tilos
NGC5253 since you've implicated in being involved in new
Wed Oct 20 15:07:10 1999


star formation can you gives your insight on this old e-mail of mine ... The person it was originally sent to declined to comment for some unknown reason.
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Assuming what is put forth on the K website is correct wouldn't becoming reunited with the (L)ight mean a loss of individuality and existing in a environment that never changes? Based on what I have read so far I do not wish to "rejoin" the (L)ight. Communication is fine but being "assimilated" does not appeal to me.

If all of the galaxies in the Cosmos were the result of a single "Big Bang" event why are a lot of galaxies spiral in structure...seems illogical. The most logical explanation for a spiral galaxy (based on my limited understanding of such things) would be that the galaxy is returning to the point of origin. Galaxies and Stars have a shelf life but the Cosmos does not. In other words there will always be galaxies but not the same ones. If you haven't figured out how to leave your galaxy before it collapses then you will more than likely be rejoining the (L)ight whether you want to or not. Also once one leaves the boundary of a galaxy what is the definition of time and the speed of light?
Do time and the speed of light even apply in the void between galaxies?
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Why I am concerned over such things is almost as big of a mystery as the questions posed. :)

tilos
Wow ! What an entrance. Great site and one I haven't seen
Wed Oct 20 00:01:26 1999


I will check it out later this week. I have some work I have to get done so I can't stay tonight but really wish I could. Sounds like I might be able to learn a lot talking to my new friend :)

I did notice this in my quick scan that is of interest.

"This clear link between Vesta and Braille is an important finding," said Dr. Laurence Soderblom of the U.S. Geological Survey, team leader for Deep Space 1 experiments using the spacecraft's integrated spectrometer and imaging instrument.

       Scientists are now wrestling with a thorny question: Is the near-Earth asteroid Braille a chip off Vesta's old block, or are the two asteroids siblings which originated elsewhere, perhaps thrown off a larger body that has long since been destroyed?

Science1
Links, Design Laws
Tue Oct 19 22:27:23 1999


Here is the addy for Clark Lindsey's excellent space links page.

http://msia02.msi.se/~lindsey/spaceLinks.html

And also addy for the equally excellent small satellites home page.

http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/SSC/SSHP/sshp_akin.html

from which I extracted this for immediate consumption.

Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design

Engineering is done with numbers. Analysis without numbers is, at best, only an opinion.

To design a spacecraft right takes a infinite amount of effort. This is why it's a good idea to design them to operate when some things are wrong.

Design is an iterative process. The necessary number of iterations is one more than the number you have currently done. This is true at any point in time.

Your best efforts will inevitably wind up being useless in the final design. Learn to live with the disappointment.

(Miller's Law) Three points determine a curve.

(Mar's Law) Everything is linear if plotted log-log with a fat magic marker.

At the start of any design effort, the person who most wants to be team leader is least likely to be capable of it.

In nature, the optimum is almost always in the middle somewhere. Distrust assertions that the optimum is at an extreme point.

Not having all the information you need is never a satisfactory excuse for not starting the analysis.

When in doubt, estimate. In an emergency, guess. But be sure to go back and clean up the mess when the real numbers come along.

Sometimes, the fastest way to get to the end is to throw everything out and start over.

There is never a single right solution. There are always multiple wrong ones, though.

Design is based on requirements. There's no justification for designing something one bit "better" than the requirements dictate.

"Better" is the enemy of "good"

The ability to improve a design occurs primarily at the interfaces. This is also the prime location for screwing it up.

The previous people who did a similar analysis did not have a direct pipeline to the wisdom of the ages. There is, therefore, no reason to believe their analysis over yours. There is especially no reason to present their analysis as yours.

The fact that an analysis appears in print has no relationship to the likelihood of its being correct.

Past experience is excellent for providing a reality check. Too much reality can doom an otherwise worthwhile design, though.

The odds are greatly against you being immensely smarter than everyone else in the field. If your analysis says your terminal velocity is twice the speed of light, the chances are better that you've screwed up than that you've invented warp drive.

A bad design with a good presentation is doomed eventually. A good design with a bad presentation is doomed immediately.

(Larrabee's Law) Half of everything you hear in a classroom is crap. Education is figuring out which half is which.

When in doubt, document. (Documentation requirements will reach a maximum shortly after the termination of a project.)

The schedule you develop will seem like a complete work of fiction up until the moment your customer fires you for not meeting it.

