Archive-name: space/intro Last-modified: $Date: 93/04/01 14:39:10 $      FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON SCI.SPACE/SCI.ASTRO      INTRODUCTION      This series of linked messages is periodically posted to the Usenet groups sci.space and sci.astro in an attempt to provide good answers to frequently asked questions and other reference material which is worth preserving. If you have corrections or answers to other frequently asked questions that you would like included in this posting, send email to leech@cs.unc.edu (Jon Leech).      If you don't want to see the FAQ, add 'Frequently Asked Questions' to your KILL file for this group (if you're not reading this with a newsreader that can kill articles by subject, you're out of luck).      The FAQ volume is excessive right now and will hopefully be trimmed down by rewriting and condensing over time. The FAQ postings are available in the Ames SPACE archive in FAQ/faq<#>.      Good summaries will be accepted in place of the answers given here. The point of this is to circulate existing information, and avoid rehashing old answers. Better to build on top than start again. Nothing more depressing than rehashing old topics for the 100th time. References are provided because they give more complete information than any short generalization.      Questions fall into three basic types:      1) Where do I find some information about space?      Try your local public library first. The net is not a good place to ask     for general information. Ask INDIVIDUALS (by email) if you must. There     are other sources, use them, too. The net is a place for open ended     discussion.      2) I have an idea which would improve space flight?      Hope you aren't surprised, but 9,999 out of 10,000 have usually been     thought of before. Again, contact a direct individual source for     evaluation. NASA fields thousands of these each day.      3) Miscellanous queries.      These are addressed on a case-by-case basis in the following series of     FAQ postings.       SUGGESTIONS FOR BETTER NETIQUETTE      Read news.announce.newusers if you're on Usenet.     Minimize cross references, [Do you REALLY NEED to?]     Edit "Subject:" lines, especially if you're taking a tangent.     Send mail instead, avoid posting follow ups. (1 mail message worth 	100 posts).     Internet mail readers: send requests to add/drop to SPACE-REQUEST 	not SPACE.     Read all available articles before posting a follow-up. (Check all 	references.)     Cut down attributed articles (leave only the points you're 	responding to; remove signatures and headers). Summarize!     Put a return address in the body (signature) of your message (mail 	or article), state your institution, etc. Don't assume the 	'reply' function of mailers will work.     Use absolute dates. Post in a timely way. Don't post what everyone 	will get on TV anyway.     Some editors and window systems do character count line wrapping: 	keep lines under 80 characters for those using ASCII terminals 	(use carriage returns).       INDEX TO LINKED POSTINGS      I've attempted to break the postings up into related areas. There isn't     a keyword index yet; the following lists the major subject areas in each     posting. Only those containing astronomy-related material are posted to     sci.astro (indicated by '*' following the posting number).      #	Contents      1*	Introduction 	    Suggestions for better netiquette 	    Index to linked postings 	    Notes on addresses, phone numbers, etc. 	    Contributors      2*	Network resources 	    Overview 	    Mailing lists 	    Periodically updated information 	    Warning about non-public networks      3*	Online (and some offline) sources of images, data, etc. 	    Introduction 	    Viewing Images 	    Online Archives 		NASA Ames 		NASA Astrophysics Data System 		NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (Mission Information and Images) 		NASA Langley (Technical Reports) 		NASA Spacelink 		National Space Science Data Center 		Space Telescope Science Institute Electronic Info. Service 		Starcat 		Astronomical Databases 		Astronomy Programs 		Orbital Element Sets 		SPACE Digest 	    Landsat & NASA Photos 	    Planetary Maps 	    Cometary Orbits      4*	Performing calculations and interpreting data formats 	    Computing spacecraft orbits and trajectories 	    Computing planetary positions 	    Computing crater diameters from