Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/pc/text/spacedig/v12_5/v12_542.txt

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Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #542

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 12 : Issue 542

Today's Topics:
               Magellan article
      Visits to NASA/Ames at Moffet field - info please!
            Re: Nameplates on space probes
           Payload Summary for 11/08/90 (Forwarded)
           Payload Status for 11/08/90 (Forwarded)
            Re: Nameplates on space probes
         UK SEDS Conference 24&25th Novenber
           Ariane launches ON TIME!(again)

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]

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Date: 8 Nov 90 18:24:35 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA.
Subject: Magellan article
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Associated Press -- 11/8/90
"Magellan"
By Lee Siegel

"The Magellan spacecraft has found evidence that ocean-sized
floods of molten rock once inundated more than half the
surface of Venus."

AP reports that NASA scientists do not yet know if there was
one great outpouring of lava from cracks in Venus or a series
of smaller flows, each hundreds of thousands of square miles,
that engulfed parts of the planet at different times.

The wire service says that geologist and Magellan project
scientist Steve Saunders believes that lava gushed out of cracks
called vents in a global set of eruptions that happened all at
once, perhaps 400 million years ago.  Saunders is quoted by the
AP as saying "there's no question that the vast majority of the
surface of Venus has been formed by lava flows and volcanic
activity.  But the question is, did it all happen
catastrophically?"

According to the story, the lava covers more than sixty percent
of the surface of Venus and accounts for the lack of craters
resulting from meteoritic impacts, as the lava flows would
eradicate any evidence of impact cratering.

The story says that Venus's widespread lava flooding was
similar to, but much larger than, the vast deposits of basalt in
India's Deccan Traps and the Pacific Northwest's Columbia
River basin.

According to the report, the Indian Deccan Traps occurred
when the crust split open as the Indian continental plate
drifted away from Africa about 66 million years ago.  The
Columbia River basin deposits occurred, again according to
the AP, when massive eruptions rent much of the Pacific
Northwest east of the Cascade Range about 20 million years.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   Jet Propulsion Lab | [e-mail]
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  M/S 301-355        |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/   Pasadena, CA 91109 |

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

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Date: 8 Nov 90 19:29:39 GMT
From: eru!hagbard![e-mail]  (B|rje Josefsson)
Organization: University of Lulea, Sweden
Subject: Visits to NASA/Ames at Moffet field - info please!
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Hi all!

I am going to visit California later this month. I have bought a
tourist guide here in Sweden and have read that there are guided tours
"available on request" at the NASA/Ames research center on Moffet
Field.

Does any of You:

        a) Know if those tours are worth spending time on (I really
           hope they are).
        b) Know who I should contact to book a place on one of those
           tours. Fax, email, tel, ... All info is welcome.
        c) Have suggestions on other air/space places I could visit
           during my visit in Ca. I will be there between Nov 23 and
           Dec 5, so if there is anything "special" going on, please
           let me know.
        d) Have any other useful suggestions on what to see/do.

Since this hardly is to any general interest, please email Your answers.

Thanks in advance,

--Borje
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Borje Josefsson, Computer centre, University of Lulea, S-951 87 Lulea, Sweden
Tel: [phone] (direct), [phone] (operator).  Fax: [phone]

Domain:  [e-mail]                Path: {uunet,mcsun,sunic}!dc.luth.se!bj

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Date: 8 Nov 90 23:27:33 GMT
From: att!bu.edu!bu-ast![e-mail]  (Peter Sultan)
Organization: Boston University Astronomy Department
Subject: Re: Nameplates on space probes
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There have been several `nameplates' on US space probes.
I suspect that `Posterity' is the usual reason.  How many
people are going to read the "We came in peace..." plaque
on the Apollo 11 LEM?   The recently launched CRRES satellite
has a plate affixed to it in memory of Stan Shawhan, the
Director of NASA's Space Science division who died last June.

                            - Peter Sultan
                              BU Astronomy

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

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Date: 8 Nov 90 22:37:24 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Subject: Payload Summary for 11/08/90 (Forwarded)
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                            STS-35/ASTRO-1 STATUS REPORT
                         PREPARED AT  NOON  THURSDAY, NOV. 8


          Patricia E. Phillips
          407/867-2468
          Kennedy Space Center, FL


               During routine operations yesterday in the payload changeout
          room at Launch Pad 39B,  an aluminum pan beneath an access  plat-
          form  nicked  a thermal blanket covering part of the Astro-1 Star
          Tracker.  The area of impact on the blanket  measured  about  l/4
          inch  long  by  l/8  inch  wide,  with  the  depth termed "barely
          perceptible." At present,  no impact is seen on Columbia's upcom-
          ing flight.
               The  Broad Band X-Ray Telescope is being serviced today with
          liquid argon. Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope film removal has been
          accomplished.  New film will be loaded prior to  launch.  Routine
          payload monitoring will continue.
               Other  preflight  work  scheduled  includes loading the mass
          memory  unit  (MMU)  with  new  mission  data,   plus  experiment
          closeouts, pallet cleaning, and BBXRT servicing.

