home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Space & Astronomy
/
Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso
/
pc
/
text
/
spacedig
/
v16_1
/
v16no196.txt
< prev
next >
Wrap
Internet Message Format
|
1993-07-13
|
29KB
Date: Thu, 18 Feb 93 05:04:16
From: Space Digest maintainer <digests@isu.isunet.edu>
Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu
Subject: Space Digest V16 #196
To: Space Digest Readers
Precedence: bulk
Space Digest Thu, 18 Feb 93 Volume 16 : Issue 196
Today's Topics:
Antimatter/Atomic Booms for Jettison!
A response from Anonymous (4 msgs)
Atomic lines in the Heliosphere
Book Computers/AI in Shuttle-SSF
HELP/QUESTION: remote characterization of rock/soil on Mars
Help requested
HST repair mission
More The future *is* what it used to be
Organics on Saturn, Jupiter, Titan
PEGASUS QUESTION
Pictures of Mars wanted
Saturn Life
sci.space (2 msgs)
sci.space (also Re: A response from Anonymous)
SETI and Virtual Reality
Sherzer Column?
SSTO news
Virtual Reality research at NASA (2 msgs)
Welcome to the Space Digest!! Please send your messages to
"space@isu.isunet.edu", 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 space-REQUEST@isu.isunet.edu (Internet).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 17:26:32 GMT
From: kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov
Subject: Antimatter/Atomic Booms for Jettison!
Newsgroups: sci.space
Andrew Haveland-Robinson (andy@osea.demon.co.uk) wrote:
: In article <1993Feb9.145038.1@fnalf.fnal.gov> higgins@fnalf.fnal.gov (Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey) writes:
: >> You would probably want your engines on a long boom anyway,
: >> however, because it makes radiation shielding much easier.
: >There's an old saying among physicists: "Distance is the cheapest
: >shielding."
: That's an old saying amongst old physicists! :-)
: ~~~
And physicists who are smart enough to live to an old age....
In my Introduction to Nuclear Engineering class, I was taught that
there are four ways of limiting exposure to radiation:
1) Increase the distance between yourself and the source
2) Decrease your exposure time
3) Increase your shielding
4) Reduce the intensity of the source
If somebody has come up with a new way, please advise.
-- Ken Jenks, NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office
kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov (713) 483-4368
"...back to the moon, back to the future,
and, this time, back to stay." -- George Bush
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 93 04:05:13 GMT
From: "Mr. Aaron Barnhart" <barnhart@ddsw1.mcs.com>
Subject: A response from Anonymous
Newsgroups: news.admin.policy,alt.privacy,comp.org.eff.talk,sci.space,sci.astro
swaim@owlnet.rice.edu (Michael Parks Swaim) wrote:
:In article <C2H3vH.I00@ddsw1.mcs.com> barnhart@ddsw1.mcs.com (Mr. Aaron Barnhart) writes:
:> *And* it needs net citizens who do not boldly
:>go where they are not allowed -- that prohibition being in the form of
:>a password or similar wall of separation, not a dumb notice that says,
:>"Don't peek."
:
: Call me stupid, but I think that a plainly visible notice that says
:"Don't peek" should be enough. (No, I don't think that the SRI notice was
:plainly visible.)
Well, now, that makes it pretty dumb, doesn't it?
A.
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 93 04:13:29 GMT
From: "Mr. Aaron Barnhart" <barnhart@ddsw1.mcs.com>
Subject: A response from Anonymous
Newsgroups: news.admin.policy,alt.privacy,comp.org.eff.talk,sci.space,sci.astro
jsteiner@anwsun.phya.utoledo.edu (jason 'Think!' steiner) wrote:
:
:"oh no! i'm being threatened by anonymous email! who will come to my
:rescue?!?"
:
:*dan-ta-da-DAAAA!*
:
:"Don't worry leetle missy, *I'll* save you! For I am Mr. D-key!
