Aucbvax.5365 fa.space utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!space Thu Dec 3 03:41:49 1981 SPACE Digest V2 #48 >From OTA@S1-A Thu Dec 3 03:25:37 1981 SPACE Digest Volume 2 : Issue 48 Today's Topics: The National Air and Space Museum Does anyone really care Aviation Week excerpts Oops ... forgot one Attendence at the Air and Space Museum ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: 02 Dec 1981 1004-PST From: Tom Wadlow Subject: The National Air and Space Museum To: space at MIT-MC The interest in the National Air and Space Museum is not a matter of contrast. It is surrounded by the rest of the Smithsonian and the rest of Washington, all of which are pretty spectacular, themselves. I asked the people at one of the information booths at NASM not too long ago about the crowds. She didn't know why they came but the NASM bookstore/souvenir shop does more business than most of the other Smithsonian trinket shops. Biggest sellers are books on aviation/spaceflight and models of the same. So perhaps the interest lies in the subject matter, not simply the matter of presentation. I understand that this was Kennedy Space Center's biggest year for tourism. The number has been steadily growing, though. Not just because of the recent launches. A somewhat less cheerful note: In my conversation with the lady at the NASM Info desk, I mentioned that it was sad that Reagan might be cutting back the NASA budget. She said, ''Well, that's OK, we have a lot of problems to solve here on Earth before we can afford to do that sort of stuff again.'' Sigh. ------------------------------ Date: 2 Dec 1981 08:29:42-PST From: decvax!duke!unc!smb at Berkeley In-real-life: Steven M. Bellovin Location: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill To: decvax!duke!unc!space@Berkeley Subject: Does anyone really care I keep a "B.C." cartoon taped to my refrigerator door: "Cutting the space budget really restores my faith in humanity!" "Why is that?" "It eliminates dreams, goals, and ideals... and lets us get straight to the business of hate, debauchery, and self- annihilation." ------------------------------ Date: 02 Dec 1981 1438-PST From: Tom Wadlow Subject: Aviation Week excerpts To: space at MIT-MC >From the November 30, 1981 issue of AWST ''Soviet Union's new antisatellite battle station in low earth orbit is escalating its capability for space warfare. The antisatellite system is equipped with clusters of interceptor vehicles that could destroy US spacecraft and has been identified as Cosmos 1,267, which has been docked to Salyut 6 since June 19, ostensibly as a test of enlarging the Salyut station's capabilities.'' . . . ''The Defense Dept. is concerned that future operational spacecraft like Cosmos 1,267 will be launched into geosynchronous orbit to threaten US communications and missle early warning spacecraft.'' . . . ''Docking of this antisatellite weapon platform with Salyut 6 means the USSR would be able to use a manned Salyut to direct antisatellite attacks against US spacecraft or to protect Soviet satellites against a US retaliatory attack. US officials said the data on the new killer satellite system, which first appeared in an intelligence report Sept. 17, are now "very hard from a variety of sources and methods; harder than anything we've seen in a long time."'' ================ There is also an article describing NASA efforts to initiate the first phase of transferring the Shuttle ground processing to private industry. ================ Official Doubts Space Station Need ''A top Reagan Administration space policy official has told Johnson Space Center personnel he foresees no need to establish a goal of manned performance in space or the establishment of a space operations center as the next National Aeronautics and Space Administration project following the Shuttle program.'' The article (which is too long to type) goes on to report that Victor H. Reis, assistant director for national security in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, says that the US space goal should be exploitation of the existing shuttle system, not a SOC. ''Although Reis' views do not necessarily rule out Reagan Administration support for a large new space goal, they cloud the future on whether NASA will be able to pursue advanced development of such systems under the Reagan Administration.'' ''Reis wants to stimulate the military space activity and military uses of the space shuttle. He foresees more autonomous military space shuttle operations than are currently possible with the NASA/Defense Dept. cooperative program.'' ================ Conceptual Design for a Mars Polar Orbiter will be conducted by RCA NASA has given RCA Astro-Electronics $20K to research a MPO to look for water and CO2 on Mars. Very useful stuff it you want to spend some time on Mars. ================ There is also lots of stuff on STS-2 and a marvelous section on computer graphics (CAD/CAM, Flight Simulators, Heads-Up Displays, etc) ------------------------------ Date: 02 Dec 1981 1445-PST From: Tom Wadlow Subject: Oops ... forgot one To: space at MIT-MC Also from Aviation Week USAF Undersecretary Edward C. Aldridge wants to transfer the Shuttle to a different management structure once it is operational. He foresees a ''space command'' for defense space operations. ''Aldridge said the US must possess the ability to deny the use of space to the Soviets when their systems threaten US interests.'' He also advocates expanding the fleet of orbiters, and the initiation of a study of ''a Block 2 shuttle'' with more payload, volume and orbit capabilities. ------------------------------ From: BRUC@MIT-ML Date: 12/02/81 18:44:20 Subject: Attendence at the Air and Space Museum BRUC@MIT-ML 12/02/81 18:44:20 Re: Attendence at the Air and Space Museum To: Space-Enthusiasts at MIT-MC Does anyone know real numbers for this along with attendence at other tourist attractions? Such facts would be nice to include in letters to the powers that be. ------------------------------ End of SPACE Digest ******************* ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.