Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 7997;andrew.cmu.edu;Ted Anderson Received: from holmes.andrew.cmu.edu via trymail for +dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr1/ota/space/space.dl@andrew.cmu.edu (->+dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr1/ota/space/space.dl) (->ota+space.digests) ID ; Wed, 8 Mar 89 05:16:35 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Wed, 8 Mar 89 05:16:26 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V9 #282 SPACE Digest Volume 9 : Issue 282 Today's Topics: USSR's Progress 40 performs interesting operations at Mir SSI Lunar Probe Re: SSI Lunar Probe Canaveral Tours Re: Pigs will be pigs ... Re: Baseball Statistics as a test of Astrology planetary chemistry Re: 1992 moon base New mode of travel ? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 7 Mar 89 14:30:08 EST From: Glenn Chapman To: XB.N31@forsythe.stanford.edu, space-editors-new@andrew.cmu.edu, yaron@astro.as.utexas.edu Subject: USSR's Progress 40 performs interesting operations at Mir On Mar. 5th the Soviets announced on short wave the separation of the Progress 40 tanker from the Mir/Kvant space station and destroyed by reentry in the atmosphere. Progress 40 carried up about 2.3 tonnes of supplies up on Feb 10, making this 21 day docking period on the short side for such cargo craft (35 days is more typical). Progress 41 will probably be launched within the next few days. This rapid turn around in Progress 40 also suggests that they are still on track for the launching of the new expansion module in for April. There would be little need to quickly bring up more supplies if there was going to be a delay in docking the large, 20 Tonne module to Mir's front (ball) port section. Since that will probably force the tying up of the rear (supply) port with the Soyuz TM-7 capsule for several months a rapid run up in supplies before that occurs is expected. The exact timing of the Progress 41's ejection will be an important indicator here. More surprising than this undocking were some rather interesting experiments they performed with Progress 40. Just before separation the cargo craft unfolded and refolded a set of external support structures to be used in future for mounting test samples on. Mention was made of a special metal that took a specific shape on unfolding (is this one of the shape changing metals which will return to a set pattern when heated above some temperature, or simply some other sort of deployable structure?). These tests were done under the command and observation of the cosmonauts on Mir. One question here is were they just using the Progress as a convent test vehicle, or does this suggest this building up to the a more complicated Progress biased free flyer. The Russians have previously talked about having a Progress type craft dock with the station, be serviced by the cosmonauts (removing processed materials and inserting new supplies) then undock and fly near the Mir while ultralow gravity experiments are performed. Progress 32 back in Nov. 17, 1987, undocked from the station, then backed away and flew near it for a while. That was possibly a test of one aspect of the free flyer, while this may be another. Another point to keep in mind is that the Soviets have already stated that the Progress series is undergoing a redesign. This is not too surprising since the first of these cargo craft, Progress 1, flew in Jan. 1978 to Salyut 6, and there have only been minor changes since then. On Mir itself Alexander Volkov and Sergei Krikalev (Soyuz TM-7) just passed 100 days in orbit on Mar. 6th, while Dr. Valrey Polyakov (Soyuz TM-6) has been up there for 189 days. Take them for what they are worth but there are some reports that Polyakov may not come down in April (I have not see the actual article as of yet though Jonathan McDowell of Harvard related the info to me). Considering that Polyakov was originally expected to land Dec. 21 he may just be getting a bit worried about when he is going to come down. I find it interesting in the middle of the manned vs unmanned debat here the Soviets maintain a continously crewed space station while sending at the same time their most complicated interplanetary mission to Mars. Maybe we should learn a bit from their style of space operations. Glenn Chapman MIT Lincoln Lab ------------------------------ Date: 2 Mar 89 17:17:44 GMT From: hp-pcd!hpcvlx!gvg@hplabs.hp.com (Greg Goebel) Subject: SSI Lunar Probe from: INTERNET: cwo_online@hp-pcd HP DESK: CWO ONLINE / HP3900 / 20 (503) 752-7717 Hewlett-Packard CWO / 1000 NE Circle Boulevard / Corvallis OR 97330 Greg Goebel date: Thu Mar 2 09:12:54 PST 1989 I write a small science-and-technology newsletter for HP and ran the following article on a new Space Studies Institute project: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ * One of the most interesting things I ran across this month was a special report issued by the Space Studies Institute -- a non-profit organization at Princeton that investigates long-term technologies for space exploration. I have been a passive member of SSI for years; I send them a little money every now and then, get their newsletters, read them casually, and file them. But this