Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT_ZIP/spacedig/V15_3/V15NO365.ZIP/V15NO365

Internet Message Format | 1993-07-13 | 34KB

Date: Mon,  2 Nov 92 05:00:09
From: Space Digest maintainer <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
Subject: Space Digest V15 #365
To: Space Digest Readers
Precedence: bulk


Space Digest                Mon,  2 Nov 92       Volume 15 : Issue 365

Today's Topics:
              "Earth gains a retinue of mini-asteroids"
          ANSWER: Recognizing a Dyson sphere if you saw one
                 Automated space station construction
                  Cometary consciousness expansion?
                           Comet Collision
       Diffs to sci.space/sci.astro Frequently Asked Questions
                    Space FAQ 01/15 - Introduction

    Welcome to the Space Digest!!  Please send your messages to
    "[e-mail]", and (un)subscription requests of the form
    "Subscribe Space <your name>" to one of these addresses: listserv@uga
    (BITNET), rice::boyle (SPAN/NSInet), utadnx::utspan::rice::boyle
    (THENET), or [e-mail] (Internet).
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1992 11:26:27 -0600 (CST)
From: [e-mail] (Patricia Reiff [phone])
Subject: "Earth gains a retinue of mini-asteroids"

In a recent SD, [e-mail] (Phil G. Fraering) writes:

>>These couldn't be Frank's minicomets, could they?  His putative
>>objects are supposedly in prograde, earth-like orbits, to reduce the
>>impact velocity enough to avoid observational constraints.

>I'd bet Frank will claim that these bodies represent the "larger"
>members of his mini-comet population, but I don't know.

I can affirm that Lou Frank considers these results to be confirmation of
the "small-comet" hypothesis, and his calculations show that the fluxes are
approximately correct.  He also now has an explanation of why his
dark spots never before were seen to be larger when Dynamics Explorer was
at perigee - penetrating radiation belt particles "filled in" the count
rate of his detector.  When the spacecraft flew *under* the radiation
belts, he was able to see the larger holes.  Residual background counts
meant that the dark spots are now only 1-2 standard deviations low, as
opposed to 4 or 5, but still there.  He presented these results to the
Dynamics Explorer science team meeting last week.
------
From the First Space Science Department in the World:
                                                    :      _^ ^_    ____
     Patricia H. Reiff                              :     / O O \   |GO \
     Department of Space Physics and Astronomy      :     \  V  /   |OWLS\
     Rice University, Houston, TX 77251-1892        :    / ""R"" \__/
     internet:  [e-mail]  (128.42.10.3)    \ ""U"" /
     SPAN:      RICE::REIFF                         :    _/|\ /|\_

"Why does man want to go to the Moon? ...  Why does Rice play Texas?"
   ....JFK, Rice Stadium, 1962

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

Date: 1 Nov 92 17:18:15 GMT
From: James Davis Nicoll <[e-mail]>
Subject: ANSWER: Recognizing a Dyson sphere if you saw one
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Frederick A. Ringwald) writes:

>Still, even if one could use all 500 Earth masses to make a Dyson
>sphere of radius 10^13 cm, about at the orbit of Venus, it would be at
>most 5-10 m thick, about the equivalent of a shell of 1 m radius and
>the thickness of a single atom. To avoid buckling in the Sun's
>gravitational field, equivalent to a uniform external pressure, it
>would have to be made of material about 10^10 times stiffer than any
>known material. Big advances in materials science happen when you
>improve things by a factor of 2; a factor of 10 is fantastic. A factor
>of 10^10 doesn't look promising...

    Did you look at Dyson Spheres suspended on light-presuure?
They require less mass (They  better *have* less mass to float on
light) and I don't think they suffer the same forces.

>But of course, this does not preclude a swarm of independent structures,
>such as O'Neill colonies.

    A 'swarm' sphere was Dyson's  original idea, I  think.

    Neat article, though.

                            James Nicoll

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

Date: 1 Nov 92 12:40:16 GMT
From: Gary Coffman <ke4zv!gary>
Subject: Automated space station construction
Newsgroups: sci.space

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (I am a terminator.) writes:
>Can robots be launched to build the space station? They can work overtime.

