Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 05:00:58 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V15 #144 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Wed, 26 Aug 92 Volume 15 : Issue 144 Today's Topics: Australian space industries.... Private space ventures Saturn class (Was: SPS feasibility and other space Slowdrugs(was Re: With telepresence, who needs people in Earth orbit?) Venus orbiters (2 msgs) Welcome to the Space Digest!! Please send your messages to "space@isu.isunet.edu", and (un)subscription requests of the form "Subscribe Space " to one of these addresses: listserv@uga (BITNET), rice::boyle (SPAN/NSInet), utadnx::utspan::rice::boyle (THENET), or space-REQUEST@isu.isunet.edu (Internet). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 26 Aug 92 01:48:45 GMT From: ANDREW BENNETT <10706747@eng2.eng.monash.edu.au> Subject: Australian space industries.... Newsgroups: sci.space Hi everyone, I was wondering if anyone knew of any Australian space societies, companies, organisations etc that I could write to ( e-mail(?) ) and/or join. I am particularly interested in any that are around the Melbourne area. Please e-mail me at one of the addresses below. Thanx in advance. Andrew Bennett. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | I can be contacted at the following | Reality is what people | | addresses... | perceive it to be. | | The opinions expressed are entirely | | | my own. | Sanity is what the majority | | e-mail me at: | of people call Reallity. | | kryndal@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au | | | roabennett@halls1.cc.monash.edu au | Insanity is what a Minority | | 10706747@eng2.eng.monash.edu.au | view as the Truth. | | | Anonymous | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------ Date: 25 Aug 92 21:45:47 GMT From: "Charles J. Divine" Subject: Private space ventures Newsgroups: sci.space In article <8780.2339210127@kcbbs.gen.nz> Simon_Demler@kcbbs.gen.nz (Simon Demler) writes: >> [It bugs me that there are people like H Ross Perot, who >> themselves have enough cash to finance their own space >> programs, but that none, so far, has underwritten one.] > >Does it also bother you that these people could be spending some money >on the drought problems in Africa rather than on some space program...You >must be one of those space for the sake of space of types... > >Come on get real...there are MUCH larger problems that need solving >on this planet before trying to get peoples private wealth for space >purposes.. Implicit in this argument is the notion that activities in space subtract from efforts to solve problems on earth. This is simply not true. In the Washington Post (and I suspect other newspapers) was a major story this morning: Hurricane hits Florida. 10 people might have died. If we had followed your approach over the past 40 years, the headlines might have read: Surprise hurricane hits Florida! Thousands die! That's the way things used to be -- before weather satellites. Western civilization has been one of the greatest engines for solving of problems the human race has ever created. But it didn't accomplish all this by turning inward. It did it by turning outward and embracing the world and persuing discovery. -- Chuck Divine ------------------------------ Date: 26 Aug 92 00:43:59 GMT From: Josh 'K' Hopkins Subject: Saturn class (Was: SPS feasibility and other space Newsgroups: sci.space aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer) writes: >In article (Josh 'K' Hopkins) writes: >>I think Nick is right >>in saying that HLVs have no commercial relevance in this decade. >SS Freedom construction and supply IS a viable commercial market for >HLVs this decade. > Allen How do you figure? I'm defining an HLV as having a larger payload than a shuttle or Titan IV. That would put the number of construction launches around a dozen. By itself, this doesn't look like a big enough market to spur development of a new vehicle, and there isn't another market in sight. Add to this the fact that shuttle will be going to Freedom anyway because people need to be there and you cut the number of HLV launches down further. Supply might be a market, but the astronauts are going to have to drink a lot of tang to make this a big enough market to support an HLV -- Josh Hopkins Friends don't let friends derive drunk j-hopkins@uiuc.edu ------------------------------ Date: 25 Aug 92 23:00:28 GMT From: Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey Subject: Slowdrugs(was Re: With telepresence, who needs people in Earth orbit?) Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1992Aug25.035558.7449@samba.oit.unc.edu>, cecil@physics.unc.edu (Gerald Cecil) writes: > In article <1992Aug24.175759.1@fnalf.fnal.gov> higgins@fnalf.fnal.gov (Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey) writes: > [...stuff re manned vs unmanned exploration modes...] >>Cecil may want to hear a discussion of this, but I think I've heard it >>often enough before. > Hey, at least we're not talking about Soyuz any more! I thought the Soyuz discussion hit some nice engineering points; I learned a lot and it got me to think. (Maybe it *did* drag on too long.) > Maybe teleoperators need > mind-altering substances to slow time perception to the point where they are > willing to take 10x longer to do something (complementary personalities to air > traffic controllers?) This is a novel suggestion... might at least make a good SF story. It would be cruel and vicious of me to suggest hiring postal employees (some of my best friends are postal employees). > Maybe we *all* need these, as we sit through the ponderous > assembly of SSF -- strut by strut, Shuttle by Shuttle -- while NASA projects > a sense of mission during the 90's. But, Gerald, that's how we Buck Rogers fans spent the Seventies and Eighties, often without benefit of any drugs at all! O~~* /_) ' / / /_/ ' , , ' ,_ _ \|/ - ~ -~~~~~~~~~~~/_) / / / / / / (_) (_) / / / _\~~~~~~~~~~~zap! / \ (_) (_) / | \ | | Bill Higgins Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory \ / Bitnet: HIGGINS@FNAL.BITNET - - Internet: HIGGINS@FNAL.FNAL.GOV ~ SPAN/Hepnet: 43011::HIGGINS ------------------------------ Date: 26 Aug 92 07:07:16 GMT From: Ron Baalke Subject: Venus orbiters Newsgroups: sci.space In article , rabjab@golem.ucsd.edu (Jeff Bytof) writes... >Is the Pioneer Venus orbiter still functioning? Yup, but it is running out of propellent and is due to burn up in the atmosphere of Venus this December. >Besides Magellan, >what other spacecraft (Russian?) may be still functional? Here's a list of deep space spacecraft that are still operating. Pioneer 6, 7 & 8 (solar orbit) Pioneer Venus Pioneer 10 & 11 (left the solar system) Voyager 1 & 2 (left the solar system) Hiten (lunar orbit) Giotto (solar orbit) Ulysses (on its way to pass "underneath" the Sun) Galileo (coming back for a Earth gravity assist and then on to Jupiter) Sakigake (solar orbit) Suisei (solar orbit) ICE (solar orbit) Strangely enough, the Soviets don't have any spacecraft still operating. ___ _____ ___ /_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov | | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab | ___| | | | |__) |/ | | |__ M/S 525-3684 Telos | Optimists live longer /___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | than pessimists. |_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | ------------------------------ Date: 26 Aug 92 02:24:38 GMT From: David Knapp Subject: Venus orbiters Newsgroups: sci.space In article rabjab@golem.ucsd.edu (Jeff Bytof) writes: >Is the Pioneer Venus orbiter still functioning? Yes, but not for long. In September, the orbit will have decayed enough so that PV will start clipping the atmosphere. Depending on if the remaining fuel can be used effectively, and if there is enough left, there is a chance that the mission can last into December. The chances of success are gauged at 50%. In any case, the PV orbiter will be dead and gone by the end of the year. Actually, the entry will allow for some snazzy experiments to be done in situ. The mass spec and other instruments that haven't been able to be used in the higher orbits will now be used. Overall, the mission was an amazing success especially if you consider that the nominal mission was exceeded by some twelve years. People should remember these kinds of successes when they are getting down on NASA for making mistakes (I don't think I need to name any ;-) -- David Knapp University of Colorado, Boulder Highly Opinionated, Aging and knapp@spot.colorado.edu Perpetual Student of Chemistry and Physics. Write me for an argument on your favorite subject. ------------------------------ Received: from crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu by VACATION.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU id aa21785; 25 Aug 92 18:21:15 EDT To: bb-sci-space@CRABAPPLE.SRV.CS.CMU.EDU Path: crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu!cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news.harvard.edu!ogicse!uwm.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!news.acns.nwu.edu!network.ucsd.edu!lutherlab.ucsd.edu!rabjab From: Jeff Bytof Newsgroups: sci.space Subject: Re: Global positioning sys Message-Id: Date: 25 Aug 92 21:46:31 GMT Article-I.D.: golem.rabjab.40.0 References: <714218615.F00002@blkcat.UUCP> Organization: sio Lines: 20 Nntp-Posting-Host: lutherlab.ucsd.edu Sender: news@CRABAPPLE.SRV.CS.CMU.EDU Source-Info: Sender is really isu@VACATION.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU >Jeff you'll need to contact the Air Force for GPS information. Yes, the Air Force just sent me: "Technical Characteristics of the NAVSTAR GPS" June 1991 It's good technical introduction for public release, obtainable from: Department of the Air Force Headquarters Space Systems Division (AFSC) Los Angeles Air Force Base, PO Box 92960 Los Angeles, CA 90009-2960 Jeff Bytof rabjab@golem.ucsd.edu ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 15 : Issue 144 ------------------------------