| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 830.1 | JPL wants to close spacecraft test facility | VERGA::KLAES | Life, the Universe, and Everything | Wed Feb 17 1993 10:30 | 34 |
| Article: 1578
From: [email protected] (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.local.los_angeles,clari.tw.aerospace,clari.local.california
Subject: JPL wants to close Edwards testing facility
Date: Sun, 14 Feb 93 13:02:05 PST
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- Officials at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory say
they want to close a noted test facility at Edwards Air Force Base in
Palmedale as a cost-cutting measure.
JPL and NASA officials are reviewing plans to close the remote site
beginning in 1994 because of a lack of business, the Los Angeles Daily
News reported Sunday.
The facility has been used to develop technologies for virtually
every unmanned U.S. spacecraft. It also has been used to develop
electric car and battlefield simulator technologies.
The testing facility is jointly operated by NASA and the California
Institute of Technology in Pasadena. It costs about $1.5 million to $1.8
million a year to run.
``It's a loss of a vital facility to the nation,'' said Lancaster
Mayor George Root, who retired after a 29-year career at JPL. ``It has
immensely contributed to unmanned space programs and technology in general.''
The laboratory was established in 1945 on 40 acres on Edwards'
remote north base as an annex of Caltech. It has evolved into a
570-acre facility that is staffed by 46 workers.
Among the projects develped at Edwards were Surveyor, a small
unmanned spacecraft that landed on the Moon in the 1960s, and Mariner,
which first circled Mars in 1971.
|
| 830.2 | A trimmer JPL | VERGA::KLAES | Life, the Universe, and Everything | Sun Feb 28 1993 16:54 | 144 |
| From: DECWRL::"[email protected]" "Ron Baalke" 26-FEB-1993
To: [email protected]
CC:
Subj: JPL's 'faster, better, cheaper' goal
From the "JPL Universe"
February 26, 1993
The future is now for JPL's `faster, better, cheaper' goal
The Caltech Management Association recently brought together
leading JPL experts for a panel discussion entitled, "Faster,
Better, Cheaper: How JPL Is Doing It?," which sought to inspire,
encourage and motivate a standing room only crowd about the
changes ahead for the Laboratory.
The moderator was Deputy Director Larry Dumas, who began
the forum by giving the von Karman Auditorium audience a dose of
reality. "NASA's budget over the next several years will not
permit any new starts except for small or moderate-sized
missions," he said, "and JPL and its contractors need to be
believably faster, better, cheaper."
The panel, whose job it was to address this issue, included
E. Kane Casani, former manager of the Miniature Seeker Technology
Integration (MSTI) project; Tony Spear, manager of the Mars
Environmental Survey (MESUR); Donna Pivirotto, team leader for
the Microrover; and Robert Staehle, preproject manager of the
Pluto Fast Flyby.
Casani has the distinction of having tackled the first JPL
mission that falls into the faster, better, cheaper category --
MSTI -- which was recently completed on time and under budget.
"We did MSTI for $15 million and we did it on schedule,"
Casani told the audience.
Part of the secret of MSTI's success was involving everyone
who worked on the project and achieving a consensus early on
about how the mission was going to be completed. "We set the
schedule for one year and we all knew what we were talking
about," Casani said.
Backing up that schedule was also important. "Every
subsystem was fully funded," he said. "Every division had the
money to do the job. We didn't have any cost overruns."
Casani had some advice for his colleagues. "The challenge is
to do things with rapid development," he said. "We've got to
learn not to reinvent the wheel. It's important to contain the
scope of the job to the customers' requirements."
Tony Spear heads up the next "small" mission to be
undertaken at the Lab. He told the crowd that MESUR/Pathfinder
will be the first of NASA's Discovery series of faster, better,
cheaper missions and it is due for launch in 1996.
Spear said one of his biggest challenges is figuring out how
to do things differently. Such changes will require JPL to
reinvent itself, he said, and rethink the way the Lab currently
does business.
"It takes hard work, and everyone at JPL must participate,"
Spear continued. "We have a lot of theory that now needs to be
brought into practice.
"It will take daring and continuous effort" to make a
low-cost MESUR a reality, Spear said.
"We're a fixed-price project. We need to maintain
sufficient reserves, but we also need to accomplish a productive
mission and at the same time, we have to be attractive enough to
justify the mission. It's important to communicate the risks
involved with low-cost missions and to mitigate risk we will
assemble quickly and then test, test, test before we launch," he
concluded.
One person who hopes Spear's team succeeds is Donna
Pivirotto, whose microrover is set to fly onboard MESUR/ Path-
finder as a technology experiment. The microrover's goal is to
evaluate the performance of small rovers on Mars' terrain.
To get that job done, Pivirotto explained, "the Lab has had
to undergo a paradigm shift away from big rovers to small,
short-range rovers.
"We've taken out some performance and added risk," she said,
"but we hope to get a big bang for a small buck."
The microrover will use a majority of commercial parts, and
it will pick up where the development of Rocky IV left off.
Pivirotto prefers to call the rover a micro-spacecraft, because
it has all the functions of a typical planetary spacecraft, plus
it must interact with an uncertain and relatively hostile environment.
But it is not only the rover that is changing. The project's
management is daring, too. "We have no managers on this project,
so there is nobody in the way," she quipped as she explained that
she technically is the project's "team leader," not its "manager."
"What we are doing is flying the first autonomous rover, and
it's really a culture shock to the operations people," Pivirotto
continued.
Rob Staehle knows what that feels like as he tries to put
together the first mission to Pluto. It will not be easy. With a
cost cap of $400 million, Staehle has tried to keep the
objectives very clear.
"JPL has the people, the facilities and the experience to do
planetary exploration that is second to none. But we must
eliminate unnecessary work along the way," he said.
Staehle and his team must figure out a way to control
mission operations costs, get to Pluto within eight years and get
the data back quicker. Such goals require taking greater risks.
"There is no 100 percent reliable mission," Staehle continued.
He said he already has learned some lessons about how not to
get bogged down in the process. "One thing I have found valuable
has been to frequently and informally keep my managers and
sponsors aware of what's happening."
The launch of the two spacecraft appears feasible for 1999,
with arrival at Pluto in 2007.
After the two-hour discussion, many in the crowd seemed
buoyed by what they had heard and some expressed hope that these
projects would indeed become a reality. Key ingredients to
success, Dumas observed, appeared to be teaming with suppliers
and customers and having fun while taking on really tough
challenges.
___ _____ ___
/_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | [email protected]
| | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab |
___| | | | |__) |/ | | |__ M/S 525-3684 Telos | If you don't stand for
/___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | something, you'll fall
|_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | for anything.
% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
% Subject: JPL's 'faster, better, cheaper' goal
|
| 830.3 | Mercury and TOPEX images from JPL | VERGA::KLAES | Life, the Universe, and Everything | Mon Mar 08 1993 14:12 | 102 |
| From: DECWRL::"[email protected]" "Ron Baalke" 8-MAR-1993
To: [email protected]
CC:
Subj: More JPL GIF Images
==========================
JPL GIF IMAGES
March 8, 1993
==========================
Two more JPL GIF images are available at the Ames site. These
images are courtesy of the Public Information Office at JPL. Note
that the images are in GIF89a format, so make sure your display
software supports this format (as opposed to the older GIF87a format).
The caption files accompanying the images are appended at the end of
this message, and are also being embedded in the images. The images
are available using anonymous ftp to:
ftp: ames.arc.nasa.gov (128.102.18.3)
user: anonymous
cd: pub/SPACE/GIF
files:
mercury.gif - Mercury image taken by Mariner 10 in 1974
mercury.txt - Caption file
elnino.gif - TOPEX sea level measurments
elnino.txt - Caption file
Also, photographic prints of these images can be ordered from Newell Color
Lab listed below. Refer to the P number associated with the images when
ordering.