People will depend heavily on robotic assistance for many tasks in space.
However, an incident at the local Glad bag plant last night applies. A
new robotic assembly line had just been started in the last month and
all was going well with bags being produced and boxed. Then last night a
temperature change caused a slight change in frictional coefficient, sound
familiar? The robot started launching hot air balloons instead of neatly
boxed bags. By the time the shift supervisor woke up, two trainees were
chasing bag balloons all over the plant. They lost an hour's production
and several thousand dollars worth of bags before the line was stopped
and the bag blow pressure reduced slightly. The robots just kept mindlessly
doing what they were told, even when it was disasterously wrong. On the
old machines, the human operator would have just held the blow pedal down
for slightly less time and bags would have continued to be produced.

The moral of this story is that robotics is not yet adaptive enough to
unexpected conditions to operate without waste and possible harm in less
than critically supervised operations.

Gary

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

Date: Sun, 1 Nov 92 14:12:45 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Cometary consciousness expansion?

I just returned from breakfast at a small local place, and during the
short course of said breakfast heard not one but TWO songs on pop
music radio that had blatent space themes. One of them was also
lyrically inane (take it from a songwriter), but that is beside the
point.

The first was called "Starship troopers" (?) and was basically some
girl singing her heart to a fellow off in hyperspace... Sounded like
something only a hardcore ConFilker could love, and yet it was on a
top 40 type station in Belfast. Complete with bridge consisting of
NASAese talk. "Roger. You are GO for translight..."

The second (a bit better lyrically) was about aliens landing, and the
"four of them standing there...not an illusion..."

I wonder if Swift/Tuttle may be forcing a change in consciousness?
Ie, that the rest of the universe isn't just sitting there, that
parts of it could suddenly land in our very laps?


========
Swift/Tuttle is Mama Nature's way of saying it's time to get off the
planet.

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

Date: Sun, 1 Nov 92 14:52:29 GMT
From: [e-mail]
Subject: Comet Collision

> limitingly?) how quickly any given researcher can think of a new
idea.
> Thus until we have strong AI, the exponential _cannot_ become
> `essentially vertical'. Sure, it'll get steeper, but not
indefinitely.
>


I'll not get into a long argument on things that neither of us can
prove, and besides it'll be 2020 in no time at all and we'll find
out.

Whether 2020 or 2030 or 2040 is not so much the point. I'd say you
are doing exactly the linear extrapolation I mentioned. What if there
are other routes to "strong AI"? What if we just simply use that
technology that can build things out of atoms and duplicate a brain
or a portion of a brain, but do it in silicon or germanium
equivalents to the nuerons? I'm not claiming that particular approach
will or won't work. I'm saying that the indicators of knowledge
growth are stable and that I personally believe they tell us
something very profound about the interactions between areas of
knowledge.

Whether or not it is by a method which our poor 1990's hugging
imaginations can come up with, I think the curve will continue and
will be accomplished by some means. I am not going to pretend to be
able to do more than take a WAG (Wild Ass Guess) at exactly how it
will come about. If one route gets slowed down by ThisThatOrTheOther
Activists, it will just force the tide to bypass the obstacle such
that it will blind side them, come in from an unexpected direction.


Stopping the tidal wave of growing knowledge is like trying to stop a
river. No matter how high you build the dam, the water will
eventually overflow it or find a way around it ... and sometimes with
truly disastrous results. Results far worse than just letting the
river flow, or maybe shifting its direction just the tiniest wee bit.

Personally I'd much rather ride the crest to the end ... hopefully
not like the surfer in "Lucifer's Hammer", but better there than
underneath the wave...

I'll put a steak dinner on it. Vertical by no later than 2030. If I
win, I'll even let you make it on the planet of your choice Nick.
(Haines, not Szabo!)


Hopefully medical science will be advancing quickly enough to make
sure we're both there for the finale. I've made my cryonics
arrangements though, just in case...

