Date: Sun, 7 Mar 93 05:12:21 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V16 #284 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Sun, 7 Mar 93 Volume 16 : Issue 284 Today's Topics: Astro/Space Frequently Seen Acronyms Charon David Sternlight and wasted bandwidth Fallen Angels (2 msgs) Gaspra Animation Getting people into S Jupiter and Venus followons (was Re: Refueling in orbit) Mir visible UK/Eire Nasa and the free market Shuttle budget TEST...(Don't read this) (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: 6 Mar 1993 00:00:09 -0500 From: Mark Bradford Subject: Astro/Space Frequently Seen Acronyms Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space,sci.space.shuttle,news.answers Archive-name: space/acronyms Edition: 8 Acronym List for sci.astro, sci.space, and sci.space.shuttle: Edition 8, 1992 Dec 7 Last posted: 1992 Aug 27 This list is offered as a reference for translating commonly appearing acronyms in the space-related newsgroups. If I forgot or botched your favorite acronym, please let me know! Also, if there's an acronym *not* on this list that confuses you, drop me a line, and if I can figure it out, I'll add it to the list. Note that this is intended to be a reference for *frequently seen* acronyms, and is most emphatically *not* encyclopedic. If I incorporated every acronym I ever saw, I'd soon run out of disk space! :-) The list will be posted at regular intervals, every 30 days. All comments regarding it are welcome; I'm reachable as bradfrd2@ncar.ucar.edu. Note that this just tells what the acronyms stand for -- you're on your own for figuring out what they *mean*! Note also that the total number of acronyms in use far exceeds what I can list; special-purpose acronyms that are essentially always explained as they're introduced are omitted. Further, some acronyms stand for more than one thing; as of Edition 3 of the list, these acronyms appear on multiple lines, unless they're simply different ways of referring to the same thing. Thanks to everybody who's sent suggestions since the first version of the list, and especially to Garrett A. Wollman (wollman@griffin.uvm.edu), who is maintaining an independent list, somewhat more verbose in character than mine, and to Daniel Fischer (dfi@specklec.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de), who is maintaining a truly HUGE list (535 at last count) of acronyms and terms, mostly in German (which I read, fortunately). Special thanks this time to Ken Hollis at NASA, who sent me a copy of NASA Reference Publication 1059 Revised: _Space Transportation System and Associated Payloads: Glossary, Acronyms, and Abbreviations_, a truly mammoth tome -- almost 300 pages of TLAs. Special Bonus! At the end of this posting, you will find a perl program written by none other than Larry Wall, whose purpose is to scramble the acronym list in an entertaining fashion. Thanks, Larry! A&A: Astronomy and Astrophysics AAO: Anglo-Australian Observatory AAS: American Astronomical Society AAS: American Astronautical Society AAVSO: American Association of Variable Star Observers ACE: Advanced Composition Explorer ACRV: Assured Crew Return Vehicle (or) Astronaut Crew Rescue Vehicle ADFRF: Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility (was DFRF) (NASA) AGN: Active Galactic Nucleus AGU: American Geophysical Union AIAA: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics AIPS: Astronomical Image Processing System AJ: Astronomical Journal ALEXIS: Array of Low Energy X-ray Imaging Sensors ALPO: Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers ALS: Advanced Launch System ANSI: American National Standards Institute AOA: Abort Once Around (Shuttle abort plan) AOCS: Attitude and Orbit Control System Ap.J: Astrophysical Journal APM: Attached Pressurized Module (a.k.a. Columbus) APU: Auxiliary Power Unit ARC: Ames Research Center (NASA) ARTEMIS: Advanced Relay TEchnology MISsion ASA: Astronomical Society of the Atlantic ASI: Agenzia Spaziale Italiano ASRM: Advanced Solid Rocket Motor ATDRS: Advanced Tracking and Data Relay Satellite ATLAS: Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science ATM: Amateur Telescope Maker ATO: Abort To Orbit (Shuttle abort plan) AU: Astronomical Unit AURA: Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy AW&ST: Aviation Week and Space Technology (a.k.a. AvLeak) AXAF: Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility BATSE: Burst And Transient Source Experiment (on CGRO) BBXRT: Broad-Band X-Ray Telescope (ASTRO package) BEM: Bug-Eyed Monster BH: Black Hole BIMA: Berkeley Illinois Maryland Array BNSC: British National Space Centre BTW: By The Way C&T: Communications & Tracking CCAFS: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station CCD: Charge-Coupled Device CCDS: Centers for the Commercial Development of Space CD-ROM: Compact Disk Read-Only Memory CFA: Center For Astrophysics CFC: ChloroFluoroCarbon CFF: Columbus Free Flyer CFHT: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope CGRO: (Arthur Holley) Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (was GRO) CHARA: Center for High Angular Resolution Astronomy CIRRIS: Cryogenic InfraRed Radiance Instrument for Shuttle CIT: Circumstellar Imaging Telescope CM: Command Module (Apollo spacecraft) CMCC: Central Mission Control Centre (ESA) CNES: Centre National d'Etude Spatiales CNO: Carbon-Nitrogen-Oxygen CNSR: Comet Nucleus Sample Return COBE: COsmic Background Explorer COMPTEL: COMPton TELescope (on CGRO) COSTAR: Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement CRAF: Comet Rendezvous / Asteroid Flyby CRRES: Combined Release / Radiation Effects Satellite CSM: Command and Service Module (Apollo spacecraft) CSTC: Consolidated Satellite Test Center (USAF) CTIO: Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory DCX: Delta Clipper eXperimental DDCU: DC-to-DC Converter Unit DFRF: Dryden Flight Research Facility (now ADFRF) DMSP: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program DOD: Department Of Defense (sometimes DoD) DOE: Department Of Energy DOT: Department Of Transportation DSCS: Defense Satellite Communications System DSN: Deep Space Network DSP: Defense Support Program (USAF/NRO) EAFB: Edwards Air Force Base ECS: Environmental Control System EDO: Extended Duration Orbiter EGRET: Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope (on CGRO) EJASA: Electronic Journal of the Astronomical Society of the Atlantic ELV: Expendable Launch Vehicle EMU: Extravehicular Mobility Unit EOS: Earth Observing System ERS: Earth Resources Satellite (as in ERS-1) ESA: European Space Agency ESO: European Southern Observatory ET: (Shuttle) External Tank ETLA: Extended Three Letter Acronym ETR: Eastern Test Range EUV: Extreme UltraViolet EUVE: Extreme UltraViolet Explorer EVA: ExtraVehicular Activity FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions FAST: Fast Auroral SnapshoT explorer FFT: Fast Fourier Transform FGS: Fine Guidance Sensors (on HST) FHST: Fixed Head Star Trackers (on HST) FIR: Far InfraRed FITS: Flexible Image Transport System FOC: Faint Object Camera (on HST) FOS: Faint Object Spectrograph (on HST) FRR: Flight-Readiness Review FTP: File Transfer Protocol FTS: Flight Telerobotic Servicer FUSE: Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer FWHM: Full Width at Half Maximum FYI: For Your Information GAS: Get-Away Special GBT: Green Bank Telescope GCVS: General Catalog of Variable Stars GEM: Giotto Extended Mission GEO: Geosynchronous Earth Orbit GDS: Great Dark Spot GHRS: Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (on HST) GIF: Graphics Interchange Format GLOMR: Global Low-Orbiting Message Relay GMC: Giant Molecular Cloud GMRT: Giant Meter-wave Radio Telescope GMT: Greenwich Mean Time (also called UT) GOES: Geostationary Orbiting Environmental Satellite GOX: Gaseous OXygen GPC: General Purpose Computer GPS: Global Positioning System GRO: Gamma Ray Observatory (now CGRO) GRS: Gamma Ray Spectrometer (on Mars Observer) GRS: Great Red Spot GSC: Guide Star Catalog (for HST) GSFC: Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA) GTO: Geostationary Transfer Orbit HAO: High Altitude Observatory HD: Henry Draper catalog entry HEAO: High Energy Astronomical Observatory HeRA: Hermes Robotic Arm HF: High Frequency HGA: High Gain Antenna HLC: Heavy Lift Capability HLV: Heavy Lift Vehicle HMC: Halley Multicolor Camera (on Giotto) HR: Hertzsprung-Russell (diagram) HRI: High Resolution Imager (on ROSAT) HSP: High Speed Photometer (on HST) HST: Hubble Space Telescope HUT: Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (ASTRO package) HV: High Voltage IAPPP: International Amateur/Professional Photoelectric Photometry IAU: International Astronomical Union IAUC: IAU Circular ICE: International Cometary Explorer IDA: International Dark-sky Association IDL: Interactive Data Language IGM: InterGalactic Medium IGY: International Geophysical Year IMHO: In My Humble Opinion IOTA: Infrared-Optical Telescope Array IOTA: International Occultation Timing Association IPS: Inertial Pointing System IR: InfraRed IRAF: Image Reduction and Analysis Facility IRAS: InfraRed Astronomical Satellite ISAS: Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (Japan) ISM: InterStellar Medium ISO: Infrared Space Observatory ISO: International Standards Organization ISPM: International Solar Polar Mission (now Ulysses) ISY: International Space Year IUE: International Ultraviolet Explorer IUS: Inertial Upper Stage JEM: Japanese Experiment Module (for SSF) JGR: Journal of Geophysical Research JILA: Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics JPL: Jet Propulsion Laboratory JSC: Johnson Space Center (NASA) KAO: Kuiper Airborne Observatory KPNO: Kitt Peak National Observatory KSC: Kennedy Space Center (NASA) KTB: Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary (from German) LANL: Los Alamos National Laboratory LaRC: Langley Research Center (NASA) LDEF: Long Duration Exposure Facility LEM: Lunar Excursion Module (a.k.a. LM) (Apollo spacecraft) LEO: Low Earth Orbit LeRC: Lewis Research Center (NASA) LEST: Large Earth-based Solar Telescope LFSA: List of Frequently Seen Acronyms (!) LGA: Low Gain Antenna LGM: Little Green Men LH: Liquid Hydrogen (also LH2 or LHX) LLNL: Lawrence-Livermore National Laboratory LM: Lunar Module (a.k.a. LEM) (Apollo spacecraft) LMC: Large Magellanic Cloud LN2: Liquid N2 (Nitrogen) LOX: Liquid OXygen LRB: Liquid Rocket Booster LSR: Local Standard of Rest LTP: Lunar Transient Phenomenon MB: Manned Base MCC: Mission Control Center MECO: Main Engine CutOff MMH: MonoMethyl Hydrazine MMT: Multiple Mirror Telescope MMU: Manned Maneuvering Unit MNRAS: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society MOC: Mars Observer Camera (on Mars Observer) MOL: Manned Orbiting Laboratory MOLA: Mars Observer Laser Altimeter (on Mars Observer) MOMV: Manned Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle MOTV: Manned Orbital Transfer Vehicle MPC: Minor Planets Circular MRSR: Mars Rover and Sample Return MRSRM: Mars Rover and Sample Return Mission MSFC: (George C.) Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA) MTC: Man Tended Capability NACA: National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (became NASA) NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASDA: NAtional Space Development Agency (Japan) NASM: National Air and Space Museum NASP: National AeroSpace Plane NBS: National Bureau of Standards (now NIST) NDV: NASP Derived Vehicle NERVA: Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application NGC: New General Catalog NICMOS: Near Infrared Camera / Multi Object Spectrometer (HST upgrade) NIMS: Near-Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (on Galileo) NIR: Near InfraRed NIST: National Institute for Standards and Technology (was NBS) NLDP: National Launch Development Program NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAO: National Optical Astronomy Observatories NRAO: National Radio Astronomy Observatory NRO: National Reconnaissance Office NS: Neutron Star NSA: National Security Agency NSF: National Science Foundation NSO: National Solar Observatory NSSDC: National Space Science Data Center NTR: Nuclear Thermal Rocket(ry) NTT: New Technology Telescope OAO: Orbiting Astronomical Observatory OCST: Office of Commercial Space Transportation OMB: Office of Management and Budget OMS: Orbital Maneuvering System OPF: Orbiter Processing Facility ORFEUS: Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer OSC: Orbital Sciences Corporation OSCAR: Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio OSSA: Office of Space Science and Applications OSSE: Oriented Scintillation Spectrometer Experiment (on CGRO) OTA: Optical Telescope Assembly (on HST) OTHB: Over The Horizon Backscatter OTV: Orbital Transfer Vehicle OV: Orbital Vehicle PAM: Payload Assist Module PAM-D: Payload Assist Module, Delta-class PI: Principal Investigator PLSS: Portable Life Support System PM: Pressurized Module PMC: Permanently Manned Capability PMIRR: Pressure Modulated InfraRed Radiometer (on Mars Observer) PMT: PhotoMultiplier Tube PSF: Point Spread Function PSR: PulSaR PV: Photovoltaic PVO: Pioneer Venus Orbiter QSO: Quasi-Stellar Object RCI: Rodent Cage Interface (for SLS mission) RCS: Reaction Control System REM: Rat Enclosure Module (for SLS mission) RF: Radio Frequency RFI: Radio Frequency Interference RIACS: Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science RMS: Remote Manipulator System RNGC: Revised New General Catalog ROSAT: ROentgen SATellite ROUS: Rodents Of Unusual Size (I don't believe they exist) RSN: Real Soon Now RTG: Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator RTLS: Return To Launch Site (Shuttle abort plan) SAA: South Atlantic Anomaly SAGA: Solar Array Gain Augmentation (for HST) SAMPEX: Solar Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle EXplorer SAO: Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory SAR: Search And Rescue SAR: Synthetic Aperture Radar SARA: Satellite pour Astronomie Radio Amateur SAREX: Search and Rescue Exercise SAREX: Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment SAS: Space Activity Suit SAS: Space Adaptation Syndrome SAT: Synthetic Aperture Telescope S/C: SpaceCraft SCA: Shuttle Carrier Aircraft SCT: Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope SDI: Strategic Defense Initiative SDIO: Strategic Defense Initiative Organization SEI: Space Exploration Initiative SEST: Swedish ESO Submillimeter Telescope SETI: Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence SID: Sudden Ionospheric Disturbance SIR: Shuttle Imaging Radar SIRTF: Space (formerly Shuttle) InfraRed Telescope Facility SL: SpaceLab SLAR: Side-Looking Airborne Radar SLC: Space Launch Complex SLS: Space(lab) Life Sciences SMC: Small Magellanic Cloud SME: Solar Mesosphere Explorer SMEX: SMall EXplorers SMM: Solar Maximum Mission SN: SuperNova (e.g., SN1987A) SNR: Signal to Noise Ratio SNR: SuperNova Remnant SNU: Solar Neutrino Units SOFIA: Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy SOHO: SOlar Heliospheric Observatory SPAN: Space Physics and Analysis Network SPDM: Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator SPOT: Systeme Probatoire pour l'Observation de la Terre SPS: Solar Power Satellite SRB: Solid Rocket Booster SRM: Solid Rocket Motor SSF: Space Station Fred (er, Freedom) SSI: Solid-State Imager (on Galileo) SSI: Space Studies Institut SSME: Space Shuttle Main Engine SSPF: Space Station Processing Facility SSRMS: Space Station Remote Manipulator System SST: Spectroscopic Survey Telescope SST: SuperSonic Transport SSTO: Single Stage To Orbit STIS: Space Telescope Imaging Spectrometer (to replace FOC and GHRS) STS: Shuttle Transport System (or) Space Transportation System STScI: Space Telescope Science Institute SWAS: Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite SWF: ShortWave Fading TAL: Transatlantic Abort Landing (Shuttle abort plan) TAU: Thousand Astronomical Unit (mission) TCS: Thermal Control System TDRS: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite TDRSS: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System TES: Thermal Emission Spectrometer (on Mars Observer) TIROS: Television InfraRed Observation Satellite TLA: Three Letter Acronym TOMS: Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer TPS: Thermal Protection System TSS: Tethered Satellite System UARS: Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite UBM: Unpressurized Berthing Mechanism UDMH: Unsymmetrical DiMethyl Hydrazine UFO: Unidentified Flying Object UGC: Uppsala General Catalog UHF: Ultra High Frequency UIT: Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (Astro package) UKST: United Kingdom Schmidt Telescope USAF: United States Air Force USMP: United States Microgravity Payload UT: Universal Time (a.k.a. GMT, UTC, or Zulu Time) UTC: Coordinated Universal Time (a.k.a. UT) UV: UltraViolet UVS: UltraViolet Spectrometer VAB: Vehicle Assembly Building (formerly Vertical Assembly Building) VAFB: Vandenberg Air Force Base VEEGA: Venus-Earth-Earth Gravity Assist (Galileo flight path) VHF: Very High Frequency VLA: Very Large Array VLBA: Very Long Baseline Array VLBI: Very Long Baseline Interferometry VLF: Very Low Frequency VLT: Very Large Telescope VMS: Vertical Motion Simulator VOIR: Venus Orbiting Imaging Radar (superseded by VRM) VPF: Vertical Processing Facility VRM: Venus Radar Mapper (now called Magellan) WD: White Dwarf WFPC: Wide Field / Planetary Camera (on HST) WFPCII: Replacement for WFPC WIYN: Wisconsin / Indiana / Yale / NOAO telescope WSMR: White Sands Missile Range WTR: Western Test Range WUPPE: Wisconsin Ultraviolet PhotoPolarimter Experiment (Astro package) XMM: X-ray Multi Mirror XUV: eXtreme UltraViolet YSO: Young Stellar Object #!