Date: Thu, 3 Jun 93 06:00:10 From: Space Digest maintainer Reply-To: Space-request@isu.isunet.edu Subject: Space Digest V16 #668 To: Space Digest Readers Precedence: bulk Space Digest Thu, 3 Jun 93 Volume 16 : Issue 668 Today's Topics: Space FAQ 05/15 - References Space FAQ 06/15 - Addresses Space FAQ 07/15 - Mission Schedules 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: 2 Jun 1993 23:28:39 -0400 From: Jon Leech Subject: Space FAQ 05/15 - References Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.space,sci.answers,news.answers Archive-name: space/references Last-modified: $Date: 93/06/02 23:14:13 $ REFERENCES ON SPECIFIC AREAS PUBLISHERS OF SPACE/ASTRONOMY MATERIAL Astronomical Society of the Pacific 1290 24th Avenue San Francisco, CA 94122 More expensive but better organized slide sets. Cambridge University Press 32 East 57th Street New York, NY 10022 Crawford-Peters Aeronautica P.O. Box 152528 San Diego, CA 92115 (619) 287-3933 An excellent source of all kinds of space publications. They publish a number of catalogs, including: Aviation and Space, 1945-1962 Aviation and Space, 1962-1990 Space and Related Titles European Southern Observatory Information and Photographic Service Dr R.M. West Karl Scharzschild Strasse 2 D-8046 Garching bei Munchen FRG Slide sets, posters, photographs, conference proceedings. Finley Holiday Film Corporation 12607 East Philadelphia Street Whittier, California 90601 (213)945-3325 (800)FILMS-07 Wide selection of Apollo, Shuttle, Viking, and Voyager slides at ~50 cents/slide. Call for a catalog. Hansen Planetarium (Utah) Said to hold sales on old slide sets. Look in Sky & Telescope for contact info. Lunar and Planetary Institute 3303 NASA Road One Houston, TX 77058-4399 Technical, geology-oriented slide sets, with supporting booklets. John Wiley & Sons 605 Third Avenue New York, NY 10158-0012 Sky Publishing Corporation PO Box 9111 Belmont, MA 02178-9111 Offers "Sky Catalogue 2000.0" on PC floppy with information (including parallax) for 45000 stars. Roger Wheate Geography Dept. University of Calgary, Alberta Canada T2N 1N4 (403)-220-4892 (403)-282-7298 (FAX) wheate@uncamult.bitnet Offers a 40-slide set called "Mapping the Planets" illustrating recent work in planetary cartography, comes with a booklet and information on getting your own copies of the maps. $50 Canadian, shipping included. Superintendent of Documents US Government Printing Office Washington, DC 20402 Univelt, Inc. P. O. Box 28130 San Diego, Ca. 92128 Publishers for the American Astronomical Society. US Naval Observatory 202-653-1079 (USNO Bulletin Board via modem) 202-653-1507 General Willmann-Bell P.O. Box 35025 Richmond, Virginia 23235 USA (804)-320-7016 9-5 EST M-F CAREERS IN THE SPACE INDUSTRY In 1990 the Princeton Planetary Society published the first edition of "Space Jobs: The Guide to Careers in Space-Related Fields." The publication was enormously successful: we distributed 2000 copies to space enthusiasts across the country and even sent a few to people in Great Britain, Australia, and Ecuador. Due to the tremendous response to the first edition, PPS has published an expanded, up-to-date second edition of the guide. The 40-page publication boasts 69 listings for summer and full-time job opportunities as well as graduate school programs. The second edition of "Space Jobs" features strategies for entering the space field and describes positions at consulting and engineering firms, NASA, and non-profit organizations. The expanded special section on graduate schools highlights a myriad of programs ranging from space manufacturing to space policy. Additional sections include tips on becoming an astronaut and listings of NASA Space Grant Fellowships and Consortia, as well as NASA Centers for the Commercial Development of Space. To order send check or money order made payable to Princeton Planetary Society for $4 per copy, plus $1 per copy for shipping and handling (non-US customers send an International Money Order payable in US dollars) to: Princeton Planetary Society 