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Дата: 06 июля 1998 (1998-07-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Names On Vietnam War Memorial Wall To Fly In Space Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011 http://www.jpl.nasa.gov Contact: Mary Beth Murrill FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 1, 1998 NAMES ON VIETNAM WAR MEMORIAL WALL TO FLY IN SPACE Names inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. will be engraved on a microchip that will fly in space on NASA's Stardust mission to a comet, project officials have announced. The names will join those of more than 400,000 people who have already submitted their names to fly, free-of-charge, on the Stardust spacecraft, which is scheduled for launch next February on a round-trip to a comet. "This almost will be like sending a miniature version of the Vietnam Memorial into space as an eternal tribute to those who fell in America's longest war," said Jan Scruggs, founder and president of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. There are 58,214 names inscribed on the memorial, Scruggs said. Approximately 2,500,000 people visit "The Wall" each year, making the Vietnam Veterans Memorial the most visited in Washington, D.C. Stardust's prime mission is to return a sample of comet dust to Earth in 2006. The "Send Your Name to a Comet" effort has drawn attention from around the world as people submit their names via the Internet to the Stardust Project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. "We wanted to honor the memory of those who fell in the war," said Project Manager Dr. Kenneth Atkins, himself a Vietnam- era Air Force pilot with the Strategic Air Command from 1959 to 1968. "This is also an opportunity for veterans, their families and loved ones to create a special remembrance by having their names united on this peaceful exploration of space," he added. Included is the name of Air Force pilot Michael J. Blassie, whose remains were this week identified and disinterred from the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. Atkins of JPL and Scruggs of the Vietnam Memorial both hope to link their education efforts to broaden the audiences of their respective organizations. The Stardust project hopes to exhibit all the collected names in a museum after the comet sample has returned to Earth, Atkins said. The names are electronically etched onto a fingernail-size silicon chip at JPL's Microdevices Lab. Writing on the microchip is so small that about 80 letters would equal the width of a human hair. Once inscribed, the names can be read only with the aid of an electron microscope. The web page and a project-sponsored network of educators across the country are two of the main efforts Stardust is using to bring information about the mission, its science plans and eventual discoveries to as broad an audience as possible. Scientists have long sought a direct sample of a comet particle because these icy bodies are thought to be nearly pristine examples of the original material from which the Sun and planets were born 4.6 billion years ago. Stardust's mission is to travel to within 150 kilometers (100 miles) of the nucleus of Comet Wild-2 (pronounced "Vilt-2"), gather comet dust particles and deliver them back to Earth. En route to the comet, Stardust will attempt to capture interstellar particles that are believed to be blowing through the solar system. In January 2006, mission plans call for the Stardust sample return capsule to parachute to a designated landing spot in the Utah desert . Names may only be submitted electronically and may be sent to the Stardust web page at http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov . Those submitting their names are granting permission for the Stardust project and its partners to use the names submitted in possible future exhibits and/or publications. More information about the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is at http://www.vvmf.org . Stardust, managed for NASA's Space Science Division and is a collaborative partnership between the University of Washington, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, and JPL/Caltech. Stardust is the fourth mission to be chosen under NASA's Discovery Program of low-cost solar system projects, and follows the Mars Pathfinder, Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) and Lunar Prospector missions. The goal of the Discovery Program is to launch many small missions that perform focused science with fast turn-around times, cost less than $150 million (in fiscal year 1992 dollars) to build, and are joint efforts with industry, small business and universities. