Feb 7 1974
From The Space Library
Rep. Olin E. Teague (D-Tex.) praised the Skylab 4 astronauts (launched 16 Nov. 1973) on the eve of their splashdown after a record 84-day mission, concluding the Skylab program. On the floor of the precedented." After damage to the Orbital Worshop during its 14 May House of Representatives Rep. Teague called the Skylab record "unprecedented". The three crews had repaired and altered the systems, exceeded their expected workloads, and returned vast amounts of useful information on earth resources, solar phenomena, physical science, life sciences, and technology. The crews had spent 41 hrs in extravehicular activity and 1711/2 days in earth orbit, demonstrating that man could live indefinitely and work productively in space.
To date the U.S. manned space program had amassed 30 flights with some 21 850 hrs of active operation in space. "These programs-Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Skylab-have made direct contributions to our daily lives as well as new scientific knowledge. . . . Skylab has amply demonstrated that space can be used for practical purposes." (CR, 7 Feb 74, E533)
Prof. Nikolay A. Kozyrev, Soviet astronomer, had obtained convincing proof that Mercury had an atmosphere, Tass reported. A glowing halo around the planet, indicating the existence of an atmosphere, was seen in a spectrogram made while Prof. Kozyrev tracked the planet's path as it crossed the sun's disc. He calculated the refraction of light in the atmosphere to be 0.002 of the earth's refraction and the pressure 0.02 of the earth's atmospheric pressure. The thickness of the atmosphere, established from the brightness of the halo, was 600 km. Kozyrev had said the thickness indicated the presence of a light gas, probably hydrogen. He believed that Mercury's atmosphere was continuously replenished by the flow of protons from the sun. (Tass, FBIS-Sov, 11 Feb 74, Ul )
Francis C. Schwenk, Director of the Research Div. in NASA'S Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology, testified on four NASA projects in hearings on space nuclear propulsion and power before the House Committee on Science and Astronautics' Subcommittee on Aeronautics and Space Technology. Early research had shown that high-temperature thermionic converters combined with a compact nuclear reactor could provide an efficient power plant for advanced planetary missions. NASA technology would now focus on thermionic energy conversion for achieving highly efficient operation at lower temperatures. During the Apollo and Pioneer programs, NASA had proved the advantages of a small (40- to 70-w) radioisotope-thermoelectric-generator power system, which had operated at 6% efficiency at a cost of $20 million per kilowatt. NASA was develop-ing technology for a 0.5- to 2.0-kw gas-turbine conversion system (Bray-ton energy conversion system) to achieve efficiencies of 25% and reduce costs to one fourth.
Gaseous-core nuclear rocket research had led to plasma-core reactors as advanced energy sources for terrestrial as well as space propulsion uses; use of uranium hexafluoride as plasma fuel was expected to achieve efficiencies of more than 50%. Lewis Research Center research into superconducting magnets and plasma confinement and heating in advanced steady-state schemes was expected to show within a year whether a superconductive magnetic apparatus (SUMMA) could produce fusion-like plasmas as predicted. (Text)
NASA's report on emergency preparedness and defense mobilization activities for FY 1973 was issued by the Senate in the 23rd annual report of activities of the Joint Committee on Defense Production. NASA had revised emergency plans at field installations for increased readiness for a broader range of emergencies. The agency's contract policies had contributed to maintenance of a broad industrial base of small businesses to meet conditions of a national emergency. Research and development programs contributing to energy solutions included studies of new aeronautical technology, solar and wind energy, clean fuel production, improved use of coal, and more efficient fuels. Technology utilization teams were applying aerospace technology to public problems in medi-cine, urban construction, law enforcement, mine safety, air and water pollution, and transportation. (Sen Rpt 93-683)
The New Mexico House of Representatives approved a bill to appropriate $1.8 million for a proposed International Space Hall of Fame in Alamogordo. (UPI, NYT, 8 Feb 74)
7 February: President Nixon wired salutations to Skylab 4 Astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue aboard the recovery ship U.S.S. New Orleans after their successful splashdown at 11:17 am EDT. The astronauts, launched 16 Nov. 1973, had set an 84-day space flight record in the Orbital Workshop.
