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Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [1/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... This is the May 1998 "SpaceViews" (tm) newsletter, published by the Boston chapter of the National Space Society. For a description of related e-mail lists maintained by the Boston NSS, or to stop receiving this SpaceViews newsletter, see the instructions at the end of this message. The next Boston meeting is May 7, 1998, 7:30pm 8th floor, 545 Main Street (Tech Square), Cambridge; see "Upcoming Boston NSS Events" Bruce Mackenzie on "One Way to Mars: Establishing a Base on the First Mission" Future meetings are on the first Thursdays of each month: June 4, July 2, August TBD SpaceViews is available on the WWW at http://www.spaceviews.com (NEW!) and by FTP from ftp.seds.org in directory /pub/info/newsletters/spaceviews See the very end for information on membership, reprinting, copyright, etc. Copyright (C) 1997 by Boston Chapter of National Space Society, a non-profit educational 501(c)3 organization. All articles in SpaceViews represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Editor, the National Space Society (NSS), or the Boston chapter of the NSS. S P A C E V I E W S Volume Year 1998, Issue 5 May 1998 http://www.spaceviews.com/1998/05/ *** News *** Hughes Uses Moon to Salvage Satellite Shuttle Mission Winds Down Cosmonauts Complete Mir Thruster Replacement NASA Releases Space Station Report Astronomers Discover Planetary System Forming Around Star Kistler and Australia Sign Accord SOHO Observes Solar Storms Astronauts Blamed for SPARTAN Satellite Failure Delta, Ariane Launches Successful SpaceViews Event Horizon Other News *** Articles *** Doing Space: Speedbumps on the Road to Space Sputnik 3: An IGY Orbiting Research Laboratory The Mars "Face" and Lowell's "Canals" Staking Claims in Space *** Book Reviews *** Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership Star Trek on the Brain Quick Looks at Three Books *** NSS News *** Upcoming Boston NSS Events Boston NSS HBO Viewing Party Report NSS Chapter Updates *** Regular Features *** Jonathan's Space Report No. 357 Space Calendar Editor's Note: Thanks to everyone who filled out the 1998 survey: we received over 300 repsonses! We'll be going through them in the next future and using your opinions to make any changes to SpaceViews. Also, if you're not already planning to go, consider attending the 1998 International Space Development Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, this May 21-25. The conference is packed with dozens of interesting speakers and other events. More information on how to register is online at http://www.nss.org/isdc . -- Jeff Foust, Editor jeff@spaceviews.com Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [2/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... *** News *** Hughes Uses Moon to Salvage Satellite Satellite maker Hughes announced Wednesday, April 29, plans to salvage a communications satellite stranded in a transfer orbit by using an experimental trajectory that will swing the spacecraft around the Moon in a first-of-its-kind mission. The satellite, launched last December as AsiaSat 3, was stranded in a geostationary transfer orbit when the upper stage of the Russian Proton rocket that launched it failed. AsiaSat, the company that owned the satellite, filed an insurance claim in February and received $200 million in compensation for the failure. However, Hughes, the makers of the satellite, have worked with the insurers in an effort to salvage some aspect of the mission. Over the last several weeks, engineers have been using the satellite's own thruster to slowly raise its orbit, originally 350 by 36,000 km (215 by 22,300 mi.). The last thruster firing, scheduled for May 7, will send the spacecraft on a 9-day mission to go around the Moon and back to the Earth. The spacecraft will use the Moon's gravity to adjust its orbit so that the spacecraft can enter a geostationary Earth orbit. The satellite, an HS-601 spacecraft, is using its largest thruster, a 490-newton liquid bipropellant thruster intended for stationkeeping. Most of the spacecraft's 1.8 tons of fuel will be expended during the series of maneuvers. The spacecraft has completed 10 perigee burns to raise its altitude, with an eleventh scheduled for early Thursday, April 30. The 12th burn will place the spacecraft on a lunar trajectory. "While NASA has used gravity assists to send spacecraft off on interplanetary missions, no one has ever tried it to bring a communications satellite back into Earth orbit," said Ronald Swanson, president of Hughes Global Services (HGS), the branch of Hughes working on the mission. Engineers don't know into what orbital slot the spacecraft will end up, or how long it will be able to work. The satellite is being considered for use to augment existing satellites in times of additional demand. If the satellite, now named HGS-1, can be put into service, Hughes will split the profits with the insurer. Hughes is also working with Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI), makers of the Satellite Tool Kit software package, to plan the mission. "We are excited to be part of the effort that will help put this satellite back on track," said AGI President & CEO Paul Graziani. Hughes officials said they had planned to wait until the maneuvers were completed to announce the project, but that work of the meneuvers leaking out via the Internet and the trade press "forced their hand." The project was first widely reported April 24, when the Space Frontier Foundation issued a press release. "With water ice having been discovered at the lunar poles, and the coming revolution in space transportation, commercial missions to the Moon could become commonplace in the next decade," said David Anderman, a member of the board of directors of the foundation. Shuttle Mission Winds Down Experiments aboard the space shuttle Columbia began to wind down late this week as mission controllers decided not to extend the 16-day Neurolab mission. NASA announced April 30 that it would not extend the STS-90 mission, noting weather problems that might crop up if the shuttle landed later than its scheduled Sunday, May 3 landing. "The weather is looking a little bit better on Sunday than on succeeding days," said spokesman John Petty. "The science people want badly to get as soon as possible the results of their experiments back on Earth." The mission, launched April 17 after a one-day delay, has been devoted to the study of the effects of weightlessness on the nervous system. More than two dozen experiments, from studies of rats and mice to virtual reality experiments among the seven-person crew, have looked at how the nervous system reacts. Much of the attention has been focused on the plight of 90 baby rats, after over half of them unexpectedly died earlier this week. They apparently died when their mothers experienced problems with lactation and could not provide the babies with enough food. Some of the remaining rats were subjected to surgery to see how their muscles developed in the absense of gravity. The number operated on was cut back after the deaths of some of the babies. Other experiments on board the shuttle have proceeded with fewer problems. The only major problem was when a carbon dioxide scrubber broke down late in the evening April 24. The breakdown could have threatened an early end to the mission, but the unit was repaired the following day by shuttle commander Richard Searfoss. NASA has yet to make a decision regarding a Neurolab reflight, which, if approved, would take place in August. The reflight would fill a gap in the shuttle schedule caused by delays in the launches of the AXAF spacecraft and the first American element of the International Space Station. The AXAF flight, originally planned for August, is now scheduled for December, while the ISS flight is likely to be delayed from July to at least September. Columbia is scheduled to land at the Kennedy Space Center at 12:09pm EDT (1609 UT) May 3. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [3/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Cosmonauts Complete Mir Thruster Replacement Two cosmonauts on the Russian space station Mir completed the replacement of an attitude control thruster module on the station during two spacewalks on April 17 and 22. Cosmonauts Talgat Musabayev and Nikolai Budarin spent 6 hours and 21 minutes outside Mir Wednesday, April 22, installing the VDU thruster module on a boom attached to the Kvant module. The installation was successful, and mission control reported that all connections to the module were working by the time the spacewalk ended. Five days earlier Musabayev and Budarin spent a little over six hours outside Mir, completing prepartions for the installation. The cosmonauts removed the new thruster from its cargo hold in the Progress resupply spacecraft, among other tasks. The spacewalks were the fourth and fifth to take place outside Mir in April. During spacewalks on April 1 and 6, Musabayev and Budarin repaired a damaged solar panel on the Spektr module. The panel and other parts of Spektr were damaged in a collision between Mir and a Progress cargo spacecraft last June. The old VDU module was removed from the Sofora boom during an April 11 spacewalk. The module, which could not be refueled, was allowed to drift free of Mir and will eventually burn up in the Earth's atmosphere. On all five spacewalks, American astronaut Andy Thomas remained within Mir, monitoring systems and filming the cosmonauts as they worked. The crew is expected to take a break from the series of spacewalks and tend to experiments and other work within Mir. Another spacewalk, to retrieve scientific equipment mounted outside Mir, is planned for some time in May, before the arrival of the space shuttle on the final Mir-Shuttle docking mission. Russian officials also announced plans to begin deorbiting Mir. A Progress resupply spacecraft, scheduled for launch in May, will carry extra fuel to begin the process of lowering the space station's orbit. The deorbiting process will not be completed until the end of 1999. NASA Releases Space Station Report NASA released an independent report on the status of the International Space Station Thursday, April 23, which concludes that more time and money is needed to complete the station. The Report of the Cost Assessment and Validation Task Force on the International Space Station, also known as the Chabrow Report after committee chair Jay Chabrow, was released on the Internet by NASA on Thursday afternoon. Portions of the report had been leaked to the press and to members of Congress in the past month. The report concludes that funding for the space station, which was capped by the President and Congress at $2.1 billion a year and $17.4 billion overall in 1993, is insufficient for the "size, complexity, and ambitious schedule goals" of the project. The panel recommends an additionl $130-250 million in funding for fiscal year 1999 alone. The report also noted that it is unlikely that the station will be completed in 2003, as planned, because of recent delays and an ambitious schedule. The report estimates a one to three year delay in the completion of the station. The committee listed several areas of risk to the station. They conclude that the most serious risk to the station is continued delays by Russia in the completion of key equipment, such as the long-delayed Service Module, now unlikely to launch before March 1999. The committee recommends support for additional contingency activities, such as the development of an American-built Interim Control Module, to temporarily replace the Service Module. "The Task Force believes the level of exposure to increased cost from Russian delays justifies the funding of additional contingency activities," the committee wrote. Several domestic problems with the space station were also identified by the panel. They cited delays in hardware qualification, crew return vehicle development, multi-element integrated testing, and the construction of the U.S. Laboratory Module as problems which could delay the launch of key American station elements and drive up program costs. Other problems cited by the panel include the complexity of on-orbit assembly of the station, training readiness, and shortages of parts and spares for station equipment. As reported in the Wall Street Journal last month, the panel believes the total cost of the station will rise to $24.7 billion between the 1994 station redesign and the completion of station assembly in orbit. That amount is $3 billion higher than recent NASA estimates. NASA released the report Thursday without any additional comment on its findings. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [4/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Astronomers Discover Planetary System Forming Around Star Two independent teams of astronomers have discovered a disk of dust around a distant star that may be evidence of a solar system under formation, NASA reported Tuesday, April 22. Astronomers found a disk of dust around the star HR 4796A, a young star 220 light-years from the Earth in the constellation Centaurus. Within the dust disk around HR 4796A astronomers found a empty zone that may have been cleaned out by newly-formed planetary bodies. "What we may be looking at is a solar system like our solar system but at a much earlier stage," said Charles Telesco of the University of Florida, one of the astronomers involved in the discovery. Astronomers believe the finding serves as a "missing link" between the formation of stars themselves and mature solar systems like our own. "With HR 4796, we're seeing a picture of a young adult star starting its own family of planets," said David Koerner of JPL. "This is the link between disks around very young stars and disks around mature stars, many with planets already orbiting them." The disk is estimated to be 200 astronomical units (30 billion km, 18.6 billion miles) across. The clear zone closer to the star is about 100 AUs in diameter, or slightly larger than the diameter of our own solar sytem. The star itself is about 10 million years old. Astronomer Lee Hartmann of Harvard noted that the star is part of a binary system, with a companion star, HR 4796B, 500 AU away. "This discovery could also tell us about how binary companions affect disks," Hartmann said. "Perhaps this disk is truncated on the outside at a radius of about 125 AU because of the companion star's gravity." Follow-up studies of HR 4796A and similar young stars are planned for later this year, in the hopes of better understanding the new planetary system under formation and to discover other such young solar systems. "This will become a very famous object, I guarantee you," Telesco said. The discovery was made by one team of astronomers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, and a separate team of astronomers from The University of Florida and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The JPL group used MIRLIN, a mid-infrared camera, with the giant Keck II telescope on Manua Kea, Hawaii, to make the discovery. The Florida/Harvard group used a similar instrument, OSCIR, at the National Optical Astronomical Observatory's 4-meter telescope in Cerro Tololo, Chile. Kistler and Australia Sign Accord The Australian government signed an agreement Tuesday, April 28, with the American firm Kistler Aerospace to allow the company to launch its reusable K-1 booster from a site in South Australia. The agreement will allow Kistler to develop a spaceport at the existing launch range at Woomera, South Australia. The agreement also sets the terms for obtaining a launch license from the government and sets the terms for the launches of the two-stage reusable K-1. The company had previously won environmental approval for Australian launches. The company still must obtain a launch license and sign a lease with the government of South Australia. Austrialian officials hailed the accord, which they hope will help the economy and lead to future deals with other launch providers. "In the 12 years after start-up, the project is expected to contribute $2.9 billion to Australia's GDP, up to $1.4 billion to our Balance of Payments, and create over 3,000 person-years of employment," John Moore, Australian Science Minister, said. "Today's agreement with the Commonwealth shows significant progress toward our mission of providing the world's first reusable launch vehicle," Kistler chairman Robert Wang noted. Construction of the Kistler facilities at Woomera will begin in May, with the first test flights scheduled for as early as late 1998. The company hopes to put the booster into commercial service in 1999. The company has also looked at launches from a site in Nevada, but regulaatory problems have prevented them from moving forward on this. The FAA, which grants launch licences, currently does not have the authority to license the reentry of reusable spacecraft. This oversight is addressed in legislation that passed the House last year and is currently on the floor of the Senate. SOHO Observes Solar Storms Astronomers studying data from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft have discovered a new type of solar storm: a powerful, localized "tornado" nearly as large as the Earth with wind speeds of up to 150 kilometers a second (93 mi/sec). Astronomers at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) and Cambridge University have discovered about a dozen of these powerful tornadoes, concentrated at the north and south poles of the Sun. The winds in these tornadoes averaged 15 km/sec (9.3 mi./sec) with gusts up to ten times faster. "We see the hot gas in the tornadoes spiralling away from the Sun and gathering speed," said David Pike of RAL, who discovered the tornadoes with Helen Mason of Cambridge. "These spectacular events in the Sun's atmosphere must have widespread effects." Some astronomers believe the tornadoes may contribute to the solar wind, particularly to the part of the wind that comes from relatively cool portions of the solar atmosphere, known as coronal holes. "Our next step will be to try to relate the solar tornadoes to observations of the fast solar wind farther out in space, as seen by other instruments in SOHO," Pike said. The discovery was made with SOHO's scanning spectrometer, using the Doppler effect to measure the wind speeds in the powerful storms. The instrument is one of several on the joint ESA/NASA spacecraft, which began science operations in April 1996. The two space agencies recently agreed to extend the mission of SOHO into the year 2003. The decision will allow scientists to monitor the Sun in detail as it passes the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, expected to occur in 2000. During this time of increased activity, the number and intensity of solar storms increase, which can affect the Earth and satellites in orbit around the Earth. During the last solar maximum, in 1989-1991, solar storms damaged seveal satellites and also caused problems with the power grids of Canada and Sweden, as charged particles emitted by the Sun interacted with the Earth's magnetic field. SOHO, located at the Earth-Sun L1 point about 1.5 million kilometers (900,000 mi.) from the Earth on the Sunward side, is being heralded as the "world's chief watchdog" for the Sun. Several of its instruments can monitor solar storms and provide forecasts of solar activity and warnings of impending storms. "While SOHO provides early warnings of solar outbursts, it also looks for unknown and basic features of the Sun that may make forecasting better," said Roger Bonnet, ESA's director of science. "In SOHO the distinction between 'useful' and 'fundamental' science is abolished." Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [5/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Astronauts Blamed for SPARTAN Satellite Failure NASA has placed the blame for the failure last year of the SPARTAN solar science satellite on the crew of the shuttle Columbia who failed to release it correctly and retrieve it with the robot arm when it failed. The review board concluded that STS-87 astronaut Kalpana Chawla failed to send a command to the satellite initializing its systems so it could fly free of the shuttle. Moreover, her crewmates failed to catch the error before she released the satellite November 21. Those problems were compounded when the crew attempted to retrieve the satellite using the shuttle's robot manipulator arm. Rookie astronaut Chawla, at the robot arm controls, closed the grip of the arm before it could latch onto the satellite. Instead of capturing the satellite, the arm bumped it, sending it into a slow tumble. The satellite was later retrieved on a November 24 spacewalk by astronauts Winston Scott and Takao Doi, who grabbed the spacecraft with their hands and hauled it into the cargo bay. The review panel made several recommendations to prevent a similar problem from recurring on a future mission. It suggested changing the software on the satellite so that an alarm is triggered if a key command is not sent. The panel also suggested additional training for astronauts who use the robot arm and improved procedures for satellite rescues. The SPARTAN satellite, which is designed to fly free for the shuttle for several days at a time while studying the Sun, is scheduled to fly again on shuttle mission STS-95 in late October. Delta, Ariane Launches Successful A Delta II successfully launched four Globalstar satellites in late April while an Ariane 4 placed two geosynchronous communications satellites into orbit, but the launch of the final two Iridium missions were delayed by weather and technical problems. A Delta II lifted off from Cape Canveral, Florida on Friday, April 24 in the second in a series of launches of the Globalstar communicatiions satellite system. The Delta II launched at 6:38:34pm EDT (2238:34 UT) at the beginning of its 15-minute launch window. The launch went smoothly, with no problems reported. The launch had been scheduled for Thursday evening, April 23, but high upper level winds forced a one-day delay. The launch placed four Globalstar satellites into orbit, bringing the total number of Globalstar satellites in orbit to eight. The first four were launched on a Delta II from Cape Canaveral February 14. An Ariane 4 booster launched two commercial satellites Tuesday evening, April 28, designed to provide direct broadcast television services for different parts of the world. Nilesat-101 will provide direct broadcast television for much of north Africa, the Middle East, and Persian Gulf regions. It's the first direct broadcast satellite to cover any part of Africa. BSAT-1b is the second direct broadcast satellite for the Japanses market operated by B-SAT. A Delta II was scheduled to launch five Iridium satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on April 26, but the launch was delayed when a leak was found in the second stage of the booster. No new launch date has been set, but the launch is expected to occur in early May. The launch of two Iridium satellites on a Chinese Long March 2C/SD booster, scheduled for April 30, was scrubbed by high winds at the Taiyuan launch site. The launch has been rescheduled for May 1. Sixty-five Iridium satellites have been launched. Two experienced failures shortly after launch, while a third developed problems earlier in April. A fourth satellite may also be developing problems, sources report. When completed, Iridium will have 66 satellites in orbit. An additional Delta II launch is being held in reserve at Vandenberg Air Force Base in late May should additional launch or satellite problems develop. SpaceViews Event Horizon May 1 Launch of a Long Marsh 2C/SD from Taiyuan, China, carrying two Iridium satellites May 2 Astronomy Day May 2 Launch of Chinastar-1 on a Long March 3B from Xichang, China May 3 Landing of the space shuttle Columbia, mission STS-90, at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida May 5 Launch of ORBCOMM-3 on a Pegasus XL May 5 Launch of Progress M-40 Mior resupply spacecraft from Baikonur, Kazakhstan May 6 Titan 4B launch of the Milstar-3 satellite May 13 Titan 2 launch of the NOAA-K satellite May 21 Space Day May 21-25 1998 International Space Development Conference, Milwaukee, WI Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [6/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Other News Cassini's First Flyby: The Cassini spacecraft completed the first leg of its seven-year mission to Saturn on Sunday, April 26 when it made a successful gravity assist past the planet Venus. Cassini passed within 284 km (176 mi.) of Venus at 9:52 am EDT (1352 UT) Sunday morning, picking up 7 km/sec (4 mi/sec) in velocity. Another Venus flyby in June 1998, an Earth flyby in August 1998, and a Jupiter flyby in 2000 are scheduled before Cassini reaches Saturn in July 2004. Mission Delays: NASA has delayed the launch of STS-91, the final Mir-Shuttle docking mission, by almost one week to June 2. Officials cited technical problems with getting the shuttle Discovery ready in time for the docking mission. The shuttle will pick Andy Thomas, who has been on Mir since late January... Meanwhile, JPL's first advanced technology "New Millennium" mission, Deep Space 1 (DS1), has been delayed from July to October. The spacecraft delay, announced April 17, was blamed on the late delivery of key components and an "ambitious" software development schedule. DS1, which features an ion engine, solar concentrators, and an autonomous navigation system, was to fly by an asteroid, comet, and Mars during its mission. A new set of targets, based on an October launch date, is expected to be announced by the end of May. Names and Naming: JPL