| T.R | Title | User | Personal
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| 335.1 | CANOPUS - July 1987 | LOIOSH::GOUN | NOTEorious | Tue Sep 08 1987 18:20 | 484 |
| This is the complete set of articles from CANOPUS for July 1987.
Please contact me by e-mail to be deleted from or to have new names
added to this mailing list.
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa2
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA ARPA: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu).
Send correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA,
1633 Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS
and registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS
widely, either electronically or as printout copies. If you do,
however, please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many
others receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the
National Space Science Data Center.
PLANETARY ASTRONOMY RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT - CAN7871.TXT - 7/7/87
NASA has issued a "Research Announcement" for a planetary
astronomy program. Although it only mentions ground-based
observatories, spacecraft are not specifically excluded. "The
data obtained are to be used both for basic research in support
of planetary program objectives and for direct support of
specific flight missions," the announcement reads. "The program
has limited funds for developing instrumentation for ground-based
observations and for laboratory research in support of objectives
of the Planetary Astronomy Program."
A total of 100 investigators will be selected under the $8
million program. Awards will be made for a year, but may be made
for more than a year if appropriate to the research. Renewal
proposals will be considered on the same basis as new proposals.
For funding evaluation in August proposals must be submitted by
July 31 to: Jurgen Rahe, NASA -- EL, Washington, DC 20546 (phone
205-453-1597). Other dealines are Dec. 31 for evaluation in
February 1988 and July 31, 1988, for evaluation in August 1988.
PERSONNEL: Bartoe, Hinners, Townsend, Luest, Grage - can7872.txt - 7/7/87
Spacelab 2 Crewman John-David Bartoe has been named Space Station
Chief Scientist for a two-year term starting June 15. He replaces
David Black who now returns to Ames Research Center. Bartoe was
head of the Solar Spectroscopy Section, Space Science Division,
at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington. He was a co-
investigator on the high-resolution telescope and spectrograph
flown on Spacelab 2, and flew on that mission as a payload
specialist.
Noel Hinners has been named NASA Associate Deputy Administrator
for Institutions. Hinners, who had been director of Goddard Space
Flight Center since 1982, will assist the NASA administrator and
deputy administrator and act in their stead when appropriate in
institutional matters. Hinners is succeeded at Goddard by John
Townsend, with Fairchild Industries since 1977. Townsend served
in various federal positions between 1949 and 1979, including
deputy director of Goddard and deputy administrator of the
Environmental Space Sciences Administration.
The European Space Agency Council has voted to extend the tenure
of Director General Reimar Luest for two years. He was appointed
in September 1984 to a four-year term, succeeding Erik
Quistgaard. The ESA Council also elected Henrik Grage of Denmark
as its new chairman for two years, succeeding H. Atkinson of
Britain. Grage had been Chairman of the ESA Industrial Policy
Committee.
PUBLICATIONS - can7873.txt - 7/7/87
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has just released its Annual Report
for 1986. The report covers flight projects, space science as
well as other technical areas.
TRW has published its 1986 "Space Log." The 53-page booklet is a
useful compendium of facts on space launches during the year,
including the Voyager 2 encounter with Uranus, the comet Halley
intercepts, and a box score on world space launches. Copies may
be obtained by writing on letterhead to: Editor, TRW Space Log,
MS 135/1477, TRW Space & Technology Group, One Space Park,
Redondo Beach, CA 90278.
STOFAN DEFENDS SPACE STATION COST ESTIMATES - can7874.txt - 7/13/87
The National Research Council's estimates of the Space Station's
program's costs are accurate but have been misconstrued by the
media, according to NASA Associate Administrator Andrew Stofan.
"The cost of the Space Station has not varied $1 from 6 months
ago to now," he told a meeting of the Huntsville section of the
National Space Club on Friday, July 10. "Their numbers are all
correct," but take in all costs associated with the Station, not
just its development and building costs.
The original cost when the program started several years ago was
$8 billion, "a very optimistic number" that someone had placed on
a viewgraph and which then assumed a life of its own. Instead,
the program now is limited to $8 billion (1984 $) total funding
through the next 3 years, after which the next president can
worry about how expansive he wants the program to be. When the
program was re-estimated last year the price tag was $14.4
billion in fiscal 1988 dollars, or $12.2 billion in fiscal 1984
dollars.
The NRC estimate was about double those figures but took in the
cost of launching and maintaining the station over a decade or
so. This will cost about $1 billion per year. The NRC, however,
"was impressed with and agreed on cost methodology," but noted
that NASA's funding plans allow for operations and other costs in
different parts of its budget plans.
Stofan noted that NASA has never included launch and operating
costs in its R&D costs for any space projects.
The NRC committee, chaired by Robert Seamans, now is conducting
what Stofan called " the 1,000th assessment of Space Station." He
expects that the report, due in September, "will be semi-critical
in several areas," and will request that NASA solve some
problems. But Stofan noted that NASA has often been criticized at
the midpoint of various programs as it faces issues that arise
during the design process.
Although he sounded tired of the frequent reviews of the program,
Stofan said that he will pay attention to the NRC's conclusions:
"I'm going to take it very, very seriously. If I can't answer
it, maybe we do have a problem."
However, he also called the review a chance for opponents to
commit political mischief: "We are inside a fish bowl with a
large magnifying glass and everybody sticking their fingers
inside and tickling the fish. No, [the review process] will not
go away."
Stofan had praise for the Soviet Union's Mir space station which
he saw displayed in full-scale mockup form at the Paris Air Show.
"I was very impressed with the hardware I saw," he said. "They
have a fantastic program." Mir now has an astrophysics module
attached and will be given a new science and applications module
a year over the next 4 to 5 years and will have a crew of 6 to 8
persons in the early 1990s. Perhaps because Mir was viewed as an
extension of the Salyut space station program started in 1971, the
American public has remained largely unaware of what the Soviets
are doing in space. The launch of the Energia superbooster,
comparable to the U.S. Saturn V in size and capability, "[may be]
the shocker that will wake us up," Stofan said. "Their program in
a broad front is very ambitious and the infrastructure they have
in their country to support this is impressive."
Stofan believes that the American public is "very, very
supportive of Space Station" and that the program is needed "to
qualify man for Mars ... [it is] absolutely essential to open
that door to move out into space."
Stofan criticized science populist Carl Sagan for his stand
against the Space Station, claiming that Sagan is "underinformed"
about the possibilities that the program offers.
"You cannot send a man to Mars ... unless you do the Space
Station first," Stofan said. He noted that the various science
disciplines "look at their own little narrow field and say, `Hey,
maximize mine.' The rest of the science community in the United
States does not look at [Sagan and his colleagues] as the
spokesmen."
Stofan said that the Space Station will be "the ideal piece of
hardware" for many space scientists.
"We have a terrible problem in the space sciences," he said. "We
have a lack of access to space." Space Station will allow
"essentially immediate access to space" with experiments being
accommodated in as little as 6 months rather than 10 to 15 years.
He did not describe how NASA will shorten the selection and
flight process which has become drawn out for Space Shuttle and
which is expected to take as long in the Station era.
Symposium on Space Technology and Science - can7875.txt - 7987
FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS
SIXTEENTH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SPACE TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE
SAPPORO, HOKKAIDO, JAPAN
MAY 22 - 27, 1988
GENERAL REMARKS
The Sixteenth Symposium on Space Technology and Science (ISTS) will be
held at the Hokkaido University Conference Hall, Sapporo, Hokkaido, May 22-27,
1988. The ISTS Organizing Committee invites individuals of all nations
interested in the space area to participate in this biennial event.
The Symposium will offer fine opportunities for participants to exchange
information and views on various technical and scientific topics as the
general status of national and international programs. It will consist of
invited papers in the National Space Program and Contributed papers in the
Technical Sessions. This time, a special session will be held to present and
discuss emerging expectations for Hokkaido as Japan's new space port.
SESSIONS
A. National Space Program. Invited papers only.
B Technical Sessions
a) Propulsion m) Balloons
b) Materials and Structure n) Satellite Communic. & Broadcasting
c) Flight Dynamics & Astrodynamics o) Lunar & Planetary Exploration
d) Fluid Dynamics p) Space Science
e) Thermophysics & Thermochemistry q) Earth Observations
f) Electronic Components & Devices r) Space Medicine
g) Computers and Data Systems s) Biology and Cosmos
h) Guidance, Navigation, & Control t) Microgravity
i) Systems Engineering u) Space Industrialization
j) Space Transportation System v) Space Law & Internat. Cooperation
k) Spacecraft Systems w) Student Conference
l) Space Station and Manned Space Technology
C. Special Session. Guest speakers and panel discussion of Hokkaido as
Japan's new space port.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
May 22 (Sun) Registration opens.
May 23 (Mon) Opening ceremony. National Space Program.
May 24 (Tue) - May 26 (Thu) Technical sessions
May 27 (Fri) Special Program
REGISTRATION FEE
The registration fee is 15,000 Yen per participant (approx U.S.$100,
based on current exchange rate). Reduced fees will be offered to students and
accompanying persons.
INFORMATION REQUEST
Inquiries regarding the Symposium should be addressed to:
Ms. H. Sakurai
16th ISTS Secretariat
c/o Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku
Tokyo 153 JAPAN
Telephone: 03-467-1111
Telex: J24550 (SPACE TKY)
Facsimile: 03-485-6872
PROPOSAL OF PAPER PRESENTATION
1) English will be used in the paper presentations and discussions of the
Symposium.
2) To propose a paper for presentation, submit an abstract of 500 to 700
words in duplicate (one original and one clear copy) to Ms. H. Sakurai at
the address given above.
3) The abstract deadline is OCTOBER 31, 1987.
4) The abstract should be typewritten in black, single-spaced on standard
white paper. Each abstract must be limited ot two pages. One figure or
photograph may be inserted in the abstract to facilitate the understanding
of the paper.
5) The paper title, author's full name(s), affiliation(s), mailing
address(es), facsimile and/or telex number, and the first, second, and
third choices of the proposed session must be indicated in each abstract.
6) The Program Committee will review and evaluate the proposed paper
abstracts based on their quality and originality. Authors of accepted
papers will be notified by December 20, 1987.
REVISED ABSTRACTS
The authors of accepted papers are requested to submit formal, revised
abstracts which must be typed in the standard format (to be sent later) by
March 15, 1988. The revised abstracts will be reproduced and distributed in a
bound volume to all participants of the Symposium.
MANUSCRIPTS AND PROCEEDINGS
1) Authors of accepted papers must submit photo-ready manuscripts to the
Program Committee during the Symposium.
2) The manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with instructions which
will be sent to the authors of accepted papers at a later date.
3) A volume of Proceedings will be published after the Symposium. The
Editorial Board will review the full papers for inclusion in the
Proceedings. Only the papers presented by authors will be considered for
publication.
PRESENTATIONS
Oral presentations in English are limited to 20 minutes each, including
questions and answers. Projectors for 35mm slides (with 5cm X 5cm holders),
viewgraphs, and 16mm movie films are available.
ELECTRON BEAM OBSERVATION OPPORTUNITY - can7876.txt - 7/21/87
Ionospheric researchers will have the opportunity to
conduct coordinated radio, radar, and optical observations in
conjunction with other space-based electron beam
experiments as part of the upcoming Cooperative High-
Altitude Rocket Gun Experiments (CHARGE) 3 rocket flight
in November 1988 at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR,
White Sands, N.Mex.). The flight will be particularly
interesting because of the high power planned for the
electron gun (3.5 kV at 5 A), which is based, in part, on
technology developments planned for the successful Excede
series of rockets.
CHARGE 3 is the third in a series of U.S. flights made in
collaboration with investigators from Utah State University
(Logan), Stanford University (Stanford, Calif.), the Institute
for Space and Astronautical Sciences (Sendai, Japan), and the
University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). The general objectives
for CHARGE 3 are fourfold:
-to study vehicle charging and diagnose contributory effects
at higher beam currents and energy,
-to study ELF/VLF wave generation and propagation from
dc and modulated electron beams,
-to diagnose beam propagation remotely by studying E
region ionization and optical excitation, and
-to investigate voltage and current distribution in an
electrically tethered space vehicle system at higher beam
currents.
The ability to perform remote observations of beam
propagation is expected to be very helpful in investigating
wave generation and propagation issues and should also
contribute to vehicle charging studies. However, there are a
variety of additional areas that may also be of interest to
investigators because of the resulting nighttime E region
ionospheric enhancement. These include radar/radio
studies of localized ionospheric disturbances and their
interaction physics with the background plasma, the
generation of artificial spatial structures that create
coherent structures of enhanced radar cross section, and the
possibility of unique radio communication modes from very
localized field-aligned structures. Optical observations
should be able to address issues of beam propagation,
energy distribution, and beam radial diffusion as a function
of penetration depth.
In terms of equipment, there are reasons to consider the
use of HF/VHF monostatic and bistatic portable radars and
unique communication setups of the type used for meteor
communications. In addition, both image-intensified film
and television cameras can be supported at WSMR.
Investigators will be responsible for obtaining their own
funding. However, some facilities and operational support
may be possible for observation sites located on White
Sands Missile Range (in general, this is of benefit only to
optical observers, as most radio/radar observations require
substantially different viewing geometry). Furthermore,
technical and logistics support in the design, planning, and
coordination of individual experiments is available on the
basis of our experiences gained during the flight of CHARGE
2, which was flown in December 1985. This should be of
benefit in a variety of practical details, such as site selection,
calculation of expected viewing geometry, and coordination
with support personnel.
Interested investigators may contact Brian Gilchrist,
STAR Laboratory/SEL, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
94305-4055 (SPAN:STAR::GILCHRIST, telephone:415-725-
1637 or leave a message at 415-723-3687).
This item was contributed by John Raitt, Utah State
University, Logan, and Peter Banks, Stanford University,
Stanford, Calif.
RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENTS - can7877.txt - 7/28/87
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has issued two
"Research Announcements" for activities in the planetary
sciences.
The first is the Planetary Instrument Definition and
Development Program (PIDDP). Its purpose "is to define and
develop a variety of measurement techniques and spacecraft
instruments for remote sensing, in situ analysis, and radio
science investigations in order to prepare for planetary missions
that may take place between the present and the year 20000,"
according to the PIDDP Announcement.
A total of 20 new proposals, in addition to a number of renewals,
is expected to be accepted in the $2 million program.
"The program does not have as its goal the development of a
specific system or hardware procurement. Its purpose is to
satisfy NASA's requirements for scientific study and
experimentation directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or
increasing knowledge or understanding rather than focusing on a
specific system or hardware solution."
However, there will be support for conceptual design and
breadboard development of critical components and complete
instruments, and for "important, long-lead time definition
studies."
The NRA recommends the Solar System Exploration Committee
reports, "Planetary Exploration Through the Year 2000, A Core
Program" and "Planetary Exploration Through the Year 2000, An
Augmented Program," as references. Although instruments for the
Magellan, Mars Observer, and Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby
missions have been selected, the NRA suggests that other
"proposals to define or develop instruments for [other missions
outlined in the reports] would be appropriate."
The Lunar Observer, Cassini Saturn Orbiter/Titan Probe, Mars Soil
Sample Return/Rover, Comet Nucleus Sample Return missions are
suggested as possible front runners. The NRA also directed
attention to a report on "Trajectory Determination and Collection
of Micrometeroids on the Space Station, Lunar and Planetary
Institute Report 86-05.
Proposals received by Aug. 31 will be be reviewed in September.
Those received by Dec. 31 will be reviewed in February.
Ten copies of proposals should be sent to:
Planetary Instrument Definition and Development Program
Attn NRA 87-OSSA-2
NASA -- EL
Washington, DC 20546
For additional information, contact Larry Evans, 202-453-1617.
The second NRA is for work in the planetary geology and
geosphysics program, and includes cartography, and geologic
mapping. Work may include laboratory, theoretical, and Earth
analog studies of the surfaces and interiors of planets and of
their evolution. Work may cover laboratory experimentation,
photointerpretation, theoretical, analytical, field and
comparative studies. Included is the Mars 1:500,000 mapping
project. "Modest" requests for imaging and non-imaging data will
be supported.
Proposals are sought for new projects or renewals of continuing
research covering a 1- to 3-year period.
Cartography proposals should be submitted to:
Joseph Boyce
Discipline Scientist
NASA -- EL
Washington, DC 20546
202-453-1597
Five copies of the proposals are required.
All other proposals should be addressed to:
The Lunar and Planetary Institute
Attn: LPI Geoscience Review Panel NRA 87-OSSA-3
3303 NASA Road 1
Houston, TX 77058
New prosposals should send 12 copies. Renewal applications should
send 6 copies.
The deadline for proposals is Aug. 21 to be considered for
funding during the September and October and funding in February
1988.
PERSONNEL - can7878.txt - 7/28/87
Larry Dumas has been named assistant laboratory director for the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Office of Telecommunications and Data
Acquisition, replacing Peter Lyman who was named JPL deputy
director earlier. Kirk Dawson has been named assistant laboratory
director for the Office of Technical Divisions at JPL, replacing
Larry Gates, who earlier was named associate director.
SHUTTLE NEWS - {can7879.txt}
Recovery of the Space Shuttle booster design is "right on
target," according to Design Team Manager John Thomas of NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center. The next development motor firing
is scheduled for August at the Morton-Thiokol plant in Ogden,
Utah. Meanwhile, the first of three new main engines to be used
in the STS-26 launch has been received at the National Space
Technology Laboratories in Bay St. Louis, Miss., for acceptance
testing. A separate engine has been test fired in a single 1,000-
second run, the longest ever for the main engine. Shuttle
launches are to resume in June 1988.
|
| 335.2 | CANOPUS - August 1987 | LOIOSH::GOUN | NOTEorious | Tue Sep 08 1987 18:33 | 276 |
| This is the unabridged CANOPUS for August, 1987. There are seven
articles.
A few responses to these mailings have shown confusion over who is
responsibe for items reported. Please note that neither the CANOPUS
editors nor I am responsible for statements quoted from reports or
from other individuals. The editors of CANOPUS are responsible for
choosing items to cover and for the accuracy of quotations and
summaries. All I do is copy a month's articles to the mailing list.
By all means let's have discussion and criticism, but please try to
keep straight who is responsible for what.
----
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa2
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA ARPA: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
----
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu).
Send correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA,
1633 Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS
and registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS
widely, either electronically or as printout copies. If you do,
however, please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many
others receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the
National Space Science Data Center.
Change of Location of CANOPUS Stories for Copying - can8871.txt - 8/3/87
There has been a change in the storage location for CANOPUS stories. This is
important if you copy stories directly using the VAX/VMS COPY command. The
stories are now in directory nssdc::ncf_ncf_user:[nssdc.canopus.articles].
The National Space Science Data Center is in the process of moving the CANOPUS
Newsletter from one computer to another, which should improve the performance,
that is, the response time of the code. The directory change is a result of
this process. Ed.
Space Station Automation Conference Announcement - can8872.txt - 8/7/87
Announcement: Space Station Automation III conference will be held at
Cambridge, MA on Nov 1-6, 1987 in conjunction with SPIE Advances In
Intelligent Robotics System Symposium and IECON '87. The Space Station
Automation III cooperating organizations are: American Association for
Artificial Intelligence, IEEE Robotics and Automation Council, and NASA.
It will be chaired by Wun C. Chiou, and co-chaired by Richard Fikes,
Rui J. P. DeFigueredo, Vernon Grose, Paul Schenker, Scott Starks, Al
Diaz, and Mike Wiskerchen. Don Rea of JPL will be the keynote speaker
representing Lew Allen of JLP.
RIDE REPORT STRESSES PLANETARY EXPLORATION - can8873.txt - 8/23/87
Planetary exploration highlights three of four "leadership
initiatives" detailed in NASA's report on "Leadership and America's
Future in Space." The report was written by ex-astronaut Sally
Ride who has left NASA to return to Stanford University.
"The United States has clearly lost leadership [in planetary
exploration and manned space flight] and is in danger of being
surpassed in many others during the next several years," the
report notes.
The Ride report follows the National Commission on Space Report
and the Rogers Commission investigation in the Challenger
disaster.
"Two fundamental, potentially inconsistent views have emerged,"
reads the preface to the Ride report. "Many people believe that
NASA should adopt a major, visionary goal. They argue that this
would galvanize support, focus NASA programs, and generate
excitement. Many others believe that NASA is already
overcommitted in the 1990s; they argue that the space agency will
be struggling to operate the Space Shuttle and build the Space
Station and could not handle another major program."
The report notes that elements of both must be in the solution
since goals are needed to keep the program from floundering,
and the agency must not tackle too much. It also notes that
"leadership in space does not require that the U.S. be preeminent
in all areas of space enterprise."
NASA Administrator James Fletcher formed a task group, chaired by
Ride, to "define potential U.S. space initiatives, and to
evaluate them in the light of the current space program and the
nation's desire to regain and retain space leadership."
The four initiatives identified by the task force are:
o Mission to Planet Earth. This would involve nine platforms,
four in polar orbit and five in geostationary orbit, to
study the terrestrial environment and how it is shaped. The
issues discussed are essentially those raised in the Earth
Systems Sciences Committee in 1986. The platforms would be
supplied by the U.S., Europe and Japan.
o Exploration of the Solar System. In this category the Ride
report endorses three missions each to address different
aspects of the solar system: the Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid
Flyby (primitive bodies), the Cassini orbiter/probes to
Saturn and Titan (outer planets), and a trio of Mars surface
sampler missions (terrestrial planets).
o Outpost on the Moon. This would be a three-phase effort
starting with an unmanned search for ideal landing sites
rich in oxygen-bearing ores. Included would be the Lunar
Geoscience Observer, followed by landers and rovers. The
second phase would have a series of week-long manned sorties
to the surface to set up oxygen refineries. Finally, by the
year 2010, the lunar outpost would have a permanent staff of
30.
o Humans on Mars. "This bold initiaitive is committed to the
human exploration, and eventual habitation, of Mars." The
goal would require the Mars surface sample missions, "an
aggressive Space Station life sciences program," and
development of a fast round-trip capability. Each mission
would require two craft, a slow, unmanned cargo craft
followed by a 6-man "sprint" ship that would make the whole
trip, including a 10- to 20-day stay, in a year.
