Date: Fri, 12 Feb 93 10:02:09 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V16 #145 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Fri, 12 Feb 93 Volume 16 : Issue 145 Today's Topics: `Images from the Edge' CD-ROM: State-of-the-Art SPM Images Annonymous Postings!? Cooling re-entry vehicles. Ice Nukes Fred is dead again. Insurance/Liability slush Fun man-rating parachutes on Challenger? (2 msgs) Reasons for SS(was Re: Precursors to Fred (was Re: Sabatier Reactors.)) Retaining Goldin Space Station Freedom Media Handbook - 17/18 The day before Challenger exploded. Urgent help needed for SSTO and Delta Clipper 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: Sat, 6 Feb 1993 01:07:36 GMT From: MRuskin Subject: `Images from the Edge' CD-ROM: State-of-the-Art SPM Images Newsgroups: sci.philosophy.tech,sci.physics.fusion,sci.physicsPhysical,sci.skeptic,sci.space,sci.space.shuttle,sci.systems Marshall Ruskin, President of Specmark Information Engineering Inc. invites all interested to download sample images and product description for the `Images from the Edge' CD-ROM. Briefly, the CD-ROM is a collection of images of atomic landscapes, advanced semiconductors, superconductors and experimental surface chemistry among others. The colored, rendered images are of objects as small as a few atoms up to 170 microns. There is a sample set of images available via anonymous ftp on ic16.ee.umanitoba.ca, directory `specmark'. For additional information via email, contact ruskin@ee.umanitoba.ca ------------------------------ Date: 5 Feb 93 21:56:25 GMT From: nsmca@acad3.alaska.edu Subject: Annonymous Postings!? Newsgroups: sci.space I can think of one good reason for Annonynous postings, and that is whistle blowing.. If anything to get someone to look into the "problem" and such.. Problem with this annonynous posting thing is that people will clog the normal channels of reacting to whistle blowing with pure sensationalist garbage.. == Michael Adams alias Ghost Wheel/Morgoth NSMCA@acad2.alaska.edu ------------------------------ Date: 5 Feb 93 22:12:46 GMT From: nsmca@acad3.alaska.edu Subject: Cooling re-entry vehicles. Ice Nukes Newsgroups: sci.space In article , ewright@convex.com (Edward V. Wright) writes: > In nickh@CS.CMU.EDU (Nick Haines) writes: > >>I wouldn't suggest it as a skin heatshield, though. Maybe as an layer >>just inside your titanium skin; I would expect it to melt/sublime in >>layers that can then be circulated or dumped. Still, seems a waste to >>carry all that water into orbit and then just throw it away. > > Yeah, water in either the solid or liquid form is rather heavy. > In an "ice-sculpture" glider, the weight of the ice would be > more than any metal skin. > > Has everyone forgot about the problem of Ice coming into the atmospher at a fast speeds.. Namely that it heats up fast and then exploded. Something I have heard like having a nuke go off without the raditation.. If you use ICe as a heat sheild you'l get the same problem.. Maybe has a underskin that is possible.. But Id rather bank on following another ship out of space and ride behind it.. And let its heat shield protect you both.. Emergency matter, but possible(?).. == Michael Adams, nsmca@acad3.alaska.edu -- I'm not high, just jacked ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1993 23:22:15 GMT From: "Allen W. Sherzer" Subject: Fred is dead again. Newsgroups: sci.space,talk.politics.space There was a meeting on the NASA budget last weekend when Clinton was at Camp David. Director of OMB Panetta is proposing (and Clinton seems to be accepting) a $12 billion NASA budget. The money is to come from ending Freedom and ASRM. Interestingly enough Sec. Bensen seems to approve the end of Freedom apparently in hopes that the money will go to SSC. However, sources say that this may be used to do a serious re-write of the NASA Act over the next two years. Allen -- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Allen W. Sherzer | "A great man is one who does nothing but leaves | | aws@iti.org | nothing undone" | +----------------------130 DAYS TO FIRST FLIGHT OF DCX----------------------+ ------------------------------ Date: 5 Feb 93 22:17:20 GMT From: nsmca@acad3.alaska.edu Subject: Insurance/Liability slush Fun Newsgroups: sci.space Yep, insurance is a major factor in any "dangerous" endevour.. Auto Races and such.. Many end up going to Lloyds of London.. Maybe the US can start their own Lloyds for space related projects.. Use the money left over in the "Insurance" fund for the next year.. == Michael Adams alias Ghost Wheel/Morgoth NSMCA@acad2.alaska.edu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1993 22:41:56 GMT From: "Edward V. Wright" Subject: man-rating Newsgroups: sci.space In henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes: >> Just what is "man-rating" ? What sort of extras does the rocket need to >> be man rated? >Basically it amounts to (a) you spend a lot of money studying safety issues >in minute detail and generating lots of paper, and (b) you sometimes add >minor subsystems to the rocket, e.g. more redundancy in critical areas or >better warning of trouble. I believe the inspection procedures are different, too. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1993 23:12:55 GMT From: Dave Michelson Subject: parachutes on Challenger? Newsgroups: sci.space In article henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes: > >No. If they'd had what the crews now have -- partial-pressure suits, >oxygen, and parachutes -- they would have had a fighting chance of >survival. The breakup of the orbiter is unlikely to have killed them, >although it may have injured them. What killed them was the water >impact. > >Given pressure suits and oxygen, they would have stayed conscious. >Bailing out of a fragment of an aircraft is not exactly easy or safe, >but there would have been some chance. I wonder... More than likely, the crew cabin was tumbling as it descended. It would have taken a great deal of effort to get to the hatch, open it, and exit... I recall the case of a DC-3 preparing to drop ten or twelve sport parachutists when a structural failure caused the plane to tumble and crash. No one survived despite the fact they were all preparing to jump anyway. I don't recall the altitude at which that accident occured, though. Of course, as has been pointed out before, even a controlled water landing in an intact shuttle is dangerous. In such cases, it would be desirable to egress the shuttle and descend by parachute. Until the post-Challenger modifications, this was not an option. --- Dave Michelson University of British Columbia davem@ee.ubc.ca Antenna Laboratory ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1993 23:18:36 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: parachutes on Challenger? Newsgroups: sci.space In <1993Feb5.193727.13265@mksol.dseg.ti.com> pyron@skndiv.dseg.ti.com (Dillon Pyron) writes: >> >>Actually, Martin-Baker thought they could build an ejection system for >>the shuttle... and they are the world's most respected manufacturer of >>ejection seats. The upper-deck crew would go first, followed by the >>mid-deck crew, whose seats would follow rails up through the upper deck. >>I don't think anyone has done a system quite like that before, but >>"sequenced" ejection systems, in which seats fire in a preprogrammed >>sequence to avoid collisions etc., are fairly common. >I believe the B-58 had such a system. And several two-seat aircraft (like the >F-4) had a system which allowed the back-seater to go first. I don't believe there was ever anything quite so sophisticated as what Henry describes as being proposed for the Shuttle, although sequenced ejection seats aren't all that unusual. In fact, in multi-seat aircraft, they're more the rule than the exception. Note also that in some training jets, the front seat has to go *first*. There is a story, perhaps untrue (my memory isn't good enough to recall where I heard it), of a pilot-instructor who got himself cut in half by reaching up over a student to pull down his handle after the student blacked out. The student got out. The instructor got a (posthumous) medal. If nothing else, it gives you some idea of the attitude with which I would expect the pilot types greeted the idea that they could have ejection seats for them, but the Mission Specialists would have to be left behind when they punched out. -- "Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to live in the real world." -- Mary Shafer, NASA Ames Dryden ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fred.McCall@dseg.ti.com - I don't speak for others and they don't speak for me. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1993 21:51:08 GMT From: Henry Spencer Subject: Reasons for SS(was Re: Precursors to Fred (was Re: Sabatier Reactors.)) Newsgroups: sci.space In article Cohen@ssdgwy.mdc.com (Andy Cohen) writes: >> ... the folks who hoped NASA could deliver a hands-on manned microgravity >> lab (aka Space Station Freedom) in a reasonable length of time, with easy >> access and reasonable resources available... but have decided that it's >> not going to happen that way in their lifetimes. > >As I've been trying to communicate to everyone here...... >SPACE STATION FREEDOM'S LAUNCH SCHEDULES HAVE NEVER CHANGED SINCE THE >BEGINNING OF PHASE C...I.E., 1988... However, NASA has been officially working on, and selling, the project since at least 1982. And some of the early projections were just a wee bit more optimistic than the 1988 ones. (Like, for example, permanently manned operations by 1992 with a rather larger configuration.) -- C++ is the best example of second-system| Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology effect since OS/360. | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1993 22:40:02 GMT From: "Edward V. Wright" Subject: Retaining Goldin Newsgroups: sci.space In henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes: >Goldin is doing something extremely rare for a man in such a bureaucratic >position: he is making serious noises about reform, and even starting to >act on them. >Could you please explain to us why Goldin *needs* replacing? Henry, didn't you just answer your own question? :-) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1993 22:45:52 GMT From: Bruce Dunn Subject: Space Station Freedom Media Handbook - 17/18 Newsgroups: sci.space From NASA SPACELINK: "6_10_2_8.TXT" (17997 bytes) was created on 10-15-92 Acronyms & Abbreviations A&R Automation & Robotics AC Assembly Complete ACRV Assured Crew Return Vehicle ACS Attitude Control System AI Artificial Intelligence APA Attached Payload Accommodation APM Attached Pressurized Module ARC Ames Research Center ASI Italian Space Agency ASRF Automation Science Research Facility AXAF Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility BCD Baseline Configuration Document BCDU Battery Charge/Discharge Unit CAD Computer Aided Design CAE Computer Aided Engineering CAM Computer Aided Manufacturing C&T Communications & Tracking CDR Critical Design Review CELSS Closed Ecological Life Support System CESC Canadian Engineering Support Center CETA Crew and Equipment Translation Assembly CHeCs Crew Health Care System CMGs Control Momentum Gyro(s) COP Co-Orbiting Platform CRAF Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby CSA Canadian Space Agency CSG Center Spatial Guyanois (Kouroer, French Guiana) DC Direct Current DCR Design Certification Review DCSU Direct Current Switching Unit DDCU DC to DC Conversion Unit DDT&E Design, Development, Testing & Evaluation DMS Data Management System DOC Discipline Operations Center ECLSS Environmental Control and Life Support System EF Exposed Facility EIC Engineering and Integration Contract ELM Experiment Logistics Module ELV Expendable Launch Vehicle EOC Enhanced Operations Capability EOS Earth Observing System EPS Electrical Power System ESA European Space Agency ESC Engineering Support Center(s) ESS Energy Storage System EVA Extravehicular Activity FDIR Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery FEL First Element Launch FF Free-Flyer FMS Fluid Management System FTS Flight Telerobotic Servicer GEO Geosynchronous Earth Orbit GGSF Gas Grain Simulation Facility GN2 Gaseous Nitrogen GN&C Guidance, Navigation and Control GPS Global Positioning System GSE Ground Support Equipment GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center HMF Health Maintenance Facility HPRL Human Performance Research Laboratory HRF Human Research Facility HQ Headquarters (NASA) ICD Interface Control Document IEA Integrated Equipment Assembly IGA Intergovernmental Agreement IML International Microgravity Laboratory IOC Initial Operational Capability ISAS Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (Japan) ITA Integrated Truss Assembly IVA Intravehicular Activity IWGS Integrated Waste Gas System IWS Integrated Water System JEM Japanese Experiment Module JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory JSC Johnson Space Center KSC Kennedy Space Center LaRC Langley Research Center LCC Life Cycle Costs LCC Launch Control Center LDEF Long Duration Exposure Facility LEO Low Earth Orbit LeRC Lewis Research Center LVC Lunar Vehicle Capability MB Mission Build MBSU Main Bus Switching Unit MBPS Megabits per Second MCC Mission Control Center MITI Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Japan) ML Mini Laboratory MMD Mobile Servicing Center Maintenance Depot MOD Mission Operations Directorate (SSC) MOU Memorandum of Understanding MPAC Multipurpose Application Console MPLM Mini Pressurized Logistics Module MRS Mobile Remote Servicer MS Manned System MSC Mobile Servicing Center MSFC Marshall Space Flight Center MSS Mobile Servicing System MTC Man-Tended Capability MTE Mobile Transporter Equipment MTFF Man-Tended Free-Flyer MVC Mars Vehicle Capability NACA National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASDA National Space Development Agency of Japan NBL Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory NEDO New Energy Development Organization Ni-H2 Nickel-Hydrogen NSTS National Space Transportation System OAST Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology OCP Office of Commercial Programs ODS Operational Data System OF Outfitting Flight ORD Operational Readiness Date ORU Orbital Replaceable Unit OSF NASA Office of Space Flight OSSA NASA Office of Space Science and Applications OSSD NASA Office of