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 ; Thu, 6 Dec 1990 03:12:49 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: Precedence: junk Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Thu, 6 Dec 1990 03:12:06 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #627 SPACE Digest Volume 12 : Issue 627 Today's Topics: space news from Oct 6 AW&ST Re: Translunar/interplanetary shuttle? Re: Translunar/interplanetary shuttle? Re: Sending Sen. Garn into space Re: Sending Sen. Garn into space Space Classroom for 11/26/90 (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: 4 Dec 90 02:59:45 GMT From: van-bc!ubc-cs!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!henry@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Henry Spencer) Subject: space news from Oct 6 AW&ST Editorial urging NASA to decide what its priorities for the space station are, rather than trying to keep everybody happy on a steadily shrinking station... especially since the international "partners" are getting fed up. The coincidence in timing with the Ulysses launch is noteworthy: "The 12-year story of [Ulysses] is littered with broken US promises, including eight changes in boosters, multiple launch postponements, and reneging on a deal to build a companion US spacecraft. Small wonder no one beyond its borders seems to take US plans for a settlement on the Moon and trips to Mars very seriously..." *Another* engine fire in development work for the H-2 booster. Investigation underway after 30kg work-platform support beam is left inside Atlantis as the orbiter is moved to a vertical position Oct 3. All the paperwork indicated the beam had been removed. [Isn't it wonderful how much reliability NASA gains by having everything checked three times?] Senate committee recommends killing the Milstar strategic comsat, saying it is overdesigned against a diminishing threat of nuclear war and largely useless for tactical purposes. GAO finds that a NASA effort to get private industry involved in financing space hardware scored six failures out of seven, and predictably so, because the projects were too far along or had no commercial market. This will contribute to hard times for NASA, because its FY90-94 budgeting was based on the assumption that this effort would succeed. The only success out of seven was private funding for the orbiter long-mission cryogenic fuel pallet. The ASRM plant, a free-fall training pool, space station docking and tele- robotic systems, space-station payload processing facilities, and some instrument development for unmanned probes were the failures. Images from the Soviet Almaz radarsat show clear pictures of the ocean bottom hundreds of feet down, confirming (at greater depths and with better resolution) the experience with Seasat in 1978. The radar itself is not penetrating, but currents and tides flowing over the bottom apparently tend to make surface features reflect bottom features. The big question is whether submerged submarines leave similar traces. Nobody is talking; even when Seasat data was being analyzed, discussion of antisubmarine applications was taboo. Almaz is a prototype civilian remote-sensing craft rather than a military program. The Soviets say they have also been able to see buried pipelines in the radar images, indicating some limited ability to penetrate earth (another technology with military applications, too...). Almaz is a heavily modified Salyut space-station core with long radar arrays along its sides. Space Commerce Corp. of Houston is marketing Almaz data worldwide, with launch of the first operational Almaz set for Nov 25-31. Two relay satellites for passing the data to the control center in Moscow are already up. Configuration for the X-30 selected: basically a lifting body with small wings and twin vertical stabilizers. The crew are located in a blister just aft of the nose, and at the moment have side-looking windows. The scramjet propulsion system will be augmented by a 50-75klb rocket engine, for the final push into orbit, orbital maneuvering, and emergency propulsion in the event of scramjet failure during tests. SDI notifies Congress of plans to drastically cut funding for the ground- based free-electron laser project, citing budget constraints. Congressional reaction is expected to be hostile, given the feeling there that SDIO is increasingly sacrificing promising long-range projects in favor of more money for the politically-doomed effort at near-term deployment. [This may not sound space-relevant, but the FEL is possibly the single best laser for a laser launcher.] Picture of the Soviet payload-return capsule incorporated in the modified Progress freighter, slated for first use in November. The Molniya Scientific and Industrial Enterprise is looking for partners to develop a reusable suborbital spaceplane, capable of carrying 50 or so passengers in a suborbital flight with altitude reaching 160km. Pictures of the next two Mir modules, Spektr ("Optical") and Piroda, respectively optical remote sensing and environmental monitoring, both under construction for launch around a year from now. NASA orders hiring freeze at space-station contractors, probably in anticipation of Yet Another Redesign -- largely inevitable given the likely budget cuts. Planetary