SUBJECT: ODYSSEY ON-LINE MAGAZINE, VOL II, NO. 3 FILE: UFO1507
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[The Official Fringe Science Newsletter Of Odyssey!]
Table of Contents
1. ARTICLES ................................................. 1
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF DELTA SIERRA JULIET ................. 1
Earthquake Prediction data ............................... 5
2. CLIPPINGS ................................................ 16
3. COLUMNS .................................................. 51
Odyssey BBS Nodes ........................................ 51
OO 2-03 Page 1 8 Feb 1992
=================================================================
ARTICLES
=================================================================
1978
Of all sightings in Australia none has generated so
much
worldwide attention and concern than that of Fredrick
Valentich,
a twenty year old flying instructor who disappeared in his
Cessna
182 aircraft shortly after reporting a UFO sighting over
Bass
Strait near Cape Otway, on a flight from Moorabin,
Victoria, to
King Island, Tasmania on October 21/1978.
Forty-seven minutes after taking off from Moorabin
Airport,
Melbourne, at 6:19 pm, Valentich reported seeing an
unidentified
aircraft to the Melbourne Flight Service Unit Controller,
Steve
Robey. The official transcript of the recorded
transmission
between the Cessna (registration VH-DSJ) and Melbourne
Flight
Service Unit (FSU) is provided here. The following
communications between the aircraft and Melbourne FSU were
recorded from 19:06 hours.
TIME FROM TEXT
------- ------ -------------------------------
----------------
1906:14 VH-DSJ MELBOURNE this is DELTA SIERRA
JULIET is
there any known traffic below
five thousand
:23 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET no known
traffic
:26 VH-DSJ DELTA SIERRA JULIET I am seems
to be a large
aircraft below five thousand
:46 FSU D D DELTA SIERRA JULIET what
type of
aircraft is it
:50 VH-DSJ DELTA SIERRA JULIET I cannot
affirm it is
four bright it seems to me like
landing
lights
1907:04 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET
:32 VH-DSJ MELBOURNE this is DELTA SIERRA
JULIET the
aircraft just passed over me at
OO 2-03 Page 2 8 Feb 1992
least a
thousand feet above
:43 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET roger and
it is a large
aircraft confirm
:47 VH-DSJ er unknown due to the speed of
its traveling
is there any air force aircraft
in the
vicinity
:57 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET no known
aircraft in the
vicinity
1908:18 VH-DSJ MELBOURNE it's approaching now
from due east
towards me
:28 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET
:42 // open microphone for two
seconds //
:49 VH-DSJ DELTA SIERRA JULIET it seems to
me that he's
playing some sort of game he's
flying over
me to three times at a time at
speeds I
could not identify
1909:02 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET roger what
is your
actual level
:06 VH-DSJ my level is four and a half
thousand four
five zero zero
:11 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET and confirm
you cannot
identify the aircraft
:14 VH-DSJ affirmative
:18 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET roger
standby
:28 VH-DSJ MELBOURNE DELTA SIERRA JULIET
it's not an
aircraft it is // open
microphone for two
seconds //
:46 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET can you
describe the er
aircraft
:52 VH-DSJ DELTA SIERRA JULIET as it's
flying past it's
a long shape // open microphone
for three
seconds // cannot identify more
than that it
has such speed // open
microphone for three
seconds // before me right now
Melbourne
OO 2-03 Page 3 8 Feb 1992
1910:07 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET roger and
how large
would er object be
:20 VH-DSJ DELTA SIERRA JULIET MELBOURNE
it seems like
it's stationary what I'm doing
right now is
orbiting and the the thing is
just orbiting
on top of me also it's got a
green light and
sort of metallic like it's all
shiny on the
outside
:43 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET
:48 VH-DSJ DELTA SIERRA JULIET // open
microphone for
five seconds // it's just
vanished
:57 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET
1911:03 VH-DSJ MELBOURNE would you know what
kind of
aircraft I've got is it a type
of military
aircraft
:08 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET confirm the
er aircraft
just vanished
:14 VH-DSJ say again
:17 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET is the
aircraft still
with you
:23 VH-DSJ DELTA SIERRA JULIET it's a nor
// open
microphone for two seconds //
now
approaching from the south-west
:37 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET
:52 VH-DSJ DELTA SIERRA JULIET the engine
is rough
idling I've got it set at
twenty three
twenty four and the thing is
coughing
1912:04 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET roger what
are your
intentions
:09 VH-DSJ my intentions are ah to go to
King Island ah
Melbourne that strange aircraft
is hovering
on top of me again // two
seconds open
microphone // it is hovering
and it's not an
aircraft
OO 2-03 Page 4 8 Feb 1992
:22 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET
:28 VH-DSJ DELTA SIERRA JULIET MELBOURNE
// 17 seconds
open microphone //
:49 FSU DELTA SIERRA JULIET MELBOURNE -
+-----------------------------------------------------------
----------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
OO 2-03 Page 5 8 Feb 1992
The following information was provided by Don Allen in
regard to the late Prof. Brown's prediction of increased
earthquake activity on or near January 18, 1992.
DISCLAIMER -- THIS IS NOT AN EARTHQUAKE PREDICTION OR
WARNING!
The commentary provided with these map(s) is for
INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY, and SHOULD NOT be construed as an
earthquake prediction, warning, or advisory. Responsibility
for such warnings rests with the Office of Emergency
Services of the State of California. PLEASE REMEMBER -- THIS
IS PRELIMINARY DATA
Releasing these summaries on a timely basis requires that
the data, analysis, and interpretations presented are
PRELIMINARY. Of necessity they can only reflect the views of
the seismologists who prepared them, and DO NOT carry the
endorsement of the U.S.G.S. Thus while every effort is made
to ensure that the information is accurate, nothing
contained in this report is to be construed as and
earthquake prediction, warning, advisory, or official policy
statement of any kind, of the U.S. Geological Survey, or the
U.S. Government. FOR QUESTIONS CONCERNING THIS REPORT
Send e-mail to
[email protected]
Seismicity Report for Northern California, the Nation, and
the World for the week of January 9 - 15, 1992
Data and text prepared by Steve Walter, Barry Hirshorn, and
Allan Lindh U.S. Geological Survey 345 Middlefield Rd. MS-
977, Menlo Park, CA 94025 Graphics by Quentin Lindh
San Francisco Bay Area
Seismicity remained low in the Bay Area during the
past 7 days with minor activity along the San Andreas,
southern Calaveras, and Concord faults.
During the 7-day period ending at midnight on Wednesday,
January 15, 1992 the U.S. Geological Survey office in Menlo
Park recorded 27 earthquakes of magnitude one (M1) and
greater within the San Francisco Bay area shown in Figure 1.
Only four were as large as M2, including one M3 event. This
compares to only 18 earthquakes greater than M1 recorded
during the previous 7-day period, three of which were as
large as M2.0.
The largest earthquake in the Bay Area during the week
was a M3.1 earthquake that occurred last Friday morning on
the Calaveras fault, about 5 miles northeast of Gilroy
(#2/1). It was accompanied by two M1 aftershocks. This
segment of the Calaveras has experienced a number of M2
events in the past year though none were as large as this
week's M3 event. The Calaveras fault was otherwise quiet
during the past week.
The Concord fault experienced three small earthquakes
last Friday and Saturday evenings (#3/1). The largest of
OO 2-03 Page 6 8 Feb 1992
these was only M2.0 and no reports were received that any
were felt.
As usual, a number of small earthquakes occurred along
the creeping segment of the San Andreas. The largest of
these were a pair of M2.3 events that occurred within
seconds of each other last Sunday morning (#4/1). Both were
located about 4 miles northeast of Watsonville.
Northern California
Seismicity remained at low levels throughout the rest
of northern and central California during the past week.
Only 18 earthquakes larger than M2 were recorded in the area
of figure 2, down from 34 during the previous week and close
to the lowest weekly total observed in the past year--17
events during the last week of April.
In northern California, three M2 earthquakes were
observed in the vicinity of Cape Mendocino. The largest of
these were two offshore earthquakes that occurred Sunday
evening along the Mendocino escarpment (#3/2). Both had
similar magnitudes of about M2.6. A slightly smaller
earthquake occurred onshore of Cape Mendocino last Friday
about 24 miles south-southeast of Eureka (#1/2). A M2.2
earthquake occurred Wednesday evening, Jan. 15, beneath the
northern Sacramento Valley 7 miles east-southeast of Redding
(#5/2).
In central California the San Andreas was completely
quiet at the M2 level, with the exception of the two
Watsonville earthquakes discussed above. The only notable
earthquakes in central California were two events that
occurred Tuesday beneath the Diablo Range near Coalinga
(#4/2). One of these was the week's largest earthquake, a
M3.8 event that occurred about 13 miles north-northwest of
Coalinga.
Some activity occurred in the eastern Sierra-Nevada
including a M2.9 event 15 miles south of Lone Pine (#2/2)
and a M2.1 event 20 miles northwest of China Lake.
Long Valley Caldera
Activity remained low in the vicinity of the Long
Valley caldera, both within the caldera and in the Sierra-
Nevada terrane to the south. The only earthquake as large as
M2 was a M2.2 event in the southeast corner of the caldera
near the northern end of the Hilton Creek fault and very
close to last week's lone M2 event (#2/3). Three other M1
events occurred near the northern end of the Hilton Creek
fault and four M1 events occurred at the western end of the
south moat area, near the town of Mammoth Lakes.
USA Seismicity
The National Earthquake Information Center recorded only
one notable earthquake in the lower 48 states during the
OO 2-03 Page 7 8 Feb 1992
past week, a M3.0 event in central New Jersey (#1/4). This
small temblor occurred early last Thursday morning and was
felt throughout Monmouth and Middlesex counties.
The Planet Earth
The number of notable earthquakes worldwide remained low
during the past week with only one earthquake as large as M6
and only seven as large as M5. The week's sole M6
earthquake occurred Monday near Halmahera Island in the
central Indonesian archipelago (#5/5).
M5 earthquakes occurred beneath the central Philippines
(#3/5), in southern Greece (#1/5), in the northern Easter
Islands region (#2/5), beneath the Bay of Bengal (#4/5), and
in the Dominican Republic region (#6/5).
Two M4.9 earthquakes occurred that are worth noting.
The first occurred near the coast of Venezuela last Thursday
and was felt at Port of Spain, Trinidad as well as at
coastal communities in Venezuela. The second occurred late
Sunday night offshore of Vancouver Island, British Columbia
(#2/4). This location is just slightly northeast of a M6.1
earthquake that occurred last week.
