Date: Fri, 27 Nov 92 05:00:04 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V15 #462 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Fri, 27 Nov 92 Volume 15 : Issue 462 Today's Topics: Astro-FTP list, November issue Computer synchronisation by GPS Data on Stars in the vicinity of earth Environmental group GE Aerospace status? Kuiper belt planetesimals and Planet X claim Large inflatable/foamed space structures New Gaspra data, Earth pix (was Re: Galileo Update - 11/24/9 Pumpless Liquid Rocket? Satellite of the Month Shuttle replacement Stars listing... Untested O-Rings What comes after DC-1 (2 msgs) 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: 26 Nov 92 10:10:55 GMT From: M{kel{ Veikko Subject: Astro-FTP list, November issue Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space # # A S T R O - F T P L I S T # Updated 28.10.1992 # # This is a short description of anonymous-ftp file servers containing # astronomy and space research related material. I have included only those # servers where there are special subdirectories for astro stuff or much # material included into a general directories. This list is not a complete # data set of possible places, so I would be very happy of all kind of notices # and information depending on this listing. # # The newest version of this file is available via anonymous-ftp as: # # nic.funet.fi:/pub/astro/general/astroftp.txt # # There are also many mirror (copy) archives for simtel-20.army.mil (PC) and # sumex-aim.stanford.edu (Mac) which are not included into this list. Only some # of mirroring sites are listed. # # # Veikko Makela # Veikko.Makela@Helsinki.FI # *Computing Centre of Univ. Helsinki* # *Ursa Astronomical Association* # Server, IP # Contents # Directories akiu.gw.tohoku.ac.jp images 130.34.8.9 /pub/gif/astro /pub/gif/nasa ames.arc.nasa.gov spacecraf data and news,images,NASA data, 128.102.18.3 Spacelink texts,VICAR software,FAQ, /pub/SPACE mandarin.mit.edu c. atari.archive.umich.edu Atari 141.211.164.8 /atari/applications/astronomy archive.afit.af.mil Satellite software,documents,elements 129.92.1.66 /pub/space baboon.cv.nrao.edu AIPS document and patches,radioastronomy 192.33.115.103 image processing,FITS test images /pub/aips c.scs.uiuc.edu ROSAT,Starchart(PC) 128.174.90.3 /pub capella.eetech.mcgill.ca garbo.uwasa.fi c.,archive.umich.edu c., 132.206.1.17 other mirrors /wuarchive/mirrors3/ ccu1.aukuni.ac.nz PC 130.216.1.5 /msdos/astronomy (*) overseas connections refused chara.gsu.edu Electronical Journal of ASA 131.96.5.10 /asa daisy.learning.cs.cmu.edu Space technology texts 128.2.218.26 /public/space-tech epona.physics.ucg.ie Some software,predictions,images 140.203.1.3 /pub/astro /pub/space/pics fits.cx.nrao.edu FITS propotionals,radio-cdrom,radio images 192.33.115.8 /FITS/doc ftp.cco.caltech.edu Astronomy magazine index 1991 131.215.48.200 /pub/misc ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de PC,Amiga,general 130.149.17.7 /pub/astro ftp.funet.fi PC,Mac,CP/M,Atari,Amiga,databases,Unix, 128.214.6.100 HP48,OS/2,texts,News,solar reports,images, /pub/astro Satellite elements ftp.uni-kl.de iauc,Vista image reduction,asteroids 131.246.9.95 /pub/astro garbo.uwasa.fi PC 128.214.87.1 /pc/astronomy gipsy.vmars.tuwien.ac.at images 128.130.39.16 /pub/spacegifs hanauma.stanford.edu Unix,misc 36.51.0.16 /pub/astro ics.uci.edu images 128.195.1.1 /astro idlastro.gsfc.nasa.gov IDL routines 128.183.57.82 / iear.arts.rpi.edu images 128.113.6.10 /pub/graphics/astro iraf.noao.edu IRAF Software 140.252.1.1 /iraf iris1.ucis.dal.ca images 129.173.18.107 /pub/gif julius.cs.qub.ac.uk Space Digest 143.117.5.6 /pub/SpaceDigestArchive kauri.vuw.ac.nz Astrophysical software 130.195.11.3 /pub/astrophys kilroy.jpl.nasa.gov Satellite elements,spacecraft info 128.149.1.165 /pub/space lowell.edu Vista image reduction 192.103.11.2 /pub/vista mandarin.mit.edu Comets,asteroids,SAC,databases,Ephem,PC 18.82.0.21 /astro minnehaha.rhrk.uni-kl.de Starchart,iauc index 131.246.9.116 /pub/astro mcshh.hanse.de PC 192.76.134.1 /pub/msdos/astronom nachos.ssesco.com Satellite elements 192.55.187.18 /sat_elements ns3.hq.eso.org Test images 134.171.11.4 /pub/testimages nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov HST,IUE,Astro-1,NSSDCA info,Spacewarn, 128.183.36.23 