Newell Color Lab
221 N. Westmoreland Avenue
Los Angeles CA 90064
Telephone: (213) 380-2980
FAX: (213) 739-6984
----------------------------------------------------------------------
mercury.txt
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
PHOTO CAPTION P-14580
Mariner 10-31 (Mercury)
April 4, 1974
This photomosaic of Mercury was constructed of 18 photos taken at
42-second intervals by Mariner 10 six hours after the spacecraft flew
past the planet on March 29, 1974. The north pole is at the top and
the equator extends from left to right about two-third down from the
top. A large, circular basin, about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) in
diameter, is emerging from the day-night terminator at left center.
Bright rayed craters are prominent in this view of Mercury. One such
ray seems to join in both east-west and north-south directions. Taken
from a distance of about 210,000 kilometers (130,000 miles), the
pictures were computer-enhanced at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
elnino.txt
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
PHOTO CAPTION P-41930BC
Feb. 26, 1993
This series of three panels shows monthly sea level changes in the
central Pacific Ocean as observed by the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite from
November 1992 to January 1993. The area shown in red is the region
where sea level is more then 15 centimeters (6 inches) greater than
normal. In the series of panels, the eastward movement of an area of
high sea level is clearly visible. Such movement represents the
release of vast amount of heat energy stored in a so-called "Warm
Pool" region of the western equatorial Pacific. When it impinges on
the coast of South America, such a current may become known as an El
Nino event; past El Nino events have resulted in devastation of
Peruvian fisheries, increased rainfall amounts across the southern
United States and world wide disturbances in weather patterns that
have caused severe economic losses. These images were produced from
TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry data by the Ocean Monitoring and Prediction
Systems Section of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. TOPEX/Poseidon
is a joint project of NASA and the French space agency, Centre
National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES).
___ _____ ___
/_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | [email protected]
| | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab |
___| | | | |__) |/ | | |__ M/S 525-3684 Telos | It's kind of fun to do
/___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | the impossible.
|_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | Walt Disney
% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
% Subject: More JPL GIF Images
|
| 830.4 | JPL Fact Sheet | KACIE::DEUFEL | Daniel Allen Deufel | Tue Mar 09 1993 11:14 | 302 |
| Article: 58459
Xref: nntpd.lkg.dec.com sci.space:58459 sci.astro:32937 alt.sci.planetary:853
Path: nntpd.lkg.dec.com!pa.dec.com!decwrl!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov!baalke
From: [email protected] (Ron Baalke)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.astro,alt.sci.planetary
Subject: JPL Fact Sheet
Date: 8 Mar 1993 23:55 UT
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Lines: 286
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: kelvin.jpl.nasa.gov
Keywords: JPL
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41
This file and other text and image files from JPL missions are
available from the JPL Info public access computer site,
reachable by Internet via anonymous ftp to pubinfo.jpl.nasa.gov
(128.149.6.2); or by dialup modem to +1 (818) 354-1333, up to
9600 bits per second, parameters N-8-1.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
FACT SHEET: THE JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
March 1993
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory raised the curtain on the
American space age January 31, 1958. Sixty-six days after
receiving approval to begin the project, JPL had designed, built
and launched the United States' first satellite, the 14-kilogram
(31-pound) Explorer 1.
In the three decades since then, JPL has overseen
exploration of the solar system with robotic spacecraft for the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). With
Voyager 2's encounter of Neptune in 1989, JPL spacecraft have
explored every known planet with the exception of distant Pluto.
As an operating division of the California Institute of
Technology, JPL conducts work for other organizations in addition
to its NASA missions.
JPL's history dates to the 1930s, when Caltech
professor Theodore von Karman conducted pioneering work in rocket
propulsion. Von Karman and several graduate students did "rather
odd experiments in a desolate spot in the Arroyo Seco north of
Pasadena," one of the students recalled years later. Their first
rocket firing took place on Halloween (October 31) 1936, on a
creek bed adjacent to the site that has become JPL. The
Laboratory now covers some 177 acres and employs some 8,000
people.
Von Karman's early research led to basic discoveries in
solid- and liquid-fueled rockets. The first application was in
jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) for aircraft, which was used in the
1940s while the Laboratory was under the jurisdiction of the U.S.
Army.
On December 3, 1958, two months after NASA was created by
Congress, JPL was transferred from Army jurisdiction to that of
the new civilian space agency.
In the 1960s JPL conceived and executed the Ranger and
Surveyor missions to the Moon, which paved the way for NASA's
Apollo astronaut lunar landings. During that same period and
later, JPL carried out Mariner missions to Mercury, Venus and
Mars.
Mariner 2 became the first spacecraft to fly by another
planet when it was launched August 27, 1962, to Venus (Mariner 1
was lost because of a launch vehicle error). Other successful
Mariners included Mariner 4, launched in 1964 to Mars; Mariner
5, launched in 1967 to Venus; Mariner 6, launched in 1969 to
Mars; Mariner 7, launched in 1969 to Mars; Mariner 8 and 9,
launched in 1971 to orbit Mars.
Mariner 10 became the first spacecraft to use a "gravity
assist" boost from one planet to send it on to another. After
launch in November 1973, the spacecraft flew by Venus in February
1974 before continuing on to fly by Mercury in March and
September of that year.
The most complex robotic spacecraft project NASA has yet
undertaken, the Viking mission to Mars, was launched in 1975.
Involving two orbiter spacecraft and two Mars landers, the
elaborate mission was divided between several NASA centers and
private U.S. aerospace firms. JPL built the Viking orbiters and
eventually took over management of the Viking mission.
Credit for the mission that has visited the most planets
would have to go to JPL's Voyager Project. Launched in 1977, the
twin Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by the planets
Jupiter (1979) and Saturn (1980-81). Voyager 2 then went on to
an encounter with the planet Uranus in 1986 and a flyby of
Neptune in 1989. Early in 1990, Voyager 1 turned its camera
around to capture a series of images assembled into a "family
portrait" of the solar system. Both Voyagers are continuing to
speed out into interstellar space, and are expected to
communicate information about the Sun's energy field until
perhaps the second decade of the 21st century.
A trio of new missions were launched in 1989 and 1990 with
the help of NASA's Space Shuttle.
Magellan, currently in orbit around Venus, uses a
sophisticated imaging radar to pierce the cloud cover enshrouding
Venus and map the planet's surface. Magellan was carried into
Earth orbit in May 1989 by Space Shuttle Atlantis. Released from
the shuttle's cargo bay, Magellan was propelled by a booster
engine toward Venus, where it arrived in August 1990. It
completed its third 243-day period mapping the planet in
September 1992. It is currently being used to map variations in
Venus's gravity field.
The Galileo mission to Jupiter began in October 1989 when
Space Shuttle Atlantis lofted the craft into Earth orbit. A
booster engine then sent Galileo on a complex, six-year flight
path to Jupiter that took it first by Venus and Earth for
"gravity assist" boosts. Along the way Galileo also flew by the
asteroid Gaspra in October 1991. On December 8, 1992, Galileo
made a second Earth flyby; it will encounter the asteroid
Ida on August 28, 1993. When it arrives at Jupiter in 1995, a
probe will descend into and study the giant planet's atmosphere.
Galileo will remain in orbit around Jupiter and will fly by the
planet's major moons for about two years.
