Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/pc/text/spacedig/v10_3/v10_396.txt

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Date: Tue,  9 Jan 90 15:28:48 -0500 (EST)
Subject: SPACE Digest V10 #396

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 10 : Issue 396

Today's Topics:
       Re: March 1990 ANALOG article on self-refueling vehicles
              Nuclear Reactors in Space
           Payload Summary for 01/05/90 (Forwarded)
         NASA Headline News for 01/04/90 (Forwarded)
     Re: Chris Robertson's "Henry bio" (was Re: who's out there?)
           Payload Status for 01/05/90 (Forwarded)
               Earthrise Poster
               Re: Antigravity
           Re: Launching AUSSAT on Chinese rockets
            Re: Nuclear Reactors in Space
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 5 Jan 90 14:49:21 GMT
From: sun-barr!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!caesar.cs.montana.edu!milton![e-mail]  (Mikel Stromberg)
Subject: Re: March 1990 ANALOG article on self-refueling vehicles

It's against international law (and U.N. treaties) to launch a nuclear reactor
into orbit.  Though the Soviets have done this in the past, it has been
"under the table", and they have vehemetly denied the action.  In the sixties,
the U.S. signed a U.N. treaty (I think it was simply called "The Space Treaty"
but I don't have the details right at hand) which outlawed "weapons of mass
destruction" as orbital weapons of war.  The Soviet-Third World coalition
in the U.N. has made it abundantly clear that they consider any working
nuclear reactor in orbit to be a "weapon of mass destruction".

Ryan, The Tall Guy

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

Date: 5 Jan 90 21:15:16 GMT
From: tramp![e-mail]  (SERRE GLENN)
Subject: Nuclear Reactors in Space

While we're on the subject of nuclear reactors, does anyone out there know
what happened to the Air Force's SP-100(?) project (the goal was to build
a small, ~100kw, orbiting nuclear reactor)?

Thanks in advance.

--Glenn Serre
[e-mail]

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

Date: 6 Jan 90 03:34:33 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Payload Summary for 01/05/90 (Forwarded)


                                   Payload Status Report
                                   Hubble Space Telescope
                                   January 5, 1990


          George Diller
          NASA Kennedy Space Center


               The Hubble Space Telescope is undergoing prelaunch checkout
          in the Vertical Processing Facility located in the KSC Industrial
          Area.  All work is on schedule and continues without significant
          problems.

               Installation of the third of three onboard tape recorders
          was completed in December shortly after the latest in a series of
          Ground System Tests (GST) was completed on Dec. 8.  This was
          followed Dec. 20 with the installation of the Wide Field
          Planetary Camera.

               The Science Instrument Control and Data Handler was removed
          on Dec. 11 for a rework of some circuit board solder connections.
          This unit is an interface computer between the main computer and
          the science experiments.  Reinstallation for testing partial
          components is scheduled for mid-January.

               Closeouts of the aft shroud have been in work this week and
          will be completed tonight.

               Preparations are now underway to power up the telescope on
          January 10 for a resumption of GST functional testing.  The CITE
          testing to verify electrical compatability with the Space Shuttle
          is scheduled to begin on January 12.  The first test is the
          Interface Verification Test (IVT).  Electrical and data
          interfaces that are used in association with the orbiter will be
          tested.  CITE testing will run in parallel with the continuation
          of HST functional testing.

               Based on the current manifest, the Hubble Space Telescope is
          scheduled to be transported to Pad B on Launch Complex 39 on
          March 9, and placed in the payload bay of the Space Shuttle
          Discovery on March 12.

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

Date: 4 Jan 90 18:33:13 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 01/04/90 (Forwarded)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, January 4, 1990                     Audio: 202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------


This is NASA Headline News for Thursday, January 4....


NASA managers have given the go-ahead for launch of the STS-32
mission on Monday, January 8.  The launch window will open at
8:10 A.M., Eastern time, for 58 minutes.  The exact launch time
will be determined 12 hours prior to launch based on the latest
orbital elements of the Long Duration Exposure Facility.  If the
launch occurs on January 8, landing at Edwards Air Force Base
will take place about 5:23 A.M., January 18.


