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, 12 Dec 1990 21:18:44 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <4bNiHW600VcJ4On05Q@andrew.cmu.edu> Precedence: junk Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Wed, 12 Dec 1990 21:18:11 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #643 SPACE Digest Volume 12 : Issue 643 Today's Topics: Re: Booster news from 19 November AW&ST Re: Sending Sen. Garn into space NASA Headline News for 12/04/90 (Forwarded) Astro-1 Status for 12/03/90 [1350 CST] (Forwarded) UIT Status for 12/03/90 [1430 CST] (Forwarded) Re: Fluorine/ammonia engines Re: Sending Sen. Garn into space Thanks from "star gazer...maybe"..Bob and 8 year old Re: Photon engine Re: atmospheric pressure on Mars 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 18:28:55 GMT From: usc!wuarchive!rex!rouge!dlbres10@ucsd.edu (Fraering Philip) Subject: Re: Booster news from 19 November AW&ST Actually, flourine would be used as the oxidizer in the system. Both the U.S. and the S.U. have looked at these, but the exhaust has posed a very difficult problem. It is Hydroflouric Acid. ------------------------------ Date: 5 Dec 90 15:41:29 GMT From: swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!riverdale.toronto.edu!gabriele@ucsd.edu (Mark Gabriele ) Subject: Re: Sending Sen. Garn into space campbelr@hpcuha.cup.hp.com (Bob Campbell) writes: >From what I heard at the time (my Purdue landlord was trying for that >seat :-( ) he was fondly referred to as Barfin' Jake. So at least we >have that for comfort . . . NASA refused to send him up unless he performed some sort of research; they wanted some justification other than the obvious "congressional bribe effect". So, Senator Garn "studied" the effects of motion sickness in a low-g environment. Rumor has it that he was well suited for the task. Thus, the name "Barfin' Jake". I believe that there was also a member of the US House of Representatives who went up, but his name escapes me at present. =Mark (gabriele@hub.toronto.edu) ------------------------------ Date: 4 Dec 90 23:32:38 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: NASA Headline News for 12/04/90 (Forwarded) Headline News Internal Communications Branch (P-2) NASA Headquarters Tuesday, December 4, 1990 Audio Service: 202 / 755-1788 This is NASA Headline News for Tuesday, December 4, 1990 It was an on-again-off-again-on-again show with the Astro-1 automatic pointing system during the past 24 hours, but it looks like the astronomical space mission may now be gaining a full head of steam in accomplishing its goals. Aboard the STS-35 Space Shuttle Columbia, Payload Specialist Sam Durrance reported the first successful target acquisition with the Astro-1 Instrument Pointing System Optical Sensor Package at around 8:30 Monday evening Eastern Time. Three hours earlier, another milestone was reached when the three ultraviolet telescopes were brought into the observe mode simultaneously. A subsystem computer crash in the late evening hours, however, caused the science crew to revert to manually acquiring data as one of the star trackers on the optical sensor package failed to return to operating condition. Attempts to automatically lock on to target guide stars failed, though targets were often in the fields of view. Using a manual method incorporating data typed in on a keyboard and a joystick "paddle" led Mission Specialist Bob Parker to declare, "Give me a paddle and a telescope and I can move the universe!" Intensive efforts to recycle the star tracker to bring it back to full operating condition, have apparently borne fruit, as Astro-1 officials reported this morning that the pointing team now termed the Image Pointing System "steady as a rock". Prior to the subsystem crash, excellent spectra data was gathered and the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope has been operating well, according to Mission Scientist Gene Urban. The Broad Band X-ray Telescope demonstrated successful acquisition of X-ray photons while aimed at the Crab Nebula. The Space Shuttle Columbia continues to perform flawlessly supporting the Astro-1 mission. ************************************* Tomorrow, NASA employees may see a special screening of the multimedia presentation which highlighted the 75th Anniversary celebration of the NACA/NASA last week at the National Air and Space Museum. Employees may attend one of three showings at 8:30, 9:00 and 9:30 am in the NASM Langley IMAX theatre. (Please enter through the Independence Ave. side and show your NASA badge) Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select TV. All times are Eastern. **indicates a live program. Tuesday, 12/4/90 Mission coverage of the STS-35/Astro-1 flight will continue live throughout the week... 2:00 pm Flight deck activities from Columbia 3:30 pm "Today In Space" with Dr. Frank Six from MSFC 4:51 pm Science TV from Astro-1 5:00 pm Change-of-shift Flight Director briefing from JSC 6:00 pm Change-of-shift Mission Manager brief from MSFC 7:21 pm Science TV from Astro-1 8:04 pm Science TV from Astro-1 10:19 pm Blue/Red crew handover Wednesday, 12/5/90 1:00 am Change-of-shift Flight Director briefing from JSC 1:30 am Replay of flight deck activities 3:09 am Science TV from Astro-1 5:47 am Science TV from Astro-1 7:34 am Science TV from Astro-1 8:33 am Science TV from Astro-1 