Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V12_0/V12_092.TXT

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Date: Thu, 19 Jul 1990 02:43:10 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #92

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 12 : Issue 92

Today's Topics:
        Can a Twinkie survive launch to orbit?
              Re: Multiple probes (long)
             Re: Manned Mission To Venus
         NASA Headline News for 07/17/90 (Forwarded)
               Re: SPACE Digest V12 #78

Administrivia:

    Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to
  [e-mail].  Other mail, esp. [un]subscription notices,
  should be sent to [e-mail], or, if urgent, to
             [e-mail]

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

Date:     Tue, 17 Jul 90 17:10 CDT
From: Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey <[e-mail]>
Subject:  Can a Twinkie survive launch to orbit?
Original_To:  SPACE

      EFFECTS OF ACCELERATION ON THE HOSTESS TWINKIE (Spongius Cremius)

     P.A. Allcorn, M.J. Henes, W. S. Higgins, D.J. Ifversen, M.R. Janosi
                          Site Operations Department
                    Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
                              Batavia, Illinois

The Hostess Twinkie(TM), a pickle-sized lump of yellow cake containing a few
spoonfuls of white "creme filling," has long been a staple of the American diet
and is, perhaps, the queen of junk foods.  Combining high sugar content, long
shelf life, and a generous allotment of fats, the Twinkie is the perfect item
for the convenience store and the gas station.  It is reasonable to expect that
as Americans move outward into the solar system, the Twinkie will go with them.

In discussing the Personnel Launch System spacecraft, Edmund Hack
<[e-mail]> wrote:

>A small cargo area for personal gear is included (you know, CDs, twinkies,
>videotapes, pictures from home....).

[See Space Digest, volume 12, number 59.]

This led to speculation here at Fermilab on whether, indeed, Twinkies would
survive high-acceleration conditions.  If not, space-station astronauts and
cosmonauts will have to get along without Twinkies, or manufacture them in
orbit. Would the sponge-cake structure collapse?  Would the added weight
squeeze the lard-and-sugar filling out, smearing it over the family portraits
and compact disks?

Our group decided to investigate.  Fortunately, our crew chief had just
returned from the White Hen with a number of standard Twinkies.  A typical
Twinkie was selected, placed into a plastic bag, and attached to a 2-meter
rope.  Our centrifuge operator first practiced by whipping an inert object (a
roll of masking tape) around his head on a rope. Once he could sustain constant
angular acceleration of the desired magnitude, we began the Twinkie run.

Revolution rate was measured by counting 20 revolutions (after allowing for an
initial "wind-up" acceleration period) and timing with a digital
stopwatch.  Elapsed time was 16.9 seconds, giving a rotation rate of 1.18
revolutions/second.

If I didn't mess up my algebra, this gives an average acceleration of 11.3
gravities... a bit high for a manned launch, but certainly the right order of
magnitude.

The Twinkie was removed from its bag and compared to a control Twinkie which
was exposed to a 1-gravity field for the duration of the experiment.
The accelerated Twinkie had oozed a small amount (perhaps 1 cm^3) of filling
through a small crack in its skin, but appeared otherwise healthy and edible.
Its shape and size seemed unchanged.

Our tentative conclusion is that a Twinkie can survive accelerations typical of
orbital launches with only minor damage, certainly in edible condition.  It
seems likely that careful packaging could ameliorate the stresses of
spaceflight.  These results are encouraging, and the Site Operations Department
is now preparing proposals to test potato chips, microwave popcorn, Dove Bars,
and other junk foods to determine their suitablility for use in orbit.  Funding
agencies should expect to hear from us shortly.

     O~~*           /_) ' / /   /_/ '  ,   ,  ' ,_  _           \|/
   - ~ -~~~~~~~~~~~/_) / / /   / / / (_) (_) / / / _\~~~~~~~~~~~zap!
 /       \                          (_) (_)                    / | \
 |       |                      Bill Higgins
 \       /                      Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
   -   -                        Bitnet:                [e-mail]
     ~                          Internet:             [e-mail]
                                SPAN/Hepnet/Physnet:         43011::HIGGINS

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

Date: 17 Jul 90 01:07:48 GMT
From: bfmny0![e-mail]  (Tom Neff)
Subject: Re: Multiple probes (long)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (John Roberts) writes:
| - Now look at an alternative, which I mentioned in the previous posting, and
|   which Henry Spencer and others have described. Instead of highly specialized
|   custom design jobs for each project, you develop a general-purpose probe,
|   configured so that it can be upgraded, and specialized instruments and other
|   equipment can be attached. Instead of storing these probes for years, you
|   launch them as they are completed and as missions come up. If a previous
|   mission fails, you just grab a fresh probe with all the latest features from
|   production, attach specialized equipment (which can be stockpiled) as
|   needed, and launch it. Since the general-purpose probes are (relatively
|   speaking) mass-produced, it is likely that the cost per probe would drop
|   substantially.