Space Systems Development PCG Protein Crystal Growth PGS Power Generating System PLC Pressurized Logistics Carrier PLM Payload Logistics Module PM Pressurized Module PMAD Power Management and Distribution PMC Permanently Manned Capability PMMS Process Material Management System PMS Platform Management System POIC Payload Operations Integration Center POP Polar Orbiting Platform PRR Program Requirements Review PSC Platform Support Complex PSF Power Systems Facility PTC Payload Training Complex PTF Payload Training Facility PV Photovoltaic QA Quality Assurance RCS Reaction Control System RFP Request for Proposal RMS Remote Manipulator System ROC Regional Operations Center RPU Remote Power Unit SEI Space Exploration Initiative SE&I Systems Engineering & Integration SFU Space Flyer Unit (Japan) SLC Shuttle Launch Complex (VAFB) SOFIA Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy SPDM Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator SRR Systems Requirements Review SSAIAF Space Systems Automated Integration and Assembly Facility SSC John C. Stennis Space Center SSCC Space Station Control Center SSE Software Support Environment SSF Space Station Freedom SSFP Space Station Freedom Program SSFPO Space Station Freedom Program Office SSP Space Station Program SSPF Space Station Processing Facility SSRMS Space Station Remote Manipulator System SSTCB Space Station Training Control Board SSTF Space Station Training Facility STA Science and Technology Agency (Japan) STS Space Transportation System TCS Thermal Control System TDRSS Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System TMIS Technical and Management Information System ULC Unpressurized Logistics Carrier USL United States Laboratory VAB Vehicle Assembly Building VAC Volts Alternating Current VAFB Vandenberg Air Force Base VDC Volts Direct Current VRF Vestibular Research Facility VLSIC Very Large Scale Integrated Circuits WBS Work Breakdown Structure WP Work Package WTR Western Test Range XOC Extended Operations Capability ZOE Zone of Exclusion Glossary Artificial Intelligence (AI) The use of computers to perform tasks (such as robotics, vision interpretation, problem solving, etc.) with a minimum of preprogrammed direction. Attached Payloads Payloads located on manned base truss outside the pressurized modules. Automation Mechanization of a process or system to proceed without human intervention. Baseline A specification or product that has been reviewed, agreed upon, and that serves as the basis for further development and can be changed only through change control procedures. Baseline Program The first phase of the space station program, during which permanently manned capability is achieved, and including on-orbit installation of the following components: - Horizontal (transverse) boom - Photovoltaic arrays generating 56 kW of power - Flight Telerobotic Servicer - Four pressurized modules (U.S. Lab & Habitation, ESA Columbus Lab, JEM) - First increment of Mobile Servicing System - Resource Nodes Co-Orbiting Platform (COP) An unmanned platform, co-orbiting with the space station manned base, serviced by the Space Shuttle. Provided for in the reference evolutionary design of the space station program. Nominally, co- orbiting objects occupy different positions (right ascensions) in the same orbit. Columbus Attached Laboratory The ESA-provided attached pressurized module (APM) that is part of the baseline space station program configuration. Commonality The use of the same or similar hardware and software throughout the space station program to accomplish the same function, with the primary objective of reducing costs. Configuration 1) The arrangement of an information system as defined by the nature, number, and chief characteristics of its software and/or hardware functional units. 2) The requirements, design, and implementation that define a particular version of a system or system component. 3) The functional and/or physical characteristics of hardware/software as set forth in technical documentation and achieved in a product. Element One of the following components of the space station: U.S.-provided elements (pressurized) - Habitation Module - Laboratory Module - Resource Nodes - Hyperbaric Airlock - Logistics Module U.S.