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 ; Tue, 15 May 90 02:19:52 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Tue, 15 May 90 02:19:21 -0400 (EDT) Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #401 SPACE Digest Volume 11 : Issue 401 Today's Topics: Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus) Hubble Space Telescope Update - 05/14/90 Re: why there are no ETs Galileo Update - 05/11/90 Re: Niven's Inertialess Drive Payload Status for 05/10/90 (Forwarded) Payload Status for 05/11/90 (Forwarded) Re: The Vatican Connection Re: Naming Stars ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 14 May 90 11:06:17 GMT From: mcsun!ukc!newcastle.ac.uk!turing!q1kc4@uunet.uu.net (J.D. Taylor) Subject: Re: Terraforming Venus (was: Manned mission to Venus) In article <21043@boulder.Colorado.EDU> bradford@tramp.Colorado.EDU (Mark Bradford) writes: > [ stuff about using Saturn's rings in the terraforming process deleted ] Wouldn't the removal of Saturn's rings cause the planet to assume a different orbit, or at least rotational period? Couldn't this have effects on the other planets of the solar system?? I can't imagine anyone would be too happy if, by terraforming venus, a couple of planets are destroyed in the process!!! :-) John D. Taylor, Dept. of Electronic Eng.,| "I used to think that I could trust Newcastle University, England, UK. | the media to tell me the truth..." JANET: J.D.Taylor@uk.ac.newcastle | INTERNET: J.D.Taylor@newcastle.ac.uk | - Queensryche, "Operation:Mindcrime" ------------------------------ Date: 14 May 90 22:59:13 GMT From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov!baalke@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Ron Baalke) Subject: Hubble Space Telescope Update - 05/14/90 Hubble Space Telescope Update May 14, 1990 Operators at the Space Telescope Operations Control Center, in Greenbelt, Maryland, gathered valuable data over the weekend on the state of focus of the Hubble Space Telescope's mirrors. However, during the first run through Bootstrap Phase A, the Hubble Space Telescope was unsuccessful in its attempts to locate guide stars. They plan to repeat Bootstrap Phase A, possibly as early as today. "First light," the first image taken by a science instrument, may occur by week's end. _ _____ _ | | | __ \ | | Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov | | | |__) | | | Jet Propulsion Lab | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov ___| | | ___/ | |___ M/S 301-355 | |_____| |_| |_____| Pasadena, CA 91109 | ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 May 1990 15:37 EDT From: SIMMONS DONALD F <27000%AECLCR.BITNET@vma.cc.cmu.edu> Subject: Re: why there are no ETs To: eb1z+@andrew.cmu.edu (Edward Joseph Bennett) writes: >I think the real question on E.T.'s is why don't they want to be seen. >Certainly any civilization with interstellar travel capabilities would >certainly have the technology to escape our primitive means of detection >if they so wished. Sure about this? It seems to me that all the realistic means of interstellar travel I have ever heard of would be quite spectacular and clearly visible, at least to the instruments of a race such as ours. How unnoticeable is the fusion torch of a Bussard Ramscoop, or a solar sail tens of kilometers across. Now I admit that even these examples might go unnoticed if they stay in the outer solar system, but they are far from undetectable. Donald Simmons 27000@AECLCR ------------------------------ Date: 14 May 90 21:01:25 GMT From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov!baalke@ucsd.edu (Ron Baalke) Subject: Galileo Update - 05/11/90 GALILEO MISSION STATUS REPORT May 11, 1990 As of noon Friday (PDT), May 11, 1990, the Galileo spacecraft is 96,096,560 miles from the Earth, 27,172,720 miles from Venus and traveling at a heliocentric velocity of 66,145 miles per hour. Galileo is in cruise mode-dual spin configuration and spinning at 3.15 rpm. Round trip light time is 17 minutes, 10 seconds. Major command activity this week included the Venus-Earth (VE-3) power margin trimming, disabling sun gate function, uplink sequence loads for the Trajectory Course Manuever (TCM-4B). Contingency commands were generated to