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 ; Wed, 18 Jul 1990 02:32:20 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: <4ad09DO00VcJ8Rmk4=@andrew.cmu.edu> Precedence: junk Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Wed, 18 Jul 1990 02:31:44 -0400 (EDT) Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #83 SPACE Digest Volume 12 : Issue 83 Today's Topics: Index to Vol. I Journal of the Astro. Soc. of the Atlantic Re: NASA's Lobbying On The Net NSS news update 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: 16 Jul 90 18:26:10 GMT From: usc!samsung!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!hubcap!mephisto!eedsp!chara!don@ucsd.edu (Donald J. Barry) Subject: Index to Vol. I Journal of the Astro. Soc. of the Atlantic Editorial comment: The past year's content of the Electronic Journal has been the result of dedicated work on the part of many people, primarily the authors of the articles involved, and Larry Klaes, the editor. One resource that has not blossomed as we had hoped is the network itself. Most, but not all, of the articles published have been generated by members or affiliate associations of the Society. Considering that sci.astro alone is estimated to have some 19,000 readers, including many amateur astronomers, and also a fair number of professionals, we had hoped to entice readers to share work they are undoubtedly producing for local astronomical societies or community newsletters. We hope that during the next year, many of you will consider using the Electronic Journal as a means of sharing popular interest items of astronomy with a wider community. We would be delighted particularly to hear from editors or officers of amateur astronomical groups, so that we can form a mailing list specific to those active in organizing amateurs, and stay in contact with a range of organizations apart from the direct readership of USENET. Thanks for reading with us, and we hope you enjoy the next year's contents of the Journal. With your help, we can make it even better. Don Barry -- President, Astronomical Society of the Atlantic THE ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE ATLANTIC VOLUME 1 - August 1989 to July 1990 Volume 1, Number 1 - August 1989 * Introduction: Welcome to the EJASA - Don Barry * Astronomy Week in Georgia - Don Barry * Neptune: Rediscovery by Voyager 2 - Edward F. Albin * The One Dream Man: Robert H. Goddard, Rocket Pioneer - Larry Klaes * The CHARA Multi-Telescope Telescope - Hal McAlister * A View from Taiwan: Wean-Shun Tsay - Interview by Edmund G. Dombrowski Volume 1, Number 2 - September 1989 * Our Closest Neighbors in the Milky Way Subdivision - Ingemar Furenlid and Tom Meylan * Profiles in Astronomy: Albert Whitford - Interview by Edmund Dombrowski, Sethanne Howard, and Don Barry * Amateur Telescopes, Yesterday and Today - Bill Bagnuolo * Stopping Space and Light Pollution - Larry Klaes and Phil Karn Volume 1, Number 3 - October 1989 * The Rocky Soviet Road to Mars - Larry Klaes * Alar Toomre: Galactic Spirals, Bridges, and Tails - Interview by Sethanne Howard, Edmund Dombrowski, and Don Barry * A Witch Satellite - Mike Burkhead Volume 1, Number 4 - November 1989 * Does Extraterrestrial Life Exist? - Angie Feazel * Suggestions for an Intragalactic Information Exchange System - Lars W. Holm * A View From Down Under - Michael Carini Volume 1, Number 5 - December 1989 * How True is Our Astronomical Knowledge? The Case of the Planets - William G. Bagnuolo, Jr. * Orion: Winter's Mighty Hunter - Michael S. Wiggs * Observing the Wreaths of Winter - Don Barry Volume 1, Number 6 - January 1990 * Long-Term Trends in Ground-Based Astronomy - Interview with Dr. Hal McAlister by Edmund G. Dombrowski * Total Solar Eclipses for the Nineteen Nineties - Philip Taylor * Explaining Solar and Lunar Eclipses - Brent Studer Volume 1, Number 7 - February 1990 * Radio Astronomy: A Historical Perspective - David J. Babulski * Getting Started in Amateur Radio Astronomy - Jeffrey M. Lichtman Volume 1, Number 8 - March 1990 * Stellar Spectroscopy: At the Heart of Astrophysics - Interview with Dr. Ingemar Furenlid by Edmund G. Dombrowski * Mars 1994 - Andrew J. LePage * The Ice Moons of the Jovian Worlds - Craig M. Levin Volume 1, Number 9 - April 1990 * Amateur Astronomy in Spain - Jordi Iparraguirre * The Cosmic Distance Scale - Eric Greene * Milton Updegraff, Astronomer - Darwin Christy Volume 1, Number 10 - May 1990 * The Mayall Four-Meter Telescope - Don Barry * Did