315 West College Princeton University Princeton, NJ 08544 DC-X SINGLE-STAGE TO ORBIT (SSTO) PROGRAM SDI's SSRT (Single Stage Rocket Technology) project has funded a suborbital technology demonstrator called DC-X that should fly in mid-1993. Further development towards an operational single-stage to orbit vehicle (called Delta Clipper) is uncertain at present. An collection of pictures and files relating to DC-X is FTPable from the directory bongo.cc.utexas.edu:pub/delta-clipper. Chris W. Johnson (chrisj@emx.cc.utexas.edu) maintains the archive. HOW TO NAME A STAR AFTER A PERSON Official names are decided by committees of the International Astronomical Union, and are not for sale. There are purely commercial organizations which will, for a fee, send you pretty certificates and star maps describing where to find "your" star. These organizations have absolutely no standing in the astronomical community and the names they assign are not used by anyone else. It's also likely that you won't be able to see "your" star without binoculars or a telescope. See the back pages of Astronomy or other amateur astronomy publications for contact info; one such organization may be found at: International Star Registry 34523 Wilson Road Ingleside, IL 60041 This is not an endorsement of ISR. LLNL "GREAT EXPLORATION" The LLNL "Great Exploration", a plan for an on-the-cheap space station, Lunar base, and Mars mission using inflatable space structures, excited a lot of interest on the net and still comes up from time to time. Some references cited during net discussion were: Avation Week Jan 22, 1990 for an article on the overall Great Exploration NASA Assessment of the LLNL Space Exploration Proposal and LLNL Responses by Dr. Lowell Wood LLNL Doc. No. SS 90-9. Their address is: PO Box 808 Livermore, CA 94550 (the NASA authors are unknown). Briefing slides of a presentation to the NRC last December may be available. Write LLNL and ask. Conceptual Design Study for Modular Inflatable Space Structures, a final report for purchase order B098747 by ILC Dover INC. I don't know how to get this except from LLNL or ILC Dover. I don't have an address for ILC. LUNAR PROSPECTOR Lunar Exploration Inc. (LEI) is a non-profit corporation working on a privately funded lunar polar orbiter. Lunar Prospector is designed to perform a geochemical survey and search for frozen volatiles at the poles. A set of reference files describing the project is FTPable from directory ames.arc.nasa.gov:pub/SPACE/LEI. LUNAR SCIENCE AND ACTIVITIES Grant H Heiken, David T Vaniman, and Bevan M French (editors), "Lunar Sourcebook, A User's Guide to the Moon", Cambridge University Press 1991, ISBN 0-521-33444-6; hardcover; expensive. A one-volume encyclopedia of essentially everything known about the Moon, reviewing current knowledge in considerable depth, with copious references. Heavy emphasis on geology, but a lot more besides, including considerable discussion of past lunar missions and practical issues relevant to future mission design. *The* reference book for the Moon; all others are obsolete. Wendell Mendell (ed), "Lunar Bases and Space Activities of the 21st Century", $15. "Every serious student of lunar bases *must* have this book" - Bill Higgins. Available from: Lunar and Planetary Institute 3303 NASA Road One Houston, TX 77058-4399 If you want to order books, call (713)486-2172. Thomas A. Mutch, "Geology of the Moon: A Stratigraphic View", Princeton University Press, 1970. Information about the Lunar Orbiter missions, including maps of the coverage of the lunar nearside and farside by various Orbiters. ORBITING EARTH SATELLITE HISTORIES A list of Earth orbiting satellites (that are still in orbit) is FTPable from ames.arc.nasa.gov:pub/SPACE/FAQ/Satellites SPACECRAFT MODELS "Space in Miniature #2: Gemini" by Michael J. Mackowski 1621 Waterwood Lane, St. Louis, MO 63146 $7.50 Only 34pp but enough pictures & diagrams to interest more than just the modelling community, I feel. Marco's Miniatures of Dracut, Mass. have produced a 1/144 