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Dear Kermit,

> has stirred and keeps raising a lot of interest, indeed ...

Well, it is a Cel Nav question, after all. Modern Cel Nav.
I admit that I like ancient Cel Nav more: it was not aimed directly
at the destruction of mankind.

> So, thank you to have singled out this article among a
> great number of publications on the same subject.

According to MacKenzie (who apparently knows the literature very well,
this is the first open publication where Unistar Principle was stated.

> As I can recall, in its example(s), this specific 1983
> article did indicate quite simple interesting results
> about the "best" star to use.

About the best star to use, my own (idealized) analysis only shows that
it must have azimuth close to the asimuth of the target,
and altitude (at the launch moment and place) not too small.
All such stars are of equal value. (I will very much appreciate any
hint, why this could be otherwise!)
Then come engineering restrictions: where is the window cut in the
missile, etc., and "occultation restrictions".

> Any details on this specific "best star point" from you NavList Members
> who still have this article at hand ?

I have it. If anyone else wants to read it, please contact off the list.
(I have strong sympathies to the "Pirate party", and actually support it,
but at the same time, I am a law abiding citizen:-)

> This information definitely
> was "public domain/access" at that time, and should still have remained
> so, to the best of my knowledge at least.

There is some confusion about what "public access" really means.
(Do you want to pay $30 or $50 for reading a scientific article
published long ago?)
This is an important and comlicated question which is definitely out of
the list scope.

20 years ago "public access" meant that the thing is published,
is in the libraries, and thus is accessible to everyone, at the
reproduction cost.

This unfortunately changed. The current copyright laws essentially
mean that there is NO such thing as "public access" anymore.. You have to
pay to the "owner" as much as this "owner" demands. And the "ownership"
is FOREVER. This law permitted several hudge corporations to
"privatize" a large part of the whole scientific output.
And they will charge you as much as they find convenient for them.
And the notion of "public library" also changed. Electronic
papers in our university library are available only to a limited
set of people.

But this is out of the list scope.


Alex.

   

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