Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ecn-pc.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!ecn-pc!wdm From: wdm@ecn-pc.UUCP (Tex) Newsgroups: net.space,net.columbia,net.sf-lovers,net.followup Subject: Re: Space Shuttle Children's Fund Message-ID: <479@ecn-pc.UUCP> Date: Thu, 13-Feb-86 14:56:19 EST Article-I.D.: ecn-pc.479 Posted: Thu Feb 13 14:56:19 1986 Date-Received: Sat, 15-Feb-86 02:24:13 EST References: <221@hadron.UUCP> <325@lifia.UUCP> <505@eneevax.UUCP> <469@ecn-pc.UUCP> <805@bute.tcom.stc.co.uk> Reply-To: wdm@ecn-pc.UUCP (Tex) Organization: Cybotech Product Development Laboratory Lines: 72 Xref: watmath net.space:5843 net.columbia:2349 net.sf-lovers:12404 net.followup:5724 In article <805@bute.tcom.stc.co.uk> pete@stc.UUCP (Peter Kendell) writes: >In article <469@ecn-pc.UUCP> wdm@ecn-pc.UUCP (Tex) writes: >> Don't blame him, it is probably difficult to live in a country that >> sits on the sidelines and watches while we explore space. After all, >> they think it is pretty neat that they have a booster that can but >> a satellite into orbit. > > Oh dear. I didn't know people still said that in public. > > 1: A comparison of the relative sizes of France and the USA > makes it pretty obvious that Ariane is a considerable > achievement. Of course Ariane is not totally French - it is the product of the Euro- pean Space Agency, of which France is the most active participant. > > 2: Why should the USA and the USSR have it all their own way > in space? I give up, why? I certainly never said they should. > > 3: Look to your laurels; the Japanese are right at your heels > Right Now on space technology - 2 of the Halley's Comet > probes are from Japan. (and Giotto, the best bet, is > European!) There are some pretty good reasons the US did not send a probe to Halley. One of the major ones was funding, of course. Another major one is the Halley did not present itself as a particularly interesting comet due to its approach relative to the Sun. What the US has proposed is the (I probably have this somewhat garbled) Tempel 2 Comet Rendezvous Mission. I don't know what its status is since the Challenger malfunctioned. This probe is designed to go out to the asteroid belt (doing a close in asteroid fly-by in the process, as a result of which, I think the mission has had appended Asteroid Fly-by to its name, I believe), pick up Tempel 2 and stay with it as it approaches the Sun, reaches perihelion and then goes back to aphelion. It will be in close proximity to Tempel 2 for several MONTHS. The Halley probes will be in close proximity for several minutes, or maybe hours depending what you want to call "close," due to their high angle of interception. Comet researchers generally agree that the Tempel 2 mission is of much higher scientific significance than the Halley missions, because the comet will be observed going from a nearly virgin state, then to a highly excited state and back again. Of course, history is not rich with Tempel 2 lore, so this mission does not have the allure of a Halley mission. And now, a message to our French speaking viewers: J'ai poste une article il y a deux semaines, un peu pres, disant que la France n'est pas un des champions de l'exploration de l'espace. Je crois exactement le contraire. Je l'ai ecrit en reponse a un francais qui a ecrit une article qui etait, a mon avis, insultant, surtout juste apres le disastre Challenger. Si je vous ai insulte, je m'excuse. Je n'ai que admiration pour l'ESA. Excusez mon francais, s'il vous plait. > > 7 brave humans died on the Challenger; we all respect their > courage, but some of us are wondering why you have to die live > on TV to raise the conscience of a nation. If I recall correctly, the Apollo One Crew did not die "live on TV," and the conscience of the nation was still raised.