-provided elements (unpressurized) - Truss Element - Mobile Transporter (MSS Base) - Servicing Facility (Evolutionary Phase) - Solar Power Modules - Propulsion Assembly - Unpressurized Logistics Carriers Internationally provided elements (pressurized) - Columbus Module (ESA) - JEM Laboratory and Exposed Facility (Japan) - JEM Logistics Module (Japan) Internationally provided elements (unpressurized) - Mobile Servicing System (MSS) (Canada) - MSS Maintenance Depot (Canada) - Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (Canada) Evolutionary Growth Phase The third phase of the space station program, during which the following components might be added to the PMC configuration: - Eight Crew Capability - Enhanced to extended operational capability - Lunar Vehicle Capability Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV) A ground-launched propulsion vehicle, capable of placing a payload into Earth-orbit or Earth-escape trajectory, whose various stages are not designed for, nor intended for recovery and/or reuse. Expert Systems Software programs for solving problems in specific disciplines, composed of procedural rules for that discipline, a rule process, descriptive databases for that discipline, and a knowledge base provided by a human expert in that or a related disciplines. Examples of expert systems include programs that will translate complex, out-of-context statements from one foreign language to another, or that will diagnose and discriminate between diseases. Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Operations performed by crew members wearing life-support suits outside the habitable environment. First Element Launch (FEL) The first shuttle assembly flight of Space Station Freedom, including structures and those subsystems necessary to sustain the initial package until additional hardware is placed in orbit. Hook Aerospace jargon for a design feature to accommodate the addition or upgrade of computer software at some future time. Integration The process of combining software and, hardware elements, networks, personnel, and procedures into an overall system. Interface The point or area where a relationship exists between two or more parts, systems, programs, persons, or procedures wherein physical and functional compatibility is required. International Partner Any of the non-U.S. partners participating. and sharing in the design, development, and operation of the Space Station: Canadian Space Agency, National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan, the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI). Intravehicular Activities (IVA) Operations performed by crew members within the habitable environment. Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) The Japanese-provided laboratory module (including an Experiment Logistic Module) that is part of the baseline Station configuration. Level O Office of the NASA Administrator at Headquarters. Level I Management organization at the level of the NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Systems Development at NASA Headquarters. Level II Management organization at the level of the NASA Space Station Program Office in Reston, Virginia. Level III Management organization at the level of the NASA field centers Space Station Project Offices. Logistics The management, engineering, and support activities required to provide personnel, materials, consumables and expendables to the space station elements reliably. Life Cycle Cost (LCC) The entire cost of a program or project from inception to ultimate disposition. Estimating life cycle cost is important to understanding long term impacts of decision-making early in the lifetime of a program. Manned Base Major, manned core of the Space Station Freedom program providing permanent manned presence in space. The manned base includes all the U.S. and partner-provided manned elements, plus all the related systems and structure, except for co-orbiting platforms and free- flyers. Man-Tended Capability (MTC) The capability to operate the space station unmanned except for periodic visits by the Shuttle crew for servicing and maintenance. Man-Tended Free-Flyer (MTFF) An orbiting spacecraft that may require servicing. Free-flyers may have their own movement capability or require another vehicle for orbit maneuvers. The Columbus Free-Flying Laboratory is a MTFF. Mobile Servicing Center (MSC) Includes the Canadian MSS (below) and the U.S.-provided Mobile Transporter Element (MTE). Mobile Servicing System (MSS) The Canadian contribution to the MSC consisting of the Mobile Remote Servicer which includes the Space Station Remote Manipulator and its Base System as well as the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator. Operational Data System (ODS) Those hardware and software subsystems that interface with the sensors and effectors of the orbital space station elements and the data processing facilities of the various users. It is composed of both spaceborne and ground based subsystems. Orbital Replacement Unit (ORU) The lowest level of component or subsystem hardware and software that can be replaced in orbit. Payload An aggregate of instruments and software for performance of specific scientific or applications investigations or for commercial production. Payloads may be inside pressurized modules, attached to the space station structure, attached to a