Date: Tue, 23 Mar 93 05:00:26 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V16 #351 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Tue, 23 Mar 93 Volume 16 : Issue 351 Today's Topics: Alumnium was available in Elizabethan times? (2 msgs) a query about spacecraft velocity measurement (2 msgs) Aurora spotted ? (3 msgs) Canada Space Program Color-Pictures from Voyager? FLOX and methane Hello Goldstone! ISU address?? Predicting gravity wave quantization & Cosmic Noise STS-55 launch aborted The Aluminium story............ Thrust History for the Super Loki sounding rocket UARS status? WARNING!!!!! Water Simulations Weekly reminder for Frequently Asked Questions list 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: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 14:42:51 GMT From: "John S. Neff" Subject: Alumnium was available in Elizabethan times? Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.materials In article <1993Mar21.184053.27365@sfu.ca> Leigh Palmer writes: >From: Leigh Palmer >Subject: Re: Alumnium was available in Elizabethan times? >Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1993 18:40:53 GMT >In article Del Cotter, mt90dac@brunel.ac.uk >writes: >>In article <1ogckv$f93@access.digex.com> prb@access.digex.com (Pat) >>writes: >>>Dennis, I dont think you know as much history as you may need. >>>You should read James Burke's "Connections". He traces how ideas move >>>through time to affect technical innovation and the problems that force >>>the movement of technology. >>> >>>First of all, things can't be done until the technical base exists to >>>support it. Aluminum was available in elizabethan times, but the >> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >>>costs of extraction made it more valuable then gold. Now process >>>improvements, make it cheap enough for sandwich wrap. >> >>Tell me more :-) > >According to my Rubber Bible, 63rd ed., Aluminum was first isolated in >1827 by Wohler. "Aluminium" is available in Elizabethan (II) times, and >perhaps "alumnium", whatever that is, was available in "elizabethan" >times, but aluminum was not available in Elizabethan times any more than >Macintoshes were. > >This date also casts doubt on the story about Napolean's aluminum >tableware, if Bonaparte was meant, since he kicked the bucket in 1821. >My chemistry teacher told me the capstone of the Washington monument was >made of aluminum which was, at that time, considered to be a precious >metal. I've never checked that story out. > >Leigh It was Napolean II who had aluminum tableware. He was interested in using aluminum to cut the weight of the gear his soldiers had to carry. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 15:44:12 GMT From: "John S. Neff" Subject: Alumnium was available in Elizabethan times? Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.materials In article neff@iaiowa.physics.uiowa.edu (John S. Neff) writes: >From: neff@iaiowa.physics.uiowa.edu (John S. Neff) >Subject: Re: Alumnium was available in Elizabethan times? >Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 14:42:51 GMT >In article <1993Mar21.184053.27365@sfu.ca> Leigh Palmer writes: >>From: Leigh Palmer >>Subject: Re: Alumnium was available in Elizabethan times? >>Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1993 18:40:53 GMT >>In article Del Cotter, mt90dac@brunel.ac.uk >>writes: >>>In article <1ogckv$f93@access.digex.com> prb@access.digex.com (Pat) >>>writes: >>>>Dennis, I dont think you know as much history as you may need. >>>>You should read James Burke's "Connections". He traces how ideas move >>>>through time to affect technical innovation and the problems that force >>>>the movement of technology. >>>> >>>>First of all, things can't be done until the technical base exists to >>>>support it. Aluminum was available in elizabethan times, but the >>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ >>>>costs of extraction made it more valuable then gold. Now process >>>>improvements, make it cheap enough for sandwich wrap. >>> >>>Tell me more :-) >> >>According to my Rubber Bible, 63rd ed., Aluminum was first isolated in >>1827 by Wohler. "Aluminium" is available in Elizabethan (II) times, and >>perhaps "alumnium", whatever that is, was available in "elizabethan" >>times, but aluminum was not available in Elizabethan times any more than >>Macintoshes were. >> >>This date also casts doubt on the story about Napolean's aluminum >>tableware, if Bonaparte was meant, since he kicked the bucket in 1821. >>My chemistry teacher told me the capstone of the Washington monument was >>made of