Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 05:00:03 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V16 #081 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Wed, 27 Jan 93 Volume 16 : Issue 081 Today's Topics: "Jonathan's 1992 Launch Summary (JSR 139)" Apollo Program photos Ariane V.56/Galaxy IV Mission Data comets in 16th century ESA Press release Galileo update? JOB SEARCH Mir mission to Mars? Next unmanned missions to Venus *+ Organic heat shielding. Past Venerian landers (was Re: Next unmanned missions to Venus *) Precursors to Fred (was Re: Sabatier Reactors.) So what's happened to Henry Spencer? SSF & Mir & Energia Strength thru Space Research What is SSTO? Thoughts on Space. 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: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 07:45:54 GMT From: Thomas Enblom Subject: "Jonathan's 1992 Launch Summary (JSR 139)" Newsgroups: sci.space Hello netters! "Jonathans Space Report : 1992 Launch Summary" is an excellent survey covering the launches of 1992. I would also like to have Launch Summarys for the years 1991 and backwards. Do they exist? If so could somebody inform me where to find them or just email them to me. Thanks in advance. ================================================================================ Ericsson Telecom, Stockholm, Sweden Thomas Enblom, just another employee. ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jan 93 00:52:00 GMT From: George Gassaway Subject: Apollo Program photos Newsgroups: sci.space I am currently researching Apollo-7 for the purposes of creating and documenting detailed drawings of the Saturn-IB launch vehicle. This is for the purpose of building detailed scale models. A number of details have been documented by drawings and other materials obtained from Marshall. And some from photos taken of the two Saturn IB's on display (one in north Alabama [I-65 welcome center], and one at KSC). But, some details are still not resolved, mostly related to the spacecraft (especially boost cover) and portions of the launch vehicle that are not accurately represented in the two display vehicles. So, the point of this, I'm trying to locate photographs taken of the actual Apollo-7 vehicle and spacecraft (Service Module, and the boost cover/escape system). I do have some photos which show the whole vehicle on the pad from top to bottom, which are useful, but no detailed closer-up photos (some details are hinted at in such photos, but no way to see what the details really are). I know that NASA created some videodiscs about 10 years ago or so that catalogued thousands and thousands of photos, I think one disc was dedicated to the Apollo program itself. I would like to obtain such a disc to be able to go through it photo by photo to locate the kinds that would be useful, assuming that the photos on ths video disc did include the photo number for each, then I could use those numbers to get good quality 8 x 10 photographs printed by the appropriate NASA photocontractor. I asked about this on NASA Spacelink, and got a response indicating the file to look in which listed commercial material. Unfortunately, the file listings did not seem to have what I was looking for, the closest thing was an Apollo-17 videodisc that included videomovie footage and then some limited still photos. Of course, Apollo-17 was launched by a Saturn-V, while what I'm looking for is Apollo-7 which was launched by a Saturn-IB. Does anyone know of who might have Apollo program videodiscs that have the kind of numerous photo stills (with the critically important photo numbers) I'm talking about? Or suggest some other NASA branch to ask? Of course, ideally, I'd love to go somewhere to look through the actual photo files in person, but even if I knew where it would be hard to justify doing so (I'm in the Birmingham, AL area). I'm hoping to find the right kind of videodisc of stills that will be almost the same, which at least 10 years ago WAS possible. I just hope such a videodisc still exists. Thanks for any info you can give. - George Gassaway --- This copy of Freddie 1.2 is being evaluated. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jan 93 08:06:42 GMT From: Dean Adams Subject: Ariane V.56/Galaxy IV Mission Data Newsgroups: rec.video.satellite,sci.space ARIANESPACE FLIGHT 56 The 56th Ariane launch is scheduled to place the Hughes Communications GALAXY IV satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit adapted for the PVA (Perigee Velocity Augmentation) procedure, using an Ariane 42P launch vehicle equipped with 2 solid strap-on boosters (PAP). This will be the 3rd flight of an Ariane 4 in the 42P configuration. It will be launched from the Ariane launch complex ELA 2, in Kourou - French Guiana. The launch vehicle performance requirement for this mission is 3,055 kg of which 2,980 kg represents the satellite mass. The total vehicle mass at liftoff is 323,173 kg. Required Orbit Characteristics: Perigee Altitude ..... 200 km Apogee Altitude ...... 27,673 km at injection (prior to PVA) Inclination .......... 