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Heat Shield Technology
by Olhomorto＠aol.com 01 Aug '05

01 Aug '05

If I remember correctly, back in the 60's and 70's while U.S. manned spaceflights ended with a splash in the ocean, Soviet manned spaceflights landed on earth in Soviet territory. What were the technological differences between our parachute-and-heat shield-system, and the way the Soviets did it? Why did the two systems evolve differently--was it merely because the U.S. had more extensive freedom on the seas? Other than the fact that our space capsules "dropped" (?) through the atmosphere, and the space shuttle "glides"(?) down, and the shuttle's heat shield is made of tiles, how has our system evolved since the Apollo program? Mike Bailey

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Name the tenth planet
by Chuck Hards 01 Aug '05

01 Aug '05

Possible names for the new planet: Tombaugh (although not in character with the other names taken from classical Roman mythology) Goofy (well, we already have Pluto) Hillary (it's a cold, ice world) K-pax, K-mart, Kay-Bee, etc. Anyone else have suggestions for the name of the new planet before it's officially announced? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Rise with ISS during August
by Canopus56 31 Jul '05

31 Jul '05

ISS passes during August from CalSky for Salt Lake City, Utah http://www.calsky.com/cs.cgi? (No passes of ISS and Shuttle for August 1-8) All times are MDT, not UTC. Best dates are: 8/11, 8/12, 8/24, 8/26, 8/31 Monday 8 August 2005 5h41m07s Appears 5h38m10s 0.9m az:189.6d S h:6.3d Transit 5h41m07s 0.6m az:133.1d SE h:18.8d Disappears 5h45m41s 6.5m az: 66.7d ENE 5h41m39.43s ISS Close to Rigel, Bet Ori (SAO 131907, HIP 24436 HD 34085), mag=0.2. Separation: 0.316d Position Angle: 34.2d Partial low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:23am Sunrise: 6:30am Wednesday 10 August 2005 4h59m11s ISS Appears 4h58m25s -0.0m az:158.0d SSE h:19.5d Transit 4h59m11s 0.1m az:134.1d SE h:21.7d Disappears 5h03m50s 5.2m az: 65.1d ENE 5h00m43.15s Close to Betelgeuse, Alp Ori (SAO 113271, HIP 27989 HD 39801), mag=0.5. Separation: 0.048d Partial low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:26am Sunrise: 6:32am Thursday 11 August 2005 5h25m45s ISS Appears 5h24m14s -0.9m az:228.0d SW h:25.8d Transit 5h25m45s -1.9m az:142.5d SE h:82.1d Disappears 5h30m44s 6.3m az: 54.6d NE 5h26m27.40s ISS Close to Capella, Alp Aur (SAO 40186, HIP 24608 HD 34029), mag=0.1. Separation: 0.541d Position Angle: 355.2d Good zenithal track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:27am Sunrise: 6:33am Friday 12 August 2005 5h52m31s ISS Appears 5h49m58s 0.3m az:267.1d W h:11.0d Transit 5h52m31s -0.5m az:331.7d NNW h:31.3d Disappears 5h57m22s 5.7m az: 48.6d NE Good zenithal track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:28 Sunrise: 6:34am Saturday 13 August 2005 4h43m45s ISS Transit 4h43m45s --.-m az:323.5d NW h:85.2d Appears 4h44m00s -1.7m az: 38.6d NE h:71.9d Disappears 4h48m44s 5.3m az: 53.7d NE Partial good zenithal track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:29am Sunrise: 6:35am Sunday 14 August 2005 5h10m29s ISS Appears 5h09m35s -0.4m az:299.3d WNW h:23.5d Transit 5h10m29s -0.3m az:332.8d NNW h:28.3d Disappears 5h15m18s 5.6m az: 48.1d NE Partial good low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:30am Sunrise: 6:36am Monday 15 August 2005 5h37m24s ISS Appears 5h35m04s 0.8m az:297.1d WNW h:8.1d Transit 5h37m24s 0.8m az:342.8d NNW h:15.3d Disappears 5h41m52s 5.5m az: 46.7d NE Partial good low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:32am Sunrise: 6:37am Tuesday 23 August 2005 6h00m17s ISS Appears 5h55m29s 1.8m az:311.9d NW Transit 6h00m17s 0.7m az: 27.2d NNE h:28.3d Disappears 6h05m05s 4.0m az:102.5d ESE 5h56m49.52s ISS Close to Vega, Alp Lyr (SAO 67174, HIP 91262 HD172167), mag=0.0. Separation: 1.384d Position Angle: 102.1d Good low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:41am Sunrise: 6:45am Wednesday 24 August 2005 6h26m41s ISS Appears 6h21m43s 1.7m az:306.4d NW Transit 6h26m41s -1.7m az: 36.6d NE h:84.6d Disappears 6h31m38s 3.1m az:126.3d SE Good zenith track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:43am Sunrise: 6:46am Thursday 25 August 2005 5h17m33s ISS Appears 5h14m47s 1.0m az:322.0d NW h:9.6d Transit 5h17m33s 0.5m az: 28.2d NNE h:30.9d Disappears 5h22m22s 3.4m az:104.9d ESE Good low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:44am Sunrise: 6:47am Friday 26 August 2005 5h43m52s ISS Appears 5h40m53s 0.7m az:305.3d NW h:9.9d Transit 5h43m52s -2.0m az:217.2d SW h:84.3d Disappears 5h48m48s 2.8m az:129.0d SE Good zenithal track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:45am Sunrise: 6:48am Saturday 27 August 2005 6h09m53s ISS Appears 6h07m22s 0.5m az:281.4d WNW h:9.4d Transit 6h09m53s -0.6m az:225.6d SW h:22.4d Disappears 6h14m30s 2.3m az:155.7d SSE Good low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:46am Sunrise: 6:49am Wednesday 31 August 2005 21h10m55s ISS Appears 21h06m00s 3.0m az:235.4d SW Transit 21h10m55s -1.8m az:324.2d NW h:77.4d Disappears 21h13m27s 0.4m az: 50.7d NE h:13.2d Good zenithal track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:51am Sunrise: 6:53am - Canopus56(Kurt) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Read only the mail you want - Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail

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Rise with ISS during August
by Canopus56 31 Jul '05

31 Jul '05

ISS passes during August from CalSky for Salt Lake City, Utah http://www.calsky.com/cs.cgi? (No passes of ISS and Shuttle for August 1-8) All times are MDT, not UTC. Best dates are: 8/11, 8/12, 8/24, 8/26, 8/31 Monday 8 August 2005 5h41m07s Appears 5h38m10s 0.9m az:189.6d S h:6.3d Transit 5h41m07s 0.6m az:133.1d SE h:18.8d Disappears 5h45m41s 6.5m az: 66.7d ENE 5h41m39.43s ISS Close to Rigel, Bet Ori (SAO 131907, HIP 24436 HD 34085), mag=0.2. Separation: 0.316d Position Angle: 34.2d Partial low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:23am Sunrise: 6:30am Wednesday 10 August 2005 4h59m11s ISS Appears 4h58m25s -0.0m az:158.0d SSE h:19.5d Transit 4h59m11s 0.1m az:134.1d SE h:21.7d Disappears 5h03m50s 5.2m az: 65.1d ENE 5h00m43.15s Close to Betelgeuse, Alp Ori (SAO 113271, HIP 27989 HD 39801), mag=0.5. Separation: 0.048d Partial low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:26am Sunrise: 6:32am Thursday 11 August 2005 5h25m45s ISS Appears 5h24m14s -0.9m az:228.0d SW h:25.8d Transit 5h25m45s -1.9m az:142.5d SE h:82.1d Disappears 5h30m44s 6.3m az: 54.6d NE 5h26m27.40s ISS Close to Capella, Alp Aur (SAO 40186, HIP 24608 HD 34029), mag=0.1. Separation: 0.541d Position Angle: 355.2d Good zenithal track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:27am Sunrise: 6:33am Friday 12 August 2005 5h52m31s ISS Appears 5h49m58s 0.3m az:267.1d W h:11.0d Transit 5h52m31s -0.5m az:331.7d NNW h:31.3d Disappears 5h57m22s 5.7m az: 48.6d NE Good zenithal track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:28 Sunrise: 6:34am Saturday 13 August 2005 4h43m45s ISS Transit 4h43m45s --.-m az:323.5d NW h:85.2d Appears 4h44m00s -1.7m az: 38.6d NE h:71.9d Disappears 4h48m44s 5.3m az: 53.7d NE Partial good zenithal track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:29am Sunrise: 6:35am Sunday 14 August 2005 5h10m29s ISS Appears 5h09m35s -0.4m az:299.3d WNW h:23.5d Transit 5h10m29s -0.3m az:332.8d NNW h:28.3d Disappears 5h15m18s 5.6m az: 48.1d NE Partial good low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:30am Sunrise: 6:36am Monday 15 August 2005 5h37m24s ISS Appears 5h35m04s 0.8m az:297.1d WNW h:8.1d Transit 5h37m24s 0.8m az:342.8d NNW h:15.3d Disappears 5h41m52s 5.5m az: 46.7d NE Partial good low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:32am Sunrise: 6:37am Tuesday 23 August 2005 6h00m17s ISS Appears 5h55m29s 1.8m az:311.9d NW Transit 6h00m17s 0.7m az: 27.2d NNE h:28.3d Disappears 6h05m05s 4.0m az:102.5d ESE 5h56m49.52s ISS Close to Vega, Alp Lyr (SAO 67174, HIP 91262 HD172167), mag=0.0. Separation: 1.384d Position Angle: 102.1d Good low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:41am Sunrise: 6:45am Wednesday 24 August 2005 6h26m41s ISS Appears 6h21m43s 1.7m az:306.4d NW Transit 6h26m41s -1.7m az: 36.6d NE h:84.6d Disappears 6h31m38s 3.1m az:126.3d SE Good zenith