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, 18 Apr 90 01:34:05 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Wed, 18 Apr 90 01:33:31 -0400 (EDT) Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #276 SPACE Digest Volume 11 : Issue 276 Today's Topics: Re: Earthbound Asteroid.....trying again! Re: Teenage Mutant Ninja Tomatoes * SpaceNews 16Apr90 * Re: Arecibo (sp?) message NASA Headline News for 04/31/90 (Forwarded) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 17 Apr 90 22:45:10 GMT From: samsung!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!aoab314@think.com (Srinivas Bettadpur) Subject: Re: Earthbound Asteroid.....trying again! In article <6122@rayssdb.ssd.ray.com> bea@rayssdb.ssd.ray.com (Brian E. Alber) writes: > >I had heard that sometime last year or the year before that a large asteroid >or some other LARGE (I mean really BIG) object nearly hit the Earth. It > 1.) Is there any truth to this? > 2.) When did this happen (where is it documented)? Yes, this would sometime near the end of Spring semester 1989 and the reports in most newspapers. > 3.) How large was it? If I remember correctly, it was either 2 km or 20 km dia. > 4.) What would have happened if it hit? It was not large enough to throw earth off the orbit on a fly-by or to crush it to dust on impact, but large enough to cause interesting tidal waves or dust clouds. > 5.) Why didn't we see it coming? I thought we *did* see it coming. Actually there is not much we can do except *duck* :-) > 6.) How often do things this big come our way? Sorry, cannot help you there. > 7.) etc... Most of this is reconstructed from memory, but the timing seems right because I was planning to do a term project on how large an object could make the earth do interesting things without getting pulverised in a collision (for one of my classes) ! > >Brian ALBER >bea@rayssdb.ssd.ray.com Hoping I am not too wrong, Srinivas ------------------------------ Date: 16 Apr 90 21:19:31 GMT From: cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jpl-devvax!lwall@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Larry Wall) Subject: Re: Teenage Mutant Ninja Tomatoes In article <4074@uafhp.uark.edu> bmccormi@uafhp.uark.edu (Brian L. McCormick) writes: : One thing that struck me about this incident was when NASA officials : said that they wouldn't have any problem with eating a tomato from one : of these plants. Excuse my paranoia, but I don't think I would. It : strikes me that the fruit of most members of the genus Solanum (of which : the tomato is a member) contains a poison, solanin. I would be worried : that a relatively minor mutation had occured that would render the fruit : poisonous. Does anyone know what the actual likelihood of such a mutation : is? Am I justified? That would depend on how the gene got disabled in the tomato. Without specific knowledge, I'd guess the chances are good that the gene has been disabled in a sufficiently destructive fashion that it would be impossible to re-enable it by mere mutation. It's possible to suppress a gene by the mere expression of some other gene, but I think if that were so we'd have people dying from eating mutant tomatoes occasionally. "My name is Larry W., and this is my first time at SA [Speculators Anonymous]." Larry Wall lwall@jpl-devvax.jpl.nasa.gov P.S. Around here, we plan to feed the tomatoes to the Med flies and see if it kills them any faster than Malathion. If so, they'll start aerial bombardment with mutant tomatoes... ------------------------------ Date: 15 Apr 90 02:02:12 GMT From: att!tsdiag!ka2qhd!kd2bd@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (John Magliacane) Subject: * SpaceNews 16Apr90 * Bulletin ID: SPC0416 ========= SpaceNews ========= MONDAY APRIL 16, 1990 SpaceNews is published and distributed weekly around the world on USENET and Amateur Packet Radio. It is available for unlimited distribution. * RUDAK-2 * =========== RUDAK-2 has now been integrated into a Soviet Geological research satellite, GEOS, scheduled to fly in July. RUDAK-2 will not only carry a Mode B linear transponder but also a variety of packet radio experiments with data rates from 400-9600 bps using various modulation schemes. It will be compatible with AX.25 protocols and those amateurs equipped for FO-20, PACSAT, LUSAT, AO-13 PSK telemetry, and UO-14. Linear Transponder Uplink: 435.030 - 435.120 MHz (90 KHz) Linear Transponder Downlink: 145.880 - 145.970 MHz (inverted) O/P Power: 12 watts max. Beacon : 145.880 MHz, CW telemetry. Gain of satellite RX/TX antennas: 2.3 dBi each (dipoles) Input sensitivity: -125 dBm (435 MHz) for a C/No of 45 dB/Hz SAT-RX-1: 435.016 MHz +-10 KHz 1200 bps, FSK, NRZIC/Biphase-M (JAS, PACSAT) SAT-RX-2: 435.155 