HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov
Subject: Re: Apollo Astronauts
Originator: kjenks@gothamcity
Keywords: Mail Code
Organization: NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 17:20:36 GMT

>In article <29557@castle.ed.ac.uk>, eoph12@castle.ed.ac.uk (I F Gow) wrote:
>> Anyone have addresses of the whereabouts of the surviving Apollo
>> Astronauts?

In article <1992Dec15.102803.1@fnalo.fnal.gov> higgins@fnalo.fnal.gov (Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey) replied:
>[...] the
>Astronaut Office at Johnson Space Center keeps track of them and will
>forward mail to them.  That's probably the simplest answer to your
>question.
>
>The address:
>
>NASA Johnson Space Center
>Astronaut Office    
>Houston, TX 77058
>
>Sorry, don't know the mail code.

Mail Code CB

Mark your envelope "Attn: Buzz Aldrin" (or whomever) for faster forwarding.

-- Ken Jenks, NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office
      kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov  (713) 483-4368

     "The earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind will not stay in
     the cradle forever." -- Konstantin Tsiolkvosky
From: brian.vinson@f905.n714.z3.fido.zeta.org.au (Brian Vinson)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: SHUTTLE 2.2GHz TELEMETRY
Organization: Fidonet. Gate admin is fido@socs.uts.edu.au
Date: 16 Dec 92 16:42:00 GMT

I HAVE BEEN RECEIVING AND RECORDING THE SHUTTLE TELEMETRY WHICH IS
TRANSMITTED  ON 2.2GHz. IT APPEARS TO BE PCM AT ABOUT 1MBIT RATE. CAN I GET
SOME MOER INFO
ON THE MAIN FRAME AND ANY SUB FRAMES USED ALSO THE SYNC WORD ""I THINK IF IT
 IS 16 BIT WORDS IT WILL BE THE IRIG STANDARD 'EB90'.?
CAN ANY ON HELP WITH THIS INFO.!!

--- FMail 0.90
 * Origin: SATCOM_AUSTRALIA Space & Satellite BBS  61-2-905-0849 (3:714/905)
From: matthew@phantom.gatech.edu (Matthew DeLuca)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: STS-1 DISASTER/COVERUP
Date: 16 Dec 1992 19:19:06 -0500
Organization: The Dorsai Grey Captains
NNTP-Posting-Host: oit.gatech.edu

In article <1992Dec16.201242.28689@pony.Ingres.COM> kevinq@Ingres.COM (Kevin Quinn) writes:
>In article <1992Dec15.205959.2845@cnsvax.uwec.edu> mcelwre@cnsvax.uwec.edu writes:

>>   Hello, my friends, this is Dr. Beter.  Today is April 27,

>Who is this brainless dweeb?  Another highly paid consultant for
>the National Enquirer?  Sheesh!

I don't know what he does for a living, but the motivation for these 
'newsletters' is religious; the conclusion of each of these (as transcribed
over in talk.politics.misc by another True Believer) is religious; each
newsletter closes with a plea for the listener to turn to God and Jesus
to avert the horrible events that are about to befall the U.S.  Once I 
discovered that, it all made a weird sort of sense.
-- 
Matthew Thomas DeLuca
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
uucp:	  ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!matthew
Internet: matthew@prism.gatech.edu
From: hollis@titan.ksc.nasa.gov
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Ascent data GIF...
Date: 11 Dec 92 13:37:35 EST
Organization: NASA, Kennedy Space Center

Greetings and Salutations:

I have scanned in a graph depicting ascent data for the shuttle.  It is on the
ames server under the file:

ftp/pub/SPACE/GIF/ascentgraph.gif

The data depicted is total acceleration (G's), commanded SSME throttling (%), 
ground relative velocity magnitude (FT/S), RH AVVI indicated altitude (KFT).

