Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 7997;andrew.cmu.edu;Ted Anderson Received: from beak.andrew.cmu.edu via trymail for +dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl@andrew.cmu.edu (->+dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl) (->ota+space.digests) ID ; Wed, 29 Nov 89 01:31:34 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Wed, 29 Nov 89 01:31:13 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V10 #285 SPACE Digest Volume 10 : Issue 285 Today's Topics: NASA Headline News for 11/28/89 (Forwarded) Re: Solar Max disassembly Space suits and Space computers Payload Status for 11/28/89 (Forwarded) Re: SPACE DIGEST mailing list Re: Why NASA wants to go to Mars Solar Max disassembly Re: Antimatter Drives and Area 51 Re: Re: Why NASA wants to go to Mars ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 28 Nov 89 20:06:11 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: NASA Headline News for 11/28/89 (Forwarded) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, November 28, 1989 Audio: 202/755-1788 ----------------------------------------------------------------- This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, November 28.... The space shuttle orbiter Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base, California, yesterday, at 7:30 P.M., Eastern time. Once again ground controllers delayed the landing...but this time by only one orbit...as strong crosswinds scrubbed a lakebed landing. Mission Commander Frederick Gregory glided the orbiter to a smooth landing on the air base's concrete runway just as the sun was setting over the Mojave Desert. Gregory, speaking for the five member crew, said they had a spectacular time during the flight. Only two minor problems were reported...a malfunctioning toilet, that the crew fixed, and Gregory came up with a foot infection. Meanwhile, at Kennedy Space Center...the orbiter Columbia has arrived at launch pad 39A after an early morning rollout. The six-hour trip on the massive crawler-transporter was completed about 8:30 A.M., Eastern time. The two-day Countdown Demonstration Test for the STS-32 mission is scheduled to begin Thursday. On Friday, the crew of the Columbia will participate in the dress rehearsal. The final six hours of the event will be carried on NASA Select TV beginning at 6:00 A.M., Eastern time. The test will be followed by the Flight Readiness Review next Monday and Tuesday when a launch date will be set. The STS-32 mission is scheduled to deploy a Navy communications satellite and retrieve the Long Duration Exposure Facility that's been in orbit since 1984. NORAD estimates that the Solar Max satellite will enter the atmosphere early on Saturday, December 2. It appears that one of the two solar panels may not have fully separated from the main body of the spacecraft last Friday. Radar tracking indicates that one panel has already re-entered. Some debris could possibly survive the fiery re-entry. That will occur somewhere between 28 degrees north and 28 degrees south of the equator...80 percent of which is water. Tass news agency says Soviet space authorities are considering allowing Mir space station cosmonauts to conduct a space walk to free a jammed solar array on its Kvant-2 module that was launched November 26. The module, scheduled to be attached to the Mir space station carries food, water, fuel, an eva airlock and a manned maneuvering unit. Aerospace Daily says the Kvant will dock with the Mir station on Saturday. * * * ----------------------------------------------------------------- Here's the broadcast schedule for public affairs events on NASA Select television. All times are Eastern. Thursday, November 30.... 11:30 A.M. NASA Update will be transmitted. Friday, December 1.... 6:00 A.M. Coverage begins of concluding 6-hours of the STS-32 Countdown Demonstration Test at KSC. All events and times are subject to change without notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------- These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday at 12 noon, Eastern time. ----------------------------------------------------------------- A service of the Internal Communications Branch (LPC), NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. ------------------------------ Date: 28 Nov 89 23:53:33 GMT From: cs.utexas.edu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!henry@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: Re: Solar Max disassembly In article <1989Nov28.093938.5308@jarvis.csri.toronto.edu> hogg@db.toronto.edu (John Hogg) writes: >Does anybody know why the controllers have removed various components >before re-entry? Mostly because it seemed worth testing the removal systems, given that the bird was going to die anyway. As far as I know, control (or rather lack thereof) of reentry didn't enter the picture. The systems for jettisoning things like the solar arrays were a hedge against possible shuttle retrieval and return to Earth: to make the thing fit in the cargo bay, you have to either fold the arrays or get rid of them, and those arrays weren't designed to re-fold after launch. The jettison hardware has never had a full-scale test in space. So, why not try it out just before reentry? >... left with a compact, predictable bird that they can drop into a >convenient ocean using attitude thrusters---assuming (again!) that >there *are* any on board. Solar Max has no propulsion system of its own; its reentry is essentially uncontrolled. -- That's not a joke, that's | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology NASA. -Nick Szabo | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Nov 89 20:01 CST From: C056RWB%UTARLG.ARL.UTEXAS.EDU@ricevm1.rice.edu Subject: Space suits and Space computers Requesting any and all info on the following from anyone knowledgable in the respectable field. 