officials have decided to add a second microchip to their Stardust spacecraft, which will carry the names of anyone who addes their names at the Stardust Web site (http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/microchip/signup.html). The chip will be included on the spacecraft, a Discovery-class mission to return samples from the comet Wild-2, is scheduled for launch in February 1999.... NASA is sponsoring a contest to name the Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) spacecraft, scheduled for launch on the shuttle this December. The contest, open to anyone, runs through June 30. The grand prize winner gets a trip to Florida to see the AXAF launch, and all entries will receive an AXAF poster. More information is on the Web at http://asc.harvard.edu/contest.html. MediaWatch (Good): Kudos to Newsweek for putting the discovery of planetary disks forming around distant stars on the cover of the May 4 issue, and devoting several pages to an in-depth look at the research. Sure beats another cover story on Monica Lewinsky or Ken Starr... The May issue of Popular Science magazine is a special issue devoted to the impending (?) start of assembly of the International Space Station. Related articles in the feature include a look at Mir and John Glenn's upcoming flight. MediaWatch (Bad): The May issue of Wired provides a short but good look at the space insurance business. However, in a separate article they refer to Japan's Muses-C asteroid mission as a NASA mission, and calls the NASA-built microrover to be included on the mission as something way more exciting than Sojourner, a "Martian microbe hunter"... That's nothing, though, compared to Project Censored, an effort at California's Sonoma State University to highlight the ten biggest stories the news media failed to cover in 1997. Their number six story was the fall of Russia's Mars 96 spacecraft and its missing small canisters of plutonium, which may have fallen somewhere in Chile and Bolivia. However, their 1996 list (which featured Cassini as its top story) refers to "much press coverage" given to Mars 96. A Project Censored spokesperson told SpaceViews the decision was based on "the lack of diplomacy and responsiblity" in the American and Russian treatment of Chile and Bolivia, which they claim went uncovered in the media. Rumors: While Russia is making plans to deorbit their Mir space station by the end of 1999, there may yet be some interest in salvaging the station for future commercial use. NASA Watch reported in late April that Spacehab was in negotiations with Russia to reboost Mir and put it to commercial use... The X-Prize Foundation is expected to make a "big" announcement in late May, according to one source. The foundation, which is sponsoring a $10 million prize to support space tourism, is expected to finally announce that the prize is fully funded. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [7/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... *** Articles *** Doing Space: Speedbumps on the Road to Space by Timothy K. Roberts OK, we're in space. We've been to the Moon. We have a Shuttle. We will soon have a space station. We have satellites and interplanetary probes by the dozens. We've even landed on Mars - three times! And American business, government, and the military can no longer operate without using space as at least a place to move data through. We as a nation certainly have a set of space-faring capabilities. What isn't clear at all is what we're going to do with them. In fact, you might be asking yourself the question "Now what?" As in what do we do to really go to space? But before we answer this question, we need to clear our minds of misconceptions that get in the way of getting clear answers. We need to dispel some myths. There are quite a few myths rampant in the public space interest sector and, while attractive, they are all untrue and, in fact, actually do damage to the ultimate goal of opening space. Let's examine some of the more pernicious ones. Myth #1: The Federal government has no real interest in reducing the cost of space transportation and is actually attempting to keep spacelift costs high. This myth is widespread and is readily believed by those who aren't familiar with what the Federal government is actually doing in space. Regrettably, this myth also fits in well with the current fashion of government-bashing. However, a look at some facts and figures soon exposes this myth for what it is - an uninformed knee-jerk reaction against the slow progress being made in developing cheap spacelift. The fact of the matter is that, as the primary consumer of spacelift services, organic or contracted, the Federal government is supremely interested in drastically reducing transportation costs. The three primary agencies that use spacelift - the Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, and the Department of Commerce (DoC) - know very well that every dollar spent of transporting a payload to orbit is a dollar that is not spent on the mission itself. It is a fact that budgets are effectively static or declining in all three of these agencies. A direct result of that fact is that there is frantic competition between the payload developers and users and those who provide transportation. Couple that with the costs of transportation, ranging from $40 million from a Delta II launch to $1 billion for a Shuttle launch, and you can begin to see that there is literally no percentage in holding back development of cheap, dependable spacelift. Note the key word dependable. New and unusual ways of getting to orbit must prove themselves safe and dependable. At the least, each payload being transported costs in excess of $40 million (for "mass produced" Global Positioning System satellites). We may be moving people. With lives and/or that kind of money at stake, one doesn't jump on board the latest technology simply because it promises to be cheaper or neater or whatever. One lets the technology prove itself. Single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) is in this stage right now. Any operator or planner in those agencies will tell you that transportation costs must come down before they can take full advantage of space in their agency operations - DoD most of all! Myth #2: The Federal government has no real interest in opening the space frontier and is, in fact, actively attempting to limit access to a select few. This is a corollary to Myth #1. This myth is often promulgated by those who are impatient with progress to date in opening space. And there are a lot of us who are. We do remember the promise of Apollo and the early Shuttle program. We often feel we've been sold a bill of goods by agencies that are as interested in bureaucratic survival as they are in going to space. What we need to remember is that going to space is extraordinarily difficult. The science fiction dreams of one lone inventor developing antigravity out of three transistors, some baling wire, and a spare circuit board are just that - dreams. There are several things to bear in mind when confronting this myth. First and perhaps foremost is the inescapable fact that opening space is not now and never has been a high priority of the US government or its people. A perusal of Federal budgets over the past forty years will bear this out. The will of the people, as expressed by our representatives in Congress, is that we spend money for defense and desirable social programs at a much greater pace than we do on all space exploration and use - military, civil, and scientific together. This is, of course, why organizations like the National Space Society or the Planetary Society exist - to mobilize public opinion to spend more public and private money on space. The second thing to remember is that going to space is very hard. What appears routine today - a Shuttle or Delta or Titan launch - is actually the culmination of decades of investment of blood, sweat, tears, and dollars. Ask any engineer who works for a company actually involved in space - Lockheed-Martin, Hughes, Boeing - and they'll regale you with tales of how they exacted an extra pound of thrust from a rocket engine or culled a few critical ounces of weight from a satellite or... well, you get the picture. It ain't easy now and it will continue thus for the foreseeable future. Finally, we're trying to do many different things in space with our limited dollars. We do science, we do defense, we do civil support (weather, search and rescue, etc.), and we do commercial business. These all are competing for what is effectively a fixed pot of money. Since we as a nation are unwilling to not take advantage of all that space can offer, we will continue to try to satisfy multiple, disparate requirements all at once. Lack of progress doesn't necessarily indicate lack of interest. It may well mean the problem is very hard. Myth #3: Industry can and will open space better than the Federal government, if only we would let them. This is a very pernicious myth, one that is actually damaging to our efforts to open space, particularly since a few vocal members of the aerospace industry continue to actively promote it. Again, facts interfere with the myth. The number one fact that must be remembered is that industry - any industry, from aerospace to health care to toys - is out to make a profit. This can be expressed a number of ways, but rate of return is a common one used in investment circles. Based on extensive interviews between Wall Street investors and aerospace companies on the one hand and the members of the 1994 DoD Space Launch Modernization Study on the other, I can fairly and accurately state that no credible company in or out of the aerospace industry is waiting in the wings with a new invention or process that will reduce the cost of transportation to space by an order of magnitude. Further, absent significant Federal government investment, no company is willing to spend its own money on a new spacelift system. This is because the predicted rate of return is so low - usually less than 1% - that there is literally no percentage in investing the five to ten billion dollars it takes to develop a new transportation system (typical of a new airliner). The reason is that the spacelift market is actually quite small - only a few billion dollars per year. Compare this with sports shoes, for instance, with billions of dollars in sales per year and one begins to appreciate the scope of the situation. No, without some sort of bootstrap, private industry is not going to be the savior of space development. Once we've cleared our minds - and our debate! - of these pernicious myths, we can engage in some serious discussion of how we'll really go to space. Opening the Solar System to human settlement requires the best efforts we can give - from the civil sector, from the military sector, and especially from the general public - that's us! - who is demanding it! Only when we've cleared our minds can we really tell ourselves and the rest of the world: We're going out! Lead, follow, or get out of the way! Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [8/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Sputnik 3: An IGY Orbiting Research Laboratory by Andrew J. LePage Introduction During the six months following the launch of the Soviet Union's second satellite, Sputnik 2, public attention was focused on American efforts to catch up by whatever means available. By the end of April 1958, the ABMA (Army Ballistic Missile Agency) had orbited two satellites in three attempts while America's "official" satellite program, Project Vanguard, had managed to get only one small test payload into orbit after four tries. While these satellites, with a total mass of only 29.5 kilograms (64.9 pounds), were dwarfed by the 592 kilograms (1,303 pounds) of useful payload orbited by the Soviets, they still made some important discoveries including that of the Earth's Van Allen radiation belt. But while leaders in the United States debated the Soviet's capabilities, the danger they might pose, and America's response, everyone wondered when the next Soviet satellite would be orbited and what surprises it would bring. Unknown to everyone in the West at the time, engineers and scientists associated with OKB-1 (Special Design Bureau-1) under Sergei Korolev were quite busy during this hiatus in Soviet satellite launches. After the launch of the first two Sputniks using stripped down versions of the R-7 rocket known as 8K71PS (also designated as SL-1 in the West), development flights of the 8K71 ICBM version of the R-7 (designated the SS-6 or Sapwood by NATO) continued with launches on January 30, March 29, and April 4 of 1958. While none of these tests were completely successful, the experience gained with each flight lead to incremental improvements in the performance and reliability of this giant machine. By the spring of 1958 the first R-7 rocket specifically designed to launch satellites, known as the 8A91 (or the SL-2 in the West), was nearly ready to fly. The payload for this new launch vehicle would be the Object D satellite developed by a team headed by Mikhail Tikhonravov at OKB-1. Originally meant to be the first Soviet satellite when Korolev's proposal was authorized by the Soviet government on January 30, 1956, development of Object D and its 8A91 launch vehicle dragged on almost a year longer than originally anticipated. But finally everything was ready for launch. As with the launch of Sputnik 2, the timing of the third Soviet satellite launch would be set by Soviet Premier Nikita Krushchev's political agenda. Thanks to Korolev and his team at OKB-1, the quick development and launch of the first two relatively simple Sputniks was able to secure an early lead in the Space Race for the Soviet Union. But Krushchev, who took full advantage of the propaganda value of this lead, wanted more space spectaculars to further improve Soviet communism's image abroad and deter Western aggression. While there were a range of projects under development that could supply Krushchev with another important space first, none would be ready until at least the summer of 1958. The only hardware at hand was the nearly completed Object D and its launch vehicle. But to Krushchev, who was not interested in science for its own sake, the launching of just another satellite would hardly be spectacular. As a result, Krushchev's enthusiasm for this project was lukewarm at best. But with nothing else available, the launch of Object D was set to occur before the upcoming Italian parliamentary elections in the hope of influencing its results. An 8A91 rocket and an Object D satellite, along with a backup to insure a successful flight, were prepared for launch. An Orbiting Research Laboratory While Krushchev could care less, Object D promised to make the most comprehensive geophysical survey of the environment above Earth's atmosphere for the IGY (International Geophysical Year). Object D was roughly conical shaped with a height of 3.57 meters (11.7 feet) and a base diameter of 1.73 meters (5.68 feet). To help cut development time and simplify the design, it was decided that Object D would not be outfitted with an attitude control system and would be left to drift instead. Like its predecessors, Object D would be powered by a bank of silver-zinc batteries. With a total mass of about 1.3 metric tons (2,900 pounds), Object D was more than twice as massive all the other Soviet and American satellites combined. In addition to being the largest satellite ever launched up to this point, Object D would be the most sophisticated scientific satellite ever orbited. A commission of scientists and engineers established by the Soviet Academy of Sciences headed by Korolev's ally, Academician Mstislav V. Keldysh, with Korolev and Tikhonravov as his deputies decided what instruments Object D would carry. In the end they chose a dozen experiments that investigated virtually every area of interest to IGY scientists around the world. These included direct measurements of the density, pressure, and composition of the Earth's upper atmosphere. Measurements of the concentration of charged particles, cosmic rays, solar radiation, terrestrial magnetic and electrostatic fields, as well as the flux of micrometeorites would also be made. To round out the investigations, radio propagation studies would be performed using the satellite's transmitters that operated at frequencies of 20 and 40 MHz. All together 968 kilograms (2,130 pounds) of instrumentation and power supplies would be carried inside the pressurized interior of Object D. To support all this instrumentation, Object D was equipped with a sophisticated high speed telemetry system called Tral D that would handle the flow of data. A tape recorder was also included in the system to store all of the instruments' observations when the satellite was not in contact with its controllers. Its contents could be downloaded via radio when the satellite was in sight of one of the new Soviet tracking stations. In order to maximize the scientific return of the mission, it was decided to place Object D in an elliptical orbit with a apogee of at least 1,500 kilometers (930 miles). Combined with the impressive array of instruments and the tape recorder, this orbit would allow the radiation belts first observed by the American Explorer 1 satellite to be systematically mapped in detail by a large array of instruments for the first time. The first launch of the 8A91, with Object D mounted beneath an conical aerodynamic fairing on the nose, took place from the NIIP-5 Test Range in Soviet Kazakhstan on April 27, 1958. The 8A91, serial number B1-2, lifted off smoothly and all seemed to be going well at first. But as the rocket ascended, longitudinal resonance vibrations (an effect called "pogo") in the strap-on boosters increased in intensity as the propellant tanks emptied. The launch vehicle finally shook itself apart 88 seconds after launch. The debris reached a peak altitude of 13 to 15 kilometers (43,000 to 49,000 feet) and fell to the ground some distance downrange. The remains of the top secret Object D were subsequently recovered after a low profile search to keep it away from prying eyes. While the flight was a total loss, the ruggedness of the payload was aptly demonstrated when some of the would-be satellite's instruments continued to operate despite the explosively short ride. Unlike the American satellite program, the Soviet government made every effort to conceal the failure. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [9/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Sputnik 3 is Launched After this first Soviet satellite launch failure, the backup 8A91 launch vehicle, serial number B1-1, was quickly prepared to launch a spare Object D. But while prelaunch checks of the payload's instruments showed everything to be in order, there were indications that the tape recorder was not operating properly. The engineer in charge of the telemetry system and recorder, Chief Designer Alexei F. Bogomolov of OKB MEI, did not want to be the one to hold up this important launch. Bogomolov insisted that the errant signals from the recorder were the result of electromagnetic interference from other sources in the testing room and that the unit was actually working properly. With increasing pressure from the Kremlin to launch, Korolev accepted Bogomolov's explanation despite the protests of the other engineers and preparations to launch the second Object D proceeded. On May 15, 1958 the second 8A91 rocket lifted off from its pad in the Kazakh steppes for the fourth Soviet satellite launch attempt. This time the rocket operated perfectly placing its 1,327 kilogram (2,922 pound) payload, now called Sputnik 3, into a 230 by 1,880 kilometer (143 by 1,168 mile) orbit inclined 65.2 degrees to the equator. Once in orbit, Sputnik 3 separated from the spent core of its launch vehicle to start its mission. While this flight did not give the Soviets any new space firsts, the immense size of the satellite was a shock to the West and provided leaders with more evidence that the Soviet Union possessed an viable ICBM capability. But as the Soviet propaganda machine hailed their latest space success, in reality all was not well with the new satellite. Much to the chagrin of everyone involved in the project, the suspect tape recorder failed to operate once in orbit. Because of the secrecy associated with the project, Soviet authorities did not share with the rest of the world the information needed to receive and decode Sputnik's signals thus losing the opportunity to recover data gathered over the most of the globe. This limited the new Sputnik's measurements to the times it was over Soviet territory. Since Sputnik 3 was near the perigee of its orbit during these periods, it could only make observations up to an altitude of about 1,000 kilometers (600 miles). While extremely useful data could still be gathered, project scientists would be unable to make the systematic series of measurements they hoped to make. It was only after the scientific results of the first American and Soviet satellites were studied in detail was it was realized how the loss of the tape recorder prevented Soviet scientists from making an important scientific find. After the discovery in late 1958 by American scientists that the Van Allen radiation belt is in fact composed of distinct inner and outer portions, Soviet physicist Sergei Vernov realized that Sputnik 3 had returned the first measurements from the outer belt. But because of the loss of the tape recorder, he and his colleagues were unable to place their spotty data into the broader context required to recognize the significance of their observations. With hindsight, Soviet authorities claimed on March 6, 1959 that Vernov had discovered the outer belt and that this result had actually been reported at an IGY meeting the previous August - long before the American's announcement of their discovery. Unfortunately the Soviet claim was rejected since such a statement was not explicitly made in their August 1958 report and there was no way to unambiguously identify the outer belt from the Soviet data published up until that time. Still, a popular Russian joke at the time proposed that the Van Allen belt be renamed the "Van Allen-Vernov Belt". Aftermath of the Mission While many of the more power hungry instruments finished their observations in the first few weeks of flight, Sputnik 3 continued to return useful data until its orbit finally decayed and the satellite burned up on May 6, 1960. Despite the fact that the mission was largely successful, there was no support in the Soviet government for follow-up missions. Krushchev was far more interested in space spectaculars than the systematic exploration of space. This combined with limited resources at OKB-1 and its network of other design bureaus resulted in continual reassessments of project priorities during 1958. In the end, three nearly-completed scientific satellites in the shops at OKB-1 that were to follow Sputnik 3 into Earth orbit were never launched. Development of oriented versions of the Object D and other proposed satellites that would use the 1.5 metric ton (3,300 pound) payload capability of the 8A91 launch vehicle were also eventually scrapped. Since the next round of missions would require launch vehicles with much greater payload capabilities, the 8A91 was quietly retired after only two launches. Experience gained from the 8A91 flights was not wasted and helped Korolev's engineers iron out problems with the development of the R-7 ICBM and its derivatives. In the mean time the basic 8K71 would be modified to carry larger payloads into space in support of the next round of space spectaculars. With the relatively "easy" space firsts achieved, Krushchev charged Korolev and his team with attaining the next goal: The first probes to the Moon. Bibliography James Harford, Korolev: How One Man Masterminded the Soviet Drive to Beat America to the Moon, John Wiley & Sons, 1997 Wayne R. Matson (editor), Cosmonautics: A Colorful History, Cosmos Books, 1994 John Rhea (editor), Roads to Space: An Oral History of the Soviet Space Program, Aviation Week Group, 1995 Asif A. Siddiqi, "Before Sputnik: Early Satellite Studies in The Soviet Union 1947-1957 - Part 2", Spaceflight, pp. 389-392, Vol. 39, No. 11, November 1997 Timothy Varfolomeyev, "Soviet Rocketry that Conquered Space Part 1: From First ICBM to Sputnik Launcher", Spaceflight, pp. 260-263, Vol. 37, No. 8, August 1995 Timothy Varfolomeyev, "Sputnik Era Launches", Spaceflight, pp. 331-332, Vol 39, No. 10, October 1997 Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [10/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... The Mars "Face" and Lowell's "Canals" by Larry Klaes In light of the Mars "face" controversy, I offer up this quote from an article written in the Wall Street Journal (!) in 1907: "The most extraordinary development (in 1907) has been the proof afforded by the astronomical observations (showing) that conscious, intelligent human life exists upon the planet Mars... Dr. Lowell, director of the Lowell Observatory in Arizona... gives a number of photographs taken of Mars. . He sums up the testimony of these photographs by saying that they reveal to laymen and astronomers that markings exist on Mars which are, of course, the lines of the great canals constructed on Mars for the purpose of irrigating that globe..." Starting in the 1890s, wealthy Boston astronomer Percival Lowell saw what he thought were straight lines crossing the surface of Mars. While he was not the first to see them, he was among the first and most vocal to make the radical interpretation that these lines were much too straight to be natural features. Therefore, they had to have been built