As with many reports since the 1950s, the Ride report notes that
transportation is the single tightest bottleneck on our way to
space: "From now until the mid-1990s, Earth-to-orbit
transportation is NASA's most pressing problem." In addition to a
blend of Shuttle and expendables as launchers, the report urges
that NASA develop an unmanned cargo version of the Space Shuttle.
Such a "request for proposals" for a Phase B study effort was
released the same week as the report by Marshall Space Flight
Center. Shuttle-C, as it is called, would be able to launch
100,000 to 150,000 pounds into low Earth orbit. Man-rated
expendables with capsules also are suggested in the Ride report.
The report concludes by noting that its intent was not to
develop a single goal for NASA to follow. Indeed, that would
cripple other space efforts as the Space Shuttle has done.
However, space science will have to take a back seat, the Ride
report imnplies, until the technology and transportation are
developed to explore space with a rational, mature strategy.
"It would not be good strategy, good science, or good policy for
the U.S. to select a single initiative, then pursue it single-
mindedly," the report states. "The pursuit of a single initative
to the exclusion of all others results in leadership in only a
limited range of space endeavor."
----
Footnotes:
An interesting portion of the 63-page Ride report is the listing
of "Additional Studies" and references consulted by the task
group. Requests for copies should be addressed to the Office Of
Exploration, NASA, Washington, DC 20546.
Of the 74 workshop participants, reviewers and consultants, the
heaviest representation was from NASA headquarters -- 24 members.
Goddard Space Flight Center had 7 members, Johnson Space Center
and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory each had 6, other NASA centers
had a total of 7. The remainder where from academia and
contractors.
SPACE TELESCOPE AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS RECEIVE PROPOSAL EXTENSION - can8874.txt
- 8/24/87
Deadline for amateur astronomers to submit proposals for
observing time on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has been extended
from 1987 to June 1988, according to Stephen J. Edberg, Chairman
of the Hubble Space Telescope Amateur Astronomer Working Group.
According to the NASA announcement:
Linking the deadline to the resumption of Space Shuttle
operations, now scheduled for June 1988, will give amateur
astronomers extra time to submit their proposals, he explained.
Edberg said that "response from the amateur astronomer community
on this project has been enthusiastic. We've received more than
450 inquiries about the amateur astronomer participation project,
and the proposals we are getting show lots of imagination."
Adding that although he could not disclose any specifics about
the amateur proposals already submitted, Edberg did say he
thought those proposals were "very creative, covering many fields
of astronomical interest."
Amateur astronomers were invited to compete for 2 to 3 hours
observing time annually on NASA's Hubble Space Telescope last
year by NASA officials and Space Telescope Science Institute's
Director, Riccardo Giacconi. Giacconi believes serious amateur
astronomers "deserve a chance to use the most powerful of
astronomical instruments," and emphasized that "it is likely
amateur projects will yield important contributions to the field
and amateurs would ask refreshing new questions".
Inquiries about how amateurs submit proposals for viewing time on
Hubble Space Telescope should be sent to: American Association of
Variable Star Observers, 25 Birch Street, Cambridge, Mass., 02138
The association is one of seven amateur astronomical
organizations that make up the Hubble Space Telescope Amateur
Astronomers Working Group. The others are: Association of Lunar
and Planetary Observers, Astronomical League, Independent Space
Research Group, International Amateur-Professional Photoelectric
Photometry, International Occultation Timing Association and
Western Amateur Astronomers.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a cooperative international project
of NASA and the European Space Agency. The Space Telescope
Science Institute is operated for NASA by the Association of
Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. The institute is
located on the Johns Hopkins University campus in Baltimore, Md.
HINNERS NAMED NASA CHIEF SCIENTIST - can8875.txt - 8/24/87
Effective Aug. 24, Noel Hinners will serve as the NASA chief
scientist in addition to his responsibilities as associate deputy
administrator/institutions. Frank McDonald, who has been chief
scientist since September 1982, will return to the Goddard Space
Flight Center as associate director/chief scientist.
As the NASA chief scientist, Hinners will be the principal
advisor to the administrator and to senior management on agency-
wide aspects of NASA's scientific activities. Before joining NASA
in 1972 as director of lunar programs, Office of Space Science,
Hinners was chief of the lunar exploration department, Bellcom,
Inc. From 1974 to 1979, he was associate administrator for space
science. In April 1979, Hinners was director of the Smithsonian
Institution's National Air & Space Museum, prior to being
appointed director of Goddard in 1982.
McDonald began his NASA career in 1959 as head of the Energetic
Particles Branch in the Space Science Division, at Goddard. In
1970, he became chief of the Laboratory for High Energy
Astrophysics at Goddard. He was detailed to the White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy as a senior policy
analyst in 1982.
SUBORBITAL ACTIVITIES - can8876.txt - 8/25/87
Goddard Space Flight Center has selected New Mexico State
University's Physical Science Laboratory at Las Cruces for
negotiations on a contract to operate the National Scientific
Ballooning Facility in Palestine, Texas. The contract comprises a
$26.1 million, 3-year base plus two 1-year options worth $9.5 and
$9.9 million each. The contract had been held by the University
Center for Atmospheric Research.
Recent sounding rocket launches at White Sands, N.M., include
.... Conductivity of the Lower D-Region (COLD-R) for John
Ballentin of the Air Force Geophysics Laboratory, Aug. 14. A
Nike-Orion was used. More sophisticated measurements are planned
in Greenland.... High-resolution UV spectrograph for solar wind
studies, atop a Nike-Black Brant VC on July 27. Gary Rottman of
the University of Colorado is the principal investigator.... High
spatial resolution X-ray imaging of small-scale structures in the
solar corona. A Black Brant IX was used in the Aug. 15 launch.
Dan Moses of American Science and Engineering is the principal
investigator.
A series of three rockets and two balloons was launched July 26-
27 at Wallops (Island, Va.) Flight Facility for the Wave Induced
Particle Precipitation (WIPP) campaign studying natural and
manmade plasma waves and their effects on the ionosphere. The
manmade source was a Navy VLF transmitter. Umran Inan of Stanford
University is the campaign coordinator.
MARS STUDIES - can8877.txt - 8/25/87
Martin Marietta Corp. and FMC have been selected by CalTech/JPL
for final negotiation of parallel $250,000 studies of Mars
surface rover mobility and rendezvous. The one-year studies are
to start in September. A team to be selected by Johnson Space
Center will address aerocapture of the carrier spacecraft and
landing. Martin Marietta built the Viking landers and orbiters.
FMC is best known as a builder of military assault vehicles.
|
| 335.3 | RE 335.0 | DICKNS::KLAES | The Universe is safe. | Tue Sep 08 1987 19:01 | 14 |
| I have been placing *abridged* versions of CANOPUS in the
ENGGSG::USERB:[FLIS.AEROSPACE]AEROSPACE.NOTE Conference from USENET,
which is for *long* information (not generally discussion) articles
on space topics.
Perhaps you might want to put them in there, in the Topics which
already have the CANOPUS articles (you will see them labeled
accordingly). Besides, AEROSPACE needs the input.
Press KP7 or SELECT key to add the AEROSPACE Conference to your
Notebook.
Larry
|
| 335.4 | Network address clarification | LOIOSH::GOUN | NOTEorious | Tue Sep 08 1987 19:59 | 9 |
| I've already had one request for help on sending mail to the CANOPUS
distributor, so rather than answer a mass of such questions
individually....
Send mail to DECWRL::"willner@cfa.harvard.edu" to request addition to
the distribution list for CANOPUS. You can use upper or lower case
characters in the address as you choose, but the quotes are required.
-- Roger
|
| 335.5 | needs ToC, put in AEROSPACE | EUCLID::PAULHUS | Chris @ MLO 8-3/T13 dtn 223-6871 | Wed Sep 09 1987 15:48 | 5 |
| 1. Notes of this length need a table of contents.
2. I agree that AEROSPACE would be a better repository than
the SPACE conference.
- Chris
|
| 335.6 | CANOPUS - September, 1987 | DICKNS::KLAES | I grow weary of the chase! | Wed Oct 28 1987 11:51 | 158 |
| From: willner@cfa.harvard.EDU (Steve Willner)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - September 1987
Date: 27 Oct 87 17:02:37 GMT
Organization: Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. for Astrophysics
The following material is summarized from CANOPUS for September
1987. This was a light month with only three articles, all reported
here in condensed form. Material in {braces} is from me. The
unabridged CANOPUS has been sent to the mailing list.
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT - can9872.txt - 9/14/87
{condensed}
NASA has released a "Research Announcement" for the new planetary
atmospheres activity. Broad objectives range from composition and
chemical behavior to processes at the time of formation. For
additional information, call Dr. Kenneth Fox at 202-453-1597.
TRAINOR HEADS SCIENCES AT GODDARD - can9873.txt - 9/14/87
{condensed}
James Trainor has been named director of space and earth sciences
at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center replacing Frank Martin. He had
served as acting director since Martin became deputy associate
administrator for space station.
N.R.C. WANTS NO "SCIENCE HOSTAGES" ON SPACE STATION - can9871.txt - 9/14/87
{last article - condensed}
{In April, NASA requested the National Research Council to review
NASA's plans for the Space Station. This summary reports the latest
(final?) installment of the NRC review.}
Space science should not be "made hostage" to the Space Station in
the 1990s and will continue to require unmanned launchers and
platforms, according to the latest critique of the Space Station
program by the National Research Council. In addition, stronger
management, better cost estimates, and improved transportation are
required if the program is to succeed.
The NRC found the current Block I or Phase I design is a
"satisfactory starting point [that] reflects thoughtful compromises
among the priorities and the sometimes conflicting requirements of its
early scientific and engineering users." Long-term space goals must
be defined, though, before committing to any evolutionary path beyond
Block I.
The NRC reaffirmed that platforms other than the Station will be
required even after the Station is deployed, and that demands on the
Space Shuttle will exceed its capability. While the Station will be a
good platform for microgravity and life sciences, it is in the wrong
orbit for Earth observations and poorly suited to planetary and
astrophysics missions, the NRC wrote. "Thus, it is important that
space sciences not be confined, made hostage if you will, to the Space
Station," the NRC wrote. {The Ride report - which NASA is apparently
trying to ignore - also concluded that many important space objectives
are entirely separate from the Space Station. --SW}
In addition to increased use of expendables and unmanned
satellites, the NRC recommended that the duration of at least one
Shuttle orbiter be extended to at least 14 days (the maximum of 10
days was achieved by Spacelab 1 with an extra set of fuel cell tanks).
Significantly, this recommendation appears in two separate sections of
the report. It also recommended that at least one orbiter beyond
Challenger's replacement be built by the time of Space Station
missions since there is a good chance one may be lost in the decade of
operations that follows. A lack of planning for spare parts and
backup components also was noted. The NRC recommended a centralized
test bed and the assembly of prototype systems rather than
protoflight, where one unit is used for tests as well as flight.
The NRC also reported that the unmanned co-orbiting and polar
platforms should not be treated as a part of the Space Station program
but should be considered on their own merits. These platforms would
support astrophysics payloads and the Earth Observing System,
respectively. {The competing platforms presumably are small
satellites in geosynchronous or other high orbits. --SW}
The NRC report provided revised estimates of Space Station costs
and recommended that NASA provide an improved set of numbers in early
1988. These estimates do not vary sharply with NASA's, but expand on
them to include figures such as personnel and launches which NASA does
not traditionally include in program estimates. {comparison of budgets
at end of article}
Finally, the NRC concluded that the management challenges facing
the Space Station program are at least as daunting as the technical
challenges and that NASA must take additional steps to strengthen
management and to coordinate activities with the Office of Space
Transportation.
{responses to report}
NASA disputed the NRC's assessment that deploying the Station with
a four-orbiter fleet was risky and stated that the design has been
changed slightly to reduce the risk of components decaying from orbit
prematurely. NASA also disagreed with the NRC's expectation that up
to $3.9 billion in spares and backup parts may be needed.
Sen. Donald Riegle (D-Mich.), chairman of the Senate science and
technology committee, took issue with the NRC's higher estimates of
the Space Station's cost and pledged to support its funding against
efforts by Sen. William Proxmire (D-Wisc.) to eliminate it as his
contribution to the Gramm-Rudman act.
Riegle also said he would continue to submit legislation to
reinstate the National Space Council which provided space policy
leadership in the 1960s. The present Senior Interagency Group which
comprises the defense and intelligence representative as well as NASA
and some Cabinet officials, "is a miserable failure ... a lousy way to
make decisions." His effort was vetoed by President Reagan last year.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
NRC cost estimate -- Block I Space Station
(2 U.S. modules, 1 each European and Japanese modules, 4 solar
array sets totalling 75 kW power); in billions of dollars.
6/30/87 9/14/87 9/14/87
(NASA) (NRC) (NRC)
(1984 $) (1984 $) (1988 $)
Phased approach 12.2 12.2 14.6
telerobot servicer 0.3 0.3 0.4
rescue vehicle 1.5 1.5 1.8
test enhancement -- 0.0-2.5 0.0-3.0
backup hardware -- 0.2-1.4 0.2-1.7
Total, R&D 14.0 14.2-17.9 17.0-21.5
Elements in other NASA accounts
launches 1.5 1.2-1.5 1.4-1.8
early operations 3.0 3.0 3.6
NASA personnel 2.2 2.2 2.6
facilities 0.2 0.2 0.2
Shuttle mods 0.1 0.1 0.1
Extended orbiter -- 0.1 0.1
Estimated total 21.0 21.0-25.0 25.0-29.9
-----------------------------------------------------------------
--
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa2
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA ARPA: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.7 | CANOPUS - October, 1987 | DICKNS::KLAES | I grow weary of the chase! | Thu Nov 05 1987 13:36 | 135 |
| From: willner@cfa.harvard.EDU (Steve Willner)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - October 1987
Date: 4 Nov 87 17:27:58 GMT
Organization: Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. for Astrophysics
Here is the condensed CANOPUS for October 1987. There were 5
articles, two presented here by title only, one short one in full, and
two in condensed form. Comments in {braces} are from me. The
unabridged version has been sent to the mailing list.
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
{Two articles by title only}
SUBORBITAL CONTRACTS - can10874.txt - 10/25/87 - {For Palestine, TX
balloon launch operations and for Black Brant rocket motors}
LEAD SCIENTISTS - can10875.txt - 10/25/87 {At Marshall and Langley}
{Three condensed articles}
GHOST STORIES - can10871.txt - 10/2/87 - {condensed}
Contributed by Jo Ann Joselyn
Occasionally, peculiar features show up in otherwise reliable
spacecraft data sets. For example, the ATS-5, launched in 1969,
{showed} a strange pattern in the behavior of the 50-eV to 50-keV
particles near local midnight (DeForest, J. Geophys. Res., 77 , 651,
1972). After careful analysis, it was found that ATS-5 was charging
to potentials as high as 10,000 volts during spacecraft eclipse. Other
diverse reasons for unusual effects in data and systems are cosmic
rays hits on imaging electronics, 'glinting' from adjacent spacecraft,
physical contamination from spacecraft outgassing or debris, offsets
caused by improperly shielded electronics, and simple instrument
degradation caused by age and/or radiation dose.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
Technical Committee on Space Sciences and Astronomy has formed a
subcommittee to maintain records and make them available. {Concerned
that future generations of engineers may have to relearn the same
lessons the hard way.} If you can contribute examples, written or
remembered, with or without specific reference to living or departed
satellites, please contact Jo Ann Joselyn, NOAA R/E/SE2, 325 Broad
way, Boulder, CO 80303. Her SPAN address is CRYOEL::JOSELYN, and
telephone calls are also welcome at (303) 497-5147.
SUNLAB INSTRUMENT TO "FLY" ? - can10873.txt - 10/25/87 - {unabridged}
The solar telescope cluster flown on Spacelab 2 and once planned
for reflight as the Sunlab series may fly yet. Although post-
Challenger manifests have not shown any work for the instruments, "all
sorts of things are bobbling around that might offer a flight
opportunity, but it's all so tentative that we hate to talk about it
publicly," Bohlin said. One possibility is to fly the Solar Optical
Universal Polarimeter (SOUP) aboard a balloon during the 1991 solar
maximum.
HRSO DOING WELL AFTER NEAR-CANCELLATION - can10872.txt - 10/25/87
High-Resolution Solar Observatory (HRSO) is being studied as a
free-flier rather than a sortie payload mated to the Space Shuttle or
Space Station. The program was almost cancelled earlier this year, but
has a new lease on life, according to NASA Solar Physics Branch Chief
Dave Bohlin. "HRSO is alive and well and it may be doing better than
we think," Bohlin said on Oct. 23, but it still faces some hurdles
before final work can begin.
HRSO started in the 1970s as the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT), a
1.1-meter solar white light/UV facility to be flown aboard the Space
Shuttle. {This was when NASA was seeking to justify the Shuttle by
attaching to it all conceivable payloads. --SW} Because of the
anticipated cost, SOT's full funding was stymied by members of the
House of Representatives who believed it should be funded as a "new
start" rather than as a Spacelab line item. After several such rounds,
NASA reduced the scale of the facility, gave up the UV capability, and
renamed it HRSO. However, uncertainties about whether it would fly
aboard the Shuttle or Station led Leonard Fisk, associate
administrator for space science and applications, to consider
cancelling it.
What helped save HRSO was the free-flier study effort started by
Astrophysics Division Chief Charles Pellerin. Since its inception as
SOT, HRSO has been managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. "Of
course, their is culture free-fliers," Bohlin said, "and they jumped
right on it and were working weekends on it."
The result is a design that roughly resembles a cross between the
Solar Maximum Mission Satellite and the International Ultraviolet
Explorer. {Telescope 1-meter diameter built by Perkin Elmer,
instrument package by Lockheed} ...mounted atop a multi-mission
modular spacecraft (MMS) like Solar Max uses. ...the spacecraft
mainly would need electrical power and attitude control modules,
"pretty standard stuff," Bohlin said. A Delta 2 would place HRSO in a
sun-synchronous polar orbit.
Because the spacecraft would not be attached to a manned platform,
the detector will have to be charge-coupled devices rather than film
as originally planned. This will reduce the field of view slightly to
around 3 arc-min, and degrade resolution from 0.1 to 0.13 arc-sec.
{This gives an oddball CCD size of about 1400 pixels square; I wonder
what they're planning. Maybe if Tektronix could produce their
long-promised 2048 pixel square chip, the resolution and field of view
could be restored. --SW}
[Three instruments - one from West Germany - will operate
simultaneously.] ...needed to show the 3-D structure of solar
magnetic fields.
With HRSO being reconfigured as a free-flier, the possibility of
restoring its UV capability is being raised. Great Britain has
expressed an interest in providing a co-observing instrument strapped
to the side of the spacecraft. And the Department of Defense is
interested in combining HRSO with its long-delayed Solar Activities
Monitor Experiment (SAMX, formerly SAMSAT). "If these can be done at
little or no cost to NASA," Bohlin said, "we're sure going to go for
it. These strike right at the heart of what HRSO is all about." {All
these attempted additions are symptoms of the extreme lack of launch
capability. Otherwise, it would probably be cheaper to do separate
missions. The problem is that the endless cycle of increasing
complication, delay, and expense leads to even fewer missions, and
there is ever more incentive to further complicate those missions that
exist.--SW}
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa2
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA ARPA: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.8 | CANOPUS - November, 1987 | DICKNS::KLAES | All the galaxy's a stage... | Mon Dec 14 1987 22:01 | 162 |
| From: willner@cfa.harvard.EDU (Steve Willner)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - November 1987
Keywords: science news
Date: 10 Dec 87 12:16:34 GMT
Organization: Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. for Astrophysics
Here is the condensed CANOPUS for November 1987. There were 9
articles; two are given by title only, five are condensed, and two
short ones are unabridged. Material in {braces} is from me and is
signed {--SW} if wholly new or different from the original. I have
omitted ellipses (...) at many places where material was removed,
since putting them in everywhere was just too awkward. The unabridged
CANOPUS was sent to the mailing list over a week ago, but there were
some invalid paths. Send e-mail with the current path if your copy
didn't arrive.
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
{2 articles by title only}
OTHER ITEMS FROM THE ESA BULLETIN -can871103.txt - 10/31/87
ELACHI PROMOTED - can871107.txt - 1/17/87 {at JPL}
{7 articles}
WATCHING 1987a DOWN UNDER - can871105.txt - 11/17/87
A NASA-Lockheed gamma ray package made its second flight from
Alice Springs, Australia, in an effort to observe emissions from
supernova 1987a. The package was launched Oct. 29 and coasted at
130,000 feet for 38 hours. ...two prototype models of the Burst and
Transient Source Experiment that will fly on the Gamma Ray
Observatory.
