SUBJECT: ODYSSEY ON-LINE MAGAZINE, VOL II, NO. 3 FILE: UFO1507 ±±±±±±±±Ü ÜÜÜÜÜ Ü Ü ÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÜ Ü Ü ±±Ûßßß±±Û Û Û ÛÜÜÛ ÛÜÜÜ ÛÜÜÜ ÛÜ ÛÜÜÛ ±±Û ±±Û ÜÛÜÜÛ ÜÜÜÛ ÜÜÜÛ ÜÜÜÛ ÛÜÜÜ ÜÜÜÛ ±±Û ±±Û ±±Û ±±Û ÜÜÜ Ü Ü ÜÜÜ ÜÜÜ Ü ÜÜÜÜ ±±Û ±±Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û ÛÜ ±±±±±±±±Û Û ÛÜÛ ÛÜÜÜ ÜÛÜ Û ÛÜÛ ÛÜÜÜ ßßßßßßßß ÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛÛ ±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±±± ²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²²² [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 andy@pangea.stanford.edu 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: skingsle@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu From: bob_arnold@qmgate.arc.nasa.gov 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: skingsle@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu * * CompuServe: 72376,3545 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ---End of Article--- Don dona@bilver.uucp ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 or 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 ================================================================= COLUMNS ================================================================= Jacurutu Lincolnton, N.C. 1-704-732-1852 Twilight Zone Auburndale, W.I. 1-715-652-2758 Don's House Poway, C.A. 1-619-530-0613 Alternatives Baton Rouge, L.A. 1-504-926-7903 Pegasus Woodridge, C.O. 1-719-687-8319 ABySS Washington, D.C. 1-703-823-6591 Purgatory Salem, O.R. 1-503-370-9739 Frontier Cullman, A.L. 1-205-739-1469 ********************************************** * THE U.F.O. BBS - http://www.ufobbs.com/ufo * **********************************************