special report got me excited. SSI has done practical research towards exploitation of lunar resources for years; and one project they have been pursuing is a search for volatile substances on the Moon. The Moon has plenty of oxygen, chemically locked in the materials that make up its crust; but it has no atmosphere and, as far as can be seen, no light, volatile substances like water or methane that contain hydrogen. A lunar source of hydrogen would provide lunar miners both with water and a high-grade rocket propellant; without it, all water in space would have to be exported from the Earth -- which would be prohibitively expensive. However, the axis of the Moon's rotation is virtually at a right angle to the plane of its motion around the Sun (it only is off by 2 degrees) and this orientation has been stable for a long time. Comets contain volatile substances, and are known to collide with the Earth; comet collisions with the Moon in the past could've scattered volatiles all over the surface. Most of the volatiles would have escaped into space over time; but those that fell into craters near the poles -- into crevices where, due to the Moon's axis of rotation, the sun never shines -- might remain frozen, and accumulate. A simple space probe, armed with a gamma-ray spectrophotometer, could orbit the Moon's poles to search for the frozen volatiles (and for ices of the volatiles buried under the surface). SSI has several proposals for a Lunar Polar Probe. By far the most interesting is one that would be launched from the Space Shuttle -- carried into orbit as a "getaway special" (GAS) cargo. The getaway specials are payloads that fit into unused crevices of the Shuttle's cargo bay; they are usually the size of trashcans, and are carried aloft at special rates, which have allowed even high schools to perform experiments in space. SSI's Lunar GAS probe would be extremely rudimentary: it would contain a gamma-ray spectrophotometer on an extensible boom, control and communications electronics, twin solar panels for power, and an ion engine. Ion engines are a speculative technology that has been studied since serious space exploration began; such an engine is basically a electrical accelerator that expels an ionized heavy gas (xenon, in this case) at extremely high velocity. Ion engines have low thrust, but they are very efficient in terms of propellant mass (due to the high exhaust velocity) and can be powered by solar arrays. The LGAS probe would be ejected from the Shuttle; then it would deploy its solar panels and begin a slow spiral away from the Earth that would place it into lunar polar orbit in about two years' time. If LGAS should happen, it would be a landmark in space exploration -- even if it did not reveal deposits of lunar volatiles. Large space projects are difficult to justify in a time of budget deficits, take a long time to implement, and are vulnerable to protracted delays or cancellation. A larger number of smaller projects would be much more practical -- Freeman Dyson refers to this as the "quick is beautiful" approach. If the LGAS was developed through a combination of private funds and government research grants, it would be the first citizen's interplanetary probe -- and would lead the way towards a lower-cost approach to planetary exploration, as well as more sophisticated private space exploration ventures. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Does anyone know what the status of this project is? Have any cost estimates been made? Is there any attempt to get funding for it? It would seem that, given the long flight time of the LGAS probe and the need to get input for national space strategies in the near future, SSI must act quickly on this. regards -- gvg ------------------------------ Date: 3 Mar 89 04:02:55 GMT From: thorin!zeta!leech@mcnc.org (Jonathan Leech) Subject: Re: SSI Lunar Probe In article <101270005@hpcvlx.HP.COM> gvg@hpcvlx.HP.COM (Greg Goebel) writes: >Does anyone know what the status of this project is? Have any cost >estimates been made? Is there any attempt to get funding for it? Quoting the SSI Special Report "Lunar Prospector Probe": "First, we are attempting to show NASA and key national leaders the importance of a quick and simple lunar mission which could detect possible water ice at the poles." ... "Secondly... we are working towards a partially or perhaps completely privately funded class of lunar probes." Planned 1989 activities include a lunar prospector workshop preceding the 1989 Princeton Conference on Space Manufacturing and a session on lunar polar science at the 20th Lunar & Planetary Institute Conference. One of the International Space University's summer '89 projects will be the design of lunar orbiting probes. Also, SSI has contracted with ExtraTerrestrial Materials, Inc., to manage a working group to design a probe. >It would seem that, given the long flight time of the LGAS probe and the >need to get input for national space strategies in the near future, SSI must >act quickly on this. The ion drive is only one possibility. Another is to use a surplus Atlas booster. See the special report for photos and lots more info. One more quote from the SSI report: "SSI's extensive work on