D as in Dudley Do-Right, of course.
All right, my rhetorical bluff has been called. And I of all people,
who positively enjoys tossing the unopened non-personal mail in the
garbage before he even makes it upstairs to his room.
I am just leery about maintaining the balance between privacy and
freedom of expression/information. When I think of anonymous e-mail,
I do worry that folx whose agenda is curtailing harassment will wind
up curtailing a few of the rights I currently enjoy.
Anyway, my point was it's trickier navigating anonymous e-mail
issues compared with anonymous ftp (provided you run your site
correctly).
Aaron ("Mr. Peabody")
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 93 04:15:49 GMT
From: "Mr. Aaron Barnhart" <barnhart@ddsw1.mcs.com>
Subject: A response from Anonymous
Newsgroups: news.admin.policy,alt.privacy,comp.org.eff.talk,sci.space,sci.astro
vpsoc@cs.UAlberta.CA (Rob Eitzen) wrote:
:barnhart@ddsw1.mcs.com (Mr. Aaron Barnhart) writes:
:
:
:>Shift to e-mail, however, and the balance needs to be different,
:>since the absence of any kind of trail can lead to tremendous abuse
:>by poor net citizens. Real wankers can be tracked down if they use
:>ftp; but if anon e-mail were permitted, even that verifiable trail
:>would vanish. The beauty about anon ftp, of course, is you don't
:>need to use the log, provided you set up everything correctly, and
:>your bounty is truly everyone's to share. But who will protect the
:>recipients of unwelcome and anonymous e-mail?
:
:I don't understand why they need protecting. What protection is there
:for people from snail mail? If I wanted, I could write a nasty letter
:and hand-deliver it to a person's mailbox. There is no protection
:against this. I don't see it as being needed. Similarly for E-mail, is
:there a need for protection?
Perhaps as a compromise measure to keep the censors away from the
electronic frontier which, unlike the U.S. postal frontier, is new
and scary to a lot of people with a lot of time on their hands.
A.
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 93 16:34:27 GMT
From: peter bachman <pbachman@scott.skidmore.edu>
Subject: A response from Anonymous
Newsgroups: news.admin.policy,alt.privacy,comp.org.eff.talk,sci.space,sci.astro
OK anon, enough fooling around with the "pushing potion" how about
settling down and enjoying a nice hot cup of virtual espresso?
Dear readers of the net, anon poses a troublesome questioin of how one
can deconstruct an argument that comes from nowhere. The answer is
that his words map him(her) to physical spaceand thus communication is
possible. Witness the result of exchanging the proper symbols...well
Anon, what say ye?
PB
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 1993 16:17:40 GMT
From: "T. Joseph Lazio" <lazio@astrosun.tn.cornell.edu>
Subject: Atomic lines in the Heliosphere
Newsgroups: alt.sci.planetary,sci.misc,sci.astro,sci.space
I'm interested in finding out about emission or resonance lines
from interplanetary gas.
Most of the discussion I've seen centers on the He I (59.3 nm) and
the H I (121.5 nm, Ly alpha) lines. These have been used, for
example, to obtain the velocity of the interstellar gas flowing
through the solar system. I'd like to know if anyone has
observed other lines, particularly H I (656.3 nm, H alpha).
I've checked things like Ann. Rev. Astron. Astrophys.,
Ann. Rev. Earth and Plan. Sci., a data book from 1977 on the
Interplanetary Medium, checked references in some works
on the H I and He I lines, and scanned the annual indices for
a few JGR: Space Physics. So far, no dice.
Anybody have any other ideas?
--
T. Joseph Lazio
514 Space Sciences
Ithaca, NY 14853-6801
(607) 255-6420
lazio@astrosun.tn.cornell.edu
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 16:59:53 GMT
From: kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov
Subject: Book Computers/AI in Shuttle-SSF
Newsgroups: sci.space
On horribly long lines, and without benefit of a spelling
checker, nsmca@acad3.alaska.edu wrote:
: Hum. Power why not have the Boo Computer when it was out of the Shuttle
: have a small solar power cell (properly protected).