NASA's Space Shuttle fleet again launched a probe bound for
other parts of the solar system when the shuttle Discovery
carried aloft Ulysses in October 1990. A joint mission between
NASA and the European Space Agency, this project has sent a
spacecraft out of the ecliptic -- the plane in which Earth and
other planets orbit the Sun -- to study the Sun's north and south
poles. Ulysses first flew by Jupiter in February 1992, where the
giant planet's gravity flung it into an unusual solar orbit
nearly perpendicular to the ecliptic plane. The mission will
continue until September 1995.
The most recent NASA/JPL planetary launch was that of Mars
Observer, carried aloft on a Titan III rocket September 25, 1992.
After its arrival at Mars in August 1993, the orbiter will make
highly detailed maps of the red planet and will relay data from a
Russian Mars mission to be launched in 1994.
Also launched recently was the joint U.S.-French
Topex/Poseidon, an oceanographic satellite that is mapping
sea level around the world as part of NASA's environmentally
oriented "Mission to Planet Earth." Topex/Poseidon was launched
August 10, 1992, on an Ariane 4 rocket from Kourou, French
Guiana.
Topex/Poseidon and several other JPL Earth observing
projects owe a legacy to the Seasat satellite. Launched in 1978,
Seasat demonstrated the feasibility of instruments such as
imaging radar and various oceanographic instruments.
JPL was also U.S. manager of the Infrared Astronomical
Satellite (IRAS), a joint project of the United States, the
Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Launched in 1983, IRAS was
an Earth-orbiting telescope which mapped the sky in infrared
wavelengths invisible to the eye. IRAS discovered several comets
and found the first direct evidence of an emerging planetary
system around a star besides the Sun -- material orbiting Vega,
at a distance of 26 light-years from Earth.
JPL instruments occasionally fly on Earth-orbiting
satellites managed by other NASA centers or agencies. JPL built
the Microwave Limb Sounder, which is flying onboard NASA's Upper
Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) launched in September 1991;
the instrument is relaying important data on ozone depletion in
the Earth's upper atmosphere. JPL is also designing and building
the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT), scheduled for launch in 1996 on
the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) being prepared by
Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA).
In addition to the solar system spacecraft launched on
NASA's Space Shuttle, JPL has flown a number of experiments in
the shuttle's cargo bay. Among them have been the Shuttle
Imaging Radar (SIR-A and SIR-B) missions, which used
sophisticated radar techniques to capture images of the Earth's
surface showing features undetectable by normal photography. A
followup mission, SIR-C, is scheduled for a shuttle mission in
1994.
JPL engineers are also readying the Wide Field/
Planetary Camera II. This camera will be carried by a Space
Shuttle in late 1993 to the Hubble Space Telescope, and is
expected to correct distortion originating in the telescope's
main mirror.
In future planetary projects, JPL is designing and building
the Cassini mission to Saturn, scheduled for launch in 1997.
Cassini will feature a probe, Huygens, provided by the European
Space Agency, which will descend to the surface of Titan,
Saturn's largest moon. Titan appears to boast organic chemistry
possibly like that which led to the existence of life on Earth.
Currently under study at JPL is the Mars Environmental
Survey (MESUR), a network of climatological probes on Mars, and
MESUR Pathfinder, a precursor mission that would land a small
rover robot on the surface of Mars. MESUR Pathfinder will be
proposed for formal approval in 1994 leading to launch in 1996.
A project now under study, the Pluto Fast Flyby mission,
would send a small spacecraft past distant Pluto and its moon,
Charon. Various mission scenarios are being weighed calling for
launch in the late 1990s.
Another proposed mission is Hermes, which would send an
orbiter to Mercury following a launch around the turn of the
century. The spacecraft would loop around the planet in a highly
elliptical orbit, making detailed maps of the surface.
JPL is also studying the Space Infrared Telescope Facility
(SIRTF), an orbiting infrared telescope that would be a follow-on
to 1983's IRAS mission. Current plans call for SIRTF to be
proposed for formal approval in 1997 with launch in 2000 or 2001.
A possible project for the early 21st century is the
Thousand Astronomical Unit (TAU) mission, which could send a
robotic spacecraft into as-yet-unvisited interstellar space to
measure distances between stars.
To provide tracking and communications for planetary
spacecraft, JPL designed, built and operates NASA's Deep Space
Network (DSN) of antenna stations. DSN communications complexes
are located in California's Mojave Desert, in Spain and in
Australia. In addition to NASA missions, the DSN regularly
performs tracking for international missions such as those sent
to Halley's Comet in 1986. DSN stations also conduct experiments
using radar to image planets and asteroids, as well as
experiments using the technique of very long baseline
interferometry (VLBI) to study extremely distant celestial
objects.
A 34-meter-diameter (110-foot) antenna at the DSN's complex
at Goldstone, California, is being used for the JPL segment of
the High Resolution Microwave Survey (HRMS), which is scanning
the heavens for signals that could originate from other advanced
civilizations. JPL's segment, called the all-sky survey, scans
across the entire sky at a wide range of frequencies. A second
segment of the HRMS program, conducted by NASA's Ames Research
Center, uses the large radio telescope of the Arecibo Observatory
in Puerto Rico for "targeted" searches of stars believed to be
good candidates to have Earth-like planets. The observation
phase of the HRMS program began in October 1992 and will continue
for a decade.
The DSN will play a major role in Space Very Long Baseline
Interferometry (Space VLBI), a radio astronomy project that would
combine orbiting spacecraft with ground antennas to examine
extremely distant objects. As envisioned in current studies,
this international project would team spacecraft built by the
Russia and Japan with JPL's DSN antenna stations.
JPL's Office of Technology and Applications Programs
oversees projects for sponsors other than NASA. Recent non-NASA
projects at JPL have included Firefly, an aircraft-borne infrared
fire mapping system for the U.S. Forest Service; a document
monitoring system to help the National Archives safeguard the
U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of
Rights; and varied projects in such fields as microelectronics,
supercomputing and environmental protection.
JPL work for the Department of Defense has included the
Miniature Seeker Technology Integration (MSTI), a satellite built
and launched in November 1992 to demonstrate miniature sensor
technology and a rapid development system. JPL also manages the
All Source Analysis System (ASAS) project, a battlefield
information management system.
Research and development activities at JPL include an active
program of automation and robotics supporting planetary rover
missions and NASA's Space Station program. In supercomputing JPL
has pioneered work with new types of massively parallel computers
to support processing of enormous quantities of data to be
returned by space missions in years to come.
In addition to the Laboratory's chief site near
Pasadena, California, and the three DSN complexes around the
world, JPL installations include an astronomical observatory at
Table Mountain, California; a rocket test station at Edwards Air
Force Base, California; and a launch operations site at Cape
Canaveral, Florida.
Dr. Edward C. Stone, project scientist for the Voyager
mission, became director of JPL on January 1, 1991. Stone, a
physicist, earned his doctorate from the University of Chicago.
In addition to his JPL post he serves as a vice president of
Caltech.
Stone succeeded Dr. Lew Allen Jr., who was JPL director from
1982 to 1990. Dr. Bruce Murray headed the Laboratory from 1976
to 1982. Murray followed Dr. William H. Pickering, who headed
the Laboratory for 22 years beginning in 1954.