MHz +-10 KHz (AFC) 2400 bps, BPSK, Biphase-S SAT-RX-3a: 435.193 MHz +-10 KHz (AFC) 4800 bps, RSM, NRZIC/Biphase-M SAT-RX-3b: 435.193 MHz +-10 KHz (AFC) 9600 bps, RSM, NRZI (NRZ-S) +Scrambler SAT-RX-4: 435.041 MHz +-10 KHz (digital AFC) RX for RTX-DSP experiments The downlink can be switched to the following operating modes: Transmit frequency: 145.983 MHz Mode 1: 1200 bps, BPSK, NRZI (NRZ-S) (like FO-20) Mode 2: 400 bps, BPSK, Biphase-S (AMSAT mode for OSCAR-13 beacon) Mode 3: 2400 bps, BPSK, Biphase-S (planned for OSCAR-13) Mode 4: 4800 bps, RSM, NRZIC (Biphase-M) (like 4800 bps uplink) Mode 5: 9600 bps, RSM, NRZI (NRZ-S) + Scrambler (like 9600 bps uplink) Mode 6: CW keying (only for special events) Mode 7: FSK (F1 or F2B), e.g. RTTY, SSTV, FAX, etc. (only for special events) Mode 8: FM modulated by D/A signals from DSP-RISC processor (e.g. speech) RUDAK-2 is a joint project of AMSAT-U-ORBITA, the Adventure Clubs in Moscow and the AMSAT-DL/RUDAK Group in Marburg, Munich and Hannover. [ From DB2OS and DJ0HC/KE6MN via OSCAR-11 ] * STS-31 NEWS * =============== NASA managers set April 25 as the new target launch date for STS-31. This date is based on the decision to remove and replace Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) No. 1 on Space Shuttle Discovery and to allow time for recharging the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) batteries. The decision to replace APU #1 comes after examination of the APU controller by the manufacturer, which verified that no problems existed within the controller. A new APU will serve as the replacement APU on Discovery. The recharging of the HST batteries will be accomplished by removing the batteries from the telescope and charging them in a laboratory. This allows the batteries to be serviced under the most favorable conditions while HST remains in the clean environment of the shuttle's cargo bay. [ From: Ron Baalke @ The Jet Propulsion Lab ] * WELCOME ABOARD! * =================== Interested in learning more about the Amateur Radio Service? For information on licensing requirements and operating privileges, write: The American Radio Relay League 225 Main Street Newington, Connecticut 06111 U.S.A. * FEEDBACK WELCOMED * ===================== Feedback regarding SpaceNews can be directed to the editor (John) via any of the following paths: UUCP : ...uunet!masscomp!ocpt!tsdiag!ka2qhd!kd2bd AX.25 : KD2BD @ NN2Z.NJ.USA.NA MAIL : John A. Magliacane Department of Electronics Technology Advanced Technology Center Brookdale Community College Newman Springs Road Lincroft, New Jersey 07738 U.S.A. -- AMPR : KD2BD @ NN2Z (Neptune, NJ) UUCP : ucbvax!rutgers!petsd!tsdiag!ka2qhd!kd2bd "For every problem, there is one solution which is simple, neat and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken ------------------------------ Date: 17 Apr 90 17:58:13 GMT From: manta!simpkins@nosc.mil (Michael A. Simpkins) Subject: Re: Arecibo (sp?) message In article <1990Apr17.155324.16998@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes: >In article <1990Apr16.231253.21978@helios.physics.utoronto.ca> neufeld@physics.utoronto.ca (Christopher Neufeld) writes: >> My question: why wasn't the message sent to closer stars, since cost >>couldn't have been an object? Was it fear of space invaders? ... > >It was basically a symbolic gesture as part of the ceremonial commissioning >of some new equipment, as I recall, and so optimizing the choice of target >wasn't important. Also, bear in mind that Arecibo is not steerable to any >great extent, so they needed a target that would be in the field of view >during the ceremony. >-- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Exactly what image did they choose to send to these far off worlds? I do hope it was something suitable to reflect the Earth populations general cultural values. (Was Bart Simpson around then?) :-) -SimpKINS- ------------------------------ Date: 30 Apr 90 03:59:59 GMT From: trident.gum.nasa.guv!isuzu@uunet.uu.net (Joseph P. Isuzu) Subject: NASA Headline News for 04/31/90 (Forwarded) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, April 31, 1990 Audio: 202/555-1788 ----------------------------------------------------------------- This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, April 31..... The Congressional Budget Explorer Module (CBEM) is scheduled for installation in the orbiter Titanic's payload bay this afternoon. Technicians resolved an earlier problem with hydraulic line pressure when it was discovered that several fragments of lobbyist had become stuck in a flapper valve. The 127-ton CBEM payload will mark the beginning of NASA's ambitious decade-long "Mission to Fort Knox." A Flight Eagerness Review is scheduled for