And when you're working in shadow?
: Glare. Hum. Mayeb have a display unit inthe helmet of the suit, that
: the book can plug into it.. Maybe have a place to attached the book
: computer into on the suit back pack. Make the book able to understand
: the voice (I know in the future).
We were investigating all of these when we ran out of funding for the
project, even voice control. We had that one working in the lab, but
the suit microphones and other factors distort the voice a bit. We've
flown a couple of voice control experiments. One had problems
recognizing an astronaut's voice from its pre-flight example because
zero-G physiological effects (fluid shift, stretching, etc.) had
actually changed his vocal patterns. (The same effects make you
sound funny if you have a cold.)
: Disk Drive? Why have a drive at all.. maybe a RAM Drive or have a set
: channel that the book sends its info to and fro the shuttle.. Why have
: a disk drive as long as you are close the the shuttle. Have a RAM
: driver and have a auto dump feature (where the RAM Drive would dump its
: memory to the Shuttle, to clear out the memory and to save what needs
: to be saved).
We need to put several megabytes of data into the machine. A few years
ago, "several megabytes" consumed too much power and space for this
particular application. Now, of course, RAM technology has improved
to the point where this would be possible, but high density RAM
chips have problems with the ionizing radiation we encounter outside
the crew compartment.
That "download from the Orbiter" technique requires a fast comm channel
which doesn't currently exist.
: Why radio? maybe a laser (lower power) when the down load happens..
Lasers are limited to line of sight, but radio signals go through and
around obstructions like suits and human bodies. Our safety guys get
all worried about laser light blinding astronauts. (I could tell
stories about the problems getting an optical mouse flown inside the
crew compartment. The safety gang went a little bonkers about the
brightness of the LED inside the mouse.)
: The main CPU might be in the backpack, but the "screen" and "I/O
: device" would be inthe helmet.. And the downloading device would be on
: top of the helmet(?).
:
: HEads up display might be voice controlled or on ??
Again, these are options we had actually tested in hardware before
funding ran out. Right now, we don't have the bucks for these "bells
and whistles." The argument goes like this: Paper checklists have been
good enough for every EVA performed so far. Why do we need an EVA book
computer now? If the Space Station Freedom Program needs it, let THEM
pay for it.
I don't agree with that, but that's how it's going right now. If you
are really, really interested, you might do some work as a Master's
thesis or Doctoral dissertation. There is room for volunteer work,
but it's currently very hard to volunteer for this stuff.
-- Ken Jenks, NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office
kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov (713) 483-4368
"We want to abolish the 'not invented here' syndrome
which breeds insularity and fails to seize the good ideas within
and outside of NASA."
-- Daniel S. Goldin, NASA Administrator
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 93 18:03:37 GMT
From: Matthew E Jorat <mjorat@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: HELP/QUESTION: remote characterization of rock/soil on Mars
Newsgroups: sci.space
I am a graduate student in engineering. Currently, I am working on a project
that requires characterization of various materials by using remotely operated
equipment.
Some years ago, a space craft (the name of the craft escapes me) landed on
Mars, and took samples of rocks and soil on the surface of the planet. As far
as I know, the samples were analyzed remotely (on the surface of Mars). My
question is how was such analysis performed? What type of chemical/physical
processes would be able to identify characteristics of soil and rocks (or
anything else for that matter) remotely? For instance, how did the scientists
on earth determine whether the soil was organic or inorganic? How did they
determine the composition of rocks (which elements were the rocks composed of)?
If you can help me, please contact me via E-Mail. I appreciate any assistance
in advance.
