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, 3 Jan 1991 20:17:57 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: <8bUxSQm00VcJQ5R05t@andrew.cmu.edu> Precedence: junk Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Thu, 3 Jan 1991 20:17:18 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V12 #723 SPACE Digest Volume 12 : Issue 723 Today's Topics: NASA Headline News for 12/20/90 (Forwarded) Re: Interstellar travel Re: Interstellar travel Re: More Launch Cost Data Space Station Integrated Design Review completed (Forwarded) Magellan Update - 12/21/90 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 0;andrew.cmu.edu;Network-Mail Date: 21 Dec 90 18:50:37 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA Subject: NASA Headline News for 12/20/90 (Forwarded) Sender: space-request@andrew.cmu.edu To: space@andrew.cmu.edu Headline News Internal Communications Branch (P-2) NASA Headquarters Thursday, December 20, 1990 Audio Service: 202 / 755-1788 This is NASA Headline News for Thursday, December 20, 1990 Holiday visitors at Kennedy Space Center's Spaceport USA Visitor Center will be able to walk through a full- scale Space Shuttle replica, starting today. The 122 foot- long model is the next-best thing to climbing aboard a real shuttle, according to officials. The tour provides an astronaut's view of the Shuttle flight deck, crew quarters, and cargo bay. Included is a video display of shuttle activities. The replica, named "Ambassador", will be on display for four months at KSC. The KSC visitor center was visited by 3 million guests last year. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Space Shuttle Columbia began the last leg of its ferry flight to KSC, departing Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, this morning at 10:22 a.m. EST. Flight plans call for the 747/Shuttle combo to pass near New Orleans this morning, to skirt the Gulf coast, then to proceed across the Florida peninsula near St. Petersburg to Orlando, and then proceed to KSC. Arrival at KSC is expected to occur around 1:00 pm Eastern time. Following arrival, Columbia's ferry tailcone will be removed, and the Shuttle will be towed to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Meanwhile, processing continues on Atlantis and Discovery in the Orbiter Processing Facility. In the OPF, final electrical connections are being made on Discovery's right hand OMS pod and installation of the Forward Reaction Control system is scheduled to start tonight. Installation of the carbon brakes on Atlantis is expected to be accomplished this afternoon, and work will begin on upgrading the Shuttle's General Purpose Computer system. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * At Marshall Space Flight Center, a 170-second firing of a modified Space Shuttle main engine is still on schedule for this afternoon at 3:00 pm EST. The test will contribute to the database necessary for building future engines with increased reliability. Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select TV. All times are Eastern. **indicates a live program. Thursday 12/20/90 11:30 am NASA Update 12:00 noon Administrator's Holiday Message to Employees 12:30 pm The Year In Review 1:00 pm 25 Years of Progress 2:00 pm **STS-35 Crew Post-Flight Press Conference from JSC 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. ------------------------------ Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 0;andrew.cmu.edu;Network-Mail Date: 20 Dec 90 04:30:08 GMT From: usc!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!utzoo!attcan!telly!moore!eastern!egsgate!p0.f906.n250.z1.fidonet.org!Maury.Markowitz@ucsd.edu (Maury Markowitz) Organization: FidoNet node 1:250/906.0 - The Frisch Ta, Newmarket ON Subject: Re: Interstellar travel Sender: space-request@andrew.cmu.edu To: space@andrew.cmu.edu >> I had done some real 'light' reading on the subject, and could glean that the >> two most feasible designs were the Air Force's Orion starship (was that given > ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >I believe the Orion was discarded due to technical difficulties - >it relied upon the continuous detonation of atomic bombs in a >reaction chamber to supply the thrust - not much even on the >forefront in the way of materials that can withstand a direct >nuclear explosion with no appreciable damage. No, Orion exploded the bombs some distance away from the ship, and the blast gasses hit a large "pusher" plate on the back of the spacecraft that was connected with large shock absorbers to the passenger compartment. I was never ment for interstellar travel, although Dyson once (68 I belive) wrote a paper on "arks" using thermonuclear warheads on a HUGE craft. He showed in the paper that it could never be built today (not enough money/workers), but might become feasible in the future. It's interesting that this ship required not extra tech, but more people! >The Bussard Ramjet I feel may be the most 'practical' if one can >find a way of a) getting it to 'Ramjet Speed.' and if there is >enough hydrogen per cubic meter that makes the fusion thrust >possible. Really? Perhaps you could explain how to do p-p fusion for us. >For the moment, quick efficient interplanetary travel will probably >offer good solutions. >Lightsail, Ion-drive (1970's developed by NASA), etc. The intersection of "Quick, efficeint" and "solar sail, ion-drive" yields the empty set. Maury -- EGSGate Fidonet Gateway, Toronto (egsgate.fidonet.org) ...!