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Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #274

SPACE Digest                                     Volume 13 : Issue 274

Today's Topics:
          NASA Headline News - 03/13/91 (Forwarded)
           Re: space news from Feb 4 AW&ST
             Toward 2001 - 11 Mar
         Saturn V (was: space news from Jan 28 AW&ST)
         Quality Control Improves the Product
         quality control [told to me as true]

Administrivia:

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  [e-mail].  Other mail, esp. [un]subscription requests,
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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 13 Mar 91 18:37:36 GMT
From: elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov![e-mail]  (Ron Baalke)
Subject: NASA Headline News - 03/13/91 (Forwarded)



             Headline News
Internal Communications Branch (P-2) NASA Headquarters

  Wednesday, March 13, 1991        Audio Service: 202 / 755-1788

This is NASA Headline News for Wednesday, March 13, 1991

Preparations for the STS-37 Gamma Ray Observatory deploy
mission are progressing very smoothly at the Kennedy Space
Center.  Atlantis is mated to the solid rocket booster/external tank
stack assembly and is presently undergoing frequency response tests.
The Gamma Ray Observatory was delivered to launch pad 39-B
earlier this morning and is now in the payload changeout room.
Final vehicle assembly closeout activities on the STS-37 stack should
be finished tomorrow.  Atlantis is scheduled to begin the three-
mile trip out to pad B Friday morning, March 15.  The GRO
payload will be installed into Atlantis' payload bay on Sunday.  The
terminal countdown demonstration test is scheduled for next week,
March 19 and 20, with T-0 at noon on the 20th.  The STS-37 flight
readiness review will be held at KSC one week later, March 26 and 27.

Discovery is in the VAB and is presently being demated from its
external tank.  The orbiter should be in the horizontal position and in
the assembly building transfer aisle by this afternoon.  Discovery will
be towed the short distance to orbiter processing facility bay 2
tomorrow at 8:30 am.

Preparations for Columbia's STS-40 Spacelab Life Sciences mission
also continue to go well.  The Get-Away Special cannister bridge
arrived at the Operations and Checkout Building high bay area today.
It will be tested with the rest of the SLS-1 hardware.  Installation of
the payload experiments into the GAS cannisters is now set for March
20.  The GAS bridge and the SLS-1 habitable module are
scheduled to be moved to the OPF for installation into
Columbia on March 23.

                   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

KSC management will hold a ground-breaking ceremony for the
Space Station Processing Facility on Tuesday, March 26, at
10:00 am.  Center Director Forrest McCartney will preside.

                   * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Ames Research Center Director Dr. Dale L. Compton was elected
by the Silicon Valley Engineering Council to its Hall of Fame.  A
mechanical and aeronautical engineer, Dr. Compton was cited as a
pioneer in the fields of planetary atmospheric entry, hypersonic
aerodynamics, and the physics of high temperature gases.  Dr.
Compton, and deputy center director Steve Hawley, also participated
in Bay Area engineering week teaching assignments and gave local
grade school students lessons on physics.


Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select
TV.  All times are Eastern.  NASA Select TV is carried on GE Satcom
F2R, transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees W Long., Audio 6.8,
Frequency 3960 MHz.

Wednesday, 3/13/91

        1:15 pm        Magellan-at-Venus report live from Jet Propulsion
Laboratory.

        4:00 pm        Taped replay of House Subcommittee on Technology and
Competitiveness (Committee on Science, Space and Technology), and
the House Subcommittee on Research and Development (Committee on
Armed Services) joint hearing on National Aero-Space Plane.
(Recorded Tuesday.)

Thursday, 3/14/91

        12:00 pm        Taped replay of House Subcommittee on Space
Science and Applications (Committee on Science Space and
Technology) hearing on NASA's Aeronautics, Exploration, and
Technology FY 92 budget.  Arnold Aldrich was the NASA witness.
(Recorded Wednesday.)

        6:00 pm        Taped replay of House Subcommittee on Technology and
Competitiveness (Committee on Science, Space and Technology), and
the House Subcommittee on Research and Development (Committee on
Armed Services) joint hearing on National Aero-Space Plane.
(Recorded Tuesday.)

        followed by

                Taped replay of House Subcommittee on Space Science and
Applications (Committee on Science Space and Technology) hearing
on NASA's Aeronautics, Exploration, and Technology FY 92
budget.  Arnold Aldrich was the NASA witness.  (Recorded
Wednesday.)

Friday, 3/15/91

        12:00 pm        Taped replay of sessions from the American
Astronautical Society 29th Goddard Memorial Symposium being
held in Washington March 14 and 15.  (Sessions and times yet to be
determined.)