MJ
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 10:47:14 GMT
From: /G=Rhodri/S=James/O=SJ-Research/ADMD=INTERSPAN/C=GB/@mhs-relay.ac.uk
Subject: Help requested
Newsgroups: sci.space
Does anyone know how to get in touch with Helen Sharman? I am asking on
behalf of Sou'Wester, the 1993 UK Eastercon. Please reply by EMail
because I do not get this newsgroup fed to me.
Thanks in advance,
Rhodri James
--
Rhodri.James%sj.interspan.gb@mhs-relay.ac.uk
or
RMJ10@phx.cam.ac.uk
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 1993 07:39:05 -0500
From: Pat <prb@access.digex.com>
Subject: HST repair mission
Newsgroups: sci.space
In article <1993Feb14.142749.2901@ke4zv.uucp> gary@ke4zv.UUCP (Gary Coffman) writes:
>half smiley, look up GE's TIMs program.) As to software, I don't know
>which instrument is responsible for fine pointing, but if it is one
>that is left off of Jr, then some redesign is definitely required.
>
Guidance comes from thhe Fine guidance system. A series of three banana
shaped ccd, which tap light off the WF/PC? My understanding is the
FGS is considered almost a separate science instrument on it's own.
------------------------------
Date: 16 Feb 93 19:47:00 GMT
From: Bruce Watson <wats@scicom.AlphaCDC.COM>
Subject: More The future *is* what it used to be
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.aeronautics
From _Satellite_, Bergaust and Beller, 1956, p. 31
"Professor P. E. Sandorff of Massachusetts Insitute of Technology,
five weeks prior to President Eisenhower's announcement of the Vanguard
project, offered interesting details of what he termed the
airplane-launching method. Sandorff considers the possibility of
launching a satellite vehicle with a 500-pound payload from an
aircraft (such as the B-52) at 9.5 miles' altitude. In this way,
by lifting the vehicle through much of the atmosphere and adding
the aircraft's speed to the vehicle, a satellite could be
launched with a lower weight and cost than would be the case
for a ground-launched vehicle."
Another tribute to the staying power of the B-52.
--
Bruce Watson (wats@scicom.alphaCDC.COM) Bulletin 629-49 Item 6700 Extract 75,131
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 93 18:43:42 EST
From: Tom <18084TM@msu.edu>
Subject: Organics on Saturn, Jupiter, Titan
Peter T. sez:
>>Correct me if I'm wrong but if I remember correctly, Voyager 2
>>detected organic molecules in Saturn's upper atmosphere or
>>in one of it's rings, and I concluded that thats what this is all
>>about.
Ron Baalke responds:
>No life has been detected on Saturn, nor anywhere else in the solar system
>outside of Earth. Organic molecules were detected by Voyager in the
>atmosphere of Titan, the largest moon around Saturn. ...
Doesn't Jupiter also have organics floating around in it's atmosphere,
mostly methane, which cause all the reddish/brown coloring?
Guess we'll have to wait for Galileo to know what and how much.
-Tommy Mac
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tom McWilliams | 517-355-2178 (work) \\ Inhale to the Chief!
18084tm@ibm.cl.msu.edu | 336-9591 (hm)\\ Zonker Harris in 1996!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 17:39:16 GMT
From: kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov
Subject: PEGASUS QUESTION
Newsgroups: sci.space
Lawrence Curcio (lc2b+@andrew.cmu.edu) wrote:
: [...] while taking advantage of at least some of airplane's velocity.
Although pointing the vehicle in the right direction helps somewhat,
adding a couple of hundred kph doesn't really do you that much good.
The airplane's velocity is not a sizeable fraction of orbital
velocity.
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 21:47:22 GMT
From: Ed McCreary <edm@gocart.twisto.compaq.com>
Subject: Pictures of Mars wanted
Newsgroups: sci.space
>>>>> On Sun, 14 Feb 1993 17:40:57 GMT, chenina@rhrk.uni-kl.de (Robert Chenina [Chemie]) said:
RC[> Hello Earth!
