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Date: Fri, 2 Apr 93 05:26:40
From: Space Digest maintainer <digests@isu.isunet.edu>
Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu
Subject: Space Digest V16 #404
To: Space Digest Readers
Precedence: bulk
Space Digest Fri, 2 Apr 93 Volume 16 : Issue 404
Today's Topics:
Earth's atmospheric pressure constant over geolgic time?
How do they ignite the SSME?
Space FAQ 06/15 - Constants and Equations
Space FAQ 12/15 - Controversial Questions
Space FAQ 13/15 - Interest Groups & Publications
the call to space (was Re: Clueless Szaboisms )
Venus is covered with water?
Why use AC at 20kHz for SSF power
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: 1 Apr 93 11:35:51 GMT
From: Flemming Sylvest Johansen <fsj@csd.cri.dk>
Subject: Earth's atmospheric pressure constant over geolgic time?
Newsgroups: sci.space
robert.f.casey (wa2ise@cbnewsb.cb.att.com) wrote:
: All this mention of Venus's atmosphere at about 100 atm makes me wonder
: why, if Earth is even a bit more massive than Venus, the Earth doesn't
: also have a thicker atmosphere? Probably the oceans made limestone
: of lots of CO2? Anyway, do we know if the atmospheric pressure has
: been constant over millions of years? Maybe those pterdytals (sp, those
: flying dinosaur era reptiles) flew in a thicker atmosphere. Flying in
: a 3 atm atmosphere could be a lot easier to do. Has this issue ever been
: looked at?
I vaguely recall once hearing of a study on the composition of air
found in small cavities in amber. Apparently, the atmosphere at the
time of creation for the amber was much richer in oxygen than it is
today (~ 30%). Of course, the composition of the amber-trapped air
could have changed a lot over time.
Does anyone know more about this ?
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1993 22:01:19 GMT
From: "Carlos G. Niederstrasser" <phoenix.Princeton.EDU!carlosn@CRABAPPLE.SRV.CS.CMU.EDU>
Subject: How do they ignite the SSME?
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle,sci.space
The subject line says it all. My professor today could not remember how they
ignite these babies.
On a possible related subject, what are all the sparks flying around
underneath the engines just before takeoff?
---
---------------------------------------------------------------------
| Carlos G. Niederstrasser | Only two things are infinite, |
| Princeton Planetary Society | the universe and human |
| | stupidity, and I'm not sure |
| | about the former. - Einstein |
| carlosn@phoenix.princeton.edu |---------------------------------|
| space@phoenix.princeton.edu | Ad Astra per Ardua Nostra |
---------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: 1 Apr 93 09:57:28 GMT
From: Jon Leech <leech@cs.unc.edu>
Subject: Space FAQ 06/15 - Constants and Equations
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space,sci.answers,news.answers
Archive-name: space/constants
Last-modified: $Date: 93/04/01 14:39:04 $
CONSTANTS AND EQUATIONS FOR CALCULATIONS
This list was originally compiled by Dale Greer. Additions would be
appreciated.
Numbers in parentheses are approximations that will serve for most
blue-skying purposes.
Unix systems provide the 'units' program, useful in converting
between different systems (metric/English, etc.)
NUMBERS
7726 m/s (8000) -- Earth orbital velocity at 300 km altitude
3075 m/s (3000) -- Earth orbital velocity at 35786 km (geosync)
6371 km (6400) -- Mean radius of Earth
6378 km (6400) -- Equatorial radius of Earth
1738 km (1700) -- Mean radius of Moon
5.974e24 kg (6e24) -- Mass of Earth
7.348e22 kg (7e22) -- Mass of Moon
1.989e30 kg (2e30) -- Mass of Sun
3.986e14 m^3/s^2 (4e14) -- Gravitational constant times mass of Earth
4.903e12 m^3/s^2 (5e12) -- Gravitational constant times mass of Moon
1.327e20 m^3/s^2 (13e19) -- Gravitational constant times mass of Sun
384401 km ( 4e5) -- Mean Earth-Moon distance
1.496e11 m (15e10) -- Mean Earth-Sun distance (Astronomical Unit)
1 megaton (MT) TNT = about 4.2e15 J or the energy equivalent of
about .05 kg (50 gm) of matter. Ref: J.R Williams, "The Energy Level
of Things", Air Force Special Weapons Center (ARDC), Kirtland Air
Force Base, New Mexico, 1963. Also see "The Effects of Nuclear
Weapons", compiled by S. Glasstone and P.J. Dolan, published by the
US Department of Defense (obtain from the GPO).