Earth-impacting asteroids 	    Map projections and spherical trignometry 	    Performing N-body simulations efficiently 	    Interpreting the FITS image format 	    Sky (Unix ephemeris program) 	    Three-dimensional star/galaxy coordinates      5*	References on specific areas 	    Publishers of space/astronomy material 	    Careers in the space industry 	    DC-X single-stage to orbit (SSTO) program 	    How to name a star after a person 	    LLNL "great exploration" 	    Lunar Prospector 	    Lunar science and activities 	    Orbiting Earth satellite histories 	    Spacecraft models 	    Rocket propulsion 	    Spacecraft design 	    Esoteric propulsion schemes (solar sails, lasers, fusion...) 	    Spy satellites 	    Space shuttle computer systems 	    SETI computation (signal processing) 	    Amateur satellies & weather satellites 	    Tides      6*	Constants and equations for calculations      7*	Astronomical Mnemonics      8	Contacting NASA, ESA, and other space agencies/companies 	    NASA Centers / Arianespace / ESA / NASDA / Soyuzkarta / Space 		Camp / Space Commerce Corporation / Spacehab / SPOT Image 	    Other commercial space businesses      9	Space shuttle answers, launch schedules, TV coverage 	    Shuttle launchings and landings; schedules and how to see them 	    Why does the shuttle roll just after liftoff? 	    How to receive the NASA TV channel, NASA SELECT 	    Amateur radio frequencies for shuttle missions 	    Solid Rocket Booster fuel composition      10	Planetary probes - Historical Missions 	    US planetary missions 	    Mariner (Venus, Mars, & Mercury flybys and orbiters) 	    Pioneer (Moon, Sun, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn flybys and orbiters) 	    Ranger (Lunar lander and impact missions) 	    Lunar Orbiter (Lunar surface photography) 	    Surveyor (Lunar soft landers) 	    Viking (Mars orbiters and landers) 	    Voyager (Outer planet flybys) 	    Soviet planetary missions 	    Soviet Lunar probes 	    Soviet Venus probes 	    Soviet Mars probes 	    Japanese planetary missions 	    Planetary mission references      11	Upcoming planetary probes - missions and schedules 	    Cassini 	    Galileo 	    Magellan 	    Mars Observer 	    TOPEX/Poseidon 	    Ulysses 	    Other space science missions 	    Proposed missions      12	Controversial questions 	    What happened to the Saturn V plans 	    Why data from space missions isn't immediately available 	    Risks of nuclear (RTG) power sources for space probes 	    Impact of the space shuttle on the ozone layer 	    How long can a human live unprotected in space 	    How the Challenger astronauts died 	    Using the shuttle beyond Low Earth Orbit 	    The "Face on Mars"      13	Space activist/interest/research groups and space publications 	    Groups 	    Publications 	    Undocumented Groups      14	How to become an astronaut      15	Orbital and Planetary Launch Services       NOTES ON ADDRESSES, PHONE NUMBERS, ETC.      Unless otherwise specified, telephone numbers, addresses, and so on are     for the United States of America. Non-US readers should remember to add     the country code for telephone calls, etc.       CREDITS      Eugene Miya started a series of linked FAQ postings some years ago which     inspired (and was largely absorbed into) this set.      Peter Yee and Ron Baalke have and continue to spend a lot of their own     time setting up the SPACE archives at NASA Ames and forwarding official     NASA announcements.      Many other people have contributed material to this list in the form of     old postings to sci.space and sci.astro which I've edited. Please let me     know if corrections need to be made. Contributors I've managed to keep     track of are:      0004847546@mcimail.com (Francis Reddy)	- map projections     ad038@yfn.ysu.edu (Steven Fisk)		- publication refs.     akerman@bill.phy.queensu.CA (Richard Akerman)   - crater diameters     alweigel@athena.mit.edu (Lisa Weigel)	- SEDS info     aoab314@emx.utexas.edu (Srinivas Bettadpur) - tides     awpaeth@watcgl.waterloo.edu (Alan Wm Paeth) - map projections     aws@iti.org (Allen W. Sherzer)		- Great Exploration     baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)	- planetary probe schedules     bankst@rata.vuw.ac.nz (Timothy Banks)	- map projections, 	variable star analysis archive     bern@uni-trier.de (Jochen Bern)		- German mnemonic translation     brosen@pioneer.arc.nasa.gov (Bernie