Date: Mon, 2 Nov 92 05:00:09 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V15 #365 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Mon, 2 Nov 92 Volume 15 : Issue 365 Today's Topics: "Earth gains a retinue of mini-asteroids" ANSWER: Recognizing a Dyson sphere if you saw one Automated space station construction Cometary consciousness expansion? Comet Collision Diffs to sci.space/sci.astro Frequently Asked Questions Space FAQ 01/15 - Introduction Welcome to the Space Digest!! Please send your messages to "space@isu.isunet.edu", and (un)subscription requests of the form "Subscribe Space " to one of these addresses: listserv@uga (BITNET), rice::boyle (SPAN/NSInet), utadnx::utspan::rice::boyle (THENET), or space-REQUEST@isu.isunet.edu (Internet). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1992 11:26:27 -0600 (CST) From: REIFF@spacvax.rice.edu (Patricia Reiff (713)527-4634) Subject: "Earth gains a retinue of mini-asteroids" In a recent SD, pgf@srl05.cacs.usl.edu (Phil G. Fraering) writes: >>These couldn't be Frank's minicomets, could they? His putative >>objects are supposedly in prograde, earth-like orbits, to reduce the >>impact velocity enough to avoid observational constraints. >I'd bet Frank will claim that these bodies represent the "larger" >members of his mini-comet population, but I don't know. I can affirm that Lou Frank considers these results to be confirmation of the "small-comet" hypothesis, and his calculations show that the fluxes are approximately correct. He also now has an explanation of why his dark spots never before were seen to be larger when Dynamics Explorer was at perigee - penetrating radiation belt particles "filled in" the count rate of his detector. When the spacecraft flew *under* the radiation belts, he was able to see the larger holes. Residual background counts meant that the dark spots are now only 1-2 standard deviations low, as opposed to 4 or 5, but still there. He presented these results to the Dynamics Explorer science team meeting last week. ------ From the First Space Science Department in the World: : _^ ^_ ____ Patricia H. Reiff : / O O \ |GO \ Department of Space Physics and Astronomy : \ V / |OWLS\ Rice University, Houston, TX 77251-1892 : / ""R"" \__/ internet: reiff@spacvax.rice.edu (128.42.10.3) \ ""U"" / SPAN: RICE::REIFF : _/|\ /|\_ "Why does man want to go to the Moon? ... Why does Rice play Texas?" ....JFK, Rice Stadium, 1962 ------------------------------ Date: 1 Nov 92 17:18:15 GMT From: James Davis Nicoll Subject: ANSWER: Recognizing a Dyson sphere if you saw one Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space In article <1992Oct31.172222.8712@dartvax.dartmouth.edu> Frederick.A.Ringwald@dartmouth.edu (Frederick A. Ringwald) writes: >Still, even if one could use all 500 Earth masses to make a Dyson >sphere of radius 10^13 cm, about at the orbit of Venus, it would be at >most 5-10 m thick, about the equivalent of a shell of 1 m radius and >the thickness of a single atom. To avoid buckling in the Sun's >gravitational field, equivalent to a uniform external pressure, it >would have to be made of material about 10^10 times stiffer than any >known material. Big advances in materials science happen when you >improve things by a factor of 2; a factor of 10 is fantastic. A factor >of 10^10 doesn't look promising... Did you look at Dyson Spheres suspended on light-presuure? They require less mass (They better *have* less mass to float on light) and I don't think they suffer the same forces. >But of course, this does not preclude a swarm of independent structures, >such as O'Neill colonies. A 'swarm' sphere was Dyson's original idea, I think. Neat article, though. James Nicoll ------------------------------ Date: 1 Nov 92 12:40:16 GMT From: Gary Coffman Subject: Automated space station construction Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1992Oct31.023129.9034@access.usask.ca> choy@skorpio.usask.ca (I am a terminator.) writes: >Can robots be launched to build the space station? They can work overtime. People will depend heavily on robotic assistance for many tasks in space. However, an incident at the local Glad bag plant last night applies. A new robotic assembly line had just been started in the last month and all was going well with bags being produced and boxed. Then last night a temperature change caused a slight change in frictional coefficient, sound familiar? The robot started launching hot air balloons instead of neatly boxed bags. By the time the shift supervisor woke up, two trainees