platform, or they may be free-flyers. Permanently Manned Capability (PMC) The capability to operate the space station with a human crew on board, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Achieved after the 17th assembly flight. Robotics The technology and devices (sensors, effectors, and computers) for carrying out, under human or automatic control, physical tasks that would otherwise require human abilities. (See automation.) Scar Aerospace jargon for design features to accommodate the addition or upgrade of hardware at some future time. Software Support Environment (SSE) Computer hardware, networks, software, standards, and procedures forming an integrated whole. In the context of the space station program, the function of the Software Support Environment is to enhance the design, implementation, test, integration, and maintenance of the Space Station Information System software for the duration of the program. Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) The station equivalent of the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (Canadarm) but which is mounted on a mobile transport mechanism. (See MSS.) It will be able to access all critical areas on the exterior of the Station and will be controlled by the crew from inside the pressurized modules and potentially during Extravehicular Activity or remotely from the Shuttle or Space Station Support Center. System One of the following components of the space stations: - Electrical Power System (EPS) - Data Management System (DMS) - Thermal Control System (TCS) - Communications and Tracking System (C&T) - Guidance, Navigation, and Control System (GN&C) - Extravehicular Activity System (EVA) - Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) - Man Systems System Integration The process of uniting the parts of the space station program into a complete and functioning space station with associated platforms. Results in the specific decisions (e.g., types of connectors to be used at an interface, modifications required as a result of a verification testing, etc.) required to accomplish this task. Systems Engineering The process of analytically determining the optimal space station configuration and associated program elements from a combined initial, life cycle, user cost, and user performance perspective. Results in an integrated set of requirements and an allocated set of functions and resources for the total system and its interaction with all related factors throughout development and operations. Technical and Management Information System (TMIS) An advanced network of compatible hardware and integrated software used to provide systematic technical and management information development and exchange between space station program personnel. Telescience Telescience identifies a mode of operation in which a distributed set of users can interact directly with their instruments, whether in space or ground facilities, with databases, data handling and processing facilities, and with each other. Telescience comprises the aspects of Teledesign, allowing remote interaction with design databases, transfer of drawings, etc.; Teleoperations, involving interactive instrument control, as well as operational interaction with crew from remote locations; and Teleanalysis, wherein users interact with data sets and data processing facilities from remote locations. User Any organization, group, or individual who uses or plans to use the space station or any other space station program facility for the operation of a payload or related mission. Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) A product-oriented, family-tree hierarchy which contains the levels of work required to be accomplished in order to achieve an objective. For a program, the WBS is developed by starting with the end objective of the program which is subdivided into projects which are each then further subdivided into systems, subsystems, assemblies, and components which are the logical and necessary steps to achieve each project objective. The total estimated cost for any item at any level is equal to the sum of the estimated costs for all items below it. Work Package (WP) A WP is a complement of program activities which is assigned to a selected responsible NASA field installation. A WP describes the type and scope of activity to be performed at any level of detail and can include development of hardware, software, interfaces, systems operation, and system utilization operations. The material above is one of many files from SPACELINK A Space-Related Informational Database Provided by the NASA Educational Affairs Division Operated by the Marshall Space Flight Center On a Data General ECLIPSE MV7800 Minicomputer SPACELINK may be contacted in three ways: 1) Using a modem, by phone at 205-895-0028 2) Using Telnet, at spacelink.msfc.nasa.gov 3) Using FTP capability. Username is anonymous and Password is guest. Address is 192.149.89.61. -- Bruce Dunn Vancouver, Canada Bruce_Dunn@mindlink.bc.ca ------------------------------ Date: 5 Feb 1993 17:28 CST From: wingo%cspara.decnet@Fedex.Msfc.Nasa.Gov Subject: The day before Challenger exploded. Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1ks56cINNka3@digex.digex.com>, prb@access.digex.com (Pat) writes... > > >Failure of the O-RIngs due to Weather is still disputed. THe rogers >commision was headed by a trade lawyer, not an engineer. Had it been the >Feynman commision or the Carter Commission or a Technical University >president heading it, I would have more confidence in the investigation. > If you actually go to the library and read the Rogers report several things come to light that have not been discussed here much. These are: Seal Burn through self sealing right after launch High Wind Shear There is a picture that we have seen from a camera that showed the seal rupturing at liftoff. There was a black smoke that came from the suspect seal. According to the Rogers Commission this rupture to the seal SELF SEALED due to melted SRB propellant melting the rings. Think about it folks, you have a rubber ring under a lot of heat from a gap created where heat from the SRB fuel reaction is burning. What happens to it. Slag and rubber sealed the rupture. The second is the wind shear. This was the worst wind shear of any Shuttle flight on record. If my memory serves the wind at 35,000-40,000 feet was about 85 mph. According to the Rogers report it was at this time that the O-ring seal re-ruptured. This initiated the burn through due to the fact that the overall propellant was much closer to the outside of the casing. (The SRB's burn fuel from the center outward)This is what caused the failure of The ET supports from melting a short time later. It seemed to be implied that the was a major contributing factor to the failure of Challanger that was never really reported. >Facts are that seal burn through was documented in warm weather also. >Also, the Challenger had gone through severe wind shear at the point >of failure. In fact the engines were rotated to the most extreme >point recorded to then when the SRB failed. > See the above >The facts are the STS was poorly designed from word one and that several >mechanisms contributed to the loss of 51-L. > >pat The fact is that beyond the management failures and the one major design flaw the system worked and is working well. AS the Shuttle matures in its operations even more of the marginal systems are being changed or replaced. There are other catagory one problems but all of the currently identified ones have been addressed. Calling the Shuttle a poor design is a personal opinion. It is not optimal, how can anything designed by Cap Weinburger be perfect, but it is doing the job, Allen not withstanding. Dennis, University of Alabama in Huntsville ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 5 Feb 1993 23:15:44 GMT From: "Allen W. Sherzer" Subject: Urgent help needed for SSTO and Delta Clipper Newsgroups: sci.space,talk.politics.space Bush put money in the SDIO budget to continue the SSRT program in the form of either DC-Y or a 2/3 scale reusable suborbital vehicle called DC-X Prime. However, there is a very good chance Clinton will remove this funding. If you want to help keep Delta Clipper alive, please write to each of the following people and ask for full funding of the SDIO SSRT program. 1. President Bill Clinton,1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC 20500 2. Vice President Al Gore, Office of the Vice President, Old Executive Office Building, Washington DC 20501. In addition, send a letter to Gore's Senate office (not many write there so it has more impact) at: Vice President Al Gore, S-212, Washington DC 20510. 3. Secretary Less Aspin, Secretary of Defense, The Pentagon 3E880, Washington DC 20301. 4. Director Leon Panetta, Office of Management and Budget, Room 252 Old Executive Office Building, 17TH Street & Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington DC 20503. Ask them to support full funding for the SDIO Single Stage Rocket Technology Program and ask that DC-Y construction be made a priority. If you only do one thing to support this program, this should be it. Letters by people like you worked to keep the Delta Clipper alive when Congress tried to kill it last June. More effort will be needed this time. Allen -- +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Allen W. Sherzer | "A great man is one who does nothing but leaves | | aws@iti.org | nothing undone" | +----------------------130 DAYS TO FIRST FLIGHT OF DCX----------------------+ ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 145 ------------------------------