Soviety invitation-only meeting to "critique" the current space station concludes that the current design is not viable even if nothing goes wrong with the shuttle, citing persistent reliance on unrealistic shuttle launch rates, inflexibility due to trying to meet too many users' needs, and inadequate consideration of alternatives. (On the other hand, some of the attendees commented that the deck was stacked: the choice of participants seemed to be deliberately aimed at such a conclusion.) Marshall is looking at the possibility of dividing the two big US modules into four, making it possible to launch them fully equipped. Station EVA needs seem to be under control, but many are unhappy about the increased reliance on relatively inflexible remote-controlled devices, and say that a high-pressure spacesuit would be a better approach. -- "The average pointer, statistically, |Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology points somewhere in X." -Hugh Redelmeier| henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry ------------------------------ Date: 3 Dec 90 16:36:10 GMT From: swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!aristotle!ems@ucsd.edu (Eric Slimko) Subject: Re: Translunar/interplanetary shuttle? The following was mailed to me by c8921212@frey.nu.oz.au (luke plaizier) by accident. He asked me to post it to the newsgroup, so here it is: ------ ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 2 Dec 90 16:12:57 EST From: c8921212@frey.nu.oz.au (luke plaizier) To: ems@aristotle.jpl.nasa.gov Subject: Re: Translunar/interplanetary shuttle? Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle SSME Restartability was discussed here a few months back. Even though the ignitors in each SSME are electrical (Draw your own parallel here with a Spark Plug), the trouble is that they do have to be replaced. (Draw your own parallel here with model rocket ignitors.....). There is trouble with fuel and oxidiser pooling in the external tank and the trouble of starting the low and high pressure pumps when there is the risk that the fuel may not pool at 17inch fuel line that connects the tank to each SSME. Ever seen Joe Allen chase that orange blob around the cabin. I'd say there would be ways around this pooling, as the J-2 in the Saturn V was electrically started twice (BUT TWICE ONLY) and the OMS system somehow gets around it. The OMS engines, though, are hypergolic. Carrying extra fuel for those engines could be another option, but then why carry SSME's all the way to the moon and back when you don't use them? Also mentioned in another article was re-entry. Apollo was going damn fast when it came back, believe you me. [Mach 36, I believe - Eric Slimko] Luke. -- Eric Slimko | Jet Propulsion Laboratories ems@aristotle.jpl.nasa.gov | NASA/CalTech ------------------------------ Date: 4 Dec 90 21:31:08 GMT From: world!ksr!clj%ksr.com@uunet.uu.net (Chris Jones) Subject: Re: Sending Sen. Garn into space In article <7042@ge-dab.ge.com>, coleman@sundae9 (Richard Coleman) writes: >I don't think it was a bad idea. Hasn't Senator Garn been >a big supporter of the space program. I'm sure he's been a big supporter of the part of the space program which benefits Morton Thiokol, a major employer in his home state. -- Chris Jones clj@ksr.com {world,uunet,harvard}!ksr!clj ------------------------------ Date: 5 Dec 90 16:37:33 GMT From: usc!samsung!rex!rouge!dlbres10@ucsd.edu (Fraering Philip) Subject: Re: Sending Sen. Garn into space In article <1250@ksr.com> clj@ksr.com (Chris Jones) writes: >I'm sure he's been a big supporter of the part of the space program which >benefits Morton Thiokol, a major employer in his home state. I have read elsewhere that he is. ------------------------------ Date: 4 Dec 90 23:56:39 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: Space Classroom for 11/26/90 (Forwarded) [This was delayed until I could figure out what to do with it. Apologies for the tardiness. -PEY] November 26, 1990 "SPACE CLASSROOM ASSIGNMENT: THE STARS" BACKGROUND "Space Classroom" is a new NASA educational effort designed to involve students and teachers in the excitement of Space Shuttle science missions. This new program joins an extensive collection of educational programs being conducted by NASA that use the agency's missions and unique facilities to help educators prepare students to meet the nation's growing need for a globally competitive workforce of skilled scientists and engineers. The first Space Classroom project, called Assignment: The Stars, will capitalize on the December 1990 flight of Astro-1, a Space Shuttle astronomy mission. It is designed to spark the interest of middle school students, encouraging them to pursue studies in mathematics, science and technology. It will offer educators an alternative approach to teaching their students about the electromagnetic spectrum -- a science concept that is required instruction in many classrooms in the United States. Space Classroom, Assignment: The Stars, involves several educational elements. They include a lesson on the electro- magnetic spectrum to be taught live by the Astro-1 crew from the cabin of the Space Shuttle Columbia during the flight; a supporting lesson to be taught from the Astro-1 control center in