EQUATIONS
Where d is distance, v is velocity, a is acceleration, t is time.
Additional more specialized equations are available from:
ames.arc.nasa.gov:pub/SPACE/FAQ/MoreEquations
For constant acceleration
d = d0 + vt + .5at^2
v = v0 + at
v^2 = 2ad
Acceleration on a cylinder (space colony, etc.) of radius r and
rotation period t:
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)
t (unaccelerated) = c/a * sinh(a*t/c)
d = c**2/a * (cosh(a*t/c) - 1)
v = c * tanh(a*t/c)
Relativistic rocket with exhaust velocity Ve and mass ratio MR:
at/c = Ve/c * ln(MR), or
t (unaccelerated) = c/a * sinh(Ve/c * ln(MR))
d = c**2/a * (cosh(Ve/C * ln(MR)) - 1)
v = c * tanh(Ve/C * ln(MR))
Converting from parallax to distance:
d (in parsecs) = 1 / p (in arc seconds)
d (in astronomical units) = 206265 / p
Miscellaneous
f=ma -- Force is mass times acceleration
w=fd -- Work (energy) is force times distance
Atmospheric density varies as exp(-mgz/kT) where z is altitude, m is
molecular weight in kg of air, g is local acceleration of gravity, T
is temperature, k is Bolztmann's constant. On Earth up to 100 km,
d = d0*exp(-z*1.42e-4)
where d is density, d0 is density at 0km, is approximately true, so
d@12km (40000 ft) = d0*.18
d@9 km (30000 ft) = d0*.27
d@6 km (20000 ft) = d0*.43
d@3 km (10000 ft) = d0*.65
Atmospheric scale height Dry lapse rate
(in km at emission level) (K/km)
------------------------- --------------
Earth 7.5 9.8
Mars 11 4.4
Venus 4.9 10.5
Titan 18 1.3
Jupiter 19 2.0
Saturn 37 0.7
Uranus 24 0.7
Neptune 21 0.8
Triton 8 1
Titius-Bode Law for approximating planetary distances:
R(n) = 0.4 + 0.3 * 2^N Astronomical Units (N = -infinity for
Mercury, 0 for Venus, 1 for Earth, etc.)
This fits fairly well except for Neptune.
CONSTANTS
6.62618e-34 J-s (7e-34) -- Planck's Constant "h"
1.054589e-34 J-s (1e-34) -- Planck's Constant / (2 * PI), "h bar"
1.3807e-23 J/K (1.4e-23) - Boltzmann's Constant "k"
5.6697e-8 W/m^2/K (6e-8) -- Stephan-Boltzmann Constant "sigma"
6.673e-11 N m^2/kg^2 (7e-11) -- Newton's Gravitational Constant "G"
0.0029 m K (3e-3) -- Wien's Constant "sigma(W)"
3.827e26 W (4e26) -- Luminosity of Sun
1370 W / m^2 (1400) -- Solar Constant (intensity at 1 AU)
6.96e8 m (7e8) -- radius of Sun
1738 km (2e3) -- radius of Moon
299792458 m/s (3e8) -- speed of light in vacuum "c"
9.46053e15 m (1e16) -- light year
206264.806 AU (2e5) -- \
3.2616 light years (3) -- --> parsec
3.0856e16 m (3e16) -- /
Black Hole radius (also called Schwarzschild Radius):
2GM/c^2, where G is Newton's Grav Constant, M is mass of BH,
c is speed of light
Things to add (somebody look them up!)
Basic rocketry numbers & equations
Aerodynamical stuff
Energy to put a pound into orbit or accelerate to interstellar
velocities.
Non-circular cases?