{uunet, moore, lsuc}!eastern!egsgate ------------------------------ Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 0;andrew.cmu.edu;Network-Mail Date: 23 Dec 90 00:21:18 GMT From: pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!cs.utexas.edu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!utgpu!watserv1!watdragon!watyew!jdnicoll@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Brian or James) Organization: University of Waterloo Subject: Re: Interstellar travel References: <13.2770D2C9@egsgate.fidonet.org> Sender: space-request@andrew.cmu.edu To: space@andrew.cmu.edu In article <13.2770D2C9@egsgate.fidonet.org> Maury.Markowitz@p0.f906.n250.z1.fidonet.org (Maury Markowitz) writes: >>For the moment, quick efficient interplanetary travel will probably >>offer good solutions. >>Lightsail, Ion-drive (1970's developed by NASA), etc. > > The intersection of "Quick, efficeint" and "solar sail, ion-drive" >yields the empty set. I'm sorry, I don't follow that. Could you explain? James Nicoll ------------------------------ Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 0;andrew.cmu.edu;Network-Mail Date: 23 Dec 90 04:52:53 GMT From: usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!zardoz.cpd.com!dhw68k!ofa123!Wales.Larrison@apple.com (Wales Larrison) Organization: One For All Subject: Re: More Launch Cost Data Sender: space-request@andrew.cmu.edu To: space@andrew.cmu.edu Hi Allan! >....[Continuing conversation on relative Delta pricing] ... >> >> 1) Year of Contract/Annual Dollars. The SDIO launch was, I ... > > The original launch WAS scheduled for Aug. 88 on Delta 183. >However, the Delta Star payload went up on that vehicle on March >24, 1989. From the article (Avation Week, Feb. 19, 1990) it looks >like a decision to go commercial was made at that time. This means >(if true) that it was about one year lead time. Either way, the >inflation of holding onto the inventory would be calculated into >the cost wouldn't it? Hmmm.... If the launch was originally scheduled for Aug 88 (FY88), a launch services agreement (the contract) had to have been signed no later than FY87. There's at least a 12 month (usually 18- 24 month) lead time in signing off a contract. I've only heard of one case when a U.S. rocket manufacturer has committed to buying parts for a rocket "on spec" (not having firm customers lined up), so I would suspect a contract was negotiated and signed as early as FY 86, which set the price, and allowed MDSSC to start building the Delta involved. Looking back in my files, SDIO was very heavily involved at about this time in looking at "non orthodox" ways of doing business in space - which would also fit. The inflation cost of holding onto inventory I don't think is important as the rocket wasn't procured from inventory - it was a new build as are all of MDSSC's Deltas. But the cost would have been set when the contract was signed (FY 87?), so we could easily have seen 15% increase in price since then, just due to inflation. Think of it this way - a car model's price changes each year due to inflation/changing costs of materials and labor, so a $10,000 Honda in 1988 costs about $10,500 in 1989 and $ 11,000 in 1990. My guesstimate is that MDSSC and SDIO signed off a contract in early FY 87 for MDSSC to deliver a Delta for use. That contract could have been modified or finalized for the specific launch services needed as late as about a year before launch, so possibly the "commercial launch services" agreement could have been made late... >>MDSSC quoted $40-50M to me as an initial quote for a single, >>commercial LEO Delta II launch in July 1990 for a project I was >>working on, so the NASA value seems to be in the ballpark... > > In the ballpark yes. But I hope you don't pay 'list' for your >launch services. :-) So do I. Since we're teamed with MDSSC on that project I hope we get it at "wholesale" ... |-) ------------------------------------------------------------------ Wales Larrison Space Technology Investor "I just hope the moon is made of green cheese. With dairy subsidizes costing so much, it'd be cheaper to mine it there and ship it back..." -- Wales Larrison Internet: Wales.Larrison@ofa123.fidonet.org Compuserve: >internet:Wales.Larrison@ofa123.fidonet.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 0;andrew.cmu.edu;Network-Mail Date: 28 Dec 90 05:12:38 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA Subject: Space Station Integrated Design Review completed (Forwarded) Sender: space-request@andrew.cmu.edu To: space@andrew.cmu.edu Mark Hess Headquarters, Washington, D.C. December 26, 1990 (Phone: 202/453-4164) RELEASE: 90-165 SPACE STATION INTEGRATED DESIGN REVIEW COMPLETED The Integrated System Preliminary Design Review (ISPDR) for the Freedom space station, a major milestone leading to the construction, launch and assembly of the station, was completed on schedule this week marking the end of a year-long assessment of Freedom's preliminary design by the NASA centers, their prime contractors and the international partners involved in the space station project. Over the course of the last 13 months, over 80 separate design reviews were conducted at NASA centers and contractor facilities to ensure Freedom's preliminary design could satisfy requirements for safety, physical and