#####
___ _____ ___
/_ /| /____/ \ /_ /| Ron Baalke | [email protected]
| | | | __ \ /| | | | Jet Propulsion Lab |
___| | | | |__) |/ | | |__ M/S 525-3684 Telos | It's kind of fun to do
/___| | | | ___/ | |/__ /| Pasadena, CA 91109 | the impossible.
|_____|/ |_|/ |_____|/ | Walt Disney
|
| 830.5 | Pickering to be awarded | VERGA::KLAES | Quo vadimus? | Tue Oct 05 1993 11:01 | 48 |
| From: US1RMC::"[email protected]" "Admin" 5-OCT-1993 00:42:10.92
To: [email protected]
CC:
Subj: Pickering to receive award [JPL Release #1528]
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
Contact: James H. Wilson
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 3, 1993
Dr. William H. Pickering, former director of the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory and professor emeritus at the California
Institute of Technology, will on Thursday become the first
recipient of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Aerospace Prize.
The prize, to be awarded in a ceremony at the University of
Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, honors an engineering graduate
of the university who died while piloting a helicopter rescue
mission in Africa in 1986. It includes an honorarium of $250,000.
The prize is being given by the Association Francois-Xavier
Bagnoud, an organization based in Switzerland and France which
supports aerospace science and education, humanitarian
assistance, and community life in Valais, Switzerland.
An international committee of scientists and aerospace
executives selected Pickering as the first recipient.
Pickering, JPL director from 1954 to 1976, developed
technologies that evolved into spacecraft communications and led
the efforts to create and operate the first U.S. satellite, Explorer 1.
The NASA scientific spacecraft missions such as the Rangers
to the Moon, Mariners to Venus and Mars, Viking to Mars, and Voyager
to the Jovian planets were designed and begun under his leadership.
Pickering lives in La Canada Flintridge, Calif., and is in
business in Pasadena, Calif.
#####
9-30-93 JHW #1528
|
| 830.6 | RE 830.5 | VERGA::KLAES | Quo vadimus? | Fri Oct 08 1993 14:56 | 53 |
| Article: 74750
Newsgroups: sci.space
From: [email protected] (William Johnson)
Subject: Re: Pickering to receive award
Sender: [email protected]
Organization: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 1993 21:56:55 GMT
This is too personal for a "sci" group, but I just have to do it.
In article <[email protected]>
[email protected] (Admin) writes:
> Dr. William H. Pickering, former director of the Jet
>Propulsion Laboratory and professor emeritus at the California
>Institute of Technology, will on Thursday become the first
>recipient of the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Aerospace Prize.
This brought tears to my eyes.
Thirty years ago, as a grade-school kid in Illinois, I saw Pickering's name
in "My Weekly Reader" as having led the team that sent the first Mariner to
Venus. Having the typical 10-year-old's egocentric view of the world, I
saw nothing unnatural about sending Pickering a letter asking some well
intentioned but uninformed questions about what would happen to Mariner after
it passed the orbit of Venus.
And *he* apparently saw nothing unnatural about responding to a 10-year-old
kid, because he did it.
He sent back a personal letter laying out, in terms a 10-year-old could
understand, the basic orbital mechanics involved, along with a great huge pile
of information on that spacecraft.
Receiving that letter was one of my life-formative experiences. I resolved,
from that time forward, to become a scientist; and lo and behold, I are
one. :-) Essentially my entire career to date has followed from the sense of
wonder engendered in me by the momentous events of that age, and nurtured,
among other things, by that letter.
Dr. Pickering, I hope you can read this: Congratulations on this award, and on
the lifetime of achievements it recognizes. And from the bottom of my heart,
THANK YOU for the time you took to send a letter to a little boy.
If any of Pickering's colleagues at Cal Tech would be so kind as to pass this
message to him, I would be deeply appreciative.
--
Bill Johnson | "I can't stand this proliferation of
Los Alamos National Laboratory | paperwork. It's useless to fight the forms.
Los Alamos, New Mexico USA | You've got to kill the people producing
([email protected]) | them." (V. Kabaidze)
|
| 830.7 | JPL Flight System Testbed | VERGA::KLAES | Quo vadimus? | Thu Oct 28 1993 14:43 | 97 |
| From: US1RMC::"[email protected]" "MAIL-11 Daemon" 26-OCT-1993
To: [email protected]
CC:
Subj: JPL/Flight System Testbed
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
Contact: Franklin O'Donnell
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 25, 1993
A new test facility that will help researchers design and
build new, smaller exploration spacecraft of the future has been
opened at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The facility, called the Flight System Testbed, will be used
in the development of such JPL missions as the Mars Environmental
Survey (MESUR) Pathfinder and the Pluto Fast Flyby.
The aim of the facility is to reduce costs, shorten
schedules, resolve problems early and mitigate risks associated
with the development of spacecraft missions, according to E. Kane
Casani, manager of JPL's Flight Projects Implementation
Development Office.
"Although JPL has always had test facilities for various
components or subsystems, this is the first time we have
established an integrated testbed for system-level development of
an entire spacecraft," said Casani.
"More than ever, we are being challenged to develop small,
lightweight spacecraft using new technologies on tight schedules
and limited budgets," he added. "The testbed is designed to
support that goal."
The facility, located in JPL's Spacecraft Assembly Facility
building, features three test stations and a network of computer
workstations.
During spacecraft development, designers can bring one or
several subsystems -- or an entire small spacecraft -- to the
facility for testing, according to Nick Thomas, testbed manager.
"For example, the project team might want to test an
advanced lightweight camera at an early stage of development,"
said Thomas. "Our testbed has the capability of simulating the
remainder of the spacecraft -- in essence, creating a `virtual'
spacecraft -- during the test."
Besides mimicking the spacecraft itself, the facility can
also connect to the Deep Space Network and other ground systems
on Earth that the spacecraft will communicate with during its
eventual mission.
Thomas said that initially the Flight System Testbed will
consist of a group of mission-specific test stations at a
centralized location.
"But the testbed is designed so that components in other
areas of JPL -- or even at other geographic locations -- can be
connected through electronic networks and tested as part of a
virtual spacecraft," he added.
Traditionally, designers have been hesitant to use very new
technologies in spacecraft subsystems because such components are
not as thoroughly tested and understood as ones that use more
established technologies.
"In today's NASA, however, we are being challenged to
produce much smaller and less expensive spacecraft on shorter
time schedules," said Casani. "In order to do that, the flight
projects need a way of rapidly evaluating and testing new
technologies -- and that is what the testbed offers them."
In addition to the Mars and Pluto missions, the testbed will
support work by the Microspacecraft Development Program under
JPL's Office of Space Science and Instruments.
That program is developing innovative architectures for
subsystems such as on-board command and data handling, attitude
determination and control, and communications to pave the way for
future deep-space probes that weigh about 100 kilograms (220
pounds) and less.
The Flight System Testbed is sponsored by JPL's Flight
Projects Office under the Flight Projects Implementation
Development Office.
#####
10-21-93 FOD
# 1532
|
| 830.8 | JPL to develop online library | VERGA::KLAES | Quo vadimus? | Wed Nov 24 1993 13:17 | 52 |
| Article: 78278
From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: JPL/Film location on-line library
Date: 23 Nov 1993 15:31:43 -0800
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Pasadena CA
Sender: [email protected]
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
Contact: Jim Doyle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 23, 1993
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has signed an agreement
with the California Trade and Commerce Agency to develop an on-
line reference system for the California Film Commission's
Location Resource Library.
JPL's Imaging Processing Applications and Development
Section will develop a system, the Electronic Production Resource
Library Information Database, to place on-line the more than
200,000 location photographs and text material in the
commission's library.
The library information system will make available to film
production personnel the descriptions and photos of locations
through a computer network. The new technology will automate the
search and retrieval process for screening potential film
locations and will include other production services.
The state agency said the film commission is planning a
series of focus groups with members of the entertainment industry
to solicit their input into the technology development.