To find out how to get LOTS of space related info, send a mail message to:
archive-server@ames.arc.nasa.gov

You should also put a one line message in it like so:

send help

-- 
-----------------------------------------------
Ken Hollis  INTERNET: HOLLIS@TITAN.KSC.NASA.GOV
            SPAN/HEPnet: KSCP00::HOLLIS

Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
From: cpetersn@iastate.edu (Clifton R Peterson)
Subject: Re: STS-1 DISASTER/COVERUP
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames IA
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 19:13:25 GMT

In <1992Dec15.205959.2845@cnsvax.uwec.edu> mcelwre@cnsvax.uwec.edu writes:



>Digitized by Jon Volkoff, email address eidetics@cerf.net

>"AUDIO LETTER(R)" is a registered trademark of Audio Books,
>Inc., a Texas corporation, which originally produced this tape
>recording.  Reproduced under open license granted by Audio
>Books, Inc.

>-----------------------------------------------------------------

>This is the Dr. Beter AUDIO LETTER(R), 1629 K Street N.W.,
>Washington, DC  20006

>   Hello, my friends, this is Dr. Beter.  Today is April 27,
>1981, and this is my AUDIO LETTER No. 64.

Dr. Peter Beter is quite the penile pugilist, but is quite entertaining. <g>
-- 
 _________________________________________________________________________
/ Clifton R. Peterson    1108 Burnett		(515)232-5254	    	  \
| B.S. Chem E            Ames IA  50010                                   |
\_______________"42"_is_one_hell_of_an_answer!!___________________________/
From: matthew@phantom.gatech.edu (Matthew DeLuca)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: STS-1 Disaster -- follow-up
Date: 17 Dec 1992 18:43:00 -0500
Organization: The Dorsai Grey Captains
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: oit.gatech.edu

In article <1gpgvqINNhk9@news.cerf.net> eidetics@nic.cerf.net (Eidetics Int'l) writes:

>As there have been a fair number of comments concerning the Dr. Beter Audio
>Letter #64 transcript which was posted here in sci.space.shuttle by my
>"co-conspirator" [...]

I've got a couple of questions of my own...

(1) If the U.S. is so sophisticated that we can make clones or replicants of
    dead astronauts and have them fool their family and friends, how come 
    we can't detect and destroy these 'cosmospheres' or at least come up with
    a countermeasure?

(2) How does the theory of the shuttle Columbia getting blown up hold up after
    we've seen not just four launches (as the audio letter implied) of the
    Columbia but at least a dozen, plus another three dozen launches of 
    shuttles?  What advancement allowed us to counter the cosmospheres that 
    shot down the original?

It sounds like it was a cute conspiracy to begin with, but later events have
long since proved Beter to be delusional, at best, about what was going on.
I suspect that he's actually laughing in the grave at all the attention his
'audio letters' are receiving years down the line.

Oh, well...it's more entertaining than the neverending DC-X flamewar.
-- 
Matthew Thomas DeLuca
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
uucp:	  ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!matthew
Internet: matthew@prism.gatech.edu
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
From: smb@research.att.com (Steven Bellovin)
Subject: Re: STS-1 Disaster -- follow-up
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 15:24:53 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories

Hey -- you left out the Trilateral Commission, the Bavarian Illuminati,
and the Jesuits!

I should redirect followups to alt.conspiracy, or maybe to alt.anti-semitism
or rec.humor.incomprehensible.  I'll refrain, but my kill file is armed
and ready...
From: alfa@csource.oz.au (glenn durden)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: STS-1 DISASTER/COVERUP
Date: Sun, 20 Dec 92 13:57:33 +1100
Reply-To: alfa@csource.oz.au
Organization: Unique Computing Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia

det@phlan.sw.stratus.com (David Toland) writes:

>
> R McElwaine - crackpot and BS artist, and now advocate of paranoid delusions.
> Is this guy serious, or is he just pulling our chains?
>
> Time to increase the LiCO3 dosage?
>
> I probably shouldn't feed his ego by even responding to this drivel, but
> good grief, enough is enough already!
>
> --
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> All opinions are MINE MINE MINE, and not necessarily anyone else's.
> det@phlan.sw.stratus.com   |  "Laddie, you'll be needin' something to wash
>                            |  that doon with."