cancel TCM-4B and turn off the Solid State Imaging (SSI) flash heater in the event of anomalous attitude excursions during the maneuver burn. Two SITURNS to lead the sun were successfully completed on May 7 and May 11. The spacecraft performance for these activities was as expected and without incident. The SITURN on May 11 pointed the spacecraft to the TCM-4B maneuver desired attitude and was performed several hours prior to the start of the TCM-4B execution. The spacecraft attitude sun point angle is at 1.4 degrees Cruise Science Memory Readouts (MROs) were successfully performed for the Magnetometer (MAG), Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) and Dust Detector (DDS) instruments on May 7 and May 10. A set of six delayed action commands (DACs) was sent on May 7 to reconfigure selected electrical heaters trimming the system power margin to maintain acceptable Retroproplusion Module (RPM) thermal control. Four DACs were executed before the start of TCM-4B; the other two DACs are planned for execution several days after TCM-4B. Commands were sent on May 10 to disable the attitude control sun gate fault monitors consistent with planned operation for this mission phase. The sun gate is a Venus-Earth-Earth Gravity Assist (VEEGA) mission system capability that was added to limit off sun attitude excursions thereby protecting the High Gain Antenna from thermal-induced damage inside 1 AU of the sun. Disabling the sun gate capability significantly reduces the number of SITURNS, thereby lessening spacecraft operations, Attitude and Articulation Control Subsystem (AACS) mode changes, and thermal cycling of hardware. The TCM-4B Portion 1 sequence load was transmitted and successfully received by the spacecraft on May 10. The second portion was sent to the spacecraft on May 11 for planned execution on May 12. This maneuver uses the L-thrusters and is expected to impact a delta velocity of about 11.3 m/sec. Preliminary assessments indicate the spacecraft performance was within predicted limits. _ _____ _ | | | __ \ | | Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov | | | |__) | | | Jet Propulsion Lab | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov ___| | | ___/ | |___ M/S 301-355 | |_____| |_| |_____| Pasadena, CA 91109 | ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 14 May 90 10:18 EDT From: KEVIN@A.CFR.CMU.EDU Subject: Re: Niven's Inertialess Drive X-Envelope-To: space@ANDREW.CMU.EDU In reply to Fred Mccall: The Kzinti, in Larry Niven's series, had developed a 'gravity gradient' drive of some sort. The Inertialess drive was a human (or at least human-used) device. In one of his short stories Louis Wu (a recurring character) speculates that some new aliens he's met are using either a reactionless drive or a 'kzinti-style gravity gradient drive'. See "World Of Ptavvs" for an interesting gravity gradient drive - capable of skating at high speed as long as it was along a gravitational gradient direction. kwr Internet: kr0u@andrew.cmu.edu ------------------------------ Date: 14 May 90 17:31:59 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: Payload Status for 05/10/90 (Forwarded) Daily Status/KSC Payload Management and Operations 05-10-90. - STS-31R HST (at VPF) - Post launch GSE removal continues. - STS-35 ASTRO-1/BBXRT (at Pad-A) - No payload activities are scheduled for today. - STS-40 SLS-1 (at 0&C) - Experiment train interface testing and ECS systems checks are continuing. - STS-41 Ulysses (at ESA 60) - PAM-S spin balance operations will continue today at ESA 60. VPHD preps will also continue today at the VPF. - STS-42 IML-1 (at O&C) - Module pyrell foam replacement, floor staging, and rack staging continue today. - STS-45 Atlas-1 (at O&C) - Cable and cable panel installations will continue today. - STS-46 TSS-1 (at O&C) - No work is scheduled for today. - STS-47 Spacelab-J (at O&C) - No work is scheduled for today. - STS-55 SL-D2 (at O&C) - No work is scheduled for today. - HST M&R (at O&C) - Paper closure will be performed today. ------------------------------ Date: 14 May 90 17:33:34 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: Payload Status for 05/11/90 (Forwarded) Daily Status/KSC Payload Management and Operations 