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Thursday, January 31, 1991 / University Daily Kansan
Students learn spacecraft designs
Class enables students to reconstruct potential design systems for NASA
By Benjamin W. Allen
Kansan staff writer
The first time the class was offered, the students designed a space-station rescue craft that would astronauts stranded in orbit to
return to Earth if their shuttle was not working
This year, the design problem that the Spacecraft Systems Design class has taken on is equally complex.
equally complex. The close will
be designing a reusable cargo vehicle that, if built, could be used to ferry materials to the moon's surface from a space station.
Dan Rosamond, instructor in aerospace engineering, is coaching the three students enrolled in the class through the problems involved with designing the vehicle.
"the objective of the course is to get the students at a design problem and see what they can do," he said. "I want you to do it. I'm more or less a coach."
"This is something I've been waiting for." he said.
Dwayne DeSylvia, Windsor, Colo. senior, said he was looking forward to the project.
Rosamond said the class chose the design problem it wanted to tackle, and this year the class chose its design problem idea from a competition sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Depending upon its design, the class may enter the competition.
DeSylvia said that he wished the class were a little bit larger so that they would have a better chance to enter the competition.
"The work load will be intense," he said. "There's too few people in the room."
He said that his career aspirations were that the class was a step in that direction.
"It's very relevant to what's going to be going on over the next 10 to 15 years," he said.
Rosandom brings experience to the course by having worked for the McDonnel Douglas Corp. and helped develop the software. Gemini and Anolo projects.
He retired from the corporation and came to the University of Kansas in 1989.
"Now that I'm retired, why don't I pass along some of this knowledge to the next generation," he said.
"That's why I'm here."
David Downing, chairperson of the department of aerospace engineering, said Rosamond was a tremendous asset to the department.
Downing said the department was in the process of hiring a professor to work with Rosamond.
"It—spacecraft design—will be a major focus of our program in the future," he said.
Aerospace engineering students are required to take one course in aircraft, spacecraft or propulsion design.
Jim Frickey, Almena senior, said he was more interested in spacecraft design than in the other design courses.
He said that designing the lunar excursion vehicle was a good opportunity.
"Right now we're trying to come up with a possible configuration and to estimate the weight of its components," he said.
Richard Couch, Eudora resident, sews pieces of what will become a quilt panel.
Finney says state needs $500 million for property-tax relief
The Associated Press
TOPEKA — For Gov. Joan Finney, $500 million is the minimum acceptable amount for property-tax relief.
Finney remained firm yesterday in her belief that a plan must cut the state's annual property-tax burden by at least that much to keep the state economy from deteriorating. She also repeated her pledge to remain in finding a source to finance the relief.
"I'm standing by the half-a-billion, because it has to be meaningful to have an
impact on the economy." Finney said. "It
has a large impact on the tax base of
hispanic people."
the governor also indicated that she wanted the Legislature to adopt her plan for a constitutional amendment to allow Kan- dera to enact amendments and laws directly on the ballot.
Her staff is scheduled to unveil the plan today during a meeting of the House Federal agency.
Finney's news conference yesterday was her first with regular Statehouse reporters
since taking office. The session followed a breakfast at Cedar Crest, the governor's residence.
Finney previously has given individual interviews to Statehouse reporters. However, she said she planned to have regular news conferences.
"People seem to think that I don't do very well in these conference settings, but I am comfortable doing it," she said. "I don't mind doing it. We will."
To raise money for property-tax relief, Finney has proposed eliminating 35 exemp
tions to the state's 42.3 percent sales tax and imposing the tax on 77 services.
Her plan would provide $737.3 million for property-tax relief during the budget year that begins July 1 and $624.4 million in following budget years.
"I have met with a number of groups of legislators and told them that I have put something on the table," she said. "If they don't like my manner of funding it, then I'll look at any option that they present to me. Let them decide how to fund it.
We've got to do it for the economy. If we
continue to keep these small businesses functioning, they are the major contributors of sales tax. So it's a vicious cycle. If we don't address the property-tax issue, then the economy will continue to deteriorate and we'll have less money in the treasury."
Finney was asked whether she would be willing to call a special session of the Legislature if lawmakers did not approve an acceptable tax relief plan.
"I don't think this is going to happen," she said. "I can see that there is a response there that that's being used."
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