functional compatibility and for its ability to be built, integrated with other hardware, and tested. During this time, every major component, subsystem and system, which together comprise the space station, were examined. "We did it," said Marc Bensimon, Deputy Manager for Freedom's Program and Operations Office, Reston, Va., who headed the ISPDR effort. "We established the schedule for the PDR last April and we met every milestone as planned." "This was an outstanding effort," said Robert Moorehead, Deputy Director for Space Station Freedom Program and Operations. "Not only did we accomplish the PDR on schedule, we made the schedule despite having to devote a lot of time and attention to other issues, like weight and power and EVA (extravehicular activity) resources." Preliminary figures for Freedom's weight as of June 1990 were 143,000 pounds higher than the allocated limit of 512,000 pounds for the total space station, and housekeeping power exceeded the maximum 45 kw available by nearly 15 kw. An intensive summer-long resources scrub reduced weight estimates by 130,000 pounds and reduced the housekeeping power by 13 kw. Users will receive 30 kw of power to conduct their experiments. Despite the added rigors of the ISPDR review progress, weight and power levels have remained stable. "What this means is that the design is maturing and converging," said Bensimon. "While a PDR is typically conducted with the hardware only 10 percent designed, I was impressed with the detail of the preliminary design and the knowledge our systems managers displayed with respect to expected performance of their systems." While hardware was a major focus of the ISPDR, space station managers also reviewed and baselined ground processing procedures, computer software specifications and pre-flight verification plans for Freedom. They also approved design modifications such as those suggested by Dr. William F. Fisher and Charles R. Price, Co-chairman of the External Maintenance Task Team. In the EVA systems area, program managers approved a change that would provide a handle on all external orbital replacement units so that those components could be replaced by robots as well as humans. Both Moorehead and Bensimon acknowledge the current restructure assessment (begun in November as a result of a 1991 fiscal year budget shortfall of more than $550 million along with a Congressional mandate to significantly reduce out-year spending) will have an impact on the design but are confident that the ISPDR has laid a firm foundation for the restucturing. "Certainly there will be design changes," said Moorehead, "but I think that from a systems and subsystems standpoint, the ISPDR configuration provides us with an excellent baseline to work from for the restructuring. Afterall, regardless of what Freedom will look like from an overall configuration standpoint, we will still have to have systems like power, thermal control, data management and guidance and control. I anticipate being able to use a significant proportion of those systems in the station that comes out of our restructure assessment." Bensimon said the next major milestone in the development process will take place next spring. By then, engineers will have completed incorporating the design changes that come out of the restructuring and can begin a series of stage design reviews that carefully examine the configuration at various steps along the assembly sequence. At each stage, engineers must make certain the station can function like an independent spacecraft, with all the necessary backups, to ensure overall mission success. ------------------------------ Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 0;andrew.cmu.edu;Network-Mail Date: 21 Dec 90 21:29:03 GMT From: swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov!baalke@ucsd.edu (Ron Baalke) Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA. Subject: Magellan Update - 12/21/90 Sender: space-request@andrew.cmu.edu To: space@andrew.cmu.edu MAGELLAN STATUS REPORT December 21, 1990 The Magellan spacecraft continues to perform nominally, except for the Tape Recorder A problem. All STARCALS (star calibrations) and DESATS (desaturations) during the past 24 hours were successful. The mapping sequence M0356, which will be sent to the spacecraft later today will shorten the mapping period by 8.6 minutes in order to accommodate an Earth occultation period of 56 minutes during the playback. It will also switch the data management strategy to using only tape recorder B. This strategy will cause three small gaps in each image swath as tape recorder B switches tracks. Magellan has now completed 605 mapping orbits and radar data from about 588 orbits has been successfully received on Earth. The SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) Data Processing Team has produced 11 standard, 16 special and one temporary image swaths during the past two days. ___ _____ ___ /_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| | | | | __ \ /| | | | Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov ___| | | | |__) |/ | | |___ Jet Propulsion Lab | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov /___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| M/S 301-355 | |_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ Pasadena, CA 91109 | ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V12 #723 *******************