Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!swrinde!emory!news-feed-2.peachnet.edu!concert!ashe.cs.unc.edu!not-for-mail From: leech@cs.unc.edu (Jon Leech) Newsgroups: sci.space.tech,sci.space.science,sci.astro,sci.answers,news.answers Subject: Space FAQ 02/13 - Network Resources Supersedes: Followup-To: poster Date: 3 Apr 1994 18:51:23 -0400 Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Lines: 294 Approved: sci-space-tech@isu.isunet.edu, news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Distribution: world Expires: 8 May 1994 22:51:23 GMT Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: watt.cs.unc.edu Keywords: Frequently Asked Questions Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu sci.space.tech:1313 sci.space.science:350 sci.astro:29420 sci.answers:1060 news.answers:17643 Archive-name: space/net Last-modified: $Date: 94/04/03 18:45:59 $ NETWORK RESOURCES OVERVIEW You may be reading this document on many types of computers, so much of the material below may not apply to you. In general, however, systems connected to 'the net' fall in one of three categories: Internet, Usenet, or BITNET. Electronic mail may be sent between these networks, and other resources available on one of these networks are sometimes accessible from other networks by email sent to special 'servers'. The space and astronomy discussion groups actually are composed of several mechanisms with (mostly) transparent connections between them. One mechanism is the mailing list, in which mail is sent to a central distribution point which relays it to all recipients of the list. In addition to the general lists for space (called SPACE Digest for Internet users, and SPACE on BITNET), there are a number of more specialized mailing lists described below. A second mechanism is Usenet 'netnews'. This is somewhat like a bulletin board operating on each system which is a part of the net. Netnews separates contributions into hundreds of different categories based on a 'group name'. The groups dealing most closely with space topics are called: sci.astro - astronomy. sci.astro.* - various topic-specific subgroups. alt.sci.planetary - planetary science. sci.space.science is probably a better group for most purposes. talk.politics.space - space politics. sci.space.policy is preferred. sci.space.news - moderated, for mission status reports, news announcements, etc. sci.space.policy - unmoderated, space policy. sci.space.science - moderated, space & planetary science. sci.space.shuttle - discussion specific to the space shuttle, including launch/landing schedules and mission activities. sci.space.tech - moderated, technical/hardware issues. Contributors 'post' submissions (called 'articles' in netnews terminology) on their local machine, which sends it to other nearby machines. Similarly, articles sent from nearby machines are stored locally and may be forwarded to other systems, so that an article is posted locally and eventually reaches all the Usenet sites interested in receiving the news group to which the article was posted. Gateway machines redirect several of the Usenet sci.space groups into Internet and BITNET mailing lists and vice versa; the other Usenet groups are not accessible as mailing lists. If you can receive netnews, its more flexible interface and access to a wider range of material usually make it the preferred option. MAILING LISTS SPACE Digest is the main Internet list, and is now being run by the International Space University (in only its second change of management in over a decade). Email space-request@isu.isunet.edu (message body should be in the format 'subscribe space John Public') to join. Note that the moderated SPACE Magazine list is defunct at present for lack of a moderator. Old copies of SPACE Digest since its inception in 1981 are in ftp://julius.cs.qub.ac.uk/pub/SpaceDigestArchive/ Elements is a moderated list for fast distribution of Space Shuttle Keplerian Elements before and during Shuttle flights. NASA two line elements are sent out on the list from Dr. Kelso, JSC, and other sources as they are released. Email to elements-request@telesoft.com to join. GPS Digest is a moderated list for discussion of the Global Positioning System and other satellite navigation positioning systems. Email to gps-request@esseye.si.com to join. A Usenet group, sci.geo.satellite-nav, has been established to deal with terrestrial applcations of satellite navigation. Space-investors is a list for information relevant to investing in space-related companies. Email Vincent Cate (vac@cs.cmu.edu) to join. Space-tech is a list for more technical discussion of space topics; discussion has included esoteric propulsion technologies, asteroid capture, starflight, orbital debris removal, etc. Email to space-tech-request@cs.cmu.edu to join. Some archives (now somewhat out of date, but still interesting) are in ftp://ftp.