the lunar polar prospector has been made possible by the contributions of the members and Senior Associates of the Institute." If you want to see this project happen, I suggest sending SSI lots of money ($25/year for a subscription to the newsletter is at least a start). SSI is at: Space Studies Institute PO Box 82 Princeton, NJ 08542 609-921-0377 Send me email if there are more questions. -- Jon Leech (leech@cs.unc.edu) __@/ "Totally bounded: A set that can be patrolled by a finite number of arbitrarily near-sighted policemen." A. Wilonsky, 1978 ------------------------------ Date: 2 Mar 89 21:27 PST From: Steve oliphant Subject: Canaveral Tours Cc: oliphant.pa@Xerox.COM I am going to be in Florida next weekend and was considering driving down to Cape Canaveral and taking a tour. Does anyone know what tours are offered, when they are offered and whether you should have a reservation? Now if I'm really lucky there will be a shuttle launch. Thanks. Steven Oliphant ------------------------------ Date: 2 Mar 89 07:36:25 GMT From: tektronix!percival!bucket!leonard@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Leonard Erickson) Subject: Re: Pigs will be pigs ... In article <8902201702.AA17105@ti.com> pyron@lvvax1.csc.TI.COM (Happiness is planet Earth in your rearview mirror) writes: jeffrey@algor2.UUCP (Jeffrey Kegler) writes: > >It is in the nature of statistical evidence that it is hard to make an >absolutely final case, but this study would have to be a disappointment to >anyone seeking evidence for astrology. >-- > >Jeffrey Kegler, President, Algorists, >jeffrey@algor2.UU.NET or uunet!algor2!jeffrey >1788 Wainwright DR, Reston VA 22090 What, pray tell, is the model for any of these planets having anything to do with base hits? Why would anyone waste time testing a theory without a model? Why not test for correlations with the insect population for that year? Or the average age of the guests on the Ed Sullivan show? Or, etc, etc.... I'd be more interested in things like the effect of temperature, humidity or morning breakfasts on base hits....:-) Paul K. Rodman rodman@mfci.uucp __... ...__ _.. . _._ ._ .____ __.. ._ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 Mar 89 12:41:54 EST From: Eric Harnden Subject: planetary chemistry I recently spoke to a chemist who described to me a new molecular state being explored called a 'superstate'. This is, as far as I can remember, when a gas or fluid is brought to its' critical point (boiling point for a fluid), but kept under severe pressure. When the critical point is passed, the molecule undergoes a change into its superstate, rather than what would be its' normal transition. I'm not sure what the properties of this state are. For some gases, like Co2, I understand that non-toxic corrosivity is one characteristic.. or something like that. At any rate, the parameters required in order to achieve the superstate are not actually that outrageous. The temperature need only be that of the critical point (for Co2, it's like 32c), and the pressure is on the order of fifty atmospheres. It struck me that this could describe the condition of the Venusian and/or Jovian atmosphere at some given altitudes. Could the atmospheres of these planets be in 'superstates' at some layers? How would this affect the surrounding layers? What properties would they have with regard to the reflection/absorption/transmittance of solar radiation? Do superstate molecules mix? Just what kind of bizarre soup might be present? Eric Harnden (Ronin) ------------------------------ Date: 2 Mar 89 13:30:34 GMT From: mcvax!ukc!etive!bob@uunet.uu.net (Bob Gray) Subject: Re: 1992 moon base In article <1989Feb21.175527.8993@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes: >my point: historically, colonization has often been a one-way trip with >return difficult or impossible, and it is not ridiculous to assume the Note also, the colonies in different parts of the world today are those which managed to survive. Many colonies failed within a few years of their founding, killing most if not all of the colonists. There is no reason to suppose that space colonies should be any easier to start, and lots to suggest that it would be a lot harder. But there wouldn't be any shortage of volunteers. Bob. ------------------------------ Date: 2 Mar 89 10:21:37 GMT From: mcvax!ukc!tcdcs!tcdmath!kpower@uunet.uu.net (Kenneth Power) Subject: New mode of travel ? I saw in a T.V. article last night (Disscusion about the 20th anniversary of the first flight of Concord) that McDonnell-Douglas were working on a supersonic "jet" which will leave the athmosphere during flight and will have Tokyo-Los Angles trip time of two hours. Does anyone have any more information on this project,will it follow a ballistic trajectory ,will passengers experience zero gravity during flight, (if it goes into space will we have to be NASA employees to fly in it :-)??? Thanks in advance. -- Kenneth Power | Mail to :- Theoretical Physics | kpower@maths.tcd.ie (Please do) Trinity College Dublin | KGPOWER@vax1.tcd.ie (Avoid if possible) Ireland. | mtsu0147@icl.tcd.ie (Never (emergency's excepted)) ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V9 #282 *******************