The Newsletter of
the Seattle Chapter
of
The National Space Society
»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»» April 1999 «««««««««««««««««««««
NORWESCON ISSUE
The National Space Society is an international
membership group
dedicated to furthering the exploration and development of space.
The Seattle
chapter mission is to facilitate Space Activism and all pro-Space
activities; and to provide
a gathering place for space enthusiasts to meet, exchange
information and ideas.
President:
Vince Creisler
vincelc@galaxy-7.net
Vice President: Chris Vancil
CLVANCIL@aol.com
Secretary/Editor:
Randy Rumley
rjrumley@juno.com
Treasurer:
David Stuart
DSTUART@prodigy.net
Special Projects Manager:
Christopher Erickson aster@wolfenet.com
----------Board of Directors---------
Kelly Caviezel Gary Harrison Christopher Erickson
Susan Harrison Toni Rusi
------------Advisors------------
Terry Burlison
Chapter meetings are held at 7:00 PM on the second Saturday of each month, at the
Museum of Flight; parking is available in the lot North of the museum. To receive
information regarding upcoming events please send your name and addresses
to: Randy Rumley; 12008 S.E. 223rd Drive Kent, WA 98031
XXVIX
so·journ(sņ jūrn), to stay for a time in a place; live temporarily.
President's Message
President's Message
Help build a limitless future.
by Vince Creisler.
Do you want to help posterity live in a space-faring civilization, enjoying continuously improving quality of life in a society expanding on all frontiers? Join the National Space Society. The National Space Society is a non-profit organization open to citizens of all nations, formed by a merger of the National Space Institute and The L-5 Society in 1987. The NSS has the affiliated organization SpacePac for engaging in pro-space political activities.
The NSS promotes interest in space exploration, research, development and habitation, toward the purpose of establishing a space-based civilization, economically self-sufficient and supported by a free enterprise structure utilizing the nearly limitless resources of the Solar System. The NSS focuses its efforts on:
· Lowering the cost of access to space.
· Learning how to work in space and utilize space resources.
· Ensuring supportive government space policies and practices.
· Fostering private space initiatives.
Current NSS officers include former Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin, scientist Robert Zubrin, and astronaut Charles Walker as President. Dues are $35.00 a year ($20.00 for students and seniors) including a subscription to the NSS Publication Ad Astra. Those interested in joining, or seeking more information, can contact the NSS at:
National Space Society
600 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. Suite 201
Washington, DC 20003-4316
1-800-376-ORBIT
March 13, 1999 Meeting
We had Chris Erickson begin the meeting with discussion on the progress on the Mass Mapper system he and others have been working on. He discussed the various technologies that could be used to detect planetoids, comets, and asteroids out between Jupiter and Saturn. Of current interest and where effort is currently being put, is on the phase shifted laser detection system.
The primary speaker took over at 7:30. Speaking to us was Scott Fitzsimmons, Vice President of the adventure travel firm Zegrahm Expeditions. Based in Seattle for 10 years, Zegrahm specializes in travel to the world's most remote destinations. They are leading the way in two new innovative travel fields: expeditions on high-tech, deep-diving submarines - to see the Titanic and erupting hydrothermal vents for instance - and space tourism. Zegrahm Space Voyages has been taking reservations on a 7-day total space experience program, featuring a suborbital space flight, with commercial operations slated to begin in 2002.
He discussed how the current underwater and arctic expeditions are accomplished using equipment from varying vendors. Their plan for space access is currently only with one of the X-prize competitors, but they would work with more than one if better systems were available. Current plans would be for sub-orbital flights on two stage, winged aircraft which would take a couple of hours to reach the 100km "Astronaut Wing" height. On returning to the ground, the customer would receive their own astronaut wings. Before the flight, there would be a week or two of training in
simulators of as many types as possible. It would be an excellent adventure since it wouldn't just be the ride. The costs are high at present, in the 5 to 6 digit range, but they already have several people willing to fork over the money for the chance to get into space.
