Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 7997;andrew.cmu.edu;Ted Anderson Received: from beak.andrew.cmu.edu via trymail for +dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl@andrew.cmu.edu (->+dist+/afs/andrew.cmu.edu/usr11/tm2b/space/space.dl) (->ota+space.digests) ID ; Tue, 5 Dec 89 01:33:29 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <8ZSq4XG00VcJ48uU4q@andrew.cmu.edu> Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Tue, 5 Dec 89 01:33:07 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V10 #308 SPACE Digest Volume 10 : Issue 308 Today's Topics: NASA Headline News for 12/04/89 (Forwarded) Re: space news from Oct 9 AW&ST, part 2 Re: space news from Oct 9 AW&ST, part 2 Re: The International Space Habitat Program Re: Manned vs Unmanned Mission to Mars ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 4 Dec 89 22:48:23 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: NASA Headline News for 12/04/89 (Forwarded) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, December 4, 1989 Audio: 202/755-1788 ----------------------------------------------------------------- This is NASA Headline News for Monday, December 4.... The orbiter Discovery has been returned to Kennedy Space Center by the 747 carrier aircraft. Discovery arrived this morning, shortly after 10:00 A.M., Eastern time, following a short flight from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The piggy-back flight from Edwards Air Force Base began early Sunday morning, with a refueling stop at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. The Flight Readiness Review for the STS-32 mission is underway at the Kennedy Space Center. The two day meeting will review all flight aspects for the deployment of a communications satellite and the retrieval of the Long Duration Exposure Facility. A decision on a launch date for the mission may be delayed for several days because of a tight work schedule. Solar Max is no more. The plucky satellite plunged through the atmosphere saturday and was destroyed somewhere over the Indian Ocean. Solar Max carried out a series of solar observations for 9 and a half years. Recent news stories about a federal grand jury probe into space shuttle solid rocket boosters are directed at possible fraud....not safety concerns. The Huntsville news quotes Marshall Space Flight Center Director Jack Lee as saying, "I don't think it's a question of safety....but it might be a question of fraud if the government finds that we paid for something in the recertifiction program we didn't get". The newspaper says a Morton-Thiokol engineer reportedly testified to a grand jury that his firm may not have properly calibrated guages on the first three post-Challenger shuttle missions. Aerospace Daily says Orbital Sciences Corporation has plans to conduct the second captive flight test of the Pegasus air-launched space booster early in the second week of December. The captive test flight aboard NASA's B-52 will be conducted over the Pacific Ocean and will simulate the mission profile of the first Pegasus launch. The first commercial Titan III is scheduled to be launched December 8 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Two communications satellites will be boosted into geosynchronous orbit. * * * ----------------------------------------------------------------- Here's the broadcast schedule for public affairs events on NASA Select TV. All times are Eastern. Thursday, December 7.... 11:30 A.M. NASA Update will be transmitted. All events and times are subject to change without notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------- These reports are filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12 noon, Eastern time. ----------------------------------------------------------------- A service of the Internal Communications Branch (LPC), NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. ------------------------------ Date: 4 Dec 89 09:42:05 GMT From: pasteur!agate!shelby!neon!jchapin@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (John M. Chapin) Subject: Re: space news from Oct 9 AW&ST, part 2 In article <1989Dec4.001327.4287@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes: > >JPL outlines tentative approach to a manned Mars mission: > >1996 Mars Observer 2, a followon to Mars Observer >1998 Mars Global Network, two launches landing penetrators at 24 sites >2001 two sample-return missions with small rovers ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ [futher dates deleted] Lest anyone think this is far away... a six-month design study on needed technologies and possibilities for these rovers will start next month at Stanford. The core lectures (with speakers from Ames, JPL, etc) will probably be available on videotape if anyone is interested. The organizers are advertising heavily in places that undergrad engineers hang out. I take this as an encouraging sign that they are trying to get a new generation interested in working on the space program. ------------------------------------------------------------------ John Chapin | The RSA algorithm with 100-digit primes: Stanford Univ. CS Dept. | My personal