Table 1. Central California Seismicity (M>2.0)
--ORIGIN TIME (UT)-- -LAT N-- --LON W-- DEPTH N N RMS ERH
ERZ DUR YR MON DA HRMN SEC DEG MIN DEG MIN KM
RD S SEC KM KM REMKS MAG
92 JAN 9 1443 35.60 37 37.18 118 49.80 2.51 11 .14 .4
.7 HCF 2.2 92 JAN 10 205 59.69 38 50.08 122 52.11 3.76
35 .13 .2 .7 GEY 2.5 92 JAN 10 1554 16.50 40 26.67 124
2.05 23.21 8 .28 1.0 1.8 MEN 2.2 92 JAN 10 1833 1.25
37 2.29 121 29.07 5.69104 .14 .2 .5 CYS 3.1 92 JAN
11 1549 7.97 38 49.18 122 47.06 0.39 24 .17 .3 .9 GEY
2.5
92 JAN 11 2101 36.18 36 23.35 118 1.68 7.69 16 .10 .4
1.1 OWV 2.9 92 JAN 12 713 47.85 37 57.38 122 0.67 12.78
30 .13 .3 .5 CON 2.0 92 JAN 12 1312 14.05 35 45.14 118
0.19 12.37 10 .06 .4 1.1 WWF 2.1 92 JAN 12 1629 15.74
36 55.94 121 40.74 11.75 75 .13 .2 .4 SJB 2.3 92 JAN
12 1629 49.70 36 56.00 121 40.94 11.94 59 .13 .3 .4 SJB
2.3
92 JAN 13 235 14.40 40 18.55 125 28.48 4.98 11 .09
7.010.8 MEN - 2.6 92 JAN 13 348 55.54 38 48.36 122 45.96
3.12 44 .14 .2 .6 GEY 2.7 92 JAN 13 631 40.29 40
27.48 124 46.76 23.40 10 .08 1.9 3.7 MEN * 2.7 92 JAN 13
1609 48.50 38 50.52 122 49.37 3.59 26 .12 .3 .9 GEY
2.2 92 JAN 14 1935 40.91 36 7.71 120 5.16 7.70 49 .19
.6 1.3 COA 2.6
92 JAN 15 458 50.41 36 17.90 120 27.24 12.86 78 .17 .2
.4 COA 3.8 92 JAN 15 1235 19.80 38 48.06 122 46.39 1.48
12 .09 .3 .6 GEY 2.1 92 JAN 16 238 2.74 40 33.18 122
OO 2-03 Page 8 8 Feb 1992
15.87 20.36 9 .08 .9 1.1 SHA 2.2
Notes: Origin time in the list is in GMT, in the text and on
maps
it is in local time.
N RD: is the number of readings used to locate the
event.
N S: is the number of S waves in N RD.
RMS SEC: is the root mean squared residual misfit for
the
location is seconds, the lower the better,
over 0.3
to 0.5 seconds is getting bad, but this is
machine,
not hand timed, data.
ERH: is the estimated horizontal error in kilometers.
ERZ: is the estimated vertical error in kilometers.
N FM: is the number of readings used to compute the
magnitude.
REMKS: obtuse region codes that denote the velocity
model
used to locate the event.
DUR MAG: is the magnitude as determined from the
duration of
the seismograms, not the amplitude. Sort of
like
going to echo canyon and measuring how loud
your
yell is by counting echos.
FIG: denotes the figure/event number in the maps
posted separately.
Table 2. Worldwide Seismicity Data from the USGS National
Earthquake Information Center
UTC TIME LAT LONG DEP GS MAGS SD STA REGION AND
COMMENTS HRMNSEC MB Msz USED ---
------------------------------------------------------------
------------ -JAN 09 085044.9* 40.422N 74.336W 5G
0.4 6 NEW JERSEY. mbLg 3.0 (GS). Felt
in Monmouth
and Middlesex
Counties.
090728.6 10.427N 62.792W 99D 4.9 1.0 47 NEAR COAST
OF VENEZUELA. MD 5.1
(TRN). Felt (IV) at Port of Spain, Trinidad. Also
felt at El Pilar,
Irapa and Yaguaraparo, Venezuela. 134528.9* 36.598N
22.714E 33N 5.1 1.1 43 SOUTHERN GREECE 153908.7*
8.814S 109.192W 33N 5.2 5.7 1.1 29 NORTHERN EASTER I.
CORDILLERA JAN 10 003750.5? 12.59 N 121.00 E 33N 5.4 0.9
20 MINDORO, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS JAN 11 061658.7? 9.52 N
87.13 E 33N 5.4 5.0 1.0 16 BAY OF BENGAL JAN 12 000037.2?
51.23 N 175.68 W 33N 4.7 1.1 17 ANDREANOF ISLANDS,
OO 2-03 Page 9 8 Feb 1992
ALEUTIAN IS. JAN 13 060844.0 49.297N 128.893W 10G 4.9
0.7 27 VANCOUVER ISLAND REGION 093742.4? 20.82 S 179.30 W
576D 5.4 0.5 34 FIJI ISLANDS REGION 115826.7? 1.92 N
127.71 E 116D 6.1 0.8 14 HALMAHERA JAN 15 065832 Q
17.8 N 70.2 W 33N 5.7 0.9 48 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
REGION
-----------------------------------------------------------------
OO 2-03 Page 10 8 Feb 1992
* Seti Protocalls
Following some recent discussion of the SETI Protocols on
the network, Robert Arnold of the SETI Institute has sent me
an electronic version of the SETI Protocols. Here now is
the material:
Date: 10 Jan 92 10:11:52 U Subject: Re: Electronic SETI
Protocols To:
[email protected] From:
[email protected]
Declaration of Principles Concerning Activities
Following
the Detection of Extraterrestrial
Intelligence
We, the institutions and individuals participating in the
search for extra-terrestrial intelligence,
Recognizing that the search for extraterrestrial
intelligence is an integral part of space exploration and is
being undertaken for peaceful purposes and for the common
interest of all mankind,
Inspired by the profound significance for mankind of
detecting evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence, even
though the probability of detection may be low,
Recalling the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities
of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space,
Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, which commits
States Parties to that Treaty "to inform the Secretary
General of the United Nations as well as the public and the
international scientific community, to the greatest extent
feasible and practicable, of the, nature, conduct, locations
and results" of their space exploration activities (Article
XI),
Recognizing that any initial detection may be incomplete or
ambiguous and thus require careful examination as well as
confirmation, and that it is essential to maintain the
highest standards of scientific responsibility and
credibility,
Agree to observe the following principles for disseminating
information about the detection of extraterrestrial
intelligence:
1. Any individual, public or private research institution,
or governmental
agency that believes it has detected a signal from or
OO 2-03 Page 11 8 Feb 1992
other evidence of
extraterrestrial intelligence (the discoverer) should
seek to verify
that the most plausible explanation for the evidence is
the existence
of extraterrestrial intelligence rather than some other
natural
phenomenon or anthropogenic phenomenon before making
any public
announcement. If the evidence cannot be confirmed as
indicating the
existence of extraterrestrial intelligence, the
discoverer may
disseminate the information as appropriate to the
discovery of any
unknown phenomenon.
2. Prior to making a public announcement that evidence of
extraterrestrial
intelligence has been detected, the discoverer should
promptly inform
all other observers or research organizations that are
parties to this
declaration, so that those other parties may seek to
confirm the
discovery by independent observations at other sites
and so that a
network can be established to enable continuous
monitoring of the
signal or phenomenon. Parties to this declaration
should not make any
public announcement of this information until it is
determined whether
this information is or is not credible evidence of the
existence of
extraterrestrial intelligence. The discoverer should
inform his/her or
its relevant national authorities.
3. After concluding that the discovery appears to be
credible evidence of
extraterrestrial intelligence, and after informing
other parties to
this declaration, the discoverer should inform
observers throughout the
world through the Central Bureau for Astronomical
Telegrams of the
International Astronomical Union, and should inform the
Secretary
General of the United Nations in accordance with
Article XI of the
Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States
in the
Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon
and Other
Bodies. Because of their demonstrated interest in and
OO 2-03 Page 12 8 Feb 1992
expertise
concerning the question of the existence of
extraterrestrial
intelligence, the discoverer should simultaneously
inform the following
international institutions of the discovery and should
provide them
with all pertinent data and recorded information
concerning the
evidence: the International Telecommunication Union,
the Committee on
Space Research, of the International Council of
Scientific Unions, the
International Astronautical Federation, the
International Academy of
Astronautics, the International Institute of Space Law,
Commission 51
of the International Astronomical Union and Commission
J of the
International Radio Science Union.
----Cont in part 2------------------------------------------
----------------
4. A confirmed detection of extraterrestrial intelligence
should be
disseminated promptly, openly, and widely through
scientific channels
and public media, observing the procedures in this
declaration. The
discoverer should have the privilege of making the
first public
announcement.
5. All data necessary for confirmation of detection should
be made
available to the international scientific community
through
publications, meetings, conferences, and other
appropriate means.
6. The discovery should be confirmed and monitored and any
data bearing on
the evidence of extraterrestrial intelligence should be
recorded and
stored permanently to the greatest extent feasible and
practicable, in
a form that will make it available for further analysis
and
interpretation. These recordings should be made
available to the
international institutions listed above and to members
of the
scientific community for further objective analysis and
interpretation.
OO 2-03 Page 13 8 Feb 1992
7. If the evidence of detection is in the form of
electromagnetic signals,
the parties to this declaration should seek
international agreement to
protect the appropriate frequencies by exercising
procedures available
through the International Telecommunication Union.
Immediate notice
should be sent to the Secretary General of the ITU in
Geneva, who may
include a request to minimize transmissions on the
relevant frequencies
in the Weekly Circular. The Secretariat, in
conjunction with advice of
the Union's Administrative Council, should explore the
feasibility and
utility of convening an Extraordinary Administrative
Radio Conference
to deal with the matter, subject to the opinions of the
member
Administrations of the ITU.
8. No response to a signal or other evidence of
extraterrestrial
intelligence should be sent until appropriate
international
consultations have taken place. The procedures for
such consultations
will be the subject of a separate agreement,
declaration or
arrangement.
9. The SETI Committee of the International Academy of
Astronautics, in
coordination with Commission 51 of the International
Astronomical
Union, will conduct a continuing review of procedures
for the detection
of extraterrestrial intelligence and the subsequent
handling of the
data. Should credible evidence of extraterrestrial
intelligence be
discovered, an international committee of scientists
and other experts
should be established to serve as a focal point for
continuing analysis
of all observational evidence collected in the
aftermath of the
discovery, and also to provide advice on the release of
information to
the public. This committee should be constituted from
representatives
of each of the international institutions listed above
and such other
members as the committee may deem necessary.
OO 2-03 Page 14 8 Feb 1992
To facilitate the convocation of such a committee at some
unknown time in the future, the SETI Committee of the
International Academy of Astronautics should initiate and
maintain a current list of willing representatives from each
of the international institutions listed above, as well as
other individuals with relevant skills, and should make that
list continuously available through the Secretariat of the
International Academy of Astronautics. The International
Academy of Astronautics will act as the Depository for this
declaration and will annually provide a current list of
parties to all the parties to this declaration.
January 12, 1992 File: PROTOCOL.TXT
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
* Dr. Stuart A. Kingsley
*
* Consultant
*
* AMIEE, SMIEEE,
*
* The Planetary Society,
*
* Space Studies Institute,
*
* Columbus Astronomical Society,
*
* Volunteer, SETI Group, Ohio State.
*
*
*
* "Where No Photon Has
Gone Before & *
* The Impossible Takes A
Little Longer" *
*
__________ *
* FIBERDYNE OPTOELECTRONICS /
\ *
* 545 Northview Drive --- hf >> kT
--- *
* Columbus, Ohio 43209
\__________/ *
* United States
*
* Tel/Fax: (614) 258-7402 .. .. ..
.. .. *
* Manual Fax Tone Access Code: 33 . . . . . .
. . . . *
* Bulletin Board System (BBS): .. .. ..
.. *
* Modem: (614) 258-1710,
*
OO 2-03 Page 15 8 Feb 1992
* 300/1200/2400/4800/9600 Baud, MNP, 8N1.
*
* Email:
[email protected]
*
* CompuServe: 72376,3545
*
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * *
---End of Article---
Don
[email protected]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
OO 2-03 Page 16 8 Feb 1992
=================================================================
CLIPPINGS
=================================================================
* =START= XMT: 14:49 Fri Jan 03 EXP: 15:00 Fri Jan 10
SATURDAY SKYSHOW ON TAP AS ASTRONOMERS PREPARE FOR RARE
ECLIPSE, METEOR SHOWER
(JAN. 3) UPI - Amateur and professional astronomers alike
geared up for a double- barreled celestial skyshow
Saturday, a pre-dawn meteor shower visible across North
America and a rare sunset solar eclipse visible from the
far Western United States.
