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THE BATTALION
5A
Tuesday, January 22, 2002
A&M aerospace engineers test
parachute for NASA’s X-38
By Mandi Vest
the battalion
A&M researchers have completed research on
I the air dynamics of a parachute being tested for
NASA’s X-38 project. The X-38 is a safe Crew
Return Vehicle (CRY) for astronauts at the
International Space Station (ISS).
NASA contracted A&M’s Department of
Aerospace Engineering in 1997 to test a parachute
called a paratoil to determine it’s air dynamics. The
parafoil is a rectangular shaped parachute made with
tubular inlets that allow air to pass through. It has
j been used in sport parachuting and hang gliding
because it can be steered horizontally as it falls.
I )on t \\ i-ifl NASA is interested in the parafoil to be part of the
X-38 project, designed to provide astronauts on the
ISS an immediate return home in case of emergency,
said NASA s Website. The parafoil will allow the X-
138 to slow down from a very high speed after it
enters the earth’s atmosphere.
The European Space Agency is helping in the X-
38 project as well. Europe presently has the capa
bilities to carry astronauts from earth to space, but
not from space to earth, said the agency's Website.
David Lund, director of the Texas Engineering
Experiment Station, said the X-38 is too heavy to
land like an airplane, and that it will require a large
parafoil. Lund and other A&M researchers were
testing many parafoils of various sizes to compile a
data base of air dynamics. NASA will use the data
base to design the X-38.
A&M researchers said they used a subscale
model to perform experiments. They used a large
truck on runways at the Riverside Campus to test
the parafoil s performance at high speeds. A
remote controlled aircraft with a small-scale
parafoil was also used by the research team. They
learned to control the parafoil horizontally by
pulling the trailing edges.
If the X-38 project is completed, seven crewmen
will be permitted on the ISS. The CRY that was
used on the space station is the Soviet Soyuz, which
can only carry three people.
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Refuges expect
budget increase
FREMONT, Calif. (AP) — Interior Secretary Gale Norton
announced a proposed $56.5 million increase Monday for the
National Wildlife Refuge System, an 18 percent hike needed to
cover maintenance and renovation of aging facilities.
“It certainly looks like the refuge system needs a sustained
effort to improve the resources,” Norton said while touring the
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
“It’s important to take care of the land entrusted to us.”
The San Francisco refuge would receive $1.1 million under
the proposed budget that starts Oct. 1.
Standing outside a visitors center overlooking salt ponds
and marshes, Norton said the increase would cover mainte
nance and renovation of building boardwalks, trails and levies
at the 538 refuges across the nation.
The proposed increase would be the largest in the past seven
years. The budget this year was $319 million.
Some Republicans and Democrats in Congress last year
urged hundreds of millions more for the refugees’ budget.
Norton’s announcement came less than a week after she
concluded that oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge in Alaska would not compromise America’s interna
tional treaty obligations to protect the refugee's polar bears.
Since passage of the 1997 National Wildlife Refuge System
Improvement Act, the budget has increased steadily. The cur
rent refuges budget is 6.4 percent larger than the previous
year’s $299.7 million.
But the nation’s wildlife refuges still have a backlog of
maintenance projects totaling $600 million, said Pat Foulk,
spokeswoman for the ITS. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Calories, sugar can kill
WASHINGTON^ CAP)
The 60-year-old lung disease
patient gasped for breath after
certain meals. The culprit: High-
calorie meals loaded with sugar.
Healthy people just breathe a
little faster to excrete the carbon
dioxide that is produced by eat
ing sugar. Lungs damaged by
chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease cannot handle both the
extra work and the new pounds.
It is one of numerous little-
known diet tips that can make
a big difference in easing
chronic diseases that plague
older Americans. Too few doc
tors have the time or training
to deal with nutrition choices
that are making their elderly
patients sicker.
Now they are getting help:
Dietitians have joined one of the
largest primary-care physician
groups to provide the first at-a-
glance doctors’ nutrition guide
for the most common killers of
elderly Americans.
Better nutrition isn’t a cure,
cautions Dr. Albert Barrocas, a
New Orleans surgeon and nutri
tion professor who offered the
sugar-lung disease example.
