Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/SPACEDIG/V13_0/V13_040.TXT

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Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #040

SPACE Digest                                      Volume 13 : Issue 40

Today's Topics:
    Re: What are the qualifications needed for astronauts
           Re: Humankind's Second Off-world Colony
              solar eclipse info
           Re: NASA Authorization Act 1991?
           Payload Status for 01/10/91 (Forwarded)
              Re: headline news
     Re: Satellite release/radiation science briefing (Forwarded)
      Re: You can help clear cloud over MIR SWEERSTAKES.
      Re: You can help clear cloud over MIR SWEERSTAKES.
              Galileo Update - 01/09/91
            Voyager I/II question
              Galileo Update - 01/10/91

Administrivia:

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

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

Date: 10 Jan 91 21:26:17 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!hydra![e-mail]  (Jon T. Adams)
Subject: Re: What are the qualifications needed for astronauts

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Matt Harrington) writes:
>I know that to be a fighter pilot, one must meet rigorous
>physical and mental requirements.  Does anyone know the
>requirements for astronauts?  For example, do they need to
>have perfect vision?  Do they need to be fighter pilots
>first?  From where are the people chosen, an academy?
>
>-Matt Harrington


Ummmmm.....  I've heard that they have to be virgins...

-jon
--
Jon Trent Adams, NW6H         |"As nightfall does not come at once, neither
[e-mail]        | does oppression... It is in such twilight that
"jpl don't know me from squat"| we all must be most aware of change in the air-
however slight- lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness." W.O. Douglas

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

Date: 10 Jan 91 19:45:26 GMT
From: bonnie.concordia.ca!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Humankind's Second Off-world Colony

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Mark Gellis) writes:
>I like your initial set-up.  I, too, and curious about what happens
>when you build an extensive heat source on ice.  On the other hand,
>don't we have military and scientific research bases near the North
>Pole?  My own guess (please correct me if I'm wrong) is that if you
>can radiate the heat over a large area, the ice will melt slowly
>enough that it will refreeze before melting becomes a problem...

The trouble is that if the heat output is steady, the ice never gets
a chance to refreeze.  The solution to this for buildings built on
permafrost in the Arctic, and on ice near the poles, is to ventilate
the underside of the building, so the surface under the building is
at ambient temperature rather than building-floor temperature.  This
unfortunately relies on a substantial atmosphere for heat transfer.
In vacuum, you might get away with insulation, to slow heat flow down
to the point where conduction into the mass of the planet would keep
the ice below the freezing point, but I wouldn't be surprised if an
active cooling system was needed.

It would be much simpler to find an area where the surface is rock,
if you can.
--
If the Space Shuttle was the answer,   | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
what was the question?                 |  [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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

Date: 10 Jan 91 23:20:49 GMT
From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.ircc.ohio-state.edu![e-mail]  (Earl W Phillips)
Subject: solar eclipse info


To the one responsible for sending me the solar
eclipse info from the U.S.N.O. : Thank you very
much! (sorry, I've lost the slip of paper with the
name on it!) This is some great documentation!

*****************************************************************
*                                    | ====@====      ///////// *
* [e-mail]|     ``________//         *
*                                    |       `------'           *
*                 -JR-               | Space;........the final  *
*                                    | frontier...............  *
*****************************************************************

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

Date: Thu, 10 Jan 91 08:41:34 -0500
From: "Allen W. Sherzer" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: NASA Authorization Act 1991?
Newsgroups: sci.space
Cc:

In article <[e-mail]> Dan Corbett writes:
>What is this Act?  It must have been passed in the last week.

The NASA 91 Authorization Act was passed and signed by the President
last year. Title II of the act is a version of the Commercial Space Launch
Act introduced in the 101st Congress.

Title II requires the government to purchase all launch services in a
commercial manner which means that the operations are conducted by a
commercial, not government, entity. The only exceptions are for sounding
rockets, and payloads which require human presence and thus the Shuttle
(ther are a couple of others as well). The upshot of this is that instead
of having the government buy a payload and a launcher and doing the launch
themselves, they must now buy a payload and launch services from a commercial
provider.