How is this different from "Mariner Mark II"?

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

Date: Tue, 17 Jul 90 12:30:27 -0500
From: [e-mail]
To: "[e-mail]"@skvax1.csc.ti.com
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Re: Manned Mission To Venus

> [e-mail] (Mark SOKOLOWSKI)

> >I'm afraid you're going to have to explain to me just how you arrive
> >at the conclusion that Venerean soil is "the same as our own in
> >terms of composition" on the basis of some "reequilibrated" (i.e.,
> >artificially colored) photos.
> >
> It's simply the team of russian scientists that modified the digitilized
> pictures with data taking in account an oversaturation in yellow light.
> In that way they obtained a photo looking like very much those of
> solidified lava beds in Hawaii, or basalitic ocean floors (Venera 13,
> if I recall it well).

So it's made of rock.  Most things are.  Note that lava and basalt
are *not* "soil".  Nor will they ever *become* soil.

> >
> >> I don't see why Venus would be so bleak. After all it is brighter on its
> >> surface than in the cold darkness of the Oceans.
> >
> >True, but how would you know what's outside anyway?  Even if you could
> >get there and survive to the surface, I can't imagine being able to do
> >so for any length of time in anything with a weak point like a window in
> >it.  And what does the heat/cold of outside matter, since you're not
> >going to be walking around in it anyway?
> >
> How can you tell me I won't be able to walk ouside. Any kitchen oven
> experiences the same kind of temperatures as those on Venus, and
> you don't need any special equipement except gloves to handle the
> things you put in it.

Now try walking around inside your oven.  You'll find it requires
just a bit more than gloves.  Handling something that comes out of
an oven isn't anywhere close to the same thing as being in that
environment.  May I suggest a course in basic Thermo to you?

Oh, and just by the way.  The Mojave Desert is pretty bright, too.  And
that place is *bleak*.

> The fact that the athmospheric pressure is 90 times greater there
> shouldn't be a big problem, since we will soon be able to breath
> hydrox at more than 100 athmospheres, as recent deep water
> experiments have shown.

Uh, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that if I were you.  And I
certainly wouldn't expect to be able to do it for any prolonged
period.

> >Only if you enjoy being burned and corroded to death.  We can build
> >things that will keep air in and space out.  We can't build things
> >that will keep Venus out of the people-pipe.  It's really that
> >simple.
> >
> We won't need to build it. A small refrigeration unit powered by a
> few hundred watts can maintain the temperature of a large room the
> necessary 400 K below that of the exterior (with appropriate insulation),
> and the pressure of hydrox will equal that outside: We will need only
> a few centimeters of insulation. Don't forget that the luck is that
> Venus has an athmosphere as significant as that of Earth's, so we don't
> have to worry about the dangers of vacuum.

If a few hundred watts of refrigeration could maintain a large room
on Venus at a survivable temperature I would think that we'd have
easily constructed a probe that could have survived for long periods
of time on the surface.  After all, we could just put in an isotope
pack to get the "few hundred watts" and send a refrigerated probe
that would run for years.

Reality check?  Back to that Thermo course.

> >You lose.  I can't imagine what we could get from the Moon for
> >weapons use that we don't already have.  The *big* thing often
> >mentioned for the moon (other than sheer mass for shielding - which
> >*could* be used for battle stations, but rock is hardly 'rare') is
> >Helium-3.  This is for *power* fusion.  Bomb fusion we've already
> >got.
> >
> False, only Angola and a few unstable african countries are providing
> Tungstene, Zirconium, and other rare metals compulsory in the design
> of modern military helicopters and jets, to only cite an example.

Last time I checked, we weren't planning on getting any of that
stuff from the moon, either.  I'll have to check to be sure, but I
don't think you're going to find any real rich strikes of those
minerals there.  In any case, it'd probably be easier to just beat
the hell out of Angola and take that stuff if we really needed it
that badly, rather than shipping it in bulk back from the moon.

Reality check?

> Mark S.
> -------

==============================================================================
| Fred McCall  ([e-mail]) | "Insisting on perfect safety is for  |
| Advanced Systems Division           |  people who don't have the balls to  |
| Defense Systems & Electronics Group |  live in the real world."            |
| Texas Instruments, Inc.             |     -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden |
+-------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
|  I speak for me.  I don't speak for others, and they don't speak for me.   |
==============================================================================

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

Date: 17 Jul 90 17:43:50 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: NASA Headline News for 07/17/90 (Forwarded)

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, July 17, 1990               Audio Service:  202/755-1788
-----------------------------------------------------------------

This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, July 17........