1.) Latest fashion in space suits. (seriously) 2.) Any info on Space Navigation computers; like what kind of computer, software, theory of operation, etc etc.. Thanks in advance! P.S. Send info DIRECT to me if you wish.. Robert Bonner C056RWB@UTARLG ------------------------------ Date: 28 Nov 89 21:05:52 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: Payload Status for 11/28/89 (Forwarded) Daily Status/KSC Payload Management and Operations 11-28-89 - STS-31R HST (at VPF) - ECS support continues for the HST functional testing that began yesterday afternoon. This GST-8 test is scheduled to run for 12 consecutive days. Facility monitoring and environmental monitoring support is on going. - STS-32R SYNCOM (at Pad A) - SYNCOM battery charging began yesterday and will continue today. The SYNCOM launch readiness test is scheduled for today. Syncom installation into the orbiter will be Thursday. - STS-35 ASTRO-1/BBXRT (at O&C) - IPS retest worked yesterday with a successful check out of the RAU coupler. During the inertial motion test, incorrect readings were being read. The problem was determined to be with the design of the PGSA/PGSM rewire. While this problem is under engineering evalulation the unconnected power harness checks will be performed. - STS-40 SLS-1 (at O&C) - Rack mods continue on rack 8 and 10. Eddy current inspection was completed with no defects noted. Pyrell foam replacement continues. - STS-42 IML (at O&C) - EPSP access panel installation, grounding and bonding checks were completed yesterday. ------------------------------ Date: 28 Nov 89 20:57:16 GMT From: samsung!shadooby!sharkey!cfctech!joel@uunet.uu.net (Joel Lessenberry) Subject: Re: SPACE DIGEST mailing list Please add my name to the SPACE DIGEST mailing list Thank you. Joel Lessenberry, Distributed Systems | +1 313 948 3342 joel@cfctech.UUCP | Chrysler Financial Corp. joel%cfctech.uucp@mailgw.cc.umich.edu | MIS, Technical Services {sharkey|mailrus}!cfctech!joel | 2777 Franklin, Sfld, MI ------------------------------ Date: 28 Nov 89 21:05:30 GMT From: samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!uflorida!mephisto!prism!ce202a2@think.com (THOMAS, PETE (TEACHING ASSISTANT)) Subject: Re: Why NASA wants to go to Mars In article <1989Nov23.203339.5803@utzoo.uucp> kcarroll@utzoo.uucp (Kieran A. Carroll) writes: >...because we intend that people live and work there, >someday soon. Amen! See my recent posting. Scientific spin-offs and so-called "academic" research can not be allowed to overshadow a better motivation for exploiting space. Let's get to it! >Science is just one of the things that people do. >They do many other things, too. Why should this one >activity be considered especially applicable to >space? Of course, science is more than just one activity, in one field. We should never overlook the value of the "spin-offs" and bonuses we EARN (through sweat and money) through pushing the edge of technology. If we're going to do this, let's do it right; and not for idealistic motives. (In fact, if I ever do build my space station, I intend that I and my stockholders get filthy rich in the process). >I think that many people in the U.S. have simply lost >sight of the vast potential of space as an arena for >human activity... -- Peter L. Thomas (E GR 1170Z{1,2}, UTA) "Figures never lie, but liars always figure." Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332 Internet: {gt5139c,ce202a2}@prism.gatech.edu ------------------------------ Date: 28 Nov 89 14:39:38 GMT From: cs.utexas.edu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!db.toronto.edu!hogg@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (John Hogg) Subject: Solar Max disassembly In article <36809@ames.arc.nasa.gov> yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) writes: >The demise of the Solar Maximum scientific satellite is near. >Spacecraft controllers at Goddard Space Flight Center fired >explosive bolts friday to jettison the solar panels. Last >Wednesday the satellite's high gain antenna was separated from >the main body of the spacecraft. Now that Solar Max is no >longer sending telemetry data back to Earth, it's flight is being >watched by the North American Aerospace Defense Command. NORAD >is now predicting that the solar max will enter the atmosphere >and burn up about December 2. Does anybody know why the controllers have removed various components before re-entry? My best guess is that this announcement (a) omits the fact that Solar Max is still under ground control (it's listening, just not sending) and (b) incorrectly implies that no part of the satellite will reach the surface. *If* these suppositions are both correct, then removing high-drag components would allow control at a much lower altitude: solar panels would not only thoroughly mess up attitude control, but also greatly vary the drag, and possibly even provide random lifting effects before they burned off. By separating them, the controllers are left with a compact, predictable