method for enforcing jchapin@cs.stanford.edu | the bill of rights ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: 4 Dec 89 16:08:46 GMT From: attcan!utgpu!utzoo!kcarroll@uunet.uu.net (Kieran A. Carroll) Subject: Re: space news from Oct 9 AW&ST, part 2 jchapin@Neon.Stanford.EDU (John M. Chapin) writes: > >2001 two sample-return missions with small rovers > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > > Lest anyone think this is far away... a six-month design > study on needed technologies and possibilities for these > rovers will start next month at Stanford. However, John, similar design studies have been carried out ever since the early 1970's. Design studies are a necessary but not sufficient condition for carrying out missions :-). I heard once that in the space business, for every mission to be flown, ten preliminary-design-level studies are carried out. And for every preliminary design, ten conceptual design studies are commissioned. -- Kieran A. Carroll @ U of Toronto Aerospace Institute uunet!attcan!utzoo!kcarroll kcarroll@zoo.toronto.edu ------------------------------ Date: 4 Dec 89 15:28:43 GMT From: attcan!utgpu!utzoo!kcarroll@uunet.uu.net (Kieran A. Carroll) Subject: Re: The International Space Habitat Program jim@pnet01.cts.COM (Jim Bowery) writes: > > >> Is this truly what our space program has become, a bunch of administrators > >> who are no longer aware that space exploration is meant for science? > > > >This question strikes a strong chord in my mind, but not for the reason > >that you would expect, Jeff. I, for one, am concerned with the perception > >(obviously shared by many people) that science is the only reason for > exploring space. I disagree strongly! > > > >In my judgement, the >main< reason for exploring space is because we intend > >that people live and work there, someday soon. > > Right, and since "WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY," we should stop piddling > around with science and just "DO IT." Despite the sarcastic intention of the remainder of JB's posting, this is one statement that I can agree with. We do have much of the technology to enable people to live and work in space, right now! Of course, much more is needed, but the sort of "exploration" that we'd be capable of carrying out on Mars right now wouldn't contribute a lot -- we need research into (or preferably >development of<) low-specific-cost launch systems, far more than we need geological analyses of Martian rocks, if space development is to be our goal. Expanding the size of humanity's database of information about the universe is a noble goal, and one that will never cease to be of great importance, but isn't it time that we started to >do< something with all that information? > > Here is THE PLAN: ... many large development contracts going to the > University of Toronto Aerospace Institute. Why, that's mighty generous of you, Jimbo. If you feel so strongly about that, you could perhaps start the ball rolling? Make cheques or money orders payable to... :-) -- Kieran A. Carroll @ U of Toronto Aerospace Institute uunet!attcan!utzoo!kcarroll kcarroll@zoo.toronto.edu ------------------------------ Date: 4 Dec 89 23:28:21 GMT From: uceng!dmocsny@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (daniel mocsny) Subject: Re: Manned vs Unmanned Mission to Mars In article <1989Dec4.175603.24244@utzoo.uucp>, henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes: > How would you feel about flying on the first remotely-piloted airliner? Probably not much differently than the people who flew on the first human-piloted airliner. Plenty of those dropped out of the sky. Pioneers always take risks. Almost every technological advance involves reducing direct human involvement with the productive task, i.e., leveraging a unit of human intelligence to creating ever greater value. This usually means that even as we grow materially richer, we enjoy less human catering to our needs at a given cost. > As has been mentioned before, nobody uses robots to explore Antarctica, > even though supporting humans there is decidedly expensive. A more meaningful analogy is between space and undersea exploration, where the life-support costs are similar. From what I have read, the trend in undersea work is clearly away from manned submersibles and toward tele- and auto-bots, even though transportation costs are small compared to spaceflight. One recurrent theme in the manned vs. unmanned debate is the past failures of some unmanned space probes, as well as the very limited ability of these probes to adapt and self-maintain. The implication seems to be that a significant unmanned scientific assault on Mars would have a higher risk of failure than a manned mission. But consider that the Vikings and Voyagers were built over a decade ago, and even if we start now a major Mars mission isn't going anywhere soon. That gives an automated Mars mission something like a 20-year technological advantage over our earlier generation of probes. Won't that amount to something? Dan Mocsny dmocsny@uceng.uc.edu ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V10 #308 *******************