Skylab in an edition of 500 & a 1/48 Lunar Rover (same scale as Monogram and Revell Lunar Modules) in a similar edition. Prices are $45 for Skylab, $24 for LRV. Check with them for postage etc. I have no connection with them, but have found their service to be good and their stock of rare/old kits *is* impressive. Prices range from reasonable ($35 for Monogram 1/32 scale Apollo CSM with cutaway details) to spectacular ($145 for Airfix Vostok). Four Star Collectibles P.O. Box 658 Dracut Mass 01826, USA. (508)-957-0695. Voyager, HST, Viking, Lunar Rover etc. kits from: Lunar Models 5120 Grisham Rowlett, Texas 75088 (214)-475-4230 As reviewed by Bob Kaplow: Peter Alway's book "Scale Model Rocketry" is now available. Mine arrived in the mail earlier this week. To get your own copy, send $19.95 + $2.50 s/h ($22.45 total) to: Peter Alway 2830 Pittsfield Ann Arbor, MI 48104 The book includes information on collecting scale data, construction of scale models, and several handy tables. Appendicies include plans for 3 sport scale models, a 1:9.22 D Region Tomahawk (BT50), a 1/40 V-2 (BT60), and a 1/9.16 Aerobee 150A (BT55/60). I've only begun to study the book, but it certainly will be a valuable data source for many modellers. Most vehicles include several paragraphs of text describing the missions flown by the rocket, various specs including "NAR" engine classification, along with a dimensioned drawing, color layouts & paint pattern, and a black & white photograph. The vehicles included are the Aerobee 150A, Aerobee 300, Aerobee Hi, Arcas, Asp, Astrobee 1500, Astrobee D, Atlas Centaur, Atlas-Agena, Atlas-Score, Baby WAC, D-Region Tomahawk, Deacon Rockoon, Delta B, Delta E, Gemini-Titan II, Iris, Javelin, Juno 1, Juno 2, Little Joe 1, Little Joe 2, Mercury-Atlas, Mercury-Redstone, Nike-Apache, Nike-Asp, Nike-Cajun, Nike-Deacon, Nike-Tomahawk, RAM B, Saturn 1 Block 1, Saturn 1 Block 2, Saturn 1B, Saturn 5, Scout, Standard Aerobee, Terrapin, Thor-Able, Titan III C, Titan III E, Trailblazer 1, V-2, Vanguard, Viking Model 1, Viking Model 2, and Wac Corporal. ROCKET PROPULSION George P. Sutton, "Rocket Propulsion Elements", 5th edn, Wiley-Interscience 1986, ISBN 0-471-80027-9. Pricey textbook. The best (nearly the only) modern introduction to the technical side of rocketry. A good place to start if you want to know the details. Not for the math-shy. Straight chemical rockets, essentially nothing on more advanced propulsion (although earlier editions reportedly had some coverage). Dieter K. Huzel and David H. Huang, "Design of Liquid Propellant Rocket Engines", NASA SP-125. NTIS N71-29405 PC A20/MF A01 1971 461p Out of print; reproductions may be obtained through the NTIS (expensive). The complete and authoritative guide to designing liquid-fuel engines. Reference #1 in most chapters of Sutton. Heavy emphasis on practical issues, what works and what doesn't, what the typical values of the fudge factors are. Stiff reading, massive detail; written for rocket engineers by rocket engineers. SPACECRAFT DESIGN Brij N. Agrawal, "Design of Geosynchronous Spacecraft", Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0-13-200114-4. James R. Wertz ed, "Spacecraft Attitude Determination and Control", Kluwer, ISBN 90-277-1204-2. P.R.K. Chetty, "Satellite Technology and its Applications", McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-8306-9688-1. James R. Wertz and Wiley J. Larson (editors), "Space Mission Analysis and Design", Kluwer Academic Publishers (Dordrecht/Boston/London) 1991, ISBN 0-7923-0971-5 (paperback), or 0-7923-0970-7 (hardback). This looks at system-level design of a spacecraft, rather than detailed design. 