The agency noted that filming is an $8 billion industry in
the state, employing more than 90,000 people. The California
Film Commission was established in 1985 as part of the Trade and
Commerce Agency and acts in an economic development capacity to
attract and retain film, television and commercial production to
the state.
JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology.
#####
11-23-93 JJD # 1538
|
| 830.9 | Pickering wins Japan Prize | VERGA::KLAES | Quo vadimus? | Thu Dec 16 1993 22:48 | 28 |
| Article: 4999
From: [email protected] (UPI)
Newsgroups: clari.tw.space,clari.local.los_angeles,clari.tw.science
Subject: California scientist wins Japan Prize
Date: Tue, 14 Dec 93 13:59:06 PST
TOKYO (UPI) -- A Southern California scientist was awarded the Japan
Prize Tuesday for his leadership in unmanned lunar and planetary
exploration and pioneering achievements in the development of spacecraft
and deep space communications.
Dr. William Hayward Pickering, professor emeritus at Caltech and the
former director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.,
received the prize in aerospace technologies.
Pickering designed and developed radio telemetry systems for space
research in 1944 and helped to develop the three upper stages of the
launching rocket for the nation's first artificial satellite, Explorer 1,
in 1958.
He also contributed to the success of the lunar topography survey by
the Ranger and Surveyor spacecrafts, the exploration of Mercury, Venus
and Mars by the Mariner spacecraft and the soft landing on Mars by Viking.
Pickering will receive a $467,000 cash award at an April 27 ceremony
in Tokyo. He was selected from 436 nominees by a panel of Japanese
scientists and scholars.
|
| 830.10 | JPL Invention Awards | VERGA::KLAES | Be Here Now | Fri Mar 04 1994 14:33 | 114 |
| Article: 83721
From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: sci.space
Subject: JPL/Invention awards
Date: 2 Mar 1994 14:14:58 -0800
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Pasadena CA
Sender: [email protected]
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
Contact: Franklin O'Donnell
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 2, 1994
Two researchers have won $15,000 prizes from NASA for inventions
they have conceived while working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Robert F. Rice and Marvin Perlman received the awards, given by
NASA's Inventions and Contributions Board, in a recent ceremony at a
meeting of JPL senior management.
In addition, eight other JPL scientists and engineers received
certificates of recognition and monetary awards in the ceremony for
their inventions and contributions.
Rice, a member of JPL's Flight Command and Data Management
Systems Section, was recognized for his efforts in developing adaptive
digital data compression, as well as for work that defined the
error-protection coding approach now used on all deep-space missions.
Perlman, a retired employee and long-time colleague of Rice who
worked in the same section, received a Lifetime Achievement Award for
work on space communication algebraic error-protection coders and
decoders, and on cryptographic systems for secure communication.
Both Rice's and Perlman's work helps NASA/JPL planetary
spacecraft send pictures and other data back to Earth -- and ground
controllers send commands to spacecraft -- more efficiently and reliably.
In presenting the awards, Dr. Paul A. Curto of NASA Headquarters
noted that the contributions of Rice and Perlman have had a
significant impact on NASA and the U.S. economy.
This is only the second time that JPL employees or retirees have
been awarded a prize of this magnitude, he added.
Rice developed and promoted a concept called the Advanced Imaging
Communication System (AICS) in the early 1970s. This system achieved
dramatic improvement in overall telecommunications efficiency by
combining sophisticated data compression with error-protection coding.
The system combined a technique called Reed-Solomon coding
with the then-standard method, called convolutional coding.
Using a version of his pioneering techniques, now known as the
Rice algorithms, the AICS was first applied to the Voyager 2
spacecraft for its Uranus and Neptune encounters in 1986 and 1989. On
the Voyager mission the system increased the spacecraft's image return
capability by a factor of four.
The Rice algorithms are now being applied to a broad range of
instruments throughout the space program, including many on the
NASA/JPL Galileo mission to Jupiter and the Cassini mission to Saturn.
Reed-Solomon coding has since become a NASA and international standard.
In addition, the technology has been transferred to private
industry, and NASA-developed microcircuits implementing the Rice
algorithms are now available commercially.
Perlman's work was a major force responsible for the acceptance
of innovative Reed-Solomon coding architectures as standards. He
later formulated mathematical methods that allow existing ground
decoders to be used in all future missions that adhere to the new
standard coding system.
Perlman, a JPL employee for 32 years before retiring in 1989,
received a patent for cryptographic research that led to a system for
authentication and controlled access to mainframe computers. The
system was certified by the National Computer Security Center and was
the first cryptographic system to meet American National Standards
Institute (ANSI) standards for computer sciences and technology.
Other JPL researchers receiving certificates in the ceremony
included Dr. Martin Buehler of the Laboratory's Microdevices
Technology Section, who was awarded $1,000 for his invention of an
addressable test matrix that tests integrated-circuit wafers for
quality control.
Drs. Romney Katti and Henry Stadler of JPL's Microdevices
Technology Section and former employee Jiin-chaun Wu each received
$1,000 for their development of an improved memory system design
called a vertical Bloch line memory.
Four members of JPL's Robotic Systems and Advanced Computer
Technology Section -- Drs. Jacob Barhen, Amir Fijany, Nikzad Toomarian
and Michail Zak -- each garnered $1,000 for a design that improves the
bit resolution of charge domain devices.
Joining Curto in presenting the awards was JPL Deputy Director
Larry N. Dumas.
The award program is sponsored by the Inventions and
Contributions Board in the Special Studies Division of NASA's Office
of Policy Coordination and International Relations, Washington, D.C.
#####
3-1-94 FOD
#9414
|
| 830.11 | JPL in the NSF Hall of Fame | CXDOCS::J_BUTLER | E pur, si muove... | Fri Apr 08 1994 08:13 | 78 |
| From: [email protected]
Newsgroups: sci.space.news
Subject: JPL/Technology Hall of Fame
Date: 7 Apr 1994 12:26:04 -0700
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Pasadena CA
Sender: [email protected]
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
Contact: Diane Ainsworth
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 7, 1994
Digital imaging technologies and new laser techniques used
in the treatment of coronary artery disease have earned a place
in the National Space Foundation's 1994 Technology Hall of Fame.
The technologies, first developed at the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory for the U.S. space program, were heralded by the
foundation for their contributions to the advancement of medical
diagnosis and treatment in the United States. The technologies
were pioneered by JPL scientists Dr. Robert Nathan, Robert
Selzer, and former JPL colleagues Drs. James Laudenslager and
Kenneth Castleman.
The Laboratory's digital imaging technologies were inducted
into the Space Foundation's Technology Hall of Fame during its
annual symposium, being held through April 8 in Colorado Springs,
Colo. The JPL-based technologies have produced new techniques
for measuring arterial damage in patients with coronary disease.
Digital imaging applications are also found in widespread
use today in many medical diagnostic procedures such as CAT
scans, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound imaging and
advanced X-ray technology.
Digital imaging -- a process that converts analog signals
into digital information that can be enhanced by computer
processing -- had its beginnings in the U.S. space program.
First used in the Ranger missions to the moon, the technology has
become so advanced that scientists today can create three-
dimensional visualizations of spacecraft flights over the
surfaces of planets such as Venus, Mars or Earth.
JPL was also honored for its contributions to medical
technologies based on the development of the excimer laser. The
laser technology, pioneered at JPL by Dr. James Laudenslager, is
a leader in the treatment of heart disease.
Excimer lasers are used to treat atherosclerosis, the
buildup of fatty deposits, called plaque, in human arteries.
Through a non-surgical procedure known as laser atherectomy,
physicians are able to vaporize plaque and clear blocked
arteries.