were chasing bag balloons all over the plant. They lost an hour's production and several thousand dollars worth of bags before the line was stopped and the bag blow pressure reduced slightly. The robots just kept mindlessly doing what they were told, even when it was disasterously wrong. On the old machines, the human operator would have just held the blow pedal down for slightly less time and bags would have continued to be produced. The moral of this story is that robotics is not yet adaptive enough to unexpected conditions to operate without waste and possible harm in less than critically supervised operations. Gary ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Nov 92 14:12:45 GMT From: amon@elegabalus.cs.qub.ac.uk Subject: Cometary consciousness expansion? I just returned from breakfast at a small local place, and during the short course of said breakfast heard not one but TWO songs on pop music radio that had blatent space themes. One of them was also lyrically inane (take it from a songwriter), but that is beside the point. The first was called "Starship troopers" (?) and was basically some girl singing her heart to a fellow off in hyperspace... Sounded like something only a hardcore ConFilker could love, and yet it was on a top 40 type station in Belfast. Complete with bridge consisting of NASAese talk. "Roger. You are GO for translight..." The second (a bit better lyrically) was about aliens landing, and the "four of them standing there...not an illusion..." I wonder if Swift/Tuttle may be forcing a change in consciousness? Ie, that the rest of the universe isn't just sitting there, that parts of it could suddenly land in our very laps? ======== Swift/Tuttle is Mama Nature's way of saying it's time to get off the planet. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 1 Nov 92 14:52:29 GMT From: amon@elegabalus.cs.qub.ac.uk Subject: Comet Collision > limitingly?) how quickly any given researcher can think of a new idea. > Thus until we have strong AI, the exponential _cannot_ become > `essentially vertical'. Sure, it'll get steeper, but not indefinitely. > I'll not get into a long argument on things that neither of us can prove, and besides it'll be 2020 in no time at all and we'll find out. Whether 2020 or 2030 or 2040 is not so much the point. I'd say you are doing exactly the linear extrapolation I mentioned. What if there are other routes to "strong AI"? What if we just simply use that technology that can build things out of atoms and duplicate a brain or a portion of a brain, but do it in silicon or germanium equivalents to the nuerons? I'm not claiming that particular approach will or won't work. I'm saying that the indicators of knowledge growth are stable and that I personally believe they tell us something very profound about the interactions between areas of knowledge. Whether or not it is by a method which our poor 1990's hugging imaginations can come up with, I think the curve will continue and will be accomplished by some means. I am not going to pretend to be able to do more than take a WAG (Wild Ass Guess) at exactly how it will come about. If one route gets slowed down by ThisThatOrTheOther Activists, it will just force the tide to bypass the obstacle such that it will blind side them, come in from an unexpected direction. Stopping the tidal wave of growing knowledge is like trying to stop a river. No matter how high you build the dam, the water will eventually overflow it or find a way around it ... and sometimes with truly disastrous results. Results far worse than just letting the river flow, or maybe shifting its direction just the tiniest wee bit. Personally I'd much rather ride the crest to the end ... hopefully not like the surfer in "Lucifer's Hammer", but better there than underneath the wave... I'll put a steak dinner on it. Vertical by no later than 2030. If I win, I'll even let you make it on the planet of your choice Nick. (Haines, not Szabo!) Hopefully medical science will be advancing quickly enough to make sure we're both there for the finale. I've made my cryonics arrangements though, just in case... ------------------------------ Date: 1 Nov 92 18:12:06 GMT From: Jon Leech Subject: Diffs to sci.space/sci.astro Frequently Asked Questions Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,news.answers Archive-name: space/diff DIFFS SINCE LAST FAQ POSTING (IN POSTING ORDER) (These are hand-edited context diffs; do not attempt to use them to patch old copies of the FAQ). =================================================================== diff -t -c -r1.12 FAQ.intro *** /tmp/,RCSt1a05558 Sat Oct 31 17:40:55 1992 --- FAQ.intro Sat Oct 31 17:38:13 1992 *************** *** 167,177 **** Planetary mission references 11 Upcoming planetary probes - missions and schedules Galileo Mars Observer ! CRAF ! Cassini Other space science missions 12 Controversial questions What happened to the Saturn V plans --- 167,180 ---- Planetary mission references 11 Upcoming planetary probes - missions and schedules + Cassini Galileo + Magellan Mars Observer ! TOPEX/Poseidon ! Ulysses Other space science missions + Proposed missions 12 Controversial questions What happened to the Saturn V plans =================================================================== diff -t -c -r1.12 FAQ.net *** /tmp/,RCSt1a05563 Sat Oct 31 17:40:57 1992 --- FAQ.net Sat Oct 31 17:38:19 1992 *************** *** 35,44 **** sites interested in receiving the news group to which the article was posted. ! Gateway machines serve to redirect Usenet netnews into Internet and ! BITNET mailing lists and vice versa. If you can receive netnews, its ! more flexible interface usually makes it the preferred option to getting ! on one of the main mailing lists. MAILING LISTS --- 35,45 ---- sites interested in receiving the news group to which the article was posted. ! Gateway machines redirect the Usenet sci.space group into Internet and ! BITNET mailing lists and vice versa; the other Usenet groups are not ! accessible as mailing lists. If you can receive netnews, its more ! flexible interface and access to a wider range of material usually make ! it the preferred option. MAILING LISTS *************** *** 47,53 **** in over a decade). Email space-request@isu.isunet.edu (message body should be in the format 'subscribe space John Public') to join. Note that the moderated SPACE Magazine list is defunct at present for lack of ! a moderator. Elements is a moderated list for fast distribution of Space Shuttle Keplerian Elements before and during Shuttle flights. NASA two line --- 48,57 ---- in over a decade). Email space-request@isu.isunet.edu (message body should be in the format 'subscribe space John Public') to join. Note that the moderated SPACE Magazine list is defunct at present for lack of ! a moderator. Old copies of SPACE Digest since its inception in 1981 are ! available by anonymous FTP. Retrieve ! julius.cs.qub.ac.uk:pub/SpaceDigestArchive/README ! for further details. Elements is a moderated list for fast distribution of Space Shuttle Keplerian Elements before and during Shuttle flights. NASA two line *************** *** 114,123 **** ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF THE ASA Don Barry (don@chara.gsu.edu) posts the monthly Electronic Journal of the Astronomical Society of the Atlantic to sci.astro. - - ESA BULLETIN - Harm Munk (munk@prl.philips.nl) posts summaries of articles in the - quarterly _ESA Bulletin_ and the _ESA Journal_. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL Swaraj Jeyasingh (sjeyasin@axion.bt.co.uk) posts summaries of --- 118,123 ---- =================================================================== diff -t -c -r1.12 FAQ.data *** /tmp/,RCSt1a05568 Sat Oct 31 17:40:59 1992 --- FAQ.data Sat Oct 31 17:38:09 1992 *************** *** 279,284 **** --- 279,289 ---- available by anonymous FTP from export.lcs.mit.edu (18.24.0.12) in contrib/xsat1.0.tar.Z. Contact Dave Curry (davy@ecn.purdue.edu) for more information. + + Xsky, a computerized sky atlas for the X Window System, is available for + anonymous FTP on arizona.edu in the directory [.SOFTWARE.UNIX.XSKY] as + xsky.tarz. Contact Terry R. Friedrichsen (terry@venus.sunquest.com) for + more information. The "Variable Stars Analysis Software Archive" is available via anonymous FTP from kauri.vuw.ac.nz (130.195.11.3) in directory =================================================================== diff -t -c -r1.12 FAQ.constants *** /tmp/,RCSt1a05583 Sat Oct 31 17:41:05 1992 --- FAQ.constants Sat Oct 31 17:38:05 1992 *************** *** 48,94 **** a = 4 pi**2 r / t^2 ! For circular Keplerian orbits, where u is gravitational constant, a is ! semimajor axis of orbit, P is period. ! v^2 = u/a ! P = 2pi/(Sqrt(u/a^3)) ! u = G * M (can be measured much more accurately than G or M) ! ! Vc = sqrt(M * G / r) ! Vesc = sqrt(2 * M * G / r) = sqrt(2) * Vc ! The period of an eccentric orbit is the same as the period of a ! circular orbit with the same semi-major axis ! 