Randy J. Rumley
(Ed.)
Norwescon activities
April 1 - 4
There is a Science track schedule, which will include various past speakers at NSS Seattle meetings. For the most part, these panels will be in one room, Evergreen 1 on the second floor. Chris Vancil (Vice President), and Randy Rumley (Secretary/Editor) will be part of panels in this room at 1:00PM and 4:00PM on Friday the 2nd. Saturday evening from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, NSS Seattle will have a talk/panel from Cy Varnum, one of the people responsible for Boeings work on the Lunar Rover that raced over the surface of the moon on the Apollo Flights. After Cy's talk, we will be discussing how the space program is now, what the past tells us, and what the future holds. This will be fully open to discussion with the audience.
We will have a room party Saturday night. Details (room # and time) will be available at the Chapter's club table on the first floor at the Hotel. We will also put up several poster announcements when the details are available.
Ed.
April 10, 1999
Meeting
Our regularly scheduled meeting will feature Chris Vancil, our Vice President. He will be giving a talk that he has prepared on the Science of Space Art. Discussion will cover how an artist creates the pictures of the future that are interesting, accurate, or simply breathtaking.
As is normal, the meeting will take place in the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in the Red Barn classroom. Access is through the main museum entrance and down one floor on the elevator. There will be signs pointing the way to the Red Barn classroom from there. We begin at 7:00, and end when we run low on energy. This can take awhile, we have refreshments in the room.
We have T-shirts with "Lets go to the New World" and an excellent picture of Mars on them. We also are helping the Puget Sound chapter of the Mars Society out and selling some books. These are: "A Case for Mars", by Robert Zubrin, "Managing Martians", by Donna Shirley, and the National Geographic coffee table book "Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet, Mars", by Paul Raeburn. (with 3D Mars images)
I hope to see you there.
Ed.
Press Release: Sea Launch Rocket Paints a
Picture of Success During Inaugural Flight
AT THE EQUATOR - March 27, 1999- The Sea Launch rocket successfully completed its maiden flight today, company officials announced. The event, which placed a demonstration payload into geostationary transfer orbit, marked the first commercial launch from a floating platform at sea.
"Today's successful launch demonstrates the viability of the Sea Launch system to the entire world," announced Sea Launch President Allen B. Ashby. "We are now ready to begin full-scale service, as a proven and cost-effective commercial satellite launch service."
Present at the equatorial launch site at 154 degrees West longitude was the Odyssey, a self-propelled launch platform, and the Sea Launch Commander, a floating mission control center and rocket assembly factory. On board the Odyssey in an environmentally controlled hangar was a 200-foot, flight-ready Sea Launch rocket, complete with demonstration payload.
During pre-launch preparations, the Odyssey was partially submerged for added stability. The rocket, with payload, then was withdrawn from its hangar on the platform, lifted into a vertical position, fueled with kerosene and liquid oxygen (LOX), and launched. The fueling and launch was completely automated and cordinated from the Sea Launch Commander -- the Odyssey crew having transferred to the assembly & command ship and, subsequently, moved three miles away to a safe operating locale.
Sea Launch uses a uniquely modified Zenit rocket, configured to enhance reliability and meet the program's performance objectives. Those modifications, specific to the Sea Launch system, include: Structurally stiffening the first stage of the rocket.
Replacing the guidance computer in both the Zenit second stage and the Block DM-SL upper stage. Extending the liquid oxygen fueling capability from the Zenit second stage to the Block DM-SL upper stage to take added advantage of the Zenit's automated fueling capabilities. Prior to the commencement of the launch countdown, Sea Launch engineers confirmed the mission flight parameters were correctly loaded in the onboard computers, and that the rocket was indeed ready for lift-off. Fueling was completed, the countdown began, and liftoff occurred at 5:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
Upon liftoff, the Sea Launch rocket, which consists of Ukrainian and Russian components, rose from the Odyssey, arched downrange to the east, and disappeared from view on its 60-minute climb to geostationary transfer orbit.
