HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Mars Observer Launch to be Rescheduled
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: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 23:34:13 GMT

Donald L. Savage
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.                August 28, 1992
(Phone:  202/453-8400)

George Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
(Phone:  407/867-2468)

Frank O'Donnell
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
(Phone:  818/354-5011)


LAUNCH ADVISORY

MARS OBSERVER LAUNCH TO BE RESCHEDULED

     The launch of Mars Observer aboard a Titan III rocket
from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., originally
scheduled for Sept. 16, is being postponed.

     During an inspection of the payload contained within the
Titan nose fairing atop the rocket,  particulate
contamination was observed on the surface of the Mars
Observer spacecraft.  A precautionary decision has been made
to remove the payload from the Titan and return it to a
spacecraft facility on Kennedy Space Center for cleaning.

     The contamination may have been introduced into the
fairing when a dry nitrogen purge was placed on the
spacecraft as part of securing for Hurricane Andrew.

     The countdown dress rehearshal scheduled for today will
also be postponed at this time.   A new launch date cannot be
determined until it is known how long it will take to clean
the spacecraft.  However, a launch before the end of
September is expected.  The planetary launch window extends
through Oct. 13.

- end -
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Optimists live longer
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | than pessimists.
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     |
From: jfw@ksr.com (John F. Woods)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Is NASA really planning to Terraform Mars?
Date: 4 Sep 92 11:18:51 EDT
Distribution: sci
Organization: The Committee To Restore Earth's Methane Atmosphere

barry@chezmoto.ai.mit.edu (Barry Kort) writes:
>A colleague of mine, who claims to be knowledgeable in such matters
>tells me:
>        A fairly large team <at NASA>, is planning the terraforming
>        of Mars, which involves destroying the planet as we know it.
>        Mars will be rasied 20 degrees C.  And with minimal study of
>        that planet it becomes clear what chain of events will occur.
>        After this chain Mars will be 'polluted' with earth-based
>        micro-organisms and rugged plant life.
>Can anyone confirm, deny, or refute the above, or otherwise
>elaborate on NASA's plans with respect to Mars?

Your collegue has almost certainly read far too much science fiction.

It is fairly likely that someone at NASA is studying how one might terraform
Mars.  It is certain that neither NASA nor the human race as a whole has the
either engineering know-how nor the *budget* to accomplish this any time soon.

And if your friend is concerned about the pristine environment of Mars being
destroyed, well I certainly share that concern, but there's a much more
important ecological disaster to be solved here on the Earth -- the loss of
the Earth's pristine reducing atmosphere due to the ecological irresponsibility
of photosynthetic organisms.  Clearly mankind has an obligation to fix this
disaster as soon as possible.
From: Keith.Stein@f118.n109.z1.fidonet.org (Keith Stein)
Sender: Uucp@blkcat.UUCP
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Shuttle traking progra
Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1992 00:02:55 -0500

The name of the program for tracking the shuttle or other stellites is 
called TrakSat or another one is STSORBIT.
From: jbh55289@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Josh 'K' Hopkins)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Saturn class (Was: SPS feasibility and other space
Date: 25 Aug 92 17:19:59 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.BtJutG.CA3
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana

ewright@convex.com (Edward V. Wright) writes:

>In <1992Aug20.112421.8946@techbook.com> szabo@techbook.com (Nick Szabo) writes:

>>Heavy-lift vehicles from Saturn to Energiya to NLS have 
>>not and do not have any sort of commercial market, despite $dozens of 
>>billions spent in them. Even the Titan IV has only a dwindling military market.
>If the Saturn V can be built for the same cost as the Titan III/IV
>and has better reliability, the extra payload capacity won't stop 
>customers from using it. If necessary, they'll add water tanks for
>ballast.
> 

	Sure, _if_ you can build _and_ operate a Saturn class vehicle for the  
price of a Titan it might be competitive with a Titan.  However, seeing as    
there are no non-government customers for Titans and considering that the first
launches are going to have to pay for development costs, I think Nick is right
in saying that HLVs have no commercial relevance in this decade.
	If we could launch Saturn size payloads for the price of a Titan III,
that might get a government SEI program going.  However, industry won't
build this rocket, and government won't buy it without an SEI program (which
it won't start until a big cheap rocket works).  So we seem to be at an 
impasse until the equation changes.
-- 
Josh Hopkins                    Friends don't let friends derive drunk
		     j-hopkins@uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
From: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Subject: Von Karman Stamp
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Keywords:  Von Karman, JPL
Reply-To: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 03:17:03 GMT

