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 ; Fri, 29 Jun 1990 02:00:04 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: Precedence: junk Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Fri, 29 Jun 1990 01:59:31 -0400 (EDT) Subject: SPACE Digest V11 #579 SPACE Digest Volume 11 : Issue 579 Today's Topics: BBXRT servicing. Re: (none) NASA Headline News for 06/25/90 (Forwarded) Re: (none) Re: Galileo Update - 06/14/90 Re: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was? Re: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was? Re: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was? The Scout, Pershing II's and ICBM's Administrivia: Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to space+@andrew.cmu.edu. Other mail, esp. [un]subscription notices, should be sent to space-request+@andrew.cmu.edu, or, if urgent, to tm2b+@andrew.cmu.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 25 Jun 90 11:09:00 GMT From: usc!samsung!munnari.oz.au!sirius.ucs.adelaide.edu.au!cs.ua.oz.au!francis@ucsd.edu (Francis Vaughan) Subject: BBXRT servicing. We constantly see the BBXRT being serviced with liquid or solid argon as it waits for its (now long delayed) launch. Question: Why does the device need to remain cold? I have no trouble with sensors that need to be cold to get enough signal to noise ratio and the like, but the continual servicing of the BBXRT seems to imply that the system will be damaged if it is allowed to warm up. If the sensors are damaged at room temperature then how were they fabricated in the first place? Technicians slopping around in a bucket of liquid argon bolting the thing together seems a little unlikley. Perhaps someone close to the project could enlighten us a little? A run down on how the sensors work would be nice too. Francis Vaughan. ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jun 90 15:27:50 GMT From: mcsun!ukc!edcastle!tjc@uunet.uu.net (A J Cunningham) Subject: Re: (none) In article <10554.8023.forumexp@mts.rpi.edu> Greg_d._Moore@mts.rpi.edu (Commander Krugannal) writes: >Also... has anyone heard about the mysterious circles appearing in the fields > of farmers in England, with no scientific explanation available? These are > PERFECT circles, by the way. Not something that could occur by any natural > means, and there are NEVER signs of any sort of human activity. Witnesses > usually claim seeing bright orange lights and hearing whining noises. > Scientists are starting to get VERY serious about these things recently. It > was on the CNN World Report yesterday. It made me start thinking... are we > REALLY ready for extra-terrestrial contact? Well there certainly is a scientific explanation and quite a convincing one at that. It seems that in the areas most affected by this phenomenon the ground topography is such that very small whirlwinds build up and flaten the crop. For some strange reason it's been twice reported in the British ( != English ) press. Once in 'New Scientist' (a serious weekly science journal) and yesterday in the Sunday Independent (a heavyweight sunday newspaper). Seems there is a conference coming up on the phenomenon. So before you decide what can and cannot happen by natural means perhaps you should consult some people who know what they are talking about. It seems the lights are probably electrical discharges from the wind system ( like lightning y'know ). So Occam's razor wins again. No UFOs, no Little Green Men, No "Take me to your leader". Tony -- Tony Cunningham, Edinburgh University Computing Service. tjc@castle.ed.ac.uk Yuppies think I'm a wino 'cos I seem to have no class, Girls think I'm perverted 'cos I watch them as they pass. ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jun 90 19:15:38 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: NASA Headline News for 06/25/90 (Forwarded) ---------------------------------------------------------- Monday, June 25, 1990 Audio Service: 202/755-1788 ----------------------------------------------------------- This is NASA Headline News for Monday, June 25........ Kennedy Space Center ground crews at launch pad 39-A picked up preparations for the helium signature leak test of the main engines and main propulsion systems on the orbiter Atlantis last Friday. In parallel, the fueling activities were scheduled on Sunday. The liquid hydrogen tanking test has been moved from Wednesday to no earlier than Thursday of this week. At that time, the STS-38 mission that is targeted for mid-July will be confirmed. ******** The Marshall Space Flight Center has issued a call for proposals on a space station external environment. The model would include the induced buildup of neutral gases around the space station under various conditions and for different altitudes and vent locations. The optical emissions caused in this gas envelope, as well as the gas kinetic temperatures, must also allow for the effects of collisions between neutrals and surface re-emitted atoms and molecules. ******** The European Space Agency's Ulysses spacecraft, a scientific payload to be deployed by the Space Shuttle Discovery in early October, will be the focus of a briefing