Its called a "Work Breakdown Structure" because the Work remaining will grow until you have a Breakdown, unless you enforce some Structure on it.

Space is a completely unforgiving environment. If you screw up the engineering, SOMEBODY DIES!

Project-related tasks converge. Managers attempt to design the system, and designers attempt to manage the project.

A small satellite inherently limits the amount of trouble you can cause.

Never show your working prototype to the management. It may become tomorrows press announcement of the finished project. (D.M.Gabbitas)

The 90-90 rule of project schedules: The first 90 percent of the project takes 90 percent of the allotted time. The last 10 percent takes the other 90 percent.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism
.
Experience is something you only gain just after you needed it.

Gatekeeper....
In turn....
Tue Oct 19 23:33:38 1999


Space 2000 Call for papers.

An old chat session with a NASA historian and Bill Nye the Science Guy!

This is just to weird....

'97 Speech....Military is listening to industry.

Living in space....winding around a bit but....

Kirk's Links

JPL Imaging BBS for tech questions...notice response freq.

Project Science Venture...good idea for kids.

Very worth while reading...Takes time though!

Of course Florida Today Space Online!

Given the need for compactness...Nanotech is a good place to study.

Gates of Babylon....More later...

Anonymous
Ownership of the Moon : res nullis vs. res communis
Wed Oct 20 14:32:42 1999


Externalities arise when property rights are ill-defined. The question of who owns the atmosphere is not clearly addressed in law; is it res nullis (own by no one) or res communis (own by everyone)? There is no universally accepted answer.

Source of quote:
http://www.albemarle.cc.nc.us/~emorgan/eco252/ps3k.htm


or maybe res tin pieces if Santa Claus has a bad temper and doesn't like trespassers :)

The Moon obviously has a tremendous strategic value for Military uses. Any country that had the capability to keep military assets based on the Moon would do so if the costs were not prohibitive. At some point in the future this will likely become an issue. That is assuming the Moon is currently unoccupied.

tilos

Grendel
In spite of solemn declarations...
Wed Oct 20 17:32:20 1999


by statesmen that the days of territorial expansion and colonization are over, the human instinct to stake out territory remains strong. After the age of exploration and empires, the last bastion of 'res communis' was the high seas, aka 'international waters'.

In the last 20 years we have seen that concept steadily eroded. First the age-old three mile territorial limit (based on maximum cannon range during the Napoleonic Wars) was extended to 12 miles. Then a continental shelf zone was added, giving nations the exclusive right to exploit oil and gas on the continental shelf adjoining their coastlines, and the concommittant right to police that zone and monitor free passage. This can extend national sovereignty two or three hundred miles out in many cases. And finally an 'economic exploitation zone' of two hundred miles was added where nations have exclusive fishing rights. In many areas this means that there are no 'International waters' left at all.

Where economic and military interests are involved, the principle of 'res communis' goes out the window and Might makes Right. As it undoubtedly will on the Moon and the planets. Who owns the Moon? Whoever can take it.

Debaser
Don't forget the Monroe Doctrine...
Wed Oct 20 18:49:12 1999


Last used by Kennedy during the Cuban Missle Crisis, it basically dictates that no hostile forces may exist within the northwestern hemisphere...as I understand it.

Jason

tilos
Thank you for the clear and concise "bottom line"
Wed Oct 20 17:57:10 1999


I wish I could debate the "might makes right" statement in regard to the "New Frontier" before us but history would always prove any rebuttable to likely be wrong. At least it will be more expensive to kill each other "out there" so hopefully there will be an economic incentive for cooperation instead of confrontation.

GOM
Thought you might be interested in a JPL update . . .
Wed Oct 20 21:14:38 1999



MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Mars Polar Lander Mission Status
October 20, 1999

Flight controllers for NASA's Mars Polar Lander have decided to postpone the next thruster firing used to fine-tune the spacecraft's flight path until October 30.

This delay allows mission engineers to continue their
evaluation of all spacecraft systems and operational procedures after the loss of Mars Climate Orbiter. The thruster maneuver was previously scheduled for today.

The spacecraft is healthy and the team is continuing to test and train for the early surface phase of the mission.

Mars Polar Lander is currently 18.8 million kilometers (11.7
million miles) from Mars, approaching the planet at a speed of 4.8 kilometers per second (10,740 miles per hour) relative to the planet.

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