Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 7997;andrew.cmu.edu;Ted Anderson Received: from hogtown.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 ; Sat, 16 Mar 91 02:16:10 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: Precedence: junk Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Sat, 16 Mar 91 02:16:05 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #278 SPACE Digest Volume 13 : Issue 278 Today's Topics: railguns and electro-magnetic launchers Space Studies Assessement of the Space Station (Forwarded) Re: Value per pound vs. cost per pound Spacewarn Bulletin SPX-448 Administrivia: Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to space+@andrew.cmu.edu. Other mail, esp. [un]subscription requests, should be sent to space-request+@andrew.cmu.edu, or, if urgent, to tm2b+@andrew.cmu.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 12 Mar 91 15:28:52 GMT From: csusac!csuchico.edu!petunia!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!unix.cis.pitt.edu!pitt!nss!Paul.Blase@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu (Paul Blase) Subject: railguns and electro-magnetic launchers Re recent discussions on railguns and electromagnetic launchers. There is an article in "Aerospace & Defense Science", Nov/Dec 1990, p19, by Terry L. Metzgar: 'From Dreamworld to Realworld: Electromagnetic Guns'. The article goes into depth on the current state of research into railguns and other electromagnetic weaponry - much of which would also be useful for space exploration. Here are a few of the more interesting pieces of information: Item: DARPA [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency], the Army, and the DNA [Defense Nuclear Agency] are building 'Miramar Gun B' at Maxwell Labs. This railgun uses a 90mm bore, and fires 2 kilogram plastic projectiles at velocities in access of 3 kilometers per second. The article speculates that, because of various effects, electromagnet cannon should be of an extremely large bore, on the order of a meter. Item: re current work on very high power capacitors: "Several years ago the Miramar 32-megajoule capacitor bank would have weighed a crushing 320,000 kilograms. Thanks to some intensive development efforts at DNA, current technology shrinks that down to around 10 tons. Project Mile Run will try to condense that 10 tons into a 1.2 ton package [using copolymer- resin based capacitors]." Item: "Although not a railgun, electromagnetic armor is a direct spinoff from EML capacitor development programs. It remains highly classified.... The technique uses an outer steel ground plate that, upon contact, energizes, forming a magnetic field that deflects shaped-charge warheads." Note: yes, railguns throw a projectile with a great deal of force, but it is possible to create electronics that can survive the accelleration - a good example is the Army's Copperhead laser-guided artillery shell. More probable, for our space exploration uses, is the use of a coilgun as a first stage booster, employing a conventional rocket after the craft leaves the barrel. --- via Silver Xpress V2.26 [NR] -- Paul Blase - via FidoNet node 1:129/104 UUCP: ...!pitt!nss!Paul.Blase INTERNET: Paul.Blase@nss.FIDONET.ORG ------------------------------ Date: 15 Mar 91 16:30:30 GMT From: elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov!baalke@decwrl.dec.com (Ron Baalke) Subject: Space Studies Assessement of the Space Station (Forwarded) SPACE STUDIES BOARD ASSESSMENT OF THE SPACE STATION Statement by Dr. Lennard A. Fisk Associate Administrator Office of Space Science and Applications The Space Studies Board has long been opposed to justifying Space Station Freedom solely on scientific merit. Even so, the Board recognizes, and NASA concurs, that "there are national considerations for building a space station other than scientific research." Given the economic realities, the Congress and NASA decided to build Station capabilities in an evolutionary way. We fully expect that as we build this Station we will, in time, meet the requirements of the principal scientific research for which it was intended. The United States has made international commitments, and the President has set long-term goals for the civil space program. The Space Station represents a significant part of these goals. The debate has been lengthy and the decisions difficult, but