AN OFFICIAL _THE ARMCHAIR ASTRONOMER_ SUPPLEMENT
[I of course try to keep supplements to a minumum, but due to
the timely and somewhat humorous nature of the incidents and
their applicability to a story carried in this month's issue,
I am passing this information on to you. It will appear as
article -18- in the archives. - Ed.]
"http://lalaland.cl.msu.edu/~vanhoose/astro/news0695.html"
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From: jgreen@trumpet.aix.calpoly.edu (James T. Green)
Organization: Martian Militia
Newsgroups: sci.space.shuttle,sci.space.policy
Subject: Woodpeckers on the Space Shuttle
Date: 1 Jun 1995 17:32:28 -0700
I just heard on the news that the Space Shuttle is facing a new
problem. As it's woodpecker nesting season in Florida, the birdies
are pecking 4" diameter holes in the foam insulation of the
external fuel tank. They don't want to launch with these holes in
the insulation so there are technicians in "cherry pickers"
patching up the holes while the shuttles are on the pad (I believe
there are two on the pad awaiting launch now). What they are doing
about keeping the fowl vermin away from pecking more holes I don't
know.
I think it's rather funny myself :-).
(begin Woody Woodpecker voice)
Ha ha ha ha ha!
(end Woody Woodpecker voice)
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From: hancock@Trade-Zone.msfc.nasa.gov (T. Hancock)
Organization: New Technology Inc.
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Re: Woodpeckers on the Space Shuttle's ET
Date: 2 Jun 1995 15:17:06 GMT
Have you seen the NASA approved, plastic Owls, now mounted all
over the pad?
Bettercheaperfasternonlethal approach, until launch.
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From: baalke@kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov (Ron Baalke)
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
Subject: STS-70 Launch Delayed
Date: 2 Jun 1995 14:53:04 -0700
NOTE TO EDITORS: N95-36
NASA MANAGERS DELAY LAUNCH OF DISCOVERY, ATLANTIS DATE NOT SET
NASA managers have decided to delay the launch of Space Shuttle
Discovery on Mission STS-70 in order to make repairs to foam
insulation on the vehicle's external fuel tank. Earlier this
week, technicians at Launch Pad 39-B discovered that
woodpeckers had inflicted about six dozen small holes in the
insulation material.
Due to the critical role the insulation plays from a thermal
standpoint during the Shuttle's launch and ascent, and the
tank's re-entry into the atmosphere, it was determined that
the damaged areas must be fixed prior to flight. After
evaluating the location and nature of the areas in question,
it was determined the repairs should be performed in the
Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). This is due to access and
environmental concerns at the launch pad.
Technicians will now begin preparations for Discovery's
rollback to the VAB which may take place the week of June 5.
The insulation repair work should take less than a week to
complete. Upon completion of the insulation work, Discovery
will be moved back to the launch pad for final vehicle
preparations. The TDRS/IUS payload will be removed prior to
rollback.
With the rollback decision on Discovery, Space Shuttle
Atlantis on Mission STS -71, the first Shuttle-Mir mission,
will probably be the next mission flown. The STS-71 mission
is scheduled for launch during the third week of June.
An official launch date is expected to be announced late next
week. A launch date was not selected at the conclusion of
today's Flight Readiness Review due to ongoing work aboard
the Mir station that needs to be completed prior to Atlantis'
arrival. The launch team at the Kennedy Space Center will
continue vehicle processing work so that Atlantis will be
ready for launch anytime on or after June 22.
Shuttle managers are considering various manifest options in
terms of which mission will follow the STS-71 flight. There
is a flight opportunity scheduled for mid-July and initial
indications show another flight could be done in mid-August.
STS-71 is the first of seven planned Space Shuttle-Mir
missions between 1995 and 1997, including rendezvous,
docking and crew transfers, which will pave the way toward
assembly of the international Space Station beginning in
November 1997.
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[And probably the most interesting of all contributions to the
thread...]
From: davida5625@aol.com (DavidA5625)
Organization: America Online, Inc. (1-800-827-6364)
Newsgroups: sci.space.policy
Subject: Re: Woodpeckers on the Space Shuttle
Date: 2 Jun 1995 21:25:19 -0400
Space Frontier Foundation News Release
Please contact: Rick Tumlinson @ (212) 387'7887
Space Group Congratulates Visionary Woodpeckers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - The Space Frontier Foundation, a national
space policy and media group, today congratulated several
woodpeckers which have apparently been trying to make use of the
space shuttle's external tanks, an activity not on the official
NASA agenda. According to a Foundation spokesman, the creatures
have demonstrated an awareness of the tank's value as habitats
that NASA has been unable to grasp.
According to Rick Tumlinson, the organization's President:
"Recognizing that the huge space shuttle external tanks make good
habitats shows that these birds are obviously smarter than the
average NASA engineer."
The Foundation has been fighting for years to force the US
government to hand over the giant structures to those who would
convert them into useful space facilities. Currently the twenty
three story tall ETs, which these companies want to recycle as
giant space facilities, are carried 98% of the way into space and
are thrown away each time the shuttle flies - to burn up over the
Pacific."
Stated Tumlinson: "By refusing to negotiate with a NASA
bureaucracy which is usually hostile to innovative thinking and
going straight to the bending metal (or in this case digging
foam) stage, the little entrepreneurs have temporarily beaten the
system." He continued: "They must be feeling the same type of
excitement felt by the two firms who were given the green light
to develop this idea at the end of the Reagan administration...
unfortunately, just as was the case with those firms, their joy
will be short lived. We can be sure that just as in the case of
those firms, NASA will do everything it can to run them off, up
to and including assuring their demise."
As for the national good, he went on: "US private space firms can
turn this government surplus into useful facilities and
structures that could generate millions of dollars in profits and
provide a huge additional volume for those who can't fit their
projects on the Alpha station. These tanks are not a threat to
the station as many NASA managers believe, they are an asset, and
can create the small town in space for which the government's
Alpha can be the center. It's a disgusting waste to simply toss
them away at a time when they should be looking for such
leveraging ideas."
He concluded: "We wish these birds well, but we know they are
doomed. It is a tradition at NASA that those who challenge the
program are not welcome. Of course if they could get a civil
service rating that would be another matter, in fact at that
point they might be able to get few million dollars to do some
paper studies (in their case they might opt for the trees and
just skip the paper). For now we recommend they move north, as
there's a lot of dead wood in Washington."
_________________________________________________
The Space Frontier Foundation is a grass roots organization of
American citizens dedicated to opening the space frontier to
human exploration and settlement as rapidly as possible.
_________________________________________________
For general information on the Foundation call 1-800-78SPACE
Our E-Mail Address is OPENFRONTIER@DELPHI.COM
David Anderman
Space Activist
916/421-2621
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_________________________________________________________________________
| |
| Todd E. Van Hoosear, editor |
| - T H E A R M C H A I R A S T R O N O M E R - |
| astro@gdl.msu.edu |
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