Other balloon packages will be launched by the University of
California at Riverside, the California Institute of Technology, and
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. At least one X-ray telescope has been
launched atop a sounding rocket, and the Kuiper Airborne Observatory
(with an infrared telescope).... {KAO flew from New Zealand in
November. I have heard oral reports of successful observations but no
details. --SW}
SECONDARY PAYLOADS FOR SHUTTLE - can871106.txt - 11/17/87
{unabridged}
Eleven secondary payloads have been announced for the STS-26
mission when the Shuttle resumes operations. Included are mesoscale
lightning photography and Earth-limb radiance observations. Six deal
with materials sciences while weightless, one is an infrared
communications technology test, and two are student experiments.
25 FOR 25 - can871108.txt - 1/17/87
{condensed}
NASA scored a string of 25 straight sounding rocket successes
during March 21-Nov. 4, according to NASA's Wallops Flight Center.
This includes five launches to support a plasma physics campaign at
Sondre Stromfjord, Greenland, and six in the Middle Atmosphere
Cooperation International Science Program (MAC Epsilon) in Andenes,
Norway. About 2,500 sounding rockets have been launched since 1959 by
NASA with an 86 percent success rate. The rate is 89 percent for the
past five years.
COMET PENETRATOR TESTED - can871109.txt - 11/17/87
{unabridged}
Prototype of the penetrator for the Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid
Flyby mission was tested in October at Sandia National Laboratories in
Albuqueque, N.M. The 1.5-meter probe was dropped into hard ice at
shallow angles to prove that penetrations could be made under the
worst terrain conditions. Early tests in 1985 were performed by
Principal Investigator William Boynton of the University of Arizona
with a model dropped 150 feet off the university football stadium into
a 55-gallon drum of ice.
The current design of the penetrator includes a small tooth that
will scrape off an ice sample for melting and gas analysis within the
probe body.
Additional tests will be conducted with higher-fidelity models of
the proposed probe and with weak ice to understand the chances of
firing the probe straight through the comet nucleus.
CRAF tentatively is scheduled for launch in 1993. {Based on 1989
new start, which I understand OMB has now refused but NASA has
appealed the refusal --SW}
SOLAR TERRESTRIAL COOPERATION DETAILED - can871102.txt - 10/31/87
{condensed}
Continuation of the Inter-Agency Consultative Group for Space
Science (IACG). It was formed in 1981 to coordinate the international
activities keyed to flyby of Halley's comet. Solar-terrestrial
science was selected in November 1986 as the IACG's next project. 20
planned solar-terrestrial spacecraft including the International Solar
Terrestrial Physics Program (NASA/ESA,ISAS), Ulysses (ESA/NASA),
Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (NASA/USAF),
Interball (USSR), Relict 2 (USSR), Solar A (ISAS), the Upper
Atmosphere Research satellite (NASA), and IKI-1 and 2 (USSR).
NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENTS - can871104.txt - 11/17/87
{condensed}
Small Bodies Data Analysis Program (NRA 87-OSSA-9) and Pioneer
Venus Data Analysis and Guest Investigator Program (NRA 87-OSSA-10).
ESA BULLETIN DETAILS NEW ASTRONOMY MISSIONS - can871101.txt - 10/31/87
{condensed}
Three astrophysics missions under study as new start candidates.
Selection is to be made by the end of 1988. The winner will undergo a
Phase B study, followed by Phase C/D development in 1990-95, and
launch by 1997. Latter pair {of missions} started as NASA-ESA
missions, but have become ESA-led programs with possible Canadian and
Australian participation as a result of the Challenger accident and
NASA's leadership crisis.
Gamma Ray Astronomy with Spectroscopy and Positioning (GRASP)
High-resolution spectral imager covering the 15-100,000 keV
spectral range. Spectroscopy in the 15-1,000 keV range with a
resolution of 1/1,000 at 1,000 keV. Spatial resolution of about 1
arc-min in a 50-deg. field of view. Scientific goals for GRASP
include observations of active galaxies, and locating and mapping
point and extended sources in our own galaxy.
LYMAN
Ultravioled spectra {at shorter wavelengths than} the Lyman-alpha
line (121.5 nm) Studies of stellar and interstellar atomic and
molecular species. 80 cm f/10 grazing incidence telescope feeds
spectrograph with spectral resolution about R=30,000. One or two
secondary spectrographs may be added for shorter or longer wavelengths
or both.
Quasar Satellite (QUASAT)
Quasat would deploy a 10-meter inflatable Kevlar radio telescope
(down from 15 meters when it was a NASA-ESA mission). {Use with
ground based radio telescopes for Very Long Baseline Interferometry to
get very high spatial resolution. Advantages over purely ground-based
system include higher spatial resolution and better images.} Recent
tests using the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) have
validated the concept. {Resolution may be as good as} 0.0003 arc-sec.
Primary observing frequencies would be 22 GHz (water) and 1.6 GHz
(hydroxyl) with 5 GHz added as a gap-filler. {for observing quasars, I
presume --SW} A fourth frequency, 0.327 GHz, may be added for pulsar
observations.
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa2
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA ARPA: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.9 | CANOPUS - December 1987 | DICKNS::KLAES | I would advise youse ta keep dialin'. | Wed Jan 20 1988 19:24 | 157 |
| From: willner@cfa.harvard.EDU (Steve Willner)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - 1987 December
Date: 19 Jan 88 21:03:58 GMT
Organization: Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. for Astrophysics
Here, finally, is the condensed CANOPUS for December 1987. There
are four articles. The first is presented by title only and the other
three in condensed form. The unabridged version has already been sent
to its mailing list. Articles are highly condensed and rearranged;
material in {braces} has been added by me.
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO DISCUSS SPACE ISSUES - can871204.txt - 12/6/87
{Scheduled for Dec. 18. Cancelled. -- SW}
E.O.S. A.O. PLANNED - can871201.txt - 12/2/87 - {condensed}
Earth Observing System (EOS) is the single, largest science system
planned for the international space station. It will comprise
instruments on polar orbit platforms and on the manned station to
provide a comprehensive view of the terrestrial environment. The
U.S., European, and Japanese space agencies will release Announcements
of Opportunity simultaneously in mid-January.
SPACE STATION TO PROCEED WITH OR WITHOUT INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS -
can871202.txt - 12/2/87 - {condensed}
The U.S. Space Station program will continue as planned -- but
with gaps -- if NASA and its foreign partners cannot reach an
agreement on their participation, officials said Dec. 11 at a press
conference announcing prime contracts.
Under the current plan, ESA and Japan each will provide laboratory
modules for the manned station, and Canada will provide the satellite
servicing center. However, the three have balked at signing final
agreements because of the Department of Defense insistence that the
station be available to conduct military experiments, possibly to the
extent of "blacking out" the station for the duration of the experiments.
"If they're late or don't show up," {Associate Administrator for
Space Station Andrew} Stofan said, "we will go ahead without them."
Although the Phase C/D contracts have been awarded, NASA still
faces an uphill battle to win complete authorization and
appropriations funding for the current and coming fiscal years. The
zeroing-out by the Senate appropriations subcommittee and partial
restoration by the full committee "was close to the edge" for NASA
cancelling the program, Fletcher said.
AMBITIOUS SCIENCE CAMPAIGN PLANNED BY GALILEO TEAM - can871203.txt -
12/2/87 - {last article - condensed but still long}
The Galileo Jupiter Orbiter/Probe mission will attempt a
mini-grand tour of the solar system with visits to two inner planets
and three minor bodies before arrival at Jupiter.
Project Scientist Torrence Johnson said the delays "have been
extremely frustrating," but the results from Voyager and other
activities "have whetted our appetite to get back into the [Jovian]
system."
Activities taking advantage of Galileo's circuitous route to
Jupiter include:
o The first cruise science spanning the inner-to-middle solar
system with a single set of instruments, and exploration of
a large neutral hydrogen region recently found at 1 A.U.,
o Flyby of Venus with instruments having capabilities beyond
the current Pioneer Venus Orbiter,
o Two flybys of Earth, allowing outside imaging of the
geocorona, and infrared imaging of the farside and north
pole of the Moon,
o Flybys of rocky, Type-S {as opposed to metallic or carbonaceous
types --SW} asteroids Gaspra and Ida, 16 and 32 km wide,
respectively.
The project team has managed to stay intact during three crises
all related to launch vehicles. Originally Galileo was on a
three-stage version of the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) to be launched
by the Space Shuttle. Then it was split into orbiter and probe
missions aboard separate IUS's, then was rejoined atop a widebody
Centaur when the three stage IUS was dropped due to a combination of
technical and cost problems.
In the wake of the Challenger disaster the widebody Centaur was
cancelled as too risky. The current plan is to launch Galileo atop a
standard IUS to the inner solar system and use gravity assists at
Venus and Earth to reshape the orbit so it finally stretches to
Jupiter. This will take six years, more than double the travel time
planned with a Centaur boost.
Several design changes were required to accommodate the delay and
the tour of the inner solar system, explained Project Manager John Casani.
Large sunshades were added to the spacecraft bus and around the
secondary reflector on the high gain antenna, and new thermal control
surfaces were added elsewhere.
Electrical circuitry was modified to reduce the electrical power
requirement since the plutonium in the existing radioisotope thermal
generators is decaying and replacements cannot be manufactured (the
capability was discontinued some years ago). Small radioisotope
heating units have been attached to some portions of the spacecraft to
ease that power demand.
The extended duration has raised concerns about the life of
mechanical systems like tape recorders. "Those resources will be
carefully husbanded and metered out," Casani said.
Despite problems caused by launch vehicle woes and delays, "What
we will do at Jupiter is everything we ever planned and more," said
Science and Mission Manager William O'Neil. The delay has allowed
improvements in some science instruments. There has been "no
compromise, no reduction of the Jupiter science," Casani said, and the
tour of the Galilean moons will have a better propellant margin than a
direct mission would allow.
Finally, Casani said the redesign will raise the cost of the
spacecraft from $675 million to $895 million, and the longer and later
cruise to Jupiter will double operational costs from $225 million to
$450-$500 million.
The current timetable for the Galileo mission is:
Launch Oct. 8, 1989
(Launch window 45 days; second window in July 1991 loses asteroid
encounters.)
Venus gravity assist (1,000 km miss distance) Feb. 9, 1990
Earth gravity assist 1 (1,000 km) Dec. 8, 1990
Gaspra flyby (1,000 km) Oct. 29, 1991
Earth gravity assist 2 (300 km) {!!!} Dec. 8, 1992
Ida flyby (1,000 km) Aug. 28, 1993
Jupiter arrival Dec. 7, 1995
Io closest approach (1,000 km) Dec. 7, 1995
Probe entry and relay Dec. 7, 1995
Jupiter orbit insertion Dec. 7, 1995
Galilean satellite tour Dec. 1995- Oct. 1997
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa2
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA ARPA: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.10 | CANOPUS - January 1988 | DICKNS::KLAES | The President of what? | Tue Feb 16 1988 19:06 | 87 |
| From: willner@cfa.harvard.EDU (Steve Willner)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - January 1988
Date: 15 Feb 88 16:53:57 GMT
Organization: Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. for Astrophysics
Here is the condensed CANOPUS for January 1988. There are 4
articles, 3 presented in condensed form and one short one given in
full. The unabridged version has gone to the special mailing list.
Don't expect the February issue before the middle of March, because my
travel schedule is very heavy right now. The articles below are
heavily condensed, but for simplicity ellipses (...) are not inserted.
Material in {braces} is from me and is signed {--SW} if wholly new or
if my opinion only.
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
PERSONNEL - can880101.txt - 1/6/88 - {condensed}
Astronaut OWEN GARRIOTT has joined Teledyne Brown Engineering.
LAWRENCE ROSS has been named deputy director of NASA's Lewis Research
Center.
SOLAR MAX GUEST INVESTIGATOR PROGRAM - can880102.txt - Jan. 6, 1988
{condensed}
NASA has released a Research Announcement for the Solar Maximum
Mission Guest Investigator Program (NRA-87-OSSA-12). Solar Max is in
outstanding condition given that its eighth anniversary will be on
Feb. 14. Its instruments have been used for only five years since the
attitude control system failure in late 1980 left it unable to point
at the Sun until after the Shuttle repair mission in 1984.
According to the NASA announcement, four of the eight instruments
are fully functional: The gamma ray/neutron spectrometer (GRS), the
hard x-ray burst spectrometer (HXRBS), the coronograph/polarimeter
(C/P), and the solar constant monitor (ACRIM). The ultraviolet
spectrometer and polarimeter (UVSP) is rated at only 10 percent since
its wavelength drive failed and it can only return UV continuum burst
observations and aeronomy. The hard x-ray imaging spectrometer (HXIS)
failed before 1984 and could not be repaired. The soft x-ray
polychromator (XRP) {is nearly fully functional but very low on
expendable gas.} To extend the life of XRP as far into solar cycle 22
as possible, it will be left off unless there is significant solar
activity or an important multi-instrument campaign.
{Programs similar to the one above exist for HEAO-1, Einstein,
IRAS, IUE, various planetary missions, and no doubt more. NASA is
becoming very good at milking existing and past satellites for maximum
data return. It's a good thing, since there are so few new ones. --SW}
TWIN SOLAR ROCKET FLIGHT - can880103.txt - 1/6/88 - {condensed}
X-ray and ultraviolet instruments were launched on Dec. 11 at
White Sands, N.M., in an attempt to correlate features observed in the
solar transition zone and the corona. The two rockets were launched
30 minutes apart. Ground-based observations were made at Kitt Peak
(N.M.) National Observatory, Big Bear Observatory near Pasadena,
Calif., Sacramento Peak (N.M.) Observatory, the Very Large Array at
Socorro, N.M., and the Solar Vector Magnetograph at Marshall Space
Flight Center.
VIDEO TOUR OF MIRANDA - can880104.txt - 1/6/88 - {in full}
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has generated a one-minute
computerized cartoon trip over the "bizarrely contoured terrain" of
Miranda, one of the moons of Uranus. The cartoon was made using
Voyager 2 imagery taken in January 1986 and elevation data from the
U.S. Geological Survey. The footage shows a flight around Miranda at
an altitude of 9 miles and with vertical scale exaggerated three times
for clarity. {I have no idea where to get the film - I'd like to see
it myself --SW}
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa2
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA ARPA: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.11 | CANOPUS - February 1988 | DICKNS::KLAES | Kind of a Zen thing, huh? | Sun Mar 27 1988 20:16 | 130 |
| From: willner@cfa.harvard.EDU (Steve Willner)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - February 1988
Date: 24 Mar 88 22:49:32 GMT
Organization: Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. for Astrophysics
Here is the condensed CANOPUS for 1988 February. There are eight
articles. Three are given by title only, and the other five are
drastically condensed, though ellipses are omitted for simplicity. The
details of the NASA budget request (CON880207) were posted separately.
Items in {braces} are my rephrasings and are signed {--SW} if wholly
new or my opinions only.
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
{Three articles by title only}
SPACE TELESCOPE MANAGERS NAMED - can880203.txt - 2/15/88
{at NASA Marshall}
STOFAN TO RETIRE - can880204.txt - 2/15/88
JPL SPOKESMAN RETIRES - can880206.txt - 2/15/88
{Frank Collela}
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SHUN SPACE HEARINGS - can880201.txt - 2/6/88
Contributed by William S. Kurth, University of Iowa.
On February 5, 1988, in Iowa City, IA, the House Subcommittee on
Space Science and Applications received testimony from scientists,
educators, and students on the goals of the U.S. space program. Also
invited to testify, but conspicuously absent were the Presidential
candidates from both parties. Nelson {subcommittee chairman} did
announce that candidates Gephardt, Simon, Gore, Bush, and Robertson
provided written testimony on their space policy to the committee
which would be entered into the record.
Interestingly, both {of two high school students invited to
testify} justified manned presence in space as a prerequisite to the
time when we would be required to move into space. This requirement
might be caused by a breakdown in Earth's environment or by severe
overcrowding; nevertheless, both had tacitly assumed that man would
eventually be required to go into space and we should begin to learn
about that environment as soon as possible.
BUDGET PLAN "STARTS" AXAF - can880207.txt - 2/18/88
{budget figures posted separately - SPACE Topic 418}
The Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) and the Pathfinder
technology program are the only "new starts" in the fiscal 1989 budget
proposal for the National Aeronautics and Administration. The $11.5
billion plan, released today, includes significant increases for space
science and astronomy programs as well as for space station and other areas.
Major reasons for the budget increase are the return of the Space
Shuttle to operations, building to a flight rate of 10 launches in
fiscal 1990, and the growth of the Space Station program.
AXAF is a 1.1-meter aperture X-ray telescope that is expected to
be comparable to the Hubble Space Telescope for the high-energy
astrophysics community. AXAF is the third of NASA's "Great
Observatories," the first two being HST and the Gamma Ray Observatory.
Launch of AXAF is expected in 1995. {Don't bet large sums of
money.--SW} Only the Space Infrared Telescope Facility has not been
started. {We're hoping for a new start in FY 1993.--SW}
The Pathfinder technology program will entail "detailed studies
and technology development to provide a sound basis for future
decisions on approaches and missions to move human presence and
activities beyond Earth orbit and into the solar system," according to
Fletcher's prepared statement.
Space station funding is to be doubled in fiscal '89 under the
budget plan. At present NASA has $392 million allocated to station,
although money from fiscal 1987 and from the replacement Space Shuttle
orbiter raises that to $525 million, the minimum that NASA had claimed
it needed for the program. Fletcher said that the $967 million request
has the same urgency: "It doesn't have to be skinnied down very much
before it doesn't make any sense."
EARTH OBSERVING SYSTEM A.O. RELEASED - can880202.txt - 2/9/88
NASA has scheduled a March 22 preproposal briefing for the Earth
Observing System (EOS), the earth-oriented component of the Space
Station system. {EOS will include two polar-orbiting platforms and
one platform co-orbiting with Space Station.} "EOS is a science
mission whose goal is to advance the understanding of the entire Earth
system on the global scale through developing a deeper understanding
of the components of that system," the NASA AO reads. "The EOS mission
will create an integrated scientific observing system which will
enable multidisciplinary study of the Earth" over a long period of time.
OLD SATELLITES - can880205.txt - 2/15/88
The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) continues to operate
in good health on its 10th anniversary, more than triple its expected
lifetime. More than 1,400 professional papers based on IUE
observations were published during its 10th year of observations.
A more recent NRL satellite has been monitoring the health of new
solar cell components on its third Living Plume Shield (LIPS-III)
satellite since launch in the spring of 1987. LIPS is a plume shield
jettisoned by an unnamed launcher's upper stage. The spacecraft spins
at 30 rpm and uses small thrusters and electromagnetic pulses to keep
itself facing within 0.5 degree of the Sun. More than 140 solar cell
components, including miniature cassegrain concentrators, are being
tested aboard the spacecraft. Mission life is expected to be 3 to 5
years. LIPS-II, launched in 1983, continues to operate.
TFSUSS SUCCESSOR FORMED - can880208.txt - 2/18/88
TFSUSS, popularly known as the Banks committee for former chairman
Peter Banks, issued several recommendations on making the space
station as "user friendly" and useful as possible for the science
community. The new SSSAAS is a joint subcommittee of three NASA
Advisory Council committees: the Space and Earth Science Advisory
Committee, the Space Applications Advisory Committee, and the Life
Sciences Advisory Committee.
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.12 | CANOPUS - March 1988 | DICKNS::KLAES | It's Bicycle Repair Man! | Tue Apr 19 1988 21:54 | 153 |
| From: willner@cfa.harvard.EDU (Steve Willner)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - March 1988
Date: 17 Apr 88 21:47:31 GMT
Organization: Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. for Astrophysics
This is the condensed CANOPUS for March 1988. There are 9
articles, three presented by title only, three condensed to become
very short, and three condensed but somewhat longer. The shuttle
manifest included in this issue has been posted separately to
sci.space.shuttle. All articles have been highly condensed and often
rearranged. Material from me is in {braces}, and expressions of
opinion are signed {--SW}. The unabridged CANOPUS has been sent to
the special mailing list.
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
{Three articles by title only}
NEW INITIATIVES OFFICE IN HOUSTON - can880305.txt - 3/8/88
RAYMOND HEACOCK - can880306.txt - 3/8/88 {at JPL}
HIGH-ENERGY ASTROPHYSICS MISSION DESCRIBED - can880309.txt - 3/16/88
{Details of instruments on SHEAL}
{Three very short, condensed articles}
SAN MARCO DELAYED - can880302.txt - 3/3/88
Studying Earth's atmosphere. Scout launcher. Delayed one week.
NEW SPACE STATION HEAD NAMED - can880304.txt - 3/8/88
James Odom, currently director of science and engineering at
Marshall Space Flight Center, as of April 1.
ASTRONAUTS FORM CUSTOMER RELATIONS GROUP - can880307.txt - 3/8/88
Six astronauts have been assigned to customer relations duties for
prospective Space Shuttle and Space Station experimenters. According
to a NASA announcement, "The group focuses on increasing scientific
and engineering flexibility of experiments in space without violating
Shuttle operational guidelines."
{Three longer condensed articles.}
"SMALL" EXPLORER A.O. PLANNED - can8809301.txt - 3/3/88 {condensed}
An "Announcement of Opportunity" is to be issued by NASA by early
May for small Explorer spacecraft that would be launched aboard Scout
expendable launchers. With the new program NASA is "trying to get
back to doing space science research quickly," said George Newton,
manager of advanced programs in NASA's astrophysics division. The AO
will be aimed at "mature instruments" that can be designed, built and
flown with relatively little development work. The first launch is to
come in 1991. Newton said that the goal is to fly one or two Scout
Explorers a year. {Quicker flight opportunities are definitely a step
in the right direction. Now let's just hope they can pull it
off.--SW}
{Larger Explorers, probably requiring Delta-class launchers.} In
February, NASA selected for Phase A study four concepts from a field
of 44 proposals. The four selected are:
Lyman Far UV Spectroscopic Explorer, Warren Moos, Johns
Hopkins University. {A successor or a companion to IUE, which
recently had its tenth birthday.}
Nuclear Astrophysics Explorer, James Matteson, University of
California at San Diego. It would produce high-resolution
observations of gamma ray lines, with emphasis on neutron
stars, supernovas, and nucleosythesis. {A similar instrument
was dropped from GRO in a cost-saving move a few years ago.}
Advanced Composition Explorer, Edward Stone, California
Institute of Technology. Analyze the makeup of solar,
interplanetary, and galactic "cosmic ray" particles.