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/usr/mnr/st or by email to space-tech-request if you don't have FTP access. Ssi-mail is a discussion group covering the Space Studies Institute. Email to listserv@link.com with a message saying "subscribe ssi_mail First Name Last Name". SEDS-L is a BITNET list for members of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space and other interested parties. Email LISTSERV@TAMVM1.BITNET with a message saying "SUBSCRIBE SEDS-L your name". Email saying "INDEX SEDS-L" to list the archive contents. SEDSNEWS is a BITNET list for news items, press releases, shuttle status reports, and the like. This duplicates material which is also found in Space Digest, sci.space.news, sci.space.shuttle, and sci.astro. Email LISTSERV@TAMVM1.BITNET saying "SUBSCRIBE SEDSNEWS your name" to join. Email saying "INDEX SEDSNEWS" to list the archive contents. Ron Baalke (baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov) runs a mailing list which carries the contents of the sci.space.news Usenet group. Email him to join the list. As a general note, please mail to the *request* address to get off a mailing list. SPACE Digest, for example, relays many inappropriate 'please remove me from this list' messages which are sent to the list address rather than the request address. PERIODICALLY UPDATED INFORMATION In addition to this FAQ list, a broad variety of topical information is posted to the net (unless otherwise noted, in the group sci.space.news created for this purpose). Please remember that the individuals posting this information are performing a service for all net readers, and don't take up their time with frivolous requests. ASTRO-FTP LIST Veikko Makela (veikko.makela@helsinki.fi) posts a monthly list of anonymous FTP servers containing astronomy and space related material to sci.space and sci.astro. AVIATION WEEK Henry Spencer (henry@zoo.toronto.edu) posts summaries of space-related stories in the weekly _Aviation Week and Space Technology_. BUYING TELESCOPES Ronnie Kon (ronnie@cisco.com) posts a guide to buying telescopes to sci.astro. ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF THE ASA Editor Larry Klaes (klaes@verga.enet.dec.com) posts the monthly Electronic Journal of the Astronomical Society of the Atlantic to sci.astro, sci.misc, sci.space, and sci.space.news. The EJASA Volume Lists for ordering back issues may be requested from him, and back issues are also available from the ASA site ftp://chara.gsu.edu/ FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL Swaraj Jeyasingh (sjeyasin@axion.bt.co.uk) posts summaries of space-related news from _Flight International_. This focuses more on non-US space activities than Aviation Week. IAU CIRCULARS The IAUC are copyrighted, and should normally not be posted to the net (sometimes they are posted, with Brian Marsden's permission). The best way to get all the IAUC is to subscribe: you get all the info by e-mail, and it helps the Minor Planet Center. A subscription is $7.50 per month for hardcopy or e-mail delivery (e-mail version includes log-in privileges to collect the Circulars, as well as orbits from the MPC files, and a facility for computing ephemerides). Enquiries (and checks) should be sent to Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A. Email: marsden@cfa.harvard.edu with checks (in U.S. dollars) made out to "Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams". Subscribers can also purchase the MPC's cometary orbit catalogue at half price. A more complete description of IAUC/MPC services is available from the email contact. LARGE ASTRONOMICAL PROJECTS Robert Bunge (rbunge@access.digex.com) posts a list describing many "Large Telescope Projects Either Being Considered or in the Works" to sci.astro. NASA HEADLINE NEWS & SHUTTLE REPORTS Peter Yee (yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov) posts