HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Call for next generation of Small Explorers announced [Release 92-144] (Forwarded)
Apparently-To: sci-space-news@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Followup-To: sci.space
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 18:57:11 GMT

Paula Cleggett-Haleim
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                    September 4, 1992
(Phone:  202/358-0883)

Dolores Beasley 
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone:  301-286-2806)


RELEASE:  92-144

CALL FOR NEXT GENERATION OF SMALL EXPLORERS ANNOUNCED

     An announcement of opportunity inviting proposals for the next 
set of Small Explorer (SMEX) missions has been sent to the 
scientific community.

     The Small Explorer program provides frequent flight 
opportunities for highly focussed and relatively inexpensive space 
science missions.  These missions allow critical training 
opportunities for the next generation of scientists and engineers.

     This series of small scientific missions can launch at a rate 
of about one mission per year, depending on mission cost and the 
availability of funds.  NASA plans to develop only two or three 
missions which can be completed and launched by 1997.

     Proposals for future missions are due Dec. 18, 1992.  The 
opportunity is restricted to the scientific disciplines of 
astrophysics and space physics, but is open to all categories of 
organizations, including educational institutions, industry, 
nonprofit institutions, NASA field centers and other governmental 
agencies, as well as foreign research institutions.

     Total costs for development of missions, including the 
spacecraft and excluding mission operations and analysis costs 
following the first 30 days in orbit, are expected to average less 
than $35 million in FY 1992 dollars.

     NASA's first Small Explorer, the Solar Anomalous and 
Magnetospheric Particle Explorer was launched July 3, 1992.  Two 
other missions are currently approved, the Fast Auroral Snapshot 
Explorer, scheduled for launch in 1994, and the Submillimeter Wave 
Astronomy Satellite, set for launch in 1995.
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Magellan Update - 08/26/92
Followup-To: sci.space
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Keywords:  Magellan, JPL
Reply-To: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 05:30:48 GMT

Forwarded from the Magellan Project

                    MAGELLAN STATUS REPORT
                       August 26, 1992

1.  Magellan continues to operate normally, performing only
    starcals (star calibrations) and desats (desaturation
    of the reaction wheels).

2.  Today the radar will be turned on and will radiate pulses.
    The purpose of this step is to gradually warm electronic
    components in preparation for radar mapping in early
    September.

3.  Tomorrow a swap from Transmitter A to B will be
    commanded, and controllers will closely monitor the signal
    spur as the transmitter temperature rises into the mid-
    50's.

4.  The Magellan telecommunications engineers are trying to
    establish a stable operating mode for the transmitter
    which will allow the recovery of radar image data from an
    area of Venus south of the equator between 284 and 330
    degrees longitude.

5.  Among the major features of this area are Ushas Mons,
    Innini Mons, and Hathor Mons, three mountains west of
    Alpha Regio.

6.  This area was missed on Cycle 1 because the radar swaths
    had to be shortened for thermal control.  It was missed
    during Cycle 2 because Transmitter A lost its subcarrier
    modulation capability and we had to swap to Transmitter B
    and find a solution to its signal spur.
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Optimists live longer
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | than pessimists.
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | 

Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Launch Advisory for 09/01/92 [STS-47] (Forwarded)
Apparently-To: sci-space-news@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Followup-To: sci.space
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 19:48:00 GMT

Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                         September 1, 1992
(Phone:  202/453-4164)

Mitch Varnes
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone:  407/867-2468)


STS-47 LAUNCH ADVISORY

NASA TO LAUNCH JOINT U.S./JAPANESE FLIGHT SEPTEMBER 12

	NASA has targeted the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a joint
U.S./Japanese mission on Sept. 12, 1992, pending resolution of a technical
problem in connection with an oxygen line in the orbiter's main propulsion
system.  If the problem is not resolved by the end of the week, managers will
reassess the launch date.
	
	Endeavour's 7-member crew will be launched from the Kennedy Space
Center, Fla., during a window that extends from 10:23 a.m. to 2:17 p.m. EDT.
The 6-day, 20-hour and 36-minute mission will end with a landing on Sept. 19
at the Kennedy Space Center.

	STS-47, also called Spacelab J, will be the 50th launch of the Space
Shuttle and the second for Endeavour.  Aboard the orbiting laboratory will be
43 experiments provided by Japan and the U.S.  Astronaut Robert L. "Hoot"
Gibson, making his fourth flight, will be the Mission Commander.  The Pilot is
Curtis L. Brown, Jr.  Mission specialists are Mark Lee, Jay Apt, N. Jan Davis
and Mae C. Jemison.  Japan's Mamoru Mohri will be the Payload Specialist.