A new stamp will be issued on August 31, 1992, in commemoration of
Theodore Von Karman.  Von Karman is attributed to being the founder of
the Jet Propulsion Lab.  He taught at Caltech in the 1920's until 1942,
and led a group of Caltech graduates in rocket tests during the 1930's in
a isolated region about 3 miles north of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
This test site later became JPL.  The stamp's first day of issue will be during
the opening ceremony at the World Space Congress in Washington, D.C.  The
stamp will also be released in a rare second day issue at JPL on
September 1, 1992.  This ceremony will be held, appropriately enough, in
the Von Karman Auditorium at 10AM PDT.
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     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: 1 Sep 92 12:33:38 GMT
Organization: National Institute of Standards and Technology
	formerly National Bureau of Standards


-From: eder@hsvaic.boeing.com (Dani Eder)
-Subject: Re: SPS feasibility (WAS: SPS fouling astronomy)
-Date: 17 Aug 92 15:48:05 GMT
-Organization: Boeing AI Center, Huntsville, AL

-In reference to Earth heat balance calculations, I disagree with
-Mr. Coffman.  If terrestrial solar power is used, whether PV or
-thermal, you have to locally increase absorbtion of sunlight, since
-both PV cells and solar collectors are effectively darker than the
-ground over which they are built.  A darker earth is a warmer earth,
-despite the shifting of the heat load from the collector to the end
-using machines by way of electrical transmission lines.

It's not *quite* that simple, since darker surfaces also radiate more 
efficiently at night. Darkness at various parts of the spectrum (including
thermal infrared) and the concentration of greenhouse gases (produced by
burning fossil fuel - another factor) have to be taken into account.

-In the case of microwave (not laser) SPS, the receiving antenna
-(rectenna) is metal, which tends to reflect more sunlight than
-the gound over which it is built.  If needed, the rectenna can
-be painted white to reflect even more.  

And then it would radiate heat less effectively at night.

-Diamonds currently go for about $1000 per carat, or $5 M per kg.

I can see a 1-carat gem-quality, faceted diamond going for that price. A
raw diamond of that size or one of lesser quality should be much less. A large
gem-quality diamond is probably worth much more than that per carat.

John Roberts
roberts@cmr.ncsl.nist.gov
From: avlsidwb@sn644.uca (David W. Bishop)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Need GIF (JPG, whatever) of Shuttle Landing
Date: 26 Aug 92 12:57:47 GMT
Reply-To: avlsidwb@sn644.uca
Organization: General Electric

In article 92Aug25161756@neep.engr.wisc.edu, bruggink@neep.engr.wisc.edu (Dennis Bruggink) writes:
>Maybe someone can save me some hunting:  I've checked a number of sites
>w/ GIFs for an image of the shuttle landing; I've found one in the Hubble
>series (hubble24.gif) which is exactly the view I'm after, but it's not
>very sharp.  Basically the shuttle has just touched down, and is seen
>as from a side view.
>

I went through the contents of ames.arc.nasa.gov pub/SPACE/GIF.  You will find
a file called CONTENTS in that directory which is a one line summery of all
the images I looked at and could figure out what they were.

Here is a summery for a couple of the images you are looking for:

          Image Name     Bytes  Size   Colors  Object
   ec89-0100-001.gif    442587 940x716   234   Shuttle
Space shuttle Atlantis, just as it is lowering its landing gear
   ec89-0100-012.gif    382036 944x656   248   Shuttle
Space Shuttle Atlantis, just before touchdown at Edwards AFB.

---
                            David Bishop

INTERNET: avlsidwb@sn370.utica.ge.com   | The opinions voiced are mine and
US MAIL:  RR2 Box 183A, Rome NY  13440  | not my company's.
PHYSICAL: 43.150N 75.414E 650'          |
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: Frederick.A.Ringwald@dartmouth.edu (Frederick A. Ringwald)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Private space ventures
Date: 25 Aug 92 19:40:16 GMT
 <8780.2339210127@kcbbs.gen.nz> <BtGLwF.DpG@zoo.toronto.edu> 
 <1992Aug25.035359.23129@dartvax.dartmouth.edu>  
 <9208251422.AA08296@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Organization: Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
X-Posted-From: InterNews1.0d56@newshost.dartmouth.edu

In article <9208251422.AA08296@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
nicho@VNET.IBM.COM writes:
>   Space can indeed be helpful, however if we have too many fools
> screaming about it being a waste of resource, we will never have the
> chance to prove it.