23 chapters, 4 appendices, about 430 pages. It leads the reader through the mission design and system-level design of a fictitious earth-observation satellite, to illustrate the principles that it tries to convey. Warning: although the book is chock-full of many useful reference tables, some of the numbers in at least one of those tables (launch costs for various launchers) appear to be quite wrong. Can be ordered by telephone, using a credit card; Kluwer's phone number is (617)-871-6600. Cost $34.50. ESOTERIC PROPULSION SCHEMES (SOLAR SAILS, LASERS, FUSION...) This needs more and more up-to-date references, but it's a start. ANTIMATTER: "Antiproton Annihilation Propulsion", Robert Forward AFRPL TR-85-034 from the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory (AFRPL/XRX, Stop 24, Edwards Air Force Base, CA 93523-5000). NTIS AD-A160 734/0 PC A10/MF A01 PC => Paper copy, A10 => $US57.90 -- or maybe Price Code? MF => MicroFiche, A01 => $US13.90 Technical study on making, holding, and using antimatter for near-term (30-50 years) propulsion systems. Excellent bibliography. Forward is the best-known proponent of antimatter. This also may be available as UDR-TR-85-55 from the contractor, the University of Dayton Research Institute, and DTIC AD-A160 from the Defense Technical Information Center, Defense Logistics Agency, Cameron Station, Alexandria, VA 22304-6145. And it's also available from the NTIS, with yet another number. "Advanced Space Propulsion Study, Antiproton and Beamed Power Propulsion", Robert Forward AFAL TR-87-070 from the Air Force Astronautics Laboratory, DTIC #AD-A189 218. NTIS AD-A189 218/1 PC A10/MF A01 Summarizes the previous paper, goes into detail on beamed power systems including " 1) pellet, microwave, and laser beamed power systems for intersteller transport; 2) a design for a near-relativistic laser-pushed lightsail using near-term laser technology; 3) a survey of laser thermal propulsion, tether transportation systems, antiproton annihilation propulsion, exotic applications of solar sails, and laser-pushed interstellar lightsails; 4) the status of antiproton annihilation propulsion as of 1986; and 5) the prospects for obtaining antimatter ions heavier than antiprotons." Again, there is an extensive bibliography. "Application of Antimatter - Electric Power to Interstellar Propulsion", G. D. Nordley, JBIS Interstellar Studies issue of 6/90. BUSSARD RAMJETS AND RELATED METHODS: G. L. Matloff and A. J. Fennelly, "Interstellar Applications and Limitations of Several Electrostatic/Electromagnetic Ion Collection Techniques", JBIS 30 (1977):213-222 N. H. Langston, "The Erosion of Interstellar Drag Screens", JBIS 26 (1973): 481-484 C. Powell, "Flight Dynamics of the Ram-Augmented Interstellar Rocket", JBIS 28 (1975):553-562 A. R. Martin, "The Effects of Drag on Relativistic Spacefight", JBIS 25 (1972):643-652 FUSION: "A Laser Fusion Rocket for Interplanetary Propulsion", Roderick Hyde, LLNL report UCRL-88857. (Contact the Technical Information Dept. at Livermore) Fusion Pellet design: Fuel selection. Energy loss mechanisms. Pellet compression metrics. Thrust Chamber: Magnetic nozzle. Shielding. Tritium breeding. Thermal modeling. Fusion Driver (lasers, particle beams, etc): Heat rejection. Vehicle Summary: Mass estimates. Vehicle Performance: Interstellar travel required exhaust velocities at the limit of fusion's capability. Interplanetary missions are limited by power/weight ratio. Trajectory modeling. Typical mission profiles. References, including the 1978 report in JBIS, "Project Daedalus", and several on ICF and driver technology. "Fusion as Electric Propulsion", Robert W. Bussard, Journal of Propulsion and Power, Vol. 6, No. 5, Sept.-Oct. 1990 Fusion rocket engines are analyzed as electric propulsion systems, with propulsion thrust-power-input-power ratio (the thrust-power "gain" G(t)) much greater than unity. Gain values of conventional (solar, fission) electric propulsion systems are always quite small (e.g., G(t)<0.8). With these, "high-thrust" interplanetary flight is not possible, because system acceleration (a(t)) capabilities are always less than the local gravitational acceleration. In contrast, gain values 50-100 times higher are found for some fusion concepts, which offer "high-thrust" flight capability. One performance example shows a 53.3 day (34.4 powered; 18.9 coast), one-way transit time with 19% payload for a single-stage Earth/Mars vehicle. Another shows the potential for high acceleration (a(t)=0.55g(o)) flight in Earth/moon space. "The QED Engine System: Direct Electric Fusion-Powered Systems for Aerospace Flight Propulsion" by Robert W. Bussard, EMC2-1190-03, available from Energy/Matter Conversion Corp., 9100 A. Center Street, Manassas, VA 22110. [This is an introduction to the application of Bussard's version of the Farnsworth/Hirsch electrostatic confinement fusion technology to propulsion. 