RC[> I'm looking for some pictures from the Viking mission. The pictures
RC[> are details obout the region called _Cydonia Mensae_ (approx. 40.9N,
RC[> 9.45W) and referenced as:
RC[> 35A72, 70A13, 673B56, 753A33.
35A72 and 70A13 can be found at:
cs.ubc.ca under pub/local/image/mars
phoenix.oulu.fi under pub/ufo_and_space_pics
I've not seen the other two specifically listed at any ftp site. It's
possible that there are on the raw Viking CDROMs, but I doubt it.
It's also possible that these two are part of a mosaic found on the
MDIM set. I'll check both of these tonight and post a followup.
--
Ed McCreary ,__o
edm@gocart.eng.hou.compaq.com _-\_<,
"If it were not for laughter, there would be no Tao." (*)/'(*)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 01:59:51 GMT
From: Enzo Liguori <enzo@research.canon.oz.au>
Subject: Saturn Life
Newsgroups: sci.space
Peter T. writes:
>Recently a friend of mine asked me if I know anything about
>life on Saturn {no not interdimensional garb}. Apparently a
>friend of a friend of ....... , said something about life being
>found on Saturn and heard it on the local news.
>
>Correct me if I'm wrong but if I remember correctly, Voyager 2
>detected organic molecules in Saturn's upper atmosphere or
>in one of it's rings, and I concluded that thats what this is all
>about.
>Does anyone know otherwise?
The idea of life in the atmosphere of the gas giants is rather old and
not completely absurd. After all (if I well remember temperature-altitude
profiles of Jupter atmosphere) the ambient temperature when the pressure
reachs 1-2 bars should be in the range 0-100 degrees Celsius and therefore
compatible with the existence of pretty complex organic compounds.
The composition of such atmosphere, although different from the one of
the Earth, is similar to the one used by Miller in its famous experiment
which generated from ordinary gases like hydrogen, ammonia, nitrogen, carbon
dioxide, with the only help of UV light and electric spikes, aminoacids.
Infacts many organic compounds have been detected in the gas giants and
they are even believed to give the characteristic colour to the Jupter
clouds (I don't know which compounds, though).
This, in principle, but the thing is pretty controversial, could lead to
the appearence of self replicating molecules. From there the steps to life
forms as we know them are easier to imagine (have a look at - The Blind
Watchmaker - R. Dawskin - Penguin).
Unfortunately all these nice dreams can be easly shattered if you think
that the gas giants atmospheres are very turbolent, with a lot of
termoconvettive motion from the deep hot to the cold surface and viceversa.
It's thus very unlikely that many complex organic compound could survive
to such exercise.
On the other hand gas giants have been there for a very long time and are
also very large. Lots of time and space are believed to be important factors
to the rise of self replicating molecules. Who knows.
>Cheers
>Peter T.
Enzo
--
Vincenzo Liguori | enzo@research.canon.oz.au
Canon Information Systems Research Australia | Phone +61 2 805 2983
PO Box 313 NORTH RYDE NSW 2113 | Fax +61 2 805 2929
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 1993 13:22:12 GMT
From: "Nic Percival (x5336" <nmp@mfltd.co.uk>
Subject: sci.space
Newsgroups: sci.space
I thought this newsgroup was about science or space. Apparently its
about netiquette.
--
Nic Percival | |
Micro Focus | "Anything is good and useful | nmp@mfltd.co.uk
Newbury | if it's made of chocolate.." | (0635) 32646 Ext 5336
Berks, RG13 1JT | |
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 93 17:15:35 GMT
From: Henry Spencer <henry@zoo.toronto.edu>
Subject: sci.space
Newsgroups: sci.space
In article <1993Feb17.132212.5708@mfltd.co.uk> nmp@mfltd.co.uk writes:
>I thought this newsgroup was about science or space. Apparently its
>about netiquette.