NEXT: FAQ #7/15 - Astronomical Mnemonics
------------------------------
Date: 1 Apr 93 10:00:29 GMT
From: Jon Leech <leech@cs.unc.edu>
Subject: Space FAQ 12/15 - Controversial Questions
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.answers,news.answers
Archive-name: space/controversy
Last-modified: $Date: 93/04/01 14:39:06 $
CONTROVERSIAL QUESTIONS
These issues periodically come up with much argument and few facts being
offered. The summaries below attempt to represent the position on which
much of the net community has settled. Please DON'T bring them up again
unless there's something truly new to be discussed. The net can't set
public policy, that's what your representatives are for.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SATURN V PLANS
Despite a widespread belief to the contrary, the Saturn V blueprints
have not been lost. They are kept at Marshall Space Flight Center on
microfilm.
The problem in re-creating the Saturn V is not finding the drawings, it
is finding vendors who can supply mid-1960's vintage hardware (like
guidance system components), and the fact that the launch pads and VAB
have been converted to Space Shuttle use, so you have no place to launch
from.
By the time you redesign to accommodate available hardware and re-modify
the launch pads, you may as well have started from scratch with a clean
sheet design.
WHY DATA FROM SPACE MISSIONS ISN'T IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE
Investigators associated with NASA missions are allowed exclusive access
for one year after the data is obtained in order to give them an
opportunity to analyze the data and publish results without being
"scooped" by people uninvolved in the mission. However, NASA frequently
releases examples (in non-digital form, e.g. photos) to the public early
in a mission.
RISKS OF NUCLEAR (RTG) POWER SOURCES FOR SPACE PROBES
There has been extensive discussion on this topic sparked by attempts to
block the Galileo and Ulysses launches on grounds of the plutonium
thermal sources being dangerous. Numerous studies claim that even in
worst-case scenarios (shuttle explosion during launch, or accidental
reentry at interplanetary velocities), the risks are extremely small.
Two interesting data points are (1) The May 1968 loss of two SNAP 19B2
RTGs, which landed intact in the Pacific Ocean after a Nimbus B weather
satellite failed to reach orbit. The fuel was recovered after 5 months
with no release of plutonium. (2) In April 1970, the Apollo 13 lunar
module reentered the atmosphere and its SNAP 27 RTG heat source, which
was jettisoned, fell intact into the 20,000 feet deep Tonga Trench in
the Pacific Ocean. The corrosion resistant materials of the RTG are
expected to prevent release of the fuel for a period of time equal to 10
half-lives of the Pu-238 fuel or about 870 years [DOE 1980].
To make your own informed judgement, some references you may wish to
pursue are:
A good review of the technical facts and issues is given by Daniel
Salisbury in "Radiation Risk and Planetary Exploration-- The RTG
Controversy," *Planetary Report*, May-June 1987, pages 3-7. Another good
article, which also reviews the events preceding Galileo's launch,
"Showdown at Pad 39-B," by Robert G. Nichols, appeared in the November
1989 issue of *Ad Astra*. (Both magazines are published by pro-space
organizations, the Planetary Society and the National Space Society
respectively.)
Gordon L Chipman, Jr., "Advanced Space Nuclear Systems" (AAS 82-261), in
*Developing the Space Frontier*, edited by Albert Naumann and Grover
Alexander, Univelt, 1983, p. 193-213.
"Hazards from Plutonium Toxicity", by Bernard L. Cohen, Health Physics,
Vol 32 (may) 1977, page 359-379.
NUS Corporation, Safety Status Report for the Ulysses Mission: Risk
Analysis (Book 1). Document number is NUS 5235; there is no GPO #;
published Jan 31, 1990.
NASA Office of Space Science and Applications, *Final Environmental
Impact Statement for the Ulysses Mission (Tier 2)*, (no serial number or
GPO number, but probably available from NTIS or NASA) June 1990.
[DOE 1980] U.S. Department of Energy, *Transuranic Elements in the
Environment*, Wayne C. Hanson, editor; DOE Document No. DOE/TIC-22800;
Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., April 1980.)
IMPACT OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE ON THE OZONE LAYER
From time to time, claims are made that chemicals released from
the Space Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) are responsible
for a significant amount of damage to the ozone layer. Studies
indicate that they in reality have only a minute impact, both in
absolute terms and relative to other chemical sources. The
remainder of this item is a response from the author of the quoted
study, Charles Jackman.
