Return-path: X-Andrew-Authenticated-as: 7997;andrew.cmu.edu;Ted Anderson Received: from hogtown.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 ; Sun, 20 Jan 91 03:03:11 -0500 (EST) Message-ID: Precedence: junk Reply-To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU From: space-request+@Andrew.CMU.EDU To: space+@Andrew.CMU.EDU Date: Sun, 20 Jan 91 03:03:07 -0500 (EST) Subject: SPACE Digest V13 #067 SPACE Digest Volume 13 : Issue 67 Today's Topics: Re: Firm Fred Decisions Re: Firm Fred Decisions Current shuttle payload capabilities Re: Voyager Update - 01/16/91 Re: Dealing with ice "creep" (was: Humankind's Second Off-world Colony) Payload Summary for 01/17/91 (Forwarded) Salyut 7 picks up extra term Re: SPACE Digest V13 #054 Re: US buys Soviet reactor Re: 2 dimensional objects Pioneer Venus Update - 01/18/91 Re: some questions Re: What is cosmological constant? Administrivia: Submissions to the SPACE Digest/sci.space should be mailed to space+@andrew.cmu.edu. Other mail, esp. [un]subscription requests, should be sent to space-request+@andrew.cmu.edu, or, if urgent, to tm2b+@andrew.cmu.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 18 Jan 91 19:34:13 GMT From: sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ub!uhura.cc.rochester.edu!rochester!sol!yamauchi@ucsd.edu (Brian Yamauchi) Subject: Re: Firm Fred Decisions In article <1991Jan18.171131.13177@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov> lvron@earth.lerc.nasa.gov (Ronald E. Graham) writes: Here is what's happening with Fred, as we have just heard it: [ edited list ] o the budget is now for man-tended capability (MTC) only; o the Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS) is no longer in the program, and, therefore, Work Package (WP) 03 is also out; o a lab module will exist only at MTC; o there will be no habitation module or nodes: the Shuttle will dock directly to the lab, serving as your hab module while docked; o no permanently-manned capability (PMC) equipment or growth planned; Thanks to Ronald for posting this. It's nice to get information like this directly from the source -- with Desert Storm, the media would likely get around to this story some time in mid-March :-). Does this mean NASA is completely dropping life science research from Freedom's mission? For better or worse, isn't this starting to look a lot like CDSF/ISF? -- _______________________________________________________________________________ Brian Yamauchi University of Rochester yamauchi@cs.rochester.edu Computer Science Department _______________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: 18 Jan 91 21:16:59 GMT From: agate!shelby!ptolemy!pluto.arc.nasa.gov!glass@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Jay Glass) Subject: Re: Firm Fred Decisions In article <1991Jan18.171131.13177@eagle.lerc.nasa.gov> lvron@earth.lerc.nasa.gov (Ronald E. Graham) writes: > o WP-04 (that's Lewis Research Center) will share an SDP (I'm sorry: I > don't know that acronym) with WP-02. It probably refers to a "Standard Data Processor," i.e. an onboard general-purpose computer.(An IBM 386 with 4MB and some kind of "real-time" Unix variation, for anyone that cares.) The original SSF plans called for a couple dozen or so of these, networked; recent designs were down to 7-10; it now sounds like they may have cut back even further, if thermal, power, and life support control are now crowded on to one SDP... Brian Glass ------------------------------ Date: 16 Jan 91 01:15:25 GMT From: van-bc!rsoft!mindlink!a752@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Bruce Dunn) Subject: Current shuttle payload capabilities The original specifications for the shuttle called for a payload of 65,000 lbs to some nominal orbit. Original shuttle performance was far below this, but some ground has been regained with lighter external tanks, greater than 100% nominal thrust on the SSMEs etc. Does anyone have any current data on the payload capabilites of the three existing orbiters, and the one nearing completion? -- Bruce Dunn Vancouver, Canada a752@mindlink.UUCP ------------------------------ Date: 17 Jan 91 15:58:11 GMT From: eru!hagbard!sunic!news.funet.fi!tukki.jyu.fi!jyu.fi!otto@bloom-beacon.mit.edu (Otto J. Makela) Subject: Re: Voyager Update - 01/16/91 In article <1991Jan16.195222.23710@jato.jpl.nasa.gov> baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) writes: [Voyager spaceships' status report] CONSUMABLE STATUS AS OF 01/16/91 P R O P E L L A N T S T A T U S P O W E R Consumption One Week Propellant Remaining Output Margin Spacecraft (Gm) (Kg) Watts Watts Voyager 1 5 36.2 + 2.0 366 53 Voyager 2 5 39.2 + 2.0 370 47 What kind of units for fuel consumption are Gigameters ? What about keeping with the approved SI units (g), or spelling it out (grams) for those living in mesurement-underdeveloped countries ? (Also, to nit a pick, the 2nd unit should be kg, not Kg) -- /* * * Otto J. Makela * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * */ /* Phone: +358 41 613 