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

Date: 1 Nov 92 18:12:06 GMT
From: Jon Leech <[e-mail]>
Subject: Diffs to sci.space/sci.astro Frequently Asked Questions
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,news.answers

Archive-name: space/diff

DIFFS SINCE LAST FAQ POSTING (IN POSTING ORDER)

(These are hand-edited context diffs; do not attempt to use them to patch
old copies of the FAQ).

===================================================================
diff -t -c -r1.12 FAQ.intro
*** /tmp/,RCSt1a05558    Sat Oct 31 17:40:55 1992
--- FAQ.intro    Sat Oct 31 17:38:13 1992
***************
*** 167,177 ****
          Planetary mission references

      11  Upcoming planetary probes - missions and schedules
          Galileo
          Mars Observer
!          CRAF
!          Cassini
          Other space science missions

      12  Controversial questions
          What happened to the Saturn V plans
--- 167,180 ----
          Planetary mission references

      11  Upcoming planetary probes - missions and schedules
+          Cassini
          Galileo
+          Magellan
          Mars Observer
!          TOPEX/Poseidon
!          Ulysses
          Other space science missions
+          Proposed missions

      12  Controversial questions
          What happened to the Saturn V plans

===================================================================
diff -t -c -r1.12 FAQ.net
*** /tmp/,RCSt1a05563    Sat Oct 31 17:40:57 1992
--- FAQ.net    Sat Oct 31 17:38:19 1992
***************
*** 35,44 ****
      sites interested in receiving the news group to which the article was
      posted.

!     Gateway machines serve to redirect Usenet netnews into Internet and
!     BITNET mailing lists and vice versa. If you can receive netnews, its
!     more flexible interface usually makes it the preferred option to getting
!     on one of the main mailing lists.

  MAILING LISTS

--- 35,45 ----
      sites interested in receiving the news group to which the article was
      posted.

!     Gateway machines redirect the Usenet sci.space group into Internet and
!     BITNET mailing lists and vice versa; the other Usenet groups are not
!     accessible as mailing lists. If you can receive netnews, its more
!     flexible interface and access to a wider range of material usually make
!     it the preferred option.

  MAILING LISTS

***************
*** 47,53 ****
      in over a decade). Email [e-mail] (message body
      should be in the format 'subscribe space John Public') to join. Note
      that the moderated SPACE Magazine list is defunct at present for lack of
!     a moderator.

      Elements is a moderated list for fast distribution of Space Shuttle
      Keplerian Elements before and during Shuttle flights. NASA two line
--- 48,57 ----
      in over a decade). Email [e-mail] (message body
      should be in the format 'subscribe space John Public') to join. Note
      that the moderated SPACE Magazine list is defunct at present for lack of
!     a moderator. Old copies of SPACE Digest since its inception in 1981 are
!     available by anonymous FTP. Retrieve
!      julius.cs.qub.ac.uk:pub/SpaceDigestArchive/README
!     for further details.

      Elements is a moderated list for fast distribution of Space Shuttle
      Keplerian Elements before and during Shuttle flights. NASA two line
***************
*** 114,123 ****
      ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF THE ASA
      Don Barry ([e-mail]) posts the monthly Electronic Journal
      of the Astronomical Society of the Atlantic to sci.astro.
-
-     ESA BULLETIN
-      Harm Munk ([e-mail]) posts summaries of articles in the
-      quarterly _ESA Bulletin_ and the _ESA Journal_.

      FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL
      Swaraj Jeyasingh ([e-mail]) posts summaries of
--- 118,123 ----

===================================================================
diff -t -c -r1.12 FAQ.data
*** /tmp/,RCSt1a05568    Sat Oct 31 17:40:59 1992
--- FAQ.data    Sat Oct 31 17:38:09 1992
***************
*** 279,284 ****
--- 279,289 ----
      available by anonymous FTP from export.lcs.mit.edu (18.24.0.12) in
      contrib/xsat1.0.tar.Z. Contact Dave Curry ([e-mail])
      for more information.
+
+     Xsky, a computerized sky atlas for the X Window System, is available for
+     anonymous FTP on arizona.edu in the directory [.SOFTWARE.UNIX.XSKY] as
+     xsky.tarz. Contact Terry R. Friedrichsen ([e-mail]) for
+     more information.