9:00 am Change-of-shift Flight Director briefing from JSC 10:19 am Red/Blue crew handover 10:30 am Mission Science Briefing - Ted Gull-- Mission Scientist 11:41 am Science TV from Astro-1 _________________________________________________________________ All events and times may change without notice. This report is filed daily, Monday through Friday, at 12:00 pm, EST. It is a service of Internal Communications Branch at NASA Headquarters. Contact: 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: 5 Dec 90 00:07:49 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: Astro-1 Status for 12/03/90 [1350 CST] (Forwarded) Astro 1 Mission Report #12 1:50 p.m. CST, December 3, 1990 1/13:01 MET Spacelab Mission Operations Control Marshall Space Flight Center Astro 1 gathered its first piece of scientific data from the Seyfert Galaxy today at 11:30 a.m., CST when Payload Specialist Sam Durrance successfully locked onto the target using the JPL Astro Star Tracker, an element of the Image Motion Compensation System aboard Shuttle Columbia. The Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope was successful in obtaining data from the ultraviolet radiation found in the Earth's airglow, or upper atmosphere. Next, HUT focused on its first outside target, NGC-4151 the Seyfert Galaxy, a bright galaxy which radiates strong ultraviolet and x-ray wavelengths. By using Astro's star tracker, designed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the team was able to steady the Instrument Pointing System and focus on its target. After fixing on its target, the instrument coordinated with another star and sent information to the electronics system which made adjustments with the telescope's mirrors for primary observations. ------------------------------ Date: 5 Dec 90 00:13:33 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: UIT Status for 12/03/90 [1430 CST] (Forwarded) UIT Status Report #01 2:30 p.m. CST Dec. 3, 1990 Spacelab Mission Operations Control Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL Sunday night, the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) obtained 11 photographs of the Earth's airglow, a luminous phenomenon in the upper atmosphere. These photographs will be used to calibrate the UIT's photographs of celestial objects. The UIT photographs are recorded on film and cannot be developed and examined until Columbia returns to Earth. However, team members saw telemetry readouts which showed that the motor which drives the UIT's internal film transport turned on after each of the 11 photographs, indicating that the film was advanced through the camera. The UIT team, led by Principal Investigator Theodore P. Stecher of Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt MD, is awaiting the go ahead from project controllers to proceed with the first UIT photographs of objects beyond Earth. This may occur as soon as this afternoon, CST. ------------------------------ Date: 5 Dec 90 20:06:13 GMT From: cs.yale.edu!yarvin-norman@CS.YALE.EDU (Norman Yarvin) Subject: Re: Fluorine/ammonia engines a752@mindlink.UUCP (Bruce Dunn) writes: >Answer 1: Hydrogen and oxygen - wrong >Answer 2: Hydrogen and fluorine - better but still wrong Can this really be used near populated areas? I'd imagine it'd make some pretty noxious acid rain... -- Norman Yarvin yarvin-norman@cs.yale.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 5 Dec 90 12:16:02 -0500 From: "Allen W. Sherzer" Subject: Re: Sending Sen. Garn into space Newsgroups: sci.space Cc: In article <7042@ge-dab.ge.com>: >I don't think it was a bad idea. Hasn't Senator Garn been >a big supporter of the space program. Yes he has. This however, is a very mixed blessing. He is stongly opposed to any attempts to change NASA. When the commissions started looking into NASA operations to see what changes are needed, he strongly opposed them claiming that nothing was wrong with NASA. We need support in Congress, but not this sort of 'my agency, right or wrong' attitude. Allen -- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Allen W. Sherzer| I had a guaranteed military sale with ED-209. Renovation | | aws@iti.org | programs, spare parts for 25 years. Who cares if it | | | works or not? - Dick Jones, VP OCP Security Concepts | ------------------------------ Date: 6 Dec 90 02:36:20 GMT From: pa.dec.com!shodha.enet.dec.com!levers.enet.dec.com!b_egan@decuac.dec.com (Bob Egan) Subject: Thanks from "star gazer...maybe"..Bob and 8 year old I want to thanks you all for responding to my earlier post. re: helping me not look like such an idiot w/ my 8 year old who yearns to become more familiar with the "sky". As I mentioned in my earlier post she has been reading books from her school library for some time regarding planets, stars, constellations, the moon and sun..etc... Last week, I gave her a copy of the Saturn postscript picture taken by the Hubble...she was impressed :) Yesterday she received a couple of books that we ordered through her school. One was a "glow in the dark "night sky" book" by Clint Hatchett. I also had picked up "look to the sky" by DeBruin and Murad. She looked through them all last night..this morning at 7 AM ! :)..it was "make sure you get home early enough to take me outside"...and "I am really excited about this..so don't forget to be home early" ..each said about 1000 times before I left for work... Winds of course today, were running about 20 knots w/ gusts higher, and of course the temp is around 20 f., tonight, but off we went to the back yard... After 2 false starts due to her not dressing as warm has I told her, we were off with our flashlight, covered with blue plastic and about 4 books !!! (I did not get Astronomy mag. yet). I had a cheap pair of binoculars 7x35 with me as well. Boom...Mars !!! wow...almost on top of us...never did figure out what that very small cluster of stars near it were...