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 ; Sun, 21 Oct 1990 01:49:49 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: Precedence: junk Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Sun, 21 Oct 1990 01:49:16 -0400 (EDT) Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #472 SPACE Digest Volume 12 : Issue 472 Today's Topics: Magellan/Superior Conjunction (Forwarded) Re: Theories needed on life Re: PLUTO AND PIONEER 10 Re: Theories needed on life DoD Using Non-crypto GPS Receivers in Operation Desert Shield Re: Pioneer 11 Update - 10/17/90 Magellan Update - 10/19/90 Re: Theories needed on life Re: Deep Lunar Dust Story? Re: landform names and soviet/Venus images Re: You Can't Expect a Space Station to be Cheap Re: Homebuilt Manned Rockets Hiten Update Administrivia: Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to space+@andrew.cmu.edu. Other mail, esp. [un]subscription notices, should be sent to space-request+@andrew.cmu.edu, or, if urgent, to tm2b+@andrew.cmu.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 19 Oct 90 22:19:59 GMT From: swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov!baalke@ucsd.edu (Ron Baalke) Subject: Magellan/Superior Conjunction (Forwarded) MAGELLAN TO TEMPORARILY HALT RADAR MAPPING OF VENUS Nature will force Magellan Project flight controllers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., to temporarily halt radar mapping of the surface of Venus in early November as Venus and Earth near their maximum distance with the sun in between. The maximum distance between the planets, called superior conjunction, occurs Nov. 1. The sun and Venus will be less than 1 degree apart. While Venus will not actually go behind the disc of the sun, its nearness to the sun from Earth's point of view will cause radio signals passing close to the sun to degrade. JPL controllers will still be able to communicate with Magellan periodically. The time of superior conjunction was known and planned for early in the Magellan mission planning. Loss of the radio link at the S-band frequency, which transmits telemetry to Earth stations through the high-gain antenna at 1200 bits per second (bps), is predicted for Saturday when the angle between Venus and the sun, measured from Earth, narrows to 3.4 degrees. But another Magellan radio frequency, called X-band, is degraded less by the hot plasma around the sun, and controllers said they expect to be able to command the spacecraft by X-band each day through more than a week of superior conjunction. Use of X-band for the uplink started on Saturday, Oct. 13. Its use both to and from the spacecraft is predicted to last until Oct. 27. The radio downlink rate is 268 kilobits per second (kbps). Solar activity will determine how much the radio signals degrade and how long mapping will be halted. Magellan project officials will make go or no-go decisions on mapping on a day by day basis. On Oct. 29, the spacecraft's computer automatically will halt mapping for at least 9 days. The mapping could be halted for as long as 2 weeks, however, depending on solar activity. If solar activity is very heavy, fight controllers will switch earlier into the spacecraft's computer sequence by ground command. The first standard mapping sequence at 268 kbps, with telemetry communication with Earth at 1200 bps, is scheduled to resume on Nov. 21. Magellan is managed by JPL for the Office of Space Science and Applications, Wash., D.C. ___ _____ ___ /_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| | | | | __ \ /| | | | Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov ___| | | | |__) |/ | | |___ Jet Propulsion Lab | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov /___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| M/S 301-355 | |_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ Pasadena, CA 91109 | ------------------------------ Date: 19 Oct 90 23:26:39 GMT From: sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!srhqla!demott!kdq@ucsd.edu (Kevin D. Quitt) Subject: Re: Theories needed on life In article <3996@3comvax.MCD.3Com.Com> michaelm@vax.MCD.3Com.Com (Michael McNeil) writes: > >It's highly likely that humanoid life wouldn't exist even on a planet >just like the Earth -- if life were to independently evolve again. >There are just too many other possible pathways for it to follow. Either that, or the humanoid form is like a chaotic attractor, and almost all evolutionary forms end up with it - which seems a whole lot more likely to me. (Not that I feel it's all that wonderful, I just don't see anything wrong with it, and I doubt we're really all that special). -- _ Kevin D. Quitt demott!kdq kdq@demott.com DeMott Electronics Co. 14707 Keswick St. Van Nuys, CA 91405-1266 VOICE (818) 988-4975 FAX (818) 997-1190 MODEM (818) 997-4496 PEP last 96.37% of all statistics are made up. ------------------------------ Date: 19 Oct 90 18:25:04 GMT From: hplabsb!dsmith@hplabs.hpl.hp.com (David Smith) Subject: Re: PLUTO AND PIONEER 10 In article <17109021:33:37CK02@lehigh.bitnet> CK02@Lehigh writes: >To elaborate, Pioneer 10 or 11 (or the Voyagers), didn't go on to Pluto >because they took trajetories which concentrated their studies on the >satilities of Saturn (for Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1) and of >Neptune for Voyager 2. Pioneer 10 did not go to Saturn. Voyager 2 couldn't have gotten to Pluto from Neptune, so why not visit Triton? -- "Some fear that Newtonian physics | David R. Smith, HP Labs governs superpower relations: | dsmith@hplabs.hp.com What goes up must come down." | (415) 857-7898 Time Magazine, interviewing Gorbachev, June 4, 1990 ------------------------------ Date: 20 Oct 90 16:53:17 GMT From: usc!srhqla!demott!kdq@ucsd.edu (Kevin D. Quitt) Subject: Re: Theories needed on life In article <90292.181834JMS111@psuvm.psu.edu> JMS111@psuvm.psu.edu (Jenni Sheehey) writes: >It really *is* unlikely that anything even resembling *any* species >presently on earth would be found on another planet by chance... Unless you actually have proof of this, please label it as opinion. Based on our profound lack of knowledge, it is equally likely that *most* earth-like planets would develop humanoid life. -- _ Kevin D. Quitt demott!kdq kdq@demott.com DeMott Electronics Co. 14707 Keswick St. Van Nuys, CA 91405-1266 VOICE (818) 988-4975 FAX (818) 997-1190 MODEM (818) 997-4496 PEP last 96.37% of all statistics are made up. ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 20 Oct 90 14:52:50 ADT From: LANG%UNB.CA@BITNET.CC.CMU.EDU Subject: DoD Using Non-crypto GPS Receivers in Operation Desert Shield Apparently-To: The Department of Defense has purchased 2100 Trimble Navigation Pathfinder GPS receivers and sent them to the Middle East for use in operation Desert Shield. Since the Pathfinder is an SPS receiver, this large purchase could be one of the reasons why Selective Availability on the Block II satellites was turned off around the 10th of August. (Source: James Stowell, UNAVCO) ================================================================================ Richard B. Langley BITnet: LANG@UNB.CA or SE@UNB.CA Geodetic Research Laboratory Phone: (506) 453-5142 Dept. of Surveying Engineering Telex: 014-46202 University of New Brunswick FAX: (506) 453-4943 Fredericton, N.B., Canada E3B 5A3 ================================================================================ ------------------------------ Date: 19 Oct 90 03:18:41 GMT From: news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!henry@rutgers.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: Re: Pioneer 11 Update - 10/17/90 In article <1990Oct18.113925.19708@cbnewsl.att.com> jfbn@cbnewsl.att.com (james.f.burnell) writes: >> The Pioneer 11 spacecraft emergency continues... >Was the loss of the Pioneer 11 signal at this time expected, considering the >age of the spacecraft (loss of output of the RTG), limited power of its >transmitter and its extreme distance? ... No. Something's wrong. -- The type syntax for C is essentially | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology unparsable. --Rob Pike | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry ------------------------------ Date: 19 Oct 90 20:20:52 GMT From: usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov!baalke@ucsd.edu (Ron Baalke) Subject: Magellan Update - 10/19/90 MAGELLAN STATUS REPORT October 19, 1990 The Magellan spacecraft has now completed 250 mapping orbit. The 6 of the 8 STARCALS (star calibrations) and 2 DESATS (desaturations of the reaction wheels) of the past 24 hours were successful with nominal attitude updates. The two partially updates were caused by foreground filter star rejections. All spacecraft systems are performing nominally. Spacecraft engineers are now nearly certain that the gyro and solar array position miscompares are caused by torsional oscillations during each mapping pass. Deflections of the panel tip, where the sun sensors are located, may be causing out-of-phase feedback in the control loop. The oscillation is not serious enough to stop mapping, but the system engineers are analyzing any possible impact on radar performance and the likelihood of any long term fatigue effects. The control sequences and fault protection parameters for the period of Superior Conjunction were sent to the spacecraft yesterday evening. The battery charging control was also changed now that the spacecraft is out of sun and earth occultations. The radar system continues to operate normally, but there is some concern regarding the rate of zero-filled experiment data records. For example, nearly 32% of the SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) bursts on orbit #612 on Monday, October 15, were zero-filled. Several tests are being performed on the received radar data and some temporary modifications to data processing methods are being considered to alleviate the adverse effects of the degraded data quality. The primary SAR processor is back in operation and four new image swaths were processed after the repair was completed yesterday evening. ___ _____ ___ /_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| | | | | __ \ /| | | | Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov ___| | | | |__) |/ | | |___ Jet Propulsion Lab | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov /___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| M/S 301-355 | |_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ Pasadena, CA 91109 | ------------------------------ Date: 19 Oct 90 22:18:34 GMT From: psuvm!jms111@psuvax1.cs.psu.edu (Jenni Sheehey) Subject: Re: Theories needed on life In article <3996@3comvax.MCD.3Com.Com>, michaelm@vax.MCD.3Com.Com (Michael McNeil) says: >In article <1990Oct18.213753.34575@eagle.wesleyan.edu> >dlinder@eagle.wesleyan.edu writes: >>Could someone theorize on what humanoid life would be like on a planet >>3 or 4 times the size of the Earth. I'm looking for theories on body >>structure, societies, technology, psychology, etc. Thanks, I appreciate >>any speculation. > >It's highly likely that humanoid life wouldn't exist even on a planet >just like the Earth -- if life were to independently evolve again. >There are just too many other possible pathways for it to follow. Sounds like someone wants to write an SF story! =) Perhaps a more useful