Mission controllers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory report a
problem aboard the Magellan spacecraft presently cruising toward
the planet Venus.  On December 31, the onboard computers detected
a memory error and took several actions to protect itself until
the problem could be identified.  The difficulty appears to be
either a memory cell oxide problem or an energetic particle from
recent high solar activity could have caused a memory hit in one
of the science experiments.   Troubleshooting is underway.


Meanwhile, a four-day checkout of science instruments aboard the
Galileo spacecraft has been completed by controllers at JPL.
All orbiter instruments were exercised and tested, as well.
Galileo is now 13.6 million miles from Earth with a roundtrip
light time of two minutes.  Its total travel distance since
launch is 116 million miles.  Encounter with Venus is now about
five weeks away.


NASA has issued a request for proposals for an Advanced Tracking
and Data Relay Satellite System.  The Advanced TDRS System is
scheduled to be in place and operational by the year 2001,
replacing the present system.  It will have a high-data rate
capability of 650 million bits per second and an enhanced
multiple access system.


And...according to Aerospace Daily...the Air Force will soon
issue a Request For Proposals to convert Space Launch Complex 6
at Vandenberg Air Force base to a Titan IV/Centaur launch
facility.  The complex had been made into a space shuttle launch
complex in the early 1980s.

                 *           *           *





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


Friday, January 5....

    9:00 A.M.   Launch countdown status


Saturday, January 6....

    9:00 A.M.   Launch countdown status

   10:00 A.M.   SYNCOM briefing

   11:00 A.M.   Neurospora/circadian rhythym briefing

    1:00 P.M.   Commercial payloads briefing

    2:00 P.M.   LDEF briefing


Sunday, January 7.....

   11:00 A.M.   Pre-launch news conference


Monday, January 8....

    3:30 A.M.   Start of near continuous STS-32 mission coverage.
                launch window opens at 8:10 A.M.

All events and times are subject to change without notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon
Eastern time.
---------------------------------------------------------------
A service of the Internal Communications Branch (LPC), NASA
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.

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

Date: 3 Jan 90 00:59:55 GMT
From: pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!hellgate.utah.edu!uplherc!esunix!bambam![e-mail]  (Bob Pendleton)
Subject: Re: Chris Robertson's "Henry bio" (was Re: who's out there?)

From article <[e-mail]>, by [e-mail] (Wm E. Davidsen Jr):

>   Are you trying to prove that *Henry* doesn't exist? I can assure you
> that he does, I met him at USENIX in Washington the year of the snow
> storm, and had the chance to be ignored in person ;-)


Same experience but in an elevator in San Fransico. I DID see him
talking to some people a few days later.

            Bob P.
--
              Bob Pendleton, speaking only for myself.
UUCP Address:  decwrl!esunix!bpendlet or utah-cs!esunix!bpendlet

                      X: Tools, not rules.

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

Date: 5 Jan 90 21:42:35 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Payload Status for 01/05/90 (Forwarded)

Daily Status/KSC Payload Management and Operations 01-05-90


- STS-31R HST (at VPF) -

Aft shroud cleaning/inspection continues.  MUE installation is
complete and the validation portion is in work.  Encountered
another wasp in the VPF highbay which was captured and removed.

- STS-32R SYNCOM (at Pad A) -

Battery conditioning was in work yesterday and will pick up
again tomorrow.  CNCR, FEA and PCG experiment off line operations
are continuing daily.

- STS-35 ASTRO-1/BBXRT (at O&C) -

Cite testing continues.  Yesterday during the NSI rework a
broken backshell was discovered.  This will be changed out
on second shift tonight.  A bad fuse to the SPDB was removed
last night from the igloo.  The fuse area will be evaluated
this morning before installing a new fuse.

- STS-40 SLS-1 (at O&C) -

MVAC familiarization and training continues.  Structural mods
on rack 3 and rack 7 worked yesterday and will continue today.

- STS-42 IML (at O&C) -

Rack 9 back panel installation continued yesterday.  Fit check
of the light weight handling frame for rack 4 was performed.
Rack 7 EPSP and wire harness worked yesterday and will pick up
again on Monday.