Rosen)	- Space Camp     bschlesinger@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov (Barry Schlesinger)   - FITS format     cew@venera.isi.edu (Craig E. Ward)		- space group contact info     chapin@cbnewsc.att.com (Tom Chapin)		- planetary positions     cunnida@tenet.edu (D. Alan Cunningham)	- NASA Spacelink     cyamamot@kilroy.Jpl.Nasa.Gov (Cliff Yamamoto) - orbital elements     datri@convex.com (Anthony Datri)		- PDS/VICAR viewing software     daver@sjc.mentorg.com (Dave Rickel)		- orbit formulae     dlbres10@pc.usl.edu (Phil Fraering)		- propulsion     eder@hsvaic.boeing.com (Dani Eder)		- Saturn V plans, SRBs     eugene@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Eugene N. Miya)	- introduction, 	NASA contact info, started FAQ postings     french@isu.isunet.edu (Patrick M. French)	- space group contact info     g@telesoft.com (Gary Morris)		- amateur radio info     gaetz@cfa.harvard.edu (Terry Gaetz)		- N-body calculations, 	orbital dynamics     grandi@noao.edu (Steve Grandi)		- planetary positions     greer%utd201.dnet%utadnx@utspan.span.nasa.gov (Dale M. Greer)   - constants     henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer)	- survival in vacuum, 	astronaut how-to, Challenger disaster, publication refs, DC-X     higgins@fnal.bitnet (William Higgins)	- RTGs, publishers, 	shuttle landings, spysats, propulsion, "Face on Mars"     hmueller@cssun.tamu.edu (Hal Mueller)	- map projections, 	orbital dynamics     jbh55289@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Josh Hopkins)	- launch services     jim@pnet01.cts.com (Jim Bowery)		- propulsion, launch services     jnhead@pirl.lpl.arizona.edu (James N. Head) - atmospheric scale heights     jscotti@lpl.arizona.edu (Jim Scotti)	- planetary positions     kcarroll@zoo.toronto.edu (Kieran A. Carroll)- refs for spacecraft design     ken@orion.bitnet (Kenneth Ng)		- RTGs     kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov (Ken Jenks)	- shuttle roll manuever     klaes@verga.enet.dec.com (Larry Klaes)	- planetary probe history     leech@cs.unc.edu (Jon Leech)		- crater diameters     lfa@ssi.com (Lou Adornato)			- orbital dynamics     maury.markowitz@egsgate.fidonet.org (Maury Markowitz)   - propulsion     max@west.darkside.com (Erik Max Francis)	- equations     mbellon@mcdurb.Urbana.Gould.COM		- N-body calculations     mcconley@phoenix.Princeton.edu (Marc Wayne Mcconley)    - space careers     msb@sq.com (Mark Brader)			- Mariner 1 info.     mwm@cmu.edu (Mark Maimone)			- SPACE Digest     nickw@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Dr. Nick Watkins)	- models, spysats     ohainaut@eso.org (Olivier R. Hainaut)	- publishers, STARCAT     oneil@aio.jsc.nasa.gov (Graham O'Neil)	- Lunar Prospector     panama@cup.portal.com (Kenneth W Durham)	- cometary orbits, IAU     paul.blase@nss.fidonet.org (Paul Blase)	- propulsion     pjs@plato.jpl.nasa.gov (Peter Scott)	- RTGs     pschleck@unomaha.edu (Paul W. Schleck)	- AMSAT, ARRL contact info     rdb@mel.cocam.oz.au (Rodney Brown)		- propulsion refs     rja7m@phil.cs.virginia.edu (Ran Atkinson)	- FTPable astro. programs     rjungcla@ihlpb.att.com (R. Michael Jungclas)- models     roelle@sigi.jhuapl.edu (Curt Roelle)	- German mnemonic translation     seal@leonardo.jpl.nasa.gov (David Seal)	- Cassini mission schedule     shafer@skipper.dfrf.nasa.gov (Mary Shafer)	- photos, shuttle landings     smith@sndpit.enet.dec.com (Willie Smith)	- photos     stephen@gpwd.gp.co.nz (Stephen Dixon)	- shuttle audio frequencies     sterner@warper.jhuapl.edu (Ray Sterner)	- planetary positions     stooke@vaxr.sscl.uwo.ca (Phil Stooke)	- planetary maps     ted_anderson@transarc.com (Ted Anderson)	- propulsion     terry@astro.as.utexas.edu (Terry Hancock)	- NASA center info     thorson@typhoon.atmos.coloState.edu (Bill Thorson) - FITS info     tm2b+@andrew.cmu.edu (Todd L. Masco)	- SPACE Digest     tom@ssd.csd.harris.com (Tom Horsley)	- refs for algorithms     veikko.makela@helsinki.fi (Veikko Makela)	- orbital element sets     Wales.Larrison@ofa123.fidonet.org (Wales Larrison) - groups & publications     wayne@csri.utoronto.ca (Wayne Hayes)	- constants     weemba@libra.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener) - Voyager history     yamada@yscvax.ysc.go.jp (Yoshiro Yamada)	- ISAS/NASDA missions     yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter Yee)		- AMES archive server, 	propulsion      In Net memoriam: 	Ted Flinn