      The "Variable Stars Analysis Software Archive" is available via
      anonymous FTP from kauri.vuw.ac.nz (130.195.11.3) in directory

===================================================================
diff -t -c -r1.12 FAQ.constants
*** /tmp/,RCSt1a05583    Sat Oct 31 17:41:05 1992
--- FAQ.constants    Sat Oct 31 17:38:05 1992
***************
*** 48,94 ****

          a = 4 pi**2 r / t^2

!      For circular Keplerian orbits, where u is gravitational constant, a is
!          semimajor axis of orbit, P is period.
!          v^2 = u/a
!          P   = 2pi/(Sqrt(u/a^3))
!          u   = G * M (can be measured much more accurately than G or M)
!
!          Vc = sqrt(M * G / r)
!          Vesc = sqrt(2 * M * G / r) = sqrt(2) * Vc
!          The period of an eccentric orbit is the same as the period of a
!         circular orbit with the same semi-major axis
!          1/2 V**2 - G * M / r = K    (conservation of energy)
!              where
!          Vc   = velocity of a circular orbit (you have something like this)
          Vesc = escape velocity
          K    = -G * M / 2 / a
-          M    = Mass of orbited object
-          G    = Gravitational constant
          r    = radius of orbit (measured from center of mass of system)
          V    = orbital velocity

      Change in velocity required for a plane change of angle phi in a
      circular orbit:

          delta V = 2 sqrt(GM/r) sin (phi/2)

!      Energy to put mass m into a circular orbit (ignoring rotational
!      velocity of the Earth, which reduces the energy a bit).

          GMm (1/Re - 1/2Rcirc)
          Re = radius of the earth
          Rcirc = radius of the circular orbit.

!      Classical rocket equation (dv = change in velocity, ve = exhaust
!        velocity, x = reaction mass, m1 = rocket mass excluding reaction
!        mass):
!
!          dv = Ve * ln((m1 + x) / m1)
!         = Ve * ln((final mass) / (initial mass))
!          Ve = Isp * g = exhaust velocity, m / s
          Isp = specific impulse of engine
!          g = 9.80665 m / s^2

      Relativistic rocket equation (constant acceleration)

--- 48,97 ----

          a = 4 pi**2 r / t^2

!      For circular Keplerian orbits where:
!          Vc   = velocity of a circular orbit
          Vesc = escape velocity
+          M    = Total mass of orbiting and orbited bodies
+          G    = Gravitational constant (defined below)
+          u    = G * M (can be measured much more accurately than G or M)
          K    = -G * M / 2 / a
          r    = radius of orbit (measured from center of mass of system)
          V    = orbital velocity
+          P    = orbital period
+          a    = semimajor axis of orbit

+          Vc   = sqrt(M * G / r)
+          Vesc = sqrt(2 * M * G / r) = sqrt(2) * Vc
+          V^2  = u/a
+          P    = 2 pi/(Sqrt(u/a^3))
+          K    = 1/2 V**2 - G * M / r (conservation of energy)
+
+          The period of an eccentric orbit is the same as the period
+         of a circular orbit with the same semi-major axis.
+
      Change in velocity required for a plane change of angle phi in a
      circular orbit:

          delta V = 2 sqrt(GM/r) sin (phi/2)

!      Energy to put mass m into a circular orbit (ignores rotational
!      velocity, which reduces the energy a bit).

          GMm (1/Re - 1/2Rcirc)
          Re = radius of the earth
          Rcirc = radius of the circular orbit.

!      Classical rocket equation, where
!          dv  = change in velocity
          Isp = specific impulse of engine
!          Ve  = exhaust velocity
!          x   = reaction mass
!          m1  = rocket mass excluding reaction mass
!          g   = 9.80665 m / s^2
!
!          Ve  = Isp * g
!          dv  = Ve * ln((m1 + x) / m1)
!          = Ve * ln((final mass) / (initial mass))

      Relativistic rocket equation (constant acceleration)


===================================================================
diff -t -c -r1.12 FAQ.probe
*** /tmp/,RCSt1a05603    Sat Oct 31 17:41:12 1992
--- FAQ.probe    Sat Oct 31 17:38:22 1992
***************
*** 102,112 ****
      to do so.