7 degrees The flight was delayed due to OPTUS launch failure investigation. Ariane 42P lift-off for Flight 56 is now scheduled on Tuesday, February 2, 1993, as soon as possible within the following launch window: Kourou Time GMT (01/03/93) Washington, DC 21:50 - 22:45 00:50 - 01:45 20:50 - 21:45 LAUNCH VEHICLE: Ariane 42P. This is a three-stage liquid fueled launcher with solid fueled strap-on boosters. The first stage (L220) is built by Aerospatiale, and is powered by 4 liquid fueled Viking V engines. The second stage (L33) is built by MBB Erno and is powered by a single Viking IV engine. Both the Viking IV and V engines are manufactured by SEP. The first and second stages use a biliquid UH25/N2O4 fuel. The third stage is built by Aerospatiale and is the H10 "plus", with larger fuel tanks and increased performance over past models. It uses a cryogenic H2/O2 fueled HM-7B engine built by SEP. The two strap-on boosters (PAP) are built by BPD and use a solid Flexadrine propellant. The fully assembled launch vehicle stands 54.5 meters high on the pad. It uses the Type 01 Ariane Short payload fairing. Flight Profile: +01:31 Solid strap-on booster jettison +03:27 First stage separation +03:30 Second stage ignition +04:35 Fairing jettison +05:30 Second stage separation +05:43 Third stage ignition +18:11 Third stage shutdown / orbit injection +20:00 GALAXY IV separation +20:46 Third stage avoidance maneuver +22:46 End of Ariane mission 52 Perigee Velocity Augmentation (PVA): The PVA procedure used for the second time by Ariane (after the successful Flight 54 mission for Galaxy VII) is a method allowing an increase in the on-orbit life of a satellite by optimizing the combined performance of a launch vehicle and satellite. For this mission, the Ariane 42P will lift around 280 kg of additional satellite propellants. The resulting apogee, with respect to standard geostationary orbit, will be 27,600 km instead of 35,975. The Galaxy IV satellite will use its apogee motor at the 3rd and 6th perigee to raise the apogee to the altitude normally used for circularization of the orbit. The on-orbit life increase is due to the optimization of the combined performances of satellite/launcher. The 280 kg of additional fuel in the satellite tanks will to a significant amount remain after the satellite has reached the standard transfer orbit. This will allow the increase of the on-orbit life over that obtained by a launch directly to the standard transfer orbit. This procedure can only be used by satellites equipped with a liquid bi-propellant apogee motor (which can be restarted), and whose tank capacity allows fuel in excess of that necessary for a standard GTO. Due to the small inclination of the Ariane mission (7 degrees), this capacity is often available when the satellites are built to be launched from sites further away from the equator. This combination of HS-601/Ariane 42P/PVA allows an increase of more than one year of orbital life for the commercial use of the satellite. PAYLOAD: Galaxy IV is the second satellite with a combined C-band and Ku-band capability in the Galaxy fleet owned by Hughes Communications. It is also the second Arianespace launch of the HS-601 three-axis stabilized type satellite manufactured by Hughes Aircraft Company. Total mass at lift-off .... 2,980 kg Mass at GEO insertion ..... 1,692 kg Dry mass .................. 1,315 kg On-board power ............ 4,700 W (end of life) Nominal lifetime .......... 13.5 years Span of solar panels ...... 26.5 m On-Orbit position ......... 99 degrees west, over the East Pacific Ocean. Transmission capacity: 24/30 Ku-band transponders of 50W each. 24/30 C-band transponders of 16W each. In-flight operations: Apogee motor ignition for PVA maneuver is at about 24 hrs after launch at the 3rd perigee, and about 60 hrs after launch at the 6th perigee. First regular apogee motor firing is at the 12th apogee, about 5 days after launch. Further firing will be done at 14th and 15th apogee. Deployment of solar panels is at about 10 days after launch. LAUNCH COVERAGE: All Ariane missions are broadcast live via satellite from Kourou. Coverage begins at 30 minutes before launch and continues until all payloads have been deployed. This mission will likely be carried on Galaxy 6, however it could end up being located on a different satellite such as Galaxy 2. -{ Dean Adams }- ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jan 93 15:31:13 GMT From: O.MostynOwen@cs.ucl.ac.uk Subject: comets in 16th century Newsgroups: sci.space Please can someone help me? I need to find references to the major comet sightings in the year 1506. Is there a compendium of such things, and if so what is it called. Does anyone know of ANY comet sightings in the early 16th century. I have been asked by a historian to calculate the countries in which a comet would be visible given that it was visible in Britain at a particular date. His reference does not specify in which constellation the comet was seen in 1506, hence my question. Thanking you, ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Owen