The President said: "On behalf of the American people, I salute Skylab's third crew of astronauts on their safe return to earth. They have successfully completed man's longest space journey and brought to an end one of the most scientifically productive endeavors in the history of human exploration. From the Skylab program, we have learned that we can live and work in space for long periods of time. And we have found that the results of these efforts can be of enormous practical value to life on earth.
"Skylab now joins the ranks of the Santa Maria, the H.M.S. Beagle, the Spirit of St. Louis, and the Eagle. Each of these great vehicles has carried us beyond the contemporary limits of human knowledge into a new comprehension of our own possibilities and a new definition of our own destiny. We welcome the men of Skylab home, and we salute them and all their predecessors who have launched us on this great adventure." (PD, 11 Feb 74,193; A&A 1973) .
"Skylab . . . has demonstrated that this nation is capable of conducting broader and more useful beneficial activities in space that directly relate to our own planet Earth," Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, said at a post-recovery press briefing at Johnson Space Center. It had "moved the space program from the realm of the spectacular into a new phase that can be characterized .. . as almost businesslike if not yet quite routine." The Skylab experience was necessary for the future in space and had confirmed that NASA was proceeding in the right direction with development of the space shuttle.
Skylab Program Director William C. Schneider said 30 earth resources passes had been planned and 39 accomplished during the Skylab 4 mission. There had been 350 hrs of Apollo Telescope Mount observations planned and 338 hrs completed. Observations of Comet Kohoutek included 13 by the Apollo Telescope Mount and 111 by other instruments. All 28 planned corollary experiments and all major medical and student experiments had been completed. Original planning had called for 140 days in orbit for the three manned missions; 172 were accomplished. Skylab's greatest achievement "was to prove . . . there is no limit in our space research"; the limit "is only our resolve, not our ability to do work, not the ability of men to work and not our technical knowledge." (Transcript)
Skylab 4 Astronauts Gerald P. Carr, Dr. Edward G. Gibson, and William R. Pogue had experienced a harrowing last hour in space when they could not get commands to the secondary control system, which pointed the spacecraft heat shield at the correct angle during reentry. After discovering a leak in the prime reaction control system, the astronauts tried and failed to activate the secondary system. "Our hearts fell and our eyeballs popped," Carr said at a 22 Feb. Johnson Space Center press conference. Carr, commander of the mission, instead had used a manual procedure to bypass the computer controlling the engine's firing and guided the space-craft to a safe on-target splashdown. The press later quoted a NASA spokes-man as saying that the failure to activate the backup control system was "just a matter of a switch not being thrown." (O'Toole, W Post, 15 Feb 74, Al; UPI, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 16 Feb 74; Maloney, H Post, 23 Feb 74)
The Army was issuing a $1 988 000 firm-fixed-price contract to Algernon Blair Industrial Contractors, Inc., for modifications to orbiter propulsion system test facilities for space shuttle engine testing at NASA's Mississippi Test Facility, the Dept. of Defense announced. (DOD Release 59-74)
The Dept. of Defense announced the Air Force was issuing a $1 400 000 fixed-price-incentive contract to General Electric Co. for engine refurbish-ment and increase in test hours for eight YJ-101 test engines planned for use in the YF-17 aircraft. (DOD Release 59-74)
Dr. Fritz Zwicky, California Institute of Technology astronomer and a leading expert on jet propulsion, died of a heart attack in Pasadena, Calif., at the age of 76. Dr. Zwicky's inventions included the aeropulse, hydropulse, hydroturbojet, monopropellants, and coruscatives. An early member of Aerojet Engineering Corp. (forerunner of Aerojet-General Corp.), Dr. Zwicky was Director of Research at Aerojet from 1943 to 1949. Under his leadership the corporation developed JATO (jet-assisted takeoff) for getting heavy-laden bombers into the air and in 1949 he was awarded the Medal of Freedom for his work in jet propulsion. In 1934, in a report coauthored with Dr. Walter Baade, Dr. Zwicky had drawn the first clear-cut professional distinction between common novas and supernovas. The report said a supernova Mew off considerable mass and could leave a pure neutron core, a theory which had gained increasing support. He discovered his 100th supernova in 1973. Only 378 super-novas had been discovered throughout history. (NYT, 11 Feb 74, 36; Who's Who)
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