Huntsville, Ala.; an Astro-1 teachers guide; an Astro-1 slide presentation; a NASA educational satellite video conference this fall; and post- flight video products suitable for classroom use. THE EDUCATIONAL ELEMENTS A Lesson From Orbit The major component of Assignment: The Stars will be a lesson taught by members of the Astro-1 science crew from the Space Shuttle as they orbit the Earth during the mission. This 15-20 minute presentation will focus on the electromagnetic spectrum and its relationship to the high-energy astronomy mission. The crew presentation will be followed by demonstrations and discussions of the concepts introduced by the crew from a classroom in the Astro-1 control center at Marshall Space Flight Center. The lesson will conclude with an opportunity for some students participating in the lesson from Marshall and students at Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., to ask questions of the crew in orbit. Students at both centers will participate in additional workshops, tours and laboratory sessions. The lesson by the crew, the follow-up lesson from the Astro-1 control center, and the question-answer session will be carried live on NASA Select TV, Satcom satellite F2R, transponder 13, 3960 megahertz, 72 degrees West longitude. NASA Select will carry continuous programming of all mission events as well. The lesson is tentatively scheduled for the fifth day of the mission. However, because launch dates and the actual lesson date and time are subject to change, teachers may want to arrange to video tape the lesson off NASA Select subsequent classroom use. Many local cable companies carry NASA Select TV coverage of missions. Teachers may wish to check this possible resource if they do not have access to satellite receivers. All NASA Select mission programming may be used freely for non-commercial purposes. In the winter of 1991, tapes of the lesson will available for a small fee from NASA CORE, Lorain County Joint Vocational School, 15181 Route 58 South, Oberlin, Ohio, 44074, phone: (216) 774-1051. A Guide For Teachers Seeing in a New Light, the Astro-1 teachers guide with activities, is a practical source of lesson plans and student activities on the electromagnetic spectrum. Intended for middle school use, the concepts range in difficulty from basic instruction on the electromagnetic spectrum to information on interesting astronomical objects and telescopes. The guide is interdiscipli- nary, with projects in math, literature, social studies and art and is easily reproduced for individual and small-group assignments. The teachers guide is available at no charge from all NASA Teacher Resource Centers. A Slide Presentation Astro-1: Seeing the Hidden Cosmos slide presentation, is a scripted set of 24 slides. The presentation describes the Astro-1 mission and basic concepts on the electromagnetic spectrum and astronomy. The slides include X-ray, ultraviolet, visible and infrared images of interesting astronomical objects. Reproductions of the slide set and script are available from NASA CORE or by visiting one of NASA's Teacher Resource Centers. A Pre-flight Videoconference A NASA Educational Satellite Video Conference on the Astro-1 mission science is scheduled for Nov. 27, 1990. The interactive conference will feature NASA scientists and specialists in aerospace education and will be broadcast by satellite. Further information is available from Videoconference Series, Aerospace Education Services Program, Oklahoma State University, 300 North Cordell, Stillwater, OK, 74078-0422, phone: (405) 744- 8131. An Experiment in Amateur Radio The Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX-II) is another element of the Astro-1 mission that offers educational value. Payload Specialist Dr. Ron Parise, a Spacelab science astronaut, will use a ham radio aboard the Shuttle to communicate with amateur radio operators on Earth. Parise's call sign is WA4SIR. Additional information is contained in Amateur Radio in Space, NASA EB-89-1, available from NASA Spacelink or from a NASA Teacher Resource Center. KEEPING CURRENT NASA Spacelink NASA Spacelink is a computerized information service for educators. It is accessible from most computers through a modem by dialing (205) 895-0028. It includes a variety of information and educational materials on the Astro-1 mission. During the flight, it will be updated daily. Spacelink information can be obtained by writing the Spacelink Administrator, Mail Code CA20, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., 35812, or by phoning (205) 544-6527. Spacelink is a free service, but your telephone company makes normal charges for the long distance call. Telephone Hotline Beginning approximately 1 week before launch, Astro-1 Update, a recorded bulletin on the status of the Astro-1 mission, and Space Classroom, will be available by dialing (205) 544-8504. Today in Space Although not an element of the Space Classroom program, NASA will air a half-hour daily summary of Astro-1 mission activities at approximately 2:30 p.m. CDT on NASA Select during the mission. Teachers may wish to record and view the program as a source of up- to-date information on mission progress. ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V12 #627 *******************