/usr/bin/perl # 'alt', An Acronym Scrambling Program, by Larry Wall $THRESHOLD = 2; srand; while (<>) { next unless /^([A-Z]\S+): */; $key = $1; $acro{$key} = $'; @words = split(/\W+/,$'); unshift(@words,$key); $off = 0; foreach $word (@words) { next unless $word =~ /^[A-Z]/; *w = $&; vec($w{$word}, $off++ % 6, 1) = 1; } } foreach $letter (A .. Z) { *w = $letter; @w = keys %w; if (@w < $THRESHOLD) { @d = `egrep '^$letter' /usr/dict/words`; chop @d; push(@w, @d); } } foreach $key (sort keys %acro) { $off = 0; $acro = $acro{$key}; $acro =~ s/((([A-Z])[A-Z]*)[a-z]*)/ &pick($3, $2, $1, ++$off) || $& /eg; print "$key: $acro"; } sub pick { local($letter, $prefix, $oldword, $off) = @_; $i = 0; if (length($prefix) > 1 && index($key,$prefix) < 0) { if ($prefix eq $oldword) { $prefix = ''; } else { $prefix = $letter; } } if (length($prefix) > 1) { local(*w) = substr($prefix,0,1); do { $word = $w[rand @w]; } until $word ne $oldword && $word =~ /^$prefix/i || ++$i > 30; $word =~ s/^$prefix/$prefix/i; $word; } elsif (length($prefix) == 1) { local(*w) = $prefix; do { $word = $w[rand @w]; } until $word ne $oldword && vec($w{$word}, $off, 1) || ++$i > 10; $word = "\u\L$word" if $word =~ tr/a-z/A-Z/; $word; } else { local(*w) = substr($oldword,0,1); do { $word = $w[rand @w]; } until $word ne $oldword && $word =~ tr/a-z/A-Z/ == 0 || ++$i > 30; $word; } } -- Mark Bradford (bradfrd2@ncar.ucar.edu) <> To err is human, to moo bovine. "It's an ill wind that gathers no moss." ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1993 23:14:22 GMT From: Arthur Chandler Subject: Charon Newsgroups: sci.space Does anyone know if there any plans, in the near or far future, to send a probe to or near Charon, the moon/coplanet of Pluto? ------------------------------ Date: 6 Mar 93 19:20:30 GMT From: Keith Barrett Subject: David Sternlight and wasted bandwidth Newsgroups: news.admin.policy,alt.privacy,comp.org.eff.talk,sci.space In article , hellvik@stc.nato.int (Ove Hellvik) writes: >>kill file, while it has it's place, is NOT the solution to all the complaints >>on the net. It is the net equivalent of hiding your head in the sand or >>turning the other way and letting things continue on, unchecked. I totally agree! >>The checks and balances that keep what control we ALL have over the net >>in place would soon fail if every little thing that bugged someone was >>relegated to a kill file and nothing more. Anonymous postings have their >>place in some groups (do I need to tell you which ones?) but the problem >>showing up now is that they are being used to avoid accountability for >>outrageous (to some) postings. Again I agree. People should always be held accountable/responsible for their own statements. >>Use a kill file, let it all continue unchecked and the problem WILL get >>worse. We need to deal with it now, not stick our collective heads in >>the sand. I'll also add that "ignoring" these posts are not enough. They also take bandwidth, disk space, and some sites PAY for this. Do YOU want to pay for many megs of stuff you have to ignore via kill files? Also, some newsreaders don't support kill files. Anon postings should ONLY apply to newsgroups that have it as part of it's charter. Anonomous postings from Fidonet, public access systems, children, or people just to cowardly to stand up for themselves do NOT belong and are pretty useless. How serious would YOU take a statement made from someone identifying themself simply as "The Borg" (for example)? Things need to be placed in context. -kgb ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UUCP: nuconvex.com!aminet!barrett Keep circulating the tapes - MST3k DDN: barrett%aminet.uucp@decwrl.dec.com // My life is my own - the prisoner Alternate: barrett@pamsrc.enet.dec.com \X/ Amiga 3000UX - The Next Generation -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: 6 Mar 93 18:36:42 GMT From: "John S. Novak III" Subject: Fallen Angels Newsgroups: sci.space In <14509.409.uupcb@the-matrix.com> roland.dobbins@the-matrix.com (Roland Dobbins) writes: >_Fallen Angels_ is by Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Steven Barnes. >Niven and Pournelle have done many many other books together, such as >_Footfall_, _The Mote in God's Eye_, _The Gripping Hand_, etc. Sorry, but _Fallen Angels_ is by Niven, Pournelle, and Michael Flynn. >They also formed the Citizens' Advisory Council on National S[ace Policy, >which sold Ronald Reagan on the idea of SDI. >Phoenix is the brainchild of Gary Hudson, who appeared as himself in the >book. He can be reaced on BIX as "ghudson". -- "I am an illiterate person. I speak only English." -Dr. William Hammond, 10-25-91 John S. Novak, III darknite@camelot.bradley.edu ------------------------------ Date: 6 Mar 93 20:39:13 GMT From: Daniel Myers Subject: Fallen Angels Newsgroups: sci.space roland.dobbins@the-matrix.com (Roland Dobbins) writes: [lots of stuff deleted] >Phoenix is the brainchild of Gary Hudson, who appeared as himself in the >book. He can be reaced on BIX as "ghudson". I am VERY interested in this topic. How does one on internet reach anyone on BIX? - DM -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dan Myers (Madman) | If the creator had intended us to walk myers@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu | upright, he wouldn't have given us knuckles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1993 20:07:58 GMT From: Douglas R Fils Subject: Gaspra Animation Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,alt.sci.planetary In article <6MAR199305441830@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov> baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke) writes: > ============================== > GASPRA ANIMATION > March 5, 1993 > ============================== > > A Gaspra animation is now available at the Ames Space Archives. This >animation is courtesy of Jeff Alu. The animation was formed from 11 images >taken by the Galileo spaecraft shortly before its closest approach to the >asteroid in October 1991. The animation is in FLI format. Using anonymous >ftp, the animation can be obtained from: > > ftp: ames.arc.nasa.gov (128.102.18.3) > user: anonymous > cd: pub/SPACE/ANIMATION > files: > gaspra.fli > gaspra.txt (see below) > [...end of post deleted...] Would it be possible for a quicktime (or PICT file that can be converted to Quicktime) of this file to be made? Doug -- Douglas Fils fils@iastate.edu | Ego vos hortor tantum possum ut amicitiam Dept. of Physics and Astronomy | omnibus rebus humanis anteponatis. Iowa State University (ISU) | Cicero, On Friendship V.17 ------------------------------ Date: 6 Mar 93 20:43:03 GMT From: Daniel Myers Subject: Getting people into S Newsgroups: sci.space roland.dobbins@the-matrix.com (Roland Dobbins) writes: >JL>Could that be the vehicle commonly called the flying Bumble Bee, wh >JL>clai to fame in the ordinary world is the vehicle that opened the s >JL>and each episode of the six million dollar man. If I recall correct >JL>was aeronautically considered to be unflyable, but flew anyway and >JL>for a while touted as a great instrument for flight to and from low >JL>orbit. It finally crashed on descent when it touched down and did a >JL>up unfortunately a Helo was in the way and the two collided as the >JL>goes. I think That its prototypes and other s are still on display >JL>the yearly aeronautical show at Edwards airforce base. >As I recall, that particular lifting body was called the HL-10, and it >was most certainly _not_ designed *not* to fly . . . . I do not remember that particular lifting body, but many of the lifting bodies flew exceptionally well. The lifting body programs in general were cancelled due to the manned rocket program and to the lack of sufficiently strong and light materials at the time. - DM -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dan Myers (Madman) | If the creator had intended us to walk myers@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu | upright, he wouldn't have given us knuckles ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: 6 Mar 1993 12:52:28 -0500 From: Pat Subject: Jupiter and Venus followons (was Re: Refueling in orbit) Newsgroups: sci.space So would you say Magellan, was mariner derived? granted it was mostly scrap, but it was built on a mariner bus. pat ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1993 15:41:47 GMT From: apryan@vax1.tcd.ie Subject: Mir visible UK/Eire Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro To UK and Ireland netters: The Mir space station is visible passing over the British Isles every day until March 13th (since March 4th). In U.K. and N.Ireland you can get the time by calling 0891-88-1950. In Ireland you can get the time by calling 1550-111-442. As the time is given in the first few seconds it only costs a LOCAL CALL!!! The predicted time is updated before noon each day. Please pass numbers on to friends and local astronomy societies. Thanks. -Tony Ryan, "Astronomy & Space", new International magazine, available from: Astronomy International, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 1, Ireland. 