The potentially spectacular partial eclipse of the sun was
expected to be visible late in the day as Earth's star set
on the western horizon.
Unlike a widely seen total eclipse of the sun that thrilled
spectators in Hawaii, Mexico and Central America last July,
the event Saturday is known as an annular eclipse, one in
which the moon moves directly in front of the sun but fails
to fully cover the star's disk.
In this case, the Earth is relatively close to the sun
while the moon is nearly as far from Earth as it ever gets.
Sky & Telescope magazine reported that the moon would cover
just 91 percent of the sun at maximum, around 4:50 p.m.
PST, creating a ring of light in the sky for observers in
southwestern California near the coast.
Edwin Krupp at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles said
if the weather cooperates, the eclipse ''will be
stunning.''
''A ring of fire will slip into the Pacific,'' he said.
Observers along the coast of California, from near Oxnard
to Los Angeles and San Diego, expected to see the moon move
directly across the sun's disk, weather permitting,
creating a rare annular eclipse at sunset.
Spectators in Mexico, western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona,
Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Oregon,
Washington, northwest Canada and Alaska awaited a partial
eclipse, one in which the sun's disk would appear crescent
shaped.
The unusual celestial event - with the moon blocking the
sun at sunset - occurs at any given location only about
once every 20,000 years.
But forecasters said cloud cover threatened to ruin the day
OO 2-03 Page 17 8 Feb 1992
for Southern Californians planning to watch the eclipse.
''There is a chance that people won't be able to see it,''
said Scott Entrekin
a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. ''It's
really going to be a hit-and-miss proposition.''
In any case, spectators should take precautions whenever
viewing the sun. While the sun will not be as bright near
the horizon as it is when it is high in the sky, experts
said one should never look directly at the sun long enough
for heat to build up on the retina.
''The usual eclipse warnings about danger to eyesight from
looking at the sun may not apply in their usual simple form
for this event,'' writes Alan MacRobert in Sky & Telescope.
''A setting sun, dimmed and reddened to an unpredictable
degree, presents too many uncertainties.''
''Thus, prudence would dictate taking only brief looks even
when the sun is fairly comfortable to view,'' he writes.
''Don't stare long enough for heat to build up on your
retina.''
While the eclipse was limited to observers in western North
America and on islands scattered across the Pacific Ocean,
a possibly spectacular meteor shower was expected to be
visible across the United States early Saturday.
The annual Quadrantid meteor shower, unrelated to the
eclipse, was expected to peak around 5 a.m. EST.
According to Sky & Telescope, observers with clear, dark
skies could expect to see ''as many as 50 or possibly over
100 meteors ... per hour before dawn.''
''The peak of the 'Quads'' last only a few hours,'' the
magazine reports in its January issue. ''If you're watching
when it arrives, this can be one of the year's best meteor
displays.''
=END=
* =START= XMT: 15:24 Fri Jan 03 EXP: 15:00 Mon Jan 06
DAYBOOK: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION NEWS
CONFERENCE
(JAN. 3) FNS - SUBJECT: Opportunities and challenges of the
coming year
LOCATION: Kennedy Space Center News Center
auditorium, Cape
Canaveral, FL
-- Conference to be aired on NASA Select
OO 2-03 Page 18 8 Feb 1992
Television,
carried on Satcom F2R, Transponder 13,
and news media
located at NASA Headquarters and field
centers will be
able to participate
-- News media may monitor the conference
by telephone at
407-867-1220, -1240 or -1260
-- January 6
PARTICIPANTS: Robert L Crippen, former Space Shuttle
Director at NASA
Headquarters, who assumed the post of
director of KSC on
January 1
CONTACT: 407-867-2468
=END=
* =START= XMT: 09:46 Sun Jan 05 EXP: 10:00 Tue Jan 07
WEST COAST RESIDENTS ANTICIPATE BRILLIANT SKYSHOW WITH
SUNSET SOLAR ECLIPSE
(JAN. 5) UPI - Astronomers aimed their telescopes Saturday
and amateur stargazers stood in line to buy eyescreens in
anticipation of a rare sunset solar eclipse expected to be
visible along the West Coast.
The eclipse - the second in the region in six months - was
expected to be visible west of a line running from Oaxaca,
Mexico, through eastern Colorado, Wyoming and Montana, to
Alaska.
The partial eclipse of the sun was expected to be visible
late in the day as Earth's star set on the western horizon.
Unlike a widely seen total eclipse of the sun that thrilled
spectators in Hawaii, Mexico and Central America last July,
Saturday's event is an annular eclipse, in which the moon
moves directly in front of the sun but fails to fully cover
the star's disk.
In this case, the Earth is relatively close to the sun
while the moon is nearly as far from Earth as it ever gets.
Sky & Telescope magazine reported that the moon would cover
just 91 percent of the sun at maximum, around 4:50 p.m.
PST, creating a ring of light in the sky for observers in
southwestern California near the coast.
Edwin Krupp at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles said
if the weather cooperates, the eclipse ''will be
OO 2-03 Page 19 8 Feb 1992
stunning.''
''A ring of fire will slip into the Pacific,'' he said.
Observers along the coast of California, from near Oxnard
to Los Angeles and San Diego, expected to see the moon move
directly across the sun's disk, weather permitting,
creating a rare annular eclipse at sunset.
Spectators in Mexico, western Texas, New Mexico, Arizona,
Nevada, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Oregon,
Washington, northwest Canada and Alaska awaited a partial
eclipse, one in which the sun's disk would appear
crescent-shaped.
But forecasters warned clouds from the third storm in a
week could spoil the celestial show in Southern California.
Nevertheless, some residents booked window tables at their
favorite restaurants in anticipation of the eclipse.
Meteorolgists and astronomers cautioned spectators to take
precautions when viewing the eclipse. Experts warned one
should never look directly at the sun long enough for heat
to build up on the retina.
About 100 poeple lined up in front of the Reuben H. Fleet
space theater in San Diego, which was selling $4 filters to
view the eclipse.
Griffith Observatory was also selling $5 orange filters
designed to protect eyes while allowing enough light to
pass through so that people can view the eclipse.
=END=
* =START= XMT: 09:37 Tue Jan 07 EXP: 10:00 Wed Jan 08
CHINA TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN UNITED NATIONS'
INTERNATIONAL SPACE YEAR
BEIJING (JANUARY 7) XINHUA - THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT WILL
GIVE ENTHUSIASTIC SUPPORT TO THE UNITED NATIONS IN ITS
EFFORTS TO HOLD THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE YEAR OF 1992, A
LEADING CHINESE SPACE SCIENTIST SAID HERE TODAY.
AT ITS 44TH ASSEMBLY, THE UNITED NATIONS NAMED THE YEAR
1992 AS THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE YEAR IN MEMORY OF THE 500TH
ANNIVERSARY OF COLUMBUS' LANDING ON AMERICA AND THE 10TH
ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM FOR THE
EXPLOITATION OF OUTER SPACE.
SPEAKING AT A PRESS CONFERENCE, PROFESSOR WANG DAHENG,
MEMBER OF THE CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND CHAIRMAN OF
CHINA'S NATIONAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE FOR INTERNATIONAL
SPACE YEAR, DISCLOSED CHINA'S PLANNED ACTIVITIES TO MARK
OO 2-03 Page 20 8 Feb 1992
THE SPACE YEAR.
ACCORDING TO PROFESSOR WANG, CHINA WILL HOLD A NUMBER OF
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES ON SPACE SCIENCES IN BEIJING,
WHICH INCLUDE 'THE INTERNATIONAL WORKING CONFERENCE OF
GEOSCIENTISTS,' 'THE SINO-GERMAN SECOND SYMPOSIUM ON
MICRO-GRAVITY,' 'THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE
ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF SPACE SCIENCES,' 'THE INTERNATIONAL
YOUTH SPACE SUMMER CAMP,' AND 'THE SPACE SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM
BETWEEN CHINA'S MAINLAND AND ITS TAIWAN PROVINCE.'
MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM CHINA'S MAINLAND AND TAIWAN
PROVINCE, THAILAND, AND SINGAPORE WILL ALSO BE OFFERED A
CHANCE TO SEND THEIR 'PAYLOAD' --SEEDS OF TOMATOS-- ON
BOARD CHINA'S SATELLITES, GIVING THEM A CHANCE TO OBSERVE
AND STUDY THE GROWTH OF SEEDS UNDER A DIFFERENT
ENVIRONMENT.
=END=
* =START= XMT: 03:38 Tue Jan 07 EXP: 04:00 Wed Jan 08
DAYBOOK: FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION AVIATION SECURITY
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
(JAN. 7) FNS - SUBJECT: Discussion of the carriage of
weapons on aircraft
-- FR 12-20, p. 66116
LOCATION: MacCracken Room, FAA, 800 Independence
Ave SW, Washington,
DC
-- January 7
CONTACT: 202-267-9863
=END=
* =START= XMT: 03:45 Tue Jan 07 EXP: 04:00 Wed Jan 08
DAYBOOK: USIA WORLDNET BROADCAST
(JAN. 7) FNS - SUBJECT: NASA project scientist Jeff Dozier
discusses Earth
Observation Systems (Broadcast to Bangkok
and Canberra)
LOCATION: 601 D St NW, Washington DC
-- January 7
OO 2-03 Page 21 8 Feb 1992
CONTACT: 202-501-7218
=END=
Matched keyword: SPACE...
=START= XMT: 12:31 Tue Jan 07 EXP: 12:00 Wed Jan 08
DAYBOOK: TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT FEDERAL AVIATION
ADMINISTRATION, RADIO
(JAN. 7) FNS - SUBJECT: Minimum operational performance
standards for the
supplemental airborne navigation
equipment using global
positioning system
-- FR 12-16, p. 65304
LOCATION: 1140 Connecticut Ave NW, suite 1020,
Washington, DC
-- January 8
-- January 9
-- January 10
CONTACT: 202-833-9339
=END=
* =START= XMT: 14:51 Mon Jan 06 EXP: 15:00 Thu Jan 09
NASA'S NEW DIRECTOR CRIPPEN REPORTS PLANS TO ELIMINATE
5,000 JOBS BY 1996
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL (JAN. 6) UPI - NASA managers, trying to
chop $500 million from the shuttle budget, plan to
eliminate some 5,000 jobs across the nation by 1996, but an
agency official said Monday safety will be maintained
despite the cuts and a higher launch rate.
Former astronaut Robert Crippen, who took over Jan. 1 as
the new director of the Kennedy Space Center, told
reporters that attrition alone will not save enough money
to meet the projected budget and that an undetermined
number of contractor layoffs will be required over the next
few years to make up the difference.
''We're talking about cutting out of the shuttle program
approximately $500 million by the time we get to '96,'' he
said. ''You can translate that into approximately 5,000
jobs across the country. We're going to be reducing, across
the country, the number of people we put on shuttle.''
The goal, announced late last year, is to cut the shuttle
budget by 15 percent
OO 2-03 Page 22 8 Feb 1992
or about 3 percent per year, over the next five years. At
the same time, the space agency is attempting to increase
the number of shuttle flights conducted each year while
maintaining strict safety standards.
Crippen agreed that it will not be easy. But he said NASA's
post- Challenger emphasis on flight safety will remain just
as high in years to come as it is at present.
''There've been some insinuations that my arrival here at
KSC was going to put a different focus on safety,'' Crippen
told spaceport employees earlier Monday. ''Well, I'd like
to borrow some words from the president ... read my lips.
Safety is our number one concern and it will remain so.''
Asked how he could maintain flight safety while
implementing budget cuts and increasing the flight rate,
Crippen said ''we have redundancy in several different
areas. We believe there are some places in those that we
can eliminate some of that redundancy without compromising
the hardware or assuring that it's safe and ready to fly.''