and photo opportunity at the Kennedy Space Center, tomorrow at 11:00 A.M. EDT. The Ulysses is a NASA/ESA international project designed to study the poles of the Sun and interstellar space above and below the poles. It will be launched on a planetary trajectory to use the gravity of Jupiter to slingshot the spacecraft out of the solar ecliptic plane and toward the south pole of the Sun. ******** A NASA Global Change Fellowship Program has been announced to continue a major effort to encourage the next generation of scientists and engineers. Thirty-seven graduate students at U.S. universities will participate. They will be awarded fellowships based on research proposals submitted by the selected applicants. Dr. Shelby Tilford, Director of the Office of Space Science and Applications' Earth Science and Applications Division, says they may "one day be responsible for much of the analysis of data from the Earth Observing System." The first EOS platform is planned for a 1998 launch. ******** Dr. Stanley Shawhan, Director of the Space Physics Division, died of a heart attack last Thursday at his home. He was 49 years old. Memorial services will be held at the Good Shepherd Methodist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland at 11:00 A.M., this Thursday. The family has requested charitable donations to a Diabetes Research Foundation in lieu of flowers. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select TV. All times are Eastern. Tuesday, June 26........ 11:00 A.M. Ulysses spacecraft news briefing and showing at KSC. 12:00-2:00 P.M. NASA Video Productions. Thursday, June 28....... 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 12:00 P.M. EDT. This is a service of the Internal Communications Branch, NASA HQ. Contact: JSTANHOPE or CREDMOND on NASAmail or at 202/453-8425. ----------------------------------------------------------------- NASA Select TV: Satcom F2R, Transponder 13, C-Band, 72 Degrees West Longitude, Audio 6.8, Frequency 3960 MHz. ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jun 90 20:32:23 GMT From: tristan!loren@lll-winken.llnl.gov (Loren Petrich) Subject: Re: (none) In article <547@argus.mrcu> paj@uk.co.gec-mrc (Paul Johnson) writes: >>> From: usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!bionet!arisia!cdp!jhanson@ucsd.edu >> >>> Some soils in Hawaii contain as much as 31.7% aluminum. > >>And it's a common food ingredient - check some labels. But you object >>to a few tons being dumped in the air near Hawaii? > >Reality check: if Hawaian soils contain almost 1/3 pure aluminium, >then those Hawaians are very wealthy :-) Aluminium in bulk is expensive >stuff. > >...... >>I suggest you re-evaluate the reliablity of your sources. > >and then think about what you are saying. Aluminum in what chemical state, may I ask? Aluminum in rocks and other natural circumstances is oxidized aluminum, Al+++. For example, bauxite, aluminum ore, is largely AL(2)O(3). It is pure aluminum metal that is relatively expensive, since it must be produced by refining aluminum ore. This is done by electrolysis, since aluminum is one of the more reactive elements, and the requisite amounts of electricity can be expensive. It is like claiming that there is no significant difference between charcoal and diamond because both are made of carbon (I once saw a cartoon about someone who gives his girlfriend/wife a small piece of charcoal, and claims that what's the difference between that and diamond -- they're both carbon). ^ Loren Petrich, the Master Blaster \ ^ / loren@sunlight.llnl.gov \ ^ / One may need to route through any of: \^/ <<<<<<<<+>>>>>>>> lll-lcc.llnl.gov /v\ lll-crg.llnl.gov / v \ star.stanford.edu / v \ v For example, use: loren%sunlight.llnl.gov@star.stanford.edu My sister is a Communist for Reagan ------------------------------ Date: 19 Jun 90 13:32:00 GMT From: attcan!utgpu!utzoo!censor!comspec!tvcent!lethe!torsqnt!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!helios.physics.utoronto.ca!physics.utoronto.ca!neufeld@uunet.uu.net (Christopher Neufeld) Subject: Re: Galileo Update - 06/14/90 In article <441@mtndew.UUCP> friedl@mtndew.UUCP (Stephen J. Friedl) writes: >> The AC/DC bus imbalance measurements have remained very stable. The AC >> measurement continues to indicate a near short circuit to chassis. > >How can the spacecraft function with its AC power supply nearly >shorted to ground? Why is it not disabled entirely? > Well, this is a novel definition of "ground." Must be quite an extension cord on that thing! Seriously, it is common safety practice to float your supplies with respect to the chassis, at least for laboratory equipment. I would guess that Galileo does this as well. Since the chassis doesn't act as one pole of the power supply, it is allowed to sit at any potential, and can be safely shorted to one of the two power supply poles. This may make the chassis electrically hot, but it would not likely endanger any of the humans working on the project :-) Can anyone confirm my guess? Is the supply floating with respect to the chassis? >Stephen J. Friedl, KA8CMY / Software Consultant / Tustin, CA / 3B2-kind-of-guy >+1 714 544 6561 / friedl@mtndew.Tustin.CA.US / {uunet,attmail}!mtndew!friedl -- Christopher Neufeld....Just a graduate student | "Yes, well like any open neufeld@helios.physics.utoronto.ca Ad astra! | and shut case this one cneufeld@{pro-generic,pnet99}.cts.com | has a few loopholes." "Don't edit reality for the sake of simplicity" | -Maxwell Smart ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jun 90 16:39:20 GMT From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!henry@ucsd.