Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V09_3/V9_377.TXT

Internet Message Format | 1991-07-08 | 18KB

Return-path: <[e-mail]>
X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 7997;andrew.cmu.edu;Ted Anderson
Received: from holmes.andrew.cmu.edu via trymail for +dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr1/ota/space/[e-mail] (->+dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr1/ota/space/space.dl) (->ota+space.digests)
          ID </afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr1/ota/Mailbox/cYGjoSy00UkZ86dU44>;
          Tue, 18 Apr 89 05:17:18 -0400 (EDT)
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Reply-To: [e-mail]
From: [e-mail]
To: [e-mail]
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 89 05:17:10 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: SPACE Digest V9 #377

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 9 : Issue 377

Today's Topics:
            NSS Hotline Update for 4/14/89
       Re: Unmanned shuttle advantages (was: Re: alien contact)
           US citizen - ET contact legal penalties
          Re: UK astronaut to be launched by Soviets
              Re: Hubble Space Telescope
             SETI: When and where to look
     Re: Information Needed (on plume from antimatter H2 rocket)
               Re: Bored public
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 15 Apr 89 05:02:00 GMT
From: sgi!arisia!cdp![e-mail]
Subject: NSS Hotline Update for 4/14/89


This is the National Space Society's Space Hotline for the week ending
April 14, 1989.

The STS-30 mission of the space shuttle Atlantis and its Magellan payload
have been approved for launch April 28th at 2:24 pm EST. Office of space
flight director Richard Truly made the announcement, saying that there
was "much work to do and little contingency time."

During a key main engine test, a valve failed to work in engine no. 1.
To make up for lost time technicians have been repairing the valve
with parts from Discovery's main engine.  The space shuttle Atlantis
will be deploying the Magellan Venus Radar Mapper, to map the surface
of Mars through it dense layer of sulfuric acid laden clouds.

President Bush has nominated Rear Adm. Richard Truly to the post of
NASA Administrator.  Truly will be the first astronaut to head the
agency and also the first military officer as well.  In order for
Truly to become administrator, the White House had to ask Congress for
a waiver to the Space Act of 1958, essentially letting Truly retire from
the Navy, but being able to defer his pension during his years as
administrator.

President Bush also nominated the current Director of the Marshall
Space Flight Center J.R. Thompson to the post of NASA Deputy
Administrator.

Acting NASA Administrator Dale Myers turned in his resignation to
be effective May 13, 1989.  Myers took over for James Fletcher after
he retired April 8, 1989. This is Myers' second tour of duty at NASA,
first as associate administrator for manned space flight from 1970 to
1974, and when President Regean called him back to NASA after the
Challenger Disaster till now.

The Soviet Union has decided to temporarily vacate the Mir space station;
a move that was prompted by delays in the preparation of two new modules
for the soon-to-be vacant platform.  Flight Director Viktor Blagov stated
that the station will only be unmanned for several months until the two
research modules are completed and ready for launch.  Glavcosmos Chairman
Alexander Sunayev confirmed that there would be no missions this year
involving the new Soviet Space Shuttle Buran.

In the international community, there has been mixed reaction to the
announcement that the Soviets would be leaving the Mir space station
"untended".  The development may provide the U.S. with an opporunity to
gain the high ground regarding the civilian space program in general and
international cooperation specifically.  While the Soviets had taken
advantage of the Challenger accident to attract international partners,
arguments can now be made that it is the U.S. and not the Soviets that
can be counted on in the long run to stand by their commitments to human
expansion into the solar system.




The action also points out the importance of building a fully capable
space station such as the International Space Station Freedom.  The Mir
space station had greatly reduced capabilities allowing for limited
research in life sciences and materials processing.  It appears the
Soviets will now wait until additional capability is added to the station
in order to commit further ressources to permanent humaned presence.