      PIONEER Venus 1 (1978) (also known as PIONEER Venus Orbiter, or PIONEER
!     12) is still orbiting Venus and returning data to Earth. It is expected
!     to enter the Venusian atmosphere and burn up in 1992. PVO made the first
!     radar studies of the planet's surface via probe. PIONEER Venus 2 (also
!     known as PIONEER 13) sent four small probes into the atmosphere in
!     December of 1978. The main spacecraft bus burned up high in the
      atmosphere, while the four probes descended by parachute towards the
      surface. Though none were expected to survive to the surface, the Day
      probe did make it and transmitted for 67.5 minutes on the ground before
--- 102,111 ----
      to do so.

      PIONEER Venus 1 (1978) (also known as PIONEER Venus Orbiter, or PIONEER
!     12) burned up in the Venusian atmosphere on October 8, 1992. PVO made
!     the first radar studies of the planet's surface via probe. PIONEER Venus
!     2 (also known as PIONEER 13) sent four small probes into the atmosphere
!     in December of 1978. The main spacecraft bus burned up high in the
      atmosphere, while the four probes descended by parachute towards the
      surface. Though none were expected to survive to the surface, the Day
      probe did make it and transmitted for 67.5 minutes on the ground before

===================================================================
diff -t -c -r1.12 FAQ.new_probes
*** /tmp/,RCSt1a05608    Sat Oct 31 17:41:14 1992
--- FAQ.new_probes    Sat Oct 31 17:38:20 1992
***************
*** 44,56 ****


      MAGELLAN - Venus radar mapping mission. Has mapped almost the entire
!     surface at high resolution. Funding for continuing operations into
!     mapping cycle 4 and beyond has been cut from the proposed NASA budget.


      MARS OBSERVER - Mars orbiter including 1.5 m/pixel resolution camera.
!     Launch scheduled 9/16/1992 aboard Titan III; arrival in 8/93, operations
!     start 11/93 for one martian year (687 days).


      TOPEX/Poseidon - Joint US/French Earth observing satellite, launched in
--- 93,105 ----


      MAGELLAN - Venus radar mapping mission. Has mapped almost the entire
!     surface at high resolution. Currently (11/92) in mapping cycle 4,
!     collecting a global gravity map.


      MARS OBSERVER - Mars orbiter including 1.5 m/pixel resolution camera.
!     Currently (11/92) in transit to Mars arrival in 8/93. Operations start
!     11/93 for one martian year (687 days).


      TOPEX/Poseidon - Joint US/French Earth observing satellite, launched in
--- 110,140 ----
      will increase understanding of how heat is transported in the ocean.


!     ULYSSES- European Space Agency probe to study the Sun from an orbit over
!     its poles. Launched in late 1990, it carries particles-and-fields
!     experiments (such as magnetometer, ion and electron collectors for
!     various energy ranges, plasma wave radio receivers, etc.) but no camera.

!     Since no human-built rocket is hefty enough to send Ulysses far out of
!     the ecliptic plane, it went to Jupiter instead, and stole energy from
!     that planet by sliding over Jupiter's north pole in a gravity-assist
!     manuver in February 1992. This bent its path into a solar orbit tilted
!     about 85 degrees to the ecliptic. It will pass over the Sun's south pole
!     in the summer of 1993. Its aphelion is 5.2 AU, and, surprisingly, its
!     perihelion is about 1.5 AU-- that's right, a solar-studies spacecraft
!     that's always further from the Sun than the Earth is!

!     While in Jupiter's neigborhood, Ulysses studied the magnetic and
!     radiation environment. For a short summary of these results, see
!     *Science*, V. 257, p. 1487-1489 (11 September 1992). For gory technical
!     detail, see the many articles in the same issue.