1500 Subject: Space FAQ 06/15 - Addresses Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.answers,news.answers Archive-name: space/addresses Last-modified: $Date: 93/06/02 23:13:21 $ CONTACTING NASA, ESA, AND OTHER SPACE AGENCIES/COMPANIES Many space activities center around large Government or International Bureaucracies. In the US that means NASA. If you have basic information requests: (e.g., general PR info, research grants, data, limited tours, and ESPECIALLY SUMMER EMPLOYMENT (typically resumes should be ready by Jan. 1), etc.), consider contacting the nearest NASA Center to answer your questions. EMail typically will not get you any where, computers are used by investigators, not PR people. The typical volume of mail per Center is a multiple of 10,000 letters a day. Seek the Public Information Office at one of the below, this is their job: NASA (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is the civilian space agency of of the United States Federal Government. It reports directly to the White House and is not a Cabinet post such as the military Department of Defense. Its 20K+ employees are civil servants and hence US citizens. Another 100K+ contractors also work for NASA. NASA CENTERS NASA Headquarters (NASA HQ) Washington DC 20546 (202)-358-1600 Ask them questions about policy, money, and things of political nature. Direct specific questions to the appropriate center. NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Moffett Field, CA 94035 (415)-694-5091 Some aeronautical research, atmosphere reentry, Mars and Venus planetary atmospheres. "Lead center" for Helicopter research, V/STOL, etc. Runs Pioneer series of space probes. NASA Ames Research Center Dryden Flight Research Facility [DFRF] P. O. Box 273 Edwards, CA 93523 (805)-258-8381 Aircraft, mostly. Tested the shuttle orbiter landing characteristics. Developed X-1, D-558, X-3, X-4, X-5, XB-70, and of course, the X-15. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Greenbelt, MD 20771 [Outside of Washington DC] (301)-344-6255 Earth orbiting unmanned satellites and sounding rockets. Developed LANDSAT. Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) California Institute of Technology 4800 Oak Grove Dr. Pasadena, CA 91109 (818)-354-5011 The "heavies" in planetary research probes and other unmanned projects (they also had a lot to do with IRAS). They run Voyager, Magellan, Galileo, and will run Cassini, CRAF, etc. etc.. For images, probe navigation, and other info about unmanned exploration, this is the place to go. JPL is run under contract for NASA by the nearby California Institute of Technology, unlike the NASA centers above. This distinction is subtle but critical. JPL has different requirements for unsolicited research proposals and summer hires. For instance in the latter, an SF 171 is useless. Employees are Caltech employees, contractors, and for the most part have similar responsibilities. They offer an alternative to funding after other NASA Centers. A fact sheet and description of JPL is available by anonymous FTP in ames.arc.nasa.gov:pub/SPACE/FAQ/JPLDescription NASA Johnson Manned Space Center (JSC) Houston, TX 77058 (713)-483-5111 JSC manages Space Shuttle, ground control of manned missions. Astronaut training. Manned mission simulators. NASA Kennedy Space Flight Center (KSC) Titusville, FL 32899 (407)-867-2468 Space launch center. You know this one. NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Hampton, VA 23665 [Near Newport News, VA] (804)-865-2935 Original NASA site. Specializes in theoretical and experimental flight dynamics. Viking. Long Duration Exposure Facility. NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) 21000 Brookpark Rd. Cleveland, OH 44135 (216)-433-4000 Aircraft/Rocket propulsion. Space power generation. Materials research. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Huntsville, AL 35812 (205)-453-0034 Development, production, delivery of Solid Rocket Boosters, External Tank, Orbiter main engines. Propulsion and launchers. Michoud Assembly Facility Orleans Parish New Orleans, LA 70129 (504)-255-2601 Shuttle external tanks are produced here; formerly Michoud produced first stages for the Saturn V. Stennis Space Center Bay St. Louis, Mississippi 39529 (601)-688-3341 Space Shuttle main engines are tested here, as were Saturn V first and second stages. The center also does remote-sensing and technology-transfer research. Wallops Flight Center Wallops Island, VA 23337 (804)824-3411 Aeronautical research, sounding rockets, Scout launcher. Manager, Technology Utilization Office NASA Scientific and Technical Information Facility Post Office Box 8757 Baltimore, Maryland 21240 Specific requests for software must go thru COSMIC at the Univ. of Georgia, NASA's contracted software redistribution service. You can reach them at cosmic@uga.bitnet. NOTE: Foreign nationals requesting information must go through their Embassies in Washington DC. These are facilities of the US Government and are regarded with some degree of economic sensitivity. Centers cannot directly return information without high Center approval. Allow at least 1 month for clearance. This includes COSMIC. The US Air Force Space Command can be contacted thru the Pentagon along with other Department of Defense offices. They have unacknowledged offices in Los Angeles, Sunnyvale, Colorado Springs, and other locations. They have a budget which rivals NASA in size. ARIANESPACE HEADQUARTERS Boulevard de l'Europe B.P. 177 91006 Evry Cedex France ARIANESPACE, INC. 1747 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Suite 875 Washington, DC 20006 (202)-728-9075 EARTH OBSERVATION SATELLITE COMPANY (EOSAT) 7500 Forbes Boulevard Lanham, MD EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY (ESA) 955 L'Enfant Plaza S.W. Washington, D.C. 20024 (202)-488-4158 NATIONAL SPACE DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (NASDA) 4-1 Hamamatsu-Cho, 2 Chome Minato-Ku, Tokyo 105, JAPAN asuzuki@rd.tksc.nasda.go.jp (Public Relations Office) SOYUZKARTA 45 Vologradsij Pr. Moscow 109125 USSR SPACE CAMP Alabama Space and Rocket Center U.S. SPACE CAMP 1 Tranquility Base 6225 Vectorspace Blvd Huntsville, AL 35805 Titusville FL 32780 (205)-837-3400 (407)267-3184 Registration and mailing list are handled through Huntsville -- both camps are described in the same brochure. Programs offered at Space Camp are: Space Camp - one week, youngsters completing grades 4-6 Space Academy I - one week, grades 7-9 Aviation Challenge - one week high school program, grades 9-11 Space Academy II - 8 days, college accredited, grades 10-12 Adult Program - 3 days (editorial comment: it's great!) Teachers Program - 5 days SPACE COMMERCE CORPORATION (U.S. agent for Soviet launch services) 504 Pluto Drive 69th flr, Texas Commerce Tower Colorado Springs, CO 80906 Houston, TX 77002 (719)-578-5490 (713)-227-9000 SPACEHAB 600 Maryland Avenue, SW Suite 201 West Washington, DC 20004 (202)-488-3483 SPACE INDUSTRIES, INC. 101 Courageous Dr. 711 W. Bay Area Blvd. #320 Leage City, TX 77573 Webster, TX 77598 (713) 538-6000 I'm not certain which of these two addresses is correct. SPOT IMAGE CORPORATION 1857 Preston White Drive, Reston, VA 22091 (FAX) (703)-648-1813 (703)-620-2200 OTHER COMMERCIAL SPACE BUSINESSES Vincent Cate maintains a list with addresses and some info for a variety of companies in space-related businesses. This is mailed out on the space-investors list he runs (see the "Network Resources" FAQ) and is also available by anonymous ftp from furmint.nectar.