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology. ##### Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 июля 1998 (1998-07-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Astronaut Andy Thomas To Discuss Mir Mission Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... Jennifer McCarter Headquarters, Washington, DC July 2, 1998 (Phone: 202/358-1639) Eileen M. Hawley Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX (Phone: 281/483-5111) NOTE TO EDITORS: N98-44 ASTRONAUT ANDY THOMAS TO DISCUSS MIR MISSION Astronaut Andy Thomas, the final American to live on board the Russian Mir space station, will discuss his journey during a news conference Wednesday, July 8, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT. Frank Culbertson, manager of the Phase 1 Shuttle/Mir program, also will participate in the briefing to discuss Thomas' tenure on Mir and review the program, which saw seven Americans live and work on board the Russian space station. The press conference will originate from NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, and will be broadcast on NASA Television, providing multi-center question and answer capability for reporters at participating NASA centers. During his 130 days on board Mir, Thomas traveled more than 56 million miles. He launched as a member of the STS-89 crew on Jan. 22, 1998, becoming a Mir crew member on Jan. 24. He returned on board Discovery as a member of the STS-91 crew on June 12. When Thomas returned to Earth, he concluded 802 consecutive days of an American presence on board Mir, beginning with astronaut Shannon Lucid's arrival March 24, 1996. The press conference can be seen on NASA Television, which is carried on GE-2, Transponder 9C, at 85 degrees West longitude, vertical polarization, frequency 3880 Mhz, audio 6.8 Mhz. Media planning to attend the briefing at the Johnson Space Center should contact that newsroom by 5 p.m. EDT on July 6 for accreditation. -end- Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 июля 1998 (1998-07-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Mars Surveyor 98 Update - July 3, 1998 Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... 1998 MARS SURVEYOR PROJECT STATUS REPORT July 3, 1998 John McNamee Mars Surveyor 98 Project Manager Orbiter integration and test activities are proceeding on schedule. Troubleshooting of the Pressure Modulator InfraRed Radiometer (PMIRR) instrument optical chopper assembly at Honeywell has uncovered a faulty bearing in the chopper. This bearing is the suspected cause of the chopper anomalies which surfaced during system testing. The Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) flight instrument and the repaired flight meteorology mast were delivered to Lockheed Martin on July 2 for installation on the lander on July 6. This completes the lander flight science payload delivery and the full flight payload will be installed on the lander for the landed thermal balance test scheduled to begin on July 18. The medium gain antenna (MGA) on the lander was damaged during a mission profile test on June 30 due to an incorrect physical configuration of the vehicle. The MGA was moving in a normal fashion during the test when it contacted one of the lander outboard solar panels. The incorrect physical configuration involved the conduct of the test with the outboard arrays tucked up in a stowed configuration against the inboard panel rather than in the deployed configuration (which would be the normal flight configuration during any MGA motion). The inboard arrays contain notches to accommodate the full design range of MGA motion while the outboard arrays contain no notches. The technicians in the test facility noticed the problem as it was occurring but were unable to stop the MGA motion due to two other contributing factors to the incident: 1) The lander was operating on battery power which rendered the kill switch inoperative, and 2) The mission sequence was at a point of transition from X-band to UHF transmission capability which made it impossible to command the vehicle at a time when MGA motion was occurring. The damage appears to be limited to the MGA with no visible damage evident on the solar array. The MGA was shipped to Boeing on July 1 for assessment and repair. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 июля 1998 (1998-07-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: Hubble Simulcast Links Outer Space To Cyberspace Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... FOR RELEASE WEDNESDAY JULY 1, 1998 Contact: Ray Villard Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD 410-338-4514 PRESS RELEASE: STScI-PR98-24 HUBBLE SIMULCAST LINKS OUTER SPACE TO CYBERSPACE Expanding its broadcast universe far beyond the Baltimore area and into cyberspace, the popular WJHU radio program "The Marc Steiner Show" (WJHU, FM 88.1), has teamed up with NASA's Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) to take listeners on a Hubble Space Telescope tour of the cosmos via the Internet. For the show's first time, host Marc Steiner's discussion and interview with his guests will be available on the World Wide Web, courtesy of STScI's Office of Public Outreach. Even if people miss the July 7 live broadcast, STScI will make the recorded program, with dazzling Hubble Telescope images added, available on the Internet for space enthusiasts to listen to in their leisure time. The hour-long program's guests are Dr. Carol Christian and Dr. Mario Livio from STScI, and IMAX/Planetarium director Jim O'Leary from the Maryland Science Center, a popular Baltimore Inner Harbor attraction. The experts will describe the latest Hubble discoveries, notably, recent observations of the spectacular and colorful deaths of stars like our sun. The guests will also answer listeners' questions over a broad range of astronomical topics, and tell the story behind the headlines of some of Hubble's most dramatic findings. "My talk show tackles all sorts of intriguing topics, but bringing Hubble results and even pictures to a worldwide audience with commentary by leading Hubble astronomers is an especially exciting opportunity," says radio host Marc Steiner. "This is groundbreaking work for public radio, bringing you a live broadcast with pictures and text during our conversation. We are marrying the forms of media." "The astronomers at STScI are enthusiastic about sharing the dramatic imagery and latest science results from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope through innovative ways on the Internet," says Carol Christian, head of the Institute's Office of Public Outreach. "A simulcast with the Marc Steiner's program is a great merging of broadcast radio with the Web." For listeners to "tune in" via the Internet, they need a free software package "plug in" called Real Audio. This software can be downloaded into a home computer from the following URL: http://www.real.com/products/player/index.html. Before the show, listeners need to use their computers and Internet access to reach the site, and follow the directions for downloading and installing the software. The program, which will be broadcast at 12 noon on Tuesday July 7, can be accessed on the internet at the following URL: http://hubble.stsci.edu/steiner/ "After the show listeners will still be able to access the site and log into any part of the discussion they want, hearing that portion of the conversation, seeing the videos and photo's and accessing documents," says Steiner. "Also we want to hear their comments and critiques, and so listeners are welcomed to e-mail us." "The Marc Steiner Show" airs weekdays from noon to 2 p.m. on WJHU, Baltimore's National Public Radio member station and a radio service of The Johns Hopkins University. The Space Telescope Science Institute is the research center for conducting Hubble Telescope observations, and will also operate the successor to Hubble, called the Next Generation Space Telescope, to be launched in the year 2007. END Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 июля 1998 (1998-07-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: IMO 1999 Meteor Shower Calendar [1/6] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... International Meteor Organization 1999 Meteor Shower Calendar (Net-Version) ========================================= compiled by Alastair McBeath based on data in IMO Monograph No.2: Handbook for Visual Meteor Observers, edited by Juergen Rendtel, Rainer Arlt and Alastair McBeath, IMO, 1995; with additional contributions from Rainer Arlt and Marc de Lignie. Layout by Andre Knoefel. Introduction Welcome to the 1999 International Meteor Organization (IMO) Meteor Shower Calendar. The year promises to be another interesting one, with many major showers free from moonlight interference (except the Quadrantids, eta- Aquarids, Southern delta-Aquarids and Orionids). The Leonids may possibly produce high to very high activity in November, while in August, the millennium's last total solar eclipse ensures perfect conditions for the Perseids. Do not forget that monitoring of meteor activity should ideally be carried on throughout the rest of the year too, however! We appreciate that this is not practical for many observers, and this Calendar was devised as a means of helping observers deal with reality by highlighting times when a particular effort may most usefully be employed. Although we include to-the- hour predictions for all the more active night-time and daytime shower maxima, based on the best available data, please note that in many