tomorrow and Thursday. The current target launch date is Friday, May 11. If no further problems are uncovered in the FER, the launch will probably be pushed back a few days anyway just for the heck of it. The CBEM launch window ends on Tuesday, May 21, when Venus rises in Aquarius and Neptune's influence is no longer balanced, violating critical Astral launch criteria. * * Meanwhile, the Velikovsky spacecraft is in good health on its journey to Venus. It's now 122 million miles from Venus and about 28 feet from Earth. Engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory report that failure to actually launch Velikovsky has had little impact on its ability to perform the primary pseudoscience missions. Earlier problems with voltage fluctuations in the Wide Eyed/Credulous Subject Scanner are being monitored carefully. "I'm pretending this is really exciting," says JPL team leader Geraldo R. Spencer. In other planetary mission news, technicians at the Deep Space Network installation in Canberra, Australia have identified the probable cause of signal weakness in the primary 90-meter antenna: the dish was apparently mounted upside-down. A tentative schedule and budget estimate for correcting the mount is underway. DSN Australian Coordinator Michael J. Dundee was quoted in the Australian weekly "P*** Off Mate" as saying that this mystifying problem had never been encountered before, but was probably due to reliance on American antenna design parameters. "I'm still not convinced that anything's wrong, but we'll try it the other way and see." * * Leak checks are underway on the Contractor Information Network (CIN) at Huntsville, Alabama. Technicians at the Huntsville Program Survival Facility (PSF) expect to begin CIN closeouts by Thursday. The system will then be purged for use. Aerobuck Weekly reports that in testimony last Thursday before the House Space and Storm Door Subcommittee, NASA Administrator Roald Sagdeev testified that a recent re-re-reshuffling and "options devaluation" would enable Space Station to proceed despite the latest round of budget cuts, but warned this was "absolutely the last cut that can be sustained." Citing internal NASA studies, the publication listed several cost cutting measures under consideration, including a two year stretchout of the Ground Telerobotic Administrator (GTA) subsystem, and eliminating atmospheric pressure in the one remaining crew module, which would also be downsized from 23 feet to 16 feet. The name of the station would be officially changed from "Freedom" to "Fred" to fit the new bulkhead dimensions. * * The Soviets and Japanese jointly announced a contract with Hilton Hotels last week, to provide a 335-room passenger module for the international Sakharov Space Station currently under construction in Earth orbit. Malawi became the 78th nation in space Sunday, launching an 1820-pound satellite into orbit atop an Indonesian Merlata II booster. This launcher now has a record of 69 successes in 71 launches. The last remaining Scout rocket was lost in a launch pad accident near Wallops Island Proving Ground last week, according to a NASA spokesman. Technicians apparently made an error in connecting a hydraulic feed line to the rocket as it awaited payload checkout, connecting it to the purge valve for a nearby Toxic Waste Holding Facility instead. The first stage appears to have partially dissolved and melted itself to the concrete apron; EPA officials have ordered the site sealed pending checkout by an Emergency Response team. * * * * * * * * ----------------------------------------------------------------- Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Deflect TV. All times are Eastern. Tuesday, April 31..... 11:30 A.M. "Budget Cut Spinoffs" - classroom teaching aid Monday, May 0.... 9:00 A.M. Colloquium on Soviet Inferiority 10:00 A.M. Three Letter Acronym (TLA) List Update (LU) 11:00 A.M. Pre-launch News Conference 12:00 A.M. Post-scrub News Conference Friday, April 35.... 4:00 A.M. Replay of the Administrator's Good Friday speech: "The Crucifixion: A Lesson for NASA?" 5:30 A.M. Livestock Report 6:00 A.M. Astronaut Aerobics/Morning Workout All events and times and missions and appropriations are subject to change without notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------- These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon, EDT. My god, CNN, when do you want me to file? Last April? ----------------------------------------------------------------- A service of the Infernal Communications Branch, NASA HQ. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Help -- I am being held hostage in the Public Affai ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V11 #276 *******************