During flight, each of the three rocket stages performed nominally, with successful separation of the demonstration payload from the Block-DM upper stage occurring at approximately 6:32 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Following the delivery of the demonstration payload to geotransfer orbit, Sea Launch flight control personnel reported that flight and ground data indicated both systems operated as planned.
By delivering a demonstration payload to geostationary transfer orbit, Sea Launch demonstrated the commercial launch services the company will provide to its communications satellite customers. Now, with a successful mission behind them, the Odyssey, Sea Launch Commander and their crews begin the journey back to the Home Port in Long Beach, Calif., where each vessel will undergo post-launch checks and begin preparations for the next launch.
"This initial launch is a testament to the years of hard work, dedication and international cooperation that has occurred on the Sea Launch program," Ashby added. "Each and every member of this team can take tremendous pride in helping to achieve something which has never been accomplished before."
Sea Launch combines the resources of the world's leading aerospace and maritime companies. Partners in the international consortium include Boeing Commercial Space Company, Kent, Wash., (provides spacecraft integration and the payload fairings); Kvaerner Maritime a.s., of Oslo, Norway (the vessel builder); RSC Energia of Moscow, Russia (provides the Block-DM upper stage and its integration with the launch vehicle); and KB Yuzhnoye/PO Yuzhmash of Ukraine (provides the first two stages of the launch vehicle).
Sea Launch has firm contracts for 16 launches, and will begin commercial operations later this year.
SeaLaunch Media Contacts:
Terrance L. Scott: (562) 951-7348
Timothy L. Dolan: (562) 797-5090
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORT #99-12
2 p.m. CST, Wednesday, March 24, 1999
Mission Control Center, Houston, Texas
International Space Station flight controllers returned a U.S. communications system to standard operations this week as they continued an analysis of a minor problem with one of the system's two antennas.
The antenna, one of two that are used by the US early communications system, is mounted on the exterior starboard side of the station's Unity module. Earlier this month, controllers noticed that communications with the antenna were impeded when the station was in certain orientations, amounting to about a 15 percent reduction in the total capability of the US communications system to receive signals. Controllers ceased using the antenna when the problem was seen and had been using only the port antenna for communications. Late last week, the starboard antenna reselected and put back into operation, operating well with its slightly reduced capability. The slightly reduced communications capability has had virtually no impact on the station's day-to-day operations. Engineers are continuing to evaluate the information and possible causes for the problem.
The US communications system, installed on Shuttle mission STS-88 last year, is one of two complementary communications systems on the station, including a Russian communications system onboard Zarya.
Flight controllers may conduct a test of the station's power system next week as part of preparations for the arrival of the Space Shuttle Discovery on mission STS-96 in May. For the test, power used by the Unity module may be gradually increased by turning on several heaters in a variety of different scenarios. The information gathered would provide flight controllers insight that may be useful in planning the best method for warming up the module prior to Discovery's docking with the station. The power test is still under evaluation, but could begin by early next week, when the station's orbital environment will be very similar to what will be experienced when Discovery arrives.
The International Space Station is in an orbit with a high point of 256 statute miles and a low point of 242 statute miles, circling the Earth once every 92 minutes, 24 seconds. The station has completed more than 1,900 orbits of Earth since its launch.
ISS viewing opportunities from the ground can be found on the Internet at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/
Space shuttle mission STS-96 aboard Discovery, targeted for launch May 20, will be the next mission to visit the station, delivering interior supplies and US and Russian cranes to be installed on the station's exterior. Updates on preparations for the launch of Discovery can be found in the Kennedy Space Center's shuttle status report located on the Internet at:
http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/status.htm
The next International Space Station status report is planned to be issued on Wednesday, March 31, 1999.
Note: For further information, please contact the NASA Public Affairs Office at the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, 281-483-5111.