thing to do would be to try to figure out how humans would change over a long period on time on such a planet... It really *is* unlikely that anything even resembling *any* species presently on earth would be found on another planet by chance... --Jenni /-------------------------------------\ ******************************** | JMS111@PSUVM - Bitnet | * It's life, Jim, but not as * | JMS111@PSUVM.psu.edu - Internet | * we know it. --"Bones" McCoy * | These opinions are not the property \ ******************************** | or responsibility of Penn State or the Center for Academic Computing | \----------------------------------------------------------------------/ ------------------------------ Date: 18 Oct 90 23:41:11 GMT From: van-bc!rsoft!mindlink!a752@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Bruce Dunn) Subject: Re: Deep Lunar Dust Story? The classic Lunar Dust story is "A Fall of Moondust", a novel by Arthur C. Clarke. A lunar transport vehicle full of people disappears inside a "pool" of dust, fluidized by electrostatic repulsion between particles. The novel concentrates on how the trapped people react, and how they are eventually found and rescued. A good read. -- Did you hear the joke about the scientist whose wife had twins? - He baptized one and kept the other as a control. Bruce Dunn Vancouver, Canada a752@mindlink.UUCP ------------------------------ Date: 20 Oct 90 07:05:02 GMT From: swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!umich!umeecs!msi.umn.edu!cs.umn.edu!sialis!orbit!pnet51!schaper@ucsd.edu (S Schaper) Subject: Re: landform names and soviet/Venus images Well, if such names are offensive either a) `University of Western Ontario' is also offensive and should be latinized or b) They should have gotten there ahead of us, if it is that big a deal to them. :-) Please look at the Magellan images and compare with the Venera. Should be interesting. Maybe you could post anything intersting, or anything Venera shows that PIoneer Venus did not, that we should be interested in, esp with Magellan mapping now. UUCP: {amdahl!bungia, uunet!rosevax, chinet, killer}!orbit!pnet51!schaper The necktie is a device of Mordor ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51!schaper@nosc.mil INET: schaper@pnet51.cts.com ------------------------------ Date: 20 Oct 90 06:45:13 GMT From: swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!umich!umeecs!msi.umn.edu!cs.umn.edu!sialis!orbit!pnet51!schaper@ucsd.edu (S Schaper) Subject: Re: You Can't Expect a Space Station to be Cheap fascinating, so if we delayed Fred one year, we could build LLNL's station first for a control :-) IF it works, why build fred? Unless we need a new station, then modify the LLNL UUCP: {amdahl!bungia, uunet!rosevax, chinet, killer}!orbit!pnet51!schaper The necktie is a device of Mordor ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51!schaper@nosc.mil INET: schaper@pnet51.cts.com ------------------------------ Date: 18 Oct 90 21:40:52 GMT From: ubc-cs!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!henry@beaver.cs.washington.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: Re: Homebuilt Manned Rockets In article <1990Oct18.090711.4117@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> draper@cpsin2.cps.msu.edu (Patrick J Draper) writes: >I'm sure it would be MUCH more complex than building and operating a jet >plane... Not obvious. Aerodynamics are lots of fun; rockets have the enormous advantage of not having to worry about that much. >Rocket fuel is more explosive than jet fuel. Uh, nope, sorry. RP-1, one of the common rocket fuels, *is* jet fuel in all but the finest details. And neither one is in the same league, for safety problems, as gasoline. The hazard of rockets is that they carry concentrated oxidizer, and an oxidizer/fuel mix is dangerous (as is a mixture of gasoline and air). So don't let them mix. :-) >... The Gemini >rockets used hypergolic fuels. That way the only ignition system >required were valves to allow the fuel to mix and spontaneously ignite... Hypergolics are ahead on simplicity, and the spontaneous ignition makes really large explosions impossible, because the fuel and oxidizer can't pre-mix. (This is why Gemini could use ejection seats, where Mercury and Apollo needed escape towers.) On the other hand, the hypergolics are really vile compounds, corrosive and poisonous, and add considerable handling hazards. -- "...the i860 is a wonderful source | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology of thesis topics." --Preston Briggs | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry ------------------------------ Date: 19 Oct 90 17:02:51 GMT From: swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!forsight!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov!baalke@ucsd.edu (Ron Baalke) Subject: Hiten Update Forwarded from Yoshiro Yamada Astronomy Section Yokohama Science Center --------------------------------------------------------------- According to ISAS, the Hiten spacecraft made its fifth lunar swingby on 02-Oct-90 at 12:01 JST (=UTC + 9hrs) at a selenocentric distance of 22,400 km. The sixth swingby is expected on 03-Jan-91. ___ _____ ___ /_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| | | | | __ \ /| | | | Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov ___| | | | |__) |/ | | |___ Jet Propulsion Lab | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov /___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| M/S 301-355 | |_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ Pasadena, CA 91109 | ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V12 #472 *******************