Mesosphere/Lower Thermosphere Explorer, Paul Hays,
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. {Earth's atmosphere}
The number of spacecraft that will be selected for flight will
depend on the funding outlook. {Probably at most two.} Development
is to start in 1991 and the first launch will be in 1995-96.
NASA DEVELOPING SPACE SCIENCE STRATEGY - can880303.txt - 3/7/88
A "serious strategy planning effort" began last fall, said Joseph
Alexander, assistant associate administrator for space science and
applications, and is about a month from completion. Alexander said it
resulted from Associate Administrator Lenard Fisk's desire to provide
a more realistic approach to developing missions. {Fisk was a relatively
new appointee. More realistic planning has been long overdue.--SW}
The general outline of the strategy follows five major themes. In
priority they are:
COMPLETION OF ONGOING PROGRAMS.
MAJOR AND MODEST NEW STARTS.
SMALL MISSIONS.
USE OF SPACE STATION.
RESEARCH AND SUPPORT.
Alexander noted that the 1989 budget request to start the Advanced
X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) fits the major program category.
Completion of the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, the last of the
four Great Observatories for space astrophysics, is planned, too. {for
1993 new start, I think.--SW} (The other Great Observatories are the
Hubble Space Telescope and the Gamma Ray Observatory).
The next major program, the Mariner Mark 2 series planetary
spacecraft, will be sought in 1990, with the Comet Rendezvous/
Asteroid Flyby as its first mission followed a few years later by the
Casini Saturn/Titan mission. It is planned that ultimately there will
be at least one planetary mission in its prime data gathering phase
each year. {This almost surely requires increased funding, unless
they're planning to eliminate non-planetary missions.--SW}
"SPACELAB 5" REUNITED, LDEF RETRIEVAL SET - can880308.txt - 3/16/88
{condensed. Shuttle manifest posted separately in sci.space.shuttle}
{last article}
Major features of the latest Space Shuttle manifest are unchanged,
and a number of space science and applications missions are given firm
slots rather than just a listing of needed bookings. The manifest
shows payload assignments through late 1993 (rather than 1989), and
builds to a flight rate of one mission per month in 1992.
ASTRO consists of the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), the
Wisconsion Ultraviolet Photopolarimeter (WUPPE), and the Goddard UV
Imaging Telescope (UIT). SHEAL consists of the Broad-Band X-ray
Telescope (BBRXT) and the Diffuse X-ray Spectrometer (DXS). A third
X-ray telescope was dropped several years ago to conserve costs. ASTRO
now will fly with the BBRXT. Spacelab 5 used to be ASTRO plus SHEAL,
but they were separated a few years ago.
Recovery of LDEF will come more than five years after its April
1984 launch on the Solar Max Repair Mission. LDEF's orbit is decaying
somewhat faster than expected. Unlike Skylab, it has no attitude
control system which engineers could use to select is entry point.
Further, many of its experiments may be useless from extended exposure
to radiation; it was only supposed to be up 9 months.
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.13 | No CANOPUS for April | DICKNS::KLAES | Know Future | Mon May 09 1988 17:55 | 14 |
| Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!bloom-beacon!husc6!cfa!willner
Subject: No April CANOPUS
Posted: 6 May 88 13:57:28 GMT
Organization: Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. for Astrophysics
There will be no CANOPUS distribution for April, since there were
no articles for the month. (Perhaps the editors had to rest after the
unusually large March issue.)
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.14 | CANOPUS - May 1988 | MTWAIN::KLAES | Know Future | Thu Jul 07 1988 14:59 | 155 |
| Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - May 1988
Posted: 5 Jul 88 19:36:30 GMT
Organization: Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Here's the condensed CANOPUS for May 1988. There are 9 articles.
Eight are given in condensed form and one by title only. Comments in
{braces} are from me and are signed {--SW} when they represent
personal opinions. The unabridged version went to the mailing list
weeks ago. Sorry this is so late, but things have been pretty hectic
around here the last month.
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
SPACE SHUTTLE STILL LOOKING AT AUGUST LAUNCH - can880506.txt - 5/10/88
{Title only; shuttle news widely reported elsewhere.}
SMALL EXPLORER A.O. RELEASED - can880508.txt - 5/16/88
NASA has released its Announcement of Opportunity for the "Small-
Class Explorer Mission" series. Perhaps because the program is
intended to develop small payloads in quick order, the 50-plus-page
A.O. is quite detailed and restrictive about what can and cannot be
done. This broad A.O. is to lead to launches of one or two "Scout-
class" Explorers year as budget allows over the next few years. It is
open to astrophysics, space physics, and upper atmosphere disciplines,
and to proposers in industry, academia, government, and foreign agencies.
The research will be "of modest programmatic scope which can be
launched within about three years of selection. The program intends to
provide a continuing opportunity for quickly implemented flights of
small free-flyers to conduct focused investigations which complement
major missions, prove new scientific concepts, or make significant
contributions to space science in other ways. It is the goal of the
program to obtain a flight frequency of at least one flight per year.
The scope of the missions is expected to be such that a single
principal investigator will have responsibility for an individual
investigation." {Instigation of this program is a real accomplishment
for Lennard Fisk, Associate Administrator for Space Science, who seems
genuinely interested in flying missions and not just running a
bureaucracy. Now let's hope he can keep the budget at a level
adequate to actually fly and not just build payloads. --SW}
The new Scout-class category is defined as a spacecraft and
instrument payload costing about $30 million and capable of being
launched on a Scout expendable launch vehicle (ELV). Payload mass can
vary depending of the orbit to be reached, but generally will be
between 100 and 250 kg. Data will be relayed through ground stations
and not through the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System because
of the cost of using the latter. {So much for cost savings promised
for TDRSS. --SW}
SOVIET-AMERICAN COOPERATION IMPROVES - can880501.txt - 5/5/88
Cooperation between the Soviet and American space programs took a
major step forward this month with the meeting of two working groups
formed last year by an agreement between the two nations. No
immediate plans were made for sharing hardware or placing one nation's
instruments aboard other's spacecraft -- that will not come until the
mid-1990s, the participants indicated -- but joint campaigns are
anticipated for existing and currently planned spacecraft. A key
example would be stereo X-ray imaging of the solar corona using
instruments aboard the American Solar Maximum Mission satellite and
aboard the Soviet's Phobos Mars spacecraft that will be launched next year.
Cooperation never halted completely, {i.e. after invasion of
Afghanistan} with life scientists still sharing data at the working
level, and one small U.S. instrument package being flown aboard the
Soviets' VEGA probes that flew past Venus and Halley's comet.
AO FOR ATTACHED PAYLOADS ON SPACE STATION DUE SOON - CAN880503.TXT -
5/8/888
The Announcement of Opportunity for payloads attached to the
manned Space Station should be issued by the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration by the end of the month if the remainder of the
preparation moves smoothly. Not included in the AO will be payloads
for free-flyers (covered in large part by the Earth Observing System
AO early this year), or "quick is beautiful" payloads. {As of July 5,
I haven't seen the AO, but I may not be on that mailing list.--SW}
Two more major AO's are planned for space station -- materials
sciences in 1989 and life sciences in 1990. These will focus to a
large degree on using multi-purpose facilities that NASA will provide.
AROUND THE WORLD IN A BALLOON - can880505.txt - 5/9/88
NASA is soliciting instruments to fly aboard six long-duration
balloon flights (LDBF) during the 1991 solar maximum period according
to a research announcement (NRA-88-OSAA-04) released May 6. The
program is intended for instruments which cannot observe adequately
from the ground or during short-duration balloon or rocket flights,
and "which are expected to advance our understanding of the solar
energetic phenomena in a way that will not otherwise be possible until
the subsequent solar maximum in the year 2002."
Experimental LBDF flights to date have lasted 12 to 22 days going
around the globe, and 6 to 12 days going from Australia to South
America. Payloads can be up to 1,400 kg at altitudes to 40 km. Up to 8
to 12 hours of observations a day are possible.
SHUTTLE-C COULD HELP SPACE STATION - can880507.txt - 5/10/88
An unmanned cargo version of the Space Shuttle could cut several
months from the assembly time for Space Station by carrying more than
double the payload of the manned Shuttle, according to its study manager.
Shuttle-C looks much the current Space Shuttle but for wings and
vertical stabilizer which are lacking, and windows on the forward
fuselage. It would use the same boosters and tank, and would carry its
cargo in a strongback sitting above an engine module identical to the
Shuttle's boattail section.
"CODE E" ADVISORY COMMITTEES TO MERGE - can880504.txt - 5/8/88
NASA's three science advisory committees will merge into a single
body with three branches this summer. {Committtees are:}
o Life Science Advisory Committee,
o Space and Earth Sciences Advisory Committee,
o Space Applications Committee,
NASA DIRECTORY - can880502.txt - 5/8/88
NASA's main number is 202-453-1000. {Long list deleted; if enough
demand, I'll post the list separately.} [It is in the AEROSPACE
Conference. - LK]
ASTRONAUT SELECTION GOES TO TWO-YEAR CYCLE - can880509.txt - 5/16/88
NASA will reopen the astronaut selection process starting July 1,
1989, for a "class" to be selected in January 1990, and will continue
selections every two years. This will ease the demands on NASA
resources for selection and training while maintaining flight crew
levels. NASA has selected astronauts in 1978, '80, '84, '85 and '87.
Applications may be obtained from:
Astronaut Selection Office -- Code AHX
Johnson Space Center
Houston, TX 77058
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.15 | CANOPUS - June 1988 | MTWAIN::KLAES | Know Future | Tue Jul 19 1988 12:34 | 171 |
| Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - June 1988
Posted: 17 Jul 88 23:30:01 GMT
Organization: Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Here is the abridged CANOPUS for June 1988. There are five
articles, one given by title only, three in condensed form, and one
short one in full. Items in {braces} are from me and are signed
{--SW} when they represent personal opinion. The unabridged CANOPUS
went to the mailing list last week; let me know if you expected a copy
and didn't get one.
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
{one article by title only}
NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENTS RELEASED - can880605.txt - 6/27/88
SHUTTLE NEARLY READY FOR LAUNCH PAD ROLL-OUT; BOOSTER QUALIFICATION
TEST HELD TUESDAY - can880603.txt - 6/15/88
{The main topic of this article has been widely reported; the
following paragraph was just an afterthought to the main article.}
In a related area, Morton-Thiokol has announced that it will not
bid on the development contract for the advanced solid rocket motor
(ASRM) that will replace the current SRM in the mid-1990s. The ASRM
will increase Shuttle payloads by several thousand pounds and is being
justified in part as a means of reducing Space Station launches. NASA
is looking at producing it at government-owned facilities in the
southeast, among other areas. Morton-Thikol cited a need to focus on
completing fixes to the current SRM as its reason for dropping out of
the competition.
VOYAGER IMAGING NEPTUNE - can880604.txt - 6/27/88
{in full but short}
Voyager 2 now is returning images of Neptune and its moon, Triton,
that rival the best terrestrial photos of the eighth planet. On May 9
Voyager was 685 million km (425 million miles) from Neptune, and
produced an image with a resolution of about 7,857 miles per line pair
on the narrow-angle camera using clear and green filters.
The images, reconstructed with the aid of color cue from images
taken by terrestrial observatories, shows the planet with a
bluish-green caste because of its methane atmopshere, and Triton with
a reddish-yellow caste, probably due to methane-derived organic
compounds, according to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Neptune's
image was smeared by time expsoure, and Triton's brightness was
enhanced 40-fold to make it visible on the photograph.
"QUICK IS BEAUTIFUL" REPORT SEEKS 5 PERCENT OF STATION RESOURCES -
can880602.txt - 6/7/88 {condensed}
Five percent of the Space Station's resources should be allocated
for "Quick is Beautiful" experiments that could be manifested in less
than three years and lead to larger, more complex experiments,
according to a study group chartered by NASA's associate administrator
for space station. Appropriately the QIB report is short -- fewer
than 10 pages of text -- and does not recommend a "Dear Colleague"
letter be issued just yet. That would leave too many investigators
waiting in line as has happened on Space Shuttle.
Their recommendation that standard interfaces be set early and
rigidly controlled arose from the concern that the planning and
operations process for Space Station as a whole not be significantly
perturbed by adding QIB experiments to the daily routine: "The
quantity of resources, complexity of interfaces, and level of
management necessary for QIB is not nearly as important as whether
significant changes in quantity, complexity, or level are required to
accommodate QIB."
Getting the experiments to the Station is a problem that appeared
before the shuttle was grounded and can be expected to continue after
flights resume. The study group recommended that QIB payloads be
launched on a space available basis and stored on the Station to await
operation at a convenient time.
"CODE E" STRATEGIC PLAN RELEASED; "A PROGRAM IN TRANSITION"
can880601.txt - 6/5/88
{"Code E" is the Office of Space Science and Applications, OSSA}
{This article and the previous one indicate to me that OSSA is really
beginning to get its act together. Let's hope the new Associate
Administrator, Lennard Fisk, can keep things moving. --SW}
A measured, well-paced program for expanding U.S. science
activities in space has been outlined by the "Office of Space Science
and Applications 1988 Strategic Plan" recently released by NASA. It
describes the nation's space science and applications program as "a
program in transition ... from the exhilirating pace of the 1960s"
through reduced missions in the 1970s, to the deliberately paced,
complex missions of the 1990s.
Significantly, the gray, 46-page booklet has no illustrations or
flashy layout. It is a well-paced document outlining the current
straits in which American space science finds itself {largely because
of launch vehicle problems, but also because of lack of resources
--SW}, and a measured approach to _retrieving_ {emphasis mine --SW}
and maintaining national leadership in space.
Given that budgets do not always materialize, Code E has
established rules for developing projects:
Completion of ongoing programs come first, and new projects will
not be pursued at their expense.
Major missions will be sought when it makes sense, moderate
missions when near-term and lifetime resources do not allow it.
In all cases, small missions will be sought each year, preferably
as complements to major and moderate missions.
Space Station facilities will be developed by disciplne pace,
balance, relevance, and maturity.
In line with the outline above, Code E is committing itself to
continuation of all programs now under way. In addition, Code E now is
seeking new start status for the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility
(AXAF) and recently released an Announcement of Opportunity for the
Small Explorer program.
For Space Station a suite of six microgravity sciences facilities
is planned, along with life sciences facilities including a 1.8- meter
centrifuge. Both classes of facilities are to be tested in Spacelab
missions. An Announcement of Opportunity is to be released presently
for attached (external) payloads, one of which may be a Cosmic Dust
Collection Facility. The plan is to start with payloads that are "not
overly demanding on the [Station's] environment and pointing
capabilities," then to grow into more complex facilities.
Into the 1990s, Code E plans to seek a joint start on the Comet
Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby and Cassini Saturn Orbiter/Probe missions. A
dual start will be sought since both missions can use the Mariner Mark
II spacecraft and would realize economies of scale. Cassini would be
attempted with the European Space Agency although the Strategy states
that missions normally will be started as U.S. flights with
cooperation being sought as they are developed.
Other major initiatives for the 1990s are the Earth Observing
System (for which the A.O. was released in January), the Space
Infrared Telescope Facility (the fourth member of the Great
Observatories), the Solar Probe (plunging to within 4-60 radii of the
"surface"), the High Resolution Solar Observatory (evolved from the
scaled-down Solar Optical Telescope), the Lunar Observer (built from
Mars Observer spares), and Gravity Probe-B (a "cornerstone" test of
general relativity). Although the Lunar Observer is listed after HRSO,
it will take higher priority, if necessary, in order to take advantage
of the Mars Observer production team.
Small missions will include a series of new Earth Probes, such as
a Tropical Rainfall Explorer, to complement EOS, and Lifesat, a series
of small, reusable spacecraft carrying life science experiments for up
to 40 days. This would be similar to the Soviet Union's Biovostok program.
In the research base, the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared
Astronomy (SOFIA) will place a 3-meter IR telescope aboard a modified
Boeing 747 to fill the gap between IRAS and SIRTF, and Earth observing
aircraft fleet will be updated.
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.16 | CANOPUS - July 1988 | MTWAIN::KLAES | Know Future | Mon Aug 22 1988 16:06 | 194 |
| Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - July 1988
Posted: 19 Aug 88 22:29:58 GMT
Organization: Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Here is the unabridged CANOPUS for July 1988. There are three
articles. All are highly condensed, and the first is frequently
rephrased. Material in {braces} is from me and is signed {--SW} when
it represents an expression of opinion.
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
SPACE SCIENCE IN THE 21st CENTURY, N.R.C. Report Issued -
can880701.txt - 7/6/88
[Report to NASA from National Research Council on scientific goals
in space. Requested by NASA in 1984. The report is a comprehensive
wish list rather than a setting of priorities. Setting priorities may
not be possible until some current missions are completed.]
In his cover letter, National Academy of Sciences Chairman Frank
Press, calls attention to two severe problems that must be faced:
1) Challenger accident has deprived us of access to space, and
2) available funding and talent are insufficient.
Here are the categories and some of the missions suggested.
PLANETARY AND LUNAR EXPLORATION
For the terrestrial planets: landers, rovers and sample return missions
For the outer planets: atmospheric probes
For primitive bodies (comets and asteroids): rendezvous and
sample-return missions
Search for planets around other stars (Even planets as small as
Uranus and Neptune should be detectable.)
"A Mars-focused program is recommended in parallel with the
general program" and not as a substitute. Venus, Earth, and Mars
present a great potential payoff in comparative planetology.
SOLAR SYSTEM PLASMA PHYSICS
An ultraviolet and X-ray telescope to give 1-100 km resolution
images of the Sun's surface. (The planned High Resolution Solar
Observatory will have 70-km resolution, but the UV capability has been
cancelled.)
Plasma observations as part of outer planet missions
Remote sensing of magnetospheric plasmas in the Earth-moon system
Active experimentation {I think this means missions like particle
releases in Earth's ionosphere.--SW}
Solar Probe (sometimes called Star Probe), a mission to fly within
1.9 million km of the visible surface of the Sun {This is about 1.4
solar diameters.}
An Interstellar probe (also called TAU, for Thousand Astronomical
Units) would enter the interstellar medium 10 years after launch.
ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
o Imaging interferometry, comprising large arrays of
telescopes for optical and radio VLBI observations,
o Large-area and high-throughput telescopes, including a 20-
to 30-m large deployable sub-mm reflector, an 8- to 16-m optical
telescope, a large 20 to 20,000 keV X-ray telescope, and a large
0.1-10 meV Compton telescope, and
o Astro-Mag, a massive cosmic ray analyzer using a
superconducting magnet spectrometer.
FUNDAMENTAL PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY (relativistic gravitation and
microgravity sciences)
o Laser hetereodyne interferometer to attempt detection of
gravitational waves below 10 Hz,
o Microwave ranging to a Mercury orbiter to measure the time
rate of change in gravitational coupling,
o A Precision Optical Interferometer in Space to measure
the second order effect of the Sun on electromagnetic radiation.
o A hydrogen maser clock aboard Solar probe or Star Probe to
measure the gravitational red shift to second order.
o A free-flying spacecraft to test the weak principle of
equivalence to one part in 1,000 more than a planned Shuttle
experiment, and
o A large-area X-ray detector (possibly from the astrophysics
category) for microseceond timing to allow detection of X- ray pulsars.
HUMAN PRESENCE IN SPACE
The SSB study found no category of space science depends on manned
space flight other than space medicine. Rather than falling into the
man-vs-machine argument that has divided the space community for
decades, the study team wrote that, "At present, we lack enough
information to judge where the balance between manned and unmanned
missions should lie."
PRECONDITIONS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
To train the next generation of scientists, the SSB said that
Explorers, Spartans, Observers, and suborbital programs "must be
allowed to flourish." Projects that take one to three years are needed
to match the training of graduate and post-doctoral students.
FRED SCARF, NOTED SPACE SCIENTIST, DIES AT 57 - CAN990702.txt - 7/19/88
Frederick L. Scarf, a chief scientist for research and technology
at TRW, died Sunday, in Moscow. Dr. Scarf, 57, was part of an
international delegation attending the launch of two Soviet probes
designed to investigate one of the moons of Mars, Phobos. He was a
co-investigator of an instrument aboard each of the spacecraft.
RESTORING COMMITMENT TO OUR FUTURE IN SPACE - CAN880703.TXT - 7/26/88
A Joint Statement by American Astronomical Society, American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Institute of Electrical
and Electronics Engineers {highly condensed}:
We believe NASA's program is neither sufficiently understood nor
adequately supported. It is our responsibility to call to the
nation's attention the great value of NASA's historic contributions to
education, science, exploration, and leadership. We urgently
recommend restoring national commitment to purposeful civilian space
programs and policies.
From both the manned and unmanned space programs, we and the world
community have received manifold benefits that range from the
practical to the intellectually sublime. Observing Earth from
space has put within our grasp the ability to understand and stabilize
this--the only known--environment of life. We can now study Earth's
interior, global atmosphere, oceans, and landmasses as whole entities.