Robotic Missions Update:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
California Institute of Technology (CalTech)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
Mars Global Surveyor March 29, 1999 - PRESS RELEASE: 99-48 DEPLOYED ANTENNA SENDING STREAMS OF NEW MARS IMAGES
A steady stream of new data from Mars, including high- resolution images, will begin arriving next week at Earth receiving stations following yesterday's deployment of the Mars Global Surveyor's high-power communications antenna.
"Having a deployed, steerable high-gain antenna is like switching from a garden hose to a fire hose in terms of data return from the spacecraft," said Joseph Beerer, flight operations manager for Mars Global Surveyor at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
"Up until now, we have been using the high-gain antenna in its stowed position, so periodically during the first three weeks of our mapping mission, we had to stop collecting science data and turn the entire spacecraft to transmit data to Earth," Beerer explained. "Now that the high-gain antenna is deployed and steerable, we have the ability to simultaneously study Mars and communicate with Earth."
The antenna was deployed at about midnight EST, Sunday, March 28. It had been stowed since launch in November 1996 to reduce its chances of being contaminated by exhaust from the spacecraft's main engine, which was fired periodically throughout the mission. The spacecraft entered orbit around Mars in September 1997 and used a technique called aerobraking to gradually lower the spacecraft's altitude to the desired orbit for mapping. The mapping mission began March 9; full-scale mapping begins April 4.
Because engineers were uncertain that a device intended to dampen the force of the deployment would work correctly, engineers used the antenna in its stowed configuration for the first three weeks of mapping. This allowed the team to meet the mission's minimum science objectives before risking the antenna deployment.
Last night, the dish-shaped high-gain antenna, 5 feet in diameter, was deployed on a 6.6-foot-long boom and was pushed outward from the spacecraft by a powerful spring. The suspect dampening device worked as it should have, cushioning the force of the spring and limiting the speed of the deployment, similar to the automatic closer on a screen door. With the antenna successfully deployed, Mars Global Surveyor will return a nearly constant stream of observations of Mars for the next two years.
Information from the science instruments is recorded 24 hours a day on solid state recorders on board the spacecraft. Once a day, during a 10-hour tracking pass over a Deep Space Network antenna, the data are transmitted to Earth. In addition, every third day a second tracking pass is used to transmit data "live" at a very high rate directly to Earth without being put on the recorder. These data, which will contain high-resolution images of Mars, will be transmitted at rates between 40,000 and 80,000 bits per second.
Mars Global Surveyor is managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. Lockheed Martin Astronautics of Denver developed and operates the spacecraft. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
Further information about the mission is available on the Internet at:
http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/index.html
Stardust Mission Status
March 22, 1999
NASA's Stardust spacecraft, launched Feb. 7, 1999 on a mission to intercept a comet and return a sample to Earth, over the weekend sent back engineering data, as the operations team continued shakedown tests of various spacecraft systems.
Mission controllers successfully commanded the spacecraft to resume normal operations Friday evening, March 19, after Stardust entered a low-activity "safe" state the night before. Stardust's main computer had indicated it was carrying out an excessive number of functions during testing of the navigation camera and transmission of its images to Earth on Thursday, triggering fault protection software that placed the spacecraft in a low-activity state. When the spacecraft is flown in this "safe" mode, all non- critical activities are halted and the spacecraft points its antenna toward Earth and awaits new commands.
Controllers waited until the next telecommunications opportunity on Friday evening to resume contact with Stardust. Communications with the spacecraft were resumed as expected and the spacecraft was commanded to proceed with normal operations. Engineering data was received from the spacecraft, and the team is performing detailed analysis of the data to determine what activities or software could have led the spacecraft computer to trigger fault protection that placed Stardust in its temporary safe state.
Last week, the spacecraft successfully exercised the mirror on the navigation camera for the first time, moving the device outward 90 degrees and back. The mirror will allow the navigation camera to gather close-up images of heart of Comet Wild-2 without being struck by debris that will be flying off the comet's nucleus. Stardust encounters the comet in 2004.