by an advanced intelligence. The next thing you know, Lowell had populated Mars with an ancient and noble civilization of highly intelligent Martians trying desperately to survive its dying planet by bringing water from the poles to their great cities along the equator. All this from the small and blurry images of Mars he viewed through his ground-based telescopes at the bottom of Earth's ocean of shimmering air, never closer than 35 million miles from our planet. Thanks to the wonders of the World Wide Web (WWW), you can read one of Lowell's books on this subject, titled simply Mars and published in 1895, by going to this URL: http://www.bibliomania.com/NonFiction/Lowell/Mars/index.html British author H. G. Wells imagined in his great 1898 science fiction novel, The War of the Worlds, that Lowell's Martians decided it would probably be easier just to conquer Earth and take all of its bountiful resources for themselves from those noisy, primitive little monkeys walking around on that alluring blue globe. You can read this novel as well from this Web site URL: http://hot.virtual-pc.com/mjbstein/wotw/wwindex.htm The public was entranced by Lowell's vision of Mars populated by alien beings. Newspaper editors from such prestigious papers as The New York Times vigorously defended Lowell and scolded other astronomers who said they only saw dark smudges instead of lines. Many astronomers theorized that the "canals" were merely optical illusions produced by the limited seeing of natural surface features from tens of millions of miles away. The media and public accused the astronomers of not being open-minded to the possibility. In reality, all most astronomers were saying was they wanted more evidence and that Lowell was making a major claim from very little data. I highly recommend these two works on this amazing event in planetary astronomy history for more information. Lowell and Mars, by William Graves Hoyt, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1976 (reprinted 1996). http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/books/bid691.htm The following book is available in its entirety on the Web: The Planet Mars: A History of Observation and Discovery by William Sheehan, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1996. http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/online.bks/mars/contents.htm As it turned out, when the first unmanned Mariner probes began imaging Mars close up in the 1960s and 1970s, the canals Lowell saw were indeed optical illusions created by his human mind connecting indistinct and disconnected natural features on the Martian surface. Actually, there are "canals" on Mars, but they are natural waterways created eons ago when Mars apparently had large amounts of liquid water flowing across its land. People really want to know if we are alone or not in the Universe. It is a subject that has certainly compelled me all of my life. For all I know, there could indeed be alien artifacts on Mars, or a big, black Monolith buried under the lunar crater Tycho. It is not impossible that some ETI have the capability and the will to explore other star systems, including our own, either with robot probes or in person. But I find it unfortunate that for the last two decades, some people have expended a large amount of time, energy, and effort on a surface feature that looked like a face based on a couple of distant images taken by the Viking orbiter. Had they been as clear as the ones recently taken by Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), at least this Martian controversy probably never would have happened. I know, people can spend their time and energy focusing on whatever they please. In summation, there likely is life beyond Earth spread throughout our galaxy and beyond. But since I have no proof of this, I won't say so for certain. I am much less certain that there is evidence of alien visitation in our own solar system, especially with the Mars "face". Why? Because with 400 billion stars in our vast Milky Way galaxy, I do not think our solar system, Mars, Earth, and humanity are the most well-known or popular visiting spots around, despite our culturally egocentric view as to humanity's importance in the greater scheme of things. But again, if evidence can be found to the contrary, I will be as happy, fascinated, and eager to know more about it as anybody else. I just hope that when it comes to the "face", the "pyramids", the lunar "spires", and other such items seen only vaguely in blurry images, that we will keep Percival Lowell and his "canals" in mind before we turn rocks into alien artifacts without further evidence. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [11/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Staking Claims in Space by Alan Wasser In 1991, when Space News published my commentary "Open Lunar Era with Land Grants" [June 24-July 7, page 21], the problem was convincing people that there could be land ownership in space and that real estate on the moon and Mars might someday be valuable. Since then, most space activists and even NASA headquarters and key congressmen have begun to accept that once-radical idea. Now, the problem is the opposite: resisting the urge to squander that value on quick, easy missions like robotic surveys, instead of saving it to pay for true privately funded space settlements. To keep even one human being alive on the moon, Mars or an asteroid requires at least one spacecraft that continually travels between the settlement and Earth. To do that at a profit, you have to develop cheap human access to space. Land ownership reserved for human settlement thus becomes the prize and the economic justification for investing in cheap human access to space. As space activists, our primary goal always has been the establishment of permanently inhabited settlements with transportation open to all paying passengers. If land ownership could buy us our primary goal, it would be very foolish to waste it on lesser accomplishments. At even a very conservative $10 per acre, a grant of land on the moon the size of the state of Alaska, about 4% of the moon's surface, would be worth at least $4 billion and a grant of land on Mars the size of the United States would be worth at least $23 billion, so they really could pay for a settlement. It will be much easier to get a property rights regime started if the United States initiates and administers the process until an international body is formed to do it, rather than trying to get a new international agreement first. But the 1967 Outer Space Treaty prohibits national appropriation or sovereignty over the moon, Mars and other celestial bodies, so the United States does not have the right under international law to confer ownership of land in space. The way to finesse the treaty is for the United States to pass a law directing American courts to grant recognition to an extra-terrestrial land claim made by any private entity that has established a true space settlement. Actual settlement is a traditional basis for making land claims, and the United States could set reasonable conditions for its recognition, such as maximum size, and the openness of the base. On the other hand, a law in which the United States tried to confer specified incremental rewards for specified incremental steps would be much harder to justify, and probably would require the United States to openly violate the 1967 treaty or negotiate a new one. Requiring human settlement as the necessary basis for recognizing a claim also makes congressional passage more likely, as settlement seems so far away to potential opponents that support will seem just a costless, symbolic statement. Lunar and Martian land is, of course, worth very little now when potential buyers cannot get to it, but if a true settlement is established the land's value will increase tremendously. The dollar value of a given tract of land will be vastly greater if ownership is awarded only after there is a ship capable of carrying humans back and forth. Some people have proposed claim registries, mining patents and other mini-awards that aren't real ownership but would, in effect, hold claimants' places in line. But why would we want to give someone a land grant for some small step and allow them to do nothing more for the next 20 years except stop anyone else who is ready to settle and develop the land? Instead, I want to start a competitive race to design and build affordable human transport as soon as possible. For that to happen, all competitors must fear that, if they don't rush to establish a settlement soon, someone else (perhaps from another country) will get there first. The existence of a permanently inhabited settlement is the economic point of no return for development. Only then is it easier to justify going forward than delaying. Settlements will find plenty of ways to make money, including exports of raw materials and manufactured items and services to tourists and scientists. Unfortunately, none of those means can pay for the original development of the transport and settlement. But once those are built to win the land grant, exports will add a great deal to operating income, and eventually provide all of it. It will cost much more to develop cheap human access to space than to do a robotic survey, but even that has an advantage. It means the consortium that gets a land grant will need lots of investors from all over the world, giving everyone a chance to buy shares in the settlement enterprise. It also will need the revenue from selling passage on the ship and pieces of the land. Under most plans, mini claims based on robotic surveys wouldn't confer enough rights to make them saleable. They wouldn't even make enough to repay the cost of a survey. They do the recipient little good and reinforce the idea that the land is basically worthless. Mini claims also would detract from the psychological value of a real claim; the boost in ego investors could get by being able to look up and say, "I own a piece of that." The first step in the development and use of any mini land claim earned by some halfway measure would be to establish an affordable transport system to get to and from the claim. Why not reserve ownership of the land for those who pay to do that in the first place? Alan Wasser is a member of the Boards of Directors of both the National Space Society and ProSpace. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [12/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... *** Book Reviews *** by Jeff Foust Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership by Roger D. Launius and Howard E. McCurdy, eds. University of Illinois Press, 1997 softcover, 262pp. ISBN 0-252-06632-4 US$19.95 It's widely believed that presidential leadership has played a key role in shaping the American space program. This belief is usually anchored by President Kennedy's 1961 speech calling for a manned lunar landing by the end of the decade. However, is this speech representative of the role of presidential leadership in space, or is it an anomaly? Roger Launius and Howard McCurdy edit a collection of essays from leading historians that address this issue. The essays in this book take a look at presidential leadership from Eisenhower through Bush (the book is based on a 1993 symposium, so Clinton's record, or lack thereof, in space leadership is neglected here.) The book carries a theme of the rise of the "imperial presidency" through the Johnson and Nixon administrations, and its fall in the aftermath of Watergate. Space supporters found comfort in the increased power of the presidency, since they thought it would be easier to get support. However, as the power of Congress grew through the 1980s, this philosophy needed reconsideration. This book brings together an impressive list of historians, including Michael Beschloss on John Kennedy and Robert Dallek on Lyndon Johnson. The theme of this book, that the influence of presidential leadership on the space program was far less than most thought, may be jarring to some, but it is key to understanding why the space program is where it is today, and why it has not accomplished more. The importance of the presidency on the space program, and the importance of the space program for the presidency, may have been critically overestimated. Star Trek on the Brain Star Trek on the Brain: Alien Minds, Human Minds by Robert Sekuler and Randolph Blake W.H. Freeman and Company, 1998 hardcover 256pp., illus. ISBN 0-7167-3279-3 US$21.95 You might argue the phenomenon has gotten a little out of hand. After the success of 1996's "The Physics of Star Trek" there has been a surge of books attempting to use the various television series and movies to study everything from biology to metaphysics. In "Star Trek on the Brain", arguably the "psychology of Star Trek", Robert Sekuler and Randolph Blake use the series as a way to understand how the human brain works. The authors use anecdotes combed from all the Star Trek series and movies to explore how the brain works, and how it allows us to interact with our world and each other. Want to talk about emotions in general? Compare us with Spock and Data. What about anger? There's no better example than an enraged Klingon. How our brain processes vision can be compared with Geordi LaForge's visor. And so on. It's clear that both authors know their Star Trek very well, given their ability to dredge up passages from hundreds of episodes to support their discussion of the human brain. The book is an entertaining read for anyone who has followed the series (although a glossary in the back provides descriptions for those who don't know the difference between Spock and Sisko) and is a good introduction for anyone interested in how the brain works. Quick Looks at Three Books Eye in the Sky: The Story of the Corona Spy Satellites by Dwayne A. Day, John M. Logsdon, and Brian Latell (eds.) Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998 hardcover, 304pp., illus. ISBN 1-56098-830-4 US$29.95 Considerable attention has been devoted to Corona, America's early reconnaissance satellite program, since the program was declassified in 1995. this book, a collection of essays based on a conference held shortly after the declassification that featured both historians and participants in the program. Like Curtis Peeble's "The Corona Project", this book provides a detailed look at the Corona program. However, unlike the strict chronological approach of Peeble's work, the contributors to "Eye in the Sky" look at different aspects of the project. One chapter also looks at Zenit, the Soviet reconnaissance satellite program developed as a response to Corona. "Eye in the Sky" is a comprehensive look at a historic satellite system. Adventures in Celestial Mechanics by Victor G. Szebehely and Hans Mark Wiley-Interscience, 1998 hardcover, 210pp., illus. ISBN 0-471-13317-5 US$59.95 "Adventures in Celestial Mechanics" doesn't sound like the name of a textbook, but the book is a good introductory text in the field of celestial mechanics. The book assumes the reader has some background in calculus and vectors, but little background in celestial mechanics itself, which is explained in detail through the book. What could be a try subject is enlivened with some historical discussion of the people who shaped the field, and use of the subject to real-life applications, such as Earth-orbiting spacecraft and planetary missions. The book is not for the casual reader, but is useful for someone seeking a thorough academic introduction to the field. "The Observer's Year: 366 Nights of the Universe" by Patrick Moore Springer-Verlag, 1998 softcover, 368 pp., illus. ISBN 3-540-76147-0 US$29.95 Although the night sky changes only very little from night to night, each (clear) night provides the opportunity to explore something new in the heavens. Noted astronomer Patrick Moore uses this night-by-night approach to discuss stars, galaxies, constellations, and planets visible throughout the year. Each night Moore writes a few paragraphs on an object visible in the night sky at that time. Solar system objects, which are visible at different times in different years, are a little harder to cover, but Moore will devote a day to a particular planet for an upcoming year that is particularly significant for it, such as when it is at opposition. (The book also lists the phases of the Moon from 1998 through 2003). This book is a good guide to what's significant in the night sky on a particular night, or what you could be seeing if it was clear! Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [13/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... *** NSS News *** Upcoming Boston NSS Events Thursday, May 7, 7:30 pm "One Way to Mars - Establishing a Base on the First Mission" by Bruce Mackenzie Many proposals for human missions to Mars mention: "a series of missions leading to a permanent Mars base". Consider these points: 1.Coming back from Mars may be the most hazardous part of the journey. 2.Transporting people back from Mars is more expensive than transporting them to Mars. 3.The major reason to go to Mars is to establish permanent human settlements. 4.The secondary reason to go to Mars, scientific investigations, would be greatly aided by a permanent Mars settlement. 5.Robotic instruments can provide far more information about Mars than pioneers had at any time in history. 6."Opening a New World" is a stronger motivation for governments and individuals, than the "Flags and Footprints" from Apollo. For the regular May Boston NSS meeting, Bruce Mackenzie will provide some background information. Then, let's start a discussion of the questions: "Why Come Back?" "Can a Permanent Mars Base be Established on the First Mission?" Boston NSS HBO Viewing Party Report by Elaine Mullen The Boston Chapter "had a blast" on Sunday night, April 5th! We gathered in our usual meeting room at M.I.T. at 7pm. 40 people showed up, and we were a bit relieved that there weren't many more than that! The room has a large screen TV, and with the addition of a small surround sound system it worked out nicely. The evening started off with pizza, popcorn, and some introductory words from Elaine Mullen (me). I said something along the lines of, "blah blah blah"..."As you watch the first episode, notice how President Kennedy made a definitive decision to send men to the moon with only 15 minutes of human flight experience in Earth orbit. Now that we have accumulated 40 years of robotic and human flight experience, we're more than ready to go back to the Moon and to send humans to Mars. So, tonight we not only want to reflect on Apollo, but we want to celebrate the future. We're celebrating the day when humans will live and thrive in Earth Orbit and beyond." I had watched it the night before and the 2nd episode was a real tear jerker, so we tried our best to keep the evening focused on the future with an optimistic tone. After the first episode we listened to a couple of my songs which were entered in the NSS's song writing contest, while people had some more pizza & refreshments. A petition for the Space Commercialization Act was passed around. Everyone sat down again while I read a few trivia questions out of the HBO Viewer's Guide. The last question about the Space Pen saving the lives of the Apollo 11 astronauts lead nicely into the topic of NSS membership. We offered free Fisher Space Pens to any new members who signed up before the evening was over. Eight people signed up at the end of the night, and I'm sure those space pens had something to do with it!:-) After the second episode, 40 glasses of TANG were filled and we had a giant "TANG toast" to the future of humans in space! We owe lots of thanks to HBO and the Fisher Space Pen Co. for all the great stuff, and for the funding! And thanks to NSS for mailing ALL of that stuff and for the great advice! Other NSS News Compiled by Amanda Honeycutt -Region 1- ORANGE COUNTY SPACE SOCIETY The California Orange County Space Society will have their regular monthly meeting at 5pm on Sunday May 19. The business meeting will be followed by our program: EXPLORING EUROPA-OCEAN UNDER ICE, by Richard Shope of the Jet Propulsion Lab. The program starts at 7pm. May 21 Disneyland Grand Opening of the Tomorrowland. OCSS is working with Disneyland to see about our chapter participating in this event. June 21 OCSS monthly meeting will be held at 5pm at our new meeting location of Fuddruckers at 23621 El Toro Road in Lake Forest. Our 7pm program will be: "SPACE TOURISM SOCIETY" by Charles Carr. -Region 3- Clear Lake Area NSS There will be a meeting of the Clear Lake Chapter of the National Space Society on Friday May 8th, 1998. there will also be a meeting of the ISDC '99 Committee immediately following the regular meeting. Time: 6:30-9:30 pm Place: Radisson Hotel - Hobby Airport, 9100 Gulf Fwy, in the Deer Park Room Price: free to the public The agenda for the May 8th meeting is: 6:30-7:30 pm Social Hour & Registration 7:30-8:30 pm SPEAKER - Dr. Kenneth J. Cox " 'A Futurist' Perspective for Space" 8:30-8:45 pm Business meeting -- (very short this month to allow time for ISDC ' '99 meeting) BIOGRAPHY Dr. Kenneth J. Cox earned both his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in 1953, and his master's degree in electrical engineering in 1956 from UT in Austin where he also served as an instructor in the EE Department from 1955-1958. He began his professional career in aerospace at TEMCO in Dallas in 1958 developing control systems for missles and airplanes. In 1960, he move to the Martin Company in Denver, and there, singularly initiated and developed the first advanced digital avionics design for the Titan III. Dr. Cox returned to Texas in 1962 and earned his Ph. D. in electrical engineering from Rice University in 1966. Beginning in 1963, he joined NASA Manned Spacecraft Center and became the technical manager for the Apollo digital control systems including the lunar module and the command service module. Starting in 1974, Dr. Cox served as Shuttle technical manager for Integrated Guidance, Navigation, and Control Systems involving first generation digital design development. He was promoted to Chief of the Avionics Systems Division in 1987. Dr. Cox nas been a national director and board member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) for the past 6 years. As a futurist in the Space Movement, Dr. Cox has developed concepts and ideas for interweaving science and humanities needed for Earth/Space exploration and settlement Evolutionary scenarios have been identified as a way to lay out developmental choices for both exploration and settlement. Dr. Cox has presented emerging ideas to the World Futures Society, to International Creativity Conferences, and to AIAA. At present he continues to be an active participant in the National AIAA Distinguished Lecturer Program. Note: The regular meetings of CLA-NSS are held on the second Friday of every month at the same time and place. For information call Murray Clark at (281) 367-2227 after 7:00 pm week-days or on weekends, or e-mail MClark637@aol.com. CLS-NSS has been having weekly Sunday evening meetings at Damon's Sports Bar in the Radisson Hotel to watch HBO's Apollo episodes on the four big screen TV's. We are happy to report that there have been very large crowds in attendance at these weekly parties. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [14/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... -Region 5- NSS ATLANTA Contact Avery Davis avery@mindspring.com The April meeting of the Atlanta chapter of the National Space Society has been changed from what was previously announced. We had originally scheduled Capt. Vaughn Cordle, who was recently selected as the first pilot for the (CAC) Civilian Astronaut Corps of Houston, Tx. a contender for the X-Prize, a $10 million award for the first successful private space flight. Mr. Cordle was to give an overview of CAC and answer specific questions to be given before the meeting. However, Capt. Cordle was recently asked to be a guest on David Letterman's show the same day as Atlanta's April meeting, so they will try to get Capt. Cordle for the May meeting. (It was estimated that over 10 million viewers watched the Letterman show on April 23rd, to see Capt. Cordle talk about the Civilian Astronauts Corps. This would no doubt be a coup for commercial space enterprise, and CAC is pleased to have done their part in introducing the concept of private space travel to the TV public. Harry Dace, CAC Director is a member of CLA-NSS Houston). The program for April was changed to the following: THE SPACE SOLAR POWER WORKSHOP. The SPACE SOLAR POWER WORKSHOP asked a very simple question - "What would (baseload) electrical power cost that originated from SSP at GSO (GeoSynchronous Orbit)?" Answering that "simple" question well requires a vast amount of study on the part of many extremely well qualified people. For about the last year Darrell has organized, chaired (and now webmastered) The Space Solar Power Workshop - http://classweb.gatech.edu/con/sspw (furnished by Georgia Tech) The fascinating project is far from over, although it is scheduled to report interim results at it's host conference. Space 98 & Robotics 98 April 30; an ASCE conference scheduled for April 26-30 in Albuquerque. The SSPW has made an effort to draw upon and update the two SSP studies done to date. It has two base designs - 1 an earth material supplied "Sun Disk" system of 60 supplying 300,000 MW to rectenna downlink sites on earth 2 - the same sized system largely supplied through In-Situ resource utilization from a lunar colony. The Space Solar Power Institute, a new tax-exempt organization, came into being to support funding the educational goals of the SSPW, which he also chairs. Until last year Darrell Preble worked as a senior System Analyst in Nuclear Systems and then Technology Planning for Southern Company. He holds Masters degrees in R&D Simulation Forescasting from George Washington University (1973) and in Theoretical Nuclear Physics from GSU (1980) and also webmasters The Space Solar Power Newsletter - http://www.netdepot.com/~preble. All members of NSS are welcome to attend the next meeting of the Atlanta chapter of the National Space Society: Location: Fernbank Science Center, Classroom 2 Heaton Park Dr., Decatur, GA Time: 7:30pm, Thursday, 1998 -Region 6- Illinois North Shore NSS Chapter contact, Joseph Ausmann. (847) 470-8972 or JAusmann@aol.com No notices received. -Region 7- DC-L5 In 1998 the Metro Washington, DC area chapter will meetin on the first Sunday of each month at the Tyson's-Pimmit Library 7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia. Each month's meeting is preceded by a presentation on a current space-related topic, as follows: May 3 - SSTO Vehicles June 7 - Space Shuttle Operations For more information contact DC-L5 President Ms. Donnie Lowther (703) 370-3063 or e-mail to okl1@erols.com PHILA AREA SPACE ALLIANCE PASA meets regularly for a business luncheon and formal meeting from 1-3 pm, the third Saturday of every month at Smart Alex Restaurant, Sheraton University City, 35th & Chestnut. 