Date: Sat, 8 May 93 05:08:43 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V16 #544 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Sat, 8 May 93 Volume 16 : Issue 544 Today's Topics: Boom! Whoosh...... Heard MIR on my scanner HST Servicing Mission Scheduled for 11 Days (2 msgs) Isaac.Kuo@f776.n153.z1.ship.net? (Re: DRAG-FREE SATELLITES) landing at Edwards vs. the Cape Level 5? (2 msgs) Pat and the Big Dan eye to eye. (2 msgs) Philosophy Quest. How Boldly? Science Fiction (was Re: STS-1 DISASTER/COVERUP) Shuttle Landings in Florida Twin paradox and speed of light UNSUB SPACE Vandalizing the Sky VISAS FOR ASTRONAUTS AFTER AN ABORT (2 msgs) Will NASA's Mars Observer Image the Face on Mars? (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: Fri, 7 May 1993 16:56:18 GMT From: "Simon E. Booth" Subject: Boom! Whoosh...... Newsgroups: sci.space all this talk reminds me of some rather unique forms of advertising I've seen around here over the past few years. some examples: In May 1988 the Sea World of Texas park opened up here in San Antonio. So to celebrate, Southwest Airlines had at least one of its Boeing 737's (flying cattle trains according to people I know who have flown them!) painted in black and white markings to resemble a killer whale. Looks pretty funny when seen on the ground.... The blimp operated by Sea World is also decorated in a similar fashion. In the fall of 1990 there was a hot air balloon show here for a few days, and although most of the balloons were conventional, we also saw one in the shape of a giant Nike (?) sneaker and another one in the shape of a huge flying Ray-O-Vac battery. So, I guess I'm not really supprised by the prospect of a huge orbital Coke can flying overhead. Another way to get sponsors for a commercial space flight is to sell ad space on the outside of a space vehicle. It would look like an Indy race car...... :-) Simon ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 17:00:32 GMT From: "William K. McFadden" Subject: Heard MIR on my scanner Newsgroups: rec.radio.amateur,rec.radio.shortwave,sci.space,alt.radio.scanner I heard MIR on my scanner (PRO-2006 using built-in whip, 145.55 MHz) last week and would like to know where to send my reception report for a QSL card. Thanks! -- Bill McFadden Tektronix, Inc. P.O. Box 500 MS 58-639 Beaverton, OR 97077 bill@tv.tv.tek.com, ...!tektronix!tv.tv.tek.com!bill Phone: (503) 627-6920 How can I prove I am not crazy to people who are? ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 14:46:25 GMT From: hathaway@stsci.edu Subject: HST Servicing Mission Scheduled for 11 Days Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle,sci.astro In article <1993May6.180044.1@stsci.edu>, hathaway@stsci.edu writes: > WHAT reboost???? How did anyone get the idea that the servicing > mission involves a reboost???? Please, some facts here - otherwise > this thread is whistling into a vacuum. > ... > > > Wm. Hathaway > Baltimore MD I have finally been informed this morning that a reboost IS a low priority option on the servicing mission, pending time and fuel availabilty. See, the system DOES work - keep asking the questions enough times and some one will come up with an answer. (Now how did so many other people "know" this well before the backroom here get clued in? - We're the ones who NEED to know where it is to perform the observation scheduling....) Wm. Hathaway Baltimore MD ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 18:54:46 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: HST Servicing Mission Scheduled for 11 Days Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle,sci.astro In <1993May6.180044.1@stsci.edu> hathaway@stsci.edu writes: >In article <1993May6.161121.12487@mksol.dseg.ti.com>, mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com (fred j mccall 575-3539) writes: >> In <1s60eg$68b@access.digex.net> prb@access.digex.net (Pat) writes: >> >>>In article <1993May3.154229.20543@mksol.dseg.ti.com> mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com (fred j mccall 575-3539) writes: >.. >> Except, of course, that you've now wasted a flight plus all that >> development money when you have a perfectly good way to do the reboost >> in hand already. >> > WHAT reboost???? How did anyone get the idea that the servicing >mission involves a reboost???? Please, some facts here - otherwise >this thread is whistling into a vacuum. The reboost they're going to eventually have to do, unless they plan to let HST splash down in the middle of the Outback someday. If you look, you will see that neither of the notes in question said anything about a reboost *this flight*. Chill, Will. There's nothing here requiring a plethora of punctuation marks!!!!!! Where did you get the idea that either of the notes you've elected to respond to said anything about the current servicing mission involving a reboost????? -- "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: 7 May 1993 16:54:53 GMT From: Isaac Kuo Subject: Isaac.Kuo@f776.n153.z1.ship.net? (Re: DRAG-FREE SATELLITES) Newsgroups: sci.space In article <736775431.AA02993@ship.net> Isaac.Kuo@f776.n153.z1.ship.net (Isaac Kuo) writes: > 153/764 >Organization: U.C. Berkeley Math. Department. >Hi, >To all: Sorry for the flame-bait. I spoke too hastily at first, and after a [stuff _I_ wrote deleted] >-- >*Isaac Kuo -->isaackuo@math.berkeley.edu<-- * ___ >* * _____/_o_\_____ >* Who am I? Where am I? What do *(==(/_______\)==) >* I do? The address says it all. * \==\/ \/==/ What's going on here? Who IS Isaac.Kuo@f776.n153.z1.ship.net? Is he trying to impersonate me? The address is far to different from my own to be anything but a deliberate forgery... I have a feeling that I won't be enlightenned by a "finger"... -- Isaac Kuo (isaackuo@math.berkeley.edu) . _____ . ____|_>o<_|____ Tank of the week: MCV-80 Warrior .