Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 32766 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, 9 Jan 90 13:57:02 -0500 (EST) Received: from beak.andrew.cmu.edu via qmail ID ; Mon, 8 Jan 90 20:20:23 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Mon, 8 Jan 90 20:19:54 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V10 #391 SPACE Digest Volume 10 : Issue 391 Today's Topics: NASA Headline News for 01/03/90 (Forwarded) Payload Status for 01/02/90 (Forwarded) Re: Antigravity Simpler space suits? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 3 Jan 90 18:59:34 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: NASA Headline News for 01/03/90 (Forwarded) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Wednesday, January 3, 1990 Audio: 202/755-1788 ----------------------------------------------------------------- This is NASA Headline News for Wednesday, January 3.... The call to stations for the launch of the STS-32 mission is scheduled for Thursday at 4:00 P.M., Eastern time. Today, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks at Pad 39A will be filled in preparation for loading the orbiter's onboard storage tanks during the launch countdown. Yesterday, ordnance devices were reinstalled on the orbiter, SRBs and the external tank. The Columbia's crew...Commander Dan Brandenstein, Pilot Jim Wetherbee and Mission Specialists Bonnie Dunbar, Marsha Ivens and David Low will arrive at the Cape from Houston on Friday. Here is a corrected schedule of pre-launch briefings to be conducted at Kennedy Space Center and Telecast on NASA Select TV. Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 A.M., Eastern time, launch countdown status reports. On Saturday at 10:00 A.M., a SYNCOM briefing...at 11:00 A.M., briefing on characterization of neurospora circadian rhythms experiment...1:00 P.M., protein crystal growth and fluid experiment apparatus briefing. At 2:00 P.M., a briefing on the Long Duration Exposure Facility. Then on Sunday at 11:00 A.M., the pre-launch news conference will be held. The New York Times says the Bush administration has told congressional leaders that it cannot meet the statutory deadline for the 1991 budget and will submit it one week late. Submission date is now set for January 29. Space pioneer Hermann Oberth died in Nuremberg, West Germany last week. The 95-year-old rocket scientist joined Wehrner Von Braun for three years in 1955 to work on U.S. rocketry programs. He was best known for futuristic publications entitled "The Rockets To The Planets In Space" and "The Way To Spaceship Travel". * * * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------- Here's the broadcast schedule for public affairs events on NASA Select TV. All times are Eastern. Thursday, January 4...... 11:30 A.M. NASA Update will be transmitted 1:00 P.M. Administrator Truly speaks to NASA employees Friday, January 5..... 9:00 A.M. Launch countdown status Saturday, January 6..... 9:00 A.M. Launch countdown status 10:00 A.M. SYNCOM briefing 11:00 A.M. Circadian rhythym 1:00 P.M. Commercial payloads briefing 2:00 P.M. LDEF briefing Sunday, January 7.... 11:00 A.M. Pre-launch news conference Monday, January 8.... Mission STS-32 coverage begins at 3:30 A.M. with launch scheduled for 8:06 A.M. 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: 3 Jan 90 18:50:54 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: Payload Status for 01/02/90 (Forwarded) Daily Status/KSC Payload Management and Operations 01-02-90 - STS-31R HST (at VPF) - Facility HVAC and systems were monitored over the holidays. During the extreme cold a few valves froze on the humidifier at the VPF. A temporary fix was made. HST specifications of temperature and humidity were never exceeded. - STS-32R SYNCOM (at Pad A) - Battery conditioning picked back up on 29 December. - STS-35 ASTRO-1/BBXRT (at O&C) - Installation of ASTRO-1 tent for holidays was accomplished. Spacelab/BBXRT cable up was completed. BBXRT liquid argon servicing is shceduled for today and cite testing due to pick up again tomorrow. - STS-40 SLS-1 (at O&C) - Rack modifications due to pick up today. - STS-42 IML (at O&C) - Rack modifications due to pick up today. ------------------------------ Date: 3 Jan 90 21:56:53 GMT From: bfmny0!tneff@uunet.uu.net (Tom Neff) Subject: Re: Antigravity In article <452@berlioz.nsc.com> andrew@dtg.nsc.com (Lord Snooty @ The Giant Poisoned Electric Head ) writes: >In article <1990Jan3.191454.22878@agate.berkeley.edu>, daveray@sag4.ssl.berkeley.edu (David Ray) writes: >> Is it relavistic effects that make the gyroscopes get lighter? [heavier] > not even close. at 12000 rpm, a small gyro is many orders > down from c at its periphery to explain the massive effect > in this manner. Still, I like this question. Has anyone tried to spin something massive REALLY FAST? -- US out of North America, NOW!! /: Tom Neff -- Richard O'Rourke :/ tneff%bfmny0@UUNET.UU.NET ------------------------------ Date: 3 Jan 90 04:22:53 GMT From: cs.utexas.edu!halley!watson@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (William Watson) Subject: Simpler space suits? I have a question that was sparked by a discussion in this group a few weeks ago. The discussion at that time was related to folks developing problems from remaining "indoors" for too long. Comment were made on the expense of current spacesuits, and the fact that suits today are custom made for each astronaut (in the US, at least). Does this have to be the case? I am *far* from an expert in the area, (read: no related experience at all) and so I don't know the reasons behind the current strategy. As I understand the matter, spacesuits provide the following functions, in rough order of importance. 1) Maintain a breathable air supply for the wearer. 2) Avoid the loss of air. 3) Maintain a "suitable" air pressure over the entire body of the wearer. (Is this actually required, in that cells exposed to vacuum burst, or die in some other way?) This requirement forces the design to be quite complex, as it must remain flexible, but easy to move, and must not inflate like a baloon and restrict movement of joints. 4) Provide thermal insulation from hot or cold objects touched by wearer. 5) Protect the wearer from exposure to intense solar radiation. (First cut approximation: assume near-Earth use - UV induced melanoma seems to be a concern. Other regions of the solar system might well have move severe restrictions.) 6) Protect the wearer from micro-meteors. (Is the flux of high-speed sand significant? Does the current design really provide any effective protection?) 7) Be comfortable enough that the wearer can stay in the suit for extended periods of time. Extended wear also implies methods for feeding and relieving the wearer. Unless the skin cannot survive a vacuum, it would seem to me that a suit for limited duration wear would need be little more than a scuba wet-suit, with appropriate modifications of the air suppy equipment to capture exhaled gasses and work with *reduced* pressure, rather than *increased* pressure. Am I missing something, or would it be possible to have a simpler suit for short EVAs? Naturally, such a suit would not be sufficient to ensure the survival of astronauts whose vessels develop problems far from any port or Earth. If the requirement for extended wear is removed, could the design be simple enough to mass-produce cheaply? William ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V10 #391 *******************