847, BBS: +358 41 211 562 (CCITT, Bell 24/12/300) */ /* Mail: Kauppakatu 1 B 18, SF-40100 Jyvaskyla, Finland, EUROPE */ /* * * Computers Rule 01001111 01001011 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * */ ------------------------------ Date: 17 Jan 91 05:35:09 GMT From: bfmny0!tneff@uunet.uu.net (Tom Neff) Subject: Re: Dealing with ice "creep" (was: Humankind's Second Off-world Colony) In article <9333@fmeed1.UUCP> russ%rsi@sharkey.cc.umich.edu (Russ Cage) writes: >In article <58235840@bfmny0.BFM.COM> tneff@bfmny0.BFM.COM (Tom Neff) writes: >>Oh yes, but if what you specifically want is to study the ice, you'll >>probably have to tackle the heat problem sooner or later. > >Or not. There is always the final fix: to avoid sinking, be buoyant. >If your base is buoyant and stable against tipping, it would not matter >if you melted out a sea around yourself. ^^^^^^ In vacuum, heated ice tends to sublime, not form a stable liquid pool. The technology for maintaining buoyancy in vacuum is unknown. :-) I am certain that another reader suggested and self-disposed of this idea several days ago -- are we reading all relevant followups before posting our own? -- Thank God for atheism! 8=8=8=8 Tom Neff / tneff@bfmny0.BFM.COM ------------------------------ Date: 18 Jan 91 18:45:33 GMT From: trident.arc.nasa.gov!yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) Subject: Payload Summary for 01/17/91 (Forwarded) Payload Status Report Kennedy Space Center Thursday, January 17, 1990 George Diller 407/867-2468 FTS 823-2468 TETHERED SATELLITE (TSS) STS-46/Discovery The Tethered Satellite has been undergoing receiving inspection and initial tests in an off-line laboratory of the payload Operations and Checkout building. Hardware associated with the TSS deployer is currently being integrated onto the pallet as well as integrating some associated experiments onto the mission peculiar support structure (MPESS). The first fit check of the satellite with the deployer is scheduled to occur Friday and will last about a week. A second fit check will also be scheduled for later this month or during February. GAMMA RAY OBSERVATORY (GRO) STS-37/Atlantis Yesterday the alignment of the spacecraft's two sun sensors was accomplished. Fueling of GRO for its on-orbit activity was completed late last last week as scheduled. A total of 4200 pounds of monomethyl hydrazine was loaded aboard (three to four times more fuel than is required by most spacecraft). This large quantity of fuel will permit extended mission operations. On Monday and Tuesday, work was performed to remove the spacecraft's test batteries and then reinstall the six nickel cadmium flight batteries which are housed in two modular power supply units (MPS). The MPS units were installed on the spacecraft yesterday and then the batteries were charged. Today the spacecraft is being powered up. The Instrument Switching Unit (ISU) which was removed on December 23, shipped to TRW, repaired and then retested, was reinstalled on the spacecraft yesterday. Integration and system tests are scheduled to start Friday. The ISU contains circuitry which controls electrical signals to various equipment throughout the Observatory. GRO is scheduled to be moved from its current location at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF) to the Vertical Processing Facility (VPF) on Feb. 6 where final tests will be performed and work will be done to prepare it for integration with the Space Shuttle Atlantis. TDRS-E/IUS-15 (STS-43/Discovery) Final assembly, functional testing, and rf system testing of the Inertial Upper Stage for TDRS-E has been completed by the Air Force/Boeing test team on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. IUS buildup operations are scheduled to be completed in mid-February. Due to possible limited availability of military aircraft given the current international circumstances, TDRS-E may be shipped early to KSC from the TRW plant in California. ------------------------------ Date: 15 Jan 91 00:06:23 GMT From: isis!scicom!wats@uunet.uu.net (Bruce Watson) Subject: Salyut 7 picks up extra term Salyut 7 has picked up the extra term in the polynomial that modifies the mean motion. The period as of day 91 09.31 is 89.93 minutes with a mean height of 271 kms. Salyut 7 27.0 4.2 0.0 8.4 1 13138U 82033 A 91 09.31166690 0.00268808 36681-4 48046-3 0 7170 2 13138 51.5935 320.7118 0002925 94.0308 266.1040 16.01186156497374 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 19 Jan 91 22:56:27 EST From: Tommy Mac <18084TM%MSU.BITNET@BITNET.CC.CMU.EDU> Subject: Re: SPACE Digest V13 #054 Re: DEAD FRED: Did FRED die for technical reasons, managerial reasons, political reasons, or because 100 shuttle flights costs too much. Reminds me of O'Neill's book HIGH FRONTIER. He proposes a system of solar power sattelites, using a sun-heated gas turbine system, built from metals on the moon. Then I found the congressional sub-commitee report of SPS from 1973. They used The Shuttle to launch material