I wouldn't worry about it.  During the Apollo project, everyone and his
brother was complaining about it being just a stunt, a waste, "a
boondoggle for scientists", while the money could have been used to
feed the "whole of India."  But no one says that about communications
or weather satellites today, except the extreme fringe (and I know one
of them: he's the only person I know who couldn't read after graduating
from high school).  

Space benefits are obvious, in ways they weren't in 1972: how many
people did you know back then who owned their own satellite dishes?  If
and when GPS receivers for cars are mass-marketed, the effect on
people's attitudes will be interesting.  Especially interesting may be
the effect of space-manufactured goods, particularly ones that aren't
microscopic (like microspheres) or indistinguishable from similar items
made on the ground (a bottle of medicine looks like a bottle of
medicine).  (Two-way wrist TVs would be interesting, too, but they may
not need satellites.)

Also, in the past, I have heard disturbingly many space enthusiasts
using words quite like your ironic statement, and sounding sincere! 
Not only is this mean, it's positively harmful to the space field.  On
the other hand, trickle-down economics doesn't really work: any
benefits that accrue from space to the poor have to be in the hands of
the poor in the first place.  But many are, already. Your proof exists,
and becomes more obvious all the time.

P.S. It is still perfectly possible to waste money in space, as one can
waste money at any activity, no matter how beneficial or appealing it
may seem. Avoiding waste requires careful examination of just what one
wants to do with that money...
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: fcrary@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (Frank Crary)
Subject: Re: Antarctica (was: SPS)
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 22:49:07 GMT

In article <1992Sep2.144506.19052@dartvax.dartmouth.edu> Frederick.A.Ringwald@dartmouth.edu (Frederick A. Ringwald) writes:
>Yes, and it puzzles me: why are people who wax rhapsodic about living
>in space not more enthusiastic about Antarctica? You don't even have to
>make your own air and water in Antarctica!

You actually do have to "make" (more properly melt) your own water there.
(Except at the big stations like MacMurdo and Mirny.)

Antarctica isn't popular for two reasons (asside from it's lack of
glamor): It has already been explored and all colonization/private
property is _illegal_ under international treaty. (The phrasing of
the treaty, by the way, was fairly similar to the space treaty the
United States refused to ratify.)

                                              Frank Crary
                                              CU Boulder

Newsgroups: sci.space
From: aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer)
Subject: Re: Saturn class (Was: SPS feasibility and other space
Organization: Evil Geniuses for a Better Tomorrow
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 13:05:48 GMT

In article <BtKFDC.JID@news.cso.uiuc.edu> jbh55289@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Josh 'K' Hopkins) writes:

>>SS Freedom construction and supply IS a viable commercial market for 
>>HLVs this decade.

>How do you figure?  

See the Soyuz thread. We can use Atlas/Soyuz for crew rotation and
one of the Zenith Star launchers for supply.

Don't worry, I'm not going to mutate the Soyuz thread here. If you didn't
see the details, I am going to do a writeup on them for my next column and
I will post it here in addition to talk.politics.space.

   Allen

-- 
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Allen W. Sherzer | "If they can put a man on the Moon, why can't they     |
|  aws@iti.org     |  put a man on the Moon?"                               |
+----------------------240 DAYS TO FIRST FLIGHT OF DCX----------------------+
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: amon@elegabalus.cs.qub.ac.uk
Subject: Re: What is the speed of light measured from?
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 17:22:43 GMT

>> Where is the speed of light measured relative to? 

> The  speed of light does not add and subtract to other velocities,  
> like  relative velocities of anything else.

Well, correct in intent, but not quite true mathematically. The plus  
and minus operators are not the linear 2+2=4 operation you learn as a  
small child, although with small velocities in a given frame of  
reference they approximate it. Adding two large velocities results in  
a smaller than expected result because of the relativistic effects.  
The "addition" works such that the resultant velocity never exceeds  
c.

