Archive-name: space/net Last-modified: $Date: 93/04/01 14:39:15 $  NETWORK RESOURCES  OVERVIEW      You may be reading this document on any one of an amazing variety of     computers, so much of the material below may not apply to you. In     general, however, systems connected to 'the net' fall in one of three     categories: Internet, Usenet, or BITNET. Electronic mail may be sent     between these networks, and other resources available on one of these     networks are sometimes accessible from other networks by email sent to     special 'servers'.      The space and astronomy discussion groups actually are composed of     several mechanisms with (mostly) transparent connections between them.      One mechanism is the mailing list, in which mail is sent to a central     distribution point which relays it to all recipients of the list. In     addition to the general lists for space (called SPACE Digest for     Internet users, and SPACE on BITNET), there are a number of more     specialized mailing lists described below.      A second mechanism is Usenet 'netnews'. This is somewhat like a bulletin     board operating on each system which is a part of the net. Netnews     separates contributions into hundreds of different categories based on a     'group name'. The groups dealing most closely with space topics are     called 'sci.space.news', 'sci.space', 'sci.space.shuttle', 'sci.astro',     and 'talk.politics.space'. Contributors 'post' submissions (called     'articles' in netnews terminology) on their local machine, which sends     it to other nearby machines. Similarly, articles sent from nearby     machines are stored locally and may be forwarded to other systems, so     that an article is posted locally and eventually reaches all the Usenet     sites interested in receiving the news group to which the article was     posted.      Gateway machines redirect the Usenet sci.space group into Internet and     BITNET mailing lists and vice versa; the other Usenet groups are not     accessible as mailing lists. If you can receive netnews, its more     flexible interface and access to a wider range of material usually make     it the preferred option.  MAILING LISTS      SPACE Digest is the main Internet list, and is now being run by the     International Space University (in only its second change of management     in over a decade). Email space-request@isu.isunet.edu (message body     should be in the format 'subscribe space John Public') to join. Note     that the moderated SPACE Magazine list is defunct at present for lack of     a moderator. Old copies of SPACE Digest since its inception in 1981 are     available by anonymous FTP. Retrieve 	julius.cs.qub.ac.uk:pub/SpaceDigestArchive/README     for further details.      Elements is a moderated list for fast distribution of Space Shuttle     Keplerian Elements before and during Shuttle flights. NASA two line     elements are sent out on the list from Dr. Kelso, JSC, and other sources     as they are released. Email to elements-request@telesoft.com to join.      GPS Digest is a moderated list for discussion of the Global Positioning     System and other satellite navigation positioning systems. Email to     gps-request@esseye.si.com to join.      Space-investors is a list for information relevant to investing in     space-related companies. Email Vincent Cate (vac@cs.cmu.edu) to join.      Space-tech is a list for more technical discussion of space topics;     discussion has included esoteric propulsion technologies, asteroid     capture, starflight, orbital debris removal, etc. Email to     space-tech-request@cs.cmu.edu to join. Archives of old digests and     selected excerpts are available by anonymous FTP from     gs80.sp.cs.cmu.edu (128.2.205.90) in /usr/anon/public/space-tech,     or by email to space-tech-request if you don't have FTP access.      SEDS-L is a BITNET list for members of Students for the Exploration and     Development of Space and other interested parties. Email     LISTSERV@TAMVM1.BITNET with a message saying "SUBSCRIBE SEDS-L your     name". Email saying "INDEX SEDS-L" to list the archive contents.      SEDSNEWS is a BITNET list for news items, press releases, shuttle status     reports, and the like. This duplicates material which is also found in     Space Digest, sci.space, sci.space.shuttle, and sci.astro. Email     LISTSERV@TAMVM1.BITNET saying "SUBSCRIBE SEDSNEWS your name" to join.     Email saying "INDEX SEDSNEWS" to list the archive contents.      Ron Baalke (baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov) runs a mailing list which     carries the contents of the sci.space.news Usenet group. Email him     to join the list.      As a general note, please mail to the *request* address to get off a     mailing list. SPACE Digest, for example, relays many inappropriate     'please remove me from this list' messages which are sent to the list     address rather than the request address.  PERIODICALLY UPDATED INFORMATION      In addition to this FAQ list, a broad variety of topical information is     posted to the net (unless otherwise noted, in the new group     sci.space.news created for this purpose). Please remember that the     individuals posting this information are performing a service for all     net readers, and don't take up their time with frivolous requests.      ACRONYMS 	Garrett Wollman (wollman@UVM.EDU) posts an acronym list around the 	first of each month.      