Pointless flame wars about netiquette erupt occasionally in almost all
unmoderated groups. If you don't like it and want it to go away,
the right thing to do -- apart from possibly adding suitable items to
your kill file, if your newsreader supports one -- is to grit your
teeth and IGNORE IT. It will die quickly if everyone just shuts up
about it. (It's not as if arguing is going to accomplish anything
anyway.)
--
C++ is the best example of second-system| Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
effect since OS/360. | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 93 06:55:16 GMT
From: Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey <higgins@fnalf.fnal.gov>
Subject: sci.space (also Re: A response from Anonymous)
Newsgroups: sci.space
In article <C2Lry1.CC5@zoo.toronto.edu>, henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes:
> In article <1993Feb17.132212.5708@mfltd.co.uk> nmp@mfltd.co.uk writes:
>>I thought this newsgroup was about science or space. Apparently its
>>about netiquette.
>
> If you don't like it and want it to go away,
> the right thing to do -- apart from possibly adding suitable items to
> your kill file, if your newsreader supports one -- is to grit your
> teeth and IGNORE IT. It will die quickly if everyone just shuts up
> about it.
Henry is right, of course, but I'd like to mention one thing that may
have eluded some readers on sci.space, Nic Percival and Jason Cooper
among them.
The thread "Subject: Re: A response from Anonymous" is cross-posted to
five newsgroups.
>Newsgroups: news.admin.policy,alt.privacy,comp.org.eff.talk,sci.space,sci.astro
In some of these newsgroups, endless discussion about the merits of
anonymous posting is entirely appropriate. But people who are posting
followups in those groups are probably not aware that the space people
and the astronomy people are getting annoyed at slogging through the
thread.
If people removed the sci.* groups from the followup list, the world
would be a better place.
On a few occasions when I had a lot of time on my hands, I sent a
polite message to every person posting to inapproriate groups in a
thread and pointed out the fact. They were always very nice about
acknowledging the mistake and fixing it. I don't have time for this
now but possibly someone else wants to try it.
Bill Higgins, Beam Jockey | "Treat your password like
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory | your toothbrush. Don't let
Bitnet: HIGGINS@FNAL.BITNET | anybody else use it--
Internet: HIGGINS@FNAL.FNAL.GOV | and get a new one every
SPAN/Hepnet: 43011::HIGGINS | six months." --Cliff Stoll
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 1993 17:49:44 GMT
From: Tim Thompson <tjt@Jpl.Nasa.Gov>
Subject: SETI and Virtual Reality
Newsgroups: sci.space
In response to an earlier query, I am quite confident that the NASA SETI
program has nothing to do with virtual reality. Remember, communication with
any possible aliens is definitely NOT part of the NASA SETI project. It is
strictly a radio search for extraterrestrial signals of an intelligent nature.
Detection of such a signal is the project's sole purpose, responding to any
such signal has never been considered as part of the NASA SETI project. Of course,
I suspect that if such a signal is detected, someone will become interested in
the communication aspects.
---
ALL OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE MINE ALONE. BELIEVE THEM AT YOUR OWN RISK.
I AM NOT AN OFFICIAL OR UNOFFICIAL SPOKESMAN FOR THE SETI/HRMS PROJECT.
------------------------------------------------------------
Timothy J. Thompson, Earth and Space Sciences Division, JPL.
Assistant Administrator, Division Science Computing Network.
Secretary, Los Angeles Astronomical Society.
Member, BOD, Mount Wilson Observatory Association.
INTERnet/BITnet: tjt@scn1.jpl.nasa.gov
NSI/DECnet: jplsc8::tim
SCREAMnet: YO!! TIM!!
GPSnet: 118:10:22.85 W by 34:11:58.27 N
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 93 14:25:09 GMT
From: "Allen W. Sherzer" <aws@iti.org>
Subject: Sherzer Column?