In our time, heavenly bodies have moved into the realm of human
experience. These discoveries stimulate a deeper understanding of
Earth itself. New classes of objects and phenomena have been
discovered by past telescopes in space. In the future, space
astronomy can open for study new wavelength ranges and new volumes of
the Universe.
NASA's scientific achievements are echoed in space applications
such as satellite communications... and remote sensing from space,
which has revolutionized weather forecasting and the assessment of our
planet's resources. Life sciences research ...
The future of these beneficial space activities is at risk. The
problem is that budgetary growth is required through the remainder of
the century to exploit the technology and infrastructure created by
NASA. That is the conclusion of the May 1988 report by the Congressional
Budget Office entitled "The NASA Program in the 1990s and Beyond."
We urge the leadership of the United States to reverse this
nation's current retreat from exploration and development in space by
providing adequate resources to NASA. We have serious business in
space. Other nations recognize the benefits of civilian space
activities, and they are creating their own opportunities. If the
United States can be a reliable partner, we might travel with them --
but we cannot stay home.
The space frontier is no less significant to our future than our
terrestrial boundaries: Through each will come the new knowledge,
fresh challenges, economic strength, and the critical resources that
will spur us on and secure our place in the competitive future. We
call for a restored commitment to space.
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
========================================================================
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|
| 335.17 | CANOPUS - August 1988 | MTWAIN::KLAES | Saturn by 1970 | Wed Oct 05 1988 13:55 | 187 |
| Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!labrea!rutgers!mit-eddie!husc6!cfa!cfa250!willner
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - August 1988
Posted: 3 Oct 88 18:38:08 GMT
Organization: Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Here's the condensed CANOPUS for August 1988. There are seven
articles, two short ones given in full, two given very briefly, and
three condensed. Material in {braces} is from me and is signed {--SW}
when it is only an expression of opinion. Sorry this issue is so
late, but I was gone essentially all of September.
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
{two articles summarized}
BOOSTER R.F.P. ISSUED - can880805.txt - 8/23/88
{for "Advanced Solid Rocket Motor"}
SPACE TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE - can880806.txt - 8/23/88
{$5.5 million study contract for launch pads, production facilities,
and flight vehicles. Ride report to be updated and reissued.}
{two short articles in full}
PHOBOS INSTRUMENTS OPERATING - can880804.txt - 8/23/88 {in full}
Earth's bow shock was measured on July 7 by the plasma wave system
developed by the European Space Agency and now aboard the Soviet
Union's Phobos-1 spacecraft. The system comprises a 1.5- meter antenna
and a 6--sq-cm plasma collector. Principal investigator is Rejean
Grard of ESA. The bow shock was measured at a distance of 170,000 km
as Phobos-1 crossed it.
EUROPE AT THE NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM {in full}
An exhibit on "European Space Agency: Space Science Satellites"
will be open to the public Aug. 25 through mid-January 1989.
Full-scale mockups and engineering models of the Giotto comet
probe,the Ulysses solar polar probe, and other spacecraft will be in
the display.
{three condensed articles}
SPACE STATION A.O. ISSUED - can880801.txt - 8/15/88 {condensed}
Astromag and a Cosmic Dust Collection Facility will be the major
science facilities NASA will attach to the exterior of the Freedom
Space station in the mid-1990's, according to an Announcement of
Opportunity issued on July 22. Another 4 to 6 principal investigator
(PI-class) instruments will be attached to the exterior as well. The
Astromag facility will be a superconducting magnet with PI-supplied
detector modules attached around it. {This sounds like a cosmic ray
and solar wind facility, but I don't know for sure.--SW} Cosmic Dust
Collection Facility (CDCF) is a mission once planned for the Long
Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), which now has been in orbit almost
four years longer than planned. A total of 10 square meters of
collecting area will be exposed in the CDCF for the purpose of
gathering individual cosmic dust particles "in the least degraded
manner" for ultimate return to Earth. The AO does not describe how
the cleanliness of the collectors will be maintained, especially
during spacewalks and Shuttle visits.
The AO (No. OSSA 3-88) is open to scientists in all disciplines
but Earth sciences: that was covered by AO OSSA 1-88 for the Earth
Observing System (EOS) in January. Further, Rapid Response Research
("Quick is Beautiful") will be covered by a separate AO about two to
three years before Freedom is operational. Separate AO's are expected
in the next two years for life sciences and microgravity materials
sciences, inside the lab module, and the plasma interactions
monitoring system (PIMS) outside the modules.
SOLAR TELESCOPE ALIVE, HEADED FOR NEW PHASE B - can880802.txt - 8/23/88
The High Resolution Solar Observatory, now renamed Orbiting Solar
Observatory (OSL), is expected to enter a renewed Phase B study to
define the spacecraft bus later this year. {The new name is probably
"Orbiting Solar Laboratory" or something similar. There was an OSO
series back in the sixties, and I guess the editor just wrote that by
reflex.--SW}
When started as SOT, the facility was to have a 1.25-meter primary
mirror hosting a number of prime- and secondary-foci instruments, plus
several co-aligned telescopes. A series of delays caused by U.S. Rep.
Edward Boland (D-Mass.) trying to have SOT billed as a new start
rather than a Spacelab facility, and by the Challenger accident,
finally forced NASA to rescale the telescope to 1.0-meter and plan to
place it aboard a free-flying spacecraft. In the process the
ultraviolet capability was lost but the sub-arc-second resolving power
was largely retained.
At present OSL's high-resolution solar telescope (HRST) still has
the original consolidated instrument package with a tunable
filtergraph and magnetograph developed by Alan Title of Lockheed
Missiles & Space Co., and a filter camera developed by Harold Zirin of
the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. A West German white-light spectrograph
has been added, turning OSL into a four-in-one facility.
Bohlin said that two instruments may be added to OSL. The first
could be the High Resolution Telescope and Spectrograph (HRTS) that
flew on Spacelab 2 in 1985. HRTS is the prototype and may become the
flight instrument since it would cost only half as much as a new
instrument. The second instrument that may be added is a
high-resolution XUV imager from the U.S. Air Force SAMEX (Solar
Activities Monitor Experiment) program.
If the Phase B study effort is held in fiscal 1989-90, and a new
start is approved in fiscal 1991, then a launch could come by the end
of 1995. The spacecraft would be designed for a minimum three-year
mission with a goal of six years so it would reach the solar maximum
of 2001.
TRW WINS AXAF - can880803.txt - 8/23/88 {condensed}
NASA announced today that TRW Space and Technology Group and Kodak
Federal Systems Division have been selected to build the Advanced
X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), the third of NASA's "Great
Observatories" for space astrophysics. The first two are the Hubble
Space Telescope, built by Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. and
Perkin-Elmer Corp. (the other competing team), and the Gamma Ray
Observatory, built by TRW. {And the fourth is Space Infrared
Telescope Facility. The funding situation is complicated and keeps
changing, but as I understand it, AXAF got the FY'89 development money
it needed but not the official new start it wanted. SIRTF is looking
for a 1993 new start, following AXAF, EOS, and CRAF+Casini.
Corrections or updates welcome.--SW}
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!labrea!rutgers!mit-eddie!husc6!cfa!cfa250!willner
Subject: CANOPUS Poll
Posted: 3 Oct 88 19:20:53 GMT
Organization: Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
After posting the condensed CANOPUS for over a year now, it's time
for a poll to see if the effort is worthwhile.
What happens now is this: Each month, I copy the CANOPUS articles
for the previous month, reformat slightly, and send the unabridged
CANOPUS to a mailing list (currently 37 names). This takes almost no
effort and will continue. Then I condense and rearrange articles,
typically decreasing the overall length by a factor of 3, and post the
condensation to sci.space. The condensation is some effort, and I
want to know if it is worth while or could be improved. However, it
will never be possible for me to post more quickly than the present schedule.
August has just been posted (sorry, yes, I know it's late), and
September will come out in a couple of days. These are examples of
the current practice.
Please respond via e-mail to one of my addresses below, picking
which of the alternatives you would prefer. Please put your
preference first on a line by itself, then append any comments you
have. You can include a request to be added to the unabridged mailing
list if you like. (There is no need to request it if you are already
on the list.)
A. Forget it - waste of net bandwidth
B1. Condense more - just a sentence or two for each article
B2. Condense more - most articles a sentence or two, a few longer
(Which types of articles should be longer?)
B3. Condense more - short paragraph or two for most articles
C. About right - keep it up
D. Too short - put in full articles on selected subjects
(Which subjects?)
E. Forget condensation - just post the whole thing
F. Other - specify
Obviously A or E would be the easiest for me, but better to let me
know what YOU want. Thanks for all replies.
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
"How do you make the boat go when there's no wind?"
|
| 335.18 | CANOPUS - September 1988 | MTWAIN::KLAES | Saturn by 1970 | Tue Oct 18 1988 17:42 | 92 |
| Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!labrea!agate!eos!ames!husc6!cfa!willner
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - September 1988
Posted: 16 Oct 88 18:12:32 GMT
Organization: Harvard-Smithsonian Ctr. for Astrophysics
Here's the condensed CANOPUS for September 1988. There are only
three articles, one by title only, and two in condensed form. The
shuttle manifest included in this issue is posted separately. Note
that a table of contents has been added at the beginning. You can use
the article numbers to search for particular articles that may
interest you. Items in {braces} are from me. Articles are heavily
condensed, even where ellipses (...) are not shown.
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
{CONTENTS}
CRRES Schedule clarification - can880902.txt - 9/23/88 {title only}
HUBBLE, ASTRO DELAYED BY SHUTTLE - can880901.txt - 9/1/88 {condensed;
shuttle and science expendable manifest posted separately}
DUAL DEVELOPMENT CONSIDERED FOR CRAF AND CASSINI - can880903.txt - 9/27/88
{condensed}
HUBBLE, ASTRO DELAYED BY SHUTTLE - can880901.txt - 9/1/88
Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope has been delayed by seven
months, and a number of other payloads shuffled, because of delays in
getting the Space Shuttle back into operation. On Tuesday NASA issued
a revised launch manifest reflecting problems caused by the delays
with SS Discovery. The manifest had to be structured around the
planetary windows and high-priority Department of Defense missions.
DUAL DEVELOPMENT CONSIDERED FOR CRAF AND CASSINI - can880903.txt - 9/27/88
More than $500 million could be saved by developing the Comet
Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby and Cassini Saturn/Titan missions as a
package rather than as separate programs, according to NASA. The
total program costs, including mission operations and data analysis,
are estimated at $3.3 billion. Total spacecraft costs are estimated at
$1.58 billion if the two can be developed together and built with
common spares and manpower pools.
The mission phasing for the two is crucial so that Cassini can
take advantage of a Jupiter swingby in 1996/97.
CRAF now is targeted for Comet Wild 2, assuming a new start is
approved for the fiscal 1990 budget (to be requested in January) and a
launch on April 15, 1995. The spacecraft will fly a delta-VEGA
(delta-V Earth gravity assist) with the Earth flyby on Feb. 28, 1997,
and a flyby of the 15 Eunomia asteroid on Oct. 8, 1997. Rendezvous
with Wild 2 will come in July 2001 and last for approximately 800
days. It will comprise an initial reconnaissance, near nucleus science
phase (with penetrator delivered to the surface in June 2002),
perihelion phase, and a tail excursion. Nominal end of mission is set
for December 2003.
Cassini is planned as a joint NASA/ESA mission. It is similar to
the mission it follows, the Galileo orbiter/probe of Jupiter. In fact,
NASA once offered the same two-for-one argument for Galileo and the
Saturn Orbiter/Dual Probe mission.
Cassini would place a spacecraft in orbit around Saturn and drop
probes into the atmosphere of Saturn's moon, Titan. (Earlier versions
of this mission carried a second probe for Saturn.) Launch would take
place on April 10, 1996, and be followed by an inner solar system
orbit with a flyby of comet 66 Maja on March 14, 1997, and an Earth
gravity assist on June 13, 1998. A second gravity assist would take
place with a Jupiter flyby on Feb. 2, 2000, and the spacecraft would
arrive at Saturn on Oct. 2, 2002. During the Jupiter flyby, Cassini
would perform science observations to complement the Galileo
spacecraft, including possible stereo imaging of the planet's upper
atmosphere and clouds.
After Saturn orbit insertion, Cassini would be in a highly
elliptical orbit higher than 100 radii and taking it within 1000 km of
Titan on Jan. 11, 2003. This would be followed by a four-year tour of
Saturn's moons lasting through December 2006.
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.19 | CANOPUS - November 1988 | MTWAIN::KLAES | Saturn by 1970 | Tue Nov 29 1988 16:05 | 204 |
| Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!ucbvax!husc6!cfa!cfa250!willner
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - November 1988 (part 1)
Posted: 25 Nov 88 22:21:29 GMT
Organization: Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Here is the condensed CANOPUS for early November 1988. There were
no articles in CANOPUS in October, hence no posting for that month.
This posting includes six articles dated November 1; there will be
another posting any additional articles appear this month. The
unabridged version of this posting has been sent to the usual mailing
list. Anyone who missed a copy or wants to be added to the list
should let me know.
Thanks to everyone who responded to the survey. The results are
discussed in a posting below, but some changes will be apparent.
CANOPUS is copyright 1988 by the American Institute of Aeronautics
and Astronautics. See the end of this posting for information.
Contents:
MAGELLAN SHIPPED, SINGED - can881103.txt - 11/1/88 {short; in full}
EXCELLENT DATA - can881104.txt - 11/1/88 {condensed}
SUSIM REDESIGNED FOR REFLIGHT - can881105.txt - 11/1/88 {condensed}
FAR UV IMAGING SPECTROGRAPH - can881106.txt - 11/1/88 {condensed}
SPACE STATION CONTRACTS, AGREEMENTS IN PLACE - can881101.txt - 11/1/88
{condensed}
Copyright information
PERSONNEL ACTIONS - can881102.txt - 11/1/88 {at HST; omitted}
MAGELLAN SHIPPED, SINGED - can881103.txt - 11/1/88 {in full}
The Magellan spacecraft was shipped to Kennedy Space Center on
September 27 and damaged by a small fire shortly after its arrival.
Engineers suspect a small short and say that damage was minor. They
are now assessing what repairs must be done. Magellan will be launched
in 1989 to map Venus using radar.
EXCELLENT DATA - can881104.txt - 11/1/88 {condensed}
A new Center for Space Data and Information Services (CESDIS) has
been opened by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) at
Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. CESDIS is being funded
through a $4.8 million NASA grant to "foster an innovative environment
for research by the academic and industrial computer sciences
community to develop new techniques and to apply new technologies to
handle NASA's problems in the transmission, manipulation, and
interpretation of vast quantities of data."
Junior teaching and graduate student positions will be funded
through CESDIS. The "institute without walls" will foster the use of
advanced, high-speed computer networks allowing scientists to stay at
their home institutions.
SUSIM REDESIGNED FOR REFLIGHT - can881105.txt - 11/1/88 {condensed}
A second-generation Solar UV Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SUSIM)
has been designed and built for the Upper Atmosphere Research
Satellite (UARS), according to the Naval Research Laboratory. The
original SUSIM flew aboard the Space Shuttle in 1982 and 1985, and
will fly again in 1992. Data from the first two SUSIM flights agree
within 3 percent in the 200-350 nm range, providing the first,
independently calibrated UV solar spectra measurements. The goal is a
6 to 10 percent accuracy across the 12-400 nm range.
NRL has also published "An Atlas of Extreme Ultraviolet
Spectroheliograms from 190-600 Angstroms" using data obtained from
more than 1,000 images taken by the slitless-objective-type grating
spectrometer that flew aboard the Skylab Apollo Telescope Mount.
FAR UV IMAGING SPECTROGRAPH - can881106.txt - 11/1/88 {condensed}
NRL is planning to fly a Far Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph on
the Spartan 281 payload under Air Force sponsorship. {Talk about
tangled funding!--SW} FUVIS is similar to the NRL-803 electronographic
telescopes that George Carruthers flew aboard two sounding rockets to
observe Halley's comet in 1986. No flight date was announced.
SPACE STATION CONTRACTS, AGREEMENTS IN PLACE - can881101.txt - 11/1/88
{condensed, last article}
NASA has concluded contract negotiations with four firms and three
foreign space agencies that will build the Freedom Space Station.
WP-1, Boeing Aerospace Co., $1.6 billion, Marshall Space Flight
Center. Core module and resource nodes structures, laboratory
and logistics modules outfitting, environmental control and life
support, internal thermal systems, internal audio and video
systems, associated software.
WP-2, McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Co., $2.6 billion, Johnson Space
Center. Resource nodes and habitat module, support truss
structure, mobile servicing system transporter, airlocks, data
management system, communications, tracking, EVA, propulsion,
and thermal control systems.
WP-3, General Electric Astro-Space Division (ex-RCA), $895 million,
free-flying platforms and Station attached payloads hardware,
including pointing system.
WP-4, Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell International, $1.6 billion,
75-kW electrical power system.
The International Governmental Agreement was signed by the
European Space Agency, Japan, and Canada. ESA will provide the
Columbua experiment module that will be attached on the aft side of
Space Station, Japan will supply the Japanese Experiment Module which
will be placed in a parallel position, and Canada will provide the
robotic systems for the Mobile Servicing Center. Europe and Japan
will also provide unmanned platforms for the Earth Observing System
and for the Man-Tended Free-Flyer (MTFF) which will carry extremely
low-g materials experiments. The MTFF will have a Spacelab-type module
attached which will carry the equivalent of 23 single racks of
experiment gear and storage.
----------------END OF CONDENSED CANOPUS-----------------------------
This posting represents my own condensation of CANOPUS. For
clarity, I have not shown ellipses (...), even when the condensation
is drastic. New or significantly rephrased material is in {braces}
and is signed {--SW} when it represents an expression of my own
opinion. The unabridged CANOPUS is available via e-mail from me at any
of the addresses below.
Copyright information:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!purdue!haven!rutgers!ukma!husc6!cfa!cfa250!willner
Subject: CANOPUS Poll Results and Comments
Posted: 25 Nov 88 22:50:59 GMT
Organization: Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
First a brief quiz; answers below:
1) What is the significance of Canopus to the space program?
2) (For extra credit) Why was Canopus picked as opposed to some
other star?
On October 3, I posted:
> After posting the condensed CANOPUS for over a year now, it's time
> for a poll to see if the effort is worthwhile.
[Posting was restricted to North America; readers elsewhere are
welcome to comment, but I didn't think the request was important
enough to send overseas.]
The responses were encouraging, with most respondents suggesting
keeping things about the same or else posting the unabridged version.
A significant minority asked for a shorter version; one person
suggested dropping the whole thing. (Since that person was on the
mailing list for the unabridged version, I don't take it as much of a
criticism.) Presumably a poll is biased against people who want a
shorter version, since they are less likely to take the time to
respond. Therefore, I shall try to condense a bit more but not make
drastic changes. Anyone who finds the condensation too short can be
added to the mailing list for the unabridged version.
One useful suggestion was to add a table of contents at the
beginning to allow readers to search for specific articles. I have
also moved the bulk of the copyright information, etc. to the end,
retaining a copyright notice at the beginning to stay out of legal trouble.
Thanks to all who responded to the poll and especially to those
with helpful suggestions. Further suggestions are always welcome. I
especially liked the response from the AT&T employee, who said
(approximately), "Post the whole thing. The more telephone time you
use, the more I get paid!"
Answers to quiz:
1) Canopus is a bright star frequently used by interplanetary
spacecraft to control their orientation. Typically two axes of the
spacecraft are controlled by a Sun sensor and the third axis by a star
sensor locked onto Canopus.
2) Canopus is very bright (second only to Sirius, in fact) and
lies in a direction almost perpendicular to the plane in which the
planets orbit the Sun. (Near the South Ecliptic Pole, in other
words.) It is thus relatively easy to find and gives the greatest
possible sensitivity to orientation errors. It is also visible from
anywhere in the solar system (unless temporarily blocked by a nearby
body).
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
"Want oil? Drill lots of wells." - J. Paul Getty
|
| 335.20 | CANOPUS - December 1988 | MTWAIN::KLAES | N = R*fgfpneflfifaL | Mon Feb 06 1989 15:27 | 336 |
| Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!purdue!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ukma!husc6!cfa!cfa250!willner
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - December 1988
Posted: 2 Feb 89 18:04:48 GMT
Organization: Harvard/Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Here is the condensed CANOPUS for December 1988. There were 31 (!)
articles this month, of which 17 are presented in condensed form (or
in full if short enough), and 13 are given at the end by title only
or as "one-liners." The article on the shuttle plume was posted
separately. The unabridged version has been sent to the mailing
list. CANOPUS is copyright American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics; see full copyright notice at end.
{table of contents: 17 articles}
BALLOON CAMPAIGNS CONTINUE - can881202.txt - 12/1/88
THIRD ARIANE LAUNCH PAD - can881203.txt - 12/1/88
ADVANCED SOLID ROCKET MOTOR PROPOSALS - can881208.txt - 12/1/88
CONTROLS-STRUCTURES INTERACTION - can881210.txt - 12/1/88 {in full}
ORBITER 105 PROGRESS - can881211.txt - 12/1/88 {in full}
ESA SELECTS CASSINI MISSION TO SATURN - can881212.txt - 12/5/88
TDRSS WORKING - can881216.txt - 12/5/88 {in full}
HST ADVANCED A MONTH - can881218.txt - 12/5/88 {in full}
SPACELAB POSTERS - can881219.txt - 12/5/88 {in full}
PAYLOAD MISIDENTIFIED - can881220.txt - 12/5/88 {in full}
SHUTTLE TRIVIA - can881221.txt - 12/5/88 {in full}
SCIENCE FOR CHILDREN - can881222.txt - 12/6/88 {condensed}
MAGELLAN ON TRACK FOR 1989 LAUNCH - can881224.txt - 12/7/88
STS-29 ALSO ON SCHEDULE - can881225.txt - 12/7/88 {in full}
GENERAL ELECTRIC SELECTED TO BUILD GGS SPACECRAFT - can881227.txt -
12/8/88
KUIPER AIRBORNE OBSERVATORY CONTINUES SUPERNOVA STUDIES -
can881230.txt - 12/12/88
ARCTIC OZONE INVESTIGATION ANNOUNCED - can881231.txt - 12/12/88
{17 articles; condensed unless otherwise indicated}
BALLOON CAMPAIGNS CONTINUE - can881202.txt - 12/1/88
Three balloons were to be launched by NASA in Australia during
November. One carried an instrument to support the Cosmic Background
Radiation Explorer (CoBE) and two carry gamma-ray instruments in the
fifth balloon campaign to measure emissions from supernova 1987a.