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

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Date: 8 Nov 90 22:26:06 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Subject: Payload Status for 11/08/90 (Forwarded)
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    Daily Status/KSC Payload Management and Operations 11-08-90


    - STS-35 ASTRO-1/BBXRT (at Pad-B)

    Engineering evaluation of the AST experiment which was
    contacted by a finger platform yesterday continues.  BBXRT
    liquid argon servicing will be performed today.  Experiment
    monitoring continues.


    - STS-39 AFP-675/IBSS/STP-01 (at CCAFS)

    CITE preps continue at the VPF along with ground software
    development.


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

    The flight crew equipment interface test will begin today.


    - STS-37 GRO (at PHSF)

    Software validation continues.


    - STS-42 IML-1 (at O&C)

    Module and experiment staging continue.


    - STS-45 Atlas-1 (at O&C)

    Experiment and pallet staging continue.


    - STS-46 TSS-1 (at O&C)

    Power on systems testing continue.


    - STS-47 Spacelab-J (at O&C)

    Rack staging continues.


    - STS-67 LITE-1 (at O&C)

    No work is scheduled for today.


    - HST M&R (at O&C)

    PR troubleshooting continues.

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

Date: 9 Nov 90 01:41:07 GMT
From: unmvax!nmt.edu![e-mail]  (Daniel Briggs)
Subject: Re: Nameplates on space probes

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Peter Sultan) writes:
>There have been several `nameplates' on US space probes.
>I suspect that `Posterity' is the usual reason.  How many
                                                  ^^^^^^^^
>people are going to read the "We came in peace..." plaque
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>on the Apollo 11 LEM?   The recently launched CRRES satellite
 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>has a plate affixed to it in memory of Stan Shawhan, the
>Director of NASA's Space Science division who died last June.

C'mon, Peter, the moon is right next door!  We may well never see the
Voyagers again, (Star Trek I notwithstanding), but the moon isn't
*going* anyplace, relative to us.  If the world gets its collective
act together, that site may well be a *shrine*, a century from now.
It's not even completely outlandish that someone reading this message
might one day read that plaque.

--
This is a shared guest account, please send replies to
[e-mail] (Internet)  ["Life's a Beech, and then you Dive."]
Dan Briggs / NRAO / P.O. Box O / Socorro, NM / 87801  (U.S. Snail)

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

Date: 8 Nov 90 15:21:53 GMT
From: mcsun!ukc!icdoc!ccserver![e-mail]  (M.S.Bennett Supvs= Prof Pendry)
Subject: UK SEDS Conference 24&25th Novenber

We are currently running a conference in Bristol on the 24th and 25th of
November - I should point out that any mail to our address will be
handled as quickly as posible.

We will have a number of speakers about the current state of space physics and
the like.

Mail [e-mail] for more information.




--
/------    -------    -----\       /------   |  ======================  |
|          |          |      \    |          |  M. Sean Bennett         |
\-----\    |----      |       |    \-----\   |  UKSEDS TECH.OFF.        |
       |   |          |      /            |  |  Janet:[e-mail]  |

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

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Date: 9 Nov 90 14:55:16 GMT
From: mcsun!ukc!icdoc!ccserver![e-mail]  (M.S.Bennett Supvs= Prof Pendry)
Organization: UKSEDS
Subject: Ariane launches ON TIME!(again)
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Intresting is it not unless I insult someone nothing happens!
==============================================================

Ariane Returns to Business.   By Neville Kidger.

     Arianespace, the company which markets and flies the Ariane launcher,
has resumed operations following the loss of the V36 launcher in February
1990.
     The loss of the rocket - with two Japanese commercial satellites aboard
- was found to have been due to the presence of a piece of cloth in the
water supply line to one of the four Viking first stage engines. Fredric
d'Allest, the recently-retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Arianespace called the incident "not only shocking but hard to accept."  He
also noted that the incident in no way questioned the basic design of the
Ariane series of launchers and called for more rigorous efforts in quality
control at the assembly factory.
     The V36 loss came after seventeen straight launch successes for the
Ariane rocket in its various guises.

Ariane V37.