NASA is confident that the time is here to take the initial steps with the resources available and proceed with building Space Station Freedom. ___ _____ ___ /_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov | | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab | ___| | | | |__) |/ | | |___ M/S 301-355 | Change is constant. /___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | |_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | ------------------------------ Date: 11 Mar 91 22:41:57 GMT From: zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!sequent!crg5!szabo@beaver.cs.washington.edu (Nick Szabo) Subject: Re: Value per pound vs. cost per pound In article <1991Mar11.183441.687@zoo.toronto.edu> henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes: >Nick's problem here is that he doesn't know much about launcher design, >or he wouldn't make ridiculous statements like "already strained to its >technical limits". I certainly know a lot more than you've told us about. If you look at the statistics of jet airplanes vs. rockets, for example fuel per pound of payload, structural mass per pound of fuel, maximum speed, etc., you will find that chemical rockets are stretched farther to the limits than airplanes. The cost of building jet airplanes has flattened out, and I expect the cost of building chemical rockets has or soon will do likewise, at similar per vehicle levels for freight ELV's, and much higher levels for reusable passenger vehicles. If you have any facts to refute this, please present them, but let's not go around knocking people for lacking knowledge you yourself seem to lack. I hope that is the extent of this little ad hominem volley :-( >Launcher designers commonly trade off performance for >reliability, ease of handling, use of existing hardware, etc.; you would >not find such tradeoffs in systems that were stretched to their limits. All transportation systems have these tradeoffs, including those that have reached their economic limits. Performance, reliability, and ease of handling are prerequisite characteristics for even being considered "transportation". >As a case in point, almost every launcher designer uses 3 or even 4 stages >to get to orbit, when Atlas did it with 1.5 over thirty years ago. There >are large margins of performance available if environmental constraints >become serious enough to justify major redesign. It doesn't seem that Atlas has significantly reduced launch costs. -- Nick Szabo szabo@sequent.com "What are the _facts_, and to how many decimal places?" -- RAH ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 Mar 91 15:53:34 AST To: "Space Digest" From: Richard Langley Subject: Spacewarn Bulletin SPX-448 SPACEWARN BULLETIN SPX-448 Feburary 25, 1991 SPACEWARN Activities -------------------- (All information in this publication was received between January 25 and Feburary 25, 1991.) A. List of New International Designations and Launch Dates. (HQ USSPACECOM Catalog numbers are in parentheses.) 1991-012A (21118) MOLNIYA 1-80 Feb 15 009D (21103) COSMOS 2128 Feb 12 011A (21116) COSMOS 2134 Feb 15 009C (21102) COSMOS 2127 Feb 12 010A (21111) COSMOS 2133 Feb 14 009B (21101) COSMOS 2126 Feb 12 009H (21107) COSMOS 2132 Feb 12 009A (21100) COSMOS 2125 Feb 12 009G (21106) COSMOS 2131 Feb 12 008A (21092) COSMOS 2124 Feb 7 009F (21105) COSMOS 2130 Feb 12 007A (21089) COSMOS 2123 Feb 5 009E (21104) COSMOS 2129 Feb 12 006A (21087) INFORMATOR-1 Jan 29 B. Text of Launching Announcements. ------------------------------- 1991-012A MOLNIYA 1-80 was launched on February 15, 1991, by the U.S.S.R. using a Molniya rocket booster. The satellite will ensure long distance telephone and telegraph radio communications. Initial orbital parameters: period 702 min, apogee 39,113 km, perigee 471 km, inclination 62.8 deg. 1991-011A COSMOS 2134 was launched BY the U.S.S.R. on February 15, 1991. 1991-010A COSMOS 2133 was launched BY the U.S.S.R. on February 14, 1991. 