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From: [email protected] (Jon Leech)
Newsgroups: sci.space.tech,sci.space.science,sci.astro,sci.answers,news.answers
Subject: Space FAQ 02/13 - Network Resources
Supersedes: <[email protected]>
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Date: 17 Sep 1996 15:50:07 -0400
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Archive-name: space/net
Last-modified: $Date: 96/09/17 15:40:29 $

   Compilation copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 by Jonathan P. Leech. This
   document may be redistributed in its complete and unmodified form. Other
   use requires written permission of the author.

NETWORK RESOURCES

OVERVIEW

   You may be reading this document on many types of computers, so much of
   the material below may not apply to you. In general, however, systems
   connected to 'the net' fall in one of three categories: Internet,
   Usenet, or BITNET. Electronic mail may be sent between these networks,
   and other resources available on one of these networks are sometimes
   accessible from other networks by email sent to special 'servers'.

   The space and astronomy discussion groups actually are composed of
   several mechanisms with (mostly) transparent connections between them.

   One mechanism is the mailing list, in which mail is sent to a central
   distribution point which relays it to all recipients of the list. In
   addition to the general lists for space (called SPACE Digest for
   Internet users, and SPACE on BITNET), there are a number of more
   specialized mailing lists described below.

   A second mechanism is Usenet 'netnews'. This is somewhat like a bulletin
   board operating on each system which is a part of the net. Netnews
   separates contributions into hundreds of different categories based on a
   'group name'. The groups dealing most closely with space topics are
   called:

       sci.astro - astronomy, general.
       sci.astro.amateur - amateur astronomy equipment, techniques, info
       sci.astro.research - moderated, for discussion of current research
           in astronomy and astrophysics.
       sci.astro.{fits,hubble,planetarium} - topic-specific subgroups.
       sci.geo.eos - discussion of the Earth Observing System
       alt.sci.planetary - planetary science. sci.space.science is a better
           group for most purposes.
       talk.politics.space - obsolete; replaced by sci.space.policy.
       sci.space.news - moderated, for mission status reports, news
           announcements, etc.
       sci.space.policy - space policy and politics.
       sci.space.science - moderated, space & planetary science.
       sci.space.shuttle - discussion specific to the space shuttle,
           including launch/landing schedules and mission activities.
       sci.space.tech - moderated, technical/hardware issues.

   Contributors 'post' submissions (called 'articles' in netnews
   terminology) on their local machine, which sends it to other nearby
   machines. Similarly, articles sent from nearby machines are stored
   locally and may be forwarded to other systems, so that an article is
   posted locally and eventually reaches all the Usenet sites interested in
   receiving the news group to which the article was posted.

   Gateway machines redirect several of the Usenet sci.space groups into
   Internet and BITNET mailing lists and vice versa; the other Usenet
   groups are not accessible as mailing lists. If you can receive netnews,
   its more flexible interface and access to a wider range of material
   usually make it the preferred option.

MAILING LISTS

   SPACE Digest has been broken up into 5 separate digests to mirror the
   Usenet split of sci.space. To submit messages, the addresses are:

       To submit to:           Send email to:
       --------------------    -------------------------------------
       space                   [email protected]
       spacepol                [email protected]
       spacesci                [email protected]
       space-sh                [email protected]
       spacenws                NO SUBMISSIONS ALLOWED

   To subscribe or unsubscribe to any of these lists (rather than to submit
   postings to them), email

       [email protected]

   The message body should be one of

       help                                (get help document)
       info genintro                       (get intro document)
       subscribe <listname> <your name>    (add yourself to a list)
       signoff <listname>                  (remove yourself from a list)

   e.g.

       subscribe space John Public
       signoff spacesci

   If you need to communicate with a human list maintainer rather than the
   listserv, email [email protected].

   Old copies of SPACE Digest since its inception in 1981 are in

       http://www.music.qub.ac.uk:80/~amon/IslandOne/SpaceDigest/
       ftp://ftp.music.qub.ac.uk/pub/SpaceDigestArchive/


   The Shuttle Elements Mailing List is a moderated list for fast
   distribution of Space Shuttle Keplerian Elements before and during
   Shuttle flights. NASA two-line elements are sent out to the list
   frequently with the most up-to-date data available from several sources.
   See

       http://www.cts.com/browse/garym/elements

   or to get subscription information by email, send "info elements" to
   [email protected]. The list maintainer is Gary Morris
   ([email protected]).

   GPS Digest is a (currently inactive, for lack of a system to run it on)
   moderated list for discussion of the Global Positioning System and other
   satellite navigation positioning systems. Email
   [email protected] to join. A Usenet group,
   sci.geo.satellite-nav, has been established to deal with terrestrial
   applcations of satellite navigation.

