Date: Fri, 28 May 93 14:20:22 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V16 #640 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Fri, 28 May 93 Volume 16 : Issue 640 Today's Topics: Comet Shoemaker-Levy, Possible Collision With Jupiter in 1994 (2 msgs) Hey Ken! You awake? You exist? (LEO Cost; Return cost) Hey Sherz! (For real!) Cost of LEO (2 msgs) Hubble Servicing Mission Study Completed JPL Mission Updates - 05/27/93 lunar stability Moon Base (3 msgs) Moon vs. asteroids, Mars, comets Philosophy Quest. How Boldly? The crew is toast Tom Wolfe's THE RIGHT STUFF - Truth or Fiction? (3 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: Thu, 27 May 1993 18:42:30 GMT From: Paul Dietz Subject: Comet Shoemaker-Levy, Possible Collision With Jupiter in 1994 Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,alt.sci.planetary In article <1993May27.153141.15092@sfu.ca> Leigh Palmer writes: > Please elaborate on your expectation that a significant fraction of > the gravitational energy will be converted to (visible) light. This is > a surprise to me, but I don't know nearly enough about it. What I do > know is that, for an equivalent collision of an asteroid with earth > (a lot denser object) there was one hell of a lot of energy left to be > dissipated when the object reached the surface. In my (unsophisticated) > mind there exists the possibility that the same may be true in these > collisions at the point where the objects reach one optical depth into > Jupiter's atmosphere. Air bursts of nuclear weapons have been extensively studied on earth. According to "The Effects of Nuclear Weapons", some 1/3 of the energy is radiated in the thermal pulse in an airburst (although there was some evidence that this decreases for larger yields). Comets are thought to be rather weak. The comet should break up when the dynamic pressure is (say) a bar, which occurs at an atmospheric density of about 3e-5 kg m^-3. The comet has enough kinetic energy to dissociate and ionize roughly its own mass in hydrogen. At 10^12 kg, this occupies a sphere about 200 km in radius (I've ignored conservation of momentum here, as the sphere would still be moving down at 30 km/s, and not all the energy would have been dissipated, but let's take this as a first pass at the size of the fireball). I expect this sphere would be rather hot, and optically thick, and that it would radiate. If its temperature were 10,000 K (say), it would radiate at 2e20 watts, enough to radiate away the impact energy in < 10 seconds. The fireball would expand at the speed of sound in hot hydrogen, on the order of 10 km/s, so it looks like there is enough time for significant thermal radiation to be emitted. If the comet breaks apart at lower altitide, the fireball would be smaller, and more energy would go into its expansion rather than into radiation. If the impacting object hit a solid rocky planet, there would be relatively little radiation, as the energy would be too quickly carried away in the dense target material. Paul ------------------------------ Date: 27 May 1993 18:51:52 GMT From: John F Carr Subject: Comet Shoemaker-Levy, Possible Collision With Jupiter in 1994 Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1993May27.151133.14792@sfu.ca> Leigh Palmer writes: >I think that WFPC on Hubble is the natural instrument to use to >observe these impacts. Something has been left out of all this speculation: why do we want to observe this event? What might we learn? What might we learn that the atmosphere probe would not learn the next year? Could we observe the spectrum of the comet as it vaporizes? That would be interesting, since we would not be limited to volatile substances. But would it be hot enough while still above the cloud layer? >I hope that Hubble will go for this rather rare event and use it to >restore some of the flagging enthusiasm of the public which supports >our efforts. As a PR effort it might be worthwhile. -- John Carr (jfc@athena.mit.edu) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 18:28:25 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: Hey Ken! You awake? You exist? (LEO Cost; Return cost) Newsgroups: sci.space In <1tu2va$2ts@nml1sun.hsc.usc.edu> khayash@nml1sun.hsc.usc.edu (Ken Hayashida) writes: >pgf@srl01.cacs.usl.edu (Phil G. Fraering) writes: >the shuttle flights to recover the satillites and service them >or return them were significant technical achievements. They >told us how to prepare for satillites rescue missions, how to >organize them, conduct them, and to care them off. They illuminated >the weaknesses which we had previous to flying them, weaknesses >which have been addressed. But what they didn't do is provide any *reason* for doing them. Cargo return, for the present, is pretty much a totally unnecessary capability. >I see that the Fred and Allen team insist that the mass of the >orbiter or S-IV-B (Saturn third stage) are not relevant when >assessing the capabilities of the Saturn or Shuttle launchers. Well, we're not a 'team' -- I think we may have gone to the same parties once or twice, but we're not within a thousand miles of each other, now. However, we (and a bunch of other people) seem to be in agreement about this one. The weight of the vehicle doesn't count as 'payload'. >I still beg to differ. Your analogies of moving vans are not >applicable in this case. Allen's original post dealt with total >mass to LEO, unless he is prepared to change his statement (i.e. >retract it...). The issue is the capability of the two systems >to put heavy and large payloads into LEO. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Exactly! Not vehicles -- *payload*! The vehicle *is not* payload. >Mr. Sherzer later posted a message about how we should reopen >the Saturn V line. While I would enjoy watching a Saturn V fly, >I think its probably uneconomical to do this, especially when >modifications to the STS could provide a similar service without >the major pad modifications required to support Saturn vehicles. >This opinion (at this point a hunch) is what prompted me to >request more specifics and exact references for the document, >which I am pleased Mr. Sherzer provided. >In the immediate future (i.e. after my exams and paper is done), >I shall be posting the data I will be collecting on the Saturn V >launch vehicles total mass put into LEO. >The mass is relevant since larger masses usually mean larger structures. >Larger structures (i.e. greater mass to LEO capabilities) mean >a greater capability to integrate complex payloads on the ground. Yes, mass is relevant. However, look at what you just said. Does the mass of the Shuttle (the vehicle, not what it lifts in the cargo bay) have anything to do with "a greater capability to integrate complex payloads on the ground"? No, it does not. Only what goes in the cargo bay matters for that. So when you provide your 'relevant' numbers, don't count the mass of the Shuttle, since it's irrelevant. >As for Mr. Fraering's long post on shuttle technical issues... >I appreciated his post, did not receive the e-mail until today, >and will take awhile to digest every aspect of the mail. I appreciate >the technical nature of the document and hope that it is a sign >of good posts to come. >Gentlemen, I know you don't care for my view of shuttle; >I admire your faith in DC-Y...but I think you should be more >realistic about it. Faith? Sorry, but you're obviously talking to someone else. It doesn't require 'faith' to see that a vehicle that is designed to require a standing army and pushes the technology to the limits and then overstresses *that* (like the Shuttle Main Engines) is going to be expensive to operate. It is also easy to see that a vehicle that does not do those things (it takes something less than 100 people to take care of DC as it is currently spec'ed and nothing is ever run over about 80% of design) is going to be much cheaper to operate than one which does. >You are promising too much to those that are >unfamiliar with the technical demands of spaceflight. And you are robbing people and then telling them what a good deal they got because you didn't shoot them. Besides, if you are any indicator, it would appear that "those that are unfamiliar with the technical demands of spaceflight" aren't willing to listen because they think they know better than what engineers are telling them. Perhaps you should apply for a job as a manager with Morton-Thiokol? >When you >over sell DC-Y/X/ SX-2, you do the samething that your predecessors >did for shuttle...over sell to the populous while understanding the >engineering limitations behind closed doors. Just what do you think is 'over selling', Ken? Is pointing out the mistakes made on the Shuttle and avoiding them somehow 'over selling' to you? -- "Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 18:48:19 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: Hey Sherz! (For real!) Cost of LEO Newsgroups: sci.space In <1993May27.132830.29307@ke4zv.uucp> gary@ke4zv.uucp (Gary Coffman) writes: >In article <1u0p1g$7nk@access.digex.net> prb@access.digex.net (Pat) writes: >> >>If i wanted to be very narrow in my estimate i could have said >>128? LDEF trays, 50 Some SPaceLab Racks, and appx 100 GAS Cans. >> >>No matter what, it's ascathing condemnation of the SHuttles mass return >>capacity. >No, it's not a scathing condemnation of Shuttle's mass return capacity. >If Eastern Airlines decided to dead head DC-10s from LA to Atlanta, >would that be a condemnation of DC-10s, or would it be a condemnation >of Eastern's lack of marketing skill? Perhaps it would be a scathing condemnation of Eastern's *need* for DC-10's; likewise, this is a scathing condemnation of the *need* for a large mass return capacity -- and if we don't need it, it's