1991-009A COSMOS 2125 through 2132 were launched on February 12, 1991, by through the U.S.S.R. using a single COSMOS rocket booster. Initial orbital 1991-009H parameters: period 115.1 min, apogee 1495 km, perigee 1452 km, inclination 74 deg. 1991-008A COSMOS 2124 was launched on February 7, 1991, by the U.S.S.R. using a SOYUZ rocket booster. Initial orbital parameters: period 89.0 min, apogee 271 km, perigee 175 km, inclination 62.8 deg. 1991-007A COSMOS 2123 was launched on February 5, 1991, by the U.S.S.R. using a COSMOS rocket booster. The satellite is part of a space navigational system created with the aim of determining the location of naval and fishing vessels. Initial orbital parameters: period 104.9 min, apogee 1019 km, perigee 981 km, inclination 82.9 deg. 1991-006A INFORMATOR-1 was launched on January 29, 1991, by the U.S.S.R. using a COSMOS rocket booster. The satellite carries experimental equipment designed to collect and transmit information in the interest of the Soviet Ministry of Geology. Initial orbital parameters: period 104.8 min, distance from earth's surface 1,000 km, inclination 83 deg. C. Spacecraft Particularly Suited for International Participation (Category I). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Spacecraft with essentially continuous radio beacons on frequencies less ------------------------------------------------------------------------ than 150 MHz, or higher frequencies if especially suited for ionospheric or --------------------------------------------------------------------------- geodetic studies. ----------------- ("NNSS" denotes U.S. Navy Navigational Satellite System. Square bracket indicates updated information since the last issue. Spacewarn would appreciate suggestions to update this list.) Frequency, Power, Designation National Name and Orbit Information Remarks ----------- ------------- --------------------- ------- 1966-110A ATS 1 June 16, 1988 Weak signals. VHF 137.35 MHz translator on ~12 hr/ Inclination: 14.0 deg day. 1967-111A ATS 3 June 16, 1988 Weak signals. 136.37 MHz 137.35 MHz Location: 105 deg W Inclination: 12.1 deg 1973-081A OSCAR (NAV) 20 September 15, 1988 Operational transit. 150 MHz at 0.75 W (Also known as NNSS 400 MHz at 1.25 W 30200) Inclination: 89.9 deg 1975-100A GOES 1 December 27, 1990 136.38 MHz Location: 91.1 deg W Inclination: 10.1 deg 1977-014A KIKU 2 October 9, 1990 (Also known as ETS 2) 136.11 MHz Location: 127.1 deg E Inclination: 9.4 deg 1977-048A GOES 2 December 30, 1990 136.38 MHz Location: 60.3 deg W Inclination: 8.6 deg 1978-012A IUE January 7, 1991 136.86 MHz Inclination: 32.653 deg 1978-062A GOES 3 November 11, 1990 136.38 MHz Location: 176.0 deg W Inclination: 7.3 deg 1981-044A NOVA I September 15, 1988 Operational transit. 150 MHz at 3.00 W (Also known as NNSS 400 MHz at 5.00 W 30480) Inclination: 90.0 deg *[1981-057A METEOSAT 2 February 7, 1991] [137.078 MHz] [Location: 10 deg W] [Inclination: 3.8 deg] 1984-110A NOVA III September 15, 1988 Operational transit. 150 MHz at 3.00 W (Also known as NNSS 400 MHz at 5.00 W 30500) Inclination: 90.0 deg 1984-114B MARECS-B2 December 26, 1990 137.17 MHz Location: 55.5 deg W Inclination: 1.8 deg 1984-123A NOAA 9 January 9, 1991 137.62 MHz Inclination: 99.172 deg 1985-066A OSCAR (NAV) 24 September 15, 1988 Removed from service at 150 MHz at 0.75 W 1956z on September 1, 400 MHz at 1.25 W 1990. Inclination: 89.9 deg (Also known as NNSS 24) 1985-066B OSCAR (NAV) 30 September 15, 1988 Commanded to operational 150 MHz at 1.00 W frequencies on September 400 MHz at 2.00 W 5, 1990 and placed in Inclination: 89.9 deg service on September 7, 1990. (Also known as NNSS 30) 1986-073A NOAA 10 January 3, 1991 137.50 MHz Inclination: 98.582 deg 1986-088A POLAR BEAR September 15, 1988 Experimental. 150 MHz at 0.75 W (Also known as NNSS 400 MHz at 1.25 W 30170) Inclination: 89.9 deg 1987-080A OSCAR (NAV) 27 December 5, 1988 Operational transit. 150 MHz at 0.75 W (Also known as NNSS 400 MHz at 1.25 W 30270) Inclination: 90.3 deg 1987-080B OSCAR (NAV) 29 December 5, 1988 Stored in orbit at an 150 MHz at 0.75 W offset frequency. 400 MHz at 1.25 W (Also known as NNSS Inclination: 90.3 deg 30290) 1988-033A OSCAR (NAV) 23 January 31, 1989 Operational transit. 150 MHz at 0.75 W (Also known as NNSS 400 MHz at 1.25 W 30230) Inclination: 90.4 deg 1988-033B OSCAR (NAV) 32 September 15, 1988 Stored in orbit at an 150 MHz at 1.00 W offset frequency. 400 MHz at 2.00 W (Also known as NNSS Inclination: 90.4 deg 30320) *[1988-051A METEOSAT 3 February 7, 1991 Turned-on when beacon] [137.080 MHz of METEOSAT 2 is] [Location: 3 deg W turned-off and vice] [versa.] 1988-052A NOVA II September 15, 1988 Operational transit. 