He is basically a crackpot as far as I'm concerned.

The same loony responsible for dud postings as:
 "Russias OPERATIONAL Starwars Defence System"

 "FREE-ENERGY TECHNOLOGY For Spacecraft/Colonies"

 "ALTERNATIVE Heavy Element Cration in Universe
or BIOLOGICAL ALCHEMY (ANOTHER Form of CoCOLD FUSION)"

...and a few others.

He and John_-_Winston (of alt.alien.visitors) are related, methinks.

.........................................................
glenn durden
alfa@csource.oz.au  Unique Computing Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia
The opinions expressed above are that of the author only.
From: matthew@phantom.gatech.edu (Matthew DeLuca)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: STS-1 DISASTER/COVERUP
Date: 17 Dec 1992 07:16:31 -0500
Organization: The Dorsai Grey Captains
NNTP-Posting-Host: oit.gatech.edu

In article <1goh1qINNgok@phantom.gatech.edu> matthew@phantom.gatech.edu (Matthew DeLuca) writes:
>>In article <1992Dec15.205959.2845@cnsvax.uwec.edu> mcelwre@cnsvax.uwec.edu writes:
>>>   Hello, my friends, this is Dr. Beter.  Today is April 27,

>I don't know what he does for a living [...]

Actually, I just remembered that he is dead.  Probably killed by those nasty 
Bolshevik death-rays from space.
-- 
Matthew Thomas DeLuca
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta Georgia, 30332
uucp:	  ...!{decvax,hplabs,ncar,purdue,rutgers}!gatech!prism!matthew
Internet: matthew@prism.gatech.edu
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
From: ajpotts@castle.ed.ac.uk (A Potts)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: STS-1 DISASTER/COVERUP
Date: 18 Dec 92 15:56:49 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh University

kevinq@Ingres.COM (Kevin Quinn) writes:

>In article <1992Dec15.205959.2845@cnsvax.uwec.edu> mcelwre@cnsvax.uwec.edu writes:
>>
>>
>>Digitized by Jon Volkoff, email address eidetics@cerf.net
>>
>>"AUDIO LETTER(R)" is a registered trademark of Audio Books,
>>Inc., a Texas corporation, which originally produced this tape
>>recording.  Reproduced under open license granted by Audio
>>Books, Inc.
>>
>>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>This is the Dr. Beter AUDIO LETTER(R), 1629 K Street N.W.,
>>Washington, DC  20006


Well I thought it was very entertaining.  There's not much to laugh
about on the Net, but this was a Christmas present par exellance.

A very Merry Christmas and best wishes to all sci.space.shuttle
readers!!

AJP

PS I have a confession. I too am a synthetic.... (cue Twighlight Zone
                                                                music)
From: BrianT@cup.portal.com (Brian Stuart Thorn)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: STS-1/Disaster
Date: Fri, 18 Dec 92 17:55:57 PST
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
  <1992Dec17.145856.16850@ulysses.att.com>

>In article <71880@cup.portal.com>, BrianT@cup.portal.com (Brian Stuart Thorn) 
w
>rites:
>> >
>> >Who is this Dr. Beter guy?
>> >
>> >Also, I realize the whole "Columbia disaster" thing is ridiculous, but does
>> >Enterprise have engines or not?  I seem to remember it conducting its
>> >glide tests with that cone on the end, over the SSMEs.
>> >
>> >Just curious,
>> >Jeremy "EL HOMBRE" Scheinberg
>> >
>>
>>   Nope, it had fake mockups which look little like SSMEs. Enterprise
>>   has no tiles, either, and the flight deck was missing many of the
>>   systems Columbia has. Finally, I was there and Columbia flew due-east
>>   out of Cape Canaveral, not northeast. Geez, why am I bothering to
>>   dispute such drivel?
>
>You were?  Then you must be part of the conspiracy, too!  He's a witch; burn
>him!