      ___    _____     ___
     /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|      Ron Baalke         | [e-mail]
     | | | |  __ \ /| | | |      Jet Propulsion Lab |
  ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |___   M/S 301-355        | Change is constant.
 /___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /|  Pasadena, CA 91109 |
 |_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                      |

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

Date: 13 Mar 91 20:29:24 GMT
From: rex!rouge![e-mail]  (Fraering Philip)
Subject: Re: space news from Feb 4 AW&ST

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) writes:

>Martin Marietta and Bechtel are scrambling to get pad 40 at the Cape
>rebuilt in time for the Mars Observer launch in Sept 1992.

What sort of other work does Bechtel do in the aerospace field? I
heard they got a lot of the contracts for rebuilding Kuwait, and they
do a lot in construction. Do they mainly do launch complex
construction, or what?

Phil Fraering
[e-mail]

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

Date: 12 Mar 91 05:18:12 GMT
From: usc!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!unix.cis.pitt.edu!pitt!nss![e-mail]  (Bev Freed)
Subject: Toward 2001 - 11 Mar


                            ***********
                            TOWARD 2001
                            ***********
                       Week of 11 March 1991
                 A Weekly Feature of SPACE CALENDAR
                   + = Domestic (USA) Earth event
                   * = Domestic (USA) space event
                   o = International Earth event
                   # = International space event
--------------------------------------------------------------------
                        REPRINT INFORMATION
This information is reproduced by permission of the Space Age
Publishing Company.  All rights reserved.  Copyright March 11,
1991.  Reproduction in any form without written permission violates
federal statute with penalty of up to $50,000.  SPACE CALENDAR is
edited and published on the Big `Space' Island of Hawaii.
====================================================================
                           * * * * * * *
+ STS 37 Atlantis
NASA KSC FL

The mission to deploy NASA's second Great Observatory -- the Gamma
Ray Observatory -- remains on schedule for early April. STS 39
Discovery, an unclassified DoD mission, is delayed until at least
late April to repair cracks in its underside doors.
                           * * * * * * *
+ Virginia Outstanding Industrialist
Fairfax VA

The accomplishments of Orbital Sciences Corp continue to bring
honors to founder David W Thompson. In mid-February, Thompson was
presented to both houses of the Virginia legislature and named the
state's outstanding industrialist for 1991.
                           * * * * * * *
o Soviet Almaz Satellite
Baikonur USSR

Currently undergoing checkout with a late March or early April
launch date. Space Commerce Corp, Houston TX, predicts data from the
satellite -- 20m resolution in 6 shades of gray -- will be on the
market by May 1991.
                           * * * * * * *
o Arianespace Asia Plans
Tokyo, Japan

Japan plans to buy 10 to 12 satellites during the next 8 years, said
Arianespace chairman Charles Bigot. During a recent visit Bigot
called on prospective users, including Nippon Telegraph & Telephone
(NTT), Kokusai Denshin Denwa (KDD), and Japan Broadcasting Corp
(NHK).
                           * * * * * * *
+ General Dynamics
San Diego CA

Is replacing Space Systems Div head Alan Lovelace with Michael
Wynne, whose space industry experience is almost nil. Speculation is
rife that GD may leave the commercial space field, despite recent
acquisition of the DoT's first launch operator's license.
                           * * * * * * *
o Aussat
Brisbane, Australia

The federal government is considering extending its protection of a
telecommunications duopoly past 1997 in an effort to stimulate
capital interest in Aussat. For the same reason, the Ministry of
Transport and Communications could issue regional licenses for
cellular mobile services instead of a third national license.
                           * * * * * * *
o Rocket System Corp
Tokyo, Japan

The 75-firm joint venture, which markets the H-2 rocket, plans to
bid on 6 upcoming Intelsat and Inmarsat launch contracts by July.
Lack of commercial space rules and regulations at Tanegashima Space
Center could scuttle the company's near-term chances.
                           * * * * * * *
+ Lunar Exploration Inc
Houston TX

Marketing manager Mark Lawson told Space News recently he has firm
commitments from three American companies for a total of $4.5
million to sponsor the Lunar Prospector. Lawson expects ultimate
project costs of about $11.5 million.
                           * * * * * * *
o Mexico Morelos Sat
Earth Orbit

Canada's Spar Communications Group will provide Mexico with a $3
million national air traffic control network using the Morelos
satellite system. The network will eventually link 45 locations with
voice and data transfer at 9.5 kilobits per second.
                           * * * * * * *
+ Lunar Footnote (Statistic)

6,661 Days Since Moon last visited by humans.
                           * * * * * * *
o International Space Year 1992 (Quote)

      The most important policy objective of the ISY . . . is
  to instill a new Space Age frame of reference in the thoughts and
               actions of governments and individuals."
                  -- The late U S Senator Spark M Matsunaga, Hawaii
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--- Opus-CBCS 1.14
 * Origin: NSS BBS - Ad Astra! [phone] *HST* (1:129/104.0)
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UUCP: ...!pitt!nss!freed
INTERNET: [e-mail]

