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 ; Sat, 28 Jul 1990 01:44:58 -0400 (EDT) Message-ID: Precedence: junk Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Sat, 28 Jul 1990 01:44:26 -0400 (EDT) Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #139 SPACE Digest Volume 12 : Issue 139 Today's Topics: Re: Free Space Station - spacious but needs work Payload Summary for 07/27/90 (Forwarded) Galileo Update - 07/27/90 University Job Announcement for General Posting Re: Weather Control Re: Polar Orbits Re: MIR cosmonauts do 3.5 hour space walk to fix MIR hatch Re: solid rockets, ozone NASA Headline News for 07/27/90 (Forwarded) 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: 27 Jul 90 14:00:44 GMT From: sun.udel.edu!salamon@vax1.udel.edu (Andrew Salamon) Subject: Re: Free Space Station - spacious but needs work In article <7309@fmeed1.UUCP> cage@fmeed1.UUCP (Russ Cage) writes: >In article <2582@mindlink.UUCP> a684@mindlink.UUCP (Nick Janow) writes: >Does anyone know of a suitable blanket material to use for protection >against micro-[meteoroids|space junk] and to keep the SOFI from How about a thin mylar blanket that is about .5 meters greater in diameter than the ET with the space in between filled with some kind of hardning foam? That should stop most of the very small junk. Andrew salamon@sun.acs.udel.edu (I'm a biologist so I wouldn`t take anything I say on this subject too seriously if I were you.) ------------------------------ Date: 27 Jul 90 23:02:33 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: Payload Summary for 07/27/90 (Forwarded) STS-35 PAYLOAD STATUS REPORT FRIDAY, JULY 27, 1990 -- 4:00 P.M. Patricia E. Phillips NASA Public Affairs/KSC 407/867-2468 ASTRO-1/STS-35 Overnight, technicians will begin refilling and freezing solid argon dewars that keep the Broad Band X-Ray Telescope (BBXRT) cooled. This operation, which also uses liquid helium, provides up to 16 days of protection for the temperature- sensitive telescope. The frozen argon servicing will be performed in the Orbiter Processing Facility. By performing a frozen, rather than liquid, dewar fill, the payload will be configured to support orbiter operations during rollover to the VAB, Columbia's mate with the solid rocket boosters and external tank, and subsequent rollout to Launch Pad 39A. The liquid process provides up to 12 days of cooling, and therefore does not provide contingency time for the multiple orbiter operations during the transition from the horizontal in the OPF to vertical launch configuration at the pad. This procedure will be the fourth frozen argon servicing. The work will spread over two shifts, beginning just after mid- night. Two l80-liter tanks of argon and one 500-liter tank of helium will be used. Today, the payload team is preparing for the servicing and payload bay closeouts. Protective drapes that covered the payload while Columbia was being worked on in the OPF are being removed. Payload monitoring and health checks are being performed, as well as a walkdown to verify the readiness of the payload for the move to the pad. Other items scheduled before payload bay door closure on Sunday include installation of the BBXRT battery box and pre- rollout closeouts on the BBXRT Vacuum Maintenance System (VMS). This pump is used to maintain a vacuum within the cryogenic coolers and is turned on at L-15 hours in the launch countdown. The Astro-1 payload is healthy, with no major problems reported. The STS-35 mission is now scheduled for early Septem- ber. ------------------------------ Date: 27 Jul 90 22:54:04 GMT From: elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov!baalke@decwrl.dec.com (Ron Baalke) Subject: Galileo Update - 07/27/90 GALILEO MISSION STATUS July 27, 1990 The Galileo spacecraft is presently 80.6 million miles from Earth, and more than 117 million miles from the Sun. Its speed in solar orbit is 50,536 mph, and the round-trip communication time with Earth is 14 minutes 27 seconds. The spacecraft health and performance continue to be excellent. The spacecraft's activity level is quiet since the successful completion of the fifth Trajectory Correction Maneuver ten days ago. Because of the still-increasing distance from the Sun and the associated reduced angular speed, Sun-pointing maneuvers, once performed every few days, now need to be done only about once a month. The flight team is now planning the remaining maneuvers and cruise sequences, together with the Earth science activities for the early December Earth gravity-assist flyby. ___ _____ ___ /_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| | | | | __ \ /| | | | Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov ___| | | | |__) |/ | | |___ Jet Propulsion Lab | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov /___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| M/S 301-355 | |_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ Pasadena, CA 91109 | ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Jul 90 19:12:30 EDT From: bolef@asuip2.DNET.NASA.GOV (Larry Bolef, Arizona State University) To: "space@andrew.cmu.edu"@EAST.DNET.NASA.GOV Subject: University Job Announcement for General Posting Scientific/mathematical programmer needed for NASA-funded research program at Arizona State University. Our group uses digital images from NASA planetary and earth-orbiting spacecraft to describe and map planetary surfaces. We simulate conditions on planetary surfaces by using wind