The atmospheric modelling study of the space shuttle effects on the
stratosphere involved three independent theoretical groups, and was
organized by Dr. Michael Prather, NASA/Goddard Institute for Space
Studies. The three groups involved Michael Prather and Maria Garcia
(NASA/GISS), Charlie Jackman and Anne Douglass (NASA/Goddard Space
Flight Center), and Malcolm Ko and Dak Sze (Atmospheric and
Environmental Research, Inc.). The effort was to look at the effects
of the space shuttle and Titan rockets on the stratosphere.
The following are the estimated sources of stratospheric chlorine:
Industrial sources: 300,000,000 kilograms/year
Natural sources: 75,000,000 kilograms/year
Shuttle sources: 725,000 kilograms/year
The shuttle source assumes 9 space shuttles and 6 Titan rockets are
launched yearly. Thus the launches would add less than 0.25% to the
total stratospheric chlorine sources.
The effect on ozone is minimal: global yearly average total ozone would
be decreased by 0.0065%. This is much less than total ozone variability
associated with volcanic activity and solar flares.
The influence of human-made chlorine products on ozone is computed
by atmospheric model calculations to be a 1% decrease in globally
averaged ozone between 1980 and 1990. The influence of the space shuttle and
Titan rockets on the stratosphere is negligible. The launch
schedule of the Space Shuttle and Titan rockets would need to be
increased by over a factor of a hundred in order to have about
the same effect on ozone as our increases in industrial halocarbons
do at the present time.
Theoretical results of this study have been published in _The Space
Shuttle's Impact on the Stratosphere_, MJ Prather, MM Garcia, AR
Douglass, CH Jackman, M.K.W. Ko and N.D. Sze, Journal of Geophysical
Research, 95, 18583-18590, 1990.
Charles Jackman, Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics Branch,
Code 916, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD 20771
Also see _Chemical Rockets and the Environment_, A McDonald, R Bennett,
J Hinshaw, and M Barnes, Aerospace America, May 1991.
HOW LONG CAN A HUMAN LIVE UNPROTECTED IN SPACE
If you *don't* try to hold your breath, exposure to space for half a
minute or so is unlikely to produce permanent injury. Holding your
breath is likely to damage your lungs, something scuba divers have to
watch out for when ascending, and you'll have eardrum trouble if your
Eustachian tubes are badly plugged up, but theory predicts -- and animal
experiments confirm -- that otherwise, exposure to vacuum causes no
immediate injury. You do not explode. Your blood does not boil. You do
not freeze. You do not instantly lose consciousness.
Various minor problems (sunburn, possibly "the bends", certainly some
[mild, reversible, painless] swelling of skin and underlying tissue)
start after ten seconds or so. At some point you lose consciousness from
lack of oxygen. Injuries accumulate. After perhaps one or two minutes,
you're dying. The limits are not really known.
References:
_The Effect on the Chimpanzee of Rapid Decompression to a Near Vacuum_,
Alfred G. Koestler ed., NASA CR-329 (Nov 1965).
_Experimental Animal Decompression to a Near Vacuum Environment_, R.W.
Bancroft, J.E. Dunn, eds, Report SAM-TR-65-48 (June 1965), USAF School
of Aerospace Medicine, Brooks AFB, Texas.
HOW THE CHALLENGER ASTRONAUTS DIED
The Challenger shuttle launch was not destroyed in an explosion. This is
a well-documented fact; see the Rogers Commission report, for example.
What looked like an explosion was fuel burning after the external tank
came apart. The forces on the crew cabin were not sufficient to kill the
astronauts, never mind destroy their bodies, according to the Kerwin
team's medical/forensic report.
The astronauts were killed when the more-or-less intact cabin hit the
water at circa 200MPH, and their bodies then spent several weeks
underwater. Their remains were recovered, and after the Kerwin team
examined them, they were sent off to be buried.
USING THE SHUTTLE BEYOND LOW EARTH ORBIT
You can't use the shuttle orbiter for missions beyond low Earth orbit
because it can't get there. It is big and heavy and does not carry
enough fuel, even if you fill part of the cargo bay with tanks.
Furthermore, it is not particularly sensible to do so, because much of
that weight is things like wings, which are totally useless except in
the immediate vicinity of the Earth. The shuttle orbiter is highly
specialized for travel between Earth's surface and low orbit. Taking it
higher is enormously costly and wasteful. A much better approach would
be to use shuttle subsystems to build a specialized high-orbit
spacecraft.
[Yet another concise answer by Henry Spencer.]
