Dec 28 1973
From The Space Library
Comet Kohoutek passed perihelion, 21 million km (13 million mi) from the sun, at 5:24 am EST, completing the sunward swing of its estimated 75 000-yr voyage, and began its journey back into distant space. (AP, B Sun, 12/28/73, A7)
NASA released details of Langley Research Center's planned program to heat and cool a 5000-sq-m (53 000-sq-ft) Systems Engineering Building by solar energy. The program had been announced by Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, in Nov. 13 testimony before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics' Subcommittee on Energy. The program was to obtain realistic engineering and operating experience with a source of clean power as an alternate to fossil fuels and other conventional energy sources. Planned for mid-1975 completion, the building-believed to be first of its size for which solar energy would provide a significant part of its heating and cooling system-would use a 1400-sq-m (15 000-sq-ft) solar collector to provide most of the heating and some of the cooling requirements. It also would test energy-storage capacity. NASA believed the solar collector to be the pacing component in the system and had established heating and cooling cost goals of $1 to $2 per 0.09 sq m (1 sq ft) over a 15-yr life span. (NASA Release 73-282)
Dr. Robert R. Gilruth, NASA Director of Key Personnel and former Director of Manned Spacecraft Center, retired. With NASA since its beginning, Dr. Gilruth had been Director of MSC (now Johnson Space Center) from its establishment in November 1961-and through five moon landings of the Apollo program-until he came to Headquarters in January 1972. Earlier he had been at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, predecessor of Langley Research Center, and was appointed Assistant Director in 1952. In 1958 he was assigned to manage the Nation's first manned space program, NASA'S Project Mercury, as Director of the Space Task Group at Langley. (NASA Personnel Off; NASA Biog; NASA Release 72-11)
Kennedy Space Center announced a $10 517 967 contract extension, through July 31, 1975, to McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Corp. to process the Saturn IB 2nd stage for launching the Apollo spacecraft to rendezvous and dock with the Soviet Soyuz spacecraft during the July 1975 Apollo Soyuz Test Project mission. The award brought total con-tract value to $101 995 628. A six-month, $7 909 148 contract extension to Bendix Corp. Launch Support Div. brought to $240 857 165 the total value of a contract for launch support services, including operation and maintenance of Launch Complex 39. An $11 831 263 extension to an International Business Machines Corp. contract would provide launch support services to Saturn IB booster instrument units, for possible Skylab rescue vehicles and the ASTP launch. The extension, through July 1975, brought total con-tract value to $58 772 009. (KSC Releases 290-73, 291-73, 292-73)
Dr. James R. Schlesinger, Secretary of Defense, had directed the Air Force to plan safe demonstration launches of four Minuteman II missiles without warheads from operational silos in Montana during the winter of 1974-75, the Dept. of Defense announced. In Project Giant Patriot, the missiles would enter space shortly after launch and their trajectory would carry them up to 560 km (350 mi) over portions of Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California en route to an ocean target in the Phoenix Islands, southwest of the Hawaiian Islands. No nuclear components would be carried; a safety destruction package would be carried in place of the normal warhead. The launches were to provide important test data and demonstrate the effectiveness and reliability of the Minuteman strategic deterrent force. (non Release 615-73)
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