THIRD ARIANE LAUNCH PAD - can881203.txt - 12/1/88
The European Space Agency and France's National Center for Space
Studies (CNES) started construction of a third Ariane launch pad in
Guiana on Nov. 14. It will support the Ariane 5 vehicle, now in
development, starting in 1995.
ADVANCED SOLID ROCKET MOTOR PROPOSALS - can881208.txt - 12/1/88
Marshall is evaluating proposals from Hercules-Atlantic and
Lockheed-Aerojet for the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM).
Meanwhile ....
NASA is considering what to do with six flight sets of pre-
Challenger boosters that it still has on hand. There is nothing
physically wrong with them, other than having the two-O-ring design
that allowed the Challenger accident to occur. NASA is trying to
decide whether to use them or to burn off the propellant so the
casings can be rebuilt to the triple-ring design. The can be flown so
long as they are used in warm weather (as shown by the 24 flights
that preceded Challenger); strip heaters can be added as a
precaution. If that is done, however, it places NASA in the position
of justifying the long standdown after the accident.
CONTROLS-STRUCTURES INTERACTION - can881210.txt - 12/1/88 {in full}
NASA has initiated a multi-center controls-structures interaction
(CSI) program to develop a better understanding of the tradeoffs
between weight, size, and structural flexibility, and the payoffs
from active control systems, for aerospace vehicles. Large space
structures for space-based VLBI and other astrophysics projects are
expected to benefit from this effort.
ORBITER 105 PROGRESS - can881211.txt - 12/1/88 {in full}
Orbiter 105, the replacement for Challenger, is on schedule for an
April 1991 delivery, according to Rockwell International. Tile arrays
have been bonded to the belly, the wings have been mated, the lower
forward fuselage has been mated, and fluids lines and electrical
wiring are being installed. The payload bay doors are to arrive in
November 1989, the crew module is to be transferred to the Palmdale
plant in February 1990, and the aft fuselage in April 1990.
Rockwell also says that addition of a drogue parachute to slow the
orbiter after touchdown is being studied.
ESA SELECTS CASSINI MISSION TO SATURN - can881212.txt - 12/5/88
The European Space Agency (ESA) has selected the Cassini/Huygens
probe mission to Saturn and Titan as its next major scientific
project. Cassini and the Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Flyby are
candidate "new starts" for NASA's fiscal 1990 {Original said 1989,
but that's an obvious misprint.--SW} budget plan now in the approval
cycle at the Office of Management and Budget. The two are being
proposed together so that the Mariner Mk. 2 spacecraft can be built
in series and at lower cost than if NASA built them separately.
The mission will parallel the Galileo mission to Jupiter in that one
spacecraft will orbit the planet and another will make an atmospheric
entry. In the case of Cassini, the Huygens probe will enter the
atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's methane-shrouded moon. Dutch
astronomer Christian Huygens discovered Titan and identified the
rings of Saturn.
TDRSS WORKING - can881216.txt - 12/5/88 {in full}
The second Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-C) is working
flawlessly, according to NASA, since it was launched by the STS-26
crew on Sept. 29. It is now at 150 deg. W over the equator for
antenna testing with the White Sands (N.M.) Ground Station. All
spacecraft systems were activated between Oct. 7 and 18.
HST ADVANCED A MONTH - can881218.txt - 12/5/88 {in full}
The launch of the Hubble Space Telescope has been moved up a month
from January 1990 to December 11, 1989, in a swap with a Department
of Defense payload that was experiencing delays.
SPACELAB POSTERS - can881219.txt - 12/5/88 {in full}
Marshall Space Flight Center's public affairs office is releasing two
posters with montages of pictures from the Spacelab 2 and 3 missions.
The Spacelab 2 posters is the better of the two: the largest of the
pictures shows the solar telescope cluster pointing out of the
payload bay. For copies, call MSFC public affairs at 205-544-0034.
PAYLOAD MISIDENTIFIED - can881220.txt - 12/5/88 {in full}
An earlier edition of CANOPUS improperly identified the Infrared
Background Signature Satellite (IBSS) payload on the STS-39 Shuttle
mission as being a rework of the Infrared Telescope carried on
Spacelab 2. This is incorrect, and we apologize for the
misunderstanding it may have created. {IBSS is military; IRT was
completely civilian.--SW}
SHUTTLE TRIVIA - can881221.txt - 12/5/88 {in full}
The STS-27 mission, expected to end today after deploying the
Lacrosse radar spy satellite (according to popular news reports) is
the 120th manned orbital mission, the 55th for the U.S. (the USSR has
65). A total of 209 different humans have flown in orbit in a total
of 343 "tickets to orbit." During the mission a total of 11 persons
were in orbit -- five aboard the Shuttle and six aboard Mir, the
third time this record number has been reached. Our thanks to "self
appointed Astro-Triviologist and Spaceflight Registrar" James Oberg
of Houston for these and far more facts than we can print.
SCIENCE FOR CHILDREN - can881222.txt - 12/6/88
The National Science Resources Center has produced a "Science for
Children" book "designed to assist those who are working to improve
elementary science education." The center is sponsored by the
Smithsonian Institution and the National Academy of Sciences, and
compiled its listing with assistance from the Departments of
Education and Defense. Copies of the book are available from:
National Academy Press
2101 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20418.
Copies are $7.95 each; $6.50 for 2 to 9; and $4.95 in quantities if
10 or more.
MAGELLAN ON TRACK FOR 1989 LAUNCH - can881224.txt - 12/7/88
The Magellan Venus radar mapping spacecraft is on schedule for a
launch aboard the Space Shuttle on April 28, 1989, and has not
suffered from a small fire involving a battery a few weeks ago.
Magellan is built from hardware remaining after the Voyager and
Viking projects and borrowed from Galileo. The 3.7-meter high-gain
antenna, for example, is from the Voyager backup spacecraft. A number
of components were to be taken from Galileo spares, which created an
interesting payback problem when Galileo fell behind Magellan in the
launch queue.
The primary goals of Magellan are to provide high-resolution imagery
and altimetry data of 70 percent of the surface of Venus and
resolutions of 120 and 30 meters, respectively. Its secondary mission
includes mapping the remaining 30 percent of the surface and
providing gravimetric data on the planet interior.
STS-29 ALSO ON SCHEDULE - can881225.txt - 12/7/88 {in full}
Launch of the fourth Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRSS-D) is
not expected to be delayed by a handling accident that cracked the
carbon nozzle of the first-stage motor on the Inertial Upper Stage,
according to NASA.
Kennedy Payloads Director John Conway said a replacement motor has
been pulled from another mission, and the complete stage will be
delivered to NASA on Dec. 27 instead of Dec. 10. Crews are ready to
work around the clock, he said, to integrate the IUS and TDRSS and
deliver it to the launch pad on time, Jan. 13.
Launch of STS-29 is set for Feb. 18. However, it could be delayed
until March 14 without affecting the Magellan launch. All Shuttle
launches are at Launch Complex 39-B while repairs and upgrades are
made to pad 39-A. The TDRSS is not required for Magellan, but is
essential to complete the minimal TDRSS network
GENERAL ELECTRIC SELECTED TO BUILD GGS SPACECRAFT - can881227.txt -
12/8/88
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has selected General Electric's
Astro-Space Division for negotiations leading to the award of a
cost-plus-award-fee contract for design, fabrication, instrument
integration and launch operation support of the Global Geospace
Science (GGS) Wind and Polar Missions.
The two GGS laboratories, with their complement of scientific
instruments, will examine the flow of energy from the sun through the
Earth's geospace environment. This will be part of the overall
scientific investigations within the International Solar-Terrestrial
Physics (ISTP) Program.
KUIPER AIRBORNE OBSERVATORY CONTINUES SUPERNOVA STUDIES -
can881230.txt - 12/12/88
NASA's C-141 Kuiper Airborne Observatory (KAO) has completed its
fourth deployment to observe Supernova 1987A. The November 1988
mission found nickel, argon and iron exploding outward at 868 miles
per second, the same high speeds first observed on the KAO's third
supernova expedition in April. Scientists also observed expected
decreases in ionization and brightness levels of the explosion.
Previous Kuiper observations of the expanding ejected cloud have
greatly contributed to understanding how the explosion proceeds. The
first detections of nickel, argon, iron and radioactive cobalt
produced in the SN 1987A core were made by the Kuiper crew's second
mission in November, 1987. Abundances and velocities of nickel,
argon and iron formed in the core were first measured on the third
mission in April 1988.
ARCTIC OZONE INVESTIGATION ANNOUNCED - can881231.txt - 12/12/88
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
today announced a cooperative investigation to better understand the
nature of potential depletion of stratospheric ozone over the Arctic.
During January and February, scores of scientists from NASA, NOAA and
nearly a dozen other research organizations will carry out an
airborne study similar to that done last year on Antarctic ozone
depletion. That study directly implicated man-made
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as a cause of the "ozone hole" over
Antarctica in the austral spring, and raised the question whether a
similar phenomenon could be occurring in the Arctic, perhaps on a
reduced scale.
{13 articles by title only or "one-liners"}
HINNERS PROMOTED - can881201.txt - 12/1/88
Noel Hinners has been named associate deputy administrator of NASA,
now is the Number 3 manager at NASA.
INTERNATIONAL SPACE UNIVERSITY - can881204.txt - 12/1/88
The second annual International Space University session will be held
June 30-Aug. 31, 1989, at the Universite Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg,
France.
I.U.E. WINS AWARD - can881205.txt - 12/1/88
SUPERCOMPUTER AT AMES - can881206.txt - 12/1/88
A Cray Y-MP
MARSHALL LABS "MOVE" - can881207.txt - 12/1/88
{internal reorganization}
SHUTTLE-C - can881209.txt - 12/1/88
NRL CAMERAS READIED FOR SHUTTLE - can881213.txt - 12/5/88
{UV cameras, 105-160 and 120-200 nm wavelengths}
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY - can881284.txt - 12/5/88
Pioneer 12 completes 10 years of productive observations in orbit
around Venus today.
NASA's HLASS PROMOTED - can881215.txt - 12/5/88
GALILEO, ASTRO CREWS NAMED - can881217.txt - 12/5/88
CANOPUS IN PRINT - can881223.txt - 12/7/88
NASA APPOINTMENTS - can881226.txt - 12/8/88
LTV TO MANUFACTURE SCOUT COMMERCIALLY - can881229.txt - 12/9/88
----------------END OF CONDENSED CANOPUS-----------------------------
This posting represents my own condensation of CANOPUS. For clarity,
I have not shown ellipses (...), even when the condensation is
drastic. New or significantly rephrased material is in {braces} and
is signed {--SW} when it represents an expression of my own opinion.
The unabridged CANOPUS is available via e-mail from me at any of the
addresses below.
Copyright information:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA,
1633 Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS
and registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS
widely, either electronically or as printout copies. If you do,
however, please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many
others receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the
National Space Science Data Center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
Newsgroups: sci.space
Path: decwrl!labrea!agate!bionet!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!mailrus!cornell!rochester!
Subject: Re: Condensed CANOPUS - December 1988
Posted: 2 Feb 89 19:26:32 GMT
Organization: U of Rochester, CS Dept, Rochester, NY
Willner@cfa250.harvard.edu (Steve Willner P-316 x57123) writes:
>Here is the condensed CANOPUS for December 1988.
...
>NASA is considering what to do with six flight sets of pre-
>Challenger boosters that it still has on hand. There is nothing
>physically wrong with them, other than having the two-O-ring design
>that allowed the Challenger accident to occur. NASA is trying to
>decide whether to use them or to burn off the propellant so the
>casings can be rebuilt to the triple-ring design. The can be flown so
>long as they are used in warm weather (as shown by the 24 flights
>that preceded Challenger); strip heaters can be added as a
>precaution. If that is done, however, it places NASA in the position
>of justifying the long standdown after the accident.
NO! The 24 flights before Challenger do not show that the design
is safe in warm weather. O-ring damage was found on many flights,
including one where the temperature at launch was 90 F. As the Rogers
report stated, the O-ring design was flawed in many ways; the lack of
resilience of the rubber at low temperatures being only one problem.
Paul F. Dietz
dietz@cs.rochester.edu
|
| 335.21 | CANOPUS - January 1989 | MTWAIN::KLAES | N = R*fgfpneflfifaL | Thu Mar 09 1989 15:16 | 123 |
| Here, at last, is the condensed CANOPUS for January 1989. There
are 12 articles, 4 given in condensed form and 8 by title only. The
NASA FY-1990 budget request will be posted separately. CANOPUS is
copyright American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, but
distribution is encouraged. See full copyright information at end.
Contents of this posting:
NASA'S OFFICE OF EXPLORATION RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT - can890101.txt - 12/19/88
SHUTTLE-C MOCKUP IS STARTED - can890102.txt - 12/20/88
SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - can890103.txt - 12/21/88
NASA/USBI SIGN BOOSTER CONTRACT EXTENSION - can890108.txt - 12/29/88
NASA'S OFFICE OF EXPLORATION RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT - can890101.txt - 12/19/88
The report was described by the past and current assistant
administrators for exploration, John Aaron (now a special assistant to
the director of Johnson Space Center) and Frank Martin, respectively.
The latest Code Z report focuses on manned missions to the Moon
and Mars. Notably absent are the robotic exploration of the solar
system and the Mission to Planet Earth outlined in Ride's original
report. Aaron said these were not examined because they are being
implemented at various levels. A number of planetary missions are
being developed or proposed, and the Earth mission will be developed
as the Earth Observing System.
According to NASA, a "major conclusions in the report is that
independent of what type of future exploration course is chosen, the
United States must now lay the foundation by beginning a modest but
vital effort in detailed research, technology development and
concentrated studies in addition to a sustained commitment to the
current ongoing NASA programs. By pursuing a modest near-term
investment of resources in the 1990s in long lead technologies and
capabilities, the U.S. will preserve the ability to pursue a wide
range of opportunities at the turn of the century."
SHUTTLE-C MOCKUP IS STARTED - can890102.txt - 12/20/88
A full-scale Engineering Development Unit for the Shuttle-C
program is being assembled at Marshall Space Flight Center using
leftovers from the early days of the Shuttle program.
SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - can890103.txt - 12/21/88
Processing of the three Space Shuttle orbiters is proceeding
normally, according to NASA reports. Two minor propulsion problems
have been reported.
A small crack has been found in the bearing of a Space Shuttle
main engine flown early this month on STS-27, but the impact on the
planned STS-29 launch in February is uncertain, according to NASA.
A small nick has been found in an O-ring of an STS-27 booster, but
it caused no problem in the mission, NASA stated in announcing that
disassembly of the STS-27 solid rocket boosters at Cape Canaveral has
been completed and the post-flight assessment team members are
returning to their respective organizations.
The overall condition of the boosters is excellent. While
disassembling the nozzle of the lefthand SRB, the inspectors did note
a small nick in the "wiper O-ring." This would have occurred during
assembly of the nozzle into the rest of the solid rocket motor,
according to Royce Mitchell, SRM Project Manager at Marshall Space
Flight Center. "The nick did not interfere with the O-ring's function
during nozzle assembly, which is to wipe the joint adhesive, a
polysulfide material, ahead of it and protect the primary O-ring from
contamination," Mitchell said. No degradation in performance
resulted, and the joints performed as intended, he added.
NASA/USBI SIGN BOOSTER CONTRACT EXTENSION - can890108.txt - 12/29/88
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., and USBI
Co., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., Hartford, Conn., have
finalized the restructuring of USBI's Space Shuttle solid rocket
booster assembly and refurbishment contract. The new contract
significantly increases the scope of work. The extension, effective
Sept. 30, 1989, through Sept. 30, 1994, adds $1 billion to the total
contract value for the assembly and refurbishment of Space Shuttle
solid rocket boosters. This brings the total contract value to $1.6
billion.
----------------END OF CONDENSED CANOPUS-----------------------------
This posting represents my own condensation of CANOPUS. For
clarity, I have not shown ellipses (...), even when the condensation
is drastic. New or significantly rephrased material is in {braces}
and is signed {--SW} when it represents an expression of my own
opinion. The unabridged CANOPUS is available via e-mail from me at any
of the addresses below.
Other articles, not posted:
PLANETARY RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENTS RELEASED - can890104.txt - 12/29/88
NASA LAUNCH SCHEDULE IN CANOPUS - CAN890105.TXT - 1/3/89
{available in on-line CANOPUS}
SHUTTLE-C USER'S WORKSHOP PLANNED - can890106.txt - 1/3/89
SPACE STATION FREEDOM POWER SYSTEMS TESTING FACILITY TO OPEN - can890107.txt -
1/3/89 {at NASA Lewis}
TANNER NAMED DIRECTOR SPACE STATION FREEDOM PROGRAM - can890109.txt - 1/3/89
{E. Ray Tanner, formerly at Marshall}
NASA SEEKS NEW STARTS FOR TWO PLANETARY MISSIONS - can890110.txt - 1/9/89
{NASA budget request, to be posted separately}
SHUTTLE NOTES - can890111.txt - 1/17/89, mod 1/20/89
NASA REDEFINES SPACE CREWS; PICKS IML-1 PAYLOAD SPECIALISTS - can890112.txt -
1/17/89
Copyright information:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however,
please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others
receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space
Science Data Center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.22 | CANOPUS - March 1989 | DOCO2::KLAES | N = R*fgfpneflfifaL | Wed Apr 26 1989 15:24 | 115 |
| From: willner@cfa250.harvard.edu (Steve Willner P-316 x57123)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - March 1989
Keywords: science Sun spacecraft
Date: 23 Apr 89 08:35:27 GMT
Here is the condensed CANOPUS for March 1989. There are 7
articles. CANOPUS is copyright American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics, but distribution is encouraged. See full copyright
information at end.
-------------- CONTENTS -- 3 ARTICLES CONDENSED -----------------
INTENSE MAGNETIC STORM - can890301.txt - 3/13/89
CURRENT SOLAR ACTIVITY - can890303.txt - 3/17/89
NASA GODDARD CENTER REQUESTS COMMERCIAL LAUNCH SERVICES PROPOSALS -
can890304.txt - 3/31/89
-----------------------------------------------------------------
INTENSE MAGNETIC STORM - can890301.txt - 3/13/89
"The Magnetic Storm of March 13, 1989: Good News and Bad News for
Spacecraft Operators" (From the Space Environment Services
Center, Boulder, CO)
The most intense geomagnetic storm in 3 years (and possibly since
1960) began on 13 March, 1989.
Under the category of BAD news, both surface and deep dielectric
charging associated problems are expected to plague many spacecraft,
especially platforms in high inclination orbits, during this period of
high activity. In addition, owing to rapid fluctuations in the
relative altitude of the magnetosphere, geosynchronous satellites will
periodically be directly exposed to the space environment. For low
altitude spacecraft, drag will become a problem due to increased
atmospheric density caused by high solar fluxes and geomagnetic activity.
Now for the GOOD news. Because of the relative increase in the
density of solar wind plasma associated with this extreme geomagnetic
activity, the flux of galactic cosmic rays is reduced over normal
background levels (a Forbush decrease). Therefore, the number of
galactic cosmic ray single event upsets (SEUs) are expected to be
depressed over normal levels. Every cloud has a silver lining.
CURRENT SOLAR ACTIVITY - can890303.txt - 3/17/89 Contributed by Joe Allen
Since Monday morning, 6 March, there have been several large
flares per day. The largest, measured by GOES sensors but off scale
at maximum, was rated X15 in X-rays and 3B optically. It was long-lasting,
about 16 hours. On Friday, 10 March, an X4 flare occurred that was
optically rated 4B -- the largest area and intensity rating possible (some
have speculated the largest area flare ever seen).
Because of its location near the Sun's East limb, the large Monday
flare only caused a relatively minor geomagnetic storm on 8 March;
however, a long-lasting proton event was announced by the NOAA Space
Environment Lab's Space Environment Services Center (SESC). The
X14/3B flare also was rich in particles and radio bursts and would
have had greater impact at Earth if it had occurred closer to Central
Meridian. The Friday flare produced a much larger magnetic storm,
possibly of historical significance.
NASA GODDARD CENTER REQUESTS COMMERCIAL LAUNCH SERVICES PROPOSALS -
can890304.txt - 3/31/89
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., has requested
proposals from commercial sources to launch three satellites in the
International Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) program, plus options
for NASA to order up to 12 additional launches over the next 5 years.
The three ISTP satellites for which launch services would be be
procurred under the RFP are the Wind, Geotail and Polar. Their
launches are scheduled in 1992 and 1993.
Under the agreement, the contractor would furnish all supplies,
including the launch vehicle, facilities, personnel, and services
necessary to design, produce, test, integrate and launch the missions
into the required orbit.