THE "FACE ON MARS"
There really is a big rock on Mars that looks remarkably like a humanoid
face. It appears in two different frames of Viking Orbiter imagery:
35A72 (much more facelike in appearance, and the one more often
published, with the Sun 10 degrees above western horizon) and 70A13
(with the Sun 27 degrees from the west).
Science writer Richard Hoagland has championed the idea that the Face is
artificial, intended to resemble a human, and erected by an
extraterrestrial civilization. Most other analysts concede that the
resemblance is most likely accidental. Other Viking images show a
smiley-faced crater and a lava flow resembling Kermit the Frog elsewhere
on Mars. There exists a Mars Anomalies Research Society (sorry, don't
know the address) to study the Face.
The Mars Observer mission will carry an extremely high-resolution
camera, and better images of the formation will hopefully settle this
question in a few years. In the meantime, speculation about the Face is
best carried on in the altnet group alt.alien.visitors, not sci.space or
sci.astro.
V. DiPeitro and G. Molenaar, *Unusual Martian Surface Features*, Mars
Research, P.O. Box 284, Glen Dale, Maryland, USA, 1982. $18 by mail.
R.R. Pozos, *The Face of Mars*, Chicago Review Press, 1986. [Account of
an interdisciplinary speculative conference Hoagland organized to
investigate the Face]
R.C. Hoagland, *The Monuments of Mars: A City on the Edge of Forever*,
North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California, USA, 1987. [Elaborate
discussion of evidence and speculation that formations near the Face
form a city]
M.J. Carlotto, "Digital Imagery Analysis of Unusual Martian Surface
Features," *Applied Optics*, 27, pp. 1926-1933, 1987. [Extracts
three-dimensional model for the Face from the 2-D images]
M.J. Carlotto & M.C. Stein, "A Method of Searching for Artificial
Objects on Planetary Surfaces," *Journal of the British Interplanetary
Society*, Vol. 43 no. 5 (May 1990), p.209-216. [Uses a fractal image
analysis model to guess whether the Face is artificial]
B. O'Leary, "Analysis of Images of the `Face' on Mars and Possible
Intelligent Origin," *JBIS*, Vol. 43 no. 5 (May 1990), p. 203-208.
[Lights Carlotto's model from the two angles and shows it's consistent;
shows that the Face doesn't look facelike if observed from the surface]
NEXT: FAQ #13/15 - Space activist/interest/research groups & space publications
------------------------------
Date: 1 Apr 93 10:01:34 GMT
From: Jon Leech <leech@cs.unc.edu>
Subject: Space FAQ 13/15 - Interest Groups & Publications
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.answers,news.answers
Archive-name: space/groups
Last-modified: $Date: 93/04/01 14:39:08 $
SPACE ACTIVIST/INTEREST/RESEARCH GROUPS AND SPACE PUBLICATIONS
GROUPS
AIA -- Aerospace Industry Association. Professional group, with primary
membership of major aerospace firms. Headquartered in the DC area.
Acts as the "voice of the aerospace industry" -- and it's opinions
are usually backed up by reams of analyses and the reputations of
the firms in AIA.
[address needed]
AIAA -- American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Professional association, with somewhere about 30,000-40,000
members. 65 local chapters around the country -- largest chapters
are DC area (3000 members), LA (2100 members), San Francisco (2000
members), Seattle/NW (1500), Houston (1200) and Orange County
(1200), plus student chapters. Not a union, but acts to represent
aviation and space professionals (engineers, managers, financial
types) nationwide. Holds over 30 conferences a year on space and
aviation topics publishes technical Journals (Aerospace Journal,
Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, etc.), technical reference books
and is _THE_ source on current aerospace state of the art through
their published papers and proceedings. Also offers continuing
education classes on aerospace design. Has over 60 technical
committees, and over 30 committees for industry standards. AIAA acts
as a professional society -- offers a centralized resume/jobs
function, provides classes on job search, offers low-cost health and
life insurance, and lobbies for appropriate legislation (AIAA was
one of the major organizations pushing for IRAs - Individual
Retirement Accounts). Very active public policy arm -- works
directly with the media, congress and government agencies as a
legislative liaison and clearinghouse for inquiries about aerospace
technology technical issues. Reasonably non-partisan, in that they
represent the industry as a whole, and not a single company,
organization, or viewpoint.