hardly something to recommend Shuttle. -- "Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 18:50:24 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: Hey Sherz! (For real!) Cost of LEO Newsgroups: sci.space In <1u0p1g$7nk@access.digex.net> prb@access.digex.net (Pat) writes: > Actually, here is a real condemnation of SHuttle. If shuttle >is so great, why did the soviets Abandon BURAN? Buran is 99% like >shuttle in capacity, except BIG PLUS, it has Liquid Boosters, >and a jet engine assist on landing. Massive safety plus over STS. >Yet the Soviets abandoned BURAN totally, once they saw how operationally >inefficient it would be, and with the observation of how STS is strangling >our space program. I don't believe this is correct. The original Buran was primarily a test article. I was under the impression that they wanted to build more of them (or at least one faction does), but with somewhat different structural materials to increase payload and durability. The real problem for Buran is, as with much of Soviet space these days, money. -- "Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 18:06:11 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: Hubble Servicing Mission Study Completed Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,sci.space.shuttle In <1ttkal$5rr@access.digex.net> prb@access.digex.net (Pat) writes: >In article <25MAY199315362240@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov> baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) writes: >| >| The task force pointed out, however, that the mission is >|complex and will require more EVA (spacewalk) time than any >|mission to date. Given this complexity, the task force recommended >|that a second HST servicing mission be planned 6 to 12 months after >>the STS-61 flight to handle tasks that might not be completed during >>the first mission or respond to failures that occur in the intervening >>months. >I guess it was not so unreasonable my suggestion that they >scrub the re-boost with discovery, in favor of carrying >EDO packs, Extra Suits, the MMU and any other sort of utility >hardware they can think of. Potentially right. >if the re-boost needs to be done, >look at a fast track mini tug of some sort. Still as wrong as it was the first time you said it. They would have to fly a second mission to take this little 'cobbled together' tug of yours up and attach it. At which point they might just as well do something lower risk that we know will work and use the Shuttle itself to do the reboost. You get two flights either way; all your way does is add risk and cost. -- "Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me. ------------------------------ Date: 27 May 1993 17:35 UT From: Ron Baalke Subject: JPL Mission Updates - 05/27/93 Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,alt.sci.planetary Forwarded from: PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011 PLANETARY MISSION STATUS May 27, 1993 GALILEO: The spacecraft is now en route to Jupiter, scheduled to enter orbit December 7, 1995. Spacecraft performance and condition are excellent except that the high-gain antenna is only partly deployed; science and engineering data are being transmitted via the low-gain antenna. The mission team is planning to use the low-gain antenna for the Jupiter mission and for the encounter August 28, 1993 with asteroid Ida. Galileo was launched October 18, 1989, flew by Venus in 1990 and Earth in 1990 and 1992 for gravity assists, and flew by asteroid Gaspra in October 1991 for scientific observation. Contact: Jim Wilson, (818) 354-5011. MAGELLAN: The Magellan spacecraft has concluded its eight-month survey of the gravitational field of Venus from its elliptical orbit. On May 25, flight controllers began an 80-day program to lower and circularize the spacecraft's orbit by aerobraking, dipping into Venus's upper atmosphere each orbit. Magellan was launched May 4, 1989 and radar-mapped more than 98 percent of Venus's surface from September 1990 to September 1992. Contact: Jim Doyle, (818) 354-5011. MARS OBSERVER: Spacecraft health and performance are normal, after several episodes in which it entered contingency mode, a safe state triggered by the spacecraft computer because of attitude-reference anomalies. A software fix has solved the problem. Mars Observer is scheduled to enter Mars orbit August 24, 1993; it will be moved into a mapping orbit by November 8 and science operations are planned to start November 22. Mars Observer was launched September 25, 1992. Contact: Diane Ainsworth, (818) 354-5011. TOPEX/POSEIDON: The satellite is healthy, and all scientific instruments are performing normally, typically providing three playbacks per day. The mission is mapping ocean circulation. TOPEX/Poseidon was launched August 10, 1992. Contact: Mary Hardin, (818) 354-5011. ULYSSES: The spacecraft is in a highly inclined