tunnels, desert field studies and theoretical models. Purpose: to understand the origin and evolution of the planets. Programmer will work with the Group to analyze the equations and algorithms needed to solve research problems, using numerical modelling, image processing, digital mapping, and other techniques. Programmer will then implement algorithms by locating relevant existing programs, modifying existing programs and writing new programs. Qualifications: Required (minimum): Two years computer programming experience, BA/BS degree in mathematics, computer science or other science, and standard mathematics course sequence through linear/matrix algebra. Desired: Experience in programming for numerical modeling, digital signal processing, digital image processing, or digital mapping. Experience programming in FORTRAN and C. This is a full-time position on a year-to-year contract. Salary Range: $25 - $35 K. Generous benefits include 22 days/year paid vacation. Respond (no phone calls, please) with resume and three potential references to: Larry Bolef, HIIPS System Engineer ASUIPF::BOLEF (SPAN) Department of Geology bolef@asuipf.dnet.nasa.gov (Internet) Arizona State University 1561058 ASU UT (Telex) Tempe, AZ 85287-1404 (602) 965-8102 (FAX) ------------------------------ Date: 27 Jul 90 19:49:09 GMT From: talos!kjones@uunet.uu.net (Kyle Jones) Subject: Re: Weather Control Ralph Reid writes: > Does a particular change really have to be wide spread to have wide > spread effects? [...] Steve Emmerson writes: > The problem is that one's predictive ability diminishes as the size of > the artificial interference decreases or the time over which it acts > increases. Thus, the likelyhood of getting it right is enhanced by > large, strong effects. ... which leads us back to asteroid strikes again. I must say that this idea appeals to the misanthropic part of me that thinks that if we're going to poison and defoliate the planet, then we ought to get on with it, and stop wasting time. So. Are there any asteroids massive enough to create to do I have in mind, but small enough to be manuevered with existing technology? (If there are any big asteroids due to strike the Earth within the next 40 years or so, never mind, I can wait.) kyle jones ...!uunet!talos!kjones What happens if a big asteroid hits Earth? Judging from realistic simulations involving a sledge hammer and a common laboratory frog, we can assume it will be pretty bad. -- Dave Barry ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jul 90 16:46:32 GMT From: convex!dodson@uunet.uu.net (Dave Dodson) Subject: Re: Polar Orbits In article <3158@rwthinf.UUCP> dieter@rwthinf.UUCP (Dieter Kreuer) writes: >Launch into polar orbit requires the compensation of the revolution of >Earth from west towards east, so why launch from Kourou or other sites >close to the equator? High latitudes like Iceland, Canada, or Alaska, >seem much better to me. [omission] However, any place is better than >equatorial or tropical regions, ain't it? The earth's rotational speed at the equator is about 460 meters/sec. If orbital speed for low earth orbit is about 7.7 km/sec, the Pythagorean theorem shows that the booster must provide 7.714 km/sec in a direction about 3.4 degrees west of true north or south to cancel the equatorial motion. The extra 14 meters/sec are not very significant in the grand scheme of things. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Dodson dodson@convex.COM Convex Computer Corporation Richardson, Texas (214) 497-4234 ------------------------------ Date: 27 Jul 90 19:00:21 GMT From: mojo!SYSMGR%KING.ENG.UMD.EDU@mimsy.umd.edu (Doug Mohney) Subject: Re: MIR cosmonauts do 3.5 hour space walk to fix MIR hatch In article , APSEY%RCSMPB@gmr.com writes: > > Last night on Radio Moscow (12040 Mhz or 11780 Mhz in Detroit area) it >was announced the MIR cosmonauts repaired the faulty hatch and did additional >repairs to the exterior insulation blankets that cover the Soyuz TM-9 docked >at the MIR space complex. > > Congratulations once again to the Soviet Cosmonauts Anatoly Solyov and >Alexander Balandin, for their bravery and expert work during yesterday's three >and one half hours in open space, a task for which they were not specifically >trained and which was unplanned during the space mission! Are you with the Glavscosmos cheerleading squad? Not to be snide, but our astronauts have "winged it" before in shuttle missions and during Skylab. > Can you even believe NASA is even thinking about, let alone planning >to build a space station which will require 3,800 hours per year to maintain? This is a more reasonable point, but space station "Fred" is going back to the drawing board again (and will probably end up as space station "Fre" at this rate...). MAYBE it's time to dump Freedom all together and start looking at reclaiming the backup Skylab sitting at the Air & Space museum ;-) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Jul 90 16:23:35 EDT From: John Roberts Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are those of the sender and do not reflect NIST policy or agreement. Subject: Re: solid rockets, ozone >From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!ut-emx!aoab314@ucsd.edu (Srinivas Bettadpur) >Subject: Space Shuttle and the Ozone layer > I was reading this rather interesting article in the third world >business magazine SOUTH (issue of June 1990, pg 105). This article >reports a study by two Soviet scientists V. Burdakov