	Spacelab J's primary objective is to use the space environment to study
important scientific and technical questions in materials science, life science
and technology.
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Ulysses Update - 08/28/92
Followup-To: sci.space
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Keywords:  Ulysses, JPL, ESA
Reply-To: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 01:02:59 GMT

Forwarded from:
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011

                     ULYSSES MISSION STATUS
                         August 28, 1992

     Spacecraft and science operations continue to be carried out
as planned.  A routine Earth-pointing maneuver was performed on
Wednesday, Aug. 26, with another maneuver scheduled for Saturday,
Aug. 29.

     The spacecraft reached maximum distance from Earth -- 938
million kilometers or 583 million miles -- on Wednesday, Aug. 26,
and will now begin to close that gap.  Presently Ulysses is still
at about the maximum distance, traveling at a heliocentric
velocity of about 30,000 kilometers per hour (19,000 miles per
hour).  The craft is beginning to move slowly away from the
ecliptic plane and is about 9 degrees south relative to the sun.

      A reduction in the number of ranging passes continued
during this reporting period to improve the spacecraft signal.
The 34-meter (111-foot) ground stations are in use to support
flight operations, with at least one 70-meter (230-foot) station
pass per week to support ranging.

                              #####
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Optimists live longer
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | than pessimists.
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | 

Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Shuttle Status for 09/02/92 (Forwarded)
Apparently-To: sci-space-news@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Followup-To: sci.space
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1992 19:56:41 GMT

          KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 2, 1992 -- 10:00 A.M.


           --------------------------------------------------------------

                STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- PAD 39-B

          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          *  Open pad for normal operations following hypergolic loading
             operations
          *  Launch countdown preparations
          *  Further troubleshooting of the 2-inch gaseous oxygen line
             quick disconnect valve near the main propulsion system's 17-
             inch liquid oxygen umbilical

          WORK COMPLETED:
          *  Flight Readiness Review (managers picked launch date Sept. 12
             contingent on troubleshooting efforts on 2-inch gaseous oxygen
             line quick disconnect valve)
          *  Loading of hypergolic fuels on board the orbiter

          WORK SCHEDULED:
          *  Auxiliary Power Unit leak checks
          *  Orbiter aft closeouts

                   STS-52/LAGEOS - COLUMBIA (OV 102) -- OPF BAY 1

          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          *  Forward Reaction Control System electrical mates and checks
          *  Orbiter-payload interface verification tests
          *  Ammonia boiler servicing
          *  Orbital Maneuvering System electrical redundancy checks
          *  Remote manipulator system verification checks

          WORK COMPLETED:
          *  Installation of Auxiliary Power Units
          *  Installation of fuel cells storage tank set number 5
          *  Payload bay door cycles

          WORK SCHEDULED:
          *  Auxiliary Power Unit hook-ups
          *  External tank mate with solid rocket boosters (on hold pending
             resolution of VAB 250 ton crane status)


                   STS-53/DOD  -  DISCOVERY (0V 103) -- OPF Bay 3

          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          *  Deservicing freon coolant loop #1
          *  Hydraulic line fill and bleed operations
          *  Main propulsion system leak checks
          *  Auxiliary Power Unit leak checks
          *  Cabin vent valve replacement

          WORK COMPLETED:
          *  Crew Equipment Interface Test
          *  Crew module leak checks

               MODIFICATIONS PERIOD --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- OPF BAY 2

          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          *  Main propulsion system leak checks
          *  Deservice payload bay active cooling system
          *  Remove Power Reactant and Storage Distribution system tanks
             sets numbers 3 and 4
          *  Remove the orbiter's three main engines

          WORK COMPLETED:
          *  Removal of robot arm from payload bay
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Mars Observer Update - 08/28/92
Followup-To: sci.space
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Keywords:  Mars Observer, JPL, KSC
Reply-To: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 04:55:28 GMT

Forwarded from Glenn Cunningham, Mars Observer Deputy Project Manager

                          MARS OBSERVER
                 DAILY ACTIVITIES STATUS REPORT
                            FROM THE
      KENNEDY SPACE CENTER/CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION

                     Launch Minus -TBD- Days

Date of report:     8-28-92        Time of report:     4:00 PM EDT


The Spacecraft Launch Readiness Review has been postponed.  A new
date will be announced within the next few days.

Activities have been underway since early this morning to remove
the encapsulated TOS (Transfer Orbit Stage) and Mars Observer
spacecraft from the Titan vehicle late tonight.  They will be
transported to the PHSF (Payload Hazardous Support Facility),
de-encapsulated and available for cleaning toward the end of the
day on Sunday.