solar orbit now 31.7 degrees south relative to the Sun's equator, in transit from its Jupiter gravity assist in February 1992 toward its solar polar passages (about 80 degrees south and north) in 1994 and 1995. Spacecraft condition and performance are excellent, with Ulysses gathering data on the heliosphere -- the realm dominated by the solar wind, a stream of charged particles flowing from the Sun. The Ulysses spacecraft was built by the European Space Agency and launched October 6, 1990. Contact: Diane Ainsworth, (818) 354-5011. VOYAGER 1 and 2: The two Voyager spacecraft have detected low- frequency radio emissions believed to originate at the boundary between the solar wind and the interstellar medium, called the heliopause. Detection and measurement of this boundary is the principal goal of the Voyager Interstellar Mission. Voyager 1, launched September 5, 1977, is currently 7.8 billion kilometers (4.8 billion miles) from the Sun after flying by Jupiter and Saturn in 1979 and 1980; Voyager 2, launched August 20, 1977, to fly by Jupiter (1979), Saturn (1981), Uranus (1986) and Neptune (1989), is now 6 billion kilometers (3.7 billion miles) from the Sun. Contact: Mary Hardin, (818) 354-5011. ##### ___ _____ ___ /_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov | | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab | ___| | | | |__) |/ | | |__ M/S 525-3684 Telos | Never laugh at anyone's /___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | dreams. |_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 19:29:42 GMT From: Henry Spencer Subject: lunar stability Newsgroups: sci.space In article lindsay+@cs.cmu.edu (Donald Lindsay) writes: >>Optical interferometers could be built >>on the Moon, as it is a stable structure to optical wavelenght dimensions. > >I don't know that it will stay stable. After all, the only good way >to eliminate earth-crossing asteroids is to arrange lunar collisions >for them. If you can arrange a lunar collision, you can arrange an Earth gravity assist. Two or three of those ought to suffice to put the thing into trajectory for Venus... and if there's a more useless object in the whole solar system than Venus, I don't know what it is. A perfect place to dump the trash. -- SVR4 resembles a high-speed collision | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology between SVR3 and SunOS. - Dick Dunn | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry ------------------------------ From: Donald Lindsay Subject: Moon Base Newsgroups: sci.space Sender: Usenet News System Nntp-Posting-Host: gandalf.cs.cmu.edu Organization: School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon References: <24610@mindlink.bc.ca> <1993May24.163728.14499@ke4zv.uucp> Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 17:32:31 GMT Lines: 10 Source-Info: Sender is really isu@VACATION.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU stephens@geod.emr.ca (Dave Stephenson) writes: >Optical interferometers could be built >on the Moon, as it is a stable structure to optical wavelenght dimensions. I don't know that it will stay stable. After all, the only good way to eliminate earth-crossing asteroids is to arrange lunar collisions for them. -- Don D.C.Lindsay Carnegie Mellon Computer Science ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 17:51:48 GMT From: James Davis Nicoll Subject: Moon Base Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1u0obu$6th@access.digex.net> prb@access.digex.net (Pat) writes: > >Comments on long duration materials delivery from space. > >Interest rates are routinely calculated for long lead time >capital equipment such as New aircraft. those have up to a 10 >year lead from design to delivery, and people are making orders >based upon palns 5 years out. I think it's do-able. I didn't say delivery time related costs made (for example) asteroid belt based exploitation undo-able. Mr Coffman said delivery time didn't matter, and I disagreed. It might not be the primary cost associated with delivery, but it *is* a cost. James Nicoll ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 18:09:57 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: Moon Base Newsgroups: sci.space In <1ttkp5$6ld@access.digex.net> prb@access.digex.net (Pat) writes: >In article <1993May25.145913.521@iti.org> aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer) writes: >>I think a 'test flight' to the moon would be a good idea to flight qualify >>the Mars hardware. >Zubrin has a proposal called lunar direct= to test out the >Mars direct gear, in space and in a partial environment. >Also to establish at least some science bases on the far side. >Now any changes to the hardware for Mars, and some guy from TI >will start arguing that it's a whole new bird and utterly >unknown or trustable. Rather depends on just how much "any changes" are. If he wants to change the