Jul 23 1973
From The Space Library
Skylab 3 Astronauts Alan L. Bean, Jack R. Lousma, and Dr. Owen K. Garriott received their final major medical examinations at Johnson Space Center before their July 28 launch to join the Skylab Orbital Workshop in near-earth orbit. Dr. Paul Buchanan, Chief of the JSC Health Maintenance Branch, said the astronauts "look good and they are ready to fly." They would rendezvous and dock with the orbiting laboratory to live and work in it for 59 days before returning to earth. (Wilford, NYT, 7/24/73, 10)
President Nixon signed H.R. 7528 into Public Law 93-74, NASA's $3.065- billion FY 1974 authorization. Approved by the House-Senate Conference Committee June 28, by the House May 23, and by the Senate June 19, the bill provided $2.246 billion for research and development, $112 million for construction of facilities, and $707 million for research and program management. (PD, 7/30/72, 936; P.L. 93-74)
The House Committee on Science and Astronautics' Subcommittee on Energy held a hearing on H.R. 8348 [see June 4] and H.R. 9133, duplicate bills to authorize the National Science Foundation to designate certain institutions of higher learning national energy research centers. Dr. Raymond L. Bisplinghoff, NSF Deputy Director, described the NSF pro-gram of Research Applied to National Needs (RANN) devoted to energy: "It includes research on analytic techniques and potential conservation measures directed at meeting U.S. energy requirements while satisfying environmental quality restraints; energy conversion research directed at developing technologies that allow more efficient use of our energy re-sources; research on superconducting transmission lines and other aspects of energy and fuel transportation; and research on advanced coal technology, geothermal energy, and perhaps most importantly, on solar energy." (Transcript)
First anniversary of the launch of ERTS 1 Earth Resources Technology Satellite from Western Test Range July 23, 1972. Dr. James C. Fletcher, NASA Administrator, at an anniversary celebration at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, said the use of space technology to solve the earth's problems was "a second giant stride for mankind." ERTS 1 had had "a profound effect on the thinking of the world, particularly on our approach to the emerging problems of protecting our environment and maintaining the quality of life for all of Earth's people. I think it means that we do have to be sensitive to how we use these precious resources; not just clean air and water, but clean land." In the program to follow, "the ocean is also going to be a precious resource that we must con-serve," Dr. Fletcher said 38 countries were participating in the ERTS program, with 300 principal investigators-200 in the U.S. and 100 in foreign countries-examining ERTS data. Dr. William Nordberg, Chief of Goddard Space Flight Center's Lab-oratory for Meteorology and Earth Sciences, reviewed ERTS l's year-end status: its multispectral scanner was fully operational, the return-beam-vidicon TV cameras had been turned off but could be reactivated, one of the two tape recorders was still operating, although at reduced capacity. More than 60 000 ERTS scenes-equivalent to an area more than four times the globe-had been imaged, 333 000 unique messages had been relayed from some 140 platforms at remote sites, and nearly 3 million photos had been reproduced at the NASA Data Processing Facility. (NASA Activities, 8/15/73, 134-6)
Capt. Edward V. Rickenbacker (U.S. Army Air Corps, Ret.), the most decorated U.S. pilot of World War I, died in Zurich, Switzerland, after a heart attack at age 82. One of the top automobile racing drivers in the U.S. by the age of 21, Rickenbacker enlisted in the Air Service at the start of World War I. He received the Croix de Guerre with four palms, Legion of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross with nine Oak Leaf Clusters, Medal of Merit, and the Congressional Medal of Honor for downing 26 German aircraft and at least 4 enemy balloons. He be-came General Manager of Eastern Airlines, Inc., in 1934, and the same year piloted a Douglas airliner from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in 12 hrs 3 min 50 sec for a coast-to-coast passenger aircraft record. He was President and General Manager of Eastern Airlines, from 1938 to 1953, when he became Chairman of the Board. He retired in 1963 and was elected to the Aviation Hall of Fame in 1965. Throughout his life Rickenbacker had advocated greater use of military aircraft. In 1922 he supported his friend Gen. Billy Mitchell in urging a separate U.S. Government department for aeronautics. Follow-ing Rickenbacker's death, President Nixon issued a statement: " 'Captain Eddie' Rickenbacker was an American original-a celebrated racing car driver in the early years of the 20th Century, the leading American fighter pilot in World War I, a pioneer of commercial aviation, and a generous, patriotic citizen in both war and peace," (Hailey, W Post, 7/24/73, C4; PD, 7/30/73, 924)
July 23-28: The first U.S. women's helicopter team competed in the H World Helicopter Championships at Middle Wallop, England. The championships were organized by the Helicopter Club of Great Britain for the Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom on behalf of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAT). (NAA News, 8/73, 1)
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