NASA launched six shuttle flights in 1991 while at least
eight missions are on tap in 1992. Crippen said eight to 10
flights likely would be the maximum the agency would be
able to support in a given year.
Crippen took the helm at the Florida shuttleport Jan. 1,
replacing retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Forrest McCartney, who
was forced to step down after five years on the job by
William Lenoir, associate administrator for manned space
flight.
Crippen's arrival in Florida coincides with the
implementation of a variety of proposed management changes
in the shuttle program.
The changes are the result of several outside studies that
called for moving shuttle program managers, now based at
the Johnson Space Center in Houston and the Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to the Kennedy Space
Center.
Leonard Nicholson, a top manager at the Johnson Space
Center, recently was named to replace Crippen as shuttle
program director.
''We're going to move that job from Washington here to
Kennedy,'' Crippen said. ''And during this upcoming year,
we're going to be looking across our management of the
shuttle program to look at what other areas of management
we'd like to move to KSC, both government and contractor.
The who, what where and when of that has not been
defined.''
Critics have argued that the net effect of the plan will be
OO 2-03 Page 23 8 Feb 1992
to put officials from Johnson and Marshall in charge of
shuttle processing, traditionally a Kennedy Space Center
task. If so, critics say, channels of communications will
be blurred and more intra-center rivalry will develop.
Crippen disagreed Monday, saying: ''I believe that Kennedy
is still going to be in charge of processing the
hardware.''
''Our intent is that this is where all the shuttle hardware
is,'' he said. ''This is where it's at. Consequently, this
is the proper place to manage it instead of doing it long
distance like I was doing from Washington (as shuttle
program director).''
=END=
* =START= XMT: 17:51 Mon Jan 06 EXP: 18:00 Thu Jan 09
NASA'S MAGELLAN PROBE SUFFERS RADIO PROBLEM DISRUPTING
MAPPING OF VENUS
(JAN. 6) UPI - Problems with a critical radio transmitter
aboard NASA's remarkably successful Magellan probe have
forced engineers to interrupt the $550 million spacecraft's
mapping of cloud-shrouded Venus, officials said Monday.
The trouble developed Saturday and while the solar-powered
spacecraft is equipped with a backup ''X-band''
transmitter, that unit has a tendency to overheat, which
degrades the quality of the science data that is beamed
back to Earth.
''They appeared to have lost a component on the main
downlink transmitter, that's the X-band,'' said James
Doyle, a spokesman for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in
Pasadena, Calif. ''That stopped mapping.''
When engineers switched to the backup transmitter, it
overheated after about 25 minutes of operation. Last March,
engineers discovered that the backup radio had a tendency
to draw more power than expected, generating unwanted heat.
Since then, Magellan has been using its primary transmitter
to relay data back to Earth.
''The spacecraft is in good health in every other way,''
Doyle said. ''They're going to study this apparently for
quite a while. They've got to find out exactly what
happened.''
At least one of the two Motorola-built transmitters - each
one is believed to have cost at least $1 million - is
required to relay photo- like radar images of Venus back to
Earth. Similar radios are in service aboard nearly two
dozen other spacecraft, according to Magellan builder
OO 2-03 Page 24 8 Feb 1992
Martin Marietta Astronautics Group of Denver.
Doyle said if the primary transmitter cannot be fixed,
engineers would attempt to work around the backup radio's
tendency to overheat. Should both transmitters ultimately
prove inoperable, Magellan would be unable to continue
mapping the surface of Venus.
The 2,880-pound Magellan accomplished the primary goal of
its mission last May 15, when it completed a 243-day radar
mapping sequence covering more than 80 percent of the
planet's once-hidden surface.
Since then, engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have
been using the spacecraft to fill in blanks in coverage and
to map the planet's south polar region. As of Saturday,
Magellan had mapped more than 95 percent of Venus during
more than 3,880 orbits.
By any standards, the Magellan project repressents one of
NASA's most successful missions, generating a flood of data
that has allowed planetary scientists to create maps of
Venus that are more accurate than those of Earth, where
oceans prevent precise seabed mapping.
NASA hopes to operate Magellan for nearly two more years at
least, and while a failure now would deeply disappoint
space scientists, program officials said enough data
already has been returned to keep researchers busy for
years to come.
Launched from the shuttle Atlantis on May 4, 1989, Magellan
slipped into orbit around Venus on Aug. 19, 1990. The
spacecraft uses radar beams instead of visible light to
''see'' through the thick clouds that block the planet's
surface from view.
After getting off to a shaky start - a faulty computer
memory knocked the craft out of contact with Earth several
times during initial operations - Magellan has been
steadily mapping the hidden surface of Venus, stripping
away the veils of mystery that have shrouded Earth's sister
planet since antiquity.
The tortured planet revealed by Magellan's radar imaging
system is a hellish world dotted with giant volcanoes,
impact craters, lava flows, mountain ranges and tremendous
fault systems, a violent planet that appears to be active
to this day.
=END=
* =START= XMT: 13:41 Tue Jan 07 EXP: 14:00 Wed Jan 08
SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY'S CREW PREPARES FOR JAN. 22 LAUNCH
OO 2-03 Page 25 8 Feb 1992
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL (JAN. 7) UPI - The shuttle Discovery's
crew strapped in and worked through a smooth practice
countdown Tuesday, setting the stage for takeoff Jan. 22 on
a seven-day science mission.
Wearing bulky, bright-orange spacesuits, the six-man,
one-woman crew climbed aboard the $2 billion spaceplane
early Tuesday for the final hours of the ''terminal
countdown demonstration test,'' an exercise designed to
give the launch team and the astronauts a chance to
practice launch-day procedures.
At 11:01 a.m. EST, the two-day countdown was stopped at the
T-minus 4-second mark after the simulated ignition and
shutdown of Discovery's three main engines.
Commander Ronald Grabe, 46, co-pilot Stephen Oswald, 40,
Norman Thagard, 48, William Readdy, 39, David Hilmers, 41,
Canadian researcher Roberta Bondar, 46, and European
scientist Ulf Merbold, 50, then practiced emergency launch
pad escape procedures.
All seven planned to fly back to the Johnson Space Center
in Houston later in the day for final training.
''Everything went as planned in today's countdown test,''
said NASA spokesman Mitch Varnes. ''The managers feel we
have a healthy vehicle and are on schedule for a launch.''
An official launch date will not be set until Thursday, but
engineers are shooting for a liftoff at 8:54 a.m. Jan. 22.
Launch will mark the first of at least eight missions
planned for 1992.
Nestled in Discovery's cargo bay is a European-built
Spacelab laboratory module loaded with materials science
and medical experiments.
Working around the clock in two shifts, the astronauts plan
to study the medical effects of weightlessness and to carry
out a battery of experiments devoted to materials
processing. Such research could lead to new materials with
a variety of industrial applications.
If all goes well, Grabe and Oswald will guide Discovery to
a landing Jan. 29 at Edwards Air Force Base in California's
Mojave Desert.
=END=
* =START= XMT: 14:36 Wed Jan 08 EXP: 15:00 Sat Jan 11
LOCKHEED LAB COMPLETES FIELD TEST ON SOLUTION TO WIND SHEAR
AND SPACE LAUNCHES
PALO ALTO, CA (JAN. 8) BUSINESS WIRE - Lockheed Palo Alto
OO 2-03 Page 26 8 Feb 1992
Research Laboratory and Coherent Technologies Inc. of
Boulder, Colo., have completed a field test program at NASA
Kennedy Space Center to evaluate using the world's most
powerful solid-state coherent laser radar to detect wind
shear in the atmosphere above the space shuttle launch
site. Lockheed Project Manager James Hawley directed the
effort.
The Coherent Launch-Site Atmospheric Wind Sounder (CLAWS)
is a lidar atmospheric wind sensor designed to measure the
winds aloft at space launch facilities to an altitude of 20
kilometers (16 miles).
The aim of the field test program is to appraise the
ability of CLAWS to meet NASA goals for increased safety
and launch/mission flexibility at Kennedy Space Center.
The National Research Council, in a 1988 report entitled
''Meteorological Support for Space Operations,'' recognized
the importance of high fidelity measurement of weather
phenomena ''to make all phases of the manned and unmanned
space programs more efficient, less threatened by delay,
and free of weather-related hazards that could lead to
damage or loss of spacecraft of even human lives.''
Wind shear, the sudden and violent change of wind
direction, was of particular concern to the authors of the
report. They acknowledged that severe wind shear
encountered by the Challenger space shuttle on Jan. 28,
1986 may have contributed to the accident which ended in
the loss of the orbiter and cost the lives of seven
astronauts.
Present approaches to the measurement of wind shear involve
the release and tracking weather balloons to launch.
Because there is often an hour delay between these
measurements and launch, the result is at best a crude
picture of the dynamics of the atmosphere along the flight
path of the launch vehicle.
Lockheed's approach, CLAWS, utilizes a powerful
ground-based lidar, or laser radar, that measures wind
velocities along the flight path. It accomplishes this by
comparing the frequency of the laser pulses with the light
reflected back from the moving aerosols, or suspended
particles, in the atmosphere. Wind velocity is proportional
to the change in frequency of the light reflected back to
the instrument.
These measurements are made in real-time and can continue
during vehicle flight, thus making available valuable data
that could be uplinked to the guidance and control systems
of the vehicle. Also under study is the potential for
incorporating a CLAWS instrument aboard present and future
launch vehicles.
OO 2-03 Page 27 8 Feb 1992
The CLAWS instrument can be used to support both the launch
and landing operations of the space shuttle, as well as
expendable vehicles. Lockheed is the prime contractor for
the program. The program is managed by NASA Langley
Research Center, Hampton, Va.
CONTACT: Lockheed Missiles & Space Company Inc., Sunnyvale
Buddy Nelson, 408/742-7704.
=END=
* =START= XMT: 12:33 Thu Jan 09 EXP: 12:00 Fri Jan 10
CHINESE AEROSPACE INDUSTRY ENTERS BUSIEST YEAR IN 1992
BEIJING (JAN. 9) XINHUA - THE MINISTRY OF AEROSPACE
INDUSTRY WILL BE MUCH BUSIER IN 1992, 'CHINA DAILY'
REPORTED TODAY.
THE REPORT QUOTED MINISTER LIN ZONGTANG AS SAYING THAT THIS
YEAR WILL BE A BUSIEST YEAR IN THE INDUSTRY'S 40-YEAR
HISTORY, WITH MORE AIRCRAFT MODELS DEVELOPED AND MORE
SATELLITES LAUNCHED.
LIN MADE THE REMARKS YESTERDAY AT AN ONGOING NATIONAL
CONFERENCE HERE. THE REPORT SAID CHINA WILL USE LONG MARCH
2 CARRIER ROCKETS TO LAUNCH TWO AUSTRALIAN
TELECOMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE IN MARCH AND AUTUMN
RESPECTIVELY, AND LAUNCH A SWEDISH RESEARCH SATELLITE IN
OCTOBER.
LIN ALSO SET 500 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS IN FOREIGN CURRENCY
AS THE MINISTRY'S EXPORT TARGET FOR MACHINERY AND
ELECTRONICS MADE BY ITS FACTORIES, 100 MILLION U.S. DOLLARS
MORE THAN LAST YEAR.
HE URGED THE USE OF AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOP MORE
CIVILIAN PRODUCTS AND ENCOURAGED RESEARCH CENTERS,
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING AND ENTERPRISES TO JOIN
HANDS TO FORM HIGH-TECH DEVELOPMENT GROUPS.
HIS REMARKS WERE ECHOED BY STATE COUNCILLOR SONG JIAN, ALSO
THE MINISTER IN CHARGE OF THE STATE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
COMMISSION. SONG SAID AT THE CONFERENCE THAT PUTTING
AEROSPACE PRODUCTS INTO THE WORLD MARKET SHOULD BE
CONSIDERED A LONG-TERM POLICY.