tanks, the engines, a bunch of auxiliary hardware -- in fact, everything but the structural members of the vehicle -- I would expect any reasonable person to assume it's pretty much a new and untested bird. And judging by other postings, that guy at TI isn't the only one who sees things that way. [More flame bait from Pat. Son, you should really get rid of that cat and get a girlfriend -- give you some interest in life besides flamebait.] -- "Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me. ------------------------------ Date: 27 May 93 15:39:32 GMT From: Tom Zych Subject: Moon vs. asteroids, Mars, comets Newsgroups: sci.space In article schumach@convex.com (Richard A. Schumacher) writes: >Perhaps an illustration would help: if there were an >asteroid of solid platinum in LEO right now, it would >not pay (by a factor of 2 or so) to bring any of it back >using the shuttle. >(Assumptions: max shuttle landing payload weight = 20,000 lbs. >Pt at $700 per oz. Shuttle flight costs >= US$350,000,000.) Unless, of course, there were a mission that could approach it, which was already paid for, and which would have cargo space on the return trip; e.g. dropping off something like LDEF. No doubt they already cram as many activities into a mission as they can, but under such a scenario, grabbing an asteroid might be profitable (I guess; anyone got any numbers?) -- Tom Zych tbz1823@hertz.njit.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 16:44:44 GMT From: Thomas Clarke Subject: Philosophy Quest. How Boldly? Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1u2hkiINNmcp@tsavo.hks.com> webb@tsavo.hks.com (Peter Webb) writes: > : The route to intelligence used by humans is still hotly debated by > : anthropologists. > : 1) expanded brain required to maintain social structures. > : > > Another explaination appears in William Calvin's wonderful book _The River > that Flows Uphill_. He postulates that the primates with larger brains could > hurl projectiles (spears, rocks) more accurately, and were thus better able > to kill prey animals for food. His is the first argument I've seen that places > a strong survival value on a larger brain. > I much enjoyed Calvin's book also. To elaborate a litte, Calvin notes that accurate throwing requires accurate timing of the projectile release. Since biological neurons are sloppy, innacurate components, the only evolutionary alternative is massive averaging; the release point is determined by the consensus of the neurons in a large brain. The law of large numbers then insures accuracy. -- Thomas Clarke Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central FL 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 300, Orlando, FL 32826 (407)658-5030, FAX: (407)658-5059, clarke@acme.ucf.edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 18:55:10 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: The crew is toast Newsgroups: sci.space In <1u0pnn$8gp@access.digex.net> prb@access.digex.net (Pat) writes: >THe F-111, and the B-1A? had a crew ejection capsule that was >designed for such a similiar escape. THe problem is, at least on STS, >a probable ejection occurs over water, thus the crew compartment >must have a bouyant capcity. A tough problem for a supersonic >break up. No good, surviving the water impact to drown as the >compartment floods, as it may have done during 51-L. The problem isn't compartment boyancy -- after all, military jets fly over water, too. The problem is that capsules just don't work very well. I think I recall there was a B-1 'ejection' where the capsule landed so hard it killed everyone inside. >What they really needed were ejection seats. According to henry, >Martin baker had a design for seats for all STS occupants. >Of course, that would require Nasa spending money on safety improvements as opposed >to shuttle ops. My opinion, here. It would also require adding lots of extra mass, extra safety procedures for having explosives armed in the Shuttle, large changes to the structure to allow them to eject, and would not appreciably improve the odds in the 'typical' accident requiring ejection. You can only punch out in a very narrow window of conditions and expect to be in one piece. -- "Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 18:46:09 GMT From: "Eugene N. Miya" Subject: Tom Wolfe's THE RIGHT STUFF - Truth or Fiction? Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle,rec.arts.books Passing thru rec.arts.books (no time to read sci.space) >hhenderson@vax.clarku.edu writes: >>Like all of Wolfe's works, it's a balancing act between style and >>substance. Wolfe's most brilliant stroke, in my opinion, was the discovery >>of Chuck Yeager, who was, to most people, a footnote in the history books >>up to that point. Granted, Yeager has a lot of substance, but it was >>Wolfe's style that brought that substance out vividly. Discovery? Footnote? What are you taking about? Chuck Yeager wrote a bio with another writer in 1954. In that bio were some great photos of things like the X-1 with big balloon wheels taking off and breaking the sound barrier (one of the original objectives few realize). This bio had many of the same pictures as the second bio "Yeager" with Leo J. You should be able to get this earlier book from a public library. Scott Crossfield visited here not long ago. What was neat about his presentation was that he showed some of the data from his fights. After his presentation, some one asked, "When are you going to write your bio?" His answer was: "I already did." [About 1964.] "Always Another Dawn" was one of Wolfe's references: had many light moments in the history of flight test. Also great photos. A friend and ex-JPL employee had his father killed out at EAFB. Wolfe is like a resume: true but embellished, leaving many things out. Some appreciate that, others don't. The question is "which are you?" Writing style versus event accounting? This has nothing to do with the shuttle. --eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@orville.nas.nasa.gov Resident Cynic, Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers {uunet,mailrus,other gateways}!ames!eugene Second Favorite email message: Returned mail: Cannot send message for 3 days A Ref: Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning, vol. 1, G. Polya ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 1993 20:03:44 GMT From: "J. Lewis" Subject: Tom Wolfe's THE RIGHT STUFF - Truth or Fiction? Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle,rec.arts.books In article <1tvphg$huh@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> br105@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jeffrey A. Del Col) writes: > >Wolfe got the milieu of the immediate post-Sputnik frenzy just about dead >perfect. I had relatives working for NASA (it was still called NACA) at >the time; Sputnik I scared the hell out of the U.S. aerospace community, Wolfe captures the feel of a mid-1950's airbase where high-performance aircraft were being flown, and I don't know of any other book that does - the excitement, the grimness (many of the personnel were WWII veterans, and a nuclear conflict with the USSR was considered more likely than not), the youthfulness, and the commonness of sudden death. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 27 May 93 21:16:31 GMT From: David Wicks Subject: Tom Wolfe's THE RIGHT STUFF - Truth or Fiction? Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle,rec.arts.books C.O.Egalon@larc.nasa.gov (Claudio Oliveira Egalon) writes: >According to Tom Wolfe, Betty >Grisson got real mad about the way they were treated >after Guss returned from his flight (apparently >because of the blown hatch) and, still according to >Tom Wolfe, she even threatened to cut her own >wrist if Guss did not take her to the Holiday Inn >where the real comemoration of Grisson's flight >was taking place. Also, Tom Wolfe mentioned >that Guss Grisson was surprised by the way his >wife was behaving, he just couldn't recognize >her! I believe this was taken out of context. Wolfe relates how the Grissoms were given the use of a "low rent" VIP house at Cocoa Beach. from "The Right Stuff": -------------------------------------- . . .She could see the afternoon shaping up and the rest of the day and tomorrow, too. She would stay here with the children, cooking and risking her life dragging them to the worst beach in Florida. . . and Gus would no doubt go to the space center or into town . . . Town meant the Holiday Inn, where the other fellows and their wives would be. That's where they would be celebrating and having the good times. Listen, while you're getting settled, I think I'll-- Suddenly, Betty was furious: She was not staying in this place! Gus didn't know what had gotten into her. She said she wanted to go to the Holiday Inn. That was where every- body would be. She told Gus to call the Holiday Inn and get a room. She gruffed it out with such fury that Gus called the Holiday and pulled the strings and got them a room. If Gus had managed to park her here in this faded VIP mausoleum and vanish, so that she could sit here in the heat of the slab watching the hours go by while he tooled around the pool at the Holiday as the big shot--she would have slit a wrist. That was how grim it was. That was how shabbily they had treated her. ------------------------- I don't think this should be construed as a threat to kill herself. BTW, The Right Stuff is a superb, informative, humorous book. Much better than the movie. -- David Wicks (dave@drseus.jsc.nasa.gov) | "Oh, Spiteful One: Show me Lockheed Engineering & Sciences Co. | who to smite, and they shall Houston, Texas | be smoten!" - Homer Simpson ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 640 ------------------------------