     I was at the NASA Causeway viewing site, you lunkhead! :-)
     Amazing how about 200,000 of us, all at the public viewing site,
     all watched Columbia fly off to the East when, if Dr. Doom here
     is correct, it actually flew off to the Northeast! I guess NASA
     faked the dawn too, and made the sun rise in the northeast that
     morning... :-)   
     
>The part of that posting that amused me the most was how Dr. Beter had
>all the information on what really happened when NASA hadn't figured it
>out yet...
>
From: hollis@titan.ksc.nasa.gov
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re : Launch on the GSE (Ground Support Equipment)...
Date: 15 Dec 92 12:31:46 EST
Organization: NASA, Kennedy Space Center

Greetings and Salutations:

From: mritter@access.digex.com
>We were sitting around after dinner when the subject of possible
>damage to the shuttle's gantry came up.  How much damage does it sustain

Ahh.  It gets even batter.  Since the pad is located near the coast, you get
all of that nice sea salt spray all over everything all of the time.  After a
launch a team goes out and acesses the damage.

Most of the FSS (Fixed Service Structure) is made of grating and round poles,
so you only have to repaint the parts that get hit.  You also have to replace
alot of lights.  The elevator (which is still working, amazingly) has had the
doors ripped off.  As you can imagine, the ride up is awful squeeky...

The MLP (Mobile Launch Platform) probably gets hit the worst.  After a launch
and before the pad washdown (FSS & MLP) the top of the MLP has been basically
sandblasted by the SRB (Solid Rocket Booster) exhaust.  Within a few hours the
sea spray has started a fine rust surface on all of the exposed surfaces.  The
cameras are housed in a box that has a protective lens, and the lens is nothing
but a white glaze. There is a very fine white powder over everything.  All is
sandblasted.  Quite impressive.

-- 
-----------------------------------------------
Ken Hollis  INTERNET: HOLLIS@TITAN.KSC.NASA.GOV
            SPAN/HEPnet: KSCP00::HOLLIS
From: johnv@acix.DIALix.oz.au (John Verhoeven)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: STS-1 DISASTER/COVERUP
Date: 20 Dec 92 20:46:13 GMT
Organization: ACix - Private UUCP Node, Cloverdale, Western Australia.
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]

Horowitz, Irwin Kenneth (irwin@iago.caltech.edu) wrote:
> Folks,
> 	Just check out who is responsible for this "STS-1" post...it's none
> other than Mr. Robert McElwaine himself.  Just do what I did...send him an 
> e-mail reply, including the entire text of his message, with just a line or 
> two of comment :-).

Better still do what I did and add him to your kill file.

That way nobody sees him or replies to him.

This way I don't have to waste my time on his ravings or the follow ups to
his ravings.

His posts don't even have a humour value to me.

--

John Verhoeven                        johnv@acix.DIALix.oz.au      _--_|\
Treasurer, Amiga Developers           (ALT: johnv@DIALix.oz.au)   /      \
Association of Western Australia      Phone: (+619) 478 1406      *_.--._/
From: ralph.buttigieg@f635.n713.z3.fido.zeta.org.au (Ralph Buttigieg)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Apollo laser disk
Organization: Fidonet. Gate admin is fido@socs.uts.edu.au
Date: 15 Dec 92 19:12:30 GMT

Can anyone  help on the location of a NTSC CAV format
laser disk called "Apollo". Its supposed to cantain just about every moment
of the Apollo lunar space walks and other stuff. If you have a suppliers
address I  greatly appreciate it.

ta
Ralph Buttigieg

--- Maximus 2.01wb
 * Origin: Vulcan's World-Sydney Australia 02 635-1204 (3:713/635)
Xref: sparky sci.space.shuttle:2962 sci.space:17599
From: eoph12@castle.ed.ac.uk (I F Gow)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle,sci.space
Subject: Apollo Astronauts
Date: 15 Dec 92 10:27:09 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh University


Anyone have addresses of the whereabouts of the surviving Apollo
Astronauts?