TOS found the cause of their failure to turn-off problem.  The
spacecraft was not implicated.

While significant work has been undertaken to plan the spacecraft
cleaning process, the amount of time it will take is uncertain and
it is still to early to project new launch readiness date.

Intensive investigation continues into the identification of the
particulate contamination and its source.
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Optimists live longer
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | than pessimists.
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | 

Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee)
Subject: Shuttle Status for 09/04/92 (Forwarded)
Apparently-To: sci-space-news@ames.arc.nasa.gov
Followup-To: sci.space
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 19:09:36 GMT

           KSC SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS - FRIDAY, SEPT. 4, 1992 -- 10:00 A.M.
           --------------------------------------------------------------
                STS-47/SPACELAB J --  ENDEAVOUR (OV 105) -- PAD 39-B

          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          *  Launch countdown preparations
          *  Continue troubleshooting of the 2-inch gaseous oxygen line
             quick disconnect valve near the main propulsion system's 17-
             inch liquid oxygen umbilical. Reassembly of line is in work.
             Leak checks set for tonight.
          *  Orbiter aft closeouts
          *  Installation of crew escape pole
          *  Ordnance range safety checks

          WORK COMPLETED:
          *  Contingency Extravehicular Mobility Unit installation into
             orbiter and functional checkout

          WORK SCHEDULED:
          *  Ordnance operations (Saturday morning)
          *  Purge of the external tank (Tuesday)
          *  Countdown scheduled to pick up at T-43 hour mark at 3:00 a.m.
             Wednesday, Sept. 9
          *  STS-47 crew scheduled to arrive at KSC Wednesday morning

                   STS-52/LAGEOS - COLUMBIA (OV 102) -- OPF BAY 1

          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          *  Forward Reaction Control System checks
          *  Orbital Maneuvering System electrical redundancy checks
          *  Remote manipulator system checkouts
          *  Main engine electrical checks
          *  Main engine heat shield installation
          *  Retest of Auxiliary Power Unit number 1

          WORK COMPLETED:
          *  Ammonia boiler servicing
          *  Installation of fuel cells storage tank set number 5

          WORK SCHEDULED:
          *  Orbiter-payload interface verification tests
          *  External tank mate with solid rocket boosters (on hold for no
             earlier than Tuesday morning pending resolution of VAB 250 ton
             crane status)

                   STS-53/DOD  -  DISCOVERY (0V 103) -- OPF Bay 3

          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          *  Deservicing freon coolant loop #1
          *  Main propulsion system leak checks
          *  Auxiliary Power Unit leak checks
          *  Nose wheel steering checks
          *  Payload interface verification tests
          *  Drag chute electrical connections


               MODIFICATIONS PERIOD --  ATLANTIS (OV 104) -- OPF BAY 2

          WORK IN PROGRESS:
          *  Deservice payload bay active cooling system
          *  Aft bay clean-ups
          *  Auxiliary Power Unit flush

          WORK COMPLETED:
          *  Remove Power Reactant and Storage Distribution system tanks
             sets numbers 3 and 4
          *  Removal of the orbiter's three main engines
          *  Removal of robot arm from payload bay
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
Subject: Robot Parade
Date: 26 Aug 92 06:44:18 GMT
Reply-To: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Followup-To: sci.space
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4

Drucella Andersen
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                          August 25, 1992
(Phone:  202/453-8613)

Mike Fetters
National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.
(Phone:  202/357-1663)


EDITORS NOTE:  N92-77

ROBOT PARADE/PRESS PREVIEW SET FOR THE MALL

	Media representatives are invited to a robot parade and press preview
on Monday, Aug. 31, at 11 a.m EDT.  NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin,
National Air and Space Museum Director Martin Harwit, Planetary Society
Executive Director Louis Friedman and representatives from the Russian
Space Agency will be on hand to answer questions.

	The parade of the largest gathering of interplanetary rovers will begin
on the Mall, across 4th Street, S.W., near the National Air and Space Museum
and end with the robots filing into a tent that will house them during a Rover
Expo.  Sixteen vehicles, ranging in size from 4 pounds to 3 tons, will be on
display.  The rovers include NASA's "Dante" which is scheduled to go to
Antartica in November to explore Mt. Erebus, an active volcano.

	Walkers, crawlers and wheeled rovers will be on the Mall, Sept. 1-2,
during the International Space Year Exhibition of Robots for Exploring New
Worlds.  Each day, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., rovers will demonstrate their
capabilities on a 24- by 40-foot simulated Mars terrain, located one block east
of the National Air and Space Museum.  The expo is free and open to the
public.

