[FAQ] Welcome to SCI.SPACE.SHUTTLE - Please read our FAQ

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-- sci.space.shuttle Frequently Asked Questions --
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-- STS-107/Columbia Tragedy FAQ --
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For those new members/readers of the group wishing to find more
information on the STS-107 tragedy, an FAQ is available at the
following URL: http://www.io.com/~o_m/columbia_loss_faq.html


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-- General sci.space.shuttle FAQ --
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Note - This message is posted roughly once a week to be visible to
people new to this newsgroup. It doesn't change so feel free to ignore
it in the future.

You are reading the sci.space.shuttle newsgroup. If you are new to the
group, I'd like to welcome you. I hope you have fun reading and
learning about the Space Shuttle and related issues. Hopefully you
will soon be contributing information of your own!

As there are several other newsgroups in the sci.space.* hierarchy,
before posting check which newsgroup is most appropriate for your
question or post:

news:sci.space.shuttle US space shuttle and closely related topics
such as the Russian manned space program.

news:sci.space.history Space program history, from the 1800's to
1980's

news:sci.space.news* Announcements of interest to the space
community

news:sci.space.tech* Technical and general issues related to
spaceflight

news:sci.space.science* Space and planetary science and related
technical work

news:sci.space.station Space stations and orbiting platforms.

news:sci.space.policy Discussions about space policy and other
space topics that do not fit under the
subject of other newsgroups.

news:sci.space.moderated* White-listed moderated group for generic
space discussions.

* denotes moderated newsgroup

There is a large collection of frequently-asked-questions (FAQ's) and
answers concerning the subject matter covered by the sci.space.shuttle
newsgroup which are available on-line. You may want to check the FAQ
before posting a question, especially if the question is a general
non-specific one.

The information in the FAQ includes answers to many commonly asked
questions concerning the Space Shuttle such as "What happens at
launch?", "Why did the Challenger explode?", "How can I find out if
the shuttle will fly over my area?", "How much pollution does the
shuttle add to the atmosphere?" and "Why can't the shuttle go to the
moon?".

Just point your browser at the following site for the FAQ:

http://www.geocities.com/spaceshot2000/sss-faq.htm

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General netiquette is followed in the newsgroup. Chief amongst these
unofficial 'rules' is the issue of posting binary files to the group.

PLEASE DO *NOT* POST BINARY FILES TO THE NEWSGROUP! There are many
good reasons why binaries are not wanted on sci.space.shuttle and
there are specific newsgroups which cater for binary hosting such as
those in the alt.binaries.pictures.* hierarchy.

It is also considered bad manners to ask a question on the group and
expect private e-mails to be sent back to you if you can't be bothered
to check the group for the answers. This defeats the purpose of the
newsgroup which is to share information.

Similarly, requests along the lines of "Our latest school assignment
is on the shuttle. Please do my homework for me." will be met with
minimal enthusiasm.

Finally, sci.space.shuttle is an unmoderated newsgroup which means
there is no person who controls what is posted to the group. For this
reason, it is up to us to keep the discussions on topic and as
*civilised* as possible.

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Now in case this has scared you off, I want to emphasise that no one
wants to discourage you from posting here. This tends to be a very
open, friendly and helpful newsgroup. Once you have searched the FAQ
and found that your question is not answered there, you will find the
many members of this newsgroup have an extensive knowledge base and
will be happy to answer your question.

What this FAQ is aiming to do is minimise the need for members of the
newsgroup to spend time answering common questions (which can become
very tiresome) and therefore spend more time discussing new issues and
answering new questions.

Finally have fun, learn, but most of all participate - don't lurk
forever!

Thank you,

Justin Wigg
Perth, AUSTRALIA