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.209.111) in /usr2/anon/space-companies. NEXT: FAQ #7/13 - Schedules for space missions, and how to see them ------------------------------ Date: 2 Jun 1993 23:29:19 -0400 From: Jon Leech Subject: Space FAQ 07/15 - Mission Schedules Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.answers,news.answers Archive-name: space/schedule Last-modified: $Date: 93/06/02 23:14:15 $ SPACE SHUTTLE ANSWERS, LAUNCH SCHEDULES, TV COVERAGE SHUTTLE LAUNCHINGS AND LANDINGS; SCHEDULES AND HOW TO SEE THEM Shuttle operations are discussed in the Usenet group sci.space.shuttle, and Ken Hollis (gandalf@pro-electric.cts.com) posts a compressed version of the shuttle manifest (launch dates and other information) periodically there. The manifest is also available from the Ames SPACE archive in SPACE/FAQ/manifest. The portion of his manifest formerly included in this FAQ has been removed; please refer to his posting or the archived copy. For the most up to date information on upcoming missions, call (407) 867-INFO (867-4636) at Kennedy Space Center. Official NASA shuttle status reports are posted to sci.space.news frequently. WHY DOES THE SHUTTLE ROLL JUST AFTER LIFTOFF? The following answer and translation are provided by Ken Jenks (kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov). The "Ascent Guidance and Flight Control Training Manual," ASC G&C 2102, says: "During the vertical rise phase, the launch pad attitude is commanded until an I-loaded V(rel) sufficient to assure launch tower clearance is achieved. Then, the tilt maneuver (roll program) orients the vehicle to a heads down attitude required to generate a negative q-alpha, which in turn alleviates structural loading. Other advantages with this attitude are performance gain, decreased abort maneuver complexity, improved S-band look angles, and crew view of the horizon. The tilt maneuver is also required to start gaining downrange velocity to achieve the main engine cutoff (MECO) target in second stage." This really is a good answer, but it's couched in NASA jargon. I'll try to interpret. 1) We wait until the Shuttle clears the tower before rolling. 2) Then, we roll the Shuttle around so that the angle of attack between the wind caused by passage through the atmosphere (the "relative wind") and the chord of the wings (the imaginary line between the leading edge and the trailing edge) is a slightly negative angle ("a negative q-alpha"). This causes a little bit of "downward" force (toward the belly of the Orbiter, or the +Z direction) and this force "alleviates structural loading." We have to be careful about those wings -- they're about the most "delicate" part of the vehicle. 3) The new attitude (after the roll) also allows us to carry more mass to orbit, or to achieve a higher orbit with the same mass, or to change the orbit to a higher or lower inclination than would be the case if we didn't roll ("performance gain"). 4) The new attitude allows the crew to fly a less complicated flight path if they had to execute one of the more dangerous abort maneuvers, the Return To Launch Site ("decreased abort maneuver complexity"). 5) The new attitude improves the ability for ground-based radio antennae to have a good line-of-sight signal with the S-band radio antennae on the Orbiter ("improved S-band look angles"). 6) The new attitude allows the crew to see the horizon, which is a helpful (but not mandatory) part of piloting any flying machine. 