1/2 V**2 - G * M / r = K (conservation of energy) ! where ! Vc = velocity of a circular orbit (you have something like this) Vesc = escape velocity K = -G * M / 2 / a - M = Mass of orbited object - G = Gravitational constant r = radius of orbit (measured from center of mass of system) V = orbital velocity Change in velocity required for a plane change of angle phi in a circular orbit: delta V = 2 sqrt(GM/r) sin (phi/2) ! Energy to put mass m into a circular orbit (ignoring rotational ! velocity of the Earth, which reduces the energy a bit). GMm (1/Re - 1/2Rcirc) Re = radius of the earth Rcirc = radius of the circular orbit. ! Classical rocket equation (dv = change in velocity, ve = exhaust ! velocity, x = reaction mass, m1 = rocket mass excluding reaction ! mass): ! ! dv = Ve * ln((m1 + x) / m1) ! = Ve * ln((final mass) / (initial mass)) ! Ve = Isp * g = exhaust velocity, m / s Isp = specific impulse of engine ! g = 9.80665 m / s^2 Relativistic rocket equation (constant acceleration) --- 48,97 ---- a = 4 pi**2 r / t^2 ! For circular Keplerian orbits where: ! Vc = velocity of a circular orbit Vesc = escape velocity + M = Total mass of orbiting and orbited bodies + G = Gravitational constant (defined below) + u = G * M (can be measured much more accurately than G or M) K = -G * M / 2 / a r = radius of orbit (measured from center of mass of system) V = orbital velocity + P = orbital period + a = semimajor axis of orbit + Vc = sqrt(M * G / r) + Vesc = sqrt(2 * M * G / r) = sqrt(2) * Vc + V^2 = u/a + P = 2 pi/(Sqrt(u/a^3)) + K = 1/2 V**2 - G * M / r (conservation of energy) + + The period of an eccentric orbit is the same as the period + of a circular orbit with the same semi-major axis. + Change in velocity required for a plane change of angle phi in a circular orbit: delta V = 2 sqrt(GM/r) sin (phi/2) ! Energy to put mass m into a circular orbit (ignores rotational ! velocity, which reduces the energy a bit). GMm (1/Re - 1/2Rcirc) Re = radius of the earth Rcirc = radius of the circular orbit. ! Classical rocket equation, where ! dv = change in velocity Isp = specific impulse of engine ! Ve = exhaust velocity ! x = reaction mass ! m1 = rocket mass excluding reaction mass ! g = 9.80665 m / s^2 ! ! Ve = Isp * g ! dv = Ve * ln((m1 + x) / m1) ! = Ve * ln((final mass) / (initial mass)) Relativistic rocket equation (constant acceleration) =================================================================== diff -t -c -r1.12 FAQ.probe *** /tmp/,RCSt1a05603 Sat Oct 31 17:41:12 1992 --- FAQ.probe Sat Oct 31 17:38:22 1992 *************** *** 102,112 **** to do so. PIONEER Venus 1 (1978) (also known as PIONEER Venus Orbiter, or PIONEER ! 12) is still orbiting Venus and returning data to Earth. It is expected ! to enter the Venusian atmosphere and burn up in 1992. PVO made the first ! radar studies of the planet's surface via probe. PIONEER Venus 2 (also ! known as PIONEER 13) sent four small probes into the atmosphere in ! December of 1978. The main spacecraft bus burned up high in the atmosphere, while the four probes descended by parachute towards the surface. Though none were expected to survive to the surface, the Day probe did make it and transmitted for 67.5 minutes on the ground before --- 102,111 ---- to do so. PIONEER Venus 1 (1978) (also known as PIONEER Venus Orbiter, or PIONEER ! 12) burned up in the Venusian atmosphere on October 8, 1992. PVO made ! the first radar studies of the planet's surface via probe. PIONEER Venus ! 2 (also known as PIONEER 13) sent four small probes into the atmosphere ! in December of 1978. The main spacecraft bus burned up high in the atmosphere, while the four probes descended by parachute towards the surface. Though none were expected to survive to the surface, the Day probe did make it and transmitted for 67.5 minutes on the ground before =================================================================== diff -t -c -r1.12 FAQ.new_probes *** /tmp/,RCSt1a05608 Sat Oct 31 17:41:14 1992 --- FAQ.new_probes Sat Oct 31 17:38:20 1992 *************** *** 44,56 **** MAGELLAN - Venus radar mapping mission. Has mapped almost the entire ! surface at high resolution. Funding for continuing operations into ! mapping cycle 4 and beyond has been cut from the proposed NASA budget. MARS OBSERVER - Mars orbiter including 1.5 m/pixel resolution camera. ! Launch scheduled 9/16/1992 aboard Titan III; arrival in 8/93, operations ! start 11/93 for one martian year (687 days). TOPEX/Poseidon - Joint US/French Earth observing satellite, launched in --- 93,105 ---- MAGELLAN - Venus radar mapping mission. Has mapped almost the entire ! surface at high resolution. Currently (11/92) in mapping cycle 4, ! collecting a global gravity map. MARS OBSERVER - Mars orbiter including 1.5 m/pixel resolution camera. ! Currently (11/92) in transit to Mars arrival in 8/93. Operations start ! 