from earth (all of it) to built a photoelectric cell system. They concluded that it would cost too much. Small suprise. ------- idoits. Tommy Mac If God wanted us to be space-faring, he would have given us 19094tm@msu a large moon made of metal-oxides. Acknowledge-To: <18084TM@MSU> ------------------------------ Date: 18 Jan 91 16:18:19 GMT From: hpfcso!hplvec!gvg@hplabs.hpl.hp.com (Greg Goebel) Subject: Re: US buys Soviet reactor > I'd be extremely surprised if there was any intent to launch the Soviet > reactor. Sounds like they mostly want to tear it apart to find out how it > works and what it's made of. HSofUT hath probably seen this in AVIATION WEEK, but from the article in the latest issue (which I glanced through this morning) I get the impression the thing won't even be FUELED, much less launched. They'll use other heat sources to test it. Then again, they could always fuel it themselves. Senor Coyote -- +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Greg Goebel NET: gvg@hpisla | | Hewlett-Packard HP DESK: GREG GOEBEL / HP0900 / EM | | MSO Marketing PHONE: Telnet/303 679-3424 | | POB 301 / MS-CU312 / Loveland CO 80539 FAX: Telnet/303 679-5957 | +----------------------------------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------ Date: 19 Jan 91 00:05:11 GMT From: uokmax!jabishop@apple.com (Jonathan A Bishop) Subject: Re: 2 dimensional objects vortex@vpnet.chi.il.us (Jason J. Levit) writes: > 2 dimensional objects (beings?) without any height? WHAT? Is this > plausible in a 4 dimensional universe? What do you mean by 4 dimensional? Three of space and one of time or four of space? Either way, our universe may have more dimensions of space than we can perceive, so two dimensional creatures in a four dimensional (or higher) universe are just as plausible as three dimensional creatures. -- jabishop@uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu "Ground Control to Major Tom: Your circuit's dead; there's something wrong. Can you hear me, Major Tom?" -- David Bowie ------------------------------ Date: 19 Jan 91 01:17:39 GMT From: sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!jato!mars.jpl.nasa.gov!baalke@ucsd.edu (Ron Baalke) Subject: Pioneer Venus Update - 01/18/91 PIONEER VENUS STATUS REPORT January 18, 1991 On January 10, a power failure at the 34 meter station at Goldstone caused a 1 hour loss of data for the Pioneer Venus spacecraft. On January 14, CPA (Command Processor Assembly) problems at the Spain tracking station caused 1 command to be aborted. A 25-pulse precession maneuver has been scheduled for January 19. A Spin period adjustment will be performed on January 24 following periapsis. ___ _____ ___ /_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| | | | | __ \ /| | | | Ron Baalke | baalke@mars.jpl.nasa.gov ___| | | | |__) |/ | | |___ Jet Propulsion Lab | baalke@jems.jpl.nasa.gov /___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| M/S 301-355 | |_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ Pasadena, CA 91109 | ------------------------------ Date: 19 Jan 91 02:38:53 GMT From: usc!samsung!rex!uflorida!mailer.cc.fsu.edu!geomag!cain@ucsd.edu (Joe Cain) Subject: Re: some questions The question of the limit of the solar system is addressed by Morrison and Owen in "The Planetary System" (p. 25): "..edge of the solar system. That lies at a point where the gravitational field of the Sun is challenged by the fields of passing stars. Here is where a great cloud of comets lies," This is also noted in John Brandt's article on comets in "The New Solar System" (228) who discusses Jan Oort's conclusion that the "overwhelming majority of comets reside in an essentially spherical cloud around the Sun with a radius of perhaps 20,000 to 100,000 AU. (By comparison, the nearest srs to the solar system, the Alphaha Centauri System, are some 275,000 AU distant.)" I suppose our spacecraft would yet have a way to go as Pluto is only of the order of 40 AU! An AU is about 150 Gm (150 million km). Joseph Cain cain@geomag.gly.fsu.edu cain@fsu.bitnet scri::cain ------------------------------ Date: 19 Jan 91 22:05:09 GMT From: zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!samsung!noose.ecn.purdue.edu!stable.ecn.purdue.edu!muttiah@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Ranjan S Muttiah) Subject: Re: What is cosmological constant? In article <5113@disk.UUCP> joefish@disk.UUCP (joefish) writes: > It is difficult for me to understand why Einstein's Cosmological >constant is discussed other than in the interest of the history of >the General Theory of Relativity. There is a very lucid acount of the story of the constant in a book titled "Truth and Beauty" by S. Chandrasekar; he covers Arthur Eddington's struggle over it as well. He also draws interesting differences between art and science: artists mature in their final stages of their profession, scientists wane after their initial contribution(s). ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest V13 #067 *******************