      OTHER SPACE SCIENCE MISSIONS (note: this is based on a posting by Ron
      Baalke in 11/89, with ISAS/NASDA information contributed by Yoshiro
      Yamada ([e-mail]). I'm attempting to track changes based
      on updated shuttle manifests; corrections and updates are welcome.

      1993 Missions
      o Wind [Aug, Delta II rocket]
          Satellite to measure solar wind input to magnetosphere.

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

Date: 1 Nov 92 18:13:26 GMT
From: Jon Leech <[e-mail]>
Subject: Space FAQ 01/15 - Introduction
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space,news.answers

Archive-name: space/intro
Last-modified: $Date: 92/10/31 17:37:48 $

    FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON SCI.SPACE/SCI.ASTRO

    INTRODUCTION

    This series of linked messages is periodically posted to the Usenet
groups sci.space and sci.astro in an attempt to provide good answers to
frequently asked questions and other reference material which is worth
preserving. If you have corrections or answers to other frequently asked
questions that you would like included in this posting, send email to
[e-mail] (Jon Leech).

    If you don't want to see the FAQ, add 'Frequently Asked Questions' to
your KILL file for this group (if you're not reading this with a newsreader
that can kill articles by subject, you're out of luck).

    The FAQ volume is excessive right now and will hopefully be trimmed down
by rewriting and condensing over time. The FAQ postings are available in
the Ames SPACE archive in FAQ/faq<#>.

    Good summaries will be accepted in place of the answers given here. The
point of this is to circulate existing information, and avoid rehashing old
answers. Better to build on top than start again. Nothing more depressing
than rehashing old topics for the 100th time. References are provided
because they give more complete information than any short generalization.

    Questions fall into three basic types:

    1) Where do I find some information about space?

    Try your local public library first. The net is not a good place to ask
    for general information. Ask INDIVIDUALS (by email) if you must. There
    are other sources, use them, too. The net is a place for open ended
    discussion.

    2) I have an idea which would improve space flight?

    Hope you aren't surprised, but 9,999 out of 10,000 have usually been
    thought of before. Again, contact a direct individual source for
    evaluation. NASA fields thousands of these each day.

    3) Miscellanous queries.

    These are addressed on a case-by-case basis in the following series of
    FAQ postings.


    SUGGESTIONS FOR BETTER NETIQUETTE

    Read news.announce.newusers if you're on Usenet.
    Minimize cross references, [Do you REALLY NEED to?]
    Edit "Subject:" lines, especially if you're taking a tangent.
    Send mail instead, avoid posting follow ups. (1 mail message worth
    100 posts).
    Internet mail readers: send requests to add/drop to SPACE-REQUEST
    not SPACE.
    Read all available articles before posting a follow-up. (Check all
    references.)
    Cut down attributed articles (leave only the points you're
    responding to; remove signatures and headers). Summarize!
    Put a return address in the body (signature) of your message (mail
    or article), state your institution, etc. Don't assume the
    'reply' function of mailers will work.
    Use absolute dates. Post in a timely way. Don't post what everyone
    will get on TV anyway.
    Some editors and window systems do character count line wrapping:
    keep lines under 80 characters for those using ASCII terminals
    (use carriage returns).


    INDEX TO LINKED POSTINGS

    I've attempted to break the postings up into related areas. There isn't
    a keyword index yet; the following lists the major subject areas in each
    posting. Only those containing astronomy-related material are posted to
    sci.astro (indicated by '*' following the posting number).