SINCE CHINA STARTED REFORMS AND OPENING POLICIES IN 1979,
THE COUNTRY HAS ESTABLISHED COOPERATIVE TIES IN AEROSPACE
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY WITH MANY COUNTRIES, INCLUDING THE
UNITED STATES, GERMANY, FRANCE AND SWEDEN. LAST YEAR CHINA
SIGNED COOPERATION AGREEMENTS ON AEROSPACE TECHNOLOGY WITH
INDIA, PAKISTAN AND ITALY.
OFFICIALS SAID AT THE CONFERENCE THAT SINCE 1990, CHINA HAS
SIGNED AGREEMENTS WITH THE FORMER SOVIET UNION, AND
CONCERNED DEPARTMENTS IN THE REPUBLICS OF THE NEW
OO 2-03 Page 28 8 Feb 1992
COMMONWEALTH HAVE SAID THESE AGREEMENTS WILL NOT BE
AFFECTED.
COMMENTING ON CHINA'S RECENT TELECOMMUNICATIONS SATELLITE
LAUNCH MISHAP, MINISTER LIN SAID THE CAUSE OF THE
MALFUNCTION HAD BEEN FOUND OUT AND WILL NOT REOCCUR IN THE
FUTURE.
=END=
* =START= XMT: 11:33 Thu Jan 09 EXP: 12:00 Thu Jan 16
U.S. SCIENTISTS FIND TWO NEW PLANETS IN MILKY WAY GALAXY
WASHINGTON (JAN. 9) XINHUA - U.S. ASTRONOMERS HAVE FOUND
EVIDENCE OF AT LEAST TWO AND POSSIBLY THREE PLANETS
ORBITING A DENSE STAR IN THE MILKY WAY GALAXY. THEY SAID,
IF CONFIRMED, THE PLANETS WOULD BE THE FIRST KNOWN OUTSIDE
THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
SEVERAL PRIOR STUDIES HAD CLAIMED TO FIND SUCH PLANETS, BUT
SOME OF THOSE STUDIES HAVE BEEN PROVED WRONG OR REMAIN
UNCONFIRMED.
THE NEWLY DISCOVERED SUPPOSED PLANETS ARE IN ORBIT NOT
AROUND A 'NORMAL' STAR LIKE THE SUN BUT A DENSELY PACKED,
DEAD STAR KNOWN AS A PULSAR. PULSARS LEND THEMSELVES TO
MEASUREMENT BY EXISTING EARTH TECHNOLOGY, BUT ASTRONOMERS
SAID THEY WILL NEED MORE CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE
SIMILAR DISCOVERIES INVOLVING ORDINARY STARS.
THE TWO PUTATIVE PLANETS, EACH ABOUT THREE TIMES THE MASS
OF EARTH, ARE CIRCLING A NEWLY DISCOVERED PULSAR LOCATED
ABOUT 1,300 LIGHT-YEARS FROM EARTH IN THE PLANE OF THE
MILKY WAY. THE PLANET ON THE INSIDE TRACK APPEARS TO ORBIT
THE PULSAR ONCE EVERY 66.6 DAYS. THE OTHER PLANET ON THE
OUTSIDE TRACK APPEARS TO ORBIT THE PULSAR ONCE EVERY 98.2
DAYS.
RESULTS ALSO SUGGESTED THE POSSIBILITY OF A THIRD PLANET
THAT ORBITS ABOUT ONCE A YEAR.
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SUPPOSED PLANETS 'ARE NOT
UNLIKE THOSE OF THE INNER SOLAR SYSTEM,' ACCORDING TO THE
DISCOVERERS. BOTH PLANETS ARE IN ORBITS ABOUT THE SAME
DISTANCE FROM THEIR PULSAR AS MERCURY IF FROM THE SUN -- AT
33.5 MILLION MILES AND 44 MILLION MILES OUT.
THE NEW STUDY WAS PRESENTED BY ALEXANDER WOLSZCZAN, A
SENIOR RESEARCHER WITH THE NATIONAL ASTRONOMY AND
IONOSPHERE CENTER AT THE ARECIBO OBSERVATORY IN PUERTO
RICO, AND DALE A. FRAIL AT THE NATIONAL RADIO ASTRONOMY
OBSERVATORY IN SOCORRO, NEW MEXICO. ITS PUBLISHED IN
TODAY'S ISSUE OF THE JOURNAL NATURE.
=END=
OO 2-03 Page 29 8 Feb 1992
* =START= XMT: 06:01 Thu Jan 09 EXP: 06:00 Sun Jan 12
NASA AIMS TO TRIM $1.8 BILLION IN SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM BY
CUTTING 4,000 JOBS
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA (JAN. 9) DPA - The National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will trim some
1.8 billion dollars from its space shuttle programme by
1996 by cutting 4,000 jobs, a NASA spokesman said in Cape
Canaveral on Wednesday.
The statement corrected the director of the Kennedy Space
Center, Robert Crippen, who said Monday that 5,000 jobs
would be cut, resulting in a savings of 500 million
dollars.
NASA said the money would be diverted to other programmes,
such as its financially ailing space station project.
=END=
* =START= XMT: 14:31 Thu Jan 09 EXP: 14:00 Fri Jan 10
SHUTTLE DISCOVERY CLEARED FOR JAN. 22 LAUNCH, SEVEN-DAY
SPACELAB MISSION
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL (JAN. 9) UPI - The shuttle Discovery
and its six-man, one-woman crew were formally cleared
Thursday for blastoff Jan. 22 on a seven-day Spacelab
mission dedicated to medical research and materials
science.
Top NASA managers at the Kennedy Space Center breezed
through a review of launch processing Thursday and with no
problems of any significance under discussion, William
Lenoir, NASA's associate administrator for space flight,
officially cleared the spaceplane for liftoff at 8:53 a.m.
EST on Jan. 22.
At the controls will be commander Ronald Grabe, 46, and
co-pilot Stephen Oswald, 40. Their crewmates are flight
engineer William Readdy, 39, Norman Thagard, 48, David
Hilmers, 41, German researcher Ulf Merbold, 50, and
Canadian scientist Roberta Bondar, 46.
Hilmers and Thagard are making their fourth shuttle flights
while Grabe has two previous missions to his credit and
Merbold one. Oswald, Readdy and Bondar
the second Canadian to fly aboard a shuttle, are rookies.
Nestled in Discovery's cargo bay is a European-built
Spacelab module, a roomy laboratory connected to the
shuttle's crew cabin by a pressurized tunnel. The $1
billion lab is packed with racks of experiments that will
be operated around the clock throughout the seven- day
flight.
OO 2-03 Page 30 8 Feb 1992
Discovery's mission, the first of at least eight planned
for 1992, marks the fifth flight of a Spacelab module,
provided by the European Space Agency to permit shuttle
crews to conduct sophisticated research in orbit.
Merbold flew aboard the shuttle Columbia in 1983 as a West
German when the Spacelab module made its maiden flight. He
will be the first non-NASA space flier to make two shuttle
flights.
If all goes well, Merbold and his six crewmates will fly
from the Johnson Space Center in Houston to the Florida
spaceport Jan. 18. The countdown is scheduled to begin at 1
p.m. the next day.
The astronauts plan to work around the clock throughout the
mission, staffing the orbiter in two 12-hour shifts. The
night shift, called the ''red'' team, is made up of Readdy,
Hilmers and Merbold, while the ''blue'' day shift is made
up of Grabe, Oswald, Thagard and Bondar.
By the time they arrive at the Kennedy Space Center for
launch, the astronauts already will be adjusted to the
split-shift sleep cycle. Nonetheless, the red team has the
unenviable task fo trying to go to sleep a mere 4 1/2 hours
after Discovery's adrenalin-producing takeoff.
Assuming an on-time liftoff, the mission is scheduled to
end Jan. 29 with a landing at 7:05 a.m. PST at Edwards Air
Force Base, Calif.
=END=
* =START= XMT: 10:59 Thu Jan 16 EXP: 11:00 Sun Jan 19
DISCOVERY OF NEW PLANET IN JULY WAS A MISTAKE, ENGLISH
PROFESSOR ADMITS
LONDON (JAN. 16) DPA - The first reported discovery of a
planet outside the Earth's solar system was a mistake,
Professor Andrew Lyne of Manchester University admitted in
the latest issue of the British magazine Nature.
Lyne's team of astronomers reached their erroneous
conclusion last July after forgetting to include
irregularities in the Earth's orbit in their calculations.
The conclusions drawn from the radio impulses emmited by a
neutron star that proved the existence of a planet ten
times the size of Earth were fundamentally wrong, he said.
Last week American astronomers reported the discovery of
two planets outside the Earth's solar system.
=END=
OO 2-03 Page 31 8 Feb 1992
* =START= XMT: 14:22 Tue Jan 14 EXP: 14:00 Fri Jan 17
TRW-BUILT NASA'S COMPTON OBSERVATORY FINDS THREE NEW GAMMA
RAY QUASARS
ATLANTA (JAN. 14) BUSINESS WIRE - NASA's Compton Gamma Ray
Observatory, built by TRW, has found three new gamma ray
quasars that are approximately 10 to 20 million light years
from Earth, a scientist reported during a news conference
at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting in
Atlanta Tuesday.
TRW Space & Technology Group of Redondo Beach, Calif.,
built the 17-ton Compton Observatory and integrated its
four scientific instruments under contract to NASA Goddard
Space Flight Center.
Dr. Carl Fichtel, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Md., co-principal investigator for the Compton
Observatory's Energetic Gamma Ray Experiment Telescope
(EGRET) instrument told astronomers and reporters meeting
in Atlanta that his instrument appears to have detected
''still more distant and very luminous gamma-ray sources,
even more distant than the massive quasar 3C 279.''
The EGRET team reported three sources of intense localized
gamma radiation, quasars Q0208-512, 4C38.41 and
PKS0528+134, detected between May 16, 1991, and Sept. 18,
1991, located in the constellations of Eridanus, Hercules
and near the Crab Nebula, approximately 10 to 20 billion
light years from Earth.
In addition to the quasar observations, EGRET scientists
released an image Tuesday of the June 11, 1991 solar flare
made by the telescope.
Dr. Gerald Fishman, principal investigator for the Burst
and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE) reports that his
team has detected more than 200 cosmic gamma-ray bursts
since Compton's launch last April. BATSE is designed to
study the mysterious phenomenon of gamma-ray bursts.
BATSE scientists announced last September indications of an
apparant random distribution of the bursts in the sky.
More recent observations by the BATSE team have further
confirmed the earlier observation with almost twice as many
bursts as the original report.
The Compton Observatory is the second of NASA's ''Great
Observatories.'' The first was the Hubble Space Telescope,
launched in April 1990. The other is the Advanced X-ray
Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), expected to launch in 1998.
Deployed April 7, 1991 from the Space Shuttle Atlantis,
Compton Observatory currently orbits Earth at an altitude
of 268 x 252 statue miles (432 x 422 kilometers).
OO 2-03 Page 32 8 Feb 1992
CONTACT: TRW Space & Technology Group, Redondo Beach
Montye C. Male, 310/812-4721; Susan Brough, 310/812-5227
or NASA, Washington, D.C.; Michael Braukus, 202/453-1549
=END=
* =START= XMT: 19:57 Wed Jan 15 EXP: 20:00 Sat Jan 18
NASA LIFTS SUSPENSION OF ROCKWELL UNIT
CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (JAN. 15) BUSINESS WIRE - Rockwell
International Corp. (NYSE:ROK) Wednesday announced that the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has
lifted its suspension of the corporation's Collins Avionics
and Communications Division (CACD).
The suspension was imposed in November following an
indictment that alleged the firm and two individuals
mischarged on NASA work done in 1987 and prior years.