a variety of NASA material, including NASA Headline News (with the schedule for NASA SELECT), shuttle payload briefings and flight manifests, and KSC shuttle status reports. For Usenet users, much of this material appears in the group sci.space.shuttle. NASA UPDATES Ron Baalke (baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov) posts frequent updates from JPL, Ames, and other centers on the Ulysses, Gailileo, Pioneer, Magellan, Landsat, and other missions. ORBITAL ELEMENT SETS TS Kelso (tkelso@blackbird.afit.af.mil) posts orbital elements from NASA Prediction Bulletins. Mike Rose (mrose@stsci.edu) posts orbital elements for the Hubble Space Telescope to sci.astro. Jost Jahn (j.jahn@abbs.hanse.de) posts ephemerides for asteroids, comets, conjunctions, and encounters to sci.astro. SATELLITE LAUNCHES Richard Langley (lang@unb.ca) posts SPACEWARN Bulletin, which describes recent launch/orbital decay information and satellites which are useful for scientific activities. Recent bulletins are in ftp://nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (directory ANON_DIR:[000000.ACTIVE.SPX]) (This is a VMS FTP site, and the URL is non-functional). SHUTTLE MANIFEST Steven S. Pietrobon (steven@spri.levels.unisa.edu.au) posts a compressed version of the Space Shuttle launch manifest to sci.space.shuttle. This includes dates, times, payloads, and information on how to see launches and landings. These files are in ftp://explorer.arc.nasa.gov/pub/SPACE/MANIFEST/ SOLAR ACTIVITY Cary Oler (oler@hg.uleth.ca) posts Solar Terrestrial reports (describing solar activity and its effect on the Earth) to sci.space. The report is issued in part from data released by the Space Enviroment Services Center, Boulder Colorado. The intro document needed to understand these reports is in ftp://solar.stanford.edu/pub/understanding_solar_terrestrial_reports ftp://nic.funet.fi/pub/misc/rec.radio.shortwave/solarreports nic.funet.fi is an archive site for the reports (please note this site is in Europe, and the connection to the US is only 56KB). A new primary archive site, ftp://ftp.uleth.ca/ has been established and will be actively supported. SOVIET SPACE ACTIVITIES Glenn Chapman (glennc@cs.sfu.ca) posts summaries of Soviet space activities. SPACE ACTIVIST NEWSLETTER Allen Sherzer (aws@iti.org) posts a newsletter, "One Small Step for a Space Activist," to talk.politics.space. It describes current legislative activity affecting NASA and commercial space activities. SPACE EVENTS CALENDAR Ron Baalke (baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov) posts a calendar including anniversaries, conferences, launch dates, meteor showers and eclipses, and other space-related events. SPACE NEWS John Magliacane (kd2bd@ka2qhd.UUCP) posts "SpaceNews" (covering AMSATs, NOAA and other weather satellites, and other ham information) to rec.radio.amateur.misc and sci.space. SPACE REPORT Jonathan McDowell (mcdowell@cfa.harvard.edu) posts "Jonathan's Space Report" covering launches, landings, reentries, status reports, satellite activities, etc. TOWARD 2001 Bev Freed (freed@nss.fidonet.org) posts "Toward 2001", a weekly global news summary reprinted from _Space Calendar_ magazine. WARNING ABOUT NON-PUBLIC NETWORKS (Included at the suggestion of Eugene Miya, who wrote the item) NASA has an internal system of unclassified electronic mail and bulletin boards. This system is not open for public use. Specifically, NASA personnel and procurement operations are regarded with some sensitivity. Contractors must renegotiate their contracts. The Fair and Open Procurement Act does not look kindly to those having inside information. Contractors and outsiders caught using this type of information can expect severe penalities. Unauthorized access attempts may subject you to a fine and/or imprisonment in accordance with Title 18, USC, Section 1030. If in fact you should should learn of unauthorized access, contact NASA personnel. Claims have been made on this news group about fraud and waste. None have ever been substantiated to any significant degree. Readers detecting Fraud, Waste, Abuse, or Mismanagement should contact the NASA Inspector General (24-hours) at 800-424-9183 (can be anonymous) or write NASA Inspector General P.O. Box 23089 L'enfant Plaza Station Washington DC 20024 NEXT: FAQ #3/13 - Online (and some offline) sources of images, data, etc.