7) The new attitude orients the Shuttle so that the body is more nearly parallel with the ground, and the nose to the east (usually). This allows the thrust from the engines to add velocity in the correct direction to eventually achieve orbit. Remember: velocity is a vector quantity made of both speed and direction. The Shuttle has to have a large horizontal component to its velocity and a very small vertical component to attain orbit. This all begs the question, "Why isn't the launch pad oriented to give this nice attitude to begin with? Why does the Shuttle need to roll to achieve that attitude?" The answer is that the pads were leftovers from the Apollo days. The Shuttle straddles two flame trenches -- one for the Solid Rocket Motor exhaust, one for the Space Shuttle Main Engine exhaust. (You can see the effects of this on any daytime launch. The SRM exhaust is dirty gray garbage, and the SSME exhaust is fluffy white steam. Watch for the difference between the "top" [Orbiter side] and the "bottom" [External Tank side] of the stack.) The access tower and other support and service structure are all oriented basically the same way they were for the Saturn V's. (A side note: the Saturn V's also had a roll program. Don't ask me why -- I'm a Shuttle guy.) I checked with a buddy in Ascent Dynamics. He added that the "roll maneuver" is really a maneuver in all three axes: roll, pitch and yaw. The roll component of that maneuver is performed for the reasons stated. The pitch component controls loading on the wings by keeping the angle of attack (q-alpha) within a tight tolerance. The yaw component is used to determine the orbital inclination. The total maneuver is really expressed as a "quaternion," a grad-level-math concept for combining all three rotation matrices in one four-element array. HOW TO RECEIVE THE NASA TV CHANNEL, NASA SELECT NASA SELECT is broadcast by satellite. If you have access to a satellite dish, you can find SELECT on Satcom F2R, Transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees West Longitude, Audio 6.8, Frequency 3960 MHz. F2R is stationed over the Atlantic, and is increasingly difficult to receive from California and points west. During events of special interest (e.g. shuttle missions), SELECT is sometimes broadcast on a second satellite for these viewers. If you can't get a satellite feed, some cable operators carry SELECT. It's worth asking if yours doesn't. The SELECT schedule is found in the NASA Headline News which is frequently posted to sci.space.news. Generally it carries press conferences, briefings by NASA officials, and live coverage of shuttle missions and planetary encounters. SELECT has recently begun carrying much more secondary material (associated with SPACELINK) when missions are not being covered. AMATEUR RADIO FREQUENCIES FOR SHUTTLE MISSIONS The following are believed to rebroadcast space shuttle mission audio: W6FXN - Los Angeles K6MF - Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California WA3NAN - Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Maryland. W5RRR - Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, Texas W6VIO - Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, California. W1AW Voice Bulletins Station VHF 10m 15m 20m 40m 80m ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ----- ----- W6FXN 145.46 K6MF 145.585 7.165 3.840 WA3NAN 147.45 28.650 21.395 14.295 7.185 3.860 W5RRR 146.64 28.400 21.350 14.280 7.227 3.850 W6VIO 224.04 21.340 14.270 W6VIO 224.04 21.280 14.282 7.165 3.840 W1AW 28.590 21.390 14.290 7.290 3.990 W5RRR transmits mission audio on 146.64, a special event station on the other frequencies supplying Keplerian Elements and mission information. W1AW also transmits on 147.555, 18.160. No mission audio but they transmit voice bulletins at 0245 and 0545 UTC. Frequencies in the 10-20m bands require USB and frequencies in the 40 and 80m bands LSB. Use FM for the VHF frequencies. [This item was most recently updated courtesy of Gary Morris (g@telesoft.com, KK6YB, N5QWC)] SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER FUEL COMPOSITION Reference: "Shuttle Flight Operations Manual" Volume 8B - Solid Rocket Booster Systems, NASA Document JSC-12770 Propellant Composition (percent) Ammonium perchlorate (oxidizer) 69.6 Aluminum 16 Iron Oxide (burn rate catalyst) 0.4 Polybutadiene-acrilic acid-acrylonitrile (a rubber) 12.04 Epoxy curing agent 1.96 End reference Comment: The aluminum, rubber, and epoxy all burn with the oxidizer. NEXT: FAQ #8/13 - Historical planetary probes ------------------------------ End of Space Digest Volume 16 : Issue 668 ------------------------------