NASA's action means that CACD has been found to be a
presently responsible contractor and may bid on and be
awarded contracts with the federal government.
''We are very pleased with NASA's action,'' said J.D.
Cosgrove, CACD's president. ''CACD's employees are
dedicated to serving our customers ethically and consistent
with the highest standard of business conduct. We believe
NASA's action reflects confidence in our integrity and we
remain committed to maintaining that confidence,'' he said.
Rockwell International is a multi-industry company applying
advanced technology to a wide range of products in its
electronics, aerospace, automotive and graphics businesses.
CONTACT: Rockwell International Corp.
Collins Avionics and Communications Division, Cedar
Rapids
Tom Hobson, 319/395-5777
=END=
* =START= XMT: 14:55 Thu Jan 16 EXP: 15:00 Thu Jan 23
HUBBLE TELESCOPE TAKES DRAMATIC PICTURE OF TITANIC BLACK
HOLE, SCIENTISTS SAY
(JAN. 16) UPI - The Hubble Space Telescope has taken a
dramatic picture of what astronomers said Thursday appears
to be evidence of a titanic black hole pulling in stars and
spewing out torrents of radiation and hot gas in the heart
of a distant galaxy.
If spectroscopic data later confirms theoretical
predictions, astronomers finally may be able to confirm the
OO 2-03 Page 33 8 Feb 1992
existence of black holes, the bizarre remnants of super
massive stars with gravity so intense not even light can
escape.
The Hubble photograph clearly shows a pronounced
condensation of stars and a brilliant point-like source of
light at the very center of a galaxy known as M-87, 52
million light years from Earth. A light year is the
distance light, traveling 186,000 miles per second, covers
in one year.
The picture almost exactly matches theoretical predictions
of what one could expect if a black hole with 2.6 billion
times the mass of the sun lurked at the center of the
galaxy.
While the black hole itself would be invisible, radiation
produced as dust and debris were sucked inward would result
in a brilliant beacon like that seen in the picture.
The color photograph from NASA's $1.5 billion Hubble Space
Telescope ''is the highest resolution image ever taken of
this galaxy,'' said Tod Lauer, one of the astronomers who
made the discovery.
''The thing we find is that the stars are packed very, very
densely in the center of this galaxy,'' he said in an
interview. ''Those are all sharply concentrated toward the
center and the question is, what does this kind of thing?
And a massive black hole would do that.''
The photograph, and another taken in ultraviolet light,
were released Thursday at a meeting of the American
Astronomical Society in Atlanta.
Black holes are thought to be the end result of a
particularly violent line of stellar evolution.
When stars exhaust their nuclear fuel, they can no longer
produce the outward energy needed to offset the inward pull
of gravity. If a star is massive enough, it can suddenly
collapse on itself and explode in what is known as
supernovae.
Depending on the original mass, the collapsing core can
become a neutron star, that is, a star in which
gravitational collapse has crushed atomic particles
together with such force that only uncharged neutrons
survive in an ultra-dense sphere as small as 10 to 12 miles
across. A spinning neutron star is called a pulsar.
But current theories hold that if the mass of the doomed
sun is great enough to begin with, gravitational collapse
can proceed beyond the neutron star stage, producing a
''black hole'' with such intense gravity not even light can
escape.
OO 2-03 Page 34 8 Feb 1992
Because of its titanic gravity, a black hole would suck in
dust and debris, creating an ''accretion disk'' of material
around it. As that material is accelerated toward the black
hole and subjected to the effects of powerful magnetic
fields, it can give off torrents of radiation.
A super massive black hole at the center of a galaxy also
would be expected to pull stars into a tightly concentrated
core and to give off intense radiation. And that is
precisely what the Hubble Space Telescope picture appears
to show at the heart of M-87.
''I would call it tantalizing,'' Lauer said. ''I was really
excited to get this because it looked just like the
predictions, it looked dead on like the predictions.''
M-87, a galaxy in the constellation Virgo containing more
than 100 billion stars, has long fascinated astronomers
because it has a tremendous jet of hot gas extending away
from the core into space. Lauer said the jet likely is made
up of gas particles that were accelerated toward the black
hole and then shot outward due to electrical and magnetic
effects.
So just what does the Hubble picture show to the trained
eye?
''You're looking right down the throat of this swirling
accretion disk, that is, there's gas swirling around that's
falling into the black hole,'' Lauer said.
More important, however, is the appearance of the stars at
the core of M-87.
''If you put a lot of mass at the center (of the galaxy),
it's going to cause it to collapse,'' Lauer said. ''Picture
putting a magnet near iron filings, it all kind of clumps
inward. And so the whole center of the galaxy is drawn
in.''
Instead of looking at what appears to be light from an
accretion disk, ''Look at the stars and see how they just
go from black and it just gets brighter and brighter right
before the sharp bright thing,'' he said. ''That's what
theory says a black hole does.''
Final proof could come later this year based on
spectroscopic data from Hubble that should allow
astronomers to measure the velocities of the M-87 core
stars. If the velocities match what theory predicts,
scientists will finally have hard evidence of the existence
of black holes.
=END=
OO 2-03 Page 35 8 Feb 1992
* =START= XMT: 11:22 Tue Jan 21 EXP: 11:00 Fri Jan 24
ALLIED-SIGNAL INC. AWARDED $448 MILLION NASA SPACE CENTER
CONTRACT EXTENSION
MORRIS TOWNSHIP, NJ (JAN. 21) BUSINESS WIRE - Allied-Signal
Inc. said Tuesday it has received a contract valued at
$447.9 million to continue its service operations at the
NASA Space Center in Houston through the year 2000.
The contract from Rockwell International was awarded to
Allied-Signal's Bendix Field Engineering unit, which has
managed the ground support segment of the NASA Space
Shuttle program in Houston since 1986.
Bendix Field Engineering operates and maintains
communications, display and computing systems to support
Space Shuttle simulations and tests as well as actual space
missions. It also assists in training Space Shuttle flight
crews and ground support personnel.
Bendix Field Engineering is a unit of Allied-Signal Inc.,
an advanced technology company with businesses in
aerospace, automotive products and engineered materials.
CONTACT: Allied-Signal Inc., Morris Township
J. V. Alexander, 310/512-1656 (in Torrance, Calif.)
M. J. Ascolese, 201/455-4674
=END=
* =START= XMT: 05:05 Thu Jan 23 EXP: 05:00 Fri Jan 24
DAYBOOK: TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT RADIO TECHNICAL
COMMISSION FOR AERONAUTICS
(JAN. 23) FNS - SUBJECT: Session by Special Committee 170
on minimum operational
performance standards for automatic
dependent surveillance
-- FR 01-08, p. 743
LOCATION: RTCA Conference Room, 1140 Connecticut
Ave NW, Suite 1020,
Washington, DC
-- January 23
-- January 24
CONTACT: 202-833-9339
=END=
* =START= XMT: 05:29 Thu Jan 23 EXP: 05:00 Fri Jan 24
OO 2-03 Page 36 8 Feb 1992
DAYBOOK: TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT RADIO TECHNICAL
COMMISSION FOR AERONAUTICS
(JAN. 23) FNS - SUBJECT: Session by Special Committee 168
on lithium batteries
-- FR 01-08, p. 743
LOCATION: RTCA Conference Room, 1140 Connecticut
Ave NW, Suite 1020,
Washington, DC
-- January 29
CONTACT: 202-833-9339
=END=
* =START= XMT: 05:30 Thu Jan 23 EXP: 05:00 Fri Jan 24
DAYBOOK: NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
ADVISORY COUNCIL, SPACE
(JAN. 23) FNS - SUBJECT: Agenda includes:
-- Astrophysics lunar program update
-- Space exploration initiative
Ultraviolet/visible and
gravity physics plans
-- X-ray timing explorer productivity
effort
-- International flight-of-opportunity
mission
-- FR 01-21, 0. 2268
LOCATION: NASA, room 226A, 600 Independence Ave,
Washington, DC
-- January 30
CONTACT: Lia LaPiana 202-453-1433
=END=
* =START= XMT: 15:17 Thu Jan 23 EXP: 15:00 Fri Jan 24
DAYBOOK: NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL SPACE STUDIES BOARD
PUBLIC BRIEFING
(JAN. 23) FNS - SUBJECT: Release of report dealing with
whether it is necessary to
set specific priorities for space
research, and the best
way to make difficult choices between the
various research
initiatives.
OO 2-03 Page 37 8 Feb 1992
LOCATION: NAS building, 2100 C Street, NW,
Washington, DC
-- January 24
PARTICIPANTS: -- Frank Press, president, National
Academy of Sciences
-- Rep. George E. Brown, Jr., D-CA,
chair, U.S. House
Committee on Space, Science and
Technology
-- Louis J. Lanzerotti, Space Studies
Board Chair; AT&T
Bell Labs, Murray Hill, N.J.
-- John A. Dutton, dean, College of Earth
and Mineral
Sciences, Pennsylvania State University
CONTACT: Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138
=END=
* =START= XMT: 15:20 Thu Jan 23 EXP: 15:00 Fri Jan 24
DAYBOOK: USIA WORLDNET BROADCAST
(JAN. 23) FNS - SUBJECT: Earth Observing System (EOS)
(Broadcast to Abidjan)
LOCATION: 601 D St NW, Washington DC
-- January 24
PARTICIPANTS: Jeff Dozier, NASA Project Scientist for
EOS
CONTACT: 202-501-7218
=END=
* =START= XMT: 14:37 Wed Jan 22 EXP: 15:00 Sat Jan 25
MD SPACE SYSTEMS CO. ENTERS DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT WITH
OCEANEERING SPACE
HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA (JAN. 22) PR NEWSWIRE - McDonnell
Douglas Space Systems Co.-Space Station Division
(MDSSC-SSD) announced an agreement with Oceaneering Space
OO 2-03 Page 38 8 Feb 1992
Systems of Webster, Texas, to jointly pursue development of
specialized robotic tools for Space Station Freedom.
Oceaneering Space Systems is a division of Oceaneering
International, a subsea services company. Specializing in
the development of telerobotic systems for maintaining and
operating subsea oil and gas production systems often 2,000
to 3,000 feet below the surface, Oceaneering Systems also
develops specialized tooling for telerobotic systems and
deep sea divers.
"Together we'll be developing robotic-aided maintenance
equipment for use on Space Station Freedom," said Bob
Thompson, vice president and general manager of MDSSC-SSD.
"We have the space experience and Oceaneering has the
expertise in adapting undersea technology for use in the
space environment."
The agreement formally defines areas for joint endeavors
which McDonnell Douglas Space Systems and Oceaneering Space
Systems have been pursuing since the beginning of the Space
Station Freedom contract award in 1987.
CONTACT: Anne C. McCauley or Sheila M. Carter of McDonnell
Douglas Space Systems, 714-896-6211 or 714-896-1302
=END=
* =START= XMT: 18:42 Mon Jan 20 EXP: 19:00 Mon Jan 27
PARAMOUNT PICTURES TO LAUNCH NEW "STAR TREK" TV SERIES
LOS ANGELES (JAN. 20) UPI - Paramount Pictures announced
Monday it will launch ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''
television series early next year, a ''Wild West''-style
version of the durable ''Star Trek'' series.
''If, as (the late) Gene Roddenberry often said, 'Star
Trek' is 'Wagon Train' in space, then 'Deep Space Nine' can
be compared to a wild west town on the edge of the frontier
with all the excitement and adventure that kind of locale
can generate,'' said Michael Piller, who is co-executive
producer on ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and the new
show.
''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' will revolve around a new
cast of Starfleet officers who take command of a remote
alien space station near a strategically located
''wormhole,'' or a shortcut through space.