Newsgroups: sci.space
In article <1993Feb15.133454.21974@cs.ucf.edu> clarke@acme.ucf.edu (Thomas Clarke) writes:
>Is your column syndicated? Where does it appear?
>I think I would like to read it!
The column appears in most of the NSS chapter newsletters. I also post it
to talk.politics.space and the NSS BBS system. From there it wanders into
a number of other newtowks and BBSs.
The column is written with Tim Kyger who is the space staffer for Rep.
Dana Rohrabacker (R-CA).
Allen
--
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Allen W. Sherzer | "A great man is one who does nothing but leaves |
| aws@iti.org | nothing undone" |
+----------------------118 DAYS TO FIRST FLIGHT OF DCX----------------------+
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 16 Feb 1993 16:13:58 GMT
From: Ed McCreary <edm@gocart.twisto.compaq.com>
Subject: SSTO news
Newsgroups: sci.space
>>>>> On Sun, 14 Feb 1993 22:53:00 GMT, rhealey@rogue.digibd.com (Rob Healey) said:
RH> In article <pgf.729662816@srl03.cacs.usl.edu>, pgf@srl03.cacs.usl.edu (Phil G. Fraering) writes:
RH> |> goods. If you want US manufacturing to stay alive, buy something else.
RH> |> Like an Amiga. Or an Atari. While you can. It's too goddamn late for
RH> |> you to stop acting retarded and buy a NeXT.
RH> Commodore stopped producing Amiga's in the US last year. Their
RH> main facilitys are in Hong Kong, Germany and Scotland(?). I
RH> don't think Atari's are made in the US either. I believe Apple's
RH> are the only US made computer on the micro market and they
RH> spend alot of their money in litigation over look and feel; sigh...
Aren't you forgetting someone?!? (hint, hint, look at my address).
--
Ed McCreary ,__o
edm@gocart.eng.hou.compaq.com _-\_<,
"If it were not for laughter, there would be no Tao." (*)/'(*)
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 17 Feb 93 09:53:09 GMT
From: Ata Etemadi <atae@prawn.ph.ic>
Subject: Virtual Reality research at NASA
Newsgroups: sci.space
G'Day
I have heard that at NASA there is ongoing research into VR. Anyone have
any more information about what NASA or ESA are doing in this area ? While
on the subject, does anyone know if SETI are using VR ? I would have thought
this is one way to _be_ an alien, and hence establish possible communication
protocols.
regards
Ata <(|)>.
--
| Mail Dr Ata Etemadi, Blackett Laboratory, |
| Space and Atmospheric Physics Group, |
| Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine, |
| Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BZ, ENGLAND |
| Internet/Arpanet/Earn/Bitnet atae@spva.ph.ic.ac.uk or ata@c.mssl.ucl.ac.uk |
| Span SPVA::atae or MSSLC:atae |
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 93 14:53:47 GMT
From: Richard Ottolini <stgprao@st.unocal.COM>
Subject: Virtual Reality research at NASA
Newsgroups: sci.space
In article <1993Feb17.095309.18657@cc.ic.ac.uk> atae@prawn.ph.ic (Ata Etemadi) writes:
>G'Day
>
>I have heard that at NASA there is ongoing research into VR. Anyone have
>any more information about what NASA or ESA are doing in this area ? While
>on the subject, does anyone know if SETI are using VR ? I would have thought
>this is one way to _be_ an alien, and hence establish possible communication
>protocols.
As an aside, NASA pretty much invented the subject at its Ames
Lab in Mountain View. In the early 1980s they applied flight
simulator technology to other uses such as remote operation
of planetary robots, immersive space station simulation, and
so on. At that time the technology was incrediably expensive
requiring a couple of dedicated minicomputers and top-of-the-line
graphics terminals. Other Silicon Valley companies,
most notibly VPL, commercialized the technology and brought costs
down. VPL also coined the current term of virtual reality.
------------------------------
End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 196
------------------------------