Mostyn-Owen +44 71 387 7050 ext 3673 Internet: omostyno@cs.ucl.ac.uk Computer Science, University College London, Gower Street, LONDON WC1E 6BT ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jan 93 14:24:55 CET From: Hermann Schneider Subject: ESA Press release Press Release Nr.04-93 Paris, 25 January 1993 ESA's Spacelab once again in space for Europe Europe and ESA will soon be once more in the forefront of manned space flight. The launch of the second German Spacelab mission (D-2) is scheduled for 25 February 1993. For nine days, Space Shuttle Columbia will carry in its cargo bay the ESA developed Spacelab on a mission to conduct fundamental research in the fields of material sciences (fluid physics and material processes), life sciences (biology, human physiology and radiation biology), astronomy, Earth observation and robotics. A crew of 7 astronauts, 5 from NASA and 2 payload specialists from DLR -the German Aerospace Research Establishment - will have the task of executing some 90 experiments, 32 of which have been funded and developed under ESA responsibility for scientists from university and research institutes spread all over Europe. Spacelab as a manned orbiting laboratory, has already flown 6 times. Spacelab technology (unmanned, pallet-only versions of the laboratory) has also been used several other times. The year 1993 marks both the 20th anniversary of the programme and the 10th anniversary of the first flight which occurred in November 1983 (STS-9/ Spacelab 1). This will be the second time that the responsibility for the complete scientific programme of a manned space mission is fully in German hands. As was the case for the Spacelab D-1 mission in 1985, DLR has been entrusted by the German Federal Ministry for Research and Technology (BMFT) with the project management, the training of the scientific astronauts and the operation of the payload. DLR's dedicated space operations control centre for D-2 is located in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich in Germany. ESA's contribution to this mission is remarkable: five of the 32 ESA experiments flown are contained in the Advanced Fluid Physics Module (AFPM) for investigation in fluid physics and 19 are placed in the so called Anthrorack for human physiology research in microgravity. Furthermore, six experiments in the field of material synthesis and two experiments for the future Columbus Attached Laboratory -the European contribution to the International Space Station Freedom- will also be flown on D-2. The D-2 press centre will be set-up at DLR's Operations Control Centre in Oberpfaffenhofen for the duration of the whole mission. From 09h00 till 18h00 media will be able to cover the mission in all its aspects through video and audio links and follow mission control specialists and scientists from close by. Status briefings will be held in German daily and press releases will also be issued in German and English. Interviews with key ESA personnel can be arranged through the ESA Public Relations desk in the press centre. News media intending to cover the mission from the D-2 press centre will have to seek accreditation in writing or by Fax directly at: DLR Public Affairs Office, Linder Hohe - D-5000 Koln Porz (Germany) Fax: + 49 2203 601 3249 with copy to : ESA Public Relations Office 8-10 Rue Mario Nikis - F-75015 Paris (Fax: + 33 1 42 73 7690) Regards Hermann Schneider Network Coordinator ESOC (European Space Agency's Operations Centre) ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jan 1993 16:45 UT From: Ron Baalke Subject: Galileo update? Newsgroups: sci.space In article <93025.205009IO20721@MAINE.MAINE.EDU>, Michael Petersen writes... >Could someone tell me if NASA has successfully deployed the high-gain >antenna on Galileo yet? I heard that their most "aggressive" attempts >would occur after the the last Earth flyby. The recent hammerings have not opened the antenna. The first hammering attempt turned the ballscrew an additional full rotation, but it has not budged since. Despite 13,000+ hammerings at different frequencies and at various antenna temperatures, the ribs are still stuck. One last attempt will be made by spinning up the spacecraft from 3 rpm to 10 rpm in March, but this is not expected to do much. March has been designated as the deadline to open the antenna. After that the focus will be on the Ida flyby in August and a low gain antenna mission. One other event that may open the antenna is the Jupiter orbit insertion in December 1995. The solid rotor motor will fire for an hour and the resulting vibrations may jar the antenna loose, but this is to be considered a long shot. ___ _____ ___ /_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov | | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab | ___| | | | |__) |/ | | |__ M/S 525-3684 Telos | Every once in a while, /___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | try pushing your luck. |_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jan 93 13:26:56 +0100 From: Luca Giovanetti Sismat Genova Subject: JOB SEARCH Newsgroups: sci.space I'm an electronic engineer graduated at Genoa's University in July 91, and in 1992 I completed the miliary service as officier in Italian Navy. In that year I've also obtained the professional abilitation. My thesis is about parallel processing on transputer machine and was developed with P. Morasso and R. Zaccaria at dist.unige.it. At the bottom of this mail you can find my CV: hope you find it interesting. You can find me at this email address: bordy@edy.elettra.trieste.it or, by paper or phone, at the address or number you here below. Please, answer me also if it isn't good for you. