Feb 1 1985
From The Space Library
Space News for this day. (1MB PDF)
The USSR today boosted the nuclear-reactor core of its Cosmos 1607 radar ocean-surveillance satellite (RORSAT) to a higher orbit, marking the end of its 92-day mission, Aerospace Daily reported.
Some observers linked the maneuver to the failure the week before of Cosmos 1625, a solar-powered electronic ocean reconnaissance satellite (EORSAT). They believed that EORSATs and RORSATs worked together to monitor movements of potentially hostile ships and that, upon the failure of Cosmos 1625, the Soviets decided Cosmos 1607 was not worth maintaining.
Others said the Soviets terminated the Cosmos 1607 mission because it had operated successfully for three months, and were therefore uncertain of the satellite's reliability if kept in operation any longer. (The Soviets had problems with RORSATs in the past-parts of the Cosmos 954 reactor came down in Canada in 1978, and the nuclear power-pack components of Cosmos 1402 reentered over the Indian Ocean and South Atlantic in early 1983.
Cosmos 1266 lasted only about a week in 1981, and in that same year Cosmos 1299 only a little longer. In 1982 Cosmos 1412 was operational for only 40 days.)
Cosmos 1607 was the second Soviet RORSAT of 1984; they safely boosted the power pack of Cosmos 1579, launched June 28, to a higher orbit on September 28. The Soviets boosted the power packs to high orbit so their decay would occur after half-life of the nuclear elements. (A/D, Feb 11/85, 1)
NASA announced that Robert Nunamaker, formerly chief engineer at Ames Research Center (ARC), became Langley Research Center's (LaRC) space director with responsibility for advanced space transportation, planetary entry, space station and large space antenna research, and for LaRC's atmospheric science program. Nunamaker began his NASA career at Lewis Research Center in 1958, where he acquired extensive experience with Project Mercury; he joined ARC in 1963. Nunamaker received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 1957, followed by graduate work at Case Institute of Technology and the University of California at Los Angeles. (NASA Release 85-17; NASA anno., Feb 2/85; LaRC Release 85-8)
Office of Inspector General NASA announced that June Gibbs Brown, appointed NASA's inspector general June 1981 by President Reagan, would leave March 10 to become vice president of finance and administration and chief financial officer of System Development Corp. Prior to her NASA service, Brown served as inspector general for the Department of Interior and worked for the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and had been director of the audit division of the U.S. Navy Finance Center. Brown held bachelor and master degrees in business administration and a Juris Doctor from the University of Denver School of Law. (NASA Release 85-17; NASA anno., Feb 2/85)
Public Affairs
NASA announced the following assignments in its public affairs organization would become effective February 15: Kenneth Atchison, assistant news chief and NASA internal communications manager; Debra Rahn, public affairs officer; Leon Perry, public information officer; Sarah Keegan, public information officer; Dwayne Brown, editor, NASA Activities; and Barbara Selby, public affairs specialist. (NASA Release 85-17; NASA anno., Feb. 2/85)
The National Society of Professional Engineers had recognized Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) role in the first Spacelab mission as one of the nation's 10 outstanding engineering achievements for 1984, the center announced. Because the 10-day mission occurred so late in 1983, the society had placed it in the 1984 competition. The society also cited MSFC for its management of NASA's role in Spacelab development, which had included the transfer tunnel connecting the Space Shuttle orbiter cabin to the module and other components necessary for successful laboratory operation, for its technical and programmatic monitoring of Spacelab's European design and development activities, and for lending technical expertise and support to the European Space Agency (ESA) in the project.
MSFC's deputy director Thomas Lee had accepted the award on behalf of center employees at the society's winter meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (MSFC Release 85-5)
The U.S. Navy awarded Dr. Robert Stevenson, an oceanographer with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), its Meritorious Civilian Service Award for his role in the application of space technology to the solution of oceanographic problems, the U.S. Navy announced. The award cited Stevenson as the "father" of space oceanography in the western world, recognizing him as one of the first American scientists to suggest that remote sensing instruments in space could accurately record oceanographic measurements.
As an advisor on space-related programs, Stevenson had worked with the National Council for Marine Resources and Engineering Development, the National Academy of Science, North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), and NASA. Stevenson was a Fellow of the Geological Society of America and author of numerous scientific articles on ocean surface-layers' research, particularly as observed from earth-orbiting satellites. (Dept. of the Navy Release 1-85)
COMSAT
Comsat Corp. announced unaudited year-end results showing a $29 million decrease in income from continuing operations in 1984 compared to 1983 income, the Washington Post reported. Comsat reported consolidated 1984 operating revenue of about $442 million, with consolidated net income of about $51 million and income from continuing operations of about $45 million.
The company attributed $13 million of the decline to a write-off associated with Satellite Television Corp., the direct satellite-to-home TV company, and to the write-down of inventory from Comsat's equipment manufacturing business.
Comsat officials said they would release final figures and per share earnings later in the month (W Post, Feb 1/85, F5)
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