aluminum which was, at that time, considered to be a precious >>metal. I've never checked that story out. >> >>Leigh >It was Napolean II who had aluminum tableware. He was interested in using >aluminum to cut the weight of the gear his soldiers had to carry. Sorry that should have been Napolean III ------------------------------ Date: 22 Mar 93 09:49:58 GMT From: Venkataraman Sundar Subject: a query about spacecraft velocity measurement Newsgroups: comp.robotics,sci.space Hi, I have a question about velocity measurement in spacecrafts and ALVs. Do techniques exist to accurately measure velocity (speed and direction) of a spacecraft/ALV, using inertial or other means? Of particular interest is measurement of "slow" relative velocities at times such as docking and during ALV exploratory activities. Please send replies to sundar@irisa.fr. Thanks, -Sundar ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 11:39:27 GMT From: Dave Michelson Subject: a query about spacecraft velocity measurement Newsgroups: comp.robotics,sci.space In article <1ok246$ak9@irisa.irisa.fr> sundar@irisa.fr writes: > > I have a question about velocity measurement in spacecrafts and ALVs. >Do techniques exist to accurately measure velocity (speed and direction) of >a spacecraft/ALV, using inertial or other means? Of particular interest is >measurement of "slow" relative velocities at times such as docking and during >ALV exploratory activities. Spacecraft generally use radar to assist in rendezvous and docking. A reasonably thorough review of the current state of such radars is presented in J.W. Locke and L.J. Cantafio, "Rendezvous Radar," in Space-based Radar Handbook, L.J. Cantafi, Ed. Norwood, MA: Artech House, 1989, pp. 197-227. Much of their discussion is based on the rendezvous radar used by the Shuttle (the Integrated Radar and Communications Subsystem) and the radar for the proposed Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV). There are other books and publications that deal with such matters but this is a good one to start with. For general interest, the following is a summary of the track performance of the IRACS radar used aboard the shuttle: Angle accuracy (3 sigma) 8 mrad Angle Rate (3 sigma) 0.14 mrad/s Range Accuracy (3 sigma) 80 ft, R < 1.3 nmi; 1% of R, 1.3 < R < 4.9 nmi; 300 ft, 4.9 < R < 12 nmi. Range Rate Accuracy (3 sigma) 1 ft/s, R < 10 nmi Hope this helps. --- Dave Michelson University of British Columbia davem@ee.ubc.ca Antenna Laboratory ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 13:29:15 GMT From: "Simon E. Booth" Subject: Aurora spotted ? Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1993Mar21.051658.17130@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> dnadams@nyx.cs.du.edu (Dean Adams) writes: > > >Lawrence Curcio says: > >In reply to Dean Adams: >Where? I didn't see any real "reply". > > >The UFO folks are certain that the "Information" they have > >is reliable as well. Reliability is a value judgement that is, > >Fine. When you can tell me who the PRIME CONTRACTOR is for your "ufos", >where they were built and are operated from, what their primary mission Not sure where they are built, but I do believe they operate from either Hangar 18 or the Area 51 base in Nevada (Dreamland) I think some are also based at Tonopah(sp?) :-) Simon ------------------------------ Date: 22 Mar 93 14:58:26 GMT From: Dean Adams Subject: Aurora spotted ? Newsgroups: sci.space sbooth@lonestar.utsa.edu (Simon E. Booth) writes: >>When you can tell me who the PRIME CONTRACTOR is for your "ufos", >>where they were built and are operated from, what their primary mission >>is, and what the flight/propulsion characteristics are... >Not sure where they are built, No kiddin? :-> >but I do believe they operate from either Hangar 18 "Hanger 18" is a MOVIE. >or the Area 51 base in Nevada (Dreamland) Now you are talking about AURORA, since those are just nicknames for the Groom Lake fight test facility... >I think some are also based at Tonopah(sp?) Nope. F-117As operated there for quite a few years though. > :-) No kiddin? :-> BTW... newsFLASH... that was one hell of an ABORT!! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 18:48:34 MET From: PHARABOD@FRCPN11.IN2P3.FR Subject: Aurora spotted ? >BUT, a Mach 6 spy plane is VASTLY less extraordinary than "alien invaders". >This is a good example for using common sense. That same common sense, >combined with logic and various evidence, says there very likely *IS* a >high-mach SR-71 follow-on vehicle operating. And NONE of that is anthing >even remotely connected with "UFOs". >Dean Adams (Sat, 20 Mar 93 14:21:41 GMT) This sounds very good. Probabilities are definitely in favor of Aurora. However: 1) There is no final proof. In particular, the few visual observations reported in AW&ST are dubious and inconclusive. 