Kepler Fake the Evidence? - Ken Poshedly * A Living Legend: The Alvan Clark Refractor - Alan Fleming Volume 1, Number 11 - June 1990 * A Comparison of Optical and Radio Astronomy - David J. Babulski Volume 1, Number 12 - July 1990 * Viewing Jupiter's Galilean Moons With the Unaided Eye - Alan William Paeth * Gemini: The Celestial Twins - Michael S. Wiggs * The Flaws in the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) - From reports received by GSU astronomers -- Donald J. Barry (404) 651-2932 | don%chara@gatech.edu Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy | President, Astronomical Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303 | Society of the Atlantic ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 16 Jul 90 16:05:00 -0500 From: mccall@skvax1.csc.ti.com To: "space+@andrew.cmu.edu"@skvax1.csc.ti.com Cc: MCCALL@skvax1.csc.ti.com Subject: Re: NASA's Lobbying On The Net > bfmny0!tneff@uunet.uu.net (Tom Neff) > In article <1990Jul10.075533.1040@uoft02.utoledo.edu> fax0112@uoft02.utoledo.edu writes: > >You still have not answered the question as to who's equipment you > >are using. Unless it is your own you have little or no room to talk. > > A reminder (to everyone) for the Nth time: > > News is not mail. Postings starting "You..." are essentially mail and > should be routed as such, not broadcast to the entire planet. The best > articles address the issue, not the poster. This helps avoid pointless > and expensive bickering in the newsgroup. It's rather a pity that someone didn't say that to Nick when he started leveling accusations of unethical conduct, or better yet, beforehand. In point of fact, even though you call it a "reminder (to everyone)", the lead-in quote makes it pretty obvious that you intend it for just a few specific individuals, so perhaps you should have sent via mail yourself? As far as Nick's attempts to squelch pro-agency opinions from the folks at NASA, I can think of a number of people whose postings I wouldn't mind seeing removed from the net. Oddly enough, none of them seem to work at NASA. In fact, the signal to noise ratio coming out of NASA seems to be significantly higher than a lot of other postings here. Of course, if we apply Nick's reasoning, a lot of other people probably shouldn't be expressing opinions, either. Since I work for a DoD contractor (governemtn money) and I gather that we had something to do with making the CCDs in Hubble (another operating group of the company), I certainly shouldn't be saying anything. But then, neither should Nick. After all, from his address I'd say that he works for someone who gets money from the Feds, too. Whether his particular center does or not is irrelevent, since the money one center gets from the Feds frees up money for his center. And of course, anyone who works for a government agency or is at a university shouldn't be saying anything, since all their equipment is funded by tax dollars, too. In fact, I think the only person who should probably be permitted to post here is Henry Spencer (unless UofT gets US federal funds for something). While that might greatly increase the signal to noise ratio here, I think Henry might get a bit lonely after a while. As for some of the people frothing at the mouth over what 'should' have been done with regard to HST, I find myself wondering whether any of them have ever managed anything bigger than their household budget. Some of the beliefs evidenced about how business is done are that far out of touch with reality. I know it's tough, but let's try to let a little reality in before drawing and quartering people, ok? [Nothing was tested? Be real. I'd wager the paper on tests probably weighs more than the Shuttle. Everything should have been tested, no matter how trivial or silly? Just how much are you willing to spend for decreasingly likely things? And how much condemnation would you level over the costs if they'd done it and no mistakes had been found by it? But you're all great managers in hindsight.] So, bottom line, what Nick has accomplished is to convince several people not to bother with this place any more. Thanks just awfully. ============================================================================== | Fred McCall (mccall@skvax1.ti.com) | "Insisting on perfect safety is for | | Advanced Systems Division | people who don't have the balls to | | Defense Systems & Electronics Group | live in the real world." | | Texas Instruments, Inc. | -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden | +-------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+ | I speak for me. I don't speak for others, and they don't speak for me. | ============================================================================== ------------------------------ Date: 16 Jul 90 23:39:23 GMT From: dsl.pitt.edu!pitt!nss!freed@pt.cs.cmu.edu (Bev Freed) Subject: NSS news update NSS Space Hotline for July 16. A flurry of press reports over the weekend suggested that a big NASA shakeup is forthcoming, but administration sources suggest that it is all media speculation, and that the White House and the National Space Council have faith in the space agency. CBS News reported over the weekend that a blue-ribbon panel would be appointed to oversee a shakeup, but administration sources told the NY Times that "they are working with NASA, not against it or behind its back." The Wall Street Journal even joked about the problems, asking: "How many NASA engineers does it take to screw in a light bulb? Answer: No one knows, but we'll have to spend $400 billion and travel to Mars to find out." Capitol Hill has been especially tough on NASA, holding hearings last week and again this week. The best explanation for their quick criticism is that they have to show to their constituents that they are on top of the NASA problems. A liquid hydrogen tanking test occurred Friday morning on the shuttle Atlantis. The test results should determine the cause of the leaks which have grounded the shuttle fleet. The source of the leak has been tentatively identified as a primary seal on the 17 inch disconnect of the orbiter side of the umbilical according to NASA. The Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite launch aboard an Atlas rocket targeted for July 17 has been delayed, perhaps by several weeks, due to an apparent problem with the command and data processing unit. A back-up unit was operating properly, but mission rules stipulate that both primary and back- up be working at launch. The satellite will conduct research in the space environment above the Earth's atmosphere which includes the ionosphere and the magnetosphere. NSS Executive Director Lori Garver testified before the Senate International Trade Subcommittee of the Finance Committee on Friday afternoon. The testimony was in regards to the Trade Agreements Compliance Act. NSS contends that the People's Republic of China is in violation of an agreement they made in 1988 with the US because they unfairly price launch services on their Long March rockets. NSS sent a letter to US Trade Representative Ambassador Carla Hills outlining the Society's concern with Chinese practices in May. A copy of the testimony is available on the NSS BBS (412) 366-5208 and the DFW NSS BBS (817) 261-6641. The Senate Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space held a Hubble Space Telescope and Shuttle oversight hearing last Tuesday. Committee chairman Al Gore of TN criticized NASA's decision to forgo testing of the fully assembled Hubble telescope's mirrors, as well as the testing procedures on the Shuttle program. Gore said "the current problems appeared to stem from a lack of quality control at NASA in the early 1980's and he questioned whether the agency had overcome these deficiencies and whether it was in a position to take on new programs such as the space station", according to the NY Times. A hearing is also scheduled for this Wednesday by Senate Appropriations subcommittee chairwoman Barbara Mikulski to explain the current NASA situation. SpaceWeek activities were kicked-off this last weekend in cities across America and overseas. If you need more info on activities in your area, call SpaceWeek National HQ at 713-333-3627. David Brandt reporting. ATTENTION AMIGA COMPUTER OWNERS/USERS: Ad Astra has received a review copy of "Distant Suns", an Amiga planetarium program from Virtual Reality Labs, Inc. The program needs 512K to operate. Ad Astra needs someone to write a review of this software program for the magazine. In return for a 600- word review, the reviewer can keep the software. Interested parties should write to Ad Astra at 922 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Washington, DC 20003-2140 --- Opus-CBCS 1.13 * Origin: NSS BBS - Ad Astra! (412)366-5208 *HST* (1:129/104.0) -- Bev Freed - via FidoNet node 1:129/104 UUCP: ...!pitt!nss!freed INTERNET: freed@nss.FIDONET.ORG ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V12 #83 *******************