PAUSE

The pro-space lobby Spacecause continues to urge space advocates to write
or call members of the House of Representatives Committee on
Appropriations regarding an effort to scuttle the space station program.
An amendment to the fiscal year 1989 supplemental appropriations bill has
been introduced by the committee's minority leader, Massachusetts Rep.
Silvio Conte. Conte's amendment would transfer nearly $600 of station
funding to other domestic programs. Rumour has it that if the House
approves this measure, the Senate is sure to go along. Space advocates
have a chance to send a clear signal of support for the space station
program.

In other news from inside the beltway, the special budget negotiating
group which has been working for the past month on its recommendations
for a budget framework for fiscal year 1990 has reached an agreement.
The group, consisting of executive branch members and congressional
leaders, will suggest that next year's spending be frozen at current
services + 4%. This agreement will set overall limits, which means that
individual accounts could grow but that the bottom line must remain at
the agreed upon level. Despite White House rhetoric to the contrary, the
space station program was not protected. It follows that congressional
democrats will not want to go it alone in station support; therefore,
space advocates will be called upon soon to flex their muscle. When the
targets and time frame have been selected, it will reported on the
HOTLINE, the space bulletin boards, and through the SPACE PHONE TREE.


The National Research Council published a report stating that there is
no need for the Commercially Developed Space Laboratory that the
Regean Administration called for last year as a stepping stone to the
larger Space Station Freedom.  The report confirmed that the majority
of experiments for which the commercially developed space facility is
designed can be handled aboard existing facilities on the Space
Shuttle until the Space Station is built.  To Joe Allen, president of
Space Industries, designers of the Commercially Developed Space
Laboratory, the report was encouraging because it is stated that there
would eventually be a need for one.

NASA has selected the first Small Explorer missions.  The Small
Explorers are small satellites weighing approximately 800 lbs. and can
be lunched by Scout-class expendable launch vehicle.  This program
will provide frequent flight opportunities for specialized inexpensive
space science missions.  All four of the selected missions out of the
51 submitted are Astronomy related missions.

Marshall Space Flight Center has started a new program to share
scientific and engineering data from flight experiments with American
Universities and Colleges.  The program will make available data
generated during space missions in exchange for the analysis and
interpretations from faculty members and students.  In addition
Universities will be encouraged to create outreach programs that would
take the excitement of the space program to the secondary and
elementary schools in their area.

This has been Jordan Katz reporting for the National Space Soceity's
Space Hotline!

------------------------------

Date: 13 Apr 89 01:33:25 GMT
From: mailrus!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!attcan!lsuc!ncrcan!ziebmef![e-mail]  (Matthew Francey)
Subject: Re: Unmanned shuttle advantages (was: Re: alien contact)

In article <[e-mail]>, [e-mail] (Peter Scott) writes:
> And then you can fly missions that are outside the envelope of human
> comfort/survivability, e.g. duration (no running out of air), acceleration
> (high g forces), radiation (flying during solar flares),... anyone got any more ideas?

  1) the 3g acceleration limit for a shuttle is a structural limitation, not a
     human one.  At least, this is the impression I get from my readings.
     That it also fits nicely with human limits is either a fluke (I hope), or
     NASA designed with the comfort-limit in mind, shaving weight/strength for
     payload capacity (eeek!).   I am beyond myself here, though, wondering if
     "stronger == heavier" is really true...

  2) if payload weight is a problem, why not split it into two shuttle
     launches?  They are, after all, supposed to be cheap...

    Remember that the shuttle was designed as a thing to get stuff into
orbit and then come back for some more.  Flying a thing like that into really
weird orbits or under "anomalous" conditions is probably not a good idea.

  Why not use a nice expendable?  Of all the ideas you have, is a reflyable
reentry vehicle truly needed?  Will not a simple capsule Apollo-style suffice
if you want to get something back?
--
Name: Matthew Francey             Address: N43o34'13.5" W79o34'33.3" 86m
[e-mail]          uunet!utgpu!{ontmoh!moore,ncrcan}!ziebmef!mdf

------------------------------

Date: 15 Apr 89 22:59:02 GMT
From: amdahl!drivax![e-mail]  (MacLeod)
Subject: US citizen - ET contact legal penalties

I have received requests for the citation which covers the
illegal aspects of man-ET encounters.  I am quoting here from the
enigmatic KRILL document previously posted here.

