Apr 7 1977
From The Space Library
.MSFC announced it had begun test assembly of large-scale space structures in its neutral buoyancy facility. The NBF, a 12m-deep water tank simulating the weightless environment of space, was in use for the first time since the Skylab program. (MSFC Release 77-57)
The liquid-oxygen tank of the Space Shuttle's external tank had undergone successful hydrostatic tests at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, MSFC reported. Martin Marietta Aerospace, prime ET contractor, had scheduled additional tests to simulate flight pressures. (MSFC Release 77-58)
NASA officials, assuming a constant purchasing power for the agency over the next 10 to 15yr, had made plans for some 560 Shuttle flights between 1980 and 1991, averaging 60 flights per yr between 1985 and 1991, Nature reported. Assuming a maximum payload of about 29 500kg, Shuttle users (including NASA, DOD, other government agencies, private industry, and foreign organizations) would pay fees from $3000 for a simple automatic payload to $20 million for the entire cargo bay. NASA had claimed a 40% savings in launch costs for the Shuttle compared to expendable rockets; a higher discount for U.S. users would increase its cost-effectiveness. Nature said early Shuttle critics, like space scientists who viewed it as a competitor for limited NASA resources, were now supporting the Shuttle as a research tool. (Nature, Apr 7/77, 489)
Spacelab, ESA's manned reusable space laboratory scheduled to fly on the Space Shuttle, would perform experiments in life, physical, and materials science, Nature reported. Although Spacelab's multinational management and unique financing scheme (ESA members would pay for the laboratory on a voluntary basis) could limit its scientific potential, participants would receive a proportionate share of construction contracts and experiment facilities. Management problems included the question of apportioning payment of NASA's $10 million launch fee. (Nature, April 7/77, 491)
ComSatCorp, in a notice of its upcoming election of directors, said the nominees for a first term were Howard J. Morgens, director and chairman emeritus of Procter & Gamble; and Charles J. Pilliod, Jr., board chairman and chief executive officer of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The other 10 nominees were current board members. (ComSat Release 77-14)
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