🚀 go-pugleaf

>	1.  Does anyone in the know (Greg Woods at NCAR, others) know if the
>	    previous net discussion, amongst others I presume, influenced
>	    our Congress-critters/NASA to make use of the ET?  Did it help?

Unlikely.  The most significant influence was probably that the Reagan space
policy specifically called for NASA to provide ETs to private companies
wanting them, and this is uncontroversial enough to pass Congress easily.

>	3.  Timeframe, if Congress/NASA is timely about adoption of the plan?

NASA is supposed to release a detailed policy document on it soon.  See my
latest AW&ST summary for some related news.  The main issue is that any
company wanting an ET in orbit has got to demonstrate to everyone's
satisfaction that the tank will not make an uncontrolled reentry.  This is
a non-trivial problem since the tanks are big and light, would end up in
quite a low orbit, and would naturally tend to orient themselves broadside-
on to air drag.

>	5.  What about integration with the space station/ISF plans?

If NASA were sensible, it would have provided for using an ET as expansion
space for the station.  It didn't.  And I'd say Space Industries has enough
problems with plain old ISF just now.
-- 
NASA is to spaceflight as            |  Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
the Post Office is to mail.          | {ihnp4,decvax,uunet!mnetor}!utzoo!henry