Jul 26 1972
From The Space Library
NASA selected North American Rockwell Corp. (NR) Space Div. for negotiation of six-year, $2.6-billion cost-plus-fixed-and- award-fee contract as prime contractor to begin developing space shuttle orbiter. Increment covering first two years was $540 million. NR-selected from four firms submitting proposals-would be responsible for design, development, and production of orbiter vehicle and for integration of all shuttle elements. Shuttle main engine was being developed by NR Rocketdyne Div. under earlier contract. External tank and solid-fueled rocket boosters would be procured by NASA after system engineering for orbiter had progressed sufficiently. Shuttle, first reusable space vehicle, would have delta-winged, airplane-like orbiter able to land on conventional runways. It would have cargo compartment 18 m (60 ft) long and 4.5 m (15 ft) in diameter and would be able to place 29 500 kg (65 000 lbs) into 185-km (115-mi) due-east orbit. Reusable solid-propellant booster rockets and orbiter high-pressure, liquid-oxygen and liquid-hydrogen main engines would boost orbiter into space and booster rockets would detach at 40-km (25-mi) altitude and splash down in ocean for recovery and reuse.
Orbiter, under own power, would continue into low earth orbit. Shuttle would be able to place satellites in orbit, return satellites from orbit, permit in-orbit repair and servicing of satellites, deliver propulsive stages and satellites to low earth orbit, and make short-duration science and applications missions with self-contained experiments in low earth orbit. Shuttle development schedule called for horizontal test flights beginning in 1976 and manned orbital test flights beginning in 1978, with complete system operational by 1980. Employment generated by orbiter development and shuttle integration was expected to reach 15 000 by 1975-1976 and then would gradually decrease. (NASA Release 72-153).
Second in series of very-high-altitude flight tests of Viking parachute system was conducted over White Sands Missile Range. Helium- filled balloon lifted simulated Viking entry vehicle from Roswell, N. Mex., to 11200-m (36 880-ft) altitude where payload was dropped and rocket motors ignited, boosting payload to 41000-m (135 000-ft) altitude. Parachute deployed as planned and payload landed at WSMR about 56 km (35 mi) northwest of Holloman Air Force Base. Objective-to check parachute system at transonic conditions and at lowest parachute loading conditions expected over Mars-was met. Successful completion of three tests-one supersonic, one transonic, and one subsonic- would qualify Viking parachute system for use on Mars mission scheduled for launch in 1975. [See July 11, Aug. 13 and 19, Dec. 14.] (NASA Release 72-118; NASA proj off)
Skylab medical experiments altitude test (SMEAT) to collect medical data and evaluate medical equipment began at Manned Spacecraft Center. Astronauts Robert L. Crippen (commander), Karol J. Bobko (pilot), and Dr. William E. Thornton (science pilot) entered altitude chamber 6 m (20 ft) in diameter with atmosphere 70% oxygen and 30% nitrogen at 34 500 newtons per sq m (5 psi), where they would live and work for up to 56 days. Skylab, scheduled for launch in April 1973, would support three-man crews in earth orbit for total of 130 days. (NASA Release 72-131; um, NYT, 7/27/72, 18)
President Nixon and Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir exchanged re- marks in telephone call inaugurating communications satellite TV service for Israel via ground station at Emeq Ha'ela. White House later made available text of letter written by President to Prime Minister Meir July 20: "As your nation inaugurates its station connecting Israel with the Intelsat system, you have the best wishes of the American people. Clear and effective communication is basic to building the generation of peace we so earnestly seek, and to ensure the kind of sound relationships among nations which will enable that peace to endure." (PD, 7/31/72, 1175-6)
Intense solar storm in solar region 331 was observed by sensors on NASA's Oso 7 Orbiting Solar Observatory. Warnings were issued July 28. [See Aug. 2, 7, 13; and During October.] (NASA Release 72-164)
Experiments at U.S.S.R.'s Radio Physics Institute had suggested that upper Mars mantle was hard and porous like earth dendrites, Tass reported. Report on study had said small, isolated dust regions were source of Mars dust storms and there was no uninterrupted dust mantle. Dust over Martian surface was no more than 1 mm (0.04 in) thick. White polar caps were reported to be hard-frozen carbon dioxide. (FBIS-SoV, 7/31/72, L1)
Manned Spacecraft Center announced appointment of Astronaut David R. Scott as Technical Assistant to Manager of Apollo Spacecraft Program, effective immediately. Scott, recently reprimanded for carrying unauthorized postal covers to moon on Apollo 15 mission, succeeded Ronald W. Kubicki, who had been named Manager for Command, Service and Lunar Modules. (MSC Release 72-162)
New York Times editorial praising Venus 8 achievement [see July 22] said planetary exploration would be "ideal area" for U.S.S.S.R. cooperation, "since it poses none of the political or human problems involved in cooperation in manned space ventures such as the docking maneuver now scheduled for 1975. Both Soviet and American planetary probes would be better if the two nations pooled information and experience on the design and construction of these vehicles. Such pooling would seem to be a natural step in the evolution of Moscow-Washington space cooperation. The sooner it is realized the more effective and less expensive both nations' space exploratory efforts are likely to be." (NYT, 7/26/72, 34)
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