2 Hours of free parking with validation. Philadelphia Area Space Alliance news for May 98 [N.B., corrected e-mail address, new Web site] Contact: PO Box 1715, Philadelphia, PA 19105 Earl Bennett, michelle_baker@ccgate.ueci.com 610/644-8654(H) www.libertynet.org/pasa #...# -> bold ^...^ -> italics #PASA regular# business luncheon/formal meeting from #1-3 pm#, the #3rd Saturday# of every month at #Liberty One# food court, 16th & Market. Go toward the windows, then to the #left#. Public parking in Liberty on 17th St. #Scheduled PASA activities#: regular monthly meetings: #May 16th, June 20th, Aug. 15th.# Other activities: #July 19th, July 20th# (see below). Call Earl for details. #April Meeting Report#: Hank Smith gave the Science Fiction report, covering recent conventions in Boston, Lunacon, Icon, and Balticon; the upcoming Buconneer, Phila's 2001 Worldcon bid, and Philcon. As head of science programming for Philcon, in addition to space science, he expects presentations on dinosours and medicine. Oscar Harris gave the Education report, covering the Carver Science Fair for 1998-99, and our plans to judge and present an award for space-oriented projects. Mitch Gordon gave the Public Relations report, covering our joint presentation with the World Future Society at Border's, the Future Fest in the Fall, a picnic meeting on Sun., July 19th at the Franklin Institute's Lunar Module, and a Moon-Day-Monday presentation on July 20th. Jay Haines discussed our new Web site: #www.libertynet.org/pasa#, and suggestions were made for improvements. Earl Bennett discussed his calling in to WWDB 96.5FM in response to some snide remarks on space tourism. They gave him 5 mins. of air time, and invited him to call in anytime something interesting is going on in space. Earl also gave the Technical report, covering the Shuttle launch, with its critters and medical studies, the 6 hr. space walk to replace attitude jets on Mir, a March 98 ^Electronics Products^ article on new batteries providing 200 Watt-hrs/Kg vs. 35 W-hrs/Kg previously, an April 98 ^Product Design & Development^ article on miniature (< 6") battery-powered aeronautical vehicles, capable of flying for 16 mins, reaching 40 mph, and carrying recon. cameras, and an April 98 ^Laser Focus World^ article on small clad fiber optics. Contact: Dottie Kurtz PO Box 1715, philadelphia PA 19105; Tel (609) 782-1552 (H); <lpezzuto@bellatlantic.net> Or Michelle Baker at michelle_baker@ccgate.ueci.com or Jay Haines, Secretary at hainesjb@netaxs.com or call (215) 986-6266 (W) (215) 855-7130 (H) Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [15/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... -Region 8- NEW YORK SPACE FRONTIER SOCIETY No notices received. Contact Greg Zsidisin (201) 764-3270 (H): 71055.2110@compuserve.com. NEW YORK FRONTIER SOCIETY Of GREATER ROCHESTER No notices received. Contact: Carl Elsbree <celsb@msn.com> -SPECIAL INTEREST- EDUCATION CHAPTER Contact Carolyn Josephs. (718) 531-8375 0r carolyn3@msil.idt.net/cjoseph.ny@siny.com. or CarolynJ@aol.com The new address as of March 30th, 1998 is: 151 McKenzie Street 1st Floor Brooklyn, New York This past week the Education Chapter Director has been is Las Vegas, Nevada for the National Science Teachers Association Convention. (Ms. Josephs planned a "get-together" for NSS members in the area as well as educators at the convention who were interested in finding out more about NSS and the Education Chapter.) NSS Education Chapter Contest Deadline - May 4. Contact Carolyn Josephs to confirm times and locations. *** Regular Features *** Jonathan's Space Report No. 357 by Jonathan McDowell [Ed. Note: Go to http://hea-www.harvard.edu/QEDT/jcm/space/jsr/jsr.html for back issues and other information about Jonathan's Space Report.] A brief issue this week, as I have to catch a plane. Shuttle and Mir Musabaev and Budarin, in a spacewalk on Apr 22, attached the new VDU roll control engine to the end of the Sofora boom on the Kvant module. The STS-90/Neurolab mission continues in orbit, with the crew busy dissecting rats. Other rats are learning how to float in zero-g. The primary CO2 scrubber unit on Columbia failed on Apr 25 at 0345 UTC. If it can't be repaired, the mission will have to be brought home early. Recent Launches Four more Space Systems/Loral Globalstar communications satellites were launched on a Boeing Delta 7420 on Apr 24. The satellites join four Globalstars already in orbit and will form part of a telephone service constellation. The Cassini probe will make a flyby of Venus on Apr 26. Table of Recent Launches ------------------------ Date UT Name Launch Vehicle Site Mission INTL. DES. Mar 14 2246 Progress M-38 Soyuz-U Baykonur LC1 Cargo 15A Mar 16 2132 UHF F/O F8 Atlas II Canaveral SLC36A Comsat 16A Mar 24 0146 SPOT 4 Ariane 40 Kourou ELA2 Imaging 17A Mar 25 1701 Iridium 51 ) CZ-2C/SD Taiyuan Comsat 18A Iridium 61 ) Comsat 18B Mar 30 0602 Iridium 55 Delta 7920 Vandenberg SLC2 Comsat 19A Iridium 57 Comsat 19B Iridium 58 Comsat 19C Iridium 59 Comsat 19D Iridium 60 Comsat 19E Apr 2 0242 TRACE Pegasus XL Vandenberg Solar obs. 20A Apr 7 0213 Iridium 62 Proton-K Baykonur Comsat 21A Iridium 63 Comsat 21B Iridium 64 Comsat 21C Iridium 65 Comsat 21D Iridium 66 Comsat 21E Iridium 67 Comsat 21F Iridium 68 Comsat 21G Apr 17 1819 Columbia ) Shuttle Kennedy LC39B Spaceship 22A Neurolab ) Apr 24 2238 Globalstar FM5?) Delta 7420 Canaveral LC17A Comsat 23A Globalstar FM6?) 23B Globalstar FM7?) 23C Globalstar FM8?) 23D Current Shuttle Processing Status __________________________________ Orbiters Location Mission Launch Due OV-102 Columbia LEO STS-90 Apr 17 OV-103 Discovery OPF Bay 2 STS-91 May 28 OV-104 Atlantis Palmdale OMDP OV-105 Endeavour OPF Bay 1 STS-88 ? MLP/SRB/ET/OV stacks MLP1/RSRM66/ET-96 VAB Bay 1 STS-91 MLP2/ MLP3/ Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [16/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Space Calendar by Ron Baalke [Ed. Note: visit http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar/ for the complete calendar] * indicates changes from last month's calendar May 1998 May ?? - Sinosat 1 Long March 3B Launch May ?? - Ziyuan-1 Long March 4A Launch (China) * May ?? - EchoStar 4 Proton Launch May 01 - Comet Klemola Perihelion (1.755 AU) * May 01 - Asteroid 7117 Claudius Closest Approach To Earth (1.071 AU) * May 01 - Asteroid 6832 (1992 FP) Closest Approach To Earth (1.658 AU) May 02 - Astronomy Day * May 02 - Space Shuttle Columbia Returns To Earth (STS-90 May 02 - Chinastar-1 Long March 3B Launch (China) May 02 - Comet Denning Near-Jupiter Flyby (0.3389 AU) May 03 - 2060 Chiron at Oppositon (7.937 AU - 15.9 Magnitude) May 04 - Mercury at Greatest Western Elongation (26.5 Degrees) * May 04 - Asteroid 4248 (1984 HX) Closest Approach To Earch (1.525 AU) May 05 - ORBCOMM-3 Pegasus XL Launch * May 05 - Progress M-40 Soyuz U Launch (Russia) May 05 - Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak May 05 - Comet Barnard 3 Perihelion (Lost Comet) May 05 - Asteroid 7088 Ishtar Closest Approach To Earth (1.349 AU) May 05 - Asteroid 8405 (1995 GO) Closest Approach To Earth (9.147 AU - 19.0 Magnitude) * May 06 - Milstar-3 Titan 4B Launch May 07 - Asteroid 1992 TB Near-Earth Flyby (0.384 AU) May 09 - Asteroid 16 Psyche at Opposition (10.4 Magnitude) May 09 - Asteroid 4487 Pocahontas Closest Approch To Earth (1.121 AU) * May 10 - Asteroid 1998 HK1 Near-Earth Flyby (0.272 AU) * May 10 - Asteroid 1990 Pilcher Closest Approach To Earth (1.063 AU) May 12 - Mercury Passes 0.8 Degrees From Saturn May 12 - Asteroid 3103 Eger Closest Approach To Earth (1.713 AU) May 13 - NOAA-K Titan 2 Launch May 13 - Asteroid 25 Phocaea Occults SAO 139602 (8.3 Magnitude Star) May 13 - Asteroid 664 Judith Closest Approach To Earth (1.598 AU) May 13 - Asteroid 3758 Karttunen Closest Approach To Earth (1.624 AU) May 14 - Cassini, Trajectory Correction Maneuver #4 (TCM-4) May 14 - Comet Howell Closest Approach To Earth (1.065 AU) May 14 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Skylab Launch * May 15 - Progress-238 Soyuz U Launch (Russia) * May 15 - Asteroid 4629 Walford Closest Approach To Earth (1.608 AU) May 15 - 35th Anniversary (1963), Faith 7 Launch (Gordon Cooper) * May 16 - Loralsat 1 Ariane 4 Launch * May 18 - PanamSat-8 Proton Launch * May 20 - IKONOS-1 Athena 2 Launch May 20 - Moon Occults Jupiter * May 20 - Asteroid 1987 WC Closest Approach To Earch (0.510 AU) * May 20 - Asteroid 6693 (1986 CC2) Closest Approach To Earth (1.808 AU) May 20 - 20th Anniversary (1978), Pioneer Venus Orbiter Launch May 21 - Space Day May 21 - Comet 1997 G2 (Montani) Closest Approach To Earth (2.870 AU) May 21 - Asteroid 1994 JF1 Closest Approach To Earth (0.581 AU) May 21 - Asteroid 1990 VB Closest Approach To Earth (1.767 AU) * May 22 - Venus Visible In Daylight (-3.9 Magnitude) May 25 - Asteroid 1997 US9 Near-Earth Flyby (0.283 AU) * May 25 - Asteroid 6493 Cathybennett Closest Approach To Earth (1.230 AU) * May 25 - Asteroid 6587 Brassens Closest Approach To Earth (1.567 AU) May 25 - 25th Anniversary (1973), Skylab 2 Launch May 26 - 15th Anniversary (1983), Exosat Launch (ESA X-Ray Observatory) May 27 - Asteroid 1917 Cuyo Closest Approach To Earth (1.827 AU) May 27 - Kuiper Belt Object 1994 JS at Opposition (34.301 AU - 23.4 Magnitude) May 28 - STS-91 Launch, Discovery, 9th Shuttle-Mir Docking May 28 - Galileo, Orbital Trim Maneuver #47 (OTM-47) May 28 - Venus Passes 0.3 Degrees From Saturn * May 28 - Pluto at Opposition May 28 - Asteroid 1995 UO5 Closest Approach To Earth (0.415 AU) * May 29 - Iridium 10 Delta 2 Launch May 29 - Asteroid 7025 (1993 QA) Closest Approach To Earth (0.832 AU) May 29 - Asteroid 1994 VR6 Closest Approach To Earth (1.392 AU) May 29 - Asteroid 2430 Bruce Helin Closest Approach To Earth (1.455 AU) May 30 - Asteroid 1997 UF9 Near-Earth Flyby (0.385 AU) May 30-31 - Jet Propulsion Lab Open House, Pasadena, California May 31 - Galileo, Europa 15 Flyby * May 31 - ORBCOMM-2 Pegasus XL Launch This is the current issue of "SpaceViews" (tm), published by the Boston Chapter, National Space Society (NSS), distributed in electronic form. It is also sent as a 8 to 12 page double column newsletter via US Mail. You may re-distribute this electronically for non-profit use as long as the entire contents (including this notice) are intact, and you send us the names of all recipients (include us in your distribution list). MAILING LIST INFORMATION: Subscribing and Unsubscribing: To stop receiving the large monthly 'SpaceViews' newsletter, send this e-mail message: To: MajorDomo@ari.net Subject: anything UNsubscribe SpaceViews To receive electronic copies of this SpaceViews newsletter and/or other information about space and NSS, send an e-mail message similar to the following. This example subscribes you to 4 separate mailing lists which are described below. Of course, fill in your own Internet address where is says "YourAddress@StateU.edu" and your real name inside the parenthesis. Try to send it from you own account on your own computer, so that the message appears to be from you. To: MajorDomo@ari.net Subject: anything subscribe SpaceViews YourAddress@StateU.edu (Full Name) which YourAddress@StateU.edu help These subscriptions requests are now handled automatically. The subject line is ignored. The body of the message should contain commands such as: help - send me more information about these commands, which <my_address> - which lists am I on, info <list_name> - mail me a description of a list, UNsubscribe <list_name> - remove me from a list, Subscribe <list_name> <my_address> <full name> - add me to a list, Although it is possible to omit your address and name, please include them when subscribing so that we know who you really are, and to avoid problems like having the name of a workstation inadvertently embedded in you address. Problems: To get a message to a real person, mail to: SpaceViews-Approval@ari.net Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: SpaceViews - May 1998 [17/17] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS: Articles, letters to the editor, chapter updates, andother similar submissions for SpaceViews are always welcome. The deadline for each month's issue is the 20th of the month before (i.e. the August deadline is July 20). The preferred method of submission is ASCII text files by e-mail; send articles and other submissions to jeff@spaceviews.com. If you would like to submit articles in other formats, or would like to submit articles by another method than e-mail, contact the editor, Jeff Foust, at the above e-mail address. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: Copyright (C) 1998 by Boston Chapter of National Space Society, a non-profit educational organization 501(c)3. Permission is hereby granted to redistribute for non-profit use, provided: 1. no modifications are made (except for e-mail delivery info.) 2. this copyright notice is included, 3. you inform Boston NSS of the names of all recipients This permission may be withdrawn at any time. All other rights reserved. Some articles are individually copyrighted (C) by their authors. Excerpts cannot be used, except for reviews and criticisms, without written permission of NSS, Boston Chapter. (We will try to respond by e-mail within four business days.) -Jeff Foust (editor, jeff@spaceviews.com), -Bruce Mackenzie (email distribution, bam@draper.com) -Roxanne Warniers (mailings, rwarnier@colybrand.com) ____ | "SpaceViews" (tm) -by Boston Chapter // \ // | of the National Space Society (NSS) // (O) // | Dedicated to the establishment // \___// | of a spacefaring civilization. President: Elaine Mullen Board of Directors: Michael Burch Vice President: Larry Klaes Jeff Foust Secretary: Lynn Olson Bruce Mackenzie Treasurer: Roxanne Warniers John Malloy Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Preflight Briefings For Final Shuttle-Mir Mission Set For May 11 Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Jennifer McCarter Headquarters, Washington, DC May 5, 1998 (Phone: 202/358-1639) NOTE TO EDITORS: N98-31 PREFLIGHT BRIEFINGS FOR FINAL SHUTTLE-MIR MISSION SET FOR MAY 11 A series of background press briefings on the STS-91 mission, the final Shuttle flight to dock with the Mir space station, will be held on Monday, May 11, at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT. The major objective of the mission is the return of Andy Thomas from four months of research on the Mir as the seventh and final U.S. astronaut to live and work on the Russian complex. Thomas' departure will mark the end of more than two years of a continuous U.S. presence in space. The briefings will begin with an overview of the STS-91 mission followed at 10 a.m. with a briefing on the Shuttle- Mir Phase One program. After taking a break for the daily NASA Video File at noon, there will be a briefing on the cargo being carried in the Spacehab module at 12:30 p.m., followed by a briefing on the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) payload at 1 p.m. The STS-91 astronauts will hold their preflight press conference beginning at 2:30 p.m. All of the briefings will be carried live on NASA Television. NASA Television is available through the GE-2 satellite, transponder 9C located at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, with a frequency of 3880 MHz, and audio at 6.8 MHz. Following the astronauts' preflight news conference, individual round-robin interviews with the crew members will be held for reporters at Johnson. Media interested in round- robin interviews with the STS-91 astronauts must fax a letter of interest to reserve a slot in the round-robins to Eileen Hawley in the Johnson public affairs office by close of business on Friday, May 8. The fax number is 281/483-2000. The round-robin interviews will not be seen on NASA TV. IMPORTANT NOTE: The STS-91 round-robins are not part of the International Space Station (ISS) media workshop which starts on Tuesday, May 12. Reporters attending the ISS workshop must issue a separate request if they wish to be included in the STS-91 round-robin interviews. Requests should be faxed to the Johnson newsroom at 281/483-2000. STS-91 PREFLIGHT BRIEFINGS Monday, May 11, 1998 (All times shown are EDT) 9 a.m. MISSION OVERVIEW Paul Dye, STS-91 Lead Flight Director 10 a.m. PHASE ONE OVERVIEW Frank Culbertson, Director, Shuttle-Mir Phase One Program John Uri, Shuttle-Mir Mission Scientist Noon NASA VIDEO FILE 12:30 p.m. SPACEHAB BRIEFING Mike Bain, Shuttle-Mir Program Manager, Spacehab Carolyn Overmyer, SHUCS experiment 1 p.m. ALPHA MAGNETIC SPECTROMETER (AMS) BRIEFING Mark Sistilli, Program Manager, AMS, NASA John O'Fallon, Director, High Energy Physics, Dept. of Energy 2:30 p.m. STS-91 CREW PRESS CONFERENCE Charles Precourt, Commander Dominic Gorie, Pilot Franklin Chang-Diaz, Mission Specialist-1, Payload Commander Wendy Lawrence, Mission Specialist-2 Janet Kavandi, Mission Specialist-3 Valeri Ryumin, Mission Specialist-4 -end- Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Why Study Asteroids? Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Why Study Asteroids? Don Yeomans Jet Propulsion Lab April 1998 The scientific interest in asteroids is due largely to their status as the remnant debris from the inner solar system formation process. Because some of these objects can collide with the Earth, asteroids are also important for having significantly modified the Earth's biosphere in the past. They will continue to do so in the future. In addition, asteroids offer a source of volatiles and an extraordinarily rich supply of minerals that can be exploited for the exploration and colonization of our solar system in the twenty-first century. Asteroids represent the bits and pieces left over from the process that formed the inner planets, including Earth. Asteroids are also the sources of most meteorites that have struck the Earth's surface and many of these meteorites have already been subjected to detailed chemical and physical analyses. If certain asteroids can be identified as the sources for some of the well-studied meteorites, the detailed knowledge of the meteorite's composition and structure will provide important information on the chemical mixture, and conditions from which the Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago. During the early solar system, the carbon-based molecules and volatile materials that served as the building blocks of life may have been brought to the Earth via asteroid and comet impacts. Thus the study of asteroids is not only important for studying the primordial chemical mixture from which the Earth formed, these objects may hold the key as to how the building blocks of life were delivered to the early Earth. On a daily basis, the Earth is bombarded with tons of interplanetary material. Many of the incoming particles are so small that they are destroyed in the Earth's atmosphere before they reach the ground. These particles are often seen as meteors or shooting stars. The vast majority of all interplanetary material that reaches the Earth's surface originates as the collision fragments of asteroids that have run into one another some eons ago. With an average interval of about 100 years, rocky or iron asteroids larger than about 50 meters would be expected to reach the Earth's surface and cause local disasters or produce the tidal waves that can inundate low lying coastal areas. On an average of every few hundred thousand years or so, asteroids larger than a mile could cause global disasters. In this case, the impact debris would spread throughout the Earth's atmosphere so that plant life would suffer from acid rain, partial blocking of sunlight, and from the firestorms resulting from heated impact debris raining back down upon the Earth's surface. The probability of an asteroid striking the Earth and causing serious damage is very remote but the devastating consequences of such an impact suggests we should closely study different types of asteroids to understand their compositions, structures, sizes, and future trajectories. The asteroids that are potentially the most hazardous because they can closely approach the Earth are also the objects that could be most easily exploited for raw materials. These raw materials could be used in developing the space structures and in generating the rocket fuel that will be required to explore and colonize our solar system in the twenty-first century. By closely investigating the compositions of asteroids, intelligent choices can be made as to which ones offer the richest supplies of raw materials. It has been estimated that the mineral wealth resident in the belt of asteroids between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter would be equivalent to about 100 billion dollars for every person on Earth today. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 мая 1998 (1998-05-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Why Study Comets? Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Why Study Comets? Don Yeomans Jet Propulsion Lab April 1998 Life on Earth began at the end of a period called the late heavy bombardment, some 3.8 billion years ago. Before this time, the influx of interplanetary debris that formed the Earth was so strong that the proto-Earth was far too hot for life to have formed. Under this heavy bombardment of asteroids and comets, the early Earth's oceans vaporized and the fragile carbon-based molecules, upon which life is based, could not have survived. The earliest known fossils on Earth date from 3.5 billion years ago and there is evidence that biological activity took place even earlier - just at the end of the period of late heavy bombardment. So the window when life began was very short. As soon as life could have formed on our planet, it did. But if life formed so quickly on Earth and there was little in the way of water and carbon-based molecules on the Earth's surface, then how were these building blocks of life delivered to the Earth's surface so quickly? The answer may involve the collision of comets with the Earth, since comets contain abundant supplies of both water and carbon-based molecules. As the primitive, leftover building blocks of the outer solar system formation process, comets offer clues to the chemical mixture from which the giant planets formed some 4.6 billion years ago. If we wish to know the composition of the primordial mixture from which the major planets formed, then we must determine the chemical constituents of the leftover debris from this formation process - the comets. Comets are composed of significant fractions of water ice, dust, and carbon-based compounds. Since their orbital paths often cross that of the Earth, cometary collisions with the Earth have occurred in the past and additional collisions are forthcoming. It is not a question of whether a comet will strike the Earth, it is a question of when the next one will hit. It now seems likely that a comet struck near the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico some 65 million years ago and caused a massive extinction of more than 75% of the Earth's living organisms, including the dinosaurs. Comets have this strange duality whereby they first brought the building blocks of life to Earth some 3.8 billion years ago and subsequent cometary collisions may have wiped out many of the developing life forms, allowing only the most adaptable species to evolve further. Indeed, we may owe our preeminence at the top of Earth's food chain to cometary collisions. A catastrophic cometary collision with the Earth is only likely to happen at several million year intervals on average, so we need not be overly concerned with a threat of this type. However, it is prudent to mount efforts to discover and study these objects, to characterize their sizes, compositions and structures and to keep an eye upon their future trajectories. As with asteroids, comets are both a potential threat and a potential resource for the colonization of the solar system in the twenty first century. Whereas asteroids are rich in the mineral raw materials required to build structures in space, the comets are rich resources for the water and carbon-based molecules necessary to sustain life. In addition, an abundant supply of cometary water ice can provide copious quantities of liquid hydrogen and oxygen, the two primary ingredients in rocket fuel. One day soon, comets may serve as fueling stations for interplanetary spacecraft. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

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