11/93 for one martian year (687 days). TOPEX/Poseidon - Joint US/French Earth observing satellite, launched in --- 110,140 ---- will increase understanding of how heat is transported in the ocean. ! ULYSSES- European Space Agency probe to study the Sun from an orbit over ! its poles. Launched in late 1990, it carries particles-and-fields ! experiments (such as magnetometer, ion and electron collectors for ! various energy ranges, plasma wave radio receivers, etc.) but no camera. ! Since no human-built rocket is hefty enough to send Ulysses far out of ! the ecliptic plane, it went to Jupiter instead, and stole energy from ! that planet by sliding over Jupiter's north pole in a gravity-assist ! manuver in February 1992. This bent its path into a solar orbit tilted ! about 85 degrees to the ecliptic. It will pass over the Sun's south pole ! in the summer of 1993. Its aphelion is 5.2 AU, and, surprisingly, its ! perihelion is about 1.5 AU-- that's right, a solar-studies spacecraft ! that's always further from the Sun than the Earth is! ! While in Jupiter's neigborhood, Ulysses studied the magnetic and ! radiation environment. For a short summary of these results, see ! *Science*, V. 257, p. 1487-1489 (11 September 1992). For gory technical ! detail, see the many articles in the same issue. OTHER SPACE SCIENCE MISSIONS (note: this is based on a posting by Ron Baalke in 11/89, with ISAS/NASDA information contributed by Yoshiro Yamada (yamada@yscvax.ysc.go.jp). I'm attempting to track changes based on updated shuttle manifests; corrections and updates are welcome. 1993 Missions o Wind [Aug, Delta II rocket] Satellite to measure solar wind input to magnetosphere. ------------------------------ Date: 1 Nov 92 18:13:26 GMT From: Jon Leech Subject: Space FAQ 01/15 - Introduction Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space,news.answers Archive-name: space/intro Last-modified: $Date: 92/10/31 17:37:48 $ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON SCI.SPACE/SCI.ASTRO INTRODUCTION This series of linked messages is periodically posted to the Usenet groups sci.space and sci.astro in an attempt to provide good answers to frequently asked questions and other reference material which is worth preserving. If you have corrections or answers to other frequently asked questions that you would like included in this posting, send email to leech@cs.unc.edu (Jon Leech). If you don't want to see the FAQ, add 'Frequently Asked Questions' to your KILL file for this group (if you're not reading this with a newsreader that can kill articles by subject, you're out of luck). The FAQ volume is excessive right now and will hopefully be trimmed down by rewriting and condensing over time. The FAQ postings are available in the Ames SPACE archive in FAQ/faq<#>. Good summaries will be accepted in place of the answers given here. The point of this is to circulate existing information, and avoid rehashing old answers. Better to build on top than start again. Nothing more depressing than rehashing old topics for the 100th time. References are provided because they give more complete information than any short generalization. Questions fall into three basic types: 1) Where do I find some information about space? Try your local public library first. The net is not a good place to ask for general information. Ask INDIVIDUALS (by email) if you must. There are other sources, use them, too. The net is a place for open ended discussion. 2) I have an idea which would improve space flight? Hope you aren't surprised, but 9,999 out of 10,000 have usually been thought of before. Again, contact a direct individual source for evaluation. NASA fields thousands of these each day. 3) Miscellanous queries. These are addressed on a case-by-case basis in the following series of FAQ postings. SUGGESTIONS FOR BETTER NETIQUETTE Read news.announce.newusers if you're on Usenet. Minimize cross references, [Do you REALLY NEED to?] Edit "Subject:" lines, especially if you're taking a tangent. Send mail instead, avoid posting follow ups. (1 mail message worth 100 posts). Internet mail readers: send requests to add/drop to SPACE-REQUEST not SPACE. Read all available articles before posting a follow-up. (Check all references.) Cut down attributed articles (leave only the points you're responding to; remove signatures and