05-11-90. - STS-31R HST (at VPF) - Post launch GSE removal continues. - STS-35 ASTRO-1/BBXRT (at Pad-A) - No payload activities are scheduled for today. - STS-40 SLS-1 (at 0&C) - The experiment train interface test was completed Thursday. Preps for the mission sequence test and MVAK training will be performed today. - STS-41 Ulysses (at ESA 60) - PAM-S spin balance operations will continue today at ESA 60. VPHD preps will continue today at the VPF. - STS-42 IML-1 (at O&C) - Module pyrell foam replacement, floor staging, and rack staging continue today. - STS-45 Atlas-1 (at O&C) - Cable and cable panel installations will continue today. - STS-46 TSS-1 (at O&C) - EMP cable installations were performed third shift today. - STS-47 Spacelab-J (at O&C) - No work is scheduled for today. - STS-55 SL-D2 (at O&C) - No work is scheduled for today. - HST M&R (at O&C) - Paper closure will be performed today. ------------------------------ Date: 14 May 90 21:42:12 GMT From: scallon@cod.nosc.mil (Matthew C. Scallon) Subject: Re: The Vatican Connection In article palmer@gap.caltech.edu (David Palmer) writes: >Actually, recent evidence indicates that Galileo was an Atomist (he believed >that there was a smallest quantity of any given substance, and so God >could not produce 10^-100 grams of water) Such a restriction placed on >God was a Heresy punishable by burning at the stake (I think it was Giordiani >Bruno (sp) who learned this the hard way). Galileo, having >friends in the Vatican, managed to plea bargain this down to house >arrest for heliocentrism. > >My source is someone who has read a book called 'Galileo Heretico', now >available in English as 'Galileo The Heretic'. The papers that the author >discovered seem to have vanished from the Vatican library though. > >-- > David Palmer > palmer@gap.cco.caltech.edu > ...rutgers!cit-vax!gap.cco.caltech.edu!palmer > I have the power to cloud men's minds -- or at least my own. I don't know, but I find it interesting that this has been the second series of Catholic-bashing in this otherwise cerebral group. Being Catholic all my life and Irish slightly longer, I suppose all us papists should just bow our heads sos all y'all Protestants can pat 'em, and wees should stop being so uppity sos to think we can study all dat's up in the sky, just shuffle off to the voting booth this election year sos we can put another Romanist in as President and have the Pope run things, ain't that right? Geezz. I must say that one of the blessings of Catholicism is that we know how screw-up we really are, because it's all so well-documented by everyone else --it's amazing the camera of criticism is never turned inward towards the rest of "Christian" America, Tammy and the Revs. Jim notwithstanding. For every Inquisition, one can easily point to Protestant witchhunt. When one bashes African-Americans, it's racism. When one bashes Jews, it's anti-semiticism. When one bashes Catholics, it's the great American past- time (I not making a comparison to the plights of African-Americans and Jews to Catholics; I'm just making a point.). However, being Catholic in Pro- testant America has made me thinker-skinned about this, as well I do enjoy the tongue-in-cheek remarks about stellar birth-control, like most people. Still, could we please, PLEASE, get on with the discussion of space science? Thank you, Matthew C.A. Scallon Disclaimer: The Navy does own my opinions, and we are mutually content about that arrangement. ------------------------------ Date: 14 May 90 08:05:00 GMT From: jimcat@RPI.EDU (Jim Kasprzak) Subject: Re: Naming Stars In article <1990May11.234515.2595@wam.umd.edu> jfloyd@wam.umd.edu (Jason Edward Floyd) writes: > > I have heard that it is possible to name a star or galaxy. Is this >true? If so how does one go about doing it? > Discovering it is usually the best way to get to name it. Otherwise, become a member of the International Astronomical Union, which sets the naming conventions for extraterrestrial bodies. -- Jim Kasprzak kasprzak@mts.rpi.edu (internet) RPI, Troy, NY userfe0u@rpitsmts.bitnet "A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission." -Rush ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V11 #401 *******************