2) There is at least one inconsistency: if Aurora were that excellent, why does it need to fly at rather low altitude and supersonic speed over the Los Angeles area? "Airquakes" seem not pleasant. Common sense suggests that Aurora has some major flaw or drawback, otherwise it would avoid these airquakes. 3) There are pending questions: had the sonic booms over the East Coast in 1977-1978 something to do with Aurora? More likely, was Aurora the cause of the boom over the Netherlands on August 19, 1992? J. Pharabod ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 16:30:10 GMT From: Joel Semeniuk Subject: Canada Space Program Newsgroups: sci.space I need information about the Canadian Space program. Does anybody know where I can obtain information pertaining to jobs in the space program. If anyone has any information that they can give me about who or where I can contact I would really appreciate it. Thanks. Joel Semeniuk Computer Science III University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 10:45:05 GMT From: Wolfram Kresse Subject: Color-Pictures from Voyager? Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space Hi. I downloaded some pictures of the Voyager-CD-ROMs. They're greyscaled, but they've been shot with different colorfilters, so one can paste several greyscale pictures to one color-image. But *how* can I restore the real colors (in RGB-format)? For example, if I've got pictures with violet, green and blue filter, is it correct to set red =violet green=green blue =(violet+blue)/2 or something? Who can help? And the other problem: Different pictures were shot at different times, so the objects have moved. How can I place several pictures on the screen so that the (moved) objects match each other? Please respond via E-Mail, if possible, because I can't reads the newsgroups for the next two weeks. Wolfram -- +-------+---------------------------------------------------------------+ | |Wolfram Kresse * E-Mail: wolfram@rbg.informatik.th-darmstadt.de| | \ / +--------------------------+---------------+--------------------+ | - - |"Meeneemeeneemeenee" |CU l8r, LE g8r!| | ^ |"Yes,that's right,Tweeky."+---------------+ | \___/ +-----+----+---------------+ | | | 8^) | =) | +-------+-----+----+ ------------------------------ Date: 22 Mar 93 11:50:49 GMT From: Dave Michelson Subject: FLOX and methane Newsgroups: sci.space I finally got around to reading Jim Oberg's "Mission to Mars" this weekend. On page 46, he mentions that in a definitive 1967 Mars mission study headed by G.S. Canetti of North American Rockwell, the ascent system of the proposed Mars Excursion Module (MEM) was powered by a combination of FLOX (fluorine and liquid oxygen) and methane, two propellants chosen for their safe storability over nearly a year in space before engine firing. I would have thought some sort of non-cryogenic/hypergolic propellant would have been preferable. Can anyone shed light on what I'm missing? --- Dave Michelson University of British Columbia davem@ee.ubc.ca Antenna Laboratory ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 14:57:29 GMT From: nsmca@acad3.alaska.edu Subject: Hello Goldstone! Newsgroups: sci.space Hello Goldstone, I was a member of a rotating guard unit for the OPFOR at NTC and noticed you all living next door, is there tours available to people? Just curious cause I wanted to visit but you know how the army is.. Well to the next time I go to NTC, I hope to be able to visit and say hi offline and in real time mode.. == Michael Adams, nsmca@acad3.alaska.edu -- I'm not high, just jacked ------------------------------ Date: 22 Mar 93 14:42:32 +0100 From: ouzounis@embl-heidelberg.de Subject: ISU address?? Newsgroups: sci.space Hi everyone I have read recently in NATURE (Nature 361, 575 / 18.2.93) that Strasbourg was selected as the base for ISU (International Space University), starting in 1995. Does anybody know their current address at Cambridge, MA?? Thanks. Christos Ouzounis EMBL Heidelberg =========================== ouzounis@embl-heidelberg.de =========================== ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 15:56:22 GMT From: "Thomas E. Smith" Subject: Predicting gravity wave quantization & Cosmic Noise Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,sci.physics,alt.sci.planetary > how > does one define or detect a 'wave'? Apart from the fact that I suspect > propagation speed determines the detection through the doppler > shift, it seems to be crucial in all cases. To detect a doppler shift in gravitons, you would have to be able to detect gravitons in the first place, and we have not been able to so far. That's like trying to listen for the doppler shift in a train's whistle as it's approaching you when you are deaf anyway. But ignoring that, it sounds like the events you could detect would be things like massive objects speeding toward or away from you. But according to many articles on the subject, some of the things that would produce gravity waves are neutron stars orbiting black holes, or super novae. These don't have as much doppler shift as other things such as quasars, which have huge red-shifts, or even galaxies as they spin. > > This points to another question that I had if my first two > were answered. I'll pose it anyway. Let's say a gravitational > wave comes through and whacks a spacecraft (ripples in space, and > all that). For simplicity, we'll think of wavefront normal to the > line connecting the spacecraft and the earth. Presumably the radio > connection then sees a doppler shift due to the 'oscillation'. > Why does the oscillation not identically nullify the doppler shift > all the way back to the receiver owing to the effect of the wave > on the radio signal? Is that the case, and is that why they're > using three craft? > > dale bass If a gravity wave travels between the spacecraft, and the receiver on the Earth, it will curve space and increase the distance between us and the spacecraft. If they time the pulses from the ground to the spacecraft, and back to Earth they should see a slight increase in distance between the spacecraft, and the Earth (accounting for the spacecraft's velocity of course). And they will have to accurately account for the time it takes the spacecraft to proccess the signal, and send it back. If it takes a constant amount of time to do this, then you can just ignore it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Living on Earth may be expensive,|Tom E. Smith | ._________ | | but it includes an annual free |tes@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov| |= (0_, \ \ | | trip around the Sun. | | |= |0 ` / | | |--------------------------------------------------------------| |---u----/ | | And no, I don't speak for my company or any other company. | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 10:22:58 EST From: John Roberts Subject: STS-55 launch aborted The launch of Columbia was aborted at T-3 seconds, just as the main engines were in the process of being ignited. No reason has been given yet, but a person watching the launch on NASA Select said that the flame of one of the engines didn't look as good as the other two. John Roberts roberts@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 12:07:43 GMT From: Epsonasjen Subject: The Aluminium story............ Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.materials In article mt90dac@brunel.ac.uk (Del Cotter) writes: According to: Grjotheim & Welsh : Aluminium smelter technology Aluminium-Verlag 1988 (Dusseldorf) Historically, the first time Al is mentioned is in 'Historia Naturalis' published in the first century by the roman author Gaius Plinius. It is here told of a metal which was extracted from 'plain clay' by a goldsmith from the city of Rome. The emperor did not like the fact that this man was not willing to give the secret of making this metal to anybody else, so he cut his head of..... (sic!) Al hides itself again in its strong bondings withother compounds (esp. Oxygen) until 1825 when Oersted extracted a few milligrams of it from AlCl4 with potassium amalgam in a thermal reduction process. Aluminium cannot be produced by carbothermic reduction as more noble metals can for obvious reasons..... It is not until 1854 that a handelable amount is produced, this time by a french schoolteacher St.Claire-Deville. The french emperor Napoleon III gives this man fundings for producing Al for use as armour for his soldiers. The material is still very expensive and only a few Helmets, the famous dinner set and some toys were produced. TariiiiiiTarraaaaaaa!!!!!! Intro Hall-Heroult (perhaps more appropriate with sparkle, flash!..) The rest we know... Am currently working on a PhD on new ceramic anodes in Al-production.... ************************************************************************ Espen Olsen * Money talks, bullshit walks Norwegian Inst. of Technology * We're walking..... N-7034 Trondheim * Harley Davidson & The Marlboro Man E-mail: espen@itekiris.kjemi.unit.no * '57 Speed Twin LA6MGA/LA1K, DoD#7962 * '74 MutantNinjaVOLVO+'58 Land Rover ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 16:26:23 GMT From: Brian Towles Subject: Thrust History for the Super Loki sounding rocket Newsgroups: sci.space Probably not the place to put this but...... My senior design project is to take strain and temp readings off the launch railfor the Super Loki Sounding Rocket made by OSC. We are trying to model it before hand so we can get a good idea of places for the strain gauges. Only one problem We dont have a Thrust History for the rocket therefore we cant get the loads. Does anyone out there have a Thrust History for the Super Loki sounding rocket. This is a combination of the Dart payload vehicle and the Microstar II booster. All parts are made by OSC. Mail is prefered Thanks in advance Brian Quote for the day "Why does the world exsist? Why do I exsist? And Will some please tell me Why Lawrance Welk Ever exsited in the first place? -- Brian K Towles -AeroSpace Engineer (by the end of Aug.) bkt@engr.ucf.edu -2 Lt USAF (by the end of Aug.) voice(407)657-0982 -Student and C/Capt AFROTC Det 159 (currently *sob*) "They are my opions! Mine Mine Mine You can't have them!" ------------------------------ Date: 22 Mar 93 01:36:00 GMT From: Lee Matheson Subject: UARS status? Newsgroups: sci.space Newsgroups: sci.space From: lee.matheson@synapse.org (Lee Matheson) Subject: UARS Status? Is there anyone who can bring me up to date on the status of the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite? I understand that it is providing great (!!) science. Is this still true? What sort of results have been obtained from the Satellite's Instruments? Occasionally one hears results about JPL's MLS, but there are 9 other instruments! For all Instruments (I believe, although ACRIM may have been a separate case) the Science Data Processing Production Software was supposed to produce results in reasonable time. Has that indeed taken place? Is there any word on how the British Instrument (ISAMS) faired with some of the difficulties they had? And finally, is there any truth to the rumours about some difficulties with the satellite's batteries? Lee Matheson Ottawa --- ~ OLX 2.1 TD ~ ... I love the smell of Echomail in the morning! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 02:24:28 EST From: digests (Email Digest Server) Subject: WARNING!!!!! Yo, The following message was sent to the space Digest. It appears to have come from a postmaster. To avoid any possible alias loop, it has been forwarded to you. Please take any steps necessary to attend to this message, including forwarding it back to the list under your name if necessary. Thank you. Virtually yours, Incoming Mail Daemon >From isu@VACATION.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU Mon Mar 22 02:24:12 1993 Received: from VACATION.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU by isu.isunet.edu (5.64/A/UX-2.01) id AA10250; Mon, 22 Mar 93 02:24:12 EST Received: from crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu by VACATION.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU id aa13845; 22 Mar 93 2:23:23 EST To: bb-sci-space@CRABAPPLE.SRV.CS.CMU.EDU Xref: crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu sci.space:59084 rec.radio.amateur.packet:5585 Path: crabapple.srv.cs.cmu.edu!fs7.ece.cmu.edu!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!howland.reston.ans.net!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!swrinde!news.dell.com!uudell!loft386!nhh2sd!root From: root Newsgroups: sci.space,rec.ham-radio.packet,rec.radio.amateur.packet Subject: Re: Need MIR packet Frequency's Summary: Packet and voice are on the same frequency 145.550 simplex. Message-Id: <564@nhh2sd.UUCP> Date: 20 Mar 93 06:52:23 GMT References: Followup-To: rec.radio.amateur.packet Organization: Neal H. Hodges II, Rapid City, SD Lines: 7 Sender: news@CRABAPPLE.SRV.CS.CMU.EDU Source-Info: Sender is really isu@VACATION.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU In article , george@agora.rain.com (George Rachor) writes: > Anyone remember the frequency's used by the MIR space station packet radio system? > -- > George Rachor Jr. Aloha, OR The voice and packet frequencies are the same 145.550 mhz simplex. Neal H. Hodges II - KA0SEZ nhodges@silver.sdsmt.