what is probably a computer chip
malfunction. The chip is on a redundant circuit board. The backup
circuit for that function is operating now and the instrument is
operating at 100 percent of its capabilities. The Gamma Ray
Observatory will be pointing at the Crab Nebula for the
remainder of the week so that the four instruments on board can be
calibrated.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory yesterday awarded a $145 million
contract to Loral Corp. to design and build the Atmospheric
Infrared Sounder instrument, to be flown aboard the first of the
Earth Observing System satellites, now scheduled for launch in 1998.
The infrared sounder will be a global thermometer and will measure
atmospheric temperature profiles with an accuracy of one degree,
Celsius. Principal Investigator for the instrument is JPL's Dr.
Moustafa Chahine. The instrument is expected to operate
continuously for five years.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Stennis Space Center education specialists held Early Education
Monday last week for 170 students at two schools in Mississippi and
one school in Louisiana. The Stennis visitor's center hosted 3,111
guests last week, representing 38 states and 15 countries. The center
also conducted tours and briefings for members of the Arkansas
Space Grant Consortium.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Joust 1, a commercial suborbital rocket carrying 10 materials and
biotechnology experiments has been rescheduled for launch at 8:30
am EDT, on Monday, May 6, from launch complex 20 at Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station. The Joust 1 mission is sponsored by
the University of Alabama-Huntsville's Consortium for Materials
Development in Space. The Consortium is a NASA Center for the
Commercial Development of Space affiliate. A preflight press briefing
on the mission and the 10 experiments will be held at 1:00 pm, Friday,
May 3. Both the preflight press briefing and the launch will be carried
live on NASA Select TV.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Marshall Space Flight Center officials provided a special tour for
24 students who were category winners from the Huntsville
City and Madison County Science Fairs. Three of the students,
who were selected for special recognition, met with Marshall center
engineers who work in areas associated with the student's project.
Marshall engineers and scientists will be on the road to three
universities, University of Alabama-Birmingham, Harding University,
Arkansas, and Valdosta State College, Georgia, this week giving
presentations to students and staff on the center's work in astronomy
and materials science.
Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA
Select TV. Note that all events and times may change without notice,
and that all times listed are Eastern.
Tuesday, 4/23/91
2:00 pm Magellan Science Seminar, live from the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory. This will be a presentation by the Magellan science
team of current Venus surface images and analysis of those
images.
6:00 pm Replay of the Magellan Science Seminar.
Wednesday, 4/24/91
1:15 pm Magellan-at-Venus status briefing live from Jet Propulsion
Laboratory.
This report is filed daily at noon, Monday through Friday. It is a service of
NASA's Office of Public Affairs. The contact is Charles Redmond, 202/453-
8425 or CREDMOND on NASAmail. NASA Select TV is carried on GE
Satcom F2R, transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees West Longitude,
transponder frequency is 3954.5 megaHertz, audio is offset 6.8 MHz,
polarization is vertical.
------------------------------
Date: 23 Apr 91 17:04:57 GMT
From: borg!altair!weaver@mcnc.org (Laura Weaver)
Subject: new gifs available
I ftp'ed a couple of the neptune gif files, but am having trouble displaying
them with VUIMG and CSHOW. CSHOW says that the files have bad block i.d.'s.
Any suggestions as to what could be the problem would be appreciated.
Laura Weaver
weaver@cs.unc.edu
Computer Science Dept.
Univ. of NC at Chapel Hill
------------------------------
Date: 24 Apr 91 04:49:03 GMT
From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!mvk@ucsd.edu (Michael V. Kent)
Subject: Re: Saturn V blueprints
In article <1991Apr23.144137.17904@iti.org> aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer) writes:
[Sorry, I lost the original poster. Allen didn't write the >> stuff.]
>>You also must realize, Rocketdyne is looking for a contract. *Of Course*
>>they are going to give their 'best estimate.'
>
>I think their proposal was a fixed price contract. If it costs more then
>it is out of their hide. You may be assured it is indeed a good estimate.
>
>If it wasn't a fixed price offer, we make them offer it fixed price.
>If it is still cheaper than ALS, go for it. What's wrong wiht that?
Good luck trying to get any aerospace contractor to take a fixed price
contract. I know McDonnell Douglas, General Dynamics, and Lockheed are
staying far away from them.
The hazards of fixed price contracts should be clear to anyone familiar with
the A-12. Many of the Avenger's problems stemmed from the fact that the
Navy didn't want to give up its "good deal."
>>I don't think ALS is trying to push technological envalopes.
>
>That's not what NASA says.
The main thrust (pardon the pun) of ALS is to reduce the cost and increase
the reliability of ELV's. ALS is not being designed to push the performance
envelopes but the cost and reliability envelopes instead. If you consider
that pushing the technological envelopes (which it is), then your statement
is correct. But I doubt that is what the original poster meant.
>>Why not just make a new one?
>
>Because it would cost more, take longer, and not work as well. I'm sorry
>you don't find those good reasons.
This is by no means certain. In fact, my engineering sense tells me just
the opposite.
--
Michael Kent mvk@itsgw.rpi.edu
McDonnell Douglas Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
St. Louis, Missouri Troy, New York
Apple II Forever!
------------------------------
Date: 23 Apr 91 15:32:26 GMT
From: pasteur!agate!bionet!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!ists!nereid!white@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (H. Peter White)
Subject: Galileo's main antenna.
Once on its way to Jupiter at least, Galileo will be having its main antenna
(assuming that they do get it all the way open) pointing roughly into the sun.
Now I would have thought that having such a large, thin metal surface always in
sunlight, with the other side always away from the sun, would cause it to
become charged, due to things like the photo-electric effect, and the fact that
its treavelling thru a variable solar magnetic field.
Has anyone looked at this, or is it not a big problem for the operation of the