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

Date: 4 Jan 90 01:30:03 GMT
From: sco![e-mail]  (Dean Reece)
Subject: Earthrise Poster


Well, this probably doesn't belong in sci.space, but I couldn't think of a
better place, so here goes:

I'm looking for one of those huge wall sized posters of the famous NASA
photo called "Earth Rise".  I really don't know where to look to find one,
or how much I should expect to pay.  If anybody has any leads, please email
me the info.  Also, how do you transport & hang such a monster (is it tiled,
or rolled up in a 20 foot tube :-)

Thanx
 ______________________________________________________________________
| Dean Reece     Member Technical Staff |"The flames are all long gone |
| The Santa Cruz Operation 408/458-1422 | but the pain lingers on"     |
|[e-mail]_______________|___________________Pink_Floyd_|

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

Date: 4 Jan 90 18:16:37 GMT
From: sjsca4![e-mail]  (Greg Wageman)
Subject: Re: Antigravity

Opinions expressed are the responsibility of the author.

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Tom Neff) writes:
>In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Lord Snooty @ The Giant Poisoned Electric Head       ) writes:
>>In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (David Ray) writes:
>>>   Is it relavistic effects that make the gyroscopes get lighter? [heavier]
>>        not even close. at 12000 rpm, a small gyro is many orders
>>        down from c at its periphery to explain the massive effect
>>        in this manner.
>
>Still, I like this question.  Has anyone tried to spin something
>massive REALLY FAST?

Yes.  General Motors (among others) did studies years ago with
flywheels spinning in a vacuum.  I read about it in one of their
corporate publications, probably a stockholder's report.  Sorry I
can't be more specific.

The research was directed at finding a means to store the energy
normally wasted in braking a vehicle.  The system worked by using the
vehicle's momentum to spin up the flywheel during braking (which
helped slow the vehicle). Conversely, the the flywheel's momentum was
used to help speed up the vehicle during acceleration, slowing the
flywheel.

They did destructive studies of various materials to see how they
behave.  I recall that the internal forces generated by difference in
linear velocity across the radius of the wheel in all cases eventually
overcame the cohesive force of the material at some (quite finite and
non-relativistic) RPM, causing the wheels to fragment into strips and
self-destruct.

If the edge *had* approached relativistic speeds, this effect would be
increased, as its increased mass would load down the section of lesser
radius even more, thus further increasing the internal stress in the
material.


Copyright 1990 Greg Wageman    DOMAIN: [e-mail]
Schlumberger Technologies    UUCP:   {uunet,decwrl,amdahl}!sjsca4!greg
San Jose, CA 95110-1397        BIX: gwage  CIS: 74016,352  GEnie: G.WAGEMAN
 Permission is granted for reproduction provided this notice is maintained.

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

Date: 5 Jan 90 01:50:23 GMT
From: datapg!com50!aob![e-mail]  (Jim Anderson)
Subject: Re: Launching AUSSAT on Chinese rockets

[Much discussion about Russia's actions in Afghanistan]

Doesn't this discussion belong in talk.politics or something else besides
sci.space??
Newsgroups: mn.test
Subject: Test message (what else??)
Reply-To: [e-mail] (Jim Anderson)
Distribution: mn
Organization: Anderson O-Brien, Inc., St. Paul, MN

This is a test... This is only a test...  Had this been a real
emergency... We'd all be dead anyway.


We now return you to our normal program of meaningless Usenet drivel.

Jim Anderson            [phone]
Anderson O'Brien, Inc        New mail:[e-mail]
2575 N. Fairview Ave.        Old mail:{rutgers,amdahl}!bungia!aob!jim
St. Paul, MN  55113        Lucifer designed MS-DOS to try men's souls.

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

Date: 6 Jan 90 01:45:55 GMT
From: cs.utexas.edu!halley![e-mail]  (William Watson)
Subject: Re: Nuclear Reactors in Space

In article <15378@boulder> [e-mail] (SERRE GLENN) writes:
>While we're on the subject of nuclear reactors, does anyone out there know
>what happened to the Air Force's SP-100(?) project (the goal was to build
>a small, ~100kw, orbiting nuclear reactor)?

I have a friend who worked on the project.  They (as of the end of the summer)
were working on the details of the design for both 10 kW and 100 kW reactors.
The things are to be cooled by liquid lithium, and sent up cold.  However,
the contractor seemed to my friend to be more interested in continuing the
contract than in actually building the things, so we'll see how it goes.

William

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

End of SPACE Digest V10 #396
*******************