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Curriculum ---------- Name : LOMBARDO LUCA Birth : December, 31 1965 Sanremo IMPERIA (Italy). Phone : +39 184 295557. Address : Via Col. Aprosio 11, Vallecrosia IMPERIA (Italy). Military service: Completed, as officier of Italian Navy (Naval weapon). Marital status : Single. High school : Industrial Technical Institute "G.Galilei" of Imperia (ITALY). Mark : 48/60. University : DIST - Faculty of Engineering - University of Genoa (ITALY). Degree : Doctor in electronic engineering specialized on robotics, articial intelligence and bio-engineering. Mark : 103/110 in july 1991. Thesis : Parallel Computing on Transputer: self-organizing methods for distributed process management. Advisors : Pietro MORASSO, Renato ZACCARIA and Gianni VERCELLI of DIST UNI-Ge ( ITALY ). Abilitation : Electronic Engineering on May 1992 by University of Genoa (ITALY). Languages : Italian, English, French (last at school level). Previous experience: ------------------- - University Level: - Pascal. - C language ( implementation of "BLOCH's equation" ). - C++ language ( implementation of LALR Parser ). - MsDos environment ( C programs dev. ) and major SW. - Unix environment ( programs dev. and OS course ). - Z80 architecture. - Developing of database for an expert-system ( SILDAN of DIBE-University of Genoa ), able to recognize organs on TAC and NMR images. - Thesis: - The thesis work focussed on the development of a scheduler library to manage a multi-thread process on a multi-processor machine (the MEIKO Computing Surface Transputer Based Machine). State of the art features, e.g. competition and collaboration of neurons have been implemented, to provide fault tollerance capability and net-processor topology indipendence. - Work Level: - 86th Officer Course ( Engineering Corp ), at Naval Military Academy ( Livorno - ITALY ) - Management and sw. programming at Logistical Management Division of "La Maddalena" Sardinia Navy Arsenal with rank of liutenent. Preferences ----------- - Research jobs in: - Virtual systems and simulators - Astronomy and spatial systems - Robotics - Submariner and flying systems - Available to transfer. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MANY THANKS IN ADVANCE !!! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jan 93 13:49:07 EET From: flb@flb.optiplan.fi (F.Baube x554) Subject: Mir mission to Mars? > A flyby mission would require a total delta-V of the same magnitude as the > mission outlined above, or about 5km/s for the Proton stage. Sorry to be dense, but in this context does "flyby" mean not even properly *orbiting* Mars, perhaps to take a pick-axe to Phobos and Deimos, but rather merely sailing on by ? > > However, if the Finn government were to provide sufficient funding, I'm sure a > > human flight to Mars could be arranged. This will happen only is it can be repackaged as a support plan for the farmers. Perhaps with enough hydroponics on board .. -- * Fred Baube ..when you think your Toys you hear Laughter * Optiplan O.Y. * have gone Berserk cracking through the Walls * baube@optiplan.fi * it's an illUsion you're sent Spinning * GU/MSFS * you Cannot Shirk you Have No Choice * #include * -- Sioux proverb * Where is the follow-on * Everybody has a right to be stupid, but some * to P.G.P. ?? * people abuse the privilege -- Josef Stalin ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jan 1993 16:29 UT From: Ron Baalke Subject: Next unmanned missions to Venus *+ Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1993Jan24.063904.27492@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>, rkornilo@nyx.cs.du.edu (Ryan Korniloff) writes: > Hmmm, well, I guess if we were to make any kind of serious exploration of > Venus's surface we would have to develop electronics componants that > operate comforably at 900f. And metals that can protect the inards of the > probe from terrential sulfuric acid down-poors.. > How WOULD we do that by the way? Anyone know?? The main constraint on the spacecraft's survival on the surface of Venus has been the temperature. The Soviets often chilled the interior of their spacecraft before parachuting them down to the surface. 