While appearing as a guest on the television programs "The
MacNeil Lehrer Reports" last evening, and "Good Morning America"
this morning, Administrator Truly discussed yesterday's meeting
with Vice President Quayle.  Truly said he would actively seek
leaders from both government and the private sector to be a part
of the outside Task Force that will consider the future long-term
direction of the space program.

Administrator Truly and the Task Force will directly report their
recommendations to the Vice President.  Truly said he looks
forward to working with Vice President Quayle and the Space
Council to carry out "the President's remarkable vision for
America's space destiny."

                            ********

Technicians at Kennedy Space Center are continuing operations to
install the 17-inch disconnect into the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Engineers will view a video tape made last weekend of a borescope
inspection of the flange on the external tank.  A leak check of
the newly replaced 4-inch recirculation line was successful.

                            ********

According to AEROSPACE DAILY, two cosmonauts will attempt a space
walk to repair the insulation blankets around the Soyuz TM-9
spacecraft this afternoon.  The report quotes Geoffrey Perry of
the Kettering Group in England saying, "they're going to do it in
two stages -- one to do with instrumentation and the other to
make the repair."  It appears the damage of two or three of the
nine thermal blankets would impede navigation sensors upon the
return to Earth that is scheduled in two weeks.

                            ********

In other news, China's first Long March 2E cluster carrier rocket
successfully lifted off yesterday from the southwestern Xichang
launching site, according to a REUTER wire report via SPACE FAX
DAILY.  The story reports Pakistan's first scientific and
experimental satellite and Australia's simulation satellite were
deployed.  According to the wire report, China also plans to
launch satellites for Sweden and an Arab consortium.

                            ********









---------------------------------------------------------------
Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA
Select TV.  All times are Eastern Daylight.


Tuesday, July 17......

         1:00 P.M.        Space Shuttle Status Media
                          Briefing with Dr. William B. Lenoir.

         2-4:00 P.M.      NASA Video Productions.

         4:00 P.M.        Hubble Space Telescope Media
                          Briefing.  The Teleconference will
                          be audio only.

         6-8:00 P.M.      NASA Video Productions replay.


Wednesday, July 18....

         1:00 P.M.        Air and Space Reports on the Space
                          Station Freedom and the Aero Space
                          Plane.

         1:30 P.M.        Live or taped Congressional Hearings.


Thursday, July 19.....

         11:30 A.M.       NASA Update will be transmitted.

         12-2:00 P.M.     NASA Video Productions.

         6-8:00 P.M.      NASA Video Productions replay.

--------------------------------------------------------------
All events and times may change without notice.  This report is
filed daily, Monday through Friday at 12:00 P.M., EDT.  This is
a service of the Internal Communications Branch, NASA HQ.
Contact:  JSTANHOPE or CREDMOND on NASAmail or at 202/453-8425.
--------------------------------------------------------------
NASA Select TV:  Satcom F2R, Transponder 13, C-Band, 72 Degrees
West Longitude, Audio 6.8, Frequency 3960 MHz.  JSNEWS7-17
---------------------------------------------------------------

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

Subject: Re: SPACE Digest V12 #78
Date: Tue, 17 Jul 90 11:15:53 MESZ
From: Joseph C Pistritto <[e-mail]>
Mailer: Elm [revision: 64.9]

> On the contrary, the US has just announced a major change of policy
> here.   They are allowing a US company to purches soviet Zenit boosters
> for use in Cape York.
> Gentlemen, the floodgates are now open.   You can have your Soyuzes
> built by slave labor with people paid 10 cents per hour.   Can you
> compete with that ??
>

Who needs to?  If its cheap enough, lets launch Station on them too...
It might get people thinking about payloads rather than just getting to
Space in the first place.  To paraphrase Jerry Pournelle, "I'll buy the
entire Soviet ICBM output... and pay for it with soap and toilet paper."

Residents of California take note:
        The Transcontinental Railroad, (which made settlement on the
West Coast really boom), was built largly with 'slave labor'...

>
> --
> Charles Radley
> Internet: [e-mail]
> BBS:      714 544-0934   2400/1200/300

Practically speaking, there are limits to the number and kind of launches
these guys will provide, (the same is true for the Chinese, which is why
NSS is being silly...), so its not like everyone else will suddenly have
no business and drop out of the market.  Besides, whoever cuts the cost
of access to space is doing all of us a favor.  Get some competition into
this business and watch the costs drop...

--
Joseph C. Pistritto ([e-mail], [e-mail])
 Ciba Geigy AG, R1241.1.01, Postfach CH4002, Basel, Switzerland
 Tel: [phone] (work) [phone] (home)   GMT+2hrs!

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

End of SPACE Digest V12 #92
*******************