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 1993 15:36:59 GMT From: Bruce Dunn Subject: Water Simulations Newsgroups: sci.space In reply to my suggestion that pentane be used as a low-viscocity fluid in neutral buoyancy simulators: > Dave Akin writes: > > [list of 10 to 14 SCUBA divers involved in current neutral buoyancy > simulators deleted] > > I don't think these folks would be very happy, scuba diving in pentane or > other chemicals. (It's bad enough in pool water, causing your hair to turn > green and reach the approximate consistency of straw after a few weeks of > constant diving...) I'm not suggesting that the support/rescue team be on SCUBA - they would have to be in a full suit something similar to what the astronaut test subject is wearing. The number of people submerged is also likely to be considerably less, with the most faithful simulation involving just the astronaut(s) involved in the maneuver being practiced (after all, they are practicing for conditions in space where there will be no support team available to help them recover from fumbles). Pentane is very easily evaporated, and there is no need for people to come in contact with it. An astronaut coming out of the simulator tank would only need perhaps a minute of "blow-drying" with nitrogen to free his/her suit of external pentane. -- Bruce Dunn Vancouver, Canada Bruce_Dunn@mindlink.bc.ca ------------------------------ Date: 22 Mar 93 05:26:39 GMT From: Jon Leech Subject: Weekly reminder for Frequently Asked Questions list Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,sci.space.shuttle This notice will be posted weekly in sci.space, sci.astro, and sci.space.shuttle. The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list for sci.space and sci.astro is posted approximately monthly. It also covers many questions that come up on sci.space.shuttle (for shuttle launch dates, see below). The FAQ is posted with a long expiration date, so a copy may be in your news spool directory (look at old articles in sci.space). If not, here are two ways to get a copy without waiting for the next posting: (1) If your machine is on the Internet, it can be obtained by anonymous FTP from the SPACE archive at ames.arc.nasa.gov (128.102.18.3) in directory pub/SPACE/FAQ. (2) Otherwise, send email to 'archive-server@ames.arc.nasa.gov' containing the single line: help The archive server will return directions on how to use it. To get an index of files in the FAQ directory, send email containing the lines: send space FAQ/Index send space FAQ/faq1 Use these files as a guide to which other files to retrieve to answer your questions. Shuttle launch dates are posted by Ken Hollis periodically in sci.space.shuttle. A copy of his manifest is now available in the Ames archive in pub/SPACE/FAQ/manifest and may be requested from the email archive-server with 'send space FAQ/manifest'. Please get this document instead of posting requests for information on launches and landings. Do not post followups to this article; respond to the author. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 22 Mar 93 17:17:37 EST From: MAILRP%ESA.BITNET@vm.gmd.de Press Release Nr.14-93 Paris, 22 March 1993 Wubbo J. Ockels appointed Professor The ESA astronaut Dr Wubbo J. Ockels, has been appointed to the ESTEC Professorial Chair in the faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the Technical University, Delft. This University is the only Dutch University with a separate faculty in aerospace engineering. Dr. Ockels will be the second occupant of a Chair created some years ago to emphasise and strengthen the long-standing and close ties that have existed since the setting up of ESA's Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in the Netherlands, and the Technical University. This fits in well with the philosophy and policy of ESA which seeks to assist young European engineers who wish to specialise in aerospace related disciplines, and to help them prepare for their future role in space industry and space research centres of the ESA Member States. Dr. Wubbo Ockels was a payload specialist on the highly successful Spacelab D-1 mission in 1985, and is presently active in preparations for European manned space flight activities. Dr. Ockels will make his inaugural address on 24 March in the central auditorium of the Technical University, Delft. His main theme will be "the Vertical Challenge", including cross fertilisation between aeronautical and space technology disciplines, as well as the general "vertical challenge" facing humans at the present time. Dr. Ockels sees his new duties, which will include weekly lectures and tutorials, as being a significant challenge to stimulate the coming generations of technical specialists to seek careers in the European aerospace community.   ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 351 ------------------------------