Excimer, or "cool," laser systems were originally developed
for atmospheric scientists studying the chemical composition of
the Earth's atmosphere. The lasers eventually enabled satellites
to detect ozone and other gases found in the upper atmosphere.
Recipients of the Hall of Fame awards gathered last night
for a keynote address by Norman Augustine, chairman and chief
executive officer of the Martin Marietta Corporation, who
presided over the induction ceremony.
The National Space Foundation's annual Technology Hall of
Fame is sponsored by NASA to honor individuals and companies that
have made beneficial contributions to society through technology
transfer and commercialization.
#####
4-7-94 DEA
#9424
|
| 830.12 | JPL Open House, July 16-17 | MTWAIN::KLAES | Keep Looking Up | Tue Jun 21 1994 15:35 | 37 |
| From: US4RMC::"ASTRO%[email protected]" "Astronomy Discussion
List" 21-JUN-1994 14:30:37.03
To: Multiple recipients of list ASTRO <ASTRO%[email protected]>
CC:
Subj: JPL's Open House
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory's 50th anniversary of space
exploration will be the focus of a two-day open house at JPL on
Saturday and Sunday, July 16-17, 1994.
The open house will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days;
admission is free, and guests may park in Lab parking lots.
Hosts at the Lab's main entrance will answer questions and
direct visitors to points of interest, which will include the Space
Flight Operations Facility and the Spacecraft Assembly Facility.
Displays in JPL's main mall will focus on ongoing projects
representing the Lab's work for NASA and other agencies.
"Welcome to Outer Space," a multi-image production about JPL's
history, missions and future vision, will be shown in von Karman
Auditorium. Also, full-size models of the Voyager and Galileo
spacecraft and Galileo images of Earth, the Moon, and asteroids will be
available for viewing in the adjacent museum.
For additional information, contact JPL's Public Services
Office on extension 4-0112 or at mail stop 186-115.
% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Date: Tue, 21 Jun 1994 18:16:54 +0000
% Reply-To: Astronomy Discussion List <ASTRO%[email protected]>
% Sender: Astronomy Discussion List <ASTRO%[email protected]>
% From: Ron Baalke <[email protected]>
% Subject: JPL's Open House
% X-To: [email protected]
% To: Multiple recipients of list ASTRO <ASTRO%[email protected]>
|
| 830.13 | New Home Pages at JPL | NOMORE::KLAES | No Guts, No Galaxy | Mon Aug 08 1994 16:52 | 39 |
| From: US1RMC::"ASTRO%[email protected]" "Astronomy Discussion
List" 7-AUG-1994 04:18:59.13
To: Multiple recipients of list ASTRO <ASTRO%[email protected]>
CC:
Subj: New Home Pages at JPL
The following new home pages are available off the JPL home page at
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/. Note that this is a World Wide Web site
(not an ftp site), and you will need a WWW browser such as Mosaic to
access it.
News Flashes
Basics of Space Flight
New SIR-C Images
Comet Shoemaker-Levy
Mars Global Surveyor
Galileo Messenger (Galileo Project Newsletter)
Image/Information Archives
JPL Public Affairs Image Archives
Technical Organizations
Multimission Operations Systems
Ron Baalke
[email protected]
% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Date: Sun, 7 Aug 1994 04:28:42 +0000
% Reply-To: Astronomy Discussion List <ASTRO%[email protected]>
% Sender: Astronomy Discussion List <ASTRO%[email protected]>
% From: Ron Baalke <[email protected]>
% Subject: New Home Pages at JPL
% X-To: [email protected]
% To: Multiple recipients of list ASTRO <ASTRO%[email protected]>
|
| 830.14 | JPL and Mt. Wilson make a TIE | MTWAIN::KLAES | No Guts, No Galaxy | Mon Aug 29 1994 16:52 | 89 |
| From: US1RMC::"ASTRO%[email protected]" "Astronomy Discussion
List" 27-AUG-1994 04:58:19.31
To: Multiple recipients of list ASTRO <ASTRO%[email protected]>
CC:
Subj: Remote Controlled Telescope at Mt. Wilson
PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109. TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
Contact: Jim Doyle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 23, 1994
The Mount Wilson Institute and NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory are making it possible for students from kindergarten
to 12th grade to observe the skies.
The program, begun in 1993, is called Telescopes in
Education (TIE). Founded and directed by Gilbert Clark of JPL for
the Mount Wilson Institute under the direction of Dr. Robert
Jastrow, TIE will provide schools across the country with access
to a high quality 24-inch telescope located at an altitude of
1,768 meters (5,800 feet) at the Mount Wilson Observatory in the
San Gabriel Mountains.
The TIE program is designed to make research-grade
telescopes and the data they produce available to schools and
amateur astronomers across the country. With the help of
professionals from both institutions, teachers are able to
control the telescope using a computer and modem from their
classrooms.
With the proper software, students view the night sky on a
computer screen and choose an object for study. Using their
computer, the students direct the telescope to move across the
sky to the object. A charge-coupled device (CCD) camera forms an
image of the chosen object. The image is downloaded through
telephone lines and ends up on the computer in the classroom.
Once the newly acquired image is in the computer memory the
students can repeat the process to obtain another image.
After the software has been installed on the school
computer, the teacher calls the TIE program to reserve a block of
time. When reservations are made, the user is also given a time
and date for an online test. The test is to make sure the school
computer can communicate properly with the telescope's computer.
The test is conducted during an afternoon in the week prior to
the scheduled night of observation.
Obtaining an image takes seven to 10 minutes. This includes
the time it takes to slew the telescope, set the exposure on the
CCD camera and download the image.
"There's been a great deal of interest within the
educational community," said Clark, a staff engineer in JPL's
Engineering and Science Directorate and task manager of the TIE
program.
"We went public with the program about two months ago, and
so far we have had several hundred inquiries," Clark said. "We
have had about 20 classes online, and expect at least that many
more within a month."
A grant from NASA allows the TIE program to offer the
telescope to teachers from kindergarten to 12th grade at no cost.
The grant goes through this fall and also includes community
colleges actively involved in education programs with their
neighboring primary, intermediate or secondary schools.
The current operating plan for Mount Wilson's telescope is
to reserve weekend nights and holidays for amateur astronomers
and astronomy clubs, and weekday nights for schools. Amateurs
will have stand-by status during the week when schedules permit.
#####
% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Date: Wed, 24 Aug 1994 17:14:16 +0000
% Reply-To: Astronomy Discussion List <ASTRO%[email protected]>
% Sender: Astronomy Discussion List <ASTRO%[email protected]>
% From: Ron Baalke <[email protected]>
% Subject: Remote Controlled Telescope at Mt. Wilson
% X-To: [email protected]
% To: Multiple recipients of list ASTRO <ASTRO%[email protected]>
|
| 830.15 | Facilities news | MTWAIN::KLAES | No Guts, No Galaxy | Thu Sep 08 1994 16:37 | 119 |
| From: US1RMC::"[email protected]" "Ron Baalke" 4-SEP-1994
To: [email protected]
CC:
Subj: JPL Facilities Named Historic Landmarks
From the "JPL Universe"
August 12, 1994
Lab facilities named historic landmarks
Three JPL facilities that played critical roles in the history
of space exploration were designated national historic landmarks
at a dedication ceremony held at the Space Flight Operations
Facility (SFOF) July 25.
Along with SFOF, JPL's 7.6-meter (25-foot) space simulator,
Building 150, was recognized. It is the only NASA facility capable
of replicating the true conditions of interplanetary space--
coldness, an extreme vacuum and intense solar radiation--for
spacecraft testing.