headers). Summarize! Put a return address in the body (signature) of your message (mail or article), state your institution, etc. Don't assume the 'reply' function of mailers will work. Use absolute dates. Post in a timely way. Don't post what everyone will get on TV anyway. Some editors and window systems do character count line wrapping: keep lines under 80 characters for those using ASCII terminals (use carriage returns). INDEX TO LINKED POSTINGS I've attempted to break the postings up into related areas. There isn't a keyword index yet; the following lists the major subject areas in each posting. Only those containing astronomy-related material are posted to sci.astro (indicated by '*' following the posting number). # Contents 1* Introduction Suggestions for better netiquette Index to linked postings Notes on addresses, phone numbers, etc. Contributors 2* Network resources Overview Mailing lists Periodically updated information Warning about non-public networks 3* Online (and some offline) sources of images, data, etc. Introduction Viewing Images Online Archives NASA Ames NASA Spacelink National Space Science Data Center Space And Planetary Image Facility Space Telescope Science Institute Electronic Info. Service Astronomical Databases Astronomy Programs Orbital Element Sets SPACE Digest Landsat & NASA Photos Planetary Maps Cometary Orbits 4* Performing calculations and interpreting data formats Computing spacecraft orbits and trajectories Computing planetary positions Computing crater diameters from Earth-impacting asteroids Map projections and spherical trignometry Performing N-body simulations efficiently Interpreting the FITS image format Sky (Unix ephemeris program) Three-dimensional star/galaxy coordinates 5* References on specific areas Publishers of space/astronomy material Careers in the space industry DC-X single-stage to orbit (SSTO) program LLNL "great exploration" Lunar science and activities Spacecraft models Rocket propulsion Spacecraft design Esoteric propulsion schemes (solar sails, lasers, fusion...) Spy satellites Space shuttle computer systems SETI computation (signal processing) Amateur satellies & weather satellites Tides 6* Constants and equations for calculations 7* Astronomical Mnemonics 8 Contacting NASA, ESA, and other space agencies/companies NASA Centers / Arianespace / ESA / NASDA / Soyuzkarta / Space Camp / Space Commerce Corporation / Spacehab / SPOT Image Other commercial space businesses 9 Space shuttle answers, launch schedules, TV coverage Shuttle launchings and landings; schedules and how to see them How to receive the NASA TV channel, NASA SELECT Dial-A-Shuttle and how to use it Amateur radio frequencies for shuttle missions Solid Rocket Booster fuel composition 10 Planetary probes - Historical Missions US planetary missions Mariner (Venus, Mars, & Mercury flybys and orbiters) Pioneer (Moon, Sun, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn flybys and orbiters) Ranger (Lunar lander and impact missions) Lunar Orbiter (Lunar surface photography) Surveyor (Lunar soft landers) Viking (Mars orbiters and landers) Voyager (Outer planet flybys) Soviet planetary missions Soviet Lunar probes Soviet Venus probes Soviet Mars probes Japanese planetary missions Planetary mission references 11 Upcoming planetary probes - missions and schedules Cassini Galileo Magellan Mars Observer TOPEX/Poseidon Ulysses Other space science missions Proposed missions 12 Controversial questions What happened to the Saturn V plans Why data from space missions isn't immediately available Risks of nuclear (RTG) power sources for space probes Impact of the space shuttle on the ozone layer How long can a human live unprotected in space Using the shuttle beyond Low Earth Orbit The "Face on Mars" 13 Space activist/interest/research groups and space publications Groups Publications Undocumented Groups 14 How to become an astronaut 15 Orbital and Planetary Launch Services NOTES ON ADDRESSES, PHONE NUMBERS, ETC. Unless otherwise specified, telephone numbers, addresses, and so on are for the United States of America. Non-US readers should remember to add the country code for telephone calls, etc. CREDITS Eugene Miya started a series of linked FAQ postings some years ago which inspired (and was largely absorbed into) this set. Peter Yee and Ron Baalke have and continue to spend a lot of their own time setting up the SPACE archives at NASA Ames and forwarding official NASA announcements. Many other people have contributed material to this list in the form of old postings