eugene@ames.UUCP (Eugene Miya) (07/25/84)
Facts: question: are electronic exposed to vaccuum or it is contained:
answer: both. The fuse which blew in Solar MAX was a sealed fuse which
apparently lost its gas. Other electronics on Galileo are exposed (to a
degrees).
<Flame>
I have not cared for the term 'common sense' since I was a kid. Too many
people take too much for granted (assumption == ass of you and me, remember
that joke, this is not meant as an insult) with regard to space. We have a
lot of visitors to NASA Centers, and they usually remark on the 'incredible
scale of things'. (Especially manned space facilities.) I think science
and engineering are reaching points where it is difficult to do work in
the garage like Hewett and Packard did. Witness the big magnets and lasers
at LLNL for fusion energy research, note that all the companies doing molecular
biology work: emphasis, the number of PhDs they have, BS level bio is not
yet enough: they are still cracking individual genes and have yet to discover
computers.
Carl Sagan noted in 1978 that NASA has a "mission must not fail" attitude.
Agreed.
Hans Mark, James Beggs, and others want NASA to remain a research organization.
We want out of the space trucking business. Who wants to assume the Shuttle?
No one with money yet. Some <entrepreneurs>argue that smaller scale will
be better. How many of you have put serious money into these firms? Just
curious.
Al Globius and I may disagree on a number of points: e.g., I want more unmanned
deep space exploration <Who in the private sector is going to do this?>,
but we are basically a research organization. Private space,
come on in, but we warn you, development won't be easy, things don't work
like you expect them to: anybody have a 'cure' for space sickness which
is 100% effective? I think we both argee that there is too much bureacracy
in the Government: it will eventually drive me into the private sector.
The current net.followup discussion on Proxmire has some relvance. Men like
that keep some people on their toes, but also create more bureacracy. Why
doesn't hit the military waste more? IS he an agent for the Pentagon
doing a distracting action? {joking}. My God, what am I doing here!
<Flame off, running down the hallway>
--eugene miya