cases, such maxima are not known more precisely than to the nearest 1deg of solar longitude (even less accurately for the daytime radio showers, which have received little attention in recent years). In addition, variations in individual showers from year to year mean past returns are at best only a guide as to when even major shower peaks can be expected, plus as some showers are known to show particle mass-sorting within their meteoroid streams, the radio, telescopic, visual and photographic meteor maxima may occur at different times from one another, and not necessarily just in these showers. The majority of data available are for visual shower maxima, so this must be borne in mind when employing other observing techniques. The heart of the Calendar is the Working List of Visual Meteor Showers, thanks to regular updating from analyses using the IMO's Visual Meteor Database, the single most accurate listing available anywhere today for naked-eye meteor observing. Even this can never be a complete list of all meteor showers, since there are many showers which cannot be properly detected visually, and some which only photographic, radar, telescopic, or video observations can separate from the background sporadic meteors, present throughout the year. The IMO's aims are to encourage, collect, analyze, and publish combined meteor data obtained from sites all over the globe in order to further our understanding of the meteor activity detectable from the Earth's surface. Results from only a few localized places can never provide such total comprehension, and it is thanks to the efforts of the many IMO observers worldwide since 1988 that we have been able to achieve as much as we have to date. This is not a matter for complacency, however, since it is solely by the continued support of many people across the whole world that our steps towards constructing a better and more complete picture of the near-Earth meteoroid flux can proceed. This means that all meteor workers, wherever they are and whatever methods they use to record meteors, should follow the standard IMO observing guidelines when compiling their information, and submit their data promptly to the appropriate Commission for analysis. Visual and photographic techniques remain popular for nightly meteor coverage (weather permitting), although both suffer considerably from the presence of moonlight. Telescopic observations are less popular, but they allow the fine detail of shower radiant structures to be derived, and they permit very low activity showers to be accurately detected. Video methods have been dynamically applied in the last few years, and are starting to bear considerable fruit. These have the advantages, and disadvantages, of both photographic and telescopic observing, but are already increasing in importance. Radio receivers can be utilized at all times, regardless of clouds, moonlight, or daylight, and provide the only way in which 24-hour meteor observing can be accomplished for most latitudes. Together, these methods cover virtually the entire range of meteoroid sizes, from the very largest fireball-producing events (using all-sky photographic patrols or visual observations) through to tiny dust grains producing extremely faint telescopic or radio meteors. However and whenever you are able to observe, we wish you all a most successful year's work and very much look forward to receiving your data. Clear skies! January to March The year's first quarter brings several low activity showers, including the diffuse ecliptical stream complex, the Virginids, active from late January to mid-April. Of the two major showers, the northern-hemisphere Quadrantids (visual peak around January 3, 23h UT) are lost to bright moonlight. The southern-hemisphere alpha-Centaurids (maximum expected circa February 8, 10h UT) are somewhat better-placed, but the last quarter Moon rises around local midnight on February 8, a nuisance as the shower is most observable only after late evening. However, the minor delta-Cancrids benefit from new Moon in January, as do the gamma-Normids in March. Daylight radio peaks are due from the Capricornids/Sagittarids around 20h UT on February 1, and the chi- Capricornids on February 13, probably around 21h UT. Neither radio shower has been well-observed in recent times, and as both have radiants under 10deg-15deg west of the Sun at maximum, they cannot be regarded as visual targets even from the southern hemisphere. delta-Cancrids Active: January 1 - 24; Maximum: January 17 (lambda = 297deg); ZHR = 4; Radiant: alpha = 130deg, delta = +20deg, Radiant drift: see Table 3; size: alpha = 20deg x delta = 10deg; V = 28 km/s; r = 3.0; TFC: alpha = 115deg, delta = +24deg and alpha = 140deg, delta = +35deg (beta > 40deg N); alpha = 120deg, delta = -03deg and alpha = 140deg, delta = -03deg (beta < 40deg N). This minor stream is well-suited to telescopic observations, with its large, complex radiant area, that probably consists of several sub-centers. Many of its meteors are faint. It is probably an early part of the Virginid activity. Recent observations show the delta-Cancrid ZHR is unlikely to rise much above 3-4, and the visual maximum may fall around lambda = 291deg (1999 January 11). January's new Moon on January 17 provides an excellent opportunity for checking what happens this year. The long winter nights in the northern hemisphere provide a further incentive, though the radiant is above the horizon almost all night, whether your site is north or south of the equator. Even on January 11, the first half of the night is Moon-free for all observers. gamma-Normids Active: February 25 - March 22; Maximum: March 14 (lambda = 353deg); ZHR = 8; Radiant: alpha = 249deg, delta = -51deg, Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 56 km/s; r = 2.4; TFC: alpha = 225deg, delta = -26deg and alpha = 215deg, delta = -45deg (beta < 15deg S). gamma-Normid meteors are similar to the sporadics in appearance, and for most of their activity period, their ZHR is virtually undetectable above this background rate. The peak itself is normally quite sharp, with ZHRs of 3+ noted for only a day or two to either side of the maximum. Activity may vary somewhat at times, with occasional broader, or less obvious, maxima having been reported in the past. Post-midnight watching yields best results, when the radiant is rising to a reasonable elevation from southern hemisphere sites. The waning crescent Moon on March 14 rises around or after 02h local time south of the equator, and should cause only minor problems. All forms of observation can be carried out for the shower, although most northern observers will see nothing from it. Hа сегодня все, пока! =SANA=

Дата: 06 июля 1998 (1998-07-06) От: Alexander Bondugin Тема: IMO 1999 Meteor Shower Calendar [2/6] Привет всем! Вот, свалилось из Internet... April to June Meteor activity picks up towards the April-May boundary, with showers like the Lyrids, pi-Puppids (maximum due around April 24, 02h UT) and eta-Aquarids (peak between May 5, 10h UT to May 6, 11h UT), with both these latter sources suffering from moonlight this year. During May and June, most of the activity is in the daytime sky, with six shower peaks expected during this time. Although a few meteors from the o-Cetids and Arietids have been reported from tropical and southern hemisphere sites visually in previous years, sensible activity calculations cannot be carried out from such observations. For radio observers, the expected UT maxima for these showers are as follows: April Piscids -- April 20, 19h UT; delta-Piscids -- April 24, 19h UT; epsilon-Arietids -- May 9, 18h UT; May Arietids -- May 16, 19h UT; o-Cetids -- May 20, 17h UT; Arietids -- June 7, 21h UT; zeta-Perseids -- June 9, 20h UT; beta-Taurids -- June 28, 20h UT. The ecliptical complexes continue with some late Virginids and the best from the minor Sagittarids in May-June. Visual observers should also be alert for any possible June Lyrids this year. Lyrids Active: April 16 - 25; Maximum: April 22, 16h UT (lambda = 32.1deg); ZHR = 15 (can be variable, up to 90); Radiant: alpha = 271deg, delta = +34deg, Radiant drift: see Table 3; Radius: 5deg; V = 49 km/s; r = 2.9; TFC: alpha = 262deg, delta = +16deg and alpha = 282deg, delta = +19deg (beta > 10deg S). The Lyrids are best viewed from the northern hemisphere, but they are observable from many sites north and south of the equator, and are suitable for all forms of observation. Maximum rates are generally attained for only an hour or two at best, although in 1996, mean peak ZHRs of 15-20 persisted for around 8-12 hours. The ZHR can be rather erratic at times, a variability also seen in 1996, when rates ranged between 10-30 from hour to hour during the peak. The last high maximum occurred in 1982 over the USA, when a very short-lived ZHR of 90 was recorded. This unpredictability always makes the Lyrids a shower to watch, since we cannot say when the next unusual return may occur. As the shower's radiant rises during the night, watches can be usefully carried out from about 22:30 local time onwards. This year, the first quarter Moon sets around 01h-02h local time north of the equator, so will cause only slight problems in the early post-midnight period. The predicted maximum should favour sites in Eastern Russia and Asia if correct, but variations in the stream could mean this is not the case in actuality. June Lyrids Active: June 11 - 21; Maximum: June 16 (lambda = 85deg); ZHR = variable, 0