to sci.space and sci.astro which I've edited. Please let me know if corrections need to be made. Contributors I've managed to keep track of are: 0004847546@mcimail.com (Francis Reddy) - map projections akerman@bill.phy.queensu.CA (Richard Akerman) - crater diameters alweigel@athena.mit.edu (Lisa Weigel) - SEDS info aoab314@emx.utexas.edu (Srinivas Bettadpur) - tides awpaeth@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Alan Wm Paeth) - map projections aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer) - Great Exploration baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) - planetary probe schedules bankst@rata.vuw.ac.nz (Timothy Banks) - map projections, variable star analysis archive brosen@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov (Bernie Rosen) - Space Camp bschlesinger@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (Barry Schlesinger) - FITS format cew@venera.isi.edu (Craig E. Ward) - space group contact info chapin@cbnewsc.att.com (Tom Chapin) - planetary positions cunnida@tenet.edu (D. Alan Cunningham) - NASA Spacelink cyamamot@kilroy.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Cliff Yamamoto) - orbital elements datri@convex.com (Anthony Datri) - PDS/VICAR viewing software daver@sjc.mentorg.com (Dave Rickel) - orbit formulae dlbres10@pc.usl.edu (Phil Fraering) - propulsion eder@hsvaic.boeing.com (Dani Eder) - Saturn V plans, SRBs eugene@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Eugene N. Miya) - introduction, NASA contact info, started FAQ postings g@telesoft.com (Gary Morris) - amateur radio info gaetz@uwovax.uwo.ca (Terry Gaetz) - N-body calculations, orbital dynamics grandi@noao.edu (Steve Grandi) - planetary positions greer%utd201.dnet%utadnx@utspan.span.nasa.gov (Dale M. Greer) - constants henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) - survival in vacuum, astronaut how-to, publication refs, DC-X higgins@fnal.bitnet (William Higgins) - RTGs, publishers, shuttle landings, spysats, propulsion, "Face on Mars" hmueller@cssun.tamu.edu (Hal Mueller) - map projections, orbital dynamics jim@pnet01.cts.com (Jim Bowery) - propulsion, launch services jscotti@lpl.arizona.edu (Jim Scotti) - planetary positions kcarroll@zoo.toronto.edu (Kieran A. Carroll)- refs for spacecraft design ken@orion.bitnet (Kenneth Ng) - RTGs klaes@verga.enet.dec.com (Larry Klaes) - planetary probe history leech@cs.unc.edu (Jon Leech) - crater diameters lfa@vielle.cray.com (Lou Adornato) - orbital dynamics maury.markowitz@egsgate.fidonet.org (Maury Markowitz) - propulsion mbellon@mcdurb.Urbana.Gould.COM - N-body calculations mcconley@phoenix.Princeton.edu (Marc Wayne Mcconley) - space careers msb@sq.com (Mark Brader) - Mariner 1 info. mwm@cmu.edu (Mark Maimone) - SPACE Digest nickw@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Dr. Nick Watkins) - models, spysats opus@pioneer.unm.edu (Colby Kraybill) - SPIF data archive panama@cup.portal.com (Kenneth W Durham) - cometary orbits, IAU paul.blase@nss.fidonet.org (Paul Blase) - propulsion pjs@plato.jpl.nasa.gov (Peter Scott) - RTGs pschleck@unomaha.edu (Paul W. Schleck) - AMSAT, ARRL contact info rdb@mel.cocam.oz.au (Rodney Brown) - propulsion refs rja7m@phil.cs.virginia.edu (Ran Atkinson) - FTPable astro. programs rjungcla@ihlpb.att.com (R. Michael Jungclas)- models seal@leonardo.jpl.nasa.gov (David Seal) - Cassini mission schedule shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer) - photos, shuttle landings smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com (Willie Smith) - photos stephen@gpwd.gp.co.nz (Stephen Dixon) - shuttle audio frequencies sterner@warper.jhuapl.edu (Ray Sterner) - planetary positions stooke@vaxr.sscl.uwo.ca (Phil Stooke) - planetary maps ted_anderson@transarc.com (Ted Anderson) - propulsion terry@astro.as.utexas.edu (Terry Hancock) - NASA center info thorson@typhoon.atmos.coloState.edu (Bill Thorson) - FITS info tm2b+@andrew.cmu.edu (Todd L. Masco) - SPACE Digest tom@ssd.csd.harris.com (Tom Horsley) - refs for algorithms veikko.makela@helsinki.fi (Veikko Makela) - orbital element sets wayne@csri.utoronto.ca (Wayne Hayes) - constants weemba@libra.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener) - Voyager history yamada@yscvax.ysc.go.jp (Yoshiro Yamada) - ISAS/NASDA missions yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter Yee) - AMES archive server, propulsion In Net memoriam: Ted Flinn NEXT: FAQ #2/15 - Network Resources ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 15 : Issue 365 ------------------------------