and V. Filin >on the effects of space shuttle flights on the depletion of the ozone >layer. Some salient numbers from that article are : > U.S. Space Shuttle : > Solid propellant fuels; Before reaching an altitude of 50 >km, one flight emits 187 tonnes of Chlorine > 7 tonnes of Nitrogen > 177 tonnes of Aluminium Oxide aerosols > estimated destruction of 10 million tonnes of ozone, requiring >a total of 300 flights to completely destroy the ozone layer. I don't know whether these numbers are accurate, but it wouldn't surprise me too much. The thing to keep in mind is that ozone is continually renewed and distributed over the globe, so it's not a fixed resource. The average chlorine atom is expected to act as a catalyst to break down a certain number of ozone molecules before it gets trapped in a larger molecule and eventually returned to the lower atmosphere. (This is simplifying things somewhat.) Thus the 10 million tonnes would be the total amount broken down by the products from the rocket exhaust during their stay in the upper atmosphere. Chlorofluorocarbons are of concern not just because they release chlorine, but also because the release is very slow, so a high concentration of such gases can theoretically depress ozone levels for many years. This would be a matter of considerable concern if the solid booster launch rate were much higher than it is now. For instance, launching 100 shuttles per day would probably be a bad idea. With the current rate, I don't think there's much reason for worry. If the volume of traffic into space ever gets as great as many space enthusiasts hope for, protection of the atmosphere will have to be a major issue. Even ground-based mass accelerators would have to be evaluated because they heat the atmosphere and ablate material into it. Similarly, laser launchers heat the air, and may change its chemical composition. Heating and ablation are also of concern for reentry vehicles. Many people would prefer that the shuttle have liquid-fueled boosters, for other reasons. If you can talk somebody into funding development, good luck. In the meantime, there's not much justification to halt use of the current boosters. John Roberts roberts@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov ------------------------------ Date: 27 Jul 90 18:06:36 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: NASA Headline News for 07/27/90 (Forwarded) ----------------------------------------------------------------- Friday, July 27, 1990 Audio Service: 202/755-1788 ---------------------------------------------------------------- This is NASA Headline News for Friday, July 27........ Weather forecasters at Kennedy Space Center are monitoring a tropical storm which could affect the rollback schedule of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The best schedule would be to roll Atlantis back and bring Columbia out without disturbing Discovery and its Ulysses solar probe payload. The current plan is to roll Atlantis back on August 6 to the Vehicle Assembly Building and roll Columbia out of High Bay #3 to launch pad 39A. The next scheduled launch is the Space Shuttle Columbia in September. ******** The Hubble Space Telescope Optical Systems Board of Investigation met for the second time July 25 and 26. Members of the board interviewed current and former employees involved in the design, manufacturing and testing of the HST Optical Telescope Assembly at Hughes Danbury Optical Systems in Danbury, Conn. Current attention is being focused on the test equipment used on the primary and secondary mirrors. The board has defined measurements to be made of this equipment. Due to the fact that the equipment is just as it was during the period of manufacture, the board is optimistic that definitive results will be obtained that will identify the source of the aberration. The next meeting is scheduled for August 15 and 16. ******** Officials at the Consolidated Space Test Center in Sunnyvale, Calif. have begun the process of activating the CRRES experiments. They will continue this process along with the check out procedures of the Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite for the next 30 days. Scientists are looking forward to the first chemical release between Sept. 7-11 over the South Pacific near American Samoa. ******** The world's biggest air show is underway in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The 38th Annual Experimental Aircraft Association International Fly-In Convention and Exhibition will include a new exhibit called "NASA: Technology for America's Future." The exhibit will showcase technologies being developed for future flight vehicles for flight and for space science and exploration. The 7-day convention concludes August 2. --------------------------------------------------------------- Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select TV. All times are Eastern Daylight. Friday, July 27...... 1:00 P.M. Exobiology briefing at Ames Research Center tape replay from Wednesday, July 25. Tuesday, July 31..... 12:00 P.M. NASA Video Productions. 6:00 P.M. NASA Video Productions replay. Thursday, August 2... 11:30 A.M. NASA Update will be transmitted. -------------------------------------------------------------- All events and times may change without notice. This report is 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. JSNEWS7-27 --------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V12 #139 *******************