Mission scientists were surprised and pleased last week with Stardust's exceptionally steady orientation in flight. Data from the navigation camera showed that the spacecraft's "drift," or the balancing adjustments it makes to maintain its orientation in space, was about 10 times less than anticipated. This is good news for scientists using the navigation camera, because the steadier the spacecraft, the clearer its images because there will be less smearing due to motion.
The principal investigator for the Stardust mission is Dr. Donald C. Brownlee of the University of Washington. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. The spacecraft was built and is operated by Lockheed Martin Astronautics, Denver. Its instruments were provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the University of Chicago, and the Max Planck Institute, Garching, Germany.
Ed.
NASA'S GALILEO SPACECRAFT FINDS "BOTTLE BLONDE"
CHEMICAL ON EUROPA
March 25, 1999
Hydrogen peroxide -- the chemical that can turn a brunette into an instant blonde-- appears on the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, according to a new discovery by NASA's Galileo spacecraft reported in the March 26 edition of the journal Science.
"Hydrogen peroxide is a really weird chemical that reacts strongly with almost everything," said Dr. Robert Carlson, principal investigator for Galileo's near-infrared mapping spectrometer instrument, the device that detected the chemical on Europa. Hydrogen peroxide is formed constantly on Europa as Jupiter's energetic particles smash apart molecules on the surface to produce new chemicals, Carlson said. This process is called radiolysis.
"We expect to find more bizarre materials on Europa, because it's constantly bombarded by Jupiter's intense particle radiation environment," Carlson said.
Hydrogen peroxide does not appear naturally on Earth's surface, partly because the surface is not hit by enough radiation to initiate the process that creates the chemical. "On Earth, if we want hydrogen peroxide, we have to make it in factories," Carlson said.
"Almost as soon as hydrogen peroxide is formed, it starts breaking down," Carlson explained. "It's either destroyed by ultraviolet light or changed by contact with other chemicals, so its life span on Europa is only a few weeks to months." The hydrogen peroxide becomes another reactive chemical called hydroxyl, and can ultimately produce oxygen and hydrogen gas, said Carlson.
Because Europa's surface chemicals are constantly being made and destroyed, it's hard to study its long-term chemical history, Carlson said. "On the other hand, we are interested in watching changes in chemical composition over short periods of time. By studying chemical processes on Europa and the other moons of Jupiter, we can learn more about how those moons interact with Jupiter, and how similar processes occur elsewhere in our solar system."
Galileo's near-infrared mapping spectrometer works like a prism, breaking up infrared light that is not visible to the naked eye. Since different chemical molecules absorb infrared light differently, scientists can study the light patterns and determine what chemicals are present. In this case, the instrument was used to study infrared light from Europa's surface, and it detected dark areas of hydrogen peroxide. The human eye would not normally see the hydrogen peroxide on Europa, because it is dissolved in surface ice and has no color.
Galileo's instruments had previously detected several other chemicals on Europa's surface, including sulfur dioxide, water ice, carbon dioxide, and possibly salt molecules containing water. Carlson and other scientists will have another chance to study the chemistry of Europa's surface when the Galileo spacecraft flies by Europa on November 25.
Galileo has been studying Jupiter, its moons and its magnetic environment for more than three years. Its primary mission ended in December 1997, but the spacecraft is in the midst of a two-year extension called Galileo Europa Mission.
The Galileo mission is managed by JPL for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, DC
DEEP SPACE 1 MISSION UPDATE
March 20, 1999.
Deep Space 1 has begun a new chapter in its voyage. With the ion propulsion system on the job again, it is providing a gentle and steady push. After successfully completing over 850 hours of operation from November through early January, this advanced technology has not been needed, except for two brief tests. Now that the operations team has completed a wide variety of experiments with many of the other technologies on board, the ion propulsion system is being put back to work.