6 issues (one year sub.): UK 10.00 pounds, US$20.00 (surface, add US$8.00). ACCESS/VISA/MASTERCARD accepted (give number, expiry date, name&address). newslines (48p/36p per min): 0891-88-1950 (UK/NI) 1550-111-442 (Eire) ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 06 Mar 93 18:08:03 EST From: Tom <18084TM@msu.edu> Subject: Nasa and the free market >>>>Exactly where in NASA's charter is the part about serving as a >>>>welfare agency for engineers and MIS managers? >>>Go work the numbers. So what are you supposed to do with these people, have >>>them flip burgers? "We" aren't supposed to do anything with them. They are. If they want to apply their highly valuable skills doing what I'd like to see them do, then I don't think NASA is the best place to do it. Between the high costs of NASA projects, the unexplored possibilites for privatizing parts of NASA, the unexplored possibilities for finding valuable resources in space, and the subsidies NASA operates under that make it so hard for private groups to take advantage of these possibilites, I think those people's skills would come to greater fruition for themselves and others without NASA acting like a jobs program and/or a monopoly. All NASA has to do is get out the way! All the NASA people have to do is offer the same services to people that would do the operations, or do the operations for themselves, the way they think they should be done. Is NASA a fuedal state? Are NASA people bound by oaths of fealty? >> I can hear you say: "I'm sorry >>Mr. Ford, but you can't be allowed to build your auto factory. You >>would displace too many buggy whip makers and we can't have that". >The United States government is not Henry Ford. You KNOW this, yet you >persist in perpertrating the mythos of "Government can be run like private >industry." Yes, it is a myth. Not only does that mean that NASA should not attempt to operate like a business, but it also means that the things NASA does, in many cases, could be done better if it wasn't a gov. program. There is nothing that NASA does that requires government to get it done, with the possible exceptions of actual R&D, rather than operations, and looking for dinosaur (or human) killer objects. >>My solution would be to have them work in a larger self sustaining >>space economy. >There ain't no such thing. Your fantasies, Nick's fantasies, and Bowery's >fantasies combind cannot change that. The computer you type on, the car you drive, the space shuttle, the house you live in, were all once nothing more than ideas, and pretty vaque at that. Yes, fantasies can change reality, given free minds that want to make them reality. Yet I hear defenders of NASA talking constantly of the restriction on the freedoms of NASA's best minds, WRT accountability to Congress, who have their own ideas how to run everyone's life. Why do the defenders not recognize that NASA's very nature, it's heart and soul, are the restrictions on the very minds we want to set free? Do the defenders realize they are arguing for those restrictions? C'mon NASA people, talk to me. Do you feel your skills or the skills of your co-workers are allowed the freedom for their best expression? Could you do better without the restrictions that linking NASA to Congress creates? I'm talking operations here. >About the only "self-sustaining" part of the space economy are comm sats, with >future growth in remote imaging. Even remote imaging is somewhat subsidized >by government interests. Knowledge of what resources are available could provide the first steps to making space self-sustaining. Yet this is an area where NASA has dropped the ball, for no good reason. CRAF comes to mind, but that's only the one I'm most familiar with. And who cancelled it? Until these possibilites are explored, the lack of self-sustaining resources in space is no argument for NASA's monopoly. After all, if they don't exist, it's an argument for no NASA at all. >Over the near-term, it's likely to remain that way. Sounds like that could be a self-fulfilling prophecy, given that NASA is constrained by representatives of the people, and is subsidised enough to keep it's monopoly intact. Just my $.02. -Tommy Mac ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tom McWilliams | 517-355-2178 (work) \\ Inhale to the Chief! 