     The V37 flight was launched at 06:25 GMT on July 24th from the ELA-2
launch facility at Kourou, French Guiana.  The Ariane 44L (with four liquid
propellant boosters around the first stage) placed two satellites into a
geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) of 299.7 km x 35,933 km, inclined at 4.04
degrees to the equator, well within the pre-fight intended parameters.
     From that orbit the two satellites were manoeuvred by their own engines
to their respective positions.  The two satellites were:

- TDF-2, the second French direct broadcast satellite.  The satellite, built
by the Eurosatellite consortium, had a lift-off mass of 2,054 kg.  It is 6.5
metres in height with a span of 19 m when its solar panels are deployed.  It
has 5 high power TV channels.

- DFS-2 KOPERNIKUS, a German telecommunications satellite built by R-DFS
consortium for the German Bundespost Telekom.  Like TDF-2, it is 3-axis
stabilised and had a lift-off mass of 1,419 kg.  It has a height of 4.15 m
and a span of 15.4 m with solar panels deployed.  It carries 11
transponders.

     TDF-2 was placed at 19 degrees West in a shared location above the
equator and KOPERNIKUS was placed at 28.5 degrees West.
     Speaking about the launch, Charles Bigot, the new Chairman and CEO of
Airianespace (but at that time the Director General) said: "Thanks to the
contribution of the European space industry community, tonight's launch
followed a short three and a half month recess which allowed for the
enhancement of the launcher's reliability by improving the control and
assembly procedures. This successful resumption of launches demonstrates
once again Arianespace's ability to respond to the many signs of confidence
expressed by the whole international space community."

Ariane V38.

     At 10:46 GMT on August 10th the company launched the V38 mission which
again delivered two satellites to GTO.  The Ariane 44LP (two liquid strap-on
boosters and two solids) was launched from the ELA-2 facility marking a
record short time between launches from the facility and from Arianespace.
     The launch was significant for the UK because it carried a military
communications satellite for the Ministry of Defence - Skynet 4C.
The full payload for V38 was:

- Skynet 4C.  Built by British Aerospace and Marconi Space Systems, the
satellite had a lift-off mass of 1,430 kg and an orbital mass of 751 kg.
The height is 2.1 m with a span of 16 m with two solar panels deployed.
Stabilisation is 3-axis and it operates in 4 SHF bands and 2 UHF bands
serving military communications for British land, air and sea forces.  The
orbital location is 1 degree West.

- Eutelsat IIA.  Built by Aerospatiale and weighing 1,878 kg at launch, this
satellite is to provide telephone, telex, data transmission and TV services
to Europe.  It has a capacity of 25,000 telephone half-circuits and 9 TV
channels (or equivalent traffic) and is stationed at 13 degrees East, over
the Equator, with a coverage zone ranging from Ireland to Turkey and from
the Arctic to North Africa.  At 2.5 m in height it has a span of 22.4 m with
its solar panels extended.

     Following the launch, Charles Bigot said: "This success, five weeks
after Flight 37, marks the continuity of European space activity, in
particular the confidence shown in us by the British Ministry of Defence
after the successful launch of Skynet 4B by Ariane in 1988; also the
confidence of the Eutelsat organisation which has chosen Arianespace to put
into orbit three satellites of its new generation.  With this launch,
Arianespace also confirms the ability to increase, if necessary, the launch
capacity to respect our commitments, thanks to the dual launch system which
allowed us to put four satellites into orbit for Europe in the last five
weeks."
     As of August 31st Arianespace's order book stood at 35 satellites to be
launched, worth approximately 15 billion French Francs, or about #1.4
billion, and represented a four year work load.
     On September 3rd Arianespace announced that it had secured the
contracts to launch two new-generation Brazilian satellites for the EMBRATEL
organisation.  The two Brasilsat B1 and B2 satellites will weigh about 1.750
kg at launch and will provide conventional telecommunications services for
Brazil and South America in general.
     The launches are planned for 1994.

Ariane V39.

     On October 12th Flight 39 was launced carrynig the American
communications satellites SBS-6 and GALAXY VI.  Both satellites were
launched for Hughes Communications Galaxy, Inc.  A 44L varient was used.

Acknowledgements: Arianespace.
Ariane V39 news added by the editor.
--
/------    -------    -----\       /------   |  ======================  |
|          |          |      \    |          |  M. Sean Bennett         |
\-----\    |----      |       |    \-----\   |  UKSEDS TECH.OFF.        |
       |   |          |      /            |  |  Janet:[e-mail]  |

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

End of SPACE Digest V12 #542
*******************