(=(/ U.N. \)=) (painted white, of course) . \=\>------- Subject: landing at Edwards vs. the Cape > Personally, in this case I suspect that operational expediency is being given a bit more weight than it really should get. At eight flights a year, I don't think it would cripple the program to land at the Cape only when Edwards is unavailable... and that would be a better policy. Are you including the ferry-back risk in your assessment? Moving the vehicle back to the Cape requires a couple of takeoffs and landings, and they've had to work around a lot of bad weather in Texas. Rich Schroeppel rcs@cs.arizona.edu ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 93 08:50:55 CDT From: Bret Wingert Subject: Level 5? Newsgroups: sci.space In Mark Spiegl writes: >Wingert@vnet.IBM.COM (Bret Wingert) writes: > > >Pardon my ignorance with this program, but can you provide some project >specifics: number of lines of code, staff size or staff months to >implement. Recent Stats: 2.2 million lines of code delivered About 100 folks working Requirements, Development, Test, IV&V, Mission support, etc.(this has varied during the program) Typical major release about once per year with 30KSLOCs +/- 8 or more flights supported each year requiring the reconfiguration of approximately 8000 parameters each time I suspect (admittedly unsubstantiated though) that commercial >projects are much more market driven and do not have the time/staff >luxuries of government programs. That is, a difference of just six short >months frequently defines which companies make the profits and which bust. >A lot of good it does to deliver a zero defect product if your competition >already has won the lions portion of the market. Granted our standard cycle is longer than many in the commercial marketplace. However, our customers are some of the most demanding. Last year during STS-49, we produced software changes to support the Rendevous with the Intelsat. This was accomplished in a matter of hours and is not atypical of a flight support response. We follow the SAME PROCESS for a time critical situation as for one that's not. Point is, a good process is NOT incompatible with responsiveness and productivity. The payoff is higher quality in the field (less support cost) and greater customer satisfaction AFTER an ontime delivery. I agree that if a competitor can deliver a higher quality product faster to market, you lose. But, if a repeatable process allows you to consistently produce a higher quality product that meets your markets needs, you'll succeed. Bret Wingert Wingert@VNET.IBM.COM (713)-282-7534 FAX: (713)-282-8077 ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 18:15:23 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: Level 5? Newsgroups: sci.space In <19930506.132542.284@almaden.ibm.com> Wingert@vnet.IBM.COM (Bret Wingert) writes: > <19930504.074507.244@almaden.ibm.com> >In <19930504.074507.244@almaden.ibm.com> Greg Stewart-Nicholls writes: >> How does this structure deal with those capable of producing working >>software on time, within budget, but don't have a 'process' ???? >> ----------------------------------------------------------------- >Typically, a case such as yours is a small group of folks with strong >domain expertise. There is a "process" but it is just understood by >the group. Loss of a team member can affect the performance of the >team. Also, maintenance of the final result often becomes a nightmare after the small, tight team moves on to other, fresh endeavors. Think about what part of the typical software lifecycle costs is development and which part is maintenance. Given the relative budget shares through the lifecycle, it makes sense to optimize the maintenance part, even if that imposes some costs and constraints on the initial development team. Of course, if you never plan to change the software, add features, or fix bugs, this isn't a problem. It also isn't a problem if you can rely on continuity of the development team for the life of the product. -- "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: 5 May 1993 21:01:18 -0400 From: Pat Subject: Pat and the Big Dan eye to eye. Newsgroups: sci.space Bill Higgins, you would have been proud. Living in Washington DC has many drawbacks, but one advantage is that one has an oppurtunity to run into government leaders