"Dr. Brian T. Clifford (Pentagon) announced 10-5-82 that cases of
citizen-extraterrestrial contact were illegal under Title 14,
Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations (and adopted
7-16-69, a few days before the first moon landing).  The Code
specifies up to a year in jail and a 5000 dollar fine.  The NASA
authorities can examine you to determine if you have been "ET
exposed", and can impose an indefinite quarantine which cannot be
broken, even by court order."

Michael Sloan MacLeod   (amdahl!drivax!macleod)

------------------------------

Date: 15 Apr 89 02:57:27 GMT
From: biar![e-mail]  (Robert J Woodhead)
Subject: Re: UK astronaut to be launched by Soviets

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Neil Dixon) writes:
>1991, Thatcher's next election year. A cheap publicity stunt is ...

If it is a publicity stunt, I can assure you, cheap it will not be.
Very expensive is more like it.

;^)
--
Robert J Woodhead, Biar Games, Inc.  ...!uunet!biar!trebor | [e-mail]
"The NY Times is read by the people who run the country.  The Washington Post
is read by the people who think they run the country.   The National Enquirer
is read by the people who think Elvis is alive and running the country..."

------------------------------

Date:    Sat, 15 Apr 89 08:04:32 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Frank J. Nagy, VAX Wizard & Guru)
Subject: Re: Hubble Space Telescope
X-St-Vmsmail-To: SPACE_DIGEST

>Does the space telescope have cryostats?  By "burn out" do you mean
>boil away?  (i.e. does do IR?)  Or are CCD's damaged permanently from
>high fluxes?  What happens if a 10 GeV proton decides to deposit
>its energy in the CCD chip?

Nope, no cryostats on the HST.  Also, at 10 Gev, a proton is a minimum
ionizing particle and will pass right through the CCD chip (here I'm
assuming the chip is rather thin) since it takes a bit of material
to stop a 10 Gev proton.  According to my Range-energy tables, I'm
guessing it would talk about 2000 cm (within a factor or 2) of silicon
to stop a 10 Gev proton.

What is likely to happen is that the energy deposition by the passage
of the proton will knock lose more than enough electrons to glitch
several pixels for the current picture.  I doubt that there will be
any permanent damage by such high energy protons (low energy, 10s MeV,
solar protons are likely to be an entirely different story).


= Dr. Frank J. Nagy   "VAX Guru & Wizard"
= Fermilab Research Division/Electrical and Electronics Dept/Controls Group
= HEPNET: WARNER::NAGY (43198::NAGY) or FNAL::NAGY (43009::NAGY)
= BitNet: NAGY@FNAL
= USnail: Fermilab POB 500 MS/220 Batavia, IL 60510

------------------------------

Date: 14 Apr 89 05:07:23 GMT
From: hp-ses!hpcea!hpldsla![e-mail]
Subject: SETI: When and where to look

A few days ago, "Nova" dealt with the search for extraterrestrial
intelligence. After watching the program, I got an idea.

The major problems in attempting radio contact are the questions of
"where" and "when". There are many billions of stars to examine, and
even if by chance a radiotelescope were aimed at a star system that was
home to intelligent life, the E.T.'s at the other end might not be
broadcasting or listening in our direction.

Suppose that two planets in solar systems many light years apart harbor
advanced civilizations. Both planets suspect that there are other intelligent
beings in the galaxy, but don't know when and where to point their radio
antennae.

Somehow, the two planets need to make a reasonable guess at space-time
coordinates at which to attempt contact with the other. Let's look at
a rather bizarre analogy. Suppose two people are in a huge deserted city.
Neither person is sure the other exists, but suspects it. Suppose there
is a clocktower in the city. Every day at noon, the clocktower rings its
bells. If I were one of the two people, I would reason as follows; "Although
I don't know the space-time coordinates of the other person, I know that
there is a very distinct event in space-time in this city; at the clock
tower at noon each day. The other person must be aware of this special
coordinate also. If she wants to meet me, maybe she'll be there.
I'll go there tomorrow at noon." If the other person also uses this
reasoning, there will be a meeting.