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

Date: 12 Mar 91 06:37:35 GMT
From: agate!bionet!uwm.edu!spool.mu.edu!cs.umn.edu!kksys!wd0gol!newave![e-mail]  (John A. Weeks III)
Subject: Saturn V (was: space news from Jan 28 AW&ST)

In article <[e-mail]> [e-mail] (Henry Spencer) summarizes:
> Congress is very interested in the Augustine commission's recommendation
> for a heavylift launcher, and there is starting to be specific interest
> in one particularly heavylift launcher... the Saturn V!!

On my way back from the Confederate Air Force air show last fall, I stopped
in Houston to visit the rocket park.  That was the first time I looked at
a Saturn V.  My first impression was that the think was large laying on
its side, so it must be huge when it is standing up.

After wandering around for a while, I started to notice all of the individual
parts that make up the Saturn V and how each part was connected to the rocket.
I came to a personal conclusion that I could make or purchase any one of
the parts, therefore I could build an entire Saturn V if I wanted to.
Although the command and serivce modules in the visitor's center appeared to
be too complex for me to build, the rest of the Saturn V is just a few large
aluminum tanks with a few other parts (like engines) added on.

Then it dawned on me that each of those parts were designed for a particular
weight, strength, functionality, temperature range, vibration response, etc.
Each part had to function more or less flawlessly while the vehicle was
powered by what was little more than a controlled explosion.  Every piece of
the Saturn V must have been the result of a team of engineers, and was tested
and retested innumeral times.  All without the benefit of modern supercomputers,
or even the luxury of a hand calculator.

It amazes me that the Saturn V was possible at all, let alone 25 years ago.

I wouldn't mind seeing the Saturn V fly again, but I would like to think that
we (humans, including those north of the boarder) could do better.  Knowing
that a problem has a solution makes the problem that much easier to solve.

-john-

--
===============================================================================
John A. Weeks III               [phone]               [e-mail]
NeWave Communications                 ...uunet!rosevax!tcnet!wd0gol!newave!john
===============================================================================

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

Date: 9 Mar 91 18:17:35 GMT
From: rex!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!caen!news.cs.indiana.edu!news.nd.edu!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!mace.cc.purdue.edu![e-mail]  (Perry G Ramsey)
Subject: Quality Control Improves the Product

Something I pulled off of rec.humor.funny.  Rather appropriate to some
of the discussions we've had here.

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

Path: mace.cc.purdue.edu!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!purdue!decwrl!looking!funny-request
From: [e-mail]
Newsgroups: rec.humor.funny
Subject: quality control [told to me as true]
Keywords: heard it, true, computer, smirk
Date: 9 Mar 91 00:30:03 GMT
Lines: 38
Approved: [e-mail]

A long, long time ago [before 1970], IBM was about to introduce a
new disk drive that had higher storage density than any it had
built before.  This disk drive came in multiples of eight,
stacked two high, four wide, and was immediately dubbed the
"pizza oven" by its users.

Anyway, the new drive was introduced with much fanfare.  A few
weeks later, its first customer had their first head crash.  Then
their second, and soon after that, their third.  The chagrinned
IBM service people bundled up the entire drive and took it back
to their lab in Poughkeepsie, or Kingston, or wherever.

There they replaced all the heads, put in brand new packs, and
let it run.  It ran for more than a month with no problems, so
they carted it back to the customer site.  They left the heads
alone, put the customer's packs back in, and let it run.

A few weeks later, the heads started crashing again.  They repeated
the whole process, but again the heads would not crash in the lab.

Finally, someone got the bright idea of examining the crashed
heads under a microscope.  They found them clogged with some
hard resinous substance, which they subjected to chemical
analysis.

The substance turned out to be the glue from the quality control stickers.
These stickers were affixed during final inspection to each disk pack
sent to customers, but not to the test packs they used in the lab.
After a few weeks, the glue dried out and started flaking off;
some of the flakes eventually found their way into the heads and
caused the crashes.
--
Edited by Brad Templeton.  MAIL your jokes (jokes ONLY) to [e-mail]
Attribute the joke's source if at all possible.  A Daemon will auto-reply.

Jokes ABOUT major current events should be sent to [e-mail]
(ie. jokes which won't be funny if not given immediate attention.)
Anything that is not a joke submission goes to [e-mail]


--
Perry G. Ramsey           Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
[e-mail]   Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN USA
[e-mail]    ***  IMAGINE YOUR LOGO HERE  ******
    Ten thousand low-lifes a day read this space.

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

End of SPACE Digest V13 #274
*******************