WHAT'S NEW, Friday, 19 May 1989 Washington, DC
1.
LAUNCH OF THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE HAS BEEN DELAYED AGAIN!
The planned Dec 89 launch of Hubble
(WN 2 Sep 88) will be put off
at least until Apr 90 to make way for secret military missions of
the shuttle. Hubble is already 3 years late, and the delay costs
$6 per second. Scientists had to choose between Hubble and those
missions with specific launch windows. Once in orbit, Hubble may
have trouble calling home; the Pentagon is commandeering more of
the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System than expected.
2
. THE GAMMA RAY OBSERVATORY WILL ALSO BE HELD UP,
but it is the
Soviet military that will create the major headaches for the GRO.
The nuclear reactors that power Soviet radar satellites (WN 20
Jan 89) are 50 times brighter gamma sources than the crab nebula.
The GRO will be blinded every time the Soviet reactors pass by.
3. THE COLD FUSION PANEL OF THE ENERGY RESEARCH ADVISORY BOARD
will be co-chaired by physicist Norman Ramsey and nuclear chemist
John Huizenga. The distinguished 20-member committee was formed
at the request of Energy Secretary Watkins
(WN 28 Apr 89), who
asked for a preliminary report on experimental and theoretical
results by Aug 31. The final coroners report is due Nov 15.
4. A PALLADIUM CURTAIN HAS DESCENDED OVER THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH.
In spite of the $400 ticket price, a near-capacity crowd of 1500
is expected at the May 23-25 Workshop on Cold Fusion Phenomena in
Santa Fe. Although the preliminary program gives Fleischmann and
Pons top billing, the temperamental stars apparently decided to
cancel their appearance. Plans to invite K.G. Lynn of BNL to
give a colloquium at Utah were also cancelled when Pons objected.
Lynn is coauthor of an invited paper at Santa Fe that reports no
evidence of cold fusion. University lawyers are said to have
been worried that Pons might feel pressured to reveal the secret
formula. The Santa Fe non-confrontation will be broadcast live
via satellite. For details on pickup call David Phillips, LANL,
(505) 667-1233. The APS cold fusion sessions from the Baltimore
meeting are now available on video tape. The tape costs only
one-fourth as much as registration at Santa Fe, and also doesn't
have Fleischmann and Pons. Call APS Cold Fusion (212) 682-7341.
5. THE OTHER KIND OF FUSION WAS BACK IN THE NEWS THIS WEEK
after
the leak of a National Academy of Sciences report on magnetic
confinement fusion. The report calls for accelerated construction
of the $455M Compact Ignition Tokamak to produce a sustained
reaction in the early 90's. It would be followed by construction
of a prototype fusion power plant, the International Tokamak
Experimental Reactor, around the end of the century. The report
was completed in March, but the Academy had no desire to invite
the inevitable comparisons of tokamaks and Rubbermaid dishpans
during the peak of the cold fusion hysteria. In terms of energy
gain, tokamaks and palladium cathodes are currently about even.
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