   Allen
--
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Allen W. Sherzer | America does best when it accepts a challenging mission. |
|   [e-mail]   | We invent well under pressure. Conversely, we stagnate   |
|                 | when caution prevails.   -- Buzz Aldrin                  |

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

Date: 10 Jan 91 21:51:02 GMT
From: trident.arc.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Payload Status for 01/10/91 (Forwarded)


    Daily Status/KSC Payload Management and Operations 01-10-91

    -    STS-35 ASTRO-1/BBXRT (at VAB)

    Freon servicing GSE preps and val continue today.


    -    STS-39 AFP-675/IBSS/STP-01 (at VPF)

    Final software load in work today.  Preps in work to support
    STP-1 ETE test scheduled tomorrow.


    -    STS-40 SLS-1 (at O&C)

    S/L CITE interface test scheduled for today.  Paper closure
    continues.


    -    STS-37 GRO (at PHSF)

    VPF preps continue today.  Propellant/pressurization also
    continues today in the PHSF based on filter findings.


    -    STS-42 IML-1 (at O&C)

    Continue preps to support Spacelab integration are in work
    today.


    -    STS-45 Atlas-1 (at O&C)

    Experiment and pallet staging continue.


    -    STS-46 TSS-1 (at O&C)

    Pallet staging continues.  Sets testing in work today.


    -    STS-47 Spacelab-J (at O&C)

    No work is scheduled for today.


    -    STS-62 LITE (at O&C)

    Pallet staging in work today.

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

Date: 9 Jan 91 09:07:00 GMT
From: zephyr.ens.tek.com!tektronix!sequent!crg5![e-mail]  (Nick Szabo)
Subject: Re: headline news

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Kent Paul Dolan) writes:
>
>Well, not _that_ space station, but one that will be a jumping off point
>for the Belt would sure be a big boost to the world's economy about now.

"Space stations" are an obsolete concept, and we certainly don't need
them to mine the Belt.



--
Nick Szabo            [e-mail]
Embrace Change...  Keep the Values...  Hold Dear the Laughter...

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

Date: 9 Jan 91 17:02:35 GMT
From: ubc-cs!alberta!cpsc.ucalgary.ca![e-mail]  (Jim Parker)
Subject: Re: Satellite release/radiation science briefing (Forwarded)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Peter E. Yee) writes:
>Brian Dunbar
>
>EDITORS NOTE:  SATELLITE RELEASE/RADIATION SCIENCE BRIEFING
>
>     NASA scientists working with the Combined Release and
>Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) will discuss, at a press
>briefing, upcoming experiments to test the possibility of
>creating an artificial aurora by releasing clouds of barium and
>lithium vapor in the Earth's magnetosphere.  The first of 7
>releases is planned for the night of Jan. 10, 1991.  The
>opportunities for the remaining releases occur on the nights of
>Jan. 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24 and 25.
>

    I would like to find out the TIMES for the releases.
Anyone know? (I do not have access to the satellite channel
NASA Select)

Jim Parker
[e-mail]

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

Date: 9 Jan 91 13:32:12 GMT
From: mcsun!ukc!warwick!covpoly![e-mail]  (Brevan Miles (esx070))
Subject: Re: You can help clear cloud over MIR SWEERSTAKES.

MIR SWEEPSTAKES.
  Someone is being taken for a ride, but it may not nescessarily be on MIR

And my real question.
    EUROPEAN SPACEPLANES?
What is the current state of Research/Design/Construction of the various
European spaceplane projects?
Here is a summary of what I know.
1) HERMES a French suggestion, which I believe was adopted by ESA for further
   development. Most likely to fly.
2) SAENGER German idea with a launcher section and an orbiter section for space
  flight. Can they still afford it after buying East Germany?
3) HOTOL British idea. Rolls Royce were developing the engine and had got quite
  far, and British Aerospace were designing the vehicle itself. The project
 was halted when the government classified the project on grounds of security,
 but the real reason was to avoid spending any money on it.

For all 3 I would like to know the following points.
a) Payload
b) Launch cost per pound/Kilogramme and how this compares with other existing
launchers(e.g shuttle, arianne)
c)When any of them might fly.

*********************************
ONE LAST POINT
*********************************
Is there anyone out there who can supply regular details on the EUROPEAN space
scene?  Henry Spencer and the others are doing a great job but a lot of us
this side of the pond would like to know more about what goes on over here.

