yeah, spying is a much more sensible rationale than these stupid microgravity experiments for big infrastructure investments in low earth orbit...

I debated a Boeing representative, gee, back in 89 or thereabouts at a AAAS meeting about payoffs of space station. (I had long been a NASA Technology Transfer contractor, after managing numerous R&D planning and mission selection programs for OART and ERC.) "Structural steel has better characteristics if annealed in zero G." (We used to call it "zero G.") "Oh, yeah? Maybe. Where would this better steel find application?" "Everywhere, bridges, buildings.." "Not at $50K per pound, it won't!"

Why do I love NASA?
http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html

and nary a "furry weavol" in sight!

R. A. Hettinga wrote:
--- begin forwarded text

Date: Sun, 2 Feb 2003 17:40:55 -0800
Subject: Re: "Touching shuttle debris may cause bad spirits to invade
  your  body!"
From: Tim May <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Status: R

On Sunday, February 2, 2003, at 04:11  PM, Sunder wrote:


Far more than likely, the truth is closer that the Space Shuttles have
been performing ultra sensitive spy work - launching new spy
satelites, or
repairing them, and may have pieces of spy satelites on them.

Let's see, we're going into war with Iraq, and we're sending up the
shuttle to do experiments on how furry weavols behave under zero
gravity... uh huh.


But, but, but the Israeli Payload Specialist, the Colonel in the IDF
who was on the bombing mission to take out the Osirak reactor in Iraq
in 1981, certainly was not involved with any kind of surveillance
satellite work!

His sole duty was to investigate the effects of gamma rays on
man-in-the-moon marigolds.

That's NASA's story...and they're sticking to it.

"Pay no attention to the Israeli Defense Forces spy behind the DOD
curtain!"

(Several times in the past we have only been told long after the fact
that what had been billed as a "scientific mission" by NSA, er, NASA,
was actually a military mission. Given that missions are very, very
expensive and usually have somewhat-justifiable mission goals, the fact
that this mission had no publically-disclosed goals except "science
fair projects" suggests strongly why the Israeli pilot was on this
particular mission. And Pakistan may be wondering what the Indian woman
was doing.)

--Tim May

--- end forwarded text



--
Charley Musselman
43 Kent Street
Somerville,  MA  02143
617-718-9722

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