Feb 26 1976
From The Space Library
A radio W system deployed by the federal government in remote areas of the U.S. since the spring of 1975 to warn of impending natural disasters had already passed one test, reported David S. Johnson, director of the National Environmental Satellite Service. An impending flood upstream from the town of Deming, Wash., had been detected by the sensors, and the river had crested an inch above its flood stage as predicted. The radio sensors, attached to transmitters, collected and relayed data from NOAA geostationary satellites (Goes 1, watching the East Coast, and Sms 2 watching the Pacific Coast); the satellites relayed the information to NOAA computers in the World Weather Building at Suitland, Md. Initial work on the system began in the 1960s, and it was already operational. By summer of 1976, 150 to 200 sensor stations would be in place; a total of about 10 000 would eventually be situated to warn of floods, earthquakes, forest fires, or tidal waves that began in unfrequented areas. The system could also be used for keeping track of ships at sea or of trucks on the highway. (B Sun, 26 Feb 76, A-1; NOAA Release 76-32)
Recovery of the unmanned Soyuz-20 spacecraft that landed in Kazakhstan 16 Feb. carrying a "comprehensive biology payload"-including both plant and animal life-concluded what the Christian Science Monitor described as an impressive 3-mo biology experiment. Results from Soyuz-20 would be compared with those of similar experiments including some from the U.S.-carried on the Vostok-type biosat Cosmos 782 which stayed 19.4 days in space last year. Cosmos 782 had carried a small centrifuge to test effects of artificial gravity on flora and fauna; comparison of the previous tests with those from Soyuz-20 would help decide whether-and how much-artificial gravity would be needed in future space stations. Soyuz-20 had docked with the Salyut 4 space station 19 Nov. 1975, an example of a self-docking biolab that demonstrated the USSR plan for assembling complex space objects from separately launched modules. (CSM, 26 Feb 76, 6)
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