18084tm@ibm.cl.msu.edu | 336-9591 (hm)\\ Zonker Harris in 1996! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1993 19:38:02 GMT From: "John S. Neff" Subject: Shuttle budget Newsgroups: sci.space In article henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes: >From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) >Subject: Re: Shuttle budget >Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1993 04:35:54 GMT >In article neff@iaiowa.physics.uiowa.edu (John S. Neff) writes: >>>Some of the things NASA does could be privatized easily enough -- it >>>really shouldn't be running a space trucking business, for example -- >> >>Congressman Walker talked about getting NASA out of the space transportation >>business, and focused on pure R&D at a hearing I attended about five years >>ago. It sounded like a good idea until one stated to look at problems like >>insurance and setting priorities. Who would be in charge of the Space >>Transportation Authority? The Department of Defence, the Department of >>Commerce, or the FAA? > >??? I don't understand. Why does there have to be a Space Transportation >Authority? Government regulation of commercial rocketry was sorted out >a long time ago, with the Office of Commercial Space Transportation, >which is in place and functioning and has been for years. > >What do you mean by "setting priorities"? Who "sets priorities" for >the airlines? Answer: the airlines do. > >What insurance problems are you thinking of that aren't already being >dealt with for commercial space launches? > >Are you under the impression that launches of, say, Atlas, are still >being run by the government? If so, you are badly out of date. If you >want an Atlas launch, you talk to General Dynamics, not NASA or DoD. > >>...The commercial prospects seem to be limited to communications, >>earth resources, GPS perhaps, and survellance services to third world >>contries with big, well armed, and potentially hostile neighbors... > >What does this have to do with space transportation, which is the business >I suggested NASA get out of? There is already vigorous commercial activity >in space transportation. > >>... DOD has just spent a lot of money >>developing a new set of launch vehicles so they would oppose the creation >>of a Space Transportation Authority. > >Which launch vehicles are you referring to? The only launch vehicle that >DoD owns these days is Titan IV. If *they* want an Atlas launch, they >too get to talk to General Dynamics about it. (And no, they weren't >especially happy about the law that required this.) >-- >C++ is the best example of second-system| Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology >effect since OS/360. | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry The launches are from facilities owned by the government and are supervised by the Air Force whi is responsible for destroying any vehicle that is off course. Thus the government is liable not the company that provides launch services. In addition to the Titan IV the Air force owns a large number of ballistic missles. Some of these have been converted to other uses such as SDI projects. If the Air Force wants to use a Delta II or an Atlas Centaur II not in their current inventory they would have to buy one from either McDonnell Douglas or General Dynamics as you have said. If there is to be a purely commercial launch service there has to be sufficient commecial business for it to exist. Why should the government use a commecial launch service when they have their own? My point was that the Department of Defense is one of the biggest users of launch services and they demand top priority. ------------------------------ Date: 6 Mar 1993 02:37:53 -0600 From: Allen L Landers Subject: TEST...(Don't read this) Newsgroups: sci.space This is a test.... --------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Date: 6 Mar 1993 02:41:08 -0600 From: Allen L Landers Subject: TEST...(Don't read this) Newsgroups: sci.space This is a test... -------------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 284 ------------------------------