Following a pattern that will be repeated each week through the end of April, on Monday the autonomous navigation system, familiar to you loyal readers of this log as AutoNav, turned the spacecraft and controlled the camera to collect the pictures of asteroids and stars it uses for determining where it is in the immense solar system. Following that, it analyzed these images and other data and correctly calculated its position. Next, it predicted where it will end up if it continues on its present course and determined what changes to make in the upcoming planned use of the ion propulsion system. AutoNav also turned the spacecraft to point the main antenna at Earth so that accumulated data on the health of the spacecraft and the results of various technology experiments could be transmitted. This also provided an opportunity for controllers to radio instructions to the craft. Finally, AutoNav turned the spacecraft to point the ion propulsion system in the direction it needed and fired it up. The engine came to life just as it was supposed to. Early each week, AutoNav will execute the same routine, and during the remainder of the week, only minimal contact will be established with the spacecraft to verify that it is operating correctly. Every 12 hours throughout the week, AutoNav updates the throttle level and the direction of thrusting.
If the spacecraft completes its scheduled thrusting through the end of April, it will be on a course to intercept an asteroid at the end of July. That encounter, while not a critical part of the mission, will allow another test of a portion of AutoNav and of the two advanced science instruments DS1 carries. In addition, the event offers the bonus opportunity to return exciting scientific data.
While the weekly cycle of about 6 and a half days of using the ion propulsion system and half a day for everything else continues, mission controllers can devote more time to planning for activities for May through July. These include a test of another sophisticated autonomy experiment and further tests of the other technologies, loading of new software in DS1's main computer, and encountering the asteroid. In the meantime, as long as the spacecraft continues with its current cycle, these reports may be updated less frequently, but your ever-faithful correspondent remains vigilant and will revise this log if events warrant.
In the week before thrusting was resumed, a complex set of observations concluded with the return of a large volume of data to characterize and calibrate DS1's experimental combination camera imaging spectrometer. Recent recordings have offered an idea of what this sophisticated device is capable of doing and its importance for future missions. To gain a comprehensive picture of its overall performance, it was used to collect images and spectra of a variety of targets, including selected stars and Mars.
Tests of other technologies on DS1 have continued as well. Regular experiments are now conducted with the 3 advanced technologies activated last month that are designed to help NASA achieve its objective of making spacecraft that are smaller and lighter, thus allowing them to be launched on more affordable rockets. One consists of electronic devices that are smaller and consume much less power than conventional microelectronics. Because spacecraft have to generate their own electrical power, this is important for future smaller spacecraft. These electronics are also expected to be more resistant to radiation, which all spacecraft are exposed to. These extremely low power electronics were developed by MIT/Lincoln Laboratories. Another new technology on board consists of a very small, lightweight set of on/off switches, developed by Boeing and Lockheed Martin. These switches can actually report to the spacecraft's computer on how much current and voltage they are controlling. Finally, DS1 carries a device known as a multifunctional structure. This places electronics right in a structural panel. The combination of these 2 important functions plus the ability to control the temperature all in one device offers the possibility of simplifying future spacecraft. This experiment was provided to NASA by the Air Force and built by Lockheed Martin. All 3 devices are working as designed and will continue to be operated regularly during the remainder of the mission to assess how they fare as they age, contributing to engineers' assessments of how applicable they are to spacecraft of the future.
Deep Space 1 soon will be half as far away as the Sun and is over 160 times as far away as the moon today. At this distance of 63 million kilometers, or more than 39 million miles, radio signals traveling at the universal limit of the speed of light take 7 minutes to make the round trip.
Interested in Humans to Mars?
The Mars Society Convention is in August this year at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Last year, some of us went to the founding convention (last August). Afterwards, we wound up forming a Seattle chapter of the Mars Society (Mars Society Puget Sound) with other area participants. This year we are planning to go again and plans are afoot now. Please Contact David Stuart, Chris Vancil, or myself (RandyRumley) if you are interested in the Mars Society or the convention.
Ed.
Note:
We will welcome any articles, editorials, referrals, or new web sites from any Chapter member. Please let us know. If you have ideas for speakers and/or projects for the chapter, let any officer know by E-mail, or in person at a meeting. Thank you.
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