at teh strangest places. Dan Goldin was the guest speaker at teh AIAA, so I went down to hear him speak. after a very over-priced lunch, he gave his address. it was the better faster cheaper speech, with mentions from archimedes about using levers to pry planets. he did mention that a new industry coalition is forming the national spacelifter consortium, formed of 5 companies. he didn't mention names but i heard they were (Lockheed, GD, martin, rockwell &trw?) he spoke about letting price outweigh performance and let industry build vehicles rather then NASA control every aspect of the contractors. mostly stuff you heard before, then he took questions. Me: "dr, goldin, i am glad to see you here, a number of us, had written the president, encouraging him to let you carry through your philosophy of better cheaper and faster. I am glad that we may have contributed in some way to your speaking today. I was wondering given your emphasis in better, cheaper, faster, and the new spacelifter competition, and the consortium, how do you feel about SSTO and the DC-X"? Him:" Well, I too am very glad to be speaking here today I encourage industry to come with what they feel to be the best concept vehicle at the best price, be that improved ELV's, or SSTO or winged vehicles. I don't want to say, here is MY toy, go out and build it. I'd like to see industry come to us, and say, here is our best effort, what can we fly for you." In essence, he seemed lukewarm to the DC-X project itself, which is looking for on-going support funding. but if it can deliver, he'll use it. I shook hands later with Goldin, and he seemed touched that I had written the Bill Man and put in some support for him. I wish i had asked a question about ongoing magellan funding, but that seemed a little too dry. pat ps the McDac guys all cornered me at the bar later and wanted to know who paid me to ask the question. they thought I had been a gift from above. ------------------------------ Date: 7 May 93 12:21:06 -0600 From: Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey Subject: Pat and the Big Dan eye to eye. Newsgroups: sci.space In article <1s9o0u$qla@access.digex.net>, prb@access.digex.net (Pat) writes: > Bill Higgins, you would have been proud. I *am* proud of you, Pat. [account of Pat going mano-a-mano with Goldin deleted] > ps the McDac guys all cornered me at the bar later and > wanted to know who paid me to ask the question. they thought > I had been a gift from above. Is there money available for this sort of thing? Maybe you have a career ahead as a professional question-asker... get money from the executives of big companies, travel around to public meetings and ask strategic questions from the audience. How come I've never seen this advertised on a matchbook cover? -- O~~* /_) ' / / /_/ ' , , ' ,_ _ \|/ - ~ -~~~~~~~~~~~/_) / / / / / / (_) (_) / / / _\~~~~~~~~~~~zap! / \ (_) (_) / | \ | | Bill Higgins Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory \ / Bitnet: HIGGINS@FNAL.BITNET - - Internet: HIGGINS@FNAL.FNAL.GOV ~ SPAN/Hepnet: 43011::HIGGINS ------------------------------ Date: 5 May 1993 20:46:59 -0400 From: Pat Subject: Philosophy Quest. How Boldly? Newsgroups: sci.space In article loss@fs7.ECE.CMU.EDU (Doug Loss) writes: | What about the great Chinese trading expedition of the middle ages? |I'm a bit hazy on the details, but I think the Emperor commanded a |sailing expediton of hundreds of ships to travel east across the Indian ^^^^^^^ I don't think so, tim. >Ocean to explore. It contacted African and Arabian civilizations (and >probably Indian too), then sailed home. The decision from the Emperor >(or the bureaucracy) was that there was nothing to be gained from >continuing this venture. China then went into a period of isolation China was immensely isolationist before the mongol conquest, after the collapse of the mongol empire they sought to purge their nation of foreign influences. the great wall built during the 13th century was just part of the mindset. the boxer rebellion during the 1860's was designed to purge china of impure foreigners. The cultural revolution of 1960 was another period of anti-foreign sentiment. like japan, they have been very isolationsist for most of their cultural life. pat ------------------------------ Date: 7 May 1993 15:10:50 GMT From: "David B. Lapadula" Subject: Science Fiction (was Re: STS-1 DISASTER/COVERUP) Newsgroups: sci.space Bruce T. Harvey (bruce@idsssd.UUCP) wrote: : in article <1993May5.190743.7255@cnsvax.uwec.edu>, mcelwre@cnsvax.uwec.edu says: : > IMPORTANT-INFO: : Not. : Well, we know by the control-Z at the end of the article that the poster : is using either a DOS or a CP/M machine. If it weren't for the disk : space used, I'd enjoy the reading. However, at this point, I'd like to : see some new chapters in this fiction, as all of this is old hat, now. : Either publish the science fiction or move on to a different genre. Well, I, for one, really don't think SF (if that's what the author hopefully believes it is) should be posted under ANY of the "SCI." news groups... Dave Lapadula ~r ~/renstim ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 15:27:46 GMT From: Henry Spencer Subject: Shuttle Landings in Florida Newsgroups: sci.space In article pgf@srl03.cacs.usl.edu (Phil G. Fraering) writes: >Why don't they land at White Sands, New Mexico any more? They've only landed there once -- when both the Cape and Edwards had unacceptable weather -- and that one experience was enough to make them avoid it unless they really have no choice. White Sands, it turns out, has fine airborne dust blowing around much of the time... and they had a hell of a time getting the dust cleaned out of all the nooks and crannies of the orbiter. It's only a secondary landing site anyway, since it lacks some of the facilities (like the hoist-the-orbiter-onto-the-747 rig) that are needed for efficient handling of a landing. The dust problem just adds insult to injury. -- SVR4 resembles a high-speed collision | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology between SVR3 and SunOS. - Dick Dunn | henry@zoo.toronto.edu utzoo!henry ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 13:24:55 EDT From: Sholom Cohen Subject: Twin paradox and speed of light Newsgroups: sci.space Probably another naive question from a non-physicist, but here goes. If time slows down as we approach the velocity of light, what does velocity mean? It would seem that, relative to the light, time is not changing, so there would be no unit of time over which to measure distance. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 07 May 93 09:52:39 PDT From: frank@jplpost.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Franklin O'Donnell) Subject: UNSUB SPACE UNSUB SPACE (Sorry for sending to this address, but mail to space-request@isu.isunet.edu seems to be ignored.) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 19:26:40 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: Vandalizing the Sky Newsgroups: sci.space In <1993May6.203942.10853@uvm.edu> wollman@sadye.emba.uvm.edu (Garrett Wollman) writes: >In article <1993May6.165519.13880@mksol.dseg.ti.com> >mccall@mksol.dseg.ti.com (fred j mccall 575-3539) writes: >>Distribution: sci >There is no such distribution, and so your article was dropped by a >growing number of standards-conforming news transports throughout the >network. I'm aware there is no such distribution and I did not set it that way. In point of fact, my default distribution is set to 'world', and since the article I responded to had no distribution, I have no idea why mine showed up with 'sci' on it. It would appear that some system 'changed' it for me. >>Uh, *which* pseudo-justification? The 'keep the sky pure' folks want >>to prevent the folks launching this mission from getting the >>advertising revenues. Seems like they ought to have to make that up, >>and *not* out of *MY* tax dollars, either. >To paraphrase: >The `keep the streets safe' folks want to prevent the folks who want >to build a 100-store shopping mall from putting their only entrance on >a residential street. Seems like they ought to have to build a new >road for the shopping mall developers, and *not* out of *MY* tax >dollars, either. >Are you opposed to zoning, too, Fred? Given your description, yes, I think I would be opposed to that sort of zoning. Seems if the area was zoned for the mall they could put their exit anyplace they wanted onto a public street. Can you say 'reductio ad absurdem' and 'inappropriate analogy'? Yeah, I thought you could. >-GAWollman >PS: I'm happy to live in billboard-free Vermont, and I want to keep >it that way. That's nice. Would you be happy to give up everything in your life that is produced by or developed with help from things that you would appear to me to disapprove of? After all, we must stand in the way of any advancement until we can achieve perfect safety and zero impact on the most recalcitrant luddite. -- "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, 7 May 1993 15:35:56 GMT From: Brian Day Subject: Visas for astronauts after an abort Newsgroups: sci.space faubert@mdavcr.mda.ca (David M. Faubert) writes: >In the short time the astronauts are performing an emergency landing they >must fill out a landing card and state the purpose of their visit. Usually, >this will make customs that much less painful for officials and astronauts >alike. Do they have to pay import duties on, say, a Spacelab ? bd -- Brian Day bday@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov New Technology, Inc. (205) 461-4584 Mission Software Development Division Opinions are my own - ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 18:43:56 GMT From: fred j mccall 575-3539 Subject: VISAS FOR ASTRONAUTS AFTER AN ABORT Newsgroups: sci.space In <736775431.AA02985@ship.net> Adam.R..brody.