---------------- Other Articles by Title Only-----------------------
NEXT CDAW WORKSHOP SERIES SCHEDULED - can890302.txt - 3/15/89
{Coordinated Data Analysis Workshops}
NASA AND JAPAN SIGN SPACE STATION MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING - can890305.txt -
3/31/89
CONTRACTS AWARDED FOR ADVANCED LAUNCH SYSTEM ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT PROPULSION
- can890306.txt - 3/31/89
RECENT NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENTS - can890307.txt - 3/31/89
----------------END OF CONDENSED CANOPUS-----------------------------
This posting represents my own condensation of CANOPUS. For clarity,
I have not shown ellipses (...), even when the condensation is
drastic. New or significantly rephrased material is in {braces} and
is signed {--SW} when it represents an expression of my own opinion.
The unabridged CANOPUS is available via e-mail from me at any of the
addresses below.
Copyright information:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA,
1633 Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS
and registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS
widely, either electronically or as printout copies. If you do,
however, please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many
others receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the
National Space Science Data Center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.23 | CANOPUS - April 1989 | RENOIR::KLAES | N = R*fgfpneflfifaL | Fri Jun 09 1989 20:00 | 184 |
| From: willner@cfashap.harvard.edu (Steve Willner)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - 1989 April
Date: 9 Jun 89 18:44:24 GMT
Here is the condensed CANOPUS for April 1989. There are 12
articles. (There was supposed to be a thirteenth, but I couldn't
download it. Maybe next month.) CANOPUS is copyright American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, but distribution is
encouraged. See full copyright information at end.
----------CONTENTS -- 5 ARTICLES CONDENSED----------------------
SMALL EXPLORERS SELECTED - can890403.txt - 4/4/89
COMMERCIAL ROCKET FLIGHT A SUCCESS - can890404.txt - 4/4/89
VOYAGER STATUS - can890408.txt - 4/3/89
"RED AIR" LAUNCHED FROM WALLOPS - can890411.txt - 4/11/89
SPACE TRANSPORTATION ANALYSIS STARTS - can890412.txt - 4/11/89
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SMALL EXPLORERS SELECTED - can890403.txt - 4/4/89
NASA today announced selection of four spacecraft {from 51 proposals
submitted!} in the Small Explorer program initiated in 1988. Small
Explorers weigh approximately 400 lbs. and can be launched from
available Scout-class expendable launch vehicles.
o Solar, Anomalous and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer, Glenn M.
Mason, University of Maryland, College Park. A study of solar
energetic particles, anomalous cosmic rays, galactic cosmic rays and
magnetospheric electrons. Launch in mid-1992.
o Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite, Gary J. Melnick,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass. A study
of how molecular clouds collapse to form stars and planetary systems.
Launch in mid-1993.
o Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer, Charles Carlson, University of
California, Berkeley. An investigation of the processes operating
within the auroral region. Launch in late 1993.
o Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), Charles E. Cote, NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Md. It will provide
daily mapping of global ozone and detect global ozone trends. This
investigation is a high-priority Earth observing mission that is
critical to monitoring long-term stratospheric ozone depletion
trends. No launch date given.
COMMERCIAL ROCKET FLIGHT A SUCCESS - can890404.txt - 4/4/89
The first commercially-procured and -licensed space launch was held
March 29 at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The 14-minute
Consort 1 mission carried a 650-pound materials science payload
developed by the Consortioum for Materials Development in Space at
the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Launch services were
procured from Space Services Inc. of Houston, Texas.
VOYAGER STATUS - can890408.txt - 4/3/89
Editor's note: The following information is taken from the March 22
status report for the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
A bright cloud feature on Neptune, similar to spots seen by planetary
astronomers using Earth-based telescopes, is visible in images taken
by Voyager 2 on January 23, 1989, when the spacecraft was about 309
million kilometers from the planet. The fact that distinct cloud
features are visible while the spacecraft is still so distant
suggests that pictures taken as Voyager 2 approaches its August 1989
flyby of Neptune will show many more features than were visible in
the atmosphere of Uranus, which Voyager 2 encountered in January
1986.
----------
Spacecraft Review and Status
Both Voyager spacecraft have survived in space for nearly 12 years,
and although each has experienced some hardware failures, they are
still in robust health and capable of returning valuable scientific
data well into the next century. Each Voyager is powered by three
radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which produce
electrical energy through the conversion of heat generated by the
radioactive decay of plutonium-238. At launch, the power output of
the RTGs was about 423 watts. The power output steadily declines as
the plutonium decays, and is now about 380 watts. The science
instruments require about 105 watts.
----------
Instrument Descriptions and Health
{Most of the 10 science instruemnts are astonishingly healthy. The
biggest loss seems to be in the photopolarimeter, where five of the
eight original color filters and four of the eight original
polarization analyzers are no longer accessible.}
----------
Voyager 2's Health
Both Voyagers have experienced several health pblems since launch,
some minor and some rather major ones. Nonetheless, mission
controllers have in every case been able to identify the problems and
provide a way to continue to meet mission objectives.
In September 1977, about a month after launch, Voyager 2 suffered a
hardware failure in the FDS. {Flight Data Subsystem - collects and
formats all data, including compression and encoding.} As a result,
15 engineering measurements can no longer be made (about 215
engineering measurements remain).
In 1978, eight months after launch, Voyager 2's main radio receiver
failed, and a tracking loop capacitor failed in the backup receiver.
As a result, Voyager 2 can receive signals in only a narrow "window"
of frequencies -- and the window slides. The flight team has devised
a rigorous routine for commanding the spacecraft. Signals are sent
several times at different frequencies to determine the receiver's
current frequency "window". Commands are then transmitted, after
calculating where the receiver's "window" will be, and taking into
account how the signal frequency will change due to the Earth's
rotation and other motions. The receiver problem occurred nearly a
year before Voyager 2 reached its first objective, the Jupiter
system, yet successful encounters of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus
followed.
In August 1981, just after Voyager 2 passed Saturn, the scan platform
quit moving. The failure has been attributed to a lack of full
lubrication of the bearing area between the gear and pin in the
azimuth actuator. Lubricant has probably migrated back to the
bearing surfaces, healing the problem.
Just days before its closest approach to Uranus, Voyager 2 suffered
the loss of one word of memory in one FDS processor. As a result,
bright and dark streaks appeared in images. Only imaging data was
affected, and a software patch was sent to bypass the failed bit.
"RED AIR" LAUNCHED FROM WALLOPS - can890411.txt - 4/11/89
RED AIR -- Release Experiments to derive Airglow Inducing Reactions
-- was designed to study the formation of ionospheric holes. Releases
of CO2 into the ionosphere at 70 km altitude cause a red airglow at
630 nm wavelength. Two releases of carbon dioxide into this region
were conducted at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island,
Va., recently.
SPACE TRANSPORTATION ANALYSIS STARTS - can890412.txt - 4/11/89
General Dynamics Space Systems Division has been awarded a $5.5
million, three-year contract to conduct a Space Transportation
Infrastructure Study (STIS) for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
The objective is to develop recommendations for an integrated
transportation approach that will support space objectives and goals
and make best use of available and potential resources.
--------------SEVEN ARTICLES BY TITLE ONLY-----------------------
NASA PERSONNEL CHANGES - can890401.txt - 4/3/89
HIGH-ENERGY ASTROPHYSICS RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENTS - can890402.txt - 4/3/89
UPDATED VERSION OF "CURRENT SOLAR ACTIVITY - CAN890303.TXT" - CAN890405.TXT -
4/7/89
THOMPSON TO BE NASA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR - can890406.txt - 4/5/89
SHUTTLE SCIENCE CREWS NAMED - can890407.txt - 4/5/89
MAGELLAN ON TRACK FOR LAUNCH - can890409.txt - 4/5/89
SATELLITE SERVICING CONFERENCE PLANNED - can890410.txt - 4/5/89
----------------END OF CONDENSED CANOPUS-----------------------------
This posting represents my own condensation of CANOPUS. For clarity,
I have not shown ellipses (...), even when the condensation is
drastic. New or significantly rephrased material is in {braces} and
is signed {--SW} when it represents an expression of my own opinion.
The unabridged CANOPUS is available via e-mail from me at any of the
addresses below.
Copyright information:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu.)
Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and registered its name, you
are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely, either electronically or
as printout copies. If you do, however, please send a brief message
to Taylor estimating how many others receive copies. CANOPUS is
partially supported by the National Space Science Data Center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.24 | CANOPUS - May 1989 | RENOIR::KLAES | N = R*fgfpneflfifaL | Tue Aug 08 1989 22:18 | 158 |
| From: willner@cfashap.harvard.edu (Steve Willner)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - May 1989
Keywords: science HST commercial Hermes
Date: 5 Aug 89 16:28:04 GMT
Sender: news@cfa.HARVARD.EDU
Here is the condensed CANOPUS for May 1989. There are 8 articles.
CANOPUS is copyright American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics, but distribution is encouraged. See full copyright
information at end.
----------CONTENTS -- 4 CONDENSED ARTICLES -----------------------
DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION OF DISCIPLINE NODES ON THE PLANETARY DATA
SYSTEM - can890501.txt - 4/13/89
ESA RECEIVES 563 HST OBSERVING PROPOSALS - CAN890508.txt - 5/10/89
ESA CHIEF SCIENTIST SUGGESTS BURAN, SPACE STATION LINK -
can890504.txt - 4/25/89
NASA TO SUPPORT COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT LAUNCHES - can890505.txt -
4/25/89
-------------------------------------------------------------------
DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION OF DISCIPLINE NODES ON THE PLANETARY DATA
SYSTEM - can890501.txt - 4/13/89
NASA is soliciting proposals for participation in the Planetary Data
System that will serve as a distributed data system that will ensure
that planetary science data are properly archived and made available.
ESA RECEIVES 563 HST OBSERVING PROPOSALS - CAN890508.txt - 5/10/89
by Peter Jakobsen, ESA ASTRONEWS, Feb. 28, 1989
A total of 563 proposals involving proposers from 29 different
countries were received by the STScI in response to the October 1,
1988 deadline for the first call for proposals from General
Observers. Of these, 20% have PIs from ESA member states. The
estimated total oversubscription factor in time for the first year of
General Observer {i.e. normal, peer-reviewed applicants, as opposed
to Guaranteed Time Observers, who get time by virtue of their past
work on the project} observing is about 6. {I think this number may
have increased because of lower estimated observing efficiency.--SW}
ESA CHIEF SCIENTIST SUGGESTS BURAN, SPACE STATION LINK -
can890504.txt - 4/25/89
The United States should consider making its Space Station Freedom
compatible with the Soviet Union's Buran space shuttle and Europe's
planned Hermes shuttlecraft, ESA science chief Roger Bonnet suggested
today.
Hermes is a three-man spacecraft being developed by the European
Space Agency. ESA and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration have held initial discussions on a proposal that
Hermes could act as a crew rescue vehicle for the Station. Such a
move could save NASA the expense of developing a lifeboat system and
would provide crew launch assurance in case of a Shuttle problem.
ESA now plans a pressurized lab module that would be attached to
Station, a man-tended free flyer carrying a similar module, and an
unmanned polar orbit platform as part of the Earth Observing System.
All would be serviced by the Hermes shuttlecraft.
When asked whether ESA got all or most of what it wanted on Space
Station, Bonnet replied that, "A compromise is a compromise and it
does not make everybody happy." He said that everyone gave something
up in the agreement but declined to go into specifics. He also said
that ESA has not great worries about working with NASA despite
America's unilateral cancellation of the U.S. craft in the
International Solar Polar Mission (now called Ulysses) in 1980:
"Every side has learned from that and we should not dwell on it too
much.... The relationship with NASA is extremely good at the moment
and we have no particular worry." In the event that the U.S.
Congress decides to discontinue Space Station, "It may well be that
we continue with what we have independent of Space Station."
Bonnet was less optimistic about cooperating with the USSR beyond
supplying individual instruments for spacecraft despite increased
openness in recent years. "The Soviets have a different way of
operating their missions," he explained. He described their space
industry as "opaque" from the outside even though the scientists are
quite open. "Cooperation with the Soviets is based on providing
scientific instruments instead of providing spacecraft elements,"
Bonnet continued.
He also noted that their spacecraft do not become highly reliable
until after a long series of missions. The VEGA spacecraft that flew
past Venus and Halley's comet were based on the older Venera series
of Venus probes. But the two defunct Phobos probes to Mars were new
designs. However, Bonnet said that the Soviet management style also
allows projects to be implemented much quicker. The commitment to
the Phobos project was made just four years ago, shortly after the
VEGA launches. And although the Phobos spacecraft are both given up
for dead, "The science achieved before the Phobos encounter was
outstanding" and will yield "a good harvest of results." ESA
scientists had several plasma investigations aboard the spacecraft.
NASA TO SUPPORT COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT LAUNCHES - can890505.txt -
4/25/89
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has
announced support for a series of commercial sounding rocket flights
that will provide opportunities for the exploration of industrial
space applications by NASA-sponsored Centers for Commercial
Development of Space (CCDS).
Following the successful flight of Consort 1, a package of materials
science investigations launched March 29 atop a commercially-provided
rocket at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., NASA's Office of
Commercial Programs has decided to extend funding support for two
additional sounding rocket flights in FY 1990 and is planning to
support from two to four flights annually thereafter depending on
requirements.
The Consort 1 mission was conceived and managed by the Consortium for
Materials Development in Space at the University of Alabama in
Huntsville (UAH). The mission represented a pilot project in which
$1.4 million in NASA grant monies, provided to the UAH Center for
Commercial Development, financed the purchase of commercial launch
services and payload integration.
----------------OTHER ARTICLES BY TITLE ONLY------------------------
TRULY, THOMPSON NAMED TO HEAD NASA - can890502.txt - 4/13/89
NASA BRAIN DRAIN STARTS - can890503.txt - 4/25/89
SPACE TELESCOPE MAY SLIP TO 1990 - can890506.txt - 4/25/89
SPACECRAFT CHARGING TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE - CAN890507.TXT - 4/24/89
----------------END OF CONDENSED CANOPUS-----------------------------
This posting represents my own condensation of CANOPUS. For clarity,
I have not shown ellipses (...), even when the condensation is
drastic. New or significantly rephrased material is in {braces} and
is signed {--SW} when it represents an expression of my own opinion.
The unabridged CANOPUS is available via e-mail from me at any of the
addresses below.
Copyright information:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu).
Send correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer,
AIAA, 1633 Broadway, NY, NY 10019. {The latter address may no longer
be current. I will investigate.--SW} Although AIAA has copyrighted
CANOPUS and registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute
CANOPUS widely, either electronically or as printout copies. If you
do, however, please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how
many others receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the
National Space Science Data Center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.25 | CANOPUS - June 1989 | RENOIR::KLAES | N = R*fgfpneflfifaL | Thu Aug 10 1989 17:02 | 215 |
| From: willner@cfashap.harvard.edu (Steve Willner)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - June 1989
Date: 9 Aug 89 16:26:31 GMT
Here is the condensed CANOPUS for June 1989. There are 8
condensed articles and 21 articles by title only or very short
summaries. CANOPUS is copyright American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics, but distribution is encouraged. See full copyright
information at end.
------------CONTENTS -- 8 ARTICLES CONDENSED OR IN FULL-----------------
ESA EVALUATING GROUND STATION PROPOSALS - can890413.txt - 4/13/89
ASTRONAUT SUGGESTS SPACE STATION REDESIGN - can890602.txt - 5/29/89
HIPPARCOS NEARING LAUNCH DATE - can890609.txt - 6/1/89
IUE ENTERS 12th OBSERVING CYCLE - can890610.txt - 6/1/89
TDRS-4 DECLARED OPERATIONAL - can890613.txt - 6/6/89
GE, SAIC TO STUDY LIFESAT - can890619.txt - 6/20/89
SHUTTLE ENGINE DESTROYED IN TEST - can890622.txt - 6/26/89
NASA SELECTS SCIENCE INVESTIGATIONS FOR SPACE STATION FREEDOM -
can890625.txt - 6/29/89
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESA EVALUATING GROUND STATION PROPOSALS - can890413.txt - 4/13/89
by Martin Kessler, ESA ASTRONEWS, Feb. 28, 1989
ESA has been actively seeking a partner to supply an additional
ground station for ISO {Infrared Space Observatory}. In autumn 1988,
two formal proposals were received, one from Australia and the other
from NASA in collaboration with Japan. {Either} proposal would
enable contact to be maintained with the satellite for nearly 24
hours per day as compared to the current baseline of 14 hours per
day. Activities on both the satellite and its instruments have moved
into hardware phases. {This article was omitted from the April
condensation because of technical difficulties. Still no decision,
as far as I know.--SW}
ASTRONAUT SUGGESTS SPACE STATION REDESIGN - can890602.txt - 5/29/89
The Shuttle-C User's Conference was held by NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center and the Shuttle-C contractor team to bring together
potential users of the vehicle and get their views on its utility.
Space Station Freedom should be redesigned so that it can be launched
in one or two major elements by a Shuttle-C and eliminate extensive
and risky on-orbit assembly, suggested astronaut Vance Brand. Brand
stressed that his comments were his opinion and not NASA's. "We can
put up two big chunks at the start and establish a permanently-manned
capability very quickly," he said. To do that the Shuttle-C would
have to use a payload carrier about 23 to 27 feet wide, versus 15
feet planned now.
Five workshops were held in different customer categories. Others
besides Space Station included:
EARTH SCIENCE AND APPLICATIONS: {Earth observing and astrophysics
payloads yes, not communications or life sciences}
PLANETARY MISSIONS: {Useful provided high-energy upper stage is also
developed. Centaur probably too small.}
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: {Little was said in open session.}
TECHNOLOGY TESTBED: {Possibly could test some components.}
HIPPARCOS NEARING LAUNCH DATE - can890609.txt - 6/1/89
by Michael Perryman - ESTEC
The Hipparcos satellite has been successfully integrated and
subjected to final testing at Aeritalia, Torino. The shipment review
and ground segment readiness review will take place in mid-May, and
the satellite will then be shipped to Kourou (arranged for 23 May)
for its launch by Ariane 4, now scheduled for July 1989.
Final studies on the observability of minor planets have resulted in
a list of 48 objects that will be observed by the satellite.
IUE ENTERS 12th OBSERVING CYCLE - can890610.txt - 6/1/89
by Willem Wamsteker - IUE Villafranca
{Observing program selected for 12th year.} As usual, the task of the
{European Allocation Committee} was difficult since only 37% of the
requested time could be allocated. {This refers to the 1/3 of the
observing time allocated to ESA; I think the US time is even more
over-subscribed.--SW} Progress reports by the groups with approved
`Heroic Proposals' in the present round showed that this initiative
has been extremely successful and very exciting results have been
obtained under the large allocations of time made to SN 1987A, the
AGN NGC 5548, the Dwarf Nova SU UMa and the X-Ray transient A0535+26
(the last two are both extensive multi-wavelength campaigns).
TDRS-4 DECLARED OPERATIONAL - can890613.txt - 6/6/89
NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-4 (TDRS-4) became
operational Saturday, assuming communications responsibilities that
were maintained by TDRS-1 since April 1983. TDRS-1 now is being
moved to a new location, 79 degrees west longitude, where it will
serve as a backup to TDRS-4 and TDRS-3. TDRS-4 will be located at 41
degrees west longitude just off the coast of Brazil, and TDRS-3 is on
station over the Pacific south of Hawaii at 171 degrees west
longitude.
GE, SAIC TO STUDY LIFESAT - can890619.txt - 6/20/89
LifeSat will carry life science payloads and could significantly
expand NASA's capability to investigate the biological effects of
microgravity and the unique space radiation environment. LifeSat
will fly experiments in a variety of orbits, including those
providing high doses of radiation, for up to 60 days, and perhaps
longer. It would be placed into Earth orbit by an expendable launch
vehicle.
SHUTTLE ENGINE DESTROYED IN TEST - can890622.txt - 6/26/89
The test occurred Friday, June 23 at NASA's Stennis Space Center
(near Bay St. Louis, Miss.) when the engine shut down approximately
1,270 seconds (21 minutes) into a scheduled 1,337 second (22-1/4
minute) run. At the same time, a fire was observed around the
powerhead area of the engine. The Huntsville (Ala.) Times quoted
Engine Project Manager Jerry Smelser of NASA as saying it would have
been a bad day [had the accident occurred in flight]. It would not
have been self-contained. There were pieces of coming off the
rotating machinery. There were two fractures in the pressure
containment wall of the oxidizer preburner."
According to NASA, the exact nature and extent of damage to the
engine, as well as the cause of the incident, are not yet known. The
engine which was being tested is a development engine, not one
intended for use in the Shuttle flight program. The engine has 23
starts, with an accumulated run time of approximately 2.5 hours.
NASA SELECTS SCIENCE INVESTIGATIONS FOR SPACE STATION FREEDOM -
can890625.txt - 6/29/89
The 27 selections fall into two categories. The flight category is
for attached scientific investigations that can be mounted aboard
elements of Freedom's structure during its assembly and outfitting
phase. The 14 investigations selected in this category will be the
first performed aboard Freedom. The concept study category is for
studies that may lead to flight investigations after the assembly
phase. These proposals were solicited for more advanced ideas that
could be implemented after station assembly when additional
resources, such as higher power and data-handling capabilities, will
be available.