The hope is that the new
nutrition guide and some easy-
to-use consumer advice will
ease seniors’ suffering, maybe
enough that some can cut back
on prescription pills.
It comes at a time of
increased interest in nutrition
therapy. This month. Medicare
began paying for registered
dietitians to help treat more than
7 million seniors with diabetes
or kidney disease, illnesses con
sidered among the most influ
enced by diet.
Some 85 percent of seniors
have at least one chronic dis
ease that can benefit from nutri
tional interventions. Yet the
societal, economic and physical
changes of aging leave them at
particular risk of malnutrition.
A spouse dies and the sur
vivor lacks the will or know
how to cook healthy meals.
Arthritis, heart disease or
other ailments makes cooking
a physical challenge.
Alzheimer’s make patients
forget to eat.
And medications can sap
appetite or make eating
unpleasant.
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Where You
34 or buy
VICTOR’S
Quality Mens & Ladies Boot & Shoe Repair
www.seniorboots.com
Juniors order now! Delivery in April
3601 Texas Ave.
1 mile north of campus
Hours Mon.-Fri. 8-6:30 Sat. 9-3
846-4114
Do Your Parents Bleed MAROON?
Nominate them for
PARENTS OF THE
YEAR
Applications will be available at the following informationals:
Tuesday, January 22 in Rudder 507 from 4-5pm
Wednesday, January 23 in Rudder 507 from 8:30pm
Thursday, January 24 in Rudder 407 from 8.30pm
If you have any questions, please contact
Heather Augustine at 695-2416.
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STUDY THE ARTS AND CIVILIZATIONS
| of the aegean|
PHOTOGRAPH AND SKETCH
GREECE AND TURKEY
jharles White: 845-7859, cwwhite@archone.tamu.edu
fofessor Susan Kirchman: 845-7065, smk@texas.net
NO PREREQUISITES-OPEN TO ALL MAJORS-SIX CREDITS
(HUMANITIES ELECTIVE-VISUAL ARTS REQUIREMENT)
TEXAS AStM 1ST SUMMER SESSION
MAY 2 I-JUNE 24, 2002
Date Night
Only *25.00 per couple
Appetizer, 2 salads, 2 entrees, & a dessert to share
at
CENARE
Italian Restaurant
* Only Tuesdays and Wednesdays
No coiifton needed
404 University Dr.
696-7311
■■■■I
Petal Patch
w.
Friday Flowers
(roses, lillies, daisies, misty blues, tulips)
All Wrapped Flowers
Cash & Carry. All Major Credit Cards Accepted.
We accept Aggie Bucks.
1/2 PRICE
•Not valid Feb. 8-14, 2001
1919 Texas Ave. S 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday-Friday
College Station • 696-6713 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Saturday
OBA
Co-ed. Professional Business Fraternity
Spring Rush 2002
Wednesday, January 23 rd : INFORMATIONAL
Wehner 118, 7:30 PM (Professional Dress)
Thursday, January 24 th : CASINO NIGHT
Come play and win prizes!
Barbara Bush Conference Center, 7:30 - 9:30 PM
« f i/noafc ^ i i .T Vi
Sunday, January 27 th : CAPTURE THE FLAG
Bee Creek Park (at the end of Anderson past Parkway Apts:),
7:30 PM — Wear dark clothes & bring a flashlight!
Monday, January 28 th : GUEST SPEAKER
Wehner 118, 7:30 PM (Business Casual)
Tuesday, January 29 th : POOL @ P.O.E.T.S.
Come by and play pool on us! — 7:30-9:30 PM
Friday, February 1 st : DINNER @ FITZWILLY'S
Come on out and enjoy free dinner on us! — 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Don't forget to come see us at the MSC Open House on the 27 th !!
& Check us out on the web @ http://wehner.tamu.edu/pbl
Questions? Call: Kim Pinion (695-0778) or Tessa Church (693-9559).
&
January
31-
For the Bride and
Groom to be...
It's time again for the Spring Bridal
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This is a special section that helps
to inform the bride and groom in
planning for marriage; from the
engagement ring to honeymoon.
Deadline: January 25,2001
Contact your Battalion
Sales Representative today!
845.2696
THE BATTALION