track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:43am Sunrise: 6:46am Thursday 25 August 2005 5h17m33s ISS Appears 5h14m47s 1.0m az:322.0d NW h:9.6d Transit 5h17m33s 0.5m az: 28.2d NNE h:30.9d Disappears 5h22m22s 3.4m az:104.9d ESE Good low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:44am Sunrise: 6:47am Friday 26 August 2005 5h43m52s ISS Appears 5h40m53s 0.7m az:305.3d NW h:9.9d Transit 5h43m52s -2.0m az:217.2d SW h:84.3d Disappears 5h48m48s 2.8m az:129.0d SE Good zenithal track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:45am Sunrise: 6:48am Saturday 27 August 2005 6h09m53s ISS Appears 6h07m22s 0.5m az:281.4d WNW h:9.4d Transit 6h09m53s -0.6m az:225.6d SW h:22.4d Disappears 6h14m30s 2.3m az:155.7d SSE Good low horizon track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:46am Sunrise: 6:49am Wednesday 31 August 2005 21h10m55s ISS Appears 21h06m00s 3.0m az:235.4d SW Transit 21h10m55s -1.8m az:324.2d NW h:77.4d Disappears 21h13m27s 0.4m az: 50.7d NE h:13.2d Good zenithal track on star chart Nautical twilight: 5:51am Sunrise: 6:53am - Canopus56(Kurt) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Shuttle
by Kim Hyatt 30 Jul '05

30 Jul '05

I listened to some of NPR's "Science Friday" yesterday afternoon. One of the topics was the Space Shuttle and the foam insulation. Sorry, but I don't recall who the interviewee was - someone from NASA. One caller asked the same thing that Guy suggested - well, sort of. The caller asked if a net of some kind could be placed over the external tank, but he didn't mention fishnet stockings. Anyway, the interviewee said that NASA had actually considered a similar scenario, but he didn't say why it was ruled out. Maybe designers got nervous about all those new up-skirt cameras that were recently installed on the shuttle? Kim

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Re: That debbil foam again
by James Cobb 30 Jul '05

30 Jul '05

Ah, I found an oblique reference in the New York Times: "NASA engineers had already seen how fixes can break things. After they made a minor change in the foam application process in the late 1990's to comply with environmental rules, small divots of foam rained off of the tank during ascent. The phenomenon, called popcorning, was caused by trapped bubbles; NASA solved the problem by venting the foam with tiny holes, but it was a reminder, if any was needed, that seemingly small changes could have profound effects." This come from: http://nytimes.com/2005/07/31/science/space/31foam.html? hp&ex=1122782400&en=f35a8f54ae5625aa&ei=5094&partner=homepage (Access to this link may require you to register with NYTimes.com...) So it would appear that they did have a problem born of the CFC elimination, and subsequently solved. Still, I want to know more... Jim On Jul 29, 2005, at 7:43 PM, Jim Cobb: > I've been waiting for some mention of the possible role the CFC, > ozone hole, scare may have played in the destruction of Columbia and > NASA's subsequent problems.