FITS standard / osgate0.mei.co.jp images 132.182.49.2 /free/others/SPACE pioneer.unm.edu spacecraf data,catalogs,image processing 129.24.9.217 / plaza.aarnet.edu.au images,docs,garbo.uwasa.fi c. 139.130.4.6 /graphics/graphics/astro /micros/pc/garbo/astronomy pomona.claremont.edu Yale Bright Star Catalog 134.173.4.160 /YALE_BSC puffin.doc.ic.ac.uk archive.umich.edu c.,other mirrors 146.169.3.7 /mac/umich/graphics/astronomy ra.nrl.navy.mil Mac 128.60.0.21 /MacSciTech/astro rascal.ics.utexas.edu Mac 128.83.138.20 /mac rigel.acs.oakland.edu PC 141.210.10.117 /pub/msdos/astronomy rusmv1.rus.uni-stuttgart.de Atari 129.69.1.12 /soft/atari/applications/astronomy scavengerhunt.rs.itd.umich.edu Mac 141.211.164.153 /mac/graphics/astronomy simtel20.army.mil PC,CP/M 192.88.110.20 /msdos/educ /cpm sol.deakin.oz.au garbo.uwasa.fi c. 128.184.1.1 /pub/PC/chyde/astronomy sola.fcit.monash.edu.au HP48 130.194.224.224 /HP48/seq/astronomy /HP48/seq/misc solar.stanford.edu Solar reports 36.10.0.4 /pub solbourne.solbourne.com some PC programs 141.138.2.2 /pub/rp/as-is/astro stardent.arc.nasa.gov Martian map 128.102.21.44 /pub stsci.edu HSTMap(Mac),HST info 130.167.1.2 /Software sumex.stanford.edu Mac 36.44.0.6 /info-mac/app sun0.urz.uni-heidelberg.de PC,misc 129.206.100.126 /pub/msdos/astronomy tetra.gsfc.nasa.gov FITSIO subroutines 128.183.8.77 /pub/fitsio unbmvs1.csd.unb.ca Space geodesy,solar activity info 131.202.1.2 pub.canspace vab02.larc.nasa.gov images 128.155.23.47 /gifs/space vmd.cso.uiuc.edu Weather satellite images 128.174.5.98 /wx xi.uleth.ca Solar reports,auroral activity forecast 142.66.3.29 maps,solar images,x-ray plot,coronal /pub/solar emission plots # Some abbreviations: # # c = copy (mirror) of other archive # ----- # My other e-communication projects: # * E-mail contact addresses of interest groups in amateur astronomy # * European astronomy and space-related bulletin boards # * E-mail catalogue of Finnish amateur astronomers ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 09:02:49 GMT From: "David A. Boulton" Subject: Computer synchronisation by GPS Newsgroups: sci.space In article jeuck@unix.sri.com (Philip Jeuck) writes: > >An interesting footnote to this is GPS time is exactly 8 seconds ahead >(behind?) UTC time. I have never seen an explanation of why. Most GPS >clocks correct for this and report UTC time but not all navigation units >correct for it. So if you have a receiver that was meant for positioning >you might not want to use it for timing without checking it against WWV or >some other source of UTC. >Phil Jeuck >jeuck@unix.sri.com GPS is primarily intended as a navigation system, with time transfer as a useful byproduct. UTC adds leap seconds to maintain sync with the length of the day . This would be very annoying to a navigation receiver trying to track satellites. So in GPS time, leap seconds don't exist. The time difference is the amount of 'leap' that has accrued since the beginning of the GPS time epoch (back in the late 1970's). The current delta between UTC and GPS time is sent as part of the GPS data stream, so any receiver that doesn't show correct UTC is simply too stupid to live. Complain to your manufacturer. -- Dave -- -- David A. Boulton | knowledge is just a polite -- boulton@netcom.com | term for dead, -- Peregrine Associates | but not buried imagination. -- POB 1385 Redwood City, CA 94064 | -- e.e. cummings ------------------------------ Date: 26 Nov 92 10:06:26 GMT From: M{kel{ Veikko Subject: Data on Stars in the vicinity of earth Newsgroups: sci.space In article ganderson@nebula.decnet.lockheed.com writes: > My slow brain remembered, after I deleted the message, that a > person named M. Veikko from Finland posted a message to this > group about FTP sources of all sorts of information. You mean my astro-FTP listing... I apologize net people, I have again forgot to post the list into this newgroups. I'll do that very soon. The astro-FTP list, a listing FTP sites with astronomical and space- related stuff is available via FTP (of course) in: ftp.funet.fi:pub/astro/general/astroftp.txt Regars, Veikko Makela Computing Centre Univ. of Helsinki Finland ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Nov 92 11:24:15 EST From: John Roberts Subject: Environmental group -Subject: Re: Environmental group to sue NASA to stop rocket motor fuel testing -Date: 24 Nov 92 18:06:53 GMT -Organization: Princeton University -In article clarinews@clarinet.com (UPI) writes: -> -> NEW ORLEANS (UPI) -- Save Our Wetlands Inc. plans to file a lawsuit -> against NASA Tuesday, saying the space agency's proposed advanced solid -> rocket motor fuel testing program will release highly toxic substances -> into Louisiana's delicate wetlands. -> Officials of the New Orleans-based environmental organization said -> the legal action will seek to stop NASA from proceeding with its testing -> at the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Miss. They said -> it would be filed in U.S. District Court at Biloxi, Miss. -> Under NASA's plans, the testing is scheduled to begin in the next 18 -> to 24 months and will last for 30 years. NASA and its contractors have been testing SRMs for a long time. I had presumed that at least some of that was done at Stennis. (They're not planning to test *beryllium* fuel, are they?) -> Luke Fontana, founder-director of Save Our Wetlands, said the testing -> calls for firing the rockets at the rate of two to four annually over -> the 30-year period. -> ``Each test, according to NASA, will emit over 350 tons of -> particulates which release two major gases which we consider highly -> toxic,'' he said. ``They are hydrogen chloride and aluminum oxide.'' -> Fontana said NASA has claimed these gases will escape into the -> atmosphere and will not descend to earth. Sounds like Fontana is misquoting NASA. It all eventually comes down. But if care is taken to test only under favorable wind and weather conditions, very little will come down at any particular spot. ->However, he said his group's -> studies have shown that hydrogen chloride when mixed with water or -> moisture forms hydrochloric compound which is highly toxic. Hydrochloric acid? My, what a surprise! :-) Have they figured out yet what happens when vast quantities of sulfur-laden coal are burned to generate electrical power? That's demonstrably killing great numbers of trees in the mountains along the East Coast, and also in eastern Europe. But I think it will be shown that the magnitude of the coal problem dwarfs the contribution of SRM testing. -> Fontana said the lawsuit will show the NASA testing will not only -> violate a number of the Clean Air Act provisions but also the Endangered -> Species Act because of its impact on a bald eagle nesting site in the -> Louisiana wetlands. They evidently haven't seen the bald eagles at KSC, exposed to ~16 Shuttle SRBs plus the SRMs from a considerable number of expendable launchers every year, yet thriving. -Ironic, that what NASA, NSC, and the Administration failed to do might be -accomplished by an environmental group. Maybe this will finally get the ASRMs -of our backs. -| Carlos G. Niederstrasser | It is difficult to say what | -| Princeton Planetary Society | is impossible; for the dream of | -| carlosn@phoenix.princeton.edu |---------------------------------| -| space@phoenix.princeton.edu | Ad Astra per Ardua Nostra | Since NASA wouldn't even be conducting the tests without having previously filed an Environmental Impact Statement and gotten approval, I'd say that the chances of the protest group winning the suit are pretty slim. It sounds like the Christic Institute nonsense all over again. (Or maybe they'll win, and Stennis can be shut down and the land used more productively for row houses, paper mills, and shopping centers. :-) By the way, I heard that the ASRM project recently passed some significant milestone in testing. I don't know the details. John Roberts roberts@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov ------------------------------ Date: 25 Nov 92 09:36:56 GMT From: "Bruce F. Webster" Subject: GE Aerospace status? Newsgroups: sci.space In article back@paul.rutgers.edu (Steven Back) writes: > > There have been a large number of rumors running around about a > change in the status of GE Aerospace. > > So what's the real story? > Well, according to today's paper, GE sold their entire aerospace division to Martin-Marietta Corp for $3 billion. The only aerostuff GE will be doing from now on is selling aircraft engines to the military. The sale is subject to shareholder approval. ..bruce.. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bruce F. Webster | I love the Constitution of this land, CTO, Pages Software Inc | but I hate the damned rascals that bwebster@pages.com | administer it. #import | -- Brigham Young ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 14:08:10 GMT From: Andrew C Goldish Subject: Kuiper belt planetesimals and Planet X claim Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space Now that objects have been sighted that could possibly prove the existence of the Kuiper belt, is it possible that the combined gravity of all the planetesimals (at least those near Neptune) is enough to perturb Neptune's orbit? The planetesimals may be small, but if there are enough of them out there, some with possibly the size of Ceres as is the case with the asteroid belt...This could explain why we have not found any Planet X! A. Goldish ------------------------------ Date: 26 Nov 92 09:13:27 GMT From: Chris Welch Subject: Large inflatable/foamed space structures Newsgroups: sci.space I have some final year degree students who are interested in the deployment/manufacture of large space structures using either inflatable technology or some sort of foaming. This is out of my area of expertise, so I would be grateful if anyone out there could point me/them in the direction of some suitable papers/reports, or failing that some keywords to speed up our own line searches ! Email me, rather than post, please, as I life is a bit too hectic for me to read sci.space at the moment. Thanks in advance Chris -- | Chris Welch - The Urban Spaceman _______ | | _______ me_s420@uk.ac.kingston | ooo | /| |\ | ooo | | ooo | |/ ^ \| | ooo | "Second star on the right, straight on till morning. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 11:16:41 GMT From: David Woodsworth Subject: New Gaspra data, Earth pix (was Re: Galileo Update - 11/24/9 Newsgroups: sci.space > Bill Higgins-- Beam Jo writes: > > Earth encounter two coming up on 8 December. Hope Galileo doesn't > smack into Toutatis. Speaking of which ... Galileo will be passing Earth at about 200 miles up. What are the odds of it hitting any orbiting space debris? David. -- This is terrific, Nelson's Column has gone, McDonald's has gone, all that's left is me and the words Mostly Harmless. Any second now all that will be left is Mostly Harmless. And yesterday the planet seemed to be going so well. david_woodsworth@mindlink.bc.ca ------------------------------ Date: 26 Nov 1992 11:14:25 GMT From: Markus Pristovsek Subject: Pumpless Liquid Rocket? Newsgroups: sci.space Hello, such a cheap pumpless rocket was build a time ago, It was planned, to connect 100s of tubes, each with H2NO3 and a hydrocarbon like propan or something like this. It was a private german/french and algeric enterprise. There had been 2 testflight and a film. It has been a rocket of four tubes. They have been pumped by air-pressure, I think a 25 atm. (I have the magazine at home, if you're are interested in, I'll look for it.) Btw: This rocket base on the ancien german wasserfall-projekt. regards, Markus email: prissi@marie.physik.tu-berlin.de ------------------------------ Date: 25 Nov 92 20:52:44 GMT From: Bruce Watson Subject: Satellite of the Month Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro Artificial earth satellite USA-69 (NORAD #21147, COSPAR 1991-017A) was launched on a Titan 4 from the Western Space and Missle Center, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California on 1991 March 8. This satellite is in an orbit inclined to the earth's equator by 68.0 degrees. It makes one revolution of the earth every 98.1 minutes and is in a nearly circular orbit approximately 670 km above the surface of the earth. It is roughly cylindrical with a 4.5 m diameter and length of 18.0 m. It is thought to be an imaging synthetic aperture radar surveillance satellite and is designated Lacrosse 2 in Ted Molczan's list of 700+ two-line elements. I observed Lacrosse 2 five times in the last two years mainly at magnitude +1 or +2--last on the evening of 1992 Oct 24-25 While its total brightness is usually steady, there is a pulsing reddish coloration which is reminicent of a navigation light on a high flying aircraft. It is continuing a sequence of appearances in the evening twilight for North American observers. Lacrosse 2 18.0 4.5 0.0 3.9 1 21147U 91017 A 92315.74773539 .00000700 00000-0 12262-3 0 04 2 21147 67.9509 251.2415 0004688 23.9281 336.0719 14.67698778 06 -- Bruce Watson (wats@scicom) Tumbra, Zorkovick; Sparkula zoom krackadomando. ....alien language from an SF short story on a 78-RPM record I had as a kid. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Nov 92 13:00:48 EST From: John Roberts Subject: Shuttle replacement -From: BrianT@cup.portal.com (Brian Stuart Thorn) -Subject: Re: Shuttle replacement -Date: 25 Nov 92 05:17:20 GMT -Organization: The Portal System (TM) -On a related topic, why on Earth didn't NASA just put those joint heaters -on the SRB back in '86 and start flying again, fixing the other problems -one at a time through a reduced flight rate? Ah... politics. (1) There were many problems that had been building up prior to Challenger, and that was an excellent opportunity to fix them. (As you said, politics had to be somewhat of a factor.) (2) The new joint design did much more than just add heaters. As for going ahead and flying with components known to be seriously deficient - that's what they were doing before Challenger. The new joint design was already in the works before the accident. Even now, there are parts they'd like to improve (NASA has mentioned the need for better turbopumps several times recently), but analysis (hopefully more careful, this time) indicates that the risk is sufficiently low to justify continued flights in the meantime. (3) I don't think there were enough parts available to put together a working Shuttle. One of the things that had gotten out of hand was the spare parts supply - there was extensive cannibalization of each orbiter to get the parts to allow the next one to fly. When Challenger went, so did those parts. Building up the parts supply was one of the top priorities after Challenger. John Roberts roberts@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 10:50:13 GMT From: Gary Williams x3294 Subject: Stars listing... Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1eukv6INNj4u@darkstar.UCSC.EDU> macbeth@cats.ucsc.edu (Ryan Mercer Davis) writes: >the problem is, i need some stellar data: > Stars within 100ly, their luminosity, mass, spectral class > and motion (either spherical or orthogonal) There is a list of 70+ star systems within 20 ly in the appendix of the book "The Starflight Handbook, A Pioneer's Guide to Interstellar Travel" by Eugene Mallove and Gregory Matloff Published by Hohn Wiley and Sons Inc 1989 ISBN 0-471-61912-4 It gives names, spectral class, mass, luminosity, motion, x, y, z coordinates etc. If anyone knows of lists of stars further out, let us know. -- GARY WILLIAMS, Computing Services Section, Janet: G.Williams@UK.AC.CRC MRC-CRC & Human Genome Mapping Centre, Internet: G.Williams@CRC.AC.UK Watford Rd, HARROW, Middx, HA1 3UJ, UK Tel 081-869 3294 Fax 081-423 1275 ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 08:43:18 GMT From: Nigel Allen Subject: Untested O-Rings Newsgroups: sci.space,talk.politics.space,sci.engr,misc.legal Here is a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Cleveland Firm Will Pay U.S. $200,000 to Settle Dispute To: National and Business desks Contact: Joseph Krovisky of the U.S. Department of Justice, 202-514-2007 WASHINGTON, Nov. 24 -- The Department of Justice announced today that Parker Hannifin Corp. of Cleveland will pay the United States $200,000 to settle charges Parker violated the False Claims Act by submitting false or fraudulent certifications to government contractors concerning the testing of small O-rings used in a variety of applications on U.S. military and space programs. Stuart M. Gerson, assistant attorney general in charge of the Civil Division, said the government alleged that Parker certified that certain testing procedures had been followed pursuant to military specifications when, in fact, the testing was not performed. Although subsequent testing conducted at government expense indicated that no defective O-rings had been tendered by Parker, the United States pursued Parker for statutory penalties available under the False Claims Act for submitting false claims or using alse records