The selections were made from responses to two NASA announcements of
opportunity issued in 1988. The first, issued in January, was for
the Earth Observing System (EOS) and solicited proposals for both
the unmanned NASA Polar Orbiting Platform and the permanently manned
Space Station Freedom. The second was issued in July and was
specifically for scientific and technological payloads in other
scientific disciplines to be attached to Freedom. Eight of the nine
Earth science investigations selected as attached payloads involve
copies of EOS Polar Platform instruments. The earliest expected
flight date for any of the investigations is 1996.
-------------21 ARTICLES BY TITLE OR SHORT SUMMARY--------------------
MAGELLAN STATUS - can890601.txt - 5/26/89
MAGELLAN STATUS- can890603.txt - 6/1/89
ASTRONAUT LENIOR TO HEAD SPACE STATION - can890604.txt - 6/1/89
COMPTEL INTEGRATED INTO GAMMA RAY OBSERVATORY - can890605.txt - 6/1/89
{European instrument, 1-20 MeV}
EXOSAT DATA BASE GOES ON LINE - can890606.txt - 6/1/89
DEFINITION STUDIES STARTING FOR FAR INFRARED SPACE TELESCOPE - can890607.txt
- 6/1/89 by Urban Frisk - ESTEC {ESA, possible 1991 new start, 2002
launch; competes with Comet Nucleus Sample Return}
GRASP, QUASAT COMBINATION STUDIED BY ESA - can890608.txt - 6/1/89
by Christoph Winkler - ESTEC {Use common spacecraft? XMM??}
NASA TO BROADCAST APOLLO 11 CREW INTERVIEW - can890611.txt - 6/6/89
AL DIAZ SELECTED AS DEPUTY ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR SCIENCE - can890612.txt
- 6/6/89
IUE OBSERVES EXTRAGALACTIC NOVAE - can890614.txt - 6/1/89 {Two in
Large Magellanic Cloud; first UV observations of extragalactc novae;
known distance enables good test of theoretical models.}
MAGELLAN WEEKLY STATUS - can890615.txt - 6/6/89
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL REORGANIZES SPACE GROUPS - can890616.txt - 6/6/89
{now advising all agencies, not just OSSA}
MAGELLAN WEEKLY STATUS - can890617.txt - 6/13/89
HUBBLE DELAYED TO MARCH IN NEW LAUNCH MANIFEST - can890618.txt - 6/14/89
MAGELLAN WEEKLY STATUS - can890620.txt - 6/20/89
SPACE TELESCOPE SURVEY CONDUCTED - can890621.txt 6/26/89 {Comments
sought on design of second generation instruments.}
MAGELLAN WEEKLY STATUS - can890623.txt - 6/26/89
VOYAGER IN GOOD SHAPE ON FINAL APPROACH - can890624.txt - 6/15/89
SPACE STATION LOSES MORE LEADERSHIP - can890626.txt - 6/29/89
NASA SELECTS SCIENCE EXPERIMENTS FOR MICROGRAVITY MISSIONS - can890627.txt -
6/29/89 {Definition studies for 23 experiments on shuttle.}
NASA SPACE SHUTTLE CREW ASSIGNMENTS ANNOUNCED - can890628.txt - 6/29/89
----------------END OF CONDENSED CANOPUS-----------------------------
This posting represents my own condensation of CANOPUS. For clarity,
I have not shown ellipses (...), even when the condensation is
drastic. New or significantly rephrased material is in {braces} and
is signed {--SW} when it represents an expression of my own opinion.
The unabridged CANOPUS is available via e-mail from me at any of the
addresses below.
Copyright information:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA,
1633 Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS
and registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS
widely, either electronically or as printout copies. If you do,
however, please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many
others receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the
National Space Science Data Center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.26 | CANOPUS - July 1989 | RENOIR::KLAES | N = R*fgfpneflfifaL | Wed Sep 13 1989 14:47 | 68 |
| From: willner@cfashap.harvard.edu (Steve Willner)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed CANOPUS - July 1989
Date: 12 Sep 89 21:57:52 GMT
Sender: news@cfa.HARVARD.EDU
Here is the condensed CANOPUS for July 1989. There is one article
condensed and 3 articles are give by title only. CANOPUS is copyright
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, but distribution
is encouraged. See full copyright information at end.
NASA, CANADIANS TO FLY PLASMA INVESTIGATION ON OMV MISSION -
can890701.txt - 7/14/89 {condensed}
NASA is planning to fly the Canadian portion of the Waves in Space
Plasmas (WISP) investigation during the demonstration flight of the
Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV). The maiden voyage of the OMV, a
remotely controlled, reusable "space tug" designed to perform a number
of tasks including maneuvering other spacecraft on orbit, is currently
scheduled for launch aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1993.
The three-part, high-frequency WISP (WISP-HF) is being developed
by the National Research Council of Canada. The investigation will
measure the interaction of an antenna with the tenuous upper atmosphere
that has been transformed into a plasma -- a gas of charged particles --
by sunlight and other effects. This layer is called the ionosphere.
WISP-HF is the high-frequency portion of a collaborative
U.S.-Canadian investigation that was scheduled to be flown on Space
Plasma Lab. These missions were delayed indefinitely as one of the
results of the Challenger accident. {Some of the US experiments have
been flown on sounding rockets.}
----------------OTHER ARTICLES BY TITLE ONLY-------------------------
NASA LOSES MORE MANAGERS; LEE NAMED TO HEAD MARSHALL - can890702.txt
- 7/14/89
MAGELLAN WEEKLY STATUS - can890703.txt - 7/11/89
VOYAGER STATUS REPORT - can890704.txt - 7/11/89
----------------END OF CONDENSED CANOPUS-----------------------------
This posting represents my own condensation of CANOPUS. For clarity,
I have not shown ellipses (...), even when the condensation is
drastic. New or significantly rephrased material is in {braces} and
is signed {--SW} when it represents an expression of my own opinion.
The unabridged CANOPUS is available via e-mail from me at any of the
addresses below.
Copyright information:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu;
e-mail to canopus@cfa.uucp will probably be forwarded). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA,
1633 Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS
and registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS
widely, either electronically or as printout copies. If you do,
however, please send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many
others receive copies. CANOPUS is partially supported by the
National Space Science Data Center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Willner Phone 617-495-7123 Bitnet: willner@cfa
60 Garden St. FTS: 830-7123 UUCP: willner@cfa
Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Internet: willner@cfa.harvard.edu
|
| 335.27 | CANOPUS - August 1990 | ADVAX::KLAES | All the Universe, or nothing! | Wed Dec 12 1990 20:04 | 376 |
| From: ROB%AUTOCTRL.RUG.AC.BE@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU ("Rob A. Vingerhoeds / Ghent State
University")
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Condensed Canopus for August 1990
Date: 11 Dec 90 12:29:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
I am taking over from Steve Willner for sending condensed versions of
CANOPUS to the newsgroup. I am open to any usefull comments and remarks
about the way you would like to see these condensed versions, as I may want
to change the layout in the near future.
The condensed versions of CANOPUS for June and July 1990 and for October
1990 are coming soon (a bit delayed...).
I hope to hear from you soon,
Rob Vingerhoeds
================================================================================
Here is the condensed CANOPUS for August 1990. There are three articles
condensed or in full and eight articles by title only. CANOPUS is copyright
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, but distribution is
encouraged. See full copyright information at end.
-----------CONTENTS -- 3 ARTICLES CONDENSED OR IN FULL-----------------
can900801.txt - 8/1/90
WE CAN GO TO MARS, BUT...
A look at the Space Exploration Initiative
July 10, 1990
Although the technology for going to Mars is largely at hand, a gamut of
political, economic, and institutional issues must be resolved before the
human race can strike off for Mars, according to a Space Summit held June
3-6 in Huntsville, Alabama. In particular, linking the many spacefaring
nations in a Mars campaign will require arguments that appeal to many
nations, not just to the needs of the United States or USSR.
At "The Space Summit, An International Conference on Manned Space
Exploration." a strong note reverberated that the Space Exploration
Initiative (SEI) is the best, perhaps only, way to supply the two resources
Earth needs, educated people, and raw materials, to break the limits of
growth that loom in the 21st century. There has been an enormous diversity
of opinion expressed since President Bush announced SEI, which lead to the
organisation of this summit.
The summit sessions discussed various national space programs, cooperative
space efforts, missions to the Moon and Mars, resource requirements,
implementation issues, alternative strategies, and public and educational
issues. A summary was given by a special panel of attendees who observed
but did not participate in the previous sessions.
Opinions expressed in this summary are those of the Conference Committee
only.
MISSION FOR PLANET EARTH
Saving planet Earth emerged as a chief concern in the summary session held
by three space veterans who observed the earlier sessions.
William Ramsey, the former deputy commander of the U.S. Space Command, said
that he is "befuddled" by the lack of integration of various agencies
involved in space, especially with the logistical support that foreign
launchers boosters might provide, and the lack of common ground "where all
involved feel comfortable."
The most sobering problem, he said, is education: "It is related to and not
a fall-out of space, a precursor to major programs," especially since
today's 10- and 12-year-olds are tomorrow's space scientists.
Mark Hempsell of British Aerospace testified that "I am proof positive that
an active space program can enthuse the young". But he is now frustrated
because there are only two people in space, both Soviet "and I had nothing
to do with it." He said that programs should be based on what the public
needs, not what aerospace companies want. Dr. Michael Duke, director of
planetary exploration at NASA's Johnson Space Center, said that, "I'm going
to do the science that saves the world." In a separate session, student
Dennis Wingo said that "There is no reason for going to Mars without
helping the environment" on Earth and building an infrastructure that will
supply raw materials for industry. Hempsell continued that 100 years from
now the planet will need 20 times as much industry as it has now. SEI can
really be offered in just two aspects -- business as usual, or "do it or
die."
TECHNICAL ISSUES
The technologies required for lunar and Mars missions are well understood
and can be developed. The principal area of concern is crew life support
and health, with recycling water described as a key technology problem. The
long-term effects of space travel on the human body also have many
unknowns, both in effects and countermeasures. These may drive technology
decisions such as high-speed propulsion vs. artificial-g designs. While
technology advancement has been advocated as a justification for SEI, there
were counter-arguments that near-term technologies should be used to reach
Mars as soon as possible. This also raised the question of whether
technology is developed to support the missions, or comes as a result of
the missions happening. One speaker advocated using a modified Space
Shuttle orbiter as an Earth orbit-to-lunar orbit shuttle, and other
existing systems for lunar missions.
POLTICAL ISSUES
In its current incarnation, SEI's start--Space Station Freedom--and
end--the surface of Mars--are defined. Trying to sell a 30-year program to
accomplish everything in between will be difficult. "Packaging" a series of
goals would satisfy each successive political administration and the voters
within the same time periods.
International involvement has been raised as a key issue in SEI, but
arguments seen as compelling in the U.S. are less so elsewhere. The
audience was reminded that what Americans so often call Europe is actually
a patchwork of nations, each with its own space program. {To my opinion,
this is however a wrong view of the situation, which has lead in the past
to misunderstandings between the Americans and the Europeans and apparently
this is happening all over again. Of course European countries do have
their own space programs, some in cooperation with NASA, others in
cooperation with the USSR, but the main activities appear to be coming from
ESA. ESA is THE European Space Agency, where the decisions on the space
programs are taken jointly and the actual realisations are done by European
industries from all over Europe in a good coperation. --RV} The needs for
technical prowess and educational excellence are perceived or met
differently in Europe. There is concern that NASA's invitation to the other
spacefaring nations is only half-hearted and that it really wants to go
alone.
Assuming that a partnership is formed, the first question then is how to
evolve each nation's low-Earth-orbit (LEO) components to serve the greater
SEI goal. Each nation or space agency is completing a basic LEO
infrastructure comprising launchers and jack-of-all-trades space stations.
Expanding each of those fully in all areas would be too expensive.
Aeritalia is studying an alternative where the space agencies agree on
areas that each will develop while the others are surrendered to other
nations. The formation of an Intelsat-like international exploration agency
was also suggested and merits further study.
ECONOMIC ISSUES
The cost of going to the Moon and Mars--$200 to $400 billion, by many
accounts--was identified as perhaps the biggest single objection facing the
program, especially given the high cost of other programs. Just bailing out
the U.S. savings and loan industry is comparable in cost and duration. How
the SEI is financed and the real and perceived returns on investment must
be defined. The role of private investment in SEI has been discussed, but
it is at least doubtfull whether it can exist. The government will be the
ultimate customer and leasing arrangements usually will cost more in the
long run. Whether business should continue in the same fashion, or
innovative methods developed, must be investigated.
INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
President Bush has cited improved education as a spin-off from SEI, but the
conference attendees also believed that it will be a pacing item in letting
SEI happen. And once built, the workforce must be maintained and cultivated
for continued operations rather than being given the "pink slip" as the
Apollo team was after the landing on the Moon. Specifically, without great
improvements in the output of the U.S. school system, from elementary
school through doctoral programs, there will be no qualified workforce to
send the nation to the planets; this problem has been recognized by a
Congressional task force and is being addressed by several Federal
agencies. Ironically, the only student speaker at the Summit made the
biggest impression as he told the attendees that he was less concerned
about their views of manifest destiny than with saving the world where he
and his children must live. He said that the most promising route was by
way of the resources available on the Moon, Mars and other extraterrestrial
bodies.
A major issue, raised by different voices, is whether SEI necessarily has
to be as big, expensive, tough, or long-term as the various architectures
indicate. This issue can be approached from at least two angles. First is
the question of near-term vs. far-term technology. Second is the cultural
issue of how governments procure products through regulations that seemed
to be designed to insure the costly purchase of out-of-date technology.
Tough, innovative management techniques and changes may be necessary to
allow space agencies to break out of self-imposed constraints.
IGNORED ISSUES
Several key issues were not addressed in the conference. Foremost was a
lack of discussion about the potential Soviet contribution to an
international SEI venture. The Soviets now have the world's best heavy-lift
launch capability, and the most experience in long-term space operations.
Defining the limits to growth is necessary if the industrial nations are to
understand what their economies will be able to support in space
exploration and to determine whether tapping extraterrestrial resources
will allow them to break through those limits without destroying what is
left of the terrestrial environment.
The legal impact of such expansion also was not mentioned. An international
effort might founder on the U.N. Treaty on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space
(1982) which declared extraterrestrial resources to be the "Common Heritage
of Mankind" (the U.S. has not signed this treaty).
Finally, the integration of the various components of and SEI campaign will
pose new management challenges regardless of its scale. The U.S. Space
Station program has encountered great difficulties in coordinating
activities at the field center level (within NASA) and the international
level (among the NASA and other agencies). SEI can only be an order of
magnitude more demanding and difficult.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
An historical background on the SEI showed that nothing new is being
proposed in terms of mission architecture. In particular, the basic outline
for the Mars mission was outlined in the 1940s by the British
Interplanetary Society and explored in technical detail by Wernher von
Braun and his colleagues in the 1950s. In 1969, von Braun's staff designed
a comprehensive "Integrated Space Program" that would have led to manned
bases on Mars by the late 1980s. Major elements which are missing today are
the Saturn 5, a space tug, and a nuclear stage. Nevertheless, the basic
outline from 1969 remains valid (and can be seen in NASA's "90-Day Study").
The renewal of official Administration interest in manned space exploration
stems largely from the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing when
President Bush asked the nation to embark on a "journey into tomorrow" to
Mars. This was reiterated in a February 1990 speech when Bush set the 50th
anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission as the goal for a manned landing on
Mars. Policy statements that followed focused on advancing technology and
opening a dialogue with other nations to join the U.S. in the venture.
Summit reviews of other national space programs showed parallel development
by other nations. The United States, European Space Agency, USSR, and Japan
should possess reusable, manned launchers and space stations by 2001. ESA,
the U.S., Canada, and Japan are participating in Space Station Freedom and
Mission to Planet Earth. The Japanese space program is quite ambitious and
already seems to have a quiet though firm commitment to meet the many goals
outlined by President Bush in the SEI.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
can900808.txt - 8/14/90
HST PRODUCES STRIKING IMAGE OF STAR CLUSTER
Aug. 13, 1990
Sharp on the heels of the much-needed success of Magellan's arrival at
Venus, NASA today released an image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope
which demonstrates that the observatory is capable of good science despite
the imperfection in its mirrors.
"I'm elated and I think most astronomers are," HST Program Scientist Ed
Weiler said in a press conference this afternoon. The 9 arc-sec
wide-picture of R136, a star cluster within 30 Doradus, the most prolific
stellar nursery within the local group shows that "we can still do some
unique science" on bright objects. The cluster is about 160,000 light years
away and would fill the space between our sun and Alpha Centauri.
Dr. Rick White, an associate astronomer at the Space Telescope Science
Institute, said that the picture is 10 times better than a comparable one
taken by the the 2.2-meter telescope of the European Southern Observatory
in Chile. The HST image is markedly sharper in showing a large number of
point sources in the nursery, although has a halo due to the speherical
aberration which prevents "perfect" focusing.
Knowing that each star is a point source, the science team was able to
clean the image by computer. "The encouraging thing," White said, "... is
that all the different [enhancement] techniques we have tried give
comparable results."
Future pictures "will improve significantly" when the secondary mirror is
placed in its "best" focus position -- where it was not for this image --
and after calibrating filters in the camera.
"The Wide-Field Camera is performing to specification in the area of
resolution," Weiler said. "That's not the whole story, of course" since
much of the focused energy falls outside the specified 0.1 arc-second
circle, thus giving any object a halo. Weiler said the picture of R136
shows that bright-object osbervations are possible with the
Wide-Field/Planetary Camera and the Faint Object Camera.
The image of R136 was produced to help check spectral data taken by the
Goddard High Resolution Spectrometer during its verification tests. Sally
Heap, a spectrometer co-investigator, said that the images provided to the
media were not as good as the original.
"There is more in a WF/PC picture that you can show photographically. We
can see separate stars on the image display," she said as she invited
reporters to view the images in her laboratory. The cluster originally was
thought to be a single massive star, then was resolved into some 27 large
stars in the 1980s. In the images acquired by HST, at least 60 stars were
counted when astronomers got tired and quit.
WF/PC principal investigator James Westphal of the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory said that he was one of the biggest skeptics of the
computer-processing technology, and is encouraged that the camera will be
able to provide good images of Jupiter.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
can900809.txt - 8/14/90
HUBBLE INVESTIGATION ADVISORY
Aug. 9, 1990
Analyses of the possible causes of the observed spherical aberration in the
HST suggest that the "reflective null corrector" may have been flawed. The
reflective null corrector is an optical reference device which was used to
measure very precisely the surface figure of the HST primary mirror during
its manufacture.
The test setup incorporating the reflective null corrector remains
essentially unchanged from when it was used in measurements during the
final polishing and coating of the primary mirror in 1981.
The HST project/contractor team, led by Lew Allen, Chairman of the HST
Optical Systems Board of Investigation, has been concentrating its efforts
looking for an error in the reflective null corrector. Over the last two
weeks tests have been run, systematically checking various aspects of this
device.
Preliminary results of a test conducted at Hughes Danbury Optical Systems
(HDOS) Aug. 8 to look at the spacings of the elements in the corrector have
revealed a clear discrepancy of approximately 1 millimeter between the
design of the null corrector and the device as it exists. One millimeter is
about 1/25 of an inch (about the diameter of the point of a ball-point
pen). Preliminary analysis indicates that a discrepancy of this magnitude
could cause spherical aberration similar to that observed in the HST
primary mirror.
The investigation board will now concentrate its efforts in two areas:
refining the measurement of the observed reflective null corrector spacing
discrepancy and continuing to examine all aspects of the reflective null
corrector and associated test apparatus as they were constructed and used
in the fabrication of the primary mirror. The board is scheduled to meet at
HDOS on Aug. 15-16. This meeting will be the first opportunity for the
full board to review the test procedures and resulting data.
-----------------8 ARTICLES BY TITLE ONLY-------------------------------
MAGELLAN STATUS REPORT (Aug. 6, 1990) - can900802.txt - 8/6/90
NASA ASTROPHYSICS SEEKS VISITING SENIOR SCIENTISTS (Aug. 6, 1990)
- can900803.txt - 8/6/90
NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT (NRA 90-OSSA-18) - can900804.txt - 8/7/90
Long-Term Space Astrophysics (LTSA) Research Program
NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT (NRA 90-OSSA-16) - can900805.txt - 8/7/90
High-Energy Astrophysics X-ray Astronomy Research and Analysis 1990
NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT (NRA 90-OSSA-19) - can900806.txt - 8/14/90
Astrophysics Data Program (ADP)
MAGELLAN STATUS REPORT (Aug. 13, 1990) - can900807.txt - 8/14/90
NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT - can900810.txt - 8/29/90
Ultraviolet Detector Development for Space Astronomy
NASA RESEARCH ANNOUNCEMENT - can900811.txt - 8/29/90
Origins of Solar Systems Research Program
------------------END OF CONDENSED CANOPUS---------------------------
This posting represents my own condensation of CANOPUS. For clarity, I have
not shown ellipses (...), even when the condensation is drastic. New or
significantly rephrased material is in {braces} and is signed {--RV} when
it represents an expression of my own opinion. The unabridged CANOPUS is
available via e-mail from me at any of the addresses below.
Copyright information:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CANOPUS is published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Send correspondence about its contents to the executive
editor, William W. L. Taylor (taylor%trwatd.span@star.stanford.edu). Send
correspondence about business matters to Mr. John Newbauer, AIAA, 1633
Broadway, NY, NY 10019. Although AIAA has copyrighted CANOPUS and
registered its name, you are encouraged to distribute CANOPUS widely,
either electronically or as printout copies. If you do, however, please
send a brief message to Taylor estimating how many others receive copies.
CANOPUS is partially supported by the National Space Science Data Center.
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