   Space-investors is a list for information relevant to investing in
   space-related companies. Email [email protected] to
   join. The list maintainer is Michael Wallis ([email protected]).

   Space-tech is a list for more technical discussion of space topics;
   discussion has included esoteric propulsion technologies, asteroid
   capture, starflight, orbital debris removal, etc. Email to
   [email protected] to join. Some archives (now somewhat
   out of date, but still interesting) are in

       ftp://ftp.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/usr/mnr/st

   or by email to space-tech-request if you don't have FTP access.

   Ssi-mail is a discussion group covering the Space Studies Institute.
   Email to [email protected] with a message saying "subscribe ssi_mail
   First Name Last Name".

   SEDS-L is a BITNET list for members of Students for the Exploration and
   Development of Space and other interested parties. Email
   [email protected] with a message saying "SUBSCRIBE SEDS-L your
   name". Email saying "INDEX SEDS-L" to list the archive contents.

   SEDSNEWS is a BITNET list for news items, press releases, shuttle status
   reports, and the like. This duplicates material which is also found in
   Space Digest, sci.space.news, sci.space.shuttle, and sci.astro. Email
   [email protected] saying "SUBSCRIBE SEDSNEWS your name" to join.
   Email saying "INDEX SEDSNEWS" to list the archive contents.

   Ron Baalke ([email protected]) runs a mailing list which
   carries the contents of the sci.space.news Usenet group. Email him to
   join the list.

   As a general note, please mail to the *request* address to get off a
   mailing list. SPACE Digest, for example, relays many inappropriate
   'please remove me from this list' messages which are sent to the list
   address rather than the request address.

PERIODICALLY UPDATED INFORMATION

   In addition to this FAQ list, a broad variety of topical information is
   posted to the net (unless otherwise noted, in the group sci.space.news
   created for this purpose). Please remember that the individuals posting
   this information are performing a service for all net readers, and don't
   take up their time with frivolous requests.

   AVIATION WEEK
       Henry Spencer ([email protected]) posts summaries of
       space-related stories in the weekly _Aviation Week and Space
       Technology_.

   BUYING TELESCOPES
       Ronnie Kon ([email protected]) posts a guide to buying telescopes to
       sci.astro.

   COMMERCIAL SPACE RESOURCES
        Bobby Weaver ([email protected]) posts "Resource List of
        Commercial Space Material," which describes reference works,
        magazines/newletters and online resources (including commercial
        services, BBSs and the Internet). Also at

           http://tanelorn.ncsa.uiuc.edu/si/space_inv.html
           ftp://isu.isunet.edu/pub/misc/space_resource

   ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF THE ASA
       Editor Larry Klaes ([email protected]) posts the monthly Electronic
       Journal of the Astronomical Society of the Atlantic to sci.astro,
       sci.misc, sci.space, and sci.space.news.

       The EJASA Volume Lists for ordering back issues may be requested
       from him, and back issues are also available from the ASA site

           ftp://chara.gsu.edu/

   FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL
       Swaraj Jeyasingh ([email protected]) posts summaries of
       space-related news from _Flight International_. This focuses more on
       non-US space activities than Aviation Week.

   IAU CIRCULARS
       The IAUCs are copyrighted, and should NOT be posted to the net
       without the express permission of the director of the Central
       Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, Brian Marsden. IAUCs should
       also not be made available on ftp or Web sites (astronomy
       departments may run IAUC servers as long as access is restricted
       to the department). Circulars are not, contrary to reports on
       sci.astro, freely available for posting anywhere six weeks (or
       any other time interval) after publication. The best way to get
       all the IAUCs is to subscribe--the majority of CBAT/MPC funding
       comes from subscriptions!

       A subscription is $6.00 per month for e-mail and $9.00 per month
       for hardcopy delivery. E-mail version includes log-in privileges
       to collect missing Circulars, as well as orbits from the MPC
       files, a facility for computing ephemerides, and other related
       services.

       Enquiries (and checks) should be sent to

           Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams
           Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
           Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A.
           Email: [email protected]

       with checks (in U.S. dollars) made out to "Central Bureau for
       Astronomical Telegrams". A more complete description of CBAT/MPC
       services, which include catalogs of cometary and minor planet
       orbits, is available from the email contact given above or at

               http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/cbat.html
               http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/cfa/ps/mpc.html

   LARGE ASTRONOMICAL PROJECTS
       Robert Bunge ([email protected]) posts a list describing many
       "Large Telescope Projects Either Being Considered or in the Works"
       to sci.astro.