    #    Contents

    1*    Introduction
        Suggestions for better netiquette
        Index to linked postings
        Notes on addresses, phone numbers, etc.
        Contributors

    2*    Network resources
        Overview
        Mailing lists
        Periodically updated information
        Warning about non-public networks

    3*    Online (and some offline) sources of images, data, etc.
        Introduction
        Viewing Images
        Online Archives
        NASA Ames
        NASA Spacelink
        National Space Science Data Center
        Space And Planetary Image Facility
        Space Telescope Science Institute Electronic Info. Service
        Astronomical Databases
        Astronomy Programs
        Orbital Element Sets
        SPACE Digest
        Landsat & NASA Photos
        Planetary Maps
        Cometary Orbits

    4*    Performing calculations and interpreting data formats
        Computing spacecraft orbits and trajectories
        Computing planetary positions
        Computing crater diameters from Earth-impacting asteroids
        Map projections and spherical trignometry
        Performing N-body simulations efficiently
        Interpreting the FITS image format
        Sky (Unix ephemeris program)
        Three-dimensional star/galaxy coordinates

    5*    References on specific areas
        Publishers of space/astronomy material
        Careers in the space industry
        DC-X single-stage to orbit (SSTO) program
        LLNL "great exploration"
        Lunar science and activities
        Spacecraft models
        Rocket propulsion
        Spacecraft design
        Esoteric propulsion schemes (solar sails, lasers, fusion...)
        Spy satellites
        Space shuttle computer systems
        SETI computation (signal processing)
        Amateur satellies & weather satellites
        Tides

    6*    Constants and equations for calculations

    7*    Astronomical Mnemonics

    8    Contacting NASA, ESA, and other space agencies/companies
        NASA Centers / Arianespace / ESA / NASDA / Soyuzkarta / Space
        Camp / Space Commerce Corporation / Spacehab / SPOT Image
        Other commercial space businesses

    9    Space shuttle answers, launch schedules, TV coverage
        Shuttle launchings and landings; schedules and how to see them
        How to receive the NASA TV channel, NASA SELECT
        Dial-A-Shuttle and how to use it
        Amateur radio frequencies for shuttle missions
        Solid Rocket Booster fuel composition

    10    Planetary probes - Historical Missions
        US planetary missions
        Mariner (Venus, Mars, & Mercury flybys and orbiters)
        Pioneer (Moon, Sun, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn flybys and orbiters)
        Ranger (Lunar lander and impact missions)
        Lunar Orbiter (Lunar surface photography)
        Surveyor (Lunar soft landers)
        Viking (Mars orbiters and landers)
        Voyager (Outer planet flybys)
        Soviet planetary missions
        Soviet Lunar probes
        Soviet Venus probes
        Soviet Mars probes
        Japanese planetary missions
        Planetary mission references

    11    Upcoming planetary probes - missions and schedules
        Cassini
        Galileo
        Magellan
        Mars Observer
        TOPEX/Poseidon
        Ulysses
        Other space science missions
        Proposed missions

    12    Controversial questions
        What happened to the Saturn V plans
        Why data from space missions isn't immediately available
        Risks of nuclear (RTG) power sources for space probes
        Impact of the space shuttle on the ozone layer
        How long can a human live unprotected in space
        Using the shuttle beyond Low Earth Orbit
        The "Face on Mars"

    13    Space activist/interest/research groups and space publications
        Groups
        Publications
        Undocumented Groups

    14    How to become an astronaut

    15    Orbital and Planetary Launch Services


    NOTES ON ADDRESSES, PHONE NUMBERS, ETC.

    Unless otherwise specified, telephone numbers, addresses, and so on are
    for the United States of America. Non-US readers should remember to add
    the country code for telephone calls, etc.


    CREDITS

    Eugene Miya started a series of linked FAQ postings some years ago which
    inspired (and was largely absorbed into) this set.

    Peter Yee and Ron Baalke have and continue to spend a lot of their own
    time setting up the SPACE archives at NASA Ames and forwarding official
    NASA announcements.