Paramount said ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' will begin
airing next January with a two-hour premiere movie,
followed by 19 one-hour episodes. Shooting will begin in
June at Paramount's soundstages in Hollywood.
As a result, the new series will air concurrently with
OO 2-03 Page 39 8 Feb 1992
Paramount's ''Star Trek: The Next Generation,'' currently
in its fifth year and consistently in the top three of
syndicated television shows. Both series are set in the
24th century.
''Setting 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' during the same time
as 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' will allow an exchange
of characters and occasional story lines between each
show,'' said Rick Berman, Piller's co-executive producer.
''Star Trek,'' created by Roddenberry, first aired on
network television in 1966 and lasted three seasons before
it was canceled by NBC because of low ratings.
But the original series attracted a core of loyal fans and
became a hit in re-runs of its 78 episodes. Not only is the
original series still being seen on reruns, it has also
spawned six movies featuring the original cast that have
grossed nearly half a billion dollars for Paramount.
''Star Trek: the Next Generation'' has one year left on its
contract after it completes the current season. Speculation
has arisen the characters from that show may then do a
seventh ''Star Trek'' movie because the stars of the
previous movies have indicated that the sixth movie -
''Star Trek: the Undiscovered Country'' would be their
last.
Paramount also announced Monday it would launch an
18-episode version next year of ''The Untouchables,'' a
popular TV show in the late 1950s and early 1960s. ''The
Untouchables'' also became a hit movie in 1987, with Kevin
Costner, Robert De Niro and Sean Connery, who won the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Kerry McCluggage, president of the Paramount Television
Group, told a news conference the two properties are
Paramount's ''crown jewels.'' The studio is planning 26
episodes of both shows for the fall 1993 season.
'''The Untouchables' is one of the best crime-fighting
franchises that exists, while Star Trek redefined the
science fiction genre and is arguably the most visionary
space drama ever conceived,'' McCluggage said.
Paramount said XETV in San Diego, KCPO in Seattle and the
Paramount's stations have committed to carrying one or both
of the new series. It said the it expects to announce a
significant number of deals shortly and predicted that it
would have a high percentage of the nation ''cleared'' for
both shows.
''The Untouchables'' will be set in Chicago in the 1930s
and its executive producer will be Christopher Crowe, who
developed and produced ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' for
NBC.
OO 2-03 Page 40 8 Feb 1992
=END=
* =START= XMT: 08:21 Thu Jan 23 EXP: 08:00 Fri Jan 24
U.S. SPACE SHUTTLE ASTRONAUTS GEAR UP FOR FULL SLATE OF
EXPERIMENTS
CAPE CANAVERAL FL (JAN. 23) UPI - The shuttle Discovery's
crew, working around the clock in 12-hour shifts, plowed
through a full slate of experiments Thursday, taking turns
in a rotating chair to study how weightlessness triggers
motion sickness.
While his crewmates carried out research in a $1 billion
Spacelab module mounted in Discovery's cargo bay, shuttle
co-pilot Stephen Oswald attempted to use a large-format
IMAX camera to photograph parts of Africa and Europe,
including shots of Moscow and other points of interest, for
a movie to be called ''Destiny in Space.''
Cloudy weather and other activities on the orbiter combined
for mixed results.
''Pass on our regrets to the IMAX folks but we weren't able
to get either the England or the Denmark shots for them,
I'm afraid,'' Oswald radioed at one point.
With Discovery sailing through space in tip-top condition,
other activities Thursday included work with a series of
materials-processing experiments and medical research to
study the effects of weightlessness on humans, plants,
insects and other biological specimens.
Astronaut David Hilmers and German physicist Ulf Merbold
began work Thursday with an experiment that calls for crew
members to be spun in a specially designed computer-driven
chair while looking at an imaginary object in the distance.
The tests are designed to help develop means of countering
motion sickness on future space flights.
Later in the day, the astronauts planned to take turns
riding a sled on rails down the center aisle of the
Spacelab module as part of a test to investigate how the
body interprets messages from the inner ear organs that
control balance.
The seven astronauts during Discovery's seven-day mission
plan to perform more than 50 experiments developed by some
200 scientists from six space agencies representing 14
nations.
Because so much is contained in the flight plan, the crew
is working around the clock. Commander Ronald Grabe, 46,
Oswald, 40, Norman Thagard, 48, and Canadian neurobiologist
Roberta Bondar, 46, are on the day or ''blue'' shift as
Discovery orbits between 186 and 184 miles above the Earth.
OO 2-03 Page 41 8 Feb 1992
William Readdy, 39, Hilmers, 41, and Merbold, 50, comprise
the night shift, or ''red'' team. One team works while the
other sleeps in small crew cabin cubicles.
As the blue team finished its tasks Wednesday night,
controllers on the ground expressed satisfaction for how
smoothly the day had gone.
''Thanks a lot, you all have really done an outstanding job
for us and have a good sleep and we'll talk to you
tomorrow,'' Roger Crouch at the Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Ala., radioed to Bondar. The center
is overseeing experiments carried in Spacelab.
''Sounds good, Roger, thanks a lot,'' she replied, as
Thagard added, ''Is that the Roger the Dodger on Com?''
''The R.D.,'' Crouch replied.
''Well, Roger, if you come down the Spacelab tunnel
sideways, it looks like an entirely different place,''
Thagard radioed back.
''Well you guys sure do put on a spectacular show, so it
ought to look like a different place from time to time,''
Crouch replied.
''If you can believe it, they actually pay us to do that
stuff,'' Thagard said.
''Copy that,'' Crouch replied.
Activation of the $1 billion European-built laboratory
proceeded nearly flawlessly.
A major objective of the medical research in the
International Microgravity Laboratory in the Spacelab
module is to try to help scientists learn what causes space
sickness, a debilitating nausea that affects about half the
men and women who fly in space.
Payload manager Harry Craft, who is overseeing the research
from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.,
said Wednesday another goal is to see how radiation affects
cells in certain organisms as a way of helping improve
space travel.
''We're looking at the radiation effects of living in a
space environment like that - all of this focused toward
being able to take this information and apply it to the
Space Station Freedom activities where man will be living
in space for long durations,'' he said. ''And then we'll
take it even a step further then and look at interplanetary
flight.''
Biological specimens in the 23-foot-long Spacelab, which is
OO 2-03 Page 42 8 Feb 1992
mounted in the shuttle's open cargo bay, include fruit
flies, frog eggs, roundworms, slime mold, brewer's yeast,
bacteria spores and lentil seedlings.
The seven-day mission also is designed to test how crystals
useful in electronics and infrared detection might be
produced in space to avoid impurities and other problems
caused by Earth's gravity.
Discovery thundered into orbit Wednesday. The ship is to
land next Wednesday at Edwards Air Force Base in
California's high desert.
=END=
=START= XMT: 14:17 Thu Jan 23 EXP: 14:00 Fri Jan 24
SHUTTLE DISCOVERY CREW BUSY WITH FULL SLATE OF MEDICAL
EXPERIMENTS
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL (JAN. 23) UPI - The Discovery
astronauts rode a slow- motion space sled, took turns in a
rotating chair and plowed through a full slate of other
medical experiments Thursday to learn more about what
causes unpleasant bouts of ''space sickness.''
At least one member of Discovery's six-man, one-woman crew
may have experienced the very ailment the astronauts have
been studying since their ground-shaking liftoff Wednesday.
Early Thursday, commander Ronald Grabe radioed mission
control and asked for an unscheduled ''private medical
conference,'' or PMC. All shuttle missions feature
regularly scheduled, blacked-out medical conferences to
give the astronauts a chance to discuss health issues in
private.
''We have some follow-up information relative to the
discussion we had with (flight surgeon) Larry Pepper
(Wednesday),'' Grabe radioed.
''The surgeon's listening, Ron, go ahead,'' replied
astronaut James Halsell from the Johnson Space Center in
Houston.
''OK, I'll need you to set up (blacked-out) comm for
that,'' Grabe said, referring to a private communications
channel.
Halsell responded: ''Understand you want a PMC. We'll set
that up for you and let you know when we're ready.''
About half the men and women who fly in space suffer
nausea, vomiting and other symptoms as their bodies adapt
to weightlessness and Discovery's crew is carrying out a
battery of experiments to learn more about the causes of
OO 2-03 Page 43 8 Feb 1992
the illness.
The astronauts showed no obvious signs of sickness in video
beamed down to Earth Wednesday and Thursday. NASA will not
discuss crew health issues unless they threaten the success
of a mission and in this case, that did not appear to be
the case.
Joining Grabe, 46, aboard Discovery are co-pilot Stephen
Oswald, 40, Norman Thagard, 48, William Readdy, 39, David
Hilmers, 41, Canadian neurobiologist Roberta Bondar, 46,
and German physicist Ulf Merbold, 50.
Encountering remarkably few problems, the astronauts are
working in two 12-hour shifts to gather as much data as
possible during their seven-day flight. Grabe, Oswald,
Thagard and Bondar are working by day and sleeping by night
while Hilmers, Readdy and Merbold are pulling an overnight
shift.
Thagard, Hilmers, Bondar and Merbold are responsible for
the bulk of the experiments packed into a $1 billion
Spacelab module carried in Discovery's cargo hold. The
23-foot-long module is connected to the shuttle's crew
cabin by a 19-foot-long tunnel.
The goal of the International Microgravity Laboratory - IML
- research is to study the effects of weightlessness on
people, plants, insects and a variety of industrial
materials.
The Spacelab astronauts took turns Thursday strapping into
a space sled mounted in the center of the laboratory module
to study how the balance and orientation mechanisms of the
inner ear respond to changing accelerations. In another
experiment, they strapped into a rotating chair to study
how the inner ears and eyes work in space to determine body
position.
The research could help scientists determine what causes
disorientation and other physiological changes during the
onset of weightlessness that are thought to contribute to
space sickness.
Hilmers and Merbold also started an experiment to study how
cartilage forms in weightlessness to help scientists
understand more about how bones might heal in the absence
of gravity. An experiment called BONES was activated to
shed light on how bone tissue is affected.
Other experiments underway aboard Spacelab:
-FRIEND: Designed to help scientists identify the gene
responsible for controlling the production of
oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in cells involved in leukemia.
OO 2-03 Page 44 8 Feb 1992
-FLY: Research on how weightlessness and space radiation
affect mutation rates in fruit flies.
=END=
* =START= XMT: 17:52 Thu Jan 23 EXP: 18:00 Fri Jan 24
SHUTTLE DISCOVERY CREW LEARNING MORE ABOUT WEIGHTLESSNESS,
"SPACE SICKNESS"
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL (JAN. 23) UPI - The Discovery
astronauts took turns riding a space sled, spun in a
rotating chair and endured mild shocks Thursday to learn
more about how weightlessness can trigger unpleasant bouts
of ''space sickness.''
At least one member of Discovery's six-man, one-woman crew
apparently experienced the very ailment the astronauts have
been studying since their ground-shaking liftoff Wednesday.
Early Thursday, commander Ronald Grabe radioed mission
control and asked for an unscheduled ''private medical
conference,'' or PMC. All shuttle missions feature
regularly scheduled, blacked-out medical conferences to
give the astronauts a chance to discuss health issues in
private.
''The surgeon's listening, Ron, go ahead,'' astronaut James
Halsell radioed from the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
''OK, I'll need you to set up (blacked-out) comm for
that,'' Grabe said, referring to a private communications
channel.
Halsell responded: ''Understand you want a PMC. We'll set
that up for you.''
More than half the men and women who fly in space suffer
nausea, vomiting and other symptoms as their bodies adapt
to weightlessness and Discovery's crew is carrying out a
battery of experiments to learn more about the causes of
the illness.
NASA officials will not discuss crew health issues unless
they threaten the success of a mission and flight director
Wayne Hale said no such threat existed.