Membership $70/yr (student memberships are less).
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The Aerospace Center
370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW
Washington, DC 20077-0820
(202)-646-7400
AMSAT - develops small satellites (since the 1960s) for a variety of
uses by amateur radio enthusiasts. Has various publications,
supplies QuickTrak satellite tracking software for PC/Mac/Amiga etc.
Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT)
P.O. Box 27
Washington, DC 20044
(301)-589-6062
ASERA - Australian Space Engineering and Research Association. An
Australian non-profit organisation to coordinate, promote, and
conduct space R&D projects in Australia, involving both Australian
and international (primarily university) collaborators. Activities
include the development of sounding rockets, small satellites
(especially microsatellites), high-altitude research balloons, and
appropriate payloads. Provides student projects at all levels, and
is open to any person or organisation interested in participating.
Publishes a monthly newsletter and a quarterly technical journal.
Membership $A100 (dual subscription)
Subscriptions $A25 (newsletter only) $A50 (journal only)
ASERA Ltd
PO Box 184
Ryde, NSW, Australia, 2112
email: lindley@syd.dit.csiro.au
BIS - British Interplanetary Society. Probably the oldest pro-space
group, BIS publishes two excellent journals: _Spaceflight_, covering
current space activities, and the _Journal of the BIS_, containing
technical papers on space activities from near-term space probes to
interstellar missions. BIS has published a design study for an
interstellar probe called _Daedalus_.
British Interplanetary Society
27/29 South Lambeth Road
London SW8 1SZ
ENGLAND
No dues information available at present.
ISU - International Space University. ISU is a non-profit international
graduate-level educational institution dedicated to promoting the
peaceful exploration and development of space through multi-cultural
and multi-disciplinary space education and research. For further
information on ISU's summer session program or Permanent Campus
activities please send messages to 'information@isu.isunet.edu' or
contact the ISU Executive Offices at:
International Space University
955 Massachusetts Avenue 7th Floor
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617)-354-1987 (phone)
(617)-354-7666 (fax)
L-5 Society (defunct). Founded by Keith and Carolyn Henson in 1975 to
advocate space colonization. Its major success was in preventing US
participation in the UN "Moon Treaty" in the late 1970s. Merged with
the National Space Institute in 1987, forming the National Space
Society.
NSC - National Space Club. Open for general membership, but not well
known at all. Primarily comprised of professionals in aerospace
industry. Acts as information conduit and social gathering group.
Active in DC, with a chapter in LA. Monthly meetings with invited
speakers who are "heavy hitters" in the field. Annual "Outlook on
Space" conference is _the_ definitive source of data on government
annual planning for space programs. Cheap membership (approx
$20/yr).
[address needed]
NSS - the National Space Society. NSS is a pro-space group distinguished
by its network of local chapters. Supports a general agenda of space
development and man-in-space, including the NASA space station.
Publishes _Ad Astra_, a monthly glossy magazine, and runs Shuttle
launch tours and Space Hotline telephone services. A major sponsor
of the annual space development conference. Associated with
Spacecause and Spacepac, political lobbying organizations.
Membership $18 (youth/senior) $35 (regular).
National Space Society
Membership Department
922 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E.
Washington, DC 20003-2140
(202)-543-1900
Planetary Society - founded by Carl Sagan. The largest space advocacy
group. Publishes _Planetary Report_, a monthly glossy, and has
supported SETI hardware development financially. Agenda is primarily
support of space science, recently amended to include an
international manned mission to Mars.
The Planetary Society
65 North Catalina Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91106
Membership $35/year.
SSI - the Space Studies Institute, founded by Dr. Gerard O'Neill.
Physicist Freeman Dyson took over the Presidency of SSI after
O'Neill's death in 1992. Publishes _SSI Update_, a bimonthly
newsletter describing work-in-progress. Conducts a research program
including mass-drivers, lunar mining processes and simulants,
composites from lunar materials, solar power satellites. Runs the
biennial Princeton Conference on Space Manufacturing.
Membership $25/year. Senior Associates ($100/year and up) fund most
SSI research.
Space Studies Institute
258 Rosedale Road
PO Box 82
Princeton, NJ 08540
SEDS - Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. Founded in
1980 at MIT and Princeton. SEDS is a chapter-based pro-space
organization at high schools and universities around the world.
Entirely student run. Each chapter is independent and coordinates
its own local activities. Nationally, SEDS runs a scholarship
competition, design contests, and holds an annual international
conference and meeting in late summer.
Students for the Exploration and Development of Space
MIT Room W20-445
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617)-253-8897
email: odyssey@athena.mit.edu
Dues determined by local chapter.
SPACECAUSE - A political lobbying organization and part of the NSS
Family of Organizations. Publishes a bi-monthly newsletter,
Spacecause News. Annual dues is $25. Members also receive a discount
on _The Space Activist's Handbook_. Activities to support pro-space
legislation include meeting with political leaders and interacting
with legislative staff. Spacecause primarily operates in the
legislative process.
National Office West Coast Office
Spacecause Spacecause
922 Pennsylvania Ave. SE 3435 Ocean Park Blvd.
Washington, D.C. 20003 Suite 201-S
(202)-543-1900 Santa Monica, CA 90405
SPACEPAC - A political action committee and part of the NSS Family of
Organizations. Spacepac researches issues, policies, and candidates.
Each year, updates _The Space Activist's Handbook_. Current Handbook
price is $25. While Spacepac does not have a membership, it does
have regional contacts to coordinate local activity. Spacepac
primarily operates in the election process, contributing money and
volunteers to pro-space candidates.
Spacepac
922 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
Washington, DC 20003
(202)-543-1900
UNITED STATES SPACE FOUNDATION - a public, non-profit organization
supported by member donations and dedicated to promoting
international education, understanding and support of space. The
group hosts an annual conference for teachers and others interested
in education. Other projects include developing lesson plans that
use space to teach other basic skills such as reading. Publishes
"Spacewatch," a monthly B&W glossy magazine of USSF events and
general space news. Annual dues:
Charter $50 ($100 first year)
Individual $35
Teacher $29
College student $20
HS/Jr. High $10
Elementary $5
Founder & $1000+
Life Member
United States Space Foundation
PO Box 1838
Colorado Springs, CO 80901
(719)-550-1000
WORLD SPACE FOUNDATION - has been designing and building a solar-sail
spacecraft for longer than any similar group; many JPL employees lend
their talents to this project. WSF also provides partial funding for the
Palomar Sky Survey, an extremely successful search for near-Earth
asteroids. Publishes *Foundation News* and *Foundation Astronautics
Notebook*, each a quarterly 4-8 page newsletter. Contributing Associate,
minimum of $15/year (but more money always welcome to support projects).
World Space Foundation
Post Office Box Y
South Pasadena, California 91301
PUBLICATIONS
Aerospace Daily (McGraw-Hill)
Very good coverage of aerospace and space issues. Approx. $1400/yr.
Air & Space / Smithsonian (bimonthly magazine)
Box 53261
Boulder, CO 80332-3261
$18/year US, $24/year international
ESA - The European Space Agency publishes a variety of periodicals,
generally available free of charge. A document describing them in
more detail is in the Ames SPACE archive in
pub/SPACE/FAQ/ESAPublications.
Final Frontier (mass-market bimonthly magazine) - history, book reviews,
general-interest articles (e.g. "The 7 Wonders of the Solar System",
"Everything you always wanted to know about military space
programs", etc.)
Final Frontier Publishing Co.
PO Box 534
Mt. Morris, IL 61054-7852
$14.95/year US, $19.95 Canada, $23.95 elsewhere
Space News (weekly magazine) - covers US civil and military space
programs. Said to have good political and business but spotty
technical coverage.
Space News
Springfield VA 22159-0500
(703)-642-7330
$75/year, may have discounts for NSS/SSI members
Journal of the Astronautical Sciences and Space Times - publications of
the American Astronautical Society. No details.
AAS Business Office
6352 Rolling Mill Place, Suite #102
Springfield, VA 22152
(703)-866-0020
GPS World (semi-monthly) - reports on current and new uses of GPS, news
and analysis of the system and policies affecting it, and technical
and product issues shaping GPS applications.
GPS World
859 Willamette St.
P.O. Box 10460
Eugene, OR 97440-2460
(503)-343-1200
Free to qualified individuals; write for free sample copy.
Innovation (Space Technology) -- Free. Published by the NASA Office of
Advanced Concepts and Technology. A revised version of the NASA
Office of Commercial Programs newsletter.