The third facility to be honored was the 26-meter Pioneer
Station antenna at Goldstone, the first antenna of the worldwide
Deep Space Network to support NASA's robotic exploration of deep
space. JPL manages, technically directs and operates the network
for NASA's Office of Space Communications.
JPL Deputy Director Larry Dumas accepted three plaques from
U.S. Department of the Interior/ National Park Service
representative David Gackenbush. "We're very pleased and honored
to be recognized by the National Park Service," Dumas said.
Said Gackenbush: "Our efforts to land a man on the Moon,
investigate the near-Earth environment and explore the planets and
solar system were supported from a technological base that
reflected a depth and variety of support facilities unprecedented
in American history.
"We are pleased to be able to recognize the importance of the
space simulator and SFOF in the history of America's unmanned
space program and the exploration of our solar system," he said.
"The engineers, scientists, technicians, support personnel and all
those involved with creating, operating and preserving these
facilities are equally deserving of recognition."
From: US1RMC::"[email protected]" "Ron Baalke" 4-SEP-1994
To: [email protected]
CC:
Subj: JPL Project Design Center Dedicated
From the "JPL Universe"
July 15, 1994
Project Design Center dedicated
By MARK WHALEN
Dedication ceremonies were held July 6 for JPL's new Project Design
Center, a facility that will enable concurrent engineering of missions by
bringing all those involved in designing a project together at its inception.
"The Project Design Center will represent a direct manifestation of
changes in the way JPL does business," said Laboratory Director Dr. Edward
Stone. "Employees involved in the study and design process will be able to
try out ideas that would not be practical in a larger-scale sequential process."
Stone also noted that the facility--which took a little more than a year to
develop--will be an important element in JPL's future of small and
moderate missions.
The design center--which is housed on the second floor of Building 264--
features seven major nodes: mission design, avionics, science, management,
design, project design, mechanical, mission operations and
telecommunications. Each node is connected to a common database, where
engineers and scientists can, at any time, check proposed changes in
spacecraft design as well as projecting their cost ramifications.
"Design iterations that previously took months can now be achieved in
days, or even hours," said Kane Casani, manager of JPL's Implementation
Development Program Office, who led JPL guests and industry
representatives on a brief tour of the facility.
Design center staff demonstrated to visitors how computer programs in
the facility will utilize spreadsheets to capture mission and systems design
knowledge and associated cost information. Mission designers working on
different aspects of projects will be able to pass information to each other
via the common database.
Three major programs will be available to users of the facility. One
program, called a multidisciplinary integrated design assistant for
spacecraft, is a tool for expressing solution methodologies. By providing
project constraints such as launch vehicle, launch date, performance
requirements, or antenna size, the program can show a potential spacecraft
design and project concept.
The center's project trades model captures mission- and system-design
knowledge and associated cost projections for alternative mission
implementations. The model is a set of Excel spreadsheets and represents a
capability that is essential for doing design-to-cost analyses.
The third program allows integrated modeling of complex
optomechanical systems. It combines optics, structures, thermal design and
controls analysis in a unified modeling environment; this allows true
multidisciplinary modeling.
JPL Chief Engineer John Casani, the former assistant Laboratory director
for the Office of Flight Projects, noted that "in many ways, the Project
Design Center means going back to the basics. Thirty years ago, when JPL
was a lot smaller, we used to work in small teams, and the design team
meetings actually took place in the hallways.
"People have to be in close proximity and have eye-to-eye contact.
Putting them back together in this strategic way and utilizing modern
technologies is the way to go."
Initial users of the design center include Mars Global Surveyor, Pluto
Fast Flyby Preproject, Satellite Test of the Equivalence Principle (STEP) and
Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF).
|
| 830.16 | JPL Info User's Guide | MTWAIN::KLAES | No Guts, No Galaxy | Fri Sep 16 1994 13:02 | 361 |
| Article: 71312
From: [email protected] (Laurence A. Moore)
Newsgroups: sci.astro
Subject: JPL
Date: 15 Sep 1994 19:41:50 -0700
Organization: CRL Dialup Internet Access (415) 705-6060 [login: guest]
JPL Info
user's guide
Welcome to JPL Info, a public access computer site
operated by the Public Information Office of the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena CA 91109, USA.
The purpose of this site is to disseminate information on
JPL's activities, including the robotic exploration of the
solar system for the American space agency, NASA.
Please read this file carefully before proceeding to access
the site. It answers many questions you are likely to run into.
ACCESSING THE SITE
Public users of this site currently may connect to it by the
following methods:
-- By modem over commercial telephone lines to
+1 (818) 354-1333. Set parameters to no parity, 8 data
bits, 1 stop bit. This line supports speeds up to
14,400 bps with the v32bis/v42 error correction and
compression protocols, and supports up to three callers
simultaneously.
When first logging on, you are asked for your name
as well as your city and state (city and country if
other than USA). This information helps us track
usage of the system to justify offering the service.
-- Users with Internet access can use anonymous ftp to
jplinfo.jpl.nasa.gov (137.78.104.2). Log on as user
ANONYMOUS, then send your city and state (city and
country if other than USA) as the password (commas
and spaces are ok, up to a total of 15 characters).
Internet access is available through many educational
institutions, companies and commercial services. For
Internet access in your area, contact a local computer
club or the computing department of a local college or
university.
JPL employees may also connect to this site through additional
methods over the institutional on-site network. For more
information on on-Lab access, call JPL extension 4-7170.
For general questions about this site, please write to Public
Information Office, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove
Drive, Pasadena CA 91109, USA, or call +1 (818) 354-5011.
Also, BBS users may leave a message for the system operator,
while Internet users may send electronic mail to
[email protected].
DIRECTORY STRUCTURE
This site has a main directory and several other directories. If
you log on by the dialup BBS, each of these appears as a separate
"library." If you connect to the site over Internet by ftp, you
are first placed in the main directory and all of the others are
subdirectories off of it. There is no difference, however, between
the directories or files as available from the dialup BBS vs.
Internet ftp.
The following is a brief description of each of the directories:
MAIN: This contains a single file -- README, the file you are
currently reading.
NEWS: All new files are placed in this directory for
approximately 30 days. If you wish to log on occasionally to
check for new material, this is the place to look. A list of
files is contained in the file INDEX.NEW.
MISSIONS: This directory contains most of the text material,
including press releases, status reports, fact sheets and special
data on spacecraft missions. A list of files is contained in the
file INDEX.MIS.
IMAGES: This is the repository of the GIF image files. A list
is in the file INDEX.IMG. There are also a few animation files
supported by some computer types.
UNIVERSE: Text files with stories from JPL's in-house newspaper,
Universe, are stored here. A list is in the file INDEX.UNI.
SOFTWARE: This directory contains executable programs for
various types of computers. A list is in the file INDEX.SFT. Be
sure to check the index file first to make sure that the programs
you download are designed for your type of computer.
EDUCATOR: This directory contains teacher materials provided
by JPL's Public Education Office.
HOW TO GET THE MOST FROM VISITING THE SITE
We suggest that after obtaining this README file, you may
wish to download the index file for various other directories
you are interested in. After that, you can log on and check
only the INDEX.NEW file in the directory NEWS (which also
appears under the filename WHATS.NEW in the MAIN directory)
to check for new files. New files remain in the NEWS
directory for about 30 days.
CONNECTING TO THE DIALUP BBS
The following are special notes that apply to users who
connect via the dial-up bulletin board service on commercial
telephone lines.
The BBS host software supports several protocols for file
downloads. If your telecom software supports it, we strongly
suggest using the Zmodem protocol.