Moving from one frame to another utilizes mathematical rules which  
preserve this constancy by modifying space and time metrics. (This is  
one way to look at it.) The atomic clocks and meter sticks of  
observers in different reference frames have different seconds and  
meters. They differ in such a way as to insure the constancy. It's  
just the way space-time is built.

Look up the Lorentz factor in any physics book. There also may be  
info on this in the FAQ. Not certain of that, but it has come up  
many, many times before.

Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro
From: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Subject: TOPEX Update - 08/31/92
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.3-4   
Keywords:  TOPEX, JPL, CNES
Reply-To: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 22:56:19 GMT

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

                  TOPEX/POSEIDON STATUS REPORT
                         August 31, 1992

          The TOPEX/Poseidon satellite has fully recovered from
the safe hold that it experienced last Thursday.  Today the
satellite is performing nominally and is healthy.  Attitude
control, solar array, batteries, telecommunications, and the on-
board computer are all functioning normally.

          Today, the NASA altimeter is in the track mode and
obtaining good data.

          Since launch, the navigation team and the precision
orbit determination team have been observing a slight decay in
orbit.  It is currently about 10 cm a day, which is down from 30
cm a day last week.  The 10 cm/day appears to be expected drag on
the satellite.  The higher decays observed previously were
probably due to outgassing.

          The next major satellite event is the In-Plane Maneuver
One is planned for Wednesday, Sept. 2, 1992.

                             ######
     ___    _____     ___
    /_ /|  /____/ \  /_ /|     Ron Baalke         | baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
    | | | |  __ \ /| | | |     Jet Propulsion Lab |
 ___| | | | |__) |/  | | |__   M/S 525-3684 Telos | Anything is impossible if
/___| | | |  ___/    | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | you don't attempt it.
|_____|/  |_|/       |_____|/                     | 

Newsgroups: sci.space
From: mll@aio.jsc.nasa.gov (Mark Littlefield)
Subject: Re: LDO shuttle and pilot readiness
Keywords: long duration shuttle Freedom pilot
Reply-To: mll@aio.jesnet.jsc.nasa.gov
Organization: Lockheed ESC/NASA JSC
Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1992 17:01:57 GMT

In article <1992Aug29.162920.24117@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>, grasso@tramp.Colorado.EDU (GRASSO CHRISTOPHER A) writes:
|> After being on orbit for 2 months, how realistic is it for a shuttle pilot
|> 	to be capable of performing a reentry and landing? Seating in the
|>         shuttle is upright, airliner-style, while seating in a capsule is
|>         reclined to horizontal.
|> 
|> 	If the extended stay in microgravity damages the shuttle pilots'
|> 	ability to bring the spacecraft back for a landing, doesn't this
|> 	mandate a separate ACRV if shuttle is to be used for resupply and
|> 	crew rotation?
|> 
|> 		-Chris
|> 
|> 
|> -- 
|>  Chris Grasso
|>  CSC
|>  Univ. of Colorado, Boulder
Besides the obvious problems associated with microgravity, the pilot
has had 2 months in which he (or she, as there's a woman pilot now)
has done no training.  Now, if you ask a fighter pilot how their reactions
are after a 2 month break from training, they'll tell you that after
as short a time as 2 week skills begin to degrade.  I'd hate to see
what a shuttle pilot is like after 2 months of no sim time.

=====================================================================
Mark L. Littlefield              Intelligent Systems Department
internet: mll@aio.jsc.nasa.gov 
USsnail:  Lockheed Engineering and Sciences 
          2400 Nasa Rd 1 / MC C-19            
          Houston, TX 77058-3711
====================================================================
From: henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Solar Sailers
Date: 27 Aug 92 21:07:32 GMT
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology

In article <1992Aug27.145941.29154@ccu.umanitoba.ca> chrstie@ccu.umanitoba.ca (William John M. Christie) writes:
>I hope this is the right place to ask this, does anyone know anything about
>solar sailer development by the technologically advanced nations and a 
>possible race to Mars or the Moon between those nations? ...

The original idea was a solar-sail race to Mars, launched in 1992 as part
of the commemoration of Columbus's anniversary.  There would be three
entries, one from Europe (where he started from), one from Asia (where
he thought he was going), and one from the Americas (where he ended up).
These would *not* be government projects; funding would be by private
sponsorship plus limited support from the race organizers.

