Jul 27 1973
From The Space Library
In a Skylab 3 prelaunch press briefing at Kennedy Space Center, NASA Skylab Program Director William C. Schneider said that the launch vehicle was "in good shape" with no open anomalies during the countdown. The crew "is eager, waiting" for their 7:10 am July 28 liftoff. The condition of the unmanned Orbital Workshop (launched May 14) was good. The temperatures were under control and the electrical system had improved since the Skylab 2 mission (May 25- June 22). Col. Alan R. Vette of the U.S. Air Force recovery forces said that the recovery teams were trained and deployed around the world "ready to support the mission." (Transcript)
NASA efforts to study Comet Kohoutek [see June 21-23] were described in a Science article. NASA had established a special task force to help prepare for infrared, optical, and ultraviolet observations from space-craft, aircraft, and ground. OAO 3 Orbiting Astronomical Observatory (launched Aug. 21, 1972) would observe Kohoutek in the months before and after its closest approach to the sun about Dec. 29, when Kohoutek was expected to be as bright as a full moon. During the passage near the sun, Oso 7 Orbiting Solar Observatory (launched Sept. 29, 1971), various sounding rockets, and possibly the Skylab Orbital Workshop (launched May 14) would be trained on the comet, which astronomers believed might be insulated from the rest of the solar system. (Metz, Science, 7/27/73, 333-4)
An advertisement in Science for Ehrenreich Photo-Optical Industries' Nikon Instrument Div. said its Model H microscope aboard the Skylab Orbital Workshop (launched May 14) was "the first microscope in space." It would be used by scientist-astronauts in several of the 19 life science experimental studies planned to evaluate the physical reaction of the human body during extended weightlessness. (Science, 7/27/73, 298-9)
An era of global scarcity had begun, a Science editorial noted. "The advanced countries are vulnerable in one or more respects." Japan had been enjoying a boom but needed to import raw materials, fossil fuels, and food. In Mexico people lived under conditions like those of 100 yrs ago, "with a disregard for sanitation," but with "Coca Cola signs and transistor radios everywhere." Much of the world was aware of U.S. living standard and gadgets. "They yearn for both, while the population explosion continues. We are soon going to witness dramatic and miserable confrontations of aspirations, expectations, and limitations." (Abelson, Science, 7/27/73, 303)
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