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Right-angle drive
by Chuck Hards 30 Jul '05

30 Jul '05

I still have a few right-angle drives and torque-limiting clutches available, plus I now have pictures. Email me off-list if you want me to send you a couple of images of the hardware. The obvious uses for these would be in a dome or roof movement system on a small observatory, or perhaps a heavy-duty bino mount. ____________________________________________________ Start your day with Yahoo! - make it your home page http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs

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Inanity
by Patrick Wiggins 30 Jul '05

30 Jul '05

Warning: The following could be considered pontificating (something that I very much favor on this forum, whether I agree with what is being pontificated or not.) I just watched another interview with William Parsons (no, not the 3rd Earl of Rose, rather the guy in charge of the shuttle program). It's a good thing I'm beyond the "throwing things" phase or I might have thrown my tea mug at the TV. Seldom have I heard such inanity coming from questioners. (I'd say "media" but I don't want Joe to think I lump him in with what I've been seeing today.) My biggest regret just now is that I can't be within earshot when the good Mr. Parsons is with family and friends and says what he really thinks of some of those questions and comments. It would have felt so good to hear him come back to one of those "Don't you think you were stupid to put all those live at risk?" questions with something refreshing like, "Look, no one ever said spaceflight is safe. Right or wrong the only way for the US to get people into space just now is with the shuttle. It's an old machine based on even older technology. But it's all we've got. We are humans so we sometimes make mistakes. But we do what we can (and have done some pretty wonderful things) with the meager resources alloted by a bunch of politicians that don't know their butt from a black hole and who can't see past the next election. So back off and let us try again to find and fix the problem."

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August SLAS meeting and fusing galaxies
by Canopus56 30 Jul '05

30 Jul '05

At last night's SLAS meeting we watched an animation of two galaxies colliding, resulting in a "tadpole" asterism. It looked like the animation was of Caldwell 60 and 61 (Arp 244) - Arp244 NGC 4038-4039 C60-61 J120152.48-185202.9 mag 10.3-10.5 Unfortunately C60-61 is between Corvus and Carter and is below the horizon. Checking Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies - << http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Arp/frames.html >> for similar galaxies that are currently visible, Arp's numbers 233-256 concerns galaxies with the appearance of fission. For you light-bucket faint-fuzzy searchers, a few Arp galaxies that are above the horizon (albeit off-zenith in the west) and that are similar to the animation we viewed are: Arp240 NGC5257 http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Arp/Figures/big_arp240.gif J133952.94+005024.4 mag V12.9 dia. 1.8' Arp238 UGC8335 http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Arp/Figures/big_arp238.gif J131500.00+620600.0 mag 15 dia. 0.85' Arp241 UGC9425 http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Arp/Figures/big_arp241.gif J143751.13+302847.0 mag B15 dia. 0.85' Arp242 NGC 4676 (The Mice Galaxies) http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Arp/Figures/big_arp242.gif J124610.18+30 43 53.7 mag B14.1 dia. 1.37' I haven't personally observed these, so I can't express an opinion on the practicality of seeing them under current conditions. - Enjoy Canopus56(Kurt) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Master Blasters
by Patrick Wiggins 29 Jul '05

29 Jul '05

Those on the list that like to make things fly or go boom may want to know that the SciFi channel has a new show coming called Master Blasters. Part of the description on their web site (http://www.scifi.com/masterblasters) reads: Does your hobby require an FAA "launch window"? Imagination literally takes flight with Master Blasters, the new daredevil stepchild of the reality genre. A high-octane ride into the wild blue yonder, Master Blasters pits teams of amateur rocket scientists against each other in a race to design, build and launch some very bizarre things into the stratosphere. From rocket-bolstered La-Z-Boys to fuel-injected Mini Coopers, "one small step for man" becomes one giant leap for mad science! A healthy dose of teamwork, competition and creativity Â— mixed with jet fuel and a few end-runs around the laws of physics Â— make this television's most explosive weekly series. Patrick

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