900F is about 2 to 3 times the temperature of your conventional oven. Lead melts at that temperature. As a comparison, the Viking landers were sterilized by heating them to 235F for 24 hours. Anything on the surface of Venus is literally being roasted. ___ _____ ___ /_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov | | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab | ___| | | | |__) |/ | | |__ M/S 525-3684 Telos | Every once in a while, /___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | try pushing your luck. |_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jan 93 10:59:53 GMT From: Del Cotter Subject: Organic heat shielding. Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1juo8qINN3ul@digex.digex.com> prb@access.digex.com (Pat) writes: >I think it was the S-IV where to save weight >they put the insulation outside the tank, because the cold made the >metal stronger, thus saving weight. That does sound unlikely; the increase in tensile strength would be small, while the los of fracture toughness (ie. increased brittleness) would be horrifying. >Someone who has the saturn tech ref will be able to post for sure. Please. -- ',' ' ',',' | | ',' ' ',',' ', ,',' | Del Cotter mt90dac@brunel.ac.uk | ', ,',' ',' | | ',' ------------------------------ Date: 25 Jan 93 20:31:00 -0600 From: Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey Subject: Past Venerian landers (was Re: Next unmanned missions to Venus *) Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1993Jan24.063904.27492@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>, rkornilo@nyx.cs.du.edu (Ryan Korniloff) writes: > Hmmm, well, I guess if we were to make any kind of serious exploration of > Venus's surface we would have to develop electronics componants that > operate comforably at 900f. And metals that can protect the inards of the > probe from terrential sulfuric acid down-poors.. > How WOULD we do that by the way? Anyone know?? Someone should point out to Ryan that it's been done, repeatedly. From the FAQ (thanks to the invaluable Larry Klaes): SOVIET VENUS PROBES VENERA 3 - Attempt to place a lander capsule on Venusian surface. Transmissions ceased just before encounter and entire probe became the first craft to impact on another planet in 1966. VENERA 4 - First probe to successfully return data while descending through Venusian atmosphere. Crushed by air pressure before reaching surface in 1967. VENERA 5 and 6 mission profiles similar in 1969. VENERA 7 - First probe to return data from the surface of another planet in 1970. VENERA 8 accomplished a more detailed mission in 1972. VENERA 9 - Sent first image of Venusian surface in 1975. Was also the first probe to orbit Venus. VENERA 10 accomplished similar mission. VENERA 13 - Returned first color images of Venusian surface in 1982. VENERA 14 accomplished similar mission. VENERA 15 - Accomplished radar mapping with VENERA 16 of sections of planet's surface in 1983 more detailed than PVO. VEGA 1 - Accomplished with VEGA 2 first balloon probes of Venusian atmosphere in 1985, including two landers. Flyby buses went on to become first spacecraft to study Comet Halley close-up in March of 1986. US PLANETARY MISSIONS 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 its batteries failed. ========= Mind you, it's not *easy* to keep equipment working on the surface of Venus, and all these gadgets failed after a short time (like hours). But they were successful in learning a lot about conditions there. In particular, I believe the Soviets designed their landers with good insulation and tried to keep them cool for as long as possible. I don't think sulfuric acid is a real problem with proper choice of materials. Kepler: "Did you know that Tycho, | Bill Higgins, Beam Jockey my boss, had an artificial nose?" | Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Galileo: "An artificial nose! | Bitnet: HIGGINS@FNAL.BITNET How did he smell?" | Internet: HIGGINS@FNAL.FNAL.GOV Kepler: "Terrible!" | SPAN/Hepnet: 43011::HIGGINS ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jan 93 04:18:10 GMT From: Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey Subject: Precursors to Fred (was Re: Sabatier Reactors.) Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1993Jan26.030319.11373@iti.org>, aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer) writes: > In article <24JAN199320503892@judy.uh.edu> wingo%cspara.decnet@Fedex.Msfc.Nasa.Gov writes: >>Also for your information, NASA has been flying station precursors for >>over ten years now. They are called Spacelab. > > Spacelab is an experiment carrier. It will tell us nothing about > building large scale structures in space and cannot be considered a > station precursor. So what? You are wrong on this one, Allen. Fred is supposed to be some kind of laboratory. Therefore it's important to develop a program of experiments and useful techniques, make mistakes, etc. Then when experiments are flown aboard Fred, they won't be starting from scratch and they will have a greater chance of success. Spacelab has been the testbed for Americans, Japanese, and Europeans to gather experience in microgravity and space science experiments. In that sense it is certainly a precursor to the space station. Does Spacelab cost too much to operate? Sure. Does it