In practice, the race has somewhat fallen flat, mostly because of the
organizers' inability to come up with the support funding.  The recession
didn't help:  a lot of potential sources of private support dried up.
Some of the competitors are still trying to get a sail into space, but
it's not going to happen in 1992.
-- 
There is nothing wrong with making      | Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
mistakes, but... make *new* ones. -D.Sim|  henry@zoo.toronto.edu  utzoo!henry
From: ghasting@vdoe386.vak12ed.edu (George Hastings)
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: Re: Martian Chronology
Date: 28 Aug 92 16:35:58 GMT
Distribution: sci
Organization: Virginia's Public Education Network (Richmond)

wats@scicom.AlphaCDC.COM  writes:
> In article <1992Aug24.163033.21556@pixel.kodak.com+ dj@ssd.kodak.com (Dave Jones) writes:
> +In article <BtDrny.AHq.1@cs.cmu.edu| kfree@pnet01.cts.com (Kenneth Freeman) writes:
> +|Has a Martian calender been worked up for the benefit of future
> +|colonists?
> +|UUCP: {ucsd nosc}!crash!pnet01!kfree INET: kfree@pnet01.cts.com
> 
> Maybe not the seasons, but the day would be very important. Navigation
> will probably be done with artificial satellites (GPS-like) rather
> than the stars.
> 
> I once entertained putting together a Nautical Alamanac for Mars
> for the year 1986 (My best guess for a manned mission) for navigational
> purposes. It would have been simpler to put everything in terms of
> Martian days than to keep everything in Earth days.
> +
> -- 
> Bruce Watson (wats@scicom)  Tumbra, Zorkovick; Sparkula zoom krackadomando.  

     The project scientists for VIKING planned mission events
according to the Martian Calendar. Actually they had to use a
DUAL calendar system, since they were on Earth, and operating
on Mars. Earth timelines referred to DAYS, and Mars timelines
referred to SOLS, the equivalent of a Martian day, or 24
Earth-hours, 30+ Earth-minutes
	I don't know if they broke each SOL down into 24 hrs
subdivided into 60 minute segments divided into 60 second
segments, but I would surmise that they used decimal based
subdivisions of SOLS.
-- 
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: sysmgr@king.eng.umd.edu (Doug Mohney)
Subject: Re: Antarctica (was: SPS)
Date: Thu, 03 Sep 92 16:51:56 GMT
Organization: Computer Aided Design Lab, U. of Maryland College Park
Reply-To: sysmgr@king.eng.umd.edu

In article <67523@hydra.gatech.EDU>, ccoprmd@prism.gatech.EDU (Matthew DeLuca) writes:

>Besides, there's gravity in Antarctica; I think some of the mystique
>of space exploration and colonization is the fact that when you are
>floating in the middle of your spacecraft of habitat, you know you aren't
>in Kansas anymore.  With just freezing weather and snow and ice, you 
>could be in Toronto for all you can tell the difference. :-)

Not true. There's only one Henry and he's in Toronto.

                 Support U.N. military force against Serbia

  -- >                  SYSMGR@CADLAB.ENG.UMD.EDU                        < --
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: tjn32113@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Tom Nugent       )
Subject: SAS Def. Subcom. vote on SDI->Single Stage to Orbit
Summary: SAS Def. Subcom vote on SSTO
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1992 03:50:37 GMT

The Senate Armed Services Defense Subcommittee will vote September 15th on 
the SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative) budget, which includes funding for
the Single Stage to Orbit (or as it is now called Singe Stage Rocket 
Technology) program.  The one-third scale prototype is due to have its
first test flight this coming April.  The total one-third scale prototype
will cost the government less than $75 million total (over its ~2-3 year
lifespan, which this is the last year).  Allen Scherzer posted info on 
this recently; if one of those listed is a Senator of yours, please write
and ask for full support for the program.  If you are not in one of those
states, then please write to the chairman, Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii at:
	SH-722
	US Senate
	Washington, D.C. 20510
Thanks.
	
-- 
Tom Nugent	voice:(217)328-0994	e-mail:tjn32113@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu 
"To be average scares the hell out of me." -- Anonymous
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle