Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/pc/text/spacedig/v13_2/v13_291.txt

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Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #291

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 13 : Issue 291

Today's Topics:
          NASA Headline News - 03/18/91 (Forwarded)
              New Aussie Space Magazine
              Re: Space Profits
     SOLAR TERRESTRIAL BULLETIN - 11 MARCH (INFO UPDATE)
        Looking for satellite imagery. Any FTP sites?
        Re: Space Station 'Fred' Restructuring

Administrivia:

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

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

Date: 18 Mar 91 23:38:33 GMT
From: agate!bionet!uwm.edu!caen!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: NASA Headline News - 03/18/91 (Forwarded)


             Headline News
Internal Communications Branch (P-2) NASA Headquarters

  Monday, March 18, 1991        Audio Service: 202 / 755-1788

This is NASA Headline News for Monday, March 18, 1991

The Gamma Ray Observatory was installed into Atlantis'
payload bay over the weekend.  Atlantis had been moved from the
Vehicle Assembly Building to launch pad 39-B on Friday.  Following
the move, auxiliary power unit #3 on Atlantis was successfully hot-
fired.  Work occurring at the pad today includes the helium signature
leak check of Atlantis' main propulsion system.  This is the third day
of very heavy rain and high winds in the Kennedy Space Center
area.  As a result, about 10 gallons of rain managed to intrude into the
Pad B orbiter aft area.  That water is being cleared out now and is not
considered a problem.  Also because of the rain, the STS-37 flight crew
was diverted from the Shuttle Landing Facility to Patrick Air Force
Base yesterday when they flew in from Houston.  The crew is in
Florida for the STS-37 terminal countdown demonstration test,
which begins tomorrow and concludes on Wednesday at 11:00 am.

Space Flight and Kennedy Center management have decided to install
on Discovery the flapper valve door closure assembly from Columbia.
Columbia's two assemblies are presently at Rockwell International
Space Division's Downey, Calif., plant for refurbishment.  They are
expected back at the Cape this week for installation into Discovery.
KSC technicians expec able to roll Discovery from the
Orbiter Processing Facility to the VAB by March 28.

                   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Kennedy Center and NASA Life Sciences Division management will
hold a press showing of the Spacelab Life Sciences-1 Spacelab
module tomorrow, March 19, at 1:00 pm EST in the Operations
and Checkout Building.  Members of the STS-40 SLS-1 payload
processing team will be on hand to answer questions about the module
and how it is processed.  The main objective of the STS-40 SLS-1
mission, now scheduled for launch in May, is to study the dynamics of
certain physiological changes which occur during space flight and to
investigate the consequences of the body's adaptation to microgravity.

                   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Jet Propulsion Laboratory flight controllers report that Ulysses is
performing well and continues with routine science data
collection.  Flight controllers say a low level of wobble was detected
during maneuvers carried out to improve the spacecraft's high-gain
antenna pointing.  These wobbles are not expected to recur in this
mission phase, though.  Ulysses is presently about 175 million miles
from Earth and travelling at a heliocentric velocity of about 56,800
miles per hour.  The spacecraft has another 274 million miles to
go before reaching Jupiter in February 1992.

                   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Marshall Space Flight Center engineers tested an advanced Space
Shuttle Main Engine for 170 seconds this past Friday.  Marshall
technical assistant Dan Dumbacher said they had a "full-duration test
and an initial look at the computer data indicates it was a successful
test."  It was the 21st test firing at the Technology Test Bed facility at
Marshall's West Test Area since testing began in September 1988.

                   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

NASA has terminated the operation of the Dynamics Explorer-1
(DE-1) spacecraft.  The spacecraft, which acquired the first global
images of the aurora, was launched on August 3, 1981.  It was
designed to last three years and to study the coupling of energy,
electric currents and mass between the Earth's upper atmosphere,
ionosphere and magnetosphere.  Project scientist Dr. Robert Hoffman
said the quality and quantity of data returned from DE-1, and a
companion spacecraft, far exceeded their expectations.  The
spacecraft was terminated because it had refused to accept commands
since Nov. 17 and because of operation cost considerations and the
diminishing value of the data returned.


Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select
TV.  All times are Eastern.  NASA Select TV is carried on GE Satcom
F2R, transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees W Long., Audio 6.8,
Frequency 3960 MHz.

Tuesday, 3/19/91
        9:00 am        STS-37 Joint Integrated Simulation checkout between
Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center and Goddard
Space Flight Center.