(I see them allot) Now for the north star..be an amateur radio operator, who's aligned antenna's so frequently, on dark, cold, windy nights..they work better then :)...the noth star found easy...ah safe again ! Down through (south and west) Cassiopeia we finally found Pegasus...we verified each star..."ok enough for tonight daddy, we found the horse !" :)...:) "Next time when I am warmer we have to find "beetle juice".... Really guys, you have all been a great help...I am arranging for us to visit 2 local observatories soon (one may be this weekend). I will be looking into all the telescope thoughts given.., I realize I do not need a tracking clock...:)..and have all but forgotten about this computer display program..I did see "SKYPLOT" run...not impressive ! Again your collective thoughts have been very beneficial..thanks from the both of us... /bob Bob Egan b_egan@levers.enet.dec.com --or-- ...!decwrl!levers.enet.dec.com!b_egan --or-- b_egan%levers.dec@decwrl.dec.com ------------------------------ Date: 6 Dec 90 06:21:00 GMT From: sdd.hp.com!samsung!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!henry@ucsd.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: Re: Photon engine In article <9012040003.AA21365@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov> roberts@CMR.NCSL.NIST.GOV (John Roberts) writes: >React the matter and antimatter inside a huge chunk of radiation-absorbing >refractory material, and I bet most of the intermediate particles would break >down inside. Of course the neutrinos would still get out, and there doesn't >seem to be any way of directing them for propulsion. Any idea of (a) the >percentage of energy wasted in this way, or (b) the impulse per Joule- >equivalent of neutrinos as compared with photons? ... The neutrinos would contribute essentially nothing to thrust, even if you could beam them somehow. However, I think you miss the point, John. You don't *want* to absorb the particles, if your objective is a near-photon engine. Beaming the particles is vastly easier than beaming high-energy gamma rays, and you don't lose anything by working with the particles -- they carry no less momentum than the photons they will decay into. The only time you want to absorb the particles is if you are using them to heat much larger amounts of reaction mass, for higher thrusts and lower antimatter consumption at the price of much lower exhaust velocity. In that case, there is some possibility that reacting the antimatter with heavier nuclei might be a win, as more of the energy might be caught in charged fragments. If folks are interested in pursuing this, I think the best technical reference is still the Sept 1982 issue of the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, which was a special issue on antimatter propulsion. In general, the Interstellar Studies issues of JBIS are the single best source on such matters. -- "The average pointer, statistically, |Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology points somewhere in X." -Hugh Redelmeier| henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry ------------------------------ Date: 6 Dec 90 06:29:50 GMT From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!henry@ucsd.edu (Henry Spencer) Subject: Re: atmospheric pressure on Mars In article <00940C01.BD715980@CCVAX1.NCSU.EDU> seward@CCVAX1.NCSU.EDU (Bill Seward) writes: >In the movie "Total Recall" [no flames on my taste in films, please :-) ], >several people who were exposed to the Martian atmosphere without the >benefit of a pressure suit died from what I can best term semi-explosive >decompression. That is, they slowly blew up like balloons and popped. > >I remember reading, way back somewhere, that a human could survive at >the Martian equator during the summer with only a respirator... >So the question is, what is the atmospheric pressure of Mars at the surface >and could suck a thing happen? ... The atmospheric pressure of Mars is much lower than anyone suspected in pre-spaceflight days: 7 millibars. This is basically vacuum for all biological purposes. You would need a spacesuit. However, the biological effects of vacuum are much exaggerated. It is a known fact, verified by experiment (on human extremities and on whole animals), that serious effects would take minutes, not seconds, to appear. The notion that a human exposed to vacuum would explode is a myth. By the sounds of it, this bunch of film-makers at least slowed it down (although probably not for the sake of scientific accuracy...), but if it happened fast enough to be good/bad cinema, it was too fast to be right. -- "The average pointer, statistically, |Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology points somewhere in X." -Hugh Redelmeier| henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V12 #643 *******************