- end -
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Optimists live longer
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | than pessimists.
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | 
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
From: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Galileo Update - 08/26/92
Followup-To: sci.space
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Keywords:  Galileo, JPL
Reply-To: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 02:16:33 GMT

Forwarded from:
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109.  TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011

                     GALILEO MISSION STATUS
                         August 26, 1992

     The Galileo spacecraft is 131 million kilometers (less than
82 million miles) from Earth today, closing at a rate of almost 2
million kilometers per day.  Distance from the Sun is 241 million
kilometers, or 150 million miles, decreasing more slowly.  The
round-trip communication time is 14 minutes, 47 seconds.  The
spacecraft has now travelled almost 2.2 billion kilometers (1.36
billion miles) since launch, and has another 256 million
kilometers to go before the second Earth gravity assist in
December.

     The spacecraft is ending a scheduled two-week quiescent
period; today it is conducting a routine thruster-maintenance
operation.  It is also reading out stored data from the extreme
ultraviolet and dust detectors and the magnetometer for the first
time since the trajectory correction maneuver of August 4-7.
That maneuver, as planned, changed the spacecraft velocity about
21 meters per second (47 mph), both sideways and along the
direction of flight.  A smaller maneuver is planned for early
October.

                              #####
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Optimists live longer
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | than pessimists.
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     |
From: roberts@CMR.NCSL.NIST.GOV (John Roberts)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: SPS
Date: 2 Sep 92 02:13:07 GMT
Organization: National Institute of Standards and Technology
	formerly National Bureau of Standards


-From: Frederick.A.Ringwald@dartmouth.edu (Frederick A. Ringwald)
-Subject: Re: SPS fouling astronomy (long)
-Date: 18 Aug 92 01:18:53 GMT
-Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

-Of course, breakthroughs being breakthroughs, they're unpredictable,
-and so by definition you can't count on them for anything in advance.
-But, SPS itself will require it own breakthroughs in space launch and
-operations technologies. 

An excellent point. And as you point out, this shows that the worries about
light pollution are a little premature. SPS will probably be just something to
think about for a long time.

-For example, anything the Space Shuttle now
-carries has to be worth about its weight in gold, to be profitable
-(that's $4e8/65000 lbs, or about $400/oz). 

Very minor point: gold is sold by the Troy ounce, with 12 Troy ounces to a
Troy pound. I left my conversion tables at work, but the numbers are fairly
widely available. It's still in the same ballpark.

-So, there's an incentive
-to automate as much as possible, and to develop less expensive
-technologies for getting lunar material into space, such as
-electromagnetic mass drivers and powdered aluminum/oxygen rockets.

Ah, one of my favorites! Apparently a private company actually built a
working aluminum-oxygen rocket last year. I believe the combustion chamber
and nozzle were made of ceramic material to prevent oxidation. This is
important, because I think you get the best specific impulse with an excess
of oxygen, and hot oxygen is bad for most metals.

-SPS is also not without its own unique problems. Microwave power
-transmission presents safety problems, and terawatts of transmitted
-power may well generate enough static to interfere with
-telecommunications, not to mention cause the demise of ground-based
-(i.e., inexpensive) radio astronomy. 

You would handle it like microwave ovens - allocate a narrow frequency
band for the transmission of power. Well away from that band, there shouldn't
be much of a problem.

-Then there's the cosmic ray project, to
-analyze waves in the interplanetary medium. (They wanted to hire me to
-take care of it, but I turned them down. Living at the South Pole would
-be fun, for three weeks, but they wanted me to stay for 53 weeks!

I don't blame you - I wouldn't want to stay at the South Pole for 53
weeks either! :-)

John Roberts
roberts@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov

Newsgroups: sci.space
From: pgf@srl03.cacs.usl.edu ("Phil G. Fraering")
Subject: Failed post from a long while ago:
X-Added: Forwarded by Space Digest
Organization: [via International Space University]
Original-Sender: isu@VACATION.VENARI.CS.CMU.EDU
Distribution: sci
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 17:58:23 GMT


This is a follow-up that never made it...
It just about sums up my feelings about manned space shots
as entertainment...

Date: Sun, 2 Aug 92 21:54:11 -0500
From: pgf (Phil G. Fraering)

stgprao@xing.unocal.com (Richard Ottolini) writes:


>I don't know if anyone else feels the same way,
>but I find the space shuttle missions this summer to be more
>interesting than the Olymnpics and presidential conventions.
>I still get a thrill when I see a manned spacecraft and takeoff
>even though I've been watching them for 30 years.

You might as well feel thrilled. It cost enough money.
If you don't at least feel thrilled, you're left with
the scientific justification for the mission, which
according to some groups is dubious...