Regards,


Iain
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
From: oliver@vf.jsc.nasa.gov
Subject: Re: Discovery you are 3,000 feet low...
Organization: NASA Johnson Space Center
Date: 15 Dec 92 13:08:30 -0600

In article <1992Dec11.140908.4561@titan.ksc.nasa.gov>, hollis@titan.ksc.nasa.gov writes:
> Greetings and Salutations:
> 
> Question for the JSC guys...
> 
> 1) I heard that this was SUPPOSED to be an autoland test?
> 

This was to be the autoland test flight, but General Pearson cancelled it.  The
landing was flown by the crew.

> 2) What was meant by the callouts (I may not have the terminology correct) at
> the 90 degree hack "Discovery you are low on the 90 degree... Discovery you are
> VERY low on the 90 degree 3,000 feet".  They then closed the rudder speed
> brake, and returned to centerline.  This happened when the orbiter was only
> 10,000 feet off the ground, and I would think a 3,000 ft error would be a tad
> bit excessive....
> 
> Comments?
> 

The crew showed great skill in recovering their lost altitude.  This shows how
important energy management was.  If they were low on energy, the recovery 
wouldn't have been possible.

-- 

Pat Oliver -  	Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Company at NASA JSC
		OLIVER@vf.jsc.nasa.gov
		All standard disclamers apply.
From: irwin@iago.caltech.edu (Horowitz, Irwin Kenneth)
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: STS-1 DISASTER/COVERUP
Date: 16 Dec 1992 15:20 PDT
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: iago.caltech.edu
Summary: flood McElwaine's mailbox!
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    

In article <1992Dec15.205959.2845@cnsvax.uwec.edu>, mcelwre@cnsvax.uwec.edu writes...
> 
> 
>Digitized by Jon Volkoff, email address eidetics@cerf.net
> 
>"AUDIO LETTER(R)" is a registered trademark of Audio Books,
>Inc., a Texas corporation, which originally produced this tape
>recording.  Reproduced under open license granted by Audio
>Books, Inc.
(the rampant paranoia in this post has been deleted for our sanity...:-)

Folks,
	Just check out who is responsible for this "STS-1" post...it's none
other than Mr. Robert McElwaine himself.  Just do what I did...send him an 
e-mail reply, including the entire text of his message, with just a line or 
two of comment :-).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Irwin Horowitz                        |
Astronomy Department                  |"Whoever heard of a female astronomer?"
California Institute of Technology    |--Charlene Sinclair, "Dinosaurs"
irwin@iago.caltech.edu                |
ih@deimos.caltech.edu                 |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: Shuttle launch viewing sites
From: fred-mckenzie@ksc.nasa.gov (Fred McKenzie)
Date: 11 Dec 92 16:43:06 EST
Followup-To: sci.space.shuttle
Distribution: na
Organization: NASA/Kennedy Space Center, Florida

In article <1992Dec9.151916.11636@cbnews.cb.att.com>, jmk@cbnews.cb.att.com
(joseph.m.knapp) wrote:
> werners@novavax.UUCP (William S. Werner) writes:
> >    146.94 Mhz 
> >    146.82 Mhz
> I would like to try hearing the shuttle next time on these frequencies. I
> assume that the signal would be present only when the shuttle is over
> the horizon, so tracking software would be helpful? And would only the
> downlink be present?

Joe-

First, the frequencies listed are not coming from the Shuttle, but from
nearby Ham Radio Stations that have special permission to rebroadcast "NASA
Select Audio".

Second, the frequency in use near KSC, is 146.94 MHz.  The other frequency
would not be heard very well in the immediate KSC area.  I suspect it is
either a reference to the Orlando 146.82 MHz station, or to one in the
Edwards AFB area that you might hear if you were there for a landing.  If
it isn't one of these, it must be one of many in cities around the country.
 Does anyone have a better guess?

