From: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Subject: Skunk Works Digest V5 #57 Reply-To: skunk-works-digest@mail.orst.edu Errors-To: skunk-works-digest-owner@mail.orst.edu Precedence: bulk Skunk Works Digest Thursday, 7 April 1994 Volume 05 : Number 057 In this issue: Warning.. Off topic logic of Aurora (was Re: Contrail morphology => Aurora?) Things to do at NASA/Dryden ? Things to be flown Re: Things to do at NASA/Dryden ? Airbreating Tests at Mach 15 Planned Re: Things to do at NASA/Dryden ? Re: Things to do at NASA/Dryden ? See the end of the digest for information on subscribing to the skunk-works or skunk-works-digest mailing lists and on how to retrieve back issues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: John Erling Blad Date: Wed, 6 Apr 1994 11:03:35 +0200 Subject: Warning.. Off topic I simply couldn't resist.. ********************** From: tci.mai@rex.iasnet.com Subject: SS Mir has problems Hi folks! We have some news for all interested in human microgravity adaptation research. Since 1988 Soviet Union has been conducting a classified five-year experiment on board the Mir space station to study the long-term influence of microgravity on a living organizm. For this purpose in 1988 there was a little bear-cub Mishka brought to the station. Now the experiment is over, but over this time the bear has grown up "a little" and became quite a problem for us because he cannot move through the air-lock into the re-entry vehicle. No one can suggest a good way how to bring him back to Earth for the last phase of the research comprising further study of his organizm and changes to be compared with his direct brother who has been staying on Earth all this time. Since recently, due to overall warming in the international relations, the experiment is not a secret any longer. ... but, as I said, is quite a problem. Soon there is going to be announced a call for ideas throughout the world space community for the best way to bring Mishka back. Source: Russian magazine VESTI IZ KOSMOSA (NEWS FROM SPACE), April'94. Max Larin Leonid Koryakin **************** This post drop into my mailbox 1. april.. John ------------------------------ From: neil@bedford.progress.com (Neil Galarneau) Date: Wed, 6 Apr 94 09:51:30 EDT Subject: logic of Aurora (was Re: Contrail morphology => Aurora?) > Date: Tue, 5 Apr 1994 15:45:16 -0700 > From: larry@ichips.intel.com > To: skunk-works@gaia.ucs.orst.edu > Subject: Re: Contrail morphology => Aurora? [snip] > > Let me note that I'm agnostic on the "Aurora": I'd love to > >find out that we (the USians) have done something as outrageously > >wonderful as the SR-71 again, but the evidence so far doesn't > >convince me that we have. > > Well, that's fine. > > The point that I come from is that it borders on the incompetent if they > haven't done this already, because the technology is there, and the need is > there. Ben Rich has even said this. In fact you can't help but look at the > dependence we now have on space based assets and the growing dependence on > that that we have (see the post last week on the RADIANT OAK excersize for > example), and not argue that we need to synergize with that, protect it, back > it up or possibly be able to quickly replace it! There may be a need for > several fast/high altitude airplanes there. To protect/insure a larger and > larger investment that we're making. As I said, if we're not thinking of this, > then somebody is not doing their job. > > Larry In the January or February Proceedings of the Naval Institute there was an article on Naval Space Policy. It pointed out that opposing countries can't help but notice how important our satellites are to us. Therefore, the article argued, the US should be prepared to deal with the day that our satellites get attacked. A good reason to have Aurora in my opinion. Neil ------------------------------ From: SMPOD@ARIEL.LERC.NASA.GOV Date: Wed, 6 Apr 1994 11:07:26 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Things to do at NASA/Dryden ? In mid July, I'll be attending a workshop at NASA/Dryden and was wondering what was worthwhile visiting at the base and environs. Any suggestions? ------------------------------ From: Mary Shafer Date: Wed, 6 Apr 1994 15:40:37 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Things to be flown I need to have everything that's going to be flown in my hands by 18 April if it's going to be flown on this round of flights. Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... ------------------------------ From: Mary Shafer Date: Wed, 6 Apr 1994 15:36:23 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Things to do at NASA/Dryden ? There's a tour twice a day, although your workshop may well include a tour that covers more ground. Edwards has a public tour on Friday mornings only. There are some nice airplanes in the museum, too. You can go over to Mojave and look at the mothballed airliners, too. Regards, Mary Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... On Wed, 6 Apr 1994 SMPOD@ARIEL.LERC.NASA.GOV wrote: > In mid July, I'll be attending a workshop at NASA/Dryden and was wondering > what was worthwhile visiting at the base and environs. > > Any suggestions? > > ------------------------------ From: larry@ichips.intel.com Date: Wed, 6 Apr 1994 14:12:25 -0700 Subject: Airbreating Tests at Mach 15 Planned A summary from the 4/4/94 Aerospace Daily: Atmospheric scramjet flight test program mapped out National Aerospace Plane researchers working on ways to scale back their program to fit budget realities have mapped out a plan for an affordable atmospheric scramjet flight test program that could see its first flight in less than three years. The test series, which would be done under the DOD/NASA Hypersonic Systems Technology Program, or HySTP, would probably be funded at about $60 million to $70 million next year, growing to $90 million annually from fiscal 1996 through fiscal 1999. The concept is for a scaled-down NASP-style vehicle that could be launched atop an ICBM from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. The program envisions four flights. "You'd...boost it up to altitude-probably around 150,000 feet-and just under Mach 15, you turn on the scram engine and accelerate the vehicle," said George F. Orton, program manager for McDonnell Douglas' Hypersonic Center of Excellence. The flight would arc out above the ocean to about 400 miles off the coast, after which the test vehicle would simply come down into the ocean. Researchers would use an aircraft orbiting near the test area to handle telemetry during the tests. "The number one goal of this experiment is to demonstrate that we can produce positive thrust and accelerate this vehicle to Mach 15 with a scramjet," Orton said. The team is already doing some conceptual design work, but will start "in earnest with a six-month preliminary design effort beginning in fiscal 1995," he said. In early 1997, the first vehicle would be shipped to Vandenberg for a first flight in mid-1997. The next flight would come about a year later in 1998, followed by another early in 1999 and perhaps one more some months later in the beginning of 2000. The vehicle designs will be nearly identical for each flight, and only the instrumentation will be improved along the way. Even though for the time being the team has dropped plans to build an X-30 NASP vehicle, there's still work to be done. The team is in the process of wrapping up the Phase II-D program, which should be completed by the end of fiscal 1994. ------------------------------ From: smith@atfs0.dsd.northrop.com (Dick Smith) Date: Wed, 6 Apr 1994 16:46:18 -0500 (CDT) Subject: Re: Things to do at NASA/Dryden ? Don't forget Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale, on the south side of Air Force Plant 42, just east of the Palmdate Municipal Airport. One SR-71, one A-12. I can't remember when it's open, but vaguely remember that it's the last few days of the week, like thursday through sunday? Then again, you may see enough SR-71 at Edwards to skip this. Is it on the tour? - -- Dick Smith smith@ast.dsd.northrop.com Software Unit Manager home: dick@smith.chi.il.us Northrop ESD ------------------------------ From: Mary Shafer Date: Wed, 6 Apr 1994 21:47:58 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: Things to do at NASA/Dryden ? Yes, at least one SR-71A is on the tour. When the weather is nice, all three are on the tour because tha hangar door is up. Mary Mary Shafer DoD #0362 KotFR shafer@ursa-major.spdcc.com Some days it don't come easy/And some days it don't come hard Some days it don't come at all/And these are the days that never end.... On Wed, 6 Apr 1994, Dick Smith wrote: > Don't forget Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale, on the south side of > Air Force Plant 42, just east of the Palmdate Municipal Airport. > > One SR-71, one A-12. I can't remember when it's open, but vaguely > remember that it's the last few days of the week, like thursday through > sunday? > > Then again, you may see enough SR-71 at Edwards to skip this. Is it on > the tour? > -- > Dick Smith smith@ast.dsd.northrop.com > Software Unit Manager home: dick@smith.chi.il.us > Northrop ESD ------------------------------ End of Skunk Works Digest V5 #57 ******************************** To subscribe to skunk-works-digest, send the command: subscribe skunk-works-digest in the body of a message to "majordomo@mail.orst.edu". If you want to subscribe something other than the account the mail is coming from, such as a local redistribution list, then append that address to the "subscribe" command; for example, to subscribe "local-skunk-works": subscribe skunk-works-digest local-skunk-works@your.domain.net To unsubscribe, send mail to the same address, with the command: unsubscribe skunk-works-digest in the body. 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