        12:00 pm        NASA Programs will be transmitted.

        6:00 pm        NASA Programs will be replayed.

Wednesday, 3/20/91
        11:30 am        STS-37 Joint Integrated Simulation between JSC,
MSFC and GSFC.

        1:15 pm        Magellan-at-Venus status report live from the Jet
          Propulsion Laboratory.

        1:30 pm        Continuation of coverage of STS-37 Joint Integrated
          Simulation between JSC, MSFC and GSFC.  Continues through
          9:00 pm.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Jet Propulsion Lab |
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   M/S 301-355        | Change is constant.
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  Pasadena, CA 91109 |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                      |

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

Date: 11 Mar 91 19:41:00 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!linus!philabs!ttidca!quad1!bohica!mcws!p0.f851.n102.z1.fidonet.org![e-mail]  (Hugh Garsden)
Subject: New Aussie Space Magazine

From: [e-mail] (Hugh Garsden)
Path: wciu!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!sdd.hp.com!spool.mu.edu!munnari.oz.au!yoyo.aarnet.edu.au!sirius.ucs.adelaide.edu.au!cs.adelaide.edu.au!hugh
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: New Aussie Space Magazine
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 11 Mar 91 11:41:45 GMT
There's a new space mag out in Australia - "Space Digest Australia",
published six times a year, first edition is February 1991. Cost
per edition is A$5. Subscription is A$27/year in Australia, A$35/year
internationally. Publisher's address is -

    South Pacific Science Press
    8 Maddox St
    Alexandria, NSW 2015
    AUSTRALIA

I found it in a newsagents; I don't have anything to do with it,
but thought you'd like to know.

As far as Cape York goes, there are now "believed to be up to twelve
expressions of interest with the Australian Space Office". Companies
and consortiums can compete for the running of the project. "... all
this is subject to the satisfactory completion of an environmental impact
report. It would be surprising if this process did not itself result
in changes to the proposal. A finding that Temple Bay is not the best
launch site in Australia should surprise no one. In fact, it seems the
whole project is up for redefinition. Who will build and run it, where and
when, is now uncertain."

The quotations are from the editorial.
-----
Hugh Garsden
University of Adelaide
[e-mail]


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

Date: 11 Mar 91 09:37:00 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!think.com!linus!philabs!ttidca!quad1!bohica!mcws!p0.f851.n102.z1.fidonet.org![e-mail]  (Nick Szabo)
Subject: Re: Space Profits

From: [e-mail] (Nick Szabo)
Path: wciu!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!wuarchive!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!sequent!crg5!szabo
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Space Profits
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 11 Mar 91 01:37:45 GMT
In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] ("Allen W. Sherzer") writes:
>In article <[e-mail]>:
>
>[ Large infrastructure developed by private companies often with ]
>[ government subsidies, to one degree or another]

Some threads running through most or all of these items:

* the larger projects were based on many previous, smaller scale
  versions (railroads, canals, dams, roads, airplanes, etc. etc.)
* the actual design work was left to private industry
* the projects served well-defined markets (shipping, mail, power,
  etc.)
* the economic paybacks were large (compared to the money government put in)
* the government was interested because of national security reasons

In other words, while government helped pay for these, they worked
out the economic paybacks in the way a business would.  Both design
and operation were usually controlled outright by industry, though
in some cases (eg roads) these were contracted out.  All of them served
existing markets in a well-defined way (eg speeding up delivery of mail),
rather than developing new products.  In this way, infrastructure in
search of customers was largely avoided.

Current space infrastructure is being designed from scratch by
government agencies, with no economically scaled antecedents, and
with business analysis (if any) thrown in as an afterthought.  In large
part, that why it is failing.



--
Nick Szabo            [e-mail]
"What are the _facts_, and to how many decimal places?"  -- RAH


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

Date: 11 Mar 91 16:30:00 GMT
From: agate!linus!philabs!ttidca!quad1!bohica!mcws!p0.f851.n102.z1.fidonet.org![e-mail]  (CARY OLER)
Subject: SOLAR TERRESTRIAL BULLETIN - 11 MARCH (INFO UPDATE)

From: [e-mail] (CARY OLER)
Path: wciu!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.ircc.ohio-state.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!HG.ULeth.CA!oler
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: SOLAR TERRESTRIAL BULLETIN - 11 MARCH (INFO UPDATE)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 11 Mar 91 08:30:41 GMT