SO SPEAK UP GUYS, THE YANKS AND RUSSIANS AREN'T THE ONLY ONES IN SPACE>>>>

******************************************************************************
Brevan Miles            [e-mail]
Dept of Electrical Electronic
and Systems Engineering,
Coventry Polytechnic,
Coventry,
England.
"Nothing is impossible, only extremely unlikely to happen"
*****************************************************************************

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

Date: 9 Jan 91 20:03:46 GMT
From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utzoo![e-mail]  (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: You can help clear cloud over MIR SWEERSTAKES.

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Brevan Miles (esx070)) writes:
>What is the current state of Research/Design/Construction of the various
>European spaceplane projects?
>1) HERMES a French suggestion, which I believe was adopted by ESA for further
>   development. Most likely to fly.

Final approval for Hermes development by ESA is due this year.  First flight
late this decade... but there is some body of opinion that this timetable is
too aggressive and likely to be too costly.

>2) SAENGER German idea with a launcher section and an orbiter section for space
>  flight. Can they still afford it after buying East Germany?

They want to try to make it an ESA project eventually.  They are working on
building a hypersonic research aircraft to do engine development for the
lower stage, and this is attracting international partners already.  I doubt
that Germany would go it alone on the main project.

>3) HOTOL British idea...
> ...halted when the government classified the project on grounds of security,

Not quite right.  The engine was classified, and I think still is.  The
project as a whole was not classified, but the government refused to find
major work on it.  Recently there has been revived interest in a modified
version, omitting the air-breathing propulsion and air-launched from a Mriya,
as a joint UK-USSR project.

>For all 3 I would like to know the following points.
>a) Payload
>b) Launch cost per pound/Kilogramme and how this compares with other existing
>launchers(e.g shuttle, arianne)
>c)When any of them might fly.

Hermes payload is a few tons and cost is astronomical :-); it is not meant
to be a cost-effective payload carrier, especially since it launches on top
of an Ariane 5.  I think both Hotol and Saenger were sized for payloads
circa 10000kg, which is probably what the shuttle would have been sized
for had politics not intervened.  Both hope for greatly reduced costs,
perhaps $1k/kg instead of the current $10k/kg.  Opinions vary on just now
realistic those hopes are.  Saenger would be next decade.  The new Hotol
concept might be on the same timetable as Hermes, maybe.
--
If the Space Shuttle was the answer,   | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
what was the question?                 |  [e-mail]   utzoo!henry

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

Date: 9 Jan 91 20:02:57 GMT
From: swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Galileo Update - 01/09/91


                         GALILEO STATUS REPORT
                           January 9, 1991

     Yesterday, the CDS-A memory copy activity was successfully completed on
the Galileo spacecraft without incident or anomaly.  Today, the
telecommunications test will be performed for the radio receiver and the
command detector hardware elements for continued characterization.  Tomorrow,
cruise science memory readouts, for the EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer),
MAG (Magnetometer) and DDS (Dust Detector) and a SITURN to lead the sun are
planned.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   Jet Propulsion Lab | [e-mail]
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  M/S 301-355        |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/   Pasadena, CA 91109 |

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

ReSent-Message-ID: <QbX=[e-mail]>
ReSent-Date: Thu, 10 Jan 91 14:21:21 -0500 (EST)
ReSent-From: "Todd L. Masco" <[e-mail]>
ReSent-To: Space <[e-mail]>
From: [e-mail]
Date: 8  Jan 91 12:29
Cc: [e-mail]
Subject: Voyager I/II question


Hi there,
I'm looking for the partial orbital elements (trajectories) of the two
VOYAGER spacecrafts, which describe the (hyperbolic) motions from one planet to
the other.
Thanks, Robert              Mail Address: [e-mail]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

Date: 10 Jan 91 18:05:57 GMT
From: sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Galileo Update - 01/10/91


                       GALILEO STATUS REPORT
                         January 10, 1990

     Yesterday, the planned periodically performed telecommunications tests
were successfully completed with the Galileo spacecraft.  Earlier today, the
cruise science memory readouts for the EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer),
DDS (Dust Detector) and MAG (Magnetometer) instruments were successfully
completed.  Additionally, a SITURN, of about 2 degrees, to lead the sun was
successfully completed.

     At end of day today, the stored sequence will command a telemetry bit
rate change from 1200 bits/second to 40 bits/second, consistent with link
performance margin predictions.  Tomorrow, Galileo will reach perihelion at
0.9 AU.
      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   Jet Propulsion Lab | [e-mail]
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  M/S 301-355        |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/   Pasadena, CA 91109 |

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

End of SPACE Digest V13 #040
*******************