Planetary Encounter - in-depth technical coverage of planetary missions,
with diagrams, lists of experiments, interviews with people directly
involved.
World Spaceflight News - in-depth technical coverage of near-Earth
spaceflight. Mostly covers the shuttle: payload manifests, activity
schedules, and post-mission assessment reports for every mission.
Box 98
Sewell, NJ 08080
$30/year US/Canada
$45/year elsewhere
Space (bi-monthly magazine)
British aerospace trade journal. Very good. $75/year.
Space Calendar (weekly newsletter)
Space Daily/Space Fax Daily (newsletter)
Short (1 paragraph) news notes. Available online for a fee
(unknown).
Space Technology Investor/Commercial Space News -- irregular Internet
column on aspects of commercial space business. Free. Also limited
fax and paper edition.
P.O. Box 2452
Seal Beach, CA 90740-1452.
All the following are published by:
Phillips Business Information, Inc.
7811 Montrose Road
Potomac, MC 20854
Aerospace Financial News - $595/year.
Defense Daily - Very good coverage of space and defense issues.
$1395/year.
Space Business News (bi-weekly) - Very good overview of space
business activities. $497/year.
Space Exploration Technology (bi-weekly) - $495/year.
Space Station News (bi-weekly) - $497/year.
UNDOCUMENTED GROUPS
Anyone who would care to write up descriptions of the following
groups (or others not mentioned) for inclusion in the answer is
encouraged to do so.
AAS - American Astronautical Society
Other groups not mentioned above
NEXT: FAQ #14/15 - How to become an astronaut
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1993 22:21:26 GMT
From: fred j mccall 575-3539 <mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com>
Subject: the call to space (was Re: Clueless Szaboisms )
Newsgroups: sci.space
In <1pcge0$dua@access.digex.com> prb@access.digex.com (Pat) writes:
>Are canadian exports of Radio-nucliedes, also controlled by US
>rules. Technology export controls, that sort of thing?
Why would they be? They are, of course, subject to things like IAEA
rules. And the Canadian government might make some agreements with
the U.S. government. But have U.S. rules apply to Canada? I hadn't
even heard we'd annexed them yet. ;-)
--
"Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live
in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1993 11:27:11 GMT
From: Paul Dietz <dietz@cs.rochester.edu>
Subject: Venus is covered with water?
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
In article <1993Apr1.080619.3502@bby.com.au> gnb@leo.bby.com.au (Gregory N. Bond) writes:
> Which also explains the abnormally high abundance of Deuterium and
> Tritium. Being heavier than ordinary hydrogen, they are slower to
> "boil off". This preferentially increases their ratios.
Tritium? Hardly -- its halflife is only 12 years. Some might be
present on Venus from cosmic ray interactions, but only in very
small amounts, not enough to have yet been detected by experiments
done so far.
Paul
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1993 22:24:56 GMT
From: fred j mccall 575-3539 <mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com>
Subject: Why use AC at 20kHz for SSF power
Newsgroups: sci.space
In <1pche2$f82@access.digex.com> prb@access.digex.com (Pat) writes:
>In article <1993Mar30.181913.8218@mksol.dseg.ti.com> mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com (fred j mccall 575-3539) writes:
>|>On 23 Mar 1993 15:25:37 -0500, Pat <prb@access.digex.com> writes:
>|
>|>/PS. Aviation is a fairly large segment of the US economy. Larger
>|>/then you think. Dallas, Wichita, Seattle and St Louis make
>|>/aircraft a substantial part of their business.
>|Well, I'd agree with all but that last bit. We don't do that many
>|airplanes in Dallas, I don't think. Now, if you want to go over by Ft
>|Worth . . .
>|
>Well, If one wants to get picky, I was thinking of Arlington,
>that's where LTV is doing fuselage work for god knows who all.
>Boeing, McDac, Lockheed.... I just wrapped it up under the
>heading Dallas, cuz I doubt few people outside of texas have ever heard
>of Arlington. If i mentioned it, most people would think of
>Virginia.
>WHo'se located in Fort Worth?
General Dynamics. Bell Helicopter (nearby, actually, I think). Just
to name a couple of big ones.
--
"Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live
in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me.
------------------------------
End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 404
------------------------------