The BBS host software shuts down access every day at 2 a.m.
Pacific time (1000 UTC during the period of Pacific Standard
Time from mid-October to mid-April; 0900 UTC during the period
of Pacific Daylight Time from mid-April to mid-October). This
shutdown lasts less than 10 minutes. During this time, it is
necessary for all BBS users to be logged off. Please keep this
in mind if you are planning to download large files at this
time of day.
CONNECTING BY ANONYMOUS FTP OVER INTERNET
When you are first logging in as user ANONYMOUS, instead of
giving your email address as password we ask that you give
your city and state (city and country if other than U.S.)
as password (commas and spaces are ok, up to a total of
15 characters maximum). This helps us keep track of usage in
order to justify offering this service.
Most of the files at the site are text files which will
transfer correctly depending on your type of remote host.
However, the GIF image files and the programs in the
SOFTWARE directory are binary files, so be sure to set your ftp
software to type binary before downloading these files.
Users should also note that the host computer is not a
Unix machine, but rather a PC running Novell Netware with
Novell's ftp server software. Therefore, some Unix-style
commands may not work. For example, if you find that "ls"
does not produce a directory listing, try the command "dir" instead.
SPECIAL NOTES FOR MACINTOSH USERS
Most of the files at this site are text files in plain ASCII
format. They contain not only carriage returns, as used in Mac
text files, but also linefeeds. These will appear as boxes at
the beginning of each line when viewed on a Mac. In order to fix
this, it is necessary to treat the files with a linefeed stripper
after downloading them. You can download the program
STRIPPER.SIT from the directory SOFTWARE at this site to take
care of this. (In order to use STRIPPER.SIT you must also have
an unstuffing utility such as STUFEX.SEA in the directory
SOFTWARE here.)
The GIF image files at this site will probably appear with the
icon for a DOS document after you download them. A GIF viewer
such as GIFConverter (available in the directory SOFTWARE here)
will be able to read them correctly, however.
There are several Macintosh program files in the directory
SOFTWARE. These are stored in MacBinary format. Be sure to
enable MacBinary while downloading them via the BBS or obtaining
them by ftp on Internet so that they appear correctly on your Mac.
IMAGE FILES
A selection of electronic image files is available in the
directory IMAGES. These include both pictures of celestial
objects returned by NASA/JPL spacecraft as well as photos of
subjects on Earth such as JPL facilities. Please consult the
file INDEX.IMG in that directory for a complete list of image files.
The images in this archive are stored in the GIF format. This
format was selected because it has relatively wide support in
viewing software over various types of computers, and also
because it features internal data compression which makes the
files much smaller to download.
The files are in what is called GIF89a format, which means that
the image files contain a caption included within the file as a
"comment." Most recently produced GIF viewers allow you to see
the caption after viewing the image.
Several software packages which allow GIF files to be viewed on
various computers (PC, Macintosh, etc) are available here in the
directory SOFTWARE. Please consult the file INDEX.SFT in that
directory for a complete list of the packages and details on
which computer type each is designed for; software for PCs, Macs
and other computers is stored together in the same directory, and
each package will only run on the computer type it is designed
for. Also, please note that most of the GIF viewing software
available in this archive is "shareware" provided for your trial
use by various software authors not affiliated with JPL or NASA.
The packages are made available in this archive only as a
convenience to users; neither NASA nor JPL endorses them or
assumes any responsibility for their performance. Please see the
documentation included with each software package for information
on contacting the author and software registration.
If you find that an error is produced when you try to view these
GIF images in a GIF viewer you already have, chances are that
the GIF viewer is an older version that does not support the
GIF89a format. You can download current software that does
support this format from the directory SOFTWARE here.
The image files available in this archive are a collection
assembled by JPL imaging specialists and JPL's Public Information
Office for general viewing. JPL also produces a series of CD-
ROMs which carry a much larger set of image and other data from
NASA/JPL missions which is primarily of interest to professional
scientists and advanced students. These are available for sale
at the following address:
National Space Science Data Center
Request Coordination Office
Mail Code 633
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771
USA
telephone +1 (301) 286-6695
If you wish to obtain a hard-copy photographic print of any of
the images here, please note the "P" number (a file number
beginning with the letter P), which is included in the caption
packaged with the image. Images released from approximately 1990
and later can be purchased from:
Newell Color Lab
221 N. Westmoreland Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90064
USA
telephone +1 (213) 380-2980
fax +1 (213) 739-6984
Images from approximately 1989 and before can be purchased through:
JPL Employee Recreation Club
Mail Stop 114-104
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109
USA
telephone +1 (818) 354-6120
JPL's Public Affairs Office distributes sets of lithographs of
pictures from JPL missions. To request a set of the most recent
available pictures, write to:
Public Affairs Office
Mail Stop 180-201
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109
USA
Questions about JPL images may also be directed c/o JPL's Public
Information Office to Jurrie van der Woude or Ed McNevin by
phone at +1 (818) 354-5011 or by Internet electronic mail to
[email protected].
SOFTWARE
The directory SOFTWARE in this archive includes software packages
for various types of computers (PC, Macintosh, etc). Please note
that these are all stored together in one directory, and software
for one kind of computer will only work on that computer type.
Therefore it is essential that you first download the file
INDEX.SFT from that directory. This file has a complete list of
the software packages and notes on which type of computer they
are designed for. Macintosh users should be sure to enable
MacBinary mode before downloading files.
The software packages carried in this archive were written by
authors not affiliated with NASA or JPL; they are made available
only as a convenience to users, and neither NASA nor JPL endorses
them or assumes any responsibility for their performance. See
the documentation included with each package for information on
contacting the author and software registration, if required.
Software written by JPL and NASA authors is distributed to the
public by the following organization, which you may contact for a
catalog and price information:
NASA Computer Software Management and Information Center
(COSMIC)
University of Georgia
382 E. Broad Street
Athens, GA 30602
USA
telephone +1 (404) 542-3265
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q. When I try to sign on to the dialup BBS with my 2400-bps
modem, I see the word "CONNECT" but then nothing else appears.
Is my terminal type set incorrectly?
A. As long as your parameters are set to N-8-1 (no parity, 8
data bits, 1 stop bit) there should be no problem with
terminal type. The text sent by the BBS is plain ASCII
without special ANSI formatting or color codes, so any
popular terminal type should work.
We have found that in many cases when a user calls the BBS
with a 2400-bps or slower modem, it may take up to 15 to
20 seconds for the first signon screen to appear. You do
not need to hit RETURN or ESCAPE during this time.
Q. When I try to download files from the dialup BBS there
are problems with resent blocks, and finally the download
process times out and gives up. Is there any way to fix this?
A. Such file downloading problems are common with older
protocols such as Xmodem when there is line noise or other
technical problems. We strongly suggest the use of the
Zmodem protocol if your telecom software supports it.
Q. When I download GIF image files, they don't display
properly in my graphics viewer. What's the problem?
A. This could be caused by one of several problems.
First, if you have an older graphics viewer it may not
be able to display newer GIF files (called "GIF89a")
which contain embedded caption blocks. Nearly all of
the GIF files at our site are in this new format.
You may want to consider downloading a newer graphics
viewer from the SOFTWARE library to try.
Second, if you are obtaining your files by anonymous
ftp over Internet, it is possible that you forgot to
enable binary mode before transferring the files.
When connected to the site via ftp, just before
executing the "get [filename]" command you should
execute the command "binary" on a line by itself
to enable binary mode. Also, if you are transferring
files from an Internet host to a local desktop
computer with a protocol such as Kermit, be sure to
set the Kermit transfer type to binary before
initiating the transfer.
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