Jul 13 1973
From The Space Library
The Air Force launched an unidentified satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base by a Titan IIID booster into orbit with a 273.6-km (170-mi) apogee, 154.5-km (96-mi) perigee, 88.7-min period, and 96.2° inclination. Press reports termed the spacecraft a "Big Bird" photo-reconnaissance satellite. The satellite reentered Oct. 12. (Pres Rpt 74; Av Wk, 8/27/73, 30)
The Skylab 1 Investigation Board appointed to determine the cause of the anomaly that lost the Orbital Workshop's meteoroid shield and one solar array wing during launch May 14 reported its findings and recommendations to Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator. The Board, chaired by Lewis Research Center Director Bruce T. Lundin, said the most probable cause was inadequate venting of the pressure in a tunnel beneath the shield. Differential pressure buildup in the tunnel had forced the shield away from the Workshop shell and into the supersonic air stream. The shield then broke the tiedowns holding the solar array wings onto the spacecraft. About 10 min into the flight one solar array wing was torn away completely when it was struck by the exhaust plume of the 2nd-stage retrorockets. The remaining solar array wing would not deploy until the astronauts cut the strap which had curled around the wing and penetrated the metal fairing housing the array. The Board had found that "the significance of the aerodynamic loads on the meteoroid shield during launch was not revealed by the extensive review process" and recommended that complex, multidisciplinary systems like the shield "should have a designated project engineer who is responsible for all aspects of analysis, design, fabrication, test and assembly." There was no evidence that the shield's design deficiencies had resulted from or been masked by the Skylab management system. "On the contrary, the rigor, detail, and thoroughness of the system are doubt-less necessary for a program of this magnitude." (NASA Release 73-135; Lundin testimony before Sen Com on Aero and Space Sci, 7/30/73)
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