    Many other people have contributed material to this list in the form of
    old postings to sci.space and sci.astro which I've edited. Please let me
    know if corrections need to be made. Contributors I've managed to keep
    track of are:

    [e-mail] (Francis Reddy)    - map projections
    [e-mail] (Richard Akerman)   - crater diameters
    [e-mail] (Lisa Weigel)    - SEDS info
    [e-mail] (Srinivas Bettadpur) - tides
    [e-mail] (Alan Wm Paeth) - map projections
    [e-mail] (Allen W. Sherzer)        - Great Exploration
    [e-mail] (Ron Baalke)    - planetary probe schedules
    [e-mail] (Timothy Banks)    - map projections,
    variable star analysis archive
    [e-mail] (Bernie Rosen)    - Space Camp
    [e-mail] (Barry Schlesinger)   - FITS format
    [e-mail] (Craig E. Ward)        - space group contact info
    [e-mail] (Tom Chapin)        - planetary positions
    [e-mail] (D. Alan Cunningham)    - NASA Spacelink
    [e-mail] (Cliff Yamamoto) - orbital elements
    [e-mail] (Anthony Datri)        - PDS/VICAR viewing software
    [e-mail] (Dave Rickel)        - orbit formulae
    [e-mail] (Phil Fraering)        - propulsion
    [e-mail] (Dani Eder)        - Saturn V plans, SRBs
    [e-mail] (Eugene N. Miya)    - introduction,
    NASA contact info, started FAQ postings
    [e-mail] (Gary Morris)        - amateur radio info
    [e-mail] (Terry Gaetz)        - N-body calculations,
    orbital dynamics
    [e-mail] (Steve Grandi)        - planetary positions
    [e-mail] (Dale M. Greer)   - constants
    [e-mail] (Henry Spencer)    - survival in vacuum,
    astronaut how-to, publication refs, DC-X
    [e-mail] (William Higgins)    - RTGs, publishers,
    shuttle landings, spysats, propulsion, "Face on Mars"
    [e-mail] (Hal Mueller)    - map projections,
    orbital dynamics
    [e-mail] (Jim Bowery)        - propulsion, launch services
    [e-mail] (Jim Scotti)    - planetary positions
    [e-mail] (Kieran A. Carroll)- refs for spacecraft design
    [e-mail] (Kenneth Ng)        - RTGs
    [e-mail] (Larry Klaes)    - planetary probe history
    [e-mail] (Jon Leech)        - crater diameters
    [e-mail] (Lou Adornato)        - orbital dynamics
    [e-mail] (Maury Markowitz)   - propulsion
    [e-mail]        - N-body calculations
    [e-mail] (Marc Wayne Mcconley)    - space careers
    [e-mail] (Mark Brader)            - Mariner 1 info.
    [e-mail] (Mark Maimone)            - SPACE Digest
    [e-mail] (Dr. Nick Watkins)    - models, spysats
    [e-mail] (Colby Kraybill)    - SPIF data archive
    [e-mail] (Kenneth W Durham)    - cometary orbits, IAU
    [e-mail] (Paul Blase)    - propulsion
    [e-mail] (Peter Scott)    - RTGs
    [e-mail] (Paul W. Schleck)    - AMSAT, ARRL contact info
    [e-mail] (Rodney Brown)        - propulsion refs
    [e-mail] (Ran Atkinson)    - FTPable astro. programs
    [e-mail] (R. Michael Jungclas)- models
    [e-mail] (David Seal)    - Cassini mission schedule
    [e-mail] (Mary Shafer)    - photos, shuttle landings
    [e-mail] (Willie Smith)    - photos
    [e-mail] (Stephen Dixon)    - shuttle audio frequencies
    [e-mail] (Ray Sterner)    - planetary positions
    [e-mail] (Phil Stooke)    - planetary maps
    [e-mail] (Ted Anderson)    - propulsion
    [e-mail] (Terry Hancock)    - NASA center info
    [e-mail] (Bill Thorson) - FITS info
    [e-mail] (Todd L. Masco)    - SPACE Digest
    [e-mail] (Tom Horsley)    - refs for algorithms
    [e-mail] (Veikko Makela)    - orbital element sets
    [e-mail] (Wayne Hayes)    - constants
    [e-mail] (Matthew P Wiener) - Voyager history
    [e-mail] (Yoshiro Yamada)    - ISAS/NASDA missions
    [e-mail] (Peter Yee)        - AMES archive server,
    propulsion

    In Net memoriam:
    Ted Flinn

NEXT: FAQ #2/15 - Network Resources

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End of Space Digest Volume 15 : Issue 365
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