ASTRO-FTP LIST 	Veikko Makela (veikko.makela@helsinki.fi) posts a monthly list of 	anonymous FTP servers containing astronomy and space related 	material to sci.space and sci.astro.      AVIATION WEEK 	Henry Spencer (henry@zoo.toronto.edu) posts summaries of 	space-related stories in the weekly _Aviation Week and Space 	Technology_.      BUYING TELESCOPES 	Ronnie Kon (ronnie@cisco.com) posts a guide to buying telescopes to 	sci.astro.      ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF THE ASA 	Don Barry (don@chara.gsu.edu) posts the monthly Electronic Journal 	of the Astronomical Society of the Atlantic to sci.astro.      FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 	Swaraj Jeyasingh (sjeyasin@axion.bt.co.uk) posts summaries of 	space-related news from _Flight International_. This focuses more on 	non-US space activities than Aviation Week.      LARGE ASTRONOMICAL PROJECTS 	Robert Bunge (rbunge@access.digex.com) posts a list describing many 	"Large Telescope Projects Either Being Considered or in the Works" 	to sci.astro.      NASA HEADLINE NEWS & SHUTTLE REPORTS 	Peter Yee (yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov) posts a variety of NASA material, 	including NASA Headline News (with the schedule for NASA SELECT), 	shuttle payload briefings and flight manifests, and KSC shuttle 	status reports. For Usenet users, much of this material appears in 	the group sci.space.shuttle.      NASA UPDATES 	Ron Baalke (baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov) posts frequent updates from 	JPL, Ames, and other centers on the Ulysses, Gailileo, Pioneer, 	Magellan, Landsat, and other missions.      ORBITAL ELEMENT SETS 	TS Kelso (tkelso@blackbird.afit.af.mil) posts orbital elements from 	NASA Prediction Bulletins.  	Mike Rose (mrose@stsci.edu) posts orbital elements for the Hubble 	Space Telescope to sci.astro.  	Jost Jahn (j.jahn@abbs.hanse.de) posts ephemerides for asteroids, 	comets, conjunctions, and encounters to sci.astro.      SATELLITE LAUNCHES 	Richard Langley (lang@unb.ca) posts SPACEWARN Bulletin, which 	describes recent launch/orbital decay information and satellites 	which are useful for scientific activities. Recent bulletins are 	available by anonymous FTP from nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov in 	ANON_DIR:[000000.ACTIVE.SPX].      SHUTTLE MANIFEST 	Ken Hollis (gandalf@pro-electric.cts.com) posts a compressed version 	of the Space Shuttle launch manifest to sci.space.shuttle. This 	includes dates, times, payloads, and information on how to see 	launches and landings.      SOLAR ACTIVITY 	Cary Oler (oler@hg.uleth.ca) posts Solar Terrestrial reports 	(describing solar activity and its effect on the Earth) to 	sci.space. The report is issued in part from data released by the 	Space Enviroment Services Center, Boulder Colorado. The intro 	document needed to understand these reports is available by 	anonymous FTP from solar.stanford.edu (36.10.0.4) in 	pub/understanding_solar_terrestrial_reports. nic.funet.fi 	(128.214.6.100) also has this document in 	/pub/misc/rec.radio.shortwave/solarreports and is an archive site 	for the reports (please note this site is in Europe, and the 	connection to the US is only 56KB). A new primary archive site, 	xi.uleth.ca (142.66.3.29), has recently been established and will be 	actively supported.      SOVIET SPACE ACTIVITIES 	Glenn Chapman (glennc@cs.sfu.ca) posts summaries of Soviet space 	activities.      SPACE ACTIVIST NEWSLETTER 	Allen Sherzer (aws@iti.org) posts a newsletter, "One Small Step for 	a Space Activist," to talk.politics.space. It describes current 	legislative activity affecting NASA and commercial space activities.      SPACE EVENTS CALENDAR 	Ron Baalke (baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov) posts a calendar including 	anniversaries, conferences, launch dates, meteor showers and 	eclipses, and other space-related events.      SPACE NEWS 	John Magliacane (kd2bd@ka2qhd.UUCP) posts "SpaceNews" (covering 	AMSATs, NOAA and other weather satellites, and other ham 	information) to rec.radio.amateur.misc and sci.space.      SPACE REPORT 	Jonathan McDowell (mcdowell@cfa.harvard.edu) posts "Jonathan's Space 	Report" covering launches, landings, reentries, status reports, 	satellite activities, etc.      TOWARD 2001 	Bev Freed (freed@nss.fidonet.org) posts "Toward 2001", a weekly 	global news summary reprinted from _Space Calendar_ magazine.   WARNING ABOUT NON-PUBLIC NETWORKS      (Included at the suggestion of Eugene Miya, who wrote the item)      NASA has an internal system of unclassified electronic mail and bulletin     boards. This system is not open for public use. Specifically, NASA     personnel and procurement operations are regarded with some sensitivity.     Contractors must renegotiate their contracts. The Fair and Open     Procurement Act does not look kindly to those having inside information.     Contractors and outsiders caught using this type of information can     expect severe penalities. Unauthorized access attempts may subject you     to a fine and/or imprisonment in accordance with Title 18, USC, Section     1030. If in fact you should should learn of unauthorized access, contact     NASA personnel.      Claims have been made on this news group about fraud and waste. None     have ever been substantiated to any significant degree. Readers     detecting Fraud, Waste, Abuse, or Mismanagement should contact the NASA     Inspector General (24-hours) at 800-424-9183 (can be anonymous) or write  	NASA 	Inspector General 	P.O. Box 23089 	L'enfant Plaza Station 	Washington DC 20024