   NASA HEADLINE NEWS & SHUTTLE REPORTS
       Peter Yee ([email protected]) posts a variety of NASA material,
       including NASA Headline News (with the schedule for NASA SELECT),
       shuttle payload briefings and flight manifests, and KSC shuttle
       status reports. For Usenet users, much of this material appears in
       the group sci.space.shuttle.

   NASA UPDATES
       Ron Baalke ([email protected]) posts frequent updates from
       JPL, Ames, and other centers on the Ulysses, Gailileo, Pioneer,
       Magellan, Landsat, and other missions.

   ORBITAL ELEMENT SETS
       TS Kelso ([email protected]) posts orbital elements from
       NASA Prediction Bulletins.

       Mike Rose ([email protected]) posts orbital elements for the Hubble
       Space Telescope to sci.astro.

       Andreas Doppler([email protected]) posts ephemerides for
       close conjunctions between asteroids and objects of the NGC2000
       catalogue.

   SATELLITE LAUNCHES
       Richard Langley ([email protected]) posts SPACEWARN Bulletin, which
       describes recent launch/orbital decay information and satellites
       which are useful for scientific activities. Recent bulletins are in

           http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/spacewarn/spacewarn.html
           ftp://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/active/spx/

   SHUTTLE MANIFEST
       Steven S. Pietrobon ([email protected]) posts a
       compressed version of the Space Shuttle launch manifest to
       sci.space.shuttle. This includes dates, times, payloads, and
       information on how to see launches and landings. These files are in

           ftp://explorer.arc.nasa.gov/pub/SPACE/MANIFEST/

   SOLAR ACTIVITY
       Cary Oler ([email protected]) posts Solar Terrestrial reports
       (describing solar activity and its effect on the Earth) to
       sci.space. The report is issued in part from data released by the
       Space Enviroment Services Center, Boulder Colorado. The intro
       document needed to understand these reports is in

           ftp://solar.stanford.edu/pub/understanding_solar_terrestrial_reports
           ftp://nic.funet.fi/pub/misc/rec.radio.shortwave/solarreports

       nic.funet.fi is an archive site for the reports (please note this
       site is in Europe, and the connection to the US is only 56KB). A new
       primary archive site,

           ftp://ftp.uleth.ca/

       has been established and will be actively supported.

   SOVIET SPACE ACTIVITIES
       Glenn Chapman ([email protected]) posts summaries of Soviet space
       activities.

   SPACE ACTIVIST NEWSLETTER
       Allen W. Sherzer ([email protected]) posts a newsletter, "One Small
       Step for a Space Activist," to sci.space.policy. It describes
       current legislative activity affecting NASA and commercial space
       activities.

   SPACE EVENTS CALENDAR
       Ron Baalke ([email protected]) posts a calendar including
       anniversaries, conferences, launch dates, meteor showers and
       eclipses, and other space-related events; also available as

           http://newproducts.jpl.nasa.gov/calendar

   SPACE NEWS
       John Magliacane ([email protected]) posts "SpaceNews" (covering
       AMSATs, NOAA and other weather satellites, and other ham
       information) to rec.radio.amateur.misc and sci.space.

   SPACE REPORT
       Jonathan McDowell ([email protected]) posts "Jonathan's Space
       Report" covering launches, landings, reentries, status reports,
       satellite activities, etc.

   TOWARD 2001
       Bev Freed ([email protected]) posts "Toward 2001", a weekly
       global news summary reprinted from _Space Calendar_ magazine.


WARNING ABOUT NON-PUBLIC NETWORKS

   (Included at the suggestion of Eugene Miya, who wrote the item)

   NASA has an internal system of unclassified electronic mail and bulletin
   boards. This system is not open for public use. Specifically, NASA
   personnel and procurement operations are regarded with some sensitivity.
   Contractors must renegotiate their contracts. The Fair and Open
   Procurement Act does not look kindly to those having inside information.
   Contractors and outsiders caught using this type of information can
   expect severe penalities. Unauthorized access attempts may subject you
   to a fine and/or imprisonment in accordance with Title 18, USC, Section
   1030. If in fact you should should learn of unauthorized access, contact
   NASA personnel.

   Claims have been made on this news group about fraud and waste. None
   have ever been substantiated to any significant degree. Readers
   detecting Fraud, Waste, Abuse, or Mismanagement should contact the NASA
   Inspector General (24-hours) at 800-424-9183 (can be anonymous) or write

       NASA
       Inspector General
       P.O. Box 23089
       L'enfant Plaza Station
       Washington DC 20024

NEXT: FAQ #3/13 - Online (and some offline) sources of images, data, etc.

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