Is there a similar space-time marker in the galaxy? I think a supernova
explosion might qualify. The light from the explosion travels outward as a
spherical front. Thus, the "event surface" is a spherical shell traveling
outward from the supernova. An intelligent creature might reason as follows;
"If I see a supernova go off, I'll calculate it's exact coordinates. Then
I'll start broadcasting to every other star on my event surface (i.e., at
the same distance as I am from the supernova). If other intelligent creatures
get the same idea, and they lie on my event surface, they'll start
broadcasting to me also. I'll be sure to meet a girl that way!"

For this method to work there must be a planet with intelligent life on
the same event surface as we. Does anyone out there know how many stars lie
on our event surface of supernova 1987a?

Does this idea make any sense, or am I just blathering?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
186,000 miles per second:    |  Tom O'Reilly at HP Lab Data Systems
It's not just a good idea...    |
it's the Law! - A. Einstein    |  [e-mail]
----------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------

Date:    Sat, 15 Apr 89 08:18:58 PDT
From: [e-mail] (Frank J. Nagy, VAX Wizard & Guru)
Subject: Re: Information Needed (on plume from antimatter H2 rocket)
X-St-Vmsmail-To: SPACE_DIGEST

>What would be the appearance of the plume from an antimatter rocket
>using Hydrogen? I would presume the Hydrogen comes out the nozzle as a
>plasma of protons and electrons that gradually recombine and give off EM.

From this description, I assume you are talking about a rocket whose
working fluid and reaction mass is liquid hydrogen into which a small
amount of antimatter is introduced.  The resulting annihilation of a
small amount of the hydrogen and the antimatter heat the working fluid
to a plasma and thus powers the rocket.  The resulting exhaust is
a proton-electron plasma and a storm of photons.  My guess for what you
might see:

    1. A bright gamma ray source from astern due to the annihilation
       reactions (primarily pi-zero production and subsequent decay)

    2. lots of radio emission from electron synchrontron radiation
       (assuming magnetic fields are present in the rocket nozzle
        and/or the interplanetary/interstellar medium) and from
        bremstrahlung (braking radiation) possibly from the exhaust
        interacting with the surrounding medium.

    3. Astern of the ship, where the plasma begins to neutralize
       (protons and electrons recombine) should be a bright
       UV source since many of the most prominent hydrogen lines
       are in the UV.  In this same region should be a smaller
       visible glow, probably skewed toward the blue end of the
       spectrum, as protons and electrons form highly excited
       hydrogen atoms (the UV then comes from the de-excitation
       of these atoms - Lyman alpha and Lyman beta lines).

These statements apply to an observer whose velocity is non-relativistic
with respect to the antimatter rocket although interaction with the
surrounding medium might slow the plasma before recombination occurrs.

These guesses from:


= Dr. Frank J. Nagy   "VAX Guru & Wizard"
= Fermilab Research Division/Electrical and Electronics Dept/Controls Group
= HEPNET: WARNER::NAGY (43198::NAGY) or FNAL::NAGY (43009::NAGY)
= BitNet: NAGY@FNAL
= USnail: Fermilab POB 500 MS/220 Batavia, IL 60510

------------------------------

Date: 15 Apr 89 19:20:57 GMT
From: rochester!uhura.cc.rochester.edu![e-mail]  (Peter Owings)
Subject: Re: Bored public

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Joe Di Lellio) writes:
>
>I'm afraid I agree completely. There is quickly developing a huge majority
>of people who not only know little about technical related subjects, but are
>downright proud of it. I'm still a student at UCSC (well, sort of;>), and I

    I just want to know how many of these technology haters are running
home to their CD players and microwaves and have 150 clear channels beamed
to them from the netherworld...

    Peter...
    [e-mail]
    University of Rochester

------------------------------

End of SPACE Digest V9 #377
*******************