                /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

                        SOLAR TERRESTRIAL BULLETIN

                              11 March, 1991

                    Updated Solar Activity Information
             Potential Geomagnetic Storm Warning Cancellation

                /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\


UPDATED SOLAR ACTIVITY INFORMATION

     The Potential Geomagnetic Storm Warning for middle latitude regions has
ended as of 11 March.  Geomagnetic activity has been at quiet to unsettled
levels now since approximately 07:00 UT on 10 March.  Conditions are expected
to remain generally quiet to unsettled over middle latitudes.  High latitudes
could experience brief periods of minor storming, although it appears that even
high latitudes will remain generally unsettled to active with little (if any)
magnetic storming.  The activity which occurred over the past 48 hours has been
attributed to the major flaring which occurred on 07 March.  A well placed
coronal hole is also believed responsible for contributing somewhat to the
activity.

     Solar flare activity over the past 24 hours has been relatively dormant.
No M-class flares have been noted today.  The most powerful flare was a class
C7.4/SF from Region 6538.

     Spot activity is quite a different story.  Region 6538 has continued to be
impressively active with regards to spot activity.  This region has bloomed
with spot activity.  The inner area of this region is fairly dense with spots.
Region 6538, now located at S23E20, has continued to increase in size and
complexity.  A magnetic delta configuration has now appeared together with the
beta-gamma configuration.  Spot count has increased to 109 in this region
today.  It covers a large 27 degree angular extent.

     Region 6537 (S08E01) has also increased in size and magnetic complexity
over the past 24 hours.  This region now encompasses 28 spots and has been
reclassified as a magnetic beta-gamma configuration.  This region was
responsible for spawning an X-class flare earlier this week.

     Region 6538 is now well place for providing high terrestrial impacts
should a significant major flare erupt.  Within the next 48 to 72 hours, this
region will also be capable of producing potentially strong proton and PCA
activity if a major proton flare occurs.  It is somewhat unusual that this
region is as inactive as it has been over the past 24 hours.  This may be a
sign of stabilization, but considering the amount of spot activity occurring
in the region and the continuing magnetic complexity, significant major flaring
is still very possible from this region.  Isolated major M and/or X-class
flares continue to be a threat.

     HF propagation conditions have returned to normal over most low and middle
latitudes.  Significant high-latitude improvements have also occurred over the
past 24 hours.  Increased signal stability and decreased absorption are
expected over the next several days.  A strong possibility exists for
SID-induced SWF's.  However, any SWF's should be relatively short but could be
of moderate to high intensity (particularly if a major flare occurs).

     VHF propagation conditions could be quite good on the lower bands.  MUF's
have increased recently and may now support possibly widespread openings on 6
meters, particularly over the shorter distances (under approx. 3000 km [1900
miles]).  Frequencies near 50 MHz are more likely to support potential DX.  The
most favorable times for potential DX exist when the sun is at its highest
elevation in the sky at the midpoint of the signal path.  For north-south
paths, this optimal time occurs near local noon.

     Auroral activity has diminished significantly over the past 24 hours and
is now not visible over the middle latitudes.  No further activity is expected
over the next 24 hours.  Whether activity increases after 48 to 72 hours is
heavily dependent on whether any major flaring occurs.


**  End of Bulletin  **


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

Date: 18 Mar 91 19:54:41 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!caen!uflorida!cs.fau.edu![e-mail], [e-mail]
Subject: Looking for satellite imagery. Any FTP sites?

HI,

We're doing image processing work, and like to work with (actually,
just look at and play with) real data sometimes. (When we tire of
'kgirl' or other standard images.)

Is there an anonymous ftp site where I can get satellite imagery?

The resolution need not be great, I'm not interested in resolving
vehicles, buildings, etc. Weather satellite stuff is fine enough.

Thanks.

M.C. Ertem
EE Dept.
Florida Atlantic Universiy
[e-mail]

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

Date: 14 Mar 91 04:30:00 GMT
From: agate!linus!philabs!ttidca!quad1!bohica!mcws!p0.f851.n102.z1.fidonet.org![e-mail]  (Fraering Philip)
Subject: Re: Space Station 'Fred' Restructuring

From: [e-mail] (Fraering Philip)
Path: wciu!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!samsung!rex!rouge!dlbres10
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Space Station 'Fred' Restructuring
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 13 Mar 91 20:30:57 GMT
Where can I get pictures of the new 'Fred' configuration?

Phil


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

End of SPACE Digest V13 #291
*******************