give experience in assembling large-scale structures? No. But your assertion that it "cannot be considered a station precursor" is erroneous. >>These experiments are all important as precursors to SSF because we can get >>all of the bugs out of the experiments > > I would rather get the bus out of the station first and then worry about > the experiments. Launchers and payloads must develop together; without abundant payloads and a user community, new launchers (such as you-know-what) don't have a chance of succeeding financially. If the Revolution ever happens, those lucky people flying *more* payloads *more* often are going to be very glad to have Shuttle, Spacelab, Salyut, Mir, and Skylab experience to guide their engineering. Bill Higgins, Beam Jockey | "I'm gonna keep on writing songs Fermilab | until I write the song Bitnet: HIGGINS@FNAL.BITNET | that makes the guys in Detroit Internet: HIGGINS@FNAL.FNAL.GOV | who draw the cars SPAN/Hepnet: 43011::HIGGINS | put tailfins on 'em again." --John Prine ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 16:27:03 GMT From: Thomas Clarke Subject: So what's happened to Henry Spencer? Newsgroups: sci.space In article hevans@estwm0.wm.estec.esa.nl (Hugh D.R. Evans (ESA/ESTEC/WMA Netherlands)) writes: > In article , schumach@convex.com (Richard A. Schumacher) writes: > |>Does anyone know why Henry Spencer has not posted recently? > |>His were consistently the most interesting, informative > |>and terse posts. What a shame if the intemperate remark by > |>that Harvard snotnose drove him away... > |> > |> > > Perhaps he is on vacation - with Elvis? > > Hugh Evans - hevans@estwm0.wm.estec.esa.nl Elvis is not on vacation. According to Douglas Adams' latest book "Mostly Harmless" he is singing in a club he bought on the planet King. When Ford Prefect asked Elvis if he was abducted by space aliens, he replied "No. I went voluntarily." -- Thomas Clarke Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central FL 12424 Research Parkway, Suite 300, Orlando, FL 32826 (407)658-5030, FAX: (407)658-5059, clarke@acme.ucf.edu ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jan 93 17:00:42 GMT From: Sean Michael Gallagher Subject: SSF & Mir & Energia Newsgroups: sci.space roberts@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov (John Roberts) writes: >Energia (it's only flown twice). The main problem with choosing these options >at this point is that if they are to be used, the decision should have been >made several years ago. Yes, but several years ago we were too busy worrying about whether the Soviets' more advanced booster technology would be used to lob a couple of hundred nuclear missles our way. The Russians are offering us help (for a fee), so why are we so unwilling to accept it? Goldin's NASA is supposed to work smarter, faster, and cheaper, and Energia is a heckuva lot faster and cheaper than Shuttle, and that seems like a smart idea to me. ------------------------------ Date: 26 Jan 93 02:37:17 GMT From: nsmca@acad3.alaska.edu Subject: Strength thru Space Research Newsgroups: sci.space This might be an old reason for space flight and all, so please no flames.. I know I have seen the effect when a "higher civilization" runs into a "less civilized" culture and its effects.. I know for the sake of human culture I would rather be the "higher" than the "lower". When we do finally run into/meet/hear of a "alien" culture in the stars (SETI and such), we had better be higher or we will loose it.. Imagine human reservations, not a pretty sight, think of any culture that is less storng than another and how it gets bulled around and even exterminated.. I knwo of the scientific and benefits of space research for the short time, but what of the long term benefits? If I sound like a UFO nut or crack pot, I hope I am not.. Quyanna for your time.. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 05:41:55 GMT From: Josh Hopkins Subject: What is SSTO? Thoughts on Space. Newsgroups: sci.space nsmca@acad3.alaska.edu writes: >If there is no [m]arket for SSTO, then why is there three contractors?? Right now there is a large surplus of launchers and a shortage of payloads. That hasn't stopped people from proposing new vehicles. If you include paper studies with little serious potential for succes (which I'm assuming the other SSTO proposals are) then there are probably several dozen new vehicles being proposed for a market that doesn't need them. >If the US Defense can let go some its budget we might be able to get the DC-X >up, I think the Japanese are working on alot of things, after all the have the >money.. A combo Gov/Private Corp effort.. The DoD _is_ letting go of a large portion of its budget. It has however already paid for DC-X (which should not be confused with an orbital follow on). -- Josh Hopkins jbh55289@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu Q: How do you tell a novice from an expert. A: A novice hesitates before doing something stupid. ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 081 ------------------------------