or statements to get the government to pay such claims. The settlement was negotiated by the Commercial Litigation Banch of the Civil Division and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with assistance from the U.S. Attorney's office in Salt Lake City, Utah. Today's agreement culminated a lengthy investigation by NASA's Office of the Inspector General and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Naval Investigative Service. -30- -- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 10:09:33 GMT From: Dave Michelson Subject: What comes after DC-1 Newsgroups: sci.space In article hugh@whio.cosc.canterbury.ac.nz (Hugh Emberson) writes: > >The zeroth stage would be like a big SSTO with fuel tanks, lots of >engines and guidance. It would sit under the SSTO and act like a >first stage booster for the SSTO. When it was nearly out of fuel it >would seperate, fly back down and land -- ready for reuse. The book >says that with this the SSTO could reach GEO. > That sounds remarkably like NASA's original shuttle concept from the late 1960's.... -- Dave Michelson davem@ee.ubc.ca ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Nov 1992 10:56:52 GMT From: "Herity D." Subject: What comes after DC-1 Newsgroups: sci.space deanr@sco.COM (Dean Reece) writes: >How hard (how many mods) would need to be made to re-fuel a DC-1 on >orbit? Assume the fuel is there for starters. Weightless transfer of cryogenic liquids is non-trivial, I expect. See below for a solution. >What is the highest (circular) orbit that the DC-1 can attain if it >doesn't need to worry about fuel for landing? GEO? LEO with a single re-usable stage is difficult enough. >Is there any technical reason that a DC-1 couldn't make it to the moon The delta v needed to leave LEO, land on the moon and return to earth is slightly less than that needed to reach LEO. So a DC-1 could do that with a full payload each way and no infrastructure on the Moon. >Assuming fuel stores (or production) on the moon, could the DC-1 support >its own weight fully fueled on luna, or would a launch cradle need to be >constructed there? Probably, but that could be the first payload. >Again, assuming high orbit refueling, could DC-1 make Mars? Could it >return? (a 1 way trip might still be plenty useful if the DC-1 is in >mass production and fairly cheap, compared to a custom Mars lander) It could, if it used aerobraking on reaching Mars to either enter low orbit or land. Since a DC-1 will be _built_ for aerobraking, its an interesting prospect. By the way, the delta v needed to reach Mars is less than that for a Moon landing, if you use aerobraking. A fueled DC-1 in LEO could deliver more than 10 tons to a low orbit around any planet with an atmosphere, using aerobraking. This only excludes Mercury and Pluto. Soft landings on some satellites would also be possible. Better value than the space scuttle, ain't it? :-) >Could we strap on SRB's to the DC-1 to increase payload (bad joke... >forget I said it :-) Hold on there :-). I've been wondering myself ... Could the DC-1 design allow them to be bolted together either in parallel or in a staged configuration? This would allow heavy payloads to be lifted without a new vehicle and it would also allow a fuelled DC-1 to be delivered to LEO for all the interesting things mentioned above. I think the main impact at the design stage would be on vehicle configuration. It would be preferable to have the payload on top if we want to allow multiple DC-1s under a single payload. I seem to remember that the payload is to be in the middle of the vehicle. Is that correct? Is it important? Problems would include aerodynamics, in flight engine start and hypersonic stage seperation. None of these seem insuperable. Of course, I wouldn't propose that this be a core requirement, but it would be on the top of my list of options. -- ================================================================================ | Dominic Herity, dherity@.cs.tcd.ie, | Something clever | | Computer Science Dept, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland.| coming soon to a | | Tel : +353-1-6772941 ext 1720 Fax : +353-1-6772204 |signature near you| ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 15 : Issue 462 ------------------------------