''The flight surgeons have told us there are no mission
impacts from any of those conferences,'' he said.
''Something like two thirds of all the people who go into
space the first time have symptoms of space motion sickness
(and) typically they pass within the first two or three
days.''
Joining Grabe, 46, aboard Discovery are co-pilot Stephen
Oswald, 40, Norman Thagard, 48, William Readdy, 39, David
OO 2-03 Page 45 8 Feb 1992
Hilmers, 41, Canadian neurobiologist Roberta Bondar, 46,
and German physicist Ulf Merbold, 50.
Back on Earth, scientists said they were thrilled with the
early success of the 45th shuttle mission.
''The crew is doing a marvelous job and the scientists are
quite enthused about it,'' said mission scientist Robert
Snyder.
The astronauts are working in two 12-hour shifts to gather
as much data as possible during their seven-day flight.
Grabe, Oswald, Thagard and Bondar are working by day and
sleeping by night while Hilmers, Readdy and Merbold are
pulling an overnight shift.
Thagard, Hilmers, Bondar and Merbold are responsible for
the bulk of the experiments packed into a $1 billion
Spacelab module carried in Discovery's cargo hold. The
23-foot-long module is connected to the shuttle's crew
cabin by a 19-foot-long tunnel.
The goal of the International Microgravity Laboratory, or
IML, research is to study the effects of weightlessness on
people, plants, insects and a variety of industrial
materials.
The Spacelab astronauts took turns Thursday strapping into
a space sled mounted in the center of the laboratory module
to study how the balance and orientation mechanisms of the
inner ear respond to changing accelerations.
Using ear plugs and wearing a blindfold to eliminate visual
and sound cues, the test subjects glided back and forth
along two 40-inch-long rails. Electrodes attached to the
back of each subject's knee applied very mild shocks. The
response, measured by other electrodes, provides an
indication of how the gravity sensors in the inner ear
respond to different accelerations.
In another experiment, the crew members strapped into a
rotating chair to study how the inner ears and eyes work in
space to determine body position. The chair malfunctioned
at one point, causing a circuit breaker to pop open, but
scientists were confident the crew could correct the
problem.
The research could help scientists determine what causes
disorientation and other physiological changes during the
onset of weightlessness that are thought to contribute to
space sickness.
Hilmers and Merbold also started an experiment to study how
cartilage forms in weightlessness to help scientists
understand more about how bones might heal in the absence
of gravity. An experiment called BONES was activated to
OO 2-03 Page 46 8 Feb 1992
shed light on how bone tissue is affected.
Other experiments underway aboard Spacelab:
-FRIEND: Designed to help scientists identify the gene
responsible for controlling the production of
oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in cells involved in leukemia.
-FLY: Research on how weightlessness and space radiation
affect mutation rates in fruit flies.
-EGGS: An experiment, using frog eggs, to gather data on
embryo development in the absence of gravity.
=END=
* CAPE CANAVERAL FL (JAN. 24) UPI - Working around the clock,
the Discovery astronauts pressed ahead with a smorgasbord
of Spacelab experiments Friday, studying the causes of
space sickness and the strange effects of weightlessness on
humans, plants, insects and materials.
''The crew is doing a marvelous job and the scientists are
quite enthused about it,'' mission scientist Robert Snyder
said at a news conference.
On board Discovery for the 45th shuttle mission are
commander Ronald Grabe, 46
co-pilot Stephen Oswald, 40, Norman Thagard, 48, David
Hilmers, 41, Canadian neurobiologist Roberta Bondar, 46,
German physicist Ulf Merbold, 50, and William Readdy, who
celebrated his 40th birthday Friday.
The astronauts are working in two 12-hour shifts to gather
Press <RETURN> or <S>croll?s
as much data as possible during their seven-day flight.
Grabe, Oswald, Thagard and Bondar are working the day shift
while Hilmers, Readdy and Merbold are pulling an overnight
shift.
Thagard, Hilmers, Bondar and Merbold are responsible for
the bulk of the experiments packed into a $1 billion
Spacelab module carried in Discovery's cargo hold. The
23-foot-long module is connected to the shuttle's crew
cabin by a 19-foot-long tunnel.
The goal of the International Microgravity Laboratory, or
IML, research is to study the effects of weightlessness on
people, plants, fruit flies, other biological subjects and
a variety of industrial materials.
A major goal of the Spacelab experiments is to learn more
about the causes of space sickness, an unpleasant
combination of nausea and vomiting that strikes more than
half the men and women who fly in space.
OO 2-03 Page 47 8 Feb 1992
At least one member of Discovery's six-man, one-woman crew
apparently experienced the very ailment the astronauts have
been studying since their ground-shaking liftoff Wednesday.
Grabe radioed mission control Thursday and asked for an
unscheduled ''private medical conference,'' or PMC. All
shuttle missions feature regularly scheduled
blacked-out medical conferences to give the astronauts a
chance to discuss health issues in private.
NASA officials will not discuss crew health issues unless
they threaten the success of a mission and flight director
Wayne Hale said no such threat existed.
''The flight surgeons have told us there are no mission
impacts from any of those conferences,'' he said.
''Something like two thirds of all the people who go into
space the first time have symptoms of space motion sickness
(and) typically they pass within the first two or three
days.''
The Spacelab astronauts are taking turns strapping into a
sled mounted in the center of the laboratory module to
study how the balance and orientation mechanisms of the
inner ear respond to changing accelerations.
Using ear plugs and wearing a blindfold to eliminate visual
and sound cues, the test subjects glided back and forth
along two 40-inch-long rails. Electrodes attached to the
back of each subject's knee applied very mild shocks. The
response, measured by other electrodes, provides an
indication of how the gravity sensors in the inner ear
respond to different accelerations.
In another experiment, the crew members strapped into a
balky rotating chair to study how the inner ears and eyes
work in space to determine body position. The research
could help scientists determine what causes disorientation
and other physiological changes during the onset of
weightlessness that are thought to contribute to space
sickness.
=END=
* =START= XMT: 14:44 Fri Jan 24 EXP: 15:00 Sat Jan 25
DISCOVERY CREW MEMBERS BUSY WITH SPACE RESEARCH, PLAN TO
CHAT WITH PRES. BUSH
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL (JAN. 24) UPI - The Discovery astronauts
grew ultra-pure space crystals Friday that could lead to
improved telescopes and spy satellites, turned to vise
grips to flush the shuttle's high-tech toilet and cleared
the decks for an afternoon chat with President Bush.
The president, scheduled to call the crew from Washington,
OO 2-03 Page 48 8 Feb 1992
''is very interested in your mission,'' flight controllers
said in a morning message to the astronauts. ''For the
benefit of your audience, please introduce each crew
member. Also, comb your hair and smile.''
Working around the clock, Discovery's six-man, one-woman
crew sailed into their third day in orbit Friday, studying
how the absence of gravity affects humans, plants, insects
and exotic materials with a variety of industrial
applications.
On board are commander Ronald Grabe, 46; co-pilot Stephen
Oswald, 40; Norman Thagard, 48; David Hilmers, 41; Canadian
neurologist Roberta Bondar, 46; German physicist Ulf
Merbold, 50; and William Readdy, who celebrated his 40th
birthday Friday by spotting the Russian space station Mir
as it zoomed past a scant 45 miles away.
''The sun glint off of the Mir is almost like somebody put
a strobe light on an airplane. It's about the size of
Mercury when you can see that when the sun goes down,''
Readdy said.
To gather as much science data as possible, the astronauts
are working in two 12-hour shifts. Grabe, Oswald, Thagard
and Bondar are working the day shift while Hilmers, Readdy
and Merbold are pulling an overnight shift.
In keeping with the international flavor of the 45th
shuttle mission, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Canadian
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney plan to call the astronauts
Monday and Tuesday.
The goal of the year's first shuttle mission is to learn
more counteract - the effects of weightlessness. But Friday
afternoon, Grabe and Oswald were forced to focus on a more
mundane task: fixing the flusher of their zero-gravity
space toilet.
''The mode control lever will pull up, but it feels like
there's no linkage attached to it and it will not slide
forward,'' Grabe radioed mission control in Houston.
''OK, Ron, we copy that. We're looking at an IFM (in-flight
maintenance procedure) that may allow us to control the
linkage from underneath,'' said Peter Wisoff at the Johnson
Space Center. ''We'll get words to you.''
''OK, we anxiously await,'' Grabe replied.
After the repair procedure was faxed up to Discovery,
Oswald reported he had no luck, saying ''we're back to
where we were and I see that you want us to just operate
that control linkage with the vise grips'' when flushing is
required.
OO 2-03 Page 49 8 Feb 1992
''Affirmative,'' Wisoff required. Meanwhile, the science
continued.
Thagard, Hilmers, Bondar and Merbold are responsible for
the bulk of the experiments packed into a $1 billion
Spacelab module carried in Discovery's cargo hold. The
23-foot-long module is connected to the shuttle's crew
cabin by a 19-foot-long tunnel.
The goal of the International Microgravity Laboratory, or
IML, research is to study the effects of weightlessness on
people, plants, fruit flies, other biological subjects and
a variety of industrial materials.
Early Friday, the astronauts concentrated on materials
science research, activating one experiment to grow
triglycine sulfate crystals and another to grow crystals of
mercury iodide. The latter experiment did not work as
expected, prompting the astronauts to make changes in their
procedure to eliminate small growths on the face of the
main crystal.
Mercury iodide crystals can be used to detect high energy
X-rays and gamma rays while triglycine sulfate crystals can
detect low-energy infrared radiation. What makes these
materials so potentially useful is they can do so at room
temperatures.
Current infrared detectors, for example, must be chilled to
extremely low temperatures to be effective, which adds to
the cost and complexity of such systems.
On Earth, gravitational effects prevent scientists from
growing room temperature detector crystals large enough to
be useful. But in space, those effects are absent.
If scientists can learn to grow ultra-pure crystals of
mercury iodide and triglycine sulfate, engineers may be
able to build cheaper, more efficient detectors for use in
spy satellites, space telescopes, hand- held detectors for
monitoring nuclear plants and medical diagnostic devices.
=END=
* =START= XMT: 19:26 Fri Jan 24 EXP: 19:00 Sat Jan 25
PRES. BUSH TALKS WITH SHUTTLE ASTRONAUTS, CALLS FOR
INCREASED SPACE FUNDING
WASHINGTON (JAN. 24) UPI - President Bush chatted Friday
with America's astronauts - past, present and possibly
future - and announced he wants to increase the nation's
quest for space exploration.
Bush said he will soon propose establishment of a new
office of space exploration, which will be led by NASA and
OO 2-03 Page 50 8 Feb 1992
include input from the Defense and Energy Departments and
other federal agencies.
The president also said that when he submits his fiscal
1993 budget to Congress next week, it will mark for the
third straight year, ''a real increase in spending in our
civil space program.''
''This includes full funding for Space Station Freedom,
$2.25 billion, an increase of 11 percent,'' Bush said told
a White House gathering that included 20 former astronauts
and members of the Young Astronauts Council, a youth group.
Afterward, Bush and some of the young would-be astronauts,
via a telephone hookup, talked with astronauts aboard
Discovery as the spaceship circled the Earth.
The president, in unveiling his budget plans, said, ''More
than 23 percent of NASA's programs will increase by 10
percent over the current year.''
''The budget will include a dramatic expansion of two
exciting programs - $250 million to triple funding for our
new launch system to develop a new family of rockets for
the 21st century, and $80 million for the National
Aerospace Plane
which may one day enable direct flights from Earth to
orbit,'' he said.
Bush said, ''I'm asking Americans to make a farsighted
commitment, one that looks dozens of years and millions of
miles beyond the recession and other things that tend to
occupy us today.''
=END=
-----------------------------------------------------------------
OO 2-03 Page 51 8 Feb 1992
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