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: Re: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was? In article <440@newave.UUCP> john@newave.mn.org (John A. Weeks III) writes: >Can anyone tell me more about MOL... MOL was basically a small military space station. One of the original motives for development of the Titan III was to launch MOL, which would have been a large cylindrical unit with the same body diameter as the Titan and a modified Gemini capsule on top. The modified Gemini had a hatch through its heatshield so the astronauts could get into MOL without an EVA. (Unlikely though this sounds, thorough testing verified that the heatshield worked fine even with part of it hinged to open.) The mission objectives were not discussed in detail, but obviously included things like tests of manned reconnaissance systems. I don't think they ever got around to building a real MOL, but assorted preliminaries and mockups were done, and at least one of the modified Geminis was flown unmanned to verify the heatshield hatch. MOL was cancelled because (a) it cost a lot, (b) its mission was vague, and (c) after some nasty teething troubles early on, unmanned military satellites began to work pretty well. -- As a user I'll take speed over| Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology features any day. -A.Tanenbaum| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jun 90 19:07:54 GMT From: swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!bu.edu!orc!inews!td2cad!yoyodyne!jreece@ucsd.edu (john reece) Subject: Re: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was? In article <10785@hydra.gatech.EDU>, dsm@prism.gatech.EDU (Daniel McGurl) writes: > In article <10780@hydra.gatech.EDU> ccoprmd@prism.gatech.EDU (Matthew DeLuca) writes: > >In article <440@newave.UUCP> john@newave.mn.org (John A. Weeks III) writes: > >>Can anyone tell me more about MOL, or at least point > >>me to some references? Specifically, I am curious as to > >>what the mission was, what if any hardware was built, > >>and why it was cancelled. > >As to the mission, a hint can be gotten from the fact that the 'missing' > >KH-10 designation in the series of U.S. recon platforms was taken by the > >MOL. William Burrow's book _Deep Black_ mentions the MOL a little, but > >does not go into great detail. I highly recommend the book, though, if you > >are interested in U.S. aerial and space reconaissance...it's the best > >book on the topic I've seen. Huh? I thought MOL once stood for Manned Orbiting Laboratory, which was a mid-60's Air Force proposal for a very small space station using Titan/Gemini technology. Went the way of the Dyna-Soar, however. John Reece Not an Intel spokesman jreece@yoyodyne.intel.com ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jun 90 17:12:52 GMT From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!know!samsung!emory!mephisto!prism!ccoprmd@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Matthew DeLuca) Subject: Re: Anyone Know What MOL Is/Was? In article <440@newave.UUCP> john@newave.mn.org (John A. Weeks III) writes: > >Can anyone tell me more about MOL, or at least point >me to some references? Specifically, I am curious as to >what the mission was, what if any hardware was built, >and why it was cancelled. As to the mission, a hint can be gotten from the fact that the 'missing' KH-10 designation in the series of U.S. recon platforms was taken by the MOL. William Burrow's book _Deep Black_ mentions the MOL a little, but does not go into great detail. I highly recommend the book, though, if you are interested in U.S. aerial and space reconaissance...it's the best book on the topic I've seen. -- Matthew DeLuca Georgia Institute of Technology Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, Office of Computing Services for they are subtle, and quick to anger. ARPA: ccoprmd@prism.gatech.edu ------------------------------ Date: 27 Jun 90 05:09:10 GMT From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!mailrus!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!mcgill-vision!quiche!calvin!msdos@ucsd.edu (Mark SOKOLOWSKI) Subject: The Scout, Pershing II's and ICBM's Hi, Somebody told me that a Scout launch costs around 10-15 M $. Needless to say that I'm scared for my manned mission project (But I'll go ahead no matter what....) On the other side, Pershing II stages are wasted in massive media oriented buring seances, so why not use them for other purposes. At the same time a major disarmement effort can make ICBM's affordable for free. Any comments????? Mark S. --------- ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V11 #579 *******************