150 MHz at 3.00 W (Also known as NNSS 400 MHz at 5.00 W 30490) Inclination: 90.0 deg 1988-074A OSCAR (NAV) 25 September 15, 1988 Stored in orbit at an 150 MHz at 0.75 W offset frequency. 400 MHz at 1.25 W (Also known as NNSS Inclination: 90.0 deg 30250) 1988-074B OSCAR (NAV) 31 March 8, 1990 Stored in orbit at an 150 MHz at 1.00 W offset frequency. 400 MHz at 2.00 W (Also known as NNSS Inclination: 98.971 deg 30130) 1988-089A NOAA 11 January 11, 1991 136.77 MHz 137.77 MHz Inclination: 99.010 deg * Updates supplied by Dr. Piero Beni, IROE-CNR Firenze (Italy) 2. Optical objects used for geophysical studies. -------------------------------------------- (These objects are also suitable for studies of air density and atmospheric winds. Additional research interest is indicated by + for gravitational fields. SPACEWARN would appreciate suggestions to update this list.) + 1965-098C ALOUETTE 2 (rocket) 1970-034B CHINA 1 (rocket) 1971-016A COSMOS 398 + 1984-106A COSMOS 1603 + 1988-021B IRS-1A (rocket) 3. Satellites useful for simultaneous observation programs with small ------------------------------------------------------------------ cameras. -------- (NNN Denotes no national name. SPACEWARN should appreciate suggestions to update this list.) Apogee Perigee Incl (km) (km) Magn Remarks ---- ------ ------ ------ --------- 1963-049A NNN 89.9 1086 1060 +5 cylinder, 4.8 x 1.4 m 1964-001A NNN 69.9 927 904 +5 cylinder, 8 x 1.5 m 1964-053A COSMOS 44 65.1 817 608 +4 cylinder 1965-070F COSMOS 56.1 1515 1357 +5 rocket body 1965-073F COSMOS 56.1 1686 1387 +5 rocket body 1965-089A GEOS 1 59.4 2275 1113 octahedron and pyramid, 0.81 x 1.22 m 1968-002A GEOS 2 105.8 1570 1082 octahedron and pyramid, 0.81 x 1.22 m 1975-027A GEOS 3 115.0 858 818 octahedron and pyramid, 1.11 x 1.22 m 1976-039A LAGEOS 109.8 5946 5837 sphere, 0.6 m diameter 4. Satellite objects that are nearing their decay into the atmosphere. ------------------------------------------------------------------ (Orbital observations of these objects during the decaying phase are useful for atmospheric studies.) Objects predicted to decay within 60 days from February 21, 1991 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Expected Decay Dates 1991 ------------------------ 1968-091Z Apr 16 1983-044AL Apr 04 1971-015BJ Feb 27 1986-017CV Mar 21 1971-015CM Mar 04 1986-017CW Mar 11 1971-015DT Mar 03 1986-017CX Mar 01 1972-058DJ Apr 07 1986-019KN Mar 02 1972-058L Mar 22 1989-045B Mar 29 1972-058FG Mar 10 1989-096B Mar 03 1976-126BH Mar 09 1990-096A (COSMOS 2103) Apr 16 1979-014AL Feb 27 1990-104E Mar 11 1980-030W Feb 25 1990-104F Mar 20 1980-030AH Mar 25 1990-104H Mar 18 1981-053AA Mar 10 1990-113A (COSMOS 2113) Mar 07 1981-053EN Apr 20 1991-005A (COSMOS 2122) Apr 05 1981-100A (SME) Mar 04 1991-008A (COSMOS 2124) Feb 25 5. Actual decays. ------------- Actual Decay Dates 1990 ------------------------ 1971-015BY Dec 28 1990-104J Nov 11 1981-028BP Dec 31 1990-115C Dec 28 Actual Decay Dates 1991 ----------------------- 1961-OMI178 Feb 03 1989-100Y Feb 08 1965-082N Jan 27 1989-100Z Feb 12 1965-082UP Feb 08 1989-100AA Feb 12 1968-049B Jan 26 1989-100AB Feb 12 1970-25JB Jan 17 1990-011B Feb 18 1971-015AU Feb 13 1990-081AB Jan 10 1973-086CP Jan 26 1990-104C Feb 21 1974-089BE Jan 10 1990-105C Feb 06 1980-030AP Feb 18 1990-105G Feb 16 1980-089AK Feb 06 1990-105H Jan 10 1981-028BF Feb 04 1990-105M Jan 30 1981-028BR Feb 04 1990-105N Feb 02 1981-053EL Feb 01 1990-105T Feb 09 1981-057E Jan 17 1990-105U Feb 21 1982-033A (SALYUT 7) Feb 07 1990-109A (COSMOS 2108) Jan 26 1983-044DC Feb 13 1990-115D Jan 18 1983-044EY Feb 12 1990-115F Jan 25 1985-086A (COSMOS 1686) Feb 07 1991-004A (COSMOS 2121) Feb 10 1986-017CT Feb 04 1991-004B Jan 19 1986-017CU Feb 05 1991-004D Feb 12 1986-019GF Feb 03 1991-004E Feb 12 1986-019MC Feb 15 1991-004F Feb 14 1986-019VD Feb 11 1991-004G Feb 11 1987-020BH Jan 17 1991-005B Jan 18 1987-020BR Feb 01 1991-008B Feb 11 1987-020DA Jan 17 1991-008C Feb 08 1987-020DL Feb 17 1991-010B Feb 16 1988-038A (COSMOS 2033) Jan 06 1991-010C Feb 16 1989-027B Feb 19 1991-011B Feb 18 1989-100V Feb 06 1991-011C Feb 16 1989-100X Feb 07 1991-012C Feb 22 ============================================================================== 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 ============================================================================== ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V13 #278 *******************