@f776.n153.z1.ship.net (Adam R. brody ) writes: > 11000/764 153/764 >Organization: NASA Ames Research Center >C.O.Egalon@larc.nasa.gov (Claudio Oliveira Egalon) writes: >>I have a question that has been ringing in my >>head for a while. What if after a launch, there is >>one of these nasty aborts and the Shuttle has >>to land in a foreign country (Spain or Morroco). >>Do the astronauts need a visa for staying there >>or NASA has some kind of special arrangement >>with the governments of these countries??? >>C.O.Egalon@larcn.nasa.gov >>Claudio Oliveira Egalon >I've read that the crews' passports are kept in a pouch at launch, ready >to be flown to an abort landing site. I always thought that pretty strange >since it would be pretty clear and documented in the media who these people >are and from whence they came. This issue invites further questions: >When the President flys overseas, does he, and those with him carry >passports. What about military people? It must have been a nightmare >having 100,000 passports for US GIs in the Persian Gulf! Well, I can't speak to the rest, but military personnel who arrive via military transport typically don't need passports. I've been all over the place and haven't had a passport since I was a kid. However, many places will require a passport if you are travelling via civilian transportation (crossing borders in cars, trains, planes, etc.). However, there are also exceptions to this -- I don't believe U.S. military personnel travelling under orders require passports in NATO countries -- military orders and a military ID card substitute for a passport/visa. -- "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, 7 May 1993 16:47:56 GMT From: "Simon E. Booth" Subject: Will NASA's Mars Observer Image the Face on Mars? Newsgroups: sci.space Or will it see something that it wasn't supposed to see and suffer the same fate as the Soviet Phobos 2 probe in 1989?..... I saw this on the Fox network show 'Sightings' (credibility factor now plummets!) and the Soviet scientists insist that the last photo the probe took was of a huge UFO in orbit around Mars, a UFO (get this) 25 km across- now that makes it as big as one of the Martian moons, so wouldn't it have been visible in telescopics obsvervations from Earth? (anyone see any Men In Black hanging around the JPL control room...) and then of course there's the STS-48 UFO story- I wonder if McElwaine has gone professional...... :-) Simon ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 18:34:49 GMT From: Dave Stephenson Subject: Will NASA's Mars Observer Image the Face on Mars? Newsgroups: sci.space sbooth@lonestar.utsa.edu (Simon E. Booth) writes: >Or will it see something that it wasn't supposed to see and suffer the >same fate as the Soviet Phobos 2 probe in 1989?..... >I saw this on the Fox network show 'Sightings' (credibility factor now >plummets!) and the Soviet scientists insist that the last photo the >probe took was of a huge UFO in orbit around Mars, a UFO (get this) >25 km across- now that makes it as big as one of the Martian moons, >so wouldn't it have been visible in telescopics obsvervations from Earth? >(anyone see any Men In Black hanging around the JPL control room...) Well if you are that paranoic, remember back when Voyager 2 went past Saturn. Suddenly the camera stops, there is a blank bit, and then more pictures of the outer moons, and all went well all the way to Neptune. Stuck camera platform they said, but we know the CIA/NSA in action. Why did NASA get funding for SETI, Why did Regan shortly afterward start 'Star Wars' which is making great interplanetary warfare weapons, but pretty useless for shooting down missiles. What did they see on the way past Saturn that has never been published???????? Beat that Macilwane! -- Dave Stephenson Geological Survey of Canada Ottawa, Ontario, Canada *Om Mani Padme Hum 1-2-3* Internet: stephens@geod.emr.ca ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 7 May 93 08:34:30 CDT From: Bret Wingert Newsgroups: sci.space Subject: Re: Level 5? Organization: IBM, Federal Systems Co. Software Services Disclaimer: This posting represents the poster's views, not those of IBM News-Software: UReply 3.1 References: <19930504.074507.244@almaden.ibm.com> <1993May5.153636.410@sol.ctr.columbia.edu> <19930506.031533.608@almaden.ibm.com> Lines: 23 Sender: news@CRABAPPLE.SRV.CS.CMU.EDU Source-Info: Sender is really isu@VACATION.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU In <19930506.031533.608@almaden.ibm.com> Greg Stewart-Nicholls writes: > I was being a little facetious. We _have_ well defined processes, >metrics, reiterations etc. and still can't reliably predict development >cycles. > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > Our process allows us to predict development cycles and reliability. This is what makes a good process: repeatability and reliability. You are correct that a some programs succeed without formal processes but they have informal ones. We believe that in order to consistently produce high-quality software on time and within budget you must have a repeatable process that is accepted and used by your development team. Additionally, your customers must be sold on the benefits to them of a Level 5 process. Bret Wingert Wingert@VNET.IBM.COM (713)-282-7534 FAX: (713)-282-8077 ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 544 ------------------------------