bird that they can drop into a convenient ocean using attitude thrusters---assuming (again!) that there *are* any on board. There must be some very good reason for this operation. Blowing off pieces seems like a good way to create more space junk, albeit in orbits which will rapidly decay. And this capability is not built into a satellite unless it pays its way. So, what is the *real* reason? -- John Hogg hogg@csri.utoronto.ca Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 28 Nov 89 09:47 CST From: W.T. Higgins Subject: Re: Antimatter Drives and Area 51 Original_To: SPACE Michael Sloan MacLeod posted a discussion about: >Robert Lazar, formerly employed by the government at the mysterious >Area 51, says that the US government has 500 pounds of element 115, >which somehow produces antimatter when irradiated. Lazar is pulling the wool over somebody's eyes. There were less than 300 pounds of element 115, and probably less now. Samples were tested in various university and government labs, including mine. Yes, it does give off antimatter when bombarded with the proper radiation. If you hit it with negative muons, 115 (I'm talking about 287, the most abundant isotope, here. Inconvenient not having a name for the element, but there never was general agreement on it.) transitions to an excited state that decays into a positron, a nucleus of 114, and an antideuteron (bound state of an antiproton and an antineutron). The 114 is unstable, and in a few milliseconds it gives off another antideuteron and a pair of positrons. And so forth, down the chart of the nuclides. Every once in a while a decay in this chain will throw off a neutron, just to keep things balanced. This had everybody excited for a while. You might remember the big *Popular Mechanics* article about it. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a bust. We showered muons on our 115 sample rods for weeks on end. The decay chain ends, after a rather short time, at 106Pd. And Pd has a tremendous affinity for hydrogen, and anti-hydrogen. We had made a bunch of antimatter, but we couldn't get it out. The deuterons were stuck within the Pd lattice. All we could collect were a few deuterons coming off atoms on the surface, and positrons, which we can get anywhere. And instead of an exotic heavy element, we were left with an inert lump of a metal anybody can buy on the commodities market. Remember the joke about the alchemist who could turn gold into lead? Having established that it wasn't a miracle energy source, most labs pretty much lost interest. At mine, we took the experiment apart and went on to more interesting work. The sample rods were lying around the lab for a while, though, come to think of it, I haven't seen them in a couple of years. I suppose somebody scrounged them for another experiment. >This fuel is used to drive waveguide-type gravity amplifiers which >are the FTL drive components of nine alien spacecraft Eight. One crashed during tests in August 1981. Three of the remaining eight have now been dismantled. >stored in hangars >out at Area 51 (the supersecret testing grounds also known as "Dreamland" >in the middle of the Nellis AFB bombing range about 65 miles northeast of >Las Vegas). Not *too* supersecret. See the book *Dreamland: A New Age of Flight Testing*, by Richard Adams Locke, Aero Books, 1985. A lot of nice photos of the place. >From his brief description of how the drives operate, they >seem to create local black-hole strength gravity gradients which slow down >time and cause a space-fold quickly traversible by the spacecraft. Get real. The correct spelling is "traversable." Bill Higgins +------------------------------------------------+ | These opinions are not shared by my employer, | | or perhaps by anybody else. | +------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------ Date: 29 Nov 89 00:25:56 GMT From: bbn.com!ncramer@bbn.com (Nichael Cramer) Subject: Re: Re: Why NASA wants to go to Mars In article <8911281928.AA16375@aristotle.Jpl.Nasa.Gov> pjs@ARISTOTLE-GW.JPL.NASA.GOV (Peter Scott) writes: >groucho!steve@handies.ucar.edu (Steve Emmerson) writes: >>Our exploration of space is currently being funded, almost exclusively, >>by the national government at the taxpayers expense. In my opinion, it >>doesn't appear to have a clear profit motive (except for the aerospace >>industries ;-) and seems to have a rather weak scientific motive as >>well. >Why should it have a profit motive? Granted this governs most of our >activities, but might there not be a little more to human nature than the >desire to turn a buck? Not a lot of profit motive in climbing Everest >(I doubt they did it for the TV rights), but it happened anyway. A very large difference here is that the Everest Expeditions have been primarily --if not exclusively-- private operations. It is one thing to use ones own sources or to say to an individual or some organization "Please give me money to do this" and allow them the choice of doing so, whatever their motives are. It's something else altogether to simply inform someone --say the lady who just came through to empty the wastebasket in my office-- that she is going to have to pay for this whether she likes it or not. Being expected to supply her with sensible justifications for something like this doesn't seem to be at all unreasonable. NICHAEL ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V10 #285 *******************