73, Fred, K4DII

fred-mckenzie@ksc.nasa.gov
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle
From: shafer@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer)
Subject: Re: STS-1/Disaster
Organization: NASA Dryden, Edwards, Cal.
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 02:08:10 GMT

On 16 Dec 92 19:29:06 GMT, jeremys@eniac.seas.upenn.edu (Jeremy "EL HOMBRE" Scheinberg) said:

j> Also, I realize the whole "Columbia disaster" thing is ridiculous, but does 
j> Enterprise have engines or not?  I seem to remember it conducting its
j> glide tests with that cone on the end, over the SSMEs.

No, no engines at all.  Enterprise did have mockups so that it was
correct aerodynamically and in the mass properties, but it didn't
have engines or the RCS.  (It didn't need either, of course.)

--
Mary Shafer  DoD #0362 KotFR NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, CA
shafer@rigel.dfrf.nasa.gov                    Of course I don't speak for NASA
 "A MiG at your six is better than no MiG at all."  Unknown US fighter pilot
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle,sci.space
From: tombaker@world.std.com (Tom A Baker)
Subject: Re: Apollo 10 LM (was Re: pre-fire Apollo schedule)
Organization: Me, at The World Public Access UNIX, Brookline, MA
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 23:36:18 GMT

In article <ByyGp2.685@zoo.toronto.edu> henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes:
>In article <1992Dec8.100407.1@fnala.fnal.gov> higgins@fnala.fnal.gov (Bill Higgins-- Beam Jockey) writes:
>>Henry, you imply that Apollo 10's LM couldn't actually land and
>>return.  Can you elaborate?  This is the first I've heard of this.

>talks about it.  He says that the Apollo 10 LM *probably* could have
>flown a lunar landing if some fuel had been offloaded to lighten it, but
>the margins would have been slim and hard to predict.  It would probably
>
>So, as actually flown the Apollo 10 LM was indeed a little too heavy.

Scary.  As I have often recalled, there was a subtle bug in the LM
software that flew in the Apollo 10 mission.  When in ascent mode, the
LM was supposed to automatically stay in contact with the CSM by
directional antenna.  If it wasn't, then the LM automatically would
do a "random tumble" to locate it.  During Apollo 10's simulation of
ascent, that started happening just at the beginning of the simulated
ascent.  Stafford yelled "Son of a bitch!", which we all heard on Earth
a while before we found out the problem.

I am not saying that would have happened (noflamesplease) as it is
probable that the CSM *would* be locked in, and the LM commander would
be manually overriding more tightly than Stafford was.  But it does 
point up the extra risks of a "let's do it this time and surprise the
russians" landing that might have been tried.

(By the way, I remember discussing this with my circle at the time of the
flight; at that point, the space race still seemed real.)

tombaker
--------------------------------------.--------------------------------------
 Net - tombaker@world.std.com  __     | National Space Society is a nonprofit
uucp - uunet!world!tombaker   /  \  / | public organization dedicated to
 BIX - tombaker              /  O  /  | promoting the eventual establishment
 AOL - TABaker@aol.com      /  \__/   | of a spacefaring civilization.
______________________________________|______________________________________
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Subject: pumps etc.
Date: Sat, 19 Dec 1992 01:45:13 GMT
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology

In article <1grfkbINN3gi@uniwa.uwa.edu.au> scott@psy.uwa.oz.au (Scott Fisher) writes:
>Q: What drives the turbo-pumps the rocket exhaust?

There are several methods; the commonest is to burn some of the fuel and
some of the oxidizer in a separate burner and use the resulting hot gas
to drive pump turbines.

>If this is so...why can't you bleed some pressure from the exhaust to
>pressurisethe tanks?  Is this done?

Building the tanks themselves to take the full pressure needed adds a lot
more weight than the turbopumps.  Pressure-fed engines *are* simpler, but
there's a substantial weight penalty.
-- 
"God willing... we shall return."       | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
       -Gene Cernan, the Moon, Dec 1972 |  henry@zoo.toronto.edu  utzoo!henry
Newsgroups: sci.space